Amritsar, April 28
The Amritsar Municipal Corporation is mulling over to widen the pre-Independence era Bhandari Bridge in collaboration with the Railways. Earlier, the Railways had rejected the widening proposal submitted by the Amritsar Improvement Trust in this regard.

Popularly known as Uchcha Pul, the bridge is the lifeline of Amritsar as it connects the Old Walled City with various locations in the Civil Lines area.

With the passage of time, the bridge has fallen short of space. The impact on the bridge has multiplied manifold after the Rs 244-crore flyover on the main Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road came into existence.

At present, the bridge is 21.7 metre wide and has three-meter pedestrian path on its both sides.

Sources said the Municipal Corporation had mooted the proposal to immediately widen the bridge by at least 5-6 metres from both the sides as the extension of the elevated road across the railway crossing was a time-consuming exercise, besides being a costly affair.

RITES, the firm entrusted with the task to assess the impact being borne by the bridge, has drafted a proposal worth Rs 3 crore to upgrade it. Pollution level at this point has also increased because of vehicles stuck in frequent traffic jams across the bridge.

According to RITES, 1.64 lakh vehicles pass through this bridge in 24 hours.

Another reason which attracted the attention of the authorities was a recent Punjab Pollution Control Board report on vehicular pollution at key areas like Chattiwind Chowk, Sant Singh Sukha Singh Chowk, Kitchlew Chowk and Bhandari Bridge.

The report termed the area around Bhandari Bridge as most polluted due to vehicular pollution between 9 am and 8 pm.

The particulate matter at Bhandari Bridge was as high as 599 per cubic metre (µgm/m3) during peak hours while it was 232 per cubic metre (µgm/m3) during lean traffic hours. If everything goes according to the plan, the task to upgrade the historical bridge will be looked after by the Amritsar Improvement Trust.

City Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said, “Before preparing this proposal, it was mandatory to seek permission from the Railway authorities. I have directed the Executive Engineer (civil wing) HS Khosa to prepare a DPR for widening the Bridge. The proposal of RITES could be taken as a reference because it was the most practical, viable and cost-effective plan for widening its edges by some metres."

Amritsar, April 28
Heaps of garbage in the middle of the upmarket Nehru Shopping Complex belie the tall claims of the state government for providing quality civic amenities to residents in the holy city.

Situated on the Lawrence road, the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) had raised the multi-storeyed shopping complex in the 1990s. Heaps of refuse, pools of dirty water and unwanted grass have sprung up at various spots.

Priyank Chopra, a shopkeeper, said the price of each shop had zoomed up remarkably since the complex became operational but there was no end to its civic trouble.

Chopra said the authorities’ promise to provide dustbins to collect the garbage was still a far cry as a result of which residents were left with no alternative but to throw the waste in the open. Refuse is seen strewn all around the complex.

Adding to the woes of most of the safai karamcharis, shopkeepers dump the refuse at the corners of the complex. Subsequently, the garbage takes the shape of mounds.

Located at prime location in the city, the complex houses as many as 376 shops.

Majority of the shops on the third and fourth floors are still vacant. It is probably due to the fact that stink around the place discourages the shoppers while visiting the place.

Most of the shopkeepers rue for having invested here and some have even closed their shops and shifted to other markets. Despite the complex being amply spacious, more and more investors now prefer to open shops in private plazas and shopping malls on the Lawrence Road and adjoining Mall Road.

A shopkeeper said he opened his shop in 2002 and since then never saw dustbins there, adding that the toilets situated at the corners of the complex stank and were out of use for long.

AIT chairman Sandeep Rishi acknowledged that the process of garbage disposal at the complex was tardy.

“We will soon hold a meeting with associations active in the shopping complex to maintain it. The toilets, green belt and cleaning will be managed jointly while dustbins will be installed at each floor to collect the garbage,” he said.

Amritsar, April 28
The police has arrested eight persons for possessing illicit liquor and narcotics in separate incidents.

In the first incident, the Chheharta police arrested Narinder Singh and Gurmeet Singh with illicit liquor and drugs. Investigating officer Resham Singh of Chheharta police station said 30 bottles of illicit liquor were recovered from Gurmeet while 200 capsules of Parvon Spas were found in the possession of Narinder. A case under Section 61/1/14 of the Excise Act has been registered against Gurmeet while Narinder has been booked under Section 22/61/85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The Sultanwind police nabbed Surjit Singh, a resident of Guru Arjan Dev Nagar, with 17,250 ml of illicit liquor.

A case under the Excise Act was registered against the accused.

The A Division police arrested Ashok Kumar, a resident of Baba Farid, for possessing 22,500 ml of English liquor Silver Peg and 4,500 ml of illicit liquor. The accused was later released on bail.

The Sadar police recovered 220 capsules of Parvon Spas from Deepak, a resident of Jagdambe Colony.

The accused was booked under the NDPS Act.

