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Renovation work of Guru Nanak Stadium stalled as ASI raises objection
Investigating officer in dowry case caught taking bribe
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Students in celebration mode
Now, knee replacement surgery a 15-minute affair
IAFA members sort out differences on constitution
Admission to Class XI
Exhibition of books, paintings on Tagore
Duronto Train |
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Renovation work of Guru Nanak Stadium stalled as ASI raises objection
Amritsar, June 3 It has objected to the construction of pavilion being built towards the main entrance at Madan Mohan Malwia road just opposite to the historic Ram Bagh belonging to legendary Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The stadium is situated in the close vicinity of the summer palace of Maharaja, which is declared as heritage site and protected monument by the government under the Ancient Monuments, Archeological Sites and Remains Act 1959. The ASI in its notice had pointed out that as per the Act any construction and renovation work was strictly prohibited under the 100-metre radius from the ancient monument. The stadium is situated just about 97 metres from the Summer Palace which the ASI authorities said is direct violation of the Act. It is evident to mention here that the Punjab Government had selected 14 stadiums in the state, Guru Nanak Stadium being one of them, for upgradation. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had announced provision of state-of-the-art facilities for these stadiums. Under the project, Rs 7 crore was allocated for this multipurpose stadium, including Rs 2 crore for installing floodlights. Public Works department is carrying out the construction work in the stadium. Former hockey Olympian, Balbir Singh Randhawa said that the improvement in the infrastructure would definitely have been proved beneficial for the budding sportspersons as many indoor stadiums for various sports activities besides a small Astroturf is being constructed for promising hockey players. He appealed to central government and concerned authorities including ASI to review the decision sympathetically as it are concerned with the future sportspersons of the country. Harjinder Singh, Junior Engineer, PWD, who is part of the team carrying out the development work at Guru Nanak Stadium confirmed that the work has been stopped. He said the department has sent documents to director, Department of Sports, for taking the requisite permission from the ASI. Till the permission is granted the work is stalled, he added. |
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Investigating officer in dowry case caught taking bribe
Amritsar, June 3 Piari, a resident of Nehru Colony, in her complaint to the VB, said about three years back her son Jaspal Masih married Rupinder Kaur of Gurdaspur against her wishes after which she had disowned him. She said after the marriage, the relations between Jaspal and his wife got strained and they started living separately. She alleged that Rupinder lodged a complaint at Sadar Police Station on the charges of demanding dowry against her and her family members Sonu, Pinki and Thomas Masih and a case was registered at Sadar police station. Ravcharan Singh, SSP Vigilance, said Robin Masih was appointed the investigating officer, who started demanding bribe from them for not arresting them. A special team was constituted under Dilbagh Singh, DSP, and the accused was arrested red-handed while accepting bribe in the presence of government witnesses, including Ramesh Chander, ETO, Excise and Taxation Department, and Amritpal Singh, Junior Engineer, PWD. A case under Section 7, 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the
ASI. |
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Students in celebration mode
Amritsar, June 3 Thanks to the CBSE’s innovative continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) system, introduced last year, that enabled students to achieve stupendous results. And it was evident in Amritsar schools too. At least 30 students out of 168 of the Senior Study II, Putlighar, grabbed Cumulative Grade Point Aggregate (CGPA) of 10 points meaning A1 grade in all the subjects. Students along with their teachers celebrated the occasion by performing bhangra on the beats of dhol and exchanging sweets. Principal Vijay Mehra said it was hard earned success and something to be proud of. “I attribute this to the board’s policy of allowing students to express themselves in more broader and transparent way,” he said. Same atmosphere engulfed the campus of Springdale School. All 256 students who appeared for Class X passed the exam, while 14 students scored grade point of 10 in all the subjects which brought them at par with national toppers. Principal Rajiv Kumar Sharma, who has been appointed as the Master Trainer and Mentor and Monitor by CBSE for Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) and Examination Reforms Implementation, said the success of students is the success of the CCE system. “This establishes the integrity of teachers and the system, which has been of very high standards as per the true spirit of CCE incorporated as per the CBSE guidelines. It has also allayed the apprehensions of CBSE officials, who feared that conferment of complete autonomy on the schools might hamper the real evaluation and assessment,” he said. He added that the result of the school has shown gradual improvement comparable with the results of the previous years when students’ performances were assessed through board exams. “No wonder the CBSE has chosen Spring Dales as a hub to implement and monitor the CCE system,” he said. Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary Public School, GT Road, achieved yet another milestone by achieving excellent result in Class X this time. As many as 41 students broke records by getting 10 points of CGPA. Principal Dr Dharam Veer Singh too endorsed the CCE experiment. Glorious moments marked the occasion on the premises of DAV International School too. Out of a total of 178 students who appeared for the exams 87 students got more than 9 CGPA and 143 students got more than 8. Total number of students getting 10 CGPA is 32. Besides this, 13 students got 9.8 CGPA, 11 students got 9.6 CGPA, nine got 9.4 CGPA, six got 9.2 CGPA and 16 got 9 CGPA. Principal Anjana Gupta congratulated them and their parents and also wished them for their better and brighter future. At DAV Public School, all the 341 students passed in the examinations. Out of the total, 72 scored perfect A1 and CGPA of 10 points in each subject, 19 scored between 9.8 and 9.6 points and 20 others were placed at 9.4 and not the least 58 scored above 9.2 points. The students of Bhavan’s SL Public School too had 100 per cent success rate. Out of a total of 109 students appeared, 18 per cent scored more than 90 per cent, 57 per cent scored more than 75 per cent, 87 per cent got more than 60 per cent. Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1, Amritsar Cantonment, also secured 100 per cent result in Class X. Principal Kusum Malhotra said a total of 221 students appeared in the examination. Seven students got 10 points on CGPA scale. |
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Now, knee replacement surgery a 15-minute affair
Amritsar, June 3 Based on Advanced Planning Software created in the US, a 3D model of the knee was prepared at the hospital through advanced equipment and the image was sent to the US where a personalised knee was created and sent back to the hospital. Dr Manuj Wadhawa, consultant orthopaedician and joint replacement surgeon of the hospital, claimed that the new technique would eliminate 22 steps during the surgery as compared to a conventional surgery which also mean reduced infections, anaesthesia requirements, blood loss, faster recovery and a longer lasting implant solution. He said the new technique was recently launched in the US and has proved a boon for patients suffering from knee joint pain. Explaining the technique, he said recent studies show that no two knees are alike. There are variations in size, shape and the extent and kind of damage involved. Hence, through specialised software and CT scans taken on advanced and sophisticated CT scanners, a 3D model of the knee is created. This helps determine the correct implant size and placement, based on the patient’s own knee anatomy. The image is then sent to DePuy Orthopaedics in the US, where personalised guides are fabricated and delivered to the hospital. Dr HP Singh, medical superintendent of the hospital, said such personalised total knee replacements surgeries are less invasive with much smaller incisions and this allows quicker and less painful recovery. It also results in an increased range of motion, a more ‘natural’ feeling knee, and greater ease in sitting, squatting, golfing, biking and gardening. There will be fewer complications and longer-lasting results. The surgery with latest technology would cost the patient approximately Rs 4 lakh as against Rs 3 lakh in the traditional form. |
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Bring domestic servants under labour laws: Unions
Amritsar, June 3 Daswinder Kaur, general secretary of AITUC, who was accompanied by various communist leaders including Amarjit Singh Asal and Jagtar Singh Karampura alleged that women and girls working in households and private institutions were exploited as they do not either come under any organised job sector nor covered under any labour laws. She said all the domestic labourers would go on one-day strike on June 7 on their demands of minimum wages Rs 500 per work. Their other demands included a weekly off and bring those workers under labour laws who work for at least eight hours daily such as in hospitals. She said all the domestic workers would gather outside the Deputy Commissioner Office on June 7 and would submit a memorandum regarding the demands to him. They also urged the authorities to provide ration on subsidised rate to them besides issuing bus passes for those workers who come from far away places to work in the city. |
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IAFA members sort out differences on constitution
