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City’s Patriotic Muse
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‘Rediscovering’ the holy city, courtesy Spring Dales
Secondary School
DM’s ban orders go unheeded
Parents’ 8-yr agonising wait for kidnapped son
Air Deccan flights start from Dec 27
No takers for Deen Dayal Market
Ranjit Avenue a haven for stray animals
Congress grass spreading its tentacles in city
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City’s Patriotic Muse
Hans Raj…Bhai Nanak Singh…Nanak Singh 'Kavishar' and finally…Nanak Singh novelist, it was a long journey for an ordinary boy, who became a living legend during his lifetime. Nanak Singh (1897- 1971), who is hailed as the Father of Modern Punjabi Novel, was born in a Hindu family in Jhelum district of Pakistan on July 4, 1897. Born in a poor family and deprived of formal education, Nanak Singh made a laudable contribution to the Sikh faith.
The most important aspect of his life, however, remains ignored. He is perhaps the first Punjabi writer who shook the foundations of the British Empire with his powerful pen. Few know that he was a great Gandhian and that he took active part in the freedom struggle and the Akali Movement. In fact, Gandhian idealism pervades his fiction.
Nanak Singh's first publication, a set of hymns written in 1918, sold over a hundred thousand copies before he was 21. Over the next 47 years, he wrote 40,000 pages in longhand in Gurmukhi (Punjabi) script.
Recognition came in form of a host of honours, including Punjab's highest literary award in 1960 and India's Sahitya Akademi Award in 1962. Nanak Singh's birth centenary in 1997 demonstrated that his popular appeal remains undiminished.
A grandson's tribute
"Saintly Sinner" (Pavitra Paapi) was written in 1942. It immediately won popular and literary acclaim as a genuine Nanak Singh classic. It was translated into Hindi and several Indian languages and adapted into a Hindi film in 1968. The original Punjabi version is currently in its 28th reprint. This is among the first of Nanak Singh's books to be translated into English. Mr N.
Suri, a career diplomat from India who currently heads the press office of the Indian High Commission in London, translated the book. Mr
Suri, who is the grandson of Nanak Singh, cherishes his childhood memories of being told bedtime stories by his grandfather — the greatest storyteller of Punjabi language. The Jallianwala Bagh incident left a deep mark on him. He was buried under the dead bodies during the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy on the Baisakhi Day of 1919. While two of his friends, who had accompanied him to Jallianwala, were gunned down, he survived. He responded to the massacre with an epic poem that mocked at the colonial rule. It was the incident of the Jallianwala Bagh that prompted Nanak Singh to pen his most fiery poems. The British were sufficiently concerned. They banned the book and confiscated every copy. His two books Khooni Baisakhi and Zakhmi Dil, both poetry books, were banned by the British Government. The first book depicted the cruel face of the British Government, which had resorted to unprovoked firing on innocent Indians. The second book - Zakhmi Dil - revealed the tyranny and brutality of the British on peaceful Sikhs during the Guru Ka Bagh Morcha in November 1922. The second book was first published in January 1923 and was banned on February 14, 1923. Nanak Singh, who was only 22 years old, picked up his pen to oppose draconian laws like the Rowlett Act of 1919. The development brought much change in the writings of Nanak Singh. From a writer of songs in praise of the Gurus, he became a patriotic poet, raising his voice against the alien rule. He turned to penning novels of social reform, writes Sant Singh Sekhon. In his world famous novel "Chitta Lahu", Nanak Singh writes, "It seems to imply that in the lifeblood of our society, red corpuscles have disappeared." However, despite concrete credentials of a great freedom fighter, the family of Nanak Singh has never asked for any benefit from the freedom fighters' quota so far. His wife, Bibi Raj Kaur (97), who is one of the oldest women of the state, is still alive but neither the state government nor the district administration has bothered to honour her at any function, what to talk of sanctioning any pension to her. She is now struggling for life in the house of her youngest son - Mr Kulbir Singh Suri. Interestingly, no mention was made about Nanak Singh's contribution to the freedom struggle, even during the release of postal stamp by the then-Prime-Minister, Mr Inder Kumar Gujral, in 1998. In his early life, Hans Raj (who later shot into limelight as Nanak Singh) would pen verses on historical events. After joining the Sikh fold, Nanak Singh penned devotional songs, exhorting the Sikhs to joint the Gurdwara Reform Movement. Mr Kulwant Singh Suri, son of Nanak Singh, said that his father had joined a batch of Akali Satyagrahis at Guru Ka Bagh. He was sent to Borstal Jail, Lahore. Nanak Singh undertook the printing of Akali papers which soon invited the attention of the British Government. Shockingly, neither the Congress nor the Akalis recognised the contribution of Nanak Singh who fought against the might of the British Empire in one or the other way, so much so that the SGPC failed to honour Mata Raj Kaur during the centenary celebrations. Dr Harbhajan Singh Bhatia, Head of the Nanak Singh Chair, says that it is pity that the role played by the novelist during the freedom struggle has been ignored. He says that Nanak Singh was conscious about the day-to-day happenings and that he wrote on almost all issues ranging from World Wars, Indo-Pak Wars, Partition to exposing religious hypocrisy, caste tyranny and oppression of women. Giani Zail Singh, the then-President of India had described Nanak Singh as the greatest Punjabi novelist. It was Giani Zail Singh who helped the family of Nanak Singh to bring the copy of "Khooni Vaisakhi" (Bloody Vaisakhi) from a museum in England, as every copy of the book had been confiscated by the British Government. Dr Attarjit Suri, a renowned Punjabi writer and daughter-in-law of Nanak Singh, in her book "Mere Babuji" (My Father), says that she used to read the novels of her father-in-law with great interest. Mr Kulwant Singh Suri and Mr Kulbir Singh Suri - both sons of Nanak Singh - who are renowned publishers of Punjabi books, said that some of the classics of their father had been published more than hundred times. Ms Natasha Tolstoy, grand daughter of the legendary Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, had translated Nanak Singh's novel "Chitta Lahu" and all 50,000 copies were sold within a week. She had personally visited Amritsar to present the first copy of the translated novel to Nanak Singh. Though the works of Nanak Singh were translated into English, Gujarati and other Indian languages, the patriotic poems and songs had not been given due recognition by the state and the Central governments, said Nanak Singh's sons. The house of Nanak Singh in Preet Nagar still exists. However, no one has bothered to preserve his house in the walled city where he had written many classics.
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Devotees throng gurdwara to catch
Thousands of Sikh devotees thronged the Diwan Hall of Gurdwara Manji Sahib located inside the Golden Temple complex to have a glimpse of the sacred urn "Ganga Sagar" of the tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh, recently.
It was once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a large number of devotees who had specially come to see it. The devotees jostled to reach near the urn. Out of reverence, they offered not only money but also took autographs of Rai Azizullah Khan, member of Pakistan's National Assembly, and the direct descendant of Nawab of Raikot Kalah III, whom Guru Gobind Singh had gifted the Ganga Sagar. Mr Bakhshish Singh of Rajpura said that he had come along with his family to pay obeisance here. The Ganga Sagar was brought here by a special chartered plane from Delhi on December 17. A sea of Sikh devotees descended on Rajasansi International Airport to receive the urn. Rai Azizullah Khan, whose family kept the gift of the Guru carefully for over 300 years, brought the rare relic from England. Placed on a rotating pedestal on a specially- prepared wagon, the Ganga Sagar was the centre of attraction. The devotees were lined on either side of the road from the airport to the main road to catch a glimpse of the sacred relic. It was taken to the Golden Temple from the airport in a procession during which Rs 1,63,000 were offered by the devotees. Music bands played religious songs and a large number of vehicles followed the procession. The devotees showered flower petals on it. A gold "chaur sahib" weighing about one kg was also used on the occasion. It was prepared from offerings of the Sikh devotees from the city. Rai Azizullah Khan said that his family felt blessed that their ancestor had been given the Ganga Sagar by Guru Gobind Singh. The sacred urn was brought on the request of Mr Parkash Singh Badal, President, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, so that the Sikh devotees could pay their respects on the occasion of the tercentenary of the martyrdom of
Sahibzadas.
