World Tourism Day
City high on global tourists' list
Amritsar, September 27
Familiarity doesn't always breed contempt. In case, you are wondering, we are talking about the holy city. Pick up any travel guide or click on travel website, some familiar, popular heritage and spiritual places of tourist attraction make Amritsar famous among travellers across the globe.

Amritsar, September 27
While the Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued fresh directions saying that illegal hoardings will not be tolerated, the holy city is dotted with scores of hoardings or unipoles, many of them congratulating the new Mayor and his deputies on taking over the charge in the MC office.

Many hoardings, depicting pictures of the MC’s own house members, can be spotted tied to traffic lights on Novelty Chowk, posing a hindrance to commuters.

It needs just a round of the city to discover how the High Court orders are being defied, with huge hoardings and billboards having come up on roadsides at key points like Lawrence Road, Crystal Chowk, Bhandari Bridge and Hall Gate.

“Showing concern”, MC officials, meanwhile, stated that the process of issuing notices to the violators had started and the advertisement wing had been told to sort out the list of unipoles.

The list with the MC says that there are 112 government and 150 non-government hoardings or unipoles in different parts of the city. Out of 112, the validity of around 70 unipoles has expired, still a majority of them dot different parts of the city.

In the absence of any check, the companies which had hired these unipoles seven years ago at the rate of around Rs 5,000 per unipole per month, reportedly, sublet them to other companies at the rate of around Rs 30,000 per unipole per month.

Similarly, defying all rules, the owners of the properties (both residential and commercial) have been earning a handsome amount by leasing out their rooftops to private firms while letting them to put up their hoardings. All these attempts are a clear violation of the HC directions.

What HC fresh orders say

In his detailed orders, Justice Mahesh Grover held the MC Commissioners of Punjab and Haryana, responsible for preparing a report on the extent of violation and date of removal of illegal unipoles.

The HC had directed that all signboards, hoardings, neon sign boards, advertisement boards facing the main road and side road/lanes should be removed.

Here in Amritsar, a random ride would be enough for one to observe countless hoardings, fixed on huge iron frames put up on rooftops, green belts, footpaths, government or private buildings while giving scant regard to the HC directions.

Notices, an eyewash?

Residents feel that the exercise of issuing notices to the violators is just an eyewash, as the MC itself had entered into a seven-year pact with the firm and could not take action till the validity of pact period.

This illegal activity also finds place on the rooftops of residential and private commercial buildings, while enjoying the patronage of local political leaders who themselves rake in a big moolah.

“Here, commercialisation is the main motive. The authorities here are least concerned about the terminology known as "defacement". Every time the MC is ready with frivolous excuses when questioned about the authenticity of these hoardings and posters. I have been witness to this bitter fact that this illegal trade is prospering and the law breakers enjoy immunity because politicians themselves are involved in this multi-crore trade,” said a resident.

The moot point is that the authorities, too, prefer to turn a blind eye to this menace due to the fat booty it gets in return from the multinational corporate sector players.

The MC’s list says

Scores of hoardings were given on a BoT basis, seven years back at around 40 sites, including Crystal Chowk, Sakandri Gate, 4S Chowk, Income Tax Chowk, Hall Gate and Hathi Gate. The validity of many of them has expired, while other’s validity is close to lapsing.

The eight hoardings of Focus Promoters are due to expire on September 13; M/s BDS Advertisers’ 22 hoardings on October 27; M/s RS Advertisers’ two hoardings on October 26; M/s Fine Advertising Company’s eight hoardings on November 6; M/s ABS Promoters’ 4 hoardings on November 17; M/s Chopra Publicity’s 5 hoardings on November 17.

The others like M/s Vision Publishers would enjoy immunity with its 12 hoardings till June 28, 2013; M/s Sharma Gangadhar Company’s six hoardings can not be touched till October 12, 2013 and GS Advertisers’ five hoardings would peep till October 12, 2013.

