|
|
|
|
211-acre Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar scheme
Deputy CM assures early relief to industry, trade
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
‘Amarinder has no time to meet
ground-level workers’
Former Youth Congress president Shailenderjit Singh Shally addressing mediapersons in Amritsar on Thursday. A Tribune Photograph
Jodda Pippal school functions from ‘unsafe’ building
Commercial activity in 3 residential areas: RTI info
Conservationist EXPERT visits Khalsa College
Conservationist expert Bert Praxenthaler at Khalsa College in Amritsar on Thursday. A Tribune Photograph
I want to be a brand: TV anchor
28 challaned for smoking at public places
Indian Idol finalist rides on fame
Indian Idol finalist Amit Kumar in Amritsar. A Tribune photograph
Khalsa College log win
|
|
211-acre Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar scheme Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 6 Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal, who also heads the AIT, appointed a panel headed by land acquisition collector Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal to resolve the dispute after owners of these plots formed the Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Welfare Association (Mall Mandi) and threatened to launch an agitation. Pardeep said a joint team comprising officials of the Revenue Department, AIT officials and owners of the disputed land finished the demarcation. He reiterated that the dispute would be amicably resolved as per the law and the wish of the people. He said barring 15 acres, the rest of the 196 acres was already demarcated and would be available for living condition once basic amenities were provided. Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Welfare Association president Harpinder Singh Walia said nearly 1,200 people owned plots measuring 100, 150, 200 and 250 square yards. Even after the lapse of over seven years, no civic amenity has been provided. He said the trust collected about Rs 150 crore under its 211-acre Mall Mandi Scheme but failed to give possession of plots to the owners after providing necessary facilities like motorable roads, sewerage, water supply, electricity connections and others. Superintendent engineer Bharat Bhushan Sharma said the trust had deposited over Rs 15 crore to the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board to lay water and sewerage lines in SGTB Nagar. He said the last payment of Rs 30 lakh was deposited with the board in December 2011 and now it was the board’s job to provide these basic amenities in the area. He said as far as the trust was concerned, the process of laying road network worth Rs 3 crore had been initiated to cover 100 per cent area of the A block of SGTB Nagar and 25 per cent of the B block. He added that these areas had been covered with sewerage and water lines. Besides, an estimate of worth Rs 3 crore had been prepared for laying high tension and low-tension cables in the residential areas. He said curve channels, on the lines of Chandigarh, would be installed in SGTB Nagar to prevent rainwater to accumulate on its roads. RK Goyal, SE, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, said revised estimates had been forwarded to the head office for approval as investment cost had escalated in the recent past. He said it was difficult to say exactly how much amount had been received for laying water and sewerage lines in SGTB Nagar over the years as the board was providing these amenities in around six to seven different schemes of the trust in the city.
|
|
Deputy CM assures early relief to industry, trade
Amritsar, September 6
Revenue and Public Relations Minister Bikram Singh Majithia pleaded the cause of various sectors of industry and trade and requested the Deputy CM, who is also holding the Excise and Taxation portfolio, to take an early call on their requests. Taking a serious view of breakdown of civic conditions in the Sabzi Mandi, Badal asked the Punjab Mandi Board to take immediate steps to restore sewerage and water supply network in the mandi, besides making all arrangements for cleanliness there. He also asked the electricity authorities to upgrade power infrastructure in the mandi for quality power supply. He said if the Punjab Mandi Board was earning mandi fee from Amritsar mandi, the board was duty-bound to provide all civic amenities there. Reacting to the demand made by the Punjab Rice Millers’ Association for exemption from 3 per cent Punjab Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), Sukhbir constituted a three-member committee to study this issue threadbare and make a suggestion thereof. He said the committee would make detailed assessment of investment potential if PIDF was waved, compare it with neighbouring states and also calculate the indirect saving by the state if the farmers switch over from ‘parmal’ to ‘basmati’ paddy. He asked the committee to submit its report within a week. Prominent among those who were present in the meeting included Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu, Financial Commissioner Development, AR Talwar, Financial Commissioner Industries, Jagpal Singh, Financial Commissioner Animal Husbandry, DP Reddy Principal Secretary Excise and Taxation, A. Venuparsad Commissioner Excise and Taxation, Gurwaryam Singh Comptroller Printing and Stationery, Manvesh Singh Sidhu, Special Principal Secretary to the Deputy Chief Minister.
