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Bill evaders beware, MC plans to watch houses
Crime
Rally held against Ludhiana violence
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Non-teaching employees observe strike
Stigma On Society
Vegetable prices witness decrease
A ghar for destitute and abandoned
Young World
Foreign Dreams
Students, teachers not happy with online CAT
PMU hold protest
Memo submitted to PM
Woman, son killed in road mishap
Cong seeks removal of Speaker
Billboards of Lt-Governor dot city
Assembly incident unfortunate: Kainth Docomo offers ‘talk double pack’
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Bill evaders beware, MC plans to watch houses
Jalandhar, December 10 This is likely to be possible as the corporation is about to implement a geographical information system. The objective of the system is plot-wise and building-wise information of planning and managing water supply and sewerage services. With this newly-developed idea, the corporation will conduct a door-to-door survey of nearly two lakh properties in the city. In the survey, details of the properties, including its owner’s name and address, number of floors, depth and front of plot, total carpet area, age of construction, width of the road on which building/property is situated, will be taken into consideration. Along with this record, the survey will also scan whether the property is being used for residential, commercial or industrial purpose and details of past property tax bills. Similarly, details pertaining to water connections, from the year of connection, size and type of connection up to the nearest source of water supply in the absence of any municipal water connection, will also be included in the survey. Details regarding sewerage and electricity connections will also be a part of survey. After conducting this extensive survey, the database generated will be tallied with the existing record of the corporation and all the evasions will be recovered and illegal water connections will be put off. The beauty of the project is that by using satellite technique, a unique number will be given to every household and buildings, houses and roads can be scanned from the height of 0.6 metres through the medium of satellite. The purpose of the use of property, status of water connection and house tax can be accessed by using this technique. Even a minute change in the use of property or use of any illegal water connection can be traced with the use of geographical information system. “According to a gross estimate, currently the corporation is receiving its revenue by covering only 60-70 per cent properties or households falling under the corporation limits. Rest of the owners don’t even receive their respective bills regularly,” said Mayor Rakesh Rathore. “Detail Project Report of the project is ready and we are looking for the permission from the government,” he added. “We are planning to send our concrete proposal to the government so that the government can arrive at a consensus over the issue for smooth implementation of the project in other big cities of state. This project will enhance the revenue collection of the corporation. In addition to this, this will also impart a qualitative leap in the functioning of the corporation,” said MC Commissioner Viany Bublani. It is learnt that the project will be materialised in the coming six months and it will cost around Rs 80 lakh. Some more projects, to transform the corporation into a tech-savvy organisation, are in the pipeline. |
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Probe begins into jeweller’s murder
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 10 The jeweller, who brought jewellery worth Rs 40 lakh along with him, was found murdered in a house at the Rishi Nagar locality of the city yesterday. His family members told the police that Khandelwal had left Delhi for Jalandhar on December 8 morning via Shatabdi on a return ticket. In their complaint, the family members said Khandelwal had come to Jalandhar on the call of one Sukhjinder Singh who claimed himself to be owner of Bansal Jeweller and wanted to purchase jewellery in bulk. It was only after when he did not returned to Delhi and his phone was found switched off that the relatives informed the police and the probe began. Superintendent of Police (Detective) Parambir Singh Parmar said during investigation it was found that there was no jewellery shop in the city with the name of Bansal Jeweller. “It was found that the victim had come to Jalandhar for the first time to meet the jeweller,” he added. However, when call details of the victim were monitored, the name of local Bedi Property Dealer was traced, who had helped the accused for in getting an accommodation in the Rishi Nagar area, sources added. Bedi revealed that Sukhjinder had visited his shop and asked for his services to get an accommodation on rent, the sources said. However, when cops reached the residence in the Rishi Nagar locality late last night, the premises was found locked and after breaking open the lock, the cops found the body of Pankaj lying in the storeroom.
