Amritsar, June 18
With the city reporting at least seven deaths due to hot weather, doctors have advised people to take precautions to stay healthy and avoid dehydration or a sun stroke.

According to police records, a person named Baba, a resident of UP, had died yesterday due to the heat wave. Death of another person was also reported due to heat on Monday.

The doctors have advised that people must increase their intake of water and should not forget to cover their heads with a cloth while going out in the sun.

“One must consider the temperature and should not exhaust himself in any activity. Time off from work during the afternoons can be of help,” said the Senior Medical Officer, Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon, at the Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital.

Dhillon said indigestion and diarrhoea were two of the most common problems associated with the summer season and people must change their dietary habits accordingly to stay healthy.

He added that salads, green vegetables and fruit should be added to the daily diet during this season. People should avoid alcoholic and soda drinks as they dehydrate the body.

As children are more vulnerable during the summers, the doctors have advised parents to take extra precautions. In case of diarrhoea and loose motions, they need to be examined by a medical expert, said Dr Sandeep Aggarwal, child specialist, at the Civil Hospital.

He said that children being ignorant of the hazards of hot temperature tend to play out even during mid-day.

“Parents should not allow children to play outside when the temperature is too high. Working out in the early morning and evening hours can be continued,” he said.

Dr Aggarwal said that people, especially children, should use light-coloured clothes to lessen the extent of heat their bodies were absorbing. “One should always keep a packet of ORS at home to use in case someone falls ill. It could also be made at home using sugar and salt in boiled water,” he said.

He said eating from eateries in the open and on the roadsides and unhygienic places should be avoided.

Amritsar, June 18
Passengers, tourists, visitors, commercial vendors and stall operators are irked at railway authorities as day-long power cuts were imposed on June 16 and 17 besides the erratic power cut today at the local railway station.

Long and frequent power cuts hamper routine work and put to inconvenience vendors and passengers. A pilgrim from New Delhi, Navpreet Singh, said he along with his family came to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple yesterday. He recalled that after they alighted from the train at the noon, it was very difficult to face the heat wave without ceiling fans at the railway station. He said their condition went from bad to worse with the arrival of hundreds of passengers, who waited for their trains on various platforms.

Another tourist, Hardeep Singh from Karnal, said he along with his family had arrived in Amritsar by train on Monday. He said he had to stay a little longer at the station as he had not booked any place in advance for his family’s stay.He wanted to inquire about the train connectivity to Jammu and Kashmir for his onward journey. However, during this time, his family had to suffer as water coolers installed at the railway station were dispensing hot water, ceiling fans were not working and the vendors, too, did not have cold water and soft drinks.

A stall operator, on condition of anonymity, said a majority of customers in the sweltering heat demanded chilled bottled water and soft drinks. However, day-long power cuts on Monday and Tuesday meant no cooling. There were no takers for their bottled water and soft drinks. It impacted their business. Since the LPG-run stoves and gases are prohibited at the railway station, the food vendors could not sell hot eatables to passengers, as their appliances were either power or battery-operated.

Passengers complained that they did not get hot tea and snacks at the railway station and had to go out to get these.

The situation has been similar for the first two days of the week. Under the circumstances, microwaves, automatic vending machines (AVMs), refrigerators and all electrical units did not work.

Consequently, the vendors and the shopkeepers incurred losses due to low sales. On top of it, they have to pay high rents to the railway authorities.

Assistant Electrical Engineer (AEE) Ravi Kumar said normally there was a day-long power cut on every Monday. Besides, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) snapped power supply to facilitate smooth cutting of tree branches on the GT road stretch passing in front of the railway station.

He said there was no dedicated power line for the railway station, so it was not possible to ensure 24x7 power supply.

The station currently receives power from the Kirpal sub-station through 2x750 KV transformers. On a monthly average, the power substation consumes over 3.50 lakh units of power, which is supplied to the railway station, railway quarters and allied facilities.

Amritsar, June 18
The non-working air-conditioners in the operating theatre at the local Government Medical College here are compelling doctors to perform surgeries while they sweat profusely.

The operating theatre at Government Medical College is on the top floor of the building, which makes the temperature inside the operating theatre unbearable. The hot weather especially during day time becomes extremely uncomfortable for the doctors, especially when they are wearing special suits at the time of performing surgeries.

Doctors at the college said that two doctors and a nurse had to be taken out in a semi-conscious state in the middle of a surgery, as they could not bear the high temperature.

"At the time of surgery, how can a doctor remain calm and composed when the temperature is unbearable? A sweating doctor may become a source of infection for the patient," said a doctor. Officials at the college stated that the air-conditioning plant of the operating theatre had become defunct two years ago. The college authorities said that they had written to the government to release funds for air-conditioners.

