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Sanitation drive around Golden Temple launched
Lawyers ‘manage’ security at district courts complex
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50 pledge eyes for donation
Police asks money changers to install CCTV cameras
Vallah Mandi traders call off Sept 12 strike
Sale of undersized bricks goes unchecked
Plan to make Amritsar cleft lip free
Polio booth at border to check ‘infiltration’ of virus from Pak
Residents give memo to MTP
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Sanitation drive around Golden Temple launched
Amritsar, September 7 After spotting unhygienic eatables being sold in the open, the team also booked the shop-owners under the Adulteration and Food Selling Act and destroyed the eatables on the spot. A recce of the area was done by the AMC team, led by health officer Yogesh Arora this morning to gauge the feasibility of the campaign to make it a regular feature. The AMC has formed a special seven-member team which would be on the job from 2 pm to 10 pm to sweep the area till Dharam Singh market from the Guru Ram Dass Sarai, located in the shrine complex. It has been decided to assign exclusively one garbage-lifting trolley and two tiny garbage-lifting vehicles (three-wheelers) on a permanent basis, for removing the refuse emanating from the shrine, particularly, the leaf-bowls used to serve “karah-prasad”. These three-wheelers would directly dump the garbage at the main dumping ground located at Bhaktanwala. Yogesh Arora said that two garbage bins were placed just opposite to the back-side gate leading to Guru Ram Dass Langar Hall to dump the refuse generated from the langar hall and the garbage was used to be lifted twice a day, which was not enough to keep this point garbage-free. “It was found that these two bins were found to be overflowing, most of the times despite the fact that we had increased the frequent of lifting the garbage from this point. So, after a survey of the area, it has been decided to put a garbage-lifting trolley and two three-wheel garbage vehicles, which would be at the disposal of cleaners this particular point. Secondly, it was noticed that several shops surrounding the Golden Temple were selling unhygienic food items. They were also taken to task”, he said.
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Lawyers ‘manage’ security at district courts complex
Amritsar, September 7 The lawyers informed that the move was triggered by the bomb blasts outside the Delhi High Court in which at least nine persons were killed. Perturbed over the lack of security arrangements in the district courts complex, the bar association has also decided to take up the matter with the Sessions Judge. The advocates feel that in the absence of any security arrangements, the courts complex is a soft target for the anti-national elements. Managing affairs at a parking, Navjeet Singh Turna, secretary of the association, said, “The lives and property of thousands of people who work here or come for some work are at a constant risk. Proper security arrangements are required to instill a sense of security among them.” It is the duty of the district administration to provide security arrangements at the place, said Turna, adding that lawyers could not assume the duty for ever. He wanted that in the situation after the bomb blasts at Delhi, the district administration must make necessary arrangements. The parking of vehicles in the entire complex is done in a haphazard manner. No cops are deployed in the area to keep an eye on the activities in the place, said advocates. It is often seen that people park their vehicles adjacent to the wall of judicial complex at their free will. Pradeep Kumar Saini, president, Amritsar Bar Association, said, “For a long time, the courts complex is doing without any security arrangements. Despite the fact that matter has been taken up at various levels, things have not improved.” He added that the Bar would now take up the matter with the Sessions Judge. “We want that only the vehicles bearing an insignia of the Bar are allowed to enter into the judicial complex. The entry of private vehicles should be checked,” added Saini. In a meeting of the executive of the Amritsar Bar Association, the terror attack that took lives of innocent people was strongly condemned. In order to show their concern, the Bar decided to observe Thursday as a “no work day”.
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MCI team inspects Government Medical College
Amritsar, September 7 The team members conducted a minute inspection of the entire hospital and went to all the departments. It visited the medical college to examine whether the institution fulfils the requirements for the proposed enhancement of medical seats from 150 to 250, it is learnt. The team, which was headed by Dr Markandeya Sharma from Hyderabad, arrived at the college at 9.30 am. Other members of the team were Dr Mukhupadhyay from Pune and Dr Tapan Bardhan from West Bengal. The inspection started in the morning with the MCI members visiting the departments of pharmacology, forensic, physiology, biochemistry, radiotherapy, orthopaedics, surgery, etc. They interacted with the staff members and students of the college. After finishing the morning round of the inspection, the team conducted a detailed head count of all the faculty members posted in various departments of the GMC. “Besides checking the details of the staff, the team also sought the personal presence of each and every staff member, who were made to sign on a prescribed document,” revealed sources in the college. They also revealed that the team members expressed their concern over the shortage of staff members on key posts of various departments in the absence of regular departmental promotion committee meetings. They said the team members also pointed out the absence of government books in the library. “Whatever books the library of various departments has is provided by the staff members,” he said. Meanwhile, the MCI visit kept all the staff of the college and hospital on their toes. It is pertinent to mention here that prior to the visit, the hospital authorities cancelled the leave of the staff members who were asked to be present during the proposed visit of the team in the college. Dr S.S. Shergill said all the shortcomings enlisted by the MCI teams during its earlier visits had been removed and as far as the conducting of the DPC and recruitment of staff were concerned it was up to the government to do so. He added that the college authorities had informed the government about the vacant posts from time to time. GMC to hold DPC meeting on September 23
Following the instructions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding conducting of a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting to meet the staff shortage, the Government Medical College (GMC)has decided to conduct a meeting on September 23. Dr S.S. Shergill, Principal, GMC, informed that as per the communique received from the higher authorities, the DPC meeting would be conducted on September 23. He said the vacant key posts in various departments would be filled during the meeting. The high court had directed the Principal Secretary, Department of Medical Education and Research, Punjab, to convene a meeting of the DPC in order to fill the vacant posts of teachers in the GMC. The court had given its direction while disposing of the petition filed by the Punjab State Medical and Dental Teachers Association against the reappointment of Dr R.P.S. Boparai, Professor of Orthopaedic, who retired earlier this year and was reappointed by the government. The association had filed a petition in the high court, while appealing to quash the reappointment as there were other teachers in the department who were eligible and waiting for their promotion. While disposing of the petition, the high court had said the Principal Secretary was directed to convene the meeting of the DPC and make necessary recommendations for promotion before September 30, 2011. The high court had also directed to fill the vacant posts by November
30.
