J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

Revenue Department gets SMS happy
Nawanshahr, December 9
In 2005, then Deputy Commissioner Krishan Kumar had launched an innovative scheme - “Patwari at your call” - which aimed at facilitating the common man to get an easy access to the patwaris. The scheme also helped them obtain a copy of farad, jamanbandi or other revenue-related records within 48 hours by just making a phone call.

IMA Alerted
Swine flu death toll 6 in district
Jalandhar, December 9
Adding to the worries of the health authorities, another death of a suspected swine flu patient was reported in the llcal Civil Hospital today. Though no confirmatory test has been performed to establish a swine flu infection in the patient, signs, symptoms and case history of the deceased reveal that it was a likely case of swine flu.

Unmarried Women Denied Loans
Co-op society asked to pay up
Hoshiarpur, December 9
The District Consumer Forum, headed by its president P.D. Goel, has ordered Rurki Khas Multipurpose Cooperative Agriculture Service Society Limited (RKMCASSL) to pay Rs 10,000 each to Gurpreet Kaur and Sarbjit Kaur, daughters of Ekam Singh of Rurki Khas village in Garhshankar, along with litigation expenses of Rs 1,000 each within one month.

NIT gets Rs 60 lakh for research
Jalandhar, December 9
The Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar, has received a grant of Rs 60 lakh from the Ministry of Science and Technology for carrying out research work and upgradation of the Department of Textile Technology at the institute.

Stray dog menace claims another life
Phagwara, December 9
Only after six days of the death of a woman, Sonia, due to dog bite here, a minor boy, Ravi (13), son of a labourer, Dara Sarwan, died after being bitten by a stray dog at Palahai Gate today.

Adampur shivers at 5 degrees
Jalandhar, December 9
The region today witnessed a chill in the weather with Adampur recording a low temperature of 5 degrees Celsius while Amritsar recorded a minimum temperature of 5.8 degrees.

Judicial remand for MS
Jalandhar, December 9
A city court has remanded Medical Superintendent (MS) Ashok Nayyar and junior assistant Ramesh Chander in judicial custody. They were arrested in connection with a corruption case by the Vigilance Bureau yesterday.

Revenue Department gets SMS happy
Parmod Bharti

Nawanshahr, December 9
In 2005, then Deputy Commissioner Krishan Kumar had launched an innovative scheme - “Patwari at your call” - which aimed at facilitating the common man to get an easy access to the patwaris. The scheme also helped them obtain a copy of farad, jamanbandi or other revenue-related records within 48 hours by just making a phone call.

On the lines of the 2005 scheme, Deputy Commissioner Gurkirat Kirpal Singh has now equipped the revenue department with the latest IT facilities to make the functioning of patwaris high tech and to match their functioning with the rapid strides in the field of information technology.

Giving details, Tehsildar Barjinder Singh said the Deputy Commissioner had provided two computers with internet facility for the purpose of bringing in qualitative improvement as well as transparency in the functioning of the revenue department.

“With the help of free SMS facility via “Way2SMS.Com”, now the SMSs are being sent to patwaris and kanungos regarding important meetings, visits of the senior officials to villages for mutation, demarcation, etc.,” said Barjinder Singh, adding that the facility had not only been proving economical but also saving botheration of time consuming traditional methods of sending important information through dak or making telephone calls.

Besides, the facility of internet has ensured transparency in the functioning of the revenue department. It would help in checking stamp paper scams of the like which were recently witnessed in the district, said the Tehsildar. With the help of the internet, certificates could be verified daily from the website before registering the sale deed to check any fraud.

Patwaris, too, are happy with the facility of recieving information through SMS. Gurnek Singh Sher, general secretary, Revenue Patwar Union, and Harbhajan Jadli, president of the local unit of the Revenue Patwar Union, said the facility of SMS had helped them to get the information quickly to enable them to do the needful to deliver the service in a time-bound manner. The union leaders said though the SMSs were written in English, simple Punjabi text was being used in them.

“Earlier, some patwaris faced problems in understanding the SMS. They were trained to operate mobile phones for an access to the message box as well as to read and understand SMSs,” said Barjinder Singh.

