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HC orders fail to remove encroachments by top brass
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MC earning from recovery of water bills drops to half
Drivers on strike, officials left in lurch
Drivers of state government officials hold a protest in Jalandhar on Tuesday.
Photo: Sarabjit Singh
Protecting the poor from harsh winters
Poor people sit in the open in chilling weather in Jalandhar. Photos: Sarabjit Singh
...but some good Samaritans come to their rescue
Relatives of patients return empty handed from the medicine store at the Civil Hospital due to the pharmacists’ strike in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh
Govt not listening, potato growers to dump produce on roads on Dec 15
One killed as mobikes collide
From Schools and colleges
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HC orders fail to remove encroachments by top brass
Jalandhar, December 13 A survey of such areas by The Tribune revealed that the “law makers” are flouting the High Court orders with impunity. The encroachers are not only occupying prime land in the city, but also causing road congestion and nuisance for general public. A majority of senior police officials, posted in Jalandhar and outside Jalandhar, but residing in the city, have encroached upon the government land blatantly. The encroachers have pitched tents for their security guards on government land in front of their official accommodations or personal residences. The practice is going on for the past many decades. While senior police officers have set up security tents on government land in the VIP colony (behind Circuit House) of the city, certain other bigwigs, including police personnel and politicians, have encroached upon government land in other areas of the city by doing the same. Interestingly, the encroachers are so daring that they have even constructed pucca huts for their security guards and managed to get water supply connections for them. Besides this, the security guards are drawing power through “kundi” connections, thus causing huge losses to the state exchequer. Putting their lives in danger, they are drawing power from overhead high-tension power cables and streetlight poles. An encroachment adjacent to Hotel Sekhon Grand by a Superintendent of Police (SP), posted in Gurdaspur, Jaskirat Singh Chahal, is a perfect example of encroachments on the government land. The police official has constructed a pucca hut for his security guards and provided water supply connection to it. Moreover, a kundi connection has also been taken from an overhead high-tension electricity cable crossing from there. Shifting his responsibility to the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Electricity Department, DP Bhardwaj, Joint Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, claimed that the issue of encroachments in the VIP colony fell in the jurisdiction of the PWD authorities. “The tents for security men might have been pitched because of security threats to the officials. You can ask them why they have pitched tents on government land,” the Joint Commissioner said. Jaskirat Singh Chahal, SP, when contacted, said the makeshift hut had been made for the security guards and could be demolished on the administration orders. He, however, claimed that a dedicated power connection had been provided to the hut from his residence. “I am not aware of the kundi connection. I will ask the security men to remove it if there is any,” Chahal said. |
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MC earning from recovery of water bills drops to half
Jalandhar, December 13 The staff from the O&M Department said the collection had gone down below 50 per cent. While earlier the MC was recovering Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6 lakh a day, the daily collection now has gone down to as low as Rs 2 lakh. Since the old rates applicable from 1999 onward are almost the half of new rates that started from 2003, the recovery was bound to plunge. As the office had not issued fresh bills to residents for over a fortnight, the billing cycle and payment schedule has also fallen behind by 15 days. The low recovery is badly hitting the fund-starved MC as even those paying up the outstanding amount are also making only a part payment in the wake of the judgement. The SE (O&M), AS Dhaliwal, confirmed that the recovery had come down to half or even less. Municipal Corporation may revive water bill adalat
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Drivers on strike, officials left in lurch
Jalandhar, December 13 The officials had to either drive down in their private cars or take the services of their clerks, peons or relatives to help them move throughout the day for meetings and other official visits. Civil Surgeon HK Singla said he had to drive his own Honda car for an official meeting with the Deputy Commissioner and other visits in the day. “I am perhaps the most affected person because of strikes and dharnas these days. We already have had to manage without laboratory technicians and pharmacists. Today, there was no driver available. But work has to go on. So, I took out my private car and drove it down on my own”. Zila parishad chairman Mahla Singh too claimed that his driver was on protest mode today. “I had to take rounds to a few dispensaries and attend some marriage functions. So I called up a youth from my village to drive my private Mahindra jeep for me,” he pointed out. Likewise, the drivers of Deputy Director Food Supplies, District Food Supplies Controller, District Mandi Officer, XEN Panchayati Raj, Child Development Project Officer and all Block Development and Panchayat Officers also abstained from work and sat on a dharna in the car parking lot of the DC, ADC and other officials in the District Administrative Complex. Avtar Singh, president of Punjab Government Drivers and Technical Employees Union, said the members had been demanding revision of pay scales, uniform and transport allowances.
