Amritsar, March 18
The ruling alliance of SAD and the BJP threw all norms to the wind by putting up hoardings to welcome the BJP candidate from Amritsar, Arun Jaitley, on his visit to the holy city.

In a clear violation of the model code of conduct, hoardings of various leaders of SAD and BJP, welcoming Jaitley were installed at various places in THE city. The Election Commission of India had earlier issued instructions against pasting of posters and installation of political hoardings on public properties in view of the Lok Sabha elections.

The local administration too had issued instructions for removal of all such hoardings and posters from public properties on Saturday but still these can be seen defacing buildings. Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat, in a meeting with senior officials , had asked them to make arrangements for the removal of these political advertisements and warned strict action against the defaulters.

However, instead of the removal of the earlier installed hoardings, the city witnessed installation of many more to welcome the BJP candidate on his first visit after announcement of his name. The political advertisements eulogizing political leaders especially those belonging to the ruling SAD-BJP alliance in the state can be seen at every nook and corner of the city.

The hoardings were installed at Hall Gate, GT road, near Jallianwala Bagh, Bhandari Bridge and many other places.

Meanwhile, the Congress has filed a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner against installation of political hoardings when the code of conduct is in force. The complaint was filed jointly by District Congress Committee Rural President Gurjit Singh Aujla, DCC urban president Rajeev Bhagat, councillor Raj Kanwal Lucky and Youth Congress president Vikas Soni.

The Congress leaders alleged that the administration had diverted traffic from Kacheri Chownk to Lawrence road to facilitate Jaitly's procession. The leaders also said that a large number of loudspeakers were used which caused a nuisance for the commuters.

Commuters affected

Commuters today had a tough time while travelling as the prominent city roads were blocked by SAD and the BJP members to greet their candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat , Arun Jaitley, who visited the Golden Temple and Durgiana Mandir on his maiden visit to the holy city.

All the roads leading to the Golden Temple were blocked. From Bhandari Bridge to the Hall Gate via Town Hall and return road from the Katra Jai Mal Singh chowk to the Sikandari Gate chowk witnessed traffic jam. As a result, the traffic spilled over to narrow arterial roads inside the walled city.

Similarly, the road en-route his cavalcade had traffic jams. Traffic on comparatively wider roads the Mall road, MM Malviya road, Court road was moving at snail's pace. It blocked the vital Bhandari Bridge which links the walled city with the rest of the city. Consequently, the traffic spilled over to Ram Bagh gate railway crossing and Hukam Singh road railway overbridge. 

Amritsar, March 18
A youth killed his grandfather in the Ajnala area after getting upset over the latter's interference in his matters. According to the police, domestic differences were the reason behind the instance. A case under Sections 302 of the IPC and 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered. The accused is still at large.

The accused, Mangveer Singh, son of late Mahinder Singh, used to live with his grandfather Santokh Singh at Sahowal located in Ajnala. Mangveer used to come home late and Santokh Singh objected to his way of life.

DSP Ajnala Sohan Singh said yesterday at night there was a scuffle between the two over the same reason.

"Mangveer Singh came home late and when Santokh Singh questioned him and told him that he would debar him from his property, the former became violent. In a fit of rage, he picked up the gun and shot his grandfather. Santokh Singh died on the spot and Mangveer fled from spot," he said.

"The body has been kept at local Civil Hospital's mortuary. A case has been registered on the basis of statement of the victim's wife and the search is on to nab the culprit," he said.

Amritsar, March 18
The city railway station was planned to be developed into a world-class structure in the 2009 railway budget, but its infrastructure seems to be giving a totally opposite picture. The city residents feel that there is a dire need for the Railways to chalk out a comprehensive blueprint for its development, make it public to win the faith of the residents and timely deliver a state-of-the-art railway station to the holy city that receives tourists from across the country and the world.

Poor condition of building

Railway station, bus stand and airport are the main entrances to any city. Sophisticated glass building of the Amritsar airport puts the city in the league of international cities, but the building of the railway station and its infrastructure leaves much to be desired. The road inside the railway station complex is full of potholes. Cleanliness is the other casualty here.

Dr Baljeet Kaur

Dreary look

The railway station wears a dreary look. Its cemented and dull-looking and old-styled tiles make it appear far from being a world-class station. Its waiting halls don’t have sufficient amenities. Limited platforms and dirty toilets are other features that must be immediately improved.

Gurdial Singh Randhawa, social activist

Enquiry counter

The enquiry counter is the main point at any railway station where a passenger gets clear information regarding his journey. I never found a proper system in place at the enquiry booth inside the city railway station. One has to struggle there to get the desired information. Unhygienic conditions offer a repulsive look at the station. People also need to be sensitised to avoid disposing of garbage and spitting on the premises. I visited Hong Kong recently and found that despite the high density of population there, people prefer metros to other modes of transportation because of their safety and cleanliness.

Dr Jatinder Singh Gumber

Management of ticket windows

In order to buy electronic gadgets, I frequently travel to Delhi and other places. I find that the ticket windows at the city railway station are swarming with people. Many a times it is almost impossible to board a train as it takes a long time to get tickets. There is an immediate need for escalators as it is difficult for elderly persons and people with luggage and children to cross the overbridges to reach different platforms. Long delays in commissioning of projects erode people’s faith in any government.

