Amritsar, June 18
As many as four more persons died of the heatwave conditions prevailing in the region in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 16.The police said out of these, two persons have been identified. Their bodies were handed over to their families. The remaining two victims are yet to be recognised.

Arjun Singh, in-charge of bus stand police chowki, said an unidentified man in his mid-thirties was found in Masitwali Gali in Sharifpura area a few days ago. He was taken to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital where he died on Sunday evening. He said he remained unconscious all the time that he was in the hospital while nobody has come forward to identify him.

Bittu died near Bhagtanwala grain market while plying his rickshaw. The Investigating Officer, Parkash Singh, said he could not survive even after he was rushed to the hospital. Later, his family approached the police. The body was handed over to them, he said.

An elderly person, Ditt Masih, a resident of Patti Mansoor in Sultanwind village, died when he was going on foot to meet his son in the village.

He fell on the road and the residents informed the family who took him to the hospital where he breathed his last.

Body of a youth was found near Hindustan Basti. The police said a railway ticket was found from the pocket of the deceased who was a migrant. “It appeared that he died of sunstroke but the exact cause of the death would be ascertained only after the post-mortem examination and viscera report are examined," said the Investigating officer, Prem Pal.

The district recorded the highest temperature of 46.3 degree Celsius, six degrees above the normal.

Residents are staying indoors during the peak hours of the day.

Amritsar, June 18
Padam Bhandari Bridge, the vision of an erstwhile Executive Officer of the Municipal Committee Padam Chand Bhandari, connecting Walled city with the Civil Lines, has shrunk with time. The reason is increase in traffic on this route, which is known as the lifeline of the old and modern parts of the city.

The traffic flow on this railway over bridge increased especially after the Rs 244 crore-flyover on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road came into being.

Built in 1955, this multi-lane bridge known as ‘Bhandari Bridge’ was built after converting a small bridge called ‘Uccha Pul’, which was built before Partition. The bridge took shape in the Northern Railway’s Jalandhar workshop, something unheard of in those times.

The width of the bridge is 21.7 metres with a three-meter pedestrian path encroached by light vehicles on both sides.

Nevertheless, the immediate proposal is to widen it by at least 5-6 metres from both sides.

The RITES company has studied the immense load being borne by this bridge and has drafted a proposal worth Rs 3 crore to upgrade it. Pollution level at this point has also increased because of vehicles stuck in frequent traffic jams.

According to RITES, 1.64 lakh vehicles pass through this bridge in 24 hours.

Another reason which attracted the attention of the authorities was the recent Punjab Pollution Control Board report on vehicular pollution collected from key areas like Chattiwind Chowk, Sant Singh Sukha Singh Chowk, Kitchlew Chowk and Bhandari Bridge.

The report termed the area around Bhandari Bridge as most polluted due to vehicular pollution between 9 am and 8 pm. At Bhandari Bridge, the particulate matter was as high as 599 per cubic metre (µgm/m3) during peak hours while it was 232 per cubic metre (µgm/m3) during lean traffic hours. If everything goes according to the plan, the task to upgrade this historical bridge would be looked after by the Improvement Trust, Amritsar.

Amritsar, June 18
The city police today suspended Taranwala Bridge chowki in-charge Amarjit Kumar, head constable Hardev Singh and a Punjab home guard jawan Lakhwinder Singh on charges of negligence.Kumar has been booked for negligence due to which a notorious criminal who was brought on a production warrant escaped from police custody.

An undertrial Ravipreet Singh, alias Bomb, was brought on a production warrant by the police. Instead of taking him to the court, the accused took him to the police chowki from where he allegedly escaped.

A case under Section 223, 224 IPC has been registered against the erring police officers at the B-division police station. Ravipreet was facing trial in an attempt to murder case. He was brought on a production warrant. No arrest has been made so far. 

Amritsar, June 18
Patients are at the receiving end as the ultrasound machine in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital has been out of order due to some technical snag for a week.

Due to this, poor patients are forced to go to private diagnostic centres and shell out extra money for tests. Women suffering from gynaecological problems and admitted at the fifth or sixth floor of Bebe Nanki Mother and Child Health Care Centre in hospital are the worst sufferers.

“You can imagine plight of the patients who come here from the fifth or sixth floors of the new centre to reach the ultrasound centre in the old hospital only to find it out of order,” sources said.

Poor patients visit from the city as well as far flung areas. Sometimes emergency cases such as complicated delivery cases, mishandled by midwives come to the hospital. The plight of their families is unimaginable, he said.

