Two held for bike theft
align="left">Amritsar, May 24
The police has arrested two persons for stealing motorcycles. Three motorcycles have been recovered from their possession.

Three arrested for pilfering kerosene
Amritsar, May 24
Three persons have been arrested by the city police for pilfering kerosene meant for ration depots. While one of their accomplices managed to escape, the police has booked five persons in this connection.

TV show star cast in city
Amritsar, May 24
The star cast of a TV show, 'Baalveer', running on the SAB TV was today in the holy city on a promotional tour where they interacted with the public. A magical comedy, ‘Baalveer’ has been garnering tremendous viewer ship from the public, especially from children. They also paid obeisance at the Golden Temple.

Man booked for fraud 
Amritsar, May 24
The Amritsar rural police has booked Amandeep Singh of Usma village on charges of fraud and bigamy. Rajwinder Kaur, the complainant, stated that she used to live with her aunt. She had developed an affair with Amandeep whom she got married.

Amritsar, May 24
If you happen to visit the girls' hostels at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), chances are that you might stumble upon fungus-infested pulses, stinking mold-ridden cucumbers, stale vegetables stuffed in unclean refrigerators and unsafe drinking water.

This came to the fore during an inspection conducted by the officials of the district administration team today which collected the food samples for laboratory testing.

Food is prepared for around 450 girls of Hostel No 1 and 650 girls of Hostel no 2 at the GNDU hostel kitchen were being prepared.

The extent of unhygienic food items being prepared by the kitchen staff could well be gauged from the fact that the cooks never bother to wear gloves or cover their heads while preparing food for the students, especially when the prevailing temperature outside is at a scorching 47 degree Celsius.

Reports said some boarders had intimated Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal through an e-mail about the unhygienic conditions under which food was being prepared by the hostel mess to which the GNDU authorities had turned a blind eye.

Acting swiftly, Aggarwal constituted a team led by Assistant Commissioner Lovejit Kaur Kalsi.

The team raided Mata Nanki Girls' Hostel No-1 and found that the cooks were not wearing proper uniform, the pulses were not cleaned up and the drinking water was being supplied without RO (reverse osmosis) system.

Lovejit Kaur said stale and stinky vegetables were found lying in refrigerators. "There was not even safe drinking water for the students. Heaps of refuse were piled up in the kitchen itself," she said.

In the report it was mentioned that the conditions were "far from being hygienic" and food is not fit for human consumption.

The situation was no different in Hostel No 2.

"The cucumber meant to be used as salad was infested with fungus. We got all decayed and stale vegetables destroyed on the spot and took food samples. These samples will be sent for laboratory test," she said.

Lovejit Kaur Kalsi also discussed the matter with Dean Students Welfare (DSW) Prof PK Sahejpal and wardens of Hostel No 1 Dr BK Bhalla and Hostel No 2 Prof Vasudha. Only one water cooler installed in the four-storey building was found to be catering to the needs of as many as 96 girls in one of the hostel blocks.

Dr Bhalla, however, said a proposal was in the pipeline for installing water coolers in the hostels. 

Amritsar, May 24
With the temperature soaring high in the region and people preferring to remain indoors, city residents raising demands for declaring the school summer vacations in advance this time.

Various educational institutes have declared the summer vacations from June 1.

The parents of schoolchildren have urged the district administration to pass the instructions to the school authorities to announce holidays early as it has become really difficult for the children to go to schools and return in during afternoon hours when the temperature is extremely high.

The city witnessed the hottest day yesterday which broke record of the past 35 years. The temperature is hovering above 46 degree Celsius while yesterday remained the hottest with 48 degree.

Rajinder Kumar, a resident of Guru Nanak Wara near Putlighar, said when people were staying indoors amid a scorching heat, the children had to go to their schools.

“In the month of May, the temperature has already reached 48 degree Celsius and you can very well imagine the plight of the children, especially those who study in private schools,” Harvinder Singh of Majitha road said.

Rasal Singh Malli, District Education Officer (DEO-Secondary) said the school timings had already changed (from 8 am to 12 in the noon) in view of the heat wave.

As the summer vacations are concerned, the government had earlier decided to start the vacations from June 10. But in the previous meeting, it decided to start the vacations from June 1 as per the normal practice. The DEO said the department had not received any formal request in this connection. Only a few days have left for the vacations, he added. 

Amritsar, May 24
The row between the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) authorities and the teachers over releasing benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission intensified today even as Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar’s clarification he issued yesterday failed to bring an end to the impasse.

Terming the VC’s statement as “misleading and frivolous”, the teachers continued their agitation and observed a relay hunger strike for the second day today.

The Guru Nanak Dev University Teachers Association (GNDUTA) vice-president Dr Amarjit Singh Soodan and Joint Secretary Dr Naresh Pal Singh Saini sat on hunger strike. A large number of visitors and sympathisers included teachers from the campus, regional centres and constituent colleges.

