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‘Irregularities’ in purchase of surgical items
Throwing all norms to wind, political hoardings dot city
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Gang of robbers busted, 5 held
Amritsar, October 16 With the arrest of five persons, the criminal investigation agency (CIA) staff here today claimed to have busted a gang of robbers and cracked a five-year-old case of the sensational killing of a salesman of Khasa Distillery.
Shatabdi travel costlier from today
Holiday in schools
Prasar Bharti to launch its own FM radio station from city
Sufi fest from today
Preparations on to build Valmiki Temple
Drive against drug peddlers pays off, 21 arrested with illicit liquor
Unavailability of parking lots create mess on city roads
Eid-ul-Zuha celebrated at Attari-Wagah joint post
Treat for fashion lovers, another exhibition kicks off
Age-old tradition of donating children continues at Nath Yogi sect
World Anaesthesia Day observed
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‘Irregularities’ in purchase of surgical items
Amritsar, October 16 The goods - dialyser, blood tubing set and fistula needle - were purchased at a price of Rs 1,750 per set by the college. The college had bought 1,000 sets of dialysis kits from a Bathinda-based firm, M/s SS Systems, in the month of September, 2012. At a press conference here today, RTI activist Ravinder Sultanwind stated that the college had paid three times the market price of these goods, which eventually benefited the college authorities and the firm. Ravinder procured this information through an RTI application. Later, he got a price quotation from the same firm from which the college had procured the goods. As per the estimate given to Vishal Bhaskar, a chemist, whom Ravinder had roped in to get the quotation, the three goods were available at a cumulative price of Rs 611.50. An independent inquiry by The Tribune from local chemists, which included government contractors, too, established that the goods were available at a price of less than Rs 700 per kit. The price quoted by the chemists was for merely 10-15 kits. However, it was astonishing that the medical college did not get a rebate even as it bought 1,000 sets. As per the quotation got by Ravinder from the same firm from which the college had bought the dialysis kits, the cumulative market price of these materials - dialyser, blood tubings set and Fistula needle - comes around to Rs 612 per kit. The college spent Rs 17,50,000 for the material which costs around Rs 6,12,000 in the market. He alleged that the money was misappropriated by the college authorities in association with the supplier of these goods. Ravinder said he had also filed a complaint with Principal Secretary, Research and Medical Education, in this regard. “The DRME office should get the matter probed and take action against the officials found involved in the scam,” he demanded. He said purchasing medicines or surgical goods at a higher price than the market was against the interests of the public, especially the poor, who visit the college for their treatment. Government Medical College principal, Dr Karnail Singh, said the purchase was made before he had joined as the principal of the college. He, however, added that he would inquire the matter from the officials concerned and see whether the allegations levelled against the college authorities were correct. “We would pursue the matter seriously if these allegations are found to be true,” he stated. Dr SS Shergill, former principal of the college during whose tenure the purchases were made, said, “I cannot recall the details of the deal, but it was the task of the authorisation committee to compare the prices. No underhand deals were made during my tenure as the principal of the college."
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Throwing all norms to wind, political hoardings dot city
Amritsar, October 16 Scores of posters and big hoardings, comprising leaders of both SAD-BJP as well as Opposition parties, dot different parts of the holy city while greeting residents about the upcoming festivities and the foundation stone-laying ceremony of Balmiki Temple at Ram Tirath. Ironically, in some of them, leaders from both parties appear on the same hoarding without bothering about the High Court norms which forbid the erecting of hoardings or advertisements on the roadside, as these cause accidents, besides spoiling city surroundings. Ignorning the High Court directions which have banned such hoardings on the roadside (as these divert drivers' attention and cause mishaps), scores of these "greetings messages" in the shape of big billboards were spotted on the historic Town Hall building from where the MC's own office is run, besides Batala Road, Crystal Chowk, Queens Road, Company Bagh, Novelty Chowk Nehru Shopping Complex and Hall Gate. There is a provision of awarding one-year imprisonment and a penalty of Rs 50,000 under the Punjab Prevention of Pubic Property Defacement Act. Some months ago, the Civil Lines police had registered a case against eight firms for defacing public property by erecting their advertisements on them in several parts of the city. A police official, who had got the case registered, said the proprietors of the offending firms had been booked under Section 3 of the Defacement of Punjab Prevention of Property Act.
