Mandi Ahmedgarh, January 5
Reacting to reports published in Ludhiana Tribune regarding teaching of students of Government Senior Secondary School, Dehlon, in a building declared unsafe by the PWD officials, the Education Department has released a grant of Rs 1.7 lakh for the construction of new rooms at the school.

According to Principal Balwinder Singh Grewal, officials from the Block Primary Education Office, Dehlon, delivered a cheque for Rs 1.7 lakh to the school authorities yesterday.

The grant was released under the Sarav Sikhya Abhyan Scheme and was earmarked for the construction of new rooms on the ground floor.

“Though the quantum of the grant is not sufficient to construct enough rooms, we will try to utilise the funds in a conservative manner so that the safety of the students is ensured,” said Mr Grewal, adding that work would start shortly.

Sources said the school had earlier received a similar grant but the authorities had restricted its use to updating a computer laboratory.

The grant was later returned unutilised.

Meanwhile, parents of students have reiterated their demand for reconstruction of the wing that had been declared unsafe by the authorities.

The parents of around 1,200 students from over six villages of the area had showed concern over the safety of their children, as they were forced to study under the roof of the building that was declared unsafe around three years ago.

Though the school authorities had been apprising the higher authorities of the gravity of the situation from time to time, nothing concrete had been done to repair or reconstruct the building.

Observations by Ludhiana Tribune had revealed that a large number of students had to study under the roof that had been considered unsafe for years.

While two rooms out of 16 had virtually lost their existence, a few others had become roofless.

Other rooms and verandah were still being used to accommodate students of various classes.

The building, constructed around four decades ago, had been considered unsafe by residents of the area for more than a decade.

Their demand to get the building repaired or reconstructed had fallen on deaf ears.

Sources further added that the school had received a grant of Rs 5 lakh during the SAD regime. The grant was used to construct a few rooms, which were unable to accommodate all classes.

The administrative wing was constructed with contributions form the Parent-Teacher Association.

The panchayat of the village was undertaking the development of a part of new building now, but no grant had been received for reconstruction of the dilapidated building.

Ludhiana Tribune had highlighted plight of parents who had urged the authorities to demolish the unsafe building and arrange proper building for their children.

Ludhiana, January 5
Mr Harish Rai Dhanda, chairman, Punjab and Haryana Bar Council and the Shiromani Akali Dal (B) candidate from the Ludhiana West Assembly segment, was felicitated at a special meeting of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) Employees Union here last evening.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Harsh Prabhakar, chairperson of the union, said the DMCH employees would stand behind Mr Dhanda in the coming Assembly polls.

Ms Rajwant Kaur Randhawa, president of the union, recalled the role played by Mr Dhanda towards the welfare of employees.

She stated that during their long-drawn agitation, Mr Dhanda was one of the members of the Negotiation Committee, along with dedicated and far-sighted leaders of the PAU Employees Union.

She also placed on record the assistance rendered by Mr Dhanda to employees on legal matters as also his efforts to resolve legal and administrative cases. She announced the decision of employees to extend their support to Mr Dhanda in the coming elections. The proposal was seconded by Mr Harjinder Puri, general secretary of the union.

In his address, Mr Dhanda assured the employees that all pending cases and other issues of the DMCH Employees Union would be resolved on a priority basis and justice to the employees would be ensured.

Among those present at the meeting were Mr Gurdip Singh, Mr Pawan Sandhu, Mr Dinesh Arya, Mr Hardip Vij, Ms Balwinder Kaur and Ms Kulwinder Kaur.

Ludhiana, January 5
“Without book culture, Punjab’s intellectual thoughts are getting barren and if we do not pay attention to this, the coming generations will not forgive us,” said Dr Surjit Patar, president, Punjab Sahit Akademi, at the inauguration of an exhibition of Punjabi books by the Bharati Sahit Academy, Delhi, here today.

The exhibition is being held at Punjabi Bhawan.

Dr Patar said planting of good seeds got good plants. Similarly, reading of good books brought good thoughts and prepared a good platform for future generations.

He urged people to read meaningful books and buy good books for home libraries.

Readers showed keen interest in the books based on religion, politics and fiction on display.