Jalandhar, November 19
Negating the tall claims made by the state government on curbing drug menace in the state, the police on Tuesday recovered heroin from three different places in the city.

While the police recovered 110 gms from 19 years old Hitesh Handa and 21 years old Rohit Kumar near Ikhairi Bridge in Dhall Mohalla, it has recovered 220 gm from Gurpreet Singh near Guru Nanak Pura.

The police also caught two people consuming the deadly powder near the old jail. The heroin found in small quantity (330 gm) but its recovery from small time robbers hints towards the smooth running of the still existent drug mafia network in the city. Although, the Police Commissionerate has many at times made tall claims of uprooting the drug mafia network in the city, in reality, the deadly poison is available freely in various parts of the city.

According to Dr Aman Sood, in charge of the drug de-addiction centre at Civil Hospital, initially during the launch of the de-addiction drive, the number of the OPD patients had swollen to around 150 per day due to the non-availability of the drugs. "However, for the last two months, the graph has come down drastically to 40 to 50 patients per day hinting towards the possible revival of the drug mafia network in the city," said Dr Sood. He also informed that even those who are coming for de-addiction do not complete their de-addiction course due to the easy availability of drugs around them due to the easy availability of Synthetic opioids, post (dode) and alcohol here.

Also some patients who came to the de-addiction centre at the Civil Hospital revealed to this correspondent that earlier they indeed felt the scarcity of intoxicants in the city.

"But now you name the intoxicant and it is easily available even in small villages. After trying for a while, the city police have failed to curb the menace," said a patient at the de-addiction centre.

When contacted, J Elanchezian, ADCP (Crime), said: “The recovery of heroin from three different places in a single day confirms the will of the city police to break the deadly network in all possible ways. It may take some time but the menace will soon be eliminated completely from the city.”

The police keep making regular claims to have recovered intoxicants every now and then, but they have still not made any laudable recovery so far. Till date, the deadly poison is easily finding its way down to the young’s bloodstream in the city.

Jalandhar, November 19
In a major haul, the city police nabbed six people in three different cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) and recovered seven motorcycles, one scooter and 13 smart phones worth Rs 4.5 lakh from two of them.

J Elanchezian, ADCP Crime, revealed that two youths, 19-year-old Hitesh Handa, a resident of Modiya Mohalla, and 21-year-old Rohit Kumar of Madhuban Colony were coming on a motorcycle (PB-08 AY-1313) on the Ikhairi Bridge at Dhann Mohalla where they were stopped by Inspector Inderjeet Singh and his team. When searched, the team recovered a high end smart phone and 110 grams heroin from Hitesh Handa. Later, further interrogation of the two also led to the recovery of seven motorcycles, one scooter and 13 smart phones from them. The team also recovered 110 grams of intoxicant powder from them. A case pertaining to this was registered under Sections 22, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act at division no 3 police station. "The estimated cost of the recovered items is around 4.5 lakhs and we are hopeful to recover more items from the duo," said Elanchezian. He also informed that the youths were arrested under Sections 379, 382, 482 and 411 and an FIR was lodged in division no 3 police station.

In the second case, ASI Ranjit Singh and his team during patrolling near Chaugitti Chowk saw a youth coming walking from Guru Nanak Pura side. On his suspicious moves after seeing the police cops, he was made to stop and searched thoroughly. The cops recovered 220 grams of intoxicant powder from him. A case under Sections 22, 61and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered at Rama Mandi police station and was immediately arrested by the patrolling team.

In another incident, the patrolling team led by ASI Mohan Singh was patrolling near BAsti Adda and got the information that three people were consuming heroine near the small gate of the old jail. The team immediately reached the spot and nabbed Vishal Kalyan, a resident of Ali Mohalla, Rajiv Kumar, a resident of Guru Nanak Pura (west) and Jatinder Singh, a resident of Preet nagar. While the trio tried to run away on seeing the police, but they were nabbed immediately by the raiding staff. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act in division no 2 under Sections 27, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act.

Jalandhar, November 19
Even as it has been a year since the Department of Home Affairs Punjab has been seeking applications from the immigration companies, IELTS centres and air ticketing firms asking them to apply for a mandatory licence but so far only 105 out of an estimated 6000 companies in Doaba region have applied for the same. Even as November 12 was the last day for applying under the recently amended notification under the Punjab Travel Regulation Act, even still the response remained feeble.

Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur have received about 55 and 40 applications, respectively, for the same with none of the applicants having got a licence till date. Nawanshahr has got 10 applications so far, out of which three applicants have been issued licences. Kapurthala lags behind all with not even a single applicant turning up for getting the licence. The deadline for applying under the Act (which was originally called Punjab Prevention of Human Smuggling Act) was earlier fixed at October 31, 2013, it was then put off by another one month and then again till December 31 last year. Owing to some pending litigations, the date was again put off to June 20. It was then extended all over again to November 12 to get some more response but that too has not helped much. As of now, there has been no further extension of date.

