Amritsar, April 25
In the wake of the Lok Sabha polls on April 30, all nine zonal offices of the municipal corporation's birth and death certificate wing have been closed till May 4. The decision was taken as all MC officials have been assigned poll duty.

Though people complain of inconvenience due to the move, MC officials say for the free and fair elections, it was important to serve during the polls and people were informed about it in advance.

The nine zonal offices are located at Company Bagh, Lahori Gate, Batala road, Tunda Talab, Sultanwind road, Karori Chowk, Putlighar, Shivpuri and the city bus stand.

When asked that some people might require birth and death certificates in case of any emergency, Superintendent Shushant Bhatia said, "All the nine zonal offices cater to the applicants from far-off places. The idea of disclosing the closure schedule in advance was to cause inconvenience to the public. In case of any emergency, people can visit the main office at the Town Hall building.

After the polling date on April 30, there will be a compulsory holiday next day. The offices will remain closed on May 2 as May Day falls on that day. Saturday and Sunday fall on May 3 and 4 due to which the offices will remain closed. However, a heavy rush of applicants was witnessed at the Town Hall office today.

Sohan Lal, an applicant, said the officials dealing with the public should not be assigned poll duty. "I am not against the deputation of government employees, but arrangements should be made in such a way that the functioning of departments is not affected," he said.

Another applicant, Gurjeet Kaur, said," We chose our leaders. How can they stall public services in this manner. If they wanted to serve the nation during the polls, then they should sacrifice their holidays."

Amritsar, April 25
The Government Railway Police (GRP) today claimed to have busted a four-member gang of robbers and recovered sharp-edged weapons and a fake pistol from their possession.

The police caught them when they were about to carry out a robbery under a railway foot-over bridge. Among those arrested are Jatinder Tripathi of Devaria, Parminder Singh of Jalandhar, Mohammad Shehnaz of Patna and Manoj Kumar Bhardwaj of Gangapur, Rajasthan.

The police also recovered four mobile phones and a camera from their possession. The accused are wanted in many robbery cases in Jalandhar and Patiala.

They used to target railway passengers in the late evening trains.

Amritsar, April 25
An undertrail, identified as Harpreet Singh, slapped a constable in the high-security Amritsar Central Jail today.

The jail authorities said Harpreet had returned to the jail after appearing in a case in the court and entered in an argument with the security guards over the checking of his belongings. Before the jail staff could understand anything, Harpreet slapped constable Gurjant Singh. — TNS

Amritsar, April 25
As the focus of the police shifted to Narendra Modi’s rally at Ranjit Avenue, the traffic in the city went haywire. A majority of the traffic cops were deputed at the venue of the rally and its adjoining areas to streamline the traffic.

The traffic at Putlighar Chowk, Rani Ka Bagh Chowk, Albert Road Chowk, near the railway station, Crystal Chowk, Hall gate and near the bus stand was in disarray due to the absence of traffic cops. The people were seen flouting all traffic norms. A heavy police have been deputed at the venue of the rally. Notably, the city police have diverted the traffic from near Ranjit Avenue due to the rally. To prevent the chaos, the police had chalked out a traffic diversion plan and to implement this, a majority of the traffic cops were deputed near the venue of the rally.

Ramesh Sharma, a resident of the Ranjit Avenue area, said the police should have made an alternative plan for the regulation of the traffic at many important major points in the city.

“Look at the people, they seem in a hurry to cross the road as there is no cop to keep a watch on them at Rani Ka Bagh Chowk. Though people should follow the traffic rules, the presence of policemen is also necessary,” he pointed out.

Moreover, the police have also taken away the barricades from the city roads, including the accident-prone elevated road. Overspeeding ruled the roost today. Recently, two persons had died in a road mishap on the elevated road. The police had erected barricades here to prevent such accidents in future.

Amritsar, April 25
Peace and harmony between India and Pakistan are important for the prosperity of Amritsar. This was stated by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.

Addressing the representatives from the Punjab Pardesh Beopar Mandal last night, he promised rebuilding Amritsar as an important trading centre. He added that for this, harmonious relations between the two countries were a must.

