Amritsar, February 10
Delhi-based School of Planning and Architecture, one of the pioneering institutes of planning in the country, in association with the city police today started a 10-day study of traffic problems being faced in the city and their solution.

A team of as many as 33 students of BTech Urban and Regional planning (sixth semester) of the prestigious school arrived here on February 6 to prepare a master plan for the holy city under their academic programme.

The 10-day exercise will study the prevailing traffic scenario in the city at the end of which they will submit their report to their department.

A cross-section of students and teachers today met in charge of traffic zones headed by an inspector-level officer to get first-hand information. In its efforts to streamline traffic and solve the problem of frequent chaos on the roads, the Police Department recently divided the city into four zones.

As masny as 15 points have been suggested in the city. Some of these are SSSS chowk, Crystal, Hukam Singh road, Majitha road, Hussainpura chowk, Maha Singh Gate, Shaheedan Chowk, Hall Gate, Bhandari Bridge, railway station, Puttalighar, Gumtala bypass, Chheharta bazaar, India Gate and others.

Dr Balvinder Singh of Guru Ramdas School of Planning, Guru Nanak Dev University, gave them special assistance in their preparation of the master plan. He contacted Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh to arrange a liaison with the city police to derive benefit of the study being conducted by the students of the prestigious school. “The Police Commissioner immediately caught hold of the opportunity and gave directions to heads of his traffic staff.”

Besides, he provided them assistance in the shape of cardon points of traffic volume survey of the holy city, knowledge of its heritage character and legislations related to preparation of the Master Plan in Punjab in general and Amritsar in particular. He said the Master Plan being undertaken by these visiting group of students was purely an academic exercise. However, the traffic police could use the traffic management component for its use to bring efficiency on roads.

Amritsar, February 10
Theft of public property by unscrupulous elements is going on unabated as the local administration acts indifferently to such instances. In a fresh instance, parts of iron grills installed under the elevated road from Bhandari Bridge to Alpha One Mall have been stolen by thieves. The grills were installed to protect the green cover built under the elevated road from stray animals and people who may use these spaces for parking vehicles. Thefts have started within a year of their installation.

The shopkeepers working on the road said that every now and then, a few parts of grill were being stolen. “The thieves are taking away iron rods from the grills even as the outer iron frames are intact. This might be the handiwork of petty drug addicts who steal to buy drugs,” said a shopkeeper, Arjan Singh.

Public property elsewhere in the city is also not safe. Residents of the Old City areas such as Khoo Babea and Bazaar Kauriya complained that iron grills put up over sewerage drains to protect people from falling in these drains have been stolen recently.

A resident, Balwant Kumar, said, “These grills protect people from falling in drains and also make crossing of light vehicles to the other side possible.” Every time these grills were stolen, people faced a problem till new ones were installed, he added

Talking to The Tribune Brij Bedi, a social activist who had pointed out the thefts said, “The administration must ensure safety of public property. The local residents and shopkeepers near the place must be encouraged to reveal the identity of the thieves as is possible that someone will have seen the theft taking place.”

Amritsar, February 10
If your cellphone receives missed international calls originating from Pakistan with the country code +92, do not respond, as fraudsters are lurking around to dupe and rob you.

Never call back such numbers, as the person on the other side will ask you to reveal your personal details which could include your bank accounts, the place you belong to or the position you hold. Besides spending exorbitant amounts on the return call, customers are in danger of paying heavily. Swindlers can also access the caller's bank transaction details and rob money, if he had made any financial transaction through the cellphone.

It is a racket, apparently, run jointly by Pakistanis and Indian cheats who allure the receiver by stating that they have won a huge amount in a lottery draw and that they will have to deposit a certain amount in a bank account before being eligible to claim the prize money.

One such call was received by Bakshish Singh Parmar, an official with Director, Public Relations Office, Amritsar. Astonishingly, the caller from the other side told Parmar that he had won the prize on the basis of the first four digits of the SIM card he had been using in his mobile. Out of curiosity, Parmar checked it and found it to be correct.

It was enough for Parmar to get into their trap, but he became suspicious after he sought opinion from one of his friends before depositing an amount of Rs 15,000 in an Indian bank account referred to by the Pakistani caller. Luckily, he did not deposit the said amount and was saved from being robbed.

"I had been receiving repeated calls from Nos +923470137659 and +923039214685 since yesterday and was given two account numbers of a local SBI branch via SMS from another number +923069303800. I was bewildered to find how someone sitting in Pakistan know about the series of the SIM I could have been using. This made me suspicious and before depositing the said amount, I called up one of my friends who sternly advised me to be alert and not to respond," he said.

On enquiring about the account number given by the caller, it was found out that both accounts belonged to a place Budge in Kolkata. The chief manager of the bank, Randeep Latawa, confirmed that one of the account numbers and the holder's name was correct.

