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Tackling Garbage Problem
Warm benches mark end of rugged winters for Puranpur students
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At the service of have-nots
DAVIET: Going places the nano way
Solar Energy Day
Young World
Students of the Little Blossoms School perform during a function in Jalandhar.
A Tribune photo
LPU youth fest see talent at its best
JPMO to hold peace march on Dec 10
Govt ‘indifferent towards Dalits’
PCA plans coaching centres in villages
Training camp for councillors
Land acquisition: Farmers given hearing
Doctors demand release of MS
Farmers to hold rally on Dec 10
Phagwara advocate is standing counsel
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MC plans to hand it over to pvt firm
Riva/Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 8 “A new system is in the pipeline. The responsibility of door-to-door collection of the garbage, its transport to dump yard, treatment and scientific disposal of the residue, will be handed over to a private firm. Tenders have been passed and the appointment would be finalised in about three months,” said B.P. Singh, a senior official with the corporation. As far as the present scenario is concerned, household and commercial waste is often dumped carelessly in open low-lying areas or vacant plots in the neighbourhood. The Municipal Corporation, responsible for its management, has failed to do fair job. Solid waste is not being appropriately managed due to inadequate finances, lack of proper training, performance, monitoring and inadequate emphasis on preventive maintenance. At present most of the solid waste is being disposed off in an unscientific manner. “At present, colonies are doing it on their own. They have appointed certain people who collect the waste and throw it in nearby low-lying areas. The situation is particularly bad in the outskirts where people throw the garbage in vacant plots in the neighbourhood,” said an official on the condition of anonymity. These Mohalla Sanitation Societies pay meager Rs 1,200 to the people appointed for the job and have reportedly been asked to close down following a big scam. “They (people) collect and transfer the waste in unhygienic conditions like without masks or gloves or other required things. Such unhealthy practices are widely prevalent, not just here but in other parts of the state too,” said Ashok Dheel, general secretary Safai Karamchari Union, Jalandhar. Rapid growth in population and urbanisation has seriously aggravated the problem. Large volume of domestic solid waste, including organic and inorganic materials, is generated in both urban and rural areas. The waste from household, shopping centres, streets, offices, etc is generally dumped at many small collection sites, which are left for municipal authorities for taking it to a common dumping ground. Solid waste, frequently dumped in depressions or open grounds, cause enormous land, air and water pollution. It leads to many environmental and health problems, including spread of epidemics and thus needs to be properly managed and disposed of following precise procedures, arrangements and measures to prevent degradation of environment and other health hazards. “Even, the municipal dumping sites are not being managed well. There are 45 open dump yards on road sides in the city which are a breeding ground for diseases and epidemics. Arrangements are not so good. Appropriate post dumping practices are seldom performed which causes perpetual problem of air and water pollution,” said the official. Going by a rough estimate put by ILFS, one person generated around 500 grams of waste per day. The city reportedly produces 500 tonnes of solid waste per day, which means around 500,000 kg. With such large proportions of dump generated everyday, a proper solid waste management system is desperately needed.
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Warm benches mark end of rugged winters for Puranpur students
Jalandhar, December 8 Courtesy: the noble gesture of Australian citizen, James Anthony Vardanega who donated 2000 Australian dollars for the upliftment of the school today. The foreigner who came from Griffith, Australia, was so moved by the plight of the students at the school that he decided to donate generously for the welfare of the students. James donated Rs 84,000 for the construction of a cemented prayer ground in the school premises and Rs 50,000 for school desks. He also donated another Rs 15,000 for other development works of the school. Vardanega, along with Jasbir Singh Chahal, an Australia-based NRI, had visited the school last week. Talking to The Tribune, James said, “I was surprised to see students sitting on tattered rugs in shivering cold. It was after I visited the school along with my friend that I decided to donate some money for the development of the school”, he added. The Australian citizen who is on his maiden visit to India, maintained that he spoke to his company owners back home ‘Casella Wines Private Limited’ who immediately agreed to donate graciously for such a noble cause. “I would like to visit India next year with some big plans. We would like to introduce scholarships for the brilliant students who come from financially weaker sections of the society,” he quipped. Jaspal Singh, who came along with James, said without any second thoughts he decided to give a grant to the school. A resident of Sanghwal village near Bhogpur, he along with his brother-in-law Piara Singh, took the initiative to indulge in some social work. “I would like to make this a regular feature and provide such basic facilities at other government schools as well,” he maintained. Earlier, Vardanega, along with the members of the village panchayat, met the students and interacted with them. The students were apparently thrilled after meeting him. While interacting with the students, James greeted them with the customary satsriakal and a promise to come next year. Expressing gratitude, the headmistress of the school, Sunita said the grant has come as a big boon for them. “We had been looking forward to provide benches to the students for the past some time. However, due to one reason or the other, we could not do anything. However, the timely grant would indeed serve the purpose of the school,” she added.
