Jalandhar, April 13
The Jalandhar rural police today claimed to have busted a gang, led by a married woman. Along with the woman who was the kingpin, the police nabbed four of her accomplices including her husband. The accused woman is a mother of three children and was a dancer by profession.

The accused has been identified as Shivani alias Seema, kingpin of the gang, her husband Sham Lal alias Shama, both residents of Rama Mandi, Karamjit Singh alias Pamma of Mehatpur, Davinder Singh of Parjian Kalan and Ashok Kumar of Rasulpur Kalan in Nakodar.

The police also recovered a motorcycle, Activa scooter, a country-made .315 bore pistol, two live cartridges, 650 grams of intoxicant powder, three sharp-edged weapons (datar) and some gold ornaments from them.

Superintendent of Police (Detective), Jalandhar rural police, HPS Khakh under whose leadership the gang was busted, said Lakhwinder Singh, SHO, Lohian police station, had received a tip-off that the gang leader Seema, along with her husband and other accomplices, was on way to Rampur Jagir village in Lohian Khas with the motive of looting.

Accordingly, the police party raided the specific spot and nabbed the accused.

Seema, a native of Dakoha, got married to Sham of Rama Mandi ten years back. After her marriage, she got engaged as a dancer with Anmol Orchestra of Bathinda. Khakh said after leaving the dancing profession a years back, she was jobless.

Two months back, Seema along with her husband, became addicted to drugs. She developed contacts with the drug peddlers and petty criminals and they formed a gang, Khakh said. Initially, they used to loot women on the highway but later equipped themselves with weapons and became professional criminals.

About their modus operandi, Khakh said Seema after wearing modern clothes, used to ride pillion with her accomplice on the bike. After intercepting other bike-borne travellers on the isolated road, they used to push the victim away and later pounce on them. "Interestingly, the woman was so active that she remained in the forefront while looting any bike-borne passenger. After cornering the victim, Seema used to loot valuables from them at gunpoint," Khakh said. Seema's husband used to handle the looted valuables.

SP Khakh said during the preliminary questioning, the accused admitted to have committed six incidents of loot, including snatching, at Joga village in Makhu, snatching of gold earrings at Kulara village, loot of Rs 4,000 in cash, gold earring from Maqsudan, snatching at Bholath in Kapurthala, loot at Banga and snatching of gold earring from a woman at Phillaur.

Jalandhar, April 13
In what can be termed as a mockery of a serious democratic exercise in the biggest democracy of the world, most of the candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Jalandhar parliamentary constituency were found to be ignorant about the significance of their election symbols that they chose for themselves. Even the candidates fielded by various national parties failed to explain the raison d'etre of the symbol allocation process during the elections and even the significance of their party symbol, a representation of the party ideology.

"Ek choan nishan chunana si?table te tick kar ditta. Asi lokan nu dasna chaunde haan ki asa table leh layi eh te hun kursi tusi duwa davo. (We had to choose one sign, I chose the table as I want to tell the people that I have a table, now you get me the chair)," said Tara Singh, an independent candidate. He even failed to explain the significance of the symbol allocation process during the elections. "Ehda koi matlab nahi hunda ji, ek nishan chunana hunda eh... bas. (There is no significance. We just have to choose one symbol from the given list), said Tara Singh.

More shockingly, Paramjit Singh from Bahujan Mukti Party, who chose 'khatiya' (cot) as the poll symbol, also fails to explain the reason for choosing it as his election symbol. "Yeh vyavastha ghatiya hai, iska samadhaan khatiyaa hai," was the reply given by the first time candidate. However, he failed to throw light on "ghatiya vyavastha", as to what he was referring to and how would the cot help in improving the situation for the betterment of the general public. "Asi cot te baith ke lokan nu insaaf duwawange," said Paramjit Singh when grilled further.

Jagannath Bajwa, another independent candidate who had earlier even fought the assembly elections in 2012, has this time chosen a gas cylinder as his election symbol. "It is just a symbol and symbolises nothing. The symbol has got nothing to do with my ideology. Although if I win, I will try to bring down the prices of cooking gas since it is presently being used in most of the houses and is a very popular item. Hence, I chose it as my election symbol," said Bajwa. The second time contestant also failed to explain the significance of the election symbols in our electioneering process.

The election symbols play a very important role in our electioneering process. In a country where the literacy rate is well below the world average literacy rate of 84 per cent (India's literacy rate as per the Population Census of India, 2011 is 74.04 per cent), the visual depictions play a predominant role in the voter's instant connect with a particular political party.

