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Agri fields await treated water for irrigation
Without grants, sports college building a dying cause
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Vajra Corps celebrates Kargil Day
Number
of meritorious school applicants
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Agri fields await treated water for irrigation
Jalandhar, July 25 Since the canals are lying completely dry these days, the linking of the STPs with the canals can come as a boon to the farmers who have had to use power to run their pumps for irritating paddy fields. The practice is also leading to the depletion of groundwater. Like the STP at Pholariwal, all other plants, including one near Basti Peer Daad, have been engineered in such a way that their water goes into Kali Bein and eventually flows down to the Sutlej. Congress councillor Balraj Thakur has said that while the Bist Doab canal was just at a distance of 1.25 km from the new plant site near Jaitewali, no provision had been made to make a water channel from it towards the canal. “We can get the water quality checked for use in agriculture purpose from the laboratory of Punjab Agricultural University and divert it to farms. We have a good canal system with distributories made. We should make use of it,” he said. He added that even the Bamiawal STP near the cantonment could be linked with canal. Resham Lal, XEN, PWSSB, said the government had decided that for plants with 10 MLD capacity or less such as in Bamiawal, the soil conservation department staff would devise ways for irrigation of fields, while for those with higher capacity the Irrigation Department would do the needful.
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Without grants, sports college building a dying cause
Jalandhar, July 26 The college, which at one time earned accolades for being the best institute in Asia, and for producing a string of international sporting luminaries, has fallen prey to apathy of the classic “sarkari” attitude. With its erstwhile heritage building was demolished in the name of the construction of a centre for sports excellence (and the meritorious school), so far not even a single brick has been laid in the name of new sports infrastructure. Those in the know say – constructing a merit school in a sports institute – might be one of the cruelest blows the dying institute could have received. With many other lands lying vacant in the district, perplexingly, the Sports College premises was chosen for the school. Building-less, students and faculty are currently forced to run affairs from a derelict gymnasium hall, even as the huge, empty meritorious school building awaits students. For all the government’s lofty promises in the past couple of years, the promises of the new sports infrastructure – new buildings, hostels, astro turf, swimming pool etc have been pushed to the background. While this year’s budget promises Rs 40 crore to the college – about Rs 32 crore worth of grants were already promised last year – not a single penny of these have arrived so far. This being a time of revival of sporting activity in the Doaba region, the government’s total lack of urgency and will to revive this sporting institute immediately, doesn’t go down with most. Admissions down
The entire institution, which formerly had 43 acres to it, is presently confined to the derelict gymnasium, as all other buildings housing the college (except the sports school premises) have been demolished. All classes for the just-started session - on July 12 - are being held in the same gymnasium, as are all sports activities. Last year, while its building was still standing, as many as 878 students took admission in the Government Arts and Sports College in Jalandhar. This year there has been a dramatic decrease in admissions – as per staff 300 students have got admission in BA I (insiders say it’s lesser) 23 attend BCA part I classes and 11 attend PGDCA. This year, its PGDCA and BCA courses have also been transferred to the self-financing mode (instead of government) where students will have to shell out Rs 7,000 per month. The institute which has produced many Arjuna awardees and olympians Surjit Singh and Colonel Balbir Singh, among others, now merely produces sportspersons of university and state level (volleyball, athletics and gymnastics). The last team that went to nationals was two swimming students. While hardworking staff toil to regenerate a dying cause and hope the government will keep its promise, many have given up on it. Grants awaited
The plan for the buildings and new turfs and revived grounds came up at the sports college last year itself. CM Parkash Singh Badal had okayed a centre of sporting excellence at the institute. While Rs 32 crore had been allocated for all this since last year, so far the institute hasn’t received a single penny. The map and the building plan have all been finalized, but so far construction of none of these has begun. Expertspeak Congress MP, Jalandhar, Chaudhary Santokh Singh said, “One of the first sporting initiatives of Punjab and the government has failed to attach requisite importance to the institute. The opportunity available at this campus could be pivotal to revive sports and curb addiction. While the meritorious school has already diluted the prominence of the college, the budget also doesn’t make any pivotal allocations to it. What is actually happening is the gradual death of an institute which has and can again be a boon for the region’s sportspersons.” Dr Karamjit Kaur Chaudhary, former principal of the sports college and former DPI (colleges), said, “I have still not been able to figure out why a land in sports College was only used for the school and why the old building had to be dismantled. It’s like sidelining sports for academic merit. It was a great building and was of heritage importance. Big trees were felled for construction, buildings were dismantled, bricks of the demolished buildings sold and even after a year, no new building has come up. All this in the name of the merit school? Sports classes should be held in merit school. Prof Jaspal Singh, head of the Sports Department at Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, said, “Not just for the past two to three years, but for the past 20 years, I have been keeping a tab on the sporting activity of the state. The recent developments are morose.” “Sports if properly developed can act as the greatest impetus for eradicating addiction in the state. From the school level to college and beyond, at no point has the government developed a chain by which the sporting talent of the students can be tapped. Three centres of sporting excellence – At Doaba, Majha and Malwa – had originally been announced. But currently there is not a word on them. These can be developed only if proper grants pour in. But as it seems even the basic facilities are in doldrums, sports can’t thrive without infrastructure,” he added. Principalspeak Offcialspeak He said he will also take up the issue of the receipt of the funds allocated to the college soon so that the work could begin. Flashback Due to the change in academic curriculum, the name was also changed to Government Arts and Sports College,
