The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

terror strike on Wagah border
Tourists cut short their stay in city
Neeraj Bagga
Tribune News Service

A group of tourists from Maharashtra gather outside the Jallianwalla Bagh in Amritsar on Monday. Photo: RK Soni

Amritsar, November 3
Travel and tourism industries besides trade have suffered a beating with the BSF cancelling the retreat ceremony for three days following the terror strike at Wagah border, across the border in Pakistan.

Tourists are cutting short their stay here with no retereat ceremony scheduled while advance bookings are being cancelled, signalling low arrival in the coming time.

Owners of taxis and autos ferrying passengers between the Attari joint check-post and the city said their income would be wiped out with no retreat ceremony at the border.

A taxi driver, Mukesh Makkar, felt that the blast’s repercussions would be felt for a long time. He said it was seen in the past that tourists hold back from visiting the town for a long period after any such unfortunate incident.

Auto driver Raju Verka said an auto driver earned between Rs 300 and Rs 500 a day by ferrying passengers to the Attari border and the city. A passenger is charged Rs 100 up and down from the city to the Attari border and back.

A tourist, Bilal Ahmad, a resident of Srinagar, said he had come here with four members of his family for sightseeing. However, their journey proved incomplete because they could not see the retreat ceremony.

Similarly, the leader of a 40-member group of tourists from Mumbai, Krushal, said the unfortunate incident upset their schedule to watch the retreat ceremony. He said after visiting Dalhousie and Dharamsala, they came here to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple and watch the retreat ceremony at the International Border (IB) at Attari.

A group of 76 students and teachers of Alpine Valley Public School, Mansa, today returned to their hometown after they were unable to visit the (IB) at Attari village.

A dry fruit trader, Harvinder Singh, near Jallianwala Bagh, said the repercussions of the blast across the border on tourism would be seen in the holy city in the near future.

The president of the Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHARA), APS Chatha, said the impact of the blast in Pakistan was visible on tourism in the holy city. He said reports from various hotels of advance bookings being cancelled were being received. Earlier, he said, it was seen that the number of tourists had gone down following the clash between two Sikh groups in the Golden Temple.

Police teams busy in VIP duties
Move to set up separate investigation wings to probe criminal cases
PK Jaiswar
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
If everything goes as planned, the city police will have a separate investigation wing in every police station for probing criminal cases and taking them to their logical conclusion.

The need for investigating teams, separate from the law and order wing, dedicated to carrying out detailed investigations into criminal incidents is being felt. A number of times, the criminal elements managed to go scot-free due to an improper investigation, the reason being that police teams remain busy in meeting the law and order commitments.

Being a holy city famous for its religious, historic and heritage value, Amritsar witnesses frequent visits of VIPs and VVIPs. Besides Golden Temple, it is also the seat of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), known as the mini parliament of Sikhs. Therefore, political developments are always on the boil here leading to regular visits of political leaders to the city.

Most of the time, a large number of policemen remain busy in providing security cover to VIPs and VVIPs besides managing the traffic en route to the shrine. Various police officials, on condition of anonymity, said that they hardly found any time due to their law and order commitments. This sometimes led to an improper probe into the crime incidents. It also gave ample time to miscreants to escape, they added. Another official said 50 per cent of their manpower remained busy in non-policing jobs.

The Punjab Government had conceptualised the idea of separating the two wings as a part of the police reforms last year. Sumedh Singh Saini, the DGP, had announced that the idea would be implemented by the beginning of 2014. In July this year, the Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Singh Badal, had announced in the Punjab Assembly that under these reforms, the investigating teams would have separate staff headed by an SHO-rank official.

Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh while confirming this said the investigating teams were exclusively for investigation purpose and not for law and order problems.

“We have started the process. At present we have some teething problems and a report will be prepared in this regard. It will be sent to higher officials for appropriate action,” Aulakh said. He added that the separate wings would also help in tackling the long pendency of cases, which were currently under investigations.

When questioned about the shortage of staff, which may hinder the successful implementation of the move, he said they were looking into this aspect also.

