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Medicos’ strike hits PIMS hard
Applicants suffer as Suwidha staff go on mass casual leave
Fog disturbs train schedule
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9-yr-old girl reunites with family after over a month
Vajra Corps celebrates Vijay Diwas
property tax issue
Traders and shopkeepers of Shastri Market protest against the high rates of property tax on commercial buildings, in Jalandhar on Monday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh
Factionalism to the fore in Phagwara BJP unit
LPU signs pact with Chinese university
Veer Chakra recipient shares memory of 1971 war
Khanna addresses students
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Medicos’ strike hits PIMS hard
Jalandhar, December 16 With over 60 employees (clerks and paramedical staff) of the PIMS joining over 100 striking doctors, the functioning of the departments were completely crippled thus forcing a majority of the patients admitted in different wards to shift to other health care institutions. The emergency cases, however, were attended by doctors on call. The protesting employees raised slogans against the PIMS management for the nonpayment of their salaries for the past over five months. The employees complained that the management had given increments (ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 75,000) to selected employees even though the institute is facing a severe financial crisis. Talking to the Tribune, Dr Avnish Bhagat, president of the IMA, Jalandhar, claimed that the association has come in favour of the striking fellow medicos as they were not paid salaries for over five months. “A majority of the striking doctors are young and after serving for more than five months without salaries are facing hardships,” he said. “The IMA has also sought intervention of the state government to resolve the issue,” said Dr SS Dhingra, honorary secretary of the IMA, Jalandhar. Meanwhile, the striking medicos have decided to launch a chain hunger strike on the premises of the PIMS to press their demands. The protesting doctors claimed that their salaries worth Rs 10 crore are due with the management but the members of the PIMS charitable society are turning a blind eye towards their grievances. The PIMS director-cum-principal, Dr Kulbir Kaur, however, was not available for comments. Dr Vimal Sikri, government appointed director of the PIMS Society, said: “Efforts are under way to solve the issue.”
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Applicants suffer as Suwidha staff go on mass casual leave
Jalandhar, December 16
The doors of the centre remained closed with a guard informing the public that there were no employees present on the premises. Even the administration did not make any alternate arrangement for the urgent works. With no direction, the applicants were completely lost and left to fend for themselves. The worst situation was for those who had come from far-flung areas to get their work done. Among those returning were physically challenged people like Balwinder Kumar of Basti Danishmandan for whom coming to the centre itself was a big challenge. Dilbagh Singh, a resident of Urban Estate, said he had come to Suwidha Centre to get his driving license renewed. “My license is about to expire in a few days but there is no one in Suwidha Centre to receive my application. If the strike continues for few more days I will be in trouble,” he said. Kanta Devi, widow of Lance Naik Madal Lal, said she had come to Suwidha Centre from Jalandhar Cantonment to get few documents verified for pension. “They should at least make some arrangement for the collection of documents. I will have to come again now,” she said after reading a notice put up by the staff on the centre premises. The members of Punjab State Suwidha Employees’ Union had gone to Chandigarh to hold a protest demanding regularisation of their services. Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam said he has no information whether the employees would return or continue the strike. “If the employees continue the strike then we will ask the visitors to bypass the centre and directly meet the officials of the department concerned for getting the work done. The centre will face a monetary loss but we will not let people suffer,” he said. Last day to receive claims for atta-dal scheme Even as it was the last day to receive the claims for the revised atta-dal scheme, the main collection centre of the district, at Suwidha Centre, remained closed. Hundreds of applicants, who had come to the centre to submit their files, were clueless as no one was present on the premises to guide them to their concerned SDM offices. As a result, most of the applicants returned home unaware that the files could even directly be submitted at the sub-divisional office. For the past 15 days, an employee of the Suwidha Centre had been deputed outside the building to receive the claims, check the files, collect them and send them to the concerned SDM. Since, the staff went on strike today and there was no written note for the applicants outside the centre, there was a confused lot. Swami Nath of Shiv Nagar said he returned home presuming that the last date would be extended till tomorrow because the employees of Suwidha Centre were on strike today. Over 60,000 atta-dal scheme claims received
* Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam said it has come to his notice that people faced a lot of inconvenience today. "I have been told by the SDMs that their offices received many direct applications. Till yesterday, there were nearly 60,000 new claims of revised Atta-Dal Scheme. I have not yet received today's figures," he said. *
In Kapurthala too,more than 60,000 claims were received out of which 30,000 were from city areas. Deputy Commissioner DS Mangat said these claims were being verified by the staff, including patwaris and panchayat secretaries and office of the Executive Officer, Municipal Committee. |
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Fog disturbs train schedule
Jalandhar, December 16 Meanwhile, according to the meteorological department, on Tuesday too fog, mist and haze will continue in the region during the morning hours. However, the sky is expected to remain clear during second half of the day. The minimum temperature was recorded at 5 degrees Celsius, whereas the maximum temperature was recorded at 21.6 degrees Celsius on Monday.
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9-yr-old girl reunites with family after over a month
Jalandhar, December 16
Kajal was missing from her aunt's house at Lamma Pind since October 24. Her aunt had even told the police about the incident but they had failed to enter it in their record. It was on December 14 that the police came into action, when the father of the girl, Pinda of Dhaliwal Dona, came to the Police Station Division Number 8 to get a complaint registered blaming his sister and brother-in-law, with whom his daughter had been putting up, on the matter. When the police officials checked the record, there was no FIR or complained entered in this regard on October 24. It was just two days back that the police registered the complaint and swung into action. SHO Division Number 8 Bimal Kant said he got the posters of the girl printed and pasted across the area. "As soon as we pasted the posters, a family from the same village approached us and said that the girl had been coming to play with their daughter daily and that they were not aware that she had been missing. The girl said that she had been sleeping in some wild growth around the area braving the harsh weather." After the medical examination of the girl she was united with her parents. She said that she had left her aunt's home after she was scolded for having opened her purse and taken money.
