Amritsar, August 24
With the authorities not keeping a check, dumping of toxic fly ash goes on unabated at Jagdev Kalan village, located 14 kms from the city. It is suspected that industrial units located close to the village are dumping fly ash in large quantities.

Fly ash is considered very dangerous as it could cause skin allergies, asthma, gastro-intestinal diseases and genetic disorders.

This ash has been found dumped near the irrigation drains and on the banks of a canal near Jagdev Kalan village. Importantly, no action by the authorities has also encouraged violators to dump fly ash at Miran Kot village.

Importantly, the drainage department still doesn't know who threw the ash.

A pile of ash was found close to the bank of Lahore branch canal near Jagdev Kalan village. Beds of Laksi Nangal drain and another drain passing between Kotli Nagal and Jagdev Kalan village too were found to be filled with fly ash.

The family of Pritam Singh, residing near a drain outside Jagdev Kalan, is worried over these illegal activities. A woman in the family said, "Some outsiders come on tractors, trolleys and JCB machines to dump ash and collect soil."

"Whenever we have questioned these people, they say that they were discharging government orders and it is better not to obstruct them from performing their duty," she said.

Echoing similar views, Jarnail Singh, living near the irrigation drain, said these people arrive here in the day when all male members of the families were away to work.

Environmentalist Gurbhej Singh said the administration's lax attitude had encouraged "violators" to dump fly ash near Miran Kot village.

He said odour and texture of the ash revealed that it had been sourced from pet coke and may be packed with potentially toxic elements, including arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, barium, chromium copper, lead, mercury, molybinum, nickel, radium, selenium, uranium and zinc.

"Pet coke is an end product of petroleum oil refining and poses danger to soil fertility, health of humans and animals," he said.

He said fly ash should be tested in a laboratory to ascertain the extent of damage to flora and fauna in these areas. 

Fly ash is considered hazardous as it can cause skin allergies, asthma, gastro-intestinal diseases and genetic disorders

This ash has been found dumped near the irrigation drains and on the banks of a canal near Jagdev Kalan village. Importantly, no action by the authorities has also encouraged ‘violators’ to dump fly ash at Miran Kot village

Though the drainage department does not have any information on who dumped the fly ash near the irrigation drain, it is suspected that industrial units located close to the villages are behind the illegal and dangerous act

Villagers say people, who come to dump fly ash, tell them not to obstruct them as they are doing government duty 

Amritsar, August 24
Wanted in several cases of snatching, Yogesh and Joban Singh were nabbed by residents when they were escaping after snatching a purse from a woman at Ghah mandi area here today. The snatchers were later handed over to the Kotwali police.

Besides snatching, Yogesh, a resident of Ram Tirath Road, and Joban Singh of Ram Talai also stole vehicles.

The police recovered a stolen motorcycle (number PB-02-AK-6073). The police also seized 400 grams narcotic powder from the duo.

The police said Joban and Yogesh were wanted in a number of snatching cases in the city. The police has registered a case.

Amritsar, August 24
A dispute between the Education Department and the Waqf Board has put the lives of 114 primary students, their four teachers, two cooks of Government Elementary School, Sharifpura, in danger.

Housed in a pre-Partition mosque situated in a less than six-feet-wide narrow street, the rickety building poses threat to the residents living aroundthe school.

Roofs of as many as three rooms have already collapsed and these rooms have been locked. The school authorities are left with the equal number of rooms to impart education to the students from class I to class V.

In this situation, the authorities do not have any alternative but to continue with the studies by clubbing two classes in a room, a teacher said.

Many a time, students from two separate classes are seated in a classroom, which solves the problem of space but apparently disturbs the grasping power of students in their formative years of schooling.

Bound by rules, the Education Department finds it helpless to change the situation. The Waqf Board has staked the ownership claim of the building by going to the court on the ground that it used to be a mosque in the undivided India. At present, the school building is caught in the legal tussle. As per Education Department rules, the development fund could not be allocated to a school for the construction of a rented building. In this scenario, the school authorities could not invest more than out of Rs 7,500 annual grant for maintenance.

Sources said the Education Department gives about Rs 500 per month as rent to the Waqf Board. There were only three toilets to cater to about 125 persons. The drinking water situation is precarious here as the school has only a plastic water tank with the capacity of 500 litres to supply water through a tap.

When the Amritsar Tribune team visited the school, it found a group of students roaming around. In the meantime, another group of students arrived and picked up a wooden ladder and took inside the school while the classes were going on.

This elementary school falls in the Amritsar East constituency, which is represented by BJP leader Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Health.

DEO (Elementary) Sunita Kiran said the matter was taken up with the authorities. “Since the matter is in the court, little can be done to improve the situation,” she said. Sunita added that funds for the new building could be raised through donations.

Amritsar, August 24
In the age of innovation and creativity, there are many who make use of things which are otherwise labelled as useless by others. There are some artists who have turned entrepreneurs thanks to some innovative waste management.

Bharti, an artist-cum-entrepreneur from Amritsar, who saw designer décor items in discarded ropes, wires and CDs, has turned waste into glamorous designer murals that find takers from all across the region.

