 |
|
|
Overcharging a ‘norm’ at Phagwara bus stand
Week Comment
HMV hosts talent hunt
Pre-recruitment training for PAP candidates
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
AWWA Week celebrated
Market Buzz
|
|
Overcharging a ‘norm’ at Phagwara bus stand
Consumer rights are violated blatantly at the local bus stand. To buy eatables or other packed products and the much-in-demand items at the bus stand, one has to shell out much more than the actual cost. “Biscuits, toffees and chips are sold at prices far exceeding the MRP. If anyone objects, the shopkeepers pick up a fight,” says a regular commuter. “Even chewing gum like Center Fresh, with the MRP of Re I, sells for Rs 1.25,” he adds.
“Overcharging for goods sold here is common. You feel as if you are being cheated. If customers object to overcharging, they often have to face unpleasantness. Something needs to be worked out, so that those who complain receive justice,” said Rajesh Verma, a passenger from Una, waiting at the bus stand. “Despite an advertisement campaign on television, radio and newspapers, passengers and passersby are fleeced openly at the bus stand as they have no option. Everyone at the bus stand is in a rush and there is not much time to argue over the high prices, much to the benefit of unscrupulous shopkeepers,” says another passenger. “I used to oppose overcharging till some time back, but I don’t mind it any more. I was subjected to verbal abuses over the rate of a packet of ‘Uncle Chips’ that normally costs Rs 20 and for which Rs 22 were being demanded. My wife was with me and I was embarrassed,” said Prahlad, an ICICI executive working at Jalandhar. “They are all working in tandem. All have their share in it, be it the local administration officials, police or shopkeepers,” alleged a rickshaw-puller at the bus stand. When contacted, an official at the bus stand said he had not received any complaint about such malpractices. “Consumer forums are working for the purpose, and you should talk to them,” he said. |
|
Week Comment
The police’s ‘strong’ soul overpowered the ‘weak’ one on Wednesday when khaki-clad law enforcers came down “heavily” on youths, who, armed with naked swords, were on a rampage in the crowded bazaars of the city. They were forcibly closing down shops to forge solidarity with the Sikh student whose hair was cut off by some miscreants far far away in Jaipur. (It was also a symbol of the world flattening itself). The policemen with lathis made it a ‘level-playing field’, as testified by newspaper photographs. Some said the issue was too sensitive for the police to act ‘in that way’, some said the police showed the protesters ‘what rule of the law was made of’. As for natural law, if you use force, the force gets back to you. Two days before this, the police’s ‘weak’ soul was ruling. It was a comedy of errors. Looking for one Tapasvi Bhardwaj, a suspect in a case of alleged fraud, some Phagwara policemen zoomed in one Tejasvi Bhardwaj, called him to the police station and interrogated him ‘endlessly’. The case of mistaken identity turned out to be a case of political ‘mistake’. The man with the wrong name was a local BJP leader, no fault of the policemen, unless they were looking for trouble. The next day, the BJP and BJYM workers blocked the roads for this mistaken ‘political’ identity. There were two more signs of the ‘weak’ soul. On Tuesday, some miscreants thrashed a police party at a school in Dhilwan. On Sunday, two lady inspectors and relatives of a complainant fought a pitched battle inside the Women’s Police Station in the city, using alleged caste remarks and a knife. Three persons were injured. But since this is India, in one police case, the ‘two-spirit’ theory needed an amendment to explain the unique indigenous behaviour. A truck hits a DSP’s SUV. He escapes unhurt. The truck driver is nabbed and produced at the nearest police station. The policemen there refuse to register a case. The DSP argues, they counter-argue till midnight and the ‘frustrated’ officer leaves. The weak and the strong merge. According to ancient Indian wisdom, there is only one spirit. |
|
Young World Deepkamal Kaur & Anil Jerath Tribune News Service A talent hunt show was organised at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (HMV) this week. Contests were held for various literary, fine arts and cultural events. Ms P.P. Sharma, Principal, awarded prizes to the winners of various events: Quiz: Ravneet Kaur (1), Rishi Gupta (2), Kuljeet Kaur (3) and Shikha Kalia (4) Poetical symposium: Amandeep (1), Surbhi (2), Ankita (3) and Rosy (4) Debate: Priyanka Bhatia (1), Swinky (2) Declamation in English: Neha (1), Paramjot (2) and Jeenu (3). In Hindi: Kangan (1) and Rosy (2) In Punjabi: Amandeep Kaur Bhajan/ shabd: Veerpal Kaur (1), Ankur (2), Samridhi (3) and Kiran (4) Geet/ ghazal: Kanwar Bahar (1), Harmanpreet (2), Bhavneet (3) and Bimaljeet (4) Folk song: Kuldeep (1), Richa (2) and Amandeep Kaur (3) Film song: Lata (1), Nivedita and Priyanka Gill (2) and Deepti (3) Classical instrumental: Shivani (1), Amardeep (2) Dhun: Shivani and Amita (1), Reena Seth (2) and Ramandeep (3) Landscape: Baljit (1) and Bhavna (2) Still life: Tajinder and Neha (1), Ritika and Hargun (2) Cartooning: Geetanjali (1), Aroshi (2) and Sakshi (3) Collage: Amita (1), Shivani (2) and Navdeep (3) Poster-making: Rupanshi (1), Neha (2), Shilpa and Harman (3) Clay modeling: Janav (1) Life sketching: Nidhi (1), Ankita and Neha (2) Rangoli: Jasmine (1), Meenu (2), Sapna (3) and Sandeep Kaur (4) Fresh flower arrangement: Gurpriya Kaur (1) Embroidery: Avneet Kaur (1) Group dance: Pratibha and Jaspreet (1) Classical dance: Kamna (1) Solo dance: Divya (1) Dance contest
