Dr Shivcharan Kahlon, district health officer, along with other members of his team inspects the sweets during the raid in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: RK SONI

Amritsar, October 15
While the festive season is underway, the Health Department has seized around 100 quintals of sweets that were being prepared in unhygienic conditions in an illegal factory in the Mustafabad area on the Batala road during a raid last evening.

According to information, the owner of the factory did not have the requisite license under the Food Safety and Standard Act for storing and preparing such huge quantities of sweets. Health officials revealed that the sweets were being prepared and stored in highly unhygienic conditions where rats were roaming freely and the sweets were not even covered to prevent dust and dirt from falling on these.

The sweets were to be distributed in Gurdaspur, Dinanagar, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur and other adjoining areas of Amritsar, including the Jalandhar and the Tarn Taran areas. The department took samples of the sweets, which were sent to Chandigarh for examination.

Dr Shivcharan Kahlon, district health officer, said the factory was owned by Naresh Kumar of the Jawahar Nagar area, who also reached the site later on. Kahlon said the department had sealed the factory and 100 quintals of sweets stored there. Further action would be initiated after getting the report.

“It would have taken more than a day to prepare such a huge quantity of sweets. That means it was several days old and hence could be dangerous for the health of the people,” Kahlon pointed out.

He further said that according to the Food Safety and Standard Act, it was mandatory to have medical examination of all persons, be it owners or employees involved in preparing food items, done. But no one in the factory here had the documents regarding their medical examination. He reinforced the fact that sweets were being prepared in a filthy environment.

Amritsar, October 15
After being pressurised from various quarters, the MC authorities were compelled to terminate the contract for filling MC vehicles with a fuel station in the Damgunj area. The fuel station reportedly belonged to an influential BJP councillor.

The decision to hire a private filling station was passed in the House meeting as it was viewed that it could provide cheaper fuel. Yet, when this particular filling station was hired for the purpose, the decision was opposed by various MC unions and the Opposition party leaders.

Further, the Municipal Act, 1976, clearly says that no employee of the MC or councillor can be a partner in any kind of business activity, directly or indirectly, with the MC, but this petrol pump catered to the MC vehicles.

The Opposition Congress and the SAD-BJP alliance leaders locked horns, levelling corruption charges against each other over the issue.

The Youth Congress Amritsar president, Vikas Soni, and the Leader of the Opposition, Congress councillor Raj Kanwal Preet Pal Singh Lucky, had recently demanded that the contract should be ended as it was against the norms of the Municipal Act.

The pump also invited attention when a suspended Municipal and Town Planner, Des Raj, levelled similar charges.

Nonetheless, after around 10 months, the contract has been terminated. Now, the MC vehicles will get fuel from the government-owned petrol pump in the MC’s auto workshop.

MC Commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal confirmed that the contract had been terminated, but maintained, “It was not at all due to some political pressure, but because we were getting cheaper fuel directly from the oil company and we saved money.”

It is learnt that the private filling station offers diesel at the rate of Rs 58.45 per litre, whereas the same quantity is now available at Rs 56.63 at the government-run petrol pump.

On the other hand, Lucky said the earlier decision had to be withdrawn because the matter, pertaining to obliging the owner of the fuel station as he happened to be a close relative of Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi, had attracted criticism and at the instance of the government, the contract had to be cancelled.

MC Workers’ Union general secretary Surinder Tona said it was their long-pending demand to arrange fuel from the government-owned petrol pump only. “It was a political game just to please a man who was a relative of the Cabinet Minister. It was a late move to cancel the contract, but was an appreciable step. We are happy to have saved public money which means lakhs of rupees per month. Today, as many as 120 vehicles got fuel from the MC’s filling station,” he said.

Amritsar, October 15
The temporary firecracker market is expected to become operational in a day or two at New Amritsar. Many of the firecracker traders, who have been allotted space at the temporary firecracker market at New Amritsar, received temporary licences under the Explosives Act from the Police Commissioner’s office to sell firecrackers today.

The Amritsar Fireworks Association president, Harish Dhawan, said a majority of the makeshift stalls were set up in the New Amritsar area. He said the firework traders, who were allotted stalls, received forms to apply for a licence from the Police Commissioner’s office only yesterday.

He said the temporary market was expected to be operational within a day or two.

The Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) has increased the number of booths from 50 to 70 to set up a temporary firecracker market ahead of Diwali in the New Amritsar area on the GT road. A provision for setting up 70 booths was made. Each firework trader was allotted space at a fee of Rs 28,100, including service tax, to the AIT and another Rs 35,000 was shelled out as a cost of 12’x25’ booths. 

Amritsar, October 15
Though there is no provision for registering electric battery-operated eco-rickshaws under the Motor Vehicles Act, its popularity is increasing among commuters.

A vigilant resident, Naresh Johar, said in case of a mishap, it would be difficult to pin-point the guilty as no registeration numbers were visible on these e-rickshaws.

While scores of illegal auto-rickshaws are plying on the city roads, the battery-operated rickshaws are gaining ground in the city, particularly in the walled-city areas. These autos are quite popular among tourists visiting the Golden Temple as their smaller size makes mobility easier for them in the congested lanes of the old city areas.

A private company had launched the electric battery-operated eco-rickshaws as part of the public transport system in May 2013 in the city.

The approach to the seats for the passengers has been kept low with just two steps, making it advantageous for the elderly, the women and the children.

With no policy in place for such battery-operated rickshaws, they can only be purchased on cash-down payment.

These relatively soundless rickshaws emit zero per cent pollutants and are a hot favourite among tourists, especially the foreigners.

When one drives down the narrow lanes of the walled city here, especially around the Golden Temple, these China-made eco-rickshaws are conspicuous by their simple and efficient design.

Costing over Rs 1 lakh each, these six-seat colourful rickshaws draw power from four batteries. The vehicle runs for around eight hours, once it is charged, and is capable of running at least 75 km at one go. The maximum speed of this gearless eco-rickshaw is 35 km per hour.

Automobile traders import knock-down kits from China and assemble them here. As these rickshaws do not come under the purview of the Motor Vehicles Act, they require no registration or licence and are also easy to manoeuvere, which is best suited in the narrow lanes of the holy city.

The vehicle consumes nearly five units of electricity for a full charge. This means that it will cost somewhere between Rs 35 and Rs 40 to run it for 75 km at one go. It is far better than the conventional auto-rickshaw since its maintenance and running cost is quite low.

DTO Lovejeet Kalsi said she was aware of many e-rickshaws are running in the city, but these were not registered with her department and could not be registered under the Motor Vehicles Act. She said she was not aware which authority had authorised these eco-rickshaws to operate. 

Amritsar, October 15
The Punjab Swarnkar Sangh (PSS) today observed a strike and the jewellers kept their shops closed in protest against the government’s move to impose 50 per cent penalty on any discrepancy committed in completing the paperwork of gold or silver articles’ transaction.

PSS president Jagjit Singh Sehdev said the city’s gold jewellery was once counted as number three, but now it was no longer in the reckoning. He said thousands of artisans were employed in nose pin manufacturing, which was supplied across the country. The jewellers also submitted a memorandum to the office of the Deputy Commissioner. — TNS

Amritsar, October 15
A Lancer car and a truck collided at the new Batala road bypass here today. Though no loss of life was reported, occupants of the vehicles received injuries. In the head-on collision, the truck turned turtle while the car was damaged badly.

In an earlier incident on the same stretch, an ASI and his wife were crushed to death while three others were injured in a head-on collision between their car and a private bus on September 25. There is virtually no check on this stretch and the vehicles generally ply on the wrong side of the road to save fuel and take a shortcut.

Apart from the regular traffic, huge rush of school and college going students is witnessed on this road. Global Institutes Colleges and DAV International School are located near this road.

Commuters indulge in speeding on the newly built and wide road. However, when they see the traffic coming from the opposite direction they often get confused, which results in an accident.

The bypass road was constructed to facilitate easy connectivity for the commuters travelling from Amritsar to Batala, Gurdaspur and Pathankot. It has also witnessed a couple of serious road accidents in the past.

Many daily commuters are perturbed over the wrong approach of commuters as they violate traffic norms and put their lives at risk.

Vice-chariman of Global Institutes, Dr Akashdeep Singh, has written to Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh to draw his attention to rampant traffic violations and accidents on the bypass road. He said accidents occurred due to the negligence of the commuters, who drive their vehicles on wrong side to take a shortcut route. A number of accidents had occurred since the road became motorable some time back, he added.

When contacted, ADCP Dhruman Nimbale said, “An ACP rank officer has been deputed to find a permanent solution to traffic violations on the stretch. Instructions have been issued to take punitive action against violators.” 

