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Despite ban, BJP supporters erect ‘welcome’ hoardings in city
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Half-hearted efforts of govts prevent city from realising its tourism potential
MC collects Rs 9 lakh from defaulters
New Central Jail to come up in 2 years
Mandi board secretary takes stock of proposed sites
Shaheed Bhagat Singh remembered
Playing with words at a tender age
Students take part in a workshop on writing, organised by the American-Indian Foundation in Amritsar. A Tribune phorograph
Pak jatha returns to Amritsar
Complainant’s
husband booked for fraud
Rs 10.78 lakh looted by breaking ATM
‘Habit-forming’ drugs seized from pharma factory
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Despite ban, BJP supporters erect ‘welcome’ hoardings in city
Amritsar, September 27 Not caring two hoots for the high court directions which had banned such hoardings on the roadside (as it diverts drivers’ attention and could cause mishap on road), scores of these "welcome" hoardings in the city were erected at the historic Town Hall building from where MC office is run, besides Crystal Chowk, Queens Road, Company Bagh, Novelty Chowk, Nehru ShoppingCcomplex and the Hall Gate. Hoardings have also been erected on electricity poles and entry and exit of the elevated road on the Amritsar-Jalandhar road, too, were ‘misutilised’ for erecting hoardings. Another astonishing fact is that majority of these hoardings were released by Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora and on behalf of other senior local BJP leaders. There is a provision of awarding one-year imprisonment and penalty of Rs 50,000 under the Punjab Prevention of Pubic Property defacement Act to the person indulging in the defacement of the city. Question arises that will these influential’ political leaders, including the Mayor, face the same legal action for the same offence? Apparently, not! as they enjoy immunity from punishment for their hollow "show of strength". Identical was the scene when national president of the BJP Rajnath Singh came here some months ago and the Prime Ministerial candidate Narender Modi came to address a public rally near Pathankot. Commissioner, MC, DPS Kharbanda when apprised of this lapse said, “Defacing the public property by erecting any kind of hoarding or banner is an illegal act. I will get it checked and area official would be questioned about it."
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Half-hearted efforts of govts prevent city from realising its tourism potential
Amritsar, September 27 The entire hospitality industry in Amritsar banks upon the Golden Temple for which the holy city is counted among the top 10 most visited cities in the world. Despite this, the industry feels that the "insincere and half-hearted approach" of the successive governments did not help realising its true tourism potential. A hotelier, APS Chatha, said after years of lobbying the state government for developing and restoring various tourist sites in the city it finally agreed to it. Consequently, various projects were undertaken for the preservation of sites and buildings of historic importance. Inordinate delay in opening these tourist sites for the tourists was resulting the business opportunity slipping out of the hands of the industry here. It caused financial loss to the hospitality industry as average annual hotels occupancy here remained between 50 to 60 per cent. One of the most potential tourist projects being delayed is Gobindgarh Fort, raised during the Sikh Misl period, besides extended and developed during the reign of legendary Maharaja Ranjit Singh's rule. The fort is an example of special defence mechanism initiated by the Sikh army against artillery attacks. It also housed the residence of Gen Dyer and "Phansi Ghar" (execution house) during the British Raj. The summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Ram Bagh is also under preservation for the past many years. The complex includes the summer palace of the maharaja, fountains and Baradari gardens replicating the Shalimar Gardens of Lahore (Pakistan). The Union Ministry of Culture has reportedly approved Rs 200 crore to make Amritsar the tourist hub by undertaking projects to restore monuments to original shapes. Morning walkers in Ram Bagh demand accountability as they doubt how this amount was being spent. Ram Bagh also houses Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama, which recreates the life of the legendary maharaja. Through rare pictures and mannequins, the panorama recreates the glimpses of various battles (spread over 40 years) fought by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Interestingly, this panorama is larger and technically superior to that at Kurukshetra. However, the government failed to popularise it among the tourists due to lack of promotion. Lack of promotion was taking its toll on the heritage walk, Panj Sarovar Walk and Pul Kanjari, near Attari village, another famous site of historic significance. These venues have failed to attract visitors as the government and its agencies initiated half-hearted efforts to popularise these sites among tourists. This is despite the fact that crores of rupees have been spent for the revival and upkeep of Pul Kanjari. There has not been any attempt to create tourism friendly atmosphere in the city. Tourists from around the world and across the country are visiting the city, but there is no attempt to make them feel comfortable and assist during their stay here. The attitude of shopkeepers, rickshaw pullers and auto-rickshaw drivers towards these tourists needs to be polished. Many instances of fleecing and looting of tourists came to light. The Tourism Police was formed for the convenient stay of tourists in the city and the staff was to be deployed at key tourist sites and at railway station and airport, but the plan could not be materialised. Heavy taxes, high power tariff and increasing diesel cost are pushing up the cost of stay in hotels. Heaps of garbage and unhygienic condition of the narrow roads around the Golden Temple remained the major problems. Though the Municipal Corporation (MC) introduced a unique "night sanitation" drive for the first time in the city on August 3 to redress these problems, but its efficacy is yet to be realised.
