Amritsar, February 20
The much-hyped fifth edition of the Amritsar Heritage Festival had a lacklustre start with almost negligible response from the public and questions raised over the timing of the festival with examinations of the school and college children around the corner.

The examinations of class VIII students are commencing within a couple of days.

However, an organiser said the government had cleared the project after a long gap and delay and the last festival was held two years back in 2006 during the last regime. He said they would try to do better and would bring more and more people to the venue to see the performances during the next two days, which include a Sufi evening by Sayda Begum and Barkat Sidhu.

This is for the first time that the organisation of the festival was handed over to the Virsa Vihar Society, which was earlier managed by the Indian National Trust for Art Culture and Heritage (INTACH).

The three-day festival kicked off with flagging off of heritage procession by deputy commissioner Bhagwant Singh with several folk dance troupes, including gidha, bhangra and gatka teams, performing along with decorated horses, camels and elephants, which were also part of the dancing groups. They gathered at the statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at the Ram Bagh gardens.

Earlier, the students from different institutions gathered at the Virsa Vihar in the Gandhi Grounds complex instead of the starting point at the Ram Bagh garden due to their ignorance of the real venue. The organisers have failed to mention the venue of procession in the invitation card, which led to this confusion among the public as well as the participants.

Amritsar, February 20
“It’s miserable and appalling. The traffic seems to be at its worst in the city, especially at the entry point, the bus stand and near the Golden Temple.”

These were the words of BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu who reviewed the grim traffic scenario after he had a taste of the total collapse of traffic management during his visit to the city.

He said problems were going to arise in a few days if the city did not draw up a perfect traffic system to avoid several snarls and jams which cause tremendous inconvenience to a large number of pilgrims and tourists who visited the Golden Temple and other historic places.

He said he had identified several bottlenecks where the traffic management had to work out special plans for the smooth plying of thousands of vehicles in the city.

He said the major bottlenecks were near the construction site of the elevated bridge, the entry gate point on the GT Road, the bus stand, Ghee Mandi Gate and Sheran Wala Gate in the walled city and in the vicinity of the Jallianwala Bagh and the Golden Temple.

Sidhu, along with SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, today reviewed the traffic situation in all the given five areas which required constant monitoring and policing.

He directed the SSP to take adequate and urgent steps to set the traffic plan in place within the next seven days. He said the entire management group of the traffic police would prepare a blueprint in consultations with the people concerned to avoid congestions and traffic jams.

The BJP MP said due to heightened construction activity, especially around the elevated road project, which covered the major portion of the GT Road from the Taran Wala bridge till the Bhandari bridge, was the main cause for the traffic hurdles.

Amritsar, February 20
Navjot Singh Sidhu, BJP MP, today reviewed the Rs 400-crore four-laning national highway project connecting Dhilwan to Amritsar. He said the company executing the project had revealed that the road project would be completed by May with the exception of the Beas Bridge and some of the railway overbridges, which would also be completed by the end of July.

The chief operating officer of the IVRCL Infrastructure and Projects Limited, R.K. Singh, who had been given the task to construct the 48.73 km of the road stretch from Dhilwan two years ago by the National Highway Authority of India, said the project was delayed due to the perennial land acquisition problem for the widening of the roads from Dhilwan till Verka Bypass. He said now that the land had been handed over to the company, they would try to complete the project by May. He said the work on the second bridge over the Beas had been delayed due to certain technical problems.

He, however, added that the bridge would be fully operational by July. He said the project also included the construction of five railway overbridges, which too had been a cause of concern due to land acquisition glitches, which had recently been sorted out. He said the entire project had been executed on the BOT basis and the company would construct two toll plazas to collect toll for the next 17 and a half years.

Sidhu said the project was delayed due to lackadaisical approach of the Centre, which had kept the project pending for the past two decades due to several avoidable legal issues. — OC

Amritsar, February 20
Hey dude, its just infatuation not love. This is what really happening with the young couples who fall in love after a couple of minutes with the beauties around them. If you really want to get the definition of love, see young Brij Bedi who fell in love with first woman IPS officer of the country Kiran Bedi after being impressed by her high thoughts and calibre.