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50 pledge eyes for donation
Amritsar, September 7 The donors include Dr Avtar Singh Jarewal, Civil Surgeon. Jarewal said, “Other employees in the Civil Surgeon office who have not made the pledge would also be motivated.” Apart from the officials, 357 members from general public, too, have pledged their eyes for donation during the fortnight. A yearly campaign, eye donation fortnight is observed every year from August 25 to September 8. Dr Shallu Aggarwal, District Project Officer, National Programme for Control of Blindness (NPCB), said special awareness drives at OPDs and trauma centres of hospitals were run to motivate people for eye donation. Dr Shallu informed that there are approximately 13 lakh corneal blind people in the country. “We require at least one lakh corneas every year but the availability is merely 45,000,” she added. Others who participated in the eye-pledging ceremony included SMO Balbir Singh Dhillon, Dr Chander Mohan, technical adviser, District Blindness Control Society (DBCS), and Rakesh Sharma, Ophthalmic Officer,
DBCS.
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Police asks money changers to install CCTV cameras
Amritsar, September 7 “As such institutes involve continuous financial exchange, money changers remains under continuous threat of such incidents,” said S.P. Joshi, ADCP (City-I). He held a meeting with the representatives of money changers at his office and briefed them to install CCTV cameras as a precautionary measure so that in case such an incident occurs, the police could track the criminals. There are around 50 money changer units, including Western Union Money Transfer, MoneyGram, etc, near the Golden Temple, bus stand and other areas that fall under the City-I
jurisdiction. S.P. Joshi, ADCP (City-I) said the representatives of some of such institutions had said they had this facility, while others had also been asked to emulate the system. He said they would also be asked to install CCTV cameras of specific configuration so that it would not remain only a
formality. “I have also asked the SHOs of various police stations under my jurisdiction to prepare a list of money changers in their areas along with their other details such as addresses and phone numbers,” informed Joshi. He said if they failed to comply with the instructions of installing CCTVs cameras, the police department would have to see what action could be taken against them.
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Vallah Mandi traders call off Sept 12 strike
Amritsar, September 7 Union president Ravinder Singh Sekhon said in view of the assurance given by Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal that the state government would take up the matter of Vallah Mandi with the military authorities in the forthcoming civil-military liaison meeting, the union had called off its strike. He said the stalled work of improving the basic amenities in the market at a cost of Rs 1.30 crore must be started soon. The market urgently required proper roads, sewerage, potable water, toilet sets and rest hall for farmers. It is pertinent to mention here that the issue of the ammunition depot location dated back to 2002, when the civic administration decided to increase the city periphery. The Army, till then had acquired 122 acres of land on the bypass, which had a few settlements in Vallah village. The Army approached the Union Government and a notification banning any construction within 1,000 yards of the ammunition depot was issued on November 11, 2004. However, till then a vegetable market had come up in the vicinity. The Vallah ammunition dump, spread across 122 acres of land on the Amritsar-Verka-Wagah bypass, has been infested with a hush-hush growth of illegal structures within its 1,000 yards of outer parapet. Farmers, traders and shopkeepers dealing in vegetables and fruit are annoyed at the deplorable condition of infrastructure at Vallah Mandi located on the outskirts of the city.
