Amritsar, July 10
Following the orders of the state government, the health authorities has closed down the chemical examination centre situated in the Government Medical College (GMC) here and shifted the senior staff to its headquarters at Kharar.

The decision was reportedly taken after the complaints of corruption and irregularities in the testing of samples for chemical examination of drugs. The centre at Amritsar used to cater to six districts, including Ferozepur and Nawanshahr. Interestingly samples from Amritsar used to be examined at other centers at Chandigarh.

According to information, the state government has decided to close down the chemical examination centers situated in various districts and these samples would now be tested at Kharar.

Confirming this, Civil Surgeon Dr Lehmbar Singh said the department received written instructions for closing down the centre on July 8 and following this a team of the Health Department, led by Assistant Civil Surgeon Inderjit Singh locked the centre after taking all the material and equipments into custody. He said the samples taken from all over the state would now be examined at its headquarter in Kharar only.

He said the department has gathered about 500 samples of liquor, opium, charas and ganja from the centre, which would now be sent to headquarters. When asked about the reason behind the decision, he said he could not say anything in this regard at the moment.

However, another senior official in the department wishing not to be quoted said earlier, professional doctors headed these centres. But these doctors had been shifted to Kharar and at present an assistant chemical examiner, a non-medical person from paramedical staff, was heading this centre. Due to this the incidents of alleged corruption and political interference had allegedly increased giving undue advantage to criminals.

Amritsar, July 10
A number of workers of the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) today staged a rally outside the Civil Surgeon’s office to protest against the ad hoc approach of the government for not regularising their posts.

They demanded that the organisation workers should be covered under the Minimum Wages Act so that they could have a regular salary package. They demand a minimum of Rs 3,500 salary to each worker.

The district unit of the ASHA Workers Union raised slogans against the state government for its apathetic attitude towards their demands and for letting them to live in penury.

Amritsar, July 10
Even as the centrally-funded 4th phase of ‘Galiara’ project --- beautification of the surroundings of the Golden Temple --- kicked off recently, inordinate delay on the two-decade-long project has left the people of the area battered and baffled.

The place would see construction of an open plaza and a small green patch with musical fountain.

Last week, demolition of several shops left the shopkeepers fuming as they were not given enough time to remove their valuables. Traders, who shifted out of the market being demolished, alleged that they lost the advantage of possessing shops at a vantage position opposite Ghanta Ghar gate of the Golden Temple.

The market used to witness a huge inflow of tourists, who usually after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple visited the market to buy religious articles, shawls, suits and to take refreshment. People thronged a number of famous eating joints serving snacks aloo ki tikki, samosas, pakodas, rasgulas, south Indian dishes and local delicacies of kulcha, puri. Shop of famous local beverage manufacturer of (lemonade) soda bottles Amin Chand was also located in the market.

Now the shopkeepers feared that after shifting they may be at the receiving end. However, the officials associated with the project held shopkeepers’ fears unfounded. They maintained that a newly constructed market with modern look would attract more visitors.

Amritsar, July 10
In spite of several bottlenecks and court cases in one of the country’s biggest grain markets during the last several years, the development works project aimed for the development of the mandi, estimated to be worth more than Rs 10 crore, is finally underway and is going on at a war footing, to meet the deadline of the coming paddy arrival this season.

Earlier, the Mandi Board authorities and commission agents had remained at loggerheads for several years before an amicable settlement was reached three years ago to clear the way for the auction of shops and offices for the agents who had been functioning from the ramshackle sheds for many decades.

Under the project, over 500 commission agents had been provided shop-cum-offices which are under construction with similar designs to give a new and model look to the mandi which handles several lakh tones of wheat and paddy around the year besides maize, jawar and other grains.

According to the mandi officials, the Mandi Board has sanctioned the project worth Rs 10 crore to revamp the entire mandi operations.

Earlier, the government had agreed to create a separate basmati export zone, but the project could not take off due to many hurdles.