Such a private but interesting anecdotes of the marital relation of the couple could be read in “On Fire - Brij Bedi, a unique social activist,” written by Nona Khanna and edited by Richa Khanna.

Their love soon culminated in marriage which he considered the significant thing to happen in his life, shorn off pomp, traditions and customs. Active support of Brij made Kiran to join the Indian Police Service which brought her the glory of being the first woman IPS officer in the country.

Against the conventional thinking of husband feeling dwarf before the stardom status attained by his wife, his reply was curt and succinct, “When husbands and wives are equal and wives are expected to be proud of their husbands, then why should the husbands not feel proud of their wives.”

Posted at Delhi, Kiran desired him to settle down there. However, his fate lied elsewhere. One fine morning, while going to his factory, he noticed a traffic light with connection in tact lying on the road. It stirred his conscious and he could not hold back his feelings and stored the administrative lapse in his camera. He went to meet the then commissioner with the photograph. It ensued a discussion which made him resolve to take the battle to its logical conclusion.

Subsequently, he realised that the issue must be taken to public domain to turn it into a movement and he implemented it by taking it to the media.

His partnering with Master Ajit Singh produced a school for children of widows whose husbands had been consumed by drugs.

Written in the first person, it also includes his open letter to Kiran, when she was posted at Chandigarh, highlighted the difference in the plight of the residents of Amritsar with those of Chandigarh where she had joined as IGP.

He wrote that “Dear Ms Bedi, I really wonder sometimes why you are so harsh to the offenders. Don’t you know it is not good for health? You must take a cue from the Amritsar police. They are so gentle, nice and very friendly to the offenders.”

Social activist Brij was a well-known face among the locals. He could not hold himself back looking at people violating the traffic rules.

Amritsar, February 20
A seminar on “Parvasi Punjabi Sahitya” was organised by postgraduate department of Punjabi studies at Khalsa College here today.

Three famous poets of Canada --- Shamsher Singh Sandhu, Harkanwaljit Sahil and Laat Bhindar --- shared their views on their literally exploits with Punjabi literature and poetry while living abroad.

Sandhu said in western society, people remain in isolation and have little interaction with the society at large and generally remains unhappy.

He said while on the other hand, the Indian society gives ample opportunity to be by the side of others and forms a very congenial and homogenous society.

He said India with its rich culture and heritage provide ample opportunity for mental growth and gives its fellow beings a great scope to dwell at length on several subjects of human interest.

A strong protagonist for the promotion of mother tongue, Harkanwaljit said it was the birth right and prerogative of every child to have their education in his mother tongue as it connects with all generations especially its folk culture and art. “The language is a communication medium to under stand the society in the right prospective,” he added.

Laat Bhinder said though India provided limited job opportunities but said that it was still a land of great hope and with genuine hard work one can always find and explore new opportunities.

Meanwhile, a book authored by Shamsher Sandhu “Geet to Sulagdee Leek Tak” was also released on the occasion by college principal Daljit Singh. The principal said that he would admire the effort of Sandhu to have brought out this beautiful collection of poetry in spite of living in different world.

He said that Sandhu had remained connected with heart with his motherland and has produced a beautiful book.

Amritsar, February 20
Sardool Singh Sham, SAD leader and chairman of Amritsar Cooperative Labour and Construction Union Limited, has urged the state government to cancel the tenders passed by the nagar councils of Ajnala, Patti, Jandiala Guru, Ramdas and Tarn Taran.

Sham, state working committee member of the SAD, said the nagar councils were violating norms of the department of cooperation.

He alleged that black sheep officials at the council level were favouring selected contractors thereby cheating the government and depriving rural people of their share of development.

He said, as per the directions of the government, a copy of the notice for tender must be sent to the office of the union. However, the rule was brazenly violated by these councils and intimation was withheld, he said. The chairman alleged that in case officials of the union came to know about the date of tenders, officials concerned of the nagar councils did not visit the place at all. The officials of the union had to return after waiting at the venue for a long time, he added.

Citing the recent instance of the Tarn Taran Nagar Council, he said after learning about the date and venue for awarding of tender the officials of the union reached there but nobody turned up. After waiting for a long at the venue on February 11 they had to return empty handed, he commented.

