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Cong, Akali workers clash
Four cops suspended for ‘siphoning’ seized money
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More needs to be done in service of Right to Service Act
 Amritsar, October 12
As most government offices in the city have failed to put up any information for the general public in the form of boards, a large section of visitors feigned ignorance about the state government’s initiative on the Right to Service (RTS) Act, while demanding that ample measures needs to be taken to make the general public aware of the provisions of the Act and its implementation. Notices written in English about the schedule to avail public services under the Right to Service Act pasted on the door of the DTO Office in Amritsar. Tribune photo: Sameer Sehgal
Teachers reject VC’s proposals; no end to strike
Three snatchers arrested
South African national with fake visa, held
Nobody’s heart beats for this cardiology ward
Demand for technically trained youth at global level, says Sidhu
Lab technicians end strike,
resume work
Residential project launched
Don’t let arthritis bring you down on your knees
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Cong, Akali workers clash
Amritsar, October 12 The accused also attacked Balwinder Singh and Baldev Singh, both residents of Kohala and Manjh villages, respectively, who had come to see their relatives at the hospital. A police party from the Majitha police station rescued them. Dilbagh Singh, SHO Majitha road police station, said, “We are investigating the incident and a case would be registered against the accused.” Sukhbinder Singh Sukh Sarkaria, the Congress MLA from Rajasansi, who reached the spot, has strongly condemned the attack. He warned that the Congress party will hold an agitation if the police fails to take action. Sarakaria alleged that those who had been injured were the associates of Mukhtar Singh, a resident of Lodhi Gujjar village, who had recently shifted his loyalties to the Congress party. This has not gone down well with Sarabjit Singh Lodhi Gujjar, an Akali leader and Chairman, Block Samiti, Lopoke. They were putting pressure on Mukhtar to come back and join the Shiromani Akali Dal, he said. He, along with his supporters, gathered outside the residence of Mukhtar Singh late last night and started firing, Sarkaria alleged. Majhail Singh and Nishan Singh got injured in the attack, he said. “As soon as I received information about the clash, I asked the SHO to take action against the accused. However, the police remained a mute spectator. When I informed the SSP, the SHO, instead of taking action against the accused, they detained the victims who were Congress workers,” alleged Sarkaria. Sarkaria said an agitation would be launched and Lopoke police station would be gheraoed if an attempt to murder case was not registered in this connection. Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, SSP, Amritsar Rural Police, said the police is investigating the matter. “It was actually both ways. Still we are investigating into the allegations. The statements of the Congress and Akali workers involved in last night’s incident are being recorded. The law would take its own course and the guilty would be taken to task,” said Chauhan.
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Four cops suspended for ‘siphoning’ seized money
Amritsar, October 12 A huge amount was allegedly usurped by the police teams that raided a private resort situated on Fatehgarh Churian bypass. It may be mentioned that while the senior police officials had stated that an amount of Rs 7.50 lakh was seized from the spot, the police sources on the other hand revealed that more than Rs 80 lakh had been seized during the raid. Wards of leading business families as well as political leaders of the city were among those present at the party at the time of the raid. The police had booked 44 persons under the Gambling Act out of which 21 persons were arrested and later released on bail. Under pressure, the police declared that a meager Rs 7.50 lakh from the spot while the remaining unaccounted money was allegedly usurped by the raiding police party. Police Commissioner, Amritsar, RP Mittal, has been conducting a probe into the case and has ordered to place these policemen under suspension. The police officers suspended include Jagbir Singh, SHO Gate Hakima police station, ASI Bachan Singh, ASI Gurwinder Singh besides ASI Rajwinder Kaur, incharge police Chowki Fatehgarh Churian bypass which is situated just a few yards away from the resort where the raid was conducted. “The four officers have been put under suspension due to several allegations and reports received against them. A fact-finding team would be constituted to conduct detailed investigations into the incident,” Mittal said. He said the preliminary investigations have corroborated the charge while the exact details will be revealed only after the completion of the probe. Asked about the alleged involvement of senior police officials who reached the spot, he said the same could only be ascertained after the probe.
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More needs to be done in service of Right to Service Act
Amritsar, October 12
Even as a few of these offices have done a mere eyewash with only printouts pasted inside the offices and that too in the English language which most of the local visitors don’t understand. The visitors demanded that information in public offices should be given only in the Gurmukhi script so that a maximum number of people can read it. A visitor from Jandiala Guru, Swinder Singh Chandi said, “Information in English is no good for semi-literate people. It should be provided in Punjabi as it is the language used by most people in the state.” The District Transport Office and Suvidha Kendra were the offices where printouts in English language about the RTS were pasted. Another visitor, Jatinder Singh, said, “The state government is projecting the new law as if it would put an end to all the woes of the general public. The fact that people are unaware about the act is the biggest hindrance in its path.” Of all the offices, the Municipal Corporation is the only one that has put up a board in Gurumukhi listing the maximum number of days required for getting the services. The local Patwar Khana, near the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, had not provided any information. The scenario at the police station was no better as these too have failed to provide any information about the Act. Interestingly, of all the 67 services whose time-bound service has been ensured by the RTS, a maximum number of 20 are related with the police administration.
