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Getting learner’s driving licence at Suwidha Centre
11 women held with 121 kg tea
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Police crackdown on use of high-beam lights
Two-day Bridal Bazaar exhibition concludes
Mela Gadri Babein Da
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Getting learner’s driving licence at Suwidha Centre
Jalandhar, October 31 While nearly 75 applicants remained queued up at the centre this morning, their documents were not being accepted, forcing them to wait and stand for long till their turn came. The applicants said there was no fun running a facilitation centre if the systems do not work for hours. “Even after it started working, they were not accepting our forms, claiming that there was a backlog which was required to be cleared before putting in newer details,” they fumed. Arvinder Singh of DAV College, who had come to the centre at 10:30 am, said his form had not been accepted even till 11:45 am. “I think it will still take me another hour to reach up to the counter. Is this what they call a Suwidha?” he fumed. Ravinder, another applicant from the cantonment area, said he, too, had to wait for over two hours to get his work done. “It is really difficult standing for so long for a very genuine work. A task which should have been completed in barely 15 minutes took prime hours of my day,” he complained. District Transport Officer Dalwinderjit Singh said, “I too got to know about the problem. There was a connectivity issue. The Suwidha Centre has a LAN system which is further connected through NIC. It was this connection that failed for sometime and led to the problem. I have asked the technicians of private company SmartChip to remain present at the Suwidha Centre during peak hours for the next few days. I will myself visit the centre tomorrow to check the reasons for the problem. I had held a meeting with the technical staff today as well to understand the problem and find its solution.” |
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11 women held with 121 kg tea
Shahkot, October 31 Police source said policemen were conducting regular patrolling on the Moga road when they noticed women carrying heavy tea bags. On suspicion, the policemen stopped their vehicle and inquired about the bags. During preliminary questioning, the women told the police that they had stolen the stuff from a provisional store situated on the Salaicha road and now they were heading towards their hometown. A case has been registered in this regard. 13 quintals of stolen iron recovered
Jalandhar: The Police Division No. 8 today arrested a person with 13 quintals of stolen iron. The accused was identified as Gautam Seth, alias Gopi, resident of New Baldev Nagar here. A police official said on October 18, a factory situated on the Hoshiarpur road was burgled from where a huge stock of iron was stolen. He said acting on a tip-off, the accused was arrested today. During further interrogation of the accused, the police was expecting to solve other burglary cases as well. Recharge coupons stolen
Recharge coupons worth several thousands of rupees had been stolen from a provisional store at the Basti Sheikh locality. Ravinder Kumar, the owner of the shop, said last evening when he was away for some work, his wife was looking after the store. A customer arrived at the shop and asked her wife for some provisional goods. The moment his wife went to take the goods, the alleged youth suddenly took away a box of recharge coupons lying in the front counter and fled. The value of the recharge coupons was said to be around Rs 20,000, he added. The Police Division No. 5 has been informed about the incident. |
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Police crackdown on use of high-beam lights
Last month, the city traffic police issued 230 challans to the motorists for such violations. In the running month, about 160 challans have already been issued in this regard. Parminder Singh Bhandal, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Traffic, said being in the traffic police, he had observed that most of the accidents took place due to the use of high-beam lights at night. He said under the Motor Vehicle Act, motorists had to use low-beam lights to prevent accidents, failing which they would be challaned. Rs 50 lakh collected
Taking strict action against the motorists showing disregard for traffic rules, the city traffic police collected a whopping fine of over Rs 50 lakh by issuing 14,611 challans in the last month. The maximum traffic violations, which have come to the fore, were of helmet-less driving. The traffic police had challaned 7,071 such motorists. As many as 1,843 violators were challaned for driving without licence. Only 80 autos ferrying schoolchildren were challaned for overloading in the last month. In the past few months, some incidents had taken place in which overloaded autos met with accidents. In February this year, a 10-year-old child died when an overloaded auto turned turtle on the road. Taking strict action against drunken driving, the police had challaned 372 violators. Further, 292 offenders were challaned for not using seat belts. The police has also challaned 170 motorists for using mobile phone while driving. |
