Amritsar, February 12
Kanchan (17), a resident of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself with her dupatta here today. The police has not recovered any suicide note from the spot. Family members of the deceased reported the matter to Gate Hakima police station after they found the body.

Inspector Sushil Kumar, in-charge of Gate Hakima police station said the body has been sent for a post- mortem examination after registering a case under Section 174 of the IPC. He said the police has not recovered any suicide note from the spot. He said they are investigating the matter to know the cause behind the death.

Babbu Ram, the father of the deceased works as a labourer.

Amritsar, February 12
In a classic case of administration apathy, around 25-30 streetlights installed on the Hussainpura bridge continue to remain defunct for the past many days, leaving the commuters and pedestrians to tread the stretch in the dark every night.

One of the busiest routes in the city, the bridge is being used by thousands of commuters' everyday. In the absence of proper lights, pedestrians and those on bicycles fear in passing through the area.

Even the drivers of four and two-wheelers have to be extra conscious while passing through the stretch as they fear that anti-social elements may rob them. Sulakhan Singh, a commuter said, “We are always fearful when crossing this stretch. The administration must get the lights functional for security reasons.” He said pedestrians and cyclists are the most vulnerable.

The cyclists and walkers rued that as the streetlights are not working, they have a difficulty in finding their way. Jagjivan Ram, a resident said, “The repairs will cost little money. May be it's because the administrators do not use this road that they are indifferent towards the problem." He said the lights went off around a month ago.

The local residents said because of poor visibility, chances of accidents have also increased.

Rinkal Kumar, a student said, “The roads in the city must be well-equipped with streetlights. In a way the administration has wasted public money by installing lights here when they are not in a working condition.” He said proper lights instill a sense of security among the commuters.

Harish Kumar, JE of the street lights wing of the Municipal Corporation said the matter had not come to their notice. “We will get the lights repaired immediately to save people from the inconvenience," he added.

Amritsar, February 12
While the administration is grappling with a shortage of funds to deal with the stray dog menace, the health department too is ill-equipped when it comes to the treatment of dog bite victims.

The supply of anti-rabies vaccines to the government hospitals has been inadequate for past few years. It was the poor patients visiting the anti-rabies clinic located in the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital who were left high and dry and they have to go to private clinics or hospitals for treatment.

The patients have to procure the expensive vaccine from medical stores at a very high rate. Sometimes they could not afford to purchase and go without treatment, revealed a professor from the Department of Social Preventive Medicine, Government Medical College (under whose supervision the clinic runs) while preferring anonymity.

About five years ago, the vaccine was provided to the patients free of cost or on subsidised rates. According to the authorities, the pharmaceutical company in Kasauli, which was hired by the government to manufacture anti-rabies vaccine, was closed following the Apex court order about five years ago. The vaccine was banned because of its side affects. But the government failed to make any alternative arrangement to provide the vaccine in the hospital.

If the data with the anti-rabies clinic in the GNDH is any indication, thousands of residents, especially the poor and rural population, become victims of animal bites. Out of these 95 per cent cases fall victims to stray dogs in the urban as well as the rural areas.

“On an average about 2,000 patients of stray dog bites visit the clinic every year. Last year four deaths were reported. On an average, at least three persons die of rabies in Amritsar while 150-200 patients visit the clinic per month," said a doctor in the clinic preferring anonymity.

A senior teacher of the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine (under which the anti-rabies clinic works) said the number never presents the true picture as majority of persons visit quacks and so called babas for the treatment and only few of them come to the hospital. “With advance vaccines coming in the market, the number of patients visiting the government hospital per day has come down, while patients who can afford costly vaccines prefer to visit private clinics," said the doctor. However, it was the poor who are at the receiving end with non-supply of vaccines at the clinic. He said the dog bites cases are higher in the rural areas.

According to a survey, 22,000 to 25,000 cases of dog bites are reported in the country every year, he said. “The government should look into the problem before the situation turns from bad to worse," he urged.

Amritsar, February 12
Faulty traffic management and slow pace of work on replacing the century-old Taranwala pul (bridge) on Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) crossing on the Amritsar-Jalandhar road, with an ultra-modern multilane bridge, continues to cause inconvenience to the commuters on the lone entry point to the city.

Traffic chaos was witnessed on this stretch today when one of its way was blocked, apparently, to facilitate construction activity pertaining to the bridge, yet in the absence of traffic management, it was a 'free way for all' and the commuters had to face a tough time. Commuters argued that they had to waste at least one hour extra to cover the distance from this point to the Bhandari Bridge, which otherwise can be covered in a maximum of 10 minutes.

The police post is located just a few steps away from this point, yet cops did not come to deal with the chaos.

Since there was no check, the two wheeler riders who were to move towards Tarn Taran or those who were coming from the Tarn Taran road took shortcuts through the middle of the under-construction bridge, leading to traffic jams. Similarly, in an attempt to be the first to cross over the bridge, as many as four lanes of serpentine queues of vehicles from each side put the traffic flow on halt for over two hours. The commuters rued that on normal days, cops are always present and set up nakas to fine violators but are nowhere in sight when their services are actually required.

Kiranjeet Kaur, a resident of New Amritsar and an astrology teacher, who was headed towards her college to take classes was caught up for over half an hour in the traffic jam said, "I was to reach DAV College today to conduct an exam. As per my normal routine, I left my home 15 minutes in advance to reach the college on time but could not cross this bridge before another half an hour just because there was no one to manage the traffic," she said.

Equally dejected was Raminder Kumar who had to reach Amandeep Hospital to get his wife examined. "My wife is pregnant and I was just wondering how we will reach the hospital on time," he said.

