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Switch-off time for fan units in city
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DM prohibits raising structures near Air Force Station
MC Commissioner launches ‘operation clean’ in city
Ranjit Avenue residents rue MC indifference
Residents complain against garbage dump in locality
PIL against ‘sale’ of Civil Hospital
Accident victim alleges police
inaction
Insurance company medi-claim eludes a city resident
Spreading teachings of Sikh Gurus is his goal
Foreign students find Golden Temple
fascinating
SL Public School bags top honours
Itihas Chakra of exploitation
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Switch-off time for fan units in city
It’s the classic case of ‘modernisation’ edging out a traditional, small-scale industry. The city was once the centre of fan industry. But today, the fan industry has been relegated to the dustbin of history.
Mr Arjun Dev Sharma, once a big trader of fans, is now running a small roadside tea stall near bus stand here. Another big fan manufacturer, Mr Satnam Singh Kanda, a former president of the Amritsar Fan Manufacturers’ Association, has converted his factory into a guest house in the walled city. Baba Gyan Singh (88), who won many gold medals in marathons the world over, is facing the worst days of his life. A champion in sports, he has faced a crushing defeat in his business. Once a big manufacturer of ancillary unit fans, Punjab Engineering Corporation, Baba Gyan Singh is now hand-to-mouth. To earn his livelihood, he had to accept a job in a religious organisation on a measly salary of Rs 1500 per month. One Surinder Chhinda, another manufacturer, has set up a small unit of napkins in his house, as he had to close down his factory. The list is long. The apathetic attitude of government and also militancy dealt a severe blow to the once highly-promising fan industry, which today stands on the verge of extinction. The city, with more than 2500 units, produced a large range of ceiling fans, table fans, exhaust fans and pedestal fans for more than 20 years. Now the production has reached a point of low return, with prices of raw materials shooting up during the past few years. This has forced manufacturers to close down their units, rendering thousands jobless. Mr Kanda told Amritsar Plus that earlier fans from more than 300 units used to be sold in far-flung states. Some of the brand names of the fans from the city’s fan industry which were popular all over the country were Unison Fans, Universal Fans, Atlas, Grindlay, Neelam and Aristocrat, Imperial, Berkley and Crown Fans. Though only five units of fans were set up by local entrepreneurs in 1970s, many units mushroomed in the later years. The locally manufactured fans competed with the established brand names like Usha, Orient and Crompton for many years. The local-made fans made deep inroads into the lower middle class, which was unable to buy the brands with a high price tag. A leading manufacturer of electrical parts and other allied products, Mr Krishan Nanda of East Mohan Nagar, Industrial Area, where the majority of the units once flourished, says that the steep rise in the steel and wire prices dealt a death blow to the industry and they could not face the mounting losses. So, they could not come out of the financial crisis. In view of the stiff competition from the branded fans’ manufacturers, some local manufacturers sold fans at Rs 250 to Rs 270 for sustaining the local industry despite incurring heavy losses. This eventually led to their being edged out of the market. Now, only five to six units survive. Unable to withstand huge financial losses, most of the manufacturers decided to stop production. Mr Nanda says that many unit owners sold off their factories and several of these factories were converted into marriage palaces and commercial shopping complexes. Besides fan manufacturing and assembling units, which made the city proud in 1980 and 1990, and a number of ancillary units producing various parts, including stamping, enameled wire, fan body turning, motor winding plastic parts, also suffered the ignominy of closure. The majority of these units had diversified into producing other industrial parts. With the closure of the units, the axe had also fallen on large skilled labour employed by these units. These employees were forced to take to other jobs. Thus a dream industry fell unsung. The fan manufacturer association’s office bearer, Mr Surinder Chhinda, claims that local manufacturers could have competed with Usha and other brand names of the country had the state and the Central government given the required support. Mr Kanda, a former president of the association, alleges that Amritsar’s industry was wiped out under “deep-rooted” conspiracy that included enacting various acts. The governmental policies, framed from time to time, aimed at supporting big manufacturers from other states. With 200 odd members registered with it, the city’s industry had been crying for government’s attention to establish quality marking centre for producing top quality fans and for getting cheaper raw materials to sustain itself. Tracing the history of fan industry is interesting. The first fan factory, in all probability, was established after the Partition by an ambitious Mr G.K. Mehra, who set up Metropole Fan Industry in Chheharta. The industry produced the best quality ceiling fans. Emulating the example of Mr Mehra, more such small units came into being all over the city. These units were backed by ancillary units. Soon, the city emerged as the major manufacturer of fans in the country. Indo-Pak trade may revive the dying industry He adds that local manufacturers are producing a complete range of top quality fans. He says the freight elements make the local fans highly competitive in these markets However, adding a word of caution, he quips that the government ought to give easy loans to revive the sick industry in the region and that there should be uniformity in the tax structure across the country. |
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DM prohibits raising structures near Air Force Station
District Magistrate, Mr Kirandeep Singh Bhullar, has passed an order under Section 144 of Cr.PC, prohibiting the raising of a structure in a radius of 900 mt from the Air Force Station and aerodromes here from March 20 to May 19.
