Amritsar, April 28
Rains do not spell good news for the farmers sitting under the open sky to sell their produce at Bhaktanwala grain market. The grain market does not have adequate number of sheds to shelter their crop. Forced to leave it in the open, rain plays the spoilsport as it increases the moisture content in the crop thus decreasing its market value.

Joga Singh, a farmer said, “Crop with moisture content of less than 12 per cent is deemed fit to be bought. With rains, the moisture content increases. An ample number of sheds can save the crop,” he said.

To add to their woes beggars and thieves steal their crop in the night as the grain market has no boundary wall. Such people can be seen roaming in the market even during the day.

Another farmer Baltinder Singh said, “These people steal the crop. Though people try to guard their crop but thefts are very common. Few labourers could also be hand in glove with such persons.” He said some arrangements must be made to keep these people away from the market.

There is no arrangement for the farmers to stay during the night as the crop is often not bought the same day it arrives in the market. These farmers are often forced to sleep in the open. “Farmers find a place to stay only in the offices and godowns of commission agents,” said Jeevan Singh. He said the quality of food and tea being sold near the market is also very bad.

Jeevan Singh said, “Some eatery providing good quality food can save people from eating such low quality food. The administration must keep an eye on the quality of food being served here.”

The market also lacks the facility of cold drinking water, he said. Balkar Singh, another farmer said, “The water for drinking is to be procured from hand pumps or taps, which is not drinkable.” He said the market committee should take steps to improve the facilities in the grain market as it charges fees from the farmers.

Amritsar, April 28
Guru Nanak Dev Hospital plans to increase the user charges in lieu of the services provided to the patients. The move comes as the hospital authorities are finding it difficult to meet the increased cost of treatment. The hospital authorities also propose to increase the registration fee from Rs 2 to 5. The user charges for other services such as clinical tests and various other services are also going to be increased by 20 per cent, sources said.

The funds collected as user charges are used to buy medicines etc. The expenses incurred on the cleanliness and security of the premises is also borne out of this fund. The move comes as the institution is finding it difficult to manage its affairs with the collections.

Though during the previous financial year Rs 6.29 crore was collected as user charges but the state government gave only Rs 5 crore to the institution. This unsaid cut in the user charges has resulted in the dues mounting to more than Rs 8 crore in the last five years.

Medical College principal Dr SS Shergill admitted that a proposal to increase the user charges has been prepared. He said the charges will be hiked only after the permission of the state government. He said it was in that that the user charges were revised. Considering the increase in the costs, revision of the user charges is necessary to continue to provide better quality of services to the public. He said the state government must allocate more funds to the college.

Amritsar, April 28
Ashok Kumar, a resident of Dhapai road, Dam Ganj area, was run over by a speeding bus on the Batala road area here.

The victim and his son Jaspal were going on a bicycle when a speeding truck (RJ-14-GC-9527) hit them.

Ashok died on the spot while Jaspal escaped unhurt.

The accused was later arrested. The Rambagh police has registered a case under Section 304-A, 279 and 427 IPC against the driver of the truck who has been identified as Hanuman, a resident of Naya Gaon, Jaipur, Rajasthan. He was arrested by the police at a nearby naka.

In another mishap, two buses belonging to Robin Transport collided near Verka Railway crossing. One of the passengers identified as Manpreet Singh broke his arm in the accident.

The police has registered a case in this regard but no arrest has been made so far. 

Amritsar, April 28
To prevent train derailment at Amritsar railway station, the Ferozepur division of Northern Railways replaced old tracks with new ones today.

As a result of the maintenance work, train movement was affected to and fro from Amritsar. The maintenance work was expected to have lased for about ten hours as it started at 9 in the morning and was anticipated to conclude at 7 pm.

Divisional Railway Manager, Ferozepur Division, which controls parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, Vishwesh Chaubey said routes of 16 trains were changed for one day to carry out the repair work.

Sources said the repair work had become an absolutely necessary after the derailment of Sachkhand Express in the beginning of this year.

The railway authorities have already made an elaborate route chart to run trains so that the passengers are not inconvenienced. During the nine-hour repair work, a majority of the trains halted and departed from Jalandhar, Beas, besides, Manawala and Verka, near Amritsar.

New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express (12029) was halted at Manawala, 12 km from the local railway station. Shan-E-Punjab (12497), which runs between Hazrat Nizamuddin and Amritsar, stopped at Jalandhar.

n The routes of 16 trains were changed for one day to carry out the repair work.

Amritsar, April 28
Traders at the firecracker market at Jahajgarh here are all set to take steps to make the market fire proof. The market was rebuilt by the Improvement Trust in 2000 after loss of life and material worth crores was gutted in a major fire which broke out at the IDH 
market in 1999.

The shopkeepers here have decided to make the required changes in their shops to avoid any controversy or delays in selling firecrackers this year.

There are 30 firecracker shops in the market.

