Amritsar, September 24
Members of the Christian community, All-India Christian Dalit Front (AICDF), Diocese of Amritsar, today protested against the terrorist attack on a church in Peshawar in Pakistan and prayed for peace and safety of the minorities in Pakistan at the Attari-Wagah joint check post, about 36 km from here.

Led by AICDF president and Punjab Minorities Commission chief Munawar Masih, members of the Christian community demanded security and safety of minorities in Pakistan from its government. Addressing the community members, Munawar Masih urged the Indian Government to utilise its diplomatic channels to convince the Paksitan Government to ensure the safety of minorities living there.

He demanded that the Pakistan Government must immediately apprehend the culprits and ensure capital punishment to them. He also demanded abolition of blasphemy law and ensuring safety and security of minorities, including Christians, in Pakistan.

Diocese of Amritsar Bishop Pradeep Kumar Samantaroy criticising the dastardly act of violence against innocent Christians prayed for the peace of the departed souls. He said being a Deputy Moderator of the Church of North India (CNI), a had sent a letter to the Pakistan Prime Minister through the High Commissioner of the Pakistan Embassy stating that the incident was due to the gross negligence on the part of the Pakistan Government and its apathetic attitude toward the safety of the minorities.

Notably, the Church of Pakistan was also a part of the CNI, as the CNI came into existence in 1970 after the merger of six denominations, including Church of India, Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon (Anglican), United Church of Northern India (Congregationalist and Presbyterian), Baptist Churches of Northern India (British Baptists), Church of Brethren in India, which withdrew in 2006, Methodist Church (British and Australia Conferences) and the Disciples of Christ.

Amritsar, September 24
The trading community in the walled city heaved a sigh of relief as there is no sign of magnetic pod project under the Public Rapid Transport System (PRTS) taking off while the state government has shifted its focus to air-conditioned bus service under the pattern of Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in the holy city.

They were earlier apprehensive that the PRTS will adversely hit their trade.

President of the Bazaar Ram Bagh Traders Association Balwinder Sharma said the traders welcomed the announcement of the SAD government to operate 78 AC buses covering a route of 31 km in Amritsar within the next one year. He urged the government to drop the magnetic pod plan as it would not be practically feasible. "Raising of the 20-ft high track of magnetic pods in the middle of the road, which has retail markets on both side, will transform the character of centuries-old walled city forever while adversely affecting their business," he said.

President of the Hall Bazaar Traders Association Sham Singh Ahuja said, "We are not opposing development of the city and any project attracting tourists is welcome. Now, we are learning that the magnetic pod system may be scrapped as it is not affordable."

"It is said a passenger had to shell out Rs 40 for a ride in a magnetic pod from the railway station to the Golden Temple. On the other hand, the same distance could be covered by paying half of the proposed ticket price on rickshaw," he said.

He said many visits and communiques failed to convince the government to review its decision. Now, it wanted to operate AC buses under the BRTS, which was a fine move as the city did not have any mass transport system. He cited the example of construction of an elevated road inside Shera Wala Gate, which he claimed killed its skyline and ruined its business. Hence, the government now should utilise that road for the route of PRTS.

Tirlok Nath, a trader of the area, said, “A good number of shopkeepers are those who were rehabilitated in the late 1950s after they arrived as refugees after the Partition.

Amritsar, September 24
Even after a lapse of three years, the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) authorities have failed to fix the accountability of one of its employees whose negligence could have proved to be fatal for the life of a police official.

Taking cognizance of the instance the Medical Council of India, through Punjab Medical Council, has questioned the GNDH authorities to file their reply in the case pertaining to faulty medical reports of Charanjit Kumar, senior intelligence assistant with the Intelligence Wing, and the action taken against the lab assistant, Gurmeet Singh.

Despite repeated reminders, the GNDH authorities never cared to respond.

Charanjit (56) got the shock of his life after discovering massive difference between the reading of his medical examination done by the team of GNDH and the private doctors.

Questions are being raised that had Charanjit relied on the reports of the team of government hospital staff and started medication on their basis, he would have been in more complicated situation.

Charanjit during an operation to nab terrorists in mid 80s had got his back injured and developed chronic backache problem since then.

On March 1, 2010, he went to GNDH to get himself examined in the OPD under patient ticket number 2561. He was referred to the Pathology Department for getting his clinical investigation done before further medication as he was to undergo back surgery.

Here came the shock. After undergoing the test by a team of doctors, their report showed him having acute low haemoglobin at 7.1 gm and TLC counted 9200 cmm.

Suspecting some error, he insisted on re-examination. “Lab assistant Gurmeet Singh half-heartedly did it and re-testified that the earlier reading of my haemoglobin was correct and that my medication would be started on this basis only,” said Charanjit.

