|
Wall disappearing from ‘walled city’
City to get upgraded road infrastructure by June
|
|
|
Special women police squad to check eve-teasing
Awareness campaign on voting rights
Order on DJs to marriage palace owners
Australian company organises “Woolmark Rendezvous”
AICTE nod for polytechnic college in Amritsar
Students shine in varsity results
400 examined at free eye camp
Cycle of seasons on display at exhibition
Visitors throng the craft exhibition at Spring Blossoms School in Amritsar on Saturday. A Tribune photograph
Play presents a satire on evil of female foeticide
Artistes enact a scene from the play ‘Daughter of the Bin’ at Punjab Natshala in Amritsar on Saturday.
Two killed in accidents
|
Wall disappearing from ‘walled city’
Amritsar, April 27 The place with old architectural styled buildings and narrow streets what people call by the name of the "walled city" has its wall fast crumbling as the archaeological preservers and administration look another way. The wall has collapsed at many a places and at others people have erected illegal shops alongside it so that it is hardly visible to an outsider. The great wall with 12 gates was built during the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Even as there had been efforts to preserve historical places as Gobindgarh Fort and Ram Bagh, heritage lovers rue that the wall has been ignored. The residents and even outsiders still continue to call the place the "walled city", even as the wall is no longer recognisable. “The wall has disappeared at many places. May be soon we would find it no where but in history books,” said a disgruntled senior citizen, Kirpal Singh. Not only the wall, but also many of the 12 gates in it have vanished over the years. Residents of houses along the wall have used it as a foundation to construct their residences. A few have even dismantled the wall and constructed it anew. Surely the area has lost its character, after which Amritsar was called the "walled city". New buildings erected along the wall have come up by dismantling the old wall. Sikander Singh, another resident, said, “The walled city is without any wall. There is a need to preserve whatever little of this has left.” He said even the gates needed to be declared monuments of historical importance. “People are running shops from rooms in the large pillars of the gates as Hall Gate. I think these should be converted into information centres for the tourists,” said Balkiran, a student. Head of the Guru Ram Das Institute of Planning at Guru Nanak Dev University Dr Balwinder Singh said, “The built heritage in the city needs to be preserved with a missionary zeal. The wall is of so much importance, archeologically and historically, that it needs to be preserved.” |
City to get upgraded road infrastructure by June
Amritsar, April 27 Disclosing this, Information and Public Relation Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said development work on the 10 major road projects, at an estimated cost of Rs 15.32 crore, was in the final stage of completion and will be ready by June. These projects include the 23-km-long Amritsar-Ajnala-Ramdass-Dera Baba Nanak stretch coming up at a cost of Rs 500.07 lakh, 11-km-long GT Road-Bypass to Jagdev Kalan-Loharka costing Rs 180.58 lakh, 9-km-long Ramdass to Fatehgarh Churian stretch at the cost of Rs 210.00 lakh, the 1.25 km Ajnala-Fatehgarh Churian road for Rs 80 lakh, 5.5-km-long Amritsar-Ajnala road at the cost of Rs 165 lakh, the 3-km-long Ajnala-Chogawan Road costing Rs 130 lakh, the 7-km-long Narli-China Bidhi Chand road for Rs 106.24 lakh, the 4.3-km-long Gandiwind to Cheema Road at a cost of Rs 43.75 lakh, the 5-km-long Sirhali-Chohla Sahib Road at a cost of Rs 76.80 lakh and the 3-km-long Attsh to Verpal Road, costing Rs 40 lakh. "Around Rs 4,200 crore would be spent on the road infrastructure during 2013-14. This would include Rs 1,700 crore for repair of 11,500 km of link roads, Rs 600 crore for upgrading 1,092 km of rural roads, Rs 200 crore for upgrade of 350 km roads and 5 bridges in the state sector, Rs 8,705 crore for Metro Rail Project, Ludhiana, Rs 2,500 crore for Water Front City in Ludhiana, Rs 900 crore on the Ropar-Phagwara Expressway, Rs 655 crore for Sidhwan canal bypass in Ludhiana and Ropar bye-pass, Rs 78 crore for 9 high-level bridges, Rs 59 crore for 18 ROBs and underpasses and Rs 72 crore for other infrastructure related works in rural/urban areas," he said. 10 road Projects on cards
23-km-long Amritsar-Ajnala-Ramdass-Dera Baba Nanak 11-km-long GT Road-bypass to Jagdev
Kalan-Loharka 9-km-long Ramdass to Fatehgarh Churian stretch 1.25 km Ajnala-Fatehgarh Churian stretch 5.5-km-long Amritsar-Ajnala road 3-km-long Ajnala-Chogawan Road 7-km-long
Narli-China Bidhi Chand road 4.3-km-long Gandiwind to Cheema Road 5-km-long Sirhali-Chohla Sahib Road 3-km-long Attsh to Verpal Road |
|
Special women police squad to check eve-teasing
