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MC plans Rs 100-cr loan from World Bank
Morning showers again show civic body’s helplessness
250 quintals of wheat seized from truck
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Flooded road blocks entry to hospitals
Amritsar, July 8 The visitors to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and Employees State Insurance Hospital on the Majitha road had a tough time this morning walking through the water-logged road to enter the hospitals.
High frequency of mishaps on Amritsar-Batala road a cause for worry
Parking of heavy vehicles on the Batala road near Amritsar leaves the stretch congested. Photo : Sameer Sehgal
Impasse over evacuation of shops persists
The closed shops near Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on Monday; and shopkeepers (right) speak to BJP chief Rajnath Singh during his visit to the city on Sunday. Photos: Sameer Sehgal
Woman allegedly set on fire by in-laws dies
Professional courses
a hot favourite among students at GNDU this time
6 booked for assault
Disaster management programme for NCC cadets held
Farmer booked for beating his servant to death
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MC plans Rs 100-cr loan from World Bank
Amritsar, July 8 The Opposition Congress has, however, resented the move, wondering how the MC will pay its interest when there is a dearth of source of income and its revenue-generating departments have a poor delivery rate. Meanwhile, apparently, dejected by the "directionless vision” of the civic authorities, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Navjot Kaur Sidhu had even announced to hold a "padyatra" (walk) from Amritsar to Chandigarh to remind the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal about his promise to grant Rs 100 crore for development works in her constituency (Amritsar East) during the assembly elections. Even though the MC, headed by Mayor BR Arora, had presented its budget of around Rs 300 crore for the year 2013-2014, it could not come out with any concrete policy matter to garner such big funds, which the MC claimed to plough back for providing a "quality life" to the residents. Congress councillor Raj Kanwal Preet Pal Singh Lucky, said that out of Rs 300-crore budget, Rs 180 crore would be used for the employees’ salaries per annum; Rs 11.20 crore for the annual maintenance of vehicles and Rs 39.85 crore for committed expenses. This would amount to Rs 231.05 crore. “Now, you are left with just Rs 70 crore, which would be left for carrying out development works. There is the anticipation of accumulating Rs 48 crore by selling the MC’s properties. Last year, it was anticipated to garner Rs 20 crore, whereas the MC could get only Rs 4 crore. How can one rely on this source of income is anybody’s guess? The revenue from property tax, too, is uncertain because the government itself had stalled the issue to review it, he added. Also, a number of projects started some years ago have not materialised till date. The cost of the ongoing sewerage revamping project of the city has now been escalated from Rs 360 crore, when it was sanctioned in 2005, to Rs 443 crore. This project was undertaken in collaboration with Japan International Corporation Agency. Similarly, the 900-m flyover worth Rs 22 crore at Kitchlew Chowk is lying incomplete. These are prominent examples of either the deficiency of funds or inefficiency on part of the civic authorities.
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Morning showers again show civic body’s helplessness
Amritsar, July 8 Strange but true! The staff of the MC today reached their respective wings while crossing the knee-deep water by riding rickshaws. Meanwhile, the rain-soaked roads threw life out of gear in other parts of the city too. The results of the Rs 40-lakh de-silting drive of the MC are nowhere to be seen. Almost all key roads in the city were inundated, giving a tough time to commuters. Even the entry and exit points to the elevated road, leading to the Golden Temple, were full of water. In the absence of a proper outlet system for draining rainwater, even the posh areas like Lawrence Road, Madan Mohan Malviya road, parts of GT Road in the Putlighar area were affected. A lot of people in these areas got stranded in the middle of the flooded roads as their vehicles broke down midway. "The civic authorities only make promises, but do nothing at the ground level. It is the same story every time it rains," said Jagdish Singh, a resident living inside the walled city. The choked sewerage added to the woes, he said. Having an obsolete British-era sewerage system, roads were flooded with rainwater and sewage. Rainwater entered houses in several localities and almost all roads in the city got waterlogged due to the rain. The Town Hall area, Katra Jaimal Singh and even the entry point to the railway station highlight the failure on part of the MC to deal with the rainwater drainage. A lot of commuters got stranded in the middle of the flooded roads as their vehicles broke down. In the absence of a proper drainage system and no mechanism to pump out water, commuters were the worst affected. As a result of the heavy rains today, dirty water spilled over from drains located alongside houses and shops. Shopkeepers said these conditions had hit their business and had exposed them to various diseases.
