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MC gears up to deal with monsoon ailments
CII for India, Pak sharing lists of holidays
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Finance Dept detects fraud worth Rs 9.6 lakh in govt school
After 5 years, sewerage project to ‘finally’ start
Non-enhancement of seats at GMCs leaves parents dejected
8,348 to take TET in dist today
Stone of dental institute’s new building laid
We should have been involved in planning, says local expert
Fuel price hike a cruel joke, say residents
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MC gears up to deal with monsoon ailments
Amritsar, July 1 The civic authorities have chalked out a plan, wherein special squads have been formed, which will go in the sensitive areas of the city and help in uniform diagnosis, investigation and treatment of the diseases in collaboration with the health centres falling in the area. According to information, the civic authorities here have identified 542 locations which have acutely been infested with the mosquito menace. This is the first step to ensure that there is no confusion in the diagnosis of mosquito bite-related ailments during monsoon. The Health Department has also taken precautions to keep the mosquito breeding under control. Extensive pest-control measures, like fogging, will be taken up during monsoon. Commissioner D.P.S. Kharbanda said these teams had been formed especially to establish a protocol for handling monsoon-related diseases. “In the first phase, we have held sessions with the doctors and will continue to keep tabs on at least 12 dispensaries for next few weeks to deal with the notified diseases. In the second phase, nine health officials have been designated to hold talk sessions in schools to apprise the children of precautionary measures to be taken against malaria, typhoid, jaundice and other water-borne diseases. Eight teams would be spraying medicine in 63 wards. Already four rounds of spraying job has been done. Similarly, eight other teams have been told to look after the walled city area, including Bhaktawala dump area, which was the most sensitive point,” he said. “We are also into procuring drugs to make additional provision,” he added. Nevertheless, it is next to impossible to avoid rainwater streaming down our streets during the monsoon. Most working people, housewives and school and college kids tend to walk through these waters. Here is what you can do before and after stepping into some seriously questionable water on city streets. Precautions Trust the humble anti-bug creams. These will keep you safe when you're sitting inside cabs, autos, buses and trains, where the mosquitoes can find you easily. Give your skin the least exposure to infections. Invest in quick-drying clothes and shoes. Avoid the next day's sniffles by wearing something that is water-resistant (raincoats, jackets) or quick to dry. Carry a change of dry clothes to work, so that if you do get wet, you don’t end up suffering in wet clothes in an air-conditioned office. Soak your clothes in hot water. In fact some even suggest outright boiling them to take care of any germs being transferred onto other clothes. Bathe with Dettol or any other skincare lotion diluted in water to take care of any lingering skin infections from the polluted water. Use an antiseptic cream over any blisters or open wounds that might have touched the stagnating rain water. Eat and drink something warm to raise your body temperature. The age-old chicken soup therapy works wonders to ward off colds and coughs. Observe strict gym etiquette to avoid catching bugs from the gym’s machines and equipment. Use a workout towel to avoid direct contact with bacteria-laden surfaces.
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CII for India, Pak sharing lists of holidays
Amritsar, July 1 “Without the lists, traders suffer huge loss as these perishable items like vegetables are destroyed due to delay in export to other side of the border,” said Gurpreet Singh Bedi, Zonal Head of CII. At present all the vegetables including tomato, potato, green vegetables etc are being exported to Pakistan. “It has been observed that the authorities in India and Pakistan are not aware of the non-working days in each other’s country. Due to this some times goods of perishable nature remained stranded on the border as officials are not present on duty on non-working or holiday, hence no export took place and thereby resulting in losses to the trading community,” said Gurpreet Singh Bedi, Zonal Head of CII. Rajdeep Uppal, vice-president of the Amritsar Exporters' Chambers of Commerce, said although there are some holidays wherein perishable cargo are allowed to cross over after paying an amount of holiday fee. But there are some holidays which are totally non-working and perishable items got decayed. He said that the authorities on both side of border should exchange a list of government holidays when there would be no export at all. This would help the traders to save the perishable items by making proper arrangements. RK Duggal, Deputy Commissioner, Customs, Attari, said there is no such problem at this side of the border. He pointed out that if the (Customs) department faces any such problem it requests their counterparts in Pakistan who cooperates and allows the export even on holidays. As far as holidays or non-working days are concerned, the department received prior information in this regard. Bedi pointed out that the authorities should provide a lists of holidays to the traders so that they curtail the movements of trucks carrying perishable items on that day to the border.
