Jalandhar, August 11
Blame it on low recovery or no financial grant coming from the state, the fiscal health of the Municipal Corporation (MC) is in dire straits.

All development works in the city have come to a complete standstill and nothing new is being planned as of now. This has left the MC councillors of the ruling as well as the opposition party upset, as they have said that their area residents had been after their life over one demand or the other and they have nothing to promise.

The councillors have also started demanding from the Commissioner that the officials from the Town Planning Department and property tax branch be asked to expedite recovery so as to generate more income for the MC.

BJP councillor Kishan Kochhar Minta today met the Commissioner and told him, “We know that our coffers are empty. But we should not depend on the government for any grant. We should rather focus on our own resources. There is a lot of scope. You must pull up your staff and ensure that there is certainly no dearth of funds for any development work. There is no point in running such a big office if it goes completely bankrupt.”

A little hope came at the end of the last financial year, as the MC managed to generate Rs 20 crore as property tax and Rs 40 crore from the regularisation of colonies. While the fund collected for the regularisation of colonies has been frozen for any use by the government, the amount generated by property tax is far too low and almost equal to the previous house tax collections.

An official of the Property Tax Department said even as the government had exempted the residents from any penalty or interest on pending property tax payments, which were due to be given till March 31, 2014, there were very few applicants coming now. “Only a few NRIs who had come late, are leaving and would be returning next year are depositing the amount. Also there is no clarity as of now on the revision of charges for property tax for the current year till date,” a dealing clerk quipped.

For the same reason, very few councillors make round to the MC office these days. SAD councillor Balbir Bittu, too, claims that the paucity of funds had once again become a very big issue for the MC. We really do not know how to plead before the mayor as we know that financial situation is getting worse each day, he said.

Leader of the Opposition Jagdish Raj Raja said, “To my mind, the only solution is holding meetings. The mayor has not been calling any House meeting for a long time. Most solutions to the problem can come when we sit together, discuss issues and take the officials to task. We have already given so many representations to the mayor on calling a meeting, but he has so far refused to budge.”

MC Commissioner Manpreet Singh Chattwal admitted that the financial situation was bad. “We are trying to tide over the situation,” he said.

Jalandhar, August 11
For the first time, the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) has been accused of negligence in treatment by the parents of twins born prematurely.

One of the children undergoing treatment at the hospital died on Sunday night. The parents have accused the hospital authorities of not looking after the child well and also informing them late about the death of their son. Now, after receiving a written complaint by the parents, PIMS has ordered an enquiry into the case and has formed a four-member team comprising senior professors to investigate the matter. The team will submit its report to the principal of PIMS within 15 days.

According to Rajesh Bahri, uncle of the deceased child, the children were born prematurely at a private hospital here on April 11. Since they were not been able to breathe well, they were brought to PIMS, where the hospital authorities immediately put them in incubators. “Since one of the incubators was repeatedly found malfunctioning, the hospital authorities kept on shifting the child often to a nearby hospital. He was twice sent to Kamal Gupta Hospital for 10 days period. Since the child was in a critical state, he could not survive the repeated shifting to the hospital and died on Saturday,” alleged Bahri.

Although he confirmed that the hospital authorities had informed the parents of the deceased child about the critical health of the child and advised them to take them to some other hospital if they desired, the parents couldn’t do so due to financial constraints. “What is the point of having a massive hospital building if it lacks even the basic life-saving equipment on its premises? We trusted PIMS for having super-specialty facilities under one roof, but our belief was shattered drastically by the hospital authorities,” said Suresh Bahri, a resident of Mitha Bazaar and father of the deceased child who works at a book shop at Mai Heera Gate. He also said that while the hospital charged Rs 64,000 for one child, they charged around Rs 3 lakh for the deceased one.

The parents also alleged manhandling by some junior doctors and the security staff after their child died. “They harassed us badly. After the senior doctor stopped visiting the ICU following a fracture in his leg a few days ago, the junior doctors took over the case. It took them two days to ascertain the death of our child. Initially, they informed us on Sunday morning that the child had died at 2.30 at night, but later retracted their statement by saying that the heart beat was going on and there was some problem in the respiratory area only. They finally confirmed the death at 11.30 am today although one of the doctors informed us about his death on Saturday night itself,” alleged Rajesh.

Dr Kulbir Kaur, principal of PIMS, confirmed having received a complaint from the parents and said that an inquiry had been ordered into the case. “The parents alleged negligence in treatment by some of the doctors at the ICU. I have ordered an inquiry into the case. Suitable action will be taken if anybody is found responsible for the death of the child,” said Dr Kulbir Kaur.

