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Farmers continue to grow vegetables with sewage
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Tillers’ family ‘forcibly evicted’ from farm land
SNC baffled as Munir does it from jail, without Baj
Central jail gets counselling centre
Second Phase Of Theatre Workshop
Done with norms, X-ray centre awaits registration
Technical studies: 10 pc raise in seats for girls
Panchayat Land Row
PCCTU hails decision on revised pay scales
PSEB removes high tension wire
Youth poisoned to death, 3 held
Owner alleges illegal occupation of room by tenant
Campus Buzz Biz Buzz |
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Farmers continue to grow vegetables with sewage
Amritsar, June 19 The farmers were using the sewage of a nullah passing through the Amritsar (South) assembly constituency to grow cauliflower, brinjal, lady’s finger, tomato and other vegetables. According to studies conducted by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, humans who were sick with drug resistant pathogens passing their contaminated feces into the sewerage from their homes could be contaminated
with pathogens. Even though the corporation has installed two sewage treatment plants on the nullah, the situation was just opposite as foul smelling black water could be seen flowing through small streams. When contacted, Civil Surgeon Lehmber Singh said as per the earlier agreement reached between the Amritsar Municipal Corporation and the farmers, the latter would be provided clean water after treating the sewage. He said he did not know what was the present situation. Talking to The Tribune, a farmer said they had no option as large funds were required to set up a tubewell to irrigate fields. He said moreover irrigating the farms with sewage was a profitable proposition as vegetables grew within days. He said not only this, some of the farmers were using oxytocene injections on vegetables as it increased their size within a day. Social activist Brij Bedi said it was utter failure on the part of the health authorites to check the menace. He said the violators had become much stronger as they got scotfree by foul means. He said stern action should be taken by the district administration to stop these farmers from endangering the lives of the citizens by growing vegetables by using sewage. Deputy Commssioner Kahan Singh Pannu said the same practice was going in all over the country and there was no law to stop the farmers from using
the sewage. He said they had provided two sewerage water treatment plant at the site to provide clean water for irrigation. He said there was a need for a national policy over the issue so that some solution could be found to the problem. |
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Rickety electricity poles pose danger to commuters
Amritsar, June 19 It would not be an exaggeration to say that there is a tragedy waiting to happen. Only a keen observer could point them out from surroundings. Ramshackle and rickety poles could be spotted in numerous areas of the city. Closely located, two rickety and rusted poles stand dangerously at the back of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Lawn Tennis Academy and on the road from Crystal Chowk to Maitha Road. Holes are visible at the bottom of the poles. They could pose danger to human lives. On their one side the tennis academy is located where children and youngsters practice all over the day, while on the other side a rush of motorists is witnessed. Strange are the ways of the Punjab State Electricity Board. Instead of replacing them it preferred to repair them with their ingenious ways. Interestingly, stones are placed at a side of the pole to stop it from falling on a side. While the other one is tied with barbed wires at the bottom. Angles had also been welded with both poles. However, it is doubtful how long this temporary arrangement could last. Brij Bedi, Chairman, Citizen Welfare Forum, lambasted the lackadaisical approach of the department. He opined that these poles must be replaced immediately to avoid any accident. Balbir Singh, Superintendent Engineer, City Circle, said the department held survey of electricity poles every half yearly besides taking up individual complaints. “He said no complaint was made regarding these poles. Since the matter has been brought to my notice they would be replaced soon,” he added. |
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Tillers’ family ‘forcibly evicted’ from farm land
Amrirtsar, June 19 Addressing a press conference here today, Karnail Singh and Resham Singh, both sons of Sucha Singh, alleged that some persons connected with Guru Ramdas Charitable Hospital Trust, run by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), wanted to grab the land. Meanwhile, Lakhbir Singh Randhawa, Medical Superintendent, Guru Ramdas Charitable Hospital Trust, refuted allegations as baseless and claimed that the family had been cultivating the land without any valid document. He claimed that the land belonged to the trust. The Kisan Sangharsh Committee (KSC) extended its support to the aggrieved family. Its leader Harjit Singh Jhitta said the KSC would resort to agitation if the family was not given justice. They said their family had been cultivating 78 kanal land of Dharamshala Bhai Jawand Singh for the past 55 years. According to them, their family had migrated here following the Partition. They sought justice from the Punjab Government and compensation for loss of their crop. |
