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City consumes 150 million litres polluted water daily?
Inter-thought-III conference in China
Abolition of octroi in cantonment areas on anvil
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Fight Against Cancer
Does not want to live with mother here
SSA funds disbursed
City student shoots gold
Legal awareness camp held
Be Indian, buy Indian
How green is your food?
Vegan delight
Elderly man attacked, killed
Withdraw cases against Dalits, demands Morcha
Anesthesiologists form association
200 MBA passouts attend LPU job fair
Non-teaching staff hold dharna
Navy recruitment from Nov 4 to 7
Khadi board chairman’s term extended
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City consumes 150 million litres polluted water daily?
Jalandhar, October 27 A similar state of affairs exists in the city where just one sewage treatment plant tries to do the job. The city needs some more such plants, as statistics show. The story begins in the villages situated along the course of the Garha drain which carries a large quantity of water from the sewer channels of the city. Around 11 years back, a plan was chalked out to establish a sewage treatment plant (STP) on this drain so that underground water and overall environment of the villages could be made pollution free. But the Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar, has failed to serve the purpose of treating polluted water which flows from different parts of the city in multiple directions. The lone STP, which was established under Phase I of the Sutlej Action Plan, has a capacity of treating 100 million litres per day. But the sorry detail is that the 8,54,732 residents of the city pollute more than 250 million litres of water every day. Nobody can answer which great chunk of land consumes rest of 150 million litres of polluted water every day. As per information, the MC is planning to establish two more STPs on the Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur roads. Each plant will have the capacity to treat 25 million litres of polluted water per day. Another plant of this capacity is already under construction in Pholadiwal. An STP with a capacity
of 10 MLD will be established on the Ludhiana road. The total capacity of these plants will be 185 million litres per day. The question remains as to how will the MC clean 250 million litres of water through plants with a total capacity of 185 MLD. “It is learnt that sanction has been given only to one plant of 25 MLD. Establishment of all these plants will definitely take years. And magnitude of sewage will also increase manifold. I do not think that the
MC will ever be able to treat such a huge quantity of sewage. There must be other
alternatives too,” said an official on the condition of anonymity. Another factor which exposes the claims of the MC about the performance of the treatment plants is the location and production of organic bio waste, generated by nearly 25,000 cattle housed in the Jamsher dairy complex which is hardly a few kilometres from this plant. “Hundreds of quintals of cow dung is disposed
by around 250 dairies established in the Jamsher dairy complex. This mixing of cow dung with drain water again
pollutes it and makes a mockery of the water treatment being done at the plant upstream. It would have been better if this plant was established a few kilometres farther so that the polluted water from dairies could also be treated,” added a resident of Jamsher. The plan to construct this 100-acre STP was finalised in 1999, the year when nearly 250 diaries were shifted from the city to Jamsher. This STP, which treats sewage by using the upflow anaerobic sledge blanket technique, is being run under the supervision of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Control Board on behalf of the Jalandhar MC. |
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Inter-thought-III conference in China
Jalandhar, October 27 The conference was
held from October 10 to 18. Dr Sharma was the only researcher from colleges in Punjab to attend the conference. He was sponsored by the Department of Technology, Government of India, to present his research findings. The researcher started his work in the “role of acid phosphates in wheat under water stress” in 2004. Earlier too, Sharma had attended many international-level conferences at Boston, USA, in 2006, Poland in 2007, Rome in 2005. “I have been conducting research work in the college labs and attending various conferences to find more details in the field of the ‘role of acid phosphates in wheat under water stress’,” he said. The conference was based on the latest developments on various approaches to maintain productivity of food and other crops under water-limiting and drought-like conditions. The major emphasis in the conference was on developing different methods and crops which can meet the problem of drought all over the world. As many as 500 scientists from various countries participated in the conference. Sharma presented his findings based on the role of acid phosphates (APAses) in plants, particularly wheat. “In the present scenario, a lot of fertilisers are being used by farmers to provide Pi (phosphorous) to the plants. Moreover, the water level in the ground is receding fast, leading to water pollution,” he added. Keeping in mind the existing problem in India, Sharma is working on APAses under drought conditions. It was found that under water stress conditions, the expression of these enzymes gets enhanced in wheat, indicating that the enzymes protect plants under water-limiting conditions. Sharma has also cloned the gene (DNA) of these APAses. “Through genetic engineering, technology and transgenic approaches, research work is under way to create transgenic APAse having plants so that plants can grow better under less water conditions with the minimal use of fertilisers,” he said. Sharma said it was primarily recommended that plant breeders and biotechnologists should come on a single platform to develop strategies to overcome the problem of drought. “These days scientists are working to convert the C3 rice variety (which requires maximum water) into C4 rice (minimum water) having high productivity and stress tolerance,” he said. |
