31082026-JTR-01.qxd 8/30/2026 10:44 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune BJP ORGANISES ‘MANN KI BAAT’ AT 140 LOCATIONS ACROSS CITY NATIONAL SPORTS DAY CELEBRATED AT SANSARPUR SWANAND-SHEKHAR UNITE FOR SIX-SONG COLLECTION 137th edition of the Prime Minister’s programme, “Mann Ki Baat”, organised at 140 locations across city. P2 The village of Sansarpur, known as the Mecca of Indian Hockey, witnessed National Sports Day celebrations. P2 The first song Piyarva was born over coffee on a rainy afternoon 12 years back and never quite left. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.52 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:03 AM » MONDAY | 31 AUGUST 2026 | JALANDHAR Schools told to follow mid-day meal menu despite fund delay Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 30 Even as mid-day meal workers in Jalandhar await the release of cooking costs pending since April to purchase basic ration, the Mid-Day Meal Society, Punjab, has tightened compliance norms, directing schools to strictly adhere to the prescribed menu and holding school heads solely responsible for any deviation. Nearly 1,435 government primary and middle schools in the district serve mid-day meals to students. Under the scheme, the government provides Rs 6.78 per child for primary classes and Rs 10.17 for middle classes towards cooking costs. With these funds unavailable, mid-day meal workers in Jalandhar said school heads, principals and teachers have been shelling out money from their own pockets to arrange ration such as pulses, cooking oil, spices, milk, curd and fruits. Kulwinder Kaur of Amanatpur, a local representative of the Punjab Mid-Day Meal Union, said, “It has been months since school principals and teachers have been providing us ration to keep preparing the meals. The officers keep telling us that the funds will be released within a few days, but till now we have not received anything.” The funding delay has also Mid-day meal being distributed in a govt school, Jalandhar. FILE affected the workers own payments. Mamta Sharma, state general secretary of the union, said they were yet to receive their July salary of Rs 3,000. “The salary is already meagre but despite that we are not even receiving it on time. Although the letter was issued on August 5, directing the release of our salaries, we have not received the July payment,” she said. A Block Primary Education Officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, attributed the delay largely to the transition to a new payment portal SCHOOLS HEADS BUY RATION ON CREDIT Mid-day meal workers said in the absence of funds, school heads and principals have been procuring essential ration items such as pulses, rice, spices, salt and sugar on credit from local vendors, while spending from their own pockets to purchase perishable items, including milk, curd, vegetables and fruits. aimed at curbing fund leakages. Earlier, payments were processed through the Public Financial Management Sys- tem, but these are now being shifted to SNA-SPARSH (Single Nodal Agency-System for Payments, Accounting, Reconciliation and Settlement). The officer said the IDs of meal workers had been created and the data is mostly uploaded, adding that the funds are expected to be credited within a week. Against this backdrop, the Mid-Day Meal Society, Punjab, issued fresh instructions on August 26, directing schools to ensure that students are served meals strict- ly according to the prescribed weekly menu under the supervision of the meal incharge. The directive, applicable from September 1 to September 30, makes the school head solely responsible if the prescribed menu is not followed. The menu includes dal and chapatti on Monday, rajma, rice and kheer on Tuesday, black or white channa mixed with potato along with puri or chapatti on Wednesday, kadhi with potato and onion pakoras and rice on Thursday, seasonal vegetable and chapatti on Friday, and sabut mah di dal, rice and seasonal fruit on Saturday. Kheer is also to be provided as a sweet dish on any one day of the week. The department has also directed schools to make efforts to provide special food, fruit, sweets or other items to students along with the mid-day meal on special occasions, festivals or special days, with the support of village sarpanches, donors or other prominent persons. With the government now placing the responsibility for menu compliance squarely on school heads, meal workers said the priority remains the release of the cooking costs, so that schools can continue preparing meals without teachers and school heads having to arrange basic ration from their own pockets. Govt staff can get home loans at 7.25% interest rate Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 30 House ownership could be more affordable for thousands of regular government employees with Punjab State Cooperative Bank introducing a special concessional housing loan scheme offering finance of up to Rs 75 lakh at an effective interest rate of up to 7.25 per cent per annum. The scheme, announced by the bank in a letter dated August 26, is intended to provide regular employees with an affordable housing finance option and promote home ownership. The scheme is available to regular employees of government departments, boards, corporations, public sector undertakings (PSUs) and apex cooperative institutions. The