19012024-ATR-01.qxd 1/19/2024 12:35 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 13°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 15°C | MIN 4°C PHULKARI WOMEN, MAJHA SCHOOL TO FIGHT CERVICAL CANCER MAKERS OF FILM SAM BAHADUR HOSTS A SUCCESS PARTY BHUMI PLAYS INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST IN BHAKSHAK The Phulkari Women of Amritsar are joining hands with Majha Public School, Tarn Taran, to fight cervical cancer. P2 Makers of the recently released biopic Sam Bahadur hosted a success party in Mumbai on Wednesday. P3 Bhumi Pednekar is set to portray an investigative journalist in the upcoming streaming film Bhakshak. P4 » » » SUNSET FRIDAY 5.52 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7.29 AM FRIDAY | 19 JANUARY 2024 | AMRITSAR Two pvt clinic employees hurt in firing in Patti Our Correspondent Vegetable prices rise as cold weather affects production Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, January 18 Two persons working as assistants at a private homoeopathic clinic were injured as two armed persons opened fire on them in Patti on the Sarhali road here this evening. The injured have been identified as Nishan Singh, a resident of Dadehar Sahib, and Shiwata Sharma of Patti town. Both have been admitted to a private hospital in Patti where they are stable. Jaspal Singh, DSP Patti, said the injured , were in the clinic when the assailants entered the clinic and verified about the identity from Nishan Singh and fired three shots at him. Both Nishan and Shiwata Sharma were injured in the firing. DSP Jaspal Singh Patti said a case under Sections 307 and 34 of the IPC and the Arms Act has been registered by the Patti police and further investigation initiated and the cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained. Amritsar, January 18 The intense cold weather and foggy conditions prevailing in the region for the last nearly three weeks have pushed up the prices of vegetables with their production getting affected due to weather conditions. A visit to Vallah Sabzi Mandi here revealed that the cold conditions have also affected the traders as the wholesale business of vegetables is conducted during the early morning hours. Joginder Singh, a commission agent at the vegetable market, said, “In summer, the vegetable market starts at around 5 am and there is no space left for people to park their vehicles. Presently, the market wears a deserted look as the number of vegetable vendors coming to the place has also gone down.” Joginder Singh said that prices of seasonal vegetables like carrot, radish and cauliflower has Most long-distance trains were running behind schedule Tribune News Service The Vallah vegetable market in Amritsar on Thursday. VISHAL KUMAR seen an upward trend during the recent days as their production has decreased. A vegetable vendor, Sunil Kumar, said, “The prices of almost all vegetables have increased by Rs 10 per kilogram. Initially, crops as peas were being sold for Rs 20 per kilo but now their price too has gone up to Rs 30 per kilo.” He added that coming to the vegetable market during the morning has become risky as a result of which the rush of vendors has decreased. Agriculture experts stated that intense cold conditions have an adverse impact on vegetable crops like peas and cauliflower as their growth is stunted. They stated that harvesting of vegetables in intense cold weather also becomes an issue as it becomes difficult to find workers during this season. Case filed against Mianpur village resident SARPANCH’S MURDER Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 18 The investigation into the killing of Awan Kumar Khullar alias Sonu Cheema, Sarpanch of Adda Chabal village, has become an ordeal for the police. Leave aside the arrest of assailants, the shooters of Sonu Cheema are yet to be even identified by the police. Sonu Cheema, besides being the Sarpanch of Adda Chabal, was a familiar figure in political and social circles of the area. He was shot dead from a close range on Sunday morning when he had gone to a saloon. The Chabal police, acting on the statement of Munish Kumar alias Monu Cheema, brother of the deceased, registered a case under Section 302 and 34 of IPC read along with provisions of A huge gathering at the cremation of Sarpanch Sonu Cheema at Cheema village in Tarn Taran on Thursday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI the Arms Act against one Amritpal Singh Bath of Mianpur village and others. The police claim that the accused Amritpal Singh is the mastermind in the case who with the help of his gang members committed the crime. The police said that Amritpal Singh is facing as many as 18 criminal cases registered against him during the past six to seven years No respite: Passengers suffer as dense fog delays 15 trains and at present is in Germany. DSP Tarsem Masih, one of the investigating officers in the case, said the police have detained as many as five suspects but no solid information has been collected from them. The DSP said that a number of CCTV cameras too have been scanned but except for the fact that the shooter was on a motorcycle driven by his associate and managed to escape to Sarai Amanat Khan (Attari) road, no other information is available with the police. The police said that to arrest Amritpal Singh from Germany is not an easy job as it can be done only on the intervention of the Union Government. Amritpal Singh’s mother is the Sarpanch of Mianpur, a border area village. The police was worried over the huge gathering at the cremation of Sonu Cheema which was performed on Wednesday in Cheema village. The administration was also worried over the resentment prevailing among Sonu Cheema’s family members over the failure to identify and arrest the shooter. SSP Ashwani Kapur yesterday claimed that the police had got vital clues about the shooters and that they would be arrested soon. garh Express by six hours and 10 minutes, and the KiratpurAmritsar Express by two hours. The arrival of the Sambalpur Jammu Tawi Express was also delayed by two hours and 36 minutes. The officials stated that there was some improvement in trains running behind schedule as foggy conditions cleared