Amritsar, November 14
Swami Vivekanand Drug De-addiction Centre in Government Medical College in association with Amritsar Sparkling, an initiative by Alphone Gcorp, today adopted the Maqboolpura area where there is rampant drug abuse.

Under the project, an effort will be made to spread awareness among the inhabitants of the area against the menace of drug addiction.

Besides teams will visit door to door to identify and help the victims of drug addiction. Once they are de-addicted, the company will also try to rehabilitate them by providing jobs, said Dr PD Garg, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College.

Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat flagged off a mobile van provided to the centre for offering mobile services in various parts of the district, which are badly affected by the menace, added Dr Garg.

Dr Prodipta Sen, executive director, Alpha GCorp, said, “The mobile ambulance will be going to the different identified areas of Maqboolpura, where temporary camps will be held. Addicts will be called to attend the camps for treatment and procuring medicines.”

He added that awareness through Nukkad nataks by Alfaz Academy and counselling sessions by doctors of Vivekananda Hospital would be an intrinsic part of the campaign.

Recently, the district administration and the GMC established a temporary sub-centre in a private hospital in the locality. Earlier, the administration had opened a temporary de-addiction centre in the locality last year, but it was shut after nine months due to shortage of staff as well as medicines, leaving the drug addicts in a lurch.

Meanwhile, in order to mark the 125th birth anniversary of the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Children’s Day, the district Youth Congress headed by its president Vikas Soni today organised a programme at the Citizen Forum Vidya Mandir in Maqboolpura locality. The school is dedicated to providing free education to the children of victims of drug abuse.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee vice-president OP Soni was the chief guest on the occasion. He encouraged the students to get higher education and help the people of their locality in getting rid of the drug menace.

During the programme, children took the pledge for eradicating the menace from their society.

The DCC also distributed stationery to the students.

Amritsar, November 14
Several persons armed with pistols, blunt and sharp-edged weapons entered the home of a former councillor, Joginder Pal, forcibly in Dr Ambedkar Colony opposite Gillwali gate here late last evening.

The police have booked around seven persons, including notorious gangster Sangam whose name also figured in the killing of Sanjeev Nayyar, alias Babba. Babba, another gangster, had come out of jail on parole. Sangam is a close aide of Jagdeep Singh Jaggu. His name figured in the interrogation of their two accomplices, who were arrested by the Amritsar rural police over a week ago.

Among others who were booked include Nagina, Sahil and Bobby Malhotra, all residents of the same locality along with Robin, alias Gunga, and two unidentified persons. The police slapped charges of attempt to murder and criminal trespass against them.

Baldev Parkash , the complainant in the case, said at around 10 pm, the accused armed with swords, baseball bats and a pistol attacked his house. He said he and his family were inside the house. He alleged that the accused also shot several rounds and hit the main gate with swords while threatening to kill him. He said sensing danger, they did not come out of the house. Later, the accused trespassed into his brother Joginderpal’s house and used abusive language. There also they shot several rounds, which struck his wall and the main gate.

Kulwinder Kumar, SHO, C-division police station, said a case under Sections 307, 452, 148, 149 and 506, IPC, has been registered against the culprits while further investigations were under progress. He said the culprits were relatives of the complainant and they had old enmity. The complainants had lodged a complaint against them a couple of years ago.

The accused were threatening them in order to pressurise them to withdraw the case. But they did not. The accused nursed a grudge against the victims and, therefore, perpetrated the attack. The SHO said raids were being conducted to arrest them. 

Amritsar, November 14
The city police have booked Shemsher Singh Shammi, a resident of the Maqboolpura area, in an abetment to suicide case in which a newly married girl identified as Shivani ended her life by hanging herself.

Though the family members of the deceased alleged that the girl was being harassed by Shammi, police officials said investigations were under progress. A case under Section 306, IPC, has been registered against Shammi following the statement of the family members. No arrest has been made so far because the suspect is at large.

According to information, the family members stated to the police that Shivani ended her life by hanging herself from the iron girder of her room. Her husband had gone to work when the incident took place. They alleged that the accused used to tease and harass her. A couple of days ago, the accused crossed all limits and harassed her in the bazaar. The matter went to the police, who allegedly tried to strike a compromise between the two in the case.

Perturbed over this, Shivani took the extreme step of ending her life.

Kuldeep Singh, SHO, Maqboolpura police, alleged that raids were being conducted to arrest the suspect who was on the run.

