Amritsar, November 13
A large number of residents and shopkeepers supported by representatives of various political parties today held a protest march and staged a dharna in protest against the move to fix iron grills on the road dividers on either side of the Airport road under the BRTS project. Traders feared that besides hampering the movement of the common man, it would hit their trade hard.

They sat on a dharna under the Gumtala bridge and the U-turn of Meerakot Chowk on the Airport road, which hampered the movement of traffic. The agitation continued for a couple of hours. Later, they handed over a memorandum to the ADCP (city-II), Ketan Patil, and Sanjiv Kumar, Tehsildar, Amritsar-II. The business establishments kept their shops and petrol pumps closed due to the agitation and threatened to intensify their protest in the near future. The agitators were wearing black badges. They raised slogans against the Punjab Government against the move.

Among those present during the protest included District Congress Committee (rural) president Gurjit Aujla, Sandy Randhawa of the PPP, Amarjit Singh Asal of the CPI and leaders from the AAP.

Aujla said the business of local traders would be ruined if iron grills were fixed on either side of the road. He alleged that the step was one of the many tactics of the Punjab Government to devour public funds. Aujla said if the administration didn’t come out with a solution, more protests would be staged. He threatened that if the administration failed to stop work or come out with an alternative, they would intensify the agitation.

Amarjit Singh Asal, CPI district secretary, said this was an ill-conceived plan and would hit the common man the most.

The residents would have to travel extra miles in order to enter the lane of their residential colonies and even for going across the road.

Sandy Randhawa of the PPP said the government should not play with the lives of the people. The traders would be forced to shut their business once these iron grills were installed.

Amritsar, November 12
In order to provide a secure environment to hundreds of tourists visiting the holy city, the city police will launch a new-look tourism police from next month.

According to police authorities, they have deputed new police recruits, who are not only highly educated but also fluent in speaking English for conversing with the tourists, especially the foreign nationals. Earlier, the major hurdle which the tourism police faced was that the policemen used to find it difficult to converse in English with foreigners.

Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said a group of around 100 girls and boys, who were recently recruited into the Police Department, had been selected for the job and they were being trained about how to deal and converse with the tourists in a polite manner. He said the tourism police would be visible at various prominent tourist places besides the airport, railway station and bus stand.

Amritsar is one of the major tourist destinations in the world, housing the Golden Temple, the Durgiana Temple and the historic Jallianwala Bagh. Tourists throng the retreat ceremony at the Attari-Wagah joint check-post, Pull Kanjri near Attari besides other religious and heritage places.

The holy city witnesses rush of a huge number of devotees and tourists who throng various religious and heritage places daily. However, they become easy targets of snatchers and unscrupulous elements, who fleece them in the absence of any mechanism to guide them properly. A number of auto-rickshaw drivers are seen following and fleecing tourists.

In a recent incident, a Pakistani national was robbed by snatchers. Last year, a Denmark national was allegedly molested by an auto-rickshaw driver in the city. The young Denmark national came to Amritsar regarding some research work. As soon as she alighted from train and crossed the road through the footbridge to reach her hotel, an auto-rickshaw driver sexually harassed her. The victim was so frightened after the incident that she left for Delhi just a day after. Though the police had arrested the accused within 12 hours, it brought a bad name to the holy city. Just a day after this incident, Uttrakhand residents were allegedly assaulted by several youths near the Hathi Gate.

Therefore, the need of a dedicated force for helping the tourists, especially foreigners, is being felt. In 2008, the police had launched the tourism police in the city, but it went into oblivion with time and change of guard.

Amritsar, November 13
Shah Mohammad’s writings on Punjab are still relevant in the present times. This was stated by Punjabi scholars and experts who had gathered at a seminar, “Shah Mohammad Da Jangnama: Jang Hind-Punjab Da”, held at Khalsa College here today.

