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Cops caught napping: 7 escape, four re-arrested
Residents refuse to move out of danger zone, stay put in unsafe homes
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12 hours to chug off, tickets start selling only late evening
Gen-x
emerging trends
Save Himalayas to save Punjab: Bahuguna
Students of SGPC-run institutes to pursue degrees in New Zealand
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Cops caught napping: 7 escape, four re-arrested
Amritsar, August 23 They had been arrested for allegedly stealing and later selling LPG cylinders and other household items like fans, electric motors from various parts of the city. Though the police have initiated an inquiry, earlier, however, the police post had tried to cover up the incident. However, post in-charge Jarnail Singh, said there were four detainees who had managed to flee. All of them were rearrested by the police. Out of the seven persons arrested, three were caught for stealing LPG cylinders, two were nabbed for theft at a residence in the Guru Arjun Dev Nagar area, while the other two were arrested for looting cash from a shop, it has been learnt. Sources said one of the detainees, who was known to the police team, was kept in a separate room. Last night when the policemen guarding them fell asleep, he took the keys of the barrack and freed all the remaining detainees. Finding that the culprits had escaped from the barrack, the policemen instead of informing the higher authorities conducted raids on various suspected hideouts and re-arrested four of them. The post in-charge, however, refuted the charges saying that only four detainees had dodged the police and escaped. He said the constable who was deputed to guard them forgot to lock the barrack. In the night, he went asleep and taking the advantage of this, the detainees had fled. R.P. Mittal, Commissioner of Police, said that an inquiry had been ordered into the matter.
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Residents refuse to move out of danger zone, stay put in unsafe homes
To initiate this arrangement, the district administration, in collaboration with the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC), has formulated a policy to make this provisional arrangement for those residents who were still handicapped in terms of moving to safer places on their own. Meanwhile, the AMC has started the process of demolishing the rickety structures, most of which were unoccupied but posed a danger to adjoining buildings too.The team, led by Municipal Town Planner (MTP) Shakti Bhatia demolished four such buildings at Dholi Mohalla on the Sultanwind road, Maini Chowk in Lakshmansar and Tabela Jagatram in Namak Mandi. The administration has also appealed to the residents to move to their relatives’ homes during the rainy season. For those, who cannot opt for this suggestion, can contact the AMC office to avail of the alternate arrangement made with the SGPC or the Durgiana Temple. It is an irony that despite numerous incidents of house collapse which occurred recently and claimed so many lives, the residents still were reluctant to vacate the houses that were an invitation to disaster. A majority of occupants have been staying in these crumbling buildings for the last over six decades and have obtained stay orders after entering into dispute with their landlords over the meager rent amount they have been paying, since then. The authorities too refrain from taking action because of legal hurdles. However, the AMC is already in the process of updating its six-year-old list of unsafe buildings by conducting a “house-to-house” scrutinising operation. A number of crumbling century-old structures made of Nanakshahi bricks are located near Dharam Singh market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Gali Chhajju and Guru Bazaar Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi and
Ghantagarh.
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12 hours to chug off, tickets start selling only late evening
On right track
Amritsar, August 23 While railway authorities are gearing up to flag off the train at 4.50 am tomorrow, not a single ticket had been sold till today evening. Fares were announced today with just 12 hours for the train to chug off the Amritsar railway station. The fares are Rs 355 for AC and Rs 157 for non-AC coach for Amritsar-Chandigarh route while it is Rs 385 for AC and Rs 167 for non-AC coach for the Chandigarh-Amritsar route. During the day, passengers were at loss when they came to know that tickets were not available with just 12 hours to go. All attempts to know the train’s status on the railways website also failed as the computer did not respond to the inquiry regarding the availability of tickets. Inquiry at ticket counters at the railway station revealed that the officials were not even aware of the exact fare. Amritsar-based writer Dr Amrit Adlakha dubbed it as an utter failure on the part of the railway authorities. He said he wanted to travel to Chandigarh in the inaugural run from Amritsar. However, after repeatedly trying at website and even visiting the railway station he could not get the ticket. He said it was strange that the railway officials were also unable to guide the passengers. He said eventually he had to give up. Keeping in view the inaugural run of the Duronto it would be parked at most sought after No. 1 platform. In view of this, Amritsar-New Delhi Shatabdi would run from platform No. 3 tomorrow. Meanwhile, the preparations are on in full swing at the railway station. The train, which arrived here from Ambala today, was thoroughly washed and decorated with flowers. DRM Ferozepur division Vishwesh Chaubey took the pre-launch meeting with the officials of the zone. Union Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa will flag off the train tomorrow at 4.50 am. A stage has been erected on platform number one to perform the inaugural ceremony and the area has been cleaned. The non-stop train would leave Amritsar at 5.25 am and reach Chandigarh in 4.30 hours via the Jalandhar-Ludhiana-New Morinda route. The train would have two AC coaches with 156 seats, 12 non-AC coaches with 1,272 seats and two coaches for luggage.