Non-functional brick-kilns push up prices by 20% in district
Manmeet Singh Gill
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
The prices of bricks in the district have increased by almost 20 per cent as most of the brick-kilns have not become functional this season. The brick-kiln owners alleged that the government is not allowing them to use fields for digging soil.

The prices of bricks in the district have gone up from Rs 4,800-5,000 per thousand bricks during the previous season to around Rs 6,000-6,100 per thousand bricks. Industry sources said that the prices may further increase if the government did not monitor these.

The ‘brick soil’ which is mined from fields is the main ingredient of baked bricks. With the government making it mandatory for brick-kiln owners to get clearance from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), the brick-kiln owners are facing a problem.

The brick industry is a seasonal industry, which remains closed during rainy intervals. In the district, the brick-kilns start their operations after mid-August. Due to the requirement of a mandatory clearance from environment-protection agencies, most of the kilns have not started operations till now.

District president of the Brick-Kiln Owners Association Mukesh Nanda said, “The last meeting of the SEIAA was held on February 6. At present, around 1,350 files for clearance are pending.” He said the government was not allowing brick-kilns to operate, which apart from pushing up the prices would ruin their businesses.

Nanda said for obtaining brick soil, they entered into contracts with farmers, who allow them to dig up to a limited level. “The mining in case of brick soil is not the same as sand mining and other minor minerals. We mine brick soil from private fields and not government land,” he said, adding that the rules should be relaxed to keep the industry going. The district has around 180 brick-kilns where thousands of labourers were working.

Eco-preservation process: 4-day film festival begins
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
A three-day Amritsar CMS Vatavaran, an environment and wildlife film festival and forum, was inaugurated today at the Guru Nanak Bhawan auditorium of Guru Nanak Dev University.

The festival is being hosted by the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences in association with CMS Vatavaran and the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST). Films based on environment, lectures and reviews to encourage people to get involved in the eco-preservation process is the main aim of the event, which is the first initiative of its kind in city.

Anil Joshi, Minister of Local Government, Medical Education and Research, Punjab Government formally inaugurated the festival, presided over by Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, Registrar of the University and Bakshi Ram Arora, Mayor of Amritsar. Satnam Singh Ladhar, Additional Director, Environment, Punjab State Council for Science and Technology was special invitee, accompanied by N. Bhaskara Rao, Chairman, CMS, New Delhi.

Addressing the audience, Joshi said that for the sake of humanity, the unnecessary exploitation of nature should be stopped. “We should all understand our responsibility for the environment, which is being severely affected.” He said that collective efforts needed to be initiated by all especially educational institution and a mass campaign to create awareness among general masses is required to make our environment more clean and green.

The event was kicked off by screening Jal Khet (Water Fields), a documentary film directed by Anjali Nayar, based on rain-water harvesting and its massive advantage for irrigation purpose. The 25 minutes film exemplified the efforts of a group of farmers in a small village in Madhya Pradesh, suffering from draught and their courageous efforts to use rain water harvesting to their advantage. Anjali Nayar’s maiden film has already won the newcomer award at the CMS Vatavaran environment film awards earlier this year.

The film screening was followed by panel discussions and an itinerary was announced for the events to be organised at the various venues in Amritsar, which include DAV Public School, DAV College, GD Goenka Public School, Swami Satyanand College of Management and Technology, Hindu College, the All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society and Central Jail. The festival will showcase more than 25 films on environmental issues, namely “The Tiger”, “They Are All Dead” by Reema Sen Gupta, “Smarty Plants” by Kavita Behl and Nandan Sexena, “Chilika — Jewel of Odisha” by Shekhar Dattatri, “Gaur in my Garden” by Rita Bannerji, “The Moor” by Jan Haft, “Tiger Dynasty”, “When Every Drop Counts” by Rishu Nigam, “Greeny the Great” by Dhananjay Bhopale, “Corbett’s Legacy” by Naresh Bedi, “Bal Pandi — A Life of Birds” by Suresh Elamon, “Ladakh’s Artificial Glaciers” by Rajindra Srivathsa Kondapali, “The Fight” by Saransh Sugandh, “Wind of Change” by Julia Dahr, “Shifting Undercurrents — Women Seaweed Collectors of Gulf of Mannar” by Rita Bannerji and “Dammed” by Kavita Behl and Nandan Sexena and “Platform No. 5” by C Vanaja Kumari.