The seminar was organised by Shah Mohammad Memorial Trust in collaboration with the Department of Punjabi Studies of the college. The participants deliberated upon Punjab’s history, especially during the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

“The writings of the great writer of the 18th century, Shah Mohammad, who is the primary source of the legendary Sikh Ruler, are relevant even today because he reflected on the socio-cultural aspect of Punjab then. Many of those challenges are still staring Punjabi society in its face,” they pointed out.

Noted Punjab novelist Jaswant Singh Kanwal, known for his novels “Lahoo Dee Lau” and “Jungle De Sher” delved deep into historic wrongs with Punjab and how Punjab has been facing various societal problems, which needed to be addressed immediately. “Punjab was in trouble when Shah Mohammad wrote about its challenges and society is still divided and facing similar challenges today,” they said. Chief guest Varinder Singh Walia, Editor, Punjabi Tribune, stated that Maharaja Ranjit Singh established a great rule, bringing about unity of Punjab and giving his rule a secular outlook, which could not be sustained due to his failure to choose a good and suitable successor. He said his literary work was a guiding force for today’s society.

Head, Department of Punjabi Studies, GNDU, Dr HS Bhatia, said though Shah Mohammad was basically a writer and not a historian, his writings reflect upon the political, social and economic conditions of the late 18th and early 19th century Punjab. Principal Dr Mehal Singh said Ranjit Singh’s rule was exemplary and writings of Shah Mohammad were the primary source of the history of the period. He along with the trust’s President, Manjit Singh Bhoma, and Prof Sukhbir Singh welcomed and honoured the guest speakers.

Amritsar, November 13
Champion skaters Mehak and Chirag Gupta have added to their already rich medal tally at the recently held Mahatma Hansraj State Skating Tournament and Open Skating Tournament held at DAV International School.

The brother-sister duo of skaters won a total of seven medals in various categories at the two events and have been selected for the National Skating Championship to be held in Jaipur.

Chirag Gupta won three gold medals in the solo skating category and one gold at the Mahatma Hansraj championship.

His feat also got him the overall winner trophy at the sporting event.

Mehak Gupta, too, won one gold and two silver medals.

The duo is being trained by their coach, Harkanwal Singh, who is preparing them for the national championships. 

Amritsar, November 13
Snatchings continue unabated in the city with another local resident being looted by car-borne persons on the Loharaka road here late last evening. The unidentified robbers bundled him in their car before looting cash to the tune of Rs 35,000.

The Cantonment police have registered a case under Sections 382 and 34, IPC, in this regard while no arrest has been made so far.

Parasar, a resident of RB Estate, Loharaka road, said he was returning home by his scooter when a gang intercepted him near Ranjit Vihar, Loharka road. They were travelling in a white-coloured Maruti Suzuki Swift. He said the accused bundled him in the car and took Rs 15,000 from his wallet. He said the accused then took him to an ATM machine of the Oriental Bank of Commerce and withdrew Rs 20,000 after forcibly taking his PIN. The accused then dropped him at secluded place and fled.

In another incident, a local resident, Manju Sharma, a resident of Medical Enclave, was robbed of her purse by unidentified car-borne youths. The incident occurred on old the jail road. Manju was returning home on a rickshaw when the accused, who were travelling in a Hyundai i-20 white-coloured car (PB-02-temp-4325) snatched her purse. She said her purse contained Rs 5,000 in cash, a mobile phone and an ATM card. The Civil Lines police have registered a case under Sections 382, 34, IPC, in this connection.

A couple of days ago, a Pakistani national was robbed by unidentified motorcycle-borne youths. She lost her passport and other valuables in the incident.

Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said investigations were under progress. He said the police had arrested a number of snatchers in the past and it was taking every possible step to curb the menace. 

Amritsar, November 13
Local industrialists and people who have undertaken construction activities yesterday heaved a sigh of relief as sand mining at a designated site in Hoshiarpur started.

Rajinder Singh of the Market Committee said he received a report that the work started yesterday. He said the government had fixed the price of per 100 cubic feet of sand at Rs 800.