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Abolition of octroi in cantonment areas on anvil
Jalandhar, October 27 The decision comes as a big relief for the trader community who has been demanding scrapping of abolition in the Jalandhar cantonment limits for the past many years. The tax was abolished in Punjab except the cantonment areas of Jalandhar and Ferozepore where it is functional till date. Jalandhar Cantonment Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rakesh Mittal said they had sent a draft of agreement to the state government in this regard in January this year. “The state government has suggested some minor changes in the draft which we have accepted. There is no major policy change in the agreement. Once the draft is formally agreed, we would forward a proposal to the Union government after which a notification would be issued and the octroi abolished,” he added. According to the draft of the agreement, it has been decided that the annual compensation paid by the cantonment would be equal to the octroi collected in the previous financial year from the date of the execution of the agreement subsequent to notification by the Union government. It has also been decided that the compensation would be enhanced by 7.5 per cent in the following years. It was after the meeting held on April 27 this year between the state government and cantonment board officials that a consensus was reached. The Punjab Assembly has passed the Municipal Fund (Amendment) Act, 2008, so that a provision can be made in the Punjab Municipal Fund, 2006, to compensate the cantonment boards of Jalandhar and Ferozepore for the loss of revenue on account of abolition of octroi. The issue of abolition of octroi was raised in 1997 and 2002 as well but to no avail. |
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Udham Singh’s ‘Heer’ on display
Jalandhar, October 27 A rare possession, the book has been displayed in a glass box for the public ahead of the 18th Gadhari Mela, beginning on October 29. The book, donated by an England-based NRI, has been in the possession of the Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Library since 1988. “It was an honour as well as responsibility for me to hand over this historic book to some conscientious organisation. And there could be nothing better than the Desh Bhagat Yaadgaar Hall,” said Sohan Singh Cheema, the man who donated the rare book. Talking about the discovery of the book from an old trunk at his ancestral house at Cheema Khurd village in Nurmahal, he said, “My father died in 1963. It was during my visit back home from England in 1970 that I found this worn-out book wrapped in a cloth in an old trunk. The book was handed over by Shaheed Udham Singh to my father Babu Karam Singh Cheema days before he died on July 31, 1940.” Babu Karam Singh was one of the founder members of the Indian Workers Association (IWA) in the UK. It was here that Shaheed Udham Singh gave this book to Karam Singh to keep it with him forever.
“I took the book to England and kept it with me for a long time. It was in 1988 that I decided to hand over the book to Baba Bhagat Singh Bilga who had come to attend the golden jubilee celebrations of the IWA in England.
Since then the book has been lying with the DBYH library,”he added. Though Udham Singh wanted to take the oath of “Heer” before his death, he could not do so. “My father tried his best to send this book to Udham Singh in jail but nothing could be done. And after that, the book remained as a prized possession with my father,” said Cheema. “The book bears the signature of Shaheed Udham Singh on one of its pages. Initially we preferred to keep this book in the archives of the DBYH but after
receiving queries from everywhere, we decided to put it on display,” said Gurmeet Singh, convener of cultural affairs, Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Committee. |
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DYC demands probe into Shaurya Green scam
Jalandhar, October 27 Parmjit Singh Bal, chief of the grievance cell of the DYC, said the company had sold plots to the people by keeping them in the dark about the status of the land in question. Shaurya Towers was a Delhi-based company and was selling the plots on 7.42 acres that had not been approved from the competent authority. The company had applied to the Town and Country Planning Department in November, 2006, for developing the colony and the department asked it to deposit the requisite fee for external development, change of land use, etc. The department also asked them to contact the PSEB for getting the high- tension wire over the land shifted elsewhere. Bal said the company deposited the first instalment and also furnished the bank guarantee. Meantime, the Jalandhar Development Authority revised its policy following which the company was asked to deposit Rs 2,61,05,530 within 30 days along with a fresh bank guarantee. But the company failed to do so on both accounts, he added. Strangely, the department did not cancel the proposal when the company failed to comply with its directions. A letter of intent (LoI) was issued to the company in May, 2007, and the company passed a resolution authorising Sunil Pachnanda to sign the sale deeds of the plots on the basis of the letter of intent knowing well that it was not a licence. The company sold plots to people on the strength of the LoI that was not a valid document for the registration of the deed. The illegal transaction could not have been possible without the collusion of the tehsil complex, he pointed out. Not only this, a registration fee of Rs 65, 000 per marla was charged as against the registration fee of Rs 2. 