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Condition of govt schools deplorable
Children at a Government Primary School at Thapran Mohalla in Jalandhar district sit on the floor in the classroom. A Tribune Photograph
No salary for teachers for past 8 months
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Heritage garden in a shambles
Tribune impact
MC and Sewerage Board officials accompanied by shopkeepers visit the Railway road to see overflowing sewage in Jalandhar on Sunday. A Tribune Photograph
Neglected stadium leaves players dejected
The deteriorated track; and (right) the closed badminton hall at the Guru Nanak Stadium in Kapurthala on Sunday. Tribune Photographs
BSF celebrates its 48th raising day
Road widening to inconvenience commuters
The flow of traffic from PAP Chowk to BSF Chowk in Jalandhar was confined to one side as the other side was closed due to recarpeting work by the Municipal Corporation on Saturday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
Tribune impact
CHC organises seminar to mark World Aids
Day
One arrested in land grab case
Drug peddler nabbed with 5 kg opium Phagwara SP inaugurates Environmental Mela 60 girl students get winter uniform
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Condition of govt schools deplorable
Jalandhar, December 1 Over 10 per cent of the government primary schools in the district do not have even a single desk for their students. Several others have some desk, but much less
than the total requirement. Only a few schools have 100 per cent required furniture. As many as 108 of the total 987 government primary schools are being run without even a single desk. All Students of Class I to V sit on a thin mattresses (taats) spread on floors for hours in the extreme cold conditions. The deplorable condition of these schools can be adjudged from the fact that even the primary school located in the heart of the city has less
than 50 per cent of the required desks. Interestingly, this government primary school is at Thapran
Mohalla, Mai Hiran Gate, the main book market of the state. During a visit to
this school, it was found that only a few of the total of 110 students had
desks to sit. All students of I to III standard sat on floor, whereas several students of Class IV and V were also forced to bear the brunt. The Education Department is aware of the appalling condition of schools. The school head teacher Satnam Kaur said, “We have already sent a detail about requirement of at least 70 more desks to District Education Officer (Primary) Kuldip Sharma. We keep on
sending requirement of desks every year in the dice book.” |
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No salary for teachers for past 8 months
Jalandhar, December 1 Teachers of primary-aided schools in the district have been going without salaries for the past eight months. Despite requests to the department and officials concerned, none of the employees has received any wages. Speaking on the issue, the Aided-School Employees Union district president Arvind Bains and Public Relation Officer Manish Aggarwal said salaries of aided higher secondary schools and high schools were released in September, but those of primary schools had not been disbursed since March this year, leaving teachers to languish without vital finances. They said these employees had not even received the first instalment of the pending dues as per the Fifth Pay Scale, whereas the government was going to release the third installment for the government employees. Union member Principal Deepak Sanan said information regarding the non-receipt of salaries by teachers was also conveyed to the Director, Primary Education, but even after passage of the eight months, no action in this regard was taken. He said teachers would be forced to take to protest if the government stayed unresponsive. Aided teachers would not be responsible for any loss to students’ studies if that happened, he added. |
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Heritage garden in a shambles
Kapurthala, December 1 A historical building - “Baradari” - housed in the Shalimar Garden, is crumbling and no steps have been taken for its restoration. According to information, a few years back, a musical fountain was installed at a cost of Rs 5 lakh but it is now out of order due to lack of proper maintenance and upkeep. The ignorant attitude of the Kapurthala Municipal Committee has led the local residents’ use the garden for parking of their four wheelers. “A gate from the Brahmkund temple side, which earlier remained closed, is now left open for entry of heavy vehicles. Apart from the parking of vehicles, stray cattle can be spotted in the garden, destroying the plants and flowers,” said Ramanjit Singh, a city resident. Residents lament that the garden does not have proper sitting and lighting arrangements. “No emphasis is being laid to ensure cleanliness in the garden. The makeshift encroachments alongside the boundary wall of the gate are also a matter of concern. It is really sad that the authorities concerned are not alarmed with the state of affairs in the garden,” said Sushil, Vishal, Ravinder Kalia and many others, who come to garden for a daily walk. When contacted, the Municipal Committee Executive Officer Sandeep Tiwari said the civic body would make sure that stray cattle stayed away from the garden. “Other problems will also be taken care off,” he added. Meanwhile, Kapurthala DC DS Mangat said the Punjab government had already sanctioned funds to the tune of Rs 55 crore for the restoration of historic buildings, adding that, “In the first phase, two historic buildings, including Darbar Hall and Morish Mosque have been restored and very soon Shalimar Garden and Baradari will get back their sheen.”
