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No takers for organic fertiliser
Police rule out involvement of third party in double murder
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Mystery shrouds firing incident at village
Better jalandhar Civic amenities
BSNV lift Mata Parkash Kaur Cup
Bank listens to NRIs’ grievances
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No takers for organic fertiliser
Jalandhar, January 19 This is due to the Punjab Government not motivating its farmers to use this organic compost in their fields. Also, there has been casualness on part of the government and hesitation among farmers to use the manure made of human excreta and sludge in the fields, resulting in huge heaps at the STP site. Presently 1,400 to 1,600 kg of manure is being prepared here everyday. There are 40 sludge-drying beds preparing tonnes of manure every week. Des Raj, a junior engineer of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (WSSB), said they were providing the manure to the farmers free of cost without any bar on quantity, but farmers were showing little interest in the manure. Before the sowing season, some farmers come forward with the demand, but that is negligible. The department had approached some brick-kiln owners and offered them unlimited lifting of the manure, as it can't be burnt, but that too did not work, claimed Ravinder Bhushan, Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of the WSSB. Kuldeep Singh Makkar, a brick-kiln owner, however, expressed his ignorance about the availability of any manure free of cost. "We never tried it in our units. Moreover, I am not aware of any such substitute of coal that could be useful in the kilns," he added. SP Garg, Senior Environmental Engineer, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), said the sludge manure was the best for agricultural use due to its quality. The use of the manure, if properly treated, in the fields would not only help in restoring the fertility of the soil but also be a free substitute for costly fertilizers, claimed Garg. The board has not been recommending is use in the fields until its quality is checked for the presence of any heavy metals and other hazardous substances, he said. The board would take up the issue at the government level and launch a campaign to educate and motivate farmers for its use in agriculture, he said. |
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Police rule out involvement of third party in double murder
Jalandhar, January 19 Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) RPS Sandhu said till yesterday, the police were suspecting that either the duo was murdered by some third person or it had died in cross firing, saying the police investigation had almost come to an end. “Now, it has been cleared in the investigation that initially Tittu had a brawl with his paramour Sushil on some issue, which later took a deadly turn. Tittu first fired three shots at Sushil and later he shot himself dead out of fear,” Sandhu said. The police had no circumstantial evidence which could confirm that some third
person had orchestrated the crime. The police were gathering the call details of the duo to further substantiate their investigation, the ACP said. Tittu had been declared a bad character (BC) by the police. The ACP said the police was now inquiring from whom he had got the pistol. When asked if the police would question Rajesh, husband of the dead woman who was aware of the fact that his wife had illicit relations with the former terrorist, the ACP said as of now, nothing of this sort had come up in the investigation, but the police investigation is
still open. If need arises, the police can also inquire the call details of the deceased woman’s husband. Former terrorist Tittu and his paramour were found dead at the latter’s house in Azad Nagar last evening. The duo had received bullet injuries on their heads. Tittu was a history sheeter as he was charged under TADA in 1991 for being found in the company of terrorists, possessing arms and ammunition by the city police. He was also charged
for five murder cases, including that of former MLA Gurdial Singh Saini etc. |
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Chinese thread a threat to local kite makers
Jalandhar, January 19 Ram Singh, a resident of Amritsar who has been preparing good-quality kite threads by applying glass powder on them for the past 35 years along a road in Maqsudan Vegetable Market, claims that his sale has dropped almost 50 per cent in the past decade. Earlier he used to have over two dozen workers for preparing kite threads in Jalandhar every year during Basant, but with the Chinese string grabbing the market, he is
able to to pay for only five workers. The government’s efforts to ban the sale of imported Chinese string could hardly provide any relief to him and his
fellow traders. “The thread prepared by us here is quite safe and non-hazardous compared to the Chinese thread,” claimed Budhi Ram, another roadside vendor preparing kite threads
in the Gurunanakpura locality. |
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Mystery shrouds firing incident at village
Jalandhar, January 19 As per the complainant Kamal Kumar, alias Nikka Baba, of Sikandarpur village, two bike-borne youths (faces covered) had come to him and talked about their brother studying in class XII. They claimed that their brother was poor in his studies
and had sought remedy for him. Before leaving, one of the youths shot at his head and fled from the scene, Baba alleged. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Adampur Vivek Soni said despite Baba alleging that he was shot at his head, he was not having any bullet injuries on his head, which could confirm that he was shot at. " The victim's head has some minor injury marks, but those cannot be construed as firearm injuries. The police is now inquiring if the victim
had concocted a story," Soni added. Soni said Baba was later rushed to the Adampur Civil Hospital, where doctors also confirmed that the victim's head was not having any firearm injuries. He added that in a day or two, the police would find the truth. |
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Abandoned by family and employer, man languishes on roadside
