Amritsar, June 10
Despite the heat wave, the Municipal Corporation elections saw a turnout of 63 per cent voters today. In the recent state Assembly elections as well, the five constituencies of the city had witnessed polling of 63.9 per cent votes.

A heavy rush of voters was seen outside the polling booths at various places from the early hours today. As per initial figures, 35 per cent of the votes were polled in the first three hours of the election.

The voter turnout had decreased during the later hours as the temperature increased further. The later five hours witnessed polling of merely 28 per cent. However, the chhabeels organised at various places were of great help to those who came out to cast their votes despite the scorching sun. There were several fresh faces at the polling booths.

Sunidhi Kaul, a student said, “Though the temperature is high today but I feel it is my duty to cast my vote. At least everyone should vote if we want to change our political system.” Few of the residents were seen using umbrellas to save themselves from the heat and sunburn. The voters also rued that it was too difficult standing in the queues and the administration had not provided cold drinking water at most of the polling booths.

Amritsar, June 10
Even as the district and the police administration claimed that the MC polls were peaceful, Congress leaders alleged widespread rigging, booth capturing and bogus voting by Akali leaders in collaboration with police officials. They alleged blatant misuse of power and official machinery during the polls.

Jasbir Singh Dimpa, senior Congress leader in his statement to the press, alleged that Akali leaders with the active support of the police and anti-social elements captured several booths in wards in South assembly constituency besides beating up Congress polling agents.

He said Akali supporters armed with sharp-edged weapons attacked booth of Congress workers in Ward 35 and beat them up. In Ward 33, Dimpa alleged that the Akali leader along with their workers, who arrived from rural areas, captured three booths located in Gurnam Nagar. He said presiding officers of booth number 1 was polling votes in favour of Akali candidates. Despite making a complaint, the district administration did not take timely action and change the officer.

He said in Ward 31 Akali leaders captured the booths in Sri Har Krishan Public School and beat up Congress candidate Gurmukh Singh whose son was his counting agent.

He alleged that in Ward 36 from where MLA Inderbir Bolaria’s wife Geetinder Bolaria contested the election, Akali workers and police officials beat up Congress polling agents and workers and captured three booths. He said police officials from Amritsar rural police district were present in civil clothes at the spot.

“The Congress candidate and workers were terrorised and were bundled and locked in a room of the school,” he alleged. Congress candidates in Wards 35 and 37 were also thrashed by Akali workers and local police officials, he added.

In Ward 64, there were rumours that electronic voting machines were lying in a private vehicle. Om Parkash Soni, sitting MLA, said the vehicle was private which was parked inside the polling centre in a blatant violation. However, administration officials headed by Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Rajat Agarwal and Police Commissioner RP Mittal reached the spot and clarified that the vehicle belonged to an election supervisor and EVMs present in his vehicle was a reserved one.

Amritsar, June 10
The Tribune lensman Vishal Kumar was physically assaulted by a group of persons and his equipment was damaged in the Aman Avenue area here this morning. Vishal was on an official assignment to cover the municipal corporation polls. Near a polling station at Aman Avenue near Tung Bala, he discovered a youth being beaten up by the same group. Thinking it to be a poll-related violence, he tried to capture the scene.

But the group abused him for clicking pictures. Even as Vishal agreed to delete some of the pictures, they snatched away his camera. Vishal had no choice but to approach the police and it was only after the intervention of the police that they returned the camera. But they damaged the camera badly. 

Amritsar, June 10
An overwhelming participation of youth in the civic polls today testifies how much the issues plaguing the city concern them. Fielding the young Turks has worked for major political parties as they have been successful in connecting well with the youth.

Raghav Bhardwaj, a B.Tech student, and his fellows say they want to bring about change and fight against red tapism, corruption and a shoddy system. “The reason why we are deprived of proper facilities, infrastructure or amenities, is not that the corporation is cash strapped, it is because we elect those who are not competent and don’t know how to use the funds judiciously. That is why we decided to give a chance to a new candidate from our ward,” said Raghav.

Jasmine, a student of journalism, was dejected as she could not vote as her name was not in the voters’ list despite having completed all formalities in advance. “They call it an official mistake but I pity the system. Unless someone is on their head with a stick, government officials can’t even perform their duty. I wanted to contribute my bit by casting my vote but I couldn’t. I want my area councillor to provide us with clean surroundings and raise the standard of education,” she said.

Airing similar views, Baljeet Johal, an actor and model, who gave up an outstation assignment to caste her vote, said earlier the youth felt disillusioned and disempowered within the political process but it has changed with political parties giving tickets to more and more youngsters. “Now with more young politicians in the fray, I feel, they can relate to us more compared to their earlier counterparts. I expect that besides civic problems, medical facilities too are upgraded. They call it an international tourism destination but there is no cleanliness in the city. Despite tall claims by the authorities, no part of the city can be called a model locality,” she said.