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Teacher killed in mishap
jalandhar, December 1 A resident of Basti Nau locality, Gurdeep Kaur’s two sons Perneet (17),
and Navdeep (9), were riding pillion on the scooter. Her elder son Perneet reportedly sustained serious injuries and was admitted to a private hospital at Rama Mandi. For Harmit Singh,
an industrialist and husband of Gurdeep Kaur, life has taken an unexpected U-turn after this mishap. Policemen at the Rama Mandi police station falling under city commissionerate managed to arrest the truck driver Ranjit Singh and booked him under Section 304 A of Indian Penal Code (IPC). The truck involved in the accident was also impounded. Further investigations were on in the case. A number of accidents have been reported from various parts of the city especially from the highway on the city outskirts in the past. While exact data is not available, at least 10 persons on an average die in such mishaps. The life of the accident victim’s families undergoes a marked change after such mishaps. |
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MC, sewerage officials visit Railway Road to take stock
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 1 Sewerage Board Xen Resham Lal and MC SDO (Operations and Maintenance) Satinder accompanied by representatives of area shopkeepers, including local Congress leader Sudesh Vij, Mukesh Chawla, Vijay Sharma, Davinder Luther, Joginder Singh, Gurbaksh Singh Bakshi and Rajesh Khanna inspected the area where sewage was overflowing. Assuring a permanent solution to the problem, MC officials managed to get the sewage desilted for providing a temporary relief. MC officials said Commissioner Manpreet Singh Chhatwal would personally visit the area on Monday and redress the problem without any further delay. Stopping of work for setting up storm sewer midway on the Railway road 25 years ago has caused continuous overflow of the sewage and thus created problems for thousands of commuters and shopkeepers on this road, known as a “gateway to Jalandhar”. For the past two decades commuters and area shopkeepers bore the brunt of the overflowing sewer. Sewerage pipes were laid on this road about two decades ago, but these pipes could not be connected to the main pipes, as the work of laying sewer pipes was left midway near Hari Palace. The situation further aggravated during the rainy season. The shopkeepers on the Railway road and the New Railway road observed a bandh on November 18 to protest against sewage overflow. Members of the Railway Road Shop Keepers Association and New Railway Road Shopkeepers Association also staged a dharna on the road.
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Neglected stadium leaves players dejected
Kapurthala, December 1 A visit to the stadium shows that apart from the poor maintenance, there is no provision of lights because of which the sportspersons cannot practice during evening hours. No arrangement of proper drainage system leads to accumulation of water on the ground, making it useless for any sporting activity. Apart from sportspersons, even morning walkers are finding it difficult to use the stadium track due to its poor condition. Nandan, a Class VII student, said, “I want to practice badminton but badminton court at the ground is nowhere to be seen. Since there is no indoor stadium for badminton, I cannot practice.” Raman Biddu, an under-graduate student, said, “Basketball is my hobby, but due to a hectic academic schedule, I get free in the evening. Since, there are no lights in the stadium, I cannot play my favourite game.” Even local professionals have time and again complained about the Stadium. An advocate Mukesh Gupta said after the court hours, he went to stadium for running, but the condition of the track had deteriorated so much that it was not possible to use it for running. The locals said the Guru Nanak Stadium was mainly used for national day celebrations. When contacted, Kapurthala Sport Officer Guru Lal Singh agreed to some problems in the stadium, adding that they would be taking necessary steps to make sure that the stadium remained in a perfect condition. He said the rain water disposal system would be made functional soon. Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner DS Mangat said they had already formed a committee of players, who regularly played in the stadium. If there was any proposal to improve the stadium, anyone could meet him and discuss the same, he added. |
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BSF celebrates its 48th raising day
