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organisers objected to valid identity proofs
Golden Temple plaza to be thrown open to devotees soon
Brief showers bring life to a standstill in city
Flawed drainage system damages houses
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College launches drive against drugs
Amritsar, September 14 Guru Nanak Dev University College, Verka, launched a campaign against drug addiction on Friday with the inaugural address of the SSP, Gurdaspur, Gurpreet Singh Toor. The function was organised by the Punjabi Sahit Sabha of the college. Toor, who has authored three books and several articles on social evils, in his inaugural address said, “The problem of drug addiction arises from several factors like unemployment, commercialisation of services, high cost of living and absence of role models in society.” Buy machine for moving trees: Chawla
Better amritsar—crumbling age-old structures—I
Row over property: Elderly couple allege harassment
registration of false abetment to suicide case
Seven nabbed with narcotics, liquor
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organisers objectED to valid identity proofs GS Paul Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 14
Over 20 students staged protest against the gross discrimination allegedly on the part of the organisers and resented that some 'influential' students had managed to gain entry despite having no stipulated documents. On the other hand, the officials of the company which was hired to conduct the test never cared to respond despite repeated attempts. The entrance exam was for the post of office assistants (multi-purpose) organsed by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection, the conduction of which was outsourced to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). The minimum eligibility to sit in the exam was a graduation. When the students were not allowed to enter the gate, they staged protest and raised slogans against the organisers. The students alleged that even some of the candidates who did not possess any identification proof were allowed in after their influential near and dear ones intervened. Some of the candidates alleged that some of these 'high-class' students took the services of social networking sites which was 'enough' for the organisers to get convinced, whereas they found faults with the documents of those who possessed them in black and white on the spot. Daljit Singh, an aggrieved student who came from Jalandhar to take the test, told that he belonged to the OBC category and showed his certificate which was duly endorsed by the tehsildar of our area, but he too was denied entry. "It was a pre planned move of the TCS company who allowed only limited number of influential candidates to decrease the level of competition. Otherwise, how could an OBC certificate was ignored which was authenticated by a gazette officer," he said. Another student Neha Dogra from Amritsar told that even her Aadhaar card which carried her picture and other antecedents were not sufficient to gain entry to the examination hall. "The only discrepancy was that my admit card did not carry the surname whereas I had carried along the documents which were issued by the government. But they did not let me take the exam. Even I had called up my brother to bring in other supporting documents of identity proof but when he reached there, the organisers stated that the time was over," she said. Vikram Kumar, another student, who was also not allowed to get in, told that they tried to convince the organisers in every possible way but in vain. " The only disqualification with us was that we did not have any 'sifarish' with our application, whereas some students were allowed to sit in the exam after they showed the copy of identification documents on what app," alleged Vikram. When the matter was brought to the notice of one of the TCS official, Saurav Singh, he said, "I am not authorised to speak to the media. We have a media cell and your number has been forwarded to them. They will respond later on behalf of the company only," he said. But no one from the company responded over the issue.
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Golden Temple plaza to be thrown open to devotees soon
Amritsar, September 14
According to sources, the work on the flooring of sprawling open space right in front of the main entrance of the holy shrine is almost complete. Besides, the work on installing sandstone grills on the walls around the open area is underway on war footing, which is apparently aimed at lending it a heritage look. The project was kicked off in May 2011 and was supposed to be completed by Diwali last year but it turned out to be a massive exercise as the agencies engaged in it had a tough time to deal with mesh of underground sewers and water pipes. It took them significant time to clear it all and prepare the ground for finally starting the work on the project. The plaza is spread over an area measuring 8,250 sq metres and many of the craftsmen engaged in the work hail from Rajasthan having expertise in it. Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal is personally monitoring the project. The authorities had partially opened the plaza for the devotees on the occasion of Diwali last year which had eased the congestion on the main entrance of the holy shrine. The sprawling area also facilitates seating arrangement for the pilgrims in the form of benches built beautifully around the trees planted in the plaza. Besides, the new 'jora ghar' (shoe-keeping facility) and 'gathri ghar' (baggage room) were also been opened. In the second phase of the plaza, a number of facilities are to come up in the basement. Among the underground facilities are a state-of-the-art interpretation and information centre for tourists, VIP lounge, bank, ATM, airlines and railway inquiry, a multipurpose hall, security and services area, toilets and other public conveniences. As there is a lot of VVIP movement at the Golden Temple, the plaza will have a separate lounge to accommodate dignitaries and their entourage. An auditorium with a seating capacity of 100-150 persons would be built so that a visiting dignitary could address the media. At present there is no proper place in the Golden Temple Complex where mediapersons can interact with the VIPs. The plaza has been designed in view of the fact that there are points of high congregation of people around the shrine and they have to be provided with safe and convenient access, facilities, pedestrian movement and congregation space. The holy shrine is visited by thousands of devotees from across the globe everyday and their number crosses the one lakh mark on special occasions like 'gurpurab'.
