Jalandhar, August 9
Now one just has to dial 1098, a 24-hour toll-free tele-outreach helpline to help orphan, sexually abused, destitute and needy children and child labourers in the district. All thanks to the local Nari Niketan Trust, which started this scheme here today.

This Centre Government-sponsored scheme is managed by the Child India Foundation (CIF), which is monitoring the helpline across the country. This project is supported by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.

The Nari Niketan Trust would primarily intervene in cases received, creating awareness about Childline 1098, documentation, coordination with various departments and allied systems like the police, health care, juvenile, transport, legal, education, communication, media and political people and the community.

Talking to The Tribune, member trustee of Nari Niketan Trust Narinder Mehta said through the Childline 1098 service it would be now possible to assist children in any crisis and protect them from abuse and exploitation. “Given the fact that the current share of population of children under 18 years of age in India is approximately 43 per cent, this scheme would come handy for scores of children. This scheme will enable us to provide timely rescue, relief, rehabilitation to children in distress,” he added.

Mehta added that the Childline 1098 service currently receives around 2 million calls every year from 72 cities in 22 states of the country. “This service has now started functioning in 104 cities of the country,” he stated.

The member trustee said they had already informed the Women and Child Welfare Department to provide funds in the district for the publicity of the scheme in Punjabi. “It is very important that Childline 1098 reaches out to the grass-roots level in the district. We also appeal to the local media to highlight its functioning and round-the-clock availability to avoid any mishap,” he said.

It needs mention here that last year, the CFI had started a survey regarding the calls received, nature of calls, number of prosecution, follow-up of child abuse, child trafficking, child labour problems and number of children rehabilitated till date. “This attempt would further help the CFI to understand the improvements required in this scheme,” he added.

Jalandhar, August 9
A stuffy little Government Elementary School in Gali No 2, Avtar Nagar, has been witnessing a lot of trouble since April 18, the day when the school’s primary and middle schools were separated into two shifts — morning and evening — due to space constraints.

The building (with hardly any ventilation) is built on seven marla, has five classrooms and a strength of 242 students. There are only four teachers for the primary and six for the middle wing.

On April 18, the middle students started attending the morning shift (7:30 am to 12:30 pm) while the primary students (earlier attending the 8 am to 2 pm shift) were shifted to the evening session (12:30 pm to 5:30 pm) - a move that has not gone down well with the parents.

Out of the 130 students in the primary school, 60 have already stopped coming and 15 have threatened to do so in the coming days.

A teacher, on the condition of anonymity, says, “Furious parents come and complain about the move everyday. Most of the parents of the students work as maids and labourers. They ask us where were they supposed to leave their children while they were at work. Kids aren’t adjusting well either. Many of them miss school, others complain of sleepiness and tiredness during the class. We were already battling space shortage and this has added to our problems.”

To add to the chaos, the primary students now share space with 50 more students who had already been attending the evening classes at the school under the National Child Labour Project (NCLP) for the past 11 years.

“The two classrooms where the middle children study are locked in the evening. We don’t use them. So how has the move been of any practical use? A move to build the middle school on another piece of land of the school might bring some respite,” the teachers say.

Rupa, a parent who works as a daily wager, alleges that the teachers were deliberately making the lives of children more difficult. “My three children have been sick since the evening shift started. We want to teach them but these timings do not suit us or our children. These teachers have made our lives difficult. The three children of my sister-in-law are also facing problems,” she complained.

Teachers say, the school, which was originally run in a gurdwara in the area, was built by money collected by the old teachers of that school. Built as a primary school about three decades ago, the school was upgraded to a middle school in the late 90s.

The school has another 11 marla land (that they got as a donation) in Gali No 11 of the same area, which teachers say, has been squatted upon.

Some representatives of the school had met education minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan early this year to apprise him of the problem of space and also told him about the additional land the school had so that it could be put to use to fight space constraints. Soon after, the move to start two shifts was sanctioned. But it has only aggravated the problems.

Jalandhar, August 9
This is the tale of two villages of Jalandhar that are namesake. Since both the villages by the name Alipur fall in the same block Jalandhar East and same assembly constituency of Jalandhar cantonment, a lot of confusion prevails with regard to their reference.

The common name of the villages has often been a cause of trouble for the relatives of the residents. The visitors coming for the first time often land up themselves in the other village and realising the mistake, they have to commute to the other Alipur village off by another eight to 10 kms.

While one Alipur village falls ahead of Kukad village near Jalandhar cantonment, the other one is near Mithapur village. To avoid the confusion, the villagers have evolved a new way to differentiate between the two. The one near Kukad village is called Alipur-K and other near Mithapur is called Alipur-M.

