Jalandhar, July 31
A downpour which lashed the city on Thursday once again left the residents submerged in water and the municipal corporation witnessed the scene like a mute spectator.

Choked drains and waterlogged streets made it nearly impossible for residents to move out of their homes and those who tried to travel were left in the lurch. Every commuter on the streets was seen struggling hard to escape the water apathy.

Traffic chaos, people pushing their vehicles which stopped due to seepage of water and schoolchildren commuting through rickshaws struck in the middle of the road was a result of stagnant water which could not be drained. The Model Town market, Adarsh Nagar, Johal Market, Cool Road, the bus stand, Railway Road, Chandan Nagar, Neela Mahal, Jail Road, Sodal Road, Kishanpura, Central Town, Phagwara Gate, Gur Mandi, Preet Nagar, Ladowali Road and Dhan Mohalla were the worst-hit areas.

Talking to The Tribune, Rajesh Sharma, a resident of Railway Road, said, “It was like a hell in the Police Lines area. Vehicles were nearly dipped in water. The real problem was for those who were on rickshaws, two-wheelers and foot.”

Similarly, Surinder Kaur, mother of two, said, “Being the last working day of the month, the school got over early and the children had to face a lot of inconvenience. When they reached home they were completely wet, despite they were travelling in an autorickshaw.”

A majority of the residents in different parts of the city complain that the municipal corporation has failed to find a lasting solution to the problem and the condition remains the same. “Monsoons bring to the fore the poor state of the city as there is no drainage system like Chandigarh. The city faces the same problem with the onset of monsoons every year and the MC turns a blind eye to the problem,” said Harshdeep Singh, a resident of the Neelamahal locality.

Sharing their woes, roadside vendors said, “The stagnant water hits the market as people don’t prefer to eat or buy and the day goes without any earning.” They rued the resultant sanitation conditions could spread diseases like malaria, diarrhoea and dengue as they lived in kiosks.

Meanwhile, MC joint commissioner Rahul Gupta said, “We have planned blueprints for storm water facility and are just waiting for funds. Besides, special multiple rainwater harvesters would be installed for the low-lying areas and they would definitely help improve the condition.”

Obnoxious oddity of events has unnerved humanity nowadays. One can feel the sweltering heat caused by the fanatic factors amidst tranquillity of the Amaranth yatra. The yatra is a much-awaited occasion which stirs the inner urges of Shiva devotees. People from all over India patiently plan for this journey which is believed to be a panacea for their “Trividh taaps”.

Their passion for the beloved God is strong enough to bear all the crudities of communal forces. Last week a grenade attack over the pilgrims exposed the hypocrisy of the miscreants. This is not the first time that such unpleasant attempts have been made to derail the normal flow of life. Earlier also, militant groups have made several attempts to disturb the placidity of this pious journey. They forget that such kind of brutality has always resulted in a tougher aura of resistance. True Indians have guts and gumption in the real sense of the term.

At present there seems to be no end to the dispute related to the donation of 40 hectares of land. The Jammu and Kashmir government made a blunder by revoking the order on the transfer of land to the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board. The grubby game of politics disrupted the much required analytical vision that was needed to solve the matter. As a result people gave vent to their anger in the form of bandhs and dharnas. Different states, including Punjab, witnessed the volcanic eruption of the emotional stream of devotees.

Is not it a paradox that a much revered land like Jammu is burning because of communalism? How can these turbulent factors forget that this holy shrine was discovered by Muslim Gujjar Buta Malik. Today lakhs of devotees perform the pilgrimage through the tough terrain to get the choicest blessings of Lord Shiva only because of the passage shown by him. Why not other fanatics soften their attitude and grow big at heart?

The remedy of this disease does not lie in escapism but in confronting the negative forces with great resistance. For this a common consent has to be made. People of all religious sects and groups need to ponder over the seriousness of the issue to avoid any sort of malevolence. Let us keep this cheap politics away from this serene yatra for the spiritual feel of Shivalingam.

Phagwara , July 31
The Punjab government would launch a pilot project of city bus service from Jalandhar by mid-August under sustainable public-private partnership (PPP), local government minister Manoranjan Kalia said here today.

