Patwari dismissed for graft
Amritsar, December 5
Deputy Commissioner Rajat Agarwal today dismissed a patwari, Janak Raj, from his services.

No end to stinking problem
Amritsar, December 3
The MC’s claim of maintaining cleanliness falls flat when one takes a random round of the Walled city area, which forms 2.44 per cent of the total MC area, and houses one-sixth of the total population. Even areas around the Golden Temple, which attracts more footfall than Agra’s Taj Mahal, and roads en route to this highest Sikh shrine is often plagued with garbage mounds.

Amritsar, December 5
Vice-Chairman of the National Commission for Schedule Castes Dr Rajkumar Verka’s intervention in the GNDU’s move to outsource the cleanliness work might not bring any respite for the safai karamcharis whose services were terminated by the university recently.

As many as 55 safai karamcharis associated with the university on a daily wage basis were replaced with the 50 new workers engaged through an Abohar-based contractor. Dejected by this move, the affected safai karamcharis have served a 24-hour ultimatum to the Vice Chancellor Prof AS Brar to roll back the decision otherwise which they would go on a hunger strike outside the university gate.

While Dr Verka insisted that it was a clear-cut policy under the Commission’s charter to absorb those employees who have served for more than 10 years, Brar said they were not the employees of the university as they were engaged for the 89-day daily wage basis.

Dr Verka said, “It was a deliberate and unjustifiable attempt of the university authorities to terminate the services while ignoring their span of service. I am hearing the case and the matter is under consideration”, he said. Talking about the purpose of his visit to the university, Dr Verka said it was a review meeting to see whether the authorities have been abiding by the guidelines prescribed by the Commission or not.

According to Dr Verka, it was also found that the university was not following the 25 per cent reservation for SC/ST candidates in terms of promotion criteria or filling up the posts. “The Punjab Government Service rules are applicable to the university and the authorities are bound to comply with the directions of the Commission. Against 24 per cent reservation quota for minorities for promotion and vacancy policy, the university was found to be complying with between 12 to 15 per cent of the reservation policy. But the authorities have assured us to comply with the criteria soon,” he said.

Vice Chancellor Prof AS Brar said everything was being done as per the guidelines prescribed by the Commission. “Actually, we had received the formal letter from the government in this regard on September 8 only. I have apprised Dr Verka about it. The criteria fell short of for want of competent candidates. We have been complying with 16 per cent quota on an average. If discrepancies are still found in the reservation quota, these would be rectified during the upcoming Syndicate meeting scheduled this month”, he said.

Amritsar, December 5
Industrialists from Pakistan are keen to invest in this part of the border, said RS Sachdeva, co-chairman, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In the city to announce the start of 7th edition of PHD- Punjab International Trade Expo-2012 from tomorrow, Sachdeva said, “If everything goes according to the plan which was conceptualised during the Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal’s recent visit to Pakistan, the door could be opened for the direct trade from either side.”

Taking cognisance of the exceptional keenness showed by the Pakistan traders for investing directly in India, the Deputy CM had extended them an invitation.

A list of industrialists from Pakistan, who are inclined to invest in India, has also been prepared by the PHD Chamber. The issue would be deliberated upon, apparently, during the PITEX fair.

Sachdeva said a plot of 2-acre for Onyx stone article manufacturers was already offered by the Deputy CM in Punjab.

PITEX has gained recognition in Pakistan, said Sachdeva. All the 950 visas, which were recommended by the PHD Chamber for PITEX, have been cleared.

Sachdeva said Anil Joshi, Minister for Industries, Government of Punjab would formally inaugurate the expo.

Delegations from 6 chambers of Pakistan are scheduled to participate in the trade expo. More than 100 exhibitors would also be

@participating apart from delegations. Participating chambers are Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sheikhpura Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sargodha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jhang Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Gujrat Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Besides Pakistan, this edition of PITEX would see participation from Mozambique, Egypt, Lebanon, Thailand, Hong Kong, Nepal, Ghana and Afghanistan. African diplomats from Mozambique, Algeria, Tunisia and Senegal would also attend the trade fair.

Meanwhile, Supreet Singh Gulati, ADC, Amritsar, said there would be additional ticket centres this time. “After IITF, PITEX is north India’s biggest event. It has improved with each edition, getting bigger in size and exposure.”

Dalip Sharma, regional director, PHD Chamber, said, “More than 350 exhibitors will be participating in the trade expo.” Sharma said all arrangements viz fire safety, toilets, food courts, drinking water, detailed security arrangements are in place.

Amritsar, December 5
Even as the local management committee of Gurdwara Shaheed Ganj, Ajnala constructed on historical Kallianwala Khuh has dug up the historic well to bring out the mortal remains of martyrs of first freedom struggle of 1857, District Tourist Officer Balraj Singh has mooted a proposal to preserve the place as a heritage structure.

He has also sent a proposal the Tourism Department and Punjab Government to bring the site on the tourism map so as to attract more and more tourists to the area.

