Amritsar, January 23
Members of the municipal corporation (MC) House today unanimously passed an agenda to carry out development works worth Rs 1,400 crore in the city under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) but without initiating a debate over it. The House meeting was marred by protests from Akali councillors who sought immediate response from Commissioner DPS Kharbanda on their demand for the transfer of two MC officials.

Residents of the city are of the view that the elected representatives today squandered away an opportunity to discuss the utilisation of a high amount of money among themselves.

A social activist, Brij Bedi, lambasted the leaders for warring among themselves. He said a good opportunity to evaluate and prioritise the construction of these projects was lost. He demanded that the House must seek public opinion over development projects to be carried out in the city. Besides, these works must be prioritised to bring relief to the affected people.

He opined that the MC must ensure good governance and accountability. “If pavements will be constructed to be encroached upon, then there is no need,” he remarked.

Under the JNNURM, half of Rs 1,400 crore will be released by the Union Government and the rest will be shared between the state government and the MC. The proposed projects, which were not deliberated upon during the agenda presented in the House, included construction of three ramps on the elevated road at a cost of Rs 45 crore, beautification and repair of the inner circular road at a cost of Rs 29.5 crore and construction of a flyover at Sant Singh Sukha Singh Chowk at a cost of Rs 53 crore.

Other projects include one to join the GT road with the Tarn Taran road at a cost of Rs 6.70 crore, a solid waste management project at a cost of Rs 105 crore, Bus Rapid Transit System at a cost of Rs 491 crore, a railway overbridge (ROB) at Bhagtawala railway crossing at a cost of Rs 63 crore, ROB at the Jhabal road at a cost of Rs 65 crore, construction of ROB at Mahavir bridge, popularly known as Rigo bridge, at a cost of Rs 72 crore, repair of Bhandari Bridge at a cost of Rs 20 crore, ROB on the Tarn Taran road at a cost of Rs 102 crore. It included projects of water supply estimated at a cost of Rs 83 crore and a sewerage project in the south-east zone of the city at a cost of Rs 105.70 crore. A project of widening of roads in the city from its own and state government resources at a cost of Rs 203 crore. The widening of the road from Bhandari Bridge to Guru Nanak Dev University at a cost of Rs 33.70 crore also figured in the list. The MC has also formulated upgrading of Guru Nanak Auditorium involving an expenditure of Rs 3.82 crore.

The SAD councillors walked out of the meeting seeking transfer of two MC officials and raised slogans against MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda who announced inquiry in their demand by a SE-level official.

The agitated councillors did not allow the proceedings of the house which abruptly came to end with in less than an hour. They squatted on the patch of road outside the MC house. Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora also joined the protesting Akali councillors and unsuccessfully tried to persuade them.

Amritsar, January 23
The Ayurvedic and homeopathic Wing of the Health Department organised a camp in Mohkampura area today to promote these alternative streams of medicine. Over 500 patients came for check-up and were given free medicines at the camp.

Such a camp was also organised in Tungpai area yesterday. District homeopathic officer Dr Jugal Kishore said the department had planned a series of such camps in urban and rural localities of the district to create awareness among people.

He said even as the allopathic stream was most popular, it was also the costliest of all the three. — TNS

Amritsar, January 23
Robbers stole Rs 9.18 lakh after uprooting an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) belonging to Punjab National Bank, Janidala Guru Branch, last night.

The accused used gas cutters to cut the lower sheets of the machine in order to loot cash. The ATM machine is located on the Verowal road close to the Jandiala Guru Bus Stand.

According to the footage of the CCTV camera installed in the cabin, the accused had covered their faces and was wearing goggles. Immediately after entering the cabin, he sprayed something on the camera, blurring the image.

"The incident occurred around 2.45 am. The accused first broke open the shutters of the ATM machine and later cut the sheets to take out the money. The incident came to light in the morning when the bank staff reached the ATM machine," said Suba Singh, DSP Jandiala.

A bank official, preferring not to be named, said that a few days ago some unidentified persons had tried to cut the iron grills of the bank using gas cutters in order to gain entry. However, the fire alarm of the bank became active, averting the incident. He said the bank authorities had written to the Police Department in this connection while suspecting that robbers could make another attempt to rob the ATM and had urged police officials to conduct night patrolling near the bank.

Jasdeep Singh, SP (D), Amritsar rural police, said the incident occurred due to laxity on the part of the bank authorities who failed to depute a security guard at the ATM. He said recently the Police Department held a meeting with bank officials and asked them to take security measures. He said following this banks, especially in the rural belt, had started putting up the shutters in late night. He pointed out that nationalised banks were not learning any lessons, though they were prime target of the miscreants.

