Amritsar, September 4
Its more than one week has passed since the residents of block B of the Ranjit Avenue, were facing acute shortage of water as the tube well supplying the water in the area has been out of order for almost a week now.

Nearly 250 families living in the area were facing hardships due to low pressure of water or at times no water. At times the residents have to fetch water from far away places. The families living on the second or third floor are the worst hit as they have to lift the buckets full of water till their floor.

Further, majority of the families consist serving couples, which has added to their woes. The residents alleged that the problem started about two weeks ago after sand started coming through the taps. “We complained to the authorities concerned. However, immediately after that the tube-well developed a technical snag,” said the residents.

When contacted the authorities said the tube-well developed a major technical fault and it will take some time before it becomes functional after the repair. They said the bore shell of the pump of tube well had chocked.

“In case the pump could not be operated a new bore would be dug, which would require another three months,” he added. 

Amritsar, September 4
To help crime victims get speedy justice the district police has constituted separate investigation cells working especially to investigate in criminal cases reported at various city police stations. This was disclosed by city police chief Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh.

Kunwar said, “Investigation cells would be headed by a sub-inspector designated as additional SHO (detective), while probe would be carried out by a team consisting of sub-inspector or an assistant sub-inspector, one head constable and one constable.” All city police stations have been allotted three to six teams of detective officers. These detective officers would not do routine day-to-day law and order duties, he added.

Kunwar, who was instrumental in starting this practice during his tenure as SP (city) here several years ago, said investigations were a specialised task. He said it was difficult for the police to investigate the cases with normal day routine of maintaining law and order. Due to occupancy with routine work many times the investigations take longer period ultimately benefiting the perpetrators of crime.Giving details about the work of investigation cells, Kunwar said, “These detective wings have been set up in every police station as well as in the CIA staff. The wings would be provided with separate rooms, besides investigation kits for conducting investigations.”

The Supreme Court had already given directions to the police administration to establish cells in every police station of India so that speedy justice could be provided.

The SSP said it would be essential for detective officer to visit crime site without delay. In case of a cognizable offence, the detective officers would always be present in the police station along with supporting staff. Emergency duties will be performed in two shifts, 
he added.

He said it would be mandatory for detective officers to maintain registers related with crime and entry would be made everyday in the daily diary regarding full details of the persons confined in the police custody as well as in the judicial custody. 

Amritsar, September 4
A group of locals from Pakistan plan to pay tributes to the martyrs of our freedom struggle on the occasion of Bhagat Singh’s birth anniversary on September 27. There Indian counterparts are mulling the same.

The Bhagat Singh Birth Anniversary Committee, which will organise a host of programmes in collaboration with the district administration from September 8 to 27, has made an appeal to city residents to illuminate their houses on the eve of the martyr’s birthday.

Talwinder Singh, vice-president, Kendriya Punjabi Lekhak Sangh, said the committee would put up posters across the city asking people to illuminate houses and display fireworks so that the anniversary of Bhagat Singh might be a memorable one. “Last month, a 45-member delegation from India crossed over to Pakistan to take part in the programmes organised at the tomb of Baba Bulle Shah in Kasur. An appeal was made there to the people of Pakistan to pay tributes to Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary,” he said.

The delegation had been invited by Chaudhary Manzoor Ahmed, member of the National Assembly from Kasur, who also heads the Bulle Shah International Forum.

Amritsar, September 4
The charge of the Virsa Vihar Bhawan (VVB), the cultural heritage centre, should have been handed over to democratically elected body of various associations associated with art otherwise instead of promoting art it would lead to infighting among these bodies for grabbing the bhawan. This was stated by city based eminent story writer 
Dev Dard.

A delegation headed by Dard met the deputy commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu to apprise him about the problems, which were likely to generate in the future.

Talking to The Tribune Dard said the district administration failed to inform the representatives of various artistes’ organisations about the constitution of the VVB managing committee. “Fissures have already started appeared among various associations including, the writers associations, folk lore academy, theatre artistes and youth artistes associations over the way the keys of VVB were handed over to Kewal Dhaliwal by the district administration,” said Dard.

