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A tinderbox waiting to explode
Jalandhar, July 22 The owners of a gas agency have converted two plots in the colony into an open-air godown giving sleepless nights to the families in the immediate neighbourhood for the past many years. The plots numbers 388 and 389 have a truck parked inside, a temporary shed at the backside and a common gate which remains locked most of the time. Agency owner G.S. Thapar, who has his house exactly opposite to the site, however, claims that the cylinders are empty. “Empty cylinders pose no threat to the residents. I wonder why people still have a problem,” he asked. He added that he had quit the business almost five years back and was just waiting to sell these off. But an immediate neighbour pointed out, “The cylinders are lined up all along our boundary wall. We know that the man has now started claiming that the cylinders are empty but there is always some risk of any one of the 100 cylinders being full and bursting any time, causing loss to our lives and property.” They alleged that they had taken up the matter with the president of the society of the colony a number of times to get the cylinders removed but to no avail. While over 60 cylinders in the plot have been kept in a standing position, the remaining lie horizontally, which further raises doubts in the minds of the residents. The version of Dr S.S. Walia, civil surgeon, on the standard practice of keeping the filled cylinders in a vertical position and empty ones horizontally, has further raised the doubt that some of them might be filled even if partially. Councillor of the area Anup Kaur said she had been told that the owner had stopped his business and the cylinders lying in the plot were unfilled. She, however, said, “I have not got that checked myself,” thus leaving behind an Mayor Rakesh Rathore said he was not aware of the fact and he would immediately get it checked. “We do not want a repeat of yesterday’s tragic incident,”
he said. MC assistant commissioner D.P. Bhardwaj said even the partially filled cylinders could be dangerous. “I will send the fire officers to get them checked. We cannot take the risk of allowing them to be kept in a residential colony, especially after yesterday’s incident,” he said.
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Jalandhar girl revives the ‘pakhawaj’
Jalandhar, July 22 “Pakhawaj”, a rich and deep sounding barrel-shaped drum, often referred to as “the king of Indian drums” sets its majestic tone. “I was not very passionate about learning the ‘pakhawaj’ but my interest gradually developed. I am a classical dancer. My music teacher insisted that I take up playing the ‘pakhawaj’. After acquiring the basic knowledge of the instrument, I started playing it on my own,”
she said. A recipient of numerous awards in dancing, theatre and music, she is a multi-talented personality. She had lost her father at an early age, but she did not give up her efforts.“To become a successful artiste, one has to struggle a lot. My ultimate aim is to earn fame for my family,” she said. For a livelihood, Sarabjit has established a dance and music institute. She also teaches “tabla” and harmonium along with Indian classical dance. At an age when youngsters are struggling, she has established herself as a successful multi-talented artiste as well as a teacher. “Students show keenness in ‘pakhawaj’ and are curious about its rhythm. They want to be proficient in playing this rare instrument. Parents, too, show interest in ‘pakhawaj’ and let their children gain knowledge of it,” she said. Surprisingly, Sarabjit also wants her students to be proficient in western dance. She invited her friend, who teaches western dance, to train children in Bollywood numbers. —
ANI
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Absenteeism on new civil surgeon’s radar
Jalandhar, July 22 Walia said he would make all
possible efforts to improve the existing facilities and infrastructure to provide better healthcare services to
thepatients. “Noose would be tightened around those indulging in food adulteration and substance abuse,” he added. Warning medicos, medical practitioners and general public against sex-determination tests and female foeticide, the civil surgeon said those found guilty would be strongly dealt with. Before joining Jalandhar, Walia was serving as Ferozepure civil surgeon. The members of different health organisations, paramedical staff,
doctors and heads of various government health institutions were seen greeting the new civil surgeon by presenting him bouquets at his office throughout the day.
