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Villagers in Mand area are an island unto themselves
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Sitting under a tinderbox?
US-born Punjabi youngsters taking to drugs, says expert
Overloading of school autos a
persistent threat on city roads
Temporary bus stand, permanent ‘adda’ fee
No plan to bring in new movies
at Science City
Engaging the deaf in mainstream
Onion prices in Phagwara shooting up like Sensex
From Schools and Colleges
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Villagers in Mand area are
A stretch of Beas river cuts through this land that is divided into nearly 30 villages. Life moves at a snail’s pace at this island, and modern contraptions are a rarity here. It’s altogether a different world. Many people live below the poverty line. Their only medium of connectivity with the non-islanders is boat (beda), by which they can make a trip to the city. But this takes a good part of the day, and by the time they are back home, the day is done! Come rains and the split from the ‘mainlanders’ becomes even more pronounced. “Getting across the Beas river stretch is like wading through a cloud of water. By the time you reach the city, your clothes ooze buckets of water. And God forbid, anyone gets sick when it’s dark and raining,” says Mr Sarvan Singh from Bahupur Jadeed, one of the villages falling in the island. “I remember when I fell ill the last time. I had to lie on a cot, and a water-proof covering was thrown over me. As I was not in a position to walk down from my house up to the river bank, I had to be carried on a cot,” says Ms Sukhvinder Kaur Sandhu, one of the residents of Bahupur Jadeed. It seems hard to believe that a stretch of water can affect the timelines of a place. “Everything is laidback here. Mornings amble into noon without much ado. We find it difficult to digest what the city folks say about the ‘race’ against time. Here, we relish each moment in its entirety,” says a resident of Bahupur Kadeem. Since cycles, scooters and bikes are used very rarely in the villages here, walking through the dust-sodden ground is most common. Some of the paths meander through the fields to the houses. It’s hard to miss the bounties (may be forced bounties sometimes!) of sun and wind and rain here. “We have a strange relation with this stretch of water. We know we have to brook its vagaries, yet we don’t hate it. We repose supreme trust in the man who ferries us across. We still adhere to the age-old custom of giving women and children the first preference when it comes to privileges. And women don’t complain,” explains Mr Amrik Singh, another resident of the area, adding, “Our bikes and scooters are as good as useless if they don’t get their refills from the petrol pumps in the city. And they cannot ride through water. The good, old beda has to carry the bikes that zoom past roads like shooting stars. In a beda, these fancy bikes look so tame!” Literacy rate here is among the lowest in the state. There is an apology for a school here that follows its own time zone! For those who are somehow able to sustain their interest in education despite de-motivating classroom(s) and disinterested teacher(s), the stop comes after matriculation. Though some boys may go in for higher studies in the city, girls have no such choice. “I would not like to send my daughter to a hostel in the city. What if someone leads her astray? Otherwise also, higher degrees are not of much consequence in the marriage market. I would prefer my daughter to learn the art of being a good wife. I want her to be married into a family that does not stay in the Mand area,” says a middle-aged woman. Interestingly, the marriage market dynamics here are rather different from those in a typical north Indian village. Marrying sons is more difficult here than marrying daughters. People from non-Mand areas are reluctant to marry their daughters to the Mand area villagers. “It’s a life of hard toil here. Those used to the comforts of the city life cannot fit in here. Who would want his daughter to lead a life that is almost primitive?” says an old man, shaking his head at his own sagacity.
Fasting, feasting
Agriculture is the mainstay of the villagers of the Mand area. “We are self-sufficient when it comes to the agricultural produce. We do not have to buy flour or vegetables. We even make jaggery at home. Often we get spices from our own farm land,” explains Ms Kamaljeet Kaur, who feels that the life at the island mirrors the complexities of life very simply! But again, it’s water that is the master. Monsoons can wreck havoc with the crops. And dwelling places can fall like a house of cards when it rains relentlessly. “Water guides our destiny. We cannot escape its fury,” says Mr Paramjit Singh, a resident of Bahupur Jadeed, adding, “Eighty per cent of the paddy crop in most villages here has been destroyed this time. Many families here sleep under the cover of trees at night, lest their mud houses should fall when it rains hard.”
