Jalandhar, December 2
In violation of the municipal corporation rules, several political as well as religious organisations have put up big billboards at major intersections, thereby causing defacement of the city.

The Municipal Corporation publicises the city bus service by putting up a hoarding on an old tree in Jalandhar. A Tribune photograph

This, in turn, is causing resentment among the commuters who rue the indifference of the MC authorities by deliberately not removing such boards allegedly due to political pressure.

A major problem of the city, the number of these hoardings usually increases during religious functions.

Though SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal issued a directive in this regard, nothing seems to have changed till date.

Through his directive, he especially emphasised not to put up hoardings bearing his pictures, but ambitious party workers, in an attempt to showcase their political might usually follow this path.

During a random survey of the city by The Tribune team, it was found that nearly all the major junctions of the city, including Guru Nanak Mission Chowk, Company Bagh Chowk, PAP Chowk, Rama Mandi Chowk and BSF Chowk are lined up with not one but many big hoardings, thereby causing a great threat to the commuters. The violation of norms can be gauged from the fact that nearly five hoardings have been put up right outside the MC office.

Of these, two billboards belong to religious organisations while three have been put up in praise of the ruling SAD-BJP government.

Similar hoardings dot Guru Nanak Mission Chowk as well which is situated in the heart of the city. Another busy area, Rama Mandi Chowk, also remains blocked with huge billboards.

The chowk witnesses heavy traffic during the day and night. Other intersections, which have been burdened by excessive hoardings, include BSF Chowk and PAP Chowk.

Senior citizen Gurmail Singh maintained, “It is sad to see that some of the influential people, in an attempt to prove their political might, indulge in putting up big hoardings at prime locations. This not only defaces the city but also acts as a danger for the commuters.”

Another resident Harjeet Singh said since a majority of the youngsters indulged in rash driving, putting up of big banners should be avoided.

“The MC should take quick action against the violators, irrespective of the person concerned,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that the previous government had signed a contract to put up billboards at specific locations in the city.

When contacted, Mayor Rakesh Rathore said, “Usually the religious organisations are given a time limit of 15 days to put up their banner and only after that we take some action. But as far as the defacement of the city is concerned, we will soon initiate an action against the violators.”

Jalandhar, December 2
The building of the local civil hospital has been crying for care, courtesy Punjab government for not spending even a single penny on its repair after its construction over 10 years ago.

Constructed by Punjab Health Systems Corporation Limited (PHSCL) after spending crores of rupees, the building has developed cracks thus putting the corporation officials under a scanner. Moreover, the underground water supply and sewerage pipes gave way in just over seven years.

The building was inaugurated by the Punjab health and family welfare minister in 2003.

The chocked bathrooms have gathered fungus on walls thus making the hospital rooms unhygienic. The state of intensive care unit (ICU), male and female surgical wards and doctors’ duty rooms is no different as unhygienic conditions prevails everywhere causing health hazards to not only patients, but also to the doctors and other paramedical staff.

Worst affected are two operation theatres (OTs) on the top floor that have huge clusters of fungi on their walls and dampness inside. The OTs have been temporarily closed by the hospital authorities.

A visit to the hospital by The Tribune team revealed that a majority of the patients were undergoing treatment in unhygienic rooms and wards located on different floors of the building. Worst affected were the patients suffering from heart ailments in the ICU as they were virtually stuffed inside.

A visit to the building gives a shock to the visitors, as there is hardly any cleanliness inside. Stench and filth dot every nook and corner. A huge basement with dozens of rooms has virtually been abandoned and become a hideout for miscreants. It looks more as a garbage dump than a hospital.

Medical superintendent of the civil hospital Dr Ashok Nayyar admitted that the building had been affected due to the leakage in the water supply and sewer pipes. He claimed that continuous leakage had created unhygienic conditions in different rooms, especially the OTs and the ICU and certain wards.

“We have written to the health system corporation about the condition of the building a couple of month ago and awaiting its repair and maintenance,” claimed Dr Nayyar.

Jalandhar, December 2
About one-and-a-half-kilometre stretch of the Delhi-Amritsar National Highway-I between Chugitti Chowk and Bhagat Singh Colony Chowk has become risky for the people to commute on.

Fatal collisions are almost a routine affair there. While no exact data of casualties in accidents on this stretch are available, according to an estimate, on an average seven persons are killed in a month.

Although the highway stretch is accident prone, The Tribune team, during its visit to the area, found that the authorities have not taken any steps to solve the problem.

Around 50 stray cattle were seen moving on either side of the highway. Some cattle were even seen sitting in the middle of the road, giving an open invitation to mishaps on one of the busiest national highways.

Several rehriwalas sell vegetables and fruits on both the sides of the national highway near Focal Point Chowk.

Bhagat Singh Colony resident Lalit Gupta says these cattle gather on the road as they get plenty of leftover vegetables and fruits along the highway.

The stray cattle and rehriwalas not only create a problem for the passers-by but also become the cause of accident several times, he says. He demands that the authorities should remove the rehriwalas and stray cattle from the road to minimise accidents here.