Informing about the event, Sundeep C Srivastav, co-ordinator, CMS Vatavaran and organiser of the event, said, “The films to be screened here are a mix of short films, documentaries and feature-length movies, made by some of the most renowned filmmakers. Some of the films have already been featured in prestigious film festivals and competitive events. Our efforts will be on interactions between the people and the film-makers as they will get a direct understanding on some of the gravest environment concerns in the country.”

2 unemployed youth climb atop water tank

Amritsar, November 3
Two unemployed youth demanding jobs in the Power Corporation on compassionate grounds climbed atop a water tank in the Pink Plaza area here today. The youngsters were carrying bottles containing petrol and threatened to take the extreme step if they were not given jobs.

The youths were identified as Raj Kumar and Sukhchain Singh. Sukhchain Singh said at present there were around 340 cases pending where one of the parents of a person had died while in service.

He said they were given the option of compensation or a job and they had asked for job. The two had remained atop the water tank for almost two months the previous year.

Later they had agreed to come down after Power Corporation officials had assured them they would look into the matter. The protesters said the government had not fulfilled its promise. Sukhchain Singh said they would continue the protest till they were given jobs. — TNS

Gold coins launched on Guru Nanak’s birth anniversary
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
Paying tributes to the first Sikh guru, Guru Nanak Dev, Tanishq unveiled a limited edition gold coin in Amritsar today. The gold souvenirs were launched by Giani Gurbachan Singh, Jathedar, Akal Takht.

The one-of-a-kind coin has the image of Guru Nanak Dev Ji engraved on it. The special limited edition coin comes as a gesture to mark the coming birth anniversary of the founder of the Sikh religion, who had set up a unique spiritual and social platform based on equality, fraternal love, goodness, and virtue. The event also had specila folk and sufi performances by local artistes.

The 22-karat gold coins, weighing four, eight and 10 gm, have an image of Guru Nanak Dev engraved on them. The coin will be available across all Tanishq showrooms in Punjab. Speaking on the occasion of the launch, a Tanishq official said, “Guru Nanak Jayanti is the most sacred festival of Sikhism and with this special edition gold coin, we are paying tribute to its founder, celebrating the message of humanity and brotherhood. With this, we look forward to strengthening our cultural connect with Punjab.”

Better amritsar: Swachh Bharat Mission—Ii
Accountability, public support vital for drive
GS Paul
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
To implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swachh Bharat campaign, there’s a need to develop adequate infrastructure, manpower, conviction for the cause and above all, the mindset of the residents must be transformed.

A mechanism has to be devised in such a way that more and more public participation is made possible in the mission and the civic officials are also held accountable for any lapse on their part while performing their duties, the residents felt.

Health Officer Dr Charanjit Singh is the nodal officer for the Swachh Bharat campaign. He can be contacted at mobile number 9815476763, if any resident wants to take up any cleanliness issue in his/her area.

What needs to be done?

When visitors come here, the only thing that plays the spoilsport is the unhygienic surroundings with heaps of garbage scattered by the roadside and streets emanating a foul smell.

Infact, the Swachh Bharat mission has the capability of changing the perception of the visitors worldwide, who otherwise carry a negative impression about India, in terms of hygiene and cleanliness during their visit here.

The participation of city residents has to be encouraged and the civic sense needs to be inculcated among the people. Each and every resident should take it as his or her moral duty to maintain hygiene in his or her surroundings. If it happens, then the other constraints like lack of machinery and manpower can also be overcome to an extent.

To sustain the cleanliness drive, services of local NGOs could be utilized. A schedule has to be made to make a routine practice of cleanliness, as it is being done around the Golden Temple.

