Illegally plying vehicles add to road risk in city
Jalandhar, March 5
Apart from school buses not adhering to the road safety norms, overloaded auto-rickshaws, illegally plying tractor-trailers and underage driving are also putting the precious lives of residents, especially the students, at risk. In a mishap involving an illegally plying tractor-trailer and an underage driver near the Sodal railway crossing on Friday, two students, Anmol (17) and her cousin Saksham (12), lost their lives.

Sr Dy Mayor seeks strict implementation of road safety rules
Jalandhar, March 5
A day after the tragic collision between a van and a truck claimed the lives of 14 persons, including 13 children, Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Singh Bhatia demanded the strict implementation of road safety rules.

From colleges
Degrees conferred on 477 PG students
Jalandhar, March 5
As many as 477 students were awarded PG degrees during the annual convocation at Lyallpur Khalsa College here today. President of the SGPC Avtar Singh Makkar was the chief guest on the occasion. Delivering the convocation address, he urged the students to work hard for the achievement of their respective goals.

The winners of the “Miss Sayonara” contest, held during a farewell function of Kanya Mahila Maha Vidyalaya in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

5-day Indo-Pak Trade Expo begins tomorrow
Jalandhar, March 5
A five-day 'Indo-Pak Trade Expo' (IPEX) organised by the PHD Chamber will begin from Thursday. This is the first time that the PHD Chamber is holding the IPEX at Jalandhar. It has organised nine such fairs in various parts of Punjab.

Youth arrested for raping minor
Shahkot (Jalandhar), March 5 In less than 24 hours after the crime was committed, the Jalandhar (Rural) police arrested a youth for allegedly raping a minor girl of Bahmnia village, near here, today. The suspect, Davinder, alias Lalu (22), is a daily wager and had forcibly taken the girl, a student of Class X, to a field on the outskirts of the village. The girl was on her way to the market.

Eye check-up camp held at Patara village
Jalandhar, March 5
As many as 1,019 people were examined and some of them underwent eye operations at the eye check-up camp organised by the Sukhi Bath Sewa Club, an NGO, at Patara village here today. Nearly 270 poor patients were operated upon free of cost at Duggal Hospital, Jalandhar, for ailments such as cataract. Patients were also given free spectacles.

Students of Kanya Mahila Maha Vidyalaya perform during a farewell function in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

Armed miscreants make bid to loot PNB ATM in Phagwara
Phagwara, March 5
Some armed miscreants made an attempt to burgle a Punjab National Bank ATM installed in nearby Rihana-Jattan village on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road here last night. Though the miscreants broke the ATM, they could not succeed in getting the cash from it as they had to flee after they felt there were people around.

Three drug peddlers arrested
Phagwara, March 5
The police has arrested three drug peddlers and recovered 10 gram of cocaine, 670 gram of an intoxicant powder and 5 gram of heroin from their possession. The police said two drug peddlers, identified as Ravi Kumar of Satnampura and Suraj Kumar of Bhagatpura, were nabbed near the Narangshahpur Hadiabad chowk, while the third, Inderjit Singh of Ranipur village, was arrested near Bhogpur village T-point in the Rawalpindi police station area. They were produced before the judicial magistrate, who sent them in judicial remand for 14 days.

Illegally plying vehicles add to road risk in city
Dharmendra Joshi
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 5
Apart from school buses not adhering to the road safety norms, overloaded auto-rickshaws, illegally plying tractor-trailers and underage driving are also putting the precious lives of residents, especially the students, at risk. In a mishap involving an illegally plying tractor-trailer and an underage driver near the Sodal railway crossing on Friday, two students, Anmol (17) and her cousin Saksham (12), lost their lives.

