Amritsar, June 5
The district administration has finally imposed a blanket ban on the burning of coal, diesel and fuel by goldsmiths and other commercial establishments around the Golden Temple after the end of this month.

Talking to The Tribune, Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu said here today that the goldsmiths and others had agreed, in principle, to stop using fuel in the vicinity of the Golden Temple.

Earlier, the administration swung into action following the report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) that consumption of a large-scale fuel for commercial purposes in the walled city was causing pollution in the Golden Temple complex.

The decision to impose a ban on the use of fuels, other than LPG by goldsmiths, hotels and dhabas in the walled city has been taken to reduce pollution affecting the Golden Temple.

The data collected by the PPCB and the CPCB had revealed that every goldsmith and dhaba and hotel owner uses 15 kg to 25 kg of coal or up to 50 litres of diesel or kerosene per day, depending upon the workload and availability of electricity.

The Deputy Commissioner had instructed the environment engineer, PPCB, to take steps to prevent the burning of coal, diesel, petrol or kerosene in the city.

The PPCB had found high levels of harmful nitrous oxide and sulphur dioxide in the ambient air. Experts had also cautioned that fireworks release these gases which could react with marble, leading to its corrosion and blackening.

Miniature paintings and gold plating were also under threat from harmful gases, experts added.

The PPCB had recommended to the Punjab government to ban burning of fuel other than LPG in the walled city to save the Golden Temple.

The Deputy Commissioner held a meeting with representatives of the Association of Goldsmiths and others who agreed to switch over to LPG instead of coal.

The Deputy Commissioner had asked the District Food and Supplies Controller to give LPG connections to goldsmiths on priority basis.

Earlier, a team headed by Dr R.C. Trivedi, Additional Director, CPCB, had visited the Golden Temple complex last year to free its surroundings from pollutants on the pattern of Taj Mahal. He had also favoured restriction of vehicles within the 500-metre radius of the Harmandar Sahib.

The team had also suggested the use of low-intensity crackers and fireworks during Gurpurb or Bandi Chhor Divas (Divali).

However, the Municipal Corporation’s decision to make the shrine surroundings a vehicle-free zone by introducing battery-operated buses to ferry pilgrims is also in the pipeline.

Amritsar, June 5
The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has asked the Municipal Corporation and Deputy Commissioner to apprise the commission of steps taken during the last one year for improving the civic conditions and other essential amenities in the historic Sultanwind area, which has been a picture of neglect even as it came under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation in 1978.

Earlier, the corporation authorities had filed a report before the PSHRC claiming that the village had been brought under the ambitious JNNURM project, under which new tube wells, connections of OHSR and laying of water supply lines network would be undertaken, besides corporation was also doing work for providing better roads, streets, streetlights, etc.

Ravinder Kumar Sultanwind, president, All-India Youth Association, had filed a petition alleging that the report was nothing but an eyewash and time-consuming deliberately adopted by the district and civic authorities to play fraud. The commission asked the Commissioner, MC, with its copy to the Deputy Commissioner to enumerate what had been done so far regarding improving conditions of roads, streets, streetlights and other essential services.

Amritsar, June 5
Various NGOs and educational institutes today observed World Environment Day by organising rallies, seminars, etc.

Guru Nanak Dev University observed the day under the auspicious of its Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences here today. Dr A.K. Bhatnagar, Professor of environmental biology from Delhi University, New Delhi, was the chief guest, while Prof A.K. Thukral, Dean, Students Welfare, presided over the function.

Dr Bhatnagar said over the last 100 years the earth’s average temperature has risen by approximately 10 degree centigrade, leading to global warming. If not controlled now it will increase by about 3-50 degree centigrade by the year 2100 and similarly sea level will rise at least 25 metres by the same year.

He informed that the IPCC (Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change) report, which was released in April, 2007, says that there will be increase in deaths due to heat waves, floods, droughts, etc. Biodiversity will reduce, hundreds of millions of people will not have enough water, glaciers will melt, change in agricultural yield and patterns will occur, increase in migration and poverty of peoples and return of of diseases, etc, will happen in the world.

