Amritsar, July 31
Even as the controversy sparked by the auction of a Municipal Corporation (MC) property is yet die down, the MC authorities are now gearing up for the auction of yet another prime property near the commercially active Hall Gate area.

Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora has challenged the Opposition to prove their charges of foul play in the recent auction.

The issue was raised by the Opposition members on July 26, when the MC had sold off its plot measuring 4,067 sq yards, located behind the MC Commissioner’s official residence on Mall Road, at the rate of Rs 36,100 per sq yard, just Rs 100 above the reserved price of the property.

Reacting over it, Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora announced that if the Opposition members brought someone who could pay 10 per cent above the price for the Mall Road property, he would urge the Commissioner to cancel the bidding.

“Moreover, I have no direct role to play in the auction proceedings. A sub-committee was formed under the leadership of Assistant Commissioner, which also comprised two SE-level officers, one STP, MTP and two councillors. This committee had conducted the auction of the property and holds full responsibility of the sale of the property. Still, if the Congress leaders can find a person who can deposit demand draft which should be 10 per cent above the price we got through the action, I promise to get this deal null and void,” he said.

On the other hand, Congress councillor Raj Kanwal Preet Pal Singh Lucky said the ruling alliance had created such an atmosphere, that no one dares to stand against them. “People are frightened to take part in the bidding process. No one oppose them for the sake of his life and property as the ruling party has created such a terrible atmosphere for common man, especially for those who raise voice against their nefarious activities,” he said.

Nevertheless, the MC is all prepared to go ahead with its plans to auction a 1,750 sq yard land located on the “faseel wall” (inner circular road from Hall Gate to Sikandari Gate) which goes around the walled city.

Elaborating further, Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said this land would fetch an amount of over Rs 30 crore. “After all, this money would be utilised for development works. Our endeavour would be to sell this property at a maximum price,” he said.

Amritsar, July 31
A Municipal Corporation (MC) team had demolished some of the dilapidated century-old structures, the recent being the three buildings which were demolished in the Chowk Passian and Cheel Mandi areas.The MC is preparing itself for safely demolishing the rest of the dilapidated structures located within the walled city area, during the monsoon season.

The MC has also demolished a brick wall on the periphery of these buildings after dismantling its risky portions.

In the past, a number of such structures had collapsed during monsoons leading to loss of lives.

Officials said 132 such dangerous structures, both residential as well as commercial, were on the list of the MC which would face demolition in a phased manner. Around 40 unsafe buildings were identified in the Chowk Passian area only. These buildings could collapse due to even slight seismic activity or rains, officials said.

Hundreds of such old dilapidated buildings are there in areas like Dharam Singh market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Gali Chhajju, Guru Bazaar Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh and Haveli Zamadara. Many such buildings are located adjacent to or on way to the Jallianwala Bagh and the Golden Temple, which are visited by over 1 lakh tourists daily.

Another cause of concern is that a substantial number of these dilapidated buildings are located in the narrow lanes. Above all, these are located mostly in the densely populated commercial areas, running various trades from generations.

These buildings not only cause disaster for its occupants, but put the lives of those living in the neighbourhood in danger.

When it rains, those living next to these buildings are more scared than those living in them.

Amritsar, July 31
A petrol pump employee was shot dead by two motorcycle-borne robbers in the Ramdass area. The robbers also took away money.

Senior police officials immediately reached the spot after getting the information and carried out investigations. According to information, the incident occurred at Kisan Petrol Pump, Fatehgarh Churian, at Ramdass, in the afternoon.

The two motorcycle-borne youths had covered their faces with black cloths. They asked the petrol pump employees to fill petrol in their bike and when he demanded the payment, they shot him dead. The victim was later identified as Baljinder Singh. The second employee and eyewitness of the incident also ran away from the spot. As per the eyewitnesses, the robbers also took away the money from the pocket of the deceased.

The DSP, Ajnala, Tilak Raj, said police parties had been sent to nab the robbers, while adding that further investigations were under progress.

