Amritsar, February 22
Years of apathy, which runs deep in official circles, almost left two students of a government school dead.

Two students, Malkiat and Hardeep, of Government Elementary School, Mustafabad, were seriously injured as one of them came into contact with high-tension wires passing over the rooftop of the school building. The other was injured while trying to save his friend.

Going by the head teacher, the school had repeatedly asked the erstwhile Punjab State Electricty Board, and now Punjab State Power Corporation Limited to shift the wires to some safer place, but every request fell in deaf ears.

Even now when two days have gone since the incident happened, no representative from the district administration, Powercom or political parties has bothered to take stock of the situation or meet the injured students.

So far, only school’s head teacher Gurbaksh Singh has visited the houses of two primary students, Malkiat and Hardeep.

On February 20, four students, Hardeep, Gurpreet, Malkiat and Ajay, playing on the rooftop of an adjacent building were attracted to the music being played by the DJ during the annual function at the under-construction school.

They crossed over the wall of the building to reach the school's rooftop. But Malkiat did not notice the high-tension wires and was pulled by these wires. Though two other boys ran away from the spot seeing Malkiat trembling with shock, Hardeep showed courage and pulled Malkiat back to the rooftop. But in the process, Hardeep fell 10 feet down from the roof to the ground floor.

While Hardeep sustained injuries on his back and head, Malkiat got injuries in his legs and right hand.

Belonging to economically weaker families, both of the students are under treatment at a private clinic located near their houses. Hardeep's father Sukhwinder Singh is a daily-wager and his mother Balwinder works as a domestic help. Malkiat's father Bakshish Singh is a rickshaw puller and mother Harjit Kaur works as a domestic help.

Head teacher Gurbaksh Singh said Hardeep displayed courage and did not care about his safety while trying to save Malkiat.

He said he had written to the authorities to shift the wires from its present location. Even the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board gave an estimate of Rs 85,000 in 2006 for the purpose, but nothing happened, he added.

Following their popular belief, ignorant residents of Mustafabad, a slum locality, partially buried Malkiat, who was bleeding. Both primary students are now recuperating at their dingy residences.

The school provides education free of cost to children coming from low-income group families of the surrounding areas.

Industry Minister Anil Joshi though accepted that the school falls in his assembly constituency, he said he was not informed about the incident.

He said soon a team would be sent to the school and medical aid would be provided to the injured students. He said Hardeep would be recommended for a bravery award.

Sudeep Singh Sandhu, PSPCL, Chief Engineer (Border Range), said the mater was not brought to his notice.

He said now he would dispatch a team of PSPCL officials to the spot who would also meet the injured students and their families.

He said compensation could be given to the families after getting a report from the team.

Amritsar, February 22
A high number of tuberculosis cases has been reported from several localities (mostly semi-slum areas), which are in the grip of unhygienic conditions.

Maqboolpura, a locality infamous for drug addiction, has the highest number of TB patients (85) in the city.

There are 80 TB cases each in Guru Nanak Pura and Basti Hindustan, two other areas where sanitation and cleanliness are almost absent.

The Mustafabad locality has reported over 75 cases of TB.

District TB Officer Dr Naresh Chawla said, "There is a direct relation between TB and unhygienic conditions. All these areas which are either slums or semi-slums have more number of TB patients."

Dr Chawla said before a patient reports for diagnosis and treatment of TB at government hospitals, they come in contact with others and infect them. "The chances of infection are more in areas where people live in single-room houses," said Chawla.

Dr Chawla said the health department recently launched a sanitation and cleanliness awareness drive in the Maqboolpura area and started six directly observed therapy (DOT) centres for the treatment of TB patients.

He said the spread of tuberculosis could be easily checked if these areas had proper sanitary conditions.

Dr Chawla said a very few cases of TB were reported from posh localities because of the better sanitation facilities.

Besides the civic authorities providing better sanitation facilities in the areas, the residents too are required to put in a lot of efforts to keep their surroundings hygienic.

