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Pregnant woman set ablaze by in-laws
Flesh trade racket busted, three held
Intelligent City Surveillance Project yet to take off
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 This road lacks connectivity
Amritsar, September 7 Residents of Airport road, also known as Ajnala road, are perturbed at regular power cuts, snapping of telephone and Internet connections due to the ongoing six-laning of its 4-km stretch. A telephone pole lies on the side of the Airport road in Amritsar. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
It’s an uphill task to get the UID card made
Teachers hold protest outside DEO’s office
Delhi blast: Lawyers observe ‘no-work day’
Teachers await implementation of government notification
City tennis players win state-level tournament
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Pregnant woman set ablaze by in-laws
Amritsar, September 8 A 25-year-old, Gurmeet Kaur, was burnt alive allegedly by her in-laws as she failed to bear a male child, besides not meeting their expectations of dowry at Khakh village, near Jandiala. She was immediately rushed to a private hospital here, where she is battling for life with 90 per cent burn injuries. Her in-laws fled after admitting her to the hospital. The incident shook her parents and family members. Her painful cries could be heard from outside hospital room where she has been admitted in a critical condition. Narrating the incident, the mother of the victim, Joginder Kaur, said Gurmeet was married with Sukhdev Singh about three years back. After the solemnisation of the marriage, the demand for more dowry, including a motorcycle and gold jewellery, was raised by her in-laws, including her husband. She alleged that Gurmet’s father-in-law Bal Singh, mother-in-law Kulwinder Kaur, sisters-in-law Rekha and Kanwal and brother-in-law Baldev Singh used to harass
and beat her. “Gurmeet’s problems aggravated after she gave birth to two girl childs — Tanu (3) and Anu (1) — one after another. At present she was two-month
pregnant and her in-laws suspected that she would again give birth to a girl child,” alleged Joginder Kaur. Kulbir Kaur, sister of the victim, who lives in the adjoining house and married to the elder brother of Sukhdev Singh, said yesterday at about 6 pm she heard the cries of her sister and was not allowed to see her by the people who had gathered at the spot. She said her in-laws took her sister to the hospital as her condition became critical. Dr Baljinder Singh, who was attending to the
victim, stated that the woman suffered 90 per cent burn injuries and the chances of her survival were very bleak. Amolak Singh, SHO, Verowal police station, falling under Tarn Taran police district, said action would be taken as per the statement given by the victim to the Duty Magistrate. The victim gave her statement to Amita Singh, Duty Magistrate, Amritsar, at the hospital.
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crime file Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 8 One of the woman arrested belong to Harparwasa, Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh. The police has registered a case under Sections 3, 4, 5 of the Immoral Trafficking Act-1956. Balbir Singh, investigating officer and SHO of the Islamabad police station, said the police received a tip-off that one of the accused women was running a flesh trade racket at her residence. The police team conducted a raid and nabbed Gurjit Singh of Kot Khalsa along with a girl, who reached there by a SUV. Purse snatched
Two unidentified persons snatched a purse from Manju Arora of the Gopal Nagar area on Majitha Road here. Manju in her complaint lodged with the A-Division police station alleged that the two miscreants, who were riding on a Pulsar motorcycle, came from behind and snatched her purse when she was returning home. She said her purse contained Rs 2,000, gold jewellery, wrist watch, bank passbook and mobile phone. The police registered a case under Section 379-B of the IPC. Gold earring snatched
Two unidentified youths snatched a gold earring from Kulwant Kaur, resident of the New Ranjit Pura locality. Kulwant Kaur stated that she was talking to her niece Amandeep Kaur when the youth snatched her gold earring, weighing 5 gm. A case under Sections 379-B and 34 of the IPC has been registered. Mobile phone seized from jail inmate
The Amritsar Central Jail authorities seized a mobile phone from a jail inmate, Angrej Singh, resident of the Baba Bakala area. Tejinder Singh Maur, Superintendent (Jail), in a complaint lodged with the Cantonment police alleged that Angrej Singh was using the mobile phone in the toilet of the jail. A case under Section 420 of the IPC and Section 42 of the Prisoners Act has been registered against him.