More surprisingly, while PIMS witnessed a huge hullaballoo on Sunday on its premises, with parents calling at 1091, the women helpline, after the mother of the deceased was thrashed up badly by the hospital security guards, the police authorities at the Garha police station refused to have registered any complaint in both cases. 

Jalandhar, August 11
Even as the city related issue regarding the starting of solid waste project management is yet to be resolved in the forthcoming meeting of the Deputy Chief Minister on August 22, JITF Urban Infrastructure Ltd will get the door-to-door collection of garbage started in the 27 municipal councils falling in Jalandhar cluster from September 1.

Jalandhar, August 11
Residents of Old Railway Road have been continuing to lodge their protest against the Municipal Corporation (MC) authorities in one way or the other.

To catch the attention of residents and Mayor Sunil Jyoti, who passes through the place in routine, shopkeepers there put up a banner with the message, “Bhrashtachar, khaddon v patchwork se yukt 94 lakh ki sadak par aapka hardik swagat (meaning, You are welcome on the Rs 94 lakh road full of corruption, potholes and patchwork)”.

Congress leader Sudesh Vij had been saying that the shopkeepers were least satisfied with the road work done there. Residents had earlier also put up a banner on the road ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, calling for the boycott of elections owing to road work lying pending in their area for long, but they were later cajoled by politicians to call off their protest. The work started soon afterwards.

The shopkeepers on the road have already given their complaint to the Vigilance Bureau in writing, seeking a check on the laying of poor quality road that, too, without fulfilling norms.

After the complaint, the MC authorities had started removing the newly laid material on sides to create gullies for storm water. 

Jalandhar, August 11
To prevent school bus mishaps which have been taking place with an alarming regularity, the district administration, school management, police and the Municipal Corporation need to work in tandem. Though the traffic enforcement agencies claim to have regulated school buses, the reality is different.

Had the district authorities learnt a lesson from the mishap in which 14 children lost their lives when their school bus collided with a truck at Gohir village near Nakodar in March, 2013, the recent school bus mishaps could have been averted.

After last year's incident, three serious school bus mishaps were reported this month in which a four-year-old child Aarush, a student of Innocent Hearts School, died while several others sustained serious injuries.

Two other school bus mishaps in which the children had a miraculous escape were also reported. In an incident reported on August 5, a bus of Cambridge International School was stuck in rain water beneath the Domoria bridge.

People had to struggle to shift the children to a safer place. Similarly, on August 9, 16 students of Ajanta Model Senior Secondary School in Bholath were injured, while six sustained a serious fracture after the bus they were travelling in turned turtle at Bhagwanpur village near Bholath in Kapurthala.

Jalandhar Tribune spoke to various sections of people to seek their views on finding a solution to the problem.

Lalli Chadha, a local businessman, said if a school bus mishap occurs due to the negligence of the school bus driver or bus conductor, the school's responsibility should be fixed. "I am saddened by the recent school bus mishap in which a four-year-old boy Aarush died. It is surprising as to why the district administration is mum on the issue. Had the administration made the school authorities aware of the rules and regulations, the accident could have been averted. My children also go to school in buses and we always remain tense till the time they reach home. It is my earnest request to all the schools in the district to follow proper guidelines regarding road safety so that the lives of children can be saved."

Kiran Bajaj, a private employee, said before employing any school bus driver or conductor, his record should be checked with the aim of preventing the occurrence of such mishaps. Proper inquiry about the antecedents of bus drivers and conductor will confirm whether the driver was a professional or not, whether he was involved in any mishap while working for any other school in the past. The driving test of school bus drivers should be made compulsory before employing them. There should also be proper counselling of the school bus drivers to inquire if they are aware of the traffic rules and regulations.

Shahri Chadha, a businessman, also flayed the schools for not obeying the traffic rules. "I personally feel that if any school bus is involved in any road mishap, not only the bus driver but the school management should also be made responsible. No lesson is being learnt by the school or the traffic enforcement agency from these mishaps. It is time when everybody including the schools, traffic police and the district administration understand their duties so that such mishaps are averted."

Aditya, a local resident, feels that until and unless the traffic police, school management, transport authority, Municipal Corporation and the district administration understand their duties and responsibilities, school bus mishaps cannot be averted.

The traffic police should deal with school buses not adhering to the directions of the Supreme Court strictly while the Transport Department should see if the school buses are being plied with valid documents or security equipment like speed governors. Since a majority of the incidents occur due to the bad state of city roads, it is the duty of the MC to maintain the roads to avert mishaps. Even parents have a role to play in this. Before enrolling their kids in any school, they should properly check the condition of school buses and the experience of drivers.

Bawa Gill, a local resident, feels that the traffic police and schools can play an important role in educating the school bus drivers to prevent the occurrence of mishaps. Before handing over the school bus to the driver, the traffic police should hold proper classes for drivers and make them aware of rules and regulations. They should be made to face legal action after every road mishap.

