The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Akali leader threatens MC official MC starts drive to shame tax defaulters with drum beats; collects Rs 3 lakh GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 29 Political intervention comes to the fore on the very first day of the Municipal Corporation (MC) drive to shame the defaulters through drum beats in their respective areas, as a gas agency owner got MC Superintendent Sushant Bhatiaput talk to an Akali leader on phone, who allegedly abused and threatened Bhatia. Even as the offending gas agency owner paid Rs 10,000, out of Rs 30,000 pending against him, before the culmination of the issue, Bhatia and his team submitted a complaint to the MC Commissioner in this regard. This noon, an MC team conducted the tax recovery drive in the Civil Lines areas, which included Basant Avenue, Green Avenue, old jail road and Race Course road. High drama prevailed at around 12.30 pm when the MC team, accompanied by dholis (drummers), reached the door of a gas agency and its owner apparently got offended with the MC's novel way of collecting taxes and entered into an argument with its staff. Narrating the incident, Bhatia said one Harpreet Singh of the gas agency had telephoned a "so-called" Akali leader. "That Akali leader not only abused me on the phone, but also threatened to kill me if we asked the gas agency owner for paying his dues. It was a sheer case of stopping the government servants from performing their duties. That's why me and my team, which included Superintendent Daljit Singh and inspectors Davinder Babbar, Shiv Kumar and Kewal Krishan, have jointly submitted a complaint to the MC Commissioner in this regard." Since the MC Commission was out of station, we got it submitted to Additional Commission (O&M) Jaswinder Singh. Members of the MC team said they would not resume the drive, if the MC authorities did not take any cognisance of the instance. Officials said a sum of around Rs 58,000 was lying pending against four shops located in the vicinity of the gas agency. Even as the rest of the shop owners paid their dues on the spot after seeing the drummers, but the gas agency owner, who operates from two shops, got offended and engaged into an altercation with MC men. Meanwhile, Superintendent Daljit Singh said they had selected 10 properties to be targeted for the day, against whom taxes were lying pending. A sum of Rs 3 lakh was collected today. Getting fed up with residents refusing to pay their house tax, water and sewerage dues, the MC has recently devised this innovative method of shaming the offenders with drum beats, besides pasting notices in the localities where they reside. These drummers, carrying with them the notices issued against defaulters, would raise slogans, beat drums and hold banners against the defaulters in their respective localities.
	Road from Hall Gate to Bhandari Bridge cries for repair GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 29 The road from the Hall Gate to the Bhandari Bridge, which connects the old city with the rest of the Civil Lines area, needs urgent repair. There are huge pits and potholes, full of water, on this busy stretch as it has to bear the load of the whole traffic flow from the Hall Gate as well as from the elevated road, which connects Bhandari Bridge through a U-turn. In an attempt to negotiate these pits and potholes, commuters end up banging into each other. Accidents on this stretch are a common site, while the authorities have turned a blind eye to it. Residents and scores of traders (who have their shops on the roadside) alleged that due to continuous apathy of the Municipal Corporation (MC) the road has become a curse for them, especially the two-wheeler riders, who are injured regularly in accidents here. They said even though MC officials and even the Mayor cross this stretch daily, but the dilapidated condition of the road could never catch their attention. It has been observed that several commuters avoid crossing this road to take a mandatory U-turn and often preferred the wrong side to reach the Bhandari Bridge to save themselves from potholes, thereby causing chaos on the point. Ramesh Kumar, a trader, said, "Water often gets accumulated during the rainy days here and is a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes too. "The pitiable condition of this stretch, forces the commuters to go to the wrong side, which is not only risky for their lives, but also is telling upon their trade as no safe place is left opposite to their shops for the parking of vehicles," he said. "I avoid crossing this stretch due to countless potholes. It is always risky for the two-wheeler riders here because of heavy vehicles, like buses and trucks, which remain parked on the opposite side as there being the offices of numerous bus operators," said Jagdish Singh, resident of Bagh Ramanand. Amninder Singh, another shopkeeper, said, "The stretch dons the look of a canal during rainy days and those who have no knowledge of the potholes used to fall and get injured. It has virtually become a curse for them." "MC officials showed their inability to reconstruct or repair this stretch due to lack of funds. This stretch was never repaired and was always filled with mud or bricks or stones, which make it difficult for commuters, especially the two-wheelers and cycle rickshaws," he viewed.