Symbolic drive

After the Prime Minister’s appeal, the heads of various government departments and leaders, including the mayor and Minister of Local Bodies, Punjab, came out on the streets to hit the news headlines with a symbolic cleansing drive by holding brooms in their hands whereas the ground realities point otherwise and need immediate attention. The Municipal Corporation should be provided with adequate infrastructure, equipment and manpower to execute the waste collection and disposal job.

Gurbhej Singh, general secretary of Mission Aagaaz

Mindset of citizens

The mindset of the citizens needs to be changed. I believe the Swachh Bharat campaign does not restrict itself to cleaning garbage in the streets or roads, it also includes maintaining a hygienic environment. It is equally important to make the public toilets clean.

Gurmeet Singh Bablu, president of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Welfare Society

Accountability of MC

Until and unless the accountability of MC officials is fixed and the residents who litter the streets are penalised, no change could be expected. Being a resident of the walled city, I have observed that the Golden Temple passages that are cleaned by the kar sewa volunteers during the wee hours but they are littered by residents later.

Jagdish Singh, city resident

Help of NGOs

Whenever I move out, I see so much of muck and choked water drains in the streets and garbage piled up by the roadsides but I fail to find out whom to intimate about it. The MC can take the NGOs and volunteers in loop to accomplish the task of cleaning the city.

PS Bhatti, president of Khudai Khidmadgaran

District admn gears up for Ram Tirath Mela
Tribune News Service

Devotees arrive at Ram Tirath in Amritsar. Photo: RK Soni

Amritsar, November 3
After some initial hiccups, the district administration has made arrangements to hold a trouble-free Ram Tirath Mela in the Ram Tirth area, believed to be the hermitage of Bhagwan Valmiki.

The district administration fielded a team of officials to carry out a cleanliness drive around the circumambulation of the holy pond at Ram Tirth.

Tehsildar Arvind Prakash said the water of the holy pool was being replaced with fresh water every day. Besides, all other arrangements are being made to make the entire area clean and fit for holding the function.

Though the fair started yesterday, it would formally kick off on November 5. Bhagwan Valmiki Dhunna Sahib Trust chairman Om Parkash Gabbar said a nose pin would be put in a fish as per the tradition.

He informed that all other arrangements had been completed.

Devotees from different parts of Punjab would come to pay obeisance at the temple during the mela, which would conclude on November 13.

The SAD-BJP coalition government, keeping in view the popularity of the shrine, laid the foundation stone to raise the Bhagwan Valmiki temple (at a cost of Rs 115 crore) last year.

An elaborate design has been prepared according to which the temple will have a central hall fanged by four porticoes in all the directions and approached by a causeway attached with deoris (entrance portals) at both ends.

The central shikhar of the memorial will be of 84-foot in height, circular in nature and it will rest on the octagonal drum having windows to allow light inside.

The temple will stand in a holy sarovar, which will be further connected to parikarma (circumambulation) through a wide bridge.

Besides, an area spreading over 11 acres is being developed as exhibition and congregation complex with a sangat hall having a capacity of 5,000 persons, a museum and panorama to highlight the life and history of Bhagwan Valmiki, as well as major events of the Ramayana.

Insurance firm told to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to wife of deceased
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed an insurance company to pay Rs 1.5 lakh along with 9 per cent interest from the date of filling the complaint and Rs 2,000 as litigation expenses to a complainant.

Earlier, Joyti Mahajan and her two minor children, all residents of Judge Nagar, had filed a complaint against the United India Insurance Company stating that her husband, Pawan Mahajan, had purchased a personal accident insurance policy of Rs 1 lakh along with a cumulative bonus of Rs 50,000.

She said the policy covered Pawan’s personal risk, including medical expenses. Her husband met with an accident on June 26, 2010, she added.

He was admitted to Golden City Hospital, from where he was shifted to Madaan Hospital, Amritsar, on the same day, where he ultimately died on June 27.

She said during hospitalisation, the family spent Rs 64,000 on Pawan’s treatment. The insurance company was informed about the mishap on June 29 and all the required documents were provided as and when the company demanded.

She alleged that the company repudiated the claim vide a letter dated June 13, 2011, giving the reason that the claim documents had been over-delayed as per the policy terms and conditions.

