The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	‘School Pehal’ struggles for space Material worth Rs 24 lakh for special students lies unattended for lack of room Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 Punjab’s first special School Pehal, which was opened with much fanfare last year, is still struggling with teething problems. Articles worth Rs 24 lakh for the special students are lying unattended for want of space. Besides, its original concept of being a residential school remains unrealised. Originally, the school was planned for 60 residential and 90 non-residential students. At present, the special school has a strength of 84 non-residential and 12 residential students. It was started with 40 non-residential students last year. Established under the Sarv Sikhya Abhiyan (SSA), the school has not received a space of its own while it is not getting the rooms it is entitled to at its present location, Saragarhi Memorial Government Senior Secondary School, Maal Mandi. The holy city became the first district in the state to have a Centre for Special Children established by the Punjab Education Department under a pilot project, which was to be replicated in the rest of the state. However, till now, it remains the only school for special children in the state. The state government opened the school with the objective of holistic development of neurotically challenged children with equal stress on general education, vocational training, physical activities, treatment and mainstreaming. According to the policy, the children who regain physical control and intelligence will be admitted into general schools. The transportation cost of day-boarders, uniform, books and mid-day meal are being borne by the government. Stay in the residential home and thrice-a-day meals will be provided free of cost. Students who are mentally, visually and hearing-impaired, having cerebral palsy and are autistic, could find admission in the school. Medical treatment and surgeries will be done free of cost. Currently, 12 boarders are being put up at the Special Training Centre in Ranjit Avenue. The school has an elaborate faculty, including foyur special educators, three speech therapists, two vocational teachers, six volunteers and a part-time physiotherapist to impart education and train the special children. The faculty of the ‘special school’ said, on condition of anonymity, no school was ready to share space with special children. Earlier, the school was to be housed in Government High School, Maqboolpura, and the students of the high school were to be shifted to Government Saragarhi Memorial Senior Secondary School. However, the original plan was blocked by the school management. They stated that the entire third floor of Saragarhi school was lying unused and rooms remained locked round the year, except during examinations. Officials in the Education Department stated that the Education Department had identified a space to house School Pehal, but its location was being kept a secret to prevent any protest.
	Road that connects Naraingarh crossing to Amritsar-Jalandhar bypass Unattended crossings pose risk to motorists Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 Many crossings on the six-lane road, connecting the Naraingarh crossing on the Amritsar-Attari bypass to the Amritsar-Jalandhar bypass are without proper traffic signals and lie unattended. These crossings put lives of motorists at risk. Of all these crossings, the Gumtala bypass is one of the busiest. It offers a free-for-all situation to the motorists. Residents fear that this persistently unguarded busy crossing may result in avoidable accidents. A resident of Airport road, Vidyasagar, said with the the international airport in the vicinity, the road saw the maximum number of speeding vehicles. Besides, the VIP and VVIP movement was also high. However, the crossing was without traffic signals. With a bridge abutting the six-lane road and slicing it into two, the movement of motorists becomes invisible to the approaching vehicles on either side. Vidyasagar opined that in case the traffic signals could not be installed, there must be provision for regulating of traffic by traffic policemen. Another crossing on the same road at the Mahal bypass connecting the city to Ramtirth cries for attention because traffic signals have not been installed here. Over the years, many residential localities have sprung up in its vicinity, increasing the flow of traffic. A similar situation persists at the much busier Loharka bypass. A number of residential localities have sprung up across the bypass. It has resulted in high movement of vehicles on the road. The high rate of accidents on the road and movement of heavy vehicles call for immediate attention, said Manmohan Singh, a resident who lives near the Loharka bypass. He said the location of a high number of schools and other institutes means an equally high number of motorists on the road. ADCP (traffic) Dhruman Nimbale said he would first need to know under whose jurisdiction the six-lane road came. “In case it falls under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation, then the proposal for installing the traffic signals would be made next week”.
