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MC gears up to raze rickety structures
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Chandigarh-based jeweller robbed
2 murders reported in 24 hours
Two city youngsters who dare to dream big
Ansab Khan, a photography artist, who is making documentaries on Amritsar’s history; and (right) budding dancer Shruti
Chandel.
Amended e-trip
Heroin worth Rs 2.50 crore seized
320 plots lying vacant in New Focal Point
College threatens to move court against garbage dumping
City-based chessboard maker gets state award
Amritpal Singh prepares a chessboard at his workshop in Amritsar. Photo: Vishal Kumar
Three booked for rape, 1 held
UGC gives Rs 54 lakh to GNDU for upgrade
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MC gears up to raze rickety structures
Amritsar, August 19 In the past, a number of such structures had collapsed during the monsoons, leading to loss of life. Officials said 132 such dangerous structures, both residential as well as commercial, were on the hit list of the MC, which would face the axe 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. On July 31, the MC team had recently demolished some of the rickety century-old structures, in Chowk Passian and Cheel Mandi areas and had also raised a bricked wall on the periphery of these buildings after dismantling its risky portions, but this drive could not be continued for unknown reasons. Hundreds of such old dilapidated buildings are there in areas like Dharam Singh Market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Namak Mandi, Gali Chhajju and Guru Bazaar Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh, Haveli Zamadara. Many such buildings are located adjacent to or on way to Jallianwala Bagh and Golden Temple, which is visited by over 1 lakh tourists daily. Another cause of concern is that a substantial number of these rickety buildings is located in narrow lanes. Above all, these are located mostly in the desely populated commercial areas, running various trades for generations. These buildings not only cause disaster for their occupants but put the lives of those living in the neighbourhood in danger. MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda had conducted a special meeting with the officials of the Municipal Town Planning department and directed them to safely demolish the unsafe buildings. “We have divided the walled city area into different zones. The officials have been allocated the job of demolishing the unsafe buildings. The drive is being carried out in a very strategic manner because we are equally concerned about the safety of buildings adjoining these rickety structures. Around 26 of these have been razed, the rest would face the same fate within a span of just 10 days,” he said. 132 buildings on target
As many as 132 dangerous structures, both residential as well as commercial, are on the hit list of the MC, which will face the axe in a phased manner. Around 40 unsafe buildings have been identified in the Chowk Passian area only. These buildings can collapse due to even slight seismic activity or rains
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Chandigarh-based jeweller robbed
Amritsar, August 19 The victim, Gaurav Verma (32), a resident of 40-C, Chandigarh, stated to the police that on August 8, he came to pay obeisance at the religious dera, but reached Sathiala after losing way to the dera. He said he asked the way from two youths who were on a motorcycle. He said the accused, on the pretext to guide him to the dera, sat in his car. He said on the way, they offered him cold drink which was laced with some intoxicant. Unaware of their nefarious designs, he consumed the cold drink and soon after started feeling drowsy. The accused took him to his residence and took off all the gold jewellery, including a gold chain, a gold bracelet, two diamond rings, two gold rings, besides two mobile phones and Rs 60,000, which was in his car. He said the accused then took him towards Baba Bakala. To give it the shape of an accident, they hit his car with the footpath. Gaurav said after coming to his senses, he called his family from mobile phone of a passerby. He said the family took him back to Chandigarh. After fully recovering, he, along with several persons, returned to the place and investigated the area. He said he later identified the residence of the accused persons and following this, lodged a complaint with the Beas police. The police said a case under Sections 382, 328, 427, 34 of the IPC has been registered against Ranjit Singh and Rajbir Singh. No arrest has been made so far as the accused were on the run since the registration of the case.