IMA Alerted
Swine flu death toll 6 in district
Amaninder Pal
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 9
Adding to the worries of the health authorities, another death of a suspected swine flu patient was reported in the llcal Civil Hospital today. Though no confirmatory test has been performed to establish a swine flu infection in the patient, signs, symptoms and case history of the deceased reveal that it was a likely case of swine flu.

The patient, Kanchan Bala (52) of New Railway Colony here, reported at the Civil Hospital yesterday with infections in both the lungs. She had a history of fever, cough and sore throat for the past one week.

Similarly, another suspected swine flu patient has been admitted to the Civil Hospital after being referred from a private hospital of the city. Although samples for confirmatory test, real time PCR, are yet to be taken, doctors have started administering Tamiflu to the patient.

Meanwhile, frequent turn up of suspected swine flu cases at the Civil Hospital exposes the level of readiness of the hospital authorities to tackle the disease.

It took months for the hospital authorities to create an isolation ward for the swine flu patient, which is still in the maintenance phase.

The recently inaugurated trauma centre has again been converted into an isolated ward for suspected swine flu cases.

“The isolated ward will be ready within a couple of days as the renovation of some of its parts is still going on,” said officiating Medical Superintendent Dr Balbir Singh.

“We have appealed to the doctors and members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Jalandhar, to strictly follow the guidelines regarding the signs and symptoms of swine flu issued by the WHO,” said Civil Surgeon Dr S.S. Walia.

The death toll of swine flu patients would rise to six if yesterday’s death is considered to be a case of swine flu. However, out of the 19 confirmed cases, five patients have died, taking the rate to more than 25 per cent in the district. The recent pattern of the disease is not even giving time to doctors to perform laboratory test on suspects.

Unmarried Women Denied Loans
Co-op society asked to pay up
Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, December 9
The District Consumer Forum, headed by its president P.D. Goel, has ordered Rurki Khas Multipurpose Cooperative Agriculture Service Society Limited (RKMCASSL) to pay Rs 10,000 each to Gurpreet Kaur and Sarbjit Kaur, daughters of Ekam Singh of Rurki Khas village in Garhshankar, along with litigation expenses of Rs 1,000 each within one month.

Gurpreet Kaur and Sarabjit Kaur had filed two separate complaints against the RKMCASSL on the ground that they are the members of the society and were granted loan limit of Rs 25,000 each being non-agriculturist, after completing all formalities and documentation. They issued two cheques for Rs 10,000 each, but the secretary of the society refused to make the payment from the loan limit on the pretext that unmarried females cannot avail themselves of the loan facility.

The RKMCASSL took a plea that the maximum credit limit to Gurpreet Kaur and Sarabjit Kaur was proposed due to misstatement of facts and the source of income and as per record Pal Singh of Alipur village in Garhshankar, who stood as guarantor for both the sisters, had made a request in writing to withdraw the guarantee.

The consumer forum held that in case any guarantor makes a request to withdraw the guarantee, the institution is under legal obligation to issue a notice to the other party with the direction to arrange for some other guarantor and till then the guarantee subsists. There is nothing on the record to prove that Pal Singh was allowed to withdraw the guarantee by the society. The other plea raised by the society that the managing committee of the society did not pass resolution for advancement of the loan to the complainants did not stand to reason as the maximum credit limit to them had already been proposed. Therefore, the resolution for advancement of the loan by the society was not necessary or required.

NIT gets Rs 60 lakh for research
Tribune News Service

Stray dog menace claims another life

Phagwara, December 9
Only after six days of the death of a woman, Sonia, due to dog bite here, a minor boy, Ravi (13), son of a labourer, Dara Sarwan, died after being bitten by a stray dog at Palahai Gate today.

Reports say that the boy was bitten by a rabid dog 15 days back.

It has been learnt that more than 472 stray dogs are roaming in the town, but the Nagar Council has not initiated any solid steps to control the increasing population of the stray dogs in the town.

The SDM, Amarjit Paul, when contacted, said all departments concerned would soon be instructed for early action to curb the menace.

When contacted, Senior Medical Officer Dr Rajiv Gupta said he had written to the Nagar Council several times about the menace of stray dogs, but nothing was done.

Executive Officer of the Nagar Council Paramjit Singh said the council would soon contact Animal Husbandry Department for early sterilisation of stray dogs to control their increasing population. — OC

Adampur shivers at 5 degrees

Judicial remand for MS