Amritsar, January 3
Scores of private schools in the city violate open-market competition by opening shops or permitting these to be set up on their campuses to sell school uniforms, stationery and curriculum.

Parents are forced to make purchases from these shops only. The traders who deal in items related to school students believe that these school shops have monopolised the business and demand exorbitant prices for items which are otherwise available at reasonable prices in the open market.

Advocate Kuljeet Singh maintains that public schools, including those belonging to educational societies and trusts, in Amritsar are flouting the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP) Act, 1969, by allowing to open 'solitary' stores on their premises and contacting certain dress material stores for their students.

The MRTP Act was framed to ensure that the operation of the economic system did not result in the concentration of economic power in a few hands. It prohibits monopolistic and restrictive trade practices and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. "Initially there were three objectives. These were to control the monopolies and restrictive trade practices, prevention of concentration of economic power in a few hands only and to regulate trade practices. After an amendment of the Act in 1984, a fourth objective, Regulation of Unfair Trade Practices, was also introduced," he added.

He said these shops were given to selected persons without going through a genuine tender process. He added that ideally these shops must offer material at prices lower than in the open market but it doesn't happen. He called upon authorities to at least ensure carrying out of tender process to provide these objects at minimum cost to parents.

Parents on condition of anonymity said that they were not allowed to procure books from the open market and the school managements forced them to buy these from the single shop opened on the school premises. They said leasing out the shop to a selected person from a large number of book stores in the city pointed towards an unfair trade practice. "There is no transparent public tender facility". In the absence of competition, these shops charge exorbitant prices for books from parents.

Similarly, managements of these schools direct parents to procure uniforms from certain city shops. Parents have to buy the complete uniform including shoes, socks, hairband for girl students, belt and tie. To ensure that no parent procured these uniforms from the open market, each uniform is sold in the form of a set. The parents shared that, interestingly, a similar uniform cannot be found in the open market as a minute change in design or embroidery is effected. They said the government and its agencies were oblivious of connivance of school managements and certain traders to dupe gullible parents.

The father of a student remarked that earlier uniforms were introduced to provide uniformity to students coming from diverse economic backgrounds but now a single school introduced multiple uniforms for singling out pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary and senior secondary classes.

A social activist and Punjab People's Party leader Sandy Randhawa said these schools were treating children as "products" and not their students. Thus, these educational institutes had deviated from their primary objective. Many of these schools had also opened canteens on their premises without seeking a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Health and Fire Brigade departments. He maintained that these tactics had resulted into skyrocketing of the cost of public school education and the black sheeps in the system were pocketing wads of cash.

District Education Officer Satinder Bir Singh said his department did not have the power to monitor that the tender process was done before leasing out a space in schools for commercial activity other than teaching. He added that at present the Central Advisory Board of Education was in the process of formulating rules to keep a tab on commercial activity in schools. 

Amritsar, January 3
Over 4 lakh LPG consumers in the city are relieved that the oil and natural gas public sector companies extended the linking of Aadhaar cards with bank accounts to avail subsidy up to January 31.

Inadequate publicity and disenchantment of people towards paper work has been blamed the slow pace of linking the cards.

A consumer Harjit Singh of Chowk Hakima said he had been a LPG consumer for the past over three decades and was associated with a single company. However, he was neither informed by the agency nor dealer about filling up the form for availing the subsidy.

Another consumer Jasbir Singh of the Puttalighar area said he learnt about the limited period to avail the direct benefit transfer of subsidy for LPG consumers from word of mouth and went to the gas agency.

Officials at Food Supply department maintained that the number would go up as all the gas agencies have been asked to inform and pursue the consumers to get their Aadhaar card numbers linked with the bank account and gas connection numbers.

Otherwise, the response of public to link Aadhaar cards with bank accounts of consumers has been slow in the district as close to 26 per cent out of a total of over 4 lakh have so far linked the Aadhaar cards with bank accounts.