Amritsar, April 27 About 30 newly recruited policewomen have been put on job in the special squad, integrated with the PCRs. They will be deputed at various key locations, especially outside women educational institutes to check eve-teasing and other crimes against women. Women in the city have been at the receiving end since instances like snatching and robbery have continued unabatedly even after the police has initiated a number of steps to curb the same. But this new development will be at least able to give out a positive signal. "On the initiative of the state government's the Women Armed Special Protection Squad is being introduced in various cities across Punjab. This has been done to cover any loopholes in curbing crimes against women. It will prove to be effective since in many cases the victims are not able to share information with male police personnel. With the women squad, the action would be immediate and also victims would not feel uncomfortable," says Inspector Kanwaljeet Kaur from the Women Cell. The squad will be patrolling from morning to evening at all prominent schools, colleges and women working places. There will also be a toll-free helpline for receiving distress calls. The announcement has motivated the women police as well as the city women folk, who have welcomed the news. "It's a good thing that women will be provided special protection. Girls have been living with a feeling of being unsafe all the time with growing incidents of eve-teasing. One cannot even go to the market without being harassed or groped. At least the women squad will provide immediate action on the spot," Rupali Khurana, a psychology student from Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), who lives in a paying guest (PG) accommodation in the city, said. Several working women, too, think it's a positive step. "The administration has repeatedly failed to curb crimes against women. Recent examples of its failure are the gang-rape cases in moving vehicles. The idea of having a special women squad sounds brilliant, but so should be the effort from the police personnel to implement it to its maximum benefit," shares Neelam Sood, a banking professional from the city. And that is what the squad intends to do. "We have earmarked specific areas which need special attention. The patrolling will be doubled in those areas, and more personnel recruited. We will cover all the chinks in the security of women in the city with the special squad. The idea behind this exercise was to inculcate a sense of security among women," said Police Commissioner Ram Singh. In case of emergency, these personnel could also call police teams to help them. The policewomen would be accompanied by senior women police officials during patrolling. |
Awareness campaign on voting rights
Amritsar, April 27 The purpose of the event was to educate the young students about the value of votes in a democracy. College principal Dr SK Jand said casting the vote was a basic and sacred duty of every citizen which should be ethically used to elect representatives, who must work for the betterment of society and nation-building. Students also organised a campus rally and carried placards and banners on electing the right candidates. They said the strength of any democracy could be gauged by creating awareness among the people to participate in the election process. Dr SS Sidhu, NSS Coordinator, Dr SPS Bali, Dr Gurjot Mavi, faculty members were also present. — TNS |
Order on DJs to marriage palace owners
Amritsar, April 27 Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal and Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Kaustubh Sharma directed the marriage palace owners to play the DJ music within the stipulated limits or else action would be initiated against them. He advised them to pass a resolution and display the requisite instructions at their marriage palaces. He said as per the Punjab and Haryana High Court, there was a complete ban on playing DJ music after 10 pm. He said the person concerned had to take prior permission from the SDM or police authorities concerned for playing DJ music during their programmes. — TNS |
Australian company organises “Woolmark Rendezvous”
Amritsar, April 27 The seminar is about new initiatives taken by the Woolmark Company to help the industry adopt new technologies and introduce new product platforms which can be offered to the emerging Indian consumers. Amir Sheikh, TWC, country manager, India, said the Wool Lab SS 14 was an inspirational seasonal guide to the world's most innovative, fashionable and high quality wool fabrics and yarn. The collection presents a seasonal guide to the most interesting trends and proposes seven inspiring trends for spring and summer 2014. |
|
AICTE nod for polytechnic college in Amritsar Amritsar, April 27 The polytechnic college would raise technical skills of the youth, said Dr BS Chandi, chairman, Global Institutes. He said a formal letter had been received from the AICTE, New Delhi, for starting the diploma courses in computer science and engineering, electronics and communication engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering. He said the polytechnic would lay greater emphasis on learning. —TNS |
