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City suffers as Grid fails again
Cantt board councillors begin dharna against Army
Shift pollution-causing unit: Villagers
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SUV ‘looted’ at gun point
Truck carrying LPG cylinders overturns
3 smugglers held with 15 bags of poppy husk
Cambridge school sets up sports academy
Students practice in the swimming pool of the sports academy of Cambridge International School in Phagwara. Photo: Sarabjit Singh
Purse snatched from woman
Photo studio burgled
Sangat darshan for NRIs on August 3
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City suffers as Grid fails again
Jalandhar, July 31 While the trains moving from and arriving at the city railway station were halted enroute, patients at the local Civil Hospital were forced to move out of their wards and sit in the corridors of the hospital. No sooner was the power disrupted, the city railway station started getting flooded with a huge rush of passengers, as once again they were caught unawares. The enquiry section of the station was left answering passengers’ queries even as announcements were made by the railway staff highlighting the sudden power failure in the northern grid. Almost all trains got late by around five hours, leading to a complete chaos for the passengers and their relatives/friends at the station. Till the filing of this report, many people were waiting at the station to board the trains and receive their dear ones. The Jalandhar-bound Delhi-Pathankot train, which was scheduled to arrive at 2 pm, was late by five hours, while the Jan Sewa Express was late by around 5 hours 30 minutes. Jan Sewa was scheduled to reach Jalandhar at 3.55 pm. Among other trains, the Delhi-bound Amritsar Ambala Express was late by 1 hour , as it was supposed to start at 3.50 pm. Similarly, Shan-e-Punjab, which was to start from Jalandhar at 4.15 pm, was also late by one hour. The passengers at the station were a harried lot, as they were left waiting for trains. Almost all passengers were seen talking over their mobile phones about the delay in the departure as well the arrival of the trains at the station. “We have a wedding in the family and came to receive our relatives, who were to reach by the Jan Sewa Express. Now we are waiting for the final information about its arrival time so that we can come to receive them again at night,” said a family waiting outside the station. At the Civil Hospital, the scene was no different, as patients were forced to sit in the corridors with no option but to use hand fans in the sultry weather. The patients maintained, “Initially, we thought it was a routine power cut and kept on sitting inside until some of the fellow patients and para-medic staff informed us that the electricity cut could be a long one as the grid had tripped,” said a group of patients sitting outside the surgery ward. Even at the emergency ward of the hospital, patients were seen sitting outside the entrance of the hospital due to the power failure. “There is no power in the hospital and we have no option but to sit out in the open, as it is suffocating inside,” said an attendant of a patient. |
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Cantt board councillors begin dharna against Army
Jalandhar, July 31 The councillors also decided that if the Army did not budge from its stand of using the ground, they would gherao the Mall Road and hold a protest along with the cantonment residents on August 8. The councillors remained on dharna from 10 am to 6 pm today and said that they would continue to lodge a peaceful protest against the Army authorities till the permission to use the Dasehra ground was granted to them. The councillors staged today’s dharna following their walkout from the board meeting held on July 27 in which the Army had reportedly not not made its stand clear on the use of ground for the Dasehra festivities. Earlier in the day, the councillors, led by the chairman of the Finance and General Purpose Committee, Avinash Chander Sharma and vice-president of the board, Nistha Goel handed over a memorandum to Defence Estates Officer (DEO), Vibha Sharma, to be forwarded to the president of the board, Brigadier Arup Sen. “We wanted to hand over the memorandum to the Brigadier Arup Sen but he was not available, hence we handed it to the DEO,” said Avinash Chander. In their memorandum, the councillors stated that the Dasehra ground was classified as B4 land under the direct jurisdiction of the DEO. “According to rule number 9 of the Land Administration Act, 1937, the powers of the B4 land have been clearly mentioned as under the direct control of the DEO. The Army has no right to claim its authority over this land, which has been named as Dasehra ground, following the celebrations of Dasehra, which have been going on here for ages,” the memorandum reads. The councillors also maintained that the refusal of the president of cantonment board, Brigadier Sen, to use the ground was in itself a violation of the powers entitled to the DEO. Avinash Chander Sharma, councillor of ward number 3, said, “The Dasehra ground was primarily a ‘C’ class land under the control of the cantonment board land and it was converted into B4 land after a resolution for the same was passed by the board many years ago. It was cantonment board, which converted this land into B4 type and handed it to the DEO, hence the Army authorities do not come in the picture at all,” he added. Avinash Chander Sharma added that following the autocratic attitude of the Army authorities, the councillors had now decided to bring the Dasehra ground land under their control. “We will raise the agenda of bringing the Dasehra ground directly under the jurisdiction of cantonment board in the next board meeting. This is a matter which involves the sentiments of the cantonment board residents. And to bring an end to this trouble, we will pursue this matter threadbare,” he said. It is pertinent to mention here that the councillors had been pursuing this matter with the Army for the past around three-months but to no avail. “We had to stage a walkout from the board meeting held on July 27, while earlier in the month of May, the councillors, along with Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh, had staged a walkout regarding this issue. But, we will ensure that the cantonment residents as well as those from the adjoining villages celebrate Dasehra in the ground,” the councillors added. |
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Shift pollution-causing unit: Villagers
