Kapurthala, September 30
Thousands of residents of Kapurthala’s Urban Estate and 13 other localitiesm including Punjabi Bagh, Moti Bagh, Patel Nagar, Mansoorwal, Peer Chaudhria, Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Tagore Nagar and Green Field, will soon wake up to clean and healthy mornings.

The government has announced to set up a proper sewer system in these areas. The Tribune had highlighted the plight of the residents in its news item, ‘Stuck in stink: Sewers are luxury in Kapurthala’, published on September 24.

Within three days of publication of the report, Punjab local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia laid a foundation stone of the project on Jalandhar road near Sultanpur Lodhi bypass.

As much as Rs 1.35 crore will be spent on the scheme, which will be extended to Urban Estate, Punjabi Bagh, Moti Bagh, Patel Nagar, Mansoorwal, Peer Chaudhria, Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Tagore Nagar, Green Field and some other areas. The main sewer line will be laid in 1.16 km area, whereas the pipe-sewer will be laid in 1.72 km area.

The report had brought fore the fact that nearly one-fourth of total localities falling under the jurisdiction of Kapurthala municipal council (MC) are without any sewers. In other words, no sewer lines had been laid in the 13.7 square kilometer area of the MC.

At present, nearly 15,000 residents of the above said localities are living in hellish conditions in the absence of the basic civic amenity.

Talking to mediapersons after laying the sewer stone, Kalia said a fund of Rs 3,000 crore would be set up to improve water supply schemes in different cities. Besides safai karamcharis would be regularised after dissolving sanitation committees, he added. Former minister Raghubir Singh, chairman of Punjab Traders Board Narotam Dev Ratti, DC JM Balamurugan and executive officer of MC SK Aggarwal were also present on the occasion. 

Jalandhar, September 30
Scaling new heights in his shooting career Ajitesh Kaushal is on cloud nine these days. Reason, he has been selected for the final coaching camp for Commonwealth Youth Games to be held at Pune from October 1 to 11.

The coaching camp would be followed by Commonwealth Youth Games from October 12 to 18 at the Balewadi shooting range, Pune. Before this final selection the shooters underwent five selection trials, which were conducted by the NRAI at Agra, Hyderabad and Indore over the past five months.

A star in the making, Ajitesh, who has already carved a niche for himself in the game as a budding shooter, says he is looking forward to hone up his skills and achieve targets with 100 per cent dedication. It was on the basis of the performance of the shooters that a final team of 25 shooters from all over the country has been picked for the final camp and the games.

Talking to The Tribune, jubilant Ajitesh said, “During the past some months I have been working very hard to achieve my targets. I am looking forward to improve my performance in the free-pistol category. And like my previous achievements I am hopeful I would be able to sharpen my skills in this game as well.”

When asked about his ultimate aim and he quips, “An Olympic gold! What else?” And why not as the 15-year-old is completely enthused with the winning spirit and wants to follow in the footsteps of Abhinav Bindra, the man who brought the first Olympic gold medal for the country.

Sharing his experience with Abhinav Bindra, Ajitesh said, “There is lot to learn from him. He is one man who despite achieving a milestone in his career is so simple and down to earth. Rather it was he who helped me in selecting the weapons for me during the initial stages of my shooting career.” Only two shooters have been selected in the final team by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI), theu other persons sbeing Preeti Tomar of the Badal Academy, Muktsar.

Ajitesh started playing at the age of 13 years. “Though I consider my parents as my pillars of strength, one man who has actually helped me learning the fine skills of the game is my coach Darspreet Singh. I am confident of achieving my target,” he said.

Even earlier also he was selected in two events, 10m air pistol category and .22 free pistol (50m). So far Ajitesh has played in four international tournaments held in Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic this year. He has won gold medals at the Hungary open championship held in January this year.

Jalandhar, September 30
They say what’s in a name. But for the councillors of the local municipal corporation everything is in a name for it helps them retain political support. Like every MC house meeting, this time too there were many a proposals passed for changing the names of important landmarks.

Nearly eight proposals to rechristen parks, roads, roundabouts and colonies after the names of martyrs, social workers, freedom fighters and Sikh gurus were passed in the house.

A proposal of councillor Anita Dhir to rechristen Madan Flour Mill Chowk as Freedom Fighter Ajit Saini Chowk was passed in the house. The councillors also seconded a proposal of a social body to erect a statue of Swami Vivekanand at any of the three roundabouts of Hotel Skylark Chowk, BMC Chowk and PAP Chowk. It was also proposed that the chowk later be renamed after the man who inspired youth.

MLA K.D. Bhandari’s suggestion of naming a park in Thapra Mohalla, near Mai Hiran Gate, after the name of social worker and Brahman Sabha president Joginder Mohan Modi was also accepted by the councillors. The park, it was stated, would be maintained by the Modi family.

Councillor Surjit Kaur’s three suggestions on the renaming of three sites were also passed. She proposed that Harzi Park falling in ward 43 in front of Khera Palace be renamed as Baba Ajit Singh Park. She also had put up a proposal to rename the road connecting from 120-feet road to Kapurthala Road to Babu Jagjeevan Ram Chowk as Baba Zorawar Singh Fateh Singh Road. She had also called for renaming of road connecting from Basti Nau to Adarsh Nagar to Mithu Basti as Shaheed Baba Bachittar Singh Road.