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Protecting the poor from harsh winters Kusum Arora Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 13 The SC directions came in the wake of ensuing freezing cold conditions in the region, which in turn add to the woes of the poor, homeless and the destitute during this period. It is owing to the “cold response” of the administration towards the destitute that they are left searching for a night shelter or huddled around bonfires. Such is the chaos, that the district has neither any night shelter facility for the poor, nor any funds to make arrangement for temporary ones, as advised by the SC. The administration does not seem to have learnt a lesson either, as around 10 unidentified destitute people were reported dead between December to February in 2009 and 2010 due to the extreme cold. So in the city limits, at places like the railway station, bus stands, taxi stands, footpaths, under-construction buildings and near temples, one can easily spot the poor sitting in groups to fight the extreme cold conditions due to the dipping mercury. Rajeshwari, a mother of two little ones, who was spotted drying pieces of wood just opposite the district administration office, said, “I go in the search of wood right in the morning to ensure a little warmth for both my kids. It is really difficult to fight this nail-biting cold sitting in the open throughout night. During night we just huddle near a bonfire to keep ourselves warm.” Another group of beggars, who were sitting on a footpath at noon, shared their plight that winters is the most difficult time for the poor as compared to the summers. “We are dependent on the rags and alms, which we get from the passersby,” they added. It is pertinent to mention here that even last year the Supreme Court had issued directions in January asking the state government to provide information on how many persons availed themselves of the “Rain Baseras” facilities free of cost or at very nominal rates. The apex court had specifically asked the state government to seek the help of government media like All-India Radio and Doordarshan, and other mass media to inform the homeless people about such facilities. Sadly, the orders remained on papers only and the destitute were again left fighting the cold. Official speak }We are yet to receive a formal communication in this regard from the state government. The SC must have forwarded the directions to the higher authorities first and then it would be passed on to us. Besides, there are no separate funds available to make any special arrangements for the poor in the winters. ~ — Priyank Bharti, Deputy Commissioner What does the Supreme Court ruling say
A Bench, comprising Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Dipak Misra, passed a series of separate orders in respect of each state asking the Chief Secretaries to file affidavits by January 3 confirming compliance with its rulings. Even if the states are not in a position to provide permanent night shelters immediately to the homeless, they should make arrangements for temporary shelters, which should have water, sanitation, electricity and other basic amenities, the Bench clarified. The Bench also explained the urgency, citing the onset of the winter season and the need for protecting the lives of people as guaranteed under the Constitution.
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...but some good Samaritans come to their rescue
Jalandhar, December 13 ASI Lakhwinderjit Singh, some of his colleagues and his family belong to this category. They not only perform their duties, but also spare time to help the needy and the destitute in this wintry chill. While others pay lip service, they move out in the middle of the night and identify those places which are frequented by the homeless and spread warmth by wrapping them in quilts and blankets. Even this year, ASI Lakhwinderjit Singh has set a target of distributing 200 quilts in the next four months of the nail-biting cold in the city and its periphery. And he had already started his Samaritan job this month. He distributes the quilts twice a week at night. Lakhwinderjit said, “We venture out at night on every Saturday and Monday at railway stations, bus stands, hospitals and footpaths and hand over quilts to the destitute across the city. Even this year I will be spending around Rs 2 lakh on making 200 quilts for the poor in four months. It is such a wonderful feeling to help the destitute in figting cold.” He started working for this noble cause around three years ago when he won Rs 1-crore Baisakhi Bumper lottery in 2008. “That was indeed a turning point not only materially, but emotionally, too, for me. I made it a point to offer the ‘daswandh’ (one-tenth of the earnings) to the poor and we are glad that we have been able to continue it successfully,” he added. “I am going to start the distribution of quilts from December 15 and every month we will distribute 40 quilts to the destitute. Now we have also started mass marriages of poor girls and every year we help around 10 girls from the financially weaker sections,” he said.