	Incidents of thrashing of cops Politicians prevent implementation of law, say residents PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 Repeated incidents of thrashing of policemen by political leaders have dented the morale of the Police Department. Lower-rung policemen are criticising their higher-ups for not standing by them at a time when they suffered humiliation at the hands of politicians for performing their duties. On the other hand, local residents also accused politicians of high-handedness and taking the law into their own hands. “Though there is a need for improving the functioning of the traffic wing that has been on a challaning spree in the city, who authorised these politicians to take the law into their hands? Instead of making the city worth living in, they are patronising offenders and law-breakers,” said Amarjit Singh Asal, a Communist leader and a local resident. The Police Department and the SAD-BJP leaders came under attack after several BJP leaders manhandled Sub-Inspector Baldev Raj, on the premises of the Deputy Commissioner of Police’s office. The incident occurred after the Traffic Police took the BJP councillor, Suresh Mahajan, to the DCP’s office. Mahajan had objected to the traffic cop for issuing challans to students. BJP leaders gathered in the office of the DCP to complain against the alleged misbehaviour of the policeman. While coming out, they manhandled Baldev Raj. Thereafter, the city police suspended five policemen. Earlier, too, a BJP leader had misbehaved with a traffic policeman when he asked for documents from a local resident. Similarly, an auto driver was beaten up by a SAD leader in the Putlighar area, a couple of days ago. The incident snowballed into a major controversy after Congress leaders accused police officials of working under pressure besides alleging that BJP leaders were misusing their powers. The BJP leaders, on the other hand, demanded the shifting of ADCP (traffic) from Amritsar. “People should learn to live with the chaotic conditions prevailing in the holy city. The suspension of policemen was a wrong move. Though the Traffic Police should also not target a particular group, the senior police officials should have protected their men,” said Brij Bedi, a social activist. If the administration wants to remove encroachments, politicians intervene and similar is the problem when the police challan the offenders. The politicians are making the city a mess. “They talk about giving respect to a councillor, but who asked the councillor to come on the spot and intervene in the functioning of the police, when they are issuing challan to violators of traffic norms. If he had any objections, he should have complained to senior police authorities rather than making a scene,” said another resident. “It is better to do nothing. If you do nothing, you will not get in a mess like this. Let the people violate the traffic norms and play with their own lives,” said a police officer, on condition of anonymity.
	Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Begin by educating children in schools, says UK councillor PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a nationwide campaign spreading awareness about maintaining cleanliness in one’s life and surroundings, it is the high time that schoolchildren are made aware about the benefits and importance of cleanliness inside and outside their houses. These views have been expressed by city-based Surinder Shergill, who is an elective councillor at Birstall in the UK. She was here to attend a private family function. Talking to this correspondent, she pointed out that children were the future of a country. If they were taught about hygiene and proper sanitation, it wouldn’t take long to make this beautiful country a clean nation. In Britain, there is a general impression that India has the maximum number of educated people and I am proud to be an Indian, she said, adding that India was a great country having a rich heritage and religious values and so is the holy city of Amritsar. “The holy city should be a very clean city. It has many entrepreneurs and rich people. There is so much money flowing in the city, but heaps of garbage at every nook and corner here fail to make any sense to an outsider. All people should contribute towards cleaning the city,” she pointed out. She said a minor step and a creative idea from every individual could go a long way in making this city of the Golden Temple a cleaner one. Garbage and litter leads to infections harmful for human health. The administration should cover the open drains that are the main source of such infections. It should implement litter management and a rubbish-control system in a better way. You can cover open drains by wooden planks or plastic sheets etc, she said. Every shopkeeper could clean the front of their shops providing a hygienic atmosphere to his customers. People need to be educated and they should take personal responsibilities to keep their native place clean, she said. Surinder Shergill shifted to the UK in 1965 when she was very young. She said her family was the first of Indian families that shifted to the UK. But at present England is more of a multicultural society with people from all round the world settled there. Shergill is a business manager and runs a medical centre. Her husband, Dr Karnail Singh Shergill, is a prominent doctor and a Punjabi writer. He heads the Punjabi Sahib Academy in Leicestershire, England. She, however, rued that she tried to contact the Amritsar mayor and other authorities of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation around two years ago, but they did not respond to her invitation. I wanted to do something for the holy city. I wanted to share some ideas about cleaning the city, but somehow it could not happen.
