05022021-JTR-01.qxd 2/4/2021 10:57 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar TRIBUNE INDIA-ISRAEL PROJECT UNLOCKS NEW WAYS OF CULTIVATION PAGE 2 In pics: The Tribune gives you a glance of foreign techniques, primarily alien to us, being used for growing veggies. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY AKSHAY, SAINA TROLLED OVER IDENTICAL TWEETS ON PROTEST MAX 18°C | MIN 8°C | YESTERDAY MAX 15°C | MIN 9°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6:06 PM Suffers 90 pc burns | Friend who was playing along also injured and ❝The boy is criticalDMCH. has been referred to Tribune News Service INBRIEF BANK STAFF HOLD DEMONSTRATION Jalandhar: Employees of various bank branches of the city held a massive demonstration in front of the SBI (Main branch), during lunch hours, to protest against government’s declaration of privatisation of two nationalised banks and increase in the FDI in insurance sector from 49pc to 74pc. There has been resentment among employees over this declaration. Amrit Lal, Convenor, UFBU, said the privatisation of banks would be detrimental to the interest of employees as well as the general public. The employees also raised slogans against the government for taking this step. TNS JEWELLERY WORTH LAKHS STOLEN Jalandhar: Two unarmed men decamped with jewellery worth lakhs from Rajan Jwellers at Cheema Chowk near Model Town on Wednesday. They had come to the shop on a bike. While one of them entered the shop and posed as a customer, the other waited outside. The owner said: “The accused posed as a customer and asked my employees to show him the jewellery. The moment my employee came with the jewellery bag, he pushed him and ran away with the bag.” In the CCTV, the accused escapes from the spot within seconds before the owner could do anything. A case was registered. TNS TWO ARRESTED UNDER NDPS ACT Hoshiarpur: The district police have nabbed a person with 250-gm heroin, a pistol and three live bullets, while another person was arrested with a pistol. SP (I) Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu said a police team stopped a car for checking and recovered 250gram heroin and a pistol from the driver identified as Amritpal Singh of Rajowal village. Based on the information received from him after probe, Aman Rana of Narain Nagar, Hoshiarpur, was also arrested. A Creta car and 32 bore pistol were recovered from him. A case under the NDPS Act was registered. OC Apart from Ankur, his friend who was playing with him, also suffered 40-50 per cent burn injuries. He was shifted to the Metro Hospital for further treatment. ❞ Sullakhan Singh, SHO, RAMA MANDI The victim being treated at the Civil Hospital in Jalandhar before being shifted to DMCH. from tuition, his son had gone to the terrace to fly the kite with his friend. After a few minutes, the string got entangled in a high-tension wire passing overhead from a nearby transformer. The string remained in the hands of the boy, giving him a high voltage shock. He was immediately rushed to the Civil Hospital. Despite several awareness campaigns and police action, there has been no check on the illegal sale of Chinese strings. SHO, Rama Mandi, Sul- lakhan Singh confirmed that the boy was still critical and referred to DMCH, Ludhiana. Apart from Ankur, his friend who was playing with him also suffered 40-50 per cent burn injuries. He was shifted to the Metro Hospital for further treatment. ~5 lakh given as relief to kin of deceased farmer Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 4 Chairman of the Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training Mohinder Singh Kaypee and Sub-Divisional Magistrate-1 Dr Jai Inder Singh on Thursday handed over a cheque for ~5 lakh to the family of a farmer, who died during the ongoing protest against the farm laws at Singhu border. Farmer Bhupinder Singh of Bolina village had gone to Singhu border and was taken to a hospital at Panipat after he developed fever and some other health issue on January 25 and died during treatment the next day. The cremation was A cheque for ~5L being given to the kin of Bhupinder Singh, a farmer who died during the ongoing protest at Singhu border. held at the village on January 27. While handing over the cheque, Kaypee expressed deep sympathy with the family and said the government would stand with the farmer’s family and assured all kinds of support to them. He said Bhupinder Singh had lost his life for the rights of farmers and the Union Government must consider their demands of repealing three laws immediately. Jalandhar, February 4 The Jalandhar Improvement Trust (JIT), which is already reeling under heavy debt, has suffered another jolt after the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, while addressing four similar complaints of allottees of the Bibi Bhani Complex LIG flats, ordered the Trust to refund the money with 6 per cent interest, ~30,000 as compensation and ~5,000 as litigation expenses in each case. The total amount that JIT has to pay to all four allottees — Hardeep Singh, Vipan Sharma, Seema and Naranjan Das — is ~25.33 lakh. In Hardeep Singh’s case, the principal amount paid by him for the flat was ~6.70 lakh, Vipan Sharma paid ~5.96 lakh, Seema paid ~6.14 lakh and Naranjan Das paid ~6.51 lakh. However, they never got the possession of the flats. The plaintiffs said as the JIT miserably failed to hand over the possession of the LIG flats of the Bibi Bhani Complex, which was meant to be given in 2012 and had even not returned ❝ We found that JIT has miserably failed to bring the evidence, proving that the construction work of the flat has been completed and the same is fit for delivery. Moreover, as per the allotment letter, the