A local industrialist, Raman Gupta, said though the state government intervened at the highest level to resolve the issue of shortage of sand for construction activities, the mining did not pick up at the site after its inauguration about a fortnight ago.

He said at present 1,000 cubic feet of sand was being sold at about Rs 25,000 in the local market. He said a sharp correction in prices was expected with the continuous arrival of sand.

Many small and big projects in the city were procuring at a high price. 

Amritsar, November 13
Newly inducted Union Minister and Hoshiarpur MP Vijay Sampla paid obeisance at the Golden Temple here today. In an interaction with mediapersons, Sampla said the SAD and BJP alliance was strong and there was no issue, which could not be resolved.

He said both the parties would contest Municipal Committee elections as alliance partners. A contingent of the Punjab Police presented a Guard of Honour to Sampla at the Circuit House.

Sampla was honoured by officials of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee on the occasion. He also visited Jallianwala Bagh and paid tributes to the martyrs. He later visited Durgiana Temple. Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi, Municipal Corporation mayor Bakshi Ram Arora, BJP leader Rajinder Mohan Singh Chinna, Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat and Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh were also present on the occasion. —TNS

Amritsar, November 13
The government machinery seems hell bent on helping Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organise its national conference in the city. For the past one and half month, ABVP activists have been staying at Kothi No. 1, near Shivaji Park, Rani ka Bagh, which is the official property of the Municipal Corporation.

The ABVP is also using the place as its camp office. The student organisation had also put up a board outside the rest house stating it to be ABVP Camp Office, which was removed a few days ago.

Sources in the Municipal Corporation said that the civic body was not charging any rent from the ABVP for the accommodation provided to its activists. The corporation’s move to provide its official property to a political organisation is unethical and illegal.

The ABVP has also pasted posters and banners on various city roads to publicise the upcoming event. Though the organisation has defaced many public properties, the Municipal Corporation is not keen to stop it. Activists of the ABVP were seen pasting posters and hoardings on city roads today also.

Photographs of Bakshi Ram Arora, mayor of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation, are on many of these hoardings. Arora being a BJP leader seems to be going soft on violations by the student organisation, which is associated with his party.

The use of official infrastructure for holding a conference of a students’ political organisation should be stopped, said an employee of the MC. Union Minister for Human Resource Development Smriti Irani will preside over the conference on the last day. The three-day conference will start from tomorrow. Meanwhile MC Commissioner could not be contacted for his comments.

Amritsar, November 13
In order to make the de-addiction drive a success, the Punjab government had installed BICOM machine, popularly known as quit smoking machine at Swami Vivekanand De-addiction Centre here. Although the government has spent Rs 55 lakh on the installation, it failed to deliver results much desired.

High treatment cost is keeping the patients away. For three consecutive sittings, a person has to pay Rs 2,000. The authorities concerned have written to the Health Department to reduce the fee so that the facility can be utilised to the optimum level.

Smoking is being cured worldwide by many techniques like nicotine patches, nicotine chewing gums, by prescribing medicines like bupropione, verilicline. Bio-resonance therapy is a novel technique, which works with the body’s own electrical signals to eliminate the craving for nicotine. It also helps in quitting tobacco products like gutka, pan masala, zarda etc. It is useful in curing certain allergies also.

Dr PD Garg, professor and head of the Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, said the machine was installed in 2011. Till date, only 80 patients used this technique. “Apart from its low publicity, high cost of treatment has prevented patients to try the new therapy. The number of people opting for this treatment will increase definitely if the cost is reduced. We have written to the government to bring down the treatment cost to Rs 500. It can even be made free for those, who cannot afford it. The reply is still awaited,” said Dr Garg.

