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Heatwave claims eight more lives
Flyover project delayed as govt depts fail to do their bit
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One killed, two hurt in mishap
Amritsar, June 29 Davinder Singh of Jethuwal village died in a road mishap when a speeding vehicle collided with his two wheeler in the evening on Thursday.
Eight arrested with illicit liquor, drugs
Day 2 of counselling: GNDU campus swells with students
Food safety and standards act
Residents hail street food standards
Perfect time for a summer getaway
City doc makes it to Columbia varsity
Speaking Out
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Heatwave claims eight more lives
Amritsar, June 29 So far 24 persons have fallen victim to the heatwave. The city has witnessed one of the harshest summers this time. A majority of the victims remain unidentified as they were either beggars or mentally disturbed or destitute. Beggars roaming around in the city are most vulnerable to the scorching heat. Ironically, a majority of cases are not unreported in the health department records as nobody comes forward to claim them and the police department cremates such bodies as unclaimed after completing the formalities under Section 174 of CrPC and the post-mortem examination. The police said during the past one week, Krishan Kumar of Laxmi Vihar, Gopy, Jagtar Singh of Rajinder Nagar, Mehta Road and Dharminder Ram of Shreepura died due to the heat. The remaining four victims are yet to be identified. Many hold the absence of any rehabilitation policy responsible for the loss of lives. Though the district administration, in collaboration with the Red Cross Society, are trying to make beggars live in the Old Karam Singh Ward, but they return to the streets unmindful of the threat to their lives. 4 yet to be identified
Since June 21, eight persons, including a woman have lost their lives, the police records say. Out of these, four persons have not been identified. Two persons died on June 26 alone. So far 24 persons have fallen victim to the heatwave.
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Flyover project delayed as govt depts fail to do their bit
Amritsar, June 29 Chairman of the Improvement Trust, Amritsar, Sanjiv Khanna, said the Trust has deposited over Rs 20 lakh with the Municipal Corporation to shift streetlights, traffic lights and other material, but no action has been taken so far in this regard. He said the money has not been paid despite the fact that the Trust is carrying out development work for the MC. Similarly, the response of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), with which some money was deposited to shift power cables, has also been tardy, he pointed out. The Trust has neither received any response to its request nor for depositing the remaining amount. It is learnt that over two dozen century-old eucalyptus trees would have to be axed to pave the way for the proposed flyover. The entire stretch of the flyover comes under the forest department and it is obligatory on the part of the Improvement Trust to seek permission from the Divisional Forest Office before axing the trees. As per the rules, the Trust approached the Forest department but a no-objection certificate is awaited, he said. He said the Trust had enacted a resolution on April 16 deciding in principle not to axe 90 small and big trees coming in the way of the flyover at Kitchlew Chowk. The Trust has not received approval for the same from the office of the local bodies at Chandigarh. Meant to provide relief to the commuters and ease traffic flow, the Kitchlew Chowk flyover project, which was to be completed by December, is nowhere near completion. The 16-metre wide and 680 metre long flyover, pegged as the first elevated road under the city limits, was inaugurated before the elections by the Deputy Chief Minister. The Improvement Trust has allotted the job to SP Singla Company for Rs 17.77 crore. Surprisingly, the RITES team has estimated the cost of the project to be Rs 34 crore. Khanna said the company was incurring losses on account of paying rent for giant machines stationed at the site for construction and construction workers who are sitting idle. The project is being looked after by the RITES and the Improvement Trust will pay them 7.5 per cent of the entire project cost in lieu of their expertise in supervising and executing the project. The flyover, to be built on the central verge of the road, would perch on 14 pillars. Each pillar would rest on five piles for which 90 per cent of the work has been completed. Besides, 5.5-metre wide stretch will be available on both sides of the road along the flyover.
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One killed, two hurt in mishap
Amritsar, June 29 He and his cousin Balraj Singh were retuning to their native village after procuring some household items from Verka at the time of the tragedy. A case under Section 304-A, 279, 337, 338, 427 IPC has been registered against against Vijay Kumar, a resident of Talwara, Hoshiarpur, who was the driver of the Rhino-make vehicle (PB-07-A-4125), which collided with the Activa-make scooter (PB-02-BK-7967) driven by the victims. When the victims reached near Fatehgarh Shukar Chak village turn, Rhino vehicle coming from the opposite side collided with the scooter. The victims were immediately rushed to a private hospital with injuries. While Davinder was declared brought dead, Balraj is still under treatment. The accused Vijay also sustained injuries in the mishap. The investigating officer, Sawinder Singh, said Vijay has been arrested.