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SNC baffled as Munir does it from jail, without Baj
Amritsar, June 19 Hailing from Pakistan, Munir Ahmed, who is currently in Amritsar Central Jail since his arrest in July last year in connection with the smuggling of a huge consignment of heroin, had been residing in Reva district of Madhya Pradesh for the past 15-16 years without arousing the suspicion of the intelligence agencies. Highly-placed sources in the Special Narcotics Cell (SNC), introduced by the counter-intelligence wing of the Punjab police, said Sarabjit Singh, another accomplice of Munir, was caught while he was supplying a mobile sim to him in the high-security Amritsar Central Jail. Even during his stay in the jail, he developed a number of new contacts in the border region of Amritsar. Sources said it was on Munir’s instructions that a consignment was smuggled to a particular person in the border region by his (Munir’s) Pakistan-based uncle Ashraf Bhola, kingpin in the illegal trade on the other side of the border. An SNC official, after the arrest of Baj Singh, had alleged that Munir was still operating from the jail premises and they had written to the jail authorities a number of times. It is pertinent to mention here that the SNC had raided the jail premises after taking permission from the court and seized smack from a number of inmates in 2007. Several officials in these agencies were of the view that Munir Ahmad had spread his network from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab to Uttar Pradesh, on the lines of narco-terrorism spread in the European countries in the 18th century. This baffled the intelligence agencies when they came to know about this during his interrogation. Munir had spent a lot of time studying the narco triangle of America-Scotland and Ireland, said sources in the Special Narcotics Cell, preferring anonymity. |
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Central jail gets counselling centre
Amritsar, June 19 The spokesman for the IVF said two trained women counsellors had been appointed and had extensive interaction with the women prisoners to get the firsthand information about their problems and the issues bothering them. Jail Superintendent Gursharan Singh Sidhu said the IVF had taken the initiative to lower the stress level of women inmates and was trying to mitigate their emotional problems. He said a computer would be installed in their cell to provide them basic computer training, which was the need of modern day life.
— OC |
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Second Phase Of Theatre Workshop
Amritsar, June 19 Earlier, the theatre workshops organised by Manch Rangmanch, in collaboration with the National School of Drama, used to have guests and young artistes from Pakistan who used to hone their skills along with their Indian counterparts. However, the Mumbai mayhem and tension in the neighbouring country have caused the visa restrictions to get stricter. Renowned theatre personality and Shiromani Natakkar Kewal Dhaliwal, however, said they were hopeful of the arrival of friends from Pakistan in the second phase of the workshop after a positive response from the Indian Embassy. About 10 artistes, belonging to the mass theatre, Pattan Lok Theatre and Ajoka Theatre were to come from Lahore and Islamabad (Paksitan). Meanwhile, the young artistes taking part in the workshop were being trained in various technicalities and styles in acting, including street-play acting, realistic acting, acting in one-act plays, sterilised acting and voice and speech production, besides studying movements till the production process. Dhaliwal said the ninth workshop would be exclusively concentrated on honing the acting skills of artistes by renowned theatre personalities of the NSD, including Paartho Banerjee (Kolkata), Vivek Mishra (Bombay), Harvinder Kaur (Delhi) and Vijay (Pune). Interestingly, some of the participants had participated in earlier workshops also while some of them had recently passed out from Guru Nanak Dev University and would be participating for the first time to have some practical experiences. Dhaliwal said it was good to see participants from the Malwa belt, including Mansa, Dhuri, Patiala, Nabha and Ferozepore and some of them even from the Batala, Patti and Tarn Taran side. In the concluding section of the workshop, a five-day theatre festival from July 1 to 5 would be organised in which five plays would be held, which include “Mukhaute Te Haadse”, “Tut-Bhaj De Sangeet”, “Rut Malma Di Ayi Hai”, “Koi Hariya Boot Rahio Ri” and “Gaddi Chadan Di Kahal Badi Si”. Dhaliwal, who is the President of the Virsa Vihar Society, said Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu would inaugurate the theatre festival, while NSD Director D.R. Ankur would be the chief guest on the concluding day. |
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Attari rly station’s face-lift to be complete soon