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250 quintals of wheat seized from truck
Amritsar, July 8 The Beas police had intercepted a truck HR-51-C-1147 on July 5 evening. The accused, identified as Pawan Kumar who is a commission agent, and the driver of the truck, Bittu, fled from the scene, leaving the truck behind. A case was registered only last evening after a preliminary probe, which confirmed that the wheat belonged to the FCI godowns and was stolen in connivance with the FCI godown employees. The police intercepted the truck from the Rayya grain market. The commission agent Pawan Kumar and driver Bittu, who had brought the truck to the grain market, fled from the scene after seeing the police party. The wheat bags had the marks of the FCI Department. Officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department were called who later confirmed that the wheat was stolen from the FCI godowns. The police seized 250 quintals of wheat worth of Rs 4.40 lakh, stashed in 500 bags from the truck. A case has been registered.
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Flooded road blocks entry to hospitals
Amritsar, July 8 The patients and their attendants were seen walking in the water to reach the hospitals and had to protect their clothes from being spoilt by rainwater. “It is hard to reach the hospitals without getting wet,” said Baksheesh Singh, complaining that almost every second road in the city is water-logged. The visitors were seen looking for paths to reach the medical institutions. Some had to even take out their shoes and fold their trousers to reach safely. The visitors said even doctors and officials had to take the same path. Rajiv Kumar, another visitor, said, “The water is even accumulated in other open places adjoining the building. It can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.” He said the hospital authorities should take corrective measures immediately. While the visitors had a troublesome time, rickshaw-pullers did a brisk business as people paid them handsomely to help them cross the inundated road stretches.
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High frequency of mishaps on Amritsar-Batala road a cause for worry
Amritsar, July 8 Even as a comprehensive mobility plan (CMP) was recently prepared for the city, its commissioning was considered late, as many vital infrastructure projects worth crores of rupees have been operationalised. Frequent road mishaps on the Amritsar-Batala road have underlined these shortcomings, besides increasing non-adherence to traffic norms. Only a couple of days ago, three persons were killed. On the same road, one Amandeep Kaur, a resident of Banke Bihari Street, Sunder Nagar, was run over by a speeding bus on May 22. The victim was going to the Government College for Girls on her two-wheeler when the accident took place. Rapid urbanisation seems to be taking a toll on the city for more than a decade. A number of localities have sprung up on the Batala road and around. Besides, several schools and hospitals have been constructed on both sides of the road. However, what has not expanded is the road. "Kutcha" patches are visible on both sides of the road. Since these are not laid with bitumen, many shopkeepers have encroached upon it. The number of small vehicles has increased on the road, which has a high flow of heavy vehicles as it leads to Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Similarly, three accidents within a gap of 24 hours had resulted in injuries to at least 10 persons and the death of a teenager on the Airport road last month. The appalling state of the road and ungoverned traffic movement on it resulted in many accidents. Once hailed as the entry to the holy city for international tourists and celebrities descending on the Sri Guru Ramdas Ji International Airport, it attracted attention of the world-class hospitality chains and state-of-the-art private townships. Many private colonisers, in order to earn a hefty profit, also carved out illegal colonies, which attracted a large number of people. To capitalise on urbanisation on this fertile agriculture tract, a number of shops were also opened on both sides of the road. Already congested roads were further narrowed with shops on both sides resorting to encroachments, while the traffic police looked the other way. Meanwhile, a civil engineer working with a government agency for over three decades of professional experience said infrastructure development of a city could not be planned in isolation. Many costly and vital projects like Elevated Road, expansion of Tarawala Bridge, under-construction elevated road at Saifuddin Kitchlew Chowk, popularly known as Court Chowk, were planned and undertaken in isolation. It was akin to putting the horse before the cart. For instance, the construction of Elevated Road led to the congestion of Tarawala Bridge. Local political masters of the ruling SAD-BJP coalition sensed the trouble that the government was attracting brickbats from locals and tourists as the bridge was the main entrance to the city. They put in their entire energy and district machinery to widen the bridge. Similarly, they failed to pre-empt the traffic trouble at Bhandari Bridge after its linking with elevated road. The CMP concentrates for infrastructure development like road widening, construction of railway overbridges, flyovers, rail transport system and many more. The CMP keeps in mind needs of the holy city for the next four decades.
