Amritsar, July 8
People from Punjab villages are known for their gallantry in rescuing people in distress such as accident victims. To equip them better, 1,680 volunteers of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) selected from 168 villages on either side of the Amritsar-Batala-Pathankot highway (NH-15) would receive world-class training in administering first aid to accident victims as part of ‘Golden Hour Project’.

Under the project cashless medical treatment would be given to the road accident victims at empanelled private as well as government hospitals for 48-hours. The one of its kind project in the world and has evinced a very good response from all over the country.

National vice-chairman, NYKS, Amardeep Singh Cheema, said 10 youths associated with the clubs associated with NYKS from every village would be imparted training at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

“Before the ambulance and police team, it is the villagers and nearby people who reach the site but they are note trained to save lives. Therefore, under the Golden Hour project, conceptualised by the NYKS, it was decided to impart training to these raw hands. They can play a crucial role in saving lives,” said Cheema.

“Following careful evaluation and consultation with village elders, we have identified 1,680 volunteers from villages located on either side of the highway in the radius of 500 metres, who will undergo specialised training at AIIMS,” he said.

During the training, the volunteers would be trained to provide basic rescue services. They would click a photograph of the accident scene showing the extent of the damage and the requirement of medical aid, to the server connected with the common medical call centre, police control room, empanelled hospitals and insurance companies.

“The idea is that all the necessary arrangements are in place when the victims are shifted to the hospital for complete cashless medical treatment,” Cheema said.

The central government has sanctioned Rs 22 crore for the pilot project for one year and it would be replicated in other major highways located in other parts of the country, if it succeeds.

Road signage with the contact numbers and addresses of the volunteers will also be displayed prominently on the highway so that anyone can contact them in case of an emergency or an accident. As many as 10 ambulances, five crash vehicles and five hydraulic cutters besides mobile sets would also be provided under the project.

The project is likely to be launched on the Independence Day and everything is ready for its launch, Cheema said.

Amritsar, July 8
In a shocking incident, a seven-year-old was allegedly raped by her father in Bharat Nagar area on the Batala road here.

The Rambagh police registered a case on the basis of the statement victim’s mother Sakshi.

In her complaint to the police stated that she was married to the accused in 1993 but the couple could not bear a child even after 12 years.

The couple then decided to adopt the baby girl of her brother-in-law that is the elder brother of her husband, Ramesh Kumar.

She alleged that on Saturday while the family was sleeping on the roof. She came down for some domestic work at 5 am. She alleged when she went back at 8 am, she found the accused raping the child. The accused had pressed his daughter’s mouth with his hand.

The investigating officer, Nishan Singh, said the police has registered a complaint under Section 376, 511 IPC on the basis of the statement of her mother. He said the medical examination of the girl is yet to be conducted. He said the accused is absconding.

Amritsar, July 8
The Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital has instructed doctors not to meet medical representatives of pharmaceutical companies during OPD hours. The instructions have been issued in view of the inconvenience caused to patients.

It is generally seen that several MRs choose OPD hours to brief doctors about medicinal products of their companies leaving patients wait outside the doctors’ cabin.

A visitor said, “Not only here, but at every government hospital we see medical representatives meeting doctors during OPD hours. Can’t the doctors meet MRs when they are finished with patients.”

Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon, Senior Medical Officer, Civil Hospital, said, “The doctors have been asked not to entertain any MR during OPD hours as it troubles the patients.” He said the hospital has also planned to install boards at the entrance asking MRs not to visit during OPD hours. He said if a doctor is found meeting medical representatives despite instructions, action may be initiated against them. He said doctors must be checking patients during working hours.”

Amritsar, July 8
Certain to provide ammunition to the trading community at Hall Bazaar and surrounding markets, who are up in arms against the PRTS project, traders inside the Sherawala gate claim that their businesses have suffered badly since the construction of the elevated road.

Residing in the area since 1968, Surinder Singh, running an electronic shop, said sales have dipped drastically.

He said majority of shops, which were used as offices by private transporters, have closed down. “Who will afford to keep their shops closed in the most sought-after areas near the Golden Temple,” he asked.

At a time when shops have flourished near the Golden Temple due to heavy flow of pilgrims, the road inside Shera wala gate, one of the widest roads to the Golden Temple, has seen a declining trend.

