Amritsar, April 11
The theft of material from government health institutions in the city is going unabated as copper material from the solar system installed atop Bebe Nanki Mother and Child Care Centre has gone missing.

Though the hospital management is yet to make an exact assessment of the loss, but the hospital has assigned paramedical staff the duty to keep a constant vigil on suspicious elements on the premises.

The hospital staff stated that the theft was perceived to be the handiwork of drug addicts.

The thieves have stolen the material from the solar system, thus rendering it partially dysfunctional. The theft has been made by breaking the glass panels.

The managements of the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, ESI Hospital and Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital have often complained of theft of sanitary fittings from washrooms. Considering the heavy rush of patients and attendants at the hospitals, identifying unscrupulous elements is a tough task.

Talking about the theft of copper material from the solar system, Medical Superintendent of the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital Dr KS Sidhu said, “As the hospitals provide 24-hour service, keeping an eye on everyone is a tough job. These thefts were reported earlier too.”

The hospital did have security personnel deployed by the Punjab Ex-Servicemen Corporation (PESCO), hired by the state government. But as they left after October, 2011, the hospital has fallen short of the security guards.

Dr Sidhu said, “The hospital had some pending issues with PESCO which were settled last week. We hope that they would be joining soon.” The hospital had last year also put up a circular asking all hospital employees to take notice of unscrupulous elements roaming around in the hospital without any purpose.

• October 30, 2012: Two computers installed at a pharmacy in the Employees State Insurance (ESI) Hospital, Majitha road, were stolen after removing the aluminum grills attached to the windows. The thieves also took away metallic sanitary fittings from the residence of Medical Superintendent in the ESI Hospital complex.
• March 20, 2012: An LCD screen was stolen from the surveillance control room inside the Civil Surgeon’s office complex within few hours of its installation.
• December 14, 2011: Wooden ply-boards to be used for construction at the emergency block of the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital were stolen.

Amritsar, April 11
The Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial (JBMM) Civil Hospital is soon going to have a diagnostic centre of its own where services as CT scan, MRI scan and digital X-ray will be available.

The diagnostic centre will be built under the public-private partnership and will provide facilities at subsidised rates. The Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) has already sanctioned a sum of Rs 51.5 lakh for the construction of the building of the centre.

While the PHSC will provide the building, the private entrepreneur engaged will install the machinery. At present Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, associated with Government Medical College here, is the only institution in public sector providing such facility.

“We have to send our patients to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital for these tests. Not everybody can afford these at private diagnostic centres. A new centre at the Civil Hospital will ease things for patients as well as doctors,” said Senior Medical Officer at the Civil Hospital Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon.

He said though a final decision about the fees that would be charged from patients was yet to be taken by PHSC, but it would be around 50 per cent of what private diagnostic centres were charging. The private diagnostic centres were charging between Rs 1,500 to 4,000 for these tests.

Dr Dhillon said referring patients to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and then waiting for the test reports to arrive wasted a lot of time and energy of the patients.

“The Civil Hospital is very near to the bus stand, which means that rural population can also easily reach here and avail themselves of the facility,” said Dhillon, adding that the PHSC had already made a contract with a private firm that would provide the services.

Kultar Singh, a patient said, “People have to wait for long for their turn at the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. Apart from its own patients, people from Civil Hospitals in Tarn Taran and even beyond come here to avail themselves of the facility of undergoing costly tests at subsidised rates.” He said a new centre in the city would help in reducing the rush at GND Hospital.

Amritsar, April 11
With the arrest of three persons, the Khilchian police today claimed to have busted a gang of robbers who were involved in a number of snatching instances in the areas falling under the Amritsar (Rural) police district.

Those arrested have been identified as Harpreet Singh of Mianwind village, Laadi and Rana of Nagoke village.

The police registered a case on the complaint filed by Sukhwinder Singh of Khilchian, who had also fallen victim to the snatchers. He stated to the police that the trio, who were armed with sharp-edged weapons, robbed him of Rs 2,000 and a mobile phone on April 5.

Upkar Singh, SHO, Khilchian police station, said during preliminary investigations, the trio had confessed to a number of snatching incidents occurred in the rural areas in the past several months.

“They had been active for a long time and committed a number of robberies. They will be produced in the court and their police remand will be sought for further interrogation,” he said.

