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Jallianwala martyrs' kin observe black day
Despite orders, hoardings remain intact on several government buildings
Affordable treatment for all need of the hour: Dr Daljit
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Begging goes unchecked in city
Kewal Dhaliwal gets Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Jaitley gets traders' backing
Players laud Edu Dept move
Resident wins law suit against insurance company
IARI identifies second site for growing basmati seeds
Health Department nabs quack
CKD Institute holds joint campus placement drive
Artists pay tributes to martyrs on Baisakhi
12 booked on charge of attempt to murder
2 snatching incidents reported
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Jallianwala martyrs' kin observe black day
Amritsar, April 13 They alleged the denial of benefits extended to the kin of other freedom fighters. They wore black badges in protest against the apathetic attitude of the Centre as well as the state government towards their demand. While they failed to meet Captain Amarinder Singh during his visit to the Jallianwala Bagh, they apprised Jaitley of their plight. "He only assured us that he would take up the matter before the higher authorities if voted to power," said Bhushan Behl, president of the Jallianwala Bagh Shaheed Parivar Samiti. Questioning the rationale behind extending "hefty" benefits to the family of Sarbjit Singh, the Indian prisoner on the death row in Pakistan who died after brutally assaulted by jail inmates, they said they were still struggling to attain the status of a martyr for their ancestors who laid down their lives on April 13, 1919. Behl, whose grandfather advocate Hari Ram Behl was among those killed during the 1919 massacre, said "Our family had a tough time eking out a living after his death. We have no objection if crores of rupees and government jobs are provided to Sarabjit's family but the Centre and the state government have adopted a double standard in the case of the Jallianwala martyrs, which is painful." Nand Lal Arora's grandfather Fakir Chand was killed while his father Wazir Chand was badly injured in a stampede on the fateful day. Arora, who is the general secretary of the samiti, said, "After we held a protest, the history was corrected by extending the freedom fighter status to the Jallianwala martyrs but will the government correct its definition of freedom fighter after denial of several benefits to the kin of the martyrs," he said. After the struggle spanning several decades, the Jallianwala martyrs got the status of freedom fighter in 2008. However, the government refused to treat them on a par with other freedom fighters, hence, benefits like reservation in jobs, free travel and priority in gas or petrol pump dealership were denied to their kin. Though the state government had formed a committee, headed by the Chief Secretary, to make recommendations about the issue to the Centre, the move failed to yield any results. What martyrs’ kin say
After we held a protest, history was corrected by extending the freedom fighter status to the Jallianwala martyrs but will the government correct its definition of freedom fighter after denial of several benefits to the kin of the
martyrs. Nand Lal Arora, general secretary, Jallianwala Bagh Shaheed Parivar Samiti We have no objection if crores of rupees and government jobs are provided to Sarabjit's family but the Centre and the state government have adopted double standards in the case of the Jallianwala martyrs. Bhushan Behl, president, Jallianwala Bagh Shaheed Parivar Samiti
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Despite orders, hoardings remain intact on several government buildings
Amritsar, April 13 Leaders of a political party, alleging monopoly of a political party over the display of hoardings on government buildings, had approached the Election Commission. The Election Commission had issued fresh directions to remove all kinds of hoardings following their complaint. District Election Officer Ravi Bhagat has instructed the Municipal Corporation, Police Commissionerate, Railways and the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) to remove all kinds of political hoardings, display boards, banners and other forms of advertisements from their properties. However, hoardings on many buildings in the city, including outside Sikandari Gate and the Municipal Corporation building, were seen intact. A majority of the political hoardings were of the SAD-BJP alliance. The AIT had rented out advertisement spaces to private advertising companies in lieu of the maintenance of these places, said AIT Chariman Sandeeep Rishi. “It has come to the notice that the advertising companies have rented out these spaces to political parties for the installation of their billboards and hoardings," he said. As per the orders, political hoardings could not be displayed on the government funded and managed buildings, he added . He claimed that the orders were implemented without any delay and all officials of the trust were pressed into the service immediately. Municipal Corporation Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said, a senior official in each of the five segments in the city is keeping a watch on the hoardings. He said strict instructions for the removal of political hoardings from public properties have been passed. Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said they has asked the police officials to follow the orders. District Election Officer Ravi Bhagat has instructed the Municipal Corporation, Police Commissionerate, Railways and the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) to remove all kinds of political hoardings, display boards, banners and other forms of advertisements from their properties
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Affordable treatment for all need of the hour: Dr Daljit
Amritsar, April 13 The meeting was attended by a large number of people belonging to the medical fraternity. Dr Daljit Singh not only talked about the problems being faced by the common man but also hinted at their solution. He said if with sheer grit and determination, polio could be eradicated, the same way other health-related problems could also be solved . “We need to put our heads together to find out the solution of the problems at the macro level," he said. Dr Daljit Singh said education and healthcare were the two major concerns for people around the globe. "In India, however, health issues are not a priority for political parties," he said. He said while private health institutions had progressed, the state-run health institutions had lagged behind, forcing patients to seek treatment in private hospitals. “How many of us can afford treatment at a private hospital? The expenditure on treatment at private hospitals is too much for the common man. The big government hospitals remain underutilised and mismanaged to such an extent that expensive machines are lying unused,” he said. He said the people living in the rural areas were the most affected due to the poor healthcare services. “For every minute problem, people are being forced to look towars big cities. They suffer at the hands of quacks,” he said.
