Jalandhar, October 2
Come 2014 and Jalandhar residents will no longer have to make rounds to the office of the Municipal Corporation (MC) to apply for the birth/death certificates or make payment of property tax and water charges. All such jobs would be possible sitting at home or office, as the entire operation of the MC Jalandhar will go online in two years' time.

The facility is coming as part of the e-governance project in the entire state for which Jalandhar has been chosen for the pilot project. A workshop on the issue was organised by the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure and Development Corporation (PMIDC) yesterday in which Deputy Directors Local Bodies of Jalandhar and Ludhiana and officials from the MC of both cities as well as Phagwara participated.

The Local Bodies Department has roped in a private consultancy company Deloitte, which has already prepared its detailed project report (DPR) regarding the same. Its details were made known to officials and their opinion sought for improving upon it. On the basis of the DPR, a "request for proposal" will be finalised and tendering done, it was announced. In all, it will be a seven-year project, two years for creating database and five years to run it.

Through the project, it has also been proposed that the functioning of the eight zonal offices be connected with the main city office and further to the Local Department office for direct monitoring. To make the entire system functional, the database of all departments, including property tax, water supply, and health and sanitation, will be digitised for the online execution of the same.

While the 10-year-old data of birth and death has already been uploaded, the rest is yet to be done. A soft copy of the property details and water billing from 10 wards is also available with the MC, with the work in the remaining 50 wards yet to be done.

Further, it has also been proposed that the facility centres be created in all zones for the convenience of those residents who are not computer-friendly. The idea is to make the entire system paperless and user-friendly. 

Jalandhar, October 2
Protesting against the foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector, the local unit of the Bharat Swabhiman Nyas today burnt an effigy of the FDI here at Shri Ram Chowk.

Hundreds of activists gathered at the spot and raised anti FDI slogans. Itinder Kaur Mansi, woman president, said the Union Government had been befooling people by giving them hollow promises that the decision would increase employment in the country. Had foreign investment increased employment, unemployment rate could have gone down which was not, she quipped.

She said initially foreign companies might provide products at cheaper rates, but in future, the companies would definitely exploit customers by charging exorbitant prices.

The activists held that allowing the FDI in the retail sector would also ruin the small shopkeepers.

Jalandhar, October 2
A newly married woman alleged maltreatment at the hands of her non-resident Indian (NRI) husband who allegedly fled abroad without informing her.

A resident of the Gurunanak Pura locality, Sonia (name changed) also blamed him for demanding several lakhs from her parents to take her abroad.

She today submitted a written complaint to the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Central) Naresh Dogra and demanded action against her husband.

The woman alleged in her complaint that she recently got married to NRI of Canada Ranjit Singh and the duo had also spent 15 days together. She claimed that her parents had also given him Rs 3 lakh during their marriage.

The ACP said the woman said the NRI also demanded Rs 20 lakh from her parents to take her abroad and when they refused to pay the sought amount, he fled abroad without informing them. The ACP held that the complainant had also provided phone recordings to the police in which he was demanding several lakhs to take her abroad.

The eight-point charter of demands or the development blueprint which Jalandhar industrialists have finalisd to submit to the state government is as following: 

• Setting up of a larger power grid on the Jalandhar - Pathankot highway so that the current and future demand of power by upcoming Industry could be adequately met.
• Setting up of the 66 KVA electric sub-station at the Leather Complex, Jalandhar.
• Single-window clearance mechanism should be set up at the local District Industry Centre (DIC).
• State government should consider electricity as raw material and the duty levied on electricity must be made VAT able.
• Time-bound refund of VAT and simplification of excise processes (trucks being held at the border for days due to clerical/ typographical errors).
• Preference to Punjab industry for purchases by state government.
• Cost-effective CETP at Jalandhar instead of trucking effluents to Ludhiana.
• Better air connectivity in the region, commercial flights from Adampur.

Jalandhar, October 2
Throwing parking norms to the wind, owners of many showrooms across the entire Model Town market have started putting their basements to commercial use.

The lackadaisical attitude of the MC authorities regarding ensuring compliance over the building bylaws has further emboldened the owners to make a brisk business by renting out showrooms in their basements. The MC officials of the building branch, which was on a sealing spree about four to five years ago, has not taken a similar action at even a single building and rather seem to be conniving with the influential builders.

