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Rain damages cement worth Rs 1 cr
Atta-Dal scheme: Distribution of subsidised ration begins
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Plan to tackle drug menace eludes LS candidates’ agenda
Watchman found dead
Capt ridicules Bluestar allegations
Bar assn elections on Apr 24
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Rain damages cement worth Rs 1 cr
Amritsar, April 19 Association president MPS Chatha said around 30,000 bags of cement were unloaded in the open due to which the showers damaged them. Importers pay some fee to the Central Warehousing Corporation, which is managing the ICP, for loading, unloading and safety of imported goods. Chatha said the ICP had lost their trust. He claimed that all cement importers had suffered an accumulative loss of around Rs one crore due to their negligence. The association today tried to meet the authorities at the ICP but failed. “We have submitted a complaint to the ICP office,” said Chatha. The consignment of cement from Pakistan had arrived on Wednesday. Porters at the ICP had gone on a strike the same day to impress upon the authorities to enhance their wages. The issue between the labour contractors and the ICP is still unresolved and due to it, traders are facing a problem in transportation of their imports from the ICP to their sale stations. The association has also asked the ICP authorities not to impose demurrage charges on importers till the issue with the labour contractors is resolved. At present, importers pay demurrage charges to stock imports from Pakistan at the rate of 20 paisa per day per bag for the first two days and Rs 2.50 per bag from the third day onwards. At present, around 80,000 bags of cement are imported from Pakistan every day. The transportation of cement through trains was stopped earlier as contraband hidden in cement bags were seized many a times. The consignment of cement from Pakistan had arrived on Wednesday.
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Atta-Dal scheme: Distribution of subsidised ration begins
Amritsar, April 19 The DFCS is releasing ration for the current month only. Previous months' ration will be released after further instructions form the government. A blue card holder regretted the non-release of the subsidised ration. He said he had been forced to buy wheat flour from the open market to meet the needs of his family. Another blue card holder from the city said the subsidised ration was a relief for them at a time when inflation was rising. He added that his family was finding it tough to meet the food expenditure. Earlier, the Election Commission had stopped the Food and Civil Supply Department from distributing the past six months' ration to blue card holders in one go. As a result, many beneficiaries of the scheme have not received last four months' ration. There are about 1.25 lakh blue card holders in the district. The Election Commission has asked the department to adhere to previous procedure of releasing the ration on a monthly basis. DFCS Tarwinder Singh Chopra said the distribution of subsidised ration was underway and would be completed soon. He added that the new system was introduced in December and his office had received the first stock under the changed pattern only in February. The Election Commission had stopped the distribution of last six months in one go. The DFCS is releasing ration for the current month only
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Plan to tackle drug menace eludes LS candidates’ agenda
Amritsar, April 19 Repeated announcements, claims and counterclaims notwithstanding, the current scenario prevailing at government de-addictions centres speak volumes about the seriousness of the government and clearly expose the false claims of political leaders. The issue of the rehabilitation of drug addicts is missing from their agenda. The current situation of the Swami Vivkanand De-Addiction Centre at Government Medical College is enough to gauge the seriousness of the state government, which claimed to have set up de-addiction centres in various parts of Punjab. The centre is battling infrastructure blues besides the shortage of staff to run it. A counselling centre opened at a hospital in the Maqboolpura locality had to be closed down for want of space. A senior faculty at the department of psychiatry, Government Medical College (GMC), said though they were managing the affairs at the centre, they had nothing in their hands. Earlier, the beds for the centre were "borrowed" from an eye hospital under the GMC. Recently, the eye department took back the beds, leaving the centre with almost nothing. Now, the district administration with the help of the Border Security Force has arranged 30 beds for the hospital. “As the number of patients is increasing day by day, we require more manpower. We need assistant professors, senior residents, junior residents, medicines, paramedical staff and security guards,” said a teacher. “We have no funds to run the centre. Whatever funds we generate through a society formed by former DC Kahan Singh Pannu, are insufficient to run it,” said the teacher. While holding unemployment responsible for the drug abuse, the BJP candidate from Amritsar, Arun Jaitley, emphasised upon the need to generate employment. He batted for setting up of six new polytechnic institutes and six new industrial training institutes in the constituency. He also proposed setting up of additional 25,000 small and medium industries. On the other hand, the Congress candidate Capt Amarinder Singh advocated the need to tackle drug smugglers. The AAP candidate also laid stress on the need for a multi-pronged approach for the rehabilitation of drug addicts. “Besides cutting the supply chain, the rehabilitation of drug addicts is also important if we want to eradicate the menace from Punjab,” said an expert.
