Punjabi film replaces mustard fields with chasing cars
Amritsar, May 13
Chasing cars, water skiing, free falling from buildings have managed to replace the mustard fields and tractors at least for once on the screen. Upcoming Punjabi film "Romeo Ranjha", starring Jazzy B and debutant singer, Garry Sandhu, will be an action thriller, rather than being a rom-com, which has become the only genre Punjabi box-office has seen.

rain magic: A rickshaw-puller and his passengers enjoy the heavy afternoon showers in Amritsar on Tuesday. Photo: Vishal Kumar

Kaleawala Khoo
Historian for preserving remains of soldiers
Amritsar, May 13
The remains of soldiers recovered from the Kaleawala Khoo in Ajnala would not be allowed to be taken to Chandigarh or New Delhi, said the historian, Surinder Kochar, and Gurdwara Saheed Ganj Committee, to the members of an archaeology team, which visited the site today.

Accused at large in murder case
Amritsar, May 13
Even after a few days, the police has failed to arrest the prime accused allegedly involved in the killing of a father-son duo near Nangli village. Mukhtiar Singh and his son, Jugraj Singh of Rampura village, died after the accused pelted them with bricks which hit their heads killing them on the spot. Though the police have registered a case under Section 302, IPC, against the accused identified as Sukhraj Singh and Simranjit Singh, they were yet to be arrested.

Fake currency seized
Amritsar, May 13
The city police arrested two persons, identified as Arik Gill of Batala and Toni Masih of Panjgraiya village, Gurdaspur, for allegedly possessing fake currency to the tune of Rs 1.09 lakh.

Water samples fail test
Amritsar, May 13
Three out of the five water samples collected by the District Health Department from Kot Mehna Singh area failed the test conducted by the local Government Medical College. The samples were collected after reports of the death of a 10-year-old in the area due to alleged consumption of non-potable water started coming in. The Health Department had, however, claimed that the child died due to wrong medication.

Fuel stations violate safety norms
Amritsar, May 13
Fuel stations in the city are vulnerable to fire accidents as is evident from the fire safety measures taken at most of these places. The city has as many as 400 petrol pumps, which are required to set up ample fire safety methods so as to tackle any mishap.

A view of a petrol pump at Batala Road in Amritsar. Photo: RK SONI

Khalsa College students’ council takes oath
Amritsar, May 13
The Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr AS Brar, presided over the oath-taking ceremony of the new students’ council at Khalsa College Public School (KCPS) here today.

Orientation course inaugurated at GNDU
Amritsar, May 13
A “28-day General Orientation Course-95” was inaugurated at the Academic Staff College of Guru Nanak Dev University here today. As many as 33 university and college teachers from various disciplines from all over the country are participating in the event.

 

Amritsar, May 13
As many as 46 jail inmates had died in the past 15 months due to various health ailments, serious in nature. Overcrowding is stated to be the reason behind these problems while acute drug addiction among jail inmate poses a challenge before its management. The Amritsar Central Jail is having 4,400 inmates currently against a capacity of 1,600 prisoners.

Concerned over this, former Health Minister and member, Punjab State Legal Services Authority, Laxmikanta Chawla, today wrote to the Chief Justice, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and sought formation of a panel for visiting the Amritsar Central Jail and other jails of Punjab and submit a report regarding this. She said besides members of the judiciary, representatives of various NGOs could also be on the panel.

If sources in the high security jail are to be believed around 60-65 per cent of the inmates are drug addicts. A majority of them were those involved in drug peddling and they themselves consumed drugs.

"Around 20 per cent of them suffer from hepatitis B, hepatitis C, jaundice, HIV and diabetes and over 60 per cent of the inmates are hooked to drugs," said the sources. A majority of the inmates who died in past one year were either drug addicts or suffering from hepatitis, the sources added.

One can imagine the pathetic conditions of the inmates when a jail has almost triple the number of prisoners living in a space meant for 1,600 people. A negligible number of prisoners has the facility of a cot while the remaining are used to lie on floors. In summers, the conditions worsen as suffocation increases during the rainy season.