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Vajra Corps celebrates Vijay Diwas
Jalandhar, December 16 The event began with a wreath laying ceremony at the Vajra Corps War Memorial by Lieutenant General AK Bakshi, General Officer Commanding, Vajra Corps. While addressing the gathering, he highlighted the role of the Indian armed forces in achieving major military victory in the 1971 war. “This is an occasion that tugs at the heartstrings of all of us in the armed forces and epitomises the fortitude of our military,” said Gen Bakshi. December 16, 1971 was a historic day for the Indian Armed Forces when 93,000 Pakistani soldiers surrendered to the Indian Army consequent to the liberation of Bangladesh, the erstwhile East Pakistan. This historic day is celebrated as ‘Vijay Diwas’ every year. The Vajra Corps proved its mettle on the strategic Western Front and achieved its objectives. 8 Maha Vir Chakras and 47 Vir Chakras were awarded to the valiant men of the Vajra Corps.
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Shastri Market traders observe bandh
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 16 The wholesale tyre merchants at Shastri Market and nearby markets kept their shops closed from 9 am to 12 noon, staged a dharna and held a protest rally. Addressing the rally, members of the Industrial and Traders Joint Action Committee (JAC) Gursharan Singh (also president of the Industrial and Traders Association) and Ravindra Dhir (also state chief of Vayapar Sena) flayed the Parkash Singh Badal led Akali-BJP government for imposing a high property tax on commercial buildings. Meanwhile, JAC members said the shops situated between Jyoti Chowk and Basti Adda on old Jail road would observe a bandh on Tuesday in support of their demands of reducing the property tax on commercial buildings from the current 3 per cent to 1.5 per cent, charging property tax according to the measurement of the land and rationalising collector rates where they were higher than the market rates. Earlier, the wholesale electric and electronic merchants observed a bandh at Phagwara Gate on Friday and sugar and karyana merchants observed a strike by keeping their shops closed at Gur Mandi on Saturday.
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Factionalism to the fore in Phagwara BJP unit
Phagwara, December 16 In this politically strained atmosphere, the dissidents attended a meeting at Ch Swarana Ram’s residence and chalked out separate plans to participate in the December 21 Jagraon rally. These dissidents also assembled at the residence of former BJP Phagwara president Pankaj Chawla and met Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Avinash Rai Khanna to express their grievances against the Chief Parliamentary Secretary. The Bharatiya Janata Party activists complained to Khanna that Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Parkash was working to make the BJP as merely a tool in the hands of Akalis and sincere BJP workers were being ignored. Khanna however, assured to convey their sentiments to the party high command. Former Nagar Council president Balbhadhar Sein Duggal, former Improvement Trust chairman Tejaswi Bhardwaj, BJP leaders Mahesh Maria and Avtar Singh Mand were among those present in the meeting. It must be mentioned here that the ruling group, including block Bharatiya Janata Party president Ramesh Sachdeva, general secretary Surinder Chopra and their supporters did not attend any of the meeting.
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LPU signs pact with Chinese university
Jalandhar, December 16 A press note issued by the university stated that Professor Bao Hong, vice president of BUU, who was leading a delegation of five members to LPU, after signing the document, met with senior officials of LPU and discussed the next plan for scholarship and collaborative programmes. — TNS |
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Veer Chakra recipient shares memory of 1971 war
Jalandhar, December 16
Today, he spoke exclusively to The Tribune and shared his firsthand experience of the memorable day, which is being celebrated all across the country as Vijay Diwas. In September 1971, 4 Sikh infantry regiment crossed the border of Western Pakistan in uniform. On December 16, two companies of the battalion, Charlie and Delta were ordered an ‘Advance to Contact’ with the enemy force to capture Chagacha, their main area of defence. Lance Naik Harbhajan Singh was the section commander of one of the leading platoons. The advance had to be well planned as being the main defence area chances of returning back were remote. “The moment we reached Chagacha, we were surrounded by enemy firing and we also started responding. We managed to destroy their main post. Suddenly I was hit twice in my leg and arm with an LMG fire from the enemy’s side. Since the operation was on its last leg, I didn’t have a choice but to continue moving ahead. Finally, the entire enemy area was cleaned up and taken over by our unit,” said Harbhajan Singh. Harbhajan Singh was not only a valiant soldier but also among the finest sportsmen during his service years. “I was declared the best athlete and also the winner of 1,500 mt, 3,000 mt and 5,000 mt at various divisions and command levels,” he said. Now settled at Khurdpur, a small village near Adampur, he is leading a happy life with his wife while playing the role of a ‘kisan’. He is thankful to god for giving him a chance to serve the nation.
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Phagwara, December 16 He inspired the students to take part in sports and other cultural activities along with their studies. — OC
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The shops situated at Shastri Market remained closed today as part of the ongoing agitation by traders against the rates of property tax on commercial buildings. Hundreds of shopkeepers observed a half-day strike in support of their demand of rationalising and simplifying the property tax on commercial buildings.
He may be old in his appearance but his reminiscence of December 16, 1971, when he fought the Bangladesh liberation war with Pakistan is as young as it could ever be. Retired as an honorary Captain, Harbhajan Singh, was awarded Veer Chakra for fighting valiantly in the war.
