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Border schools in dire straits
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Residents object to telecom tower installation
Property prices skyrocket in the city
Telecom department complains against private companies
Competition converts small-scale industries to marriage palaces
Schools violating traffic rules with impunity
Medical students interact with alumni association
Weekly Round-up
The evergreen charm of chudas
Shekhar Suman now eyeing Bollywood
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Border schools in dire straits
Amritsar district marks, perhaps, a new low in school education in the state. Reports of large-scale mass copying in the district, especially in schools close to the zero line, have once again exposed the pitiable standard of education in the border belt.
It is a matter of record that teachers hardly go to schools in the border villages. They have adopted a novel way of hoodwinking the authorities. They (the teachers) appoint ‘sub-teachers’ and pay these ‘sub-teachers’ a paltry sum of money. The unauthorised appointments on ‘verbal’ orders had hit the headlines of The Tribune during the vigilance raids recently. After talking to a cross section of panchayats, it was evident that the teachers who remained absent during the academic session relied on mass copying to show better results. This was evident from the fact that the then-District-Education-Officer (Secondary) was placed under suspension following reports of mass copying. However, the teachers put the blame on the state government. They say that the services of the government teachers are availed of in conducting surveys and census, and the teachers are also put on poll duties, while such assignments are never given to private schools. It is a clear index of the pitiable condition of education in state-run schools, as no government teacher would ever prefer to have their wards admitted in their own schools for obvious reasons. Prof Mohan Singh, an educationist, warns, “Remember, copying in the board examination is only a symptom; the malady is deep-rooted in our polity.” The state of the schools in the border belt has remained unchanged, if not deteriorated, over the years. Reports of mass copying have ceased to surprise anyone who knows about school education in Punjab’s rural areas. Only recently, the result of Government Senior Secondary School at Tarsikka in Amritsar district marked, perhaps, a new low in school education in the state. Out of the 22 students who appeared in the Plus Two (commerce) examination, only one could get through. The reasons for such poor performance of the government schools are all too well known. Rural children study in hostile conditions. The state government has, no doubt, brought education within the reach of almost every village, barring the far-flung areas. But the quality of education has deteriorated significantly, say observers. Most good teachers like to live in cities and towns so that they can send their children to public schools. Those working in rural schools often do not live at the place of their posting. No wonder that absenteeism and ‘sub-letting’ of jobs are common among the teachers. The mushrooming of government schools has eaten heavily into the education budget, which, instead of keeping pace with the growing needs, has actually declined in the recent years. Many schools have been upgraded on the recommendations of MLAs without creating the additional infrastructure, it is learnt. Reports point out that 98.5 per cent of the education funds are spent on paying salaries. As a result, schools usually do not have basic facilities like adequate rooms, furniture and laboratory equipment. About 3,000 teachers retire every year, but no replacements are provided. Consequently, the government schools are short of some 17,000 teachers. Many schools of the border area have vacant posts, especially in mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry, and this has been continuing since the past more than 15 years. In a lighter vein, Mr Charnjit Singh Gumtala, a government teacher, says that students and their teachers should be ‘honoured’ with special mementos for managing to come out with ‘flying colours’ in spite of such heavy odds against them. The decision of the Punjab School Education Board to appoint 50 per cent of the examination centre supervisory staff of the schools has also failed to eradicate the menace of mass copying. No one who is at the helm of affairs is ready to pay heed to the plight of schools in the border belt. The right to education is a valuable right under the Constitution of India. In fact, the state and the Central governments have been pressing for literacy in the country without a practical approach. According to a report, Punjab has 12,633 government primary schools out of which 1500 don’t have any teachers. As many as 1200 schools are single-teacher schools, while 8190 are two-teacher schools. More than 1000 schools have only one room. It is even worse in the border belt. In the 62 primary schools in Valtoha block only 42 teachers are posted. It is a pity that in such dismal conditions government wants to introduce computer education. The government had to order the cancellation of the class V annual examination conducted at Government Elementary School, Nai Abadi, Verka (Amritsar), following the report of mass copying in The Tribune. The education department authorities also recommended the suspension of 11 teachers allegedly associated with the process and conduct of the examination. The cancellation of the examination and the recommendation of suspension was ordered because of mass copying and cases of impersonation there. The examination of 174 students, who appeared in the examination held in February this year, would be conducted again from March 14. The authorities have recommended that in future the fixing of photographs of the students concerned on admission forms for the examination be made mandatory in the entire state to check impersonation at the primary level. Many government primary and middle schools in Ajnala block, especially near the international border, have been locked for a long time, while a good number of the schools are either without teachers or running with one teacher only. This sums up the worst state of affairs in the border areas. What is worse, Government High School, Bhindi Aulakh (Chaugawan block), that caters to at least a dozen villages of the border area is being run by an art and craft teacher. The examinations of middle and matriculation have started from February 15 and March 2, respectively. The Sarv Shiksha Abhyan (SSA) has virtually played havoc in this block. The SSA compels the teachers (even though there is one teacher) to undergo 20-day seminars while examinations are around the corner. The camps or seminars are arranged to exhaust the grants, earmarked for this purpose.