"One of the two account numbers matched. This is a fraud and people generally fell victims to it. They little realise that they have fallen into a trap. We could take assistance of the police, but once anyone deposits the amount in the given account number, it could be withdrawn through ATM or transferred online. I caution residents to avoid such numbers. We have received complaints about such frauds, but nothing could be achieved so far," he said.

It is the international telephone gateway through which such numbers could be blocked but I appeal to residents not to respond to such calls but bring them to the notice of the police. We will try to trace such numbers.
—Bikram Pal Bhatti, Deputy Commissioner of Police

Amritsar, February 10
Even as the state government declared to commemorate the martyrdom day of legendary Sikh General Sham Singh Attari at the state level, the General Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala Trust demanded that the Integrated Check Post (ICP) at Attari be named after him.

The trust submitted the demand to Cabinet Minister Gulzar Singh Ranike who was the chief guest on the 168th martyrdom day of the Sikh General.

It pointed out that the absence of security measures and maintenance of India Gate located on the Amritsar-Chheharta bypass, where a huge statue of Sham Singh Attari had been installed, was still a serious concern. Col Harinder Singh, general secretary of the trust and descendent of Sham Singh Attari, said improper maintenance was giving a poor picture to thousands of tourists who visited the Attari-Wagah joint check post for watching Retreat Ceremony. He said all the llights and electrical fittings had been damaged or stolen with the result that the area was in total darkness.

The trust also urged the government to stage a ‘Light and Sound’ programme on a daily basis at the sarovar site of the memorial complex at Attari. It also appealed to the government to restore the original name of Attari railway station.

Meanwhile rich tributes were paid to legendary Sikh General Sham Singh Attari during a state-level function organised to mark this 168th martyrdom day here today.

Floral tributes were paid to the Sikh General at India Gate while bhog of Akhan Path was organised at his samadhi situated at his native border village Attari.

Speaking on the occasion, Ranike said martyrdom of the great Sikh General in the army, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, would be a guiding light for the coming generations. He said Sham Singh Attari fought Britishers with valour and got martyrdom on this day in 1846 at Sabhrawan.

Among others who paid tributes included Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat, ADC (General) Jasbir Singh, ADC (Development) Pardeep Sabharwal, SDM Manmohan Singh Kang, SDM Vimal Setia, family members of Sham Singh Attari, including Col KS Sidhu, and Col Harinder Singh. 

Amritsar, February 10
The war of words between Captain Amarinder Singh and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal over Operation Bluestar continued today as well with the latter hitting back at the senior Congress leader.

Talking to mediapersons while taking stock of arrangements for the war memorial's foundation ceremony here, Badal said, "Captain has been levelling unnecessary allegations against me. I don't know why he is doing it. I don't even have any personal grudges against him." He said the Indian Government must order a thorough probe into what transpired between the then Indian rulers and the UK Government prior to Operation Bluestar in 1984. 

Amritsar, February 10
In the second part of the series, the Amritsar Tribune talked to several city residents about the problem of stray animals, including dogs, and their suggestions to deal with these.

Amritsar, February 10
Advocate Surinder Kaur, who was booked by division C police station for allegedly assaulting an ASI outside the police station on Saturday, has pleaded innocence and urged the senior police officials to investigate the case and take punitive action against police officials.

She submitted a complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and claimed that it was the police officials who misbehaved with her.

She alleged when she went to SHO Lakhwinder Singh with her grievance the ASI misbehaved with her. However, he also did not listen to her pleas, she alleged. “Had he taken the matter seriously and listened to my grievance it would not have happened,” she pointed out.

While giving the detail, she said she was returning after paying obeisance at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh when she stopped near the police station and asked the ASI Kulwant Rai about the residence of the local councillor. She said it was the police officials who later released her pictures to the media.

She requested the DCP to hold an impartial probe in the incident and take appropriate action against the accused police officials. — TNS

Amritsar, February 10
During a seminar on common problems of present day life- depression, senior psychiatrist Dr Gurpreet Inder Singh, Gurpreet Hospital, said medical studies indicated that around 6-7 per cent of the population was suffering from the disorder.

Depression is more common among women and is a leading cause of suicides, said Dr Singh adding that the reasons for the condition could be hormonal imbalance, disturbed sleep pattern, social deprivation and chronic physical ailments.

He said the most common presentation of depression is loss of interest in life and inability to enjoy life. "The other presentations may be sleep and appetite disturbance or physical symptoms like headache, pain all over the body or even breathing problem," he said adding that most of the depression cases can be cured using counselling therapies. 

Jalandhar, February 10
The bus stand police yesterday arrested a 24-year-old youth from Amritsar for having duped a bank clerk in a four-month-old case.

ASI Sewa Singh said the accused Rahul Arora played several tricks to evade arrest. "While earlier, he kept telling us that he is an IPS officer, he later changed his version saying that he was a colonel in Army. He had on September 27, 2013 come and met a clerk at the HDFC Bank, Narinder Cinema branch, saying that he wanted to deposit Rs 30 lakh in his wife Kusum's account. He wanted to extract information about the account holder which the staff did not give but he managed to take her mobile phone worth Rs 30,000," said the ASI.