on time. Meanwhile, passengers coming to the city had to face many difficulties as the duration of their journey increased. Parminder Singh, who came to pick up his guests reaching the station by a train, said, “I had to wait for nearly three hours as the train was running late.” He said all-weather waiting rooms or areas should be constructed at the station for the convenience of passengers and visitors. Amritsar, January 18 The prevailing dense fog led to at least 15 trains running behind schedule in the city. As a result, passengers were highly inconvenienced as they had to wait for hours to board trains to reach their destinations. While most trains departed on time from the railway station, a large number of trains arrived the station late. Officials at the railway station stated that the departure of the New Delhi-Amritsar Express and the Chhattisgarh Express was delayed by one hour and 20 minutes and two hours and 30 minutes, respectively. The trains were delayed as these had arrived late at the city station. Most of the trains that reached late here included long-route trains. The arrival of the New Delhi-Amritsar Express was delayed by two hours and 18 minutes, while the Akal Takht Express arrived late by one hour and 45 minutes, the Karambhoomi Express by one hour and 40 minutes, CSMT Amritsar Express by four hours and 15 minutes, the Nanded- Drug peddler nabbed with 1-kg heroin Traders, industrialists urged to take benefit of OTS scheme Amritsar, January 18 Acting on a tip-off, the Counter Intelligence of Punjab Police confiscated 1 kg of heroin from Rajoke village in Tarn Taran area here on Thursday. The police have arrested a drug peddler, identified as Inderjit Singh, a resident of Kalsian Khurd village falling under the Khalra police station in Tarn Taran. The police also impounded his car, which was being used for smuggling drugs. A case under the NDPS Act was registered by the State Special Operation Cell here. “Inderjit was produced in a court, which sent him to police custody for four days,” said Inspector (CI) Inderdeep Singh. He said the source of the contraband was being ascertained. — TNS Amritsar, January 18 Punjab State Trade Commission Chairman Anil Thakur on Thursday held a meeting with the traders community and urged them to take advantage of the one-time settlement (OTS) scheme launched by the Punjab Government. The scheme was launched by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for recovery of outstanding dues. Applicable from November 15, 2023, it is valid till March 15. Thakur said the taxpayers whose assessments have been framed till March 31, 2023, with amount of total demand up to Rs 1 crore, were eligible to apply for settlement under the scheme. He said the OTS scheme would provide complete waiver in case of arrears up to Rs 1 lakh Passengers wait for their trains at the Amritsar railway station on Thursday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar Superfast Express by three hours and five minutes. Further, the arrival of the Sambalpur-Jammu Tawi was delayed by three hours, the Amritsar Mail by two hours and 52 minutes, the AjmerAmritsar Express by one hour and 10 minutes, the Chhattis- Anil Thakur, Chairman, Punjab State Trade Commission, during a meeting with bizmen in Amritsar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO as on March 31, 2023, which would cover near 40,000 cases. He said the contribution of traders and industrialists is huge for the development of the border state. He said the Punjab Government had made necessary amendments in the policies to suit the community. He said the government was creating an industrial friendly environment in Punjab. Sheetal Juneja, member of the Punjab State Commission, said the government was committed to resolving the issues of traders on a priority basis. The traders raised various problems being faced by them. — TNS Three booked for demanding ~5L extortion Mehndi artist among ‘Teaching format changing to plug gaps in learning’ GLARING GAPS IN LEARNING IN EDU SYSTEM ASER 2023 2 targeted by looters Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 18 Several armed persons looted a mehndi artist when he along with his companion was returning from Bandala village after attending a mehndi function of a girl. The accused looted ~10,000 and two mobile phones after injuring them with sharp weapons and sticks. The police have registered a case. The victim was identified as Nekpal Singh (36), a resident of Chanpuda Khurd village in Rampura district of Uttar Pradesh. He was now residing at Jotisar Colony in Jandiala and his relative Akash. He told the police that he worked as a mehadi artist. He said he got an order of mehndi at Bandala village. On Tuesday, he along with his relative Akash went there on scooter. He said they were returning to Jandiala from Bandala village via Jania village. When they reached near the Jania village turn, three persons riding a motorcycle hit their scooter. He said they escaped and sped away to save themselves. However, the accused, who had covered their faces, chased them and hit the scooter light Neha Saini Amritsar, January 18 The Cantonment police have booked three persons, including a gangster, for demanding extortion from an immigration agency owner. The prime accused, Akashdeep Singh, currently lodged in Faridkot jail, allegedly made the extortion call from the jail complex. Besides Akashdeep Singh, the police have booked Parminder Singh, who is currently outside the country and Jugraj Singh. Jugraj Singh was currently in the police remand. Sunil Duggal, complainant and resident of Rani Ka Bagh area, told the police that he had been getting extortion calls for the past few days from different numbers. They demanded Rs 5 lakh as extortion amount and threatened to kill him if he failed to give the same. He threatened not to approach the police. The police have registered a case under Sections 387 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code. with a sharp-edged weapon. The victim lost balance of the scooter and his relative Akash fell off it and the accused shot at him. He narrowly escaped in firing. But they intercepted him and thrashed him. They snatched the cash