Amritsar, September 27
Mystery shrouds the missing of an Amritsar trader, who has not returned home since Monday. He had gone to collect payments at Ludhiana and was returning home on Tuesday by bus.

“We received a call from my son Manohar Singh on Tuesday that he was coming back in a bus and had reached near Jalandhar. But till now, he has not reached home, while the whole family is worried about his whereabouts,” said Dharam Singh, a resident of East Mohan Nagar and father of the missing trader Manohar.

The family has a business of manufacturing electric heaters. Manohar usually went to Ludhiana and other parts of Punjab for collecting payments. The family has lodged a complaint with the police in this connection.

“Initial probe by the family revealed that Manohar was accompanied by an unidentified person with him while taking payments. He had introduced "the person" as his friend to the shopkeeper from which he had gone to take payments. He had stayed with him in Ludhiana,” said Dharam Singh. He said now his mobile phone had been switched off.

Dinesh Singh, SHO, B-division police station, said investigations revealed that last time his mobile tower location was traced near the Mundian area on the Ludhiana-Chandigarh road. He said the Ludhiana police was also looking into the matter and further investigations were under progress. The police parties had been raiding the areas where the mobile location was being traced.

Amritsar, September 27
The police has booked an undertrial and a head constable under the NDPS Act. The jail police recovered 31 gm of smack from the undertrial, identified as Ranjit Singh, alias Wachhi.

On interrogation, he revealed his connivance with head constable Nirmal Singh, who took him to court for hearing. The smack was recovered from Ranjit Singh after he came back.

Jail Superintendent BS Gill brought the matter to the notice of the Cantonment police station, which booked both under the NDPS Act. Investigating officer Probhjot Singh said action against Nirmal Singh would be taken after investigation.

Amritsar, September 27
Familiarity doesn't always breed contempt. In case, you are wondering, we are talking about the holy city. Pick up any travel guide or click on travel website, some familiar, popular heritage and spiritual places of tourist attraction make Amritsar famous among travellers across the globe.

The city thoroughly enjoys its heritage and tourism status with places like Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple, Gobindgarh Fort and Wagah border, each of which tells a story of its glorious past. While its tourism is steeped in heritage and oozes the Old World charm, there are certain places yet unexplored that come with a touch of modernity with a mix of tradition.

On the World Tourism Day, here's a check on some concept-based tourist attractions that offer innovative holiday experience, with every inch of famous Amritsari hospitality.

Opulence redefined

For someone in love with the old heritage structures of the city, a walk inside the walled city is not enough. To experience the royal living, the city has two unique concept heritage havelis that take you back to roots, not forgetting the luxuries of a modern living.

Working on the concept of rural tourism is the Virasat Haveli, situated at Rajewal village near Manawala. The heritage structure that has been converted into a concept hotel is a preferred destination for those in for a countryside delight. "The Haveli is almost 250 years old and I restored it to turn it into a heritage hotel. It falls under the Punjab Government's rural tourism destinations and we have a lot of corporate and foreign tourists who enjoy a rent-free hospitality here," said Narinderjit Singh, proprietor, Virasat Haveli. True to its name, the haveli is surrounded by lush green fields, has a horse ranch and swimming pool inside and boasts of cultural activities. "While staying here, the tourists indulge in cattle farming, horse riding and various other interesting things," says Narinderjit. For entertainment, folk dances are performed every night, accompanied by bonfires, camps and several rides on bullock carts and harvesting along with local farmers.

