Amritsar, May 22
Amritsar has become the first city in Punjab to adopt electric battery-operated eco-rickshaws as part of the public transport system.

When you drive down the narrow lanes of the walled city here, especially around the Golden Temple, these China-made eco-rickshaws will be conspicuous by their simple and efficient design.

These no-sound rickshaws emit zero per cent pollutants and are a hot favourite among tourists, especially the foreigners.

The approach to the sitting place for passengers has been kept low floored with just two steps, offering advantage for the elderly, women and children.

A ride in the rickshaw will cost between Rs 10 and Rs 40 depending upon the length of the route. Costing about Rs 1.08 lakh each, these six-seat colourful rickshaws draw power from four batteries.

The vehicle runs for around eight hours once it is charged and is capable of running at least 75 kilometre in one go.

The maximum speed of this gearless eco-rickshaw is 35 kilomtre an hour. With no policy in place for such battery-operated rickshaws, these need to be purchased on down cash payment.

Earlier, the administration had introduced manual eco-rickshaws in the city and they got a good response. Their number too has gone up over the last few years.

Rohit Nahal, the sole distributor of eco-rickshaw, said there were around 10 such vehicles running in the holy city so far.

“This is an economic and pollution-free mode of transport. We import the knock-down kits from China and assemble them here only. As these do not come under the purview of Motor Vehicle Act, they require no registration or licence and are also easy to maneuvere which is best suited to the narrow lanes of the holy city,” the distributor said.

“The vehicle consumes nearly five units of electricity for a full charge. This means that it will cost somewhere between Rs 30-35 to run it for 75 kilometres in one go. It is far better than conventional auto-rickshaw since its maintenance and running cost is quite low,” he said.

The company intends to collaborate with the administration to make these eco-friendly vehicles popular. “We want the administration to endorse these vehicles. It will help bringing in a change in the lives of manual rickshaw pullers and their families,” Nahal added.

Local automobile firm Shivam Electric Autos, located on the Queens Road here, is offering attractive finance options to buy these. The distributing company is reportedly extending an offer to hire such rickshaws on monthly basis as well.

The administration had volunteered to avail finance from banks and other financial institutions to paddled eco-rickshaws on easy terms a few years ago.

However, no step has been taken for these eco-rickshaws so far.

Amritsar, May 22
The Amritsar Municipal Corporation (AMC) is mulling over to come up with a new advertisement policy as conceptualised by the state government for putting up hoardings and unipole signs in the city.

The MC has already stopped the process of hiring new advertisers till the new policy comes into effect. The state Cabinet in October last had given a go-ahead to the Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Policy-2012 which would be applicable to all advertisements within the limits of the municipalities across the state. A decision to this effect was taken by the Council of Ministers in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. This policy was primarily designed to ensure that outdoor advertisement should not be hazardous to traffic.

In the backdrop of this, the move was a result of stern directions issued by the Punjab & Haryana High Court to the Secretary, Local Bodies Department. The HC ordered removal of all hoardings put up illegally either by political leaders, parties or commercial organisations on road berms and rooftops of residential complexes.

The MC has formed a special team under a superintendent and an inspector to ensure compliance to the HC orders. Amritsar Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said it would be for the first time that an advertisement policy was being framed.

“We have already sent a report about our preparedness prior to adopting the advertisement policy but the reply is still awaited. We have started the process of dismantling angle iron frames of hoardings from the designated roadsides as well as from the rooftops of commercial or residential buildings. These angle iron frames have now become the MC’s property and would be put under hammer soon,” he said.

Various MC teams were spotted removing the hoardings from different parts of the city.

Over 700 such hoardings, which had expired their term, have been removed from rooftops so far. Officials believe around 150 more such hoardings still exist in the city.

“These too would be removed by the next month as the contract term of the most of these will expire by June,” he said.

“Once this policy is implemented, no illegal hoardings or advertisement billboards will dot the city. In absence of a concrete and uniform advertisement policy, we faced difficulty in implementing the HC directions,” said MC Commissioner Bhupinder Singh.

