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Fuel price hike drives auto drivers into further trouble
MC to take over seven colonies; thousands to get respite
14 years after, delayed MDMS makes do with meagre grants
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PTU to set up 24-hr help desk to address queries of applicants
District administration releases Rs 28 lakh under SSA
Are smaller states in national interest?
Fancy number: Hold lawful auction, forum tells DTO
300th centenary of Sirhind Fateh Divas
Return of blacklisted Sikhs: BJP’s conditional nod
Rs 296 cr to MC for devp projects in coming year
‘Chawla not serious about workers’ problems’
Out-of-way promotions: NGO mulls PIL
Holi celebrated in Red Cross School
Students to explore management skills
Truck overturns, blocks traffic
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Fuel price hike drives auto drivers into further trouble
Jalandhar, March 2 The Centre’s move has pushed the already over-burdened auto-rickshaw drivers to an edge. The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s ruling out a rollback, has dipped their hopes further and has drawn sharp criticism from all those involved in public transportation. Auto-rickshaw Worker’s Union, Jalandhar flayed the decision calling it anti-people. Speaking to The Tribune Thaplas Mesih, Vice-president of the Union, said: “The government is being indifferent to the needs of masses. They say the budget stresses on fiscal prudence, but is it wise to transfer the burden on the shoulders of middle-class and the country’s poor? We slam the hike and demand its roll back.” Petrol prices rose by 6 per cent and diesel by 7.75 per cent after the government increased import duties and factory-gate taxes on fuels, in 2010 federal budget. “We have not hiked the fares for the past 10 years, although the government has hiked the fuel prices about 6 times since 1990. From Rs 26, a litre of diesel today has gone up to about Rs 36. It is getting extremely difficult for us to manage. The government is forcing us to hike the fares,’ said Charandas, a senior leader of the union. “The government must not forget that 95 per cent of the countrymen are either poor or middle-class, for whom every single rupee counts. Difference of Rs 3 might not affect those owning cars worth Rs 60 lakh, but certainly have cascading effects on the non-affluent sections of society,” said Preetam Singh Masuria, Union’s President. Fluctuations in fuel prices effect the common-man in more than one way. The rise is bound to escalate the prices of eatables by the way of higher transportation costs. “The prices of food items are touching skies. Sugar cost Rs 14 per kg in March 2008, now it costs about Rs 47. Desi ghee, refined oil, pulses, vegetables, flour and eggs to have become much dearer in the past some months. By the day, it is getting difficult for the common man to run an economy. This recent hike would rub salt on our wounds. We are thinking to hike the fares,” shared Harkamal Singh, an auto-rickshaw driver. But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh thinks otherwise. Responding to a query, Singh had said that last year concessions were given by the government to help the economy back to growth path, given the global economic crunch. But as it is on the path of recovery now, the subsidies have been withdrawn. “The government rolled out special packages to help big industries keep up. It didn’t have anything in stock for us, except inflation. It is withdrawing facilities without actually providing any. This condemnable decision should be immediately cancelled,” commented angry Harkamal Singh. |
MC to take over seven colonies; thousands to get respite
Jalandhar, March 2 The process of taking over by the MC had been pending for long. But now a move in this direction will provide some relief to thousands of families who were finding it difficult to reach out to different civic bodies even for minor repair work in their areas. The step will also help the MC enhance its revenue through recovery of water supply and sewerage and house tax bills. The matter got an impetus ever since BJP councillor Pawan Gupta took up the matter related to BSF Colony during the Vidhan Sabha Committee meeting held in the MC office last month. He had said residents putting up in nearly 120 houses in the colony had been upset with the system. Outlining various cumbersome issues, owing to the delay, Gupta had said, “An MC contractor is being paid for maintenance of streetlights in BSF Colony, while these are actually being repaired by the Improvement Trust. A storm water and sewerage project has been sanctioned in the area but we are not getting it done, for the JIT does not re-lay roads before five years’ time and there is no provision for patchwork either.” Fed up with the scenario, residents now want a single window system from where they can get all their problems redressed.” Commissioner Viney Bublani confirmed taking over of the areas. He said a joint survey by the MC and JIT was being carried out so that an assessment could be made of the condition of roads, streetlights, parks and other facilities. “In case some repair work is required, the JIT will have to deposit some money with us for the estimated expenditure likely to be incurred,” he said, adding that a joint survey would also be done to check if there is any unlawful construction in the area and how it has to be tackled with. The Commissioner said taking over of the PUDA-developed areas, including Urban Estate, Phases I and II, was also in