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Sitting
under a tinderbox?
While earlier the hawkers were using makeshift wooden slabs to sell eatables like tikkis, bhallas and samosas, the permanent counters have now been permitted, just below the transformer in the centre of the busy road for their convenience. Neither the Municipal Corporation officials, nor the MLA of the area has bothered to get the unsafe encroachment removed from underneath the “tinderbox” for the reasons better known to them. There are high-tension wires that loom over them and even touch their heads and the use of hot oil or flames by them makes the place more unsafe and risky. The whole set up is not only dangerous to these hawkers’ lives but it will affect several shopkeepers and buyers who visit the market. Many shopkeepers, who have their shops adjacent to the transformers, have extended their counters, plastic mannequins and synthetic dress materials at least six to seven feet out on the road, leading to even higher chances of risk in case of any mishap. The parking of hundreds of two-wheelers in front of the transformer makes the situation more risky. The moment any untoward incident occurs, the fuel inside the vehicles can get ignited and further aggravate the situation. Moreover, on the backside of the transformer, there are men selling kids’ wear, synthetic socks and plastic toys displaying them on wooden tables. The lucrative business that helps the vendors earn a good income is the main reason, which inspires them to remain there. Be it any time of the day and any season of the year, they get a good number of customers, most of them being girls and women. Despite knowing about the vulnerability of the high-risk area zone, the hawkers are hardly perturbed as they find it the best place for their business. Says Bhole Shankar, a cook selling eatables, “We, too, know that it can be risky but nothing has ever happened for the past so many years. We are very cautious as we work. We do not let the oil spill around, so nothing can happen. We have become so used to it.” Gopi Lal, another vendor, said, “If we stop working here, where do we go? There is hardly any other place in the market where we can prepare and sell our eatables. This place is centrally located and just perfect for us to work.” Mr Satwant Singh Johal, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, when contacted, said that he would soon get the hawkers removed as he too felt that it could prove very hazardous. Mr Raj Kumar Gupta, MLA, said that he was in Srinagar and would do something about it when he was back. Though he admitted that there were some political pressures involved, he said he could discuss the matter in detail only when he was back.
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US-born Punjabi youngsters
A large number of the US-born Punjabi youngsters are falling prey to killer drugs like cocaine, smack and marijuana as soon as they graduate to high schools.
What is more shocking is that the Punjabi community in general is neither much aware of the seriousness of the problem nor is it doing anything tangible to curb the abuse of drugs. Mostly, the Punjabi community is not even aware that their innocent-looking school-going kids are deeply into drug addiction. This revelation was made by Mr Tarlochan Sohal, the Reserve Police Officer working with the Livingston City Police Department. He claimed to be the lone Punjabi police officer in entire Merced County of California state. Of 2.5 lakh people of the county, nearly 10 per cent or 25000 were Punjabis. Interestingly, the entire county had the lowest police-public ratio. There was one cop for 15000 residents, he said. “I feel pained to tell you that roughly about 10 per cent US-born Punjabi youngsters, particularly in California, are hooked to drugs. The reasons for drug-addiction are mainly frustration, lack of inspiration and deprivation from cultural roots. But I am more concerned about what I would say is the sheer indifference of Punjabi people towards this serious problem. They are hardly doing anything to save their wards from falling prey to drugs,” he said during a chat with Jalandhar Plus. Domestic violence, according to Mr Sohal, was another malady which afflicted the Punjabi society there. Reporting to police about this social problem was almost negligible. Referring to the crime situation in California, he made an interesting revelation that incidents of hate crime against Asians were on the rise and so were the cases of burglaries. “In fact, about 10 per cent of Americans are intolerant towards Asians to an extent. There has been four to five per cent increase in crime in California during the past two years,” said Mr Sohal, who belonged to Athola village here and had migrated to the US in 1986 after saying goodbye to his job with the Punjab police. He had to work hard and improve his educational qualifications in the foreign land. He was appointed as a Reserve Police Officer by Livingston City Police Chief two years back. “The only difference between regular police officers and us is that we are free to fix our duty schedule.” He said despite his being the lone Punjab-born officer in the Livingston Police Department, he had never faced any discrimination on any account. “No question of that. The police department there is so professional that there is no scope for any kind of discrimination or indifference towards anyone. Everyone has to be very alert when on duty. Those found misusing the positions on or off duty are taken to task,” he added.
