Amritsar, February 16
The Employees State Insurance (ESI) Hospital on Majitha road is flouting guidelines by burning biomedical waste inside the hospital premises.

The waste includes cotton, gloves, masks, bandages and other surgical items.

The large heap of burnt biomedical waste testifies that the employees responsible for segregation and handling of the waste generated at the hospital are not following the guidelines properly.

Even unburnt biomedical waste was found lying in the open.

Any waste which originates during diagnosis, treatment, or immunisation of human beings as well as animals is considered biomedical waste.

All the hospitals are required to place separate baskets or bins for segregating the waste generated at out patient departments (OPDs) or operation theatres at the premises. These wastes are them sent to incinerators for their proper disposal.

A visitor to the hospital, Balwant Singh said it was highly inappropriate on the part of a government hospital to work in such a manner. “Biomedical wastes are known to be dangerous for humans and animals,” he said.

Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra said biomedical waste should be disposed of as per rules. He said all the private and government health institutions should segregate and dispose material in required manner to evade action. 

The large heap of burnt biomedical waste testifies that the employees responsible for segregation and handling of the waste generated at the hospital are not following the guidelines properly. 

The Civil Surgeon says biomedical waste should be disposed of as per rules.

As per the notification issued by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest under the Environment Protection Act, also known as Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, biomedical waste cannot be mixed with other wastes. The guidelines state that the biomedical waste needs to be segregated in different types at the point of generation prior to its disposal. 

Amritsar, February 16
A man, whose younger brother ended his life in mid-January, has accused the Government Railway Police of inaction in the abetment to suicide case, in which their eldest brother is the prime accused.

Sunil Kumar, a resident of Gali Aave wali, Gate Bhagtanwala was beaten up by his eldest brother (Pawan Kumar) and his two sons (Ajay Kumar and Vikas Kumar) in full public view. Humiliated over the incident, Sunil committed suicide by jumping in front of a train near the Shivala railway crossing on January 17.

Though the GRP has registered a case, it could not trace the three accused so far. The deceased’s brother, Ramesh Kumar, who has come out against the GRP, alleged that firstly the police tried its best not to register an FIR. “When it has finally registered a case under Section 306 of the IPC against Pawan Kumar and his two sons, it has failed to arrest the accused,” Ramesh added. The family had even filed a complaint to the IG against the SHO of the GRP police station.

Dharminder Kalyan, SHO, said the police had raided several hideouts to nab the accused, but had not tasted success so far. “That is why we asked the deceased’s family, who are in a better position to know about their relatives, to help trace the accused. We are also facing problems as mobile phones of the accused were found to be switched off,” said Kalyan.

Amritsar, February 16
Staff crunch at Amritsar Railway Station has hit services. Railway employees at the station have been coping with high number of trains and limited number of platforms. A widening gap between demand and supply of manpower has resulted in commuters’ ire directed towards local railway employees.

The railway station has been witnessing departure and arrival of 128 trains daily. However, it has only six platforms, namely one to five and 1A. Passengers regularly complain that trains being stopped at nearby railway stations in wait for a vacant platform. A daily passenger Nishan Singh said trains are frequently halted at nearby stations awaiting clearance of platforms.

The city of Golden Temple receives tourists and pilgrims from across the country and all over the world. On an average, daily footfall of passengers is over 26,500 at the railway station.

To ensure smooth flow of movement of trains, yards provide backup service to the operations of the railway station as the staff posted over there overhauls trains to prepare them afresh to undertake long journey. As many as 30 positions are lying vacant over there. Against the sanctioned strength of 110 employees, it has got 80 workers only. It has got only four yard masters against the sanctioned six. There is a shortage of two shunting masters as only eight of them are available.

Highest shortage is of shunt man and pointsman. Against the sanctioned strength of 42, only 22 are presently working while 20 seats are lying vacant. Following this, there are six vacancies of cabin men against sanctioned 23 positions. For shunting (moving) of a train between the railway station and the yard, two shunt men and a shunt master are required. Scarcity of employees at this level infringes safety of trains. A number of times trains have derailed while shunting.

