Amritsar, July 19
The Punjab State Tourism Department (PSTD) would take one year more to open the mid-18th century Gobindgarh Fort to the public.

The hospitality industry, guides and art lovers are peeved over the delay in the opening of the fort to the public. They complained that the delay had hit their business interest and slowed down investment in the industry.

The Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHRA) General Secretary APS Chatha said the delay had hit the industry hard. He said once the fort was opened for the public it would increase the inflow of tourists and would also prolong their stay here. He recalled that following the state government’s request Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his visit to the city had personally given the keys to the then Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in December 2006.

However, after the conclusion of all formalities the Army garrison stationed in Gobindgarh Fort handed over the possession to the state’s Tourism Department on October 6, 2008. It had brought cheers among the people who had been waiting to get access to the legacy of legendary Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

Tourist guide Gurinder Singh Johal reasoned that since the holy city received the maximum tourists and pilgrims in the state, the government must put in all out efforts to complete the hanging tourist projects here. He anticipated that tourist inflow would increase manifold once the fort was opened.

He said tourist especially coming from across the country regularly ask them to show places associated with Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was the first Indian ruler to prevent invaders coming from Khyber pass in the medieval history of India.

Conservationist Gurmit Rai, who is associated with the conservation of Gobindgarh fort, said the first phase of renovation with the investment of Rs 1.5 crore, funded by the Ministry of Tourism, was over. She refused that any delay had occurred in restoring the fort. She said after handing over of the fort in 2008 a three-metre high wall had to be raised as per the defence rules to distinguish the fort area from the Army’s.

History

Bhangi misl rulers, one of the 12 Sikh misls, constructed the fort in 1760 and it was known as ‘Bhangian Da Qila’. Maharaja Ranjit Singh conquered the fort in 1825 and it remained under his occupation till the British took over in 1845. Maharaja had named the fort as Qila Gobindgarh after the name of tenth Sikh master, Guru Gobind Singh. The British used it to house the Army. In 1948, Gobindgarh Fort was taken over by the Indian Army. Following the Independence of India and the ensuing Partition, the fort gave shelter to a wide number of Pakistani refugees. The Army continues to occupy part of the periphery of the fort and a special road has been built to separate the Army unit and a separate entry provided for the general public to visit the fort.

Amritsar, July 19
For the first time ever, the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) has taken up the job of funding infrastructure projects in the city.

It would spend whopping Rs 250 crore for as many as seven projects, from widening railway overbridge to construct flyovers to ease traffic and from improving civic amenities to on security apparatus.

Leaders of the BJP and SAD announced theses projects one after another in this election year. That the motive was to gain as much publicity as possible can not be ruled out since it would take many years to finish them. However, the AIT would have an uphill task to arrange the funds for these ambitious projects.

AIT chairman Sanjiv Khanna said arranging funds would not be a challenging task. He recalled that the trust had a nominal cash of Rs 2.5 crore when he joined the office a year ago. He said the trust now has Rs 72 crore.

He informed that Rs 25 crore was earned from the 97-acre Ranjit Avenue residential scheme and rents were recovered from defaulters. He said plots were confiscated of those who did not pay the remaining amount after depositing the initial 10 per cent sum. He said these plots were then sold off in an auction.

One of the biggest and much needed projects to ease the traffic congestion is the construction of railway overbridge near Bhandari bridge that will cost Rs 93 crore. Khanna said the code of conduct would not halt the project as all needed approvals had been taken.

Flyovers connecting the Mall road with Court Chowk and another bridging Four S chowk with Dental College road would ease traffic at two major points of the city. These flyovers would cost Rs 77 crore.

On sanitation, roads and sewerage, the AIT would spend another Rs 25 crore while Rs four crore would be invested in installing CCTV cameras at all vital intersections, entry and exit points of the city. The trust has already passed a resolution to construct 2,000 sitting capacity auditorium in Ranjit Avenue with a cost of Rs 15 crore. The responsibility to carry out Rs 36 crore beautification of Durgiana Temple is also bestowed upon it. 

Amritsar, July 19
Experts coming from diverse fields of energy were unanimous in their opinion that adoption of energy saving equipments, techniques and fuels to curtail expenses on rising inputs was necessary to compete in the domestic and international market.

These experts gathered at a workshop on ‘Energy Efficiency with Focus on Textile Sector’, organised by CII Punjab State Council and Bureau of Energy Efficiency here on Monday.

JN Vohra, coordinator, Northern India Textile Mills Association, said it was high time for the textile industry to change fuel from coal to husk fired furnaces. He said it cost nominal Rs 3 lakh for installing the system for a three-tonne boiler.

He stressed that the medium and small-scale industrialists must install fluided bed in boilers to prevent ashes to escape. He added that ash released carbon dioxide and had negative impact on health of workers. He advocated installation of solar preheating system for feeding into boilers as they heat water at 40 to 50 degree Celsius.