He said further investigations were on and the cause behind the incident was being ascertained. 

Amritsar, November 14
The Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) will hold auction of residential and commercial properties under its various schemes on November 17.

Trust chairman Sandeep Rishi said a special house meeting was held to take up the matter of funding the construction of the boundary wall of the dump site at Bhagtanwala.

He said the issue of sanctioning funds for constructing a community hall and a cremation ground in its Ranjit Avenue scheme were not taken up due to incomplete documentation work.

The proposed auction will offer residential and commercial sites at Ranjit Avenue, Anand Avenue, New Amritsar, Kabir Park and other schemes.

Auction of residential and commercial properties under its various schemes on November 17

Amritsar, November 14
The Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) continues to handle various kinds of waste with archaic methods, ignoring scientific and technical developments in managing garbage around the world.

A burgeoning population and rapid urbanisation has led to a substantial increase in generation of various kinds of waste, but the Municipal Corporation has failed to adopt scientific measures like segregation of refuse.

PS Randhawa of the Pollution Control Committee, Amritsar, said the MC failed miserably to deliver when it came to garbage collection and disposal in the city. He added that initially there was no need to employ costly scientific equipment and techniques. A little change in the system of disposal of garbage will ensure healthy surroundings.

At present the MC is involved only in dumping of garbage without segregating it. He said there was no segregation of waste. As a result, the MC was dumping municipal solid waste, electronic waste and bio-medical waste at the same place. He said it violated Bio-medical Waste Rules 1998 and Municipal Solid Waste Management and Handling Rules 2000. Ideally, the MC must have separate sites to dispose of these categories of waste.

Currently, the MC is engaged in the collection of all kinds of waste, its transportation and dumping. Its omission of segregation of refuse and its processing before disposal was costing heavily upon environment.

Punjab Sudhar Sabha president Balram Kumar Sharma flayed the MC for employing only simple garbage- management teachniques. He added that employing other measures like waste treatment, waste recycling, reuse, landfill disposal, environmental consideration could bring in considerable changes to the hygienic condition of the holy city.

He stressed that this was necessary as urbanisation was taking place rapidly and asserted that the trend was expected to continue. He said the district’s population was 21,52,182 in 2001, which touched 24,90,656 in 2011. The density of population was at 807 people per sq km in 2001, which rose to 928 people per sq km in 2011.

The city now has a population of over 15 lakh and is generating over 500 metric tonnes of garbage every day. It calls for systematic and organised handling of waste management.

According to norms, all medical waste has been divided into 10 categories by use of colour-coded envelopes, which are to be treated and disposed of in different ways. The manner of disposal includes shredding, disinfecting, putting waste in secure landfills or ensuring deep burial and use of incinerators.

He added that not all hospitals were employing coloured bags or dustbins to dispose of bio-medical waste.

Green bags are used to throw non-infectious waste comprising plastic, food left-overs, paper etc, red bags for consigning infectious waste comprising blood and urine bags, gloves, drips, tubes, yellow bags for throwing infectious cotton and anatomical waste that includes bandages, swaps, human material, microbiological waste, tissues and animal waste, white bags for infectious sharp waste, including needles, blades, syringes and blue bags for non-infectious sharp waste, including IV drip bottles and vials.

Sharma flayed managements of all private and government schools for their failure to install separate dustbins for disposing of bio-degradable and non-degradable waste on their campuses. He said according to norms, green bins must be used for dumping bio-degradable waste and the blue ones for non-degradable waste.

Amritsar, November 14
Children’s Day was celebrated with great zeal and frolic across various schools and educational institutions in city as children marked the day with colourful and creative activities. True to the spirit of celebrating the day, earmarked for the future faces of the country, multimedia and sporting activities were planned and carried out by schools.

Studenst of DAV International School celebrated the day by singing, dancing, painting, drawing, quizzes, storytelling, elocutions, debates, speeches, and so on. The best part about the day was that students did not have to wear their regular uniforms to school. Instead, they put on colorful and their best dresses. The primary wing commemorated the day with immense joy, enthusiasm and magnificence.

Anjana Gupta, Principal of the school, in her speech paid tributes to Pt Jawaharlal Nehru and applauded the teachers for organising innovative and fun-filled activities for the students.

Storytelling, painting, musical performnaces added colour to the celebrations. The Senior Study school celebrated Children’s Day by remembering Chacha Nehru, followed by participating in the CBSE Expression Series “Bal Swachhta Mission”.

