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Thousands rally for promotion of Punjabi language
Girls' security at stake as MC razes hostel wall
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F&CC meets, keeps 35 works pending
Two held with 80 gm of heroin
Jail inmates should get voting right, says DGP (Prisons)
Injured labourer needs help
2 killed, one hurt in mishap
‘Not many opportunities for Dalit Christians’
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Thousands rally for promotion of Punjabi language
Jalandhar, February 21 Organised by the Punjabi Jagriti Manch, more than 8,000 people, including school and college students from 50 educational institutions, intellectuals, litterateurs, doctors, lawyers, mediapersons and celebrated Punjabi singers congregated to think over the state of Punjabi language. The occasion wasn't just about encouraging the young generation to be proud of their mother language and to speak it. It was also about recognising the subtle, evil influences that have lately been exploiting Punjabi just to attain political and religious gains. The rally, which started from Lyallpur Khalsa College, moved forward to the Nakodar Chowk, Jyoti Chowk, PNB Chowk, Namdev Chowk and culminated at the Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall where a function was held. Interestingly, varied religious bodies and political outfits participated in the rally. Participation of singers
Acclaimed personalities, including Dr Joginder Singh Pawar, former VC of Punjabi University, Patiala, singers Hans Raj Hans, Manmohan Waris, Harbhajan Mann, Satinder Sartaj, Lakhwinder Wadali, Nirmal Sidhu, Ranjana, Davinder Dyalpuri and others were present for the promotion of Punjabi. Through their songs and speeches, artistes gave out important messages. Speaking on the occasion, singer Manmohan Waris said, "It is important that language and religion be kept as two separate entities and efforts are not made to mix the two." Hans Raj Hans said: "Our culture and mother tongue should not be sidelined. Parents should encourage their children not be ashamed of their mother tongue, a trend which sadly is widely prevalent these days." Satinder Sartaj, a singer who upheld culture in times when a few were, sung his hits exhorting Punjabis to stick to the path of culture. Harbhajan Mann with his grounded voice and earthy accent sung the song upholding the mother tongue - "Main teri mann di boli haan" - that he had struggled hard for. Wadali scion Lakhwinder Wadali sung the endearing Punjabi folk Challa. Talking to The Tribune, the organisers said they plan to hold more such programmes in the future and also plan similar events at Kartarpur, Nakodar, Kapurthala and Phagwara, among others. Resolutions
Eleven resolutions regarding the Punjabi language and culture were passed. Inclusion of Chandigarh in Punjab and the demand for a separate capital for Punjab were among the resolutions passed. The resolutions also touched on other issues like better education, more importance to Punjabi in school curriculum, piracy and banning of vulgar songs. |
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Girls' security at stake as MC razes hostel wall
Jalandhar, February 21 MC officials claimed that the wall had been demolished as the college had encroached upon 125 marlas of the Irrigation Department. The college staff, however, claimed that officials came without any information and demolished the wall at the behest of a political leader, allegedly supporting land mafia in the area. The staff claimed that colonisers wanted to provide a direct approach road to the area so that property prices could shoot up. Currently, residents of Friends Colony, Seth Hukum Chand Colony and other areas have to take a detour from behind the college campus. Soon after the demolition, the college staff approached the MC Commissioner and expressed their resentment at the way the wall was razed. "The wall was not of a shop or a godown. It was an educational institution's wall which was erected in 1970s and there is a hostel for 400-plus girls some yards away for whom there would be no protection," they said. College principal BB Sharma said he received a notice from the MC on December 12, 2011. In reply, the principal wrote to the MC that since it was almost a century-old building, it would be difficult to trace land records. "Since that day, there was no correspondence from the MC and a team came this afternoon and demolished the wall without taking us into confidence," he added. After the college staff lodged the protest, MC Commissioner offered to provide four persons for security of girls. Meanwhile, the college staff has shifted the girls to the principal's residence or to the other safer section of the hostel. Floodlights have been erected in the area and the college has deployed its own security personnel at the site. MC officials said the proposal to raze the wall had come from the B&R section as they wanted to construct a road. Commissioner BS Dhaliwal said: "We had even sought a report on the encroachment from the naib tehsildar. Notices have been served to the college thrice. I have checked the file and there was no reply from their side," he said. The Commissioner said in case the college authorities had any objection, they could have approached a court. "We have, however, agreed to a fresh demarcation in their presence," he added.
