Amritsar, August 24
It is said that cleanliness is next to godliness. And the SGPC has proved this to be true, having taken up the challenge of removing the garbage from the vicinity of the Golden Temple after the failure of the Municipal Corporation to do so. The decision has shaken the MC.

A pile of garbage on a road leading to the Golden Temple in Amritsar

Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora intended to join the SGPC in its mission. The MC has failed to keep the area clean despite spending a huge amount on its cleanliness. “We have been spending Rs 55 lakh per annum on the cleanliness of the area around the Golden Temple. I will appeal to the SGPC to guide us in our drive. We can together develop a mechanism to ensure neat and clean environment around the shrine,” he said.

Meanwhile, the SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said it would be a welcome step if the MC joined them in their initiative.

“We have already chalked out a plan, which will be finalised by August 26. We will execute it from September 1. Earlier, meetings were held between the SGPC secretary and MC officials, including Municipal Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal, to keep the area clean but these failed to achieve anything. We have decided to take up the responsibility. If the MC wants to join us, it would be a welcome step but the campaign will be headed by the SGPC alone,” he said.

A year ago, a night sanitation drive was launched by the MC to keep the roads leading to the Golden Temple clean by roping in a private firm. However, the drive was stalled as the contract of the firm ended on August 2. The tender could not be floated for want of nod by the government.

A proposal regarding this has already sent to the government. “As soon as we get the green signal, we would invite firms for the night sanitation drive,” Arora said.

Arora claimed that 50 more safai karamcharis have been deployed to clean the streets leading to the Golden Temple. Though the authorities claim to take care of the area around the Golden Temple, a visit paints a different picture.

Huge piles of garbage were found unattended near the wall of the Golden Temple Galiara. Similarly, the place opposite to the jodha ghar has turned into a permanent garbage dumping site.

The Katra Ahluwalia Road, which leads to the Golden Temple, has been littered with garbage. This is the road that pilgrims and VVIPs take to reach the Golden Temple.

Mayor seeks assistance

sgpc to go it alone

Amritsar, August 24
In an astonishing instance, the Amritsar police allegedly thrashed its own head constable at the behest of ward No. 56 Akali councillor Dilbagh Singh.

However, the police maintained that the head constable received injuries accidently while evading arrest as he was accused of creating ruckus under the influence of liquor in Anngarh a couple of days ago. According to Surinder Singh, vice-president of the district unit of the SAD, head constable Dilbagh Singh was mercilessly beaten up by the Gate Hakima police as he had ignored councillor Dilbagh Singh while finalising arrangements for a fair to be held tomorrow.

“We had complained the Gate Hakima police on August 22 about the abusive language used by councillor Dilbagh Singh as his picture was not published in a poster for the fair. However, the police did not take any action. Later, the head constable was picked up by the police at around 11 pm yesterday and was beaten up. If they can treat their staff in such a way, what would they do with the common man?” he said.

Meanwhile, councillor Dilbagh Singh said he had nothing to do with it. “It was a concocted story by the head constable who wanted to evade departmental action. He had created ruckus in Anngarh under the influence of liquor on August 22. Being a public representative, I went to the spot and tried to control the situation but he continued abusing us. His medical report has testified that he was drunk. Later, we submitted a complaint with the Gate Hakima police.”

Gate Hakima SHO Upkar Singh said it was false that he was beaten up. “When we went to arrest him, he fell and got njured. We have already written to the department about his unruly behaviour. He has concocted a story to avoid arrest,” he said.

“The matter has been brought to the notice of the senior officials. At present, the head constable is at his home,” he added.

In a late evening development, Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh suspended SHO Upkar Singh a case under Sections 452, 242 and 323 of the IPC has been registered against him.

Amritsar, August 24
The construction of the District Administrative Complex (DAC) and the Police Commissionerate Complex (PCC) has been stopped for the past month due to the paucity funds.

The buildings are being constructed in a way that helps people in locating government offices easily. About 78 crore has been earmarked for the construction of the buildings, of which Rs 14 crore has been provided by the government.

