Fact file Traffic chaos at the site Accidents reported in area Passage through underpass narrow Heavy traffic in service lanes

Jalandhar, August 21
Opened just two days ago, an underpass constructed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was closed again today at Chugitti following traffic chaos and accidents reported in the area.

Since the passage through the underpass is very narrow, the vehicles coming from the Ladhewali side and entering the Guru Nanakpura side and vice versa had started bumping into one another and also there was a heavy volume of traffic moving past the Jalandhar-Amritsar highway through the service lanes.

The contractor for Soma Enterprises, which had kept the six-laning work halted along the Panipat-Amritsar road, has only recently started constructing the bridge above the underpass. The bridge has remained under construction for the past more than five years. The movement of the traffic on the road has remained badly affected since the time. The heavy rush of trucks, buses, cars and other vehicles moving past the road have often led to chaos on the road. The underpass at Chugitti had long been constructed, but had remained closed ever since.

MC Commissioner Manpreet Singh Chattwal said the underpass had been closed on the orders of the district administration. He said it would be now only after the overbridge at the site got ready that the underpass would be opened. “Once the fast traffic passes through the bridge, there only would be local traffic on the service lanes and across the underpass,” he said.

It is not just this underpass, the residents face inconvenience at most other underpasses. The residents living around Verka Milk Plant near the Amritsar bypass are also affected, as there is a heavy movement of local traffic underneath it from the Lidran to the Maqsudan side.

Residents also feel that the underpass near Haveli should have been a little wider as that part also sees a lot of movement from under the bridge to cross over to Haveli, Heritage Marriage Palace and other areas in the vicinity.

Jalandhar, August 21
All those flaunting their old series three-alphabet registration numbers by retaining these for their flashy SUVs may soon have to switch over to the new PB-08 type new series since there is no provision for printing high security registration plates (HSRPs) for such series.

While earlier the District Transport Office had been allowing the owners of the old vehicles to retain the numbers such as PEG 100 or PAK 47 even for their new Endeavours or Fortuners, there has been a restriction on issuing of new numbers since December 9, 2013. DTO RP Singh has clearly spelt out, “No HSRPs will be issued for the old series. There is now restriction on the use of these numbers, so clearly no plates for them.”

Since August 31 is slated to be the deadline for switching over to the high security plates, vehicles bearing old series of numbers being without such plates, will be liable to be challaned. There were reports that the date could be extended to March 31, but there were no official orders issued till this evening.

With more than 1,200 applicants for HSRPs turning up each day at the cash counter of the District Transport Office, it is a difficult time not just for the applicants but also for the staff here who too have to remain present for 15 hours a day. As the company staff had been working since 6 am, they chose to take a break from 2 pm to 3:30 pm for lunch or sorting of the received copies. During this time when the rush was at its peak, the applicants who had been already waiting for an hour or so went berserk and started raising slogans. — TNS

Jalandhar, August 21
Shopkeepers of Sanjay Gandhi Market near BMC Chowk are a harassed lot, as the road in front of their shops is in a bad state for a long time.

The shopkeepers said since the road had badly worn out and there had been incidents of bikers falling on the scattered pebbles, their business was also getting affected. The market has shops of TV, mobile phones, car accessories and other electronic gadgets.

“The road is already one-way, which itself is a problem for us. And now the bad condition of the road is further aggravating the problem. Just two days ago, a biker, who was passing by, skidded, fell off and got badly hurt. We have approached the MC authorities a number of times on the issue, but no one has paid attention to their grievance,” said Gaurav, owing an electronics shop in the market.

Jalandhar, August 21
Members of the Sant Cinema Market Association, who have been protesting over the issue of the bad quality of the road laid in front of their market for the past about two months, today said that they had caught a man who claimed to have come from the Municipal Corporation (MC) for seeking no objections regarding the road.

The shopkeepers said the man started getting signatures from the shopkeepers on a page which bore the association’s fake letterhead. As this happened, the shopkeepers, including Lalit Mehta, Gurmail Singh, Baljit Singh and Shekhar Ashwani, got together and caught hold of him.

Handing over the man to the police, the shopkeepers demanded that the matter should be investigated as to who sent him by providing the fake letterhead. The members said they apprehended that since they had filed a complaint against the staff with the Vigilance Bureau, someone from the MC had sent him to strengthen their side. — TNS

Jalandhar, August 21
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has told Vardaan Infertility and Medical Research Centre Pvt Ltd and Dr Varish Kumar to pay Rs 5 lakh to the husband of an ayurvedic doctor, who had died after the conduct of a test on infertility from the doctor three years ago.