(Top) Traffic police personnel check and issue challans to school vehicles at a naka on Tuesday; and file photos of a tractor-trailer loaded with bricks plying illegally near Namdev Chowk and an overloaded auto-rickshaw ferries schoolchildren in Jalandhar. Tribune photos: Malkiat Singh

Though the transport and police authorities have challaned and impounded several vehicles in a special campaign after yesterday's mishap in Nakodar, the residents want concrete regular steps for the strict implementation of the norms to stop the recurrence of such mishaps.

Fatal accidents due to the illegal plying of tractor-trailers for commercial purposes and underage driving are occurring every now and then. Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Singh Bhatia's only son Charanpreet Singh Bhatia, alias Channi, became a victim of one such illegally plying tractor-trailer, loaded with sand, in the Avtar Nagar area a few months ago.

A number of tractor-trailers loaded with sand, soil, gravel and other material continue to illegally ply in busy areas, including Guru Nanak Mission Chowk, Model Town, Namdev Chowk, from PAP Chowk to Maqsoodan on the National Highway 1, Nakodar Road, Sodal Road, Devi Talab Mandir Road, Avtar Nagar Road, back of the TV centre and Domoria Pull road.

These tractor-trailers continue to move on roads carrying all sorts of goods despite the ruling of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court ordered over a decade ago that the tractor-trailers will not be used for commercial purposes and their use will be restricted to agricultural purposes only.

While no exact figure about the accidents caused by the trailers is available, rough estimates by traffic official indicate that over half of the total accidents are caused by them.

Similarly, a number of minor schoolchildren are seen driving two-wheelers and overloaded auto-rickshaws ferrying school students moving on various roads.

Meanwhile, Dalwinderjit Singh, DTO, said, "The Transport Department keeps taking strict action against tractor-trailers used for commercial purposes. We have challaned nearly 100 such vehicles in just one and half months, from December 1 last year to January 15 this year. We impose a heavy fine of Rs 8,000 to 10,000 on the defaulters so that it may prove a deterrent to others.”

“The traffic wing of the Police Department also keeps challaning such illegally plying tractor-trailers. Tractor-trailers are registered with the Transport Department for agricultural purposes only. If any person wants to use a tractor-trailer for commercial purpose, he requires a permit for it. Special modifications, including installing hydraulic brake system, are done before the issuance of permit by the Motor Vehicle Inspector (MVI) for its use for commercial purposes. Usually no tractor-trailer owner applies for getting permit for using it for commercial purposes as its fees is very high,” said the DTO.

Sr Dy Mayor seeks strict implementation of road safety rules
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 5
A day after the tragic collision between a van and a truck claimed the lives of 14 persons, including 13 children, Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Singh Bhatia demanded the strict implementation of road safety rules.

Requesting the transport and police authorities to be strict in the implementation of road safety norms, Bhatia said, "I lost my son Charanpreet Channi to an illegally plying tractor-trailer, loaded with sand, in the Avtar Nagar area a few months ago and I do not want any family to lose its child just due to the non-implementation of road safety rules."

Making a candid confession, he said, "Politicians put pressure on the authorities concerned to be lenient towards the use of tractor-trailers for commercial purposes and school buses that do not adhere to the norms besides the overloaded auto-rickshaws ferrying students."

Bhatia said, "Politicians should stop putting pressure on the authorities in such cases as no one should wait for a mishap to happen in his family."

The Senior Deputy Mayor said, "Even the ill-fated van involved in yesterday’s collision was did not adhere to the norms. Besides not adhering to norms like equipping the van with first aid box, fire extinguisher, convex cross-view mirror for the driver, hand rail, low-floor door, window rods, emergency exits and speed governors, the driver was not fully trained and 24 children were being ferried despite its capacity to seat just 18. Had the norms been followed, the mishap could have been averted."

Bhatia said, "The road safety norms should be taken seriously and just challaning and impounding such vehicles soon after the mishap is not a permanent solution to the problem."

"Further, using tractor-trailers for commercial purposes should be treated as a crime as a number of households had already been destroyed as their children lost their lives due to such illegally plying vehicles. If required, amendment should be made to the existing laws for making use of tractor-trailers for commercial purposes a crime so that no other family loses its child as mere registering a criminal case after the mishap is not adequate. I have already raised the issue in the MC House twice."

