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Casting coaches
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From the Schools
Age has not dimmed his enthusiasm for teaching
DAV School student on achievement spree
Janta College, Kartarpur, caters to 120 villages
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Casting coaches
THIS Monday, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, created another landmark. This time by rolling out its first metre gauge chair car with roof mounted AC package units that would keep providing cooling effect even when the train halts.
But there have been several landmarks in the history of this harbinger in coach factory technology which is now 18-year-old. The factory has produced as many as 25 different types of coaches till date. Though many of them have now become obsolete, the latest model termed as “Alstom-LHB-design coach” based on German technology rolled out for Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains has been a real success. It can run at a speed of as much as 180 km per hour. The RCF has targeted and achieved many other milestones by manufacturing self-propelled accident relief train, high capacity parcel vans, refrigerated vans and fire resistant coaches. This kind of high-precision production of specialised coaches has only been possible due to advanced automated mechanism introduced in the U-shaped workshop of the factory. It is interesting to observe how simple steel rolls of different grades go into the making of ordinary to hi-tech coaches. All this has been made possible with the use of the largest plant wide Local Area Network (LAN) having over 300 terminals. The system helps in day-to-day monitoring of all production activities, including design, material planning, material procurement, production planning, inventory control, quality assurance and costing functions. Coach making Various jobs involved in the making of the coaches have been segregated in five different shops with as many as 5,500 employees contributing in specialised assignments beginning from shell shop, bogey shop, paint shop, furnishing shop and finally a finishing shop from where the coaches are finally rolled out to their varied destinations. The shell shop of the factory is reportedly the country’s one of the largest single-roof shops stretching up to nearly a kilometre. In the shop, the steel coils of different grades, including stainless steel is brought in. A sheet metal machine straightens these rolls into sheets and cuts them to various dimensions, two for side walls, two end walls, one roof and one floor. The press brakes with hydraulic pressure of as much as 1000 tons then punch the sheets out for profile cuttings. The various huge automated jig machines with six-fitter welders then bind all sides, also introducing the required curves. The floor is corrugated in one of such machines so as to add strength to it. The shop also houses a huge bysystronic laser profile cutting machine that cuts out metal sheets into various steel components required in the production of the train. Various other fittings of the coach are then welded manually also. A prototype of the coach thus prepared is mounted on wheels and pulled on towards the paint shop inside a huge automated machine equipped with laser nozzles that spray paints the coaches on all its sides as these move around its axis. Different colour schemes are used for different trains. Shatabdi Express has two shades of blue, while the Alstom-LHB coaches have red and light blue contrast. The machine paints the colour with one dominant colour. The secondary colour is then painted manually masking the dominant colour with plastic sheets. Once painted, the coaches then move on to furnishing shop where various components like seats, berths, window panes, doors and electric gadgets are fitted into it. Electric connections and fittings of AC are also given by electricians. In the finishing shop, last touches are given by adding toilet fittings, sun mica, curtains and similar components. This is also the place where different bogeys from the bogey shop are attached after they have been tried and tested with computerised machines for their use. LHB coaches The LHB coaches are made in basically the same fashion but the components used for the purpose are far more sophisticated. Bogies of the coaches are being made using Fiat-Switzerland design with key improvements influencing passenger comfort and safety. Made of stainless steel, the coaches are highly resistant to corrosion, requiring minimal cost of maintenance with fire retardant paints on them. The coaches have an axle mounted disc brake system for efficient braking and lesser maintenance requirements. The under gear parts of the coaches have been developed using optimum quality material and in a well-designed manner so as to avoid servicing and
