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Who cares about the abandoned?
City set to get rid of heaps of garbage
Traffic wing starts online challan payment system
Govt holds NRI Sammelan, but leaves many in the lurch
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Resume Amritsar-Canada flight, DEmand NRIs
Former Canada MP Ruby Dhalla being honoured by Phagwara residents on Saturday. photo: Ashok kaura
LPU professor visits US universities
Lessons on traffic rules for auto-rickshaw drivers
Cong leaders term NRI Sammelan a flop show
Fire breaks out at rice mill, none injured
NSS camp organised
3 booked for cheating
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Who cares about the abandoned?
Jalandhar, January 6
More often than not, help either does not reach, or is too late to be of any use. The District Legal Services Authority or the Mental Health Act, 1987, under it, is no exception. While there are scores of mentally challenged people roaming in the streets of the city in the chill of the exceptionally cold winter, both residents and the police have been oblivious of the help that can be brought to these people under the Mental Health Act which happens to be one of the many areas covered under the District Legal Services Authority. Even as the Chief Judicial Magistrate has been authorised to look into the cases of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) since August, so far, no case has been received due to lack of awareness among police personnel and residents on the issue. Major Tejinder Singh, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, said yesterday's case was the first case in the district of a mentally challenged person bring brought to the DLSA for help. "The section 23 and 24 of the Mental Health Act, 1987, clearly mandates the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) to ensure care and treatment in cases of mentally challenged people. The DLSA is responsible to provide relief. But sadly very few police officers, too, know about it. We also snubbed the GRP personnel yesterday because they are supposed to bring cases directly to us and a private organisation need not be troubled for such cases. It is the government's responsibility to provide help for such victims," said Major Singh. In fact the Punjab State Legal Services Authority also has a helpline - 1968 - started recently for the aid of people in need. But since people are unaware of it, thanks also to lack of government awareness programmes on the issue, no one approaches it. Talking to The Tribune, Komal Mehta, who runs the NGO Koshish, says, "We have been working in various slums and have identified scores of similar cases but even as people languish, government help eludes the needy. I personally know of at least 15 to 20 mentally challenged people right now who languish on streets and slums but no one is bothered about reporting such cases. Total number of such cases in the city must be way more. Even when we have personally tried ensuring help for such people from NGOs, the response is usually lukewarm. Even governmental and legal aid has to be freed of red tape. For a common man, the road to justice is long and winding." While police personnel also know precious little on the matter, abandoned people are usually taken to NGOs even when found. The authorities at the Guru Nanak Anath Ashram say they have received at least two to four abandoned mentally challenged people in the past couple of months, mostly by policemen. "Sometimes we lack infrastructure and space, but since these people have nowhere else to go, we accept them. Presently we have 17 to 18 inmates suffering from mental illness with us," said ashram manager Surinder Singh. The ASI of the GRP who sought help for the woman found yesterday, was also, so far, unaware of the Act, but he now says, "Now that we know where to take such people, we will ensure help for them. We have seen another mentally challenged woman in the area. We did look for her today but could not find her. As soon as we trace her, we will take her to the DLSA." The first and foremost task is to advertise about the government help that can be provided to these people. The city presently does not have any banner advertising the 1968 helpline of the Punjab Legal Services Authority. Major Tejinder Singh, however, says, "We have the requisite finds to provide help to any number of people under the DLSA. We exhort people to report their cases on the helpline the services of which can be availed by mentally ill as well as other underprivileged people." While the DLSA has a long way to go, yesterday's incident is at least the first ray of hope for many. Generally, anyone who is a woman, child, disabled, mentally challenged, industrial workman, victim of trafficking or natural calamity, or receives income of less than Rs 50,000 annually is also eligible for legal aid under the District Legal Services Authority. Ignorant about Mental Health Act Rare help DLSA helpline: 1968 |