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Teacher’s slap lands boy in hospital
Phagwara, July 22 “Without saying anything, he started slapping me. As a result, my head banged against a wall due to which my ear and neck started paining,” Simrandeep said. Simrandeep’s father Gurpreet Bhullar said he took his son to the civil hospital after the latter narrated him the incident. The school authorities said they came to know about the incident only through this correspondent. The authorities said strict action would be taken against the teacher if found guilty and justice would be
provided to the student. — TNS
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Pb bodybuilders shine in Hong Kong
Jalandhar, July 22 This was disclosed by G.S. Nayak, Chief De Mission, from Honk Kong today. Ravi won the gold medal in junior 60 kg class, while Daljit Singh won the bronze in Asian men’s fitness category. Earlier, Ravi had won a silver medal at the Shanghai Asian Junior Bodybuilding championship, whereas Daljit had previously won the Mr India contest last year. The competitions held at Hong Kong included the Asian Men’s Bodybuilding Championship, Asian Women’s Bodybuilding Championship, Asian Fitness Championship, Asian Women’s Body Fitness Championship, Asian Mr Fitness Championship, Asian Men’s Masters Championship and Asian Men’s Juniors Championship. The championships were organised as a trial run for the next year’s East Asian Games wherein bodybuilding would make its debut in the games. |
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Apeejay students all set for NASA’s final competition
Jalandhar, July 22 Of the two Asian teams qualifying for the competition (the other one being a team from Lahore Grammar School, Pakistan), Apeejayites would combine with US teams from Durango High School, Colorado, and Richard Montgomery High School, Maryland, to form a company called Vulture Aviation. In total, there are 12 teams participating in the competition - six American teams, two Australian teams, one Romanian, one Uruguayan, one Pakistani and a Indian team. Three teams would combine in the competition to form one company that would prepare a joint project. The team members from Apeejay School include selected students from Class X to Class XII. The senior members of the team include Mohit Thukral (team leader), Karan Sumra and Khushboo Sewak while the students members from Class XI are Abhisaar Sharma, Karan Jain and Bhavya Gupta. The junior members of the team, namely the students from Class X are Shreyak Sharma, Rishi Dev Arora, Venika Aggarwal, Prabal Pratap Singh, Samant Khanna and Samarth Batra working under the aegis of their physics teacher Emmanuel Ratnaraj and computer teacher Yogesh Gupta. During their stay, the students would design a space settlement on the surface of the Moon which will support a population of more than 10,000 people. Each company (a combination of three teams from across the globe) would be designated a period of 41 hours to prepare designs for presentation to the panel of aerospace NASA engineers. The settlement will act as a station for further expansion on the lunar surface. The designers can assume they have access to technology advances of decades into the future. The teams will have only 41 hours to prepare designs for presentation to a panel of real aerospace NASA engineers. The students maintained that they had been preparing very hard for the competition for the past two months. To accomplish the project, the team also held 24-hour sessions in the school to simulate the competition scenario. The students thanked the Punjab government for providing financial assistance of Rs 14 lakh to the team. Principal Ranjana Sud complimented the students for their toil of two months and wished them success in every field of life. The team would be leaving India for the competition tomorrow while the competition is scheduled for July 28 when a member from each company would give a presentation. This would be followed by prize distribution ceremony.
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Fire scene: Gurdas Maan does it himself
Jalandhar July 22 The lyrics and voice of all the six songs of “Mini Punjab” have been rendered by folk singer Gurdas Maan who has also done a fire sequence in the film without any duplicate. “Despite every inconvenience his illness caused to Maan, the regularity of the schedule was not affected,” said Speed OXL spokesperson Kuljinder Sidhu, adding that “Mini Punjab” was the first-ever Punjabi film to be shot completely in Mumbai. The shooting was nearing completion, he said. The Gurdas Maan-starrer Punjabi film has a number of known faces like Jividha Sharma, Pooja Kanwal, Parmod Mautho, Gufi Paintal, Amita Nangia, Ehsaan Khan, Madhu Malti, Anita Kanwal and Manav Vij. — TNS
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ISO Certification
Kapurthala, July 22 The RCF was initially certified for ISO 14001 for the workshop and township area in July 1999 and was recertified in August 2004. This was the third certification audit. The RCF was the first organisation in the country to get this certification for both the workshop and township area. According to sources, the RCF has taken several measures to improve the design of coaches to make them environmental friendly by using control discharge toilet system to eliminate filth from the station area as this system operates when the train picks up a speed of 30 kmph. Further, to achieve zero-discharge of toilet waste, eco-friendly biological toilets have been developed. To conserve natural resources, 7,000 tube lights of 40 watts have been replaced with 28 watt energy saving lights and 5,800 lamps of 40/60/100 watts have been replaced with 5/11 watt CFLs, the sources added. The RCF has planned to replace the balance 25,000 bulbs with CFLs in the current year to make it the first colony in the country with 100 per cent energy efficient lighting, the sources said, adding the old AC plants have been replaced with new ones operating with R-134a chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-free refrigerant which is ozone friendly. Further, taking the lead, the RCF has planned to phase out CFC-based refrigerants from the air-conditioning units being provided in the coaches also. Solar energy is also being harnessed for certain applications. Besides, manual timers have been replaced with astro-based digital timers for automatic switching street lights “on” and “off” depending upon sunset and sunrise timings, the sources added. Further, to recharge groundwater, the RCF has constructed 13 bore wells and connected them with the storm drainage system. An effluent treatment plant is being used for treating 6,900 kilolitres water daily, a part of which is recycled for watering of lawns.
