Amritsar, July 30
Two prisoners clashed with each other in Central Jail, leading to injury to one of them, who has been admitted to the Civil Hospital.

This is not the first instance of a violent clash on the jail premises. A few days back two groups had come to blows and manhandled an official too.

About the latest instance, it has been learnt that two prisoners, identified as Malkiat Singh and Dharminder Singh, got involved in quarrel over a petty issue on Saturday night.

According to jail officials, both were put together in room No 1 of barrack No 8 and got engaged in a quarrel.

Malkiat, an undertrial and reportedly member of a gang of looters, had an altercation with another undertrial Dharminder Singh, lodged in the jail in a case registered under the NDPS Act. Before the jail guards could intervene, they came to blows.

Dharminder Singh received bruises on his face and was referred to the Civil hospital.

Dr Amritpal, jail doctor, who attended on him,said the incident occurred on Saturday night. "I examined him and there were no external injuries, except for a bruise near the eye on his right cheek. Even as the injuries were not severe, yet he was referred to the Civil Hospital as he insisted on lodging an FIR against Malkiat Singh and it was done accordingly," he said.

The Jail Superintendent has lodged a complaint with the Cantonment police station in this regard.

Earlier, on July 20, an undertrial, Ravinder Singh, engaged in a quarrel with his fellow inmates. Later, he became violent with Deputy Superintendent RK Sharma and Jail Warden Jagdev Singh. On the complaint of the Jail Superintendent, a case under Sections 295-A, 298, 353 and 186 of the IPC was registered against the undertrial, who is already facing murder charges under Section 302 of the IPC.

Amritsar, July 30
Police Commissioner Ram Singh, DIG (Border Range) Paramraj Singh Umranangal and SSP (Rural) Manmohan Singh held a joint press conference to appeal to the public not to get panicky with the rumours about the gang, which supposedly attack and chop off limbs of residents in remote belt areas during late hours. They also assured the public of having deployed enough policemen for constant vigil on it.

The police also appealed to the public to expose the rumour mongers by just intimating the Police Control Room at its number 100.

Just yesterday, two innocent youths became victim to the panic wave that has engulfed the city following the rumours of the arrival of the gang. One of them was thrashed by residents and later tied to a tree in the New Hamidpura colony, located on the Amritsar-Attari road here.

Addressing the media, Ram Singh said the Amritsar police had been adequately equipped to deal with any such gang, if it was actually there. "We have already increased the night patrolling. We have 110 mobile patrols and there are around 425 policemen on toes during the late evening hours. We have also directed our SHOs to develop rapport with the residents of their areas concerned to end the rumours," he said.

He said if need be, the services of residents could be sought by the police for monitoring the situation. He also appealed to the residents that instead of taking any action against suspected persons directly, those who are deputed on 'thikri pehras' (voluntarily night vigil) should call up the police station concerned or simply call up the control room."

Amritsar, July 30
With the state government contemplating to increase fees of courses at government medical colleges, students and their parents state that the increase would pose a problem to middle-class students.

Parents stated that the government medical colleges were the only ones where a student with modest economic means could fulfil their dream of becoming a medical professional. “In the private colleges large sums are demanded as donations and fees are already out of the reach of people in lesser income groups,” said Baltej Singh, father of an aspiring medical student.

Parents also criticised the move on the grounds that the fees should be enhanced only as per an earlier notification, under which it could be increased up to 15 per cent after three years.

With only two days left in the counselling for medical seats at Government Medical College, scheduled for August 2, Simmi Arora, whose daughter is appearing for the counselling, said, “Any increase in fees would force poor students to surrender the claims on the seats during the counselling, which would then be taken by those who can afford to pay.” She said it was very painful to see their daughter's dream shattering because of want of money.

The parents alleged that the government should not run its medical colleges to make money. “Everybody knows that education is going costlier with each passing year. Most of the students opt for government colleges just because their fee structure is comparatively lower than private colleges,” said Nirankar Singh, an aspiring student, demanding that the government should not take away their only chance of realising their dream.

Meanwhile, the authorities at the medical college stated that as yet they were not clear as what would be the increased fees and whether the increased fee structure would be applicable to the students studying in various courses.

Amritsar, July 30
Some shopkeepers have come out in open against the widening of road leading to a historic gurdwara at Baba Bakala, near here. The state government had passed a notification in 2010 for the widening of the road.