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City rediscovers bhangra, aerobics style
Bhangra has been making people swing to its infectious beat all over the world and now the folk culture of Punjab has acquired a new connotation with ‘Bhangra Aerobics.’
Making health freaks go crazy all over the world with its pulsating rhythm, the dance is also making Jalandhar shed its weight and tone up muscles, bhangra style. Body Zone, a city-based gym, is offering this latest health fad, keeping it traditional in beat and aerobic in movement. This time, the idea did not come from New York where it is gaining immense popularity, but from the owner of the gym, Mr Kulwinder Gossal, who says that he missed the dance form so much that he thought of making it a way of exercising in Jalandhar. “The pull of the dance form is infectious,” he says, “as, even without advertising we are being flooded with inquiries from enthusiasts willing to enroll into the classes.” Dancing on bhangra music with pulsating aerobic beats makes the exercises a fun, say city youngsters. It takes the pulse rate higher than normal aerobic exercises do, they add. “To give that desi feel, the participants, over faded jeans and tees, are asked to don traditional bhangra jackets, and simply move with the rhythm. The sheer energy level of the unique aerobics is making many go in for it, says Mr Gossal. But the gym doesn’t recommend it to heart patients, as it is 70 per cent aerobics and 30 per cent Bhangra.
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Overloading of school autos
Notwithstanding the two recent accidents where rash driving of auto rickshaws overloaded with school children claimed one student’s life and injured many others, vans, cycle and auto rickshaws still continue to be the common mode of transportation in most of the schools here.
Such tragedies do not seem to have taught any lesson to parents, school authorities or the traffic police authorities who continue to send their children in these vehicles which are packed beyond their seating capacities, oblivious of the danger involved. Defying district administration’s orders of not filling vehicles beyond 1.5 times the seating capacity, these vehicles owners are successfully plying their overloaded vehicles in the wake of no checks being conducted. Though an auto rickshaw has a seating capacity of seven or eight children, 18 children are often seen in them. In their effort to earn more, many drivers create extra seating space for children by adding a wooden slab in the portion behind the seats where luggage is supposed to be kept. Some of them even make younger children sit in the laps of their seniors. There are others who make children sit on narrow sideboards. Such children face high risk due to heavy vehicular traffic on city roads. Eleven-year-old Rahul, a student of Tagore International School, was reportedly sitting on a narrow sideboard when the overloaded auto-rickshaw fell on his side crushing him to death near Basti Danishmandan on Tuesday last. Six other students got injured in the accident. This Tuesday again, students of Karam Chand School, Shekhe Pind village, had a providential escape when their overloaded auto-rickshaw turned aside when it had just started off from the school. However, 15-year-old Jaspreet Kaur got badly injured and was immediately rushed to Civil Hospital where she had to be admitted. Rash driving makes the transportation of schoolchildren more unsafe. Bumpy rides and sharp turns and twists taken by speeding auto rickshaws make it impossible for many schoolchildren to balance themselves on the way. Some closed-type rickshaws or buggies, with a seating capacity of eight children are also seen carrying more than 12 children, with one or two children running along on the road and pushing these from behind. It also becomes suffocating for many tiny tots, who go back home huddled like sardines in Maruti vans. Overloaded vehicles can be seen passing before the Police Lines, Traffic Police Station, Namdev Chowk, Guru Nanak Mission Chowk even after these two tragic incidents. All such vehicles are being allowed to pass by without any checks or interrogation. Many teachers are a daily witness to such unsafe situations as they travel along with the children in such auto rickshaws. High student strength of many schools is another cause of the problem. Overloading of vehicles being run on contract with various reputed city schools is quite common. However, recognising the need to curb such nuisances some schools authorities have started adopting stringent measures. Says Ms Deepa Dogra, Principal of Cambridge International School, “Despite tremendous pressure from parents, we have not permitted any school children to commute by auto rickshaws or buggies. On persistent requests from the parents residing in the school vicinity, we have permitted just one buggey wala who too has been trained about safety rules in the school.”