Jalandhar was all set to have a fleet of 16 pre-fabricated modern buses with low floor and wide doors to make boarding easier for children and the elderly, he said. The buses would have a seating capacity of 40 commuters and an equal number of those standing and would cover four major routes. Kalia further stated that for the convenience of passengers, about 120 good quality stainless steel bus queue shelters were in an advanced stage of completion. These shelters would be fitted with modern features like online global positioning system (GPS) which would provide information to waiting passengers regarding the exact time of arrival of the bus.

Each shelter would cost about Rs 10 lakh which would generate revenue to the tune of Rs 10,000 per month from advertisements. Besides, modern hand-held electronic ticketing machines would also be linked to data-centre to monitor the rush and inflow of cash, he said. — UNI

Jalandhar, July 31
The All-India Central Pensioners Association has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to redress their long-pending demands before finalising the recommendations of the Sixth Central Pay Commission.

Secretary general of the outfit V.S. Jolly said the Cabinet Secretary and other secretaries are deliberating on the report of the commission and are likely to give their opinion to the cabinet.

“We have urged the Prime Minister to keep the interests of 33 lakh central government employees and 38 lakh pensioners in mind before giving the final nod,”  he added.

Their major demands include making pension tax free, commutation of pension after 12 years than the present practice of 15 years, grant of free medicare and extending such facilities to even those who are presently out of the purview of the Central Government Health Scheme, grant of a minimum pension of Rs 5,324 per month, besides parity with the pre-1996 retirees.

Jalandhar, July 31
More than 9,000 cases would be settled in the Lok Adalat to be held in the court complex on August 30.

This was stated by district and sessions judge Gurdev Singh while presiding over a meeting of the District Legal Services Authority here on Wednesday. He said more than 1,000 long-pending cases would be settled, besides 3,000 cases which were in the pre-litigation stage.

As many as 5,000 traffic challans, too, would be disposed off. In addition, cases from the revenue department would be settled.

Phagwara, July 31
Three persons, including an Army officer, sustained critical injuries when a Jalandhar-bound Army Canter collided with a truck near Chuck Hakim village between Phagwara and Chaheru on the national highway, the police  said today.

According to sources, the Canter driver lost control of the vehicle when its tyre suddenly burst and the Canter jumped over the road divider and collided with a truck coming from the opposite side late  last evening.

The injured Army officer, Sunil Kumar, was first admitted in local civil hospital, but was later shifted to Jalandhar Cantonment Army Hospital.

The other two, truck  driver Shakeel Ahmed  and cleaner Mohammad Rehman, belonging to Jammu and Kashmir, were admitted in the local civil hospital. — UNI

Kapurthala, July 31
A 45-year-old person was injured when he was hit by a car on the Talwandi Road in Sultanpur Lodhi sub-division of Kapurthala on Thursday. The injured identified as Jagdeep Kumar was riding a cycle when he was hit by the car. Jagdeep Kumar was rushed to the local civil hospital from where he was later referred to a hospital in Jalandhar. 

Phagwara, July 31
Three scooterists with muffled faces allegedly looted cash and a mobile phone from three factory workers near here last night, the police said today. Raja Ram, Munna and Upinder were coming on their motorcycle from a factory at Wajidowal village to Chachoki village.

When they reached Piparangi village, they were intercepted by three unidentified scooterists.

After attacking and injuring Upinder with a sharp-edged weapon, the looters snatched Rs 7,500 from Raja Ram and a mobile phone from Munna. The injured was hospitalised here. — PTI

Jalandhar, July 31
Delhi Public School honoured its meritorious students of classes X and XII who brought laurels to the institution by scoring good marks. Class X had 100 per cent results with 75 per cent students passing out with distinction. Class XII students too brought excellent results.

All the students who secured above 85 per cent marks were conferred the scholar badge. Sohit Chhabra, who secured the scholar badge for the third consecutive year, was given a special blazer and a scholarship of Rs 6,000.

In the class XII (science) examination, Arnav Gupta had topped with 87.8 per cent marks, while Mahim Raj and Akshant Gupta had stood second and third with 86.6 and 84.2 per cent, respectively.

In the commerce stream, Kamalpreet Kaur had stood first with 92.2 per cent, while Abhay Mahajan and Tanveer Kaur had stood second and third with 88.4 and 85.6 per cent, respectively.