Flyover’s faulty design to blame for tragedy
Amritsar, May 5
After skipping several deadlines, the state government managed to construct a flyover at the Kitchlew Chowk, but failed to correct the faulty design that lead to a major mishap today.

A view of the sharp turns at the Kitchlew Chowk flyover in Amritsar. Photos: Vishal Kumar

Fliers prevented from boarding plane
Amritsar, May 5
As many as 10 passengers of Turkmenistan Airlines flight from Amritsar to Ashgabat were not allowed to board the plane today as the airline pressed a smaller aircraft into service due to a technical snag in the bigger plane. A majority of the passengers were to fly to London via Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, by catching the connecting flight from there.

Amritsar, May 5
Five persons were killed in a road accident on the intervening night of May 4-5 when the car they were travelling in rammed into a tree on the Airport road.

They were going towards Gumtala side from the Kitchlew Chowk flyover when the incident took place. All the five died on the spot. The driver of the car (HR-36-P-1728), which was apparently being driven at a high speed, lost control over the vehicle at a sharp curve on the Kichlew Chowk flyover.

The deceased were identified as Sandeep Kumar (30) of Ajnala road, Gauri Shankar (25), Prince Sethi (26), Rajesh Kumar (34) and Gaurav Joshi (28), all residents of Islamabad area.

No police official came to know about the accident till the morning raising a question mark on the functioning of the force. Taking cognizance of it, the Police Commissioner immediately suspended the two head constables, Harjit Singh and Harpreet Singh, deputed with the PCR teams, Kuldeep Singh, ASI, who is the duty officer at Civil Lines police station, with immediate effect while Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, SHO, Civil Lines police station, has been shifted to the Police Lines for delay in action following the road accident.

It was a heart-rending scene at the spot when the bodies of the five deceased were pulled out from the car which was badly damaged in the accident.

The family accused the leaders of the ruling government for the construction of a faulty road divider and flyover which was constructed to ease the traffic at the busy intersection of the Kitchlew Chowk.

Gulshan Sethi, father of Prince Sethi, said his son was going to the airport to pick his friend at around 2.30 am. Prince Sethi had completed his LLB from Dehradun a year ago and has been running a travel agency.

The police said they had initiated action under the criminal procedure code and further investigations were under way.

Jatinder Singh Aulakh, Police Commissioner, said it appears that the vehicle was at a very high speed due to which the driver lost control.

"While admitting that there was delay in action and negligence on the part of certain policemen as they should have the information on time. But unfortunately, the matter came to our knowledge only in the wee hours after some passersby noticed the car. I have immediately taken strict against the guilty police officials and no laxity will be allowed," said the Police Commissioner.

Amritsar, May 5
The washrooms for public use at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here have turned into a safe haven for the drug addicts and anti-social elements who are using these for injecting drug.

The empty syringes in large numbers which are used by the IDUs (injectable drug users) were seen at various washrooms inside the reputed institute. Earlier also, items like silver foils, which are used by drug addicts to inhale smack and heroin, were spotted inside the washrooms.

The used syringes were seen lying inside the washrooms. Even as the hospital has put up various notices banning even smoking on the premises, the anti-social elements keep going a step further to use the place for these purposes.

Some of the employees at hospital admitted that the washrooms are being used by drug addicts frequently.

"Due to the large rush of people to the place, one cannot make out who is a patient or a drug addict. Even if someone sees a drug addict, he would not dare question him," said an employee.

The patients said the hospital must devise a mechanism to check this misuse of public property. However, as the institute is already facing a shortage of manpower to manage security, it seems to be an uphill task.

A junior official at the hospital said, "Every floor on the hospital has around dozen washrooms. Keeping an eye on each one of them is a difficult task." He said that whenever a report about such incidents is received, they take action.

Government Medical College Principal Dr Santokh Singh said instructions would be passed on to the security staff to keep an eye on anti-social elements. 

Amritsar, May 5
Even after the lapse of over 48-hours of the registration of a rape attempt case in which a teenager jumped off the roof in order to escape four youth, who allegedly tried to sexually assault and rape her, the police have failed to arrest the culprits.

The police officials said the accused were at large and raids were being conducted to nab the culprits.

"We are conducting raids to arrest the four accused, including the prime accused Rinka and Bab, who have been at large since the registration of the case," said Prem Pal Singh, one of the investigating officers in the case.

The 19-year-old victim had sustained serious injuries in her legs and backbone.

She, in her complaint to the police, alleged that the accused, Rinka, used to stalk her.

She had even complained to his parents about it following which he had apologised to her. But later, the accused entered her house forcibly when she was alone and tried to rape her. To save herself, she jumped off the terrace and suffered serious injuries. 

Amritsar, May 5
After skipping several deadlines, the state government managed to construct a flyover at the Kitchlew Chowk, but failed to correct the faulty design that lead to a major mishap today.

