Amritsar, November 28
Various security agencies in the border region have been put on high alert in the aftermath of one of the biggest terrorist strikes in the financial capital of the country.

Besides, the police made its presence felt in all the busy markets, railway station, bus stand, cinema halls and Amritsar international airport.

Senior police official,s including DIG Parampal Singh Sidhu and SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh were on their toes to check all the vehicles thoroughly. The Border Security Force (BSF) has also intensified its vigil along more than 500-km border with Pakistan to thwart any infiltration bid, said BSF authorities.

Inspector-general of police, border range, R.P. Meena said police personnel had been removed from the not-so-important duties and deputed in security arrangements. He said special squads had been designated at various vulnerable and sensitive points in the city, especially busy markets and religious places, besides eateries.

He said even the Gurdaspur SSP visited Pathankot adjoining the Jammu and Kashmir border to take stock of the situation and give on-the-spot directions to the security personnel guarding the sensitive international border. The surveillance has been beefed up in the region and intelligence agencies asked to keep a tab on the activities of suspicious and unscrupulous elements. Security cover around the Golden Temple and other major religious and tourist spots has also been increased.

Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh urged the people not to panic and seek their cooperation in the testing times. He appealed to all the owners to verify the credentials while renting their houses. He held meetings with hoteliers and asked them to first establish and verify the identity of the visitors and ascertain the reasons for the longer stay of the visitors.

He urged the FM radio channels to tell the public about do’s and don’ts in the situation. The SSP added that the civil defence system and the police-public coordination committee were also working well.

Meanwhile, the nakas were laid at every entry and exit point, besides different crossings and busy areas, which were being supervised by the DSP-rank officers. The city has virtually turned into a police cantonment with uniformed sleuths and policemen in plain clothes spreading all over the city.

Amritsar, November 28
Those suffering from jamming in shoulders should consult a qualified orthopaedic surgeon instead of going in for massaging of the shoulders and other joints as it could create complications for patients.

Talking to Amritsar Plus, eminent orthopaedic surgeon from Scotland Dr Kapil Kumar said it was necessary for patients suffering from the disease to consult the doctor as early as possible so that they could be treated on time. He said generally the trend was that the patients suffering from shoulder problems consulted the doctor after getting themselves treated from quacks. He said this not only created complications for them but also increased the cost of treatment.

Kumar, who was here to train local orthopaedics for conducting operations through the latest telescopic technique at a workshop organised by Amandeep Hospital, said the new technique was more effective as the patient was able to recover fast after the operation and could be discharged within a week. He said earlier it took around three to four weeks for a patient to recover after the operation as they had to give a longer cut to operate the patient.

The eminent surgeon said there were three types of shoulder problems, first being the jamming of the shoulder which occurs generally after the age of 40, second was the dislocation of the shoulder bone and the third was dislocation of the rooter cough. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Avtar Singh, orthopaedic surgeon, said earlier they had to refer patients to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi but now the hospital was fully equipped to treat such patients.

Amritsar, November 28
With information technology giants looking for tier II and III cities for cutting costs and expanding their business, the Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) today urged MP Navjot Singh Sidhu and Mayor Shawet Malik to meet IT stalwarts and convince them to establish their business in the holy city.

The manch, led by patron Charanjit Singh Gumtala, said Sidhu and Malik along with some developers should immediately visit Bangalore and Hyderabad, the two major hubs of IT, and meet the IT tycoons and offer them sites in Amritsar.

Gumtala, in a communiqué to these leaders, claimed that the manch had information that the IT giants based in Bangalore and Hyderabad were looking for tier II and tier III cities for cutting costs and expanding their business.

He said during this world economic meltdown they were contemplating to cut their costs. He said Wipro had shown a keen interest to set up IT projects in Amritsar.

He said Punjab minister for industries Manoranjan Kalia had visited Bangalore and Hyderabad and had meetings with IT companies there and offered them two possible centres in Punjab, one near Ropar and the other near Kapurthala.

He said now the minister was talking about Goindwal Sahib as a third point because it was close to Amritsar international airport. Ropar is very close to Mohali which is already an IT destination of the Punjab government.