In his complaint, Damanjit Singh Toor (45), a resident of Parjian Kalan village in Nakodar, said he got married about 16 years ago to Dr Kirandeep Kaur from Moga and out of their wedlock, no child was born. He said he had heard about the hospital. On July 11, 2011, he called up Dr Varish Kumar running the hospital and got an appointment for 9 am the next day. He said the next day, the doctor advised hysteroscopy to test the tubes of his wife.

He has written, “After the completion of the procedure at 6 pm, Dr Varish Kumar advised me and my wife that we can go to their residence at Moga. At 10 pm, my wife started complaining of severe pain in the stomach and started bleeding in her stool. I talked to the doctor and apprised him of the serious condition of my wife, upon which he advised her to get an injection administered from a local doctor and bring her to Amarjit Hospital at Jalandhar. The condition of my wife kept on deteriorating and I kept informing Dr Varish on phone and ultimately she was admitted to Amarjit Hospital Jalandhar on July 13, 2011. Dr Varish Kumar also reached Amarjit Hospital and on seeing the condition of the patient, she was further referred to Johal Hospital, Rama Mandi.”

At Johal Hospital, the complainant was informed that due to excess bleeding and severe infection, she had to be operated upon. After operation at Johal Hospital, the complainant was informed that due to cuts in the uterus of the nerves and because of excess bleeding, the patient had gone into a critical condition and seeing her condition, the complainant wanted to shift his wife to Apollo Hospital Ludhiana, but she died on July 14, 2011, at 7 pm at Johal Hospital, Jalandhar.

The complainant lodged a complaint against Dr Varish and after seeking the opinion from the medical board constituted by Civil Surgeon Jalandhar comprising Dr Aruna, DFWO chairperson, Dr Sangeeta Kapoor, gynaecologist, Civil Hospital, Dr Rajneesh, surgeon, Civil Hospital, a criminal case was registered against Dr Varish with FIR 136 on October 21, 2012 under Section 304-A of the IPC at theDivision Number 6 police station.

The plaintiff also reproduced excerpts from the board’s report which read, “There is negligence on the post-operative follow-up resulting as delay in the treatment of the patient Kirandeep Kaur, which ultimately led to the death of the patient,” he sought Rs 20 lakh as compensation.

Upon notice, opposite parties appeared and filed a written reply. They further pleaded that the medical board never gave any opinion against the opposite parties and the registration of FIR was result of influence.

The forum condoned the delay in the filing of the complaint. It observed, “From the evidence on record, no doubt is left that Dr Kirandeep Kaur, wife of the complainant, died due to medical negligence of the opposite party hospital. From the postmortem and opinion of the board, it is evident that during hysteroscopy, the uterus was ruptured, which resulted in bleeding and, ultimately, caused septicaemia and resulted in the death of the patient.

After hysteroscopy, the patient was sent to Moga on the same day. When the uterus was ruptured, the patient should not have been discharged on the same day and should have been kept under observation. The medical board has also found that secondly the operating consultant was never contacted after the procedure. Even in the record of Amarjit Hospital, provisional diagnosis is mentioned as shock, septicaemia with peritonitis. Even an FIR was registered against the opposite party for causing the death of the wife of the complainant by negligent act.”

The forum observed, the deceased was herself a BAMS doctor, so, she must be earning, although there is no evidence on record regarding her income. So keeping in view this fact and all other relevant circumstances, we are of the opinion that compensation of Rs 5 lakh is quite reasonable. The opposite parties shall be liable to pay interest at 9 per cent per annum on the above said awarded amount from the expiry of the said period of one month till the date of payment.

Jalandhar, August 21
Despite the tall claims of the Punjab government and the emphasis being laid on ensuring clean and green environment in the state, the unhealthy practice of discharging untreated effluents from the Leather Complex in Jalandhar continues unabated.

In terms of the discharge of untreated effluents, the worst affected is the Kala Sanghian drain, which originates from village Bullandpur in Jalandhar and goes to Chiti Bein, which finally connects with Sutlej.

What is worrisome is that because of the pollution in the drains and the rivulets, the underground water in many parts of Jalandhar is getting polluted and the people in these areas are falling prey to various types of ailments. Apart from skin problem, cancer deaths have also been reported from many villages of Jalandhar, which is a cause of concern.

To ensure the compliance of pollution control laws, the PPCB has tightened the noose around the tanneries at the Leather Complex but according to a recent report of the PPCB itself, violation of pollution norms still continues at Leather Complex. The report mentioned that the effluents at Leather Complex are still being drained into the Kala Sanghian.