The construction of the new complexes commenced in October 2013. The construction work was to be completed within two years.

However, the officials associated with the project stated that they were waiting for the funds so that they could resume the work for at the earliest. The district administration has already written to the state government regarding more funds.

In the first phase, dilapidated offices of the Police Department were demolished. The District Courts Complex was built by the British after they annexation of Punjab in 1849. The Deputy Commissioner’s (DC) office, which is a heritage structure, is being preserved. The offices of the ADC and the clerks will be shifted to the tehsil complex.

Once completed, the DAC will have various offices under one roof. The DAC will have offices of the ADCs, District Revenue Officer, Zila Parishad, Dairy Technology, Agriculture Department, Social Welfare, Panchayati Raj, District Welfare, District Development and Panchayati Officer, Town Planning, Deputy Director (Employment), Public Relations, Deputy Director (Local Bodies)and the Excise and Taxation, Statistical Department. The DAC will be spread over 3.85 lakh square feet area. Multi-level basements will also be constructed.

The Police Commissionerate Complex will be built over an area of 1.5 lakh square feet. The new building will have offices of the Police Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners of Police and other staff.

The need for the complexes was felt for the efficient delivery of services to the people.

On the antiquity and architecture of the old complex, Guru Nanak Dev University Assistant Professor Rawal Singh Aulakh said it was constructed in the later half of the 19th century. The roof of the complex is known as jack arch roof. 

Amritsar, August 24
Mystery still shrouds the fate of the woman, who appears to be disturbed and was found loitering late last night near Railway Colony, Block C.

A passerby had spotted the woman, who is in her mid-thirties. She was almost naked. With the help of some of the residents, he admitted her to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. It has been learnt that the women had injury marks on her body. The Islamabad police suspects it to be a case of rape. “The matter is being investigated as the victim is not in a position to tell anything,” said the police.— TNS

Amritsar, August 24
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed a public sector bank to pay Rs 2 lakh to a customer, whose cheque submitted with it was encashed by some other person fraudulently. The Consumer Forum has also ordered the bank to pay 9 per cent interest on the amount with Rs 2,000 as litigation expenses.

Bachan Singh, a resident of Roran Wala Kalan village, had filed a complaint against State Bank of India, stating that he had applied for a Rs 2 lakh loan from his GPF, for which a cheque for Rs 2 lakh was issued to him.

He stated that he submitted the cheque to the bank for clearance and the bank issued him a counter voucher.

He alleged that the amount was not credited to his account. He said after he filed a complaint regarding this with the Subdivisional Magistrate, the bank was told to make the payment.

Bachan Singh stated that the branch manager did not make the payment on the ground that during its clearance, the cheque was lost or might have been encashed by other person.

He said the branch manager handed him over a copy of the letter addressed to the Commissioner of Police and added that they had lodged a complaint against the culprit so they were not liable to pay the amount to the complainant.

In its reply, the bank stated that it had made all efforts for the registration of a case with the police. The bank submitted that the controversy involved various complicated points and facts for adjudication, which could have been adjudicated in a regular trial by a civil court.

The bank stated that the cheque was enchased by Madho Ram, who had an account with Punajb National Bank, which failed to exercise due diligence and care in the verification of genuineness of the cheque.

The forum observed that though the cheque was enchased by some other person, all this happened due to the negligence of the bank and it was liable to pay the amount to the complainant.

Amritsar, August 24
The presence of congress grass (parthenium hysterochorus) along with “sukha” (canabis sativa) and bhang (verbesina prostrata) is a boon for drug addicts and results in agriculture and health-related problems.

Full grown shrubs of these plants can be easily spotted near Court Road that leads to Ajnala Road near New Amritsar, Batala Road, Majitha, Government Medical College, Railway Colony, Block B, and other parts of the city.

The government has not attempted to prevent their growth despite the fact that state government had issued a notification in this regard on May 16. The notification stated that congress grass was injurious to crops and it was necessary to take measures for its eradication.