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Durrani promises to nurture ‘Punjabi bond’ of friendship
For Neelima Nahid Durrani, first woman cop of Pakistan, it was a memorable day when she had a chance meeting with retired Indian cop turned poet Satpal 'Soni' during her visit to her ancestral Sharifpura locality near bus stand on GT Road here.
Durrani, who has written many Urdu and Punjabi books on poetry, is presently Senior Superintendent of Police at the Training School's special branch at Lahore. She was on a four-day visit to the city to participate in the two-day national conference on "Media and Punjabi Language" hosted by the BBK DAV College for Women last week. Hers was a chance meeting with Satpal, 80, who originally belongs to Sialkot in Pakistan and who is running a small tea kiosk these days in the Rani Bazaar of Sharifpura locality. Durrani was trying to locate her ancestral house that belonged to her grandfather. It was the poet in Durrani and Satpal that gelled into an instant chemistry and both started reciting their poetry right in the middle of the road, much to the amusement of passers-by. Satpal asked her to write down his ghazals. She reciprocated by reciting her own poem and assured him of the release of his ghazals in one of the leading Urdu dailies of Lahore. Durrani said she would remember this accidental meeting all her life. Durrani, who has already written five Urdu poetry books, has done post graduation in Persian, journalism and Punjabi. She accepted the request of the local host to publish her Punjabi book Chardi Suraj De Dharti, a travelogue of her visit to Japan. Enthused by the local response, she agreed to visit the holy city often to nurture the Punjabi bond of friendship. |
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Residents object to telecom tower installation
Residents are up in arms against the installation of a tower by a mobile company at Kot Atma Ram, Sultanwind Road.
Despite the state human rights commission's directive to the local authorities to take action against the company's installation of the tower, the authorities concerned have preferred to ignore the complaints, allege the residents. Since the past one year, the residents of the area having been complaining of cracked walls in the houses due to the installation of the tower. The area mostly consists of ancient houses with precarious foundations. More than 10 residents of the area, including Mr Ranbir Singh and Mr Ranjit Singh, whose houses are located at the back of the tower, have submitted their complaints to the authorities. "The vibration and air and noise pollution, thanks to this tower, can be well imagined," said Mr Rachpal Singh, a resident. Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Mr K.S. Kang, admitted having received the complaints. However, so far no action has been taken, even though the company has reportedly not even obtained a no-objection-certificate (NOC) to commence the operation. A report by the SDM reads, "I had stated that installation and operation of the said tower could prove dangerous to life and property in the area." |
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Property prices skyrocket in the city
A marked variation exists in the prevailing property prices in commercial and residential areas in the city. The rates in commercial areas have shown an alarming increase, whereas the residential localities have been witnessing a constant rate for the last several years.
