 |
|
|
MLAs dole out crores of rupees for illegal colonies
Get old-age pension at your doorsteps
Renovation Of Houses |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Creators of puja idols find the going tough
Poet Ajaib Kamal remembered
Water bills to be sent by courier
Sitar meets flute in school courtyard
Sugandha Mishra to perform at Heritage Festival
Onions, tomatoes get cheaper
Hockey trials from tomorrow
Gahlotra chief of doctors’ cell of Phagwara unit of BJP
Young World: 11 HMV students get jobs in Wipro Technologies
PNB launches scheme for debt-ridden farmers
Man duped of Rs 5.5 lakh
Kapurthala club lift kabaddi trophy
|
|
MLAs dole out crores of rupees for illegal colonies
Jalandhar, February 3 The worst sufferers are residents living in planned areas where civic amenities are crumbling and are in a state of disrepair. This goes on even though diverting funds for such colonies are in violation of norms. Illegal colonies not only add to the already chaotic conditions in the city, but also are a drain on the already scarce resources in terms of water, roads and other amenities. This malpractice is so rampant that the MLAs are brazen about such acts and every MLA have got works to the tune of Rs 30-50 crore completed in their constituencies. This makes great poll arithmetic with Assembly polls just a year away. A case in point is the release of a grant of Rs 100 crore for the urban development of Jalandhar next week. The entire amount is slated to be spent for the laying of sewers, roads and streetlights in over 500 such colonies on the outskirts of the city. Terming it a clear-cut nexus between the colonisers and leaders of the ruling SAD-BJP combine, former minister Avtar Henry said, “Several roads in the city are virtual potholes. Sewer systems remain blocked for days. Parks are in a shambles and cry for maintenance. But the MLAs, many of whom are colonisers, are more concerned with consolidating their vote bank and divert funds to such colonies,” he pointed out. “The underlined agenda needs to be understood. The politicians, their families or workers are buying properties at rock-bottom prices in tandem with unapproved colonisers. Obviously, the authorities bend over backwards to please their political masters. In such a scenario, getting the requisite permissions and facilities are just a formality. Such colonisers make a large profit at the cost of approved developers,” he revealed. “In the interest of the people who crave for legal and affordable housing, such offenders should be persecuted,” he demanded. Congress councillor Balraj Thakur opines, “The government policies are rigmarole and favour the law benders. Sample this - The Powercom has stopped giving power connections in unapproved colonies, but the civic body gives water connections and approve the construction plans,” he added. “All this raise the heckles of the city plot owners who have paid huge amounts for getting basic amenities in their areas,” he said. “I have executed works totalling Rs 50 crore in my area. I hope to spend much more this year. I am expecting a share of Rs 30 crore next week from the Rs 100 crore urban development funds for over 200 such colonies in my area,” MLA from Jalandhar North K.D. Bhandari revealed. Interestingly, an MC official hit the nail on the head when he remarked if the politicians did not allow illegal colonies to flourish, where they would get funds for contesting the forthcoming polls. Another official from the building branch also said candidly, “The camps for collecting development charges from such areas have also failed for the same reasons.”
|
|
Get old-age pension at your doorsteps
Jalandhar, February 3 According to highly placed sources, certain banks have started disbursing old-age pensions by hand-held biometric portable ATMs to the beneficiaries at their doorsteps. The distribution of pension may soon start in the same way with the help of hand-held biometric portable ATMs in the other districts of the state after watching the progress of the same in two districts, the sources added. Several beneficiaries were found missing during the disbursal of old age pension at their doorsteps, the sources said. They stated that as many as 900 out of total 5,700 beneficiaries in one block of Ludhiana district alone were found missing, implying that Sarpanches were drawing pensions of dead/missing persons. Such more cases may be found with the start of disbursal of old-age pension at the doorsteps of the beneficiaries in the entire state.