bank has asked the heads of departments and organisations to circulate the scheme among eligible employees so that they can avail the benefit. The scheme covers a range of housing needs from buying a plot and constructing a house to purchasing or constructing a house or buying a flat under an approved scheme. Eligible housing loans taken from other banks or financial institutions can also be taken over under the scheme. Under the facility, the bank Employees can repay loan over 30 years or until they attain 70 yrs will finance up to 85 per cent of the project cost, subject to the maximum loan limit of Rs 75 lakh. For a plot being purchased along with construction, the plot component cannot exceed 75 per cent of the total loan while the remaining amount has to be used for construction. Employees can repay the loan over 30 years or until they attain 70 years of age, whichever is earlier. The concessional interest rate is another key feature of the scheme. While the bank’s base floating rate is 8 per cent per annum, a 0.50 percentage point concession is available through recovery of installments via the Integrated Human Resource Management System (iHRMS) till the employee’s retirement. Salary account holders are eligible for an additional 0.25 percentage point concession, taking the effective rate to up to 7.25 per cent. The scheme also offers relief on loan-related charges, with no processing fee, prepayment charges or foreclosure charges. Loan installments will be recovered through the iHRMS portal. Protest against illegal mining by BJP activists Our Correspondent Talwara, August 30 BJP senior leader Sushil Kumar Pinki led a protest at Sector 1 here on Sunday against the alleged illegal mining in rural areas of Talwara and Hajipur blocks and the movement of overloaded tippers on local roads. Addressing protesters, Pinki said the agitation would continue until the administration took effective steps to check illegal mining and the movement of overloaded and speeding heavy vehicles. He said he was prepared to intensify the struggle to safeguard the lives and property of residents. Pinki alleged that despite restrictions on mining during the monsoon season and strict regulations, illegal mining was reportedly continuing in several rural areas. He said overloaded tippers carrying stone-crusher material were moving at a high speed, damaging village roads and posing a serious threat to commuters. He said the alleged violation of traffic norms by speeding and overloaded vehicles had increased the risk of accidents. Several families, he claimed, had already lost their loved ones in road accidents. Pinki said residents were no longer satisfied with assurances and wanted visible action on the ground. He said the administration had earlier been given seven days to take action, but as the problem persisted, he was compelled to stage the protest. Woman robbed of Garhshankar village painter beaten up with Three held for illegal mining; tractors seized gold chain, ~30,000 cricket bat by shopkeeper, battling for life Hoshiarpur, August 30 The Hariana police have arrested two persons, including a woman, in connection with the alleged robbery of a gold chain and ~30,000 from a woman near Hajipur village. One more accused is absconding. According to a complaint lodged by Kuldeep Kaur, a resident of Kutubpur village, she was travelling on her Activa on August 24 when three motorcycleborne persons allegedly intercepted her near Hajipur. They reportedly knocked her down and snatched her gold chain and ~30,000 before fleeing. During the investigation, the police arrested Dodi, a resident of Tarn Taran, and Reena, wife of Mintu and resident of Verka Pul, Amritsar. The complainant reportedly helped identify the suspects on the basis of the motorcycle number. The police are making efforts to trace the third accused and further investigation is in progress. — OC Assault victim’s kin seek assistance, allege compromise pressure Our Correspondent Garhshankar, August 30 A 35-year-old resident of Haibowal village has been battling for his life for nearly a month after he was allegedly assaulted with a cricket bat by a shopkeeper, who accused him of stealing goods. Victim Sodhi Singh, who works as a painter, suffered multiple injuries in the attack. His left arm was fractured at two places, while he After ~2.5-lakh treatment bill, family cries for help also sustained a deep injury to the back of his head. According to his family, Sodhi had gone to a shop at Haibowal adda to purchase some goods when the shopkeeper allegedly accused him of theft and attacked him with a cricket bat. The family said he could not receive proper treatment initially due to their poor financial condition. His niece, Neha, later admitted him to a private hospital near Kalwan Mor in Nurpur Bedi, where he remained under treatment for around 15 days. The family claimed that the medical expenses amounted to nearly Rs 2.5 lakh. With their funds exhausted, they had to bring him back home. The family further alleged that the head injury has wors- ened and developed an infection, leaving him in need of urgent specialised medical treatment. Neha also alleged that the shopkeeper was now pressuring the family to reach a compromise. The family has appealed to the government, administration and social organisations to provide immediate and free medical treatment