Amritsar, April 4
The police has booked four members of the in-laws family of a woman who was allegedly set on fire. The accused include the husband of the victim Ranjit Kaur, a resident of Vadala Kalan village. She was rushed to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital where her condition is stated to be critical.

The accused include her husband Rakesh Kumar, brother-in-law Mahesh Kumar and mother-in-law Rani, all residents of Vadala Kalan village.

A case under Section 307, 498-A and 34 IPC has been registered against them. No arrests have been made so far. The victim, Ranjit Kaur, in her complaint to the police alleged she was married to Rakesh Kumar a year and a half ago. However, the couple failed to get pregnant. On this pretext, the accused started harassing her and forced her to bring more dowry.

She alleged that on Tuesday, the accused poured petrol over her body after an altercation and set her on fire due to which she sustained over 70 per cent burn injuries. Raman Kumar, a relative of the victim said Ranjit’s in-laws told them that she had tried to commit suicide by setting herself on fire. When we reached her house, we found her severely burnt and the accused were absconding. The police has registered a case on the basis of the statement of Ranjit Kaur in the presence of judicial magistrate. The police said raids were being conducted to nab the culprits.

Amritsar, April 4
Rambagh police has booked three persons, including a woman, in connection with a rape case. A resident of Mudhal village was allegedly raped and later blackmailed by the accused who had clicked her photographs on their mobile phones. The complainant, who has a child, told the police that the accused raped her repeatedly after blackmailing her with the photographs besides threatening to kill her son.

The accused include Bikkar Singh, Gola and his wife Bholli, all residents of Mudhal village.

The police has registered a case under Sections 376 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code against them.

Tired of being continuously blackmailed by the accused, she told her family members about the incident who then took her to the police.

“While raping, the accused clicked the photographs on their mobiles and started blackmailing me. I tried to tell this to my family members but due to fear of social ridicule, I kept quite. But, I was fed of the repeated blackmailing by the accused, therefore I decided to tell this to my family,” the victim told the police in her statement.

Station house officer (SHO) Rambagh police station Sanjiv Kumar said no arrests have been made so far.

Amritsar, April 4
The quality of water supplied to houses here is completely unmonitored. And the Municipal Corporation has got no scientific system to treat or check the quality of water.

Though the water supply network in the holy city has reached 80 per cent houses here, the system of distribution and maintenance, which exists for decades, is poorly maintained. In most of the localities, the water supply gets mixed with the sewage because of breakages of pipes.

In some low-lying areas, people have illegal openings below meter lines even with plugs remain opened. During the rainy season and in case of blockage of sewer lines, sewer and rainwater get mixed in water supply lines.

As far as the treatment is concerned, the water is treated through a system of chlorination or by adding bleaching powder at the level from where the water is extracted.

Officials said bacteriological test is conducted occasionally to determine the level of bacterial contamination and bleaching powder is used to disinfect water, but this practice is not carried out in accordance with the BIS, 1991, (clause 3.1) (ISI-10500) standards.

Interestingly, the MC tried to engage private firms for water quality and tests in 2010. Even three firms came forward to do the task for Rs 10 lakh, but later the proposal was scrapped due to official rigmarole. Till date, the proposal has been gathering dust in the files.

Nevertheless, the source of water supply is groundwater, which is extracted through tubewells and supplied to the residents through a system of overhead reservoirs.

Initially, water supply in the walled city was based on a network of 40 khuhs (wells) located outside the city through which water was extracted and supplied through a well-designed and properly laid down network.

Over a period of time, a number of tubewells have been installed to extract groundwater and meet the increased needs of its residents. There are 310 tubewells installed here. This has resulted in the rapidly-falling water table.

About 10 years ago, the groundwater was available at a depth of 45 to 55 feet. Now it is available at a depth of 60 and 80 feet. The officials said the groundwater level on an average is declining by around one foot with each passing year.

In addition to piped water supply, hand pumps, stand posts and wells are also used to extract groundwater essentially in the slum areas and the areas not covered by the water supply network.

