Amritsar, April 13
Despite experimenting with many concepts, the persistent traffic chaos on and around the Bhandari Bridge has forced the administration to contemplate extending the main elevated road till the railway station.

Officials said the issue of extending the elevated road was in its initial planning stage. As per the plan, the elevated road could be stretched to about half a km, from the Bhandari Bridge to the railway station, yet the immediate experiment would be to reduce the circumference of the roundabout.

The PPCB has termed this stretch as the most polluted area due to vehicular pollution between 9 am and 8 pm. At the Bhandari Bridge, the PPCB found the particulate matter as high as 599 per cubic metre during peak hours and 232 per cubic metre during lean traffic hours.

The report of RITES, a Government of India enterprise, stated that over 1 lakh vehicles pass through this bridge in 24 hours.

It may be mentioned that a proposal to widen the railway overbridge, which connects the walled city with the new city, was scrapped after over 20 months of planning, meetings and debates.

The Railways had rejected the proposal to widen the bridge as iron angles distinguishing its main road from the pedestrian paths on both sides could not be removed. Besides, being a cantilever bridge and keeping in view its age, it was found infeasible to spend so much money on its widening.

Subsequently, the matter was incorporated in the comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) for the city.

The proposal is there. Even as the extension of the elevated road would be the ultimate solution to reduce the load on the Bhandari Bridge, but as an immediate measure, we are planning to shorten the existing roundabout.
— Bhupinder Singh, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation

Amritsar, April 13
The official residence of the principal of Government Medical College (GMC) here has lost its sheen because of neglect and lack of maintenance. The building of old architectural style has developed cracks in its walls, as a result it is not being used by the principal as accommodation.

The large standing grass on the premises of the bungalow reveals that it is not being taken care of by the college anymore. As the building has no occupant it is used for keeping yet to be installed new machinery of the government hospital.

The house has become a safe heaven for stray dogs. Even as the gates of the residence have been locked from both the sides, the dogs manage to sneak in. Sources in the college said as the official residence was not in use, the sanitary and others fittings had been stolen from it by miscreants.

Medical college principal Dr SS Shergill said the building was being maintained regularly. He said fresh instructions would be issued to cut the grass and clean the place. He said proper security arrangements had also been made to ensure safety of equipment stored at the place.

Amritsar, April 13
The PCMS-Specialist Doctors’ Association has claimed that the state government was deliberately shutting the doors of medical institutions for them and showing bias for candidates from private medical institutions for the teaching job.

The association said the state government had, by recent amendments in rules for getting eligible for a teaching post in the PCMS cadre, made things more difficult for them. A new PCMS recruit would now take 27 years to be eligible.

On the other hand, candidates choosing employment in a private medical college has more chances for induction into faculty. Members of the association said a candidate from a private medical college recently inducted into a government college as professor became head of the department even as seniors by 10 years were left fuming.

As per rules now, a PCMS recruit would have to serve for six years before he would be permitted to go for a Postgraduation for three years and would have to fill a 10 years of rural service bond. Before completing 10 years of service, the doctor cannot go for Senior Residency which takes another three years.

However, a prerequisite of permission for senior residency is that doctor would sign another bond of five years of service after which he would be permitted to join as a faculty.

Dr Khusbinder Singh of the association said: “Even as a PCMS recruit becomes eligible for 27 years, they are not being taken in for the past nine years. However, as per rules, 75 per cent of the entry level faculty posts are required to be filled from the PCMS and only 25 per cent can be filled from direct quota as from private medical colleges.”

Dr Khusbinder said thus people from who chose private service over serving public are at advantage.

“The people with right connections do not have to work hard as much as a PCMS has to,” he commented.

While many from the PCMS cadre are eagerly awaiting for their induction in medical colleges, an acute staff crunch at government medical colleges in state is felt.

“There is a shortage of medical faculty which can easily be overcome by recruiting people from the PCMS cadre,” said association general secretary Sandeep Aggarwal.

The association said manipulations by the Department of Medical Education was creating artificial shortage of medical teachers and denying justice by making a junior boss of their seniors.

Amritsar, April 13
The 94th anniversary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre was observed here today during which various political leaders, families of freedom fighters, social and government organisations paid tributes to the martyrs.

Chairman of the Jallianwala Bagh Local Management Committee RL Bhatia, Vice-Chairman of the National SC Commission Raj Kumar Verka, former Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla, MLA OP Soni, communist leader Vijay Mishra, Saheed Parivar Samiti president Bhusan Behal, Additional Deputy Commissioner Jasbir Singh and SDM MS Kang were among the personalities that visited the historic garden today.

The group of Panch Rang Artists of Amritsar organised a painting competition of schoolchildren to mark the anniversary of the massacre.

A contingent of the Punjab Police paid tributes to the martyrs by reversing their arms in a ceremony organised in the evening. Later, a two-minute silence was observed in the memory of the victims of the massacre. Managing committee secretary SK Mukherji said various leaders paid floral tributes at Amar Jyoti, the martyrs' memorial.

Amritsar, April 13
A large number of devotees from the country and abroad paid obeisance at the Golden Temple on Baisakhi.

City residents organised various programmes to mark Baisakhi celebrations in the city. The Akal Purakh Ki Fauj (APKF) took out a march to mark Sikh Dastar Diwas to commemorate the birth of Khalsa.