the pipeline. |
14 years after, delayed MDMS makes do with meagre grants
Jalandhar, March 2 While the authorities blame it on the reluctance of the schools in implementing the scheme, the latter charge the government with non-cooperation and step-motherly treatment. The Punjab government was to provide cooked meals to all the government-aided schools from September 2004, in compliance with the Supreme Court orders. The SC had ordered to provide cooked meals to all students of primary classes after a writ petition was filed by the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties in 2001. A sum of Rs 6.66 crore was released in 2004-05 to all the Deputy Commissioners
for the implementation of this scheme. Later, during 2005-06, Rs 13,09,86,000 was sanctioned towards the conversion cost by the Finance Department for providing cooked meals in schools. It was only in 2009 that most aided schools in Jalandhar started availing this facility at the upper primary level, that too partially. While the authorities claim to have started the scheme in government primary schools in 2002, the scheme is only half way through in aided primary schools here. Primary wings of most of these aided schools do not get the government aid. There are total 11 primary aided schools, with some having branches spread across the city. Shivdevi Primary School, Guru Ramdass Primary School are not availing the facility. Sai Das School has two branches, none is implementing the MDMS. Dev Sahai Sanatan Dharma Senior Secondary School has nine branches, only two are getting the aid. Many institutions claim to have sent request letters to the DEO office, but haven’t got any satisfying reply till now. On the other hand, officials at the DEO office say that aided schools refused to accept the aid alleging that the food was unhygienic and that the parents objected to it. “In 2009, we held several meetings to motivate them to subscribe to the scheme. As a result we have got requests from some schools. By April-end, we hope to do it,” said Amarjeet Singh, in charge mid-day meal scheme, DEO office. The authorities at the DEO office claim that the schools became interested only after the government revised the costs and started providing grants for kitchen construction, towards utensils and salaries to the cooks. But school in charges have a different story to tell. “We have already spent about Rs 25,000 on utensils alone. We haven’t got any grants for it. The government gives only Rs 2,000 per school, how can you cook and serve food to 800 students with Rs 2,000,” asked a teacher in charge of MDMS in one of the branches of Devi Sahai Sanatan Dharma, on the condition of anonymity. A grant of Rs 2,000 per school was to be released from the SSA for utensils, but not all the schools could get this amount. “The government gives only Rs 60,000 towards constructing a kitchen, but that is insufficient to build one. We have made a hygienic kitchen at a cost of Rs 6 lakh,” said the teacher. “Though the problem is at both the ends, the solution lies with the government which should ensure strict implementation of the scheme in all the schools,” opined an official at the DEO office. |
PTU to set up 24-hr help desk to address queries of applicants
Jalandhar, March 2 VC Dr. Rajneesh Arora said the call centre would start its operations few days before the CET brochures are to be made available for the students. He said during his last year experience he had noticed that the number of queries was too high for his staff to handle and he felt the need for a specialised, dedicated team to take up the job of a help desk. The VC said he was talking to some private companies who could dedicate three to five desks, working in shifts to handle queries and responses. “If found successful, we intend to make the call centre a permanent feature even after admissions. Even in routine, students have several queries related to the schedule of examination, result, dispatch of detail marks certificates and other issues, which need to be redressed timely,” he explained. The call centre is likely to be of immense help to the applicants who till last year had much problem in getting their queries resolved. It was a common complaint of the candidates that their queries remain unanswered as the landline numbers of the help desk remain busy or there are no takers for their calls. They said they had no option but to keep on trying the same numbers or reach out to the campus personally to get their queries resolved. The PTU had even got a few mobile numbers of the concerned officials printed for sending queries through SMSs. The move had rather become a pain in the neck of those officials for they said their mobiles kept on ringing throughout the day, leaving them without even a single minute to do any other job. They said by evening there were hundreds of SMSs in their sets, making it extremely difficult for them to read out each one and reply separately. They had even complained that the phones got so busy that their batteries needed to be re-charged after every four hours. |
SSA a lost cause: Brick-kilns play spoilsport in children’s education
