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You can’t steer past the pothole pain
Jalandhar, September 9 The area residents have made several representations to the PUDA authorities, but to no avail. While the plight of those putting up in Phase I is slightly better, those residing in Phase II, across the dividing railway line, are living in a perpetual hell. The residents claim that no new roads have been laid in the last three years. “Add to it the virtually non-existent drainage system which compounds the woes of public,” says Dr BS Ghotra, a dentist, staying in Phase II. “Accidents are a common phenomenon here. I have personally gone to the PUDA office several times and submitted applications for improving the condition of the roads here. But nothing has been done so far,” he adds. There are other problems too. Streetlights remain out of order. Heaps of garbage can be seen on the roadside, especially near the MGN Public School. A large number of stray cattle near these heaps are a major nuisance and pose risk to lives of commuters. “During rains, the area gets filled with water which takes days to clear and we have to bear the continuous stench emanating from it,” claimed Ghotra. Agrees Sandeep Kanwal Singh Chhabra, an advocate. “The area also needs better connectivity. We have been demanding a new bus route passing through the locality for the convenience of the residents. At present, rickshawpullers fleece residents taking advantage of their helplessness. Additional chief administrator PUDA and JDA AK Sikka said the road construction work was undertaken four years ago. “Though we still have a year to go-ahead with the work, we would start it in the later half of this month,” he claimed. Sikka, however, denied any drainage problem in the area. “The things have been sorted,” he added.
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Reforming primary school education
Education has always been accorded an honoured place in the Indian society. Many people have stressed the fundamental role of education and its unique significance for national development. The Indian Education Commission (1964-66) remarked, “The destiny of India is being shaped in its classrooms and to that it can safely be added that the destiny of these classrooms is being shaped in the departments of education and teacher institution.”
India is emerging as a global power. The country is facing international competitions in many sectors like education, social, economic, political, etc. But in the present scenario, the major challenge in our educational field is how to reform the school education. In the post-Independence era, a lot of stress was laid on expanding education by opening schools and colleges but no such practical effort has been implemented to reform the primary school education. The number of recognised primary educational institutions increased from 20,967 in 1951 to 61,076 in 1997-98. While the upper primary schools and higher secondary schools increased by 13 times, colleges for general education increased by 18 times and the universities by eight times, the increase in the number of primary schools was merely There should be clear-cut objectives in the minds of higher authorities and the teachers for the purpose of uplifting primary education. The most important necessity is the infrastructural facility in schools. Regarding textbooks and curriculum requirements, the authorities concerned will have to demand the choice for better textbooks. The subject matter should be simple and precise so that it may also be easy for the learners to mug up
the lessons. A special care has to be taken for framing the curriculum in relation to IQ (intelligence quotient) of the learners. Subject of environment education ought to be started in the primary schools. The another reform which needs implementation in the school system is examination. Instead of annual examinations, semester system should be made practicable to avoid overburden of students. Rote memorisation among the schoolchildren should be replaced by practice and drill of the subject matter. Teacher can play an indispensable role in reforming these educational activities. The democratic attitude of the teacher towards the students is the key factor in operationalising reforms.
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Canada MLA looks homeward for philanthropy
Jalandhar, September 9 Talking about cases of racial hatred against Indians and Punjabis in particular, he said, “No doubt racial hatred is still prevalent there but over the period of time the Canadian society has become somewhat tolerant towards Indians living there. This is partly due to education and the acceptance of Punjabis as a strongly emerging community. Now the Canadians prefer mingling up with our community. At times they attend our functions, parties and marriages as well. And I think this is indeed a positive sign.” Bains got his education
from his village’s government school and later joined Ramgarhia College, Phagwara. He migrated from Hardaspur, near Phagwara, to Canada in 1971 and started working in a small mill. Within a limited period of time he joined the local administration and became an elected official in the union. It was in 2001 that he joined BC New Democratic Party and then there was no looking back. “After joining this party I became politically active and became an MLA from Surrey-Newton in 2005,” he said. On being asked about the various sectors in which Indians were leading, he said, “Our community has excelled in the field of business, politics and academics. Right from the time of our first premiere Ujjal Dosanjh in Canada, the maximum number of South Asians are now putting up small-time businesses and the Punjabis have left an indelible mark everywhere.” Now he has plans to work extensively for environment here which according to him is a subject of concern. “Apart from this, he is also looking forward to develop the dwindling education and health sector in villages.”
