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Police inaction against Joshi alleged
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Punjabi theatre cannot be written off, says artiste
Diagnostic centre
Firm challenges GNDU's hiring policy
Conference on Punjabi drama held at GNDU
Sale of substandard food continues
Commoner jumps into poll fray Casmpus notes Shiv Sena Samajwadi to protest drug smuggling The Shiv Sena Samajwadi has announced to hold rallies in various parts of the state to protest smuggling of drugs and weapons from Pakistan. Addressing a press conference here today, party president Kamlesh Bhardwaj said, "We will hold rallies in Batala, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Pathankot and Ludhiana." The party will be hold a rally in this regard in Amritsar soon. Bhardwaj said while Pakistan was smuggling drugs into the country, political parties, too, should be blamed as they were distributing drugs to lure voters. He said candidates contesting elections must not distribute drugs during elections as this would send a strong message across the border that all Indians were united in fight against drugs. TNS Gold chain looted
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Police inaction against Joshi alleged
Amritsar, March 25 They also staged a dharna outside the residence of the Police Commissioner and moved only after SP City I Parampal Singh assured them to take action within three days. Six gunshots were fired at their office on the premises of Ashirwad Hotel, belonging to Vaneet Mahajan, at about 8.30 pm on March 17. Gorsi and Mahajan, who are Congress workers, alleged Joshi's hand behind the incident and a consequent casual approach of the police. They have brought the matter to the notice of Capt Amarinder Singh, former Chief Minister, and candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha constituency for the ensuing elections. “To our surprise, it was a meat vendor on whose behalf a vague FIR was registered by the police, whereas neither me nor Mahajan were made complainants in the case. Capt Amarinder Singh has been informed about the incident and we are waiting for his arrival in Amritsar on March 28. The matter would be raised at the party level,” said Gorsi. On the other hand, Joshi had denied all allegations and termed these as a "concocted" story just to defame him. “All allegations were baseless. The truth will come out in the police enquiry,” he said. Mahajan said the whole battery of the police force, including the Police Commissioner, the Superintendent of Police, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the Assistant Commissioner (crime), and several SHOs had reached the site, but it was a mere eye-wash. “The Police Commissioner had assured us of action but in vain. We had a narrow escape because of the translucent glasses on the window. The attackers could not see us from outside. They had fired around six to seven gunshots. The shells were with the police. I fail to understand what more proof the police has been looking for? It was political pressure,” he said. Gorsi and Mahajan alleged that ignoring their complaint, a "lame" FIR was registered by the police, based on the statement of a meat vendor, Harwinder Singh, who runs his business some metres away from the spot. Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said the FIR was registered on the basis of the meat vendor's statement as he was the only eyewitness to the instance. In his statement, the meat vendor had confessed to have spotted two unidentified motorcycle-borne persons firing the gunshots. One of them was wearing a helmet. A case under Sections 336 and 34, IPC, was registered in this regard.
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Activists challenge authorities' move to fell trees
Amritsar, March 25 The court has summoned them to appear on March 29. Already on March 18, 2014, an RTI application had been filed in this regard by Parbodh C Bali to the Municipal Corporation Amritsar to inform him of the total number of trees within Amritsar City since 2008 with all details. The centuries-old trees like banyan, pippal, mulberry, jamun, shisham and various other full-grown, healthy and sacred trees had been chopped off mercilessly and saplings of palm trees have been replanted in lieu of those. Inspite of various requests to the authorities to stop the massacre of the greenery of the town which is already polluted, it elicited no positive response. It was confirmed vide letter No. 15 dated December 31, 2013, that the Xen (Horticulture), municipal corporation, Amritsar, has granted an NOC to the Amritsar Improvement Trust to cut off 858 trees from Circular Road to Kitchlew Road without adopting any procedure or resolution of the House of Councillors which is mandatory, claimed Bali. Similarly 142 trees have been allowed by the Forest Department to PWD (B&R) to cut off on GT Road from Bhandari Bridge to Guru Nanak Dev University. These include so many trees which create no hindrance of any sort. Ironically, the roads were not being visibly widened and the existing encroachments have not been removed, but the trees have been uprooted to be replaced by palm trees at a big loss to the flora and fauna of the town. There is also a big setback to the wild life of the area, causing millions of birds, including critically endangered species, to lose their shelter and shade. Various staunch environmentalist NGOs of Amritsar made a lot of protest at all levels, but in spite of oral assurances, the cutting off of the tress were rampant, said Bali. The holy city is being converted to look like Dubai according to the fancy of the Punjab Government. Thousands of tress have been fallen by the PWD and Amritsar Improvement Trust on the GT road, Bhandari Bridge to Guru Nanak Dev University, airport road to District Courts, Circular Road to Jail Road, and there is further planning to fall trees on GT Road (from Gateway to Bhandari Bridge), Batala Road Celebration Mall to Verka and Mall Road "Trees have been cut off not for the sake of any development work, but only to replant palm trees at the same place. So, it looks that in coming time, Amritsar will be totally barren and a pure sand city, exactly like Dubai," he said. While in desert countries, shade-giving trees are being acclimatised and converted to be planted in that climate, here the reverse is being done to destroy the eco-balance of the area. According to the Forest Conservation Act 1980, Section 2 & 6 (1.8(i) prohibits clearing of naturally grown trees and raising plantation through artificial-regeneration techniques, he said.