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Sale of undersized bricks goes unchecked
Amritsar, September 7 As per the guidelines specified for the size of a brick it should measure 9X4.5X3 inches for its length, breath and height. However the bricks available in the local market are smaller than the prescribed size. Some of the bricks were found to shorter by half an inch. The use of undersized bricks in construction escalates the cost of building a house. As obvious, more of these bricks are required. Secondly, requirement for sand and cement to put into the joints also goes up. The customer not only pays extra money for the bricks, but has to spend extra on cement and sand materials. Experts reveal that seven layers of undersized bricks are required to attain the same height, which can be achieved with six layers of normal sized bricks. Thus as per an estimate of constructing a house in 200 sq yd of the area, one needs three extra truckloads of bricks, said Shingara Singh, a builder. Satinderjit Singh Bal, a resident of Gumtala, who is building a house, said, “People are not aware of the fact that what should be the size of a brick. The sale of undersized bricks should be checked.” An executive member of the brick kiln owners’ association said, “The trend of sale of these undersized bricks is tantamount to increase unhealthy competition among kilns. A few black sheep are selling these at a lower price.” When contacted, District Foods and Supplies Controller RK Singla said, “We have not yet received any complaint about the size of bricks sold in market. The department will conduct an inspection of the brick kilns to ascertain the size of the bricks.”
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Plan to make Amritsar cleft lip free
Amritsar, September 7 The cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that affect the upper lip and the roof of the mouth. This happens when the tissue that forms the roof of the mouths and upper lip don’t join before birth. The problem can range from a small notch in the lip to a groove that runs into the roof of the mouth and nose. This can affect the way the child’s face looks. The physical drawbacks of the defect are that it can lead to problems with eating, talking or ear infections but the psychological implications of the problem are many. The children with clefts tend to feel angry, sad, afraid and alienated from their peers. Even the parents feel stressed under the stigma of a visible deformity. The district administration has taken up the mission to make Amritsar CLP free. Talking about the strategy to be adopted for the purpose, Rajat Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner, said all the ASHA workers in the six medical blocks of the district have been directed to identify the children affected with CLP. In the initial survey, 32 such cases have been identified. The data regarding the identified/reported cases is being maintained by Navdeep Bhatia, pharmacist at the main store in the Civil Hospital (98143-89143). Once the complete data has been collected, the cases will be scrutinised by plastic surgeon Dr Sameera Sharma, who is also posted at the Civil Hospital. Thereafter, the operation schedule would be chalked out in consultation with the doctor in charge of The Smile Train at Amandeep Hospital and one after the other the operations would be carried out totally free of cost. The Deputy Commissioner appealed to the parents and social workers to get the cases of children suffering from CLP registered with Navdeep Bhatia with proper address and contact number so that they may be intimated about the operation schedule at the earliest. The appropriate age for the operation of cleft lip is six months and that of cleft palate is one year. Anticipating a good response to the mission, Aggarwal said the operation would be virtually a life changer for the children as it would rid them of social stigma of not being good looking. Plastic surgeon Dr Sameera Sharma has been made the nodal officer for the project and it would be implemented under the overall guidance of Dr Arjan Dhawan, Assistant Civil Surgeon.
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Polio booth at border to check ‘infiltration’ of virus from Pak
Amritsar, September 7 The district health authorities have started deliberations with custom and BSF officials at the Attari check post. “As a few cases of polio have been reported in Pakistan, we don’t want this to give a setback to polio campaign in our country,” informed Civil Surgeon Avtar Singh Jarewal. In order to cover every child entering the country, the department has plans to make two teams of employees. “Both the teams would work in shift from early morning till late in evening,” said Jarewal. All passengers coming through train, bus and even those who cross the border on foot, would be covered under the project. The polio booth at the international check post would continue till any further order. In 2010, not a single case of polio was reported in Punjab. In 2009, the Health Department reported only four polio cases. Due to the highly effective door-to-door polio campaign, the number of polio cases had gone down to mere 42 in 2010, in comparison to 2009, when 763 cases were reported.
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City pair qualifies for badminton meet
Amritsar, September 7 Rahul Soni is set to make a hat-trick as he would appear for the third time in the Open National Badminton Championship. A student of Class XI in DAV Public School, Rahul Soni had featured in the under-13 and under-16 categories. He played in the seven-day open national sub-junior badminton championship in Hyderabad last year. This pair was also the first runners-up in the open state badminton championship last year. The pair of Rahul Soni and Manureet Singh clinched the gold in the open state badminton championship held at Jalandhar last year as well. Earlier, as an under-13 player he, along with Ayush of Spring Dale Senior School, earned the top rank in the open state badminton championship in 2008. The same year the school badminton team, comprising four players, including him, was the first runners-up in the CBSE national badminton championship held at Nagpur. Earlier, he and Ayush Mahajan secured the top position in the under-13 open state championship. Coming from a family of sports enthusiasts his goal is play for India in the Olympics. His elder sister Pallavi Soni had been a district badminton champion in 2008.
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Residents give memo to MTP
Amritsar, September 7 Bhatia, who was recently appointed a member of the Punjab Congress Urban Development Board, said in the memorandum they requested the government to adequately compensate the residents and shopkeepers before uprooting them to pave way for the eight-laning of the road from New Amritsar to Bhandari Bridge. He said the roads would not be allowed to be built till the rehabilitation of the affected people.
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