Jalandhar, September 15
In the second miraculous escape of a child after having fallen into an open manhole in 45 days, a 13-year-old boy was pulled out by bystanders in the Sheikhan Bazaar market after he fell into it last evening.

The MC authorities today ordered an inquiry into the matter by SE (B&R) and SE (O&M).

The victim Chetan Kalyan of Ali Mohalla is the son of the MC’s Driver Union president Arun Kalyan. The road of the market has been lying dug up for the past several months and the manhole there, too, had been lying uncovered when the boy passing by it slipped inside it. He had gone to fetch some articles from the market for home.

The child was immediately passed on a rod, to which he, fortunately, clung and was pulled up. As the information spread, union leaders of the MC gathered at the spot and went to the residence of Deputy Mayor Arvinder Oberoi. Oberoi raised the matter with officials after which the action begun.

On August 1, a 10-year-boy had fallen in an open manhole at Sheetal Nagar. The child was taken out of the 25-foot-deep sewer line as it was yet to be connected with the main line and there was no sullage flowing through it. The boy had fallen after playing with his friends in the area and had even suffered minor injuries.

Even today, the MC staff got a complaint of a broken and exposed road gully at Guru Nagar, posing a threat to residents there. The office gets such complaints after every second or third day from different localities.

Car damaged

In yet another incident, an Alto car got badly damaged as it bumped into an uneven road, adjoining a manhole near Narinder Cinema on Monday afternoon. The front window pane of the car got completely smashed.

Jalandhar, September 15
The State Information Commission has slapped a compensation of Rs 20,000 on the Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner for not providing adequate information in four separate cases of the Right to Information Act in the last week.

While three of the applications had been filed by the Leader of the Opposition Jagdish Raj Raja, the fourth one had been filed by Adarsh Nagar resident Subhash Jain.

The State Information Commissioner (SIC) Narinderjit Singh had asked the Public Authority-cum-Commissioner MC to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation through bank draft to the appellants in each case within two weeks.

The SIC has also asked the Public Information Officer of the MC to be present at the next hearing and to respond to the deficiencies pointed out by the appellants on August 21.

One of the cases pertained to information on the assessment done and composition charges paid pertaining to a tyres shop on the road from Shastri Chowk to Patel Chowk. The Congress leader had even asked as to why the seal had been opened if the owner had had not even paid the composition fee, seeking details on its calculation and the portion of the building which was not compoundable and had to be pulled down. He had also asked the MC to provide him the guidelines of the sealing specifying as to how many times a building could be sealed.

The final order in the case is to be pronounced on November 12.

In the second case, Raja had asked the details of the buildings for which a total collection of Rs 25 crore as change of land use (CLU) had been made just ahead of March 31. He said he had sought the list of the buildings, their area, the basis of calculation and other details. He said his idea of getting the list was to check whether some under-valued CLUs had been done in a haste for certain buildings to show a higher recovery for the previous year.

The third case pertains to the digging at various sites by the Reliance Jio Communications for installing high mast poles. He said he had sought details as to how the state government had straightaway passed the orders to the Municipal Corporation, bypassing the House. He said he had even sought information, asking if all pits dug up in the city had been refilled, to which the authorities said that had been done, but he had produced photographic evidences, showing that he had been provided with wrong information.

The case of Subhash Jain pertained to details sought by him nearly a year and a half ago about the norms for constructing speed breakers on city roads and under which orders. He said he had been given a simple reply that it was being done as per the PWD norms without giving any details further. 

Jalandhar, September 15
Burglars struck at a mobile showroom and a house in two localities last night and decamped with cash and valuables worth several lakhs.

Vikas Nayyar, owner of Ambey Traders, a mobile showroom, said today that when he came to open the showroom, he found the main lock of the shutter lying broken. When I went inside, I was stunned to see the ransacked showroom. The thieves had decamped with 45 mobiles phones, Rs 4,000 and mobile accessories worth over Rs 2 lakh, he said, adding that they had also taken away the recording unit of the CCTV cameras installed in the city. The police division No. 3 was informed about this.