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Adulate Radha-Krishna’s ‘sahchari’
Who doesn’t know about Radha - the ultimate “Shakti” of Lord Krishna. She enjoys great respect among Krishna’s devotees. Her birthday is celebrated as Radhashtami. This year too the festival was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in all Lord Krishna’s temples, including the ISKCON temple of Jalandhar.
Krishna’s various devotees participated in the event and offered “jalabhishek” to their revered goddess Radha. The birthday of Radha falls on the eighth day in the bright half of the month of Bhadrapadra (August-September). The significance of the day gets widened because of the fact that the Vaishnavs can have “darshan” of the divine “charankamals” of Radha only on this very day. It is considered a fortuity to see the pious “charan-yugal” of Radha. The priest of the temple offers “chappan bhog” to Radha-Krishan and distributes the same as “parshad”. The sound of chanting mantrs and bhajans, blowing conch and the shower of flowers add colours to the devotional atmosphere of the temple. Radha and Krishan are nothing but the “jeevatma and parmatma” who are bound to mingle into each other one day. Devotees throng the temple premises to have glimpse of their endeared Radha. The eternal counterpart of Lord Krishna, Radha is considered the embodiment of selfless love and sacrifice. The deep study of her life teaches us a valuable lesson regarding the implication of sacrifice in our lives. Her life saga is an inspiration for youngsters who only believe in the fulfilment of carnal desires. Nobody has touched the zenith of love as she has touched.
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Gurus hailed on their day
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, September 9 Students of Darshan Academy celebrated Teachers’ Day on September 5 by honouring the teachers. They presented a cultural programme on the occasion. Students of Guru Nanak Dev University College, Basti Nau, also celebrated Teachers’ Day by organising special games like quiz, potato peeling and musical chair. The MGN College of Education marked the celebration by deliberation on the philosophy of eminent teachers like Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Dr Zakir Hussain and Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and their contribution to society. Students also spoke on the “relevance of Teachers’ Day”. Students and teachers of OXL Clara, Model Town, organised a special event on the occasion of Teachers’ Day. As many as 100 new and old teachers came dressed up in sarees. The CT Public School also celebrated Teachers’ Day by organising a tree plantation drive. Teachers planted saplings in Kalia Colony. Teachers held a special assembly. Students of Emm Aar International School came dressed up like their respective teachers and taught in the classrooms. A team of staff members judged the performance of the students. Gifts were given to teachers as a mark of respect. Teachers of Manav Sehyog School organised a special assembly on the occasion. A special cricket match was held between teachers and students, which was won by the students. The Lovely Professional University celebrated Teachers’ Day and its Foundation Day on September 5. The staff members paid obeisance to the founder chairman of the institute Baldev Raj Mittal. A cultural programme was also organised on the occasion. University toppers Rashi Sharma and Perminder Kaur, both students of MSc-I (botany) of HMV College topped Guru Nanak Dev University by securing 484 and 477 marks out of 600, respectively. Anu Bajaj of MA-I (economics) of the Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, bagged the first position in Guru Nanak Dev University by securing 360 marks out of 500 followed by Manvir Kaur who secured 351 marks. Navneet Kaur of MSc-IT (IV semester) of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, stood first in Guru Nanak Dev University by securing 81.5 per cent marks. Nidhi Bhuawnia of MA-II (dance) topped in the university by securing 684 marks out
of 800 followed by Sufi Harjit Singh with 672 marks. Eva Sharma of MA-I (dance) got 352 marks out of 400. Sapna Nayyar, Jyoti Bala and Satinder Kaur of Banarsi Dass Arya Girls College, Jalandhar cantonment, got the first, second and third positions in the diploma in mass communication and video production examination of Guru Nanak Dev University by