Similar, he said, was the case with the Patti Nagar Council on February 3, Ajnala Nagar Council on February 4, nagar councils of Jandiala Guru and Ramdas on February 5. Sham claimed that some of the aforementioned nagar councils had postponed their proceedings for awarding tenders while some went ahead with the ceremony on the same date but at some undisclosed place.

He said these councils were asked to intimate about the fresh dates and the matter was brought to the notice of deputy director local bodies.

Quoting the notification issued on December 22, 2004 by the department of cooperation, Punjab government, he said it stated that “all unskilled works up to any value and skilled works up to a limit of Rs 15 lakh for each work should be allotted to these societies only by way of tenders.”

Besides it added that “the copies of the tender notices issued by any work allotting agency will also be forwarded to the district cooperative labour and construction unions as well as to the concerned assistant registrar, cooperative societies for their information”. He said if the councils did not award tenders transparently then they would bring the matter to the notice of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Amritsar, February 20
Even as the Prevention of Begging Act has already been enforced in the state, no case has been registered against even a single beggar in past two years here.

The holy city has become a haven for beggars, who could be seen swarming  at various road crossings in posh areas and  outside almost all famous religious shrines. These facts have come up in the information gathered through the Right to Information Act from the police by Amritsar Vikas Manch.

Amrit Lal Manan, general secretary of the manch, said beggars had made life hell for the people as they could be seen at major crossings and around the religious shrines, railway station, bus stand, big hotels and restaurants and eating joints while the policemen deputed at these points turned blind eye to this menace.

The general secretary said many so-called babas of various kar sewa sects also beg from door to door and the manch had asked that whether any action had been taken against such godmen.

He said incidents have been reported in which some beggars were involved in anti-social activities like theft.

On part of the police, he said the department has not received any complaint in this regard and action would be taken as per law in case they receive any complaint.

Besides religious places, the other main places where they can be found include railway bridges, Lawrence Road Chowk, outside Hall Gate, traffic lights, outside cinema halls, posh parking places, bus stand and railway station.

The other aspect of this menace is the involvement of drug addicts, who also sell narcotics. Also, there are begging-rackets, in which beggars take advantage of poverty and migration of people from other states, inducing them to adopt this ‘lucrative business’. Residents of illegal  slums mushrooming in the city also resort to begging.

Manan said the Act had remained in papers while there was no one to implement it. He said the high authorities were not fulfilling their responsibilities efficiently due to which city residents and even foreign tourists were facing the menace.

Amritsar, February 20
The police arrested six persons in two separate incidents for allegedly snatching and stealing mobile phones, purses, etc. As many as 22 mobile phones, digital cameras, a pistol of .32 bore, two rounds and more than Rs 1 lakh were recovered from them.

Those arrested have been identified as Balwinder Singh Raja, Sikandar Ali, Kuldeep Singh Nikka, Maninderjit Singh Tinku, Raman and Chhota Rajan, all residents of Amritsar.

The police in a press note issued here yesterday said two separate cases under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act were registered at B Division and Civil Lines police stations.

The police impounded a Pulsar motorcycle which was purchased on February 9 from an agency at Court Road just after an incident in which cash and jewellery were snatched from a woman near Rialto cinema. The motorcycle was purchased in the name of the father of a snatcher who has also been made an accused.

SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh said two accused Balwinder Singh Raja and Nadeem had formed an organised racket of mobile phone theft and snatching. A number of cases were already pending against them. The police would take strict legal action against the persons who were habitually receiving/dealing in stolen mobiles, gold, etc.

He said all mobile phones were available with the public relations officer and the details of the recovered mobile phones had been put on the notice board at Circuit House police post. He said the victims could take his/her stolen or missing phone after producing relevant document or copy of the FIR or complaint.

OC adds from Tarn Taran: Two unidentified persons snatched a purse from a woman near the Sadar police station last evening. One Devinder Kaur said when she was returning to her house on a rickshaw from the Goindwal bypass with one Manjnder Singh, two motorcyclists snatched her purse and fled away. There were Rs 20,000, two bank passbooks and keys of her house in the purse. Though the accused have not been identified yet, the police has registered a case under section 356 of the IPC.