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Eight arrested with illicit liquor, drugs
Amritsar, June 29 The police has seized 1,600 kg of illicit liquor from Ramdas and Tarsikka areas. The police has also arrested Angrej Singh of Nasar village and Kishor Chand of Tangra with 1,560 kg and 40 kg of illicit liquor, respectively. “The accused has been engaged in this illegal trade for a long time. They have been arrested on charges of bootlegging earlier also. As soon as they come out on bail, they start manufacturing and selling illicit liquor again,” the police authorities said. The police has also arrested Jarmanjit Singh of Tarsikka, Resham Singh of Attari and Sarabjit Singh of Vedadpur on similar charges. Meanwhile, the anti-narcotics cell of the Amritsar rural police arrested Sanjiv Kumar of Tangra and Raj Kumar of Lohgarh Gate after 200 gram of narcotic powder and 130 gram of charas were found from their possession. The police has also arrested Avtar Singh of Malik Mill with 5 gm heroin and Manjit Singh of Dhardeo with habit-forming drugs. Separate cases have been registered against them at Mehta police station. A rich haul
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Day 2 of counselling: GNDU campus swells with students
Amritsar, June 29 Accompanied by their parents, the summer sun made the long wait outside the designated auditorium unbearable for many. The auditorium was jam packed. The university authorities had deployed guards at its entrance to allow entry only on the basis of seating capacity of the auditorium. Many were seen squatting on the floor waiting for their turn. "The heat is unbearable. The rush has increased suffocation. We are waiting for this process to end as soon as possible," said Jaswinder Singh, accompanying a student. He said the university should have chosen a bigger auditorium. They could have been more comfortable while waiting in that case, he added. Another visitor Ram Sharan Gupta from Chandigarh said, “We started for Amritsar early in the morning and hoped that we would find a place for breakfast on the campus but found no such arrangements here. We had to feed ourselves on stale samosas from the canteen.” He said people have come from far off places and the university must make such arrangements. Baljeet Singh from Samrala said counselling sessions must begin on time as they have come from far off places. Some may miss busses to go back home, he feared.
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Low response to registration process
Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service
Amritsar, June 29 The health department has extended the date for the same till August 31. The earlier deadline (that ended in March) saw only 150 applicants approaching the department for the purpose. The latest figures reveal that 179 food businesses have been issued licences while 35 applicants are in the process of getting licences. Further, 196 of small traders have registered while 15 applicants are in the process of getting registered. As per the guidelines issued by the state government, business units with a turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh were required to get registered with the office of district health officer while those with a turnover above Rs 12 lakh were required to obtain a licence. The guidelines were binding on those engaged in the activities related to manufacture, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution of food products. Temporary stalls and karyana stores selling food ingredients are also required to get themselves registered. District Health Officer Dr Ashwani Sondhi said, "Businessmen are coming forward to get registered or obtain licences."
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Residents hail street food standards
Amritsar, June 29 However, the standards will merely act as a guideline. In other words, adoption to standards will be purely voluntary and it will be entirely up to a vendor to decide whether he wants to go in for certification. Amritsari kulcha, aloo tikkis, tandoori chicken (roasted chicken), kulche chhole, puri, lassi, pav bhaaji, and other dishes are very popular street food items. These street food stalls are quite popular in areas including Madan Mohan Malviya Road, outside Ram Bagh, Rani Ka Bagh, opposite Guru Nanak Dev University, Telephone Exchange chowk, Katra Bhai Sant Singh, Namak Mandi and near Crystal chowk. Arvind Bijoria, an employee with a fabric manufacturing firm, welcoming the move said it would give a sense of assurance to customers that they were consuming safe and hygienic food. "Though many international and national food chains have opened their outlets in the city, the popularity of street food is unmatched," he quipped. Simran Singh, a student, said a stuffed kulcha for Rs 10 can be savoured at a rehri and it is no less than a full meal.