Meanwhile, the general public is also very agitated over the non-seriousness of the authorities in implementing the road safety rules. Stating that instead of just challaning the defaulters for not wearing helmets and seat belts, Mukul Handoo, aresident of Windsor Park, demanded that the authorities should pay attention to strictly implementing road safety norms to save precious lives.

Going a step further, he said, "Responsibility should be fixed for the accident and the authorities should also send their children to schools in such buses to learn about the plight faced by the people instead of ferrying them in cars fitted with red beacons."

From colleges
Degrees conferred on 477 PG students
Tribune News Service

Avtar Singh Makkar, president of the SGPC, along with president of Lyallpur Khalsa College Balbir Kaur and the principal confers a degree on a student; (Top) and students during the annual convocation in Jalandhar. Tribune photos: Malkiat Singh

Jalandhar, March 5
As many as 477 students were awarded PG degrees during the annual convocation at Lyallpur Khalsa College here today. President of the SGPC Avtar Singh Makkar was the chief guest on the occasion. Delivering the convocation address, he urged the students to work hard for the achievement of their respective goals.

He exhorted them to remain attached to their roots. He announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh to the college and Rs 2 lakh to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Study Centre of the college. College principal Dr Gurpinder Singh Samra highlighted the achievements of the college in academics and sports.

Army College of Nursing

Degrees were conferred on 32 students of the third batch of the nursing course of the Army College of Nursing, Jalandhar Cantonment, at the annual convocation held at Military Hospital here today.

Nursing students were also given prizes for their outstanding performances in academics and co-curricular activities.

The Chief of Staff, Vajra Corps, who is also Chairman, Army College of Nursing, Jalandhar Cantonment, was the chief guest. He appealed to the staff and the students to continue striving relentlessly for achieving the institute's mission and contribute substantially to the fulfilment of the healthcare needs of the people and wished the young graduates success for their future endeavours.

Maj-Gen Binoy Poonnen, Chief of Staff, Vajra Corps, confers a degree on a student of the Army College of Nursing in Jalandhar Cantonment on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

He advised the graduates to keep pace with the ongoing changes and exhorted them to achieve excellence in the nursing field.

Earlier, the Director of the nursing college, welcomed the chief guest, senior Army officers, parents and students. The college Principal read out the annual report highlighting achievements of the graduates in academics and other co-curricular activities.

Science congress

A four-day science congress on 'Innovations in Concrete Construction’ began at the Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology here today. Dr Jean-Marie Chandelle, former chief executive, European Cement Association, Belgium, was the chief guest on the occasion.

The congress chairman, Prof Ravindra K Dhir from the University of Dundee, talked about how academic experts in concrete from several institutions in India and the UK had come together for a research project funded under the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), which is supported by the Prime Ministers of both nations. Over 200 papers are expected to be presented from 29 countries with nearly 350 delegates attending the convention.

5-day Indo-Pak Trade Expo begins tomorrow
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 5
A five-day 'Indo-Pak Trade Expo' (IPEX) organised by the PHD Chamber will begin from Thursday. This is the first time that the PHD Chamber is holding the IPEX at Jalandhar. It has organised nine such fairs in various parts of Punjab.

Terming bilateral trade to be one of the most promising factors for improving relations between India and Pakistan, Rajiv Bali, chairman, Punjab Committee, PHD Chamber, said, “There is a lot of trade potential with Pakistan. If trade takes a front seat, automatically, other issues shall be pushed to back seat.”

He said, “As per a recently released US report, the Indo-Pak trade could jump to 10 times the current amount. Removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers could result in an expansion of trade between the two countries from its current $2-2.5 billion to estimates ranging from $20-50 billion.”

