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Golden Temple galliara
Green cover increased, says MC; evidence points otherwise
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Govt fails to raise Dhingra’s memorial
Non-performance, graft charges
Independence Day celebrated at Guru Nanak varsity
Ranike unfurls National Flag on I-Day
70 fake certificates found
Cops nab two snatchers with narcotics, weapons
Gang of robbers busted, 2 held
Renowned artists share space with upcoming talent at Kala Mela
Feedback
Mobile phone snatched
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MC issues notices to
illegal hotels
Mayor says action was taken solely on the recommendation of SIT GS Paul Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 16 Around seven hotels/guest houses and four inns, including an NRI Inn being run by the SGPC, have been issued notices to stop functioning within 72 hours. The hotel association and several councillors have raised their voice over the “dual” policy being adopted by the authorities. On August 11, the MC House, chaired by city mayor Bakshi Ram Arora, had passed a resolution of ‘one- time settlement policy’ to regularise 125 such commercial units, which otherwise do not comply with the Municipal Building Bylaws 2010, but could be considered for regularisation as per Municipal Building Bylaws 1976 in lieu of compoundable offence. This proposal was supposed to be produced before a Punjab and Haryana High Court Bench on August 22. A local petitioner, Sarbjit Singh Verka, had challenged the function of illegal commercial units around the Golden Temple. Now, after a lapse of just three days, the Municipal Town Planning Department has issued notices to SGPC-run Sri Guru Gobind NRI Sarai and other religious sarais, including Guru Angad Dev Imphal Sangat Niwas, Dera Baba Jagtar Singh Sarai and Mata Kaulan Sangat Niwas. The hotels and guest houses which have been served notices included Swagat Guest House, Sachdeva Guest House, Alagh Guest House, Hotel Golden Paradise, Hotel Sapphire and Jai Bir (Sakhi Inn). Special Investigation Team
On the recommendation of the High Court, a special investigation team (SIT) was formed comprising Principal Secretary Rahul Tiwari, the chief administrator of the Amritsar Development Authority Sandeep Rishi and Amritsar Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat. Bhagat had asked the MC authorities to initiate action against 15 hotels, guest houses and inns at the earliest while terming them as illegal. Officialspeak
The notices have been issued solely on the recommendation of the SIT, not by the MC. The SIT was constituted by the high court, which ordered the MC to seal the illegal commercial establishments. We are still in favour of regularising them under the 1976 building bylaws. A report has already been sent to the government, which will also be tabled in the high court for taking a sympathetic view. —
Bakshi Ram Arora, mayor The authorities are adopting dual standards. On the one hand, a proposal at the government level was being furnished in the high court for regularising the structures while, on the other hand, the authorities have issued closure notices. I appeal to the Punjab Government not to displace the traders here. —
Surinder Singh, president of the Federation of Hotel and Guest Houses
Association, Amritsar
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Green cover increased, says MC; evidence points otherwise
Amritsar, August 14 The MC is already under fire for indiscriminate felling of trees for facilitating projects such as the Bus Rapid Transport System
(BRTS). Even senior BJP leaders have targeted the government over the issue. MC and PWD officials pass the blame on each other over the uprooting of saplings under the elevated road. They say the saplings are being removed and are kept safe for
replantation. On the contrary, pictures show that they were uprooted as waste. Even the labourers working on the site confirmed that they were uprooting these plants.
Parbodh C Bali, who saw this action happening while he was driving on the road, said the saplings meant for replantations were being uprooted as waste. “In the past, the
SDO, Horticulture, MC, had promised me that the saplings were being prepared for plantation in the rainy season. But, in reality, the plants were uprooted mercilessly within half an hour,” Bali said. The 3.25 km elevated road, whose construction started in mid 2006, was finally completed in July 2008. Standing on 94 RCC pillars, town’s prestigious four-lane elevated road running from Bhandari Bridge to
Maqboolpura, with an additional stretch to Harmandir Sahib of around 1 km, has
almost the same area as open space. In the original plan, it was designed as a lush green belt. While the elevated road is maintained by the Municipal Corporation, the covered area of the GT Road over which the elevated road is built, is under the
PWD, who has to maintain the green belt. A probe into the matter revealed that the MC had planted ficus trees over a portion of the stretch (opposite to Pingalwara
Centre) under its drive called ‘Go Green Go Clean’, without realising that the place was
not suitable for that variety of plant. Now, when the PWD has undertaken the responsibility of maintaining the green belt over there, it has uprooted the trees planted earlier. The officials concerned agreed that some plants were destroyed by the contractor engaged by them but later on the damage was controlled.