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Finance Dept detects fraud worth Rs 9.6 lakh in govt school
Tarn Taran, July 1 According to the information, the fraud was committed in 2007 which was ignored in the normal auditing done in the same year by the audit party. That time fraud worth Rs 16 lakh was detected and a case under Sections 420, 467,468 and 120B of the IPC was registered against the officials of the District Treasury Office and other persons. One clerk who was named accused in the crime had been missing under mysterious circumstances since then. The sources said a cheque of an amount of Rs 9.6 lakh was allegedly received by the then Principal of the school. The amount was deposited in the accounts of one Malkiat Singh, said to be a retired teacher of the school. The amount has been shown as the outstanding arrear of GPF related to Malkiat Singh. On the other hand, the school record revealed that no teacher in the name of Malkiat Singh neither retired from the school nor worked in the school. Vijay Kumar, District Treasury Officer, said a letter in this regard has been received to the office by the audit party and further investigation has been initiated.
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After 5 years, sewerage project to ‘finally’ start
Amritsar, July 1 Local MP Navjot Singh Sidhu today claimed that the cost of the project had now escalated from Rs 360 crore, when it was sanctioned in 2005, to Rs 443 crore. It has been learnt that the project which was conceptualised by the Union Government in May, 2005, got lingered on as the STP technology which was recommended by the Japanese firm, was rejected by Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board officials, who proposed to implement the SBR (sequencing batch rector) technology, besides other reasons on part of the Punjab Government and sewerage board in allocating the sites and conducting the documentation related to the project. Consequently, the Japanese firm backed out of taking the project and the pact between the JAICA and PWSSB got terminated in 2010. It is pity that now the JAICA has been approached again to carry out the project as advocated by their (Japanese) project management consultants. Despite escalated cost of over Rs 80 crore, the project has now got cut short too. The south-east area, which included Kot Mit Singh, Daburjee and Sultanwind, has been excluded from the project. Nevertheless, the project, which would be started from the Guru Ki Wadali area in the southern region would ensure better sewerage disposal facility. Apart from the city area, the outskirts that are lacking sewerage facility are too likely to be benefited from the project.
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Non-enhancement of seats at GMCs leaves parents dejected
Amritsar, July 1 The counselling for the admission in MBBS course in the government and private medical colleges is slated for the second week of this month. It is evident to mention here that the MCI board of governors has approved two new medical colleges of Punjab --- Chintpurni Medical College, Pathankot, and Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, Jalandhar. Both these colleges would have 150-seats (of MBBS) each while 20 seats have also been increased at Christian Medical College, Ludhinana, confirmed Dr SS Gill, Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot. The parents of the candidates, who cleared PMET for admission in MBBS were hopeful that the MCI and government would give final nod to the enhancement of seats in government colleges in Amritsar and Patiala also. “Education in private medical colleges is very costly and a middle class family like us could not afford to pay high fees in these colleges. We had pinned our hope on the MCI and government but the recent developments have really disappointed us,” said a government employee, wishing not to be named, whose son has been selected in the PMET. At present, there are 150 MBBS seats each at the Government Medical Colleges of Amritsar and Patiala. It is to note that in order to overcome the shortage of qualified doctors the Union Health Ministry had announced to increase the number of MBBS seats in the government-run medical college in May last year. The government had announced to increase about 100 seats in each medical college. The decision was to be implemented from academic session 2011-12 brining an overall increase of more than 3000 seats in 37 medical colleges including private ones in the country. Following this the Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Punjab Government, has directed Government Medical Colleges at Patiala and Amritsar to submit its report regarding the additional set up including faculty and infrastructure required in their respective departments in case of increase in the capacity.
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8,348 to take TET in dist today
Amritsar, July 1 According to District Education Officer (Secondary) Sukhwinder Singh, for every 510 candidates, there is one centre. “To conduct the test smoothly, we have deployed 30 invigilators and there would be one superintendent and deputy superintendent for a batch of 500 candidates,” he said. The test would be conducted in two sessions. The morning test would start at 10 am while the afternoon batch would take test at 1.30 pm. Punjab Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan termed the TET as a “filter” to ensure that only those who possess aptitude for teaching should enter the profession. “Moreover, this decision, taken by the Union Government, has a binding on all the state governments to hold a state-level TET and to hire only those who attain qualifying marks in the examination,” he said. “The TET based on the language, the child development and pedagogy subject will now be held by each state every year and a candidate who qualifies this test once would be eligible to appear in teachers’ interviews for the next 10 years,” clarified the minister. It would be mandatory for the teachers to obtain 60 per cent marks (90 out of 150) in the TET. The new rules have been notified by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), as per the provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act.
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Stone of dental institute’s new building laid
Amritsar, July 1 The building would have an auditorium and a Library with the seating capacity of 500 and 300, respectively. Both would be centrally air-conditioned. Meanwhile, the dental institute today launched a new scientific journal, “Indian journal of comprehensive dental care”. The journal is also available at website www.sgrdjournaldent.org.
