Jalandhar, July 17
On the same lines of the Bihar mid-day meal tragedy, the city is awaiting its own calamity, as many students in government and government-aided schools were found having poor-quality mid-day meal under extreme unhygienic conditions here today.

Students fetch water from an unhygienic place in Government Elementary School, Kishanpura, Jalandhar, on Wednesday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

At Government Primary School, Kishen Pura, food was being prepared in the open. There were no water purifiers in the school. Ration was lying in the open, as there was no proper place for storage.

At Government Primary School, Santokhpura, children were found studying outside next to the used plates lying in the open.

In most of the schools, teachers were having their meals in the staff room, while children were served outside, with dust and flies hovering around their food. Most of the students were having it with their dirty hands. The situation is so bad in these schools that the government is now providing de-worming medicines to all its students.

Water scarcity is another problem that the schools are facing during the meal preparation.“We don’t have proper arrangement for water storage. So we have to rely on electricity for fresh water. If we don’t get that, we are forced to use water stored in tanks. We know this is very unhygienic, but we don’t have any option. We don’t even have a water purifier,"said a teacher working at a government school in the Gandhi area.

The foodgrains were kept in the open during the rainy season. Since most of the schools are now using chullahs due to the rising cost of the LPG, they have made make-shift kitchens next to the dirty bathrooms with no doors. Although, the government, in its mid-day meal policy, has mentioned that they should wash their hands before eating the meal, no soap or sanitiser was found in any of the schools.

“It is not the government, but we who are running this mid-day meal scheme in schools. The government sends meagre amount every two to three months, but we are serving food to around 100 students daily from our own pocket. In this scenario, how can you expect that we can provide good quality food under hygienic conditions? But we still try to maintain maximum hygiene and quality of the food given to our children, said a senior teacher from a government school in the Labh Nagar area.

Although the block managers are visiting the schools on a daily basis and making entry into the visitors' register, they have failed to upgrade the quality of the ambitious mid-day meal which was started with the twin objective of improving health and education of poor children in government and government-aided schools.

Jalandhar, July 17
With one of the two contractors leaving enrollment under the Aadhar card midway, the work for the registration of the remaining more than 5 lakh persons is going on at a very slow pace.

Applicants for Aadhar card wait to get themselves enrolled in Jalandhar on Wednesday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

The district, with a population of nearly 21,93,590 persons, has got nearly 17.3 lakh enrolments done under the UIDAI scheme. The general public has not got much opportunity to get the enrollment done in the last three months, as the 45 machines of the contractor remained diverted for the enrollment of school students, pension beneficiaries and pregnant women for various welfare schemes.

The first company, Alankit, did 10 lakh enrolments between contract period from April 2011 to February 2012. Another company, Vikrangee, left work after registering only 1.8 lakh persons. The third company, which is now working in the city, E-centric, has so far registered 6,51,955 persons.

The condition where the centres are currently working is pathetic. One such centre is running at Madan Flour Mill Chowk on the Ladowali road, where a BJP leader Amarjit Singh Amri has put up his banner claiming services from his end. The centre is being run from a small shop with no seating arrangements and those waiting for their turn made to stand in the open.

Another centre was started at a store in the DC office with no provision even of fan or lights. The centre was finally closed down. Abhishek, heading the private company, said that choosing a good location was often a problem. “We often prefer a location in a gurdwara or temple as such places are spacious and have all the provisions,” he said.

TS Chopra, District Food and Civil Supplies Controller, said he was planning to get the work expedited. “I believe that 85 per cent of the job has been finally done.”

Jalandhar, July 17
Having braved grievous injuries in both his legs and undergone multiple surgeries for four and a half months, five-year-old Chanpreet of the March 4 Nakodar accident passed away yesterday.

Having taken a long treatment at hospitals in Ludhiana, he was yesterday taken for another orthopaedic surgery, which could not be successful and the boy lost his life.

Twelve children and the bus driver of Akal Akademi School had lost their lives on the day of the accident, while this brave little boy of Talwandi Bharo village succumbed to his injuries, putting up a tough fight to live on.

The accident toll now stands at 14.

The traumatic end of the boy has left the family badly shattered which had been running around ever since to get the best treatment for him. The family had been hoping for a quick recovery of the boy and had been reportedly told that he would be on his own after the surgery.

Gurdip Singh, the child's grandfather, seemed much distraught. “It has been really shocking for me to bear with the loss of my two grandchildren. On the day of the accident, I lost my younger son’s daughter Navpreet Kaur (4). But we got so involved with the care for Chanpreet that we, somehow, managed to pull on all this while. Now we have lost him as well. I really do not know how we are going to live after this double loss.”

