Jalandhar, July 7
The Old GT Road, starting from Namdev Chowk to Bidhipur level crossing that used to be the main lifeline of the city, has almost lost its identity.

This is due to the neglect by the authorities concerned who have been proving to be a mute spectator towards the encroachments here.

The damaged road has numerous bottlenecks due to which it is virtually proving to be a nightmare for the road users. Piles of garbage, traffic congestion and skeletal traffic police staff have been putting the motorists and the common man to a great hardship here.

A survey of the road, starting from Namdev Chowk to Bidhipur level crossing, by The Tribune team showed that there were many reasons which had made journey on this particular stretch cumbersome.

The stretch which, otherwise, had been taking just 30 minutes to cover is a struggle of nearly 1.20 hours nowadays to travel on either side.

The worst part of the journey is from Plaza Chowk, till Patel Chowk which takes almost 45 minutes during peak hours.

The road has five traffic signal points - the General Post Office, Opposite Municipal Corporations’ office, Basti Addaa Chowk, Patel Chowk and Maqsudan Chowk - till Maqsudan.

The road is choked at places like Dilkusha Market, Red Cross Market, Balmiki Chowk, Civil Hospital, Scooter Market, Fish Market, Old Jail, Dolphin hotel and Workshop Chowk.

The road adjacent to the Old Jail Complex is the most congested and despite one-way traffic management by the city police, road users often could be seen violating traffic guidelines.

Heaps of garbage dot the roundabouts, while auto drivers, road-side rehri vendors and horse carts not only throw the traffic rule to the wind but also have made the stretch accident-prone.

“To make the road safe, the administration should regulate traffic flow and more traffic cops should be deployed with additional powers and ultra modern equipment,” opined Surinder Mittal, a city-based lawyer.

Municipal Commissioner Vinay Bublani claims that a comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) has been chalked out by the government and officials of the departments concerned to solve the problem.

He further added that officials were on job to identify the major traffic bottlenecks on all city roads.

Jalandhar, July 7
Based on a news report filed in The Tribune regarding rampant drug abuse and the presence of a strong drug nexus in the city, the Director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, has sought a report from the Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar, on the issue.

While the news report titled "No end to drug abuse in sight" had appeared in The Tribune on January 6, 2012, Jalandhar-based human rights activist Kulwant Nagra had brought the issue to the notice of the Punjab State Human Rights Commission.

The commission, in turn, directed the issue to the Director, Health and Family Welfare, from where the issue was finally forwarded to the Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar, on April 5, 2013.

Meanwhile, the Civil Surgeon had written to the district drug inspector (on June 4), asking him to take the requisite action/inspection/ raids in the drug hit areas of the city, (on the basis of the news report and Nagra's complaint) and submit the eventual report of his findings to the Civil Surgeon.

The Civil Surgeon has also sought a proposal from the complainant rights activist regarding his demand of the constitution of committees of prominent citizens in the affected areas.

Notably, Nagra's complaint to the commission - sent about a week after the news report was published - rued the advanced state of addiction the city was left to cope with and stated that some locations, as mentioned in the news item, were riddled with the problem of drug abuse and in some of these areas, even children had taken to drugs. Most of these areas were child labour hubs and it was a common practice to exploit drugged children by making them work sans adequate wages. People incurred debts to fund their drug habits, youths took to stealing and snatching to fund drugs. Families lost breadwinners to drugs.

The key demands Nagra hence made, based on the Tribune report, were to issue necessary instructions to the health authorities to start drug de-addiction centres in the drug-affected areas and a committee of prominent citizens should be formed at the district level to periodically review the progress of the centres.

Meanwhile, it has been a month since the Civil Surgeon issued instructions to the drug inspector. So far a report regarding the same hasn't been submitted to the Civil Surgeon on the issue.

Talking to The Tribune, Civil surgeon Dr RL Bassan said, "Though a report on the issue hasn't been submitted so far, our teams of drug inspectors have regularly been carrying out raids and inspections in various affected areas of the city. I believe the report will also be available shortly."