More than anything else, the visual presence of the 'palm-facing right hand', for instance, immediately aids the recognition of a domineering Congress presence for so many decades. This prompt association of a visual representation and a particular political outfit, takes place in any public sphere where the symbol is visible, such as the walls on the street, pamphlets, hoardings, billboards and TV adverts, to name a few. According to the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order of 1968, the power to allot election symbols falls exclusively within the EC's field of operations, which allots different symbols to different candidates within the same constituency, following the provisions of the order.

Well ahead of polls (state or Lok Sabha), the EC takes stock of the symbols taken and releases a list of free or available symbols meant for independent candidates and new parties. Going by the EC list released on January 18, 2013, symbols on the current menu include air-conditioner (the window kind), loaf of bread (with slices falling over each other), cauliflower, carrot and frock (very 1960s, complete with puffed sleeves). The EC's free symbols have undergone a lot of change. After an outcry by animal rights activists, the EC removed all animal symbols from the list. The once popular symbol of a farmer carrying a plough is no longer there, following human rights concerns.

Jalandhar, April 13
Irked with the government for closing down the only school in their village, the residents of the Phulewal in Kapurthala today declared that they would totally boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

As many as 46 children of the village had been studying at the primary school which was started about 35 years ago. It was 'merged' into a neighbouring school by the administration some months ago, citing the presence of other schools within a radius of one kilometre as the reason. But interestingly, none of the students have gone to school since then and the Education Department as well as the administration hasn't bothered to check on them.

While the school was closed about five months ago, the villagers have been holding dharnas and meeting politicians and officials ever since, to register their resentment.

Village lambardar Harbahajan Singh, says, "There is utter disregard towards the inconvenience caused to the students. All the 46-47 students of the school are the wards of labourers who can't afford to take them personally to school. On the way to the only other school that is near is a hadda rori (place where carcasses are dumped), where animals and big dogs hover and attack children. The students are hounded and even if someone dares to go halfway, they eventually come back. It is not possible for primary school students to go that way. The department is depriving the children of education."

Sampooran Singh, Sarpanch of Phulewal village, said, "We have approached every officer and politician we could, including Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, not to mention the DC and the DEO. Our requests have fallen on deaf years. So, we have decided that unless they open the school again, the people of Phulewal are not going to vote in this election."

"Some students play around in the mud and others who took admission elsewhere have not been going to that school due to the hazards on the way. Ever since the school closed, children are just sitting at home," he added.

District Education Officer (Elementary), Kapurthala, Balbir Kaur said, "Merging schools is part of a policy of the government. It can't be altered after all these months. The students have all been sent to the other nearby schools. There is no problem."

When informed that the students were giving schools a miss, Kaur said this was not true.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Daljit Singh Mangat said, "I have received a communication from Chandigarh that the decision stays final. Moreover, the matter comes under the Education Department. There were only 15 students in the school. The schools have been merged as per the norms of the Education Department. As far as I know, the students are all going to schools in the neighbourhood now."

Jalandhar April 13
The apathy of the police control room (PCR) officials in updating the records is evident from the fact that the suspended officials of the Jalandhar rural police still figure in their phone book. Whosoever wishes to get the names of the Adampur station house officer (SHO) and Alawalpur police post in-charge, the cops at the control room will give the names of these suspended officials unaware of the fact that the new officers have already taken charge at the respective police stations.

During inquiries conducted at the police control room, which attends all calls on a toll-free number ‘100’, the anomaly has come to the fore.

When this correspondent called at the control room’s toll-free number ‘100’ and sought the names of the SHO of Adampur police station and the in-charge of Alawalpur police post, officials attending the call claimed that the Adampur police station in-charge is Gurmeet Singh while the in-charge of Alwalpur police post is Raghuvir Singh.

But in reality, both these officers were suspended by the rural police for their failure to take timely action against the assailants who attacked Nikka Baba in Sikandarpur village. In the incident, the Baba sustained serious injuries while his sister-in-law Zareena died of bullet injuries.

At present, Adampur police station is headed by a new station house officer Paramjit Singh while the Alawalpur police post is headed by Bhupinder Singh.

Bhagwant Singh, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), who heads the PCR, when questioned why the names of the suspended station house officer and the ASI still figured in the police control room phone book, said he would soon inquire into the status from the control room officials.

Interestingly, the DSP at the control room said even the list of police officials lying on his table was not updated.

“Control room officials have also put an outdated list of phone numbers of police officials on my table. I am also seeking an updated list from them. It is a serious matter, I will definitely look into it and make sure that the control room phone book is updated with the names of officers,” Singh held.

Similarly, the control room officials are also divulging the wrong names of police officers posted at other police stations. As per the control room, the in-charge of Surya Enclave police post is Malkit Singh but in reality, the in-charge is Vijay Kumar.

It is not the first time that the control room has not updated its contact list. Many a times in the past, control room officials had divulged the wrong names of police officials.

