Amritsar, May 16
The health department teams today inspected canteens of various schools in the city to check the quality to food being served to the students there. The teams also made the canteen managers aware of the Food Safety and Standards Act and directed them to serve hygienically prepared good quality food items only. During the inspections, though no samples were collected and no seizures were made but canteen owners were issued warnings.

District Health Officer Dr Pradeep Singh Kahlon said canteen owners need to be educated about the quality parameters.

He said teams had informed the staff at the canteen about the various parameters to assess the quality of food.

He said by conducting the inspections, the department has sent the signal that the next time no excuses will be heard.

“Now the canteen owners know about the quality parameters and the Food Safety and Standards Act. As such this is there duty to follow the guidelines," said Kahlon. Food Inspector Amit Joshi led the teams.

Amit Joshi said the teams had detected various shortcomings mainly regarding cleanliness in the canteens of various schools.

He said the school authorities had been immediately informed about these shortcomings.

He said they have asked school principals to intervene.

The department had chalked out a plan to check food quality in the canteens of various schools and colleges few days ago after the department received complaints about the substandard food being served to the students.

Amritsar, May 16
The Ward number 61 had hogged the limelight five years ago with its residents electing state's youngest Councillor, Bhawna, the then B.Com second year student. But things have not changed much for the residents since. The roads still are water logged and the streets are bumpy and drainage system is almost always choked.

Plying a four-wheeler in these narrow streets is almost impossible. For a two-wheeler, the rider has to maintain a strong grip on the vehicle as the streets are bumpy. The water standing at few of these places adjoining the houses has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The residents complain that MC's chemical spraying mosquito control teams never visit these areas perhaps scared of the roads. Though the residents are happy that at last the sewerage project has started but they complain that it is taking too long.

“It has been a year and we have not seen a four wheeler or even a rickshaw on the road from Kot Khalsa to Guru Nanak Pura,” said a resident. Construction has affected their daily lives.

The residents of street number three in Dasmesh Nagar Block A, say they had pooled in money to get the street paved. The residents complained that earlier the street faced the problem of acute water logging after which they decided to do something on their own.

Majority of the residents of Chota Haripura, Bhootanpura, Rodae Shah Colony and Guru Nanak Pura, the other localities in the ward, cannot afford to take this initiative as is apparent from their shabby homes that need repair.

The residents said that even though they have lived for years in this area, they are not registered as voters. Few even don't have their ration cards. The councillor admits that people face these problems. She said she has talked to certain officials about the matter.

The residents rue that the condition of unpaved streets will deteriorate during the monsoons. They said the streets should be paved at the earliest and sewerage project should be completed early.

What are your achievements?

I have personally looked into the development of the areas in Ward number 61. The localities lack a sewerage system and now it is being constructed at the cost of Rs 18 crore. My biggest achievement is getting the project sanctioned. The level of streets in the area has been raised, at places by almost seven feet. This will help solve the problem of water logging.

What are the problems of your ward?

The area is not developed at all. I have here only five years ago. It takes people that much time in constructing a home. So I will not say that all of problems faced by the residents have been solved. The ward needs at least Rs 50 crore grant to set things right.

Profile
Bhawna had first hogged the limelight in 2007 when she was made a candidate by the BJP for the MC polls. After her victory, the media had branded her as an icon of the youth. A bachelor's degree holder in commerce, she still holds the record of being the youngest councillor. Her political achievement is credited to her father, Dr Anoop Kumar, a BJP loyalist.

residents speak
The streets are in a very bad condition. I have been living here for 10 years and things have worsened during this time. The area lacks basic amenities.

— Hari Ram, Dashmesh Nagar

I have been living here for seven years. I don't have a vote or a ration card. The system is such that only people with connections can get their jobs done. Unless we become voters, political leaders will not listen to us.

— Piara Singh, a carpenter

The residents here live in hell. No politicians as councillors or MLAs have ever solved our problems. Water logging in the streets is the biggest problem here. The leaders need to be more sensitive towards these problems.

— Sunder Lal, Guru Nanak Pura

The street to my home is highly unapproachable. Going by the pace of development we do not even expect that it would be paved in next 10 or seven years. Politicians come here only for elections

— Rocky, a vegetable vendor

The stagnant water has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Children cannot sleep during the night because of them but we have never seen any MC vehicle spraying chemical to kill them.

— Gulshan Kumar, a resident

Amritsar, May 16
Civil Lines police has arrested eight persons allegedly involved in snatchings and theft cases in various parts of the city. The police arrested four persons allegedly responsible for stealing expensive paintings and photo frames worth Rs 5 lakh from a showroom in the B-block of the Ranjit Avenue area here in February. The accused have been identified as Sai Das Khair, Sushant Mandal, Sunatan and Amit, all residents of Kolkata. They were employed in the showroom belonging to Sandeep Singh.

Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, SHO Civil Lines police station said a police party headed by ASI Shamsher Singh arrested them from Kotkala. He said the stolen material has been recovered from their possession. He said the accused were presented in the court and brought on police remand for further investigations. More recoveries are likely to be made, he added.

The police has arrested Sushil Kumar of Mohkampura and Hemraj of Phillaur, a resident of Sultanwind Road for possessing 100 gram of narcotic powder. The accused were allegedly involved in a number of snatching incidents. During investigations they admitted to have committed snatchings at Kitchlew Chowk, Rani Ka Bagh and Ratan Singh Chowk areas, the police claimed.

The police has also arrested Rohit of Fateh Singh Colony and Rahul of Namak Mandi with 100 gram of narcotic powder. They were also involved in snatching incidents. The police has also recovered two mobile phones from their possession. They had admitted to several snatchings occurred in Nayyian wala mod in Islamabad area. In one of the incidents they snatched the purse belonging to a woman when she was going on an autorickshaw. She fell from the autorickshaw and sustained injuries following which she was admitted in the hospital. The accused had also committed snatchings in the D-Division police station area, the police claimed.

Amritsar, May 16
Following a complaint lodged by a woman patient alleging sexual harassment at the hands of a male employee of the hospital, the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital authorities have formed a panel of three senior doctors to probe into the charges leveled by the victim. The panel will be headed by Dr Gagandeep Kaur with Dr Sukhcharanjit Singh and Dr Navdeep Singh as members.

The victim had in a complaint to the GND Hospital's medical superintendent Dr Satpal, alleged that a hospital employee had touched her with wrong intentions as she was resting in one of the operation theatres after a procedure suggested by doctors, the accused misbehaved with her.

Amritsar, May 16
At 53 years of age, Baba Raj Kumar from the city has undertaken a pilgrimage on his bicycle. With the message of peace in his heart, he wants to attract the attention of the masses towards his aim to spread the message of peace in society.

Kumar will begin his journey from Amritsar tomorrow. He plans to visit religious places like Ujjain, Ankreshvar, Dwarka Puri, Som Nath, Shirdi, Sahni Dham, Augrangabad, Parli Baijnaath, Malika Arjun, Tirupati Bala Ji, Kanyakumari, Rameshwar Dham, Chandi, Jagannath Puri, Gaya Ji and Varanasi.

Amritsar, May 16
Fashion is all about making your own style statement and among those who create styles loved by others, are four girls from city. Guncha Chopra, Harjot Kaur, Sonia Dua and Ramandeep Kaur want to be the next big names in the country’s fashion scene. They have been shortlisted to feature in the Genext Category of the Lakme Fashion Week. And this is just the beginning.

Confident, coolheaded and creative, their mantra is simple yet competitive. “Preparing for one of the biggest fashion events of the year hasn’t been easy. Sleepless nights, panic attacks, last minute changes, we have been through the grind. We never expected to get shortlisted but now it is has given us a morale boost,” says Guncha.

The young designers from INIFD, Amritsar, have designed two collections, ‘Saviour’ and ‘Vivid Closure’ that have made it to the Lakme Fashion Week. While Guncha and Harjot have worked on a theme inspired by the Great Wall of China, Sonia and Ramandeep have created innovative designs and patterns with enamel and oil colours. “Our collection uses digital prints and patterns inspired by the Great Wall of China on velvet and uses bold colours combined with brick-wall prints for perfect finish,” says Guncha.

To complete the look, they have designed accessories and embellishments using historical coins. “We had a tough time putting together the collection as we had to source the coins, get them cut to suit out designs and keep the digital patterns in sync,” says Harjot.

It meant working day and night. “We came up with the entire collection in one night,” says Guncha.

As for Sonia and Ramandeep, their collection meant an equal amount of hard work and luck. “Our designs worked around the use of enamel-based colours. So the right fabric, colours and procedure had to be adopted,” says Sonia. What eventually worked was a pool of colours on different fabrics. Their innovative collection uses georgette and raw silk with colourful vivid patterns and flowing silhouette. More creativity thrown in the form of jewellery and accessories designed with zippers, lots of them.

Taking inspiration from designers like Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, these girls are ready to meet the challenging final selection procedure.

“There will be many creative designers from across the country, but our funda will be to keep it simple and stick to the basics. Too much experimentation for attention could prove dangerous,” says Guncha.

With a promising future in fashion, these young designers believe that Amritsar needs a serious fashion makeover. “It’s a city of fashion followers and not trendsetters. There is not much scope of designer wear here as lack of knowledge and motivation is a big problem,” says Harjot. As for them, going to the next level might prompt them to make a difference, in style!