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Women’s issues take a backseat in these elections
Amritsar, April 19 "The city has become unsafe for the women. The law and order situation has deteriorated and the women are losing their children and spouses to the drug menace. They are facing government apathy,” said Dutta. Addressing the women present at the meeting, Shobhna Ahuja raised the issue of women’s reservation. “Women constitute half of the country’s population and they should be given their share in all tiers of governance. I believe that women’s reservation should be a priority for every political leader,” she said. "The safety of women has been compromised heavily. Unemployment has denied the rural women a quality life. We appeal to all political leaders to raise the issues concerning women,” Dutta said Playing the second fiddle?
The fact that there is no woman candidate contesting from the city in the Lok Sabha polls has made it necessary to raise their concerns. While no debate or discussion about women’s issues has been held in various election rallies, their participation in the election campaign has been overwhelming. Some women feel that the issue related to them should be discussed. “Not just safety and employment, everyday issues like inflation and rise in the prices of commodities are affecting women. Many of them do not have ration cards, so they cannot avail of a number of government schemes. These issues need to be addressed immediately,” said Janak Kumari Sharma, a resident of Cherhrta. Indu Bala, a housewife and a resident of Joshi Colony, share the same belief. “Education and employment opportunities should be shared equally with women. The city should be made safe for them. These are some of the basic rights, which are are being denied to us for long,” she said Talking about their party's priorities, Dr Indu Singh, daughter-in-law of AAP candidate Daljit Singh, said, “Our aim is to educate them make them independent through skill development.” With the hope of improvement in their situation and a fair share in government schemes, city women are coming out in large numbers to let their voice be heard.
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Surveillance team confiscates Rs 75 lakh
Amritsar, April 19 Though they claimed that they were going to deposit the money with a private bank on Mall Road as per routine, the surveillance team, headed by Satnam Singh, said they were yet to verify the source and the purpose for which the money was to be used.
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Watchman found dead
Amritsar, April 19 A resident of Kala Afghana village, Dharminder Singh, son of the deceased, stated to the police that his father went for work on April 17, but did not return till late in the evening. In the morning, he went to the spot and found the body of his father
— TNS
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ASI team visits Kalianwala Khuh
Amritsar, April 19 The committee found around 90 skulls, 170 jaws, more than 5000 teeth, Re 1 coin of East India Company, besides two Victoria medals, three lockets and some jewellery from the well. Around 500 soldiers had started a revolt at Mian Mir Cantonment in Lahore as part of the 1857 uprising and swam across the Ravi to reach Ajnala. Of them, 218 were killed by the British at Dadian Sofian village, near here, while the remaining 282 were incarcerated in a cage-like room, where many of them died of asphyxiation. The rest were shot dead before their bodies being thrown in the well, which later came to be known as Kalianwala Khu as the British used to call Indians “kale” (black). The team held discussions with the members of the management committee. ADC Pardeep Sabharwal and SDM, Ajnala, Surinder Singh were also present on the occasion. The team members said they would soon present their report to the government so that immediate steps could be taken to save the mortal remains of the soldiers. Surinder Kochhar, a researcher said that many of the skulls dug out from the site had damaged due to improper keep up. He said many of the skulls and jaws could be preserved if immediate steps were taken.