Dr Chawla said people suffering from cough for more than two weeks should get their sputum tested at government health institutions for TB. He said early diagnosis of the disease would help check spread of the disease.

Amritsar, February 22
Security was stepped up in the holy city, especially bordering areas and crowded areas like Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, railway station and Inter-state bus terminal in the wake of the serial blasts in Hyderabad.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Kausub Sharma said police squads had been put on alert and they were keeping a tight vigil on the key points of the city.

"We are on alert, yet there is nothing to panic as the police is capable to foil evil designs of several militants. All the key areas and vulnerable areas have been kept under extra vigil. Security personnel had been deployed in larger numbers,” he said.

Railway Station SHO Rajinder Singh said teams of 15-18 personnel each have been deployed at Bus Stand and Railway Station. “We have been carrying out random checking of luggage of commuters and keeping a close eye on any unclaimed item lying there,” he said.

Similarly, constant patrolling has been put in place in the city. Meanwhile, senior officials reviewed the security situation in the state this evening.

Amritsar, February 22
Taking cognisance of ‘illegal’ hotels mushrooming around the Golden Temple, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation has started a survey of these hotels.

A dedicated team of the MC, formed for the purpose, was put on the job from today.

An MC official said around 115 such hotels and inns around the Golden Temple are under the scanner.

Many hotels had not procured no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the MC and the departments of health, sanitation and fire. Many of these buildings have also violated the permissible height limit of 38 feet, they said.

Officials said the MC had issued notices to around 50 hotels/inns in 2010-2011 following the directions of the high court, but its operators challenged these notices in the HC and managed to obtain stay orders on the ground that the MC had been realising taxes from them for the past several years.

Sources said the MC again woke up to the problem after the HC directed it to state the number of commercial establishments running around the Golden Temple.

The MC has formulated a pro forma, which would have to be furnished by the hotel and inn operators within a stipulated time.

It is learnt that this area, being the oldest part of the city, does not come under the preview of any scheme or land use. Consequently, it is not possible to put a check on these residential plots from turning into commercial establishments.

But, a commercial unit must have a parking lot, permissible height, floor area, should be registered under the Serai Act, should have obtained an NOC from the fire brigade and should have taken environment clearance from Punjab Pollution Control Board.

These hotel and restaurant operators have always maintained that they have been paying their due taxes (house tax, commercial water and sewerage tax, conservancy tax) to the MC since mid 90s. So they said the MC has no basis to question their authenticity.

Surinder Singh, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association, said "It is the new criterion which has been laid down by the MC to question the integrity of restaurants and hotels around the Golden Temple. When a majority of these units pay all kind of taxes and the MC in return issues receipts, then on what grounds the MC is pointing finger at us?"

Bhupinder Singh, MC Commissioner said, “Mere paying the taxes does not justify anything. We are just conducting the survey to gauge the authenticity of hotels or inns located near the Golden Temple. We will ask operators of these establishments to furnishing certain documents. Those who do not comply with the laid-down conditions will be taken to task.”

Amritsar, February 22
It would not be exaggerated to say that ‘kite’ and ‘Kanojia’ are synonym to each other. It was his creations of all shape and sizes of kites with social messages, which earned Amritsar-based kite-maker Jagmohan Kanojia a name at the international level.

Yet again, recognising his talent, the India Book of Records has invited him at the Record Breakers’ Festival to display his smallest kite, with photographs of patriotic leaders pasted on it, and a hollow 500 watt bulb was inserted in it. Another astound aspect about this creation is that it also lightens up with the help of an indicator as he has smartly fitted a circuit in it which operates when pressed gently from its one edge.

“I wanted to use a live bulb and I did it too. But the moment I lightened it up, the heat generated by the bulb burnt it in no time. Then after hardship of three days, I got the bulb hollowed and made the kite with the help of small steel catchers. In a similar way, I got the pictures of patriots pasted on its sides,” he said.