Amritsar, April 4
he Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) has released the summer schedule of Heritage Walk and Panj Sarovar walk. The walks will begin from and 8 and 9 am from the old venue of the Town Hall. The Heritage Walk launched on September 27, and the Panj Sarovar Walk launched on December 14, have not found many takers so far.

Cleanliness remains the biggest challenge. The board is yet to develop have the Municipal Corporation get the route cleaned on time to offer dirt-free walks to tourists. The Board plans to work in tandem with the civic authorities and is hopeful to put a mechanism in place to ensure there was no litter en route.

The Board has failed to popularise the much-hyped Panj Sarovar walk. It started with a goof up as the literature on the walk contained factual errors as the holy sarovars were shown as lakes and later entire literature had to be withdrawn and re-printed.

To facilitate the tourists, the board had also changed the starting point of Panj Sarovar Walk from the Town Hall to Gurdwara Santokhsar Sahib. Both the walks have failed to draw tourists because of the lack of promotion and the dirty surroundings.

The Board has miserably failed to market the walks among the visitors to the city. It had contacted Bollywood actress Prachi Desai to be its brand ambassador but impact of the campaign is yet to be seen.

Many heritage buildings on the route of the walk are being demolished as the Board has failed to implement its plan to preserve them. A guide on the condition of anonymity said if all heritage buildings were replaced with modern structures the walks will have no future. Discourteous behaviour of some of the occupants of these heritage structures has also emerged as another major problem.

Amritsar, April 4
The Pre-conception Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) advisory committee of the health department cancelled the licence of Sigma Diagnostic Scanning Centre at a meeting held today. The district health authorities had earlier sealed the ultrasound machines at the centre after it was found that sex determination tests were conducted at the centre in February.

Civil Surgeon-cum-District Appropriate Authority under the PNDT Act, Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa said, “Earlier the machines had been sealed and the centre was served a show-cause notice. As the centre had failed in giving a satisfactory answer, its registration has been cancelled.”

The authorities have also served show-cause notices to two centres; KVS Hitech Diagnostic Center and Prime Diagnostic centre. “We have sent a strong signal that no one will be spared for violations of the PC PNDT Act,” said Randhawa. The department had also sealed machines at the two centres earlier.

He said in today’s meeting licences of some diagnostic centres were renewed. “We have also discussed on how to conduct regular inspections of the ultrasound centres to check sex determination tests,” said Randhawa. He said 36 items were on the agenda of the committee meeting, including few pending cases on which decisions were taken unanimously after discussions.

Amritsar, April 4
Approval of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to fill up vacant posts in government schools promises to solve the problem of staff crunch prevailing in government schools.

Besides, staff crunch government schools also face the problem of lack of infrastructure and obsolete teaching material. Elementary education in the district has been adversely affected as 1,030 posts of teachers and headmasters are lying vacant here. As against the sanctioned strength of 3,657 teachers and headmasters, there are only 2,627 teachers.

In all, there are 866 elementary schools in the district. Of these, two are being run from rented buildings and six either from gurdwaras or village land, said District Education Officer (Elementary) Jaspal Singh.

Secondary schools too are no different as there are 420 secondary schools in the district, 147 middle schools, 105 high schools and 90 senior secondary schools.

Besides, 77 middle schools are being run under the Sarv Sikhya Abhiyan and one under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Sikhya Abhiyan.

However, sources say, there are several one and two-teacher schools being run here. Students in the rural areas don’t have much choice after matriculation. As many as 90 senior secondary schools don’t have the commerce and science streams.

Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal’s ambitious project to impart public school education to the students from remote areas, saw opening up of only two schools in the district.

Two Adarsh Schools at Chogawan village in Rajasansi and another at Phatu Gillan village in Majitha were set up under the scheme.

As many as 70 primary schools have already been upgraded to the middle level and approval to upgrade seven schools to high schools has been forwarded to the authorities concerned.

Introduction of free compulsory education after implementation of the Right to Education and mid-day meal scheme have drawn the students to government schools.