"According to the information collected from jail authorities, around 46 inmates had died since January 2013. Around four persons had died in the past one month," said Chawla while adding that there was no proper toilet or bathrooms available inside the jail. Lack of medical staff has also compounded the problem," she added.

RK Sharma, Superintendent, Jail, said they were managing the situation according to the resources available to the staff. He said the jail authorities had written to the higher-ups about the problems being faced here. 

Amritsar, May 13
The heavy rainfall in and around the city last night, water-logging was seen at most of the grain markets causing damage to the agricultural produce. As a result of poor lifting of grain from the markets, lakhs of bags of wheat are still lying in the open at all markets in the district. The rain water was also seen flowing under the rows of bags at Khasa, Bakna and Chehharta grain markets.

The authorities and arhtiyas at the grain market are trying hard to persuade grain procurement agencies to lift grain as soon as possible. However, the recent showers have added to their woes as wheat bags have been drenched in water.

As is obvious, these drenched bags will be stored in the warehouses of the procurement agencies without making any efforts to dry the grains before storing; these will be more prone to fungal attacks.

“Wet grain in gunny bags can rot and that is the reason a huge quantity of grain gets damaged at warehouses each year,” said a Mandi Board official on condition of anonymity.

The labour at the mandis complained that they were stranded at the markets as they could not go and find work somewhere else. “It is the duty of the labour at mandis to load the bags in the trucks. As the pace of lifting is slow, the workers have work for only two or three hours,” said a worker at Bakhna mandi. The Mandi Board officials stated that it was the duty of the grain procurement agencies to lift the grain from the market. They, however, admitted that a large quantity of the produce is still lying at the markets.

District Mandi Officer Sukhminder Singh Kehra said, “It is not that the grain markets are on a low surface but because of the fact that big quantities of produce is still lying in the market and there is no place for water to flow out.” He explained that the gunny bags were also lying over the storm sewer lanes as a result of which a problem cropped up. 

Amritsar, May 13
A recent WHO report puts Amritsar among the dirtiest cities of the world. Going by this, several NGOs in the city have pledged more initiatives to clean up the city. Voicing concerns and suggesting possible solutions, eco activists have once again spelt out the obvious.

"The WHO report is not shocking as we have been trying to make the point clear to city residents and authorities. The standard of sanitation and garbage-disposal system in the city are a proof of the fact stated in the WHO report. Air pollution levels are a bit low because we don't have big industries here but water pollution, traffic congestion and filth have become major issues of concern for Amritsar," says Seenu Arora, executive member of Voice of Amritsar.

Continuous efforts by NGOs in collaboration with authorities have failed to come up with solutions to curb the problem. Increasing vehicular pollution and failure of an effectivec garbage-disposal system in the city have posed serious sanitation problems. "Lack of an effective policy by the MC and insensitivity of city residents towards their surroundings have had serious effects on environment in the city. Depleting green areas have made the issue worse," said Dipak Babbar from Mission Aghaaz.

It is to be noted that independent initiatives to clean up the city have been undertaken by the NGOs, marking areas that have become a picture of neglect due to heaps of garbage and bad sanitary conditions. The 'Dustbin campaign' statred by Voice of Amritsar in accordance with Eco Amritsar had taken up cleanliness drives in some of the filthiest areas in the city like the railway station and Rattan Singh Chowk.

Incidentally, Mission Aghaaz, Amritsar Vikas Manch, Global NGO and a couple of more organisations had come together to form a collaborative umbrella club called Go-NGO, which will work in development and cleanliness works in and around the city in association with the administration.

"Attitude is a problem," said Seenu. "Individual efforts are needed and people do not care about ecology. Lack of a sensibility towards environment and outdated policies of the MC have not helped the situation." He suggests, "The city needs a Solid Waste Management Plant to use garbage as a raw material and privatisation and an effective state-of-the-art garbage-disposal system is required to improve the situation." 

Amritsar, May 13
Chasing cars, water skiing, free falling from buildings have managed to replace the mustard fields and tractors at least for once on the screen. Upcoming Punjabi film "Romeo Ranjha", starring Jazzy B and debutant singer, Garry Sandhu, will be an action thriller, rather than being a rom-com, which has become the only genre Punjabi box-office has seen.

