Jalandhar, August 5
After tent house owners, it is the transporters now who have alleged that they are not getting their pending dues for providing bus service to the administration during elections.

Mini bus operators have complained that leaving aside an amount of Rs 1.5 lakh due from the administration for the recent block samiti and panchayat polls, almost as much amount have been due from it since the conduct of Municipal Corporation elections in July last year.

The mini bus operators said that they worked together to offer services to the election officials for the purpose. They said their biggest contention now was that while the government had revised the per day rental charges for mini bus from Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 and regular bus from Rs 3,750 to Rs 4,500 in a notification issued in June, 2012, the officials had refused to budge.

Jarnail Singh Garhdiwala, vice-president of the Youth Akali Dal and senior vice-president of the Punjab Mini Bus Operators Association, said he had been taking up the matter of payment to them as per rates, the officials on the other hand claimed that they had been issued directives from the State Election Commission that they be paid as per the old rates.

“We have put our foot down. Why should we take the money as per the old rates when the government had revised rates a year back? We have placed all our bills as per the new rate, but the administration has not cleared them,” he alleged.

The ADC (Development), Harminder Singh, said he had started making payments. “We are paying in accordance with whatever rates the government has listed out to us,” he said.

Jalandhar, August 5
Two security guards working at the Viva Collage mall have been arrested for allegedly misbehaving with five youths of Shahkot, who had gone there last evening for watching a movie.

The two security guards, Gurvinder Singh of Kotli Than Singh village and Jaspreet Singh of Pojewal, have been booked under Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC at the Rama Mandi police station. A case has been registered against seven other unidentified persons also.

One of the complainant, Gaurav, said his gold chain, too, had been snatched by the guards. Another complainant Puneet said he and his friends had just entered the mall and they had been talking with one another when one security guard felt that he had been ridiculed and the clash began. The police has asked the management of the mall to provide a CCTV footage to cross-check the sequence of events.

Jalandhar, August 5
The installation ceremony of the third Bishop of Jalandhar, Dr Franco Mulakkal, was held at Trinity College here yesterday.

Dignitaries from all over India were present on the occasion. The event was attended by a gathering of 25,000 people. As many as 700 sisters, 400 priests, 27 Bishops and a Cardinal were present on the occasion.

Union Minister for Surface Transport and Highways Oscar Fernandes, Cardinal George Alam Cherai, Vatican Ambassador Salavator Pennachio, Chief Adviser, FIEO, Jagmohan Bhanot and former IAS officer KJ Alphons were present.

Archbishop of Delhi Reverend Anil Couto, formerly the Bishop of Jalandhar, was also present on the occasion.

The event was organised by the Diocese of Jalandhar under the leadership of Thomas Valiaparambil and Reverend father Michael Ani, coordinator of the organising committee.

Archbishop Salvatore Pennachio and Archbishop Anil Couto held hands of Bishop Franco and made him sit on the ceremonial chair - the cathedra - during his installation ceremony.

Formerly having served as the PRO of the diocese in Jalandhar, Bishop Franco had remained in Punjab for 19 years and has come back to the city after a period of over four years.

He has been dean of the faculty of theology at the Holy Trinity Regional Seminary at Chugitti. He also holds a doctorate from Rome on the subject - theological investigation into the teachings of Guru Nanak from the catholic perspective.

While holy father Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Franco as the consulter for the pontifical council of inter-religious dialogue in Rome, it is Pope Francis who appointed him as Bishop of Jalandhar on June 13 this year.

Jalandhar, August 5
The number of cases registered at the NRI police station here has been on the rise since the past few years. While 23 cases were registered in 2012, as many have already been registered in seven months this year.

While nearly 16 cases are related to matrimonial disputes, three pertain to land dispute and the remaining of cheating.

To facilitate the NRIs, the complaints and other relevant documents are sought on email. All complaints coming to the police station or otherwise are routed through the Commissioner of Police, who first marks an inquiry into the matter by an ADCP-rank officer, on whose recommendation the case is registered.