Trust was liable to complete the construction work within twoand-a-half-years and thereafter, hand over the possession to the allottees complete in all respect i.e. along with amenities and ultra-modern facilities with quality of standard construction. ❞ Kuljit Singh, Jyotsna, DIST CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM PRESIDENT, MEMBER their earnest money. Hence, they were forced to approach the consumer forum to seek justice. The counsel of the complainants, Harleen Kaur, said in 2009, the JIT allotted 51.5 acres for the development of the Bibi Bhani Complex, announcing a self-financing scheme promising twostorey apartments equipped with all basic facilities and quality infrastructure. The JIT then asked for full payment at once or in instalments and had declared that the possession of the flats would be given by 2012. He said the complainants paid the entire price of the flat to the tune of ~5.5 or over ~6 lakh to the JIT in instal- ments or at once as per the terms within two-and-a-half years. Their last instalment was paid between 2010 and 2012. As per the conditions of the allotment letter, the JIT was to give the possession of the flat to them on the payment of the last instalment, but it did not delivered the possession till date. The complainants said they had written multiple letters to JIT to refund the earnest money. The JIT, they alleged, kept adjourning the matter on one pretext or the other. A notice of the complaint was given to JIT by the forum. However, JIT officials contested that the complainants were not their consumers and maintained that c m y b FRIDAY | 5 FEBRUARY 2021 | JALANDHAR Over 4,000 health workers skip Covid vaccine shot in first phase With 27 more cases, Jal tally reaches 20,758 A majority of those left are Class IV workers & paramedics Tribune News Service Aparna Banerji Jalandhar, February 4 With 27 more cases, the Covid tally of positive patients reached 20,758 in the district on Thursday. The death toll, however, remained at 677. There are 239 active cases in the district so far and 19,842 people have been discharged, while as many as 158 people are under home isolation. Meanwhile, Kapurthala district saw seven persons testing positive for Covid-19 on Thursday. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 4 As the second phase of the Covid vaccine took off to a roaring start in the district, with key officials including the DC and the CP getting vaccinated, a considerable number of frontline workers from the first phase are yet to be vaccinated. Of the 11,800 health workers registered to be vaccinated in the district in the first phase, a whopping 4,000 did not get themselves vaccinated in the first phase of the drive. Of the over 4,000 left to be vaccinated, a majority are Class IV workers and paramedical staff. On the second day of the second phase of the Covid vaccination drive on Thursday, as many as 412 persons got vaccinated. Among those to be vaccinated were ADCs Vishesh Sarangal and Jasbir Singh. Notably, of the 412, at least 50 persons were health workers who hadn’t received their first vaccine shot. On Wednesday, 238 people had got vaccinated. While some dispensary staff and paramedical staff had refused to get themselves vaccinated in the first phase, with lesser staff at government hospitals and dispensaries turning up, the Health Department had also started vaccination drives at private hospitals, which saw better response. While 16,490 vaccine doses were brought in for the first phase; for the second 13,000 more doses have been brought in. In all, as many as 17,400 frontline workers have to be vaccinated in the second phase of the Covid vaccine. Dr Rakesh Chopra, district immunisation officer, said: “Entries are still going on for frontline workers and they shall be made till February 7. A majority of health workers who did not turn up for the vaccine were paramedical To refund money with 6%interest, ~30Kas compensation &~5K litigation fee Tribune News Service PAGE 4 Preserving the essence of old gold, but giving it a fresh look is what this jewellery designer specialises in. SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:16 AM JIT told to pay ~25.33 lakh to allottees Ajay Joshi SHE SPECIALISES IN GIVING GOLD PIECES A NEW LOOK Akshay and the badminton ace faced trolls for posting identical tweets about the ongoing farmers’ protest. Kite touches overhead power lines, leaves 11-yr-old critical Jalandhar, February 4 An 11-year-old boy sustained nearly 90 per cent burn injuries due to an electric shock after his kite’s string got entangled with an overhead high-tension wire in Jhansi Nagar on Tuesday evening. A student of Class VI at Shiv Shakti Public School, Ankur was using a Chinese string to fly his kite. He was immediately shifted to the the trauma ward of the Civil Hospital, from where he was shifted to DMC Hospital in Ludhiana, due to his critical condition. The incident took place around 4.15 pm, when Ankur was flying kite on his terrace. His father, Kaushal Kumar, said after returning PAGE 3 the complainants themselves were at fault, as they did not turn up to take the possession of the flats as per the terms and conditions of the allotment letter. Meanwhile, in the judgment, president of the forum Kuljit Singh and member Jyotsna said the complainants were entitled for the relief claimed. “We found that JIT has miserably failed to bring the evidence, proving that the construction work of the flat has been completed and the same is fit for delivery. Moreover, as per the allotment letter, the Trust was liable to complete the construction work within two-and-a-half-years and thereafter, hand over the possession to the allottees complete in all respect