With the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) deciding to allot alternate shops to 86 shop owners near Sports Stadium at Baba Bakala, the project has finally seen the light of the day. These 86 shops are to be demolished to create space for the widening of the road.

The SGPC has announced to allot shops of 8 feet width and 11 feet length each to compensate the shopkeepers.

The road leading to the gurdwara had been facing the problem of traffic congestion for long. The encroachments by shopkeepers on the road sides led to further congestion, after which the project of road widening was taken up by the administration.

However, as most of the shop owners have accepted the proposal, a few of them are against the move stating that it will not be easier for them to set businesses at the new place.

Charan Singh, a shopkeeper said, "Setting up shops at a new place would not be easier. We have been running shops from the place for decades and it is wrong to uproot us."

Meanwhile, the district administration has deployed ample number of police personnel to tackle any protest by shopkeepers and their families.

Amritsar, July 30
Limited number of platforms, large number of trains and Railways' adamant approach in keeping Shatabdi Express parked on platform No. 1 for a better part of the day is causing inconvenience to thousands of passengers arriving in the holy city daily. Other trains are consequently made to wait for hours on the outskirts of the city.

The Railways had to recently pay Rs 32,000 to Jatinderpal Singh on the directions of the Amritsar Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum. He said he was travelling with his family in Hirakund Express from Ambala to Amritsar on March 27, 2011. However, the train was stopped at the unscheduled Manawala station, near Amritsar. While other trains were allowed to cross, the train they were in remained standing for over 2:30 hours.

The platform No. 1 of the Amritsar railway station is booked for a larger part of the day. The passengers are either forced to use the overbridge or take risks to cross the tracks on foot. No other train is allowed to enter the platform No. 1 as Shatabdi Express and Swaran Shatabdi Express remain parked for nearly 11 hours. Members of the Sis Ganj Sahib Sewak Jatha, a Delhi-based Sikh religious organisation, had taken up the matter by writing a communiqué to then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee some time back.

Manmohan Singh, a passenger, said he had been observing for over two years that the Shatabdi trains were invariably parked on the platform No. 1, causing inconvenience to the passengers, especially the infirm and aged. He said these trains could easily be taken to a yard like other trains for maintenance and washing.

Shatabdi Express arrives from Delhi at 10.25 pm and remains parked on the platform until it leaves for the same destination at 5 am. Similarly, Swaran Shatabdi Express remains parked on the platform No. 1 after it arrives from Delhi at 1:25 pm till 4:55 pm when it again departs for Delhi. All major amenities, including waiting halls, toilets for handicapped, bathrooms, ticket windows, enquiry, dispensary and platform ticket window facilities and offices of the Railways are located on the platform No. 1.

Railways officials maintained that the trains were parked on the platform No. 1 for security reasons and had costly furniture. Beside, offices of Railways employees were situated on the same platform that made surveillance quick and reliable, added the officials.

Amritsar, July 30
Government Girls Senior Secondary School organised a training-cum-seminar to spread awareness on natural disasters here today.

Addressing the students and teachers of various schools, resource persons Rajesh Kumar and Dr Prabhdeep Singh, State Professional Disaster Management, said it was the need of the hour to find the exact reason behind natural and man-made disasters. Preventive measures and precautions should be taken to save the mankind from these calamities, they said.

Surjit Sharma, Deputy Chief Warden, Civil Defence, said only awareness and training could come handy during disasters like earthquakes, cyclones, fire and floods.Dr Arun Kumar and Dr Samira from the Civil Hospital interacted with students and elaborated on how they could use first-aid during crises.

Toppers of St Francis School being felicitated at a function, and (right) Neelam Kamra, Principal, BBK DAV College, plants a sapling on the college campus in Amritsar on Tuesday.

In the poster-making competition held on the occasion, Amandeep Kaur of Class XI (medical) stood first and Sonali, second. Rohit Kumar of Class XII of Kot Kalsa School stood third.

District tehsildar Paramjit Singh Goraya was the chief guest on the occasion and gave away prizes to the students.

Felicitation ceremony

St Francis School today held a felicitation ceremony for its ICSE toppers of the year. Meritorious students were given medals and trophies. School topper Vaibhav Gupta was felicitated with Rs 5,000. Director of the school Rev Fr Xavier and Principal Rev Sr Lily gave a warm welcome to the members of the alumni association, parents and students. Rajesh, an alumnus, congratulated the toppers and encouraged the students to work hard.

