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Provide adequate public toilets: HC to MC
Reduction of teaching hours in graduation courses
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A view of the demolished house of Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra in Amritsar.
Photo: Vishal Kumar
Rly station walls turn into slogan writing spot
Outer walls of the railway station defaced with slogans in Amritsar. A tribune photograph
Classical music makes good musician, but fusion a popular one: Gagan
Wadali
Vendors flay power cuts, rly authorities say must for development work
Classic Theatre Festival kicks off
Jatinder Brar (centre) being awarded the lifetime achievement award on the first day of the Classic Theatre Festival in Amritsar on Monday. A Tribune photo
Docs undergo training to detect cancer cases
Burglars decamp with jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh
Two inmates escape from Nari Niketan
Swine flu: Health dept issues advisory
Power transformer stolen Medidation centre opens
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Provide adequate public toilets: HC to MC
Amritsar, February 18 The civic authorities have further been directed to report back within a span of four months to describe the action taken in this regard. This notice span would be applicable from the date of issuance of directions dated January 22. Ironically, the city had no public toilet or urinal for persons with disabilities. The petitioner in the case is also a person with a disability. Information procured by PS Bhatti, president of NGO Pollution Control Committee, sometime ago under the RTI Act, had revealed that out of a total of 65 wards, falling within the MC’s limits, 43 wards do not have public toilets. These wards included Ward 1 to 19, 25, 27 to 36, 38, 39, 43, 44, 50, 57, 59, 60 and 61 to 65. The MC, in its RTI reply, had itself admitted that these essential services could not be provided even in the fully-occupied shopping or residential areas. Though officials claimed that it was old information, a random round of several key points of the city presented a dismal affair. Three major shopping complexes --- Nehru Shopping Complex, District Complex, Ranjit Avenue, and Dharam Singh Market near the Golden Temple do not have functional toilets. At Company Bagh, not even a single toilet was found to be functional. Ironically, the railway station and the bus stand have no sufficient provision of toilets for passengers. The inspection report of the Railway Board revealed that there was no provision of public toilets on platform numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5. NS Gabarhia, former Deputy Station Superintendent, confirmed that there used to be one public toilet each on platform number 2 and 4, but they had remained non-functional for the past two decades. Bhatti said, “Site drawings of the wards had the provision of public toilets or urinals, but these are absent on ground.”
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Reduction of teaching hours in graduation courses Tribune News Service
Amritsar, February 18 The GNDU move may hit Punjabi language, which has already been declared a compulsory subject. Vice Chancellor Prof AS Brar said maintaining the sanctity of Punjabi language had always been the prime objective of the university. “This move has been initiated to streamline the structure of courses. There was no requirement to hold six to eight periods for a course/paper of 50 marks. That’s why the teaching hours were curtailed. And it was done for all the courses”, he said. Punjabi teachers associated with various colleges resented the move saying that it would reduce job prospects of teachers. The GNDU has already introduced semester system in its undergraduate courses with Punjabi as a compulsory subject. Reacting over the move, Kendriya Punjabi Writers Sabha president Baldev Singh Saraknama said it was hard to digest that the university named after the first Sikh Guru was bent upon damaging the status of Punjabi. “The prime aim of establishing this university was to promote the Punjabi language,” he said. Talwinder Singh, general secretary of the sabha, said they would launch a protest against the GNDU’s move. Teachers’ protest
On the call given by Punjab Chandigarh and College Teachers’ Union, the teachers working in the non-government aided colleges affiliated to GNDU, today observed cease-work strike against the university move. Teachers working in the colleges in Amritsar got the support of GNDU Teachers Association and Non-Teaching Employees Union. They held a protest rally and burnt copies of the said circular dated January 24 issued by the GNDU to its affiliated colleges. Prof HS Walia, state executive member of PCCTU, termed the decision as dictatorial, autocratic and totally illogical. He added that it would make about 40 per cent teachers surplus and may leave them out of job. He demanded immediate withdrawal of the controversial letter and pleaded for democratisation of university bodies like Senate and Syndicate. Prof Devinder Singh, president, GNDU Teachers Association, said the item pertaining to the reduction of teaching hours was not in the agenda of the academic council meeting dated January 4 and the matter was never discussed. “So, the decision regarding the reduction of teaching hours automatically becomes null and void,” he added.