It is pertinent to mention here that this is the second such instance in the recent past. Earlier too, two motorcycle-borne youths had snatched over Rs 4,000 from two employees of Kisan Petrol Pump, located at Pandori Waraich village, on gunpoint.

Amritsar, July 31
With the arrest of five persons, the Rajasansi police today claimed to have solved the blind murder case in which a woman was found murdered in bushes near a canal in the Rajasansi area here on July 29 evening.

The deceased was later identified as Raj Rani, a resident of Ajnala. She was eight-month pregnant and strangled to death.

Among those arrested for the murder include her husband Rakesh Kumar of Ajnala and his cousin Sunny, a resident of the city. Others who were nabbed are Prasis of Rattan Singh Chowk, Gora Singh of Rampura and Gurdev Singh of Nangali Bhattha.

The police has registered a case under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the statement of Mangat Ram, brother of the deceased.

Rashpal Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), Rajasansi police station, said hours after the identification of the woman, the police team zeroed in on her husband Rakesh Kumar.

Mangat Ram told the police that Rakesh used to suspect the character of his sister. He stated that Rakesh came to the house and took Raj Rani out on the pretext of medical examination and taking medicine.

Rashpal Singh, Station House Officer, said this was the third marriage of the deceased.

He said Rakesh hatched a conspiracy with Sunny to kill Raj Rani. Sunny introduced the remaining accused with Rakesh. After the prime accused brought her on the pretext of medical examination in an auto-rickshaw, they took her to a secluded place and strangled her with a rope. Her body bore strangulation marks on her neck and there were injury marks on other parts of the body also, said Rashpal Singh, Station House Officer.

Amritsar, July 31
Mystery shrouds the death of 15-year-old boy Sarvan Singh, who allegedly died after a brick thrown from outside his residence hit him, in the Guru Ki Wadali area on the intervening night of July 29-30.

Though no case has been registered so far, residents alleged that the incident occurred after rumours of a robbers' gang spread in the area.

Rajwant Kaur, mother of the deceased, told the police that loud noises were coming from the street when a brick came from outside and hit Sarvan, who was sleeping in the verandah, in the chest. Initially they thought it was minor wound and he had narrowly escaped, but his condition deteriorated late in the night and he was rushed to a private hospital where he died.

Amrik Singh Pawar, ADCP (City-II) said the family members had not filed any complaint with the police so far.

"We asked the family that if they wanted to lodge a complaint against unknown persons involved in 'thikri pehra' holding them responsible for the death of Sarvan Singh. However, they refused to file any formal complaint with the police till now," he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that it is second instance in which a person had lost his life following the rumours about the gang, which supposedly attack and chop off limbs of residents, especially in the rural belt and slum areas.

Earlier, Kulwant Singh, a resident of Pandori Waraich, was shot dead when a resident fired shots after rumours of arrival of the gang, which supposedly attack and chop off limbs of residents, in the village.

Amritsar, July 31
The Ajnala police has booked five persons in three separate cases for allegedly being involved in illegal sand mining in Sarangdev village, near Ajnala, here.

The accused were booked following the complaints of Harjinder Singh, sub-divisional assistant engineer with Water Development Department, Irrigation and Drainage Department.

The accused were identified as Iqbal Singh of Ucha Teda village, Sukha Singh of Sarangdev, Natha Singh and his two brothers, Jassa Singh and Nirmal Singh, of Raipur Kalan.

In a complaint forwarded to the police, Harjinder stated that his land was located near main ‘Dhusi Bandh’ near border out post Sundergarh. He alleged that the accused were indulging in illegal excavation of sand, which had endangered the Dhusi Bandh.

They have been booked under Section 21 (1) of the Mining Act, 1957 and relevant sections of the Public Property Prevention Act. However, no arrests have been made so far.

Following media reports of illegal sand mining in Raipur Kalan in the Ajnala belt, the district administration had visited the spot and had found irregularities in the mining process.

The administration had suspended two policemen for dereliction in duty while mining officer also faced the music.

“There was ‘no illegality’ in the mining in Raipur Kalan village site, as the site was officially identified, auctioned and formally approved by the Mining Department earlier this year. But there was an element of irregularity found in the process,” said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rajat Agarwal.