25 lakh per marla prevailing at the adjacent Surya Enclave. The company had not only caused a huge loss to the exchequer but also duped the innocent people who bought plots in the unapproved colony. He appealed to the DC to order an enquiry and take strict action against the guilty officials of the company and officials who connived to register the deeds. |
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Young World
Jalandhar, October 27 Eminent economist and former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University Dr S.S. Johal was the resource person. He emphasised on biotechnology, genetically modified cropping, nanotechnology and new better crops with higher yields as the solution to food security. The seminar was
followed by an interaction session. Lecture held
Lovely Professional University organised a lecture on “Consumer behaviour rights and strategies” and “Consumer strategies for business growth” which was delivered by Bejon Misra an international expert in this field. He highlighted the current developments in the business entities towards working in a more ethical and transparent way. The session also laid stress on the role of a corporate in providing the relevant information to its consumers and creating consumers as a “brand” in itself. Fancy dress
The tiny-tots of Darshan Academy participated in a fancy dress competition. The students from nursery to class I presented a colourful function by enacting as flower-seller, Mira Bai, bride, umbrella and much more. Varsity positions
Sonia Thakur of BA-II (Sanskrit hons) secured the third position by securing 164 out of 200 marks in Guru Nanak Dev University followed by Richa Bajaj who got the fourth position. Darshanpreet BA-II (political science hons) bagged the third position in the varsity by securing 148 marks. Similarly, Amrita Deol a student of Bachelor of Fine Arts (III) of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts bagged the first position in Guru Nanak Dev University by securing 1025 out of 1200 marks. Anupreet got the second position with 976 marks followed by Lovepreet Kaur. Talent hunt
A talent search competition was held at the Paradise College of Education in which the students
presented a cultural programme. The students participated in poetry, skit, dance, song and choreography. Amritpal bagged the first position in speech, Shallu in solo dance, Meena in singing, Lakhbir in fancy dress, Rajwinder in poetry and Bachitaar Singh in skit competition. Bake ‘n’ bite
The CT Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology organised a “bake and bite, 2009” contest in which 50 students of hotel management prepared bakery products under the guidance of their trainers. Each group consisting of at least five students was given two hours to prepare the bakery products of their choice. Anup Singh was awarded as the best baker, Shweta Shelly and Yogesh were declared the first and second runners-up, respectively. Seminar held
The Department of Applied Sciences of the DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology (DAVIET) organised a seminar on “Dr Venkataraman Ramakrishnan - a Nobel Laureate”. Students delivered presentations on the life and achievements of Dr Venkataraman. Aashish Kochher was declared the best presenter, while Priyanka Aryan and Mudit were declared the first and second runners-up of the event. Painting contest
A painting competition on AIDS awareness was held at Mehr Chand Polytechnic College. An exhibition on AIDS was also organised. Principal Jagroop Singh awarded the winners of the event. |
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Fight Against Cancer
Jalandhar, October 27 This was stated by Prof Robert Arnott, Dean, Birmingham Medical Institute, while speaking in a cancer awareness programme organised under the aegis of the CCI in association with Surinder Kaur Shergill, Cancer Memorial Trust, and Bilga General Hospital (BGH). Tens of thousands of Indians are suffering from different types of cancer, including mouth, head, breast, uterus and cervix. So much so, one out of 5,000 women are affected from breast cancer. During the day-long camp organised at the BGH, over 100 persons were examined for the disease by doing their mammography and other tests. A seminar on the subject was also organised and discussions were held to detect it at an early stage. In his keynote lecture, oncologist and CCI executive chairman Dr D.S. Sandhu said, “Cancer is a lifestyle-related disease and can be cured if detected early.” CCI Secretary-General Karam Vir Karni advocated to declare cancer as a notified disease and sought a legislative provision for banning smoking and spitting of chewed tobacco at public places. Talking to The Tribune, Karni said the CCI was also planning to spread awareness among general public through audio-visual programmes. CCI Chairman Dr S.S. Johal thanked the hospital authorities for playing a pivotal role in spreading awareness about cancer. Hospital president Dr Jagjit Singh Sanghera promised to collaborate with different associations to continue the crusade against cancer. |
