Jalandhar, June 7
The Punjab police initiative to curb rash driving received a severe jolt when the district transport office, Jalandhar, refused to cancel driving licences of the persons responsible for causing deaths in road accidents. The Transport Department, which was committed to act against such drivers, has backtracked citing various reasons. Department sources confirmed that the initiative of the police did not exist for them.

Following a spurt in road accidents, mainly after the school bus accident in which 13 students were killed at Gohir village in Nakodar, the Punjab police had recommended the cancellation of the licences of 250 rash drivers against whom charge- sheets were filed for causing deaths or injuring others. The police had submitted the copies of the FIRs to the transport office.

Jalandhar is the first city that has adopted stern measures to tackle rash driving. The then Commissioner of Police, Gaurav Yadav, was the force behind the police project. Under the pilot project, rash drivers were to lose the right of driving for a specified period.

Initially, the Jalandhar DTO had initiated the process by issuing show-cause notices to such drivers but later the process was halted on the pretext that licence details of the rash drivers were missing in the FIRs. To track the accused, the department had also issued summons, but a few turned up for hearing.

After the department told the city police that they were finding it hard to get licence details of the rash drivers, the police issued a circular, making it mandatory to mention the details in FIRs.

Paramjit Singh from District Transport Authority office said, "It is not possible to cancel licences of the rash drivers on the basis of FIRs without proper case details. Until the accused are not convicted, we cannot cancel their licences. The police initiative has certain loopholes, which need to be addressed if the police are serious in acting against rash drivers.""For us, the initiative no longer exists. We have already closed the cases," he said.

The initiative

As per the Punjab police project, persons booked under Sections 304 A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC were to lose the right of driving for a specified period.

Seven black spots identified

Seven black spots or the most accident-prone areas have been identified by the police in Jalandhar. The spots identified by the police included Y-Point, Bhagat Singh Colony, Focal Point Chowk, Transport Nagar Chowk, Choghtti Chowk, Rama Mandi Chowk and T-Point, Sadar. In 2012, 86 people had died in accidents. However, in 2013, the number came down to 65.

Transfer of officials fails project

The transfer of officers handling the project is responsible for the failure of the project. When the project was launched, Dalwinder Jit was the DTO and Gaurav Yadav was the Police Commissioner. Later, the charge of Transport Department was taken by Kehar Singh, Jaswant Singh and now Paramjit Singh (SDM). Many police chiefs have served the city since the beginning of the project. 

Jalandhar, June 7
The Jalandhar rural police arrested five persons belonging to three different gangs of drug smugglers today. In three different operations today, the police recovered four kg of heroin, Rs 40 lakh drug money and three cars. The heroin was to be transported to metropolitan cities outside the state.

Narinder Bhargava, SSP, Jalandhar rural, said in the first incident, a police party, headed by SI Shiv Kumar of the special staff, intercepted a Tata Indigo car and arrested Vinod Kumar, alias Lucky, of Hoshiarpur. One kg of heroin and Rs 15 lakh drug money were recovered from him. In the second incident, a police party, headed by Inspector Angrej Singh, intercepted a Nissan Micra car. The occupants of the car have been identified as Ajit Singh, alias Jeeta, of Patara village, and Baldip Singh of Billi Chowran in Shahkot. About 1.250 kg of heroin and Rs 10 lakh drug money were seized from them.

In the third incident, a police team, headed by SI Jarnail Singh, intercepted a Tata Indica car near Nakodar and during the search, Gulshan Kumar of Hoshiarpur and Surinder Kumar of UP were nabbed with 1.750 kg of heroin and Rs 15 lakh cash.

During the preliminary interrogation, the accused confessed that they were trying to transport heroine to metropolitan cities. 

Jalandhar, June 7
Three persons, including a minor girl, were killed in three separate road and train mishaps in the city today.

In the first mishap near the Cantonment railway station, 26-year-old Narinder Jit Singh was hit by a train. He died on the spot. The GRP said the victim was crossing the railway lines between the platform number one and to two. He was a resident of Haryana.

The second mishap took place near Kala Bakra railway crossing where a 10-year-old girl, Preeti, was hit by the Jammu bound Jammu-Varanasi Express. Ram Lubya, investigating officer, GRP, Jalandhar, said the victim was crossing the railway track when the train hit her. The railway police had initiated proceeding under Section 174 of the CrPc.

