Rainwater seeping from the new elevated road on the GT Road. Photos: Vishal Kumar

MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda

We are well aware about this issue. Just today, our team is carrying out the job of felling one such building at Katra Ahluwalia area. Apart from this, seven more such buildings are on our list which would be felled soon. Actually, there is legal hitch. Cases of scores of old buildings have been entangled in courts for years together due to conflict between the tenants and owners. There, we do not interfere. In many such instances in the past, it would be later known that the cases of these buildings have been lying pending with the courts. The owners would want them to be demolished because it would be advantageous to them to get rid of years’ old tenants.

Amritsar, July 23
The police has registered a case against an immigration firm involved in sending youth to foreign countries by faking documents of bank accounts.

The case was registered against World Wide Immigration Experts after the police got information about the firm, which used to prepare fake documents to send students on student visa. This is second case within a week in which an immigration firm has been brought to book for such illegal practice of sending aspirants abroad by forging records.

“The preliminary findings disclosed that the immigration firm was forging stamps and signatures of the bank officials while furnishing the documents of the students in the embassy,” said Police Commissioner Varinder Kumar.

A case under section 420, 467, 468, 471, 474 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered at Civil Lines Police Station here in this regard. The fake documents, which was with the investigation team, revealed that the accused prepared the fake accounts of Central Bank of India, GT Road, State Bank of India, Kasel, Central Bank of India, Gumtala branch, Punjab, and Sind Bank Jalandhar and Bank of Baroda, Uttam Nagar, New Delhi.

The police has also booked students, who choose the illegal way, in search of green pastures. Those booked include Harmeet Singh of Partap Nagar, Sukhwinder Singh of Gali Chhaper Wali, Tarn Taran Road, Mohinder Singh of Comrade Sharan Singh building, Baljinder Singh of New Kot Atama Ram, Ruchika Mahajan of New Pawan Nagar, Davinder Kaur of Baradari Chandigarh and Rakesh Sharma of Bal Uttam Nagar, New Delhi.

It is pertinent to mention here that just a few days ago the Sultanwind police has booked manager of the Central Co-operative Bank Limited, East Mohan Nagar branch along with its staff member for allegedly creating fake accounts by forging documents in the name of boys and girls who are interested in going abroad in search of green pastures.

The police registered a case against about a dozen of such aspirants besides the agency involved in sending them in different foreign countries on study basis and permanent resident through British High commission Delhi and immigration.

Amritsar, July 23
A new double-storey building of the department of sports medicine and physiotherapy has been inaugurated today at the GND varsity premises.

Built with a cost Rs 1.70 crore, it would be equipped with state-of-the-art modern equipments.

Prof Dr Jaspal Singh Sandhu, dean, faculty of sports medicine and physiotherapy, said the faculty aims to promote the teaching, research and scientific application of sports science in India.

At present, the faculty has labs for conducting research in the field of sports science including neurophysiology lab, motion analysis lab, human performance lab, biochemical lab, hydorstatic underwater weighing lab, kinanthropometry lab, sports psychology and exercise physiology lab, he added.

On this occasion, Mokesh Sharma, executive engineer said this building has been designed as a conglomeration of brick and RCC by renowned Architect Mohinderjit Singh.

This building covers an area of 27,000 sq ft, houses 10 labs, seven classrooms, one seminar hall, teachers’ room and toilets. All labs and classrooms are well ventilated, he added.

He said ultra modern equipment and furniture have also been provided in the labs and classrooms, including the facility of LCD projector. A big lawn has been provided in the centre of the building. To keep the building neat and clean, vitrified tiles have been used in flooring.

Dr Inderjit Singh, registrar, Dr Jaspal Singh Sandhu, faculty dean and head of the sports medicine and physiotherapy department, Prof AS Bhanwer, Dr HS Randhawa, deputy director, physical education, Dr HC Sharma, professor in charge, public relations, Mokesh Sharma, executive engineer, Hira Singh, HS Tina, Rajinder Singh, Swinder Singh and Sarabjit Singh, among others, were present on the occasion.

Amritsar, July 23
Dr Adarsh Kumar, Professor and Head, Cardiology Department, Government Medical College Hospital, has been invited to deliver lecture on heart failure in the 15th World Congress on Heart Disease in Vancouver on July 25.

The Congress will be organised by International Academy of Cardiology. On his visit abroad, he would deliver a guest lecture on ‘Rheumatic Heart Disease’ in University of Minitoba, Canada, on the invitation of Director of Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, under India - Canada Research collaboration on July 28.

Dr Adarsh has also been selected for 2010 distinguished fellowship award in this international conference. Earlier, he has delivered many guest lectures and research papers in the field of cardiology in many countries.

Tarn Taran, July 23
Officials of the local branch of Punjab National Bank have taken serious note of the police’s reluctance to act against a person caught defrauding customers of the bank by stealing their ATM cards.

The bank officials brought the matter to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner at a meeting with him on Wednesday and said the matter would also be discussed with higher officials of the bank soon.

