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State EC issues fresh directions
Manufacturing of illicit liquor continues in villages
Social media new battleground for politicos
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Miscreants fire at Cong leader's office
Residents seeks reduction in hospital parking fee
Polls delay recovery of property tax
Shopkeeper alleges false implication
Health Dept to start anti-malaria campaign
CAMPUS NOTES More EVMs demanded
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State EC issues fresh directions
Notably, the civic authorities have rented out many sites to several advertisement firms who had further sublet these sites to political parties. A couple of days ago, the local authorities had swung into action and had started a drive for the removal of all kinds of publicity material from the government-funded or managed buildings. The legal cell of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, alleging monopoly of the SAD-BJP alliance over the display of hoardings on government buildings, had approached the Election Commission. The Election Commission had issued directions to remove all kinds of hoardings following their complaint. Following the orders, the local authorities had initiated a drive for the removal of all kinds of hoardings, banners, billboards and posters from the properties of the MC, Amritsar Improvement Trust, Railways and the Police Department. However, objection was raised over the Election Commisiion of India's orders because there were a number of spots rented out through auction to private firms. Consequently, the drive for removal of hoardings was stalled to avoid legal complications as it could lead to the breach of contract. Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat said, “We had sought clarification on the issue from the CEO, Punjab, who has issued the latest directions. We had stalled the drive as the designated spots rented out through auction will have to be left out. However, hoardings from other government buildings will be removed."
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Manufacturing of illicit liquor continues in villages
Amritsar, April 14 Moreover, urea and limestone are being used in its preparation, posing a risk to the lives of the people. According to sources in the Police Department, urea is being used for fast fermentation while limestone is being used for rapid distillation. In Tarn Taran, lahan was found hidden in a pit. The owner of the building from where the drums of lahan were recovered came face to face with the Excise officials and the police. An inferior quality of jaggery ,which is not fit for human consumption, is being used as raw material in the preparation of liquor. Jaggery mixed with water is kept in large containers till the process of fermentation starts. When the mixture starts emitting a foul smell, it is ready for distillation. As the demand for liquor is high due to the Lok Sabha elections these days, urea is being added to jaggery for instant fermentation. "Limestone is also added to the mixture after fermentation to speed up the liquor-making process. With this, there is no need to distill the mixture," said the sources . Ironically, there are several villages where liquor is being openly manufactured under the patronage of political leaders and no policemen dares to take action against them. An official of the Excise Department said liquor was being produced at almost all villages in Amritsar and bootleggers were ruling the roost. The Amritsar rural police authorities said they were carrying out raids at suspected places to nab the people involved in the making of the illicit liquor. Urea and limestone are being used in the preparation of liquor, posing a risk to the lives of the people
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Social media new battleground for politicos
Amritsar, April 14 This fact was proved when social media users, especially youngsters, asked questions from BJP candidate Arun Jaitley during the programme, Facebook Talks Election Wash. The voters from 18 to 60 years participated in the event. “This time, many of the public interactions are being held online. According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India estimates, a well-executed social media campaign can swing three to 4 per cent of the votes into a candidate's favour. Today, we have over 93 million people in India who are active on Facebook," Madhu Trehan, editor-in-chief, Newslaundry.com said. BJP's online campaign Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG) has been liked by over 4,84,237 people and 3,430 people shared views about it online. With features like making donations online and the latest 3D holographic details about the Modi's Campaign, the party's Facebook page is loaded with the election information. Similarly, AAP, that is credited with using Internet to its potential, has state and constituency specific Facebook pages. Even the Congress has grabbed its share of the social media space. "It's a strategy to woo the young voters, who remain online round-the-clock," said Goerge Emanual, a 29-year-old artist from the city. "I believe that the youth, which never actively participated in the electoral process, has suddenly become active and political parties want to win their support. It's a good strategy to win the support of urban voters as they can instantly get information about Lok Sabha candidates and the election manifestos of political parties online," he says. Jasmine Bawa, a student of mass communication, said ,"All these social media campaigns are important as youngsters want to know minute details about political parties and their candidates. Information on the net helps in decision making." Madhu Trehan said, "We joined hands with the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) to provide people information about LS candidates. Voters can know about candidates' criminal, financial, educational and professional record online. The access to information was never simpler, faster and cheaper before." India Election Tracker allows voters to watch their candidates through
livestream.
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Candidates from minorities also in fray
Amritsar, April 14 Muslim Sewa Society president Yusuf said several people from his community approached him and urged him to contest the elections as all mainstream parties failed to do anything for the community. He said many demands of his community remained unfulfilled. He said several mosques in the constituency were lying abandoned while burial grounds of the community had been illegally occupied. Claiming himself to be a local, Yusuf said many people around him had approached the Samajwadi Party to secure a ticket for him. He asserted that he would raise the issues of all communities if voted to power. He visited several houses during his campaign today. Another contestant from Amritsar is Rehmat Masih, a dairy farmer. He is contesting as an Independent. He had contested the Lok Sabha elections twice in the past. He claimed that he had got around 24,000 votes in the 1996 LS elections. He said no councillor or MLA from his community had ever been elected. He said his community feels that their problems would be sincerely considered if he won. His symbol is television.