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Begging goes unchecked in city
Amritsar, April 13 Besides hampering the smooth flow of traffic, they put their lives into risk. “These children cannot reach the windowpanes of vehicles. So, they climb vehicles' pedestals to beg, which can hurt them in case a driver moves his vehicle without noticing them,” said Balkaran Singh, a city resident. He added that the policemen on duty should stop the children from begging. Every time, vehicles stop at traffic signals, beggars rush towards them. Commuters should be more vigilant to minimise the risk of accidents. The residents feel that the administration should take steps to rehabilitate the beggars and take action against the parents who force their children to beg. Earlier, the administration had set up a shelter home for the homeless and under the scheme the administration conducted raids during late night hours and beggars were taken into a protective custody. The raids were conducted mostly during winter as there is a high risk of homeless dying due to cold. The presence of beggars is a blot on the reputation of the city. “The government should take steps to curb begging. If any person is unable to earn a livelihood, it is the duty of the government to provide him with bread and butter,”said Avtar Singh, a city resident.
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Kewal Dhaliwal gets Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
Amritsar, April 13 Earlier, Dhaliwal was honoured with the state award in the field of direction. He played an important role in organising the first folk festival at Preet Vihar recently. The Sangeet Natak Akademi award includes Rs 1,00,000 in cash besides a tamrapatra and angavastram. The actor-director and playwright has also been awarded for his contribution in the peace process through the Punjabi theatre. His contributing towars the Punjabi literature has also been lauded. Sharing his achievement, Dhaliwal said, "In 36 years of my career, I have worked in many theatre productions in India as well as in Pakistan. My theatre group regularly participates in the Paanj Pani Theatre Festival in Lahore and is quite actively involved in collaborating with the artistes form across the border." He has given about 5,000 stage performances, directed 108 full- length plays and and has written 20 books. Kewal also holds developmental and street theatre workshops for children in the rural areas. He has done a considerable work in the international theatre circuit and feels that the Punjabi theatre is highly respected worldwide. "What Chekov and Gorky are to the Indian theatre, Sardar Gursharan Singh is to the international theater," he
said. Kewal Dhaliwal is the director of the Virsa Vihar Society, Amritsar
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Jaitley gets traders' backing
Amritsar, April 13 Association president Krishan Kumar Kuku said they would support Jaitley wholeheartedly. Meanwhile, addressing the gathering, Jaitley said the economy of the country was ruined by the UPA government as it ignored the problems faced by the industry. He said the UPA government was a total failure and its performance was the worst when it came to the issue of industrialisation. He said the NDA had clear cut plans for the every sector of the industry and Amritsar would be benefited from their
policies. He said they would announce a special package for the industry in the border area and an industrial corridors would be set up in the region. Punjab Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia said the main focus of the NDA government would be on the trade with Pakistan through the Attari- Wagah border as if would usher in a new era of development for Amritsar and Punjab.