The order comes in the wake of some persons raising building near the prohibited zone of the Air Force Station here. This amounted to a blatant violation of construction bylaws. It could pose a serious threat to the Air Force Station. Taking cognisance of this infringement, the DM passed the prohibition orders. He stated in a press release that it had come to his notice that some persons were raising structure and constructing building near the Air Force Station. This activity might cause considerable damage to the property and endanger the lives of people residing in the vicinity of the station. It could also result in huge financial loss to the Air Force, the release stated. The DM also prohibited the manufacture and use of polythene bags made of recycled plastic having thickness of less than 20 micron. Mr Bhullar also banned the sale of 106 medicines without prescription from a legally recognised registered medical doctor. He prohibited the carriage and storage of these medicines without valid licence. He also prohibited all types of movements within 500 mt from the Indo-Pak border from 8:30 p.m to 5 a.m. from March 20 to May 19. However, this order would not be enforceable on the GT Road running from border barrier to the city. Keeping in view the safety and convenience of devotees thronging the Golden Temple, the deputy commissioner barred the entry of trucks, mini trucks and L.T.Vs, except those carrying milk, oil, gas cylinders, in the municipal limits of the city from 9 pm to 7 in morning for the same period.
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MC Commissioner launches ‘operation clean’ in city
"Clean the city" campaign has been launched here. Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Mr K.S. Kang, has been spearheading the project to keep the holy city free of garbage, litter and posters.
Mr Kang, who has been administering the civic body for the past two years, had been under tremendous pressure from public to make the city clean, as a large number of pilgrims, devotees, tourists and VIPs thronged the Golden Temple and its surroundings. The commissioner, who is said to have the audacity to rub the politicians on the wrong side, took upon himself this onerous job of cleaning the walled city. Encroachments, heaps of garbage, collapsed sewerage system, unplanned parking, unclean roads and posters make the city an ugly site. Starting his campaign from the Hall Gate to the Golden Temple, which is the main artery of the city, Mr Kang himself cleaned the walls. He said he believed in setting up an example for the people of the city. Expressing his shock at people urinating in the open, he said that it took his team and the fire brigade at least two hours to clean the Gole Bagh and other areas. He said that the corporation was considering registration of criminal cases against the persons who defaced the city and urinated in open. Mr Kang has a vision about the city which was revealed in the three phases of the Sri Guru Ramdas Integrated Development Plan which was presented to Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, during his visit to the city. The plan has total outlay of Rs 296 crore. Mr Kang said that this included the completion of phase four with an outlay of Rs 72 crore for the Golden Temple beautification project (Galliara Project), which had remained in limbo due to the lack of funding by the Central government for the last many years. The Central government has released this grant for the project and hoped that it would decongest the Golden Temple surroundings. The report has also earmarked a sum of Rs 12 crore for integrated development of slum areas. The most ambitious part of the plan includes the construction of five over bridges to regulate the traffic at the cost of Rs 150 crore. Mr Kang said that he wished to sustain this cleaning campaign with the help of various NGOs, local associations. "The campaign sounds a warning call to residents of the city to come forward to keep the city clean," says Ms Binod Kaur, a city resident. She adds that the commissioner led the drive through personal example by scrubbing the walls and lifting the garbage. ‘Punish defacers of public property’ Mr Brij Bedi spearheads the campaign against defacement by posters in the city. The president of the Citizen Forum, Mr Bedi, has been in the forefront of the movement to clear the walls off the obscene posters which present an ugly face of the city. Mr Bedi, who till now had been leading a virtual one-man army against the removal of posters, had taken up the issue with the district administration, the police and the civic authority. His campaign was finally given an official start by none other than the commissioner himself. Mr Bedi said that he would like that the people got involved in the issue. He strongly felt that the administration must register criminal cases against those who defaced public property.