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Patients pay for Lab technicians’ strike
Jalandhar December 13 Patients are being compelled to buy medicines from private stores and even have to undergo mandatory medical tests from private clinics. Manisha Rani, of Basti Bawa Khel, whose 16-year-old son got injured in a road accident few days ago, today came to conduct blood tests of her son, but due to the strike, she had to return empty handed. She said even the medicines recommended by the hospital doctor were not available due to the strike. “As we had no choice but to go to private stores and clinic, we paid Rs 1500 for blood tests and medicines. If there was no strike at the civil hospital, the charges could have been less than Rs 500,” she said. People with meagre income opt to have treatment in government hospitals as they cannot afford the same in private clinics, said Sumitra Kumari, whose husband is undergoing treatment in the hospital. Corroborating her views, Sunny Mehra, said, “I had to pay only Rs 100 for anti-rabies injection if there was no strike, but today I bought the same for Rs 300 from a private clinic.” Sohan Singh Bawa, President District Lab Technician Union, said, “We want the government to accept our demands and will remain off work till December 17.” Bawa agreed that medical services get badly hit due to a strike but, he said, “We are handling emergencies and other accidental cases.” Bawa, while holding the government responsible for the ongoing medical crisis, alleged that the government has been deliberately ignoring their demands and has been meting out step-motherly treatment with the lab technicians. Avtar Chand, Medical Superintendent, admitted that the strike has impacted the medical services badly and patients have been compelled to have expensive treatment from private clinics. “We will soon submit a report on disruption in medical services to the higher authorities in Chandigarh,” he said.
— Manisha Rani
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Govt not listening, potato growers to dump produce on roads on Dec 15
Jalandhar, December 13 The government has played a cruel joke with the farmer community by announcing a meagre freight subsidy of Rs 2 crore, said Ragubir Singh, President of Jalandhar Potato Growers Association, adding paltry subsidy would not even able to help debt-ridden farmers, who owe crores of rupees to banks in terms of loans. 40 lakhs bags of potato crop are lying in the cold storage while around two crore bags of potato crops had already been dispatched to other states, he said adding that if they calculate the approximate freight subsidy required on the said crop, it would be more than Rs 100 crore. He said in 2009 the government had issued a freight subsidy of Rs 2.5 crore, but Markfed agency has not delivered the same to farmers. Jaswinder Singh Sangha, general secretary of the association, said farmers are not able to even recover the cost of cultivation of potato crops due to the emerging crises. Sangha said Punjab has five per cent share in potato production in the country out of which only one per cent is consumed in the state and remaining four per cent is usually dispatched to other states. While suggesting the measures to bailout farmers, association leaders demanded compensation of Rs 2 per kg for 40 lakhs of bags lying in the 400 cold stores and Rs 1 per kg freight subsidy on potato dispatches to other states from October 2011 onwards and procurement of fresh potato produce at Rs 5 per kg under marketing intervention scheme. Farmers further demanded implementation of loan-waiver scheme and rescheduling of term loan at concessional rate of interest with further subvention by government without any limit. They also sought exclusion of farmers out of the credit rating systems (CIBAL) and withdrawal of institutional tax on cold stores. Potato growers said on coming Friday, as a part of protest, city roads would be filled with potato produce and the state government would be responsible for the public inconvenience.
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One killed as mobikes collide
Shahkot December 13 The deceased has been identified as Sukhdev Singh, son of Sadhu Ram, a resident of Parjian Khurd village of Shahkot. The victim along with his son Vijay Kumar was heading home on Monday late evening and they had a head on collision with another speeding motorcycle coming from the opposite side, said the police sources. The victim sustained serious injuries in the accident, who was later taken to the nearby private hospital by some passersby. As the condition of the victim was serious, the same was referred to the local Civil Hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead. The police has sent the body for the post-mortem examination at the Civil Hospital in Nakodar.
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Eklavya students enjoy folk fiesta
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 13 Healthy Baby Show
A Healthy Baby Show “Twinkle- Twinkle Healthy Stars” was organised by the St Soldier Group of Institutions in which 115 candidates from all over the city participated. Participants were judged on the basis of their good health and talent. Results: Chahat was declared healthy baby, Kansvi Saha was adjudged active baby, Ridhima-beautiful smile, Saket Verma-sparking eyes, Darshpreet-chubby cheeks, Gursimar-show stopper and Kanshvi Sehgal-shining teeth. |
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As drivers of various government officials went on a day-long strike today, the officials were left to make arrangements at their own end for commuting to work.
The officials had to either drive down in their private cars or take the services of their clerks, peons or relatives to help them move throughout the day for meetings and other official visits.
