Jalandhar, May 20
Innocent Hearts School students ate the largest share of the CBSE Cass X results pie, with a whopping 41 students from the school getting a perfect 10 CGPA. Over 100 students from the city bagged a perfect 10 CGPA in the CBSE results.

While Innocent Hearts had 41 students getting a perfect 10, next came the Apeejay School Mahavir Marg with 29 of its students getting a perfect 10 on the CGPA. Apeejay was followed by MGN School, which had 20 students getting CGPA 10.

The Police DAV had 16 students hitting the perfect 10, British Olivia School 12 students, Delhi Public School (where total 112 had appeared) 10 students, Swami Sant Dass Public School six students, Seth Hukam SD Public Senior Secondary School three students and at Eklavya School two students got CGPA 10.

Meanwhile, at Cambridge International Schhol, where total 78 (girls) appeared, four students got 10 CGPA and in the co-ed school where 68 students appeared, two got CGPA 10.

At Innocent Hearts School, 132 students in English, 134 in Hindi, 100 students in Science, 112 students is Social Science, 96 students in Maths and 190 students in Punjabi secured CGPA 10.

Meanwhile, MGN (where 214 students appeared) had as many as 36 students bagging CGPA 9.9.

At Apeejay School Mahavir Marg, which came out second best in CGPA 10 scorers, a total of 248 students had appeared.

Interestingly, while the ICSE and PSEB class 12 results had seen the tally veering to one or the other side - gender wise, the CBSE class X results saw a mixed bag of girls and boys taking the home the CGPA 10 prize.

Abhay Malhotra of Innocent Hearts School, who bagged CGPA 10, said he was overjoyed with the results. “The mantra for the 10th standard has been studying hard right from the start. We had to aim for over 9.2 in the first term and that would have inevitably affected the final results. I primarily studied during the exams and didn’t get immersed in books all year through. But I am glad the planned studies have paid dividends. Abhay now plans to pursue the non-medical stream in plus two.

Jalandhar, May 20
Suspecting the involvement of some persons in drug trade, the city police today raided two localities, including Ali Mohala and Rama Mandi, here. During the raid, the police also faced protest from the locality residents.

A youth, identified as Nannu (20), was nabbed by the police with 5 gm of heroin from Ali Mohala.

The raid was conducted under ADCP, Naresh Dogra, who was accompanied by a heavy posse of police force.

Sources said the youth was into drug trade for the past several months and the police would seek his police remand to explore his links with drug peddlers.

Sources said the police had received information that people of the abovesaid localities were involved in drug peddling and a surprise raid could lead to the arrest of several drug peddlers. However, contrary to the police secret information, not much drugs were recovered.

Officer Oriented Helpline launched

The City police on Tuesday released 'Officer Oriented Helpline' containing mobile numbers of its senior police officials on which any resident having information about drug selling can inform the police. His/her identity would be kept a secret. In a press release, the police also stated that if any police official demanded money for any legal action, a complaint could also be lodged on same phone numbers, including Commissioner of Police - 95929-18500, DCP - 95929-14101, ADCP Headquarter - 97798-80857 and ADCP, Crime - 99159-06660. — TNS

Jalandhar, May 20
With the Lok Sabha elections over and no polls slated for the next three years, the Municipal Corporation (MC) authorities are now contemplating to start the three-year-old pending solid waste management project.

Ahead of the polls, political representatives of neither of the two parties had been wanting to touch the sensitive issue so as to maintain goodwill with safai karamcharis and Valmiki voters. The safai karamcharis had adopted a stiff stance against the state government, with Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, too, pitching in to pacify them, but to no avail.

However, now almost all councillors of the ruling and opposition parties have started demanding that the project should be brought on track and started.

Ravi Mahendru, BJP councillor and finance and contracts committee member, said, “The solid waste management project needs to be done on a priority basis for the good of the residents as well as to meet the directions passed by the courts and the National Green Tribunal. If there are some issues on which the safai karamcharis and officials have a varying stand, these should be resolved at the earliest by sitting across table. At the most, the two parties can choose to have a middle path on the contentious issue.”

Independent councillor Mandeep Jassal said, “People of the city want clean surroundings and proper disposal of waste. The authorities must decide at the earliest as to whom they want to entrust the job with - its own staff or employees of company it has tied up with. People are not bothered as to how the work is done. They just want good services which the authorities must look into.”

Frequent strikes by the MC employees have made things unbearable for the councillors in the recent past. Ahead of the polls, the employees had held strike for 10 successive days in protest against the implementation of the project. Parminder Kaur Pannu, councillor of ward number 60, said, “The residents are after my life on all those days when there is no garbage lifting. A system has to be evolved and the project has to be materialised somehow.”