Van Mahotsav observed

BBK DAV College for Women today observed Van Mahotsav. The college has celebrating July as the month of tree plantation. The NSS unit of the college initiated the awareness drive by displaying articles, slogans and posters in the college. The unit today planted neem, gulmohar, amaltaas, sukhchain and other saplings on the college campus. Dr MS Hundal, Dean, academic affairs, Guru Nanak Dev University, inaugurated the event.

The Principal, Dr Neelam Kamra, told the volunteers about the importance of trees.

Amritsar, July 30
City’s own rolling little wonder Mehak Gupta has done it again. The nine-year-old national skating champ has proved that if you have the guts and the spirit to take up challenges, you are bound to succeed.

After winning a number of awards and getting her name listed in the India Book of Records, Mehak and her brother Chirag have now received the Aggr Rattan Award from Punjab State Aggarwal Sammelan at a ceremony held recently in Ludhiana. The national-level skater has this feat a bit off the mark than her previous feats. For the young gun, who clinched her first bronze at the age of three, the award has come as a major encouragement.

“I want to make my parents proud. I never thought I would be able to break records until I did. This award also came as a pleasant surprise for my family and since my brother has also been honoured at the ceremony, its a double bonanza,” she said.

Now the little wonder wants to go a step ahead. “I am now planning a journey from Amritsar to Lahore on roller skates,” she said.

As challenging as it may sound, for Mehak the only hiccup is to get permission. “We have been trying to get permission from the Pakistan authorities regarding this trip, but we have received no response till now,” said Mehak’s mother Anju.

Mehak earlier got her name registered in the India Book of Records by covering 30 km from Company Bagh to the Attari-Wagah border in 80 minutes on skates. Even as the task was to be completed in 200 minutes with three halts of five minutes, Mehak covered the distance in just 80 minutes without taking any break in between.

Amritsar, July 30
Even as the Real Estate Developers and Property Dealers Association, Amritsar, appreciated the state government for formulating a comprehensive policy for regularising unauthorised colonies and buildings in the city, it has demanded rationalising of compounding fee.

Although members of the association said they would gain from the move as they would get basic amenities like water supply, sewerage and adequate wide roads, they disputed the government’s claim on a number of illegal colonies.

In a communiqué to Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh, Krishan Sharma of the association said the state had adopted the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act (PAPRA), 1995, which paved the way for setting up of private colonies in the state. These colonies started mushrooming during 1999-2000. However, due to non-implementation of rules in fair manner, establishment of unauthorised colonies continued.

He said the survey conducted by the government conducted was incomplete and the total number of these colonies was somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 covering over 45,000 acres. The government could generate revenue well above the proposed revenue in the policy by decreasing rates applied in it, he stated.

He emphasised the need for a detailed survey on the unauthorised colonies in Amritsar. More than 450 illegal and unauthorised colonies have been identified within the radius of 5 km of the Municipal Corporation limit by the PUDA. Most of these colonies came into existence between 1950 and 1995.

The association has requested the government to carry out a survey on the unauthorised colonies. The colonies that came into existence prior to the PAPR Act, 1995, be regularised without imposing any fees.

The composition fee and regularisation charges being levied are exorbitant. Prior to 2007, there were no charges for the change of land use and license fee. Only external development charges were being levied at Rs 3.50 lakh per acre for the approval of the colony by the government.

Surinder Vashisht, association member, said during the militancy in the state, people from rural areas had migrated to cities. They had constructed their houses where ever they got the land.

The communiqué stated that the composition fees could not be practically charged from the colonies that came into the existence before August 17, 2007. Most of these colonies are now fully occupied.

As per the National Building Organisation, the urban housing shortage in the state stood at 6.90 lakh units in 2007. To meet the requirement of houses, the state government should come forward and formulate liberal policies such as vertical development of land, approval of group housing project on one acre or less than one-acre plot. As there is a shortage of land in the state, the charges for developing private colonies be substantially decreased to meet the challenge of housing requirement.

Amritsar, July 30
Dr NS Neki, professor of medicine at Government Medical College here, has been nominated member of the senate of the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot.

Dr Neki will hold the office for a term of two years. He is known for his humble approach towards the needs of patients. Former president of the Geriatric Society of India, Dr Neki is also a visiting professor to James Cook University Hospital, UK, and the University of Mannitoba Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Canada. —TNS