Jalandhar, February 10
Members of the Dalit Dasta Virodhi Andolan (DDVA) raised their voice against the anomalies of soon to be implemented Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (reservation in posts and services) Bill 2008, and held a protest rally in front of the residence of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Mohinder Singh Kaypee here today.

A bill to provide reservation of appointments or posts in civil services for members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in establishments and for matters connected there had remained an issue of debate in the country for the past some time.

The agitated members said during the previous Lok Sabha elections, the Congress had promised to provide reservation to SCs and STs in the private sector as well. A decision was taken at that time demanding implementation of the bill for the Dalit community.

“Utilising the opportunity as a poll plank at the brink of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, the UPA government has now decided to implement the bill. This is not enough. The bill has many loopholes, which needs to be considered again as the issue pertains to the welfare of Dalits”, said president of the Jalandhar Urban Wing of DDVA Love Kishore Gill.

The bill would be presented in the parliament on February 12. Agitated over the half-baked bill, the members maintained that the bill which would soon turn into an act, had not fulfilled some of the core demands of Dalits.

Terming this as a foul cry, Gill said the bill did not mention any reservation in the science and technical posts for Dalits. “Besides, there is no reservation in leading educational institutes like IIMs and IITs, including 47 universities of the country, for Dalits. Dalits have been deprived of the top positions, including lecturers, readers and professors in these institutes. This is a deception in the name of development and the government should reconsider this decision for the uplift of our community,” said Gill.

He said the bill had not mentioned any penalty for the official who fails to implement the bill. Demanding a revision of the bill, the members said failure in fulfilling their demands would result in serious agitation in the coming days. 

Kapurthala, February 10
A consumer got relief as the district consumers disputes redressal forum quashed the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) demand of an inflated amount due to faulty meter.

Forum president Paramjit Singh and its members Gulshan Prashar and Shashi Narang not only quashed the demand of the PSEB for a payment of Rs 2,96,981 with the direction that the present meter should be replaced within a fortnight, but also awarded monetary compensation of Rs 5,000 to consumer Joginder Kaur of Kala Sanghia for mental agony and harassment for deficiency in service.

Besides, the forum also directed the PSEB to pay Rs 3,000 to the consumer as litigation expenses within a month from the receipt of the copy of the order.

In her complaint filed under sections 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, on September 12 last year, Joginder Kaur stated some PSEB officials checked her electricity meter on September 4 and found that it was showing the reading of 74271 units, whereas the actual meter reading as per the meter reader was 7470 units.

The PSEB officials told the complainant that the meter was showing highly inflated reading, there must be some fault and they assured her that they would replace the defective meter within a few days, she stated in her complaint, adding that she was shocked to receive a memo after four days for Rs 2,96,981 which included Rs 2,69,983 as SOP charges and Rs 26,998 as ED charges.

Terming the demand as wrong, arbitrary and against the provisions of the electricity act, she approached senior PSEB officials, including the assistant executive engineer and SDO, Kala Sanghian, but instead of listening to her, they threatened her that the power supply would be disconnected if she did not deposit the amount.

The consumer requested the forum to provide her relief as there was clear-cut deficiency in service on the part of the PSEB.

During proceedings of the complaint, the forum came to know that the complainant was having power connection under the DS category with sanctioned load of 1.80 KW only and had been paying Rs 400 to Rs 500 for every two months since long.

Actually the enforcement unit of the PSEB checked the meter on September 9, 2008, and detected the meter was showing the reading as 74721, whereas as per the reading of the meter reader, a bill was sent to the complainant at the reading of 7470 units for two months from May 16, 2008.

After hearing the arguments, the forum observed that the complainant could not be forced for making payment of this huge amount on the basis of this abnormal consumption.

Jalandhar, February 10
The local municipal corporation (MC) today began the process of regularisation of its safai karamcharis.

The MC intends to regularise nearly 1,213 karamcharis who were already working with mohalla sanitation committees and drawing money to the tune of Rs 2,880 per month. All those who will get through will start drawing Rs 6,000 monthly from the MC, increasing its expenditure burden by over Rs 72 lakh every month.

Nearly 150 candidates appeared for the interviews in which their age up to 47 years, their ability to read and write and fitness was checked. All those who got paid by the committees in April, 2008, were called for the interview. Many women candidates also appeared for the interview.

Jalandhar, February 10
Now you can flaunt Punjabiat even through your T-shirts. With a range of Punjabi bolis, quotes, titles of Punjab-based movies, Sikh culture, Gurbani lines and pictures of Punjab’s hero printed on them, you have an ample choice to pick one that suits your attitude.