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Players laud Edu Dept move
Amritsar, April 13 Recently, the Education Department announced to offer up to 20 grace marks in examinations to sportspersons of Classes X and XII. Officials of the department said the state government had notified this move in 2012 to encourage sports, however, it remained unimplemented. Now, it has been learnt that the Punjab State Education Board chairperson Dr Tejinder Kaur Dhaliwal has given her consent for its implementation. Players will be given minimum 10 marks to maximum of 20 marks depending upon their performance. Players who stand first at the national level will be given maximum 20 marks while the players getting first, second and third positions at the state level games will be given 15, 12 and 10 marks, respectively. Former hockey Olympian Balwinder Singh Shammi said in order to encourage sports, stress must be laid on training budding players. To catch them young and provide required
facilities and scientific guidance must be the priority, he said. He said a provision of grace marks depending upon performance in sports would help create sports culture around. "We already lack excellent sports infrastructure and adequate number of coaches, besides study pressure also looms large over the players. It would help to take off some pressure from them," he said. Raju, an employee with a private concern said, "A good runner with dodging skills earned me respect while playing football with friends of Indira Colony locality. We used to play at the ground adjoining the agriculture fields. Football as a game was a natural choice for us since it required little investment. With a small contribution of Rs 5 from each player of a team, it was easy to buy a durable football," said Raju, an employee with a private concern. However, he could not handle the double pressure of studies and sports. He couldn't find support either from the government or from family and eventually abandoned sports. "I find the concept of grace marks linked with performance in sports as a good move," he said.
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Resident wins law suit against insurance company
Amritsar, April 13 Earlier, the insurance company had denied the claim on the ground that the vehicle was being used as a taxi and not as a private vehicle for which it was insured. Satbir Singh, a resident of Majitha Road, had filed a complaint against the United India Insurance Company Limited stating that he had got his Tata Indigo car insured from the company. He said the vehicle was stolen from outside his home during the period of insurance cover and he had reported the matter to the police. In its reply, the company said the case of the insured had been repudiated as the insured had violated the terms and conditions of the policy. The company said the vehicle was insured as a private car, but at the time of the incident, it was being used as a taxi. The forum observed that from the registration card (RC) of the vehicle produced by the complainant, it was fully proved on record that the vehicle in question was insured as taxi. However, at the time of purchase, before being registered with the registering authority, it was insured as a private car. The forum held that the insurance company was not justified in repudiating the claim of the complainant and asked it to pay 75 per cent of the insurance amount. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed an insurance company to pay 75 per cent of the insured amount of a stolen vehicle along with Rs 2,000 as litigation expenses
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IARI identifies second site for growing basmati seeds
Amritsar, April 13 He elaborated that seeds of wheat HD 2967 variety and PUSA Basmati 1509 would be grown here. The IARI has been propagating among the farmers to shift to wheat HD 2967 from PBW 343. The new variety is resistant to yellow rust and the yield is also better. Pusa Basmati 1509 is replacing Pusa Basmati 1121 as the former requires only 120 days to mature while the latter needs 145 days. He said it would decrease the irrigation days for basmati while the yield would also be good. He appreciated the strict implementation of not sowing rice before June 10 as it prevented the trend of diminishing water table. He said the new variety of rice would be another milestone to achieve. Gupta said at present only 20 per cent area in Punjab was under the PUSA 1509 and the objective was to double the same in this fiscal year. He anticipated that growing seeds of these varieties here would contribute to its early propagation locally. Maj Manmohan Singh Verka (retd), whose farm at Phirewariya village about 25 km from here has been selected to grow seeds, said the farmers would be able to procure the seeds locally. Maj Verka was given the Krishak Samrat Samman Regional Award for the North region in the male category by Mahindra Samriddhi India Agri Awards last year and was conferred with the state award for being a progressive horticulturist.
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Health Department nabs quack
Amritsar, April 13 The case was registered following the statement of Medical Officer of the Community Health Centre at Manawala, Dr Ravinder Kumar. Dr Ravinder said the Health Department received a complaint that the accused was involved in illegal medical practice. A team headed by Dr Ravinder raided the clinic of the accused. He could not produce any document that could validate his profession. Dr Ravinder said Kashmir Singh was also found to be involved in unauthorised sale of medicines. The Jandiala police authorities said no arrest had been made in this connection and further investigations were under progress.
