The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	State govt employees not getting salaries District treasury office closed since August 12; telephone, electricity, water supply bills pile up Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 The state government employees are facing difficulty in getting their monthly salaries disbursed from the district treasury office as it has been closed for some time, though unofficially. With no bill cleared after August 12, the departments will have to pay their telephone, electricity and water supply bills with applicable fine. Sources in the government departments revealed that the treasury office has cleared no monetary bills after August 12 till date with the exception of September 2. "The treasury office worked for just a day on September 2 and few bills were cleared. But then on September 3, the bills were not cleared again and it is closed since then,” said a government department official on condition of anonymity. If government departments have to pay the applicable fines due to delay in paying the electricity, water supply and telephone bills, the departments concerned would need more money, which would burden the treasury furthermore. Government employees in the district rued that they were finding it difficult to manage their expenses due to non-disbursal of their salaries. “Many colleagues have taken loans for buying homes and vehicles. If they default on their EMIs, it would bring in more problems to them,” said another employee. Not only this, medical reimbursements and withdrawals from the general provident fund (GPF) have also been stalled. “We cannot even take out our own money. The government seems to have turned a blind eye to our problem,” said a Health Department employee. Jagdish Thakur, general secretary, State Ministerial Staff Association, said, “Employees are facing a crisis and the government should wake up to their plight. We will wait till Monday to see what they (government) do to address our problem. After this, we will be forced to resort to protest to get the salaries." Tajinder Pal Singh Dhillon, president, Health Employees Association, said, “We have requested the treasury officials to release the funds but to no avail.” “The employees are agitated since it has become difficult for them to get their salaries released on time,” the Health Employees Association president said. a Messy situation The treasury office has not cleared bills after August 12 till date with the exception of September 2 If government departments pay applicable fines due to delay in paying the electricity, water supply and telephone bills, they (the departments) would need more money, which would burden the treasury furthermore Employees in the district are finding it difficult to manage their expenses due to non-disbursal of their salaries Besides, medical reimbursements and withdrawals from the general provident fund (GPF) have also been stalled
	2,000 litre sauce seized from illegal factory destroyed by Health Dept Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 The Health Department destroyed around 2,000 litres of sauce seized from an illegal factory in Dashmesh Avenue on July 10 after the test reports by the food testing laboratory ascertained that these were not fit for human consumption. Around 400 cans of five litre each containing soya, chilly and tomato sauce were disposed of by the Health Department officials here. The department has also initiated move to file challan against the factory owner in court. The test report of the sauce samples categorised the product as “unsafe for human consumption”. The department had collected five samples from the factory besides seizing the entire stock. District Health Officer Dr Shivkaran Singh Kahlon said the sauce was destroyed because it was not fit for human consumption. He said that during an earlier raid on the premises of another illegal factory owned by the same person was also busted. He said instead of closing down the illegal business, the owner had shifted to another place and continued selling substandard food items. He said the department has recommended a strict action against the culprit. Dr Kahlon said, "According to our investigations, the substandard sauce was to be supplied to various food shops in the city. Many shop owners buy such substandard material from illegal factories to make more profits."
	A year on, road where truck overturned not repaired yet Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 A year has passed since the fateful incident, in which 32-year-old Pardeep Kumar died and two persons got injured after a truck overturned as the road caved in near Lohgarh gate, the same portion of road has not treated as recommended by the experts. The incident had exposed the poor workmanship of the Municipal Corporation. A Superintendent Engineer (Civil) of the MC who carried out the inquiry after the fateful accident had suggested in his report that the civic body should provide some monitory help to the victim's family. The report, a copy of which is with the Amritsar Tribune, stated that the portion of the extra-mural drain from Lohgarh Gate to BK Dutt Gate should be converted into a sewer and the slab existing in this portion should be removed as it is very old and has outlived its life. The patch of the road was part of the Rs 15 crore widening and beautification project of the outer circular road around the walled city carried out in 2011. The work on the accident site was completed on April 2, 2012. During the course of inquiry, it was found that the construction vibratory roller weighing more than 10 tonnes was used in the work. Also road construction machinery like paver, loaded trucks, tar boilers etc had been frequently moving on the surface without any sag. It was also found that a 20-tyre heavy duty truck loaded with more than 1,000 cubic feet of crusher/coarse sand weighing was parked. The truck moving at over 40 km per hour speed suddenly applied brakes, resulting in a thrust over the slab causing its breakdown and tilting of the truck.
	4 kg heroin seized Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 The Border Security Force seized 4 kg of heroin worth Rs 20 crore at the Narli border outpost in Amritsar sector on the Indo-Pakistan border today. MF Farooqui, DIG BSF, said around at 1.30 am, the BSF jawans noticed some suspicious movement following which troops were rushed to the spot. They found two packets (2 kg) of heroin about 20 meters inside the barbed border fence. Farooqui said search was launched and another two packets were found near Dhussi track, about 200 metres from there. The smugglers, however, managed to escape.This is the third such incidence in the past 10 days. The BSF had recovered 11kg of heroin from the Amar border outpost in Bhikhiwind on September 2 while 10 kg of heroin was seized near BoP Udhar Dhariwal on August 28.