Earlier, the District Food Civil Supply department stated that only 20 per cent of the LPG consumers succeeded in linking their Aadhaar cards to their bank accounts till January 10. There has been an increase of about six per cent in the past 20 days.

Officials of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), which has the maximum 90 per cent of consumers, said each gas agency in the district had been provided two forms to get them filled from the consumers. One of the forms is to be submitted to the gas agency and another at the concerned branch of the bank. Besides, drop boxes have been installed at the gas agencies to collect the forms to be submitted to the lead bank, which is Punjab National Bank in the district. A mechanism has been evolved under which the forms for banks are submitted within three days. They claimed that they were also intimating the customers about the process through SMS as mobile numbers of about 80 per cent of the consumers are with the gas agencies.

The IOC has about 2.80 lakh LPG subscribers besides Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum companies have about 1.30 lakh customers. There are 30 distributors associated with these PSUs here to distribute LPG cylinders, connections and refills. 

Amritsar, January 3
Cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia yesterday said that the Congress was facing one of the worst political phases due to its "anti-people" policies which resulted in its outright rejection by the public.

He said the Congress had also witnessed rebellion from its senior party leaders who were miffed by the self-centred approach of the present PPCC chief, Partap Singh Bajwa. He said Congress leaders had distanced themselves from the PPCC.

Earlier, while distributing a cheque worth Rs 35 lakh as development grant in Chatiwind Lehal village (Rs 10 lakh), Choghawan (Rs 15 lakh) and Khidowali (Rs 10 lakh), Majithia said that the SAD-BJP government in Punjab would continue with its pro-people policies in full swing and said that after the completion of the process of making blue cards, people would get atta for Rs 1 and dal for Rs 20. Besides, every card-holding family would get annual medical treatment worth Rs 30,000 free of cost in government or government empanelled hospitals. He said bright students scoring 80 per cent or above in matric would be given Rs 2,500 per month (ie Rs 30,000 per annum) for pursuing studies in plus one and plus two.

Amritsar, January 3
For a city that has earned the reputation of being a foodie's paradise, there is always room for more. Of necessity and allowing for innovation, Amritsar welcomed another round of global and traditional flavours on its already rich platter in the New Year. You could count on the two new and already popular eateries in the city.

Earthy delights

"Wudz n Charcoal", a traditional-concept restaurant and lounge opened its doors to the city foodies in the New Year. A brand of multi- cuisine recipes from Megha Mittal Arora and Rahil Arora, owners of "Chocolate Room", the place is all about earthy traditional flavours of cooking with charcoal and wood. “Ït's very traditional in its method and global in its appeal. The city loves its food culture and heritage and so "Wudz and Charcoal" will use ancient cooking methods using charcoal and wood to retain flavours,” shares Megha.

With an intimate setting that doesn't go overboard to create an ambience and an interesting spread, it promises to introduce you to authentic Indian and continental menu in case your knowledge is limited to kebabs and pizzas. Their live kitchen, complete with a wood and charcoal-fired kitchen, affirms the claim.

Star attraction

Another popular hang-out place this year brings with it the global sports bar chain, "Stars n Bars". The celebrated chain of a lounge and a sports bar opened itself just before the New Year was ushered in and already is a houseful on weekends. With its live music, perfect party ambience and global menu of food and beverages, it also brings in a casual dining experience.

Capitalising on the fact that global recipes work best with simplicity and richness of flavours, the menu has some interesting options. The exclusivity tag not displayed, the bar, pub, lounge, all three merge, thanks to our high-party spirits and the ambience offered by "Stars and Bars".

Amritsar, January 3
His big ticket to fame and stardom came with the title of Zee Cinestars Ki Khoj. Later, he was launched in Bollywood with little success in his kitty. But Sarvar Ahuja didn’t give up and continued with his acting dreams on small screen. And now, he is back on big screen with Punjabi film debut, Patiala Dreamz.