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Gang of robbers busted, 5 held
Amritsar, October 16 The victim, identified as Manish Kumar, a resident of Khasa Bazaar, was shot dead by several unidentified car-borne robbers near 22 No. level crossing near the Islamabad area in August 2008. Among those arrested include Prem Singh of Indira Colony, Majitha Road, Gurbaksh Singh of Gopal Nagar, Majitha Road, Baljit Singh of Jajjeani village, Harjinder Singh of Tung Bala and Sawinder Singh of Johal Gajju (Tarn Taran). The police recovered a pistol of .315 bore and .12 bore and seven live cartridges, besides sharp-edged weapons from their possession. A case under Sections 399, 402 of the IPC and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered in this regard. The police authorities said the accused were arrested following specific information that they were hiding near the New Amritsar area for committing a robbery. Following this, a raid was conducted at the designated place and the accused were arrested. During investigations, the accused confessed to killing Manish Kumar. As per details, Manish, along with other persons, was returning home after daily collection when the accused intercepted them. "The robbers, who were in a Maruti car, overtook the Sumo in which Manish, along with the driver, was heading home after the daily collection of sale proceeds. The armed robbers asked Manish to hand over the bag having Rs 3 lakh to them. Manish resisted their attempt to take away the money, while the driver tried to reverse the vehicle. But the robbers fired at Manish, injuring him seriously. The sound of gunshots alerted the nearby police patrol party, which immediately rushed to the spot. All robbers fled in their car. Manish, who was profusely bleeding, was rushed to a hospital, where he was declared brought dead," said the police. Meanwhile, the CIA staff nabbed Mohinder SIngh, alias Bhindu, of Khehra village, Gurdaspur, for allegedly possessing a foreign-made .32 bore revolver. A case under Sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered in this connection. Police officials said the accused was nabbed at a naka near Celebration Mall.
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Shatabdi travel costlier from today
Amritsar, October 16 The fare of popular Shatabdi train from Amritsar to Delhi per chair car is now Rs 507 and the executive class ticket costs Rs 1,142. The minimum fare of passenger trains was increased from Rs 5 to Rs 10, while the minimum fare of the mail express trains from Rs 20 to Rs 30. Similarly, the minimum tariff of first class costs Rs 220, the minimum fare of AC chair Car (1 km to 5 km) now costs Rs 196. The lowest tariff of AC three-tier was raised to Rs 410, minimum fare of AC Two Tier to Rs 588 and lowest fare of AC First Class to Rs 1,004. The fare of AC Chair car in Shatabdi train has been hiked for 1 km to 50 km at Rs 161, and in executive class for the same distance is Rs 368. The fare of second class Jan Shatabdi for 1 km to 50 km is Rs 37 and AC chair car for the same distance is now Rs 163. The passenger fare for Garib Rath Express train is now AC Chair car from 1 km to 100 km is Rs 113 and AC Three Tier is Rs 143.
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Holiday in schools
Amritsar, October 16 In a press release issued here today, he said the decision was taken as the state government was celebrating Bhagwan Valmiki Jayanti at a state-level function at Ram Tirath here.
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Prasar Bharti to launch its own FM radio station from city
Amritsar, October 16 The government has already acquired land for it and the channel is likely to go io air by January 2014. This information has been procured by Prof Sandeep Kumar of the local DAV College, a radio buff, under the RTI Information Act. Though there are at least three private FM radio channels operational in the city, there has been a general feeling that the government should have opened its own FM radio channel. “The private FM radio channels are being run by big business houses and their sole motive is entertainment and minting money through advertisement. Launching its own channel would not only help the Central Government in spreading awareness among the masses about various schemes being run by it, it would also help in countering the false propaganda unleashed by the Pakistan government through its radio channels,” said Prof Sandeep. The Pakistani radio channel could be received very clearly in the border areas of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran, exposing residents of these places to the false propaganda by Pakistani radio channels. Prasar Bharti (Broadcasting Corporation of India) sources revealed that the process of setting up of the FM radio station at Amritsar had been initiated. The FM transmitter building is nearing completion. The order for procuring 20kw FM transmitter had been placed, while the erection of the tower was under progress, it added. Prof Sandeep has been fighting for the setting up of the FM channel for the past one decade. He showed a large number of communication letters which he received from the Ministry of Broadcasting during the period. Pak programmes in border belt
Amritsar once had a medium-wave radio station in the 1960s. After the success of Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) in the early 1970s, the first TV station of North India was also established, which was inaugurated by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the vast area of the local Khalsa College. Regular programmes used to be beamed for the benefit of the people of the border area. The radio station and the TV studio were later shifted to Jalandhar. Before the setting up of three private FM radio channels in the city about a couple of years ago, the city was getting only primary channel from Jalandhar, besides All India Radio. In the absence of a radio station in the holy city, the residents of the border area easily receive programmes from across the border more clearly than those received from Jalandhar or Jammu, exposing them to false and virulent propaganda reportedly being beamed by Pakistani radio channels. The Pakistani radio channels - Lahore-I and Lahore-II - can easily be heard in the border belt of Punjab.