In the second incident, thieves struck at a house in Vinay Nagar. The house owner Suman said she had yesterday gone to Moga to meet her relatives, and when she returned home this morning, she found the house burgled. She said the thieves had decamped with a gold chain, two gold rings, clothes, two gas cylinders, an LCD and valuables worth lakhs.

Jalandhar, September 15
With only 93,000 of the 2.56 lakh property owners in the city having paid up their property tax dues for the last financial year, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has announced the last amnesty till September 30, following which it intends to go harsh by starting sealing, attachment and even the sale of properties for the recovery of the dues.

The Punjab Government issued the orders in a notification on August 21 amending Section 138 of the MC Act. The copy of the same has been sent to the Municipal Corporations (MCs) after incorporating the harsher clause for the action which could be taken against the defaulters after the due date.

Mayor Sunil Jyoti and Commissioner Manpreet S Chattwal said no one, including owners of commercial buildings, most of whom are defaulters, would be spared. They said that neither any penalty nor any interest would be levied from the owners till September 30, after which they would have to face double trouble. They said besides the threat of sealing, attachment and sale, the owners would also have to pay up 20 per cent penalty and 18 per cent interest thereafter as per section 112-A (5) of the Punjab MC Act 1976. Legal experts, however, have raised certain doubts over its powers to sell any property, as they said the MC Commissioner did not have powers of a collector to do the same.

The authorities said the policy for the implementation of property tax for the ongoing year 2014-15 wais still under consideration. The authorities held a meeting with the staff of Punjab National Bank which has been authorised to make collections at all its branches.

The residents will also be able to make payments at the MC collection centres at main office, Model Town, Garha, Basti Sheikh, Dada Colony and Lal Rattan zones. They said the payment could also be made online on official websites www.mcjpropertytax.in or www.mcjalandhar.in. He said helpline numbers 0181-5021501 had also been started for the purpose.

The MC had, till March this year, collected only Rs 23 crore, equivalent to its House Tax collections against a target of Rs 40 crore. 

Jalandhar, September 15
A Batala-based person was found dead today in Kartarpur under mysterious circumstances. He reportedly died due to cardiac arrest. The deceased was identified as DP Sharma (45).

DSP Kartarpur Ranjit Singh said the victim had come from Batala to buy furniture in Kartarpur yesterday. He visited several showrooms in the city and finally decided to buy furniture from Dilbag Furniture house.

After selecting the furniture, the victim went upstairs to answer the call of nature and reportedly fell due to cardiac arrest. Since the shopkeeper had forgotten that the man had gone upstairs, he locked the showroom at night and the victim’s body kept lying upstairs, the DSP said.

Next morning, when the victim’s kin reached Kartarpur to inquire about Sharma, they told the police about his disappearance.

When the police inquired the mobile location, the same was traced near the showroom. In the meantime,the showroom owner informed the police that a body was lying upstairs in his showroom.

The DSP said the victim’s kin had told the police that DP Sharma was a heart patient and had earlier also suffered hearts attacks, adding that inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC were initiated.

Jalandhar, September 15
To get leads in the recent burglary bid at Gramin bank at Wariana village on the Kapurthala road, the Jalandhar rural police have been collecting the dump of mobiles phones which were active during the night of robbery near the bank.

A police official said as of now, the police had no clue about the robbers. Collecting dump of mobile phones and then inquiring the identity of each and every caller is a tedious job, but the police have no other option.

So the exercise has already started, the official added.

An attempt to break open the door of the strong room of the Gramin Bank was foiled on September 13. Despite police instructions to keep security guard at the bank during night, the bank had not taken any precautionary measures, as no guards had been deployed at the bank.

Even the theft or fire alarm was found to be not working. The CCTV cameras installed at the bank were non-functional since July.

SSP, Rural, Narinder Bhargav had termed it a handiwork of a gang of untrained persons and had suspected that the gang might have taken the idea from previous such incidents.

Sources said the police was also planning to bring gang members, who had committed such sorts of robberies in the past and were arrested, on production warrant for inquiry.

Jalandhar, September 15
To help district residents in installing high security registration plates (HSRPs), the District Transport Office (DTO) will set up payment counters and fitment centres at all sub-divisions in Jalandhar.

