Amritsar, February 3
A sudden drop in temperature and cloudy morning today had Amritsar residents running for woollens yet again. After a whole fortnight of sunshine, the winter chill seemed to stretch a bit more, as today the temperature dropped to 11 degrees Celsius, with chances of shower predicted.

As the city had got in the mood to welcome the spring, the changed weather came as a disappointment. “I had my wardrobe ready for a season change and now had to pile on some woollens to escape the cold,” shares Smriti Arora, a BCom student from BBKDAV.

This is the second such sudden change in temperature that has surprised residents. “Post-Lohri showers had people in shock as they had expected bright sunny weather. And now this, Weather has been quite unpredictable this year. The winters started off late and might end late as well,” said Anupam Dayal, a retired government officer from Adarsh Nagar.

The low spirits are common for young and old, with some even complaining about the extended winter season, “Winters seem to be never ending. I hope it gets over and we can breathe in the refreshing spring breeze in a few days,” said Sahil Madaan, a student of Khalsa College.

Amritsar, February 3
A youth was killed while another is battling for life after they accidentally touched high-tension wires passing over the roof of a godown located in the Gilwali Gate area here.

According to information, Karan (19) a resident of the Gillwali Gate, along with his friend Bharat went on the roof of a godown situated near the Ganda Nallah and accidentally touched high-tension wires passing over the roof. Karan died, while Bharat is battling for life. It was Bharat who informed the family of the deceased that they had accidentally touched the high-tension wire passing over the roof of the godown.

The police authorities handed over the body of Karan to his family after postmortem.

Amritsar, February 3
With the officials of the Police Department remaining on their toes for providing security in the election process, petty crimes, including snatching and stealing of valuables after smashing windowpanes of cars parked outside the residences or markets, have once again seen a rise in the city.

During the recent incidents, unidentified persons stole a purse of a devotee containing Rs 15,000, besides gold jewellery and ATM cards after breaking open a windowpane of his vehicle. The incident occurred on January 28. Baldev Singh, resident of Srinagar and owner of the vehicle, lodged a complaint with the Kotwali police in this connection. The vehicle was parked outside a sarai near the Golden Temple, while he and his wife had gone inside the shrine for paying obeisance.

On January 26, unscrupulous persons decamped with two laptops after smashing a windowpane of a car parked outside a residence in an area falling under the Cantonment police station.

Saneshwar Chander, resident of New Delhi, stated to the police that he had parked the vehicle outside the residence of his brother-in-law. In the night when they came out of the house, they found a windowpane of the car broken and laptops stolen from it.

Police Commissioner RP Mittal said after getting free from the elections, they had stepped up vigil in the city areas and at various vulnerable points. “As you know, the Police Department remained busy in the elections, due to which the petty criminals have raised their heads leading to rise in such incidents. However, we have now stepped up our vigilance and special emphasis is being given to check petty crimes,” he said.

Amritsar, February 3
Nishan Singh, a watchman working in the Lawrence Road area, was burnt alive when his clothes accidentally caught fire here late last night.

He was sitting near a bonfire to keep himself warm as the cold conditions have gripped the region.

According to information, the deceased was drunk at the time of the incident. The police have initiated proceedings under the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The police authorities said preliminary investigations revealed that the deceased, who originally hailed from Meerakot Kalan village and presently residing at Gumtala, was drunk at the time of the incident.

“It seems that he might have suffered a cardiac arrest and died before his clothes caught fire. However, this would be clear only after the postmortem report. We have handed over the body to the family of the deceased after postmortem,” said the police authorities.

Amritsar, February 3
Residents of the city rue serious mistakes in factual information and delay in release of unique identification (UID) Adhaar cards.

A glaring example of factual mistake cropped up in the Adhaar card of Rajni, a city resident. Her husband Gaurav Dhawan was shown as her father in the UID card.

A resident of Gali Mahinder Pal, Rajni said her year of birth was mentioned as 1999, which makes her a minor of 13 years. She said she had noticed the mistake in the acknowledgement receipt issued on the date of registration and duly brought the same to the attention of the staff. Subsequently, another acknowledgement receipt was issued on November 7, 2011, which correctly mentioned her as wife of Gaurav and date of birth as August 28, 1982. However, to her astonishment the Adhaar card, which she got after some months, carried the same mistakes, which she had painstakingly corrected.

A resident of Chheharta, Deepak Kumar, said he had applied for the UID card on the day of its inauguration in front of the Deputy Commissioner at the Court Complex about eight months back. He recalled that it was May 24, 2011, and Amritsar was the first district in the state for issuing Adhaar cards to residents. He said he had not received the much talked about Adhaar card even after passage of so many months.

Another citizen Jagan Nath said he along with nine members of his family had applied for Adhaar card after being told of its immense use in times ahead. He recalled that about six months back his family applied for the same, but they had not received the cards till yet.

Under the ambitious Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) programme, the main objective is to allot a 12 digit number to each resident. This number will enable the residents to receive the benefits of the government-sponsored schemes.

The residents can register themselves for the Aadhaar card after furnishing identity proof and residential proof at enrolment centres. They then have to give biometric impressions of their fingers, thumbs and eyes. However, children less then five years of age are spared of these tests.

