|
|
|
|
Galliara Scheme hangs in balance
Regularisation of illegal colonies
Congress leaders criticise sewerage system in city
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
City’s Century old schools
A view of the PBN Senior Secondary School in Amritsar. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
Info panel issues show-cause notice to Punjab Technical University registrar
Gynae ward has no medicines
Company gives residents chance to transform home
3 dowry cases registered in city in 24 hours
Member of luxury vehicle lifters’ gang held in city
Hospital becomes fertile ground for weeds, insects
Wild weeds on the premises of the ESI Hospital in Amritsar; and (right) the broken pipeline which supplies water to the hospital. Photos: Vishal Kumar
Teacher awareness camp hails Ghadar ideals
Art of Living foundation begins 3-day programme in city
Drug dealer gives cops a slip
|
|
Galliara Scheme hangs in balance
Amritsar, August 11 The Galliara Department here dispatched a proposal for Rs 740 crore for the two phases about two years ago to the ministry but there was no response, said Sandeep Rishi, in charge, Galliara Scheme. Officials of the department are apprehensive of cost overrun with the delay in the project. The delay will tell upon the cost of the project as the two phases involve acquisition of approaching roads leading to the Golden Temple to decongest its surroundings. Rishi said the sixth phase anticipates an investment of Rs 180 crore. It proposed to acquire shops and houses falling on the approaching roads to the Harmandar Sahib and serais (inns) from the side of the Brahm Buta market. He made it clear that the plan took due care of displaced shopkeepers and houses. The seventh phase envisages extension of an open plaza and acquisition of buildings to widen the road from the Dharam Singh market to the Golden Temple. A number of commercial establishments like hotels and shops and residences, barring some religious structures, on this patch of the road would be razed to widen the same. The Union Government had conceptualised and funded the Galiara scheme after the infamous 1984 Operation Bluestar and Operation Black Thunder in 1988. A sum of Rs 120 crore had already been spent on the completion of the first three phases of the ambitious project in which old markets like Bazaar Maniaran, Mochi Bazar, Kapda Bazar adjoining Baba Atal, a portion of Atta Mandi, Pappranwala Bazar, and the major portion of Mai Sewan Bazar were demolished. The fourth phase of the Galliara project had been marked by demolition of about 150 shops in front of the Golden temple and under which the construction of an open plaza was also started in 2009. However, heritage experts said the typical centuries-old architectural ambience around the Golden Temple would be lost forever. They added that the holy city was an exquisite example of an introverted planning system. Its narrow alleys were developed over a period of time during the turbulent 16th to 18th Century when attacks by invading Afghan and other marauding tribes were rampant. During the ‘Sikh Misl period’, the walled city was fortified with a unique defence system and its various areas were named "Katras". Many parts of the city are still known as "Katras", but they feel that many of these would be lost forever with the implementation of the proposed phases. Fact File
— Sandeep Rishi, in-charge, Galliara
Scheme
|
|
Regularisation of illegal colonies Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 11 They were up in arms against high charges levied by the government earlier for regularisation of these colonies. Though the PUDA has detected over 400 illegal colonies in the holy city, officials of the Revenue Department maintain that the office had not received the list of illegal colonies. President of the Amritsar chapter of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) Krishan Kumar Sharma said: “It is good that the SAD-BJP government has revised the policy valuing the sentiments of people involved.” He added that the policy has not been uploaded on its website. “From my reading of reports in the print media I could assess that the government has simplified the levying of the composition fee for regularisation of unauthorised colonies by linking it with collector rate for its officials,” he said. He said the government introduced 0.5 per cent of the collector rate (as on April 1, 2013) and it would be charged for compounding of colonies established before 2007 with the minimum cap of Rs 25,000 per acre and maximum Rs 1 lakh per acre and 2 per cent of the collector rate would be charged for colonies established after 2007 with the minimum cap of Rs 1 lakh per acre and maximum cap of Rs 5 lakh per acre. Sharma said the compounding fee would vary from area to area as collector rates do. Surinder Vashisht of the Property Dealers Association (PDA) said for colonies having area over 20 acres the composition fee charges would be 5 per cent of the collector rate for colonies established after August 17, 2007. Plot holders and residents of these colonies would have to bear the burden of the same. He welcomed the announcement of the government’s move of exempting composition fee for residential plots measuring up to 50 sq yards in all residential colonies and plots up to 100 sq yd in slum areas under this policy. He hoped that the compounding fee would be utilised to invest in providing basic amenities to these colonies.
