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District library faces staff crunch, lack of funds
Robbery bid foiled, ASI among two held
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Man commits suicide
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District library faces staff crunch, lack of funds
Gurdaspur, May 2 Former education minister SS Sekhwan has gone on record as saying that the government would bring in an Act which would ensure that all villages in the state will have libraries. However, this seems to be wishful thinking if the condition of the library in his home district is any indication. The dilapidated building has become an eyesore while the condition of books and the racks holding them together is no better. Keeping in view the fact that it is located in a secluded place, the place has become a haven for drug addicts and one can spot syringes and empty bottles of psychotropic substances littering the driveway, leading to the building. Racks containing termite infested books is a normal sight even as the authorities wait for funds to grapple with the situation. The Library is being managed by Restorer Rupinder Kaur who manages the affairs with the help of a lone peon. Nearly half a dozen newspapers and publications land daily but the distressing fact is that, in these days of the internet, there are seldom any readers. Barring some senior citizens and students who have to take their examinations, there are not many who come to read the books, a majority of them which are lying either in a state of misuse or disuse,” says Rupinder Kaur who is left with no option except to lock the main gate of the building whenever an errand crops up. These unscheduled closures have become more of a rule rather than an exception. The library used to have steady stream of readers when it was located near the Civil Hospital. It was in January, 2006 that the authorities decided to give it a new address following which the library was shifted to its present location adjacent to the fish tank. The result was that people, a majority of whom have to trudge long distances, simply refuse to knock the doors at its new address. The library has 2975 readers registered as members but just half a dozen are regulars “I have been working here for the last 15 years. It saddens me when I see just 10-12 people turning up to read the books. When the structure was at the civil hospital, we used to have atleast 50 odd residents clamouring for books and magazines,” adds Rupinder Kaur. “Apart from a staff crunch, lack of funds is another reason why the library can not be maintained. Last year the government gave a grant of Rs 25,000 but that was spent on maintaining the iron grills,” disclosed Harjit Alam a journalist and one of the oldest members of the library.
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Robbery bid foiled, ASI among two held
Hoshiarpur, May 2 Hoshiarpur SSP Balkar Singh Sidhu said while patrolling at Tanda, the police intercepted a car in the wee hours today. As soon as the car stopped, its occupants ran towards different directions. After a brief chase, the police managed to arrest two persons, identified as Hardip Singh, an ASI at Tarn Taran and a resident of Chabbe Kalan village, and Jaspreet Singh of Muradpura, Master Colony, Tarn Taran. Their three accomplices, identified as Yog Raj, Rana, both from Tarn Taran, and Sanjay Mahajan of Amritsar managed to flee. The police recovered two gas cylinders, a gas cutter, iron rods and some tools from the car. The police also recovered a service revolver of .9 mm bore along with 12 live cartridges from ASI Hardip Singh. The number plate of the car was also found to be fake. The SSP said during interrogation, the duo revealed that they along with their other accomplices were going to commit a robbery at a bank or ATM counter. As many as eight criminal cases were registered against Jaspreet Singh in various police stations of Punjab. He was sentenced life imprisonment by a court in a murder case and presently he was on a parole. A case under sections 399 and 402 of the IPC and sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act had been registered against them in Tanda police station. |
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Man commits suicide
Hoshiarpur, May 2 It is learnt that Jarnail Singh, a property dealer, had some dispute with his five partners Chhinda, his bother Neela, Kultar Singh, Mohinder Singh and Lakhwinder Singh. The Model Town police has booked Jarnail Singh's partners.
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