“Dance Masti”, a three-day dance competition was organised at Police DAV Public School for the kids of UKG, Class I and II. The tiny tots enthralled the audience with their scintillating performance. They tried to mimic their favourite film stars Aishwarya Rai, Salman Khan, Abhishek Bachchan and Sunny Deol as they danced to the tunes of various numbers. In folk dance contest, Gurleen stood first followed by Paramveer, Chahat and Raghav. The consolation prize went to Ramalpreet, Sampreet and Yashika. On Hindi film numbers, Ishika gave the best performance. Kritika was second, while Supreet and Tanya were declared third. The consolation prize went to Muskan, Anchal and Adhiraj. On Western numbers, Muskan was declared first, Cyrus second and Raghav third. The consolation prize went to Muskan, Anshul and Adhiraj. Craft contest
A cutting and pasting contest was organised in pre-primary block of Seth Hukum Chand SD Public Senior Secondary School, Kapurthala Road. The tiny tots used scissors and glue to make various pictures. Ms Manju Arora, Principal, appreciated the efforts of the students and gave prizes to the winners. University toppers
Navjot, a student of the Ramgarhia College of Education, Phagwara, has topped Guru Nanak Dev University in B.Ed examination conducted this year. She has got 782 marks out of a total of 1000. Mr Shingara Singh, Principal, said that it was for the fourth consecutive time that a student had got the topmost rank in the university. Damandeep Kaur has stood fourth with 768 marks, and Sonia is fifth with 767 marks. Mansi Vaid, B.Design (second semester) student from Lovely Institutes, has stood fourth in the university with 83 per cent marks. Karishma, with 82 per cent marks, has secured sixth position in the university. Campus placement
Seven students from Lovely Institutes have been placed with PSL, Daman, one of the leading firms in the field of oil, gas and water transmission/ infrastructure services. The selected students are from mechanical engineering and electronics and communication engineering. The students include Rahul Malhotra, Sahil Nandwani, Anmol Arora, Gaurav Sharma, Harpreet Singh (all from mechanical engineering) and Nitin Puri, Vikas Maggo (from electronics and communication engineering.) Mr Ashok Mittal, president, Lovely Institutes, said that Hewitt Associates, a computer software company, was also scheduled to visit Lovely Institutes for campus placements in the last week of August. Investiture
ceremony
To announce the setting up of a Students’ Council for the year, Delhi Public School held an investiture ceremony. The ceremony began with a band display by the school team. Clad in white uniforms and sashes, the new council took oath and pledged allegiance to the school. Headboy Nikhil Sharma and headgirl Sukhneet Sehgal were handed over the school flag. Mr B. Banerjee, Principal, exhorted the students to shoulder responsibility with utmost sincerity and to uphold values. Seminar
A seminar on time-management was organised at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya this week. Mr Surender Seth, an accredited presenter with All India Radio and Jalandhar Doordarshan, was the resource person. He highlighted the 10 timely tips for time-management as he suggested an action plan that devised division of time to tap unproductive time. A question-answer round followed his speech. Ms P.P. Sharma, Principal, presented him a token of honour. College results
The academic pass percentage of the Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, was much higher than the pass percentage of Guru Nanak Dev University in 2005-06, according to the college authorities. The college results of 19 classes in arts, science and commerce streams have been 100 per cent, claimed the college authorities. Twentysix students of the college had been placed in the merit list of the varsity in the last academic year. Rakbinder of M.Com I stood third in the university, while Parminder of B.A. II bagged the second position. Jagdeep of MA I (Political Science) stood second. Shefali of M.Sc (Computer Science), Semester III, bagged the second position, while Manpreet of MA II stood eleventh. Twentyeight students of the college bagged first, second and third positions in the district, while 15 students of M.Com passed with distinction. The results in all PG Diploma courses were 100 per cent, claimed the college authorities. Eight students of PGDCA, 19 students of Diploma in Dress Designing and Tailoring, six of Interior Decoration passed with distinction. Shefali Khurana of M.Sc (Computer Science), Semester IV, bagged the 7th position in the university merit list. Sewing machines distributed
