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Key traffic intersections a nightmare
3 youths duped by travel agents
Shopkeepers decline Improvement Trust offer on rehabilitation
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Yellow metal sees surge in buyers
As buyers throng auction for housing, pricey commercial outlets fail to sell
City doctors operate 61 Uzbek nationals
Six arrested with liquor, banned drugs
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Key traffic intersections a nightmare
Amritsar, June 29 The widening work of Bhandari Bridge hasn't made much headway and also the work on the flyover at Kitchlew Chowk is moving at a snail's pace for more than a year. Work on Bhandari Bridge
Built in 1955, this multi-lane bridge came into existence after replacing a small bridge called "Uccha Pul", the name by which it is still recognised among residents the most. Nevertheless, this bridge, the most vital link which joins the rest of the city to the old walled city, has outlived its life and there has been a multiple impact on it with the passage of time and increase in the volume of traffic on it. Ironically, till date, there have been only scores of proposals that have remained on paper to widen it or strengthen it with modern architecture. Neither the MC nor the Improvement Trust could finalise the DPR (detailed project report) for widening or replacing it. Earlier, after the rejection of the DPR prepared by the Improvement Trust by the Railways, the newly appointed Mayor took the initiative to prepare DPR in collaboration with the Railways. This move, too, had to be scuttled in between due to the depleting fiscal health of the MC. Now, again the Improvement Trust has been entrusted with the task of preparing a fresh DPR, but in consultation with the Railways which, otherwise, played a spoilsport in the past. The width of the bridge is 21.7 m with a 3-m pedestrian path, which would always be encroached upon by light vehicles on both sides. The RITES company had studied the immense load being borne by this bridge and has drafted a proposal worth Rs 3 crore to upgrade it, but it could not see the light of the day. The present situation is dismal. In the absence of any other alternative route, the multi-dimensional traffic gets stuck at this point. The traffic flow on this railway overbridge, increased especially after the Rs 244 crore-flyover on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road came into being. Even though it is connected through a one-way mode, with unprecedented quantum of all kinds of traffic, it is be a compulsion to move at a snail's pace. Kitchlew Chowk flyover
The enthusiasm of bringing in a "development wave" which gained momentum prior to the Assembly elections apparently seems to be fading away, if the slow pace of construction of the flyover project replacing the existing Kitchlew Chowk is any indication. Even as officials believed that this 900-m-long first-ever flyover within the city limits would be dedicated to the public by July
end, the chances are quite bleak. The flyover at Kitchlew Chowk was conceptualised at an estimated cost of Rs 22 crore. The work was awarded to SP Singla Company in September 2011 and it was supposed to be completed in 15 months. The project had earlier hit a setback when around 30 trees came in the way. It was after the Improvement Trust settled terms with the Forest Department that the permission was granted to uproot the trees. Almost two years have already passed when the work was allotted to SP Singla Company but there is little progress. A visit to the site revealed that a half-built flyover with giant machinery and supporting construction infrastructure encroached upon the road causing immense inconvenience to the commuters. A horde of electricity wires, water and sewerage pipes for the project had added to the woes. It has reliably been learnt that the hired company has taken up the project at a much lower rate and now it has been finding it non-feasible to continue. The delay in the project further aggravated the rental quotient of the hired machinery. Residents' views
About the traffic snarls at Bhandari Bridge, Naresh Johar, a resident, advocated that to reduce the load on Bhandari Bridge, a fresh flyover should be conceptualised. "This flyover should be built from Trukkanwala Road (rear of electricity office) leading to Anam Cinema Chowk, with its one ramp connecting the Railway road. This flyover will cater to the whole traffic flow coming in from Hathi Gate, Lohgarh Gate, Beri Gate, Lahori Gate, Khajana Gate, Hakima Gate, which would be diverted towards the railway station, Albert Road, Putlighar, Mall Road and Civil Lines. Another ramp of the flyover should touch Nandan Cinema Chowk (across the railway lines). It can take the traffic load coming from the walled city through Ram Bagh and put the vehicles towards Batala Road, Majitha Road, MM Road, Lawrence Road, Mall Road and Civil Lines area, he suggested.
