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MC releases preliminary funds for development
Snake captured from record room in Deputy Commissioner’s office
Woman dies in roof collapse
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2 medical college students suspended
Khanna Paper Mills gets state-of-the-art fire-fighting system
Two teenagers go missing from city, police clueless
Chemist shop raided, medicines seized
Documentary on life of Bhagat Puran Singh soon
Police personnel shifted
DAV Public School wins debate on juvenile law
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MC releases preliminary funds for development
Amritsar, August 24 The MC had promised Rs 11 lakh to each of the 65 wards at the last house meeting held in May after scrapping the earlier pattern of releasing the development grants which were limited to just Rs 50,000 per ward. The MC authorities had given their nod to 87 proposals of development works lying pending, which included the repair of roads, CC flooring, tubewell and sewer repair etc during the finance and control committee (F&CC) meeting held recently. This implied that the respective councillors could submit the details of the required works to be carried out in their respective wards. Besides, other development works, worth Rs 9 crore, too, were on the agenda of the meeting. Officials said a sum of Rs 40 lakh had been spared for maintenance repair or installing tubewells, Rs 83 lakh for roads, 52 lakh for streetlights, Rs 40 lakh
for the Fire Brigade Department. Nonetheless, a high-level meeting was conducted under the aegis of the then MC Commissioner Bhupinder Singh and City Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora wherein it was decided to spare a grant to the tune of Rs 11 lakh for each of the 65 wards. This implied that the holy city needed at least Rs 7.15 crore to implement this planning. Under the new format, every ward was entitled to have Rs 5 lakh each for civil works; operation and maintenance (O&M); and Rs 1 lakh for rectifying any streetlight and maintenance of parks in their wards within six months. In the backdrop of this move, it has been learnt that a number of complaints were received from residents that the meagre amount of Rs 50,000 never solved any purpose and that the money spent was never visible. Apart from this, the councillors, too, found it to be a tedious exercise to get their files cleared from the MC babus. Taking this into account, the MC had stopped the old pattern of releasing the Rs 50,000 grant files for the past over three months, while inviting the ire of
the councillors.
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Snake captured from record room in Deputy Commissioner’s office
Amritsar, August 24 A record room in a big hall has been maintaining documents of courts for the past many decades, said inspector Rupinder Singh of the Forest Department, who headed the search operation to catch the snakes. He said a five-member team from the Forest Department, SPCA inspector Ashok Joshi and two snake catchers. A veterinary doctor was also pressed into service. The search for the snake, which started at 11 am, concluded at 6 pm when the reptile was finally
captured. He said the record room was found to be badly lit and added that the operation would continue next week. He added that the court officials were shifting the records. “They have been conveyed to keep the snake catchers with them while shifting the records. Otherwise it is very difficult to trace and catch the reptiles,” he remarked. It may be mentioned that currently the District Courts are being demolished to construct a state-of-the-art District Administrative Complex (DAC) and Police Commissionerate Complex (PCC). Both complexes would cost the state exchequer Rs 78 crore. The District Courts Complex was built by the British after they annexed Punjab in 1849. The Deputy Commissioner (DC) office, which is a heritage structure, would be preserved. To accommodate a large number of offices and the footfall of the public, the DAC would be spread on 3.85 lakh square feet area. Multi-level basements and four floors would be constructed for the purpose. The Police Commissionerate Complex would have an area of 1.5 lakh square feet with a basement and four more storeys. The new building would house offices of the Police Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of Police and other staff.
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Woman dies in roof collapse
Amritsar, August 24 Keemti Lal, the deceased's son, said the other family members were sleeping in an adjoining room. He said around 2 am, they suddenly woke up after hearing a loud noise of something falling. They found that the roof of the adjoining room had collapsed and that his mother had been trapped under
the debris. He, along with residents of the area who had also arrived there, tried to take out Satya Devi. He said she was immediately rushed to hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
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GHEE MANDI AREA
Amritsar, August 24 The authorities had just widened this Ghee Mandi road to 40 feet and had also initiated to introduce the night sanitation drive to cleanse the passage that leads to the Golden Temple. However, the ground situation is still bad. Just this morning, right on the roadside of the Ghee Mandi area near Shivala Veer Bhan and Katra Ahluwalia, heaps of filth were spotted. This passage has also been made part of the Heritage Walk. There is a gaushala (cow shelter) located in the area, from where fodder refuse and cow dung spills onto the roads. Jagdish Singh, a resident of Bagh Ramanand, said he had tried a number of times to convince the MC officials to take stock of the situation, but in vain. “I had even sent SMSes to MC Commissioner as well as Superintending Engineer, but they did not bother,” he said. Another resident said the sewerage passage in the Shivala Veer Bhan area had been lying defunct for the past four months, leaving residents to live in unhygienic conditions. “ The Municipal Corporation authorities sometimes blame the non-cooperative attitude of the safai karamcharis, shortage of staff or discrepancies between the private garbage collecting firm and its employees. In the process, garbage keeps piling up on the roadsides, posing a danger to the health of residents. Under the JNNURM, considerable funding is being given to improve the urban conditions in the walled city, but that could not bring about any visible difference. The removal of garbage and cleaning of the roads is carried out in an arbitrary and unprofessional manner.