Sarpanch Surinder Chhindo of Alipur-M village said that this nomenclature had now become the official postal address. “All official communication from BDPO office or otherwise comes addressed this way”, she informed.

Sarpanch Balwinder Singh of Alipur-K village said that relatives from Alipur-M village often barged into his village and then had to be re-directed. He further added that even the old age pension cheques of Alipur-M had erroneously come to his village and had to be dispatched further.

Jalandhar, August 9
Taking a decision in favour of a resident of Surya Enclave, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has quashed the demand of Rs 53,400 raised from him by the Jalandhar Improvement Trust as the non-construction charges.

The forum, comprising Surinder Mohan, president, Darshan Singh and Jyotsana, both members, has reasoned that the demand of the trust was absolutely wrong as it had failed to provide all promised facilities in time.

In his complaint, Naresh Kumar said he was the original allottee of plot number 79-B, measuring 356 sq yards. He had purchased the plot for Rs 11.26 lakh and the last instalment was paid by him in March, 2004, in which Rs 15,000 had been charged from each plot holder for providing direct LPG gas pipeline in each house.

The plaintiff said he deposited the building plans for approval in the office of the trust on June 13, 2006, but the officials took four months for the same. He said he applied for water connection on October 5, 2006, and started construction from October 26, 2006. He said he took temporary electric connection from the PSEB in December, 2006, which was valid only for a year at double rate.

Naresh Kumar said he intimated the trust regarding the completion of construction on December 24, 2007. To his surprise, he said he received a letter from the trust on February 29, 2008, asking him to deposit the amount of Rs 53,400 as non-construction fee for the year 2008. He approached the then Executive Officer, who assured him of waiving the fee for the year 2008. He contended that he had already completed one dwelling unit, which covered 25 per cent area by December 31, 2007.

He pleaded that till July, 2009, the trust was still in the process of laying electric lines. He said the work for laying gas pipeline was still in progress. The colony police post was still not there and the trust was still holding talks about it with the Division No 8 police station. There was no streetlight till August 25, 2009.

In response, the trust officials put up a report dated January 14, 2008, from the engineering branch, which said the construction of the house was not complete and plastering and flooring were being carried out and doors had not been fitted. Referring to a decision passed by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in case of PUDA vs Malvinder Kaur, the forum observed that there was deficiency on the part of the trust by not providing the promised facilities. It ordered that the demand for the non-construction charges be set aside.

Jalandhar, August 9
Lovely Professional University (LPU) in this session has registered more than 400 new international students from 25 countries spread over four continents, including North America, Europe, Asia and Africa on its campus.

To acquaint students with the university system, a six-hour informative induction programme was scheduled for them. It comprised addresses by senior authorities and presentations from relevant departments. Power point presentations were shown on the rules and system of the university like how to access online available material, academics, examinations, security and discipline.

Aimed to get fresh students adjusted with the culture and traditions prevalent at the university, a campus tour and a two-hour cultural evening was also specially arranged to entertain them.

In his welcome address, Chancellor LPU Ashok Mittal said the students were the official ambassadors of their respective countries. He said, “Upholding the traditions and values of India, you have to co-exist with your fellow students on international standards during your entire span of the study programme.”

He added, “The total strength of international students on the campus has reached 600, including old students. Various countries from where the students are studying in LPU includes the USA, Italy, Iran, Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Dubai, Thailand, Iraq, Indonesia, Burundi, Sudan, Uganda, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Tanzania and Kenya. These students have opted for various courses like BCA, BTech, BBA, MBA, MCA and BJ(MC).”

In the evening, students were made to sing and dance on the tunes of bhangra, gidda, Rajasthani jhoomer and classical dance performances.

Getting boosted, the international students also showcased their inborn talents. Some of the foreign students, including Rafi from the USA, Abba Ahmed Muhammed from Nigeria, Suchet from Indonesia, Ganga from Nepal, Vishma Chuwan of Bhutan, Alen Atem representing Sudan, Adeeb al Rumayhi of Bangladesh and others said joyfully, “No doubt, certain uncertainties were lurking in our minds at first, but the special induction programme has made us quite comfortable.”

Jalandhar, August 9
Nurturing the dreams of young minds to join the armed forces and bringing forth their hidden potential in sports, the Combined Annual Training Camp by 21 Punjab Battalion NCC, Kapurthala, is proving to be a big launch pad for the NCC cadets. The 10-day camp started on August 2 and is being held at the old location of 19 Dogra Regiment at Jalandhar Cantonment.

While the chorus of joining the armed forces echoed from every nook and corner, as many as 60 cadets were trained for the upcoming inter-directorate hockey tournament, which will be held here later this month.