These are noxious weeds and are known to be used by addicts. Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM) president Principal Kulwant Singh Ankhi said there was a need to eradicate congress grass and “sukha”. These shrubs can be spotted along the city roads, farms, pastures and vacant places in the city.

He said congress grass was an invasive specie and was kept in the list of noxious weeds.

He added that the weed inhibits the growth brinjal, tomato and beans. Congress grass results in the production of bitter milk when eaten by milch animals.

It can also lead to pollen allergies in human beings. The pollen grains produced in abundance from them are also a cause of air pollution, which creates problems for asthma and bronchitis patients. Besides, their pollen grains cause skin problems.

“Sukha” and “bhang” plants have also grown in abundance. These affect the tissues of brain and other body parts. The metabolic rate of body can increase due to them, which causes several ailments. It induces pseudo-hunger and reduces the digestive power of stomach. It is also used as intoxicant by drug addicts.

Due to warm and rainy season, these harmful weeds have grown on vacant places.

Ankhi said the best way to get rid of these weeds was to uproot them.

Amritsar, August 24
The students of many government elementary schools are grappling with unhygienic and insanitary conditions due to inadequate number of toilets and absence of safai karamcharis.

A toilet in a filthy condition. Photos: Vishal Kumar

During a random survey of a few schools, it was found that the condition of toilets was deplorable in many schools. Toilets in several schools were filthy, taps were running dry, drain pipes were missing from urinal pots thus making these unfit for use.

However, toilets for the staff members in most of the schools were found marked and locked up.

Urinal pots without pipes at a government elementary school in Amritsar

Majority of these toilets were constructed under the grant for the physically challenged and these have western seats. However, teachers citing unavailability of any disabled students locked these for their personal use.

As many as three government schools are functioning under one roof from a pre-Partition dilapidated building on the Mahna Singh road. The building houses Government Elementary School, Mahna Singh Road, Government Elementary School, Baba Sahib Chowk, and Government Middle School, Baba Sahib Chowk. There are over 200 students and as many as 12 teachers working in these schools, but there is no regular safai karamchari. There is a toilet for physically challenged students. Since there is no disabled student, the toilet is locked and used only by the staff. There is a toilet for girls and a set of three urinals for boys, but no toilet for answering the call of the nature.

Despite being the second largest educational district in the state with 35 clusters, students of many elementary schools are without proper washroom facilities. The problem has aggravated as many schools do not have dedicated safai karamcharis to clean toilets.

Over 250 students of the Government Elementary School, Mohakampura, are forced to urinate in the open while teachers ease themselves toilets of neighbouring houses. There is no toilet in the school as demand for a new school building has been caught in a bureaucratic rigmarole. Located in the city’s slum locality of Mohkampura, the school is functioning on the land of a gurdwara, which shares its wall with the school.

Government Elementary School, Sharifpura, is functioning from a pre-Partition mosque situated in a less than six-feet-wide narrow street. The rickety building poses a threat to the residents living around the school. Over 100 students, their four teachers, two cooks are utilising a toilet in a dingy and shabby condition.

Government Elementary School, Mustafabad, has over 550 students. The school building has 14 rooms, but there are only 10 toilets, five for girls and five for boys. It has little scope of expansion as the school is running from small premises.

District Education Officer (elementary) Jugraj Singh said, “There are around 834 elementary schools in the district. Of these, 250 require toilets. Under the Sarv Sikhya Abhiyan, each school receives a grant of Rs 39,000 to construct toilets on its premises.” He said last year only nine schools received grant for setting up toilets, which was grossly inadequate. This year he would be forwarding a request for setting up toilets in 100 schools, added the DEO.

