Train catching passengers’ fancy
Chandigarh, August 29
The Duronto Express train, which started on August 24, seems to be gradually catching the fancy of passengers. Within the first four days, occupancy has increased two-fold.

SC dismisses plea by vegetable, fruit sellers 
Chandigarh, August 29
The Supreme Court today dismissed a Special Leave to Appeal filed by some of the vegetable and fruitsellers in the old Mandi. The appellants were allotted plots or shops in the Vallah Mandi and had even taken possession of the newly allotted kiosks. But, they had been contending that there plots or shop were situated within 1000 yards of an Army ammunition dump. They were trying to hold on to the old Mandi shops.

Remand of Mumbai youth caught for impersonation extended until Sept 5
Amritsar, August 29
The District Court today extended the remand of Mumbai youth, who was caught by Airport authorities on charges of impersonation during the Commercial Pilot License (General Navigation) examination, till September 5. Ganesh Sahu, alias Sanju, was giving the examination under the name of Rahul Patel, a candidate seeking a commercial pilot license, yesterday at the Amritsar Civil Aviation Club. From there he was held by Directorate General of Civil Aviation authorities.

Chandigarh, August 29
The Duronto Express train, which started on August 24, seems to be gradually catching the fancy of passengers. Within the first four days, occupancy has increased two-fold.

On August 24, the number of passengers travelling both ways totaled a mere 257. Today, it had touched 606.

While 318 passengers arrived at Chandigarh from Amritsar, the number of Amritsar-bound passengers were 288.

The train which runs five days a week, except on Friday and Sunday, has a total 1287 non-AC chairs and 145 in the two AC coaches.

“The visit to Amritsar costs only Rs 322, with dinner as well as breakfast, with the comforts of a train. The journey is much cheaper and less time consuming as compared to other modes of travel, including bus or private car,” said Rajnder Sahni, a resident of Sector 28. Those prefer travelling in an air-conditioned coach, however have to shell out Rs 740 for a to-and-fro journey with these facilities which again comes out to be cheaper than what one has to pay for travel in an air-conditioned bus,” he added.

“The increase in the number of passengers is encouraging and we are expecting a sharp increase in the occupancy of the train in the near future because of word-of-mouth publicity regarding facilities in the train,” said RK Sondh, Chief Regional Manager, IRCTC. 

Chandigarh, August 29
The Supreme Court today dismissed a Special Leave to Appeal filed by some of the vegetable and fruitsellers in the old Mandi. The appellants were allotted plots or shops in the Vallah Mandi and had even taken possession of the newly allotted kiosks. But, they had been contending that there plots or shop were situated within 1000 yards of an Army ammunition dump. They were trying to hold on to the old Mandi shops.

The appellants had challenged an interim order passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing the official authorities to proceed, upon being satisfied that the newly allotted shops were falling outside the 1000 yards distance from the Army ammunition dump.

The interim order was challenged before the Supreme Court. The SC initially issued notice on the application for vacation of stay filed by the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company. After hearing the senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi for the State of Punjab and the PMIDC, the SC dismissed the Special Leave to Appeal, while observing orally that such mandis must be located outside the city.

The court even observed that the interim order had only permitted the authorities to go ahead with regard to the old mandi. The SC also expedited the writ petition pending in the HC, challenging the auctioning of the debris or “malba” lying on the old Mandi.

Amritsar, August 29
The District Court today extended the remand of Mumbai youth, who was caught by Airport authorities on charges of impersonation during the Commercial Pilot License (General Navigation) examination, till September 5. Ganesh Sahu, alias Sanju, was giving the examination under the name of Rahul Patel, a candidate seeking a commercial pilot license, yesterday at the Amritsar Civil Aviation Club. From there he was held by Directorate General of Civil Aviation authorities.

During the investigation, the police today recovered the fake passport of Rahul Patel with a picture of Sahu pasted on it, said Neeraj Kumar, the Station House Officer of the Airport police station.

Rahul Patel, the son of Bharat Patel, a resident of Mumbai, turned out to be a citizen of New Jersey (United States) citizen. Neeraj said Rahul had earlier given the written test for the Commercial Pilot License three times. However, he could not clear the test. “We urged the judicial magistrate to extended the police remand as a lot of facts are yet to be investigated. During a preliminary probe, the police found a fake passport from Sahu and arrested Rahul Patel who turned out to be a US citizen,” said Neeraj.

He said Sahu had stuck a deal with Rahul. He would clear the examination by impersonating him and for this, he (Rahul) would have to pay Rs 50,000 to him. The police said that it is yet to look into the involvement of any gang behind this. He said, Sahu claimed that this was for the first time that he had been appearing as an impersonator.