Sometimes, they also turned rude and gave a peculiar reply when asked about the names, ‘Phone karlo, khud pata lag jayga kya name hai’(Call him up and you will come to know about the names).

Jalandhar April 13
Residents of some of the localities falling under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation Jalandhar may have to face problems caused by open drains for some more months as the special project of providing hundred per cent sewerage facility to the city residents has suffered a setback due to lack of funds.

Urban Infrastructure Development Schemes Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) and National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), the project under which sewerage lines are being laid in the city, is funded by the Government of India. Informed sources told TNS that the Sewerage Board had slowed down the work of laying sewerage in the city as funds were not being provided by the government under the scheme.

At some of the localities, the ongoing sewerage laying work had been completely stopped while at some places, the pace of work had slowed down considerably. As per a Sewerage Board official, if funds did not start flowing in from the Union government in a month or two, then residents might not get respite from open drains this year.

Although there are a few localities with open drains in the city, due to the non-maintenance of drains, water remains accumulated in these places putting residents at the risk of contracting water-borne diseases. Due to the existence of open drains, Municipal Corporation Jalandhar and the district health authorities were in the dock after the outbreak of diarrhoea in Basti Peedad and Gandhi Camp localities last year. A number of men, women and children in these localities faced serious health issues.

Sources in the Sewerage Board said localities like Shiv Nagar, New Shiv Nagar, Paras Estate, Dakoha, Raja Garden, parts of Kapurthala road, Nangal Sama and some other pockets in the city were still devoid of sewerage. Residents living in these localities were forced to live in hell-like conditions.

Resham Lal, XEN, Punjab Sewerage Board, while confirming that the above localities were still devoid of sewerage facility, said the department was making all out efforts to speed up the work in these localities so that residents could get sewerage facility soon.

When asked about the percentage of sewerage laid in the city, Lal reiterated that 95 per cent sewerage had been laid in the city and only five per cent of the localities were devoid of the sewerage facility.

The XEN said under the schemes of the UIDSSMT and NRCP, 100 per cent sewerage would be laid in the city and the department would soon speed up the work in the remaining five per cent localities.

Due to the non-maintenance of open drains, these remained choked with households waste and dirt causing water logging in the streets, said Raj Kumar of New Raj Nagar locality. “We face the worst time during the rains as these drains remain filled with rain water for several days. Sometimes, water enters our houses,” he said.

When all other localities of the city had been provided with sewerage facilities, then why was this locality left with open drains, said Seema, a resident of Nangal Sama. She alleged that the people of the locality had to bear the brunt of the foul smell emanating from the drains all day.

Officials contradict each other

Interestingly, the officials of the Municipal Corporation (MC) Jalandhar and the Punjab Sewerage Board are contradicting each other on the percentage of sewerage laid in the city. Resham Lal, XEN, Punjab Sewerage Board, said they had laid about 95 per cent sewerage in the city while Lakhwinder Singh, Executive Engineer (Operations and Maintenance branch) of the Municipal Corporation, said 80 per cent sewerage had been laid in the city. Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Singh Bhatia also corroborated the claims of MC XEN Lakhwinder Singh.

100% sewerage will not serve the purpose

Sources said even if the Sewerage Board laid sewerage in the entire city, it would not serve the purpose because the city is sans storm water sewerage to flush out the rain water. “Even if we cover the whole city with sewerage, it will remain choked due to the unwanted load of rain water. Sewerage is mainly installed to flush out the waste of city households. But here in Jalandhar, there is only countable storm water sewerage. Due to this, sewerage will be overburdened with rain water,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

Another official of the Sewerage Board alleged, “The sewerage is not meant to carry rain water, but to flush out waste of households. The government should have taken this aspect into view before launching the project of laying sewerage.”

STPs trailing behind deadline

Sources confirmed that under the National River Conservation Project, costing 235.86 crore, four sewerage treatment plants (STP), including 50 MLD near Leather Complex, 25 MLD STP at Jaitewali, near the Hoshiarpur road, 10 MLD at Bammian Waali and 25 MLD at Pholriwal are already under construction. Apart from this, a 50 MLD STP is also coming up at Basti Peerdad locality. All the STPs are running behind the deadline. If the sources at the Sewerage Board are to be believed, the STP at Basti Peerdad was to be completed before March 31 this year, but it missed its deadline while the remaining four STPs, including the ones at Bammian Wali, Leather Complex, Pholriwal and Jaitewali, as claimed by Sewerage Board officials, would also miss the deadline, which is September 30. “We have missed the deadline of completing the STP at Basti Peerdad. We are likely to miss the deadline of completing the rest of the four STPs also as no funds are being provided by the government for this purpose for the last few months. Due to lack of funds, work is going on at a very slow pace because of which the deadline cannot be met,” an official of the Sewerage Board said.

