Amritsar, October 4
A scuffle broke out between two jail inmates over a minor dispute during serving of meals in the high- security Amritsar central jail here late last evening. One of the inmates reportedly suffered a head injury in the incident.

Though no serious harm was done in the scuffle, which was later resolved by the jail authorities, it has once again brought forth the pathetic conditions prevailing in the ‘high-security’ jail.

While the jail authorities are grappling with an acute shortage of staff, the problem of overcrowding has compounded the problem of maintaining a peaceful atmosphere inside the jail premises. Earlier, too, there were instances in which inmates clashed with one another, sometimes on petty issues. In a similar incident, in June this year, a jail inmate suffered serious head injuries and he was to referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

The issue of pathetic condition inside the jail complex was also raised by former cabinet minister and senior BJP leader Laxmi Kanta Chawla. The Amritsar central jail has around 4400 inmates against the capacity of housing just 1600 prisoners.

A jail official, on condition of anonymity, said that there was only one jail warder to keep a watch over around 750 prisoners. “You can imagine the plight of the staff and how difficult it is to keep an eye on each and every movement of the inmates,” he pointed out.

Further, around 50-60 per cent of the inmates are drug addicts and it is very difficult to contain them when withdrawal symptoms arise. The recent campaign by the Punjab Police against rampant drug abuse has increased the number of prisoners as a number of drug peddlers, who also consume drugs, were caught by the police and landed in jail. Sources said the jail authorities had to make temporary arrangements for their stay in the jail as all rooms were packed to capacity.

Chawla had pointed out that besides drug addiction, a majority of inmates were suffering from various diseases including hepatitis B, C, jaundice, diabetes and even HIV+. Only yesterday, a Nigerian had died of TB, it is learnt.

RK Sharma, Jail Superintendent, said they had written to the higher-ups about the problems being faced by the jail staff. He said they were trying their best to manage the affairs of the jail with the resources available to them.

Amritsar, October 4
In yet another seizure, Border Security Force (BSF) jawans of Ex-163 battalion today foiled a smuggling bid and confiscated 2 kg of heroin sneaked in from the Pakistani side in the Sheela border outpost area, falling in the Amritsar sector.

In a press note issued here, MF Farooqui, DIG, BSF, Amritsar sector, said that at around 5.40 am, the BSF troops observed suspicious movements of two Pakistan-based smugglers near the India-Pakistan border. They challenged them, but they continued with their postures, following which the jawans opened fire at them. However, they managed to escape, taking advantage of the dark cover and high crops, but not before throwing something, which fell inside the Indian territory.

During a search operation, the BSF found two packets of contraband from the BSF fence track. With this, the BSF in the Amritsar sector seized 171 kg of heroin during this year while at the Punjab border, the seizure is pegged at 272 kg till now.

Farooqui said that Ashok Kumar, IG, BSF, had issued operation guidelines to further strengthen the border domination to effectively check the cross-border smuggling of arms and narcotics.

Garbage dumped in Pandori village on the outskirts of Amritsar

Amritsar, October 4
Though the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) incorporated into its jurisdiction as many as 27 villages situated on the city outskirts since it came into existence in 1976, yet the civic condition in these villages continues to remain pitiable. Last village to be included in the city in 2007 was Mahal.

The cash-strapped MC has failed to provide quality amenities in these areas till now. The residents of these villages say it was better to call their area a village rather than a city. With the inclusion of villages into the city, various taxes like property tax and development fee before constructing a house were charged from villagers, but they were denied civic amenities on the pattern of the city.

For instance, Ward No. 59 includes Bharariwal and Fatahpur villages. The residents rue that though these localities were included in the MC limits more than 17 years ago, yet no development had taken place.

A resident of Bharariwal locality, Jaspreet Singh, said the garbage dump near the government elementary school was a cause of concern as it had made the surroundings unhygienic. Potholed roads were a major cause of accidents. A resident of Fatahpur area, Harjinder Singh, said roads in the area usually remained waterlogged and in bad condition.

Similarly, Sultanwind village, falling in Ward No. 33, is still waiting for basic amenities such as water supply and sewerage connectivity. Dilapidated condition of roads, dirty water spilling out of drains is common in several parts of the ward. A huge pond in this ward is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and insects. Many governments have come and gone but little has been done for cleaning and de-silting the pond.

Frequently choked sewerage, bumpy roads, contaminated water supply and garbage dumps are the major problems faced by residents of all localities.

The bypass for the airport crosses through Gumtala village. The elevation of the status of Amritsar airport from domestic to international attracted world-class hospitality chains and state-of-the-art private townships in its vicinity. However, in due course of time many unauthorised localities came up. Majority of these localities have narrow roads, no open area for parks or sewerage system.