The boy had undergone three surgeries, including those for plugging of an artery of his thigh, correction and grafting at DMC Hospital Ludhiana. He was reportedly at Mediciti Hospital in Ludhiana for another surgery yesterday, where he died.

The Tribune team had visited the family on April 10 after the boy had partly recovered after one month of his hospitalisation. His father Naik Surjit Singh, too, had been with him, having taken a long leave from the Army.

The family is still not prepared to fight it out legally as Gurdip Singh said, “We are too upset at this juncture to think about anything.”

The boy’s cremation is to be held tomorrow.

Even as the family had been given Rs 25,000 as compensation from the government, it has spent much more on his care and by making repeated rounds to hospitals. The DMC hospital bill of Rs 3 lakh had been footed by the management of the Akal Akademi.

Nakodar, July 17
While science streams in a number of district government schools (senior secondary classes) had ambitiously been launched to bring quality and standard education to poor kids, the dearth of teachers in these streams, especially those being run under the NABARD scheme, primarily in the rural areas has robbed students of their constitutional right to education. 

Since teachers have mostly flocked to city areas, rural schools are left with no teachers to run the science stream in them.The science stream (medical and non-medical) had been started in about 48 district schools in the senior secondary classes, very few of these schools have been able to sustain the streams.

As per conservative estimates, as many as 10 to 12 district schools, the stream stopped running and science students had to look for other options (read: schools), in the rest, the staff strength is too low to handle students. Out of four required teachers (Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths), many schools run with only one or two teachers or lecturers.

At the Government Senior Secondary School, Mehatpur, the science stream is surviving on the hard work of one man.

While the school has only been provided with the biology teacher, the chemistry classes are also being taken by him and since the post for the physics teacher is also empty, the school has made a makeshift arrangement by employing their own physics teacher (from the PTA funds).

Even as dedicated staff work hard, the science stream has only 20 students in a school with a total of 855 students and senior secondary classes (plus one and two) alone having over 300 students. Clearly, the dearth of teachers effect student strength in the science stream, despite the fact that the school produces great results.

At the Government Senior Secondary School, Sanghowal, the science stream couldn’t take off. Started as early as the 90s, the government’s inability to provide any teacher at the school, had left the plus one and two science streams without a single student.

In 2012, a chemistry and a biology teacher made short stints at the school which were unfruitful because there were no students and even the few who came, soon shifted back to other schools because the said teachers got transferred elsewhere (one of them making it as co-ordinator at the DEO office).

Sources say the education department transfer teachers as per their own vested interests or as per the whims of teachers with political backing.

While sources in the DEO office claim 32 schools have kept science streams still running, many others claim, much fewer have stayed afloat.

DEO Neelam Kumari, when contacted on the issue, said, “Science streams are running smoothly in majority of the district senior secondary schools. Very few have encountered problems.”

Jalandhar, July 17
The Indian audiences have never been able to resist a heady mix of Bollywood and sporting sensibilities. Add in a bit of comedy punjabi tadka and the result is some serious box-office flick. The audiences will witness an ace cricketer and a Bollywood sensation together on a Punjabi outing, for the very first time.

The turbanator is all set to make his acting debut this September and teaming up with him will be none other than Bollywood heart-throb Akshay Kumar and ace comedian Gurpreet Ghuggi.

The flick - Bhaji In Problem - a joint venture by Kumar’s Grazing Goat Pictures and Ghuggi’s Round Square Productions, will see Bhajji’s acting debut and Kumar’s first Pollywood outing. The trio will be accompanied by veteran actor Om Puri, the wise-old-man of Indian cinema, who has a major role in the film.

Talking to The Tribune, Ghuggi said, “Harbhajan is like my brother and a good friend. He has seen the Punjabi industry grow, and was always keen on doing something for Punjab. And we had this pact that he will be appearing in a Punjabi film whenever I make one. While I narrated him the script long back, heliked it, so that’s how we got here,” Ghuggi said.

Speaking about teaming up with Akshay he said, “Akshay loves Punjab immensely and I am glad we will be together in it. The major funding for the project is by him,” added Ghuggi. Akshay, who has agreed to do 3 to 4 scenes for the film, will also be doing a song for the film, the lyrics of which have been penned by Ghuggi himself. It will be for the first time that the audience will see him mouthing dialogues in chaste Punjabi,Ghuggi said. While the shooting, is already complete, it is slated for a September release.

