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Declare Uttarakhand tragedy a national disaster, demands CPI
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Durgiana Committee, Chief Khalsa Diwan extend help for calamity victims
‘Regularisation of unauthorised colonies against city master
plan’
Shops near the Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
Supermoon leaves residents in awe
Woman doc, attendant robbed
Unemployed veterinary pharmacists meet PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa in Amritsar on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
39 centres set for UGC-NET in city
Bank told to pay Rs 10,000 compensation for loss of cheque
Job-seeking youths end protest
National SC Commission Vice-Chairman Raj Kumar Verka offers juice to a youth to end his fast in Amritsar on Sunday. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
Shawl industry gears up for Amritsar Foundation Day
A view of a shawl factory in Amritsar. A Tribune photograph
Medical session on bariatric surgery
Youth booked for molestation Last date for GNDU online admissions extended
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Declare Uttarakhand tragedy a national disaster, demands CPI
Amritsar, June 23 Former CPI national general secretary AB Bardhan and party’s National Executive Committee member Dr Joginder Dyal, were here to participate in the tribute ceremony for veteran communist leader late Satya Pal Dang, said people from across the country had gathered to pay obeisance at the Hindu religious places such as Kedarnath, Badrinath, Haridwar and Rishkesh. Many have lost their loved ones in the tragic flashfloods and thousands are still stranded in the higher reaches of the Himalayan state waiting to be rescued. The rescue operations are being carried out by the Army, Indian Air Force and others. Bardhan said the government should waste no time in declaring the tragedy as a national disaster and take appropriate steps to rescue people who are still stranded there. Both the leaders claimed that third front would play a vital role in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. Bardhan said the country was passing through a critical phase and it would be the third front that would bring the country back on the path of progress. About the Food Security Bill, he said the government should bring it in the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament to hold a detailed discussion on the issue. Pointing towards poor economic health of the state, Dyal said, “While on the one hand, the cash-strapped Punjab government is finding it difficult to release the salaries of government employees besides issuing money for various pension schemes, it is spending crores of rupees for purchasing a new aircraft for the Chief Minister and his osn Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on the other.” “The government spends Rs 15 crore annually for ferrying the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister. These needless expenses and anti-people policies of state government are pushing the state towards penury,” the CPI national executive member added. Speculating third front
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Durgiana Committee, Chief Khalsa Diwan extend help for calamity victims
Amritsar, June 23 The Durgiana Committee has formed a special “Uttarakhand Apda Rahat Kosh” and collected a sum of over Rs 11 lakh. The Chief Khalsa Diwan has announced to donate a day’s wages of all its employees across the board for the cause. This amount rolling into several lakhs may be forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. As the death toll in Uttarakhand continues to increase, the Chief Khalsa Diwan appealed the Central government to provide all cooperation and assistance to the state government in rescue and relief operations. Expressing concern for the victims, Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha emphasised that relief and rescue operations should be intensified. “I appeal to take interim measures so that all the stranded people in Joshi Math and at various places be provided immediate relief by the state and district authorities by giving them food, medicines and other essential things along with assurance of their safe return,” he said. “All employees of the Chief Khalsa Diwan, teaching and non-teaching staff and principals of all the institutions running under it are extending their support in the form of donating their one-day salary to help the victims,” he added. The Durgiana Committee announced to establish a dedicated donation counter at its complex, so that devotees could contribute cash, blankets or medicines for the thousands of victims who went for pilgrimage to Chaar Dham and Sri Hemkund Sahib in Uttarakhand. Harish Taneja, secretary and spokesperson of the Durgiana Committee, said the decision to help the victims was taken during the working committee’s meeting held recently. Several office-bearers of the the Durgiana Committee extended personal monetary help for the victims. The Durgiana Committee patron Surinder Mohan announced Rs 51,000 donation followed by Rs 21,000 by vice-president Ram Gopal Mehra. General secretary Ramesh Sharma donated Rs 11,000. Rs 5,100 each has been contributed by secretary Harish Taneja, president Satpal Mahajan, finance secretary Brij Mohan, vice-presidents Morari Lal Batra and Arun Khanna. The Durgiana Committee has called a working committee meeting tomorrow to decide the further course of action. “Tomorrow we will constitute a team which would report at a base camp in Uttarakhand with the relief material,” a committee member said. Meanwhile, members of Amritsar Club, Services Club and Lumsdun Club earlier donated cheques worth Rs 1 lakh each to help the victims.
