Amritsar, September 30
At a time when Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi was holding a formal interaction with the MC authorities, giving them lessons in job integrity, transparency and cooperation in executing the pending development works in the city worth Rs 2,200 crore, after taking over the charge as Local Bodies Minister, thousands of MC employees staged a protest outside the offices of Commissioner and Mayor against the non-payment of their salaries for the past two months.

Even as a handful of Class IV safai karamcharis were given salary cheques for one month by the MC authorities, a majority of them were denied this "privilege", which led to the protest. The protest lasted for some hours and the workers shun work in all departments, including the revenue generation department like house tax, municipal town planning, water and sewerage departments.

The agitating employees, under the banner of the Sanjhi Sangharsh Committee, raised slogans against the MC authorities as well as the government for their "hollow" claims. Later, the workers ended their protest on announcing to launch a rigorous campaign from tomorrow which may include aping the MC's "name and shame" drive against tax defaulters, by beating drums outside the offices and residences of the MC Commissioner and the City Mayor.

Contrary to the claims of Punjab Chief Minister and subsequently the Local Bodies Minister Joshi that there was never an economic crisis, the MC workers resented that there were over 4,500 employees who had not been paid salaries for the past two months.

Surinder Tona, general secretary of the Municipal Corporation Workers Union, Amritsar, said as many as 1,300 safai karamcharis, who included Mohalla Sudhar Committee employees and those who were employed under the DC rate scheme, had not been paid salaries for the past few months.

"Except for safaikaramcharis, over 4,000 employees were not paid salaries for two months. Whenever we approach the authorities, we would be given false promises. If it continued now, we would resort to insulting the MC authorities in the localities they reside in as well as outside their offices in the way they have been doing for realising taxes from the tax defaulters," he said.

Charan Das, president of the Sanjhi Sangharsh Committee, said the leaders were giving misleading statements to gain political mileage and the officials had become mere puppets in their hands. "The plight of common workers is quite dismal. They talk about multi-crore developments, but do not have the money to pay even our salaries," he said.

Amritsar, September 30
Following the tip-off provided by notorious criminal and smuggler, Sukhjinder Singh, the Chheharta police today recovered around 0.5 kg of heroin, worth Rs 2.50 crore in the international market, from his residence located in the posh Ranjit Avenue area.

Hailing from Bidhipur (Jalandhar) he, along with his accomplice Jiwan Singh, was arrested by the police a couple of days ago.

The police claimed to have got vital clues from where he used to procure the contraband and later sell it to his clients in the Doaba and Majha area.

“Several names of local peddlers, from whom they used to purchase the heroin, have cropped up during the interrogation of two accused. We are raiding the suspected hideouts and places from where they used to operate for their arrest and we are hopeful of positive results,” said Harish Behal, SHO, Chheharta police station.

It is pertinent to mention here that Sukhjinder was wanted in several criminal cases, including murder and attempt to murder, that occurred in Jalandhar and the court had declared him a proclaimed offender.

Investigations revealed that during the period he had gone to Dharamshala, he used to run a hotel before coming to Amritsar, where he restarted his illegal trade.

The police had also recovered two country-made pistols from the two accused. They had procured the same from a former Khalistan Commando Force militant Kulwant Singh, alias Bant, alias Valaitya, who is currently lodged in the Nabha jail.

Amritsar, September 30
The Punjab State Information Commission (PSIC) has asked the Local Bodies Department to submit a magistrate-attested affidavit over the missing file in a case pertaining to corruption charges against a few Amritsar Improvement Trust officials.

The case at the PSIC was filed by RTI activist Ravinder Sultanwind, who claimed that it had become the modus operandi in government departments to misplace the relevant files to shield tainted officials and political leaders. He compared the incident to high-profile coal block allocations files going missing in the Coal Ministry and its departments.

The PSIC, at its recently held hearing, directed the PIO in the office of Principal Secretary, Local Government, Chandigarh, Gurmit Singh “to file a duly sworn affidavit” stating “loss/misplacement of the file and consequently the non-availability of the same on October 23. It added that the affidavit must be attested from an officer not below the rank of an Executive Magistrate".

