Forum penalises PowerCom for overcharging consumer
Amritsar, June 6
The district consumer disputes redressal forum has ordered power corporation to pay Rs 2,500 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as the cost of litigation to a consumer for charging extra amount from him. In a complaint to the forum, a resident of Lohgarh, Surinder Kumar, had said corporation had charged Rs 234 and Rs 164 through two separate bills last year. The complainant stated that the money was charged stating it as arrears while nothing was due from his side.

Amritsar, June 6
The Congress candidate from Ward no 14, Paramjeet Kaur, the wife of sitting Congress councillor Narinder Singh Tung, withdrew her candidature in favour of Kashmir Kaur. Tung snapped his 25-year-old ties with the Congress and declared to have joined the SAD in the presence of SAD cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia here today.

Meanwhile, District Congress Committee secretary Rakesh Kumar, who was a contender from Ward number 10, too joined the SAD on the same platform.

The SAD may have got the Congress candidate to withdraw in its favour but it has so far failed to convince its own candidate Kashmir Kaur who is pitted against its alliance partner BJP’s candidate Neelam Bala to change her stance.

With Paramjeet stepping back, the fight will now be between the two candidates belonging to the ruling alliance.

Tung joined the Congress party in 1980 as the district president of NSUI and later became the general secretary of Youth Congress Punjab. He stood for civic polls in 1997 but lost against an Independent candidate. Later, in 2002, he projected his wife Paramjeet Kaur who toppled her SAD opponent Ranjit Kaur. In 2007, Tung was successful in attaining the post of councillor. Post delimitation, the seat has been reserved for women candidates and Tung has once again fielded his wife. “I took the move on my own and without any pressure from any side. I will support the SAD candidate from here,” he said.

The SAD candidate could never win from this ward and it was either the Congress candidate or the Independents who bagged the seat, yet BJP’s Neelam Bala and SAD’s Kashmir Kaur are confident of winning.

Kashmir Kaur brags about being closely associated with top-rung leadership of the SAD and is confident to bring in funds for development, whereas on the other hand, BJP’s Neelam Bala has assured the residents of providing better facilities through his party MLA and cabinet minister Anil Joshi.

Kashmir Kaur said the vote bank of Neelam Bala may affect her votes but said she is sure of winning the hearts of the residents while representing the SAD, which is heading the state. “I am the better choice because the state is being headed by the SAD and it will be convenient for me to approach them. My agenda is to provide the residents with basic amenities. I have observed bad road conditions, sewerage and drinking water supply in the area and I promise to revamp the whole system,” she said.The BJP’s Neelam Bala said the SAD candidate was never accepted in this ward. “My husband Subhash Pappu gave a tough fight during the 2007 elections and lost by a thin margin of just 45 votes. This shows we are accepted in the area. The area MLA Anil Joshi will support me. The sewerage project worth Rs one crore in Sri Ram Avenue, managing the low-lying high tension electric wires and revamping the roads can now be executed well. If I win my focus will be to provide better roads, sewerage and drinking water facility,” she claimed.

Amritsar, June 6
The district administration has issued instructions to all political parties to observe the model code of conduct till the results of the MC polls are announced. The Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer today said no party should be allowed to issue any comments related to caste, creed or any religion or language during the poll campaign. The candidate or the party must mention the name of the printer and publisher on the propaganda material.

“We have issued instructions to prevent any untoward incident during the poll campaign. No party or candidate can seek votes on the basis of religion or caste. The party or candidates cannot use any religious premises for campaigning. The candidates have been instructed to exercise restraint while criticising their opponents. They can only criticise the policy matters, political programmes or past record of their opponents and will not be allowed to scuttle the poll campaign programmes of their opponents, as per the orders.

Similarly, no poll related material can be pasted on any private building without the permission of the owner of the property and an absolute ban has been imposed on pasting posters or banners on any government building. “No government machinery can be used for poll related activity which includes official phones, mobile or fax. No party can release advertisements about the elections in the newspapers on government expense. No government aided building can be used to hold poll meetings. Government vehicles cannot be used in poll campaigning,” he said.

No poll campaigning or conducting party meetings will be allowed 48 hours prior to the day of polling. No activity to influence the voters can be conducted within a radius of 100 metres of the polling stations. The use of loudspeakers will be allowed between 7 am and 10 pm. No government official is allowed to take part in the poll campaigning.

He said any election related complaints can be submitted with the observers deputed for that particular area.

Amritsar, June 6
The district consumer disputes redressal forum has ordered power corporation to pay Rs 2,500 as compensation and Rs 2,000 as the cost of litigation to a consumer for charging extra amount from him. In a complaint to the forum, a resident of Lohgarh, Surinder Kumar, had said corporation had charged Rs 234 and Rs 164 through two separate bills last year. The complainant stated that the money was charged stating it as arrears while nothing was due from his side.