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Teachers reject VC’s proposals; no end to strike
Amritsar, October 12 V-C AS Brar said the president of the association had double standards and that the agreement was later projected in a wrong way before the teachers in the general house meeting. "In fact, the proposals were drafted by the members of the executive body of the association itself. It was in the presence of Dr Balwinder Singh, I had agreed to all the eight points that were raised by the teachers. Later, he conveyed the message in a wrong way, apparently, by altering this mutually agreed draft before the house meeting and the teachers rejected it," he said. Terming the allegations as baseless, Dr Balwinder Singh said, “When we met the V-C, he had said that all the contents of the draft would stand only subject to the condition that we agree to lift the dharna instantly. How could we commit to that without discussing it thoroughly with all our member teachers in the general-house meeting? When we read out the contents, the teachers showed their disapproval. Moreover, it was just a piece of paper containing no signatures. How could we rely on that," he said. Nevertheless, over 150 teachers, who attended the meeting, unanimously decided to continue the agitation. The teachers would observe 'no-teaching work' for two hours (between 11 am and 1pm) in all the departments and sit on dharna outside V-C's the office during that time. The proposal of the authorities to initiate dismissal proceedings against a senior professor of Commerce and Business Management (CBM) department GS Bhalla, inquiry against their leader Dr Balwinder Singh while removing him as the head of the department, seeking legal opinion in the cases of change in the eligibility dates for promotion did not go down well with the teachers. Terming these proposals of the VC as vague and based on frivolous grounds, the teachers accused the V-C of being vindictive against the teachers. They also disapproved the V-C's move of issuing a circular recently to all the heads of the departments, seeking reports about the teachers who were taking part in the agitation instead of taking classes. Regarding Dr Bhalla's case, the teachers said the dismissal proceedings were harsh and should be revoked. Similarly, in Dr Balwinder Singh's case, the teachers demanded that an inquiry should have been initiated against the BoC (Board of Control), constituted by the university, on the insistence of which the students were detained on account of short attendance. Dr Balwinder Singh is only one of the members of the BoC, thus it was not justified to hold him liable for any lapses. The teachers also pointed out to the procedural lapses in the cases of promotion.
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Three snatchers arrested
Amritsar, October 12 In another incident, Civil Line police arrested another snatcher Davinder Singh of Rajinder Nagar area while his accomplice Daljit Singh of Tandan Nagar managed to flee. The accused were allegedly involved in snatching purses and chains. The arrest was made from outside Company Bagh area here. The accused had recently snatched a purse from Sonia from outside ENT Hospital here, according to sources.
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South African national with fake visa, held
Amritsar, October 12 The accused, Steve Kallis, had allegedly procured the visa from Nepal. A travel agent allegedly provided him with a fake visa for Pakistan along with a genuine visa for India, according to sources. Dinesh Kumar Gupta, Immigration Officer, said during checking his Pakistani visa was found fake. He was handed over to the Kahangarh police where a case under Section 420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC was registered against him.
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Nobody’s heart beats for this cardiology ward
Amritsar, October 12 The doors of the washrooms in the ward, meant for patients and their attendants, can be seen standing with the help of cords as the wood around the hinges has been damaged over the years. A large-sized entrance to the ward towards the road that connects the building with others buildings has also been sealed permanently, as the hinges that used to bear its weight have been damaged. The door can no longer stop the entry of stray animals as there is a huge hole on one side of the door. The attendants have also put a cardboard against the hole to keep stray dogs and cats away from the patients. Two of the dormitories in the ward, meant to house patients, now store torn mattresses and worn out beds. Sources say that these worn out items are to be auctioned and have been stored temporarily. The condition of the balcony over the entrance gate is filled with filth. The area outside the ward towards which windows of the patients’ ward open is also filled with garbage. There is no one to check patients from throwing plastic bags outside their windows instead of the garbage bin. Owing to this several bags get entangled with the windows. A worker at the ward said, “The area around the washroom; both inside and outside gets flooded during rains. Perhaps the water outlet pipes have choked.” A patient’s attendant said, “The dislocated doors make it tough for women to use the toilets and washrooms at the hospital. The hospital management should get the washroom doors repaired.” The hospital has recently inaugurated a 14-bed ICCU for cardiology patients but has forgotten a building that has been serving cardio patients since 1979, when the ward was built. Relative of a patient said, “The condition of the hospital belittle its reputation. Even it surely is unhygienic for the patients as well as their attendants.” Hospital medical superintendent Dr Karnail Singh said, “An inspection of the cardiology ward would be conducted at the earliest and all the shortcomings would be rectified.” He said the repair works at the buildings in the hospital are done only on the demand of the in-house departments.