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Perfect time for a summer getaway
Amritsar, June 29 While most prefer travelling to international holiday hot spots, this year holiday preferences were closer home, thanks to the inflation that has made travelling 20 per cent dearer. The favourite spots on the hills were Kashmir, Ladakh and Manali. Sunil Aggarwal, a businessman from city, too has come back after a cool summer break in Srinagar. “The Valley being closer and more preferred destination has always been high on tourist chart. It’s climate and nature’s full bloom make it a hit in summers,” he says. Another haven for tourists this year was the ever favourite Manali. The Solang valley has been a favourite with tourists for its virgin locations and adventure treks. Kapil Sachdeva, who just returned from a four-day holiday in the beautiful Manali, can’t stop gushing about it. “We preferred to travel by road as we didn’t want to miss out on the scenic beauty. The raw natural beauty in Solang Valley makes it a treat for the eyes and the amazing adventure sports like paragliding, rock climbing and long trek trails make your holiday a bit more interesting,” he shares.
While the hills remained high on the list of holiday destinations, there were some who travelled to Far East on an international vacation. Bangkok, Macau, Singapore and Hong Kong were the obvious picks. City-based businessman Rohit Handa and his wife Mehak had their exotic holiday in Hongkong and Macau, “It was an experience in itself with heritage sites, world’s tallest structures and the amazing flea markets,” says Mehak. “The bustling nightlife of the cities is the main attraction,” she adds. But they have an advice for those planning a international holiday, “Pre-plan your holiday. say in February or March, cost cutting in terms of air travels and hotel and lodging can save your money and avoid last minute stress. Summers are a preferred time to travel, be it domestic or international. And since it’s become a regular calendar activity for most, advance bookings and arrangements make it easy to enjoy and avoid eleventh hour glitches.” Apart from that, Malaysia, Phillipines and Far East, Hua Hin and Pattaya are preferred for beach holiday. While some have already had their summer getaway, others are waiting to start. Especially, those wanting spiritual tourism. Having become the latest thing in tourism industry, spiritual tourism to places like Badrinath,, Kedarnath, Vaishno Devi and Amarnath too are on cards.
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City doc makes it to Columbia varsity
Amritsar, June 29 Harman Boparai claims to be the first doctor from India to have been admitted to Columbia University's Journalism School. A jubilant Harman said, "My aim is to integrate medicine and journalism. I think all over the world, news related to trauma, natural disasters and conflict zones requires a background in medicine to do justice to the issues and to communicate those and other healthcare related stories to the people. Using journalism with medicine you can reach out to millions in your country and the world about subjects which directly impact their lives." While doing his MBBS at Government Medical College, Amritsar, he did clinical rotations in the US at Harvard Medical School, Boston, received honours grade at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, and at Cornell University School of Medicine in New York. At Harvard Harman had the chance to interact with distinguished doctors who had helped in the relief efforts for the Haiti earthquake in 2010. Harman is the son of Nishan-e-Khalsa recipient and Punjab state Parman Patra awardee Dr RPS Boparai, the former Medical Superintendent and Head of Orthopaedics at Government Medical College.
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Residents happy with petrol price cut
Tribune news Service
Amritsar, June 29
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Councillors want to see sewerage system back on track
Obsolete sewerage, shortage of drinking water and improper lifting of garbage are the three basic problems in my ward. I will raise these issues in the MC House to get funds sanctioned for projects. The MC has already employed workers and vehicles for lifting garbage. But it is a subject which needs no additional funds but better monitoring.
The old city areas have always been neglected by respective governments. My priorities would be to get the sewerage system re-laid in the area. The system is totally defunct. Besides the area needs more tubewells.
Party: BJP My priority will be to get public toilets repaired in Hindustani Basti. As toilets are defunct, defecation in the open is common here. One problem leads to another, so I will first solve the root problem. Later, the sewerage and water supply problems will also be solved.
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Deaths due to the heatwave have not stopped despite a slight dip in temperature over the past couple of days. Since June 21, eight persons, including a woman, have lost their lives, the police records say.
Aimed at solving traffic problem around the District Courts Complex, work on the ambitious flyover project over Saifuddin Kitchlew Chowk has got delayed.
The Guru Nanak Dev University campus could not contain the rush of admission seekers on the second day of counselling for various courses as many could be seen sitting on the floors in various buildings or under the trees outside the venue.
Residents are happy after the oil companies reduced petrol prices by Rs 2.46 per litre. A majority of residents say now the state government must lower VAT on petrol.
Ward 44
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Ward 49