The therapy involves painless treatment with no medication, no chemicals or hypnosis. “We have treated patients from far-flung areas of Beas and Majitha. It is a hard to believe treatment as no medicine is administered while curing a patient. Nicotine craving is based on psychological and biological factors. The post-treatment follow-up shows that 80 per cent smokers abstained from smoking after the treatment. Even the acute smokers quit smoking after undergoing the treatment. It does not have any harmful side-effects,” he added.

He said, “Such machine is also available in Patiala, Chandigarh, New Delhi, besides Amritsar.”

Dr Jaswinder Kaur, in charge, Tobacco Cessation Centre, while giving details about the German-made machine, said it worked on the principle of quantum physics.

The BICOM device reduced or eliminated the pathological oscillations. At the same time it strengthened physiological oscillations. “Three sittings of 40 minute each are required, on consecutive days.

A patient has to just place his or her hands on the machine which emits alternate current. It is attached to the body and the vibrations generated in the body and the resultant nerve impulses reduce the craving to smoke or chew any sort of tobacoo products,” said Dr Jaswinder.

Amritsar, November 13
In a first of its kind initiative, the Chandigarh University (CU), Gharuan, launched an online web-portal for joint placement programme (JPP) on Monday. Students who passed-out from various institutes in Punjab this year and those completing their studies in 2015, will benefit from the programme.

Addressing mediapersons, Vice-Chancellor, Dr RS Bawa, said “Amritsar being central point of the state was chosen for launching the web portal www.cu.in. Those desirous of seeking job can register at the site for joint placement programme free of cost. Students from Punjab will benefit as it will provide them a platform that will enable engineering and MCA students from the state to participate in the campus placement drives to be conducted by companies.

Otherwise, they will have to visit Bengaluru or Hyderabad. We will also provide conveyance for selected students from bus stand and railway station, besides a day’s stay for students and parents accompanying them.”

The industry-academia interface adopted by CU received an overwhelming response during the JPP-2014. More than 229 companies selected students from the fields of engineering, business management, hotel management, animation, bio-technology and diploma engineering during campus placement drives.

“The response from companies has prompted us to launch the JPP-2015 for students of Punjab. Companies like IBM, SAP Labs, Royal Bank of Scotland, United Spirits, JW Marriot, Bajaj Motors recruited students, who passed out in 2014 under joint placement programme held last year. The percentage of students selected from Punjab was the highest, besides other states,” he said.

A joint placement programme (JPP-2015) was held this year on October 6. More than 15,000 students participated in the JPP titled Hewlett Packard (HP) drive, said Dr Bawa.

He said multi-tasking professionals were in great demand. According to recent survey conducted by the NASSCOM, engineering, manufacturing and designing industry required more than 2.5 million engineers. The number would further shoot-up due to the launch of Prime Minister’s “Make in India” programme.

Amritsar, November 13
Members of the Vimukt Jati Welfare Association staged a protest against Pakistan at Bhandari Bridge here today. The association president, Ram Rashpal Singh, said a few Pakistani writers had misrepresented facts about Maharaja Ranjit Singh.

He said the association had demanded from the Pakistan government to take action against these writers. Later, the association submitted a memorandum to the district administration and requested to forward it to Pakistan’s High Commissioner.

Ram Rashpal said Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s elders belonged to Sansi community, who had later converted to Sikhism.

He said the association would not tolerate any disrespect to the Maharaja and his elders. 

Amritsar, November 13
A group of migrants, who were staging a protest at Ram Bagh Chowk, near Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital, manhandled and thrashed The Tribune lens man, who had gone to cover the event.

The migrants were agitating over alleged delay in post-mortem of a person. They assaulted RK Soni, The Tribune photographer, when he was parking his motorcycle near the protest venue.

They did not bother to listen to him and started beating him up without any provocation. He was rescued by fellow mediapersons who were present on the spot. A complaint was lodged with senior police officials for initiating action.

The agitators also smashed the windowpane of a car of a policeman, who was passing through the spot. He was taking an accused for a hearing in the court.

The Amritsar Press Photo-journalist Association has urged the police to immediately arrest the culprits involved in crime.

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