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Regulating Traffic
IPRI inching towards closure?
Ward 30 floats on dirt
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Findings of DGP (vigilance), PSEB A P Pandey, DGP (Vigilance), PSEB, gets his PhD degree from Shivraj Patil, Punjab Governor and Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, during the annual convocation of the university in Amritsar. Photo: Vishal Kumar
Decrease in security leaves gallantry awardees fuming
Diabetes, hypertension render people susceptible to heart problems
Sewerage woes: Loharaka Road residents up in arms against admn
Tarn Taran
RO systems become boon for border residents
Sikh Religious Study: Women secure top three positions
Young World
Takhtupura murder: Farmers for judicial inquiry
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Ground realities need to be reviewed
G.S. Paul Tribune News Service
Amritsar, March 2 According to the new set-up, the vehicle would have an access till Saranraghi and Kesri Bagh parking lots and the rest of the path to the Golden Temple has to be covered on foot, but the problem lies in internal areas that lead to the holy Sikh shrine from Maan Singh Gate, Ghee Mandi Gate and Shera wala Gate. The entry points speak volumes of the irregularities prevailing in the area. It is an irony that there is a negligible green belt, thanks to the MC which apparently gives two hoots to its well publicised go-green campaign. While paying a visit to the spot, it was found that both sides of Shera Wala Gate, there are massive encroachments on the green belt, which would also serve as a parking lot for the vehicles. Besides, numerous hotels and guest houses which prosper in the area adjoining the Golden Temple, do not have any designated place for parking. Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu said that plans were being chalked out to identify more areas. “It has also been decided to declare Hall Bazar to Town Hall and Town Hall to Katra Jaimal Singh, Katra Sher Singh till Sikandari Gate as no-parking zones, keeping in mind the thousands of people visiting the Golden Temple daily. Similar numbers of tourists visit the historic Jallianwala Bagh and pay their homage to the martyrs. “Due to the huge pressure of vehicular traffic on this route, it has become absolutely necessary to curtail the flow of vehicles on this route. For this purpose, in the first phase, it has been decided that the route would be limited to pedestrians and all the vehicles would be parked in the Saragarhi and Kesri Bagh parking lots which have the capacity of housing thousands of cars,” said Pannu. The Deputy Commissioner said that before implementing the programme, a public notice has been issued in the interest of the people, seeking their suggestions and objections to this plan. This plan would be implemented from March 15, 2010. Any suggestions and objections to it can be sent to the office of Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar by March 8, 2010. The suggestions and objections can be faxed on telephone no. 0183-2223551 or can be e-mailed at dcamritsar@gmail.com
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IPRI inching towards closure?
Amritsar, March 2 Seems so. The constant reduction in the budget allocated to the
institute is one sign. There are others as well. From Rs 78.69 lakh allocated to the organisation in 1997-1998, the budget moved to a zero in 2004-2005 and the following fiscal too, it remained nil. The information was obtained by a vigilant citizen, Naresh Johar, under the RTI Act. Besides, the deplorable condition of the dilapidated office of the IPRI at the Railway Road is another
testimony of the government’s indifference and apathy towards the department. This happens despite the fact that it has been carrying out research in various areas of irrigation, not only for the state but also for the entire area of North India. Some rooms are without roofs while some seem to have turned into haunted places as their doors have not been opened for the past several decades. A room was seen to be used to dump old files and papers while no effort was made to
secure them. The entire building presents an ancient look, with plants growing on roofs, walls and balconies. A cursory look conveys that
the building has not been white-washed for long and plaster has mostly come off. The organisation is credited to be the pioneer in the country in the field of land reclamation and irrigation. It was established to provide service through water management research in Punjab University Lahore in 1926 and was shifted here following