The RTI activist filed an appeal, seeking information over the action taken report against five employees of the Amritsar Improvement Trust as recommended by the then Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, KS Pannu, on February 4, 2013.

It may be mentioned that the then DC Pannu, in a communiqué (No. DRA (M)/2/4249-50 dated October 27, 2008), to Director, Department of Local Government, had recommended a vigilance inquiry for disproportionate assets against these five employees.

Ravinder maintained that he had earlier filed the same complaint to the State Information Commission in 2009. However, the then State Information Commissioner Lt-Gen PK Grover had disposed it of and closed it on January 12, 2010. In his order, Grover stated that the respondent present during the proceedings stated that no PIO had been appointed in the Local Government office and directed the respondent to send a copy of the said affidavit to the complainant (Ravinder) by registered post by January 12, 2010, since he (complainant) was not present. It also reprimanded the Department of Local Government for not appointing a PIO so far contrary to the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005.

Amristar, September 30
One might fancy eating at a premium hotel, being served by a five-star chef, who is a celebrity in his own right, and savour the choicest recipes from the menu. But the best-cooked meal always comes from your mother’s kitchen. Proving the fact yet again is another housewife from Amritsar, Satpal Kaur.

Taking forward the city’s culinary legacy and fame, 58-year-old Satpal recently appeared in Sanjeev Kapoor’s latest reality cooking show, "Kitchen Khiladi". And the Amritsari lady proved that no one can beat Punjabi women when it comes to cooking.

Competing against Super Chef Harpal Singh of the "Turban Tadka" fame, Satpal not just impressed with her kitchen skills but also won the challenge, to everyone else’s and her own surprise. “I had never ever imagined that I would beat any professional chef, leave alone someone I admire and learn from. I got teary eyed with the shock knowing that my recipe had won against Harpal ji’s,” said the woman. Well, with a lifetime of experience in cooking, thanks to her big Punjabi family and a constant effort to be innovative with every meal, Satpal took up the challenge as it came. “I was pushed by my husband to audition and once my recipe got selected, I knew this was my 15 minutes of fame. Though I knew the format, competing against a professional chef, I didn’t know that someone of Harpal Singh’s stature would be cooking against me,” she said.

Her winning recipe, Zucchini Roulatte, a light and delicious French delight along with a baked pumpkin Loaf impressed even her idols. “Sanjeev Kapoor is like an epitome of Indian cooking and I am a fan of Harpal ‘Namak Shamak’ Singh’s cooking as well. To have them appreciate my cooking was an achievement for me.” The level of efficiency and precision required to cook live on television didn’t affect her confidence, even a bit. “When you have been cooking elaborate three meals a day your entire life, efficiency is not an issue," she said.

With her family by her side on the show, Satpal credits her success to her husband. “My husband was a drug addict and I had to fight his addiction with my cooking. I cooked up innovative and new recipes everyday just to replace his addiction with my food. And he too supported and appreciated me. Even now, every Saturday, my children and grandchildren ask me to cook something ‘different’,” she says. Post her win, she plans to go professional with her cooking. “I plan to start teaching with my cooking classes. Since I have always tried to cook something innovative, taking up global flavours and mixing them up with local ones, my effort would be to lead women into changing the concept of home cooking,” Satpal signs off.

Amritsar, September 30
Gold and diamond jewellery worth nearly Rs one crore was seized at Amritsar Railway station. The seizure during the past one week reflects that the domestic hawala system, known as ‘angariya’, which is widely used by traders in the western part of the country, has made inroads in the border district.

The Excise Department earned over Rs 50 lakh in penalty from the material seized and that was being brought in the state from outside without valid documents and paying the taxes.

Earlier, many parcels of gold and diamond jewellery were seized from people traveling by air from the western part of the country at Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport. Now, the pattern has become more pronounced in trains which are used by a large number of people.

Sleuths of the Mobile Wing of the Excise Department seized gold and diamond jewellery worth Rs 50 lakh from a person who came from Mumbai. In another instance, gold bars of value about Rs 40 lakh was found from a person coming from Jaipur at the Amritsar Railway station.

In the third success, Rs 10 lakh gold and diamond jewellery were seized from a person coming from Mumbai. All three seizures took place at the railway station.

Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Amritsar-cum-Deputy Director Investigation, Mobile Wing, Hardeep Bhanwra said in two out of the three seizures jewellery made from gold and studded with diamond and precious stones were ferried from Mumbai to Amritsar. She said people with the merchandise neither produced the sale and purchase bill nor filed any electronic information collection (EIC) at the department’s website to enable them to carry these in the state.

It appears to be a case of tax evasion. The dealers of the precious and costly objects did not inform the Excise and Taxation Department before transporting these items to Punjab. As per the excise and taxation laws of the state, any material worth more than Rs two lakh being transported in the state by road, rail or by air needed to be disclosed in advance to the Excise Department through the EIC available on its website.

Traders resort to these illegal practices to evade tax (a nominal 1.1 per cent on value of the product). But if the tax violation is detected, the owners have to shell out a penalty of 51.1 per cent of the value of the seized material.

The modus operandi of delivering precious metals and stones seemed similar to the ‘angariya’ system in which private couriers are hired to deliver the goods.

Amritsar, September 30
The District Legal Services Authority organised a seminar on legal awareness, including rights of women, parents and senior citizens at the Khalsa College for Women here today.

The seminar was attended by over 100 students and NSS volunteers. Dr Hardeep Singh Ghai, Senior Medical Officer at Civil Hospital, and Dr Arun also attended the seminar.

Dr Ghai informed the students about the various schemes launched by the government for women. Dr Arun educated the students about HIV and AIDS.

Arun Kumar Aggarwal, secretary, District Legal Services Authority, informed the students about various services being offered by the Punjab Legal Services Authority. He said any person from scheduled caste, backward class, labourers, children, persons in custody or any person having annual income upto Rs 1.5 lakh was entitled to free legal aid, wherein he was given the services of lawyer and all types of expenses till the final decision of the case.

He said the women were also entitled to free legal aid service irrespective of their income. He also informed the students about the system of Lok Adalats, Legal Literacy Clubs, and Permanent Lok Adalat.

Arun Kumar Aggarwal said the students can make use of toll-free Helpline Number 1968 of the Punjab Legal Services Authority. The rights of the women in context of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act and ragging laws were also discussed in detail.

Amritsar, September 30
Students of Government Girls Senior Secondary School today took out a rally in the city holding banners and placards educating masses to value their votes.

A large scale voter awareness rally went to various places of the city as per the instructions by the district administration to make the voters aware of their rights of voting.

General Manager Punjab Roadways, Amritsar-II, Vinod Arora, District Education Officer Satinderbir Singh, Deputy DEO Satish Kumar, Deputy Officer Zila Parishad Kirpal Singh Khokhar, XEN Municipal Corporation. Tilak Raj, DEO Zilla Parishad Malook Singh besides host school principal Mandeep Kaur flagged off the rally.

While passing through the various parts of the city the students made the people aware of their rights of voting by raising slogans.

Addressing the rally Vinod Arora said according to the article number 326, every citizen of India above the age of 18 years has the right to vote but it is a matter of concern that as per the recent estimated figures more than 50 per cent of the youth has not made their voter cards yet. He exhorted the students to appeal people to rise above the evil of caste, racism and religions to elect a right candidate.

The District Education Officer said governments cannot be formed on the basis of weapons but through the universal franchise only. He said the people especially youth going to exercise their votes for the first time must utilise the same with enthusiasm but while voting must evaluate the honesty and social standing of the candidate and the government it would form.

Principal Mandeep Kaur said voting is a powerful tool that on one hand makes the governments answerable and on the other hand prevents them to become dictators. She said, “We must value democracy as it has given us the right to elect a government which was gained after a long drawn struggle.”

Amritsar, September 30
A meeting of registered medical practitioners (RMP) and private doctors was organised by the Voluntary Health Organisation of India (VHOI) to ensure their help in checking the spread of tuberculosis (TB) in the district.

Project manager of the Axshya project for the control of TB earlier initiated by VHOI, Rajiv Chaudhary, said no health campaign in country could be run successfully without roping in RMPs and private doctors as they are the ones to whom patients turn when they feel sick.