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We should have been involved in planning, says local expert
Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 1 Inclusion of local conservationists with thorough knowledge of history of Amritsar could have provided many little known facts and guarded their originality, felt Balvinder Singh, Guru Nanak Dev University’s Guru Ramdas School of Planning head and conservation planner. He said the walk should not have more than 10 stops. He maintained that 17 stops during the heritage walk would make it exhaustive and cumbersome. He said these “stops” must be at relatively open places inside the narrow lanes of the walled city. He said as per the global conservationists parlance these open places are described as “surprising open spaces”. This is a worldwide phenomenon in the walled city characterised by its narrow lanes. These spaces are those which provide comfort, safety from traffic and drink break to the touring people. He pointed out that many vital historic places like Gurdwara Bhai Salo ji, Mata Phoolan Rani temple at Chowk Passiyan got constructed by Maharaja Ranjit Singh and many others places were left out from the walk. He opined that the heritage walk could be split into three categories and it should be left to the tourists and visitors which walk to be followed. These categories could be religious places walk, eating places walk, historic building walk and heritage walk, which includes tangible and intangible components. Tangible aspect is to be found in historic and religious structures and intangible in typical mohalla culture, inimitable lifestyle and values. He opined that the visitor’s safety is paramount. Keeping in view the narrow lanes and constant flow of traffic, he suggested that maximum 10 visitors per group must be allowed. He favoured putting up of Traffic System Management (TSM) and Group Management. In some places of the walk, the condition of the roads and pavements was pathetic. He said early in the morning, despite the roads being less busy with people, they were littered with food and human waste which would detract the visitors. Another biggest problem is of street dogs. Balvinder Singh said a powerpoint presentation must be given to the visitors before the start of the heritage walk. When contacted, PHTPB Project Manager Simran Sekhon said the agreement was between the Board and Nayak and as per their understanding a local historian had been taken into the team which had identified and prepared the heritage route. She said both of them were already in touch with the Amritsar heritage walk through the INTACH. She claimed that the present heritage walk included all major aspects, including, religious, architecture and Amritsar’s well known cuisine. She added it was a pilot project and could be altered with the passage of time. She said it was the initial stage of the walk and gradually it would be divided on various subjects. She said lacunae in shape of deplorable state of roads, traffic management, loose hanging power cables, telecom cables, private satellite channels cables, garbage collection and cleanliness have been taken into account. She added that the concerned departments have been conveyed to correct these anomalies. Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Parag Das Chowk, said it was a welcome move that a renowned heritage walk expert Debashish Nayak chalked out the walk route. However, he felt that, the holy city has a unique heritage in forms of religious places and buildings. Hence, qualified local heritage experts with adequate knowledge of its past and significance of its various religious shrines would have done justice to the project. The heritage walk may be launched this September.
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Fuel price hike a cruel joke, say residents
Amritsar: Recent hike in diesel and LPG prices have dealt a severe blow to the budget of large section of the city population.
Rates of essential products like vegetables, pulses, milk were already high and prices of many fruits were beyond the reach of marginal sections. Surinder Kaur, a housewife, said the family had to cut expenses to make both ends meets. She said it was unfortunate that the government was dealing with all sections of the society on a same scale. She felt that there must be varied price hike rules for wealthy and poor sections of the city. She said the government must understand the plight of the people living below poverty line who had been badly affected by this price hike. — TNS Amritsar: Follow the path shown by Dr BC Roy, said Deputy Medical Commissioner Dr HS Ghai, addressing a programme organised by the Health Department to mark the Doctors’ Day here today. He said the doctors should work honestly and dedicatedly to provide every possible treatment to patients. Doctors’ Day is celebrated in India in remembrance of Dr BC Roy. Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon, Senior Medical Officer, Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital, said Dr Roy served the humanity throughout his life by serving poor patients without any allurements. Meanwhile, Dr H P Singh, Medical Superintendent Fortis Escorts Hospital while celebrating the day pointed out that the medical profession, unfortunately, was witnessing a rapidly deteriorating patient-doctor relationship, with people losing faith in doctors. — TNS
In merit zone
Amritsar: Rajdeep Kaur of BBK DAV College for Women
stood first in BSc (Economics)-I in Guru Nanak Dev University. In BA-I,
Ridima Kapoor, Navjot Kaur, Rubeena, Gagandeep Kaur, Mehak Seth, Renu
Bala, Jashandeep Kaur, Kritika Mehra, Anupam Sharma, Rupali Chabra,
Manika Kapoor, Manpriya Kaur and Mariyam secured their place in the
merit list.
In BSc (non-medical)-I, Raminder Kaur made it to the merit
list. Meanwhile, Mandeep Kaur of SSSS College of Commerce for Women
stood fourth in BSc (Economics)-I. Principal Dr Navdeep Kaur said three
other students Kajal Thakur, Karanbir Kaur and Divya Bhatia also made it
to the merit list. — TNS |
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Amritsar, July 1
After an inordinate delay of almost five years, the work on the ambitious sewerage project, sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JAICA), is likely to start next week. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is expected to lay the foundation stone of the project on July 11.