Amritsar, December 12
The work at the Improvement Trust has come to a standstill as the government has not appointed the 10-member House of trustees.

As a result, several development projects have been hit in the city.

As per the rules, all decisions, including floating of tenders, needed to be ratified by the House before forwarding it to the government for its approval.

The government had dissolved all the Trusts in the state near the Municipal Corporation elections and appointed the Deputy Commissioner as the chairman.

Officials said the Municipal Corporations with over 2-lakh population has 10 members in the Trust’s House. These members are absorbed from various departments and fields.

Members are SDM concerned, executive engineer of the PWD and District Town Planner, three municipal councilors approved by the MC House and four nominated from the public by the government.

As per norms, availability of two members and the chairman are mandatory to take any decision.

The AIT took up the job of funding infrastructure projects in the city only in 2011. All these projects come under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation. The cash-strapped government roped in the AIT to fund these projects.

At present, over 60 projects, including road repair, installation of streetlights, development of residential colonies and construction of flyover, beautification of Durgiana Temple, are underway. It is spending crores of rupees on these ambitious projects. Leaders of the BJP and SAD had announced theses projects one after another in the run up to the Assembly elections.

Infrastructural development works like flyovers at Saifuddin Kitchlew Chowk and SSSS chowk; providing basic amenities at Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Mall Mandi Scheme; constructing flats for the economically weaker sections at Mall Mandi; Durgiana Temple beautification scheme have been hit.

Local Bodies Minister Bhagat Chunni Lal said Houses of the Trusts would be revived soon. 

Amritsar, December 12
The PCMS Doctors Association has demanded a probe into the allegations of corruption levelled by a health department employee against the Civil Surgeon office.

In an emergency meeting of the association held under the chairmanship of its patron Dr Ranjit Singh Buttar, the doctors requested the higher authorities to unravel the truth and punish the guilty.

A laboratory technician of the department, Jaikaran Singh, on Tuesday had accused a multipurpose health worker working at the Civil Surgeon office, Navtej Singh, of demanding a bribe of Rs 10000 to get him an NOC (no objection certificate) signed from Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra.

Jaikaran had produced a recording of the telephone conversation between him and Navtej Singh in which the latter had assured the complainant of getting the certificate signed from the Civil Surgeon.

The PCMS Association has written to the Principal Secretary, Health, to conduct an inquiry into the case. In a press release issued by the association, it stated the incident has severely tarnished the image of medical fraternity in general and the office of Civil Surgeon in particular.

Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra has already denied the allegations and said he would get an inquiry conduced into the matter on his own.

Amritsar, December 12
The safai karamcharis, who were laid off by the Guru Nanak Dev University, and the university authorities reached a compromise after the later agreed to reinstate them, but only through a contractor.

After the workers agreed to the GNDU proposal, some stipulated guidelines pertaining to the salary structure and the duty time have been fixed with the contractor.

It has been unanimously decided that the safai karamcharis would be engaged at a monthly salary of Rs 5,200 after they get themselves registered with the Abohar-based contractor. Similarly, their duty hours have been shortened by an hour. Earlier, the duty hour was from 6.30 am to 5 pm, but now it would be from 7.30 am to 5 pm. Also the workers would have to report for attendance twice a day, instead of thrice a day as per the earlier practice.

The university has also assured the workers of absorbing them on the university rolls in a phased manner.

Confirming the development, Dr Inderjeet Singh, Registrar, GNDU said the issue has been amicably settled.

“Their services have been reinstated as they have agreed to come through the contractor engaged by the university for hiring workers,” he said.

Registrar Dr Inderjeet Singh said they have been assured to be absorbed in the university on a regular basis too.

As many as 55 daily-waged safai karamcharis observed a hunger strike for six days which ended on Tuesday. The university had replaced them with 50 new workers hired through the Abohar-based contractor.

Amritsar, December 12
With a view to maintain hygiene, the SGPC has introduced a packaging machine especially to pack the ‘pinni parshad’ introduced a couple of months ago at the Golden Temple.

Nevertheless, the new equipment known as Foam Feel Seal (FFS) machine has been manufactured by Bharat Industries Company, Noida. It has a capacity to pack at least 30 pinnis in a transparent poly packing.

SGPC spokesperson Kulwinder Singh said the machine worth Rs 1 lakh had been presented by Baba Narinder Singh and Baba Balwinder Singh, Gurdwara Sri Langar Sahib, Sri Hazur Sahib.

SGPC chief Avtar Singh switched on the machine after a customary ardas ceremony by Bhai Satnam Singh today.

Within a couple of months of its launch, ‘pinni parshad” has become a hit among devotees, as it tends to survive for a longer span as compared to the traditional ‘karrah parsad’. Prepared in desi ghee, the pinni parshad is made as per the Sikh traditions and packed after performing the ardas.

Pilgrims from far-off places used to complain that they could not take ‘parshad’ from the holy shrine for their near and dear ones which prompted the SGPC to launch the facility on the birth anniversary of Guru Ram Das on October 8.

