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3 cops booked as undertrial flees
Man robbed of cash at gunpoint
Snatcher nabbed by residents
Jewellers block traffic, invite public anger
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Durgiana beautification project clears all hurdles
70 rescued pigeons stolen from SPCA premises
Social stigma still attached to TB
People participate in a candle march to create awareness about tuberculosis at Company Bagh in Amritsar on Friday. Photo: Sameer sehgal
Railway union opposes rollback as poor section rejoice it
From
Schools
Zila Parishad seeks detailed discussion on budget
Seminar on Gandhi to be held today
Air-India sacks employee for taking bribe
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3 cops booked as undertrial flees
Amritsar, March 23 Jaswinder Singh, the undertrial and a resident of Valtoha, was allegedly involved in a murder of a woman in September 2011. He had been absconding since then and was caught a day before yesterday. He was brought on a police remand. When in police custody, he reportedly complained of uneasiness and was sent to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital for treatment. Karaj Singh, ASI, along with head constables Harpal Singh and Kanwaljit Singh, all posted at Valtoha police station, were deputed at the hospital to guard Jaswinder. Last night Jaswinder asked the policemen to open his handcuffs as he wanted to go to the toilet. He went to a washroom of the hospital, but did not come out. The policemen got suspicious and went to the washroom only to find him missing. They searched for him in the hospital, but could not locate him. Karaj Singh said he had come back from the hospital and Harpal and Kanwaljit Singh were guarding the accused. Shivdarshan Singh, SHO Valtoha police station, said a complaint has been lodged at Civil Lines police station (Amritsar city) against the police officials for their negligence. "They would be suspended soon," said the SHO.
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Man robbed of cash at gunpoint
Amritsar, March 23 Avtar Singh, a resident of Mia Pandhar village, said the thief posing as a policeman stopped him near Tarn Wala Bridge when he was returning home on his motorcycle. The thief then pointed a pistol at him, searched and took out all the money besides a mobile phone and his purse. Avtar Singh said the money was sent by his son living in Australia. He was returning after exchanging the Australian dollars into Indian currency through a money exchanger at the railway station. Tarn Wala Bridge is located just few meters away from the police post. Avtar Singh, the investigation officer and in charge Taran wala bridge police post, said the victim took a secluded path while returning to his village. “He should have gone used Batala road or Amritsar bypass instead of a secluded path,” he said. A case under Section 382 of the IPC has been registered at Civil Line police station in this regard. He said a sketch of the thief has been prepared. Amritsar: Residents nabbed a youth who was fleeing after snatching the earrings and a purse from a woman late last evening. Kamlesh Rani, a resident of Chheharta, was going towards OCM mills when the motorcycle-borne youth, identified as Bikram Singh, snatched the earrings and a purse from her. But passersby caught hold of him and handed him over to the police. — TNS
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Jewellers block traffic, invite public anger
Amritsar, March 23 There was a chaos at Bhandari Bridge, Hall Gate and Rambagh Area. Hundreds of jewellers and their employees today carried out a protest march before converging outside the Hall Gate where they held an agitation against the Union Government for about an hour. Troubled by the blockade, commuters entered into heated arguments with the protesters. Workers, employed with various jewellery units, allegedly misbehaved with commuters. "What do they want to prove by blocking traffic? Why are they harassing the people? If they have any grievances, they should register their protest in a peaceful manner with the authorities concerned," said Satbir Singh, a local resident, stranded outside the Hall Gate area. Bharat Bhushan, another resident, said, "The administration should have provided a separate place for protests as done in Chandigarh in case a section of people wanted to agitate." Vinay Jain, Amritsar Sarafa Association, said the association would not relent at any cost. The Union Government must roll back the decision of imposing the excise duty. "The strike was organised on the call of the All-Indian Gems and Jeweller Trade Federation and it will continue till our demands are met," said Jain. The state government had incurred huge losses due the strike by gold traders going on for the past one week.
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Durgiana beautification project clears all hurdles
Amritsar, March 23 Meanwhile, the cost of the project, notified in 2007, rose from Rs 36 crore to Rs 50 crore following delays due to various reasons. AIT chairman Sanjiv Khanna said following a competition, a final design for beautification of 3.03 acres of land around the Durgiana Temple was chosen. After an arduous effort, the AIT managed to shift 48 owners and tenants of shops situated near the temple complex to the multi-storey commercial complex. The state government came up with the ambitious scheme with a view to add tourists' attraction to the city. He said nearly Rs 40 crore had already been deposited by the trust to the Local Bodies Department to carry out the development work. He said all displaced shopkeepers would be rehabilitated in the two storeys of the complex. Giving details of the project cost, he said about Rs 28 crore would be utilised for the acquisition of land and the remaining Rs 22 crore would be spent on raising infrastructure for the convenience of tourists, devotees and pilgrims. He said as per the norms, the owners of the residential area would be paid at the rate of Rs 18,000 per sq yard. Following the same pattern, proprietors of commercial space would be compensated at about Rs 60,000 per sq yard. He said the AIT would raise four-storey parking lot to accommodate about 400 cars and over 150 two-wheelers. Also an auditorium, open air theatre, joda ghar and information centre would also be constructed. Khanna said about 72 per cent of land would be an open area which would include greenbelt. He added that the AIT would also offer battery operated cars to the temple committee to carry handicapped and aged visitors to the temple.