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3 youths duped by travel agents
Amritsar, June 29 In one case, a youth was taken to Poland, from where the accused who took him there fled after stealing his belongings. The victim, identified as Karnail Singh, a resident of New Azad Nagar, Sultanwind Road, told the police that Gurprit Singh of Chitti village, falling under the Lambra police station in Jalandhar district, took Rs 7.60 lakh from his son Lovepreet Singh while assuring him a permanent residency of Poland. He took his son to a hotel and ran away after stealing his belongings. He said while his son was still running from pillar to post in Poland for help, the accused had returned. He said when they tried to contact him, he started threatening him. The police authorities said a case under Section 420 of the IPC had been registered against him while further investigations were under progress. In another instance, Harwinder Kaur of Hargobind Avenue, Chheharta, stated to police that the accused, identified as Tasvir Singh, his son Labh Singh and Labh’s wife Sandeep Kaur, all residents of Fatehgarh Churian, (Gurdaspur), took Rs 10 lakh for sending her son to Cyprus. But neither the accused returned the money nor sent his ward to Cyprus. A case under Sections 420, 120-B of the IPC has been registered against the three suspects in this connection. In a similar case, the Mehta police has booked four persons Jatinder Singh, his wife Gurmit Kaur and two sons Balbir Singh and Jagbir Singh, all residents of Kotla Suba Singh of Gurdaspur for defrauding Surinder Kaur of Pairoshah village. Surinder stated to the police that the accused took Rs 20 lakh for sending his son to New Zealand on a permanent basis. A case under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC has been registered against the accused following an inquiry conducted by SP (D) Jasdeep Singh. Incidentally, not a single arrest has been made so far in the three cases, with police officials claiming that the investigations were under progress and raids were being conducted to nab the culprits.
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Shopkeepers decline Improvement Trust offer on rehabilitation
Amritsar, June 29 The agitating shopkeepers took this decision after discussing the issue among themselves. Continuing the agitation against the impending evacuation move, these shopkeepers also staged a protest outside Jallianwala Bagh. After the district administration’s intervention, the meeting was arranged between a delegation of the agitating shopkeepers and officials of the Improvement Trust. Improvement Trust chairman Sandeep Rishi said that two options for rehabilitating the traders were offered at its truck stand Jahajgarh scheme and at Mall Mandi. He said built-up booths were available at Truck stand scheme, while a commercial complex with 164 booths would come up under the Mall Mandi scheme next to Jain Samarak on the GT road
for rehabilitating those who were uprooted during Operation Bluestar. In order to accept this offer, these traders would have to first give in writing that they were ready for rehabilitation and pay the reserve price to procure the property. He said the business of only 35 shopkeepers, who are tenants, would be severely affected out of about 140 shops and houses, which would be evacuated to widen the road. The deadline for evacuating shops and houses would end on July 5. Citing the law, Rishi said the road widening project had been undertaken under the Damage Area Act, where there was no provision for rehabilitation yet the Trust was willing to rehabilitate these traders on humanitarian grounds. He said in all about Rs 9 crore was to be paid to the owners of these 140 houses and shops. The traders rejected the proposal for these two sites, but staked their claim for the shops in the Trust's erstwhile office now known as Shri Gian Chand Kharbanda Complex, which has shops, a hotel and a restaurant in it. An affected trader Tarun Aggarwal said the complex was situated a few metres from the shops and the traders would manage to maintain their customers whose trust they had won over the years. It is learnt that it was obligatory on the Local Bodies Government to evacuate the occupants to widen the lane, as a person has moved the High Court that the Trust had not taken the possession of the land despite releasing compensation to a majority of the owners of these shops and houses. The next date of hearing of the case is on July 9. Meanwhile, the agitation of the affected persons continues to attract support from the leaders of the ruling and opposition political parties. Earlier, BJP leaders Tarun Chugh and Jarnail Singh Dhot supported the agitation. Today, Congress leaders Raj Kumar Verka and OP Soni participated in the protest. Demanding their rehabilitation first, they shut their commercial establishments and raised slogans against the government to vent their ire. They have been holding a protest outside Jallianwala Bagh for the past four days.
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14-day judicial custody for notorious criminal
Amritsar, June 29 He had started his nefarious activities by posing as a police inspector. He was reportedly arrested from the Rose Garden area. Jagtar, who was lodged in the Kapurthala jail, was brought to the GNDH after he complained of chest pain. However, soon he dodged the police
guards and escaped from a washroom. Jagtar used to pose as a policeman and rob vulnerable youths and couples. He had allegedly raped nearly 10 girls while posing as a policeman. A number of cases of snatching and robbery were also registered against him. As per the police sources he was wanted in over 100 lootings and snatchings posing as a policeman. He had raped a girl who along with her fiancée had
come to the holy city to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple. Police investigations had revealed that lover couples were his soft target. After robbing the boy, he would rape the girl by taking her to a secluded place. The victims usually do not report such matters to the police as they fear for their reputation.