Kamal Dalmia, vice-chairman, CII Amritsar Zonal Council said with an objective to create awareness on energy efficiency techniques for the industry in extreme competitive business scenario the workshop was held.

Ishwar Das, superintendent engineer, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, highlighted the initiatives taken by PSPCL to promote energy efficiency among different segment of its consumers especially the industry. He further asked the industry to look for innovative solutions that could help conserve energy.

Rajeev Yadav, project engineer, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), highlighted the role of the BEE in promoting energy efficiency services across the country through its value added services. He educated the gathering of textile industrialists to of various techniques for efficient use of energy and its conservation.

SIDBI Deputy General Manager RC Raina spoke about various financing options available to the industrialist through SIDBI.

Among others, Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) Senior Manager Balkar Singh, Professor KR Chari from Birla Institute of Management and Technology, Ministry of Textile Deputy Director VK Kohli, CII Avantha Centre for Competitiveness Energy Engineer Ankit Nagar, Shawl Club India General Secretary PL Seth, CII Amritsar First Core Group Convenor DP Singh briefed the participants about energy efficiency initiatives.

Amritsar, July 19
Rates of wood and its finished products have risen by 20 per cent in comparison to the last year. VAT, hike in wood, paints and other material drove the traders to increase the prices.

Traders dealing in wood and its finished products rued imposition of high VAT. They said on wood nearly 13.75 per cent VAT was imposed. Similarly, equal VAT was being charged on finished products.

Amritsar Wood Commission Agent Association president Rajinder Singh said in neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, the governments charge five per cent VAT. He said difference in tax left them unable to compete in highly competitive business.

He said the government departments did not distinguish between wood and its finished products. Hence, both were brought under the similar tax form. He said numerous representations had been made to separate both products and rationalise the taxes.

Proprietor of a leading furniture store Avtar Singh said high tax dissuaded customers from demanding receipts of the purchased items. He said normal taxes would eventually increase the revenue for the government.

He said high taxes coupled with rise in paints, polished and other materials had certainly increased the prices of wood products by 20 per cent. He said constant hike in these products had driven the interest of consumers towards boards. He said boards, which are made from popular tree, also attracted high VAT. Although many factories for manufacturing boards were located in Amritsar but these were also procured Pathankot, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

Another trader Harish Kumar said wood of sheesham, neem, safaida, tahrek were found in ample quantity within the state. While kail and deodar trees, widely used in construction, were procured Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

Tarn Taran, July 19
The Congress would lodge its protest against police atrocities on party workers by staging a dharna at the SSP office here on July 25.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the District Congress Committee (DCC).

Dr Dharamveer Agnihotri, DCC president, and former minister Gurchet Singh Bhullar condemned the state government for its failure on all fronts particularly on the law and order.

The leaders said the police stations in the district were being controlled by the ministers, MLAs and leaders of the ruling SAD.

They said the police had become a puppet in the hands of ruling party which was why Congressmen were being falsely implicated in criminal cases. 

Amritsar, July 19
The Congress on Tuesday condemned the incident in which one Jugraj Singh, alleged to be an Akali leader, and his son Arundeep Singh were rescued by several persons when a police party of Amloh police station were taking them to Fatehgarh Sahib.

Jasbir Singh Dimpa, former Congress MLA from Beas, alleged that the state government had bowed to the criminals and miserably failed to maintain the law and order situation in Punjab.

While alleging in a press statement issued here, he said the police under the SAD-BJP rule had failed to nail hardcore criminals like Jugraj Singh who was involved in a number of criminal cases of fraud, forgery, vehicle-lifting and drug trafficking.

It is pertinent to mention here that Jugraj and his son were caught by the Amloh police a day before yesterday. However, a number of armed persons, led by Kanwaljit Singh, chased the police party till Beas, attacked, freed them from the police custody and fled away. Kanwaljit Singh, BJP unit president from Baba Bakala, is considered to be a close confidant of an Akali leader from Beas.

“This incident reminded those black days of terrorism in Punjab and create an atmosphere of fear in the minds of people,” said Dimpa while adding that the Amritsar rural police has become a tool in the hands of Akali leaders and the recent incident clearly shows that the Akali government had weekend the police.

Dimpa said the state head of police is busy in ‘politics’. 

Amritsar, July 19
Following the outbreak of jaundice in the Maqboolpura area situated on the outskirts of the city, the residents have submitted a memorandum to MP Navjot Singh Sidhu urging him to ensure overall development of the locality.

Maqboolpura, ingloriously known as locality of widows, has seen large section of men losing their lives to drugs.

Master Ajit Singh, one of the founder members of the Citizen Forum Vidya Mandir (a school for the children of drug addicts), in the memorandum said for the overall development of the area it was necessary to nail drug peddling that is going on without any check.

Consecutive governments and the police failed to end the menace as criminals involved in drug peddling allegedly enjoyed political patronage. The area always received step-motherly treatment and authorities turned a blind eye to the development of the area.