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CKD Institute holds joint campus placement drive
Amritsar, April 13 More than 250 students of MBA, BBA, BCA, B Sc (IT) and B Com (Prof) of the passing out batch from CKDIMT and other colleges such as Khalsa College, Khalsa College for Women, DAV College, Hindu College, SR Government College and SSSS College of Amritsar participated in the drive. President, CKD, Charanjit Singh Chadha, said, "Through such placement drives, the students will be able to choose the right career based on the exposure they get. Such drives help both the student community as well as recruiters, besides reducing the time and cost involved in hiring." Principal, CKDIMT, Dr HS Sandhu, said "The overwhelming response we have received from corporate houses as well as students for the placement drive at CKDIMT is an indication of the opportunities and talent that exist in educational institutions The institute is also planning to organise a mega job fest in which more than 500 job opportunities would be available in leading MNCs." The selection process started with pre placement talk followed by a group discussion and final interview. Five students, including four from CKDIMT, namely Khushubu Malik, Krishma Batra, Palak Mehra and Saniya Arora got an annual salary package of Rs 3 lakh per annum each from multinational company Tommy Hilfiger. Tommy Hilfiger offers products such as men’s and women’s apparels, sportswear and a wide variety of accessories.
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He pedals his way across difficult terrain
Amritsar, April 13 After successfully completing his pilgrimage to 5 Takhts, this man has now accomplished his journey of visiting various holy shrines, irrespective of any religion, in Punjab. Commencing his journey from Amritsar on March 16, he first paid obeisance at Anandpur Sahib and then visited different temples and Gurudwaras at Mandi, Kullu, Manali, Hoshiarpur, Batala, Manikaran Sahib, Kotha Sahib, Jwala ji and Chintpurni among others. He returned on March 30. Immediately after completion of this journey, he embarked on another one and visited Moga, Faridkot, Jagraon, Nanak Sar, Malerkotla, Ludhiana, Bilgha, Nakodar and Sultanpuri Lodhi. “I prefer bicycle rather than any other mode of travelling. It gives me immense satisfaction and an opportunity to visit other shrines en route my destination. It also keeps me in the best of my health,” he said. He added it was his aim to spread the message of peace and humanity enshrined in the teachings of Sikh Gurus. “Earlier, I paid obeisance at 5 Takhts and it took me around two months to complete that journey. I paid obeisance at Keshgarh Sahib in Anandpur, Takht Damdama Sahib in Talwandi Sabo, Takht Sri Patna Sahib in Bihar, Takht Sri Hazoor Sahib
at Nanded (Maharashtra) and culminated my yatra at Akal Takht Sahib,” he said. Paramajit is a carpenter by profession and is a father of four children, including two girls. He said his family always supported his cause. “In fact they encouraged me to continue my zeal of paying obeisance at various shrines,” he added. In his journeys, he sometimes had to face a lot of difficulties. “People always helped me in overcoming problems and sometimes supported me financially to complete my yatra,” he said. Paramajit said, recently, he watched people dying during his visit to Uttarakhand. He said he narrowly escaped flash floods, which took huge toll of lives and property. “Ultimately, I had to return home. But this did not affect my objective of undertaking religious tours and spread the message of welfare of humanity,” he said.
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Artists pay tributes to martyrs on Baisakhi
Amritsar, April 13 Group’s secretary Mala Chawla said around 250 student painters, including six senior painters from Delhi, Agra, Hyderabad and Bihar participated in the event. She said the group had been organising the event for the past 10 years. International Fateh Academy celebrated its 7th Foundation Day and Khalsa Sirjana Divas on its campus today. The celebrations started with Akhand Path of Sri Guru Granth Sahib. After the Bhog ceremony, a nagar kirtan was taken
out. — TNS
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12 booked on charge of attempt to murder
Amritsar, April 13 The complainant, identified as Bushan Sharma of the Sharifpura area, told the police that he, along with his brother Rohit Sharma, was going towards Ghanupure Kale when the accused entered into a brawl following a mishap between their tractor-trailer and his motorcycle. The incident took place on April 1 evening. He alleged that the accused started beating them and they sustained injuries. He said the accused ran away when they raised an alarm. A case under Sections 307, 323, 324, 148, 149 of the IPC has been registered. No arrest has been made so far.
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2 snatching incidents reported
Amritsar, April 13 In another incident, Punam Suri of the New Green field area on Majitha Road said she was going towards her house when two motorcycle-borne youths snatched her purse, containing two mobile phones and Rs 2,000 in cash. The police have registered cases under Section 382 of the IPC.
— TNS
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