Many private colonisers, in order to earn hefty profits, carved out illegal colonies, which attracted a huge number of investors. A huge chunk of fertile agriculture land turned into a concrete jungle.

Amritsar, October 4
The local Transport Office has allowed only 526 LPG auto-rickshaws to ply on roads in the city, but rough estimates reveal that between 20,000 to 35,000 diesel autos are operating within the city limits.

In response to an RTI plea, the Transport Office stated that no other diesel auto-rickshaw was authorised by the office. The RTI plea was filed by Damodar Hegde, manager of Anantha Padmanabha Transit Private (APTP) Ltd, which has the rights to operate the city bus service in Amritsar.

He stated in the RTI application, “In Civil Writ Petition (CWP) No. 13490 of 2008, the Punjab and Haryana High Court vide order dated July 23, 2009, registration of diesel auto-rickshaws has been banned within the limits of the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar”.

District Transport Officer Lovejeet Kaur Kalsi said, “Barring 526 LPG gas-run autos, all other auto-rickshaws are running illegally in the city. The Transport Department is woefully ill-equipped to stop these autos from running on the city roads.” She said, “My department has only one security guard. I have written to Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh a month ago for seeking his assistance in the matter.”

Amidst a variety of vehicles plying on the city roads, auto-rickshaws were found to be creating major traffic bottlenecks. Operators of these auto-rickshaws continue to flout traffic norms. The transport laws as well as the high court directions limit the number of passengers or schoolchildren in an auto-rickshaw to six, but here even the driver’s seat is used to accommodate passengers.

These generally overloaded auto-rickshaws are driven by underage, inexperienced drivers. To maximise their profits, a section of them resort to using kerosene as fuel, which adds to environmental pollution in the city.

Many a time, the Herculean task of managing the auto-rickshaw menace was initiated by the government departments concerned, but it yielded little results. Political parties come to their rescue and leave no stone unturned to scuttle the Police Department’s drive against them.

A city resident, Surjit Sharma, said, “Multi-lane bridges and elevated roads at the entry point of the city have failed to curb traffic chaos. Auto-rickshaw drivers apply breaks anywhere in the middle of any main road to pick passengers unmindful of the heavy traffic flow coming from behind, thereby leading to serious road accidents.”

According to the transport norms, auto-rickshaws can operate within the limits of the Municipal Corporation, where they are registered. In gross violation of the norms, auto-rickshaws carry tourists from the city to the Attari Wagah Joint Check-Post (JCP) and Jandiala, both situated 36 km and 16 km, respectively, from the city.

Officials of APTP Ltd, a private concern, said the company was incurring heavy losses, which were being passed on to the City Bus Transport office, pushing it to the verge of closure.

Though Amritsar City Transport Services Limited, an agency formed under the MC, in agreement with the APTP Ltd, promised to restrict illegal operation of para transit (shared autos, other buses, etc) on the routes allocated to the city bus service, nothing has been done in this regard.

APTP Ltd has sourced Rs 13 lakh from its profitable centres. It is running 100 buses at Raipur (Chhattisgarh) and 450 buses at Mangalore, a city in Karnatka with a 7-lakh population. Besides, it is operating buses in different towns in the country.

At its Amritsar office, it has 40 buses, 40 conductors for these buses and 10 officials to manage the administrative set up.

Despite various reminders to the chairman, Amritsar City Transport Services Limited, and Deputy Commissioner, no serious efforts have been made to contain the menace of unauthorised auto-rickshaws till date.

Amritsar, October 4
A delegation of students of Chintpurni Medical College met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today to apprise him of their demand to shift them to other medical colleges in the state after de-recognition their college by the Medical Council of India.

Students met the Chief Minister during a sangat darshan at Mannawala village near here. Badal assured the students to take up the matter with the authorities concerned and respond within three days.

The students said they respected the word of the Chief Minister, but would continue their strike till the final outcome. “We will not block the traffic as we had been doing earlier, but will continue our marches and sit in,” said a student leader.

Students of Chintpurni Medical College had been on a strike in a tent put up outside the Government Medical College here for the past one week. During the protest they had burnt an effigy of the Research and Medical Education Minister Anil Joshi.

Students had earlier alleged that the minister was not taking action against the college as it is belonged to Swaran Salaria, a senior BJP leader.