Local touch

Another example of heritage luxury is Ranjit's Savaasa. The heritage boutique spa Haveli in the middle of the city is among top spa destinations in the North and gives a complete holiday experience to most foreign tourists that it hosts. "We have the concept of heritage hospitality with the Haveli becoming a home away from home for guests," says Abhimanyu Mehra, managing director, Ranjit's Savaasa. Apart from the village excursions, spiritual tourism and chance to live in a heritage haveli, the hotel offers wellness and health as incentives. "We have spa packages that have ayurvedic beauty and body treatments, special spas for complete detoxification and wellness," says Abhimanyu. An interesting fact being that their horse stable was transformed into a spa venue over the years. with family portraits and some elements of interiors still reminiscent of its glorious past and inhabitants, the 200 year old Haveli turns into a live museum for guests.

Culinary tourism

When in Amritsar, eat like Amritsaris. Food is an important and essential aspect of tourism here as most tourists consider their journey incomplete without savouring the local cuisine. Whether its papads and waris, famous rabri jalebi, stuffed kulchas or the buzzing dhaba culture of the city, food is a major crowd-puller.

So moving away from the regular dhaba culture, Aman Jaspal brought in the concept of a peace food joint. Sarhad, newly opened concept restaurant near Wagah Border boasts of Indo-Pak bonhomie over a Lahori thali. "Amritsar is famous for its cuisine and its proximity to Pakistan makes it an important tourist attraction. So the concept of having Amritsari and Lahori cuisine in one menu was quite interesting," says Aman. Sarhad also has a museum that has important displays from pre-Partition India specifically sourced from London.

"Amritsar has a good potential for growing tourist hub with its geographical and cultural suitability. Also, in developing new concepts of tourism, private sector should take the lead and come up with exciting projects that would ensure some thrills to the travellers coming here," shares Aman.

Amritsar, September 27
Students of the Khalsa College of Engineering and Technology today raised slogans against its management, broke some windowpanes and boycotted classes.

The college management called the police to control the students and the situation was immediately brought under control.

The students alleged that the college management failed to provide them conducive environment for education and required infrastructure while charging hefty fees. They said classes were being held in an under-construction building, which was a constant source of din and noise and did not provide them serene environment to concentrate on studies. They maintained that many a time classes were found flooded with water despite there being rain or no rain.

They claimed that in the prospectus the availability of wi-fi was mentioned, whereas it was not available on the campus. They stated that parking was not streamlined as the space was uneven, while overgrown grass around the building restricted the students to a limited area, which soon became crowded. They stated that in order to manage the shortcomings in the infrastructure the college faculty imposed many restrictions, which created unnecessary confrontation between students and the faculty.

Repeated attempts to contact college Principal RP Singh Sukarchakia on his number elicited the response that he was busy in a meeting.

When contacted, SHO, Civil Lines police station, Manjit Singh, who reached the campus to control the students, said the college management had called them up. He denied the allegations that the students resorted to stone throwing and added that they were demanding the removal of an HOD, which was refused by the management. He confirmed that the students went on strike, but no ruckus was allowed on the campus.

Amritsar, September 27
Petea from Austria was jubilant to have participated in the Heritage Walk in the holy city which provided him a peep into the heritage and architecture prevalent in the significant urban settlement in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent.

He was among over 25 tourists drawn from various countries to take part in the Heritage Walk which completed a year.

The Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) offered complementary traditional Amritsar dishes like “jalebi” and “puri” prepared in “desi ghee”. However, neither any politician nor bureaucrat came down to participate in the walk which started at 8:30 am from its designated spot Town Hall. This despite the fact that Tourism Minister Sarwan Singh Phillaur and Tourism Secretary Geetika Kalha were in the city to take part in the workshop on Tourism organised by the Asian Development Bank at a five-star hotel.

In charge Heritage Walk Harpreet Kaur said since today was also a World Tourism Day, the Board wished to treat the tourists as guests. She said besides packets of ready-to-eat breakfast and T-shirts with the PHTPB logo were also distributed among the participants of the walk free of cost.

She said the beautification of the surroundings of the place where once Taksal of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Thakurdwara Dariana Mal were had already taken place, while hanging loose cables and shifting of power transformers were next on the agenda. She said the Board had deposited a sum of over Rs 30 lakh with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to shift electricity transformer from Chaurasti Atari Chowk to Katra Mohar Singh. Similarly, transformer at Katra Ahluwalia will be shifted to Dharam Singh market.