The Amritsar (rural) police also launched a campaign against drug paddlers. The Chattiwind police arrested Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Basarke Gila, with 12 gram of heroin. A case under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered against him.

The Mehta police arrested Kuldeep Singh and Naunihal Singh, both Mehta residents, and recovered 95 and 80 capsules, in that order, of Parvon Spa from them.

Amritsar, April 28
Staff members of hotels and restaurants in the city will wear black badges tomorrow to protest against the recent levying of service tax on air-conditioned restaurants by the Union government.

Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association president APS Chatha said hotel and restaurant owners were mulling over the idea to initiate a statewide agitation to express their resentment to the Central government.

The hospitality players operating air-conditioned restaurants in Punjab were victims of double taxation regime as they were already paying 14.30 VAT the state government for an AC restaurant, he said. Taken together, these taxes would mean a customer would have to shell out 26.80 per cent taxes over a meal.

“This (the tax) will affect the customers as they will have to shell out more if they eat in an AC restaurant. Air-conditioned spaces have become a necessity and should no longer be seen as a luxury,” he remarked.

He said the price of food items in an AC restaurant was roughly 20 per cent higher than an ordinary hotel. Air-conditioned hotels and restaurants are coming up at a fast pace keeping in mind customers’ preference for these. He said the proprietors of these eating outlets had to pass on the hike to customers which would affect the overall business. Chatha said stay at hotels in Punjab had become costly as the state government charged 8 per cent luxury tax over Rs 200 room, 7.42 per cent service tax making a total of 15.42 per cent tax.

The hotels pay annual taxes to Municipal Corporation Rs 75,000 as conservancy charge, commercial sewerage tax, commercial water tax, commercial power bill, trade tax and others.

These taxes, he said, would make the hospitality sector in Punjab as one of the highly taxed in the country, he claimed. Randeep Singh, a hotel owner, said statistics were encouraging but the government must help the hospitality sector grow which was in a nascent stage in the state, particularly in Amritsar.

He said a flourishing hotel industry provided employment to various sections of the society from rickshaw pullers, tax operators, tongawallahs and shopkeepers among others.

He said the successive governments hardly showed any commitment in unlocking tourist potential at sites such as Hari Ke Patan wetland, Pull Kanjari, Qila Gobingarh, Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s summer palace at Ram Bagh and heritage village at Guru Nanak Dev University.

Amritsar, April 28
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed an insurance company to compensate a city resident with Rs 30,000 along with 9 per cent interest for a stolen bike.

The forum has also directed the insurance company to pay Rs 2,000 as litigation expenses to the complainant.

Gaurav Sekhri of Lahori Gate had filed a complaint with the forum in September 2012 stating that his bike was stolen in February 2012 which he had got insured from United India Insurance Company. He said he had filed a police complaint and informed the insurance company about this.

He had submitted all the relevant documents and prayed for compensation which was not given to him. On notice, the company replied that the complainant had not furnished the copy of the "untraced report".

The forum, however, observed that the complainant was not bound to furnish the untraced report in the FIR when the certificate regarding the vehicle in question has already been issued by the police.

"It has been held by the Hon'ble National Commission in M/s. Delkon (India) Pvt Ltd Vs the Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. III (1993) CPJ 313 (NC) case that the complainant cannot be denied his claim on the ground that final police report was not forthcoming," the forum observed.

It was further held that when complainant had lodged an FIR immediately but has not received the final report from the police, there is no contractual obligation under the policy of insurance for the insured to produce final investigation report from the police. — TNS

Amritsar, April 28
Caring two hoots about the traffic rules, many commuters continue to use black films and pressure horns on their vehicles with impunity on the city roads. These people are violating the norms right under the nose of the traffic police and the transport authorities.

Rachna Mehra, a working woman, said the violation of traffic norms among the youngsters, who drive motor bikes, was the highest. These youngsters have installed pressure horns and press it as soon as they reach near a pedestrian or a slow-moving vehicle. She said the move was aimed at making people panic ahead of their vehicles.

Meanwhile, some of the vehicle owners have even installed horns akin to those in the VVIP vehicles. Residents are forced to give way to these vehicles, but once they pass by, they realise that these were ordinary vehicles.

In the narrow-winding lanes of the city, youngsters continue to honk the blaring pressure horns used in the VVIP vehicles, said Mahinder Singh Sarkaria, a retired Major. He said blaring horns of the vehicles was a constant source of nuisance for the residents. He stressed that the sound above the prescribed decibel limit trouble students and people of all the age groups. He felt that the government had promulgated various rules to rein in traffic rule offenders, but they were concentrating more on commercial roads, complexes and highways. “Over the passage of time, these violations have become common in the residential areas,” he said.

He appreciated the deployment of women and other policemen on two wheelers as they had gained wherewithal to penetrate into narrow lanes swiftly. He said this arms of policing was limited to educational institutes so far and the higher police authorities must utilise them to challan offenders in the narrow city lanes. Spotting of vehicles supporting black films beyond permissible limits on vehicles needed to be brought under control, said Praminder, a resident of Jaspal Nagar.