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At the service of have-nots
Jalandhar, December 8 Started in 1973, the society celebrated its 36th annual function on December 6 at Apeejay College of Fine Arts Auditorium. Dr Rakesh Jain, managing director, Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited, Mumbai, was the chief guest. The society is currently spending more than Rs 40 lakh annually on its healthcare projects. It has recently upgraded its laboratories on Ladowali Road and Kot Kishan Chand at a cost of Rs 2.50 lakh. “Science has advanced at a rapid pace in the past three decades. With this the expectations of the patients have also increased and it became imperative for us to upgrade our diagnostic facilities and dispensaries with modern equipment and machines. We have introduced a special health plan project at a nominal charge, with the facility of free medical consultation,” said society president Dr S.K. Sharma. The institution also plans to introduce cataract surgery with phaco-emulsion technique at its eye-care centre at its Basti Sheikh dispensary. The upgradation, involving an expenditure of Rs 13 lakh, is expected to be completed in a phased manner. “Around 48,000 patients have been treated at the OPDs at our various dispensaries in the first half of 2009. An eye camp was organised in September where about 325 patients were examined and 57 given the benefit of cataract surgery,” Dr Sharma added. The society has four charitable dispensaries, a mobile dispensary and specialised TB, eye and dental clinics in the city. The dispensaries also provide the facility of vaccination of children against polio, measles, mumps, hepatitis and others. Specialists in orthopaedics, ophthalmology, ENT, dermatology and dental diseases also visit these dispensaries periodically. The Manav Sahyog Society helps some poor children realise their dream of going to school, said K.K. Sharma, a septuagenarian, who looks after the saksharta schools. “I have joined here. I always wanted to go to school but my father couldn’t afford the expenses,” said Sunny (9), son of a vegetable vendor, who hails from Gorakhpur. More than 170 children have benefited from the shaksharta scheme, around 333 slum children have got admission in schools, about 650 students are receiving education in Manav Sahyog School and 65 are leading there lives after being vocationally trained under the “help the needy” scheme of the society. After elementary teaching the students are encouraged to join regular schools, he added. Parents of such children are provided functional literacy. Manav Sahyog School was started in 2002 at Shahpur in collaboration with Manav Sahyog Society-USA. The school, which got affiliated to the CBSE in 2008, has about 650 students. The annual expenditure of the society on various health and education projects is about Rs 75 lakh.
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DAVIET: Going places the nano way
Jalandhar, December 8 Talking to The Tribune, Director-Research of DAVIET and man behind nanotechnology lab Dr Hardev Singh Virk said, “Nanotechnology is going to bring revolutionary changes in the field of electronics, biotechnology, medicine and even cosmetics. It is a study of the unseen world…” The research centre comprises three labs. While two take the physical route to nanotechnology, the third to the chemical path. The atomic force microscope, installed by Russian engineers at a cost of Rs 40 lakh in 2008, is used for surface studies with resolution up to atomic level. Quantum dots are the ultimate nano-structures with zero dimensions. They have diameters ranging from 1 to 10 nanometres, when one nanometre is equal to one-billionth of a metre. “The most interesting fact about nano-techonology is that the properties of materials are size dependent. As the size diminishes, physical, chemical and electronic properties change at a tremendous pace. For instance, gold metal is yellow. But in nano phase, its colour changes to red, blue etc.,” said Virk. The Nanotechnology Research Centre has fabricated quantum dots of cadmium oxide, cadmium sulfide and zinc oxide, etc., which are excellent semi-conductor materials. “We have grown nano wires of copper by the process of electro-deposition. Once during the experiment,
we failed. We never imagined that the results of the failed experiments will be unique and surprising in the history of science,” claimed Virk.“When the results of the experiment were scanned under electron microscope in Panjab University, we found that instead of nanowires we have fabricated flowers which look like lilies and beautiful crystals of copper metal,” Virk said. The centre has submitted a research project worth
Rs 2.6 crore to the Central government under nanomission. |
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Go in for solar, wind energy: DC
Riva/Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 8 He said if imprudently used, resources like petrol, diesel, kerosene, LPG and coal would be finished fast, leading to a huge crisis in the society. The irresponsible use of these resources was also leading to global warming, which was a cause of great concern today. Sun is a source of boundless energy, which could be used to save our traditional energy resources, he said. He distributed prizes and CLF bulbs among the students who won in the topic-based debate, painting and essay-writing competitions. Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Sarojani Gautam Sharda told the gathering about the ill-effects on the environment and life in general, caused due to reckless use of traditional energy resources. She said it was high time that we turned to non-traditional sources. District Manager, PEDA, Sukhwinder Singh detailed the gathering about the machines run on non-traditional sources of energy like solar scooters, cookers, water heaters, streetlights, solar batteries, windmills, etc. He also informed about the government subsidies on these machines. School students presented informative skits and cultural programme.
