Amritsar, September 5
Continuous rainfall for the past nearly 48 hours in Amritsar today played a spoilsport in facilitating the transmission of the message of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to all school students on the Teachers Day.

The attendance of students dropped sharply in government schools due to incessant rain and water clogged roads. Many roads outside the schools were completely submerged with rainwater and upper layer of the roads underneath came off offering bumpy and slippery rise to automobiles and pedestrians.

The state Education Department's comprehensive arrangements to host live telecast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech fell flat before the rain gods.

With the tripple storey building of a pre-Partition building on the Mahna Singh road has long ago been declared unsafe, as many as three government schools running in its premises found the infrastructure woefully short to hose such event. Government Elementary School, Mahna Singh Road, had utilised the room of a Class IV in the same complex to show the Prime Minister's speech. School staff said 36 students out of a total of 121 attended the school today.

Amritsar, September 5
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today set the deadline to complete the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project till March 2015 at the cost of Rs 333 crore, which will include seven corridors at important geographical points in the city.

Reviewing the ongoing development projects in Amritsar, Sukhbir said the BRTS project would not only develop the holy city as a tourist destination but also ease out traffic congestion thus also helping in curbing pollution on large scale.

The officials informed the Deputy Chief Minister that out of seven corridors, five would be completed till March 3, 2015, whereas the remaining two would take another six months due to shifting of transmission lines.

Talking about the delayed work in the construction of administrative complex, Sukhbir asked the PUDA to release the required funds worth Rs 66.87 crore immediately to ensure the completion of project till January 2015. The Deputy CM also asked the officials to speed up the construction work for new Central Jail at Fatahpur village at the cost of Rs 132 crore. It may be mentioned here that 40 per cent work in this regard has already been completed.

Reviewing tourism projects, the Deputy CM asked Director, Tourism and Cultural Heritage Department, Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa, to take up the matter with the Union government for funds for the conservation of historic Ram Bagh Garden. On the issue of setting up of parking complex and tourist reception centre at Attari border, the officials apprised him that tenders have been floated for both the projects and work would be completed till December 31, 2014. To make Amritsar the first "safe city" of Punjab, Sukhbir said that the Safe City Project would be completed before June next year at the cost of Rs 40 crore. The committee for execution of the project under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary has been notified. Reviewing the work on four-laning of Amritsar-Ajnala, Amritsar-Sohian, Amritsar-Majitha-Fatehgarh Churrian, Amritsar-Taran Taran-Sirhali-Harike road, Sukhbir said all these roads should be given top priority. Principal Secretary PWD PS Aujla informed him that the work on some of these roads was delayed by two months due to shifting of electric lines by the PSPCL and the department would complete these projects before December 2014.

Prominent among those present in the meeting included Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora, Chairman District Planning board Veer Singh Lopoke, Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat, Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh and MC Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal.

Amritsar, September 5
Yet again, another building collapsed at Fatahpur Colony near Gate Hakima due to rainfall today. Though no loss of life was reported in this instance but following a series of several rickety old structures getting collapsed, the MC has started the process of issuing fresh notices to their occupants.

As many as 143 such crumbling structures, both residential and commercial, have been on the MC's list, which have been declared as unsafe.

The officials told that the occupants of these buildings are being served notices to either get their dilapidated structure repaired or vacate these buildings to move to some safe place at the earliest. Ironically, except for performing action on papers, the officials showed helplessness in taking any action directly.

According to them, most of these buildings (both residential and commercial) are under dispute between the landlords and tenants.

Earlier, the MC's Municipal Town Planning Department had demolished several buildings in Dholi Mohalla on the Sultanwind road, Maini Chowk in Lakshmansar, Tabela Jagatram in Namak Mandi areas, around 18 months back. Senior Town Planner Hemant Batra said this exercise had to be discontinued after finding that many cases were under dispute in the courts.

"It is true that we have been repeatedly serving notice to the occupants of these dangerous buildings to vacate the crumbling structures, but they seldom take note of it. We have on records to say that we demolished many of them in areas like Katra Dullo, Dhab Khatikan, Gali Tiwarian wali and Cheel mandi, around one and a half year back, but it could not be continued as over 60 per cent of these old properties have been entangled in courts We avoid interfering in property matters which have been under dispute in courts. The court has granted stay orders and we cannot contempt that. Even as we were successful in vacating several buildings earlier and demolished them safely, but still many enjoyed immunity from action due to court cases only. But from today onwards, we have started dispatching notices to their occupants to move out or repair their dilapidated structures," he said.