The response remained low even as most demands put up by the immigration companies since the past one year have been conceded to by the concerned department. This despite the fact that the Association of Consultants for Overseas Studies (ACOS) and other groups formed of people into the trade had been this time spreading across the message and asking their fellow businessmen to apply for licence. Jaspal Singh, general secretary of ACOS, had even been sending mails across attaching the forms and the checklists of documents required for the same. He said that owing to less response all over again, there are chances of the deadline being extended for the sixth time. The administration, police and the concerned department too has done little to popularise the scheme. There are thousands of victims in Punjab who have suffered monetary loss and threat to life at the hands of illegal agents. Families from Jalandhar, Amritsar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur who have their youth stuck up in Iraq with no clue about their safety for the past four months, had also moved illegally. DC of Kapurthala DS Mangat confirmed there has been a nil response. DC Hoshiarpur Amit Dhaka, however, said that the response had started picking since there had been just 14 applications till June and now there were about 40 applicants.

BACKGROUND A fee of Rs 1 lakh is to be levied on firms which have been in existence for more than five years as a travel agent or consultancy. A fee of Rs 25,000 is to be levied on travel firms which have been in existence for less than five years. Even ticketing agents are to pay Rs 25,000 for registration. The state government has allowed the travel agents to pay the amount in five instalments. There is a long checklist of documents to be attached including residence certificate, documents indicating proof of age, such as birth certificate or matriculation certificate, proof of identity such as Voter Card, Aadhar Card or ration card, copy of passport, three passport size photographs and a copy of PAN card etc.

Jalandhar, November 19
The District Transport Department’s move to open high security registration plates (HSRP) payment and fitment centre at sub divisions seem have been delaying due to certain issue relating availability of land.

In order to ease out the process, district resident in installing high security registration plates, the District Transport Office had planned to open payment counters and fitment centres at all sub divisions in Jalandhar, including Phillaur, Nakodar and Shahkot.

As per their plan, the centres should have been opened till the end of October. However, the payment and fitment centre in Phillaur sub-division had to be open on priority basis. Yet, due to unavailability of land, the same has been delayed.

Meanwhile, Arjun Singh Angral, zonal operations manager, Agros Impex (I) Private Limited, a company that has the contract to install the HSRP, said: “State Transport Commissioner (STC) was yet to approve the same. As soon as the approval is provided to open up payment and fitment centres at sub-division level, the process for the same will be started.”

“A properly developed plan in letter has been despatched to the (STC) a few months ago. No decision has been taken so far. The land in Phillaur sub-division has already been selected by the BDPO office, yet no permission has been granted,” said Arjun.

There are over 7.5 lakh vehicles in the Jalandhar out of which less than 3 lakh vehicles have got installed with the HSRP. More than 4.5 lakh vehicles are yet to get the HSRP. 

Jalandhar, November 19
District Development and Panchayat Office (DDPO) has recently ordered to evict 10 panchayat land worth more than Rs 119.43 crore that were illegally occupied by the different firms and individuals, including Krishna Real Estate Enterprises Jalandhar and part of the MBD group.

The DDPO-cum-collector, Amandeep Singh Gujral, said four kanal of 18 marla land falling in the jurisdiction of gram panchayat, Kot Kalan, has a market value of Rs 100 crore. Following a thorough case study, this chunk of land was found to be illegally occupied by the Krishna Real Estate Enterprises, Jalandhar. Therefore, he said that on October 27, 2014 the ruling was passed in favour of gram panchayat, Kot Kalan. Similarly in a case of gram panchayat Khambra vs Itpal, the court of the DDPO found that 133 kanal 14 marla land worth Rs 18 crore was illegally possessed. Thus, the order was given in favour of Khambra panchayat on November 10, 2014. In another case, gram panchayat of Aadekali vs Jagir Singh, the DDPO court found that 1 kanal 12 marla panchayat land value Rs 60 lakh was under the possession of Jagir Singh. Therefore on November 11, 2014 the orders were issued in favour of Aadekali panchayat. Apart from this, on November 5, 2014 the court reached a conclusion that the panchayat land of 8 kanal 10 marla of Gakhal village worth Rs 50 lakh was unlawfully occupied by the Surjit Singh. The DDPO said that the orders to evict six other properties, including land and shops have also been issued in different hearings. —TNS

Jalandhar, November 19
Trees that are considered to be the lifeline for humans are nowadays posing a serious threat to the city residents. Fallen trees and those hanging could be seen entangled in electricity wires and also tree limbs that grew inside the power lines and are a matter of grave concern for the city residents. Some of the trees are even dangerously tilted towards the main boundary walls of various schools and residential houses inviting a tragedy any moment that could claim many precious lives.