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Rally held against Ludhiana violence
Jalandhar, December 10 The rally, held on the premises of Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall, was presided over by Kulwant Singh Sandhu, Natha Singh, Darshan Nahar, Jaswinder Dhesi, Paramjit Singh and Satish Rana. Addressing the rally, Mangat Ram Pasla, president, CTU, Punjab, condemned the policies of the Central and state governments, which are responsible for sharp price rise and unemployment. He said the governments was resorting to severe repression of the people fighting against these policies. He alleged that the ruling parties also adopting dirty tactics to divide and divert the attention of common people from the real issues by aiding and abetting communal and divisive elements. The incidents of Ludhiana were the glaring examples of this obnoxious phenomena, he said. Several other speakers, including Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala, Darshan Nahar, Pargat Singh Jamarai, Raghbir Singh, Ganga Parshad, Daljit Singh and Shiv Kumar Tiwari, condemned the inhuman attitude of the police administration towards the migrant workers, which was responsible for the December 4 incidents in Ludhiana. Leaders demanded strong action against the culprits and adequate steps for the safety of life and property of every citizen. The rally demanded from the Punjab Government to pass a resolution in the current Assembly session against the unbundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board. After the rally, a march, led by various leaders of the JPMO, was taken out through the main bazaars of the city. The demonstrators held placards bearing slogans against price
rise, unemployment and privatisation and raised slogans in support of their demands. |
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Non-teaching employees observe strike
Jalandhar, December 10 They raised slogans against the SAD-BJP government of the state and sat on a dharna in front of the offices of the Principals of their respective colleges from 11 am to 3 pm. For the last three months, the employees have been protesting against the indifferent attitude of the state government. They warned the latter of boycotting the upcoming annual examination of three universities of Punjab, if the government didn’t change its callous attitude against them. The union appealed to the government to accept the demands. Otherwise, the union members would continue to fight
for their rights. — TNS |
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AIDS patients still live with discrimination
Riva Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 10 It was the biggest shock of my life. I was expecting our first baby when my tests also reported positive. Thanks to the doctors, our baby (now two years old) is safe. My in-laws blamed me for everything that happened and the birth of a female child made it worse. But my husband stood by me and we started living separately. We try to lead a normal life, but it is difficult. We can’t tell our landlords and neighbours. They will throw us out,” confides Sheetal (30) from Jalandhar. “I found about this trouble a year back. A truck driver, I was into all kinds of wrong things. I was taking medicines regularly until I spent some days in police custody last month. They didn’t even let me take the medicines despite my pleadings. The doctor had advised against any break in the medicine intake. I am on the run… just stopped by to take a month’s stock,” said an unmarried guy of 25. “Some three years back, I had bad stomach for many months. Medicines helped a little but the problem worsened. I visited the CMC where doctors informed me about the problem. I was a boozer. Don’t exactly remember if I ever committed any mistake. Except my brother nobody knew about the disease until one day my wife visited the doctor along with me and got to the truth. She was safe as we hadn’t had any relations for the past many years. For one year I took medicine from the CMC. Then, somebody told me about the ART Centre, Jalandhar, and for the past two years I have been coming here regularly,” said Gurchan Singh. People living with AIDS are discriminated against as it is seen as the disease of the immoral. At times, they face violent attacks, are dumped by spouses, families, communities, and even denied the right to the last rites. Discrimination is also alarmingly common in the health sector, which increases anxiety and fear among the patients. “There was a sort of hysterical fear in the medical fraternity of this hospital, some four years ago. They refused us treatment and asked to go to Amritsar. From the ward boy to the head doctors, all had a kind of pathological fear of having to deal with AIDS patients,” said a couple who are on medicine for the past seven years. “Most of the patients belong to the lower strata of society. Sex workers, truck drivers, migrant labourers, vendors and their families are the ones who visit the most. Boozers, drug-addicts, widows and transsexuals also come here,” said Kalmaljeet Kaur, programme coordinator at the ART Centre. A 2006 study found that 25 per cent of the HIV positive people living in India were refused medical treatment on the basis of their status. A worldwide survey report puts the number of people affected by the disease daily at 14,000, of which every eighth person belongs to India. “Of the 1,400 people who visited the centre this month, about 60 were new. Most of them are in the active, reproductive age group. Though there are some oung kids too,” said Lieut-Col K. Sharma(retd), consultant medicine. Women account for about one million out of 2.5 million estimated number of HIV patients in India. Early marriage and sexual abuse are the major reasons of their heightened vulnerability. In a country where poverty, poor health, illiteracy and double standards for men and women are high, to control the spread of the disease is a daunting task.