Amritsar, October 4
Surinderpal Singh Sibia, former MLA and vice-president, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), today slammed the SAD-BJP government for enhancing value-added tax on diesel, thereby increasing the diesel rate by 58 paise per litre in the state. Sibia, who was made in charge, Amritsar city as well as the rural Congress, was here to hold a meeting with the local leaders.

Speaking to the media, he said that the hike in diesel prices would adversely affect the farming community. He said the government should withdraw this notification with immediate effect, especially in view of the fact that the central government was considering a rollback in the diesel prices.

“Hike in VAT on diesel has exposed the true face of the SAD-BJP government before the people. The decision would hit the farming community and the small-scale industry very hard,” he said. He added that it was due to the “anti-people” policies of the Punjab Government that the sand and gravel prices had sky- rocketed and the common man could not think of constructing a house for himself.

The Congress leaders, including Sukhjinder Singh Sarkaria, Congress MLA, also condemned the brutal killing of Sikhs in Pakistan. As many as eight Sikhs have been killed by terrorists in the past 18 months. They sought immediate intervention of the central government and said it should take up the matter of security of minority communities, including Pakistani Hindus, at the highest level with Pakistan and ensure the security of the Sikh and the Hindu community members there.

Meanwhile, Sibia took strong note of the absence of prominent Congress leaders from the meeting. He said Partap Singh Bajwa, PPCC president, recently deputed him as in charge of the Amritsar city and the rural Congress. He said he would hold a meeting with the Congress leaders and the workers to listen to their grievances on the first Saturday of every month. However, a majority of the Congress leaders, even the halqa in charges were not present at the meeting.

Amritsar, October 4
Punjabi Samvaad, a cultural NGO working to support women and the girl child in the city for the past 10 years, celebrated the cause of education and women empowerment by organising a cultural evening at Punjab Natshala. At the event organised to remember Amit Bawa, one of the founders of Punjabi Samvaad, 18 girls were awarded scholarships as a tribute to him.

The NGO’s “Wings for Study” programme aids the girl child, selected through a detailed process for a scholarship that will help them in securing free education and undergoing vocational training.

The chief guest on the occasion was noted environmentalist and social activist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal. Commenting on the social stigmas attached with the girl child, he said the problem of female foeticide was not of illiterate masses, but of educated classes. “A labourer will not mind having a girl child as he is more concerned about his everyday wage, but it’s the educated, elite families that encourage such heinous acts. I urge the medical fraternity, the doctors, to take a pledge to curb the crime and not indulge in malpractices that aid in female foeticide,” he said in his opening address.

Scholarships were awarded to 18 girls from the city and the periphery to continue their education without any hitch. Jyoti Bawa, co-founder of Punjabi Samvaad and wife of late Amit Bawa said, “Selection of candidates for the programme was done through a detailed screening process, which included written tests and interviews. We shortlisted girls specifically from poor or families with limited means.

“We want to help girls from families with limited economic means to spread their wings without having to think about resources. The scholarships are designed to provide education to anybody who wants to achieve something in life. Through our programmes, we are not sympathising with the girl child, but supporting them to make their life better.”

The evening was also made infotaining, through cultural programmes presented by the special children from Agosh and Sri Guru Teg Bahadur School, Khankot. “The event is an annual activity for Punjabi samvaad and we look towards it as a fund raiser. We want others to come in and support us in the cause,” says Jasmine BAwa, member of Punjabi Samvaad.

The organization, which was founded by city based couple Amit and Jyoti Bawa, finds support from Dr Gurbilas Singh, who is also running a vocational course training centre for women and girls to support a livelihood and Jatinder Brar.

“We work with families who have more than two girl child, supporting their needs and education, so that the families do not neglect their overall development. Most these families have already developed a favorable attitude towards the girl child, and do not think them as a liability,’ said Jyoti. “We have also been working with them to create awareness about issues like rape, eve teasing and women rights,” she adds.

Amritsar, October 4
Though the state government has increased the value added tax (VAT) on cigarettes from 22.5 to 33 per cent, the NGOs working for the cause of prevention of cancer have demanded that the tax should be increased to 65 per cent.

The Voice of Tobacco Victims, an NGO, has demanded that as the VAT on cigarettes in neighbouring Rajasthan was 65 per cent, the state government should also increase it to that level. In a move last year, the state government had increased the VAT on cigarettes from 22.5 to 55.5 per cent.

However, after a few months, the increase in tax was rolled back. Representatives of the Voice of Tobacco Victims had met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal a few days ago to request for the increase in the tax. A patron of the NGO, Dr Prahlad Duggal, said, “The Chief Minister has said the tax will be increased to 33 per cent, but subsequent increase in tax will be announced in each budget.”