Jalandhar, January 19 Bad luck has pushed 65-year-old Ram Lubhaya, who led a decent life with a job till five months ago, on the roadside. Found sitting in front of the "Raen Basera" (night shelter) near the railway station here every day for the past about four months, Ram Lubhaya, who had been working as a foreman at a local factory here, is now leading the life of a beggar due to an accident he met with while at work. Even though it was an accident at work, he hasn’t received any compensation. He has a son and a daughter, but his family has not bothered to attend to him. While working as a foreman at a tyre factory, he broke his hip joint about five months ago, after which the employer at his factory attended to him for some days, but later abandoned him. Due to lack of proper treatment, he seems to have suffered permanent impairment and can’t walk or get up now. Ever since he is on the road, passersby, beggars or shopkeepers have been helping him move from place to place and feeding him. “After the accident, my son did not bother to get me treated and I finally ended up on the road. I have been like this for the past about four months but my employer hasn’t bothered to compensate me even though I met with the accident while at work,” he said. Sitting on the cold floor of the "Raen Basera" near Domoriah Overbridge, he has no money, a small polythene bag in which he keeps some rotis (given to him by a dhaba owner), an article on him in a vernacular paper and only a mattress and a blanket to ward off the chill. “They shift me out at about 6 every morning. So I have to stay outside during the day. I keep lying here and some dhaba guys feed me rotis. One of these people earlier trained under me at work. So he feeds me,” he says. On being asked who takes him to the toilet, he says, “I can’t walk or move out, so no one does.” The toilets of "Raen Basera" were also seen locked in the day. While he has a house in the name of his late wife in the Avatar Nagar locality of the city, after the accident, his son laid claim to the house and lives in it even though it was bought by Lubhaya. “My daughter-in-law also tried to take me to home once. She took me somewhere, but kept me at a smelly, dirty place which was worse than even this existence. They did not attend to me properly. So I don’t want to go with her now,” he said. His daughter is married in Ludhiana, but he doesn’t want to trouble her. “I just need compensation from the factory where I worked and a wheelchair. My lower body is gone, but I can work again. If someone gives me a job, I will be very thankful,” Lubhaya said with moist eyes. Modest demands I just need compensation from the factory where I worked and a wheelchair. My lower body is gone, but I can work again. If someone gives me a job, I will be very thankful, Ram Lubhaya said with moist eyes. |
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Better jalandhar Civic amenities While the city has been growing and is among the leading towns of Punjab, civic amenities have not kept pace with the growth, causing inconvenience to the residents. Jalandhar Tribune takes stock of the problem Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, January 19 Garbage mounds, urine-washed walls deface most of the outsides of public toilets in the city and places across bazaars, public places,roads near garbage dumps and even residences, have been turned into urinals by careless. A review of various areas reflects a striking lack of thought on the part of the district administration. Majority of the public toilets set up in the city are closed, out of order, abandoned, broken or useless. A few set up recently, function, but are hounded by problems. The area around most of these has been converted into garbage dumps with the toilets presenting a picture of apathy. These are smelly places. For a city with a population of over 15 lakh people, Jalandhar presently has only seven public toilets in proper working condition set up owing to the three-year-old tie up between the Municipal Corporation and Sulabh International. Proposal for twenty more shall be given soon. Since 2011, on approximate Rs 45 to 50 lakh has been spent on these public toilets. While the toilets near Punjab Kesri office, bus stand and the ones at Model house are among the ones which are relatively working well. Bus stand and the
railway station
The areas around the city bus stand and railway stations are two of the busiest areas. While the complex of the bus stand has three toilets, they are clean. At the outerside of the bus stand there is only one toilet. This one is among the seven recently constructed by Sulabh. Barring this one, the one old shady urinal on the bus stand road “made by the AIR complex’s wall” is a boxy entity which has no sanitary furnishings but only two walls and a roof which is considered as a toilet option by people only when times are, too, dire. Further on the end of the bus stand road, towards the BMC Chowk, is another toilet with new tiles and broken seats and sanitary fittings, which is non-operational and is used by people to throw garbage. Near the railway station, there is no toilet made by the municipal corporation or Sulabh. Inside and outer areas of the railway station have been given on contract by the railways. The toilet inside the railway station has time and again come under criticism from travellers for its horrendous state and the one outside though situated in an old building, is relatively clean. It charges Rs 5 for a bath and Rs 2 for toilet usage. Since the railway station is frequented by beggars, the homeless and vagabonds, the ticket employees say sometimes they have to let the poor people use the toilets without charging fee. Of the about 20 toilets in the building, only eight work, while the rest are either out of order or used as stores. Many of the walls around the railway station have been defaced. A few toilets made for the disabled at the bus stand always lie locked up and are often used by drivers or conductors in the summers. Number of public toilets in city