Jalandhar, August 11
The city's first of its kind summer theatre festival concluded successfully at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall last night. The organisers claim that they got a spectacular response to the festival.

The three-day festival was organised by the city-based Young Upcoming Versatile Artists' Association (YUVAA) Theatre Group in collaboration with Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall Committee.

The ceremony was inaugurated by noted theatre personality and president, Punjab Sangeet Natak Academy, Kewal Dhaliwal. The plays, including Ek Hadsa, Ishaq Remix and Museum, were based upon social issues and were both satire and tragic in genre.

The play 'Ek Hadsa' was adapted from an Italian play titled 'Morte accidentale di un anarchico' written in 1970 by renowned Italian writer Dario Fo. The play later became popular across the world with its English title "Accidental death of an anarchist". The Indian version of the play was directed by Dr Ankur Sharma,president of the Yuvaa theatre group.

The play depicts the corruption afflicting politics, police and the administration and how it has been affecting the common man. It is a satire on way the nexus has been working.

Ishq Remix was written by Moga-based upcoming Punjabi writer Davinder Gill. The play was directed by Dr Ankur. In this play, the tragic Punjabi romantic epics, Heer Ranjha and Mirza Sahiba, are set in the 21st century to illustrate the present scenario in Punjab. It will not be an exaggeration to term the play as a spoof on contemporary romance among the younger generation. The play shows that instead of looking after the cattle of Heer's father for 12 years, Ranjha prefers to migrate to Canada to earn money and then permanent residence. On the other hand, Mirza opts for farming, and is now a debt-ridden farmer.

The play "Museum" that depicts the ignominious lifestyle being led by women in India was conceived and developed by the National School of Drama alumni, Rasika and Sumedha, as a reaction to the infamous Nirbhaya rape case. The play comes forth as a strong protest against the inferior treatment of women.

Speaking to Jalandhar Tribune, Dr Ankur Sharma said, "I look forward to organizing more such events. Meanwhile, I am planning to organise an inter-state theatre festival in Jalandhar. We have been facing major problems due to lack of proper theatre in the city. However, efforts are being made for this."

Jalandhar, August 11
The ten-day combined annual training camp of the 2nd Punjab Girls Battalion of the NCC concluded here today. It was held at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Jandiala (Jalandhar), from August 1 to August 10. The camp was conducted under the leadership of Col R Yadav with the assistance of associate NCC officers, Army instructors and civil staff. The camp was attended by approximately 367 NCC cadets from different colleges and schools of Doaba region along with the cadets of other units of Jalandhar group.

Camp commandant Col R Yadav addressed the staff and cadets. In his address, he highlighted the importance of duty and discipline which is the motto of the NCC. Col R Yadav also motivated the cadets to become better citizen and join the armed forces to serve the motherland. A number of competitions between the cadets were conducted during the camp.

A lecture on traffic rules was also held in which head constables Shamsher Singh and Ramesh of the traffic police, Jalandhar, made the cadets aware of traffic rules. A blood donation camp and a firing competition for the cadets were also held.

Jalandhar, August 11
Preparations are in full swing to celebrate the 68th Independence Day at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium in Jalandhar.

More than 10 schools and colleges including Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Lyallpur Khalsa College for Women, Doaba College, HMV College, KMV College, Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Nehru Garden, Guru Amardas Public School, MGN Public School and Police DAV School are going to participate in the cultural activities at the district-level programme. The rehearsals for this have begun.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Kumar Amit said the cultural items will be based upon patriotism, culture and literature.

Today, the ADC along with other members of the team inspected the rehearsals and held meetings with the members of the committee. 

Jalandhar, August 11
Prof Yogender Kumar Yadav, Director, Sardar Swaran Singh National Institute of Renewable Energy (SSS-NIRE), Kapurthala, an autonomous institution of the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has been conferred the World Renewable Energy (WREN) Pioneer Award 2014.

The award was presented to him by Prof Ali Sayigh, Director General of World Renewable Energy Network/Council, at a special ceremony in the presence of more than 100 experts from around the world on August 4, at Kingston University, UK. The prestigious award was given to him for his research in promoting renewable energy in India and abroad.

Prof Yadav is Ph.D. in energy studies from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and has contributed to the development of sustainable bio-energy/hybrid energy systems for rural development, solar crop drying and desiccant-based hybrid space-conditioning systems. He has more than 100 research publications in international/national journals of repute.

Prof. Yadav has been the coordinator of projects on integrated rural energy planning for meeting rural energy needs through optimum mix of conventional and renewable energy sources and has been the principal investigator of the All India Coordinated Research Project on renewable energy sources of ICAR.