As per the rules, mining up to 10 ft is permitted but the committee had found that the contractor was allowing excavation of sand up to 15-18 ft at the said site. The administration swung into action and issued show cause notice to the contractor. The committee constituted by the district administration has also recommended the suspension of his license.

Agarwal said regular checking was being done to curb illegal mining and in the last six months, 58 FIRs had been lodged, 89 accused had been identified and scores of vehicles, including 45 trucks, 31 tractors and a four-wheeler, had been impounded.

Amritsar, July 31
“Packed food and drinks should be avoided as these can cause abortions and infertility”, said Dr Reema Dada, Professor of Anatomy from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, while delivering a talk during a refresher course on Health and Life Sciences at Academic Staff College of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU).

While pointing towards the basic concepts of genetics and human genome, Dr Reema said containers of packed food and drinks are coated with Bis-phenol A and Thallates, which were the main reasons behindabortions and infertility.

“It is better to avoid them in order to stay healthy. One can improve his/her lifestyle by following yoga and practicing a good lifestyle,” she added.

She discussed the risk factors like maternal age, irradiation, intake of contraceptives and fertility drugs, which were responsible for causing these abnormalities. The problem of male infertility and recurrent abortions was becoming prevalent these days due to decline in male reproductive health as 50 per cent of infertility cases accounted for the male infertility problems, she added.

Dr Reema said the various risk factors like insecticides, pesticides, polluted water, alcohol, smoking, older age and stress increased the chances of infertility.

Dr Rakesh Tuli, Executive Director, National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, was the chief guest on the occasion.

Dr Tuli highlighted the significance of such refresher courses, which included diverse scientific fields like medical sciences and physical education. He said a balanced diet and physical activity played an important role in physical fitness and good health.

He exhorted the participants to keep themselves abreast with the latest advancements in the field of biological sciences in order to teach their students in a better manner.

Prof AJS Bhanwer, Department of Human Genetics and course coordinator of the refresher course, gave details about the course. He expressed pleasure and satisfaction at the successful completion of the course.

Dr Mohan Kumar proposed the vote of thanks on this occasion.

Meanwhile, the certificates were distributed to the participants by Dr Rakesh Tuli, Dr Reema Dada, Dr AJS Bhanwer and Dr Jaspal Singh Sandhu.

Amritsar, July 31
With the urban and the rural areas of the district abuzz with the rumours of a robbers' gang on the prowl, the sale of cartridges has picked up in the city.

Owner of a gun shop near the bus stand said the sale of cartridges and air guns had picked up since the rumour of a robbers' gang, whose members allegedly chop off the limbs of people, has intensified. On anonymity, he said many persons were inquiring to procure new arms but strict and lengthy norms were blocking their way to swiftly acquire these. Another arms and ammunition dealer said newly introduced strict norms were preventing people with licensed weapons from buying high number of cartridges. As per the new norms, a person with a licensed weapon has to seek an NOC from the police for buying more cartridges after exhausting the quota of 25 cartridges. Arms dealers have to specify the exact number of cartridges sold in the license. He added that evidently, the new law had brought down the firing in air during marriages and other celebrations, but in the present extraordinary situation, it was proving a roadblock for people. He said inhabitants of many villages had initiated the air firing after every hour or two to scare away miscreants, if any.

Sadhu Singh of Chattiwind Lehal village rued that his family was not in possession of arms when the rumours of robbers’ gang was doing rounds. An agriculturist by profession, he said he was awaiting the renewal of his Arms license, which he had applied for in June 2012. He said non-renewal of the licence meant neither he could get his arms released from the gun store, which he had deposited during the time of Panchayat elections, nor procure cartridges. In this situation, he had procured an air gun with special cartridges, which are not lethal but produce high pitch sound to scare away the miscreants.

Jabar Singh, another licensed weapon possessor, said he had been awaiting the renewal of his license for the past nearly 10 months. He added that as per the rules, license of a weapon was to be renewed after every three years.Apart from the heightened police vigil, the residents too have gone vigilant and are holding 'theekri pehra' in their localities.