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Vegetable prices witness decrease
Jalandhar, December 10 However, edible oil prices saw a significant increase. Tomato remained at about Rs 30-35 per kg as compared to Rs 50 last week. The prices of potato and ginger fell to Rs 16 per kg and Rs 55 per kg, respectively, as compared to Rs 17 and
Rs 85 last week. Peas sold at Rs 55 per kg as compared to Rs 74 last week. Coriander and lemon were sold at around Rs 20 and Rs 53 per kg, respectively, last week. This week, the prices of both the items remained around
Rs 16 and Rs 49 per kg. The prices of capsicum, garlic and onion witnessed an increase as compared to last week. Onion remained at Rs 24-26 against Rs 23
last week. The price of capsicum, shot up to Rs 55 per kg. Similarly, garlic was sold at Rs 85 per kg. The prices of sugar came down by nearly Rs 2 per kg as compared to last week. Eggs also saw a decrease by Rs 2 per dozen and remained nearly around Rs 38 per dozen. |
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A ghar for destitute and abandoned
Jalandhar, December 10 There are many like her who have either been abandoned by their
families or have nobody to turn to and have found a safe shelter at Pingla Ghar here. Started in 1951 with just two rooms and five inmates in a deserted graveyard, it has developed consistently over the years. Its sprawling building today supports about 400 destitute, handicap, orphans, mentally challenged and abandoned persons. Each has a tragic story to tell… either through words or eyes, as most of them can’t speak their hearts out. The institution comprises 65 per cent women and children while men make for the rest of the population. There are patients who need round-the-clock attention and are very demanding. Some have been living here for as long as 20 years. “We make serious efforts to send back those who recover. But very unfortunately, the families often loath to take them back. A woman, victim of sexual exploitation, was found dressed in tatters at Jalandhar railway station. After a year, when she recuperated, we arranged for her return to her home town Varanasi. Her husband and poor parents refused to accept her and within six month, she was back here. Today, she is our staffer,” told manager Lieut-Col B.S. Multani (retd). A team of 89 people, which comprises nurses, four doctors, two physiotherapists, a lab technician and a PT coach along with some helpers, is looking after the inmates. Over half the workers are the people who came as patients and they now care for those in need. Seriously injured in a road accident Kailash was brought here about 10 years back. He recovered, found a wife amongst the inmates and cannot imagine leaving the place that provided him love, care and shelter. Of the patients, 15 have tied nuptial knots after recuperating. The institution emphasises on rehabilitation of those who recover. “Inmates are encouraged to help in the kitchen, clothing stores and ration stores. We also give them salaries as it helps them feel proud and independent,” said Multani. Orphan children are sent to schools and colleges. There are numerous who cannot even eat by themselves and are looked after by the staff members. “Managing them is difficult and sometimes irritating too, but
they need your care and affection. Think of them as little gods,” tells helper Minu. Monthly bill of medicines comes around Rs 1.5 lakh. Special care is given to their dietary requirements. The institution is not just providing home, food and treatment to the destitute and the needy but also helps other humanitarian organisations like Nari Niketan and Prayas School with ration, clothing, funds, etc. The institution also provides help to around 250 widows in the form of blankets and dry ration. To manage a family of about 400 without government aid is a
difficult task. It has an annual expenditure of over Rs 1 crore and most of the finances are managed from public donations. |
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Alumna visits KMV, releases book
Tribune news Service
Jalandhar, December 10 Educational trip
The department of economics of Kanya Maha Vidyalaya organised a one-day educational trip to Kali Bein, Sultanpur. Head of the department of industry Indu Bhatt, along with 58 students, visited the place and met environmentalist Sant Seechewal who gave a talk on how to save the environment. He said the main responsibility to save the environment lay on the shoulders of the youth. Donations
PTA Government Primary and Middle School, Garha, received a donation of
Rs 31,200. The money was used to provide every male student with a pair of pants, shoes and shirts, while suits, ribbons and veils were distributed among the girl students of the school. Area councillor Shiv Dayal Chug praised the government efforts to encourage the poor students by providing them free clothing. |
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Nothing prohibits phoren-crazy youth
