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Total revamp in offing for Sakatri Bagh, Rose Garden
Amritsar, July 15 Showing their serious intent, the corporation has recently released big advertisements seeking top notch landscape consultants to spruce up the green lungs, which are getting rapidly choked due to burgeoning urban growth and commercialisation. Sakatri Bagh, which is in the outskirts of walled city on Tarn Taran Road, has been in the eye of storm as sewerage water and filth frequently enters the parks, adversely affecting the fauna and flora. A visit to the park revealed that the stormwater drain, which runs parallel to the park, is under repair and a temporary drain has been built through the park to drain out the filthy water. During rains, the temporary drain overflows and the water enters the parks, turning it into a pool of filth. Balkar Singh, who is a frequent visitor to the park, says the key green areas in the city are in utter neglect. Notably, the corporation officials, who have been repeatedly criticised for their callous approach in the matter, seem to have woken up from their slumber and prepared a master plan with a total outlay of Rs one crore for landscaping and providing better facilities to the visitors. The condition of second largest park in the city - Leisure Valley Rose Garden - popularly known as “Chaali Khuh” (40 wells) is no different. Encroachments, coupled with apathy and fund crunch, have marred the beauty of the garden, spread in 40 acres between two parallel railway lines. The park derives its name from 40 wells situated in it. These wells met the water requirement of the city for almost 70 years and were later disbanded due to arrival of modern system of water supply. In 1980, the authorities threw open the Rose Garden for public. The place soon became the favorite spot of city residents and tourists. Earlier, ornamental trees and shrubs were found in the park, but now they have been replaced with wild grass and weeds. The place has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, flies and other disease-spreading insects. MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda confirmed that the Sakatri Bagh would get a facelift with an investment of Rs one crore. “The tenders have been floated. We have also invited consultants to prepare a blueprint for the project which would be completed within next six months,” he added. aSimilarly, the government has also prepared a blueprint for sprucing up Rose Garden, said the MC officer, adding that the proposal has been sent to the state government for approval. Kharbanda sought active support from the residents to expand the green cover in the city.
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More good news
Amritsar, July 15 The company representatives started the drive today at Mall orad with mayor Shavet Malik inaugurating the event. Notably, ‘Go Green Go Clean’ was launched by BJP member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu, who gave Rs 1.5 crores from his personal funds to add more greenery to the holy city. Firm’s representatives Parminder Singh Cheema and Gaurav Arora urged the residents to come forward for the
noble cause.
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Garments worth lakhs reduced to ashes
Amritsar, July 15 Short-circuit is said to be the reason behind the fire. The fire brigade officials had a tough time dousing the flames which were brought under control after two gurlling hours. Talking to the tribune, Rajesh Gill one of the employees of the
affected showroom said he went to switch on the generator, situated in the backyard, after the power
went off. When he returned, to his horror, he saw flames in the showroom. Soon, other employees rushed to the site and immediately informed the owner of the showrooms Col RPS Randhawa. According to initial estimates, the total loss in the incident is pegged at
Rs 50 lakh.
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Sultry summers: Power cuts add to residents’ woes
Amritsar, July 15 Senior farmer leader and member of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee, Punjab, Satnam Singh Pannu told The Tribune that in spite of the government assurance for providing uninterrupted power supply to the farm sector during the paddy-sowing season, only few hours of power was available to run the tube wells. He said the paucity of monsoon rainfall in the area have further put pressure on the tube wells. He said the government must ensure proper power supply to meet the demands of agriculture segment during the season. He said sometimes the power cuts exceeds more than 20 hours a day. The industry was also groaning over the long power cuts which have added to the cost of production due to excessive use of generators. A spokesman for the industry said the government was duty bound to provide uninterrupted electricity to keep the wheels of the industry moving which was already facing the brunt of recession and inflation. He said the export-oriented agro-industry sector, especially the parboiled rice mills, was the worst hit by the unscheduled load shedding as the continued process of the industry got derailed. He said the government must provide quality uninterrupted power supply to the agro industry. However, a senior official of the PSEB, preferring anonymity, said the power situation was not likely to improve in the near future as two or three thermal power units were also not generating enough power due to technical failure. He said only good rains in the coming days would help improve the situation. The city residents have their own tales of woes about the erratic power supply, which has completely paralysed the life in the city. The suffering due to erratic power supply was compounded by intense heat and humid conditions. The city has not received enough rainfall in the past 10 days, which has made life very uncomfortable. Even the inverters could not be recharged properly due to long power cuts, which have added to the problems of the residents. The big generating sets deployed by the big and small shopping malls and commercial establishments were adding to the heat and noise pollution.
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Paddy Pat
Amritsar, July 15 Though Langah could not be present at the occasion, Lakhbir Singh Lodhinangal was present on his behalf. Lakhbir expressed his concern over the depleting water table in the state and appreciated the hard work put in by Mission A agaaz and other NGOs in creating awareness among the masses about the environment. Iqbal Singh Sandhu, senior vice president, SAD (youth) and TS Raja, coordinator, Nehru Yuva Kendra also attended the function and expressed their views. Sandhu said more efforts were required to conserve water and create awareness among the youth about the issue. Gurbhej Singh, general secretary of the mission, appealed to the masses to save water, trees and other natural resources. He said the dying, textile, paper mills and ice units were not using water judiciously. Besides, wastage of water in households was also a cause of concern.
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Rodents tear into sewerage system
Amritsar, July 15 Residents of Rose Avenue Colony on Maqbool Road have lodged a complaint with the commissioner, local municipal corporation, D.P.S. Kharbanda, about the menace of big rats who have dug up sewerage pipes resulting in the caving in of the driveways of their houses. They added that they were indeed shocked to learn that rodents had been living in the sewerage
system for the past many years damaging lives and property. Householders brought the matter to the notice of the commissioner who said fortunately no collateral damage was done to the residential building and added that if precautions were not taken immediately the whole city may one day collapse. The commissioner said they were trying to identify the areas where the menace was acute and the corporation would plug the holes and also spray medicines to kill the rats. He said a special campaign would be launched to eradicate the menace
very soon. He advised the residents to contact the corporation authorities in case of the rodents doing damage to their houses. Engineers of the corporation visited the damaged sites and advised the residents to have a concrete coating laid on the sewerage pipes to save their properties. The spokesman for the corporation said the MC was trying to wipe out the rodents but unfortunately they were multiplying at a faster rate.
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Pak national nabbed
Amritsar, July 15 The accused identified as Vajir Mohammad, a native of Gujranwala, Pakistan. He was handed over to Ramdass police in Amritsar rural police district after preliminary investigations by the BSF. The complaint was lodged by BSF sub-inspector Anjani Kumar Dube. The police have registered a case under section 3,34,20 IPC and 14 Foreign Act at Ramdass police station.
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Campus Buzz
Amritsar, July 15 Students who have passed class XII would be eligible for the course and counselling for certificate courses would be held on July 22 and 23 in the department. Similarly, admissions are on for the postgraduation, diploma and certificate courses in Urdu, Persian and Arabic. Dr Barkat Ali, professor and head of the Urdu and Persian department, said the last date for submission of application forms was August 14. Refresher Course
Academic Staff College of the university, in collaboration with the department of music, would organise a three-week refresher course in performing arts from September 5. College director Dr H.S. Bhatia said lecturers of music, fine arts, drama, dance and gurmat sangeet could apply for the course on a prescribed form available in the college and university website www.gndu.ac.in. —
OC
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