There are T-shirts with a word or two written in praise about Punjabi culture in English or even Punjabi language “Punjabian da tashan,” “Punjabian di shaan vakhri,” “Soorma,” “Singh Soormein” and “Mera Rangla Punjab.” There also is yet another category with Punjabi bolis like “Pindaan vichon Pind Suninda” and “Rabba Rabba meen vasa.”

Then there are those in an array of colours depicting a Sikh man brandishing sword with a quote “Nishchay kar apni jeet karo.” There are plenty on Sikhism and Khalsa clan like “Raj karega Khalsa,” “300 saal guru de naal” and “Amrit sarowar.” There also are ones with a peg line “Singh is King,” the title of a recent Akshay Kumar’s hit movie.

There also are T-shirts with map of Punjab or names of various districts of Punjab written in the form of a maze. The T-shirts with Bhagat Singh’s picture on them are also finding many a buyers.

Shopkeepers tell that the buyers often stop at the Punjabi culture Ts section and gauged carefully before taking their pick. “Most of our customers are NRIs who come to buy branded stuff, including Lacoste, and somehow find this section more fanciful. Even Punjabi boys putting up outside Punjab love to depict culture of their own state through these,” said Rajeshwar Singh, owner of Westend, a showroom in Model Town.

Arshdeep Singh, a Ludhiana-based businessman, who gets such T-shirts manufactured under the brand name Punjabi Culture, said 75 per cent of his clientage were NRIs. “It was one of my friends in Delhi who suggested me to enter this venture and I have been really lucky going with it. Four showrooms in Jalandhar, including One Stop Shop, TTS Store and Smart Readywear in Ansal have kept my stuff. Showrooms in all parts of Punjab, Chandigarh, Jammu and Haryana have been keeping my stuff from sometime and have confirmed a good response,” he said, adding that he had his own showroom on Mall Road in Ludhiana.

Arshdeep said that anyone could place an order for a T-shirt in a specific colour with his favourite Punjabi quote and he would get it made within a few days for a normal price tag ranging between Rs 350 to Rs 425.

Jalandhar, February 10
The Principals’ Association of Non-Government Colleges affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, today demanded lifting of ban on recruitment of employees against aided posts in colleges.

In a press note issued here today, the lecturers have demanded the implementation of recommendations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) regarding pay revision and service conditions for college and university teachers to let them avail themselves of the central government assistance.

General secretary of the association and principal of the local Lyallpur Khalsa College Dr Jaspal Singh Randhawa said more than 10,000 teachers working in colleges and universities would be benefited in case the state government implements the decision in the coming time.

A majority of the states have already implemented these recommendations from January 1, 2006, onwards. “By implementing these provisions, the Punjab government will be able to avail itself of the services of experienced faculty for more time. This in turn will benefit the students. We need to attract outstanding qualified young men in the teaching profession for improving the standard of education.”

Jalandhar, February 10
The department of computer science and information technology of Lyallpur Khalsa College organised Plasma-2009. As many as 106 teams from 17 colleges of Guru Nanak Dev University participated in seven different competitions.

Jalandhar, February 10
Continuing the noble spirit of charity, the CT Group of Institutions would be organising its third CT Half Marathon on February 22. The marathon is dedicated to Pingalwara, Red Cross and other organisations that have made significant contribution for the deprived members of the society.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD candidate from the Jalandhar parliamentary seat Hans Raj Hans and cricketer Harbhajan Singh would grace the event. The marathon will begin at 6.15 am and cover a distance of 21 km from CT Shahpur campus to Maqsudan campus.

Addressing a press conference, veteran runner Baba Fauja Singh said marathons have been conducted on a large scale particularly in metro cities and abroad. “However we should be proud that now Jalandhar has also joined the same bandwagon,” he added.

Fauja Singh has won many marathons in different parts of the world. He has also been awarded by the Queen of Britain, Elizabeth, and the government of Canada for his spirit regarding marathon. The veteran runner would run in the marathon.

Chairman of the CT Group of institutions Charanjit Singh Channi said, “We have successfully organised two marathons in the last two years. And we hope to continue with the same spirit in the coming years as well.”

An added feature of the marathon would be the disabled race in which physically challenged children would participate. The race would be organised in the playground of the CT Group of Institutions, Maqsudan campus. Besides this, a special celebrity race would be held in which distinguished personalities of Jalandhar will run from Burlton Park at 9.30 am on the same day.

Winners of the race will get attractive cash prizes along with certificates. Rs 21,000, Rs 11,000, Rs 5,100 will be given to the first, second and third position holders, respectively, for different male and female categories. The next seven position holders will get a cash prize of Rs 1,100 each. Every participant will get participation certificate and a T-shirt. Participants can collect registration forms from the CT campus.