Amritsar, March 6
In a bid to make a world record in donating blood, the Akal Purkh Ki Fauj (APKF) has got confirmation from about 150 blood banks from across the country to receive nearly 22,000 blood units at Anandpur Sahib on March 10.

APKF chief Jaswinder Singh said many blood banks were contacted to confirm their participation in collecting blood.

However, SGPC member Kiranjot Kaur appealed to Akal Takht to cross-check the arrangement for handling the target of 25,000 blood units to be donated in the biggest-ever blood donation camp.

Submitting a memorandum to Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh, she raised concerns over the high cost of investment and post-donation preservation of a large quantity of blood.

The APKF chief said some of the famous organisations, including the Army, blood banks from Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Ganganagar, the PGI, Chandigarh, and the PGI, Rohtak, had confirmed their participation.

He said investment was limited only to setting up of a pandal, furniture and providing refreshment to donors, while blood banks would reach the venue with their entire paraphernalia required in drawing and preserving blood. The donors would come from lakhs of pilgrims who visit Anandpur Sahib on Holla Mohalla.

Amritsar, March 6
The six-decade-old Government Dental College here reels under the threat of de-recognition, gasping for survival with its depleting faculty while a shortage of teaching staff has cast a shadow on its postgraduate courses and research work.

Even the hype built by the assurances given by the state government to upgrade the college have failed to excite the PG students whose quality research work was being hampered as the government failed to fill the vacant posts. A departmental promotional committee has also been set up by the government to give more avenues to its present faculty.

Sources in the college say that out of the 36 sanctioned posts of the teaching staff, only 15 members were running the show and in certain departments, including periodontology, there was no professor to teach the students.

Recently, two senior faculty members have also resigned to take up private jobs.

Recently, medical education and research secretary Rakesh Singh visited the college and assured the institution that the government would soon constitute a departmental promotion committee to promote senior lecturers.

He said the government was serious about upgrading the state-run medical and dental colleges and said funds would not be a constraint to revamp the entire medical education.

All the nine posts of assistant professor and associate professor have been lying vacant for many years. A senior faculty member of the college, preferring anonymity, said the purchase system of the institution had not been changed since 1978.

He said the government was yet to revise the purchasing system as the principal could only purchase items worth Rs 500 while the PGI and other government-run medical institutions had raised the purchasing power to Rs 15,000.

He said after the tragic accident in Rajindera Hospital where five infants were burned alive in an incubator, the government had sanctioned Rs 4 crore to revamp the infrastructure of the dental college here.

He said the government must come out with a long and short-term strategies to revamp the entire medical education system and save the prestigious institution from systematic decay.

Amritsar, March 6
The Kisan Sangharsh Committee (KSC) today threatened to launch an agitation against anti-farmer policies of the government besides its failure to fulfil their promises made in the poll manifesto.

The farmer organisation gathered at the DC Office and submitted their memorandum to deputy commission Bhagwant Singh to be forwarded to the state government.

Satnam Singh Pannu, convener of the committee, said they would launch the protest by burning effigies from March 13 to 20 and later on farmers would court arrest on March 24.

Addressing the gathering in the district complex, the convener of the committee said the SAD-BJP government has failed to even waive off the electricity bills and cancellation of alleged fake cases registered against the farmers.

He said the state government was selling public sector units on throwaway prices to please multinational foreign companies. He said the government had to pay the price of defrauding the farmers with his hollow promises, which has resulted in anger among the peasant community.

He said warned the government and said the government should immediately announce waiving of pending electricity bills besides all the pending debts and withdraws of false cases against the farmer and implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report on agriculture reforms. Pannu urged the government to implement all the demands on which the SAD government has agreed upon before the elections.

Amritsar, March 6
In order to make the process of installing interlocking and anti-skidding paver tiles and lamp posts from Hall Gate to the Golden Temple a success, the municipal corporation (MC) has a tough task ahead for keeping the pavements in the area free from encroachments.

The holy city was the first in Punjab to have received these two fancy items. Apart from this road, these items were provided at the entrance of the city from the GT Road.

The beautification work was being undertaken with Rs 72 crore provided by the state government. It aimed at developing the city on metropolitan lines and a year-long project was completed in six months.

However, some shops along the busy Hall Gate-Golden Temple road were still placing their goods on the pavements, depriving people of their use.

The MC planned to raise a multi-storey parking lot outside Hall Gate where once existed a wholesale vegetable and fruit market. After parking the vehicles, pilgrims and tourists could walk down the lane to Harmandar Sahib and they could also enjoy shopping.

Amritsar Vikas Manch patron Charanjit Singh Gumtala said encroachments devoured pavements at several places in the city.

He said though all shops on the road to the Golden Temple were highly costly, yet some shopkeepers indulged in encroaching upon the pavements.

Glossy tiles and trendy lamp posts attract onlookers.

When contacted, commissioner D.P.S. Kharbanda said the corporation was taking strict action against the offenders by imposing fines and conducting frequent raids in the area. He said about six raids were conducted only last month.

He said if some shopkeepers were found to be violating the norms repeatedly then the relevant clauses of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, would be evoked leading to confiscation of goods and putting them under hammer.

