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SEZ: A myth or reality?
Second phase of airport expansion gets green signal
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BSNL to start connecting
border villages
City residents want new train to Haridwar
20% of infertility problems preventable: experts
Birthday with a difference
Professional modeling in city
Migrants demand new policy
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Post the Prime Minster’s declaration of turning Amritsar into a Special Economic Zone, one controversy after another has been erupting.
PRIOR to the partition, industry in the Holy City was far more developed than its sister city—Lahore. While the status of Amritsar more or less remains the same till date, the city across the Wagah border is now considered the world’s 38th largest—all credited to the Pakistan government’s industry-friendly policies.
It is a bad phase for Amritsar’s local industry: after little or no help from the state to revive the local units which for decades faced the onslaught of militancy. The turbulent period saw the flight of massive capital to safer environs of Haryana, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, as businessmen of Amritsar faced the brunt of terrorism, many falling victim to bullets.
The plight can be gauged from the fact that majority of the large industrial units here have been converted into real estate, while the smaller units have either become marriage venues or commercial/ residential premises. The satellite industrial township of Chheherta was the hardest hit. Once a famous industrial hub, it has now transformed into a residential colony. Though the recent announcement of Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, on the occasion of the quadricentennial celebrations of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib, to create a full-fledged Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in the Holy City provided some buoyancy to the businessmen here, confusing signals emanating from the government are adding to the travails of the entrepreneurs, who had been pinning their hopes on the SEZ that promised new ventures. Mr Navjot Singh Sidhu, the local Member of Parliament from BJP, has already raised the pitch for setting up a full-fledged multi-product SEZ. He said that he would oppose any move by the state government to dilute the mandate of the Prime Minister who, he added, had categorically offered this opportunity to boost the sagging industry and provide large potential employment to the unemployed but skilled youth of this border district. However, Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh has emphatically asserted that the government is determined to establish a SEZ in close vicinity to the city to fulfil the “cherished dream” of the Prime Minister. The Chief Minister said that since the real estate prices around Amritsar are exorbitantly high and it was not possible to purchase 2,500-acres of land, the state government has decided to split the SEZ into four product-specific zones. Setting the record straight, the Chief Minister, on his recent visit here, had said that the government would set up smaller SEZs ranging from 500 acres to 1,000 acres for three basic activities— textile, food processing and light engineering. He even said that a private builder—DLF— has been short-listed to start the process of setting up a SEZ and after completing the preliminary formalities, the project would soon be given a final go ahead. The government, he added, would provide all assistance and play a pro-active role in fulfilling its promise to the people of the Holy City. But countering the assertions of the Chief Minister, Mr Sidhu says the state government is eroding the concept of a SEZ, as a truncated project will flout the established norms of the concept framed by the Central government. Confirming his doubts, Mr Lalit B. Singal, Director General, SEZ, said that the Punjab government had sent a proposal for a sector-specific project, which required a land of around 500 to 1000 acres. Adding more confusion to the present scenario, the state government is yet to give a coherent answer to the anxious entrepreneurs. However, local industry officials and senior functionaries of the Revenue Department say they have been able to identify a total area of 1100 acres at different locations on the G.T. Road and the Vallah intersection. It has been learnt that the state government will only act as a facilitator to acquire the land for a private real estate developer, as it has principally decided not to go for any acquisition of land and leave the process to the private developers. The bottomline is that the sudden glimmer of hope given by the Prime Minister for the revival of local industry may fade away soon and instead flag the morale of the local industrialists. The state government, they urge, must clear the doubts soon. The Industry Department, meanwhile, has offered to establish an agro export zone at Goindwal, which was once an industrial nucleus developed by the state government. But the zone failed to meet the aspirations of the entrepreneurs: today it has turned into a ghost town. Expectedly, local industrialists are not happy with Goindwal: the place, they say, lacks basic infrastructure and other facilities. In a special meeting convened recently to discuss the entire gamut of the project, the Punjab Principal Secretary (Industry and Commerce), Mr S. C. Aggarwal had said that the government was considering setting up smaller SEZs for any particular trade and industry in the border district. He said that the prohibitive cost of lands had prompted the government take a second look on developing the composite SEZ on a 1000-acre plot. He added that with the current thaw between India and Pakistan, along with the SAFTA agreement coming into force next year, the need for a SEZ would become indispensable in this border region. Meanwhile, a local industrialist, Mr Brij Bedi, expressing his dismay, said that the three existing focal points were literally in shambles with no infrastructure. “The whole city should be declared a SEZ and the proposed funds to develop infrastructure should be used to bring alive the area. He suggested that small clusters made of different industries should be set up to give a boost to the newer ones while special funds should be earmarked to revive the existing ones. He lamented that the state government was yet to clear the old capital subsidy due for the last eight years. “Instead it is proposing a new SEZ.”
