MC eager to implement advertisement policy
Amritsar, October 25
At a juncture when the holy city is losing its sheen due to the messy hoardings, banners and billboards scattered in every nook and corner, the implementation of the Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Policy, 2012, would come as a great relief.

Amritsar, October 25
The Amritsar Central Jail authorities have nabbed a safai sewak, Rajiv Kumar, who tried to sneak in 12 gm of smack, apparently for jail inmates. The Cantonment police has booked him under Sections 22, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act.

Rajiv was engaged as safai sewak just two days back on compassionate grounds after his father, who was employed in the jai, died. As per routine, he entered the premises in the morning. The head warden on the duty suspected his body language. “On search, we found 11.3 gm of smack from his possession. We immediately informed the Cantonment police post and he was arrested,” said Kulwant Singh, Deputy Superintendent, Amritsar jail.

Investigating officer, Cantonment police, Narinder Kumar said, "We are interrogating him to know about his intentions."

“It is very likely that he was to sneak in drugs for some inmate lodged in the jail probably in lieu of money which he may get from the inmate’s acquaintance outside. But it is too early to say anything on that,” he said.

This is not the first instance of drug seizure from the jail premises. Earlier, too, drugs have been seized from jail inmates.

On October 2, a woman managed to pass on a packet of heroin to her undertrial husband Rajinder Singh while he was being produced in a local court by the CIA staff.

Rajinder, who was already booked under the NDPS Act, was caught before he could take along the packet with him, when he was brought back to the jail.

On September 27, another undertrial, Rashpal Singh, booked under the same offence, was caught with one packet of intoxicant powder.

On August 18, two undertrials - Sukhwinder Singh and Jagjit Singh - were nabbed for possessing 200 gm of narcotic powders and two mobile phones.

Amritsar, October 25
Scores of passengers and pilgrims were inconvenienced as farmers today blocked train movement over the Amritsar-Delhi rail track, which resulted in delay of nearly six trains.

They blocked the rail traffic at Rayya, throwing rail traffic out of gear, to protest against the demolition of 180 shops at Baba Bakala for its beautification and widening of road. The protesters were demanding rehabilitation of shopkeepers before razing their shops to ground.

Shan-e-Punjab, which was scheduled to arrive at 2.15 pm, arrived at about 5 pm. It departed at 6.20 pm against its scheduled time of 3.10 pm. Similarly, the Chattisgarh Express departed at 4.45 pm against the stipulated time of 4.15 pm.

For over two and a half hours, the city railway station presented a picture of chaos and confusion as the stranded passengers of various trains kept arriving. The number of passengers kept on swelling and a huge rush could be seen on platforms. Passengers thronged the inquiry window to learn the latest status of trains. Railway officials expressed their helplessness in intimating the passengers about the delay.

Many agitated passengers resorted to argument with the railway staff at the window, while they expressed their helplessness to announce fresh departure and arrival time of trains. Railway officials pleaded with the passengers that the fresh schedule could only be released after the lifting of the blockade, which came at about 4.30 pm.

A senior citizen, Mahinder Singh, resident of Gaggomahal village, said he along with four of his family members arrived here after traveling all the way from the village, but was shocked to find uncertainty about departure of the Amritsar-Delhi Shan-e-Punjab. He said inquiries revealed that no fresh departure time of the train could be given as the railway officials were not aware of how long the agitation would last. Travelling to Delhi to attend marriage of a close relative, he said there was no alternative for them, but to wait on the station.

Similarly, Harminder Kaur, a pilgrim from Shahadra, said she arrived here two days back to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and return tickets of her family were booked in today’s train. “I checked out of my hotel and reached the station well in time. However, I was shocked to find that all movement of trains came to a halt and there was no clarity exactly when it would resume.” She added that much delay would mean that hertomorrow’s schedule would be hampered, while her children might miss school for another day.

A waiting passenger, Harsh Mehra, said he and his family felt exhausted after travelling through various city streets along with bag and baggage and now waiting for hours meant more trouble as there was hardly any vacant place left on the station to sit.

Amritsar, October 25
Duped by a fake travel agent, a youth, Jasbir Singh, resident of Khela village, near Jandiala Guru, landed in the net of human traffickers, who sold him off in Kuwait for couple of times.

He was given inhuman treatment and kept as bonded labour for days. This has come to light when he lodged a complaint with the Jandiala police. On the basis of his complaint, the police has booked Kashmir Singh, a Jandiala Guru-based fake travel agent.

