|
|
|
|
Retirement of teachers
Family accuses pvt hospital of negligence
Janmashtami today, but few takers for clay toys
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Mayor-Youth Congress row: Jailed YC chief to go Anna-way
Looters devise new way to rob people
2-day workshop on joint fractures concludes
Students rally for ex-college mate
|
||||||||||
|
Retirement of teachers
Amritsar, August 21 Several departments of the institution have already been rendered headless and many are going to retire soon. Crores of rupees spent by the government to upgrade the facilities at the various departments here may go waste as the institution may run out of faculty leaving education services in the institutions under GMC paralysed. As many as 50 senior faculty members, including professors, associate professors, and assistant professors will retire by November 2015 while 16 more would retire by December 2012. "We have spent a better part of our careers in setting up these departments and do not want these to be closed down due to a shortage of staff or for any other reason. The patients visiting Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital and TB Hospital are poor and could not afford treatment in private hospitals," said a professor on the condition of anonymity. The urology department here is already facing a staff crunch while the plastic surgery department is in for a crisis as professor and head of the department Dr Vikram Parkash Gupta would retire on August 31. Dr Kanwaljit Kaur, professor and head of the Department of Radiography will also retire on December 31. The cardio-thoracic unit established in the multi-speciality and trauma centre in Guru Nanak Dev hospital would also be rendered headless. The only professor and head Dr Kuldip Singh Sidhu will superannuate by the end of this year. There is urgent need to appoint new faculty members besides conducting departmental promotion committee (DPC) meetings on a regular basis to improve the precarious situation in the GMC and its allied hospitals. As per the law the government should conduct DPC twice a year but it has not been the seen till now. Last year the DPC was conducted in December. Recently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Punjab Government to hold the DPC to promote the faculty to fill vacant posts. There are 252 posts of teachers while more than 20 per cent of these are lying vacant. The condition would further deteriorate in the next couple of years if the government failed to fill vacant posts. If the government failed to initiate steps to check this problem before the senior faculty members retire, what will be the fate of medical education is anybody's guess. This situation demands immediate attention from the authorities concerned even as the union health ministry has asked the state governments to increase MBBS and post-graduation seats in medical colleges to meet the shortage of medical officers in the country. The government has also initiated recruitment process to fill vacant posts but out of these only a few could be filled as candidates showed least interests in joining at higher posts. Faculty members suggest increase in the retirement age to overcome the problem. "All government medical colleges in the country have extended the retirement age from 60 to 62 years while in a large number of hospitals the age is 65 years. In private hospitals the retirement age is 65-70 years. Guru Gobind Singh Medical College, Faridkot, under Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences has extended the retirement age. Besides hiring fresh staff, an increase in the retirement age at GMC Amritsar and Patiala could help solve the problem, they point out. Officialspeak
Admitting that the situation is worrisome, Dr Sukhdyal Singh Shergill, Principal GMC, said the college authorities have intimated the government from time to time. It is now up to the Punjab government to fill the vacant posts, he added. Dr RS Sidhu, president, Punjab State Medical and Dental Teachers Association, said the government should shun the ad-hoc approach towards medical colleges as not only GMC, Amritsar, but even Government Medical College, Patiala, is also facing a similar crisis. "The government should also go for time bound promotions. We have eligible doctors in many departments. Holding a DPC regularly will solve the problem of teachers at the professor and senior level. The government should hold recruitment at the junior levels," said Dr
Sidhu. HEADLESS DEPARTMENTS
|
|
|
Family accuses pvt hospital of negligence
Amritsar, August 21 Harkanwaljit Singh, a resident of Jamarai village and husband of the victim, alleged that his pregnant wife Baljinder Kaur was admitted in the hospital on August 15 evening. He alleged that there was no permanent gynaecologist in the hospital. As the condition of his wife was serious, first the doctors said they could either save the child or the mother. The family gave consent to save the mother. Baljinder gave birth to dead twins. Later her conditions showed some improvement. He said a couple of day later she was again rushed to ICU due to deterioration in her health. He suspected that the hospital authorities had put her on ventilator when she had already died. Dr Kuldeep Singh, MD of the hospital, while refuting the charges, said when the family brought the patients she was suffering from acute jaundice which also affected the health of the twin children in the womb. He admitted that though the hospital did not have permanent gynaecologist, but expert gynaecologists visit the hospital and proper care was given to the patient. He said the woman had to be shifted to the ICU after her condition get worsen. Dr Singh said though Baljinder kaur, the patient was serious, she was still alive contrary to the allegations of the family that she had expired and that we had put her on ventilator unnecessarily.