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Second phase of airport expansion gets green signal
THE Civil Aviation Ministry has given a “go ahead” signal to the second phase of the ambitious expansion plan of Rajasansi International Airport to modernise its facilities.
The Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, in a letter to Mr Tarlochan Singh, Member of Parliament and Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities, the copy of which is available with Amritsar Plus, had pointed out that keeping in view the flow of passengers and the number of flights operating from the airport, the ministry had already given its approval for the construction of Module-2 of the terminal building. The minister added that during the project review meeting for better aesthetic ambience and the overall view to present modern design and dynamism of aviation industry, the proposed design of the building had been improved. Mr Patel said the new design work relating to the building that had been temporarily suspended for two to three months had already been resumed for the terminal building. The building would be completed by November this year. The arrival lounge was already commissioned by the Chairman, Airport Authority of India, Mr Ramalingam, a fortnight ago. The departure lounge is expected to become operational by the end of this year. The minister said the Module 2 of the building would have two additional boarding bridges for which the tenders and the construction work would begin by November 2005. The expansion plan, with an outlay of Rs 80 crore, would also include increase in the apron capacity in view of future requirements of the airport. On completion of these works, the airport would be able to handle about 900 passengers at any given time, he added. Giving details of the expansion plan, the minister said it included fully air-conditioned new terminal complex, resurfacing of the existing runaway, taxi track, extension of the runaway, strengthening and construction of apron to accommodate four aircrafts. Mr Tarlochan Singh, in his communication to the minister, had drawn the latter’s attention to the rapidly increasing passenger and cargo traffic. Presently, more than 50 international and national flights were operating every week, connecting the city to various destinations across the globe, the letter had stated.
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Bridging literary gap between India and Pakistan
Renowned Punjabi writer, Mr Paul Singh Vallah, has been endeavouring to bridge the gap between East and West Punjab by transliterating literary works from “Shahmukhi” (the Persian script used for writing Punjabi) to Gurmukhi and vice versa.
Till date, Mr Vallah has transliterated about 100 books comprising 40 stories, 16 stories of Afsal Tohsif, 23 stories of Ahmad Ali, 14 stories of Zubair Ahmad and 25 literary pieces of other renowned Pakistani writers. A retired senior section engineer from the Railways, this 64-year-old has spent a major part of his life in the Holy City and honed his skill in the field of poetry. He also has an unmatched command over Urdu, having passed the “A-Certificate” course. He topped the diploma course in Urdu in the year 2005 from Guru Nanak Dev University four years after his retirement. There has been an intense desire in Mr Vallah to understand the language and the literature of Pakistan after the improvement of Indo-Pak ties. With the active support of Mr Talwinder Singh, renowned Punjabi short story writer, he has taken the cause of transliterating the Punjabi stories. He has also transliterated the novel “Shehri Uzde Gran De Vasi” written by Mr Talwinder Singh. The novel was edited and published last year by Pakistani storywriter Iliyas Ghuman, a resident of Lahore. Mr Vallah has also been transliterating ghazals authored by Janab Masood Ahmad Chowdhary, a great Urdu poet. The efforts of Mr Vallah may also be instrumental in fulfilling the educational needs of Guru Nanak Dev University, which has introduced Pakistani Punjabi literature in the syllabus of MA (Punjabi).