Capt Amarinder said Amritsar was an important trading centre before the partition. He said the partition had pushed the city to the margins.

The meeting with the Congress candidate was attended by leading industrialists, doctors and other intellectuals from the city. "As the world has moved ahead, the two countries will have greater cooperation in future," Amarinder said.

“Nations are coming closer for trade and there is no reason why India and Pakistan cannot come closer," he said.

He hoped that Amritsar would not only be a trading centre for India and Pakistan but also for the entire Central Asia and Central East Asia.

“I can foresee a better future for Amritsar as trust and confidence have started building up," he said. The two countries would set aside differences in the interest of the people, he hoped.

Among others presented on the occasion were Amrit Lal Jain, Surjit Singh Kohli, brother of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Pyare Lal Seth, Sudarshan Wadhwa, Suresh Mehra, Dr HP Singh, Dr Gur Bilas, Dr Ashok Uppal, Dr Malhan and Principal Nanak Singh.

Amritsar, April 25
The hospitality industry is cashing in on the election season as a majority of hotels have recorded a considerable room occupancy by supporters of various political parties.

The industry relies on pilgrims from across the country and the world as they visit the city to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple. "It is for the time that the industry has been benefitted from the political tourism, albeit for a brief time," said hotelier Surinder Singh.

Two prominent leaders-former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and BJP's Arun Jaitley- are contesting from Amritsar. Both the leaders are senior statesmen with decades of experience under their belt. Hence, they have a permanent group of advisers and supporters who assist them during electioneering. All their supporters are staying in city hotels.

What Pharganj is to Delhi, Queens Road is to Amritsar. A large number of hotels are situated on Queens Road. Many supporters of these leaders can be seen staying in guest houses on the road. A majority of the hotels in the city are doing a brisk business.

Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHARA) general secretary Piyush Kapoor said the room occupancy has surged in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. He said this time of the year was always a lean season, which picked up with summer vacations. However, this time, General Election has proved to be a profitable business for the hospitality sector.

Amritsar, April 25
A section of the disgruntled teachers complained about "autocratic attitude" of the GNDU Vice-Chancellor AS Brar.

They blame that his autocratic behaviour was the outcome of the close proximity with the Punjab Chief Minister.

They alleged that the VC had been ignoring the UGC guidelines and the university calender by denying them promotional and financial benefits.

Dr Davinder Singh, president of the Guru Nanak Dev University Teachers' Association (GNDUTA), said the VC had stalled the promotion of several teachers, violating the UGC rules and ignoring the university calendar. However, VC AS Brar told the teachers that the proposal for financial benefits had already been cleared and the promotional criteria was adopted as per the norms.

"The financial benefits have been cleared. As far as the issue of promotion is concerned, the UGC guidelines have been followed. No discrimination has been done at any level," he said.

Nonetheless, expressing anguish, Dr Lakhwinder Singh, secretary of the GNDUTA, said a delegation of the union had met the CM on June 4 last year and had submitted a memorandum to him, pointing out at their demands and the irregularities committed by the VC.

" The CM had assured us to hold a high-level inquiry into the issue but no inquiry was held. What we have received is a letter, acknowledging the receipt dossier of our complaints from the Department of Higher Education. We do not know what action has been taken by the government in this regard," he said.

Amritsar, April 25
The National Federation of Telecom Employees (BSNL) today staged protest outside the BSNL office located at Ranjit Avenue in support of their demands.

A dharna was held by KR Bawa, Dilbagh Singh, Shingara Singh Dhillon, Paramjit Singh, Hans Raj and Watson Raj Kamal.

The agitating employees demanded that the non-executive staff in different cadres, who have completed their tenure of two years in the outer areas, should be re-deputed to their parent place Amritsar.

They also demanded that the transfer orders already issued should be implemented.

District secretary of the federation, KR Bawa, said there were scores of cases wherein the employees had been posted outstation, but despite their repeated pleas, the management was reluctant to bring them back.

“We held demonstration before the start of the office hours and during the lunch hour to avoid any hindrance in the office work. We demand that these employees should be transferred back as per the policy, which demanded a maximum of two year stay outstation. Secondly, there were officials whose transfer orders were already issued but they were not being relieved on one pretext or the other. We demand them to be relieved immediately,” he said.