|
|
Congress leaders criticise sewerage system in city
Amritsar, August 11 Congress leader and former councillor Gurjeet Singh Aujla said most of the people think that only the MC was responsible for this trouble, however, the situation was different in Amritsar. In the absence of a proper outlet system for draining rainwater, the century old Town Hall building, lanes surrounding DAV College at Hathi Gate and even posh areas like the Lawrence Road, road linking the Camp office to Ranjit Avenue via Green Avenue, roads in the New Amritsar area, part of the GT Road outside AlphaOne and Hyatt Hotel, the road outside GNDU and other locations were affected due to the bad sewerage system. Several commuters in these areas got stranded in the middle of the flooded roads as their vehicles broke down midway. “Most of the sewerage lines installed by the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board in the city have either been defective or were bogus,” Aujla said. “Sewerage lines installed by the board in the vicinity of Chheharta in 1985-86 were actually non-existent as at a few locations the board installed collection hubs without any connections just to get clearances for bills,” he said. “The corruption in the board is the root cause behind the sewerage blockages in the city as the Municipal Corporation has failed to maintain these poorly installed sewerage system,” he alleged. Pointing towards the new multi-million project undertaken by the board - JAICA project - funded by a Japanese bank, Aujla said similar failures would occur in this project also and soon new tenders would be floated to fix the same by spending crores. Leader of the Opposition Raj Kanwal Preet Pal Singh Lucky, said: “Even as officials were quite confident to tackle the waterlogging issue, several key locations inundated with rainwater proves the ineffectiveness of the de-silting plan of the MC.” “Most serious blunders made by the board were near Gurdwara Qila Lohgarh in Amritsar as the sewerage installed was of 33” bore, which ultimately got blocked and busted under the ground and posed a serious risk to the buildings also,” he said. Another senior Congress leader Karamjit Singh Rintu said if the government was sincere in this project and had not got any personal gains from the same then some central agency must be appointed to investigate into it. Reacting over these allegations, Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said the Opposition leaders were performing their job of ‘just criticising’ in a well manner. “They are good for nothing. Why all these issues didn’t get rectified during the Congress regime, if they alleged it to be so. Instead, they should be our helping hand if they virtually committed for the well-being of residents.” The SAD-BJP government had chalked out a comprehensive transformation programme for the city and once it was implemented, Amritsar would be among the best cities of the world,” he added.
