Amritsar, March 4
It was a perfect example of poor workmanship spotted near Dharam Singh Market, where an arm of the main elevated road was raised for the Golden Temple route.

It was observed that one of the pillars of this under-construction project had intercepted the sewage passage of at least 1,500 houses located in Ghee Mandi, Bagh Ramanand, Pakki Gali, Katra Ahluwalia Katra.

A visit to the site revealed that there was a honsli (supposed to be a pious reservoir underneath for facilitating the underground flow of water), which broke while at the time of laying the particular pillar of the elevated road. Consequently, thousands of residents belonging to these localities have been forced to live under most unhygienic conditions for the past over 20 days.

Ironically, the blame game has begun among the authorities to fix the responsibility for this lapse.

The Amritsar Municipal Corporation had passed the buck on to Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) to rectify the fault. The PWSSB viewed it as a blunder on the part of the company, hired for the construction of the elevated road.

And the residents without much choice have been running from pillar to post for an early solution to this mess.

Iqbal Singh Sherry, the area councillor said, “When we questioned the company officials, they said the fault could not be rectified because their machinery had developed some technical snag and it had been sent to Delhi for repairing,” he said.

A top official of the PWSSB, preferring anonymity, said this point should have been taken into account at the time of finalising the blueprint of the elevated road pillars. “But, the liability lied with the construction company only. Though, the team of PWSSB has undertaken the task, it would take two more days to fix the problem,” the officials told.

“This spot should not have been dug up in the first case. When this particular pillar was being erected, it should have been pointed out then only so that some alternate spot could have been located. Though, later their engineers tried to facilitate the water passage through a cemented passage built underneath but it did not work. With the result, the sewerage of the area got chocked”, he said.

DPS Kharbanda, AMC Commissioner, said any agency, which would be found responsible for this lapse would be questioned. “But before that, our priority would be to set the system right because it has been affecting such a large number of people,” he said.

Amritsar, March 4
A number of Congress activists, led by Harpal Singh Bhatia, gheraoed Majitha police station here today.

They lodged a complaint for the registration of a criminal case against former Cabinet minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia for issuing derogatory remarks against former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. Earlier, Sukhjinder Raj Singh (Lalli) Majithia had filed a complaint with the Amritsar (Rural) police for lodging an FIR against the former minister.

Addressing the gathering, Bhatia said the Punjab Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir Singh Badal, respectively, should clear their stand on the derogatory and unparliamentary statements issued by Bikramjit Singh Majithia. He pointed out that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) should have expelled Bikramjit Singh Majithia from the membership of the Punjab Assembly, besides the party, for issuing such irresponsible remarks against the former Chief Minister. He said if the government and police administration adopted any dilly-dallying attitude towards taking action against Bikramjit Singh Majithia, the Congress would move court to get justice.

Amritsar, March 2
Dairy experts opined that the area under fodder cultivation must be enhanced from the current average of 22 kg per head of cattle to 40 kg in the state. They stated this during a seminar on “Contribution of dairy in the agro-economy of the state,” organised by the Dairy Development Department and Punjab Dairy Development Board here today.

They were unanimous that 40 per cent of the agro-economy was based upon dairy.

Dr R.S. Sahota of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University felt that the situation was saved with the switching over to new breeds known for high yield.

He said the yield of milk had increased in the state despite the fact that the number of head of cattle had come down in the last decade. Old breeds of Sahiwal, Sindhi and Hariana had been replaced by Holstein, Friesian and Jersey through cross-breeding. Experts advised that Holstein and Friesian were good for the plains, while Jersey was ideal for the Kandi area.

Unlike agriculture, dairy offered employment around the year and at least a person was required against 10 head of cattle, said Dr Harish Kumar Verma of the university.

He said against the desired target of 280 gm milk per person, the country had the availability of 230 gm, while the condition was relatively well in the state with a litre of milk per person. Sixty per cent of the total yield of milk in Punjab was sold outside the state, he added.

They stated that diversification was touted to overpower saturation in agriculture and dairy could be a highly remunerative alternative.

Chief guest of the seminar Gulzar Singh Ranike, Punjab Minister for Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development, informed that a variety of schemes had been introduced to encourage dairy development, including 25 to 50 per cent subsidy on the purchase of animals, commercialisation and mechanisation of dairy farming with subsidy on dairy sheds, insurance, milking machines, fodder harvesters, bulk milk coolers and others.

For genetic improvement of livestock nearly 1 lakh doses of semen of high-yielding animals had been procured and 1.5 lakh more doses would be procured in the coming weeks.

He laid the foundation stone for the Government Analytical Laboratory, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crore, which was the second laboratory of this type in the state. Here samples of cattle feed, feed ingredients, milk and milk products would be analysed, which will help in maintaining the quality of these products.