When contacted Police Commissioner Ram Singh said he was not aware of the pendency of the renewal of arms licensees as the same was being looked after by Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).

Meanwhile the district administration is facing a tough time as the rumours are doing rounds.

Even as no such incident has been reported so far, the rumours have forced the police department to intensify patrolling during night as a precautionary measure. Interestingly, these rumors were spread just a few days after night patrolling was launched in the city.

The Police Commissioner appealed to the public not to get panicky with the rumours about the gang and assured that they had deployed enough policemen for constant vigil. The police also appealed to the public to expose the rumour mongers by just intimating the Police Control Room at its number 100.

Amritsar, July 31
Getting the literary recognition they deserved, graphic books and novels are finally turning the reluctant readers into book lovers. Putting together the basics of storytelling and learning, the graphic books have become a powerful tool to educate the readers, especially the children.

Considered only a ‘fun read’ or a comic lovers’ prize, city too is opening up to graphic books like never before. With regular workshops and major kids’ publications transcending the comic book medium, experts feel it is a healthy habit that the kids are learning.

Jeeva Raghunath, a writer and storyteller who has been conducting regular workshops in city with children, feels graphic books present a performance rather than a presentation. “Childhood is the most creative phase of our life as it allows us free thinking and the will power to act on it as well. With graphics, a visual storytelling technique develops communication skills, helps in improved grasp of the subject and facilitates better recollecting value. Also, it is highly interactive,” he said.

An important contemporary literature, more children are enjoying the graphic way of learning. Ridhi Sachdeva from One Up Library and learning centre in the city also feels graphic books define the kids of today. “It is an easy way to learn, with the visuals being powerfully attractive and motivating kids to read. We believe that pictures are the best way to learn as it gives relatively quick results. Studies have shown that kids tend to recollect better with pictures than text,” she said.

Replacing the heavy text books with entertaining, fun stories, graphic books have moved further into mainsteam with schools adopting innovative tools of learning.

“The academic books are text heavy, but the learning part cannot just be that. So, graphic books in terms of smart boards, digital media, workshops and other new formats of learning have become an important part of the education process,” shared Anupama Mehra, principal, Spring Blossoms School.

Agreed Jeeva, “These things are important. Kids are the best critics and if you do not keep them engrossed, they will easily lose interest and the point is lost. Making them participate in learning through various characters and props in graphic books is effective. As for the parents, they too have an interesting part to play. They need to encourage kids to pick up reading or just making friends with books at an early age. As we say, pictures tell a thousand stories and so feed them books that stokes their interest,” he said.

Amritsar, July 31
Vehicles without light reflectors on their rear end, such as trolleys, animal carts, rickshaw carts and small pickup vans, are a threat to the life of commuters, especially during the night time.

During night, the driver of a vehicle coming behind these cannot spot them in time, especially in case a vehicle with lights on high beam is coming from the opposite side. Failure to spot the vehicles results in collisions.

Taking a cue from the rise in such instances, the administration of the neighbouring Tarn Taran district has imposed a ban on plying of these vehicles on the road. The administration has asked the police authorities in the district to stop such vehicles from going on roads.

The Amritsar district administration too needs to take measures to check such vehicles on roads. Charanjit Singh, a Rani Ka Bagh area resident said, “While coming from work late in the night near Chehartta, I could not see a rickshaw going in front of me due to the lights of another vehicle coming from the opposite side. Though the car and rickshaw were damaged, luckily no one suffered injuries.”

He said if there was some law which made it mandatory for everybody to install light reflectors on rear ends, these kinds of incidents could be avoided.

In the past, various NGOs and social organisations had conducted drives to install reflectors behind trolleys and carts but the owners do not seem to take any initiatives to get these installed on their own.

“As most of the city areas have street lights and even roads have dividers, spotting such vehicles is not much problem. But on roads leaving put from city and in villages, the lights of the vehicle from opposite almost blinds you. So, if the reflectors are installed, a lot many mishaps taking place at night time could be avoided,” said another resident Chetan Sharma.