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City set to get rid of heaps of garbage
Jalandhar, January 6 Mayor Sunil Jyoti said the solid waste management project would be operational in the next two-three months. As per the scheme, Jindal Company will start collecting garbage from each household and residents will have to pay nominal charges for that, he said. The 25 acre land near Jamsher Dairy Complex had already been earmarked for the project. Once the project gets functional, the problem of dumping wastes in vacant plots will also be solved, he said. At the same time, he urged the citizens to dump garbage at the bins or the places allocated by the MCJ for the same. The citizens should also help the MCJ in keeping the city clean and green, he said. Currently, the heaps of garbage can be seen lying in almost all locality of the city where as several persons use vacant plots to dump garbage. “As per the contract signed between the MC and Jindal Company, the solid waste management project should have been started by July 15 last year but that could not be done due to several reasons,” said sources. The project is being opposed by the various departments on different grounds. Sweepers claimed that they would not allow the company staff to lift garbage and their services should be taken for the job. Inhabitants of Jamsher and nearby villages are also opposing it. They complained that their lives would become miserable with a garbage dumping ground situated just next to the dairy complex and garbage-carrying trucks passing through the place whole day. However, Mayor said the same project had been implemented in Bathinda and it would be operational soon in Jalandhar too.
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Traffic wing starts online challan payment system
Jalandhar, January 6
The offenders, having a credit or debit card, have to visit the official website (www.jalandhartrafficpolce.com) and they need to fill the required forms and upload information regarding IP number, e-mail address, challan number and the registration number of the vehicle. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (traffic wing) Sukhdev Singh said there is no provision for an online payment of sticker challans on the website. He, however, claimed that the offenders could collect their documents like RC of the vehicle and driving licence from the traffic police station after producing the receipt of online challan payments. The offences for which the online payment is received include red light jump, without seat belt, without helmet, smoking while driving, triple riding on a two-wheeler, black film, high beam, over loading, use of red and blue beckons and some others. The SP, however, said if any one makes double online payment for a challan in any case, he could inform the police at acptrafficjalandhar@jalandhartrafficpolice.com or 0181-2227296 and get back his money. No waiting for hours
* Earlier, people used to complain that they had to wait for long hours at police Saanjh Kendras and offices of the traffic police in order to deposits fines. *
The offenders, having a credit or debit card, have to visit the official website (www.jalandhartrafficpolce.com) and they need to fill the required forms and upload information regarding IP number, e-mail address, challan number and the registration number of the vehicle. |
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Govt holds NRI Sammelan, but leaves many in the lurch
Jalandhar, January 6 While Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claimed it to be a ‘door’ for solving the issues of the NRIs at a resort in Phagwara near here on the concluding day of the sammelan, on the other hand a few affected NRIs had to wait in a room of a city-based hotel to meet Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, who was staying there. NRI Affairs Minister Bikram Singh Majithia had a brief interaction with the NRIs at the hotel and but he failed to take up the issues with Sukhbir Badal. Narrating the tale of his woes, Ranvir Singh Rana, a Nasa (US) city-based NRI, lamented that it took him almost 10 years for getting the ancestral land transferred and enter the mutation in his name. He said the NRI Sammelans were of no use for them. He claimed that leaders of all political parties make tall claims for safe investments for the NRIs in the state but the fact is that neither the money nor the lives of Punjab diaspora was safe in Punjab. Rana claimed to have faced a lot of harassment to get a land, located in Ramua village, transferred in his name after his father’s death. "I am planning to dispose of the land property before leaving the country for ever," Rana said. Instead of holding such sammelans, the leaders and the state government should take care of the girls who had gone abroad on study basis but are pushed to illegal trades, he advised. Former Mayor of Glasgow Hardip Singh Gill said the entire administrative system of the state was corrupt. He said when ever the top leaders of the ruling party, especially the SAD, paid visit to them in abroad, they categorically boast of clean governance and administration in the state but when ever the NRIs approach them for their tasks, they get indifferent treatment. Balbir Singh of Mehsampur village had to return disappointed after spending over four hours in the hotel as Sukhbir Badal hardly showed any soft corner towards him. He was at the hotel for seeking help to locate his son in Spain. Balbir Singh said a city- based travel agent had sent his son and 36 other Punjabi youths to Spain in November, 2004. Since then their families had not received any information about their wards. Left disappointed |
