Amritsar, October 12
At a time when students burn the midnight oil while preparing for their examinations, the students of Chintpurni Medical College (CMC), Pathankot, are fighting for their future. They are up in arms against the indifferent attitude of the state government. They want to be shifted to some other recognised medical college after the Medical Council of India (MCI) de-recognised their parent college due to lack in infrastructure and faculty.

Since 2011, the MCI has not given the recognition to the CMC. After spending three years in the college, they apprehended that their degree would not have any meaning even if they complete the course from the college.

Since September 27, they have been forced to spend their day and nights at temporary tents erected on a roadside near Government Medical College (GMC) for no fault of theirs. They are counting their days. Everyday they mark a cross on the calendar put up at the site and with each passing day the frustration level and disappointment is increasing among them. Yesterday’s suicide attempt by one of the students is a testimony to the fact and this is fuelling the intensity in their agitation.

They brought their beddings and fans on rent. They had got a temporary power connection for operating electrical fans. They are using the washrooms of the government medical college here and have a cooler for storing water. Sometimes they have to knock the neighbouring houses for using their washrooms. TheSeveral students have their residences here and they bring food for them while sometimes they share the expenditure on food. The boys sleep in the tent in the night while girls stay at the local residences of the students.

"We cannot sleep in the night. We are stressed and worried about our future," said another student. After days of hard work and spending about Rs 10 lakh in the past three years, our future is still in the dark, he added.

The continuous agitation is also taking a toll on their health. Three girls fainted during the protest last evening and had to be rushed to the hospital.

It would be the responsibility of the government if any untoward incident happens, the students said. 

Amritsar, October 12
With a message "Walk your way to healthy bones" a number of doctors of government medical college and private hospitals, morning walkers, sports and medical students and recovered patients today participated in the symbolic walk organised at Company Bagh to mark the World Arthritis Day here today.

The symbolic walk was flagged off by Improvement Trust Chairman Sandeep Rishi. It was organised by Dr Avtar Singh, a noted orthopedic surgeon of local Amandeep hospital. Around 300 persons wearing grey t-shirts gave the message of daily morning walk.

While addressing the people, he shared some interesting facts about bone health. He said a new born has 300 bones which get reduced later, the thigh bone (femur) is the longest and ear bone (stirrup) is the smallest bone while a hand is made up of 27 bones.

He said excess of salt, sugar and high calorie food was bad for bones, while sodas and soft drinks weaken bones and regular alcohol delays healing of bones. Regular exercise and controlled weight helps to maintain bones. Pamphlets on prevention of arthritis were distributed. A free medical check-up camp was also organised. 

Amritsar, October 12
In a dramatic turn, the police have registered a cross case against Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) activist Kirpal Singh Randhawa and his family for stealing household goods on the basis of a complaint submitted by his nephew Jugraj Singh.

A couple of days ago, the police had booked Jugraj and his family members for thrashing Randhawa and hurting his religious sentiments as he had alleged that Jugraj had pulled his beard in the presence of the police officials.

Randhwa has approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging that he was being implicated by the police under political influence. He sought directions for the police to quash the cases registered against him and his family members. The scuffle between the families is over possession of an ancestral property.

Nonetheless, the Division B police have registered a case against Randhawa, his wife Jaswinder Kaur, son Gurmeet Singh, daughter-in-law Balwinder Kaur and two unknown persons under Sections 447, 448, 427, 380, 506 and149 of the IPC, confirmed SI Amrik Singh.

It has been alleged by Jugraj that on October 6, when he was going to his farmhouse to take a round of his house, he had found that the accused had forcibly taken away a refrigerator, television, fan, single bed, quilts and sheets.

"I was alone at that time so I could not resist them. Randhawa had threatened to kill me and had slapped me. The unknown persons also beat me up. I had lodged a complaint against the accused but Randhawa had registered a case against me instead on false grounds," he said.

On October 7, Randhawa had lodged a complaint against Jugraj. On his complaint submitted, the Division B police station registerd a case under Sections 295 and 506 of the IPC against his elder brother Hapal Singh, his wife Balwinder Kaur and son Jugraj Singh.

Randhawa had alleged that Jugraj Singh had pulled his beard in the Division B police station in the presence of duty officers

He said that his religious feeling were hurt while ASI Balwinder Singh who was present then had then refused to initiate any action against Jugraj Singh.