The march started from the Bhandari Bridge and after passing through various markets, including, Hall Gate, Town Hall, Dharam Singh Market, Jallianwala Bagh and Ghanta Ghar chowk, concluded at Akal Takht.

Jaswinder Singh Advocate of the APKF said the Sikh Daster Divas was being organised in various cities of the country and Canada, USA, UK and Australia, where Sikhs were residing in large numbers. He said the units of the APKF in these countries were spreading awareness on importance of turban in the Sikh religion.

Amritsar, April 13
Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Secretary Uday Kumar Varma has stated that his ministry is considering launching a 24-hour news channel of All India Radio (AIR) on the pattern of DD News.

Addressing a meeting in Amritsar with Punjab-based heads of various media units of Information and Broadcasting, Varma said the government was exploring various aspects and technicalities involved in launching a 24-hour news channel on the AIR. The I&B Secretary reviewed the existing status of AIR and DDK transmission in border areas, and discussed in detail the progress of digitalisation of AIR and DDK.

Varma said the government had evolved a programme wherein transmission facilities in border areas would be adequately strengthened.

He stated that to achieve the same, sufficient funds had been earmarked in the 12th Plan.

He said digitalisation was taking place successfully and rapidly in India as compared to the US, the UK, and China, which took 10 to 15 years to accomplish this task.

Varma expressed confidence that digitalisation of transmission signals would change the broadcasting scenario in the country within the next couple of years.

Stressing on improving the quality and content of programmes, Varma underlined the need for evolving a system of getting feedback from the masses to ascertain and assess people’s reception and response to such programmes.

He directed the DD authorities to explore the possibility of introducing a toll-free number on which viewers, cutting across national borders, could directly voice their opinion.

He also gave instructions to AIR officers to explore the feasibility of relaying the Vividh Bharati Programme on FM Rainbow during its non-broadcast slots.

Reacting to certain reports on monopoly by certain private cable TV operators, the I&B Secretary said the matter stands already referred to TRAI for rendering its legal opinion on the issue.

Speaking about Prasar Bharti, Varma said to determine and define the relations between the government and the Prasar Bharati, an expert committee, under the chairmanship of Sam Pitroda, had been set up.

He said the process to fill vacancies in Prasar Bharati had already been initiated. The government would bear the burden of salaries on all employees for the next five years, who were in AIR or DD till 2007.

Varma also reviewed the functioning of PIB, and DFP in the state and assured to address their functional difficulties.

Officers from AIR, Doordarshan Kendra, Press Information Bureau and Directorate of Field Publicity attended the meeting and apprised the Secretary of their functioning in their respective fields in the state. Earlier, Varma paid obeisance at the Golden Temple on the auspicious occasion of Baisakhi.

Amritsar, April 13
The local Art Gallery celebrated Baisakhi by treating city art lovers with twin delight. An exhibition by the gallery called ‘Art of forms’, with display of paintings from local artists and a play performed by city-based theatre group, Sai Creations. The exhibition had collection of the gallery over the time, with various city-based artists contributing to it.

The play ‘Baisakhi Di Sakhi’, which was based on the significance of Baisakhi, was the highlight of the evening. “It had three phases, depicting the three important events Baisakhi is known for.

First, the foundation of Khalsa Panth was laid on the day, second the Jallianwala Bagh massacre that happened on April 13, which told the story of the sole survivor, Ratna Devi, who spent the night amidst dead bodies at the Jallianwala Bagh.

The third is the harvest season that begins on April 13,” said Gurinder Makhana, director of the play and Head, Sai Creations.

Amritsar, April 13
Paramjit Singh Gill, financial analyst, IBM, discussed basics of marketing and finance while delivering a lecture on career opportunities in marketing and finance at Global Engineering College here today.

He explained about the functioning of Finance and Marketing departments in India and compared it with the USA’s.

Highlighting basic differences of these departments, he shared his views on departmental audits.

The US-based financial expert gave practical examples from daily business situations and personal life and advised students to manage all financial assets, especially cash, prudently.

He stated that the unused cash lying in the office was of no use and suggested for its safe and valuable usage.

Sharing his views about entrepreneurship, he encouraged students to develop and strengthen entrepreneurial qualities and guided them to make their career as entrepreneurs.

He motivated them to work hard in order to achieve success in life.

”Success in life is attained through patience, determination and practice,” he added.

His lecture was heard with rapt attention as it included interesting insights about the USA.

The objective of the lecture was to acquaint students with the skills required for better career and personality, commented vice- chairman of Global Institutes Dr Akashdeep Singh.

He added that the interactive session proved useful and a number of queries of students regarding job opportunities in the USA were answered satisfactorily.

Earlier, Prof BD Sharma thanked Paramjeet for sparing his valuable time for the students of the institute.

Amritsar, April 13
It’s another happy weekend for shopaholics of the city. The four-day Lifestyle and Interior Exhibition at Sifty International, Sam Show, has brought some festive delights for the Amritsaris on Baisakhi with hi-end lifestyle products and brands.

The exhibition is a haven for all those who want something different for themselves. The exhibition comes with a wide range of fashion and lifestyle products, from known designer houses and brands.

If you are never tired of picking and choosing from a sea full of designer wear, the exhibition is a must visit. With over a dozen designer wear brands from across the border displaying their collection, the clothes section was the most crowded. With particular style of hand embroideries, lacework and silhouettes, the ethnic wear have made a brand of themselves with city women. The range of bright designer wear starts at Rs 1,000 and above.