Registration of properties on power of attorney to continue
Amritsar, May 30
In a relief to the people dealing in sale and purchase of land via power of attorneys, the government has decided to continue with the system of registration of properties on power of attorney. This was announced by Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia here today.

Cabinet’s nod to induct super specialists hailed
Amritsar, May 30
The medical fraternity has hailed the clearance given by the state Cabinet to the proposal of the Directorate of Research and Medical education to fill 129 posts of super specialists and medical faculty in government medical colleges.

Minister seeks sailor’s release
Amritsar, May 30
Industry and Technical Education Minister Anil Joshi has requested External Minister Salman Khurshid to use his good offices to secure release of city resident Jatin, who has been detained in a private ship for the past four months in Mumbai.

Teachers on warpath against GNDU authorities, state government
Amritsar, May 30
The rift between the faculty and the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Guru Nanak Dev University seems to be increasing with each passing day as the teachers' association has accused the Vice-Chancellor and the state government of 'insensitivity' and of an 'unholy alliance' between the two. The association's chain hunger strike entered the eighth day today. Association members said the state government had not nominated three members of senate and syndicate this year, thus giving a 'free hand' to the Vice-Chancellor.

Amritsar, May 30
Students of various city schools rejoiced today after the CBSE declared the Class X results.

Kiranjot Kaur, Komalpreet Kaur, Priya Babool, Sahil Sarangal, Simranpreet Kaur and Harmanpreer Singh of Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary Public School, Majitha Road bypass, secured CGPA 10, while 24 students secured merit positions. CGPA 10 in English was scored by 12 students, in Punjabi by 17, maths by 10, science by 11, social science by eight and IT by 11 students. The school secured 100 per cent pass result, as all 81 students of the class passed, said school Principal Dapinder Kaur.

Spring Dale School achieved 100 per cent result, as all 330 students of Class X passed the examination. Sixty eight students of the school got 10 CGPA and 162 students got nine and above points.

Congratulating the students, Director of the Spring Dale Educational Society Kirat Sandhu Cheema credited the outstanding result to industriousness of the students, school faculty and parents. She said it was a proud moment for the school.

The Principal of Khalsa College International Public School (KCIPS) Dr DK Sandhu, said Harmeet Kaur Malhi scored 9.6 CGPA in the examination and the school registered 100 per cent result. She said Jatin Bhagat from the school got 9.4 CGPA and four other students scored nine CGPA, while three students got eight. Apart from them, 12 students got CGPA 7.0 and above and 19 students got CGPA 6.0. She congratulated the students for getting excellent results.

Of 131 students of Bhavan who appeared in the examination, 107 managed first division, while 15 got 10 CGPA. These students are Vaishali Malik, Chandan Sharma, Riya Sharma, Simardeep Singh, Abhilash Aggarwal, Abhishek Bansal, Anish Arora, Sakshi Arora, Akarshan Malhotra, Bhavya Chaudhary, Danish Khurana, Priya Sehgal, Rhythm Mahajan, Sukhmani Kaur and Lovkesh Sharma. Eighteen students got more than 90 per cent.

Out of 230 students of DAV International School who appeared in the examination, 27 secured 10 CGPA. Six students got 9.8 CGPA, seven secured 9.6, 10 got 9.2 and nine secured 9 CGPA.

Amritsar, May 30
The general house meeting of the Municipal Corporation scheduled for today was postponed indefinitely after a fissure developed between the SAD and BJP. However, the leaders of both the parties said the meeting was postponed because of the untimely death of Deputy Mayor’s brother.

A meeting between the senior leaders of both the parties was held yesterday to resolve the issue, but it did not yield any result after which the decision to postpone the meeting was taken.

The Congress had already trained its guns on the SAD-BJP for its proposal to charge an “exorbitant fee” for sending fire brigades for safety to religious and other functions. Congress leaders had also announced to oppose the proposal to increase the license fee for shopkeepers and for no objection certificates from the Fire Department.

Sources said a few senior leaders in the House were against the proposal to put more burden on public. The sources said the opposition to such proposals, too, had played a part in the postponement of the meeting.

Meanwhile, Congress Councillor and Leader of the Opposition in House Raj Kanwal Preet Singh Lucky has taken a jibe at the SAD-BJP for the development.

“How would this alliance work for another four years when the BJP Mayor was forced to postpone the meeting, considering the threat of walk out from the SAD councillors!”

He said while the Mayor had proposed to allot developmental works of around Rs 2 crore for the wards represented by the BJP councillors, it had allotted works of only Rs 8-10 lakhs for the wards represented by SAD leaders.

