Nehru Shopping Complex becomes garbage dumping site; blame game ensues 
Amritsar, August 18
The Municipal Corporation has failed to streamline the garbage collection system after the private firm engaged for the job pulled out of the contract. MC employees also set heaps of garbage ablaze posing a health hazard to the residents.



Heaps of garbage piled up in the Nehru Shopping Complex area in Amritsar. Photo: RK Soni

Guru Nanak Dev University concedes demands of non-teaching staff
Amritsar, August 18
Prof AS Brar, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, has conceded various demands of the non-teaching employees.

Amritsar, August 18
Owing to lack of funds for the repairs of old vehicles at Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) Hospital, the institute is managing without an ambulance for the past four years.

Two old ambulances bearing registration numbers PB-06-3286 and PB-02E-9803 can be seen standing under a shed inside the hospital premises. Time has taken its toll on the condition of the two vehicles.

Sources at the hospital said in case a patient needs to be transferred to another hospital in an emergency situation, the hospital does not have a vehicle of its own.

As an ambulance is a basic necessity for any hospital, the absence of any such vehicle at ESI hospital shows the apathy of the government in managing medical services.

Even small nursing homes have this facility to transport patients in emergency conditions, said an employee. ESI Hospital has almost 32,000 beneficiary card holders whose families are entitled to get service from the hospital.

Patients rue that even as monthly deductions are made from their salaries to fund their treatment under Employees State Insurance Scheme, the government is not keen on improving services for them.

“The hospital is facing shortage of funds for running various schemes, including free kitchen and ambulance services. The government must release funds for the hospital on priority so that condition of the hospital is improved,” said Balkar Singh, an attendant of a patient.

Officials said they had raised the issue of non-functional ambulances on various occasion. The matter was also raised during an inspection by director general, ESI, Anil Aggarwal, and other senior officials.

The director general has assured the hospital authorities of taking up the matter with the government to get the funds released.

Amritsar, August 18
The wall of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital has allegedly been broken to make the passage for the nearby shopkeepers. Earlier, the hospital authorities have repeatedly got the wall mended to stop illegal entry.

The hospital authorities had reported many instances of theft. Such sneaking points make the entry of miscreants easy in the hospital without attracting the attention of the security staff.

The nearby shopkeepers stated that the passage has been made just to help the patients and their attendants who come to the shops repeatedly to buy medicines and other goods.

However, the shopkeepers feigned ignorance about the person who had broken the wall. The hospital authorities have got a revolving iron gate installed to legalise the entry.

A hospital employee pleading anonymity said, “The shopkeepers make such attempts as they feel that a customer coming through the main entrance would buy goods from the shops which come first. They think that less customers would come to the shops at the tail of the market, so they break the wall to create shortcuts.”

As the hospital is already facing shortage of security staff, such illegal passages can be used by the miscreants. The acts of misuse of hospital premises by the drug addicts for inhaling contrabands have often been reported. “The wall should be repaired and all such illegal entries should be sealed,” said a doctor. 

Amritsar, August 18
The Municipal Corporation has failed to streamline the garbage collection system after the private firm engaged for the job pulled out of the contract. MC employees also set heaps of garbage ablaze posing a health hazard to the residents.

Lack of coordination between the MC and the Improvement Trust is taking a toll on the garbage collection system in the city.

The reason is that the private contractors engaged by the MC don’t care two hoots to lift the garbage from the areas that fall under the Improvement Trust scheme.

As a result heaps of garbage are dumped in the posh Nehru Shopping Complex on the Lawrence Road. The garbage heaps can be spotted even in the parking lots.

In the absence of garbage lifting, the sweepers here do not refrain from burning the garbage after accumulating it on the roadside.

The sanitary inspector of the MC, Vijay Sharma, said the problem persisted because the garbage lifting trolley operators had been on a strike for the past two days.

“The matter will be resolved shortly. I assure that the garbage from the Nehru Shopping Complex will be lifted soon,” said Vijay.

On the other hand, the trolley operators justified stating that they have been told to pick the garbage from the main roads only.

“We have to collect the garbage from the adjoining Lawrence Road only. The responsibility of clearing the garbage heaps lying inside the shopping complexes is the responsibility of Improvement Trust sanitation staff only”, said one of the operators.

Amritsar, August 18
Prof AS Brar, Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, has conceded various demands of the non-teaching employees.

As per information, 33 per cent promotional quota for the Class C employees, who have completed 10-year service, has been approved. To be eligible for the clerical cadre posts, the concerned employees have to qualify a test.

