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Sunday Bazaar adds to traffic woes
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EC bans parties from distributing voter slips
Making a haven for special children
Bank fined for not returning sale deed after loan payment
Patiala’s Jasmine is Miss Punjaban
90 LPU students capture eight themes in their designs
from schools
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Who let the dogs out?
Jalandhar, December 4 Pick any area of the city, residents will say they feel unsafe walking or even driving two wheelers, especially during night.
Dogs in groups follow pedestrians and those riding two-wheelers in most of the areas in the city. However, insecure residents have nowhere to go, as the sterilisation project of the city remains stalled for the past four years. And the dog catching process in the city is nothing short of a joke. Surprisingly, the MC authorities are catching dogs from the area of a complaint and releasing them in some other part of the city. The five dog catchers employed by the MC are carrying out this task even though it is unlawful since the Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme clearly states that even the sterilised dogs are to be released in the area from where they were picked as they generally get injured or killed by dog attacks in other areas. Sources say the MC has been catching dogs on verbal orders. MC Councillors had been raising the issue in the House meetings, but in vain. Jarnail Singh, a resident of the Sangam Vihar area of the city, said: “Dogs move around in groups in the neighbourhood. We are scared to send our children out even during the day. People have stopped going for morning and evening walks.” The last time the MC ran a dog sterilisation programme was four years ago. As the programme was not effective in the first place, with the change in the administration, the programme was stalled. Former councillor Manoj Arora, who is also the president of the Model Town Market Committee, said: “The issue has been raised time and again. Residents are sick of stray dogs. We have personally checked that the Model Town area has around 350 dogs. When the complaints mount, they catch dogs and release them the New Jawahar area from where they come back within a few days. We have complained to the MC authorities a number of times, but they have failed to address the issue.” The authorities have discontinued the facility to keep dogs for a few days before and after sterilisation at the Burlton Park. Even when the ABC programme was on, it was criticised by the animal rights’ activists. Sources reveal that dogs were not cared or provided proper food after sterilisation. Rendered ferocious by hunger, some dogs chewed their food bowls and some ran about in their cells. The dog cells and cages were also never cleaned. The staff, both dog catchers and the feeding staff, cannot be blamed as they lacked training or funds needed to take proper care of canines. Chandar Bhushan, general secretary of the People for Animals (PFA), Jalandhar, said: “We have dogs which were brought to us after they sustained injuries during the catching process. Long scissors used for catching them have caused permanent scars on their necks and heads. The catchers play safe, but dogs are badly injured in the process. While as per the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme, it is mandatory for the MC authorities to keep an NGO with them during the dog catching process, it has never been done.” official speak I have asked the medical officer to initiate action in this regard. During my tenure, the sterilisation programme was never taken up. There's no dog rehabilitation project either. But we plan to take steps in this direction soon. — BS Dhaliwal, MC Commissioner
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Sunday Bazaar adds to traffic woes
Jalandhar, December 4 However, the authorities are paying no heed to the nuisance they cause by encroaching upon the road. The MC and the traffic police have failed to deal with the situation. Encroachments along the roads are more alarming due to its proximity to the Local Civil Hospital and the Fire Brigade department. Many times, patients heading to the Civil Hospital face difficulty in the reaching the hospital on time. Sources revel that rescue operations were delayed in the past when fire broke out in some of these markets. “Last Sunday, I had to admit my sister to the local Civil Hospital in emergency as she was in labour pain. But when we reached Jyoti Chowk, there was a serpentine queue of vehicles from PNB Chowk to Jail Road and it took us 20 minutes to reach to the hospital,” Abhilesh Gupta of GTB Nagar said. Vendors have extended their temporary shops on the road and have not left enough space for the vehicles to pass, he added. Raghuveer Sahai, another resident, rued that every Sunday, he hardly notices any traffic official to ease the rush in these markets. Residents said the authorities should allot some other place to these vendors. Fire officials said the rescue operations would be delayed in case of fire in these crowded markets. |
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EC bans parties from distributing voter slips
Jalandhar, December 4 Earlier, voter slips were issued to voters by activists of various political parties who used to set up counters outside the polling stations. The election office has disallowed the political parties to furnish these slips, perhaps with a view that this could influence the voters at the time of polling. The slips to be issued by the election office will not be just ordinary tiny strips of paper to be torn from the sheets. Instead, these would be computer-generated slips bearing the photographs and other details of the voters. The slips will be mandatory for exercising the right to vote and the electors who may have the ID card will not be allowed to cast the vote if he does not get this slip, the staff of the district election office said. The step has empowered the BLOs this time who will also have to remain connected with the election office on the polling day for any information related to irregularities, complaints and other immediate requirements. An eye on expenses