No arrest has been made so far, said the police, which has registered a case of fraud against Kashmir Singh.

The lure of greener pastures took Jasbir Singh, a driver, to Kashmir Singh, who promised him to provide a job in a private company in Kuwait. Jasbir alleged that Kashmir Singh took Rs 1.50 lakh from him to send him abroad.

However, his dreams were shattered as soon as he reached Kuwait in 2011. He did not get any job while he was informed by the persons there that he was sold to an Arab. He said he was kept as a bonded labourer, while nothing was given to him for his work.

"When I asked for money, the Arab sold me to another national in 400 dinars," he told to police in his written complaint, while alleging that he was brutally beaten up by them and again kept as a bonded labourer. He alleged he was not even given food and any residence. He said a couple of months ago he somehow escaped from their clutches and returned to India.

Jasbir lodged a complaint with Preet Paul Singh Virk, SSP, Amritsar (Rural) police, who marked an inquiry to the economics offence wing. After a probe, a case was registered against Kashmir Singh.

Virk said raids were being conducted to nab Kashmir Singh, who had been on a run since the registration of the case.

Amritsar, October 25
At a juncture when the holy city is losing its sheen due to the messy hoardings, banners and billboards scattered in every nook and corner, the implementation of the Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Policy, 2012, would come as a great relief.

The Municipal Corporation (MC) is looking forward to get the blueprint of the new advertisement policy matter conceptualised by the state government recently, which sternly stipulates the norms for putting up hoardings and unipoles in the city with an aim to curb fraudulent practices that were prevalent in the past. A decision to this effect was taken by the Council of Ministers at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

This move is a result of stern directions issued by the high court (HC) to the Secretary, Local Bodies Department. The HC ordered the removal of all hoardings put up illegally either by political leaders, parties or commercial organisations on road berms, rooftops of residential complexes.

Nevertheless, in Amritsar, despite staff crunch, the MC is all set to form special teams under a superintendent and an inspector to ensure compliance with the HC orders.

Additional Commissioner, MC, Pardeep Sabharwal said it would be for the first time that an advertisement policy was framed in the state. "The policy is primarily designed to ensure that outdoor advertisement is not hazardous to traffic. The spaces meant for outdoor advertisement will be auctioned in a transparent manner to stop illegal practices in the trade. We are just waiting for the copy of the policy. Once this policy is implemented, no illegal hoardings or advertisement billboards would dot the city. In the absence of a concrete and uniform advertisement policy, we faced difficulty in implementing the HC directions in total," he said.

Meanwhile, the MC has removed almost all the illegal hoardings of private parties or even those installed by political parties or religious organisations.

Till date, over 200 such hoardings have been removed from rooftops. But officials feel that around 400 more such hoardings still exist in the city.

Official records revealed that there are112 government and 150 non-government hoardings or unipoles in different parts of the city. Out of 112, the validity of around 70 unipoles has expired, still majority of them exist in different parts of the city.

In the absence of any check, the companies who had hired these unipoles seven years back at the rate of around Rs 5,000 per unipole per month, reportedly, sublet them to other companies at the rate of around Rs 30,000 per unipole per month.

Similarly, defying all rules, the owners of the properties (both residential and commercial) have been earning handsome amounts by leasing out their rooftops to private firms while letting them to put up their hoardings. All these attempts were clear violation of the HC directions.

Amritsar, October 25
This is something right out of real life, antics that any normal guy would do to woo a girl. Who would mind pulling some strings, getting melodramatic or even lying for love? These some "necessary" things one does to get the girl of his dreams. And that's what Jackky Bhagnani will be doing in his latest film "Ajab Gazabb Love".

The romantic comedy that stars another newcomer Nidhi Subbahiah in the lead is a wacky love story that promises peals of laughter. "It's a story of an extremely rich guy, who falls for a girl who hates rich people and he has to play 'rags to riches' to woo her. The circle of lies and buffoonery that happens is quite entertaining," said Jackky, who was in Cinepolis here to promote the film.

The actor was accompanied by his leading lady and director of the film Sanjay Gadhvi. "I have a close connection with Amritsar and that's why we really wanted to meet our fans in the holy city. We have worked very hard to bring a little happiness to the daily lives of our people and hope that my character of Rajveer will be loved by all. We have put a lot of effort in making this movie and enjoyed every moment of it," said Jackky. Well, his hard work came by resisting temptations, "I had to make eight-pack abs for my role in the film and because of that I had to miss my favourite channa bhaturas," he complained.

