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No action in factory collapse incident
Studies affected as teachers involved in literacy projects
Property dealer ends his life
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Post office goofs up, sends wrong parcel
Youth Cong protests, vows to expose Badal-Majithia’s ‘sand-gravel nexus’
School celebrates Baisakhi
Snatching incident evokes sharp reactions
Adolescent education programme for teachers
City plays host to VVIP wedding
Probe ordered into food poisoning incident
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No action in factory collapse incident
Jalandhar, April 13 Commissioner Jalandhar Division SR Ladhar had, in June last year, sent his detailed report on the matter to Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, but no action has come ever since. Going by the gravity of the incident and rulebook of the PSIEC, the plot could have even been resumed by the authorities for not complying with rule 7 of the lease deed, but no such action has come. The officials at their own end had submitted in the inquiry that the owners had violated the norms by not submitting any zonal plan through an approved architect and not adhered to the PSIEC building bylaws. Instead, the department has allowed it to re-construct the factory in plot 81-C of Focal Point Extension, where on April 15 last year 23 poor breadwinners had lost their lives and three labourers had got crippled for life. Ladhar had reported that no legal requirements had been fulfilled by factory owner Shital Vij. "There has been a complete supervisory failure and officials have squarely shown dereliction in their duties. The blame falls on PSIEC officials for not checking building bylaws violations and the Deputy Director Factories for not ensuring that the owner took licence and stability certificate under Rule 14-A of the Factory Act 1948. The disaster could not have struck had even the Punjab Pollution Control Board brought the illegality to the notice of authorities," the report reads. Suggestions in the report Ladhar, in his report, has suggested the appointment of at least a PCS-level nodal officer locally to ensure that the factories comply with building bylaws and furnish their zoning plans in accordance with the norms laid out. He has suggested that the officer could also keep a tab that the staff of the Deputy Director (Factories) conducts safety audits on the premises after every three years. The suggestion, however, seems to have been buried under files. OFFICIALSPEAK It is my job to conduct the inquiry. It is up to top bureaucrats or the concerned heads of departments to take suitable action based on my recommendations.~ — SR Ladhar, Divisional Commissioner Reports sought from 9 departments Other than the owner of the factory and kin of two labourers who met with the accident, reports were sought from nine government departments regarding the factory including Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation, Deputy Director Factories, Powercom, District Industries Centre, Municipal Corporation, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Punjab Water Supplies and Sewage Board, ESIC and Assistant Labour Commissioner. April jinxed for Shital? The month of April is, perhaps, jinxed for Shital Vij. While the factory-collapse incident had occurred at the site on the night of April 15, a tragedy struck again on April 11 this year when food poisoning led to the death of three persons. Facts about the factory
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Studies affected as teachers involved in literacy projects
While teachers picked up from schools have been deputed on the posts of DRPs, BRPs and coordinators in the education department, the posts left vacant owing to their absence from schools have left a huge vacuum. There are more than 200 block resource persons (BRPs) in the district presently, deputed from various posts of teachers as BRPs. Many of the posts which have been left vacant in schools owing to their deputation on various posts have not been filled so far. While sources say the posts have been filled by education providers, critics rubbish these claims, saying a majority of these posts either lie vacant or the ones filled by service providers have incompetent or under-qualified staff filling them (in a majority of the cases, their qualification is not beyond plus two). Under the SSA’s various components, BRPs have been assigned the jobs to tour government schools, explain (and supervise) various specific projects, tasks etc. The various components (primary education) include the components - SMC and RTE, text books (distribution), Inclusive Education for
the Disabled (IED), Girl Education and SC/ST - in SSA. Under each of the four components discussed, there are 19 BRPs each (one for each of the 19 blocks). Barring these components, there are four BRPs, for every one of the 19 blocks in the district, under the Parvesh Project. While the Parvesh Project, earlier, had two BRPs per block, two more were deputed, per block, just this month. While the total number of these BRPs hence, is 192, the number further increases when the general BRPs (who are also sizeable in number) are taken into account. While the number of BRPs was way higher earlier, some of them working under the four District Resource Persons, were sent back last year on the orders of the DGSE. The BRPs hired for the senior secondary components of the education department have also been done away with. Ashok Grover, coordinator, SSA, says, “There are about 200 BRPs in the district at the moment, but for all the teachers deputed