Amritsar, January 1
One person died while three others, including a woman, were injured in a blast that occurred in a gas kit, fitted in a car parked at a house at Kot Khalsa in the Sarkaria Patti locality this evening.

The deceased has been identified as Jatinder Singh (45). The injured have been identified as Jatinder's wife Gurpreet Kaur (40), his mother Gursharan Kaur (60) and his driver Anil Kumar (30). They have admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital.

The doctors attending on the patients said the injured received 40 to 50 per cent burns and their condition was stable.

It is learnt that the deceased was repairing the Maruti van's gas kit which had a leakage. There was no electricity in the house at that time. As soon as the electricity returned, there was a severe blast in the car. It is believed that there were some loose electrical wires which led to a spark and became the cause of the blast.

Jatinder died on the spot. Other family members and his driver present in the house received burns.

Fire official Anil Luthra said three fire tenders were sent. "But by the time, we reached the spot, the fire had already extinguished," he said.

Ashwani Kumar, in charge, Chheharta police, said further investigation was going on. "We have sent the body for the post-mortem examination. The statements of the injured will be recorded tomorrow", he said.

Jatinder Singh, the deceased Electric spark leads to blast in gas kit Jatinder Singh (45) was killed and his wife Gurpreet Kaur (40), mother Gursharan Kaur (60) and driver Anil Kumar (30) were injured following a blast in a gas kit fitted in a car parked at his house in Sarkaria Patti locality. It is learnt that the deceased was repairing the Maruti van's gas kit which had a leakage. There was no electricity in the house at that time. As soon as the electricity returned, there was a severe blast in the car. It is believed that there were some loose electrical wires which led to a spark and became the cause of the blast

Amritsar, January 1
A rickshaw puller died on the spot after a bus hit the rickshaw near Hall Gate. The police has registered a case against the driver of the private bus under Sections 279, 304-A and 427 of the IPC. The bus belonging to Pyar Sandhu Bus Service was involved in the accident. “The driver of the bus had hit the rickshaw from the rear side which resulted in death of a rickshaw puller near Anjuman Park. The bus driver is absconding.

bus Driver absconding
The driver of a bus, belonging Pyar Sandhu Bus Service, has been booked. The accused is absconding

Amritsar, January 1
A patwari has been booked for allegedly perpetrating fraud with the government

In a case pertaining to the ancestral property belonging to a city resident, patwari Rajinder Kumar has been accused of not depositing the requisite fee, known as copy fee, concerning the property deed, which otherwise was also utilised for wrong reasons.

Rajinder Kumar has been absconding.

A case under Section 409 of the IPC has been registered against him with the Civil Lines police station on the basis of complaint lodged by Sunil Kumar Mallan.

Mallan alleged that the patwari in connivance with several other persons helped them mortgage our ancestral property located in Bagh Rama Nand area on frivolous papers. These persons raised loans from a bank on property documents, he further alleged.

“The patwari was posted at Patwar Circle no 107 between November 2003 and October 2004. He had issued many copies of the record to the other persons, who further misutilised the property papers for raising loans from banks. I had filed an RTI plea with the Revenue Department to know if the Patwari had deposited the requisite fee or not. But it was that the patwari deposited the government fee. The reply obtained by me was enough for the police to register a case of embezzlement against him”, he said. — TNS

Amritsar, January 1
City residents will have to witness unscheduled power cuts for some more days as Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials say they are not getting adequate supply from power plants.

Darshan Singh Goraya, who is running an industrial unit at Old Focal Point, said a three-hour power cut was a regular feature in the area despite it falling under category-II feeder. He said these outages were causing financial losses to industrialists as the investment was increasing while output was going down. He said they were not able to meet the supply targets due to the power cuts.

Kamal Dalmia, a yarn manufacturer, said the investment cost had increased as many manufacturers were forced to run their machines on generator sets. A unit of power worth Rs 6 costs Rs 12 (approx) through a generator. Moreover, Dalmia said, not all manufactures could afford to install generators as a 15-kVA set costed nearly Rs 90,000.

Electricity Department officials said the main reason for the cuts was the shortage in the power supply from the generation end. However, residents said the authorities could at least inform them about the cuts in advance so that they could be prepared accordingly. They said the erratic power supply had thrown their life out of gear. To make matters worst, the authorities have no information as to when the situation would become normal.

A medical professional said he said it affected treatment of patients as vital machines had to be run on generators. The president of the Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association, APS Chatha, said the hotel industry had to rely completely on generators to ensure facilities to customers. He said while the rent of a room remained the same, their expenditure increased due to power cuts.