repaircosts. The coaches are connected using centre buffer coupler, instead of the conventional screw coupler, to ensure more hauling power and prevention of climbing of coaches on one another during collision. The LHB designs also have bigger size sealed windows for a panoramic view and heat insulation. The air conditioning units are roof mounted type eliminating the incidence of water dripping into the coach. Toilets are controlled discharge type to avoid soiling of station premises. Alstom LHB car Such coaches have PVC coated galvanised iron sheet for panelling of side wall, ceiling and partition frames. The windows and floor boards made of aluminum, seats and luggage racks of stainless steel are also fire proof. The ceiling has 31 mm thick rock wool and ceramic wool in ceiling as insulation that can withstand temperature up to 900 centigrade. Intumescent paint is used that swells when exposed to fire. Besides, fire retardant electron beams irradiated cross linked cables and polyimide fittings and conduits add to passengers’ security. The coaches are also equipped with smoke sensors in ceilings, audio alarms, radial outlet fans, and solenoid valve in air brake circuits that operate on detection of smoke, thus halting the train. For escape, each coach has four emergency windows. The window bars in lavatory windows are eliminated for escape in case of emergency. Cost factor It is for such special features that the cost of production of LHB coach comes out to be Rs 2 crore per coach, even as average cost of manufacturing an ordinary coach is just Rs 35 lakh per coach, Rs 85 lakh for first AC and Rs 73 lakh for third AC. However, it is being believed that the cost of production is quite low in India as same coaches could be imported from Germany at a purchase price of Rs 4.8 crore and landing cost of Rs 2.6 crore. Inside the Coach Factory: Green signal to expansion plan Recently, the Central government has given a go-ahead to the expansion plan of the RCF at an estimated cost of Rs 35 crore. The expansion plan will enhance the manufacturing capacity from the present level of 1,000 coaches to 1,400 coaches per annum, besides creating new employment opportunities in the state. The Minister of State for Railways R. Velu mooted the plan after he visited the factory premises in January. He appreciated the contribution of the unit in setting up new benchmarks of efficiency in the public sector. Set up with an investment of Rs 400 crore, the RCF has so far turned out over 15,000 coaches, and is currently contributing to more than 35 per cent of the total passenger coaches (broad gauge) in service of the Indian Railways. The RCF is also operating over its capacity and even exporting coaches to other countries, including Vietnam.
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Kapurthala bus stand in a pitiable state
BUS stand at Kapurthala is in bad shape. Toilets stink, drinking water facility is insufficient and the lone platform is overcrowded. There is hardly any seating arrangement for waiting passengers.
All four toilets on the first floor of the bus stand emit foul smell. The lights of one of the toilets are also not working. Some of the rooms on the first floor of the bus stand are in dilapidated condition, with their doors broken. "This bus stand may be slightly better than that of Jalandhar, but there is definitely a scope for improvement," says Mr Kartar Singh, a city resident. Another resident rues that there is hardly any check on the hawkers operating in the bus stand. "The authorities should make sure that the hawkers don't sell sub-standard things and that they follow the rate list. Many times, these hawkers overcharge the passengers. The passengers, who are in hurry most of the time, have to shell out extra money to these unscrupulous hawkers," says Ms Gurpreet, who commutes to Jalandhar daily. Encroachments mark the road opposite the bus stand. Auto rickshaws and rehriwalas block the major portion of the road. Some shopkeepers, too, have encroached upon the road. Though a site adjoining the bus stand is earmarked for the auto rickshaws, most of them park their vehicles on the road and try to rush towards the incoming bus to 'get' passengers. "I often see auto rickshaws trying to move hurriedly towards the buses, so that they can get the maximum number of passengers. This poses a serious traffic problem. It can even lead to accident," says a city resident, who frequents the bus stand. Encroachments also create noise pollution. Bus drivers have to honk their way through these encroachments. "We regret shifting to this locality. Right from morning, there is constant blaring of horns. You can well imagine the havoc that noise pollution plays with our health," says a resident of a nearby locality. When contacted, the authorities concerned said that they had a plan to beautify the bus stand.
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Nazakat mesmerises Jalandhar Club audience
AS the Nazakat evening reached its crescendo, the Jalandhar Club at cantonment here jived to pop singer Shibani Kashyap's peppy songs. Starting from chartbusters sajnaa aa bhi jaa and kya nazakat
hai, Shibani was gradually able to capture the mood of the audience.