Sources said the patients have to shell out Rs 500 to 800 per test at private centres excluding ambulance charges while it costs just Rs 150 at the ultrasound centre of the hospital. During emergency cases at night, private ultrasound centre charges double for tests. The ultrasound centre runs 24X7 at the hospital.

A gynaecologist on the condition of anonymity said about 40 to 50 per cent of the patients visiting the OPD of department require ultrasound examination and the patients are facing a lot of problems due to the out of order ultrasound machine.

Sources said the ultrasound machine had already outlived its life and the hospital requires at least three ultrasound machines in view of the huge rush of patients.

Dr SS Shergill, principal government medical college, said, “We are on the job. The problem is likely to be rectified within a couple of days.”

He said he had sent a proposal for installation of a new machine. He said there is provision of separate ultrasound machine at Babe Nanaki Centre.

Amritsar, June 18
"Writing is not everybody's cup of tea but anyone who passionate about it and has a thought process to share can and should write," said Dr Vikramjit, who became a writer recently. His debut book is titled 'Supna, Seesha, Leher', in which he has penned the change in profession. A doctor by profession and a poet by passion, he believes that "You don't choose to become a writer, but it happens."

"It doesn't require any degree or qualification, just some ideas to share," he says. Usually MBBS tag doesn't stand for creativity, but as Dr Vikramjit puts it, "Both the careers run in my blood. I was born in a family of doctors-turned-writers. My uncles, late Dr Kulwant Singh and Dr Karnail Singh were both renowned doctors and short story writers. Dr Kulwant Singh was also the patron of Akhar, a popular Punjabi magazine now run by noted poet Paraminderjit Singh."

Having grown up admiring and reading literary geniuses like Surjit Patar and Dr Manmohan, it doesn't bother him that his alternate career flagged off a little late. His own book, a compilation of Punjabi poems is an effort to pen his thoughts over prevailing social problems like female foeticide. Taking time-out to pen down his passion from his 24/7 routine wasn't easy. "Writing is a process that requires a free thought process, definitely not found amidst medical emergencies and round the clock patient-list. It took me a few years to compile the first one, maybe the next ones would not be far behind," shares the 40-year-old writer.

Another first time author is Brijesh Jolly, who has been known in the art circuit of the city. An artist and now a writer, he is ready with his first book, 'Art Persons', a compilation of the life and works of 30 artists from Amritsar. "It will be the first-of-its-kind effort, where in 300 odd pages one would find every possible information about the prominent artists from city," says Jolly. The book will have more than 500 photographs, essays, history and critical articles about art and its known names from the city, penned down by Jolly and contributory articles by noted artist Nita Mohindra.

"My initiation was the lack of a common platform for artists from Amritsar. We have talented artists who lose out to the metro crowd because of poor marketing and exposure. My book will be like an encyclopaedia on city's art talent and will be sent to all major art schools, galleries and collectors across the country," says Jolly.

Though his background as an artist made it little easy, the process of compiling the book wasn't. "I have been working on the book for the past three years, sourcing out information about the artists, editing over 1,500 pictures of art works from featured artists and working on the designing. In the book, upcoming amateur artists also share space along with celebrated faces." The book is scheduled to release by the end of July.

Amritsar, June 18
Hans Raj Hans feels the Punjabi music is gaining popularity, but the Punjabiyat in it has somehow been lost. Sharing his thoughts after judging a super model contest, organised by a local mall, the Sufi singer said, "The entertainment industry needs to check the growing concerns of losing out on quality for quantity. I strongly support the idea of meaningful music, which is hard to find amidst growing commercial interests, beyond my understanding."

On the fashion contest, the singer, who has been awarded Padam Shree, said, "It feels good to see such talented youngsters performing in front of you. The generation today is confident about making their career choices and knows how to get to it as well. Events such as these do much to promote fresh talent."

Speaking about the escalating number of Punjabi youth finding their calling in glamour world, he said, "Punjabis have a natural flair and talent in performing and visual arts. Look at the number of Punjabi singers, artists and even models who have made it big and nobody can deny their successful run."

His younger son, Yuvraj Hans, too is the latest one to join the fresh talent bandwagon in Punjabi cinema with his debut Yaar Anmulle.

Amritsar, June 18
Hike in petrol prices have taken a toll on the sale of petrol cars in the holy city. More and more people are now going for diesel-run cars.

