Jalandhar, June 22
Known for crumbled infrastructure, crunched staff and higher failure rate till yesterday, government primary schools in the district nowadays are toeing a new path by adopting student-friendly activities, which are otherwise a part of the schedule 
charters of managements of reputed private schools only.

As many as 124 government primary schools across the district are organising “summer camps” for students, an activity which was quite alien to the managements of government schools till recently.

The idea, in fact, is being implemented in the government primary schools for the first time in the state and has also been introduced in many other districts too. Camps are being organised from June 21 to 30.

“We organise classes of gradually vanishing rural games and folk dances and songs. We hold sessions of clay modelling and educate students through playway methods. We are concerned both about the overall personality development of students and to make them aware of our culture, traditions, folklore and ethos,” said DEO (Primary) Kamal Kanta.

Interestingly, the camps are being organised only after the voluntary efforts of primary teachers employed in schools.

“We have not enforced the programme in every school. Rather, some teachers themselves volunteered to start the camp. Even now, we are approaching as many teachers as many as we can and are motivating them to organise such camps in their respective schools. The response, both of teachers and students, is excellent,” said Navpreet Balli, one of the organisers of the project.

“All the students were told to come to schools without their stationery. As classes are going to commence on July 1, next day of closing of camps, after vacation, this exercise will also put a positive effect on the attendance rate of students. We have also planned to hold cultural functions on the last day of the camp in each school,” Balli added.

Private schools attract students and their parents through such exercises and by adopting a dogmatic approach, we don’t want to lose our students, he said.

Jalandhar, June 22
The Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar, is all set to start a Kendriya Vidyalaya on its campus up to class X.

The KV would facilitate the school education of the wards of NIT employees, other Central government employees and the people of the surrounding areas.

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) believes that the opening of KVs in central universities, deemed universities and institutes of higher learning would enable sharing of experiences at two levels of education and help link school and university education.

Talking to The Tribune, NIT Director Dr Moin Uddin said they had 4,190 sq mtr of area on its campus earmarked for the KV, excluding the already built residential area and two playgrounds.

“We have completed all formalities and are just waiting for the final approval from the ministry. The school would come in handy for children of this area,” he added.

Dr Moin Uddin said during the first phase it was decided that the school would be started till class V. But now the ministry had decided to start the school till class X.

The ministry has established kendriya vidyalayas (KVs) in all the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), except IIT, Roorkee, where it has another KV in the vicinity of the institution, the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs) at Kolkata and Lucknow and in some central universities too.

KVs have also been established in project sectors like ONGC, NTPC and BHEL and are fully funded by them. While in the institutes of higher learning like NIT, Jalandhar, the institute would be providing adequate land, fully furnished classrooms, playgrounds, necessary equipment and a permanent structure for running the KV.

The NIT, Jalandhar, had submitted a proposal to the Assistant Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Chandigarh, for opening a KV on their premises.

Phagwara, June 22
Technical Education Minister Swarana Ram today inaugurated the sewerage project in Hadiabad Canal Colony. The project would benefit more than 25,000 people of Hadiabad, which did not sewerage since 1947.

The project, costing more than Rs 24 crore, would facilitate the residents of Mohalla Bhagatpura, Preet Nagar, Shaheed Udham Singh nagar, MansaDevi Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Satnampura and other colonies.

Markfed Chairman Jarnail Singh Wahid Advocate, Phagwara SDM Amarjeet Paul, Market Committee Chairman Sarwan Singh Kular, BJP District Secretary Rakesh Duggal, Improvement Trust Chairman Tejaswi Bhardwaj , Nagar Council President Balbhadhar Sein Duggal and BJP Councillor Dev Sharma were president on the occasion.

Meanwhile, former Congress minister Joginder Singh Maan held a news conference at his residence and alleged that the BJP was highjacking the project of the Congress as he himself had launched the sewerage project four years back. The SAD-BJP government first stalled it and now after four years, the BJP minister re-launched it.

Phagwara, June 22
Five days have gone since the murder of a couple from Bihar, who had an inter-caste marriage, in Phagwara, but nobody has turned up from the bride’s family to collect the body lying in a mortuary. The groom, though, was cremated by his family members here on Monday.

