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Hoardings hang in air after gale
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Code of Conduct
Woman booked for occupying house
Vision for
amritsar
Youth want election ink on their fingers
Campus notes
City hoteliers meet Arun Jaitley
IT Dept to review penalty on gaushala
US delegation visits Fateh Academy
DAV College felicitates winners of Bhagat Singh trophy
City-based engineer redesigns car
Asal files papers
80 per cent administered polio drops
Two held with 250 gm heroin |
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Hoardings hang in air after gale
Amritsar, April 7 The number of hoardings is increasing every passing day and the sizes of these hoardings exceed the limit. These hoardings, fashioned out of wood and metal, are heavy at the top and weak at the base and tend to collapse in strong winds. The structural safety of advertisement boards on roadsides and top of buildings have become a matter of concern. An official of the Fire and Rescue Service wing said the 'struts' at the base of the iron structure would be sunk into barrels filled with cement. “Since, the flex board affixed around a wooden frame will have no vents to reduce air resistance, it would collapse during windy or rainy conditions. According to information, many advertisement boards and political hoardings have been put up without getting the prior sanction of the authorities. “These unauthorised boards compromise on structural safety aspect for profit motive and use cheap material. Some boards have no proper clamps and are placed by using thin metal wires. There have been instances where ill-secured hoardings on top of buildings have collapsed, injuring pedestrians, blocking traffic and snapping power lines in the past,” said an official on condition of anonymity. With the General Election season in full swing, politicians, irrespective of any party, leave not a single chance to erect their hoardings, their show of their strength on the roadsides or rooftops while not caring two hoots for the safety of the passers-by. One such flex on the hoarding structure on the rooftop of Nehru Shopping Complex has been hanging precariously from a rooftop since a long time. This, quite a heavy flex board, has got torn off and dismantled from its hooks attached to the huge angle-iron frame while weakening its base. Drawing flak from several quarters, the corporation recently started pulling down illegal hoardings from the city, yet it all ended up as eyewash exercise. A vigilant resident Naresh Johar said, "It’s true that no one can prevent the natural calamities and the authorities are helpless in checking the illegal hoardings in the city, but at least, they should share the responsibility of safety of the residents or passersby and should summon the contractor to get the dilapidated hoarding structures repaired beforehand”, he said. Another resident BM Singh said, "There are many unsafe hoardings in Mall road, Novelty Chowk, Queen’s road and near the bus stand area which have been erected on unsafe structures. Fitness check of these iron structures is hardly done. With the result, whenever there is strong winds, they get apart and cause damage. The authorities should take stock of the safety aspects before granting permission to advertisers.” MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said, "The safety of hoarding structures needs to be checked and violators will face tough action."
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GNDU staff resent stalling of promotional avenues
GS Paul Tribune News Service
Amritsar, April 7 Many of them are on the verge of retirement and they resent that they might suffer a double blow by losing their promotional as well as monetary service benefits because the whole administrative process has been put on hold as the code of conduct is already enforced in the wake of the ensuing General Elections 2014. Taking exception to an earlier instance wherein GNDU authorities had cleared the medical grants in case of its employees who had been suffering from chronic diseases and needed emergency treatment. Sources said that this was done after seeking special permission from the Election Commission of India. The instance has enlivened the hopes of those whose promotional benefits have been put on hold by GNDU authorities. Preferring anonymity, a GNDU employee said he was going to get retire in May, but had been denied promotion due to code of conduct. “In my case, the one-step higher post kept on lying vacant much before the code of conduct was enforced and I was quite eligible for it. By the time, code of conduct is over, I will retire. This way, I will lose my next promotional benefits,” Another affected employee said he had been denied promotion despite the fact that it was not related to any political benefit to any political party or an individual candidate. “I fail to understand that when the GNDU is an autonomous body and is eligible to perform routine administrative affairs as was done in case of medical reimbursement, then why were there hassles in our promotion cases,” he viewed. The employees have urged the GNDU authorities to initiate some move so that its employees could avail themselves the opportunity of promotion before getting retired. The GNDU Registrar, Dr Inderjit Singh, agreed that a provision for special permission in such cases could be availed from the Election Commission in some cases. “Being an autonomous body, the routine process of the GNDU seldom suffers when the code of conduct is applicable ahead of elections. Still, special permission can be sought from the Election Commission of India, if some one’s professional or monetary benefits were being harmed. If any affected employee approaches us, we have no hesitation in seeking permission from the Election Commission of India”, he said.
