|
|
|
|
Infant dies in roof collapse
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Eating out to be costlier
AGA secy amended constitution unilaterally, say
members
Civil Hospital starts providing free meals to new
mothers
Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra (second from left) and his team give free lunch to a patient under the Janani Sishu Surakhsha Yojna at the Civil Hospital in Amritsar on Tuesday. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
Mahan Singh Gate area building collapse
Ritu Aggarwal (centre), wife of Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal, holds the abandoned baby in her arms at Red Cross Bhavan in Amritsar on Tuesday. A Tribune photo
Vendors sell chewing tobacco secretly
Teachers' rally in Ludhiana on September 23
Seminar on solid waste management held
Rs 5,928 crore sewerage being laid in urban areas: Minister
|
|
Infant dies in roof collapse
Amritsar, September 18 This was the second instance in a single day. A portion of an old structure at Mahan Singh Nagar collapsed, claiming two lives, while leaving three others seriously injured, the same morning. At about 9.30 pm yesterday, the roof of the single-storeyed house in Krishna Nagar , which was already in a very dilapidated state, could not bear the brunt of heavy showers that lashed the holy city in the evening and collapsed. Inderjeet, his wife Gurmeet Kaur, their daughter-in-law Mamta and her eight-month-old girl child Komal were having dinner in the house at that time. After an effort of over an hour, neighbours evacuated them from the debris. Though everyone was pulled out safely with minor injuries, but Komal was in an unconscious state. She was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, from where she was referred to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH). But doctors at GNDH declared her "brought dead". The family with the help of their neighbours removed the debris to pull Komal out safely without calling a professional rescue team for help, but it was not to be. Sub Fire Officer Tarlochan Singh and the Mohkampura police in charge Amrik Singh said they were informed only in the morning. "It was only the neighbours who pulled the trapped persons out, but the child was dead by then. We have initiated proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC in the matter," said Amrik Singh. Komal's father Raman, who is employed in a city hotel, was not present in the house at the time of the incident. "I was working in the hotel when the incident occurred. All this happened suddenly and no one present then thought of calling up a professional rescue team for assistance," he said. The single-room house was having an old architectural style roof supported by wooden logs and having sand on the top. In the absence of roof tiles over its surface, it tends to get heavier with repeated rains. 4 more structures
collapse Four other structures tumbled down in the Katra Safaidan area in separate instances, but no loss of life was reported as none of these buildings were occupied.
|
|
Eating out to be costlier
Amritsar, September 18 He said the industry was still to come out of the impact of the doubling of luxury tax on hotels from 4 per cent to 8 per cent by the state government, it got an another blow. He said these moves were causing negative impact on the hospitality industry. Hotels and restaurants were heavily dependent on diesel to run generator sets, boilers and almost all items were transported on diesel-run automobile vehicles. He said prices of vegetables had already gone up due to this reason. Similarly, rates of coal and other widely used products in hotels and restaurants would be more expensive. Coal was expected to increase by nearly 15 per cent and it was amply used to run
‘tandoor’. He said once the rate was increased, they would have to give a hike to the salary of
employees. Satnam Singh Kanda said hike in room tariff and eatables would have cascading impact on room occupancy. He added that hotels and lodges situated in the walled city were already paying Rs 8,000 annually as conservancy tax, commercial sewerage tax, commercial water tax, commercial power bill, despite being announced an industry, sales tax, VAT, apart from other
taxes. Surinder Singh, another hotelier, said the government was pocketing hike in the price of diesel and all kinds of taxes, but it did not show urgency in taking up steps to prolong the stay of tourists in the holy city. He added that projects like restoration of Qila
Gobindgarh, Ram Bagh Summer Palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and others were running behind the schedule. No attempts were being made to popularise Pull
Kanjari, heritage and Panj Sarovar walks. Sundeep Khosla, president, Bal Kalan Industrial Welfare Association, said hike in the price of diesel had jacked up the cost of transportation and diesel-run engines. He added that the rates of all kinds of items like plastic, shawls, blankets, yarn, pharmaceuticals and others being manufactured in the city were being hiked one by one.