While most complaints of matrimonial disputes have been lodged by women against their missing NRI husbands, recently Canada-based Sanket Jain, originally hailing from Tagore Nagar here, has got lodged a complaint through the NRI Affairs Community Division, Chandigarh, stating that his wife had got married to him two years back with a mala fide intention of reaching the USA, where her parents were already settled. A case was then registered against her, her father, mother and brother under Sections 420, 380 and 120-B of the IPC. An inquiry into the matter was done by ADCP (Traffic) Sukhdev Singh.

In another FIR lodged last month, Kuldeep Kaur and Iqbal Singh Chatha, a UK-based NRI couplde, had got a case registered against Mohali-based Ranjit Singh Dhar, who was working at Hotel Kamal Palace here as manager and allegedly duped the NRI of Rs 2.7 lakh. He took the amount for advance booking of three rooms for a marriage function of their son in the hotel. The couple alleged that while the manager gave their local relative a receipt of Rs 25,000, they were told that the receipt of the remaining amount would be given later.

The NRI couple said when they came to India on January 1 this year, they were in for a shock as they were told that the manager had left the job. Three cheques for Rs 70,000 and another of Rs 60,000 signed by the manager on his apprehension by the New Baradari police also bounced on account of no funds in the account, alleged the NRIs. An inquiry into this case was done by the ADCP (Traffic) and a case registered against Ranjit Singh Dhar under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC.

New SHO of the NRI police station Ganga Singh could not be contacted. His predecessor Ashwani Kumar, who was promoted last week, however, said he could see that the number of complaints had swelled to nearly double in just one year.

Jalandhar, August 5
"Papa, come back. I will take care of you more than a son," appeals 12-year-old Jasmeen Kaur to her 55-year-old father Manjit Singh, a resident of Raowali in Noorpur, who allegedly got married to a girl 22 years younger to him in wish for a son after deserting her and her mother in Germany last year. He even got his entire property registered on his younger brother's name two days before the second marriage.

A case has been registered at the Maqsudan police station. Manjit Singh and his second wife Baljinder Kaur have now been declared proclaimed offender (PO) by a district court. Balwinder kaur has also filed a case against him in a Germany court.

"He came to India in February last year by saying that he had to appear in a land dispute case. After a few days he said the hearing had been postponed to next week. Later, he stopped attending to my calls. After one month, I got suspicious and came to India with my daughter, only to find that he got married to a girl in connivance with my brother-in-law and his wife," said Balwinder Kaur, mother of Jasmeen.

Earlier, Balwinder Kaur did not reveal to Jasmeen about her father's second marriage. Later, with repeated visits to courts and police stations, she came to know about her father's shameless act. "I really miss him a lot. At home (Germany) we used to go for shopping together. Every time papa got me the latest toy in the market. We also used to go for long drives. When we came to India last time, Papa took me and my village friends to amusement park also. But now, everything is so gloomy here," said Jasmeen.

According to Balwinder Kaur, 10 years of her marriage life were spent just like a fairy tale. She got married to him in 1998. Then she went to Germany with him and gave birth to Jasmeen in 2001. "Manjit was always a doting father and a husband. He was very hardworking and religious. He used to love her daughter a lot. It was only after my brother-in-law Malkit Singh came to Germany in search of work, things started getting worse. My husband started abusing me and my daughter badly. He also started drinking a lot. Sometimes he also assaulted me and my daughter physically," revealed Balwinder. Later he came to India on an excuse for appearing in a land dispute case and got married without divorcing her.

Malkiat Singh, on the other hand presented a different picture. "My brother had already divorced her as she bought land worth Rs 20 lakh on her father's name at Raowali village, Noorpur, without informing my brother," he confirmed. But he failed to present any divorce papers in the district court, where he has been appearing as a co-accused.

"Manjeet Singh has been booked for offences under Sections 494, 420, 506 and 120-B of the IPC for marrying again without divorcing the first wife. The police has also issued a 'look-out' notice for him and his illegal wife Baljinder Kaur,"said Satnam Singh, lawyer for Balwinder Kaur.

