The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Inmate assaults doc with scissors in jail GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 A jail inmate, Ramesh Kumar, assaulted jail doctor Dr Sanjeev Bhagat with scissors at Amritsar Central Jail here yesterday. He got furious at the doctor for not facilitating him with having his daily dose of an “intoxicating” drug. This is the third incident within a span of six months when inmates have attacked doctors in the jail, which is considered to be a “high security jail”. The attacker in the yesterday’s case has been identified as Ramesh Kumar, who is serving sentence in the jail under the NDPS Act. Dr Sanjeev Bhagat stated that it was a horrendous experience, which he would not forget for quite sometime. It has been learnt that last morning at about 9 am when the doctor, accompanied by security guard Janak Lal, went to have his routine round of the jail’s OPD ward, Ramesh Kumar complained him of some pain in the chest. After examining him, the doctor prescribed him some medicines, but he kept on insisting for some particular medicine having “intoxicating” effect. Since the doctor refused to oblige him, he got irated and abused the doctor before leaving the room. Later, he reappeared and tried to stab the doctor with scissors, concealed under his clothes. Meanwhile, the doctor’s gunman and other jail patients present on the scene somehow overpowered Ramesh Kumar and saved the doctor. Official Speak The security of every employee who works in the jail has to be ensured at any cost. This particular matter needs investigation in order to determine the exact cause which resulted in this incident. Action will be taken accordingly. —Rajat Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner On the basis of the doctor’s complaint, a case has been registered against the inmate at the Gumtala police station and further investigation is on. — Baljinder Singh Gill, Jail Deputy Superintendent I have not yet come out of this shock. It was such a horrendous experience that today I could not go to work in jail. Dr Sanjeev Bhagat
	Nihang fires shots in air at 407th anniversary of installation of Guru Granth Sahib Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 Devotees celebrated the 407th anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib in the holy city with traditional fervour, gaiety and Sikh rehat maryada here today. Despite heavy rain in the morning, a large number of devotees took part in the nagar kirtan, which began at Gurdwara Ramsar, the historic place where Guru Arjan Dev compiled Guru Granth Sahib and Sukhmani Sahib over four centuries ago. After performing ardas at Gurdwara Ramsar, the nagar kirtan, led by Panj Piare, went through various markets of the holy city to reach the Golden Temple. Guru Granth Sahib, placed in a beautifully decorated golden palanquin, was taken through the markets, which were thoroughly cleaned and decorated. All the way devotees chanted hymns from the holy Granth and showered petals on the palanquin. Water, eatables and fruit stalls were installed along the route. After passing through various areas of the walled city, including Ramsar Road, Chowk Krori, Chowk Baba Sahib and Gurdwara Baba Atal, the nagar kirtan reached the Golden Temple. Many jathas, religious sabha societies, gatka parties, school bands and Sikh religious organisations participated in it. Earlier, before the initiation of the nagar kirtan, the bhog of akhand path was performed at Gurdwara Ramsar and the jatha of hazoori raagi of the Golden Temple Bhai Gurdev Singh recited kirtan. As per the Sikh tradition, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh and SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh Khatra offered siropas (robes of honour) to the Panj Piare (five beloved Sikhs). Rare and precious articles of the Sikh history, were displayed at the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple, Akal Takht and Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai from 10 am to 12 noon.