As for Sanjay Gadhvi, whose earlier profile has a lot of action with "Dhoom" and "Dhoom 2", working with newcomers wasn't a problem, "I am comfortable working with young actors and have experience of specially launching star sons," he said. Well, he did make Uday Chopra look good in Dhoom series. And how different is working with John Abraham, Hrithik Roshan and relative newcomers? "I work with actor who has a hunger for success, whether established or not," he said. He felt that before trying comedy, which is a difficult genre to attempt, he wanted to have sufficient experience.

As for Jackky, "Ajab Gazabb Love" is his third film and expectations running high after his previous average performances. "I don't feel the pressure. There are a lot of star kids in the industry trying to make their point and I am sure I will be able to find my space quite comfortably." Confidence speaking. The young actor will be next seen in Priyadarshan's "Rangrez".

Amritsar, October 25
The staff of the district education (elementary) department is in a state of confusion as two officers are heading the same post of district education officials in the department. The education department had earlier shifted former DEO (Elementary) Sunita Kumari to a school in Cheharrta area and appointed Jaspal Singh as the new officer in charge.

However, Sunita Kumari moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court citing her seniority for the post and procured stay orders on the decision. She had rejoined the office on October 15.

Meanwhile, Jaspal Singh, who was holding the post, did not relinquish the post as he claimed that he had not received any such information from the higher authorities.

As both Sunita Kumari and Jaspal Singh have been working as DEO, the staff at the department is confused as whom to consider as their boss.

When contacted Jaspal Singh said, “It is a confusing situation. I also feel bad about it.”

"I had already explained the situation to the higher authorities. They had asked me to work on the various school-based programmes, said Jaspal

Jaspal Singh before joining as DEO (Elementary) was working as principal of District Institute of Elementary Training at Verka. However with his appointment to the office, his previous post was allocated to another candidate.

Meanwhile, Sunita Kumari said she had joined after obtaining a copy of the stay orders from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “I have rejoined the office as DEO as per the court orders. The department would get a copy of the orders in due course of time," she added.

Amritsar, October 25
"The freedom fighters made supreme sacrifices during the freedom struggle. But with the passage of time the society and the governments have forgotten their sacrifices. We don’t get the due respect when we visit the departments concerned for the solution of our problems while the necessary benefits extended to family members still elude us.”

These words, uttered by kin of one of the freedom fighters gathered at Batchat Bhavan to participate in the grievance redressal camp here, summed up the mental trauma from which they pass through.

“My father made the supreme sacrifice following the historic Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He pitched his voice against the British Government for its mindless act and for this he was imprisoned for over a couple of years in Kala Pani, while all his land, property and belongings in Nawan village (now in Pakistan) were detached by the Britishers,” revealed Kuldeep Kaur, a resident of Naag Kalan village. She is a daughter of Baba Gian Singh, who was awarded "Tamar Patar" by the Indian Government for his role in the freedom struggle.

“But we got nothing after he expired in 1983. The pension used to be given to him was also withdrawn and no other benefit was extended to the family,” said Kuldeep Kaur.

Presidents of the Jallianwala Bagh Shaheed Parivar Sammite (JBSPS) and Freedom Fighters’ Foundation (FFF) took up the issue of family members of victims of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre who was granted freedom fighter status. They demanded to extend the benefits being given to kin of freedom fighters to them also.

Sunil Kapoor president of the FFF said the basic problem was that those killed in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre were never given any benefits as they were not considered freedom fighters earlier.

“As now the government has accorded a freedom fighter status to them, it should also extend the benefits to the current generation of those killed in the historic massacre,” he said.

Bhushan Behal of the JBSPS urged the authorities for providing recognition certificates to the families.

Sohan Singh, a resident of Kotli Mallian village said his father Harbhajan Singh was member of the Indian National Army of Subhas Chandra Bose. “During freedom struggle he lived in the forests in Burma (now Myanmar). The government had honored him with a Tamar Pattar, but we somehow lost it. But we have some documents with us to present our claim,” he said, while urging the authorities for giving benefits to the family, which were never given to them.

They (kin of freedom fighters) raised various issues pertaining to hike in pension, exemption from toll tax, construction of memorials, survey pertaining to plots or employment for successors of freedom fighters, establishment of freedom fighter welfare board in Punjab, 5 per cent reservation in jobs and preferential loans for self-employment.