Speaking to Jalandhar Tribune, District Transport Officer RP Singh said the schedule had been delayed due to certain issues relating to land allotment. It was supposed to be opened by now. Meanwhile, within a week the sub-divisions, including Phillaur, Nalodar and Shakot, will have the HSRP facility.

He said sub-divisional magistrates of respective sub-divisions had been asked to provide the land in this regard.

Since the deadline to install the HSRP had passed, the number of visitors had been reduced.

The DTO said despite the fact that all six counters for payments in Jalandhar had been working from 6 am to 9 pm, the number of visitors had been reduced to 600 after August 31 from 1,200.

He said the vehicles registered in other districts could also get HSRP installed in Jalandhar provided they had paid online fees for the same.

Arjun Singh Angral, zonal operations manager, Agros Impex (I) Private Limited, the company that has the contract to install the HSRP, said, “We have observed that the highest visitors for HSRP in Jalandhar were from the Phillaur sub-division. Therefore, they are planning to open the first such fitment centre at Phillaur, which would happen very soon.”

Jalandhar, September 15
Almost every resident in the district — especially those in urban areas — know the pain of being fed substandard or adulterated milk. While across the board, the consumer today is sick of being fed impure milk, consumers in the city spill the beans on how milk adulteration has affected their lives.

"It is a very dangerous scenario that all milkmen should provide adulterated milk. Mostly, there are discrepancies in their registration or licences under the requisite act. But there is no strict monitoring of it by the government. Most of them dilute the milk by putting substances like soda etc. Most milkmen also line the containers in which they carry milk with preservatives to prevent it from deteriorating. But all these substances used to keep up appearances or make the milk appear fresh are actually detrimental to the health of those consuming the milk. The government should do something about the scenario. The common consumer can't judge that there is something wrong with the milk. Some of the chemicals or preservatives used are so bad that they can actually damage internal organs or cause cancers. Moreover, banned injections are used on cattle," said a social activist KS Nagra.

"I am so tired of finding my milk not-up-to-the mark over and over again. I even gave a thought to tying up with a few relatives and friends and keeping a cow so that at least we would get pure milk to drink. So far, the plan hasn't worked out due to space constraints. I am not happy with the milk I am presently getting and have noticed that pure milk is hard to come by in the city. Most of the milkmen these days are not feeding the cattle properly. A lot has to be invested to keep the animals nourished but what is happening is that the owners feed cattle substandard quality fodder and mix it up with all kinds of dry fodder. Many a time, in the milk we get at home, a lot of bubbles form. At times, even my stomach got upset after consuming the milk. We pay an exorbitant price for the milk. I don't mind if someone declares that their milk lacks fat content. Low fat milk is actually good for us. But what is disturbing is that they charge as much money but provide poor quality milk. The government should at least ensure that milkmen declare the actual contents of the milk they provide to consumers. Most of the time we are in the dark. Even good quality desi ghee has become a memory. The dairy owners will learn a lesson only if one fine day everyone keeps their own cattle and stops buying from them," said Kulwinderdeep Kaur, a retired professor.

"In villages and with people who have their cattle, it is still fine. But urban residents truly suffer in terms of milk. It is an undisputed fact that adulteration is at its peak. The government and the health department need to take stringent measures to make sure that bad quality milk does not make it to households. Milk in itself is an independent food which can heal so many ailments. When milk isn't proper, there is no bigger crime that a milkman or provider can commit on the consumer. From children to the elderly, milk is essential for the health of all. Duping people in the name of such an essential food item and charging big for it is totally wrong," said Sukhdev Singh, a farmer.

"I have heard from friends that they felt acidic after tasting the milk provided to them. I myself have to say that the milk we get is not good either. While they provide a separate skimmed milk in packaged form as well, even the regular milk in packets tastes like skimmed milk. It often has an odd odour as well. A strict check should be kept on all dairies and they should be reviewed regularly. There should be separate medical check-ups for all animals every week as well. Adulterated milk is the most gruesome way to play with people's health. And with addition of things like urea, soda and washing powder, one can't even imagine what these must be doing to our bodies," said a city resident Manu Mehta.