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Amidst the shopaholic’s paradise — a slice of Tihar
Jalandhar, October 31 While the SCCT displayed paintings made by inmates of the Tihar jail and Ghaziabad and Karnal jails, Arman showcased jewellery and costumes etc made by inmates of the Tihar jail. The SVCT, which has adopted as many as 421 children, is a trust that teaches painting to some of the inmates of the jail and when their art is mature enough, showcases these at different exhibitions. The 421 adopted children of the trust include 22 former prisoners. Talking to The Tribune, AK Passy, administrator, SVCT, said, “Our volunteers provide inmates with the painting and/or art material that they want. When their art is mature enough, their paintings are showcased at exhibitions.” In some of the cases, the NGO has adopted both the prisoners and also their victims, said Passy. The money, which comes after selling the inmates’ paintings, goes into the trust and the inmates are also paid for their work. Priced between Rs 2,500 and Rs 45,000 some of the paintings reflected poignant and creative minds, who had thought up the paintings. The highest priced painting - that of a dancing Lama - was painted by a former inmate of the Tihar Jail (Delhi), who now works for the trust. “Depending on their qualification and the kind of work they can handle, our trust has adopted many of the inmates who formerly painted for us. They now work with us as helps, drivers, volunteers etc,” said Passy. The trust also attracts interns from across India, keen to work for the cause. “This year we got 120 law interns alone. Every year, many students come to work with us and interns include students from Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Mysore, Pune, Jaipur etc,” Passy added. The trust even got an intern from Japan, keen to work with the NGO. All the adopted students of the trust are later provided health insurance, said Passy. Meanwhile, working on the similar cause, the NGO Arman, too, promotes and sells stuff made by Tihar jail inmates. The NGO provides vocational training and runs painting workshops, tailoring units, pickle project, candle project, artificial jewellery workshops, mehndi project etc in Tihar prison. Neeru Arya, general secretary of the NGO, said, “The money collected from the sales of the stuff the inmates make is used to conduct weddings of girls from the underprivileged sections of society.” Spokespersons of the both NGOs said their main objective was that those who landed in prison once might be involved in tasks and services in such a manner that they did not end up in prison again. |
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Making life of visually impaired easy through digitised learning
Jalandhar, October 31 Forty-year-old-Deepika Sood has this one-point agenda in her life in the pursuit of which she has already started the Herculean task of converting school books of classes IX to XII and college books into "digitised talking books". The text in the books is read out in a studio and the voice recording is further edited in a format which can be listened to from anywhere using a laptop or even a mobile phone. As a general secretary of the Punjab Saksham, an NGO, she has set up a full-fledged team of voice recorders and editors who remain engaged in the job throughout the day at a studio and editing office on the HMV College campus here. “All a visually impaired student needs to have is a Nokia mobile phone, a specialised ‘Talks’ software and a 16-GB memory card which can store as many as 100 to 150 talking books. In all, it is a one-time investment of Rs 10,000 which our NGO even finances for the student as a 10-month interest-free scheme. The talking books are sold out by us at a price of just Rs 5 each. The idea is to help the visually impaired students who are unable to cope up with their studies because of poverty. Our priority is school board books in Punjabi or Hindi language,” she said. She elaborated further, “Braille books, which were used in earlier times, were too voluminous and difficult to carry. Then came the era of cassettes, which often got destroyed. At least three to four cassettes were required for one book which again was a problem. But now these can be put on the web, downloaded in a pendrive or a memory card and carried in pocket anywhere, be it a dictionary or course book, a reference book or a general reading book." “Even better is the aspect that one can directly navigate to the chapter, page number or topic one wants to read. As if one keeps a book mark, even the talking book starts from where it had been stopped and does not involve wastage of time and effort to continue on. The DAISY format used by us is universally accepted. The advancement in technology has been of a great help to persons who have poor vision (may be due to old age) or are dyslexic.” Deepika explains that she had learnt it all during a workshop she attended in Bangkok in 2001. She started her NGO in Delhi in
