mahansingh gate fire
HC notices to DC, police chief
Amritsar, December 14
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notices to the Chief Secretary of the Department of Home, Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, Rajat Agarwal, and the Commissioner of police, Amritsar, RP Mittal, besides several other police officials in connection with the fire which in a cracker shop in the densely-populated Mahan Singh Gate a couple of months back.

Amritsar, December 14
There is no stopping harsh winter wind from entering the patients' wards at Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital. With most windowpanes either broken or absent, the patients here have to make their own arrangements to save themselves.

While some relied on bed sheets or blankets, some others used old newspapers for the same.

Glass windowpanes in patients' wards, corridors and other rooms are broken.

The patients at the hospital said though the temperature during the day time is bearable for now but a dip in the mercury during the night exposes them to the harsh cold weather.

Jaswinder Kaur, attendant of a patient said, "It gets really cold inside the patients' wards at night. We have to make arrangements to keep the patients warm." She said the hospital management must put new glass.

Another visitor Sujeet Kumar said, “The cold wave is likely to intensify in the coming weeks. In January mere bed sheets will fail to stop the air." He said the hospital should have taken corrective measures before the onset of winters.

"We have to use up to two-three blankets to keep the patients warm. If the windows were intact only one may be sufficient,” said Jagpal Singh, relative of a patient.

Senior Medical Superintendent Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon said, “The process to fix the broken and missing glass panes has been initiated. We will soon get the wards ready,” he said.

Amritsar, December 14
It was a usual sight on the route of the much-hyped Panj Sarovar walk inaugurated by the state Tourism Minister Hira Singh Gabria. Filth greeted the participants as the organisers had failed to ensure clean, dirt free roads for the event.

Without having addressed lapses like failure to lift garbage, fixing loose cables, broken footpaths and an inadequate promotional campaign for the walk, the PHTPB went ahead to launch the walk.

The walk began from Santokhsar Sarovar in Gurdwara Santokhsar, moved along the road passing Gurdwara Saragarhi and Jallianwala Bagh onto the narrow streets for the second stop of the walk at Bibeksar Sarovar. Across the street was located Ramsar Sarovar, where Guru Arjan Dev had compiled Guru Granth Sahib. The fourth stop on the walk was the Kaulsar Sarovar. The walk led to the Golden Temple, passing the langar hall to Ramgarhia Bunga and to the final and most sacred pond Amrit Sarovar.

Tourism Secretary, Punjab, Geetika Kalha, said the walk will be free of cost for a month after which some fee would be charged. She said it will take another year to open Qila Gobindgarh for public as repair work was in progress. Gabria also laid the stone for the construction of a multi-storey parking lot near the Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post. The Rs 15-crore parking lot will be built on 12 acres of land for tourists, he said.

Amritsar, December 14
Patients at government medical institutions faced a lot of inconvenience because the pharmacists and laboratory technicians continued to be on a casual leave today. Pharmacies at the various hospitals and dispensaries were closed today.

Because of the strike by the laboratory technicians, no check-ups were conducted at the hospital laboratories. Both groups of employees had earlier decided to proceed on a mass casual leave till December 17.

About the inconvenience faced by the patients, Sham Lal, a patient at local Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital said, "Laboratory staff first conducts the tests prescribed by the doctor before the treatment can begin. But the laboratory technicians have not conducted any tests since Monday.

The pharmacies were closed as the pharmacists association had warned of filing a complaint against those selling medicine in their absence.

Sukhdev Singh Kohri, Association president said, “As per Section 42 of the Pharmacy Act, 1948, no person except a registered pharmacist shall compound, prepare, mix or dispense any medicine on the prescription of a medical practitioner and who so ever contravenes this provision shall be punishable.”

Amritsar, December 12
Even as the SAD-BJP coalition government notified the Right to Education (RTE) Act in 2009, it failed to implement the same in CBSE schools.

A number of CBSE schools though charge hefty sums as fee and other funds, they do not extend any benefit to below poverty line (BPL) families under the Act.

These schools claim they had not received any instruction either from the CBSE headquarters or from the state government.

The Act ensures free text books, writing materials, uniforms apart from free education to poor children. Children with disabilities were also entitled to get free special learning and support material.

