Beating the heat: A vegetable vendor installs an umbrella on his horse cart in Amritsar on Monday. Photo: Vishal Kumar

Garbage collection system in tatters
Amritsar, April 8
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has once again deferred the date of hearing on the solid waste management project of the city to May 15.


A view of garbage dump near bus stand in Amritsar. The MC authorities have been facing a tough time as it has failed to initiate the required measures to keep the city clean after Antony Waste, a private firm, pulled out of the contract midway due to non-payment of its dues. photo: sameer sehgal

Goa Chintan Shivir mockery of SAD ideology: Khaira 
align="left">Kapurthala, April 8
The "Chintan-Shivir" of the Akalis at a fun and frolic destination like Goa is not only in complete contrast to its Panthic ideology, but also amounts to rubbing salt on the wounds of a financially wrecked state.

Protest continues: Unemployed youths atop a water tank at a market in Amritsar on Monday. Photo: sameer sehgal

Govt slashes medicine allocation to 25%
Amritsar, April 8
Even as the state government has raised user charges in government hospitals, it has slashed the allocation from 45 per cent to 25 per cent for drug purchase. The management of these cash-strapped institutions feels that they will find it difficult to manage the affairs in this situation.

Workshop for new-age researchers concludes at GNDU
Amritsar, April 8
The three-day national workshop on ‘Structural Equation Modelling’ concluded here today at the conference hall of Guru Nanak Bhawan of the Guru Nanak Dev University. The workshop was organised by the Department of Commerce and Business Management. As many as 67 scholars from different parts of the country participated.

Vehicle with ‘fake’ registration number seized
Amritsar, April 8
The city police has impounded a Mahindra Scorpio vehicle reportedly belonging to a person, who claims to be the personal assistant (PA) of Member of Parliament (MP) Raj Babbar.

Tumour surgery performed
Amritsar, April 8
A resident of Jalandhar, having a rare tumour of the neck for the past four years, was successfully operated upon by Dr Bikramjit Singh at Fortis Escorts Hospital here.

 

Amritsar, April 8
Various youth organisations, including Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee, Shahid Bhagat Singh Naujwan Sabha, Janwadi Naujwan Sabha, Students Federation of India (SFI), Sarb Bharat Naujwan Sabha and Punjab Students Federation today gathered to hold a programme on the centenary of the Gadar movement.

However, after learning that a gate has been installed at the vacant land where once the house of Shaheed Madan Lal Dingra was located, they undertook a protest march and blocked vehicular traffic on the busy Bhandari Bridge, said Desh Bhagat Yadgar Committee member Prithipal Singh Marimegha.

He said the agitated youth stopped short of moving to the martyr's house to demolish the gate.

Ironically, a well-connected BJP leader procured the house at a throwaway price to raise a commercial complex, he remarked. He said they would not rest until the befitting memorial was raised at the site of the ancestral house of the martyr. He said the assertion that there was not enough open space around the site was a lame excuse. "Has the government provided the parking space outside Jallianwala Bagh," he quipped.

They blocked the traffic at about 2.30 pm and lifted it at nearly 3.45 pm after ADC Sandip Rishi fixed their meeting with Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal at Circuit House on April 15. The agitators rejected the proposal of the government of raising a memorial at Madan Lal Dhingra Park, located on the GT Road.

Earlier, these youth organisations passed many resolutions in the programme. One of the resolutions demanded that the ancestral house of Shaheed Madan Lal Dingra, situated in the walled city, be transformed into a national memorial. It said the insensitive people demolished the house of the martyr, which amounted to wiping away the traces of memories of the martyr, who had made the supreme sacrifice in the freedom struggle. It added that the memorial would continue to inspire the youth.

Marimegha hitting out at the coalition government said it was strange and insensitive assertion of the government that the memorial could not be raised at the ancestral house as it was situated in the walled city and would add to traffic congestion.

The resolution sought the intervention of the Union Government in the mater as the martyr had fought for the cause of the nation. It stated that in order to make the masses aware of the matter as many as five conventions would be held in as many parts of the state. For this purpose the state had been divided in five parts.

Another resolution demanded employment for all youth. It demanded free education for girls up to Class XII. It reminded the government of its announcement of offering free education to girls up to postgraduation on Holla Mohalla last year and demanded its immediate implementation.

Meanwhile, commuters were at the receiving end when various student organisations blocked Bhandari Bridge (which connects the walled city with the rest of Amritsar).