"In our area, some of the people come saying we have formed an association and our milk is cleaner than the rest you get from the market. I have tasted the association's milk and I have tasted the others. No matter where you get your milk from, it is all adulterated. It seems the consumers have lost the right to consume clear, pure products. Any commercial milk being sold today in the market is adulterated. And while some people claim it is pure untouched milk, one notices that in most of these cases, fat and cream is mostly missing from the milk. It is indeed the government's responsibility to ensure that good quality product reaches the consumer. After all, we are paying for it. Even the Jamsher Complex where supposedly all dairies are present and proper arrangements are in place — is not clean enough. The first prerequisite is to keep all these places clean. The root of the entire adulterated milk trouble in the district is that the production is less and the demand for milk among the consumers is much more by comparison. So, adulteration is used to fill the gap," said Manish Aggarwal, a teacher.

"It is very that our generation might never know what good quality milk is all about. What is bothersome is that the city also lacks any laboratory or facility where consumers might themselves get the milk tested to see what they are consuming. We are all in the dark about the contents of the milk we have everyday. It is giving rise to so many health problems but we can never tell if the milk is causing them or not. The foremost need is for the city to have an independent testing facility which can test milk and other food products," said Parminder Singh, a local resident.

"Despite the fact that the government has formed dairy associations, the milk is not getting any better. It is a bitter fact that we should all accept. The only way that people might put an end to adulteration is by becoming alert and aware. They should be prompt about changing milk, complaining about the poor quality supply and never shying away from taking up the issue with the local milkman if his product isn't satisfactory. A passive consumer is the greatest boon that a milkman who adulterates his milk might have," said Tarwinder Singh.

Jalandhar, September 15
The city railway station is soon going to don a new look as the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is planning to open an air-conditioned food plaza here.

A team of officials who visited the railway station recently has identified three possible sites for the food plaza.

According to SS Walia, Station Superintendent, the ticket reservation and booking counter may shift outside on the vacant land of the Government Railway Police (GRP). "There is a proposal for constructing a new building for the reservation counter on that land. This will help curb the problem of overcrowding at the city railway station," said Walia.

The IRCTC is planning to offer regional as well as international menus like Continental, Italian, Chinese and even Thai food at the food plaza. Discussions with the top fast food joints across the country are on to reserve their space in the proposed food plaza.—TNS

Jalandhar, September 15
Even as the Deputy Chief Minister had ordered the pruning of deployment of gunmen with private persons and expressed his concern over a large number of police officials engaged for select men in the state, the police authorities have now started avoiding giving details for the same by terming it a security threat to these 
affluent and politically-connected men.

General Secretary of the NGO Human Empowerment League of Punjab (HELP) Parvinder Singh Kitna said aiming to ascertain whether the orders of the Deputy CM had been followed and as to how much downsizing had been done, he filed an RTI before SSP Nawanshahr and SSP Hoshiarpur in July 2014. He said that he had sought the list of private persons who had been officially provided security. He said that he had also sought the details of total personnel available with each police station and those put on private security.

He said that in reply that he received just a few days back, he had been given the details of total deployment and break-up of SPOs, constables, Head Constables, ASIs, SIs and Inspectors for both the districts. He said that the police department was completely silent on the names of the private persons who had been provided security by the Punjab Police.

The activist said the SSP, Hoshiarpur, chose to instead attach two letters from the Additional Director General of Police (Security) dating to January 1, 2013 which reads, "It has been reported that some of the districts had given a copy of the matters related to the security of an individual which were used by them in court cases or other security matters, creating a very embarrassing situation for the state that could jeopardise security and life of the individuals. As per the state government notification, the RTO Act shall not apply to the intelligence wing, Armed Police including Armed Battalions of PAP, Commando and IRB, Security Wing, district police and GRP".

Kitna said his concern for seeking information was just that he often observed that while there was less security attached with police stations for providing security to thousands of families in their areas, some self-acclaimed political leaders who did not even hold any position in the ruling government or political parties were often seen being preceded and followed by a long trail of cops. He said that such personnel were also often seen doing extra-security jobs for their masters throughout the day.