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Does not want to live with mother here
Phagwara, October 27 The Canadian Consulate asked the Kapurthala SSP Ram Singh to do the needful. Phagwara DSP H.S. Khakh told The Tribune last night that a police party. headed by police official Ashok Kumar and Women Cell In charge Gurmail Kaur, was sent to the residence of the girl and she was handed over to the staff members of the Canada Consulate in the presence of her mother
Kamaljit Kaur and her uncle. The Phagwara DSP said the girl was produced before the Executive Magistrate and her statement was recorded in which she expressed her wish to return to Canada. The girl would be sent to Canada by the Canada Embassy. The family of the girl went
to Canada in 1996 and is settled there. |
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SSA funds disbursed
Jalandhar, October 27 The meeting was headed by Chairman of DEDC cum Deputy Commissioner Ajeet Singh Pannu. In the meeting it was disclosed that the authorities received Rs 4.62 lakh for disbursement as salary to 28 newly appointed teachers in 11 upgraded upper primary schools in the
district. Apart from this progress report of newly constructed classrooms in 68 primary schools, two primary upgraded schools and five new upper primary schools out of eleven was discussed. Pannu said till date the administration has distributed as many as Rs 227 lakh for various civil works in the district. The district has 212 Alternative Inclusive Education (AIE) centers in the district with one teacher each at the centre. He said the Disability Certificate Camp of Inclusive Education for Disabled (IED) started on October 14 and would conclude on November 10. “The disabled children were distributed certificates under this scheme”, he added. |
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City student shoots gold
Keshav Krishna Ladhar, a Class XII student of Government Senior Secondary School, Jamsher, won the gold in the under-12 age group in the fixture organised by the Punjab Rifle Shooting Association from October 10 to 11 at Mohali. By shooting the gold in an individual category, the budding marksman has not only brought laurels to his family, but also to the district. His father S.R. Ladhar is Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner. With this win, Keshav has also qualified for the pre-nationals to be held at Patiala in the first week of November. |
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Legal awareness camp held
Jalandhar, October 27 Speaking on the occasion, Assistant District Attorney A (Legal Services) Charanjit Singh said, “Any person whose annual salary is below Rs 50,000 may avail himself of free legal services.” Charanjit Singh also spread awareness among the general public about lok adalats and the Hindu Marriage Act. The school Principal, Parminderjit Kaur, advocates Jyotsana and Ruprinderjit Kaur Bal, teachers Baljinder Singh and Harmeel Kaur and halqa patwari Raj Kumar were present. |
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Be Indian, buy Indian
This is India, incredible India and we the Indians are equally incredible. Today we are in a state of fix over the onerous situation on the contentious issue of Arunachal Pardesh. It is extremely surprising that the country which is posing a great threat to our national integrity is being promoted in our Indian market with open arms. On the one hand, our security forces are being fortified to thwart any type of terror threat or impediment of any sort, on the other, we the proud Indians are illumining our houses with Chinese streak of lights. In a way we are strengthening their already booming economy by allowing them to sell their “cheap” products.
“Sale” and “cheap”, these two words conjure the minds of Indians to such an extent that they never raise any question about the durability of the product. Today, the Indian market is flooded with a variety of goods which entice the mind of the consumer with their compelling presence. In a plethora of goods, Chinese products are taking the lead by leaps and bounds because of their cheap price tag. People tend to ignore the quality of a thing if it meets the requirement of their wallet. This tendency is sucking up the very vibrancy of our market. Many small-scale industries have suffered a lot because of this disparity between the prices. We should not forget that Indian products still offer some guarantee, while most of the Chinese things do not. Moreover, Indians must sincerely rethink about their roles as true patriotic Indians. It is not just the responsibility of the Army personnel to safeguard the boundaries of our country, common masses, too, need to participate in every activity connected with the welfare of the country with great agility. They have to revamp their roles in order to ensure the overall development of their nation. There is no need to lag behind when we can excel in any sphere we like. So stir up your soul and rock the world. |
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How green is your food?
With dishes rolling out from the kitchens of one of the leading cordon bleus of the capital and 'Green Food' as the special attraction, the 6th Gourmet Specialty Week will be a delight for
Delhiites.
