Woman among two arrested for boy’s death
Amritsar, March 4
The Gharinda police has rounded up two persons, including a woman, in connection with the death of a five-year-old boy. The police is yet to arrest the 'tantrik' allegedly responsible for his death. Kishan Singh was found dead in a pit of water near the border village of Ranike. He along with his family had gone to a wedding function in a resort on February 27 from where he went missing.

Officials visit counting centres
Amritsar, March 4
In view of the counting of votes for the Assembly constituencies on March 6, the district administration team led by the Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer Rajat Aggarwal supervised the preparations at the counting centres for the 11 constituencies here.

Wait for assembly poll results keeps residents on edge
Amritsar, March 4
Residents are eagerly awaiting the results of the Assembly polls with bated breath for the past 35 days. As the countdown for the announcement of the next government has begun with only 24 hours to go for the counting process to begin the excitement has increased manifold. Telecast of the exit poll results on various satellite channels has further added to the curiosity as a close finish is forecast.

Amritsar, March 4
High tension wires dangling over the rooftops claimed another life when a mason was fixing tiles on the roof of a house in Bhalla Colony falling under Chheharta police station here.

The police has booked Ranjit Singh, the owner of the house and Gurcharan Singh in this connection and a case under Section 304 A has been registered against the accused. No arrest has been made so far.

The deceased, Kuldip Singh, a resident of Kale village, touched the 66-kV high-tension wire passing six feet above the roof of the house. He was fixing tiles on the roof at the time of the mishap. He was electrocuted to death. The victim fell on the roof and the body caught fire.

Balwinder Singh, the brother of the deceased in a complaint lodged with the Chheharta police alleged that his brother was not ready to work on the rooftop but the owner of the house compelled him to do so. He alleged it was sheer negligence on part of the owners which led to his brother’s death.

Eyewitnesses said PSPCL officials reached more than an hour late. They switched off the electricity supply and removed the body.

Amritsar, March 4
The Cantonment police has booked three persons, including a clerk working at the district food and civil supply department, for making fake documents. They were allegedly involved in preparing fake ration cards, birth and death certificates, driving licenses and many other government documents allegedly in connivance with the employees of various government departments.

The police also recovered four ration cards, two birth certificates, a driving licence and a registration card bearing the stamp of the District Transport office from their possession. A case under Section 420, 467, 468, 474 and 120 B of the IPC has been registered against the accused identified as Amritpal Singh, a resident of Harsh Chhina, Manjit Singh of Ekta Nagar at Chamrang Road and Mangat Ram, the clerk posted at District Food and Civil Supply office here.

While Amritpal and Manjit have been arrested, Mangat ram is on the run since the registration of the case. They were caught by the police during patrolling on a tip off.

Investigating officer, Panna Lal, said the accused work as agents in various government departments, including the Deputy Commissioner office, District Transport office besides the DFCS office. "We have recovered certain documents from them which were found to be forged. During preliminary investigations, the involvement of Mangat Ram has come to light while many more heads working in various government departments likely to roll," he said.

District Food and Civil Supply Officer, Rakesh Singla, however, feigned ignorance about the registration of the case against the accused clerk. “Mangat Ram is a clerk with our department, but I don't have any information regarding the registration of a criminal case against him. We will take action once the police informs us,” said Singla.

Amritsar, March 4
The Gharinda police has rounded up two persons, including a woman, in connection with the death of a five-year-old boy. The police is yet to arrest the 'tantrik' allegedly responsible for his death. Kishan Singh was found dead in a pit of water near the border village of Ranike. He along with his family had gone to a wedding function in a resort on February 27 from where he went missing.

The family had accused Sukhdev Singh and his family along with a 'tantrik' for the boy's death in the name of sacrifice. Following a protest lodged by the family members of the victim and the residents of the area outside the police station, the Gharinda police has registered a case against seven persons, including Sukhdev Singh, his two sons Major Singh and Gurdial Singh, his daughter Amandeep Kaur, wife Balwinder Kaur and Rajinder Kaur of Khasa besides the unidentified tantrik.