Amritsar, April 25
The admission schedule for the academic session 2014-15 for various courses offered at the Guru Nanak Dev University campus, Regional Campus Jalandhar, Regional Campus, Sathiala (Baba Bakala), Regional Campus, Sultanpur Lodhi, Regional Campus, Gurdaspur, University College, Jalandhar and ASSM College, Mukandpur, was released here today.

Dean, Academic Affairs, Prof MS Hundal, said the admission process for online submission of application forms would start from May 26. He said for M Phil course, the date for receipt of application form would be from July 7 to 23.

The date for receipt of application forms for M Tech, M Arch and Master of Planning (Infrastructure) would be from June 20 to July 4 and for master’s level courses like M Pharmacy, BP Ed, B Lib and Inf Sc - June 6 to 30. For MA Education, it is June 28 to July 13. For undergraduate courses such as B Tech, based on JEE (Main) 2014 and B Arch -July 7 to 14.

For bachelor level courses, MCA (FYIC), B Tech (URP) and B Pharmacy -June 3 - 23.

For MBA, MBA (Hons) FS, MRM and MBA (FYIC) courses -May 26 to June 16.

Prof Hundal said the last date for courses to be offered by constituent colleges, Foreign Languages Department and Urdu /Persian Department of the university campus, the students are advised to contact principals and heads of the concerned departments.

For B Tech courses (except B Tech Urban and Regional Planning), admissions will be done on the basis of merit of JEE-2014 (Main) and admission counselling will be conducted by the university itself.

The counseling schedule will be uploaded on the university website www.gndu.ac.in or www.gnduadmissions.org in due course of time. He said applications for admission were to be submitted online along with the counselling fee of Rs 2,000 after the admission schedule is uploaded on university admission website.

For MBA, MCA, MCA (FYIC) courses, the admission will be made on the basis of entrance test to be conducted by the university. Similarly, admission to B Arch course will be made by the head, Department of Architecture, on the basis of combine merit of NATA score and qualifying examination in the ratio of 50:50.

He said the admission to LL B (Hons), BA LL B (Hons) (FYIC) will be made as per the notification issued by the Punjab governemnt.

The admission to all the courses at University College, Jalandhar, will be made by the principal of the college except MBA/MCA/MCA (FYIC) courses.

However, there will be a separate fee structure for self-financing courses. He said all applications should be submitted online only through the main website of the university. Each application form shall be submitted online with an application fee of Rs 1,000 (for general category) and (Rs 500 for SC/ST category). For B Tech courses, one time counselling fee will be Rs 2,000. — TNS

Amritsar, April 25
The teaching staff of the SGPC-run schools have alleged that strict instructions have been passed to attend the yoga camp of Baba Ramdev at Sakkatri Bagh in the city tomorrow.

Baba Ramdev, who is known for his proximity to the BJP, is scheduled to hold the yoga shivir at Raminder Singh Bolaria Memorial Park, at 4 pm tomorrow.

Staff members have alleged that both the teaching and non-teaching employees have been told to be present at the camp and their attendance would also be marked there.

They shared that the staff from seven schools run by the Shiromani Committee in Amritsar and two schools from Tarn Taran have been “instructed” to be present over there.

The SGPC-run schools situated in the district are Guru Nanak Kanya Senior Secondary School, Town Hall, its other branch is at Ramsar Road, Guru Ram Das Khalsa Senior Secondary School, Chattiwind Gate, Sri Guru Ram Das Public High School, Golden Temple colony on Sultanwind Road, Trai Shatabdi Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College on Ramsar Road and Baba Jiwan Singh Khalsa College near Attari.

Besides, two schools from Tarn Taran are Bab Budha Public Senior Secondary School and Bab Budha Khalsa Senior Secondary School.

Usually, there is a holiday on second Saturday of every month and on other Saturdays the schools work as usual.

However, these schools have been directed to close down by 12 pm tomorrow, they claimed. “This was done to offer the staff plenty of time to reach the venue of the shivir,” they said, adding that they were also asked to bring their family members as well.

