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Water, sewage charges
Drive to remove curtains, films from vehicles
Woman, paramour held in blind murder case
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Protest over razing of jhuggis
Housing scheme runs into rough weather
State Protective Home without basic infrastructure
Advances in biotechnology discussed
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MC recovery rate dismal
Besides commercial houses and residential areas, govt departments owe Rs 3.35 crore to the civic body Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, February 8
The Jalandhar Police alone has a huge outstanding patyment on account of water bills. While an amount of Rs 49.13 lakh is due from Police Colony, Rs 38.79 lakh is pending from SHO Division-2. In addition, there is an amount of Rs 25.72 lakh from the police quarters. The total dues to be paid by the police department add up to a whopping amount of Rs 1.14 crore. XEN Public Health is the next major defaulter. While an amount of Rs 65.06 lakh is due from New Baradari, another payment of Rs 5.41 lakh is pending from Old Baradari. PUDA stands as the third department with a huge outstanding amount. It has to pay Rs 54.37 lakh to the MC for water supplies in Urban Estates, Phase 1 and 2. Divisional Superintending Engineer of Northern Railway, too, has an amount of Rs 21.3 lakh pending for water supply. Various other departments, including Deputy Director Sainik Welfare, District Sports Officer Swimming Pool Kapurthala Road, Jalandhar Improvement Trust and ESI Hospital, have their dues pending. Sunil Jyoti, Mayor, MC, said, “I have talked to officials of each department and have told them to do the needful. Police Commissioner, too, has agreed to arrange for funds at the earliest.
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Drive to remove curtains, films from vehicles
Jalandhar, February 8 Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), Traffic, Sukhdev Singh, said it was decided that the vehicles (belonging to other states and crossing the city police limits), violating the apex court directions, would be challaned. He said transparency should be 40 per cent on the side windowpanes and 70 per cent on the front and rear windowpanes of the vehicles as per the guidelines. The city police had challaned 10,000 violators for using black films in their vehicles last year. — TNS
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Woman, paramour held in blind murder case
Jalandhar, February 8
Chaman Lal ( 62), a former head mechanic of the Punjab Roadways, was missing since January 18, following which his family had lodged a report at the police station division No. 3 on January 19. His body was recovered from a nullah near Jamsher Dairy Complex and a case under Sections 302 and 201 of the IPC was registered at the Sadar police station against unknown persons. Addressing mediapersons, Paramjit Singh Bhandal, ADCP-II, said the police traced details of the phone calls of the deceased and cracked the blind murder. He said the police arrested Asha Rani, who admitted to having killed Lal, along with Amit Kumar with whom she was living for the past four years after her husband's death. She also revealed that she developed relations with Chaman Lal three or four months ago who had been in contact with another woman, a class IV employee of the Punjab Roadways. She revealed to have came in contact with Lal through the woman. After the death of the woman, Rani claimed to have developed relations with Chaman Lal, which was objected to by Amit. Chaman Lal later started eyeing her daughter, who was also living with her in Model House. Irked at this, she and Amit hatched a plan to hack Chaman Lal to death, the ADCP revealed. She, on January 18, invited Chaman Lal to her house and offered him coffee laced with a high dose of sleeping pills. When he fell unconscious, Rani and Amit took him to the Pholriwal-Jamsher link road and strangled him with the help of a dupatta and then battered his head with a brick and threw his body in the drain, Bhandal added. The duo - Rani and Amit - removed a gold chain, rings and other valuables from the body and parked his motorcycle at a place, under the jurisdiction of the police station division No. 3 to misguide the police .
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Protest over razing of jhuggis
Jalandhar, February 8 Kapil Dev, Mandal, Arvind Paswan, Seema Devi, residents of the shanties who had been living there for the past 15 years, said even their ration cards listed the addresses of this jhuggi settlement. They alleged that their jhuggis were mowed down without prior notice this morning and they did not even get to pick up their belongings from their homes. They demanded that free plots should be allotted to them and have also written to the chariman, Punjab Human Rights Commission, and chairman, Punjab SC Commission in this regard. The resident activists were supported by the Pendu Mazdoor Union and Naujawan Bharat Sabha in their endeavour. — TNS
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Housing scheme runs into rough weather
Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, February 8 After having taken a credit of Rs 273 crore from Punjab National Bank for giving awards to those getting displaced and making development in the area, there have been minimal gains, as none of the commercial chunks within the site have been put to auction owing to market slump. Even worse is that the allottees have not being paying instalments in time due to which the bank has declared this credit scheme as a non-performing asset (NPA). The bank officials had even taken up the matter with officiating Chairman-cum-Deputy Commissioner Shruti Singh recently, seeking her intervention on the matter. They lamented that the entire cycle of the re-payment had been altered. A new payback timeframe should be restructured so that there were no further losses, it was demanded. The bank authorities have even reportedly told her that going by the present experience, they will have to re-think on investing for a government scheme of the sort. Notices issued The JIT officials have started issuing notices to the defaulters. Executive Officer JIT Jatinder Singh said notices had been dispatched to nearly 97 allottees who had an amount of Rs 12,64,57,651 due to the Trust. There are 450 plots carved out in the scheme, out of which nearly 250 have been auctioned. The scheme is also mired in litigation, as there are nearly 17 persons who have knocked the doors of the court, claiming that they have not been adequately compensated. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered stay on these sites. The officials, however, claim that they had not invited applications for these sites. The EO said each notice issued to the defaulters carried a point that the site on which their plot fell was not covered in the area on which stay had been imposed to dispel any wrong perception in their minds. SE Mukul Soni said the commercial sites, including those for multiplex and shops, could not be sold at this juncture, as the property rates were already down and these would not fetch good dividends. Also in the plan The JIT also intends to construct 13-storeyed flats in the site. There are some chunks marked as special purpose areas on the map of the 94.97 acre scheme. The Trust itself intends to set up its own office in the scheme area. Currently, it has started land filling for making roads across the site. The work on 120-foot wide road starting from Chogitti Chowk to Domoria Overbridge is also in progress.
