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Factories in residential areas a nuisance
Smoke billows out of the chimney of a factory at a residential area in Amritsar. Photo: Vishal Kumar
Tourism industry to get a fillip with laying of Valmiki Temple foundation stone
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Three booked for fraud
LPG consumers harassed as gas agency lying closed for 20 days in Chehharta
The Mahajan Gas Agency at Chehharta in Amritsar.
A Tribune photograph
Police to relaunch drive against wrong parking
A view of the traffic police recovery van in Amritsar on Saturday. photo: Sameer Sehgal
AIT allows 50 letters for setting up temporary cracker kiosks
Doctors asked to sign self-declaration forms
Star cast of ‘Ishq Garaari’ comes calling
Off screen: The star cast of the Punjabi film 'Ishq Garaari' during a press conference in Amritsar on Saturday. Photo: Sameer Sehgal
Eco Amritsar hails GMC’s move to ban plastic bags in city
Islamabad police visits Gobindgarh Fort once again
Commissioner inspects paddy crops
2 killed in accidents |
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Factories in residential areas a nuisance
Amritsar, October 19 Repeated pleas to the authorities concerned by the residents against such units have fallen on deaf ears. Ram Singh, former deputy secretary, SGPC (Media), said, “Moulding factories are being run from residential areas in and around Ram Talai on GT Road. These units cause air pollution in the area but the authorities seem to have turned a blind eye to it.” Such units create nuisance for the residents besides effluents discharged from them get mixed with sewage. At times, water spills over to the road thus posing a grave risk to the residents’ health. Many screen-printing factories and shops located in different parts of the city are posing a threat to the environment. These units use highly inflammable material and
chemicals to colour fabrics. Some of them are located in densely populated areas. Parveen Kumar, a resident of Ranjitpura, said that effluents that get mixed with waste water are released in drains passing along the residential complexes. The situation becomes graver at places where drains are left open. Gurbhej Singh, general secretary, Mission Aagaaz, an environmental NGO, said, "The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) must take serious measures to keep tabs on industrial pollutants. A fire had broken out in one such factory in December 2009. It took two hours to bring the situation under control." The residents had then played an important role in dousing the flames besides the fire tenders, the general secretary of Mission Aagaaz said. The city has 10 big and small industrial clusters which includes two focal points, an industrial area and an industrial estate while the rest are unorganised industrial units scattered across the city. In the master plan approved recently for Amritsar, the government has proposed to set up three more major industrial pockets. Two focal points are situated in Maqboolpura on Vallah Road for engineering and textile while the other is New Focal Point on Mehta Road and Industrial Estate at Chheharta. The unorganised units are mostly located in East Mohan Nagar along GT Road, Puttlighar, Islamabad, GT Road, Verka Industrial area and localities near Amritsar
Engineering College, Attari, Batala Road and Majitha Road. Majority of these are engaged in textile manufacturing. As per the data prepared by the firm which prepared the master plan for Amritsar, about 69 per cent of small-scale industries in the district are located within the walled city. Jaswant Singh Randhawa, Environmental Engineer, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), and who looks after Amritsar and Tarn Taran area, said, “The department conducts raids from time to time at such units and penalises the ones that cause pollution.” “All factories established prior to 2011, when the Amritsar Master Plan
was notified, were deemed approved. No factory is allowed to operate from residential areas,” the Environmental Engineer of the Punjab
Pollution Control Board further said. A grim scenario
Unorganised units
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Tourism industry to get a fillip with laying of Valmiki Temple foundation stone
Amritsar, October 19 Therefore, hospitality players have been demanding to open new sightseeing and pilgrimage centres to prolong the stay of tourists. Gunbir Singh, president, Amritsar Tourism Outreach, said the development of Ram Tirath area would be a great achievement for the city. Amritsar Tourism Outreach is a tourism promotion organisation in Amritsar. The place, he added, would not only appeal to the Valmiki community but all sections of the society. The site is believed to be the place where the Ramayana was written besides being the birthplace of Luv and Kush, sons of Lord Rama. The tourism appeal of Ram Tirath alongside its pilgrimage significance can not be understated and hence the tourism industry is delighted that the project would offer them immense opportunities. The fact that people belonging to the Valmiki sect come from all over the globe and this pilgrimage would encourage them to visit the holy city. A number of hotels have come up in the walled city, especially around the Golden Temple. Statistics reveal that there were 1.05 crore domestic tourists visited the state in 2010 while the number of foreign tourists was 1.37 lakh that year. In 