	Why heart of cardiac unit can’t beat for the poor P K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 The Cardio-thoracic Surgery Department in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH), under the Government Medical College, is ready for open heart surgery. However, due to the absence of a perfusionist it is not been possible for the present cardio-thoracic unit to conduct such surgeries as the perfusionist is a necessary part of the unit as per legal norms. A perfusionist or clinical perfusionist or cardiovascular perfusionist is a specialist who operates the heart-lung machine during cardiac surgery and other surgeries which require cardiopulmonary bypass. Starting of open heart surgery at the GNDH could prove to be a boon for the poor and down-trodden people suffering from various heart ailments requiring surgery, especially in the border region. It would help them to get treatment at nominal cost. It is evident to mention here that a cardiac cath lab for the Department of Cardiology and a heart-lung machine for the Department of Cardio-thoracic Surgery unit have already been sanctioned under the Prime Minister Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY) scheme by the Centre and state and is likely to arrive in the Trauma and Orthopedic and super-specialty Centre at GNDH in the near future. Several of these instruments required for installing the cath lab have already been installed, while some equipment provided is already operational in post-operative intensive care units. However, the apathy of the state government towards the Government Medical College (GMC) and the apathy particularly in recruiting a perfusionist is hitting the health services in the unit very badly. What to talk about the recruitment of a perfusionist, the cardio-thoracic unit here has only one professor head, Dr K S Sidhu and he too will be retiring on December 31. The post of associate professor is lying vacant for the past many years. This is a full-fledged and notified Department with enough space and infrastructure present which is required for starting M.Ch (postdoctoral) course in the super-specialty. Given the high incidence of heart cases in the border region the need is to provide services at a very nominal cost or free for the economically weak strata of society. For this, a high-powered committee was set up by the state government, headed by eminent cardiologist Dr K K Talwar, the then director PGIMER. The committee had advised the government to start open heart surgery at GMC. If the authorities are to be believed, at present about two to four patients suffering from congenital heart diseases approach the hospital daily, but because of insufficient staff they refer the patients either to the PGI Chandigarh or the DMC Ludhiana. Official Speak Officialspeak: If the government provides a perfusionist and heart-lung-machine, the Department will be ready to conduct an open heart surgery. —Dr K S Sidhu, Head, Cardio-thoracic Departmen }It is not only about the post of the perfusionist. We have written number of times to the state government about filling up the vacant posts in the GMC but nothing has been done so far. We can only write to the government. It’s up to the government to fill the post. — Dr S S Shergill, Principal, Government Medical College
	Bring your bed for treatment at GNDH! Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 It is not a comic scene from “Munna Bhai MBBS” where the film’s hero brings a bed for a patient as one of the doctors had objections to the patient occupying hospital’s bed for long time, but the actual state of affairs at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) here. Patients in the orthopaedics ward of the hospital have to bring their own beds as the availability of beds often falls short of the number of patients admitted there. During a visit to the hospital today, at least two patients were seen lying on their personal beds in the verandah of the ward. In addition to the private beds, a few cots, which are the property of the hospital, have also been adjusted at the same place owning to the space crunch inside the ward. The employees at the hospital admitted that the situation arises when number of patients exceeds the number of beds available. As hospital cannot turn down needy patients for want of bed, it becomes necessary for patients to bring their own beds. “We had to bring the bed because there was none available for the patient,” said an attendant showing hospital’s admission slip. Interestingly, with hospital facing such a situation more often, an entrepreneur has got the innovative business idea of renting out the beds. Incidentally, his move has provided a reprieve to the patients as they no longer need to bring beds from their homes. Even attendants of the patients get beds from the same man to rest in the open corridors of the hospital. The patients informed that they get a bed at Rs 20 per day after keeping a security amount equivalent to the bed’s cost. When contacted, Dr Randhir Singh Boparai, in charge of the orthopaedics ward, said, “There certainly is a problem sometimes and patients do bring their own beds.” The doctor informed that the ward has a capacity of 30 beds only. However, he said no such instance of patients bringing their own beds came to his notice when he went for a round of the ward today.