|
|
Renovation Of Houses
Jalandhar, February 3 The slum dwellers, most of whom are working as labourers, said since they had been told to construct their portions on their own and avail themselves of the Rs 1.26-lakh grant in instalments, the delay had become a major problem for them. The rued that they had taken loans for the purpose of demolishing the existing portions and laying the foundation stone for new construction under the scheme. Further, they said they could not go ahead with more work without the first grant of Rs 38,000. They said they were informed about two months back that they should proceed with the foundation-laying work, click photos of the work done, produce documents and take the first instalment. They said it had been more than a fortnight since they had completed all formalities but were yet to get the
grant. The poor residents said the major cause of worry for them was that they were living in rented accommodation for the time being as they had demolished their previous dwellings. The residents were accompanied by Congress councillor from Ward 1 Paramjit Kaur Jassal, her husband and former councillor Des Raj Jassal, other party councillors, including Kuljit Babbi and Jagdish Raj Raja. Jassals said there were 84 beneficiaries in Gurbachan Nagar and 26 in Jinda Pind. They said the scheme had been delayed for over two and a half years. “A grant to the tune of Rs 12 crore had come to the MC way back, but it remained unutilised for one reason or the other. The scheme was even formally launched by Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia about two years ago keeping the poor beneficiaries waiting,” they explained. There are slums in 19 other wards which fall under the scheme and the dwellers have been waiting to receive the benefit. Rahul Gupta, Joint Commissioner, MC, gave an assurance, “We have already prepared cheques and will distribute them tomorrow. We needed a few days to get the plinth work checked at the ground level. We have crossed so many hurdles to resolve the issue earlier. There is no reason now why we should block the payment”. |
|
Creators of puja idols find the going tough
Jalandhar, February 3 The puja falls on the day of Basant Panchami. While people, mainly belonging to eastern India, busy themselves with preparations for the festival, the artisans start work on the most integral part of worship - the goddess. Beginning as early as mid-December, these artisans start working on the idols of the goddess. It takes a lot of hard work and sweat but as talks reveal, the dividends aren’t as beautiful as the mud gods they create. Umesh Kumar from Malda, an artisan who works near the DAV College, says, “If we put in Rs 10, we don’t even earn back Rs 2.” “There’s no money. No water, no electricity, no land. We live in the constant fear that the corporation guys would oust us. It’s just due to some good people - who ask others us to consider our work and poor finances, and let us stay - that we are able to work in this land,” says Umesh talking about the plot on which he has set up his shacks and laid out his idols to dry. “We should get more than what we presently do. It doesn’t even cover our expenses. If all the artisans decide to take a stand, problems might be solved but there are some among us who do not stick to the decision and sell their idols at lower prices to attract customers.” Umesh says they even do not create idols on order. “We make them in bulk and then wait for customers. So many times our hard work goes waste because there are lesser people organising the puja that year. It’s all a gamble. There’s no guarantee.” Manoj Kumar, Umesh’s brother, says he has been working as an artisan for the last seven to eight years. “The number of customers is not fixed and on top of it, the fickle weather plays havoc. In the past few years, there have been three or four times when rains spoiled our sculptures. We had to work on them all over again, spending more on paints and repairs. The clouds scare us.” Girijanand Kumar, who picked up the art from his father and uncles, says he has been making idols for the first time this year. He is yet to know much about the profession but he loves doing this work. “It’s just that the prices we get paid are too less.” Vishwanath Pandit from Majhia village (Vaishali district) says he has been working as an artisan for the last 25 years. “I got it from my father Rudali Pandit. We prepare them with baans (bamboo), keel (nails), parhali (straw), sibba (thread), chikni mitti (mud), colours and cloth to cover it up in the end,” says Pandit. Pandit, who works by the Jalandhar-Amritsar highway, says he gets about Rs 1,200 for the bigger idols and Rs 300 to 500 for the smaller ones. “People who hold pujas at their homes buy these idols for puja and immerse them in the river afterwards,” says Pandit. Pandit’s idols arranged neatly in rows are all set to be painted. “The sculpting work’s complete. They are dry. Now I will paint them by day after tomorrow and then dress them up.” Doesn’t he too think the prices being paid are less? “No. What more could we ask for, that is the price they pay,” says a relatively complacent Pandit. Most of these artisans come from Bihar two months before the puja and go back to the state once the puja is over, pursuing different professions, working as farmers or labourers.
|
|
Poet Ajaib Kamal remembered
Jalandhar, February 3
|
|
Water bills to be sent by courier
Jalandhar, February 3 The Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) of the MC that met yesterday finalised the bid of the DK and Company, which will deliver the bills to the consumers at a cost of Rs 7.67 lakh per annum. As per the agreement, the company will be paid Rs 2.45 for every delivered bill, which will be borne by the MC itself. No payment will be made for any undelivered bill. Mayor Rakesh Rathour said the move would ensure time-bound and sure-shot delivery of the bills. The SE (O&M), B.S. Dhaliwal, said this would also help in making corrections in the existing database with the department. “While we were short of bill distributors, the city has been fast growing with new consumers getting added. We had rather been deputing our staff for recovery purpose and there were complaints of bills not being delivered or coming late,” he further explained. The committee members, who met after five months today, also cleared development projects to the tune of Rs 41.56 crore for the city. Almost half the amount has been earmarked for road construction. A major proposal to construct concrete roads on the either sides of the DAV Canal for the convenience of the residents of the area also got clearance. On the issue of making amendments to advertisement bylaws, the committee members set up a sub-committee with councillors Shiv Dyal Chugh, Sunil Jyoti, Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Bhatia, Deputy Mayor Parvesh Tangri, Joint Commissioner Rahul Gupta and Assistant Commissioner P.S. Ghuman as members. The committee members have been given a week’s time to look into the objections, give suggestions and take up the matter in the next meeting. As many as 267 resolutions were put up in the meeting, of which two were rejected and seven withdrawn for re-tendering.