2011, there were 1.64 crore and 1.50 lakh domestic and foreign tourists respectively in the state. There was an increase of 55 per cent in domestic tourists and 10 per cent in the foreign tourists in 2011 as compared to 2010. Majority of these tourists visit the Golden Temple. APS Chatha, president, Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHRA), said a survey conducted by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) revealed that the number of hotel rooms in the holy city crossed 4,000 in the past five years. But the number of tourists visiting the holy city on a daily basis is far higher than the number of rooms available. However, the matter of concern is that only 25 per cent of tourists stay overnight in the city. There are a plenty of low-cost sarais (inns) and small lodges in the walled city. Of late, many hotels have been commissioned in the luxury category in the city. Chatha said to increase average occupancy of hotels, it was necessary to open as many projects as possible. He welcomed the laying of foundation stone for Valmiki Temple. He hoped that it would give a fillip to the tourism industry and would prolong their stay. To realise this, the government must complete the Ram Bagh housing summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Gobindgarh Fort and the heritage village, he added. Tourism potential
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Sikh clergy may summon Sayali
Amritsar, October 19 Talking to mediapersons here today, Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh said they had sought all the documents pertaining to the case were being studied. The issue would be discussed in the meeting tomorrow, the Akal Takht jathedar said. Sources said the Sikh high priests might summon Sayali for his move, besides summoning the “forces” behind it. Akal Takht had earlier summoned former DSGMC chief Paramjeet Singh Sarna for opposing the construction of the memorial and awarded him “tankhah” while directing him to withdraw his petition against it. Subsequently, he withdrew the petition. However, a fresh petition has been filed by Sayali in the Delhi High Court in this regard. To curb the rising instances of sacrilege, Gurbachan Singh today said no individual could be allowed to use the title 'Patshahi' except when referring to the Sikh Gurus. These directions were issued in view of the complaints that several self-styled godmen were using the title 'Patshahi' with their name. The Akal Takht jathedar said the title could only be used for the Sikh gurus. He said the Akal Takht has also taken a serious notice of Lakha Singh, a self-styled godman from Rajasthan, who has been reportedly equating himself with the Sikh Gurus. The Akal Takht jathedar said the Sikh clergy will deliberate on action against him during its meeting tomorrow.
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Three booked for fraud
Amritsar, October 19 He said the accused took Rs 2.50 lakh and Rs 1 lakh on different occasions from him. He alleged that the accused neither returned the money nor sent his son abroad. Surjit Singh, investigating officer, said an inquiry was conducted by ADCP city-II Amrik Singh Pawar earlier in this regard. Later, after taking the opinion of DA Legal a case under Section 420 of the IPC has been registered. The investigating officer said no arrest has been made so far. Further investigations are under progress. In another incident, Gurpreet Singh, a resident of New Sant Nagar, was allegedly defrauded by Ashwani Kumar of Amar Avenue and Manoj Nanda of Guru Amar Dass Avenue. The complainant told the police that the accused demanded took Rs 6 lakh from him to send him to New Zealand. He said he gave them Rs 1.10 lakh as advance payment but the latter did not send him to New Zealand. Gulwinder Singh, in-charge, Sadar Cantonment police chowki, said the accused were yet to
be arrested and the investigations were under progress. He said a case under
Section 420 and 120 of theIPC has been registered against them in this regard.
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LPG consumers harassed as gas agency lying closed for 20 days in Chehharta
Amritsar, October 19 They further said the calls on three phone numbers given by the gas agency to consumers were not answered. “We go to the gas agency every morning hoping that it will be open and we could get LPG cylinders,” said Amanpreet Singh, a connection holder. Many consumers complained that they had seen a notice outside the agency that it would open on Monday but it did not. The residents said they were buying LPG cylinders from black market where they were paying around Rs 1,500 for a cylinder. Narinder Singh, another connection holder, said, “It is very difficult for us to get a cylinder. We had to buy a kerosene stove to cook food. The administration must take action against the agency for closing down without notice.” “Now, we are thinking of getting gas connection from some other agency. But it would not be easy. Even if we manage to get one, we would have to pay connection fee once again,” said Satpal Singh. The agency has reportedly sold over 1,000 connections in the area. None of the phone numbers supplied to the consumers were answered despite repeated attempts. District Food and Civil Supplies Controller Talwinder Singh Chopra said, “We have not received any complaint so far. The department has no information about the allegations that the agency
is closed for the last 20 days.”