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Resume amritsar-Canada flight, DEmand NRIs
Phagwara, January 6 Talking to the media persons in Phagwara on Saturday night, Ruby, while replying to a question, disclosed that she will also raise the issue during Parvasi Bharatiya Diwas celebrations scheduled to be held in Kochin (Kerala) from January 7 to 9. She will be a keynote speaker on January 8 in this three days conference. Ruby said that she will be working to set up a charity organisation, which will come forward to educate the girls, who are being cheated in the pretext of marriages which were proved fraud marriages later on. Ruby said her organisation will conduct counsellings for the victims and provide them different kinds of training to earn their livelihoods. Replying to a question about the reaction of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee’s president and former the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s appeal to NRIs not to disclose the data of their respective properties, as Captain apprehended his apprehension that Badal will grab his lands, Ruby Dhalla said she has full confidence in the working of the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister and described them as sincere well-wishers of NRIs. Commenting upon the appeal by a Uganda NRI to invest in Uganda, she appealed to people of Punjab to invest in Canada. Former Nagar Council president, Malkiat Singh Ragbotra, Taranjit Singh Kinra, Advocate Vijay Sharma, Satish Chadha, Sukhbir Singh, Navjinder Singh Wahia, Gurmit Palahai,and Baljinder Singh Thekedar were also present on the occasion.
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LPU professor visits US universities
Dr Johal chaired the session of Conference on Internet and Multi-media Technologies (ICIMT), at Clark Kerr Campus University of California (UC), Berkeley, during the prestigious World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science (WCECS). Whereas, on visiting Kansas State University (KSU), Manhattan, Dr Johal had discussions and conferences for prospective collaborations, which were facilitated by Prof (Dr) Gurdeep Singh, Chair Department of Computing & Information Science, KSU. WCECS brings together engineers, scientists and students from around the world, annually, on a single platform. At KSU, Dr Johal had valuable discussions with Prof (Dr) Praveen Vadlani, Head Renewable energy research group at Grain Science & Industry division; Prof (Dr) Ronald Madl, Research Professor & Director Centre for Sustainable Energy & Bio-processing Industrial Value Added Programme; Dr Nina Lilja, Director International Agricultural Programs; Dr Curtis Kaster, Director Food Science Institute and Associate Prof Dr Sajid Alavi. As per talks and interactions, Dr Johal has solid observations: “I had very usefull discussions in the context of designing very proactive 2+2 articulation tie-up with the KSU for our B Tech Bio-Tech and Food-Tech study programmes. Our university students enrolled in above programmes can avail direct entry to 3rd year of KSU’s BS Food Science/Grain Science Programme, which have great job potentiality and also allows research and state of art career in US industry.” Dr Johal not only chaired the session of ICIMT, but also presented ‘Paper’ titled “Using Kohonen-SOM & K-Means Clustering Techniques to analyze QoS Parameters of RSVP” on Internet and Multimedia Technologies 2012 . UC Berkeley is the flagship institution in the University of California system, a founding member of the association and that of the American Universities and continuously receiving very high research activity. Berkeley faculty, alumni, and researchers have won 71 Nobel Prizes. To date, UC Berkeley and its researchers are associated with 6 chemical elements of the periodic table (Californium, Seaborgium, Berkelium, Einsteinium, Fermium, Lawrencium) and Berkeley Lab has discovered 16 chemical elements in total - more than any other university in the world. Whereas, KSU is an institution of higher learning and is classified as a research university with high research (RU/H) by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, USA. In this context, LPU Chancellor Ashok Mittal said: “We always want that our faculty and students ought to be research oriented to bring out the best possible solutions for the benefit and ease of the society.”