He said nearly 240 lamp posts would be installed on either side of the road and so far 120 of them had been put up. Each lamp post costs around Rs 15,000.

Besides, 19,000 catseye were being installed on roads which bear a maximum traffic. Electricity or no electricity, they keep gleaming at night helping the commuters find their way.

Amritsar, March 6
A delegation from the United Kingdom has come here to explore trade potential 
in Punjab. Helen Deas, head, East Midland (UK)- India Business Bureau, said Punjab was a natural partner for the East Midland, as both the regions predominantly are based on agri-business, engineering, education, textiles and research.

A 14-member business delegation from the UK participated in a session on the East Midland relations with India, jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Punjab Link Council, (UK) here today.

The delegates represent various sectors and would visit Ludhiana and Jalandhar. She said her region was keen to develop partnerships and share its diverse advanced technologies in space, transport, from rail to motor racing, waste treatment, bio and life sciences and technical textiles, she added.

Helen said the mission’s theme was overall growth through the delivery of shared visions between the regions.

She said universities especially engineering from both the regions could join hands to wider their scope. She said in her country universities were allowed to set up incubator units and develop spin off companies.

Talking to The Tribune, she said global recession would not cast shadow on developing business ties. She said contrarily it was opportune time to forge new partnerships, augment trade, and to look for new trade avenues and evolve innovative trends to beat liquidity crunch caused by recession.

She said the East Midland region housed nine leading universities and many excellent colleges.

Punjab Link Council, UK, CEO, Baljit Singh said they planned to develop personal business contacts and together develop long-term plans and mutually beneficial business in Punjab.

The session also discussed India’s participation in the global multilateral institutions and Indo-UK cooperation in fostering higher education, combating terrorism, building infrastructure and reforming agriculture and augmenting productivity.

CII Punjab State Council vice-chairman Gunbir Singh said India in general and Punjab in particular offered unmatched opportunities for the sustained exports growth.

He said India would become the third largest consumer of plastics in the world by 2012.

He said the UK was the third top investor in India while India was emerging as top investor in England. 

Amritsar, March 6
Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, in collaboration with the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology organised a seminar on “Eco-water” at Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kheti Bhavan, here recently.

Dr Kanwak Mahindra, associate director, extension, PAU, coordinated the seminar and emphasised on the need for saving water at field as well as household level.

Complementing the state government for enacting law prohibiting irrigation of paddy before June 15, he said it reversed the southward trend of water table. He said water table level was increased by 10 cm last year and hoped that the trend would continue in future. He said 3,000 litre water was consumed in raising 1 kg of rice and scientists must evolve techniques to reduce the amount of water.

Dr Varinder Randhawa, head, home science, gave tips to save water at household level by different means. She said washing of utensils under the running tap and washing them with detergent cakes was not only wasting precious water but also adding chemical to the ground water. She urged people to follow past practice of washing utensils with a bucket of water with ash of coal and wood.

Dr G.S. Hira told about the current status of ground water in Punjab and emphasised upon timely transplanting of paddy. Various scientists shared information on saving and using clean water.

Dr K.S. Sandhu gave detail on the judicious use of irrigation water in paddy and importance of crop diversification.

On the occasion water testing kits to be used in houses were distributed to farmers.

Dr B.S. Dhillon, deputy director, KVK, thanked farmers for their participation in the seminar and requested them to spread the message “Save water save Punjab.” He urged them to adopt drip irrigation system.

Amritsar, March 6
Newly elected deputy chairman of the Punjab State Youth Development Board Tarun Chugh yesterday said he would work for the development and promotion of the youth in every field.

The BJP leader paid obeisance at the Golden Temple and the Durgiana Temple after his election. Senior BJP leadership, including mayor Shwet Malik, Dr Baldev Raj Chawla, Bakshi Ram Arora and Rajinder Mohan Chhina, honoured him at a special programme at the Khanna Smarak. 

Expressing his concern over drug addiction, he said the youth were the real future of the country and to save them, he would try hard to bring an end to the menace under guidance of the SAD-BJP government, which was taking various steps in this regard. 

He said promotion of sports among the youth would be one of his priorities. He would try to fulfil the expectations of the party leaders who had reposed faith in him.

Amritsar, March 6
Khalsa College in collaboration with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, would organise the nine-day national workshop on radiochemistry and applications of radioisotopes from March 16.

The workshop would highlight the importance of radiochemistry and applications of radiations and radioisotopes in physical, chemical and biological sciences.

A two-day lecture and six practicals would be held at the scientific programme of the workshop.

A team of reputed scientists comprising Dr P.C. Kalsi, Dr G. Ramarao, Dr Sarbjit Singh, Dr Pardeep Kumar, Dr G.R. Mahajan and Dr Seraj Ansari would deliver the lectures, while Dr V. Venugopal, director, BRIT, BARC, would inaugurate the workshop.

College principal Dr Daljit Singh and workshop chairman invited the science faculty of the colleges of the northern region to make the best out of the opportunity.

The condition of the child is said to be doing fine. A number of childless parents have approached the authorities concerned and offered to adopt the child. The police has been deployed for the protection of the child in the hospital.