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Yellow metal sees surge in buyers
Punjab Swarnakar Sangh vice-president Jaspal Singh Kanda said Indian buyers could not abandon the lust for gold, whatever the price may be. He said the retail buyers were out to procure the gold in little amount and also resorted to shopping gold ornaments. He said many big buyers cancelled their previously placed orders to procure physical gold. He said people tend to hold back in anticipation of continuous falling of gold prices. "Fluctuation in the bullion market is beyond comprehension for people and traders in this part of the country. Nobody knows whether the gold extraction from mines has increased or gone down. What are the reasons of this fluctuation, which is invariably given to the US market?" Similarly, the domestic policy of increasing duty to 8 per cent switched the trade from the hands of traders to smugglers, who are once again enticed to make most of the situation. An offender pockets Rs 300 per gm of gold over a tax evasion, which means Rs 3 lakh on 1 kg of gold. The Bullion and Ornaments Merchants Welfare Association president Charanjit Arora said there was no loss for bullion traders following a crash in gold prices. The fall occurred due to the appreciation in the rupee coupled with a sudden fall in the global markets. The response was also the same, as people have suddenly come out to buy after the low in the market. He said silver also breached a near 31-month barrier, but there was a limited demand. He said the flashing of news on private satellite channels that bullion prices might touch Rs 24,000 per 10 gm held back the customers from investing their entire money kept for gold. "Customers are preferring to buy in bits," he said.
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As buyers throng auction for housing, pricey commercial outlets fail to sell
Amritsar, June 29 The auction of residential and commercial plots, including a hotel site, was held after a gap of about six months a day before. The Improvement Trust held its last auction on November 23 last year. All of the 10 residential plots of 250 square yards size were sold off well above their reserve price of Rs 21,000 per square yard in the 97-acre Ajnala Road (Block-D) scheme. It is a part of the popular Ranjit Avenue area. The minimum bid for these plots was Rs 28,400- Rs 29,300 for per square yard. The last auction had recorded plots being sold off within a price range of Rs 28,000-Rs 33,300 per square yard in Ranjit Avenue. All the 11 plots of 100 square yards each, a part of the 340-acre (Block - B) scheme, were sold off between Rs 20,000-Rs 27,100 against the reserve price of Rs 12,100 per square yard in New Amritsar. However, there were no takers for the Shri Gian Chand Kharbanda Complex scheme. The complex houses shopping plaza, shops, office, hotel and restaurant. The building is located near Jallianwala Bagh in the walled city. Even as over 100 hotels, lodges and inns are located in the walled city, the project did not attract any investor, the reserve price of which was Rs 15 crore. Another commercial project, Truck Stand Area Development Scheme, came a cropper as there was no bidder. Truck Stand Area is popularly known as Jahajgarh area. Under this scheme, buyers remained elusive for seven built-up booths at a reserve price of Rs 10.45 lakh each, 10 built-up shop-cum-flats (SCFs) at a reserve price of Rs 28.90 lakh each, besides seven booking agencies of 302 square yards each and seven others on 373 square yards. It has been learnt that underdevelopment and high collector rate in the area proved a dampener. Of the five SCOs up on sale under Ajnala road (District Shopping Center) scheme, three were procured at about Rs 96,000 per square yard each, Rs 6,000 above the reserve price. All these SCOs are 363 square yards each. Two SCOs, spread over 544.5 square yards, were bought at Rs 1.06 lakh and Rs 1.10 lakh per square yards each. As many as 20 SCOs and 10 booth sites were for sale under the Ajnala Road Expansion (Block D) Scheme. Ten SCOs of 363 square yards size each were sold off within a price range of Rs 70,000- Rs 81,500 per square yard, while the reserve price was at Rs 50,000. Only half of these 10 SCOs, each measuring 121 square yards, were purchased in a price range of Rs 87,000-Rs 94,000 per square yard, whereas the reserve price was fixed at Rs 50,000. All the 10 booth sites, each measuring 22.68 square yards, were sold off between staggering Rs 1.33 lakh to Rs 1.54 lakh per square yard. One built-up booth under the Ajnala Road Area Development Scheme (Block E) was bought at Rs 27.5 lakh above its reserve price. Amritsar Improvement Trust chairman Sandeep Rishi said, "Despite a slump in the real estate market for some time, a number of buyers were there during the auction. Buyers from various districts of the state besides Chandigarh also participated in the auction."
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Sowing of tall crops banned along Indo-Pakistan border
Amritsar, June 29 Imposing a ban under Section 144 of the CrPC for sowing such crops, Deputy Commissioner Rajat Agarwal said these crops should not be sown within a distance of 75 feet of the barbed fence at the Indo-Pakistan border. The orders will remain in place till August 16 this year. Smugglers living in border villages take advantage of standing crops try to sneak in narcotic substances, including heroin and arms, across the fence. This year, the BSF so far has seized around 150 kg of heroin besides 12 weapons and fake currency worth over Rs 50 lakh from the Punjab border. It has arrested as many as 14 Indian smugglers while killing three smugglers who were trying to push the contraband. Last year, the BSF apprehended 19 Pakistani smugglers while killing seven Pakistani smugglers. It had also nabbed 19 Indian smugglers and killed one last year.