SE (O&M) PS Jaggi said, “Since the code of conduct for the elections had been lifted, a review meeting on the issue is likely to be convened in Chandigarh shortly to discuss the progress. We are hopeful that the work will be expedited.”

Owing to delay in the implementation of the project, garbage heaps have been piling up at the main dump at Wariana, increasing in length up to several kilometres. As per the plan, Jindal Urban Waste Management Ltd is to collect refuse door to door from across the city and use the same at an incernation plant for deriving fuel out of it. The company has even purchased tippers, carts and community bins, all of which are lying unused ever since.

The tender of the JITF had been approved earlier by the F&CC on July 27, 2011, and an agreement had been made on January 24, 2012, with the first deadline to start work fixed for July 15, 2012. However, nothing has been done ever since. 

Jalandhar, May 20
Having failed to implement the Punjab Outdoor Advertisement Policy notified by the Department of Local Government for over a year and a half, a contempt of court petition has now been filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court which is making the Municipal Corporation to finally act upon it.

The MC officials yesterday issued directions to the owners of commercial and residential buildings and even plots to seek permission from its office for any advertisement put up on their premises while also depositing advertisement tax for the same. It also asked the owners of buildings who have put up huge or multiple signages on their premises to follow the set pattern given in to the policy or face removal of hoardings without prior notice, besides legal action in the matter.

Conflict in orders and policy

As per the policy notified by the department on December 7, 2012, the owner of any commercial building can put up just one self-advertisement hoarding, that too not bigger than the specified dimension of 2 square meter. The orders of the MC issued yesterday read that the length of the building can extend to its entire length with a breadth of 0.3 m size. The hoarding is to be installed at a height of a minimum of 2.5 meter above the ground level. The MC officials, when contacted, were themselves not clear on the policy.

In the city, almost all commercial buildings have been putting up multiple hoardings of huge sizes covering their entire walls and façade. The banks have been using their entire buildings for highlighting various schemes. The restaurants have the tendency of putting up hoardings, even putting up pictures of food on their menu and the schemes offered. The computer hardware shops and multi-brand showrooms are seen to have installed 5 to 10 hoardings on just one building of each brand available with them.

The case

The court had on May 2 issued a notice to the Municipal Corporations, including those of Jalandhar, on whether the sections 122, 123, 124 and 125 of the Act are being implied regarding the advertisement put up on any land, building, wall, frame, post, structure or even a vehicle. Since the MC is required to show compliance, the Municipal Commissioner yesterday circulated a press note to all media offices regarding the process of approval started by it. The orders have been passed on a contempt of court petition filed on a civil writ petition dating back to 1995.

MC version

Municipal Commissioner Manpreet Singh Chattwal said those with commercial hoardings regarding any company other than their own have to get approval for it after depositing the advertisement tax. He said the applicants seeking approval have to submit their plication come on plain paper to the superintendent of the advertisement department.

Low recovery

In year 2011-12, the target was to recover Rs 4 crore by way of advertisement tax by the Jalandhar MC but only Rs 8.44 lakh was collected. The figure remained nearly the same in the last financial year. The target for the next year again is 
Rs 4 crore.

Other points in policy

* Mobile vans cannot cover more than 50 per cent of the surface area on each side of the vehicle for advertisement.

* Taxis and autos cannot use more than 75 per cent of the surface area for advertisement.

* Advertisement devices should have downward pointing lights.

* Moving, rotating or variable message advertisement devices not permitted

* Hard to read and intricate typefaces and letter styles have to be avoided

* Letters should not appear to occupy more than 20 per cent of sign areas.

Jalandhar, May 20
After 65-year-old businessman Harbans Dhall, accused of raping a minor, surrendered in the district courts after nine months of committing the crime, the city police has yet to nab the three other accused, including his wife, daughter-in-law and a doctor, who conducted abortion of the victim.

Dhall was in three-day police remand and was today sent to judicial custody. Despite interrogating him for three days, he didn’t reveal about the whereabouts of the accused at large.

Sukhwinder Kaur, inspector, women police station, said the police tried its best to know the whereabouts of the remaining accused, but he didn't reveal anything. “The police is still conducting raids at the suspected hideouts of the accused and soon the accused will be behind bars,” she added. After repeatedly raping the girl, engaged as domestic help at Dhall’s house, he had also got her abortion done.

Jalandhar, May 20
In order to provide medical consultation and advice over phone to the people, the District Health Department has launched a helpline with the number 104 on the lines of the 108 ambulance service.

