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Cold wave claims three more lives
One more owl falls victim to Chinese string
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Shopping malls in holy city sliding into decline
Voter lists handed over to political parties
Despite inflation, winter snacks' sale on rise
Photos: Sameer Sehgal
'Strong' local cuisine leaves little space for innovation
Chef Biswajit Haldar has come up with his own replacement for ajinomoto, an ingredient used in Chinese food. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
Students apprised of traffic rules
GNDU finishes third in All-India Inter-University Boxing meet
Man booked for using expired security sticker
Three held under Excise NDPS Act
Two booked for abducting girl
Travel agents booked
Thieves decamp with cameras, laptop
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Cold wave claims three more lives
Amritsar, January 7 While two persons lost their lives in December while another person was found dead on the roadside on January 3. The remaining two unidentified persons were found dead near Hall Gate and Hussainpura railway tracks on January 4. Last night, the bodies of three unknown persons between the age group of 32-36 years were recovered by the police. According to information, after the post-mortem examination, it was ascertained that they had died due to intense cold conditions. ASI Baldev Raj of Gate Hakima police station and Heera Singh of Kot Khalsa police station said the dead seemed to be destitutes and their identification could not be made as yet. It were the good Samaritan of the Holy city, who had located the dead bodies and intimated the police about it. The two dead bodies were discovered by Prof RC Gautam, a resident of Bhadhar Kali and Gurprit Singh, a resident of Kot Khalsa. The third one was brought to the notice by Deepak Bhatia, a resident of Shivala Bhaiyan. These three deaths constitute to make the dead toll to eight, due to intense cold. Even as these were the official figures, yet the Shiv Puri cremation ground, run by Durgiana temple managing committee, speaks about the unknown death graph touching 19. The only common factor among the victims was that they were destitute, probably migrants from other states like UP/ Bihar and must be surviving here on alms. It is the holy city, which would be their most preferred destination when it comes to living on alms as they get variety of food along with. The tragic part is that they prefer to brave the inclement weather conditions in open while least bothering about the free accommodation and food being provided by the district administration under its Raiin Basera project in collaboration with the District Red Cross society. Despite, infrastructure and fund crunch, Being holy city, number of religious organisations or even individuals organise ‘langar sewa’ (free food), besides distributing blankets, clothes or other daily use articles at locations nearer to the Golden Temple, the Durgiana Mandir, Gurudwara Shaheedan Sahib, Shivala Bhaiyan temple, Hall Gate Dargah, Panj Peer Dargah etc. Consequently, large numbers of people migrate from far off states like UP and Bihar and settle around these places because of 24X7 free food and alms. Even as the administration claimed to help out 785 such homeless people, majority of them are either sent back to their native places in UP and Bihar, but the reports are that they come back and were caught several times. Another finding is that most of them are drug addicts and refrain from going for free accommodation at the Raain Basera. Official speak It is true that our efforts could not bear desired result. With due respect to their sentiments, I think, the donors too would have to change their basic tendency of giving them money, food or blankets outside. They could donate it at Raain Basera. On our part, we endeavour to do our level best to provide shelter to homeless. We have even arranged them beddings, blankets, warm water and almost all requirements of their daily needs and even a television set for their entertainment besides the food. At present, the strength of homeless at Raain Basera is 54. These inmates are all males aged between 40 to 60 years. We are conducting regular drives to nab them from their begging points or from places they loiter about — Rajat Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner
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One more owl falls victim to Chinese string
Amritsar, January 7 The owl had received injuries due to China-made string. Vineet Randhawa of the the SPCA said the owl was found entangled in the string at an under-construction shopping mall in the Medical Enclave locality. She said the bird was being treated at the SPCA centre and would be released after treatment. Although the ban on the sale and use of China-made string, which is being used for flying kites, has been in existence for many years, yet the ban is being violated with impunity.
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Shopping malls in holy city sliding into decline
Amritsar, January 7 Apparently, ‘poor response’ and inadequate sales seem to be the major reasons behind closing down of the shops in these malls. Majority of these outlets are apparel, beauty products, luxury electronic goods, besides grocery stores delivering global brands in eatables.