“I will be representing Guru Ram Dass ji Di Nagri in the festival, which will witness the artistes from different parts of India. Definitely, it will be a proud moment for me when I will be bestowed with a unique medal, certificate and memento from the India Book of Records,” he said.

Kanojia claims that he has already entered record books in the country. He holds a record of being the only person in the country to have made at least 10 miniature and big kites. Kanojia has till date nine national records to his credit, six of which came this year. He has also bagged a national award for making maximum records from a city in the same year from the Limca Book of Records.

“It all began as a hobby in early 90s and it’s quite satisfying that I have earned recognition for making creative kites,” said humble Kanojia.

His theme would be patriotic. A look at his collection revealed that he had fashioned kites depicting images of the Tricolour and freedom fighters including leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chandra Bose, former Presidents Pratibha Patil and Rajendra Prasad.

Amritsar, February 22
A training of the officials of the health department was conducted at Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital here today.

District Family Welfare Officer Dr Ranjit Singh Buttar said the training was about the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Senior medical officers, urban medical officers, nodal officers, block level educators and computer operators had attended the programme.

He said a screening of the suspected cases of cancer brought by ASHA workers and ANMs would be done at PHCs, CHCs and dispensaries during the first phase. In the second phase, the screened patients would be put to various medical tests available at the Civil Hospital.

Dr Buttar said confirmed cases of the disease would be treated at the Government Medical College and the treatment charges would be covered under the Chief Minister’s Cancer Relief Fund.

District health officer Dr Shivkaran Kahlon and Civil Hospital’s senior medical officer Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon also present at the event.

Amritsar, February 22
The 108 Emergency Ambulance Service, which has become a household name, has courted a controversy as residents of the city alleged that some of its field staff was hand in glove with a private hospital to deliver patients.

A resident of Green Avenue Kamal Dalmia alleged that his friend Chandeep Singh of Kennedy Avenue, his driver Harbhajan Singh and a few schoolchildren got injured in an accident near Tarn Taran road.

He said the ambulance took all of them to a private hospital on the GT road instead of nearby hospital. He wondered that why the staff of the ambulance ignored Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital, Guru Nanak Dev and ESI Hospitals which come in a way to the private hospital.

He said the said hospital was overburdened with a number of patients, writhing in pain after being injured in accidents, waiting for the medical aid. It took couple of hours to treatment there even in an emergency case like this.

“Even the doctor did not provide any pain killers to patients. They only apply ointment on wounds and reprimanded them for crying like women,” he said.

He said the 108 ambulance service was an admirable effort and needed to be maintained with dexterity. The telecommunication system must be installed in the ambulance to contact the prospective hospital for availability of space there.

In another case, Tarsem Singh of Jhander village near Fatehgarh Churriyan road said his wife met with an accident near Fatehgarh Churriyan road about a few months ago and she was also taken all the way to a private hospital on the GT road.

Project Head 108 Ambulance Emergency service Jatinder Sharma instituted an inquiry committee after learning about the incident and said the requisite actions would be taken against the culprits.

Amritsar, February 22
While the direct recruitment to teaching posts at government medical colleges is going unabated, 
the 60 per cent quota required to be filled from PCMS cadre, is not being adhered to.

The PCMS doctors, with postgraduation and a senior residency, who are eligible to be employed at teaching posts in medical colleges are complaining of undue delays.

The PCMS cadre also criticised the imposition of six years of mandatory rural service, for being eligible for a postgraduation.

Dr Madan Mohan said “The mandatory rural service period has been doubled from three years to six years. On the other hand, people who join on teaching posts through direct recruitment often do not have any experience of rural service. Rules should be the same for every body.”

While the medical colleges were grappling with a huge shortage of teachers, there were many in the PCMS cadre who, despite fulfilling all the criteria, have not been able to join as the Department Promotional Committee meeting is long due.