The mortuary of the college where bodies are kept for educating medical students also does not have its air-conditioner working. The bodies have to be disposed of earlier than usual for want of the refrigeration facility.

The staff and students of the college had high hopes when the local BJP MLA, Anil Joshi, was made the Minister for Medical Education and Research. However, nothing concrete came out of it. 

Amritsar, June 18
In an effort to streamline traffic chaos at the busy Bhandari Bridge, which is considered as the lifeline of the holy city, the Traffic Police has divided the road into three separate lanes for different vehicular traffic.

Bhandari Bridge connects old walled city with the rest of the city. It witnesses huge rush and traffic chaos as the people use the bridge for reaching bus stand and for going towards Jalandhar. It is also used to enter the walled city through the Hall Gate area.

Shailender Shelly, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP-traffic) said the main idea was to regulate the traffic coming from Crystal Chowk side.

“Usually the traffic moves in four to five lanes of the bridge, which leads to congestion during peak hours. We have made three lanes. Two wheelers and rickshaws will move from left lane while four-wheelers will move in the central and the right lane. We have taken this step on a trial basis. If it succeeds we will make it permanent feature,” said the ADCP, adding that, “Similar measures will be taken when we move towards the bridge from the Hall Gate side.”

The traffic police is also planning a similar arrangement at SSSS Chowk and Session Chowk. Shelly said, “We are planning to construct slip lanes for the smooth flow of traffic on these busy chowks.”

Meanwhile, traffic police officials today held a meeting with the General Manager (roadways) and Municipal Corporation officials to decongest the area around the bus stand. He said illegal encroachments and parking of heavy vehicles were basic hurdles in the smooth flow of the traffic near the interstate bus terminus. MC officials had been asked to remove encroachments and the police was also planning to make a single route entry and exit points for buses, he added.

At present buses are entering and exiting from both sides of the bus stand leading to a severe traffic congestion. 

Amritsar, June 18
The Cantonment police have booked former Councillor Vicky Kapoor, his nephew and notorious gangster Prince Kapoor, among nine persons in connection with a murderous attack on Roshan Lal, a local resident. Among others, who have been booked, include Rohit Kapoor, son of Vicky Kapoor of Jawala Estate, Amrit Kapoor, who resides near Reliance Fresh, Chheharta, and five unidentified persons.

Roshan stated to the police that the accused came on a Innova vehicle (No. PB-02-2021) and fired gun shots at him. The accused attacked him with sharp- edged weapon, which stuck his head. Roshan said Prince Kapoor was nabbed with illegal weapons a few days ago and he suspected that he was behind his arrest.

The police said a case under Sections 323, 336, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the accused. No arrests have been made so far. The police said raids were being conducted to nab the culprits. 

Amritsar, June 18
Fire at a 'godown' of a yarn unit situated in the densely populated walled city yesterday has brought to the fore the fact that many combustible items may have been stored in this way by other units, too.

Even as the walled city is a mixed-use area where residential and commercial areas co-exist, at the same time, the government agencies fail to regularise storage of merchandise, which could prove dangerous to the lives of a large number of people in case of any natural or man-made disaster.

The walled city is known for its labyrinthine road network dotted with old structures in which wood and other combustible materials have been used liberally. Shared-wall housing could prove a mammoth challenge for authorities in case a fire breaks out.

That businessmen have set up these stores in residential areas is a matter of concern. It is learnt that business people from various trades have turned residential buildings into godowns. Godowns of textiles, spices, grain and other commodities could be found in the city.

Besides, parking of vehicles in narrow by lanes in the congested areas also makes rescue work an uphill task for firemen, who are already grappling with lack of infrastructure in their department. Haphazard parking of vehicles adds to the problem, as residents park vehicles on the roads, which further congest arterial roads. This makes it tough for the rescue teams to bring heavy vehicles in to carry out rescue operations.

Narrow city roads, especially in the walled city, are facing further congestion at the hands of shopkeepers who place their merchandise on the roads.

Disaster Management Expert Surjit Sharma said all these factors were enough to delay rescue operations in case of a disaster. Besides, he said, marriage palaces and commercial buildings did not have a parking facility. 5

Traffic crawls on the roads in the centuries-old walled city and the lanes and the by lanes of unplanned localities, leading to frequent traffic jams due to illegal occupation of roads by the shopkeepers.

The movement of vehicles in the Katra Jai Mal Singh area, Chowk Farid, Bazaar Tahli Sahib, Cash Dhara Bazaar, Telephone Exchange Chowk, Shastri Market, Guru Bazaar, Katra Mohar Singh and other areas is affected badly.

A resident of Katra Bhai Sant Singh, Aman Mehra, said the traffic condition was extremely precarious in his area like other parts of the walled city. He said a majority of sweetmeat makers and others using hearths to cook eatables have placed these hearths on the roads.