It is pertinent to mention here that the administration had given keys of the VVB, which had been set up to promote art and artisans in the state, to Kewal Dhaliwal, president of the Virsa Vihar Society. An 11-member executive committee of the society was chalking out detailed programme to incorporate deserving artistes of the city as its members so that they could exhibit their talent from a common platform.

Dr Neeta Mohindra, Harbhajan Jabbal, Parvinder Jeet, Gurmeet Bawa, Dr Sukhdev Singh, Hardeep Gill, Pawel Sandhu, Gurinder Makna, T.S. Raja and SDM were made its executive members.

“Before constituting such committee the district administration should have invited representatives of the various organisations about deciding the categories to be taken, before handing over the charge of the VVB,”
he added.

However, the DC assured that the charge was handed on adhoc basis. The DC has also agreed to constitute a panel of five eminent personalities associated with artistes and writers and other fields who would identify 100 founder members who have dedicated their lives for the promotion of art. He has further assured about democratically electing body, which would be formed after registering the members for VVB,” said Dard.

Talwinder Singh, a writer, said the district administration should have invited famous story writer Kartar Singh Duggal who played an instrumental role in setting up of the VVB at a cost of Rs 
2 crore.

“Due representation should be given to the artistes associated with various organisations such as folk dance, classical dance, writers and others,” he added.

Pannu, while confirming that a delegation headed by Dard met him in this regard, said unnecessary hue and cry was being raised by some persons on this issue. I have asked the delegation to wait and watch the proceedings of the committee as lot of work was to be done.

Amritsar, September 4
The farmers should emulate precision farming as done in the European countries to supplement their income, said Amritsar deputy commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu at a seminar organised by the Progressive Dairy Farmers Association (PDFA) at Sathiala near Baba Bakala.

Exhorting the youth, the deputy commissioner said instead of running after government jobs, they should take up dairy farming as a profession to enhance the income of their families. He said it would not only provide them good remuneration but also be able to give jobs to about 10 to 15 persons in their area.

Pannu said it was important to reduce the cost of milk production and for this the farmers should consult the experts from the dairy development departments and animal husbandry departments. He said minimum of 20 cows should be bought by the farmers to establish a dairy farm and added these should be of good quality breed which would give at least milk 25 kg per day. Proper sheds should be constructed so that proper environment was provided to these cows to keep them healthy, besides purchasing machines for milking, he added. He also urged the farmers to utilise the loan taken from the banks towards establishing the dairy farm and should avoid purchasing buffaloes which were not viable for dairy farming. He cautioned the farmers that if all the money taken as a loan was not invested in the dairy farming then their dream of setting up the project would fail, besides putting a lot of financial burden on the families.

Amritsar, September 4
In view of the protests lodged by the Sikh community over the turban screening all over the world, the Transportation Security Administration of the United States has decided to hold a meeting with the representatives of the Sikh community living in the country to resolve the issue.

The United Sikhs in an email to The Tribune said they had received a communiqué from acting special counselor Kimberley Walton which read that the TSA plans to meet the representatives next week to discuss concerns about the increased turban screening at US
airports.

It is pertinent to mention here that on August 4, the TSA implemented revised federal aviation administration (FAA) guidelines at US airports which involved the patting down of a Sikh turban even if a scanner alarm was not set off.

Under the original federal aviation administration guidelines, which were formulated after consulting the community, a Sikh turban was only patted down to resolve a scanner alarm.

Welcoming the decision of the TSA’s stance to accommodate the Sikh community, the spokesman of the United Sikhs said they look forward to meeting the authorities before the end of next week.

They further informed Kimberley that the community needs to be reassured that under the revised security guidelines, a turban wearing Sikh was not subject to a hand search more than anyone else traveling through US airports. 

Amritsar, September 4
City doctor Dr Ashok Uppal is going to attend a conference from September 6 to 9 on neurological diseases in Berlin (Germany). The conference would discuss in detail about stroke, epilepsy, headache, muscles and other nerve disorders. This was disclosed in a press release issued here.

Giving details, Uppal said stroke is one of the major reason of disability after cancer and heart attack. “The increase in number of stroke cases is due to changing lifestyle and food habits. However, 85 per cent of stroke cases are preventable.

Also mandatory is the timely medical help. If a person suffering from stroke is taken to a hospital within the first 2-3 hours of attack, special therapies can be used to dissolve clot in brain,” 
he added.