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Police to relaunch drive against wrong parking
Amritsar, October 19 The city police has now roped in a Jalandhar-based private firm which has provided two new tow-away vehicles to the department at the start which started functioning today. Baljit Singh Randhawa, ADCP traffic, while confirming the development, said, “The firm has provided two vehicles - one manual and the other hydraulic - for this purpose at the preliminary stage which would be increased in near future. The manual vehicle would also be replaced with the hydraulic vehicle.” Randhawa said the police had entered into a one-year contract with the firm. Though there is no particular place for stationing these vehicles but initially, one vehicle would be stationed near Golden Temple side while the second one would be placed near Crystal Chowk or Lawrence road. The vehicles would be moved to other places also as per the requirement, said the ADCP. According to the terms and conditions of the contract with the firm, the violators would also have to pay the expenses for towing away their wrongly parked vehicles besides coughing up the fine. The police have fixed Rs 500 fine for the four-wheelers, Rs 150 two-wheelers while for light as well as heavy commercial vehicles the fine is fixed at Rs 1000. For accidental vehicles which would be brought from a distance of more than 10 kilometers one has to pay Rs 1700. The major portion of the fine would be pocketed by the vehicle operators and remaining would be divided in two parts one of which would go to
police welfare fund and remaining with the state exchequer.
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AIT allows 50 letters for setting up temporary cracker kiosks
Amritsar, October 19 The Amritsar Fire Works Association (AFWA) president Harish Dhawan
said the district administration permitted them to hold makeshift shops of crackers at
Ranjit Avenue for the first time. He wondered that there were about 30 shopkeepers dealing in fire crackers at Jahajgarh area and now allotment letters to over 50 have been issued.
Patakha Market in Jahajgarh area has already been ruled out to set firecracker shops and the traders have so far not been able to locate a
suitable place to run their business. After setting up kiosk at the allocated space these traders would seek
licences from Police Commissioner under the Explosives Act to permit them the sale of firecrackers. As per the norms, the Police Commissioner has the power to issue licenses for a certain time period to allow the sale of firecrackers which fall under the category of explosives. Similarly, the Union Government issues licenses under the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Act for their storage.
Dhawan said the sale of crackers was a seasonal affair and its peak season was invariably a month before
Diwali. He said the setting up of shops was a costly affair as each kiosk would cost about Rs 25,000 each. He said there were around 30 wholesale traders, who had licenses under the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Act, and all of them procured material from
Sivakasi. All of them had their shops at Jahajgarh, he said. The traders and employees were sitting idle in this peak season,
he added. He said all these traders had their godowns at various locations across the city especially at
Chheharta, Dhapai and Tarn Taran roads. Earlier, wholesale cracker market used to be situated at IDH Market near the bus stand and Pappar Wala Bazaar near the
Golden Temple. However, these markets had to be shifted to Jahajgarh in 2000 after a
massive fire had broken out at IDH Market in which material worth crores of rupees got
perished and loss of human life was also reported in 1999.
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Doctors asked to sign self-declaration forms
Amritsar, October 19 The move is aimed at checking the growing habit of private practice by the government doctors after or during the duty hours. Even as the department has on various occasions caught government doctors doing private practice and taken actions against them but still it has failed to pull a full stop to the tendency. The sources in the department said, “Few of the doctors in government service are blatantly running their own clinics even as they are paid non-practice-allowance by the government.” The tendency is said to be more dominant among doctors posed at rural areas as they seldom fear inspections from the higher officials. The department has instructed all the in charges of government hospitals and dispensaries to get the self declaration forms signed from doctors under them and send these to the state department. However, some of the doctors rued that signing of self declaration forms is merely a formality and the department does not need these to punish a doctor
if he or she is running a private clinic. A doctor said, “The government must also change its definition of private practice. He should not be stated as doing private practice if some patient turns up at his home or he goes to see a patient in his neighbourhood. At least he cannot deny medication to people in such cases as it is his social obligation.” These include a few very senior officials of the Health Department. The department can set an example by punishing these senior officials and the juniors would automatically follow.”
