 |
|
|
Celebrations turn tragic
20-yr-old youth loses life to ‘heartless’ city
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Fund-starved MC gets Rs 3 cr from PUDA
Car-borne miscreants loot filling station at gunpoint
7 get stuck in lift meant for 4 at MC office, rescued
NRHM employees to resume work today
Armed youths snatch bike, cash
|
|||||||||||
|
Celebrations turn tragic
Jalandhar, November 10 The newborn’s mother Neelam and her in-laws were celebrating in a clinic when they got the tragic news that the baby’s father Surjit, who had gone home to get woollens for the newborn, died after the motorcycle (PB-01AB-9121) he was riding collided head-on with a Mahindra Bolero jeep (PB-23-A-3188). The mishap took place yesterday morning outside the Bhogpur police station. As family members were expecting a newborn in a few hours, they told Surjit to bring some woollens and blankets to the clinic. Surjit (35) ran a wooden furniture repair shop in Bhogpur. Eyewitnesses said after the collision, the victim’s bike got struck in the jeep which dragged him to a few metres. A police official said the victim was run over by a truck coming from the opposite direction. He died on the spot, the police official said. The driver of the jeep fled from the spot. A case under Section 304-A of the IPC has been registered against him. |
|
20-yr-old youth loses life to ‘heartless’ city
Jalandhar, November 10 The poor boy kept shivering with critical injuries on the DAV canal road while heartless Jalandhar residents, who were witness to this fatal accident, merely ended up as ‘mute spectators’. A timely effort by any of the witnesses could have easily saved the life of this young migrant labourer. But callous attitude of residents resulted in his death. The boy succumbed to his injuries on the spot. However, two passers-by on a motorbike working in a sports unit on the Kapurthala Road tried their best to save the young life. They registered an emergency call with the 108 Ambulance followed by a call to the city police, hoping for an immediate help. One of the eyewitness, Neelam, said when she saw the boy lying in one corner of the road, he was still alive. “He was shivering badly and was badly hit. His back was badly damaged with internal body parts virtually protruding out. He was staring at those who were standing and watching him on the side of the road, but despite our best of efforts, he died,” she added. Her colleague Bhupal Singh lamented that the boy could have been saved had somebody informed the 108 Ambulance and the police well in time. “It was surprising to see that people were watching the young boy die every second and doing nothing. After informing the ambulance and the police authorities, we kept tracking the details of this accident, but sadly he died.” “This is a case of lack of awareness about the 108 Ambulance and the services of the police. When the police and the ambulance responded to our information, it virtually rekindled our hopes of saving the young boy, but delay in timely help cost his life,” said
Neelam. Hit by crane
The Basti Bawa Khel police has identified the victim as Raj Kumar, a worker of Juneja Forgings on the Kapurthala Road. He was a resident of Uttar Pradesh. Raj Kumar was on his way to the factory when a speeding crane coming from the Kapurthala side hit him. The accident took place around 8.30 am. His body was later sent to the Civil Hospital for post-mortem. A case under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC has been
registered. Call in emergency
|
|
Fund-starved MC gets Rs 3 cr from PUDA
Jalandhar, November 10 The amount has come as a timely aid to the MC as it is to be handed over to contractors who have been long demanding payment of their dues. The MC will now be in a position to float tenders for new approved projects worth Rs 40 crore, which were being put off for over the past three weeks, bringing much relief to the councillors and local MLAs as well ahead of the assembly polls. Contractors had been threatening to stop the ongoing projects in various wards claiming that with payments worth Rs 15 crore were not being released. The streetlights contractors, who have not been paid since March, had even been threatening of doing away with the switching on-off operations. This had put Mayor Rakesh Rathour and other top functionaries in an odd position as the ruling MLAs of the respective areas and councillors had been after them to get the new works started and ongoing works completed so that they could lay a good number of foundation stones and substantiate their claims of development in front of their vote bank. The Mayor confirmed having got the grant. “I hope that things fall in line and we can proceed with more development works in the city,” he said. The credit-discredit game
Much politics is being played over the financial crisis in the Municipal Corporation ahead of the assembly poll. The situation has somehow resulted in lowering the position of Mayor Rakesh Rathour, who has been vying for a BJP ticket from the Jalandhar Central constituency. The situation has come as a blessing in disguise for the sitting BJP MLA from the same assembly and former Local Bodies' Minister Manoranjan Kalia, who had been claiming that during his tenure in the ministry, he had managed to get hundreds of crores for the Jalandhar MC. "Being at the helm of political affairs for the past many years, I have somehow mastered the art of procuring funds." Kalia has been claiming. Rs 5 crore from
KBC!
