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Garbage on heritage walk route keeps people away
Participants in the Heritage Walk pass through a street littered with garbage in Amritsar on Friday. Tribune photo: Sameer Sehgal
Unit exporting blankets gutted in fire
Three vehicle lifters arrested
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Number of dengue cases rises to 24
Kalka Mail derailment: Deluge of passengers as trains get late by hours
Passengers stranded at the railway station in Amritsar on Friday. Tribune photo: Sameer Sehgal
Cracker godown fire; three-member panel yet to begin investigations
Sidhu reviews road project
ASHA workers to protest
Honour for ENT specialist
Biryani festival
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Garbage on heritage walk route keeps people away
Amritsar, October 28 Only three members of a family from Johannesburg in South Africa joined the walk which started at its stipulated time from Town Hall today. The garbage on the route had not been cleaned despite assurances by the officials of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation to conduct an advance cleanliness drive. A trolley full of garbage was parked close to the starting point of the walk. A pile of garbage was seen burning outside Gurdwara Saragarhi, which is the second halting point on the route. Loose cables were to be removed before the start of the walk but to no avail. Loose cables hanging over the façade of a majority of the buildings blocked the front view. The Board's failed to promote and publicise the heritage. No banners or buntings were put up at the prominent spots in the city to inform the tourists about the walk. Behaviour of some of the residents on the route was also questionable as they passed remarks on the participants. The tourists taking part in the walk were Maryanne, her daughter Carol and son Alan. Maryanne works with in an NGO Vishwas, running a school for inclusive education in Gurgaon, as a Community Development Advisor. She said her children had come for a vacation to India and had come here yesterday. She said she and her family came to known about the walk from Information Bureau at Railway station. Carol appreciated the concept of the walk and said they would have otherwise missed these heritage spots without realising their significance. Alan said the walk was very informative and offered them a peep into the way of living of the people of the city. He felt that cleanliness and removal of cables could make the walk a hit. He was bowled over by the gesture of famous Gurdas Ram Jalebiwala who offered them the juicy sweet free of cost.
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Unit exporting blankets gutted in fire
Amritsar, October 28 The fire, which broke out at 7.15 am, spread like wild fire due to the presence of acrylic yarn and several petroleum products used at the unit. The fire engulfed sheds and godowns at the spot within no time. The fire department pressed into service 10 fire tenders to douse the flames and the operation continued until evening. Machinery and blankets reportedly worth crores of rupees were gutted in the fire. However, no loss of life was reported. The factory was opened after a two-day break due to Diwali and Vishavkarma day celebrations. Work was to begin at 8 am and the labourers were yet to come for work. Though the exact cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained, some persons who were present at the time of incident said the fire spread from the side of the boiler. Jarnail Singh, an electrician in the factory, said the boiler had started operation at 6 to 6.30 am. At 7.15 am, a security employee, Kirpal Singh, saw several blankets on fire. The fire immediately spread to other parts of the factory within no time. He said he raised an alarm and informed the supervisors present at the mill who then informed the owners in addition to the Fire Brigade. "About 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot as soon as we received the information," said Tarlochan Singh, Fire Officer. He said there was no fire extinguishing equipment in the factory. Deputy Commissioner, Tarn Taran, Satwant Singh Johal, said the factory had 70 fire extinguishers but due to two holidays no one was available to operate them. He said no inquiry was being conducted into the incident. Mohinder Singh Kochar, the factory owner, said they could not immediately estimate the loss. He said they had recently imported four modern machines worth several crores from Korea. The machines were yet to become operational. |
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Three vehicle lifters arrested
Amritsar, October 28 Those arrested have been identified as Harpreet Singh and Amandeep Singh Thapar, both residents of Jalandhar. The police has also recovered a Hundai i-20 make car bearing number PB-02-BK-2552 besides a motorcycle with the number PB02BB7150 from their possession. In a statement issued here today, the police authorities claimed that the CIA staff had received specific information that the accused were roaming in Sultanwind road area trying to sell the stolen white colour car. The staff laid a barricade near 100-feet road and intercepted the accused, the statement added. On the basis of the information provided by Harpreet, the police seized recovered black coloured motorcycle from his possession. In another case, Ramanjit Singh Babbi, a resident of Gali Borianwali, Bibeksar road, was arrested and a Suzuki motorcycle was aso recovered from his possession.
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Number of dengue cases rises to 24
Amritsar, October 28 Denying rumours, the health authorities also claimed that there has been no death of any suspected dengue patient. The department had asked four private hospitals in city to submit their records after deaths in five suspected dengue cases. District Epidemiologist Dr Charanjit Singh said, "On checking the record of two hospitals where three dengue deaths were reported, it has been found that the patients did not have dengue but were suffering from other ailments." The other two hospitals have communicated to the district health authorities in writing that the patients whose deaths were reported at their hospital were not suffering from dengue, he said. The officer also claimed that the situation is under control and there was no need to panic. Last year, as per data available with the health department, a total of 58 dengue cases were registered while the number of suspected dengue patients was 491. Till October, the department had detected 54 cases. "As compared to the last year, 40 per cent less cases of dengue have been reported till October. The health department is collecting more samples every day," he said. He said reports of 33 more samples, which were sent to Government Medical College, are being waited over the next two days. The department has done anti-larvae spray in the 100 m radius in the periphery of the houses of all 133 suspected dengue patients, he said. He also advised the general public to get their confirmatory tests done from the medical college. “It has also been noticed that few private hospitals are falsely claiming cases of dengue even when the patients are suffering from some other disease. The Government Medical College is the only competent institution to conduct Mac Elisa, a test to confirm dengue,” he said.