Gurinder Singh Bumrah, electronic products dealer

Amritsar, March 18
The state government's efforts to provide sand to the local residents for construction work has failed to yield the desired results even as it being sold e from the roadsides and people even prefer not to approach sales counters designated by the administration.

The local residents said even as the administration claims to sell sand at the price of Rs 2,470 per 100 cubic feet, it has not specified any amount which the contractors can charge for transporting it to their place of construction.

Lakhbir Singh, a resident, said: "The contractors charges extra for transporting the sand to the buyer's resident and the price is exorbitant. Moreover, a person can purchase the desired quality of sand from the open market even if costs extra but the designated counters don't have superior quality."

The district administration had a few months ago banned the sale of sand from roadsides on the reasons that the sand was often being loaded on roads which was causing inconvenience to the commuters.

Later, with complaints of high prices of sand in the market, the government had decided to sell sand at designated places. The administration had set up sand sales counters at Grain Market Tagra, Grain Market Harsha Chinna, Grain Market Mudhal, Grain Market Chamiari, Mall Mandi and Sabzi Mandi Vallah.

The residents were even given the option of booking the required quantity of sand on phone. In charge of a sales counter said, "We have been getting calls for inquiry but only a few of them made the booking." However, he denied that the quality of sand at designated counters is poor.

On the other hand, the private sand sales counters are still in business even as the administration has banned the sale on the roadsides. The heaps of sand outside construction material shops can be seen at various places on the Majitha Road and the GT Road. 

Amritsar, March 18
Residents suffered as power supply was snapped since last night after strong winds lashed the region. Vivek Goyal, a resident of New Amritsar, said the power supply was disrupted last night after strong winds followed by rain hit the city. He said the power supply was restored after about 17 hours and added that his family had to stay without water as the tanks were inadequately filled. Sudden disruption of power for long hours caught them unawares.

A resident of Shori Nagar near Guru Nanak Dev University Hardev Saini said the power had gone at about 11 pm last night and it returned early morning.

Chief Engineer (Border Range) NK Gandhi said many feeders were hit by the strong velocity winds and the Powercom officials got engaged in repair immediately after that.

"As for now, power has been restored and all feeders are working smoothly," he said, adding that if some areas were not receiving power till now, then there must be some other fault. 

Amritsar, March 18
The social and religious organisation, Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, organised a function, Sikh Sports’ Star Award, to honour sports personalities here today. The organisation honoured Sikh sportspersons who have excelled at school, college, national and international level.

Akal Purakh Ki Fauj organised a function to honour Sikh sportspersons in Amritsar on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Vishal Kumar

The function was presided over by veteran athlete Fauja Singh. Former Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Kewal Singh, former Jathedar Gurbachan Singh, Commissioner of Police, Jatinder Singh Aulakh and Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha, were present on the occasion.

A cultural function was also organised wherein Davinderpal Singh of Indian Idol fame and Hargun Kaur of India’s Got Talent fame, mesmerised the audience.

Fauja Singh said he felt honoured to felicitate Sikh children who have excelled in their sports along with being Sabt Surat Sikhs. He congratulated Akal Purakh Ki Fauj for organising this function.

He said Sikh children must preserve their distinct identity and should stick to their roots.

“No one can achieve anything if he is easily swayed by popular beliefs. The Sikh children must preserve their identity,” he said.

Director of Akal Purakh Ki Fauj, advocate Jaswinder Singh, said the aim of the programme was to create awareness among children. He said the Sabat Surat Sikh sports personalities had set an example for others.

The director said following tenants of one’s religion could never be an obstacle in the way of excellence. 

Amritsar, March 18
Teaching was his profession but poetry remained his passion. Late educationist and poet DD Sharma’s works were published and released in the form of a book to commemorate his birth anniversary in the city.

The book of hindi poetry titled “Jeevan Ek Rang Anek”, is a compilation of his poems written on different emotions and aspects of life.

His wife Brij Rai accompanied by her three sons Dr Rakesh Sharma, Dr Davinder Sharma and Dr Dinesh, along with some fellow academicians from GNDU and DAV College were there at the ceremony.

His poems reflect social evils and woes of the common man. Introducing his works and speaking about his passion for writing, Padam Shree ophthalmologist Dr Daljit Singh, said, “He was known by the name of ‘Utsuk’ in the literary fraternity as he was always curious to know why things happened in their own particular ways. He was a scholar, well versed in Sanskrit and the Vedas, which is why he was spiritual and sensitive towards others. I too feel grateful to him as he helped me translate my works written in Punjabi into Hindi.”

Born in 1927, DD Sharma worked at DAV College, Amritsar. “He was a realist. His experience as an educator kept him closer to life’s harsh realities and it prompted him to write about them. Anything that stirred him found a place through his words in his poetry compilations. He was a great admirer of noted literary figure Hazari Prasad Dwivedi,” said Dr Rakesh Sharma, his son.

The book has more than 250 poems and songs and his sons believe it to be a true gift from them to their father. 

factfile

* Late educationist and poet DD Sharma’s works were published and released in the form of a book to commemorate his birth anniversary in the city.

* The book of Hindi poetry titled “Jeevan Ek Rang Anek”, is a compilation of his poems written on different emotions and aspects of life. His poems reflect social evils and woes of the common man