Kusum Arora Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 10 The fever is high enough among the youth, especially those from villages, to look forward to that once in a lifetime opportunity of reaching abroad. Leaving nothing to chance, scores of youth daily make rounds of the bus stand market for visa consultancy to fulfil their dreams. While the visa consultants maintain they have witnessed a gradual decline in the number of acceptance cases of students for Australia, the students, on the other hand, are least concerned about the issue. However, there have been reports of Punjabi youth living a miserable life and seeking shelter in gurdwaras abroad for making both ends meet. Jatinder Singh, an Australia aspirant and student of IELTS from a local institute, said, “I am aware of the racial attacks in Australia and the recession-hit market scenario in the UK but that does not make much difference. I have my relatives abroad and they would help me settle there”. Preet Inder Dhillon, manager of Simar Study Zone, said though they make every effort to make students aware of the various issues pertaining to migrating abroad, they usually do not pay much heed to this aspect. “The students look forward to an easy route of reaching abroad by hook or by crook,” she added. “At present we are sending semi-literate-cum-skilled students abroad who are mostly class X or XII pass. And they are being recruited as petty labourers there,” she maintained. Such is the craze among the youth that they don’t think twice before doling out huge amounts of money for their IELTS and English-speaking courses. “My friend migrated to Australia recently and he is doing great there. It is only after his successful venture that I actually thought of applying abroad. Even if there are some problems, at least we are sure of a financially secure future. Moreover, there is no job security in India,” quipped Jatinder Singh, a student of spoken English from Jamsher village. The charm of foreign shores is so widespread that students come from places like Amritsar, Ferozepore, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Mukerian, Tarn Taran, etc. The students usually seek admission in English-speaking courses, ILETS, TOEFL and Nanny-cum-Caretaker courses at a fee of approximately Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 for a three-month package. Apart from this, rumours of no PR (permanent residency) till 2012 and strict visa rules for Australia have added to the woes of the students here. It is Australia which has emerged as the most sought-after destination for the Punjabi youth in the past some years. Visa consultants maintain that a majority of the students have been facing exploitation, leading to unrest among them. “A student who earlier used to get five pounds per hour in England is being paid just 10 pounds for three days’ work,” added Dhillon.
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Students, teachers not happy with online CAT
Jalandhar, December 10 “The test, conducted by American firm Prometric, was marred by a technical snag right from the day one. Many students faced problems like computer shutdowns in the middle of their exam, leading to confused minds and shattered concentration,” said Rajbir Chauhan of Career Launchers, Jalandhar.“What is the guarantee that the virus hasn’t affected the database, the results? Though the authorities claim to have fool-proofed the results from any kind of inconsistencies, we are doubtful. Now that the exams are over, the authorities should make the marking process lucid. Transparency should be ensured,” said Ankur Jindal, a candidate. Widespread rumours that unsatisfied with the flawed conduction of the CAT-2009, some reputed colleges are planning to carry out there own entrance exams, have amplified the anxiety of the candidates. Students also pointed out at some other faults in the conduction of the test. “The test ran in a staggered manner across 11 days. Those who appeared on the first three days were ignorant of the pattern which became known to the later ones. Now, that’s unfair… it shouldn’t be an 11-day window,” commented Anshul Wadhwa. “While the paper has gone well, I am a bit apprehensive about the results. There were instances of cheating and the disruption caused by virus made it worse. I don’t think deserving candidates will get a fair deal in this flaw-laden test,” observed Shikha Goyal. Around 2.4 lakh students appeared in the test for getting into seven IIMs and a few other reputed business schools. Tests of about 8,500 students, who couldn’t appear for the first four days of the entrance test owing to the discrepancies in the conduction process, were rescheduled. “Those whose answers couldn’t be marked due to the virus attack would have to sit through the test once more. It’s a pity. Going through the tedious process once more is a difficult task,” added Anshul. There is usually a 20 per cent increase in the candidature annually. But, surprisingly this year has seen a decrease of about 12 per cent. Online format of the test could well be one of the major reasons as students from rural areas are not generally computer savvy. “While the transformation from paper-based to online format is a welcome change, the outcome should be justifiable. Students have suffered emotionally and that has certainly affected their performance,” concluded Chauhan. |