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2 murders reported in 24 hours
Amritsar, August 19 The accused used to suspect that Major Singh had illicit relations with his wife. Incidentally, it was Major Singh who had arranged the marriage of the accused. Gurmit Kaur, the deceased's wife, stated to the police that Amandeep Singh came on a motorcycle and started abusing her husband by standing outside the government school located near their house. She said her husband came out and stopped him from unnecessarily creating ruckus and hurling abuses at him. She said before they could understand anything, the accused physically assaulted Major Singh, pulled him down from his hair and threw him on road. She alleged that the accused drowned his face in a pond which was filled with rainwater, leading to his death. Tejinder Singh, investigating officer, said the accused fled after committing the crime. He said a case under Section 302 of the IPC had been registered in this regard and raids were being conducted to nab the culprit. In the other incident, a woman, identified as Joginder Kaur, a resident of village Mallian Khurd, Quadian (district Gurdaspur), was killed on the premises of a gurdwara in the Ramdass area. Dalbir Singh, her husband, stated to the police that he, along with his family, including two children and wife, used to visit Baoli Sahib Gurdwara for performing sewa. He said yesterday he had come to the gurdwara and stayed in a room due to inclement weather. He said at night, they woke up after hearing some shouts. He said he saw that Kashmir Singh of Goraya Kot village (Gurdaspur), who also used to come to pay obeisance at the gurdwara, was teasing his wife and pulling her arm. He said his wife resisted the advances of the accused. Perturbed over this, Kashmir hit his wife with a wooden stick, adding that profuse bleeding from her head led to Joginder Kaur’s death. The police has registered a case.
— TNS
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Two city youngsters who dare to dream big
Amritsar, August 19 Life through the lens
Keeping it real and easy, making the world see through his lens,18-year-old Ansab Khan, is one among many amateur artists making a documentary on Amritsar's history. The only difference, he mentions, is that it will not be about the Golden Temple or Jallianwala Bagh but the basics. "People of the city, food of the city and the colourful way of life through the small-big traditions followed in city," he says. "There are many things that Amritsar symbolises, not just its landmarks and historical places, but people and life, in general. My documentary features the bazaars of Amritsar, the narrow bylanes with potentially Michelin star food and the people — alive and colourful," he explains. The title of his 45-minute documentary "Amritsar-Golden city with colourful people" is suggestive. Ansab started looking at the world through the lens four years ago, while still trying to figure out algebra and playstation. A freelance photographer, who loves to click pictures whenever he can, Ansab has been exploring film-making with small video montages he made on everyday issue of labour and the hustle bustle of the holy city. The passionate photographer owns four generations of cameras. His latest addition to the collection is the cinematography equipment. "Though I am still learning film-making, I am familiar with the basics. Keeping it as real as possible," he says. His self-teaching methods include taking tips on production, lighting, camera handling by watching noted documentary makers work on the Internet. Dancing queen
Shruti Chandel, another young budding artiste, too, hopes to make it big with her talent. A gold medallist in dance from the GNDU, the dancing diva wants to become a choreographer. Her flawless moves in Indian and contemporary styles of dance withstanding, Shruti's next stop, she says, would be the national stage. "I have been passionate about dancing since I was a kid. It's the one thing that keeps me going," she shares. A regular at varsity and youth festivals, Shruti was always the first in line to try out for dance reality shows. "They are a great platform for newcomers, who just need a chance to make something big happen. But it's not like I am waiting for my chance. I have performed at special events and functions and want to take up dancing professionally."
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Traders want govt to have a relook
Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service
Amritsar, August 19 The Punjab Pardesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) has alleged that the state government has not fulfilled its promise made to the trading community. Its president Amrit Lal Jain, in a communiqué to the department, sought clarifications regarding e-trip. He added that it was ambiguous from the amended e-trip whether transactions within the city were covered by e-trip. He said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had assured the traders that intra-city transactions would not be covered. He sought clarification that whether goods being carried by push carts or rickshaws, where the value of goods is more than Rs 50,000, would also be covered by e-trip. He wanted to know whether the law also covered goods being sent for repair or goods being carried on challan and saleable subject to approval. Jain said the maximum time limit for the delivery of goods would apply to intra-state transactions and doubted the reasonableness to apply maximum time limit in case a local van carrying the goods of a dealer had to undergo repair and took more than six hours to reach the destination or in intra-city movement. He said dealers wanted to know what kinds of remedies had been placed by the department in case its website shut down as it happened during the last days of the filing of returns for the quarter ending June 2013 and the department had to extend the due date to August 6. In case of an error on part of a transporter while entering data in e-trip, who would be held responsible dealer or transporter? he asked. Jain maintained that it was highly difficult for transporters to comply with such directions as they waited till the truck was loaded with enough baggage. Besides, transporters would need to confirm the name of a driver in e-trip.
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Heroin worth Rs 2.50 crore seized
Amritsar, August 19 A case under the NDPS Act was registered against the accused at the Gharinda police station in this connection. Meanwhile, the city police booked five persons for allegedly indulging in smuggling activities near the Indo-Pak border. They were identified as Karandeep Singh of Bhagtanwala, Satbir Singh of Ibban Kalan, Jagdip Singh of Mule Chak, Rakesh Dhir of Mohalla Hargobindpura and Jagdip Singh of Kirtangarh Thande. They were booked following a tip-off received by the CIA staff. A case under Sections 489-A, 489-B, 489-C, 411, 414 IPC, 25/54/59 Arms Act, 3, 34, 20 of theIndian Passport Act and 14 Foreign Act was registered against the accused.
