Amritsar, May 8
Residents of Medical Enclave and nearby areas of the Ganda Nallah, including Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, are up in arms against the failure of consecutive governments in covering the Ganda Nallah.

They have also decided to go in for ‘negative’ voting during the forthcoming parliamentary elections, till the Nallah is covered. They raised slogans against the governments and carried out a protest march wearing black badges here today, which passed through various colonies of the area.

One of the residents, Dr Ranvir Singh Pannu said politicians have failed to take note of the foul smell emanating from the area due to the sewage flowing in the nallah, which has affected the lives of thousands of residents of Guru Nanak Avenue, Akash Avenue, Avtar Avenue and Medical Enclave.

He said this has resulted in the spread of various diseases like viral, malaria, besides changing of genes of the residents living in the area due to contaminated water which has seeped into the earth and mixed with underground water.

He said in the previous assembly elections, held in the year 2007, the leaders of various political parties had promised to cover the nallah but after coming to power they never turned up to solve the problems of about 40 to 50 thousand people living in the area.

PS Bhatti, president Organisation for Watch Dogs for Democracy in Punjab, said the people would exercise their right of rejecting the candidates under Rule 49(0) by asking the presiding officer in this regard or they would abstain from voting any candidate in the elections. 

Amritsar, May 8
To deal with a population of 12 lakh, there is only 35 motorcycles available in the crime stopper wing of the district police, which has the responsibility to check the petty crimes, especially snatchings, which has made the life hell for the residents, especially living in the Civil Line and posh areas.

Majority of the motorcycles are in a deplorable condition and new vehicles have not been procured for a considerable period of time.

In the high-tech age, wherein the policemen in several developed and underdeveloped countries use modern and high-speed vehicles to nab the culprits, reach the accident sites and rescue the distressed, the district police chases the criminal on old and rusty motorcycles, which fail to catch the criminals moving on fast bikes and cars.

According to the information collected, there are only 35 motorcycles, two Gypsies and two ambulances that form part of the crime stopper wing. There are 10 Hero Honda motorcycles, 13 Pulsars, six Boxers, four Enfields, one Suzuki and one Kawsaki. Except Pulsar, all motorcycles fail to match the high-speed motorcycles used by snatchers and petty criminals who give a little time to react to victims or policemen.

A patrolling policeman said old and rusty vehicles needed immediate repair or replacement. Sometimes they had to pay from their own pockets for repairing the vehicles.

The district police had created the crime stopper wing to curb petty crimes. But high-tech criminals have exposed the old system of the police.

As SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh could not be contacted even after repeated attempts, SP (City-II) Satinder Singh said he had recently joined the office and was busy with elections since then. He added that he would look into this and see what could be done in this regard.

Amritsar, May 8
Kendriya Vidyalaya-I secured a place in the national semi-finals of Limca Book of Records quiz held in DAV Public School here today. The finals would be held in December in Delhi and would be telecast on various channels throughout the country. 

As many as 120 teams from the district participated in the preliminary written round. School Principal Neera Sharma welcomed popular quiz master Derek O'Brien and guest of honours Sanjeev Sharma, General Manager of Coca-Cola, India.

Earlier, six teams of the city were short-listed for the competition, including DAV Public School, Cedar Spring School, Spring Dales School, Kendriya Vidyalaya-I, Police DAV Public School and Sacred Heart School.

The questions were mostly related to Indian heritage, sports and entertainment. Visuals of Sam Manekshaw, first field marshal of India, and hero of the 1971 Indo-Pak war, besides leading actresses and audio of popular films like “Ghajini” gripped the audience and the participants. — TNS

Amritsar, May 8
Criticising the district administration and civic authorities for failing to save the environment as green belts get damaged with fire lit by sweepers and ignorant people for burning of waste, Mission Aagaaz - Earth and Resources Care Group, an NGO, appealed to the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar and Cantonment Board authorities to make their employees (especially sweepers) aware about the effects of burning waste/dry leaves and take strict action against those who indulge in such activities.

Gurbhej Singh Sandhu, general secretary of the organisation, alleged that despite tall claims of the administration of saving the natural habitat, green cover was being burnt with impunity.