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Lessons on traffic rules for auto-rickshaw drivers
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, January 6 Besides, the police personnel also fixed reflectors on over 400 auto-rickshaws and manual rickshaws for ensuring their visibility during fog and darkness to minimise the risk of collision.
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Cong leaders term NRI Sammelan a flop show
Phagwara, January 6 In a joint statement released here today, both Congress leaders have said the government announcement to accord recognition to NRI media, which was allegedly involved in making pro-Khalistan propaganda, was tantamount to promoting terrorism in Punjab. The Congress leaders chided Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s claims made prior to the sammelan that NRIs from the entire world will participate in the meet. “There were just about 50 NRIs and 45 mediapersons, who participated in the sammelan. This shows that Sukhbir Badal and his entire government machinery had failed to win the trust of majority of the NRIs,” they stated. The Congress leaders say the NRIs, who had attended the sammelan, were mostly office-bearers of the ruling SAD-B from various countries while many others had chose to stay away from the government-sponsored show. Pandey and Mehta observed that the ill-conceived decision of the state government to grant recognition to the NRI media was bound to have serious repercussions and could pose a threat to the unity and integrity of the country.
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Fire breaks out at rice mill, none injured
Phagwara, January 6 Sources further added that though the exact loss due to fire could not be ascertained so far yet many valuable goods including machines were reduced to ashes.
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NSS camp organised
The NSS unit of Ramgarhia College of Education, Phagwara, organised a NSS Camp at ‘Sunra Rajput’ village. The camp was dedicated to ‘Damini’, who become the motivational force for women security. Students of the college organised poster and painting competitions depicting women empowerment, equal rights and security to women and raised motivational slogans to sensitise masses towards crime against women. Students also organised a candle march in the village to pay homage to the departed soul. Principal Dr Surinderjit Kaur said it is time to wake up and to inculcate basic values among masses. Winners of the poster making competition (first prize Meenakshi, second Lakhwinder Kaur and third Harneet Kaur) were honoured. Ramgarhia Educational Council president-cum-chairman S Bharpur Singh Bhogal said the youth of this country can play an important role in spreading awareness and preventing crimes against women. Gold medal for Sumit Sumit Tiwari, a Class XI student of DIPS Nurmahal, won a gold medal in shot put in the recently-concluded National Championships held at Chennai. DIPS Chain of Institutions chairman Sardar Gurbachan Singh, CEO Monica Mandotra, academic controller Gulshan Gakhar, director Lakhwinder Kaur and principal Usha Parmar applauded his achievement. Annual prize distribution St Soldier Divine Public School, Nangal Krarkhan Branch has organised its annual prize distribution function where MD Colonel RK Khanna and principal Avneet Bhatt honoured as many as 500 students for their achievements in academics, sports and cultural activities. Students presented a cultural programme on this occasion.
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3 booked for cheating
Nakodar, January 6 The accused have been identified as Jarnail Singh, his wife, Paramjit Kaur and Daljit Singh. They allegedly duped three persons of Rs 45 lakh on the pretext of sending them to Canada. Three complainants have alleged that they had finalised a deal of total Rs 90 lakh for sending them to Canada. Each of the victim said they had paid an amount of Rs 15 lakh as advance. After a few days, the accused gave some documents including visa which were proved to be fake after verification.
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Former Canadian MP and NRI Ruby Dhalla has urged the Union Aviation Minister and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to initiate early steps to restore direct flight between Amritsar and Canada to save the time of Punjab people.
With the introduction of the service, traffic violators can pay fines online and thus they can save time. Earlier, people used to complain that they had to wait for long hours at police Saanjh Kendras and offices of the traffic police in order to deposits fines. 
Jalandhar, January 6