Dipleen Kaur, an MBA, said uplifting the education system should be the main aim and councillors can contribute better. “From the school level, the norm of 25 per cent reservation for children of the underprivileged families should be maintained as hardly any private school here observes the directions of the Supreme Court in this regard. The councillors should take it as their responsibility to make sure that the Right to Education Act is being implemented in the schools of their respective wards”, she said.

Ritika wants to bring about a change in the faulty planning. “Pedestrians are not safe because there are not enough footpaths. Poor road infrastructure puts commuters in danger. All this needs to change,” she said.

Amritsar, June 10
Senior citizens and visually challenged voters were a troubled lot as there was no separate queue for them at booths during the polling for the Municipal Corporation here today.

BR Prinja, 77, criticising the arrangements at the booths, said aged electorates had to wait for hours to cast their vote. He claimed that he has read somewhere that the Central Government in 2001 had framed a policy in which there was a provision for a separate queue for senior citizen. “However, I did not find any such separate queue while exercising my franchise at a polling booth at Ward 13 at Shivam School Batala road,” he said.

Another aged voter Bharat Bhushan said there was no facility of potable water at the booths. He felt the election authorities could have made the arrangement by involving NGOs, religious and social organisations.

Visually challenged voters were made to stand in a queue along with normal voters at a polling both in the Institute for the Blind here today.

As per the Election Commission’s directions, visually impaired voters were provided Braille papers containing party names and symbols to vote for their candidate.

Amritsar: Senior citizens demanded implementation of National Policy of Older Persons which has a provision to establish associations at district, state and national levels to mobilise senior citizens, articulate their interests, promote and undertake programmes and activities for their well being.

Bharat Bhushan felt that the elected leaders must strive to implement these provisions.

Dr AL Adlakha felt senior citizens have tremendous experience and they must be involved in different committees on civic facilities like maintenance and cleanliness of roads, supply of water and electricity, transport services, teaching adults and street children, family planning, pulse polio drive, HIV awareness, etc. — TNS

Amritsar, June 10
After exercising their franchise during the MC polls here today, the visually challenged voters hoped to get much needed attention towards their problems.

Bharat Thakur, 24, said, “Lack of cleanliness, haphazard parking, missing footpath and rampant encroachment in the area around Lohgarh gate, where our Institute for the Blind is situated, have made our lives miserable.”

“People must park their vehicles only at designated places and the new councillor must ensure that there are adequate sites for parking,” he said. Proper footpath must be raised in the area and these should be kept completely free of encroachments so that the visually impaired could go on shopping like any other person, he added.

Another visually challenged voter, Palwinder Singh demanded safety from stray cattle and dogs. Hailing from Dharar village in Jandiala Guru, he said, “The MC must work to make areas near the institute visually impaired friendly. The menace of stray cattle is a big problem for us.”

Satnam Singh, 30, a resident of Tarsikka village, said, “There are several issues of the visually impaired which have not been addressed at all. There is no mechanism to ensure employment after conclusion of their vocational courses.” 

Amritsar, June 10
As many as 14 students of the first batch of Progressive Educational Society, known as super-50, have secured merit positions in the AIEEE.

A project being run under the aegis of Progressive Educational Society sponsored by the Government of Punjab at Khalsa College Public School was the brainchild of Guru Nanak Dev University vice-chancellor AS Brar. He is also its chairman.

Khalsa College Public School principal Dr Sarvjit Kaur Brar, who is the wife of VC AS Brar, said in the general category in Punjab, Gurwinder Singh has been ranked 430, Gurleen Singh 914 rank, Shweta Bharadwaj 1,156 rank, Preetinder Singh at 1,188 rank and Karamvir Singh has got 1,380th rank,

In the OBC category, Lovejeet Singh has bagged the 31st rank, Harjeet Kaur 162, Sukhman 269, Upkar 294, Gurminder 331, Neha 432 and Varinder Singh bagged 897 rank. In the SC category, Rohit got the 69th rank and Kiranjot Kaur 707 rank.

She said 70 per cent students acquired ranks between 1,400 to 5,500. She said these students were selected from the rural areas and were given coaching free of cost to prapare them for the best engineering institutes in the country.

Amritsar, June 10
The police has booked 25 persons, including a staff nurse, for allegedly misbehaving with a woman doctor at Sakatri Bagh Satellite Hospital here. The PCMS Association had yesterday gone on a strike to demand the registration of a case against the accused.

Meanwhile, coming to the support of the nurse, Pawanpreet Kaur of the Punjab Nursing Association has threatened to launch a protest, if the case is not withdrawn. The association has termed the case as false.

Nursing Association general secretary Raj Bedi Anand said the nurse had sought emergency leave from Dr Simrat Gill on whose complaint the case has been registered. She alleged that doctors often pressurise with the junior staff. “The doctor was annoyed as after being refused the nurse had got the leave sanctioned from the CMO,” alleged Bedi. He said the doctor even misbehaved with the family members of the nurse.