Amritsar, June 19
The streets are their home. On all days of the week the destitute know which religious shrine to go for alms. When the very society which often fails to take note of their presence extends a helping hand by way of providing shelter in Rain Basera, they seem to turn away. No help from residents to send them to the shelter homes instead of feeding them or giving them alms makes matters worse.

At a time when a rickshawala’s lungs fail to breath in the heat and he falls in the arms of death or an elderly dies on his way to meet his son in his village, the homeless most vulnerable to a hostile weather have become a matter of concern. With 16 deaths reported due to sun stroke, the Red Cross Society sprung into action and brought 40 homeless persons, including three children aged between two to five years, from different points in the city and brought them to Old Karam Singh Ward over the past few days. The team received help of the police. What is needed more is a policy to rehabilitate the destitute instead of comfort of a shelter home for a short while.

Newly-renovated rooms, cupboards, new beds and even a colour television set waited for the homeless.

The life of these destitutes is divided on the basis of where they can get maximum alms. So it is the Lord Shiva temple on Mondays and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays for at some peergah and Golden Temple or Durgiana Mandir on all days.

Besides making Rs 300 to 400 through alms, it is the delicious Prasad which eggs them on, feel many. At the Karam Singh ward, it is a more humble daal-roti and chapattis menu. The food is courtesy the Golden Temple management and Gurdwara Borhiwala besides other NGOs. Perhaps the reason why they go back to their old ways is beyond a cosy bed and food provided to them for a few days. They too know they cannot be off the streets, which earns them their bread and butter for too long.

Ram Sharan and his eight family members beg at posh Lawrence Road Chowk from 9 am till 9 pm, making anything between Rs 500-800 through alms. “How long can they keep us at Karam Singh ward? The government has no programme for us. They catch us only when the media wakes them up but after some days they let us go our way and we are back on the streets,” he said. Begging nowadays means running after cars and worse still is making their small children tap the windowpanes of vehicles to beg.

Most of the homeless come with their children from states like UP, Bihar or Haryana. They get by doing petty jobs or selling household items at traffic signals. Their parents sell their labour at nearby construction sites. Ironically, even as the Prevention of Begging Act has already been enforced in the state, no case has been registered against even one beggar in past three years here despite the fact that ‘organised’ begging nexus cannot be ruled out. The police said no action can be taken against them until somebody files a complaint.

A random survey of the city found most of these beggars near Golden Temple, Dussehra Ground, Shiv Dev Mandir, Longawali Devi Mandir, Bhandari Pul and Lohgarh area.

Amritsar, June 19
Ber Baba Budha Sahib, the ancient 'ber' tree which is over 400 years old, in the Golden Temple complex needs more upkeep to ensure its longevity, feel the experts from Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) who are in the city as part of the annual exercise to conserve the centuries-old 'ber' trees at the holy shrine.

The team led by Dr Paramjeet Singh and Dr Narinderpal Singh recently pruned Ber Baba Budha Sahib, besides cleaning up the lower part of its trunk. The lower portion of the tree has turned hollow due to old age as well as the devotees throwing a variety of things under the tree as a "matter of faith".

While cleaning it up, the PAU team recovered ancient coins, polythene bags and even a pair of spectacles underneath it. Subsequently, the area around the tree was dug up and replaced with fresh earth, besides filling up the tree's hollow portion.

While acquainting the SGPC officials about the condition of the tree, experts stressed on the need to remove a part of marble flooring around it to widen the area covered by earth. “This will facilitate proper sunlight, air and water to the tree."

Similarly, the experts said Dukhbhanjani Ber, which is on the banks of the 'sarovar' is also receiving less water after the lower part of the 'sarovar' was cemented. Besides, the marble flooring around it is also resulting to high temperature these days, which causes early drying up of the tree. Here too, experts say the marble stone should be removed and the area covered by earth be widened.

The experts said the SGPC should sensitise the devotees against “offering” eatables and other items under the tree. It should also be ensured that they don't touch these trees with greasy hands after partaking of the 'parshad', the experts said. According to them, the SGPC as well as the pilgrims need to cooperate to ensure that these trees stay green for generations to come.

The PAU experts have been conserving Ber Baba Budha Sahib, Dukhbhanjani Ber and Lachi Ber at the Golden Temple complex for the last seven years. Ber Baba Budha Sahib had gone fruitless a few years ago, but with their efforts it has again started bearing fruits again. However, the problem of insects still persists in the tree and the experts are now trying to put an end to it. SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh said they will follow the instructions of the experts to ensure long life of these ancient trees which also hold great religious significance.

Amritsar, June 19
The Civil Lines police has booked three persons, including a jail inmate, a warden and a guard for helping an inmate escape from GND Hospital, where the inmate was admitted.

Amir Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur, was lodged in Gurdaspur jail. He was booked Section 22/61/85 of the NDPS Act with Dina Nagar police station. Amir was a drug addict. A few days back when he was being taken to the court, he tried to inject himself with drugs. The needle of the syringe got stuck in his arm accidentally. He was taken to the hospital on June 17 under the supervision of Jail Warden Gurnam Singh who was accompanied by another guard Tarlok Singh. "On the intervening night of June 17 and 18, the jail inmate escapes allegedly in connivance with the warden and another guard on duty, said Ashwani Kumar, investigating officer. — TNS

Amritsar, June 19
In a shocking incident, a 12-year old boy was allegedly sodomised by an acquaintance. The accused has been identified as Gurlal Singh, a resident of Baba Jiwan Singh Colony in Dashmesh Nagar. Though no arrest has been made so far, the C-division police has booked the accused under Section 377. The victim and the accused lived in the same locality and were known to each other.