He also inaugurated the Veterinary Polyclinic and Civil Veterinary Hospital.

Amritsar, March 4
Ten teams are participating in the two-day annual Kabaddi Cup, which started at Liddher village in Rayya here today.

The Shahid Baba Deep Singh Sports Club organises the Kabaddi cup annually. Commissioner Parampal Singh Sidhu inaugurated the Kabaddi Cup.

The victorious team will be given cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, while the runners-up will be awarded Rs 75,000. Besides, four Pulsar motorcycles will be given to as many kabaddi players who will show individual excellence in various departments of the game.

Indian National Lok Dal’s leader Abhay Singh Chautala is expected to hand over prizes to the winners tomorrow.

Amritsar, March 4
Be inquisitive. Swiss Nobel laureate Prof Richard R Ernst had this advice in store for schoolchildren who aspired to excel in the field of academics.

His exclusive interaction with the students of Super-50 batch of Class XI (non-medical) stream of Khalsa College Public School, Amritsar, came as once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the young minds.

Encouraging students to aim high and stay committed to the societal reforms, Dr Ernst narrated them his own tale. “As a child, I could be rated as a below average student, yet my imaginative mind drove me to realise my thoughts. Even as I have been conferred upon with the world’s highest honour, sometimes I believe that much of it just happened by sheer luck. However, good researchers know how to give luck a chance to happen and cleverly take advantage of fortuitous achievements,” he said.

Meanwhile, he answered some of the queries put forth by the students and taught them that how magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI (fMRI) revolutionised the medical diagnostics.

Dr Ernst termed the television as a “stupid box”. He sternly advocated not sticking to unproductive television programmes. “Till date, I do not own a television set at home because most of the programmes transmitted through this stupid box would be good for nothing. Instead, try to realise your inquisitive observations. Research is an exciting and useful tool which leads you to achieve your goals,” he said.

“India is a great country which possesses its preciously rich cultural heritage. Always try not to let modern technology overpower your thoughts and take you away from the values of your culture,” he added.

However, Dr Alexandra Pines, a senior scientist in Material Sciences Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, USA, viewed that education is the only medium to bring the children belonging to the underprivileged section to the main stream of the society.

He also emphasised that students should hear their heart’s voice before finalising their decision of choosing their professional goals.

He said he got his study from that school whose motto was desire to learn. He said his teachers taught him never to be afraid to ask questions, if you want to learn.

Amritsar, March 4
Prof Alexander Pines, a material sciences and an NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) scientist from the US delivered a special lecture on ‘Seeing Beyond The Light’ with the help of models and demonstrations at the Guru Nanak Dev University here today.

Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar presided over the seminar. This lecture was arranged by the Chemistry Department of the university and a large number of faculty and students of various science departments attended the event.

Prof Pines in his lecture explained how to explore the region of electromagnetic spectrum, which is beyond light.

Prof Pines presented a model of classroom teaching, which would be highly beneficial for the students as well as the faculty. He showed the magnetic behavior of liquid oxygen with the help of an experiment and co-related the observations of NMR with classical music.

Prof Pines said the various concepts of science could be explained with simple demonstrations. He also demonstrated the concept of handedness with the help of a piece of plastic.

To make the classroom teaching an interactive event, Prof Pines said there should be perfect synchronisation between the teacher and students. He advocated that students should ask more questions which helps in clarifying the concepts and emphasised on the experimental learning.

Meanwhile, on the third day of the symposium on “Magnetic Resonance in Pharmaceuticals (NMRS 2011),” dedicated to the different areas of magnetic resonance including methodology, instrumentation, theory and applications in diverse fields of science, Prof Rakesh Mahajan, several lectures by eminent scientists from various laboratories, academic institutions and industries from world over, had been held.

Prof Vasudevan Ramesh and Prof Anil Saran presided over the fourth session of the third day of the conference. Dr Phillipe Lesot, Prof KVR Chary, Dr Ashutosh Kumar and Prof Daniel Huster presented their research papers on NMR techniques.

Similarly, fifth session of the day was chaired by Prof H Vliegenthort and Prof AC Kunwar. Prof Jean-Paul Amoureux, Prof Kay Saalwaechter, Dr TG Ajithkumar, Dr Rangeet Bhattacharyya and Dr GS Kapur presented their research work on this occasion. A poster session was also organised on this occasion.

Amritsar, March 4
Balwant Singh Khera, national vice-president, Socialist Janata Party, today urged President Pratibha Patil to bring the political parties under Right to Information (RTI) Act by declaring them as public authorities besides empowering the Election Commission of India to oversee, report and take proper action against defaulting political parties.

