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Mentally ill man beaten to death
Boy thrashed: Tantrik held
Four arrested for cheating
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MC’s sweeping machines cause traffic jams
 Amritsar, September 22
Efforts of the Municipal Corporation to clean up roads using special sweeping machines worth lakhs of rupees have attracted criticism more than praise. The MC authorities did not find a “better” time of the day to operate these machines than the peak office hours. A sweeping machine at work on Lawrence Road in Amritsar. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
Revamp of Lawrence Road on MC agenda
Patients who left treatment midway to be contacted
Police ill-equipped to check drunken driving
Dr Pinto gets GIANTS Int’l Award
70 examined at dental checkup camp
Freshers’ party at CKD Institute on Management
Fuel price hike won’t hit sale of diesel cars, say experts
Charmed by Khardung La, three city youths plan adventure club
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Mentally ill man beaten to death
Amritsar, September 22 Those booked were identified as Pala Singh, his daughter-in-law Gurmit Kaur and Jaswinder Kaur. Harkrishan Singh, SHO, said all the accused have been arrested and would be presented in the court tomorrow. Further investigations were going on, he added. It is learnt that the mentally challenged victim who was roaming in the area yesterday entered the house belonging to Pala Singh. Enraged over this, the accused tied the victim and brutally thrashed him. He later died. On seeing this, the family panicked and tried to dispose of the body. However, before they could do anything, residents of the area gathered outside the residence after hearing the shouts of the victim when he was being beaten up. They immediately informed the police. The three accused were arrested. The police authorities said efforts had been initiated to identify the victim.
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Boy thrashed: Tantrik held
Amritsar, September 22 A case under relevant sections of the IPC and Drugs and Magic Remedy Act was registered against the tantrik in this connection. The boy along with his brother had gone to a fair at a mazaar located in the village where the tantrik, identified as Harpal Singh, claimed that Rashpal was under the influence of evil spirit due to which he was suffering from continuous fever. The accused brutally beat up the boy with a hot iron chimta leaving deep scars on his waist, arms, back, lips and stomach.
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Four arrested for cheating
Amritsar, September 22 However, he alleged neither the accused withdrew the case nor returned the money. Those booked are identified as Kabal Singh, Harjit Kaur, Harpal Singh (all residents of Tarn Taran) and Harbinder Singh of Ranjit Vihar, Loharka road. A case under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against them and further investigations were going on. Two held with narcotics Amritsar: The police has nabbed two persons, identified as Sonu Singh of Mustafabad and Pardeep of Jalandhar, in two separate cases for possessing narcotic powder. The police seized 250 grams of narcotics from Pardeep and 150 grams from Sonu Mota. They were booked under relevant sections of the NDPS Act. — TNS
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MC’s sweeping machines cause traffic jams
Amritsar, September 22 Starting from 8 am, these machines moving at a snail’s pace have become a reason for huge traffic jams. Also the efficiency of these machines has come under scanner. There are three vacuum sweeping machines which are operated on Lawrence Road, Madan Mohan Malviya road, Ajnala road, DC road and Customs Chowk, GT Road and Cheharta road. Number of important destinations --- be it government offices, banks, schools or major shopping complexes are located on these roads. These sweeping machines are pressed into service at about 8 am daily and it takes at least six hours for these machines to ‘sweep’ the given route. The slow pace of these machines ensures nearly half-a-km-long jam. Serpentine queues of cars, two-wheelers and other public transport vehicles like school autorickshaws or cycle rickshaws are forced to move behind these sweeping machines until and unless they find some space or other street to pass through. Also as these machines can’t suck heavy debris like leaves or polythene waste, MC men move ahead of these machines to gather these waste items manually. MC’s Chief Sanitary Inspector Nirbhay Singh said the sweepers had to lift the garbage manually as the machines, costing between Rs 12-15 lakhs, could not pick leaves, shrubs, papers, envelopes or carry bags scattered on the road. “It is capable of sweeping thin dust,” he added. He also showed his inability to change the operational timings of these machines. “We can adjust the timings on some particular route if it causes trouble, but it is not possible to operate them in the night due to inadequate lighting,” he said. Questions are being raised that if the sweeping has to be done manually then what is the point of spending lakhs of rupees on these machines. Showing concern, Naresh Johar, a resident said he had spotted the MC men sweeping the road ahead of this machine. “It was illogical and shortsightedness on the part of the authorities to waste such a huge public amount on machinery which hardly give desired results.” A college student, Kiran Handa said she had often witnessed jams on Lawrence Road due to this machine. “Many a time I get late to reach my college on Lawrence Road due to these jams.” Vikas Sood, a trader on Mall Road, said traffic jams due to this machine are a common site. “What was the point of operating such a heavy machine during peak hours when it disrupts normal traffic? I fail to understand why they don’t operate it either early in the morning or late at night.”