Using the health information helpline (HIHL), people can consult doctors and get medical advice on various diseases. Information on nearby hospitals, medical stores, blood banks and more can also be had from the helpline. RL Bassan, Civil Surgeon, said the primary objective of the helpline was to provide the caller with immediate home remedies for most aliments such as vomiting and minor injuries. He also informed that a team of doctors had been deployed exclusively to man the helpline. — TNS

Amritsar, May 20
The Hall Gate Shopkeepers' Association accepted the offer of the Tourism Department to renovate their facade free of cost under the project to lend them a heritage look after a meeting was held today.

President of the Association Sham Singh Ahuja said it was a good offer directed towards making the city look better for the tourists visiting the Golden Temple. He said the only demand of the traders was to finish the work in a time-bound manner.

He said the CD, given by the officials of a Mumbai-based private firm which carried out the study of the route and made the DPR, was shown to the member s of the association during the meeting. He said it dispelled various concerns of the members. The CD contained visuals of the present situation of the market in which display boards of various sizes and hues, loosely hanging mesh of wires offer an abominable look. However, once the promised works are done, it would be beautiful to behold the market.

The Muicipal Commissioner said the MC was the executing agency for the project. "Since the affirmation of the shopkeepers has arrived, the officials would start seeking NOCs from them from tomorrow," he said. He expected the work to finish in three days and said the shops would have a good ambience and beautiful exterior at the expense of the government.

The project envisaged painting the entire facade on the route in earthen colour. It aims at dislocating all the 12 power transformers obstructing the footpath to the nearby internal roads.

Being a mixed-use project, storm water drain, open plazas, facade cleaning and hanging cables would be placed underground and conservation of heritage structures on the route to the Golden Temple would also be undertaken. Besides, walkways on either side of the road would be raised for the pedestrians. En route, the buildings displaying Sikh architecture would also be restored.

Tennis tournament

The Gymkhana Club is going to organise the annual tennis tournament at its Tennis Academy situated inside the club premises by early next month. Around 200 persons, including children are expected to participate in the event. Presently, a hunt is on to find a sponsor for the tournament. The club’s Tennis Academy is the only academy in the entire state to have four synthetic turfs at one place.

Jalandhar, May 20
The District Red Cross Society (DRCS) has finally started giving healing touches to its ailing health. With the newly- found income source of getting funds by selling forms at three Suwidha Centres functioning at the subdivision levels, the society has geared up to improve facilities for the destitute children and elderly living in its various establishments that are lying in deplorable condition since long.

The society has also paid Rs14.5 lakh recently to the Public Works Department (PWD) to renovate its auditorium at the Red Cross headquarters situated at Lajpat Nagar .

“Presently, our main concern is to improve the living conditions in which the children and elderly are staying. The buildings housing the Prayaas School, Deaf and Dumb School and the Old-age Home have never been renovated since their inception in the 70’s. There is a dire need to upgrade the infrastructure and to repair the old buildings,” said Varun Roojam, Deputy Commissioner-cum-president, District Red Cross Society.

The society is also expecting to earn additional funds by renovating its auditorium situated at Lajpat Nagar with an estimated budget of Rs 14.5 lakh. The auditorium has been lying in an abandoned condition since long. The hall was mostly been used to hold medical conferences and health seminars. The auditorium was once gutted into fire in 1997 and also remained non-functional for two years. Later, it was renovated in January 2000. However, non- maintenance due to lack of funds had left the hall in deplorable condition. Now, with the entire money already been paid to the PWD, the society is all set to get an ultramodern hall with a seating capacity of 434 people and equipped with the later audio-visual facilities. 

Jalandhar, May 20
The state committee of Zamhuri Kissan Sabha has decided in a meeting here today to launch state-wide protest from June 1 against the irrigation policy of the government.

The meeting was presided over by state president Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala. He said they would hold protest in support of their demands that include getting canal water supply, 16-hour power supply for tube-well users, 24-hour power supply for domestic users, elimination of corruption in the PSPCL, recruitment of more employees in the PSPCL and compensation to the families of farmers who have committed suicide.

He said in the first phase of the protest, a dharna will be organised in front of the office of the chief engineer, PSPCL, Amritsar, on June 2.

Protest at PSPCL offices and Canal Offices in Punjab will be observed from June 2 to June 9. Apart from this, on June 9 an agitation will be launched at the office of the Chief Engineer, Irrigation Department, Amritsar.

Protests will also be organised in front of the sugar mills, which have failed to pay dues to famers.

He said the protests would continue until their demands are met. — TNS