Amritsar, September 9
Residents of Mahal village, falling under the Attari constituency, today blocked Mahal Chowk on the Attari-Jalandhar bypass road for over six hours with the body of a village native, who was allegedly run over by two unidentified persons.

The deceased was identified as Aastha, an auto-rickshaw driver. Though the names of the accused were still unknown, it is learnt that they were students of the GNDU and lived in a paying-guest accommodation in the village.

The protesting residents, including the kin of the victim, alleged that the police was dismissing the incident as an accidental death, whereas it was a deliberate attempt by the accused, who killed Aastha on the spot by banging their car repeatedly into him last evening.

The dharna was lifted only after the intervention of the DSP, Attari, Daljit Singh Dhillon, and District Congress Committee (Rural) president Gurjeet Singh Aujla and other party workers.

Aujla negotiated with the police and secured a written assurance from them that action would be taken within two days.

The family was assured by Aujla that the police would do as agreed or else the Congress would join the family to stage a dharna at the same intersection.

Meanwhile, the body was cremated this evening.

The residents alleged that the accused used to bring girls to their accommodation and often created ruckus along with their friends, who would visit them during odd hours.

Last evening, at around 8.80 pm, residents intercepted the car of the accused when they were going out and an altercation took place between them. It was when the accused tried to run away in their car that it hit the victim.

Congress (rural) president Aujla joined the dharna. As the pressure mounted, the police discussed the matter with higher officials and agreed with the family members to book a case under Section 302, IPC.

SHO of Kamoh police station Sukhdev Singh said the matter was under investigation and a case under Section 304-A for accidental death had been registered. “We have noted down the statements of the residents. They said the accused studied in the GNDU. At present the accused are missing, but a search operation is on to arrest them,” he said. 

Amritsar, September 9
Many government schools in border districts continue to face shortage of teaching and other staff.

Several schools are running from unsafe buildings while there are many schools, particularly in the border belt, which have just one teacher. In most of these schools, students are forced to sit out in the open to study.

Over 500 students are studying at the government school in Ballarwal village. However, enough classrooms are not available to accommodate students, forcing the teachers to take classes in the open.

A somewhat similar situation prevails at the government school in Tut village. There is only one hand pump to obtain potable water in the school. Another school at Tirathpur village has only one teacher as its entire staff.

Government Elementary School, Sharifpura, is functioning from a pre-Partition mosque situated in a less than six-foot wide narrow street. The building has already been declared unsafe.

Similarly, three schools — Government Elementary School, Mahna Singh Road, Government Elementary School, Baba Sahib Chowk, and Government Middle School, Baba Sahib Chowk — are running from a pre-Partition dilapidated building on the Mahna Singh road. As the building has already been declared unsafe, classes are being held in the verandah and some partially built rooms.

There are as many as 1,213 government schools, including 834 elementary and 40 aided schools, in the district.

Of the 102 sanctioned posts of headmasters, as many as 49 are lying vacant in the secondary wing. Meanwhile, 10 per cent posts of principals are lying vacant in other schools.

The situation in the elementary wing is also far from satisfactory as 50 per cent of posts are lying vacant. 

Amritsar, September 9
French Ambassador to India François Richier today paid obeisance at the Golden Temple.

His visit was arranged by Dhillon Marti Foundation with a view to offer exposure to the students of Punjab. For this purpose, he also visited the historic Khalsa College. During his visit to Harmandar Sahib, Richier obtained information about the Sikh religion and the architectural style of the holiest Sikh shrine. He was appointed Ambassador to India in 2011.

Sonia Dhillon, president, Dhillon Marti Foundation, said, being a Punjabi, her objective was to provide an international platform to the students here, so that they need not invest high amounts of money to study abroad.

She said so far 10 universities spread across Japan and the US had expressed their inclination to sign MoUs with universities here.

Amritsar, September 9
The Municipal Corporation is all set to prepare the ground for initiating action against illegal hotels, inns and guest houses that surround the Golden Temple.

While declaring these units as illegal, the MC has released a public notice inviting suggestions or objections within 30 days as to why such commercial units should not face closure.

The notice further states that if no response is received within the stipulated period, it will be understood that nobody had any objection to the action being planned by the authorities.

Senior Town Planner Hemant Batra said that according to the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, under section 343(1), coupled with sections 345 and 349, over 125 hotels, guest houses and inns that are located in and around the Golden Temple galliara are illegal.