Recently, green belt outside Guru Nanak Dev University and Khalsa College Public School was burnt giving scant regards to norms.

He said this practice was going on unabated from last many years by the fourth class employees of the MC and could be witnessed in posh localities including the cantonment area.

He said they collect waste material/dry leaves in one place and instead of picking, they prefer to burn the waste without thinking of the damage that would be done to the environment.

He said special training sessions should be organised where they could be trained in delivering their services in a better way.

He said similarly water is being wasted throughout the city may in streets, public toilets, water tank overflow, washing of cars and domestic maidservant everywhere.

Amritsar, May 8
The about 200-year-old traditional Darshani Deodhi Bazaar, near the Golden Temple, is the only market in the walled city which has changed itself with time and adapted well to the new trends.

Before the Partition, most of the shops in the market dealt with paper-related items besides clocks and wrist watches were also repaired here. Most of these shops were owned by Muslims who migrated to Pakistan in 1947.

The shopkeepers here could be seen doing brisk business even during the economic slowdown whereas the position of their counterparts in other markets located in the walled city was not so sound due to the stiff competition.

One of the shopkeepers, Roop Lal Mallan, while talking to The Tribune, said he had purchased his shop in 1952 and started the business of offering pagdis on rent.

He said after him another shopkeeper Darshan Lal bought the shop in 1960 and started the business of sehra and pagdi. This is how the trend of providing different dresses on rent started getting takers in the market, he added.

Mallan said earlier the market was known as Darshani Deodi but due to the selling of sehra, pagdi and chuda, people now also call it the chuda and sehra bazaar.

There is also a historical gate and gurdwara located in the market. He claimed that earlier there used to be only two shops selling pagdis as mostly the people used to purchase the cloth for making the pagdis. But due to the cost factor and changing fashion, people preferred the readymade ones.

Roop Lal, who has kept the interiors of his shop, set up by his father, unchanged, said today boys prefer duppatta in place of Cap or pagdi. He said earlier he had started the concept of afghani pagdi, then Kashmiri pagdi and lastly the Jaipuri duppatta.

Darshan Lal said even though the market was very old and the customers face problems due to the congested and narrow streets, they still prefer to come here as every item to be used in the marriages is available here and can be taken by paying a small amount of rent.

Brij Mohan Khanna, another shopkeeper, said the government should initiate a plan to solve the problem of parking in the area so that customers could visit the market without any problem.

Amritsar, May 8
Cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu filed his nomination papers for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat for the third time. Earlier, he had contested the election in 2004 but had to resign three years later after his name figured in a murder case.

After getting reprieve from the Supreme Court, he contested the byelection in 2007. He is seeking votes for the development works initiated in the holy city by him. He assures the traders and industrialists that if the NDA came to power, he would bring in a special package for the industry on the line of neighbouring hill states.

Assets: As per the affidavit submitted by the BJP candidate, he has a cash Rs 30.25 lakh against Rs 1.5 lakh in 2007. While his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu has Rs 1.25 lakh in cash, which was around Rs 20,000 in 2007.

The value of the fixed deposits in various banks, financial and non-banking financial companies, bonds, debentures and shares in companies, NSS, LIC has gone down from Rs 8,04,38,955 to Rs 7,95,39,034.98. His wife has seen rise in the value of these funds from Rs 20.34 lakh in 2007 to Rs 24.57 lakh.

Sidhu has two residential properties, three showrooms and three booths valuing Rs 3.88 crore which have shown a slump from Rs 4.38 crore. The value of Navjot Kaur’s commercial and residential properties stands at Rs 1.41 crore.

He is having a Toyata Land Cruiser, a Corolla, an Ambassador and an Endearvour valuing at Rs 36.18 lakh, while his son Karan owns a Skoda car worth over Rs 13 lakh.

Sidhu’s earning from claims and interests stands at Rs 12 lakh, which was nil two years ago.

While Sidhu does not have gold ornaments, his wife possesses gold and diamond rings worth Rs 18.3 lakh which was around Rs 12.7 lakh in 2007.

