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No respite from stray dogs for city residents
Relief for public, but staff feels overburdened with work
Tremors cause panic among residents
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Residents decry power tariff hike
Amritsar, July 16 City residents from all walks of life have decried the hike in power tariff effected by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC). 14-yr-old boy drowns in canal
6 kids hurt as school bus overturns
2 arrested for possessing illicit liquor and narcotics
Day 15 of water tank protest: Youth goes on indefinite hunger strike
DAV girl students in GNDU merit list
Special trainers protest against ouster
Career avenues for MBA grads discussed
I have fallen in love with Punjabi cinema: Shahbaz Khan
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No respite from stray dogs for city residents
Amritsar, April 16 Survey report
Of the 25,000 stray dogs, according to the 2007 survey (though this population must have more than doubled by now), only 7 per cent could get sterilised, making the control of stray dog population a challenge. A bigger challenge has come up with a sharp rise in the number of dog-bite cases. As per the official records, in 2012 (till December) 1,707 cases of dog bites were reported during the current year at the Anti-rabies Department of the government-run Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) here, out of which 95 per cent were of dog bites in the current year. Another startling fact was that four persons died due to rabies. However, officials say the actual figure could be very high, as people generally prefer private clinics and hospitals to government hospitals. Shortcomings
Officials stated that it was the fund crunch which could not let any policy get through. The Animal Husbandry Department, during a meeting held with the MC’s team, had submitted an estimate of Rs 800 expenses on the sterilisation package for one dog. The letter has been sent to the higher authorities for approval and the response is awaited. Similarly, the ban on dog killing, the unsuccessful sterilisation programmes and immunisation policies have been detrimental to curbing rabies. Lack of coordination
Ironically, the municipal corporation, responsible for sterilising stray dogs, has negligible dog-catchers. The lack of coordination among the MC, the Animal Husbandry Department and the NGOs like the People for Animals (PFA) and the Society for Prevention of Cruelty for Animals (SPCA) in Amritsar have jointly led to increase in the population of stray dogs. They maul at will and in many cases, end up in painful death of victims. Efforts end up only in
table discussion
Many a time, the issue was the priority item on the Punjab Cabinet as well as in the MC House Agenda, but except for assurances, no thought was ever spared for formulating any concrete policy to control stray dog population. In Amritsar, the much-talked about advanced minimally invasive vas occlusion technique (MIVOT) programme introduced for the first time here around five years ago had to be discontinued as it was disapproved by the Animal Welfare Board of India. Similarly, the ambitious Central government-funded Rs 1.26-crore animal birth control (ABC) project of the Animal Welfare Board of India, to sterilise the stray dogs, too, could not be harnessed to its full optimal value. Then the Amritsar Municipal Corporation had devised the programme known as CNVR (catch, neuter, vaccinate and release) project in collaboration with the Animal Husbandry Department to tackle the canine population. The CNVR method was a good process and five clinics have been spared exclusively for the sterilisation of stray dogs at Polyclinic, Chattiwind, Khalsa College, two clinics at the Hathigate area, but it required to be carried by the competent surgeons and under complete aseptic conditions which could not be. At present, there are negligible number of doctors (only two) in the whole district to conduct the operations. Moreover, such moves could bear results only if it had been taken "as a campaign", but again it could not be. Vaccines in short supply
The lack of availability of free anti-rabies vaccine has also been responsible for the lack of reportage on rabies deaths in the city. At present, government supply of anti-rabies vaccine is erratic, while costlier versions are out of reach for the poor. The health department, however, said it had received no such report on the shortage of the vaccine. Death from dog bites
On February 12, 2013, stray dogs bit a middle-aged man to death while he was on way back home late at night in the Majitha area. It once again brought to fore the urgent need to curb the stray dog menace which has been haunting the city. Last year too, (February 8, 2012) in an identical instance, seven to eight stray dogs not only killed a middle-aged man but also ate his body. The victim Subeg Singh (45), a resident of Pandori village, too, was on his way to his home at night. Canines attack 4 schoolchildren
