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Improvement Trust shows MC how to go about work
When ‘Michael Jackson’ teaches English
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Ward 6: Facilities exist, but residents to be blamed for garbage mess
Beant Singh Park lies abandoned
Fake travel agent booked
A First: Current year students to get degrees
MC Commissioner interacts with industrialists to know their problems
I-Day function venue changed
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Improvement Trust shows MC how to go about work
Jalandhar, August 4 The work for the construction of two pavilions in the multi-game Guru Gobind Singh Stadium is already over till the second slab. Trust chairman Baljeet Singh Neelamahal claims that the stadium being renovated at a cost of nearly Rs 22 crore would be ready by September 30 this year. As per the plan, there would be two pavilions facing each other and comprising 17 rooms for players. Besides, there would be a plush VIP lounge, a hi-tech media centre, a commentary box and an open coffee shop on the terrace. There would be a provision of 5,000 steel chairs with a stone canopy across the entire circumference. The existing elliptical sides, having steps for sitting, have been protected. The steps would be covered with tiles to enhance the look, SE of the trust Mukul Soni said. The stadium would also get modern flashlights for use during the day and night matches of football, kabaddi and athletic events. The stadium, however, would not get any synthetic track owing to problem of drainage of rainwater. Case of upgradation of Burlton Park
The Rs 141-crore project of the upgradation of Burlton Park being undertaken by the MC has not been able to pick up since the past four years owing to departmental hiccups, cost escalation factors, delay in selection of the final drawing and now a court case by senior citizens of the city, who are out to protect the green belt. The departmental delays still continue to haunt the MC as the HUDCO is yet to release the loan for the purpose. The viewers’ gallery has been demolished and the concrete lies there as it is, much to the annoyance of the hundreds of players practicing there daily. The SE, B&R, MC, Kulwinder Singh, said the efforts were on to expedite the project. Conceptualised quite well, the greenbelt that comprises banana, mango, jamun and other ornamental trees, nursery and a rose garden wears a shabby look these days as it is full of wild growth. Gardeners said they had been demanding machinery for cutting grass for the past several weeks but had not got it yet. The walking path needs renovation. The nursery has not got required inputs, including pots and manure. The area has been dumped with broken swings, old MC hoardings, shop shutters, broken traffic lights, dustbins and other stuff. The officials claim that not much efforts were being made to spruce up the area as this was being planned to be razed for construction purposes. |
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When ‘Michael Jackson’ teaches English
Jalandhar, August 4 To deal with the situation, an increasing number of schools in the city are setting up English labs in their schools to build better English speaking and ‘listening’ skills among students. Satwant Gakhal, Principal of MGN Public School, the first school to start the trend in the city 12 years ago, says, “Many students come from backgrounds where they don’t get to speak English at their homes. We understand that mere old-fashioned lessons in the subject are not going to help them become good communicators. Labs are the essential step ahead from the usual lessons and the children like them because there is a fun element attached. They help them not only to interact but also to be better listeners.” The English lab lessons in the school are given to children from Classes I to XII once a week. While at primary level, they get to watch CDs on children stories, at secondary level, it’s a party - they get to watch hit American films and listen to songs from the likes of Miley Cyrus and Michael Jackson! Gurleen Kaur, a Class IX student, who has been taking these lessons since she was in Class I, says, “I have seen ‘The Transformers’ and ‘Toy Story 3’ so far. The lessons have brought a change in my perception and conversation.” Dilsher Singh, who has had the lessons since the Class VI, likes the songs more. “More than the films, I have fun listening to the songs. It has made me more confident.” But then, contemporary cinema and songs might also expose children to inappropriate language. Police DAV School, which set up its English lab 10 years ago, has a solution to that. Principal Rashmi Vij says, “We play only classics like the Sound of Music and others for our children. There are two labs in the school where students from Classes III to VIII take lessons. Students usually have a lot of difficulty in getting the articulation right. But after these classes, there’s been a lot of change. Two teachers take one class and phrases and words are drilled for every lesson.” Deepa Dogra, Principal of Cambridge International School, says, “Inclusive exercises are best for children to get their lessons right. The practical lessons of lab work are much more helpful than isolated or compartmental learning and these lessons work wonders to improve their English.” Dhiraj Banati, Principal, Innocent Hearts School, says, “Our students have been getting special lessons since 2004-05. A special software facilitates interactive lessons.” The Principal, Army Public School, Jalandhar, Ashok Jain, already has one lab in the school while he is planning on another one. “Many of our students had never been to a English schools earlier. An adequate training in the English language is required to make them pick up the language. The upcoming lab would have 40 computers. The software will provide them lessons for which the teacher will act as an interface between students and the computer.” Some schools like Eklavya which do not have dedicated English labs as yet, already provide lesson in English through softwares installed in multipurpose labs. While others like the APJ School and Mayor World School plan to have them in the near future.