|
|
|
Janmashtami today, but few takers for clay toys
Amritsar, August 21 Located in the walled city, the market earlier used to boast of primarily toy shops. But, with the passage of time they all gave way to the shops selling confectionery, cosmetic products, stationery, ready-made garments and other merchandise. However, all these shops don a new avatar and bring in these toys a couple of days ahead of Krishna Janmashtami and Diwali every year. The market has fallen on bad days as the residents started opting for electronic and battery operated toys. Taking a cue from the changing trends, the generation next of these clay artisans didn’t learn the art and chose to adopt other professions. In his early 30s, Rajesh Kumar learnt the art of making earthen toys under the watchful eyes of his father Sant Kumar, a proficient clay artist. However, in view of the declining trade, Sant pushed his son to outshine in studies. Subsequently, Rajesh graduated in commerce and became an accountant while his father also opened a stationery shop. Another skilled artisan, Om Prakash, lamented that today neither parents nor children have any inclination to hold “handoley” (to showcase birth of Lord Krishna with terracotta figures in forecourt of the houses) on Janmashtami. Surinder Kumar, a shopkeeper in his 50s, revealed that these days most of the earthen toys are procured from Lucknow, Jagadhari, Kanpur and Agra. He rued that indifferent attitude of the customers had taken a toll on quality of the workmanship. He said input cost has also shot up, adding that a horse driven cart of earth costs nearly Rs 500. The cost of colours has also gone up. Clay artists feel that the tradition is also on the verge of extinction as the number of children evincing interest in it has declined sharply. Gautam said he used to hold ‘hindole’ in his childhood and similar was the scenario in his neighbourhood. However, he no longer notices the same trend now and attributes the same to changing priorities, fast-paced life and inflation. Gautam Kumar, a city youth in his mid-20s, recalled that in childhood he used to go shopping clay toys during Janmashtami days. But now the things have changed and very few people go in for these toys these days. Grey matter
|
|
|
Mayor-Youth Congress row: Jailed YC chief to go Anna-way
Amritsar, August 21 Bassi, former District Youth Congress president, who alongwith 10 others, including NSUI activists were sent in judicial remand Amritsar Central Jail for allegedly assaulting the Mayor three days ago, has announced to sit on hunger strike from tomorrow in the jail premises. Bhupinder Singh Randhawa, convener of the Sangharsh Committee said, “The committee has been formed on the instance of Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and that they would intensify their agitation against the dictatorial attitude of the Mayor, representing the ruling SAD-BJP alliance in days to come.” He alleged that the Congress workers had been falsely implicated under serious allegations, whereas they staged their protest against Mayor in a democratic way on August 18 at Katra Ahluwalia. “It was their way of diverting the attention from the main focus which speaks volumes about their lack of vision and planning for the development of the city. ” he said.
|
|
|
Vanishing industry
Amritsar, August 21 Currently, the Department of Industries and Commerce has only seven units in Amritsar registered with it. Former fan unit owners and even industrialists found put forth plenty of reasons leading to closure of the industry. Satnam Singh Kanda, former president of the Amritsar Fan Manufacturers' Association, is running a guest house in the walled city where his factory was once located. He dubbed the Centre's change in policy regarding the supply of raw material as a major setback to the industry. He said the decision had been implemented in the early 1990s, following which uniform rates of raw material like iron, steel, coal, copper and others available across the country were discontinued. Disparity in the rates of raw material jacked up the cost of investment and created disparity in the prices of fans in the market. Steep price rise in raw material, including steel and wire prices, proved a death blow to the industry and they could not face the mounting losses. He said years of militancy had also proved a severe jolt to the once promising fan industry. "The apathetic attitude of the government was also evident as the industry had been reduced to a cottage industry." He said the government, irrespective of any political party, never bothered to appoint even a commission to ascertain the reasons which had led to its downfall leave alone extending a helping hand. Some of the brands produced from the city like Unison Fans, Universal Fans, Atlas, Grindlay, Neelam and ABC had become household names during the peak years of the industry. Kiranjit Singh, who is still running ABC Mechanicals, said locally manufactured fans could not compete with established brand names like Usha, Orient and Crompton as they also began selling fans at low rates. He said local-made fans had their major clienteles in the lower middle class. Hence, the sale of Amritsar made fans squeezed to a limited area in the state. He said people also prefer to buy fans with brand names. High taxes are considered to be another major reason behind collapse of the industry. The government is charging 13.75 per cent as VAT. Gurpreet Singh, a young entrepreneur, said tax holiday status to the hill states turned out to be a big blow to the dying industry. Many unit owners sold their factories while others were converted into marriage palaces and shopping markets as per the demand. With the closure of the units, the axe had also fallen on a large number of labourers. These employees were forced to shift to other jobs. Metropole Fan is considered one of the earliest brands produced from here. After the Partition an ambitious GK Mehra had set up this unit in Chheharta. The total number of units was not more than five in the 1970s. The government had also waived off 15 per cent central Excise tax in 1978 which had led to the mushrooming of these units.