Jalandhar, December 2
In a gross violation of the forest department regulations, the municipal corporation, Jalandhar, has put up its hoardings for publicising the city bus service on old trees along roadsides.

Such hoardings have been put up across several routes of the local bus near Garha Road and even outside HMV College.

But the MC officials seem to be least remorseful about the same. “So what, we have only put up our hoardings on trees. We have not cut them off. We have even hung them on poles across the city, especially along routes where there is no other place to put up hoardings,” said MC commissioner Vinay Bublani.

Soon realising the mistake, he tried to correct himself and he said, “I have not personally seen any hoarding on a tree. I remember that we had put up some hoardings across certain landmarks so that the people get to know the routes of the bus service.

NGO Pahal president Lakhbir Singh said, “It is technically wrong to nail trees. By doing that we are reducing their life, for they fall pray to several termite and microbial infections later.”

Divisional forest officer K. Kannan said nailing of trees was a clear violation of the rules laid down by the department. “We do not allow this and get the hoardings removed as and when found,” he said. A forest guard said the tree along Garha road did not fall in the ambit of the forest department but the one outside HMV College certainly was.

Jalandhar, December 2
He suffers from post-polio paralysis. Both his lower limbs are permanently disabled to an extent of 80 per cent. But this is no big a snag for this guy. He is not only fully self-dependent but is also helping others through a non-government organisation (NGO).

Ashok Sharma (30) is an advocate by profession and has been independently practising for over a decade.

Recalling his infancy, Sharma says he was an active and playful child till the age of 11 months but thereafter he had a severe attack of polio which incapacitated his both legs. His poor parents did everything possible to get him treated but he became permanently disabled.

Accepting it as the will of God, his parents tried their best to provide him proper education. They admitted him to Greatway Model School, Kot Pakshian, where his teachers nurtured him and his class-fellows gave him a chance to prove himself as a normal child.

After completing class VIII, he started walking with the help of calipers and crutches and got admission at Government Senior Secondary School, Ladowali Road, where he completed his class XII in the commerce stream.

Subsequently, he passed the LLB examination by securing 71 per cent marks, after completing B.Com from DAV College Jalandhar.

He remained senior vice-president of the District Bar Association, Jalandhar, in 2007-08.

A resident of Rasta Mohalla, he got married to Seema in 2002. They now have two sons.

Sharma is not only looking after his family but is also helping other needy members of society under the aegis of NGO Helpline, founded by him in 1997.

Seema feels proud of being his wife. “Disability is not a curse for him,” she says.

Also the president of the Handicapped Welfare Society, Sharma tells The Tribune that he is providing free legal aid to disabled persons and people from the weaker sections. Besides, he has also organised hepatitis-B vaccination camps and cleft-lip surgery camps with operation rainbow Canada team.

Apart from this, he has exposed several illegal financers and helped their victims and debt-ridden persons. His NGO has organised several seminars to spread awareness among the general public regarding traffic problem, encroachments and crime against women.

The district administration conferred on him the district award for social service in 2007.

Jalandhar, December 2
The four-day musical extravaganza which SPIC MACAY exposed the city audience to, came to a close with the performance of sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterji at Red Cross Bhavan here on Friday.

It’s the first time, after he set the Kapurthala Heritage Festival on fire with his doppelganger act, that Chatterji made an appearance for audiences in Punjab. The performance being very short, a special appearance was more like it.

Chatterji, who’s been tutored in sitar by father Parthapratim Chatterji and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, almost startled the audiences by starting off with a vocal composition which was followed by Miyan Ki Todi played on his “travel sitar” (called so because it is regulated by machine pegs). To conclude his performance, he came up with both the vocal and instrumental rendition of the bhajan, “Payoji maine Ram rattan dhan payo”.

In between he also had a session of interaction with the audience, mainly comprising schoolchildren.

Talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the concert, Purbayan said he was introduced to the sitar at the very young age.

He said he used to be very unruly as a kid. So during one of his father’s tours to Europe, while he was creating a commotion during a journey, he was handed over the sitar by his father to settle him down.

On a relatively serious note, he says, “I remember during my childhood my father used to give me the sitar and tell me to play it while he sat right there watching me practise.”

Who’s your idol?

Sunil Gavaskar, Comes the reply.

The greatest compliments you have received as an artist.

Those have been by Pt Bhimsen Joshi at the Savai Gandharva Festival, by Pt Nikhil Banerji and Ustad Zakir Hussain.

The very next line of compositions that he plans to come out with is “Dwo”. Shankar Mahadevan would be singing a track in it and the beats are being worked at by Taufiq Qureshi.

“I am planning to launch the compositions on January 26 at a unity concert in which 40 artistes from around the world would be participating. There would be another launch in Calcutta on February 15 where I would be performing with Ustad Zakir Hussain.”

He would also be composing music for a movie shortly in which the background score has been done by Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy.

Jalandhar, December 2
As many as 32 students of BCA-III and B.Com-III of the Prem Chand Markanda College for Women have been selected by Unicon Company and Cryo Bank International through campus placements.

A similar campus placement drive was organised by WIPRO at DAV College, Jalandhar. As many as 13 graduate and postgraduate students have been selected at an annual package of Rs 2 lakh each.