The inter-directorate hockey tournament will see the participation of as many as six NCC directorates namely Bihar, Jharkhand, North Eastern Region, Orissa, Maharashtra and Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. The best hockey players selected from this tournament will participate in the Jawaharlal Nehru hockey tournament to be held in Delhi.

Talking to The Tribune, Camp Commandant Lt Col Raobinder Singh said, “We will select the best hockey players from all the six NCC directorates during the inter-directorate hockey tournament. This time NCC Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh directorate has been given the responsibility to field a NCC hockey team in Jawaharlal Nehru hockey tournament.”

Col Raobinder said as the camp was being held in Jalandhar Cantonment, the cadets got better opportunities to sharpen their skills in hockey at Sansarpur village. “We are taking the services of Olympian Col Balbir Singh and other hockey players to excel in the game. Besides this, another group of NCC cadets have been selected for Parasailing and Dhal Sena Camp,” he said.

Even the cadets also expressed their keenness to excel in hockey, besides their desire to join the Indian Army. Premjit Singhm, a student from Army Public School, Kapurthala, said they were equipped with the best coaching facilities in the camp. “We are loving every bit of our training in the camp,” he added.

For Narinder Singh, a student of Government Senior Secondary School, Bholath, the camp was a source of motivation. “I come from a humble family background and never knew anything about the Army. This camp has simply changed my perspective and I will look forward to fulfilling my dream of joining the armed forces,” he said.

While Vanik Kapoor, a student of class X from Sainik School, Kapurthala, was all praise for the Indo-Pak war movies shown to them which he said was a big morale booster.

Even the junior girl cadets were all amazed at the functioning of the Army. “I saw the functioning and handling of .22 rifle for the first time while working in harsh weather conditions was quite an eye opener. After attending this camp I have made up my mind to join the Indian Army,’ said Amandeep Kaur, a cadet.

It might be noted that the camp saw the participation of 571 NCC cadets (junior division and senior division) which included students from various Government Schools, Kendriya Vidyalaya, Army Public Schools, Sainik School, Kapurthala, and other colleges from Jalandhar and Kapurthala.

Jalandhar, August 9
Even as 25 paise coins are off the counters and are no longer being accepted by the banks, three items in the post office can still be had at that price.

A Meghdoot postcard, money order form and a registered post for a newsletter/tabloid - any of these services can still be had for barely 25 paise each.

Despite the fact that the 25 paise denomination coins are no longer in use after June 30, the Department of Posts has no plans to raise the cost of any of these services.

The Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, Jalandhar Division, Avtar Singh Pahuja, explained, “The Meghdoot postcards, which have an advertisement on one half, are very popular in our post offices. They are priced at just 25 paise each, but now we offer a minimum of two cards for 50 paise or four for Re 1. Similarly, one has to buy at least two money order forms. However, the order of registered postal service for dispatch of small newspapers comes in bulk. Jalandhar, being a media hub, has plenty of tabloids being sent across through the post office.”

Jalandhar, August 9
The Dr B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT) will hold its annual convocation on August 17, a day before PTU is scheduled to hold a similar event.

The passout students of 2010 and 2011 batches will be awarded degrees during the event. Eminent nuclear scientist of India and Padma Vibhushan awardee Anil Kakodkar, who is also serving as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors (BoG) of the institute, will deliver the convocation address, said Registrar A.L. Sangal.

Phagwara, August 9
More than 70 per cent population of Phagwara town is being deprived of the drinking water facility as the main water pipe was damaged during digging work by the National Highway Authorities staff engaged in six-laning of the highways near Goal Chowk in Phagwara on Saturday.

Residents of several localities, including Hargobind Nagar, Kherra Road, New Model Town, Model Town, had to face much inconvenience due to non-availability of water.

Perhaps for the first time in the history of the town, people were seen demanding drinking water from each other.

Though huge population was badly affected due to this human error, Phagwara Municipal Commissioner Satish Kumar Singla put his hard efforts to restore drinking water supply.

While talking to The Tribune here today, Singla claimed that staff of the corporation succeeded to restore drinking water supply last night.

Singla said efforts were being made to drain out the leaked water from the damaged water pipes. Meanwhile, the commissioner agreed with The Tribune that all the water tanks lying dry for the last several years should be properly used which could also save wastage of water and, moreover, people can get drinking water round the clock.

On the other hand, more than 3,000 BSNL telephones were lying dead as underground telephone cables were found cut during the digging work by a company staff engaged for the construction of six-laning of national highways.

A team of the department headed by Junior Engineer Purshotam Lal is actively working to restore the telephones after repairing of the telephone lines.