The road blockade resulted in a massive traffic jam. The traffic police failed to provide alternate route to commuters.

Shalini, a housewife, said, “As usual she came to pick up her children from a private public school located on Lawrence Road. Upon returning on the same way she found all roads choked with vehicles.” She moved to the Hukam Singh Road overbridge, but found the traffic jam there also.

A commuter, Harinder Singh, said his car remained struck for about half an hour at Queen’s Road. He said he had picked up his relatives from the railway station, who had come here after a long journey. He said they faced much inconvenience due to the blockade. He said the agitators must evolve a plan to protest in such a way that the common commuters were not harassed.

City traffic in charge Assistant Commissioner of Police Ketan Patil Balram said these organisations had blocked the traffic without prior intimation. He added that the traffic police was working on an alternative traffic plan to divert the traffic to Mahavir Bridge, popularly known as Rego bridge, from Lohgarh Chowk and Ram Bagh gate, in such case. 

Amritsar, April 8
The Amritsar (Rural) police has suspended Sarabjit Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) of the Ramdass police station, for allegedly pressurising a labour contractor to reach a compromise with a commission agent.

Manmohan Singh, SSP, Amritsar (Rural) police, confirmed the suspension of the SHO. According to information, Manninder, the labour contractor, had filed a case against the commission agent, Jasbir Singh, in the local labour court. In order to pressurise him to withdraw the case, Jasbir along with the SHO allegedly prepared a false complaint against him at the Ramdass police station. The SHO allegedly kept him in an illegal detension for several hours.

The labour contractor alleged that on Saturday night a couple of policemen entered his house and asked him to withdraw the case by threatening him. The hearing of the case was slated for April 15. He alleged that his father Tara Chand could not bear this and suffered a cardiac arrest and died.

Yesterday, the family along with villagers and farmer leaders protested outside the Ramdass police station keeping the body of Tara Chand on the road. They raised slogans against the Police Department and demanded registration of a murder case against the commission agent and SHO Sarabjit Singh.

“As it was a civil matter pending in the labour court, the SHO should not have involved himself in the case,” the SSP said. During preliminary probe it was found that the SHO in association with the commission agent had tried to pressurise the labour contractor. Therefore he had been suspended with immediate effect while further investigations had been launched in the case.

Amritsar, April 8
Even as the Municipal Corporation (MC) had adopted the energy-saving streetlights with a view to save the expenses on electricity, yet in the absence of proper policy matters these streetlights installed on key locations of the city have been lying defunct for the past over three months. Consequently, residents face the risks of accidents and robberies while moving on roads.

It has been revealed that the contract of the MC with a Noida-based firm, Asian Electricals, engaged for the maintenance of these streetlights, had come to an end in December last year and the MC didn't engage a new firm or extend the contract with the existing firm.

Most of these lights are not functioning as their energy-saver equipment has gone defunct. Though, this matter was raised during the recent MC House meeting and the officials had assured to renew the contract or engage a new firm, but after a lapse of over a fortnight, no thought was spared on the issue till date.

A random round of some of the areas where these energy-saving lights have been installed revealed startling facts. Almost 40 per cent of these lights are lying defunct in the main Hall Bazaar (from Hall Gate to Jallianwala Bagh route), 30 per cent on the road leading to Crystal Chowk and over 90 per cent on the Fatehgarh Churian road. Major areas were found to be in darkness in Ranjit Avenue A and B blocks.

Similarly, substantial number of these lights installed on the road opposite the bus stand and railway station (from its entrance gate to Naraingarh) were found to be non-functional.

Questions are being raised that what could be the hitch for the MC in engaging a new maintenance firm or extending the contract of the existing firm. The insiders said the contract with the Noida-based firm, for maintaining around 7,000 energy-saving streetlight points, lapsed on December 15, 2012, and the MC had to pay the existing firm dues amounting to nearly Rs 1 crore.

Sources disclosed that the firm had agreed to rectify the streetlights, provided the MC cleared its dues.

It has been learnt that the MC had floated tenders for engaging fresh firms twice (after the expiry of the contract) but not a single firm applied. Apparently, the attitude of the MC of not paying dues discouraged them.

The Tribune has highlighted the problems of depleting law and order situation on the roads in the absence of proper streetlights through a number of times earlier.

