Rupinder Kaur tops PSEB Class XII exams in city
Jalandhar, June 7
Keeping the trend alive, girls have outshone boys in the merit list of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class XII results. Rupinder Kaur, a girl from a small village in Hoshiarpur, has achieved something which many dream of. She scored 930 marks out of the total of 1,000 and topped in the district. She also bagged 13th rank in the PSEB merit list.

Candidates flout norms, turn encroachers
Jalandhar, June 7
Councillors are supposed to apprise the Municipal Corporation officials of encroachments in their respective areas, but some candidates in the city have covered more area outside their premises than permissible.

Ad war hots up on TV, FM channels
Jalandhar, June 7
In the absence of media monitoring and check on expenditure by the district election office, candidates are making full use of local TV and FM channels for canvassing ahead of the June 10 MC polls.

MC POLLS
WARD WATCH — ward no 47
Smooth roads, garbage-collection system still a dream here
Jalandhar, June 7
Residents of Katra Mohalla, Sant Kartar Enclave, Guru Nanak Nagar, Sonia Mohalla and Ujala Nagar are blaming the area councillor for ignoring the development in Ward 47. Vacant plots in the area are being used for dumping garbage. Venting their ire against the councillor, residents alleged that he had promised good roads, sewerage system, uninterrupted water supply and development of parks in the locality, but after coming to power, he has done nothing in the name of development.

ward no 46
Residents rue lack of development
Jalandhar, June 7
Residents of Ward 46 are complaining of lack of development in their area. However, the sitting councillor is blaming the MC authorities for the situation. The garbage disposal and collection system has collapsed in the ward, while roads in some of the areas need urgent repair.

ward no 48
Garbage dump an eyesore for temple, park visitors
Jalandhar, June 7
Residents of Ward 48 are devoid of basic amenities. Huge garbage dumps, waterlogging, dilapidated roads, blocked sewerage and supply of contaminated water in some of the localities, besides a garbage dump near a temple and a park is an eyesore for visitors. The area councillor, however, said the garbage dump had been in the area for the past many years.

ward no 49
Residents rue lack of basic amenities 
Jalandhar, June 7
Residents of Ward 49 rue lack of civic amenities in some of the localities. They blame the area councillor for ignoring the development of the ward.

Christians to support SAD-BJP candidates
Jalandhar, June 7
Members of Punjab Archbishop of Pentecostal Christian Community extended their unconditional support to the SAD-BJP combine for the Municipal Corporation elections here today. Accompanied by members of the community, Dil Masih, Archbishop Masih and other religious leaders of the Pentecostal Christian Community met Sewa Singh Sekhwan, in charge, SAD-BJP election panel in Jalandhar, and expressed their solidarity with the SAD-BJP alliance.
Members of the Punjab Archbishop of Pentecostal Christian Community extend support to the SAD-BJP alliance for the MC elections in Jalandhar on Thursday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

Gang of snatchers busted 
Jalandhar, June 7
With the arrest of three persons, the city police claimed to have busted a gang of snatchers. The police has recovered 12 mobile phones, a gold chain, 360 gms of narcotic substance and a scooter from their possession. The kingpin of the gang, however, managed to escape.

Rupinder Kaur tops PSEB Class XII exams in city
 Girls outshine boys; only 12 students from Jalandhar make it to the school board merit list, govt schools fare well
Kusum Arora
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 7
Keeping the trend alive, girls have outshone boys in the merit list of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class XII results. Rupinder Kaur, a girl from a small village in Hoshiarpur, has achieved something which many dream of. She scored 930 marks out of the total of 1,000 and topped in the district. She also bagged 13th rank in the PSEB merit list.

Charandeep Kaur and Bharti (right), who have been ranked 15th and 20th in the merit list, with their families in Jalandhar on Thursday. Tribune photos: Malkiat Singh

Rupinder Kaur, a student of Class XII (medical) of the local Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (HMV) Senior Secondary Collegiate School, has also cleared the Punjab-PMT with 105th rank. She is upbeat for the counselling of Punjab-PMT, scheduled for June 15.

Talking to The Tribune from her village Muradpur Naryala in Hoshiarpur, Rupinder said: “I am excited at this achievement. I was confident of scoring above 90 per cent marks, but I was not expecting that I would be the district topper. This is one of the most memorable phases of my life.”

Aspiring to become a cardio or a neurosurgeon, Rupinder was eagerly waiting to see her result on the internet. “It was my college principal who informed me about the result. For a second, I could not believe but then I was flooded with calls from the media and friends.”

