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Girl dies, 2 hurt as two
old buildings collapse
Many disasters waiting to happen
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Three gangsters arrested
in murder case
Murder accused in the police net. Photo: Vishal Kumar
Mission Aagaaz writes to PPCB Chairman
Blindness can’t stop Ashu from aiming high
Ashu (second from right) with Father Roby (extreme left) during a function at St Francis School in Amritsar. A Tribune photograph
Students rally for environment
World Hepatitis Day observedP.K. Jaiswar
Release grant for construction of advocates’ chambers:
Bar association to CM
NSUI seeks students’ poll
Women bodies protest over meagre salaries
Alpha G:Corp launches integrated township Grant for school
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Girl dies, 2 hurt as two
old buildings collapse
Amritsar, July 29 The incident took place at about 7 am during the downpour that lashed the city. The two old buildings had been declared unsafe by the Municipal Corporation. According to nearby residents, two families - with three members in each family - were residing in these buildings. The fire brigade that reached the site within a few minutes along with the residents of the area managed to rescue the members of the two families, but Bharti, a physically challenged and mentally upset girl as claimed by the residents, who had come to the ground floor for taking a bath when the building came trembling down, got trapped in the debris. As the two buildings were situated in very narrow lanes of Katra Ahluwalia, fire brigade persons had to toil hard to extricate the body of Bharti. “Her body could be brought out only in the afternoon at about 3 pm,” said Tarlochan Singh, Fire Officer. He said the injured persons were rushed to government-run Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. Kamlesh Rani, mother of Bharti, got her fractured, while remaining victims sustained minor injuries. They were identified as Kewal Kumar, his wife and son Sonu. Dharampal Gupta, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, besides officials from the district administration visited the spot. Mahesh Kumar, a shopkeeper of the area, said both the families were very poor. Bharti’s father had expired a decade ago, while her mother used to work as a domestic help.
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Many disasters waiting to happen
GS Paul Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 29 Just 100 yards away from this house, there is another such three-storey building, which is also on the verge of collapse. It has been learnt that a portion of this house, reportedly, collapsed three years ago. Ironically, the residents, living on the ground floor and some shopkeepers instead of moving to some other safer place, got the dilapidated walls of this house supported with wooden loafs fixed with walls of an adjoining building. Even though the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) was fully aware of such ‘disasters’, its actions were restricted only on papers and no concrete plan was ever adopted to demolish these buildings. In a recent survey, the AMC has identified 113 such oldest buildings in the city but was hesitant to go ahead with its plans to demolish them because of legal hitch which posed as a major snag. The occupants of these buildings too should learn a lesson from such incidents. In some cases, they do not even adhere to court orders for vacating the premises but continue to stay under these ‘roofs of disaster’, the officials maintained. “These buildings are dangerous for everyone living in the vicinity. Whenever it rains, we get scared and prey to God only to save these dilapidated structures because no one know when these building would come down while damaging our houses too”, said those who live next to such dangerous buildings. The Tribune team also spotted some century-old building located near Dharam Singh market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Gali Chhajju and Guru Bazaar Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh, Haveli Zamadara areas. These dilapidated buildings, at present, have families living on a rent. The roofs of these buildings were found to be supported with wooden planks. Three such buildings --- one each in Gali Laala Wali in the same locality, Tahli Wala Bazaar and Bartan wala Bazaar --- have collapsed in a similar manner during the last monsoons. Though no loss of life was reported, a substantial number of people had a narrow escape. Another cause of concern is that these locations are thickly populated. It has been learnt that some of the public service centres too are being run from the century old buildings. Thousands of residents visit these public centres to fulfill their government formalities. Officialspeak Municipal Town Planning Department’s Shakti Bhatia: Actually, we refrained from taking stern action because at least 60 per cent of these old properties have been entangled in courts on account of conflict between the owners and the tenants, who have occupied these building from over 70 years. When we ask them to vacate the place they show us stay orders, obtained from the court. So we retrain to interfere. MC Commissioner Dharampal Gupta: Still, the onus of liability falls on us, when such unfortunate incidents happen. We would expedite the proceedings of getting such unsafe buildings vacated and demolished in a safe manner. I would also appeal to the inhabitants of such buildings to move to safer place at least for the sake of their own lives.