Amritsar, June 19 The Railway Ministry had approved Rs 20-crore project to give complete face lift and provide fully air-conditioned facilities to the international passengers travelling on the biweekly Samjhauta Express. The railway board had given the consultancy to the RITES, railway’s own in-house expert group, to prepare a master plan for the Attari station to make it at par with other international railway stations in the world with a new look and an air-conditioned block for providing excellent passengers’ facilities to hundreds of people coming in and moving out of the country. The Samjhauta Express and the goods train between the two neighbours have been running for the past more than two decades. However, the train was stopped twice, once during the Pokhran nuclear test in 1998 and second time in December, 2001, after the terrorist attack on Parliament. According to information, the project, which was launched last year has been delayed due to several reasons, is likely to be commissioned very soon. It would have modern customs, immigration and health counters, besides other facilities, including currency exchange, modern canteen, etc, on the lines of the world class railway stations. There would be eight counters each of the customs and immigration on both incoming and outgoing platforms for the faster clearance of inbound and outbound passengers. The area around the platform would have separate toilet facilities for men and women travellers and the area surrounding the platform would be properly landscaped with small plants and ornamental flowers and shrubs. Water coolers would also be installed for the round-the-clock supply of drink water. The cargo train carrying goods would also be cleared at this new railway station twice a week. |
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Done with norms, X-ray centre awaits registration
Amritsar, June 19 The AERB also allegedly failed to provide registration to those X-ray centers which made the necessary amendments. Rupesh Bhandari, owner of Real X-ray center said it all proved to be a momentary drama. He had applied for registration with AERB on March 25th, 2009, but
has not been issued the required certificate of registration yet. He said he acquired
the adjoining space for extending X-ray facilities as per the space requirement norms, besides
getting the site plan duly approved from the AERB and brought in new facilities as per the approved plan, installing lead
protection barriers, safety lights etc. and installed new approved X-ray machine. He urged the AERB authorities to issue the necessary certificate. The radiological safety division (RSD) of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) had given a month’s time to all X-ray centres in the holy city to comply with the norms of the board and remove the shortcomings detected by the team of scientific officers who had visited the city on November 12 last year. The division, acting on a report filed by the
scientific officers, had asked the centres to take appropriate measures with respect to the deficiencies and communicate compliance with applicable
regulatory requirements to the division within 30 days from the date of receipt of the letter. |
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Technical studies: 10 pc raise in seats for girls
Amritsar, June 19 Under the scheme, 10 per cent seats have been increased in all the degree, diploma in engineering and technology, HMCT, pharmacy, and architecture courses in all the government, non-government (aided) and private institutions. Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu said 33 per cent seats under the scheme had been reserved for the women candidates (category-I), while 50 per cent for economically weaker sections (category-II) the annual income of whose parents and guardians was less than Rs 2.5 lakh. He said 17 per cent seats had been kept for physically challenged students (category-III). He clarified that only tuition fee would be waived in the first and third categories, while in category-II, the fee would be completely waived which include tuition fee, institutional charges, transportation and university funds. He said these seats would be filled on merits before the counselling of JET and CET and would be carried out as per the guidelines of
AICTE. |
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Panchayat Land Row
Amritsar, June 19 Addressing the farmers KKU state committee member Dhanwant Singh Khatraikalan said they would continue with the protests till the government cancelled the lease deed with Azure Power Punjab Private Limited. He said the next “jatha march” would be held on June 22 and 23 to expose the nexus between the private company and the district administration. The farmers would also protest against the restarting of the construction work by Azure Power Punjab Private Limited for setting up a solar power plant on the panchayat land at Awan village, 3 km from Ramdas. Khatraikalan said it was a serious matter as the sarpanch of the village had given the land to a private company for the installation of a power plant on the panchayat land which had been the only source of livelihood for the landless farmers. It may be mentioned here that the Ramdas police registered a case against Sher Singh, Jaswant Singh, Jurmej Singh, Bakhshish Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Jagir Singh, all residents of Awan, Jurbir Singh of Ramdas and about 25 unidentified persons under sections 384, 427, 447, 148 and 149 of the IPC for demolishing the structures of the company. The KKU chairman warned the state government and the district administration that they would be responsible for any conflict between the farmers and