the Partition. It has nine research divisions with sophisticated instruments to make research investigations pertaining to various irrigation problems. The institute is engaged in research, investigations and consultancy in hydraulics, hydrology, reservoir sedimentation, concrete technology, reclamation of soil, weed control, water resources development and management, engineering properties of soil and others. Areas of its activities included hydraulic engineering, river engineering, reservoir and apartment structures, hydrology and water resources, foundation investigations and geotechnical problems, concrete technology, seepage loss studies, soil and water quality surveys, water management, aquatic weed management, environmental and meteorological studies, computer centre and library information. The institute also provides consultancy, model testing and analytical facilities in the field as well as in the laboratory to various government, semi-government and private organisations in Punjab and other states. The recipients of its services include the railways, the National Hydro Power Corporation, the Vigilance Department, the Ministry of Water Resources and Engineering Departments of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. For hydraulic model studies, the institute has 175 acres and water facilities for carrying out research activities. Its library has over 10,000 books and reports representing a comprehensive collection in irrigation, geotechnical, concrete, hydrology and hydraulics, aquatic, weed, environmental and allied subjects. The institute, which runs on no profit, no loss basis, undertakes research and analysis work on the written request from the department concerned, organisation or from an individual. However, it charges, from other than the Punjab Irrigation Department, 27.5 per cent extra on the estimated cost of work. Earlier, it was reliably learnt that the Department of Irrigation
proposed a merger of the Irrigation and Power Research Institute (IPRI) and the Punjab Irrigation Management and Training Institute (PIMTI), both located here, with the Punjab Irrigation Power Research and Training Institute (PIPRTI). However, it is yet to be approved by the Council of Ministers. The draft of the proposal states the new entity (PIPRTI) will be autonomous like the Water and Land Management Institutes (WALMI), Maharashtra, Orissa, Gujarat and the Haryana Irrigation Research and Management Institute to make it effective. Now it is studying models to check dams in the Kandi area of Hoshiarpur. It had had surveys before the construction of Ranjit Sagar Dam and also of Shahpur Kandi Dam, which is yet to take off. |
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Ward 30 floats on dirt
Amritsar, March 2 Established about 800 years ago, that is much before the holy city itself, the historic Sultanwind is still a perfect picture of neglect. Major portion of the village, which has witness the visits of fifth and sixth Sikh masters, Guru Arjun Dev and Guru Hargobind, respectively, is marred by water seepage resulting in damage to many houses besides historic Gurdwara Atari Sahib (belonging to sixth Sikh master). “Life becomes hell during evenings as mosquitoes and insects get into the houses posing a great threat to health of the people. We even could not sleep in nights, no points to guess the plight of residents during monsoons,” said Monu, a youth of the village. Seeing no respite to their problems, the majority of them living near the ponds preferred to shift to another places. Absence of water supply and streetlights has compounded their problems. The political bosses, including the councillor and MLA, only made false promises. “Although the Municipal Corporation set up three tubewells and a water overhead reservoir but the connections were never provided to the residents for reasons best known to the authorities. Even if the tubewell starts operating, what the authorities would do about disposal as the area is already inundated in absence of water disposal,” said Ravinder Kumar of the village. The situation is no different in Daburji area. Absence of sewerage leads to chocked stagnant water pools. The people have urged the authorities to do something before the situation worsens. History of Sultanwind
Named after “Pir” Sakhi Sultan, Sultanwind is four centuries older than the city of Amritsar. Situated on the old Golden Temple road, Sultanwind was once a Muslim-dominated village before the Partition. The ancestors of the villagers, who were followers of King Prithviraj Chauhan, fought valiantly against Mohammad Ghori before settling down here. Guru Arjan Dev visited Sultanwind to rescue his follower Bhai Manjh after he had tumbled down a well while bringing wood from a forest. Sri Guru Hargobind stayed here when he was returning after solemnising his marriage. Besides, Guru Hargobind prominent Sikhs who came here included Baba Budda ji, Bhai Gurdas ji, Bhai Bahlo ji, Bhai Salo ji, Bhai Bidhi Chand. An old tree of “Karir”, where the sixth Guru tied his horse, still exists in the gurdwara. A number of mazaars in the village periphery show
that a large number of Muslims who lived there left for Pakistan after the bloodshed
during the Partition. The area came under Municipal Corporation in 1972. The village is divided into 12 zones, including Mansoor, Balol, Dadujalla, Bhainiwal, Malka, Sau, Sultan,
Pandora and Shaho Ki. CouncillorSpeak Gurmej Singh Babbi, SAD councillor, admitting the problem of sewerage said it would be laid under the corporation’s ambitious sewerage project in collaboration with the Japan Bank Industrial Corporation. To solve the water problem, he said, the corporation has set up eight tubewells in the ward besides a water overhead reservoir, which would be started soon. He said the streets and roads have been metalled by the MC besides installing streetlights. He said the work on remaining roads would be completed on priority.
