Satisfied with public apology, doctors terminate protest
Amritsar, June 27
Happy with a public apology from the person accused of misbehaving with a woman doctor, the PCMS Doctors Association today ended its protest against the police for not arresting any of the accused so far.

NGO to guard hospital bath fittings
Amritsar, June 27
Unable to stop theft of bathroom fittings and lack of cleanliness, the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital management has roped in an NGO for its upkeep. The condition of the washrooms at the hospital has always been an embarrassment to the authorities.

Amritsar, June 27
Traffic snarls on the Amritsar-Jalandhar-Tarn Taran Road may soon become a thing of the past. The century-old Taranwala Pul (bridge) on the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC), crossing the Amritsar-Jalandhar road, would be made operational with a new ultra-modern multilane look within 15 days.

Deputy Commissioner, Rajat Aggarwal, said this 10-lane bridge coming up on this stretch is near completion.

“We have completed 95 per cent of the job. It would have been made operational earlier had there been no disruption in the supply of gravel and bitumen due to the ongoing strike of hot mix plants. Still, we got in touch with the DC, Pathankot, for supplying us with gravel and he agreed to cooperate. I hope this bridge would be open within a fortnight," he said.

This multilane bridge would cost Rs 23.65 crore. Funded by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB), the work is being executed through PWD (B&R). Keeping in view massive traffic flow on this track, it is necessary to introduce such an arrangement because this track caters to heavy traffic from Jalandhar, Tarn Taran and other neighbouring districts.

This bridge is being designed in such a way that it would also have provision for making an additional three-lane flyover, if needed.

Nevertheless, the new bridge would have four wings. First, the three-lane bridge for traffic from Amritsar to Jalandhar; second, the two-way bridge to divert traffic from Amritsar to Tarn Taran; third, the two-lane high-level bridge for the traffic to turn left from Tarn Taran to Amritsar and fourth, a three-lane flyover for traffic from Jalandhar to Amritsar.

"Now, traffic going to and coming from Tarn Taran or Jalandhar would easily negotiate its entry and exit points. Besides, it would improve the look of the main entry to the city," he added.

According to the officials, the three-lane roads (Amritsar-Jalandhar) on the bridge would be 12.5-metre wide whereas the two-lane running perpendicularly on the Amritsar-Tarn Taran route would be 10-metre wide.

There would be 0.5-metre wide anti-crash barriers and ample footpaths for pedestrians as well. Besides this, special traffic lights and neon signs would be installed on the bridges to direct traffic.

Amritsar, June 26
Construction activity in the city has come to a virtual standstill following closure of hot mix (also called premix) plants on the call of the Punjab Hot Mix Plants Owners Association. The association is demanding a transparent mining policy from the state government.

The move has, all of a sudden, stopped the supply of bitumen used in laying roads and constructing rooftops of houses after laying concrete roof. Currently, the construction work of houses and other projects are in full swing. Usually, summer is considered the best season for construction as days are long and the newly raised structure gets enough heat from the environment.

A city resident Paramjit Singh said after the sudden hike in the prices of sand and gravel, prices of bitumen were also raised. “I am constructing a house over a plot I bought eight years ago at Ranjit Vihar. However, an astronomical rise in the prices of construction material had taken his budget out of control.

He said prices of one cubic metre of bitumen had risen from Rs 3,000 to 3,400. He said the government must look into the reasons and restore previous prices of the construction material.

Association state president Balwinder Singh Sidhawn said the state has 160 plants, including four in Amritsar.

He claimed all these plants would remain closed for an indefinite period. This has escalated the cost of the 4,000 projects in the state which are under construction. Despite repeated requests the government is not looking into the issue. Hence, the association had decided to protest. He claimed that all infrastructure projects especially roads in the city and around have come to a standstill.

He said rise in the cost of various construction material had escalated the cost of the projects which the contractors are also finding tough to deal with.

Amritsar, June 27
Happy with a public apology from the person accused of misbehaving with a woman doctor, the PCMS Doctors Association today ended its protest against the police for not arresting any of the accused so far.

The accused Bikramjeet Singh along with his family members apologised to Dr Simrat Gill, in-charge at Sakatri Bagh Satellite hospital for the June 8 incident in the presence of the police officials, doctors and the media.