Balraj Singh said he had already sent a proposal to the higher tourism authorities and Punjab government for the preservation of the Tehsil Complex where about 300 of them (freedom fighters) were kept. While a majority of them had reportedly died due to asphyxiation, remaining were shot dead on the orders of the then deputy commissioner Fredric Cooper.

As per local residents and historians, a platoon comprising 300 soldiers stationed at Lahore abandoned their barracks following the 1857 rebellion, led by Mangal Pandey, and reached Ajnala after crossing the Sutlej. But they were captured by the British and were brutally killed.

However, the consecutive governments failed to erect a suitable memorial at the site where a gurdwara was constructed by the local authorities.

It is pertinent to mention here that a team of tourism department had visited the area a few weeks ago and had interacted with the local management of the gurdwara. They had also taken up the matter of preservation of the site and Tehsil Complex with the gurdwara management.

Balraj claimed the management had approached the department for the repair and conservation of the site.

Amritsar, December 3
The MC’s claim of maintaining cleanliness falls flat when one takes a random round of the Walled city area, which forms 2.44 per cent of the total MC area, and houses one-sixth of the total population.

Even areas around the Golden Temple, which attracts more footfall than Agra’s Taj Mahal, and roads en route to this highest Sikh shrine is often plagued with garbage mounds.

A visit to the site revealed the presence of garbage heaps behind the langar hall. Similarly, the route to the shrine passing through Ward 24 too was found to be littered with garbage resulting in the chocking of drainage system.

If such a situation can prevail around the most pious place, then it can be guessed what would be the situation of ordinary streets in the walled city area.

Whenever questioned, the Municipal Corporation came up with same old excuses. It sometimes blamed the safai karamcharis’s non-cooperative attitude, shortage of staff or discrepancies arising between the private garbage collecting firm and its employees.

Amritsar, December 5
The Radical Teachers’ Front swept the GNDUTA elections held today and grabbed all the 11 seats defeating candidates of the Progressive Teachers’ Front with convincing margins.

Prof Davinder Singh of Department of Psychology was elected as president of the GNDUTA with 236 votes. He defeated Prof DS Sogi of the Progressive Teachers’ Front.

For Vice-president’s post, AS Sudan from the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences defeated Prof Azia Abhas from Department of Urdu by garnering 201 votes against 119 votes. Prof Lakhwinder Singh of Department of Commerce and Business Management clinched the secretary’s seat by defeating his rival Dr Dariya from School of Punjabi Studies.

The joint secretary’s post went in favour of MPS Saini from the Physics Department who got 216 votes.

Prof RSS Kaler from the Food Science Department was elected the treasurer. He got 177 votes while his rival Shymal Koley from the Department of Sports Medicine got 175 votes.

Dr Kuldeep Singh, Department of Political Science, who was nominated as Returning Officer, said the other six elected executive members are Prof Balwinder Singh, Prof RS Sandhu, Prof Vinay Kapoor, Prof Harmeet Singh, Prof Surinder Pal Singh and Prof Gursharanjit Singh.

Amritsar, December 5
Porters at the Amritsar rail cargo facility are a harried lot as the trade between India and Pakistan via rail route has come to naught for the past one month.

A porter, Balbir Singh of Neshta village said he was finding it difficult to eke out the living in the absence of work. Responsible for upbringing his three school going children, now his wife, who is engaged in stitching work, has become the sole breadwinner in the family. He said in any case her earning does not go beyond Rs 1500 in a month. He said if the situation remains as it is, then he has to go to other place to earn a living.

Karaj Singh, another porter, said he has been working at the cargo facility here, also known as Land Customs station Amritsar Railway station, for the past nearly 20 years.

He said halt of plying of goods trains between India and Pakistan was similar to one witnessed during the Kargil war. Recalling that period, he said all the porters were rendered unemployed at that time.

“Then the situation was entirely different as tempers ran high and the bilateral relations between the neighbouring nations was at its low,” he recalled. But the situation was completely different now as India and Pakistan was sharing cordial relations and taking confidence building measures (CBMs) one after another, he added.

He said the plight of porters who come at the bottom of the import and export must be taken at the utmost priority. Besides, he said over the period of time the number of potters has grown manifold.

There are about 250 porters here.

Sukhdev Singh (27) said he has been loading and unloading bags of merchandise for the past nearly seven years. He said on an average he earns between Rs 150 to Rs 200 daily. “Being a daily wager his earning has come down to zero since the plying of goods trains stopped between India and Pakistan,” he added.

He supports a family of six including his old parents and two daughters. He said a majority of potters here are from border villages located around Attari.

It is pertinent to mention here that the cement import from Pakistan via the rail route came to a halt over a month ago. Traders in Pakistan stopped sending consignments to India in view of repeated instances of heroin seizure in the rail cargo.

This is the second time in 2012 that cement import has been stopped. Earlier in August, Indian traders had suspended cement import for the same reason. The trade started after a month when the Pakistani authorities started using metallic seals on wagons.