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MC collects Rs 9 lakh from defaulters
Amritsar, September 27 In continuation of its drive to collect the house tax from defaulters, an MC team, led by House Tax Superintendent Shushant Bhatia, today recovered Rs 9 lakh from defaulters who have not paid tax for as long as 10 years and sealed several properties of the defaulters, who did not pay their dues. The team, accompanied by drummers, raided areas falling under Division No 20, 21, and 22, which included the right side of Chheharta and the GT Road. In the Kot Khalsa area, the team had to seal eight shops, which included a clinic, an ice-cream parlour, photo studio, and a cosmetics store. On the GT Road, a denting workshop and a general store were sealed for the non-payment of dues. At Harkrishan Nagar, four shops - tailor’s shop, a musical group centre, a noodles shop and a dhaba - were sealed. Besides this, a fibre sheet manufacturing unit and two auto dealers - Mohit Autos and AK Automobiles also faced the same fate for being defaulters. An amount of Rs 6 lakh was recovered from a hospital located in the Ranjit Avenue area. Superintendent Shushant Bhatia said in all these areas, the occupants never bothered to pay taxes for the past over a decade. “Earlier, there was never ever such a rigorous campaign which could be carried out against the defaulters. Now, with the initiation of present MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda, the name and shame campaign bore results. We have set a target of collecting around Rs 14 crore till December. If our pace of recovering tax dues from the defaulters continued in such a meticulous manner, we would achieve this target much before the targeted period. Kharbanda said the residents should themselves consider it as their moral duty to pay the taxes because the money collected would in turn be invested on providing them best of facilities and infrastructure. “We would continue with our mission of recovering taxes till the last property. Our message is quite clear that either pay up or face humiliation through drum beats or having their names announced through loud speakers”, he said.
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New Central Jail to come up in 2 years
Amritsar, September 27 Sources said the new jail would be constructed in two years. This modern jail will have a reception block, two-storey administrative block, two-storey eight block barracks for men, two-storey two blocks for women prisoners. The jail would have a capacity to accommodate 2,200 inmates, including 1,619 males, 296 women besides 285 Pakistani and other foreign inmates. Apart from this, there will be a provision for an official residence of jail superintendent, seven houses for deputy superintendents, 18 houses for class-III staff. The premises will have 60 houses for class- IV staff and a separate block for hostel warden. DC Ravi Bhagat said PUDA would fund the construction of the new jail premises. “There will also be a playground, drug de-addiction centre, hospital, godown, athletic track, multi-purpose hall, training centre, dispensary, religious places and a school for the children who reside in the jail," he said. The proposal to shift the jail from its present location on the busy Airport road had hit a roadblock in April, 2012, as various agricultural trade unions objected to the use of fertile land for the construction of a jail. Residents of Bhalla Pind were also not ready to part with the land of the loss-making Ajnala Co-operative Sugar Mill. Of the 85 acres to be acquired, 55 belonged to the mill. It has been learnt that this land was handed over to the government by farmers in early 80s, exclusively for sugarcane research and other agriculture-related activities, but for any other purpose. Bowing before farmers, the government had to go on the backfoot and then it discovered this 67.54 acres of defunct land of the Amritsar Improvement Trust. About two years ago, this site was supposed to be used for establishing dairy farms but the project did not gained currency following the government’s notification regarding shifting dairies out of the city limits.
