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5 cops suspended for misconduct
Court demands report on RTI activist’s complaint
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AIF initiates tab-lab project at special school
New chairman of market committee nominated
546th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev
Award winning films screened at DAV College
30 city schools participate in Maa Boli Mela
Change of strategy helps BSF nail smugglers
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5 cops suspended for misconduct
Amritsar, November 5 After scrutinising the matter, sub-inspector Baldev Raj, ASI Makhan Singh and three other policemen were put under suspension, allegedly for insubordination and causing inconvenience to the public while on duty. Even as the police maintained that the decision was taken without any political pressure, it appeared otherwise. The involvement of BJP councillor and his supporters, including Mayor Arora, appeared to be the backdrop of the development, which led to the suspension of the policemen. DCP Bikram Pal Singh Bhatti said, “The decision was taken solely on the basis of merit. The policemen were authorised to monitor traffic management but they could never be spared for their misconduct with the general public.” For the past few days, special nakas are being set up outside schools to check traffic violations, especially, by schoolchildren One such check point was laid today at 4S Chowk, where two schools are located. The under-questioned councillor, who was also one of the trustees of the school, had objected to police’s move to ‘terrorise’ the schoolchildren. After a verbal duel, the traffic in-charge and his team allegedly pushed the BJP councillor in the police vehicle and took him to the DCP’s office under the offence of disrupting the official duty. Following this, BJP leaders and the Mayor reached the spot and demanded action in this regard. Mahajan said the policemen had been ‘terrorising’ schoolchildren instead of regulating the traffic. “I reached the spot when I got a call from the parents of some schoolchildren that their children had been stranded in the school as they were afraid of taking their vehicles out,” he said. Schoolchildren also staged a dharna outside the gate of the school against the dictatorial attitude of the police. “This was quite horrible on the part of the policemen to terrorise schoolchildren as they feared that they would be issued challans if they come out. Around 25 challans were issued by the associates of sub-inspector Baldev Raj outside the school. I requested them to be lenient but they were adamant despite the fact that I had disclosed my identity. Sub-inspector Baldev Raj not only threatened me but also forcibly took me to the Sadar police station and on frivolous grounds. It was then that my party supporters reached the spot and got me freed. Individually, I have no grudges but the way the policemen misbehaved with us was unwarranted,” he said. The district president of the BJP, Naresh Sharma, demanded that the policemen should be dismissed from service. Naresh Sharma said the matter had been brought to the notice of state president of the BJP, Kamal Sharma, who is coming to the city tomorrow. “We will demand transfer of top traffic police officials, including the SP (Traffic) for threatening and manhandling BJP worker Suresh Mahajan,” he said. Earlier, on October 31, a local BJP leader had entered into a brawl with an assistant sub-inspector of the traffic wing after the latter stopped his supporter for checking the documents of his vehicle. The ASI alleged that the BJP leader tore his uniform. On the other hand, the BJP leader accused the ASI of “misbehaviour”. Both have lodged a complaint with the Ram Bagh police in this regard and the matter is under investigation.
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Court demands report on RTI activist’s complaint
Amritsar, November 5 The court of Judicial Magistrate Class I, Parminder Kaur, has directed an SHO to submit the report on November 7. Earlier, a local activist had filed a complaint before the court in July 2010 alleging that he was thrashed by a few persons led by a GMC doctor Shiv Charan after he had appeared before a college committee to give a statement about the illegal confinement of a patient by the then head of the Medicine Department Dr Santokh Singh. The committee was constituted on directions of then Minister of Research and Medical Education, Tikshan Sud. Activist Ravinder Sultanwind had filed a complaint against Dr Santokh Singh, who is presently the principal of the college, for alleged illegal confinement of a patient Harjinder Singh of Chawinda Kalan
village. Harjinder Singh’s family had alleged that the doctors were not discharging him from hospital as the family was unable to pay Rs 15,000 as demanded. The case is presently being heard by the Human Rights Commission. The patient was discharged from the hospital after the issue was highlighted on April 19. The college had later constituted a committee to enquire into the case in which Sultanwind was asked to appear. “It was after I came out of the meeting on May 28, 2010 that a few doctors, mostly post graduate students, led by Dr Shiv Charan, attacked me. “The committee members, including the then Medical Superintendent Dr RPS Boparia, principal Dr SS Shergill and another senior doctor AS Thind were present there and had called the police,” said Sultanwind. He alleged that as the assailants were influential people, the police had failed to register the complaint after which, he approached the court. However, the department had suspended Dr Shiv Charan for interrupting the probe being conducted by the committee.