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24 Khalsa college students get scholarships
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 8 Video conferencing A lecture on “Drug designing - a rational tool in molecular modelling” was organised through video conferencing at Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya. Dr Om Silakari from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Punjabi University, Patiala, delivered the keynote address through video conferencing. Extension lecture The Department of Mathematics of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts organised an extension lecture on “laplace transformations and its applications” on Monday. Dr Rajneesh Sharma from Kurukshetra University was the key speaker on this occasion. He explained the different types of integral transforms, properties of laplace transformations in solving differential equations. Educational trip A two-day education-cum-religious trip was organised for the students of Government Secondary School, Bundala, near here. The students visited Gurdwara Charan Kanwal Sahib, Machhiwara, Gurdwara Nabi Khan, Gani Khan and Gurdwara Jharh Sahib. On the second day the students visited gurdwaras at Sri Chamkaur Sahib. The students also went to Patiala and saw the historical places. Student winner Paramvir Kaur of Kanya Maha Vidyalaya won the title of dancing queen at the recently held “PTC Miss Punjaban” contest. KMV cadets Gurpreet Kaur, a student from Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, won the second position in individual drill and third position in the declamation contest during the recently concluded annual training camp of 2 Punjab NCC (girls) battalion. Prabhleen Kaur won the first position in anchoring and second position in essay writing. The camp was held from November 21 to 30 in which seventeen educational institutions took part. Audio-video lab A state-of-the-art audio-video lab was inaugurated at the Prem Chand Markanda SD College for Women. Registrar of Guru Nanak Dev University Dr Inderjeet Singh was the chief guest on this occasion. Saturnalia-2009 Little Blossoms School celebrated Saturnalia-2009, a cultural show, on Sunday. The morning session of the programme was started by chief guest Rajesh Kaul, Director, Media Centre, IGNC for Arts, New Delhi, while the evening session was inaugurated by S.R. ladhar, Commissioner, Jalandhar Division. Students gave performances in dance and music. Prize distribution Shiv Bal Vatika Public School celebrated its annual prize distribution function on Sunday. Chief guest Vibha Sharda, Principal, Shiv Jyoti Public School inaugurated the function. Children presented a cultural programme. Drama “Railgari Station Par” presented by KG students mesmerised the audience. Prizes were distributed among the outstanding students. |
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LPU youth fest see talent at its best
Jalandhar, December 8 During the event students participated in events like theatre, dance, music, fine arts, literary skills and much more. Amongst the other major events of the day was group dance, ghazal, Indian group song, western group song, solo tabla, creative song, Punjabi folk song, mimicry, folk orchestra, etc. The highlight of the event was live performances by the musical bands of the university which saw the students crooning and shaking their legs on some foot-tapping music. The first day of the fest saw a crowd of hundreds tapping their feet and shaking themselves to the tunes of “Astitva” and “Divine Sanity”, the two rock bands of the university. The fest was inaugurated by Ashok Mittal, Chancellor of LPU, and Rashmi Mittal, Executive Dean. A separate venue saw theatre activities with students from university presenting plays on issues like domestic violence and female foeticide. The students also presented play “Muktdhara” based on the writings of Rabindranath Tagore. Apart from these burning issues of socio-political relevance, including global warming, Naxalism in India, India in 2020 and changing face of Indian education were fiercely debated in the literary section of the fest. The students showcased their logical thoughts at the seminars, debates and extempore competitions. Seminar on drug abuse
Lovely Professional University in coordination with Jeevan Aas De-addiction Centre, Hoshiarpur, organised a seminar on “Countering and eradicating drug abuse” on its campus. Among those who took part in the programme were Dr Gagandeep Singh, Blood Transfusion Officer, Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, Dr Ajay Bagga, Senior Medical Officer, PHC, Adampur, Dr H.S. Lamba, in charge, ICTC, Civil Hospital, and Rachpal Singh, Project Director, Jeevan Aas De-addiction Centre. The seminar was inaugurated by Rashmi Mittal in the presence of visiting doctors and more than 250 students. Rachpal Singh said, “Drugs are not consumed by the addict, rather addicts are consumed by drugs. The menace is spreading fast in the cities and villages of Punjab alike, and 62 per cent young boys and girls are falling prey to drugs.”