"Now, Jugraj and his family members have managed to implicate me and my family members in frivolous case under political influence. They had attempted to take forcible possession of the house belonging to my mother Balbir Kaur since her death on May 1. She had executed a will in my favour and civil court had already granted stay over the property in my favour. Now the Division B police, instead of getting them arrested in the aforesaid case, started putting pressure on me to compromise with my brother's family else I will be implicated in false criminal cases," alleged Randhawa. 

Amritsar, October 12
Mystery shrouds the death of a man, Sahib Singh (42), who was found dead outside his native village, Harsha Chhina, late last evening. He had injury marks on his head. The police have registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against unidentified persons in this regard.

Soma, mother of the deceased, stated to the Rajasansi police that Sahib Singh had gone for some work in the evening but did not return. At around 9 pm Jaspal Singh, sarpanch of the village, informed her that Sahib was lying in a pool of blood on the road outside the village. She along with her another son Gurpal Singh immediately rushed to the spot. She said there was an injury mark on his head which led to his death on the spot. Investigating Officer Mohit Kumar said there was no clue about the motive behind the murder and investigations were underway. He said the body of the deceased was handed over to the family after the postmortem. He said the police was working on various theories to crack the case.—TNS

Amritsar, October 12
Damdami Taksal today backed the Dal Khalsa march for 'Rights and Justice' scheduled for November 2 from Akal Takht Sahib to Delhi-based headquarters of the United Nations.

The aim of this move was seeking world body intervention for bringing the perpetrators of November 1984 massacre to book.

"This year is commemoration of 30 years of November 1984 pogrom. During these agonising years, the actual victims, their relatives and friends, the community and its concerned leadership has done whatever could have been possible to get justice but to no avail," said Baba Harnam Singh head of Damdami Taksal while talking at Golden Temple today.

He urged the international community to come forward and try the accused Indian leadership for master-minding the killing and mayhem against absolutely innocent Sikhs.

Baba Harnam Singh Khalsa along with Dal Khalsa leaders had released the poster and a four- page pamphlet of the programme urging the people of Punjab to proceed to Delhi on November 2.

The activists distributed the posters and pamphlets in hundreds. Leaders of both the groups asserted that it was time to reinforce that Sikh community will continue to remember those who played death dance with impunity. "Sikhs were hounded and killed in Delhi. So, we propose to go to Delhi," said Kanwarpal Singh, the spokesperson of the group, which is organizing the march.

Seeking the UN intervention for a political resolution of the Punjab crisis besides punishing the perpetrators of November 84, he said, "November genocide was sponsored and patronized by country's political establishment hence it would be preposterous to hope that the Indian state would ever punish the perpetrators," he told.

"Sikhs are not alone who are at the receiving end. We have invited the Kashmiris, Nagas, Tamils, ethnic minorities, including Christians, who have suffered politics of genocide at different point of time to join hands in solidarity against the common adversary. Our pain and agony is same so we would share the Dias in Delhi," he said.

The protest march would start from Akal Takht on November 2 and would reach Delhi the same night. The march would proceed from Bangla Sahib Gurdwara to Jantar Mantar on November 3 in the morning, where a rally would be held.

Meanwhile, a selected number of representatives participating in the rally would go to the United Nations headquarters to submit a joint memorandum. 

Amritsar, October 12
Though unguarded and unsafe roads on the city’s outskirts pose high risk to daily commuters, the traffic police seems to be oblivious of the new emerging risks, which are escalating day by day.

A high number of accidents on these roads point towards the dismal traffic scenario. Rapid urbanisation has resulted in coming up of residential localities on almost all bypasses, including Ramtirath, Gumtala (also known as Airport Road), Ranjjit Vihar, Fatehgarh Churriyan, Batala Road, Mehta Road, Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Road, also called Jandiala bypass.

Many of these roads were widened to accommodate increasing number of vehicles, but not many traffic policemen and material were put in place to manage the traffic. Among all these bypass roads connecting the city, maximum number of residential localities have come up on Airport and Amritsar-Jalandhar GT Roads. These stretches of roads have witnessed highest number of accidents in the past couple of years.

Of the total accidental deaths reported these years, a majority of people died because of speeding vehicles entering the city from bypass roads and ramming into small vehicles driven by residents of the localities situated on the outskirts of the city.

Both categories of vehicles hardly follow the speed limits fixed by the police. However, the traffic police have failed to focus on these areas resulting in high number of casualties in mishaps.