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Woman booked for occupying house
Amritsar, April 7 The accused was identified as Amandeep Kaur, a resident of Ishwar Nagar, Tarn Taran Road. The police have registered a case under Section 328, 448, 506 and 511 of IPC against the woman. Lovejit Singh, the complainant and resident of Baba Sangat Singh Nagar in Maqboolpura area alleged that Amandeep Kaur used to live as tenant in his house. He said he was arrested by the police in September last year in a case and sent to jail. Taking advantage of the situation, the accused fraudulently usurped
his house. He alleged that on Saturday, when he was at home, the accused put acid in his mouth. He
said he sustained internal injuries and was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in a serious
condition. Investigating officer (IO) Harjit Singh said Lovejit was arrested by the Sultanwind police for possessing narcotics substances and was released on bail a few days ago. He said Lovejit was a drug addict and his brother was also lodged in the jail on a similar offence. He said parents of the victim had already died. The IO said Lovejit had developed relations with the woman, who had separated from her husband and used to live in the complainant’s house. He said the accused has been arrested and sent to jail.
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BSP wants to give fillip to cottage industry
Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service
Amritsar, April 7 In an interview with The Tribune, Walia said bettering economic status of the common man should be the key economic policy of the national government. He said Amritsar was lacking in industrialisation and it had not been able to tab its tourist attractions for economic gains. What is your vision for the holy city? What advantages do you feel you have being a local resident? The city has been neglected by all subsequent governments. Even this day, both the Congress and BJP have chosen to field outsiders because they are concerned with adding the seat to their seat tally. Even both the candidates are not debating on local issues. Instead they have brought out a matter which had happened 30 years ago to get political mileage out of it. The city needs overall development and that could be done only if a local person who has felt its problems ever since birth can highlight these at the national level. Do you intend to address these? If the people of Amritsar elected me to represent them in Parliament, I will ensure that the entire MPLADS fund is used to develop drinking water and sewerage facilities in the area. Not even a single penny will be used for any other thing until people start getting drinking water and sewerage facilities. It is a shame that even after almost seven decades of Independence, people are still begging for these basic facilities. What will be your roadmap to develop the city into a tourism hub in the true sense of the word? Successive state governments have promised it, but failed to deliver. Our Deputy Chief Minister and MP had been talking to developing the city into a tourism hub for years now. Had they intensely felt so, there was no reason why the holy city could not be developed as a tourist city. My vision is that we should create facilities to the extent that an international tourist feels forced to stay here for at least two days. It will help hoteliers, workers employed at hotels, rickshaw- pullers and many more sections of society. Though crores of rupees have been spent on building great infrastructure at the Amritsar airport, still it doesn't have adequate air connectivity. What steps will you initiate to address this issue? The Central Government has always given a stepmotherly treatment to the holy city. When it is a known fact that Punjabis constitute the maximum of Indian population living abroad, they still have to go all the way to Delhi to catch a flight. The name International Airport will be justified only when the city is connected with all the major countries through regular flights. Drug addiction among youth is rampant in Amritsar, whether it is in urban or rural areas. What are your plans to curb drug abuse and bring these youth into mainstream? It is a fact now that political leaders are acting as conduits for drug lords. We cannot expect a government to act against drug smugglers when its own leaders are involved in the trade. The people would have to unite and stand against drug sellers. I would fight a social battle by organising people against the drug smugglers. Moreover, if we can channelise youth energy by providing them employment, the drug menace could be decreased but ultimately people would have to vote against political parties which have such tainted leaders.