the administration if it failed to find an amicable solution to the issue. |
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PCCTU hails decision on revised pay scales
Amritsar, June 19 PCCTU general secretary H.S. Walia said the decision would help in promoting academic standards in the educational institutes, besides attracting talent in the field of higher education. He said the implementation of the new pay scales would significantly accelerate the pace of economic growth of the state. He said the government should take the implementation part of the pay scales on a war footing. Walia pointed out that for the proper and smooth implementation some other issues were needed to be addressed on priority which included career advancement scheme for DPEs and librarians, extension of time period required to complete the refresher courses, lifting ban on recruitments, revival of 716 posts of lecturer in colleges, provision of 95 per cent full grant in the forthcoming Budget. |
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SBI adopts more poor girl students
Amritsar, June 19 Under the programme, the bank would give financial help for providing education and uplift of the poor children. The bank gave Rs 5,000 annually to each girl students for their fees, books and uniforms. Nishkam Seva Public School is run by social activist Sardara Singh to provide education to children of rag-pickers. Situated near the Civil Surgeon’s office the school is being run on the monetary helps from various NGOs and eminent citizens of the city. SBI Regional Manager Daljit Singh distributed cheques for Rs 5,000 each at a special programme here. He said there were about 49 branches in the region that include in Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Amritsar and every branch had been asked to adopt poor meritorious girl children to provide free education. He said in all 200 children would be adopted. He said the monetary help would continue up to class XII. A computer and a printer were also donated to the school. |
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PSEB removes high tension wire
Amritsar, June 19 The board acted after the matter was raised by BJP MLA Anil Joshi following electrocution of some persons. The board did not charge any money from residents since Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had recommended the case. Instead it laid underground high tension wire from Verka to Court Road. Unchecked human colonisation resulted in raising of houses dangerously close to the high tension wires. |
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Youth poisoned to death, 3 held
Amritsar, June 19 Police said Inderjit had illicit relations with Pooja for the past two and a half years and had been living in a separate rented house. All the accused have been arrested. A case has been registered under section 302 of the IPC on the statement of Amarjit Singh.
— TNS |
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Owner alleges illegal occupation of room by tenant
Amritsar, June 19 He shot off a letter for justice to Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal. He alleged that the tenant had hired other rooms. However, taking undue benefit of his long absence from the house for job purposes he illegally occupied a room which did not find mention in papers signed for the deal. He said he had two tenants for two rooms in 1972. With the passage of time one of them died and the other tenant occupied the vacant room as well. He said the police enquiry found his complaint right but it could not get him possession of the room.
— TNS |
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Campus Buzz
Amritsar, June 19 Principal Dr Neelam Kamra said Arshdeep of BA-I won the top award in debates and declamation contests and was declared the best camper. Sumedha of MA (fine arts) bagged the top
position in the poetry category. Vipul Bhatia is PMT topper
Vipul Bhatia of Akash Institute bagged the fourth rank in the Punjab PMT results declared here. According to a press release, seven students of the institute qualified for the CNSE PMT and two each in the CMC,
Vellore, while the four students made it to the AFMC, Pune. In the engineering section, four students were selected for IIT extended merit list, while 18 qualified for the AIEEE test. |
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Biz Buzz
Kent RO Systems Limited has come out with an
affordable water purification solution equipped with multi-state
purification system which gives pure water and protect the family from
water-borne diseases. The system costs about Rs 2,499. General Manager
(Marketing) Amit Dhawan claimed that UF membrane pores were so fine that
they did not allow any bacteria or cyst pass. He said the system had
been specially developed keeping in view the requirements of the rural
segments which had to drink untreated water. — TNS |
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