	Galliara project hits business at Chudawala Bazaar Number of shops reduced to 10 from 30 and shopkeepers have shifted to other markets Sanjay Bumbroo Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 Once a market buzzing with the hustle and bustle of customers, Chudawala Bazaar, one of the old markets of the holy city, is now reduced to just around 10 shops having lean business as the Galliara project has taken a toll on its business. Way back in 1980s, the market had around 30 shops, which remained abuzz with customers not only from the city, but also from other parts of the country. However, all changed with the launch of the Galliara project, initiated by the Union Government to provide green surroundings and beautify the area around the Golden Temple. Almost 40 per cent shops from the market either downed their shutters or shifted to a new shopping complex nearby and the market near the Interstate Bus Terminus, as the traders felt that the project would hit their businesses adversely. Contrary to the scenario earlier, shopkeepers now could be seen sitting idle in view of the declining number of customers, which they say have decreased by 40 to 50 per cent. Devinder Kumar (62), a shopkeeper, said he had been in the business for the past about 40 years. “The Galliara project has badly affected their business and eight shopkeepers have already shifted to other markets in the city. The shops of ‘sarafa’ (gold and silver jewellery) and artificial jewellery have come up in the market during the past decade or so,” he averred. Hardeep Singh (18), who assists his father, said they were dependent on the old customers, who come to their shops during the marriage seasons. He said some of the old customers from other states still came to his shop. He lamented that they could not expand their business due to shortage of clients and were planning to switch over to some other trade. Rakesh Sharma, another trader, said his great grandfather had ventured into the business about 100 years ago. He rued that the parking lot made by the administration near the bazaar had hit their business in a big way. He said even during the militancy period they were doing the routine business as the customers thronged the bazaar, which remained opened only for couple of hours in a day. He said they had made repeated representations to the authorities for allotting them shops in the Galliara market and were even ready to purchase the shops at the market rate, but no one seemed to be bothered about their plight and the day was not far when they would have to close their establishments or shift elsewhere. On a positive side, Sharma said though the local scenario remained the same, they had started receiving orders from other states in the recent past with the films and TV soaps featuring brides wearing “chuda”.
	Diesel cars becoming hot favourite of customers Sale of petrol cars dips as the price of the fuel hits the roof Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 Skyrocketing prices of petrol have taken a toll on the sale of petrol cars in the holy city. Subsequently, diesel-run cars are becoming hot favourite of customers. All-time high petrol prices have shifted the trend and relegated petrol cars to the backseat. Rishabh Kumar of Jaycee Motors termed the shift as drastic and added that buyers were ready to shell out more money to buy fuel efficient vehicles, rather than spending regularly on expensive petrol. He said previous held views of incurring high expenditure on diesel cars during their service were a passe. He informed that Maruti was offering four diesel car models, namely Swift, Desire, SX4 and Ritz. He said these brands were available in a price range of Rs 5.20 lakh to Rs 9 lakh and average fuel efficiency of these vehicles was over 20 km per litre. Rohit Kapur of Automobile Kapoor’s (I) Private Limited said petrol prices had hit the roof causing a major shift in cars’ sale. He said demand for diesel cars had shot up from 40 to 70 per cent. On the other hand, the share of petrol cars in the local market had plummeted from 60 to 30 per cent. He informed that five models of Tata Motors - Viesta, Manza, Indica, Safari and Aria - were available in diesel variants in the market. He said these models cost from minimum of Rs 4 lakh to maximum of Rs 16 lakh. Besides, Fiat also chipped in with five variants of diesel in Punto and a diesel model in Linea, he added. Punto could be procured from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, while Linea from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 9 lakh. Rohit said Viesta and Manza were very popular among the local residents for their over 20 km per litre mileage, spaciousness and use of heavy sheets guarding against any mishap. Rajesh Sharma of Novelty Hyundai said all national and international companies involved in manufacturing of cars seized on the trend much earlier. Hence, all companies had introduced a number of diesel brands in the market which were being lapped by the customers. He said Hyundai had introduced two diesel brands i20 and Fludic Verna. i20 started from Rs 5.81 lakh and went up to Rs 7.60 lakh, while Fludic Verna was available from Rs 8.23 lakh to Rs 10.91 lakh. Out of the two, Fludic Verna, which was relaunched a month and a half ago, was more popular among the customers.
	DPS librarian gets SATKAL Award Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 Librarian of Delhi Public School (DPS), Amritsar, Harish Kumar got the prestigious “SATKAL Award-2011” during a seminar on “Future of libraries”. The award ceremony was organised by the prestigious Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi, in collaboration with the SATKAL Trust in New Delhi recently. Harish was awarded in the category of the “School Librarian” for his significant contribution towards library and information science. He was honoured with a shawl, a citation and certificate by DV Singh, president Indian Library Association, on the premises of Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi. The national-level award is given in five categories.