Amritsar, October 15
The city police is still groping in dark about the sensational robbery case in which several unidentified persons had looted Rs 22 lakh from a cashier of Punjab Roadways workshop, located in front of the historic Gobindgarh fort here, a few weeks ago.

The Civil Lines police was working on a couple of theories, but nothing concrete had come out in the case so far, said Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh.

The incident occurred on the intervening night of October 3 and 4. Unidentified armed persons took the security guard hostage after overpowering him when he came out to easing himself. After that the accused went to the cashier’s room where they caught hold of the cashier, Maninder Singh, and took away the cash.

The modus operandi of the culprits points towards an insider’s hand in the case. The robbers knew that there was only one security guard and cashier inside the workshop on the fateful night. They were also aware that the cashier was in possession of Rs 22 lakh as he could not deposit the daily bus ticket proceeds for the past three days in a bank due to holidays.

Maninder stated to the police that the accused knew that he was carrying keys of the locker in his pocket. He said when the accused gained entry into the cashier’s room after injuring the security guard, they demanded the keys. However, he denied having the keys. The robbers said they knew that he had keys in his pants pocket and threatened to kill him in case he did not hand over keys to them.

Aulakh said the police was working on various theories, but nothing concrete had come out so far. “Investigations were under progress and hopefully we will find some clues in the case,” he added.

Amritsar, October 15
Guru Nanak Dev University campus is now under electronic surveillance. The authorities have installed closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras at vulnerable points of the university campus, enhanced mobility of the security squad, raised boundary wall with a barbed wire fence and improved the mechanism to scrutinise visitors’ antecedents before letting them gain entry to the complex.

These steps have been taken following intruders sneaking into the girls’ hostel and incidents of eve teasing and firing during the youth festival events, which were held recently. University’s boundary wall has been raised up to 10 foot by fixing a two foot barbed mesh on it. Patrolling along the wall has been intensified.

With the fresh recruitment of the staff, the present strength of guards has gone upto 140, which includes six female security guards, who have been deployed at girls’ hostel on rotational basis, for keeping a round-the-clock vigil.

Registrar, Dr Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, said security has been tightened on the campus. Three additional security guards for night shifts have been deployed at girls hostels, besides the female guards, who are deputed in the late hours.

“Now, there are four guards, who keep a vigil from 5 pm to 9 am. Female guards are on duty from 8 pm to 5 am in hostel’s corridors and students’ barracks. Two guards patrol on both sides of the boundary wall,” added Dhillon.

He said the need for installing CCTV cameras was felt, especially during the functions or youth festivals, which were organised on the university campus. During such occasions, a number of outsiders managed to gain entry by skipping the security check.

Dhillon said, “In the recent firing incident during the youth festival on the campus, outsiders were involved. That’s why CCTV cameras have been installed on the campus for keeping a round-the-clock vigil. We have also revamped our identification process at the entrance and exit points,” he said.

University’s security officer, Col Harbans Singh, appealed to students to adhere to hostel rules, regulations and take personal safety measures like keeping their valuables under lock and key, bolting doors from inside and follow the laid down hostel timings.

Amritsar, October 15
Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar, lifted the A division overall championship trophy whereas BD Arya Girls College, Jalandhar Cantt, clinched the overall championship trophy in the B division during the ongoing C Zone Youth Festival of Guru Nanak Dev University here today. The C zone includes affiliated colleges of Jalandhar districts.

In the A division, Appejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, remained runners-up and DAV College, Jalandhar, stood third. In the B division, MGSM Janta College, Kartarpur, remained second and Trinity College, Jalandhar, and CT Institute of Higher Studies, Jalandhar, stood third jointly.

JS Sodhi, Regional Passport Officer, Amritsar, presided over the valedictory function. Dr Sukhi Brar, president, World Punjabi Heritage Foundation, was the guest of honour and Harbans Singh Takhar, chairman, World Punjabi Hertiage Foundation, was a special guest on the occasion.

While addressing the participants, Sodhi said students should not forget their rich cultural heritage. He also encouraged them to perform better in every field for a successful life, besides concentrating on their academic front.

Sodhi congratulated Dr Jagjit Kaur, director, Youth Welfare, for suc-cessfully organising the youth festival.

The winners were awarded trophies by Dr Jagjit Kaur, Sodhi and Brar. Dr Jagjit also honoured Sodhi and Brar with mementos. 