In a shocking incident, a group of stray dogs attacked four schoolchildren while they were on their way to school here on Tuesday morning. The incident occurred at Channanke village when the children, in the age group of 4 to 6, were passing through a "hadda rodhi" (a place where dead animals are disposed of). It was then that they were attacked by the dogs. The incident came to light when some passersby heard their cries and ran to shoo away the dogs. One of the children, who received head injuries, was taken to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. According to Deputy Medical Superintendent, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Dr OP Gupta, the child had received multiple dog bite injuries. “The child was brought to us in the morning, but was later discharged after administering medical aid,” he said. Official speak At present, the sterilisation programme is not being carried out because of lack of funds. It requires a 10-day treatment, including three days before surgery and seven days post surgery care of female dogs which include feed and medicines. It costs around Rs 800 per
animal As of now, we have no solution in hand. We keep getting calls from residents about stray dog menace. In fact, I talked to the Animal Welfare Board about making dog ponds, but they didn’t find it practical and feasible. We, in connivance with the Animal Husbandry Department, are trying to find some way out to tackle this
problem
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police saanjh kendras Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service
Amritsar, April 16 The common works done here include getting a complaint registered to get a lost mobile, SIM reissuance from a service provider or obtaining untraced reports of lost vehicles within 5 minutes. Balkar Singh, a visitor tot Civil Lines Saanjh Kendra, said, “I had an experience of getting a complaint registered for the reissuance of a SIM card, which is asked by the companies before issuing a duplicate SIM card. It took me two days, few references and even money to get it done.” In the present scenario, it took me only a few minutes and Rs 5 as fee and the computerised complaint copy was issued on the spot. However, the employees working at the place complain that the rush is so huge and it is impossible for a single person registering complaints to manage it. The employee said that they themselves had to deliver and bring the letters from the headquarters and the police station concerned. Each Kendra has three more counters for addressing common grievances from the complaint registration counter and Community Police Office. Apart from dealing with cases as unclaimed bodies, lost vehicles, missing articles and documents, missing mobile sets and missing persons, it also accepts applications for the registration of foreigners on arrival and departure, MRG enquiries in case of lost passport, fraud complaints against travel agents, NRIs’ complaints and queries and extension of residential permits to foreigners. All five police stations in the city have their separate Saanjh Kendras. “With all this work, six persons are not enough. At least we need two more people to manage the work,” said another employee, adding that sometimes rush was really unmanageable. He said tenant verification, servant verification and character verification work is also assigned to them. Harish Sharma, another visitor, said, “The staff must be increased at the centres after the assessment of the work."
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Tremors cause panic among residents
Amritsar, April 16 The tremors led to panic in many places as people rushed out of their houses and offices. Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said so far no casualty had been reported in the district. There are four seismic zones in India, covering 38 cities and Amritsar falls in the fourth seismic zone. These areas are prone to earthquake. Guru Nanak Dev University’s senior physics professor Surinder Singh Parmar, who has been associated with over a decade-long study on earthquakes, said the Indian plate (crust) is subducting in the North West Himalayan plate. Hence, there is a pressure and strain in the region. For this, the North West Himalayan fault causes tremors in the region. He said the last major earthquake was reported in 2005, which was recorded over 7 on the Richter scale. geochemistry of the region, rare gases radon and heilium emanated from the earth which are studied to understand the phenomenon of earthquakes. It had been noticed that radon and heilium anomalies appear before the occurrence of earthquake and this is correlated to predict an earthquake. He had been associated with over a 10-year-long project, which concluded in 2010. Granted by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, detectors were planted at Dharmashala, Dalhousie and Chamba to study the trend of these rare gases. He said there was a need to raise buildings as per the seismic zone guidelines to develop resistance to the tremors in the region. Priya Bhardwaj, a Chartered Accountant said, “ I was inside my office at Lawrence Road, when I felt the chair trembling and rushed out of office. Anil Malhotra, a colleague of Bhardwaj said, “ for a second we didn’t realise that it was an earthquake, we immediately came out of the office to the nearest ground”. Supriya Maulik, a house wife said, “I was sleeping when I felt the tremors. I got up and saw the cups in my kitchen cabinet tingling. I kept outside in my lawn for a long time, waiting for an after shock and only then I went inside the house.” Sokirtpal Singh, a retired government officer said, “For a moment, everyone was scared of a Gujarat or Kashmir disaster repeating itself. Thankfully, this time it passed with only mild scare.”