Now, Jasmeen is here in India to take his father along with her. And she refuses to go without him. Her studies are suffering a lot. Her mother is also ready to forgive her husband for his disgraceful act for the sake of her daughter.

Jalandhar, August 5
As many as 37 earthquakes have been reported in the area in the last two months, but the district authorities have still not woken up to the need of the hour, as the emergency exit door in DC complex, near gate number 1, has not been reopened despite advisory issued by the Director General of Disaster Management, few months back.

The door was closed permanently due to repeated theft cases occurring in the DC complex. This door was planned and opened prominently during the designing of the building. A team from the Director General of Disaster Management, India, had visited the DC’s complex recently. It conducted a mock drill to make the plan of action for the evacuation of the staff during emergency. They also assessed the working of the disaster management control room and laid the 24 hours preparation plan in case of any eventuality.

During the exercise, the necessity for the opening of the emergency exit door near gate number 1 was also discussed at length. Despite that and memorandum given by the Jalandhar Welfare Society last month to the Deputy Commissioner, the door has still not reopened.

“In case of any eventuality in a place like the DC’s complex, more people will die in stampede than losing lives under debris. Whenever earthquake strikes, the first thing comes to the mind of the people is to find the nearest exit. Now with the closing of this door, lives of many people are at risk as the nearest exit for them is toward the canteen side and the other is toward the SDM’s office, which is very far from this area. Many precious seconds and lives will be lost in covering this distance during any eventuality,” said Surinder Saini, director of Jalandhar Welfare Society, who is also running a disaster management NGO.

On being contacted, the authorities although accepted the long-pending issue but refused to divulge any detail on the delay in reopening of such exit in the complex. “I am actually not aware of this issue. But definitely looking at the seriousness of the matter, it will be implemented immediately after analysing all the facts in detail,” said Sanjeev Sharma, district revenue officer, who also heads the Disaster Management Cell of the district.

However, sources inside the office revealed that due to this opening, which is very near to the main road outside gate number 1, a lot of theft cases were reported in the past. “Sometimes, it was a computer or fan and sometimes it was small furniture like chair or bathroom mirrors. Instead of deputing police staff at the gate, the authorities closed the door permanently,” said an employee of the Post Office, situated inside the DC complex.

As the emergency exit was just an opening between the outside wall, it was closed permanently by bricking the whole area. To stop thefts, authorities could have installed door, which could be locked after the office hours. Till the authorities analyse and the get their facts straight, many precious lives are hanging in balance.

Phagwara, August 5
Believe it or not, but it is true that as many as 993 girl students of Government Senior Secondary Girls School, Phagwara, are studying in seven rooms, which means more than 140 girls in a room. As many as 18 classrooms in the school out of 25 have been declared unsafe. Moreover, notices of unsafe rooms have already been pasted on these locked classrooms. One of the classroom structure collapsed in February this year.

During a round of the school several girl students were found studying outside a classroom, while two classes of different subjects were being taught in one classroom. Even computer room was being used for academic study of two different sections.

Principal Nirmal Singh said he had written to authorities concerned for urgent repair of the classrooms. When contacted, District Education Officer Roop Lal said the matter was under consideration at higher level. Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party state general secretary Jarnail Nangal and newly elected panchayat samiti chairperson Krishna Kainth visited the school to inspect the condition of the classrooms. Later, they submitted a detailed memorandum to Phagwara SDM PP Singh today.

This government school was built in 1943 but no repairs had been carried out in the school for the past many years.

It is learnt that though school management had submitted the details of the case related to worsening condition of the school building to Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Parkash during his visit to the school in May, yet he did not speak about the problem to the authorities concerned. Several prominent citizens, including representatives of different political and social organisations have knocked at the doors of Chief Minister, Principal Secretary, Education, and other authorities concerned but nothing has been done so far to repair the dilapidated school building.