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Gen-x emerging trends 400 absorbed by IT majors such as TCS, Accenture GS PAUL Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 23 Amarjit, who started his academic career from a government school at Ghuman village, Batala, could not have asked for more. One of the India’s largest IT Company-Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) -- offered him a job today. “I consider myself the most contented person on the earth. This move has suddenly transformed my vision towards the life,” said Amarjit, who is afflicted with polio. At least 400 students from regional campuses in Jalandhar, Gurdaspur and Amritsar and a constituent college at Mukandpur appeared in this placement drive and were picked up by TCS and Accenture IT companies. Gurwinder Singh and Mahaveer Prashad, both students of B.Tech electronics and computer science, respectively, were excited to have graduated into a new league. “I find myself fortunate to be able to fulfill my parents’ dream since they faced many hardships while meeting expenses of my study. Now, it’s my turn to repay by sharing the responsibility of my younger sister and brother,” he added. Prasad, son of a marginal farmer, said hard work and consistent approach paid rich dividends to him. “I, too, have passed through various hardship in meeting my academic expenses. I am indebted to the GNDU authorities for waiving off the tuition fee,” he added. Amit Chopra, placement officer, said at least 301 students of B.Tech-computer science, B.Tech-electronics, MCA, M.Tech-IT and M.Tech-Computer Science of the 2012 batch had been hired by TCS for anything between Rs 3.15 and Rs 3.50 lakh per annum. The students would join these institutions in June 2012. “Guru Nanak Dev University is the most-sought after institution for multinational companies. The academic year has just begun and the companies have picked up the best. Students, who have not been selected, should not feel dejected as more companies like Thought works, Headstrong, Tech Mohindra are likely to visit the campus soon,” he added. Dr Hardeep Singh, professor in charge, said at least 701 students of 2011 batch were absorbed by various national and multinational companies till July 31. “Besides this, 22 others were short listed by the Indian Army and the result of equal number of students is still awaited from Nestle based in Moga and Delhi,” he added.
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Save Himalayas to save Punjab: Bahuguna
Amritsar, August 23 “It would be Punjab and its neighbouring plain areas whose environment, cultivation and irrigation system would bear the direct brunt of deforestation in the Himalayan region,” said Bahuguna, while adding that timber species sown in the Himalayas have less capability of conserving water. He pointed out that it is the need of the hour to cover the Himalayan region with broad-leaf trees, which have the capability of conserving water. Besides, it will provide food, necessary manure and fertiliser, fuel and timber. The people should also plant the saplings of trees bearing nuts, edible oil, flowers for honey and seasonal fruits. Besides reining in water crisis, it would also ensure livelihood for people residing around forests and provide ecological balance by recharging ground water. Bahuguna said the whole Himalayan region should be declared as an “eco-sensitive zone”. By doing Bahuguna, who was recently in the city, in an interaction with The Tribune pointed out that the people of Punjab, especially the women, should initiate a mass movement to spread awareness for saving the mountainous region. “The women community has a special role in the movement. It was women who made the famous Chipko movement (founded by him) a major success,” said Bahuguna, who was accompanied by his wife Bimla Bahuguna, who viewed that only women can bring in the necessary change in the society as they are more humble. On the role of NGOs, he said, “NGOs taking support from the government cannot have independent thinking. Earlier, NGOs used to take the help of people in whatever cause they fight for. By taking any type of support from the government, no organisation can work independently.” He said the country needs selfless environmentalists and social workers like Bhagat Puran Singh, founder of Pingalwara - a home for the destitute, handicapped and old persons. He said tree cultivation is the only way to improve the dismal water scenario in the country, especially in the northern region, including Punjab. “Trees help in the conservation of water and preserve underground water. The tubewells were extracting thousands of gallons of underground water leading to water scarcity and the construction of dams on rivers has done no good,” said the Padam Vibhushan awardee and octogenarian environmentalist.