It will be tough to impress the voters with lavish arrangements during the election rallies to be organised by candidates ahead of the assembly polls. To keep a close watch on candidates and to ensure that their budgets do not increase beyond Rs 16 lakh, the Election Commission also has plans to appoint expenditure observers and assistant expenditure observers for each constituency who would maintain records of poll expenses incurred by an individual candidate. EC check
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Quacks drive youths to drugs
Jalandhar, December 4 Around 50 quacks are thriving in the Kazi Mandi area in the absence of any check by the health authorities. As there are only two to three qualified doctors in the area, quacks continue to play with lives of innocent people. The only government dispensary in the area is in a dilapidated condition and is without staff. Resident of the area have no other but to turn to doctors without certificates, compounders-turned-doctors, saints, dai nurses and priests, who have been forcibly upgraded to healers by naïve, penny-less residents. The most worrisome aspect of quackery in the area is the addict-quack nexus. "Hooked to Avil and Morphine, addicts who can't inject themselves with these drugs, depend on doctors. While vials of both the drugs collectively cost not more than Rs 15 to 18, the doctors charge anything between Rs 50 to Rs 70 to inject the same. The addicts can do anything to get a shot. "There are also establishments in the area which specifically run on injecting these drugs. Local unemployed youths, addicts and criminals sit around at these places day in and day out as quacks administer shots to them. "We have no clue how many sane, normal people have been turned into addicts through these establishments," said a qualified doctor. Another qualified doctor says, "These quacks get BEMS (Bachelors in Electromagnetic Therapy Medicine and Surgery) certificates for Rs 4,000 to 5,000, which they pass off as BAMS ones." There are astrologers, businessmen, scrap dealers and others old-time compounders who have opened clinics. "They use drips, inject addicts and sell their so-called medicines at half the rates. The most popular doctor in the area is the one who sells all medicines for Rs 10. People queue up outside his shop." Then there is a second category of doctors - the babas. Babulal Bhardwaj, a pujari (priest) at the Shiv Temple in the area says: "I have postgraduate students who come to me and tell me to ward of their illness. They say 'fanda kar do'. I have told them hundreds of times that I am no healer, but they do not agree. I hold my hands together and blow air as a false healing custom. They go home happily. I don't charge, but there are people who do charge
for this much too. Superstitions are half the reason that these people are
suffering." Dr Bhajan Khepra, a doctor in the area, says: "I know labourers who claim they can just blow air and ward off jaundice. What do we do about such people? The residents are stupid enough to believe them." |
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Making a haven for special children
Jalandhar, December 4 A 29-year-old is being made to understand whole numbers, an 18-year-old student is researching potatoes and an 11-year-old is being made to recognise colours. This is how education begins at the institute. At this school, education doesn’t start from ABCD or 123. Kids are first made to understand the concept behind the numbers, words or colours they would be taught, according to their respective needs. Director of the school Dr Brett Mayfield doesn’t even like labelling them ‘special’. “They are sensitive and different. It is wrong to label them retarded or impaired. They have unique qualities,” Mayfield says. Running on the Maria Montessori philosophy, as Mayfield tells us, all students at the school have one to two teachers working with them. Interestingly, many students at this school are dropouts. They have either been turned out or parents have themselves withdrawn them from schools for normal children. Gurnimar, an 18-year-old girl, left school because she couldn’t pass exams. Vivek (29) left school in the second grade, Aryan (11) just went to pre-school and wasn’t accepted in any school after that. But here, there’s home for all. Dr Mayfield had come to Jalandhar to work for special children through schools. “But that did not work. Every school has its own perspective. So here I am at my own school.” Encouraged by the school’s working, some parents are also taking special interest in the school. Rajinder, Gurnimar’s mother, has volunteered to teach other students at the school. The school presently has 20 students. While 12 attend classes daily (8 am to 2 pm), some are taught at their homes and other schools by Dr Mayfield. “We have interviewed many more parents, but some have turned up, some haven’t. I guess the acceptability for the school will grow with time,” he adds. Started in September, the school began in a residential establishment in Urban Estate, Phase II, currently shifted to a building in Urban Estate, Phase I, where karate classes are taken in the evening. The premises will soon be used only for the school as the karate equipment will be shifted to the adjoining building. Later, the school will be shifted on a seven acre land which will be its final site. Dr Mayfield has ambitious plans for future. “We plan to start working for slum kids. Special education classes for students of a local school are on the cards and we also plan to set up an online store for the works of our students,” he added. |
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Bank fined for not returning sale deed after loan payment