Officials believe that even if sewerage is laid in the entire city, the present STP will not be able to bear the load of managing the waste.

RTI activist raises finger at Municipal Corporation

RTI activist Anil Vashisth, who has filed several applications for seeking information regarding sewerage problems in the city, said the MC did not have the updated sewerage layout plan with them. They were in the dark about places and levels at which the old sewerage pipes were laid and their connectivity points. Many sewerage points had not been connected with the main pipes despite being laid several years ago. He said it seemed that the MC officials were hand in glove with contractors. “If the MC doesn't have complete layout of the sewerage plan, how can they sort out the problem of choking of sewerage,” he asserted.

Loose earth on road chokes sewerage

Loose earth on the road is a major cause behind the choking of sewerage and open drains. The MC is not paying heed to clean the roadside mud which, after mixing up with the rain water, chokes the sewerage and open drains. Laying 100 per cent sewerage in the city will not serve any purpose if the MC will not remove the loose earth along the roadside to prevent it from mixing up with the rain water.

Cong councillor seeks early completion of work

Congress councillor Jagdish Raj said the outer areas of the city, including Butta Mandi, Birring village, Babu Labh Singh Nagar, Chak Jinda and near drain in Basti Bawa Khel, were still devoid of sewerage. At some places, sewerage work had slowed down. He alleged that although over 90 per cent sewerage had been laid by the government and only a few areas were left with open drains, yet due to the non-maintenance of open drains and lethargic attitude of safai karamcharis, residents were made to live in hell-like conditions.

Jalandhar, April 13
With the top brass of the ruling SAD-BJP combine holding a series of election rallies in favour of the party’s candidate from Jalandhar (reserve) parliamentary constituency Pawan Kumar Tinu, the election campaign of the Akali’s has got a major boost. What is politically significant is the fact that the Akali leadership is laying special focus on the Jalandhar seat, which is quite evident from the fact that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal have already addressed about a dozen election rallies in various assembly segments of the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency.

On the other hand, the Congress party is yet to come in the election mode, going by the programmes being organised by it. Except for PPCC president Partap Singh Bajwa, who turned up in Jalandhar when the Congress candidate Chaudhary Santokh Singh filed his nomination papers, no senior Congress leader other than those from the city, has been spotted canvassing for the party nominee. — TNS

Jalandhar, April 13
Get set to add a dash of vibrancy and liveliness to your interiors at home as two exhibitions showcasing the colourful, lively and vivacious handicrafts and handlooms from various states are running parallel in the city Sunday onwards.

For the handloom enthusiasts, there is an exhibition at Virsa Vihar, showcasing the evergreen Bhagalpur Textiles, Kantha Work Sarees, block printed bed-sheets and dress materials. Those looking to furnish their homes with the world famous handicrafts from Jaipur or Saharanpur furniture should visit the annual Apex Trade Fair at the Desh Bhagat Yaadgaar hall. While the handloom exhibition will be on till April 19, the trade fair will end on April 14.

“The whole idea behind organising the trade fair is to provide a complete shopping experience to the general public under one roof, besides providing a platform to the artisans to develop a new market for his wide range of products. This year, the fair has been organised intentionally near Baisakhi to pep up the festival by providing an unforgettable shopping experience along with traditional delicacies from various states. The people can actually soak into the festivities galore by visiting the trade fair,” said Namish Arora, trade fair organiser. He said this year, more than 40 stalls were offering a wide range of Rajasthan handicrafts, Saharanpur furniture, Pakistani apparels, and interior decorative items made from wood, glass, metal and fibre, besides attractive discounts from real estate companies and products from renowned FMCG companies not easily available in the city.

While the Apex Fair was reported to be a hit on its opening day, the handloom exhibition at Virsa Vihar was attracting its regular clients. “The city is like a home to us. We are coming here every year from the past 10 years. Apart from new clients that we make every season, we have more number of regular clients who wait for us throughout the year to buy textiles from Bhagalpur,” said Kishen, a stall owner. He said this time, the exquisitely designed block printed bed sheets was a big hit. The semi-precious stone studded jewellery, including colourful bangles, necklaces, traditional nose pins and Rajasthani jhumkas are a big attraction amongst the women shoppers. What’s more, to pep up the home interiors for summer, artificial flowers, Rajasthani paintings etc are also available at the venue.

Recycling and reusing the valuable waste material can result in development of fantastic and usable products. To highlight the fact, an innovative “Best out of waste material” exhibition by creative artist Satinder Hothi was also organised at the Virsa Vihar art gallery on Saturday. The most appreciated products at the exhibition were the painting on CD, decorative lights and flowers pots made from the waste plastic bottles.