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Sufi fest from today
Amritsar, October 16 The two-day event will celebrate Sufism and its principles, bringing together the representatives of the Sufi principles from across the world. Organised by Punjab Tourism in association with Music Today, the event called ‘Amrit De Sur’ will have performances by world renowned artists Hans raj Hans, Arif Lohar, Nizami Brothers, Nooran Sisters, Tarun Khayapa, Prahlad Singh Tipaniya, etc Emphasizing on spreading the message of humanism, spirituality and oneness of God based on the principles of love, compassion, equality, humility, brotherhood and freedom through Sufi music, the event promises to be a wholesome entertainment. Beginning tomorrow, the event will be held at Guru Nanak Auditorium and will also hold artist interactions.
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Preparations on to build Valmiki Temple
Amritsar, October 16 A large number of ministers led by cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia and a battery of officials from all over the state are camping at the venue to make the programme successful. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal would lay the foundation stone while a galaxy of religious leaders, including Jathedar Akal Takht Sahib, Singh Sahib from Anandpur Sahib, Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, Swami Ram Dev, Brahm Rishi Kumar Swami of Laxmi Narayan Dham, Bishops from United Church and moderate Arrangements have been made to ferry thousands of faithful people from all over the district. About 3,300 buses have been hired to bring the devotees who will start coming here from October 17. They would stay at 40 palaces in the city hired for the purpose. Besides, langar and potable water would be offered at the venue. In order to park staggering 3,300 buses temporary parking has been made over 100 acres of area. The venue has been bifurcated district wise and would be given distinct colour to offer convenient disembarking to the visitors coming from all over Punjab. Keeping in view the sanitary condition 1,500 temporary toilets would be installed and 15 medical teams would be pressed in at the venue. For the VVIPs 4 helipads have been prepared. Leaving nothing to chance, 11 committees headed by principal secretaries under chief secretary Rakesh Singh have been formed to hold the programme smoothly. Work at three stages, including one for religious leaders, one for politicians and another for Kirtan Darbar are being set up at war-foot level. It is learnt that 7 SDMs from various districts, 2 ADCs Faridkot and Jalandhar have been called for the preparation. Apart from this, 34 duty magistrates would also join the state-level function tomorrow. The government is expecting arrival of about two lakh devotees. Besides this, officials from neighbour districts like Jalandhar, Gurdaspur and others have been roped in to make comprehensive arrangements for the event. A large number of cops are camping at the venue which has been barricaded and only thoroughly screened objects are allowed entry. Squads of sniffer dogs and devices to locate explosives and other fissile material have been deployed to assist in policing.
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Drive against drug peddlers pays off, 21 arrested with illicit liquor
Amritsar, October 16 Parminder Singh, investigating officer and in charge of the police chowki, informed that the accused were arrested from a religious dera located in the area. The accused were driving a four-wheeler carrying 12 plastic drums containing 50-litres illicit liquor in each. Investigations revealed that the culprits were going to handover the liquor to notorious bootlegger identified as Mota, a resident of Mustafabad, who used to illegally sell the liquor in his area. A number of cases under Excise Act were already registered against him, said Parminder Singh. He said further investigations were under progress and raids were being conducted to nab Tarsem Singh alias Sema. Meanwhile, continuing its drive against drug traffickers and bootlegging, the Punjab police have nabbed as many as 21 persons, including a woman for allegedly possessing narcotic substances and illicit liquor in the past 24-hours. Among those arrested by the city police include Shiva Sobi, a resident of Gokal Vihar, Arun Kumar and Vaneet Kumar, both residents of New Jawahar Nagar, Batala Road, Rahul Singh, a resident of Nehru Colony and Nikhil Sharma, a resident of Sandhu Colony, Majitha road. They were nabbed for possessing 200 gm of narcotic powder. Angrej Singh was arrested with 100 gm while Hans Raj and Ajay Kumar of Amrik Singh Nagar were arrested with 110 gm of narcotic substance. Jagtar Singh, a resident of Kirtangarh, Charan Kaur, a resident of Gate Hakima and Rajwinder Singh, a resident of Maqboolpura were held with illicit liquor. Raju and Lallu, both residents of Maqboolpura, Mehta road were nabbed with habit-forming drugs. The Amritsar rural police arrested Deepak, a resident of Attari and Ajaypal of Boharwal with 30 gm and 10 gm of heroin, respectively, besides Gurwinder Singh of Chough village was held with 600 gm of intoxicant powder. Davinder Singh of Guruwali village and Nirvair Singh of Ajnala were arrested with 800 and 450 capsules of intoxicants, respectively. Sukhwant Singh of Fatehgarh Shukarchak village was held with 7.5 litre of illicit liquor.