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‘Regularisation of unauthorised colonies against city master
plan’
Amritsar, June 23 "By regularising unauthorised colonies, the state government seems to contradict the Amritsar Master Plan (AMP), which was implemented not so long ago," said real estate agent Harpinder Singh
Walia. The AMP promises congestion-free roads, separate residential and commercial areas. According to the plan the interior roads must be 25-feet wide and also mentions about setting up of parks and green belts in residential areas. But, the unapproved localities in the city have maximum 20-feet wide roads. Besides, there is no distinction between residential and commercial areas. The residents have opened up shops as per their need, which further resulted in congestion. Walia said parks and green belts did not exist at all and some of the colonies had come up on agricultural land. As per the data available with the Municipal Town Planning Department, there are about 253 illegal colonies within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation. Moreover, the local office of the Punjab Urban Development Authority
(PUDA) has filed over 400 police cases against unauthorised colonies. Once these colonies are
regularised, the residents living in these colonies would be entitled to the civic amenities like roads, street lights, and sewerage and proper water supply connections." It would be an uphill task to identify the private
colonisers, who disappeared from the scene after earning profit long ago," said a real estate consultant, HS
Dawar. He said the illegal colonies were a black spots on the topography of the holy city. A resident of New Green Field, Harjit Singh, said he had constructed a house in the locality over a decade ago as broker and an influential coloniser had assured him that the basic civic amenities like sewerage and potable water pipes would soon be provided in the area. "The unauthorised colonies lead to haphazard development and spoil the aesthetic look of the city. The state government never initiated any step to make people aware about the authorised colonies," he said. He said as per the new policy, which is applicable for a period of one year, starting from 1 April 2013, colonies or buildings constructed before April 1, 2013 would be regularised after paying the composition fee for compounding their offences and the fee would vary from area to area for the colonies. Fact file
As per the data available with the Municipal Town Planning Department, there are about 253 illegal colonies within the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation. Moreover, the local office of the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) has filed over 400 police cases against unauthorised colonies.
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Traders meet Local Bodies Minister to stall demolition drive
Amritsar, June 23 Tarun Aggarwal, a shopkeeper, said a delegation of the affected people met the Local Bodies Minister who assured them to look into their matter. The minister assured them that they would be rehabilitated before vacating their premises, he added. He said in case their rehabilitation was not ensured, they would hold hold protest in front of Jallianwala Bagh. Land Acquisition Collector (LAC) Pritam Singh served a 15-day notice to the occupants of about 140 shops and houses on a stretch from Ghee Mandi to Jallianwala Bagh to vacate their premises to demolish the structures to pave way for widening of the road. Pritam SIngh is Deputy Director Local Government (DDLG), Jalandhar, and is also holding additional charges of DDLG and LAC, Amritsar. As per the norms, compensation is given only to the owners of shops and houses. Since majority of occupants here are tenants, they were anticipating their livelihood will be lost. According to the government’s scheme, the 1.5-km stretch from historic Jallianwala Bagh to Ghee Mandi was supposed to be widened up to 40 feet by the Improvement Trust. This would ease congestion on the way to the Golden Temple. Pritam Singh said the demolition drive would start after a fortnight. He said the width of the existing road was not uniform and it varied from 19 feet to 22 feet. He said as per the original plan, the width of road was to be increased to 80 feet. The aggrieved shopkeepers had gone to the High Court and its width was curtailed to 60 feet and then they approached the Supreme Court after which the road width was again curtailed to 40 feet, he said. The compensation to about 50 per cent of the owners of the houses and shops had been awarded, he claimed. He said the remaining owners could file their claims with the office and compensation would be awarded at the earliest. He added that the purpose of the notice was to advise the residents as well as traders to safely transport their goods to safer places. Manmohan Kundra, a shopkeeper, said about 90 shops were operating in the area. He added that a majority of these shopkeepers had hired these places on rent for over five decades ago. He claimed that over 1,000 families would lose their livelihood once these shops and houses were demolished. In 2011, the local government had withdrawn orders of demolition of these shops and houses after the intervention of the then Cabinet Minister Manoranjan
Kalia.
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Supermoon leaves residents in awe
Amritsar, June 23 "This is a very important celestial phenomenon. Since the city doesn't have any planetarium or astronomical place where hi-technology telescopes could be provided to view this happening, we had asked the students to watch it with naked eyes. The planetarium in Ludhiana had organised a viewing of the supermoon for public," said Dharmendra Ratual, deputy media manager, Khalsa College Governing Council. Since the event created much interest among the citizens, many enjoyed the moon from their roof tops, open parks and fields, while some astronomy-lovers drove down to Ludhiana planetarium to catch the glimpse of the supermoon. "Most celestial events are not visible with naked eyes, one only gets to read about them through newspapers and on television. But supermoon, was very much visible. It was a great feeling to watch such a beautiful happening," shared Rashi Aggarwal, a beauty professional from the city. He saw the moon along with her family. "Though supermoon is an annaul occurrence, this year its special as the moon will appear 14 per cent bigger and closer than usual. The star gazers and scientists world over have kept a special eye for it and the next time it would probably appear in August next year,' shared Inderpal Singh, an astronomy student at GNDU.
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Woman doc, attendant robbed
Amritsar, June 23 Dr Kirandeep Kaur
Chhabra, a resident of Thakur Ji Estate in Fatehgah Chuiran bypass, told the police that as soon as she reached her clinic, the two accused entered the premises and pointed a gun at them and asked to part with their valuables. She said the police that the accused took away three gold bangles, two earrings besides mobiles phones of her and her attendant. The police said efforts were on to nab the accused. Youth dies in
mishap
Hardeep Singh of Budha Theh village died in a road mishap when his motorcycle collided with a stationary truck near Madh village.