|
|
PBN School: Carrying on the sports legacy with new disciplines
Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 11 Established in 1887, PBN Senior Secondary School still holds the credit of being the only school in and around the city offering spacious infrastructure and sports facilities within its campus. It offers sports infrastructure like swimming pool, table tennis, badminton, basketball and volley ball courts and a gymnasium. Over 2,500 girls and boys are currently studying at the school. Principal Rajeev Kumaria said a qualified coach was engaged in 2011 to train the students. The U-14, U-17 and U-19 gymnastic teams of the school remained winners in the district championship in 2012. Khushi, a student, was adjudged the best junior national gymnast in 2012. Seven gymnasts from the school were selected for state games in 2012. Four cricket players were selected for the U-19 state games last year. The school boasts of Air and Naval wings of NCC, NSS and Scouting. Rajeev Kumaria said students were made to participate in seminars, declamation contests and other extra-curricular activities at the school. Spread on 1.75 acres of prime land opposite the Hall Gate, the school was established by acclaimed educationist Baij Nath, who had started the school with only four students in 1887. But it was formally recognised by the then British government in 1893. A descendent of Mishr Mahabali, a courtier of legendary Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Baij Nath was a renowned scholar of Persian and Sanskrit languages. It is said that he died due to excessive work when he was 45 in 1907. The school was built on secular principals and was free from caste, colour and creed, at a time when the educational institutions were being established on the lines of religions to safeguard the young generation from external influences. It was a courageous attempt on the part of its founders, keeping in view that the major educational societies of that time were constituted with a declared aim of preserving a particular religious ideology while granting modern education. The mantle of running and managing the school fell on Ram Nath, son of Baij Nath. He managed to elevate it to the level of a high school. He was able to get land for establishing the school outside the Hall Gate. The building was designed by Bahadur Ram Singh, the then Principal of Mayo School of Arts. However, his fame rested upon preparing the design of the magnificent building of Khalsa College. Initially, the school was equipped with boarding facility. However, subsequently it was done away with. Principal Ram Nath was a keen sportsperson and started scouting in the city in 1917. He, along with other concerned citizens of the city, had got a piece of land released from the then Municipal Council, which was later named Gandhi ground. He also became the founder secretary of the Amritsar Games Association (AGA). The then British government conferred him with the title of Member of the Order of British Empire (MBE) for his contribution to the field of sports and scouting. During his stint as principal, PBN school produced test cricketer Vijay Mehra, who played test matches while in school. Ram Nath remained principal-cum-manager of the school from 1907 to 1952. The school had provided asylum to hundreds of refugees who came from Pakistan following the partition of the country. The historic school has produced an array of illustrious students who went on to earn a name for the nation. Some of them are Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, martyr Madan Lal Dhingra, test cricketer Madan Lal, former Minister of State for External Affairs RL Bhatia, famous novelist Mulkh Raj Anand, former Supreme Court Judge Justice AN Grover, famous comedian IS Johar, Bollywood director and producer Kedar Sharma, bureaucrat Sadanand, who had been advisor to Punjab Governor during the days of militancy in the state, designer of Patriot missile in USA Dr Ramesh Aggarwal, veteran journalist of The Tribune GR Sethi, mathematician Harisharan Arora, who was employed by IBM USA, international zoologist Dr Vishwanath and deputy director, Directorate of Civil Aviation, Capt RL Biala.
|
|
|
Info panel issues show-cause notice to Punjab Technical University registrar
Jalandhar, August 11 The SIC has also asked the information officer-Registrar, Punjab Technical University, as to why penalty up to Rs 25,000 be not imposed on him for willful delay/denial of the information to the RTI applicant. The SIC has also said why a compensation up to Rs 25,000 at the rate of Rs 250 per day be not awarded to the complainant under Section 19 (8) (b) of the Act. Sumit Uniyal, a resident of Jaipur, who appeared in the examination held in September 2011 for the production and brand management subject, had sought information regarding his answer-sheet, as the university had not sent him the degree and marks-sheet even after claiming to have declared the result. Replying to his queries about the answer-sheet, the PTU replied that the answer-sheet was destroyed as per the rules of the university, which say that all answer-books shall be preserved by the university for six months from the date of the declaration of the results. In this case, the complainant had said that the result was not declared so far. The respondent, however, presented documents that showed that Uniyal appeared in the exam and the result of which was declared. From the documents, it was clear that the appellant neither received his degree nor the mark-sheet, though the PTU's document produced shows that his result was declared. "There is a gross mismanagement at the level of the PTU for which the appellant has been suffering for the past two years for no fault of his," the SIC said. If the result of the appellant stands declared, which is shown in the document produced today by the respondent before this Commission, the candidate/appellant's mark-sheet and degree must be supplied to him within 10 days of the receipt of this order, the SIC said. The SIC has also given an opportunity to the PIO for a personal hearing before the imposition of such penalty/ compensation on Monday. In case the PIO fails to submit his reply and appear before the commission personally, proceedings to ex-parte him would be initiated, the SIC said.