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City emerging as software export centre
The holy city of Amritsar is now emerging as the new destination for software export in the country. The enterprise of exporting software started here in the year 2000 with a small consignment of Rs 5.5 lakh to Australia. The enterprise has recorded an annual turnover of Rs 85 lakh during the current year.
The four-year-long journey into the highly competitive and complex software business has been tough for the enterprising local businessman, Mr Ajay Maheshwari, who ventured into this business by chance. It was his chance meeting with a computer software expert, Mr Sandeep Sethi, during his management study in Australia that this businessman decided to go in for this business. Mr Maheshwari persuaded Mr Sethi to set up a software producing centre here in 2001 and during the initial days they managed to rope in some tour operators and hoteliers keen to do business during the Sydney Olympics 2000. The entire manpower was recruited locally from universities. The major breakthrough came when their company, Beas Software Solutions, came up with software package developed specially for overseas students of UK-based colleges. The company developed the software, which included admission formalities, education loans and also syllabi for the management students. The company is presently exporting the software packages to UK, USA, Europe, Australia and other countries. Mr Maheshwari says that their venture would not have been successful without the support of the Software Park Limited (STPL) a Mohali-based company that helped them in overcoming many official hurdles. During the initial days, his team of IT professionals worked 18-19 hours a day to meet deadlines for exports. "The future is bright, provided the holy city gets its due share of infrastructure required for the development of this highly-lucrative business venture," says this software entrepreneur.
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‘Where there’s will, success tags along’
Nothing can come in the way of dogged determination, as the life of this multi-dimensional personality shows. A versatile person, Nirmal Singh (63), has excelled in different fields. Affected by the Partition, he, along with his family, came to the city as a refugee. But this did not deter him. Soon, he made his mark in hockey, wrestling, acting and photography.
His passion for wrestling awoke at the stage of life when players generally retire from this profession. He took to wrestling at the age of 45, and this interest in wrestling made him visit countries like Dubai, Pakistan and Bangladesh. With the noted wrestler Ajit Singh, who was bestowed "Pride of Nation" award in 1962 by the then-prime-minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he started free-style wrestling and participated in several international competitions. His first international contest was against a middleweight champion of Pakistan in 1977. He contested in two matches against him and won the second match, while the first one was a draw. The next year, he fought a wrestling bout against two Pakistanis Ikram and Nizam in Muscat. This 85-kg middle-aged man drew his match against 125-kg Sohail Pehalwan of Pakistan in 1979 in Muscat. The next year, he routed Mohammad Sayeed of Pakistan at the same venue. The year 1982 saw him fight against Bangladeshi champion Zalil-Ur-Rehman twice in Bangladesh and Pakistan. What's amazing is that his love for wrestling has not withered with the passage of time. He has been serving as the General Secretary of the District Wrestling Association from 1979 till date. He played hockey in his school days at Lyallpur (Pakistan) and initiated a "Red Star Hockey Club" here after the Partition. He was the President of the District Hockey Association (DHA) from 1958 to 1960. His flair for acting took him to Punjabi cinema, where he acted in as many as a dozen films. Some of his famous Punjabi films are Khed Prita Di, Mukhra Chan Varga, Mele Mitran De, Sharikka and Jung Da Maidan. But this is not all. He has been a keen photographer, too. He worked with several leading dailies and weeklies of the region, including Ajit, Vir Pratap and contributed to India Today, The Week, Probe and Outlook also. Life, however, has not been kind to this affable man. His two sons Paramjit Singh and Rana Jaspal Singh, both professional (media) photographers, died untimely. Still, he believes that life must go on. Strong willpower makes this man click.
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Swimming his way to fame
Nine-year-old Abhinav Dudeja, a student of DAV Public School, created a record in the 50-mt free style during the All-India CBSE Swimming Competition held in September by covering the distance in 33.48 seconds. He clinched the gold in this contest as well as in the 50-mt backstroke competition held at Bhopal in September.