Kamlesh Singh Yadav and Khushvu Kumari were found dead in nearby Miherru village in Phagwara on Thursday. The police has booked bride’s father Arvind Sharma and his accomplices under section 302 of the IPC.

The family members of the Kamlesh arrived in Phagwara yesterday, received the body from police custody kept in mortuary and cremated him in Phagwara crematorium on Monday evening.

SSP Kapurthala Ram Singh told The Tribune that the police was in constant touch with Arwal Police Bihar and would wait for some more days to cremate the girl.

Three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) had been constituted to investigate the matter.

It was reliably learnt that the police has rounded up two other migrant labourers from Bihar in the case. The Phagwara Police is also in constant touch with Jahanabad police to nab Arvind and his accomplices. — OC

Jalndhar, June 22
Cackling microphones, co-artistes with bad memories, costumes that wouldn’t fit, screaming nukkad natak lines to a hostile audience in dust-laden streets at 40 degree plus temperatures, bad performances to a packed house and good ones to empty auditoriums - they have been through this all.

They belong to the creed of silent workers who held on to theatre even when it didn’t feel happening enough to most of the wannabe actors out there. But it’s time to reap rewards.

Three of these toilers, it seems, are all set to hit it big.

Jalandhar theatre activistes Hitesh Kapoor, Sukhdeep Singh and Amit Jindal are among the 93 persons shortlisted from all over India (five centers - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati and Bangalore) for the National School of Drama’s final tests.

Auditioning for selection in NSD’s three-year dramatics arts’ course at Delhi, the trio is part of the 51 shortlisted from Delhi (the total from Punjab being eight).

They have been associated with local theatre groups for the past some years. While Hitesh (23) was working with Yuva, Amit (25) and Sukhdeep (23), better known as Sukhi, have been working with Style Arts.

About three months ago, Sukhi founded his own theatre group Agni Arts Association under which he and six other members of the group performed nukkad nataks in various parts of the city.

Talking to The Tribune before they headed back to NSD for their final five-day tests and workshops/auditions starting from June 21, the trio shed light on the experiences.

On why they opted to choose NSD when they were already doing theatre, Amit said, “Just want to learn more.” Sukhi and Hitesh, however have a different reasons to give, “We want to come back to Jalandhar after finishing the course.”

Did they work hard to prepare?

“Being among the 275 shortlisted out of the 600 applicants for the first interview we were happy but me and Amit kind of took it easy. Hitesh really worked hard before going there,” says Sukhi.

So how did it feel there?

“We were told scary stuff like ‘they won’t listen to you’, ‘would snub you’, etc. But we felt really comfortable answering the auditioning panel and they made all our worries disappear,” says Amit.

Auditioning to a panel of 10-12 judges comprising biggies like Anuradha Kapur and Abhishek Pillai, the three were made to recite soliloquies and poems from a list provided by the institute which they had to choose from.

Amit chose “Andher Nagri” (Bharatendu Harishchandra), while Sukhi and Hitesh chose Mohan Rakesh’s “Lehron Ke Rajhans”. While opting for their favourite characters Sukhi chose Mahipath from “Jaat Hi Pucho Sadhu Ki” (Vijay Tendulakar), Hitesh opted for Girish Karnad’s “Tughlaq” and Amit played Yermolay Lopakhin from Anton Chekhov’s “Cherry Orchard”.

So do they think they are gonna make it?

Sukhi says he was confident he would come through this round and still feels confident about the next one. Amit and Hitesh, however, aren’t in a mood to assess their performance.

What if NSD doesn’t work for them?

Not a line of worry on their faces. “If we make it through it’s gonna be a great learning experience. But NSD or not, we’re always gonna do theatre,” the trio quips in unison.

If they get through, Jalandhar will get it’s first NSD regulars.

Jalandhar, June 22
The Police Commissionerate seems to have failed to bridle snatchers and criminals of petty crimes since its introduction in the city. The recent spate of snatching incidents in and around the city has raised questions on the functioning of the system.

As per police records, 10 snatching incidents were reported on June 9 alone and that too in busy markets. Women were the soft targets of the snatchers in a majority of these incidents.