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SAD-BJP rift surfaces over dumping yard issue
Amritsar, November 5 However, Mayor Arora termed it as an ‘irresponsible’ statement just to gain “unnecessary political mileage”. Trukkanwala and Deputy Mayor Avinash Jolly (both from SAD) along with Municipal Corporation officials, including MC Health Officer Dr Charanjit Singh, visited the residential areas around this dumping site as the residents there have been protesting that garbage heaps continue to mount there resulting in serious health problems. It is said that Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu had also scheduled to visit Bhagtanwala dumping site but the idea was dropped at the last moment. Nonetheless, showing solidarity with the residents, Trukkanwala stated that their cause was genuine and if need be, he and his party men would stage a dharna along with the protestors. “The conditions under which these residents have been living are alarming. The authorities should have taken preventive measures. Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora (who heads the civic administration) has visited the dumping site many times. We have repeatedly pleaded to find a solution to this problem but in vain. We will join the protesting residents if the Mayor does not do anything about it,” he said. Reacting to the allegations, Mayor Arora outrightly condemned the statements made by Trukkanwala. “It was irresponsible on the part of the senior deputy mayor to issue such reckless statements. He is my immediate subordinate and has been aware of all the internal problems of the civic administration. He knows quite well that earnest efforts are being made to set up a solid waste management project and the process is in progress. Then, why was it necessary to issue such statements. Was it just to gain ‘undue political attention’,” he asked. While the much-awaited solid waste management plant project continues to hang fire for more than five years, in the absence of proper vigil, garbage was being dumped in a very unprofessional manner here at Bhagtanwala resulting in hepatitis and other respiratory problem among the residents. Around 50,000 residents live in the localities around the site. They have demanded that garbage be removed at the earliest. Satnam Singh said around 70 per cent of the population living in the vicinity had been suffering
from various health problems due to the smoke emanating from the dumping yard. “Garbage is being dumped here not only by eight local bodies of Amritsar but also from Tarn Taran,” he said. Mahinder Kaur, a resident of the area, said she had recently lost her husband as he was suffering from acute respiratory problem. Another resident Nawal Chawla said the MC men lit the garbage on fire to dispose it of but the smoke it generated was highly dangerous for area residents causing. “I have lost my 25-year-old son. He was also suffering from a breathing problem,” he said.
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AIF initiates tab-lab project at special school
Amritsar, November 5 Under the project, The AIF Trust donated 11 tabs for children of Pehal Special School, located on the campus of Saragarhi Memorial Government Senior Secondary School, Maal Mandi. The school for special children is being run by Sarva Sikhya Abhiyaan authorities. Tab-lab project was jointly inaugurated by DEO (secondary education) Satinderbir Singh and DEO (elementary) Jugraj Singh. Jugraj said tab-lab would help in making the teaching-learning process more interactive and interesting. Davinder has made arrangements for an internet connection for the tab-lab. The foundation’s state coordinator, Harinder Singh, said tab-lab equipped with digital content would help in improving the learning level of students. The AIF was involved in teacher training in government schools in Punjab through digital equalizer (DE) programme in association with state government since 2006. The DE is a techno-pedagogy programme, which focused on integration of technology and project based learning (PBL) approach in school curriculum. The foundation has covered 850 government schools under the DE programme. Among those who were present on the occasion include superintendent Kamal Kant, Parmod Midha, Principal Balwinder Singh, Balraj Singh, chairman Harjit Singh, IED coordinator Dharminder Singh and school staff of the Pehal School.
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7 children of Pingalwara Society to participate in Special Olympics
Amritsar, November 5 President of the society, Dr Inderjit Kaur, said the children would be representing the country in basket ball and powerlifting events. Out of the seven inmates, six are girls. More than 7,000 special children from across the globe will be participating in Special Olympics. Dr Inderjit Kaur said they did not know the names of their parents and they were facing a problem in getting their passports issued. “The case was being considered by the Ministry of External Affairs as a special case and all the children have been issued passports valid for one year,” she said. Their date of birth mentioned in the passports is the dates on which they had arrived at the pingalwara. Dr Kaur said one of the children, Raju Rajinder, was a national record holder in powerlifting. She said the entire pingalwara family was proud of all the children. A film on the life of Bhagat Pooran Singh, the founder of the Pingalwara Society would be released in January next year, she added. She said the movie would depict the struggle and zeal of Bhagat ji to help humanity. She informed that a senior citizen from Delhi, Dadi Balsara, who had met Bhagat Pooran Singh around 30 years ago, had given Rs 2 crore to the society. She said Dadi Balsara had donated a portion of his property valued at Rs 2 crore, which was recently paid by his lawyers through a cheque. She also disclosed about another donation made by a New Delhi-based hotelier, who has sent Rs 1.85 lakh collected as shagun money from his relatives and friends on his marriage.
