The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Health Dept confirms 2 dengue cases Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 The threat of dengue looms over the city as the Health Department has confirmed two such cases. The patients include a BSF jawan and a resident of the Katra Singh area here. Health officials said that both the patients were undergoing treatment. The officials stated that at least four more suspected dengue cases had also been reported and the samples had been sent for confirmation. The district epidemiologist, Dr Raju Chohan, said the department had given instructions to hospitals to report each and every suspected dengue patient visiting them. The health authorities had earlier set up special isolated wards for dengue patients at the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital and the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. These wards had also been set up at sub-divisional civil hospitals in the rural areas. The Civil Surgeon, Dr Rajiv Bhalla, said that the situation was under control and the department had taken precautionary measures. He said the hospitals were fully prepared to treat such patients. Bhalla said, according to the guidelines of the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme, dengue fever was an acute febrile illness of two to seven days’ duration. The most common symptoms of dengue were headache, retro-orbital pain, rashes, haemorrhagic manifestation and leucopenia. Bhalla said the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital and the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital were equipped with the Apherisis machine that helped in extracting platelets from blood while the other components could again be put to circulation in the body of the donor. The procedure of platelet extraction is provided at a subsidised cost of Rs 7,000 at government hospitals. Dos and don’ts for patients If any family member is suspected to be suffering from dengue fever, it is important to watch him carefully for the next few days, since this disease can rapidly become very serious and lead to a medical emergency. The complications associated with dengue fever usually appear between the third and fifth day of illness. So, the patient needs attention for at least two days even after the fever disappears. The patient should be given large amounts of fluids along with the normal diet.
	Temporary firecracker market at New Amritsar Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 With a view to gain adequate time to organise a firecracker market ahead of Diwali, members of the Amritsar Fireworks Association met the district administration to provide them a temporary suitable space for the firecracker market. President of the association Harish Dhawan said, after members of the association met Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat, instructions had been passed on to the Improvement Trust to give them a suitable temporary space. Improvement Trust Chairman Sandeep Rishi said the trust had decided to give space to 40 firework traders to display their merchandise at its New Amritsar scheme. He said soon the allotment order for giving temporary space at a New Amritsar locality on the GT road would be released to the association. Subsequently, the association would present the letter to the police authorities to verify the space to grant approval. Thereafter, after depositing the rent with the trust, they will be in a position to set up temporary kiosks to sell firecracker products. A firecracker trader, Harjit Singh, said their business was hit due to the long time taken by the district administration to earmark a space to set up the market. He recalled that only after irate traders had raised slogans and threatened to block traffic that the police and the administration decided to fix a place for the market last year. The Amritsar Police Commissionerate had appointed a three-member committee headed by ADCP Parampal Singh and issued rules to be adhered before the opening of the market. Meanwhile, firecracker traders were required to seek licences from the Police Commissioner under the Explosives Act to permit them to sell firecrackers. According to the norms, the Police Commissioner has the power to issue licences for a certain time period to allow the sale of firecrackers, which fall under the category of explosives. Similarly, the Union Government issues licences under the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Act for their storage. Earlier, the wholesale cracker market used to be situated in the IDH Market, near the bus stand, and at the congested Pappar Wala Bazaar, near the Golden Temple. However, these markets had to be shifted to Jahajgarh in 2000 after a massive fire had broken out at the IDH Market in which material worth crores of rupees perished and loss of human life was also reported in 1999.
	Ex-Inspector surrenders in mass gambling case Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 In a significant development, an absconding Inspector of the Amritsar police, who was allegedly involved in the mid-night gambling raid incident at a resort on the Fatehgarh Churian road three years back, today surrendered before the police. He has been identified as Jagdish Singh, who was the then SHO of Gate Hakima police station and was part of the police team that raided the resort to arrest those involved in a mass-gambling party on the intervening night of October 8-9 in 2011. The police has taken one-day remand of Jagdish Singh, who was charged with shielding the city’s influential people, who were in the party, and also siphoning off the recovered amount from the spot. Confirming the development, the Sadar police station SHO, Parvesh Chopra, said Jagdish Singh had surrendered. “We have put him under one-day remand. Further investigations are on,” he said. It was a high-profile case. The then Police Commissioner, RP Mittal, had got a tip-off that around 125 couples were part of a dinner and drinks party, Diwali-fest, against an entry price of Rs 5,500 each. The programme was organised under the banner of a charity organisation, but besides mass gambling, some expensive Russian bar dancers, too, were arranged for the programme. A police party raided the resort at 2.30 am. Seeing the police party, the couples ran helter-skelter to evade arrest — a majority of them young and belonging to the elite business class families and wards of politicians. Even as the senior police authorities, then, had maintained that the raiding party led by Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Bahadur Singh and Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP, Central) Jaswant Singh, had seized Rs 7.50 lakh, sources claimed that more than Rs 1 crore was seized during the raid. It was later alleged that the raiding party had tried to favour them in lieu of a heavy amount. The then Police Commissioner, Mittal, had suspended seven police officials, including Bahadur Singh and Jaswant Singh. The police had registered a case under the Gambling Act against 44 persons, including the organisers of the programme, who were later released on bail.