|
|
‘Amarinder has no time to meet
ground-level workers’
Amritsar, September 6 Charging Amarinder of having no time to meet the ground-level Congress workers,
Shally, who represented the Congress for Majitha Assembly seat, demanded Amarinder’s resignation. She said, “His removal is a necessity, especially given the dismal situation, the party is currently facing due to his dictatorial style of functioning. We need a leader like Late Beant Singh who should take everyone along.” Embarking on a political tour of various assembly constituencies, Amarinder has scheduled to hold a rally at Majitha on September
9. Shally was dejected after being sidelined by Lalli Majithia, the rebel Congress leader, who rejoined the party as a front runner. “I did not even receive any official intimation about the rally. “I got a ticket from the Youth Congress quota and with the consent of high command, which apparently was not acceptable to
Amarinder. I also brought it to the notice of Indian Youth Congress chief Rajiv Satav to take further course of action in this regard,” he said.
|
|
|
Jodda Pippal school functions from ‘unsafe’ building
Amritsar, September 6 Even this failed to raise an alarm among the officials of the Education Department who continue to risk the life of 65 students and three teachers. Interestingly, the office of the Block Elementary Education officer was shifted from the same premises to posh Golden Avenue about two years ago. Running from a rented building taken from a religious Dera at a measly monthly amount of Rs 275, education officials have failed to find an alternate place to provide safe environment for study. Despite, the roof of a classroom had fallen with the impact of downpour. Luckily, nobody got hurt as the incident had occurred when class was not in progress.Sukhjit Singh, a resident of the area, said many officials visited the school from time to time but neither could repair the building nor find an alternate place to run the school. He said the unsafe building even poses risk to adjoining houses and passers-by on the road as the area was densely populated. School head teacher Amarjit Singh said the matter was in the notice of higher officials. He said as a temporary measure the teachers collected donations from the residents around the school and invested to carry out much-needed repairs and even installed an RO system to provide clean water to students.
|
|
Commercial activity in 3 residential areas: RTI info
Amritsar, September 6 Activist Sandy Randhawa said the corporation had earlier denied to provide any information, citing that no details were available. “It was then that I approached the State Information Commission where the information was supplied. The information revealed that the owners of the three buildings were illegally running buildings in residential areas,” said Sandy. He said the corporation had not permitted these institutions; two hospitals and a guest house for the change of land use. Randhawa said he has also sought information regarding action taken against these buildings. He said hundreds of businesses were being operated from residential areas which were a clear violation of norms. “The government treasury is at a loss as the taxes are not paid,” he said. He said the State Information Commissioner, hearing his complaint through a video conference session yesterday, had ordered the corporation officials to appear in person along with the records on October 4. “Soon I will be moving the High Court as the corporation did not take any action against these buildings,” said Sandy.
|
|
|
Conservationist EXPERT visits Khalsa College
Amritsar, September 6 On a private visit to the holy city, Bert was overwhelmed to see the majestic building and appreciated efforts already being made to preserve it from vagaries of time. “This is a rare blend of architectural style I am looking at. I am impressed. I will be happy to provide consultancy during the restoration work of the building, if my services were required,” he said. The college building was constructed in 1892. The KCGC Joint Secretary (Finance), Gunbir Singh, said they were happy to have him on the campus. “He is a big name in the field of conservation. His suggestions would be highly valuable for us,” he said, adding that there was an urgent need to preserve the ceiling and roof of the Sundar Singh Majithia hall. The KCGC, with the grants from the state government, has already taken up the restoration work of the main Khalsa College building. “No doubt more funds are required but we will make arrangements for generating the same,” said Gunbir. Principal Dr Daljit Singh apprised the efforts already underway to carry out the required repair of the building in consonance with the original historic and heritage character. Bert said he will take up the matter with the UNESCO and might seek necessary help if it was sought by the KCGC. “The UNESCO is world body working hard to preserve the heritage, both cultural and architectural worldwide. I will definitely put the word at the right platform,” he said. Hailing from Germany, Bert had been in the limelight in the past as he was instrumental in restoring the ancient Buddha statue in Afghanistan, which was blown up by Taliban. He worked for eight long years to rebuild and re-construct the statue to its original pristine glory.