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Kargil martyrs’ kin remember their loved ones
Jalandhar, July 26 Left with no one to take care of him, he has no source of income at all. Retired from Punjab SC Finance Corporation, he is not drawing any pension. To add to his woes, his wife is troubled with skin cancer and all his life’s savings have got exhausted. He recalls, “My son was BA (honours) gold medalist from DAV College. He did MA and even cleared his M.Phil before joining the forces. In him, we had big hopes of bettering our lives. He was married for exactly seven months when on July 13, 1999, we got to know that he had been killed by the enemy. Since then, my life has been getting worse each day. Our daughter-in-law, who got the compensatory benefits, had parted ways with them.” The families of the Kargil martyrs had come to attend a function organised by the Kashyap Naujawan Bharat Sabha where they shared their life’s grievances with one another. Martyr Capt Satnam Singh’s brother Havildar Surinder Singh (retd), too, had made it to the event despite suffering from paralysis. His eyes turned moist as he said, “He was my youngest brother. My father, who too had served the Army like the two of us, had a lot of affection for him. He could not bear his loss and used to remain very upset. He died of heart attack sometime later. My brother was then married for about a year and had a three-month-old son. His wife got the post of PCS officer and tries to make it home whenever she gets off. But the void that my brother has left in the family has only got bigger with the passage of time.” A prayer at the solemn event was performed by Kirpal Singh, who is the father of Kargil martyr Sapper Daljit Singh. He recalled, “Daljit was the eldest of my four sons. He had got married and moved to the border. In the meantime, we had also engaged our second son. We were preparing for the younger son’s marriage when we got to know of Daljit’s martyrdom. We later got his wife married to our third son and she lives with us happily.” Former Deputy Director Sainik Welfare Lieut-Col Manmohan Singh (retd) recalled that it was Kirpal Singh, who serves in a gurdwara at Rama Mandi, who showed a big heart and himself performed kirtan and the ardas at his son’s bhog. He said as many as 28 brave young men of Jalandhar had lost their lives in the Kargil war. Families of Major Raman Dada, Capt Roopinder Singh Garcha and other martyrs, too, attended the event. Chief Parliamentary Secretary KD Bhandari, former Congress minister Avtar Henry and Pawan Kumar of Naujawan Kashyap Sabha were among those present.
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Policemen injured in road accident
Kapurthala, July 26 The two inmates who got minor bruises were shifted back to Kapurthala Modern Jail. “The inmates were being taken to Bathinda in the vehicle No. PB-08-9352. While Pushpinder Singh was getting transferred to the Bathinda jail, Mangal Singh was to appear for a court hearing. The vehicle rammed into a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction on the road near Mangupar-Sidhwalia village around 11.30 am. All of them suffered serious injuries,” said Balwinder Iqbal Singh Kahlon, DSP, Kapurthala. Among the injured inmates were Mangal Singh and Pushpinder Singh and policemen Charanjit Singh, Davinder Singh and Amritpal Singh. The police has lodged an FIR against the truck owner and the driver.
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Number
of meritorious school applicants Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, July 26 The applications have been received from across the state from students who have shown their preference to make the school at Jalandhar their chosen institute. While the largest number of applications has been received from Hoshiarpur (234), the number of applications received from the district (144) is way less than was expected. Barring this, the students applying from other districts are as follows - Kapurthala (29), SBS Nagar (47), Pathankot (20), Moga (16), Ludhiana (1), Muktsar Sahib (2), Bathinda (1), Fazilka (4), Gurdaspur (2) and Ferozepur (1). The number of requests received from the district was expected to be at least 250 but a mere 144 have come in. While the final counselling from the DGSE office is awaited -the total number of students shortlisted for admissions in Jalandhar might come down after that. While the principal of the meritorious school is yet to be appointed, 20 staff members have been appointed for various streams. There will be two lecturers each for Math, English and Biology and DPE while four lecturers each have been appointed for Physics and Chemistry. For commerce, there will be three lecturers and for Punjabi, there will be one. DEO Harinder Pal said, "All the applications have been received and arrangements have been made at the school. Counselling has also been held. Now, only the final lists will be released based on the applications of the students." On the limited response received from the district, Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema said, "While applications from other districts have poured in and are more than the school can adjust, Jalandhar might have responded less because it is an NRI belt. Besides, there are many private schools here." Classes will start from August 4 and the final list of students is expected on Monday.
