Amritsar, February 16
The functioning of trauma centre at Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital here virtually shocked Central Nodal Officer Ajit Sinha, who visited the hospital to have first hand information.

“Frankly speaking, the functioning of the trauma centre is not up to mark,” said Dr Sinha who visited ICU, trauma centre and emergency ward of the hospital.

It is evident to mention here that the trauma centre was established in hospital about one and half year ago with the help of the grant by Central Government in order to provide emergency services to the accident victims so that their precious lives could be saved.

However, due to shortage of staff in the hospital the patients remained deprived of the services and the hospital authorities have to refer them to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, said the authorities, which had requested the government for more staff and manpower.

But Dr Sinha had a different view. While interacting with the staff and Civil Surgeon, he observed that the trauma centre has four orthopedic surgeons, and two general surgeons. It has the requisite manpower, but absence of proper utilisation of staff had jeopardised its working, he added.

Finding glaring shortcomings in the functioning, Dr Sinha seemed to be unsatisfied with the answers of the authorities. “Unless you would not encourage the patients and provide them with the facilities how would they come to you,” said the Officer.

When he asked for the reports or register of trauma centre patients, which have been sent to the Central Government, the hospital authorities failed to provide any record. He asked them to maintain separate register for the records of patients provided treatment in the hospital.

Pointing out at a board with trauma centre written on it, he said, “This seemed to be installed yesterday night or today morning while no other part including the entry gates of the hospital have any signboard signifying 24-hour facility of trauma centre available in the hospital.” He asked them to install signboards at the entry gates of the hospital especially towards main GT Road.

Amritsar, February 16
It’s like a homecoming for newly appointed Police Commissioner Varinder Kumar. The 1993 batch IPS officer had attained university education in the city. Earlier, he was the DIG Intelligence (I) of the state. In conversation with The Tribune, he enunciated his views and future plans.

Will you elaborate the jurisdiction of the Police Commissioners?

VK: As per notification, the Police Commissioners would look after the municipal areas of the city while keeping the Rural Police System intact. It would definitely enhance the role of police in controlling law and order situation. The amount of legal powers was yet under deliberation.

Do you think that the new system would contain mob violence like the one witnessed following assault on heads of Dera Sach Khand in Vienna as it empowers the police head to take any decision, including that to order firing, which was earlier vested in an executive magistrate.

VK: The new system worked wonderfully in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and was recently implemented in neighbouring Haryana as well. The new arrangement would ensure urgent preventive action, quick decision in rapidly changing law and order situations. The role of police has stretched in fast changing situations arising out of unrbanisation and huge floating population.

How would the rising cases of petty crimes be contained?

V.K: We have to return to basics, consolidate the beat system, PCR vehicles and intensify the patrolling.

What mechanism would be adopted to deal with traffic chaos?

VS: The dearth of staff in traffic police has been identified and existing police staff would be made to undergo specialised training to enhance their potential. He said the option of installing of CCTVs cameras, checking of over speeding and alcoholic drivers would also be taken up gradually.

Amritsar, February 16
In order to turn the British era Town Hall building into a heritage site, the Local Bodies Department would shift offices of the Municipal Corporation (MC) to Ranjit Avenue.

The new building, with swanky looks, would come up on a two-acre area.

It is learnt that on the directions of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal, Principal Secretary Local Bodies C Rahul visited the site to be used to build the new premises for the MC.

Located in the congested walled city, as many as 6,000 employees of the MC visit the Town Hall regularly. Apart from the employees, hundreds of visitors visit its premises which lead to traffic snarls.

The location of the Town Hall, which is close to the highly-visited Jallianwala Bagh and Golden Temple, where tourists and pilgrims come from across the country and from all over the world, has been a cause for congestion and traffic blockades.

With its wide roads and spacious surroundings, the Ranjit Avenue is anticipated to provide an ideal location for the MC office.

The 150-year old Town Hall building would be maintained and would function as a heritage site under the care of the Tourism Department.

The tourists could view the building and would be educated as to what purpose it used to serve.

However, its ownership would rest with the MC and its earning would be a part of the MC’s revenue.

Rahul reviewed various other developmental works being carried out by the MC, Sewerage Board and Improvement Trust. He directed the officials of the Sewerage Board to submit the deadline of setting up of Sewerage Treatment Plants, covering of drains and other works under the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), in writing.