In its reply, the company stated that the date of accident was June 26, but the first intimation to the company was given on June 29, without any supporting documents.

It was further stated in the reply that, “As per the basic condition of the policy in question, the immediate intimation on account of any occurrence and thereafter, supporting documents are to be supplied to the opposite party within the stipulated period of 14 days so that the opposite party gets an opportunity to verify the genuineness of the said occurrence as well as its cause, to verify medical bills and records of the hospital.”

The company said in this case, neither immediate intimation nor any supporting documents were given within the stipulated period of 14 days.

The forum observed that the company never wrote any letter to the complainant to submit any document. The company also could not produce any document to prove that it demanded any document from the complainant regarding the death of Pawan Mahajan and his medical treatment before he passed away.

The forum stated that the opposite party was not justified in repudiating the claim of the complainant regarding the death of Pawan on the ground of delayed submission of claimed documents because there was no condition in the policy to the effect that the claim could be repudiated on the ground of late submissions of the documents.

Uncertainty looms over execution of waste management project
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
Even as the Local Bodies Ministry has announced to start the solid waste management project for the Jalandhar cluster by November 5, this most sought-after project for the city would take time to see the light of the day.

The authorities said fresh tenders would have to be floated as none of the six firms, which had showed interest in the pre-bidding process, cared to respond in the final bidding.

In spite of the fact that the MC has offered to release an amount of Rs 20 crore (received under JNNURM) instantly to the interested firm, besides, the collection of user charges amounting to around Rs 3 crore annually, the response was found to be negative.

Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said it was a very surprising development. “The online e-tendering slot was empty as none of the firms showed interest in the project. We have to restart from a scratch and tenders would be floated soon,” he said.

Earlier, as many as six companies, including the one from UK, had participated in the pre-bids for the project that was hanging fire for the last many years. The pre-bids were opened in the presence of Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora and MC Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal on September 8.

In response, six companies participated in the process, including the UK-based Eco Worldwide Company, Jindal Urban Infrastructure, Ess Ell Infrastructure, Ramoki Engineers, Suneel Hi-Tech Infra Private Limited and Jyoti Company.

The representatives of these companies had a personal meeting with MC officials to enquire about the project. The MC authorities had even pushed the final date of the project twice — from September 15 to September 30 and then to October 15.

“Earlier, the tender bids had to be rejected because the company’s service bids were quite high. This time, we failed to understand the reason in spite of the fact that we tried to clear their queries to a great extent,” he said.

The MC officials had given them a detailed presentation to give account of the proposed solid waste management plant to be installed at Bhagtanwala. A 25 acre piece of land has already been demarcated on which the plant would be executed on lease basis.

According to the original plan, the plant sanctioned under the JNNURM, was designed to handle about 600-700 metric tonne of garbage, being generated every day by the residents and the small-scale industry here.

Army organises meet for veterans
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
The Beas Brigade of the Defence forces organised Veterans and Veer Naris Meet at Baba Bakala today. The meet was organised in consonance with the Vajra Corps and the Western Command.

Around 1,000 veterans attended the meet. As many as 34 veer naris were felicitated on the occasion. A health camp was organised for the veterans and veer naris by a team of five doctors, which included a lady doctor, an eye specialist and a medical specialist.

The veteans and veer naris were provided information regarding the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme Clinic, the unit run canteen facilities and the establishment of the Veterans Sahayata Kendra at the Beas Military Station.

Prof elaborates on trends in marketing
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, November 3
CKD Institute of Management and Technology (CKDIMT) organised an interactive seminar on ‘Future Trends in Marketing’. The seminar was conducted by marketing expert and Prof Gurvinder Shergill of Massey University, New Zealand, who shared his ideas and experiences with the students on the theme.

Dr Shergill discussed changing marketing trends and also took up pertinent issues such as how consumers think and behave; how they react to the various media profiles and campaigns; and where they search for information on the products and services.

He suggested strategies, which companies should develop and highlight to best meet consumers’ expectations.

Besides, Prof Shergill also brought out the role of market research, internet, digital and social media while elaborating on future trends in marketing of products and services by companies.