About epilepsy, Dr. Uppal told that case are on the rise in Punjab due to excessive alcohol intake and addiction to Proxyvon capsules.

Amritsar, September 4
A mega project to be launched in December 2006 - Global City Amritsar - stands apart from other colonies with its latest features, which promise state-of-the-art facilities and green ambience. More than 50 per cent of the area in the project is under green cover and road network.

In a press release issued here today, Global City Amritsar claimed that at Rs 200 crore and spread over 150 acres of land, it is the largest of projects in Punjab.

It is located on the GT Road, on the Vallah by-pass and offers wide roads, green spaces, round-the-clock security, integrated business centre, shopping mall, entertainment and health clubs, jogging tracks and nature parks.

The release claimed that even the Prime Minister had congratulated the chairman of the project Ramesh Tiwari during the launch of Global City and had expressed optimism that it would give further impetus to the economy of the city.

Though we boast about entering a scientific arena, still many of us believe in taboos associated with number 13. It is evident from the fact that the dread of 13 is not limited to India but spreads throughout the world. Many buildings in US and Europe have no 13th floor and are numbered 12(a) or 12 (b). People generally refuse to take car number 13, students hesitate to occupy room number 13 in hostels and businessmen are reluctant to take new business or a journey on 13.

The fear of 13 has been prevailing since centuries. Our history reveals that most powerful rulers like Alexander, Napoleon Bonaparte, American presidents Herbert Hoover and F.D. Roosevelt were plagued by the number 13. Of course in ancient times the reason for the dread of 13 may be lack of awareness.

The occult symbol that stands for number 13 was represented by a mystic picture. The picture was of “a skeleton with a scythe in its bony hands, reaping down men.” It was a curious picture and provoked the idea of death in the minds of those, who could not understand the inner meaning of the symbol.

Even in this rational age we cite examples of tragedies occurring due to 13. It serves as just a reason to convince others about evil power associated with number 13. However, if we gather good memories associated with number 13, naturally the fear will vanish from our minds. Though I have a very shallow knowledge in this field yet I can mention many examples which go in favour of number 13. At least for Indians number 13 has proved to be very lucky.

We all know Mahatma Gandhi’s real name was Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi, but the name which made him the “Father of Nation” is “Mahatma Gandhi” consisting of 13 letters. So it was his 13 letter name that made him greatest man of his time. Isn’t it that number 13 is lucky for him ? Similarly Prime Minister “Manmohan Singh” and the lady President “Pratibha Patil,” each has 13 letters in his/her name. Not only this, if you count letters of our missile man “A.P.J. Abdul Kalam” it again comes 13.

Moving to the field of sports many renowned personalities like “Sunil Gavaskar”, “Sourav Ganguly” (former cricket captains), Vijay Amrit Raj (India’s lawn tennis player), “Dhanraj Pillay” (Indian hockey skipper) are all blessed by number 13. Dhan Raj Pillay not only has 13 letters in his name, he even wears 13 on his T-shirt in the four series matches in Pakistan and gave an outstanding performance.

Number 13 has its significance in the Indian festivals also. In the northern India 13th April is considered as most auspicious day for wheat harvesting and is celebrated as Baisakhi festival. Similarly Lohri festival on 13th January is also celebrated with great pomp and show. The special thing about these festivals is their fixed dates.

I believe, you will agree with me when I say that numbers are the property of a mathematician. A “Mathematician” cannot exist without number 13 as it is again a collection of 13 letters. For a mathematician 13 is very lucky and playful. It is lucky as it is fifth prime number and playful because many interesting calculations are derived out of it.

For example: Square of 13 is 169 and if we reverse the two digits of 13 i.e. convert 13 to 31and take the square of 31 it again has the same digits 1, 6, 9 and in the reverse order

i.e. 13 x 13= (13)2 =169

& 31 x 31= (31)2 = 961

Also if we insert + sign between all the digits in the above equations, the equation still holds good. i.e. (1+3) x (1+3) = 1+6+9

(3+1) x (3+1) = 9+6+1

In the end I will say that all the numbers are very sacred, perfect, pleasant and lucky, so be friendly with them.

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