securing 351, 350 and 347 out of 500 marks, respectively. Similarly, Kirandeep Kaur of the college stood second in the MA-I (dance) examination conducted by the university. Talk on new career vistas Lovely Professional University and National Council for Education and Research Training, organised a seminar on the “Role of career guidance and counselling” for making career choices. Principals and representatives of nearly 250 schools from across Punjab were invited. Prof Dalbir Singh Dhillon, chairman of Punjab School Education Board said, “Because of limited access to information regarding career choices available to the students, a large proportion of brilliant students land up in non-compatiable educational streams”. This leads to a severe dent in generating a high quality human resource, which affects the national progress and development substantially. Among others, Kishan Kumar, director general (schools), JS Khatra, DPI (schools) Punjab, and Dr DR Yadav, joint secretary CBSE Chandigarh, also attended
the event. Talent hunt Students of the Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, organised a talent-hunt contest for the newcomers on September 6. The students participated in competitions like dance, music, drama and depicted their creative skills. A talent search competition was also held at St. Soldier College, Basti Danishmandan, on Saturday in which students participated in geet, ghazal, debate, skit, fancy dress, group dance, etc. The first 60 students who secured first and runners-up positions were given mementos. DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology also organised a talent hunt show. The event aimed at providing a platform to unearth the hidden talents of new entrants. Tree plantation Students and teachers of KMV College, Jalandhar, in association with the city-based Rotary Club, planted as many as 100 saplings on the college premises. Terracotta workshop The fine arts department of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts organised a three-day long terracotta workshop which was attended by 200 students. Cultural imperialism Trinity College organised a cultural exchange programme. Vinayak of BCA (part-II) welcomed the guests, including staff and students of St Stephens College, Kerala, director of Trinity College Fr Simon and principal of the college sister Dr Stella. Students of both the colleges performad various cultural activities such as prayer, songs, giddha and bhangra. LPU’s new session The new academic session started at Lovely Professional University here today. The old students were present to welcome the freshers. As many as 4,000 new students in various streams, including engineering, education and ayurveda, attended classes on the first day. Lecture on Sufism The music department of BD Arya Girls College organised a guest lecture on Sufism on September 4. Chief guest J.C. Joshi spoke at length on the pristine Sufi poets and saints.
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Environment award for green RCF Kapurthala, September 9 RCF general manager S.K. Suri received the Greentech award from former Union minister for state for civil aviation Shripad Naik during the three-day Greentech conference on environment management held at Goa from September 5. The ninth annual conference was organised under the
aegis of Greentech Foundation, New Delhi. About 400 corporate houses, public sector undertakings, government bodies and NGOs participated in the conference. A total of 56 companies were awarded the Greentech environment award in various categories, including cement, engineering, construction, hospitality, chemicals and fertilisers. The objective of this conference was to promote education, training, research and dissemination of knowledge and advancing the scientific, technical and practical aspects of environment management. The RCF has taken many strides to conserve energy and make its contribution to sustainable environment management. According to sources, the RCF has taken several measures to improve the design of coaches to make them environmental friendly by using control discharge toilets system to eliminate filth from the station area because 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. 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 being harnessed for certain applications. Besides, manual timers have been replaced with astro-based digital timers for automatic switching on and off of street lights, depending on the sunset and sunrise timings, sources added.
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Kot Pakshia gets new tubewell
Jalandhar, September 9 Punjab local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia inaugurated the facility. Mayor Rakesh Rathor, SAD city president Gurcharan Singh Channi and the area councillor Kuldip Singh Oberai were present on the occasion. The problem of water scarcity at Kot Pakshia, Rasta Mohalla, Tahli Mohalla and Phagwara Gate localities would be solved now, said Oberai, adding that the tubewell has been set up at a cost of Rs 10,56,000, he added.
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