Jalandhar, March 2 The plight of children working at brick-kilns in Jalandhar challenges the government’s style of working, which claims to have spent crores of rupees for their betterment. There are 204 brick-kilns in Jalandhar, each employing around 100 to 250 people. A trend is seen to employ pairs (families). Women constitute about 25 per cent of the workforce. The saddest aspect of the workers’ story is the plight of their children who work along with their parents to share the family’s burden. According to an estimate by Iqbal Chand, state president of All Majdoor Sangh who works as a brick-kiln worker, there are above 4,000 children involved in the work in Jalandhar alone, of which only 5 per cent go to schools. “All children should complete primary education by 2007 and eight years of elementary schooling by 2010.” This was the objective of the Sarv Siksha Abhiyan, started with the aim of promoting social justice and equality along gender and economic lines. But the aim is far from completion. “About 15 to 20 children can be found at each brick-kiln in Jalandhar. Around 80 per cent of the children belonging to migratory workers do not go to any school, while about 70 per cent of the workforce constitutes migratory workers,” claimed Iqbal Chand. Though officials dub this data as highly exaggerated, organisations working in the field concur that there is no proper system in place for the education of the children of brick-kiln workers. “Children supplement their parents’ income by shaping the bricks, arranging them for drying and collecting the broken or improperly moulded bricks. If they send their children to schools, it is usually the boys. Girls also do the work of baby-sitting when the mother is away at work,” said Jai Singh of the Dalit Dasta Virodhi Andolan, Volunteers for Social Justice. “However, this is not done owing to the employers’ pressure, but the system operates in such a manner that children become natural partners in brick production,” says a study done by an NGO. Records say that in last year alone, 4,200 children between the age of six and seven were streamlined to schools. They say that 3,687 children, including 1,751 girls, presently benefit from the Alternative Innovative Education (AIE) scheme
in Jalandhar. The government claims to have spent Rs 58,58,772 under the AIE scheme from July 1, 2009, till date. Despite spending such huge grants and efforts on the part of authorities, the mission does not seem to be near achievement in the near future. The children of the people living on the margin are still trapped in the vicious circle of illiteracy and poverty. “While, the SSA is a laudable scheme, it isn’t enough to tackle a problem of such huge magnitude. There is a compelling need for more intensive and comprehensive measures to eradicate illiteracy and poverty, which share a deep bond with each other,” concluded social activist Kuldeep Singh. |
District administration releases Rs 28 lakh under SSA
Jalandhar, March 2 Speaking to The Tribune, Rajeev Joshi, District Co-ordinator of the
SSA, said keeping in line with the mission undertaken by the central government, continuous efforts were being made by the district administration to increase the enrollment of children by opening new schools, providing infrastructure to the existing ones and through the alternative innovative education
(AIE) programmes for the poor children. There are about 216 AIE centers in the district, catering to more than 3,800 children. The District Education Development Committee has
released around Rs 14.5 lakh towards the programme, he informed. The decision was taken during a meeting of the committee, which was presided over by Additional Deputy Commissioner Sarojini Gautam
Shardha. Lack of toilets in schools is an important factor influencing the dropout rate of girls after the 6th standard. The committee has released Rs 2.50 lakh towards building separate toilets for girls in five schools of the district. The Annual Status of Education Report 2009, in its survey of government schools in 575 of the 583 districts in India had revealed that only 50 per cent of government schools had toilets. Only four out of every 10 schools had separate toilets for girls and as many as 12-15 per cent of them were found locked. The survey reported that only 30-40 per cent of the total girls’ toilets were ‘useable’. Though Punjab boasts of offering good infrastructure in primary and upper primary schools, many schools in
Jalandhar, even to this day, either have no benches or have them in a real bad shape. The administration seems to be lending an ear to the problem as it has allocated Rs 6 lakh for the purpose. “While Rs 40,000 have been allocated for providing infrastructure in two new government primary schools, Rs 5.50 lakh have been given out for providing the same in 11
upper primary schools,” said ADC Shardha. “It is good that the administration is making efforts to improve the standard of education in the area. But, a lot more needs to be done in order to reach the goal of universal retention till 2010. Also, not just the quantity, special emphasis needs to be laid on improving and sustaining the quality of education in government institutions,” concluded Mohan Singh
Sachdeva, an activist for social change. |
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Are smaller states in national interest?