Before surrendering himself to the government doctors, he decided to get his haemoglobin examined for the third time from a private laboratory. He approached Dr Puri’s Laboratory, Majitha Road, which revealed his haemoglobin to be absolutely under the normal limits.

Leaving nothing to chance, he got the same test done for the fourth time through another private laboratory which also testified his haemoglobin to be quite normal and the reading by the government hospital to be ‘absolutely false’.

“My reading at the Puri Laboratory and Amritsar Sewa Samiti Laboratory came to be between 14.5 -15.8 gm, which was quite normal,” he said.

After conducting an enquiry, the then Medical Superintendent, GNDH Dr RPS Boparai had found the lab assistant Gurmeet Singh guilty and negligent in performing his duties. He had also recommended harsh punishment against him, but in vain. “It was really a serious matter because such an enormous variation in haemoglobin reading cannot be possible. It is true that the patient’s medication started on the basis of wrong reading of haemoglobin, the things could have been complicated,” he said.

Amritsar, September 24
With a view to expose the people of Ladakh residing in difficult geographical terrain, to the rest of the country, a group of 15 students from its remote villages in Nubra valley today visited the holy city.

Under the watch of Captain Sadiqu they have been going places like Chandigarh, New Delhi, Agra, Lucknow and Amritsar.

He said the objective was to ensure that these students can witness the rich cultural heritage, of the country and were also abreast with the latest developments in the fields of science and technology.

They paid obeisance at the Golden Temple and tributes to martyrs at the Jallianwala Bagh. — TNS

Amritsar, September 24
A seminar was organised here today by the NGOs Mission Aagaaz, Amritsar Vikas Manch, Saathi, Lok Kalyan Samiti, International Welfare Society on the issue of actual development taken place during the last seven years from infrastructure as well as environment point of view in the city.

Amritsar Vikas Manch general secretary Daljit Singh Kohli said the promises made by the government in last seven years had not been fulfilled. He said the government still had time and it should act. Deepak Babbar of Mission Aagaaj said the SAD leaders claimed to convert Amritsar into a city like New York but the reality was that it was a city of potholes, choked sewerages, concrete jungles and haphazard traffic. Gurbhej Singh Sandhu said in the projects like solid waste treatment plant, proper and flawless roads inside as well as outside the city, removal of piles of garbage from road sides, proper sewerage system, safe drinking water, smooth traffic etc were not going to see light of the day until and unless there was strong, pious and unbiased political will to implement them.

Amritsar, September 24
A special lecture was organised at the Guru Nanak Dev University to celebrate the National Science Day. The lecture was organised by the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences of the university under the aegis of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST), Chandigarh.

Eminent Scientist, Professor MA Singara Charya from the Department of Microbiology, Kakatiya University, Warangal, Andhra Pradesh, delivered the lecture on “Food Security and Genetically Modified Organisms”.

Professor Charya in his lecture briefed about the need of food security to meet up nutritional food demands of the increasing population. He referred to the reports published by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) where it was stated that over 850 million people are suffering from chronic hunger due to extreme poverty and 2 billion people lack food. He also highlighted the reports of the UN that more than 900 million people are undernourished and the situation is expected to worsen by 2050.

He said the Indian state of Punjab pioneered green revolution among other states transforming India into a food surplus country but at the same time the state has witnessed serious consequences due to the excessive use of chemicals and pesticide inputs. He also talked about the social, political and economic impacts of the green revolution in Punjab and its role in overcoming the food shortages. He said the National Food Security Bill, 2013, has many issues that needed dire attention.

He also discussed the relationship between biodiversity, bio-productivity and biotechnology with special reference to various controversies related to the burning topic of Genetically Modified (GM) crops. He said if GM crops had various benefits they even had harmful effects. He also discussed the safety and intellectual property rights, issues, ethics, labeling and other economic aspects related to GM crops along with various health issues, ecological concerns arising from gene escape.

Amritsar, September 24
Ajmer Singh penned Punjabi book ‘Gadari Babe Kaun San’ was today released by Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gubachan Singh at the Chief Khalsa Diwan run Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School.

In the book, the writer has attempted to prove that the source of inspiration of Gadari babe’s movement against the British yoke was Sikhism. He held that the historians who wrote the Gadar movement did not do justice with it by not mentioning its source of inspiration. He said the instances of sacrifice for the welfare of the entire humanity were fraught in the Sikhism. He elaborated that in the early 20th century many Indians migrated to the US, Canada and others countries in search for livelihood and better future for their families. Majority of them were Sikhs.

Karamjit Singh, former assistant editor, Punjabi Tribune, urged the Akal Takht Jathedar to direct the SGPC to commemorate the contribution and sacrifice of Sikh Gadari Babe by holding a tribute paying programme on every November 16. — TNS