	40 survivors of J&K floods arrive; two families with children among them Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 Around 40 survivors from the flood-affected Jammu and Kashmir, including members of two local families, landed at Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport here. The survivors narrated horrifying experiences of helplessness. Mehak Khindri, who reached her parents home here today along with her children, said, “We did not eat anything for five days. Even the children were hungry. Although helicopters were flying over our heads, nobody threw a packet of food for our children.” Mehak, whose in-laws and husband are still in Jammu and Kashmir, stated that as people were suffering, instances of theft had increased. “Some people have started robbing homes, so my husband and in-laws decided to stay back.” She said that eight-foot deep water was still standing in their Indira Nagar locality. Priya Khindri, another survivor along with her children, said, “We three women, who belong to Amritsar, but got married in Jammu and Kashmir were sent back today by our families with children. The males and elders have stayed back.” She said a Muslim family in the area helped them stay in their home. “When we left our homes, we found shelter at a hotel nearby. After two days, the hotel owners asked us to shift to a nearby school.” She said in these times of distress, all communities were helping each other without any discrimination.” Mehak’s father, BM Arora, said, “We are happy because our children and grandchildren have arrived. But the tension is not yet over because many from my daughter’s in-laws’ families are still stranded there.”
	AAP to organise relief camp Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 With a view to provide relief to those stranded in flood-ravaged Jammu and Kashmir, the AAP Amritsar unit today decided to organise a relief camp at the local Nehru Shopping Complex tomorrow. Party spokesperson Gurbhej Singh said the people of Amritsar could contribute blankets, medicines (antibiotics, odomos, toothpastes), ready-to-eat food, rusks, water bottles and sanitary napkins, etc. Dr Daljit Singh and all volunteers of the local unit of the AAP, appealed to all residents of the city to contribute generously at the camp that would be organised from 10:30 am to 7:00 pm. During this meeting, Ashok Talwar, Vijay Mehta, HS Dhanjal, Jagdeep Singh and JS Gill, advocate, were present.
	Punjab Natshala’s new theatre experience Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 The city’s epicentre of cultural activities, Punjab Natshala, opened up once again after a long wait, with a bigger and a better theatre treat for the audiences. The cultural space, which has already hosted two theatre festivals after its re-opening, is wooing the audiences like never before. Bringing some simple yet effective changes in its limited space, Jatinder Brar, patron of Punjab Natshala, has introduced innovative concepts to enhance technical and aesthetic value of plays staged at Natshala. From improved lighting and sound effects to better seating arrangements and introduction of aroma technology, it received a big thumbs up. “The comfortable seats have been provided with specific aroma inlets and outlets, assembled to provide authentic fragrances during live plays. For example, if a scene depicts cooking of panjiri, one can actually smell its aroma. We had conceptualised the idea for long, trying it out by using blowers at the top of the auditorium, which through ventilators diffuse the required aroma into the performing area,” says Brar. They also have a rain-dispensing equipment, installed to give an effect of rainfall during performances. “The passages in the audience sitting area have been modified to infuse with the stage, for intimate scenes and performances. The artistes now can move around, or have better intimacy with the audience while performing,” says Brar. All these changes have increased the footfall for the theatre shows. “This was our ultimate aim, to promote theatre and reach out to people. Theatre needs appreciation in terms of audiences and to bring in audiences, one has to offer something different. Since, theatre has its limitations of not having 3D or 5D technology, we can improvise through technical advancements, making it perkier,” he says. Brar says that they are planning to get better sound effects by having specifically designed tools installed around the sitting area, so that the audience can hear dialogues and music according to their comfort. “But certain changes will need time, may be three to four years more. The process of re-building technology is gradual,” he says.