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City students lead protests for Anna Hazare’s crusade
Amritsar, August 23 Affiliated to neither of the mainstream organised political parties, university and college students in past two days have joined at least three such vigils to express solidarity with the Anna’s crusade against corruption. Aryan Singh, a university student, while participating in a candle-lit vigil at Novelty Square said, “Students in the city are not politically active as those in Chandigarh, Delhi and a few other cities. With this consideration we decided to plan this vigil.” Even on Mall Road such a protest was made possible due to the efforts of DAV College. A student group from GND University also organised a candle-lit march towards the Chehartta locality. Amanpreet Singh, a city youngster, said, “Through my friends in college I came to know about the march near our locality.” “Most of youngsters from the city are showing their political activism on social networking sites in the absence of a platform where they can express themselves,” said Satinder Bal, an office executive, adding that the participation in these groups was expected to increase. Meanwhile, the People’s Party of Punjab submitted a memorandum in the Deputy Commissioner office on the issue.
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Students of SGPC-run institutes to pursue degrees in New Zealand
Amritsar, August 23 Director Education, SGPC, Dr GS Walia, said the students could enroll at the university for the academic session beginning January 2012. He said initially students from the civil and electrical engineering courses of Guru Nanak Engineering College, Ludhiana, and Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College, Fatehgarh Sahib, would be able to take pursue courses at Wintec. He said after finishing the first two years in India, students would have the option to pursue the remaining two years at Wintec. Similarly, the students of BBA, B.Com, B.Com (Professional) and BCA would even be eligible to do graduate diplomas in the management and IT, respectively, there. He said required changes and additions in curriculum of the courses here were being carried out with the assistance of the faculty from Wintec. Students would get degrees from the Wintec Varsity and they would also get one year work permit, he claimed. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar has said the move would save the students from being cheated by fake foreign universities and cut down on the cost of pursuing a degree abroad. Earlier, the degrees of several Indian institutes were not accepted abroad. Indian students had to undertake abridged courses to qualify for jobs in these countries. He said initially 20 students of each course would be eligible and the Shiromani committee would fund the meritorious students belonging to the economically weaker sections. Wintec Varsity’s director Dr Surya Pandey said so far the facility would be provided in the subjects of engineering and management. New courses would be added soon. He said industrial relations, state-of-the-art technology and advance courses were the watchwords of his varsity. He said his university was one of the leading institutes of technology in New Zealand and was offering 200 courses. The SGPC had signed an MOU with Wintec University at Hamilton (New Zealand) on June 23. A delegation of the New Zealand High Commission at New Delhi and Wintec University from New Zealand paid obeisance at Golden Temple. Makkar felicitated New Zealand High Commissioner Jane Henderson, Education Counselor Melanie Chapman, and Wintec University’s director for International Research Relations Dr Surya Pandey and Martin King of New Zealand-based private visa firm.
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Amritsar, August 23
Amritsar, August 23
Railway’s Public Relations Officer Rajesh Khare said the officials of the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) were busy deciding the fares and the sale of tickets might start soon. He added that before opening a new train for the public a set procedure has to be followed which is still on. He said tomorrow it would only be the inaugural run of the train while the service would be opened for public with due course of time. He said the final decision in this regard could come anytime.