Jalandhar, January 9
Unrest between the leaders of the two alliance parties came to the fore once again as Mayor Sunil Jyoti and Chairman of the District Planning Committee (DPC) Gurcharan Singh Channi reportedly entered into a verbal duel during a site inspection on Railway Road today.

Channi, representing a five-member team, had gone for site inspection for a 14-year-old unused sewerage system when the incident took place. The SAD leader was irate at finding that some MC employees had tried to get it started by partly clearing it overnight by diverting water into it and showing it as operational. He found some broken pipes at the site and was pulling up the accompanying staff when he stopped Mayor Sunil Jyoti, who happened to be passing from the area in his car by a sheer chance.

As Jyoti joined the discussion, Channi allegedly got even more irritated at the Mayor siding with the MC staff. He told him, “Stop taking sides with your staff and work for the interest of the public. You must get your staff suspended for their laxity. They are misguiding you." The Mayor showed his disagreement and the two entered into a heated argument after which the Mayor bowed down to the pressure of the shopkeepers around the area and agreed to get the problem of overflowing sewage rectified.

Recently, RTI activist Anil Vashisht had information under the RTI, which showed that a 14-year-old sewage track had been laid at the site but was not being used. A committee of two shopkeepers, SE (O&M) PS Jaggi and XEN (B&R) Chaman Lal was then formed to look into the matter. The committee had gone to the site to look into the problem and get it rectified. The issue had assumed importance after the agitated shopkeepers staged a dharna on the road on November 18. MC Commissioner Manpreet Singh Chhatwal had also visited the site and assured a quick permanent solution to the overflowing sewage problem. 

Jalandhar, January 9
Colleges affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University across the state observed a strike for two periods today. The call for the strike was given by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers' Union. Area secretary of the Punjab Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU) Dr Tejinder Virli said these strikes were held against Dr Daljit Singh, Principal of Khalsa College, Amritsar. He said the Principal had disregarded the management's agreement with the teachers' union by filing a case to trouble teachers of the college.

Similar strikes will also be observed on March 14. Various teachers in different colleges will remain on dharna for the two periods and will indulge in sloganeering against the Principal. The strike, which was held for fourth and fifth periods today, will be held for the entire day, barring the first two periods, on January 17. Demonstrations will also be held at Jalandhar and Amritsar on that day. The issue will be discussed a meeting held with education minister on January 21.

But the union members said the protest will be intensified, if the Education Minister did not offer any plausible solution to their problems. Alleging that a case against the teachers was false, Dr Virli said three of the teachers opposing the move to privatise Khalsa College had been targeted earlier but, later, the principal got a false case registered against 22 teachers. He said by involving one of the PCCTU office-bearers in the issue, the management had tried to snub the union but the strikes were aimed at clearing implications of the teachers in the false cases. 

Jalandhar, January 9
The tehbazari department of the Municipal Corporation today initiated a drive to remove encroachments from the Rama Mandi area on the busy Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur road.

The team, led by superintendent Vikrant Verma, lifted several carts, loads of edible items and saleable goods displayed outside shops on the 7-km stretch.

The stretch had become a major bottleneck for the commuters owing to the presence of hundreds of hawkers selling vegetables, fruits and other household items on either side of the road.

Verma said the details of all those shopkeepers who displayed stuff outside their premises had been noted and 70 such persons would be served challans tomorrow. He said a similar drive would be carried out on Monday to ensure that hawkers did not return and cause any nuisance. 

Phagwara, January 9
Though one more mobile medical unit (MMU) was provided to the Civil Hospital, Phagwara, by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Santosh Chaudhary to facilitate the patients from rural areas, interestingly, only one driver is available for the three hospital ambulances. Ambulance 108 has its own driver. The hospital has already been provided three other ambulances by the Union Government.

This Tribune correspondent visited the Civil Hospital today and found the MMU parked on the hospital premises while it was scheduled to go to nearby Wahid village according to the roster prepared by the health authorities.