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PMU hold protest
Jalandhar, December 10 While addressing the gathering, district secretary of the PMU Kashmir Ghughshor said the benefits of the schemes launched by the state and central governments had failed to reach the needy people. He said the NREGA scheme had become victim of the anti-Dalit attitude of the state government and bureaucracy. He said even after submitting thousands of memorandums to officials of the Local Bodies Department, the government had failed to provide any basic facility to workers. Protesters demanded that unemployment allowance should be given to those who failed to find work for 100 days under NREGA. —
TNS |
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Memo submitted to PM
Jalandhar, December 10 Iqbal Chand, president of the Punjab unit of the centre, said social security of the masses in the unorganised sector was another issue of concern. He said 98 per cent of the total enterprise in the country was in the unorganised sector. “And 98.5 per cent of the workers in this sector do not come under any kind of social security coverage,” he said. The memorandum demanded proper implementation of the Social Security Act-2008 by framing state rules to the central act and constitution of construction
workers welfare boards. |
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Woman, son killed in road mishap
Phagwara, December 10 Both vehicles were badly damaged in the mishaps. The bodies of the mother and the son were sent to the Phillaur Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination. However, the truck driver escaped leaving his vehicle behind. |
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Cong seeks removal of Speaker
Jalandhar, December 10 The CBI should be granted permission to file a case against him in the court. Sharma said as the CBI had indicted Kahlon in a corruption case related to recruitment, the government should not delay in giving the permission to file the case against him in the court. Sharma said the Speaker’s post was a constitutional office. He had to be impartial in conducting the proceedings of the state Assembly. He said Kahlon could not play impartial role because he had become dependent on the state government, which was entitled to give permission in his case. Sharma said the Punjab Government was protecting corrupt persons. The government had been keeping the issue of giving permission in case of Kahlon pending for the last nine months. |
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Billboards of Lt-Governor dot city
Jalandhar, December 10 Despite strict orders by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal against displaying any posters, except religious ones, giant-sized billboards showering praises on his excellency are present all over the place. Barring the ones propagating a religious message, Badal had ordered for the removal of all the billboards, including his own. Utilising the excuse of being awarded the honorary doctorate of leaders by Andhra University, the Lt-Governor is leaving no stone upturned to highlight himself in the public eyes. Advertisements, counting his achievements, are being placed in reputed papers. “Governors are part of the constitutional force. Their job is to establish proper implementation of the reputed text. They must refrain from showing any liking towards any political party and must not engage in such practices,” said BJP activist and MLA Jalandhar (North) K.D. Bhandari. Even the public has reservations about accepting such weird behaviour from a man of his stature. “If he is so much keen on being in the public domain, why doesn’t he leave the reputed post and try his luck in active politics,” commented passer-by Gurjant Singh. —
TNS |
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Assembly incident unfortunate: Kainth Phagwara, December 10 Reports said the level crossing was closed to facilitate a train cross at about 4 pm, but the
gateman could not reopen the crossing due to some technical fault in the lever. The stranded villagers held demonstration against the wrong and careless railway working. Later two technical experts from Ludhiana rectified the fault and the vehicle owners were able to reach their destinations. |
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Docomo offers ‘talk double pack’ Jalandhar, December 10 While recharging with Rs 55, new prepaid subscribers can make calls to any local mobile network in Punjab for only 1 paisa per two seconds along with a talk time of Rs 15. The other charges for making calls to landline, STD or ISD remain at 1 paisa per second. The existing subscribers can avail the benefit of “talk double” with a recharge voucher of Rs 49, according to Aditya Gupta, Tata Docomo chief operating officer, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal
Pradesh. |
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Jalandhar, December 10
Jalandhar, December 10