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Demand for technically trained youth at global level, says Sidhu
Amritsar, October 12 The technical institutes in the state have played a key role in raising the standard of education here”, said Member Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu, who presided over the freshers’ party organised for B.Tech students at Global Institute, located on the Batala road here. The Member Parliament later announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh on the occasion. Chowdhary Surjit Kumar Giani, Transport and Technical Education Minister, Punjab, stated that the country did not witness progress in the field of technology upto the desired level and the government is taking firm steps to establish more and more technical institutes in the state. About the road safety, the minister told that now driving licence formalities for children above 18 year of age would be completed at the school level itself. Meanwhile, the students presented a cultural programme “Agaaz”. The students also presented Malwai giddha, bhangra, skit, mimickry, group song, solo song, besides a fashion show wherein Mr and Miss Freshers were chosen among the fresh entrants.
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Lab technicians end strike,
resume work
Amritsar, October 12 institutions in the city. The laboratory technicians had gone on a strike on October 3 to press upon the state government to fulfil their demands related to pay revision and allowances. The backlog of patients who could not get the tests conducted at the government hospitals visited the hospitals in large numbers. Sudharshan Kaul, a patient said, “The doctor could not start the medication as he said that it could be started only after the test reports confirm the nature of problem.” He added that as he could not get the required blood tests conducted from a private laboratory, he had to wait for the strike to end. Laboratory Technicians’ Association Vice-President, Baldev Singh Jhander said that work at all laboratories in government hospitals was affected to a great extent because of the protest. He added that the government must find a permanent solution to the problem. “The technicians have not ended their protest yet. Another phase of protest would be initiated if the association's talks with CM failed,” said Jhander.
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Residential project launched
Amritsar, October 12 Speaking at the launch of the project, Om Chaudhry, chairman and CEO, Astrum Homes, said, “We at Astrum Homes offer our customers value for money by providing them world-class amenities and offer facilities like power back-up, neighbourhood shopping centre, commercial spaces, health centre, ample arking space and sewage treatment plant, apart from a grand club house spread over 15,000 sq ft with all indoor and outdoor sports facilities, gym, bar, banquet hall, etc. Jorge M Perez, vice chairman and board of director, Astrum Homes, said the project will have with all modern amenities and will be spread over an area of 31 acres. “It is located on the GT Road, close to the Golden Temple and Jallianwala Bagh,” according to him. “The project is also easily accessible and well connected to the airport and railway station as well as Wagah border,” he said.
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Don’t let arthritis bring you down on your knees
“Even arthritis in old age can be avoided by following a healthier lifestyle and exercise routine”, says Dr Rakesh Sharma, an orthopaedic expert at the Government Medical College. According to him, the persons with job profiles that involve sitting for longer durations are more prone to the problem. Regular stress-reliving exercises, as suggested by a physiotherapy expert, could be of help in keeping the problem at bay. Talking about the latest medical techniques available in city for the cure of arthritis, Dr Sharma said, “The GFRP (Growth Factor Rich Plasma) therapy which involves extraction of platelet rich plasma from the patients own blood and then injecting the same into his or her knee joints helps in giving pain relief up to two years.” He added that platelet-rich plasma contains growth factors which try to help regenerate the degenerated cartilage. The Kine Spring Knee Implant System is the latest technique in which bowed legs are provided a support with the help of kine springs that help in straightening the knee joints and thus help their painless movement. The other technique used to reduce the pain of arthritis patients is the Knee Lavange technique in which debris is removed from the knee joints, said Dr Sharma, adding that it helps in delaying knee-replacement surgery by four years. He added, “The biggest benefit of using this technique is that there is no need to hospitalise the patient during the treatment. The Visco supplementation, a technique in which the lubricating fluid in the knee joints is replaced, is also in vogue. However, the technique has been applied with limited success as it provides pain relief only up to a year. Jagjeet Kaur, an arthritis patient who lives near Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, is also suffering from diabetes and the doctors have ruled out surgery for her. However, she never complains of experiencing pain and follows her daily routine. She said, “Arthritis is not the biggest problem that one goes through during the entire life span. Though the problem changes your life but still one has to go on. The medical science in recent times has advanced to such an extent that I often wonder how life could have been much more problematic with this disease 20 years ago.” Narinder Singh, a businessmen and an arthritis patient from Mohni Park area, follows his normal routine and takes keen interest in his trade activities in spite of the disease. In his late 50s, he manages his business affairs from morning to evening. He said, “A problem is a problem and it has to be faced bravely. With family support and proper medical care, life is much easier than it could have been without these things. I advise that youngsters must adopt a healthier lifestyle to save themselves from such kind of problems at later stage.
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Amritsar, October 12
A visit to various government offices in city by The Tribune brought out the fact that concerned officials have not cared to get the information boards about the maximum time limit defined for each particular service under the RTS. 
Amritsar, October 12