However, Senior Deputy Mayor Avtar Singh Truckawala said, “The meeting has been postponed because of a senior leader’s brother’s death.” He said talks of rift between the alliances were not true.

To a query about the proposed charges of fire safety services, he said, “I believe that this was a burden on the common masses and I hope these charges be only nominal when the House meets again.”

Amritsar, May 30
In a relief to the people dealing in sale and purchase of land via power of attorneys, the government has decided to continue with the system of registration of properties on power of attorney. This was announced by Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia here today.

He the that Cabinet had given a green signal to it with the condition that 2 per cent stamp duty on the circle rates would be imposed on the power of attorneys by amending schedule -1A of Indian Stamp Act.

An ordinance in this context would be brought soon, said Majithia. The government had decided to check malpractices that had crept into the registration of land records process by prohibiting the sale and purchase of land via third party power of attorneys, barring blood relations.

This move had created tremors in the property circles and the government had to extend the date for the same from time to time. These extensions in the deadline of the registration of property via power of attorneys, a large number of registrations were materialised, generating huge revenue.

Now, the decision to validate sale and purchase of property via power of attorneys with a rider would prove to be economically beneficial to the state, generating a large amount of additional revenue, said Majithia. He said initiatives were been taken to bring about transparency in the Revenue Department and added that a special transfer policy to cater to the transfers of tehsildars, naib tehsildars, kanoongos and patwaris had been made and those working in cities for two years would be deputed into rural areas.

Moreover, rendering huge relief to people, the government had decided not to hike the circle collector rates of land this time, he said. Similarly, ensuring mutation of land within 15 days and providing it to people by post at their doorstep was also on the anvil, he said.

Earlier, Majithia laid the foundation stone of Rs. 5.50 crore extension works at the grain market. The extension work incorporates the expansion of existing 17 acre mandi into additional 4 acres. Besides, strengthening of the infrastructure and construction of concrete raised platforms is also the part of the extension work.

Amritsar, May 30
The medical fraternity has hailed the clearance given by the state Cabinet to the proposal of the Directorate of Research and Medical education to fill 129 posts of super specialists and medical faculty in government medical colleges.

At the same time, the PCMS Association has demanded that there should be no efforts to dilute the quota of the PCMS cadre in faculty. The association said the departmental selection committees, which would be constituted for the selection, should be fair and impartial as earlier selection was challenged in the court.

The Cabinet has taken these appointments out of the preview of the PPSC and decided to constitute departmental selection committees for the same.

The Government Medical College here is grappling with an acute faculty shortage and the Medical Council of India has already warned de-recognisation of the college.

The proposed appointment of faculty would surely help in solving the problem of staff crunch.

Meanwhile, the PCMS Association is contemplating to call a meeting to discuss the government’s move.

Association Patron Dr Ranjit Singh Buttar said, “Soon we would be calling a meeting to discuss that PCMS cadre gets its due share.” He said the PCMS doctors want that entire backlog of their cadre should be given to them. The Cabinet has also approved providing 214 posts of various levels for running three drug de-addiction centres at Amritsar, Patiala and Jalandhar.

Dr Buttar hailed the decision, adding that it was after a long time that recruitment in medical colleges was going to be ensued on such a scale. He said the state government should ensure that no backdoor entries were made during the process.

Amritsar, May 30
Industry and Technical Education Minister Anil Joshi has requested External Minister Salman Khurshid to use his good offices to secure release of city resident Jatin, who has been detained in a private ship for the past four months in Mumbai.

In a communiqué to the Union Minister, Joshi said Jatin’s family had been running from pillar to post to secure release. He added that the crestfallen family must be provided relief by securing the release of Jatin as he and other employees of the company were not at fault. Jatin and his colleagues have become a victim of the family dispute between the owners of the company operating the ship.

Jatin, a resident of Kangra Colony, is working as a Electrical Officer with a shipping company. — TNS

Amritsar, May 30
The rift between the faculty and the Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Guru Nanak Dev University seems to be increasing with each passing day as the teachers' association has accused the Vice-Chancellor and the state government of 'insensitivity' and of an 'unholy alliance' between the two.

The association's chain hunger strike entered the eighth day today. Association members said the state government had not nominated three members of senate and syndicate this year, thus giving a 'free hand' to the Vice-Chancellor.

In a press release issued today, the association said, "The absence of nominated members from the state government has allowed the Vice-Chancellor a free hand in the syndicate which is full of cronies."

It stated that he had used this 'free hand' for harming members of the faculty, who refused to toe his line, and appointed persons of dubious credentials as members of syndicate.