Sunita Rinku, a councillor, also got the road from Babu Jagjeevan Ram Chowk to Kala Sanghian road named as Guru Hargobind Marg. As a mark of honour for the martyr, a proposal to rechristen British Olivia Colony, near Dakoha, as Lieut Gurvinder Singh Nagar was also passed by the house.

An Akali councillor, K.S. Oberoi, said he had been observing for a long time that the agenda of each meeting of the MC house included seven to eight points on renaming of the various roads and intersections. “Since such proposals are passed without any objection and suit representatives of various political parties, the trend is common in the city,” he explained.

Jalandhar, September 30
Delegates from the Conestoga College Institute of Technology and Advance Learning, Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, Vernon School District, Thompson Rivers University, Vancouver Film School, and the University of Alberta interacted with LPU students and faulty members on the LPU campus here today. Canadian institution representatives appeared optimistic in extending ties with Indian universities.

More than 1,000 students of LPU interacted with the university representatives in Baldev Raj Mittal Auditorium where Canadian Education Centre director Maria along with Thompson Rivers University executive Lois Shannon introduced the Canadian education system. They highlighted differences in teaching methodology adopted by the Canadian education system and the Indian education system.

Maria emphasised that it was important for not only companies but also the universities to extend mutual cooperation. Shannon said, “Canada has a huge Indian population and they have always been appreciated for their hard working nature. The Canadian universities are always interested to have educational tie- up with their Indian counterparts.”

Talking about the trend on Indian students going abroad, Kevin Newsome from Sait Polytechnic, Calagry, Canada, said with an increase in the availability of quality education system in India, this trend might see some shift now.

LPU chancellor Ashok Mittal said the university wanted to become a true global university by providing student mobility option to foreign lands by recruiting international students and creating knowledge management within the Indian as well as foreign teaching fraternity. He said thet LPU already had working relations with more than 10 foreign universities.

Jalandhar, September 30
The educated illiterate are more prone to fall for the self-styled godmen while certain visual media houses cash in on the fear of the illiterate, to earn huge revenues.

Contemporary spiritual master Anandmurti Gurumaa, who is in the city to conduct a five-day camp at Burlton Park from tomorrow, told mediapersons said it was a matter of concern that some electronic channels were preying on the fear of the masses for their personal gains. But again, it was for the people not to blindly follow such godmen. Citing an example, she said while the western world remained oblivious to the Austrian experiment, our channels went overboard claiming that the world was coming to an end. So much so that a girl in Madhya Pradesh committed suicide fearing that she would not be able to see the end of the world. Where was the need for such doomsday prophecies, she pointed out.

Commenting on her “nidra yog” philosophy, she said in this world more than 70 per cent of the people were suffering from stress and a majority did not know about it. My meditation techniques encompassed both the timeless wisdom of the East and the technical approach of the West to enable the people to connect with our inner bliss and be peaceful, devoid of any past or future worries, she added.

Actual state of relaxation could be achieved through this yoga. This technique was more efficient and effective from of physiological rest and rejuvenation than conventional sleep, she said.

Doctors in many countries were now prescribing this relaxation technique as a preventive and curative therapy in the earlier stages of stress-related diseases.

Jalandhar, September 30
Students of BSc (airlines, tourism and hospitality management) of the department of tourism of the Apeejay Institute of Management celebrated World Tourism Day on September 27. An exhibition, “Yeh Gulistan Hamara”, was organised. The students depicted the rich cultural heritage of India through various stalls, which were based on the “Golden Triangle Circuit” covering Delhi, Agra and Jaipur.

Jalandhar, September 30
A case of “child marriage” came to light at Punjab Palace today.

The police got an information that the marriage ceremony of Ajay, a resident of Kila Mohalla, and Ritu of Gopal Nagar area, both minors, was taking place at Punjab Palace. A police party, led by the SHO, Division No I police station, reached the venue, but the marriage had already been solemnised.

The police started questioning the parents of the groom and bride about their age. Naresh Kumar, father of Ritu, and Sohan Singh, father of Ajay Kumar, however, claimed that their children were major.

The bride, however, left for her parental house, instead of the house of her in-laws after marriage. When contacted, the SP, city-I, S.K. Kalia, claimed that the parents of the bride and the groom had given affidavits claiming that their kids were major. The police has started investigations.

Jalandhar, September 30
Must have heard of spas for women, men and pets. But have you ever heard of a spa for cars? Yes, there is one in the city.The owners of Automotix Carz Spa at Laxmi Market here have been marketing their car service centre using this new term. Nipun Sondhi, owner, justifies, “Our centre specialises in offering steam, wax and a whole range of treatments for cars using imported machinery to restore a brand new sheen.”

The marketing strategies include use of attractive logos like “Tandurast car, Tandurast parivaar” and “Now your car can also be a beauty queen.” The owner explains the usage, “Steam wash is altogether a different technology that makes the car germ-free and smell-free. There is one vent through which we pump in fresh steam and there is another one out of which unclean air comes out. AC vents, seats, dashboard, carpets, leather, vinyl and double beadings can all be steam-cleaned.”

“If you go for an interior car wash from an ordinary car service centre, the seat covers are bound to get discoloured but not with us for we use certain chemicals that help in retaining the original colour,” he adds.

The car beauty clinic also offers another solution, “The UV rays from the sun and your hectic schedules mar the finish of your car and people stop looking at it and paying compliments. We offer a protective wax and polymer coating to protect the finish from bird dropping, tree sap and fading while giving a new protective sparkle to the car.”