The snatchers took away purses, gold and silver chains, mobile phone sets, cash and a mouser from the victims. The places of occurrences were Urban Estate (I and II), Jyoti Chowk, Nakodar Chowk, Ali Mohalla, Buta village, Deol Nagar, SAS Nagar, Nikku Park in Model Town and certain other busy markets of the city.

Two snatching incidents were reported in May. The police has registered cases under section 392 of the IPC in these cases.

While the armed robbers are looting people, especially women, of cash and valuables, the police has been proving to be a mute spectator.

The criminals use motorbikes, a majority of them stolen, and operate after 8-9 pm. Defunct street lights and absence of night patrol parties at strategic points are proving a boon for these criminals.

The daring criminals have even injured many police personnel in the past.

Their modus operandi is that they indulge in arguments with their targets, show them weapons and snatch their cash and valuables.

The miscreants have come up with new methods of looting people. They cut gold or silver ornaments by using steel cutters and open fire at them before fleeing.

In another significant decision, the Punjab Cabinet has approved amendments to section 379 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and to insert sections 379-A and 379-B in the table of crime to make stringent provisions to curb snatching.

The amended provisions would make this crime as cognisable, punishable, non-bailable and triable by the court. Snatchers shall be punished with imprisonment which shall not be less than five years and may extend to 10 years and shall also be fined Rs 10,000 or both.

But at present the arrest rate of snatchers is almost negligible and the amendments could only be implemented if the snatchers are nabbed, experts point out.

Jalandhar, June 22
Girls of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya have once again come out with flying colours and bagged top positions in Guru Nanak Dev University.

Anupriya Seen of BA-I bagged the first position by scoring 686 marks out of 800. Heena Chopra of BSc (medical)-I stood first by securing 628 marks out of 800.

Anupriya said after spending a chunk time in the preparation of the youth festival she was least expecting a top position in the university. The topper hails from the family of renowned classical musicians Lachman Dass Seen and Manu Seen.

The topper thanked Principal Dr J. Kackeria who arranged special classes for her to complete her syllabus post the youth festival. Anupriya had opted for music vocal, music instrumental and Sanskrit as her subjects and wishes to 
pursue a postgraduation in MA (music).

Phagwara, June 22
The Youth Congress has decided to launch a nationwide campaign against increasing drug abuse. Five villages from each district of the country would be identified where youths have take to drugs.

District Youth Congress (R ) Jalandhar President Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary said a campaign “A Tragedy Untouched” was being initiated in the district and five villages would be identified for the purpose.

The District Youth Congress began the campaign from Goraya in Phillaur today.

Vikramjit said the Youth Congress with the help of social organisations would adopt addict youths, who would then be treated in drugs de-addiction centres.

He claimed that Union Social Justice Minister Mukul Basnik had assured the Punjab Youth Congress to provide financial help to make the campaign successful.

Jalandhar, June 22
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has asked a Mumbai-based tour company and its local agent to refund Rs 40,000 with 10 per cent interest and pay up Rs 12,000 as compensation to a complainant.

Satish Kumar Behal of Kapurthala had filed a complaint against Cox and Kings Pvt Ltd and Bhatia Travels, Jalandhar, last year. He had stated that he had gone through an advertisement and got booked a tour namely “European Experience” for himself as well as his wife Anita Behal for 10 days with the departure schedule from August 19, 2008, to August 26, 2008, against a cost of Rs 1.4 lakh per person.

He said while he had paid Rs 40,000, the balance payment was to be made after the issuance of visa and before departure. The final date of the tour as well as other requirement if any were to be informed by the company. The passports of the complainant as well as his wife were also claimed to have been taken by the company officials for proceeding with the matter.

The complainant alleged that after the booking, he kept on waiting for intimation from the company but no communication was received. On an inquiry from Bhatia Travels, they found that the tour had not been finalised yet. The visas were also stated to be under process.

A few months later, the complainant was told by the local agent that they could not arrange visas for him and his wife, therefore, they could not be sent for the scheduled tour and offered to arrange seats for the complainant and his wife in the tour for the next year. The complainant said he was shocked and decided not to accept the proposal of the tour for the next year.