	Brts project Shifting of power lines darkens areas Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 The city residents are having a tough time as the PSPCL authorities are shifting power lines on key roads to facilitate the construction of flyovers for the BRTS project. Under this, the power corporation is also replacing old cables with new ones. However, residents and shopkeepers on the Batala road, New Amritsar locality, the GT road and other areas of the city are having a tough time due to long power cuts. Punjab Sudhar Sabha president Balram Kumar Sharma said thousands of residents on the Batala road had been forced to lead a wretched life since the work began on the BRTS project. At times, there were power cuts from morning till late evening. Hence, the residents had to live in sultry conditions. He added that the recent showers brought down the temperature, which gave the much-needed respite to the residents of the area. However, it also introduced new problems. The dug-up portions on the roads turned into puddles of filthy water. Consequently, motorists were unable to guess the depth of these puddles, which caused several accidents. He appealed to the government to ensure swift completion of the project. A shopkeeper, Amit Gupta, rued that his business had collapsed because people avoided travelling on the road. The Batala road leads to the Kashmir valley on which fall Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts. Commuters have diverted to other roads, which also took away their business. He said negligible sales were unsustainable to fund the essential monthly expenses of the shop. Harjit Singh, a resident of New Amritsar, said power cuts were imposed on every other day. Though the information is passed on to the consumers that the power would be restored at 5 pm, many a time, the power cut was extended till the night. What irks the resident most is that the PSPCL officials do not even bother to respond to the phone calls made by the harried residents, he fumed. Meanwhile, Congress activists led by its city Congress leaders today held a protest march from the Islamabad area to Hall Gate. They protested against the shifting of power station from Islamabad to Hall Gate. They claimed that its shifting caused immense problems pertaining to power supply to the residents of Chotta Haripura, Ekta Nagar, Shiv Nagar, Ram Nagar, Guru Nanak Pura, Bhalle Wala Khoo, Puttalighar, Kishan Kot, the Dhapai road and others.
	snatching outside Mayor’s residence Snatchers evade police net Mayor chides cops for their failure to arrest the culprits GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 The police have failed to achieve any breakthrough in a complaint lodged by Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora regarding a snatching incident in front of his residence a fortnight ago. He had even provided the CCTV footage of the incident to the police, in which the registration number of the accused’s bike was recorded. After inquiring for some time and failing to receive a satisfactory reply from the police, the Mayor gave up. He said the police could not nab the snatchers despite the fact that their bike’s registration number was captured by the CCTV cameras. “A large number of policemen have been deployed for issuing challans to vehicles but they fail to nab those who rob the general public on the roads,” he said. “In my locality, CCTV cameras have been installed and security guards are present there all the time. Still, they dared to snatch the belongings of a woman and fled on their bike. I wonder if such an instance can take place in my locality, then what would be the situation in the other areas,” he said. Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said that the VCD sent by the Mayor was smudged and it was impossible to recognise the snatchers. “We tried our best but could not recognise the snatchers. It is impossible to read the bike’s registration number in the CCTV footage. Still, we are trying to locate them,” he said. In another instance, the mother of a senior IAS officer was robbed in the Putlighar area some days ago. The officer refrained from reporting the matter to the police as it would have brought a bad name to the administration. However, Aulakh said the incidents of snatching had declined in the city. “There has been a decline in the number of snatching incidents. Our teams are on their toes to nab the snatchers. We arrested three snatchers in the galliara of the Golden Temple yesterday,” he said.
	Health Dept gears up for festive season ahead To check sale of adulterated food items Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 As the festive season is approaching, the Health Department has constituted special teams to keep a check on the quality of food items. The department has also advised the people to beware of adulterated and sub-standard food items. District Health Officer Dr Shivkaran Singh Kahlon said as the demand for sweets increased, shopkeepers started using substandard products in the preparation of sweets. He said the department had constituted teams under four food inspectors to take samples of food items in rural and urban areas. The department had seized a huge quantity of substandard food items during the last festive season. Kahlon said, “We have chalked out a comprehensive plan to check the sale of adulterated and unhygienic food items.” He said people should buy only good-quality products. “At a meeting in Chandigarh recently, Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jiani has instructed department officials to make efforts to improve the quality of food items being sold in the market. Sub-standard food items cause many ailments and it would be better if people stay away from such products,” Kahlon said.