He advised the students to act immediately to stop interference in the environment by changing their behaviour.

Earlier in the day, a slogan-writing competition was organised in which about 50 students presented slogans on the protection and care of environment in different languages.

Various NGOs, including Amritsar Vikas Manch, Mission Aagaaz, SAATHI, etc, organised a “Tonga awareness rally” here today. Starting from Ashoka Senior Secondary School, Ajit Nagar, Chamrang Road, and after covering all 12 gates the rally concluded at Burj Baba Phoola Singh.

The Bharat Vikas Parishad commemorated the day by honouring the students of Jagat Jyoti Model School who won debates on environmental issues and were given the medals.

Khalsa College Public School organised a seminar where Nirmaljit Singh Randhawa, Divisional Forest Officer exhorted the students to plant more trees to protect the environment. Meanwhile, a private FM radio in association with insurance and cold drink companies today organised a “Green Day” and planted saplings in various schools.

Amritsar, June 5
The district administration today swung into action to clear the area around the Attari international border by demolishing 25 to 30 kiosks and shops and temporary shelters, which had been occupying a big chunk of government land, to pave way for the construction of the integrated check post (ICP).

The state government has decided to give a go ahead to establish a modern cargo terminus, part of the integrated check post, on 120 acres of land near the border, and has already acquired the land to hand over the same to the central government.

Illegal shops had sprung up near the customs barrier on an 8 acre piece of land, earmarked for a parking lot, for the thousands of tourists who pay visits to witness the high profile Beating Retreat Ceremony conducted simultaneously by the BSF personnel and Pak Rangers.

The integrated check post project had been hanging fire for the last three years with the central government releasing funds, just a couple of months back, for the acquisition of land for the construction of the most modern cargo terminal to boost the Indo-Pak bilateral trade through the Attari-Wagah land route.

The highly ambitious project, with a total outlay of Rs 100 crore, is expected to start soon after the entire land is handed over to the Central government.

The traffic and economics division of a consultancy firm - RITES - has prepared a blueprint for the ICP and plans to acquire another 80 acres of land (on the right-hand-side of the national highway no. 1 near the border) for the development of an off-port facility.

The proposed integrated check postproject includes setting up of warehouses and cold storages besides a cargo agent complex, along with parking lots, bus terminal, shopping areas, hotels and restaurants, besides theme parks etc.

Amritsar, June 5
Kuldeep Goyal, chairman-cum-managing director, BSNL, launched 3G and IPTV services here today. Residents of the holy city could now avail video calls and video conferencing through mobile phone besides enjoying television on their mobile sets.

Interestingly, in comparison to normal 2G network, the 3G download is 20 times faster.

In order to avail IPTV service, one needs a TV set, a BSNL landline connection with broadband connectivity. The set top box which is required to encode the TV channels will be installed at the customer end. With IPTV service one can view Indian, international and regional movies on demand with the click of a button, with world class digital quality picture and digital clear sound.

Goyal said the BSNL has undertaken a joint venture with Aksh Optifibre for providing IPTV service to the subscribers. IPTV services also include video on demand which is similar to watching video CD/DVDs using a VCD/DVD player. IPTV service provides liberty to customers what to watch and when to watch.

P.K. Paliwal, CGM, Punjab Circle, informed that monthly charge was Rs 150 in which total of 105 TV channels would be available, including prime channels like Star, Zee, Sony, DD, NDTV, Sahara and others. Security deposit per set top box is Rs 999, which is refundable.

Amritsar, June 5
The 84th foundation day of the Laxmi Narayan Temple at the Durgiana Temple was celebrated here on Tuesday. The whole temple complex was illuminated and the idols of Krishna and Radha were decorated with flowers. Famous singer Banwari Lal regaled the audience with bhajans, while Sadhvi Purnima from Vrindavan delivered religious discourses to enlighten the devotees present on the occasion. Special stalls were set up to provide “puri-chhole”, sweets and cold water.

