Amritsar, January 11
The Health Department has suspended a clerk posted at the Baba Bakala subdivision, near here, after the preliminary investigations in the salary scam case pointed a finger at him.

The scam involved forging of signatures and fake bills to overdraw money, including salaries for non-existing employees. The sources in the department claim that at least Rs 75 lakh were routed to various fake accounts.

The suspended clerk has been identified as Rajwinder Singh. A class IV worker at the hospital, Rajwinder Singh had last year cleared a departmental test for the post. He had been in the service as a class IV worker for over a decade.

The scam was brought into the notice of the district Health Department by another clerk, who had recently joined the hospital. As he found the anomalies, he made a written compliant to the Civil Surgeon, Dr Yash

Mitra, who then constituted a committee to look into the allegations.

With the investigation team finding that more money was embezzled than the originally mentioned in the complaint, the state Health Department took over the inquiry.

Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra confirmed that the clerk had been suspended by the Director, Health Services. He said though the inquiry had yet not been completed, the preliminary probe pointed a finger at Rajwinder Singh. He said the suspension had been ordered so that Rajwinder Singh was not able to influence the inquiry.

Amritsar, January 11
The Gynaecology Department of the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital has returned a portion of the substandard material provided to it by the district Health Department.

The Tribune had in a news published on December 20, 2012, revealed that the department in a recent purchase, costing around Rs 28 lakh, had procured material, which according to employees was of poor quality.

The purchased material included surgical gloves, gauzes (broad dressings mostly used in caesarian surgeries), adult diapers used for patients undergoing male sterilisation and cotton. The material was purchased during September last year from a Jalandhar-based manufacturer.

The sources in the department said the Health Department had a few days ago provided 300 surgical kits required for surgeries at the Gynaecology Ward. However, the doctors concerned returned a portion of the material to the district Health Department reasoning that the material was not up to the mark.

When the matter was brought to light more than a month ago, the doctors had complained that even the needles used for injecting medicines in the spinal cords of patients were of poor quality. They had further alleged that the cotton supplied to the hospital was not fresh, but recycled.

The medical fraternity had warned that recycled cotton could be infectious, especially when used in surgeries. Even due to the poor quality of surgical gloves, there was danger of these getting torn during the surgery and the surgeon was at a high risk of infection from the patient.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra admitted that a portion of the material supplied to the hospital had been received back. He said he would ask the firm, which had supplied the material,to replace it.

Amritsar, January 11
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rajat Aggarwal has written to the Punjab Chief Secretary, Home and Law, to frame a suitable rule to punish those who buy, sell and store synthetic/plastic string, popularly known as China-made or dragon string.

In the communique he stated that the string was causing grievous injuries to human beings and birds besides injuring fingers of people enjoying kite flying. He said the sharpness and strength of the string make it a lethal object for causing injuries while being used for flying kites.

He said already its sale, storage and use had been declared illegal in the rural area under the law, but its sale in urban areas was continuing. He said it was causing injuries to unsuspecting people and even birds, who sometime got killed and their carcasses dangle from branches of trees.

The letter was issued after the Amritsar Tribune in its columns on January 4 had highlighted the dangers of using plastic string, which is injuring and killing birds apart from human beings. Many birds have been killed, while some got badly injured after coming in contact with the string.

Meanwhile, the Mission Aagaaz and Vatavaran Ate Samaj Bachao Morcha (VASBM), Punjab, today jointly organised a meet to lodge their protest against the rampant sale and use of the string, which they dubbed as a "liller dor".

Deepak Babbar, executive director, Mission Aagaaz, said besides the government, general public should also ensure that nobody used the string. They urged people to create awareness and urge the youngsters to use traditional indigenously prepared "manjha dor" (string) for kite flying. They also urged the government to make rules for punishing both the seller as well as buyer of the synthetic string for making the ban effective.

Amritsar, January 11
The weekend is all about celebrating Lohri and dedicating it to the girl child. The favourite winter festival which brings with itself warmth and some feasting, kept the citizens busy on Friday as a number of social and cultural organisations and institutions celebrated the festival with cheers for the girl child.

The day started with grand celebrations at Cafe Oz, where inmates and children from the All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society enjoyed the festivities along with the honorary secretary Mukhtar Singh.

The special guests on the occasion were the girl inmates and students from the society, aged between eight and 16 years. Apart from feasting and singing "Dulha Bhatti", Ritesh Sharma, owner of Cafe Oz distributed free books to the students and vowed to support and dedicate the festival to the girl child.

“Usually, the festival is associated with the boy child and since it is a very important festival in Punjab, we wanted to take an initiative to dedicate it to the girl child as well,” said Ritesh. There was an impromptu dance competition as well at the venue and the winners were presented chocolates.

Others who followed the day with more celebrations were the students and members of the Mata Charan Kaur Paramedical Education Society. Celebrating Lohri for the girl child, the students and members were joined in by Punjabi actor-singer Surjit Bhullar and Deputy Commissioner of Police Kaustub Sharma.

“The festival should be dedicated to the girl child every year, so that the social injustices faced by women could take a halt,” shared Surjit Bhullar. The event also had a play performed by Gurinder Makhatta and his group on female feoticide, called "Kude ch kamal" (lotus in dirt). Apart from that clothes and utility items were distributed among girls from the underprivileged sections of society and newborn girls.

Virsa Vihar had a full attendance of city-based artistes and prominent literary names gathered to celebrate Lohri and it was once again dedicated to the girl child.

Ryan International School, too, celebrated the festival with traditional fervor and message. Students as well as the faculty of the school celebrated Lohri along with Rajni Kalra, headmistress of the school. In her address to the children, she apprised them of the origin of the Lohri festival and further signifying its importance, which included the episode of "Dulla Bhatti", a folk hero of Punjab and other folktales associated with Lohri. The children shared food, sweets and savouries, enjoyed singing Lohri songs and indulged in kite flying. Khalsa College, DAV School and many other educational institutions, too, celebrated the festival.

The Civil Surgeon's office staff members, too, lit Lohri bonfire on the premises and the Amritsar Bar Association came out in full attendance to celebrate the festival.

Amritsar, January 11
Vipul Mehta, the winner of "Indian Idol 6", launched his debut album in the city. The city boy, who made it big with the singing reality show and made entry into playback singing, released his album amidst fans, admirers and family.

The young singer who had been through a roller-coaster ride during the latest edition of hit TV show and proved himself among a host of other aspiring singers from country, was upbeat about his debut in the music world. "I am so happy to be given this amazing opportunity. The feeling has still not sunk in and my life has changed for better. I feel privileged to have won 'Indian Idol' and given this opportunity to pursue my dream of becoming a professional singer. I have tried proving my versatility with a mix of genres in my debut album."

The album has eight songs and Vipul has sung revamped versions of classic songs "Har kisi ko nahin milta" and "Dil kya kare" as a tribute to the legends of yesteryear. These two songs have been produced by DJ Aks, who is a leading producer in the Bollywood Club remix scene and is known to produce for a host of Bollywood films. Vipul has also sung three original tracks for the album titled "Tere pyar ton", "Kya karoon" and "Rowan mein" portraying various emotions of love. "Tere pyar ton" and "Rowan mein" have been produced by acclaimed Pakistani producer Ali Mustafa.

Vipul has recorded a single song already for the album "Indian Idol Fabulous Four", where all of the finalists sang a unique rendition of the song "Pal" by renowned singer KK. Vipul's composed version of "Pal" will also be a part of the album along with other songs.