and his mobile phone from him. One of the accused hit him on the leg with a ‘datar’ Akash was beaten up with sticks. When they shouted for help, the accused fled the scene. The Jandiala police have registered a case under Section 379-B (2) of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54, 59 of the Arms Act against three unidentified robbers in this connection. The police said further investigations were in progress. Meanwhile, some armed looters snatched a bike from a Zomato delivery boy on the Majitha road at gunpoint. The incident occurred on Tuesday late night when he was going to deliver food to a customer. The victim, identified as Simarpreet Singh, said the accused suddenly came out of bushes on the roadside and stopped him. They snatched his bike at gunpoint. The police have registered a case. — TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 18 Raising questions on the prevailing school education setup, the Annual State of Education Report (ASER 2023) has released figures that surprisingly exhibit glaring gaps in learning in school education system. The annual survey this time focused on an older group of 14 to 18 years old children, specifically on their ability to apply basic reading and math skills to everyday situations, and their aspirations. The survey mentions that 42.7 per cent of children in the age-group of 14 to 18 years in rural India cannot read sentences in English, while more than half of them struggle with simple division problems. About 25 per cent of this agegroup still cannot read a Standard II level text fluently in their regional language. In Punjab, this percentage is better than the national average, i.e. 12.8 per cent. In basic Maths, 43.1 per cent students in Punjab reported low foundational mathematical skills, compared to the national average (56.7 per cent). The findings of the survey are not encourag- c m y b The Annual State of Education Report (ASER 2023) has released figures that surprisingly exhibit glaring gaps in learning in the school education system. ing, especially when Punjab claims to be among top performers in school education – which include indicators like learning outcomes and access – in the Union Education Ministry’s Performing Grading Index (PGI) report 2021-22. “The contents of the Annual Status of Education Report, 2023, are absolutely correct. Students in the 14-18 age category have difficulty in reading and writing basic English sentences. The fact that students, particularly those studying in rural schools, are unable to pronounce or read and write basic English sentences is because a majority of schools do not follow the guidelines of the International Phonetic Association. This is an organisation that promotes the scientific study of phonetics and its various practical applications. There are 26 alphabets and 44 sounds. However, teachers teach just the alphabets and leave out the sounds. Learning phonetics means learning how sounds are produced and also learning the relationship between the sounds. “I agree it is the fault of the teachers, who do not teach phonetics properly. This is indeed a sad state of affairs in elite English schools, not to talk of government schools,” said Upma Mahajan, Principal, Lawrence International School, Batala. Like her, many teachers believe that foundational skills like reading and arithmetic are significant for everyday activities like calculations and understanding instructions and the findings of the report are not surprising. Anita Bhalla, Principal, Bhavans SL School and city coordinator for CBSE, agrees with the contents of the report, “Maths is a big issue in all Boards, with schools mostly focusing on completing the syllabus and not learning outcomes. Maths teachers too use external tools to calculate. In languages, keeping aside speaking skills, the reading skills are poor due to focus given on English language. So, vernacular languages have been pushed back. It is not their mother tongue, which is mostly a regional language.” Upasana Mehra, Principal, Senior Study II, shared that language, especially regional and vernacular, has become a challenge for most schools. “Language, especially regional, has become adulterated with most words being replaced by English version in our speech.” Megha Goyal, Head of the Department of English, Lawrence International School, Batala, shared that the report says a majority of students between 14 and 18 years are unable to grasp even the basics of the English language. “This usually is because students are taught grammar and vocabulary but lack practice when it comes to speaking or writing which plays with their confidence to speak the language in public. There are various studies that prove that the concept of grammar is so confusing that 90 per cent of the students fail to grasp its intricacies. Grammar is taught between 14 to 18 years and a majority of the students drop out of English classes in this phase and never come back to complete it.” Ridhima Anand, Mathematics teacher, St Mary’s School, Gurdaspur, said, “In India, we have developed a rote system that unfortunately has been going on for generations. This system envisages learning through memorising and repetition and not by mind, which is wrong. It is like making them run around the field without letting them play in it. The better way is to get them involved and make the subject interesting.” According to her, the use of applied learning method must be used in teaching a subject like Maths. “Maths can be easily made attractive with the use of visual aids, yet not many schools have access to such aids ,” she said. While filling these learning gaps seems an arduous task, Upsana Mehra, who has been propagating the changed CBSE framework of application-based learning, said that the change will happen for good. “Looking at the gaps in learning, the CBSE has now come up with changed framework and a lot of application-based learning is now being adopted in schools. Applied Maths, based on case studies, is being used as teaching methodology in schools. The style of teaching is being changed to more researchbased or application-based. So, these changes are happening and will take a few years to bear results,” she said.