The film will see Ragini Khanna, Gippy Garewal (who plays male lead), BM Sharma, Karamjeet Anmol, Rana Jung Bahadar and Avtar Gill as well in major roles.

While it is a family drama, Bhaji In problem will have a star cast and comedy with a difference. The film story and direction is by Sameep Kang and music is by Jatinder Shah (both of whom previously worked in Carry on Jatta and Lucky Di Unlucky Story).

Amritsar, July 17
Even as the government demolished the shops and houses from Ghee Mandi near Jallianwala Bagh to widen the road, other approach roads leading to the Golden Temple are still crying for attention.

These roads are in a bad shape due to the constant rise in number of vehicles, rampant encroachments, and stationary rehrees (hand-driven carts) adding to the traffic congestion.

Many commercial markets have come up around the Golden Temple. Over the period of time, traders have thrived reaping dividends from a high footfall of pilgrims.

Hall Gate, Ram Bagh Bazar road, Maha Singh road, Shera Wala Gate road are located just next to Ghee Mandi road besides Sultanwind road, Ramsar road from Gurdwara Shaheeda leading to the Golden Temple.

Hall Gate is the most popular approach road to the revered Sikh shrine.

Ample wide lane and footpaths on the either side have made it a favourite market for shopkeepers and shoppers alike. However, parking by the shopkeepers, their employees, shoppers and visitors add to the traffic chaos. For security purpose, this is the only route to the Golden Temple for the VIPs and VVIPs.

Rampant encroachments by the shopkeepers and plying of rehrees are a bane on Ram Bagh Bazar road, another road with a significant width.

Naresh Johar, a senior citizen, rued that the potential of the road had never been utilised as the authorities failed to curb the encroachments by shopkeepers and rehrees.

Pilgrims do not muster courage to travel on this road keeping in view the mess here.

Maha Singh Road offers the shortest route for the visitors alighting at the bus stand. However, congested road, encroachments, open drains and heaps of garbage become eyesore to the visitors. Hence, they avoid commuting from here.

An elevated road has been constructed to cater to the pilgrims coming on vehicles as it ends up at Saragarhi parking.

Ghee Mandi road is the least used approach road to reach the Golden Temple as trucks remain parked here. Even as the district administration has got constructed Transport Nagar to shift all transporters out of the congested walled city, many transport offices are still operating from here.

Next entrance to the walled city is Sultanwind gate which leads to Jallianwala Bagh and the Harmandar Sahib.

Ramsar road is the shortest link road between Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh Shahid and the Golden Temple. Hence, it is the most frequented approach road by pedestrians. A high number of shops selling garments, cosmetics and suiting and shirting have sprung up over the course of time. 

Nakodar, July 17
Though the state government has issued strict instructions to its officers, not to leave their respective stations without prior permission of their seniors, the Nakodar sub-division is being left to fend for itself after 5 pm daily, as most of the civil and police officers return to their respective residences in Jalandhar, Phagwara and Ludhiana.

During a round of the town on Monday it was observed that various officials of administration, police and health department had left for their residences in nearby cities by evening.

Phagwara, July 17
Night Domination campaign started by the police became fruitful when it succeeded to recover a truck loaded with iron bars ‘saria,’ from Madhopur- Ranipur road. The truck was looted by five unidentified robbers. Giving details, Superintendent of Police, HPS Khakh said on seeing the night patrolling party of the police, the robbers escaped leaving the truck parked on the road. The victim in his complaint lodged said he was returning to Jalandhar with 20 tonnes of “Saria” from Mandi-Gobind Garh.

A car suddenly stopped in front of his truck near Chiherru and he was forced to stop the truck. The robbers tied his hands, covered his eyes and drove his truck towards unknown direction. Later they threw him near Buraj-Kandala village on Phagwara-Banga road. The Police has registered case under section 363 and 392 of the IPC. The police said one of the robbers was identified as Bittu of Amritsar. SP Khakh said the police parties were sent in search of the robbers who would be nabbed soon. He added that this gang of robbers was also involved in a robbery of another loaded truck near Club Cabbana on April 16.

Nakodar, July17
The Police has succeeded to crack a robbery case, in which two unidentified masked motorcyclist snatched a bag containing Rs six lakhs twenty nine thousands from Narinder Singh, a resident of Ladhran village.

He was robbed while going to Nakodar tehsil complex, for the registration of a sale deed, along with his relative Ajit. Arrested robbers were identified as Bakhtawar Singh alias Sonu and Gagandeep Singh alias Gogi of the same village. The police has registered a case under Sections 382 and 34 of the IPC.