The SGPC has opened separate counters for ‘pinni parshad’. Now, the devotees have two options. They can either take home ‘pinni parshad’ and a siropa for Rs 151 or they can get a packet of 80 gm of ‘pinni parshad’ for Rs 20.

There is a sale of around Rs 2 lakh daily at the ‘pinni parshad’ counter.

The machine Rs 1-lakh worth equipment, known as Foam Feel Seal (FFS) machine and manufactured by Bharat Industries Company, Noida, had been presented by Baba Narinder Singh and Baba Balwinder Singh, Gurdwara Sri Langar Sahib, Sri Hazur Sahib. The machine will help maintain hygiene The SGPC has opened separate counters for ‘pinni parshad’. Now, the devotees have two options. They can either take home ‘pinni parshad’ and a siropa for Rs 151 or they can get a packet of 80 gm of ‘pinni parshad’ for Rs 20

Amritsar, December 12
Deputy Commissioner Rajat Agarwal today dismissed Sukhraj Singh, a kanungo in the revenue department, following his conviction in a cheating case.

The Deputy Commissioner in a statement issued here said Sukhraj was booked by the Lopoke police on charges of cheating in 2004. A case under Sections 408, 409, 465, 467, 471, 420 and 120-B of the IPC was registered against him.

He said Sukhraj had prepared a faulty report pertaining to the compensation given to the beneficiary in lieu of the land that was taken under possession by the military for laying landmines.

Harvinder Singh Sindhia, Judicial Magistrate, Ajnala, had found Sukhraj guilty in September. The Judicial Magistrate sentenced him to one-year imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 200.

DC Rajat Agarwal said following his conviction and going by the facts in the report, he was dismissed from his service with an immediate effect.

Amritsar, December 12
The Regional Passport Office has decided to hold a lok adalat on December 15 to clear the pending cases before the work of accepting new passport applications is completely transferred to Passport Seva Kendra.

The kendra had started working on October 24, 2011, but the Regional Passport Office had allowed applicants to submit their applications with the office for the time being so as to shift the work in a phased manner.

The Regional Passport Office which caters to residents of nine districts was started in 2008. Regional Passport Officer JS Sodhi said, “We have around 1,500 applications which are pending for a long time. So before we migrate to the Kendra, we would clear all the applications.”

He said only those applications which were submitted at the Regional Passport Office and not at the Passport Seva Kendra would be taken up during the lok adalat.

“If applicants fail to appear on December 15, the pending cases would be closed and applicants would be instructed to apply afresh at the Passport Seva Kendra,” said Sodhi.

With the coming up of the kendra and the entire application process going online, issuance of passports has become less troublesome for the general public. The kendra in the past one year received 80,500 applications in which around 79,500 applications have been cleared. “We have issued around 60,000 passports to the applicants,” he said.

The Regional Passport Office has advised the general public against becoming a prey to touts and agents.

He also warned public against supplying fake documents. “We still are getting fake birth certificates. But we verify each and every certificate from the issuing authority. That way nothing illegal could pass our screening,” he said. 

Applications pending The Regional Passport Office has around 1,500 applications which are pending for a long time. So before we migrate to the Kendra, we would clear all the applications Only those applications which were submitted at the Regional Passport Office and not at the Passport Seva Kendra would be taken up during the lok adalat

Amritsar, December 12
Since theatre has probably been the most reliable ally of social revolution, its proximity with the issues affecting the masses is inevitable. Whether throwing stark realities right in your face or sugar coating them with some creative frills, theatre has always been right to the point.

Artistes stage a play, Yamlila, during the National Theatre Festival at Punjab Natshala in Amritsar on Wednesday. A Tribune photograph

And so Yamlila, the fifth play staged at the ongoing 10th National Theatre Festival, brought out the grim realities and a questionable improvement in the future of a democracy.

Bringing to stage a political satire, the play performed by Rammat Theatre Group of Jodhpur, talked about men and politics but through an animal. An elephant dies and goes to ‘yamlok’; has an interesting and profound conversation with the yamraj and that’s what makes the best moments of the one hour and forty minutes of the play.

“The central theme of our play was the democracy and how it pays when the people elect wrong representatives due to ignorance or personal interests. For the people, by the people has been reduced to just a catch phrase used to gain attention during elections, otherwise the democratic process has left many to question whether we are actually being democratically run?” shared Arjun Dev Charan, director and playwright of Yamlila.

The play uses katha as narration, and has the ghosts telling the stories of men. Using a lot of music and dance routines, and contrary to the belief, the ghosts are too scared to talk about men which show the underlying humour being used. As a play usually depicts the things lies ahead of imaginations, so is Yamlila. Through the main character of the play ‘hathi’, play conveys the agony of the present day’s world.

It is a tale of an elephant ‘hathi’, who dies an undue death because of the selfishness of men and his soul reaches the ‘Yamlok’, where he stimulate ‘yamraaj’ that one single politician of his country Bharat can be pernicious for yamraaj himself and his regime. Yamraaj appears to be interested in elephant’s challenge and bestow him with the perquisite that to prove his words right elephant can bring anybody alive to yamlok and take him back. Taking advantage of this boon, the elephant convinces one politician ‘daata’. The astute politician fabricates a strategy to defeat yamraaj and by evading the original one under a conspiracy, he himself captures the crown and squanders the rights of the chair of yamraaj. “The play first uses the character of an elephant explaining the problems being faced in a democracy. Greater havoc lies when a neta dies and goes to yamlok and the play further delves on the interactions between him and the yamraaj,” said Arjun.