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Temporary bus stand, permanent ‘adda’ fee
With the closure of the PRTC’s Phagwara bus stand for renovation work, the GT Road has nowadays become the temporary stand.
However, the ‘adda’ fee is still being charged from the buses of private transport companies even when there is now no ‘adda’ actually for their entry, parking and exit! When a delegation of private transporters led by Mr Harwinder Singh recently objected to PRTC officials about the practice, authorities could not give them any satisfactory answer, it is learnt. The private transporters alleged that when they refused to give money to the ‘adda’ fee collector, the bus stand authorities took the help of police in making them fall in line. The transporters added that the officials asked for ‘adda’ fee even when the buses were parked on the sides of the GT Road. The PRTC collects around Rs 33,000 as ‘adda’ fee daily. Meanwhile, the parking of numerous buses over the busy NH1 (National Highway Number 1) has resulted in cluttering of traffic. It has been causing inconvenience to pedestrians, two-wheeler and car drivers, even as the traffic police claims that it is doing its best to regulate the chaos. Phagwara residents say the buses park outside the bus stand in a bid to ‘catch’ passengers first, creating a mess thereby. For school children, women and elderly, it is a Herculean task to cross this portion of the GT Road, they add. Amid the mess, authorities say the new bus stand will be a state-of-the-art bus stand with a budget of Rs 2 crore and will come up on two-and-a-half acres of land. They claim it would be passengers-friendly. The renovated bus stand, officials add, would have six bays for local and short route buses, while the long route buses would have three exits from the side of the Maal Godaam Road, recently evacuated of squatters. It would also have two entry points from the GT Road. Authorities say the stand would be completed within six months. The old bus stand was built in 1985. In 20 years, the structure had become ramshackle. The new bus stand, they say, will cater to over 1000 buses and 30,000 passengers daily. MD, PRTC, Mr G.S. Grewal, said the new bus stand would be four-storey and a 1200 square yards multiplex would also be constructed here at the cost of Rs 1 crore. The new stand, he added, would also have close-circuit cameras, a 10-foot central verge, and 35-foot-wide pavements for the passage of four buses side-by-side and a small bridge for people to cross over. The project would be self-financed, as a loan of Rs 2 crore had already been secured. The bus stand earns Rs 1 crore and 25 lakh as annual revenue, mostly from the ‘adda’ fee, said Mr Grewal.
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No plan to bring in new movies
at Science City
If you have been to Pushpa Gujral Science City once, there is hardly any charm left for you if you visit the place again. The reason is simple. All four theatres, including dome theatre, flight simulator, 3-D cinema and laser show, have just one movie each for exhibition.
