 |
|
|
Stray bull injures eight
‘Little Heroes’ win accolades for bravery
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
JDA auction fetches Rs 9 crore
Road repair work at snail's pace
Kuki Dhab road
Toilets available but bad sanitation common in city schools
|
|
Stray bull injures eight
Jalandhar, October 4 Panic stricken walkers ran helter skelter for safety in the park. Finally, a municipal corporation team succeeded in overpowering the berserk bull. Meanwhile, the injured, who were admitted to various city hospitals, were stated to be out of danger. No relief from stray
cattle menace
The stray cattle menace at various places in the city is creating a lot of inconvenience to residents. Though the Municipal Corporation Jalandhar (MCJ) has set up a special six-member team with a special machine for lifting stray cattle from the city to a gaushala, these are seen roaming freely on city roads. Leave alone other areas of the city, stray animals including cattle and donkeys, are seen roaming on the Ladowali road near the district administrative complex. Several mishaps keep on taking place due to stray animals every now and then. A social activist Rajat Mohindru said, “The MCJ should learn a lesson from the Burlton Park incident and should start a campaign on a war footing to get rid of stray animal menace from other parts of the city to avoid recurrence of such an incident.” MC Commissioner Vinay Bublani said, “ It has come to our notice that the residents of various surrounding villagers abandon their unproductive animals in the city. I request them not to do so. If any citizen faces the problem of stray animals, he or she may lodge a complaint at the complaint number 2242411.
|
|
‘Little Heroes’ win accolades for bravery
Jalandhar, October 4 Dungar Singh (8), Uma Shankar (15) and Ranjan Pradhan (15) today narrated their acts of bravery as the city listened with rapt attention. Invited by the Rotary International to introduce the city (especially its young) to their creed of bravery, the two-day visit of the three National Bravery Award winners (who were awarded by the PM this January) is already chock-a-bloc with a list of city people eager to offer them honours, accolades and citations. They were also honored at a local newspaper office and at the Devi Talab Mandir. Tomorrow, too, they have visits reserved for a factory and Rotary International’s weekly meeting, among other organisations which want to honour them. Putting their sense of duty over all else, even in times when those elder to them chose to look away conveniently, the brave trio today won hearts. Starting their visit with an interactive session with the students of Mayor World School this morning, the trio was later felicitated by city MLA Pargat Singh, whose hockey feats, the kids are also fans of. Uma
Shankar, Delhi
On the morning of July 12, 2010, on his way to school, Uma Shankar, son of a Delhi-based phone mechanic, saw a mini bus turn turtle in front of his own eyes, as he rode on another public bus. Half a dozen school kids were trapped beneath the overcrowded bus that Uma Shnakar had incidentally missed that morning. He climbed down his bus and began rescuing the children out. As he said during the press meet today, “One kid’s eye had popped out, another’s inside (chest) organs were visible and another had his face crushed by the engine. They needed help because the bus was weighing heavy on them and someone had to do something.” Uma helped them out but But Uma (12 at that time) did not give up and persuaded many to take the injured to the hospital, saving five of the trapped children. Modest about his act, he is still sad about the sixth whom he could not
save. Dungar Singh, Rajashthan
On March 27, 2011, Dungar Singh and his brother Mahendra Singh were asleep in their hut after lunch. The parents were away to the fields, and a short circuit triggered a fire. Dungar (then aged 7) got up and ran outside, only to
realise, from the cries from inside, that his younger brother Mahendra (one of whose legs is afflicted with polio) was trapped inside. With no one around, Dungar plunged back into the flame to rescue
Mahendra. He came back out injured, but with his brother, crying about the burnt hut and clothes, oblivious of the danger. His mother had fainted in the fields, way earlier, when she saw the fire, apprehending the fire had claimed the lives of both her sons. She woke up after seven days.
Ranjan Pradhan, Chattishgarh
On the morning of May 8, 2011, when Ranjan’s brother Rahul fell into a well (30 to 35 feet deep) in their backyard, Ranjan jumped into it without any second thought. While neighbours raised a hue and cry over the incident, none of the adults there had the courage to save Rahul’s life.