Earlier, three buildings collapsed during the 2011 monsoon at Gali Laala Wali in the same locality, Tahli Wala Bazaar and Bartan Wala Bazaar.

In order to reduce vulnerability to these disasters, Sharma stressed that each household must have a plan to meet such an eventuality and suggested to the residents to keep their important documents with a known person living in a safe zone. "Insure your house and household items," he said.

Fire Station Officer Krishan Kumar Kakkar said no fire tender could reach near a house in flames on Katra Charrat Singh road since it had a narrow street. He said long water pipes were pressed to douse the flames. He accepted that his fire-fighting team had to literally struggle to clear the road of parked vehicles to initiate the rescue work.

MC Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal said the issue of storing combustible material inside the walled city would be looked into since the safety of the people was paramount. 

Amritsar, June 18
Five months have elapsed since the local Municipal Town Planning Department (MTP) had issued notices to illegal hotels, guest houses and inns, located close to the Galliara Project area around the Golden Temple, to comply with the norms and demolish illegal parts of their structures. But no action has been taken by the defaulters in this connection so far.

On January 23, the Senior Town Planner (STP) had issued the orders to the proprietors of these buildings to make necessary amendments in the structures as per the norms and demolish the illegal parts within six months. The STP has served yet another reminder to the defaulters and warned them of strict action in case they failed to do so within the stipulated period.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had also issued directions to constitute a three-member panel to probe into the illegal hotels, guest houses and inns around the Darbar Sahib.

The orders were issued following a special personal hearing session conducted by the MC with the hoteliers under the banner of the Federation of Hotel and Guest Houses, held on different dates, till January this year. After scrutinising various records, scores of these commercial units were found violating the Municipal Building Bylaws 1997 and Revised Building Bylaws of 2010. A separate list of violations and discrepancies, which were in existence, has been prepared by the MC and the same was displayed on the notice board of the MTP, Amritsar.

However, the owners of illegal hotels, inns and guest houses had contended that a majority of these buildings fall under the non-scheme area that allowed its mixed use of land. Further, they pointed out that the prevalent municipal building bylaws, implemented to control the growing urbanisation of the city, could not be applied to the existing buildings within the walled city area. These bylaws were more appropriate for modern style of construction, which was in total contrast to the historical and ancient style. Therefore, it could be suitable to the building bylaws prevalent before 1997.

They had appealed to the Local Bodies Ministry to frame a policy for regularisation of these units as the existing lodging and boarding arrangements available at present in the holy city were not enough to accommodate pilgrims, tourists, businessmen, if these establishments around the Golden Temple were made un-operational.

Amritsar, June 18
The farmers held a protest outside the office of Power Corporation to demand at least 16 hours of power supply for tubewells during the current paddy season. The protest was organised by Kirti Kisan Union (KKU). The farmers demanded 16-hour power for tubewells and 24-hour power for domestic connections.

State vice-president of the KKU, Datar Singh, said the government should provide tubewell connections to farmers with a land holding of less than five acres at its own cost. He said defunct and stolen transformers should be changed within 24 hours of the incident so that farmers could irrigate their crops without any disruption.

He said farm houses in the state should be connected with 24-hour power supply. The government should refrain from any move to increase power tariff, he added.

Datar said farmers should be allowed to increase power loads of their connections at a fee of Rs 1,200 per horse power. 

Amritsar, June 18
The Health Department is facing paucity of funds for the past one month to run Mata Kaushalya Kalyan Yojana, a scheme launched by the state government to promote institutional deliveries.

The pregnant woman opting for delivery of child at government health institutions in the state are paid Rs 1,000 as award. With the department having no funds to pay under the scheme, the beneficiaries are not able to avail the facility.

All government health institutions in the state collectively perform around 1,000 child deliveries every month. Officials at these government hospitals stated that the patients and their families generally don't believe when they are told that funds under the scheme have exhausted.

"Some people get rude as they perceive that hospital staff is not giving the cheque, which has been sent by the government. It is very embarrassing for the staff," said a doctor pleading anonymity.

Apart from Mata Kaushalya Kalyan Yojana, every pregnant women from a below poverty line (BPL) family is given Rs 600 under Janani Suraksha Yojna (JSY) run by National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

The Health Department employees said the JSY was running efficiently, but it was hard to convince the beneficiaries when they were handed a cheque for Rs 600 instead of Rs 1,600.

"The people generally accuse employees as they feel that they are the ones who are not paying the full amount," said another health employee.

Meanwhile, District Health and Family Welfare Officer, Dr Ranjit Singh Buttar, said the money would be disbursed to the beneficiaries as soon as they receive the funds. He said they had been informed that funds would be delivered within few days.