The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	GMC ex-principal in dock The DRME issues him notice about anomalies in allocation of shops on campus Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 Principal of Government Medical College SS Shergill may have quit government service, but his troubles are far from over, with the Directorate of Research and Medical Education (DRME) issuing a notice to him about the anomalies in allocation of shops on the college premises. Dr Shergill had recently resigned from services after he was removed from the post of the principal of Government Medical College here and was transferred to Government Medical College, Patiala, as the head of Department of Eye. However, instead of joining his new posting, he had submitted his resignation citing personal reasons. His resignation was accepted by the DRME last month. The Government Medical College here owns over a dozen shops, which are required to be allotted to the highest bidder in the auction. But it had come to light earlier that several of these shops were allocated in ignorance of the set norms. The college management is also in the dock for allowing an allegedly illegal occupant to deposit the rent of a shop at a rate of Rs 400 per month for six years in March 2012. In another case, the college management had given a shop at a rent of Rs 25,000 per month, even as the person who was allotted the shop had dues of Rs 2.10 crore. The college had not ensured the recovery of the due amount before allocating the shop. In an auction held on September 3, a medicine shop on the college campus was allotted to the highest bidder at a rent of Rs 3.94 per month. Further, even a makeshift stall for a juice bar at the college was allotted at a price of Rs 56,000 per month. Local RTI activist Ravinder Sultanwind said, “A comparison of the rent charged from tenants during the recent auction and what was charged from the tenants earlier reveals that gross anomalies were conducted in allotting these shops”. Pritpal Singh of Putlighar area had brought to light the anomalies in shop allotments by filing a complaint with the DRME around a year-and-half-ago. At present, the matter is seized with the Public Accounts Committee of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. When contacted, Director of Research and Medical Education Dr Tejbir Singh admitted that notices had been issued to Dr Shergill. He added that notices had also been issued to other officials who were involved in the procedure of allotment of shops. All the persons who had been issued these notices had been asked to submit a reply within 15 days, he said.
	1 dies of suspected dengue Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 A resident of the Islamabad area allegedly died of dengue last night. The family of the deceased, Amarjit Singh Nikku (42), said he was being treated by a local doctor at his home itself and was not hospitalised. Meanwhile, the number of patients suffering from dengue has gone up to 90. District Epidemiologist Officer Dr Charanjit Singh said no death due to dengue had been confirmed from the district. Talking about the present case, Dr Charanjit Singh said the department did not have any information about the case. It was mandatory for the private hospitals and doctors to report any case of dengue to the Health Department as and when it is reported to them, he added. He said in the present case, no information was provided to the department by the treating doctor. Dr Singh said the department had earlier constituted a dengue death review committee to investigate reasons of deaths in such cases. Only one case of death was reported to the committee so far which, on investigation, established that the death was not because of the disease, he added. He said people needed to get aware and instead of trying treatment at the hands of untrained doctors they must go to government health institutions, where treatment was done free of cost. He said the kits for administering platelets to the dengue patients were also provided at subsidised rates in the government hospitals. On the other hand, private hospitals charged around Rs 18,000 for the same services. Dr Singh said platelets have to be administered from outside only when the platelet count drops to less than 10,000 in the blood of the patient. Causes The dengue virus is attributed as a “day biter” and often breeds in artificial setting of water which may include water stored in vessels, buckets and excess water in flower pots. The mosquito can breed even in 10-15ml of water. Dengue is caused by the bite of an infected mosquito —aedes aegypti. When the mosquito bites an infected person, it spreads the virus to others but itself can survive it. Symptoms Symptoms includes high fever, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rash and mild bleeding.
