Jalandhar, June 22
It was a harrowing experience for hundreds of villagers from the periphery of the city who had come to local administrative offices to file their nomination papers on the last day of filing papers for the July 3 panchayat elections.

With serpentine queues formed since morning, the candidates for the posts of sarpanches and panchayat members kept on standing in scorching heat, waiting for their turn for hours to go inside the offices to submit their papers. There were no tents put up, no provision of chairs or mattresses for them, where they could settle down. There was also no drinking water available.

At the PUDA office where papers were being received for 11 villages in the Jalandhar (East) block, the villagers had no option but to sit on narrow railings or just remain standing. To drink water, they had to walk down to some shops in adjoining colonies or the district administrative complex to buy mineral water bottles.

The villagers lamented that they were not allowed to enter the offices. The policemen at the gate came with a list of 10 to 12 candidates who were then called after every hour or so. While 3 pm was the deadline to accept papers, some candidates had to wait till 8 pm to get a call and be present.

Jaswinder Pal of Gera village said even worse was that the clear-cut procedures had not been well-drafted and displayed. “When I got my chance of depositing papers last evening, I was told to bring along two persons who had signed affidavits. All this rush around was perhaps because the officials wanted two persons to be present as proposers and two others for attesting an affidavit. Yesterday, we faced so much inconvenience at Suwidha Centre for getting affidavit made. I really wonder why the government wants affidavit when self-attestation is being accepted all across the country for all submissions,” he said.

Jalandhar, June 22
Even as the state government has assured a development grant of Rs 2 lakh to each village electing its panchayat unanimously ahead of the July 3 polls, residents of nearly 230 villages, who had got their panchayats elected unopposed in 2008, have said that they have felt ditched for they have not yet been paid any such incentive.

While there are 899 villages going to the polls this time, there were 901 gram panchayats in Jalandhar five years ago. Of the total 901, as many as 230 villages had gone for unanimous polls, choosing their sarpanches and panches without the use of ballot papers.

The Nakodar block, with the highest number of panchayats, topped the list with as many as 48 villages electing their representatives unopposed. As many as 37 villages in Lohian out of the total of 85 had done without elections. These included Gatta Mandi Kasho and Mandi Kalu villages.

Even as Jalandhar (West) had 112 panchayats, only 17 including Tahli Sahib, Bhatija Randhawa and Kalwan village picked their leaders unanimously. Jalandhar (East) had only 13 out of 89 villages electing panchayat unopposed. These included Hazara and Begumpur villages.

The Rurka Kalan block with the lowest number of 53 villages also had the least number of panchayats coming to power unanimously. These included Jattowal and Rajowal villages. Kulbir Singh, a resident of Bhagwanpur village in Adampur, said that the villagers had been waiting for a Rs 3-lakh grant for unopposed elections all five years, but nothing came to them.

Jalandhar, June 22
Seven youths of the city, who had gone on a pilgrimage to Hemkund Sahib and had got trapped for five days in the flood-affected Gobind Dham area, reached their homes safely here this evening.

The boys (all in the age group 22 to 24) were given a rousing welcome by their parents, residents of Khodian Mohalla and the management of Dhan Pothohar Gurdwara here. The residents garlanded them, showered petals on them and chanted "jaikaras" and religious hymns on their arrival. The families hugged the boys and took them to gurdwara, where they gave them "siropas" and performed "ardas", thanking the almighty for their safe return.

While Manpreet Singh, Chanpreet Singh, Parampreet Singh, Taranpreet Singh and Goldy are residents of Khodian Mohalla, Lovish hails from Master Tara Singh Nagar and Goldy is from the Neelamahal locality. The boys, who had started their trip on June 13 and managed to pay obeisance at the shrine, were scheduled to be back four days ago, but remained trapped for as many days at a gurdwara in Gobind Dham. The boys, who had hired an Innova taxi, left it there and came via Punjab Roadways buses sent by the state government.

“In the gurdwara, we were told that the passage had been cut and we would not be able to move. Owing to the limited supply of ration, we got 'langar' twice a day, which at times was not in sufficient quantity. The water supply was off. But we managed by using sieved rainwater,” said Chanpreet.

The boys went on to tell more tales. “When we returned, we realised that the entire ecological structure had changed drastically. The passage which we had tread comfortably while ascending had vanished. We had to carve our way by pushing off huge stones from mountains and forests to make our way.

Reaching down, we got much help from the Army personnel. They helped us cross all those passages, which had become very narrow using ropes. Since the bridge at Gobind Ghat was gone, the Army had laid out a temporary bridge which we crossed. We reached Joshimath, from where we took a bus to Chamoli, of course at jacked up transportation charges. Again we hired a bus to Rishikesh. After this, the state transport was available to us till Chandigarh and then Jalandhar.”

With her eyes moist on seeing her son Jasleen, Satwant Kaur said she had lost contact with her son on June 15 and 16. “We got to hear about the floods in the area and were very tense, especially because Jasleen’s phone had stopped ringing. But God heard our prayers and the next day, we got his call from some other phone and he told us that his phone’s battery had gone off. There was no power to charge it and he was making call from someone else’s phone”, she said.