O.P Soni, three-time MLA from Amritsar West, is contesting the Lok Sabha election for the first time. Son of the soil, he has never lost any election even when he contested as an Independent. He had contested the assembly elections twice as a Congress rebel and received the Congress support the third time.

During canvassing, Soni draws the attention of electors to the development works undertaken during his stint as Mayor of the city.

Assets: As per the affidavit submitted by the Congress candidate, O.P. Soni has cash of Rs 4.25 lakh, while his wife Suman and son have cash worth Rs 5 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh, respectively.

He owns agricultural land worth Rs 1.15 crore, besides a residential plot in Chandigarh valued at Rs 75 lakh. He is also having a house in Amritsar and the value of his share is equal to Rs 30 lakh. His son possesses properties valued at Rs 15.5 lakh.

Soni possesses gold jewellery worth Rs 12.5 lakh, while his wife has gold and diamond ornaments worth Rs 27 lakh. His son possesses jewellery worth Rs 14.2 lakh.

He owns a Toyota Krone car of 1994 model valued at Rs 2.5 lakh.

Lieut-Gen B.K.N. Chhibber (retd) says he came as a refugee to the holy city from Pakistan in 1947 along with his family when he was 11 years old. After completing his matriculation at Sant Singh Sukha Singh School, he enrolled in Hindu College. He was commissioned as an officer in the Army in 1956. He had taken part in the 1962 war against China and wars against Pakistan. He had also fought terrorism in the North-East, Punjab and Naxalites in West Bengal.

After pulling out of the Army from Punjab, he became Security Adviser to the Punjab government and was elected Governor in 1994.

He is contesting as the BSP candidate.

Sham Lal, who has only Rs 500 in cash, has been doing social service, besides cleaning the statues of national leaders and martyrs on their birth and death anniversaries is in the poll fray.

Bal Krishan (48), a resident of Sandhu Colony, Batala Road, he has Rs 20,000 in cash, an LIC policy for Rs 20,000, a 1996 model Maruti van valued at Rs 25,000 and 50 gm of gold ornaments. His wife has Rs 2,500 in her account with Punjab and Sind Bank and 50 gm of gold ornaments.

Dr Surinder Singh (54) of the Democratic Congress Party, is a son of Atma Singh, Gali 1, East Mohan Nagar. He has Rs 20,000 in cash. He has not given any name under the column for spouse. Division A police station registered a case under FIR 166 on December 17, 2006, under sections 457, 447, 506, 427, 511, 148 and 149, IPC. The court of Ajaib Singh, JMIC, has framed charges against him.

Kanwaljit Singh Manawala (Independent) is of Manawala Kalan village. He has Rs 25,000 in cash. His deposits in various banks and financial institutions are Rs 1.75 lakh, an LIC policy of Rs 1 lakh, a Verna car, 150 gm of gold ornaments and 50 per cent share in a 217 sq yard plot. He has taken a car loan of Rs 4.75 lakh. He did masters in Punjabi in 2000. His wife Kuljit Kaur has Rs 15,000 in cash and 200 gm of gold ornaments.

Naresh Singh Bhaduria of the Pole Khol Party, belongs to Bhawan Gola, Kheri district, UP, has Rs 1.10 lakh in bank deposits, Rs 50,000 as bonds and debentures, Rs 40,000 postal and LIC policy, a Honda car and two jeeps valued Rs 1.50 lakh, a .315-bore rifle, two .12-bore guns valued at Rs 20,000, two acres agriculture land and 1,600 sq feet plot worth Rs 25 lakh. He did LLB from Lucknow University in 1990. Gola police station filed FIR 1523/2007 against him

His wife has Rs 20,000 as postal and LIC savings, Rs 2 lakh gold jewellery, 10 acres of agriculture land valued at Rs 60 lakh. His son and daughter have deposits of Rs 10,000 each.

Harmeet Singh (31) of the Lok Jan Shakti Party is a son of Surmukh Singh, Ward 14, Sant Nagar, Trimmo Road, Gurdaspur. He has Rs 22,000 in cash. He passed matriculation from Government Senior Secondary School, Gurdaspur, in 1996. He has not given any name in the column for spouse.