Chief Engineer (Border Range) Sudeep Singh Sandhu said the department was not getting the expected power supply from the arrangements made out of tie-ups. Besides, he said, the power supply situation --- be it distribution of power or setting schedules --- was controlled by the PSPCL headquarters at Patiala and that they were just mediators. He admitted that there was an increase in the demand for power due to plummeting temperatures but expressed helplessness in managing the situation.

official speak
The department is not getting the expected power supply from the arrangements made out of tie-ups. Besides, the power supply situation --- be it distribution of power or setting schedules --- is controlled by the PSPCL headquarters at Patiala and that we are just mediators. I admit that there is an increase in the demand for power due to plummeting temperatures but we are helpless in managing the situation

— Sudeep Singh Sandhu, Chief Engineer (Border Range)

Amritsar, January 1
Despite being the second largest educational district in the state with 35 clusters, Amritsar’s government schools faired badly in senior secondary examinations of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) with not even a single student making it to the state merit list.

Even from government-aided and private schools here, only 10 students made it to the merit list, which includes 306 students.

On the other hand, students from Ludhiana, the largest educational district in the state, made a clean sweep with157 of them making it to the merit list. These include those who bagged the top nine positions.

The number of students in Amritsar district decreased from 1.39 lakh in 2011 to 1.05 lakh this year in secondary schools even as the infrastructure was upgraded BY setting up 419 rooms. As many as 3,554 rooms were available in 2011 which swelled to 3,973 rooms this year.

Meanwhile, the number of posts of teachers lying vacant rose from 1,162 in 2011 to 1,304 this year here.

There are about 420 schools providing secondary education --- 90 senior secondary schools, 105 high schools, 147 middle schools, 77 middle schools being run under the Sarv Sikhya Abhiyan and one under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Sikhya Abhiyan.

However, there are many middle and senior secondary schools in rural areas with deficient staff strength. For instance, Government Senior Secondary School, Khalchian, has nearly 700 students in 10+1 and 10+2 but has a dearth of English, Punjabi, science and mathematics teachers.

Elementary education in this border district, too, was not in a good state of affairs this year with around 1,000 posts of teachers and headmasters lying vacant.

Moreover, out of 865 schools in this segment, many are being run from rented buildings. For instance, Government Elementary School, Sharifpura, is being run from a dilapidated building which was built in the pre-partition era. In another glaring instance, three government schools, an anganwari centre and a block elementary education office (Amritsar-1) are functioning under one roof from an old and a dilapidated building at Mahna Singh road. 

Amritsar, January 1
A woman has come out against a private clinic accusing it of fleecing her by charging Rs 1.5 lakh for “a surgery which was not required at all”.

In a press conference here, Gurcharan Kaur, the patient, said she had a problem of secretion from her nose for which she went to the clinic on the Batala road. She alleged that instead of treating her disease, the doctors at the clinic committed a fraud with her by performing a surgery which was not required.

She alleged that her medical problem worsened after the surgery. “The doctors at the clinic repeatedly assured me of successful results, but nothing positive happened,” she said.

Kaur claimed, “As we approached another doctor after a year of the surgery, we got to know that there was no need for a surgery and disease was curable with the help of medicines.”

Activists of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Naujwan Sabha, who were present at the conference, said if the doctor failed to refund the entire money by January 8, they would gherao the hospital.

Baldev Singh Pandoori of the sabha said, “A delegation had gone to meet the doctors after the matter was reported to them. But the doctors did not give them a satisfactory reply.” 

Amritsar, January 1
A bad season for asthmatic and cardiac patients, winters increase the chances of strokes among people, said medical experts.

“In winter, low temperatures cause blood vessels to contract which may result in 10-20 per cent rise in the blood pressure that may lead to bursting of blood vessels in the brain, especially among hypertensive patients,” says Dr Uppal, a city-based neurologist. He says there is a rise of 10-15 percent in stroke cases in winter.

He says in this season, people increase the intake of alcohol, cigarettes and drugs, which also increases pressure on the brain arteries, causing them to burst and cause stroke.

The neurologist says another important cause of a stroke is the excessive formation of blood clots, which clog the little blood vessels of the brain cutting the blood and oxygen supply due to which brain cells become dead. He says reasons of excessive clot formation in winter include slow blood circulation, consumption of high energy fatty foods rich in saturated fats and cholesterol.

The season is more dangerous for middle-aged and old people, who have stroke-risk factors like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. The signs of a possible stroke include sudden change in speech, numbness, weakness of one half of the body or severe headache. Experts advise rushing the patient to a doctor in such a case. 

STROKE PREVENTION IN WINTER Keep your BP and diabetes under control Avoid consuming high energy fatty foods if you have high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides Stay active to improve blood circulation but avoid early morning and late evening walks Avoid alcohol and cigarettes Keep yourself snug by wearing more layers of clothing