The Rs 22-crore overpasses, measuring 900 metre, was planned in September 2011 with the aim of decongesting traffic around the Kitchlew Chowk and providing free access to commuters bound for Sree Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport and areas along the Ajnala road.

The entry and exit to either side of this flyover is left half built since the day this flyover was thrown open for the public on January 12. The slippery sand and pebbles still lie at this 50-metre stretch on both the sides. Also, at the point where it slides down, there is a deadly curve which meets at the main airport road.

The experienced civil engineers, under whose supervision the flyover was built, had failed to visualise that the curvy divider at the foot of the bridge would prove disastrous for the vehicles coming down the bridge at a high speed.

The faulty design lead to the accident today in which a car collided with the divider while negotiating the curve at the tail-end of the flyover before hitting the tree on the other side and turning turtle. All the five occupants of the car died on the spot.

Another shortcoming was the absence of adequate slip road that could not strike the think-tank of executing agencies and the district authorities. It was only at the last moment that this lapse came to their notice before inaugurating it.

Consequently, a road passing through the main gates of the houses on the court road was joined to the main road by temporarily blocking the outlet. This step was taken to prevent the fast moving traffic from colliding with those joining them from underneath. This arrangement is still prevalent which is a cause of concern.

Residents have condemned the lax attitude of the government officials and the executing agency that could not design it for safe passage. They demanded that instead of passing on the buck to others, the district authorities should act immediately to set right the ill-planned divider of this flyover so as to avoid further mishap.

Gurbhej Singh, president of Mission Agaaz, an NGO, said, “Apart from this, the trees on the road side were cut on the pretext of providing a straight path to the road. While the concerned agency acted swiftly to cut trees, nothing was done to straighten the divider which has proved fatal for the travellers in the car who met with an accident.

Naresh Johar, another resident, said, "It was nothing but the short-sightedness of the authorities. Little homework was done to execute it in a proper manner. I am sorry to say but this fatal accident should be a lesson for the administration to wake up from its deep slumber so that proper safety arrangements could be made at the first instance.

BR Prinja, said, "The Punjab Deputy CM was in a hurry to inaugurate it because it was more of a political stunt which would have earned them mileage before the elections while the safety aspect was being overlooked.

Amritsar, May 5
As many as 10 passengers of Turkmenistan Airlines flight from Amritsar to Ashgabat were not allowed to board the plane today as the airline pressed a smaller aircraft into service due to a technical snag in the bigger plane. A majority of the passengers were to fly to London via Ashgabat, capital of Turkmenistan, by catching the connecting flight from there.

Rajinder Singh, a resident of Ludhiana, came to the Amritsar airport to drop his sister Jaswinder Kaur, who was to travel to Birmingham through Amritsar-Ashgabat flight. However, they were upset when they came to learn that a smaller aircraft could not accommodate the whole lot of passengers.

Jaswinder said she had to resume her job at Leicester on May 7, but failing to board the flight even after booking the ticket came as a rude shock. She said being a part-time employee, her wages would be deducted. “We came here after hiring a taxi, which cost us nearly Rs 3,500 from Ludhiana. I already have booked a taxi to travel from Birmingham to my house in Leicester. I fear the taxi fare of 70 pounds will also be forfeited,” said Jaswinder.

Another passenger Ramesh Bangar from Nawashahar said he was currently settled at Birmigham. He said he was to report at his job at the given time. However, now he felt that it would not be possible for him to do the same. He rued that the airlines staff at the airport did not give any further assurance even two hours after the departure of the scheduled flight at 11:25 am.

Another passenger Harjinder Kaur said she was employed as a cleaner at Scununthrope in the UK and her wages would come down when she did not join her duty. The delay would takes toll on her work as a result of which her wages would be deducted. She said her son Satbir Singh, a nursery class student, would also not be able to resume his studies on time at Grange Lane Infant School. She feared that the school authorities might levy a fine for extending the holidays.

Various attempts to contact airlines station manager Kunal Joshi over his cell phone failed.

One of the passengers, Jaswinder Kaur, said the airlines had arranged for their stay at a star hotel in the city and now their next flight had been confirmed for tomorrow morning. 

Amritsar, May 5
The city doctors today came together to sensitise the people on the early diagnosis of asthma and the right treatment to control the condition on the eve of the World Asthma Day.

The doctors warned that asthma patients, who were not undergoing the right treatment, ran the risk of asthma attacks, which often required admission to a hospital and could even be life-threatening.

They said if asthma was treated as per the guidelines, both the individual and the government could benefit immensely from the reduced cost of treatment.

Addressing a press conference organised by Breathefree, a public service initiative of Cipla, doctors reinstated that the lack of awareness on asthma in India prevented it from being diagnosed in the early stages. Of the 30 million asthmatics in the country, most were unaware, undiagnosed or were being sub-optimally treated for asthma.