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Mandi board secretary takes stock of proposed sites
Amritsar, September 27 Since Vallah mandi falls within the prohibited distance from the Army dump, no concrete structure and development work is allowed. The board had approached the District Town Planner (DTP) to suggest alternate sites for the wholesale vegetable and fruit market. The DTP had suggested five sites located in different parts of the city. These sites are 50-acre mixed-use land on Mehta road, 50-acre land at Revenue Estate, Manawala, on the National Highway-1. Another 50-acre site is at the Revenue Estate, Bal Khurd, on the Fatehgarh Churriyan road besides 60-acre on Majitha road and 50- acre mixed-use land at Ibban Kalan village on Chabbal road. Market committee secretary Manjit Singh Bhalla said the officials visited various proposed sites and it would take some time more to take the final call. Traders and farmers operating at the Vallah mandi regretted the government's decision to go for the city as the Punjab Mandi Board failed to provide all state-of-the-art facilities promised in its blue print. They added that it could not even provide basic amenities like toilets, bathrooms, potable water, stay houses for growers and farmers visiting the market from far-off places. Even facilities like cold storage for preserving perishable fresh farm produce and platforms for auctioning the produce are also absent. Ripening chambers are not available in the market and the traders have to operate from old vegetable market to store banana and papaya. Original plan of the market earmarked an acre plot for raising export facilities, but the place is lying vacant. The present Vallah market is spread over 92 acre and traders are of the view that the Punjab Mandi Board must seek public opinion before deciding the future course of action. They said as per the rules, 50 per cent of the market fee must be funded for the development of the market. On the other hand, no effort was made to provide any of the amenities. As per the original plan of the market, a plot near four number shed was earmarked for raising a cold storage. However, the plot is still lying vacant. Absence of cold storage means growers do not have any option to store the produce. The master plan had also recommended shifting of the Vallah mandi, said traders. It was informed that about Rs 1.30 crore had been allocated by the department for re-laying of damaged roads and other repair works about two years ago, but the work was abandoned after the Army objected to it. It is pertinent to mention here that the issue of ammunition dump location dated back to 2002 when the civic administration decided to increase the periphery of the city. The Army till then had acquired 122-acre of land on the bypass, which had few settlements in Vallah village. In return, the Army approached the Union Government and a notification banning any construction in 1,000 yards parapet was issued on November 11, 2004. However, till then a vegetable market had come up in the vicinity. The district administration has been issuing orders under section 144 of the CrPc (power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance or apprehended danger) in the area for avoiding any fresh construction. The Army had identified many construction activities in the area in the past.
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Shaheed Bhagat Singh remembered
Amritsar, September 27 Led by federation's state vice-president Gurdial Singh Ghuman and former general secretary Pargat Singh Jamarai, they paid floral tributes to the martyr. They demanded that a chair must be established in the name of the martyr in any of the varsity in the state and all students must be provided free of cost education upto Class XII. They demanded employment for all and demanded that unemployment allowance should be half of a month's salary. They reminded the SAD-BJP government of its promise of Rs providing Rs 1,000 per month as unemployment allowance. They said all vacancies in government and semi-government departments must be filled on regular basis on priority. They said for the encouragement of sports, more stadiums equipped with all infrastructure must be made available.
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Playing with words at a tender age
Amritsar, September 27 There is no age to start writing and these youngsters are out to prove it. Taking a cue from everyday life, these children are exploring the literary world. Some of their creations being published regularly. "I believe that circumstances shape our present and future and through writing, I try to share the stories that I never told anyone about," shares Pragya Sethi (16), a student of Sprindales School. She cannot recall when she fell in love with the world of words. Pragya, who is the vice-president of her school, writes short-stories and fiction and these are being published regularly in the school magazine. "I was the associate editor of my school newsletter and learnt a lot about books. Editing, compiling, and publishing stories pushed me towards writing my own stories," she shares. She hopes to get them published in some renowned publications. "I write about life and the things that I experience everyday. These are the stories that I believe most people would relate to," she says. Joining her is Manjinder Singh. The 18-year-old boy from city too believes that writing is the source of personal leisure. "Writing is something that I do out of necessity than leisure," Manjinder says. Manjinder has been contributing articles and poetry for theatre productions and writes for himself. "I write whenever I feel inspired, and have a compilations of short-stories that I want to get published," he shares. He has been in talks with some publishers to get his writings printed and hopes that he would hatch a deal soon. "I don't want to write to sell my stories, I want my words to create a lasting impression," Manjinder says. Another trio, Konalpreet, Hardip and Gurdit Singh, a group of children from Shaheed Udham Singh Orphanage, Putlighar, have been writing for a social project under the aegis of the American-Indian Foundation (AIF). Their writings have been published in their yearly publication The Garland. "We write in Punjabi and mostly on social issues like female foeticide and literacy. Our motive is to to bring out our thoughts, try to voice our concerns and feelings about things that effect us. After joining hands with the AIF, we have been writing for a change for two years now and hope to continue this as we grow up," share Komalpreet, a student of class VIII.