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Brief showers bring life to a standstill in city
Amritsar, September 14
A majority of roads in the walled city, low-lying areas around Town Hall, main elevated road on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road and other key routes like Mall Road, MM Malviya Road and Lawrence Road were inundated with rain water, which failed to drain out till evening. Waterlogging and littering of garbage on roads prevented many shoppers from venturing out. Being a Sunday, there was a comparatively less traffic on roads. But the commuters who were out remained stranded in the knee-deep water on various roads in the city, which once again exposed the MC’s ill-preparations to deal with such situation. Mall Road, near the Novelty Chowk point, was under water. A lot of people in these areas were stranded as their vehicles broke down in middle of roads inundated with rainwater. Officials complained that old infrastructure of the city coupled with rising population and encroachments hindered in giving desired results of the de-silting drive. Windowpanes of Suraj, Chand and Tara film theatres were broken by fast blowing winds. Power supply of various localities was disrupted till evening as cables snapped from the main supply line.
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Flawed drainage system damages houses
Amritsar, September 14
In one such incident, the faulty and ill planned drainage system has resulted in damage to over a dozen houses in Granthgarh village. These houses have developed cracks recently. The occupants of these houses alleged that the design of the drainage system was faulty. The residents said instead of draining water from high to low ground, the executed plan did the opposite. Gurbhej Singh, whose house was damaged, said, “When the system did not work, the panchayat called a JCB machine to dig a deep drain. While digging, the soil alongside the foundations of many houses was also dug up, which caused damage to dwellings.” Another resident, Paramjit Kaur, said, “We cannot do anything now. We have built home with a great difficulty and it is not yet complete.” Another resident, Roshan Masih, said, “Such is the design of the drainage system that water does not drain out. We demand that there should be an enquiry as to who approved this flawed design.” Sama Singh, a resident of Khanwal village, said, “Our village has only few paved streets. As there is no drainage system, around a dozen houses have been damaged.” In another incident, a resident of Sarangdev Channa village, Jagjit Singh, said, “Panchayats do not want the people to know how much money has been given by the government.” He said he was picked up by the police when he dared to file an RTI application at panchayat development office for seeking details of the funds released by the government. Jagjit said the panchayat accused him of obstructing development works. President of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala, said the police let Jagjit Singh go only after their association came out in his support. He said they had demanded from the administration to compensate residents, whose homes had been damaged. He demanded that the government should conduct an enquiry as to how the money for the development in villages was being spent.
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College launches drive against drugs Amritsar, September 14 He stressed upon the fact that youth could be weaned away from the menace of drugs only by educating them about our traditional social and cultural values. He lamented that youth were aping the Western values and culture. Principal of the college, Dr Harish C Sharma, welcomed the guest speaker. The lecture was followed by a question-answer session. The session organiser, Dr Gurbir Brar, spoke about the writings of the speaker. Dr Malkit Singh conducted the proceedings. Dr Mini Salwan and Anupam Sood also spoke on the occasion while college coordinator Puneet Randhawa presented a vote of thanks. —TNS
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Buy machine for moving trees: Chawla
Amritsar, September 14 In a letter to the Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, she pointed out that the state government had decided to buy a machine by spending Rs 3.50 crore for the safe removal of pea crop, but it ignored the mindless chopping of fully grown trees for the sake of development. She said a machine for transporting trees would not only prevent cutting, but also help in maintaining the green cover and the environment free from pollution. This technique was used in many parts of the world and the state government should also think over this, she added. The former Cabinet minister said the state government had cut a large number of trees for widening roads and for the BRTS project. Traditional and century old trees, including peepal, banyan, neem, tahli, gulmohar and shady trees were cut, she added. She urged the government to plant more and trees in place of those uprooted and cut by the government agencies.