|
|
Sitar meets flute in school courtyard
Jalandhar, Februray 3 Pandit Debu Chaudhuri, Shashank, Akram Khan and Jaychandra Rao regaled the audience at a classical music concert organised by Spic Macay at the Devraj Girls Senior Secondary School. The very first blessing came in the recital being held at the nondescript school. A pleasant break from huge auditoriums and concert halls, the recital took place in the courtyard of the school, with the students seated on the floor. The mood was perfect. Pandit Chaudhuri politely joked that they felt nervous since it was the first time the two (him and Shashank) would be playing together. If it really was the first time, the audience couldn’t tell. The recital was electric. The duo presented Raag Bhimpalasi. The performance began with the whirr of a generator but as it advanced, the whirr was drowned in sitar (Pandit Chaudhuri) and flute (Shashank) sounds with forceful tabla (Akram Khan) and mridangam (Jayachandra Rao) accompaniment. The recital was especially arousing because it saw the best of the Hindustani (Pandit Chaudhuri and Khan) and Carnatic (Shashank and Rao) music worlds collaborating. Pandit Chaudhuri’s sitar flowed. His swaras whirled and danced like a river in spate. Shashank, the Carnatic half in the performance, played with soul and sweetness, rare attributes in performers today. His flute sounds, an amazing amalgamation of the melody and aggression, were disciplined and his breath control and management of the saptaks, outstanding. The tabla and mridangam’s sawaal-jawaab session had even the most talkative of kids growing quiet and taking notice. For kids who got introduced to classical music for the first time, there couldn’t have been a better lesson in classical music. The recital ended with melodious ‘Vishanav Jana To’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ renderings by Shashank. |
|
Sugandha Mishra to perform at Heritage Festival
Phagwara, February 3 This was stated by SDM Amarjit Pal, while talking to mediapersons after the meeting of the maha sabha today. He said the Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner would inaugurate the festival, while Punjab Technical Education Minister Swarna Ram will be the chief guest on concluding day on February 27. The maha sabha’s executive member S.N. Choopra said Renu Majmudar from Mumbai, Kulkarani from Pune, Kalapani Komli, Jai Dev and Mohan Malsiani would also perform in the festival. The meeting was also attended by K.K. Sardana, Sanjeev Sood, Nagar Council president Balbhadhar Sein Duggal, Improvement Trust Chairman Tejaswi Bhardwaj, Dr Ashok Sharma and Amarjit Chaucer. |
|
Onions, tomatoes get cheaper
The prices of both onions and tomatoes went down this week from Rs 40 last week to Rs 25 this week and Rs 40 last week to Rs 27 this week, respectively. The prices of mushrooms, too, came down to Rs 80 this week from Rs 100 last week. The prices of potato and cauliflower came down merely by Rs 1, from Rs 5 last week to Rs 4 (potato) and Rs 6 to Rs 5 (cauliflower) this week. The prices of peas, too, witnessed a fall from Rs 15 last week to Rs 10 this week. The prices of capsicum (Rs 25), lady’s-finger (Rs 30), garlic (Rs 200), ginger (Rs 40) and lemons (Rs 40) remained the same as those last week.
|
|
Hockey trials from tomorrow
Jalandhar: The trials for the Punjab men hockey team will be held at 11 am at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium on February 5. In a press note issued here today, general secretary of the Hockey Punjab Pargat Singh said the trials would be held for the upcoming National Games, scheduled to be held at Ranchi from February 11. “Hockey players from any department even outside Punjab can also appear for the trials, but they should be a domicile of Punjab,” he added.