Technically, it was the liability of the firm to hand over the energy-saving lights back to us in proper working condition, which the firm didn't. We have stalled their dues, but it was less than Rs 1 crore, as the firm had breached the agreement. We are in touch with the firm and soon after getting back the charge of these lights, we will take further action of engaging a new firm.
— Bhupinder Singh, Commissioner, MC

Amritsar, April 8
The Khilchian police has booked a woman for allegedly decamping with gold jewellery worth several lakhs of rupees, besides cash from her in-laws' house.

Amrik Singh, a resident of Dhulka village and father-in-law of the accused, identified as Manjit Kaur, in a complaint to police alleged that about four months ago, Manjit Kaur went to attend a marriage function of her nephew at Bhail village. She took thousands of rupees, besides gold jewellery weighing 250 gm, from the house 
with her.

The police registered a case under Section 406 of the IPC following an inquiry conducted by the DSP, Baba Bakala, in this connection. No arrest has been made so far.

Amritsar, April 8
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has once again deferred the date of hearing on the solid waste management project of the city to May 15. While the garbage collection system in the holy city is in tatters, the Municipal Corporation seems indifferent in pursuing the case regarding the solid waste management project which is pending with the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Meanwhile, the MC has also failed to initiate required measures to keep the city clean after Antony Waste, a private firm, pulled out of the contract midway due to non-payment of its dues.

While it has been over seven months since the private firm engaged for garbage collection has pulled out of the contract, the MC is facing multi-dimensional difficulties in maintaining the cleanliness in the holy city.

Even as the MC officials claimed to have engaged private hands to do the job, yet this exercise was not enough to set the ball rolling.

The improper lifting and disposal of the garbage forced an NGO Pollution Control Committee, through its president PS Bhatti, to move High Court on whose petition No 2032/06) the HC had summoned the MC officials for their failure to maintain proper garbage disposal mechanism. Subsequently, the efforts of MP Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife CPS Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who intervened in the matter but in vain, till date.

Antony Waste Handling Company withdrew its machinery since August 7, as the MC could not clear their dues amounting to over Rs 1.5 crore.

Taking its cognisance, the court had summoned the then Amritsar Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dharampal Gupta and other officers concerned to apprise about the steps being adopted to execute this plant.

Even as the MC has engaged tractor trolleys on rental basis for removing the city refuse but it was not enough as they were not professional hands. 

The partial phase of garbage lifting and dumping at the designated place took off in 2009. The Mumbai based company, Antony Waste Handing Pvt Ltd, which was entrusted with the task of lifting and disposing of the garbage from 41 wards, too withdrew its machinery. The MC with its scant resources has been finding it difficult to lift the garbage. Until the solid waste processing plant is installed, the stench in the holy city will tend to escalate.

Kapurthala, April 8
The "Chintan-Shivir" of the Akalis at a fun and frolic destination like Goa is not only in complete contrast to its Panthic ideology, but also amounts to rubbing salt on the wounds of a financially wrecked state.

This was stated here today by former Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira. He said, “Needless to mention, Punjab is facing a huge debt of over Rs 80,000 crore and is unable to pay salaries to its employees, unable to honour its social welfare schemes such as Shagun and old-age pension. Keeping in view the poor financial situation, the government has recently burdened poor girl students from class IX to XII with a hefty fees. Similarly, charges in government hospitals also have been increased.”

Khaira further alleged that the Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP government had failed to implement its manifesto promise of giving Rs 1,000 unemployment allowance to lakhs of unemployed youths, students of class 10-12 were awaiting the promised laptops, but the government had nothing to offer in the budget presented recently other than fudging figures to present a rosy picture.

The former MLA stated that the claims of good governance, too, had fallen flat with complete absence of the government, firstly due to Delhi gurdwara elections, then the unwarranted Moga byelection and now a luxury tour to Goa. While there was a total chaos in Punjab on the law and order front, with policemen in uniform being killed at regular intervals by Akali goons and a spate of rapes in the state, the junior Badal and president SAD had miserably failed, both as Home Minister as well as Sports Minister.

Khaira said the selection of a tourist destination like Goa, known for its beaches and casinos, was absoultely anti Akali and Panthic ideology and definitely not a place for serious deliberations. It is now abundantly clear that places like Goa are more important than religious centres like Anandpur Sahib for Akali politics.