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Punjabi theatre cannot be written off, says artiste
Amritsar, March 25 "We organise the theatre festival every year and focus on the unique aspect of the Punjabi
theatre. This time, the festival focuses on celebrated and acclaimed directors. Acclaimed theatre patrons and directors Sudesh Sharma's play "Balde Tibbe" and Pali Bhupinder's play "Ek Rajnitik Supne Da Katlere" were staged during the festival. Pali Bhupinder, a Punjab Sahitya Akademi awardee, has been a part of the theatre festival for long. Actor Hardeep Gill, whose national award winning Punjabi film "Nabar" was screened during the festival, has been associated with the theatre festival for long. Nabar is one of the few national award winning Punjabi films. The story of the movie revolves around illegal immigration and human trafficking. “Not just the Punjabi theatre but also the Punjabi cinema has made people laugh for long. Now, it’s the time to get serious,” Anita said. The quality of Punjabi plays is becoming better and this is the reason behind their popularity, Anita says. "There are different kinds of theatre performances like musicals, mask theatre and mono acts being presented these days. These performances are of international standards. Artistes are dedicated to the revival of dying folk traditions like bhaands or vaars these days. The audience is also liking it." With more such festivals scheduled to take place this year, The Punjabi theatre has definitely something promising ahead.
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Private firm may backtrack from project
Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service
Amritsar, March 25 The government had proposed to set up a diagnostic centre under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode to provide state-of-the-art diagnostic facility at subsidised rates to the general public. Sources in the department stated that the private firm engaged might backtrack from the project as it had failed to take over the building even as the PHSC had asked it to conduct inspection and start the process. The private firm had failed to conduct the inspection in the first instance. However, later it conducted the inspection but did not show any inclination to pursue the matter. According to the original proposal, the building was to be constructed by the PHSC while machinery and management would be entrusted to the private firm. The diagnostic centre will provide facilities as CT Scan, MRI Scan, Digital X-Ray and many more at subsidised costs. In the public sector, at present costly diagnostic tests like the MRI and the CT scan are available with Guru Nanak Dev Hospital only. Addition of a new such centre will be a boon for the general public. Senior Medical Officer at the hospital, Dr Hardeep Singh Ghai, said, "At present we do not have any specific information whether the firm has backtracked or not, but one thing is certain that they have not took over the building."
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Firm challenges GNDU's hiring policy
Amritsar, March 25 Gurinder Singh Gill and Amar Singh, proprietors of Simran Construction Company, Amritsar, got the information under the RTI Act to establish that the GNDU authorities had adopted a “non-transparent” process while hiring gardeners, safai sewaks and peons. Gurinder Singh said he would approach the court against the decision of the university. The university had invited tenders in December last for hiring employees through
outsourcing for its main campus as well as regional campuses. A total of 12 firms had responded, of which eight firms
qualified. Gurinder Singh’s firm was one of the contenders and had quoted Rs 8,150 per head, which included all taxes. However, the GNDU authorities finalised Indoguards Security Company, Panchkula, which had quoted Rs 8,683 per person. After negotiations with the firm, the rate was fixed at Rs 8,300 per head. “What can it be called? I obtained the official documents from GNDU through RTI to which the university authorities can never deny. This clearly shows connivance with some insiders, otherwise, it was never in the interest of the university to hire a firm quoting more rates," he said. Meanwhile, Prof AS Brar said the minimum wages fixed by the government could never be denied to workers. “The firm under question had quoted rates less than the DC or Punjab government rates. How could we hire a firm quoting less than the minimum wages? If a firm does so, it would be nothing but sheer exploitation and it can be challenged in the court," he said. “Moreover, we also took into consideration the credibility of the firm. All the aspects were examined by our committee. The Panchkula-based firm had reduced the rates quoted on the negotiation table but it all complied with the government norms. The whole process was done in a transparent manner," the VC said.
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Conference on Punjabi drama held at GNDU
Amritsar, March 25 Prof A S Brar, Vice-Chancellor, GNDU, presided over the conference, while Dr Atamjit Singh, an eminent dramatist, delivered the keynote address. Dr Ajmer Singh Aulakh, playwright and theatre director, presided over the conference. Uma Preetladi and Kewal Dhaliwal were the special guests on the occasion. Dr Sukhdev Singh Khara detailed about the conference. Dr HS Bhatia of the department presented the vote of thanks. Prof Brar said through the drama, Punjabi language, literature and culture had reached to the masses. He said students should adopt scientific and constructive approach towards life. Dr Atamjit Singh said the drama should touch the core of the heart and should be simple to understand, so that viewers should feel themselves to be part of stage performance. Dr Ajmer Singh Aulakh said, through drama, we could easily approach the rural masses. He said drama artistes should understand their responsibilities towards society and act accordingly. Kewal Dhaliwal emphasised about the eradication of social inequality through drama.
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Sale of substandard food continues
Amritsar, March 25 The department has collected 38 food samples in March from various shops in the city. District Health Officer Dr Shivkaran Singh Kahlon said of the 45 samples that failed the quality test, 25 have been categorised as substandard, 10 as unsafe for human consumption and nine as misbranded. He said the department had also focused on shops in rural areas. “ A large number of samples from rural areas have failed the quality test,” said Kahlon. "The department has written to the state government for permission to file court cases against the shops whose samples were found unfit for human consumption," said Kahlon. He said they had also issued notices to the shops selling substandard food items. Kahlon said strict action would be taken against the guilty. He said the reports of remaining samples would be received soon. People should inform the department about the shops selling substandard food, Kahlon said.
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"The Punjabi theatre has strengthened its hold outside the region and is being watched by the people who otherwise would have written it off as a region-specific medium only." Theatre artiste Anita Devgan, a member of city-based theatre group “The Theatre Persons” tells about the popularity of the Punjabi theatre. "Over the years, the Punjabi theatre has seen several changes, making it better than Hindi or English theatre," she says.
Amritsar, March 25