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F&CC meets, keeps 35 works pending
Jalandhar, February 21 A total of 35 works were kept pending, primarily as the committee members wanted that the projects should be cleared at lower rates than those mentioned by contractors. The cleared works are related to roads and streetlights worth Rs 2.2 crore. Those present in the meeting included Mayor Rakesh Rathour, Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Bhatia and councillors Ravi Mahindru and Sunil Jyoti. Contractor injured
A contractor of the Municipal Corporation handling works related to streetlights suffered injuries during a clash with unionists on the office premises this evening. This is the second incident of clash in the office involving a unionist. About a fortnight ago, an inspector of the building branch of the Municipal Corporation had been slapped in the corridor of the building allegedly by a union leader. MTP divested of powers
Municipal Corporation Commissioner BS Dhaliwal today withdrew all areas allotted to Municipal Town Planner Des Raj. Earlier, the MC areas were divided between Des Raj and Tej Preet, both of whom were promoted from the posts of Assistant Town Planners in December. As per today’s orders, Tej Preet has been empowered to head all building branch related issues of the entire city. This has left Des Raj without any work. Senior Town Planner Hemant Batra confirmed the development. |
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Two held with 80 gm of heroin
Jalandhar, February 21 Inderjit Singh, in charge of the anti-gangster staff, said Ramanit Singh and Neeraj Bali, both residents of Kapurthala, were riding a motorcycle when they were signalled to stop for routine checking on the 120 Feet Road. However, the duo tried to flee. The police intercepted the duo after a brief chase and recovered the contraband from their possession, said Inderjit Singh. He said the duo admitted to the crime and said they had been running the trade in connivance with Punjab Singh, a drug peddler, who was on the run. The duo had been selling the contraband in Nawanshahr, Jalandhar and Kapurthala, he added. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against them at the Basti Bawa Khel police station. |
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Poll code takes toll on cantonment roads
Jalandhar, February 21 Though all roads falling under the jurisdiction of the Cantonment Board are in a bad shape, the condition of Thimmayya Park road has worsened as it has developed large potholes due to non-maintenance. A college girl met with an accident when her scooter skidded off the road last week. It was a narrow escape for the girl as no vehicle was coming from the other side of the road. "It has been more than a year since the condition of the road has worsened. The Cantonment Board should re-lay the road at the earliest. Scores of Army buses ply on this road to drop schoolchildren home," said Karam Chand, a resident of the cantonment area. The Thimmayya Park road is one of the busiest roads in the cantonment as it links Rama Mandi, the Cantonment Board office, Sadar Bazaar, Birring village, Sansarpur, Khusropur, Dhina and Jamsher villages. There are Army residences on one side of the road and Sadar Bazaar on the other. Being surrounded by Army establishments, there is a 24-hour movement of heavy Army vehicles on this road. "During rains, a number of accidents take place on this stretch." said Aman Kishore, a resident of Sadar Bazaar. Official speak All roads falling under the Cantonment Board will be metalled as soon as the poll code comes to an end. We have earmarked around Rs 1.5 crore for repair and reconstruction works. The roads will be repaired on priority. — Vibha Sharma, chief executive officer, Cantonment Board
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Mystery shrouds woman’s death
Shahkot, February 21 The deceased has been identified as Monica Sharma. Her parents have, however, held her husband Kailash Nath responsible for her death. In a statement to the police, Monica's father Vinod Sharma alleged that Kailash had developed illicit relations with Monica's brother's wife. He father alleged that the suspect wanted to marry Monica's brother's wife. He apprehended that Kailash either strangled or poisoned her to death. The deceased left behind two sons and a daughter. Station house officer, Shahkot police station, Lakhwinder Singh Mall said the woman's husband, her mother-in-law Kamlesh, sister-in-law Punam and Monica's brother's wife Rekha Rani have been booked under Sections 302 and 120-B of the IPC. The SHO said that deceased's son told to the police that last night his mother was not feeling well and his father had given some medicine to her. He then left for Chandigarh for some work. However, he found her mother unconscious in the morning and raised the alarm.
