Amritsar, March 19
Is the foot overbridge erected close to the entry gate of the railway station, on the busy railway link road, impeding traffic?

A close observation of the bridge, and its minimal use by the public, reflected that it serves more as a means for displaying advertisements and sign boards than the purpose that it should.

Sawinder Singh, who runs a shop nearby, said a small number of passengers utilise the services of the bridge since the road is not wide enough.

He said people preferred to cross over the road directly while ignoring the bridge. They did not even mind the speeding vehicles on the road. A senior citizen, Naresh Johar, found the setting up of the bridge at the entry gate, instead of the exit gate, methodically and logically wrong.

“I never observed during my journeys that the administration was ensuring quick entry of passengers into the railway station or other places of public gathering,” he said. He said since a large number of passengers together alight from a train, it becomes necessary for the administration to help them move out of the station swiftly, to decongest it.

Hence, I found, during my frequent travels by metros in Delhi, that all stations were equipped with escalators for exit purposes and steps for arriving passengers.

Another middle-aged shopkeeper Rattan Chand said passengers heading to catch trains did not utilise the bridge generally as they carry luggage with them.

Instead, the location of the bridge and the fact that the place swarms with autos and rickshaw pullers, vying to grab customers, causes congestion on the road resulting in a bottleneck.

Earlier, the district administration had to install the greenbelt to avoid the menace of parking taxis along the wall of the railway station. Though the move succeeded in moving the taxis away, the greenbelt has still not been maintained properly.

The railway road receives a high volume of traffic as vehicles approaching from Bhandari Bridge, from Puttalighar and Rialto Chowk, move towards it.

Besides, the bridge is located next to the famous Landa Bazaar, known for foreign-made products. The market attracts a large number of shoppers.

Comforts of the public and passengers were ignored before the installation of the bridge, an iron structure.

It looked as if the authorities had kept the benefit of the outsourced company in mind. Apart from hanging advertisements of different shape and sizes over the bridge, hardly any passenger utilises it’s services as the width of the road is comparatively smaller.

Johar feels that it would have been better on the part of the authorities if a subway has been constructed instead of a foot-over-bridge, that too at the exit gate.

Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, DPS Kharbanda said the bridge was erected only after consultation with the local railway authorities.

He said iron bars were installed on the central verge to discourage pedestrians from crossing over the road. However, some unidentified people decamped away with them. He said a complaint has been filed with the police in this regard. 

Amritsar, March 19
Unlike the first 35 wards, which have grave problems, the Ward 36, except a small chunk of Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, has been found to be having all mandatory public services and civic amenities, be it sewerage, roads or drinking water supply, in order.

A lane at Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar in Ward 36 waits to be cemented. Photo: Vishal Kumar

However, it does not mean everything is up to the mark in the ward. The major road of the ward connecting it to various areas of different wards has been waiting for repair for a long time. The potholed road has become a bane for the area shopkeepers as well as for daily commuters.

“We are forced to live in these conditions where loads of dust fly whole day due to heavy traffic and that could cause respiratory problems to the shopkeepers, who are directly exposed to the dirt,” said a shopkeeper, Jagdish Singh. He said although the local leaders were promising that the work on the road would start soon, it was yet to be seen when this would happen.

Meanwhile, a part of Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar is waiting for a long time to have a proper lane. Thanks to the municipal authorities who bothered little to get the brick-laned street carpeted while all the adjoining lanes have been cemented.

“We have never seen any government bothering to solve our problem and why they left this road unattended for years is hard to digest,” said Jagdish Singh, a resident of the area.

Other big problem that the area is facing is the absence of proper streetlight. Gurinder Pal Singh, a resident of the Tej Nagar area, said the contractor, who was entrusted with the task of maintaining streetlight, hardly bothered to repair the defunct lights. Inhabitants complained that the lights on the main road were not adequate and defunct lights needed immediate repair.

Like Ward 35, this ward too has no green park. The areas that fall in the ward are Tej Nagar, New Tej Nagar, Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar and Kisna Nagar.

CouncillorSpeak

Avtar Singh, SAD councillor, says till now concrete lanes have been laid in about 75 per cent area of his ward while the remaining work of laying the roads will be completed soon. Udham Singh Nagar will also be developed in the project.

The Municipal Corporation has spent about Rs 3 crore for the overall development of the ward. The carpeting of the main road will start in April. The project of laying road got delayed as water supply connections are being provided to residents. Tenders have been floated for streetlight, while the repair work of defunct lights will be started soon.

Amritsar, March 19
While the Punjab Government presented a deficit Budget, scant efforts have been made to generate resources for fiscal management, were the general views on the Budget presented by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. On the other hand, some experts believe it to be a balanced and forward-looking Budget.

Though the Finance Minister ruled out any fresh taxes later and viewed that it was the scarce support from the Centre which had made the state to struggle with a heavy debt burden, yet economists feel that no equity basis has been maintained.

Dr Varinder Bhatia, an economist and associate professor, DAV College, while terming the Budget as an “aggressive” approach, said, “Consequently, lost of disparity arose between the social classes and no service incentives have been granted. Similarly, no steps have been suggested to generate revenue. Actually, there was a total lack of any innovative approach and the state government has failed to deal with the delicate subject of economy while defying the cannons of taxation. For example, to boost the industrial sector, uninterrupted power supply is the first and foremost thing, but hardly any steps have been proposed in the Budget.”