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Impasse over evacuation of shops persists
Amritsar, July 8 Manmohan Kundra, theleader of the shopkeepers’ union, said a delegation of traders today went to Chandigarh to attend the hearing and they were keeping their fingers crossed till the outcome of the hearing was announced. He said some shopkeepers today removed their goods and belongings from their shops and buildings which were still in their possession. The Land Acquisition Department has announced to demolish these shops and structures which form the part of the project to widen the road to the Golden Temple. The shopkeepers and their family members were seen transporting their goods and belongings to safer places as the deadline given by the administration to vacate the shops has already expired. They maintained that these shops were in their possession but they did not want to take chance as costly merchandise could get damaged in case the government initiated a demolition drive all of a sudden. Kundra said, "A delegation of shopkeepers today met Local Bodies Chief Parliamentary Secretary Som Prakash and informed him about the issue. The CPS has assured of taking up the matter with Local Bodies Minister Bhagat Chunni Lal."
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Woman allegedly set on fire by in-laws dies
Amritsar, July 8 Amandeep had suffered over 60 per cent burn injuries. The Beas police has added charges of dowry death against her in-laws. They were earlier booked in an attempt to murder case. Kashmir Singh, the deceased's father, had told the Beas police that his daughter was married to Salinder Singh of Hasanpur village in December last year. He alleged that after two months of marriage, her in-laws started harassing her for bringing dowry. He said his daughter had narrated her woes to them earlier. Kashmir Singh said on July 2, he received a call from Amandeep's husband Salinder Singh that she was badly burnt in an accident after a kerosene oil stove exploded. She was rushed to hospital as her condition was serious. The doctors attending on her said she had suffered over 60 per cent burn injuries. He further alleged that his daughter was set on fire by her in-laws. Balwinder Singh, investigating officer, said it was found during treatment that the deceased was five-month pregnant. He said it would be clear after the post-mortem examination report whether she was pregnant or not. The police has added Section 304-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to earlier charges in the case registered against her in-laws and her husband Salinder Singh. Those who have been booked include her brother-in- law Kulwinder Singh, his wife Kuldeep Kaur and the victim's father-in-law Gulzar Singh. The police said raids were being conducted to nab the culprits who have been absconding since the incident.
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Professional courses
a hot favourite among students at GNDU this time
Amritsar, July 8 Other most sought after courses among admission seekers are B.Tech. (computer engineering), B.Tech. (electronics and communication), bachelor of architecture, B.Tech. (urban and regional planning), B.Tech. (food technology), bachelor in physiotherapy (BPT), B.A.(Hons.) social sciences and bachelor in pharmaceutical sciences. Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar said there was tremendous increase in enrollment of students during the academic session 2013-14 in various courses being run by the university on its main campus, regional campuses and constituent colleges. The varsity has also increased the number of seats in almost all courses. "Keeping in view the long-pending demands of students and residents, the university has started the Department of Education from current academic session. In this department, the M.Ed. classes will be conducted and essential faculty has already been recruited," he said. About the recently held counselling of science faculty, Dr Subodh Kumar from the Department of Chemistry said in majority of students preferred bachelor in physiotherapy (BPT), bachelor in pharmaceutical sciences and B.Sc. physics (Hons), B.Sc. chemistry (Hons). He said in B.Sc. chemistry (Hons), the cut-off percentage was 92.92 per cent in general category, 69.59 per cent in SC/ST category and 86.66 per cent in Backward Classes category. Similarly, in B.Sc. physics (Hons), cut off percentage is 92.92 percent in general category, 72.74 per cent in SC/ST category and 90.49 per cent in BC category. In human genetics, the cut off percentage was 82.74 per cent in general category, 63.42 per cent in SC/ST category and 69.50 per cent in BC category. For B.Pharmacy course, the cut-off percentage was 82.74 for general category, 56.55 per cent for SC/ST category and 70.06 percent for BC category. For bachelor in physiotherapy (BPT) course, the cut-off percentage was 76.33 per cent for general category, 56.9 per cent for SC/ST candidates and 59.90 per cent for BC category. Dr SS Dhillon from the Punjab School of Economics said B.A. (Hons.) in social sciences course has drawn the attention of maximum number of newcomers. The cut-off percentage for B.Sc (Hons) in economics was 81.65 per cent for general category, 61.93 per cent for SC/ST category and 67.83 per cent for BC category and 58.59 per cent for others. In B.Sc (Hons), the cut-off percentage was 80.4 per cent for general category, 53 per cent for SC/ST category, 59.4 per cent for BC category and 62.94 per cent for others. He said cut-off percentage in B.A (Hons) Punjabi was 72.22 per cent for general category, 58.90 per cent for SC/ST category and 60.67 per cent for BC category.The process of admission to various courses at the university campus, regional campuses and constituent colleges is still under process.