Officialspeak
SDO, Public Works Department, Sharanjit Singh, said, “The damage was controlled with the timely intervention. Except for a few, most of the trees were saved. I rebuked the contractor’s men who had uprooting them. The ficus trees, planted by the MC, never suited to the place. They have been removed with utmost care and will be fine for
replantation,” he said. SDO, Horticulture, MC, SK Sareen, said the saplings being removed from the spot would be replanted. “These were planted by us some time ago. Now they were being removed and we have made an arrangement to store them in our Challi Khu nursery,” he said.
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Govt fails to raise Dhingra’s memorial
Amritsar, August 16 Senior BJP leader Lakshmi Kanta Chawla said all efforts to save his ancestral house came to naught as the government did not back the concept of preserving his house. She said the Indian and state governments did not befittingly acknowledge the sacrifice of its martyr. On the other hand, the Pakistan government is preserving the ancestral house of ace Bollywood star Dileep Kumar. She said as promised by the state government to take up the matter to bring handwritten documents of the martyr, lying in the British Library, to his home district has not seen any meaningful progress. Besides the announcement of an ordinance to be brought up in the Cabinet to make biography of Saheed Madan Lal Dhingra a part of school syllabus has also not been delivered, added the senior BJP leader. Though the district administration earmarked Rs 15 lakh to revamp the Madan Lal Dhingra Memorial Park on GT Road last year, activists of the Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra Smarak Samiti spearheaded by Chawla were unsatisfied with the gesture. She said the martyr’s ancestral house has now been completely demolished. The space has been rented out to an ice cream dealer to park wagons. A former Punjab minister, Laxmi Kanta
Chawla, said revamping and beautification of a park was not an alternative to a memorial. She said the
SAD-BJP government was in no mood to raise a memorial in the memory of
Dhingra, who was perhaps the first Indian to have been executed in London on August 17, 1909, at the age of 26. Sacrifice of the son of the soil should be befittingly recognised by raising a memorial at his ancestral house, added
Chawla. In the course of freedom struggle, Dhingra had gunned down Sir William Curzon Wyllie.
Chawla said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the state government to raise a memorial in the memory of the martyr at an alternate location after his ancestral house was demolished some years ago. She demanded that a memorial offering entire information regarding his life sketch, upbringing, education and sacrifice at London must be raised within the walled city so that maximum people from the country could visit the place. Various programmes to mark Dhingra’s martyrdom will be held tomorrow. A state-level function to recall the martyr will be held at BBK DAV College, which will be presided over by Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi. Besides, members of the Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra Smarak Samiti will pay tributes to the martyr at his statue at Town Hall tomorrow.