Another demand met by the university authorities was to introduce parity in the pay of technical and non-technical (clerical) cadres.

Similarly, an enhancement in the vehicle and housing loan limits has been made.

The Guru Nanak Dev University (non-teaching) Employees Association president Rajnish Bhardwaj said most of the demands were approved by the Vice-Chancellor.

The association expressed gratitude towards the Vice-Chancellor for giving approval to bear the poll expenses of the association on the lines of the GNDU Teachers’ Association.

Earlier, there was no such provision under which a Class C employee could switch over to the clerical cadre.

“Besides, there was disparity between the clerical and technical staff. Now, Daftris (attendants or helpers) would be placed on the same pay scale of Rs 3,200 as applicable to the clerical staff. Also, a channel has been formulated, under which the Class C employee could be transferred to the clerical post after qualifying the typing and aptitude test”, said Bhardwaj.

“Another long-pending demand was for sufficient house building and vehicle loan. Now, the house building loan has been increased from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh and the vehicle loan from Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000”, added Bhardwaj. 

Amritsar, August 18
Even as the Punjabi cinema is trying to take a different path of working on serious subjects and making movies that are critically acclaimed, still many believe in entertaining through comedy and cons. One of the believers in the latter stream include young and talented actor Karan Kundra.

The Jallandhar boy, who is a popular face on television, Bollywood and Pollywood, says that comedy is the toughest job for an actor.

“Making people laugh is very difficult, as the timing, expression and body language have to click at the same time. One of the legendary performers in world cinema was Charlie Chaplin and his comedy still lives on,” said the actor.

Kundra was in the city to promote his upcoming film ‘Control Paaji Control’. He was accompanied by director Gaurav Singh, actors Sandeep and Simram.

The film is a comedy of errors whose cast includes Sangram Singh, Upasna Singh, Savita Bhatti, Anita Devgan, BN Sharma, Chandan Prabhakar and singer Nachchattar Gill, who has made a debut in the Punjabi cinema.

Previously seen in comedy film ‘Pure Punjabi’ and now in ‘Control Paaji Control’, Karan says serious cinema will establish itself when the time is right.

“Punjabi film industry is going through a filtration process. It took Anurag Singh and Diljit Dosanjh three major comedy hits to finally attempt ‘Punjab 1984’, which of course is an excellent cinematic leap. It’s still dicey to make serious film until one is confident about its success and one’s own work. Till then, one should avoid the path less travelled,” he said.

“The film has loads of confusion and I play the devil,” he says. The film releases on August 22 and Karan is confident that it will work.

Meanwhile, he is exploring the dark side of an actor on television and Bollywood projects. Post his debut in Bollywood with ‘Horror Story’, and his three-film deal with Vikram Bhatt on way, Karan’s current series on MTV, ‘Fanna’ is all about supernatural imagery, vampires and werewolves.

“My upcoming Bollywood film ‘Ram Pam Posh’ is a psychological drama, with Lahore-based Dj Kashif playing the other lead. We play brothers, and I am the mad psychopath one,” he said.

“I was shooting for a Bollywood film and Control Paaji Control simultaneously and it took me a day or two to get out of the dark frame and slip into the comic mode. But that’s what hones your skills as an actor,” he said.

For now, he says his entire concentration is on his Punjabi project. 

Amritsar, August 18
The historic Ram Bagh, popularly known as Company Bagh and the summer capital of legendary Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is perhaps one of the most important but neglected heritage sites in the city.

City residents regret the pathetic condition of the garden. They hold the district administration, Municipal Corporation and the state government responsible for the sorry state of affairs.

They have also condemned the attitude of the people towards the monument, which doesn’t give much attention towards cleanliness and greenery at the garden.

While they have advocated the handing over of the historical site, which is declared as a protected monument, to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for its preservation, they also urged the district administration to organise some recreational activities for enhancing its popularity among masses and tourists.

Ram Bagh has a cluster of traditional buildings and canopies but due to the fast pace of modernisation, it is losing its identity. The structure includes the Summer Palace of the Maharaja, fountains and Baradari gardens, replicating the Shalimar Gardens of Lahore (Pakistan).

Possession of garden

The government should hand over the possession of the historic garden to the ASI, which can preserve it in a better way. The Punjab Tourism and Culture Department has so far failed to revive its original and old heritage value as recently, it allowed excavation at the place in an illegal manner.

Kulwant Singh Ankhi, president Amritsar Vikas Manch

Deteriorating green belt

The condition of the largest green belt in the city is ailing at present with all the authorities concerned miserably failing to maintain greenery and cleanliness in the garden. Unmindful and illegal construction has also wreaked havoc at the historic bagh.