Notably, The Tribune reports had highlighted rampant addiction in areas like Kazi Mandi, Bhargo Camp, Mangu Basti, Basti Gujan, Basti Danishmandan, Basti Bawa Khel, New Sant Nagar, Kot Ram Das, Nangal Shama, Jinda village, Industrial Area, Santokhpura and Kishanpura.

Residents of many of these areas maintain that problems remain as severe as they were back in January last year.

• A Tribune news report on drug addiction in the city was sent to the Punjab State Human Rights Commission by a Jalandhar-based rights activist, based on which, Director, Health and Family Welfare, has asked the Civil Surgeon to take due cognisance of the matter. The CS has, in turn, asked the district drug inspector to take the requisite action/inspection/raids and submit a report of the findings to him.

Jalandhar, July 7
Computer teachers across the district complained at a meeting held here today that the education department was relegating them to computer operators, overburdening them with website and post-related works even as the work of other teachers was also coming to them.

They demanded from the DC and DEO that their time shouldn’t go waste in non-teaching errands which makes their students suffer.

The Computer Teachers Union, at a meeting held here today under president Pawan Sharma, demanded that they should be allowed to teach students, the work for which they had been hired, as the non-teaching work expected from them was eating into their teaching hours.

They said most of their time was spent sending posts and handling the DEO’s website.

They demanded that the work regarding various links of the website (www.deojalandhar.org) like MDM, ICT, RMSA, SSA, stipends, salary, general links, student data, teacher data should not be heaped onto the computer teachers.

“Illegal liquor crates also make their way into the area and a new white powder (which is known to be very fatal) has also caught the fancy of addicts and is being used with impunity. Since the very economy of the area and the financial well being of many homes depends on the drug trade, drug dealers make undying efforts to keep the masses addicted. The silence of the authorities, yet again, is proof that the tacit approval of the politicians can’t be ruled out. Political henchmen, after all, have always been the prime perpetrators and it still remains the same,” added another resident.

While authorities of various schools across the district (especially in rural areas) have often complained that addiction in their respective areas is responsible for aggressive and repeated theft attempts, the authorities (Education Department or police) have never made an effort to link the two.

Meanwhile, colleges, too, are at the receiving end. While the management of the Mehr Chand Polytechnic College had complained about hooliganism around the college premises, so far, the kiosk in the Maqsudan area, which the college staff primarily holds responsible for the chaos in the area, hasn’t been removed by the police despite repeated requests. However, the culprits of an attack on one of their students (on June 11) during an ongoing exam in the college were nabbed about a week ago.

The fact that the main culprit was found possessing heroine when he was nabbed, goes to prove and reaffirm the college staff’s concerns about the role of drugs in the common student conflicts, eve teasing and impulsive crimes committed by youngsters in the area. However, when it comes to moving the kiosk, police say they lack evidence of the kiosk owner conducting any shady (drug related) activity and hence cannot move the vend.

Jalandhar, July 7
Upset over the poor upkeep and maintenance of the Railway road starting from Shastri Chowk till the city railway station, the district health authorities have decided to taken up the issue with the officials of the local civil body.

Talking to the Tribune, Dr RL Bassan, Civil Surgeon, who paid surprise visits to different parts of the city to take stock of the sanitation, said heaps of garbage, trash and stagnant water accumulated along the sides of the Railway road had become an eyesore for the visitors.

The road leaves a bad impression on the tourists visiting the city. Moreover, the unhygienic places along the road have been posing a major health hazard to shopkeepers, residents and travellers, said Bassan.

“I will write to the commissioner and the mayor of Jalandhar Municipal Corporation asking them to launch a cleanliness drive at the Railway road and other major roads converging in the city,” he added.

Bassan said four health teams visited - Basti Danish Mandi, Mitthu Basti and certain other basti areas. The teams found the sewerage lines and drains choked in these areas. The teams also spotted piles of garbage and filth in the basti areas which were an open invitation to spreading of diseases.