Jalandhar, August 5
The district unit of the Punjab State Aided School Teachers and Other Employees Union held a dharna outside the DC office in Jalandhar today in protest against the government’s refusal to merge them with government schools, despite long-pending requests. Members from all blocks joined the dharna in large numbers. Rest of the teachers held black badge protests in schools. This dharna was the first in a series of four-day protests planned by aided school teachers, which will go on till August 8.

District PRO of the union said the dharna was a result of the state government’s step-motherly treatment toward aided schools in the district. District president Arvind Bains said the teaching fraternity was very sensitive, but the government’s insensitive behaviour toward them had forced teachers to come on the roads. He said for the past two years there had been a demand to shift aided-school teachers to government schools, which was not fulfilled by the state government.

District general secretaries Kamal Sharma and Jasvir Paul as well as former union head Gangu Ram said since 1967, grant in aid, security of service, pension as well as other allowances to aided schools were received after a lot of struggle, but in the current scenario, the existence of aided schools was in danger.

State general secretaries NN Maini and Kulwaran Singh said the government’s attitude toward aided schools was ridden with double standards. They said aided schools were often ignored in several areas.

Deputy Director (Education Department) Kamal Kant Aeri, retired, said aided schools had made a lot of contribution in spreading of education. He said the government’s ignorance of aided-school employees could be harmful to the cause of education, hence they shouldn’t be ignored.

Ram Lubhaya, Lekhraj, Deepak Sanan, Rakesh Tandon, Paramjeet Jassal, Narindrapal Singh, Kamaljit Kaur, Alka Tandon, Jaswinder Kaur, Jyoti, Poonam, Veena, Jasbir Singh were also present at the dharna.

Phagwara, August 5
In a significant development, the Congress-BSP alliance succeeded in winning the elections of chairman and vice-chairman of the newly elected Panchayat Samiti, Phagwara.

Bahujan Samaj Party leader Krishna Kainth was unanimously elected chairperson of Phagwara Panchayat Samiti in an election meeting of newly elected panchayat samiti here on Saturday. Phagwara SDM PP Singh presided over the meeting, which was also attended by District Congress Committee president Harjeet Singh Parmar and Bahujan Samaj Party state general secretary Jarnail Nangal.

Eighteen out of a total of 19 elected members attended this election meeting. Deep Singh from the Congress won the election of vice-chairman by defeating his rival candidate Ajit Ram of SAD, who got only 5 votes, while Deep Singh got 13 votes.

Jalandhar, August 5
The trend of breast feeding among youngsters from urban areas is sharply declining thus weakening the immune system of their new-born babies. This practise of the youngsters has not only put their own health at great risk from various diseases, but also led to growing malnutrition among children.

These facts were shared among the participants of a seminar, which was organised by the district health authorities to observe the "Breastfeeding Week" at the Nursing School in the Civil Hospital, here today.

Many employees of the Health Department from different blocks of the district and students of the nursing school participated in the seminar, which was addressed by the Jalandhar Civil Surgeon RL Basan. While addressing the gathering Civil Surgeon stressed on the need of promotion of breast feeding and to educate the young mothers to feed their new born at least for six months.

OR Goldy, Assistant Director Health Services, Punjab, said: “Breast-feeding for first six months makes the children mentally healthy and physically strong.” Health officer Dr Aruna asked the gathering to avoid bottle feed and educate other women about its side effects.

PHAGWARA: DAV College, Phagwara, in collaboration with the Inner Wheel Club organised a seminar on “Breast feeding”. On the occasion, Dr Harvinder Chhabra emphasised that mother’s milk was essential for new born babies, as it kept them free from malnutrition and dreadful diseases. She also stressed on the fact that it is was necessary to feed breast milk to children for at least six months after their birth for their proper development. She said it was important for women to take care of their health as this would result in healthier families. Al the doctors present on the occasion emphasised that healthy nutritious diet was essential for new born babies.

Chairperson of the college Promila Uppal, president of Inner Wheel Club, Phagwara, Prem Chaggar, staff members and students of DAV College were also present on the occasion.