2003 where she still is the managing trustee, but shifted here last year owing to marriage to Dr Prem Sagar who, too, is visually blind and is in the music department at the HMV. “It was then that I started the Punjab chapter of Saksham here after signing an MoU with the college. While the college has provided us space, studio, software, computers and equipment, the running cost on salaries and other day-to-day expenses are borne by us,” she explained. The much-inspiring woman credits her parents for her success. “My mother has been a great motivation as she used to record cassettes for me all through my school till my MA in political science. My father used to keep on sending me to workshops. But everyone cannot be as fortunate as me. These days my mother is here with me, taking care of my two-and-a-half-month-old baby, ensuring that there is no hindrance in the project which I am carrying on,” she said. “My biggest worry is finances on which we at times fall short. Please do give my phone number - 8437692797 - in your paper to those who want to support us for the cause. We can even dedicate our books to such philanthropists and produce them especially on demand,” she siged off. Help number
Those willing to help Deepika Sood who has started the task of converting school books of classes IX to XII and college books into "digitised talking books" can contact her on telephone number
8437692797 |
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Polling before May 30: Minister
Jalandhar, October 31 Addressing a meeting of officials of the department in the Deputy Commissioner's office today, the minister said preparations for the same had already started. He said the work for the delimitation of the villages would be done by January 31. He said efforts were being made to have elections by consensus in maximum number of villages. Rakhra said the maps for the villages were being designed, which would remain a permanent feature with the department and used for various development works from time to time. He added that the details of the bifurcation of expenditure incurred on various works carried out in each panchayat would be put up at the entrance of all villages. The minister also asked the BDPOs to submit monthly progress reports of all departments. He pulled up the staff for delay in sending utilisation certificates. He said grants should be utilised within six months of release or else these would have to be returned. He asked the officials to popularise the scheme as per which all villages which go 100 per cent drug-free would be honoured. He also gave details of another scheme as per which any school in rural area that produced 80 to 90 per cent result would be given full aid from the state government. Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti showed the minister the working of System Monitoring Software which helped him see progress of development works in villages through pictures and details of funds used through various schemes uploaded online by the BDPOs. |
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Two-day Bridal Bazaar exhibition concludes
Jalandhar, October 31 Garments, accessories, jewellery, digital Divali diyas, contemporary and traditional Divali decoration, paintings, woollens among other things were on display at the exhibition. Thanks to a plethora of designer suits, lehengas and saris to choose available in a variety of designs and colours, the ladies had a great time taking their pick. Amar from the Gravity store in Jalandhar presented capes in a variety of designs and fabrics. Cape dresses decked up in Swarovsky, gota patti and net fabrics ruled. Geeta’s Designer Studio flaunted its full-length Victorian dress suits and gowns. Colourful Swarovsky work, among other designs, was clearly seen to be the trend of the season. Talking to The Tribune, Rahat from Geeta’s Designer Studio said: “While everyone had thought that the gown had bid goodbye and will not be seen for a long time, this year’s trends indicate that the gown is very much in vogue. A new cross between the gown and the suits has marked the trends this year. Victorian, full-length dresses are also much loved.” At Geeta’s Designer Studio, exquisitely styled dresses were available at ranges between Rs 10,000 and Rs 75,000. Occasions by Lalji’s, Dalhousie-based manufacturers-cum-retailers showcased its variety of woolen capes in a variety of designs and fabrics. Mandira Khanna and Rupam Khanna presented capes in lycra and woollens in a host of designs, colours and textures. The lightweight, early winter garment saw many takers. There were many jewellery stalls, too, at the exhibition. Delhi-based Sain Creations presented costume jewellery in a host of designs. Semi-precious Victorian and traditional jewellery at the store was reasonably priced between Rs 500 and Rs 2,500. Also bringing a plethora of floral