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Ranjit Avenue residents rue MC indifference
The electrical and sanitary fittings are broken, polythene bags and garbage are spread all over and wild grass growth is rampant. This is the present condition of two of the three gardens in B-block of the posh locality of Ranjit Avenue here. All thanks to the apathy of the local municipal corporation.
Residents of the area led by Mr D.S. Mann, under the banner of Mohalla Sudhar Committee, approached the corporation authorities a number of the times but in vain. The worst in shape is the garden that is situated adjoining the Bachat Bhavan, where a number of VIPs of district administration come and hold meetings. Alleging step-motherly treatment, the residents of the area said that no grants were issued to B-block even for the maintenance of the roads having big potholes and for gardens used by a number of people for morning or evening walks. Mr Mann said the first citizen and Mayor, Mr Sunil Datti, had assured the residents of providing them two gardeners, two safai karamcharis, security lights, construction tracks and more benches, besides maintenance of the roads in the vicinity of the B-block. However, even after more than one and half years, no action had been taken by the corporation, alleged Mr Mann. He said they had met Mr Datti a number of times, but had received only assurances and nothing concrete had been done till date. The residents of the area are contributing from their own pockets for the maintenance of about 5000 square yards garden situated at the centre of the block. But they have expressed their helplessness in maintaining other parks. Mr Kuljit Singh Sandhu, an NRI and resident of the area, said it had become difficult even to walk in the garden adjoining the Bachat Bhavan. Expressing disappointment, he said even though this area was a posh locality of Amritsar, no one cared about providing facilities to people here. Mr V.N. Mehta, general secretary of the association, alleged that even as all flats were of the same size in the residential colony, they were getting different sewerage bills. He also alleged that the underground drainpipes were leaking, but no one from the corporation paid heed to their complaints. The residents of the area alleged that the mayor was favouring some persons from the colony who were not making any contribution for the development of the parks. They alleged that the mayor had said that these persons be included in the Mohalla Sudhar Committee. Mayor Sunil Datti could not be contacted even after repeated attempts. |
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Residents complain against garbage dump in locality
The local municipal corporation has allegedly been dumping garbage in an open place on the backside of the HIG flats situated on the main GT Road.
Hundreds of residents of this colony are facing a harrowing time, as foul smell emanating from the garbage poses a threat to the health of the residents. The residents of the flats alleged that they did not know to whom these several acres of land belonged. They said whenever they approached the municipal corporation authorities, the latter said that the land belonged to the Improvement Trust and when they approached the trust, they were told that the said land belonged to the corporation. They alleged that trolleys belonging to the corporation were throwing garbage everyday in the area, instead of dumping the garbage in the dumping ground near the Jhabal Road situated several kilometres from the spot. They added that the garbage-carrying vehicles, in order to save petrol, were dumping the garbage there. Interestingly, the area is also situated near the head office of the District Police Chief, Majitha, and police parties often use this passage to reach office. The area is also near the new makeshift bus stand, where thousands of commuters frequent. Being situated on the main GT Road, this garbage dump is an eyesore. When this correspondent visited the site, stink was emanating from the dumping ground. Huge heaps of garbage were dumped on the ground. The houses located nearby the site were filled with the stink. The residents alleged this was an open ground earlier, but the trolleys of the corporation had started dumping the garbage here. Mr N.M. Lamba, president, Shaheed ML Dhingra Housing Welfare Society, said that their lives had been made a virtual hell by the smell emanating from the garbage dumped here. The garbage had become a cause of water and air pollution, besides being a breeding ground for insects, germs and mosquitoes posing serious threat to the health of the residents of the HIG flats. Mr S.S. Narula, another resident of the locality, said even after lodging complaints with the corporation and the Improvement Trust, nothing had been done to get the garbage removed.
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PIL against ‘sale’ of Civil Hospital
Even as contradictory statements have emerged from the government regarding the sale of the only government Civil Hospital in the city, Mr Sandeep Gorsi, a resident of the city, has filed a PIL (public interest litigation) in the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the government's proposed sale of hospital to private concerns.