Groups of teachers from Khalsa College and other affiliated colleges also visited the faculty observing strike and expressed their solidarity with GNDUTA. Teachers' associations from Polytechnic College also came over to meet them.

Apart from local colleges, the Democratic Teachers Front of Punjabi University, Patiala, also extended its whole-hearted support to the GNDU teachers’ demand for arrears. In a press release, the Front condemned the anti-teacher and autocratic style of working of GNDU Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar.

The Executive Committee of GNDUTA said there was little truth in the VC’s statement wherein he had said that the university was earnestly initiating to get the Sixth Pay Commission benefits released but it lingered on due to official rigmarole.

“It is pitiable that while on the one hand the government is talking of raising the standard of education in the state, it has allowed on the other the deterioration of the university at the hands of a Vice-Chancellor who has no respect either for the rule of law or the welfare of its employees,” said Dr Davinder Singh, GNDUTA president.

“The GNDUTA met him (VC) on May 16 to know the status of our arrears but he could not give any concrete answer. We told him that we will be compelled to launch an agitation. Thereafter, it was only on May 17 that he wrote a letter to the Finance Secretary,” he said.

GNDUTA general secretary Dr Lakhwinder Singh said the VC had never been serious about the demands and concerns of the teachers.

“If the VC was so sure of the release of arrears, why cannot the university pay the arrears from its own funds and get them reimbursed by the government. Even if one were to believe his statements, the big question is why this flutter of activity when the teachers have already thrown the gauntlet and started hunger strike. Was the Vice-Chancellor waiting for us to go on hunger strike before he could raise these issues?” Lakhwinder Singh said. 

Amritsar, May 24
Over the ongoing tussle between the teachers and the university authorities over non-payment of arrears of Sixth Pay Commission, Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar said a handful of members of the Guru Nanak Dev University Teachers Association (GNDUTA) have been disturbing the peaceful atmosphere and maligning the varsity’s image.

“The GNDUTA had already been informed about the release of arrears. Eighty per cent of the arrears are to be paid by the Central government and 20 per cent by the Punjab Government. We are trying our best to get these arrears released from the Punjab government soon. Some disgruntled members of the association are misleading the teachers and took to agitation which is not in the interest of students,” Prof Brar said.

He said the GNDUTA’s sole aim had become to safeguard the interests of some teachers who defy the norms.

“GNDUTA wants that there should be no case against GS Bhalla and Balwinder Singh. They had objections on removal of Nakul Kundra, whose services were not regularised after adverse reports of the principal, ASSM College, Mukandpur. GNDUTA also wants that the warning letter issued to Manjit Singh, assistant professor at Mukandpur College, be immediately withdrawn and even the probation of assistant professors at Sathiala College should not be extended and they should be confirmed.

He said the GNDUTA even opposed the introduction of the Choice-based Credit System which is intended to makes the teachers more responsible as per the directions of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

“To maintain an academic atmosphere at the university, we were left with no choice but to approach the court which barred them from staging protest on the university campus,” the VC said. 

Amritsar, May 24
The Municipal Corporation has filed FIRs against some schools, a prominent cinema hall and a dhaba for defacing the public properties by erecting advertisement boards on government electricity poles.

The Cantonment police has booked proprietors of three educational institutions - Vidya Modern Classes located opposite to BBK DAV College, Ideal Model School, Putlighar, Anand Insitute of English, Science and Maths, Shastri Nagar under Section 3 of the Punjab Prevention of Defacement of Property Act 1997. Their publicity boards and posters were found to be pasted on the electricity poles illegally. A separate case against RSM Plastic Surgery and Cosmetic Laser Centre located near the Amandeep Hospital has been registered after their posters were spotted on public places in an illegal manner.

The Civil Lines police has registered separate cases against Anam Cinema, located on the Mall road and Calibre Computers at Green Avenue. The case against the cinema hall was for promoting a film using posters on government property illegally. The posters of Calibre Computers' too were found pasted on public places.

The MC had also initiated such steps earlier but in absence of any policy, no stern action was taken against the violators.

About individuals and firms were booked for pasting their advertisements on the pillars of elevated road bridge on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Road. But, no follow-up action was taken afterwards. .

MC Commissioner Bhupinder Singh said, "Whosoever is responsible for defacing the public property will be liable to face legal action. We are serious to intensify the drive and action will be taken against the offenders."

Amritsar, May 24
The police has arrested two persons for stealing motorcycles. Three motorcycles have been recovered from their possession.

The police said during a naka, they intercepted Jeevan Kumar who was riding a Pulsar bike which was without number. The accused failed to produce any documents of the vehicle. The police also recovered 110 intoxicant capsules from his possession. His information led the arrest of Jaswinder Kumar who was nabbed with another stolen bike. —TNS