“That’s why we have issued a public notice today while inviting suggestions or objections from the general public in writing within a span of 30 days. If people do not respond, we will initiate action, according to the law,” he said.

The matter is still pending in the high court for hearing on a petition filed by a local resident, Sarbjit Singh Verka, who had challenged the functioning of illegal commercial activities around the Golden Temple.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted later on, according to the directions of the high court, had categorically admitted that 21 multi-storeyed hotels, inns and guest houses did not comply with the stipulated norms, requisite under the MC Building Bylaws and were issued notices. 

Amritsar, September 9
With the Improvement Trust having garnered a handsome amount in the auction of its residential and commercial properties, investors in the real estate are hoping for a revival of their business.

Improvement Trust chairman Sandeep Rishi said it certainly indicated that property prices were looking up after a long time.

He said the localities established by the Improvement Trust were invariably lapped up by the buyers for their good location, planning, wide roads, parks and quality infrastructure.

Rishi said a major upward thrust was found in the commercial segment, which had become the least favoured of investors and buyers during the recession period. The Improvement Trust earned from Rs 87,500 to Rs 90,500 from the auction of four SCOs in the District Shopping Complex in the Ranjit Avenue area. Each SCO measured 363 sq yard and the reserve price was Rs 50,000. These very SCOs were auctioned from Rs 5,500 to Rs 65,000 in January 2014 and from Rs 6,500 to Rs 70,000 in June 2013.

Some SCOs on the 97-acre Ajnala road (in the Ranjit Avencue area) were sold off from Rs 1.25 lakh to Rs 1.69 lakh per sq yard.

Its residential scheme also fetched a handsome amount and pointed towards the priorities of the people. Plots in New Amritsar B block were auctioned from Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per sq yard and in its A block, they were sold off at Rs 2,50,000 sq yard.

Residential plots in the Kabir park area were sold off from Rs 28,000 to Rs 31,000 per sq yard. Its two old residential plots in its old Anand Avenue Scheme were sold off at Rs 45,000 per sq yard.

A real estate expert, HS Dawar, said commercial activities had picked up in the Ranjit Avenue area because the MNCs preferred to open their outlets there. Since its roads are wide, plenty of parking space was available. Hence, hotels, restaurants, educational institutes, lifestyle brand showrooms. Therefore, rental returns were impressive, he remarked.

Dawar said New Amritsar was situated on the remote eastern side of the city, but development works and presence of a convenient transport like the city bus service had improved its prospects. 

Amritsar, September 9
Shortage of medicines at government health institutions continues to be a cause of worry. As a result, patients often have to buy medicines from the open market. The government had started sometime back a free-medicine scheme for all OPD and indoor patients.

Some of the medicines which are missing from the shelves at the pharmacies in government health institutions include life-saving drugs. Even the medicines which are given to the children born to HIV- affected mothers are scarce at these institutions.

These medicines are provided by the National Aids Control Society, but the supply has stopped for the past one month. As a result, these institutions have already consumed their stocks and are waiting for the government to replenish these.

The shortage of general medicines is more acute in the rural areas. Residents of rural areas stated that most of the medicines prescribed by the doctors were not available at the government pharmacies.

Baljit Singh, a resident of Verka, said, “Of all the medicines prescribed by the doctors, only a few are available at the pharmacies. It will be better if the government includes these medicines in the list of free medicines, which are normally prescribed by the doctors.”

The residents stated that medicines had become costlier in the market and poor patients could not afford to purchase these. “The list of free medicines available in the market should be revised and the common medicines, usually prescribed by the doctors, should be included,” said another resident, Karamjit Singh, of Mohala Basti Ram.

Meanwhile, officials of the Health Department stated that supply of medicines was a continuous process and sometimes a particular medicine might not be there in the stock at a particular time. “Medicines are received as soon as a demand is put up. It is not uncommon to have problems sometimes,” said a senior official. 

Amritsar, September 9
Hailed as India’s finest fashion designer and a personal favourite of Bollywood’s biggest star, Salman Khan, Ashley Rebello, was on the INIFD Amritsar campus, sharing his fashion ‘gyan’ with the students. The veteran Bollywood stylist and designer interacted with the students as the brand ambassador of the INIFD.

Enjoying being quizzed over fashion and everything that comes with it, Rebello shared at length the pros and cons of the fashion industry with the young designers.