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Rainwater Harvesting
Amritsar, August 24 The only glitch seems to be the heavy security amount that would be charged by the MC to ensure the implementation of the rainwater harvesting system in all buildings. We talk to some residents on the move and its likely effects. ‘It’s a welcome decision as rainwater is the biggest menace during the monsoon season, resulting in waterlogging and sewer blockage. Some of the prominent cities like Delhi and Mumbai have already put to use this formula and are even reusing the water for drinking purpose. But the MC has to make sure to implement this decision with solidarity,” said Shilpi Ganguly, principal and general secretary, Ibadat. Agrees Jatinder Brar, Patron Natshala, “It’s very important that not even a single drop of water is wasted, but is conserved for better use. We had installed a rainwater harvesting system at Punjab Natshala, as it has always been our responsibility and preference. The security fee is, however, a bit of a let-down. It is a bit rigid. People should be educated and made aware about their responsibility." Sehaj gulati, a volunteer member of the SPCA and teacher at DAV Public School, said, “Finally, the MC has realised that all the water going down the drain should be made useful. Most would argue that it is not pocket friendly because of the security amount being charged by the MC, but the fact is that rainwater harvesting is done through a borewell, for which people could utilise old or worn-out borewells despite investing in a new one. Nonetheless, the decision is good because everyone loves the rain, but not the accumulated water that becomes a menace.” Joginderpal Singh, a retired professor from the GNDU, too, feels that the amount is nothing compared to the long-term positives the decision would bring. “Rainwater harvesting is an important and easy method to reuse and recycle the natural water. With a large amount of water going waste in Punjab and elsewhere, it becomes very important that we understand our social and ecological responsibilities and take appropriate initiatives.”
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ragging issue
Amritsar, August 24 During this period, all senior students are given holidays and are not allowed to come to the college or hostels. Two students of MBBS second year, Rahul Bhagat and Rohit Kumar allegedly violated the directions. The two were spotted in a hostel room during a routine inspection by the hostel management. The duo had allegedly consumed alcohol during their stay and confronted the hostel authorities when questioned. Karamjit Singh, deputy hostel warden, said: “The two students have been suspended for indiscipline for 15 days. Though they had not indulged in ragging, they violated rule regarding anti-ragging holidays.”
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ISM wing at Civil Hospital to be shifted
Amritsar, August 24 The Civil Hospital authorities have in principle decided to give a place to the ISM Wing at Verka but the staff has continues to work from the old premises only. The hospital room where the centre is being run has been chosen for mother and childcare centre. The state government is already constructing a building for the centre but the authorities feel that shifting out the ISM Wing was necessary. When compared to the allopathic system of medicine, the ISM has few takers. Former Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla during her tenure had repeatedly avowed to popularise the system. However, instead of taking any concrete steps to popularise it, the Health Department is now planning to shift the clinic to a far off place, where many city residents would find it difficult to reach. “A number of patients come to every outpatient department (OPD) daily. These people would be harassed if the wing is shifted,” said a patient at the Civil Hospital. He said it was not difficult for the hospital to spare two small rooms for the wing as the patients would be saved from the trouble of going to Verka. Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon, when contacted, said, “The wing needs to be shifted as we need space for the upcoming mother and childcare centre. We may give them (ISM Wing) space later on when things settle down.”
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Revised policy brings relief to buyers and sellers of plots in unauthorised colonies
Amritsar, August 24 The Revenue Department, which has not been registering the properties situated in the unauthorised colonies for a month, has resumed the process of registering the same. As a result of this, the revenue office has witnessed a sharp decline in revenues during this period. District Revenue Officer Mukesh Sharma said that instructions had been given to the staff to get the registrions done provided the customers brought along no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Amritsar Development Authority (ADA) and the Municipal Corporation (MC). The MC would receive regularisation fee for the properties falling in the unauthorised colonies within the MC limits while the ADA would charge the same for plots and buildings falling in illegal colonies outside the MC limits. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, the first resident of Amritsar city to deposit the development fund for his 100 square yard plot under the revised notification, said the revised policy would only approve the unauthorised colonies and buildings constructed before April 1, 2013. He said the ADA had laid down a procedure to collect the fee by tying up with the Suvidha Centres. He said the ADA had its jurisdiction over Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur besides Amritsar. These areas have as many as 330 illegal colonies. Randhawa deposited a sum of around Rs 18,000 at the ADA office. He said the colonisers would have to register online which would generate a registration number. Then the generated number enclosed with a forwarding letter would be submitted at Suvidha Centre and the fee can be deposited there. The registration number will be entered on a separate web portal created on the Housing and Urban Development Department website. Municipal Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said that 242 illegal colonies had been identified within the MC limits of the city. He said officials of the Buildings Department had been directed to handle the process of receiving compounding and development fee from the colonisers and plot holders/building owners. He said zone-wise camps would also be set up to collect compounding and development fee. Kharbanda said the policy had been framed with the objective of bringing all the unauthorised colonies and buildings in the planning framework and to regularise development, facilitate implementation of the Master Plan’s land use, improving circulation pattern of streets and providing basic amenities to residents of these areas. The policy envisages compulsory application for regularisation by owners of plots and buildings in the unauthorised colonies for compounding/regularisation of their plots within 45 days of notification of the policy, he said. The composition fee for regularisation of the unauthorised colonies constructed before August 17, 2007 would be 0.5 per cent of collector rate as on April 1, 2013 subject to a minimum of Rs 25,000 and maximum of Rs 1 lakh per acre. For unauthorised colonies constructed after August 17, 2007, the fee would be two per cent of the collector rate subject to a minimum of Rs 1 lakh and a maximum of Rs 5 lakh per acre. Ten per cent of the total composition fee would be realised along with application, 15 per cent within one month of application and 75 per cent in three equal six monthly installments along with 12 per cent interest. A rebate of 5 per cent would be allowed if the composition fee is paid in lump sum at the time of application.