As per the provisions of the Act, wherever a government school is not available, the state would make reimbursement to the nearest school, referred to as neighbourhood school.

As per the Act, public schools are to admit 25 per cent students belonging to weaker sections and disadvantageous groups, even in pre-primary classes.

The Amritsar Tribune learnt that hardly any private school was working in the direction. Some charitable educational societies running CBSE schools are offering free of cost and subsidised education to students.

However, many of these schools offer education to children from underprivileged families in evening schools which may act as segregation of these children from the other students.

Dharamvir Singh, president, Sahodya School, an organisation representing 60 CBSE schools in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur, said that the CBSE schools had not received intimation neither from the state government nor from the CBSE headquarters in the matter.

He said the Act also said the schools adhering to the norms would be compensated. He said without proper guidelines and understanding, the Act could not be implemented.

He said many schools being run by Chief Khalsa Diwan Charitable Society and DAV offer free of cost education to a large number of students.

He said in many schools number of such students surpasses the benchmark of 25 per cent.

Amritsar, December 14
Rupee hitting a new low against the US dollar has had different implications for different people.

If it is a sad news for importers and outbound travellers, it has come as a delight for NRIs and their kin living here.

Dollars sent by NRIs to the families here fetch more value in rupees.

On a vacation here, New York-based businessman Jaswant Singh said it was an opportune moment to invest here.

He added that in order to take advantage of the situation he would invest in the real estate. Besides, he plans to put some money in fixed deposits.

A resident of Ajit Nagar, Charanjit Singh, whose son Sameep Singh is based at Dayton (US) and is employed with Goodrich company, said many families, who have earning hands overseas, were asking them to take loan from banks in their countries and invest the same money in FDRs and other schemes here.

He said NRI business class has invested huge part of their earnings in safe fixed deposits here.

Davinder Kaur from Sultanwind area said her daughter Navreet Kaur along with her family has come from Melbourne to purchase jewellery and other items to make most of the situation.

Amritsar, December 14
Doctors at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital successfully removed a tumour weighing 15 kg and 34 inches in circumference from a patient’s body.

Dr HS Sohal, Professor and Head, Orthopaedics, said, “I have never seen such a large tumour during my entire medical career. Even in the medical literature a tumour this big has never been reported.”

Associate Professor Dr Rakesh Sharma, who conducted the operation, said, “Though the operation was very complicated. The patient is fit and fine now.”

The patient Parveen Kumar had reported the growth about three years ago. “Then the growth was very small, but we have asked him to get it removed with the help of a surgery. However, being illiterate he fell prey to quacks who claimed that the problem can be cured with massages,” said Dr Sharma. Surinder Kumar, patient’s brother, said, “The growth was such that my brother had a difficulty in moving.”

Amritsar, December 14
Wedding trousseau enjoys the maximum budget. Making sure that the D-day doesn't lack in glamour, there is a must have attached to the designer labels as it no longer 
falls under the category of splurging.

Amritsar being the cultural hub of the region and known for its love for traditions is a witness to another growing tradition. That of spending on designer dresses.

"The reason being a label lasts forever," says Archana Daman, store manager of a leading designer outlet in Ranjit Avenue.

"People do not mind spending on designer labels as they know what their value is worth," she adds. The exclusive collection at the store has the best traditional and ethnic wear with rich drapes and embroideries.

"The tastes of people here are very traditional, so we have fabrics like satin crepe, brocade, katan silk, with kota, dabka, antique work, naquashi and cut-glass kamdani work," explains Archana.

And for that spending an amount close to one lakh or more does not raise many eyebrows (we are talking only the wedding dress here).

Similarly, another multi-designer studio that has big names like Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora and Namrata Joshipura has an entire client list that picks up their designer stuff every now and then. "We have clients coming to us for their trousseau, asking for the best designs, price notwithstanding. They know their labels and make a point to pick select pieces for their wedding, cocktails, related ceremonies and all," says Megha Mittal Arora, owner of the studio.

Though most of them demand traditional works and fabrics, fusion of silhouettes and cuts are popular as well. "The mindset has changed a lot over the years. Lot of people are ahead to many when it comes to being fashion conscious and everybody wants to look their best. With a designer dress you get the desired glamour, exclusivity and it boosts your confidence as well. The why put a price tag to it," she says.