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State Protective Home without basic infrastructure
Jalandhar, February 8 Understaffed and underequipped to handle the responsibility it has been assigned, the State Protective Home at Basti Gujan presently houses 72 inmates. Equipped with about seven rooms, the home houses almost twice the number of inmates it presently has the capacity to handle. Battling staff shortage and lack of space, all its inmates are girls, many of them undertrials and women whose families are not willing to accept them. A majority of the inmates are cases of girls (mostly underage) who fled their homes with their paramours (love marriage cases) and were apprehended by the police. While a visit to the home revealed that the inmates were warmly dressed for the winters, the prime problems are those of staff, space and fund shortage. Inmates Superintendent Poonam Arora said, “While eight to 10 are cases of women whose family has either abandoned them or maltreated them, about 58 cases are of love marriage cases (girls who were apprehended while fleeing from their homes with their paramours). Most of these 58 girls are those who “The home has 42 minor girls and 27 girls above 18 years and three children below one year,” she added. Space shortage In most of the rooms, two women lie down on the same bed. There are rooms where eight to 10 girls are being made to put up in a single room. While a new building (which will have seven to eight rooms) is presently under construction, it will still be some months before the inmates
get to use it. While the superintendent says the home presently has a capacity to house only 50 inmates, others say the capacity is even lesser since every room houses almost double the number of inmates. Funds The State Protective Home, which falls directly under the state ministry for Woman and Child Development, presently gets funds of over Rs 6,62,000 per year. But the home staff says the said grant amount is used up in six months alone and the additional amount is received by applying to the ministry from time to time. The government’s seriousness in ensuring funds for the home can be gauged from the fact that while the home needs about Rs 77 lakh for the completion of the under-construction building, presently they have only got Rs 28
to 29 lakh, as confirmed by the staff. Even as an additional annual grant of Rs 1 lakh is received for medicines, sources said one of the prime reasons that the home wanted Gurpreet shifted elsewhere was the lack of proper means for her proper medical care. Medical aid The inmates include three children below the age of 1 (one of them a new born) who were born to women housed in the home. But the state of medical help
is glum. There are no visiting doctors. A government dispensary and a private medical establishment nearby are the only places that staff can go to in dire need. Presently, the post of the doctor at the government dispensary is also vacant. In case of emergencies, the staff has to rush to the
civil hospital. Surprisingly, there are no visiting counsellors or psychiatrists either. Staff The home presently has eight staff members. One superintendent, a deputy superintendent a clerk and only one person, each, for the post of sweeper, safai sewak, cook, gateman and attendant. At least six more staff members are needed - two more attendants and another cook. The post of two teachers and one accountant also lie vacant. Requests for the filling of these posts have not yet been answered. The home inmates and staff also do not have any means of transportation, as they hire three-wheelers for travel when in need. Poonam Arora, superintendent of the home, says, “The space constraint problems will be solved once the new building is complete. And we might also get teachers soon for the inmates.” Gurpreet case Notably, at the end of the last month, the State Protective Home had said that it would not be able to keep Gurpreet Kaur at the home since she was not eating and was not cooperating. The District Legal Services Authority had also expressed the wish to shift Gurpreet to her own home (despite her father’s reluctance). But in a U-turn, Gurpreet was again shifted back to the home from the Civil hospital where she was taken temporarily for treatment. Talking to The Tribune, a constantly twitching Gurpreet at the home today seemed in netter health. She said she was being taken care of and was being given proper food regularly. “But I have decided I will not eat any food from tomorrow on,” she said. She said she wanted to go back to her home and did not like it here. |
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Advances in biotechnology discussed
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, February 8
