The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	City slum dwellers to get better housing Team of Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation visits city and interacts with MC authorities GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 In its efforts to remove the deficiencies in housing and basic services to the urban poor, a team from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation today visited the holy city and interacted with the local civic authorities. The regional project coordinator of the Rajiv Awaas Yojna, Dr Khatibullah Sheikh, who was in the city to gauge the ground realities regarding the notified slum areas prevailing in the holy city, said it was a continuous endeavour of the Central Government to raise the living bar of those underprivileged citizens who were deprived of the basic necessities of housing, infrastructure and other civic amenities. In a meeting held with councillors as well as Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora, the issue of the shortcomings being faced in providing conducive atmosphere to live to the residents of slum areas was discussed. The Rajiv Awaas Yojna was a Centre-sponsored scheme, which would be implemented in collaboration with the state and Local Bodies authorities after identifying the slum areas and understanding the concerns and aspirations of the urban poor. Many slum pockets were found to be more than 20 years’ old and the second generation of slum dwellers continued to live in such poor conditions. The basic idea was to raise their standard of living by giving them a reasonable quality of life to bring them to the mainstream. There were around 63 notified slum pockets in the holy city. In some slum areas, there was no individual water connection and slum dwellers purchased water from vendors, which was costly. In some of the slums women had to stand in long queues for using public stand posts. The incidents of mixing of waste water with drinking water due to leakage of sewers were also reported. The waste water collection and disposal system in slums was highly inadequate and people managed with soak pits. Soak pits often got chocked leading to extremely unhygienic environment in crowded slum areas. During monsoons, a large amount of waterlogging occured in these areas. The majority of internal roads in some slums were earthen and not engineered. There was hardly any streetlight facility available in slum areas. Similarly, on the social front, there was no common open space, no playground or activity centre for children. The slum areas were highly vulnerable to disasters, especially incidents of fire. The chances of disease outbreaks were also high in these slum areas due to constant exposure to unhygienic conditions. Dr Sheikh said the 50 per cent grant would be allocated by the Centre and 50 per cent would be the liability of the state. “It would be the prerogative of the state government to include the local bodies in fructifying the project. However, the norm says that the beneficiary’s contribution would be just 10-12 per cent, but only for the construction of houses. Not a single penny can be asked from the beneficiary for providing infrastructure, which included roads, streetlights, sewerage or water supply,” said Dr Shiekh. “We will be selecting the slum pockets in the holy city and after studying their requirements and deficiencies the residents face, a detailed report will be prepared and sent to the ministry. We have selected two slum pockets at present where a household survey will be conducted by our team and after carrying out this visual observation survey, we will be applying for the grant from the ministry, which will help the slum dwellers provide cheaper houses and better living conditions,” city Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said.
	Janani Sishu Surakhsha Yojna Civil Hospital decides to change contractor Serving of poor-quality food to new mothers Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 Following complaints of serving poor-quality food to female patients admitted to the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital for child deliveries, the management has decided to change the contractor from December 16. The decision has been taken following a series of complaints from the patients regarding substandard food items being served to them. The complaints included that the contractor hired by the department earlier also did not follow the diet chart prescribed by the Health Department. The free meal scheme was initiated in the district in September under the Janani Sishu Surakhsha Yojna (JSSY). For the patients with normal deliveries the diet includes early morning tea, breakfast, hot milk along with sprouts, poha or biscuits before lunch, lunch, evening tea and dinner. While for the patients with caesarian deliveries a separate diet schedule is followed during their course of stay at the hospital. As per the scheme, the free meals are to be given to mothers for three days after a cesarean delivery and two days after a normal delivery. The hospital management had formed a committee to probe into the complaints about the poor-quality food being served, which has recommended for the change of the contractor. The hospital spends Rs 100 on the meals of every such patient in a day. Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon said, “We had received numerous complaints about the matter. After which a committee was formed.” He said the contractor was repeatedly asked to improve the quality of food, which he failed to do. He said a new contractor would be assigned the work from December 16. The hospital would ensure that high nutrient food was served to the patients as per the available diet chart.
	Love of nature Local businessman keen on making city clean and green Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 For most, red symbolises the colour of love. But for the city-based businessman Yogesh Aneja, everyday walk through the rose garden in the city made him fall in love with nature’s beauty. “My love with the nature started about five years ago and it prompted me to plan a terrace garden at my home. I have seen people offering flowers at religious places, where later they lay wasted. I wanted people to understand that plucking flowers doesn’t please god. Instead, saving nature and nurturing it does,” said Aneja. His terrace garden boasts of full blooms of chrysanthemum, dahlia, marigold, 12 varieties of roses and many other rare plants. “It is a spiritual garden with landscapes and touch of nature. It’s an amazing site when the flowers are swarmed by bees, butterflies and birds,” he said. He makes it a point to devote his time and attention to the flowers that are not seasonal. “Winters are not a good time for dahlias to bloom, but I have full blooms in my garden. Every plant needs care like a child. They too become healthy when treated with respect and care,” he said. Aneja, who transformed his hobby into a professional task and considers gardening meditative, is now ready to take up the challenge of turning the now neglected rose garden in city into a nature’s bounty. “I have been asked by Punjab Cabinet minister Anil Joshi to take charge of the rose garden. The city has a lot of open spaces minus greenery. I will make sure that our garden spaces are colourful, healthy and green with rare varieties of plants. I want to create a bond between people and plants. It is my sole wish at the moment to turn Amritsar into a clean, green and beautiful place," he said.