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Findings of DGP (vigilance), PSEB P.K. Jaiswar Tribune News Service
Amritsar, March 2 He did his doctorate on the topic “Corruption in Democratic institutions”. In an exclusive interview with this correspondent, he said that common man is very disillusioned with the system as majority of employees in these departments, from lower to upper ranks, are corrupt. “The delay in investigations, lesser number and quantum of punishments proved to be of fewer help in tackling the menace that is increasing leaps and bounds in the country without any proper check,” said the study. He recommended setting up of an independent commission to investigate into the corruption cases besides prescribing time-bound probes and trials. “The judicial formalities should be eased for avoiding unnecessary harassment to the complainant. The investigations as well as the trials should be made time bound,” he emphasised. While talking about his study, he suggested stringent punishments to accused involved in corrupt practices. In the absence of concrete decisions the wrongdoers either get away after a few hearings or with less quantum of punishment or penalty while taking advantages of loopholes in the law. He also emphasised on the character building by educational and religious institutions. “Various educational institutions like schools, colleges and universities besides religious organisations could play a vital role in character building.” The DGP completed his doctorate study in six years during which he studied about 14 departments and interviewed as many as 600 people.
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Decrease in security leaves gallantry awardees fuming
Amritsar, March 2 During the peak of militancy, when the terror elements held the state almost to ransom, it was the daunted courage shown by many a Punjabis who along with their families chose the path of resistance and fight. Coming out in the open against the government move, one such family from
Bhikhiwind, whose members --- Balwinder Singh, his wife Jagdish Kaur, brother and sister-in-law --- were awarded Shaurya Chakra for their fight against terrorism by the then President Dr Shankar Dyal Sharma, said the indifferent attitude of the government was hurting. The family was provided with adequate security and huge cache of arms. Now in a recent development, the state government has withdrawn all the security personnel except a single one. Balwinder Singh, a CPI (M) activist too, rued the indifferent attitude of the state government was painful. “Isn’t it ridiculous, that all our efforts hold no significance now. We are thinking of returning the gallantry award when the government does not care to provide us with security, especially, in the wake of the reports about the revival of terrorism”, said
Balwinder. Jagdish Kaur alleged that this was for the fourth time that their security had been withdrawn. They alleged that they were getting frequent threats by terrorist groups taking shelter in the neighbouring country. He said the attitude of the police was demoralising for the persons who had sacrificed for the sake of country’s unity during militancy. It is evident to mention that this family faced encounter with the terrorists for over 42 times and over 30 weapons, including
LMGs, SLRs, ALRs and even hand grenades. Later, with the passage of time, the count of his security personnel, which included CRPF and Punjab police teams too, has now been reduced to just one police personnel. The government had earlier made documentaries which included Punjab Ek
Yatra, Kabhu Na Chhade Khet, Mittar Piyaare Nu and Punjab: ek Sangram etc, which were shown on national TV for encouraging people to fight terrorism. But now they were hesitating even to provide security to them, he lamented. Supporting the cause, the president of Centre of Indian Trade Union
(CITU) Vijay Mishra urged the Chief Minister Punjab to revive the security cover for the family as was extended to them earlier. |
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Diabetes, hypertension render people susceptible to heart problems
Amritsar, March 2 Delivering a lecture on the seminar on “A journey to explore problems confronting ischemic heart diseases" organised by the Human Genetics Department, Guru Nanak Dev University. With the aging population this would be further catastrophic, he said and added that the increased cholesterol had been widely reported as a causative factor. He said consuming large amount of cholesterol may be bad for health but taking less cholesterol was also not good. Cholesterol when consumed did not cause harm as such but its oxidation products were harmful. Thus it can never be decided what amount of cholesterol or oil consumption was good or bad for an individual. It varies depending upon an individual besides genetics play a role in it. He said the sudden cardiac arrest or sudden death syndrome had a mysterious etiology and with the current knowledge could not be completely characterised with a poor prognosis. He said a whole lot of factors that include chronic diabetes and hypertension rendered an individual more susceptible. He said higher catecholamine and resulting aminochromes were important parameters that require to be further investigated in order to completely understand the heart failure as well as sudden cardiac arrest and consequent death. The cardiologist said the factors that led to the development of congestive heart failure were myocardial infarction, hypertension, vulvular defects, endocrine dysfunction, bacterial infection, viral infection and genetic abnormalities. Consequently, the congestive heart failure may lead to fluid retention, shortness of breath excessive intolerance, increased incidence of arrhythmias and depressed cardiac