Hundred of such old dilapidated buildings are there waiting for repeat of disaster in areas like Ghee Madi, Dharam Singh market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Guru Bazaar Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh, Haveli Zamadara and in the vicinity of Golden Temple.

Amritsar, September 5
The Punjab Education Department today felicitated Pawinder Kaur, Principal, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sultanwind and Mandeep Kaur, Principal, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, on the occasion of Teacher’s Day at a state-level function, which held in Jalandhar. Both the awardees hail from Amritsar.

Pawinder, a mathematics lecturer, served in various schools during her eventful career. Mandeep Kaur served as a computer lecturer in various colleges and schools. She also served as Principal at Government Schools at Manawala and at Golbagh. She also had brief stint as as District Education Officer (elementary).

She has attended international conferences, and presented research papers at numerous seminars. She also helped in setting up Virasati room depicting Punjabi virsa (culture), netball ground, Aryabhatt Math Park, math laboratory, EDUSAT Library, EDUSAT Lab, social study lab, green corner, English corner, Wall Magazine, Student Legal Literacy Club, Eco Club, Environment Conservation Society and Career Guidance Cell. She also helped in creating awareness among the public by organising anti-drug rally, AIDS awareness and anti-copying campaigns.

Earlier, she was felicitated by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, for her services in the field of education.

Faculty member at Teacher’s Day celebrations at Global Institutes; and (below) Teachers with mementoes presented at a function at Khalsa College of Education in Amritsar on Friday. Tribune Photographs

Amritsar, September 5
Teacher’s Day was celebrated at Global Institutes to pay tribute to Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a renowned diplomat, philosopher, President of the country and above all a teacher. A function was organised by students of the institute on the occasion. Dr BS Chandi, chairman of the institute, inaugurated the celebrations. While congratulating teachers and students, he said, “A good teacher plays the role of a friend, philosopher and guide.”

Amritsar, September 5
A district-level protest rally was organised at DAV College to observe Teacher’s Day as Black Day on a call given by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU). Teachers wore black badges and organised protest dharnas against the state government for its alleged anti-higher education and anti-teachers’ policies.

District president, Prof Malkiat Singh, while welcoming teachers at the rally, said it was the strength of the PCCTU that despite vagaries of the weather, a large number of teachers turned up at the rally. He said the agitation would be intensified if the state government did not redress their grievances by September 15.

Addressing the rally, general secretary of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, Prof HS Walia said their demands included inter-alia, immediate release of pending quarterly grants meant for salaries, lifting ban on recruitments imposed in 2005, streamlining norms regarding academic performance index (API) score for promotion, inclusion of teachers working against unaided posts under grant-in-aid scheme, relaxation from refresher courses as per the UGC guidelines, implementation of pension and gratuity scheme, enhancement of retirement age from 60 to 65 years, complete implementation of Central government and the UGC notification regarding revised pay scales. He said the government funding of higher education was essential for the inclusive growth of the state. It was not the shortage of resources, but shortsighted policy of the government, which resulted into the collapse of higher education system in the state.

It was a good gesture on the part of the Prime Minister to address the students, but at the same time he should have also addressed the problems of teachers to redress their long-pending grievances, added Walia. 

Amritsar, September 5
Teacher’s Day is the celebration of not only learning, but also the unsaid things between the two most revered relationships in the world. A teacher’s job is not just to make a student reach his maximum potential, but also to sustain it throughout life. Some are doing so by being friends rather than disciplinarians.

Swati Khanna, who teaches economics at Senior Study School, Putlighar, enjoys her status amongst her students, but not at the expense of discipline and value. She says, “A student-teacher relationship has changed into a more interactive one. You cannot afford to be authoritative with them, rather respect their opinion. To earn their respect, you have to respect them as well.” Swati addresses her students as ‘aap’ in the class and otherwise while talking to them.