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Ward 6: Facilities exist, but residents to be blamed for garbage mess
Jalandhar, August 4 The problem of litter is grave in the ward as the residents do not think twice before throwing garbage in the open. While the MC despite making all efforts to motivate people to avail themselves of the services of paid garbage lifters has not yielded any results. The ward is equipped with all the basic facilities of fine network of roads, cemented lanes, streetlights, sewerage and timely supply of drinking water but a poor response to MC’s initiative of paid garbage facility has turned out to be a big eyesore. Even the Jalandhar-Pathankot highway adjoining this ward is filled with garbage and filth at many stretches. As many residents did not take up the services of the MC, it has led to a complete mess in the ward. “As people throw garbage in the open, stray animals keep hovering around creating mess in the localities,” said a housewife from the Santokhpura locality. “We are taking the services of the paid garbage lifters but there are many who are not willing to pay even a single penny. Hence, they throw garbage in the open. For days together garbage remains dumped in the open leading to stench,” said Sukhvir Singh, another resident of the locality. “Surprisingly, even the MC has confined its services to the paid system. At least they should ensure that the garbage thrown in the open is lifted timely. After all it is a matter of cleanliness in the city,” said Hukam Chand from Sarabha Nagar. The councillor of the ward, Hans Raj Rana, was not available for comments.
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Beant Singh Park lies abandoned
Jalandhar, August 4 Developed and maintained by the Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation Limited (PSIEC) in 1992, the park was handed over to the Municipal Corporation Jalandhar (MCJ) about four years ago. Rakesh Bhardwaj, a resident of the Shashi Nagar locality, said “The park, spread in several acres, was such a beautiful place that he along with his nephew used to visit it every day. So much so, people from far areas also used to come to this park for picnic.” Echoing his views, Lalit Gupta and his wife Kiran Gupta, residents of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony, said, “Hundreds of trees and plush grass used to attract a number of visitors for morning and evening walks. A number of music speakers installed beside the zigzag walking track in the park were an additional attraction.” Bhardwaj and Lalit Gupta said the park was well maintained for several years after it was developed. Later, in the absence of any caretaker, some thieves stole the music system and even the bricks of the wall of the park, they said. “Now the park looks like a barren land,” they added. Perturbed over the bad condition of the park, some Congress leaders, including PPCC secretary Virendra Sharma and Arun Walia, brought the entire matter to the notice of the then MC Commissioner Vinay Bublani a few months ago. Sharma and Walia said Bublani directed his staff to visit the park along with the Congress leaders to have a first hand view of its condition. Bublani had also asked them to make an estimate for revival of the park, they added. When contacted, MC executive engineer Gurcharan Singh said the estimate was being prepared. He also said some organisations had also contacted the MC for reviving the park. No final decision was taken in this regard, he said, adding that the efforts were on to revive the park as early as possible.
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Fake travel agent booked
Phagwara, August 4 Kuljit Singh Dhillon, an uncle of the victim, said they struck a deal for Rs 5 lakh with Vinod Kumar for sending Jaspreet to France on April 17 last year, but neither Vinod Kumar could sent him abroad nor returned the amount.
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A First: Current year students to get degrees
Jalandhar, August 4 While the university had been presenting degrees to the passouts of the previous year, this time passouts of the session 2010-11 will receive degrees along with those from session 2009-10, the officials from the examination wing of the university confirmed. As a matter of pride, an eminent nuclear scientist of India and Padma Vibhushan awardee Anil Kakodkar will be the chief guest during the convocation function. He is also serving as the chairperson of the Board of Governors (BoG) of Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar. Kakodar is the former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India and former director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Trombay. Reforms in examination
The examination section of the university has introduced a slew of reforms recently. One reform which has come as a big respite for the students is that they are now able to see their result of various subjects as soon as it gets ready on their university login on www.ptuexam.com. This is much before they get their detailed marks certificates from their respective colleges. The details of the internal and external assessments is also put on the web so that the students find the system transparent and can put forth their objections in time. As another reform, the university has now introduced online filling of examination form. While these forms would be submitted via the students’ login, they would be able to get their admit cards from the college ID, said Paramjit Singh, Deputy Controller of Examination. Student honoured
Manjit Kaur, a student of Punjab Technical University’s Distance Education Programme (DEP) who had got a rank of 903 in Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) Examination, has been honoured recently. Manjit Kaur studied under the DEP at Chandigarh in GCS regional learning centre of the University. She was a student of MBA finance. |
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MC Commissioner interacts with industrialists to know their problems
Phagwara, August 4 Exporters Paramjit Sethi, Sudesh Sharma, Ashok Sethi, Ramesh Chhabra, Subhodh Sobti, Chander Aggarwal, G.S. Batra, Om Uppal and Mahinder Sethi urged the Commissioner to make adequate arrangements for sanitation, drainage of rainwater, etc. They also demanded an industrial focal point in the town. |
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I-Day function venue changed
The Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, which has been the venue for the district-level Independence Day functions for the past several years, will not be able to host the programme this year owing to massive renovation going on at the site. Since Jalandhar is to host the state-level function this year, the venue has been shifted to PAP Complex. One-man show
The seriousness of the Municipal Corporation in promoting green cover is evident from the fact that the Horticulture Department has been the most sidelined department going by the staff strength. While there are two sanctioned posts of JE, one of SDO and one of Executive Engineer, just one Landscape Officer of the level of SDO is serving as of now. There is neither a JE nor an Executive Engineer. There are just 80 gardeners for the whole of the city, most of whom are either deployed as tractor drivers or work in officers’ lawns. The Executive Engineer and SE of the B&R Wing, who have a basic mindset of raising concrete work after destroying green cover, have additional charge of horticulture. Foundation stone
One of the most ridiculous work which the MC officials have done in the recent past is to lay a foundation stone for starting a green belt under the Lyallpur Khalsa College flyover. While the officials should have planted a tree sapling to begin work, but here, too, they preferred to add more concrete. Ever since the stone was laid about two weeks back by Mayor Rakesh Rathour, not a single sapling has been planted, despite the fact that this is the best season for plantation. |
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