"With the increase in the petty crimes, residents were inclined to doubt over parking of a black-tinted vehicle in the localities," he observed. He said the police must keep a check on the violations.

Earlier, the traffic police officials said the fines were so less that the youngsters from well-off families indulged in arguments. They were least bothered about the ‘meagre’ fine, but now the situation was improving for good. Provisions to cancel licences after a few challans would help tame such violators, he said.

Amritsar, April 28
To safeguard the interests of peasantry, the state government has opposed the proposed wealth tax on farmers whose land falls within 8 km of the Municipal Committee limits.

"Farmers in Punjab are already reeling under a debt of Rs 33,000 crore and the imposition of wealth tax over and above sounds a death knell for them," said Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia.

Announcing the protest strategy of the SAD-BJP, Majithia said statewide dharnas would be held on May 2 wherein thousands of party workers, farmers and public would sit on dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office in each district.

After sensitising and mobilising the public on the issue, the government would call an emergency session of Vidhan Sabha on May 3, he added.

Earlier, Majithia inaugurated Rs 10 crore sewerage system project for Ajnala and the adjoining areas.

Under this project, the main sewage line has to be laid on the Ajnala road and lateral sewers in abadis like Guru Amardas Avenue, Shaibzada Jujhar Singh Avenue and the adjoining areas.

This project is the part of the Rs 600 crore project under which sewage lines for the north and south zone encompassing 461 km and setting up of two sewage treatment plants (STP) in north and south zone, respectively.

Out of Rs 600 crore, the JICA will provide a loan of Rs 430 crore and the remaining Rs 170 crore will be provided by the Punjab Government or the AmritsarMunicipal Corporation (AMC).

The work of the south and north zone sewage system is in progress.

In the south zone, 60 km sewage line and in the north zone, 24 km sewage line has been laid and work is in full swing. So far, an expenditure of Rs 110 core has been done and tender for both the STPs are due.

The project is slated to be accomplished by July 2015. Besides, rehabilitation of existing sewage system of the walled city area of Amritsar under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) at a cost of Rs 40.79 crore, and rehabilitation of water supply scheme in the same area at a cost of Rs 52.97 crore, is under progress and the old and outlived sewage and water supply pipes are being replaced.

Briefing about the other projects of the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar, which are in the pipeline, Majithia informed that under the Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, sewage scheme in the south-east zone, areas like Duburji, Sultanwind, Kot Mit Singh etc. would be set up at an approximate cost of Rs 112 crore and water supply scheme in the newly developed abadis outside the walled city be accomplished in the second phase of the JNNURM at a cost of Rs 83 crore.

in sync: Students perform during the annual show ‘Agni’ at Springdales School in Amritsar on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Amritsar, April 28
Youth has the power to change the course of time and the fact was highlighted once again by students of Spring Dales School. With their annual show dedicated to women empowerment and rights, their presentation of a play based on crimes against women and their right to stay safe, students took turns in suggesting possible solutions to a problem that is born out of social and legal dysfunction.

The Delhi gang rape and plight of women in ancient and modern times found a voice in the play titled 'Agni-the fire'. Staged at Spring Dale Senior School on Sunday as a part of the school's annual theatre festival, the play, which saw the participation of 700 girls and boys from classes IX to XII, ended with the reflection that there was a dire need to improve the lot of women, who play various important roles in the society.

Beginning the play with the Delhi gang-rape incident and gradually lampooning the high society women, who participate in condemning such crimes with the sole aim of being noticed by the media, the rampant discrimination against girls in the society, and stereotypes in the society for victims, the play depicted various phases leading up to the constricted status of women in the society.

Rajiv Kumar Sharma, principal, Spring Dale Senior School, shared, "There are various reasons that adds to the increasing number of crimes h against women. Their vulnerability to such crimes is the result of years of societal repression and neglect. Through the play, we tried to change the mindsets in order to change the status of women in society."

SS Sandhu, chairman, Spring Dales Educational Society, who presided over the event, said the school was doing its best to make the masses aware that girls were as able as boys and an important part of the society. "Girls and boys get equal regard in our school as far as admissions, student exchange programmes, participation in various events is concerned," he said.

Stating that the school has always been committed to the cause of the girl child and shall continue to do so even in the future, Sandhu said a special award had been instituted in the memory of late Manveen Sandhu to honour girls, who tread an uncharted path in the field of education.

The play was directed by Amit Bambari, a faculty member and right from the set design and role plays, students were kept involved in every aspect of the production. "The idea was to educate kids through active participation. Through the role plays in production and presentation of the play, the students learnt how relative factors work in a situation. The play had detailed depiction of every societal section, the police, parents, youth, law and negative attitude being build by indulgent parenting," he said. The entire event was supervised by Shivani Bhandari, head of department, performing arts.