The petitioner, in the case against the state of Punjab, department of health and family welfare, has taken the plea that the proposed move is against welfare of general public that would be deprived of affordable medical facility. He stated that the hospital, which is also called the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Civil Hospital, was constructed over land donated for the purpose of a hospital. An investment of Rs 40 crore has gone into its construction. Besides this, the hospital record regarding the patient attendance and care (in the data collected from the hospital since its inception in the year 2002 to 2004) has nothing negative about it. For a common man, the Civil Hospital was affordable. The state was also under obligation to provide welfare to its citizens at the minimal cost and also it was the right of the citizen to be provided with basic medical care by the state.
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Accident victim alleges police
inaction
Even as about three months have passed after the accident in which one Raghubir Singh was seriously injured when a speeding car (number DL-2CE-3848) hit him, the city police is still clueless about the accused responsible for the accident. The incident took place on December 18 last year.
Raghubir Singh, alias Bittu, a barber, was returning home along with his father Tulsi Ram (65) on a moped when the accident happened. The impact of the 'collision' was so hard that the bumper of the car got separated from the car. Raghubir Singh was immediately rushed to hospital along with his father, who was also injured in the mishap. His leg was fractured with other multiple injuries. The police registered a case against unidentified persons under Sections 337, 338, 279 and 427 of the IPC at the Civil Line police station here. Raghubir said his father was a poor man and worked as labourer. He said huge money was spent on his treatment. Alleging police inaction in the case, he said even the FIR was registered with difficulty. He also alleged that the authorities had not bothered to give a copy of the FIR to him. However, the police authorities maintained that police teams had gone to Delhi to identify the culprits.
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Insurance company medi-claim eludes a city resident
A retired bank employee, Mr K.V. Bhandari, has been running from pillar to post for the past three months to get his medi-claim. He had submitted his claim to the United India Insurance Company here about three months back.
However, the company allegedly failed to pay him despite a number of reminders to them. Mr Bhandari was hospitalised for nearly a week in October last year after a serious accident that led to internal injury. After recovery, he made a claim of about Rs 36,000 to the company. Mr Bhandari alleged that despite the company's assurance, he had not received any amount from the company till now. He added that he was dependent on his pension for his daily expenses, and his pocket did not allow high medical expenses. So, he had sought the medi-insurance scheme. The local manager of the United India Insurance Company was not available on phone. However, the senior executive Sanjeev Saksena from the Paramount Health Services, when contacted, said they would look into the matter.
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Spreading teachings of Sikh Gurus is his goal
It's high time to know about the tenets of Guru Granth Sahib, observes Mr Resham Singh (48), a one-man institution who utilises his spare time in spreading the message of Sikhism.
Popularly known as Sukhmani Sewawale, Mr Resham Singh is a government employee in soil conservation department. He said there was a great need for Sikh masses to inculcate the teachings of the Gurus in their lives. He said it would not benefit the Sikhs to confine the teachings to recitation only; they should try to imbibe these teachings in their life. He himself has been printing the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib and then distributing them house-to-house and to devotees outside the Golden Temple. He bears all expenditure of printing these teachings. He said he used very fine quality card-type paper. When asked about his inspiration, he said that about one year back when he was doing ardas, the thought of spreading the teachings of the Gurus among people came to his mind. He lamented that Sikh youths were not following the Sikh maryada and that they were moving away from the teachings of the Sikh Gurus. He said parents should create such an environment in their homes that their children did not divert from the Sikh
swarup.
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Sri Guru Angad Dev College, Khadoor Sahib, caters to rural education
The "United Sikhs", an NGO working in the USA and the UK has adopted Sri Guru Angad Dev College, Khadoor Sahib, for development of the college's infrastructure. The NGO has donated five computer systems and also given scholarships to students studying information technology (IT). The NGO has assured the college about giving 15 more computer systems to them very soon.