He also asked the Improvement Trust Officials to speed up the finishing of the work of setting up of the Rs 5 crore Rose Garden on a 20-acre-land in Ranjit Avenue.

He told the officials of the Gammon Company to speed up the completion of the remaining work on the elevated road.

Commissioner, MC, DPS Kharbanda said the government would bear the expenses of the construction of a new building for the MC.

He said it has been asked that the two-acre-land of the Sewerage Board be handed over to the MC soon.

He informed that the construction would be initiated as soon as the MC received the approved budget of nearly Rs 20 crore from the government.

Amritsar, February 16
“The Rest of India”, with an opportunity to expose the rich culture, tradition and artistic expressions of the North Eastern states, today reduced the distance and geographical limitations through Octave 2010 festival, which commenced at the Khalsa College campus, Amritsar.

Organised by the North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, the festival was inaugurated by Punjab Governor Shivraj Vishvanath Patil. Meanwhile, a crafts exhibition by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India limited (TRIFED) and a book exhibition by the Sahitya Akademi was also declared open on the occasion.

Soon after the traditional opening ceremony, artistes from eight states of the North East - Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Sikkim - presented an impressive variety of folk dances.

The choreographed folk dance presentations showcased the indigenous dance forms and projected the rich cultural heritage of the region.

Tripura’s Hozagiri Dance projected the Reang tribe of Tripura, focusing on the bumper crop. Quite different from others, the performance was made with a bottle on their head and a lighted lamp was balanced on the bottle.

The movement of hands and the upper part of the body was somewhat restricted whereas the movement from their waist to the feet consisted of slow delicate moves.

Another dance form, which enthralled the most, was Eme-Relo Dance of Gallong Adis of Arunachal Pradesh. Usually performed by young girls after collecting fish from the river bank, during the community feast organised on various socio-cultural occasions, this dance is popular among the young womenfolk of Adis of West Siang district, which depicts the creation of rivers and animal living in the water.

This was followed by Assam’s “bharat dance”, performed by Pati Dhulia dancers and singers coming from different Tiwa villages. It began with the lighting of 300 lamps.

The Wangala dance from Meghalaya brought forth the spectacular and convivial art of the entire Garo community through the beating of drums, blowing of trumpets, made of horn and flutes.

The male dancers, while holding a sword and symphiah, performed Ka Shad Mastieh exhibited a type of old war dance. The silver quiver and arrows, brought about memories of their forefathers who laid down their lives to guard and protect the honour of the Khasi society.

After this, the Nagaland’s Sumi folk dance Aphilo Kughu presented the colours of the tribe of Nagaland. Supporting aprin and belt sewn with cowrie’s shells, sash decorated with dyed goats’ hari and orchid stems, the dancers projected a sign of victory and fellowship.

The Manipur contingent presented Pung Cholum, the soul of Manipuri music and classical dance. Marking the Holi festival, they presented a visual interpretation of various rhythmic patterns. Dressed in colourful costumes, Dhol Dholak Cholom, presented a spectrum of rhythms and acrobatic feats. This was performed using the dhol, the dholak and a variety of drums.

Presenting the Mount Khan-Chen Dzongpa, the third largest mountain in the world, the dancers, attired as snow lions, staged a dance called “Singhi Chham dance”.

The cultural symbol of good luck came alive in this dance. This was followed by Denzong-Neh-Na-Dance. This dance was performed in absolute veneration of the past and present saints.

Another lively and attractive dance performance ‘Cheraw’, commonly known as the Bamboo dance was staged by the Mizoram team. The dance in which women dance in and out between the horizontally placed bamboos, presented a marvelous display of timing and skill.

Amritsar, February 16
Members of the Guru Nanak Dev University Teachers’ Association today staged a sit-in from 11 am to 1 pm in front of the office of the Vice-Chancellor of the university.

On the call given by the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation, similar protests were also held at other regional campuses.

Dr T.S. Banipal and Dr Sukhprit Singh, president and secretary, respectively, of the association, stated that the teachers in the higher education system of the state were upset with the state government as notifying the revised pay scales for university and college teachers it referred the case regarding enhancement of age from 60 to 65 years, full pension after completion of 20 years of qualifying service, arrears of new grades and other pending issues to a high-powered committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, but the committee had not taken any decision on these issues till date.