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Residents decry power tariff hike
Amritsar, July 16 Resham Singh, a retired employee, who is a resident of the Batala road, said the government had not cared to protect its residents from all-round inflation in essential commodities. He said the highest increase had been effected for the consumption of more than 300 units. The increase would be 63 paise per unit from Rs 5.81 to Rs 6.44 paise in this category. He added that even consumers from lower-middle class families easily cross the consumption of 300 units in the summers when fans and coolers were in much demand. Otherwise, in the domestic sector, the hike in the tariff is 47 paise per unit for consumers using power up to 100 units. It has been increased from Rs 4.09 to Rs 4.56 per unit (11.49 per cent). For consumption up to 300 units, it has been increased by 53 paise per unit. The new rate will be Rs 6.02 paise per unit against the old rate of Rs 5.49 paise per unit (9.65 per cent). Another resident, Sukhbir Singh, said the government was hiking per unit of power every year, which seemed to be an unending affair. He added that it was high time the government explored alternative cheap sources of energy to accelerate the progress of the state. He said the availability of cheap and abundant power supply would ultimately translate into minimising the investment cost. It would make the industrial and agriculture products cost-effective and their marketing would be easy across the country and overseas market for industrialists and agriculturists. City industrialists resented the increase in the power tariff by the state electricity regulator, as it would have an adverse impact on the industry in the border town. Industrialist Kamal Dalmia said for the general industry, there is a hike of 72 paise - from Rs 5.61 to Rs 6.33 per unit, which is about 12 per cent. He said the actual outgo for industry power consumers would be higher. He added that the peak load exemption charges had also been increased this time by 50 per cent per kilo watt. “It means that an industrialist has to shell out extra Rs 1,213 in a month, provided 30 working days fall, for an hour. Besides, he has to pay excise and octroi over and above the peak load usage. The powercom describes operating of a factory for three hours in evening as peak load and extra charges are levied for these. Industrialist Sundeep Khosla said the small-scale industry (SSI) had not been exempted from the recent power hike. He said for the SSI units the hike was 64 paise per unit - from Rs 5.10 to Rs 5.74 per unit (12.55 per cent). For the medium-scale industry, it had been increased by 65 paise per unit - from Rs 5.61 to Rs 6.26. A shopkeeper Amit Mehra said the government did not include the small shopkeepers in any incentive extended policy. He added that for commercial consumers and shopkeepers, in the above-100 unit category, the rate had been increased by 55 paise per unit - from Rs 6.03 to Rs 6.58 (9.12 per cent).
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14-yr-old boy drowns in canal
Amritsar, April 16 The body of the deceased, identified as Ashish Kumar, was recovered this evening. The boy had been missing since yesterday. The deceased’s father, a resident of Jawahar Nagar, ruled out any foul play and said his son used to swim in the canal earlier too. The deceased worked as a helper in a nail factory. The police said the exact cause of the death could be known after the postmortem.
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6 kids hurt as school bus overturns
Amritsar, April 16 According to information, the driver lost control over the bus when its steering wheel developed some snag, causing the accident. Three children were administered first-aid at a hospital in Majitha, while the other three were admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. They, too, were later discharged after treatment. No case has been registered by the Majitha police.
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2 arrested for possessing illicit liquor and narcotics
Amritsar, April 16 In the first case, the Sultanwind police has nabbed Varinder Singh, a resident of Gali No 5, Bazar No 6, Guru Nanak Pura, Amritsar, for possessing 22,500 ml of illicit liquor. The investigating officer, Surjit Singh of police post Sultanwind, said a case under Section 61/1/14 of the Excise Act had been registered against the accused. In the second instance, the A Division police arrested Harinderpal Singh alias Bill, a resident of Guru Nanak Nagar, Verka and recovered 132 capsules of Parvon Spas from him. The investigating officer Paramjit Singh of police post Verka said a case under Section 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act had been registered and investigation was on to know the source through which he had procured the drugs.
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Day 15 of water tank protest: Youth goes on indefinite hunger strike
Amritsar, April 16 The protesters were adamant not to come down till the government accepted their demand for placement in the PowerCom on compassionate grounds. The fathers of all protesting youngsters had died while in service. One of the protesting youths, Sukhchain Singh said, “there are 340 such cases in Power Corporation lying pending.” He said it was complete indifference of the government as it had been ignoring their demand and did not take pain to listen to the protesting youth. Gestures of the government forced one of the youngsters to sit on indefinite strike, he added. It was the third kind of protest organised by these youngsters. They had earlier climbed atop a water tank in the Ram Bagh area on November 15, 2012. Local PowerCorp officials maintained that the matter had been conveyed to the headquarters but it was a policy decision which was notified in April 2010 to offer employment to the next of the kin of only those employees who expired while in service. It does not apply for the period prior to the said date, they added. The officials insisted that any amendment could be done only at the level of the Chief Minister. The protesting youths claimed that they did not opt for the Rs 3 lakh compensation offered by the department and hence, were eligible for the job on compassionate grounds.