The stars of the film, Jazzy B (with bling in tow) and newcomers Garry Sandhu and Parul Gulati along with director Navniat Singh were in Amritsar to promote the film. Adressing a press conference at Country Inn, director Navniat Singh said, "I always wanted to make such a film, with thrills and class apart action sequences. The story of the film has lots of twists and turns, something not seen before in Punjabi films." The stunts and action sequences of the film, which have been directed by popular Bollywood action-director Allan Amin, too, will be something to look forward to. "The stunts are not over-the-top, the action sequences fall in line with the story and have not been overplayed," said Navniat.

Jazzy B, who will be seen in his second film post-"Best of Luck", too, shared his excitement, especilally about doing action. "No doubles or stuntsmen have been used for the action sequences. Both, Garry and me, performed these stunts. Though sometimes it became a bit tough, the quality of action you will see in the film is comparable to Bollywood, even Hollywood standards. He also cited an instance when he had a minor accident while performing a stunt. "We were supposed to shoot an action sequence riding a jet ski and we got it off balance. Thankfully, we were wearing safety gear and didn't get hurt."

Singer Garry Sandhu, who is making his acting debut with the film, too, enjoyed doing the stunts. "I am glad that I got this film to make my debut. I play a conman in the film." Actor Parul Gulati, too, is making a debut with the film opposite Garry Sandhu. The film also stars Aman Grewal, Monika Bedi, Yograj Singh and Rana Ranbir. The story has been penned by Dheeraj Rattan and the film releases on May 16. A high-end eatery also launched a special recipe dedicated to Jazzy B on the ocassion. The stuffed Thai Chicken Tikka with basil sauce ïs a fusion of tandoori and French cuisine, just like Jazzy B is a fusion of desi and international music," said the spokesperson. 

Amritsar, May 13
Even after a few days, the police has failed to arrest the prime accused allegedly involved in the killing of a father-son duo near Nangli village. Mukhtiar Singh and his son, Jugraj Singh of Rampura village, died after the accused pelted them with bricks which hit their heads killing them on the spot. Though the police have registered a case under Section 302, IPC, against the accused identified as Sukhraj Singh and Simranjit Singh, they were yet to be arrested.

Nirmal Singh, SHO, Kamboh police station, maintained that raids were being conducted to arrest the culprits who had gone absconding after the incident.

The incident occurred when the deceased had heated arguments with the two accused for bringing Mukhtiar’s brother, Santokh Singh, a welder, in a drunken state. Mukhtiar and his son, Jugraj, followed them with sticks. After reaching near Nangli village, they entered in a quarrel with the accused who hurled bricks at them, resulting in their deaths. 

Amritsar, May 13
The city police arrested two persons, identified as Arik Gill of Batala and Toni Masih of Panjgraiya village, Gurdaspur, for allegedly possessing fake currency to the tune of Rs 1.09 lakh.

As per the information, the police confiscated 40 notes of Rs 1,000 denomination, 120 notes of Rs 500 denomination and nine notes of Rs 100 denomination from their possession. The police have registered a case under Sections 489-A, 489-B, 489-C, 489-D of the IPC against the accused at the Rambagh police station in this regard.

The police said the two accused were nabbed following a tip-off. The Narcotic Cell had specific information that the accused were involved in the illegal manufacturing of counterfeit currency and were going by a motorcycle to sell the same. Following this, the police raided the designated area and arrested the accused. The police also impounded their motorcycle (PB-18-R-2771). Further investigations were under progress, said the police. —TNS 

Amritsar, May 13
Three out of the five water samples collected by the District Health Department from Kot Mehna Singh area failed the test conducted by the local Government Medical College. The samples were collected after reports of the death of a 10-year-old in the area due to alleged consumption of non-potable water started coming in. The Health Department had, however, claimed that the child died due to wrong medication.

As a precautionary measure, the department distributed chlorine tablets among the residents of the area. District epidemiologist, Dr Charanjit Singh, confirmed that three of the five samples have shown bacterial contamination.

The health officials have forwarded the report to the municipal corporation (MC) authorities and asked them to furnish the details of the corrective measures undertaken by them in this regard.