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Star cast of ‘Ishq Garaari’ comes calling
Amritsar, October 19 Starting the whirlwind promotional spree of the movie, the team has a packed schedule as they will visit major cities of North India, including Panipat, Ambala, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Patiala, Baddi and many more. In response to a query singer and actor Sharry Mann said, “It is the Mandy Takhar was also very happy with the massive response to the promotions in the city. “This movie is the perfect treat for this festive season and I am sure that people will fall in love with ‘Ishq Garari’,” she remarked. ‘Ishq Garari’ is the directorial venture of Dheeraj Rattan and the movie is a full-on powerhouse of entertainment. “Ishq Garari is a story based on love and confusion. All the actors have done a fabulous job and people will surely relate to the characters. It is a tale of three guys Sharry Mann, Ranvijay and Gulzar Chahal who will be taken on a romantic rollercoaster ride by the heroine of the film, Mandy Takhar. Famous Punjabi singer Miss Pooja plays the second female lead in the movie,” informs Actor Gulzar Chahal. Expecting to rule the Punjabi box office collections the makers of the movie would release it simultaneously in India and abroad. “Being a multi-starrer film, Ishq Garari is a big budget Punjabi film and we are sure that the movie will set the cash registers ringing,” said producer Ravi
Jain.
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Eco Amritsar hails GMC’s move to ban plastic bags in city
Amritsar, October 19 He informed that Eco Amritsar was approached last week by the GMC and has agreed to find synergies for environmental conservation. Commenting on the proactive approach of GMC, Gunbir said, “The medical fraternity is an enlightened citizenry, He added that Eco Amritsar had already been collaborating with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for spreading the awareness about conservation, and wished to take the programme further with the assistance of the fraternity.” He said, “It is imperative that we promote the usage of the bag made out of cloth along with the ban on poly bag.” We have offered ideas and solutions for citizens, He said in fact we had a meeting with the plastic dealers association in the presence of the Municipal Commissioner DPS Kharbanda, urging the dealers to start stocking cloth bags and leaf plates instead of poly bags and Styrofoam plates.
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Islamabad police visits Gobindgarh Fort once again
Amritsar, October 19 He said the ammunition would be sent to the experts on Monday for examination to ascertain the weapon for which the bullets were meant for. It is pertinent to mention here that the bullets were found in a deep slot carved out in huge walls of the Gobindgarh Fort which was earlier in the possession of the Indian Army. The bullet inscribed year 1944 following which the police officials suspected that these might be of pre-independence era. Indian army officials also denied that the bullets belonged any of their weapons. The fort was handed over to the Punjab Tourism Department for conservation purpose in year 2008.
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Commissioner inspects paddy crops
Amritsar, October 19 He instructed the Deputy Commissioner to take strict action against the employees of the agencies and private arthis who are found guilty of harassing farmers unnecessarily. On this occasion he visited many procurement centres in the district and talked to the farmers about the problems being faced by them. He was satisfied with the arrangements made by the district administration at mandis for the procurement of the produce. He said it had been noticed that private players were purchasing crops at a more price than the minimum support price of the government. “It is good for the farmers that they are getting a just price for their crop,” he said.
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In a blatant violation of norms, small industrial units involved in the manufacturing of various goods continue to operate from residential areas in the walled city.
These units are causing multiple problems to the residents of these areas since such units add to air, water and noise pollution. Many of them are located in densely populated areas and on the outskirts of the city.
Amritsar, October 19
Even as the city police continues to battle with traffic chaos and the problem of illegal parking, the police department is all set to relaunch its drive against wrongly-parked vehicles.
Earlier the police department had a bad experience with the firm which it had engaged for towing away wrongly-parked vehicles. The company vanished away nearly six months after its launch in January this year.
Amritsar, October 19