	Wanted criminal held with narcotics Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 Wanted criminal Sukhjit Singh, alias Sukha, the prime accused in the Prabir kidnapping case (2005), has been arrested by the Amritsar rural police with 70 grams of heroin. Sukha was serving life sentence and had come out on a parole of 42 days. But instead of returning to jail he went absconding. He allegedly started began the illegal trade of drug peddling all over again. Following a tip-off, the Kamboh police laid a naka near Pandori Waraich village and nabbed the accused with the contraband. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against him.
	Drug abuse claims another life in city Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 The scourge of drugs has claimed another life in Maqboolpura area on the outskirts of the city here. Balkar Singh (65), a resident of Darshana Jawahar Nagar, was found dead on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. Maqboolpura area is also known as the "locality of widows". The police got the post-mortem examination conducted after initiating action under the CrPc. Joginder Kaur, a relative of the deceased, told the police that Balkar was an alcoholic and a drug addict. He died apparently due to an overdose of drugs. Master Ajit Singh, a resident of the area, said that as many as 329 persons have lost their lives to drug menace in the locality in the past 14 years. Last year too, 13 drug addicts died in the area. Master Ajit Singh and Brij Bedi, an industrialist and a social worker, run a school in the locality. The school, Citizen Forum Vidya Mandir, is educating the children about drug addicts who lost their lives to the scourge. Jatinder Singh Aulakh, newly appointed police commissioner, said the police department has started a campaign against people involved in drug peddling.
	MC turns blind eye to religious functions organised on roads Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 Commuters in the city are at their receiving end as the Municipal Corporation has turned a blind eye to the religious functions being organised in the middle of the roads here. This causes huge traffic snarls. Some religious organisations occupied a part of the main roads outside the Gurdwara Bab Deep Singh Shaheed shrine and at Chamrand road as a result of which huge traffic jams were experienced today. Moreover, to fix the tent poles, the organisers did not hesitate drilling holes on the road itself, thus causing damage to it. Major Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran road near the gurdwara, said, "One side of the road remained blocked throughout the day. The traffic on the other side was unmanageable as the entire flowed in the single lane. Traffic policemen were seen helpless when it came to manage the rush of vehicles." He said if the administration could not stop these events on roads, it should make effective plans for traffic management. Many parks are located along the main road and the religious programmes can easily be held there, he added. The Gurdwara Road is linked to NH-15. Hence, a large number of heavy vehicles pass through it all over the day. Besides, a heavy rush of devotees is registered at the shrine. "The organisers of these events should also take responsibility so that people are not made to suffer. After all, their motive too is the welfare of mankind," said Harish Kumar, a commuter. Kumar said the administration in consultation with the civic body could earmark places and parks in the city where these political and religious events could be organised. A bank employee, Amrik Singh, was killed when his motorcycle got entangled in a rope tied across the road to facilitate a religious function at Powercom rest house on Batala Road on April 15 this year. He died on the spot. The police completed its formalities by initiating action under Section 174 of the CrPC while no action was taken or investigations were made against the persons who had tied the rope across the road.
	Narcotics, liquor seized; 12 held Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 The Punjab Police has nabbed over 12 persons and seized huge quantity of habit-forming drugs and illicit liquor from their possession in the past 24 hours. The anti-narcotic cell of the Amritsar rural police has arrested Lakhwinder Singh of Saidpur Khurd village and recovered a huge haul of intoxicant drugs from his possession. The police said it seized around 15,500 proscribed capsules and tablets from his possession. The accused could not produce any record of the medicines. In another incident, the anti-narcotic cell confiscated 1,500 tablets from Baljit Singh of Talwandi Rai Dadu village. Mahavir Singh of Rattangarh village was nabbed with 100 capsules. The Amritsar rural police also arrested Baljinder Singh of Ball village in Batala with 250 gm of narcotic powder while Sandeep Singh of Ajnala was held with 5 gm of heroin. Mangal Singh of Khiala Kalan was arrested with 80 bottles of illicit liquor. The city police has arrested a resident of Noori Mohalla, Bhagtanwala, Sunil Kumar, alias Sheela, with over 1,000 capsules of habit-forming drugs. Tajinder Singh of Garden City and Manit Singh of Rajinder Nagar were caught with 280 and 95 intoxicant capsules during a search operation. Lakhwinder Singh of Mustfabad and Buta Singh of Patti Dadu Jalla were held with 50 and 45 bottles of illicit liquor, respectively. Peter, a resident of Verowal road, Jandiala Guru, was also arrested by the narcotic cell with 132 bottles of liquor and 100 capsules.
	Khalsa College emerge gatka champion Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 Khalsa College Amritsar (KCA) has emerged champion in gatka at the Inter-College Gatka Championship, held at GNDU, for the second time in row. Last year, too, the college had been champion in the Sikh martial sports. In total, 10 teams participated in the event. The college got 17 marks and got the first position, said Principal Dr Daljit Singh. Running a special training programme for gatka at the college, he said there was an increased number of participation for this martial arts sports form in the region. The team comprising players Jagpreet Singh, Sarbjit Singh, Tejinder Singh, Jagroop Singh and Peerathpal Singh outperformed players from Guru Nanak College, Quadian, and Lyallpur Khalsa College to secure the title. The Principal congratulated the students and sports in charge Bachanpal Singh and appreciated the hard work and dedication shown by them.