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DAV girl students in GNDU merit list
Amritsar, April 16 Speaking on the occasion, Principal Dr KN Kaul congratulated the students on their excellent performance. He also congratulated the parents and teachers for their guidance and support and providing good atmosphere at homes which proved their excellence. Registrar and head of the PG Department of Economics Prof HS Walia also congratulated the students and the staff members for their excellent performance. He said the college was proud on their merit positions and the college administration had always encouraged students to work hard to excel in the academics. School Session starts
Dr Dalbir Singh Verka, Chairman, Right to Service Commission, inaugurated the session 2013-2014 of Sidana International School, Khiala Khurd village, today, which had got affiliation with CBSE up to 10+2 from this session. The ceremony started with Path of Shri Sukhmani Sahib. Members of the management, staff and students prayed to the Almighty for the success of students in life. Dr Verka encouraged the students to put in their best efforts for success in life. On this moment, the new block of Sidana International School was also inaugurated by Dr Verka. Sidana International School is going to start its first session of Senior Secondary wing from this session.
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Special trainers protest against ouster
Amritsar, April 16 Around 1,894 STRs were engaged by the department, said STR Teachers Association Vice-President Gurpal Singh. The teachers from A mritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts participated in the protest. The association leaders said they would be meeting Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on April 25 to request him to continue their services. Association leader Davinder Singh said they had been working with the department for the last four years. “We had hoped that we would be continued in service but instead we have been shown the way out,” said Davinder Singh, adding that the association would intensify protests if the scheme under which they were employed was not extended.
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Career avenues for MBA grads discussed Amritsar, April 16 MBA graduates are considered to be better equipped to take up the responsibility in various fields, including finance, banking, marketing, insurance, pharmaceutical, healthcare, retail, BPOs etc”, opined Dr Hardeep Singh, Director of Placement Cell, GNDU, during a seminar conducted at CKD Institute of Management and Technology, here today. The seminar, on the theme “Emerging Placement Scenario for MBA & IT Professionals”, was hosted by CKD Institute and was presided over by its president Charanjit Singh Chadha. Dr Hardeep Singh, who was the resource person, having rich experience of over 25 years with GNDU, helped students envisage multiple real world placement scenarios.—TNS
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I have fallen in love with Punjabi cinema: Shahbaz Khan
Amritsar, April 16 "Punjabi films are light hearted, strong and fun and high on entertainment value. I wanted to try out in the industry but only with a strong script. It was this movie’s subject and the message it carries for society, which finally turned me from Bollywood to Pollywood,” said Shahbaz, who has carved a niche for himself in the entertainment industry and is still remembered for the role of Hyder Ali he essayed in tele series Sword of Tipu Sutlan. With a strong working profile and successful shows like Yug, Chandrakanta, the latest being Dekha Ek Khwaab, Shahbaaz has always strived hard for variety in is roles. Known for his baritone voice and roles in movies like Aamir Khan starrer Mangal Pandey, Shahbaz is the son of legendary Ustad Amir Khan - the Hindustani Classical vocalist. But his lineage was taken over by his passion for acting. "I know it is essential and expected for the younger generation to carry forward their family’s lineage, but for me it was always acting," says Shahbaaz. As for his role of a police officer in the film Bikkar Bai Sentimental, he says it is the story of the clash of a man with the police and how he is forced to turn an ordinary pahwa (wooden post of a cot) into an instrument for fighting. But the adamant and honest Bikkar’s emotions force the police to bow down before him and instead turn it into Bikkar’s aide. At last, the police has to endorse Bikkar’s views,” he said. Speaking at the event, Jassi Jasraj said the movie was an attempt to change the thought process of “why should I interfere” in the times when so many wrongs are happening in the society. "The movie depicts that every individual can play his or her part to bring changes in this corrupt system,” he said. Jassi added that usually people shy away from taking an initiative to change the system, but the movie will make them believe that someone or the other has to take the first step.
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of census report on pet and stray dogs by the Amritsar Municipal Corporation is pending, the civic body has failed to check the population of stray dogs who continue to haunt the residents of the city.
The Saanjh Kendras of the police department are proving to be a boon for the general public, as people can get their works done in a hassle-free manner, but employees here complain that they are overburdened with work.
Amritsar, April 16
The tough cop of the forthcoming Punjabi movie Bikkar Bai Sentimental, hitting theatres on April 19, Bollywood actor Shahbaz Khan came calling to Amritsar. Flanked by the film’s hero singer-turned-actor Jassi Jasraj and producer of the movie, Sandeep Bansal, Shahbaz expressed his satisfaction on finally being part of the rising Punjabi film industry.