Unity in diversity, which used to be the beautiful dictum of patriots, no longer retains the charm for the contemporary politicians who are ready to take advantage of the chaos and disruption prevailing in the atmosphere. India has started her journey with a few states but at present she has 28. The reasons of this division are many but most of the time, the division took place because of the difference in language. People having different linguistic concerns started proclaiming for different states and this tradition did not help at all in boosting the spirit of national integration. Four years ago, Uttaranchal, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand were carved out because of regional interests. Recently, the Telangana problem has created a great turbidity in the country. It has evoked hot discussions on the issue of forming smaller states. Apparently, it seems that Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) President K. Chandrasekhar Rao is earnestly trying for the betterment of that particular region but in reality all his obstinacy seems to be moving in the direction of gaining political importance. One cannot deny the fact that in India politicians have always preferred their personal interests to national interests - be it the case of reservation or political demarcation of the states.
Leaders like Mayawati are voicing their opinions on the trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh into Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh. It is the time to think seriously about the repercussions of having so many small states instead of a powerful
strong Centre. Experience has taught us a lesson that small states always weaken the Centre. This also creates the feelings of mistrust and hatred for the citizens of other states. This is what has happened in Maharashtra. When we got Independence, our patriotic leader Sardar Patel had a beautiful vision of an integrated India and he tried his level best to give it a concrete shape by his sincere efforts. Before 1947, nearly 565 maharajas, nawabs, princes and rajas were existing and only a few people will be aware of the fact how meticulously the great Iron Man Patel had solved the problem of merging various independent states into united India. However, all his efforts have been reduced to ashes by his successors who are simply creating their own empires in the name of newly formed states. If Telangana becomes a state, we will have to be ready for the forthcoming demands, which are sure to come from every corner of India. The demand for Gorkhaland and Purvanchal is still in the air. How can we allow some trifle regional interests to overshadow the interests of India. Nobody has any
right to play with the integrity of the country - be it any political party or a political personality. We Indians should not allow these leaders to smoulder the embers of regionalism at any cost. Don’t we know “United we stand and divided we fall”. |
Fancy number: Hold lawful auction, forum tells DTO
Jalandhar, March 2 In his complaint, Sunil Walia, a resident of Nakodar Road here, said he had applied for the same fancy number for his vehicle on the deposit of Rs 1,500. He said he had made a bid to the tune of Rs 9,500 in the auction held on May 19, 2008. He said his bid came second in number as Sukhdev Singh Aulakh made a bid of Rs 10,500 and eventually he was declared the successful bidder. He alleged that Aulakh did not deposit his papers within the stipulated period of seven days, due to which the same fancy number was allotted to him. The complainant said he submitted his papers along with the balance payment at the Sukhmani Society for Citizen Services, District Administrative Complex on July 16, 2008. He said he had requested for issuance of RC but the same was not allotted to him till September 12, 2008 when he received a letter from the DTO office saying that the number could not be allotted to him because the same had been allotted to Aulakh as the latter had deposited the fee prior to the complainant. The complainant said Aulakh had failed to comply with the conditions of the allotment letter by not producing the papers of his vehicle in time and that re-allotment of the number to him amounted to deficiency
in service. The counsels for the Deputy Commissioner and the District Transport Officer contradicted the allegations. They said Aulakh had deposited the papers and bid amount earlier than Walia and that the former was the highest bidder. They said there was no question of accepting two files of two bidders with regard to one fancy number. The DTO said a letter had been sent to Walia on October 30 apprising him of the next auction to be held on December 10, 2008 and an offer for him to participate, with the amount already deposited by him. The forum, presided over by AK Sharma, said the DTO office had violated the rule by extending the date for the deposition of papers for the registration of the highest bidder. “It also violated the rule by accepting papers of registration from the second highest bidder beyond the stipulated period. As such, neither the complainant, nor the highest bidder had the right for the allotment of the fancy number,” the forum pronounced, calling for the refund of the bid amount to the complainant, and re-auction of the number in accordance with the rules. |
300th centenary of Sirhind Fateh Divas