The district administration-appointed five-member committee reviewed the constitution and suggested amendments to it in its report submitted to Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu, also chairman of the IAFA, about a fortnight ago. Pannu held many meetings with the panel to narrow down the differences. The members of the academy reached a mutual understanding over bringing down the endowment fund from 50 per cent to 30 per cent of the total income of the academy. It means that the Academy could spend 70 per cent of the Academy’s income on promotion of art and welfare of artists. Besides, membership fee for the artists has been reduced to Rs 5,000 while non-artists would have to shell out Rs 25,000 from Rs 10,000 previously. With a view to keeping majority of the artists in the Academy intact, number of non-artists in the Academy could not exceed 40 per cent of the total members. Election reforms were the main agenda. Instead of patron, chairman would act as Chief Election Commissioner who could further appoint election commissioners. It was decided that the patron would be a decorative post and would not control election. As per the new understanding, president would need nomination from three members instead of 30 members. Similarly, secretary and 18-member governing council would require nomination of two members each. Earlier, secretary needed nomination of 25 members and members governing council needed nomination of three members. However, major differences now remain on definition of artists and eligibility criteria for the appointment of president, which would ultimately define elections. These members stressed that the constitution must define the term artist so that the members and president of the IAFA could be appointed smoothly. A section of the members demands that the artist is a self-defining term whereas the other section demands that a person can qualify as an artist if he or she possessed a Fine Arts degree or has participated thrice in a state or a national level exhibition organised by a recognised art gallery or exhibition. Similarly, members differ on inserting a clause that only visual artists and another group that artist be made the president. A section opined that at the centre also Sahitya, Sangit and Lalit (Fine Arts) were separate wings. On the same pattern, the IAFA was formed for visual artists, which includes painting, sculpture, photography and graphics. Earlier, disagreement among 139 members over the amended constitution, which was passed about two years ago, had forced the district administration to intervene. The constitution of the body is as old as the Academy, which was established to promote art and culture by Master Gurdit Singh, an eminent artist of that time, in 1928. However, some years ago, members of the body in order to effect election reforms unanimously decided to amend the constitution. A section of the members doubted the intention of the amended constitution which was adopted by the Academy’s general house nearly two years ago. They alleged that provisions of president’s nomination by 30 members and secretary by 25 members made election impossible to be held as the constitution debars the members limit to exceed 100. |
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Admission to Class XI
Amritsar, June 3 This Punjab Government's project has been going on with the initiative of Prof A.S. Brar since 2009-2010 and classes are being held at Khalsa College Public School. This is the second batch of students who were selected today. Prof Brar said besides the syllabus of 10+1, the selected students would be imparted training to enable them to crack IIT entrance test and other national level tests. They would be provided boarding and lodging and education free of cost by the Punjab Government, he added. He also expressed his gratitude towards the Punjab Government for this endeavour. Prof MPS Ishar, secretary of the society, said out of 818 students, 782 students appeared in the entrance test. He added that last year 582 students had appeared for the test. Among the 69 students called for counselling today, 48 students, including 14 girls, were selected for admission to Class 10+1. There are separate hostels for boys and girls, he said. Dr Sarvjit Kaur Brar, Principal of Khalsa College Public School, said in addition to teaching, other facilities would also be provided to these students. |
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Exhibition of books, paintings on Tagore
Amritsar, June 3 Prof Rajinderjit Kaur Pawar, Dean, Academic Affairs performed the opening ceremony and hoped the exhibition will create national outlook, sense of unity among diversity, love for books even in other languages and awareness about the writings of Tagore. She also spoke about poet’s works, including Geetanjali on which Tagore won the Nobel Prize. His two national anthems are sung in India and Bangladesh as well, she added. Earlier, Dr HS Chopra, University Librarian, said around 125 books written by Tagore and paintings will be on display till June 7 from 9 am to 5 pm. |
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Duronto Train
Amritsar, June 3 Dr Sidhu said people of Amritsar face problems in commuting between Amritsar and Chandigarh and the train should be started without any further delay. Meanwhile, Navjot Singh Sidhu assured that he would talk to the authorities concerned for the early start of the train. Sanjiv Khanna, chairman, Improvement Trust, general secretary Somdev Sharma, secretary Ashok Sehgal, Girish Sharma, secretary, district BJP, members of Art of Living Anish Dua, Raman Aggarwal and many other NGOs were also present on the occasion. Meanwhile, the chain fast being observed by the activists of the Left parties today entered 45th day. They demanded immediate starting of the proposed train and facilitate the Amritsar railway station with requisite facilities and cleanliness. |
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Amritsar, June 3