The third mishap took place near Adampur where Satpal Singh died after he lost control over his vehicle. Police sources said after the victim lost control over his vehicle, his car hit a roadside tree. — TNS

Jalandhar, June 7
Extremely hot and dry conditions prevail in the city in the absence of showers. As the residents are preferring to stay indoors, there are very few people visiting markets even in the evening. They prefer to sit in air-conditioned rooms, relishing beverages and icecream. Meanwhile, water parks around the city having a good business.

Seema Bakshi, a teacher, said she had stopped sending her children to summer camps. “I do not want them to fall sick because of the heat. I tell them to prefer indoor games and ensure that they drink enough liquid," she said.

The rush of visitors at various government and municipal corporation officed has also come down. The administration has pitched tents near the Suwidha Centre for the comfort of people.

The hot weather has been accompanied by water scarcity. People have started holding protests at various colonies due to the shortage of water. Residents of Ajit Nagar, falling in Ward 17, protested the poor water supply. Harbans Kaur, Seema, Rani and other residents of the area complained that the water provided by water tanks was unfit for consumption.

As per a weather report, 44.4 degree Celsius temperature was recorded at the Adampur airforce base. Stalls of sweet water at various locations in the city have come as a huge relief to commuters. 

Jalandhar, June 7
To check the depletion the water table in the state, farmers have been asked to use the direct paddy sowing technique. The Agriculture Department has a set target to bring 18,000 hectares under the direct paddy sowing technique.

The technique will not only save thousands of litters of water but also save Rs 3,000 to 4,000 per acre for farmers. Farmers will also be able to save their precious time.

Mandeep Singh of Kangniwal village said he would bring 35 to 40 acres of his land under the technique. For experiment sake, he used the technique in three acres and he is satisfied with the outcome.

“I am happy with the technique. It saves a lot of time and money. The crop matures 10 days early by using this technique, " he added. He said the technique also increased the yield and it saved Rs 3,000 to 4,000 per acre. "Therefore, there is no harm in using it," he said.

“I sow whatever variety I get despite the fact that Punjab Agriculture University has recommended 115 Permel variety for the technique. I have also bought a new drilling machine for this purpose," he added.

Manjinder Singh of the same village said he would use the technique in 20 acres of his land. “I think it is the future of paddy cultivation in Punjab as the water table is going down day by day," he added.

Dr Suttantar Kumar, Chief Agriculture Officer, Jalandhar, said, "We manged to brought around 1,300 hectares under the technique last year. This year, we have set a target of bringing 18,000 hectares under the technique as this would save 30 to 40 per cent of water.”

Jalandhar, June 7
Ahead of monsoon and the period of waterlogging in the city, Sewerage Board Chairman Vinod Sharma and Mayor Sunil Jyoti visited Basti Peer Daad to review the working of the 50 MLD sewage treatment plant, which is being run on a trial basis, today.

The Mayor said the treatment plant would soon treat waste from the 120-foot-road, Kapurthala Road and the Basti areas. “Once it is fully used, it would provide relief to more areas, including Reru," he said.

They also paid a visit to the Jaitewali treatment plant where 50 to 75 per cent construction work is over. The plant will cater to the areas, including Pathankot Road, Dhanowali, Hardyal Nagar, Suchi Pind and Prem Nagar. The Mayor said officials of the Punjab Water Supply and the Sewerage Board had been told to expedite the work and operationalise the treatment plant by July 15. 

Jalandhar, June 7
As part of the drive against the drug menace and power crisis in Punjab, the state unit of the CPM has decided to organise a protest and torchlight procession in several villages, towns and cities.

At a two-day meeting held at the party office in Jalandhar, which was presided over by comrade Lal Chand Kataruchak, it was decided that the need of the hour was to stage demonstrations to make the youth aware of the drug menace and not fall prey to addiction.

Speaking on the occasion, secretary of the party, Mangat Ram Pasla said the party was of the view that the promise to make Punjab a power surplus state has proved to be hollow.

He said on the one hand, there have been power cuts in rural areas for 8 to 10 hours and on the other, the government is increasing the power tariff, which will put a burden on those belonging to weaker sections of society.