SGPC Education Secretary Balwinder Singh has refuted the allegations. He said, no such directions had been issued from either his office or from the Shiromani Committee.

Amritsar, April 25
Two professors from Khalsa College Amritsar (KCA) have bagged two separate research projects worth Rs 40 lakh from the Department of Science and Technology, a premiere institute run by the Union government.

Professor Jaswinder Singh and Professor Amandeep Singh, who have got the projects, are from the Department of Zoology.

Dr Jaswinder will be working on the project -‘Ecological and Taxonomic Distribution of Earthworms in Punjab’ while Dr Amandeep will be working on ‘Assessment and Efficacy of Indigenous Plants to Control Myiasis’.

College Principal Dr Daljit Singh congratulated the Professors for their achievement and asked them to work hard to complete the projects, which have the sanction from the University Grants Commission (UGC).

As per project details, Dr Jaswinder will focus on the role of earthworms in agro-ecology, enhancing soil fertility and effects of industrial pollution on distribution patterns of earthworms in the state.

Dr Amandeep will study the effect of plant extracts to control chrysomyia bezziana, which causes the disease myiasis among dairy animals.

Amritsar, April 25
The two-day 3rd ICSE Inter-Zonal Athletics Meet started on the campus of International Fateh Academy (IFA) here today.

The athletics meet began with the recitation of Shabad invoking the blessings of the Almighty. IFA chairman Jagbir Singh hoisted the national flag and took the salute from the contingents of participating teams.

Amidst loud cheering and applause, balloons conveying messages were released in the air. Jagbir Singh asked the players to aim high and put in hard work to fulfill their dreams.

Ekamjot Singh, captain of the IFA team, on behalf of all competitors took the oath of fair play and sportsman spirit. The ceremonial torch was then carried out round the field by national-level athletes.

More than 300 students from 16 ICSE affiliated schools of Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts converged at IFA grounds to participate in the track and field events that included 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 4x100 relay, javelin throw, shot putt, discuss throw, hurdle, long jump and triple jump. The events include both boys and girls categories.

Manufacturing in this border city is expensive as compared to the other states which are nearer to the ports or states which are enjoying various tax packages from their state governments. The border city of Amritsar should be given a special package to facilitate a level playing field against the industries in the states that are nearer to the port as well as the states that enjoy special industrial packages.

Our Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport represents the entire Punjab. A complete rethink for the airport is required. Nearly 2.5 million people from various districts of Punjab are settled in the UK, Canada and the US. Amritsar is capable of generating 300 passengers daily for Toronto, Birmingham, Vancouver and London, but these flights are sadly not started from the airport. There is an immediate need to market the facilities at the airport to prospective airlines and create new routes so that we are globally connected.

In addition, Punjab is a landlocked state. In order to reduce the freight cost for the landlocked industries in this border city, the freight corridor must be extended till Amritsar and further up to the Attari Integrated Check Post for which the government needs to give a serious thought or else the industry and the ICP in Amritsar will be rendered logistically non-competitive and will be out of the mainstream of national trade. Without the ambitious project of dedicated freight corridor extension till Amritsar and the ICP, trade and industry here will not flourish.

Any city thrives on its unique strengths. For Amritsar, without any doubt it is the Golden Temple. To capitalise on the strength we have, we need to create and preserve the tourist circuit, consisting not only of the Golden Temple, but many other places of interest like the Jallianwala Bagh, Durgiana Temple and the Wagah border.

More heritage points and gardens must be added to these existing tourist destinations so that the stay of tourists in the holy city is prolonged. Any extra day’s stay means extra earnings for the city. These tourist places should be linked with dedicated bus circuits/monorail to make the experience comfortable for the tourists.

In the last 10 years, Amritsar has grown rapidly in population and so have vehicular traffic, waste generation and other requirements arising due to the burgeoning population. Amritsar is in dire need of improved infrastructure which can cater to these needs. A solid waste management plant catering to the requirements of the city is a must. In order to tackle the increasing traffic and vehicular movement, we need a web of elevated roads to decongest the city which will improve the infrastructure in the city and decongest it.

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