Reasons for the collapse
‘Centre to be blamed’
— Satnam Singh Kanda, former president of the Amritsar Fan Manufacturers' Association
|
|
|
Awaiting freedom from squalor
Amritsar, August 20 Around 10,000 residents have been forced to live in this area, falling under Ward No 20. Situated close to the entrance to the city on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road towards Mehta road, the other residential areas which come under this locality include the Golden Avenue, New Golden Avenue, New Tehsilpura, Chamrang road, parts of East Mohan Nagar industrial area etc. The most astonishing fact here is that though the sewerage line has been laid but its disposal arrangement could not be executed. Consequently, the water supply pipes were found to be making way to the houses through the passage of dirty water drain and the residents here have been forced to drink unhygienic water. The maximum casualties were due to the outbreak of jaundice, diarrhoea and hepatitis in this part. That too could not wake up the authorities from its deep slumber. It was not that the authorities did not know about the pathetic conditions prevailing here but the fact was that being a Congress-dominated area, the state of this locality could not find any place on the agenda of the the ruling SAD-BJP party. Consequently, all the development projects were not implemented. The area which inhabits the poor of the poorest the labour class has no primary or secondary health centre and the residents have to go to private hospitals for treatment or they had to go to a civil hospital situated more than 5-km away. Master Ajit Singh, a noted social activist who had launched a major literacy campaign in the area to provide education to the children of drug-abuse victims, said even the NGOs sgun visting this area because of the unhygienic conditions in the inaccessible lanes and bylanes of the densely populated area. “What to talk about governments, the local health authorities too have failed to organise regular health camps here”, he said. What people say?
Bhupinder Singh, a resident: We have approached the PWSSB office as well as the Municipal Corporation authorities numerous times but they pass the buck on to each other, little realising the most unhygienic conditions we have been living in. I urge the corporation to immediately clear the garbage dumps at least a month and clean the streets so that we should avail our right to live a clean and hygienic life, too. Master Ajit Singh: This area has ingloriously, been labelled as a locality of widows where hundreds of households have been destroyed by people falling victims to widespread drug abuse. We have always been low on the priority list. The political factionalism has been the bane here, the poles have been installed here but no transformers could see the light of the day due to feuding politicians. Officialspeak
|
|
|
Looters devise new way to rob people
Amritsar, August 21 This has also brought the role of auto-rickshaw drivers in the city under scanner. Auto rickshaw is one of the major transportation means in the city where thousands of auto rickshaws are plying daily. Majority of them even do not have proper documents and driving licences, while the police and transport authorities miserably failed to check the illgal plying of three wheelers allegedly under the huge political pressure. On August 15, one Piyush Jarial, a resident of posh Kabir Park area located opposite to Guru Nanak Dev University, was robbed of by an auto-rickshaw driver and his associates. He hired the rickshaw from Hussainpura Chowk near bus stand for going to his residence. He was returning from Himachal Pradesh. “There were three persons already sitting in the auto-rickshaw. On the way instead of going towards university side, they turned the auto towards a secluded place on the Ajnala Road,” Piyush stated to police. “They took out sharp edged weapons and threatened to kill me. They fled after snatching his purse, cash, ATM cards and mobile phone besides other belongings after reaching near Loharka Bijlighar,” he informed. Prithvi Raj, SHO Kotwali police station, said the police was yet to identify the accused for which they had called the complainant for help draw sketches. Earlier, in a similar incident several unscrupulous persons robbed a person when he hired the auto from Amritsar railway station in May. However, the cantonment police succeeded to crack the case and arrested five persons in this connection. It was found that the whole plan was chalked out by the auto-rickshaw owner identified as Maninder Singh Mani. He along with his accomplices was sent to jail. Mani and Sonu Masih recently released on bail. Prithvi Raj said it is too early to say that same persons were involved in the crime. But investigations were under progress, he added.
|
|
|
2-day workshop on joint fractures concludes
Amritsar, August 21 As many as 50 doctors from all over Punjab took received training to repair and cure fractures of joints in the body, including knee, wrist, ankle and elbow joints. Dr Prag Munshi said a majority of joint fractures occur in the knee in 12-13 per cent cases. Dr Avtar Singh delivered a lecture on knee joint fractures while Dr Vohra spoke on wrist fracture. Dr Garg spoke on ankle fractures and Dr Prag told about the elbow and wrist fractures. Eminent experts emphasised that patients must get treatment from specialist doctors instead of going to quacks etc.
|
|
|
Students rally for ex-college mate
Amritsar, August 21 Kanwarpreet was seeking re-admission in BA-I of the college in which he had failed in the last session. Principal Dr KN Kaul said the situation was immediately brought under control as the police was called in.
— TNS
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
The Centre's change in policy regarding the supply of raw material was a major setback to the industry. The decision had been implemented in the early 1990s following which uniform rates of raw material like iron, steel, coal, copper and others available across the country were
discontinued.
Ajit Singh
Bhatia, area councillor: The extent of negligence on the part of the authorities can be gauged from the fact that in 2006, the work on the dirty nullah was started. In between, the SAD-BJP government came to rule and till date, the remaining 100-metre stretch has been lying incomplete. Similarly, the sewerage water outlet projects cry for authorities’ attention, but in vain. No garbage-collection arrangement has been made here. The corporation has privatised the garbage -collection project in the posh localities of the city ignoring this area which is susceptible to serious diseases due to poor conditions. 
Ajaibir Pal Singh
Randhawa, Senior Deputy Mayor: It is wrong to say that the residents are discriminated on the grounds of the political group they support. We are very much aware of the poor civic conditions prevailing here and steps are being taken to revamp their water-supply system.