Amritsar, April 29
Adopting the 2005 mantra of “Say no to plastic bags”, the Amritsar administration and the Municipal Corporation (MC)have formed a squad to keep a vigil on vendors giving plastic carry bags in the markets across the holy city from May 1.

As per the Punjab Plastic Carry Bags (Manufacture, Usage and Disposal) Control Act-2005, it has been decided to impose a ban on polythene bags below 30 microns in width, having dimensions less than 8X12 inches or not complying with the specified colours.

Mind it! If these orders would not be complied with, the defaulters would be liable to bear the legal wrath, which specifies a fine of Rs 25,000 or five years of imprisonment or both. There would be a blanket ban on the use of plastic bags or polythene bags for the purpose of serving or transporting the food items.

“We have formed a squad, compromising market inspectors from the Municipal Corporation, vigilance officers from the Pollution Control Board, police personnel and other officers, who will keep an eye on vendors in all the markets. The squads have been created to fine those using plastic bags which do not comply with designated norms,” said Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu, while adding that “all magistrates too have been formally intimated about the ban on the use of plastic bags”.

“The manufacturers, traders dealing in polybags would be our prime focus. Our teams would also be visiting the shops randomly to check if any violation is being committed,” he said, while adding that the polythene bags prepared under prescribed norms would also bear the name of the firm, material used for its manufacturing, its thickness and registration number of the firm, etc.

It’s the “throwaway culture” which intensify the ill effects of the poly bags made of already hazardous substance, which is plastic. It has been observed that the animals while misunderstanding plastic garbage as some food items swallow them and die.

Besides, the environ getting littered and presenting ugly and unhygienic scene, these bags find way in to the city drainage system, resulting in blockage.

The Municipal Corporation Commissioner, D.P.S. Kharbanda, said it caused inconvenience and difficulty in maintaining the drainage. “It creates unhygienic environment resulting in health hazard and spreading of water-borne diseases. This littering also reduces rate of rain water percolating, resulting in lowering of already low water levels in our cities. The soil fertility deteriorates as the plastic bags form part of manure which remain in the soil for years. Therefore, it was necessary to put a check on this menace,” he said.

Even as the manufacturers of polybags have sought some time from the administration till they dispose of the already manufactured material, yet the administration is adamant on implementing the ban in its true letter and spirit.

Kharbanda said enough time had already been granted to them and no further leniency should be expected from the administration. “A meeting regarding the implementation of Act was already been conducted in 2008 with the polybags manufacturers and they all had given their consent to comply with the prescribed norms, yet they never followed the norms thereafter. But, now that it has been a ruling of the government to implement the Act, the manufacturers are bound to abide by the provisions laid down under this Act and follow it religiously in the interest of the society as a whole,” Kharbanda said.

Amritsar, April 29
Seeking a high-level probe into the selling of agricultural land situated across the fence, Kishan Chand, a resident of Sewa Nagar, Ram Tirath Road, has levelled serious allegations against the Tehsildar of area.

He alleged that Tehsildar Prem Chand sold more than three and half acre of land, which was in the name of his three maternal uncles of his father, by forging documents and producing fake persons.

The land is situated across the border fence and falls in the river belt of Ravi near border village Rania. The government has acquired more than 1,200 acres of land for constructing a seed farm and suitably compensated the owners of the land, he said.

Kishan Chand said his father had three maternal uncles --- Hukum Singh, Divan Chand and Moola Singh --- who expired in 1926, 1965 and 1973, respectively, and appointed him the special attorney of the said property.

He said in December 2010 they approached the Tehsildar for the ownership and the compensation as per the rules of the government and provided him all the documents and proofs. He said the official told him to come a few days later.

“Thereafter, we made frequent rounds to his office, but he neither responded to our requests nor picked up our calls. Later, we came to know that the land was recently sold by one Vijay Kumar of Chheharta by producing fake persons in the name of his three grandfathers and forging the documents. The address of accused Vijay given in the document was also found to be fake,” alleged Kishan Chand, while addressing the media.

Surinder Billa, President, All-India Shiv Sena, who accompanied the complainants urged the Deputy Commissioner to hold high-level inquiry and register criminal case against the official. He said the government should hold a probe into the ownership of the land which was acquired by the government for a seed farm.

Kahan Singh Pannu, Deputy Commissioner, said he had already marked an inquiry into the case and strict action would be taken against the culprit persons. He said land would be restored to its real owners after the thorough probe.

Refuting the allegations, Prem Chand said he had registered the said land in the name of the government for a seed farm on the basis of the documents produced before him by one Vijay kumar.

“If they had any dispute regarding the land with the persons who produced the documents before him, he should have moved to the court instead of levelling false allegations against any official,” he said.

Amritsar, April 29
Menace of dogs continues to haunt city residents. Advanced Minimally Invasive Vas Occulsion Technique (MIVOT) to sterilise male dogs introduced two years ago has failed to deliver the desired results.

Heralded as least-painful technique, it could not be used on the canine population for want of funds.

Felicitated and supported by the district administration, the MIVOT was introduced on August 14, 2009. The target was to sterilise 14,000 male dogs in the district in the next six months.

The technique was developed by principal investigators Prof RCM Kaza, Department of Surgery, Maulana Azad Medical College, Dr Baljit Kaur, State NSV Trainer Punjab, and co-investigators Dr Simrat Sagar Singh and Dr NS Saini, both from Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana.