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Non-performance, graft charges PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 16 Jasdeep Singh, SSP, Amritsar rural, while confirming this said that Chandar Bhushan, SHO, Khilchian police station, was suspended for not performing his duties properly. He was shifted to the Police Lines till further investigations. He said that his work was not satisfactory and up to the mark. In the recent crackdown on drug peddlers, it seemed that he did not participate in the drive actively as he had made minimal recovery and arrest of the drug peddlers. Naresh Chander, head constable posted in the same police station was booked for demanding and accepting a bribe for giving a copy of an FIR registered in the police station. The action was reportedly taken after the victim complained at the police help line 181 launched by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for providing police help to an aggrieved party in a time-barred manner. According to information, Manjit Singh, member, panchayat, Bhorsi Rajputan village, in his complaint filed with the 181 helpline alleged that the Head Constable took Rs 200 as bribe for issuing a copy of the FIR registered against his relative. He said that the accused had demanded Rs 5,000 for it, but later the matter was settled at Rs 500 and then on Rs 200. Following instructions from Chandigarh, the police took an affidavit from the complainant as a complaint and registered a case against the Head Constable under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
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Independence Day celebrated at Guru Nanak varsity
Amritsar, August 16 A large number of teachers, employees and students were present on the occasion. Students of Khalsa College for Women presented patriotic songs during the event. Speaking on the occasion, Prof Brar said for the development of knowledge-based society, more efforts for high quality education and research were needed. Universities could play a vital role in it, he added. “If the university system is improved, society as well as the country will automatically improve. After Independence, though we progressed a lot in the field of the higher education, but much needs to be done as compared to other countries. The only constraint is the budget, which is quite less in our country,” added Prof Brar. He said our predecessors had sacrificed their lives for attaining Independence. Taking a dig at the unrest in institutions, he said the university management was always aware of the difficulties faced by students or faculty and was always eager to redress them in a positive environment. He strongly condemned the attitude of select few, who were disrupting the teaching and administrative ambience on the university campus. “Strikes and other disruptive activities are hinder development and should be done away with. A university that is in the name of great saint Guru Nanak Dev Ji should ensure that the strong impositions of caste, creed, religion and other social divides is not the means of operations here. I appeal to students and teachers to review what we are all up to and in what direction we have been heading towards,” he said. Prof AS Sidhu, dean, students welfare, welcomed the guests and Prof Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, registrar, presented a vote of thanks. Dr Jagjit Kaur, director, youth welfare, coordinated the Independence Day function. Celebrations in schools
Saluting the spirit of patriotism and paying tribute to the martyr’s, Ryan International School celebrated the 68th Independence Day on its premises. To mark the occasion a special assembly was conducted wing wise. Jarnail Singh and Balwinder Singh, both ASIs of the B Division police station presided over the function as guests. They also unfurled the flag, which was followed by singinging of the National Anthem. The special assembly commenced with a Bible verse, Lord’s prayers followed by special prayer by Pastor Joginder Singh. Sri Guru Harkrishan Public Senior Secondary School
To bring out the true spirit of patriotism Chief Khalsa Diwan celebrated Independence Day with enthusiasm at Sri Guru Harkrishan Public Senior Secondary School. A function was organised on the occasion in which President of the Chief Khalsa
Diwan, Charanjit Singh Chadha, was the chief guest. He hoisted the Tricolor. Director of the school, Dr Dharamveer Singh, extended a warm welcome to all the
paricipants. Colorful balloons spreading the message of peace and freedom were also released on the occasion. Students also presented a march past and saluted the national flag.
Shri Ram Ashram Public School
Independance Day was celebrated at Shri Ram Ashram Public School on the premises yesterday. Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora was the chief guest on the occasion. The Mayor was welcomed by the school president, Balbir
Bajaj, manager-cum-educational advisor SN Joshi and Principal Vinodita
Sankhyan. The event commenced with the hoisting of the National Flag. A kavi darbar was held on the occasion in which school teachers presented patriotic songs. A Sanskrit play on Maharani Jhansi was also presented by students, besides patriotic songs and dances.