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Intelligent City Surveillance Project yet to take off
Amritsar, September 8 The Intelligent City Surveillance Project, initiated by the city police in collaboration with the Amritsar Improvement Trust to keep a close vigil at 35 major intersections and places of the city, is yet to see the light of the day. Reason: Announcement of the model code of conduct in view of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections. This is what the Police Commissioner say. “In view of the declaration of the model code of conduct due to the SGPC elections, the project has been delayed at least till September 22. After this, we will definitely endeavour to start the project as soon as possible,” said Police Commissioner R.P. Mittal. Funded by the Amritsar Improvement Trust, the Intelligent City Surveillance Project, worth Rs 4.5 crore, is to be fully operational by the year end. But with such a pace it is unlikely to be completed in the stipulated time. The police department has identified key and vital points in the city where these cameras are proposed to be installed. As many as 175 highly sophisticated cameras, including 100 fixed cameras, would be installed under the project. The high-resolution day and night cameras would be connected with the centralised control room established at C-Division through dedicated broadband lines. Besides providing top surveillance that would help in checking crime, it would also help in better traffic management. Brij Bedi, a social worker said the administration was in total state of collapse. He said there must be some strong, active and intelligent patrolling system in the city. He said the code of conduct came into force much later after the project was announced by the city police and Amritsar Improvement trust. The CCTV cameras should be installed without any further delay, which would not only enhance the security cover at major intersections and institutions, but also help in traffic management in the city.
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This road lacks connectivity
Amritsar, September 7 A resident of the road, Hardit Singh Makhni, said he was old and infirm. “Some days back my health deteriorated and I had to telephone my family doctor to seek immediate medical aid ”, he said. Since most of his family members were settled outside the city, Makhni had a tough time in contacting the doctors as the telephone was also not working. He added that the telephone connection was not been working properly for the past over a month. Somehow, he contacted his neighbours who in turn contacted the doctors and he was provided the much-needed medical aid. He said that there could be many old persons like him in the numerous localities that have sprung up on the Airport road. The absence of any vital facility could be disastrous. Rajiv Khanna of Palm Grove locality, situated on the Airport road, said there were about 125 houses in the colony and all of them had been suffering from snapping of telephone supply and unbearably long power cuts. He said, from morning till night an unofficial power cut remained which had turned their lives topsy-turvy. He said they were unable to perform their regular work. Office-going men and women, and school and college-going children found it immensely difficult to perform their work punctually. He added that power tripping had become a nightmare. Another resident of the locality, JS Sokhi, said that the irregular broadband connection had disrupted his business as he co-ordinated the working of his factory from his residence. He said any problem only if it was for a short duration could be handled with an alternative arrangement. But it had been the same past over a month. He added that the approach road of the locality to the Airport road had been dug up for avery long time and their request to repair it on an emergency basis had fallen on deaf ears. This, despite the fact that each household after contributing Rs 1000 each had filled the road with earth to bring it to the level of the Airport road. Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) Chief Engineer (Border Range) Sudeep Singh Sandhu said that the concerned officials would be directed to ensure regular power supply to the residents at Ajnala road. He said inconvenience to the residents was unavoidable as the lines were uprooted and shifted from the road. He said the work was being done on priority on the road keeping in view its importance as the international airport was located on this. BSNL SDO Dimple Kumar said that the department was fully engaged in replacing the broken and work out cables. He said they were attending to the complaints on emergency basis. PWD is carrying out four-lane to six lane of the 4-km stretch of Airport road at a cost of about Rs 19 crore. PWD Executive Engineer Jasbir Singh Sodhi accepted that the residents had to undergo inconvenience due to augmentation of the road. He added that once the project was completed it would be one of the beautiful roads of the city. He said on both sides of the stretch side drains would be constructed to recharge underground water table and over these drains footpath would be built. He added that his department had carried out all preliminary works before starting the project. He informed that nearly Rs 55 lakh had been deposited with the PSPCL.