Be it Parkash Nagar Road, Rainbow road, Dera Satkartar Road or the one leading to adjoining Gol Market, one can easily spot garment showrooms, restaurants or bars running in the basement in violation of the MC bylaws.

Even the space left for level parking is being used by some owners for running chaupati selling golgappas, chat and other consumable stuff. Not even a single owner of the commercial complexes is getting the vehicles parked in the basement of his showroom, in contravention of the norms.

Even if some shopkeepers have not yet rented out space in their basement, they clearly seem to be in a mood to do so in future. They have put up shutters to close their basement. While some have slopes with much higher gradient against the MC norms, others have an incomplete ramp.

There still are many who have got their ramps demolished and got steps constructed with an aim to using the basement for commercial use in future.

All such building owners are liable to be sealed, forcing the owners to take remedial measures, but the MC officials seem to have instead turned a blind eye to all this. Instead of committing a grave blunder, the B&R engineers have got footpaths raised in front of the showrooms, further blocking the entrance of vehicles to the basement.

Model Town Market Association president Manoj Arora said that he had proposed to the MC to have a multi-tier parking near the Mayor House, but there had been no headway.

Mayor Sunil Jyoti said he would first want to take a round to assess the ground reality.

“Parking is a major issue that I would want to take up. If such illegalities continue, we surely will have no space even to walk about. We will also have to plan a multi-tier parking in Model Town in the near future,” he said.

Jalandhar, October 2
Grappling with power deficiency, Punjab seems to be on a path to harness solar power in its bid to meet growing electricity requirement.

That the solar power could be a good substitute for conventional hydel-generated electricity particularly, for power-guzzling big government buildings, was clear from the setting up a 100 kw solar power plant at the Pushpa Gujral Science city on the outskirts of Jalandhar. The plant which was inaugurated by Punjab Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh recently would be meeting part power requirements of the Science City. The solar power plant at the Science City would not only showcase the government's resolve to tap more and more unconventional energy sources like solar power but was also likely to inspire people, particularly children who visit Science City, in a large number to conserve power.

To fill the burgeoning power demand and supply gap in the state, the Punjab government was planning to set up solar power plants in different parts of the state. "Solar power needs to be harnessed in big way, particularly in sun-shine states like Punjab, where sun shines for eight-nine months in a year. To begin with and in the first phase, the Punjab government is planning to set up solar power plants to produce 1000 MW of electricity. The state is also coming out with a solar energy policy to deal with the shortage of power," said the Punjab Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh.

Energy, Rakesh Singh said, played a very crucial role in the development of every nation and the quantum of per-capita consumption of energy was an indicator of development of a country. Energy was required in every sphere of life, from home to industry such as cooking, transport, agriculture, health and business etc. "The demand for energy is increasing day by day while, non-renewable sources of energy like petroleum, coal etc are getting exhausted. To meet the rising demand of energy in India, we have to depend upon heavy import of these products from abroad," said Rakesh Singh.

He said the newly commissioned power plant at the Science City will not only contribute to meet part of the electricity requirement of Science City, but would also serve as an impressive demonstration of use of the solar energy for other institutes to follow. The Chief Secretary assured that the government of Punjab would make all-out efforts to develop the science city further.

Dr Karan A. Singh, Principal Secretary, Science, Technology and Environment said India was facing problem of huge scarcity of electricity to meet the requirement of the core sectors of economy. "In summer season, the problem turns grave as the requirements, both for agriculture and domestic use rise manifold. The solution lies only in reducing the consumption of energy and also making maximum use of solar energy, particularly in this part of the country, as the sunlight is available here for almost 8-9 months in a year," he said.

The best part of the newly commissioned solar power facility at the Science City , Dr RS Khandpur, Director General, PGSC, said, was that it would serve the purpose of a real life demonstration for the use of non- polluting solar energy. "This plant is designed in such a way that it directly feeds power to the mains grid and does not make use of battery bank. So, no cost will be incurred in future in maintenance of this power plant. The plant has been set up with the total investment of Rs 1.50 crore, out of which, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Sources has contributed an amount of Rs 40 lakh as subsidy," said Khandpur.

