The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Matrimonial dispute turns ugly, ASI hurt in clash Groups resort to firing; six booked in the case Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 An assistant sub inspector was injured in a clash between two groups gathered to settle a matrimonial dispute in Verka late last evening. Members of two groups allegedly fired in the air and clashed with sharp-edged weapons. The Rambagh police has registered a case under Sections 336 and 506 of the IPC in this connection. Those booked are Paramjit Singh of Gali Murabbe Wali, Balwinder Singh and Ajit Singh of Bhangali Kalan, Baljit Singh, Satwant Singh of Guru Amar Dass Avenue, Ajnala road and Shamsher Singh of Bhangali Kalan. Paramjit Singh, Balwinder Sing and Baljit Singh were released on bail while remaining were still at large. Satwant Singh, the ASI, was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital due to injuries sustained in the clash. According to information one Harpreet Kaur of Bhangali village was married to Baljit Singh of Verka. However, after few days of marriage some dispute arose between the two. The members of both the families gathered near Gurdwara Nanak Sar to settle the dispute between them. But the situation became worse and both groups clashed with each other outside the gurdwara. ASI Satwant Singh, who had come from Baljit Singh’s side, was injured in the incident. The police authorities said investigations were on in the case. Fact File Baljit Singh and his wife Harpreet Kaur develop sour relations Members of both families gather near Gurdwara Nanak Sar to settle the dispute Situation turns ugly and both groups clash with each other ASI Satwant Singh, who had come from Baljit Singh’s side, was hurt
	Two held for forging birth certificates Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 Two touts were arrested today while operating from the basement of a building adjacent to the Regional Passport Office here during a raid conducted by the CIA staff. The CIA staff also recovered fake seals of birth and death registrars of three districts-Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur-from the possession of these touts. Inspector Vikram Sharma, said: “The police have arrested two persons for forging birth certificates with the help of fake seals. These forged documents were later used for getting passports made.” He said they had been monitoring the activities of the two arrested agents after they received a tip-off a few days ago. The officer said the duo was charging Rs 1,000 to Rs 4,000 from passport applicants for preparing fake birth certificates. The police are also investigating whether there was any link between the touts and the employees of the passport office, added the CIA in charge. The police had also seized files and other documents from the cabins of the two agents. Later, both the touts-Jaspal Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran road, and Maninder Singh Mani, a resident of Guru Nanak Avenue-were booked under Sections 420, 332, 329, 467, 468, 478 of the IPC at the Civil Lines police station. When contacted, the Regional Passport Officer, JS Sodhi said, “The applicants don’t need to visit these touts as the office has designated employees for their help. Only those people who don’t have valid documents visit these crooks.” He added that the office had earlier complained to the police about touts who were fooling people. The local passport office caters to the applicants from eight districts in the state.
	3 booked for raping, blackmailing tutor PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 The Sultanwind police booked three persons, including a woman, for allegedly raping and subsequently extorting money and blackmailing a 25-year-old married girl here today. Those booked were identified as Pawan Kumar, his brother Rinku and their mother, all residents of Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar. The police registered a case under Section 376 of the IPC against them in this regard. The ‘victim’ in her complaint lodged with the police alleged that she used to teach Aarti, daughter of Pawan Kumar, who resided just opposite to their residence. She had been teaching the girl for last couple of months. She alleged a few days ago she had gone to their house to teach the girl. The accused insisted her to have a cup of tea. She alleged that after having tea, she fell unconscious. And after that the accused raped her. They also clicked their photographs in objectionable condition and started blackmailing her. She alleged the accused extorted Rs 50,000 besides gold and silver ornaments from her. She said when she informed their mother, they threatened to defame her in front her in-laws. Fed up of their continuous illegal demands, she told her woes to her husband and they approached the police. Nirmaljit Singh, SHO Sultanwind police station, said the accused were on the run and raids were being conducted at their suspected places.
