Future of Sehat Bima Yojna in doldrums
Amritsar, June 19
The below poverty line families are confused over the future of the ambitious Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojna, launched in November last year, as instead of distributing smart cards to the beneficiaries, the government has asked respective deputy medical commissioners to take them back from health centres.

Amritsar, June 19
To strengthen the beat foot-patrolling system and tighten the noose around drug peddlers, the city police have merged the PCR teams with the beat system.

Around 1,100 policemen will be involved in this system which, in addition to their duties, will also prepare a list of drug addicts in a particular area. Senior police officials have been holding meetings with the policemen deputed in the new-look beat foot-patrolling system to apprise them about the duties they will be performing.

Earlier, there used to be only a few policemen called beat officials who used to patrol their areas. But with the merging of the beat system with the PCR teams, they will have at least 10 policemen at their disposal, said Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh. Beat officials are attached with six policemen of PCR teams who will be supervised by an ASI-rank official in the police station concerned.

Parampal Singh, ADCP city-I, while giving more details said a front desk was also being set up on which two newly recruited policewomen would also be involved. The policemen would be stationed at each beat box where people can directly approach them in case of any problem. These policemen would further contact their seniors, depending on the need. "Besides 98 beat boxes or cabins, we are also providing them with wireless sets," he added.

He said SHOs of various police stations had been asked to contact the 12-member committee of prominent residents formed in every beat for selecting a place as a halt point where these beat cabins would be set up. The most vulnerable points would be made halt points where the PCR teams would remain present round the clock.

“These beat cabins would act like 'mini police stations' and help in handing crime and drug abuse in a better way,” he said while adding that policemen had been asked to prepare a list of drug addicts with the help of 12-member committees, so that they could be motivated and admitted in de-addiction centres where they could be weaned away from drugs.

The beat foot-patrolling system was introduced by Aulakh in November to curb the rising crime rate in the city, especially the rampant drug peddling and petty crimes such as snatchings. However, the system soon became redundant as a majority of policemen remained busy in VIP duties and other jobs other than beat patrolling. Now the system has been given a new push. 

Amritsar, June 19
With a host of development projects lined up to turn Amritsar railway station into a world-class facility, the Railway headquarters in New Delhi, known as Baroda House, has approved the installation of a power hotline (special feeder), ensuring uninterrupted power supply to the railway station.

The Ferozepur division, which administers railway stations in parts of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, has got the approval, said Assistant Electrical Engineer (AEE) Ravi Kumar. The division will release about Rs 28 lakh to be deposited with the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

Kumar said since the estimated cost of the hotline was calculated about three years ago, it may face cost overruns but that would not be an issue.

Consumer and passenger services at Amritsar railway station are badly affected due to unscheduled power cuts. With services like the escalator, the food plaza and others besides expected to be operational soon, continuous power supply will become essential.

According to the established procedure in the railways, estimates for the power hotline were obtained from the PSPCL and the demand was forwarded to the Railway headquarters. The hotline project of Amritsar railway station has been approved by the Chief Electrical Engineer in New Delhi. The facility is expected to resolve the fluctuation problem, power cuts and means lower expenses on diesel.

At present, the local railway station receives power supply from the Kirpal substation through 2x750 kw 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.

At present, Amritsar railway station has an alternative power facility in two 250 kw generators and these are used to feed only essential services at the station during power failure.

The Railway Ministry proposed to develop Amritsar railway station into a world-class facility in the 2009 Railway Budget. Currently, work on the installation of an escalator on platform number one is underway while the Food plaza is expected to be opened soon.

Earlier, a private consultant was hired to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) on providing state-of-the-art facilities at the railway station and the funds were to be provided by the Union Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Railways. The Tourism Ministry has provided a grant of Rs 10.28 crore for the project. According to the plan, the railway station will have a retiring room, a VIP lounge, a waiting room, a waiting hall, a parking area and a 'circulating' area.

Keeping in view the multifarious activities at the railway station, power consumption is anticipated to rise and many essential services required continuous supply. 

Amritsar, June 19
With monsoon approaching, the Municipal Town Planning Department has decided to revive its drive to get the unsafe and dilapidated structures either vacated or repaired from next week.

Senior Town Planner Hemant Batra said his department was aware of the matter and its urgency. He said teams would be set up to initiate the drive, adding that the department had already identified unsafe structures in the walled-city area and had started the process last year. Under the drive, the occupants would be told to repair the buildings which could be saved. Otherwise, people would be evicted from unsafe buildings.

As many as 136 such crumbling structures, both residential and commercial, had been declared unsafe. The exercise would be initiated as a preventive measure prior to the monsoon as a number of such buildings had collapsed due to rains in the past and claimed over a dozen lives.