Dr AS Bhatia, chest physician, said the most effective asthma treatment — inhalation therapy — was available in India at a price as low as Rs 4 to Rs 6 per day, which meant that the year's supply of medicine, was less than the cost of one night's stay at the hospital.

He said asthma was a chronic disease, which required long-term treatment. Many patients stopped treatment after some weeks once they felt better. This could be dangerous as stopping the treatment could lead to revival of the disease and precipitate an asthma attack, added Dr Bhatia.

“It is important to diagnose asthma at an early stage as it helps preserve the condition of the lungs. Asthma usually manifests itself through symptoms like coughing, tightness in the chest, and wheezing, but it is important to consider asthma as a diagnosis particularly if these symptoms are recurrent,” said Dr Bhatia.

Dr Naresh Grover, a paediatrician at Grover Hospital, said, “Initiation of inhalation therapy to an asthmatic child at the earliest helps in controlling the disease, prevents him from attacks, preserves the condition of his lungs and also improves the overall quality of his life.” 

Amritsar, May 5
The Municipal Corporation (MC) of Amritsar had introduced a monthly pass system for all the four routes of the City Bus Service.

A commuter will have to make a one-time payment of Rs 110 for a smart card, which could be reloaded by spending Rs 250 per month for availing unlimited travel facility in city buses.

The MC has opened dedicated counters to issue passes from its main offices located at Town Hall, Zonal Office 6 and 6-A at Company Bagh, Zonal Office 5 at Putlighar, Zonal office 8 at Chheharta, Zonal office 2 at Lahori Gate, Zonal Office 3 and 4 at Bhaktanwala.

These smart card passes will be issued after the resident furnishes the requisite documentation to verify his identity.

As per officials of the MC, it would require two passport-size photographs, any residential proof document like voter ID card, Aadhar Card or certification from the area councillor to get the pass.

At present, there is a fleet of 40 buses running on different routes in the city.

For the non-AC buses, the least fare is Rs 2 (up to 5 km), Rs 5 (5-10 km) and Rs 10 (more than 10 km). The fare for AC buses is Rs 5 (up to 5 km), Rs 10 (5-10 km) and Rs 15 (more than 10 km).

Amritsar, May 5
The rate of the loose milk sold in the city has once again gone up by Rs 2 per litre in many areas. Consumers are irked at the hike in the cost of milk by Rs 5 per litre within a period of 30 to 35 days.

Residents have urged the district administration to intervene to prevent the continuous rise in milk price.

The earlier the hike of Rs 2 to Rs 3 per litre, which came in the first week of April, had left the already burdened people disappointed. It led to increase in the prices of a glass of butter milk from Rs 30 to Rs 35. People feared that the increase in the price would ultimately have a cascading effect.

They fear that this rise would once again increase the rates of milk products. Curd and cheese prices have gone up thereby making them out of the reach of the lower income group families. They opine that the government and the district administration must intervene in the matter to check the rise in the prices of such essential items.

A resident of Model Town area, Ravinder Singh, recalled that the price of a glass of butter milk was hiked by Rs 5 in the midle of last year and now once again there was a similar appreciation. He wondered what would happen as the summers were yet to intensify and the rise in sugar price was yet to come.

A resident of Rani ka Bagh, Jarnail Singh, said the milk vendor in his area hiked the milk price first by Rs 3 per litre, which increased the cost to Rs 38 per litre and now a Rs 2 increase has escalated the milk price to Rs 40 a litre. He wondered what happened in all these 35 days, which forced the traders to pass the burden on to the consumers.

He said the earlier hike had increased cheese price from Rs 240 to Rs 260 per kg, the price of a kilogram of curd sold in the market had increased from Rs 45 to Rs 50 per kg.

A resident of Hathi Gate, Sham Sunder, said milk was being sold at Rs 45 per litre in his area. He asserted that the recent hike in milk prices came as a rude shock to the residents. The government should act to rationalise the price of essential commodities, as the hike was decided unilaterally.

He reasoned that when the government was providing various subsidies on cattle-rearing, it must have a say on its price hike, which is more like a marketing gimmick.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat said if his office received a representation from the people in this regard, he would form a committee comprising SDMs, milk suppliers, traders and other stake holders to rationalise milk price. 

Amritsar, May 5
Calvin Golmei of Chandigarh won the under-14 boys final in the three-day All India Tennis Ranking Championship Tournament, which concluded at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Tennis Complex at Ram Bagh Garden here today. Calvin outplayed Anmol Ratan Kamboj of Chandigarh 6-1,6-0.

The final of boys’ under-14 (doubles) was won by the pair of Bhupinder Dahiya and Sahishnu Sharma of Chandigarh after beating Shashikant Rajput Anmol and Ratan Kamboj 1-4, 5-3. 

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