Jalandhar, March 2 The foundation also demanded that a 300-metre-tall memorial tower should be built at the historical place of Chappar Chiri where Sikh armies, under the command of Banda Bahudar, defeated Mughals and established the first Sikh democratic state on May 11 in 1710 AD. To commemorate the 300th year of this war on May 11-12 this year, the Banda Singh Bahadur International Foundation is going to organise an international-level function at the historical grounds of Chappar Chiri. This was informed by foundation president Krishan Kumar Bawa. He said thousands of people from across the world would participate in the function. The foundation also demanded that the maintenance of all historical buildings and places related to Banda Bahadur, especially at Sirhind, Mehrauli, Lohgarh and Gurdass Nangal, should be handed over to the Archeological Survey of India. The foundation also demanded that a military academy should be established at its place and a stamp released in the memory of Banda Bahadur. They also demanded that the road to Delhi from Gurdass Nangal, the route through which he was taken to Delhi after arrest, should be named as Banda Singh Bahadar Marg. Members of the foundation claimed that some of the coins, which were used as currency and released by Banda Bahadur, were in their possession and duplicate casts of these coins would be available to common public in the function. They said efforts were on to invite successors of Banda Bahadur to the function, along with weapons of the great warrior. |
Young World
Jalandhar, March 2 Award ceremony
As many as 600 students of the local Kanya Maha Vidyalaya were awarded for their excellence in various fields, including academics, during its annual prize distribution function on Friday. Punjab minister for local bodies Manoranjan Kalia gave away prizes to the meritorious students. On this occasion, the department of Physical Education released ‘Sports-Newsline-2009’ while the Gandhian Studies Centre released ‘Gandhian Newsletter’. A Hindi research journal-‘Unmilan’, along with four books by four teachers, was also released. Farewell party
A Farewell party was held for the passing-out students of class XII at the local Seth Hukam Chand SD Public Senior Secondary School, Sangal Sohal, Variana, situated on the Kapurthala Road. Junior students of class XI presented a colourful cultural programme on the occasion. Flower exhibition
A flower exhibition was held at the local State Public School to mark the last working day of the session. More than 50 varieties of flowers were put on display. Students also displayed the division, class, order and family of different flowers. Valedictory function
A valedictory function was held at the Prem Chand Markanda SD College for Women to bid adieu to the outgoing students of under-graduate classes. On this occasion, junior students presented a colourful cultural programme. Industrial visit
The local St. Soldier Management and Technical Institute, Kapurthala, organised an industrial visit of MBA students to RCF, Kapurthala. Students were told about the manufacture of railway coaches. Blood donation
The CT Group of Institutions, in association with Pahal NGO, organised a blood donation drive at its Maqudan campus. As many as 100 students and faculty members donated blood. Professor Lakhbir Singh, President of Pahal, gave a motivational address to the students and encouraged them to donate blood voluntarily. Educational trip
The department of Hindi of the local Kanya Maha Vidyalaya organised a four-day educational trip to Shimla. As many as 21 students, along with three teachers, visited Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, Kufri, Naldera and many other places. Holi celebrated
The festival of hues and colours was celebrated at Innocent Hearts, Green Model Town, Jalandhar and Loharan with great zest and fervour. Students were enlightened about the myths prevalent about Holi. Then, students of class 8th presented a song ‘Bharo Pictikar Ke’. Tiny tots of UKG presented a dance show on ‘Holi Aayi Re’. The director of the school, Kamlesh Bowry felicitated students and wished them happy Holi, motivating children to play safe. The festival Holi was celebrated with zest and fervour at the Prayas School, which is run by the Red Cross Hospital Welfare Section, Jalandhar, for mentally-retarded children. Children presented a colourful cultural programme in the function, which was presided over by Saroj Ladhar, wife of Commissioner SR Ladhar. Director of the school Sabira Aggrawal celebrated the festival of hues and colours, along with the students. Speaking on the occasion, Saroj Ladhar said if provided with proper care and good guidance, mentally retarded children could even clear BA, LLB, LLM and MBA. She motivated teachers and parents to help children achieve success in life. |
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Return of blacklisted Sikhs: BJP’s conditional nod
Jalandhar, March 2 Kumar said office-bearers of the BJP would be appointed shortly. The party had organised the meeting to make arrangements for the installation of a statue of Shama Prashad Mukharjee at Madhopur, near Pathankot. Founder-President of Jan-Sangh Mukharjee had fought a long struggle for lifting the permit system mandatory for entry into Jammu and Kashmir. A huge statue would be installed on the bank of the Ravi on the inter-state border. Senior BJP leaders, including BJP President Nitin Gadkari, L.K. Advani and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, will participated in the ceremony on March 20. The party would also organise a rally. Senior BJP leaders from Jammu and Himachal Pradesh will also participate in the function, claimed Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla.