He learnt swimming at the age of six. He bagged nine gold medals and a silver in various competitions this year itself. Among his winning sprees include two golds in the 50-mt back stroke and free style in the CBSE North Zone Swimming Competition. He secured the top positions in 50-mt and 100-mt free style and the second position in 50-mt backstroke. He bagged top positions in 50-mt free style, 100-mt free style and 50-mt back stroke in the district swimming competition. He clinched his first medal in 50-mt free style under-11 age group during the Sub-Junior Open Punjab (2002). The medal not only boosted the morale of this young sportsperson but also encouraged his parents, who decided to make him a swimmer par excellence. In the next year's (2003) edition of the championship, he secured golds in 50-mt and 100-mt free style. He got the 10th position in the Sub-Junior Open National Swimming Championship (2003) held at Talkatora in New Delhi. This class IV student is honing his swimming skills under Mr Rajinder Kumar. Terming free style as his "favourite" event, Abhinav says he has been putting his best efforts in the game. Buoyed by his progress, his father, Mr Ajay Dudeja, has decided to train him in a leading swimming club of Sydney (Australia). "Australia has produced some of the finest swimmers in recent times. I want Abhinav to get the best possible training," says Mr
Dudeja.
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‘Rediscovering’ the holy city, courtesy
"Rediscovery of my holy city" is an endeavour of a batch of 150 students from Spring Dales Secondary school here. These students have not only documented the heritage of Amritsar but also researched its rare aspects.
The students of the school, under the guidance of Ms Sukhraj Kaur, co-ordinator of the Cultural Programme of the school, worked hard for more than three years to complete their study and prepare reports, including heritage study of phulkari, ivory, fresco, inlay and marble, wood-carving, carpet-weaving, kirpan, papar-wari etc. They have prepared reports on these topics and also made 37 documentary films on various aspects of the holy city. Besides focusing on the "rediscovery" of the glory of the town, they worked on the heritage study of a variety of traditional items, including tandoor-making, kites, jewellery, utensils, musical instruments, wooden toys, sehra and zari work, chess boards, pottery, textiles. They also studied various aspects of sarovar and gurdwaras in the inner city, Rambagh Garden, water system in the inner city and Jallianwala Bagh. As a part of the futurology project, the students of class IX started their work in the academic year 2002-2003. The spiritual charm of Amritsar beginning with the golden grandeur of the Golden Temple took into its fold the countless alleys of the walled city, observed the students, who made all efforts to unfold the city's glorious cultural legacy. During the research and the compilation of the project, the students rediscovered the important values and skills that were unique to Amritsar. The students also understood the unique features of their heritage and learnt to appreciate these. For the comprehensive study of the city, the students divided the town into 28 study areas. The interactive programme involved research, followed by on-the-spot surveys with questionnaires. The futurology project was also exhibited as "Heritage Study of Amritsar" in the school. Ms Manveen Sandhu, Principal of the school, said that the work done by the students of the school was commendable and that it had been preserved in video films.
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‘Osho commune split due to
About five years after the split in the Osho commune, Pune, Ma Neelam, one of the longest-serving secretaries of late Acharya Rajneesh in India, said that the major reasons for the split were granting of copyright to an American company and the difference in the way of spreading the message of Osho. She told this to Amritsar Plus during the three-day camp held here from December 17 to December 19.
Nearly a decade after the death of Osho (on January 19, 1990), the Osho commune, Pune, had split after an intense power struggle. One faction of the Inner Circle wanted "complete and unquestioned command" over the fortunes of the commune. The inner circle used to have 21 members. Ma Neelam, at that time, was spearheading one of the groups and had accused the three-member ruling group of the commune - Jayesh, Amrito and Anando - of distorting Osho's message and manipulating the things to have their own way. Reiterating her statement during the three-day camp here, she claimed that having the copyright of Osho's books was against Osho's principles. She claimed that during the lifetime of Osho, the latter had not got any copyright of his books and neither had he monopolised his meditation techniques. She said that New-York-based Swami Prem Jayesh (Canada-born real estate agent) and Prem Amrito, had sold the rights of Osho's book "The Book of Wisdom" to an American publishing company "Element". Moreover, she alleged, the company for the purpose of selling the book had edited it and that reduced Osho to a "mere author". Stressing that she had no personal grouse against anyone, she alleged the differences were on the "non-implementation" of Osho's principles. Ma Neelam, who was associated with Rajneesh for nearly three decades, was once among the most powerful members of the commune. She also belonged to the 21-member Inner Circle from which she resigned a year before she left the commune. She claimed Osho had clearly instructed that all decisions regarding the commune should be taken collectively by the 21-member Inner Circle. The members of this team could be replaced only in the event of their death. She said that she was angry with the commune for "using" Osho's samadhi for cathartic meditation, during which people were allowed to scream and shout abuses to "cleanse" their mind. At present, she is based at Dharamshala and has opened "Osho Nisarga Foundation" a charitable trust.