Amritsar, April 11
A minor dispute over the ownership of a cow took an ugly turn when two groups clashed and one of them even opened fire at the other at Kudia village here this evening. Two persons were injured in the clash.

Residents of the village claimed that had the police resolved the matter amicably yesterday the incident could have been avoided.

While detailing, Manpreet Kaur, a resident of Kudia village, said about two years ago a stray cow, which was ailing with some disease, entered their village. She adopted the cow and got her treated, following which the cow became healthy.

She said about few days back Nishan Singh, a resident of adjoining Fatahpur village, came to her residence and started claiming that it was his cow. The matter came to the panchayat, which sorted it out and asked her to give Rs 12,000 to Nishan Singh to which she agreed. She claimed that her family gave Rs 5,500 to Nishan as the first instalment and promised to give the remaining amount within few days.

However, she alleged that Nishan Singh started making rounds of the village and threatened to take away the cow. The matter reached the Fatahpur police chowki. Residents of the village alleged that the police officials did not resolve the matter amicably and tried to strike a compromise in favour of the opposite group.

She alleged that this evening Nishan Singh along with a dozen of his accomplices armed with weapons barged into their house and tried to take the cow away. When she and her family resisted their attempt they shot several times in the air. Listening the gun shots, villagers gathered near the spot and gheraoed Nishan Singh and his accomplices, who tried to escape from the spot while firing in the air. However, the residents chased them.

While escaping, Nishan himself suffered a gunshot injury, while their speeding car hit another resident of the village. The villagers caught hold of him and took the weapon in their possession, which they later handed over to the police.

Police teams, headed by ACP (Central) Harjit Singh and SHO, Gate Hakima police station, Sushil Kumar reached the spot. They took injured Nishan Singh to a hospital, besides pacifying the residents. They assured the villagers of registering a case in this regard.

Amritsar, April 11
Acting on a tip-off, the mobile wing of the Excise and Taxation Department today seized gold jewellery worth over Rs 27 lakh from a city resident who was travelling in the Amritsar-bound Pashchim Express train.

The accused Kapil Kumar is from famous gold ornament market Guru Bazaar in the old walled city here. He reportedly boarded the train from Sabzi Mandi in Delhi.

Reports said the gold weighing 1.245 kg was hidden in a sweets box. The trader had three boxes of sweets of which one was stuffed with gold jewellery. PS Randhawa, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (mobile wing), said Kapil was unable to produce any documents such as bill or mandatory electronic information collection (EIC) receipt.

“After evaluation, the department imposed Rs 13.90 lakh penalty (51.1 per cent of the total value of the seized jewellery),” said Randhawa.

During the last financial year, the department imposed Rs 1.56 crore financial penalty on such defaulters while it has already imposed Rs 19 lakh penalty to non-registered traders caught bringing gold and diamond jewellery without valid documents this month so far. As per the Excise and Taxation norms, the traders ferrying precious goods worth over Rs 2 lakh by road, rail or air are required to inform the department in advance through EIC. 

Amritsar April 11
It’s the season of entertainment, some cricket and loads of freebies! The biggest show in the history of Indian entertainment is on, Indian Premier League (IPL) is on and what a crowd puller it turns out to be!

HK Clark's Inn offers discounts on food and beverages during IPL in Amritsar. Tribune photographs

Some lucky ones enjoy it from the pavilion, others say cheers to the giant live screens. The point is everyone is busy cashing in on IPL and its grandiose. And going by the frenzy, that’s what’s turning the city restro bars and lounges into mini-stadiums, with fans enjoying the on-field antics of Gayle, Pollard, Taylor and ….over some drinks and delicacies.

As the IPL fever rises, the city bars and lounges are becoming home to fans, pulling crowds with as exciting offers as IPL itself. Flat discounts on beverages and food, perfect ambience and mood for unadulterated cricket entertainment and giant live screens are a proof of how high Amritsar is riding on the IPL frenzy. “IPL brings probably the best entertainment season to an already cricket crazy nation and so everybody wants to have some fun. Nobody is happy watching it alone at home, as the best of IPL is served better in a group,” says the spokesperson of Cafe Oz. They have turned their lounge into a live cricket stadium with huge screens, a constant dose of complementary beverages and special offers on non-veg and veg platters to make things better. “Well, seems like raining sixes and discounts.”