“Fashion industry commands hard work, irrespective of the fact that it’s glamorous. As a student, I used to work 18-20 hours at stretch, without sleep or hunger on my mind. Such dedication doesn’t exist today,” he said.

Not a promoter of kitsch and chaos in fashion, his fundamentals have always been clear, “Fashion is something one should feel comfortable doing and selling to the client. If you are not in sync with the trends and are just trying to catch the eye by going all over the place with your concepts, you are done.”

His muse in film industry being ‘the’ fashion icon, Salman Khan, Rebello says that Salman is quite cool when it comes to experiments. “He is open to ideas and concepts and doesn’t mind trying different things. His style is cool, laid back. Though sometimes he jokes about whatever new look I am trying out on him, he goes ahead with it anyways.”

Personally as well, Rebello thinks fashion should not be confused with drama. “I see a lot of designers trying too hard with on-ramp antics to get their clothes noticed. But it may backfire. A model is just like a hanger, she/he does not need to emote or act or dance on the ramp. It takes away the attention from clothes.” He also promotes a fashion-for-all policy, applied by certain designer labels. “My store in Mumbai has clothes within the range of Rs 5,000-Rs 50,000. The sizes, too, come in large and extra-large categories. I believe everyone has the right to look good.”

Amritsar, he feels, is a potential fashion market yet to be explored. “I urge young designers from the city to change the face of fashion in the city with innovative designs and techniques. One always gets inspired from one’s roots. I always advise young designers I meet at fashion weeks to come up with ideas that reflect your culture, your roots and the place you come from. The difference between a good designer and a great one is the essence that the latter puts into their clothes,” he said. 

Amritsar, September 9
As many as 21,000 pensioners under the jurisdiction of Employees Provident Fund, Amritsar, will be benefit from the notification of the Union government, which fixes minimum monthly pension at Rs 1,000.

Addressing mediapersons here today, Provident Fund Regional Commissioner Yogesh Kumar said, “There are around 21,000 beneficiaries under the jurisdiction of Amritsar office, out of which 6,500 are getting pension below Rs1,000. Out of 6,500 pensioners, 2,100 are widows, who get pension below Rs1,000. All members and widow pensioners who are getting benefit below Rs1,000 will be paid a minimum pension of Rs1,000 with effect from September 1, which will be payable from October 1 onwards.”

The Regional Commissioner conveyed to all employers to immediately implement remittance of the PF contributions on the basis of revised ceiling. He said for this intelligence unit of the department had been activated.

He said this enhancement had been made effective from September 1. The local Provident Fund Office caters to four districts, which include Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot.

The Regional Commissioner said the raising of the wage ceiling for the PF contribution from Rs 6,500 to Rs15,000 by the Union government would be applicable to three schemes under the PF Act, which are PF Scheme, Pension Scheme and Employees Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) scheme.

He said this decision would further strengthen social security cover to workers employed in industries and establishments. This would not only mean higher savings in the Provident Fund, but also sizeable increase in the pensionary benefits. 

Amritsar, September 9
Though five years have lapsed since its inception, the trauma centre at Jallainwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital still has to refer patients to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital because the centre is short of trained manpower and infrastructure. The government has so far not assigned any dedicated staff to the centre.

As such Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital has to spare its employees working to manage services at the trauma centre. The hospital, which is already facing difficulties in managing the rush of patients with a few staff, finds it difficult to spare employees for the trauma centre.

Sources at the hospital said according to the norms trauma centre should have its own dedicated staff to manage services independently. Many machines at the centre are gathering dust as the Health Department has failed to train the existing employees for using new equipment.

The absence of trained staff is also a hindrance in utilisation of the existing equipment to its optimum capacity.

Many costly medical apparatus, including ventilator machine, has become defunct as it has not been used regularly.

Doctors at the hospital said critical patients were often referred to institutions like Guru Nanak Dev Hospital as trauma centre was incapable of handling such situations due to lack of trained manpower and equipment.

The trauma centre was inaugurated five years ago during the tenure of then Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla. Built with a cost of Rs 1.5 crore, the facility has failed to come up to the expectations of the general public. 

Amritsar, September 9
Four car borne unidentified persons were booked for firing gunshots in air near Guru Nanak Dev University College, Verka, in the late evening yesterday.