The commercial hub of the holy city is largely located in the walled city. It includes Katra Jaimal Singh, Amar Talki Chowk, Hall Bazaar, Shastri Market, Guru Bazaar etc. The property prices in these areas depend on the location of shops and buildings and go up to crores of rupees. Mr Baldev Singh, a property dealer of the area, said there were no set rates in these areas and everything depended on the location of the shop or the building. In the residential areas, the price oscillated between Rs 6,000 and Rs 8,000 per square yard, whereas in the commercial areas it started from Rs 20,000 per square yard and could go higher depending on location. However, a new trend of shopping complexes being built outside the city has started and it has now taken momentum. These plazas are generally located near the civil area. Not only the local government authorities but also several private entrepreneurs have started investing money in it. The local improvement trust has so far constructed two commercial complexes with the availability of parking facilities. Mr Rajesh Bhalla, a property consultant in the area, said it was obvious that the trend would certainly change, as the traditional markets in the walled city had no parking facility. Moreover, the roads were narrow and vehicles could hardly move without hindrance. Traffic jams marred the shopping craze. However, the new shopping complexes were located on wide roads, he added. According to the rate list circulated by the district authorities, the price of residential areas inside the walled city near commercial markets went up to Rs 8,800 per square yard (PSY), while the price of commercial sites went to Rs 19,800 PSY. The difference of price between commercial and residential areas varies from a minimum of Rs 4,000 to the maximum of Rs 10,000. But there is a sharp difference between the rates specified by the authorities and the actual rates. Meanwhile, a new trend is being witnessed in the city as more and more people are opting for living in open places, which are free of the constraints of narrow lanes and traffic hazards and noise of the interior city. Also, people living in villages near the city have settled down here for the better prospects of education and livelihood, said Mr Rajesh Bhalla, a real estate consultant. But this trend is further paving the way for the mushrooming of illegal colonies. Confirming this, a senior official of PUDA said that a number of illegal colonies had sprung up and the cases were pending in the court. |
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Telecom department complains against private companies
The telecom department here has complained to the authorities concerned against the private companies that, in violation of rules, allegedly provide mobile service in the border areas. This was revealed by Mr G.S. Bhatia, Chief General Manager, Telecom, Punjab, during the inauguration of the 16th customer service centre
(CSC) in the district recently.
Talking to media persons, Mr Bhatia said as per the rules, the public or the private companies could not provide signals in the border areas within 10-km of the borders. However, certain private companies were providing this facility in the areas adjoining the border. The general manager revealed that the much-awaited broadband project would be launched in the Punjab telecom circle soon. He said that through this broadband service customers would be able to get the Internet bandwidth of 256 KBPS and above at the cheapest possible rates. Moreover, the customers could talk while surfing through this system, he added. Initially, the project would be started in selected 25 towns. He said that the existing network would be expanded by nine lakh connections in the next few months. He said about 1000 new towers were being installed for this. He added that the BSNL was all geared up to provide the best possible services. He said the seamless roaming facility was now available free of cost to all mobile users, and the roaming facility was available even in remote towns throughout India. He said that the CSC would have all facilities like new telephone booking, commercial services, redressing complaints, directory distribution, sale of India telecom card. |
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Competition converts small-scale industries to marriage palaces
Most of the small-scale industries located in the city could not face even the first jolt of competition. With the first flush of competition, entrepreneurs had to convert these units located at the 100-foot road here into marriage palaces. This rendered jobless thousands of families that had run these units for years together.
Fan manufacturing units were the main industry here, though there were other units like printing machine and drill machine units. There were other ancillary units, too. Thousands of families were dependent on these units for their livelihood. It is learnt that fan manufacturing work worth Rs 1.5 crore was carried on daily here only some time back. These units have been converted into marriage palaces these days. Mr G.S. Bhasin, president of the Amritsar Industries' Association, said these units had failed to face even the first stroke of competition. He said that as the local market lacked raw material which earlier came here from Delhi and other places, and the government provided no facility to these units, the units had failed to survive. He said the ancillary units also had closed down. He added that the market of this town was not fit for trade, as it touched the international border at one side. He said the manufactured things cost dearer to the tune of 15 per cent in this market as compared to Delhi market. Meanwhile, residents here have their own grouse in connection with the setting up of marriage palaces. They allege that the marriage palaces here are creating problems like littering, noise pollution and traffic chaos. |
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‘No short cuts to success for sportspersons’
Twice Asian power lifting champion Sandeep Gosain, also secretary, Zonal Promotion Sports Committee North, Food Corporation of India (FCI), said Indian players had been making a mark in power games at international level for the past four years. However, he warned youngsters against adopting shortcuts to success. He was in the city in connection with the 34th FCI All India Inter Zonal Football Tournament last week.
