13052022-JTR-01.qxd 5/13/2022 12:02 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar TRIBUNE IN PICS: GARDENS BREATHING LIFE INTO CITY’S GREENSCAPE PAGE 2 City founders gave due importance to having a green cover. Tribune explores the city to know more about its history. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF SCHOLARSHIP FOR DAV STUDENTS Hoshiarpur: PL Arora Scholarship was disbursed to the meritorious students of DAV College, Hoshiarpur. While speaking on the occasion, College Principal Prof Vinay Kumar said this scholarship was provided by Sunil Arora, former Chief Election Commissioner, in the memory of his mother, Pushp Lata Arora. Dr Varsha Mahindra, convener of Student Welfare Fund said under this scholarship, five meritorious students were befitted. College managing committee chairman Dr Anoop Kumar and secretary DL Anand congratulated the students. OC BANGALORE STC EMERGE CHAMPS Hoshiarpur: Inter -STC BSF Volleyball Competition organised in STC BSF Kharkan Camp, Hoshiarpur, concluded on Wednesday. Twelve teams from different STCs participated in the competition, which included 10 teams of male constables and two teams of female constables. The final match was played on between STC Bangalore and STC Hazaribagh in which former recorded a thrilling victory in the match. SS Mand, Commandant (Training), was the chief guest. The teams that secured first and second place in the competition were awarded trophies and players were awarded medals by the chief guest. oc MOHALLA CLINIC IN GARHSHANKAR Garhshankar: MLA Jai Kishan Singh Rouri met Punjab Health Minister Vijay Singla in Chandigarh and presented a demand letter to him regarding the shortage of staff and other facilities in the health institutions under Garhshankar Vidhan Sabha constituency. The MLA said the first Mohalla Clinic will be opened in the constituency soon. In which there will be facility of doctors, nurses and other necessary tests. He said that the Health Minister has assured to complete the shortage of doctors and staff soon in all the health institutions under the light of Garhshankar. OC APPLY FOR COVID EX-GRATIA IN 60 DAYS Hoshiarpur: DC Sandeep Hans said to the residents, which had a family member died due to Covid-19, that the government is providing ex-gratia assistance of ~50,000. Applications for exgratia assistance related to the death due to Covid till March 20 would be received within next 60 days. He said in case of deaths after March 20, applications for ex-gratia could be submitted within 90 days from the date of death. The DC said 1,096 cases of death due to Covid have been reported in the district of which the 972 families have been given the benefit of ex-gratia of ~48.6 crore. oc NATIONAL LOK ADALAT ON MAY 14 Hoshiarpur: CJM-cumSecretary District Legal Services Authority Aparajita Joshi said National Lok Adalat will be organised on May 14 at district and sub-division level. She appealed that maximum number of cases should be filed in the Lok Adalat as this would save time and money and the decision of these Lok Adalats is recognised as a civil decree to which no appeal lies. OC PAGE 3 ACTRESS SHILPA SHETTY TAKES A BREAK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA SHILPA SHUKLA ON BEING A PART OF THE BIG FAT CITY The actress enjoys a huge fan base and used to post inspirational videos on yoga and her day-to-day activities. MAX 42°C | MIN 27°C | YESTERDAY MAX 43°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET FRIDAY 7:15 PM PAGE 4 Shilpa Shukla first shot to prominence as a rebellious hockey player in the 2007 sports saga Chak De! India. SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:32 AM FRIDAY | 13 MAY 2022 | JALANDHAR Hit by internal feud & Covid, school Primary students attending school for destitutes struggles for survival in evening shift! Loses a majority of pupils; dist admn says will ensure students have a future Tribune News Service Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 12 Started in 2001 in an endeavour to impart education to children living in local slums, Sant Kabir School and Mandir is currently undergoing through testing times in its nearly 20-year-long run. Situated right next to the polluted nullah in Sham Nagar, the school is going through its worst financial crisis that it can’t even pay students’ board exam fee. A pre-Covid dispute and the exodus of labourers from the area in large numbers during the pandemic emptied the once bustling school. Of the nearly 300 students who used studied here during the pre-Covid times, but now only 100 are left. Presently, there are only 15 to 20 students in the nursery classes, five in Class VII and merely three students in the VIIIth standard. The plight of the school came to light after a former society member returned over ~15 lakh collected in funds for the school to the district administration on Wednesday. Earlier sewing classes were held under the name of Lala Jagat Narain in the school. Within years, pushed by local do-gooder Mela Ram Bhagat, classes began. The joining in of ex-councillor and former Improvement Trust member Brijesh Chopra, who is an advocate by profession, got in muchneeded funds for uniforms stationary, books, etc. Funds were mobilised for a building, water, electricity and various other amenities. However, trouble came when