Tarsem Singh, a relative of the deceased, said they were going to Beas from Amritsar on separate vehicles. He said when they reached near Madh village, the victim's motorcycle collided with the truck being driven by Sonu of Chaugwan village.
Hardeep sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital where he died. No arrest has been made so far, the police said.
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Compensate veterinary pharmacist who committed suicide: Bajwa
Amritsar, June 23 Bajwa, who was in the city to participate in the condolence meeting of CPI stalwart late Satya Pal Dang, extended full support to the cause of the unemployed veterinary pharmacists. He said the "sacrifice" made by the deceased pharmacist, Jaswinder Singh, would not go waste. "I am shocked to know about the plight of the unemployed pharmacists. There are many other qualified professionals in Punjab who are facing unemployment. The SAD-BJP government has ruined the life of the educated youth," he said. "It is ironical that neither Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal nor Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal took notice of the suicide by the unemployed youth and none of them visited the bereaved family,' he added. Jaswinder Singh was married and had a daughter. Unemployed veterinary pharmacists have been agitating for in support of their demands a long time. The PPCC president asked the state government to compensate Jaswinder's family on the pattern of state help extended to the kin of Sarabjit Singh, the Indian prisoner killed in Pakistan and Punjab Police ASI killed by miscreants. He demanded a compensation of at least Rs 25 lakh and job for the wife of the deceased pharmacist.
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39 centres set for UGC-NET in city
Amritsar, June 23 A total of 39 centres have been established in
colleges and schools across Amritsar city, including 12 on the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) campus. TS Banipal, UGC-NET coordinator, said roll numbers and subject-wise centre statement and the list of discrepancies of the candidates appearing in this test had been uploaded on university website www.gndu.ac.in. He said the candidates must note down their centres of examination and write them down on their admission card. No admission card or roll number would be sent separately, he said. He also advised the candidates to check the discrepancies carefully, adding they are required to fulfill the necessary requirement up to June 26 to avoid any hassle at the time of test. The candidates who have not sent the hard copy of their application forms should submit the same by hand at the office of UGC NET Coordinator (Director of Research), Physics Block, GNDU, Amritsar up to June 26. For further information the candidates can contact on the helpline number 0183-2258844.
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Bank told to pay Rs 10,000 compensation for loss of cheque
Amritsar, June 23 He alleged that the cheque was never credited to his account. He complained that he had had to make several requests to the bank through e-mails and personally for crediting the amount. Later, through an e-mail on July 10, 2010 he was informed that the bank had lost the
cheque. However, the bank in its reply stated that the cheque in question was rejected in view of the non-availability of the authenticity of the
cheque. The bank stated that the cheque was dispatched to the complainant through DTDC courier service. The bank stated that the responsibility for the loss of check was of the courier company and the bank had nothing to do with it. However, considering that the bank had not returned the cheque to the customer, the forum found the bank guilty of deficiency in services and negligence. The legal counsel for the complainant, Naveen
Puri, said the forum had held that the complainant was entitled to get compensation from the bank.
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Job-seeking youths end protest
Amritsar, June 23 Raj Kumar Verka visited the hospital today and persuaded him to end the fast. He also assured the youngsters to arrange a meeting with the Chief Minister after the code of conduct for the panchayat election ended.The development is a significant one as these youngsters were protesting for the past 83 days and the government remained indifferent to their demand. One of the protesting youths, Ranjit Singh, said, ‘We are ending this strike as the National SC Commission Vice Chairman has assured us of helping in the matter. He has assured that he would plead our case before the CM.” The youngsters said around 340 families were seeking jobs on compassionate grounds. Another protesting youth, Raj Kumar, said they hoped that the government would listen to their demands.
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Shawl industry gears up for Amritsar Foundation Day
Amritsar, June 23 Club's general secretary Piara Lal Seth said it was really delightful to learn that the holy city would celebrate its annual foundation day on such a large scale. He added that the city was also known as the city of shawls. Seth said they would ensure full cooperation of the of the industry for the cause. He said it was a matter of pride that the event would focus on environmental concerns in the city. "The environmental concerns relating to the city must be in focus and we want that the rich cultural heritage and historical sites in the city are preserved," Seth said. He said it was the wisdom of the Gurus that the city was founded as a great centre of faith and religion. "All sections of society must ensure preservation of its architectural heritage, flora and fauna as these are in danger due to unplanned
urbanisation," he added. He said the motto of the city, "Amritsar-My City, My Pride, My Responsibility!," aimed at improving it.
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Medical session on bariatric surgery
Amritsar, June 23 Dr Bhanot said bariatric surgery, which was earlier used for weight-loss was now being used for management of type II diabetes by doctors across the globe. In a presentation on obesity and management of diabetes, Dr Bhanot said not many were aware of the fact that type II diabetes could be managed through bariatric surgery. He said after undergoing bariatric surgery, there was change in intestinal harmones along with weight loss, which led to correction of diabetes.
— TNS
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Amritsar, June 23
Amritsar, June 23