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Youth want election ink on their fingers
Amritsar, April 7 Launching the Voter Awareness Campaign in the city, which included a Run-for-Vote Marathon, several poster and sticker campaigns and the Election Express, a van launched by the city administration to encourage the youth to vote, several non-profit organisations, too, have been arranging for the events to involve the youth in the process. With the administration announcing discounts on food bills for first time, voters as a mandate, voting seems to be an exciting offer. The administration also launched musical CDs with promotional songs to urge youngsters to vote. Titled "Go Vote", it contains three songs, promoted under the Systematic Voter’s Education and Electoral Participation initiated by the Election Commission of India. Punjabi Samvaad and Mission Aghaaz, active Ngos in the city, have been organising walkathons, roadshows and social media campaigns to encourage voting. Several restaurants and food chains are already offering a discount between 30 per cent to 50 per cent for the first-time voters. It’s like a buffet spread, with the voters savouring
every flavour. “It’s important for youth to not just be a part but a deciding factor since they will be the largest electoral category this time. All these activities are a part of educating the youth about their rights and the offers help reach out,” shares Jyoti Bawa, Punjabi Samvaad. Shopping malls in city and retails brands too have announced offs and discount coupons for the first time voters. Also, free movies tickets thrown in, it’s a party all the way. All the lucrative offers designed to get the voters vote responsibly, but is such an enticement much needed. “It’s a great concept to involve young voters, who otherwise not have much motivation to exercise their voting rights. The first timers, within the age group of 18-20 years, will definitely feel attracted to voting with some offers thrown in. But the right way to go, would be to educate them,” feels Dr Rakesh Sharma, president, Voice of Amritsar. The NGO has been roped in by administration to bridge teh gap between the government agencies and public, by distributing educating material regarding voting rights. “We will be distributing questionnaire, asking the youngsters what they expect and demand from their leaders. Probably, the exercise will also involve candidates from the political parties as well,” says Sharma. Acting responsibly or taking up the offer, the youth definitely feel inclined to get their finger imprinted.
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Storytelling workshop at DAV School
Amritsar: A workshop on storytelling was organised by Primary Plus at DAV Public School. As many as 70 teachers participated in the workshop, which was conducted by Shalini Tayal, a professional storyteller. Tayal adopted a unique approach at the outset of the event. From the word ‘go’ she enthralled the teachers with her words and involved them in ‘to do’ activities and ideas, which they could use as props to make their storytelling more interesting and effective. She said, “Children are adventurers and explorers. Instead of getting angry, give them things to explore. We must shed all inhibitions and become children with them.” The teachers participated in craft work, voice modulation, making animal sounds and singing songs. Students of nursery and KG wing of DAV Public School gave a presentation to welcome new students. Regional Director of DAV Public Schools, Dr Neelam Kamra, Principal of BBK DAV College for Women, and manager of the school, Dr KN Kaul and Principal of DAV College appreciated the efforts of the resource person. BBK DAV students secure merit positions
Students of BBK DAV College for Women, Vandana Bhatia Pooja Sharma and Chamanpreet Kaur secured first, second and third positions respectively in MA (commercial art, semester-I) examinations conducted by Guru Nanak Dev University. The department gives professional training and prepares students for both manual designing and computer graphics. Sundeep
Zutshi, head of the Commercial Art Department briefly explained the avenues of the subject. After completing the course under the guidance of the competitive staff, students can bag jobs in advertising as an illustrator, graphic designer,
visualiser, professional fashion photographer etc and get handsome salary package. The course not only gives students an opportunity for lucrative jobs but also polishes their professional skills to run their own shows as graphics designer, web developer and animators. Workshop on effective ways of teaching
A workshop on ‘Strategies for becoming a good and effective teacher’ was organised at Khalsa College Public School
(KCPS). Dr Roopam Dhillon, a psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychology of Guru Nanak Dev University
(GNDU), gave valuable tips to teachers on the effective ways of teaching and moral responsibilities. The workshop, organised by Principal, Dr Sarvjit Kaur
Brar, was attended by teachers of various schools. He said teachers were the builders of nation and societies as they shaped destinies of students. “Teachers should understand that each child is unique. Let the child grow, explore and be creative and inquisitive. There should be strong and positive bond between teachers and students,’’ said Dr
Dhillon. Principal Sarvjit Kaur welcomed and honoured Dr Dhillon for motivating, giving information and interacting with participants at the workshop. She said teachers learnt valuable lessons from the expert. Disciplined Disciples International School today celebrated “World Health Day” by organising a run to promote awareness for good health. Principal of school Jaswinder Kaur led the run with the staff and students of the school. In her address to students, she made them aware about the good health and exhorted them to avoid junk food.