“The spaces meant for outdoor advertisement will be auctioned in a transparent manner to stop illegal practices,” he said.

An ordinance for amending the Punjab Municipal Act 1911 has been approved by the government to give way to the Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Policy-2012 and Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Bye-laws-2012. 

Amritsar, May 22
About a dozen youths were allegedly duped by an anganwari worker on the pretext of providing jobs to them in various government departments.

The police have booked three persons, including anganwari worker Paramjit Kaur of Sanjhpura village in Tarn Taran. The others two are Kulwinder Singh and Manjit Singh, son and brother of Paramjit Kaur. Manjit Singh lives in Faridabad near New Delhi.

The victims lodged a complaint with the Chheharta police after the accused failed to return their money. They alleged that the accused took Rs 12.50 lakh from them to provide them government jobs but failed to do so even after over a year.

Jatinder Singh, a resident of Guru Ki Wadali, said the accused took Rs 1 lakh each from him and his sister Davinder Kaur before the Assembly elections. He said they pressurised Paramjit Kaur after some time to provide the jobs or return the money. He said they got suspicious of her when she gave them appointment letters of various departments.

“We got suspicious as appointment letters should have come by post. She handed over the appointment letter of ETT teacher to me, which was not possible since I was just a senior secondary pass,” said Jatinder.

Jagtar Singh, Jatinder's father, said his daughter did B.Ed. The appointment letter given by Paramjit was later turned out to be fake.

The other victims include Baljinder Kaur, Simarjit Singh, Satnam Singh, Harjit Kaur, Kanwaljit Singh, Davinder Singh, Gursewak Singh, Kuldip Singh, Rajwinder Kaur, Salwinder Singh and Gurpal Singh.

Sulakhan Singh, investigating officer, said a case under Section 419, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered in this connection. No arrest has been made so far. He said the accused took Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.40 lakh from the victims depending upon the jobs promised. He said raids are being conducted to nab the suspects who had been on run since the registration of case.

Amritsar, May 22
About 20 food samples collected by Health Department in April from well-known eateries in the city have failed on quality parameters. The tests on the samples collected by the department were conducted by Food Laboratory, Chandigarh.

Few of the shops from where these samples were collected included eating joints as Novelty, Metro 42, Hotel Mohan, Angreji Dhaba, Pizza Hut among others.

District Health Officer Dr Shivkaran Singh Kahlon said it was a cause of concern that when food items served by expensive eateries were failing quality parameters what could one expect from roadside eateries. He said action against the big eateries would be taken as no one was immune to law. The department has sent 47 samples for testing this month and reports of these were awaited, he added. They have also received complaints about expired packed food items being sold in the market. 

Amritsar, May 22
Three persons, including a girl, lost their lives in separate road accidents in the last 24 hours.

Amandeep Kaur, a resident of Banke Bihari Street, Sunder Nagar, was run over by a speeding bus bearing number PB-06-L-0059. The incident occurred on Batala road when the deceased was going to Government College for Girls on her Activa scooter. The police said the driver of the bus, identified as Angrej Singh of Kathunangal, was carelessly driving the vehicle.

The police has registered a case on the statement of Surinder Singh, a resident of Chhota Guruwarali village on Tarn Taran road. He is cousin of the deceased. The accused bus driver has been arrested.

In another incident, a 32-year-old milkman, identified as Kuldeep Singh, was killed when his motorcycle hit a wrongly parked tipper bearing number PB-02-5W-9541.

Surjit Singh, a resident of Mogu Sohi village, said his brother was going to Amritsar when his motorcycle collided with the Tipper near Sohian Khurd village. The police has registered a case against the tipper driver. A case has been registered at the Kamboh police station in this connection. No arrest has been made so far.