During the course of litigation, the corporation had refunded the said amount, but the forum withheld that as the consumer was unnecessarily dragged into litigation, the corporation should compensate him. The forum observed, “All this shows that though the bills have been set right but the complainant has been dragged to this forum for more than one year. As such the complaint is disposed of with the directions to the opposite party to pay the compensation.”

Surinder Kumar's counsel Pahul Kanwar Singh said, “The complainant had approached the authorities concerned in the Power Corporation but failing to get any respite, he approached the forum.” The corporation has been asked to pay the litigation expenses and compensation within a month.

Amritsar, June 6
The gunda nullah is a pain for residents of Ward 48. Though the work is on to cover the drain, its slow pace has not helped matters, particularly in these hot weather conditions. A major portion of the drain is still open and chocked.

“The summer season is at its peak. Besides breeding mosquitoes, the drain is a source of foul smell,” said residents living in the localities situated just close to the nullah.

The situation is no good in areas where the nullah has been covered. In the absence of proper disposal system, the dirty water spills over to the streets. Inhabitants of these areas complain that the dirty water remains stagnated for days in front of their residences.

“We are forced to live in unhygienic conditions,” they rued. Though they appreciated the move to cover the nullah, they felt it would fail its purpose in the absence of any water disposal and drainage system.

They pointed out that covering the nullah was not a solution to the problem until and unless the proper disposal system is established in these areas.

The work for covering the ganda nallah was expected to be completed by February 2012, but it is still going on at a snail’s pace.

Rajni, a resident of the Rajiv Nagar area, said the authorities have turned a blind eye to the problem. “We are exposed to diseases due to the unhygienic conditions prevailing in our area but nobody listens to our grievances. The areas report a large number of cases of water-borne diseases and they (authorities) are well aware of it, yet no thought has ever been spared to redress our problems,” she said.

Like many other wards, shortage of water supply has also been the bane for the area. A large number of people of the area could be seen queuing up for water as two tubewells have gone dry. Inhabitants criticise the apathetic attitude of the MC authorities. What is worst, many of the tubewells needed urged repair, they said. The ill-maintained parks, poor garbage lifting and stray dog menace further add to the woes of residents.

Amritsar, June 6
Residents of Ward number 10 are forced to drink contaminated water. Sewerage here is choked and garbage keeps piling in front of the houses. Thanks to faulty planning, the road from Gopal Mandir temple till Tung Dhab drain is higher than the level of the houses.

Residents live under constant danger of getting electrocuted because of high tension wires passing over the rooftops. Mushrooming mobile towers are anther serious health hazard here. Residents rue that the present councillor has rented out the roof of his school to mobile companies.

The water boosting system installed adjacent to the ESI hospital, which was installed to solve the problem of contaminated drinking water, developed some snag recently. As a result two of its three motors are non-functional. Water supplied through the water boosting system also carries dirt and foreign material.

An official of the municipal corporation said the problem will be rectified within a day or two. The flow of water was disrupted because the pipe was knocked down because of the wall of the ESI complex.

Punjab State Power Corporation sources say most of the high tension wires have been rendered ineffective. “The electricity wing of the board is not responsible because these wires were laid during the British era and these colonies were established much later. The houses came up without the approval of the PSEB though as per norms it is required to take a no-objection certificate before giving approval for any colony. The onus lies with the MC, sources add.

The residents held protests against the stinking drinking water many times earlier. They said though the sewerage disposal system was cleaned and leaking connections were repaired, the smell in water remains. The residents have to boil water and install filters to get safe water.

An unpaved road in Ward 29 in Amritsar. photo: Sameer Sehgal

Amritsar, June 6
Sewerage system that has outlived its age, poor roads especially in the interior parts and missing or defunct streetlights are some of problems in Ward 29.

The areas that fall in the ward are Ram Nagar, Mohan Nagar, Gokul Ka Bagh, New Gokul Ka Bagh, Sultanwind Road, East Mohan Nagar, Basant Nagar, Sudarshan Nagar, Azad Nagar, Inderjit Colony, Pritam Nagar and Tirath Nagar.

The sewage disposal is a perennial problem in Dharm Kandia Wali road and some other areas. Little rain during the monsoons leads to water logging in the area.

Snatchers take advantage of defunct streetlights, which have not been replaced for a long time.

Garbage lifting has to be more regular, demand residents of Ward 48 in Amritsar. photo: Sameer Sehgal

Poor maintenance of greenbelts is another cause of concern. The area has about 10 parks and all of these are crying for an immediate attention. East Mohan Nagar Park is a perfect example of public initiative. The daily morning walkers and yoga enthusiasts contributed from their own pocket and hired a gardener to maintain the park.

Meanwhile, a part of the ward still houses industrial units. Continuous power supply is a major demand here.

Established as an industrial estate in the early ’50s, the East Mohan Nagar area has been crying for an urgent attention. The area, established by the Improvement Trust, is under the Municipal Corporation for several decades now. The civic body collects huge amount as house tax from industrialists, but in return gives very little to the area.

Situated on the 100-foot road, many industrial plots have been turned into marriage palaces, shops, schools and nursing homes due to the failure of the government to protect the industry.