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Poverty, peer pressure, tension causes of drug
This is perhaps for the first time in the recent past that a study is being carried out here to find out the impact of drug addiction on the health status of family and children of drug addicts.
The Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College here, which has taken up this project, has selected Maqboolpura situated on the outskirts of the city, for the project. This area is infamous for rampant drug addiction. The area, having population of 20,000, is also known as the "locality of widows" due to the large number of deaths that occurred here in the last decade. Most of these deaths were related to drug menace. The study aims at having first hand information about the prevalence of drug abuse among the addicts, besides its impact on their children and family members. It would also study the pattern of drugs, the health status of children of addicts and the awareness of drug addiction among children. Most of the residents of the area earn their livelihood by working as watchmen, rickshaw pullers, lorry drivers and labourers. The local men begin to consume liquor, narcotics and later start looking for high-potency smack, opium, capsules and injections, the study says. The comprehensive study, which has been undertaken, is likely to be completed by February 2005. It would be based on house-to-house survey in the locality. A batch of two interns — one male and one female — has been trained for this purpose. They would collect information related to identification data, including nutritious assessment, routine investigations, prevalent diseases and health problems, history of illness, history of past illness, personal history, besides height, weight, growth pattern of children, addiction deaths and their details etc. The detailed information about educational status, absenteeism, academic performance, part-time work, social habits, behaviour patterns would also taken. Dr A.S. Padda, Medical Superintendent of Sri Guru Teg Bahadar Hospital and co-supervisor of the project, said that further action plan based on the detailed report would be recommended for taking corrective measures with the help of various NGOs actively working in that area. He added that the study could benefit the people of this backward area. He said this was the first time that a study was being conducted to assess the impact of drug abuse on family and children of the drug addicts. According to the study, poverty, Western lifestyle, anxiety, chronic tensions, frustration, peer pressure, physical inability to do a job and curiosity are the main causes of drug addiction. The easy access or availability of drug, the failure to prevent illicit traffic of narcotics and psychotropic substances, lack or non-existence of efficient and effective centres of de-addiction, lack of proper appreciation of the situation and corrective measures on the part of the government are other indirect, yet important causes.
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DM’s ban orders go unheeded
Ban orders going unheeded? This is true most of the times in the city. It has become almost a ritual for the deputy commissioner, in his capacity as the district magistrate, to issue ban orders. These orders, however, remain unimplemented.
"The authorities feel themselves to be free from any responsibility after issuing various ban orders every two or three months under Section 144 of CrPC. But which agency or department would implement the orders, no one knows. They only pass the buck when they are asked about the implementation of these orders," says a city resident. Interestingly, copies of these orders are also sent to chief secretary, home secretary, principal secretary of the state government, commissioner Jalandhar division, DIG (CID), DIG border range (police), district and sessions judge, municipal corporation commissioner, all district magistrates, besides SSP, DPRO and SDMs. In these orders it is specifically mentioned: "This order will be promulgated by announcement through publicity van to the public relation department and by affixing its copies there on the notice board of the DM/SSP/SDMs and Tehsildars and other conspicuous places." However, it is learnt that this is seldom done. Recently, the Citizens' Forum - an NGO led by Mr Brij Bedi, a social worker - had raised the issue of defacement of properties by pasting obscene film and advertisement posters. The DM, predictably, issued a ban on these posters a number of times, but this illegal activity still continues without any check. Similarly, the misuse of the word "press" on the windscreens or other parts of vehicles by non-journalists goes on, despite DM's orders to the contrary. Again, the district magistrate has prohibited the sale of 106 medicines, which are being used by drug addicts and which create psychological and physiological dependence, without prescription from a registered medical doctor. The orders also prohibit the carriage and the storages of these medicines, unless there's a valid licence. But these orders are reportedly being defied by most of the chemist shops and drug stores.