Echoing almost identical views, Amrit Lal Jain, President of the Punjab Beopar Mandal, opined that the Budget was nothing but “directionless and disappointing”, especially for the traders.

“The government increased the electricity duty from 1 to 3 per cent. It is irony that with long-hour power cuts, the state government expects industrial growth. There have been regular cuts from 9 am to 11 am and 1 pm to 3 pm. The government did not spare a thought to tackle this menace. How can one expect expansion of the industry when the urban sector is heavily taxed. The government, besides enhancing VAT from 4 to 5 per cent, has imposed an additional surcharge to the tune of another 10 per cent,” he said.

Jain also criticised the government’s move to form Punjab small traders beopar mandal whose governing council was nothing but a puppet in their hands. “What can one expect from this forum whose chairperson is a small-time PCO/STD booth owner in Bathinda and the vice-chairperson happens to be a fruit and vegertable vendor at Ludhiana,” rued Jain.

On the other hand, CII, Punjab, appreciates the government’s special focus on improvement of infrastructure in the state. The power sector has received the maximum outlay in the Budget amounting to about 25 per cent of the total Plan outlay. Also, the outlay for the road sector has been increased to Rs 1,100 crore along with Rs 916 crore provided by the PIDB for creation of infrastructure.

Gunbir Singh, Chairman, CII, Punjab State Council, welcomed the Budget calling it a “balanced and comprehensive”. He said, “If there has been an increase in power duty, the entertainment tax has been reduced to 25 per cent from 125.

“The Budget provisions relating to agriculture will go a long way for the betterment of the sector.

“This Budget provides for upgradation of 35 industrial institutes into centres of excellence, upgradation of technical institutions into multipurpose academies and upgradation of government polytechnics and ITIs. Also, the government plans to set up seven new polytechnics. These policy measures will go a long way in resolving the skill gap in the state,” said Gunbir.

Amritsar, March 19
The Municipal Corporation (MC) is  bracing itself for a gigantic task of  population Census.

Even as a workshop for training master trainers is under progress at Guru Nanak Bhawan, but the actual work on house-listing operation for the preparation of the National Population Register will begin from May 1 and last till June 15.

D.P.S. Kharbanda, Municipal Corporation Commissioner-cum-Principal Census Officer of the city, said master trainers were drawn from government lecturers.

He said the master trainers would be put on statutory duty as per the Census Act-1948 for 65 wards of the city.

Each ward would be placed under a charge officer, who would be assisted  by supervisor and enumerators.  Wards have been further subdivided into 30 to 35 blocks.

Amritsar, March 19
While the administration brags about the rich heritage of the city and fights tooth and nail to acquire heritage status for it, the sorry state of affairs at the historic gates around the old walled city tells a different story.

These monuments and buildings, more than anything else, seem to be the most favoured places for sticking posters, political banners etc.

It is an irony that these heritage structures, which were rebuilt during the British era, including Hall Gate, Hathi Gate, Gate Hakima Wala, Sultanwind Gate etc. pose a perfect example of the negligent attitude of the authorities concerned.

“What kind of heritage we are showing to our generations. The government spends huge amounts for conducting heritage festivals but nothing is being done to preserve the heritage structures,” said a resident Hari Krishan.

Stringent measures should be taken against defaulters who put up hoardings and paste posters on these buildings while caring little about the heritage value of these important buildings, he opined.

Once a Municipal Corporation Commissioner took to streets and cleaned up the walls of the Hall Gate by tearing out posters and banners pasted on the historic gate, to encourage the public and administration for coming forward for the preservation of heritage buildings of the city.

But people hardly learn from good examples. Vendors have put up stalls alongside the gate walls while shops have opened up in these structures which should be rehabilitated, viewed heritage lovers and conservationists, who were upset over the half-hearted approach of the administration in maintaining these structures.

Dr. Balwinder Singh, a heritage lover and Professor, Guru Ramdass School of Planning at the Guru Nanak Dev University, pointed out that these gates depict the grandeur of the old walled city.

He said walls of the gates have been encroached upon by officials and private parties. He said the government should make these monuments encroachment free and give them appropriate face lift. He said like the Rambagh Gate, belonging to the legendary Sikh ruler, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the remaining gates should also be restored and preserved.

Amritsar, March 19
The arrival of streptokinase fermentation in the market has reduced the prices of streptokinase, a drug, said the Director, Institute of Microbial Technology, Chandigarh, Dr Girish Sahni.

Addressing a two-day seminar on “Current scenario of microbial technology”, organised by the Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University, in collaboration with UGC’s Special Assistance Programme, he stressed that the discovery of new molecules as drugs was quite cumbersome, time consuming and expensive. He opined that the new molecules, even if discovered, might have many side effects.

He said developing countries like China were more into refashioning of old drugs, than into discovery of new molecules.

Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Ajaib Singh Brar in his presidential remarks said microbial technology should be used to find solutions to the problem of converting agricultural waste and lignin from paper industry into bio-fuel. He said the natural hydrocarbon resources were fast depleting, therefore bio-fuel must be encouraged.

He said education institutes needed to dwell on current research areas of microbiology and to sensitise the scientific community. He also advocated the setting up of high quality instrumentation centre in the University for Sciences and Life Sciences.

Earlier, Prof D.S. Arora, coordinator of the seminar, welcomed the chief guest.

Dr Sajid Husain, Dr A. Banerjea, Dr A. Zaidi, Dr Sher Ali and Dr Rup Lal presented their research papers.