Bhavan’s SL Public School
Bhavan’s SL Public School celebrated the 68th Independence Day. Brig
(retd) Harcharan Singh, an Arjuna Awardee and former hockey Olympian, was the chief guest on the occasion. He unfurled the National Flag. The school’s band team and NCC cadets presented a parade. Prizes were also awarded to the winners in various fields during the event. Brig Harcharan Singh in his address said, “Every child is capable of making his or her destiny.” Delhi Public School
For students and the staff of Delhi Public School, the Independence Day celebrations became more meaningful and sweeter to see the brilliant smiles on the faces as of as many as 262 students, including nine special children. Ladoos were distributed among schoolchildren during the celebrations. Fellow students of Government Primary School,
Bundala, adopted by Delhi Public School, also participated in the event. As many as 25 students of DPS School presented a colorful performance on the theme ‘Rising India’ at the Indo-Pak Attari-Wagah border to mark the Independence Day celebrations organised by the BSF Commandant, MF
Farooqui. Spring Dale Senior School
Saluting the nation and its freedom fighters, the management, staff and students of Spring Dale Senior School celebrated the occasion by holding a march past highlighting the cultural diversity of India. The parade was led by students of the NCC wing of the school. Students from various grades sporting the traditional attire of different states participated in the parade. A 68-feet-long Independence Day collage depicting important monuments of the country, national and religious symbols, costumes, folk dances, folk art and festivals, glimpses of technical advancements and
industrialisation, freedom fighters and India’s Nobel Laureates was also displayed at the school grounds on the occasion.
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Ranike unfurls National Flag on I-Day
Amritsar, August 16 He stated this after unfurling of the National Flag on Independence Day at Guru Nanak stadium yesterday. Ranike said a new central jail with an investment of Rs 132 crore on 67 acres was also underway. He said a welcome gate with investment of Rs 7.39 crore on GT road and landscaping work up to Bhandari Bridge was being undertaken to beautify the city. He announced Rs 2 lakh for schoolchildren participating in the Independence Day celebrations. Besides, he felicitated 55 locals for their brilliant performance in their chosen profession. Various other institutes also celebrated Independence Day with fervour. To celebrate the heritage of culinary treasures and tickle your taste buds, dining over Independence Day Collage, multi-cuisine restaurants in Hyatt offered a multitude of choices for Independence Day delights. These included a true
taste of Indian flavours and culture such as mutton roganjosh, murgh butter masala, Hyderabadi biryani, gatta curry,
roasted chicken with goan spices.
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Graft in issuing of birth certificates
Tribune News Service Manmeet Singh Gill
Amritsar, August 16 An enquiry by the district administration into the alleged delays in handing over the certificates to the applicants by the office earlier this week had revealed that though around 700 certificates were ready, these were not handed over to the applicants. The general public has often complained of delays in getting the certificates after which a physical verification of the certificates was conducted at the office on the orders of the Deputy Commissioner. The Regional Passport Office here had recently sent around 1,500 birth certificates submitted by the applicants for verification. The verification of 600 of these certificates revealed that at least 70 of these were fake and not issued by the department. The investigation revealed that these 70 certificates did not have any official record, but they had the stamp of the issuing authorities. “It is not a big deal to get a fake stamp made and use it on the papers,” said an insider. The influence of touts and agents, who are often hand in gloves with the employees, cannot be ruled out as the general public complains that genuine applicants are harassed unnecessarily. The touts can be seen setting up their makeshift shops on the Tailor road outside the Civil Surgeon’s office. The department may require to take immediate steps to save it from any such embarrassments in future. The Civil Surgeon, Dr Rajiv Bhalla, said that investigations were going on to verify all certificates sent by the passport office. He said that the department was serious in taking concrete steps to ensure that no fake certificates were detected in future.
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Cops nab two snatchers with narcotics, weapons
Amritsar, August 16 A case under Sections 420, 472 of the IPC and 22/61/85 of the NDPS Act had been registered against the duo, added the SHO. Meanwhile, the police have arrested six persons from allegedly possessing narcotic substances and illicit liquor. Those arrested were identified as Naresh Kumar of New Jawahar Nagar, Batala Road, Sukhchain Singh of Basarke Bhaini, Gurbhej Singh of Basarke Bhaini, Sunil Kumar Sabharwal of Chowk Guru Ka Khuh, Tarn Taran, Sahil Kimar of Navi Aabadi and Satapal of Azad Nagar, Putlighar. The police recovered 36 bottles of English wine from Naresh Kumar, who failed to produce any documents required for carrying liquor, 60 intoxicant tablets were seized from Sukhchain, 70gm narcotic powder was recovered from Gurbhej and 15gm heroin from Sunil and Sahil. Satpal was nabbed with 18 bottles of wine without valid documents.