	Ragging incident: Medical college likely to impose heavy fine on those involved Investigation handed over to disciplinary committee Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 Taking a serious note of the ragging of MBBS students, the Government Medical College authorities wrote to the parents of the students involved in the unlawful act. The college had earlier suspended 12 students. The college authorities have also handed over the investigation to the disciplinary committee. The committee will record the statements of the victims and the senior students involved in the ragging incident. Statements of the security personnel present at the time of ragging will also be recorded. The incident came to light when the security personnel informed the hostel authorities about the incident on Friday night. Some senior officials had immediately reached the hostel but the accused fled. However, the college authorities decided to take strict action against the culprits. The authorities are also planning to impose a heavy monetary penalty on the violators. The government educational institutions in the state do not impose monetary penalties. A faculty member said, “People often say that private institutions impose a heavy fine for monetary gains but it has been seen that this kind of punishment is very effective. On the other hand, suspension for a few days does not serve any purpose.” College principal Dr Santokh Singh said the matter was handed over to the disciplinary committee and it would take action on the basis of its investigation. He said the college would not tolerate ragging or any other act of indiscipline.
	demolition of unsafe portion of house Resident accuses officials of favouring tenants GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 Though the Municipal Corporation claims to be demolishing unsafe buildings in the city, a resident has been running from pillar to post to get the unsafe portion of his house demolished. The house no. 1457/28 is owned by Neelam Mehra, which is located in Gali No. 9, Bagh Ramanand. The Municipal Town Planning Department had declared the building unsafe on August 13, 2009 and directed to demolish it. A major part of the roof of the house had caved in the rainy season. Ironically, two shops are being run by the tenants from the dilapidated structure. MC officials maintained that as a case over the property between the tenants and the owner of the house was being heard in the court, they could not demolish the structure. “We have repeatedly told the MC that a major portion of the building could collapse anytime but the officials concerned have turned a blind eye towards the issue,” Neelam said. She alleged that some Municipal Town Planning officials had demanded bribe for the demolition of the unsafe portion of the house. Her son Amit Mehra alleged that under the influnce of the tenants, who enjoy political patronage, officials of the Municipal and Town Planning Department did not listen to their pleas for the past over a year. Meanwhile, the officials concerned expressed their ignorance.
	GND varsity holds workshop on doping Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 The Department of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy, GNDU, held a workshop on doping at the conference hall of Guru Nanak Bhawan today. Dr Alka Beotra, Scientific Director, National Dope Testing Laboratory, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, New Delhi, was the resource person for the workshop. All postgraduate students of the department participated in the workshop and were apprised of the standard laboratory protocols used during the dope test. The speakers said only labs accredited by WADA were authorised to test dope samples in national and international events. Dr Beotra is the vice-president of the Indian Association of Sports Medicine. She is also a member of the Doping Commission for the Asian Federation of Sports Medicine. She spoke on various aspects of doping, banned drugs and procedures for the collection of samples. Dr Shweta Shenoy, head of the Department of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy, welcomed the resource person.
	357 students get jobs Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 As many as 357 students from various departments and regional campuses of Guru Nanak Dev University were offered jobs by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Capgemini and Nagarro recently. Prof Gurcharan Kaur, director (placement), said the students were recruited as trainee software engineers. The students will join the companies in July 2015 after their final exams. A team of 70 members from the TCS visited the GNDU campus for recruitment and conducted an online test in which 950 students took part. After the online aptitude test, they were interviewed. TCS offered jobs to 255 students. The selected students have been offered an annual salary package of Rs 3.18 lakh. Similarly, senior company officials of Capgemini, a Hyderabad-based software company, selected 94 students at a salary package of Rs 3.05 lakh per annum. Nagarro, Gurgaon, selected eight students at a package of Rs 4 lakh per annum. “The demand for GNDU students in the corporate world itself speaks of the quality education being provided at the university. Many companies like Infogain, Amdocs, Tech Mahindra, IBM are likely to visit the campus in near future,” said Prof Gurcharan Kaur.
	One booked for abduction of minor girl Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 16 The police booked an unidentified person for the abduction of a minor girl today. The complaint in this regard was lodged by Vinod Kumar, father of the girl. The girl is a students of Navjot Senior Secondary School, Batala Road. He stated that her daughter had informed him over the phone that she would get late as she was going to appear in some exam. Since then, her whereabouts are unknown. ASI Arjun Singh of the Mohkampura police station said the complainant had suspected that someone had allured her daughter on the pretext of marrying her. “The accused is still unknown but we have registered a case under Sections 363 and 366-A of the IPC,” he said.