A visit to the road revealed that the majority of shops have closed down in the area. Of these shops, two-Pappu Cholleyanwala and Bhappa tea stall-
shifted to some other parts of the city after being unable to foot the monthly rent of their shops.

Another resident, Charanjit Singh Arora, who sells readymade garments from a makeshift shop under the elevated road, said, “Customers have almost vanished”.

He said a portion of the road under the elevated road did not have sewerage connections while the road is yet to be paved. Recent showers turned many pits into puddle. In the absence of regular cleaning, these puddles have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

He said now the government is contemplating to bring in PRTS project. He said business inside the Hall gate might suffer too due to the project. 

Amritsar, July 8
The police has booked three mobile phone dealers who had allegedly issued SIM cards to the alleged killers of 11-year-old, Sushant Arora, on fake identity proofs.

The police has also lodged a complaint against three accused who are yet to be arrested for the murder.

The accused have been identified as Bholi of Anngarh, Mohitpreet Singh and Angrej Singh of Fatahpur.

As the mobile phone numbers were issued on fake identity proofs, a lot of time got wasted in tracing the five accused involved in the kidnapping and murder of Sushant. The child was kidnapped and killed on June 12, but the alleged murderers could be traced only on June 21.

Sunil Arora, the father of the deceased, had received two calls from the mobile numbers, 9780910283 and 7837099209 about the kidnapping.

Investigations revealed that the mobile phone belonged to Sahib Singh of Anngarh which was stolen by Kulli of the same area. The two numbers were used from this mobile and these numbers were issued to Bholi of the same area on fake identity proof. He has been booked under Section 380 IPC.

Another mobile number 9501856385 from which the accused had demanded a ransom to release the child was found to have been issued by Mohit Telecom owned by Mohitpreet Singh of Fatahpur adjoining Anngarh. The police has registered a case under Section 420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC in this regard. The third number 9646691879 used by the accused were issued by Angrej Singh Fatahpur on fake identity proof.

The police said the main accused Prince got one more number issued to threaten child’s father Sunil Arora. “This number was found to be operational in the name of Raman Kumar. But investigations found him innocent and that it was issued using the identity of Raman by Ajay Takkar, who is a resident of Jandiala. A separate case has been lodged against him at Jandiala police station,” said Manjit Singh, SHO of C-division police station, and one of the investigating officers in the case.

The fake identity proofs used to procure the SIM cards led to an inordinate delay for the police to reach the culprits. Though the accused were not professional criminals, they hoodwinked the police for 10-days after killing the boy. Sushant, who belonged to a middle class family living in Teliyanwali Gali near Gate Hakima inside the walled city, was kidnapped and murdered by Prince and his relatives on June 12.

Amritsar, July 8
A year has passed since the Intelligent City Surveillance Project, under which close- circuit-television cameras were to be installed at key locations in the holy city, was announced by local Member Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu in the presence of the Police Commissioner and Improvement Trust chairman. The project which was to be completed by the year end has failed to take off so far.

The SGPC elections and later the Assembly elections were said to be the reasons behind the delay.

The police, however, holds the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT), the main funding agency for the Rs 4.5-crore project responsible. The AIT officials do not have a clear explanation either.

Police Commissioner, Amritsar, RP Mittal, said details such as important locations, technical survey etc were submitted to the Amritsar Improvement Trust six months ago.

“We have done our part. As the AIT is the major funding agency, it was up to them to install the CCTV cameras. We had submitted our requirements and the report regarding the vital points and intersections, where these were to be installed, to the AIT,” he said.

With the term of Sanjeev Khanna as the Improvement Trust chairman coming to an end on June 30, all the decisions regarding various projects have been lying pending.

Yet, Khanna said the Trust has sent the project to Chief Engineer, Local Bodies, Chandigarh, for approval and were waiting for their response. “We have sent the project report to Chandigarh for evaluation two months ago, but till date there is no response from their side,” said Khanna.

The Superintending Engineer, AIT, Bharat Bhushan, said no such report was ever prepared by the Trust.