Kuldeep Singh, a cyclist, lost his life when a speeding tractor trolley hit his cycle leaving him dead on the spot. Harpreet Singh, a resident of Ajnala and nephew of the deceased, said his uncle was going on the right side while the tractor trolley hit his cycle.

Eywitnesses said the trolley driver fled leaving the trolley behind. He was later identified as Harjit Singh of Bal Dariya village.

Amritsar, May 22
Rash driving by government and private buses continues unabated on city roads as the authorities concerned have been unable to check the menace.

A number of precious lives have been lost due to negligent driving by bus drivers. Amandeep Kaur, a student of SR Government College for Women, died when a speeding bus hit her near Verka bypass yesterday.

All roads connecting the bypasses to the city experience a heavy rush of passenger buses. Jasbir Singh, a city resident, said permitting the parking of buses outside Hall Gate was dangerous.

“High flow of traffic takes place on the stretch outside Hall Gate. Private air-conditioned coaches are parked there to pick and drop passengers which results in road congestion,” he said.

Reports suggest that since many leading politicians from the ruling party and the opposition have interests in transport business and it becomes even more difficult for the traffic police to keep tabs on violators.

Among the worst affected areas inside the walled city are Bhandari Bridge, Hall Gate, inter-state bus terminus, Hussainpura Chowk, Crystal Chowk, Court Chowk and Lawrence Road.

Majitha Road, Sheranwala Gate, Sultanwind Chowk, Chatiwind Chowk, Tarn Taran road, Putlighar, Islamabad, Nawan Kot, Chheharta Chowk are the ones affected outside the city.

The number of traffic personnel to deal with the severe traffic problem is inadequate. On an average, 50,000 new vehicles get registered with the District Transport Office every year. Several residential areas have been converted into commercial ones over the past decade thus adding to the problem of traffic congestion. The majority of these buildings lack the necessary parking facilities due to which residents park their vehicles on the road. The police has put barricades at Kachehari Chowk, Bhandari Bridge, Hall Gate and several other places to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. Illegal encroachments, bad road conditions and flouting of traffic norms have made the situation worse.

Vivek Goel, a resident of New Amritsar, said the defunct traffic lights at the eight-lane New Amritsar Gate were posing a danger to the lives of residents.

Amritsar, May 22
Political parties like the SAD, BJP and Congress are vying for credit over a city resident, Sachin Gupta, who became the Mayor of a UK township.

As a result, life-size billboards are dotting the prominent roads and marketplaces of the city. Despite caring to know his political ideology, these outfits have put up huge hoardings congratulating Gupta on his feat.

A leading political party of Punjab has installed unipoles and signboards containing pictures of Sachin at the centre and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia around him. Not to be left behind, the BJP has installed display boards with pictures of MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu and others along with Sachin.

Similarly, the ruling coalition’s arch opposition Congress party has put up boards with pictures of Sachin along with their leaders OP Soni and Gurjeet Aujala.

Notably, Sachin, who is now 37, went to the UK in 1998 when he was 23. He had gone overseas to pursue his management degree. His interest in politics and community activities there made him a popular face amongst the Indian community in the UK.”

NRI Sachin, who hails from the city, became the youngest ever Mayor of London Borough of Hounslow. He served as a cabinet member for education and communities in 2012 and added communication to his portfolio in 2012.

He currently works for the Heathrow Airport where he is a facilities inspector to earn a living for his family, comprising his wife and two children.

A social activist, Naresh Johar, said while Indian politicians were big landlords and wealthy entrepreneurs, they claimed to have entered politics for a social service, but their electorates were yet to known their works done for charity. On the other hand, youngest Mayor Sachin, after the mayoral elections, announced his two charities for the coming year which would be Ovarian Cancer Action and Tropical Zoo, now based at the Hounslow Urban Farm.

Amritsar, May 22
The Health Department today conducted raids at two medical stores in Chheharta area and recovered about 8,000 intoxicant capsules from shops.

A team of the Health Department, headed by Anupma Kalia, raided Guru Ram Dass Medical Store at Ghanupur Kale road, Khandwala, and seized about 5,000 capsules from the shop.