The officials said here yesterday that the person in question was caught by officials of the bank about three weeks back on the basis of information given by an aged customer Pargat Singh.

Pargat had told bank officials that a clean-shaven person, aged about 32, had swapped his own ATM card with his (Pargat) on the pretext of assisting him to withdraw cash.

He gave Pargat some another ATM card with nil bank balance.

The bank officials, with documentary evidence, said the person withdrew Rs 50,080 from the accounts of Pargat from different branches of the bank in Patti township, 25 km from here, on June 3 and 4.

The person in question had been caught on the CCTV cameras installed in the ATM cabin and all bank officials were instructed to watch out for him.

The person came to the bank on June 29 and was taken into custody by the bank employees. He was later handed over to the city police.

The officials said as many as 10 ATM cards of different persons, besides drugs, were recovered from the person by the police in the presence of bank officials.

But the police later let him off without taking any action.

Elaborating on the modus operandi of the person, the officials said he usually stole ATM cards by duping old or ignorant persons.

In the meantime, he gave back some other ATM cards to them with nil bank balance and took theirs with him. The code number of the customers was also noted by the person.

The bank officials alleged the person had close relatives working in the Police Department.

The officials demanded that the matter was very serious in nature and should be investigated minutely.

The police, when contacted, said the matter would be investigated.

Amritsar, July 23
The doctors of 1985 batch of the Government Medical College launched their website www.gmamritsar.com here today.

The website was officially inaugurated by Dr S.S. Shergill, Principal of the medical college, in a special function organised. Dr R.P.S. Boparai, Superintendent of the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, was also present on the occasion. Dr Munish said the website would help in bringing together as many as 150 doctors of the batch who are working in different parts of the country.

The doctors could see their profiles and latest information about the batch and activities. The doctors could also upload their family photographs on the website.

Dr Naresh Chawla of Government TB and Chest Hospital said about 70 doctors of the batch have given their consent to be part of the website while others were expected to join the site soon.

Amritsar, July 23
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has sanctioned establishment of a Lala Lajpat Rai Studies Centre in Hindu College under its scheme of Epoch Making Social Thinkers in India.

Dr Arun Mehra, Head, Political Science Department, has been appointed director of the centre. The UGC would provide Rs 10.50 lakh for the purpose.

The objective of the centre is to acquaint the teachers and students of revolutionary, path-breaking thoughts, actions of great social thinkers and social leaders who have left lasting impact not only in India but in the world as a whole.

The grant would be utilised to set up a library-cum-reading room about Lala Lajpat Rai, conduct research work/studies focusing on particular aspects of Lala Lajpat Rai’s works, organise seminars, workshops, courses and lectures. Besides, the centre would provide research facilities regarding thought and works of Lala Lajpat Rai.

Hindu College Governing Council Chairman P.N. Arora said one of the greatest leaders of modern India, a selfless person, devoted patriot, outstanding social reformer, prolific writer, one of the founders of Punjab National Bank, Swadeshi movement, Lalaji was nucleus of freedom struggle from 1892 till his death in 1928.

Finance secretary of the council Sudhir Mahajan said his life was full of sacrifices for society and the nation.

Dr Mehra said he chose Lalaji as he, besides being a freedom fighter and a social reformer, was the votary of scientific and technical education. “Lalaji worked hard for women emancipation and restoration of respect to Dalits,” he added.

Amritsar, July 23
The department of commerce and business management, of the Guru Nanak Dev University, has invited applications for filling up some vacant seats of MBA (hons) marketing and retail management course for the session 2010-11 by July 28.

Dr Lakhwinder Singh, Head of the Department, said besides those candidates who could not get admission on the basis of MBA (hons) entrance test held by the department, the candidates appeared in the MET-2010 can also apply for the same, before July 28.

The admission would be made on the merit of MBA (hons) entrance test/MET-2010 and counseling for the same would be held on July 30 at 10 am in the department of commerce and business management, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Bhawan (second floor) of the university, he added.

He further advised applicants willing to attend the counseling to bring with them their original certificates (matric, graduation, 
character, domicile/residence and reserved category certificates, as per the pattern of the prospectus) and requisite admission fee on the day of counseling.

Amritsar, July 23
A local couple has won an opportunity to meet the most sought after Bollywood couple, Abhishek and Aishwariya Rai Bachchan, and that too in London.Visibly excited, the lucky couple - Puneet and Isha Chandok, residents of Sudar Nagar area here - was declared winner of ‘meet the Super Star offer’ organised by Lux beauty products, Hindustan Unilever Limited.

Puneet, a bank employee, said they were extremely pleased when they got a call from the company that we were one of the 12 fortunate couples to get this opportunity.

“Besides her beauty I am staunch fan of her hard work and dedication due to which she succeeded to make a mark in the Hindi film industry which is not so generous for several others,” he said. I always wanted to meet Aishwarya since her Miss India days, he added.

Isha said she liked the acting skills of junior Bachchan who exhibited his tremendous talent in films like Guru and Yuva. She said she would not feel jealous with her husband meeting the beauty queen.