Amritsar, July 6
After a span of nearly two decades, ‘Gateway of Amritsar’, an ambitious project of the municipal corporation, would be soon greeting visitors on the way to the Wagah joint checkpost. The gate, being built in the memory of Sham Singh Attari, a lieutenant of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is nearing completion.

In a bid to speed up the completion, the corporation has written a letter to the state government, demanding release of funds. The foundation stone work of the project was laid by the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, to commemorate the 400 years of the foundation of the holy city.

However, the construction was started last year. The corporation has already completed two-thirds of the construction work on the project, which is estimated to cost around Rs 3.35 crore.

According to plan, the entire area around the gate would be beautified with lawns encircling the structure. Even before the completion, a dhaba, being anticipated as a stopover for the tourists, has already come up near the gate.

With the completion of this project the repulsive picture of the entire Chheharta area is bound to get improved.

Besides, local shopkeepers are also hopeful of getting more business in wake of the gate being completed. “A number of residents go to Ram Bagh for their morning walk. With the gate being completed they can now come to this place for walk and merrymaking,” they feel. Initially named as ‘India Gate’, the project turned into an accident-prone area with vehicles coming from Attari ramming into the low-boundary wall encircling the three-way crossing.

This was due to the absence of streetlights and reflectors. Further, the sharp turn around the large roundabout of the chowk, demarcated for the ambitious project, had aggravated the problem. The high-beam light of the approaching heavy vehicles from the opposite direction made driving more dangerous. Besides serving as the route to the VIPs crossing the joint checkpost, the route also caters to the international "Sada-e-Sarhad" Delhi-Lahore bus service crossing the joint checkpost.

Meanwhile, from this bypass, one road leads to the international Attari railway station and Wagah joint checkpost, while the other to the Rajasansi International airport. 

Amritsar, July 6
The local Government Medical College launched its website www.gmc.edu.in <http://www.gmc.edu.in> to provide complete information about the college and various medical courses being run by the college to the people.

BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu inaugurated the website. The website has been prepared by the Information Technology Centre of the institution and would provide full information about various departments of the college and its allied hospitals.

It would be a boon to the patients from India and abroad who wish to avail themselves of the health care services in the  college.

College principal Jasvinder Pal Kaur Shergill said the website would provide information on various undergraduate, postgraduate and paramedical courses run by the college, their course content and admission procedures.

Details about seats reserved for non-resident Indians in the MBBS course and process of admission were also available on the site.

Shergell said the website would also provide information about out-patient days, emergency days, special clinics days and exact location of each department and clinical unit of the college for the benefit of the patients.

The site would also provide details about various ongoing research projects in the college, she added.

She said a web page documenting more than 75-year-long history of the college had been included in the site.

Amritsar, July 6
Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), which conducted an admission survey, has claimed that its departments are the best option for candidates planning to join various professional and vocational courses.

There is a mad rush for various courses of the university. The 100 per cent placement record in IT and management courses sets us apart. No wonder, we are the top choice when it comes to admissions

“There is a mad rush for various courses of the university. The main reason to opt Guru Nanak Dev University courses among the students is the 100 per cent placement of the various IT, management and other technology courses, state-of-the-art infrastructure, peaceful, congenial and education-friendly atmosphere on its campus here,” stated a university official.

According to the survey, besides the Amritsar campus, the Guru Nanak Dev University’s Gurdaspur and Jalandhar campuses have got more number of applications than ever. The major factor for this development is its strong placement to various available courses. A number of its students are placed by internationally reputed multinational companies and corporate houses before the completion of their formal studies.

The university has also become the first preference for the students due to its excellent achievements in academics, research, sports and cultural at national and international levels, pointed the survey.

As per admission information collected from various departments, the courses of MBA, MCA, M. Com, MBE, M. Pharmacy, B. Tech in computer, electronics, food sciences, textile chemistry, urban and regional planning, B. Architecture, B. Pharmacy, B. Tech in sugar and alcohol technology, sports medicine and physiotherapy, MSc in chemistry, physics, applied physics, botany, applied chemistry, environmental science, molecular biology and biochemistry, biotechnology, human genetics, MSc in economics and law courses are the main attraction for admission seekers.

The students visiting the university campus for admission purposes were of the view that these courses had a good placement chances after the completion of their formal studies at Guru Nanak Dev University.

Last year, representatives of more than 60 national and international companies visited the university campus for placement. These companies selected 453 students of various courses through campus placement. Similarly, 240 students of batch 2008 have also been placed by various MNCs with the annual pay package of Rs 2.95 lakh to Rs 4 lakh.

Tata Consultancy Services had already accorded its recognition to the Jalandhar and Gurdaspur campuses of the university, in addition to the Amritsar campus, for placement.

Consequently, it has added another feather in the cap of Guru Nanak Dev University. Thus the Jalandhar and Gurdaspur campuses have also become the main attraction for the students.