“While growing up, many amongst us never dared to disobey our teachers. The concept of teaching has changed along the way,” another teacher from the city, Nikki Arora says, adding that “The guru-shishya traditions have been long lost to the new age commercialism. Earlier, it was stringent, one-way route where the teacher was never questioned. Today, it’s a learning experience for both sides and students demand the same respect.”

Teaching has expanded into alternative activities. A teacher is not just responsible for academic learning, but also the skill development and value system. Working like a team, several teachers have pushed their students to innovate rather than just cram textbooks and follow orders.

Sanjeev Sayal, a teacher from Government Senior Secondary School, Jabowal, along with his team of students, has developed a bio-fuel plant, which turns kitchen and agricultural waste into bio-fuel. He believes that student still idolise their teachers and to become an example, one has to work with them instead of working on them.

A city-based educationist and counsellor, Sukanya Talwar, says, “No matter how much business-like this relationship has become, it’s still the most important one in a student’s life. Children today are turning achiever’s at a young age. They are making their own decisions whether about their wardrobe or their education. So my advice to teachers is that they need to look at the students as productive counterparts. With education, try to inculcate a value-based learning system. Whatever be the trends, they will always seek guidance from their teachers.” 

Amritsar, September 5
With the rainfall submerging main roads in the city, the residents are venting their ire against the government on social networking sites. Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, showed her discontentment through her Facebook account while referring to the ill-conceived policy matters of the government. ‘Rain can flood the city and no one talks of the rain water harvesting,’ is what she posted on her Facebook account.

Ironically, the government’s own buildings were inundated with rainwater, which includes Municipal Corporation’s office at Town Hall, Deputy Commissioner’s office, Mayor’s office, Canal House etc.

According to information, for the past two days, there has been 153 mm rainfall in Amritsar. The poor infrastructure to drain out the rainwater has forced the residents to remain indoor.

A city resident, Dr KP Singh, said, “Rains have led to house arrest as no one knows where and how to move in waterlogged streets, lanes and roads.” Hotel Association chief APS Chatha took a jibe at the authorities by saying, “The great Amritsar boating and water sports festival is back. Enjoy free boating at Crystal Chowk, Basti Chowk, Green Avenue, Ram Bagh and Jallianwala Bagh also…………Hurry! The offer is valid till water logging lasts.”

“Actually, the government has failed drastically when it comes to providing civic amenities. Every time when it rains, the same scripted statements are issued by our politicians and officials. The government talks about making Amritsar like Venice. I think there is no agenda of promoting tourism in the holy city. I should take initiative to invite tourists to enjoy water festival. They can have free boat ride and play water sports,” said Chatha.

Social activist Brij Bedi did not forget to thank the city Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora for atleast providing water sports. “Now, we can say with pride we are living in a place which is no less than Venice,” he said.

Another resident, Satinderpal Singh, said, “Amritsarians have now become habitual of suffering hardships and problems due to dilapidated system. Nothing is expected of the MC, which has failed to tackle problems related to drainage of rainwater. It’s a good reason for their employees and leaders as they can embark upon a well earned holiday due to rains,” he said.

Another local, Pankaj Seth, said, “Ground water level has gone down to nearly 200 foot. The city’s soil has capacity to absorb rain water. This property should be channelised in a positive way by installing rainwater harvesting plants and water recharging wells. Bangaluru administration has utlilised the water in a innovative way. They have constructed artificial lakes to collect rainwater. The MC can ape their model of planning.” 

Amritsar, September 5
The Division A police have booked Ghaniya of the Rasoolpura area near Joraphatak here for allegedly attempting to rape a woman.

Amritsar, September 5
The addiction to internet could be a serious issue, which could hinder personality development and physical growth. The prolonged use of internet by youngsters these days is a cause of concern for parents as well as doctors.

Considering it as a kind of addiction, The Hermitage, an institute for life skills management for the drug addicts, has started a programme for internet de-addiction.

Till now, The Hermitage was working for the rehabilitation of the drug addicts. The founder of The Hermitage, Dr JPS Bhatia, said internet addiction in the present scenario was the most popular form of addiction, which had gripped every strata of society. “It has lead to further de-humanisation of society,” he said adding that The Hermitage Rehab Institute would cater to such patients through counselling and medical support.