Daughter of a government schoolteacher, Rupinder remained focused on pursuing her dream. “Studying can be fun. Cramming can never yield the desired results. I did not take any tuition for making it to the merit list and rather relied on my notes and self study. I am glad that I lived up to the expectations of my parents,” she added.

The second and third position in the district was achieved by Charandeep Kaur and Bharti, both students the local Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Nehru Garden. Charandeep was 15th in the merit list and bagged 929 marks out of 1,000, while Bharti bagged 20th position in the merit and scored 927 marks.

Both the merit holders thanked their schoolteachers who were a major source of inspiration for them. They achieved their target with self study. While Charandeep has cleared her Punjab-PMT with 1,307th rank, Bharti aims to pursue BSc (computer science) and join a nationalised bank.

Candidates flout norms, turn encroachers
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 7
Councillors are supposed to apprise the Municipal Corporation officials of encroachments in their respective areas, but some candidates in the city have covered more area outside their premises than permissible.

Iron rods and hardware items kept outside a shop owned by the family of councillor Bimla Rani Dakoha in Ward 13 at Rama Mandi in Jalandhar. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

A point in reference are the two shops in the busy Rama Mandi area on the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur road, one owned by Congress candidate from Ward 13 Vijay Dakoha and the adjoining owned by his nephew and SAD candidate Rohit Kumar Vicky. Both the candidates deal in iron rods, paints, sanitary ware. They have encroached upon at least 10 to 12 feet area outside their shops, leaving no space for pedestrians. Vijay Dakoha's wife Bimla Rani has been a councillor for the past 10 years.

BJP councillor from Ward 32 Kirpal Pali has a dhaba on Garha Road and he has also encroached upon the space outside his establishment. A councillor who owns an eatery in New Jawahar Nagar market, too, has covered more floor area than allowed. Another councillor who owns a marriage palace in Master Tara Singh Nagar has 100 per cent coverage. Both, however, claim that they have availed permission as per the one-time settlement. However, the building branch officials of the Municipal Corporation said the case was still pending in the apex court.

Cutting illegal colonies
Almost all the councillors in the city are engaged in property dealing. While some like Arjun Pappi from Ward 16 have been doing it openly, there are many who are into this business discretely. Several councillors are also blamed to have carved out illegal colonies in and around their wards and then using their power to get water and sewerage connections for such areas, thus earning a big buck while evading development charges and licence fee in the process.

Illegal hoardings
Even as the MC does not allow the use of hoardings other than unipoles erected at specified sites, none of the candidates contesting the MC elections have followed the norms. They have been going around defacing the city with flags, buntings, stickers and billboards. While many have been using electricity poles like Manjit Kaur, SAD candidate from Ward 56 in Urban Estate-II, BJP candidate Ram Lubhaya Kapoor from Ward 31 has his posters on trees in Master Tara Singh Nagar park. BJP nominee Usha Kala from Ward 32 has her signboards around parks in Chhoti Baradari-I. 

Ad war hots up on TV, FM channels
Poll officials fail to keep tab on election expenditure
Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 7
In the absence of media monitoring and check on expenditure by the district election office, candidates are making full use of local TV and FM channels for canvassing ahead of the June 10 MC polls.

Even as the Election Commission has fixed Rs 1.8 lakh poll expenditure for a candidate, a majority of contestants in Jalandhar have gone beyond it.

Stringent measures were in place during the Assembly polls to keep a tab on the poll expenditure, those contesting MC polls have been spending freely on advertisements, paid news, billboards, stickers, party buntings and flags and even offering free meals to residents of their localities.

A local TV channel has been flashing video clippings of candidates going around with their supporters door-to-door. Bytes from residents of various localities speaking in favour of candidates, too, are being telecast.

Those using the channel for advertisement include BJP candidate Satish Dhir from Ward 19, Congress candidate Mike Khosla from Ward 4 and SAD candidate Simarjit Kaur Dhindsa from Ward 10.

Slots for still advertisements, too, have been purchased by candidates wherein their pictures are being flashed with their party symbols and ward numbers. The candidates who have booked slots include BJP candidates Arjun Pappi, Kanwaljit Singh Bedi, Rajan Angural, Surmit Singh Happy and Ajit Bhardwaj. Congress candidates Rita Sharma and Mahesh Puri are also seen featuring in such advertisements. Independent candidates Narinder Singh and Rakesh Kumar Nita are also not behind.

Low-profile campaigning
Candidates from wards housing official residences are finding it difficult to campaign. Those contesting from Ward 31 said they were not allowed to beat drums and go around freely in New Baradari and Police Lines colonies. Similarly, candidates from Ward 34 said that they could only campaign on phone and added that TV, FM or dailies were the best means of canvassing in such areas. 