All of these were either national or international chain groups. Among several factors is high rent rate which are much higher than the shops available on rent at upscale shopping markets in the city. Majority of the shopping malls with multiplex do not sale their shops but offer space on rent. The rent rate varies from minimum Rs 60 to Rs 100 per square foot apart from other expenses. They also offer space on minimum guarantee as per which a minimum monthly guarantee, besides commission in the sales, is promised. A survey of the rent rates being charged at upscale markets like Mall road, Ranjit Avenue, Madan Mohan Malviya Road and Lawrence road revealed that they were at par with these malls. However, the difference comes as the shopping malls charged the rates over super area and levy other expenses which made it costlier than others. Inherently, residents of the holy city were known to be fond of eating out, wearing latest apparels and leading high life-style, said Jaideep Singh, convener, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Amritsar zone. He said at the outset the response of people was tremendous and there was a scare among the city retailers. However, with the passage of time various trends had been observed which impacted the sales of retail in shopping malls. Jaideep, who is running a number of outlets in the city with the brand name wardrobe, said trend of sale and extending discount all year round gave in many outlets in the malls. He said these shops did not have respite from excise tax, which was levied at the rate of 12.30 per cent on the MRP, high shop rents and other expenditures. While they had to resort to these activities to tempt customers from the traditional and upscale markets of the city. He said the psychology working behind opening of shopping malls and outlets took in view the footfall of tourists visiting the holy city. He said this calculation spell their plans wrong as tourism was of religious nature and they come to pay obeisance and the psychology was different. “The main aim of the tourists visiting here was to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and other holy sikh shrines and not shopping.” They are a drain of sources for the limited income people, especially hailing from middle and lower income groups, commented Jaspreet Singh, a private employee. He said following pressure form his children and members of the family he had visited these malls a couple of time but found the apparels costly and eatables out of sync with the local cuisine. APS Chatha, who has been in the hospitality business for the past three decades, said imbalance in demand and supply was also affecting the trade. He held glut of same kind of shops responsible for the closure of these shops. He said majority of the brands operationalise in these malls could be found in various corners of the city. For instance, an outlet selling luxury electronic goods have its outlets in posh Ranjit Avenue and Hall Gate. Similarly, many apparel brands, which were closed in the malls, have their outlets and franchises in Puttalighar, Hall Bazar, Lawrence road and other areas. He said recently a notable traditional and ethnic dresses stitching shop, which had been operational at Ranjit avenue for past many years, was also closed. He said many more shopping malls are under construction and there was a fear among the players that they may snatch away the limited customers. Chatha said tourists from Pakistan could spell out a change as they would form a part of pleasure tourism. “Around the world, the destinations famous for pleasure tourism amass the maximum revenue,” he remarked. Alpha G Corp CEO SK Sayal said there was no need to panic as the consolidation was underway and better brands were arriving in the market. He said though some shops may have closed or changed hands but average occupancy of shops in his mall remained 85 per cent to 90 per cent in all these three years. Besides, annual surge of ten per cent per people spending has been recorded in the past three years. He said as the people were being more aware and informed they were preferring organised shopping areas. He said the concept of shopping in organised and state-of-the-art malls were picking up and it was certain to pick up more with the passage of time.
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Voter lists handed over to political parties
Amritsar, January 7 Sabarwal said the list of voters as eligible on January 1, 2013 was given to the parties. He said if any discrepancies or shortcomings are noticed, the parties must point it out to the electoral registration officers. He said in case a person falling in the age group of 18 to 19 years as on January 1 has not been registered, he or she can contact district electoral officer, electoral registration officers or BLOs concerned till January 25. He said eligible voters can submit their applications.