Meanwhile, members of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU) held a sit-in for two hours at DAV College here today. They sat on the ground on the campus and raised slogans against the management for not implementing the revised pay scale in totality.

General secretary, PCCTU, Prof H.S. Walia said though the state government notified revised pay scales but some benefits had not been extended to the university and college teachers as per the notification issued by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development.

Amritsar, February 16
It was his strive to achieve big which enabled Gurpreet Singh to stand tall during the open competition of science model contest organised at The Celebration Mall.

Having a humble background, Gurpreet, a student of Government High School, Sohian Khurd, Amritsar, experimented on LDR (light depend resistance) sensor-based light operating system. The creation helped this 14-year-old bring home the runners-up position in the science model segment.

It was the concept on which this model was based which attracted judges’ attention. The model, based on an American circuit, disassociate the electric connection in day time and activate during the dark.

While telling about the properties of his creation, Gurpreet said if this mechanism was further developed, it could prove to be a boon by conserving electricity without using a switch.

“But, you need a lot of money for this. I, with my sources, could spare money only for developing a micro model for automatic electricity regulatory system with the help of 12 volt battery, a bulb and a mini transformer. But, I can assure that this mechanism can work wonders in big malls, factories or even homes. Loads of electricity can be conserved through this mechanism,” said very confidant Gurpreet.

While narrating about his interest for electric circuits, Gurpreet revealed that it was an “in house” environment which always attracted him as his father Rajwinder Singh was an electrician. “I used to experiment on new electric circuits during my free time. My father brought an American electricity circuit book from New Delhi. I read a project about automatic cutoff of electric connections and developed this model,” Gurpreet said.

Gurpreet is equally concerned about his studies. An above-average student, Gurpreet never forgets to mention the name of his teacher Hardeep Singh, who has always been a driving force behind him.

Amritsar, February 16
The Dal Khalsa has called for evolving code for Akal Takht Jathedar as the party feels that the religious head was playing into the hands of the SAD leadership.

Party spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh alleged that there was a growing feeling amongst the Sikhs that the present Jathedar had drifted from his role and responsibility and hence, the neutrality of the Akal Takht had got eroded.

“Without evolving specific rules and guidelines regarding his appointment, removal and working sphere, the Jathedar could not be independent of all kinds of political pressures and manipulations,” he added.

Expressing his party’s desire to free Jathedar of Akal Takht from all political and legal bindings, he said it was ironic that the incumbents use and misuse the authority vested in them and the political leadership manoeuvres the religious heads as per the exigency of the situation.

Talking on the supremacy and sovereignty of the Takht, the Dal Khalsa also targeted the leadership of the AISSF (Grewal) for “failing to name the forces that were trying to use the institution for political gains”.

Reiterating that the Akal Takht was supreme and its supremacy and sovereignty could not be challenged, compromised and questioned, the Dal Khalsa spokesperson said forces those have undermined the supremacy and neutrality of Akal Takht were none other than the Shiromani Akal Dal leadership.

The recent developments at Akal Takht have left no one in doubt that the SAD leadership has acquired all levers of power be it political or religious in its hands, which was the root cause of many problems dogging the Sikhs, he said adding that the AISSF (Grewal) president Gurcharan Singh Grewal has deliberately avoided to call spade a spade.

Amritsar, February 16
IT Company IBM Daksh recruited 21 students from various graduate and post-graduate streams of the Guru Nanak Dev University through campus placements.

This recruitment was made by a panel of experts led by Rishi Raj Gund, Manager, HR Division of IBM Daksh.

According to Dr. Sukhdev Singh, Director, Placement, 13 students were selected from the School of Social Sciences of the university. He said many more companies confirmed their visit in the near future for placement of students.

So far, a total of 241 students of the 2010 batch have been selected.

Besides, in the last few days, Ind Swift Laboratories (2), Panacea Biotec (5), Jubilant Chemsys (5) have recruited students of Chemistry courses, he said.

Tarn Taran, February 16
The Harike police have recovered a .315 bore pistol, along with seven cartridges, from the possession of one Gurmej Singh, alias Geja, of Karmuwala village from a naka point installed in the area.

The police sources said a case under section 25, 54 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the accused.

The police sources further said in another case, the Harike police recovered 200 gm opium from one Thana Singh of Booh village, who already many cases of the NDPS against him.

A case under 18, 61 and 85 has been registered against the accused.