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3 hurt as DMU hits car at Unmanned crossing
Living in loneliness, 12-yr-old ends life
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15 suicides in city this month
Illegal act of dera head surfaces after remaining buried for 16 yrs
Cantt board budget meeting takes a heated turn
Maternity centre needs repair
RPF men ‘manhandle’ former vendor at rly station
MC set to raze encroachments in Sudama Market
From
schools
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3 hurt as DMU hits car at Unmanned crossing
Nakodar, August 28 Three persons, including two women, were injured after the Alto car they were traveling in was hit by a Ludhiana-Lohian DMU train on an unmanned railway crossing at Mouwal village here on Tuesday evening. The injured, identified as Krantijeet, Manpreet Kaur (24) and Parveen (18), all resident of Mehtpur, were rushed to the nearby private hospital. Immediately after the accident, nearby villagers reached the spot and rescued the victims. Enraged over the incident and Railways' dilly-dallying attitude to man the unmanned railway crossing, villagers blocked the rail traffic for four hours. The villagers alleged that the railway authorities have looked the other way even though there have been accidents at the site. "We have demanded manning of this crossing, but out requests have fallen on deaf ears," they added. Harpreet Singh, SHO, Sadar police station, Nakodar said the accident occurred at around 4.45 PM when an Alto car was hit by Ludhiana-Lohian DMU at the unmanned crossing. He said the car-borne man could not notice the train as his view was blocked by houses, located on its either side of the tracks. The impact of the collision was huge. The car was lifted in the air before settling in a pond near the railway track. Had villagers not reached the spot on time, the victims could have drowned in the pond. Baldev Singh Randhawa, SHO, GRP, said the victims had a narrow escape. Meanwhile, the Assistant Traffic Manger of the Railways, Surjit Singh, reached the spot and pacified the villagers by assuring that he would begin a survey on this unmanned railway crossing and would initiate the process to man it. Three kids lost life in September 2011 On September 12 last year, three schoolchildren of Malawi Devi School in Nakodar were killed when the van they were traveling in was hit by the DMU train heading from Lohian to Ludhiana at the same unmanned railway crossing at Mouwal village. Then also villagers had staged a dharna on this railway track demanding an immediate solution to this menace. Then the higher railway authorities had promised to man the crossing, but did nothing after that.
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Living in loneliness, 12-yr-old ends life
Jalandhar, August 28 Subash Chandar, station house officer, Police Division No 6, said the deceased’s father died a few years ago and the mother was living in Kuwait for the past nine months. She worked in Kuwait to earn livelihood for the family. The SHO said the boy was living with his grandmother Laxmi Devi. The boy’s grandmother said Bhuvnish did not go to school as he was feeling unwell. “In the afternoon, when I went to see Bhuvnish in his room, I found the room locked from inside. When I peeped through the window, I saw him hanging with the fan,” Laxami said. The police has not recovered any suicide note from the spot. As per the statement of deceased’s kin, an inquest proceeding under Section 174 of CrPC has been initiated.