Gurnam Singh, SHO said the police has rounded up Balwinder Kaur and Major Singh while the remaining accused are absconding. He said no injury marks were found on the body of the child. “There has been no clear motive found during investigations. The case will be clear with the arrest of the accused tantrik who is on the run. A manhunt has been launched to arrest him,’ he said. Santokh Singh, the father of the deceased told the police that the culprits had kidnapped and sacrificed his son. He said the tantrik had told them that there was a gold treasure in their house and to get that they had to sacrifice a child. The police said dug up soil was found at their residence of the accused.

Amritsar, March 4
Residents are eagerly awaiting the results of the Assembly polls with bated breath for the past 35 days. As the countdown for the announcement of the next government has begun with only 24 hours to go for the counting process to begin the excitement has increased manifold. Telecast of the exit poll results on various satellite channels has further added to the curiosity as a close finish is forecast.

A resident of Guru Nanak Avenue Dr Sham Sunder Deepti said the exit polls have at least set drawing room discussions going. He said he doubted the credibility of the exit polls and added that the exit poll agencies must also made it known its procedure of sampling. "No doubt the electorates here are known for not repeating the same government but nothing was apparent this time and similar sentiments are being echoed by these exit polls,” he said. Another resident Nanak Singh said this was the most uncertain polls in the history of the state. “With no wave preceding the polls, the results will be exciting to see.”

Many traders are preparing for a soaring business while being indifferent to the victory of a candidate and a party. A florist Vijay said like other flower and garland sellers, he too was stocking garlands. He said party workers, relatives and friends of the winners will approach them after the results are declared.

A dholi, Bira, said the number of dholis gathering outside Sultanwind and Hathi gates in expectation of work had swelled today. He said the number of dholis was likely to reach 35 by tomorrow.

Amritsar, March 4
Call it pressures of urban living or the joint family system, leaving toddlers to the care of private nursery and pre-primary schools has led to their mushrooming growth in every nook and corner of the city. In the absence of proper infrastructure and facilities, admitting children as small as two year olds in these schools can have an adverse impact on their psychology, feel experts.

In a recent incident, the father of a less than three-year-old girl, Dr Amarinder Pal Singh complained against a prominent school being run from posh Ranjit Avenue area for its failure in taking care of his child. He said he almost lost his daughter on February 28 as he found her with a stranger about a km away from the school. He said he had gone to pick his daughter after school but did not find her there. “Teachers did not have any clue about their student,” he said. Following an intensive search in the area around the school, she was found in the company of a stranger.

Spiraling growth of the pre-primary schools is visible not only in posh localities but even in the narrow winding roads of the walled city. Many families have converted their residential houses into schools to cater to the needs of working parents. Parents are admitting even two year olds to these schools perhaps to escape the responsibility of bringing them up.

An increase in neutral families at the cost of joint families is another reason behind growth of these schools.

Khalsa College principal, Dr Daljit Singh, said school education is the foundation of a productive life. “The entire system, academicians and parents must be more conscious towards education process in the formative years,” he said.

The government must regularise and check the mushrooming growth of the pre-primary schools in the city, he said. Quality education and methods must also be ensured, he added.

DAV International School principal Anjana Gupta said these pre-primary schools were not affiliated to any board. She said keeping in mind the demands of parents, her school has also incorporated pre-primary classes in which curriculum prepared by the DAV Management was taught.

Navdeep Singh Tung, Professor of Psychology at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, said, parents admitting their wards to the pre-primary schools is a manifestation of societal pressures. “The phenomenon is disappointing,” he said. He said it also showed eagerness on the part of parents in admitting their wards to schools so as to see them successful in life. He said it may have a negative impact on the mind of the children. 

Amritsar, March 4
City-based industrialists are upset as many projects are stalled due to the change in government, despite high court’s order.

A contractor Harbhajan Singh said the code of conduct came into force on December 25, which brought all government works to a halt. “No new tender has been floated and many contractors are still without work,” he said adding that they would suffer more as the next government would take sometime to resume work.

Entrepreneurs of the city are irked over further delay in non-disbursal of capital subsidy for border areas under the Industrial Policy 2003 due to election.