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It’s an uphill task to get the UID card made
Amritsar, September 8 Inclusion of politicians, less-informed people, snail-pace delivery of cards, the lack of adequate advertisement and inadequate number of machines are glaring deficiencies that turn the popular initiative into a disappointment. Rajendra Prasad,of Indira Colony,said that he along with his family had gone to prepare the Adhaar card for his family. However, he was turned back to the councillor of the area to get his form verified. He said that only after many visits to the office-cum-residence of the councillor, could he manage to meet him and get those forms verified. He said people were busy and had little time to spare. However, unwarranted delay and the rigmarole of rules discouraged them. Temporary centres to enroll people for getting their UID numbers, popularly known as Adhaar, are being run at different locations in the district but they were not widely advertised. Hence, these centres were mainly catering to the upper sections of the society who are well-informed. Jagjit Singh, of Baba Sahib Chowk, said that he had applied for Adhaar nearly three months back and was informed by the officials that it would be delivered within a month. So far no such card with the Adhaar number has been delivered at his house, he quipped. The district has only 157 electronic machines for nearly 26 lakh residents. Besides, no permanent centre has been set up to regularly conduct the affair and answer the queries of the residents. The holy city became the first district in the state to start the process of giving the UID cards to the public on May 24. The National Security Depository Limited (NSDL), the Food and Civil Supplies Department, and the State Bank of India were empowered to release Adhaar numbers to public in the state. The NSDL has outsourced the project to a Delhi-based private firm Alankit. At present, the private firm is solely engaged in enrolling people for the project. Under Adhaar, each applicant is allotted a 12-digit number. This number will enable them to receive the benefits of government-sponsored schemes. The residents will have to furnish identity and proof of residence. They then will have to give the biometric impressions of their fingers, thumbs and eyes. One of the reasons behind these gaps cited is the shifting of the State Registrar of the UID Project from Food and Civil Supplis Department to the Department of Planning. The DFSC Satish Singla said as per the communication received from the Centre to get the forms verified from a responsible authority, his predecessors had authorised councillors. He said, now 185 teachers of government schools of the city have been appointed to carry out the verification drive. Singla said that the delay in delivering Adhaar numbers was brought to the notice of the higher-ups who, in turn, had raised the limit from one to three months. He added that the delay was due to the mailing of all data regarding applicants to Bangalore. At Bangalore, all data was verified to avoid repetition and duplication, and after that the UID numbers were dispatched. He accepted that there was need to advertise more about the UID centres and permanent centres would also be set up soon. He informed that in order to reach out to the maximum number of people, the city has been segregated into five zones. Each zone normally comprised 15 wards. He added that the each ward would be provided with 25 machines. He said so far gurdwaras and temples had been made centres in different parts of the city. Now onwards the stress would be on opening centres in government buildings and advertisements in shape of installing banners would be undertaken.
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Amritsar to be Bakersfield’s Sister City
Amritsar, September 8 A three-member delegation from here, comprising cabinet minister Tikshan Sud, Mayor Shwait Malik and senior deputy Mayor Ajaybir Singh Randhawa had visited Bakersfield city, recently, for the purpose. The Sister City Programme, initiated by a Punjabi community-run NGO in Bakersfield city, would provide opportunities for cultural, municipal, professional and technical exchanges between the two cities. Mayor Shwait Malik said that the visit, sponsored entirely by the hosts, turned out to be very fruitful as it has enabled them to study the level of infrastructure and mechanism they have developed to ensure a better quality of life and it would help them introduce the same parameters in the holy city. “This ‘people-to-people’ relationship programme has been in the making since early 2007. A similar delegation from their side is expected to visit the city in November. Since Bakersfield is home to many Sikhs and the Punjabi community hailing from Punjab, they aspire to serve the holy city simply because the Golden Temple is enshrined here. Just like here, agriculture is the main source of income and even the geographical topography and environment of the city is alike”,
he said. Services for Amritsar
The Bakersfield natives have offered three services for Amritsar: To sponsor at least 10 battery-operated eight-seater vehicles to facilitate the pilgrims, especially the elders, ladies or children who find it difficult to walk while visiting the shrine. Second, they have offered to introduce battery-operated wheel chairs for the disabled or visually impaired devotees who would be able to commute easily within the complex. Third, they have shown a keen interest in contributing to the campaign in curbing the menace of female foeticide, prevalent prominently in the state. “All the services are expected to be introduced by November, when a delegation from their side would visit Amritsar. After the Golden Temple, the services would be extended to Durgiana Temple too. We have been told to call in bids for the projects. In the first phase, as many as four battery-operated vehicles and as many wheel-chairs would be introduced and the rest would be added later on. We would endeavour to introduce the parameters followed by Bakersfield’s authorities to make Amritsar a better place to live in”, he said. Moreover, the SAD-BJP regime here has initiated several development projects worth over Rs 500 crore, which included an elevated road on the Amritsar-Jalandhar road, garbage-removal programme, revamping of the road infrastructure, beautification of key areas, besides the 430-crore sewerage project in collaboration with JAICA (Japan International Corporation Agency).
