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MC seeks clearance from shopkeepers
3-tier security arrangements around counting centres
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MC begins drive to change supply pipes to homes
Heroin worth Rs 30 cr seized in Tarn Taran
2 youths killed in road mishap
No takers for premium Nanded train
Hotels go in for seasonal decor, menu changes
Four varsity students clear UGC NET
Illegal shops encroach on GT Road
21-day refresher course at GNDU
Play, dance mark Vidya Mandir annual function
Jail bursting at seams; skin diseases spread
Placement drive at Guru Nanak varsity
Fake policemen flee with car
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Heritage-look project around Golden Temple Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service
Amritsar, May 15 When approached, Estate Officer Shamim Ahmad of the Punjab Wakf Board, a department of the Punjab government's Ministry of Home Affairs and Justice, said the board was getting a monthly rent of about Rs 70,000 from the 33 shops. He said his office did not receive any communication from the MC seeking permission for painting all these buildings in a single colour. He said legally the MC should have asked the board, instead of many of its lessees. He added a majority of them have been occupying the commercial spaces before Partition. The board has got three pre-Partition era mosques inside the Hall Gate. These are Masjid Khairrudin, Masjid Sikandar Khan and Masjid Jaan Mohammad. MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said the invitation to take part in the consultations was for everybody who had commercial and residential units on the main road leading to the Golden Temple. He added that he would post a letter in this connection to the Punjab Wakf Board as well. He elaborated that though the total cost of the project was about Rs 55 crore, initially the consultancy firm forwarded a demand for Rs 38 crore. A Union Government-funded project of the MC has begun the exercise to bring in uniformity in the facade of the structures, a majority of them commercial, on the lines of Lucknow's Hazrat Ganj which is painted in a single colour. Mumbai-based Darashaw Consultancy Private Limited has already prepared a detailed project report (DPR) to paint the approach and exit roads to the Golden Temple with a single colour and similar, attractive and equal-sized signboards will be put up to streamline the exterior of buildings and shops falling on the path. Besides, the mesh of loose open wires hanging on the road will be put into a duct. The DPR with an estimated cost of Rs 55 crore was forwarded to the Ministry of Tourism. The project is expected to be finished by mid-2015, he said. He said a preliminary round of discussions with associations of shopkeepers had taken place. Now five teams had been constituted to visit each shop and residence of over the stretch to get their NOCs from May 17. He made it clear that NOCs in no way did it interfere with the ownership of these buildings but to beautify the facade. Kharbanda said, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) was funding the project. He added that the MC was coordinating with different departments since several departments were involved in the project while the Torusim Department was the administrative authority. He said Secretary, Tourism, had already held meetings with the engineering branch heads of the BSNL, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, Street Lights, Cable Network, Water and Sewerage Supply Board, Connect and other companies whose wires were hanging on the stretch of the road. He said these wires could also be placed underground. All these departments were now submitting the estimated cost of this exercise to the MC which will hand it over to the Trousim Department for sanctioning. Kharbanda elaborated that in all 12 power transformers were identified obstructing the footpath on the stretch of the road. All these transformers would be relocated to the nearby internal roads. Being a mixed-use project, storm water drains, open plazas, facade-cleaning and hanging cables will be placed underground and conservation of heritage structures on the route to the Golden Temple will also be undertaken. Besides, walkways on either side of the road will be raised for pedestrians. En-route the buildings displaying Sikh architecture will be restored.
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3-tier security arrangements around counting centres
Amritsar, May 15 While giving details, they said the parking
of vehicles would be allowed outside the 100-meter periphery of the centre and nobody would be allowed to take and use mobile phones inside the centres except authorised officials. They said the counting agents who would be allowed entry in the centres were issued identity cards and without these IDs no one would be allowed to enter the premises. They said Section144, CrPc, had been imposed in the 500-metre periphery of the counting centres and not more than four persons would be allowed to gather near the centre. They asked the administration to make suitable arrangements for sending the officials to the two centres. Ravi Bhagat, Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer, said that live updates on the counting of votes would be given on FM radio and cable television while a media centre has been put up at Government Senior Secondary School at
Mall road. At the Khalsa College counting centre, the counting of votes of Assembly constituencies of Attari, Amritsar South, Amritsar West, Amritsar Central, Amritsar East and Majitha would be held. Similarly, at
GMC the counting of votes of Amritsar North, Rajasansi and Ajnala Assembly constituencies would be held. The Police Department has also made elaborate arrangements in view of the security with around 2,000 cops having been deputed. Jatinder Singh Aulakh, Police Commissioner, said regular patrolling would be done in the city
while special nakabandi would also be held at designated places in order to prevent any untoward incident during the counting process.