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Demand for memorial in Dhingra’s honour rising
Amritsar, February 18 Many organisations and people held programmes to mark the birth anniversary of Dhingra today. Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said the Amritsar Improvement Trust had been asked to refurbish and beautify the park with an investment of Rs 15 lakh. But former Punjab minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla said revamping and beautification of a park was not an alternative to a memorial. She said the SAD-BJP government was in no mood to raise a memorial in the memory of Dhingra, who was perhaps the first Indian to have been executed in London on August 17, 1909, at the age of 26. She said sacrifice of the son of the soil would not be allowed to go unrecognised. In the course of freedom struggle, he had gunned down Sir William Curzon Wyllie. She said the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the state government to raise the memorial in memory of the martyr at an alternate location after his ancestral house was demolished some years ago. She demanded that a memorial offering entire information regarding his life sketch, upbringing, education and sacrifice at London must be raised within the walled city as maximum people from the country and the world could visit the memorial. Prithipal Singh Mari Megha, former national president of the Sarb Bharat Naujwan Sabha, said following many protests, the government agreed to raise a memorial. He said earlier the government failed to protect the ancestral house of the martyr from being demolished. He said had the government intended to raise a memorial, it could have procured a plot at a market value from the owner and raise a befitting memorial over the land. On the birth anniversary of the martyr, he urged the government to raise a suitable memorial. Pargat Singh Jamarai, general secretary, Shahid Bhagat Singh Naujwan Sabha, Punjab, said thousands of tourists daily come to the holy city and they would take inspiration from the sacrifice of Dhingra by visiting his memorial here. Meanwhile, members of various NGOs, including Mission Aagaaz, Mata Charan Kaur Paramedical Education Society, Amritsar Vikas Manch and Gaddar Movement today planted saplings at Madal Lal Dhingra park to mark the birth anniversary of the martyr.
Martyr remembered
Many organisations and people held programmes to mark the birth anniversary of Dhingra today.
Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said the Amritsar Improvement Trust had been asked to refurbish and beautify the park with an investment of Rs 15 lakh Former Punjab minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla said revamping and beautification of a
park was not an alternative to a memorial. She said the SAD-BJP government was in no mood to raise a memorial in the memory of Dhingra
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Rly station walls turn into slogan writing spot
Amritsar, February 18 The defacement gives a bad impression to a large number of tourists visiting the city of the Golden Temple daily. Keeping high flow of tourists in mind, the District Tourism Office has been located on the exit gate of the railway station. But walls of this office have not been spared from similar defacement. Many slogans highlighting demands of railway employees hail the Northern Railway Men’s Union (NRMU). PC Sharma, a resident, has written to the Ministry of Railways over the defacement of its properties. The Executive Director, Public Grievances, has assured of an action, he added. He urged the Railways to penalise violators with heavy fine. UnionSpeak Ish Devgan, branch secretary, NRMU, accepted that the walls of the railway station have been painted with slogans. “But these are all outer walls. No wall adjoining the platform had been painted,” he added. He said the method of expressing sentiments of the employees to the higher-ups and the government by writing slogans on walls had continued for decades. He said the practice could be stopped if the railway authorities provide a suitable place to stick bills and posters to articulate demands of the employees. A brief history
An example of Victorian architecture, the railway station came into being in 1859 six years after the Indian sub-continent saw its first formal run of train from Bori Bunder (Mumbai). A major railhead junction of the Northern Railways, the railway station had witnessed a maximum movement of trains carrying refugees to and fro from India and Pakistan during the Partition days.
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Classical music makes good musician, but fusion a popular one: Gagan
Wadali
Amritsar, February 18 “The Punjabi music industry needs an alternate to the popular rap/fizz music that is selling these days. Though we have versatile musical traditions with Sufi and folk, the only music associated with the Punjabi music industry is the pop. We do have a lot of space for fusion genres like Sufi rock and soft ballads,” says Gagan Wadali. The young Sufi singer, who has been trained by the famous Wadali Brothers and done concerts with them and recently been part of a reality show on Zee Punjabi called "Suran De Waris", shared his musical journey and a lot more while at it. “I have been singing since I was a teenager. I trained under Wadali Brothers and joined their group to perform all over the country. Punjabi folk and Sufi singers are respected and admired a lot across the world. But back home, the edge seems to be missing," he says. The 26-year-old, who is an assistant professor of music at BBKDAV, believes that fusion genre is the best possible way to fight the competition. “Today, every genre of music is accepting fusion as a necessity. Classical music makes you a good musician, but fusion makes you a popular one. Since the younger audience is hugely influenced by western music, fusion makes them accept any traditional genre of music easily," he says. Gagan, too, has taken the step and formed a seven-member fusion band. He has done gigs at prominent college and music festivals across India. "Fusion music has a longer shelf life as it gives you a chance to evolve with time," he says. Like all musicians, he, too, wants to be different and establish his own brand of music. But his preferred way of doing so is Bollywood. "Independent music gives you freedom, but Bollywood brings you fame. Since Bollywood is now opening up to new genres of music and one can show his versatility as a playback singer, I want to eventually be a part of the big industry," shares Gagan. But for now, he wants to take one step at a time. Performing gigs at various hot spots in city, he plays regularly at Cafe OZ. As for filling in the space for alternate music genre in Punjabi music industry, Gagan is up for the challenge. "There is a need for it, so I wouldn't mind filling in. Maybe this can help many upcoming amateur fusion bands to make entry and change the brand of Punjabi music."