“A company was hired to get the project executed but it remained on papers. The procedure entails that the approval of the general house is a ‘must’ to implement the project. Nothing of the sort was ever discussed in the house meeting so far. I have pursued the status of the project with the Chandigarh office, but it never reached there. Recently, I contacted the company which has assured us to prepare a fresh report within 10 days. But it is a mere guess, because nothing can be finalised till the new chairman takes over,” he said.

The police has identified key points in the city where these cameras are proposed to be installed. As many as 175 highly-sophisticated cameras, including 100 fixed cameras, are proposed to be installed under the project. The high-resolution day and night cameras would be connected with the centralised control room established at the C-Division police station through dedicated broadband lines. Besides providing top surveillance to check crime, it would also help in better traffic management.

Amritsar, July 8
The first Summer Art Camp Festival 2012 organised at the art gallery came to an exciting and entertaining end with an art exhibition and a colourful evening of music.

The commencement programme was planned by Indian Academy of Fine Arts in collaboration with Punjab Council of Art and Literature.

The month-long summer camp festival that had workshops and seminars on art-related activities like painting, photography, mural making, installations et al found overwhelming response from art lovers and patrons in the city.

The exhibition which had a theme on music called Melodious Art, was inaugurated by Prof Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, displayed a collection of paintings and art works from prominent artists like SG Thakar Singh, Hari Singh, GS Sohal and other known names in the field.

Later, an evening paying tribute to renowned ghazal singer Mehdi Hasan made the audiences nostalgic.

Speaking about the success of the first edition of the festival, RMS Chinna, president, IAFA, said, “We are very happy with the response to the first ever endeavour undertaken by the academy. We received entries of participation from children, teenagers, young budding artists and art lovers and followers. The evening is a celebration of success of this camp and of the fresh, young talent that we discovered through this art festival.”

The overwhelming response has made the organisers plan more such events in the coming future.

“We have planned to host International Art Festival in Amritsar in November this year. It will have artists from outside the country, who will share a common platform with the artists from city,” said Davinder Singh Chinna, president, Punjab Cultural Promotional Council.

“This will be the second time that we will host such a prestigious art festival. The previous one had artists from Poland, Bulgaria and European nations participating. The festival will give them opportunity to come and experience the hospitality and art scenario of India, especially Punjab.” 

Ward 52
Name: Meenu Sehgal
Party: BJP
Residents live in unhygienic conditions due to irregular and inefficient lifting of garbage by a private company engaged for the purpose. Roadsides on most parts of the ward could be seen littered with refuse. At many places, residents have engaged garbage collectors at their own expense to make sure that garbage is lifted on a regular basis. I will appeal to the House to either replace the garbage lifting firm or instruct it to be efficient. Rani Ka Bagh residents get inadequate supply of drinking water. Out of five tubewells, the one which caters to this part of the ward has developed some technical snag. I will try to get it rectified as soon as possible

Ward 58
Name: Pawan Kumar
Party: SAD
The major problem faced by residents of my ward is the presence of Hadda Rodi, a place where dead animals are disposed of. Here, the dead and abandoned animals are burnt by some sect just to get the skin of animals. Secondly, the ganda nullah passing through my ward is yet to be covered. Drinking water and sewerage facilities in Indira colony are in a mess

Ward 63
Name: Rajni Sharma
Party: BJP
The ward has never got its due as it comes neither under the corporation nor municipal committee fully. That's why it had remained neglected. Drinking water supply and road network in my area needs immediate attention. Residents here are forced to drink contaminated water. Most cases of diarrhea and jaundice are reported from my area. I will make it a point to give residents relief and better living standards

Amritsar, July 8
Members of the Unemployed Teachers Union, who have cleared the Teachers Eligibility Test, have appealed to the state government to issue them their appointment letters.

The district president of the union in a meeting of the members held here today said the SAD had promised the same before the Assembly elections. He said a long time has passed following the resumption of the second stint of the SAD-BJP government but no effort has been made in this direction. He added that it led to resentment among the candidates who have passed the TET and are awaiting the response of the government.

He said 9,000 candidates cleared the TET out of 3.5 lakh B.Ed and ETT qualified candidates who had appeared in the test 15 months ago. He said a dilly-dallying attitude on part of the government indicates its insincere approach towards qualified and eligible teachers. He said if their demand was not met they would launch an agitation.