Amritsar, March 22
The Jallianwalla Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital and Government Medical College are facing acute staff shortage which affects the functioning of both the medical institutions. The Civil Hospital has a shortage in all categories of employees, including doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. The hospital has only got 43 staff nurses to cater to the huge rush of patients. As per Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS), the hospital needs at least 75 nurses to provide proper medical care to patients. The hospital does not have a single sanctioned post of a class IV employee.

Even the existing number of emergency medical officers (EMOs) is not sufficient in view of the rush of patients at the hospital. As per information, the hospital has only 27 EMOs whereas it needs at least 45 of them as per IPHS norms.

Further, the hospital has only one sanctioned post of the lab technician. However, the department has managed seven lab technicians on deputation from other institutions. The hospital staff informed that at least 10 lab technicians are required to handle the existing rush. At the Government Medical College and its Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, a number of posts of the teachers are lying vacant. Among the sanctioned strength of 52 professors, 17 posts are vacant. Out of six posts of additional professor, one is vacant. Out of 65 sanctioned posts of associate professors, 13 are lying vacant. In the category of assistant professor, out of 59 sanctioned posts, 21 are vacant. A faculty member said staff crunch is also affecting education of students as well as medical facilities at the hospital. Dr SS Shergill, principal, Government Medical College, said the institution needs more staff.

Amritsar, March 22
The Local Bodies Department has finally woken up to the issue of gross misuse of water amidst depleting groundwater level in the state. The corporations, which are already fund crunched, across the state also suffer revenue losses worth crores of rupees.

Importantly, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation is all set to implement the state policy by reverting back to the meter system.

Since 2003, the Municipal Corporations in the state had been issuing water bills on flat rates and those living in or under five marla houses enjoyed complete immunity from paying a single penny for water.

Municipal Corporation officials confirmed that the Local Bodies Department has framed a policy in this regard and soon there would be meter system in place for the holy city. Going by an estimate, the Municipal Corporationhas suffered an annual loss of over Rs 10 crore for exempting consumers.

Officials said the policy was being changed on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court that acted on a petition filed by an Amritsar resident.

Minimum wastage (12 per cent) has been found in case of Majitha, whereas in case of Amritsar it is as high as 30 per cent. Similarly, Jandiala and Rayya have been found to be most inefficient in terms of service delivery where the wastage is of the order of 26 per cent.

The meter system was in place during 80s and water meter testing labs were established. But later the meter system was replaced by flat rate system (according to the size of the plot).

It is learnt that besides financial dent, major reason for the corporations to revert to meter system was to avail the benefit of any Central scheme for urban development like Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission.

We will be implementing the process as soon as we receive any official communication in this regard — Dharampal Gupta, MC Commissioner

Amritsar, March 22
To spread awareness against the wastage of water in houses and from public taps, an NGO Mission Aagaaz today visited various parts of the city. The members of Mission Aagaaz also plugged pipes with taps to stop wastage of water.

Gurbej Singh, general secretary of Mission Aagaaz said, "On asking about the wastage, the common reply was "ehda kehda bill aunda hai". Even in the houses located in the posh colonies, no one bothers to switch off their submersible pumps even if the tank is overflowing. This attitude of the people especially women is very discouraging. The need is to spread awareness about saving this precious natural resource vital for life.

Mission Aagaaz has resolved to visit one area each every week to urge people to conserve water and make them understand about the environment. The team comprised KS Takkar, Deepak Babbar, Gurbhej Singh, Kashmir Singh Gill, Dr Harjit Singh and Manjit Jangra.

Amritsar, March 22
Raising question over security and efficient policing, thieves went unnoticed for half an hour while trying to loot a SBI branch at Amritsar railway station on Wednesday night. The attempt turned out to be unsuccessful only because the thieves had chosen a difficult path to enter the bank. They faltered as they did not know about a false ceiling in the bank and probably they did not have a long ladder to come down from the rooftop.

The incident, which occurred at 10 to 10.30 pm on Wednesday, came to light only in the morning when the bank staff opened the office and found a part of the false ceiling on the floor.

Despite the fact that the Government Railway Police patrol the area, which remain illuminated with high mast lights, the unscrupulous persons managed to climb the 30-feet roof and then cut the iron grill of the air duct to gain entry into the bank at platform number 1.

The CCTV footage shows that the tubelights and a part of false ceiling gave in when the ladder, brought by the thieves, hit the false ceiling. “The CCTV footage showed that the unidentified thieves used torchlight to check the scene inside the bank. But they did not dare to enter the bank may be due to explosion-like sound caused by the crashing of lights and false ceiling or due to the height of the roof,” said an official and security guard of the bank. Thieves left in panic leaving the bamboo ladder suspending in the air. The staff immediately raised an alarm and informed the GRP and senior bank officials in this regard.

Incidentally, an attendant lives in a retiring room located on the roof in the night and he could not notice the movement of unscrupulous persons.

Meanwhile, the main entrance of Amritsar railway station is currently being renovated under a central government project. It is suspected that thieves might have used a ladder of the labourers.

Dharminder Kalyan, in charge, government railway police station, said role of insiders could not be ruled out. Investigations are on, he added. “We did not know that the air duct could be the entry point. Insiders might be involved in the incident. We are also investigating the role of migrants, who were engaged for the renovation work at the railway station,” he said.