The actor, along with the star-cast of the upcoming film came to the city to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple. Lead actors of the film Sarwar and Madalsa Sharma, another debutante, promoted the film by matching to the steps of a flash mob at Alpha One mall. “Though, I was working since long in Mumbai, my mind and my eyes were totally on Punjab. I was looking for a reason to get into Pollywood. I didn’t even take a second to accept this film after listening to the script. This film is definitely going to give a new identity to my work,” he said. He plays the role of Garry, who lives a carefree life, which is turned upside down when he tries to connect to his roots in Patiala.

The film has all flavours of comedy, drama and suspense. Adding to the fresh faces in Punjabi cinema with this film, Madalsa too is excited about her big screen debut. “I play a traditional Punjabi girl, who becomes one of the reasons’ for Sarvar to return to India,” she said.

Jazz Punjabi and Vicky Aggarwal are the music directors of the film. The film has been shot at exotic settings in Malaysia, Goa, Chandigarh and parts of Punjab. Abhishek Saxena is the director of the film. When asked about his experience and the success rate of Punjabi films in the last year, he said, “Punjabi films have come out of their limitations, at least most of them. They are becoming competent technically and performance wise, which is why I too enjoyed being a part of the industry. There is a lot to learn for young actors like myself.”

The film will be released on January 10, 2014. It has already been announced that some part of the profit from this film will be donated to ‘Roko Cancer’ campaign to buy cancer machines.

Apart from the two lead stars, the film includes young actors like Ankit Raj Kakkar, Namya Saxena, Vaibhav Raj Gupta and BN Sharma.

Amritsar, January 3
The city today got its first fleet of low-floor buses. According to information, the buses have been scheduled to be flagged off on January 15.

Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said as many as 41 buses, including 22-seater, 29-seater and 52-seater had reached the city and were lying in the workshop for final touches.

The service is expected to be launched by Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal on January 15. The route plan and other details would be revealed tomorrow. “We are now in the process of finalising the routes on which these buses would run. Once this service kicks off, it would be of a great advantage to commuters, especially tourists, who become victims of auto-rickshaw and cab operators, who charge exorbitant fare from them,” he said. The buses had been engaged from a Karnataka firm.

Amritsar, January 3
There is good news for thousands of labourers working in the textile industry in the holy city.

An agreement has been reached between different labour unions supported by Left parties and the Textile Manufacturers Welfare Association. The wages of daily wage and permanent employees working in the textile industrial units have been increased by 14 per cent.

This was announced by Amarjit Singh Asal, district secretary, CPI, during a rally organised at the Gole Bagh here today.

He said as per the new agreement, worker having a monthly salary of around and above Rs 6,500, would get an enhancement of at least Rs 600, while who were getting below Rs 6,500 would get an increase of Rs 400 per month. While those who were getting wages as per piece would get an increase of 14 per cent in their wages, he added.

Earlier, a similar agreement was signed 18-month ago which had expired on December 31. The new agreement will remain in force till May 2015.

The labourers have welcomed the decision and expressed their satisfaction over it. Ram Sharan, a textile worker, said though the meager salary they were getting was not sufficient for running a family, but they were happy over the decision which would give a breather to them. He said due to less remuneration, a large number of workers were quitting their jobs and adopting new professions.

It is pertinent to mention here that around 5,000 labourers are working in the textile units in Amritsar.

Meanwhile, representatives of labour unions, including AITUC, CITU criticised the anti-labour policies of the state and Central governments.

They said the incessant increase in the prices of LPG domestic cylinders, diesel, petrol, had broken the back of the common man. They also opposed the property tax and ‘extortion of money’ in the name of regularisation of the colonies. They demanded to supply
electricity at Rs 2 per unit for domestic consumers and Rs 3 and Rs 4 for industry and commercial consumers.