Master Ajit Singh pointed out that the Municipal Corporation should replace the existing old water pipes with the new one so that the residents could get safe drinking water. He said recently a large number of residents were found suffering from hepatitis A and E that became the reason for spread of jaundice.

He urged the MP to direct the authorities to provide free treatment to the patients who were found hepatitis positive at government-run hospitals.

He also appealed to the MP to provide streetlights in the area saying that absence of streetlights encouraged the anti-social elements.

He urged Sidhu to direct MC authorities for covering the drain passing through Maqboolpura, which has become a source of various diseases.

He said a greenbelt should be created by covering this nullah that would be maintained by the students of the school along with responsible people of the area.

Amritsar, July 19
Sugar fluctuation in diabetic patients can be life threatening and about 3 to 5 per cent patients die because of this reason, revealed Dr Rohit Kapoor, an expert of diabetes and heart diseases while introducing continuous glucose monitoring machine (CGMS) in the city.

Dr Kapoor, director, Carewell Hospital, said the fluctuation of sugar could be controlled by keeping round the clock monitoring of sugar level in a diabetic patient. He said with the help of CGMS, a small machine could monitor the blood glucose continuously for three-four days. He said after this the data gathered by the machine could be transferred in a computer to know the glucose fingerprint of the patient.

He said the data thus gathered helped in fixing the requisite dose in order to control the glucose level, besides reducing the risk of sudden death of the patient due to glucose fluctuation.

He said the sugar level fluctuates in 60-80 per cent patients and due to this the chances of high-blood pressure and sudden cardiac arrest also increased.

Amritsar, July 19
The Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Award has been conferred upon Dr Narpinder Singh, Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology of Guru Nanak Dev University, by Indian Council of Agricultural Research at the “83rd ICAR Foundation Day and Award Ceremony Function” at Delhi for his outstanding contribution in Agricultural Sciences for 2010.

The award is meant for individual scientist for their extraordinary, original, creative contributions in advancement of basic sciences concepts, development of new technology and enhancement of productivity, profitability and sustainability of agriculture. This award was conferred upon him for his outstanding contribution in the field of natural resource management and agricultural engineering.

His research work explains variation in structural and functional properties of starches present in different crops (potato, corn, rice, wheat, field peas, chickpea, kidney beans, black gram, amaranth, mango kernel, unripe-apples), their lines and varieties. In addition, the findings of his laboratory have been useful in understanding the differences in processing attributes of different cereals and tubers. He has around 170 publications to his credit, which include research papers, review papers, book reviews and book chapters.

He is recipient of many awards like JC Bose National Fellowship and Fellow of Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS).

Amritsar, July 19
The controversy over vacation of rented building at Basti Nau in Jalandhar by Guru Nanak Dev University refuses to die down.

Showing the Judgement orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Congress delegate, Harpal Bhatia, demanded CBI probe in this connection. He also urged the Punjab Governor and Chancellor of the University for an immediate dismissal of Dr Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, so that he could not tamper with records. Bhatia in a press conference alleged that the senior SAD leaders were behind this episode. He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should clarify his stand on this issue.

While answering queries, he said the VC should come forward with documentary proofs, orders of Punjab and Haryana High Court and statement filed by the GNDU in the court in this regard. These should be brought before the public as the issue is related with the future of a large number of students belonging to economically weaker sections of society.

He claimed that it was only on the undertaking given by the VC that the high court ordered the vacation of the rented building. “The VC should clarify whether he had passed any resolution or brought the matter in the syndicate,” questioned Bhatia.

When contacted, Dr Brar said that the university was running its college from the rented building for the last more than 40 years and the university was never the owner of the building. It was owned by an NRI family. He said the High Court, after hearing both the parties, pronounced its judgement on January 8, 2010, that the university would have to vacate the building. However, keeping in view the interests of the studies of students, it allowed the university to stay on the premises for one year more. “I am ready to face any probe. Instead of going to media again and again he should approach court or write to chancellor or the President of India,” he said.

Amritsar, July 19
As many as 365 students from as many schools displayed science models based on various themes during the INSPIRE award programme - 2011, organised at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Mahn Singh Gate, here.

Students belonged to Class VI, VII and VIII. A senior-level science fair-cum-competition would be organised from July 21.

Kailash Chander Sharma, district science supervisor, said the students showcased science models based on environmental issues, functioning of satellites etc. He said out of 365 students, as many as 302 students belong to various government schools while remaining 63 belong to private or government-aided schools.

Sharma said 43 students from the district would be selected for the state-level competition. He said the selected students would be given Rs 5,000 for preparing a science model. The selected students would further participate in the national-level science fair the date for which is yet to be finalised by the Department of Science.

He said winner of this competition would be award during a programme on July 23 along with the winners of senior-level competition.

Earlier, the programme was inaugurated by Sandeep Rishi, SDM-I, who exhorted the participating students to adopt and develop scientific temperament.

It is pertinent to mention here that in order to enhance the interest of young students towards science, the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, initiated the nationwide Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Award Programme in which students from all over the country could participate and showcase their talent.