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Three gangsters arrested
in murder case
Amritsar, July 29 He was kidnapped on July 15 and later his body was found in a canal near Gurdwara Baba Buddha Sahib here. A case under Sections 364, 120-B, 302, 201, 148 and 149 IPC was registered in this connection. Bahadur Singh, ADCP (crime), revealed that the incident was result of an old rivalry between two gangs. Punneet was member of another gang which had clashed with the group headed by Vikram Singh of Indira colony. Besides Vikram, others persons arrested by the police were Sandeep Singh of Bhrariwal and Sikander of Railway Colony, Parshuram Chowk. The ADCP said the accused were nabbed from near Bhagtanwal railway intersection after getting a tip-off. However, three of their accomplices managed to escape from the spot. He said the police party of CIA staff laid a special naka near Radha Krishan Colony in Bhagtanwala. During the checking, the police intercepted three persons driving two motorcycles on suspicious ground. They were later identified as Vikram, Sandeep and Sikandar. Their three accomplices, who dodged the police and fled with the motorcycles, were identified as Veeru Singh of Faqir Singh Colony, Ashu and Rohit of Indira Colony. During interrogation, the accused revealed that they stabbed Puneet to death at a secluded place near the gurdwara and later threw his body in the canal. The police recovered the sharp-edged weapons used in the crime from the spot. The ADCP said Vikram was a dreaded criminal and wanted in many criminal cases registered in Amritsar and Jalandhar. He said various police parties had been dispatched to carry out raids at suspicious hideouts of absconding accused.
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Polluting of Tung Dhab drain by industrial
units P.K. Jaiswar Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 29 In a communique to Kahan Singh Pannu, Chairman, PPCB, the organisation urged the board to make it sure that their effluent plants worked properly to detoxify the industrial waste. Gurbhej Singh, general secretary of the organisation, also appealed to Pannu to direct the industrial units to refrain from depositing fly ash and other waste along the course of the Tung Dhab drain, besides nearby rural areas. Referring to a study conducted by the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, on the directions of the PPCB, he said it pointed out the changes in genes occurred in the inhabitants living along the course of the drain, which was originally constructed as a rainwater channel. He said days were not far when children with deformities would be born in the area if the government, board and departments concerned failed to respond to the alarming situation soon. He said, “Even the milch animals like cows and buffaloes taking bath in this drain have contracted skin and various other diseases.” He said the Tung Dhab drain over the time had become a convenient place to discharge toxic effluent by the industrial units, while the underground water was being drawn recklessly much beyond the sanctioned quantity.
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Blindness can’t stop Ashu from aiming high
Amritsar, July 29 Now 22-year-old, Ashu has made quiet a mark in his circle. When abandoned, he was picked up by a woman who brought him to Mother Teresa Ashram at Ludhiana. After completing his graduation from the government college, Ludhiana, he successfully obtained a diploma in computer applications. It was his vision to excel in whatever he does. In this hi-tech world, he has learnt to operate computers and mobile phones. Moreover, he is quick to understand working of many more electronic devices. Ashu was specially invited to St Francis School, Amritsar, to share his experience and hardships, he faced in his life, with the schoolchildren. “I knew my capabilities. I look at myself for exploring all other talents that God has bestowed upon me. Today, I am proficient in Excel application and with the help of JOSS software, I can do digital documentation. I have applied for a government job and I am looking forward to have a happy married life ahead,” says Ashu, who never forgets to express his gratitude towards ashram staff, especially Father Roby and Dr EM Johnson who nurtured him to carry on with his studies. Ashu grew up in the Ludhiana ashram where he came across Father Roby who held the charge of the Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana then. Father Roby said the basic idea of inviting him to our school in Amritsar was to let our schoolchildren understand that however difficult the challenges may be, one should never lose hope and should be determined to be self-reliant. “Nothing is known about his biological parents or any of his relatives. Only this ashram was his home and the sisters managing this ashram were his family members. When he was five, I discovered that he has got an inquisitive mind. He was sent to the Vocational Rehabilitation Training Centre at Ludhiana. Simultaneously, he continued to study and opted for computer learning later. It was his determination and hard work which brought him success in his studies,” expressed Father Roby.