"In this case also, the accused first broke up the shutters and then cut the machine to loot the amount," said Jasdeep Singh.

In the meanwhile, in another instance, robbers made an unsuccessful bid to loot cash after breaking open an ATM machine of HDFC bank, located near the Vallah vegetable market last night.

The accused sprayed something on the CCTV camera and tried to cut the machine with a gas cutter but could not succeed in their attempt and fled away.

Amritsar, January 23
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has set aside the demand of Rs 26,249 raised by the Power Corporation from a local resident, Kultar Singh.

The forum had earlier quashed a demand of Rs 51,035 on account of theft of power in February 2011. The counsel for the complainant, Kanwar Pahul Singh, advocate, said the demand of Rs 26,249 was also based on the same inspection which had already been rejected by the forum.

Kanwar Pahul Singh said the forum had earlier asked an SDO with the Power Corproation to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 for disconnecting the power supply to the home of Kultar Singh even as the case was pending before the forum.

Amritsar, January 23
Emergency police services have been severely hit as the emergency police helpline number dial 100 has been temporarily disconnected for over a week. The helpline number developed a snag following a short circuit at the city police control room.

Majority of people were unable to contact the police during emergency situations as they didn’t know the alternative contact numbers.

The police officials in the PCR team, on condition of anonymity, said they had to face embarrassment as they could not reach any crime spot due to delay in information. They said the department should display alternative numbers in various parts of the city to overcome this problem.

A resident of walled city area said a couple of days ago, several youth in the area indulged in hooliganism. When the people tried to contact the police at number 100, they got the message that the number was temporarily disconnected.

The people were critical of the Police Department and said the tall claims made by the department in improving its functioning were nothing but a farce.

Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said the number was out of order for the past three days due to some technical snag. He said a team of experts had arrived from Chandigarh for its repair. He added the number would be started by evening.

The police commissioner said the department was also planning for some alternative number in case of any fault in the emergency number 100.

Amritsar, January 23
A students’ delegation from the University of Illinois Champaign campus, Chicago, USA led by Dr US Palekar, Director, Supply Chain Management Programme, visited Guru Nanak Dev University and interacted with its Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar and other faculty members.

Prof Brar welcomed the delegation and apprised them about the achievements of the university. He extended all possible help and cooperation for collaborative studies and academic exchange of students and faculty between the two universities.

Dr Palekar discussed different issues concerning food grain storage. He said the objective of this visit was to study current post-harvest storage technologies; various problems associated with grain loss and storage conditions. In order to update information on various environmental issues in India and specifically Punjab, they visited the department of botanical and environmental sciences.

The meeting was coordinated by Prof Renu Bhardwaj. Head Dr Adarsh Pal Vig introduced her to the department and the ongoing teaching and research programmes. Prof AK Thukral in his address talked about the current Indian resource and water management. Er MS Bhatti showed the students the effluent treatment plant on the campus and briefed them about water related issues. Prof Avinash Nagpal presented a vote of thanks.

Amritsar, January 23
The Central Jail authorities found celphos tablets from a woman jail inmate after she returned from a hearing in a local court here today.

Rajwinder Kaur, a resident of Makowal village, got a small box from someone after her appearance in the court. She has been serving a jail term for attempt to suicide and facing trial for allegedly killing her 7-year-old son.

Jail DSP RK Sharma confirmed the incident and said they had filed a complaint against her at the Cantonment police station where a case under Section 420 of the IPC and 42 of the Prisoners Act has been registered.

The police official said the staff had been directed to keep a close watch on her movements as she had shown the tendency to commit suicide.

SP (D) Jasdeep Singh while talking to The Tribune revealed Rajwinder Kaur had strangled her son Arshdeep Singh to death. Later, she put the room on fire to give the impression of a case of asphyxiation.

Around a week after her son’s murder, she attempted suicide by consuming celphos tablets. Her family members immediately admitted her to a hospital at Ajnala where she survived.

The family members including her husband Gurpreet Singh decided to lodge a police complaint in this connection fearing she could take this step again.

SHO at Ramdass police station Harpal Singh said, “She has been sentenced for one year imprisonment and was facing trial for alleged murder of her son”.

Amritsar, January 23
In a new twist to the alleged kidnapping of a bank manager, the victim, Chandresh Saini, today returned home.

Only yesterday, the police had registered a kidnapping case after pressure from family members who were repeatedly insisting that Saini was kidnapped by unidentified persons.

The police had earlier filed a missing report after belongings including a mobile, spectacles and a bag was found in the office of the bank located near Guru Nanak Dev University.

Saini, who was brought by a police team from Bhogpur in Hoshiarpur, claimed that he was kidnapped by unidentified persons on Saturday when he came out of the bank.