Restoring many out of the 14 heritage places on the route of the walk is another major priority. The Board has received the NOC from the SGPC to refurbish historic gurdwara at Chaurasti Attari Chowk. It has also got approval to restore nearly 240-year-old Sangalwala Akhara, situated on the fringes of the Golden temple. It received the NOC from the Durgiana Committee to restore Thakurdwara Dariana Mal. The proprietor of famous Jallebiyan Wala shop Sanjeev Sharma has given NOC to refurbish the exterior of his shop.

She said the project had been finalised and tenders would be floated soon to invite bids from the firms with expertise in carrying out the restoration work. Barring some piles of garbage, the route of the walk was largely free of dirt. Guides Gurinder Singh Johal and Davinder Singh Chawla took the tourists on a guided tour.

Amritsar, September 27
The Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujawan Sabha today organised a march to commemorate the birth anniversary of the martyr at Jallianwala Bagh here. The activists, while raising anti-government slogans, said the right to work should be included in the Constitution as a fundamental right.

President of the sabha Pargat Singh said vacant posts in various government departments should be filled to lessen unemployment among the educated youth. He said an unemployment allowance should be paid to all jobless youngsters.

“It should be at least half of the pay a person would draw if he is given a job as per his eligibility and qualification,” he demanded. The activists also demanded that education up to the higher secondary level should be made free and compulsory.

The activists also demanded interest-free loans for higher education purposes.

Amritsar, September 27
Amritsar scores high on the list of must visit places for film promotions. If it's not about selling their film, it's about following a ritual of sorts by seeking blessings at Darbar Sahib. It seems that the Punjabi entertainment industry has made it a tradition to begin their promotions from the holy city. Some film makers and actors from Bollywood also like to visit the city before their movie releases.

The latest one was the starcast of “Pinky Moge Wali”, actors Gavie Chahal, Neeru Bajwa, KS Makhan and Geeta Zailda, who came here for promoting their latest release. As the stars keep descending on their spiritual tour to the city, we find out why Amritsar remains a must visit place for them.

"Amritsar is called the holy city. It has all the cultural and folk elements alive, which is the backdrop of most of the Punjabi films. As it is a special place for all Punjabis, which makes is mandatory to visit the place before beginning any auspicious work," says Geeta Zaildar, a singer-turned-actor who will debut with “Pinky Moge Wali”.

Geeta who plays a bindass and comic character in the film will begin shooting his next, 170 Km, with Binnu Dhillon and Harish Verma in Amritsar as well in the first week of October. While Chandigarh enjoyed monopoly as a chosen location for many Punjabi films, Amritsar is turning out to be a more viable option. "Amritsar and its peripheries offer a lot of different locations, including rural and urban set ups. Amritsar is a combination of old and modern India. It has some historical places of importance in Wagah Boder, Jallianwala Bagh. This walled city provides good locations for filmakers," shares Arvinder Bhatti, actor from the city who is currently shooting for his upcoming film Full Fukre in Amritsar.

"It's more than just garnering attention and promotion. Amritsar is a spiritual city, and most filmakers consider it as a good luck charm. Some even begin shooting their film in the city for the purpose. It's a spiritual aura of the city that makes it an important place to visit," shares Arvinder. Whether it is the traditional, old world charm of the city or the bustling multiplexes, Amritsar is enjoying its moment on screen. Successful films like “Jatt ’n Juliet”, “Taur Mitran Di”, “Pure Punjabi” and “Jihne Mera Dil Luteya” have been shot in and around Amritsar. Among the upcoming films that will showcase the city on the 70 mm screen is Gurmeet Chaudhary starring “Yaar Mera Rabb Verga” and Aamir Khan's next movie.