Tarn Taran Diary: Dysfunctional traffic signals

Traffic signals at four crossings in Tarn Taran have never been functional during the past five years. Balwinder Singh, who has a shop at Jandiala Chowk in Tarn Taran, said numerous accidents take place at the Jandiala intersection on a daily basis. Due to heavy traffic, the Tarn Taran Municipal Council, had installed traffic signals at the Amritsar-Chabal, Jandiala Guru, Khadoor Sahib-Bath and T-Point, on Sarhali Road. Another shopkeeper, Badri Nath, said traffic signals were never seen functional in Tarn Taran, for not even a single day. Around 11 years ago, a student of Sri Guru Arjun Dev Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Tarn Taran, was crushed under an over speeding truck at Jandiala Chowk. The residents had the intersection for an indefinite period against the lapse of the administration. Residents said due to mismanagement of traffic signals, accidents took place everyday, but the administration was least concerned. “Traffic signals should be repaired at the earliest,” said aggrieved residents.

Doctor seeks justice

Dr Manwant Singh Sood (in pic), a Tarn Taran-based homoeopathic doctor, has waited for eight years to take action against a Medical Officer of the CMC, Ludhiana, for alleged negligence and violation of medical ethics. Manjit Kaur, mother of Dr Sood had succumbed at the CMC on September 24, 2013, due to the negligence of the Medical Officer. It’s alleged the Medical Officer took Rs 1.5 lakh from him against the norms. However, it was returned to him after the death of his mother. Dr Sood alongwith his mother had gone to the CMC to know the condition of his relative who was admitted to the hospital. Dr Sood got his mother examined from the Medical Officer who suggested that one of her heart valve had to be replaced immediately. She was admitted to the CMC on September 20, 2013. As per directions of the Medical Officer, Dr Sood deposited Rs 2 lakh and handed over Rs 1.5 lakh to the doctor and promised to pay him the remaining amount of Rs 3 lakh. The family recorded the entire episode on camera. Dr Sood had lodged a complaint with the Indian Medical Council on January 1, 2014 and alleged that the Medical Officer took Rs 1.5 lakh from him in violation of the professional conduct, etiquette and ethics. The Medical Council of India referred the complaint to the Punjab Medical Council on January 28, 2004, to taken action against the Medical Officer within six months. The Medical Officer in his reply to an RTI reply on November 26, 2013, said he took the money as a collateral security. However, the CMC authorities on March 19, 2015, said the hospital did not allow anyone to do monetary transactions without receipts. Dr GS Grewal, the then chairman of the Medical Council, in a letter dated July 31, 2016, said, “Your case is of very serious nature, but when you get surrounded by corrupt people, then limitations are unavoidable.” Dr Sood approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court to seek justice, which in its order dated January 18, 2021, directed the MCI to take action within four months. Dr Sood had approached the Chief Secretary and demanded a high-level probe.

(Contributed by Gurbaxpuri)

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