"On July 24 this year, the PPCB authorities paid a visit to the Leather Complex and observed that there were some points from where the untreated effluent was being discharged into the storm drain, which leads to Kala Sanghian drain," reads the report, a copy of which is with The Tribune.

PPCB chairman Ravinder Singh asserted that the Board has been making tireless efforts to reduce the effluents being discharged into the Kala Sanghian drain. "Despite this, they kept on operating illegally by breaking the seals and choking the storm water sewers with the effluents in a concealed manner. The PPCB has now decided to take legal recourse against the violators," he stated.

It is pertinent to mention that 5 million litres of discharge per day (MLD) capacity common effluent treatment plant (CETP) installed at the Leather Complex is being run by the Punjab Effluent Treatment Society (PETS). Now, the Board has filed a criminal case against PETS, its board of directors, secretary and two others in a Jalandhar court. The matter will come up for hearing in the court on August 23.

Because of the toxic waste in the drains, the underground water in many villages of Jalandhar has become polluted. The intake of impure water has left people in large numbers suffering from various diseases, including cancer. Some villages of Jalandhar district that have been seriously affected include Ghazipur, Allowal, Badshapur, Mehmuwal Mahla, Kohar Kalan, Athola, Mandala Chana, Gidderpindi, Bahmania, Madala, Isewal and Namajepur.

"Health problems related to stomach, eyes, skin, tumour and cancer are common in the villages of Jalandhar adjoining the stretch from where the Kala Sanghian drain passes. It is extremely callous that the state government is not doing anything to ensure that the underground water does not get polluted because of the pollutants in the drains," was what a majority of the people in the affected villages pointed out.

fact file One of the worst affected drains in terms of pollution is Kala Sanghian, which originates from village Bullandpur in Jalandhar and goes to Chiti Bein, which finally connects to Sutlej. Because of the toxic waste being discharged in the drain, the underground water of many villages of Jalandhar district has become polluted. The intake of impure water has left a large number of people suffering from various diseases including cancer. People are suffering on account of consumption of unfit drinking water having extremely high level of total dissolved solids (TDS) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). On February 28, 2011 the Jalandhar administration had assured that within a month, it would be ensured that the Kala Sanghian drain is free from pollutants but there has not been much improvement on the ground. The discharge from the Kala Sanghian drain goes down to Chitti Bein, Sutlej and Harike headwork, from where drinking water is supplied to the Malwa region via the feeders from Harike headworks. The polluted water poses a serious risk not just to the aquatic flora and fauna but also to human lives. On May 18, 2011, even people from Rajasthan had come to Jalandhar and lodged a protest with the administration stating that the 45-km long Kala Sanghian drain is polluting the Sutlej and ultimately, the Indira Gandhi canal, which carries water to several districts of Rajasthan and is causing health hazards there also.

Jalandhar, August 21
Girl students of Bhai Mati Das College of Nursing, Goraya, near Jalandhar, have levelled allegations of sexual harassment at the director of the institute. They also accused the SHO, Goraya police station, Daljit Singh Gill, of working under the influence of the institute's director.All the nursing students are pursuing GNM at the institute.

The two girls along with a teacher today categorically accused the institute's director Madanjit Singh of sexually harassing them. The director, however, denied the allegation levelled by the girls.

"The director had been making sexual overtures but I was ignoring it. Once he called me to his office and tried to physically abuse me. Then I informed my teacher and the other students about it. Later, the director also tried to sexually harass my teacher. After we approached the police, the director gave us an apology in writing," one of the girls said, alleging that despite tendering an apology, the institute's director continued with behaviour.

The girls said they had informed the police but the police was not serious in taking action. The girls also accused the SHO, Goraya, Daljit Singh Gill of being hand in glove with the institute's director, because he was not registering a case of molestation, the girls added.

The girls also alleged that the director had support from certain political quarters.

The Director of the nursing institute, Madanjit Singh, while denying the allegation of sexual harassment, said the girls were trying to malign his image without his fault. "Everything is being done by my brother-in-law, who was recently sacked from the institute for his improper behavior. All the girls, who are not levelling allegations against me, are being supported by my brother-in-law," he asserted.

Efforts were made to contact the SHO, Goraya, but he didn't respond to repeated phone calls.

Jalandhar, August 21
Officials of the district administration today inspected the preparations for the children’s film festival to be held in Jalandhar from September 7 to 12. More than 1,06,000 students from government and non-government schools in the district, from Classes VI to XII, will watch inspirational films in the festival.