Machine shortcomings
Problem zone
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Revamp of Lawrence Road on MC agenda
Amritsar, September 22 In addition to this, the central verge on this stretch, presently created by installing temporary dividers, would be concreted to avoid traffic snarls and accidents. At present the situation is dismal on Lawrence Road. About a year ago, the police in collaboration with the Municipal Corporation divided the road by fixing thin iron bars in-between to streamline traffic. These dividers helped in solving traffic problems to a great extent. But in the absence of any check, the general public and mainly shopkeepers broke portions of dividers near their shops. Lawrence Road residents also damaged the dividers so as to reach their streets. Now, once this proposal gets through, it would not only widen the road by at least 5 feet from both the sides, but also have a safe central verge with adequate lights. The ditch machines have already been pressed into service for the purpose. Executive Engineer-II Navjot Singh, under whose supervision this job would be performed, said with the increase in volume of traffic, it was necessary to chalk out such a proposal. The leveling work on roadsides has already been started from the Novelty point. The other job would require JCB machines to dig up the middle of the road so that permanent concrete verge having provision for electricity poles could be erected. “After physical survey of the area, we observed that it needed an overall revamp. There were kutcha paths which served little purpose for pedestrians, especially during rains. Besides this, the encroachment on the roads either by traders or makeshift vendors will be removed. To top of all, the road divider would be concreted,” he said.
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Patients who left treatment midway to be contacted
Amritsar, September 22 The meeting was also attended by former Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla and District TB Officer Dr Naresh Chawla. The forum also discussed the issue of old building of the District TB Hospital and resolved to take it up with the authorities concerned. Laxmi Kanta Chawla extended her support to the forum for securing the health of residents of the district. Rajiv Chaudhary, district coordinator of Project Axshya for control of TB, managed by the Voluntary Health Organisation of India, said it had been decided to locate and contact those patients who have not completed their treatment because of unknown reasons. He said besides medicines, given free of cost by the government, the patients were required to take a nutritious diet which was very necessary for recovery from the disease. He said members of the organisation were providing voluntary services at various sputum centres set up in the district. Talking about treatment facilities for TB patients in the district, Dr Naresh Chawla said, “In Amritsar, 21 microscopy centres are catering to the needs of rural and urban population of 24.91 lakhs. Since 2005, 1.02 lakh people have been examined for TB and 29,604 patients were successfully treated.” He said the district achieved global targets of TB cure success rate with 87 per cent in 2011. He said around 4,000 patients were diagnosed during the previous year. He said the State TB Control Society had earlier asked all the private practitioners to bring any case of TB to the notice of District TB Hospital. He said though private practitioners were allowed to treat TB patients, but it is necessary that the state authorities were aware of each and every case.
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Police ill-equipped to check drunken driving
Amritsar, September 22 Going by the accident rates in the past couple of years and the percentage of deaths occurred due to drunken driving in these accidents, it has become necessary for the Police Department to have alcometers to check the menace. According to police authorities, about 30 per cent of the deaths occurred due to alcohol consumption in these road mishaps. As per the data available with the police, 119 persons lost their lives in 2009, while in 2010 and 2011 as many as 69 and 88 deaths have been reported, respectively. In the absence of alcometers, offenders usually go scot free as it becomes difficult for the police to prove charges in the court. Due to this, ill-equipped policemen usually shirk from checking drunken driving as it is a time-consuming process to take the accused to hospital for medical examination and then to the police station for charging him for the offence. If they have alcometers to check drunken driving, it would help them from going through this lengthy process. Instead, they can enter the data of the vehicle, its owner and other relevant information in alcometers, which is further stored in the database of the police control room. With the help of this data, the police could identify the first-time and habitual offenders. Rashpal Singh Ghuman, ADCP, Traffic, said the city police recently procured two alcometers and more equipment would be received soon. He said the department had proposed the government to have about 20 alcometers to rein in drunken drivers. Harjit Singh Brar, ADCP, Crime, who has the additional charge of City-I, said the police could not challan as they had a little knowledge about operating the equipment. He said they were being trained for its operations. Police Commissioner Ram Singh said about 10 alcometers would be sufficient to check the menace. He said more equipment would be procured in near future.
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Dr Pinto gets GIANTS Int’l Award
Amritsar, September 22 As per a release issued by the Ryan International School here, the award was presented by Harshavardhan Patil, Minister for Cooperation & Parliamentary Affairs, Government of Maharashtra, and Padmashree Nana Chudasama, world chairman, GIANTS International. GIANTS International, under the leadership of Nana Chudasama, has been working for the betterment of society and uplift of the poor and underprivileged. Every year GIANTS International honours various stalwarts from different fields in recognition for their contribution in their respective fields. Quoting Albert Pike, Dr Pinto said, “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
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70 examined at dental checkup camp
Amritsar, September 22 Patients were given free services and medicines by the hospital. She said purpose of the dental camp was to create awareness among the general public. “The dental problems lead to many problems of the stomach and indigestion,” she added.MC councillors Aman Aery and Kulwant Kaur lauded the role of the hospital in organising the camp. Dr Dhillon honoured Dr Kuldeep Kaur, Dr Babica Mahendru and Sanjeev Anand for successful organisation of the camp. Sanjeev Anand said the camp was successful as patients and their attendants came to know about various problems and their solutions. He said the hospital had a dental clinic of its own which caters to the needs of the area residents.
