Giving a sheer example of carelessness, effigies of Ravana were burnt in an open place just outside the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on the eve of Dussehra on Thursday, causing a lot of inconvenience to the patients.
PIMS, a medical research institute, has a facility of four-hundred beds and around 250 patients are admitted in the hospital on daily basis. PIMS is one the biggest medical institute of this region, but no attention was given before selecting the area that was turned into a Dussehra ground only at the cost of patient’s peace.
Mintu Juneja, chairman of Friends Dusshera Club who organised the function, said, “We always take prior permission from all authorities concerned before organising the function.”
Juneja added, “We are holding this function for the last 13 years at this place and nobody has ever objected.”
“Giving permission for setting up such venue does not come under our jurisdiction and local bodies department are authorised to give permission,” said Sandeep Bahl, senior environment engineer (SEE) of Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB).
Bahl added, “It is a sensitive zone and they should not have allowed it.”
{{/usCountry}}Bahl added, “It is a sensitive zone and they should not have allowed it.”
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the municipal corporation had no idea as whether they had given the permission for setting up the venue or not.
Vikrant Verma, superintendent of tehbazari department, said, “I am not sure if we have given them the permission or not.
“There are many Dussehra grounds and it’s difficult to keep a tab on everything,” Verma said, adding that the area originally comes under Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA).
“They had approached PUDA for permission but our officials asked them to get an NOC from the local police, which they didn’t submit,” said Gurpreet Singh Khaira, PUDA’s chief administrator, who is also the municipal commissioner.
“As they didn’t take the final approval, we will take appropriate action against them,” he added.