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Jail inmates should get voting right, says DGP (Prisons)
Kapurthala, February 21 He said this during his recent visit to the modern jail at Theh Kanjla. He said: "The existing law does not allow any prisoner to vote. I feel that the law should be amended to permit prisoners to vote." The provisions of Section 62 (5) of the Representatives of the Public Act (RPA), 1951, mention that no imprisoned person can vote. Ironically, Section 8 of the RPA Act states that convicted persons with sentence less than two years can contest. That's why over 17,000 inmates languishing in various jails of the state could not vote in the recently held Assembly elections in Punjab. However, convicts for even less than two years for offence, including crime under FERA, Corruption Act, Protection of Civil Rights Act, Sections 153 A of the IPC and various Sections of the IPC related with electoral malpractices, Customs Act, NDPS and TADA can not contest the elections. Taking strong exception to these provisions of the RPA Act, human rights activists keep on urging the Union Government to amend Section 62 (5) of the Act that prohibits the prisoners from voting.
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Injured labourer needs help
Jalandhar, February 21 Chandan, an 18-year-old daily-wage earner, was injured by some unidentified motorcycle-borne youths at Gadaipur village. The miscreants injured the victim’s left hand with a sharp-edged weapon. “The victim is being treated at a private hospital. We are told that Rs 60,000 is required for his treatment,” AK Mishra, a spokesperson of the mahasabha said. He added they would urge A surgery on the victim’s hand has already been done but he needs one more surgery, Mishra added.
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2 killed, one hurt in mishap
Kapurthala, February 21 The deceased have been identified as Jatinder and Tota, both residents of village Bamuwal village. They died on the spot. Sukha of Saintpur village sustained injuries. Subhapur police station SHO Manjit along with a police party reached on the spot and sent the bodies for post-mortem. Two hurt in LPG cylinder blast
Phagwara: Two persons, including an NRI, sustained serious burn injuries following an LPG cylinder burst at Subhash Nagar today. The injured, Harmesh Lal and Kamaljit, were admitted to Gandhi Hospital in a critical condition. Furniture gutted
Jalandhar: A regional office of a battery manufacturing company was gutted in a fire last night. The fire broke out around 11.30 pm on Monday. A private security guard deployed at BSF Chowk said when he noticed flames, he immediately informed the fire department. It took two hours for three fire tenders to douse the flames. Company officials said furniture and important documents of the company were destroyed in the fire. |
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‘Not many opportunities for Dalit Christians’
Jalandhar, February 21 The chief guest and keynote speaker of the seminar, Dr Peter Ronald D’Souza, Director, Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, said one of the greatest challenges that India faced was to give people what had been promised - a life of dignity and justice. He stressed on increasing the knowledge base, strengthening network, having a newsletter and transforming schools as knowledge hubs. Dr Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, Bishop Diocese of Jalandhar, said the Dalits in Punjab were still suffering and were being deprived of opportunity. Resource person Prof Jagrup Singh of Guru Nanak Dev University said the social conditions of Dalit Christians in Punjab was not good as they neither owned land nor had any material resources. They are not even educated enough to get any government and private jobs. Dr Molly Abraham, another resource person, said the Dalits in Punjab were mostly politically neutral. Dr AJ George, Principal, Trinity College, welcomed the guests. Father Peter, PRO, thanked guests, dignitaries and resource persons.
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It was a delightful sight for lovers of Punjabi today as thousands of people across the city and the state rallied for the cause of their mother tongue in a grand rally.