With summery feel palpable in air, it was just the right time for many to go down the memory lane. As the singer crooned mera naam chin chin
chu, shola jo bhadke and gorae gorae baankay chhoray, the audience was transported to the golden era of the Indian cinema. It was the retro song it's time to disco that had children climb up the stage to dance their disco steps. Dhoom song also received an overwhelming response. Dance troupe Oorja's fire-spitting dance, too, was well-received. Those with a yen for light music had Sufi singer Mohinder Pal's mellow tumko
dekha, yeh dil yeh pagal dil mera to regale them. Shibani, while revealing details about her musical journey, said that she was an army officer's daughter. Her forthcoming album was titled Nazakat and she was also doing playback singing for 1971 — a movie based on Indo-Pak war of 1971. There was a bit of Bollywood info-sprinkling when yesteryear actor Manoj Kumar's brother, Rajiv Goswami, shared his reminiscences with the audience. "Actor Dilip Kumar's commitment to his work has been remarkable. In one of the movies in which he had to portray the role of a limping man, he kept pointed stones in his shoes so that he got the limping gait without any affectation," he recalled. Rajiv, who has been into film direction and production, said that he could still not forget how he had once muddled his own lines while directing Hema Malini in a movie in which he, too, was acting. Nazakat was organised by the Vajra Corps, Jalandhar Cantonment. The objective was to provide entertainment to army personnel, who play a vital role in the defence of the country. "It was an enjoyable evening. We had a whale of a time during this nice mix of music and dance," remarked a member of the audience.
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From the Schools
IN an effort to keep Punjabi culture alive, the staff of Mama's Pride organised Baisakhi mela on Thursday.
The kids came dressed in colourful traditional attire. The school was decorated with buntings. Charts depicting scenes of harvesting of wheat were put up on the walls. Various stalls of bangles, rings and traditional jewellery were put up. Kids enjoyed rides on tongas and small merry-go-rounds. Goats were tied near the gates. A dholi played a drum as kids danced to its tunes. Toys made of clay were put on display. The tiny tots were given piggy banks made of clay and gulli danda as return gifts. The parents who were invited for the show enjoyed watching their little ones making merry in the Punjabi mela. Ms Kuldip Kaur, Headmistress, said that the kids enjoyed every bit of the festival. Delhi Public School Tiny tots from the junior section of Delhi Public School celebrated Baisakhi on Wednesday. The kids came dressed up in traditional Punjabi attire as they participated in a fashion show. Around 250 students of class I and class II took part in the show. Mr Gurleen was adjudged the Baisakhi
Gabru, while Ms Amanjyot was declared Baisakhi Mutyiar, among the students of class I. In the category comprising kids from class II, Harnoor was selected Baisakhi
Gabru, while Kirandeep was adjudged Baisakhi Mutyiar. A puppet show and bhangra were the highlights of the ceremony. Mr Vinod Sharma, Principal, distributed the prizes among the winners of the competition. Ambika Modern The students and the staff of Ambika Modern School held Baisakhi celebrations on the campus on Tuesday. The programme began with a speech by a staff member on importance of the day. The students presented a Punjabi group song. A Punjabi duet was sung by two teachers to add to the charm of the day. Boys dressed up in traditional attire performed foot-tapping
bhangra. Dr Ambedkar's birth anniversary was also organised. Abhinav of class VIII spoke on Dr Ambedkar's life and achievements. Apeejay School The senior wing of Apeejay School celebrated Baisakhi and Dr Ambedkar's birth anniversary on Tuesday. The students presented folk song and folk dance depicting Punjabi culture. Arish Saren of class X spoke on the life and teachings of Dr Ambedkar. Ms Ranjan Sud, Principal, stressed on the need to imbibe the spirit of service to humanity. The primary section students also held a separate show in which kids dressed up as Panj Pyaras went around the quadrangle raising the jaikara - Bole so nihal Sat Sri Akal. Amuleek of class V sang a melodious shabad, while Tarun of class VI recited a poem. On the occasion, kids also paid tributes to Dr
B.R. Ambedkar. Best paper award Prof Amit Sharma from the Department of Computer Sciences and Applications of Kanya Maha Vidyalaya won the best paper award at Panipat during an international conference on "Networking and future e-commerce" organised by the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology on Saturday. Prof Sharma presented a paper titled
"SCTP: Transport protocol of the next generation". Nearly 50 papers were presented by scientists, research scholars, consultants and academicians from across Asia. Painting exhibition Ms Manminder Kaur, a student of Bachelor of Design (third semester), Apeejay College of Fine Arts, has secured the first position in Guru Nanak Dev University, the results of which were declared recently. She scored 92.3 per cent marks. Ms Amleen Kaur of the same college bagged the third position in the university by getting 91 per cent marks. Meanwhile, in a three-day painting exhibition that concluded on Saturday, Neha Kamboj won the first prize for her painting "Struggle of freedom". The second prize was won by Varinder for her painting "Freedom". A painting titled "Masks" was declared third. Consolation prize went to Vandana for her creation "Facets".