Bassan said the residents informed the health teams that safai karamcharis hardly visited the area to empty the dustbins which were filled to the capacity and stinking.

Chlorine tablets and pamphlets were also distributed among residents of the basti areas during a door-to door campaign launched by officials of the Health Department, who also educated them about the sanitary conditions. 

Jalandhar, July 7
On a call given by the Indian Christian Concern (UK), July 6 was celebrated as World Peace Prayer Day. Peace prayer committees were formed across the world on the occasion.

The religious, social and political members of the Christian community in the state unanimously appointed Pastor Harpreet Singh Deol Khojewal as coordinator of the 21-member State Peace Prayer Committee. Committee members and Christians who recognised the efforts of the committee held prayer meetings across the country (and world) today praying for the peace and the rooting out of various ills in the world.

Pastor Harpreet said the prime concerns of the committees include rampant corruption, common natural disasters, incidents like gas leaks (caused by irresponsible urbanisation), economic crisis among other present day ills.

Prayer meetings by Christian organisations were held from 10 am to 12 pm this morning in this regard. The pastor said the day and the meetings had no political inclinations.

Jalandhar, July 7
The authorities concerned have failed to check the illegal plying of tractor-trailers for commercial purpose despite a number of accidents involving these tractor-trailers being reported every month. Many people, including five from the recent incidents, have lost their precious lives in such mishaps.

Though transport and police authorities claim to keep on challaning such tractor-trailers being used for commercial purposes, yet a large number of them are still seen plying on roads unabatedly on daily basis.

Amit Sidhu (23), lost his life when an tractor-trailer collided with his motorcycle at Urban Estate, Phase II, on June 27. He was the only bread earner of his family. Similarly, Anmol (17) and her cousin Saksham (12) were also killed when they were crushed by an illegally plying tractor-trailer near Sodal level crossing on March 1.

Senior Deputy Mayor, Kamaljit Singh Bhatia's only son, Charanpreet Singh Bhatia, alias Channi, became the victim of one such illegally plying tractor-trailer loaded with sand in the Avtar Nagar area a few months ago. A 13-year-old girl, Renu, was also killed after being crushed under a tractor trailer on 120 Footi (repeat Footi) Road several months ago.

In other words, the number of fatal accidents, due to these illegal plying tractor-trailers for commercial purposes, had been steadily rising in the city areas.

Despite these mishaps, such tractor-trailers loaded with sand, soil, gravel and other material ply illegally in busy areas, including Jyoti Chowk, Sodal Road, Guru Nanak Mission Chowk, BMC Chowk, Nakodar Road, Central Town, BMC Chowk, Model Town, Namdev Chowk, from PAP Chowk to Maqsoodan on National Highway No. 1, Domoria Pull Road and Devi Talab Mandir Road.

Interestingly, these vehicles are registered with the Transport Department for using them only for agricultural purposes. If any person wants to use a tractor-trailer for commercial purpose, he is required to get a permit for the same. Special modifications, including installation of hydraulic brake system, are carried out before the issuance of the permit by the motor vehicle inspector (MVI) for its use for commercial purposes. Usually, no tractor-trailer owner applies for permit as the fee charged for issuing the permit is very high.

According to a Transport Department official, these tractor-trailers continue to move on roads carrying all sorts of goods despite the ruling of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court had ordered over a decade ago that the tractor-trailers could not be used for commercial purposes and their use would be restricted to agricultural purposes only.

Demanding strict action against illegal plying of tractor-trailers on city roads, Senior Deputy Mayor, Kamaljit Singh Bhatia, said: “They have become killers on wheels for many. I lost my only son because of that. Using tractor-trailers for commercial purposes should be treated as a crime as a number of families have been ruined due to accidents involving such illegally plying vehicles.” 