When contacted, Senior Medical Officer Dr Jaswinder Singh confirmed the shortage of drivers and said the MMU would visit the nearby villages only twice a week— Tuesday and Friday — due to the shortage of drivers.

The SMO said though three posts of drivers were sanctioned for the Civil Hospital, Phagwara, not even a single regular driver was posted at Phagwara for the the past several years. The SMO admitted that one driver posted at Kala Sangha was deputed at Phagwara last year as the two previous drivers were transferred from Phagwara and no one was posted at Phagwara till now.

When asked about the ambulances, the SMO said one hospital ambulance (Maruti van) was declared obsolete several years ago and two more ambulances were available at the hospital, excluding the108 ambulance. The SMO said now one more mobile lab (ambulance) was provided to the hospital last month. Meanwhile, Health Minister Surjit Jayani expressed ignorance about the shortage of the drivers, however, assured to appoint required number of drivers in Phagwara.

Jalandhar, January 9
A young Sikh lawyer with a penchant for quality dressing posted some pictures of his as an entry for the Louis Philippe Hunt for dashing men who wanted to feature in their ‘Style League’ series.Some months later, he got to know that he had hit the top slot.

Phagwara-based youth Karanjot Singh, was the dashing first entry to menswear brand Louis Philippe’s six-issue series called ‘The Style League’ published in GQ Magazine, which will showcase six handsome men from across the country, in a six-month feature published in the magazine, starting Januray.

While thousands applied, Karanjot, a law pass out from the GND varsity regional campus in Jalandhar, hit the top and was photographed by ace fashion photographer Atul Kasbekar.Featured in the January issue of the magazine, Karanjot (25) is the only Sikh making it to The Style League.

In October last year, he got to know through a random email from the menswear brand that they were inviting entries for the hunt. Pictures clicked by sister Hargundeep, a dentist, with him in a black suit, were posted. But a month later, he got to know he was among the 15 best dressed men from India.

Deliberations among the jury brought the final down to six classy men and of these, he was voted the best, by people from across the world.

One of the two Punjabis to be shortlisted, the rest four were men are from Mumbai.

On November11 and 12, he spent two unforget table days at Mumbai holding a pre-shoot session at the LP store in Bandra and the final photo shoot at the plush studio of Bling Entertainment Solutions, by photographer Atul Kasbekar.

“Three people fixing your clothes, one working your moustache, another, your turban, it was a surreal experience. We stayed at The Taj, toured city in an LP cab and were shot by the brilliant Kasbekar. I had one of the best times of my life there,” he says.

His style idol being his grandfather – instead of any other celebrity – Karanjot loved the pampering and adoration that he had a glimpse of, in his 24-hour stunt as a model. And while he is a law intern, he says he is open for modelling offers in future.

Jalandhar, January 9
City-based Sacred Heart Hospital was accorded accreditation by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals (NABH) here today. Dr BK Rana, Joint Director, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Quality Council of India, handed over the certificate to Sister Grace P, administrator of the 170-bedded hospital, for its quality and healthcare facilities at a formal function organised at the hospital.

Besides the staff of the hospital, Dr Pradeep Bhardwaj and Major-General SB Akali, CEO, were also present on the occasion. 

Jalandhar, January 9
A day after the Jalandhar police brought dismissed DSP and drug kingpin Jagdish Bhola on production warrant, the police also brought SAD leader Bittu Aulakh and Jagjit Singh Chahal on production warrant on Wednesday evening.

The duo has been brought from Nabha Jail and they are on police remand till January 14. It is pertinent to mention here that Bittu is a former SAD leader from Amritsar while Chahal is a Amritsar-based businessman. The duo was arrested by the Punjab police after Bhola's arrest.

Bhola was brought on production warrant in connection with the 15-day-old case regarding the recovery of 1 kg heroin from two smugglers-Tarsem and Beera-by the Lambra police. Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar, Jaspreet Singh Sidhu, said Jagdish Bhola had named Chahal and Bittu and claimed the involvement of them in the case.