He said the state-level Energy Education and Awareness Park has been set up in Science City to create awareness and motivate people to use renewable sources of energy. "The Energy Park derives its total power requirement from the already set up 20 KW solar power plant. The Science City was putting up a lot of efforts to create awareness in the society about the use of renewable energy sources," said Khandpur.

Jalandhar, October 2
Office-bearers of the District Congress Urban and Rural paid homage to the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi and late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries here today.

Congress leaders and workers, including former minister Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, DCC (Urban) president Arun Walia, DCC (rural) chief Kanwaljit Singh Lally and convener of state Congress campaign committee Virendra Sharma, garlanded the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at Nehru Garden. Subsequently, they went to Shastri Chowk and paid rich tributes to Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Local residents offer garlands at the statue of Father of Nation on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti; and (right) a garland seller near the statue of Lal Bahadur Shastri in Jalandhar. Photos: Sarabjit Singh

Jalandhar, October 2
Bringing about certain examination reforms, Punjab Technical University (PTU) has plans to replace the current percentage system for result declaration with a gradepoint system in some of its constituent colleges from the coming semester.

The university is in the process of studying the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) system of Guru Nanak Dev University and other educational institutes so as to gather the best procedural methods for the same.

To begin with, the PTU has plans to implement the model as a pilot project in the Punjab Institute of Kapurthala, Amritsar College of Engineering and Giani Zail Singh Campus Bathinda. The university VC Dr Rajneesh Arora had yesterday held a meeting on the issue with the college heads to study the pros and cons.

As another plan, the PTU has also decided to do away with the process of issuing detailed marks certificates (DMCs) to its students after the declaration of every semester examination. Instead, the students would be issued transcripts giving details of their semester-wise performance on a single sheet at the completion of their degree programme. The VC said the internationally followed mode would be used from now onwards. He added that in case the students want to get their DMCs, they would be able download the same at their own end from the university portal using their logins. "We will not issue it from our own side," he stated. 

Jalandhar, October 2
Having started more than 22 months ago, the renovation work of Guru Gobind Singh Stadium is finally drawing near completion.

The Rs 22-crore renovation work, which began in January last year and was to be completed in 10 months, has taken an additional year to complete. With World Kabaddi Cup scheduled to start on December 1, the Jalandhar Improvement Trust has the target to complete the entire work latest by the end of this month.

The construction of 17 rooms meant for players, their shower areas and toilets on the ground floor at the main entrance is complete. The civil work for the conference hall, commentary room, media centre and activity centre is also over with a glass wall yet to come up for a panoramic view. The terrace area has been left for the construction of a coffee shop.

A VIP lounge area on the first floor at the main entrance, too, has been created, with the finishing work yet to be executed. The steps around the area have been tiled and metal chairs are being erected.

The finishing of the pavilion on the opposite side is almost complete, with all tiles and chairs fixed. The arched roof too has been fixed.

The iron pillars for roofing of the elliptical sides have been fixed. The steps are not being tiled for the timebeing. These only will be repaired and painted. In all, there will be a seating capacity for 17,000 visitors, including 5000 chairs and the remaining on steps of elliptical sides.

Of the total Rs 22 crore allocation, the JIT will be spending Rs 19.38 crore and the remaining has been spent on four tower lights erected by the Punjab Mandi Board. The lights will be of use for playing day and night kabaddi and football matches.

There also are reports of giving activity centre as a club or a restaurant and coffee shop on contract to a company for running the day-to-day maintenance costs of the stadium. The decision, however, is pending with the government as a common system is being evolved for all 14 stadiums across the state.

SE JIT Mukul Soni said the entire work would be completed by the end of this month. “Only the fittings have been be fixed and some finishing work is left which should not take more than 30 days,” he said.

Phagwara, October 2
On the third day of the NSS Camp, the NSS Unit of Mohan Lal Uppal DAV College initiated a literacy and traffic rules awareness campaign in Mehtan village.

Students made villagers aware of the importance of literacy. They also helped illiterate people, especially women, learn practising their signature. The NSS volunteers also engaged themselves in the cleanliness of village as well as the college campus. "A blood donation day" was also organised on the college campus to make NSS volunteers aware of the need and importance of blood donation.

The theme of the day was “Somewhere, someone needs you, your blood donation is precious”.