disputes developed within the committee. As a result, funding was massively hit. Staying away for years, Chopra, on Wednesday returned funds worth over ~15 lakh which had been collected for the school by him (and kept in a bank account), to the district administration, saying he didn’t want A view of Sant Kabir Public School and Mandir at Sham Nagar; and (below) a ganda nullah flowing just in front of it. PHOTOS: MALKIAT SINGH DIPPING STRENGTH ■ Nearly 300 students used to study here during the pre-Covid times, but now only 100 are left. At presently, there are only 15 to 20 students in nursery classes, five in Class VII and merely three in the VIIIth standard ■ The plight of the school came to light after a former society member returned over ~15 lakh collected in funds for the school to the district administration on Wednesday. OFFICIALSPEAK ‘I WAS SIDELINED’ secondary Mela Ram was a ❝I will have the DEOand the ❝Then presidentlater manouvered Chopradon’t know theHe was like a ❝We ji walked out. reason why check out the school fine man. But was administration would ensure requisite arrangements are made so that at least students have secure future and are able to pursue smooth education further Ghanshyam Thori, DC ❞ them to be ‘misused’. Present president Shiv Kant Bhagat, son of now deceased Mela Ram Bhagat, said the welfare society tried to persuade him to join back but he didn’t relent despite their best efforts. Sunita Rani, vice principal by some. We built the school from the scratch, but the committee began taking decisions without my consent. So I considered it best to walk out. I don’t want the funds to be misused father figure to me. Only my father could have told what happened. I’m not aware of the former disputes. We went to him to convince him, but he didn’t agree to return. Brijesh Chopra, ONE OF THE SCHOOL FOUNDERS Shiv Kant Bhagat, PRESIDENT OF SCHOOL SOCIETY of the school for 14 years, said, “The school had 250 to 300 students, but many left during Covid. The school received an affiliation from the PSEB in 2012. The school was earlier till X standard, now its till VIII standard. After Covid things Councillors meet MC Commissioner CM’s meeting with state school heads was mere Flag issues hitting civic body working eyewash: Sukhi Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 12 Municipal Corporation councillors on Thursday met the MC Commissioner and held a discussion over several issues. While handing over a letter to the commissioner, they said councillors are not being informed anything about the development works going on under the Smart City project in the wards. “We are answerable to the public. Residents keep on asking us about the works and inquire their status, but we don’t know any answer. It creates an embarrassing situation for us,” the councillors said. They demanded to include the councillors in Smart City project. The councillors also raised the matter of pendency in passing of residential building maps. Councillor Manmohan Singh Raju said earlier the power to pass housing maps and issuing of NOC was with the assistant town ‘NOT AWARE OF ANY DISPUTE’ planner, but later, former MC Commissioner Karnesh Sharma took over it, which resulted in huge pendency. “We have requested the commissioner to give back the power to the ATP again as we have been receiving several complaints from the ward residents that they have to wait for several days and sometimes months to get their maps passed and get NOCs,” he said. The councillors added that because of the long process, the corruption is on rise in the civic body. Another problem of nonseriousness of the MC officials was raised. The councillors said several files go missing, which was one of the biggest concerns. “We make estimates of several projects and development works after so much of discussion. But it is found that the files generally go missing which results in wastage of all the effort that goes into it,” Raju said. Jalandhar, May 12 Parents of students studying in Government Primary School, Model House, have alleged that despite the orders of the Education Department pertaining to double shift timings and their repeated requests to school authorities, the school was being run in the evening shift. They said the school starts at 12 noon when the heatwave is at its peak. “We have written an application requesting a change in the timings of schools for primary wing students to morning shift considering the extreme weather,” parents said. In a letter, procured by Jalandhar Tribune, the parents mentioned that the school already follows double shift timings. Students of senior secondary wing study during the morning shift while the students of primary wing (aged between 3 and 12 years) study in the afternoon shift. Parents bemoan the conditions of their children (students of primary wing) because they have to go to school in blazing heat. One of the parents, Vicky Kumar, who is a rickshaw-puller, said: “I face innumerable problems while dropping my children to the school in such a hot climate. I don’t own a car. I have to take the children on my rickshaw. Many a times, they fall sick due to the hot weather. The school authorities are not paying heed to our requests.” Santosh Kumar, another parent, also spoke in a similar vein. He said: “My wife accompanies my child to school during