Best West Merrion, too, is celebrating IPL along with the guests. With a gaint live screen, live grills, their poolside is buzzing with all the cricket activity. “The evenings are packed with students, professionals and anybody who is a cricket fan. We have given a special touch to the entire ambience with all our serving staff sporting uniforms of different IPL teams. The response is great as the sales have boosted up tremendously during the season,” shares Atul Pandey, general manager, Best West Merrion.

And then there is a customised menu for IPL as well, offered by the hotel. Special vegetarian soups dedicated to Pune Warriors and the non-vegetarian ones to Kings XI Punjab, the salad menu celebrates Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals and snacks like Sachin’s Elegance, Raina Square Cut and Dhoni’s Helicopter Shot. Not enough? Here’s some more.

HK Clark’s Inn, too, has done its bit. The restaurant offers fine dining over special IPL menu along with some live cricket entertainment for the guest. And beverages are complementary, of course. “IPL is a good time for business and even the guests want something exciting. So we make sure that they don’t miss out on the action while adding to our sales,” explains Rahul Rohit, general manager, HK Clark’s Inn. But then, IPL is not just about celebrating cricket, but the biggest business entertainment as well.

Amritsar, April 11
Joining the growing chorus against the recent hike in power tariff, former Health Minister in SAD-BJP government Luxmi Kanta Chawla said there was no justification to effect such an increase when the department concerned failed to provide adequate supply to consumers.

Chawla said the hike in power tariff at this juncture was nothing but a “Baisakhi gift from the government”.

“It is a virtual blow to an average consumer, be it domestic or commercial. Now they will be compelled to shell out an average 9-10 per cent extra money. I fail to understand the government’s policy to withdraw various schemes which were primarily created with an eye on vote bank. First, it was withdrawing the girls’ free education programme till Class XII. Health services were made costly and then sugar rates escalated. All these decisions are anti-people and I demand immediate rollback of these,” she said.

Congress councillor from Ward No 24 Gurinder Rishi distributed candles to lodge protest against the power tariff hike.

“During the SAD-BJP tenure, there has been 79 per cent increase in power tariff while it was only 22 per cent increase during the Congress regime.

“We are planning to distribute more than 10,000 candles to people. If the government does not withdraw its decision in the next 15 days, we will lodge protest at the Jallianwala Bagh,” he said.

Others present on the occasion were Binni Bhopal Bunty, Paramjit Singh, Harbans Singh, Baljit Singh, Harjinder Singh and Kanwaljit Singh Billu.

Congress leader and north constituency in-charge Karamjit Singh Rintu today submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through Chief Engineer Amritsar.

“During the SAD-BJP tenure, the electricity tariff has been raised about two times. The government has put the entire burden on urban population. The policy of the SAD-BJP is unconstitutional,” he said.

“First, power rates were revised on April 30, 2010. Then there was a tariff hike on May, 10, 2011 followed by another revision on April 1, 2012 and now this. Industrial users will have to pay 12-13 per cent extra,” he said.

Others accompanying him were Ranjit Singh, Gurnam Singh Lehri, Amarbir Singh, Swarn Singh Lali, Ravinder Singh Batra, Sonu Jafar, Kapil Dev Sharma and Anek Singh.

Amritsar, April 11
The Chief Khalsa Diwan Charitable Society, Amritsar, president Charanjit Singh Chadha said it was a matter of shame for the country's top investigative agency CBI for its shoddy probe in while investigating the case against Congress leader Jagdish Tytler in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

A Delhi court yesterday had ordered the CBI to reopen the anti-Sikh riot case in which Tytler allegedly instigated the mob leading to the murder of three people.

Talking to media here, he said, "After over 29 years, no culprit has been punished for the tragedy. The CBI's casual attitude towards the matter creates the feeling of insecurity among the Sikh community."

The Sikh community played an integral role in the country's development and the government should do justice to the victims in the 1984 riots, he added.

He added a ray of hope had been revived due to the court decision to reopen the investigations.

He also appreciated the efforts of advocate HS Phoolka in the case. —TNS

Amritsar, April 11
After his wife announced that former cricketer and Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu may retire from politics, many city residents have reacted sharply to the news. While some of his local supporters were surprised after the news broke, others expressed mixed feelings on the issue.