i.e. along with amenities and ultramodern facilities with quality of standard construction,” the forum said. However, it has not delivered the possession of the same to the complainants so far, the forum said. Therefore, owing to the deficiency in services or unfair trade practices on the part of JIT, the allottees were entitled for the relief. SSP, 136 other frontline workers take the jab in Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur: The second phase of Covid vaccination drive started in the district on Thursday. SSP Navjot Singh Mahal was among the 137 frontline workers, who took the shot of Covishield vaccine here at the Police Lines Hospital. Besides Mahal, SP (H) Raminder Singh, SP (D) Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu, SP (PBI) Mandeep Singh, DSP (H) Gurpreet Singh Gill, DSP City Jagdish Raj Attri, DSPs Prem Singh and Amar Nath also received the shots. After getting vaccinated, the SSP said this special vaccination camp would be held for the next five days to cover all officers/ officials of the Punjab Police being frontline workers in the battle against Covid-19. He said the second dose of the vaccine would be administered after 28 days to each frontline worker. Mahal said Punjab DGP Dinkar Gupta started the second phase staff. Lack of awareness seems to be the only reason for those not turning up. Doctors have been keenly participating in the drive both across government and private establishments. However, paramedical staff can still come in and get vaccinated. On Thursday also, 50 to 55 health workers left over from the previous phase got vaccinated. It is picking up pace. It will take about a month or so to be done with second dose of vaccine on health workers by getting vaccinated to further motivate the officers/officials of the Police Department, as they did a commendable work during the Covid-19 crisis as frontline workers. He also gave a call to all police personnel and other citizens to come forward for vaccination in the larger public interest besides keeping the pandemic at bay. Appealing to the people to not to fall prey to any kind of rumours, the SSP said this vaccine was essential to combat the pandemic and all of us must come forward in getting the shots. The SSP said following the vaccination, people are being kept under observation for half-an-hour and they would get a message to take the second dose after 28 days. As many as 137 frontline workers — 83 from the Police Department and 54 other frontline workers — got vaccinated on Thursday. OC and frontline workers. After that, those above the age of 50 years with co-morbidities shall be vaccinated.” Speaking about any adverse reactions among patients, Dr Chopra said: “There have been mild fevers, headaches, body aches or temporary inflammation in the area being vaccinated, as is the case with other vaccines too. But no serious adverse reaction has been reported in any patient so far.” DIST ROUND-UP Samples collected 5,70,870 Negative 5,27,522 Positive 20,758 Active 239 Deceased 677 Discharged 19,842 Sample inappropriate 6,542 Results awaited 2,191 Home isolated 158 One dies, three persons test positive in Hoshiarpur With the arrival of three new positive patients, the Hoshiarpur district tally reached 8,081. Due to one more death on Thursday, the toll reached 338. Civil Surgeon Dr Ranjit Singh said there were 67 active cases so far, while 7,695 patients have recovered. Of the three patients reported on Thursday, one is from Hoshiarpur city and two from other health blocks of the district. — OC At 57, cancer patient dons a student’s hat...again Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi Hoshiarpur, February 4 There is no age limit to learning, but when a 57-year-old cancer patient decides to pursue higher studies, it certainly turns around a few heads. Manjit Kaur, a lambardar of Bohan village, goes to attend her classes at Sri Guru Har Rai Sahib College for Women at Chabbewal. Kaur, a cancer patient, cleared her PSEB Class XII examination at the age of 56. Committed to her goal of becoming an advocate, so that she could help the needy, she has taken a leap into the world of learning by taking admission in BA in the college. Keen on attending college right after taking admission, her plans were cut short by Covid-induced restrictions. The college remained closed and she had to depend on online studies. Now that the classes have begun, Kaur said she sometimes skipped her medicines as it causes drowsiness and hampers her studies. Things become tougher for her when she gets sick. NOTHING HOLDS HER BACK Following her routine of going to college at 9 in the morning and returning around 2pm, Manjit Kaur drives her car all the way from her Bohan village to Chabbewal to attend the college. She has opted political science, history and Punjabi as elective subjects, besides the two compulsory subjects of general English and general Punjabi. “But my teachers and classmates are too cooperative. Whenever I am not able to attend the classes, I ask them to send the notes or PDF on my phone,” said Manjit Kaur. Following her routine of going to college at 9 in the morning and returning around 2pm, she drives her car all the way from her Bohan village to Chabbewal to attend the college. She has opted subjects such as political science, history and Punjabi as elective ones, two compulsory subjects of general English and General Punjabi. When asked about what prompted her to take up studies at this age, she recalled an incident at a court when she saw a lawyer’s assistant not behaving well with a poor elderly client. “That incident was a trigger. I then decided to become an advocate and contest the cases of such people for free,” she added.