There were formerly 37 public toilets in the city, of which 12 set up by the MC on a BOT basis were slowly abandoned. Most of the others have also fallen out of use. While the MC and Sulabh’s tie up shall ensure the renovation and establishment of 12 public toilets. The six sites where bathrooms are renovated include those near Punjab Kesri, Alaska Chowk, Skylark Chowk, HMV Chowk, Mota Singh Nagar, Garha Road and Rajinder Nagar Market. The work at the Punjab Kesri, Alaska Chowk, Skylark Chowk public toilets has resumed but work on the other three places is on. The construction work near Ambedkar Chowk, divisional commissioner’s office, one under the Khalsa College Railway over bridge (opposite bus stand), near Model House Park and one on a disputed site near Ravidass Chowk is on. Of the latter six the one at Ambedkar Chowk and near the divisional commissioner?s office (awaiting electricity connection), Khalsa Collge ROB have started functioning but the one at Ravidass Chowk is yet to come up owing to some opposition on the site follwwing which Sulabh had to temporarily stall the project and incur losses in the process as well. While an amount of over Rs 32 lakh was earmarked for the renovation project, a little over Rs 47 lakh was earmarked for the new constructions. Meanwhile, plans are underway for the coming up of 17 more public toilet projects across the city to ensure toilets at places where residents are facing many problems. Sulabh International
While traditionally the MC had been taking care of the toilets made across the city on BOT basis, Sulakbh was brought in on the public toilet issue in 2011. Since then it has spent between Rs 45 to Rs 50 lakh for the construction of toilets across the city. So far, Jyoti Chowk and the disputed Ravidass Chowk sites were the two places where sites were either changed (Jyoti Chowk site was cancelled) or construction stalled. Concentration on one side
So far all the public toilet sites in the city - Punjab Kesri, Alaska Chowk, Skylark Chowk, HMV Chowk, Mota Singh Nagar, Garha Road, Rajinder Nagar Market, Ambedkar Chowk, divisional commissioner’s office, Khalsa College Railway over bridge (opposite bus stand), Model House Park and near Ravidass Chowk barring the HMV Chowk are made only in one side while the other end of the city, residents say, has totally been ignored. Street ends at a number of places in the bazaars have been defaced. A few residents in the bazaar areas say that they get frequent knocks at the door with people eager to use a toilet. A resident says, “Across the bazaar there is no proper urinal or toilet. We get frequent requests and on some days there are so many that we have to turn people away. The administration has to find an answer for this problem.” Inside sources say setting up toilets in the city is a big issue on which the authorities are sure to get boxed. It is as difficult as winning an election. People want bathrooms but not near their properties. Where do we find space? Even wasted space is not permitted to be used and pressure is exercised to dissuade the MC to move the toilets elsewhere. This requires a lot of tact and patience. |
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BSNV lift Mata Parkash Kaur Cup
Jalandhar, January 19 The winners bagged Rs 1.75 cash along with Mata Parkash Kaur Cup, and the runners up got Rs 75,000 with a trophy. The Government Model School, Chandigarh, bagged the third place and were awarded Rs 40,000 and Guru Gobind Singh Sports College, Lucknow, got Rs 30,000. Dr Kirpal Singh, a renowned Sikh philosopher, gave away prizes to the winners. Earlier, in the final match, Jalandhar boys wasted three golden chances to score in the first half. But Lucknow boys dominated the proceedings. Top scorer Sahil Kumar scored two goals for the winners in the 24th and 64th minutes of the game. Manish Yadav scored in the 60th minute of the play to make it 3-0. Talking on the occasion, Harbhajan Singh, president of Balwant Hockey Memorial Committee has said that the tournament has improved a lot since its first edition and will keep on promoting young talent in the national game. “We will try to attract more youths to the game by inviting more teams in the next edition and may increase duration of the tournament,” said Manjit Singh, vice president of the organising committee. The Balwant hockey tournament organising committee has vouched for five-a-side format to promote hockey among young players. The proposal which involves the playing of five players in front is presently under consideration with the International Hockey Federation. While talking to The Tribune, Harbhajan Singh, president of the organising committee of Balwant Hockey said the traditional outdoor game with 11 players on each side and the indoor version is very popular in Punjab. "Hockey is about these two versions only. But with an eye on promoting hockey among youth, new concepts should be introduced in the game to attract the new generation towards the national game," he said. Players of the tournament
Best scorer (11 goals): Sahil Kumar, BSNV School, Lucknow; best goalkeeper: Alok Kumar Maurya, BSNV School, Lucknow; best full back: Mandeep Mor, Government Model School, Chandigarh. best halfback Om Parkash Pal, Guru Gobind Singh Sports College Lucknow; best forward: Ajmer Singh, Government Model School, Jalandhar and promising player of the tournament: Samsher Singh, Government Model School, Jalandhar. |
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Bank listens to NRIs’ grievances
Jalandhar, January 19 Over 150 NRI customers of the branch participated in the camp where they were make aware of the new schemes and products launched by the bank. Harpal Singh, field general manager of the bank, briefed the customers and listened their grievances and suggestions while Dr Rajesh Yaduwanshi, Deputy General Manager, solved their queries. PK Gandhi, Chief Marketing Manager of the Jalandhar branch, revealed that similar camp would be organised in coming months. |
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Jalandhar Tribune invites feedback from its readers on issues of public concern relating to Jalandhar, Phagwara, Kapurthala and the nearby areas. Readers can email their views to They can also send their views to: Feedback, Jalandhar Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh - 160029. Letters sent by post must mention 'Feedback for Jalandhar Tribune' on the envelope and it should be signed and must contain the address and telephone number of the sender. It should not be more than 150 words.
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