On the occasion, Ramesh Sharma, engineer and financial secretary of the Durgiana Management Committee (DMC), said a Shani Temple would be established near the Barra Hanuman Temple in the Durgiana Temple complex.

Sharma said initially a provision of Rs 20 lakh had been made in this regard and the construction was likely to start around November or December this year after they received the architectural plan for the temple.

Giving details of other development projects in the shrine, Sharma said a passage towards the Hanuman Temple was also being constructed and pillars with ornamental work would be erected on both sides of the passage.

The entire passage would be covered so that devotees comfortably walk through the passage with the marble floor in the summers when the passage gets heated up.

He said the renovation work of the bhog bhandar would also be taken up soon at an estimated cost of Rs 20 lakh. He said an air-conditioned hall would be constructed at the bhog bhandar site.

Besides, this renovation work of the surroundings of the “Vatriksh” and the Teja Singh Temple in Jamadaar Di Haveli would also be taken up.

Talking about the gold-plating work being undertaken in the temple complex, Sharma said so far 45 kg of gold had been used for the gold plating of the outer walls of the Laxmi Narayan Temple. He said this year another 15 kg of gold would be used.

He said the DMC had also decided on gold plating the frames of small windows containing the idols of various deities. He said already frames of three such windows had been gold-plated after cleaning the idols and glass.

Amritsar, June 5
Pritika Sharma, a student of VIII standard of DAV Public School, has won a fully-sponsored trip to China along with 9 students in the country to observe the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century falling on July 22.

Pritika and nine others were adjudged winners in the online competition “Heliodyssey-2009”, which was held to evoke scientific interest in students on solar eclipses.

The eclipse will last for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds with the maximum eclipse can be seen in the ocean in the southeast of Japan. In India, the maximum duration will not exceed 3 minutes 40 seconds. This total solar eclipse will not be surpassed till June 13, 2132.

School principal Neera Sharma said Pritika had achieved 8th rank in India and won a fully sponsored trip to China along with nine others. While 4 students in the country have won a free trip to Patna.

The winners would be an integral part of this scientific expedition to view the solar eclipse and study the behavior of the Sun.

She said as a unique competition that has no precedent in the world Heliodyssey project began 29 years back in 1980 with only one observer. Over the years it gathered momentum with a team of thousands of observers across India. 

Amritsar, June 5
The Guru Nanak Dev University (Non-Teaching) Employees Association here today criticised the policies of a former Vice-Chancellor of the university for allegedly stopping the long-pending promotions of employees. While hailing the present incumbent and officiating Vice-Chancellor, Anjali Bhawra, for removing hurdles and giving clearance to the promotions, Swinderjit Singh and Surjit Singh Cholia, president and secretary, respectively, of the association, said the delay in promotions had affected the working of the university.

They said the former Vice-Chancellor had initiated baseless inquiries against employees. However, nothing came out of these inquiries and it caused loss of lakhs of rupees to the university exchequer by way of legal fees. He urged the state government to hold an inquiry in this regard.

The association also urged the Chief Minister to nominate a person with right thinking and who knows the working of the university as Vice-Chancellor. 

Amritsar, June 5
Late Manveen Sandhu has been posthumously awarded the Best Principal Award by the Science Olympiad Foundation, New Delhi, for her contribution to promote the healthy competitive spirit among students and for being a leader of matchless merit and mettle.

Her daughter Dr Kirat Sandhu and son Sahiljit Singh Sandhu, Director and Managing Trustee of the Spring Dale Educational Society, respectively, received the award on May 31 on behalf of their mother from J.S. Verma, former Chief Justice, Supreme Court, at an award ceremony in New Delhi. Dr Narindera Virmani, Chairman of the Science Olympiad Foundation, started the award ceremony by paying homage to Manveen Sandhu. He acknowledged her as an educationist par excellence with a rich amalgamation of virtues such as sagacity, erudition, creativity, perseverance and tremendous resistance. 