Jalandhar, December 4 In the seven-page judgment, the Forum president Surinder Mohan, its members Jyotsana Tatai and Darshan Singh have directed HDFC Bank to pay Rs 10,000 as damages on account of deficiency in service and Rs 2,000 on account of litigation expenses to Dr Balwinder Singh of Saraswati Vihar. The bank has also been directed to pay this amount within a month from the date of receipt of the copy of this order, failing which the complainant is entitled to interest at the rate of nine per cent per annum on the principal amount of Rs 10,000 from the date of filing the complaint till its realisation. The judgment states "In order to avoid further difficulties in future, the complainant may get recorded daily dairy report (DDR) with local police regarding loss of original title deed by attaching certified copy of the same along with the copy of this order. The complainant may also inform sub registrar in this regard." The Forum pronounced its decision after hearing arguments of complainant's counsel Manjit Kumar Jain and counsel of HDFC Bank, Vikash Sood, and on the basis of the law laid down by National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Bihar State Housing Co-operative Federation Limited versus Sushila Devi. Earlier in his complaint filed under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act on December eight, 2009, Dr Balwinder Singh said he raised a medical equipment loan of Rs 5 lakh in October 2004 from the Bank of Punjab which later merged with the HDFC Bank. He said he had squared up the loan in 2009 and the HDFC Bank also issued a No Dues Certificate in this regard. The bank assured him to return within five to seven days the documents of title, including the original sale deed deposited with the bank. Despite assurances, the bank did not return the sale deed. In a written statement, the bank pleaded that the sale deed in question was misplaced and they were and are ready to provide a certified copy of the same. |
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Patiala’s Jasmine is Miss Punjaban
Jalandhar, December 4 Stars from Bollywood and the Punjabi music industry descended on the stage last night, Jalandhar cheered on. The PAP grounds compound was jam packed as 16 beauties from across the state competed for the Miss Punjaban crown. Only five made it to the list of finalists. The thrust was clearly on Punjabi culture - with the traditional Punjabi prop dances and the contestants presented gidda. Celebrity judges Bollywwod actors Kirron Kher and Sonu Sood, Punjabi singer Manmohan Waris, actor Savita Bhatti and the CEO of the local television which organised the event declared the winners. A graceful actor Kirron Kher charmed the audiences with her Punjabi and style. Earlier in the evening, singers Kanth Kaler, Salim, Amarinder Gill, Miss Pooja and Geeta Zaildar entertained the audiences. Anchor Satinder Satti also performed a number from her upcoming album-Rubaru-and also launched it on the same stage. Emotional vocals of Kanth Kaler’s ‘Tere Bin’, singer Salim’s rustic, intricate Punjabi vocals enthralled crowds. |
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90 LPU students capture eight themes in their designs
Jalandhar, December 4 Models and beauty pageant winners, Denise Garrido, Miss World Canada; Emma Waldron, Miss World Ireland; Fanney Ingvarsdottir, Miss World Iceland; Marika Savsek, Miss Universe Slovenia and Claudia Arce Lemaitre, Miss Universe Bolivia also charmed the crowds. The collection designed by 90 students of the fashion programme of LPU didn't fall flat. At SBRM square of the campus at LPU, the models displayed eight fashion collections- bloom, my pretty pin-up queen, organised chaos, mela, mystic segments, popular prowess, sufi-e-saba and aqua marine. The collections drew inspiration from raflesia flower, dark magic, waste material, pushkar fair, insects, pop art, Sufism and water. |
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Octogenarian wins gold in athletics event
Jalandhar, December 4 The 86-year-old Bhanot said he took part in the 85-90 years age group along with 200 other participants. He said, he won in five kilometer walk and then in the 200 & 100 meter races. Bhanot claimed he has been the veteran champion in national athletics for past several years. He said he won in the half marathon held at Hyderabad, Imphal and Punjab five times. Bhanot who is a retired teacher says he started his sports career at the age of 65 and won the first gold medal in 1992 when he finished first in the state veteran athletics meet, organised by the Punjab Association of Veteran Athlete. He said, in the same year, he had won a silver medal at the all-India veteran athletics meet. Bhanot who took part in the ‘Quit India’ movement’ in 1942, said whenever he participates in any competition, he always wears a blue dress bearing the Indian flag, “I will continue to bring gold medals till my last breath,” Bhanot said. His daughter Sushil Kumari (52), a government school teacher, also won a gold medal in the same athletics championship. |
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from schools
Jalandhar, December 4 School Principal delivered the annual report of the school. Students also presented an English play on the theme of the film 'Taare Zameen Par' emphasising that parents must listen to their children. International conference
Eleven students of APJ School, Rama Mandi, took part in the United Nations International Conference held at Noida. As many as 500 students from 60 schools in China, Russia, Germany, Bhutan, South Korea, Maldives, Hungary, Denmark and Pakistan and India took part in the conference and students discussed various issues. Students got an opportunity to get a better understanding of various other cultures during the conference. Championship league
An inter-school sports championship held at Jalandhar saw 72 schools from Punjab taking part in Idea Junior Championship League. The Jalandhar zonal finals, held at Government Arts and Sports College Grounds, Kapurthala Road, saw students from many local schools compete against each other in nine categories. |
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