	District Fire Dept engulfed in its own problems Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 The ill-equipped Fire Department of the city has fine tuned its infrastructure and is preparing its human resources ahead of Diwali. Grappling with serious trouble of staff shortage, which has gone down to nearly 70 per cent, the Fire Department prohibited its employees from availing any kind of leave. Against the sanctioned staff strength of 130, the Fire Station Office has about 50 employees at its disposal. Fire Station Officer Krishan Kumar Kakkar said duty hours had been increased from 8 hours to 12 hours. He said considering the vital role of the fire brigade, MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda and Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora sanctioned the induction of two new fire tenders which are expected to arrive within the next couple of days. Besides, many small gears and water pipes have been provided, he added. The department is also not equipped to deal with a fire tragedy in the narrow by-lanes of the walled city, which are especially prone to such incidents. Workload on the minuscule staff has increased manifold over the last few years with the expansion of the city and the increase in population as a result of urbanisation. Inadequate and scant fire-fighting and disaster response force of Amritsar also caters to the adjoining Tarn Taran district and sub-divisions of Khem Karan, Baba Bakala, Patti, Ajnala Mehta and Beas. However, the authorities concerned failed to implement the fire manual. As per the manual, there must be a fire station with at least 24 firemen per 50,000 citizens. On the contrary, Amritsar has 25 firemen against the 78 sanctioned posts for a massive population. Nine posts of drivers and three of leading firemen have been lying vacant for a long time now. All the posts which have fallen vacant after the retirement of several employees have not been filled so far as the department has not made a single recruitment since 1980. The department has only four fire stations, at Town Hall, Gilwali Gate, Civil Lines and near Beri Gate. Each station is manned by one officer in charge, firemen, drivers and the supporting staff. The Fire Department here has the problem of outdated infrastructure as well. Though it has 11 fire engines available at its disposal, five of these are obsolete and unreliable in case of any eventuality. The department has only one small tender, which can reach the interior narrow lanes of the walled city, the most densely populated area of the district. Similarly, multi-storeyed malls are coming up in the holy city, but the fire station has a ladder that reaches only 35 feet. A proposal to purchase a hydro-platform vehicle, with the capacity to reach 150 feet, was passed in 2005 but to no avail. An employee said, "We need a system which has at least 100-feet-high turntable ladder in case of high-rise buildings." There is a lack of uniforms, safety jackets and other alternative fire extinguishers too. Owing to the narrow-lane topography of the city, foam-extinguishers are also needed. All the employees ever got was a demonstration of these machines.
	Panjab Varsity win national aquatics tourney Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 Panjab University, Chandigarh, team won the overall trophy in the All-India Inter-University Aquatics (men and women) Championship 2013-14 with 45 points. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, remained the runner-up with 40 points in the men’s section of the championship being held at the Guru Nanak Dev University swimming pool. In the women’s section, Delhi University, Delhi, won the overall championship with 39 points while Jain University, Bangalore, remained second with 31 points. In swimming, Panjab University won the championship with 45 points while Bangalore University was second with 36 points. In water polo (men), GNDU won the championship while Calicut University remained the runner up. In diving, Sholapur University, Sholapur, won the championship with eight points while Anna University, Chennai, remained second with five points in the men’s section. In women’s section diving category, Sholapur University won the championship with nine points while Bangalore University and Calicut University both remained second with six points each. Rohit Hawaldar from Bangalore University was adjudged the best swimmer in the men’s section while Poorva Kiran Shetye, from Jain University was adjudged the best swimmer in women’s section. Aman Ghai from GNDU also won the first position in 100m free style competitions. Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar presided over and gave away the trophies and certificates to the winners. Dr HS Randhawa, Deputy Director, Sports and Head, welcomed the chief guest and others. Dr K N Kaul, Principal, DAV College, Amritsar, presented the vote of thanks. Amarjit Singh Sandhu, observer from the Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi, was also present on this occasion.