The reservation branch, which handles serpentine queues of public, has seven vacant positions while sanctioned positions are 34. Keeping in view public pressure, the railway administration has two shifts from 8 am to 2 pm and evening shift from 2 pm to 10 pm.

There are 16 goods guards against the sanctioned strength of 19 and 16 mail express guards are available against the sanctioned 18.

Similarly, six box porters (Class IV employees who place and take out boxes containing travel documents in trains) are available against the sanctioned nine.

Divisional Railway Manager, Northern Railway’s Ferozepur division, Naresh Chander Goel said “We have been recruiting employees regularly as per the requirement. The present shortage of manpower in no way hampers main operations.”

Amritsar, February 16
Dr Shyam Sunder Deepti, a professor at the Government Medical College, has made his daughter’s upcoming wedding a dream come true for her literally. The special occasion has been made meaningful by becoming probably the first wedding in the city to be a literary celebration of two families rather than an extravagant affair, something Punjabi weddings are known for.

“I always wanted a simple wedding, something that is a celebration and not an event. I thought about it as a celebration of togetherness rather than a money show. And that’s exactly what my father has planned for me,” says 28-year-old Ritu, a doctor by profession, who will be tying the knot on February 23.

The wedding invite itself is an example, a complete package with the card replacing the word ‘wedding’ with ‘celebration of togetherness’, along with two books on relationships as gifts.

The function will not have the usual grand affair, but a small traditional ceremony accompanied by literary programmes. “We will welcome the guests with poetry and folk performances by artists, honour every guest by making them share the stage to express their thoughts and the return gift would be potted plants,” says Shyam Sunder, father of the bride.

The extravagant ceremonies, gifts and all the hoopla surrounding a big fat Punjabi wedding never impressed Shyam and his family.

“I am a writer myself and written extensively against the meaningless show off that weddings have been turned into. It is indeed a special occasion for the entire family, but it should be memorable for the right reasons,” he shares.

While his family was always in for the simple, subtle celebration, it was a task to bring the groom’s family in the loop as well. “Of course, nobody would jump at the idea of a literature-laden wedding ceremony. But once we made them understand the importance and the message being sent across, they agreed to it,” says Sunder.

The young bride too is eagerly looking forward to the D-day.

“The common justification given for extravagant weddings is that it’s a once in a lifetime event and should be made special by spending as much as one could. I think differently. It is a once in a lifetime event, so why make it all about money.”

The ceremony would also have poetry recitations, sharing of ideas by guests and folk performances by bhands and marasis. “Weddings should bring two families together and we aim to do that by letting our guests from both sides share ideas and feelings between them. Celebrations should mean something, not just eat, drink and dance,” says Shyam.

Well, if the uber-rich could define weddings with luxury, Shyam Sunder’s attempt would definitely inspire some to re-define the term. 

Amritsar, February 16
The Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) has decided to approach Union Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to control mounting losses of the Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport.

AVM patron Dr Charanjit Singh Gumtala said the decision was taken during a meeting of the manch held here today. “Members of the manch felt that the potential of the Amritsar Airport to be turned into a profitable entity are being squandered away,” he quipped. He lamented lack of will of the authorities to turn its fortunes around.

The AVM believes that the adoption of hub and spoke system is not compatible with Indian conditions. “The hub and spoke system, which is not suitable to Indian conditions, has been copied from the US. The US has a considerable high population who travel by air. This enables all big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Atlanta to serve as hubs and the smaller cities to serve as spoke stations.

The national carrier Air India replaced direct New Delhi-Amritsar-London flight with the hub and spoke system a few years ago. He said it did not prove beneficial and moreover it had caused the Amritsar Airport’s income to dwindle further.

The Amritsar Airport enjoys a unique strategic location. Nearly two and a half million people from the districts surrounding this airport are settled in Great Britain, Canada and the United States. Amritsar is fully capable of generating three hundred passengers for each of the cities of Birmingham, Toronto, Vancouver and London, said Prof Mohan Singh, a member of the manch.