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Age has not dimmed his enthusiasm for teaching
MEET a young man of 77! He has been working in various jobs for the last over fiftytwo years. He did three MAs during service. And he hates to take leave!
Captain G.S. Bajwa is a self-professed workaholic. He served in army, consolidation department, tehsil office and education department. Most of his service, over forty years of it, has been in the field of education. He is post graduate in Urdu, Economics and Political Science, besides being an M.Ed. And he did his Urdu MA during his stint in army. After retiring from government service as Headmaster (PES) in 1986, he has been Principal of Sri Guru Hargobind Khalsa Senior Secondary School at Palahi village. He started his career in Consolidation Department way back in 1952. He got commissioned directly as 2/Lt in army in 1963. He did MA in Economics and joined Doaba Khalsa School, Jalandhar, as a lecturer in 1968. He remained there till 1978. Then he was selected by the PPSC in the PES and became the first Headmaster of Government High School at Bhullarai village after the school was upgraded. The keen eyes of educationist, Mr Jagat Singh
Palahi, fell on him and he was picked up after retirement in 1986 to be the first principal of the Palahi school, which was also upgraded then. "During my long association with students, I have found that they are still very receptive. They look up to their teachers as their role models. It is for us teachers to measure up to their expectations," he said. "I am addicted to work. I hardly miss my class. Punctuality is something about which I am very particular," he said, adding that it was easier to influence students by setting a personal example than by asking them to follow certain rules and regulations. "Character building can be done by setting examples worth emulating," he contended. He is a fitness freak. "The secret of my active life even in old age is that I am enthusiastic about my work and I eat healthy," he explained.
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DAV School student on achievement spree
HARD work is the key to success. Saumya Vij, a class VIII topper vouches for it. This student of Police DAV Public School, PAP Campus, Jalandhar Cantonment, has a string of achievements to his credit. And he has been on the achieving-spree for many years.
A class IX student, he stood second in district in DAV Board Examination with 92.8 per cent marks. "I knew that I had to do well in the board examination and I tried my best," says this boy, whose motto is to surpass his own self by sheer hard work. He has won prizes in folk song competitions organised during inter-school meets, police cultural meets and DAV Youth Festivals. It's not only music that he is interested in, but also he has a flair for sports. He is a keen skater and swimmer. Debates, declamations and dramatics are his other interests. He dabbles in painting, too. He has been doing consistently well in academics. Last year, he won a district-level prize in the National Cyber Olympiad. He has been a junior head boy of the school and member of the school's group song team for the last six years. "If one is systematic, it becomes easy to balance extra-curricular activities and academics," he says. There are moments, even days, of confusion, when things don't work out the way one would like them to. But such failures should be taken in their stride, he adds. This young achiever has a special interest in science. In fact, he wants to take up applied science as his subject of higher study. "I consider myself privileged to be a student of this school. Our school offers wonderful opportunities in sports, cultural activities and academics," he says, adding that he would strive to work even harder this year and the next year. After all, expertise in science does not come easily!
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MC converts school gates into garbage dumps
Scores of state government owned and grant-in-aid schools here are facing problems due to dumping of garbage near their buildings. What compounds the problem is the subsequent delay on the part of the local municipal corporation authorities to lift the garbage on regular basis.