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Gang of robbers busted, 2 held
Amritsar, August 16 Balwinder Singh, investigating officer, said that following a tip-off, a naka was laid near Bhagtanwala grain market. The police party received information that the accused were armed with sharp-edged weapons and planning to loot people. He said immediately a trap was laid and during search, the two accused were arrested. The police seized two sharp-edged weapons besides a motorcycle from their possession. The investigating officer said that raids were being conducted to arrest the culprits while a case under Sections 399 and 402, IPC, and Sections 25, 54 and 59 under the Arms Act has been registered against them.
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Renowned artists share space with upcoming talent at Kala Mela
Amritsar, August 16 The exhibition opened on August 15 in the presence of senior artists Baldev Gambhir, Nita Mohindra, Rajindra Mohan Singh Chinna, director, Indian Academy of Fine Arts, and several corporate representatives. Extending the scope of art and artists in the region, the mela has upcoming artists sharing wall space with nationally renowned artists. “The footfall for the first two days has exceeded 10,000 and we are expecting more. The tremendous response it has generated and Kala Mela’s successful implementation has encouraged us to plan more such activities,” said Avinish Singh, manager, marketing, Alpha One. The brain behind this concept, Brijesh Jolly, too, said that such art shows would change the face and scope of art in the city. “In galleries, art has to wait for art lovers. Creating live-art spaces will end the waiting game and give more space for artists to present their work.” Agreed artist and theatre person Nita Mohindra, who spoke on creating more such live platforms. “The popular Jahangir Art Gallery was an open art platform before it became an artist’s haven. I believe art has to change to reach out to people. Malls, even banks have now gradually turned into creative spots for art promotion. The idea is to go to public.” The show turned the basement of the mall into a colourful, creative outlet with installations and musical performances. The glass exteriors of the showrooms added the wow factor to the paintings. The show was everything a mela is supposed to be — lively, crowded and happening. “Implementing and putting together all those ideas together was not easy. Putting up 500 works, each demanding equal presentation at a site that is not exactly made for art was a task,” said Jolly. Apart grom city-based artists, prominent senior artists like DP Mohanti from Varanasi, Diyandu Paul (artist, Agartala, Tripura), BR Annapillai from Chennai and Manilal Sabrimala from Kerela put up displays.
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Rehabilitate beggars
Open space of the Nehru shopping complex in the city will soon turn into a slum unless the authorities concerned take a timely action. All those begging in the complex are young men and women. They should be given work under MNREGA/ beggars rehabilitation funds, in rural or urban areas. Those who give preference to begging over work should be jailed. These beggars train their scantily dressed children in begging, who will also indulge in unlawful activities. Besides defacing the city, stealing things from here and there, they scavenge for left overs. Tourists and other visitors to the city are most troubled by beggars. Dr Ranbir Singh Pannu, Amritsar Tipsy drivers
On August 9, an inebriated truck driver wreaked havoc on the busy city roads during peak hours. Fortunately there was no fatal incident, otherwise many would have been grievously injured or killed. The vehicle pounded several cars and scooters. Unsuspecting people, who were injured, were admitted to hospitals. When caught, the driver was so drunk that he could not even utter his name. Is there any way to stop such incidents? Human error or machine failure leads to accidents, which is beyond one’s control. But inviting dangers and putting others life in jeopardy knowingly while sitting behind the steering wheel is not pardonable. The policemen cannot be posted on every road with alcometers to check drunken driving. Checking alcoholics is certainly very difficult. On the other hand if everybody stops drinking, where will the excise revenue come from, which is a big source of income for the exchequer. Resource mobilisation for the development is a challenging task. Apart from the penalty, the authorities should suspend the driving licence of the erring person for at least two years. AK Joshi,
Amritsar
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The city will remember son of the soil, Madan Lal Dhingra, the first Indian to be martyred overseas in England, on his martyrdom day tomorrow. But a section of locals rue that the government failed to prevent demolition of his ancestral house in the walled city and turn it into a memorial.
Amritsar, August 16
Amritsar, August 16