Dr Ranjit Singh Buttar, Patron of PCMS association said “As per the rules, a postgraduate PCMS doctor with three years of senior residency experience, is qualified for the post of Assistant Professor. However, they are still not able to get their due.” He said if the teaching posts quota from PCMS cadre was filled, there would be no dearth of teaching staff at medical colleges. Dr Buttar said DPC meetings should be held in a time-bound manner so that the employees did not have to suffer.

Amritsar, February 22
An agricultural delegation from California paid a visit to the Golden Temple here today. The 30-member delegation of the Agricultural Leadership Foundation was led by Karamdeep Singh Bains.

The delegation included deans of four different universities besides CEOs of companies and leading agriculturists. A leading farmer Didar Singh Bains, who had recently offered 13.8 acre of land to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to propagate Sikhism, was also present on the occasion.

The delegation is in the country to explore the possibility of cooperation in different fields of agriculture. Members of the delegation took keen interest in the working of the community kitchen (langar) at the Golden Temple. 

Amritsar, February 22
A national-level technical and cultural festival, Prayaas, was held for eightth time at Amritsar College of Engineering and Technology (ACET) here today.

Dean Student Affairs’ Col (Retd) Gurmukh Singh welcomed all dignities in his welcome speech. Modi Industries group head (HR) KK Singh delivered the keynote address. He said the event had provided an opportunity to students to hone various technical, creative as well as other latent skills.

More than 1000 students from 40 various reputed colleges across India participated in the programme.

ACET principal Dr SK Aggarwal congratulated the students of various colleges for their participation. — TNS

Amritsar, February 22
This is no hidden fact that the drug addiction has assumed an alarming proportion in society. The situation has turned worse since the trend of consumption of heroin has increased manifolds in the district, believe health officials of the Swami Vivekanand De-addiction Centre at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) and police officials.

It is observed that about 50-60 per cent patients visiting the de-addiction centre at GNDH are hooked on heroin while the remaining are addicted to other synthetic drugs.

“We are receiving 50-60 per cent patients who are critically addicted to drugs. The trend has increased in the past few years while earlier a majority of patients were reported to be hooked on opioid substances, habit forming drugs and alcohol,” said Dr PD Garg, head of department of psychiatry in Government Medical College. Narrating a few cases, he said a lower rank policeman, who had visited the centre, used to consume heroin worth Rs 4,000 daily. In another case, a youth, who had passed out Class XII, started stealing from his own shop in order to satiate his addiction.

The situation is alarming and unfortunately there are no matching efforts on the part of the government to curb this menace, said Dr Garg.

He said it required coordinated efforts from all sections of the society, including educational institutes, police department, health department, politicians and NGOs to fight against the problem of drug abuse.

On February 14, the Amritsar rural police nabbed three persons for possessing 190 gram of heroin. The accused have been identified as Gurmit Singh of Guru Nanak Colony, Arunjit Singh of Hoshiarpur and Gurbax Singh of Adampur. A day before this incident, the police had arrested Jagwinder Singh of New Tehsilpur with 180 gram of heroin.

Recently, the Chheharta police has arrested Surinderpal Singh of Kot Khalsa with 11 gram of heroin. Deepinder Singh of Azad Nagar was also arrested with eight gram of heroin.

Usually, a huge quantity of heroin is smuggled from Pakistan through the Indo-Pak border. Further, these narcotics find their ways to Delhi and other metro cities from where they are smuggled to European countries through a sea or air route. 

Amritsar, February 22
Two mobile phones were found abandoned at the Amritsar Central Jail. Jail staff during routine check also seized small packets of intoxicants, including charas.

Jail Superintendent Amrik Singh Waraich said a case has been registered with the Cantonment police station under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act, 420 of the IPC, 42 of the Prisoner Act against unknown persons.

On February 14, during a routine checking, the jail guards seized six mobile phones from inmates. These phones and some SIM cards were packed in a polythene bag which was hidden in a pit.