	SHO suspended for not submitting inquiry reports of 200 cases PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 29 The Amritsar (Rural) police has placed the Station House Officer (SHO) of the Beas police station under suspension allegedly for not submitting the inquiry reports of over 200 cases. He has been sent to the Police Lines with immediate effect. Manmohan Singh, SSP, Amritsar (Rural), said the SHO, Harkrishan Singh, failed to give inquiry reports of over 200 criminal cases for further necessary action. He said the cases had been pending for the past many days, while the SHO did not give any satisfactory answer to this. He said these cases were still pending for investigations. “In a number of cases the criminals managed to get anticipatory bail only because the cases were not properly pursued by him,” said the SSP. He was suspended for a particular case in which a snatching of Rs 20 lakh had occurred in his area in which one Lakhwinder Singh was made an accused. The SSP said the SHO kept the senior police authorities in the dark, while Lakhwinder Singh used to roam in the area freely. “Several more criminal cases were registered against the Lakhwinder, who used to threat the witnesses and was also involved in a firing incident in a village,” said Manmohan Singh. “Due to the SHO's unprofessional attitude, Lakhwinder managed to get anticipatory bail, while the Punjab and Haryana High Court also criticised the Police Department in several other cases due to his negligent attitude,” he added. According to police sources, SHO Harkrishan enjoys the patronage of a religious dera located in the area. The administrators of the dera have close relations with the Chief Minister's family. Therefore, the senior police officials used to hesitate taking any action against the SHO. He had been heading the police station for quite a long time now.
	City observes National Sports Day Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 29 National Sports Day and Major Dhyan Chand’s birth anniversary was celebrated with zeal and enthusiasm at the local Guru Nanak Stadium. Brigadier Harcharan Singh, hockey Olympian, was the chief guest at the function. Speaking on the occasion he said there was no substitute for hard work and sportsperson should put in their best efforts to excel in their respective games. A hockey match between Maharaja Ranjit Singh Hockey Academy and Khalsa Collegiate Senior Secondary School was also held during the celebrations. The match was won by the hockey academy with a score of 3-1. ADCP Amrik Singh Pawar, District Sports Officer Harpaljit Kaur, Olympian Balwinder Shammi were also present on the occasion. Cambridge International School also organised a function to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dhyan Chand. A troupe of school students gave a performance of rope jumping during the celebrations. Principal Sunita Babu presented awards to the chief guest Brigadier Harcharan Singh and guest of honour Balwinder Singh, sports director of the SGPC, for their contribution to sports. Students of the school, who had done well at district and state level, were also given medals by the chief guest. He also motivated them to reach greater heights. DAV College held a programme “Jajba-the passion of hockey legend” at the college auditorium. Chief Parliamentary Secretary Inderbir Singh Bolaria presided over the function. Guru Nanak Dev University’s registrar Dr Inderjit Singh was also present during the event. The organiser of function Paramjit Singh Randhawa said various motivational choreographies besides candle light show and lectures were held on the occasion.
	28-day orientation course concludes at GNDU Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 29 A 28-day general orientation course-92 concluded at the Academic Staff College (ASC) of the Guru Nanak Dev University here today. Prof SS Chahal, Vice-Chancellor, Desh Bhagat University, Mandi Gobindgarh, was the chief guest at the valedictory session. Prof Chahal felicitated the participants on the successful completion of the course and counselled them to disseminate the knowledge acquired by them to their students. Dr Mohan Kumar proposed the vote of thanks. Emphasising the aims and objectives of the Academic Staff Colleges, he compared the higher education scenario in India with other developed countries of the world. He expressed his concern over India's lagging behind on the education front despite making advancement. He said quality of higher education had not kept pace with the increasing number of universities and colleges resulting in increase in gross enrolment ratio. He also stressed upon improving the quality through strengthening infrastructure, implementing academic reforms, publishing research and innovation, alleviating competent faculty crunch and other measures. He made participants aware about “RUSA” (National Higher Education Mission), a policy regarding higher education being initiated by the Government of India. The participants of the course thanked the ASC team headed by Prof Jaspal Singh Sandhu, director, Academic Staff College. Certificates were distributed among participants by Prof SS Chahal and Prof AJS Bhanwer.
	Teachers oppose leasing out land to govt GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 29 Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) has proposed to lease out 10 acres of its land to establish Adarsh School in the state under public-private partnership (PPP) model, which is being tabled in the Syndicate meeting scheduled for tomorrow. On the other hand, this proposal has not gone down well with the GNDU teachers. Adarsh Schools scheme was launched a few years ago by the state government with great fanfare. The primary objective of the scheme was to provide free of cost quality education to promising rural students. As per the policy, poor rural students are entitled to free quality education, for which the Punjab Educational Development Board (PEDB) was set up under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister. Under the PPP model worked out for schools, the monthly operational cost is shared by the Punjab government and the private player in the ratio of 70:30. This scheme has been proposed to be extended in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Patiala, Ludhiana and Bhatinda. For Amritsar, the government had approached the GNDU. Confirming this, GNDU Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar said a letter to this effect was received in which the government had demanded land to establish the Adarsh School. He clarified that the ownership rights of the land would rest with the GNDU only. The land would be leased out to the government to establish Adarsh School for deserving children belonging to underprivileged rural strata of the society, he added. “We are going to put up the proposal in the Syndicate meeting tomorrow for final nod of leasing-out 10 acre of land to the government. The government has proposed to build Adarsh School on this land to provide education to deserving children, who hailed from remote rural background and had obtained over 80 per cent marks in their matriculation examination,” he said. Opposing the move, the Guru Nanak Dev University Teachers Association (GNDUTA) maintained that the transfer of university land to the government was simply an attempt of the V-C to please the CM. “The GNDU needs land for future growth, which would require building new academic departments and several infrastructural facilities, like sports stadia, hostels, community centres, green belts etc. On state government’s request, the GNDU has already devoted 10 acres of land for establishing heritage village. If the university parts with such large chunks of its territory, it will be left with no land for its development and future expansion. The GNDUTA requests all the Syndicate and Senate members to play their role to halt this move,” said GNDUTA president Dr Davinder Singh Johal.