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Miscreants fire at Cong leader's office
Amritsar, April 14 Karamjit Singh Rintu, in-charge for Amritsar North Assembly constituency, alleged that it was an attempt to intimidate party workers before the Lok Sabha elections. The incident brought to light the fact how easily miscreants can escape despite the presence of the paramilitary force and the police in the city. From the marks on the gate of the office, it was found that the unidentified persons fired six times at the election office. The police also recovered empty bullet shells from the spot, which they said belonged to a .32 bore pistol or revolver. “It seems that the incident took place only to intimidate Congress workers. Frankly speaking, I don’t believe the police that they would do anything in this regard or even identify the accused,” he said. He said as per the residents of the area, a day before yesterday, unidentified persons had fired in the air in front of our office, which clearly alluded towards the laxity on the part of the police. Rintu had contested the 2012 Assembly elections against Punjab Local Body Minister Anil Joshi from the Amritsar North Assembly constituency. He said the SAD-BJP government had panicked after seeing massive support for Congress candidate Capt Amarinder Singh. He said the ruling alliance wanted to win the contest by hook or crook. The police said a case under Section 336 of the IPC and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the unidentified persons.
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Work starts on Rs 580-cr bus project
Amritsar, April 14 The 3.255 km elevated road from Celebration Mall to Verka bypass chowk is proposed to be finished within 18 months. Work on the Rs 6,817 lakh project was supposed to start in March. The private concern entrusted with the task has deployed its men and material on the road site. As per the design, a 2.5 metre wide column will be erected in the middle of the 30 metre wide road. An elevated road will be built on these columns on which buses will ply. Beneath the elevated stretch will be a 7.5 metre wide motorable road on either side of these columns. Besides, 6.25 metre interlocking paver and footpath will be constructed on both sides of the road. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal laid the foundation stone of the Rs 580 crore Metro Bus Project on February 26. The project envisages providing a complete and ultimate mobility solution to commuters with dedicated runways for high-end buses, besides setting up of adequate bus shelters. A fleet of 90 air conditioned metro buses will also be deployed under the project. With a total length of 30.73 km, the project is aimed at reducing the traffic snarls and bottlenecks in the holy city. Seven corridors have been created for this purpose. The location of these corridors is at Albert Road, Bhandari Bridge Loop, Bhandari Bridge roundabout to Daburji bypass, Central Core Hussainpura Chowk to Celebration Mall to Kitchlu Chowk to Albert Road Junction, SSSS Chowk to Crystal Chowk, Celebration Mall to NH bypass, NH bypass to Verka Canal and ROB at
Verka.
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Residents seeks reduction in hospital parking fee
Amritsar, April 14 As per the user charges notified by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation, the fees for OPD examination is Rs 5. A visitor has to pay more to park his vehicle at the health institution premises. While Rs 10 are charged from two wheeler drivers, the four wheeler drivers have to pay Rs 20. In an interaction with The Tribune, many patients complained that government hospitals were not a place for recreation and entertainment. As such parking rates should be lowered. “No one comes here unless he is sick. Hospitals should charge the amount which is necessary to maintain the parking. The government should not try to raise money indirectly when it claims that hospitals are providing free medicine,” said Yogesh Kumar, a visitor to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. The visitors said as the parking attendants’ did not take responsibility for safety of their vehicles, they had no moral right to ask for parking fees. “The ticket itself says that the parking staff is not responsible for damage to the vehicle and parts that can be removed. It further says that only 25 per cent of the cost of vehicle will be payable after six months in case of theft,” said Balkar Singh, a visitor at the Civil Hospital. People also complained that the area under parking in hospitals was less than the requirement. “Even the passage to the emergency departments is blocked by vehicles. There should be multi-storey parking at the Civil Hospital and Guru Nanak Dev Hospital,” said Rohit Kumar, a local resident.
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Polls delay recovery of property tax
Amritsar, April 14 The MC expected to collect Rs 45-50 crore by the announced deadline. Till date not even half of the target has been met. As per sources only Rs 18 crore could be collected till the filing of this report. Insiders say as the property tax became a hot topic of political debate, the ruling SAD-BJP combine directed the authorities concerned not to bother about tax collection for the time being. The Congress has blamed the SAD-BJP ruling alliance for treating house owners as tenants. In reply, the SAD-BJP combine has made public official documents, which indicate that the property tax was imposed on the instance of Congress-led Centre government. Nonetheless, the end result was that the authorities have reportedly been asked to defer tax collection till the election process was over. Officials pointed out that the government had extended the deadline of depositing the property tax with rebate on three occasions. Repeated shifting of the deadline from December 15 to December 31 and then to March 31 had led to backfiring of the tax collection process. Since the month of September, when the process of collecting property tax actually began, a grace period of around 100 days was given to the residents. The MC had identified 3 lakh units, including 40,000 commercial, in Amritsar’s urban area, which came under the ambit of property tax. There were still around 2 lakh units (both residential and commercial), which have not yet bothered to pay their dues. The MC’s freebies in the shape of rebates could not allure them to deposit tax. Despite this, the MC has been adopting various measures to simplify the process, which includes self-declaration, holding awareness-cum-collection programme in various localities and even introducing the online system of depositing tax. MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said it was a temporary phase and the property tax had to be paid. “I agree that the response has dimmed, but it’s a temporary phase. The property tax has to be paid as per the norm and it is a continuous process,” said the commissioner.