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Despite inflation, winter snacks' sale on rise
Amritsar, January 7 Rates of gachak, rewari, sut laddu, chirvare (beaten rice), bhugga and khajoor made from sugar, jaggery and other eatables have increased by nearly 10 per cent. Ahead of Lohri, a festival during which these eatables are in high demand, rise in prices of these items have put burden on the budget of people. Sugar, which was sold at Rs 32 per kg last year, is being sold at Rs 40 per kg this year while jaggery is also available in retail market at the same price. Prices of vegetable oil and other ingredients were also hiked. Groundnut, rewari, gur gachak, til gachak, which were sold at 80 per kg last year, are being sold at Rs 100 per kg. These items have recorded 10 to 20 per cent increase on various items. Even though the inflation has caused prices of the eatables to shoot up, the cold wave condition did not allow them to scale their budget down on these popular winter snacks. As a housewife Avneet Kaur said, "These eatables are rich source of energy and family members of all age group are fond of it." Ravi Kumar, whose family has been in the trade of preparing winter snacks, said the rise in across the board items during the past couple of months forced them to jack up the costs of all seasonal items highly consumed during the winters. Finished eatable products like gachak, rewari, sut laddu, chirvare (beaten rice), bhugga and khajoor have been piled up in attractive packages at the shops to attract customers. Located in the narrow arterial lanes of the walled city, the shopkeepers at bhad bhunje wala bazaar have been dishing out these preparations associated with the festival for the past many centuries. It is said that the market is as old as the city. The market is located in Qilla Bhangiya, named after one of the Sikh Misls. Majority of the families are involved in the profession of selling and preparing these items for generations. The items are generally consumed in the winters. However, modernisation has had its effect, as a large number of people have either deserted the trade or installed machines to prepare these items in factories. Lali, another shopkeeper, said he felt insecure, as people like him who prepared the items manually, were not able to earn satisfactorily. He said some affluent people had procured machines and cornered a large chunk of business.
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'Strong' local cuisine leaves little space for innovation
Amritsar, January 7 "For starters, Amritsar is a city where every individual has a strong opinion about food. Its rich food culture has become a part of its culture and heritage. Secondly, the local cuisine culture is so strong that it becomes difficult to make room for innovation. But then it's not impossible," shares Chef Biswajit Haldar, who heads the kitchen at Café Oz, a newly opened global food chain in the city. "Amritsar is one of the most travelled destination and so it becomes important that we have a cuisine that is global, suits every taste bud and has freshness to it. Sometimes experimenting with some international and local flavours can make for an interesting dish," he says. Sometimes, even a slightest of ingredient can do the trick. For instance, Haldar has come up with his own healthier version of ajinomoto salt, used in Chinese food. Café Oz serves Aussie and Indian cuisine, high on fusion food. Well-travelled guests are another reason why restaurants introduce new dishes every now and then. The guests suggest the changes in the recipe and customising it to their satisfaction, the changes are quite welcomed. "We prepare such dishes and also render it a local flavour, customising the cuisine for them," says Jitendra Sohal, general manager, Radison Blu. Their Executive Chef Santosh makes sure that the menu goes for a makeover every now and then, "Punjabis by the end of the day tend to get back to their roots and prefer to have nothing else than the local cuisine. The dish is customised to make people incorporate it in their traditional food choice. Also, every newfound dish is offered as a specialty and is included in the day's buffet to get immediate response from people," he says. Food festivals are also another way to sell innovation. With several themes and cuisines sharing spotlight along with traditional food, it is win-to-win situation. "There are guests, who are open to innovation, who want to try new recipe and so food festivals become an important part of our menu. We also have concept of chef special or recipe of the day, which gives us freedom to experiment and serve innovation," shares chef Inderpal, Country Inn. Asking about the process of experimenting, inventing recipes and why they offer us a new platter every now and then and they all share a common opinion. "Introducing a couple of new recipes every week requires patience and passion for cooking. A new recipe undergoes many trials till we don't get the perfect flavour, taste and colour that we are aiming for. But in the end, there is no predictable pattern for the success of any dish, until the guests say so," says chef Halder.
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Students apprised of traffic rules
Amritsar, January 7 Officials of the traffic police department informed the students that the transport department had kept the record of vehicles and registration of each automobile was mandatory. The students were apprised of the various departments responsible for ensuring smooth traffic and pollution control. Traffic safety kits were also distributed to the school van drivers. The students pledged to observe the traffic rules.