Association president Dr Jaspreet Singh said the doctors have decided to end the protest. The doctors had refused to write no-injury certificates and medico-legal reports four days ago to protest against the alleged inaction by the police.

GS Gill, father of Dr Simrat Gill said, “We are pained to see that politicians have degraded themselves so much that they shield the wrong doers in such cases. She could have been anybody’s daughter if not mine.” He said such cases should not happen again.

The nodal officer of satellite hospitals, Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon said, “The matter has been amicably resolved. The doctors have decided to resume work.” He said the employees can always approach him and other officials if they have any problem.

On June 8, Bikramjeet Singh and others had allegedly misbehaved with Dr Simrat Gill after she had allegedly refused to grant emergency leave to his sister.

Amritsar, June 27
Unable to stop theft of bathroom fittings and lack of cleanliness, the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital management has roped in an NGO for its upkeep. The condition of the washrooms at the hospital has always been an embarrassment to the authorities. Visitors to the hospital have often complained of sanitary fittings going missing and lack of hygiene. Even as the administration has often claimed to reinstall the fittings, they rue of helplessness in guarding these against theft allegedly by drug addicts.

Senior Medical Officer, Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon, said, “We thought of involving an NGO which would post a worker outside the washrooms. The worker would be responsible for the safety as well as cleanliness.”

He said the hospital has spoken to the members of the NGO, My Motherland Most Beautiful. He said the hospital had earlier also involved the NGO during celebrations of Sanitation Week and the results were very encouraging.

Earlier the hospital management had got plastic and push button tabs instead of steel and brassware hoping that thieves would not be able to lay their hands on them as these have less resale value than the metallic ones. But most of the fittings were found either broken or stolen.

“Before handing the washrooms to the NGO we would get them renovated. In the first phase we would have a trial run. We plan to handover four of the washrooms to the NGO,” said Dhillon. The hospital would bear the cost incurred on employing the worker while the NGO would take care of everything else, he said.

The visitors to the hospital are not convinced yet as they say the hospital is visited by over one thousand people every day.

“The condition of the washrooms is really pathetic. Even water is not available at some of these places,” said Harvinder Singh, a visitor.

Amritsar, June 27
EcoSikh, a US-based organisation, will launch an international campaign, Eco-Amritsar 2017, a five-year plan to mark the holy city’s 440th anniversary with the goal of making it eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable. Addressing a press conference here today, EcoSikh president Dr Rajwant Singh said the campaign will be launched on June 30 in the presence of SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and Punjab Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia.

He said: “EcoSikh envisions a six-point programme. It is proposing that various sections of civil society and the local administration make commitments towards sustainable infrastructure, conserving water, recycling and better waste management, alternate energy usage, introducing public transport, increasing green cover and open spaces, and also sharing information on greening strategies.” He said EcoSikh has invited the Amritsar DC, heads of religious bodies, educational institutions, hospitals, industries, NGOs, shopping malls and students groups to join the campaign. “Many of these will announce their individual plans for the next five years as the pressure on the city’s natural resources is increasing with burgeoning population and increase in inflow of pilgrims in the recent times.” He said they are highly encouraged by the positive response from various stakeholders like Khalsa College Governing Council which has announced major initiatives as part of this endeavour. “We want each one to feel a sense of ownership of this project.” He said Amritsar being the holy city could encourage devotees to be respectful towards nature throughout their pilgrimage by minimising waste and they would go home with constructive message.

Ravneet Singh, India project manager of EcoSikh, said: “Many other holy cities across the globe, including Jerusalem, have pledged to go green and are planning to take concrete steps. We feel Amritsar could be leading pilgrim city to take measured steps towards sustainability. We can spend money to save resources now, before it is too late. We are convinced that all Punjabis and Amritsaris will join in the Eco-Amritsar campaign and it will enhance the image of Punjab and will create positive impact for Punjabis throughout the world.”

Amritsar, June 27
Alleging police inaction, Seema, a resident of Lohgarh Gate today said the police had been dilly dallying in arresting the accused who had physically assaulted and molested her in full public view.

