Avneet Kaur
Jalandhar, March 24
It has been just a day since Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched a helpline number for the public to report matters related to corruption, city residents have swung into action and opened a front over the alleged injustice meted out to them in government offices.
While on the first day, there had been complaints regarding discrimination at Basti Bawa Khel Suvidha Centre staff and corruption at Jalandhar Improvement Trust, the second day saw people converging outside the DC office and complaining against the owners of travel firms duping them on the pretext of sending them abroad.
At the Suwidha Centre on Wednesday, the man, who was recording the video, could be seen saying he has all the rights to shoot a video as per the orders of the CM, who has specially launched a helpline against such malpractices and corruption taking place at the government offices. A woman staffer is also heard asking her colleague to make a video accusing the man of misbehaving with staff and creating unnecessary chaos at the centre.
As per sources, the man who recorded the video was a resident of Shiv Nagar Nagra in Basti Bawa Khel, who went to the Suvidha Centre to submit his children’s Aadhaar enrolment forms. As per information, he has alleged discrimination at the hands of staff working at the Suvidha Centre, who refused to accept his children’s Aadhaar application on the basis of photographs pasted on the form.
The man alleged that his son was wearing a skull cap while his daughter was wearing a scarf in the passport-sized photographs pasted on the forms. He said as his kids were studying in a Madrasa (Muslim school), they wore cap and scarf all the time in accordance with their religious practice. Therefore, he objected to the rejection of forms on the basis of religious symbols and shot the video of the entire incident.
He has also alleged that he kept on waiting in the queue for a long time and when his chance came, the woman staffer present on the other side of the window after seeing him making a video, first yelled at him and then rejected the form citing the photographs as the main reason.
There were reports that the fight between the staff members and the man recording video escalated after members of some Muslim organisations and the president of the locality intervened, and even the police reached the spot. However, when contacted, the Basti Bawa Khel police said they had no information regarding the incident. Meanwhile, the official concerned at Suvidha Centre also could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Complaint against travel agents
A large number of students under the banner of Indian Montreal Youth Student Organisation, who were allegedly cheated by travel agents in Jalandhar, staged a protest outside the DC office and recorded video showing various evidences, saying they were tired of protesting and requesting the police to take action against illegal travel agents, but to no avail.
Students and their parents alleged that illegal firms are flourishing in the district under the nose of the district administration, and no action is being taken against them even if they were found guilty. They said the agents have taken money in lakhs but they neither prepared their documents nor returned the money. “We were issued fake visas and given admission in colleges that have been closed or are on the verge of closure,” they alleged
The students in the video message to the Punjab CM named many travel agents and demanded a strict action against them. They warned that if their demands were not met, they would be forced to intensify the protest and block roads in the district.
Another sends message against JIT
Darshan Singh Ahuja, president, Bibi Bhani Residential Welfare Association, is another city resident who has sent a message to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on the helpline number issued on Wednesday afternoon. He complained about various scams committed by the Jalandhar Improvement Trust (JIT) under multiple housing schemes such as Bibi Bhani residential complex, Indra Puram, etc. Through the message, he has requested the Punjab CM to intervene and initiate action against the officials concerned.
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