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City hoteliers meet Arun Jaitley
Amritsar, April 7 Another prominent demand was levying of taxes at par with other religious cities like Haridwar, Varanasi, Tirupati, Shirdi and others. Chatha claimed that Amritsar’s hospitality industry paid the highest taxes as compared to other religious cities in the country. He said only recognised hotels were paying all the taxes and smaller ones were escaping the tax net on one pretext or the other. The focus should be on expanding the tax collection network and not on increasing the tax, he added. The association also demanded the development of infrastructure and participation of the Punjab Heritage Tourism Promotion Board (PHTPB) in collaboration with the local administration in time bound projects with penalty clause to fix answerability. Interacting with members of the hotel and restaurant industry, Arun Jaitely stressed that hotels were an essential component of tourism industry and needed to be encouraged. For this, there was a need of low cost land and minimum taxation. He cited that a five-day stay at Goa proved costlier to a 10-day stay in Thailand and Singapore. He promised that if voted to power, fundamental changes would be brought in the taxation imposed by various departments of the government. Jaitley said the poor performance of the Congress in the recent four state Assembly elections made it clear that the NDA would be entrusted with power at the Centre. He said, “There is a concern that we will have to work a lot to bring country out of economic mess, the legacy of the UPA government. A five-point agenda has been prepared in which priority has been given to encourage the tourism industry. Fifty tourist circuits are to be developed, which includes Amritsar. Better infrastructure such as good roads and improved connectivity with highways, rail and air links, will be provided.”
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IT Dept to review penalty on gaushala
Amritsar, April 7 A call and text message to seek the remarks of the Chief Commissioner over the matter remained unanswered. Honorary advisor and counsel of the Pinjrapol Gaushala, Rajan Kumar, today met Income Tax officials. He said IT officials assured him of reviewing Rs 9 lakh tax penalty. He said the gaushala had been enjoying the benefit of tax exemption under Section 80 G for the past 40 years. “Levying of penalty is a rude jolt,”
he added. Office bearers of the gaushala were a harried lot after the Income Tax Department announced a penalty of Rs 9 lakh for not paying the tax. Kamal Dalmia, advisor to the Gaushala Board said under Section 264 of the Income Tax Act, a Commissioner could review the decision of the department’s assessing authority. Pinjrapol Gaushala runs three shelters for cows located at Ghee Mandi, Focal Point and Manawala. All these three centers have combined strength of 1,300 cows. Of all
these cows, only 190 were giving milk, which is given free of cost to All India Pingalwara Dharitable Society, Kusht Ashram at the Chabbal road and other needy families with children. It incurred about Rs 75,000 daily for the upkeep of these cows
and these expenses were met by donations and interest of deposits.
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US delegation visits Fateh Academy
Amritsar, April 7 Staff and management of the IFA extended a warm welcome to delegates.
Shabad kirtan was presented by students of the IFA on the occasion. Many other traditional folk cultural items like
gatka, bhangra and giddha were also presented by students. IFA chairman Jagbir Singh in his welcome address said this nature of inter-cultural communication helped in building good, harmonious, bilateral relations between the two countries. He exhorted the IFA staff to gain knowledge of the technology and latest skills being used in imparting school education in the USA. He opined that this step could prove a cutting edge in shaping up education in the developing countries. The visiting delegation familiarised themselves with the Punjabi culture and traditions of Sikhism. They also savoured delicacies of Punjabi cuisine on the campus. The visitors were impressed with the Punjabi folk dances -
bhangra, giddha and with the architecture of the IFA. They were floored by Punjabi hospitality.