	Traders resent banning of goods carriers Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 29 Trader associations have expressed reservations over the district administration’s proposal to stop the movement of goods carriers in the vicinity of the Golden Temple to curb pollution around the shrine. Small goods carriers like cycle rickshaws and autos are among the popular modes to load and unload goods at traditional markets like Katra Ahluwalia, Cash Dhara Bazar, Tahli Wala Bazaar, Shastri Market and others. The Amritsar Tea Traders Association president Rajinder Goel said it was a welcome step that the administration had decided to control air and noise pollution around the holiest Sikh shrine Golden Temple. However, it must not be at the cost of trade, which had been prospering in the vicinity of holy shrine for centuries. He said majority of the commercial markets and establishments were situated around the Golden Temple adding, that traders foresee that it would adversely impact their centuries-old trading as majority of wholesale markets for essential commodities were located in the area. These markets had been trading in textile products like suiting shirting, shawls, blankets, tweeds, tea, green tea and others, he added. Goel apprehended that by not-permitting goods vehicles around the shrine would bring all commercial and trade activities to a stand still. It would be difficult to continue normal trading. He demanded the regulation of traffic rather than stopping it. He proposed that devotees must be allowed to park their vehicles free of cost at the Saragarhi parking. He claimed that devotees moved conveniently on these roads. It was the VIP movement which created traffic jams, he added. However, a section of the holy city resident feel the implementation of the proposed rule would provide a traffic-free approach to the Golden Temple and its nearby areas to commuters. They said the widespread encroachments were another big malaise, which afflicted the area around the Golden Temple vicinity and must be removed immediately. Earlier moves could not bring desired results as it hurt affluent and influential shopkeepers, who allegedly parked their vehicles at their will, throwing the ill-implemented norms to the wind. For instance, tourists heading for the Golden Temple were forced to park their vehicles at privately managed parking lots near Dharam Singh Market, where hefty parking fee was allegedly charged from them, while locals and shopkeepers were generally allowed to take and park their vehicles beyond this point. Earlier, the district administration had announced the stretch of the road from Phuhara Chowk to the Golden Temple as a no-traffic zone in 2010. Subsequently, the Amritsar administration decided to create a 410-metre area around the Golden Temple as a no-vehicle-zone from 8 am to 8 pm, and create paid parking rule in the bazaar. However, its implementation took a violent turn in September 2010, when shopkeepers and residents of the areas around the Golden Temple went on rampage, damaging government property. They destroyed official documents of the Municipal Corporation’s enforcement wing.
	Medicines worth Rs 1.25 lakh seized from unlicensed godown at Arorea Wali Gali Amritsar, August 29 The Health Department discovered a unlicensed medicine godown in a building at Arorea Wali Gali here today. Drug Inspector Sukhdeep Singh said medicines worth Rs 1.25 lakh were seized from the godown. He said the godown was owned by Mehul Pharma in Katra Sher Singh. He said around 45 kinds of medicines, some of which were proscribed, were found in the godown. He said seven more kinds of medicines were also seized from the premises of Mehul Pharma. Drug Inspector Bableen Kaur said chemists were also required to take a separate licence for the godown to store medicines. She said a case was registered at the Kotwali police station against the chemist as a few narcotics were also recovered, which were an offence under NDPS Act. The Kotwali police station had accompanied the Health Department team during the raid. — TNS
	Man held for killing mother-in-law Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 29 The Lopoke police has arrested Jugraj Singh, a resident of Panju Rai village, in connection with the murder of a woman, Manjit Kaur. The deceased was mother-in-law of Jugraj Singh. Surjit Singh, SHO, Lopoke police station, confirmed his arrest. Manjit Kaur was stabbed to death by Jugraj Singh over a property dispute. The deceased has two daughters and both are married. One of her daughter was married to Jugraj Singh of the same village. Manjit Kaur was planning to sell her land, while Jugraj Singh was opposing her move.