Jalandhar, August 7
Even after eight years of its formation, the Jalandhar municipal corporation has failed to enforce the Municipal Solid Waste Management and Handling Rules, 2000.

This is courtesy MC officials who have been violating the Environment Protection Act, 1986, despite repeated notices from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), thus compounding the insanitary conditions in the city to a large extent.

Sources disclosed that nearly 400 metric tonnes of municipal waste, besides hospital waste, is being produced in the city every day but the MC has no provision for handling such a huge amount of waste systemically.

As per the rules, the municipal waste should be segregated and collected in four categories - plastic, biodegradable, non-biodegradable and inert material - before disposing it of scientifically.

The board has pulled up the MC many times for not complying with the guidelines of the act but that too has failed to wake up its officials from a deep slumber.

It is also learnt that a solid waste management plant, set up by the corporation on the Jalandhar- Kapurthala road at Waryana village on over 15 acres, with the help of a private contractor has failed to take off properly.

Though, the corporation had been manufacturing manure at the plant, it was being done without segregating the municipal waste.

Apprehending serious health hazard to human live and threat to the crops from the manure, the farmers have also been avoiding its purchase.

Environmentalists, however, opined that the government should set up a plant for generating power from the solid waste in the area. Setting up of such a power generating plant will not only solve the garbage problem in different cities but will also help in electricity generation that the state desperately needs.

Talking to The Tribune, PPCB executive engineer Harbir Singh revealed that many notices had been issued to the MC officials asking them to manage their solid waste scientifically, but to no avail. Moreover, their solid waste management plant had also proved of no use, he added.

He claimed that the MC had virtually blocked the Garha drain by dumping solid waste on its banks. “We have been writing to the officials since long. Repeated representations have failed to divert the attention of certain ‘thick-skinned’ officials of the MC,” rued Harbir.

Countering the allegations, MC joint commissioner Rahul Gupta said Jalandhar was the only corporation in North India which had a solid waste treatment plant. He claimed that the plant was running successfully and manufacturing 10 tonnes of organic manure per day.

For making the solid waste management more effective, the MC has tied up with a company which is already running a plant at Waryana village to collect garbage from door to door.

Jalandhar, August 7
The municipal corporation, Jalandhar, is all set to shift to its newly constructed four-storied Dr B.R. Ambedkar Administrative Complex. The new complex is right at the back of the existing building, coming up at a cost of Rs 11 crore.

The change will come into force from August 17 with the inauguration of the complex by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The CM is likely to open the commercial complex on the occasion which has 70 shops on the ground floor.

An announcement regarding the transfer of the land from the central government to the MCJ is likely to come that day from the CM, making it possible for the corporation to sell off the shops, said senior deputy mayor Kamaljit Singh Bhatia.

The offices of the registrar for birth and death, house tax department, billing sections for water supply and sewage department will be the first ones to be shifted to the new complex.

The offices of the mayor and the commissioner are being readied on the first floor of the building, adjoining the computerised branches and billing sections.

The second floor will house the offices of the senior deputy mayor and deputy mayor, SEs and XENs of B&R, O&M and horticulture departments. Health, house tax department and establishment branch, canteen and library will come up on the third floor. The fourth floor, for the construction of which fresh tenders are being invited, will have a town hall with provisions for a media gallery.

Bhatia said while the basic construction, slot and façade of the building were ready at a cost of Rs 7 crore, the remaining amount would be spent on furniture, power connection, infrastructural needs, lifts and ramps leading to the parking lot. He added that the existing building would be converted into zonal offices of the corporation.

The CM will inaugurate the city bus service on the same day. The senior deputy mayor said 16 45-seater buses were being handed over to private contractors for the purpose. The buses will ply on four routes - Rama Mandi to Jalandhar Kunj, Rama Mandi to railway station, Rama Mandi to Maqsudan and the bus stand to Wadala Chowk.

The third project, which the CM will open on the day, is the sprucing up of Nehru Garden to convert it into a picnic spot.