15 suicides in city this month
Jalandhar, August 28 Raksha Sharma, a Jammu-based girl and a student of a local college, hanged herself to death on August 14. She categorically blamed two of her college mates for putting up obscene and abusive messages on her FB account. In similar incident, Shikha Dhawan of Mohalla Shivrajgarh hanged herself to death after she saw a photograph of her husband, who lived in South Africa, and his girlfriend on Facebook. In other suicide cases, the main causes were depression, family tension, mental impairment, loneliness and torture. The suicide by Akansha Malhotra, teacher of APJ School, was one of the horrific incidents. She allegedly ended her life following her torture by in-laws. On August 10, Ashok Kumar of Randhawa Masanda village committed suicide after his sons were humiliated by some villagers at a temple. In majority of the incidents, the city police had registered cases of abetment to suicide against the deceased’s relatives or others. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sarabjit Singh, when asked about the reasons of increase in suicides, he said, “Loneliness, frustration and anger were some of the definite causes of suicide.” On Facebook-related cases, he said Facebook should better be called ‘Fakebook’, where people develop fake relationships. |
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Illegal act of dera head surfaces after remaining buried for 16 yrs
Jalandhar, August 28 It was in 1996 that a notice of demolition was served to dera head Shavinder Jit Kaur Cheema by then Estate Officer of PUDA for violating the terms of allotment of six-kanal land and illegally raising 24 shops for commercial use in Urban Estate, Phase-I. Ever since an appeal had been filed by Cheema with the Additional Chief Administrator, PUDA, on which there had been no action and the file remained under wraps till the court asked the JDA for a response on the appeal in connection with a PIL filed on the matter last month. The post of Additional Chief Administrator had been lying vacant and PCS officer Sarojini Gautam Sharda, who was then posted as ADC in Pathankot, was asked to immediately join here and respond on the matter. Sharda joined on July 23 and after studying the case reportedly got an inquiry initiated on the matter and even sent photographic evidence of shops running on the premises to the court. This evidence disapproved the stance of Cheema, who had been saying that she had not rented out shops and had just constructed rooms as inn for the visitors. It was on the perusal of the photographs that the court passed the orders. Sharda, in the meantime, had also started departmental proceedings and had asked EO Ganesh Kumar to take action within two months. The passing of court orders, prior to the completion of department inquiries, have come as a handy tool for the officials. Shopkeepers vacating premises
Following the court orders, shopkeepers today themselves started vacating the premises. The court in its orders passed on August 23 had directed the JDA to demolish shops within a week, but the counsel for dera head Shavinder Jit Kaur Cheema, more popularly known as Baba Cheema, had said she would get the shops demolished on her own. Cheema was herself seen getting the shops vacated today. PUDA officials said the dera had been allotted the six-kanal land for constructing a gurdwara in early 1980s. Cheema started renting out shops in the 1990s. Baba Cheema- an interesting personality
Baba Cheema is said to have enjoyed patronage of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh. Her political, social and religious clout has somehow got drastically cut over the period of time. She managed to make a collection of lakhs of amount as rent in the name of donations to the dera. The three shopkeepers with whom she is still involved in a legal battle have complained that she was not giving them rent receipt. Unlike most dera heads, she does not don any special attire. She is often seen dressed in suits stitched out of the finest crepe material. She also has the habit of throwing around names of political and bureaucratic big shots to get her work done in various departments. Seemingly above the age of 75 years, she does not like to divulge her age. She comes with a reply, “I am a Baba. You are committing a sin by asking me such questions. I will be immortal even after I pass away.” Asked whether she had been taking rent to the tune of Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 as claimed by the shopkeepers, she said, “No, they are making donations on their own”. She refused to reply further claiming, “I will hold a press conference soon to give my side of story and invite all editors of the vernacular dailies whom I am directly in touch with. I do not want to say anything at this juncture”. |
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Cantt board budget meeting takes a heated turn