A majority of these old and rickety buildings were in the walled city, a densely populated area of the city. In the past, many precious lives had been lost due to a few buildings collapsing in the rainy season. These buildings not only caused disaster for their occupants, but put the lives of those living in the adjoining buildings in danger.

The Local Body Department has identified unsafe, a century-old dilapidated structures and started the process of issuing notices to the occupants last year.

The occupants of these buildings were served notices to either get their dilapidated structure repaired or vacate these buildings to move to a safe place. Those who could not fulfil these conditions on their own had been told to approach the district administration, so that an alternative arrangement for their stay could be made on a temporary basis.

However, Batra categorically said that his department did not have any means, resources and even a plan to rehabilitate the economically weak persons, occupying unsafe houses.

Last year, the MTP had demolished some buildings in Dholi Mohalla on the Sultanwind road, Maini Chowk in Lakshmansar and Tabela Jagatram in the Namak Mandi areas.

Another cause of concern is that a substantial number of these dilapidated structures are situated in the narrow lanes. In case of any disaster, it will be very difficult to carry out rescue operations.

Many old buildings had collapsed during a downpour and caused several deaths in the past few monsoons. Hundreds of such old dilapidated buildings can be spotted in areas like Ghee Mandi, Dharam Singh Market, Katra Ahluwalia Bazaar, Guru Bazaar, Pratap Bazaar, Cheel Mandi, Ghantagarh, Haveli Zamadara and around the Golden Temple.

Amritsar, June 19
Months after a local Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) lodged an FIR against her husband and in-laws for allegedly demanding dowry, physically assaulting and mentally harassing her, a police inquiry found her allegations false.

The probe conducted by an ADCP-rank official pointed out that her allegations could not be proved during the investigations and her in-laws were not found guilty. Nivedita Kapoor had lodged a complaint with the police that her in-laws used to harass her for bringing insufficient dowry and subjected her to cruelty. She was posted at Rayya at the time of lodging the complaint.

The Civil Lines police registered a case against her husband and in-laws following an inquiry conducted by an ADCP-rank official, who had recommended that a case be registered. Among those who were booked included her husband, Sahil Kapoor, father-in-law, Varinder Kapoor, and mother-in-law, Nigam Kapoor.

However, they had refuted all charges and approached the city police for seeking a fresh probe into the matter. Sahil Kapoor’s family had demanded an impartial probe into the matter, claiming that Nivedita lodged an FIR using her influence. The Police Commissioner handed over the probe to another ADCP, city-II.

The inquiry report, the copy of which is with The Tribune, pointed out that Sahil (husband of Nivedita) and his family members could not be held guilty in the case. It added that Nivedita used to live with her husband and in-laws when she got the FIR registered after producing wrong facts.

As per the report, the CDPO shied away from domestic work, which was the root cause behind the dispute. She had also filed a case of domestic violence in a local court.

The family members have now urged for the cancellation of the FIR registered against them.

“As the ADCP rank official has cleared us from the baseless charges levelled by Nivedita, we urge the police authorities to cancel the FIR,” said Virender Kapoor.

Amritsar, June 19
Conducting a class of 35 theatre amateurs and enthusiasts, Kolkata-based theatre director and choreographer, Partha Banerjee, is critical of the slightest gaze, raising an eyebrow or a gesture by hand. The noted theatre director and expert on theatrical body movements is in Amritsar for a month-long workshop at Virsa Vihar.

Banerjee, a graduate from the National School of Drama, New Delhi, of the 1988 batch, is known for movement productions, making use of body movements and expressions rather than words for his plays. “Expressions are very important theatrical tools, not the spoken word,” he says. Adapting Shakespeare’s plays into mime and movement plays, Banerjee is teaching specialised acting and body movements to theatre freshers here. Getting them ready for his production based on Shakepspeare’s "The Tempest," Banerjee hopes to play on the dark elements in the play for a strong stage performance.

“The Tempest" is one of the critical plays by Shakepseare, known for its supernatural and destructive elements; its mysterious, dark characters afford scope for experimentation and expressive movements. It’s going to be an elaborate production given the costumes and set designs, the drama and the acting,” he says.

Banerjee, having studied mime and movement in France, is one of the country’s popular mime and movement artist. He has studied body movement under international experts like Marcel Marceau, French mime artiste and actor known for his stage persona, "Bip the Clown". Believing in his mentor’s philosophy that mime is the art of silence, Banerjee has directed many plays like "Urubhangam", "Sindhu Nader Prahari", "Marry Farrer", "Ganesh Mahima" and took part as a choreographer in many plays.

A regular on Amritsar’s theatre scene, Banerjee is impressed by the quality of students and theatre enthusiasts here. Says he, “Students come from various small towns of Punjab. They are a spirited bunch with high energy and are quite hard working. I am impressed with the understanding of theatre and its aspects in this region because the resources of theatre education are quite good here.” 