While the examination was under progress, a supervisor of the centre found the date of birth of the candidate different from the date of birth given in the examination form. The PAN card number found with him too showed discrepancies.

The Airport police have registered a case under Section 419, 420, 466, 467, 468 and 471 of Indian Pencal Code against him on the statement of V C Pathak, Assistant Director, DGCA who is also the supervisor for the examination. 

Amritsar, August 29
Schoolchildren are forced to study under most unhygienic conditions due to sheer apathy and negligent attitude of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC). Reason: Hardly 10 m away from the entrance gate of government-aided Arya Girls Senior Secondary School, Lahori Gate (Khu Bambewala), there lies a garbage dumping yard, resulting in most filthy conditions and exposing the students to various ailments.

The AMC teams failed to locate any other “suitable” site for placing the garbage trolley, other than the entrance gate of the school.

The solid waste of areas like Katra Sher Singh, telephone exchange, Katra Moti Ram Tikoni Park, Lohgarh Gate and up to Guru Bazaar is brought here, before getting it transported to its final destination to the solid waste management plant in Bhagtanwala.

Despite repeated pleas by the school authorities as well as the residents, this garbage dumping site could not be shifted from there.

A garbage-lifting cycle-trolley, bearing the logo of the AMC, was found lying overturned at the main water drainage passage. The residents rued that the trolley had been abandoned here for the past 10 days and it had blocked the water passage. This, itself, speaks volumes about the negligent approach of the AMC employees.

The Tribune had highlighted their plight a few months ago, on which the officials of the AMC had removed one trolley and increased the frequency of removing the garbage from there before dumping it ultimately at the Bhatanwala site, but this practice did not last long.

Ironically, the dumping site has become the most convenient spot for the three-wheeler garbage collectors, who instead of dumping the tonnes of garbage collected from the neighbouring areas at the Bhagtanwala site, just unload their vehicles here only.

The AMC officials try to pass the buck on to each other showing their inability to shift the dumping site from there with illogical reasoning.

The officials maintained that in the absence of any alternative site, the garbage trolley cannot be removed, whereas the site suggested by the school authorities and the residents had not gone down well with the AMC officials, as it was half a kilometre away. Substantial number of residents of the area submitted a written plea with the Commissioner to get the garbage trolley shifted, but this exercise, too, could not yield any results.

Amritsar, August 29
Even though the literacy rate in Punjab has shown an upward trend in the past decade, it has failed to change the mindset of the people in this part of the country if the number of infant girls that continued to find their way to Pangura is to be believed.

The Pangura installed by district administration under Red Cross Society today received the child taking the total number to 42 since its inception in January 2008. Ironically, this is the sixth girl child which has been received by the Red Cross Society under the scheme after Independence Day this year.

Red Cross Society officials revealed that the girl seems a month old who is in sound health after her medical examination at a local private hospital. They said the girl would be transferred to recognized adoption centre in Punjab. Out of 42 children, 25 abandoned children have been given to childless families through adoption after following the requisite legal procedures, they said. 

Amritsar, August 29
National Sports Day, which is also hockey icon Dhyan Chand’s birth anniversary, was celebrated with verve and vigour by DAV College at its auditorium here today.

A vintage film showing Dhyan Chand’s mastery over both the ball and the opposition in the 1932 Berlin Olympics was screened.

There was much spark in the celebrations, which were organised by the college’s Department of Physical Education. The classical Dhyan Chand film held the audience spellbound as the maestro could be seen mesmerising his opponents - the Germans - with his adroit stick work.

The importance of National Sports Day was conveyed to the jam-packed audience by Principal K.N. Kaul.

Speaking on the occasion, Kaul said such events inculcated the spirit of sportsmanship among the youth.

The Head of the Physical Education Department, K.L. Godara, exhorted the youth to follow in the footsteps of the hockey icon who “dazed the hockey world with his stick work in three successive Olympics”. He added that sport was one sure way of weaning the youth away from dope.

Former Olympian and Brigadier Harcharan Singh said, “They say you can judge a man’s legend by the quality of myths that surround him. By that measure itself, Dhyan Chand was an extraordinary man. To hear tales of his craftsmanship was to wonder whether his stick was designed by some hockey god himself. The wizardry in his supple writs was to be seen to be believed. They broke his stick in Holland to check if there was a magnet inside; in Japan they decided it was glue; in Germany, Adolf Hitler even wanted to buy it.”

To mark the event, a quiz competition on Dhyan Chand was also held, while a poem was also recited in his remembrance.

The stage was managed by P.S Randhawa, who with his witty anecdotes managed to pull the audience his way.