Another ongoing project waiting to be formally opened by Badal is the construction of Lyallpur Khalsa College flyover. The city residents are hoping that the service lanes along the flyover site, which are currently having huge, deep potholes, would be repaired within 10 days to ensure a smooth ride for the CM and other bigwigs.

Jalandhar, August 7
The eighth anniversary celebrations of DD Punjabi proved to be a memorable event for the audience who literally danced on the tunes of folk and Sufi numbers by eminent performers.

Punjabi singer Dolly Guleria who began with a highly acclaimed composition by Baba Bulle Shah - “Haji lok meccae nu jaande, mera ranjan maahi mecca,” set the tone for the evening. The din of applause from an appreciative audience was a befitting tribute to the writer and the singer alike. From there she moved on to the playful folk number “Kava baneray te boliya” and ended her presentation with the soulful “Tera birharah” by Shiv Kumar Batalvi. Her performance could be considered as one of her bests, as the song literally brought tears in the eyes of spectators.

Next to perform was playback singer Vinod Sehgal who started with a composition by late Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir followed by “Na puch sada haal”. He then moved to his hit Punjabi number “Kurti sat rang di” which forced audience to move on their seats.

Next to set stage on fire were the Wadali brothers - Padamshri Puran Chand and Pyare Lal. They literally brought the house down with their rustic wit and great singing style. They were greeted with a thunderous applause as they began with “Eh ishq ni darda maut kolo”. Their next Sufiana number “Teri deed wala lathyan na chha,” “Tu uth ke na jaa” proved to be the icing on the cake and the audience went wild with their clapping act.

Raj Gayak Hans Raj Hans wrapped up the evening with his flamboyant style and was largely appreciated by the home crowd.

He began “Maye ni main ek shikra yaar banaya” by Shiv Batalvi and ended with his hit number “Nit khair manga sohniya ve teri”.

Earlier, station director Dr Daljit Singh welcomed the chief guest, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, media advisor to the Punjab Chief Minister. In his address, Singh informed that the programmes aired by their channel were among the best in the field.

Kapurthala, August 7
A buyer-supplier meet was organised by the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) here to devise strategies jointly to meet the challenges ahead.

Over 100 representatives from 75 firms across the country participated in the meet held here on Wednesday. RCF general manager S.K. Suri and various heads of departments were present in the meet.

A factory spokesperson said the RCF was enhancing its manufacturing capability to 1,600 coaches per annum. The stainless steel coaches manufactured by it were based on German technology and due to cost limitations, these coaches had only been introduced in high-end trains like Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express so far.

However, the RCF has developed an in-house innovative, low-cost variant of the stainless steel coaches, cutting the cost by about 40 per cent. There are plans to switch over entirely to the production of these coaches in the near future.

The RCF is also planning to switch over to e-procurement which is a new concept under which bids are received and dealt with electronically. This makes the system very efficient and transparent.

Suppliers were given live demonstration of the new system for its faster adaptation.

Addressing the firms’ representatives, Suri said production of lasting and quality products was possible only with the cooperation of suppliers and timely supply of coach components.

Suppliers were called upon to invest a part of their income in research and development of their products

Jalandhar, August 7
The CIA staff of the local police claim to have solved the Jaspreet Singh murder case with the arrest of four persons.

The police claims that illicit relations were the main cause behind the murder of Jaspreet Singh, alias Sonu, a resident of Alamgir village, near Kala Bakra, in Bhogpur.

The police claims to have arrested Inderjit Singh, the main suspect in the case, while he was about to board a flight at Jaipur airport.

According to the police, Inderjit and his accomplice killed Sonu for his alleged relations with his (Inderjit’s) sister.

The police has also arrested Simranjit Singh of Kala Bakra village, Jaskaranjit Singh of Karadi village and Rashpal Singh of Raiya village for their involvement in the case.

Tajender Pal Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Saranjit Singh, the other suspects in the case, have absconded, claimed Kulwinder Singh, in charge of CIA Staff, Jalandhar.

A case under section 302 of the IPC has been registered against them at Bhogpur police station.

A student of Khalsa College, Jaspreet was murdered by the assailants with sharp-edged weapons on the Jalandhar-Jammu highway at Kala Bakra village on May 10.