27112020-JTR-01.qxd 11/26/2020 10:55 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar TRIBUNE IN PICS: GOBINDGARH FORT IS BRAVING THE FORCES OF TIME PAGE 2 The historic military fort situated in the centre of city was regarded as the heart of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s kingdom. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF TWO HELD WITH OPIUM, POPPY Hoshiarpur: The police have recovered 1 kg of opium and a quintal of poppy husk from two peddlers in separate incidents. SP (D) Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu said the team from Garhdiwala police station had laid a naka in the area. He said a person near Kalra village was signalled to stop, but while trying to escape he threw a plastic envelope. He said on inspecting the envelope, cops recovered 1kg opium from it. The accused has been identified Gurwinder Singh, alias Ginda, a resident of Narayangarh village. A case has been registered against the accused under the NDPS Act. In another incident, cops from Mehtiana police station recovered 100-Kg poppy husk from a canter laden with apples. Sandhu said they received a tipoff that a vehicle loaded with apples, coming from Jammu and Kashmir, had huge quantity of poppy husk hidden in it. The accused has identified as Roshan, a resident of Jahangir village, Sangrur. OC ONE SUCCUMBS IN HOSHIARPUR Hoshiarpur: The health authorities reported 35 new positive cases on Thursday. With this the number of positive patients has increased to 6882. The authorities reported one death and as a result, the toll reached 248. Civil Surgeon Dr Jasvir Singh said with receipt of 1,450 new samples of people with influenza like symptoms, total number of samples taken in the district has reached 1,90,271. OC ABHISHEK, CHITRANGDA SINGH SPOTTED ON SETS OF BOB BISWAS PAGE 3 YUVRAJ MEDHE FROM BEING A SWEEPER ON SET TO CONTESTANT Both actors have resumed shooting for Bob Biswas after nine months of wrapping the first schedule of the film. MAX 24°C | MIN 8°C | YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 9°C SUNSET FRIDAY 5:27 PM PAGE 4 Yuvraj Medhe talks about his journey from being a sweeper on the sets of Indian Idol 12 to being a contestant. SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:10 AM FRIDAY | 27 NOVEMBER 2020 | JALANDHAR Series of protests rock city, cripple life cha, said, the management at HMV College was pressurising students to pay the fees, which forced them to hit the roads. “Despite paying Rs 7,000 during admission, the colleges have been demanding fee from the students of the minority community, who have enrolled themselves under the scheme, to pay additional Rs 4,000 as university fees,” added Dakoha, a student of MA Punjabi of Layalpur Khalsa College. Similar allegation was also levelled by DAV College students. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 26 It was a day of protests in Jalandhar. Numerous associations held dharnas in various parts of the city to safeguard their rights and be heard the government and authorities concerned. A large number of SC/ST students gathered outside HMV College and raised slogans against the management for demanding fee. The Punjab Roadways permanent and contractual workers protested at depot number 1. Anganwadi workers also held a protest march from Deh Bhagat Yadgar Hall to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office for non-fulfillment of their long pending demands. Similary, a massive rally was held by bank employees outside Punjab National Bank. Bank employees oppose mergers, labour laws About 2,500 bank employees and officers, at the joint call of All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) and All India Bank Officers’ Association (AIBOA), observed a complete strike due to which the banking activities were entirely halted. About 300 bank branches of the Jalandhar City and 650 branches in the district remained closed on the account of strike. As per information, cash transactions of Rs 200 crore and clearing transactions of Rs 180 crores were affected RAGE SPILLS ON TO STREETS Bank employees stage a protest; and (right) SC/ST students block a road outside HMV College in Jalandhar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: SARABJIT SINGH and as many as 20,000 cheques could not be cleared due to strike. The strike was held to oppose the drastic changes in the labour laws. Amrit Lal, secretary, Punjab Bank Employees Federation (PBEF) said, “Under the new laws, unions cannot go on a strike if the matter is still in conciliation, referred to tribunal or arbitration. So, with these rules, we will not be able to hold strikes,” he said. The protesters also said formation of unions would also be difficult, because now at least 100 employees should apply for registration of union, while earlier, it was only seven staff members. The unions are also opposing the merger as well as privatisation of banks. They are also strongly opposing the proposal of the RBI to give bank licenses to corporate houses for opening of private banks. ANGANWADI WORKERS UP IN