Jalandhar, December 1 “It is a proud moment for all of us here as the organisation was born and nurtured here. To extend our limits, we need to stretch ourselves continuously and hence we have planned this rally on this glorious moment. This frontier also has a very emotional attachment with Punjab. Being the first paramilitary force to be raised, it is has witnessed bloodshed, felt the pain, agony and anger of people from both sides due to migration after the Partition,” said Tomar. Punjab Frontier, the first frontier of the BSF, which was raised on December 1 in the city, is presently guarding 553 km-long Indo-Pakistan International Border in the state. This border has always been a favourite target for the infiltration of terrorists, and smuggling of arms, ammunition and drugs from across the border. Since its inception at Jalandhar, the BSF is guarding 6,386 km of Indian borders along the six nations. These borders, before coming up of the force, were manned by respective states armed police. However, after the armed aggression by Pakistani forces on April 9, 1965, against Sardar Post, Chhar Bet and Beria Bet in Gujarat, a need was felt for raising of an uniformed armed police force. Hence, with the recommendation of a committee of secretaries, the BSF came into being on December 1,1965. With 25 battalions on its day of inception, it has now 175 battalions divided between 13 frontiers. Officers and men of the Punjab Frontier also participated in 1971 war against Pakistan and gave a glorious account of courage, valour and sacrifice. They captured eight border out posts and occupied 91 sq mile of the Pakistani territory, including six villages, on its own. Besides national security, its men have also brought laurels in sports. Udham Singh and Ajit Pal Singh have excelled in hockey, whereas Parveen Kumar had displayed his mettle in athletics. This year, Manpreet Kaur, a Mahila Constable of the Punjab Frontier, won four gold and one bronze medal in the athletics event in the World Police and Fire Games at Belfast in Northern Island. The frontier has bagged one Padam Shri and 17 Arjuna Awards till date. While talking about drug pedalling, the most challenging task for the Jalandhar Frontier, Tomar said the Punjab Frontier had seized 281.051 kg of heroine, 246.623 kg of poppy husk, 21 weapons, 297 ammunition and 2 hand grenades from various places along the border last year. Tomar said, “Due to the geopolitical location of Punjab, it is easily accessible from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The state has always been a favourite target for infiltration of terrorists, smuggling of arms, ammunition and contrabands from across the border. Due to this, we have to be extra vigilant at the border.” |
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Road widening to inconvenience commuters
Jalandhar, December 1 Being the main entry, the stretch was not only a blot on the face of the city, but was also proving a nightmare for the commuters. Deep potholes on this road and dust had often been greeting the tourists here. The project worth Rs 1.25 crore that comprises of widening, strengthening and laying of storm-sewer works from the BSF Chowk to the PAP Chowk is a part of the Rs 21.08 crore projects of the district. The road sharing a boundary wall of the BSF Area will not be widened due to certain reasons, but the other side, however, will be widened up to almost 10 foot. To get rid of permanent water logging and peeling off of the bitumen on the road, the JMC authorities have decided to lay RCC slabs on the entire stretch. The officials of the Building and Roads Wing of the JMC said that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and the forest authorities have already been asked to shift the electricity pole and the trees from the area. Along the road, water gullies will be constructed for the smooth discharge of storm water. The sewer pipe lines will be laid along side road. “In the last two days, the MC has re-carpeted this side leaving 5 ft wide strip for laying of the sewage
lines,” said a senior officer of the MC. Earlier, the issue was raised by the Jalandhar Tribune in its columns in November. Presently, the traffic, heading towards the city, has been diverted from the PAP Chowk to take the single road by setting up temporary road dividers on this stretch. Traffic heading from Ludhiana to the city has been diverted from the Rama Mandi Chowk to reach ISBT via Cantonment Area. To regulate the heavy vehicular traffic smoothly, additional traffic police personnel have been deployed at the PAP and BSF
chowks. Guru Nanakpura road gets a facelift
Commuters will finally heave a sigh of relief as the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation (JMC) is completing the repair work and re-carpeting of the Guru Nanakpura road. The road that connects Ladowali with the GT Road at Chuggitti finally got a facelift after five years. Not only the poor payment by the local civic body to the contractor to whom the construction work was allotted, but difference of opinion between senior BJP leader and area MLA Manoranjan Kalia and city Mayor Sunil Jyoti over shifting of weekly vegetable market from the road, delayed the work. Experts, however, are of the opinion that authorities should have gone in for a concrete road instead of the bitumen as the road is in a low-lying area and accumulation of water will damage