While all other boys are single, Parampreet Singh was the only one who had just got engaged to a girl from Ludhiana and is to marry in November. “Besides my parents, my fiancé and my in-laws too were very tense. On several occasions, the phone went out of range and the link was gone. This gave us as well our families back home jitters. But the re-union has been a celebration for us,”, he said excitedly.

Jalandhar, June 22
In an interim direction issued during the hearing of an appeal filed by RTI activist Kailash Thukral, the state information commission has asked the Municipal Corporation (MC) to provide information to him free of cost. Interestingly, the MC had earlier asked him to deposit Rs 1.5 lakh for getting information on house tax.

Hearing the appeal himself, Chief Information Commissioner RI Singh stated in his direction, “The fee was demanded after the lapse of the statutory period specified in the rules. Now, information is to be furnished free of cost.”

At the same time, the CIC observed: “So far as the queries of the information-seeker are concerned, these certainly are voluminous. Information pertains from the period 2001-02 to 2011-12. It would, therefore, be appropriate that the respondent should allow the inspection of the records to information seeker who may thereafter identify documents of which he needs copies. The respondent will provide the same in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act.”

MC superintendent (house tax) Maninder Kaur and clerk Parminder Kumar were present on behalf of the MC PIO before the commission at the time of the issuance of these directions.

In its written reply filed by the MC, it was stated, “The MC called upon information seeker to deposit the requisite fee towards the cost of documents, which has not been deposited by the appellant Kailash Thukral. So, the information could not be given.” Interestingly, earlier making a mockery of the RTI Act, the MC had asked Kailash Thukral to deposit Rs 1.5 lakh for getting information on house tax.

In response to the application by RTI activist Kailash Thukral, the MC Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO)-cum-Assistant Commissioner attached a note of tax superintendent (TS) based on a report of the house tax clerk (HTC) which stated, “The expenditure on providing the required information on house tax will be Rs 1.5 lakh and this information will be provided only after depositing the said amount with the MC.”

Interestingly, it has been stated in the six-line noting, “The date of the last 11 years is not available in the computer as per the statement. It will take three months for preparing data from ledgers and it may be prepared after recruiting 10 contractual employees for doing the same and it will cost Rs 1.5 lakh.”

The RTI activist received this reply from the MC in January this year through letter number 660/HT dated January 30, 2013, in response to his application dated December 31, 2012.

In his appeal, Kailash Thukral stated, “The information cannot be denied simply on the grounds that the number of statements have not been provided in the computer data and will be prepared by engaging 10 contractual employees, which will cost Rs 1.5 lakh.”

In his application filed under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, Kailash Thukral had sought information regarding the publication of notices of public auctions of various immovable properties for the recovery of house tax under Section 138 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act 1976 and other information concerned for house tax from 2001 to 2011-12.

Thukral had also sought a copy of any report of the dealing officer suggesting the provision of unit areas-based property tax self-assessment system for amendment in the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, forwarded to the government. “If so, the resolution of the MC be also provided,” he stated in his application.

Jalandhar, June 22
The anti-encroachment drive started by Tehbazari wing of municipal corporation Jalandhar (MCJ) on Friday in various areas of the city is nothing but to divert attention of the citizens from dilapidated condition of roads.

Alleging this, advisor member RTI and grievances cell of PPCC, Sanjay Sehgal, said: “Instead of starting anti- encroachment drive of removing rehris from road sides of various areas, the MCJ should act in the direction of starting patch-work of damaged roads which have turned into bunkers.”

“The anti encroachment drive of MCJ is nothing but to divert attention of the citizens from the present condition of roads, which have probably turned worst ever in the history of the city,” he added.

Interestingly, the MCJ did not start patch work on the roads even during the favourable weather conditions in the past. The scorching heat before rains was very friendly for constructing and repairing roads, but the corporation turned a blind eye toward the damaged city roads. None of the dilapidated roads was reconstructed or repaired at that time.

Residents here have been facing inconvenience due to the bad condition of roads for the past several months. Potholes and pits exist on almost every city road. They have further grown in size after the recent rains.

Last year the MC authorities said they would reconstruct or repair the roads as the case might be only after the end of the monsoon season but a majority of roads were left without any repair. A number of potholes can be noticed on the roads between Kapurthala Chowk and Workshop Chowk, near Jyoti Chowk, Mai Hiran Gate, Garha Road, near Maqsoodan flyover and Transport Nagar flyover.

Potholes and pits on Ladowali Road, near the District Administrative Complex (DAC), Preet Nagar, Sodal Road, Gujja Peer Road, Kapurthala Road and Nakodar Road are growing in size day by day. The dilapidated condition of roads is an open invitation to mishaps.

Honey of the Krishan Nagar locality said: “It has become difficult to drive on such bad roads as one cannot judge the potholes and pits when the roads are inundated by rainwater.”

“At least patch work should be done immediately to minimise inconvenience to the public,” he added.