ARMS, FLAY ‘ANTI-PEOPLE’ POLICIES OF GOVT ■ Anganwadi employees gathered at the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall on Thursday from where they marched towards the Company Bagh. They then proceeded towards Jyoti Chowk. The union leaders said the government was hellbent upon privatising all departments. ■ They alleged that the Centre had completely ignored the anganwadi workers employed for the past 45 years even in the National Education Policy-2020 ■ They demanded restoration of the 40 per cent share of the Centre as Rs 600 for an anganwadi worker, Rs 500 for mini worker and Rs 300 for a helper. Addressing the rally, Amrit Lal said it was unfortunate that the government was trying to privatise PSUs and going ahead with dismantling the same. SC/ST students gherao MP’s residence A day after the district administration announced the opening of the portal for availing Dr BR Ambedkar Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for the registration, a large number of SC/ST students today held a protest outside HMV College. The students alleged that the college management was demanding fees from them for the admissions. As many as 400 students kept the roads outside HMV College blocked for nearly 34 hours and staged a dharna on the road leading to the Workshop Chowk. The vehicular traffic remained hindered till late evening hours. The traffic was also diverted to other routes. After failing to get any response from the college management, students moved to MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary’s residence and intensified their protest. Navdeep Dakoha, President, Student Sangarsh Mor- Punjab Roadways buses remain off the roads The Punjab Roadways Sanjhi Action Committee today held protest at Jalandhar Roadways Depot -1. Permanent and contractual workers protested against the merger of Punjab Roadways into the PRTC and recommendations of the Montek Singh Ahluwalia Committee. As a mark of protest, the staff would keep buses of the road for 24 hours. Agitating against the policies of the Transport Department, leaders of the committee said the government was moving ahead with privatisation. “There is a monopoly of private buses in time-table and roadways buses have been given fewer routes. This is causing huge loss to Punjab Roadways. Besides, the demands of workers have not been fulfilled,” said Baljit Singh, general secretary, Punjab Roadways Permanent Workers’ Union. No clarity on opening CNG stations has auto drivers worried Two rakes of urea to ❝ Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 26 Despite the fact that CNG auto-rickshaw drivers in the district were assured in September that new such stations would come up in the city by November 15, no step has so far been taken by the administration in this regard. The absence of CNG filling stations is costing dear to auto-rickshaw drivers. There were also apprehensions earlier this month that filling stations would be opened in the district after Adani Gas Ltd reportedly signed an agreement to take over the supply chain of CNG The authorities have always put auto-rickshaw drivers at the receiving end. For getting the eco-friendly fuel, they have to spend extra amount by travelling to far-off filling stations in areas such as Kartarpur, Phagwara and Nakodar. Auto-rickshaw drivers have been struggling to get a regular supply of CNG for the last two years. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH from Jay Madhok company. However, at present there is not any CNG filling station in Jalandhar, as a result of which the auto-rickshaw drivers have to travel as far as 20-30 kilometres to get their vehicles re-filled. To reduce pollution, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had issued ❞ Ranjit Singh, PRESIDENT, BHAGAT SINGH AUTO-RICKSHAW UNION strict guidelines in July 2018 that no new auto-rickshaws running on petrol and diesel would be allowed in the district and only CNG, LPG or electric autos would be registered. Besides, for the easy availability of CNG, the PPCB had assured that new CNG stations would be set up in every district. Though over two years have elapsed, drivers are still struggling to get a regular supply of CNG. After Jay Madhok was issued a show-cause notice by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) over defaulting on timelines and alleged irregularities in the acquisition of the licence for selling gas in the city, the supply of CNG has been hit since. Gurinder Singh, a CNG autorickshaw driver, said due to the non-availability of the required number of CNG stations, they had to limit their commuting routes and their daily wages had also decreased due to the unavailability of the desired amount of fuel. Moreover, CNG fuel was available for only five days in a week. The dealers of the fuel are also reportedly suffering losses. Meanwhile, SubDivisional Magistrate (SDM) Jai Inder Singh denied having any official confirmation that the Adani group would take over the acquisition of CNG supply here, dashing the hopes of opening of new CNG stations in the coming days. arrive in Nawanshahr Nawanshahr, November 26 With resumption of trains after nearly two months, two rakes of urea would soon arrive in Nawanshahr. Fertiliser would be provided to farmers for sowing wheat and other crops, including potatoes and vegetables. Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Raj Kumar said the fertiliser was much-needed for sowing crops. He said with arrival of two rakes in a day or two, there would be no shortage of urea in the district. “Now, trains have started running and farmers will not face any shortage of fertiliser. They should not panic to procure urea,” he said. He said wheat would be sown on 77,000 hectares during Rabi season in the district for which 25,000 MT of urea would be required till March 31. He said 17,000 MT of urea was already available in the district, which was being supplied through wholesale dealers. The Chief Agriculture Officer said the cooperative societies had been supplied required quantity of urea. Dr Raj appealed farmers not to buy more than the required quantity. — TNS ‘We utilised the pandemic period as an opportunity to upgrade’ Dr Anoop Kumar, head of DAV College managing committee, Hoshiarpur, opens up about the updations made across institutions ACADEMICS IN PANDEMIC W ith opening of the schools and colleges, the challenges have increased as the teachers are now taking up online as well as offline classes. Several updations have been made and many more are on the cards. Dr Anoop Kumar, president of DAV College managing committee, Hoshiarpur, an organisation managing around 12 schools and colleges in various parts of the state for over a century, feels that biggest concern remains the safety and health of the staff and students. In an interview with Sanjeev Kumar Bakshi, he opens up about the problems the pandemic set in motion for the education sector, an opportunity to update the infrastructure and how the technological advancements made have polished the staff 'technologically' and more adept to its use in the teaching-learning process. THE TRIBUNE INTERVIEW the academic ❝The present scenario has changed a different one and perspective a lot. The situation is quite unprecedented solutions have to be grinded out for this unprecedented situation. We have utilised the pandemic period as an opportunity to upgrade. Many facilities have been upgraded in almost all of our institutions and a major development project was taken in our pioneer institution, the 122-year-old DAV Senior Secondary School, Hoshiarpur. How is the teaching of different institutions faring digitally and on offline mode? Online teaching was started in our institutions in April. DAVC of Education was the first off the block. Also, offline classes have begun now and we are complying with government guidelines. Are there any infrastructural changes introduced for classes? We have introduced several changes as teachers had to take online classes and many of them Dr Anoop Kumar, PRESIDENT, DAV COLLEGE MANAGING COMMITTEE, HOSHIARPUR were not well-versed with the use of latest technology required in the post pandemic phase. So, a complete overhaul in the schools and colleges was needed and all has been updated — WiFi availability and connectivity has been further improved and strengthened. Is the faculty trained and updated for the changed mode of teaching? Special training sessions have been conducted for teachers and non-teaching staff to sensitise them of students' needs. How do you look upon the c m y b ❞ current changed scenario of academics? The present scenario has changed the academic prospective a lot. The situation is quite a different one and unprecedented solutions have to be grinded out for this unprecedented situation. We have utilised the pandemic period as an opportunity to upgrade. Many facilities have been upgraded in almost all of our institutions and a major development project was taken in our pioneer institution, the 122-year-old DAV Senior Secondary School, Hoshiarpur, where not only the new auditorium has been raised but new updated toilet blocks were added apart from the renovation of building and other infrastructure. A 'maths park' has also been created which is first of its kind initiative to make students learn while at play. Any updations made or on cards to enable students to cope with the new situation? The training of students especially of the science stream has suffered a lot. The lab work has to start soon though the syl- labus has to be curtailed but we are trying our best that students don't clear the exams half baked. What precautions are being taken to prevent the spread of virus? Thermal screening, physical distancing, hand and surface sanitisation, wearing of masks, are all being done as per standard protocols. What will be your biggest concern once the regular teaching starts? Our biggest concern will be to ensure the safety of students and staff. Protecting them would be a challenge but we are taking all necessary precautions. We are even sensitising them to prepare them to brace up for the post Covid era.