Amritsar, August 19
The investigation into the Omaxe Novelty Mall scam has been going on at a snail’s pace and former municipal commissioner K.S. Kang has failed to join the investigation so far.

The SSP, vigilance bureau (VB), Sukhdev Singh, said the department would submit the investigation report to the competent authority even though Kang, who was executive head at that time, had not joined the investigation. He said a notice was served on Kang, which he ignored.

Former mayor, municipal corporation, Sunil Dutti said the entire responsibility of clearing the files was with the MC commissioner or municipal town planner. “The mayor or councillors have nothing to do with the technicalities of the projects as the MC House takes up such matters on the basis of the reports submitted by technical persons.”

Earlier, S.S. Sharma, a social worker, had alleged that a senior Cabinet minister and a Chandigarh-based IAS officer had been influencing the investigation into the Omaxe Novelty Mall scam. Fed up with the slow pace of investigation, Sharma sought a CBI inquiry into the matter.

Sharma alleged that the then mayor had granted permission on August 29, 2005, and asked for public objections on January 10, 2006, in the next 30 days. However, the mayor passed a resolution in the House the very next day, i.e on January 11, 2006, which showed mala fide intentions of the authorities.

He also alleged that the change of land use was granted for 3,449.45 sq yds, but the owners started construction on 4,258.06 sq yds, which was illegal.

Besides, the construction was being carried out above 15 m, which was also against the norms of the Archaeological Survey of India due to its proximity to the historic Ram Bagh Gardens, summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, he added.

Interestingly, the owners of Omaxe Mall were given permission in violation of the Municipal Act, which reads, “When a scheme has been drawn up under the provisions of sub-section (1), the corporation shall give public notice of such scheme and shall at the same time intimate a date not less than 30 days from the date of such notice by which any person may submit to the corporation in writing any objection or suggestion with regard to such scheme which he may wish to make.”

The Act further said, “The corporation shall consider every objection or suggestion with regard to the scheme which may be received by the date intimated under the provisions of sub-section (2) and may modify the scheme in consequence of any such objection or suggestion and shall then forward such scheme as originally drawn up or as modified to the government, which may sanction such scheme or may refuse to sanction it, or may return it to the corporation for reconsideration and resubmission by a specified date.”

Amritsar, August 19
The staff of the Beam Super Specialty Hospital for Women here has adopted a novel way to promote a clean and green environment. Planting two-year-old trees, which do not require a tree guard and grow at a very fast speed, is their solution to fight environment degradation. The hospital staff has started the campaign by planting trees outside the hospital and in the adjoining areas by providing funds from their own pockets.

The administrator of the hospital Dr Pratima Kadam, talking to mediapersons, said various species of trees had been planted by them, which included gulmohar and alastonea. She said they had also planted these trees in universal estate on the Loharka road. — TNS

Amritsar, August 19
Despite tall claims by the central and state governments to remember the great martyrs who made supreme sacrifices for the freedom of the country, no function was held on the 100th martyrdom day of the great son of the soil, Madan 
Lal Dhingra.

Nobody from the district administration or the ruling alliance paid tributes at his statue at Improvement Trust colony named after Madan Lal Dhingra on his death centenary, which fell on Sunday.

Social activists and residents of the city are up in arms against the government for showing utter disdain to Dhingra who was hanged to death by the British government on August 17, 1908, in London for killing British officer William Hunt Curzon Wyllie to avenge the British authorities’ atrocities on Indians.

Born in a wealthy and influential family, Madan Lal Dhingra could have lived a very comfortable life but chose to gave it all up and took the path of revolution. He first went to Municipal College and then to Government College, Lahore, but he was under pressure from his father Sahib Ditta Mal, who had settled in Amritsar after his retirement as civil surgeon, to give up his education to devote time to the family business. But he ended up going to England in 1906 and got himself enrolled in the University College of Engineering where he came under the spell of the firebrand nationalists like Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Shyamji Krishnavarma.