Jalandhar, June 22
The National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers of Punjab Technical University (PTU) started off a 15-day motorbike rally from Jalandhar to Khardung La at Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir. The motive of the rally is to spread the teachings of Swami Vivekanand among the youth and to inspire them. Fourteen students and three faculty members of PTU- affiliated colleges are part of this rally. The members of this rally are from the Rayat and Bahra Institute of Technology, Railmajra, Shaheed Udham Singh Group of Institutions, Tangori, RIMT, Mandi Gobindgarh, Continental Group of Institutions, Jalwera (Rajpura), Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute, Lehragaga (Sangrur), CIC, Landran, Kings College, Barnala and Akal College of Pharmacy, Mastuana Sahib. Assistant Sports Director, SS Randhawa, flagged off the rally from PUDA Complex ground, Jalandhar. Faculty coordinator, NSS, Dr Jagmeet Bawa, was also present with the rally team members. He said a medical faculty would also be accompanying the team throughout the rally. The rally members would also distribute printed material related to the life of Swami Vivekanand in the schools and colleges of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir, he added. Lectures and seminars would also be organised.

Magazine released

To provide a platform to the students and faculty to exhibit their literary skills, the MK College of Education, Shahpur, released a house journal ‘Drishti’. The magazine has articles, poems, essays, lyrics, ghazals, jokes and quotes penned down by students and faculty in English, Hindi and Punjabi. Charanjit Singh Channi, chairman, CT Group of Institutions, Manbir Singh, managing director, CT Group of Institutions, and Dr Manoj Kumar, group director, CT Group of Institutions, released the journal. The students and faculty of the college also vowed to take care of sparrows in continuation of ‘save sparrow drive’ on the occasion. A few days back, a drive was organised on the college premises wherein a supporting NGO team had delivered an extension lecture. The students showcased special paintings depicting the theme of environment. The students also poured granules, grains and water into pots for birds to feed on.

Results declared

Students of various local colleges have attained top ranks in BCom (professional)-III course, the examination of which was conducted by Guru Nanak Dev University recently. Two students of the PCM SD College for Women have secured the fourth and sixth position in the merit list. Principal of the college Dr Kiran Arora congratulated both the students. She said out of 2,150 marks, Yogita Gaur secured 1,728 marks and stood fourth in the university while Pooja Gupta stood sixth in the university by attaining 1,723 marks. Manpreet Kaur of Lyallpur Khalsa College stood fifth in the university. College principal Dr GS Samra congratulated her. Priya Tandon of BD Arya Girls College secured the seventh position in the university. She has got 1,710 marks.

Help desk started

As online counselling for BEd is scheduled to start from June 25, Innocent Hearts College of Education has set up a help desk to help the candidates. The college help desk will assist students in filling up admission forms, generating bank slips, selection of subject combinations and college, while answering their queries.

Scholarships awarded

Nearly 100 students of St Soldier Group of Institutions have been awarded scholarships for attaining top merit ranks. Prof Manhar Arora, managing director of St Soldier Group of Institutions, said: “We are offering scholarships to students who secured marks between 65 and 100 per cent in their qualifying exams for courses like BTech, MBA, MCA, BBA, BCA, polytechnic, BPharmacy, DPharmacy, Bachelor in Physiotherapy, GNM, BSc (Media) and BSc in hotel management. In addition, 100 per cent fee waiver is being given to the candidates having annual income less than Rs 1 lakh.” The students were being helped in applying for scholarships offered by the Central and state governments for SC/ST, minority and weaker sections, Prof Arora added.

Sankarshan of CJS Public School did his school proud by securing 3,720th rank in IIT-JEE (advanced) exam. He said he would choose between electrical or civil engineering during the counselling. Talking to principal Ranbir Kaur, Sankarshan said he would like to go to IIT Rourkee for his engineering. A resident of Bhai Vit Singh Nagar, Sankarshan lost his father when he was in Class II. He said his mother Meenu Verma and paternal uncle Vijay Sehdev brought him up and helped him in his studies.

Phagwara boy clears IIT-JEE

Phagwara: Vageesh Gupta, son of Senior Medical Officer, Phagwara, Dr Rajiv Gupta, has done the town proud by securing top rank in the IIT-JEE advance exam, the result for which was declared on Friday. He has secured 2501th rank in the All-India ranking. Vageesh did his initial schooling from Delhi Public School, Jalandhar and later joined coaching classes at Bansal Coaching Institute, Kota.

Jalandhar, June 22
On a complaint filed by the Sikh activists for posting some inflammatory comments against the religion on the Facebook, the city police arrested a Mohali-based Shiv Sena activist.

Nearly 100 activists of Sikh Talmel Committee had yesterday reached the office of the ADCP (headquarters) Navjot Singh Mahal with a complaint against Amit Sharma of Mohali. The police got the details of the complaint verified through an IT expert which helped trace Sharma’s address and contact details. A police team was immediately dispatched to nab the culprit from Mohali. The accused was arrested late last night and sent to two days police remand.

The Sikh organisations again held a meeting at Gurdwara Singh Sabha, Model Town.

Youth wing president of Shiv Sena, Jalandhar, Rubal Sandhu, later issued a press statement according to which someone had hacked the Facebook ID of Amit Sharma and used it for wrong reasons.