Jalandhar, July 31 Irate villagers alleged that a hand-tool manufacturing unit, illegally set up in their area (residential zone) by a resident, had been causing air and water pollution, thereby creating a major health hazard for the villagers for the past decade. The Industrial Estate Extension Welfare, Society, Jalandhar, however, denied that allegation, claiming that the unit was very much legal and had been set up in the Industrial Zone declared by the state government. The society had also denied the charges of pollution caused by the unit. The villagers alleged that over six residents, including children, had fallen prey to the pollution caused by the industrial unit. “We have been giving representations to the local administration, pollution control board authorities, Chief Minister and other persons concerned, but to no avail,” complained Surinder Singh, a villager. He lamented that his own daughter had developed deformities and become handicapped due the air, water and noise pollution caused by the industry. RS Bhatti, another resident of the area, said that the industry owner concerned had been quietly expanding his unit while keeping the villagers in the dark, saying he was to set up a school there. “We had already taken the issue with the police and other officials, but the situation is the same. The villagers will decide their next course of action if the administration fails to solve this problem in a week,” warned Bhatti. Countering the allegations, Suba Singh, vice-president of the society, said the industrial unit was legal and set up in the Industrial Zone. He said the villagers created ruckus outside the unit last week, hurled stones at factory workers and even damaged the boundary wall of the factory premises on the issue. ‘Impose restrictions’
Sharad Aggarwal, president of the Northern Chamber of Small and Medium Industry, said the government should either shift residential houses out of the existing Industrial Zone or restrict the coming up of residential areas in the proposed Industrial Zones for the convenience of the general public and the industrialists. |
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SUV ‘looted’ at gun point
Jalandhar, July 31 The miscreants also allegedly made the driver captive while fleeing with the vehicle and later threw him near Bhogpur village. The SUV (PB08BM0071) belonged to the Nakodar-based industrialist Chandar Shekhar Marwaha. He, along with his family, had come to watch a movie at the Mall. Initially, when the owner found his vehicle missing, he lodged a missing complaint and accordingly, the police registered a theft case under Section 379 of the IPC, said the Station House Officer of the place. A few hours later, the owner came again to the police station and changed his statement, alleging that his SUV was not stolen but robbed. The policemen, while terming the case to be suspect, said after the investigation was completed, provisions of the case would be changed accordingly. Mukhtyar Singh, driver of Pandori Jagir village, alleged to the police that last night, at around 10 pm when he was waiting for the owner outside the mall, a black SUV stopped parallel to his vehicle, from which three youths alighted and took him away at gun point. “When I protested, they threatened me with dire consequences. They later snatched the vehicle keys and forcibly made me captive. I was later thrown out of the car near Bhogpur village,” he alleged. Meanwhile, when the industrialist came out of the Mall, he was stunned, as his SUV was not there. They even tried to make call on the driver’s phone, but the same was found switched off. |
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Truck carrying LPG cylinders overturns
Jalandhar, July 31 Thankfully, the truck was carrying empty cylinders, otherwise it could have proved fatal. One of the labourers,identified as Mukesh, resident of Bulandpur road, travelling in the back of the truck, sustained severe foot injury as his leg got trapped under the overturned vehicle. Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Kewal Singh said the accident occurred at 4 pm today when the truck loaded with cylinders stopped at the traffic light in the chowk and on getting the green signal, the truck driver hurriedly attempted to take a U-turn, resulting in the overturning of the vehicle. Tarsem, driver of the truck, however, said, the accident occurred as the steering got jammed when he attempted to take a U-turn. Five persons travelling in the truck, including the driver, had a providential escape as they managed to come out of the vehicle easily, the police said, adding that it took around half an hour to rescue the labourer, whose leg got trapped under the overturned vehicle. The police said the labourer’s foot got badly crushed and he was rushed to the Civil Hospital, where he was said to be out of danger now.
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3 smugglers held with 15 bags of poppy husk
Kartarpur, July 31 During investigation, the accused revealed that they owned a poultry farm and used to supply eggs to J&K. “We have been buying poppy husk from J&K at cheaper rate and later sell the same in Punjab at profitable rates,” the accused told the police. Similarly, the police had arrested a truck driver, Sajad Ahmad Shah, of J&K, and recovered 10 bags of poppy husk from the vehicle. A case has been registered.
— OC |
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Cambridge school sets up sports academy
Phagwara, July 31 The academy will provide world-class infrastructure and training to students. School Principal Jorawar Singh said in this part of the country the youngsters had a huge potential in sports, but their skills needed to be honed as the government lacked in world-class infrastructure and qualified trainer to prepare sportspersons for international level competitions. So the management of the school had introduced an all-weather swimming pool, where water was being heated with solar energy. Apart from this, students were also being given training in various disciplines like athletics, basketball, cricket, football, table tennis and gymnastics at the academy. |
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Purse snatched from woman
Jalandhar, July 31 The victim, identified as Sarika, resident of Urban Estate, Phase II, alleged that she along with his friend Neetu was heading toward Model Town on a rickshaw to get medicine for his minor son. “When we reached the Mithapur road, two motorcycle-borne youths came from behind and snatched the purse from my hands. Though I immediately raised an alarm, but the miscreants managed to escape,” she said. The police was informed about the incident. The purse contained Rs 2,000 and important documents, she added. |
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Jalandhar: Burglars struck at a photo studio situated in Muslim Colony and decamped with electronic equipment and cash. Bikaramjit Singh, a resident of Gandhi Nagar, said last night he closed his shop as usual at 9 pm and on Tuesday morning, he was informed by nearby shopkeepers that the main locks of his shop were lying broken. “I immediately reached the spot and found the whole shop ransacked. The miscreants had decamped with a computer, Rs 4,500 and some electrical equipment,” he said. The police was informed through the control room and personnel of Police Division No. 8 reached the spot for investigation. — OC
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Sangat darshan for NRIs on August 3
Jalandhar, July 31 Ladhar will hold the
sangat darshan at 11 am and address the various issues of NRIs like property disputes, illegal possession of land cases and
other such matters on the spot. — TNS
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Phagwara, July 31
