21042026-JTR-01.qxd 4/20/2026 10:56 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune DC REVIEWS HIGHWAY PROJECTS, RESOLVES ISSUES ON THE SPOT GOVT EXTENDS APAR FILING DEADLINE TO APRIL 26 KAPIL SHARMA HONOURED AT PUNJABI ICON AWARDS He directed the officials concerned to take immediate action to ensure timely completion of the works. P2 The extension applies to all Group A, B, C and D employees across the state. P3 Curated & organised by Cong leader Charan Singh Sapra, the event brought together leading names from entertainment. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 37°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 17°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.00 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:52 AM TUESDAY | 21 APRIL 2026 | JALANDHAR NGOs submit memo to admn over hefty fee hike Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 20 Members of various social organisations under the banner of the Sanjha Action Front Punjab submitted a detailed memorandum to DC Varjeet Walia in Jalandhar on Monday, seeking effective onground implementation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. Organisations participating in the protest included the Azad Kranti Manch, the Power of Law Nation Empowerment, Sarv Adhikar Raksha Abhiyan Samiti and the Veer Seva Foundation. Speaking on the occasion, representatives of the organisations stated that similar memorandums have been submitted to officials in every district by activists of the Sanjha Action Front Punjab. The primary objective of this statewide campaign is to ensure the actual implementation of the Right to Education granted to children under the Constitution. The memorandum primarily highlighted the issues of illegal fee collection under readmission, denial of admissions to poor students, rampant hefty fee hikes, etc. Members objected to the widespread practice of illegal collection of additional fee from parents by private schools every year under the guise of the ‘re-admission’ process. They also objected to the denial of admission to children from poor and underprivileged sections against the 25 per cent reserved seats in private schools, mandated under the Right to Education Act. They also objected to arbitrary fee hikes and other allegedly unlawful practices adopted by schools. Warning of a statewide agitation if their demands are not addressed promptly, the representatives urged the district administration to strictly enforce the Right to Education Act to ensure equal and quality education for every child. City’s Anish gets AIR 86 in JEE Main Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 20 Jalandhar boys again delivered an impressive performance in the JEE Main Session-2, results of which were declared on Monday evening Anish Chawla, who repeated his stellar performance, scored a 99.997 percentile and attained the All-India Rank of 86. He was also the city topper in the JEE Main Session-1. A student of Cambridge International (Co-Ed) School, Anish comes from a family of doctors. His grandmother Sushma Chawla is a renowned gynaecologist. His parents, Dr Deepak Chawla and Dr Shikha Chawla, his maternal grandparents, maternal uncles and paternal aunt are also doctors. He chose not to be in the same league and set a different path for himself. His mother Dr Shikha said, “Anish has been very consistent with his studies. He had set a target for himself and achieved it through a meticulous planning. After school and coaching, he ensured that he had enough time for self-study. Since his Class XII board exams, he had been Ishmit Singh, AIR 503, and Naman Narula, AIR 1123, in a cheerful mood. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH. Anish Chawla, who has got AIR 86 in JEE Main, with his parents in Jalandhar. focusing only on mock tests and extensive practice. All his efforts have borne fruit. All our prayers are now for him for his JEE Advanced scheduled for May 17. We are hopeful that he will crack that too with flying colours”. Following Anish is Ishmit Singh with 503 AIR. A student of MGN Public School, Urban Estate, Ishmit Singh had taken coaching from Aakash Institute. He is the son of businessman, dealing in hosiery. Tanish Sharma of Innocent Hearts, Green Model Town, has got 898th rank with 99.98 percentile. His father Dr Anupam Deep Sharma is Regis- trar and Pro Vice-Chancellor of CGC, Mohali. His mother Deepali Sharma is a physics lecturer in Sector 41 school in Chandigarh. “Both my parents are into teaching physics and I owe my 100 percentile in physics in JEE Mains to them,” said Tanish. His sister is pursuing B.Tech from Pan- jab University, Chandigarh. Naman Narula, who has got AIR 1123, is also taking coaching from Aakash Institute. He is a student of Guru Harkrishan Public School, Kapurthala. Manroj Singh of St Soldier School has got 99.72 percentile. Suryansh Sharma of the same institute has got 99.6 percentile. Haragam Singh Pasricha of Innocent Hearts School has got 