Finally, the board had given a go ahead to the project to give a new look (with modern mechanical handling) to the mandi to meet the demands of farmers, commission agents and shellers for the ensuing paddy season.

The plan includes providing paved roads and street lights at all the points in the mandi for its operation round the clock. The plan also includes establishing farmers’ resting houses, tea and food kiosks besides installing modern weighing and filling machines.

Earlier, leading exporters and flour millers had been urging the government to make the market the model grain mandi of this region with cemented platforms, covered sheds and mechanical loading and unloading besides fans for drying 
the grains.

Punjab Rice Millers and Exporters Association has urged the nodal agricultural export agency Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) to provide funds for the modernisation of the mandi with the installation of high tech equipment for handling Basmati, paddy the premier agriculture produce of this area.

The APEDA had provided Rs 65 lakh for the construction of new platforms but due to the tussle between the Mandi Board and the commission agents, the project was not fully implemented.

Amritsar, July 10
The management of the Khalsa College is contemplating to install son-et Lumiere (light and sound) on the pattern of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to depict the history of Sikhs and the ancient city of Amritsar.

The son-et Lumiere has been proposed by Dr. Daljit Singh, principal of the college.

Talking to Amritsar Plus, he said playwrights and theatre directors would be consulted before finalising the script for the programme. The proposed light and sound programme would attract hundreds of onlookers who visit the Attari-Wagah joint check post to see the daily retreat ceremony.

He said with the installation of the light and sound programme, the students of the college would get a chance to exhibit their talent.

The proposed light and sound programme would also depict the history of the Khalsa College (established in 1892) which played a key role in freedom struggle. The college building, a unique architectural monument, is the tourists’ delight. Bhai Ram Singh, vice-principal of the Mayo School of Arts, Lahore, was the spirit behind the architectural marvel of the college. The main building is a masterpiece of Sikh architecture.

Bhai Ram Singh was entrusted with the work of planning the college building, while Sardar Dharam Singh Gharjakhia, a reputed engineer, was specially transferred from Bannu to Amritsar to supervise the construction of the college.

Khalsa College played a pivotal role in India’s freedom struggle. In 1921, the students and teachers of the college registered their protest against the British rule by boycotting the visit of the Prince of Wales to the college. During his visit to Amritsar, the “Father of the Nation”, Mahatma Gandhi, did not forget to visit Khalsa College in 1920, a year after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. 

Amritsar, July 10
Another escape of an undertrial prisoner has once again raised many questions over the functioning of jail administration which is responsible for foiling their attempts.

This is the third consecutive case of escaping of a prisoner from police custody in last one week, while the jail administration is looking the other way, saying that they could not do anything in this matter. They failed to learn any lesson from the previous escapes of smugglers.

Today, Chetan Bhalla, a murder accused, fled from the police custody. He conned the policemen to remove his handcuffs as he wanted to go to washroom. But, he escaped from the bathroom leaving the three constables behind.

Earlier, on July 3, Joga Singh, an accused of looting, fled from the court premises where the policemen has taken him for hearing in the case. Rocky, alias Rajkumar, who was being taken to the juvenile jail at Hoshiarpur, dodged the police, while boarding the bus on July 3. He was arrested by the police for possessing a sharp-edged weapon. A number of policemen were placed under suspension for dereliction of duty.

Jail Superintendent G.S. Sidhu admitted that there was negligence on the part of the policemen guarding these prisoners. He said although they took serious action against the accused cops, more such incidents were worrying them.

Water scarcity
The monsoon rains are quite less in Punjab this year. People waste a lot of water which is a serious issue. Car washing must be stopped in residential colonies and water harvesting be encouraged. People should learn to utilise drinking water intelligently. If we do not act on time then it will be too late. Already many parts of India are experiencing an extreme hot weather and drought-like conditions. Farmers, particular in Punjab, are in a loss due to depletion of the underground water level and scanty rainfall.

— Hartaj Singh, Amritsar

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