Amritsar, January 3
A disease relatively new in this part of the region came to light today when a patient, Sukhdev Singh, approached a private hospital for treatment.

Doctors diagnosed him with Japanese Encephalitis (JE), which is a leading cause of viral encephalitis in Asia with 30,000 to 50,000 cases occurring in the region annually.

Noted neurologist Dr Ashok Uppal said the patient was brought to the hospital in an unconscious condition with fever, headache, neck stiffness, paralysis of all vital limbs and convulsion.

During the examination, he was diagnosed with JE, a mosquito-borne viral infection, which is a common cause of viral encephalitis in eastern Uttar Pradesh and has affected 171 districts of the country and claims hundreds of lives every year. A large number of cases are also reported in Delhi.

Dr Uppal said morality was higher among children and a large number of patients were rendered disabled due to paralysis.

He said the hospital received a couple of patients suffering from the disease while one out of them could not survive due to multiple complications and old age.

It must be mentioned here that the disease spreads through mosquitoes, which grow in stagnant water in the fields especially during the paddy season. The virus travels from pigs to mosquitoes and finally to humans.

Amritsar, January 3
The Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Martyrs Civil Hospital has made new seating arrangements for the patients by installing cemented chairs on its premises.

The hospital had earlier been facing the problem of insufficient seating arrangements for patients and their attendants. The management had recently installed extra chairs at its reception area.

Senior Medical Officer at the hospital Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon said the cemented chairs were installed with a view that most of the people prefer to sit in the sunshine during winters.

Dr Dhillon said they were doing everything in their capacity to provide better services to the general public.

Amritsar, January 3
Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD), the premier social welfare and educational society, and EcoAmritsar, a local NGO, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the former’s office today for continued engagement between the two for social welfare and awareness programmes, keeping harmony with the nature, cleanliness and augmentation of green belt in the city.

President CKD Charanjit Singh Chadha expressed his satisfaction on the seva being carried out under the EcoAmritsar programme.

He said, “We are happy to associate with them. The first event together shall be Guru Gobind Singh Ji Gurpurabh nagar kirtan on January 6, where it shall be ensured that cleanliness before, and after the procession is maintained. The association will be a clear message to society that cleanliness and godliness is akin, and we must pay our respect to the holy city by playing our role as citizens positively.”

On the occasion, vice president, CKD, Dr Santokh Singh said, “We had announced our intention to work with EcoAmritsar at their stakeholders meet held last week. With this MoU, all Guru Harkrishan Public Schools shall have their own Eco Green Clubs, and the students will be given lessons to be responsible citizens.”

Chairman EcoAmritsar Gunbir Singh said, “Support shall also be sought from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to create a calendar of ecological events for children in the institutions of CKD. The society has over 55,000 potential green warriors in 46 schools, 3 colleges and an orphanage, who can be trained to be responsible to the environment. The MoU, therefore, is handsome news indeed for all of us.”

Amritsar, January 3
BM Singh (77) donated blood for the 51st time at a blood donation camp held under the aegis of Rotary Club at Amritsar Railway Station Health Dispensary recently.

This former civil engineer with Indian Railways has a penchant to greet the New Year dawn by donating blood for the past 40 years.

A regular blood donor since 1973, most probably the oldest one to do so in the country, Singh has already pledged his eyes and body.

“I have been donating blood at the start of every New Year. You can call it my way of celebrating the New Year,” says Singh.

The volunteer, who first started donating blood to a friend in need in 1973, has since continuously worked to promote and motivate people for blood donation and organ donation, through regular blood donation camps, which he organises on the eve of New Year.

Considering blood donation an act of compassion, rather than charity, he never tried to know the recipients except for two-three instances. The fact that usually a man over the age of 65 is not accepted for blood donation makes his effort more significant. “My doctors always advise me to stop at this age, but I keep going. Blood donation is about mental fitness than physical. It’s a misconception that the old cannot donate blood,” he said.