	Heritage, cleanliness can go and take a walk! Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 The Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board’s failure to promote the recently launched heritage walk effectively among tourists has taken away the sheen of this significant initiative as only a single tourist turned up to join it today. A woefully delayed promotional campaign was also hit on account of withdrawal of literature which erroneously mentioned holy ponds of some gurdwaras as lakes. Consequently, the board stopped distribution of pamphlets and booklets which erroneously mentioned holy sarovars of Golden Temple, Gurdwara Santokhsar and Gurdwara Kaulsar as lakes. The Board had entrusted the task of preparing the route for the walk and reading material regarding it to an expert Debashish Nayak, who had earlier prepared the similar walk for Ahmedabad. Principal Secretary Tourism, Geetika Kalha, was its text editor. The Board officials said literature was published outside the state and arrived only on September 26, a day before the launch of heritage walk. Hence, they did not have adequate time to review the reading material. Neither any banner nor buntings were installed at the prominent places of the city to inform the tourists about the regular conduct of walk before the launch of the walk. Besides, the initiation of the walk from within the Town Hall complex, which is hardly visited by the tourists, has become a testing ground for guides. The Tribune team today visited the starting point of the walk and found that only one tourist was part of the group. The walk is scheduled to begin regularly at 8 am. However, guides waited for tourists till 8.30 am. Eventually, they took the solitary tourist on the route of heritage walk to showcase the designated 14 places. The solitary tourist was Mohinder Singh of Jagraon. He said he arrived here in the midnight and had read about the walk in newspapers. “After inquiring from people I reached Town Hall to join the walk”, he said. The route was no better. Piles of garbage dotted the road. The filthy look revealed the state of affairs in the Municipal Corporation which could not press in dedicated staff on the route to clean it before the arrival of tourists. The Heritage Walk Coordinator Harpreet Kaur said the publicity material had arrived and they were distributing it at all possible vantage points. She said billboards and banners were being installed at the railway station, Golden Temple, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama and other locations. She admitted that garbage lifting and cleanliness were the major stumbling blocks. She said they had written to board to engage its own safai karamcharis and procure a pull-cart to lift garbage on the route. Lone tourist Only one tourist, Mohinder Singh, comes for the walk The poor response to a significant initiative is thanks to the slip-shod approach of the authorities Factual errors (holy sarovars of Gurdwara Santokhsar and Gurdwara Kaulsar mentioned as lakes) in the brochure forced the tourism board to withdraw the publicity material Official Speak The sanitary inspector of the area had been asked to direct the staff to start the cleaning process at 5 am. Since Amritsar is a big city it is difficult to shift employees from one place to the other. All efforts are being put in to make the walk a success. — Dharam Pal Gupta, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Tourists: We had no information I was not aware of the heritage walk. It could have been a new experience me altogether. But now I have to leave the city tonight and will not be able to come again soon. — Pengreen, a tourist from England I came alongwith my mother, wife and daughter to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple. I too was unaware that the walk was being organised to showcase the oldest parts of the city. The very concept of visiting the heritage spots is novel. I, however, did not find any information in this regard. A hell lot of things need to be done here to attract tourists. — Rickbal Singh, An NRI from Melbourne I came here along with three friends and there was no information about the walk. I wish they would have advertised it adequately. — Meriyan, a tourist from London
	Go for this mouth-watering experience Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 Amritsar, a city that comes with large dose of faith, enjoys larger doses of food. The next best way to get under the skin of the city is a taste of its street food. Cheap and best is the tagline and unforgettable is the taste. Whether it’s the walled city, Lawrence Road or Maqbool Road, a fish fry or Amritsari kulcha, the holy city holds its head high in pride when it comes to scrumptious street delights. Here is a quick round from the street food guide for those who still haven’t discovered the treasures of the walled city. Stuffed in delight If the city can boast of originating one delicacy that rules the chart till now, it’s Amritsari kulcha. The stuffed and soft kulchas with dripping butter on top and yummy chole and onion salad for company are a foodie’s ultimate delight. Served at almost every dhaba and fancy restaurant in city, the best and more rustic versions can be found inside the walled city. Kulcha land in Ranjit Avenue District Shopping Complex, right opposite to MK Hotel, serves up a variety of these lip-smacking Amritsari kulchas from morning till evening. At Rs 25 a plate, they easily fit into the cheap and best