Expressing his views, he said instead of Ropar and Kapurthala, Amritsar should be developed as an IT hub as there were a lot of big developers in Amritsar who had acquired big chunks of land in order to develop residential and business complexes.

But now due to recession in business they were shelving their plans. Such business tycoons could open IT complexes in Amritsar.

He said setting up of IT companies would bring an era of development in the city.

Amritsar, November 28
The stage is set for the grand finale of the Spiritual and General Ability (SAGA)-2008 contest to elect “He Khalsa” and “She Khalsa” which would be held at Guru Nanak Auditorium here on November 29. Stating this, Kes Sambhal Parchar Sanstha chairman S.J.S. Pall, the organiser of the contest, said the main aim of the organisation was to promote Sikhism among the Sikh children.

Started in 1999, the organisation helped in the growth of personality which includes written tests, interviews to check general ability, spiritual knowledge, educational excellence, talent and hobbies. Pall said 18 of the 52 contestants had been selected who would now compete to win the title. The complete Sikhs, with all the original components, have become the mainstay of young participants in the SAGA finals. The girl contestants vow to fight social evils like female foeticide, drug menace and dowry system prevalent in the present social structure. The young boys who have been selected for the final showdown include Gurpinder Singh, Arvinder Singh, Karanpal Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Varunpreet Singh and Manpreet Singh, while the girl category has Jasbir Kaur, Manveer Kaur and Gagandeep Kaur.

Amritsar, November 28
A state-level seminar on “Role of chartered accountants (CA) in economic development and current economic crisis” is being organised by the CA wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here tomorrow.

Stating this to the media here today, Gopal Krishan Aggarwal, national convener of the CA cell, said it was for the first time that any party had incorporated financial experts keeping in view their advice on the economic front during the governance of the country. He said that the party had created 14 such cells in various states, besides holding seminars at the national and state levels, to educate the party cadre on the current economic crisis.

Lashing out at the UPA-led government at the Centre for its failure to properly implement various schemes launched, he said the government had failed to make a provision in the Budget, besides keeping no record of the money spent. He alleged that there was rampant corruption on every front and the benefit of such schemes was not reaching the common people. Commenting on the world economic turbulence, Aggarwal said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had failed to foresee the economic slowdown which had decreased the profitability of the industrialists, traders and the business community in the country and urged the government to protect the local traders. He announced that party in charge for Punjab Balbir Punj, MP Rajinder Bhandari and Punjab minister for local bodies Manoranjan Kalia and health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla would address the seminar to be held at the Art Gallery.

Amritsar, November 28
The three-week refresher course in English for university and college lecturers concluded at Academic Staff College in Guru Nanak Dev University here today. The course was organised by the department of English in which 13 teachers from Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Bhopal and Punjab took part.

Dr Surjeet Singh Lee, vice-president of the Indian Folklore Congress and professor of anthropological linguistics, Punjabi University, Patiala, presided over the function, while Dr Parminder Singh coordinated the course.

During his valedictory remarks, he said the Indian literature written in various languages needed to be published and preserved which could be helpful for the researchers and scholars as the true spirit of the country lies in it, he added.

A face-to-face programme was arranged on the second day with the participation of noted Punjabi writer Bachint Kaur, faculty members and students. They put questions to the author regarding her creative process. She emphasised there was a close relationship between the author and her writings. On the third day known Sikh scholar Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi addressed the faculty members and students on the subject of history of the compilation of Guru Granth Sahib.

He pointed out that there were specific editorial instructions which were required to be kept in mind while understanding gurbani. Jaggi also said Guru Granth Sahib was a unique synthesis of poetry and music, therefore, kirtan should be on traditional ragas. On the concluding day, a documentary on the life and works of famous medieval Punjabi poet Sayyad Hasham Shah was screened. It was produced and directed by Gulshan Walia at the behest of the Indra Gandhi Centre for Arts, New Delhi, and it was released on September last. The centre encourages film producers and directors to make films on Indian heritage to make the international audience aware of the richness of our cultural traditions. Keeping in view the international audience, film was dubbed in English, while singing of kissas and comments are in Punjabi with sub-titles in English.