Touted to be a mouth watering treat for the foodies in the Capital, the six-day culinary event which started on October 22 will conclude on October 27."Indian cuisines and healthy organic food would be the special attraction in the gourmet week as they are in vogue. This is a great platform for chefs to come in open and interact with people in general. This is the 6th year and more chefs have come forward this year to participate," said chef Vivek Saggar from Food Art. The event will include culinary demonstrations by executive chefs from leading hotels of the capital for the public, which will compete with one another for the top honours. The event will culminate in a multi-cuisine Green Dinner celebrating the International Chef's Day on October 30, where on the platter would be organic, trendy and healthy cuisine.
— PTI |
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Vegan delight
Always wishing to pamper their kids with what they desire; mothers want to make sure their kids eat healthy, nutritious snacks that don’t clash with their values. With this in mind Britannia has introduced vegetarian cakes!
Soft, juicy and filled with real fruit bits, Britannia veg cakes are everything a cake should be; minus the eggs! Additionally the fact they’re packed with nutrition, has zero cholesterol and come with hygienic packaging that boosts it shelf life to three months, so you have a wholesome and healthy snack option, that kids can’t stop asking for and mom’s can’t say no to. On the launch of Britannia’s veg cakes, Anuradha
Narasimhan, category director – Health & Wellness, Britannia Industries Ltd. said, “Over one third of our country is pure vegetarian and our consumer research showed that mothers feel guilty about denying their children cakes. Mothers were looking for a solution where they could fulfill their children’s desire to eat cakes, yet keep their vegetarian family values intact. At Britannia, we are always looking to develop unique products that are both healthy and enjoyable, so we developed these cakes totally without eggs.” |
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Elderly man attacked, killed
Jalandhar, October 27 Mukhtiar Singh (65), a resident of Shahpur, was thrashed to death by a group of persons in an attempt to get the land vacated where he was to construct a concrete overhead water tanks. Mukhtiar Singh was earning his livelihood from the trade by operating from government land. The group had been eyeing this chunk of land for long and this evening they attacked the man and his son
Nishan Singh. Eyewitnesses revealed that more than six persons reached the spot and directed Mukhtiar Singh and son to vacate the land. As the victims objected to this, the group attacked them, leaving the old man dead. The police visited the scene of crime and took the body to the Nakodar Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Sources revealed that the police had rounded up as many as seven persons for their involvement in the case on the complaint of Nishan Singh. Nakodar DSP Rajinder Singh said, “I just received the news. I am on my way to Mehtapur and will investigate the matter.” No case was registered by the police till filing of the report. |
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Withdraw cases against Dalits, demands Morcha
Jalandhar, October 27 “The police has registered cases against 175 people under the National Highway Act, when people were demonstrating against negative attitude of the police in Kartarpur. However, national highways were also blocked on September 6 in Harike, September 14 in Khanna, September 15 in Batala and September 21 in Lidhran. But no case was registered by the police against any demonstrator during these protests. This clearly showed that the police and the administration towed different policies for Dalits,” added Bharti |
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Anesthesiologists form association
Jalandhar, October 27 The purpose of the society is to improve the standards of cardiac anaesthesia in the region. The association will hold regular clinic meetings and seminars about practices and complications in cardiology, cardiac surgery and anesthesiology. Dr Rajesh Arya, Dr Anupam Srivastva, Dr Ramandeep Singh and Dr Alka Kochhar have been elected president, senior
vice-president, secretary and vice-president of the association, respectively. |
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200 MBA passouts attend LPU job fair
Jalandhar, October 27 The fair, exclusively for MBA students of 2007 to 2009 passouts, offered job openings in different fields, including financial, education, retail and logistic sectors, supply chain management, information technology, accounting or industrial engineering. The companies took part in the job fair included DLF Pramerica Life, NIIT, Sri Ram group, Angel Broking Ltd and Star Health Insurance. The job fair was inaugurated by H.R. Singla, Director-General,
LPU. |
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Non-teaching staff hold dharna
Jalandhar, October 27 Union president Kulwant Singh said the members had been demanding immediate implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission for the past some time. He said the union would be forced to further intensify the stir in case their demands were not met. |
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Navy recruitment from Nov 4 to 7
Jalandhar, October 27 |
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Khadi board chairman’s term extended
Jalandhar, October 27 According to sources, Badal cleared the file for giving extension to Sampla from October 21. |
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8,54,732 residents of the city pollute more than 250 million liters of water everyday
Jalandhar, October 27