Amritsar, February 20
The Sant Singh Sukha Singh College of Commerce for Women organised a seminar on “Environment protection” here. Dr Inderjit Kaur, president, All-India Pingalwara Society, presided over the function.

She expressed her views about modern India scenario wherein people have become badly materialistic. The aim of theyouth to attain knowledge is to get a job but not to serve the society. She told students that the aim of education should be to attain awareness about various national problems and sincere efforts to solve these issues. Talking about infertility among young women, she blamed unwanted excessive use of pesticides in vegetables.

Criticising the nuclear deal with the US, she said deadly rays would be produced with the installation of nuclear reactor that would be harmful for humanity and human reproduction system. No doubt the nuclear treaty would produce surplus electricity, but it will also produce negative impacts.

She condemned import of genetically modified seeds. Stressing upon the need of organic vegetables that could be produced in the lawn of the houses, she said they should not eat toxin in form of vegetables bearing pesticides, as they did not have to eat poison to fulfil their appetite.

Students gave multimedia presentations on various topics such as “Destruction on Earth,” “How we can stop destruction” and “Air and its pollution.”

While welcoming the chief guest, Dr Inderjit Kaur, director, Sant Singh Sukha Singh College of Commerce for Women, Jagdish Singh, presented her a saropa and set of blankets for the inmates of the Pingalwara Charitable Society.

Amritsar, February 20
Prof Jaspal Sandhu, dean, faculty of sports medicine of GND University, attended the international sports medicine symposium at Hong Kong and delivered plenary lectures. The symposium was conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Sports Medicine and the Asian Federation of Sports Medicine.

During this symposium, Asia-Australasia-Africa Alliance for Sports Medicine (AAAASM) was created with luminaries in sports medicine from these three continents.

Sandhu, the only one from India who had been invited for this international symposium of repute, was chosen as one of the founder members of this inter-continental alliance created for research and education development in these three continents.

Amritsar, February 20
The annual sports meet of BBK DAV College was held on the college premises here today. Deputy commissioner Bhagwant Singh along with principal Neelam Kamra of the college inaugurated the meet.

Gagan Pannu remained the overall winner by bagging first prize in three competitions that include 80-m plain race, blind race and chatti race.

Amritsar, February 20
The Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh Old Boys Association (PECCOBA) felicitated five local women with the Kalpana Chawla excellence award for carving out a niche for themselves in their chosen fields here today.

They are comedy actor Bharti Singh. She was chosen for the prize for her terrific stage performances. Rarely known fact is that Bharti is the winner of the national-level rifle shooting championship. Currently, studying multimedia course from the BBK DAV College for Women, she desires to pursue her game.

Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa was felicitated for her contribution towards reviving Punjabi folk song genres like “ghori”, “suhag”, “lambe”. Her 35-second “hake” (breathless alaap) remains unbeaten.

Local veteran theatre and TV artiste Jatinder Kaur wad honoured for constant quality performance. She has been serving Punjabi theatre for the past nearly 47 years. She acted in 150 plays in India, England, Canada and Pakistan.

Ranjit Kaur was awarded the Kalpana Chawla award for her sterling performance in sports. She won the gold medal in the Commonwealth judo championship held in Mauritius in 2008. She is employed with the CRPF. Her father Mukhtar Singh accepted the prize since she could not make it in view of the preparatory camp under progress in Delhi.

PECCOBA general secretary Amarjit Singh Kohli said the holy city was selected for giving prizes since five out of total 10 awardees of the Kalpana Chawla excellence awards were from Amritsar. PECCOBA website prepared by Bhupinder Pal Singh was also launched on the occasion.

Amritsar, February 20
Dr Ambumani Ramadoss, union minister for health and family welfare, will kick off a health awareness campaign at Sri Guru Ramdas Institute of Medical Science and Research tomorrow.

The campaign will focus on tobacco control, alcohol prevention, drug de-addiction, save the girl child, promotion of healthy diet and lifestyle.

The health minister would also be the chief guest at the foundation stone-laying ceremony of upgradation project at Government Medical College here.