Ranjan (then aged 14) held onto a brick wall until neighbours lowered a rope to bring both brothers out. Thanks to Ranjan’s courage, Rahul was
saved. Krishan Pradhan, Ranjan’s father, although happy with the accolades his son had earned, initially was livid when he heard about the incident. Speaking at the press meet today, he said, “I was certainly angry. What if he had died? We were on the brink of losing one son. If he died, we would have lost two. We also thought he should have let some other adult there jump instead of jumping himself.” |
|
JDA auction fetches Rs 9 crore
Jalandhar, October 4 While the staff of the Estate Office was rather expecting a feeble response in view of the ongoing slump in the market and the auction falling during "shradhas", which are usually considered inauspicious for any property deal, they were in for a surprise this afternoon as five double-storeyed shops went at an average amount of 90 per cent above the reserve price. It is after July 2008 that the JDA has got such a good response to its auctions. In the three auctions held recently, there have been no bidders at all and officials have had to wind up their arrangements after waiting for an hour or so. The officials said during the past three years they had even tried to specially convene auction in Navratras, believed to be the best time for land purchase, but even then, they had not got a good response. All the five double-storeyed shops in an area of 62.70 sq m which had been kept for auction at a reserve price of Rs 49,595 per sq m went for an amount 82 per cent to 100 per cent above it, fetching the JDA an amount of Rs 3,00,77,190. Five of the eight residential buildings with a reserve price of Rs 20,900 per sq m got sold off at an average amount of 39 per cent higher. The maximum price fetched by a plot was Rs 34,100 per sq m. The five plots fetched the JDA an amount of Rs 4,26,57,448. The only four-storeyed SCO that got sold went to Satwant Singh, a resident of the same area, at Rs 1,72,39,920 (Rs 1,16,000 per sq m in an area of Rs 148.62 sq m). It went at 11 per cent higher than the reserve price of Rs 1,03,880 per sq m. Since no major appreciation was seen, the officials withheld auction of five other SCOs. The auction of four double-storeyed shops in an area of 104.50 sq m with a reserve price of Rs 81,031 sq m, however, did not get appropriate response. The officials had even, at one stage, planned to cancel the auction today and another one on October 11 for Kapurthala properties realising that "shradhas" were on. They, however, then decided to go ahead, as the expenditure on publicity of the same had already been done.
|
|
Road repair work at snail's pace
Jalandhar, October 3 The MCJ started patch-work on various damaged roads after the instructions issued by the DC in this regard, but it is going on at a snail's pace, leaving most of the roads in a dilapidated condition. Most the roads located around the Sodal temple were repaired in view of the famous Sodal Mela on September 28. Similarly, patch-work has also been done on the railway road, on a portion of the Ladowali road and on the road from Doaba Chowk to Domoria Flyover. However, the condition of most of the roads, including Lamba Pind road, Garha Road, Preet Nagar Road, Bus Adda Road, Urban Estate, Gujja Peer road, Khalsa College road, Kapurthala road, Nakodar road and Old Cantonment road has gone from bad to worse in the absence of any repair work. A social activist Arun Sharma demanded that the MCJ should intensify the patch-work, as the dilapidated roads created a lot of inconvenience to the residents. Mayor Sunil Jyoti said he was aware of the problem caused to the public due to the damaged roads. The patch-work of a number of roads had already been done and the same on the remaining roads would also be done shortly. |
|
MC acts against 2 illegal colonies
Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, October 4 While one of the colonies was coming up on 1.5-acre land, the other one was being carved in a 2-acre area. The roads had been laid and one house was under construction in one of the colonies. As the MC team reached the spot with JCB machines, hundreds of residents from surrounding areas gathered at the site opposing the action. The team had to return only after partly damaging the road. The action came after strict directions issued by the administration to the MC officials on taking the matter seriously since it was being reviewed by the court. Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Judge Rakesh Kumar Jain, in a judgment passed on July 20, had fixed the responsibility of the SDM concerned for the purpose. The court had stated, "We are surprised that the law is so helpless. The state, however, is not so weak that if somebody is doing an illegal act, the same cannot be stopped. The power to regulate also includes power to stop the irregularity being committed." "We direct that from today onwards no construction be allowed in any unauthorised colony and if raised, the same shall be demolished immediately. The responsibility shall lie upon the SDM concerned of the area. If he fails to take effective steps, stern action shall be taken against the officer." "The work of the vigilance shall be coordinated and regulated by the Regional Deputy Director, Local Bodies. The order shall be complied with throughout the state of Punjab." "So far as the areas where the master plan is available are concerned, the inspectors of municipal committees/corporations concerned shall be responsible for keeping a vigil on unauthorised colonies and will take immediate steps to stop construction and also to remove the construction which has already been raised."