The councillors later handed over a dissent note to Chief Executive Officer Vibha Sharma to be forwarded to the GOC of Vajra Corps, Lt Gen Sanjeev Madhok. In the note, the councillors demanded an apology from the board president-cum-Sub Area Commander, Brigadier Arup Sen, for his ‘rude behaviour’. If he doesn’t do so, then no board meetings would be held in the future, the councillors added. The meeting started at 12.15 pm and concluded at 1.30 pm. The councillors maintained that heated arguments started when they demanded setting up of a petrol pump on class ‘C’ land in Ward 4 of the cantonment. “Before we could have gone ahead with a discussion on this issue, Brigadier Sen spoke rudely with councilor Avinash Chander Sharma asking him to sit on his seat and address the meeting. Initially, we ignored his rude behaviour, but later the matter went out of control when he said the entire land in Continued on page 2 Cantt board budget meeting takes a heated turn From page 1 the cantonment was ‘defence land’ and comes under the control of the Ministry of Defence,” said Nistha Goel, a councilor. “When the president shouted at us, we staged a walkout. We are the representatives of the public and have to address such issues. But the Army authorities ended up dictating the terms”, they said. Earlier, in his reply to the councillors, Brigadier Sen highlighted that the cantonment already had two petrol pumps being run in two CSD canteens namely- Vajra Station Canteen and Golden Lion Canteen. The president told the councilors that as far as the demand of another petrol pump was concerned, public could avail the facility from the petrol pumps situated in the civil areas. The councillors said the president also imposed a ban on the public on holding the upcoming ‘Ram Leela’ and ‘Ram Katha’ ceremonies ahead of the Dusherra festivities at the local Grain Market in the cantonment. “This is sheer dictatorship and we will not tolerate this. It has been years, since we have been celebrating Dusehrra at the market, but the Army authorities are creating trouble for us,” said Avinash Chander Sharma, a councillor. Further on the issue of increasing the revenue for the cantonment board through installation of hoardings in the Sadar Bazaar, the president evaded a direct reply and maintained that he would take the responsibility for the losses faced by the board. “We are facing a loss of Rs 10 lakh per year owing to the non-installation of hoardings. It is a major source of revenue for us, but the Army has not invited bids for putting up the hoardings for the past two years”, the councillors added. Earlier in the day, the cantonment board passed a budget of Rs 3 crore for conducting various developmental works. Initially, the budget was announced for Rs 2.5 crore, but it was increased after the councillors demanded a hike. Defence spokesman speak “The Sub Area Commander spoke loud following a commotion in the board meeting. It was not intentional. Since, the councillors started arguing, he has to speak loudly to address them. As far as the issue of defence land is concerned, there is no doubt that irrespective of any classification, the entire land belongs to the Ministry of Defence.” Naresh Vig, Defence spokesman
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Maternity centre needs repair
Jalandhar, August 28 Housed in a cramped two-room establishment (owned by the Red Cross authorities), the centre was started in 1967. Though the building belongs to the Red Cross, government staff runs it. A staff of six - a medical officer, a woman health attendant, two ANMs and two class four employees, are posted at the centre. The centre is situated in an upscale area and caters to 30,000-odd residents from localities like Central Town, Old Jawahar Nagar, Thakur Singh Colony and parts of Bashirpura. Bad building It has been quite a while since the centre saw any repairs. Plaster chipping off and dampness on the walls are a common sight. Although the staff claims that they are managing the situation quite comfortably and that they have not encountered a drip in the ceiling or walls, they do confess that some repairs might do them good. Since there are no stairs to the ceiling, nobody has every surveyed the state of the centre’s roof. Outside too, the weathered walls clearly need repairs and paint. Because there is no space to stack supplies, medicine boxes are stacked beneath benches and under the shabby, unkempt bed (also on it) placed in a narrow, ignored corner of the building. While the centre clearly lags behind as far as building infrastructure is concerned, the medical equipment at the centre is adequate. The staff is also well versed with the problems of area residents, which is a major plus for the dispensary. Medicine supplies While the crunch in medicinal supplies is reported across the district from time to time depending on the availability of medicine at the Civil Hospital, the staff say mostly they stack supplies. In case, there’s a crunch they buy medicines on their own, they added. OPD patients While the OPD comprises roughly 700 patients per month, every month about 28 new