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BSNL to start connecting
border villages
People residing within 20 km of the Indo-Pak border will soon have access to landline and mobile phones as the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has decided to lay down under-ground cable wires for providing thousands of connections.
Country’s largest telecom services provider is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Mr G.S. Daria, General Manager, telecom, said this was an expensive and time consuming step, but the BSNL would go ahead as there was no other option available for providing services to border villages. “More than 6000 applications for telephone connections were pending us.” The company had also installed MSC-based Wireless Loop (WLL) system in rural areas for providing services to customers, Mr Daria added. “There are 14 locations where the Basic Transmission Stations (BTS) have been installed — Jandiala Guru, Kathunangal, Chogawan, Vachhoa, Khadoor Sahib, Chola Sahib, Bhikiwind, Valtoha, Harike, Saidpur, Mehta, Chabal, Sarhali and Jahagir.” This, he said, would be used to fill the waiting list for rural areas. The General Manager also revealed that 85 new BTS towers were being added to increase the coverage as well as capacity of mobile communication system and provide flawless mobile services to its customers. He also claimed that the BSNL did not have any pending application for connections in urban sector. In the Holy City, the BSNL has launched broadband services and till date a total number of 650 connections were working on broadband, Mr Daria said. “Moreover, unlimited usage of data during night-time had been introduced under home plan category.”
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City residents want new train to Haridwar
Urging the state government to start a new passenger train service to Haridwar, residents of the Holy City have complained that the existing train service (Amritsar-Haridwar Express) has not been passenger friendly at all.
The Express, popularly called the “Pholaan–wali-gari” (as most of the people carry the ashes of their dear ones for immersion in the holy Ganges in Haridwar through this train) has a history of being late. “Its fluctuating timings, poor facilities and lax arrangements cause inconvenience to the people when they need to use its services to pay final respects to the departed souls,” says a city resident. Passengers often face nightmarish experiences when the train arrives late, and they have to rush to immerse the ashes before sunset as per the tradition without taking any sort of refreshment or ritualistic bathing. The “sensitive” issue has been taken up several times with visiting dignitaries, including union ministers and public representatives of different parties and social organisations. However, no headway has been made yet, despite the advancements in modern rail network in the country, including metro rails, lamented Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, state BJP Vice-President. In the recently concluded District Congress Committee (Urban) meeting headed by the district party President, Mr Yoginderpal Dhingra, a letter was shot to the Chairman, Railway Board, New Delhi, demanding a faster rail with better facilities for the route. Pointing out that the railway was running only one reservation office at Goal Bagh, the committee also demanded the setting up of a second office at main railway road and an enquiry office alongside the reservation office at Goal Bagh. In the letter, they also demanded the launching of a Jan Shatabdi Express between Amritsar and Delhi to cater to the passengers who could not afford to pay exorbitant ticket charges of Shatabdi Express. The All India Hindu Shiv Sena, headed by Mr Surinder Kumar Billa, had also appealed to the previous and present governments, telling them in writing about the pitiable state of the Amritsar-Haridwar train service. But till date, the appeals have yielded no response.
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20% of infertility problems preventable: experts
The fertility potential is declining worldwide due to the delayed age of marriage and child bearing in modern society. Modern lifestyle, coupled with damaging environmental and occupational factors, too, contributes to the infertility problem.
Dr S.S. Chawla, Director, Satjot Human Reproduction and Research Centre, while talking to this reporter, said it was estimated that nearly 20 per cent of infertility problems could be avoided by adopting preventive measures. He said that to optimise fertility, women were advised to complete child bearing preferably before they entered their thirties. He further said that men should avoid excessive heat exposure, hazardous chemicals at workplace, any kind of recreational drug, and also quit smoking, limit tea and coffee, and overcome stress for a healthy lifestyle. Dr Chawla said that the most common factor accounting for 15-20 per cent of total infertility cases in females was the inability to release a healthy egg into the fallopian tube. He said the other problems included endometriosis, infection and blocked tubes. Nearly 15 per cent of couples who sought help for infertility never learned the cause of their problem (unexplained infertility). The gynaecologist said the factors in male infertility included coital frequency, mechanical factors, psychological stress, low sperm count, poor grade sperm and high percentage of abnormal sperm. He said ordinarily the male infertility could be accurately diagnosed by semen analysis. He said striking changes in the infertility management had been found during the past two decades with the introduction of new diagnostic tools.