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Contaminated Water Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service
Amritsar, May 15 The drive was initiated after the death of a 10-year-old allegedly due to consumption of contaminated water supply in the Kot Mehna Singh area was reported. Even as the Health Department had claimed that the child had died due to wrong medication, the test reports of water samples collected from the area had established that water with bacterial contamination was being supplied in the area. Following the incident, the MC had taken action and unplugged at least 14 water connections which were stated to be a cause of water contamination. Jaswinder Singh said, “The water supply pipes have a short life as they are buried in soil. According to the provisions of the MC, a resident can get these changed with prior permission of the authority.” He said the water consumers were duty-bound to check the condition of the connecting pipes to their homes on a regular basis. “We have found that water supply pipes to homes which are more than 10 years old have started rotting, causing contamination. All these pipes are required to be changed,” he said, adding that persons desirous of availing themselves of permission must get in touch with the Water Supply Department.
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Heroin worth Rs 30 cr seized in Tarn Taran
Amritsar, May 15 Giving details, Manmohan Singh, AIG, Counter Intelligence, said Kuldeep’s name figured during the interrogation of the four accused who were arrested by the police with 22 kg of heroin on April 26. Following the tip-off provided by them, Kuldeep was brought on production warrant. His interrogation led to the recovery of six kg of heroin from his village. He said a separate case under Sections 21/29/61/85, NDPS Act, had been registered in police station SSOC Amritsar. A preliminary questioning of Kuldeep has revealed that he was in touch with Pakistan-based heroin smugglers and some notorious Indian smugglers since 2012. The seized consignment of heroin was retrieved by the accused and his associates in August/September 2013 from the Ferozepore sector but he was unable to dispose of the same as some members of the gang were arrested by the police. The police official said the arrested person would be produced in court where police remand to question him thoroughly would be sought.
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2 youths killed in road mishap
Amritsar, May 15 The deceased were identified as Gurpreet Singh of Gaggomahal and Arshdeep Singh of Galib village while Lovepreet Singh and Angrej Singh of Gaggomahal were seriously injured in the incident. According to information, the four youths were returning home from school on a motorcycle when they tried to overtake a tractor-trailor and collided with a truck coming from the opposite side.
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No takers for premium Nanded train
Amritsar, May 15 A city resident, Harwinder Singh, held the Railways responsible for failing to popularise the train among the passengers. He said its adequate publicity was not done and a majority of the passengers knew only about daily train connecting Amritsar and Nanded. Shamsher Singh, a resident of Rani ka Bagh, said another big flaw was that the reservation and tickets could be obtained only through website. He said a majority of the passengers were unaware of the fact that the tickets could be booked online only. Only 52 tickets were booked
for the yesterday train, added Sahmsher. Railway officials on the condition of anonymity said there were only 36 reservations in the inaugural run of the train on May 7. They said since the train was being run by the IRCTC, tickets could not be procured from local reservation counters. They said there were
792 seats in the weekly premium train with 11 sleeper coaches. The premium train offers sleeper, second AC and third AC each costing Rs 975, Rs 2,975 and Rs 2,140, respectively.
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Hotels go in for seasonal decor, menu changes
Amritsar, May 15 For starters, change is not just about pleasing the customer but a survival strategy. "Most people are quite well-travelled and want something diferent on the plate every time. The makeover becomes necessary given that the guests are now spoilt for choice," says Shashi, General Manger, Country Inn. Coming up with a summer menu, the Country Inn has opened its rooftop restaurant space and pool side. Cafe Oz, another concept Australian food chain in city, is also doing up its decor and menu for the season. "Contrary to the specific food menu earlier, we have come up with an elaborate food menu now also innovating with the bar menu," says Shyam Prajapati, F&B manager, Cafe Oz. Their casual decor too is in for a change with brand new interiors. Experimenting with fusion food, global cusines like the Lebanese, the Thai, the Morrocon and the mediterranean are being coupled with Indian specialities. City-based entreprenuers Aarti Khanna and Payal, owners of Kobe Sizzlers, agree that change has become a necessity in hospitality industry. "One has to keep adapting to the market needs, especially concept-based restuarants. The changes keep it interesting for the guests as well giving them an opportunity to try out various new additions and help expand business opportunities as well," says Khanna. The duo was recently felicitated by AHARA for being the the only succesful women entreprenuers in Amritsar's food and hospitality industry. In its seven years of existence, Kobe too has gone in for several changes, from turning a sizzler-specific joint to a multi-cuisine restaurant. "We have always experimented with our interiors as well. Earlier we painted our walls blank so the customers would scribble their remarks on them. Now, we have a more subtle decor," says Khanna.