Fond of reading and writing prose, the former engineer has a poetic edge as well, both in English and Urdu. “I believe that a man is known by what he reads. My motivation in life has been my own conscious, my scientific temper and the books I read,” he said.

He has been motivating people to donate organs and eyes and has made sure that 12 persons get successful eye transplants done, thanks to his voluntary efforts.

Additional CMS Northern Railway Dr SPS Sachdeva, was the chief guest at the camp. He elaborated the medical facilities being extended to the railway employees and other emergency services to passengers in travel. In all 32 persons donated blood.

Among others, former railway employee NS Gabarhia and Rotary Club Amritsar President Dr PS Malhotra were present. 

Amritsar, January 3
With a view to strengthening its relationship with alumni, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) has launched a website http://gndualumni.net

"In the present era of information technology, any university could benefit a lot while being in touch with their alumni,” said Prof Kuldip Singh, Dean, Alumni Association of GNDU, while launching the website.

Professor Singh said the website would help the university to get in touch with its alumni settled in the country and abroad. This would also enable the alumni to interact with their classmates and batchmates through this website.

The website is equipped with the facility of online membership to enrol former students of GNDU as members.

The website would be updated with the achievements and activities of alumni and the university from time to time.

The new website would contain photographs and brief account of the achievements of key achievers of the university. 

Amritsar, January 3
The Municipal Corporation has become richer by a whopping Rs 17 crore collected through property tax. Officials confirmed that an amount of Rs 3.33 crore was collected on a single day on December 31, which was the last date of depositing the tax with a rebate of 10 per cent.

It has been learnt that the team led by superintendent Shushant Bhatia had contributed immensely to the MC’s coffers. The team collected an amount of Rs 1.87 crore out of the total property tax collected on December 31.

Shushant Bhatia said, “I would like to name my team members who left no stone unturned to sensitise the residents about property tax and helped them fill up the required documents. The team comprised Darshan Singh, Jatinder Uppal, Dharminder Jit, Arun Kumar, Aman Kumar and Sanjay Gupta. From Alpha One Mall, we could pocket Rs 1.01 crore as property tax,” he said.

The MC had identified 3 lakh units (including 60,000 commercial) which could come under the ambit of property tax. Till date, around 1 lakh residents have deposited their tax.

The MC targets to garner around Rs 55 crore by March 31. At present, out of a total of 3 lakh units, around 1 lakh unit owners have paid their dues. Officials believe that the encouragement among tax payees will help them achieve their set target.

Officials said that from January 1 to 31, the whole amount of property tax without any rebate would have to be paid. From February 1 to March 31, a penalty of 25 per cent will be imposed along with the tax amount and thereafter, this penalty amount will be 50 per cent.

The MC has already started the online process of submission of tax. The access can be made through www.amritsarcorp.com.

By clicking the link, the residents can pay their dues through their debit or credit cards while sitting at home.

MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said all these efforts had been made to facilitate the residents so that they could pay their dues on time.

“We still have around 2 lakh residents who are yet to pay their property tax. I appeal to the residents to pay their dues on time as the money collected will be spent for their welfare by providing them with better infrastructure. Moreover, paying taxes will qualify us to avail certain multi-score schemes under the JNNURM,” he said. 

Amritsar, January 3
The local Powerloom Service Centre has decided to hold short duration courses to provide training to youngsters in various branches of textile manufacturing.

Head of the centre Ramesh Kumar said candidates who were matriculates and were 18 years of age were eligible to enroll in these programmes.

A month-long basic course in powerloom, in which its operation, maintenance and othe

features will be taught at a cost Rs 600, one month and a half course in shuttleless weaving training at Rs 1,000, a month-long fitter training at Rs 1,000 per month, computerised embroidery machine training for a month at Rs 1,000 and training to design on fabric on powerloom for a month will be imparted at the centre.

He said there was a good demand for skilled persons in the market in these lines.

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