As discussions were on yesterday in one of the rooms of the MC regarding the financial crisis faced by the MC in the last leg of its tenure, an interesting suggestion came over. "The Mayor should go to the KBC show. Recently, a resident of Bihar won Rs 5 crore just answering questions. Anyways, Amitabh Bachchan has been supporting the financially weak persons. This exactly is the situation of our MC as well," said an
official. Domoria ROB
The laying of the span portion of the 12-year-old under-construction Domoria ROB has come as a big advantage for MLA from the Jalandhar North constituency KD Bhandari. He has been taking credit for having been able to get the incomplete project re-started. Bhandari claims: "I have stood through two nights for over two hours watching contractors, railway officials and other staff lay pre-fabricated structures in the span using
cranes." |
|
Car-borne miscreants loot filling station at gunpoint
Jalandhar, November 10 After filling petrol, when the salesman was to deliver the balance to the youths, one of the youths came out from the car, took out his gun and threatened the salesman to handover the
cash to him, investigating officer assistant sub-inspector Manjit Singh of Maqsoodan police station said. The miscreants also threatened the salesman of dire consequences if he refused to handover the cash to them, the police official said, adding that the salesman handed over cash to the miscreants. They them fled the spot A case under Sections 382 and 34 of IPC has been registered against unidentified accused at the Maqsoodan police station. Raids were on the nab the accused. Man shot at during wedding function Joyous atmosphere at a marriage palace in the Bhargo Camp area turned sour for a Model House-based family, its relatives and friends when a guest opened fire at another in Jalandhar on Thursday evening. Rocky, a resident of Kabir Nagar, was reportedly under the influence of liquor when he shot at Ashok Kumar, a resident of Model House. Ashok Kumar had asked Rocky not to fire in the air as it could result in some tragedy. Taking offence to it, Rocky allegedly fired at Ashok causing him bullet injuries in his feet. The incident occurred during the shagun ceremony of Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Model House. Rocky, a cousin of Rakesh Kumar, was reportedly firing in the air for quite sometime to celebrate the event. Som Nath, SHO, Bhargo Camp, said the injured was rushed to a nearby private hospital. The bullet pierced through his one foot and then hit the other. The police had started investigations. Sources in the police revealed that Rocky was possessing a weapon without
licence. |
|
Charming Vision
Jalandhar, November 10 The students, all NSS volunteers, first felt the need to do something through their NSS campaigns. On November 21, 2010, they started an awareness campaign on Facebook, telling everyone about their project and the need to feed kids, and it was an instant hit. By December 16, they had launched their website - <http://www.removehunger.com>. A hot favourite among local sponsors, which they had so much difficulty to find in the beginning that family members had to chip in, for every visitor that clicks on their website, they get Rs 5 from their sponsors (the standard cost of per meal for a child). Except the website, they have also held events where they have fed underprivileged children. Dhruv Ahuja, founder, Remove Hunger, and student of BBA final year, says: “We had sent a mail to a project officer of the United Nations (UN) through information we got on a website. They replied to us and through them we got to know that the standard cost of a meal is Rs 5. So, we decided that through our website we would collect the money through the click plan.” Panipat-based Dhruv says just about four students were originally part of the cause as the hostel room was a four-seater), but now 50 students have joined the organisation in the LPU alone and the total volunteers and supporters for the organisation are over 300 in number. While every sponsor began by paying Rs 5 for making an appearance on the website, today they have sponsors who are paying much more and also many more supporters, regular visitors who come to the website, make an appearance and help raise the money for the cause. Remove Hunger’s proposal to the United Nation to help feed kids was also received a green signal
recently. From December 1 onwards, they will begin donating money (for 500 plus cups i.e. meals, of food) through their Rs 5-click-plan for the United Nations’ World Food Programme. Interestingly, they have been undertaking all their activities within the binding discipline and strict university rules. “We can’t go out of the university after 7 pm, so we have undertaken most of our activities during our NSS visits or other student trips. Though the university authorities have recently told us that we can form a separate chapter of our own and might also be allowed to be out during evenings for special organisational works,” Dhruv beams. So far, in all, Remove Hunger has spent an amount of Rs 55,000, out of which an amount of Rs 35,000 has been spent to feed underprivileged and/or school children in events held in the district, in Amritsar and Panipat. They have received about 14,400 hits on the website in the past 11 months. They also have a regular supporter from the US and visitors include people from 60 countries. There is just one problem that still bothers them. “At times, the number of hits that we get exceeds the number of sponsors that we have roped in, causing shortage of funds. But we are planning to go national soon. By February we plan to get ourselves registered as a national organisation. That would help us spread awareness about the cause and get more contacts, hits and volunteers,” says Dhruv. Remove Hunger has supporters from all the sates, with keen volunteers from about 10 states of the country. Dhruv says the most overwhelming support comes in from Punjab and Haryana. Among cities, takers abound in Ludhiana, Panipat, Delhi and Hyderabad and the clicks are ever increasing. The group has held events in tandem with the Rotary Club and Inner Wheel Club. Key members