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GNDU finishes third in All-India Inter-University Boxing meet
Amritsar, January 7 The University team has won this position consecutively for three years. In 2010-11, the boxing team was third and got second in 2011-12 under the able coaching of Baljinder Singh, boxing coach, deputy director (sports) and head, Dr HS Randhawa. Meanwhile, Dr Randhawa said the Guru Nanak Dev University would also host All-India Inter University Shooting (men and women) championship at its shooing range from January 14 to 18. He said as many as 150 teams from all over India are participating in this mega event. He said the Inter-College Yoga (men and women) competitions for 2012-13 would also be organised at the Guru Nanak Dev University Campus on January 29 and 30.
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Man booked for using expired security sticker
Amritsar, January 7 According to information, the offender has been identified as Harnishan Singh, a resident of Urban Estate, Batala against whom a case has been registered at the Kathunangal police station. Kuldeep Singh, in charge, supervisor checking team Border Range, told that Harnishan Singh was intercepted near Kathunangal at a naka and was found pasting a security sticker on his Innova car (PB-19-P0018), issued in the name of an ex-MLA Jagdish Raj Saini. “This was clearcut violation of the norms as the sticker had lapsed its validity period. No arrest has been made so far but we have registered case against him, the police said.
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Three held under Excise NDPS Act
Amritsar, January 7 According to information, an FIR under Sections 21,61,85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against Money Kumar, a resident of 246 Chungi Wali Gali, Opposite Central jail, Amritsar, at the Police station Cantonment, Amritsar . Investigating officer SI Prabhjot Singh of Gumtala police station said 250 gm of smack was recovered from his possession. In another case, the Sultanwind police nabbed Satnam Singh, a resident of Bhai Manjh Road, Mata Ganga Ji Nagar, and recovered 37,500 ml illicit liquor from him. His accomplice, identified as Pawan Kumar, a resident of Gurnam Nagar Mander Wala Bazaar, Sultanwind Road is on the run . Investigating officer Hardial Singh said a case under Sections 61/1/14 of the Excise Act had been registered against Satnam Singh. In the third case, the Islamabad police has recovered 6,750 ml illicit liquor from Nirbhain Singh, a resident of Chhota Haripura, Amritsar. Meanwhile, two proclaimed offenders too fell in the police net today. They have been identified as Ranjit Singh, resident of Satu Nagal, Fatehgarh Churian road and his wife Sukhjit Kaur. Both were booked under Sections 363 and 366-A of the IPC. In another case Guramritpal Singh, a resident of Ball, Jhander, Amritsar, was arrested today. He was booked under Sections 420,467,468,471 and120-B of the IPC at the Police station, Chheharta, Amritsar.
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Two booked for abducting girl
Amritsar, January 7 According to the complainant, Ranjit Singh's daughter has been missing since January 5. Investigating officer SI Prabhjot Singh, Gumtala police Station, said raids were being conducted to nab the accused. A case under Section 363, 366 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against the accused.
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Travel agents booked
Amritsar, January 7
According to the complainant, Palwinder Singh, a resident of
Kohara, had given the money to send his son to Canada. "Four years had lapsed but they neither they send my son abroad nor they returned money," he alleged. — TNS
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Thieves decamp with cameras, laptop
Amritsar, January 7 No arrest has been made so far but a case under Section 380 of the IPC has been registered at the air port police station. According to complainant, Ambrish Lal, a resident of Guru Amardass Avenue, had got a the contract of installing CCTV cameras at the airport. "I had kept the supporting tools, digital camera, laptop, 160-meter cable wire and a mobile in a room, situated in the cargo complex at the airport but they were stolen by some unknown persons," he said. Investigating officer ASI Palwinder Singh told a case under Section 380 of the IPC had been registered and investigation was on.
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The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) received one more injured owl today.
The owl had received injuries due to China-made string.
In the list of most effective and popular inventions, Amritsar would truly stand out with its dal
makhni, sarson da saag, makhan fish and butter chicken. As absurd as it may appeal to some, but our love of food has been a constant motivation behind innovating and experimenting with the recipes, which of course didn't fall from heaven. As a community full of food connoisseurs, we demand and appreciate every morsel well presented and well thought of. So, we get talking to the chefs, the masterminds behind serving that perfect platter that suits our taste and try to know why Amritsar is a tough appetite to please.