|
||
|
AGA secy amended constitution unilaterally, say
members
Amritsar, September 18 Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal had instituted an inquiry committee to probe serious charges of “corruption” and withdrew all financial powers of Khanna on September 3. Addressing mediapersons here today, AGA Heritage Club Joint secretary Rohit K. Lakhanpal said all documents showing Khanna’s highhandedness and egoistic approach in running the AGA were submitted to the inquiry committee for its perusal. He said the AGA’s constitution was adopted in 1995 with full general house of 140 members. He said Khanna was instrumental in holding a general body meeting of the AGA at a private hotel on July 19, 2009, which was not chaired by the then Deputy Commissioner, who also holds the post of the president of the club. He claimed that as per the provisions existing at that time the meeting could be held only under the leadership of the president. He added that decisions were taken which affected the entire executive body of the association. He reasoned that on this basis the entire proceedings of that meeting stood null and void. He alleged that Khanna held general house meetings on July 19, 2009, and July 8, 2010, at private hotels and misled the administrative authorities, who are the office bearer of the association. He claimed that further perusal of the minutes of these meetings revealed that the constitution of the AGA was changed and alleged that the president of the AGA did not attend the meeting. The scrutiny of the amended constitution revealed that all the power had been vested in the post of secretary and the rest of office-bearers had been there merely to fulfil the posts, he claimed. He added that never in the history of the AGA such a rule and regulation been constituted. An AGA member, Prakash
Chand, said these amendments made the association a defunct one as further amendments to the constitution could only be done with the prior approval of the Punjab Cricket Association
(PCA) and the state government. The AGA Heritage Club had been providing financial assistance for the functioning of the
AGA. He claimed that Khanna tried to drive a wedge between the members of both associations even on the issue of parking place of the club and walls. He alleged that Khanna abandoned the setting up of the swimming pool midway for reasons well known to him, which caused financial loss to the club. When contacted, Khanna said it must be clear at the outset that the AGA Heritage Club was a tenant of the
AGA. He said during his tenure of five years he took many constructive and corrective decisions, which angered many people as they did not appreciate changes. He said he evicted the occupation of a cricket ground from the club in 2007 and was instrumental in undoing the work for the setting up of a swimming pool. He claimed that he got the PCA’s approval to lay astroturf on the same place to set up five nets for cricket practice. He alleged that he had been pressing hard to get over Rs 9 lakh payment from the club for using space for card room. He maintained as per the agreement the AGA Club was to pay Rs 3 lakh rent per year in addition to power bill and ground security and stated that over three years had gone and no single penny was paid to the
AGA. He said, “He was instrumental in holding the election to the AGA in 2009 after a long gap of nearly 20 years, whereas as per the old constitution it must be organised after every three years”. He added that as per the changed constitution the elections must be held after every four years. He said, “He was instrumental in holding the annual general meeting of the AGA after 17 years.” He refuted the allegations that as per the amended constitution major powers had been vested into the secretary. He said he got changed the previous mechanism of a nominated secretary to its being an elected one. He said as per the previous constitution anyone could become a life member of the
AGA. However, as per the amended constitution only a cricketer could become a life member while others could become general member.
|
||
|
Civil Hospital starts providing free meals to new
mothers
Amritsar, September 18 Inaugurating the service, Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra disturbed lunch to the patients at the Gynaecology Ward. "Three meals- breakfast, lunch and dinner - will be given to mothers for three days after a cesarean delivery and two days after normal delivery," he said. Senior Medical Officer
(SMO) Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon said the hospital had entrusted the work to a private caterer. "The food given to the women would be of high nutritious value and as per the advice of the medical experts,"
he said. Dr Dhillon said the hospital had received funds that would be sufficient for around two and half months. "In the morning today we had around 52 patients, who were given breakfast. As per the scheme only Rs 100 can be spent on one day's meals per person," he said. He said the patients had welcomed the move. The scheme is to be implemented at the medical institutions in the state. However, the doctors at hospitals in remote areas are worried as to how to implement the scheme. "At most of the places in remote areas there are no caterers who would provide the food. Even it would be not possible to hire caterers from city as there are only one or two deliveries on daily basis," said an employee at a hospital in a village. She said even women patients could not be given money in cash as the very purpose of the scheme to provide nutritious diet to them would be defeated. "There is no way in which we can ensure that money was not taken away by husbands or someone else," she said.