mothers are registered at the centre, says the staff. BPL families unregistered Despite the area having a number of BPL families, the staff say they haven’t come across a single family possessing a health card under the requisite scheme. While residents of the Bashirpura slums are mostly BPL families, none of them have been seen to possess a card under the RSBY scheme so far. Anaemia & addiction Dr Satjit Kaur, the medical officer at the centre, who joined it in 2006, says every month 200 to 300 schoolchildren are checked under the school health programme. “We have observed a number of schoolchildren as well as mothers to be suffering from anaemia. We visit six primary and senior secondary schools (falling in the area) every month and iron and folic acid tablets are distributed among schoolchildren,” she says. While the area earlier had no drug addicts, staff reported a rise in the addict population of the area in the recent times. Bashirpura’s proximity to the Kazi Mandi area is cited as one of the reasons. JSSY scheme Every month about 12 deliveries take place at the centre and money is disbursed among the mothers under the JSSY scheme. |
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RPF men ‘manhandle’ former vendor at rly station
Jalandhar, August 28 Dubey alleged that the RPF men wanted to teach him a lesson as he had complained against two RPF men --- Sarabjit Singh and Bal Krishan --- in March this year to the RPF DG and IG. He said, “There are over 200 unathorised vendors, who sell various items at the city railway station after paying a bribe daily. I was also one of them and had been selling tea at the station for the past seven years. Initially, RPF men took a bribe of Rs 30 per day from each vendor. Later they increased the amount to Rs 50 per day.” Dubey said, “The RPF men again hiked the bribe amount to Rs 70 per day. I expressed my inability to pay the same. At this, they directed me not to sell tea at the station.” “When I questioned them on why I am being singled out, two RPF men took me to an RPF thana on February 9 and thrashed me. Then I sent complaints to the RPF DG and IG. Today’s manhandling was a result of that incident.” |
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MC set to raze encroachments in Sudama Market
Jalandhar, August 28 Joint Commissioner Anupam Kler today held a meeting with the representatives of the market. She tried to convince them that the action was imminent especially since there were orders from the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the matter. There are nearly 22 shopkeepers selling fruits, vegetables, readymade clothes and other stuff in the market, which runs parallel behind Rainak Bazaar here. Kler said demarcation had already been done and the meeting was done today to ensure cooperation from the other side. “I just hope that it will be peaceful,” he claimed. |
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From schools
A fancy dress show was organised at Ivy World Play School. Students were dressed up as national leaders - Manmohan Singh, Jhansi ki Rani, Subhash Chandra Bose, Gopal Krishna Gokhle and Mahatma Gandhi. The whole atmosphere was filled with patriotism. Children also sang songs related to the theme. Tae kwon do championship The Taekwondo team of Saffron Public School, Phagwara, gave a good performance in Jalandhar Independent Schools, Sahodaya Complex, by winning five gold, two silver and four bronze medals in the championship. The event was held at Lala Jagat Narain DAV Model School, Jalandhar. Manu Bhardwaj, Prabhleen Kaur won gold in U-14 category. Sidharth Sudhir, Dilpreet Singh, Gurdeep Singh and Navdeep Bhardwaj won bronze medals in U-14 category. Gurjot Kaur and Simranpreet Kaur won gold and Kiranpreet Kaur won Silver in U-17 category. Ramninder Singh won gold and Jasgurinder Singh won silver in U-17 category. Inter-house singing contest An inter-house group singing contest was held at Emm Aar International School, Adampur. As many as 30 students participated in the contest. Patel house won the contest for their patriotic song ‘Hum Bharatvasi Hain’. The presentations of the other houses were also very inspirational and full of patriotic fervour. Basketball matches The girls’ basketball teams (under-14 and under-17) of Apeejay School, Rama Mandi, Jalandhar, proved their mettle again by becoming the champions of the zone-I basketball matches held at Doaba Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Jalandhar. The under-14 team of the school beat Mayor World School by 20-4 while the under-17 team beat Doaba Model Senior Secondary School by 18-4.
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Jalandhar, August 28
Currently residing in Qazi Mandi in Jalandhar, Dubey said when he asked the RPF personnel why they were taking him to the thana, they did not give any satisfactory reply. “After this, I started shouting which attracted the attention of a large number of people at the station. When people gathered, the RPF men left me,” he said.