Addressing mediapersons along with the members of Akhil Bhartiya Human Rights Organisation, she said the incident took place on June 11 after a minor dispute over running of submersible pump. She alleged the accused identified as members of Sagar and Munni gang barged into her residence when she was all alone. She alleged the accused made a video clip and circulated in the public to defame her.

“More than two weeks have passed but the accused were still roaming freely while the police had not made any efforts to arrest them. They have been threatening me and my family of dire consequences,” she alleged.

A case under Section 452, 354, 323, 294, 149 IPC was registered only after the police commissioner intervened.

Activists of ABHRO said they would fight till justice is done. Joga Singh, SHO Kotwali police station, said the accused have been on the run since the registeration of the case and raids were on at their suspected hideouts.

Amritsar, June 27
The district administration has formed a committee to probe into the fire that broke out in the stockyard of Khanna Paper Mill two weeks ago.

The aim of the committee is to know the exact reasons leading to the fire.

The administration has formed a panel, including SDM Manjit Singh Narang, ADFO Bhupinder Singh Sandhu and Sub Fire Officer Tarlochan Singh for the purpose. Today, this panel held a meeting in the mill premises.

Tarlochan Singh said it would take at least a week to know the exact cause of the fore. “Since the material lying in the stockyard was highly combustible there could be numerous reasons behind the accident. We observed the site minutely as there could be many reasons for the fire. There could be some electrical snag or even a cigarette butt can lead to such a big fore,” he said.

Amritsar, June 27
A city resident had to fight a 10-year battle to make the consumer forum order the power department to pay compensation for the damages occurred to electronic appliances at his home because of power fluctuations.

The state consumer forum has now ordered the Power Corporation to pay a compensation of Rs 3,270 to BR Preenja, a resident of Jawahar Nagar, with an interest of 9 per cent per annum from the date of the filling of the complaint. The forum has also ordered to pay litigation expenses of Rs 3,000.

Preenja, who is also the general secretary of the Consumer Rights Protection Society, said, “The fridge, cordless phone and stabiliser in my home were damaged on September 14, 2001. I spent Rs 3,270 to repair the equipments.” He said as the power department refused to compensate, he approached the district consumer forum which refused to allow the complaint.

Preenja then went to the state consumer forum and then the national forum which ultimately allowed the complaint and asked the district consumer forum to hear it. “But the district forum refused to hear the appeal again. Then I appealed before the state consumer forum which started hearing the complaint after five years,” he said.

An advocate himself, Preenja said consumer forums are required to decide the case in three months as per law. “The purpose of these forums gets defeated when they take so long to decide the cases,” he said. He said as the department has not paid the money yet, he has again filed an application before the forum to execute its orders.

Amritsar, June 27
Khalsa College has started Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication (BJMC) from the 2012-13 academic session. College principal Dr Daljit Singh said the admissions are open for meritorious students. He said media is emerging as a major career choice for the youth and the country needs trained and professional journalists due to the ever-growing scope of the print and electronic media.

He said the college has received the required approval for the course from Guru Nanak Dev University. The college, he said, has a state-of-the-art studio, camera equipments, editing rooms, computer labs, library for books on journalism as well as mass communication.

Ward 6
Name: Kulwant Kaur
Party: BJP

Sewerage system, Congress grass and electric wires are the works which need to be done in my area. Sewerage channels need to be installed in many areas. Electric wires do not come my councillor but I will raise the issue with the officials of the PSPCL for the safety of the residents of my ward.

Ward 10
Name: Rajkanwal Preet Singh
Party: Congress

Residents of my ward are facing problems in getting drinking water supply and lifting of garbage. Sewerage work undertaken near Sant Singh Sukha Singh College has affected water supply in my ward. New motor for disposal needs to be installed. Cleanliness is another big problem. There are only four confirmed Safai Karamcharis in the ward with nearly 12,000 electorates. Though my party is in the opposition but I will raise the demands and needs of my ward in the house and stress upon solving them at the earliest.

Ward 7
Name: Prabhjeet Singh
Party: BJP

I found water supply, sewerage and roads missing from many localities. With in a year major portion of the ward would be covered under sewerage as the Amritsar Improvement Trust had released Rs 1.5 crore. I have got a plan for laying water supply pipes worth Rs 15 lakh approved for the ward~