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70 rescued pigeons stolen from SPCA premises
Amritsar, March 23 Thieves scaled a 7-feet boundary wall of the SPCA to gain entry to the complex. They then broke open the locks of three cages and took away the birds. The watchman did not notice anything till midnight. The police has registered a case under Section 457 and 380 of the IPC on the complaint of Ashok Joshi, inspector, SPCA. Joshi said the issue was also brought to the knowledge of the Deputy Commissioner and Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry. He said he received a call from the watchman at about 1.00 am informing him about the theft. Hans Raj, investigating officer and in charge, Durgiana police post, said an investigation has been launched. “The cages are located in an open ground inside the SPCA complex.” said Dr Jagdish Shouri, Deputy Director, Animal husbandry. He said an emergency meeting was called after the incident. The department is planning to replace the watchman. He said the department has been granted Rs 4 lakh given by MP Navjot Singh Sidhu. He said the money would be used to renovate the complex and raise the height of boundary walls. It is pertinent to mention here that the People for Animal (PFA) and Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) authorities, acting on a tip-off, rescued as many as 113 pigeons stuffed in handmade basket from Old Sabi Mandi area on March 7. However, three persons who had kept the birds captive fled from the scene. It was learnt they were trying to smuggle these pigeons to Jammu and Kashmir.
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Social stigma still attached to TB
Amritsar, March 23 District TB Officer Dr Naresh Chawla said, “We came across such cases where newly-married girls were sent back to their parents after the disease was diagnosed.” Even the parents of unmarried girls prefer not to disclose the disease in fear of spoiling their daughter’s marriage prospect. He said the department arranges special counselling for such families. “Sometimes we have to counsel the in-laws to take back the girl after she is fully cured,” said Chawla adding that social pressure on men is much lesser. Patients and their families prefer to keep the diseased under wraps in fear of social segregation. A fully cured TB patient Gopal Kumar said he preferred not telling this to anyone. Another cured patient pleading anonymity said, “The people are afraid of coming in contact with TB patients. TB patients need support and it is lacking in some societies.” He added that he himself had stopped meeting people till he was fully cured. Chest Specialist at Respicure Chest and ENT Centre, Dr Ravneet Grover, said, “A boy and his family asked me if it was safe to marry a girl who once had TB. Not many people take the pain to consult a doctor.” He said two weeks of taking medicines would cure a TB patient. He said at least a change has come and now people know that the disease is curable.
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Railway union opposes rollback as poor section rejoice it
Amritsar, March 23 The NRMU said it would oppose the move with all its might. NRMU’s divisional president Raman Thakur said, “There are lakhs of vacancies in railways. If funds are generated, the money can be used to employ people who would better the services.” Thakur said the common masses want better services even if it costs them a little more. “The department is moving towards a crisis for want of money,” said Thakur adding that a few years ago railway was the only PSU which was in profit. Meanwhile, few residents welcomed the rollback. “The lakhs of migrant labourers from UP and Bihar are happy as they would have to pay the same fare,” said Subhash Singh, a labourer. He said people use railways because it is economical than the road transport. A vendor Suneel Kumar said, “The government is increasing prices of every thing. It must think about the poor people.” He said it is good that the earlier decision has been reversed. On the contrary, few residents expressed that the issue was unnecessarily politicised. Jagat Singh, a shopkeeper, said, “The prices of petrol and foods have increased many times in the past few years but such a stiff opposition was not seen. Now, if the fare has been increased one paisa per kilometre and that too after almost a decade, people have a problem.” He said no public sector can work unless it is able to generate enough funds for its functioning. He added that an increase of one paisa per kilometer would cost Rs 10 more for a journey of thousand kilometres.
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From
Schools
Amritsar, March 23 Meanwhile, in a separate event, Ritika Chawla of MSc (Computer Science) stood seventh in the first semester in the district and 11th in Guru Nanak Dev University. She got 71.6 per cent marks.
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Zila Parishad seeks detailed discussion on budget
Amritsar, March 23 Registering the protest, the Zila Parishad members have demanded a copy of the budget before convening the budget meeting on March 30. The parishad has also asked for details of the projects completed in the previous years and the ones which are to be taken up. Talking to The Tribune, Rajinder Kumar said they have asked for details of expenditures made on such projects in the previous years. He said, “We have on various occasions found people missing from their duties. But despite us recommending punishments, no action has been taken.” He said the parishad has also asked for information on the employees on leave and their official tour programmes. Kumar said the move would ensure accountability and co-ordination in services. He said the officials were keen on passing the budget on last Wednesday but the elected representatives pressed for a thorough discussion. He admitted that in the past few years, budget session has become a mere formality.
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Seminar on Gandhi to be held today
Amritsar, March 23 He said talks will be held on the topics of `Peace Education: Rediscovering the vision of Mahatma Gandhi’, `Relevance of Mahatma Gandhi’s Philosophy in the Era of Globalisation’, and many other. Dr MS Hundal, Dean Colleges Development Council, Guru Nanak Dev University (Amritsar), will inaugurate the seminar and S Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, Honorary Secretary, Khalsa College Governing Council and Chairperson, Punjab State Small Scale Industries and Exports Corporation will preside over the valedictory function.
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Air-India sacks employee for taking bribe
Amritsar, March 23 Meanwhile, Sandy Randhawa said before leaving for the airport he found the overall weight of his baggage was less than 3.5 kg. However, at the airport the baggage weight was found to be above 7.5 kg. He said the loader sought Rs 3,000 to settle the matter. He took up the matter with the senior officials of the AAI. “After going through the CCTV footage, it was found that the loader had pocketed the money,” he said.
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A traffic blockade by the activists of various jewellers' associations did not go down well with the commuters at the Hall Gate area today.
Amritsar, March 23