peak hours. However, I drop my daughter who studies in the senior wing of the school. The school authorities need to understand that it is not only the children that suffer, but the parents are also suffering.” Contrary to the allegations levelled by the parents of the students studying in the primary wing of the school, Principal Perminder Flora says: “The government circular purely suggests needbased application of double shift timings and it is not mandatory to change the timings as per the order.” She also pointed out that since last over decades the school is running in two shifts i.e secondary students in the morning for and primary students in afternoon, that too with the consent of parents. She further said: “If the students of the senior secondary wing are shifted to the evening time, it will hamper their work as most of them are working or lending a helping hand to their parents. It will then lead to decrease in the number of senior secondary students in the school if their timings are altered.” ❞ are bad. This year we couldn’t pay the board exam fee of the students of classes V and VIII. So we aligned with the local Holy Land School to ensure the total Rs 15,000 we owed as exam fees could be paid to the board. Fee has ❞ been affected and funds are less. We would like to expand the school. We hope the administration helps.” Sunita Rani says she doesn’t know the reason of the dispute between Chopra and the present society. Mid-day meal is served at 3 pm to students of Government Primary School, Model House, in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Demand for advancing date of paddy sowing gaining pace Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 12 Terming Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s recent meeting with school heads in Ludhiana a sheer extravagance, SAD MLA from Banga, Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, said the much clamoured exercise for revamping the education system had not only proved futile but it also made it ample clear that the AAP government had no vision and was just trying to deviate the attention from real issues related to education. “Though the CM and the Education Minister have been making tall claims, they have failed to supply the text books to the students in schools even after one and half month of the new academic session,” said Sukhi, adding the government had been spending public money on advertisements claiming regularisation of services of thousands of employees but nothing is happening at the ground level. c m y b Ready plan to check floods, Kapurthala DC tells officials Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 12 Demand of farmer organisations for advancing sowing date of paddy is gaining ground as late sowing adversely affects the yield and disturb agriculture calendar. Notably, the government has divided the state into four zones and the dates of sowing of paddy have been given from June 18-24. This has not gone down well with the farmers. Not only farm leaders, but ground report suggests that farmers in general are not in favour of this decision. Mukhtiar Singh from Mundi Cholian village said if paddy sowing gets delayed, wheat sowing would get delayed and thus the results will not be good. “Some farmers will opt for late paddy varieties because there is no guarantee that it will give good results,” he said. Uchha village farmer Hartej Singh shared the same view. He said farmers sow PR 126 paddy variety on a small area The government has divided the state into four zones and the dates of sowing of paddy have been given from June 18-24. of their entire land. “Out of 60 acre that I have, I sow PR 126 in the end when I feel that water requirement is not being met. Also I have huge land on contract, so, if we sow varieties that are already being used by the farmers like PUSA 44 and PR 121, I will be able to pay to earn something,” he shared. Like every farmer, Tarsem Singh from the same village also said it was not feasible for them to wait till the June 24. “The whole cycle of sowing of various crops will get disturbed if we sow paddy late this time,” he said. Singh also corroborated this viewpoint that PR126 variety was not sown on the entire land. “We have 20 acres of land, but we sow this variety suggested by the government only on 5 acres,” he added. One thing the farmers have been saying that every decision is being imposed on us 10-15 days ahead. First, there should be proper plan and then the farmers should be asked to do something. Jalandhar, May 12 Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Sarangal has directed the district administration to prepare 'flood preparedness plan' and 'district disaster management plan' for the prevention of floods during the coming monsoon season so that in case of any adverse situation various departments of the administration would respond quickly in a better way . He asked the ADCs, all SDMs, top officials of the revenue department and various departments to list out the role and requirements of their respective departments for these plans. He also asked all departments to appoint a nodal officer for immediate action during the flood season besides registering his phone number, e-mail etc. The DC asked the Drainage and Revenue Department to visit the Dhussi Bandh to identify its weak points.