The students who are even sure to get admission to choosy courses are also applying for the NRI quota as they don't want to lose any chance of seeking admission at this university.

This year, Guru Nanak Dev University conducted a state-level entrance test for admission to the MBA and MCA courses.

Amritsar, July 6
When the dawn breaks and dusk descends, the main ground of the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) comes alive with health-conscious residents flocking there to burn those extra calories.

Long sessions of exercise are followed by brisk walking and running along the expansive boundary. So much is the rush that to restrict the entry of outsiders on the campus, the university authorities have started issuing identity cards to regulars. With increased security on the main gates, every health freak coming to the campus is now supposed to carry the card.

Mukhtar Singh, a staffer with varsity’s public relations department, said according to rules they are suppose to come for evening walk after 5.30 pm when the academic activity comes to an end. “Besides keeping us fit, it’s a good opportunity to meet old friends and colleagues in a chilled-out atmosphere. Instead of working out at home, I prefer coming here as one tends to run an extra mile in the company of friends,” he quips.

Agrees Sharanjit Kumar, a teacher in the education department. “I make it a point to come here every evening. And whenever the routine breaks, it seems something is amiss. Exercise has benefited me immensely. Not only I have been able to stay in shape but my sleep pattern has also improved,” he adds.

And it is not only the employees of the university who converge on the ground without fail. Jatinder Kumar, a Punjab State Electricity Board staffer, says he eagerly awaits his evening workouts. “It’s very relaxing after a hectic day at office. We have our own group. Right from politics, religion to science and entertainment we discuss everything under the Sun,” he says. 

Amritsar, July 6
This summer, beat the heat with a medicated Ayurvedic “sharbat” produced by the Amritsar Sewa Samiti. The drink has become popular and is sold in the market on no profit, no loss basis.

Shashi Bhushan Khanna, honorary general secretary of the samiti, said the ingredients of the “sharbat” included sandal, rose, anj buti and brahmi, which were considered good for health. The samiti also manufactured Ayurvedic medicines and was the first one to be approved for the “Good Manufacturing Practice” certification in Punjab. These medicines were manufactured under the supervision of expert doctors. Founded with an aim of selfless service, the samiti set out on the path of social service in 1924 as an Ayurvedic dispensary in the Khuh Sunaiara area of the walled city. Pandit Madan Mohan Malvia, who was instrumental in establishing Banaras Hindu University, played a significant role in the setting up of the samiti.

At present, the samiti had over 50 centres providing medical services using disciplines of Ayurvedic, allopathic, homeopathic, dental, gynecological, eye, ENT at its hospitals, which had attached laboratories and were provided with the state-of-the-art equipment and were situated in different parts of the city. They were providing health services to over 25 lakh people annually suffering from various ailments.

The annual budget of the Amritsar Sewa Samiti recently touched about Rs 2.5 crore, all due to its continuous service of people in the last 82 years of continuous service without any government aid and only with donations from small and big philanthropists of the area.

The samiti had over 1,000 permanent members belonging to all strata of society, including advocates, teachers, businessmen, etc, who donated generously for the noble cause. The samiti published its annual audit report detailing about all its expenditures. However, it never showed the amount of donations paid as per the wishes of its donors, who did not want their names to be mentioned anywhere.

Besides running health centre, the samiti was also involved in the distribution of free ration and household items, medicines, cloths, blankets and sweaters. The samiti also used to manufacture Ayurvedic medicines, first one to be approved under the “Good Manufacturing Practice” certification in Punjab.

Khanna said for the last three years the hospitals under the sewa samiti had been charging only Rs 5 for allopathic treatment and check-up, while Rs 2 for Ayurvedic treatment. These hospitals provided free medicines to patients. The samiti also provided free X-ray, ultrasound, laboratory test facilities, besides free eye operations and spectacles to needy patients. The samiti had opened two ultrasound centres and installed three X-ray machines.

Khanna said every hospital had been equipped with water coolers and generators so that the visitors could not have to face hardships in hot summer seasons for drinking water. It had also put up “chhabeels” at various strategic points, which ran continuously till night. He said recently the samiti had been encountered with many dog-biting cases as the government and municipal corporation failed to find any solution in this regard. He said that if any such patients came to them, they provide the expenditure of the treatment to that patients.

Amritsar, July 6
A tree plantation campaign was organised at Government Medical College here today. BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu inaugurated it.

Addressing the faculty and students, Sidhu said 10,000 saplings would be planted on the medical college complex under the “Go Green Go Clean” campaign launched by him.

He highlighted the need for public participation in growing more and more trees to make the city  pollution free.

Principal Dr Jasvinder Pal Kaur Shergill along with senior faculty members, including Dr Sukhdyal Singh Shergill, head, ophthalmology, Dr R.P.S. Boparai, head, orthopaedics department, and Dr R.S. Sidhu, additional professor of physiology, besides various political leaders of the city also participated in the  campaign.