Amritsar, June 19
The below poverty line families are confused over the future of the ambitious Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojna, launched in November last year, as instead of distributing smart cards to the beneficiaries, the government has asked respective deputy medical commissioners to take them back from health centres.

The District Health Department had released around 1.04 lakh smart cards for the identified beneficiaries of the scheme in February end. However, as the election code of conduct had come into force in the first week of the March, the local authorities could distribute only 41,000 cards to the beneficiaries.

The remaining cards are still in the custody of employees, who were deployed to distribute these. A new letter issued by the state government has asked the district health authorities to collect all the cards.

“After the elections were over, the employees were to be issued instructions to distribute these smart cards, which were in their custody. On the contrary, orders have been given to collect these cards giving rise to rumours that the scheme will soon be withdrawn,” said a senior official.

Under the scheme, the beneficiaries were issued smart cards, which entitled every family to free medical services up to an expense of Rs 30,000. Each beneficiary had to pay a premium of Rs 30 for availing the card.

The state government had initiated the scheme on the pattern of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), a scheme of the Central government for the BPL families. However, as the RSBY scheme had identified BPL families on the basis of the 2001 census, it was felt that many of such families were left out from the ambit of the benefit.

In the parallel Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojna, the state government decided to extend the benefit to all the 1.04 lakh families availing the Atta-Dal Scheme in district.

Deputy Medical Commissioner, Dr Prabhdeep Kaur, said, “The beneficiaries, who received cards, have started availing the facilities. We are only taking back the cards, which were not distributed. These will be distributed among the beneficiaries as soon as fresh instructions are received.” 

Amritsar, June 19
A student of FIIT-JEE, Amritsar centre, Saksham Sharma, has bagged All-India rank of 138 in the JEE (Advanced). The result of the joint entrance examination (JEE) for entry to the country’s top engineering colleges was announced today.

“Making to the IITs is almost everybody’s dream. The fact is that I have done it is yet to sink in completely. I owe my success to all my teachers as well as mentors at the FIITJEE, who not only coached me, but also nurtured me to think beyond my weaknesses,” said Saksham.

Considered city’s topper, Saksham had enrolled in four-year classroom programme at Amritsar center. He is studying at the centre since was as student of Class VIII.

In the first round of the JEE held on April 6, 1.5 lakh students were shortlisted, out of which around 1.25 lakh later appeared in the JEE-Advanced on June 25 to compete for the 10,000 IIT seats.

Selection to other engineering colleges will be done on the basis of a cumulative normalised score of 40 per cent of the marks a student secures in the X+II board and 60 per cent of marks obtained in the JEE-Main.

Amritsar, June 19
The food safety wing of the Health Department collected 15 food samples from various ice cream factories and dairy shops in view of the increased demand of the products during the summer season.

District Health Officer, Dr Shivkaran Singh Kahlon, said they had received complaints that poor quality ice creams were being sold in the city after which they had initiated a drive to check the ice cream factories.

He said samples were collected from the premises of Kartik Ice Cream factory, Dolphin Ice Cream factory and A One Kulfa shop. The milk samples were collected from Sardar Dairy, Sharma Dairy and Nijjer Dairy.

Earlier, the department had collected samples of ice cream from four shops in May this year. Kahlon said the test reports of the samples sent earlier would be received soon.

The department has warned ice cream manufacturers against indulging in any unfair means to meet the increased demand, said Kahlon, adding that strict action would be taken against the shopkeepers if any of the samples failed on quality parameters. 

Amritsar, June 19
While inaugurating the new office of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Cabinet Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Information Technology, Adesh Pratap Singh Kairon, stressed on the need to set up consumer awareness groups.

He urged the residents to set up voluntary organisations to creat awareness about consumer rights.

“The Consumer Affairs Department will provide every kind of help to the groups, which are ready to work for increasing awareness among the masses,” said Kairon Kairon announced the air conditioning of the office complex, besides construction of a conference hall.

Punjab Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission president Gurdev Singh, Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, DS Grewal, Director, Satwant Singh Johal, HS Dhaliwal and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

Amritsar, June 19
A delegation of the Punjab Property Dealers Association (Majha Zone) submitted a memorandum to Naib Tehsildar Parveen Chibber at the court complex here today. The memorandum was addressed to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal seeking reforms in the property transactions to revive the real estate business in the state.

Sanjiv Rampal of the association said his union sought abolition of the newly introduced system of no objection certificates (NOCs) without which the property could not be registered. He demanded abolition of two per cent fee on the power of attorney.

He said these change of norms had reduced the property transactions manifold. Hence, it resulted in losses to the government and business of property dealers, deed writers and others. — TNS