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Unavailability of parking lots create mess on city roads
Amritsar, October 16 A resident of Krishna Square Rahul Kumar said buses remain parked on both the sides of the road for a long period of the day. “These parked buses make the road look narrow. The flow of two and four wheelers is diverted to the road when traffic jams occur on adjoining Hukam Singh and Mall roads,” he said. Over the passage of time, population and traffic has increased manifold in the area. He said the buses remain parked throughout the day. Besides, highly visited Shivala Temple and a school are also located on the road. He said the menace started after a couple of marriage palaces in the area were converted into hotels. Also, posh residential localities were located on both sides of the road. There is similar problem at extremely busy one-way Queen’s road. Buses drop and pick up passengers and shoppers leading to congestion. Over a period of time, a number of hotels have come up where buses and minibuses come to pick and drop tourists. Harbhajan Singh, a nearby resident from the area, said the parking of high number of vehicles coupled with pick and drop facility by minibuses causes traffic jams on the road. He said since the road was one-way and receives high volume of traffic besides four and two wheelers remain parked on both sides of the road these tourist buses also sometime do not find enough parking place. Traffic police officials said tourist buses were allowed only to pick and drop tourists. They hold that as tourists arrive from far-off places of the country to see the holy city and hotels are also situated on these roads, these buses could not be stopped altogether. They, however, added these buses were not allowed to stay longer. They informed that tow-away vehicles were regularly visiting these roads to remove erring vehicles.
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Eid-ul-Zuha celebrated at Attari-Wagah joint post
Amritsar, October 16 It is an age long
tradition at the Attari-Wagah joint Check post that two border-guarding forces- Border Security Force and Pakistan Rangers- exchange sweets on various occasions, including Eid-ul-Zuha, Eid-ul-Fitar, Diwali nd during Independence Day celebrations. Border Security Force headed by Deputy Inspector General MF Farooqui and Commandant Satish Kumar handed over the sweets to its Pakistani counterpart Wing Commander Pakistan ranger, Mohammad Asher Khan. Similarly, the Pakistani counterpart handed over the sweets to its Indian counterpart. They greeted each other forgetting all the enimities.
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Treat for fashion lovers, another exhibition kicks off Amritsar, October 16 While there was another exhibition on at Golden Tulip, this one too had the festive and wedding season in mind. Most ethnic and western wear collections include festive wear, bridal trousseau and casual winter wear. Sharp cut dresses, tunics in woolens and jackets in velvet and silk are the highlights. Robes and stoles and Kashmiri embroidered dupattas also stand out. The accessories include designer bags and footwear along with some add-ons like scarfs and ponchos. With the same as last year, rising gold prices during the season have made silver jewellery latest in demand. The exhibition had sterling silver and pure silver jewellery. Innovative and high on fashion quotient, these silver jewellery pieces can make a simple outfit look glamorous. Peacock patterns are popular, with polka, kundan and meenakari works whereas antique pieces make for the royal look. The Golden Tulip exhibition wrapped up on the final day. — TNS
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Age-old tradition of donating children continues at Nath Yogi sect
Amritsar, October 16 At present there are three children with the sect which is headed by religious leader Mahant Malkiat Nath. Youngest of these is two-year old Bhandari Nath. He was offered by his parents Ravinder Singh and Lakhwinder Kaur when he was one and a half month old. His family hails from Khankot village near Verka, on the outskirts of Amritsar. Oldest among these donated children is Satnam Nath, 15. He is studying at an English medium private school situated nearby. He is also learning to play harmonium. Another offered child is Masya Nath. He dropped out of the school after finishing class seventh and is now learning the Yog Riti, a code of conduct of the Nath Yogi sect. After the wishes of parents are fulfilled they offer their son at Nath Yogi sect. Once initiated into the sect the child is given a new name and ‘Nath’ is added as suffix to the name. Mahant Malkiat Nath said since these children were offered to the Nath tradition (which is a lineage of spiritual masters) connected with infinite consciousness through the greatest Yogi, Gorakhnath. These ancient yogis discovered that the secret of cosmic consciousness is intimately linked with breath mastery. The life force, which is ordinarily used for bodily functions, can be channeled for higher activities by a method of calming and stilling the ceaseless demands of the breath. The yoga system of philosophy, as established by Patanjali, taught the means whereby the human soul might attain complete union with the Supreme Being. The followers of Gorakshnath are also known as “Kanphatas” as their ears are pierced and rings are worn in these. Similarly, Mahant Malkiat Nath has his ears pierced and big rings dangled from these. A Natha yogi is one who strives by severe restraint and discipline of the body, to secure union with God and they have to adhere to vow of celibacy throughout their life. He said the Natha Yogi were found everywhere in India but they were associated with Matha (monastry) situated in Rajasthan.
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World Anaesthesia Day observed Amritsar, October 16 She said anaesthesia had made it possible for surgeons to perform all life-saving surgeries. College principal Dr Karnail Singh said the discovery of anaesthesia techniques have revolutionised medical services. — TNS
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Amritsar, October 16
Amritsar, October 16