|
Students shine in varsity results
Amritsar, April 27 Anubha secured 440 marks out of a total of 600 while Amrit got 436. Hiten Mehta and Lovejeet Singh of Bachelor of Multimedia first semester examinations bagged the first and eighth positions in the university by securing 820 out of a total of 950 and 783 marks, respectively. College principal Dr KN Kaul honoured the students and asked them to keep up the efforts. |
|
400 examined at free eye camp
Amritsar, April 27 The camp was inaugurated by Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra. Ophthalmic officer at the hospital Sanjeev Anand said as many as 55 patients were identified with immature cataract during the camp. He said all the patients were given free medicines. Eye specialist Dr Chander Mohan, who examined the patients, said 15 patients had been referred to the Civil Hospital where relevant surgeries would be conducted on them. He said apart from cataract, patients were diagnosed with squint, allergy, trachoma and glaucoma. Hospital in-charge Dr Hardeep Kaur said the patients had been advised to get their eyes checked after every six months to avoid complexities. A function to observe ‘Beti Bachao Diwas’ was also organised during the camp where people were educated about the dwindling sex ratio in the state. Apart from the general public, the camp was attended by councillor Kulwant Kaur, BJP leader Kashmir Singh, Pritpal Singh and assistant Civil Surgeon Dr Balwinder Kakkar. Chairman of Mulajam Welfare Society, Rakesh Kumar, who had organised the camp, said, “The society is an association of the ealth Department employees. Our endeavour is to provide medical facilities to the unprivileged sections of society.” He said more such camps would be organised in the future. |
Cycle of seasons on display at exhibition
Amritsar, April 27 This was the opening message at the Ritu Chakra, a craft exhibition at Spring Blossoms School today. Displaying cycles of seasons, the exhibition was opened by Gitanjali Rohit Om Parkash, a renowned social activist. Using different techniques of art like papier mache, vegetable printing, cotton blobbing, hand printing, spray painting etc, various artifacts created by the tiny tots in the age-group of 2-6 years were exhibited in a grand array. The theme-based display of the spectacular world of seasons was a feast for the eyes and also provided a perfect backdrop for the crafts. Chief guest Gitanjali Rohit Om Parkash was highly impressed to see how the children had learnt about different techniques of art at such a young age. Principal Anupama Mehra said learning in Spring Blossoms transcends from the walls of classroom to direct natural environment. “Our endeavour has always been to make learning experiential and fun-filled,” the principal said. Director Dr Kirat Sandhu Cheema applauded the hard work of the teachers and the children and said the school would continue to give exposure to children to such activities which would enhance their creativity and also polish their inherent artistic skills. |
Play presents a satire on evil of female foeticide
Amritsar, April 27 “Daughter of the Bin” attempted to show a mirror to society on the very first day of its presentation. The play was written by Shiromani Natakkar Jatinder Brar. The play was originally a silent presentation, but its improvised version turned this non-verbal play into verbal and digital delight. The Punjabi play has been directed by Rajinder Singh and presents a satire on the evils of society in the context of female foeticide. Staged every evening on Saturday and Sunday at Punjab Natshala, the play has been generating good response from the audiences. Woven around the malpractice of female foeticide, at the same time touching other evils prevailing in society, which affect all sections, it has made people sit back and reflect. Bureaucracy, politics, wrong policies, poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and casteism and many other issues have been represented in a satirical yet comical way. “The point was to make the audience feel like they are a part of the play and experience incidents that they have felt at any given point in their lives,” said Brar, playwright of “Daughter of the Bin”. 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. In the end, the play insists that no issues can be resolved alone. An effort by the whole of the community is required to conquer such social evils and religion could play a buffer. Though the play focuses on burning issues, it managed to have its moments of laughter as well. The play managed to make the audience put on their thinking cap. |
Two killed in accidents
Amritsar, April 27 Prem Lata, a resident of New Tehsilpura, died when an unknown vehicle hit her near Senior Government College. Cases under Sections 304-A and 279 of the IPC have been registered. |
|
HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |