02012021-ATR-01.qxd 1/1/2021 10:49 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE BEATING THE PANDEMIC BLUES WITH TERRACE GARDENING Manpreet Singh Sandhu’s love for plants began when he was entrusted with plantation in his govt school. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY INBRIEF TWO BOOKED FOR DUPING RESIDENT Amritsar: The police on Thursday booked two travel agents for allegedly duping a local resident of ~12.95 lakh on the pretext of sending his son to Australia on study basis. Those booked were identified as Arpit Bajaj, who originally belonged to Deena Nagar in Gurdaspur and runs a travel agency in Ranjit Avenue area here, and Satinderpal Singh of Akali Colony here. They were booked for fraud, criminal conspiracy and under the Punjab Travel Professionals’ Regulation Act. The complainant, Narinder Singh, a resident of Hussainpura area, told the police that the accused cheated him of ~12.95 lakh on the pretext of sending his son to Australia on study basis. The accused neither sent his son abroad nor returned the money. A case was registered after a preliminary probe. Investigation was now handed over to Assistant Commissioner of Police (East), Jaspreet Singh, in this regard. The police said investigation was on to ascertain whether Arpit Bajaj was running a travel agency after the mandatory permission and fulfilling the norms. TNS Amritsar: The Health Department authorities reported one death due to the Covid-19 contagion in the district on Friday. With this, the toll has increased to 556. The victim has been identified as 45-year-old Sukhwinder Singh, who was a resident of Chheharta. There has not been reported any case of new strain in the district so far. Besides, the authorities reported 18 new positive cases which took the total count of infections to 14,528. The new cases include nine influenza-like illness (ILI) cases and an equal number of contacts of positive patients. Meanwhile, with the recovery of 42 patients, the recovery count has reached 13,603. At present, the district has a total of 369 active cases. TNS PAGE 3 DEEPIKA RETURNS TO SOCIAL MEDIA WITH ‘AUDIO DIARY’ The actress, who had deleted all her posts on social media, has made a comeback with an audio diary. MAX 16°C | MIN 9°C | YESTERDAY MAX 16°C | MIN 4°C SUNSET SATURDAY 5:39 PM PAGE 4 SHAILENDRA SINGH TO FUND BIZ DREAMS OF YOUNGSTERS The entrepreneur and producer spent 2020 thinking about new business ideas and how he can mentor youth. SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:31 AM 66,000 LED lights installed in city not enough for lighting? SATURDAY | 2 JANUARY 2021 | AMRITSAR Seeking blessings Most councillors demand streetlights in their wards at MC meet The LED lights were installed in posh localities on priority but most of the areas along the outer bypass road are badly in need of streetlights Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 1 Even after the installation of 66,000 LED lights under the Smart City project, the installation of streetlights was the major demand of most councillors during the General House meeting of Municipal Corporation held here on Thursday. Several councillors rued inadequate arrangements of streetlights in their respective areas. Congress councillor Ajit Singh Bhatia said several localities in his ward needed streetlights. He demanded to provide streetlights in all the streets in his ward. Sandhya Sikka, leader of opposition in the House, raised a question on the noncompletion of Smart City’s streetlight project. “Installing streetlights is the basic facility and the core responsibility of a civic body. It is sad that the MC has failed to install streetlights in several localities of the city. The Congress leadership has made promises to install streetlights on every corner several times but no promise has been ful- filled. The installation of LED lights under the Smart City project is still incomplete. The Mayor should be answerable to the MC’s failure to provide the basic infrastructure to city residents.” Mayor Karamjit Singh Rintu said LED streetlights were being installed under the Smart City project in the city. After the completion of the project, the MC would check the requirement of such lights. Streetlights would be installed in every area of the city. I assure the public of 100 per cent installation of streetlights.” In October 2019, the Mayor launched a project to install LED streetlights under the Smart City mission. He had announced to install 66,000 LED lights at a cost of Rs 34 crore. He also announced that the project would be completed within six months. Residents face inconvenience in the absence of streetlights in the night and during the foggy season. The LED lights were installed in posh localities on priority but most of the areas along the outer bypass road are badly in need of streetlights. ALWAYS THERE FOR US: Devotees offer prayers on the occasion of New Year amid foggy weather conditions at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Drug peddler brought ‘ AP will form govt in 2022’ Now, SGPC staff to A don traditional attire on production warrant Tribune News Service Tribune News Service ONE SUCCUMBS, 18 NEW CASES PAGE 2 Amritsar, January 1 Two days after the seizure of 7 kg of heroin and three Chinese .30 bore calibre pistols from across the border from Dera Baba Nanak area in Gurdaspur by the BSF the Amrit, sar rural police on Friday brought dismissed cop and notorious drug peddler Ranjit Singh of Modhe village on three-day production warrant. Alarmed over the seizure, many intelligence and security agencies are also grilling Ranjit Singh. He was currently lodged in Ludhiana Central jail. Following the information provided by the rural police, Ludhiana Central jail authorities also confiscated a mobile phone from his possession from there. The mobile phone was taken into custody which was being examined to establish his links with Belgium-based alleged Indian terrorist Jagdish Singh Bhura who had pushed the drugs and weapons into the Indian territory through his Pakistani links. Bhura has been a proclaimed offender in three ter- rorism-related cases in Punjab. Ranjit was also in contact with Simranjit Singh and Surjit Masih who are prime suspects in the drone module racket busted by the police this month. A heavy duty quadcopter was recovered from their accomplices. The police were also looking into Ranjit’s backward and forward links to expose the entire drug nexus. Ranjit had played a key role in the smuggling of the consignment seized two days ago. Ranjit was recruited as a constable in the 80th battalion of the Punjab Armed Police in 1989 and rose up to the rank of ASI. In 2011, he was nabbed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for smuggling 23 kg of heroin. He was dismissed from service thereafter. He had around five cases registered under the NDPS and Arms Acts against him. The police said Ranjit developed close links with Pakistanbased cross-border smugglers. Both Bhura and Ranjit Singh have been nominated in the FIR registered with the Gharinda police station here. Amritsar, January 1 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will form the government in Punjab with a landslide victory in the 2022 Assembly elections. Punjab had been looted by the SAD-BJP and Congress government while in power. Now, the people of Punjab have made up their minds that only one party can take Punjab on the path of progress, and that is AAP . These views were expressed by the newly appointed AAP Punjab co-incharge Raghav Chadha during a press conference on Friday, on his first visit to the state since taking over. Chadha said that Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh had betrayed his own people. “Before the elections, the Congress had made many other promises besides waiving all the debts of the farmers, ‘Ghar-Ghar Rozgar’, eradicating drugs in four weeks, but none of them were fulfilled. Intoxicated with power, the CM forgot his people and reneged on all his promises,” said Chadha. AAP state president and Tribune News Service Raghav Chadha, co-incharge of the Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab, addresses mediapersons in Amritsar on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO the Congress had ❝Before the elections,waiving all the debtsmade many other promises besides of the farmers, 'Ghar-Ghar Rozgar', eradicating drugs in four weeks, but none of them were fulfilled. Intoxicated with power, the CM forgot his people and reneged on all his promises Raghav Chadha, AAP PUNJAB CO-INCHARGE ❞ MP Bhagwant Mann said the PM Modi-led government was not convening a session of Parliament under the guise of coronavirus in a bid to run away from answering the questions, while on the other hand BJP was gathering thousands of people. He said that Aam Aadmi Party had been strongly opposing the anti-farmers ‘black laws’ of the Centre since Day 1 and would continue to do so. Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Punjab Legislative Assembly Harpal Singh Cheema said in 2017 elections, the people had given the responsibility of opposition to the AAP which the par, ty had done well. Amritsar, January 1 Ushering in the New Year, the SGPC staff will be seen dressed in a traditional look. In what could be termed as going ‘back to basics’, the staff will also be seen imparting knowledge to visitors at the Golden Temple. After taking over the reins of the SGPC, Bibi Jagir Kaur has embarked on a change-over of its staff, in sync with the Sikh ethos. This change will be reflected in their appearance. The kurtapyjama will replace coat-pent while the staff will keep an open flowing beard. Besides, the 225-member staff will also be trained in etiquettes, humility and Sikh history. The entire office staff, which otherwise used to wear western clothes, has been strictly asked to don traditional attire such as kurtapyjama and have SGPC identity cards around their necks. Similarly, they have been asked to grow beard. Mukhtar Singh, manager of the Golden Temple, said the training was imparted to them The staff will also be trained in Punjabi, Hindi and English. They will also act as a guide within the Golden Temple complex to familiarise the visitors with the foundation of its building by the officials of the SGPC’s Information Department. He announced that appreciation letters will be given to those who will achieve excellence during the course. The course is likely to be concluded in the second week of this month. They are being trained to courteously handle tourists and provide them factual knowledge of the Sikh history and Gurus, during their stay in the Golden Temple. The staff will also be trained in Punjabi, Hindi and English. They will also be in a specific dress so that they could be easily distinguished in the public. They will be seen in bluecoloured gown over kurtapyjama during the summers. During winters, black long coat will replace the blue gown. Meet the ‘one-man NGO’ who lives for others Septuagenarian’s love Jaswant Singh has never hesitated to provide a helping hand to society Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 1 Jaswant Singh, a resident of Inderpuri, doesn’t have any registered organisation for social work but dwellers of nearby financially deprived localities know him as someone who is available 24x7 for his assistance. Most of the people visit him when authorities won’t help them. “I have no particular field to work. I get call from public anytime for any job. Sometimes, I fight to get rid of swine menace in the area. Several people call me when sewerage line chokes and no officials of the MC hear them. I even fight for the sanitation in slums. I make rounds of the police station, DC and social welfare department office almost daily for the help of residents,” said Jaswant. He is a teacher at a brickkiln in Dhapai village under the umbrella of National for folk songs lingers on Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Jaswant Singh (left) is a teacher at a brick-kiln in Dhapai village under the umbrella of National Child Labour Project. TRIBUNE PHOTOS Child Labour Project (NCLP). However, he has not been getting salary for last three years and it is reportedly a common delay in these Central Governments’ projects. “I am serving the society for last several years. I don’t need any NGO to help the people. My philosophy of life is very simple: if we work for our- selves only then we are selfish. We have to do something for others. I have been doing it for long. From morning to evening, my doors are open to help anyone,” he added. Jaswant often writes letters to the officials to report the flaws and shortcomings regarding functioning of government offices. He meets officials, tries to convince them to finish off the pending work. Sometimes, when things go out of reach, he demonstrates against the office and is also pushed to take help of politically influential persons to get the work done. “I visit slums and find school dropouts or children who are stripped of the opportunity. Then we have to make c m y b efforts for admissions. When school denies it, we fight for the child. It is one of the major tasks, which I do with help of my wife,” he told. He distributed 10,000 masks with the help of some organisations after the pandemic and keeps a vigil on the distribution of government aid released for the needy persons. Amritsar, January 1 It took septuagenarian Gurmeet Kaur Bhullar from Patti nearly three years to come up with a book on folk songs of Punjab. Titled ‘Chiriyan da chamba’, it is her first book, which she had been dreaming about for almost a decade. Retired as a PTI teacher in 2004 from Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Patti, where she headed extracurricular activities, she terms this book as a dream come true. “I had begun forgetting several folk songs that I had picked during my childhood. Considering the richness of the songs, I always felt the need of collecting them, as much as I could, and turn the collection into a book. I ensured that I include all Gurmeet Kaur Bhullar has come up with a book titled Chiriyan da chamba, based on the culture of Punjab. TRIBUNE PHOTO those songs too which got missed in several other books on folk songs. When I finally saw the final draft, followed by the book, it was certainly a dream come true moment for me,” said Bhullar (74). There were also many who approached her often to know more about these songs, which was another factor that motivated her. She also thanks her grandchildren, Ravleen Hundal (21), Jaideep Pannu (12) and Ridhiman Pannu (11), whose illustrations have been used in the book to depict various scenes from the rural social life. Interestingly, Hundal’s illustration is also used for the cover. “With grandchildren around, it wasn’t always easy to find time to write the book, which is why I extensively used hours my morning hours to write the book, shared Bhullar, adding that she also has plans to start penning down another book, which will be on children’s traditional tales.” To keep youngsters connected to their roots, she opined that educational institutions, beginning with schools will have to play an active role.