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New chairman of market committee nominated
Amritsar, November 5 As per the orders, Gurpreet Singh and Sarabjeet Singh have been nominated as the chairman and vice chairman of the committee, whereas Tavinder Kaur, Pritpal Singh, Sartaj Singh, Jagtar Singh, Harjit Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Balwinder Singh, Pratap Singh, Lakhwinder Kaur, Balwinder Singh, Dilbagh Singh, Gurmeet Singh Shah, Gurnam Singh and Dilbagh Singh, besides the concerned BDPO have been nominated as the members of the committee.
— TNS
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546th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Tribune News Service
Amritsar, November 5 Led by Panj Piaras, the devotees took part in the religious procession, which passed through various markets of the city. Students of schools, colleges, school bands, singh sabhas, taksals, religious sabha-societies, Nihang Singh organisations, satka parties, employees of the SGPC, dharam prachar committee and others took part in the Nagar Kirtan. Meanwhile, Khalsa College Governing Council (KCGC) took out a religious procession from Khalsa College to the Golden Temple. Students, teachers and staff of 17 educational institutions run by the KCGC participated in the procession. The procession, led by flower-decked palanquin (Palki Sahib) and five beloveds (Panj Piaras), had students reciting verses of Gurbani and singing devotional songs. It passed through the GT Road, Putlighar, Queen’s Road, Bhandari Bridge, Hall Bazaar, and finally culminated at the Golden Temple with the offering of prayers. The people lined up on both sides of the roads to pay obeisance to Guru Granth Sahib, carried in the Palki. KCGC functionaries, including honorary secretary Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, led the devotees, who amid beats of ‘nagadas’ (giant drums) and slogans of “Bole so Nihal” passed through city roads. More than 15,000 students, teachers, principals and staff members of schools participated in the procession. Chhina said as per their tradition set in 1912, they had been taking out the Nagar Kirtan annually. He thanked the people and organisations, who accorded a warm welcome to the procession on the way to the Golden Temple. The major attraction of the procession was Gatka and other martial art stunts performed by the students of Khalsa College and other institutions. Chief of Chief Khalsa Diwan and vice-president of the KCGC, Charanjit Singh Chadha, welcomed the procession. Students and the staff members of Ashok Vatika School also paid respect to Guru Nank Dev at a programme held on its campus.
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Award winning films screened at DAV College
Amritsar, November 5 The event started with the screening of film “Harvest of grief” by Anwar Jamal. Prof Arif Nazir, Head of the Department of Mass Communication and Video Production introduced the film to audience. The aim of the film was to create awareness regarding environmental issues. The film “Harvest of grief” deals with farmer suicide cases in Punjab, which is a cause of concern among various factions of society. Principal of DAV College, Dr KN Kaul, while addressing students emphasised on the need of preserving environment for future generations. He also discussed the latest technology of film making, which has brought forward these issues. In the second and third sessions of the festival, films titled “The moor” and “The tiger dynasty” were screened, which was followed by a question-answer session in which students asked questions related to the environment. The film “The moor” deals with the biodiversity of the often rarely recognised habitat. It gives the message to save and preserve the last moors. The film “The tiger dynasty” deals with the challenging journey of young tigress, which she undertakes to retrieve lost territory and begin a new dynasty. Students of MA (Hindi), BSc (med), BSc (biotech), MA (English) and BSc (economics) were present during all the three sessions. The faculty members of the Department of Mass Communication and Video Production, Prof Sania Arora, Prof Puneet Kaur Dhillon, Prof Ritika and Prof Vani interacted with students and discussed in detail issues related to the environment. Prof Sandeep Kumar, session moderator and Prof Kiran Khanna were also present during the screening of the films.