it again. |
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World AIDS Day
Jalandhar: World AIDS Day was celebrated by Zoology Department of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya on the college campus. The staff and students organised an awareness campaign on AIDS. Science students of different classes displayed charts on HIV virus, symptoms, prevention and control. Principal Dr Rekha Kalia Bhardwaj appreciated the efforts of the students and teachers of the department. The event was organised under the supervision of Kiranjit Kaur, Head Zoology Department. On this occasion, Dr Seema Marwaha, Gurvinder, Ashu Chhabra, Avantika, Babu Ram and Amit Kumar were present. Industrial visit
Students of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts visited Nova Publications,
Jalandhar, which is one of the largest publication units in North India. The visit was organised to give exposure to students about latest trends and technologies of printing press. 42 students visited the company and learnt about procedures of printing. Anil Gupta, Head, Department of
BFA, and Faculty Members Vikram Singh, Megha, Anupreet and Hansika accompanied students. Pledge ceremony
On the occasion of the NCC foundation day celebrations, pledge taking ceremony was organised at the PCM SD College for Women,
Jalandhar. 40 NCC Cadets along with Principal Dr Kiran Arora, NCC In charge, Associate NCC Officer, Priya
Mahajan, and Professor Sukhbir Shergill took a pledge that they will always uphold the unity of India. They resolved to be discipline and responsible citizen of India. NCC cadets also took pledge against social evil practices and promised that they will oppose all individuals indulging in the evil practice of dowry and female foeticide even if they are their own parents or relatives. Personality development programme
BEd students of the Ramgarhia College of Education, Phagwara, organised a three-day personality development programme at S Mela Singh Missionary High School. The objective of the Programme was to boost the quality of the school teaching experience. On the first day, the BEd interns organised lectures and discussions on the value of all-round personality development. On the second day, sports meet was organised keeping in mind the significance of physical aspects of personality. The students from classes III to X participated in the sports function. Sack race, three legged race, kho-kho and tug of war were the main attractions of the sports day. On the third day, teaching aids preparation competition-cum-exhibition was organised in which the BEd students exhibited the handmade teaching aids on various subjects like science, geography, mathematics, computer and languages.
— TNS |
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CHC organises seminar to mark World Aids
Day
Phagwara, December 1 He told the students that the disease was primarily caused by unsafe sex, blood transfusion, infected needles and from infected mother to child during birth. “There is no cure of this disease, but it could be easily prevented,” he said, adding that it takes usually 8 to 10 years for a patient to develop AIDS from the HIV infection. He also urged the students to have solidarity with the AIDS patients as it does not spread through normal contact and even through mosquitoes. School principal Gulshan Gindda termed the information provided by the medical officer quite useful. Block Extension Educator (BEE) Preetinder Singh said, “Over 3.4 crore people are estimated to be infected with this disease globally. School lecturers Ajit Singh, Hardeep Singh, Balwinder Singh and Jaswinder Singh were also present on the occasion.
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In a glaring example of neglectful attitude of the Education Department, thousands of students studying in most of the primary schools in the district are bearing the brunt of cold weather conditions.
Within hours of publication of a news-item “Sewage woes plague the gateway to city” in these colums, Municipal Corporation (MC) and Sewerage Board officials visited the Railway road concerned on the direction of MC Commissioner Manpreet Singh Chhatwal.
Notwithstanding the tall claims of the SAD-BJP government for promoting sports, the pathetic state of the Guru Nanak Stadium here has left sportspersons dejected.
The city residents will face inconvenience for nearly two months as the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation
(JMC) is starting a project, under which the road connecting BSF Chowk and PAP Chowk will be widened.
