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Rain brings life to halt
Schools pay price for MC apathy
Weed trouble mushrooms in city
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Three women, 4 kids hurt in Bashirpura wall collapse
City students shine in Guru Nanak Dev
University exams
Star hockey players in city for fitness camp
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Rain brings life to halt
Jalandhar, September 15 It started raining around 7:30 am and continued for over four hours. The rain was accompanied by thunderstorm and lightening. Within half an hour of rain, all city roads had started getting deluged. Daily commuters had a tough time wading through water to reach the bus stand. Certain areas including 120-feet road got converted into a huge swimming. All city roads including Nakodar Road, Kapurthala Road, Garha Road and Ladowali Road remained clogged with water. All important intersections including BMC Chowk, Rama Mandi and PAP Chowk too remained deluged with water. DC complex
Of all the places, the condition was worst at the District Administrative Complex. The visitors had much problem in entering the complex or coming out. The residents had to walk through a huge pond of water to enter the gate of the Siwidha Centre. Even within the complex, the visitors had much problem going from one block to another. The backyard of the complex that houses the office of the ADC (D) Sarojini Gautam Sharda was filled with water. The official was seen moving out from her complex towards the DC meeting hall, just 100 metres away, in her car. The officials also faced much problem in coming out of the Old Baradari area where they have their residential accommodation. The Virendra Marg connecting the area with the Old GT Road was inundated. The officials complained that rainwater even entered their cars as they started for work this morning. No power at pumping station
SE (O&M) AS Dhaliwal, Municipal Corporation, blamed the clogging of roads onto a problem with the main pumping station of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewer Board at Pholariwal village. Asked about the problem, the board XEN Resham Lal said that there was no power at the pumping station from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. He said that the PowerComm officials took long to check the fault in the 9 km line from Jamsher to Pholariwal. He said that since there was no power, there was a problem in disposal of water collected on the roads which was to be drained out through sewer lines. |
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Schools pay price for MC apathy
Jalandhar, September 15 Rain showers early in the day today, spelled trouble for students of government schools across the city and the vicinity. Bad drainage, choked sewers, inundated streets and trouble during rains in the low-lying areas of the city have been making the lives of many school children difficult, causing many of them to give schools a miss on heavy-rain days. Things are really bad, especially in the basti areas, where students have to wade through knee-high waters to reach to schools in the rains. Bad sanitation accentuates the problems as at some places children walk through heaps of garbage mingling with rain water. Here’s a look at some of them. Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Basti Sheikh Probably one of the worst hit schools during the rains in the city. A more than a kilometre long stretch, which area residents recommend people not to take during the rains, is the approach-road for this school. There’s a little dry patch near one of the gates where garbage and construction material lies dumped. When Jalandhar Tribune team reached the school, an irked janitor with a bucket in her hand, said since morning she had been draining out buckets of water filled from the inundated school courtyard and the principal’s office. Any vehicle passing through the street means a fresh surge of water into the school. Principal Neelam says, “My office, too, was filled with water, it has also caused dampness in the lower portions of the walls. Sewerage overflow in the rains aggravates the problem. The school strength is way a lower today than the regular days due to this problem. The water takes days to recede and till then staff and students pay the price.” “Another reason is that sewerage pipes in the area are not big enough to handle the sewerage flow. We have also complained to area councillor Manjit Singh Titu, but nothing has been done so far,” she said. The students of the Government Primary School right next to it face the same problems. Government Primary (and high) School, Kot Sadiq
Calling the Kala Sanghian road (on which the school stands), hideous, would not be an overstatement. The slippery road with truckloads of slush causes great inconvenience for the students of the school. Anita, in charge of the primary school, says, “Everyday we hear of teachers and students falling. Due to the ongoing sewerage-laying work, the road is in a bad state. Children have to wade through water and the road is literally a swamp.” “My house is in Ghah Mandi but I have to take very wide detours through village Dhaliwal or through Wadala just because of the road. Children also can’t come until the water subsides, bringing down attendance. Everyday we hear of some or the other vehicle being stuck or falling. It’s a total mess,” she adds.
Neeru Sharma, in charge of the high school on the same premises, has similar complaints to make.