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Four varsity students clear UGC NET
Amritsar, May 15 Dr Daljit Singh Arora, director, All India Services Pre-examinations Training Centre and Centre
of Preparation for Competitive Examinations, said Jasvir Singh, Neetu and Beyant Singh cleared the UGC exam in Punjabi, while Amarbir Singh cleared the exam in commerce.
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Illegal shops encroach on GT Road
Amritsar, May 15 A social activist, Prabodh Chander Bali, said, “Almost all of the area under the elevated road is undeveloped throughout the stretch, which is an open invitation to the encroachers. So many thatched huts, shops, parking lots and workshops to repair trucks and buses have come up everywhere under the elevated road. The situation has gone from bad to worse under the ramp, which ends in front of Pingalwara. This is the busiest point and has maximum inflow of traffic. Tyre puncture repair shops have encroached upon the land at this point and installed repair machinery, which leads to traffic jams.” “As soon as a tyre of a heavy truck or bus goes flat, it is parked right in front these repair shops on the main GT road without any fear of law,” added Bali. The width of the road has become so narrow that the normal traffic cannot pass with ease and a kilometer-long jam has become a permanent feature of this point. Cold drink vendors also park their vehicles for distribution of their product among the shops at this spot. The stretch under the elevated road was to be developed as green belt by the Municipal Corporation, Amritsar. The fact was disclosed by the MCA under the RTI that a contract of Rs 2.50 crore was given to Behet Hortivision Pvt Ltd, Noida, for carrying out the work. However, not even a single plantation drive has been carried out even after the opening of the elevated road so many years ago. When contacted, Municipal Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said, “Since the matter has been brought to his notice, he will get in touch with the officials concerned to get the illegal shops and their belongings removed from the place.” The Commissioner said he would also look into the papers to ascertain when the work on green carpeting was to be started.
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pure sciences Tribune News Service
Amritsar, May 15 GNDU Vice-Chancellor (VC) AS Brar was the chief guest at the inaugural session. In his inaugural address he talked about the unprecedented advancements in the field of pure sciences, which had taken place all over the world in the last few decades. He urged the teachers, especially of the university, to make optimum use of all modern gadgets to carry out authentic and quality research. The VC also discussed various flaws and shortcomings in the education system, particularly in the field of higher learning. To inculcate inquisitive and innovative habits in the minds of students and to develop their intellectual capabilities was the need of the hour, added the VC. Teachers must always keep their minds open to learning, enhancement and augmentation of their knowledge by interacting not only with the faculty members, but also with their students, said Brar. Prof Lovleen Grover, head, Department of Mathematics and course coordinator, briefed the participants about the thrust area of the course. While emphasising the significant role of the pure sciences in the development of the modern technology, Prof Grover said, “The exploration of new avenues in the field of inter-disciplinary teaching and research of these three components of basic sciences is the main objective for the course.” Prof Avinash Nagpal, director, Academic Staff College, welcomed the chief guest and other participants.
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Play, dance mark Vidya Mandir annual function
Amritsar, May 15 Citizen Forum Vidya Mandir was adopted by Punarjyot, an offshoot
of Spring Dale Educational Society, under the project Umeed. The programme was staged in two parts. The first comprised eight dance sequences, including those from different states of India. A play titled ‘Parivartan Kitna Aavashyak’ was staged in the second part of the
programme. Through the medium of a water boy, who is over zealous to see a change in himself and thus approaches the sun, the air, a mountain, a river and a fish for help, but is appalled to see high levels of pollution in water bodies in the urban areas, the students urged the audience to take a pledge to prevent destruction of the aquifers to help keep the ‘elixir of life’ clean. Dr Kirat Sandhu Cheema, director, Punarjyot, said project Umeed was initiated by her late parents Dr Shivinder Singh Sandhu and Manveen Sandhu to enable children of the underprivileged families of the Maqboolpura area recover from the ravages of drug addiction and find a respectable place for themselves in society. The parents of the students and other well-wishers had chipped in monetarily, said Dr Cheema, adding that the teachers of the institution had done their bit for the underprivileged children at Maqboolpura by contributing their time and effort. “The project has progressed considerably in the past few years due to the collaboration of Spring Dale Senior School, Spring Blossoms School and the Citizens’ Forum. Besides providing the students of Citizen Forum Vidya Mandir with free books, bags and school uniforms, we also provide them ample opportunities to excel in co-curricular activities to find an equal footing with their peers studying in other schools. This function is an expression of that endeavour,” said Cheema. Apart from the school staff, Sahiljit Singh Sandhu, director, Spring Dale Educational Society, was also present on the occasion.