The MIVOT in male does not spill blood, causes very little discomfort, practically required no post operative care and is cost effective yet it could not be harnessed to its full optimal value.

He informed that there were about 40,000 stray dogs in the district and many incidents of dog biting and mauling of children were reported.

The population of dogs has risen sharply after their impounding and euthanising were replaced by animal birth control (ABC) in 1998 following protests by the animal welfare activists.

On the other hand, the growing number of stray dogs was terrorising the citizens. Pedestrians, cyclists and two-wheeler riders are easy targets for these canines.

A social worker, Surjit Sharma said dogs chase the riders of two-wheelers and bicycles to bite them. He said aged, children and women were vulnerable to their attacks and injuries.

He said cases of dog bite were rising and victims have to undergo severe pain and expensive treatment.

A resident inside the walled city Jasbir Singh said menace of dogs was more terrifying in the congested narrow lanes of the interior city.

He said presence of street dogs served as night watchmen to alert the residents of the locality.

However, there were many drawbacks of their presence. “Dogs are overpopulated and they could be seen anywhere”, he said.

He said many of them were ailing with skin problems and rabbies. In absence of their proper treatment they pose problem to fellow dogs.

Animal Husbandry Deputy Director Dr Pawan Kumar Gandhi said the MIVOT was used on only 700 dogs. He said his department had sufficient staff and wherewithal to carry out the male sterilisation.

However, lack of funds was a hinderance to realise the full potential of the technique. He said these operations were carried out with the logistic support of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation and Blue Cross Animal Welfare Society.

He opined that a holistic approach was needed to curb the menace with the active participation of city residents. He stressed that dog-bound spaces be created and adoption of puppies by the resident be undertaken.

He said his department had adequate infrastructure in shape of veterinary hospitals located in different parts of the city to carry out the MIVOT.

At present, sterlisation is carried out at veterinary hospital outside Hathi Gate. Dr Gandhi said Veterinary Polyclinic at Verka, vet hospitals at Chattiwind gate and near Khalsa College could efficiently be used for curbing the menace of stray dogs. 

Amritsar, April 29
The Initiative for Viable Education (IVE), an NGO, has decided to hold exhibition of products like Phulkari, paper bags, show pieces and others prepared by maids and wives of construction labourers.

All these hapless women and their wards are being prepared to meet the challenges of modern age at the NGO, being run by parentless girl Pearl Jasra from her 240-yard house at Greenfield locality.

These women do Phulkari work on handkerchiefs, stoles and various sizes of fabrics while their wards receive education from Pearl. With a view to economically empower these women, she encouraged them to utilise their embroidery skills in dishing out creative fabrics. They are also preparing paper bags, key chains and show pieces.

Pearl said the IVE would soon hold an exhibition to sale these items. She said they were looking for a conducive place to sale these products and instill a sense of entrepreneurship among these marginalised women.

She is also taking care of educational needs of 122 children aged between four to 16 years. Most of them come from slum colonies located near her house. For this she converted rooms of his house into classrooms. Besides, she motivates and shapes up careers of these children whose parents generally eke out their living by pulling rickshaw and work as domestic helps. There are children who have abandoned by their mothers.

From her bubbly look and vivacious temperament, Pearl Jasra looks any next door girl. However, her extraordinary work belies her outlook.

For 24-year-old Pearl, her own tragic background teaches her to help the downtrodden. She lost her mother when she was 12 and her father soon after. She experienced the emotional pangs at a very tender age which made her strong mentally to face the challenges of life with guts.

At that time Krishnaji, her maid, who was once associated with her mother, returned to the house with Kamini, an adopted child who was but a piece of “starved flesh.” Little Pearl tended to, fed and caressed Kamini with love, who eventually returned to life. Subsequently, Kamini brought with her many of her friends who would land at Pearl house everyday for a bit of education and fun.

Putting behind her personal loss and grief, she is pursuing her passion for ameliorating suffering of others with fortitude and grit. Her effervescent personality has helped her in befriending children who in turn love her from their heart. For them she is their teacher, guide, motivator, friend and sister. She finds immense pleasure in teaching children numbers, reciting poems and celebrating their birthdays, New Year and other festivals with them.

She started teaching and taking care of these students about seven years back. From a bunch of about 20 children the strength has now gone to 122. In family, she has one maternal uncle, Dr Ernest Albert, who acts as an emotional support and a guiding force. With her little resources, she has successfully persuaded some affluent families of the city to financially support children’s education.

She carefully monitors kids’ homework, giving special emphasis on improving their communication skills since these children come from ‘illiterate’ homes. Story-telling sessions are incorporated to inculcate moral values. The IVE has identified many families, comprising widows, orphans and other underprivileged, who would like to keep sending such children to the schools.

Amritsar, April 29
Giving a golden chance to those students who could not take the environmental studies (compulsory paper) BA Part-II and III examinations on March 22, the GND University has announced a fresh date for holding the examination again on May 28 (from 8.30 am to 11.30 am).

Prof R.K. Bedi, Professor In charge (Examinations), said for the paper the Amritsar-29, Guru Nanak Bhawan (Sangat Hall) of Guru Nanak Dev University has been setup as examination centre.

Similarly, the Jalandhar-21, DAV College, Block-1, would be another centre for the paper. He said all the students who missed the paper had been advised to appear at these examination centres along with roll number slip and copy of letter from the university before 8.30 am. He said any student who missed this compulsory paper again would not be given another chance.