	Babbu Mann all set to play good cop in ‘Baaz’ Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 Back on the big screen after a gap of two years, singer-actor Babbu Mann is all set to play the good cop with some punch. His upcoming movie, “Baaz”, an action drama with a cop-gangster theme is scheduled to be released next weekend and the actor was in city the to promote the film. Mann has been missing from the entertainment scene for quite some time now, his last release being “Desi Romeos”. But the actor said he was back from his long break with a bang in “Baaz”. “The film is an out-an-out action drama, with the focus on the constant cat-and-mouse game between criminals and law enforcement. “I play a police official, who is a hard cop, honest and uncompromising when it comes to law enforcement. “Usually, we are quite hard on the police force and its functioning, but here the idea was to show them in a good light,” said Mann. He has also dedicated a song in the film to the other side of our law enforcement agencies. “The song “enni vi nai maadi Punjab police” explains the whole theme of the film. There are some good honest cops in the force and I have tried to highlight their achievements,” said the actor-singer. A joint presentation of Star Entertainers, Royal Entertainment Co. and KG Productions, the film opens on November 14, worldwide. It stars Pooja Verma as the leading lady along with Yograj Singh, Sardar Sohi. Simerjit Singh has directed the film and the producers are Bobby Garcha, Sukhjinder Singh Bahia, Gurdeep Singh Bahia and Khushwant Grewal. Bollywood actor Mukul Dev plays the antagonist in the film, Darbara Singh, who is a social worker in people’s eyes but actually a criminal. “He is a seasoned actor and working with him on the film was great. He carries the negative character with such panache that you believe in his character totally,” said Mann about his co-star. Mann’s hopes from the film are high, reason for it being the subject of the film. “It’s a different subject, a serious film different from the comedy capers releasing every weekend. The subject and its treatment is quite relative, as it’s based on facts,” said Mann. The film is penned by Dheeraj Rattan and Babbu Mann’s presence will ensure it has some dialogues to pack a punch.
	NGO for increase in contribution to EPF Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 A city-based NGO, Punjab Sudhar Sabha (PSS), has demanded an increase in contribution to the Employees Provident Fund to enable employees from the private sector to draw more pension. Balram Kumar Sharma and Pawandeep Sharma, president and general secretary of the PSS, respectively, stated that the Union Government’s recent announcement of minimum Rs 1,000 pension as pension came as a rude shock. The Union Government recently unveiled a guaranteed minimum pension of Rs 1,000 per month under the Employees’ Pension Scheme, 1995. They said about 32 lakh out of a total of 49 lakh pensioners in the country were getting below Rs 1,000 as pension. They questioned the government’s wisdom that anybody can sustain his/her family at such a measly amount in the present times. They demanded that the minimum monthly pension must be raised to Rs 10,000. They also sought a raise in the contribution to pension for government employees to raise it on a par with the government employees.
	Haphazard parking hampers traffic flow Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 Visitors at the district courts complex have to park their vehicles outside the premises, which creates traffic bottlenecks. The premises of the court complex has a number of parking spaces, but due to huge rush of vehicles, they are not enough to accommodate all vehicles. Even the police vehicles, which ferry undertrails from jail, can be seen parked on the road leading from Cantonment Chowk to Airport. This path is also used by heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks for going to Ajnala. Vehicles parked outside the district court complex lead to frequent traffic jams, especially on working days. A vendor, who sells tea near the complex, said, “The situation gets worse when the office closes and the people come out from the complex in hordes. It takes more than an hour for the traffic congestion to clear.” Vehicles can also be seen parked besides the Deputy Commissioner’s office. A parking attendant near the DC office said, “Sometimes people park their vehicles without bothering to check if any space is available or not. This is done to save money used for buying parking tickets.” Employees and advocates at the court complex have easy access to the parking slots inside the premises, but the visitors have to content with the parking space available along roads. A visitor, Karam Singh, said, “The district courts complex needs a multi-storey parking area. It will not only solve the problem of traffic congestion on the roads, but also ensure safety of vehicles.” Apart from the district courts complex, a large number of haphazardly parked vehicles can often be seen outside other public offices in the city.