	Industrialists submit memo to minister Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 Industrialists from diverse fields under the banner of the Laghu Udyog Bharti (LUB) submitted a memorandum to Industry Minister Anil Joshi during the sangat darshan held last night. LUB president Samir Khanna said the industrial policy must be notified at the earliest and uploaded on the department’s website enabling entrepreneurs to plan accordingly. He added that the delay in notification in spite of repeated announcement was a source of embarrassment for the government itself. In the industrial policy, no incentive for the existing industries, especially the Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME), had been mooted, which was urgently required to stem the trend of industry migrating to other states. “On the one hand, the government is announcing incentives to attract new investment under the new industrial policy, whereas promises of capital subsidy made under the industrial policy of 2003 is yet to fulfilled,” said JP Singh, general secretary, LUB. He added that the city’s Master Plan earmarked certain areas as industrial zones but the government did not endeavour to provide infrastructure like sewerage, roads, street lights, water supply and others. Besides, implementation of single window system must be ensured in letter and spirit.
	Learn from Vivekananda’s precepts, students told Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 A function to celebrate the 150th year of Swami Vivekananda’s birth anniversary was organised at Government Medical College here today. The programme was attended by Director, Research and Medical Education, Dr Tejbir Singh, Government Medical College Principal Dr SS Shergill and Guru Nanak Dev Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr KS Sidhu among others. The speakers exhorted students to learn from the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Dr Tejbir said Vivekananda was a great personality who devoted his life to uplift society and the country. He said the young generation should follow great men for the betterment of country and themselves. Students from various medical and nursing colleges in the state participated in the function.
	College holds board of studies meet Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 After getting the autonomous status from the University Grants Commission (UGC), the first meeting of the board of studies (BoS) of Khalsa College, Amritsar, was held today. The board had members from various other universities of Punjab and Haryana. The meeting was aimed at setting in the process of reviewing the syllabus and examination system that was to be put in place ahead of the next academic session in the college. Experts from diverse faculties arrived and held independent meetings with the heads of 16 departments on campus. They were all welcomed earlier by Principal Dr Daljit Singh who said they had tremendous responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability. "This is the new system that is required to be put in place as per the UGC guidelines for the autonomous status that was recently conferred on the college. We have set the ball rolling and more such meetings will be organised in the coming days," he said. The main experts who arrived included Dr Harish K Puri, retired professor of Political Science from GNDU, Dr GS Lehal, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Panjabi University, Patiala, Dr Anil Raina, Department of English, Panjab University, Chandigarh, Dr SS Thind, Depertament of Food and Tech, PAU, Ludhiana, Dr Gurmail Singh, Department of Physics, Panjabi University, Patiala, Dr Arunjit Singh, Assistant Professor, DAV Institute of Physiotherpay, Jalandhar and Dr Jaswinder Singh, Professor, Department of Punjabi, Panjabi University, Patiala. The Principal said the 121-year-old college was the first among colleges affiliated with Guru Nanak Dev University, to be an autonomous. The status was given following rigorous evaluation process on its achievements in academic, sports, cultural arena, recognising its role in dissemination of knowledge to society at large.
	FROM schools & colleges Contests mark science fest Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 7 The Department of Biotechnology of DAV College organised a one-day intra-department science festival, ‘BT Together’. Students of the department participated with zeal in a host of events like declamation, slogan writing, poster-making, quiz and ad-mad. The motive of the festival was to carve out the hidden talent among students. Avneet Kaur, a student of BSC-III secured the first position in declamation, whereas Vasishth and Anurag got the first position in the quiz contest. Amandeep , a student of BSC-III, bagged the first position in ad-mad, whereas in slogan writing and poster-making Anjali and Ekta got the first position. Later, Principal Dr KN Kaul felicitated the winners. Declamation contest The Sant Singh Sukha Singh (SSSS) College of Commerce for Women today organised a debate and declamation event under its project ‘Speaker’s Forum Spark’ on its campus. The students spoke on topics such as ‘No cheating in healthy eating’ and ‘Lack of social responsibility in India’. College Principal Dr Navdeep Kaur welcomed the guests and highlighted various special projects undertaken by the college as part of its academic programme. SSSS Educational Society Director Jagdish Singh presided over the function and lauded the performance of the college in academic and co-curricular activities. The students found the event motivating and informative. Medical camp A medical camp was organised at DAV Red Cross School for Special Children by the Rotary Club, Amritsar. Upinder Singh, president of the club, was the chief guest on the occasion. School Headmistress Simmi Luthra said 145 mentally challenged and hearing impaired students of the school were thoroughly examined by a team of expert doctors. The team included Dr Manchanda, Dr Parveen Kumar and Dr Harcharanjit Singh. A weighing scale was also donated to the school by the club.