The college has established a high-tech computer laboratory with the financial aid of Rs 5 lakh granted by Dr Manohar Singh Gill, Rajya Sabha member. The college, which is run under the guidance of Baba Sewa Singh, head of Kar Sewa Sampardaya, Khadoor Sahib, was established in 1970 by Baba Uttam Singh, the then-head of the sampardaya. The college is situated in rural area and is rendering yeoman's service by making all-out efforts for maintaining academic excellence under the administration of its principal, Dr Balwinder Singh Saroya. In the field of academics, the authorities have added new courses like BCA, DCA (Part time) and M.A. (Punjabi). For the benefit of rural youth, vocational courses like refrigeration & air conditioning and electrician trade are being run successfully. Dr Saroya, a doctorate in English Literature, was recently selected for Shiksha Rattan Award by a well-known research-oriented and awareness-promoting organisation "Institute of Economic Studies" (IES), New Delhi. Dr Saroya said the college was showing excellent performance in youth festivals organised by Guru Nanak Dev University and other organisations from time to time. The college had been declared the overall champion in 'B' division of the university in the zonal youth festival (men) for the last four-five years. The Punjab Government selected the college bhangra and gidha teams to perform at Pargati Maidan, New Delhi, on the occasion of the World Trade Fair. The college bhangra team was awarded Rs 31,000 for bagging the second position in the Sur Tal contest organised by the Punjab Sangeet Academy, Chandigarh, under the aegis of the Punjab Government. The college bhangra and gidha teams have been invited to participate in the international musical competition to be organised at Wales, UK. The college has had the honour of organising the 2nd Punjab State Carom Championship successfully in 2002 in collaboration with the Punjab State Carom Association. The National Tug-of-War Championship, 2004, organised by the All India Tug-of-War Federation was held at the college premises. The Punjab Volleyball Association organised the Sub-junior State Volleyball Championship, 2004, in the college.
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Foreign students find Golden Temple
fascinating
A group of 11 students from the USA, who have been in India for the past two months, were in the city to study "comparative religion". Lead by Ms Linda Learman, Associate Director, Comparative Religions and Cultural Programmes, New York, the students undertook the study. They said they found the Golden Temple "fascinating".
The three-day study programme was organised by the Sanjh Saaz International's local chapter here. Dr Jatinder Jolly, a Punjabi language lecturer in Guru Nanak Dev University, was the convenor. The study group stayed at the Golden Temple sarai. They also visited the Miri Piri Academy of American Sikhs, Khalsa College, Wagah Border,
Jallianwala Bagh, Durgiana Mandir and Bhai Vir Singh Hall. While Ms Linda found the music of religious hymns "excellent", Ms Hillary Belhancourt (21), studying international relations, described the religious procession of Palki Sahib as "divine". Eighteen-year-old Anna Boiko, who is a student of development and ethnic conflict, found the langar tradition "very striking." "I was amazed as people voluntarily served food, cleaned plates, cooked food for thousands in a single day," she added. Ms Victoria Ligon (23), a student of politics, said there was a feeling of equality in the religion.
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SL Public School bags top honours
Bhavan's SL Public School organises its graduation ceremony and annual prize distribution function in a colourful way. A cultural programme was organised on the occasion.
Mr K.S Kang, Municipal Commissioner, and Ms Vibhu Raj, SSP, Majitha, were the chief guest and the guest of honour, respectively. Ms Anita Bhalla, Principal, read out the annual school report and stated that the school had been having hundred per cent result in class X CBSE affiliated board since 1996, and that four students this year had scored above 90 per cent. School student Mohit had cleared the NCSE, a national level competition, and secured more than 80 per cent in the All-India Aryabhatta Mathematics Competition. Another student Ankush Malhotra not only cleared the IIT but also secured the first position in the district. While Yogesh, a student of class IX won the scholarship of the All-India Kalpana Chawla Intelligence Competition, Saurabh Sharma was ranked 8th in the Science Olympiad in the National Talent Search Competition. Three students Shivni Arora, Sakshi and Aparna were selected for the Independence Day parade at Delhi. The school was also imparting free education to poor students under its Sh PD Kumar Gyandeep Memorial scheme.
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Skaters on harmony mission reach Wagah post
Twenty-two roller skaters reached the Wagah joint check post on March 20 to spread the message of peace, harmony and brotherhood. All skaters were from under-10 age group.
The skaters were from different schools and belonged to the Amritsar Roller Skaters Club, which initiated this journey named Sadbhavna Yatra. The expedition was flagged off from Lawrence Road at 9 in morning and concluded at 12.45 noon. A skater Shivam Sharma, a class IV student, said it was thrilling to participate in the expedition. Coaches of the club, Mr Neeraj Jain, Dheeraj Jain and Harkanwal Singh, said they had prepared the skaters for the expedition.
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Itihas Chakra of exploitation
The presentation of Hindi play Itihas Chakra at the Thakur Singh Art Gallery brought alive the story of exploitation of common people by selfish leaders and monarchs.