“A domestic carrier is not operating the flights to other countries. As per the American rule of thumb if a plane can be in the air for 15 out of 24 hours, and it carries 80 per cent passenger load, it can never lose money. Direct flights between Amritsar-London take 20 hours and could be highly profitable, but none of the Indian aviation company is taking advantage of these lucrative routes,” he said.

Amritsar, February 16
As many as 123 patients were screened and advised treatment on the first day of the two-day workshop for ENT specialists. The event is being organised by the All-India Pingalwara Charitable Society.

Society vice-president Dr Jagdeepak Singh said 16 cases, which would require cochlear implants in the near future, were also screened by Dr JM Hans, who is a personal physician to the Prime Minister.

The screening was done as part of the two-day continuing medical education programme for medical fraternity approved by the Punjab Medical Council.

Other ENT specialists who examined patients included Dr Chander Mohan, head of ENT Department Bareilly; Dr Ashok Gupta, head of ENT PGI; Dr Iqbal Dhanju from Canada; Dr Nitin; Dr Dharinder Kushwaha; and Dr Jagdeepak and Dr Renu from Government Medical College. 

Amritsar, February 16
The District Legal Services Authority organised a blood donation camp at the District Court Complex here today.

About 100 units of blood were collected at the camp. Speaking on the occasion, District and Sessions Judge HS Madaan said the purpose of holding of such a camp was to help a person in need of the blood.

HS Madaan, who set an example for others, was the first to donate blood. Judicial officers, staff members and district attorneys also followed him.

Amritsar, February 16
For most NRIs and their kids, coming to India is about connecting to their roots. But if you agree with Vishvinder Sood, than this might not be the case. “Most NRI kids are reluctant to come to India as they think it is not clean,” said the environmentalist.

The Ludhiana-bred businessman, who is now based in the USA and is known for his environment related activities, has taken upon himself to create awareness about getting our cities clean. “We have to be conscious and responsible for our own home’s cleanliness. We have no one to be blamed for the neglect of our surroundings but ourselves,” he said.

Participating in eco-friendly activities and initiating a cleanliness drive in the city, Sood’s visit to India is a mission. “We have selected five cities in Punjab where we will go with our mission and campaign. We plan to involve people to keep their cities clean and green.”

He has been working towards the cause for the past seven years now. “India loses out to Europe in tourist inflow despite being such a large and diverse country only because we do not present ourselves as a clean country. The Taj Mahal gets 5 to 6 lakh tourists a year and the Eiffel Tower a whooping 50 lakh. Only because most tourists are reluctant to come here, given our neglect for cleanliness and public hygiene,” Sood added.

He also stated that if public hygiene and overall cleanliness of the country is improved we could earn 23 billion dollars more in form of tourism revenue.

Sood would interact and visit more schools and institutions in Amritsar and educate youngsters about cleanliness. 

Amritsar, February 16
The two-day 58th sports and athletic meet of DAV College was inaugurated at its sports ground here today. Players and athletes lit the torch and took an oath to be honest, sincere and dedicated sports persons. They also took out a march past.

College principal Dr KN Kaul declared the meet open. On this occasion, the chief guest Sajjan Singh Cheema, Arjuna Awardee and Superintendent of Police, unfurled the sports flag.

Amritsar, February 16
The Amritsar rural police along with industries department officials impounded two trucks carrying sand, excavated from the Ravi river belt area.

The drivers of the two trucks fled the scene after detecting the police party. They left their trucks behind. Each truck was carrying 300 square feet of sand.

The industries department officials got a tip-off following which Ravinder Kumar, the mining officer, along with other department officials and a police team started patrolling the area.

The patrolling party saw two trucks carrying sand near Khanwal. When they signaled them to stop the truck, the drivers of the trucks ran away leaving the trucks at the spot.

Charan Singh, investigating officer, said the police had launched investigations to identify the drivers and owners of the truck.

The industries department along with the police impounded a truck and a tractor trailer on February 10 and 10 trucks on February 3.