	Diwali gifts become innovative, brighter this season Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 "Dal roti ghar di, Diwali Amritsar di" (nothing beats the taste of home cooked food and Diwali celebrations in Amritsar). It is not just a saying, but a statement that symbolises the essence of the festival of lights, of the festive spirit that the holy city is so proud of. And an important part of these celebrations are the gifts. From being a gesture to becoming a status symbol, festive gifts have seen a makeover with new concepts and customised improvisations having made their mark in the market. Depending on the kind, one might spend anything between 1,000-15,000 per gift. And that is not all, silver ware, embellished with pearls and semi-precious stones seem to be the popular choices, leaving behind crockery and dry fruit. “Silver makes for a very classy and elegant gift and since it is auspicious for the season, it becomes a perfect gifting option,” said Sujata, owner of Silver Arc. The price falls between Rs 500 to Rs 5,000 per piece. Since, silver is a Diwali favourite, there are some expensive and exclusive options like silver diyas, lamps and religious portraits. While sweets are the best way to send the festive message across, designer cakes and candies seem to be doing it better. These small, round delicacies with dollops of innovative icing, festive designs and a topping of colourful sugar “sprinkles” are indeed selling like hot-cakes this season, especially with corporate gift hampers. From customised cupcakes to chocolate shaped diyas and candles, exotic variants are in demand. “It includes cup cakes, donuts, dry cakes, fondants and some innovations like Ferrero Rocher cakes, cake sorbets that are crushed and made into small balls wrapped with chocolate, puddings and cookies,” shared Parvez from Chic Chocolate. Phew, stop counting calories all you diet freaks! Here is something different for those who value bigger things in life. Art, in its various avatars, too seem to be a popular Diwali gift. A canvas, full of festive colours, a mural fit for rangoli décor or just a hand crafted card or diya, art work too has found some takers. Like Hoshiarpur-based artist Jaspal Singh, who specifically paints customised Diwali greetings for his artist friends in Amritsar. “Very few people value art this way. There are some who buy art works like paintings or some handicraft for gifting but the trend cannot compete with the other lavish gifts. One has to have the taste for it,” shared Brijesh Jolly, an art critic from city, who makes sure to send across his Diwali greetings in tandem with his creativity.
	Cracker market set up at Ranjit Avenue Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 The firecracker market today finally got functional at Ranjit Avenue. The Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT), on the intervention of the district administration, had issued 65 allotment letters for setting up temporary kiosks for selling firecrackers but the traders took much time to set these up. The decision was taken after the matter of setting up the kiosks at the Jahajgarh area went to the court. The district administration permitted the sellers to set up the shops at Ranjit Avenue for the first time. The ‘patakha market’ in the Jahajgarh area had already been ruled out and the traders had so far not been able to locate a suitable place to run their business. The AIT has provided a separate passage for parking of vehicles and three entries and exits to the market have been marked but no fire tender was seen when the correspondent visited the market. The district administration has prohibited the sale of firecrackers at places other than the designated spot in the city to avoid any untoward incident. Earlier, the wholesale cracker market used to be set up at the IDH Market, near the Bus stand and Pappar Wala Bazaar near the Golden Temple. However, the markets had to be shifted to Jahajgarh in 2000 after a massive fire broke out at the IDH Market in which loss worth crores of rupees and many human lives was reported in 1999.
	MC employees call off stir Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 The Municipal Corporation staff members, who were up in arms against the MC authorities in support of their demands, today called off their hunger strike after Mayor BR Arora and MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda approached the protesting staff and persuaded them to withdraw their strike after accepting most of their demands. Narinder Kumar, general secretary of Safai Mazdoor Union, said it was unanimously decided to end the agitation after having a positive response from the MC authorities. The authorities disbursed them partial amounts of their pending salary cheques, cleared dues in anticipation of medical allowance and uniform allowance for around 700 employees who were hired on DC rates or through Mohalla Sudhar Committees, besides DA (dearness allowance) arrears for the regular employees. “The MC has paid the employees the salary of two months, which comes out to Rs 1.6 crore. Besides, the DA of permanent employees worth Rs 2.5 crore will also be paid in due course. We have been assured that all pending dues will be met before Diwali”, said Narinder Kumar.