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6 booked for assault
Amritsar, July 8 Among those booked are Mahinder Singh, Sally, Raj Goldy, Joban Singh, Gursarup Singh and Sonu, all residents of the same village. Ravinder told the police that he was sitting in his house when the accused gathered outside and started abusing him. He said the accused damaged the motorcycles parked outside the house. Sally and Raj Goldy, who were armed with a .12 bore rifle, jumped over the wall of the house and entered inside and ransacked it, he alleged.
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Disaster management programme for NCC cadets held
Amritsar, July 8 Surjit Sharma, Deputy Chief Warden for Civil Defence, gave an in-depth lecture on disaster management and fire safety. He covered a gamut of topics of disaster management, including various real-life experiences. He said swift communication in case of any natural and manmade disaster could reduce the number of casualties and an alert must be conveyed to people, humanitarian agencies and government departments to initiate rescue measures. Educational institutes and places, which experience mass human movement, are most vulnerable to such natural calamities, he added. He said the walled city with a high density of population offers a gigantic task for disaster management teams to carry out rescue operations in case of any emergency. "Apart from this, the residents also add to the problem as they park vehicles, including four-wheelers, on roads at night which slows down rescue operations and even fire tenders can not move smoothly in case of fire," he quipped. He said in case of fire in the walled city, sometimes it was found very difficult to carry out rescue operations. A special fire-fighting team from 230 SU Air Force Station, Amritsar, also visited the camp and delivered a lecture and performed live demonstration to the cadets. As part of the on-going NCC camp, a total of 329 Air and Naval NCC cadets from Amritsar, Jalandhar, Pathankot and Tarn Taran districts participated. Camp Commandant Wg Cdr PY Dethekar said its aim was to spread awareness among the NCC cadets about disaster, role of various agencies in pre-disaster phase, rescue and relief works during the active phase and post-disaster rehabilitation work. He said that it was important for all the NCC cadets to take part in such workshops whole-heartedly to understand the role they could play during such disasters. He further cited the example of recent tragedy in Uttarakhand where NCC cadets along with armed forces, para-military and other civil agencies, including NDA (National Disaster Authority), helped the affected people in many ways.
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Farmer booked for beating his servant to death
Amritsar, July 8 The accused had already set his body on fire in order to cremate him by the time the police reached the spot. The police party doused the fire and took the half-burnt body in their custody and sent it for post-mortem examination. Reports said Ramu, in his forties, was working in the farm of Jaswant Singh for the past seven years. The police said Ramu was not keeping well for the past one week. His employer Jaswant accused him of shirking work and allegedly beat him severely last evening after which the victim fell unconscious and later died. The accused allegedly took his body for cremation without telling anybody purportedly to eliminate any proof of the crime. A case under Section 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against Jaswant Singh in this connection based on police inputs, the Gharinda SHO said.
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The occurrence of fatal road accidents with high frequency on city roads points towards the lack of traffic management and cooperation among various agencies in
Amritsar.
The stalemate over the evacuation of shops at Ghee Mandi near Jallianwalla Bagh over road widening project continues as both the shopkeepers and the government agencies are awaiting the outcome of the hearing of the case at the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday.