to Sodhi and ensure a fair investigation into the incident. Hoshiarpur, August 30 The Mehtiana police have booked four persons for allegedly carrying out illegal mining on panchayat land at Dihana village without permission. Three accused have been arrested, while one is absconding. According to a complaint lodged by Mining Department official Lovepreet Singh, the department received information that some persons were extracting soil illegally from panchayat land at Dihana. A team reached the spot and sought documents authorising the mining activity, but the accused allegedly failed to produce any valid papers. The police booked Mohammad Yaqoob and Yaseen, both residents of Paldi, Roshan of Dihana and Bakshish Singh of Kukowal. Three of them were arrested, while Bakshish Singh is on the run. The police also seized two tractor-trolleys and a mud loader from the spot. Further investigation is underway. — OC Ashok Kaura Jalandhar, August 30 Senior Congress councillor Balraj Thakur today alleged that the Jalandhar Cantt Periphery Road Project, conceived nearly eight or nine years ago to ease traffic congestion and improve connectivity for residents of the cantonment and surrounding villages, continues to remain a dream. The road was to start from Atwal House, running along the Cantt boundary through Sansarpur, Sufi Pind, Nangal Karar Khan and Deep Nagar before connecting with the GT Road, said Thakur. “Under the proposed arrangement, despite the FOR REPRESENTATION PURPOSE Tribune News Service passage of several years, little progress has been made on the project,” he said. According to Balraj Thakur, the periphery road could significantly ease traffic between Jalandhar Cantt, the city and adjoining villages. It would also provide an alternative route for commuters. “The periphery road can become a new lifeline for the city,” Thakur said. Phagwara, August 30 Dialysis patients at the Civil Hospital in Kapurthala are reportedly facing serious difficulties as the dialysis machine has remained nonfunctional for nearly oneand-a-half years, forcing patients to seek treatment at private hospitals in other districts and incur significantly higher expenses. According to reports, the Civil Hospital authorities claim to provide better healthcare facilities to patients, but the prolonged breakdown of the dialysis machine has left kidney patients facing considerable hardships. The report states that the hospital had been providing dialysis services regularly for around 15 years. Initially, patients were charged about Rs 750 per session, a cost considerably lower than that at private hospitals. The dialysis facility report- edly provided financial relief to patients and their families, particularly those requiring treatment on a regular basis. However, since the machine stopped functioning around one-and-a-half years ago, patients from Kapurthala have allegedly been compelled to visit private hospitals in Jalandhar and other areas, where the cost of each dialysis session is reported to range from Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000. Several patients have reportedly said they need dialysis two to three times a week. With the government facility unavailable, families are facing a substantial increase in treatment expenses. The report says that some families have even been forced to borrow money to meet the recurring cost of dialysis. Patients and their relatives have reportedly urged the health authorities to repair the defective machine at the earliest or arrange for a c m y b FOR REPRESENTATION PURPOSE Cantt road project Patients suffer as dialysis machine defunct in Kapurthala still a distant dream: Councillor replacement dialysis machine so that treatment can again be provided at the hospital at an affordable cost. Senior Medical Officer Dr Parminder Kaur said senior officials have been informed about the faulty dialysis machine on four occasions. She said written communications had also been sent to the Civil Surgeon. According to Dr Kaur, the machine had developed problems several times in the past. She said a few months earlier, when heavy rain caused water to accumulate on the hospital premises, the machine was affected again. The hospital building is reportedly being renovated, and the dialysis machine has now been shifted to a room near the children’s ward. Dr Kaur said information regarding the need to repair the machine had been sent to officials of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation. The matter has also reportedly been brought to the attention of the higher authorities. She said the company concerned had been contacted as well and that, according to the company’s officials, an engineer would visit on Monday to inspect the machine and determine the required repairs. The SMO further said the authorities were making efforts to restore the dialysis facility. A health specialist said patients requiring dialysis should receive the treatment on schedule because a delay can lead to the accumulation of toxins in the blood. According to him, patients may develop symptoms such as swelling, reduced urine output, headaches, dizziness and, in severe cases, unconsciousness when kidney function is significantly impaired and dialysis is delayed. He said patients who undergo regular dialysis generally need two or three sessions every week, depending on their medical condition.