Major RS Gill (61) of the RRD lives in Palam Vihar. He has Rs 80,000 in cash, Rs 1.45 lakh in a joint savings account, extended Army GP insurance forn Rs 3 lakh, an Indigo LX car of 2007 model, 70 gm of gold ornaments valued at Rs 1.05 lakh. He has 333 sq yard house worth Rs 30 lakh at Palam Vihar. He has taken a car loan of Rs 50,000. He has done diploma in civil engineering and graduate degree in civil engineering from the AMIE. His wife Bhupinder Kaur has 140 gm of gold ornaments worth Rs 2.10 lakh.

Jaswant Singh Randhawa (62) of the Bharatiya Gaon Taj Dal lives on Hukam Singh Road. He has Rs 20,000 in cash, Rs 17,887 in bank deposit, Rs 5,000 in postal and other savings. 

He has a Maruti Zen LX and a scooter. He has taken loans of Rs 12,863 and Rs 37,4953. Paid income tax of Rs 2,000. He has done BA and BEd from Panjab University, Chandigarh. His wife is in job. She has jewellery worth Rs 1.20 lakh. Her salary and amount of LIC policy are to be confirmed.

Gokal Chand (Independent) has Rs 92,000 in cash and Rs 25,000 in LIC and postal savings.

His wife Kamlesh has Rs 1 lakh in cash, Rs 1 lakh in LIC and postal savings and Rs 50,000 in bank depositis. His daughter Lakshmi and son Karan have Rs 50,000 in banks deposits.

Lavinder Kumar (41), Gali Acharja Bazaar Passian, has Rs 1.50 lakh in cash, a Scorpio vehicle worth Rs 4 lakh, jewellery worth Rs 1.5 lakh, share in a house at Katra Parja of Rs 15 lakh, share in a house at Shastri Market of Rs 4 lakh. He passed class XII in 1988. His wife Bindu has Rs 50,000 in cash and jewellery worth Rs 5 lakh.

Anil Singh (44) of the Revolutionary Socialist Party is a son of Ajaib Singh. He lives at 1074, Street 2, Dharampura, Tarn Taran Road. He has Rs 50,000 in cash and a Hero Honda motorcycle. He passed higher secondary from Gian Ashram Higher Secondary School in March 1982. He has not given any name under the column for spouse. 

Amritsar, May 8
Jalandhar Division Commissioner S. R. Ladhar today reviewed the pre-poll arrangements in the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency, the election for which would be held in phase V on May 13.

Ladhar said all arrangements as per the directions of Chief Election Commissioner have been completed and the paramilitary forces along with the contingents of the Punjab Police would be deployed in this border district to ensure free and fair poll. He said the work of depositing the licenced arms had already been completed and the police was keeping a close eye on the anti-social elements in the region.

The commissioner said with the shifting of focus of all mainstream political parties after the culmination of elections on four seats in the Malwa region, star campaigners were expected to reach here to campaign for their respective candidates. 

He directed the Assistant Returning Officers to keep a close eye on the number of VIP vehicles accompanying the candidates during the campaign.

He directed them to watch the activities of all the candidates and ensure that the political parties do not indulge in any activity which may create differences or cause tension among castes, communities and religions. 

Also, there should be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes and the places of worship should not be used as forum for election propaganda.

He also directed them to ensure the videography of all the sensitive polling booth in the constituency, besides making special security arrangements there. He also directed them to constitute medical teams to provide immediate medical care to voters affected with heat wave, besides making provision for drinking water at the polling stations.

Among others, Returning Officer Bhagwant Singh, observers Shikha Dubey, Ganesh Bharti, Amit Kumar Mahopatra, IG Iqbalpreet Singh Sahota, and other senior officers were present. 

Amritsar, May 8
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Dr Manohar Singh Gill who was on an election campaign in the border belt had a chance to visit the most neglected heritage site at Kalanaur (Gurdaspur) where Emperor Akbar, founder of Din-e Ilahi sect, was crowned at the age of 13 years after the sudden death of his father Humayun, 453 years ago.