Sarvesh Kaushal, Principal Secretary, Freedom Fighters Department, Punjab, who along with V.K. Janjua, Secretary, was here to preside over the grievance redressal camp organised for freedom fighters and their kin here today, said the government was very serious about the problems being faced by the freedom fighters.

He instructed Janjua to focus on the issue of the family members of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, besides Jaito Morcha. He assured that every possible step would be taken to resolve their issues. He said the Amritsar district had maximum number of freedom fighters and their kin and their well-being was the responsibility of the state government.

Amritsar, October 25
A conference of the Indian Academy of Neurosciences and an international symposium on the theme, "Translational neurosciences: Unravelling mysteries of brain in health and disease", are being organised by the Department of Biotechnology, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), from October 27 to 30.

During the conference, GNDU will host several leading neuroscientists from various countries like the USA, Singapore, Japan, Australia and India.

Prof Gurcharan Kaur of the Department of Biotechnology said more than 400 delegates were expected to participate and present their papers in the conference.

In addition to award lectures, orations, special sessions and plenary lectures, a special lecture sponsored by ISN-Wiley Blackwell will be the highlight on the second day of the conference.

Prof Phillip J. Robinson of the Children Medical Research Institute, New South Wales, Australia, would deliver the ISN-Wiley-Blackwell-JNC international lecture and emphasise on molecular events during nerve cell activities. "He will also be a part of interactive session with school and college students of Amritsar along with other eminent Indian neuroscientists, which is aimed to raise awareness among the young minds about the latest advances in neurosciences and to encourage them to plan their career in this field," said Prof Gurcharan Kaur.

Amritsar, October 25
Life Corporation of India (LIC) is all set to cover all BPL and APL families under its Aam Aadmi Beema Yojna and Jan Shree Bima Yozna schemes.

The central government’s pilot project would be initiated from two border districts of Punjab, Amritsar and Gurdaspur and later would be extended to other districts.

Stating this Amardeep Singh Cheema, vice-chairman Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and director LIC, said the ministry of finance has given its approval and LIC will act as an implementing authority.

As per these two insurance schemes, a head of each BPL and APL families would get an insurance cover. In case of an accidental death or permanent disability to the bread earner or head of the family, the family would get Rs 75,000 while his two school-going children would receive a monthly stipend of Rs 200 each. If he dies of natural death, the family would get Rs 35,000. For APL families, the scheme would be same but no stipend would be given to the children.

Cheema, who is also a member of social security committee, has proposed Swavlamban, a contributory pension plan of the government, for unorganised sector which do not have fixed income source. Under this scheme, the government and the beneficiary each will contribute Rs 1,000.

He said Punjab government should take a cue from the Maharashtra government which has achieved 95 per cent target by insuring the members of BPL and APL families.

He said the two border districts were selected by the government. “Once the project starts, the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan would also play its role and help in accomplishing the target for insuring 100 per cent population,” he added.

Amritsar October 25
As many as 2,000 women are expected to participate in 12 disciplines during the Punjab State Games for Women scheduled to commence from October 26 to 28 at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Amritsar.

The department has also deputed 200 officials to organise the event. The main aim of the state-level competition is to provide additional opportunities to women to participate in sports so that they can avail various benefits provided by the Punjab government like admission in various technical and medical institutions and jobs on preferential basis under the sports quota.

The disciplines include athletics, badminton, basketball, gymnastics, hockey, handball, kabaddi, kho kho, lawn tennis, swimming, table tennis and volleyball.

District Sports Officer, Amritsar, Harpaljit Kaur said the state teams would be selected during these competition will further represent themselves at national level.

She said all venues for the games are ready and efforts have been made to provide top class sports equipment and playing conditions to the players.

The sports department has provided sports kit and a diet of Rs 200 per day to every participant. ADC Supreet Singh Gulati will be the nodal officer of the games.

Giving details of the accommodation part, he said that the players have been lodged in different schools/colleges in the city and all efforts have been made to make their stay comfortable.

The opening ceremony of the games would be held on Friday at 11 am at the Guru Nanak Stadium, Amritsar. State Minister for Industries Commerce and Technical Education & Industrial Training, Punjab, Anil Joshi would be the chief guest on this occasion.

Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Minister for Jails, Tourism and Cultural Affairs, will honour the winners at the closing ceremony. Ram Singh, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, said adequate security arrangements had been made for the participants at all venues.