In a communiqué to the President, which was released to the media here, he pointed out that given that these parties use substantial public funds, they come under the purview of the RTI Act and therefore they should be declared public authorities.

He said it has been found that out of hundreds of political parties registered with the Election Commission were fake and a number of them seemed to exist only in papers. However, the Election Commission doesn’t have any powers to take action and de-register them.

Advocating poll reforms, Khera said candidates who are accused of an offence punishable by imprisonment for two years or more should be disqualified from contesting elections even when trial is pending, provided charges have been framed against him by the competent court.

He pointed out that the Election Commission had repeatedly recommended this. He said in order to counter that a person is presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty, the EC had viewed that where the court is prima facie satisfied about the involvement of the candidate in the crime and consequently framed charges, he should be kept out of electoral arena in greater public interest.

He urged the President to direct the Prime Minister in this regard and bring in a bill for election reforms in the current session.

Amritsar, March 4
The District Youth Congress (Urban) has decided to continue its agitation against Mayor Shwet Malik till their demands are met. They were protesting against the Mayor for his failure to provide details about expenditure worth Rs 526 crore, which he claimed the civic authorities had spent on various development projects.

Dinesh Bassi, president DYC (R), in a press conference here today said they aren’t afraid of a case, registered against more than 50 Congress workers for holding demonstration in front of the residence of the Mayor a couple of days ago.

The Mayor had claimed that his government had carried out development works worth Rs 526 crore in the city during its four-year rule. However, the conditions in various areas are a stark realty to the claims of the Mayor, Bassi said.

He said the Youth Congress would again gherao the residence of the Mayor and would continue to stage protest against him till he gave the details of Rs 526 crore. He said Shwet Malik should resign as his government has miserably failed to provide the basic amenities in various areas.

Amritsar, March 4
An interpersonal communication regional workshop under National Rural Health Mission was organised at IMA hall here today.

Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu presided over the programme which was attended by five Civil Surgeons - Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Kapurthala and Hoshiapur besides other health authorities.

Speaking on the occasion, the DC said in order to bring down the death rate of mother and child during delivery, the Health Department has introduced adequate facilities in government hospitals. He said the facility of delivery has been made 24-hour in these hospitals.

He said the real aim of the NRHM was to reach and provide health services to the poor and the people living in far-flung and rural areas where the health services are minimal.

Dr Chandanjit Singh Kondal, Civil Surgeon, Amritsar, said the interaction with other civil surgeons and discussion in the workshop would enable them to run various government health schemes in a better way.

He detailed about various steps being taken by the health department in Amritsar to improve the health services.

Amritsar, March 4
The Akal Purkh Ki Fauj (APKF) in collaboration with the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) has called upon the faithful to observe March 14 as Sikh Environment Day across the world.

Volunteers of the APKF would educate the sangat about the importance of the environment, ways to keep it clean and its negative and positive impact on living beings outside five Sikh Takhts, --- Akal Takht, Damdama Sahib, Hazoor Sahib, Kesgarh Sahib and Patna Sahib --- on March 14. They would also initiate a signature campaign to ensure the active involvement of the masses.

The day (March 14) in the Sikh history is known for the Gurttagaddi Divas of Guru Har Rai, said Director, APKF, Jaswinder Sigh Advocate, also member of SGPC. He said through reading of the Sikh gurus’ history they came to know that the seventh Guru had taken care of vegetation in his life and preached the same. He said observing the day in this manner would be a befitting offering to the revered guru.

Amritsar, March 4
Condemning the killing of Pakistan’s minorities minister by the radicals, the National Christian League urged the Pakistan government to take action against the miscreants behind the killing.

Jagdish Masih, President of the league, urged the UNO to impose a ban on the Pakistan government as a number of terrorist groups were still running in the neighbouring country.

Amritsar, March 4
The district agriculture wing in collaboration with central agriculture wing, Jalandhar, conducted a two-day IPM (integrated pest management) workshop at Kheti Bhawan here yesterday.

Chief agriculture officer Dr Paramjeet Singh Sandhu inaugurated the workshop. “Our main focus was to educate our agricultural officers about the importance of IPM so that they should apprise the farmers in their respective areas about it”, he said.

Dr AK Shukla of Regional Plant Quarantine recommended the use of bio-pesticides to produce insecticide-less crop. PAU’s Dr Paramjit Singh advocated that pesticides should be applied, on need-based circumstances, as excess of it would rather damage the crop, especially the vegetables.

Dr Parminder Kaur Sehajpal told the gathering about various diseases, which infect the wheat crop. Others present on the occasion included Dr Gurdeep Singh, Agriculture development Officer, Dr Buta Singh and Dr Akhilesh Kumar from IPM center, Jalandhar.