|
|
Toilets available but bad sanitation common in city schools
Jalandhar, October 4 While all schools that The Tribune visited had toilets and drinking water facilities, there is a twist in the tale. A number of the city schools are inadequately equipped and battle unhygienic conditions despite the fact that they have toilets. Broken wooden doors or age-old rusted ones often mark school toilets. Ancient bath furnishings that have worne down with use are also a regular feature across government schools. While some schools have toilets in very bad condition for the past many years, other schools have no toilets for either all the staff or the lady staff members. There are others where water supply is very irregular, rendering the toilets useless and in some sewerage clogging poses a serious problem to sanitation. In many of the city schools, there are no sweepers either, due to which the state of these toilets degenerates over the years. At Government Middle School, Purian Mohalla, during summers, the water supply often snaps, resulting in months without water. Staff at the school told The Tribune that the school had been languishing without water for months, especially during summers. Staff said, “The school earlier had a very old water supply system. A new system was put in place for which Rs 15,000 was spent through staff contributions. That system did not work. So we put up a water pump again with staff contributions of another Rs 7,000. But now, as we see, even the water pump’s not enough to get drinking water for students.” While the weather has been pleasant for quite some time, the water supply of the school resumed only two-three days ago and staff say there is no telling when water stops again. When there’s no water, school children drink water from a tap outside the school and sometimes even that doesn’t work. Students wishing to use the bathroom, however, have no option during such times! The school has 69 students and the neighbouring elementary school (on the same premises) has 110. The water crisis is braved by both schools together. “At times, when there is water supply in the night, we have to ask neighbours to start the pump for us in the night,” says a staff member from the elementary school. Notably, the high school also does not have any toilet for the staff. At the Government High School, Patara (boys), the state of toilets is really bad. While there is a toilet for the boys, there are no toilet facilities for the eight female staff members of the school. While they currently make do with a makeshift arrangement, the staff says the school is in dire need of better toilets immediately. The toilet at Government Middle School, Tali Mohalla, is situated at the approach to the first class from the entrance. The stench from the toilet is a constant hindrance for the classes. A hindrance that students have now got used to. Water marks from the toilet also mar the floor right outside it. There is no other option for the school than to bear the stench because the school has no other room available to house the toilet. While there was also earlier a problem of sewerage clogging and water entering into the classroom due to it, staff said that is no more the case. The Tali Mohalla primary school is also housed on the same premises. The toilets at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School Bhargo Camp are often unusable because sewerage constantly clogs them. Teachers say the problem is acute during the rainy season when there is enormous clogging. While the entire area suffers from this problem, they say despite the presence of toilets, they haven’t been able to find a solution to this problem so far. Many other schools in the district also suffer from similar problems. In most of the schools that The Tribune visited today, it was also noticed that mostly teachers and students were using the same toilets. As far as the drinking water facilities are concerned, even as private schools think that tap water is no more safe for consumption, schools kids continue to drink water from the taps, some of them, even from tanks. Very few thoughtful school administrations have got water purifiers installed on their premises (after staff contributions), the rest continue to make do with tap water. Some staff members even use the poor socio-economic backgrounds of their students as an excuse. They say since the kids do not get pure water at home, they don’t need it at schools either. District Education Officer Neelam Kumari said, “These days we are getting many RMSA and SSA grants for schools and it is out of question that any school which sent us a demand has substandard toilet arrangements. Recently many schools have been provided with grants to upgrade their bathrooms. We are now even making it a point to post school demand details on the RMSA website. However, it has been noticed that some schools, fearing a backlash from the education department, do not come to us with their demands despite being needy. Unless they come to us, we can’t provide them the requisite funds. So, I request all schools suffering bad sanitation to immediately make a demand so that we might help them.” |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
A bull injured eight persons as it went berserk at Burlton Park here. First, it attacked and injured six evening walkers last evening.
It again attacked some morning walkers today in which two persons sustained injuries.
The courageous tales of three ‘Little Heroes’ from three different states of the country, who visited the city today,are highly commendable.
Jalandhar, October 3