The sale for petrol cars in the local market had seen a dip of 35 per cent while the demand for diesel cars had shot up from 40 to 75 per cent, said automobile showroom owner Rohit Kapoor.

Besides, various local car showrooms have been wooing customers to hurriedly book their favourite car in view of the proposed hike in the excise duty on diesel cars.

Satish Kumar of a Motor showroom said buyers are ready to spend more to buy fuel efficient vehicles, rather than spending on expensive petrol.

He said Maruti has been offering four diesel car models, namely Swift, Desire, SX4 and Ritz. He said these brands were available in a price range of Rs 5.20 lakh to Rs 9 lakh and average fuel efficiency of these vehicles was over 20 km per litre.

Rohit Kapoor said petrol prices had hit the roof causing a major shift in sale of cars. He said Tata Motors offers Viesta, Manza, Indica, Safari and Aria models which were available in diesel variants in the market. He said these models cost from minimum of Rs 4 lakh to maximum of Rs 16 lakh.

Besides, Fiat also chipped in with five variants of diesel in Punto and a diesel model in Linea, he added. Punto could be procured from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, while Linea from Rs 7 lakh to Rs 9 lakh. He said Viesta and Manza were very popular among residents because of mileage (over 20 km per litre), spaciousness and use of heavy sheets guarding against any mishap.

Rajiv, manager of an automobile company, said all national and international companies involved in manufacturing of cars have seized the opportunity. All companies had introduced a number of diesel brands in the market.

Effect of high petrol prices The sale for petrol cars in the local market had seen a dip of 35 per cent while the demand for diesel cars had shot up from 40 to 75 per cent Buyers are ready to spend more to buy fuel efficient vehicles, rather than spending on expensive petrol

Ward 1
Name: Nirbhay Singh Fauji
Party: Independent

My ward has remained a victim of neglect. Be it water supply, sewerage or roads, everything is in a mess. The water supply line has become obsolete causing problems in several areas, especially Milap Nagar, Hargobind Colony, Guru Nanak Avenue. Similarly, roads need urgent repair in most parts of the ward. I know that being an Independent councillor, it will be difficult in getting funds allocated for my ward, but I am committed to development of the area. My endeavour will be to provide residents with basic amenities such as safe drinking water and sewerage etc

Ward 8
Name: Amandeep Aery
Party: BJP

It is pity that despite housing posh areas like Basant Avenue, Nirankari Colony, the sewerage system is in a dilapidated state. In the absence of proper disposal system, rainwater and sewage get accumulated on the roads posing health threat to residents. I will focus on the Karimpura area where residents are compelled to drink contaminated water. The water supply line here is as old as 60 years and it needs to be replaced. The officials concerned have already been intimated about the problem and work will start soon. On the issue of chain snatchings, I intend to meet the Police Commissioner and will urge him to take steps to check criminal activities

Ward 7
Name: Prabhjeet Singh
Party: BJP

This area has always been under a Congress representative. It was for the first time that residents have given mandate to the BJP. Naturally, I need to live up to their expectations. Under the tutelage of Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi, we have chalked out a special plan to make it as harmonious as the Civil Lines area within two years. My main focus would be Professors' Colony and Palam Vihar areas which need immediate attention. Apart from roads, residents need safe drinking water and efficient sewerage system

Amritsar, June 18
More girls are interested in the otherwise considered rugged subject of agriculture. Girls have bagged the top six positions in the entrance examination for B.Sc Agriculture course at Khalsa College.

Jaspreet Kaur bagged the first position while the second place went to Simrat Khurana. Both secured 89 and 92 per cent marks, respectively, in the Class XII examination. Their combined performance placed them on first two positions.

Pooja Salaria bagged the third position while the fourth position went to Sandeep Kaur, fifth to Harwinder Kaur and sixth to Manpreet Kaur. Sarang made his entry into the list at the seventh spot, he said.

“Hailing from Sangrur, Harwinder Kaur said her father is a government servant and she has no hesitation in opting for the subject of agriculture for her future studies and research. “I would happily work in the fields for experiments and crop research,” she said. “Young girls must come forward to study the subject that is soul of Punjab. Agriculture needs more research to improve the lot of farmers by adopting new seeds and methods of agriculture,” said Sandeep who hails from Gurdaspur.

Khalsa College principal Dr Daljit Singh said never in the history of the 120-year-old college have girls done so well in the entrance test for agriculture. “It is a surprise to us too. It is no doubt a reflection of the changing social paradigms where girls are making in roads in all the fields,” said Dr Daljit Singh.