D. P. Sinha, playwright and director of the play, said characters of the play were symbolic. The story unfolds with a fleeting depiction of Hitler, dictator of Germany. It shows how he inflamed the passions of the people and pitted them against one other. The next scene brought the story to the present state. The symbolic characters were wife (Chandrakanta Nag Tripathi), Mohini (Parul Sachdeva), Raja (Rohit Tripathi), Kuber (Rakesh Dag), Patrakar (Govind Gupta), Babu (Ashish Mishra), Anami (Prawin Bharti) and Sootradhar (Gaurav Srivastava). Through these characters taken from a cross section of the society, the writer expressed the feelings of common people. The playwright said it was common people who became the target of wars. He said from pre-Palaeolithic age to the present space age, homo sapiens had spanned a long distance in terms of sheer physical and material achievements, which constituted a civilisation. For early cavemen, violence was a necessity. The play conveyed that today's civilised men resorted to violence just for the sake of it. It said that in spite of prophets and preachers' dictates, modern men were busy in inventing and perfecting weapons far more lethal and deadlier than they had hitherto known. The play's light and sound effects were presented by Ramesh Manchanda and Kajal Ghosh, respectively. |
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‘Wielding’ pen on hockey
Where there is will, there is a way. This adage may seem clichéd but it holds true in case of Mr Paramjit Singh Randhawa, a senior lecturer of Punjabi in DAV College here. During his youth, a serious injury in his right hand marred his prospects of being a hockey player. He was studying in tenth standard at that time. However, his passion for hockey did not fade.
His over 500 articles have been published in major Hindi and Punjabi newspapers. His articles are marked with penetrative knowledge about hockey, and critical and unprejudiced analyses. Several of his articles have been incorporated in the Top Ten Hockey Stars book edited by Mr K. Arumugam. He has delivered numerous radio and television talks. His flair for hockey led him to try his hand at commentary also. A strict votary of appointing foreign coaches, he feels that they would bring new skills and techniques to help Indian hockey to regain its position. Revealing his future plans about writing, he said he would soon come out with a book on hockey, highlighting the shortcomings in the publicity of the game. He felt that in this fast age, publicity was imperative to increase the following of the game which would subsequently help in popularising it.
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Weekly Round-up
There was a need to bring changes in the present working of the Punjab Police to cope with fast-changing situations and also technological changes. This was stated by Mr D.R. Bhatti, DGP, Punjab Armed Police, while inaugurating the GO Mess building of the 5th Battalion, IRB here.
He said even as new information and technology were coming, the police required most the cooperation of public. He said because of the community policing concept, the people and the police had come closer and many proclaimed offenders had been arrested. Also present on the occasion were Mr H.R. Chadda, IG, IRB, Mr Gurdev Singh Teji, Commandant, 5th Battalion, IRB, Mr Gurdip Singh, Commandant, 9th Battalion, PAP. Best cadet awards Two NCC cadets Kamal Kishore and Jai Shankar Gupta of the local DAV Senior Secondary School were declared the best cadets in the Best Cadet Competition, 2004-05, conducted by the NCC Directorate, Chandigarh. Both students secured the first and the second positions, respectively, in the competition. They were awarded cash prizes of Rs 3000 and Rs 2000, respectively. New primary wing inaugurated Mr D.R. Bhatti, DGP, Punjab Armed Police, inaugurated the new building of the new primary wing of the local DAV Public School here. Mr Bhatti visited the school and interacted with principal, teachers, staff and students there. Speaking on the occasion, he said the teachers should inculcate moral values among students.
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"Clean the city" campaign has been launched here. Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Mr K.S. Kang, has been spearheading the project to keep the holy city free of garbage, litter and posters.
It's high time to know about the tenets of Guru Granth Sahib, observes Mr Resham Singh (48), a one-man institution who utilises his spare time in spreading the message of Sikhism.
Popularly known as Sukhmani Sewawale, Mr Resham Singh is a government employee
in soil conservation department. He said there was a great need for Sikh masses
to inculcate the teachings of the Gurus in their lives.
A group of 11 students from the USA, who have been in India for the past two months, were in the city to study "comparative religion". Lead by Ms Linda
Learman, Associate Director, Comparative Religions and Cultural Programmes, New York, the students undertook the study.
They said they found the Golden Temple "fascinating".
Mr Satnam Singh Kanda, former general secretary, Punjab Fan Manufacturers Association, feels that the opening of trade between India and Pakistan could usher in a new era of prosperity for the fan industry. He says the presently sagging and deep-in-turmoil fan industry would get a major boost if markets like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) opened up for less expensive fans produced here. 