He said he fell unconscious when a person intoxicated him. Three days later he found himself near the Ludhiana bypass from where he travelled to Bhogpur and informed the police about the incident. Talking to media, he said he did not want any action against anyone in the case.

Harish Behal, SHO, Chheharta police, said as the Police Department had spread the message all over the state, they received information from the Hoshiarpur police that Saini was with them. A police party brought him from there.

He said though the family sought no action against the culprits, the police would continue their investigations to solve the case.

Amritsar, January 23
The four-day Com Fest —2014, organised by the department of commerce and management of the DAV College, kicked off today.

The festival was inaugurated by Nitin Aggarwal from the Career Launcher. College principal Dr KN Kaul presided over the fest. The festival will witness competitions like dance, declamation, singing, commerce quiz, cultural items, and business generation ideas.

Amritsar, January 23
The Academic Council of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) has approved degrees of various universities, opening doors to their pass-outs for employment and further studies on its campus and affiliated colleges. Besides, it has also set up a high-powered committee to reduce the increasing burden of the syllabi.

On the recommendations of the equivalency committee, the Academic Council also resolved that the BTech (Computer Science and Engineering) degree passed under the regular mode through the Lateral Entry Entrance Test (LEET) scheme from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, after passing three years' diploma from Himachal Pardesh Takniki Shiksha Board, Dharamsala, be recognised as equivalent to the BTech (Computer Science and Engineering) degree of Guru Nanak Dev University.

Similarly, the meeting also resolved that the Sahityacharya examination and the MA Sanskrit degree of Guru Nanak Dev University be recognised as equivalent to each other examination/degree on the basis of the recommendation given by the, Head, Department of Sanskrit, and Dean, Faculty of Languages, and the BTech (Computer Science and Engineering) degree passed under regular mode through LEET scheme from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi, after passing three years diploma from the Board of Technical Education, Delhi, be recognised as equivalent to BTech (Computer Science and Engineering) degree of the GNDU.

The Academic Council also accorded its approval to the BA Political Science degree passed under distance education mode from Annamalai University, Annamalai Nagar, is recognized as equivalent to regular BA (Hons) Political Science degree of the GNDU and BA (Hons) History degree passed under distance education mode from Patna University will be recognised as equivalent to regular BA (Hons) history degree of GNDU.

BLib (Correspondence) degree passed from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, on the basis of having passed BA through Gyani from Panjab University, Chandigarh, be recognised as equivalent to BLib degree of the GNDU and PGDCA passed under distance education mode from Punjab Infotech, Chandigarh from Cal-C and certificate issued by the Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training, Chandigarh, under the MoU be recognised as equivalent to PGDCA course of the GNDU.

Master of Physiotherapy (Neurology) degree and Master of Physiotherapy (Paediatrics) degree passed under regular (full time) mode from Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, be recognised as equivalent to Master of Physiotherapy degree of this university and MSc Botany degree passed under regular mode from Dayallbagh Education Institute (Deemed University), Dayalbagh, Agra, be recognised as equivalent to MSc (Botany) degree of this university.

Master of Technology (Computer Science and Engineering) degree passed under regular (part time) mode from Lovely Professional University, Phagwara be recognized as equivalent to Master of Technology (Computer Science and Engineering) degree of the University and Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Information Technology (B.Sc.-IT Hons.) degree passed under distance education mode from the Global Open University, Nagaland is recognized as equivalent to B.Sc. (IT) degree of this University and Bachelor degree in Library and Information Science (B.Lib) passed under distance education from Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, be recognised as equivalent to BLib degree of this university.

The MBA (Honours) degree passed under Regular (Full Time) mode from Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, is recognised as equivalent to MBA degree of this University; MA (Hindi) degree passed under the Distance Education mode from Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, be recognised as equivalent MA (Hindi) degree of this university; MSc (Microbiology) degree passed under regular mode from the IIS University, SFS, Gurukul Marg, Mansarovar, Jaipur, be recognised as equivalent to MSc (Microbiology) degree of this university has also been approved by the Academic Council.

Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree passed from the GNDU will be recognised on a par with MTech degree of this university and MA (Political Science) degree passed under the Distance Education mode from IGNOU, New Delhi, be recognised as equivalent to MA (Political Science) degree of this university.

In another decision of far-reaching significance, the varsity with the objective to reduce the burden of lengthy syllabi constituted a high- powered committee to make essential changes in it.

The decision was taken during a meeting of the Academic Council of the university held here today. The university Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ajaib Singh Brar, who presided over the meeting, said, "At present many students were attending their classes right from morning to evening which causes stress and tension to the students".