|
|
Gynae ward has no medicines
Amritsar, August 11 However, even after the instructions, it has failed to find a solution to the problem of shortage of medicines. The civil hospital, on an average, helps in around 450 child deliveries in a month. As such, the institute needs a large stock of medicines to cope up with the rush. The sources in the hospital said the decision to use medicines from the general pool had backfired as it had exhausted the general pool too. They said the hospital needed to arrange sufficient stock for the gynaecology ward to solve the problem. Meanwhile, the attendants of the patients complained that they often had to buy medicines from the market to meet their needs. “Most of the medicines which the doctors prescribe are neither available at the Jan Aushadi store nor at the free medicine counter in the hospital,” said a patient. The state government had earlier launched a scheme to provide over 150 kinds of medicines free of cost to the patients at the OPDs. However, the patients rue that only one or two medicines prescribed are available and the rest have to be purchased from the market. Meanwhile, senior medical officer at the hospital said there was no shortage of medicines and they sent regular reports of the stocks to higher authorities so that the stocks could be replenished.
|
|
Company gives residents chance to transform home
Amritsar, August 11 For participating in the campaign, people need to click a picture of a part of their home which they wish to transform, upload it on the Godrej Interio Facebook page or website with an interesting reason on why the brand should transform that space. The lucky winners hold a chance to get that space of their home transformed completely free. This will not only include innovative and state-of-the-art furniture from Godrej Interio but also painting of walls and accessorising to give a completely transformed look to the house. Bedraj Tripathy, senior general manager, marketing, Godrej Interio, said, "Our idea is to have a chance to engage with consumers on a one-on-one basis." Vipin Tyagi, regional manager, North, Godrej Interio, said "Homes are becoming a reflection of one's self where design and aesthetics play a key role across furniture categories. Our idea is to create not just a piece of furniture but actually go way beyond that and transform lives of our consumers."
|
||
|
3 dowry cases registered in city in 24 hours
Amritsar, August 11 The police has registered a case under Section 406, 498-A, 120-B of the IPC against Mohan Gupta, the complainant’s husband, a resident of Hebowal Kalan, Ludhiana, Satish Kumar and Vijay Gupta of Industrial Area (Ludhiana). No arrests have been made till now in the case. In second case, Nitu, a resident of Chand Avenue, lodged a complaint against her husband Ajay Sunny and alleged that he had physically assaulted her and pressurised her to bring dowry. The sadar police has registered a case against Ajay Sunny under Section 498-A of the IPC. In yet another case following a complaint submitted by Anu, a resident of Sandhu Colony, Majitha road, the police has booked four persons. The accused are Anu’s huband Kamal Mohan, his mother Sudhesh, his brother Raman and father Nand Kishore, all residents of Zirakpur. The victim alleged that the accused used to beat her after marriage and threw her out of the house. A case under Section 498-A of the IPC has been registered in this connection.
|
|
Member of luxury vehicle lifters’ gang held in city
Amritsar, August 11 He along with his two accomplices Money and Amarjit, both from Rayya, had snatched a luxury vehicle from Khushboo, a singer, at gunpoint when she was returning home late in the evening on May 10. She was accompanied by her three-year-old son Veer. She had told the police that as soon as she slowed down her Skoda car and turned towards the Housing Board Colony side, the accused who were on a motorcycle came from a side and signalled her to stop the vehicle while pointing a gun towards her. She alleged the trio also took away Rs 10,000 and a gold chain, which was kept in the car, besides other documents. While Amarjit was nabbed by the Sangrur police a few days ago, his interrogation led the police to Sukhdev and Money. Nishan Singh, in charge, Ranjit Avenue police chowki, said Money was yet to be arrested and raids were being conducted for his arrest. He said the three accused along with several others had formed a gang which used to snatch luxury vehicles at gunpoint, besides they were also involved in various criminal cases. He said more recoveries are likely to be made during the interrogation of Sukhdev, who has been remanded in one-day police custody. They have also snatched an Indica car from near Silver Estate earlier this year.