— TNS
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320 plots lying vacant in New Focal Point
Amritsar, August 19 The New Focal Point was established by the Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation Limited (PSIEC) in 2000 on 184 acres of land. As many as 459 plots were carved out but only 95 of them could get industrial units while 44 plots were under construction. Majority of the plots did not find any takers because of the shortcomings on the part of the government in terms of infrastructure and policymaking. The New Focal Point Association is all set to take up the issues with Industry Minister Anil Joshi who would hold a sangat darshan for the city’s industrialists at a private hotel tomorrow (August 20). Raman Gupta, leading industrialist and senior functionary of the New Focal Point Association, said it was a matter of great concern that the New Focal Point which was billed as state-of-the-art, could not attract the industries. The New Focal Point is still deprived of basic amenities, he said, adding the association has spelled out problems before the minister for the optimum utilisation of the area. “The New Focal point is connected by a three-lane road to the main Mehta Road. Two lanes are well connected while the third one has not been connected to the main road. There is a dispute with the landowners over fixing of the land prices,” Gupta said. “They said the land price has been fixed by the Deputy Commissioner but the PSIEC has not paid the money to the landowners. The units located here are facing great difficulties in transporting their goods,” he added. Another infrastructural drawback here is poor sewerage. It is too small to handle the water discharge by the industries. Sometimes, the sewage overflows and the vacant plots get inundated and are filled with polluted water discharged by the industries. Water supply for the industries in the New Focal Point is insufficient. A tubewell installed here has been out of order for long. The situation worsens during summer. Two pieces of land were earmarked for common treatment plant — one for cluster electroplating unit and other is for dyeing units. These facilities remain only on paper. Even as the PSIEC has an office in the New Focal Point, the workforce is insufficient to handle the amount of work. The New Focal Point is located outside the octroi limits of Amritsar city and the Department of Electricity has withdrawn octroi charges from their electrical bills. Neither the amount paid by the industries is refunded nor adjusted in their next bills. Gupta said the PSIEC deposited about Rs 4.69 lakh with the PSPCL in April 2005 for shifting 11 KVA from the plots but the same has not been done for all these years despite numerous reminders. “The Electricity Department receives electricity bill payments of the industries at its Newa Pind office which is about seven kilomtres away from the New Focal Point. The department should receive the payment once in a week at their New Focal Point office,” Gupta said. Industrialists have urged the government to transform the New Focal Point intoa model industrial zone by widening the existing roads, constructing raised pavements blocks, installing RO plants at waterworks, constructing an STP, upgrading sewerage and water supply system, providing reflective signboards. They have also raised demand for deploying a fire brigade team besides commissioning a guesthouse and a post office here. The PSIEC has made provision to establish commercial area in the New Focal Point and the industries need banking and refueling facilities immediately. Since many cases of theft have been reported in the past, intensive police patrolling too is required. Lacking basic amenities
Demanding a model industrial zone
Industrialist speak The New Focal point is connected by a three-lane road to the main Mehta Road. Two lanes are well connected while the third one has not been connected to the main road. There is a dispute with the landowners over fixing of the land prices. They said the land price has been fixed by the Deputy Commissioner but the PSIEC has not paid the money to the landowners. The units located here are facing great difficulties in transporting their goods. — Raman Gupta, member, New Focal Point Association
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College threatens to move court against garbage dumping
Amritsar, August 19 Even as the place has been declared as a 'disused dumpsite' on records following a chunk of land at Bhaktanwala was alternatively designated as a dump yard, people continue to use the site for de-skinning dead animals and dumping of garbage. The police never acts against the violators even as the place has become a hideout for drug addicts during night. Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD) today gave a 10-day ultimatum to the MC authorities to remove the garbage and stop de-skinning of dead animals or else it would go to court. CKD president Charanjit Singh Chadha said despite repeated pleas to the MC authorities, nothing had been done. "It is sheer violation of the High Court orders. The HC has prohibited garbage dumping and de-skinning of dead animals here as this place has been thickly occupied after the dump yard was shifted from here. We, along with hundreds of affected residents, would have to resort to bring it to the notice of Lok Adalat and if need be, to the Punjab CM," he said. "I proposed the MC authorities to let us maintain this site as a green belt which would be open for public for leisure but they perhaps did not like our idea of making the place eco-friendly," he said. The college was inaugurated last year by Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora who had assured the management that land would be free of garbage within a short time. CKD honorary secretary Santokh Singh Sethi said, "Right now, the situation is worse. We have asked the Mayor and the MC officials to focus on the plight of the area residents but to no avail," he said. With the garbage disposal system virtually 'collapsing' in the city, private garbage collectors uninhibitedly dump the garbage here to save fuel by avoiding transporting the refuse to Bhaktanwala. Darshan Sohi, college principal, said, "It is a very terrible sight to watch de-skinning of animals. The place is visited by dogs." The residents had lodged protest by blocking the traffic on road a few days back. When reached for comment, Municipal Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said, "I have been apprised about the problem. I along with health officer Dr Yogesh Arora would monitor the spot physically on Wednesday and provide immediate remedy measures."