The school authorities concerned rue lack of proper planning on the part of the local municipal corporation authorities in this regard. In the absence of specially erected dumping yards in most parts of the city, the corporation staff has started placing garbage bins near the buildings of several state government owned and grant-in-aid schools. This causes inconvenience to local residents, school employees and students. During a survey conducted by The Tribune team, it was found that garbage bins had been placed near the buildings of several such schools, including Parvati Jain Senior Secondary School, Vijay Nagar, Sain Dass Senior Secondary School and Government Secondary School, Ladowali Road. The school authorities say that they have submitted several memorandums to the authorities concerned, requesting the latter to set up proper garbage dumps, but to no avail. "The corporation should set up specially covered garbage chambers to dump the garbage, as open bins pose serious health risk to the residents, the school staff and the students," says Mr R. Sharma, a teacher from Parvati Jain Senior Secondary School. "The garbage remains strewn about. There is no proper arrangement for its removal on daily basis. Mosquitoes and other insects continue to breed in these places," says principal of an aided school, seeking anonymity. The students of Sain Dass Senior Secondary School maintain that during rainy season, water mixes with the garbage and the stench can be felt miles ahead. "Though the corporation authorities have spent lakhs of rupees on beautification of certain areas in the city in the past, no serious effort has ever been made to redress the problem that affects the health of thousands of people. Such dumping points pose a serious health risk. The authorities concerned should immediately make proper arrangements for the disposal of the garbage," said one of the students. The students maintain that the authorities should construct fully-covered garbage dump points for the purpose, instead of littering the school gates. "If the authorities themselves continue to allow dumping of garbage here, then who will care for the cleanliness of the city? We have submitted several complaints to the authorities concerned in this regard, but no action has ever been taken to redress the same," says Mr Gurbant Singh, a resident of Patel Chowk area. Though the MC Commissioner, Mr Satwant Singh Johl, was not available for comments, sources revealed that the civic body had already started the exercise to identify the garbage points for the construction of covered garbage collection centres. "The corporation is fully convinced that the garbage bins should be removed from near school buildings. It has been decided to construct new garbage collection centres at identified places to redress the grievances of the affected people. The work will start soon on this project," sources added.
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Janta College, Kartarpur, caters to 120 villages
ABOUT 34 years ago, a group of five educationists decided to build a new educational institute to impart quality education to students hailing from rural areas of this part of the region. They wanted the college to be a place where students could learn the significance of education and serve the nation with their unique abilities.
With this dream in their minds, Master Gurbanta Singh, the then-MLA, Sher Ameer Singh, Raghbir Singh, Ragunandan Lal Ohri and Jathedar Nand Singh got together in the year 1971 to set up Janta College at Kartarpur. The college has made a mark for itself in the field of rural education in the entire northern region during a span of 34 years, claim college authorities. After regular perusal with the then-Union-Defence-Minister, Mr Sawaran Singh, the authorities concerned allotted a piece of 5 acres of land to set up the college, which formally started functioning with strength of 34 students. With the passage of time, the college acquired the status of multi-faculty Janta College — a postgraduate institution — with strength of over 800 students, including 550 girls. The college now caters to students from 120 villages of Jalandhar and Kartarpur. The multi-disciplinary college, affiliated with Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, offers course in humanities, economics and computer sciences. The college has recently introduced job-oriented diploma courses of one- year duration. These courses include diploma in dress designing, cutting and tailoring and post graduate diploma in computer applications. Besides, the college is going to introduce post graduation in Punjabi from the coming academic session. Mr R.L. Saili, Advisor of the college, recalls, "The first session of the college started in 1971 with an intake of 34 students. Master Gurbanta Singh went door-to-door for motivating parents to send their wards for studies, as during those days parents considered it against their family traditions to send girls to study in a college. But gradually the people of the area realised the importance of education for women. The result is in front of you - over 550 girl students hailing from 120 villages are studying here." This institution was re-christened as Master Gurbanta Singh Memorial Janta College after the demise of Master Gurbanta Singh in the year 1980. A computer lab, a dress design workshop, a well-catalogued library having more than 2000 books on various subjects — all are used to ensure better and effective learning among the students. Holding seminars, debates, workshops and conferences are regular features here, reveal college authorities. The college authorities maintain that they have a sustained good record in academics. "In our college, 10 students bagged merit positions in BA (Final) examination last year, while 25 students secured the first position," Mr Saili tells us, adding that the college management is planning to introduce commerce and science streams for which necessary approvals are awaited. To improve the overall personality of the students, the college authorities have made it mandatory for every student to become a member of any of the five college clubs, including Social Sciences' Association, Population Education Club, Planning Forum, Hindi/Sanskrit Sahitya Sabha and Punjabi Sahitya Sabha. Mr Saili claims, "We also help students from poor families. They are given monetary help and scholarships, and books are loaned to them." The college has also made its presence felt in the sports field, as the college's cricket team recently won the university championship in 'B' division, while its women kho kho team was declared runner-up in the university games.
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