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Students rally for environment
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, July 29 NASA tour
A team of 27 students and 4 teachers of the Senior Study School returned to the city after an educational and recreational trip to NASA and Disneyland in the US. The students spent three days in NASA Kennedy Space Centre Orlando Florida, where they were given first hand astronaut training, simulation of manning an actual space shuttle with take off and dummy landings. They had a long discussion with Rick Searfoss, an American astronaut who has been on 3 Space missions and shared his experiences with them and also showed them actual rocks brought back from the moon. The group spent next four days in Disneyland and visited Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, Blizzard Beach, Hollywood Studio & Universal studios. “The children can’t stop talking about the rides, roller coasters, stage shows and morning and evening parades,” said Dr Shravan Mehra, who accompanied the group. The students visited the Niagara Falls in Buffalo. In New York they visited the Museum of National History, the UNO office, Wall Street, Madame Tussad’s Wax Works, the Statue of Liberty, 9/11 Memorial, Time Square and Empire State Building at New York City. Merit zone
Sumit Arora of Hindu College stood first in Amritsar district and seventh in Guru Nanak Dev University in MCom-1. Parul Mehra, a student of MCom-II, cleared UGC-NET. Three students were placed in the merit list of BCom (Prof)-I. Kulbhushan Arora was placed 13th, Roshni Jain 14th and Priyanka Dheer 20th. The CBSE has awarded certificates of merit to eight students of Spring Dale Senior School, who gave outstanding performances in the Class X examination held in 2010. These students have obtained A1 grade in all five subjects. The awardees include Jaskanwar Singh Gill, Kartik Aggarwal, Kunwar Pratap Singh, Shobhna Mittal, Amolak Singh Sandhu, Vibhav Gulati, Fatehpal Singh Batth and Hargun Kaur. Rajiv Kumar Sharma, Principal, “This was the last mandatory board exam conducted by the CBSE in 2010 for Class X before the implementation of CCE. It is creditable that these students have achieved such impressive scores.” |
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World Hepatitis Day observedP.K. Jaiswar
Amritsar, July 29 Keeping this in mind, the World Health Organisation marked July 28 as World Hepatitis Day in order to spread awareness about the disease recognising hepatitis as a major global threat and initiating steps for its prevention and control. “One in every 12 persons in the world is living with either chronic hepatitis B or C virus and majority of them are unaware of the fact,” said Dr Mohinish Chhabra, consultant gastroenterologist with a prominent hospital here. He said infection of HBV and HCV (hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus) results in inflammation of liver and studies revealed that 70 per cent of the patients came to know only at a later stage when they developed symptoms like fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, abdominal pain, dark urine, jaundice etc. “Liver is one of the vital organs which play a major role in detoxification, protein synthesis, production of biochemicals for digestion and metabolism. If it gets infected then it affects metabolism rate of the body to a high extent,” he pointed out. He said the virus spreads mainly through blood and sharing infected needles and syringes. Unsafe blood transfusion, unprotected sex, tattoo and ear and body piercing are another few reasons for spreading hepatitis infection. It can also transfer from pregnant mother to child before or during birth. Dr Chhabra said only one from four persons suffering from hepatitis infection gets rid of the virus naturally, while majority of the patients have to go through medication for a long time and about one in five people may develop severe liver damage, which can even lead to liver cancer or liver failure. While listing out the precautions for protecting oneself from hepatitis, he said one should maintain normal weight, avoid or limit alcohol consumption and drugs, especially intravenous drugs, avoid or quit smoking, follow nutritious and healthy diet, practising safe sex, besides getting regular health checkups. Difference between hepatitis B and hepatitis C
For Hepatitis B, vaccines are readily available, which need to be taken soon after birth, whereas Hepatitis C does not have any vaccine, but can be treated only when detected. If the infection is severe and chronic it may lead to death as well. |
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Release grant for construction of advocates’ chambers:
Bar association to CM
Amritsar, July 29 Pradeep Kumar Saini, president of the association, in a communiqué to the CM, said the lawyer community was piqued over the failure of the government in releasing funds as promised. He said a sum of Rs 2 crore, which was to be allocated as per the government notification in 2009, was not released for the last eight months. He said previous Deputy Commissioner had issued two reminders to the department concerned for the release of sanctioned grant but nothing has been done so far. |
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NSUI seeks students’ poll
Tarn Taran, July 29 Navjit Kirtowal, who led the deputation of the union, said as the country needed value-based politics, the students should be allowed to take part in active politics for which the elections in the colleges was must. |
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Women bodies protest over meagre salaries
Neelam Ghuman, state leader of the Istri Sabha, condemned the ‘atrocities’ being committed on women in society. She added the ASHA workers, anganwari workers, sewing teachers, mid-day meal workers were being exploited by the government by giving them meagre salary. Gayttari Devi, state president of the mid-day meal workers, demanded early release of the salary stopped for the past eight months. The organisations also presented memorandums to the officials. |
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Amritsar, July 29
handicapped girl after she got trapped under the
sdebris of her over-a-century old house at Katra Ahluwalia, reaffirmed that many such unsafe buildings in the holy city may collapse any time. 
With the arrest of three gangsters, the CIA staff on Friday claimed to have solved a kidnapping and murder case of one Puneet Kumar, a resident of Gurbax
Nagar. He was kidnapped on July 15 and later his body was found in a canal near Gurdwara Baba Buddha Sahib here. A case under Sections 364, 120-B, 302, 201, 148 and 149 IPC was registered in this connection.
His parents abandoned him at Ludhaina bus stand when he was just one and a half year old. Reason: He was visually impaired.
Now 22-year-old, Ashu has made quiet a mark in his circle.
Tarn Taran, July 29