The phones of Deputy Commissioner of Police SP Joshi and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Karamjit Singh were switched off till evening.

SP City (1) Rashpal Singh, who held the charge of traffic management earlier volunteered to intervene into the matter.

“Though, I quit the charge sometime ago, but still in public interest, it is my duty not to ignore such a problem," he said.

Amritsar, February 12
Vendors selling eatables and vegetables have encroached upon footpaths in most of the areas resulting in great inconvenience for the pedestrians. For them walking on these roads is unsafe because of the risk of accidents.

Even as the vegetable market has been shifted to the outskirts of the city, the footpaths near the old vegetable market are still being used by the vendors selling vegetables and fruits.

Pedestrians have to walk on the roads instead of the footpaths meant for them. This also affects vehicular traffic. Gopal Singh, a resident said, “The footpaths in this area are being illegally encroached upon. These are not meant for vegetable sellers. These are for the people but nobody has taken any action to get these vacated.” He said the footpaths should be left for the pedestrians only.

The residents and shoppers rued that the shopkeepers have made walking an uphill task for them. “The walkers have no place here. They have no rights. The administration must look into the matter to ease things for them,” said Gopal Singh, a commuter. The shopkeepers must be allotted booths somewhere else.

Even as the footpaths are missing in few parts of the city, shopkeepers have encroached other areas such as Rambagh and areas near the bus stand.

The footpaths outside the local railway station too are not available for pedestrians.

Residents complain that the beggars should also be removed from these places. “If there are no vendors, beggars create trouble for the residents,” said Ravneet Kaur, a student. Almost every footpath has few beggars sitting on it.

The pedestrians said some of the shopkeepers also park their two wheelers on these footpaths thus blocking the way for foot walkers.

“The parking on these footpaths should be strictly forbidden,” said Navtej Singh, a private school teacher. 

Amritsar, February 12
Lack of proper planning has resulted in the absence of footpaths in the busy Lawrence Road market. Despite the fact that it is the main shopping complex of the holy city, it is a Herculean task for any pedestrian to cross the road in this 'up market' area because of heavy traffic and in the absence of any footpaths.

The width of the road is so uneven that just beyond BBK DAV College the entire stretch of the road has been become narrow because of extra wide pavements but for makeshift shops and rehriwalas, not for pedestrians. The reason is the faulty planning of the road management and flawed traffic norms being followed here.

The situation was no better in other important parts of the city such as Queens Road, Court Road, Crystal Chowk, to name a few.

From Crystal Chowk till Cooper Road turning, there is a footpath on one side but the other side does not. It is one of the busiest lanes in the city as it receives traffic coming from Batala Road, Majitha Road, Railway Link Road and Lawrence Road.

The situation is so grim that from the Lawrence Road, it is unsafe go on foot to the Hall Gate area as there is hardly any provision for pedestrian. The authorities have turned a blind eye to this problem.

Utter chaos at the traffic light points adds to the woes of the residents. Vehicles do not halt to let them pass putting their lives at great risk. To make matters worse there is nothing on the agenda of the administration to make things easier. Besides making walking here extremely unsafe, pedestrians and motorists often get into conflict.

Such lack of planning defeats the purpose of the government to improve urban transport during the 11th Five Year Plan, which recommends that all cities must have plans to establish adequate and safe roads for pedestrians and bicycle riders on all arterial roads and prepare a master plan for non-motorised transport. Ironically, the Master plan of Amritsar 2010-2023 does not have any such provisions.

Amritsar, February 11
Teachers across the nation expressed concern over the Chennai incident, where a school boy stabbed his teacher to death. They believe that tolerance level has dipped among students.

The incident has not only brought focus on the loopholes in the present education system but also on the role of parents and the negative impact of media upon children.

Sushil Luthra, Principal of DAV Senior Secondary School, said, “The behaviour of school students has changed a lot in last 10 years. They have become more intolerant. The major reason behind this could be attributed to the degrading social values and gap between the teachers and students. Teachers have become a commodity for the students. Moreover, the parents are also not playing their role efficiently. They hardly have any time for their children. There is also something lacking in the today’s education system.”

Master Ajit Singh, a state award winner teacher, said, “The tolerance level among the children has surely declined. The problem is more apparent among students from urban and urban slum areas where they do not get appropriate atmosphere. Earlier, teachers used to scold their students for their betterment. But nowadays the law is such that you cannot even dare to do so. Drug abuse has also become major reason for this intolerant behaviour among teenagers.”

Davinder Singh, Professor at the Department of Psychology, Guru Nanak Dev University, said family circumstances, communication gap between parents and children, Internet, violent video games, materialism and even lesser number of playgrounds contribute to unhealthy development of young minds.

“Children are full of energy and there is a need to channelise that energy. Children are exposed to violent programmes, such as TV series and video games, are fuelling their intolerant attitude,” he added.

Amritsar, February 12
Various farmer organisations yesterday held a meeting under the banner of Kisan Sangharsh Committee at Varpal village and decided to intensify their agitation in support of their demands.

Addressing the meeting, committee convener Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu said freedom fighters had laid down their lives in the freedom struggle to ensure a better tomorrow for the country, but even after 65 years of Independence, debt-ridden farmers are committing suicides while the youths continue to fall prey to drug menace.

He alleged that the land belonging to the farmers is being forcibly acquired by big companies due to which they are left with no choice but to resort to agitation. He said farmer suicides cannot be checked until they get the prices of their produce on the basis of the price index and their entire debt is waived. He said a massive agitation is needed to save the farmers and they are preparing the ground for the same.