According to Jagminder Bochi, a resident of Atwal House Colony, who has a huge eucalyptus tree tilted dangerously towards his residential lawn, despite repeated requests, the local forest department has not paid any heed to this. "My family is scared to move and sit in the front lawn fearing it may fall anytime," said Bochi. He also informed that due to the location of a prominent school just opposite to his house, the danger has increased manifold. "So many times, I have warned children standing under it. Sometimes, even the school bus also park under the tree," said Bochi.

Another city resident Kamal Kumar of Urban Estate Phase-I, said, "Two trees are lying uprooted in front of my residence and hanging on the main power transmission for the last six months causing a lot of inconvenience to the commuters. But despite repeated reminders to the forest department, they have not been lifted till date. Not only does such a situation causes inconvenience to the customers, they can also threaten public safety when power is interrupted to vital services such as hospitals, traffic signals, and fire alarm systems, or to customers with life-support systems."

Even Gopal Sharma, Deputy Chief Engineer of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited said due to the strictness of the Forest department, they are not been able to do the regular maintenance work as they threatens to register a case against the linesmen if caught causing any damage to the trees.

Also, there seems to be a lot of confusion among the city residents. Most of them said that they inform the district Forest department for any such incident and despite repeated requests, no one comes to address their issue. However, according to Surjit Singh Gill, District Forest Officer, such issues should be addressed to the Horticulture Department of the Municipal Corporation.

When contacted, GS Khehra, Municipal Commissioner, said: "Pruning the trees is a continuous process. We will still look into the matter of the concerned department's negligence if any, for failing to lift the uprooted trees from various parts of the city."

Meanwhile, slamming the Electricity Department for their ignorance, he said the department if required can prune the trees that come under the municipal limits.

"The law prohibits one from cutting trees and not trimming them. If the electricity department faces some problem due to overgrown trees, instead of the Forest Department, they should inform us or they can themselves clip the trees after informing us," said Khehra.

Jalandhar, November 19
To provide speedy justice to the people living in rural areas, Rana Kanwardeep Kaur, Chief Judicial Magistrate (Senior Division) and Secretary, District legal Services Authority (DLSA), inaugurated a free legal aid clinic on the regional campus of Guru Nanak Dev University in the city.

She said, "The DLSA clinic will function with support of the law students of the GNDU and make people aware about their rights to get free legal aid."

Addressing the students, she urged them to serve the community without any vested interest. While quoting the famous saying of Martin Luther King Jr, she said that law and order exists for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose, they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.

Also present on the occasion were para-legal volunteers Gourav, Tejpal Singh, Jaswinder Kumar, Raman, Anjali and advocate Harleen Kaur, Navjot Sidhu, Jagarnath Singh and the teachers of the law department.

Jalandhar, November 19
A meeting of the office- bearers of the principals’ association of three universities of Punjab — Punjab University, Chandigarh, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and Punjabi University, Patiala, was held today at Doaba College, Jalandhar, to discuss the problems of non-release of salary grant in the private aided colleges of the state covered under 95 per cent grant-in-aid scheme.

The problem was discussed in detail and decided that the matter be actively taken up with the state government and measures to get the grant released be explored. For this, a six member co-ordination committee of the principals’ association with representative of all state universities was constituted and authorised to coordinate with management federation, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teacher Union, Non-teaching Employees Union of the colleges and other stakeholders for appropriate action.

Jalandhar, November 19
Punjab Youth Clubs Organisation today held a demonstration on the occasion of International Men’s Day to speak out against the misuse of several laws related to dowry, domestic violence and maintenance.

Speaking on the occasion, the founder and president, Joginder Singh Jogi, said: “This demonstration is a tribute to those men, who have committed suicide being victims of the misuse of these laws.”

He said every year over 22 lakh men have been victimised due to the misuse of these laws. He said since 1983 around 8 lakh men, who were victim of misuse dowry laws, have committed suicide. There are numerous families have been suffering because of misuse of such laws.

He said the same precedents have been increasing gender discrimination.

Apart from this general secretary, World Human Rights Protection Council, Surinder Mittal, said: “International Men’s Day is a time to highlight discrimination against men in the area of social services, social attitudes and expectations. Men in India are becoming victims of systematic abuse through gender biased laws.” — TNS

Jalandhar Tribune invites feedback from its readers on issues of public concern relating to Jalandhar, Phagwara, Kapurthala and the nearby areas. Readers can email their views to jalandhar.feedback@gmail.com

They can also send their views to: Feedback, Jalandhar Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh - 160029. Letters sent by post must mention 'Feedback for Jalandhar Tribune' on the envelope and it should be signed and must contain the address and telephone number of the sender. It should not be more than 150 words.