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Kalka Mail derailment: Deluge of passengers as trains get late by hours
Amritsar, October 28 The Shatabdi, which arrives here at 2.30 pm, was delayed by five hours. The Shan-e-Punjab too was late by five and a half hours, according to the Deputy Station Superintendent, Akshay Kumar. The rush at the local railway station grew with each passing hour as more and more passengers arrived on the station to board the trains. The departure of the trains was also delayed because of the late arrival of trains. The railway authorities had to divert the routes of several trains during the day because of the derailment of three bogies of train on the the Ambala-Delhi section considered to be one of the busiest rail routes. Shatabdi was diverted between New Delhi and Ludhiana, while Shan-e-Punjab was diverted between New Delhi and Ambala. The railway authorities said the trains will resume their normal schedule soon. Jasvir Singh, who was at station to receive his cousin coming from Delhi said, "If Shatabdi had come on time we could have reached our village by 4 pm. But I have been waiting for last three hours for the trains to come." A large number of the passengers, including foreign tourists were seen sitting on the floor of the platforms because of the insufficient seating arrangements. Shivani Mahindra, a school teacher said, "At times when the trains are running late it is impossible for one to find a seat." Even the counters for reservation and cancellation of tickets were crowded with passengers jostling to get their tickets cancelled as they decided to opt for other modes of transportation. Gurpartap Singh, a passenger said, "I had to appear for a job interview in Delhi tomorrow. Now I have decided that I should board a bus to be able to reach in time." He said he had planned that he would reach Delhi late in the evening and stay with a friend.
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Cracker godown fire; three-member panel yet to begin investigations
Amritsar, October 28 The team is to investigate into how the shop-cum- godown owner managed to get it reopened when the Kotwali police had already registered a case against them and closed the shop in the absence of the requisite licence and other documents. It is mandatory for a firecracker trader to take a licence from the local Arms licensing branch. But if the quantity of crackers goes beyond 100 kg, the trader should apply for the requisite licence to joint controller, Explosives at Faridabad. However, it is necessary for the applicant to inform the police as well as the administration about the permission from Faridabad. The owner of the shop Billa Mal Shambh Nath located at Mahan Singh Gate had stored a huge quantity of firecrackers, after getting a licence from Faridabad to store firecrackers. "But it is yet to be ascertained whether he had actually taken a licence from the authorities concerned at Faridabad as being reported and if so why he had not informed the police department," sources said. "The officials of the department concerned at Faridabad should have investigated whether the godown is located in the outskirts of the city and if it had the required permission," sources added. The team, includes ADCP, Traffic, RS Ghuman, ACP Central Prabhjot Singh and in- charge licence branch, Inspector Parneet Singh Dhillon and will submit its report within 10-days.
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Sidhu reviews road project
Amritsar, October 28 These projects included the elevated road, Plaza outside the Golden Temple, Amrit Anand Park, Ring road, Sakatri Bagh, Tarawala Pull, heritage village inside Guru Nanak Dev University, expansion of Majitha road and the airport road. He said the portion of the road from GT road to the Golden Temple will be completed by November 3. — TNS |
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Amritsar, October 28 The organisation has also decided that the activists will gherao the health official on any working day without giving a prior notice for it. JPMO spokesman Jarmanjit Singh Bath said while the candidates with one year experience have been promoted while those with three years of work have been denied the same. — TNS
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Honour for ENT specialist
Amritsar, October 28 Dr Sharma is the Professor and Head of the Department of ENT at Government Medical College. Sharma has been honoured for his contribution to the field of medical sciences through his 26 research papers.
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Biryani festival
Amritsar, October 28 The festival promises to bring a panorama of authentic recipes served with some additional flavours from its kitchen, the festival will try to bring a variety of food in terms of service and presentation. — TNS |
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Heritage Walk, an ambitious project of the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board, being organised to boost the tourism industry in the holy city, continues to be in doldrums.
With trains running late by more than five hours today after the derailment of
Howrah-Delhi Kalka Mail near Rathdhana station near Sonepat in Haryana, passengers at the local railway station were left stranded.
The Shatabdi, which arrives here at 2.30 pm, was delayed by five hours. The Shan-e-Punjab too was late by five and a half hours, according to the Deputy Station Superintendent, Akshay Kumar.
Few join the walk as the route is dotted with cables and electricity transformers and garbage. Inadequate publicity and lack of proper cleanliness on the route are the main problems affecting its success.
Similarly, the cleanliness operation was on even after the walk had begun. Piles of garbage dotted the route exposing the claims made by the Municipal Corporation which could not press a dedicated staff on the route to clean it before the tourists arrived.