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Car buyers accuse dealer of duping them
Jalandhar, July 26 "I had bought a Hyundai i20 sports Z car from a dealer on GT road vide invoice number H201100293 in 2011. Within a month, I found that my speedometer was not working. I took the vehicle to the dealer and informed him about the fault. He checked the speedometer via repair order number 551 and confirmed to have rectified the fault," informed Varinder Singh, a retired government employee. After the repair, the speedometer started showing 1800 RPM which was too high for a diesel car. "I informed the dealer during every service that the RPM was too high, but they ignored it. Now, when my car is out of guarantee period, they informed that the speedometer installed in my car is not of the diesel variant but of a petrol vehicle," alleged Varinder Singh. He also informed that the dealer had not acknowledged his fault but harassed him after refusing to replace the speedometer. Another customer has even said that he got a new i20 car with an old door from the same dealer. "I had purchased a brand new i20 car from the same dealer and the very next day, noticed a little difference in colour of one of the doors. To my horror, I found that the door is different from the rest of the body colour. I immediately informed the dealer and after a lot of persuasion, he changed the door," said Prince Khanna, who is the branch head of an insurance company. He even alleged that although the dealer had replaced the door, he had fitted a painted old door in instead of a new one, claiming it to be new. When contacted, the dealer, instead of denying these allegations, refused to comment on the issue. Another ex-serviceman from the cantonment area, Jasbir Singh, had recently bought a new Activa scooter from a dealer in the city. But when he refused to buy insurance from them, he was harassed. "They informed me that as per their company's policy, I have to buy the insurance from the dealer only. When I refused, they did not give me the delivery of my scooter. It's been eight days and they are not providing me with the engine and chassis number of my scooter fearing that I may get an insurance from someone else," said Jasbir Singh. He is now planning to approach the District Consumer Court for help.
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campus
notes CIS Co-ed, Chotti Baradari, organised an Inter-House Chess Tournament for the students of Grade I and II. The tournament was held from July 21 to July 24. It was held to instill sportsmanship among the children at a young age. In spite of being beginners, the children displayed amazing skills, sharpness and presence of mind. Pine House was the winner. Maple House and Cedar House were declared the runners-up. The chairman of the institute, Ajay Bhatia, Deputy Chairman Deepak Bhatia, Directors, Learning Wing, Dr Brijesh and Nitin Kohli, Director, CIS, JK Kohli, Academic Director Deepa Dogra and headmistress Kiranjoth Dhillon also lauded the winners for their good performance. Best camper
Pallavi of PCM SD College for Women, Jalandhar, bagged the best camper prize for the third consecutive year in GNDU hiking-trekking camp held at Dalhousie. GND varsity organised Youth Leadership Hiking/Trekkingcamp at Dalhousie from June 22 to June 28 in which 15 colleges affiliated to Guru Nanak Dev University, participated. Nearly 105 students attended the camp. The college team was adjudged the best disciplined team. Pallavi bagged the best camper prize for the third consecutive year. She also got the first prize in extempore and the second prize in poetry recitation competition this time. Bridging the gap
A workshop on "Bridging the gap — Teacher to mentor"— was held on KMV campus, in which teachers of Sanskriti KMV School participated. Dr Atima Sharma, manager, Sanskriti KMV School, was the keynote speaker. Rachna Monga, principal Sanskriti KMV School, was also present. The workshop was intended to enhance the professional skills of teachers as mentors and ensure the holistic growth of a child in a conducive learning atmosphere. Rachna Monga said that as mentor, a teacher shoul adopt learning dynamism as a continuous process to keep pace with the growing expectations.— TNS |
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Power cuts make people suffer
In Jalandhar, power cuts are imposed on the industry due to shortage of power resulting in losses. Farmers and residents suffer equally due to the power cuts.Punjab government is purchasing electricity from other states at a very high price resulting in losses to the exchequer. When there is already so much crisis, we should make the best use of whatever is available. Misuse of it causes immense loss. One big example of this is streetlights. The purpose of streetlights is to provide light on the roads when darkness descends. These days, when the roads are visible with natural light even at 5:30 am, thousands of streetlights are seen switched on till 7:30 am. People who are appointed for this job should be strictly watched. Appropriate action must be taken against them for not performing their duty properly. Light is the life force of man-made structures and each and every carelessness is responsible for the power crisis. Manmeet Uppal,
Jalandhar Civic amenities first
I am a resident of Mohalla Dasmesh Nagar, Adampur Doaba in Jalandhar. There is a drain leading from the centre of the mohalla to the main drain at Khadi Bhandar. The drain is filled with silt, plastic waste and vegetation. This has resulted in stagnation of water. About 25 feet of water is permanently stagnant in my house drain, emanating a foul smell all the time. In case it rains, water enters my bedroom. It provides a favourable breeding place for mosquitoes and flies. A number of representations have been made to the municipal authorities but to no avail. Instead, meaningless projects like construction of a community hall, is being taken up with zeal. Since we are living in sub-human conditions because of lack of basic services, what meaning does the community hall have for us? A human being first needs a house as shelter to protect him from the clemencies of weather. The authorities are requested to attend to this problem promptly according it top priority. Ajit Singh, Jalandhar
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Kargil Day was celebrated today by the Vajra Corps. Lt General AK Bakshi, General Officer Commanding, Vajra Corps, senior officers, serving soldiers and ex-servicemen were present on the occasion. The function began with a wreath laying ceremony at the Vajra Corps War Memorial. General Officer Commanding Lt General AK Bakshi paid rich tributes to the martyrs who
sacrificed their lives for the motherland. — TNS