BR Prenja, general secretary, Citizens’ Welfare Forum

Flora and fauna

The authorities should abstain from raising concrete footpaths, parking lots and skating ring, which have damaged the flora and fauna of the park to a great extent.

Jagmohan Singh, president of NGO Lok Kalyan Samiti

Tourist interest

There is an urgent need to finish the conservation projects soon. The tourists from across the country visiting the place are interested in knowing more about the legendary Sikh ruler.

APS Chatha, president Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association (Civil Lines)

Rich contribution

Rambagh is a rich contribution by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. However, it has faced many interventions, thereby losing its glory to a large extent. The British spoiled its original character and later, the citizens played with the historic structures in the form of clubs. Many incongruous additions and alterations made by members of clubs morphed its original character. Recent conservation efforts, no doubt may bring the original glory, but too much delay is an issue of concern. As the bagh is being used by many residents for morning and evening walk, there is need to form a committee by them and to act as a pressure group to expedite the conservation process.

Dr Balvinder Singh, Conservation Spatial Planner and member, Heritage Advisory Committee of Shimla, Heritage Advisory Sub-Committee of SGPC

Recreational activities

In order to increase the popularity of the heritage structure, there is need to hold recreational activities such as light and sound programmes and open air theatre performances at the garden. A committee should be formed by the district administration, which could suggest them in better conservation as per the norms coupled with better utilisation of one of the biggest gardens in the city.

Kewal Dhaliwal, theatre artist

Amritsar, August 18
Dr Amarjit Singh Sethi, a senior Professor at Punjab School of Economics, Guru Nanak Dev University, was awarded the ‘Best Paper Prize’ at the ICSSR-sponsored international conference on ‘Shifting Paradigms in Applied Economics and Management: Course Correction’, held recently at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra.

His paper on ‘Development Expenditure and Total Factor Productivity Growth: An Analysis for Punjab and Haryana States vis-à-vis the Indian Economy’ was rated as the best among 150 research contributions made in the conference.

Prof Sethi chaired one of the technical sessions, and also delivered the valedictory address in the conference.

He presented a bird’s eye view on the structural transformation being experienced by the Indian economy in the post-liberalisation policy regime. It also highlighted the need of a paradigm shift in the developmental expenditure, so as to bring down fiscal deficit.

Prof Sethi emphasised the need of strengthening of the social sector (including education, health, nutrition, water supply and sanitation) and knowledge economy.

He expressed grave concern on the rising inter/intra-state gaps in nutritional intake.

“Not the mushrooming growth of educational institutions, but the setting up of advanced institutes of higher learning, imparting quality education and research through public-private-partnership model is the need of the hour,” he said. 

Amritsar, August 18
The Service Club, Amritsar, organised the 5th Annual Swimming Competition. The winners included Shubhneet Bhatia, Shaan Grover and Anirudh from The Service Club, Prason Sood, Saksham and Tanmay from DAV Public School, Yadhu Sharma from The Mellinium School, Sunaina from BBK DAV College, Soumya Khurana, Mehar Sood and Deeksha Kapoor from DAV Public School.

Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi was the chief guest on the occasion.

Club president Sukhdev Singh Chhina said around 47 events were organised in the age group of 7 to 19 years for both boys and girls.

“Besides this, there were fun events for children below 7 years. More than 200 children from 21 institutions participated in the meet,” he said.

The club management honoured Daljit Singh, head, Department of Physical Education, Khalsa College, who was one of the judges at the tournament. — TNS

Amritsar, August 18
The tall claims of the police about providing a safe and secure environment in the city proved hollow as robbery incidents continue to haunt the residents.

In the latest incident, a local resident, a goldsmith, was looted by four motorcycle-borne armed robbers when he was going to the railway station to visit other states on business. The incident occurred at around 2.45 am in the Sultanwind area.

Though the police have registered a case under Sections 394, 341, 34 of the IPC and Sections 25,54 and 59 of the Arms Act against the unidentified robbers, they failed to achieve any breakthrough in the case.

Amrik Singh, a resident of the Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar area, in his statement to police said that he was a gold nosepin seller and was going towards the railway station along with his nephew on a motorcycle (PB-02-BU-3587). He said the four accused with their faces covered intercepted and surrounded them. They were armed with pistols. He said the miscreants snatched his bag in which he had kept gold jewellery and ran away while firing in the air near a private school in Krishna Nagar in the Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar area.