Classes IX –XII wrote on topics, “A clean school makes learning a pleasure” and Classes VI- VIII wrote on “What can we do to make our country the cleanest?”

Reman Sharma, senior study faculty and supervisor, said, “Pt Jawaharlal Nehru had always called children the destiny of India. It’s time to introspect and fulfil his dreams with our hard work and dedication towards our nation,” as she adressed the students

Children of GD Goenka Public School, Amritsar, enjoyed a magic show and skits, including many dance forms and melodrama. The children were made to understand the ideology behind the day — Jawahralal Nehru’s belief that children were the future of the country. If they were nurtured properly and educated well, the country’s future would be bright.

DAV Public School, too, had several activities planned to mark the day. Neera Sharma, Principal, congratulated the students and said the day was special but it also brought many responsibilities with it.

Students must imbibe the values of sacrifice, brotherhood, tolerance and move ahead to make their country proud, she said.

The special students of Ibadat also didn’t lag behind in celebrating the day with special activities. A painting competition was held in the school besides several music and dance perfomances.

Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora presided over the celebrations and applauded the creativity and skills of the special children. 

Amritsar, November 14
While inaugurating the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s (ABVPs) three-day national convention here today, the 1971 war hero, Brig Kuldeep Singh Chandpuri, exhorted students to join defence services. The ABVP also announced an awareness campaign against drug addiction in Punjab on the occasion.

Addressing the convention, Chandpuri said the defence forces were short of around 14,000 officers. He said it was the foremost duty of every resident to serve his country. It was because of sacrifices of many of his men at Longowala that he was awarded Mahavir Chakra, he added. He said he still vividly remembered the valour and sacrifice of soldiers under his command. Chandpuri was a star attraction among the participants.

He mesmerised students with the true account of what had happened at Longowala, narrating how 120 Indian soldiers had fought around 3,000 Pakistani soldiers and 60 tanks to save the post. While remembering the martyrs in the battle, Chandpuri said, “The soldiers had decided to fight and they fought till their last breath. The story of valour of these soldiers needs to be told to every Indian.”

Addressing the delegates, national president of the ABVP, Nagesh Thakur, said students had to play a greater role in nation building. He said the ABVP would embark on a drive to create awareness about drug menace in Punjab. India had the maximum number of youth in the world. There was a need to channelise their energy, he added. He said if neglected, youth could be misguided and exploited for anti-national activities by enemy forces. Educated youth should foster the idea of nation building through youth participation, he added.

National general secretary of the ABVP, Shrihari Borikar, while recalling the past of the student outfit said it had to play a greater role in the present scenario. He said ABVP activists must remember their responsibility towards the country and submit themselves for the cause of nation building.

Meanwhile BJP’s state president Kamal Sharma termed the war of words between SAD and the BJP as ‘unfortunate’ while reposing full faith in Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi. SAD leaders had accused Joshi of amassing wealth through unfair means. Talking about the serious allegations levelled by two alliance partners against each other, Sharma said, “It is unfortunate and I believe it should never have happened.” 

Amritsar, November 14
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Partap Singh Bajwa visited Bhagtawala garbage dump and assured people that the party would not let government set up a solid waste management plant at the site. He said the government must set up waste management plant outside the city.

Bajwa said the government should get a wall constructed around the dump and cover it with soil for the establishment of a park at place of the dump. He said the Congress would support the residents in their fight till a park was constructed at the site.

Former MLA and Congress leader Jasbir Singh Dimpa said the party would stage a protest outside the residence of Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi after Wednesday if he failed to find a solution to the residents problem. He said they would unload a garbage vehicle outside Joshi’s home so as to make him feel how the residents of localities near the dump were living.

Bajwa said keeping in view the health hazards faced by the residents living in the vicinity of the dump, it should be shifted outside the city. He said the government should make a long-term plan and stop finding short term solutions.

Waste management was a key issue of the local governance and a solution should be found at the earliest, he added. “The SAD and BJP leaders are busy in their own fight. They have neglected the welfare of the city residents,” said Bajwa.

The residents of localities near Bhagtanwala garbage dump have been protesting since the last two weeks. They have succeeded partially as the Municipal Corporation has designated five alternative waste disposal sites and dumping of waste at Bhagtanwala yard has been stopped.

Amritsar, November 14
A three day World Sikh Educational Conference was inaugurated at Chief Khalsa Diwan Institute of Management and Technology, Tarn Taran, today. The seminar is being organised by the Educational Committee of the Chief Khalsa Diwan. Various eminent personalities and renowned educationist from across the world participated in the event.