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City-based chessboard maker gets state award
Amritsar, August 19 His constant industriousness took him to the level of artisanship when he made a chessboard with a diameter of 100 mm inside a 500-watt bulb which has an opening with a diameter of just 26 mm. This round-shaped chessboard was in playing conditions with some innovative modifications conceptualised by Amritpal. With the help of tiny tools, he shaped, chiselled and gave finishing touch to the chessboard inside the bulb. He said 64 small-size wooden blocks of identical sizes were glued together to make the chessboard and to distinguish its colours, sheesham and rosewood had been used. The minutely-crafted chess icons have iron pin base and to stablise them on the chess icons, the upper head of the chessboard was equipped with magnets, he added. He is a Limca Book record holder after making a micro chessboard with a size of 60mmX60 mm in a 15 mm diameter bottle. Amritpal tried to include his name in the Guinness Book of World Records but the track did not remain easy for him. His tiny 22 mm x 22 mm chessboard for his entry to the Guinness Book of World Records office in England was rejected on the plea that the category had been dropped and no new declaration could be made in this regard. Earlier, the world record for the tiniest chess is in the name of Mani Kandan of Tamil Nadu who had made 24 mm x 24 mm chessboard. Subsequently, he made intentional efforts to make playable chessboard. Amritpal said his intention was to spread the art of chessboard making. He sought government assistance in shape of land to set up an academy to train the youngsters.
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Three booked for rape, 1 held
Amritsar, August 19 Among those booked are Ajaypal Singh, Jasbir Singh and Satnam Singh, all residents of the same village. The Kamboh police has arrested Jasbir Singh while the remaining accused are still absconding. The case was registered following the statement of the victim who told the police that Ajaypal Singh committed the rape while the remaining accused stood guard outside the room at her residence. She said her husband, who drives an auto-rickshaw, left for work early
in the morning while her two children had gone to the school. he said the accused barged into her house by jumping over the wall and forced himself on her even as she resisted the attempt. She alleged the accused physically assaulted her before throwing her on the bed and committing the crime. The incident came to light when her husband returned and found her in a semi-conscious state. He took her to hospital and lodged a complaint at the Kamboh police station in this connection. Investigating officer Sub-Inspector Sukhdev Singh said a case under Section 376, 452, 232, 506, 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) had been registered against the accused. He said out of the three accused, Jasbir Singh has been arrested. Raids were being conducted to nab the remaining culprits,
he informed. He said the victim's medical examination was conducted by a board of doctors. Final reports were still awaiting and samples were sent to Kharar for further examination, he added. The case
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UGC gives Rs 54 lakh to GNDU for upgrade
Amritsar, August 19 Prof Daljit Singh Arora, coordinator, SAP DRS-II, said after the successful implementation of the Special Assistance Programme (DRS-I) by the UGC in 2007, the department would be upgraded to DRS-II. He confirmed that the department had been sanctioned a sum of Rs 54 lakh under the scheme to carry out research in thrust areas, which included development of bioactive molecules, process optimisation for mineralisation of aromatic amines and immuno-modulation studies of bioactive molecules. "The UGC expert committee would review the progress and the studies are expected to find out potential microbial and plant resources of relevance to industries and human health," he said. "The process optimisation for detoxification of pollutants will help save the environment. The sanctioned amount will be utilised to improve upon research and teaching facilities in the department," he added.
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Amritsar, August 19
Amritsar, August 19