No complaint
Returning officers revealed that they have not received any directions from the state election commission on poll expenditure. SDMs Iqbal Singh Sandhu and Isha Kalia said they have not received any complaints on excessive use of advertisements, paid news, langars or any lavish expenditure by candidates.

MC POLLS
WARD WATCH — ward no 47
Smooth roads, garbage-collection system still a dream here
Nikhil Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, June 7
Residents of Katra Mohalla, Sant Kartar Enclave, Guru Nanak Nagar, Sonia Mohalla and Ujala Nagar are blaming the area councillor for ignoring the development in Ward 47. Vacant plots in the area are being used for dumping garbage. Venting their ire against the councillor, residents alleged that he had promised good roads, sewerage system, uninterrupted water supply and development of parks in the locality, but after coming to power, he has done nothing in the name of development.

The work on laying sewerage line in Basti Sheikh near the government girls schools and at Janak Nagar is still pending.

A visit to the ward presents a picture of neglect. Roads are in a bad shape in Katra Mohalla and residents also complain of blocked sewerage. Residents of Sant Kartar Enclave, Guru Nanak Nagar and Sonia Mohalla say faulty streetlights in the area have not been rectified since long.

However, the area councillor managed to developed parks in Basti Sheikh and Satran Mohalla. A tubewell at Basti Sheikh Adda near the post office has also been installed.

Councillor Manjit Singh Tittu was not available for comments.

Sunil Sharma, a shopkeeper in the area, alleged that the garbage collection and disposal system needed immediate improvement. He said waterlogging during rains was another problem in the area.

Areas in ward
Satra Mohalla, Mochian Mohalla, Banian Mohalla, Sonia Mohalla, Borh Wala Mohalla, Balmik Mohalla, Chai-Aam Mohalla, Manjeet Nagar, Guru Nanak Nagar, Janak Nagar, Shiv Nagar, Guru Ravidass Nagar.

Amount spent
Roads Rs 1.25 crore
Water supply Rs 45 lakh
Streetlights Rs 6.87 lakh

ward no 46
Residents rue lack of development
Nikhil Bhardwaj

ward no 48
Garbage dump an eyesore for temple, park visitors
Nikhil Bhardwaj

ward no 49
Residents rue lack of basic amenities 
Nikhil Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, June 7
Residents of Ward 49 rue lack of civic amenities in some of the localities. They blame the area councillor for ignoring the development of the ward.

Residents feel dejected over the pace of development work carried out by the area councillor during his tenure. Residents of Nizatam Nagar, New Sant Nagar, Ashok Nagar and Tejmohan Nagar complain of bumpy rides as patchwork in some localities is pending since long. Residents of Balmiki Mohalla say that streetlights are non-functional and needs immediate repair.

Other problems in the area include lack of garbage disposal and collection system. A garbage dump has come up near a school in Basti Nau. However, the area councillor said the dump had been there for the past over five decades and it has not been shifted due to the unavailability space for the dumping ground.

Honey Wadehra, a student, said a garbage dump in front of the school in Basti Nau has turned an eyesore for students and it should be shifted.

Councillor speak
The work order to repair the road from Gujral Nagar to Adda Basti Sheikh and to lay cemented floor near Dusshera Ground have already been passed. A tubewell has been installed at Tej Mohan Nagar, a sewerage line in Ashok Nagar and a water supply line in Nizatam Nagar. A park has also been developed in the area.” — Kamlesh Grover

Amount spent
Roads: Rs 1.52 crore
Water supply: Rs 47 lakh
Streetlights: Rs 5 lakh

Areas in the Ward
Ganesh Nagar, New Ashok Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Nijatam Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Narayan Nagar, Mangu Basti. 

Christians to support SAD-BJP candidates
Bipin Bhardwaj
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 7
Members of Punjab Archbishop of Pentecostal Christian Community extended their unconditional support to the SAD-BJP combine for the Municipal Corporation elections here today.

Accompanied by members of the community, Dil Masih, Archbishop Masih and other religious leaders of the Pentecostal Christian Community met Sewa Singh Sekhwan, in charge, SAD-BJP election panel in Jalandhar, and expressed their solidarity with the SAD-BJP alliance.

They claimed that the Pentecostal Christian community will stand by the candidates fielded by the SAD and BJP in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala Municipal Corporation elections to be held on June 10.

They also made an appeal to the community in the state to support the SAD-BJP alliance in the forthcoming municipal corporation elections at Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala.

Archbishop Masih said the community believes that BJP was a friendly political party and there was no hitch in voting for its candidates. 

Gang of snatchers busted 
Tribune News Service