and textural home furnishing goodies, their cushion covers (priced between Rs 450 and Rs 550) and runners priced between Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,200 also saw many takers. The exhibition also saw contemporary Divali LED candles and cosmetic bags at Shivya and Yashodhara. With the times, candles have indeed gone hi-tech as was seen at this outlet. Remote-controlled candles changed colours with the press of a button. A set of three was priced at Rs 2,200. For those interested in a hi-tech Divali, there was more at the Ajmer-based Interior Inspiration - an outlet which saw a fine balance between the traditional and the contemporary Divali fare. Steel and wood tea-lights, studded metal cutlery sets, candle stands and an equally versatile cushion collection were also showcased. Steel and wood tea lights were priced at Rs 3,000. A very fine, printed candle, with an inner glass holding a little wick candle, was one of the finest examples of the amalgamation of the modern and traditional. Available at Rs 1,000 in Buddha and Ganesha prints, the outer candle, acting as a mere cover, stays intact, while the inner glass holder burns emanating an ethereal glow. The more traditional avatar of the Divali fervour was visible in the traditional Divali collection of Isha, who sold studded candle stands, diyas and ashtrays. Also available were intricately designed lovely gold and silver-plated leaf bowls priced at just Rs 500. The two-day exhibition, the Bridal Bazaar, started yesterday and concluded today providing city shopaholics with amazing Divali shopping options. |
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Mela Gadri Babein Da
Jalandhar, October 31 Students poured out their overpowering feelings of patriotism onto the canvas during the
painting contest at the fair today. As many as 37 teams participated in the quiz contest. Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Committee’s general secretary Raghbir Kaur, cultural wing convener Amolak Singh and Ghadar Century Campaign Committee co-convener Gurmeet Singh addressed the gathering present on the occasion. After the final quiz contests, the team of Bharat Mata Society, Jalandhar, stood first, Guru Nanak National College for Women, Nakodar, stood second and Little Angels School, Kapurthala, stood third. Ankur Public School, Mahilpur, and Phulwari Senior Secondary School, Lohian Khas, were given consolation prizes. The painting contests were held for categories A, B and C in which as many as 600 students participated. Three prizes were announced per category in the contests. The plays to be held in the evening during the fair this year will see
the participation of teams from Kolkata and Mumbai. Tomorrow night will be the final night of plays at the 'Mela Gadri Babein Da'. |
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From Schools
Jalandhar, October 31 The highlight of the event was a national integration dance presented by the students that depicted the rich cultural heritage of the country presented through traditional dances of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar and Punjab. Renowned Punjabi singer Gagan Sidhu and other artists mesmerised the audience by their heart-throbbing performances. Cricket tournament
The Jalandhar Independent Sahodaya Complex Inter-School Cricket Tournament (U-19 Boys) was organised by Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar, from October 26 to October 30. As many as 24 teams of Jalandhar and adjoining areas participated in the tournament. The last match was played between the teams of CT Public School and Police DAV Public School, which was won by Police DAV Public School. The runners-up trophy was bagged by CT Public School and the winner’s trophy was bagged by Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar. Debate competition
An inter-house debate competition was held at Sahibzada Ajit Singh Ji Public School, Sarhali. Students from four houses participated and spoke on the topics - “Are we too dependent on computers?” “Is home work helpful?” “12th standard is the right stage to choose a career for life?” and “Is college admission too competitive?” Manpreet Kaur from Red House, Ramit Johal from Saffron House and Jaspreet Kaur from Blue House were declared first, second and third,
respectively, from the Middle Wing. Gursharn Kaur of Saffron House and Mansimran Kaur from Red House were adjudged first and second, respectively. Slogan-writing contest
As per the Energy Resource and Institute’s “affordable energy for all international year 2012”, slogan-writing competitions were held in some chosen government schools of Punjab and Chandigarh. Balkrishna and Ajit of the Government High School, Patara, bagged the third position in Punjab in these competitions. Students of Government High School, Patara, were awarded certificates and Rs 2,000 prize money. District Education Officer (secondary) Neelam Kumari congratulated the staff and students of the school. |
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Jalandhar, October 31