The victim's mother, who works as a domestic help in another locality, alleged that her son was lured by the accused on the pretext of watching television with him. "When I came back from work at noon yesterday, I found my son was missing. Enquiries from neighbourhood revealed that he was last seen near the house of the accused. I went there but only to discover this shocking incident," she said. He said the accused fled the spot.

Investigating officer, Karanjit Singh, said, "The mother of the victim informed us about the crime. But before we could reach the spot, the accused had fled the spot. Instantly, we got the child medically examined, the report of which is yet to be received but circumstantial evidence is enough to prove the heinous crime.”

Amritsar, June 19
As the SAD-BJP government is all set to table Punjab Budget on June 20, we talk to residents to find out their expectations regarding development in the city.

Cleanliness is a foremost thing that is required to ensure a quality life for residents and a comfortable stay for tourists. Delay in setting up of the Solid Waste Management Plant has not helped the matters. Once again in power, the SAD-BJP government needs to resume the stalled project and implement it on a priority
— Charanjeet Singh, Trader

Bridges are required to make traffic flow smooth. The drain along the four-lane highway has become so polluted that it has contaminated the groundwater. Over the passage of time, a number of residential colonies have sprung up, but are without proper facilities. The government must make a budgetary allocation to clean and ensure supply of hygienic potable water
— Rinku Saini, real estate developer

The government needs to re-look at the elevated road project, which has failed to achieve its desired goal of decongesting the GT Road from Tara Wala Bridge to bus stand. Built at a cost of around Rs 250 crore, the elevated road has been reduced to a showpiece where the youth enjoy driving. Ideally, on the lines of Delhi, network of elevated roads must be connected with bus stand to provide smooth passage to buses
— Satnam Singh Kanda, hotelier

The city bus service must be introduced soon to connect remote parts of the city. Besides, mass transport being economical will lure citizens to curtail their dependence on individual vehicles. Eventually, it would help decongest roads, save fuel and environment
— Anjana Gupta, Principal, DAV International School

Amritsar, June 19
City-based industrialists and financial experts hope that the SAD-BJP government would give due representation to the trade and industry of the border city in its budget.

They said the government must infuse more liquidity to extract maximum benefits out of the import and export of goods from the recently opened Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari-wagah Joint Check Post.

Gunbir Singh, national executive member, CII, said, "Inviting investment and generating jobs should be the focus of the Punjab Budget. The government needs to look at new ways to get new revenue sources, make employment opportunities available to employable graduates and even dropouts."

Economist Dr Varinder Bhatia said the state government must come out with a concrete plan to tap the opportunities thrown open following the operationalisation of the ICP. "This will lead to the resumption of the old links with the central Asia. The day is not far when the city of the Golden Temple would become a city of gold".

A shawl manufacturer, PL Seth said the handicraft industry has not received any patronage from the state government.

A pharmaceutical industry proprietor, Raman Gupta said the state government should create conducive environment for pharmaceutical companies.

Amritsar, June 19
Going by his body language and the immaculate desi style, he is the ultimate Jatt the Punjabi film industry has come to love. Meet Diljit Dosanjh, the Jatt from the latest upcoming film Jatt and Juliet. Dressed in white kurta pyjama and his on-screen Juliet Neeru Bajwa in tow, the singer-actor spent a day hoping from one place to another to promote their film, until we caught up with them at Kapsons, Amritsar.

After striking gold at box office with his fresh appeal and comic antics on-screen, the actor is ready to repeat the success of Jihne Mera Dil Luteya with another romantic comedy, Jatt and Juliet. “The film is a very feel good movie, complete entertainer with comedy, romance and family drama. The highlight of the film is the underlying love story of two people who are poles apart yet find love together,” he says. The film has been shot in Canada and Chandigarh. It’s USP? “Neeru Bajwa,” shoots Diljit. But for those who have seen the promos of the film, the suave singer-actor with his flawless comic timing that comes straight from the heart is the highlight.

Even before the release, the hype around the film has already impressed the audiences, its promos becoming the most watched promo of a Punjabi film on Youtube. So the combinations and permutations seem to be going right for them. So what clicked? “I guess after JMDL, people wanted to see us again. Our director, Anurag Singh is happy with our performances so we must have done something right,” says Neeru Bajwa, who plays the very sophisticated and stylish Juliet in the film. Neeru is hopeful that the film will do well, “Off late, a lot of mediocre Punjabi films have been released. I guess, Jatt and Juliet be a nice change.” Given the already popular music and the hit leading pair, that won’t be a problem.

Despite the pep talk about the movie, there has been some controversies as well. Like the objections raised over one if its posters reading ‘Dangar Doomna’. But we guess Diljit knows how to deal with some, post the chaos about his music being called objectionable. Ask him about his comments and he has a slice of chocolate cake to offer. Well, seems like his real life antics are entertaining as well.