|
|
7 get stuck in lift meant for 4 at MC office, rescued
Jalandhar, November 10 While the lift has the capacity to hold just four person, seven persons, including employees, visitors and candidates for the posts of driver, got into it. The overloaded elevator sank into the area even below the basement that has springs and other wirings. The incident occurred when the staff was about to leave in the afternoon, it being half day yesterday on account nagar kirtan in connection with Guru Nanak Dev birth anniversary. Those stuck up inside the lift pressed the hooter button to raise the alarm. At this, some employees of the staff reached the area. Among them was Jyoti Parkash, an electrician. “Since the lift got jammed, the only alternative they planned was to open the iron doors by folding them using some sharp gadgets and bamboo sticks. We managed to get a part of the door opened in 15 minutes,” he said. Those stuck up heaved a sigh of relief and vowed never to step into the lift again. Lift fear
Many staff members, including those working on the top floor of the MC complex, claim that they never used the elevator owing to the occurrence of such incidents so often. “We always take the staircase. We are so scared of using the lift,” most officials and employees have been often heard
saying. official speak It had been decided to give the annual maintenance contract to private firm Kone Elevator. They asked for Rs 5 lakh as advance, which we have not yet paid. We also have plans to outsource lift operator, so that such a mishap does not recur. Till the time, I have requested the officials to keep the lift closed — Gurcharan Singh, XEN (B&R), MC
|
|
Doing business with a message
Jalandhar, November 10 Meet the members of the Tibetan Refugee Markets Association, who throng the city with the onset of winters every year. The Tibetans are propagating the message of “Free Tibet” through polybags in which they sell their products. Former president of the association JK Thupten said, “This is a peaceful protest as well an initiative to inform and educate the local residents about our status. We got these messages printed on polybags with a hope that people would learn about us. Many people, usually mistake us for Chinese and it literally hurts. We are Tibetans, who have been given shelter by the Indian Government, and we want that even the city residents should also learn about this.” Thupten has also been closely associated with the Tibetan Youth Congress and has been actively working to free Tibet. The polybags given by them also have messages in Hindi - “Tibet ki azadi, Bharat ki suraksha” - and many others in English voice their dissent against China. Some other messages read: “China stop genocide in Tibet” and “China release political prisoners in Tibet”. Another Tibet national, Tsering, from Mcleodganj, said, “We eagerly look forward to the winter, as it promises some good profits to them through the sale of woollens. At McLeodganj, we sell Tibet handicrafts, which are a huge hit there.” So with the onset of winter, the Tibetans, who have put up a roadside market of woollens on one side of the Lal Rattan Cinema, start selling woollens like jackets, shawls, stoles, caps, sweaters, cardigans and much more. Tenzing, a woman, who too was selling woollens priced at Rs 200 to Rs 400, said, “With winters setting in, people start flocking our market. At times they also ask us about our whereabouts and we try to tell them, but language is a barrier. They speak with Punjabi slangs and we cannot even understand Hindi, what to talk of Punjabi,” she quipped. |
|
Kirtans, langars mark Gurpurb celebrations
Jalandhar, November 10 The day-long programmes began with the bhog of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and the ardas, while the kirtan samagams included recitation of shabads, singing of vaars by dhadhis and kathas on the life and teachings of Guru Nanak Dev. This was followed by langar at gurdwaras, including those in Model Town, Central Town, Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Rama Mandi, Urban Estate and Defence Colony. In the evening, Rehras Sahib was recited followed by kirtan. The gurdwaras were decked up with beautiful fancy lights giving them a divine look as people along with their families paid obeisance. |
|
|
NRHM employees to resume work today
Jalandhar, November 10 The strike that went on for more than a month saw a lot of agitation by employees. Various important rural health schemes also lay ignored for the time that the employees remained on strike, but with the end to the agitation, patients in the district and across the sate can now heave a sigh of relief. As many as 250 contractual employees in the district will be going back to work tomorrow. In a meeting of the NRHM employees with the Mission Director, SK Sharma, on November 9, it was decided that their demands will be agreed upon and implemented on November 14. Today, after consultation among the employees of the union, it was decided that they would resume work from November 11. Speaking on the occasion, state president Dr Inderjit Rana thanked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Punjab Health Minister for the assurances provided to them from time to time. |
|
|
Armed youths snatch bike, cash
Nakodar, November 10 He said two motorcycle-borne were following him. Laced with sharp-edged weapons, the accused with their faces covered intercepted Jaswinder and asked him handover cash and valuables to them. The victim handed over Rs 2,500 and some boxes of medicines to the accused, the police said. The accused also took away 1,000 Euros from the
victim. A case under Section 382 of IPC has been registered against unidentified accused at the Nakodar police station. |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