99.41 percentile and a rank of 9356. “My aim is to help my father Apanjyot Singh Pasricha expand his textiles business”, he said. Tanish Sharma, student of Innocent Hearts School, who got 99.98 in JEE Main. Census duty leaves schools crippled, classes cancelled or clubbed Rishika Kriti Tribune News Services Jalandhar, April 20 Routine classes in government schools across Jalandhar went for a toss on Monday after a large number of teachers were pulled out of classrooms for Census training. With schools struggling to keep academic work running, the authorities either cancelled classes or squeezed two or three classes into a single room. Several students were seen leaving early after their teachers were not present to conduct their classes. To manage the crisis, schools roped in B.Ed trainees as a stopgap arrangement to manage multiple classes simultaneously, often without subject specific allocation. However, this did little to ease the burden on schools already short of staff, officials said. Although the district Education Department retained some teachers in schools where the entire staff had been assigned Census duties, the situation continued to be grim. According to the official list, several schools, includ- A B.Ed trainee takes a class at Govt Senior Secondary School in Jalandhar.TRIBUNE PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH. ing School of Eminence, Maqsudan; Government Senior Secondary School, Ladhewali; and Government Senior Secondary School, Heran among others have had their entire staff enrolled in the three-day Census training that began today. Gohrina, Principal of Government Girls Senior Sec- ondary School, Nehru Garden, said, “We have had to call off classes from Class IX to XII as out of 94 teaching staff in our school, 86 have been sent for Census training. Our school has a strength of around 2,500 students. With only eight teachers left, we are unable to manage higher classes, so we are calling only students from Classes VI to VIII.” She added that the situation has worsened further as four of the remaining eight teachers are also engaged in the admission process. “Effectively, we are left with a few teachers to manage thousands of students. We are forced to run two or three classes under one roof,” she said. Similarly, a teacher from Government Senior Secondary School, Ladhewali Road, said, “There are many schools in Jalandhar where not a single teacher has been pulled for the Census duty while in others the entire staff have been taken away. It does not make sense. Even those retained by the DEO office are not exempt from Census duties, which means when the Census work will begin, schools will be left without teachers to run classes.” Tajinder Singh, Principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Ladhewali, said, “All 30 teachers in my school were called for the training. After a request, the DEO office retained only seven teachers. Now, obviously it is difficult to manage 600 students with just seven teachers.” A senior teacher from School of Eminence, Maqsudan, said, “Our school has 40 teachers, all of whom were initially called for Census training. After we raised the issue, 16 teachers were retained. But with over 700 students, even this arrangement is not sufficient to run classes smoothly.” Teachers burdened Even schools with a minimal staff of just two or three teachers have not been spared. Interestingly, teachers who are also serving as Block Level Officers (BLOs) have been assigned Census responsibilities as well. At Government Middle School, Killi in Shahkot, only three teachers are posted. Of these, two have been deployed for Census work while the third is engaged in BLO duties, effectively leaving the whole school without any teacher available to conduct classes. Similarly, at Government Middle School, Lallian Khurd, both teachers have been assigned Census duty, bringing classroom teaching to a complete halt. At Government Middle School, Bashesharpur, the situation is even more stark. The lone teacher, already handling BLO responsibilities, has also been deputed for Census work, leaving the whole school completely unattended. Farmers protest Mohali road project: Phagwara MLA power cuts seeks CBI probe into ‘cost escalation’ Our Correspondent Phagwara, April 20 Farmers are facing hardships due to frequent unannounced power cuts during farm electricity supply hours, a situation that has triggered strong resentment among the farming community. Raising the issue, Harvinder Singh Khunkhun, president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Doaba) (Block Phagwara), said despite assurances from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited to ensure uninterrupted power supply from 3 am to 8 am for agricultural purposes, unscheduled outages are being imposed, causing distress to farmers. He stated that the situation has led to panic among farmers as even villages that are supposed to receive 24-hour electricity supply are facing sudden