as BRPs, at least two service providers were deputed back in their place. There are about 450 education providers in the district at the moment.” Grover, adds, “There was a time when the BRPs were taken back last year after protests, but the state of the programmes (projects) got so bad that BRPs had to be deputed again within a month.” However, department sources say it was about a couple of years ago that two service providers were being deputed for every post left vacant owing to a BRP deputation. They add that not a single post was filled in place of the ones left vacant after the recent deputations of BRPs (this year). District science coordinator, Sanjiwan Singh Dadwal, said, “If the posts of teachers in the district were surplus, one would advocate deputing the surplus ones as BRPs. But when there are schools after schools in the rural areas, which wear deserted looks due to the lack of teachers, how can the department depute these teachers elsewhere? Some BRPs draw salaries from their rural schools and work like clerks in cities. What was the use of them being hired as teachers? One fails to understand why different staff is not being recruited as BRPs so that the teachers may continue to take care of students.” Barring the BRPs, various posts of DRPs and district coordinators (both in secondary and primary education) have been filled with teachers picked up from schools. |
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Property dealer ends his life
Jalandhar, April 13 His wife Sabina lodged a complaint with the police at Basti Bawa Khel against four persons for abetment to suicide. A case has been registered under Section 306 of the IPC.
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Post office goofs up, sends wrong parcel
Jalandhar, April 13 Arvinder said he received a phone call from the Model Town Post Office yesterday informing him about a package which had arrived from Australia for him. “When we went to the post office, we saw that the parcel was torn on one side. We requested that the parcel be opened and its contents be shown to us since the package was torn. But the request was rejected by the clerk,”€ť Arvinder said. “On opening the parcel, we found clothes weighing similar to the video game despite the parcel declared that it contained a video game,”€ť Arvinder further said. “While we went back to the post office to lodge a complaint, we were not entertained properly. We submitted a letter addressed to the Senior Superintendent, Post Offices, Post Master of the Model Town Post Office and the manager of speed post. The officials kept shifting the blame. Senior Superintendent Post Office, Bishan Singh, said, “I will look into the matter when I receive the letter from the complainant in this regard. I will initiate an official enquiry only after I receive a formal complaint.”€ť “If a parcel is torn, a complainant is supposed to be allowed to view the contents at the post office itself and if that has not been allowed, the staff is at fault,”€ť he added. — TNS
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Youth Cong protests, vows to expose Badal-Majithia’s ‘sand-gravel nexus’
Jalandhar, April 13 Youth Congress workers of Jalandhar Central and west Assembly segments, led by PYC president Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, and other youth Congress leaders Kaku Ahluwalia, Paramjit Singh Bal and Rajesh Agnihotri raised slogans against the alleged anti-public policies of the SAD-BJP government. Addressing party workers, the PYC chief said: “The Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP government shattered the dreams of the common man who works hard throughout his life to build a house for his family but cannot think of constructing a house today due to the rising prices of sand and gravel.” Vikramjit further said “during the Congress regime, a trolley of sand was Rs 200-400 and a truckload of sand was minimum Rs 5,000 but now the same trolley load costs Rs 1200-1500 and a truck load costs minimum Rs 20,000-25,000 under the Badal-Majithia rule.” PYC further stated: “Badal and Majithia are building palatial houses and hotels whereas the common man of the state is unable to even provide the basic necessity of shelter to their families.” “Akalis are hand in glove with the local police and the civil administration and are illegally mining and selling trucks of sand and gravel everyday and also earning lakhs of rupees every single day,” he alleged. He said the Chief Minister stated that the state government had hardly any role in the recent power tariff hike but later he contradicted his own statement by pointing out the difference in power tariff hike with another state like Haryana. Vikramjit flayed the Badal government for stopping the free education policy for the girl child. He again questioned the stand of Akali MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is the brand ambassador of ‘Nanhi Chhan’, which works with the objectives of empowering the rights of the girl child.
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School celebrates Baisakhi
Jalandhar, April 13 Everyone present danced to the beats of Vigorous Claps. Baisakhi marks the beginning of the new year particularly in northern India. In a short assembly, students were told about the importance of the festival. To mark the occasion a special assembly was also conducted by the students of middle and senior wing in which they portrayed the historical Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Traditional performances were the highlights of the day. The children performed Bhangra through their strenuous dance performance.