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Cops conduct surprise checking at city railway station
Amritsar, April 19 The police, along with flying squad officials, have erected check posts at various points in the city. The security has also been beefed in the city. Paramapal Singh, ADCP (City -I), along with other police officials, jawans of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) conducted a checking at the railway station. They frisked passengers and their luggages. Parampal Singh said the objective of carrying out the surprise check was to ensure foolproof security before the election day. He said the misuse of money to influence people during elections was a well-known fact and every step was being taken to stop the illegal practice. He said more such raids would be conducted in the days ahead.
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Road caves in following showers
Amritsar, April 19 Earlier, the municipal corporation has started the work of laying underground sewerage on the road. However, the work was stopped suddenly more than a week ago. The residents complained that stopping the work has added to their problems as they
have to make do with the broken road. The cracks on the road in front of the gurdwara were also seen as the rain had washed away the soil beneath it.
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Capt ridicules Bluestar allegations
Amritsar, April 19 In a statement released here today, Amarinder said he could understand Sukhbir’s encyclopaedic ignorance about the Operation Bluestar as he was usually seen partying in the United States and other western countries at that time. “But, I am surprised at the allegations of drug trafficking. He (Sukhbir) is the Home Minister and he should take action rather than levelling allegations against me.” The former Punjab Chief Minister said it was a well known fact that the Congress government, led by Indira Gandhi, had taken the decision of sending the Army into the Golden Temple, which was wrong. “I opposed that decision then and I oppose it now but what about your father Parkash Singh Badal who gave his consent to the Operation Bluestar during a meeting with the then Union Home Minister PV Narsimha Rao. Till now, your father has not clarified his position on the issue," Captain Amarinder Singh said. Amarinder also referred to the role of the BJP, which “pressurised Indira Gandhi to take that action", as mentioned by LK Advani in his book "My Country My Life".
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Bar assn elections on Apr 24
Amritsar, April 19 For seven posts of the members of the association, only eight candidates are in the fray. The present president of the Bar Association, Pradeep Saini, is in the fray for the record fifth time. Parminder Singh Sethi is contesting against Saini for the post of the president.
— TNS
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Amritsar Tribune invites feedback from its readers on issues of public concern relating to Amritsar city and the nearby areas. Readers can email their views to They can also send their views to: Feedback, Amritsar Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh - 160029. Letters sent by post must mention 'Feedback for Amritsar Tribune' on the envelope and it should be signed and must contain the address and telephone number of the sender. It should not be more than 150 words. Discharge rainwater into the ground
The electorate of Amritsar are facing a lot of problems, for which they want lasting solutions from their Member of Parliament and other elected representaives. The most serious problem afflicting life in Amritsar is the accumulation of rainwater in some of the old localities in the walled city. This is a low-lying area, especially with respect to the Civil Lines area (Northern Amritsar) developed by the British in the first half of the twentieth century. There is a need for some engineering-based solution to the chronic problem. Because of over exploitation of the underground water for domestic, commercial and industrial purposes, the water table has gone down to 300 feet below the surface. This situation offers some advantages too. Rather than lifting the rainwater and discharging it miles away in Tarn Taran district, it will be more appropriate to inject it beneath the surface through injection wells. Injection wells can have PVC pipes or metal pipes with perforations at the bottom portion for easy discharge of water. After every monsoon, the underground water table will rise a few feet and the annual gain can be two to three feet. At this rate, it will take another 100 years to bring the water table to its pre-1947 level of about 40 feet below the surface. For localities around Fort Gobindgarh, the cheapest option will be de-weeding and dredging of the bottom of the circular moat around the fort and to discharge the storm water from the adjoing mohallas by gravity flow into the moat. Bitumenous or asphalt roads are not suitable for the low-lying waterlogged areas. When water accumulates, it breaks the bond between bitumen and the aggregate and potholes start appearing. The answer lies in building reinforced concrete pavements and road surfaces, at least eight inch thick, to handle the traffic. . Harjap Singh
Aujla,
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