Amritsar, April 13
Several localities and areas of the city are grappling hard with the problem of drinking water shortage. The localities near Hakiman Wala Gate, Lohgarh Gate, Khazana Wala Gate, Dam Ganj, Islamabad, Nawa Kot, Majitha Road, Batala road, Khand Wala, Chheharta and many more have all been finding hard to quench their thirst.

The affected people run from pillar to the post and if not heard take the path of protests.

Sushil Mehra, a resident of Bazar Sirkibanda inside Lohgarh Gate, said supply of water had been erratic for the past many weeks. He said complaints were lodged and employees of the Water Supply Department of the MC arrived and checked the tubewell. After few days they announced the place, where the tubewell was installed, has dried out.

Parduman Singh, Executive Engineer of the Water Supply Department of the MC, said as the area witnessed the problem we made alternative arrangements for providing water. However, there was need to install a tubewell at another place in the same area, he said adding as there was no open space left in the area to have an underground bore, the Municipal Corporation would install to get the bore on the road itself. Another major concern in the walled city is constant fall in the groundwater table. The corporation is finding water only at the depth of 80 feet. About two decades back, the same water was found at the depth of nearly 20 feet to 30 feet.

Presently, there are 301 tubewells in the city. There is a proposal to install 50 more. Out of them the Water Supply and Sewerage Board is currently working to install 28 tubewells.

There are only eight tubewells in the walled city which as per the 2001 census had nearly two lakh inhabitants.

Commissioner, MC, DPS Kharbanda claimed that the Corporation was presently providing seven hours regular water supply in a week. He said the duration of supply was better than even many metropolitan cities.

The consumers are also to be blamed for their casual and inept handling of water.

Many of them have got loose tap installed on water supply pipes which waste water. Contrary to rules, well-to-do houses have borer submersibles while utilising Tulu pumps have been going on for decades. The experts also advise consumers to replace over a decade old water supply pipes.

However, the biggest concern of the corporation is huge monetary loss since over 60 per cent of the total water supply remained unpaid.

It also included free of cost water supply only to domestic users owning houses measuring less than 125 square yards. Other reasons are leakage and illegal drawing of water.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Urban Development issued Service Level Benchmarks to all the municipalities in the country.

As per these guidelines the MC has submitted a proposal worth Rs 3.43 crore to overhaul the water supply system under the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. He said these proposals have been accepted in principle.

The proposal included collection of data book, preparation of Information System Improvement Plan, comprehensive household survey for water supply, sewerage and solid waste management, installation of bulk flow meters to be installed on tubewells to measure discharge of water being released, 1000 consumer level metering, to introduce 24 hours water supply as a pilot project in a selected locality, procurement of pressure gaugers, study for establishing water quality protocol and comprehensive mapping of drainage and road network. Besides, setting up of a state-of-the-art water quality checking laboratory at Rs 15 lakh.

Amritsar, April 13
The light-and-sound programme inaugurated by Defence Minister A.K. Antony this evening enlivened the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that changed the course of India’s Independence struggle.

A large gathering at the historic bagh witnessed the event as the resounding voice of Amitabh Bachchan brought alive the valour of our great freedom fighters who did not think twice before sacrificing their lives for the cause of the Indian freedom.

Even people from adjoining residential buildings were seen peeping out of their windows and terraces to witness the event.

Besides Antony, other dignitaries who were present on the occasion included senior Central and state Congress leaders, including Ambika Soni, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former Kerala Governor R.L. Bhatia, Prof Darbari Lal and O.P. Soni.

The light-and-sound programme is part of the Rs 5-crore plan for the sprucing up of the historic garden. While the project of the development of the historically significant park is being undertaken by the Indian Tourism Corporation Limited (ITDC), the 45-minute programme has been recorded by a Gurgaon-based company, Integrated Digital Solutions Private Limited.

The Defence Minister pointed out that the countrymen should remember the supreme sacrifices of our freedom fighters.

Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu terming the event a success and said the programme would be a regular feature with tourists from across the world.

He said the timings of the event would be changed according to winter and summer seasons while the park would remain open till the finishing of the light-and-sound programme.

Earlier, the park used to close down at 6 pm.

However, several people criticised the administration. They seemed least impressed with the efforts of the authorities and said that they had expected a lot from the light-and-sound programme.

Amritsar, April 13
The Right to Information Act-2005 (RTI) is the most powerful mean in the hands of Indians to check corruption and ensure development in their regions, said Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) Ramesh Inder Singh.