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Snatching incident evokes sharp reactions
Jalandhar, April 13 Chairman of SC Commission Rajesh Bagha said he met the victim Santokh Lal of Ghurka village at Civil Hospital Phillaur today. Taking a serious note of the incident, he has asked SDM Phillaur Jasvir Singh to inquire into the matter and SHO Goraya to arrest the accused at the earliest. He also demanded that the accused be also booked under the SC Act.
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Adolescent education programme for teachers
Jalandhar, April 13
This programme will provide population control/ adolescent education to head teachers of all high schools as well as senior secondary schools. Population experts from Mohali will address the special 45-minute-long session for teachers on Tuesday morning that will start at 8am, across schools which have the Edusat facility. Speaking about the programme, Edusat coordinator Jagtinder Singh Sohal said while population and adolescent education was an important and hitherto ignored aspect of school education, the programme was being organised to arm teachers with tips on how to effectively impart population/adolescent education to schoolchildren from high and senior secondary government schools. The previous teachers' training programme of Edusat was held in the district in February. However, Edusat is a part of a regular curriculum studies of Edusat-enabled schools in the district where the fifth period is reserved for the Edusat programme. At present, there are 33 government institutions - 27 schools and six government colleges - enabled with the Edusat (satellite interactive terminal) which allows both teachers and students to interact with experts. The rest of the schools are run under the ROT component of Edusat in which satellite dishes fixed in schools help students to watch proceedings via a computer or LCD.
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City plays host to VVIP wedding
Jalandhar, April 13
The wedding, solemnised at Guru Singh Sabha Model Town, around noon, followed by a luncheon party at a prestigious hotel, kept officials of various departments of Jalandhar and Phagwara on tenterhooks. Even as it was a government holiday today, being Saturday and Baisakhi, various administrative officials, police, traffic personnel, fire staff, doctors and over 10 other departments, including Powercomm, BSNL, PWD and BSF, had been sounded alert about the visits of scores of VVIPs. The SDMs remained on their toes for the whole day, ensuring their welcome and see-off. Prominent among those who made it to the function were Union Shipping Minister GK Vassan, general secretary, AICC, Oscar Fernendes, Governor of Uttrakhand Aziz Quresi, Chief Minister of Puducherry N. Rangasamy, Chief Minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ambassador to Singapore Vijay Thakur Singh, and former Punjab CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. Besides, there were three ministers of Puducherry, an MP, Deputy Speaker, Chief Secretary, IG Police, and a former Chief Secretary were here to attend the wedding. Urmila Singh, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, had paid a courtesy call at Iqbal Singh’s residence on Mall Road yesterday. Veg food & no alcohol
Iqbal’s son Amarjot has got wedded to Guneet Kaur, who is the daughter of the city’s perhaps biggest pharmaceutical dealer Tejinderpal Singh. The family will host a grand reception party for the couple again tomorrow evening. “Since tomorrow is Ambedkar Jayanti, most VIPs preferred coming over today itself,” said Atam Parkash Singh, a close confidant of Iqbal Singh. He added that the food served at the wedding-related parties had been vegetarian with no alcoholic drinks. Baisakhi programme wound up fast
The Sikh sangat that visited the gurdwara expecting the usual day-long kirtan programme and langar as part of the Baisakhi programme was in for a surprise. Noticing barricading along the road on either side of the gurdwara, deployment of a heavy posse of police and movement of VVIPs, the sangat realised the fact. The gurdwara management staff said that the "path" had concluded at 10 am, after which the marriage function was to be started. |
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Probe ordered into food poisoning incident
Jalandhar, April 13 After the lapse of 72 hours, there was a possibility that vital evidence may have been destroyed, said experts. The group is run by industrialist Shital Vij. The DC said, “I have constituted a three-member team comprising an SDM, Civil Surgeon and General Manager, Industries, and have sought a comprehensive report in 10 days. SDM Iqbal Singh Sandhu will head the team.” —
TNS |
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A 42-year-old-man allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at his place at Rasila Nagar here late last night.
The deceased, Raman Pasricha, was working as a property dealer and was into construction of houses and their sale.
Jalandhar, April 13