	MC conducts property tax camp, collects Rs 7.5 lakh Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 The Municipal C4orporation today held a property tax awareness camp at Focal Point, where it sensitised people on the issue, besides realising dues to the tune of Rs 7.5 lakh. The Focal Point Industrial Association also helped the MC team and urged the association members to deposit their property tax after self-assessing the details. Superintendent Shushant Bhatia said 183 residents had deposited their taxes on the spot. “Keeping in view the enthusiasm we received here, we have been requested to conduct one more camp. This camp would be organised after Diwali". Kamal Dalmia and Sandeep Khosla, president and general secretary of the industrial association, said it was a worthy step on the part of the MC to conduct such a camp. “The format designed by the MC was quite helpful in calculating the tax applicable on our properties. We had a lot of queries in our minds about how to go about, when it comes to filling up the self-assessment proforma and on what basis the calculations have to be done”, they said. Others present on the occasion included Pappu Mahajan, BJP leader, Harpal Singh, press secretary of Focal Point Association, Sanjeev Sharma, senior vice-president, Charanjit Sharma, Sanjeev Sharma, Ajit Singh Bhullar, all vice-presidents and Shakti Agarwal, finance secretary.
	GNDU prof gets national fellowship Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 Prof Dr Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Dean, Faculty of Sports Medicine, of Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, was conferred upon with Fellowship of the National Academy of Medical Sciences by Dr C S Bhaskaran, president of the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), during the convocation held at All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur. Dr Sandhu was recognised for "his significant contribution to the advancement of medical sciences". The fellowship was conferred in the presence of Dr R Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India and Padma Vibhushan Prof JS Bajaj, Emeritus President of NAMS, on October 26. The citation of the fellowship acknowledges that Prof Sandhu is a researcher, educationist and an administrator whose work has been recognised by Asian and Global Sporting faculty. Prof Sandhu joined the league of professionals like Prof P N Chuttani, Prof Tulsi Das, Prof Man Singh Nirankari, Prof Santokh Singh, Prof Hardas Singh, Prof Ajmer Singh and others who have noteworthy contributions towards the development of medical sciences. This is the first fellowship awarded by NAMS for substantial development in the field of sports medicine. Prof Sandhu has many other firsts to his credit. He is the first and the only Indian to be conferred the Fellowship of International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS) since 1928, last year in Shangai. He is also the first Indian to be the secretary general of the Asian Federation of Sports Medicine and a member of the Education Commission of FIMS. He was also awarded a Fellowship by Asian Federation of Sports Medicine in 2011, besides three other fellowships from various academies and associations. He is a member of numerous expert committees of University Grants Commission and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. He has more than 225 research papers to his credit. He was also the organizing secretary of 12th Asian Federation of Sports Medicine Congress, the first international sports medicine congress held in India. He was the first to introduce clinical Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Sports Medicine in India and a PhD programme in sports medicine.
	Iodine Deficiency Disorder Prevention Day observed Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 The Health Department organised a function to observe Iodine Deficiency Disorder Prevention Day at Government Senior Secondary School Kohali near here today. Speaking on the occasion, mass media officer of the Health Department Bimla Kumari said deficiency of iodine posed great challenges to physical and mental growth of children. She said the deficiency could result in problems like loss of eye sight, deformation of body parts and problems of the, brain which resulted in further complications. An official, Rupinder Jit Kaur, said the people must not use salt which did not contain iodine. She said as prevention was better than cure, people must not use common salt which did not contain iodine. She told the students that salt should not be kept near water as it resulted in loss of iodine from it. She further said common salt packet should not be emptied into a jar. Instead, it should be cut from a side and kept in an air tight jar, so that its iodine is not lost.
	Sports authority conducts gatka trials Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 29 A five-member team of experts from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) today visited the International Fateh Academy (IFA) after the former adopted it for setting up the maiden gatka Academy on its campus here. On the first day of the two-day trials, the visiting team, led by Deputy Director of SAI Regional Centre, Chandigarh, Ajit Singh, took physical trials. In all, 28 youths turned up for the trials. They displayed their skills in jumps, running, stretching, throwing medicine ball weighing one kg and others. Chairman of IFA Jagbir Singh said the trails lasted four hours.