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Teachers hold protest outside DEO’s office
Amritsar, September 8 The demands of the agitating teachers included regularisation, release of salary at par with regular employees, institution of Employee Provident Fund (EPF) and medical leaves. District president of the SSA Arjinder Singh said the agitating teachers would canvas against leaders of the SAD and BJP in the forthcoming Assembly elections. He said their demands had been verbally accepted by the government and Education Department many times but in absence of the notification they remained unimplemented. He said all these unions decided to agitate till the state government notified the demands. He informed that teachers under these categories were appointed on a year-long contract at a monthly salary of Rs 18,000. He said many teachers were of master cadre, but were denied due salary and perks.
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Delhi blast: Lawyers observe ‘no-work day’
Amritsar, September 8 Visitors that came to the district courts today were left in a lurch as most of the advocates refrained from attending the court hearings. Satkar Singh, a resident of Verka said, “I came to know about the advocates’ move after coming here. However the munshi of the advocate has procured another date for hearing of the case.” However the number of visitors in the courts complex was lesser than the normal working days. Those who were not aware of the lawyers’ action left immediately the time they came to know about the “no work day”. Navjeet Singh Turna, general secratary, Amritsar Bar Association, said, “The lawyers have fully supported the call given by the association. It is a issue that concerns every Indian. We fully condemn the terror attacks.” He added that culprits must be identified and punished.
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Teachers await implementation of government notification
Amritsar, September 8 These teachers, during a district-level meeting under the banner of the 7654 Sanjah Front Adhyapak Committee held here today, lamented that earlier their recruitment process got delayed by over two years and now they were denied regular service rights and benefits. The teachers rued that they did not receive their pay packets as promised at the time of the recruitment in April, due to official rigmarole. “As many as 7,654 teachers and non-teaching staff were recruited in April this year, out of which 450 were for Amritsar district alone, on the basis of an advertisement which appeared in September, 2009. Between this period, a fresh notification was issued by the state government, which clearly recommended to grant us full pay scales, but till date it could not be implemented,” said Gurpreet Singh, state president of the committee. The government issued a fresh notification on April 5, 2011, after scrapping an earlier (Punjab Civil Services (Rationalisation of certain conditions of Service Act-2011) Act, through Punjab Ordinance number 8 of 2011, rationalisation of certain conditions of Service Repeal -2011. This entitled the newly employed professionals under certain categories, including teachers, to get regularisation of services and pay scales. It is to note that as per earlier Act, they had to forgo 34 per cent to 42 per cent pay for the first three years of their service. According to fresh notification, those who have been hired on or after April 5, 2011, become eligible to claim full salary package as applicable to regular teachers. The teachers said they would intensify their agitation in days to come, if the government fails to implement the recommendations as pronounced under the fresh notification. These teachers under different categories of masters, lecturers, vocational courses and non-teaching employees like librarians were recruited by the state government through an advertisement published in 2009, on the pay scales that varied between Rs 3,200 and Rs 6,400. With the fresh notification, their scales would further be between Rs 6,900 and Rs 0,790, depending upon their cadres.
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City tennis players win state-level tournament
Amritsar, September 8 Avantika Mahajan, Aneesha Sharma, Kajal and Poonam in the U-17 girls’ category and Gian Chand in the U-17 boys’ category stood second in the tournament.
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Amritsar, September 8
Amritsar, September 8