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Amritsar, September 27 He said they visited Raipur, Lucknow, Haridwar. Among the pilgrims was 105-year-old Suganu Mal. He is in India for the first time. All-India Hindu Shiv Sena president Surinder Kumar Billa garlanded all the pilgrims on their return. — TNS
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Complainant’s
husband booked for fraud
Amritsar, September 27 She had lodged a complaint with the police that the several persons were harassing her husband Vipin Kumar and threatening the family with dire consequences. However, during the probe it came to light that her husband had duped around half a dozen persons on pretext of providing them jobs and facilitating their transfer or promotions. The inquiry was conducted by ADCP (Crime) Harjit Singh Brar. On the basis of the investigation report the police has now registered a fraud case under Section 420 of the IPC against Vipin Kumar, while no arrest has been made so far. The investigation carried by the ADCP found that Vipin Kumar duped seven persons of Rs 5 lakh. The Persons against whom the woman had lodged the complaint approached the senior police official and recorded their statements before the ADCP while alleging that Vipin took huge amounts from them. His wife had lodged a false complaint after they went to his house and asked him to return the money. He even did not spare policemen. Head constable Mehal Singh gave Rs 1.5 lakh to Vipin Kumar for promotion, while he took Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.25 lakh from Kulwinder Singh and Ravi Kumar, respectively, for providing jobs. He also took Rs 50,000 from Sunil Kumar and Rs 1.5 lakh from another person for getting his daughter a government job. Surinder Mohan, SHO, Kotwali police station, said Vipin Kumar neither provided them job, nor returned the money. When they went to him and demanded the money back, Kiran lodged a false complaint against them. He said raids were being conducted to nab Vipin Kumar, who has been on the run since the registration of case.
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Rs 10.78 lakh looted by breaking ATM
Amritsar, September 27 According to information, a couple of robbers with their faces covered and wearing gloves entered the ATM of the State Bank of Patiala around 3.30am. They broke the machine with the help of a gas cutter and stole the money. The police has registered a case following the statement of Harinder Singh, manager of the bank. As per the CCTV footage, the robbers came in a white car in which they have kept the gas cutter. “Within 14 minutes the robbers slashed the machine and took away the money,” said Sukhdev Singh, Additional SHO, Rajasansi police station. He said hunt had been launched to identify and arrest the accused. In a similar instance, unidentified robbers had looted Rs 15 lakh from an ATM of Punjab National Bank in Naushehra Pannuan village in Tarn Taran on September 24.Going by the modus operandi of the robbers, the police is suspecting that same persons are involved in the both instances. “We cannot rule out the possibility of same persons being involved in the two instances as same modus operandi has been used in both cases, but the investigations are under progress and anything concrete could be ascertained only after the completion of the probe,” said Sukhdev Singh.
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‘Habit-forming’ drugs seized from pharma factory Amritsar, September 27 The seizure was made following a tip-off provided by several drug traffickers, which were nabbed by the Sultanwind police during patrolling. The police had seized habit-forming drugs besides intoxicant powder from them. Parampal Singh, ADCP (city-I), said the Sultanwind police had nabbed Sakatar Singh of Mandar Wala Bazaar with 800 capsules and 100 gm narcotic powder, Balwant Singh, alias Babbal, of Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar with 2000 capsules and 100 gm intoxicant powder and Jugal Kishore of Gate Hakima with 1,000 capsules, 5,000 tablets and 100 gm narcotic powder. “During interrogation they confessed that they procured the drugs from the pharmaceutical factory in Chheharta. Following this, a police team headed by Gurwinder Singh, ACP, raided the factory along with the Health Department’s officials,” said the ADCP. Bableen Kaur, drug inspector, said the team had taken the samples of the drugs confiscated from the factory, which would be sent to the Chandigarh laboratory. She said though the owner of the factory was not present, the material was seized in the presence of the employees. Meanwhile, the C-division police station arrested three persons, including a woman, for possessing narcotic substance. The arrested are Kirpal Singh of Mallia village (Jandiala), Sagar, alias Bobby, of Gilwali gate, and Balwinder Kaur who is notorious for drug peddling. Kirpal and Sagar were nabbed with 10 gm heroin each while Balwinder was held with 270 gm narcotic powder. — TNS
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A simple idea or a thought yields better result when scrambled down on a piece of a paper. The same very idea has pushed and prompted some youngsters from the city to take up writing, penning down their ideas in an impressive way.