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Shopkeeper alleges false implication
Amritsar, April 14 The victim, identified as Nanak Singh, along with his son Jatinder Singh, was booked by the Beas police under Sections 353, 186, 506 and 34 of the IPC on April 10. As per the case, Nanak and his son obstructed the present sarpanch from executing a project involving construction of drainage system in the main Bazar of Beas village. Sarpanch Surinderpal Singh alleged that Nanak had encroached upon the land and obstructed the workers from constructing the drainage system in front of his sweet shop. On the other hand Sirsa alleged that no such incident had occurred on the said date and on the spot mentioned in the complaint. He said nearby shopkeepers and residents had given a joint representation in this regard and supported Nanak, who was a former sarpanch of the village. They urged the SSP, Amritsar (rural), to conduct an impartial probe and cancel the FIR registered against Nanak and his son, besides instructing the Beas police for not arresting him till the completion of the inquiry.
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City remembers Dr Ambedkar
Amritsar, April 14 Speaking on the occasion, Jaitley said Baba Saheb devoted his entire life to the freedom of the country particularly to upliftment of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and other socially backward communities. He said Baba Saheb was remembered as Messiah of Dalits and downtrodden and as the founder of the Indian Constitution. It was the duty of every citizen to follow in his footsteps, he added. Jaitley stressed that the BJP was committed to the cause once undertaken by Ambedkar. The SC/ST Department of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee also organised a function at Faizpura locality here. Party general secretary Gurinder Singh Sabi said non Congress governments at the Centre had done nothing for the
welfare of Dalits and other backward communities. He said benefits given to Dalits should
also be extended to the poorer sections of other communities. Shri Guru Ravidas Welfare Society also garlanded the statue of Dr Ambedkar at the Town Hall. General secretary of the society Chaman Lal said message of equality, fraternity, freedom and brotherhood
given by Dr Ambekar should be spread among the masses.
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Health Dept to start anti-malaria campaign
Amritsar, April 14 District epidemiologist, Dr Charanjit Singh, said the department had recently observed World Health Day with the objective of creating awareness about vector-borne diseases, which include malaria and dengue. He said people should not throw waste tyres, utensils and other things, which can hold water in the open. As water stagnates, it becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes, he added. Dr Charanjit said soon the department would organise a meeting with officials of other government departments to sensitise them about making a joint effort to prevent the spread of vector-borne diseases. Civil Surgeon, Dr Usha Bansal, said the department was ready to deal with the situation during the coming days and officials have been briefed about the plans. She said people should cover themselves properly with clothes and use mosquito repellents.
— TNS
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Global Premier Cricket League
The Mechanical Engineering Department today won the Global Premier Cricket League held on the grounds of the Global Institutes. As many as eight teams from all departments of Global Institutes, including Mechanical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Information Technology, Civil Engineering, Computer Science Engineering, MBA, MCA, polytechnic participated in the league. In the knockout tournament, four matches were played in the first round, followed by semi-final and final. The final match was played between students of MBA and mechanical engineering. In the nail-biting match, students of mechanical engineering defeated MBA students by four wickets. The winning team was awarded a cash prize of Rs 5,000 along with medals and trophy. Rakesh Kumar, captain of the mechanical engineering team, was adjudged player of the tournament for his all round performance, which included 9 wickets and 27 runs. He was given a cash prize of Rs 2,100. Anil Kohli, captain of the MBA team, was lauded for his achievements in cricket. Dr Akashdeep Singh, vice-chairman of the Global Institutes, said Anil Kohli represented Jammu and Kashmir in Ranji Trophy. Kohli received an English willow bat from the vice-chairman. The vice-chairman also inaugurated a newly built cricket ground on the Global Institutes campus. Annual Sports Day
BBK DAV College celebrated its annual Sports Day today. Principal of the college, Dr Neelam Kamra, presented the annual report highlighting the achievements in sports at international, national, inter-varsity levels during 2013-14 session. Three players Sneh Rana, Lovepreet Kaur and Karmjit Kaur made their mark at the international level sports events. Twenty two teams won championships in the inter-college competitions, 13 teams got first runners-up positions and two teams bagged second runners-up positions. The Principal said the college also contributed in winning the MAKA Trophy for Guru Nanak Dev University. Rope Malkhumb team of the college showed its feats and won hearts of the audience during the event. A sports bulletin of the college was released and as many as 300 players were given prizes on the occasion.
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Amritsar, April 14