Having represented the country for nearly one and a half decade at international games, he joined the FCI as East Zone player in Kolkata and was trained by the Arjuna Award winner Subroto Datta. Talking to this correspondent, he said for the last five years, Indian power lifters had been acquiring top three positions out of the top six. He said lately women were also pursuing the game passionately. "If I could have played for a considerably good duration without taking refuge in drugs and steroids, I am sure other players, too, can do the same," said this 1998 and 2002 Asian champion in power lifting. "Mistakes made by a few sportspersons can have a negative impact on budding players," he added. |
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Schools violating traffic rules with impunity
Schools, the primary institutions to groom children into responsible citizens, are violating traffic rules with impunity. Many schools in the city are violating traffic rules and the 1998 traffic guidelines of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Overloaded auto rickshaws, which are packed with students, operate in gross violation of the rules. These overloaded auto rickshaws, besides being accident-prone, are health hazards for children due to pollution produced by them. As per the High Court traffic guidelines, the schools should not allow the parking of vehicles outside the school. They should pick up the children from inside the school premises. The school vehicles parked outside the schools situated on the main GT Road are a cause of traffic jams. Officials of the Transport Department and the authorities are mute spectators to all this. The traffic guidelines suggest that all drivers and conductors of the buses of schools, colleges and other educational institutions should wear proper uniforms and nameplates showing their names and licence numbers while plying vehicles. But the majority of the drivers are not even aware of any such guidelines or rules. School bus drivers are not aware that they cannot carry more students than 1.5 times of the sanctioned capacity of their vehicles, and overloading is a common sight. An official of the district transport office here revealed that though the Punjab and Haryana High Court guidelines stipulated that the registered owners of the school buses, and the school authorities were under obligation to organise refresher courses for conductors and drivers of school buses at least once in two years, no such exercise had allegedly been undertaken by any school or the traffic police or the transport department authorities. In gross violation of the guidelines, hardly any school vehicle carries a board showing the route and timings, or the first-aid boxes containing the minimum requisite medical aid items. Auto rickshaws carrying about 15-20 school students against the permissible limit of eight students per auto rickshaw, is a common practice. Interestingly, the traffic constables and other officials allegedly do not bother about these violations. Mr Charanjit Singh Gumtala, former president, Amritsar Vikas Manch, alleged that more than 80 per cent of the school-going children drove vehicles despite being underage, and about 35 per cent of the road accidents involved school children. He urged the high court to form a team to monitor the violation of traffic rules in the state. |
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Medical students interact with alumni association
It was a wonderful experience for medical students who interacted with foreign-based alumni of the local Government Medical College and members of the Amritsar Medical and Dental Alumni Association of North America (AMDAANA) here.
Speaking on the occasion, the students highlighted the problems being faced by them in hostels, lecture theatres and hospitals. The students alleged that the hostels were in dilapidated state with broken doors, choked sewage system and pitiable condition of toilets. They also expressed their concern over the menace of stray animals on the college campus, besides raising some points of security problems and the lack of proper lighting system. Interacting with students, Dr Satwant Singh, Chairperson, Task Force of AMDAANA, told them about facilities being provided to them by the association. These facilities included the LCD projectors, computers and sound system at the lecture theatres of the GMC. Besides, the lectures theatres would also be made air-conditioned, he added. He also called upon the students to take initiatives for the overall development of the college. Dr J.S. Dalal, Director, Research and Medical Education, assured the students of improvement in the condition of hostels. Dr A.S. Padda, officiating Principal of the college said they were making best efforts to provide facilities to the students. After the programme, the members of AMDAANA, the faculty of the college along with the students launched a drive to make the college clean and beautiful. They pledged to take every necessary step to make the college beautiful. |