|
|
Hospital becomes fertile ground for weeds, insects
Amritsar, August 11 The wild growth, besides reflecting badly on the reputation of the institute, has also instilled the fear of reptiles and insects among visitors. The condition, by no means, can be considered hygienic for patients and employees of the hospital. There is no maintained outlet for the water flowing continuously from the broken water pipe and washrooms of the hospital and the moisture has also discoloured the walls of the building. The green belt in the hospital
looks like a stagnant pool of water, emitting foul smell, with long weeds growing in it. The hospital had made a makeshift ‘kucha channel’ to make an outlet for the water. However, in the absence of any permanent solution, the water often overflows and goes into the open space besides the building. A visitor to the hospital said the place was a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies. With over 32,000 employees of various institutions as beneficiaries of the hospital, the visitors felt that the hospital management must take quick action to rectify the issue. The hospital authorities, on the other hand, claimed that they had asked the Water Supply Department to replace the broken pipe. Stagnant pool of water There is no maintained outlet for the water flowing continuously from the broken water pipe and washrooms of the hospital and the moisture has also discoloured the walls of the building. The green belt in the hospital looks like a stagnant pool of water with long weeds growing in it.
|
|
Teacher awareness camp hails Ghadar ideals
Jalandhar, August 11 The camp started on Saturday, on the second day of the camp, Prof Harish K Puri, head of the Kabir chair of the Guru Nanak Dev University and an acclaimed historian, said the Ghadar leaders freed us from an imperialist set up and made us dream about freedom, the state of affairs post 1947 and the role of corporate in the brewing political storm, warn us that coming times might require us to formulate our own new paths. Addressing teachers Prof Puri said the shackles of poverty and corruption took Indians abroad, where on being constantly looked down upon, a new revolution took root and forging ties with revolutionaries from other countries, they formed ‘Hindi Association of Pacific Coast’ and started the ‘Ghadar’ newspaper, laying a sound basis for the freedom struggle. On the occasion, general secretary of the Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Committee Dr Raghubir Kaur spoke on the martyrdom of Bhagat Singh and raised questions on the role of Mahtama Gandhi during the martyr’s execution. People’s Voice showed a film ‘Ten Days Which Shook the World’ on the Russian Revolution and the film ‘Ghadri Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna’ made by a Swedish cameraman. Kulwinder of People’s Voice spoke about the role of films in influencing society. Committee member comrade Jagroop discussed revolution in the evening session. Committee’s cultural convener Amolak Singh spoke about the lofty ideals of the Ghadarites and need of following those ideals in present times.
|
|
Art of Living foundation begins 3-day programme in city
Amritsar, August 11 From tomorrow, the programme will consist of basic training and teaching of the principles and spiritual knowledge for those interested. Incorporated with musical meditation mantras into its spiritual programme, it will also have bhajan satsangs. “We hold musical renditions from time to time as a part of our programmes. The music too differs, depending on the programmes, with rock to instrumental and bhajan sandhyas,” said Ramesh Parasher, a volunteer and media in-charge of the Amritsar chapter. “It is not about making spiritualism entertaining or just chanting to the tunes, but connecting through music”, he added.
|
|
Drug dealer gives cops a slip
Amritsar, August 11 Dalbir Singh, Sub-Inspector (SI), anti-narcotic cell, said a police
team was patrolling the area near Sakki drain bridge when the accused was noticed with a
bag. Seeing the police party, he fled away leaving his bag behind. The police later recovered over 5,000 tablets of habit-forming drugs from the bag. He said the police
had registered a case under the NDPS Act while raids were being carried out
to nab the culprit.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Amritsar, August 11
The Gynaecology Department of the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs’ Memorial Civil Hospital is facing a shortage of medicines and other items required for surgery.
The district administration had recently issued instructions to various health institutions to use medicines and surgical items from the general pool. The general pool of medicines is used at the Out Patients Department (OPD) and general wards.
With a water supply pipe inside the Employees State Insurance (ESI) Hospital on the Majitha Road broken, the stagnant water on the premises has turned the open land into a "jungle with 6 to 10-ft grass standing on it".