Amritsar, May 16
The Municipal Corporation has turned down the offer of many city-based industrialists to fund swings, slides and rides in the city's prominent children park in historic Ram Bagh. The industrialists have come forward as the park has been lying in a dilapidated condition for the past many years.

MC Commissioner Dharam Pal Gupta said he visited the park and took stock of the prevailing situation there. He said though the idea of funding the infrastructure of the park was a noble gesture on the part of industrialists, the corporation cannot allow any private individual or a group of individuals to go ahead as the park falls in the notified summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

He assured that the corporation would install all equipment on its own. However, he did not give any timeframe.

The park, centrally located in the city, in its present condition poses danger to children. Swings, seesaw and other installations are lying broken.

Earlier, MC Commissioner Dharam Pal Gupta had said the corporation was receptive to all novel ideas for installing equipment in the park and would extend full cooperation and support.

Meanwhile, the Focal Point Industries Association, the Amritsar Textile Processors Association and the Textile Manufacturers Association have decided to foot the expenses to install the equipment.

Kamal Dalmia, secretary general, Focal Point Industries Association, said his association had even written to the Municipal Corporation several months back, but it did not elicit positive response.

Amritsar, May 16
As many as 40 persons were booked in the case of murderous attack on several persons following a dispute between two groups of transporters in Chak Mishri Khan village falling in Lopoke police station in Amritsar rural police district last evening.

The accused allegeldy barged into the residence of one of the victims identified as Palwinder Singh and shot at them. He along with his relative Chanan Singh sustained bullet injuries while he alleged his son Jagdish Singh also suffered serious injuries.

While Jagdish Singh who was critically injured in the attack was rushed to a private hospital, his father Palwinder Singh and Chanan Singh were taken to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here. Their condition is stated to be stable.

The accused include Harjit Singh, Dilbagh Singh, Baljit Singh, Gurmit Singh, Sabba, Mattu, Ravinder, Gurmit Singh, Bachittar Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Navtej Singh, all residents of Chak Mishri Khan, Jaimal Singh of Kangawala Khuh, Rashpal Singh of Bohlia, Happy, Tejinder Singh, Amanjot Singh of Lopoke and 15/20 others who are yet to be identified.

Palwinder Singh, in his complaint to the police alleged that all the accused who were armed with rifles and sharp-edged weapons barged into his house and attacked them. He alleged the accused also took away his rifle and 25 live cartridges from his house while fleeing from the spot. He said Jagdish Singh had a minor dispute with the accused over the timings of busses.

Out of 40 persons booked in the case, the police has arrested five persons, Jagbir Singh, Baljit Singh, Tejinder Singh, Amanjot Singh and Sukhbir Singh. A case under Section 307, 392, 452, 326, 324, 323, 148, 149, 506 IPC and 25/27/54/59 Arms act has been registered in this regard. 

Amritsar, May 16
With no economically viable methodology to destroy the crop residue in sight, farmers continue to set the stubble on fire little realising its disastrous repercussions.

On Tuesday, the Chattiwind police booked a Sultanwind resident, identified as Jailo, who allegedly set his fields on fire which further led to destruction of a house located nearby. In her complaint, Mandeep Kaur, who bore the brunt of someone else’s mistake, said 12 trolley loads of fodder, household items and ceiling of the house were damaged in the fire.

However, a police case won’t help check the farmers’ tendency of burning stubble unless some concrete policy matters are devised and farmers are provided with a suitable alternative.

Rotavator, zero-till drill, baler machines, shredders or happy seeder machines do provide alternatives to eliminate the crop refuse, but are expensive. The government is required to take steps to make such machines available to the farmers at a nominal price, experts said.

“I condemn the act of burning crop residue, but the bitter fact is that farmers too have no other viable choice. Despite knowing the fact that the fire would damage the fertility quotient of the land, farmers adopt this unhealthy practice. Moreover, how can those, who are already under debt, be expected to pay the price of destroying the waste when just a match stick can solve their purpose? It is the government which should formulate and grant subsidies, long-term loans and encourage manufacturers in making these machines more affordable. Then a solution can be expected,” said Rattan Singh Randhawa, a spokesperson of Jamhoori Kissan Sabha.

Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, chairman, Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) and BJP's state executive member, advocated that putting a blanket ban may not lead to desired results. “Mechanism should be devised to persuade farmers to stop burning the waste by transforming it into some profitable material.”

Chhina, himself a progressive farmer, said the government must take initiatives to set up cardboard, paper and packaging industry in the rural areas so that they get cheap raw material in the form of crop waste.

“With this, not only the stubble will become a saleable and profitable commodity, the industry will also benefit especially when it is facing shortage of raw material. Once the crop waste is turned into a profitable item, farmers ill not take the extreme and convenient way of burning the stubbles in the fields,” he said, adding that he would speak to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in this regard.