Dr Gagandeep Singh in enlightened the audience about the preventive measures that needed to be taken by the parents in case their ward showed signs of possible or confirmed drug abuse.
Among other attractions of the day was a poster exhibition by Kuldeep Kaur from the office of the Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar. The posters carried the message of avoiding drugs. Rashmi Mittal said, “I am aware of the enormity of the problem of drug abuse amongst the students, and that has evoked strong reaction from the university by setting up a drug-free campus.” |
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JPMO to hold peace march on Dec 10
Jalandhar, December 8 In a press release, convenors of the JPMO, Shri Natha Singh, Ghuman Singh Daud and Kulwant Singh Sandhu said the JPMO strongly opposes the policies of the central and state governments, which are responsible for the sharp price rise and unemployment. They also added that the ruling parties also use dirty tactics to divide and divert the attention of common people from their real issues by aiding and abetting communal and divisive elements. Incidents of Ludhiana are the glaring examples of this obnoxious phenomenon. The violent clashes of December 5 between Sikh fundamentalists and police have created a deep concern in the minds of the people of Punjab, because such incidents were responsible for a dreadful long period of terrorism faced by the people of Punjab. JPMO leaders said the ruling classes are directly responsible for creating conditions for growth of such elements in the state. Leaders demanded from the government to take immediate steps to restore peace, take severe action against communal and divisive elements and assure safety of life.
— TNS |
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Govt ‘indifferent towards Dalits’
Jalandhar, December 8 Bharti said out of the 214 cases registered till now, only one had seen any action been taken by the police against the culprits. In the remaining cases the police had failed to issue warrants against them, Bharti said citing the reports presented by the National Scheduled Castes Commission. He flayed the seriousness of the committee, formed to act on behalf of the less privileged under the leadership of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for not doing anything. He said seven months had elapsed since the Dhilwan case, but nobody had been caught yet. Instead, the police was trying to save the culprits, he alleged. He urged the Dalits to prepare for a long and sharp struggle for their rights. |
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PCA plans coaching centres in villages
Phagwara: The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) will launch a village-level campaign throughout the state and open cricket coaching centres in more than 14,000 villages of the state. This was stated by PCA executive member Krishan Lal Saraf while talking to newsmen here today.
He said the PCA had decided to initiate the campaign to bring back the misled youths in to the sports culture and to prevent them from taking drugs. Answering a question Saraf said the coaching centres at the district-level in the state were running successfully and now the PCA was concentrating on villages. He claimed that the PCA was not facing any financial crunch. Phagwara Cricket Coaching Centre in charge and selector Amit Ohri was also present.
— OC |
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Training camp for councillors
Phagwara, December 8 In this series, the District Training Centre of the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration will hold a one-day workshop for all councillors and the NC President on December 14. According to a press release issued by the institute here today, SDM Amarjeet Paul will inaugurate the workshop and the Deputy Director, Urban Local Bodies, will preside over the workshop in which all the elected councillors would be educated about the rules and their rights and responsibilities. The staff of the engineering and accounts wings will also attend the meeting.
— OC |
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Land acquisition: Farmers given hearing
Phagwara, December 8 Paul said most of
the residents argued to first remove illegal encroachments along the national highway and then go ahead to acquire the required land of
the people.
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Doctors demand release of MS
Jalandhar, December 8 |
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Farmers to hold rally on Dec 10
Jalandhar, December 8 Taking stock of the situation, the state president of the Rural Labourers Union said to ensure heavy presence of the hard-working suffering masses, meetings and rallies were being organised in hundreds of villages across the state.
— TNS |
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Phagwara advocate is standing counsel
Phagwara, December 8 The notification of the appointment has been communicated to Kaplish by the Ministry of Law. Kaplish did his law graduation from Panjab University and was practising as a lawyer in the High Court in Chandigarh.
— OC |
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The Punjab Energy Development Authority held a function to observe Rajiv Gandhi Solar Energy Day at Red Cross Bhavan here today.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Commissioner Ajeet Singh Pannu asked the people to restrain from overusing the fast-depleting natural resources and instead turn to non-traditional sources of energy like solar, water and wind.
Twenty-four meritorious and needy students of Lyallpur Khalsa Collegiate Senior Secondary School were awarded scholarships worth Rs 2.67 lakh here on Sunday. The beneficiary students from the science, commerce and arts streams were given Rs 13,000,
Rs 12,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 9,000 as scholarship amounts.