Addressing a meeting, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Paritam Singh, said the issue had already been discussed with managers and owners of the cinemas in Jalandhar.

Children would watch the films in morning shows, he added. The responsibility of transportation of the children will be taken up by the district transport officer in association with the school administrations. Two teachers from each school will be deputed to accompany the children for security purpose.

The ADC said the only purpose behind the festival was to show inspirational films to the children so that they could learn something constructive from them.

More than 100 films have been shortlisted for the purpose. Around 10 award winning films are included in the screening list. Cinema owners and the managements will be provided with sufficient funds by the Children Film Society. 

Jalandhar, August 21
To provide good quality milk to people, members of the Progressive Dairy Farmers’ Association (PDFA) farmers have come together to form the Progressive Dairy Solutions (PDS). The PDS is marketing milk and its products under the brand name ‘La Pure’. The PDFA is an association of 6,000 farmers.

Daljit Singh, MD, PDFA, said the quality of milk was determined from the quality of cattle. The PDFA farmers are rearing the world famous Holstein Friesian (HF) cattle. Since these cows are from Europe, the PDFA has constructed special sheds fitted with automatic sprinklers, cow mats and cow beds to ensure their comfort.

Special techniques are also employed to ensure the healthy growth of the calves and heifers. On an average, a PDFA cattle produce 7,000 and 10,000 litres of milk annually.

He said though India was the world’s largest milk producer, there was an acute shortage of fodder for approximately 280 million cattle, of which cows comprise roughly 60% and buffaloes 32%. The PDFA is the first in the country to introduce the fodder management.

“For the purpose, the company utilises giant silos to store maize and lucerne. The PDFA has the most effective fodder management system in India,” said the MD.

Daljit said the cattle that were used by the PDFA farmers were tagged using the RFID technology for identification purposes. “It helps keeping records of birth dates, vaccination and other key criteria for the upkeep of the cattle,” he said.

As per the Food Safety and Standards Authority, 68 per cent of the milk produced in India does not conform to the set standards.

Adulterants such as water, urea, detergents, hydrogen peroxide and other carbonates and bicarbonates are added to milk, making it extremely unsafe for consumption.

Jalandhar, August 21
Despite claiming the lives of several innocents, tractor-trailers continue to pose a risk on city roads. Officials of the district administration and the traffic police take action against them only when such vehicles become a cause of fatal mishaps.

Localities where tractor-trailers loaded with sand, gravel and soil can be seen plying with impunity include Guru Nanak Mission Chowk, Jyoti Chowk, Basti area, Railway Road, Sodal area, Nakodar Road, Kapurthala Road, Panthankot Road, Patel Chowk and Transport Nagar.

As per the transport officials, tractor-trailers are registered with the department for use in agriculture. These can only be used for commercial purposes only after getting permit from the department with the condition that some modification like installing a hydraulic brake has to be done.

After a 19-year-old youth was crushed to death by a tractor-trailer on July 2 this year on Nakodar road, violence erupted in the area. Angry residents set ablaze the tractor-trailer and also held a protest against the police. Soon after the accident, the traffic police had turned active and started issuing challans to tractor-trailers. Now, the police have again become a mute spectator to the violations.

Jalandhar, August 21
After moving to Stockholm, Sweden, as a teenager, Punjabi singer Jay Kahlon is back to Punjab to explore his roots. He has been in the state for more than a year.

He recently released his single track Rafta Rafta. Prior to this, he did another track with a rapper called Badshah. Apart from this, he released ‘Nai Sarda’ in 2013.

He will soon come up with another single track with rapper Badshah.

Speaking to Jalandhar Tribune, Jay said he migrated to Sweden with his parents when he was 14-year-old.

“I continued my studies there in music and theatre. However, I also learned classical music from Fatehgarh Sahib-based music teacher late Ishbar Das Pathak. The interesting thing was that he didn’t charge a single rupee to teach me classical music. My grandmother has been a great inspiration to me as I used to sing with her at a Gurdwara on certain ocassions,” added Jay.

He was never interested in the restaurant run by his family in Stockholm.

“I never took any interest in my family business. But I carried on my music quest silently. There were a few Punjabi numbers in Stockholm, who hardly got a chance to get together except at a Gurdwara on certain occasion. I felt that I should do something to promote the Punjabi language and culture over there. Eventually, I, along with some friends, started Sabhiachar Punjabi Mela in Stockholm, where the Punjabi community gathered to enjoy,” he added.