The Food and Civil Supply Department is working as a facilitator with private concern Alankrit, tasked with preparing Adhaar cards. The delay in delivering Adhaar cards has been brought to the notice of the higherups, who in turn have raised the limit of issuance of the card from one to three months. The delay is due to mailing of all data regarding applicants to Bangalore from where UID cards are dispatched after verifying repetition and duplication. The state has achieved the target of preparing one crore cards. The department has now been given the responsibility of preparing 40,000 cards of economically weaker sections
— Dr Rakesh Kumar, District Food and Supply Controller

The chances of mistakes in printing of factual information on the UID card are very slim as the same information is shown to the applicant during the registration. A UID station consists of a laptop, TFT screen, fingerprint scanner and a printer. The person being registered for the UID card is able to view all the information regarding him on the TFT screen and can correct the error, if any. The mistakes can be corrected at upgradation centres to be set up soon
—Dr Harinder Singh, Head, City Branch, Alankrit

Amritsar, February 3
Farmers protested against a private agro-processing company for not payment their dues by blocking the Amritsar-Delhi national highway (NH-1) today.

Under the patronage of Kisan Sangharsh Committee (KSC), the farmers blocked vehicular traffic for one and half hours today.

KSC President Satnam Singh Pannu said the agro-processing company was not paying the farmers who had sold tones of tomatoes eight months back to the company at a cost of Rs 2 per kg. The amount due to at least 35 farmers is said to be more than Rs 15 lakh.

He alleged that most of the cheques given by the company have bounced. This has affected the farmers deeply. Majority of these farmers had taken loans to sow crops and to buy other related material, he added.

Pannu said they had held a protest in December as well. The civil administration, in order to pacify them, had assured them of justice. But nothing constructive happened so far, he said.

The farmers later lifted the blockade as the police assured to hold an enquiry on February 6 when proprietor of the company would be in the city. Amritsar Rural Police SP (D) Jasdev Singh Sidhu assured them of a fair enquiry. The company owner was not in town today, police said.

Amritsar, February 3
The city, which was once known as ‘City of Baghs’ (gardens), has lost its epithet as its four main gardens today stand in a dilapidated condition.

The four gardens, namely Ram Bagh, Gol Bagh, Chali Khu and Sakattri Bagh-now rechristened as Raminder Singh Bolaria Memorial Park-command great historic significance.

The 75-acre summer palace, built in 1819 by Maharaja Ranjit Singh, once stood inside the Ram Bagh. Today this 84-acre park is infested with wild growth and stray animals.

The Punjab Tourism Board and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have taken the task of conserving the garden, but its beauty is already lost. The garden used to have decorated fountains and majestic gates. Rare trees, which normally grow in the Himalayas and Neelgiri Hills, are either dead or dried as no one took proper care of them. Some of these trees are two centuries old. The Municipal Corporation, which has the possession of the major portion of the garden, needs to pay immediate attention to improve the condition of the park.

However, the uneven walking path, broken and rickety swings, garbage mounds give enough reasons for the residents to curse the authorities concerned for the callous attitude towards this heritage site.

In absence of any check, the park has become a safe haven for beggars and drug addicts. Used syringes and disposed capsule packs are often found in garbage dump here, said said Omkar Singh, a resident of city for the past 55 years.

The authorities concerned are busy passing the buck. The ASI said the garden, including the greenbelt, is in the possession of the Municipal Corporation and Punjab Heritage and Tourism Board (PHTB).The corporation officials on the other hand said the garden is ASI’s responsibility. ASI is not allowing them to do anything, said the officials.

“The coniferous and ornamental trees here have immense medicinal value. Due to negligence, these trees were not pruned. As a result the branches are tilting now. This makes their base weak and eventually the trees will fall,” said Dr Suresh Chauhan, a renowned Ayurveda expert.

Residents here often dump garbage. They also offer grains to birds and insects-believe to bring good luck- that has lead to the multiplication of rats in the park.

The garden corner towards Crystal Chowk has a huge garbage dump where visitors do not even hesitate to urinate. 

Amritsar, February 3
A man has been arrested in connection with an accident case of a 9-year-old boy today.

Simarjit Singh, resident of Bandala village, was arrested as the prime accuse in the case. Anil Kumar, the victim, was hit by a car and later his body was found abandoned in bushes in Ranjit Avenue on January 30. The incident occurred on Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road near New Amritsar where the boy was reportedly playing. As the people gathered near the spot, the accused took the victim towards Amritsar on pretext of admitting him to a hospital. 

Amritsar, February 3
Acting on a tip-off, Sadar police recovered as many as 60 cases of country-made whisky from a vehicle at Mustafabad, Batala road, here on Thursday. Ramesh Kumar, one of the accused, managed to give a slip to the police.

According to sources, police laid a naka near Mustafabad. They stopped a four wheeler (No PB-02-BJ-9307) to search the car, however, the driver fled away leaving the vehicle behind. The police seized 60 cases of whisky from the car. — TNS

Amritsar, February 3
An ambulance driver was caught stealing diesel from parked ambulances inside Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital today.

Jagwant Singh, the accused, was caught by the security guards of the hospital while he was filling his own vehicle with the diesel stolen from the parked ambulances.

Under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) ambulances are sent to villages to provide proper medication to villagers. Each driver of these ambulances are given one litre diesel for every 3 1/2 km. Sources said few drivers manipulate record books to acquire more fuel. They either use the fuel for personal use or sell it in the market.

When contacted, Senior Medical Officer Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon said a driver was caught while stealing diesel.

He said they have informed the Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa and has appealed for a severe action against the accused.