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Freshers’ party at CKD Institute on Management
Amritsar, September 22 The gala event commenced with Charanjit Singh Chadha, President, Chief Khalsa Diwan, lighting the traditional lamp. It was followed by a cultural programme comprising dances, melody songs. Abhilash (BBA) and Shubkarmpreet (MBA) won the title of Mr Fresher and Navneet (BBA) and Krishma (MBA) bagged the title of Ms Fresher.
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Fuel price hike won’t hit sale of diesel cars, say experts
Amritsar, September 22 The reason being that the diesel is still much cheaper, around Rs 22, than the petrol and a substantial shift is not expected, revealed market experts. But at the same time, a marginal shift cannot be denied. With the gap between petrol and diesel prices decreasing, a section of people would certainly go for petrol vehicles because of their higher pickups and lesser maintenance costs. An executive at a car dealership said, “We expect that the sale of petrol cars will increase. But we do not expect it to surpass the sale of diesel cars.” He said even as the petrol vehicles are comparatively less costly than the diesel ones, people prefer to buy diesel cars as they have lesser running costs.” The potential car buyers too said that they would still prefer diesel cars. “Rather than saving money once by buying a petrol vehicle, I will prefer to save it daily by buying comparatively less costlier diesel than petrol,” said Ramanpreet Singh, a customer at a dealership. The rise in prices has not dampened the automobile industry. “We have the festive season at hand during which the sales are expected to rise. No matter by the time festivities are over, people would have overcome the jolt of increase in diesel price,” said Jagtar Singh, a entrepreneur who runs second hand car business. He added that even as the country had witnessed hike in prices of petrol a dozen times recently, it had been only once in the last 14 months that diesel price has been hiked. “It is expected that diesel price will not rise more as the vast majority of agricultural sector depends on it for their operations and the government cannot afford to turn the biggest voting section hostile, especially when the elections are coming,” said Jagtar.
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Charmed by Khardung La, three city youths plan adventure club
Amritsar, September 22 While the layman could relate its natural beauty to some famous shots from popular Bollywood movies, for adventure seekers, its wilderness spells magic. So believe three city-based adventure travellers, Anand Sandesh, Paran Singh and Navtej Singh. The trio just returned from their eight-day-long journey to Khardung La and shared their near nirvana experience. “The journey alone is amazing, with nature in its raw form. The adventure is not in reaching the highest motorable pass, but making the journey,” says Anand, who runs an adventure institute in the city and specifically bought an SUV to make this trip. Taking the Amritsar-Srinagar-Leh route, it took them two days to reach Leh by road. “We had to cross sensitive areas like Kargil and Dras and struggle with heavy rains,” shares Anand. Their escapade through the beautiful countryside of the cold desert in Himalayan ranges took them to some hotspots like the Pongang Lake and Shey monastery. Anand says, “We camped and enjoyed the starlit view of Pongang Lake at night, which reflects three different colours of water, spent hours in meditating at the beautiful monasteries on the way and even enjoyed some hospitality by the locals, drinking yak milk and trying the cheese. We also visited the Leh Palace, which is some centuries old and has a breathtaking temple inside for only meditation. Every view is worth taking a picture, says Paran, who is a professional photographer and has earlier made the trip to Leh on a bike. One of the interesting parts of their journey was the magnetic hill.” “The hill is alleged to have magnetic properties strong enough to pull cars uphill and force passing aircraft to increase their altitude in order to escape magnetic interference,” says Anand. Stocking up for the trip with medical supplies, tools and emergency kits, even a portable kitchen, these guys made sure to soak in all that was wild. “All that we depended on was our instincts. The rains damaged some parts of the roads, connecting bridges and so getting off road is the best way to go about it. Also, while camping, one has to make sure not to camp near vegetation as wild animals could be present. Altitude sickness is a serious health concern for travellers not acclimatised and so one has to keep a check on their supplies,” shares Anand. “One has to be sure of all the things needed for your survival in the wild.” Apart from the taxing a road trip and living in the wild, gaining permits to visit some sensitive areas too added to the excitement. “Because of it proximity to Siachen Glacier, Nubra Valley and Indo-China border, the area is quite fortified and so gaining permits to visit places like Pongang Lake et al is required,” informs Anand. Back home, these adventure lovers plan to encourage more travellers to make the trip.
“We plan to have an exhibition of the pictures clicked by us of the journey. Also, we have organised an adventure club, called the Amritsar Adventure Club for likeminded people to undertake more adventure expeditions in future,” says
Anand.
Nirvana Experience
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Amritsar, September 22
Amritsar, September 22
For those in pursuit of some adrenaline rush, Khardung La, meaning ‘Pass of Lower Castle’, in Ladakh features on the high priority list.
Believed to be the world’s highest motorable pass at 18,380 ft (some suggest that its actual height is 17,582 ft while others believe Marsimik La is highest motorable pass), Khardung La has earned the respect of bikers, adventure lovers and travellers from across the globe for its roguish beauty.
Raminder Singh, SHO, Majitha police station, said the tantrik was arrested following a complaint lodged by victim’s father Anoop Singh. However, his two followers managed to escape from the spot. 