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Khanna Paper Mills gets state-of-the-art fire-fighting system
Amritsar, August 24 Installed at a cost of Rs 40 crore, the new system includes 4.5-km-long fire hydrant line covering the entire plant, modular water storage tanks with a capacity of 11 lakh liter water and 27 water monitors with a throwing reach of 75 metres each. There are 62 fire hydrants with eight fire tender filling stations at all important locations on the premises. With this, the management of the Khanna Paper Mills has reiterated their commitment to total safety. The DC praised the efforts of the staff involved in the rescue operations in fire incident last year and the positive role of media during the crisis, which helped in boosting the morale of the personnel involved. Khanna Paper Mills director Suneet Kochhar said the system could also be put into use in case of any untoward incident in the nearby residential areas so as to avert any loss of life and property. Incidentally, the firefighting system has been inaugurated within days of the mill management rubbishing the rumours of the plant being shifted to Gujarat. The mishap last year had caused loss to the tune of crores and led to evacuation of people residing in the mill's vicinity, though no loss of life was reported.
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Two teenagers go missing from city, police clueless
Amritsar, August 24 The family members of the two youths fear that their wards might have been killed. Sanjay (17), who worked as an electrician and lived at Jagat Jyoti High School near Mahan Singh Gate area, has been missing since August 19. The police filed a missing report in its daily diary report (DDR). The family suspects that he might have been kidnapped and feared that he might have been killed. Arjun, the victim's foster father, told the police that when he did not return till evening, he called on his mobile. He said that Sanjay was crying and told them that the accused brought him to a secluded place. He said after this they repeatedly tried to contact him on his phone which has been switched off since. Sunil, the victim's brother, told the police they had given the phone number
to the police but it has been doing nothing to trace him. Sukhwinder Singh Randhwa, Station House Officer (SHO) Kotwali police station, said investigations were under progress. He denied that the boy has been kidnapped. In another case, Akashdeep Singh, a resident of Sandhu Colony, Majitha Road, Amritsar, has been missing since July 25. Though the police registered a kidnapping against his step brother, his parents have been running from pillar to post to trace him. Gurmit Singh, the victim's father, said in his complaint to the police that he had been urgin g the police officials to locate his son for the past one month but in vain. Gurmit Singh alleged that Deepak was a drug addict and was involved
in drug peddling. He feared the Akashdeep might have been killed by Deepak as he used to resist Akashdeep from meeting Deepak. Joga Singh, SHO Sadar police station, said the police had registered a kidnapping case against Deepak Singh, the step brother of Akashdeep. The SHO said investigations were under progress in the case. Deepak had been absconding since the registration of case, he further said.
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Chemist shop raided, medicines seized
Amritsar, August 24 The Drug Inspector further said the shop owner could not produce any licence for running the store.
Amarpal Singh Malhi said the purchase bills of the medicines in question were also not available. The medicines were allegedly sold for misuse by drug addicts. Further investigations in this regard are under progress, the official said.
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Documentary on life of Bhagat Puran Singh soon
Amritsar, August 24 "The process is on to make the documentary which is being directed by Harjeet Singh, a former senior official of Jalandhar Doordarshan. This film would be screened in schools, colleges and other institutions and aims to apprise the youth about the services rendered by Bhagat Puran Singh," she said. About the immense contribution of the NRIs in running the Pingalwara home, she said a programme had been scheduled between August 29 and September 25 abroad.
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Police personnel shifted
Amritsar, August 24 This has raised many eyebrows as the police commissioner Ram Singh has already relinquished his charge and joined his duties at Jalandhar while his incumbent Jatinder Singh Aulakh was yet to take charge. SHO Chheharta Sushil Kumar has been shifted to Maqboolpura police station while SHO Sadar police station Joga Singh has been transferred to Kotwali police station. Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, SHO Kotwali, has been shifted to Sadar police station. Lakhwinder Singh has been transferred as SHO C-division.
— TNS
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DAV Public School wins debate on juvenile law
Amritsar, August 24 Head of fine arts section of BBK DAV College for Women, Prof Nita Mohindra, was the chief guest. The panel of judges included child psychologist Aradhna Bhardwaj, entrepreneur Vineet Uppal and criminal lawyer Karanbir Singh Osahan.
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