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Students bring social issues to the fore
Over 400 students of the Sri Guru Nanak Dev Public School enthralled the audience with their multihued performances ranging from musical items to dress competition during the annual prize distribution function at Guru Nanak Auditorium here.
Besides entertaining the audience with their folk and modern dances and fancy dress competition, the students also highlighted various social issues through their wonderful performances. They tried to create awareness against female foeticide and brought to the fore the heroic deeds of national freedom fighters– the topic in which people no more find any interest. Drawing people’s attention towards the sagging tale of the diminishing girl child ratio in the state, a choreography “Madhania” brought out the issue of “detestation” for the female group. Playing the roles of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in a short musical play, “Parnam Shaheedan Nu,” students depicted the last days of the life of the freedom fighters when they were waiting for the gallows at the Central Jail, Lahore. They recounted how the sister of Bhagat Singh would have met him in prison and disclosed her desires about his marriage. But the hero replied he had already married to death. The scene from prison to the last journey was depicted with passionate patriotic songs. Baby Bhargava, dressed as Bharat Mata, won the fancy dress competition in which 22 students participated. Folk dances and music performances including giddha, bhangra, sitaniyan and boliyas were also presented. Manpreet Kaur and Manpreet Singh were adjudged the best girl and boy students of the year, respectively. Jaspreet Kaur was declared the best child artist. Ms Bimal Saini, Principal of the school, read out the annual report during the function, which was inaugurated by Ms Kiranjot Kaur, member, SGPC. Mr Rajmohinder Singh Majitha, MP, Rajya Sabha, announced a grant of Rs one lakh to the school on the occasion.
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13-yr-old makes waves in painting
Hanit Soni, a student of class VIII at DAV Senior Secondary School here has won half-a-dozen competitions in painting during the past one year.
The 13-year-old emerged as the top painter in the Punjab School Education Board’s painting competition held at the beginning of this year. It was his first appearance in a contest and came out with flying colours. “I do not want to miss any painting competition irrespective of the results,” says Harnit. He has been hitting the top spot in the All India Camel Drawing Competition for the past two years. Among 220 participants in the Talent Search Drawing Contest, Harnit was adjudged second. “The dearest moment for me is when my paintings are displayed in the school campus and friends see the creations and cheer me,” he added. Harnit’s father, Mr Sanjiv Soni, said when he had observed that his son loved to draw, he decided to train him under professional painters.
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Dr Simone Rappel, a lady doctor from Munich, Germany, recently celebrated her birthday in a novel way by distributing sweets at Citizens Forum Vidya Mandir, a school for the children of drug addicts at Maqboolpura, called a locality of widows.
Mr Brij Bedi, patron of the Forum said that Dr Rappel requested her friend Mrs Ralan Bhandari to distribute sweets from her side. She assured the forum of contributing to pay either for the salary of teachers or for infrastructure of the school.
TNS
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‘The Ramp’—a modelling school headed by fashion choreographer and producer Ms Rashmi Virmani was in the Holy City to provide professional expertise to the youth who want to opt for a career in this arena. The institution is offering courses for both models and pageant aspirants. Ms Virmani said, “We train them in picture posing, television commercials and personal presentation. The five-week course will give training for three hours every day.
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Migrants demand new policy
Enraged over the closing down of majority of industrial units allegedly due to the wrong policies of the state government, migrant labourers have demanded a new industrial policy.
Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Parishad (UPKP), Punjab, urged Dr Rajkumar, Parliamentary Secretary, Education, to put forward their demands to higher authorities.
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