The event began with the bhog of Sri Akhand Path at the institute. An exhibition of books, Sikh art and artifacts, traditional musical instruments and weapons was also held on the occasion. Literary works were also displayed. Books relating to Sikh history, culture and heritage were the main attraction.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Member of Parliament Ranjit Singh Bramhpura. A special section was dedicated to Sikh martyrs of the First World War for paying tributes. A session was held to promote organic farming. Experts briefed the participants about advantages of organic and natural farming.

Methods to increase the agricultural production with less use of fertilisers were also explained. Special emphasis was laid on eco-bins, rainwater harvesting and utilisation of kitchen waste for making natural manure.

Working models made by students of various schools under the CKD management were on display during the conference. Free samples of organic seeds and related books were distributed among the visitors.

President of the Chief Khalsa, Diwan Charanjit Singh Chadda, said 50 schools were running successfully under the patronage of the CKD charitable society. He said CKD Institute of Management at Tarn Tarn would be inaugurated by the Chief Minister on the concluding day of the conference. Chadda also announced opening of five new schools.

A meeting was held during the conference to discuss new projects for the further development of the CKD and its institutions. Resident president Nirmal Singh, honorary secretary Narinder Singh Khurana, additional honorary secretary educational committee Santokh Singh Seth, general secretary of the conference, Dr Jaswinder Singh Dhillon, local committee president Manjit Singh Tarn Tarani and various other dignitaries were present on the occasion.

Amritsar, November 14
The Punjab Chemists Association (PCA) today shot a letter to Union Health Minister JP Nadda stating the acute shortage of life-saving drugs and injections, including anti-snake venom, in the country due to very small production.

The association headed by Surinder Duggal said, “According to the information gathered from markets all over the country, two drugs, including albumin injection and anti-snake venom are not available in the market on regular basis.” He said both the drugs were in the national list of essential medicines (NLEM).

Duggal said the reason behind non-availability of these drugs was short production. He said it had created life threatening situation for many patients. Albumin is manufactured by Baxter Pharma Limited and Reliance Life Sciences while anti-snake venom is manufactured by Bharat Serum.

He urged the Union minister to take a serious view of the situation and direct these pharmaceutical companies to maintain a proper supply of these medicines and injections in the market to avoid any shortage in future. 

Amritsar, November 14
Three-day zonal level co-curricular competitions organised at Government Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, concluded here today.

These competitions were organised by the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB). Hundreds of students from Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Tarn Taran and Pathankot districts participated in declamation, poetry recital, general knowledge and Punjabi folk dance “giddha” competitions.

Rajinder Chouhan, in charge of the PSEB co-curricular activities, was the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the event. She distributed prizes among young artistes. Principal of the Government Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, Mandeep Kaur, welcomed the chief guest and congratulated students who won in competitions.

Results: In declamation contest (category second), Shubhneet Kaur of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, Amritsar, stood first; Komalpreet Kaur of Central Public Senior Secondary School, Gurdaspur, second and Balpreet Kaur of Sant Baba Bhuri Wale Public School, Tarn Taran, stood third. In giddha contest (category second), Prim Roses English School, Kot Atma Ram stood first, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, Amritsar, was placed second and Government Senior Secondary School, Mianwind, Tarn Taran came third.

In senior level giddha contest (category third), Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mall Road, Amritsar, stood first, Saint Soldier Day Boarding School, Jandiala Guru, stood second and Sri Guru Gobind Senior School, Sarhali, came third.

Balwinder Kaur (Bathinda), Darshan Kaur (Bathinda), Kuljeet Virk (Moga), Lok Nath (Khanna), Harwinder Kaur, Bhagwant Singh and Dr Kailash Bhardwaj judged various competitions. The event was managed by Rawinder Athwal and Jatinder Kaur. — TNS

Amritsar, November 14
Officials of the Department of Fisheries organised a meeting for fish farmers from Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts at the office located near Ghee Mandi area here on Wednesday. As many as 100 farmers participated in the programme.

Mahinderpal Singh, deputy director, Fisheries Department, along with Sarabjit Singh, fisheries officer from Tarn Taran, gave information about various schemes for promoting fish farming to the farmers. They said government was providing subsidies to farmers, who wanted to take up fish farming. Farmers should multiply their income by opting for such alternatives, they added. — TNS