Savarkar chose Madan Lal Dhingra for the mission and on July 1, 1909, Madan Lal waited for his targets at the Institute of Imperial Studies, London. As Wyllie arrived, Madan Lal fired at him from close range and Willie fell dead. Madan Lal then surrendered himself to the police and refused to defend himself and finally hanged on August 17, 1909.

Brij Bedi, a social activist, said it was indeed a sad day for the city as it failed to acknowledge the great sacrifice made by its resident to shake the mighty British empire. He said it spoke volume of apathetic attitude of the administration and the government, which promised to do a lot for the martyrs but Dhingra’s martyrdom day passed without even an acknowledgement of his great sacrifice.

However, a senior official of the district administration said they would clean the statue and cut grass around the memorial park. He said the officials of the administration were busy taking flood-control measures, but assured the residents that the administration would commemorate this day every year.

Meanwhile, facing flak from the public the government opened the gates of the small park where the statue of the martyr is installed and cleared the growth of grass and weeds to allow the public to pay tributes to the martyr.

Amritsar, August 19
When it comes to NRI weddings, generally NRIs are the ones who are blamed for fraudulent marriages. However, in a recent case, an Indian has come to the fore who married an Australia-based woman and later tried to marry another girl from a village in Patiala. According to Prabhjot Kaur, who is settled in Australia, she married Laljit Singh of Guru Ke Wadali in December 2006 and was told that the latter was an MBA.

Prabhjot’s father Sucha Singh Khatra said, “After a few days of wedding, we came to know that Laljit had studied till class XII only and was a drug addict. However, Prabhjot said she was ready to take him to Australia and try to get him on the right track.”

Khatra alleged that after reaching Australia Laljit started beating Prabhjot who, in turn, reported the matter to the Indian Embassy and requested deporting of her husband. The officials immediately cancelled Laljit’s visa and deported him. Khatra said Laljit managed to get himself engaged to Deepinder Kaur of Ghagga village in Patiala on July 25. He said when the matter came to light, Deepinder’s family registered a case against Laljit and his father.

Khatra alleged that Laljit was being shielded by a Cabinet minister and the police. Besides, Laljit’s father was released due to political pressure. Meanwhile, many organisations, including Jamhoori Kisan Sabha (JKS), the Joint Platform for Mass Organisations (JPMO), the Punjab Subordinate Services Federation (PSSF) and the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha, have come forward to support the two families. JKS president Rattan Singh Randhawa said they would decide their action only after meeting the Cabinet minister and knowing his stand.

Amritsar, August 19
A Pakistani intruder, who was trying to enter Indian territory from Rattankhurd BoP, was shot dead by the BSF personnel here, who had been on a high alert due to the floods in the border areas yesterday.

The intruder who reportedly seemed to be a well-trained commando, took advantage of the knee-deep water and crossed the fence in the wee hours of the morning in thick fog.

On being challenged by BSF jawans, he tried to escape but was shot. DIG BSF Mohammad Aaquil said a jawan noticed some movement around his post and to his shock he found a person trying to cross into Indian territory carrying a bag having Pak sim card, torch, etc.

Meanwhile, in another incident the BSF seized a haul of fake currency of nearly Rs 10 lakh from the border village of Bherobhal at Attari here.

Aaquil said the fake notes were thrown from Pakistan’s Laloa Ghurki village and were concealed in a pyjama. The fake currency worth Rs 9.99 lakh was of Rs 500 and Rs 100 denomination.

A vigilant jawan of the 41st battalion of the BSF found the counterfeit notes and informed the higher authorities.

They kept a strict eye on the smuggled notes but nobody from the Indian side came to take the currency.

Amritsar, August 19
An ultramodern township would be constructed by Dimple Chadha Group this year in Amritsar. The group is also expected to pump in around Rs 1,000 crore in the real estate sector in the state. This was revealed by Sudhir Gulati, vice-president to the mediapersons here on Saturday.

Besides the township, which would be called Canton Green, would be spread over an area of 100 acres, said Gulati. “The mini-Amritsar would be constructed keeping in mind world-class standards, offering a comprehensive modern city infrastructure, encompassing basis amenities, social infrastructure like educational institutions, healthcare, shopping and entertainment facilities,” added the VP. The Canton Green