Government Senior Secondary School, Lamma Pind
Similar problem. The school building is old and on a lower level than the street. So water comes flooding in. But the school administration has come up with a temporary solution. Principal Kuldip Singh Khalsa says, “Since upper storeys have been built, it would take a lot of money to raise the school level. So, with donations, we have installed a motor which pumps the excess water into a little well with a kaccha base that we have got built.” Though inundated streets pose a problem for students, at least walking through the school premises isn’t much of a problem now. “But we are looking for as more permanent solution, ” Khalsa says. Official speak
It will be difficult to fix the roads till the end of this season but I will look into it that the water and drainage problems are fixed as soon as possible.~ — BS Dhaliwal, Commissioner, Municipal corporation |
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Weed trouble mushrooms in city
Jalandhar, September 15 While in the evenings, isolated places turn into havens for antisocial elements, the weeds also pose a health threat since they give rise to insects and mosquitoes wherever they come up. Sonu, a resident of Urban Estate, says an entire stretch on one of the roads has 4-feet high weeds. “It is very unhealthy. In fact many of the other roads I pass through, like the Garha Road, are flanked by lands with undergrowth on them.” Babloo, who works at an office complex on the Ladowali Road, says, “When I close my shop in the night, I have noticed antisocial elements at times. Cutting the weeds would make the place cleaner and safer but the administration has never bothered to take a step in this direction.” Prashant Sharma, a resident of BSF Colony, says, “A plot near my house has a wild undergrowth. Earlier, we got it cut ourselves many times but this year we couldn’t do it due to some reasons. We are left to deal with a jungle full of weeds. We have been plagued by mosquitoes and insects.” Interestingly, the DC Complex itself has a land full of a wild undergrowth of weeds right by the Ambedkar Bhawan. Other problem areas include BSF Colony, Guru Gobind Singh Enclave, Surya Enclave, Garha Road, Ladowali Road (especially its PUDA complexes) among others. Assistant MC Commissioner, Jalandhar, while speaking on the issue, said, “We will certainly take action in this regard if there is widespread problem. Though there has been no plea or complaint to us as yet.” Health HazardWeeds pose a health threat since they give rise to insects and mosquitoes Antisocial elements make use isolated places with weeds
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Three women, 4 kids hurt in Bashirpura wall collapse
Jalandhar, September 15 While Mangali’s shoulder was fractured, Payal had her leg fractured and Soni received injuries on her elbow and foot. The infants too sustained injuries in their chest. The injured women have been working as scrap pickers. At the accident site, there is a huge plot which has more than 200 jhuggis. The wall which had collapsed was kutcha and did not have any cement plaster on it. Soon after the accident, an interesting blame game has started. The Municipal Corporation Assistant Commissioner Ved Vyas visited the spot. Asked if he found any fault on the part of the owner, he instead blamed the wall collapse on the area councillor and the legislator for not bringing the issue to the notice of the officials. He added that it were the safai karamcharis on duty around the area who pulled the kids and women out of the debris. The Councillor of the BJP, Majinder Singh Chatha, however, claimed, “I had noticed that the wall was getting inclined and had reported the matter to the Deputy Commissioner. I had even told them that most jhuggi-dwellers were snake-charmers and could risk the lives of residents close by. But no one paid heed to my complaint.” When the Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti was asked about it, he said that he was on leave and was not aware of the matter. The ADC (G) GS Khera said that he did not go to the spot and had met the victims in the hospital and had assured them of medical aid through the Red Cross Society. He said that an inquiry into the matter would be conducted by the police. The owner of the tenement, Gurinder Singh, however, said that he had rushed to the site when he heard of the accident and brought the injured to the hospital in his car. He blamed the MC authorities for not ensuring proper drainage in the area. Owing to which he claims the foundation of the wall became weak and collapsed. Barjinder Singh SHO Rama Mandi said that none of the migrants gave any statement against the owner and no case has been registered. The Civil Surgeon Dr HK Singla said that all the injured seemed stable and would be under observation for the next 24 hours. Risk factor
The plot at the accident site has more than 200 jhuggis. The wall which had collapsed was kutcha and did not have any cement plaster on it. Blame game begins between the owner and Municipal Corporation Area councillor and the legislator blamed for not bringing issue to notice of officials.
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City students shine in Guru Nanak Dev
University exams
Jalandhar, September 14 Priya Sangar, a student of M. Sc (Physics) of Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, bagged the third position in GND University with a score of 1796 out of 2300 marks. The students of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya brought laurels to the institution by bagging first two positions in Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar. Jasdeep Kaur, a student of MSc (Botany)-II stood first in the varsity followed by Sheetal who bagged second position. In MSc (Bioinformatics)-II Shruti Pathania stood first while Arti Dua and Karunpreet Kaur jointly bagged second position. Diksha Sharma, a student of PG Diploma in Business Management, bagged second position in the varsity. Lecture on AIDS
SPS Khurana, Head of Pharmacy Department and President of Red Ribbon Club of the Mehr Chand Polytechnic College, spoke on drug addiction and AIDS at Government Senior Secondary School, Athola village. During the lecture, Khurana spoke on the modes of transmission and treatment of AIDS. Seminar for journos
The Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of the local Kanya Maha Vidyalaya organized a seminar on ‘Broadcast Journalism- ‘Emerging Opportunities’. Regional Director of NDTV India, Himanshu Maatta, the guest speaker exhorted the students about the history, present status and career opportunities in broadcast journalism. The lecture was followed by an interactive session in which the queries of the students were addressed. Hindi Divas
The local Prem Chand Markanda S.D. College for Women celebrated Hindi Divas on September 14 during which as many as 55 students participated in events like essay writing, poetry writing and story writing competitions in Hindi. |
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Star hockey players in city for fitness camp
Jalandhar, September 15 The team is gearing up for major domestic tournaments scheduled to be held in different parts of the country. IOC team members are undergoing rigorous fitness programmes at the local Olympian Surjit Hockey stadium, Punjab Armed Police (PAP) Hockey AstroTurf and at the Lyallpur Khalsa College grounds. The camp started on September 5 and will go on till September 18. The team members and the coach are leaving no stone unturned in order to win the upcoming tournaments, like Gurmeet Singh Hockey tournament in Chandigarh, Olympian Surjit Hockey tournament in Jalandhar, Bhiton Cup, Kolkata; Nehru Memorial Cup, Delhi and Super League in Bangalore. The players consider the annual Surjit Hockey tournament as a major challenge, which is to begin on October 8. Talking to The Tribune, Coach Ramesh Parmeshwaran said the fitness camp is a booster for the players ahead of the domestic season, which would begin with the Gurmeet Singh Hockey tournament at Chandigarh next month. “It is important that the team adopts to the fitness regime, picks up the best playing style and learns about each other’s positive and negative points”, he added. The players maintained that IOC has always remained a frontrunner in all the tournaments of the country and that the fitness camp would give them the much needed time to work upon their weak points.
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A heavy spell of rain coupled with poor drainage system caused much inconvenience to schoolchildren and people leaving for work this morning.
From lonesome plots to stretches on the highway and bits of land in various shopping complexes, the city is full of weeds, including cannabis. Thanks to the recent rains, at places they are several feet high.
Ahead of the upcoming domestic hockey season, the star studded Indian Oil Corporation hockey team reached the city for a fortnight fitness camp.