	NALSA announces lok adalats in Amritsar, Tarn Taran districts Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 According to the instructions of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), the District Legal Services Authority of Amritsar and Tarn Taran will hold lok adalats on the same day in all the courts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran districts as well as in Ajnala, Baba Bakala and Patti sub-divisions. In order to settle cases in national lok adalat on December 6, pre-lok adalats will also be held at courts from time to time. Applications for lok adalat in the city can be filed in the office of Arun Kumar Aggarwal, secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Amritsar, at Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre. Regarding cases of Tarn Taran district, applications can be filed in the office of Varun Nagpal, secretary, District Legal Services Authority, at the District Courts in Tarn Taran. Gurbir Singh, District and Sessions Judge-cum-Chairman, District Legal Services Authority, Amritsar, said the general public should avail maximum benefit of lok adalats. He said the prime objective of lok adalats was to settle disputes amicably through compromise so as to save time and money of the parties concerned and to reduce personal enmity between them. Aggarwal said various types of cases such as criminal compoundable, cheque bouncing, motor accident claims, matrimonial disputes, labour disputes, civil, rent, bank recovery, shall be heard and decided in these lok adalats. Apart from the judicial courts, lok adalat will also be held in revenue courts, wherein cases related to mutation, partition shall be taken up for disposal.
	Food processing ministry holds interactive session Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 The Ministry of Food Processing Industries organised an interactive session for the elected representatives of the state government, who were asked to assess the need of food processing units in their constituencies. The session was presided over by Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Various MLAs and senior officials of the ministry participated in the event. Harsimrat said Punjab being an agrarian state could derive maximum benefit from food processing industries. She said the need of the hour was to make agriculture profitable by means of value-addition in food. The minister claimed that beginning from Punjab, she would cover all the agro-states nationwide and sensitise elected representatives to avail maximum out of the food processing industry. She said, “There is an urgent need to take processing to the farm level.” She also stressed on checking wastage of food during harvesting and transportation. In a power point based presentation, she deliberated upon various schemes of the ministry and the procedure to avail their benefits. She said the ministry extended subsidies ranging from Rs 50 crore for mega food park to Rs 5 lakh for a meat shop. The minister also advocated the creation of primary processing centres to take the food processing mission to the village level. She said cooperatives would be encouraged to take advantage of grants up to Rs 2.5 crore each to create modern processing centres for milk, fruit and vegetables. Harsimrat said the process to approve 17 food parks across the country over the next few months was underway. The ministry would also give grants for setting up modern slaughterhouses in all the major cities of Punjab. These abattoirs would be managed by Municipal Corporations, she added. Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and Gulzar Singh Ranike, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Inderbir Singh Bolaria, Virsa Singh Valtoha, Harmeet Singh Sandhu, Pawan Kumar Tinu, MLAs Baljit Singh Jalalusma and Mandeep Singh Manna attended the session.
	80 take part in pilot programme Tribune News service Amritsar, November 8 A five-day pilot programme on creative thinking and 21st century skills for the fifth grade students was organised on the premises of DAV School here today. The main aim of the programme was to encourage critical thinking and question the routine. The event was held in collaboration with Experiential Education Pioneer Creya Learning and Research, Hyderabad. As many as 80 students from the school participated in hands-on activities, experiments and model-building that would help them make real-world connections to concepts they were already exposed to in their regular classrooms. Working with basic models of simple machines like pulleys and wheel-and-axle, the students not only created models, but also looked for any improvisations. It wasn’t a general robotics class, but a practical experience in which students were put to test with their skills. For instance, children in groups were asked to visualise everyday problems that visually challenged students might face in the regular classroom and figure out technological solutions that would help overcome them. They made amazing models using cart wheels and other simple ideas, said Neera Sharma, Principal, DAV Public School. Students used their creative abilities and made working models of their solutions. They were exposed to the latest techniques in learning and the necessity of studying 21st century skills. Coaches from Creya Learning were the resource persons of the programme. They were happy with the enthusiasm and efforts of the school students. Creya Learning and Research is an innovative education company, which focused on equipping children with skills, literacy, competencies and attitude needed to thrive in the dynamic world of the 21st century. They partner with schools across the country to deliver in-school programmes based on concepts such as STEM education, 21st century skills, experiential education and design thinking for students in K-12 grades. “Such programmes effect the way children are learning, keeping in mind the needs of future workplaces and society in the 21st Century,’ Neera said, adding that, “We look forward to providing holistic, forward-looking education to students in their quest to update the skills and attitudes for thinking out of the box.”