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Residents, traders resent hike in petrol price
Amritsar, June 29 Even as the oil PSUs increased the price of petrol by Rs 1.82, the effective hike will be Rs 2 with 30 per cent VAT on it. Chandigarh charges 22 per cent VAT and Haryana levies 20 per cent VAT on petrol. Sawinder Singh, a trader, said, "The government needs to keep a check on fuel prices. The companies cannot be allowed to increase prices at their will." He feared that the increase in fuel prices coupled with a fall in the value of rupee and the natural calamity in Uttarakhand would contribute to rise in the prices of commodities in general and essential goods in particular. The hike in petrol prices was resented by industrialists, traders and petroleum dealers alike. Arshdeep Kaur, a housewife, said the hike in prices of petrol after milk would burn a hole in the pocket of middle and lower middle class families. Economically weaker sections will face even greater problem. Kamal Dalmia, a leading Industrialist from the city, said manufacturers here were located at the tail-end of the country and raw material for majority
of industries like yarn, coal, wood, colour, chemicals, iron bars, thread and
others, came from as far as Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal and southern states.
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Seniors making me scapegoat, says gynaecologist accused of negligence
Amritsar, June 29 Dr Balwinder Kaur was later transferred to Community Health Centre, Verka, said she had sent the patient to the labour room for check up.
She said the staff posted at the labour room had reported that the woman was not ready for the delivery after which she had referred her to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. The incident took place on June 25 when a pregnant woman had delivered a stillborn baby. The woman was reportedly been referred to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital but delivered the child outside the hospital after half an hour. "It was the fault of other employees who failed to assess the actual condition of the woman," said Dr Balwinder Kaur, adding that she saw 96 patients at the out-patients department (OPD) patients that day. "The BAMS doctor whom I had sent with the patient had reported that the woman was not ready for delivery. Somebody at the labour room could not assess the actual position," she said. She added that she referred the patient to the GNDH as she did not hear the heartbeat of the fetus and the hospital had better facilities than the Civil Hospital. The Doppler machine required for that was not available at the hospital, Dr Balwinder Kaur said. Her seniors were also accusing her of going to the media, she added. "When people have blemished my image by saying all sorts of things to the media, do not I have the right to clarify my stance," she questioned. Dr Balwinder Kaur demanded that the Health Department should conduct a thorough inquiry to fix the responsibility for the incident. She said despite the fact that if her seniors would ask her to give a written explanation she would willingly do so. "They have not asked for it so far but I have informed the Civil Surgeon of what actually happened on the day," Dr Balwinder Kaur said.
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City doctors operate 61 Uzbek nationals
Amritsar, June 29 The team members were Dr Pankaj Soni, anaesthesiologist, Dr Harish Ghildiyal, Dr Raman Sethi (plastic surgeons), Dr Rahul Chhajalani, a maxillofacial surgeon besides assisting staff including Rajvinder Kaur, Ramanjit Singh, Sukhdev Singh and Baljit Kaur. The team was honoured by improvement trust chairman Sandeep Rishi, at the hospital premises today. Mahajan said American NGO ‘Smile Train’ had selected team of Amandeep Hospital to conduct free-of-cost corrective surgeries in Uzbekistan. The team was welcomed by Ministry of Health, Uzbekistan and set up a centre for cleft lips and palate surgeries under the American NGO.
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Six arrested with liquor, banned drugs
Amritsar, June 29 Meanwhile, Aman Kumar of Batala, Sukhchain Singh and Manpreet Singh of Jagdev Kalan, were also arrested for possessing 5 gram heroin, 5 gram smack and 5 gram heroin respectively. Separate cases under the NDPS Act and Excise Act have been registered against them. Another haul of Habit forming drugs seized: Meanwhile, the CIA staff of Amritsar rural police has arrested Satnam Singh of Bhoewali village and recovered about 25,000 capsules and tablets from his possession. Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused used to sell the same in local villages. The police got a tip-off that he was involved in the illegal sale of intoxicant drugs. A case under Section 22/61/85 of the NDPS Act has been registered in this connection. VB holds seminar
The Vigilance Bureau yesterday held a seminar for spreading awareness against the corrupt practices in government institutions at Baba Bakala near here. DSP Vigilance (Amritsar) Naresh Kumar exhorted people to inform the Vigilance Bureau if any government employee or officials indulged in corrupt practices. He said the Punjab government was serious in eradicating corruption from the state. People should cooperate by sharing information with the bureau against corrupt government employees, he said.
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Amritsar, June 29