— TNS
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30 city schools participate in Maa Boli Mela
Amritsar, November 5 The event was held at Spring Dale Senior School. Cambridge International School, Loharka Road, won the first position in sufi and folk singing competitions. Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School, Sultanwind Gate, was first in calligraphy competition organised on the occasion. Teams from 30 schools in the district competed for the top slots in speech, poetry, sufi songs, folk songs, multimedia, calligraphy, mehndi and quiz competitions, which were held during during the mela. The event was dedicated to late Dr Shivinder Singh Sandhu and Manveen Sandhu. Dr Kirat Sandhu Cheema, director, Punarjyot, and Sahiljit Singh Sandhu, director and managing trustee, Spring Dale Educational Society, said their parents, late Dr Shivinder Singh Sandhu and Manveen Sandhu, had started the “Maa Boli Mela” in 2007 to inculcate love for Punjabi among youth. “Punjabi is our mother tongue and we all should learn to take pride in it,” they added.
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Administration fails to maintain public toilets in city
Amritsar, November 5 Stink emanating from these toilets makes it difficult for the people to use these public places. The dirty toilet outside Shahid Madan Lal Dhingra Inter-State Bus Terminal (ISBT) has forced people to urinate in the open. Due to this the outer wall of the bus stand stinks and presents a dismal look. Social activist, Harpinder Singh Walia, who resides near the bus stand, said the authorities concerned and the people were responsible for the poor condition. He said there was another toilet inside the bus stand, but people instead of using the facility still urinated in the open. A near similar situation exists outside the railway station. A toilet is located close to the entry road to the railway station, but the people were still easing themselves in the open outside the boundary wall. Neither the Railways nor the civic authorities have initiated any effort to prevent the residents from open defecation. Besides, it casts a bad impression a high number of tourists coming to the city by trains, said, Balbir Singh, a resident of the railway link road.
— TNS
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Wildlife film festival ends at GNDU
Amritsar, November 5 A green film making workshop for students was held on the concluding day of the festival for volunteers from various schools and colleges of the city. The workshop was introduced by Dr Adarsh Pal Vig, associate professor, and city coordinator of the festival. He welcomed all dignitaries, volunteers and Mohd Aamir Aijaz, a film maker from the American India Foundation Trust, New Delhi. He apprised the audience about film making process, which comprised of various steps such as production, editing, media planning etc. The event began with the address of Sundeep C Srivastava, in which he stressed on the importance of promoting cinematic exposure among young minds. As many as 43 participants from the city underwent training on how to shoot green films, based on the theme of environment. They were taken to Botanical Garden for shooting small clips on biodiversity under the guidance of expert film maker. Participants will also be taught production and editing films shot by them. Dr Adarsh Pal Vig said various national award winning films were being screened across the city at various places, including Hindu College, GD Goenka Public School, All India Pingalwara Charitable Society and Central Jail, Amritsar, to cover all sections of society and make the people aware about environment issues. The film festival received a tremendous response from students, teachers, organisations, research scholars, who also participated in the event. A team of faculty members, research scholars, and students of the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences volunteered to conduct all programmes and screen films throughout the city.
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Change of strategy helps BSF nail smugglers
Amritsar, November 5 Earlier, they managed to escape from the spot taking the advantage of the darkness and hiding in fields with standing crop. Three smugglers from Indian side have been killed in the smuggling incidents recently. On the intervening night of September 23-24, the BSF gunned down two Indian smugglers in Khalra sector. The BSF jawans noticed suspicious movements of Pakistani smugglers, who were trying to throw some packets towards Indian side of the border. When jawans challenged Pak smugglers, they fled back while Indian smugglers started firing at them. These smugglers were shot dead when the BSF jawans retaliated. A pistol, a magazine and seven live cartridges were recovered from the spot. Recently, the 38 battalion of the BSF, deputed at Bohar Wadala border outpost, near Dera Baba Nanak, Gurdaspur, held three Indian smugglers, one of whom succumbed to injuries. The BSF confiscated 22 kg heroin, besides arms, ammunition and four mobile phones from their possession. RPS Jaswal, DIG, BSF, said there was a little strategic change. After advance intelligence inputs and noticing the suspicious movements of Pak-based smugglers, the BSF was trying to hold ‘depth nakas’, just a few metres before the border fence. The plan was to arrest Indian smugglers, who used to escape earlier. Ashok Kumar, IG, BSF, said this would help in scaling down smuggling attempts. A number of Pakistani smugglers were shot dead by the force during previous bids. Due to this, a lesser number of smugglers from the other side were coming near the fence as it involved great risk to life. It was also forcing Indian smugglers to come near the border fence. “The killing of Indian smugglers will definitely hit their morale and they will think hundreds of times before coming to the border for smuggling,” said the
IG.
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