According to the 2010 census, there are nearly 2.35 lakh houses in the city. The city is bursting at seams due to rapid urbanisation.

A study conducted by a private agency at the behest of the government to provide guidance to raise future infrastructure and changing needs of the city found that more than 14.20 lakh personal trips were witnessed in the Municipal Corporation area on a daily average basis.

Besides, the number of two and three-wheelers has increased significantly in the city from 2005 onwards.

The study found that the expenditure of each household on transport was higher than the expenses incurred on housing, education or health in the city. The transportation expenses come close to the amount spent on food, which is a cause of real concern. The probable expenditure on transport incurred by per household is Rs 2,090.

Anticipating continuing urbanisation trend, the study projects that 16,594 hectare will be required for future expansion till 2031.

The residents of the localities on the outskirts have to come out on highways where heavy and fast moving vehicles rule the roost. In the absence of enough number of traffic signals both small and big vehicles move at their convenience. People often take U-turns on these highways to shorten the distance resulting in accidents many a time.

This practice of taking U-turn to save fuel and time on the stretch of the newly built Amritsar-Batala highway has resulted in a number of road accidents involving loss of precious lives. The authorities concerned on their part have shown indifference by not taking any stringent or precautionary steps in the matter.

Many educational institutes are situated on the Amritsar-Batala road and in its vicinity.

Amritsar, October 12
Dr Dharam Veer Singh, Principal/director, Sri Guru Harkrishan Senior Secondary Public School, has been appointed as city co-ordinator for the Udaan programme.

The CBSE has launched Udaan programme for girls to compete for admission in premier engineering colleges.

Dr Dharam said it was a project in which free online resources would be provided to Class XI and XII girl students for preparation of admission test for IIT-JEE examination.

The special focus of project Udaan is to address the low enrollment ratio of girl students in prestigious engineering colleges and to enable girl students to receive special incentives and support so that they can join these institutions.

It is envisaged that Udaan will help bridge the gap by improving the socio-economic status of girls and women through increased participation in professional education. The aim is also to enrich and enhance teaching and learning of science and mathematics at senior secondary level by providing free and online resources to everyone, with a focus on special incentives and support to 1,000 girls selected in India.

Dr Singh said, in the first year, 1,000 girl students from across the country would be selected on merit basis.

The eligibility criteria for students of Class XI is minimum 70 per cent marks in Class X and 80 per cent marks in science and mathematics. For the CBSE board, minimum CGPA of eight, GPA of nine in mathematics and science and a minimum of 75 per cent marks in PCM in Class XI was the eligibility criteria. Preference will be given to girl students from financially weaker sections where the combined family income should be less than Rs 6 lakh per annum.

In the current session, 1,000 girl students will be enrolled, out of which 500 girl students will be from open category and 500 will be from SC/ST/Backward Class. Students can apply online and offline by October 27 on the CBSE website.

Amritsar, October 12
As many as 4,000 players are expected to take part in the 60th Punjab School Games, which will begin here from tomorrow. District Education Officer (Elementary) Satinderbir Singh said all arrangements to host the games had been completed. He said 55 officials of the Education Department had been deputed to smoothly conduct the games in different disciplines. Students will compete in hockey, malkhamb, chess and rope skipping in boys and girls categories.

Hockey matches will be held at grounds of Khalsa Senior Secondary School (boys), Khalsa College and Government Senior Secondary School, Chheharta. Matches of malkhamb will be held at PBN School. Bhavan’s SL School will host chess matches for boys and for girls Government Senior Secondary School, Shivala Road, would be the venue for chess matches.

Arrangements have been made for players stay at different school in the city. 

Amritsar, October 12
A resident of Sarhali Kalan, Vigyan Singh, said he had withdrawn the petition filed with the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Commission against the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committe (SGPC) for putting up a plaque in the Golden Temple Complex with wrong information about Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s lineage.

In a release here yesterday, Vigyan Singh said he withdrew his plea after the SGPC claimed in a written statement that the said plaque had not been put up on its orders. It was installed during the “kar sewa” by some persons. The SGPC stated that it had never authorised such a stone plaque to be affixed in the past. It claimed that it never had intended to create misleading or wrong impression regarding the lineage of the great Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh. “Realising the negligence of duty on its end the SGPC removed the plaque and informed about the same in written to the Judicial Commission,” said a committee release.