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Weekly Round-up
The Textile Designing Department of the Khalsa College for Women organised an exhibition at the college complex last week. An array of items, including screen printing, pillow and bed covers, spray painting, stencil painting, free hand painting, prepared by the students of the department were displayed. Mr Satyajit Singh Majithia, president, Khalsa College Governing Council, inaugurated the exhibition. Langar for Pak cricket fans
Bibi Jagir Kaur, President, SGPC, stated that the Shiromani committee organised langar (community kitchen) for the Pakistani cricket fans on March 6 and 7 at Gurdwara Amb Sahib. She said residential arrangements had been made at the Kalgidhar Niwas in Chandigarh and at Gurdwara Amb Sahib. The Shiromani committee had forwarded Rs 51,000 to the Hind-Paki Dosti Manch for holding a langar for Pakistani visitors at Wagah border. Shobha yatra
The Kendriya Arya Sabha carried a shobha yatra (religious procession) on the eve of Mahashivratri on March 7. The yatra began at 11 am from Goal Bagh and concluded at Arya Samaj, Shakti Nagar, in evening. Swami Sumedhanand led the yatra and school children also participated in it. Prize distribution function
As many as 570 students received their degrees on the 49th annual prize distribution function of DAV College. Mr Navjot Singh Sidhu, MP, and Mr Jogendra Singh, former chief CBI, gave the degrees to the students. Annual function
The Anand College of Nursing and Charitable Hospital held its annual prize distribution function last week. Speaking on the occasion, Dr M.M. Anand, director of the hospital, said that nurses shared a close rapport with patients. The students presented colourful cultural songs and dances. The cultural programme started with the recital of shabd and included solo and group songs and dances. Campus selection
Five students of Guru Nanak Dev University were offered jobs by pharmaceutical firm Ranbaxy at a campus placement programme held recently. The students included Mr Ranjodh Singh Gill (M.Sc Applied Chemistry), Mr Vivek Sheel (M.Sc Industrial Chemistry), Ms Divya Arora, Mr Bhoopinder Singh and Mr Sarbjit Singh (M.Sc Chemistry Honours). |
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The evergreen charm of chudas
Spotting a newly married Punjabi woman is not difficult. Dozens of red and cream plastic bangles decorate her wrists. These bangles, with elaborate inlay work painted or engraved on them, adorn the bride's wrist. Chuda is an inseparable part of composite Punjabi and Indian culture.
A bride is considered incomplete without chuda, which is, as per tradition, gifted by the maternal uncle of the bride during her marriage. Brides wear this chuda from a month to over a year as per the traditions of the in-laws' family. Chuda assumes a special significance in this holy city, which has emerged as the main market in chuda manufacturing and selling. The chudas manufactured at the local Chuda Bazaar near the Golden Temple have a big demand in other parts of the country, particularly in northern states. Many Punjabi NRIs also buy chudas manufactured here for brides-to-be. The chuda has its own history. Initially, it was made of ivory. However, the ban on ivory hit hard this trade. But soon the craftsmen started making chudas of lac and later of plastic. The ivory bangles and chudas, it is believed, protects couples from bad omens, says Mr Mahinder Singh Tyagi, a second generation manufacturer of chudas. Before the Partition, the chudas were made by Muslim craftsmen who were considered the masters despite the fact that Muslim girls do not wear a chuda. After the Partition, many Sikh and Hindu boys excelled in this trade. With the changing times, chuda also changed colour. Earlier, it was made only of red colour, but now it is manufactured in four colours — red, maroon, magenta pink and off-white. The chuda has changed a lot with new fashions and trends, says Mr Harbhajan Singh, a state awardee and one of the oldest chuda craftsmen. He added that he had been toying with the idea of producing excellent quality chuda, which maintained its lustre for a couple of years. He claimed to have developed a special chemical, which helped to maintain the lustre. He said there was a new trend of chudas embellished with precious stones and gems. There are 60 to 65 bangles and four, six or eight kangans in one set of chuda. The maroon and the magenta colour chudas are more popular. In Rajasthan, the bride-to-be wears red and green coloured bangles called ichura. In Gujarat, the chudo is worn along with green and red glass bangles. |
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Rudraksha beads exhibition ends
Rudraksha beads improve concentration, mental stamina, and focus positive energies, claims a research by a group of scientists from the Institute of Technology University, Varanasi.