Members of various industrialists and traders organisations said about Rs 8 crore subsidy grant was due to be paid to the industrialists of three border districts-Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur.

A shawl manufacturer PL Seth said the Punjab and Haryana High Court in its order on June 20, 2011 directed the state government to release the subsidy within the next six months. It also stated that failure in complying with the order would mean the government have to pay interest to industrialists also.

Businessman Rajinder Singh Marwaha said he had constructed a cold storage at the focal point on Mehta Road keeping in view the grant of capital subsidy. He said, “The delay in the release of subsidy is hurting my business interests.” He said small-scale industrialists were already suffering due to bad location. He is waiting for the release of Rs 10 lakh capital subsidy.

Another entrepreneur Sourav Seth said his family was in the textile trade for generations and they wanted to open textile manufacturing and processing unit. The Industrial Policy 2003 brought a ray of hope for those setting up a textile unit, he added. He said the offer of capital subsidy tempted them to take the risk of investing in a new unit.

He said the profit margin was already low in textile trade due to intense competition and the delay had added to their problems.

As per the Textile Manufacturers’ Association, there were about 100 claimants for the capital subsidy from Amritsar. Early release of funds would help these industrialists to compete with their counterparts in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, who are better placed due to extension of tax holiday. 

Amritsar, March 4
The Eye Care Professionals Association in collaboration with Dr Om Parkash Eye Institute organised a 
continuous medical education (CME) seminar for the city’s eye care specialists today.

A senior optometrist, Dr David Gill, presented a case study about low vision aids and its use for the patients. Later Dr Sanjeev Kumar presented his study on the dry eye syndrome.

“The dry eye syndrome is becoming very common these days because of faulty lifestyle,” said Dr Sanjeev adding that use of computers for longer duration may lead to the problem. He said dry eye may cause blindness if neglected.

He said, “The normal blinking rate is 15 per minute but people do not do that when they are watching TV or working on computer. When eyes are not blinked for long the moisture evaporates which may lead to dry eye problem.”

He said people should avoid sitting in front of coolers or air conditioner as the air from it strike eyes directly.

Dr Rohit Om Parkash said femtosecond laser cataract surgery is the latest technique that has been introduced at Om Parkash Institute recently.

Chief pattern of the association, Vijay Ahuja, said 85 optometrists have participated in the CME. He said the seminar has proved beneficial for fraternity that wants to keep itself up-to-date about new techniques and trends in this field. 

Amritsar, March 4
The computer science and engineering department won the overall championship trophy at the inter-departmental cultural competitions programme ‘Jashan-2012’ of Guru Nanak Dev University that concluded today.

Architecture department was declared the first runners-up and department of commerce and business management was the second runners-up in this competition. Dr Saravjit Kaur Brar, vice chancellor presided over the valedictory function and give away trophies to the winners. Dr P. Sehajpal, dean of students’ welfare presented vote of thanks. More than 500 students from the various departments took part. 

Amritsar, March 4
About 640 students were awarded prizes, including 408 for academics, 30 to NCC cadets, 43 to NSS volunteers, 51 to the students of CCA department and 42 students for donating blood.

Gurvinderbir Singh from NCC Air Wing was awarded with sword of honour for being selected in NCC International Youth Exchange Programme at Vietnam.

Amritsar, March 4
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) adviser Dr Latha Pillai today said education must be in sink with job market while addressing students during the annual convocation of Khalsa College for Women (KCW). She also said education should be a means to empower women.

More than 350 students were awarded degrees in diverse disciplines during the convocation. Dr Pillai, a renowned educationist and planner, was the chief guest while Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) president Sardar Satyajit Singh Majithia was the guest of honour. Dr Pillai talked about female feticide and said only by empowering women through the education can help the country and states like Punjab, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir that have registering dismal sex-ratio.

She said more financial is required in the field of education. New courses that provides job opportunities to individuals and make them self-reliant must be the focus of the `new education’. She also expressed concern over `leaking pipes’, which means women get college degrees but do not pursue higher degrees or go in research due to socio-economic and family issues.