Members of the Punjab Chemists Association discuss their problems during a meeting with the district health officials in Amritsar on Wednesday. photo: sameer Sehgal

Amritsar, April 4
The district health officials held a meeting with the representative of the Punjab Chemist Association to discuss the problems faced by them in getting their shops registered or getting licence as per the provisions of the Food and Safety Standards Act 2006.

As per a notification issued by the state government, the shopkeepers were required to send their applications by March 31. However a maximum number of the chemists failed to follow the guidelines as they complained that they were facing problems in getting the no objection certificate from the Municipal Corporation.

Association general secretary Surinder Duggal said, “We have apprised the officials about the problem faced by us in getting the NOC, as a result of which we have failed to obtain registration certificates or licences.” He said in absence of the registration certificate and licences, they are facing difficulties in getting supply of food products from manufacturers.

“The companies dealing in powdered milk and nutritional supplements have stopped the supply as they are demanding a copy of the registration certificate or licence,” said Duggal. He added there is a shortage of milk powder for paediatric use due to the problem.

Meanwhile, Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa said the chemists have been given 10 days time. “In case they are inefficient to provide NOCs, they have been advised to give self-attested declarations,” said Randhawa adding that the department would provide all required help to the chemists.

He added that keeping in view the needs of the chemists, the department would organise a special camp to provide them registration certificates or licences once all the formalities are completed.

Amritsar, April 4
NGO Mission Aagaaz, at a press conference held today alleged that the private company hired on contract for the management of municipal solid waste is violating the contract by not segregating the waste.

Solid waste management advisor of the NGO Dr AL Adlakha said, “The non-biodegradable and recyclable waste is dumped at the same place. It is a clear violation of the contract according to which the company is required to segregate the waste into different types.” He said the breach is not only a threat to the environment but is also increasing the volume of the waste at the site already overflowing with garbage.

He said, “The company is charging unnecessarily for the lifting and dumping of waste, which the company is supposed to segregate, thus causing huge financial loss to the corporation.”

The NGO has requested state Principal Secretary Health Vinni Mahajan to take notice of the violations in view of the impact it is having on the health of local residents.

Amritsar, April 4
After seven days of protest by the Guru Nanak Dev University’s Teachers Association’s (GNDUTA), its executive today held a meeting with Vice Chancellor AS Brar.

GNDUTA president Prof Balwinder Singh provided no details of the meeting. He said he would made the details public after discussing the contents of this meeting with the members of the association.

Amritsar, April 4
To spread awareness against social evils such as drug addiction, we should incorporate such subjects in our curriculum in schools, said State Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka during his maiden visit to Guru Nanak Dev University Regional Campus, Sathiala, here today.

He said various amendments made in the education policies in the country after the Independence were not up to the mark.

Maluka said Punjab is blessed with many natural resources and the youth of this region should explore their potential in their own native country instead of going abroad. He said the youth should not indulge in drug addiction and use their creativity in constructive activities. He said more topics relating to social evils prevailing in our society should be included in our study curricula.

AS Brar, Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, said the university would make efforts to provide state-of-the-art infrastructure and faculty at the regional campus. He said more need-based vocational courses would be started soon at the campus.

Amritsar, April 4
DAV College student Amarjit Singh Bhoma is taking part in the UCI Track Cycling World Championship in Australia. The championship will conclude on April 8.

His father Bawa Singh Bhoma, an international cycling player, said the facilities available at Guru Nanak Dev University and coach Rajesh Kaushik helped his son groom to take part in the international meet.

Amarjit qualified to take part in the championship in Australia after his impressive performance at the Asian Championship held in Malaysia in February.

Amritsar, April 4
DAV International School celebrated its 14th foundation day at a grand ceremony. A colourful cultural programme was also organised today. Pigeons and balloons were also released to mark the occasion.

School principal Anjana Gupta said the institution which started with just 187 students, has crossed the number of 5,000 students today. She said the main focus of education was a holistic development of the personality and character of the students. She said in age of technology and multi-culturalism, we are losing touch with our traditions and culture. The students were awarded prizes for academic excellence. The event concluded with performance of giddha.