This Yamlila sure had the audience thinking, with the tears in their eyes out of laughing. “No supreme power can do anything for this nation, until unless citizen themselves doesn’t stop electing the self centered leaders. Only men, the citizen, the folk can bring the change,” shared Arjun.

Amritsar, December 12
Amritsar Garrison will organise an ‘Army Mela’ on December 14 at Khasa Military Station to felicitate veer naris and the physically challenged veterans.

The mela will also help spread awareness on various welfare schemes launched by the Armed Forces for its veterans and dependents of the martyrs.

Naresh Vig, Defence PRO, said the mega event would have a special attraction for students who would get to witness state-of-the-art guns, tanks and aircraft. Besides, there would be skydiving, parasailing, Army dog show, a show on martial arts and a multimedia show on ‘Army’s way of life’ would be part of the fair. There are also plans to organise a medical camp for the sick and infirm.

Amritsar, December 12
For some it might just be a number, for many a prediction and for others it’s a day to have some fun. Thanks to the Mayans and some Hollywood films high on special effects, December 2012 started on a freaky note. Now, not sure whether Mayans were right in their predictions or they just wanted the world to remember them anyhow, we all are well aware of the “the world coming to an end this year’ stories.

And December 12, 2012 is just another addition in the long list of freaky or most awaited dates of the century.

Well, largely, there is not much to write about the day except for the fact that some believed it to be the day the world ends. From being an interesting combination of numbers to the last sequential date of the century, the day brought in a lot of curiosity amongst the citizens.

“It turned out be just another day for me, though some reports said it was the predicted apocalypse day. I guess, someone having their birthday on the day would be having a lot of fun as they would have a lot to talk about,” shared Smriti Arora, a student from GNDU.

People in many countries have taken the date seriously. Citizens in Tokyo were in for mass prayers on the day to ensure world peace considering the date to be lucky. Couples across the globe have gone out of their way to tie the knot on the day. According to a survey, 7,500 brides will be getting hitched in America – a 1,446 per cent increase from the less significant 12/12/11. The surge comes as no surprise, considering the sharp increases in marriages which took place on 11/11/11 and 10/10/10.

Amritsar, December 12
Following the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the city police today booked eight persons, including a deed writer, for allegedly defrauding a person by registering his land in the name of one of the accused persons.

Kuldip Singh, a resident of Chowk Laxmansar, in his statement to the police, said the accused made a fake agreement of his property in Kamboj village on May 2005. The accused registered his land in the name of Ramnik Kaur of Ranjit Avenue here.

Besides Ramnik Kaur, others booked were identified as Darshan Singh, his wife Jaswinder Kaur and their son Dharminder Pal Sigh of Gali Kamboj, Ramnik Kaur’s husband Ajit Singh, Dharam Singh of Ranjit Avenue, Harwinderpal Singh of Ibban Kalan village and Davinder Singh, the deed writer.

Tarsem Singh, the investigating officer, said a case under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against the eight. All the accused are absconding since the registration of a case.

Land case The eight allegedly cheated a man by registering his land in the name of one of the accused persons All the accused are absconding

Amritsar, December 12
A mega lok adalat would be organised in all the Judicial, Revenue, Consumer, Labour Courts in district on December 15.

District and Session Judge HS Madaan said Chief Justice of India and DK Jain, Judge, Supreme Court would inaugurate the lok adalat. Arjan Kumar Sikri, Chief Justice Punjab and Haryana High Court, would also be present at the occasion along with other judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“In this lok adalat all types of cases would be taken up for disposal,” said Madaan.

Large numbers of traffic challans, pre-litigative cases and other cases have already been disposed off in the pre-lok adalats. “In total 30 benches have been constituted at Amritsar, Ajnala and Baba Bakala,” he said.

Foundation stone of Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre would also be laid at the premises of District Courts, Amritsar. The Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre would include provision for mediation centre and Permanent Lok Adalat.

He said a legal-aid clinic would be opened at Khalsa College, Amritsar, in order to provide legal aid and advice to be students and public.

Grand event
A mega lok adalat will be organised in all the Judicial, Revenue, Consumer, Labour Courts in district

Amritsar, December 12
Dr Baldev Gambir, an eminent artist and professor at BBK DAV College for Women, organised a workshop as part of the ongoing refresher course on visual and performing arts in the Guru Nanak Dev University.

This refresher course is being organised by the Academic Staff College in association with the Department of Music of the university.

Dr Gambir, a national award winning painter, gave a demonstration through a landscape in oil colours.

The participants belonged to various disciplines like music, cosmetology and sculpture etc. Demonstration techniques used by the artist were much appreciated by all the participants.

Dr Gurpreet Kaur, course coordinator and head of the department, honoured Dr Gambir with a memento on behalf of the university.