To create space between their shops, a wall will be erected to reduce the width of each shop from 17 to 10 feet. Besides, an emergency window will also be built at the back each shop, they said. Besides the lone tubewell built here by the AIT, another tubewell will also be constructed.

Amritsar Fire Works Association president Harish Dhawan said members of the association have unanimously decided to implement Explosive Rules 2008. He said the Police Commissionerate will also be apprised of the steps before implementing them. He said last year firecracker traders had to incur huge loses on account of restrictions in conducting their business. He said only 16 shops out of a total of 30 shops were allowed to function and that too only for four days ahead of Diwali.

About a petrol pump located in proximity of the market, Dhawan said it was situated 17 meters away from the wall of the market whereas rules prohibit operating a firecracker shop within 15 meters distance from a filling station. He said the filling station was not for public use but was established by a private transport company only for its buses.

Police Commissioner issues provisional licences for a period of 45-days under the Explosives Act to allow the sale of firecrackers which fall in the category of explosives. There are 30 firecracker stockists in the city who are released licences under the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Act for storage by the Union Government. The city also has two firecracker manufacturers.

Amritsar, April 28
The Border Security Force jawans arrested a suspected Pakistani spy near the border out post of Kahangargh while he was allegedly trying to cross over to Pakistan. However, no recovery has been made from his possession.

The BSF handed him over to Gharinda police and a case under Section 3, 34, 20 of the Indian Passport Act and 14 of the Foreign Act has been registered against him.

Jaswinder Singh, assistant commandant, 65th battalion of the BSF in his complaint to the police alleged that the accused used to roam around in the area posing as a mentally challenged person asking for alms.

During investigations he said his name was Miraj and he belonged to Karachi in Pakistan. He had came to India in 1997-98 and lived in various parts of the country before getting caught at Attari. Nothing objectionable was found from his possession.

Amritsar, April 28
Following a complaint lodged by the students, the Cantonment police has booked the management of a private coaching institute here. The management of the institute is accused of committing a fraud with the students on the pretext of providing excellent coaching for All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE).

The students alleged that the owner of Kota Institute did not hire the requisite staff to coach them in various subjects while only one teacher of mathematics taught them while the examination was scheduled to be held on April 29.

Those accused include Professor Ramsar, RK Kopri and Amrit Sharma, all residents of Panipat, Haryana.

The owner allegedly took Rs 15,000 in advance from each student, the police said. However, when Prof Ramsar, the owner failed to appoint any teacher, the students and their parents started enquiring about the same. He promised to return them the money the next day. When they reached the centre the next day they found the institute locked and the owners had vanished.

Harjinder Singh, one of the students who hails from Tarn Taran, in his complaint to the police alleged that he came to the institute on April 4 and paid Rs 15,000 as the fee in advance. However, even after the passage of several days the institute had no teachers to teach the students, he said.

The police has registered a case under Section 420, 406, 34 IPC in this regard on the basis of a complaint of the students. The police said investigations were on. The accused came and locked the institute. They accused own another institute at Panipat, which will also be raided to nab them, the police said.

Amritsar, April 28
Two unidentified motorcycle-borne youth allegedly snatched the purse belonging to Seema Bhatia, a resident of Greenfield Avenue on the Majitha Road here today.

She had alighted from an auto-rickshaw when the incident took place.

Her husband Sukesh Bhatia alleged she was on her way to Khanna Paper mill to meet him when the accused snatched her purse.

He said his wife had Rs 4,000 cash, a gold chain and a mobile phone in her purse.

He said the accused fled towards Fatehgarh Churian bypass after committing the crime.

Amritsar, April 28
“Amritsar has really grown when it comes to art as it understands art and respects its fundamentals.” Artist Gulshan Sidana believes the city is on its way to becoming a hub for artists from around the region. Speaking at the inauguration of his exhibition at SG Thakar Singh Art Gallery, he shared his experience of watching the city grow in curiosity for the various forms of art.

“Amritsar is very artistic in its appeal, rustic as well as modern yet alive an old world charm. It has come out of its comfort zone and started noticing the happenings of the art world,” he said.

A good turnout at the exhibition despite rain proved his point. MLA Inderbir Singh Bolaria and Rajinder Mohan Chinna were among the visitors.

The exhibition is a compilation of works by Gulshan Sidana, a mixed collection comprising oil on canvas and water colours.

“The highlights are my landscapes, portraits and a series in oil on canvas caled the Krishna series,” he said. Another attraction was his work on the theme of contemprory women. Composition in abstract depicting intricate aspects of women and their personality was also appreciated by the visitors.

Sidana said it would be wrong to say that the city lacks perspective. “Realistic art and abstract art are two different forms and so the understanding is different. Realistic art is easier to understand and the artist too should popularise it.” He said, “Art is growing and so is the motivation to support it. The future is good for budding artists.”

Amritsar, April 28
A workshop of 200 teachers from various branches of Sri Guru Harkrishan schools was held at the GT Road branch of the school here today. Hemlata, Army Public School principal and Veenu and Madhu, both teachers of Army Public School.