Amritsar, June 5
The male dominated society of Pakistan was not ready to accept multicultural society, especially for women who belonged to different cultural and religious backgrounds.

Gracy Sheikh, a Philippino, married to a Pakistani citizen, talking to The Tribune here today said the Pakistani society was conservative which granted no freedom to women. She said women were not being allowed to go in for the higher education or for jobs.

Gracy, part of a 19-member delegation of the Pak-India Farmers Forum (PIFF) from Pakistan, which arrived through the Attari-Wagah joint check post, said she was lucky to be married in a family which had liberal views and was working as a coordinator of an NGO, Green Circle Organisation.

The Phillipino said she married to an architect who did graduation in architecture along with her from her native country where they fell in love. She said both of them decided to marry and settle down in Pakistan.

She strongly advocated that peace should be permanently established between the two neighbours which had suffered due to hostilities during the past six decades. She said both the people across the zero line shared the same cultural bond and the two governments should initiate steps to increase people-to-people contact to remove the misgivings among their people. 

It was a winter afternoon in 1958. I vividly remember my father telling my mother that steam engines pulling trains running on the rail line on the southern side of Victoria Jubilee Hospital here were causing much disturbance to the patients and doctors alike and the government was seriously considering diverting the rail line from the then outskirts of Amritsar to the city railway station via Bhagtanwala rail line.

Such was the glory and importance of Punjab’s premier hospital which was rechristened in 1975 as Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital (SGTB Hospital) under a name changing spree in a bid to wipe out the stigma of British Raj.

The then 500-bed hospital served a vast area of population of Punjab, parts of Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir. The hospital was popularly known as VJ Hospital in the abbreviated term and misnomerly called “Vijay Hospital” or simply “Wadda Hasptal”.

Going down the memory lane, a wording on the marble stone near the main entrance to the building reads as a witness to history - “Jubilee Victoria Hospital - erected by the Municipality of Amritsar in the 55th year of the reign of Empress Queen Victoria. This stone was laid by Lady Lyall, wife of Sir James B. Lyall, KCS Leit Governor of Punjab, in November 1891.”

The hospital with a 128-year-old Victorian style heritage buildings made of red bricks with small solid domes at each corner of the roofs was located on about 82 kanal near the main gate of historical Ram Bagh, summer capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Originally it was a hospital for medical and surgical allied specialities with only eye, ENT and women’s diseases wings outside the main complex. In the 1960s children block (built by a philanthropist family), Dr Karam Singh orthopaedic wing, radio diagnosis, emergency and blood bank departments were added on the eastern side of the main hospital. The skin ward was unique of being located in a differently styled building on the north-east side.

Affiliated to Medical College Amritsar, VJ Hospital remained the only teaching hospital in Punjab for several decades and had the distinction of producing medical professionals of international repute.

During my term (1998-2003) as Medical Superintendent of SGTB Hospital I had enough time to ponder how to retrace and regain the old glory of the hospital on one hand and to keep pace with ongoing advancement in medical technology on the other, but in vain.

In contrast, the contemporary King Edward Medical College Hospital in Lahore has been able to maintain its name and fame by the heritage conscious as well as medically foresighted administrators.

Amritsar, June 5
SGPC member Manjit Singh Calcutta has expressed his reservation on the reaction of SGPC chief Avtar Singh following the assassination of Sant Ramanand at Vienna.

He said undoubtedly the bloody incident must be criticised but its ideological side must not be ignored. He said being head of the highest body of Sikh religion, the SGPC chief must have studied violation of Sikh ideology and maryada (Sikh code of conduct).

Calcutta said only a politician could have ignored these points keeping in view the vote bank. However, he said, the head of the Shiromani Committee must be concerned about safeguarding and implementing gurmat principles and maryada of Sikhism.

He said the SGPC chief did not take pain in sending a fact-finding team to study reasons behind the assault. He alleged that it gave the impression that the SGPC head was following the dictates of the SAD-BJP coalition government in the state.