Phagwara, January 9
A youth was found dead under mysterious circumstances in sugarcane fields at Khati village. Sadar police station SHO Sarwan Singh Bal, who rushed to the spot, said according to the preliminary investigation it seemed that the deceased was under the influence of liquor and fell down in an unconscious condition and died

due to the severe cold. However, the police have registered a case and sent the body for a post-mortem to the Civil Hospital.

Jalandhar January 9
A collision between a Punjab roadways bus and a tractor-trailer on the Jalandhar-Nakodar highway early morning today led to the death of one and left several others injured.

Soon after the accident, traffic came to a halt on the highway for half an hour. It resumed only after the damaged vehicles were removed from the road by the police.

The deceased has been identified as Valati Ram (55), a resident of Ronta Mohalla at Nakodar. He boarded the ill-fated bus and was heading to Jalandhar for some work.

Investigating officer, Nakodar police station, Priti said bus driver Sukhdev Singh sustained serious injuries and was referred to a Jalandhar hospital from Nakodar.

The accident took place due to the negligence of the tractor driver as he suddenly brought the tractor on the highway without noticing the speeding bus, which led to the collision, he said.

Tractor driver Paramjit, a resident of Pratapura, managed to flee from the spot. A case of negligent driving under Section 304 A of the IPC had been registered against the driver, the investigating office added.

Jalandhar, January 9
A 14-year-old boy allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his residence in Ghai Nagar on Thursday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Suraj, a Class IX student at RS Model School, Basti Sheikh. Suspecting no foul play behind the death, the police initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC.

The deceased's kin did not suspect any foul play behind his death. They, however, suspecting that Suraj was going through some tension, they said that could be the reason behind taking the extreme step.

Deceased's father Umesh Kumar, a labourer, told the police that his son was busy in the preparation of his exams for the last week and it was only yesterday that the exam got over. "Since yesterday, Suraj was in tension and I suspect that he might have not performed well in the exam and took the extreme step due to the stress," he stated.

Investigating officer Avtar Singh said no suicide note was recovered from the spot and further action would be taken after the arrival of the post-mortem report.— TNS 

Jalandhar January 9
Thieves struck at four houses in Ladewali locality last night and decamped with cash and valuables worth several lakhs. On January 4, thieves had struck at four houses in Quilla Mohala. The police are still groping in the dark to solve the cases.

Every police station head was asked to increase vigil in their areas and put serious efforts to trace the culprits. Night domination campaign of the city police have also not yielded desired results as theft incidents are on the rise in the city.

Balbir Singh, house owner, said his family was away in Chandigarh. On their return, they found locks of the main door broken. The thieves ransacked the house and decamped with five tola of gold and Rs 15,000.

Another resident Asha Rani said the thieves decamped with gold ornaments and weightlifting equipment from her house. Kulwinder Kaur also alleged that the thieves decamped with Rs 15,000 and some valuables from her house last night. The thieves also burgled the house of Abinandan Sharma in Ladewali but failed to decamp with valuables.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Rahul S said to solve the theft incidents, he had formed a special team under the leadership of the ADCP(Crime).

All ADCPs were also directed to increase vigil in their areas and make efforts to solve the theft cases. 

Jalandhar January 9
YFC Rurka Kalan, a non-profit organisation working for the development of football at the grassroot level, today launched the third edition of Educational Football League 2014.

President, YFC, Gurmangal Dass said, “The aim of the league is to educate and empower the underprivileged kids of rural areas with the help of football, and also to divert the youth away from the drug menace.” Dass said in the third edition, around a 1,000 children from eleven different football centres across Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar would participate.

He said the league would target more than fifty teams of boys and thirteen teams of girls. Tracksuits and sports kits would be provided to the players free of cost, he added. Dass said the league would be held in six villages, including Chak Muglani, Shankar, Bundala, Bhode Saprai, Jandiala and Rurka Kalan. The league will kick off on January 12 and conclude on February 23.