The Lions Club Phagwara Service organised two service projects in Sewing Education Centre at nearby Mehra village in Phagwara. In the first project, the club distributed free sewing machines to the inmates of the centre. The club also gave free embroidery articles to 25 students of the centre in its second project. Mr Naresh Bhardwaj, vice-chairman, Mandi Board, Phagwara, was the chief guest on the occasion. First anniversary
Government Primary School, Baba Gaddian in Phagwara, celebrated its first anniversary in collaboration with the Royal Club Central Phagwara on the school premises on Tuesday. Mr Sanjiv Bugga, senior vice-president, Phagwara, Nagar Council, distributed stationery items to needy students of the school. |
|
Weekly Roundup Tribune News Service To impart pre-recruitment training to those aspiring entry to the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) as constables, the District Sainik Welfare Office will hold a camp for four weeks from August 30. Lt-Col Manmohan Singh, Deputy Director, Sainik Welfare, said that only ex-servicemen and wards of serving and retired soldiers could avail of the facility. He asked the candidates to send application forms to the respective sub-recruitment boards by August 29. He added that eligible and desirous candidates must appear on August 30 for screening along with all documents and proof of their having applied for the post. Hospital facility
Mr Balbir Singh Saini, general secretary of the Guru Nanak Mission Hospital Trust, said that the facility for free eye operation and implant of free IOL would now be extended to yellow card holders, senior citizens, poor and old villagers on the written recommendation by sarpanch to the hospital. AC bus
Mr Parneet Singh Minhas, general manager, Punjab Roadways, Jalandhar-1, said that the AC bus plying from Amritsar to Chandigarh that was being halted at PAP Chowk, Jalandhar, would now stop at the Punjab Roadways office near Jalandhar Bus Stand. He said the bus would arrive at 7:15 am and leave for Chandigarh after a 15-minute stop. He added that advance booking could be done from Jalandhar office by calling on 0181-2223755 and 92161-11555. For any related information, one could dial 92161-11333, the GM added. Zonal elections
The zonal secretary, Jalandhar zone of the All India PNB Officers Association, Mr K.R. Jain, has been elected as the assistant general secretary of Punjab, north zone. He was accorded a warm welcome at Jalandhar Cantonment Railway Station on his way back from Bhopal where the elections were held. |
|
AWWA Week celebrated
The Vajra Corps commemorated the 40th anniversary of the Army Wives’ Welfare Association (AWWA), the concluding ceremony of which was held at Vajra Sainik Institute here on Thursday.
Organised by the Artillery Brigade of 11 Corps, it was attended by Ms Anita Thamburaj, President, Vajra AWWA, along with other members. A variety of cultural and entertainment programmes was held. A quiz competition about the awareness of AWWA activities was also conducted. Various events organised throughout the week included “sunder ghar”, baby show, painting contest and fancy dress show. Lectures were held in the station on various topics such as rights, privileges and duties of an Army wife, girl child in society and professional training institutes run by the Army for the welfare of the Army families. The AWWA office was also inaugurated on Wednesday by GOC 11 Corps, Lt-General Noble Thamburaj. |
|
Market
Buzz
Gladrags winner 2004 Amanpreet Wahi was in the city on Wednesday to promote the “Bridal bouquet packages” at Lakme Beauty Saloon in Model Town, Jalandhar. Herself dressed in a bridal wear, the model said that career in fashion or glamour industry had a good scope for the youth.
Bank inauguration
Kotak Mahindra Bank formally launched its full-fledged banking branch in Jalandhar on the GT Road last week. Mr K.V.S. Manan, group head, retail liabilities, inaugurated the branch. Speaking on the occasion, he said that it was the seventh branch in Punjab, including those in Ludhiana, Kapurthala, Phagwara, Mohali and Chandigarh. He said the bank was planning to open 25 branches in Punjab by August 2008.
Annual meeting
The annual general meeting of the Punjab Kashmir Finance Group was attended by a large number of shareholders this week. A dividend of 9 per cent was declared in the PK Finance Ltd for the financial year 2005-06, said Mr Alok Sondhi, chairman and managing director of the group. He added that the company was financing small-scale industry by assisting entrepreneurs.
— TNS |
|
CORRECTION
The headline of the report “KMV student tops in youth fests” (Jalandhar Plus, August 11, 2006) should have been “HMV student tops in youth fests” as the student belongs to Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (HMV). The error is regretted.
— Editor |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
The police, it turned out this week, is weak and strong at the same time. In Native American parlance, this character is said to be a ‘two-spirit’, meaning two opposite souls in one body.