Association president Dr Davinder Singh demanded that arrears of the teachers be released by May 31, failing which the ongoing strike at the GT Road shall be intensified by adopting a direct action. The association has warned the VC for unpleasant consequences.

Dr Davinder Singh said the association also demands a thorough probe into the misdoings of the Vice-Chancellor in his tenure of four years. Dr Davinder Singh and association secretary Dr Lakhwinder Singh Kang sat on the hunger strike today. All other members of the executive committee remained present during the hunger strike.

Teachers from the GNDU campus, ASSM College, Mukandpur, and other constituent and affiliated colleges also marked their presence at the venue.

Dr Kang said the state government had adopted an indifferent and callous attitude towards the legitimate and genuine demands of teachers. He said the response from the Vice-Chancellor or from the state government was still awaited.

He said the lack of concern of the Punjab Government towards the university and its teachers could be gauged from the fact that the payment of pay arrears to the teachers comes to an ad hoc expenditure of Rs 25 crore and as 80 per cent of the total shall be reimbursed by the Central Government, the net amount to be spent by the Punjab Government comes around to Rs 5 crore only.

The association members said if the government was not ready to spend this paltry sum from its treasury, it can at least direct the Vice-Chancellor to release this amount from the university exchequer and get it reimbursed later on.

Amritsar, May 30
Many trees, shrubs and green vegetation on the stretch of Airport road from a private Hartej Nursing home to Gumtala by-pass have been burnt. This move by unidentified persons has infuriated the city-based environmentalists and vigilant citizens.

Mission Aagaaz executive director Deepak Babbar maintained that it was another negative fallout of rapid urbanisation. The city is bursting at its seems and people are jostling for residential and commercial space. In this process, they have become pitiless and did not mind removing trees. He said earlier in the name of progress, trees were uprooted at Durgiana Temple, at Saifuddin Kitchlew chowk to raise a flyover, at Rajasansi to widen the Airport road, at Tarawala pul to raise a new bridge.

He said the instances of trees being axed to pave way for development works are innumerable. "Now, people with vested interests are resorting in setting the trees to fire without realising the value of urban greenery.

Another environmentalist Rameshwar Dutt Sharma said urban green vegetation play vital role in ecology of human habitats as these filter air, water, sunlight, provide shelter to animals and recreational area for people. They moderate local climate, slowing wind, and shading homes and assist in conserving energy. He said experts had proved that these green patches were lungs for the city as they were critical in cooling the urban heat effect. He said they also help in potentially reducing the number of unhealthful ozone days that plague major cities in the peak summer months.

In many countries around the globe, there was a growing understanding of the importance of the natural ecology in the urban areas.

Babbar alleged that many of the burnt trees were those which were transplanted after uprooting from Dr Vidya Sagar Mental Hospital in 2009. He added that firstly these trees were uprooted, dislocated, then rehabilitated and now they were burnt. He claimed that recently fire incidents were reported at the Circuit House, at Canal Colony and opposite SR Government College for Women. He sought holding of inquiry to probe the reasons and persons behind the incident.

When contacted district forest officer Nirmaljit Singh Randhawa said staff had already been pressed into job to probe the incident of burning trees on the stretch of Airport road. He said majority of the transplanted trees from Dr Vidya Sagar Mental Hospital had already perished barring Pipal and Bohar.

Amritsar, May 30
Mission Aagaaz, an NGO working for the environment cause, has written to the Railway Ministry over the absence of trees on the newly-built Ludhiana-Chandigarh rail track and plant the same at the earliest.

Dr Amrit Adlakha, a member of the NGO, stated in the communiqué that it took about 15 years to complete the rail track between Ludhiana and Chandigarh. But as one travels from Sanhewal to Morinda, there is not a single tree visible along either side of the track.

If the trees were planted during the construction of the track, the area would have been lush green and travelling on this section would have been a big pleasure.

Even the staff quarters and the surrounding of railway stations are wanting in greenery. In the days of global warming and sizzling temperature, omission of greenery gives a wrong impression.

The NGO sought fixing of responsibility on the officials responsible for the omission of planting saplings. In the view of approaching rainy season, an action plan should be put in place to plant trees in this section and other parts of the country.

"Mission Aagaaz is ready to render its services for growing trees free of cost around the Sanhewal-Morinda section," he quipped. — TNS

Amritsar, May 30
Acting on a tip off, the Excise Department, in a midnight raid, seized 192 boxes of country liquor and Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) from an illegal godown located near historic Gurdwara Chheharta Sahib here.

However, the two accused who owns the godown managed to flee the spot leaving their car behind when the four-member team of the department along with the police team raided the premises of the godown.