The former Congress MLA said that he was of the firm opinion that Sukhbir Badal had not only thrown all Panthic traditions to the wind by holding the "Chintan Shivir" at Goa, but was totally insensitive to the issues of people and the declining graph of Punjab on all fronts. — TNS

Amritsar, April 8
Even as the state government has raised user charges in government hospitals, it has slashed the allocation from 45 per cent to 25 per cent for drug purchase. The management of these cash-strapped institutions feels that they will find it difficult to manage the affairs in this situation.

To manage the same amount after reduction in allocation to 25 per cent, the hospital will have to increase its monthly collection of user charges by at least 80 per cent.

The hospitals have to keep vital and essential medicines, consumables and lab regents for daily use. Sources at the Civil Hospital said the lab regents costed around Rs 2.20 to 2.50 lakh per month.

“Now, when the total percentage of user charges allocated for the drug head has been reduced to mere 25 per cent, managing the expenditure would be a difficult job,” said an employee.

While the total collection of user charges at hospital is expected to increase after revision of the fees for various services which are provided to the general public, the drug head is the area which is worrying the hospitals.

The Civil Hospital witnesses around 800-900 patients daily on average basis at its Outpatients Departments (OPD) and at least 100 patients are undergoing treatment at its indoor departments. The heavy rush of patients forces the hospital to spend more on lab tests and other drugs.

The hospital before the revision of user charges recently managed to collect around Rs 7-9 lakhs per month.

When contacted Civil Hospital’s senior medical officer Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon said, “The reduction of allocation for drug head is surely a cause of concern.” For all things to go smoothly as far as allocation for this head is concerned, the total collection should at least double, he said.

He said as per the revised guidelines, 25 per cent allocation had been made for increasing facilities for patients, 15 per cent for maintenance of building, 15 per cent for maintenance of equipment and 20 per cent for outsourced services. 

Amritsar, April 8
The three-day national workshop on ‘Structural Equation Modelling’ concluded here today at the conference hall of Guru Nanak Bhawan of the Guru Nanak Dev University. The workshop was organised by the Department of Commerce and Business Management. As many as 67 scholars from different parts of the country participated.

The valedictory session was presided over by the Registrar of the University, Dr Inderjit Singh, an accomplished administrator with commerce background and cultural interests. Dr Singh shared his vision of making research and research knowledge affordable and accessible to all. He also highlighted the eminent role of teachers through the words of Noble Laureate Dr Rabindranath Tagore.

Organising secretary of the workshop Dr Mandeep Kaur, while conducting the proceedings, shared the concept and theme of the workshop. Dr Sanjay Rastogi, the expert resource person for three days, deliberated over the conceptual and practical aspects of structural equation modelling and took the participants through an enlightening journey.

To make such initiatives and learning exercises more meaningful and enriching, she called upon for the feedback of the participants. The participants, who were immensely delighted, did put across their suggestions which were well received by the organisers. Dr Balwinder Singh, head, Department of Commerce and Business Management, described the workshop as a humble means of contributing to society and means of accomplishing the bigger dream of strengthening the research base of the country,

Dr Lakhwinder Singh, a senior faculty in the department and one of the senior participants of the workshop, concluded the proceedings by placing on record appreciation for all, who contributed to the workshop.

Amritsar, April 8
The city police has impounded a Mahindra Scorpio vehicle reportedly belonging to a person, who claims to be the personal assistant (PA) of Member of Parliament (MP) Raj Babbar.

The vehicle (PB-65-K-9159) is originally owned by a Mohali resident.

Ketan Patil, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic), while confirming the incident, said the vehicle was impounded under the Motor Vehicle Act by the PCR team. He said investigations were on to know about the ownership of the vehicle. “The matter is under investigation and we will register an FIR in a day or two against the offender,” said Patil.

The police said the number originally belongs to a Swift car, owned by Avtar Singh, a resident of Dera Bassi, SAS Nagar, Mohali. The Scorpio which supported the above said number was impounded by the traffic police about a week ago.

The traffic police staff had asked the owner of the vehicle to show the papers and get the vehicle released, but till now he could not produce any paper. The owner introduced himself as the PA of the Congress MP.

Sources said the accused had lodged a misleading complaint with the police about lifting of his vehicle.

However, the police did not release the vehicle as the said owner failed to produce any documents regarding his ownership of the vehicle till now.

Patil said the probe would be completed in a day or two and subsequently a case would be registered against the suspect.