Reiterating PHD Chamber’s firm resolve to boost bilateral trade ties, Bali said, “Booming bilateral trade may well be the strongest pillar of the Indo-Pak rapprochement. It will not only overtake the pace of confidence building but also have a substantial impact on each other’s mutual perceptions.”

“With the cross-border trade especially being brought in for a noticeable transformation, it will contribute to tranquillity and peace in the area and will facilitate progress in the border areas,” he said.

Bali said, “The PHD Chamber has been undertaking many initiatives aimed at confidence building among trading communities on the either side of the border since its maiden show in 2005, wherein only a few exhibitors from Pakistan participated. The recently held Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX) 2012 in Amritsar saw participation of more than 800 Pakistani industrialists, including delegations from six Pakistani Chambers of Commerce and Industry and traders, besides 100 exhibitors.”

“It is very satisfying that the vision with which the PHD Chamber started the series of international trade expos in Amritsar in 2005, facilitating the industry and business on both sides of the border with a common platform to boost trade across border, has met befitting rewards,” he said.

PHD Chamber regional director Dalip Sharma said, “The potential gains from the increased bilateral cooperation between India and Pakistan are immense. More flexible issuing of visas, rupee trade and better custom procedures can enhance the scope of trade.”

Youth arrested for raping minor
Tribune News Service

Shahkot (Jalandhar), March 5
In less than 24 hours after the crime was committed, the Jalandhar (Rural) police arrested a youth for allegedly raping a minor girl of Bahmnia village, near here, today. The suspect, Davinder, alias Lalu (22), is a daily wager and had forcibly taken the girl, a student of Class X, to a field on the outskirts of the village. The girl was on her way to the market.

Superintendent of Police (Detective) Rajinder Singh revealed that the incident came to light after the girl’s father Gurteb Ram, a resident of Bahmnia village, lodged a complaint at the Shahkot police station last evening.

Acting on his complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 376 and 506 of the IPC and a hunt was launched to arrest Lalu.

The medical examination of the girl was also conducted at the Nakodar Civil Hospital to ascertain the crime, the SP added. The girl is reportedly under depression after the incident and was undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital.

The police has also recorded the statement of the victim, in which she said Davinder forced her to have ade physical relations with her and even threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed the incident to anyone.

Eye check-up camp held at Patara village
Tribune News Service

A doctor examines a patient during a free eye check-up camp, organised by NRIs at Patara village, near Jalandhar, on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh

Jalandhar, March 5
As many as 1,019 people were examined and some of them underwent eye operations at the eye check-up camp organised by the Sukhi Bath Sewa Club, an NGO, at Patara village here today. Nearly 270 poor patients were operated upon free of cost at Duggal Hospital, Jalandhar, for ailments such as cataract. Patients were also given free spectacles.

The NGO’s patron Sukhi Bath said he had been holding such camps for the past 13 years. “These camps are meant to provide medical facilities to people of the underprivileged sections of society. It is my way of paying back to the place I was born and brought up in,” he said.

The patients were examined by surgeon Dr Sanjiv Duggal and his team of doctors, including Dr Manpreet Singh, Dr Nubhe Dogra and Dr Kashish Gupta. Besides, a team of volunteers wearing yellow turbans and yellow dupattas helped patients in the registration process. Sukhi appreciated the volunteers for their help and meticulous working.

Armed miscreants make bid to loot PNB ATM in Phagwara
Our Correspondent

A fingerprint expert examines the broken ATM at Rihana-Jattan village on Tuesday. A Tribune photo

Phagwara, March 5
Some armed miscreants made an attempt to burgle a Punjab National Bank ATM installed in nearby Rihana-Jattan village on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur road here last night.

Though the miscreants broke the ATM, they could not succeed in getting the cash from it as they had to flee after they felt there were people around.

Phagwara Superintendent of Police HPS Khakh said the police had registered a case under Sections 380 and 511 of the IPC on the complaint of bank officials and initiated an investigation.