Our department keeps challaning tractor-trailers used illegally for commercial purposes without any permit. On an average, 20 to 25 such tractor-trailers are challaned by us every month. We also impose a heavy fine ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 on each of them. But even then, a large number of such vehicles continue to ply illegally on roads as their commercial interests are involved.
— Dalwinderjit Singh, DTO 

We keep on challaning such illegally plying tractor-trailers as they are causing a number of accidents. On an average, we challan two to four such vehicles daily and even impound some of them..
— Mohinder Singh, ACP (Traffic)

Jalandhar, July 7
With several farmer unions all set to stage protest outside the offices of executive engineers of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on July 12, the state executive committee of the Kirti Kisan Union today convened a meeting in Jalandhar to review the preparations for the proposed agitation. The meeting was held under the leadership of the All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha president Hardev Singh Sandhu.

Giving details of the meeting, union leader Satbir Singh said they had appealed to the farmers to actively participate in the protest in all the districts of Punjab in order to awake the government from its deep slumber. He said presently the power being supplied to the farmers was inadequate. “If the same situation continues, the paddy yield will not be good and the farmers, who are already passing through fiscal crisis, will suffer a lot,” he added.

Satbir said during the May 7 meeting with the authorities of the Punjab Power Corporation, the latter had assured that farmers would be provided 8-hour uninterrupted power supply during the paddy season, but the authorities had miserably failed to implement the same. “In case, the government fails to take corrective measures immediately, the farmers will not hesitate to come on road against the Power Corporation and the state government,” he added.

The union leaders stated that the decision to charge security for the domestic power supply connection was totally uncalled for. The union leaders demanded: “Government has no right to put additional financial burden on the power consumers without any justification. Also, the issues pertaining to the increase in the power load at the rate of Rs 1,200 per horse power for the agricultural pump sets and free power connection for the farmers having 2.5 acres of farm land should be resolved up to the satisfaction of the farmers without any delay.” 

Jalandhar, July 7
Cast and crew of the ‘Hai O Rabba Ishq Na Hove’ visited the city today for promotion of the movie. The film, which will see the presence of Bollywood veterans like Shakti Kapoor and Pramod Moutho, has been directed by Sangitt Kumar. Other crew members include Muskan Chaudhary, Jaswinder Gardener, KK Goswami, Amrit Pal, Glory and Renu. The film will be introducing actors Masha Ali and Shree Kankani.

The soundtrack of the film has been provided by Masha Ali, Feroz Khan, Kamal Khan, Palak Mucchal and Mamta Sharma.

Talking about the script of the film, actress Muskan Chowdhury said: “The story is about the travails of a woman who sacrifices all for her love life.”

Manjit Kaur marries Rajveer Singh against the wishes of her father Colonel Surinder Singh. While she sends Rajveer to Mumbai to pursue his dream of becoming a big singer, he ends up rescuing Simran from some goons in Mumbai. This is where the story takes a twist.

A venture of Anmol Production Entertainment, the film has story by S Kumar, lyrics by Sham Balkar, Arun Kumar Bajaj and Munna Dubey. The producer of the film is Hargovind Tripathi. 

Phagwara, July 7
UPA-led Centre government is committed to provide better health services to the needy patients in the government hospitals. Two important cancer hospitals would soon be set up at Sangrur and Faridkot for cancer patients. This was disclosed here by Union Health Minister Santosh Chaudhary.

Talking to newsmen at Phagwara rest house this afternoon, Santosh Chaudhary said she would write to all village panchayats to identify a minimum five needy patients who could not afford expensive medical treatment so that Union Government could help them.

She said a comprehensive plan was being finalised to upgrade 100 medical institutions, including those at Dasuya, Kapurthala, Phagwara, Sultanpur Lodhi etc. An amount of Rs 25 crore would be provided to each such institution, she added. Chaudhary said she had observed in a meeting with Punjab government officials that huge funds being sent to the state government by the Union Government could not be utilised in the state. She assured to fill up the 45 vacant posts of doctors and 67 posts of staff nurses in the Kapurthala district soon. Former Minister Joginder Singh Maan, ex-nagar council president Malkiat Singh Ragbotra, Civil Surgeon Balbir Singh, Senior Medical Officer Rajiv Gupta and block Congress committee president Gurjit Walia were also present on the occasion.