In his complaint to the police, Preet Kawal Mazail, a resident of Jujhar Avenue, Ajnala Road, stated that the accused came in a White Verna Car, fired around 50 shots in the air and fled from the spot near the college. He said as elections for presidentship were going on in the college, it was an attempt to spread panic among students.

ASI Baljit Singh of Verka police station said a case under Sections 336 of the IPC and 25, 27/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered at the A-Division police station. 

Amritsar, September 9
A joint delegation of educationists from the United States and Japan concluded its visit to the holy city today. The visit was part of the inter-cultural exchange programmes between various countries.

During their stay here, delegates visited Khalsa College Public School (KCPS). They also witnessed cultural programme comprising various forms of dance and music. They also studied the methodology of imparting educational instructions in classrooms.

The delegation comprised scholars from various universities, including Universities of Stanford, Oregon, Rhode Island of USA and Universities of Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan.

Students from KCPS students presented a cultural show, which included traditional Punjabi dances giddha, bhangra, jagoo and saiyo nara, a Japanese dance, to welcome delegates.

Principal of the KCPS, Dr Sarvjit Kaur Brar, said they were exploring the avenues for more educational exchange programmes in future too.

She said the visiting delegates was a part of their programme for studying cultures and methods of imparting education around the world. 

Amritsar, September 9
An international conference on “Inclusive society - its rights and duties” was organised at Guru Nanak Bhawan Auditorium of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) on the concluding day of the “Community Week” programme. The event was hosted by the GNDU in collaboration with International Dhillon Marty Foundation, Stanford University and Tokyo University, Japan.

French Ambassador Francois Richier presided over the conference. Prof Ajaib Singh Brar, Vice-Chancellor of the GNDU, inaugurated the conference. He also addressed scholars from various universities.

The French envoy said all religions teach about universal equality and brotherhood. “No doubt Punjab is a land of Sikh warriors’ and at the same time they have achieved a lot with their hardwork and dedication in other countries also. The Sikhs and the French have deep relationship. From the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, French officers were also a part of his army,” he added.

He said there was no discrimination in France as at present most of the Sikhs, who were working at prime positions in France, supported beard and turban. “Yet, the case of Burka (a cloth worn by the Muslim women) is only under consideration because of security issues,” he added.

Prof Brar said this was the beginning of healthy relationship between Guru Nanak Dev University and Universities of France and Japan in the field of higher education and research. “We are looking for collaboration in the field of culture, science and technology,” added the VC.

Sonia Dhillon said, “Due to lack of sanitation facilities, our society is suffering a lot. The need of hour is to create and design more hygienic and healthy atmosphere for our people.”

Architect Kengo Kuma, Department of Architecture, University of Tokyo, delivered the keynote speech.

Sonia Dhillon and Associate Prof Yuko Hayashi announced the awards. Karanavtar Singh from the Punjab Regional Chapter, ITPI, welcomed the chief guest and other participants. He also presented his views on the occasion. Prof Brar honoured Ambassador Francois Richier and others with shawl and mementos on behalf of the university.

Amritsar, September 9
Fashion and interior designing students of Inter National Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD) got a handy lesson in art and set designing at the week-long workshop held on the campus. The workshop was conducted by creative director and artiste Ziwan Kalia on set designing and art direction in films. It gave students first-hand knowledge on designing elaborative and dramatic sets.

The students created five themes — epic inspired Mughal-e-Azam, futuristic 2050 theme, mysterious underwater world, realistic media inspired theme and fashion industry inspired theme — keeping in mind the drama and creativity required in set designing. “The week-long workshop was an exercise on amalgamating concepts of art and design together. Students designed props, sets, costumes by themselves. Everything was done by them under the guidance of Ziwan Singh, an expert in the animation and set design industry,” said Neelu Malik Gauri, head, INIFD, Amritsar.

Ziwan Kalia, a recipient of the Teacher’s Award for his artistic skills, is a senior in the industry. He is a theatre artiste, film director, interior and set designer, painter and an art director. He is currently working on a project “The thinnest line”. Taking a cue from awe inspiring sets used in films these days, students created handmade sets, using fabrics, paints and dyes. The Mughal-e-Azam theme had a sheeshmahal made of coloured glass, the futuristic theme had flying taxis and the underwater world had their fair share of mermaids. “It is like creating a motion picture out of the art, manually. The students had to use a lot of technique like still photography and concepts, fuse them into a theme,” said Neelu.