Humayun died on January 26, 1556, in Delhi in a fatal accident while climbing down the stairs of Din-i-Pannah library, also known as Sher Mandal. At the time of his father’s death, Akbar was accompanying his tutor Bairam Khan and was staying at Kalanaur. In those days, Kalanaur was a flourishing city. But today it is only a sad reflection of its pristine glory.

Expressing concern over the state of the historic place, Dr Gill enquired about the original structure and role played by the Archeological Survey of India. He said he would take up the matter with ministry concerned so that conservation plan of this place could be prepared at the earliest.

However, the Gram Panchayat, Kalanaur, has done its duty to put up a huge board mentioning the history of the place.

M.M. Singh Cheema, a member of the AICC, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, former MLA, and Amardeep Singh Cheema, national Vice-Chairman of the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan, were also accompanying Dr Gill during his visit to Kalanaur.

It is pertinent to mention here that like Kalanaur, the heritage sites in different parts of the border belt are neglected due to apathy shown by all concerned.

Presenting a sorry picture is the Takht-e-Akbari, the throne built hastily for the coronation upon the sudden death of Humayun. It now stands behind a rusting tin fence. Some of Kalanaur’s old havelis are similar to nearby Lahore’s havelis.

It also had splendid gardens and palaces. Today even their ruins are non-existent. Traders visiting Amritsar and Lahore had to visit Kalanaur too due to its historical significance.

Amritsar, May 8
In a rare tribute to former Chief Minister of joint Punjab, Partap Singh Kairon, a resident of his own village, Kairon (Tarn Taran), Dr Joginder Singh Kairon, a noted Punjabi writer, has published his biography - “A mass leader: Partap Singh Kairon”.

He was the first mass leader from the Majha region to become the Chief Minister of joint Punjab.

The biography peeps into the rare aspects of the life of Partap Singh Kairon (1901- 1965), who was widely acknowledged as the architect of post-Independence Punjab Province (or Punjab, Haryana and Himachal, as of today).

Describing him as the father of modern Punjabi politics, Dr Joginder said the legendary CM was elected to the Punjab Legislative Assembly in 1937 by defeating Baba Gurdit Singh Kamagatamaru of Kamagatamaru fame.

Baba Gurdit Singh contested the election on Congress ticket while Kairon was the candidate of the Shiromani Akali Dal. The biography makes an interesting reading since it gives an insinght into interesting aspects of Kairon who had returned to India in 1929 after completing studies in USA.

Kairon, who had taken active part in the Indian Independence Movement, was jailed twice by the British Empire, once for five years for organising protests against British rule. Kiaron was born on October 1, 1901, into a Dhillon Jat family of the Kairon village.

His father, Nihal Singh Kairon, was a pioneer in initiating women's education in the province. Pratap studied at Khalsa College, Amritsar and went to America for higher studies.

He did his masters in political science from the University of Michigan and Masters in Economics from the University of California.

Kairon wanted to make joint Punjab an ultra-modern state by ensuring its overall development. He was influenced by farming methods practised in the USA, which he wanted to raplicate in India, especially in Punjab. He was the main architect of the Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana which heralded the Green Revolution in the coutnry.

Interestingly, Kairon started an English weekly paper The New Era in Amritsar. After he joined politics, the newspaper eventually shut down.

From 1941 to 1946, he was the general secretary of the Punjab Provincial Congress Committee. He was jailed again in 1942 during the Quit India Movement and was elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946.

After Independence in 1947, Pratap Singh Kairon held various offices in the elected state government - including Rehabilitation Minister, Development Minister(1947-1949) and Chief Minister(1952-1964).

Interestingly, Kairon’s own brother, Jaswant Singh Kairon continued to be a card holder of the Communist Party though both of them lived under one roof.

The biography reveals that the popularity graph of Karion started declining after the launch of the Punjabi Suba. Consequently, he was defeated by Akali candidate Mohan Singh Tur by 34 votes. However, at the behest of the central government, Kairon was declared elected.

He also praised the late Sandhu couple for their efforts to revive theatre in this part of the country and holding many cultural exchange programmes in this direction.