He said he had requested the agent to return the passports and refund the amount received by him. Though the passports of the complainant and his wife were handed back to him, but he failed to get refund of the amount despite repeated requests.

No one appeared for Bhatia Travels in the forum and the matter was proceeded against ex parte. The representatives of Cox and Kings accepted that the booking of group tour for complainant and his wife Anita Behal had been done. However, it was contended that the tours were booked through the travel agent and all communication as well as coordination was done through the agent only. It was further stated that as per the conditions of the cash back offer, the tour participants were required to submit the documents for obtaining visa within 10 days from the booking date and make the payment of the entire tour cost within 20 days from the date of booking.

The forum found that Cox and Kings and Bhatia Travels had failed to fulfil their contract regarding the European tour and non-submission of the passports by the complainant was a mere excuse to escape the liability. The complaint was thus allowed with orders for refund and compensation.

Jalandhar, June 22
Punjab Minister for Local Bodies Manoranjan Kalia today laid the foundation stone of development works worth Rs 1.34 crore at Ward 30 of the local central 
town locality.

Kalia said Rs 41 lakh would be spent on the construction of roads in the area while Rs 52.34 lakh would be utilised on the construction of the sides of roads. Another additional amount of Rs 7 lakh would be spent on installing mask lights.

“We are committed to complete all these development works before March 31, 2011,” he added.

Apart from this, Kalia also highlighted that an amount of Rs 311 crore would be spent on various development works of the city. He also said the state government had released Rs 121 crore for 100 per cent sewerage project in the city.

“The work on the sewerage project is going on in full swing. The state government has released an additional amount of Rs 140 crore for accomplishing this project well on time”, he maintained.

Kalia also mentioned that an additional Rs 15 crore would be spent on road repair while another Rs 35 crore would be spent on the beautification of the city. On this occasion, the minister was accompanied by MC Mayor Rakesh Rathore who said the city has witnessed a phase of all-round development during the past three-years.

Jalandhar, June 22
The local unit of the 
Federation of Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Societies of India organised a regional conference and live workshop on “Foetal medicine” on Sunday. Manoranjan Kalia, Local Bodies Minister was the chief guest.

Dr Prashant Acharya, Chairman, Foetal Medicine Committee, gave a lecture on the various modes of treatment to find the congenital defects of the foetus. A live workshop was conducted by doing ultrasound on pregnant women by Dr Kuldeep Singh, Dr Vandana Chadha and Dr Ashok Khurana.

The conference enlightened the delegates about the knowledge of ultrasound technique to predict which foetus will be at risk for adverse outcome during pregnancy.

A panel discussion by Dr Jai Prakash Shah and Dr Alpesh Gandhi from Ahmedabad was held on a topic “Dos and don’ts in case of foetus with birth defect”.

Earlier, giving inaugural speech, Kalia said instead of sex determination, ultrasound techniques should be used only for the wellbeing of the pregnant mothers.

He said female foeticide was a social evil and doctors should educate the society to stop this practice.

About 125 delegates participated in the conference. Dr Kamal Gupta, Dr Surjeet Kaur, Dr Sushma Chawla, Dr Kumud Pasricha, Dr Yogeshwar Sood and Dr Gurpreet Kaur were present.

Jalandhar, June 22
Even as sweltering weather gripped the region, mercury today registered a slight decrease with Pathankot recording the highest temperature of 42.1° C.

Halwara recorded a maximum temperature of 41.3° C today, while yesterday it had recorded 43.1° C.

At Adampur the maximum temperature was at 40.5° C, which was 43.3° C yesterday. Meanwhile, reports of rain and thundershowers in Chandigarh and periphery also poured in the evening bringing respite to people.

At many places people commuting by roads were seen covering themselves with clothes while those at the countrysides enjoyed a cool bath in ponds and tube wells. Even the city wore a deserted look in the afternoon as scorching heat forced people to stay indoors.

The Met Department authorities have predicted light showers in Pathankot and the Punjab and Haryana border in the next 24 hours. “Even the Doaba region may also witness light cloud formation or a likely spell tomorrow morning,” the met authorities maintained.