The Health Department would be collecting samples from the area for the second time after a gap of 15 days to gauge the success of corrective measures, said Dr Charanjit. The area residents had earlier alleged that leakage of sewer and water supply pipes in the area resulted in the contamination of the water.

Dr Charanjit said the MC officials had been asked to find the cause of contamination. Meanwhile, the MC officials have reportedly found a few illegal water connections in the area, which had caused damage to water pipes. — TNS

Amritsar, May 13
Fuel stations in the city are vulnerable to fire accidents as is evident from the fire safety measures taken at most of these places. The city has as many as 400 petrol pumps, which are required to set up ample fire safety methods so as to tackle any mishap.

As per the norms, fuel station owners are required to arrange two fire extinguishers for each of the fuelling machines installed at the station. Most of the fuel stations do not have the required number of fire extinguishers. Besides, the attendants at these stations do not know how to operate the fire extinguishers.

The workers at these stations said fire safety drills had never been held as a result of which they were not trained to handle the situation in case of an accident. Despite banning the usage of mobile phones at petrol pumps, no such warnings are displayed at most of the fuel stations.

Not only the customers, but also the attendants of these stations are unaware of the hazards of using a mobile phone at a fuel station. As per the guidelines, the customers are required to shut down the engines of their vehicles while refuelling, but this norm is being flouted openly.

An attendant at a fuel station on the GT road said he was not aware of the instructions about the use of mobile phones and shutting down engines of vehicles. He said all he knew was to fill up the tank and collect money from the customers.

Like the fuel station owners, the oil companies and the local administration seem to have turned a blind eye towards the norms, which could lead to a mishap any time. Apart from the fire extinguishers, traditional fire-fighting equipment as sand buckets are also not available at many of the stations. Meanwhile, buckets found at some stations are empty. The local administration should take the fuel station owners to task for not acquiring a no-objection certificate from the Fire Safety Department of the MC, so that they can be forced to make the required arrangements at pumps.

Amritsar, May 13
The Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr AS Brar, presided over the oath-taking ceremony of the new students’ council at Khalsa College Public School (KCPS) here today.

While addressing the students, Brar said quality education and knowledge-based society were a panacea to all problems in society. He congratulated the council members and motivated the students to work hard and inculcate discipline in life. He encouraged them to be inquisitive and excel in their chosen fields.

Keeping in view the ever changing world, he advised them to be an all-rounder, bring laurels to their institution and be responsible as they were the future citizens of tomorrow.

The VC also honoured head boy Sahilpreet Singh, head girl Anureet Kaur, house captains, members of the advisory committee, academic prefects, discipline prefects, cultural prefects, sports prefects, literary prefect, community development prefects, magazine prefects. He also took a pledge from them that they would perform their duties sincerely for the betterment of their school. Principal of the KCPS, Dr Sarvjit Kaur Brar, was also present on the occasion.

She congratulated the members of the student council and encouraged them to put in their sincere efforts for the betterment of their alma-mater. She said the students’ council played a significant role in inculcating a sense of responsibility and belongingness along with instilling organising abilities and leadership quality among the students. She also thanked the Vice-Chancellor for sparing his valuable time.

Amritsar, May 13
A “28-day General Orientation Course-95” was inaugurated at the Academic Staff College of Guru Nanak Dev University here today. As many as 33 university and college teachers from various disciplines from all over the country are participating in the event. Prof DN Jauhar, former Vice-Chancellor, BR Ambedkar, University, Agra, was the chief guest at the inaugural session. Prof Avinash Nagpal, director, Academic Stafff College, welcomed the chief guest and others. Dr Mohan Kumar presented a vote of thanks.

Prof Jauhar in his inaugural address highlighted the aim of higher education. He said the main purpose of the education was to prepare competent professionals of diverse vocations, who could become good and responsible citizens of tomorrow.

Labelling the teachers as a creator, a custodian, a preservator, a disseminator of th knowledge, he exhorted the teaching fraternity to introspect and strive hard to live up to the expectations of not only their students, but also of society at large.

“We as teachers must consider ourselves fortunate enough because we are in a better position to repay the debt towards our society as well, which is the need of the hour,” added Prof Jauhar.

Prof Avinash Nagpal briefed the participants about the aims and objectives of the orientation course. — TNS