and unannounced cuts. According to him, such disruptions are adversely affecting irrigation schedules and agricultural operations, especially during crucial periods. Issuing a stern warning to power officials, Khunkhun said if the problem of unannounced power cuts continues, the union will be compelled to launch an agitation against the authorities. He emphasised that farmers should not be made to suffer due to administrative lapses and demanded immediate corrective measures to ensure reliable electricity supply in rural areas. Our Correspondent Phagwara, April 20 Raising serious concerns over the implementation and financial structuring of the Mohali road project, retired IAS officer and MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal has demanded an independent probe by the CBI into the alleged irregularities surrounding the project. He questioned the sharp escalation in project cost from ~783.46 crore to over ~912 crore, alleging that such a spike points towards possible discrepancies in the tendering process and a nexus between political leadership and the bureaucracy, which could lead to a significant financial burden on the state exchequer. Dhaliwal further alleged that the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann proceeded to issue the letter of award despite the matter being sub judice before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He termed this move a matter of concern and called for a thorough scrutiny of the selection process of the executing agency to ensure transparency and accountability. Highlighting cost-related anomalies, he pointed out that the resurfacing cost of the road has been pegged at approximately ~10–11 crore per km, which he described c m y b Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal as unusually high when compared to established benchmarks for urban infrastructure projects. He also expressed concern over the absence of penalty clauses in the tender, stating that such provisions are standard even in smaller projects to ensure timely completion and accountability. The MLA alleged that the company, awarded the contract, has previously faced legal cases in other states and its past projects have raised safety concerns. Despite this, he claimed the firm was favoured over local contractors, effectively sidelining Punjab companies and potentially impacting local industry and employment. Calling the issue a serious matter of administrative prudence and financial responsibility, Dhaliwal urged that a fair and impartial investigation be conducted to bring out the truth and fix accountability. Members of the Democratic Teachers Front submit a memorandum to the Assistant Commissioner in Hoshiarpur against the imposition of non-teaching duties on teachers. DTF’s memo to CM against additional burden on teachers Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, April 20 The Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) has raised strong objections against the increasing burden of non-academic duties on teachers and submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the district administration. A delegation of teachers, led by district president Sukhdev Dansewal and joint secretary Praveen Sherpur, met Assistant Commissioner Parampreet Singh at the DC’s office in Hoshiarpur. Other members of the delegation included representatives from various teacher and employee unions. In the memorandum, the union highlighted that a large number of teachers have been deployed on Census work, voter list revision (SIR surveys), BLO assignments, health insurance scheme enrollment, drug surveys and other non-teaching tasks. This has severely disrupted the academic environment in government schools as thousands of teachers are being pulled out of classrooms, adversely affecting study, particularly those from economically weaker and marginalised sections. The delegation also alleged irregularities in the allocation of duties, claiming that in some cases, officials have altered previously issued duty lists to favour certain individuals while burdening others. The DTF demanded that non-academic tasks such as elections, Census operations, health schemes and surveys should instead be assigned to the educated unemployed youth, ensuring that classroom teaching remains unaffected. They further suggested that in the case of working couples, only one partner should be assigned duty, while exemptions should be granted to pregnant women and mothers of children below two years of age. The union also called for an equitable distribution of duties among employees of different government departments rather than placing the entire burden on the education sector. The leaders announced that the issue would also be raised at a “Chetna Convention” scheduled to be held in Hoshiarpur on April 23, where teachers would be mobilised against non-teaching assignments. They warned that if their demands are not addressed, the organisation would be compelled to intensify its agitation.