Vigyan Singh said the SGPC, being a premier Sikh body, should be vigilant and not negligent in its approach as wrong information left a negative impact and distorted the Sikh history. The SGPC had last month removed the said plaque from Maharaja Sher Gate.

Amritsar, October 12
The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) would hold its three-day 60th national conference in the city from November 14.

This was stated by ABVP general secretary Shrihari Borikar while addressing mediapersons here today. He said the ABVP was the world’s biggest organisation working for the welfare of students.

Members of the ABVP were pleased that 60th national conference would be held on the land of gurus and martyrs’, he added. Borikar said 3,000 students from the country were expected to take part in the conference.

The main focus would be on role of youth in society, women security and empowerment, environment, drug control, rural development etc during the conference, he added.

Borikar said a shobha yatra would be taken out during the conference, which would pass through various streets of the holy city. An action plan would be made to improve the education system.

He said the details of the work done by the ABVP in the past one year would be tabled before the members who attend the conference. Besides, a detailed report of future activities to be carried out by the ABVP would also be presented, the general secretary said. 

Amritsar, October 12
Diwali is all about happiness, celebrations and gifts. What makes the festival special is the joy of sharing. Prayas, an NGO, which works for the underprivileged children, has joined hands with Dabur, to launch “Cheer a child” campaign. The initiative, which seeks to spread health and happiness amongst the children from underprivileged sections of society, was launched from the city. The campaign will cover major cities across NCR, north and west part of the country.

The mission will touch lives of millions of underprivileged sections of society. The campaign will garner support through various activities. “We will launch a signature campaign across major cities, with a dedicated team visiting big markets across these states to garner support for the neglected, street and working children and asking for voluntary donations from the people which will be gifted to these children on Diwali. It’s an attempt to care for a child, bring smile on every child’s face, whether privileged or not,” said Nitin Jain, head (Real), Dabur India Limited.

Volunteers will also be educating people about the nutrition needs of underprivileged children and encourage them to sign on a pledge to support them, which will be promoted on social media platforms as well. “The aim is to share the happiness with those who do not have a family or a sense of belongingness. Usually we gift expensive items just to please people, who might not appreciate it. But even a slightest of effort to connect with these children will be appreciated with a sincere heart,” said Nitin.

The company has covered all media for maximum reach. “All one has do is to give a miss call on mobile No. 07053123123. By giving this miss call, participants will be confirming their involvement in this movement. An automated call back will request a participant to record his/her festive wish for these underprivileged children. For every wish recorded Dabur has committed to give one pack of Réal fruit beverage to a child in need.

Amod K Kanth, general secretary of Prayas and former chairman of the Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said, “I strongly believe that this initiative is certainly going to touch lives of millions of underprivileged children across India.” 

Amritsar, October 12
A four-day Zonal Youth Festival of C-zone comprising colleges from Jalandhar district affiliated with Guru Nanak Dev University was inaugurated at Dashmesh Auditorium on the university campus here today. The event started with a presentation of bhangra.

As many as 450 students-artistes are participating in 28 items of music, theatre, dance, literary and fine arts. The festival will conclude on Wednesday.

Sub Divisional Magistrate, Amritsar, Rajesh Sharma, inaugurated the festival by lighting candles.

Professor in charge (hospitality), Dr Gurpreet Kaur Bal, was the guest of honour. Dr Jagjit Kaur, director, Youth Welfare, welcomed the chief guest and others. She presented details of the achievements of the Youth Welfare Department.

Sharma said youth festivals were integral part of a student’s life. “I was also a student of this university so I share a special bond with it. I think that the university should also participate in the state-level functions and administration should also extend all possible support for such cultural events which develop the overall persona of a student,” he added.

Dr Gurpreet Kaur Bal also presented her views on the occasion. Dr Jagjit Kaur presented mementoes to the chief guest and the guest of honour.

The festival started with bhangra followed by group song (Indian), one act play, group shabad/bhajan, vaar singing, kavishri and fine arts. Competitions of one act play, costume exhibition, mimicry, mime, classical instrument (percussion), classical instrument (non-percussion), classical vocal, elocution, poetical symposium and debate will held be on Monday.

Competitions in skit, folk instruments, classical dance, quiz, folk song, geet/gazal, rangoli and phulkari will be held on Tuesday. Students will compete in group dance, giddha, western vocal solo and group song (western), which will be followed by a prize distribution function on Wednesday, the last day of the Zonal Youth Festival.

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