Fact file

• Despite being the second largest educational district in the state with 35 clusters, students of many elementary schools are without proper washroom facilities.
• Toilets constructed under the grant for the physically challenged are being used by the school staff.
• Over 100 students, four teachers and two cooks of Government Elementary School, Sharifpura, which is functioning from a pre-Partition mosque situated in a less than six-feet-wide narrow street, use a toilet in a dingy and shabby condition.
• Government Elementary School, Mustafabad, has over 550 students. The school building has 14 rooms, but there are only 10 toilets, five for girls and five for boys.
• As many as three government schools are functioning under one roof from a pre-Partition dilapidated building on the Mahna Singh road. The building houses Government Elementary School, Mahna Singh Road, Government Elementary School, Baba Sahib Chowk, and Government Middle School, Baba Sahib Chowk. There are over 200 students and as many as 12 teachers working in these schools, but there is no safai karamchari.

Amritsar, August 24
Much to the inconvenience of commuters, the land fill material for the upcoming bus rapid transit system (BRTS) project has been unloaded on the road near the Irrigation Department’s office on the GT road.

Heaps of gravel mixed with soil can be seen on the road, which have narrowed the path for the movement of vehicles. Even as the work on project has been going on near Guru Nanak Dev University, the material has been unloaded on a vacant land, which is far from the construction site.

The administration had earlier banned the sale of sand and other construction material from the road sides citing the reason that it narrowed the path for the traffic.

However, it is another matter that shopkeepers do not care about the instructions of the administration. The unloading of material for a government project has irked many a commuters. “If the contractor has to unload the material on a road in case there is not any other place available, proper measures should be taken for public safety,” said Karamjit Singh, a resident.

The contractor much to the annoyance of the general public has not placed any sign boards at the point where work is going on. On the Batala road, where the work is in progress under the BRTS project, the contractor has installed warning boards.

“The GT road is the lifeline of the city. More vehicles ply on this road in comparison to any other road. The contractors must follow the proper procedure here too,” said another commuter, Kewal Kumar.

Amritsar, August 24
Pensioners of various government departments constituted the Punjab State Pensioners Welfare Association in meeting here today. The association will take up the issues concerning pensioners. During the meeting, Surjit Singh Goraya, was unanimously nominated as president of the association while Dr Santokh Singh was appointed as the general secretary.

Goraya said pensioners, who had served the public all their life were being given a step-motherly treatment by the state government. He said a team of the association would soon be elected to take up grievances of the pensioners with the state government. — TNS

Amritsar, August 24
Activists of the Shiv Sena Samajwadi staged a protest against Pakistan for rampant cease fire violations. The activists burned the national flag of Pakistan to express their anguish.

President of the organisation, Pandit Tilak Raj Sharma, said Pakistan had violated the norms recently by firing on Indian posts on 18 different occasions. He said the Indian Government should snap all ties with Pakistan, including cross-border trade.

He said India should take stringent measures to make Pakistan stop ceasefire violations.

Amritsar, August 24
Five persons were arrested while one managed to procure bail for possessing illicit liquor and narcotics in separate incidents during the past 24 hours.

In the first incident, the Gate Hakima police arrested two persons, Sandeep Singh alias Suraj and Sushil alias Ghain, and recovered 100 gm of intoxicant powder from each. ASI Surjeet Singh said a country made .315 bore revolver with two live cartridges was recovered from them.

Two other persons identified as Amandeep Singh and Sonu alias Ajaib Singh were arrested and 45 bottles of illicit liquor were recovered from each. In another case, the A-Division police arrested Vijay Kumar with 20 bottles of illicit liquor.

In another incident the Cantonment police arrested Bikramjit Singh alias Vicky with 2 gm of heroin. In another case, the C-Division police arrested Salwinder Singh alias Ladoo with 18 bottles of Punjab special whisky, but he had managed to procure bail and was later released. — TNS

Amritsar, August 24
The Border Security Force averted a bid to smuggle narcotics into the country and seized Rs 7,457 in cash with two mobile phones and four SIM cards.

The BSF jawans traced the movement of the smugglers near the Rora Wala border outpost at about 8.45 pm last night after which they challenged them. Later, around 14 shots were fired at the smugglers but the smugglers managed to flee. — TNS