The police have found that that the imposter was unmarried, a graduate and had several cases of financial irregularities registered against him at police stations. "There are several cheque bounce cases against him. We had been tracking him on phone all this while. At times, he would say he is on his way and when we would be waiting for him, he would switch off his phone. We finally caught hold of him yesterday," said the inquiry officer. 

Amritsar, February 10
An RTI query by Jai Gopal Lalli, a local activist, has revealed that 744 prisoners lodged at the Central Jail here were admitted to various wards at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital during the period from January 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013.

The activist said, “For most of the prisoners who have money and right connections, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital is a preferred holiday destination. The high number of patients referred from the jail itself indicates that prisoners are always desperate to come here and hospital authorities are more than willing to entertain them.”

Showing the documents, he said around 62 patients at some wards of the Medical Unit 2 were admitted from March 1, 2013 to April 30, 2013 . “It means that during these two months at least one patient was being admitted on daily basis,” said Joshi, adding that government must order a probe into the matter.

Some of these prisoners had stayed at the hospital for unusually long durations. “The prisoner is shifted from one ward to another, from one unit to another to give a impression that the stay was for only few days,” said Lalli, adding that this way the hospital management, too, is helping prisoners.

Lalli alleged that a common prisoner with no connections and no money to bribe officials is denied chances of treatment at a hospital outside the jail premises even if he seriously needs it. He alleged that on the other had the well connected prisoners get a referral from the Jail hospital as and when they want.

Rinku was admitted to the hospital on May 27, 2012 for treatment of snake bite, Lalli said, “The same patient was again admitted to the hospital for treatment of snake bite after three months in August. This could be rare coincidence that the snake had stung the prisoner for the second time within three months.” And if that is the case the Central Jail is required to take some serious pest control measures. 

For most of the prisoners who have money and right connections, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital is a preferred holiday destination. The high number of patients referred from the jail itself indicates that prisoners are always desperate to come here.
—Jai Gopal Lalli, an RTI activist

Amritsar, February 10
To make students aware of environment in a way that doesn’t need any mandate, several schools and educational institutions are adopting the concept of green schooling. Not just adopting eco-friendly methods of functioning but also involving the students into programmes aimed at sensitising and encouraging environment-friendly appeal, these projects have been successfully implemented, some even spelling innovation.

Like this small effort by a group of students from Government Senior Secondary School, Jabowal, led by their science teacher, Sanjeev Sayal. Using a simple process to convert agricultural waste into biofuel, Sanjeev designed a charring drum with a chimney and vent. “Paddy burning is an important issue in Punjab and it’s a threat to the environment as well as the fertility of the soil. Being the head of the eco club in our school, I always look out for possible ways to connect eco issues and their possible solutions with school’s academia. This project was initiated as a part of participating in the National Inspiration Award, which happens every year. But now I want to implement it as soon as possible on my school premises," he informs.

Sanjeev has got his students involved in the project and successfully converted dry leaves, agricultural waste, paddy straw into bricklets of biofuel. “The process is quite simple, called pyrolysis or compact burning of biomass in absence of oxygen,” he explains. Working on the concept with a budget of Rs 5,000, utilising just Rs 750 out of it, Sanjeev says that eco-concepts are more economically viable.

Working on similar lines, Eco Amritsar, an NGO, active in eco-friendly programmes has been involving schools in their School Nature Interaction Programme, which aims at encouraging and involving students directly into nature friendly activities. “The aim is to sensitise them about their shared existence with other species, and inculcating responsibility towards sustainable living is our duty towards the next generation,” says Gunbir Singh, Chairman, WWF Amritsar Chapter and Eco Amritsar. The Pan Punjab programme has roped in two schools for now, Army Public School, Fazilka and Cedar Springs High School, Ranjit Avenue to start the programme.

Another attempt at enriching student acumen with nature friendly activities include green education campaign by city-based NGOs like Mission Aghaaz and Voice of Amritsar. Individual efforts by schools such as Prabhakar Senior Secondary School in Chherherta, too, have been transforming just education into green education. “Water conservation, rain water harvesting, green energy and save fuel campaigns are some or the ideas that have been implemented and successfully amalgamated with school’s syllabus. Compulsory classes on environment issues and their probable solutions are imparted along with volunteer activities involving school’s students,” informs a teacher from Prabhakar School.

With the Earth Hour coming up, the schools have already planned up an eco-itinerary for the activities. 

Amritsar, February 10
Dr Ashok Uppal, Director Uppal Neuro Hospital, said stroke patients should be monitored continuously. He was speaking during a continuous medical education (CME) programme, organised on neuro critical care, here today.

He said it was very important for the physicians to update their knowledge of latest developments for stroke and other neuro emergencies. Dr Bhaveet Singh said symptoms of stroke usually were face weakness, arm weakness and speech difficulty. He said timely intervention could help in saving the lives of the patients. — TNS