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Jail bursting at seams; skin diseases spread
Amritsar, May 15 Recently, doctors from the Skin Department from Guru Nanak Dev Hospital visited the Central Jail and recommended for en masse treatment of all the prisoners along with the jail staff. It is pertinent to mention here that there are 4,400 inmates currently living in the jail against its capacity of 1,600. Perturbed over this, former Punjab Health Minister and member Punjab State Legal Services Authority had recently written to the Chief Justice Punjab and Haryana High Court to form a panel to look into the pathetic conditions in which the inmates were living, adding that they were forced to sleep on floors in absence of cots. Due to overcrowding, the physical contact of the inmates is unavoidable due to which the skin disease is spreading at an alarming rate. A doctor from the Skin Department while preferring not to be named said they recommend en masse treatment whenever their team visited the jail premises. “Actually, the unhygienic conditions inside the jail, is leading to the spread of skin diseases and they require treatment en masse. If a prisoner fails to take a proper medication, it will result in spreading of the disease,” said the doctor. Dr Amritpal Singh, Medical Officer in the jail, said proper treatment was being given to inmates, who were found infected with the fungal infection or any other skin disease. RK Sharma, Superintendent of the Amritsar Central Jail, while admitting the problem, said overcrowding in the barracks aggravated the spread of disease. He said any inmate found suffering from skin ailment was separated from others so that the disease could be contained.
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Admn fails to end burning of stubble
Amritsar, May 15 However, as the administration has failed to take notice of the blatant act at this stage, it will surely encourage others to follow the same path. “Any early action against the guilty may prove a deterrent for others. Instead of doing a face-saving at a later stage, the administration must act to implement the ban in true sense,” said Joginder Singh, a retired college teacher. The burning of stubble in fields is harmful to the health of the soil as well as general public. The smoke in the air is troublesome for patients with breathing problems. The Punjab and Haryana High Court too had earlier imposed a blanket ban on burning crop residue in fields after harvesting. The farmers reasoned that they resort to burning of stubble to prepare the fields for the next crop as they have no other alternative. The burning of crop residue during the previous years had caused a number of accidents as the drivers’ visibility was hindered by the smoke cover on roads, besides fields which were burning. There were reports of trees along the fields catching fire. Rakesh Chand, a senior citizen said, “The administration should try to persuade farmers, but if somebody is not ready to listen he must be taken to task to set an example for others.” He said instead of registering a few cases, when most of the fields are already burnt, the administration must act before it is too late.
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Placement drive at Guru Nanak varsity
Amritsar, May 15 Major multinationals like the TCS, Capgemini, Tech Mahindra, Amdocs, Software AG, Trident, Donear, Ranbaxy and many others have already conducted recruitment drives for students of various courses in GNDU, who will be passing out in June this year. Active participation of students, academic input by the faculty and infrastructure input by the university authorities are the main reasons behind these placements. Many reputed food companies recruited food technology students, who passed out this year. Food brands like the ITC, Nestle, Vadilal offered lucrative jobs to these students.
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Fake policemen flee with car
Amritsar, May 15 He said he was sitting in the car, when a man wearing a police uniform came to him and said he was driving a stolen car. He asked him to come out of the car for checking documents. The accused sent Rajinder to another person, who was also wearing police uniform and sitting in a car. Rajinder said when he went to him, the first accused took away his car. The second accused asked him to reach Sadar police station to get the documents verified and for further investigations. Rajinder said when he along with his brother went to the Sadar police station they neither found the car nor the two policemen. The Civil Lines police have registered a case under Sections 171, 379 of the IPC on the statement of Rajinder Singh.
— TNS
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