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Parents’ 8-yr agonising wait for kidnapped son
Eight-long years after the kidnapping of Giandeep Singh, alias Richi, son of a government doctor, the agonising wait of his parents still continues. Thanks to the failure of security and premier investigating agencies that have neither been able to find the kidnapped boy nor nab the accused, the parents of the boy are hoping against hope.
This long wait has forced them even to visit astrologers to get back their beloved son, who was just four years old at the time of the incident. Dr Hardip Singh, the boy's father, said that he and his family believed that their son would meet them one day. Astrologers also corroborated this, he added. "We keep praying to God. We never let negative thoughts cross our minds." Four Maruti-van-borne unidentified masked persons had kidnapped little Giandeep when he was coming back from school with other tiny tots on a rickshaw on August 19, 1996. The rickshaw puller Rajinder Kumar, alias Reda, was the only eyewitness to the incident. An FIR was registered on the day of the incident at the Civil Line Police Station. However, the police failed to bring back the kidnapped child. It was also unable to arrest the accused. Dr Hardip pursued the matter in the Supreme Court, pleading that the case may be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Dr Hardip suspected the involvement of some of his relatives in the kidnapping. The case was handed over to the CBI on April 16, 2001. Interestingly, the family did not get any ransom demand from any one. It could also be that the accused had picked their son by mistake, the family members said, while denying enmity with anyone. Much to their disappointment, the CBI prayed to the court through an application on May 20, 2003, to close the case, which, the CBI said, could not be worked out due to the lack of evidence. However, Dr Hardip followed the case in the CBI court at Patiala, which directed the investigating agency to re-examine the kidnapping case. The court, in its order, said that there was scope for further investigation on the points discussed by the parents. The family, however, has expressed its dissatisfaction with the inquiry conducted by the CBI initially. Dr Hardip alleged that the CBI did not investigate properly from the rickshaw puller, the major eyewitness. He alleged that it did not bother to make computer sketches of the accused. Now, even as more than two months have passed, the CBI has allegedly not re-started the inquiry. Dr Hardip said they had not got any phone call or notice from the CBI to come for investigation. The family's agonising wait for their son continues.
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Air Deccan flights start from Dec 27
There's good news for city residents. Air Deccan has decided to launch a daily Delhi-Amritsar-Delhi flight to connect the holy city with the national capital.
The promoter of the airways, Capt. Gopinath, announced that the inaugural flight would take off from Delhi on December 27 at 4 pm and would land at Rajasansi International Airport at 5 pm and after an hour's halt would return to Delhi. He said that the air fare would be Rs 500 and that the booking would be available through e-mail. "The airline is already operating at trunk routes. We have decided to connect the major metropolitan towns with the important destinations throughout the country," he added. The announcement of the flight has generated a tremendous interest in public. Local agents have been receiving numerous inquiries, and the flights, till the first week of January, have already been booked, according to the airways spokesperson. After the suspension of the Indian Airlines flight connecting the city with Delhi during the militancy period in the 1980s, the starting of the Air Deccan flight had once again provided an air link with the national capital at the most affordable fare, added the spokesperson. "The Air Deccan would use 48-seater ATR aircraft for the daily flight. It has received a request for extending this flight to Srinagar also," Capt Gopinath informed.
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No takers for Deen Dayal Market
Many complexes built by government agencies fail to attract buyers. In most of the cases, planning, location, environment and construction, design and building material play the major role in attracting buyers. However, in most such complexes, which are constructed merely to earn points in development works for city, many of the above-mentioned factors are ignored. This results in huge losses to government coffers.