	Advocates allege favouritism in allotment of chambers Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 Controversy surrounds the allotment of new chambers to advocates at the newly built chambers’ complex after a faction of advocates have levelled allegations of favouritism in the allotment of chambers. The faction of advocates, led by senior advocate VK Dhand, has started a protest outside the court complex demanding reallocation of chambers to the deserving advocates. The advocates’ protest entered the fourth day today. Talking to The Tribune, Dhand said, “Around 30 advocates, who deserved and whose chambers were acquired for clearing the land for mini-secretariat, has failed to find place in the new complex.” The district administration in order to get a place for mini-secretariat has built the chambers complex following instructions of the Building Committee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. During the preliminary survey, it was found that around 138 advocates would have to be displaced for clearing the land. The new complex was built with 140 chambers. Dhand complained that as per rules, the chambers were to be allotted to advocates by a committee, including the Deputy Commissioner and District and Sessions Judge. Dhand said they met the Deputy Commissioner and District and Sessions Judge and requested them to set the matter right. He alleged that chambers were allotted by the Bar Association president, Pradeep Kumar Saini, without consulting the two senior officials. Dhand alleged that while chambers had been allotted to non-practicing advocates, besides those who had not applied for them in the first place, the deserving advocates had been left out. He added that the protest would continue till the grievances of the advocates were redressed.
	J&K resident arrested for illegal mining Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 The city police has arrested a Jammu and Kashmir resident, Manohar Lal, and seized a truck laden with sand from him. As the excavation of sand has been banned by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Mining Department has adopted tough measure to deal with illegal mining. He has been booked on the statements of Parshotam Kumar, General Manager-cum Mining Officer, District Industry Centre, and recovered a truck laden with sand from his possession. A case under Section 21 of the Mining Mineral Act-1957 and Section 379 of the IPC has been registered against him. The Rambagh police said it was investigating the case to find the place from where the sand was excavated.
	Stage set for ‘Mr Singh’ contest GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 Dedicated to the "turban pride movement", the Akaal Purakh Ki Fauj (APKF), a voluntary organiSation, has endeavoured to organise Mr Singh International 2012 to generate awareness about Sikhism globally. As the countdown begins, the contestants have fully geared up to showcase their skills during the finale scheduled for December 16 at Guru Harkrishan Public School, Ranjit Avenue, here. If the organisers are to be believed, they might get a chance to rub shoulders with the Bollywood stars Jackie Shroff, Juhi Chawla and director-producer Madhur Bhandarkar on the ramp, as they have consented to be the guest of honour in the event. Right from performing bhangra to cooking a sumptuous meal, the competition saw all the 26 finalists impressing the panel of judge which included Jaspal Singh Sehgal, Grasim Mr India 2003; Dalbir Singh, director and producer; Parmeet Singh, Mr Singh International 2007; and Harinderpal Singh, assistant excise and taxation commissioner. "The talent show is an important aspect to highlight the overall personality of the contestants to build their confidence. Despite this, the winner will pocket Rs 1 lakh prize money; the runners-up would be getting Rs 51,000 and Rs 31,000, respectively. Besides this, the titles like 'best physique', 'best smile' and 'best dress' would also be conferred upon to the contestants," said Jaswinder Singh Advocate, organiser and president, Akal Purakh Ki Fauj. The spokesperson Jaswinder Singh Jassi said, "The basic idea was to catch the fancy of Sikh youth towards Sikh symbols. Otherwise, now majority of them have been detaching themselves from the religious values by shredding off their turbans. One must not compromise on their cultural identity for making it big in the glamour world. "Today, almost all the big Bollywood stars have attained popularity by donning themselves in a Sikh character in the lead role, be it Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sunny Deol Akshay Kumar and now recently Ajay Devgan," said Jaswinder. "We are providing them a platform to make their career in films and commercial entertaining ventures," said Jassi. Meanwhile, the Sikhs who earned name in different disciplines too, include Raj Pal Singh, the hockey Olympian; Gurpreet Singh (Rabi Shergill), the world renowned Sufi singer; Suneet Singh, revolutionary in Information and Technology field; Bhai Gurmej Singh, who transcripted Sri Guru Granth Sahib in Braille; Navkiran Singh Advocate, human and Sikh rights activist; Davinder Pal Singh for achieving runners-up title in Indian Idol 2012; Satdeep Singh for making remarkable films on Sikh issues; Sukhwinder Singh for performing duty with responsibility and saving lives and Dr AP Singh for managing state of the art medical college for the Panth.
