Jalandhar, March 29
Terming the Rs 50,209 power bill issued to district bar association (DBA) as wrong, the district consumer disputes redressal forum has asked the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) to refund the amount along with 9 per cent interest to the aggrieved party. The court has also awarded a compensation of Rs 1,000 to DBA.

In his complaint, association secretary Mandeep Singh Sachdev alleged that a meter (number 1195001), installed in the office got burnt and a complaint was lodged with the board in this regard.

The PSEB officials replaced the defective meter with a new one after completion of formalities. “The old meter was taken away by officials without any proper packing and sealing,” he claimed.

He said the board issued two bills, dated July 23, 2006 and September 23, 2006, which were duly paid. “Then we received a notice on October 19 wherein the board asked us to deposit a sum of Rs 50,209 within a week, without citing any details,” said the complaint.

In its reply, PSEB said the fine was levied on the DBA on account of energy theft which was detected after the burnt meter was tested in the ME lab. The meter was tampered, they claimed.

The forum, presided over by Surinder Mittal and member Rakesh Kumari, after hearing both the parties came to the conclusion that since PSEB had given an OK meter report in its previous two bills, the levying of fine for ‘tampering’ was not justified.

The forum also directed the board to issue a fresh bill for 27 days, when the meter remained unoperational, on average basis.

Jalandhar, March 29
Gopal Rai Maji, a Nepalese cook, is getting sleepless nights these days. His only son Karan (4) has a hole in the heart and he is finding it almost impossible to arrange Rs 1.1 lakh to save him from the fatal disease.

A chirpy child, Karan looks pretty normal otherwise but he is extremely prone to fever, congestion, cough, nausea and breathlessness.

The related complications are adversely affecting his growth, Dr J.S. Mann, consultant cardiologist, Mediciti, has pointed out.

The heart specialist has diagnosed the problem as atrial septal defect and pulmonary stenosis which he says if not corrected timely could worsen his health. He said while the total cost of surgery was around Rs 1.5 lakh, the remaining amount was a charity from the hospital.

Gopal has tried to reach out to every source to seek some help for his son but as of now he has a little hope. “I have met representatives of the Nepalese community here and they have said that they could come up with a few thousand rupees,” he said that the target was far too high.

“I have a bit of my own saving too but that is only a trickle of what I actually need. I came to Punjab 18 years ago and was working in Ludhiana as a watchman. For the past few years, I shifted to Jalandhar as I and my wife started working as domestic help at Defence Colony here,” he explained.

He said most of his savings were going for the treatment, tests and diagnosis of Karan, who is a nursery student of a government school at Ladowali Road here. “

While my son had the hole in the heart for the past few years, we were unaware of the problem till we got him examined at SGL Hospital here last year. Since then we kept taking him to quacks but ended up wasting a lot of precious time and money,” he regretted.

Gopal now pins his hope on some philanthropists who could bail him out of the tough time and drop in some help at his accommodation at 71, Defence Colony, Jalandhar.

Jalandhar, March 29
Punjabi writers have hailed the decision of the government to strictly ensure that all official work is done in the language.

Renowned writer Piara Singh Bhogal said the unanimous passage of two bills in the assembly in this context was unprecedented and would give the language its rightful place. A bill had been passed during the Lachhman Singh Gill-led government in the late 60s but had not been implemented till now, he added.

He said as per the first bill, teaching and learning Punjabi has been made mandatory for all students from Class I to 10th, irrespective of the boards to which they are affiliated. In the second bill, some changes have been effected and provision of punishment for those officers has been made who shy away from conducting the official work in Punjabi.

“The states were reorganised in 1966 on the basis of language. Punjabi has been getting a step-motherly treatment ever since. Hardly any official work is done in the language and there have been instances where exemptions were given to officers to continue doing their work in English,” he further pointed out.

The writer said it was the duty of the government to ensure that the necessary amendments are notified and implemented at the earliest.

Noted poet Santokh Singh Safri has also welcomed the move and said that it is the triumph of Punjabi and those who had been spearheading a movement to ensure that their mother-tongue gets a rightful place. He said Punjabi has a unique place among other Indian languages and it is our duty to maintain the distinction. — TNS

Nawanshahr, March 29
Engineering and medical aspirants in the state have a reason to cheer. To ensure cutting edge, free of cost coaching facility to the students aspiring to crack major entrance examinations like AIEEE, CET, PMT and IIT, the government has come up with special classes, wherein subject experts would deliver tips via satellite. The coaching has been started under the aegis of Punjab EDUSAT Society in collaboration with an NGO Gyan Sewa Trust, New Delhi.

Director General School Education (DGSE), Krishan Kumar launched the facility in the state on Saturday.

Teachers from a prestigious coaching agency have been roped in for the job. They would impart lessons, which would be telecast at all district headquarters. Notably, under the Education through Sattelite (EDUSAT) programme, special classrooms, equipped with the latest technology, have been set up at various government schools in the state.

Giving details, district education officer Piara Singh and district science supervisor Balihar Singh Bains said under the programme, a special 45-day free coaching class was started at Government Senior Secondary School, Langroya today. The science students, who have appeared in Class XII examinations and are looking forward for a career in engineering and medicine, can avail the opportunity. The principals of the schools in the district have been asked to make the students and parents aware of the initiative. Also, banners have been put up at public places in the district, the duo added.

“On the first day, 15 students attended the class at Langroya. With the increase in the number of students, more EDSAT classrooms in the district would be made operational,” informed the DEO, adding that the students, willing to avail the benefit, may contact their respective schools or the district education office.

“The schedule for the next two weeks has been made available to the students. They would also be provided a copy of the lessons to be taught in the class. The students may get their queries addressed by teachers through video-conferencing. Besides, the local subject teachers would be there to help the students,” said Bains.

The special classes would prove to be a boon for the talented but poor students, who are finding it tough to get going due to lack of resources, proper opportunities and expert guidance, he further pointed out. 

Hoshiarpur, March 29
Three persons were killed and two others injured in a head-on collision between a car and a truck near Alowal here on Saturday. The deceased have been identified as Manga Singh, Charanjit Kaur and Sat Pal Singh.

The police said Manga Singh along with Charanjit and Hardeep were on their way to Hoshiarpur in a Hyundai car when a speeding mini truck crashed into it. While Manga and Charanjit died on the spot, a pedestrian Sat Pal was also killed in the collision. The injured were shifted to the Hoshiarpur civil hospital.

Batala: One person died when his scooter rammed into a car on Batala Quadian Road on Saturday. The deceased has been identified as Charanjit Singh of Leel Kalan village. The driver fled away from the spot leaving the unnumbered vehicle behind.