Jalandhar, September 15
Sensing worsening flood situation in Jammu & Kashmir, help has started pouring in from different quarters.

A special counter set up by the Vajra Corps has been getting generous relief material from the volunteers. Now, the Lovely Professional University has stepped in to help the flood-hit valley. The Sukhamni Sahib Sewa Society Istri Satsang Sabha also handed over Rs 20,000 to the Deputy Commissioner of Jalandhar. Different city gurudwara committees and social organisations today also made an appeal to the residents to contribute for the valley.

Charanjiv Lalli, media in- charge of SAD, said daily langar was being sent to the valley and in a day or two, 1,000 blankets would also be dispatched. The LPU today collected three truckloads of relief material to the state in the initial stage. Students and staff members collected tons of direly needed things under the "Joy of Giving" initiative for people in J&K. —TNS

Jalandhar, September 15
Hundreds of bank employees under the banner of Punjab Bank Employee Federation held a demonstration in front of Dena Bank to oppose the opening of small private banks and privatisation of public sector banks at the call of the All-India Bank Employees Association and the All-India Bank Officers Association. Bank employees were also opposing the attempts by the government to merge the banks.

Federation secretary Amrit Lal said it has been observed in their recent budget that the government wants to go ahead with further privatisation by allowing more private capital. The government has not provided any funds for the capitalisation of the PSBs and announced their proposals for merger of the PSBs. Already the RBI has announced its scheme for granting licences to the corporate and industrial houses. 

Phagwara, September 15
Ministers and other VIPs generally pass through Phagwara town to go to Ludhiana, Chandigarh or Delhi, since a national highway goes through the town. The sad part is that they have never bothered to check the prevailing irregularities here.

Residents have raised questions over the working of the Municipal Corporation and the Improvement Trust. Large scale encroachments are seen in several parts of the town, due to which commuters have to face inconvenience.

Markets and service roads have become more congested due to encroachments. Though assurances of removing illegal encroachments have been given by the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Som Parkash, during sangat darshan programmes, nothing was done by the MC.

Sources said officers were being forced by politicians to keep their eyes closed about illegal encroachments on MC land by their supporters.

The Tribune visited several areas and service roads, along with national highway, and found several illegal parking lots set up by private firms.

It was found that a few banks have also set up their own parking lots by putting up fence on service roads.

Several shopkeepers have extended their shops on the land belonging to the national highway as there was no check either by any authority concerned.

Shopkeepers have installed tables and chairs in the verandas meant for the customers. A shopkeeper, who owns in Hargobind Nagar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar and Babbar Akali Market, openly encroaches upon space to make seating arrangements for the customers.

Similarly, the main markets, including Bazaar Bansan Wala, Sarai Road, Gandhi Chowk, Post Office Road and Mandi Road, have become so congested that even a pedestrian cannot cross the market as shopkeepers have displayed their materials extending to the middle of the roads in front of their shops.

Sand-laden tractor-trailers that are parked along the road leading to Hoshiarpur have become a cause of concern for residents of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar under the Improvement Trust’s scheme number 3.

Then there are heaps of sand, piles of bricks, rehriwalas and footpath vendors along the road to add to the chaos.

Further, the road is narrowed by illegal parking of private goods carriers on government land along the roads, including the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur Road and Goal Chowk near the highways.

Residents complain that trucks ferrying goods, bricks, sand and other building material from far-flung areas to various shops on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur Road remain parked there for a long time.

People opine that if the administration removes all the encroachments, there would be no necessity for an elevated road.

They said repeated representations to the local administration and the MC authorities in this regard had proved futile.

Jalandhar, September 15
The Annual Inter-Technology Universities Badminton (Boys and Girls) Tournament 2014-15 was held at the Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology from September 14 and 15.

Six boys' and girls' teams participated in this tourney.

Result of tournament

Boys winner: National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar; runners-up: PEC, Chandigarh; third position: National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur; fourth position: Thapar University, Patiala

Girls’ winner: National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar; runners-up: National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur; third position: PEC, Chandigarh; fourth position: Thapar University, Patiala 

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