— TNS Work reviewed
Phagwara: Punjab Water and Sewerage Board chairman Dr Baldev Chawla reviewed the construction work of a sewage treatment plant near Hadiabad here today. He held a meeting with the officials of the board and the department concerned. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal will lay the foundation stone of the project on February 23, it was learnt. — OC |
|
Gahlotra chief of doctors’ cell of Phagwara unit of BJP
Phagwara, February 3 Talking to mediapersons here today, Dr Malhan urged the state government to include the non-practicing allowance (NPA) in the pensions of those government doctors who had retired before 2006. He also supported the demand of the Punjab unit of the Indian Medical Association regarding the Clinical Establishment Bill. Malhan said the Bill should be imposed with a few important amendments and the condition of the government hospitals be improved first. |
|
Young World: 11 HMV students get jobs in Wipro Technologies
Jalandhar, February 3 Educational fair
A city-based institute, Career Launcher, organised an educational fair ‘MBA Junction’ for students of the state at Red Cross Bhawan here. The event was jointly conducted by Career Launcher centres of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. It was organised with an aim to provide information to students about the reputed B-schools across the country. R. Sreenivasan, director, Career Launcher, highlighted the requirements of the B-schools. Many management games were organised for students on the occasion. Students from some of the leading B-schools participated in the event. Inter-college fest
A two-day inter-college competition was held at Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Daroli Kalan, near Jalandhar. Students from 18 colleges participated in events like declamation, shabad, poetical recitation and folk songs. Results: Kanya Maha Vidyalaya-overall trophy; skit - Doaba College; choreography- G.N. College for Women, Banga; flower arrangement- KMV; poetical recitation-KMV. CT-PTU workshop
The local CT Group of Institutions hosted a one-day workshop on ‘Universal Human Values’ in association with Punjab Technical University. The workshop was held in continuation with the National Conference on Human Values held at NIT Jalandhar. During the workshop, issues pertaining to adoption and promotion of ethics and human values were discussed at large. UGC workshop
An UGC-sponsored workshop on professional excellence is being organised at Ramgarhia College of Education, Phagwara, in collaboration with Alpha Institute, Phagwara. The workshop started on February 1 and would conclude on February 7. Various academicians, dignitaries and students from the region participated in the workshop. Inter-school contests
Prem Chand Markanda S.D. Collegiate Senior Secondary School organised an inter-school competition ‘Stars-2011’ in which the students participated in talent hunt and cultural programmes. The overall trophy went to KMV Collegiate School followed by Seth Hukam Chand Public School. Literary quiz
The Postgraduate Department of the Kanya Maha Vidyalaya organised a literary quiz ‘Exploration-2011’ under the aegis of the English Literacy Society. The students of the undergraduate and postgraduate classes were quizzed on different aspects of English literature like poetry, drama, fiction, mythology, lexicon and much more. Awareness campaign
Phagwara: As many as 47 students of Kamla Nehru College for Women have been selected as members of an awareness campaign team of All-Consumer Protection Organisation Punjab. |
|
PNB launches scheme for debt-ridden farmers
Jalandhar, February 3 The scheme was launched at a function in Adampur by M.V. Tanksale, Director of the bank, in the presence of S.S. Bhatia, Field General Manager and P.K. Sharma, DGM, today. Loans of Rs 9.16 crore were also disbursed to farmers on the occasion. Named Krishak Saathi, the scheme would provide the beneficiaries the money to settle their dues with private money lenders, who charge exorbitant rates of interest.” Our bank is committed to help the maximum number of farmers in the country under this scheme,” he added. Farmers would also be able to use the ATM facilities of the bank to avail themselves of their credit limit besides enjoying an insurance cover of Rs 50,000. “We will also provide scholarships to brilliant wards of the farmers who have availed themselves of tractor loans from our bank,” he added. He appealed to all beneficiaries to tell their fellow farmers about the schemes so that no one had to go to the money lenders in their time of need.
|
|
Jalandhar, February 3 Interestingly, the city police even didn’t bother to follow the guidelines of the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) that directed the police to register an FIR against the company and comply with the orders before the next date of hearing (ie February 1, 2011). ADCP (City-I) S.K. Kalia said the police had completed all formalities and a case would be registered in a day or two. — TNS
|
|
Kapurthala club lift kabaddi trophy
Kapurthala, February 3 Eight Kabaddi teams from Kapurthala, Moga, Nakodar and nearby villages took part in the tournament. Club patron and former Congress MP Rana Gurjit Singh gave away the cash prize of Rs 2.61 lakh to the winning team and Rs 2.21 lakh to the runners-up team. The organisers also honoured best raiders Nirbhay Singh and Sandeep and best stopper Sukha Bhandal.
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Jalandhar, February 3
Jalandhar, Februray 3
Jalandhar, February 3