He said VHOI was ensuring that RMPs and private doctors were sensitised about the causes, diagnosis and the treatment of the disease.

District TB officer Dr Naresh Chawla asked the participants to send the suspected patients for sputum tests at the nearest government health centre.

He said sputum tests to confirm the disease are conducted free of cost. Also, general public gets free treatment facilities at all government dispensaries and hospitals.

Chawla said, “Timely detection of TB is very crucial as the patient can infect others if he is not aware of the disease.”

Amritsar, September 30
With only 15 cases of dengue reported in the district so far, the district health authorities have claimed that the timely action to check the breeding of mosquitoes has helped in checking the spread of disease on a large scale.

District epidemiologist Dr Charanjit Singh said so far only 15 confirmed cases of dengue have been reported from all the health institutions: government and private in the district. He said in total 39 suspected cases of dengue were reported and later tests conducted confirmed 15 patients suffering from dengue.

He said the department had earlier identified high risk zones in the city on the basis of previous year’s data of patients. The department had later got the fogging done in the surrounding houses of all such patients.

Even as there were reports that a person had died because of dengue at the Fortis hospital during the previous week, the Health Department authorities stated that they were reviewing the cause of death.

A meeting of the death review committee of the District Health Department was conducted here today under the chairmanship of civil surgeon Dr Yash Mitra.

The committee has asked the hospital to ensure the presence of doctors who had attended the patient along with the hospital records in the next meeting.

Dr Charanjit Singh said the patient whose death had been reported earlier in city was suffering from diabetes and other complications.

“We have asked both the private hospitals where the patient had got admitted, to present the documents related to his treatment,” Dr Charanjit Singh said adding that the department would investigate the death thoroughly before reaching to any conclusion.

Amritsar, September 30
In a shocking incident of belief in superstition, a woman lost her life as her husband did not get her treated from doctors and instead took her to a tantrik.

After her condition deteriorated she was finally taken to a hospital after the intervention by her parents, but was declared brought dead.

Vinod Kumar, a resident of Navi Abadi, Faizpura, and father of the deceased, lodged a complaint against her husband identified as Ashok Kumar and Gaurav Bhagat, the tantrik.

The police has registered a case of criminal negligence against the two.

Vinod Kumar in his complaint stated to the police that his daughter Shashi was suffering from fever for the past one month. But Ashok Kumar, her husband, refused to take her to doctors or to get her admitted to a hospital for proper treatment. However, the accused continued to take her to a tantrik. He said later when her condition deteriorated they took her to a local private hospital where the doctors declared her dead.

The Civil Lines police has registered a case under Section 304-A of the IPC and Section 7 of the Black magic and remedies act. The police authorities said no arrest has been made so far as the accused were on run.

Amritsar, September 30
The city police has arrested 17 persons for allegedly possessing drugs and illicit liquor in its drive against the rampant drug abuse in the district.

Among those arrested include an expelled media person Jatinder Singh Bedi. Chheharta Police station SHO Harish Behl while confirming claimed that Jatinder was consuming the contraband when he was arrested by the police.

The city police has nabbed Harjinder Singh of Shaheed Udham Singh (SUS) Nagar and Baljit Singh of Maqboolpura with 200 gm and 100 gm of narcotic powder, respectively, while in another case it has arrested Lovepreet Singh of Krishna Nagar and Kulwinder Singh of SUS Nagar with 245 gm and 238 gm of narcotic substance, respectively.

Among others who have been arrested include Prem Kumar of Dharampura (10 gm heroin) and Vishal of Karamapura (5 gm heroin). The city police has also arrested Mangal Singh of Fatahpur, Labh Singh of Maqbloopura and Mohinderpal Singh of Sultanwind with illicit liquor.

Meanwhile, Amritsar rural police held Maninder Singh of Panju rai village and Mahinder Singh of Dhanoe Kalan with 400 and 200 tablets of habit-forming drugs. Jasbir Singh of Mehta Chowk and Germanjit Singh of Jandiala Guru were arrested with 130 gm and 260 gm of narcotic powder. It also held Jagir Singh of Dhulka and Sahib Singh of Kajikot with illicit liquor. — TNS