He said the institute network would spread awareness about the problem by organising workshops for students and parents. “People often fail to understand that one could be addicted to internet, but the addiction is playing havoc with the lives of the people,” added Dr Bhatia.

He said leading educationists and doctors of the city would be roped in to spread awareness about the problem. While discussing addiction to narcotics, Dr Bhatia said there was a need to de-criminalise, de-stigmatise addiction and to treat it as a disease. “Often people fail to see addicts as suffering from a disease and treat them as criminals. We have to change our outlook and treat them with more sensitivity,” said Dr Bhatia. 

Amritsar, September 5
The Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) organised a workshop on “ultra high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC), preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and amino acid analyzer” here on Wednesday.

Prof AS Brar, Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Guru Nanak Dev University inaugurated the workshop by lighting inaugural lamps. The Vice-Chancellor motivated teachers, research scholars and participants to use sophisticated instruments themselves to become expert scientists. He asked the researchers of the university to find novel biological and physical materials having potential to cure problems of environmental degradation and health.

“Scientific temper and a high-quality research are required for placing India among the list of developed countries. Using high-quality instruments will be helpful to isolate, characterise and develop molecules, which can cure human diseases like cancer and diabetes, which is a thrust area under the Centre with Potential for Excellence in Life Sciences (CPEPA) programme of the faculty of life science,” said Prof Brar.

He also highlighted the achievements, changes and grants received by the university in the past and thanked the faculty and researchers for their support to make the university as a centre of excellence. Workshop coordinator, Prof Saroj Arora, assured the VC that participants of the workshop would do high-quality research after getting hands on training of chromatographic techniques by resource persons.

Earlier, Prof Arora made the audience aware about the programme and utility of the workshop by focusing on enhancing the research caliber of postgraduate and doctoral students.

Dr Satwinderjeet Kaur, head of the department, welcomed the participants of the workshop. Prof Avinash Nagpal, discussed programmes of the UGC-CPEPA in life sciences under which the workshop was funded. Prof AK Thukral, former director research of the university, described the establishment of the Centre for Emerging Life Sciences, which was fully equipped with all the sophisticated instruments like NMR, GC-MS, SEM, TEM, flow cytometry, next generation sequencer. The centre also has the facility of 24-hour power supply and air conditioned laboratories.

Prof Renu Bhardwaj proposed a vote of thanks and highlighted the research potential and achievements of the faculty. She said the research done by the department was being granted patents in India.

The inaugural session was attended by Prof BS Chadha from the Department of Microbiology, Dr AS Soodan, Dr Adarsh Pal Vig, Dr Rajinder Kaur, Dr MS Bhatti, Dr Jatinder Kaur. Bhupinder Pal Singh, Dr Kiran Dhammi from the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Dr Satwinder Dhillon, Dr Arvinder Kaur, Dr Puja Ohri from the Department of Zoology, all the research scholars and participants of the workshop.

Amritsar, September 5
Guru Nanak Dev University Vice-Chancellor, Dr AS Brar, released a book on “Changing Spectrum of Human Settlements and Planning Education,” at the university’s conference hall here today. The book has been published by Guru Ramdas School of Planning of the university.

Dr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Registrar, and Dr DS Meshram, Chief Planner of India (retd), Professor Emeritus, Institute of Town Planners, India, were also present on the occasion.

While addressing faculty members of the school of planning, Department of Architecture, other guests and students, Prof Brar laid stress on undertaking more quality research.

The book has been edited by Dr Ashwani Luthra and Gopal Kumar Johari, from the school of planning.

It contains selected 44 articles presented by various scholars’, academicians and practicing town planners from various parts of India, which were delivered at a UGC-sponsored seminar, held on March 22 this year.

The articles in the book depict the various spectrum of human settlement, which have been changing with innovation of technologies, changing socio-economic conditions of society and residents desire.

“These changes lead to lots of changes in the settlements both urban as well as rural. The book is a cumulative platform describing how the various planning and development agencies like tourism, environment, town and country planning have been tackling problems with their innovative ideas. These innovation solutions need to be taught. The seminar and subsequently this book is a guide for adapting new parts in the curriculum of various planning courses taught in India,” said Dr Brar.