Condemning the government’s so-called move against the drug menace in the state, Mangat Ram said the government’s drive against drugs had resulted in only small-time addicts being caught whereas the big fish were still outside the net. “In order to break the supply line, the big fish have to be dealt with,” he added.

To stage a joint protest in the state on issues like drug menace, power supply and property tax, the Punjab unit of the CPM is preparing a strategy. The party has appealed to all those who have been struggling for the cause to come together and make the movement a success. 

Jalandhar, June 7
A MoU has been inked between the Civil Hospital and Government Medical College, Amritsar, to ensure smooth functioning of the upcoming model de-addiction centre in the district. While there has never been any survey to map the addicts and the areas with high drug addiction, the district may witness the first step in this direction soon. The Jalandhar de-addiction centre is among the three model de-addiction centres in the state, which will be run by medical colleges. The government had decided to set up five model de-addiction centres in Jalandhar, Bathinda, Amrtisar, Patiala and Faridkot.

While the staff, funds and facilities at the de-addiction centre will be provided by the Amritsar medical college, it will be run in coordination with the Civil Hospital.

The de-addiction centre in-charge, Dr Nirdosh Goyal, said, “With the opening of the new de-addiction centre, we will conduct a survey to find out the number of addicts and the kinds of addiction they are suffering from. A detailed reports will be compiled later. So far, there is no comprehensive report on the issue." “I will give training to psychiatrists and medical officers. The medical officers will train the subordinate staff ,” Dr Goyal added.

Civil Surgeon Dr Bassan said, “There has never been a survey of addicts so far, but with the opening of the new de-addiction centre, many things will change. Since its a model de-addiction centre, there will be upgrades in every area. A new diagnostic centre at the Civil Hospital will provide services like MRI scan to drug addicts.”

Senior resident doctor Dr Aman Sood said, “Patients will be looked after, fed and treated at the centre. They won’t be taken to somewhere else for tests as it was previously required. The de-addiction centre will indeed rely on help from the Civil Hospital.”

While a makeshift 20-bed de-addiction centre is already being operated by the GMC at ESI Hospital, the new centre will have a 79-member staff, including two assistant professors, four senior residents, eight medical officers, paramedical staff, lab technicians, staff nurses, ward attendants, data operators, pharmacists, cooks and helpers.

The construction of the 50-bed de-addiction centre is in full swing. The construction work is likely to be completed by December 2014.

Jalandhar, June 7
In order to promote the Punjabi language, the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) has decided that the university will not charge tuition fee from students who undertake a course in MA Punjabi and M Phil in Punjabi. This way, the students can save around Rs 12,000 per year.

Dr SS Sangha, professor of Punjabi at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Regional Campus of the GNDU, said the decision was taken by Vice-Chancellor Dr Ajaib Singh Brar keeping in view the declining number of students in Punjabi language course.

He said the colleges affiliated to the GNDU have been included for waiving the tuition fee. However, the students on all three campuses, including the GNDU main campus in Amritsar and the GNDU regional campuses at Jalandhar and Gurdaspur, can benefit from the move.

He said interested students can fill online admission forms from June 6 to June 30 for MA Punjabi (Honours) at the website www.gnduadmissions.org The date for the entrance test is July 9 whereas counselling will be held on July 12 at 10 am. 

Jalandhar, June 7
After representing Punjab and scoring maximum points in the 65th National Junior Basketball Championship, Arshpreet Singh, a Class XII pass out of Police DAV Public School, has become a national champion.

The son of the SP (Headquarters), Jalandhar Rural Police, Mukhwinder Singh, he recently returned from the tournament held at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Kochi, in Kerala. While Punjab trounced Delhi 83-71 in the final, Arshpreet emerged as the best player, scoring 21 points in the game.

Ahead of the tournament, Arshpreet had participated in a two-month training camp at a basketball academy in Ludhiana. He started playing the game four years ago in his school. He will now leave for the all-India camp at Aurangabad in Maharashtra soon.

Arshpreet was part of the team that won gold in the National School Basketball Championship in October last year. A year ago, he won bronze in the National Basketball Tournament (Under-17). He said he drew inspiration from his family. “My dad was into discus throwing. My elder brother was a basketball player,” he added.