He was here to deliver the inaugural address at a seminar on “Right to Information (RTI)” organised by Guru Nanak Dev University yesterday.

The RTI was intended not only towards ensuring granting of rights of the people as part of their personal liberty, but also to make functioning of government departments more transparent, accountable and obligating them to take the necessary corrective measure, he added.

He said a layman was not aware of the facts of many things as his source of information was very limited. He said gradual consciousness and growth of democratic atmosphere brought a realisation that people were not merely the subjects but they had their legal rights. The custodians of the government had corresponding obligations towards them for securing and promotion of their social and economic welfare.

He said the Right to Information Act was a recent Act in India. Similar provisions existed in nearly 80 countries with the aim of providing transparent and accountable governance to their citizens.

He stressed that more efficiency was needed from government employees since any citizen could ask for information from a public authority. He said the public authority had a wide implication under the Act as not only those who were funded by the government but also the private bodies, covered under the Act, were answerable.

He called for the creation of a system in which every thing was transparent. He also answered the queries raised by participants and said even the works undertaken by the authorities could be kept under constant check by asking for sample and the material used in the construction.

More than 15 research papers were presented in the two technical sessions. The first session was chaired by Dr Inderjit Singh, Registrar. The second technical session was presided over by Dr Parminder Singh, Head of English Department.

Amritsar, April 13
Baisakhi was celebrated with great enthusiasm and fervour in the city today.Many special programmes were conducted in various organisations, university, schools and colleges besides a large number of devotees also paid obeisance at different religious shrines.

It was equally a special day for the inmates at high-security Amritsar Central Jail here where a cultural programme was held on the premises. Harman Gill, Punjabi singer, enthralled the gathering with his numbers, while famous comedian duo Atro and Chatro made the audience burst into laughter with their skits.

G.S. Sandhu, Superintendent, Amritsar Central Jail, talking to The Tribune said the occasion was planned as per the precedent to break the monotony and subsequently infuse the sense of patriotism and belongingness in the inmates.

“I believe such occasions help reforming their (inmates) minds and character,” said Sandhu. An akhand path had also been organised, the bhog of which would be held tomorrow, he added.

Meanwhile, prisoners danced to the tunes of the songs of Harman, while several inmates also showcased their talent by presenting various skits during the programme.

The Panchrang artists’ group of the city organised a painting programme to pay tributes to the martyrs of historic massacre at the Jallianwala Bagh in 1919. As many as 250 children from 28 schools participated in the programme.

Mala Chawla, secretary of the group, said children made portraits, pictures of the Jallianwala Bagh national memorial, flowers and depicted current burning topics concerning the nation. Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla and Inspector-General of Police I.P.S. Sahota was the chief guest.

The Health Minister promised a grant of Rs 1 lakh for the association.

Khalsa College International Public School, Ranjit Avenue, celebrated the festival on its school premises in which students participated with a great enthusiasm. The students of nursery presented a dance item on a song “Lakdi Ki Kathi”. Principal of the school Davinder Kaur Sandhu motivated the students and informed the audience about the religious significance of the festival.

The tiny tots of Mehak Bal Sambhal Creche of Guru Nanak Dev University celebrated the festival. Dr Satinder Kaur, secretary of the creche, told the importance of Baisakhi to the children. She said children should participate in various cultural activities along with their studies. Children performed a number of dances.

Amritsar, April 13
As many as 356 students of 2010 batch of Guru Nanak Dev (GND) University have been placed in 30 different national and multinational companies till now.

These students will join their jobs in June after their final exam. Out of them 30 students were from IT courses, who were offered jobs by HCL Comnet (11) and AMDOCS (19). AMDOCS, Pune offered the highest salary with Rs 4.60 lakh per annum package.

Amritsar, April 13
Guru Nanak Dev University, in association with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), would oraganise a five-day science camp under the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) internship programme from May 24.

Professor of chemistry and coordinator of the camp Dr Rakesh Mahajan said the camp would be open to the students of Classes XI and XII who were pursuing the science course.

He said the cut-off percentage for eligible students in the Class X examination of the Punjab State Education Board (PSEB) was 76.2 in the CBSE 93 and 94 in the ICSE.

He said INSPIRE was one of the innovative programmes by the Department of Science and Technology to attract talent to science subjects.

During the camp, eminent scientists of national and international repute would interact with students through lectures related to scientific success stories and joys of innovation across all science streams, which, in turn, would nourish the curiosity of children in science.