The team also raided Shiv Shakti Medical Store on the Sher Shah Suri road, Chheharta, and confiscated 2,000 capsules, 1,000 tablets and 12 syrups from the spot.

Kalia said notices would be issued to the owners of the shops to produce the relevant record, which they failed to produce during the raid.

Meanwhile, the anti-narcotic cell of the Amritsar rural police has confiscated proscribed drugs, which were being sold by Kulwant Singh of Khanewal village.

Sanjiv Sharma, in charge of anti-narcotic cell, said they had the specific information that the accused was involved in the illegal selling of habit-forming drugs. The police laid a check post near the village drain.

The police recovered 4,000 tablets and 500 capsules from his possession. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the Ajnala police station in this connection.

The preliminary investigation reveals that the accused himself was a drug addict and had been in the illegal trade for the past several months. He has been sent to judicial remand.

Earlier, the police department, in collaboration with the Health Department, had conducted a raid at Baba Deep Singh Medical Store, Gharinda, and recovered intoxicants from the store.

It took over an hour for the police party and the Health Department team to recover the proscribed drugs. The owner could not produce the records regarding selling and procuring of the intoxicants.

Bableen Kaur, drug inspector, said ," The Zonal Licensing Authority has issued a notice to the chemist shop owner, identified as Sharanjit Singh. We will wait for the reply and in case he fails to produce the records, action under the Drugs and Cosmetic Act will be initiated against him." 

Amritsar, May 22
To facilitate a shed for the devotees visiting the Golden Temple in harsh summers, a weather shield will be put up near Gurdwara Lachi Ber in the Golden Temple Complex.

A weather shield has already been installed on the causeway leading to the sanctum sanctorum. The work for the installation of the new weather shield began today in the presence of Giani Jagtar Singh from Ludhiana, Baba Ram Singh Singhra from Karnal, and Baba Mahal Singh.

Thousands of devotees visit the holy shrine everyday and they had to wait for hours in the sun during summers before they could pay obeisance. Keeping in view the inconvenience faced by the devotees on this count, this weather shield is being installed. Earlier, when the weather shield was put up on the causeway, the move was opposed by heritage lovers, who had contended that it will alter the heritage character of the Golden Temple. The old weather shield, too, was installed by Baba Ram Singh Singhra. 

Amritsar, May 22
Pakistan would soon announce the most favoured nation (MFN) status to India, said Naeem Anwar, minister (trade), Pakistan High Commission.

Addressing a session on "Doing Business with Pakistan" organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here last night, Naeem pointed out that with the new government in place in Pakistan, the relations between India and Pakistan were bound to improve manifold.

To promote business, he stressed on the visa-on-arrival facility. He also mentioned that easier visa norms would go a long way in enhancing business ties between the two countries.

In the present scenario of global slowdown, regional ties are the best answer. India and Pakistan need to look beyond politics, towards shared economic gains. There is an immense demand for each other's products in both countries. Both countries should take advantage of the same. The Indian Businessmen can approach the Trade Development Authority in Pakistan for any issues.

The focused session on business with Pakistan apprised the business community of Amritsar on how it can globalise its businesses and take advantage of various opportunities that exist in the neighbouringcountry.

CII Amritsar Zonal Council chairman Rajdeep Singh Uppal said the CII, in its endeavour to create opportunities for Indian businesses to grow, has been stepping up its engagement with the world on a wide range of issues that it identifies as being critical for the globalisation of Indian industry and its integration into the world economy.

He said, "India and Pakistan are the two most populous and largest economies of the region and the CII feels that stronger trade and economic ties between the two countries will facilitate faster integration of the economies of the region, which in turn will have a direct bearing on the prosperity of the south Asian region."