	Helping them stitch brand new future Tribune News Service Amritsar September 1 The All India Women Conference (AIWC), a national NGO working for uplift of women and children today launched a new stitching centre for underprivileged girls in the semi-rural Gumtala Township here, today. The centre was inaugurated by Gurjeet Aujla, the councillor of the area. The centre would benefit poor and underprivileged girls in and around the area. This is the fourth such centre launched by the AIWC. The centre charges merely Re 1 daily from girl students. On the occasion, the AlWC President Rajni Bhrany , Ranjeet Chatha , Prem Duggal, Jasbir Kaur, an advocate, and other prominent personalities of the city were present. “Any woman who belongs to below-poverty-line strata can contact us. We provide them a platform where they can undergo various skill development programmes, which includes stitching, computers or beautician courses. After the completion of the course, they would be given a diploma which would help them in becoming self-reliant. At present, at least 300 such women have taken advantage of this scheme,” said Bhrany. The AIWC launched three other centres for stitching, including one in Gurdwara Srichand, another located at Majitha-Verka Bypass, and the third at Sandhya Mandir Majitha road. Meanwhile, Aujla gifted four stitching machines to the centre on the occasion.
	City police team sent to Mumbai PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 A four-member team has been sent to Mumbai to carry out raids and investigations in connection with the impersonation of a candidate in the Commercial Pilot Licence (General Navigation) Examination held here recently. Ganesh Sahu, a Mumbai resident, was caught by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation while appearing in the exam in place of Rahul Patel, a citizen of New Jersey. Neeraj Kumar, SHO, Airport police station, where a case has been registered, confirmed that the police team had reached Mumbai and was in the process of informing the police station concerned there.
	Shop offers 20 designers’ collections Neha Saini Amritsar September 1 Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora, Namrata Joshipura, Suriely Goel, Gaurav Gupta and the list goes on…Who doesn’t want to flaunt that perfect designer dress with a perfect designer feel at a perfect designer cost? While some of the A-list designers have made metropolitan cities their haven, here’s good news for Amritsar fashionistas. No need to take frantic trips to Delhi or Mumbai to book your favourite designer dress. Ruaab is a one-stop shop for all your needs. The recently opened, first of its kind multi-designer studio offers 20 designer collections under one roof, all different from one another in appeal as well as concept. “Amritsar definitely needed a place to find its fashion quotient and with Ruaab we are just trying to do our bit. We have a mix of established and contemporary designers like Manish Arora, Namrata Joshipura, Kiran Uttam Ghosh, Charu Parasher, Rabani & Rakha and Preeti Jhaveri. The idea was to give Amritsar what it deserves being a very fashion-conscious city,” says Megha Mittal Arora, owner, Ruaab. Being a first venture for this city-based software engineer, Ruaab happened out of necessity than curiosity. “A lot of people from Amritsar are regulars at fashion weeks and had to fly to Delhi or Mumbai to get their designer wear. Even I was driven to the concept because of my interest in fashion,” she says.
	NRHM employees to resume work today PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 1 The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) employees would resume their work from tomorrow following the postponement their strike. They have postponed their strike till September 26 after assurances given by the Punjab Health Minister regarding fulfilment of their demands. The members of the NRHM employees’ union, who had been on strike for the last 24 days, said if the government failed to issue a notification regarding their demands till September 25, they would be forced to go on strike again. The union leaders today informed that Satpal Gosian, Health Minister, Punjab, had agreed to increase their monthly salary by 30 to 40 per cent and put it on a par with their colleagues’ in the Central Government, give them annual increment from 4 to 6 per cent and form service rules, including implementation of leave rules. On the demand of regularisation of their jobs, the local NRHM leader said the minister had assured them that as it was not in the hands of the state government, he would forward their demands to the Central Government.