Lectures were delivered on the theme of "Recent advances in bioremediation to combat environmental pollution". About 300 students and faculty members of life sciences disciplines from various colleges of the region attended the lecture. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Jatinder Kaur Arora, Additional Director, PSCST, gave an overview of developments in the biotechnology sector as well in the area of bioremediation. Dr Swaranjit Singh, Head, Department of Environmental Biotechnology and Microbial Biochemistry, Institute of Microbial Technology Chandigarh, elucidated recent trends and role of biosurfactants in bioremediation. Dr Neelam Verma, Professor, Department of Biotechnology, Punjabi University, Patiala, spoke on bioremediation of xenobiotics and heavy metals. The lectures were followed by an elaborate question-answer session, which was specifically very useful for final-year students, who would be entering the professional world soon. A booklet providing comprehensive information on bioremediation, published by PSCST, was also released. Blood donation camp The Saplings of Life Club, NSS unit, Youth Fed Cross unit and Red Ribbon Club of Kanya Maha Vidyalaya (KMV) jointly organised a blood donation camp. Principal of KMV Dr Atima Sharma inaugurated the camp. The team from the Civil Hospital, headed by Dr Gagandeep Singh, conducted the camp. Seventy students of KMV donated blood. The Principal of KMV Dr Atima Sharma appreciated the spirit of students who donated blood. Dance competition A student of BCA-I of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (HMV), Aakriti Nanda, won the first prize in a dance competition organised at the Punjab level. Principal Dr Rekha Kalia Bhardwaj and Head of the Computer Science Department Sangeeta Arora congratulated her for the achievement. Aakriti Nanda will participate in the national-level competition. Tech Utsav Students of the Apeejay Institute of Management Technical Campus brought laurels to the institute by bagging many prizes at the inter-college fest "Tech-Utsav-2013" organised at RR Bawa DAV College, Batala. More than 100 students from 13 different colleges participated in various competitions. Students of the Apeejay Institute of Management Technical Campus exhibited their talent in various events and won prizes in various competitions. Ajay Kumar and Sakshi Arora of MCA IV bagged the first position in the "Programming" event. Chandan and Kuber of MCA IV bagged second position in the "Programming" event. Sukanta Ghosh and Kuber of MCA IV won the second prize in the quiz event. Dr Rajesh Bagga, Director of the institute, congratulated the prize winners. Quiz competition The Biz N Buck Society of the Commerce Department of BD Arya Girls' College, Jalandhar Cantonment, organised a quiz competition for students. Five different teams - Tata, Suzuki, Hyundai, Ford and Skoda - participated. Questions related to films, politics, sports, etc, were asked. Harpreet and group of the Hyundai team bagged the first position and Kuljeet and group of the Ford team got the second position. Parminder Kaur, Head of the Commerce Department, motivated students to take part in such competitions. College Principal Dr Sarita Verma congratulated the winning teams. Biotechnologist ranked second Dr Arun Dev Sharma HoD, Biotechnology, Lyallpur Khalsa College, has been ranked second in Punjab in the World Science Congress held at Baba Farid University, Faridkot. He said his PhD student Gurmeen Rakhra presented a research paper in the conference and was adjudged second by the core committee of the congress. Dr Sharma and his team, consisting of two PhD students and five MSc project students, have been constantly working in the area of plant stress biotechnology for the last nine years. Dr Sharma and his team are working in the area to find some of drought-responsive genes which give drought stress tolerance to plants. At present water scarcity is the major problem worldwide and constant efforts are being made by the biotechnologists to find out some genes which can provide drought resistance in high-yielding varieties. President Balbir Kaur and Principal Dr GS Samra ensured Dr Sharma constant support in every way to gain heights in the area of biotechnology. Tech Fest The Department of Computer Science of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts organised Tech Fest in which Dr Jyoteesh Malhotra, Head, Computer Science and Electronics, Regional Campus, GNDU, Ladhewali, was the chief guest. The Tech Fest comprised multiple events like quiz, poster presentation, gaming, digital poster designing, website development and science model exhibition in which 12 colleges and schools of the city participated. Dr Harsh K Verma, Head of the Department of Computer Science, NIT, Jalandhar, presided over the valedictory function and gave away prizes to the winners of the different events. In the quiz contest, Lyallpur Khalsa College came first and KMV second. In the poster presentation competition, HMV stood first and the Apeejay Institute of Management second. In the IT-related gaming competition APJ School bagged the first position and Lyallpur Khalsa College second. In the website development competition DAV got the first prize and KMV second. Principal Dr Sucharita said, “The Tech Fest has provided a platform tor the younger IT aspirants from schools and also from colleges to showcase their talent and present their innovative ideas.”
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Leave aside the defaulters from big commercial houses and residential areas, an amount of Rs 3.35 crore is due from various government departments.