function. Dhalla said it was high time to depart from the traditional views and look at heart diseases in consonance with other impaired health conditions that contributed to its development. He added inherently it was a very complex disease with multiple factors like hypertension, high blood cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, stress, smoking and lack of exercise were involved in its etiology. He said three phases of heart diseases need to be clearly defined. An ischemic heart disease leads to arthrosclerosis in 75 to 80 per cent cases. He said the arteries got clogged, flow of blood to heart was impaired leading to acute ischemic problem and consequently a heart attack. Vice-Chancellor of the host university A.S Brar presided over, while Dr Vasudha
Sambyal, Head of the department, welcomed the chief guest. |
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Sewerage woes: Loharaka Road residents up in arms against admn
Amritsar, March 2 Threatening to take the agitation path, they urged Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal and Health Minister, Laxmi Kanta
Chawla, to immediately intervene in the matter concerning public health. Talking about his woes, a resident Aman Sharma said there were 8-10 feet wide open drains on both sides of the Loharaka Road for sewerage disposal, which have become a nuisance for residents and a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and poisonous insects, besides snakes and frogs. “The place is an open invitation for the spread of any deadly disease, including malaria, dengue, cholera and jaundice,” he said. In the absence of any sewerage disposal system, the residents have dug out 18-20 feet deep underground sewerage water tanks
(Garki) outside their residences. This has contaminated the underground water and become a cause for water-borne diseases besides cancer and skin ailments, said another resident Kashmir Singh. Although we approached the district administration to look for a permanent solution, nothing has been done so far. “Who would be responsible in case of the spread of any disease?” questioned Manish Gupta. Interestingly, the area falls under two panchayats - Panchayat Gumtala Colony and Panchayat Ranit Vihar - instead of the municipal corporation. They said they had met Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu in this regard, who has appointed a block development and panchayat officer in this regard. But nothing concrete has been done to solve their miseries, the residents rued. While threatening they said they would be forced to intensify their agitation if the authorities failed to take any remedial measures. |
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‘Harassed’ by in-laws, woman commits suicide
Our Correspondent
Tarn
Taran, March 2 In the absence of her husband Dalbir Singh, who was living in Dubai, the in-laws used to harass Simarjit for one or the other issue. Simarjit committed some poisonous substance last late evening but the in-laws didn’t care to bring her to the hospital, as a result of which she died. The accused were absconding. 300 students get degrees
A total of 300 girls of Mata Ganga Girls
College were awarded degrees during a convocation held here today. Dr Ajaib Singh
Brar, Vice-Chancellor, advised the girls to work on their personality development
to pave a way in the society. More than 60 students were awarded prizes for their performances in different fields. The students also presented a
cultural programme. Paramedical staff stage dharna
A large number of paramedical staff, under the
banner of Paramedical and Health Employees Struggle Committee, Punjab, staged a dharna outside the Civil
Surgeon office here today. Sardara Singh Gill and other leaders of the
organisation listed the demands, including regularisation of the workers on daily wage, contractual, services providers etc.The leaders demanded action against the alleged irregularities being committed at the PHC
Sursing and Ghariala. Mandi workers lodge protest
Workers of different grain markets of the district held a protest here today in front of the office of the District Food and Supply Controller to demand increase in the rate of lifting grain bag from 47 paise to Rs 3.42. The All-India Food and Allied Union and the Galla Mazdoor Union led the protest. Avtar Singh and Parkash Singh, leaders of the organizations, said Rs 3.42 is the rate provided by the