category of street food. When having the kulchas, gulping it down with lassi becomes a must. Whether a saffron lassi or mint lassi, served in large steel tumblers, the mere freshness it provides is good enough an impression. For the sweet tooth, narrow bylanes of Katra Ahluwalia are the place to be. The hot, crispy, desi ghee fried jalebis classify as out of the world and the frozen thick firni or vermillion served in kulhads (small bowls made of mud) are just not to be missed. Durga ice-cream on the Lawrence Road too enjoys a history with the city folks. Street wise Bun-tikkis, Matar kulcha, Nutri kulcha, panchranga golgappas and satpurras. These are some knick-knacks that will knock you off with their taste. Though can be easily available at numerous tuck in food corners around city, the evening Street Food bazaar at the Queens Road opposite to the Crystal chowk is a one stop shop for all these street smart delicacies. One can also get Chinese and south Indian snacks at the bazaar but nothing beats the tastes of these Punjabi specialties. Non-veg delights If the walled city is for the strictly vegetarian, the non-vegetarians find solace in the Makhan fish and tawa chicken easily found at zillion small dhabas and rehris near the railway station or their decked up avatars at the Lawrence road. Anmritsari fish is unarguably the most common street snack and is a yummy preparation of fish fillets, wrapped in the batter if chickpea, salt and ajwain. Makhan fish, its more popular version too impresses with its butter soft flavour. Surjit food Plaza at Lawrence road claims to be the best in serving this delicacy. Its owner, Surjit Singh says he was the first one to come up with the original recipe. “We have been in the business for over three decades now and have been featured o BBC and Lonely Planet for our Makhan fish.” Some more non-veg delicacies to explore are Beera chicken, tawa meat and the good old butter chicken. All in all, we can only say that when in Amritsar, eat like Amritsaris do!
	Health officials irked as callers dial 108 for ‘fun’ Decide to approach the police to curb the menace, hand over 21 phone numbers from where hoax calls were made PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 An increasing number of prank calls to the number '108', a free ambulance service at its response centre headquarters here have become a major irritant for the authorities. The nuisance created by these hoax callers may put lives of people who really need help in an emergency in jeopardy and people should desist from making such calls, say the authorities. The ambitious project was launched by the state government earlier this year under the public-private partnership programme to provide free ambulance service to the accident victims and other patients. Though the response to the free ambulance service is very positive and growing but along with it the number of hoax calls has also increased. “In some instances as many as 70 to 200 calls were made from a single number in a day. Majority of them call only to chat with the girls at the response centre,” said Jasdeep Singh, operation head, Punjab. What is more irritating is when the persons calling seem to be of a good background and belong to educated families, he added. Sometimes, the people handover their mobile phones to their children for playing who dial the number accidentally sometimes. While in many cases, people dial the number only for the sake of fun. "Hoax emergency calls are the worst," said Jasdeep Singh. "One hoax calls means loosing precious time during which we could have saved some other lives. In several cases we had to go beyond 20- kilometre radius (which is the designated limit for an ambulance) as our main aim is to save lives of the people in emergency situation," said Jasdeep. One visit also involves a significant amount of expenditure, he said. “We have now decided to approach the police to deal with the problem sternly. Till now we have handed over phone numbers of 21 hoax callers to the police. Recently, the police nabbed a student of Class X from Ludhiana,” said Sunil Gandhi, centre district manager. He said the police let off the boy only after a written apology from him and his family members. He said the response centre received a call recently that fire had erupted at a building near BBK DAV College of Girls at Lawrence Road here. “We immediately dispatched two ambulances to the spot but found the information to be incorrect,” he said. When we call at these numbers, they are either switched off or is out of reach, said Gandhi. Time is precious One hoax calls means loosing precious time during which we could have saved some other lives. In several cases we had to go beyond 20-km radius (which is the designated limit for an ambulance) as our main aim is to save lives of the people in emergency situation. In some instances as many as 70 to 200 calls were made from a single number in a day. A majority of them call only to chat with the girls at the response centre. — Jasdeep Singh, operations head, Punjab