|
||
|
Truck cleaner electrocuted to death, driver injured
Amritsar, September 18 The deceased has been identified as 22-year-old Jatinder, employed as a helper by the truck owner Baldev Singh, who was driving the vehicle at the time of the incident. Baldev Singh also sustained minor injuries. The incident occurred between 7.30 am and 8 am when after unloading the truck at the designated place, they were on their way back. At a turning, Baldev Singh was reversing the vehicle while Jatinder, who was barefoot, was guiding him. The truck became entangled in a bunch of naked electricity wires at the construction site of a house. Baldev Singh said when Jatinder tried to remove the wires from the truck, he got electrocuted, while the current also passed through the truck. “I too received a shock. I jumped out of the cabin and hurt myself. I heard Jatinder’s shouts, but before I could reach him, he fell unconscious,” he said. The investigating officer, Subheg Singh, of Sadar police station, Fatehgarh Churian road, said proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC were initiated and after the postmortem, the body would be handed over to Jatinder's family members.
|
|
Mahan
Singh Gate area building collapse Tribune News Service
Amritsar, September 18 Investigating officer Dalwinder Singh, E-division police station, said a case under Sections 304-A/288/338 of the IPC had been registered against owner Amarjit Singh, a resident of the Mall Road, and contractor Surinder Pal Singh. “They have been held guilty of not adopting safety precautions before letting the building demolish. Later, they were released on bail,” he said. The complainant was Kaka, one among the five persons who were engaged by the duo in demolishing the rickety structure yesterday. Two of them, Pamma and Sona, had died, while four others, Kaka, Sahib, Sona and contractor Surinder Pal, were injured when the portion of this old structure’s rooftop collapsed.
|
|
Panghura receives 56th abandoned girl child
Amritsar, September 18 The child was welcome by Red Cross chairperson Ritu Aggarwal. She said medical examination of the child was conducted and doctors had reported her to be healthy. Panghura was envisaged by former Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu in 2008 to save abandoned children, especially girls. The shelter home has so far saved 56 children, including five baby boys. Pannu had mooted the idea of cradle at a time when several incidents of newborn being abandoned were reported from various parts of the state. In most of the cases, by the time the infants were found, they were dead, maimed or too ill to be saved. Ritu Aggarwal said all children received at the shelter home were adopted by desiring parents after completing all necessary legal formalities. She said the child would be sent to Nari Niketan at Jalandhar for the purpose. While expressing shock over the incident, she said: “Girls have proven that they are not less than boys in any field. Even if parents want to abandon their girl child, it will be better if they leave her outside the shelter home”.
|
|
Vendors sell chewing tobacco secretly
Amritsar, September 18 At most of these vends, where the plastic pouches of these products were seen decoratively hanging earlier, now they have gone missing. “We cannot sell gutka openly. It is banned,” said a shopkeeper, adding that however he could procure a little if a customer was willing. Meanwhile, city residents have demanded
that the ban should be imposed strictly. “It is no gain if the shops would go on selling these products. Instead of serving the real purpose, this would end up earning more money for the vendors,” said Gopal Singh, an elderly resident.
|
|
Teachers' rally in Ludhiana on September 23
Amritsar, September 18 The district president of the union, Manpreet Singh, said the government had not recruited the TET teachers as per its promise made to the union about 15 months ago. He claimed that the government was advertising for the recruitment of ETT teachers of those subjects who were available in less numbers. Meanwhile, the district unit of the Sanjha Adhyapak Morcha flayed the rationalisation policy of the Education Department. Members of the morcha claimed that the number of periods for teachers had been increased and added that in this way the department had abolished many vacant seats. They said the teachers were not being paid monetary benefits granted by the pay commission from January 1, 2006.
|
|
Seminar on solid waste management held
Amritsar, September 18 The seminar was organised by Zoological Society at Khalsa College here today. Dr Vinod stressed on the need for proper disposal of solid waste. He said if corrective measures were taken and technology was used, waste could be converted into compost and vermicompost at the large scale, which would help us in getting rid of the solid waste. Dr Garg was earlier welcomed by Dr Daljit Singh, principal of the college. Dr Daljit Singh said solid waste management was the most burning issue today and scientists must devise ways to dispose it of through proper means. — TNS
|
|
Rs 5,928 crore sewerage being laid in urban areas: Minister
Amritsar, September 18 He said this here today after laying foundation stone for providing concrete streets, sewerage, and other development works in ward numbers eight and 11. Anil Joshi said the state government earmarked Rs 752 crore for installing sewerage in the holy city and the work was currently undergoing. He said the government was fulfilling all promises one by one made to the electorates before the elections. The minister said with a view to providing efficient governance to the people, the government introduced the Right to Service Act, which made the officials answerable. He added that the government in its previous stint had given employment to about 1.75 lakh youths.
|
|
| 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 | |
Amritsar, September 18