One such case is that of the Deen Dayal Market — a
multi-storey parking-cum-shopping complex, also called "Triconi Market", located near the Bhandari Bridge flyover. This market had faced opposition for its 'peculiar' location. Experts had objected to its construction, saying that it would make impossible any expansion of the multi-lane flyover that connected the old walled city with the Civil Lines area. Completed in 2001, the building has few takers, even as the local municipal corporation is desperately seeking to ease the sale conditions. "The fact that such a complex would suffer from extreme vibrations due to its proximity with the under-bridge from where trains frequently pass and its closeness with the old sabzi mandi has made buyers shirk from purchasing shops here," said a businessman. The complex, built at a cost of Rs 6 crore, has a total of 89 shops. Out of this, only 25 shops have been sold. It also has a provision for a cafeteria with parking space for nearly 260 four-wheelers and about a 100 two-wheelers to ease the traffic situation in the extremely congested area near the hall gate. According to reports, only about four to five auctions have taken place since the last three years. Out of these, just four owners have started commercial activity here. Meanwhile, the market, which remains perpetually without any shoppers at night, is reportedly being used "illegally" for parking vehicles of persons whose business or residential establishments are close by. The
five-storey complex has a constructed area of more than 10,000 sq feet, according to corporation officials. MC Commissioner, Mr KS Kang, when contacted, said they were trying to review the sale conditions for buyers.
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Ranjit Avenue a haven for stray animals
The burgeoning population of dogs has not only become a source of public nuisance and health hazard, it has also become a threat to public safety. This is the case at the dump yard at Ranjit Avenue that has spread out in the last couple of years to the adjoining bypass. The spot has turned out to be a haven for increasing number of stray dogs that feed on garbage here. Pigs and rats also infest the area. The population of stray dogs has increased to more than 20,000 here.
Being in close proximity with the bypass, the patch has become highly accident-prone. The road is important, as international commuters, including Sada-e-Sarhad international Delhi-Lahore bus, pass through the route daily. Besides, heavy duty vehicular trucks carrying items of export and import, vehicles supplying to border villages, defence forces and BSF pass from here daily. More than a lakh tourists visit the holy city every day and the majority of them take this route to watch the impressive beating retreat ceremony at the Wagah Border. The bypass caters to enormous traffic to sacred shrines like the ancient Ram Tirath Temple and several historical villages near here. Even the ambulances catering to multi-specialty hospital on this road have to pass through this route. This is in addition to routes connecting the international airport at Rajasansi. Some schools are also located here and school buses pass through this route daily. Recently, two brothers Tajwant and Rajwant, met with an accident here, as a dog suddenly ran across the road. Both brothers sustained injuries. Their scooter skid off some distance and was badly damaged by the impact. The sight of dead dogs and pigs is very common on the road. Often while trying to avoid dogs or pigs, vehicles crash into other vehicles or nearby trees. The apathy of the local municipal corporation is evident, as the corporation continues to use the landfill without bothering that it was affecting the international highway. The tall promises of setting up waste management and disposal plants here had not been fulfilled, rued the area residents, especially those staying near dump yards in the posh Ranjit Avenue. "Flies, insects and mosquitoes make living here a tough proposition. Clothes and other items left to dry outside are infested with insects," says an area resident. During evenings, the danger of accidents increases even more.
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Congress grass spreading its tentacles in city
Parthenium, commonly known as "congress grass", an obnoxious weed has been spreading its tentacles in the entire city. The demarcated areas earmarked as green spots have been taken over by this fast-spreading weed. According to medical experts, the weed causes asthma, allergies like rashes, sinuses, eczema, dermatitis, hay fever, conjunctivitis (eye flu).
This weed has also affected agricultural fields here. It degrades soil nutrients, say experts. This proves disastrous for the growth of crops like wheat and maize. Parthenium weed that is native of Mexico and USA, also occurs in Taiwan, South China, the Pacific Islands, East Africa and South Africa. Its danger can be gauged from the fact that its flowering takes place in six to eight weeks and that it can reproduce rapidly by seeds that last up to many years in soil. In the fields, harvesting machinery and transport of stock, fodder and grains from parthenium-infested areas leads to its germination in other areas. Even posh areas in the city have been infested with the weed. Most of the eradication drives undertaken by either the district administration or the NGOs have been inadequate. Unless urgent steps to control this menace are taken, the city may well be "taken over" by this obnoxious weed.
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