	FDI to dominate PTU's International Conference on December 15-16 Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 The contentious issue of Direct Foreign Investment (FDI) is all set to dominate `First International Conference on Marketing in Emerging Economies’, being organised by Punjab Technical University (PTU) here on December 15 and 16 at Radison Blue Hotel. World top economists are expected to address the conference where more than 60 research papers on the economy of the world and its challenges would be discussed. PTU Associate Professor and Head Department of Management, Jalandhar, said the conference was being organised in collaboration of Kenan-Flagler Business School of University of North Carolina (UNC), USA. She said, “It is part of PTU’s endeavor to impart quality education to students and make the theoretical knowledge applicable to socio-economic milieu in the society.” Professor Jan-Benedict Steenkamp from UNC, USA, who will be delivering his key note address said India was emerging as the major economic power and every country’s interest world over is to see the development taking place in Indian economy. He said, “No doubt the FDI issue would be one of the primary concerns during the deliberations.” “A 60 high-impact research papers of academics of great repute from over 10 countries, including USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Turkey apart from some of the best business schools of India. A workshop on “How to publish in top-tier journals” will be conducted by Professor Steenkamp of UNC on December 16. This workshop will detail out ways and methods of publishing research papers in A-star journals world-wide. Researchers in the area of management and marketing will learn how to build theory and conceptualise their research work from gaps in literature and present it in manner that increases its publishing value. This workshop will be open to all pre-registered delegates, academics and research scholars for the conference. On-the-spot registration is open for participants. The conference will be preceded by two parallel one-day events on December 14. A Faculty Development Program (FDP) on “Basics of Structural Equation Modeling” will be conducted by Professor Sanjit Kumar Roy of Coventry University, UK, who will give hands-on experience of this complex 3rd generation research technique used in psychological and behavioral sciences. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with latent variables has become one of the widely used techniques for investigating complex causal relationships in business and social research.
	Animal fair gets underway at Vallah Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 An animal fair was inaugurated today at Vallah by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu today. During the fair, in various competitions, around 48 categories of milch and pet animals would be participating. Dr Sidhu said winners would be given cash awards amounting to Rs 5.50 lakh. During the dog show held today, best dog awards were won by the pets of Gagan, Amit Kesar and Gurinder Singh. During the buffalo show, best buffalo awards were won by the animals of Jang Bahadur and Sardool Singh. Dr Sidhu said, “Government is planning to set up a state of art veterinary services clinics in district.” She said, “The aim of organising such competitions is to encourage farmers to adopt breeding and cultivation of animals to supplement their incomes.”
	Iranian Sports Minister extends hand for Sikh entrepreneurs Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 The Sports Minister of Iran, Dr Mohammad Abbasi, has invited Sikh entrepreneurs to Iran to establish their businesses and assured that the Iran government would help the aspirants in every aspect. Dr Abbasi, accompanied by other Iranian officials and Iran Embassy delegates, was in the holy city to pay obeisance at Golden Temple. While interacting with the SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, Dr Abbasi said the Iran government has already given relaxation in inducting the Sikh citizens in the Army and now the government is all keen to open doors for the Sikh industrialist to expand their businesses in Iran. SGPC Chief also apprised the visiting delegates about the rich Sikh heritage and history. Meanwhile, PS Chandok, vice-president of Indo-Iran Chamber of Commerce, who was among the delegates, also apprised the SGPC chief about the problems being faced by the NRI's in getting visa for India and urged him to have a dialogue with the government to ease the visa formalities. Reacting to it, the SGPC chief assured that the matter would be communicated to the Central ministry through the state ministry officials on priority basis. The SGPC officials presented them with a gold plated portrait of Golden Temple and religious books.
	Chandrakala pays obeisance at Golden Temple Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 Playback singer Chandrakala Singh paid obeisance at Golden Temple, today. Recently, she sang a song for the film Khiladi 786, hoor pari, along with Javed Ali, Shreya Ghoshal and Harshdeep Kaur. Chandrakala had first received acknowledgement for her song, ‘sohni de nakhre shone lagde’, in the film Partner. In Mausam, released last year, she contributed in the song ‘aya lario ni tera sehrea wala’ along with Mika Singh. “My childhood was spent in this holy city. I have missed this city for years as I was struggling in Mumbai for the past 10 years,” said Singh disclosing that her father was posted in the District Public Relation Office here. Born in Batala, her parents later settled in Tarn Taran town.