Meanwhile, the Sarhad-e-Punjab Sports Club organised a similar function at Virsa Vihar, which was presided over by former DGP Mehal Singh Bhullar, who is also a keen sports lover.

Amritsar, August 29
Arvinder Bhatti, popularly known as “Khabranwala” (news reader) in Punjab, needs no introduction. Now he is going to make his debut in the Hindi cinema through much-awaited Shahid Kapoor and Sonam Kapoor-starrer film “Mausam”, directed by Pankaj Kapoor, which is all set to hit the theatres in September.

A native of the holy city, Bhatti, who has been associated with Doordarshan since 1989, caught the attention of the judges during an audition held here, especially for the role of Shahid’s uncle (played by Bhatti in doctor’s role) for the film.

Sharing his experience during the shoot of the film, part of which was shot at Nabha and Patiala, Bhatti said, “I had spent magnificent moments with the film crew. It was a gaining experience to work with stars like Shahid and Sonam, who are thorough professional actors, possessing very consistent approach.”

“Moreover, since the film revolves around a Punjabi family, I was the most sought-after person on the sets. The reason for this was that Pankaj Kapoor never forgot to consult me before proceeding for a shot if it was about some gurdwara-related subject or about some customs and traditions pertaining to Punjabi wedding, etc,” he added.

Showing concern for Sikh youngsters who after getting influenced by the fashion and trend deviate from observing the sanctity of the religion, Bhatti said, “The times have changed. Gone are the days when the Sikhs were only shown on screen for some comic sequence only, Now, top-level Bollywood movies are being knitted around the Sikh culture and every top hero aspires to be attired in Sikh swaroop (appearance). Simllarly, most of the top-of-the-line fashion shows these days are being organised while keeping Sikh models in mind. My piece of advice for the Sikh youngsters is not to opt for trimming their hair or beard. It is the symbol and identification of Sikh religion and they should aspire to respect and guard this symbolic gesture. I did it and also achieved a chance to be on the silver screen.”

Meanwhile, working with the Audit Department of the Improvement Trust, Amritsar, Bhatti has been actively associated with the Punjabi entertainment industry. He has worked in Punjabi movies like “Mahaul Theek Hai”, “Jija ji”, “Viah te Karke Rahange” and “Mel Karade Rabba” to name a few.

Besides this, Bhatti has compered over more than 400 stage shows, which included star nites, fashion shows and dance shows. Being associated with the Padmini Kolhapuri School of Acting, he has been a visiting faculty at famous comedian and actor Jaspal Bhatti’s film school for news reading and stage anchoring. He was also engaged in reading Punjabi news (live) at Canada and Australia on radio.

Amritsar, August 29
The Guru Nanak Dev (GND) University mandarins have decided to upgrade the infrastructure around its astroturf in an attempt to convert the stadium into a state-of-the-art one, which plays host to national and international matches, including the coveted four-nation tournament slated to be held in March next year.

Work is going on a war footing to increase the capacity of the stadium, which played host to the Indira Gandhi international tournament in 1994, from its present strength of 4,000 seats to 15,000 seats.

Once completed, the stadium will match the one in New Delhi, which hosted the Commonwealth Games, for its aesthetic appeal. Another similarity this structure will have with the Dhyan Chand stadium is that it has a poly-grass astroturf, the same on which the matches during the Commonwealth Games were played.

Work to increase the capacity of the Sri Hargobind stadium is being handled by the Punjab Mandi Board authorities. “A sum of Rs 5.60 crore has been earmarked by the Punjab Government for the stadium and the structure will be handed over by the Mandi Board to the GND University by September 15,” disclosed Inderjit Bawa, Officer on Special Duty (Sports).

The stadium already boasts of an astroturf, which was originally laid in 1990, but was later re-laid in 2010.

“Some basic considerations when determining a suitable synthetic grass for a hockey field are shock absorption, sliding, ball rebound and wear resistance. It is requirement of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) that astroturfs should be laid down with a shock pad as it will help to absorb the impact, technically called dynamic forces, of players running on the surface and reduce the incidence of lower limb injuries. We can find all these qualities in the GND University turf,” disclosed a former hockey Olympian.

Earlier the four-nation tournament, the brainchild of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Director (Sports) Pargat Singh, was slated to be held at the stadium from September 22 to October 3.

“Since the tourney has been postponed to March next year, we decided to refurbish the stadium in the meantime. We are also installing floodlights and nearly six out of the total of eight matches allotted to the city will be played under lights,” added Bawa.

The university authorities have decided to hold the Maharaja Ranjit Singh hockey tournament and some inter-university hockey matches before the four-nation meet. “We will test the facilities during these matches,” said Kanwaljit Singh, Director (Sports), GND University.