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Power Cuts
Jalandhar, July 22 Industrialists have to bear expenses of Rs 9 per unit for getting power through generators, instead of Rs 4.50 charged by the Punjab State Electricity Board. The PSEB, however, puts forth the argument that it is compelled to impose power cuts due to the paddy season. “Due to power cuts, production is going down and to clear the orders we have to take support of generators for electricity which is very expensive. It seems the government wants industrialists to put an end to their life,” says Gyan Bhandari of Ambika Forgings. “There are no power cuts for industry in Himachal Pardesh, but there are frequent power cuts in Punjab due to which the input costs have increased. The government should take steps to save the industry,” says Sukhdev Raj of Victor Tools. “The government seems to be bent upon destroying the industry. It will be difficult to run industrial units in case power cuts are not reduced because the hike in the cost of raw materials has already been much of a torture for the industrialists,” says A.K. Kohli, senior vice president of the Punjab Chamber of Small Exporters. PS Thind, chief engineer, PSEB, Jalandhar circle, said, “Power cuts are not applied on the industry. There are no power cuts in the Focal Point area but industries in the residential area have to bear the scheduled power cuts as power is given to the agricultural sector for the paddy season. Besides, the schedule of power cuts is settled at the head office in Patiala, so this is all we can say about the matter.”
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Young World
Jalandhar, July 22 The project is based on the collection of data from the ground. The students would format the data collected and send it to NASA. The scientists at NASA will compare the ground data with the satellite data. The aim behind this project is to predict weather more accurately. The data would help scientists in finding out the reasons for climatic change throughout the world. To accomplish this project a three-member team comprising Dr Nandini M.C. Clurg, coordinator of the Globe Programme, NASA, America, Dr Suresh and Dr Ravleen Kaur, scientist officer PSCST (Punjab State Council for Science and Technology), came to review the ongoing research undertaken by the students and teachers on July 17. Swimming lessons
Students of classes II to X of Mayor World School went for swimming at the local Sports College along with their teachers. The students went in three batches and learnt swimming under the guidance of trained coaches. IT week
Students of Cambridge International School for girls and Cambridge International Co-ed School celebrated IT week from July 11 to 16, in which the students were introduced to new computer techniques. During the computer session, the students participated in various competitions like poster making and quiz contest. A computer exhibition was held on the occasion. Science exhibition
Students of the Cambridge International School for Girls and Cambridge International Co-ed School organised a science exhibition in which the students discussed problems pertaining to global warming, noise pollution, nuclear waste and water pollution. The working models of water alarm made by Diya Gulati, electromagnet by Divya Bharti and the digestive system by Kunal and Parth Bhatia were highly appreciated. Training workshop
In an attempt to upgrade the teaching skills of teachers, the authorities of Manav Sehyog School organised a two-day workshop on teaching strategies on July 14 and 15 for the maximum output from students. New course
The District Sainik Welfare Office (DSWO) would commence the pre-training for entry into the ITBP for the post of constable from July 24. Interested candidates will have to appear for screening at 8 am on the DSWO premises. Candidates from far-off places would be given free hostel facilities as well. Top performers
Students of the DIPS College for Women, Dhilwan, Kapurthala, brought laurels to their institution by bagging top positions in the recently concluded PGDCA examination conducted by Guru Nanak Dev University in April. Harpreet Kaur stood first in the university with 83.3 per cent marks followed by Kulwinderjit Kaur with 83 per cent. Poetry recitation
A poetry recitation competition for the students of classes V, VI and VII in Punjabi and classes VIII and IX in English was held at Innocent Hearts School. As many as 30 students took part in Punjabi poetry recitation, while 20 students participated in English poetry recitation. Grandparents’ Day
Students of Eklavya School celebrated Grandparents Day in which the students were told to share love, regards and respect for them. On the occasion, tiny-tots from pre-primary wing danced on songs like “Dadi amma dadi amma maan jao” and “Nani teri morni ko mor le gaye”. Later, the students of class V presented a play based on values like honesty and justice. Grandparents too shared their experiences and feelings with children. Entrance toppers
Dr Kanwar Samrat, a graduate of Dayananad Ayurvedic College, Jalandhar, has topped the joint postgraduate entrance test conducted by the National Institute of Ayurveda, Government of India, Jaipur. The test was conducted for admission to the MD ayurveda course in the National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, and other colleges of Rajasthan Ayurveda University and Gujarat Ayurveda University, Jamnagar. Four other students, Priyanka Bhandari, Ankita, Sanam Gupta and Raj Kumar, have also qualified for the test. Dance contest
An inter-house group dance and solo dance competitions were held in DPS, Jalandhar cantonment. Students danced on the tunes of popular Bollywood numbers and latest English songs. In the group dance, Carnations House stood first, while Daffodils got the second prize. In the solo dance (junior) section, Rashika and Shivani stood first followed by Mehul and Sugun Ratti. On the other hand, Rohan Sharma stood first, while Shagun Goyal stood second in the solo dance (senior) category. Yog festival winners
Anita, a student of BD Arya Girls College, won the silver and bronze medals in the Global Yog Festival-2008 held at Delhi recently.
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Stove burst leaves two injured
Phagwara, July 22 Both of them were admitted to civil hospital here. Later, Satinder Singh was referred to a hospital in Ludhiana.
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