	NGOs join hands to save city’s forest cover Urge PM to intervene to stop auction of Canal Colony belonging to the Irrigation Department Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM), Punjab Pollution Control Committee (PPCC), Mission Aagaaz, Kheti Virasat Mission, Tarksheel Society and International Welfare Society has written to the Union and state governments to drop their plan to auction the canal colony of the Irrigation department to construct a five star hotel and commercial complexes. Communiqués addressed to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister AK Antony, the Union Minister of Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal were also dispatched to draw their attention. The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) and PUDA have also planned a five star hotel-cum-convention centre and commercial complexes at the site. PS Bhatti of the PPCC said he has urged the government not to proceed with the plan. He requested the Union government to intervene in the matter. Members of the NGOs are of the view that with the dismantling of the kothis belonging to the British era, the region would lose their architecture forever as well as the decades old trees and vegetation grown in them. Mission Aagaaz executive director Deepak Babbar said high-rise buildings near the cantonment could also pose security threat. He said it was for the second time in the city that a huge forest cover would be put to axe. Earlier, a dense cover of 452 trees at Dr Vidya Sagar Mental Hospital was chopped to pave way for a five star hotel and a mall. He said while only a small percentage of the residents visit shopping malls and multiplexes, everyone benefits from city's green cover in many ways. He said a half-hearted approach had led to the state losing its green cover fast. He said the state was now left with only three per cent forest cover. Environmentalist Gurbhej Singh said the decision was also a mockery of the resolution passed in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, states “this House strongly recommends to the State Government to take immediate and effective steps for bringing more area under forest cover, in order to curb the dreadful and fatal affects of the ever-increasing pollution in the State”. He said development should not be at the cost of city's green cover. He said these British era kothis could be turned into hotels and resorts for tourists to stay without demolishing them or removing green cover. Green brigade Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM), Punjab Pollution Control Committee (PPCC), Mission Aagaaz, Kheti Virasat Mission, Tarksheel Society and International Welfare Society form a joint action committee to stop the auction of the canal colony of the irrigation department for a five-star hotel and commercial complexes. ‘Turn kothis into heritage hotels’ These British-era kothis could be turned into hotels and resorts for tourists to stay without demolishing them or removing the green cover. — Gurbhej Singh, environmentalist
	Online payment of taxes for truckers launched Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 Transport Secretary Anurag Aggarwal here unveiled the online payment of motor vehicle taxes for truck and bus operators today. Addressing the operators and transporters, he said they could pay their quarterly taxes through SBI net banking. He said they would no longer have to visit various offices or stand in long queues for the same. He said online payment would ensure a direct link with the Director Treasury, District Transport Office and Accounts General Office. Aggarwal said annual tax of Rs 1,250 was required to be paid for a truck. There were about 15,000 trucks in the district. He said the move would take off the congestion from the transport office as well. Similarly, operators of ordinary and AC buses could make online payment of taxes. DTO Vimal Setia said there were 250 buses registered with the office. He said 14 out of 23 dealers in the district had become online. Thus, RC to customers would be delivered within four days at their home.
	10 challaned for illegal use of LPG cylinders Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 The District Food and Civil Supplies Department in collaboration with the traffic police today launched a drive to check illegal use of domestic cylinders in four wheelers. The department dispatched seven teams along with the police officials in various parts of the city. Dr Rakesh Kumar Singla, controller, District Food and Civil Supplies, said the drive would continue for two days. “Today, the department challened about 10 vehicles fitted with illegal LPG gas cylinders. The cylinder were seized by the department,” said Dr Singla. According to him, misuse of domestic cylinders in vehicles is not only unsafe, but also leads to shortage of cylinders during winter season.
	Walkathons mark World Heart Day Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 To create awareness about health diseases on World Heart Day, two separate walkathons were organised in the city today. In the walk organised by Fortis Escorts Hospital, Mayor Shwait Malik and wife of local MP Dr Navjot Sidhu stressed on the need of a healthy lifestyle to keep heart ailments at a bay. Commencing from Company Bagh, the walkers spread the slogan of healthy heart for healthy life on Malvia road and Lawrence road. Besides regular morning walkers at Company Bagh, the walk was attended by the members of the traders’ association, students, doctors and nurses. Dr HP Singh, Medical Superintendent of Fortis, said on an average 17 million people across the globe die of heart diseases every year. He said Punjabis need to take extra care of their heart. The Emergency Medical Care Hospital also organised a walk from Nehru Shopping Complex. The students of various schools took part. The hospital held a medical check up camp for heart patients in which 150 patients were examined.