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Better amritsar—crumbling age-old structures—I GS Paul Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 14 Notices issued umpteen times The MC has been issuing evacuation notices time and again to the occupants. Last time notices were issued against 128 such buildings. The residents were asked to move to safer places on their own as their buildings could not only pose threat to their lives, but also damage adjoining structures. Nonetheless, any stern action is avoided as a cases related to a majority of these properties are pending in the court. The row is between landlords and tenants, who have been residing in these building from decades by paying meager rent. While the owners do not get these structures repaired as they want to get rid of tenants. The tenants, on the other hand, do not want to vacate the place as they want a handsome compensatory amount before leaving. Some buildings were demolished Despite constraints, the MC claims to have taken action in some cases. The authorities demolished structures in Dholi Mohalla on the Sultanwind road, Maini Chowk in Lakshmansar, Tabela Jagatram in Namak Mandi areas 18 months ago. Rain plays havoc The issue of these unsafe buildings tops the MC’s agenda only when it rains. This time too, scores of such rickety structures that collapsed due to incessant rains in the walled city area claimed at least nine lives in the district, including four within the city limits. Earlier, five persons were buried in a roof collapse in 2011 and again in 2012 five people lost their lives. Six died in various incidents of building collapse in 2013. MC’s survey report According to official survey conducted by the Municipal Town Planning Department, there were 143 buildings, which were declared unsafe. Some of these buildings were demolished. A majority of these have been spared time and again as cases related to these buildings are pending in the court. Over 60 per cent of the buildings have some dispute. Tenants, both residential and commercial, have been occupying these buildings for decades. They are not ready to vacate until some ‘lucrative’ deal is struck with owners. Around 10 per cent of the houses, which are in a dilapidated state, are lying locked for the past many years due to property dispute between the heirs. They have been served stay orders by the court. Another 5 per cent poorly-maintained houses have been lying locked for decades. The whereabouts of their owners is not known and it is not possible to trace them.
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Row over property: Elderly couple allege harassment
Amritsar, September 14 Gurjit Kaur, daughter of the victim, has lodged a complaint with the police commissioner in this regard. Yesterday, she alleged, the accused brought huge number of unidentified persons with them and broke the board which they installed on the first floor warning the people against buying the disputed property. She filed another complaint with the Gate Hakima police today while alleging death threats from the persons who procured the disputed property and having strong links with the ruling party leaders. In the complaint she stated that if anything happens to the family, the persons who had bought the property along with the SAD leaders supporting them would be responsible for this. She said she along with her father was called by SHO Gate Hakima police station where other party along with the prominent SAD leader was also present. She said for over one hour they were pressurised to reach on compromise and were not allowed to leave the police station. Even as there were no women police at that time, she alleged. "If they had any issues they should settle it with my brother who had sold the property against the wishes of the parents to them or they should deal it in the court where a case was pending regarding this," she pointed out. The family had filed a case in the local court against any sale deed and the court has granted a status quo regarding this. The family had filed a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat under Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act 2007 while urging him to cancel the registry in the favour of their son. SHO Sushil Kumar said, "As far as the matter of selling the property is concerned, the opposite party had valid registry and documents with them." He said status quo order shown by Gurjit Kaur was limited till March 10 and he had asked them to bring the updated stay orders.—TNS
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registration of false abetment to suicide case Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 14 The police have booked four persons identified as Balwinder Singh, Mehar Singh, Sardool Singh and Jhilmil Singh. All are the residents of the same village. Sarmukh Singh, brother of the deceased, identified as Sukhraj Singh, told the police that he and his brother had procured half acre land from Bhagwant Singh of same village. Later, Bhagwant committed suicide by consuming poisonous substance and his wife lodged a false police case against them. He said Sukhraj was very disturbed over this and therefore ended his life by consuming some poisonous substance. The police said a case under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against four accused and further investigations were under progress. No arrest has been made so far in the case.
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Seven nabbed with narcotics, liquor
Amritsar, September 14 In a major catch, the CIA staff held Harjot Singh of Hargobind Avenue and confiscated 40kg of poppy husk from his possession while in another incident; the Sultanwind police arrested Subeg Singh of Dashmesh Nagar, Tarn Taran, and Sony of Sudarshan Nagar, Sultanwind road, for possessing 184 bottles of illegal wine. The accused did not produce the documents of sale or purchase of the liquor. The police also impounded the car in which the accused were travelling. Meanwhile, the police have arrested Amandeep Singh of Kot Baba Deep Singh, Surjit Singh of Baba Bhori Wala Bazaar, Harwinder Singh of Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, Jaimal Singh of Ekta Nagar, Wadali road, and seized 9-gm heroin and 200-gm narcotic powder, 50-gm intoxicant powder and 110-gm narcotic powder from their possession, respectively. Separate cases under the NDPS Act and Excise Act have been registered against them at the respective police stations.
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Another dilemma that has gripped the holy city is how to deal with the century old buildings. The issue becomes more glaring as many of these crumbling structures have been occupied by residents for decades thus risking their lives.