Gunbir Singh, past chairman, CII Punjab State Council, said, "The time is now ripe to take the trade relationship between the two nations to the next level. The potential is at least 10 times the present trade levels. However, anomalies such as the full application of negative list to Attari trade post without restrictions, scanned container interchange, easy visas, and enhanced parallel infrastructure on Pakistan's side shall release a mutual bonanza for both. CII Amritsar zonal council vice-chairman Nawal Kapoor termed the session as informative. "It is a right time for the Amritsar based business community to explore the business opportunities with Pakistan and to go global by exploring new markets," he said. 

Amritsar, May 22
After the GNDU authorities did not pay any heed to their demands, the teachers have announced to go ahead with their plan of observing a chain hunger strike from tomorrow onwards.

The teachers had demanded their arrears accruing from the Sixth Pay revision 2006 and had given an ultimatum to clear their dues by May 22, else they would resort to hunger strike.

Since the GNDU authorities had procured the court orders against staging any dharna or protest within the radius of 100 m from the V-C's office, the teachers have decided to hold their protest at Surta Singh road crossing near Putlitghar chowk.

Dr Davinder Singh, president, GNDU Teachers' Association, said the hunger strike would be held between 10 am and 4 pm.

Secretary Dr Lakhwinder Singh viewed that the authorities never initiated to take up the matter with the government regarding their arrears. "Except for writing a letter to the government for the sake of formality, no initiative was ever taken up by the authorities. It is irony that we were the only teachers in the entire state, who were deprived of the Sixth Pay Commission benefits," he said. 

Amritsar, May 22
Baba Gurmukh Singh Uttam Singh Senior Secondary School, Khadur Sahib, run under the aegis of Baba Sewa Singh, registered 100 per cent result in Class 12 exam held by the Punjab School Education board (PSEB). Like the PSEB results, girls outshined boys in the school result.

All 201 students of the school scored good marks and secured first division. In the science stream, Ramanbir Kaur secured top position with 91.1 per cent marks, whereas Gurtej Singh with 89.1 per cent and Rubleen Kaur with 87.3 per cent secured second and third positions, respectively. In commerce, Simranjit Kaur with 88.89 per cent, Harminder Kaur with 86.67 per cent and Navroop Kaur with 84.67 per cent marks secured first, second and third positions, respectively. In humanities, girls topped the list as Manpreet Kaur secured 83 per cent, while both Mankaran Kaur and Jobanpreet Kaur secured 80 per cent marks.

This is also an achievement for the school that out of a total of 88 science students, 23 secured above 80 per cent, 59 secured above 70 per cent and remaining secured above 65 per cent. In commerce stream, out of 44 students, 16 secured above 80 per cent, 21 secured 70 per cent and remaining secured above 60 per cent. Baba Sewa Singh, who is on US visit these days, sent congratulatory message for the successful students and their teachers. — TNS

Amritsar, May 22
Boxer Jagroop Singh, who has recently completed his graduation from Khalsa College here to join the Punjab Police, has brought laurels for the country by winning a bronze medal in the International Limassol Boxing Cup Championship held in Cyprus.

He competed in the 81 kg category and reached the semifinals to bag the bronze medal, while as many as 10 medals were bagged by Indian boxers in the reputed event.

Jagroop, who had undergone training for the last many years in the boxing rink of the college, would now focus on the next Asian Boxing Championship scheduled to be held in Jordan from June 30, said Khalsa College sports incharge Bachanpal Singh.

Jagroop's coach Baljinder Singh said he was one of the most promising student and boxer of the college and would further make his mark in the upcoming international event.

KCA principal Dr Daljit Singh and Khalsa College Governing Council honorary secretary Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina congratulated Jagroop on his achievement.

Amritsar, May 22
Three unidentified motorcycle-borne youth robbed Amolakjit Singh, a resident of Kamoke village of Rs 20.7 lakh when he, along with his grandmother, was going for the registry of a land.

The incident took place on the road leading from Butala to Sathiala. According to information, the accused pushed them and snatched their bag.

A case has been registered at the Beas police station following the statement of the victim. — TNS