As per the study, wearing Elaeocarpus Ganitrus Roxb (the botanical name of
Rudraksha) beads around heart reduces and controls stress levels and hypertension, resulting in the feeling of tranquility and calmness. Mr Manoj Verma, the organiser of the Rudra Sansar that held an exhibition of various types of Rudraksha beads in the city from March 3 to March 7, claimed that beads were found to be ideal for focused meditation. He added that there were 16 types of beads of Rudraksha trees, which were found in South East Asia as well as in northern India and Nepal. |
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Punjabi hospitality bowls over Aamir
After his 10-day busy shooting schedule, the publicity-shy Bollywood star, Aamir Khan, came out of his 'hiding' to have an interaction with local media on the last day of his tour.
The Lagaan fame actor and producer said he was overwhelmed by the love and affection of the Amritsar people. He added that though he loved the Punjabi food, yet due to his strict dieting schedule he avoided the Punjabi delicacies. Aamir Khan was here for the shooting of his Hindi film Rang De Basanti in which he is playing the role of a Punjabi youth named DJ. Highly impressed with the people of this region, he said he was going to take back lots of love, which he had got from the people here. He said the people here were large hearted, loving and always smiling. He said he was amazed at the peaceful environment of the Golden Temple. He strongly criticised the vulgarity in media and opined that one had to draw a line. Aamir Khan, who started his career as assistant director and came into limelight in his first film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, while talking about his film Rang De Basanti, said he had used Punjabi accent in the film in which he was playing the role of a modern youth. He expressed his satisfaction over his more than a decade-old career in which he had done about 35 films. He said he was happy that people appreciated his work. He added that he believed in quality rather than quantity. When asked about Pakistani girls and boys working in Bollywood, he said people from both countries should work together in all fields, including film industry. When asked why Hindi films failed to get the Oscar award even after getting nominations, he said, "As far as I am concerned, I never make films for Oscars." However, he added that it was pleasant to know that people from other countries were appreciating our films. He said he made films for entertainment purpose only. "Artistes and sportspersons should try to bring together people of India and Pakistan, which could create a congenial atmosphere between the two countries," he said, adding that artistes and sportsperson did not have boundaries. |
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Shekhar Suman now eyeing Bollywood
"Obscenity shown on small screen is affecting Indian culture and society more as compared to what is shown in films." Shekhar Suman, the noted actor and anchor, said this while on a visit to the city last week. He had come here to inaugurate the 79th centre of the VLCC.
The actor, who has already created a niche for himself in chat shows and anchoring political satires, is now turning to big screen with the hope of reviving his fortune in the rough and tumble of Bollywood. He is toying with the idea of producing a film. In his typical style, Shekhar described the present censor board as a "politician in deep slumber who wakes up once in a while to shake up the film industry". The promoter of the VLCC, Ms Vandana Luthra, claimed that the rapidly growing network of the VLCC was a testimony to people's faith in their services. The centre had launched three new treatments, including instant inch loss, wrinkle treatment and microderm abrasion, she added. |
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SDM’s
report says installation ‘dangerous’
Most of the small-scale industries located in the city could not face even the first jolt of competition. With the first flush of competition, entrepreneurs had to convert these units located at the 100-foot road here into marriage palaces.
This rendered jobless thousands of families that had run these units for years
together.
Spotting a newly married Punjabi woman is not difficult. Dozens of red and cream plastic bangles decorate her wrists. These bangles, with elaborate inlay work painted or engraved on them, adorn the bride's wrist.
“It would be wrong to view mass copying in board examinations in isolation. The state of the Punjab School Education Board is pathetic. I am not an expert, but I think the real crisis is in the classroom, which remains neglected throughout the year for lack of essential infrastructure. Appropriate adjustments in our teaching methods and evaluating techniques will certainly show results. In order to check mass copying, we shall have to create a learning environment.”
“Due to moral degradation of the society, the system of examination has totally collapsed. There are multiple factors responsible for this. Teachers in government schools don’t perform their duties well. Vacant posts of principals, lecturers, teachers add to the problem. The teachers are involved in various non-teaching activities and they remain out of schools for many days during the academic session.”
“Copying in the annual examination is like drug abuse or corruption — a social evil — and the final solution is not possible without the cooperation of parents, teachers and society at large. The criteria for assessing the quality of education being imparted in a school are usually the number of scholarships won, the number of merit positions and the pass percentage.