|
|
I want to be a brand: TV anchor
Amritsar, September 6 The popular anchor from PTC’s show Pindan Vichon Pind, calls herself blessed to have made it big without any godfather or godmother in the entertainment industry. And now she has another reason to celebrate as she has been nominated for this years’ edition of the World Sikh Awards scheduled to be held in October. Baljeet has been nominated in the entertainment category. “It’s a great feeling and matter of pride just to get nominated alongside such stalwarts of the Sikh community worldwide. It’s a global platform for all the prominent members of the community across the globe and to be featured amongst them is an achievement,” she said. The awards celebrate and honour Sikhs for their success and contributions from around the globe in the field of business, social service, sports, entertainment, media and cultural activities. Baljeet has been nominated alongside two other contenders. “I have been a blessed child, doing quality work in a short span of my professional life. I don’t believe in shortcuts and have waited my turn to get recognised,” said the winner of Big Rising Star Award. Her prominent assignments includes hosting the ICC World Cup 2012, Commonwealth games in Delhi, 150 years of courts in Amritsar and the 25th anniversary of the Ministry Of Cultural Affairs, Govt of India. She is riding high on the nomination but not thinking much about winning. Baljeet emphasises on quality work rather than quantity, “That is my USP. I don’t want to overshadow my talent by doing anything and everything.” But the lady who has been dubbed anchor queen by her fans, said there is still a lot to achieve, “I want to be a brand,” she said.
|
|
28 challaned for smoking at public places
Amritsar, September 6 Apart from these challans, the department has collected samples of water supplied to the public from three tube wells in the New Amritsar area. District health officer Shivkaran Singh Kahlon said the district was accorded a smoke-free status on August 15. “We have been making attempts to make Amritsar a smoke-free city by curbing smoking at public places,” he said, adding that smokers were prohibited from smoking at market places and other institutions. He said cigarette vendors had been warned against selling tobacco products within 100m radius of educational institutions. He said a special drive to educate schoolchildren about the diseases associated with this season would also be initiated.
|
|
Indian Idol finalist rides on fame
Amritsar, September 6 “It feels great to be back, meet my family and friends and enjoy their appreciation. The moment I landed in the city, I have had a busy schedule; people are coming and inviting me to some events. I was barely recognised before but now the entire city knows me,” says Amit. He said: “I gorged on home-cooked food, especially the dishes made by my mother. I missed the Punjabi food during my stay in Mumbai.” For an amateur singer to compete among classically trained and professional singers at the national platform was no child’s play and Amit never had high hopes. “It was the first-ever competition of my life and I was not confident of my singing as all the other contestants were trained singers. Initially, my performances were average as I suffered a sore throat and my voice cracked. But Sunidhi Chauhan encouraged me and I picked up fast from our trainer Satish,” said Amit. “I believed that the top two contenders for the title were Kaushik and Vipul as they were versatile singers. After Kaushik’s exit, Vipul was always my favourite,” he said. After securing his place in the finals with his sufi style singing and humility, Amit never got into the competitive mode. “I was happy as all three of us were from Punjab. None of us feared losing out on the title as we had already proved our talent by reaching the finals. I am glad that Vipul won as he deserved the title,” he said. Though Amit’s life has taken a turn towards realising his dreams of achieving something big in his life, the humble guy said he would take things slowly. “I just want to get back to my normal self, get professional training in music and then assess my options. No hurry for now.”
|
|
Khalsa College log win
Amritsar, September 6 The college team defeated Guru Nanak College, Quadian (Gurdaspur), in the final with 20-22 points and bagged the first position for the second consecutive term. KC principal Dr Daljit Singh congratulated the team members, coaches and sports incharge Bachanpal Singh on the success. He said it is a matter of proud that the college was leading in a game that is a traditional form of Sikh martial art.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
hope as the Amritsar Improvement Trust with the help of the district administration today finished the task of demarcation of disputable 15 acres land.
Vociferously holding Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh responsible for the party’s debacle in the recent Assembly elections, the former Youth Congress (rural) president Shailenderjit Singh Shally today strongly criticised the constant overlooking of second-rank leaders in the party activities.
The endeavour of the Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) to restore the historic college building got a major boost today when Bert
Praxenthaler, a world renowned freelance architectural conservationist and a UNESCO consultant, visited the college campus.
He was the dark horse of the Indian Idol, never thought of making it to the finals. But fate had some other plans for Amit Kumar. The 20-year-old boy from Amritsar had never taken his singing seriously, until the entire nation took a note of it. After his successful stint at the show, Amit is back home and enjoying his normal life again.