Ravinder Kaur, vice-chairperson, IFA, Rajinder Kaur, director operations, Viney
Khanna, director academics, Ramanpreet Kaur, Principal, Paramjeet Kaur
Sandhu, Vice-Principal, were among those present on the occasion.
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DAV College felicitates winners of Bhagat Singh trophy
Amritsar, April 7 The college won this trophy for the third consecutive year by securing 26,428 points. The Sports Department of the college participated in 39 of the 43 inter-college competitions organised by Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) in academic year 2013-14 and got positions in 37 events. Students of the college bagged championship trophy in 22 competitions, including tug of war, chess, kayaking, softball, rope malkumb, swimming, hand ball, track cycling, pistol shooting, squash racket, rowing, cricket, table tennis, judo, archery re curve, archery compound, archery wooden, power lifting, fencing, road cycling, taekwando and Yoga. Apart from this, the college also bagged first runner-up positions in 13 competitions, which included basket ball, base ball, gymnastics (rhythm), lawn tennis, wrestling, rifle shooting, net ball, badminton, ball badminton, weight lifting, yachting, hockey, korfball and second runners up position in football and gymnastics artistic. Dronacharya Arjuna awardee Bhadur Singh Chauhan was the chief guest on the occasion. Principal, Dr Neelam Karma, congratulated students and teachers of all departments of the college.
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City-based engineer redesigns car
Amritsar, April 7 “I recently visited the World Auto Show in Delhi and saw various small cars stunningly re-designed with graphics, posters and pictures. A simple idea stuck me and I did the same with my car,” says Singh. So, India’s cheapest car turned quite jazzy and sporty post a few graphic detailing. He has painted his car with a design he calls ‘symphony’ with pictures of musicians, musical instruments, besides pasting vintage design logos of Ferrari, Royal Royce, Porsche, BMW etc, to keep abreast with the best cars of the world. Nurturing a passion for cars and music, his car bears an imprint of his creativity. The interiors, of course, are the best part, with graphically depicting stars at the roof. “Driving under the stars, literally,” he says. He shares if he, too, had the resources at his disposal, his stable would definitely have some of the most prized wheels. For a while, his Nano, which he mentions as ‘a new bride’, is his favourite. He says it took several weeks to re-design the car, adding that he was inspired by Nek Chand’s concept of creating art from simplest of things.
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Asal files papers
Amritsar, April 7 Earlier, Asal held a rally opposite Guru Nanak Dev University, which was addressed by senior Communist leader from the Centre and the state, including Bibi Amarjit Kaur, Bant Brar, Jagroop Singh, Dr Joginder Dyal and others. Leaders of the CPI and the CPM encouraged its workers to go door-to-door for campaigning and urge the people to cast their vote in favour of Asal, who had been striving for the welfare of the labour class. The speakers criticised the NDA and the UPA governments for their indifferent attitude towards the people of weaker sections of society. They also condemned the SAD-BJP government in the state for patronising drug dealers and for its anti-people policies. Later, devoid of any pomp and show or procession, Asal along with four local communist leaders, went to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office and filed the nomination papers.
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80 per cent administered polio drops
Amritsar, April 7 She said teams were visiting door-to-door to immunise each and every child. Dr Bansal said the special migratory round was organised to ensure that children living in remote areas, too, were administered polio drops. She said as it was felt that proper hygiene levels were not maintained at lower economic strata homes, the special drive was of big help in decimating the virus threat. Dr Bansal said as many as 1,15,315 children in the age group of 0-5 years would be immunised under the drive.
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Fitness of hoarding structures came under the scanner after the morning gale today that brought a number of these crashing down dangerously while leaving some hanging in the air.
Amritsar, April 7
Members of the Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHARA) today met BJP Lok Sabha candidate Arun Jaitley from the Amritsar constituency and apprised him with problems being faced by the hospitality industry and their demands.
Amritsar, April 7
Amritsar, April 7