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Vendors flay power cuts, rly authorities say must for development work
Amritsar, February 18 Since the LPG-run stoves and gases are prohibited at the railway station, the food vendors could not supply hot eatables to passengers, as their appliances are either electricity or battery-operated. Passengers complained that they did not get hot tea and snacks at the railway station and needed to go out to get these. The situation has been the same for nearly five days. Under the circumstances, microwave, automatic vending machines (AVMs), fridges and all other units are not running properly for want of electricity. Consequently, the vendors and shopkeepers incurred losses due to low sales, while they are to pay high rent to the Railways authorities. Assistant Electrical Engineer (AEE) of the Railways Ravi Kumar refuted the allegation and said that an electricity panel installed on the stairs of a footover bridge on platform number 1 was to be shifted to another location. He said the stairs had been lying closed for decades and to open these for the public, it was necessary to shift the electricity panel, which had been shifted to a room. He said it was not practically possible to keep the electricity off for long hours, as the railway station was receiving a large number of passengers being a holy tourist place. Power hotline
The Railways authorities are working towards introducing the power hotline at the Amritsar railway station. Assistant Electrical Engineer
(AEE) Ravi Kumar said after obtaining estimates from Punjab State Power Corporation Limited
(PSPCL), the demand had been sent to the Railways headquarters. The PSPCL would charge Rs 28 lakh for establishing a dedicated hotline, which would resolve the fluctuation problem, power cuts and lower expenses on diesel. It receives power supply from the Kirpal sub-station through 2x750 kv transformers. On a monthly average, the power substation consumes 3.50 lakh units of power, which is supplied to the railway station, railway quarters and allied facilities.
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Classic Theatre Festival kicks off
Amritsar, February 18 The festival will focus on theatre groups and talent from small towns of the region. Natyam group from Jaiton, Sparsh Theatre group from Abohar, Dharohar Theatre group from Haryana, have artists from small towns of the region. “Small-town theatre artists do not get the limelight due to lack of cultural space and proper platform to show their talent. By organising a festival like this, we have attempted to support and celebrate their efforts and talent,” says Jatinder Brar, convenor and owner, Punjab Natshala. Manch Rangmanch from Amritsar will also feature in the festival. The festival is being organised in collaboration with theatre persons. Prominent plays that will be staged at the festival are ‘Baki Hai Itihas’, ‘Canada Ki Nazare’, ‘Bobby Breaker’, ‘Main Aur Meri Kahaniyan’ and ‘Dil Jeha Koi Kameena Nai’. The inaugural play was ‘Daughter of the Bin’ by Jatinder Brar. A Punjab Natshala production, the play is written by Shiromani Natakkar Jatinder Brar and directed by Rajinder Singh. This play, a satire, took on the evils of society on the pretext of female foeticide. Woven around the malpractice of female foeticide, the play touched topics of bureaucracy, politics, wrong policies, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and casteism and many other issues. The play starts in a public park, where someone has thrown away a baby girl in a dustbin. The story moves on metaphorically, with the bench of the park depicting the system. At the end, it insisted that no issues can be resolved alone. A community effort is required to conquer such social evils and religion could be a buffer. Though the play focused on the burning issues, there were a few moments of laughter as well.
— TNS
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Docs undergo training to detect cancer cases
Amritsar, February 18 The state government has started an awareness campaign in a phased manner for the early detection of this deadly disease. In the second phases of this campaign, various medical specialists belonging to different districts were imparted training that concluded at Government Medical College here today. Dr SS
Shergill, Principal GMC said that early detection of this deadly disease could save many precious lives. Dr Tejbir Singh, Medical Superintendent, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, said the health department had been entrusted with the responsibility to detect cancer cases at early stages. Dr Ranjit Singh
Buttar, District Family Welfare Officer, said over 200 doctors and medical officers from seven districts --- Amritsar,
Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Hoshiarpur, Tarn Taran and Pathankot --- have been trained during the campaign.
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Burglars decamp with jewellery worth Rs 4 lakh
Amritsar, February 18 Miscreants broke open the door of the roof to gain entry into the house. They decamped with the jewellery kept in almirahs in two rooms. He said the accused also took away Rs 2 lakh cash which was kept in a safe. Before the accused could break open the almirah of the third room, the family returned from the function. The accused fled the spot. The Sultanwind police has registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. In another incident, some armed robbers reportedly looted gold jewellery and Rs 25,000 cash from a house in Kukkewala village falling under Jhander Police station. Only a girl was present in the house when the incident happened. The other family members had gone to attend a marriage function. The police has registered a case in this regard.
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Two inmates escape from Nari Niketan
Amritsar, February 18 Deputy Commissioner Rajat Agarwal said besides a police case, he had marked an inquiry to find out the cause behind their escape. As per the information, two girls identified as Sandeep Kaur and Anjali were admitted to the Nari Niketan earlier this month. While Sandeep Kaur was admitted following a family dispute, Anjali was brought for police protection. Anjali, originally from Dehradun, was rescued by the Nawanshahr police, which later shifted her to Nari Niketan. The staff found them missing at 7 am. They found a wooden plank along the wall that was used by the girls to scale the wall.
— TNS
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Swine flu: Health dept issues advisory
Amritsar, February 18 Dr Charanjit Singh, district epidemiologist, said out of five positive swine flu cases, three are from Gurdaspur and two are from Tarn Taran district. An advisory has been issued to prominent religious places which see a high inflow of tourists including the Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple, Jallianwala Bagh, a religious dera in Beas to make announcements or take steps to sensitise visitors about the flu.
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Amritsar, February 18
Amritsar, February 18