— TNS |
Rs 296 cr to MC for devp projects in coming year
Jalandhar, March 2 A copy of the agenda of the proposed budget meeting, to be held on March 5, revealed that an amount of Rs 60 crore is being spent on the setting up of a sports hub at Burlton Park. The MC estimates an expenditure of Rs 30 crore on the construction of pucca houses in slum colonies, Rs 3.27 crore on the renovation of Nehru Garden, Rs 2 crore on DAV College Railway Overbridge, Rs 0.50 crore on Domoria Overbridge and Rs 50 crore on water and sewage supply in the city. The total expenditure is 190.83 crore above the amount spent last year. The MC also plans to generate an income of Rs 386.45 crore which is 104 per cent above the amount estimated for the previous year. This includes Rs 100 crore from octroi, Rs 7.25 crore from octroi on petrol and diesel, Rs 9 crore from octroi on electricity, Rs 5 crore from additional excise duty,
Rs 14 crore on building application fee, building composition fee and change of land use, Rs 20 crore from water supply and sewer charges. A major collection of
Rs 60 crore also comes from sale of shops and vacant land. |
‘Chawla not serious about workers’ problems’
Jalandhar, March 2 He said they have submitted number of memorandums to the minister and made requests that she
should hold meetings with representatives of different organisations and unions to well ascertain the working conditions of workers. He said the minister not only used to refuse to fix any meeting with representatives but
also asserted that it was not her duty, but of officers to deal with problems and demands
of workers. He directly appealed to minister that she should interact directly with the workers of the Health Department to understand and solve their troubles. |
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Out-of-way promotions: NGO mulls PIL
Jalandhar, March 2 According to the organisation, these resignations are a rare example in the history of the department and such developments cannot be ignored. The plan to file a PIL was announced here by NISHAN director Aridaman Jit Singh in the presence of affected sub-inspector Rajinder Singh Sandhu and Kamaljit Singh. While addressing mediapersons Sandhu and Kamaljit Singh said they joined the Police Department in 1989 and it took them nearly two decades to get promotions up to the rank of sub-inspector. But those persons who joined the department after them were promoted to the ranks senior to them, they alleged. |
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Holi celebrated in Red Cross School
Jalandhar, March 2 School headmistress Harinder Kaur advised them to use only dry colour, to save water and to avoid any side effects. Several teachers, including Pushpinder Sharma, P. Dhamija, Shyama and Varsha were present on the occasion. Meanwhile, Holi was also celebrated in the city with enthusiasm. Tilaks were reserved for the shier ones while others celebrated with gulal and colourful balloons. Groups of several youths, with dholis, were seen making the rounds of different parts of the city, to mark the occasion. No major untoward incident was reported from any part of the city. |
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Students to explore management skills
Jalandhar, March 2 A host of events will be organised as a part of the festival, including case analysis competition, essay writing, business quiz, creative marketing, logo designing, ad-designing and strategy making. |
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Truck overturns, blocks traffic
Phagwara, March 2 Balwant Khanna, an eyewitness, said
the truck overturned as its one tyre got burst and the driver lost control over
the vehicle. The driver, Nirmal Singh of Ludhiana, was pulled out by the people after breaking the windowpane and was admitted in the Phagwara Civil Hospital in critical
condition. |
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