The accused were identified as Lalit Kumar and Davinder Singh. Excise officials informed that both the accused were already wanted by the police in similar cases.

Officials of the Excise Department said the whole stock of the liquor was smuggled from other districts and the accused did not possess any permit/pass for stashing the liquor.

The raiding party included excise inspectors Rajiv Manan, Jasvir Singh, Lovejinder Singh and Amanbir Singh.

Rajiv said the Excise Department had specific information about movements of Lalit Kumar, who was infamous for liquor smuggling. He said the department kept a close watch on the accused and chased his vehicle which ultimately took them to the godown. Investigations revealed that the accused used to supply the liquor to home after getting orders from their clients on phones.

A case under Sections 61/1/14 of the Excise Act is being registered against them in this connection. 

Amritsar, May 30
An unidentified man tried to break in an ATM machine of Punjab National Bank at Ghah Mandi Chowk here late last evening.

This has again brought to light the lack of security arrangements at the ATMs of various banks in the city, despite repeated cautions and instruction issued by the police to banks to depute security guards.

In the latest instance, an unidentified person reportedly managed to break the locks. However, he could not succeed in his attempt of robbing, as he did not know the codes.

ASI investigating officer Panna Lal said the suspect seemed inebriated.

“We have demanded the CCTV footage from the bank to identify the accused. We are hopeful of arresting him soon,” he said.

While most of the private banks have deputed private security guards, nationalised banks are seeming lagging behind the security aspect.

The recent instance is a clear indicator that several nationalised banks have not taken enough security measures as yet. A senior bank official said while they had deputed security guards at new ATMs, the old machines were still devoid of watchmen. 

Amritsar, May 30
The incidents of lifting of luxury cars have been on the rise if the recent incidents are to be believed.

In the recent case, a couple of unidentified youths snatched a Fortuner SUV from a doctor when he was coming out of Sukh Sagar Hospital in the Ranjit Avenue area. He was just about to enter the vehicle when the incident took place.

The accused pushed the victim, identified as Dr Jagdeep Singh, and took away the vehicle. In a statement to the police, Dr Jagdeep said the two accused came up to him and asked if he was the owner of the hospital.

“Before he could understand the situation, the accused pushed him and sped away with the vehicle, numbering CH-01-AR-4105,” said Balwant Singh, the in-charge of the Ranjit Avenue police station.

This is the second such case in the posh Ranjit Avenue area of Civil Lines. Earlier this month, three such incidents took place in the city.

Earlier, three unidentified persons had snatched a Skoda car from a Punjabi singer at gunpoint when she was returning home on May 11.

Khushbo, the victim, was accompanied by her three-year-old son. She reported to the police that as she slowed down her car, three accused intercepted her and signalled her to stop, while pointing a gun at her. The Civil Lines police had registered a case under Section 392 of the IPC in this connection.

On April 30, two unidentified persons snatched a car at gunpoint and shot at driver Charanjit Singh outside the Alpha One mall. He was driving a Swift Dzire car.

In a similar case, two unidentified persons snatched a car from Gurparkash Singh of the New Jawahar Nagar area, near Silver Estate, on February 11. He was waiting for a friend when the accused took out a pistol.

He reported to the police that he was calling his friend when the suspects knocked at the windowpane of his car. He said when he lowered down the window, the accused took out a pistol, pulled him out and sped away with the car.

Amritsar, May 30
The Ajnala police has booked Bittu of Teda Rajputa village for rape bid.

The victim, in her complaint, alleged that she was sleeping at her residence when the accused entered the house and started vulgar acts with her without her consent.

She said she immediately raised an alarm following which her husband arrived and the accused ran away. He also threatened her of dire consequences.

A case under Sections 376 and 511 of the IPC has been registered in this connection. No arrest has been made so far.

Amritsar, May 30
SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar inaugurated a hockey academy in Amritsar during a programme held at Sri Guru Ramdas Khalsa Senior Secondary School here today.

Two more hockey academies at Faridkot and Patiala have also been inaugurated.

He said the SGPC was committed to flourish Sikhism around the world. Similarly, students must be weaned away from drugs with the introduction of sports in their growing age. He said this move would elevate the deteriorating standards of the national game at international platforms.

He informed that about 1,200 players took part in trials for these three academies. Of these, 93 were selected to be trained in these academies. He said the Shiromani committee would bear the expenditure of education, boarding, lodging, hockey kits and others.

For this purpose, services of Arjun awardee, Brigadier Harcharan Singh (retd), Surinder Singh Sodhi, Rajpal Singh, Pargat Singh, Ajitpal Singh would be taken.