The GRP has registered a case under Sections 380, 457 and 511 of the IPC against unidentified miscreants.

It many be recalled that several unidentified persons had unsuccessfully tried to rob Punjab National Bank branch on Guru Nanak Dev Hospital premises in the intervening night of February 27-28. Miscreants had broken the rear side wall of the bank to gain entry.

Amritsar, March 22
Benudhar Pardhan, who was among the five prisoners released by Pakistan on February 6, reunited with his family today after 12 years of separation.

Benudhar alias Meeru had left home in Bagirispuram, Cuttack (Odisha) after a dispute with his family. Nobody knew about his whereabouts and efforts to locate him could not yield any results.

About nine years later a communication from some officials of a government department, the family came to know that Benudhar had been languishing in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, Pakistan. The family did not know who to approach for his release or how he ended up in Pak jail.

“For four years we searched for Benudhar at places where he was likely to be but failed. We had lost all hopes of finding him,” his relative Kurban Khan said. Also visibly elated were Basanti Pardhan and Nallu Pardhan, Benudhar’s mother and brother, respectively. As they could not speak in Hindi, Kurban translated on behalf of Benudhar's family members.

Amritsar, March 22
A two-day UGC-SAP-sponsored national seminar on nvironmental management got underway at Guru Nanak Bhawan Auditorium of Guru Nanak Dev University here today. The seminar is being organised by the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences of the Guru Nanak Dev University.

Prof VK Jain, Vice-Chancellor, Doon University, Dehradoon, was the chief guest while Prof RK Kohli, Dean and Professor, Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh and Dr Rajiv Manhas, Deputy Librarian and Head, Library Faculty, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, were also present. Dr Adarsh Pal Vig, head of the department welcomed the chief guests and others while Dr Ashwani Kumar Thukral, director of Research presented the vote of thanks.

The first scientific session included a presentation by Prof VK Jain on global environmental issues such as ozone depletion and drastic climate changes leading to serious ecological imbalance. He apprised the audience about the hazards of ozone depleting compounds and the role of international and national conventions to counter and control the ongoing environmental damage. Prof Avinash Nagpal of the department chaired this session.

The second scientific session included a talk by Prof RK Kohli who drew attention to the role of public and government sectors for the management and conservation of forests for sustainable livelihood. He also made the audience aware about the raging environmental concerns of the common man and the execution of laws to save forest resources. Prof Renu Bharadwaj chaired the session.

The third session focused on a talk by Dr Rajiv Manhas on the use of statistical package on Social Science (SPSS) Predictive Analysis Software (PNSW) Statistics for data analysis. This session was chaired by Dr Saroj Arora. The guests were also honoured by Prof Vig and Prof Thukral. Professor AS Soodan, Dr Satwinderjit Kaur, Dr Jatinder Kaur, Er MS Bhatti, Er Bhupinder Singh, Dr Harpreet Walia (faculty advisor) and Dr Rajbir Kaur and all research fellows and students were also present.

Amritsar, March 22
A stress-free life, healthy diet and discipline are the secrets behind the long life of Dr Dharmbir Singh Jolly. He was honoured by Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) president Satyajit Singh Majithia on entering the 100th year of his life at Khalsa College here today.

Still active as Rector of Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC), Dr Jolly viewed a total transformation of the holy city for the past century. Born on February 14, 1913, Dr Dharmbir Singh Jolly, after completing school education from his native village of Jabbarpur in Chakwal district now in Pakistan, got the reigns of his family business of transport and became one of the pioneers in setting up road transport in the erstwhile united Punjab. His interest in education later led him to do a PhD. He struggled to re-establish the family business after the family migrated from Pakistan and came to live in Amritsar before moving to Chandigarh. His is acclaimed for his contribution to the fields of education and social service. He has been serving Khalsa College Governing Council since 1966 in capacities of its member, vice president and since 2001 as its Rector.

Revealing his mantra for sound health, Dr Jolly said stress buster and active life is a must. “Stress disturbs the entire body. One should always be equipped with some kind of a stress buster and spare time to savour it. I read spiritual books to relax. Secondly, eating habits demand discipline. I take food in small proportions and at a fixed interval of time in a day and my social activities keep me on the move," said Dr Jolly, who is also member of various social clubs and is extremely fond of card game Bridge.

Earlier the bhog of Akhand Path was organised at the college gurdwara where KCGC office-bearers and members prayed for a long and healthy life for Dr Jolly. "I have lived the times when there were no cars, telephones, televisions and life was simple. Today, it's a fast life which has led to more tensions. We should get rid of these tensions to live a long and healthy life," he added.

However, the mismanagement of traffic and the receding green belt in the holy city leave him dejected. “Traffic chaos here dampens my spirits. Otherwise, the basic character of Amritsar is the same what it was years ago. This city can be a wonderful place if the administration spares a thought to manage the traffic and preserve the environment by increasing the green cover," he said.

Honorary secretary RMS Chhina said the honour today was a token of respect and gratitude to thank him for his able leadership and stewardship. Others present on the occasion included Joint Secretary Gunbir Singh, Ajmer Singh Heir, SS Sethi, SS Mannan, Sukhdev Singh Abdal, Nirmal Singh and Khalsa College principal Dr Daljit Singh.