Amritsar, October 15
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes has directed the Department of Medical Education and Research (DMER) and Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences (BFUMS), to send a concrete proposal to the Medical Council of India (MCI) for shifting agitating students of Chintpurni Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) to other recognised medical colleges of Punjab.

It also asked them to clarify in the proposal whether it would take over the college as per undertaking given to the Central government and the MCI while issuing an essential certificate to the college. The commission also instructed the Medical Education Department and BFUMS to send the proposal within a week.

It pointed out that during the foundation of any medical college the state government issued an essential certificate in which it gave an undertaking to the MCI and the Central government that in case the college failed to meet the standards of the MCI then it would either take over the college to save the future of the students or would shift students to other colleges in the state.

The directions were issued during a meeting held in Chandigarh in which Husan Lal, secretary, Medical Education and Research, Punjab, SS Gill, Vice- Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences, and Shikhar Ranjan of the MCI were present. The commission had summoned them to appear before it in order to resolve the issue of the agitating students.

Over 100 students of the CMCH have been on the path of agitation since September 27. They are demanding shifting to other medical colleges in view of de-recognition of their college by the MCI.

During the meeting, MCI official said the council had not given recognition to the CMCH from 2011 onwards and as far as the shifting of students was concerned, Baba Farid University and the Punjab government had not sent any proposal to the MCI.

Following a writ petition by several students, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the state government to secure the data of recommendations of the MCI, stand of the college and prepare a report in this matter. The court asked the state government to send this report to the Central government within a period of eight weeks for further necessary action.

In the meeting, when Husan Lal said the DMER had already written to the MCI in this connection, the students said neither the government nor the DMER had sent any proposal for shifting them to other colleges. They showed the documents in which the VC had asked the government to shift the students due to the de-recognition of their medical college.

The DMER had also sought a detailed list of seats vacant in other medical colleges from the government on September 12.

Raj Kumar Verka, vice-president of the commission, said when the government was aware of all the facts then why it had not initiated any steps for shifting the students or taking over the medical college for securing the future of the students.

Meanwhile the agitating students said they would continue their agitation till they were shifted to other medical colleges in the state.

Amritsar, October 15
The hosts, Khalsa College Public School (KCPS) and Sri Ram Ashram School, won the first place in the Sahodaya Inter-School Nukad–Naatak competition here today. The second position was held jointly by DAV Public School and Amritsar Public School. The skits were performed on the topic for the CBSE schools “Desh Samaj School Abhiyaan Saafai Rabb Da Duja Naam,” said Principal of the KCPS, Dr Sarvjit Kaur Brar. Twenty schools participated in the event, she added.

Jatinder Singh Brar, chairman of Punjab Naatshala, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said each school performed well and took over the message of “Swachhata” which meant clean thoughts, clean surroundings, clean school and clean India.

Principal Brar welcomed the chief guest, judges, all participants along with their teachers and other distinguished guests. MKD DAV Public School, Neshta, Attari received the third prize. Consolation prizes were given to Senior Study-II, Amritsar, and Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, GT Road, Amritsar.

Dr Brar applauded the efforts of students. She said “Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi would help in making India clean and green, the one as visualised by Mahatma Gandhi. 

Amritsar, October 15
Amritsar glided into semi-finals of the Under-17 (boys) hockey after beating Jarkhar wing 2-0 in the Punjab School Games here today.

In other contests in the Under-17 (boys) category, Tarn Taran beat Sports School 3-1, Chhehart Wing beat Sri Muktsar Sahib 6-0 and Jalandhar trounced Patiala 3-1. — TNS

Amritsar, October 15
The Amritsar rural police have booked two persons in an attempt to rape a married woman. The incident occurred in Vanjawala village falling under Ajnala police station. The police have registered a case under Sections 376, 511 and 34 of the IPC in this regard.

Among those booked include Sukhdev Singh of Lakhowal village and his unidentified accomplice. Sukhdev is brother of victim’s sister-in-law.

In her complaint to the police, the victim stated that on October 6 she received a call from Sukhdev in which he identified himself as her brother Bittu. He said her brother Sucha Singh had met with an accident and he was coming to take her.

She said when she came outside her house she found Sukhdev and another unidentified person standing near her house. She alleged that the accused pulled her towards fields and tried to rape her. When she raised an alarm her father-in-law, Beant Singh, reached the spot and the accused fled from the place on their motorcycle.

The police said no arrests have been made so far as the suspects were absconding. Investigations were under progress and raids were being conducted to arrest the accused, said the police.