	500 attend cardiac summit in city Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 A two-day National Cardiac Summit was inaugurated at Fortis Escorts Hospital here today. On the occasion an echocardiography workshop was conducted by cardiologist and echo experts, Dr S Radha Krishnan, Dr Samir Srivastava and Dr Vinay, from Fortis Escorts Hospital, Okla and Dr HP Singh from Fortis, Amritsar. They delivered lectures to update the knowledge of doctors about the latest advancements in the field of cardiac sciences. Around 500 delegates from various parts of the country attended the summit. Congratulating Fortis Escorts Hospital, Amritsar, Dr Rajiv Bhalla, Civil Surgeon, said, “It is a great effort on part of the hospital to host a national-level cardiac conference in the city.” He said the summit would help in improving the cardiac treatment as it aimed at updating doctors about the latest techniques. Dr HP Singh said the upgrading knowledge was important in today’s fast changing world and must when it came to the medical field. With the help of continuing education, many physicians were able to add to their own independent research findings, he added.
	Global students excel in PTU exam Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 8 Two students of Global Institutes bagged gold medals in the examinations, whose result was declared by Punjab Technical University (PTU) recently. Annie Ahuja, a student of MCA, 2011-14 batch, and Preeti Kumari, a student of BTech (IT), 2010-14 batch, won gold medals in their courses in the university. These students will be presented medals at the convocation to be organised by Punjab Technical University on December 18 on its campus. Annie and Preeti thanked the management and teachers for extending all possible support for achieving this milestone.
	FEEDBACK VIP culture Traffic chaos in Amritsar and other cities, especially during peak hours, gives the residents a harrowing time every day. Their sufferings reach the peak when any VIP is visiting the city. Every other day, some VIP, along with a large entourage, descends upon our city with all the pomp and show, like a victor coming after conquering a great battle. All roads are blocked and the hapless public has to face the traffic jams, whose effect spreads like a virus in most parts of the city. The higher the importance of the VIP in a political hierarchy, more sufferings are in store for the residents of the unfortunate city he visits. The city bus service, if any, does not help in easing the traffic snarls, or the commuters’ woes. It does not matter even if it is suspended to feed the ego of the visiting VIPs. The VIPs must spare a thought to minimise inconvenience to the public as their visits hardly benefit the city. Many a times they point out the lack of amenities in the city and make tall promises, which are hardly fulfilled. LJ Singh, Amritsar Cleanliness gimmick Campaigns can succeed only if they are backed by masses. Unfortunately, the nationwide “Swachh Bharat” drive is only a gimmick to draw media attention as there is nothing concrete to do or show. Residents of the city have also responded and participated in the show, but the net result is going to be zero. A few months ago, the UN conducted a survey in which Amritsar ranked 14th among the world’s most polluted cities. Such is the state of affairs of the most sacred city of the Sikhs, where Jallianwala Bagh reminds us of the supreme sacrifices. While launching the cleanliness show, no attention was paid to the available resources and to find out the reasons as to why there was so much filth and unhygienic conditions all around. The situation is so pathetic that the Municipal Corporation is incapable of removing the garbage satisfactorily from the surroundings of the Golden Temple. So, the SGPC has taken this task upon itself. There is absolutely no mechanism of regulating hospital, industrial, and building waste. All open spaces, drains, canals and watercourses in the city are full of toxic substances. Dust forces people to cover their faces like the residents of Arab countries. Amritsar was never like this. Steam engine driven trolleys used to carry garbage to a dump at Jhabal Road. Sprinklers regularly sprinkled water on roads and not a single heap of garbage was visible. Theatrical campaigns can seldom succeed. Surinderjit Singh, Amritsar