FCI, whereas the state agencies give 47 paise per bag. A memorandum, containing the list of demands, was presented to the Controller. |
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RO systems become boon for border residents
Tarn Taran, March 2 The villages Assal Uttar, Varnala, Mehndipur, Chhana SirzaMirza, Valotha, Rattoke, Lakhna, Bhura Kona, Rajoke, Amrokot and Wan Tara Singh the main villages of “Khara (salty) Majha” have been covered under the scheme in the first phase. The Public Health Department, which had been given the assignment to install the system, got a grant of Rs 190.80 lakh sanctioned by the state government, but the systems could be installed only at a cost of Rs 120-00 lakh and an amount of Rs 70.80 lakh has been saved. Virsa Singh Valtoha, MLA of the area, said with the saved amount, these RO systems would be installed in Sursing, Bhikhiwind, Marri Negha and Khalra villages. In a health survey conducted in the area, it was found that due to the consumption of salty water, residents had been becoming patients of hepatitis and cancer, besides they had been facing problems of the skin, teeth etc. A tour by a team of newsmen, of villages having
the facility of RO system, revealed that the residents are satisfied with this facility. The water from these RO plants is given at a rate of 10 paisa per litre. Most of the residents take 20 litres for Rs 2 in a jar with a capacity of 20 litre. Some people come to take water themselves while some others bring this water through a messenger (worker). This system has also become a means of providing jobs for some un-employed persons who charge some amount to take the water to the residence of the concerned persons. One Swarn Singh, a resident of Bhura Kona village, said the RO plants have become a boon for the residents of the border areas as it’s water is pure and free of TDS (Total dissolved Solids) and other salty items. A survey conducted in the area said the ground water of the area had the capacity of 780 to 1,590 TDS. The Khara Majha area has salty ground water and since long, residents of this area have been facing joint problems on the health front but now they are slowly getting free from this problem. The water of this RO plant has 10 to 40 TDS. |
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Sikh Religious Study: Women secure top three positions
Amritsar, March 2 The results were declared here today. The top three students were Jaswinder Kaur of Amritsar who got 355 marks out of 400, Rajwant Kaur of Pathankot (353) and Sukhwinder Kaur of Gurdaspur (344 marks). Besides, 51 students, including non-Sikhs hailing from Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and various districts of the state appeared in the merit list. SGPC President Avtar Singh announced that the prizes would be given to these persons during a felicitation ceremony. The topper would receive Rs 7,100, the second Rs 5,100 and the third Rs 3,100. Besides, the students falling in merit list would be given Rs 1,100 each. He said the course included all aspects of Sikhism.
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15 students make it to reputed organisations
Amritsar, March 2 School spruce-up
Located in the narrow arterial roads of the walled city, Sri Guru Ram Das Girls Secondary School is performing yeoman service in imparting education to the girls of the area. Its Principal, Charanjit Kaur Bawa, with a nearly three-decade-long career, has added features to match the pace of modern education. She said a computer lab was added besides the sprucing up of its library. She said the other area of stress
was conducting of a teacher training programme. Sports festival
Medical Education Minister Tikshan Sood was the chief guest on the 69th annual sports festival of the Medical College, here today. He said the Akali-BJP government was committed to raise the level of education and it specifically laid stress on improvement of medical education in the state. He informed that all higher medical institutions in the state were given funds on priority.
— TNS |
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Takhtupura murder: Farmers for judicial inquiry
Amritsar, March 2 “We demand independent judicial inquiry by sitting Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge,” said Joginder Singh Ugraha and Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan, president and general secretary of the union, respectively, in a joint statement issued here today. They alleged that all the steps taken by SIT indicate attempts to save the main accused in the murder.
— TNS |
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Amritsar, March 2
The Punjab Government’s latest move on withdrawing security to gallantry award recipients has not gone down well with the awardees, as they felt this would aggravate the threat to their lives.
During the peak of militancy, when the terror elements held the state almost to ransom, it was the daunted courage shown by many a Punjabis who along with their families chose the path of resistance and fight.