"There is a huge demand of handmade or waste-made utility and décor items in cities like Chandigarh and Delhi. People appreciate the fact that these pieces of art have been crafted using waste material, which gives it an eco-friendly appeal," says Bharti, who runs her own studio in the city.

Her raw materials often include waste paper, ropes, wires, CDs and even band-aids. "I believe everything can be turned into art. I do a lot of paper mache stuff using newspapers, make mouldings of newspapers to turn them into photo frames, candle stands and designer stationery. Most of my murals are embellished using discarded utility items," says the artist, who has been crafting waste into designer ware since the past four years.

Her client list includes collectors and buyers from Delhi and she has been a regular feature of some of the known lifestyle exhibitions in the region.

Similarly, Aruna Sharma, an art teacher from DAV Public School, has also found her calling in 'waste'.

"Contrary to the belief, creating and re-creating beautiful things from waste is an easy job. One just has to put some creative insight into using them," shares the woman who has mastered the art recycling paper.

Whether it's making dolls out of discarded wires and glace paper or decorative masks using waste wood and cardboard, Aruna loves to re-use and re-create. "I teach my students to use waste and turn it into art pieces. Call it passing on the passion, but they too find it quite interesting."

Her efforts often turn out to be successful ventures as she gets good response at her exhibitions. "One of my creations, using crockery and m-seal, which is widely used adhesive, was sold out."

Another artist who believes in not just creating art from waste but also sharing it on a public platform is Naresh Moudgil. The senior artist from the city is a master when it comes to using waste to its maximum potential.

"Open spaces present a lovely display opportunity and such art works need public attention for more support," says Moudgil.

His work using waste cloth material and fabrics have found appreciation from artistic fraternity. Recently, he created beautiful mural using rags, dupattas, turban cloth and fabrics. "I do traditional patterns and techniques like weaving to make daris, mats, rags and other fabric-based items. Waste has come out to become an important element for artists and if given required push offers a good business potential," he says.

Amritsar, August 24
Research and Medical Education secretary Anjali Bhawra inaugurated the wi-fi service at Government Medical College (GMC) here today. The project costing Rs 20 lakh would provide free Internet service to hostlers at the institution.

Dr SS Shergill, principal of the college, said the facility would be a boon for the students as they would have free access to e-library of the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences.

“The Internet service will be available at the principal’s office and all the hostels. The students will be able to use the service for various educational purposes,” said Dr Shergill.

The project has been made possible through the contributions made by the Government Medical College Association and the Amritsar Medical and Dental Alumni Association of North America.

On this occasion, Anjali said the Punjab Government had embarked upon an ambitious project to computerise all the hospitals affiliated to Government Medical College.

“A Hospital Management Information System is in the process of being launched which will help to monitor the working of various departments of the college,” she said.

She said this would also help streamline patient care as all the information would be centralised, paperless and easily accessible. She said the project would also promote research work.

Dr Shergill added that the college was in the process of putting together all previous institutional research work at one portal so as to make it easily accessible.

He thanked the Amritsar Medical and Dental Alumni Association of North America for working hand-in-hand with the college management for the past 10 years for the betterment of the institution.

Amritsar, August 24
To highlight the different aspects of radio and its technology, the Department of Mass Communication and Video Production (MCVP) of DAV College organised a radio workshop on “Radio Production and Voice Culture”, today.

Sanjay Parekh, a well-known radio artiste from Jaipur, Rajasthan, was the resource person. He has been associated with more than 4,000 radio jingles as voice-over artiste from the age of five.

Besides, he is also associated with All-India Radio and Doordarshan for his valuable contribution as drama artiste.

Welcoming the guest, Prof HS Walia, officiating principal, welcomed Parekh and presented him a shawl and a memento as a piece of commemoration.

Prof Arif Nazir, Head, Department of MCVP, highlighted various aspects on which the workshop would be focusing, such as radio jingles, voice-over techniques, drama narration, voice culture and voice modulation techniques.

He emphasised the need for organising such workshops to improve the skills of students.

Parekh thanked the college for inviting him for this workshop and narrated how he has been associated with radio since his childhood.

He shared his personal experiences of working with Vividh Bharti and opening up of his own advertising agency. He also gave presentations and screened documentaries on radio production.

He played various radio advertisements in order to apprise students of different voice-over techniques involved in each advertisement.

Motivating the students, he said though radio was a blind medium, it had powerful impact on the mind of listeners. He also stressed on intonation, voice modulation and various other acoustic techniques.

The workshop is being attended by the students of Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication and undergraduate students of Mass Communication and Video Production.

Amritsar, August 24
Punjab and Haryana High Court Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh would lay the foundation stone of a court complex at Ajnala near here on August 25.

District and Sessions Judge HS Madaan, in a press conference today, said the new court complex would be constructed over an area of six acres on the Ajnala-Amritsar road near Mehal Bukhari village.

He said the building would be completed in one year’s time with an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore.

He said the building would house four air-conditioned court rooms and residences for four judges, besides other facilities.

Madaan said it was also proposed to construct 80 chambers for lawyers at the place. The administrative complex for Ajnala tehsil was proposed to be built on four acres adjoining the judicial complex.

He said lok adalats to clear the pending cases would be held on August 31, September 1, 7, 8, 14 and 15. A mega lok adalat would be organised on December 1, he added. — TNS