The four theatres are the major attractions in the science city for visitors from all walks of life. Even as most visitors like to spend the time in these theatres, the same movie is being repeated in each of them — one show after the other — since the last six months. But there is no plan on the anvil to bring another movie in these theatres for another six months. The dome theatre has a 45-minute movie based on technicalities and difficulties involved in shooting a film on the life of sharks. The 3D-cinema also exhibits just one movie based on a scene of a laboratory from where rats, snakes and shells emerge during different experiments, giving the viewer a feeling as if they are going to strike his nose. The flight simulator has a movie based on real-life experience and gives the riders a feeling as if they were zooming in an alien universe. Similarly, the laser show also has just one kind of show in which the laser beams form images in a particular rhythm on the beat of the song “India is the best”, followed by dazzling effects after fog liquid is sprayed on the screen. The authorities say the reason for sticking to these four movies is the high cost of the equipment and movies, in addition to maintenance charges. The authorities explain that the cost of large format film projection system for dome theatre is Rs 8 crore and a movie to be run inside it is obtained on lease at almost one-tenth of the total cost of the apparatus for a period of one year. “Once a movie is obtained at such a high cost, we plan to use it for the whole year,” the authorities reveal. “Since movies for such theatres are rarely available and involve high cost of production, their price is also too high. Besides, the bulb used for screening of the film costs Rs 6 lakh and has to be changed every four months. The cost of maintenance of the theatre also amounts to lakhs of rupees for which no additional funds are provided by the government,” insiders say. The authorities say the movie for the laser show has been bought by the science city at a cost of Rs 30 lakh, which again is quite high. For getting a new movie, they need as much more money, they claim. The authorities say they cannot even think of increasing the entry charges to make for the expenditure, as there is already immense pressure from various corners to slash the price of the tickets. “All we are doing now is to appoint tour operators who can publicise about the science city and bring in more schools to raise the collections,” says an insider. They also claim that new attractions such as a dancing robot and an energy park are going to be added up soon so as to lure people to visit the place again. Dr R.S. Khandpur, Director General, was not available for comments, as he is away on a foreign tour.
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Engaging the deaf in mainstream
His mission in life changed almost 10 years back when he realised that several hearing impaired people like his own daughter could improve their social, cognitive and academic skills through the concept of bilingualism. It was then that Mr Arun Rao founded The Deaf Way, a Delhi-based NGO, which is successfully spreading the concept with its 40 chapters across the country.
Mr Rao was in the city on Saturday to address a seminar hosted by the Deaf Friendship Clubs of Jalandhar, Patiala, Chandigarh and Ludhiana. Holding a day-long interactive session with deaf-school teachers, counselors, parents and hearing impaired children, he recommended bilingualism as a tool for effective training in communication. Explaining the concept, Mr Rao said bilingualism in deaf education implied teaching of two languages – the first being the sign language that is the natural language of the section while the other one is the spoken language which could help them in interacting with the common people. By using the sign language this section could easily be imparted education, he said. The concept, however, was not picking up in most parts of the country as “oralism” was being propagated to teach spoken language from the very beginning with the help of speech therapy, hearing aid, auditory training, lip reading and other means. This not only led to their exclusion and isolation but also resulted in the neglect of their potential. Mr Rao emphasised that since most parents were averse to the use of sign language, their children did not mingle with them as a distant dream in India but a beginning in this direction could definitely be made,” he said citing the remarkable example of Edison who had invented an electric bulb about two centuries back despite being hearing impaired. Mr Rao said that he was now spearheading his campaign to educate hearing impaired adults by spreading awareness about pregnancy, safe sex, birth control methods and other related issues. He warned that many anti-social elements were trying to take advantage of these deaf-mute people.
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Onion prices in Phagwara shooting up like Sensex
The rising onion prices may actually make housewives cry here. And why not? From Rs 7 per kg, the prices of onion have shot up to Rs 16-Rs 20 per kg in just one week!
Sellers say this is the second major rise in the last three weeks. Price of the prized vegetable also varies from one part of the city to the other. Starting from around Rs 16 a kg in Phagwara’s vegetable market on the Sarai Road, it touches Rs 20 in places like Hargobind Nagar and Model Town. “Last week, I bought onions for Rs 7 per kg and today I was shocked to find them priced between Rs 16 and Rs 20 per kg,” said Ms Balbir Kaur, a homemaker. She says she may eventually cook food without onions. But Ms Radha Gupta, another homemaker, is excited. “In a way it’s good. At least for a change I’ll switch over to other alternatives and try new recipes.” Ms Chauhan, who supplies cooked food to singles or office-goers in Phagwara, thinks it should not affect anyone much because there are so many vegetables which can be easily cooked without onions. Wholesalers in the vegetable market blame the price rise on hoarding by agents in Nasik and Bhavnagar. They expect supplies from local farmers and Haryana to normalise the prices in the next couple of days.