The state government must increase the tax as it was the only way to curb consumption Duggal said adding that as per an estimate around 25 lakh people in Punjab used tobacco in one or other form.

He said despite imposition of ban by the state government on the sale of gutka, tobacco companies had found a substitute in the form of flavoured tobacco. He said companies were selling flavoured tobacco now which was mixed with pan to produce the same effect as gutka. He said jarda, surti, khaini, mava, kharra, pan apart from pan masala (supari/betel nut) with or without tobacco should also be banned. Duggal said seven states in the country had already banned flavoured tobacco and Punjab should also follow the line.

Amritsar, October 4
Yet another rape bid with a minor girl has once again raised a question mark on the security of the women in the community. The Amritsar rural police have booked a teenager for allegedly trying to rape a four-year-old girl belonging to Khilchian village. The accused has been identified as Shamsher Singh alias Shera (15), a resident of Bhorsi Brahmna. However, no arrest has been made so far.

A case under Sections 376, 511 of the IPC and 4/5/6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered following a complaint by a relative of the victim.

The complainant in his statement to the police alleged that the victim was a granddaughter of his sister, who had come to the village on October 2. He said she went out of the house for playing when the accused took her to his house. He alleged that the accused bolted the doors from inside and a few minutes later he heard the cries of the victim. The complainant said he immediately rushed to the spot and on seeing him the accused, who had taken off all the clothes of victim, fled from the spot. The police said a case had been registered and raids were on to arrest the accused, who was still at large.

Amritsar, October 4
The city and its surrounding areas are known to remain under foggy conditions during winters thereby leading to delay or cancellation of a number of trains, yet the Amritsar railway station does not have modern technical equipment to manage the rail traffic.

The entrance to the railway station in Amritsar. Photo: RK Soni

A senior citizen, Naresh Johar, said, “Technical needs of airports are taken care of immediately as people wielding political power and affluent class travels by air planes. However, the same alacrity and funding is found missing for the Railways in which a majority of countrymen travel.”

He said the Ministry of Railways announced to acquire modern devices to tackle foggy weather conditions in this budget session, but so far nothing had been done.

Fog caused maximum delay and cancellation of train services in Northern India during winter season, besides, there was invariably a fear of accident, he added.

This year the rail Budget proposed procurement of modern devices to tackle foggy weather. Railway officials managing the affairs of the local railway station said no sophisticated equipment to tackle the fog had been received. They said, however, precautionary measures to avoid collision and to provide safe journey to passengers during fog were taken. Officials said these measures involved like slowing the speed of a train, placing fire crackers on tracks and others places.

Amritsar, October 4
A few days after a Kapurthala jail inmate escaped from Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) here, the city police have booked the accused along with three cops belonging to Jalandhar and Kapurthala Central Jails.

They were booked following a complaint lodged by Superintendents of Kapurthala and Jalandhar Central Jails. Besides prisoner Raman Kumar, a resident of Jalandhar, three policemen identified as Rajinder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh and Balvir Singh, posted at the two jails, were also booked. Raman originally hails from Lahori Gate, here. A case under Sections 222, 223 and 24 of the IPC has been registered against them.

According to a complaint lodged by the jail authorities the accused was serving imprisonment for the past 10 years and was admitted to the GNDH for treatment of some ailment. The complainants alleged that the accused slipped away from the hospital with the connivance of the three policemen on the intervening night of September 30 and October 1. The policemen guarding him also escaped without informing the local police and their higher ups. The local police received the information yesterday following which the case was registered.

Interestingly, the hospital authorities also failed to inform the city police about the escape. — TNS

Amritsar, October 4
The District Health Department has planned an aggressive checking drive in view of the upcoming festivals. It has constituted teams for inspection in the rural as well as urban areas.

The Health Department also plans to increase surveillance in rural areas as it was felt that during festive season sale of substandard food in these areas increased as the department usually focused on the city.

District Health Officer, Dr Shivkaran Singh Kahlon, said, “Normally the focus is on shops in urban areas as they are within the reach of the department. There is no denying the fact that quality of sweets sold in rural areas is also bad, so we will be reaching out to these areas.”

He said food inspectors in the department would be keeping a check on the quality of the food being sold in the rural areas. The department had recently seized 5 quintal of synthetic khoya coming from rural areas through a bus only few days ago. The department had also found poor quality of milk being supplied from rural areas where most of the dairy farms are located.

“In urban areas most of the people are aware of the harmful qualities of substandard food. We receive a number of complaints against shops in the city. In rural areas people are comparatively less aware. We have decided to fill in the gap, which will also help in creating awareness,” said Kahlon. — TNS