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From Schools and Colleges
Local MP Rana Gurjit Singh presided over the recently held Hindi Divas celebrations at Doaba College. The speakers highlighted the importance of Hindi language in the modern context, as Hindi, they said, was the language, which instills national pride among Indians all over the world. Ozone Day Apeejay School here observed the World Ozone Protection Day at its Tanda Road branch with the students presenting various items in an effort to spread environmental awareness and the need to save the ozone layer. The students of the school presented skits highlighting the damage being done to the environment with the continued use of polythene bags. Cross-country meet The DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology has won the Girls Cross Country Championship trophy during a tournament organised by the PTU at the Sant Baba Bagh Singh Institute of Engineering and Technology in Padhiana. Science exhibition A science exhibition on the “Wonders of the Universe” was organised at Police DAV Public School here. Commandant Ram Singh of the 7th Battalion inaugurated the exhibition. The evolution of stars, the Milky Way, galaxies, and position of planets were skillfully presented at the exhibition. Freshers’ Party A freshers’ party was organised at the hostel of Kanya Maha Vidyalaya (KMV) recently. Cultural items were presented, beginning with devotional renditions and jago. To spread awareness about AIDS, female
foeticide and drug addiction, a seminar was also held at KMV Maha Vidyalaya. Dr Neil Abell, Associate Professor at Florida University, spoke on the global response to the epidemic. First year students of BBA at the Lovely Institute of Management were also given a colourful freshers’ party by their seniors. Mr S.S. Chatha was the chief guest on the occasion. Another freshers’ party for new comers was organised at the CT Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology. Kathak workshop The PCMSD College for Women organised a dance workshop on Kathak. Experts spoke on the dance form to apprise the students about its finer nuances. Taekwando Ten teams from the city took part in a two-day Taekwando championship at CT Public School. The championship was won by CT Public School. Apeejay School secured the second position. Grandparents’ Day MGN Public School celebrated Grandparents’ Day at a special function held in presence of the grandparents of the students. Games, Q&A along with interaction between the parents and the grandparents marked the function. Leadership The Lovely Institute of Management recently organised a training workshop on leadership where students were given lessons on developing leadership qualities. Science tour Students of Seth Hukum Chand SD Public Senior Secondary School were taken to the Science City and were shown sound and laser beams shows on sharks and the galaxy. Teachers’ training A workshop on ‘Teachers’ Training in Primary Education’ was held at Delhi Public School. The event was organised by the Canadian Education Centre Network. Hindi Humjoli Eklavya School organised ‘Hindi Humjoli’ to mark Hindi Divas. Word antakshri, dialogue writing and other such competitions were held to cultivate skills in Hindi among the students.
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A large number of the US-born Punjabi youngsters are falling prey to killer drugs like cocaine, smack and marijuana as soon as they graduate to high schools.
What is more shocking is that the Punjabi community in general is neither much
aware of the seriousness of the problem nor is it doing anything tangible to
curb the abuse of drugs. Mostly, the Punjabi community is not even aware that
their innocent-looking school-going kids are deeply into drug addiction.
Notwithstanding the two recent accidents where rash driving of auto rickshaws overloaded with school children claimed one student’s life and injured many others, vans, cycle and auto rickshaws still continue to be the common mode of transportation in most of the schools here.
Such tragedies do not seem to have taught any lesson to parents, school
authorities or the traffic police authorities who continue to send their
children in these vehicles which are packed beyond their seating capacities,
oblivious of the danger involved.
“No man is an island… entire of itself. Every man is a continent, a part of the whole…” But here at Mand, barely 50 km from Jalandhar, it’s a secluded existence. Mand is almost the backwater of civilisation (not culture though!).
