04012021-ATR-01.qxd 1/3/2021 11:11 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE TRAIN STAFF TO ENSURE A SMOOTH VACCINATION DRIVE PAGE 2 As the vaccination programme nears, residents throw in a number of suggestions for smooth sail of drive. FORECAST THUNDERSTORMS POLITICS? KANGANA ATTACKS URMILA FOR BUYING OFFICE MAX 18°C | MIN 13°C | YESTERDAY MAX 15°C | MIN 11°C SUNSET MONDAY 5:40 PM ONE BOOKED FOR MOLESTING GIRL Tarn Taran: Amritpal Singh of Hothian village has been booked for molesting a girl of his village. The father of the victim in his complaint to the police alleged that the accused was harassing his daughter by blocking her way. The Goindwal Sahib police on Saturday booked the accused under Sections 354 and 506 of the IPC. OC Amritsar, January 3 In yet another incident, six armed robbers snatch a car at gunpoint from near Mallian village on the GT Road here late Saturday evening. The victim, Sukhmandeep, was returning home after car servicing. The police have registered a case in this regard. Sukhmandeep Singh stated to the police that he was returning home after servicing of his car from a car agency located on Tarn Taran bypass. He said when he reached near a dhaba near Mallian village, six persons travelling on three bikes intercepted him. He said as he stopped the car as the accused pointed pistols at him and threatened to shoot him. They allegedly thrashed him before decamp- SUNRISE TUESDAY 7:31 AM MONDAY | 4 JANUARY 2021 | AMRITSAR Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Students and their parents raise slogans in support of farmers in Amritsar on Sunday. VISHAL KUMAR Chawla urges PM Modi to resolve all issues of farmers Amritsar, January 3 Senior BJP leader and former health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla on Sunday appealed to the protesting farmers in Delhi not to remove their clothes in view of the intense cold. Chawla also urged the Prime Minister to resolve all problems being faced by the farmers so that they could return to their homes. Chawla had earlier also objected to the labelling of farmers as terrorists. She said farmers were fighting for their land and children of many of them were guarding the country’s borders. “Over 50 farmers have died during the protest in Delhi but it seems that the government is indifferent,” she rued. She said the farmers should not resort to protests such as removing clothes because of the shivering cold. “The farmers should not risk their lives. It is very shameful that farmers in such large numbers have died in the protest and the government has failed to find a solution,” she added. Meanwhile, students of var- ious senior secondary schools took out a rally from Sandhu colony to India Gate on Sunday. Braving the inclement weather, they marched in union raising slogans against the Union Government to repeal the three farm laws. Navkiran Kaur Sohal, a Class XII student, said they did not belong to any group or society but were inspired to save farming. They demanded that the Union Government should repeal the three controversial agriculture laws. MORE REPORTS ON PAGE 2 Amritsar, January 3 Residents of Modhe village near the international border have been worried due to illegal sand mining from a village pond. Irate residents alleged that JCB machines had been extracting sand from the pond for the last one month. They said illegal mining is done in the evening and then loaded in tractor-trailers. The residents said initially when the digging started, sarpanch had told them that the pond would be dug up to seven feet. “Now, sand has been extracted up to 25 ft from the pond. Who will be held accountable if a child or cattle falls into the pond?” asked Sarabjit Singh, a resident. Local said they had filed two complaints with the Panchayat Department so far. The last complaint was filed five days ago. “No action has been taken by the department concerned to date. Residents of nearby houses fear that the deep pit will cause damage to foundations of their houses,” said locals. “The total area of the pond is approximately six Sand mining goes on unabated at a pond at Modhe village near the internattional border. kanals. Out of it, around threeand-a-half kanals had been dug up with JCB machines. The entire work is illegal and sand is being sold in the market,” said another resident, Kashmira Singh. The residents demanded that the work should be stopped immediately and the administration must probe whether the sarpanch had taken any permission from the Panchayat Department. Another resident, Baljit Singh, said, “We have tried everything we could do to stop illegal mining. We cannot fight with sand mafia as these people are very strong. Senior officials should take stern action against those involved in this illegal act.” DDPO Gurpreet Singh Gill said, “The department has already stopped the work.” He said the BDPO concerned has been asked to file a detailed report. However, the residents said the work was still going on. CIA team nabs 4 suspected ATM robbers Inordinate delay in passenger Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 3 A CIA team nabbed four persons who were allegedly going to rob an ATM at Dhand Kasel village from near Miri Piri academy in the Gumanpura area here on Saturday evening. However, one of their accomplices managed to flee from the spot. Those arrested have been identified as Harjinder Singh, alias Jinder of Paris Avenue, Guru Ki Wadali, Varinder Singh of Bhullar village falling under the Lopoke police station, Gursewak Singh of Paddri village now Naraingarh and Gurjit Singh alias Sonu of Khasa colony. Their fifth accomplice Surinder Singh of Chheharta managed to escape taking the advantage of darkness 6 armed men snatch car at gunpoint, flee Tribune News Service She introduced herself as ‘Dr Sunny Leone’ & was in the house to address bonding problems among housemates. Earth movers work overtime, mine 25-ft sand from pond Tribune News Service Amritsar: The district health authorities reported 20 new positive cases on Sunday. With this, the total count has increased to 14,565. The new cases include 9 influenza like illness cases and 11 contacts of positive patients. The authorities reported no death due to the virus today. As a result, the death toll stands at 558. Meanwhile, with recovery of 49 patients, the total recovery count in the district has reached 13,681. At present, the district has a total of 326 active cases. TNS PAGE 4 No check on illegal sand mining at Modhe village DRIVE TO CHECK CYBER CRIME 20 FRESH CASES REPORTED IN DIST ‘Dr SUNNY LEONE’ MEETS BIGG BOSS CONTESTANTS Kangana Ranaut took a dig at Urmila Matondkar for purchasing an office linking it with her joining Shiv Sena. INBRIEF Tarn Taran: With a view to making people aware of cyber crime, the district police organised gatherings in Tarn Taran and Chabal town on Sunday. SSP Dhruman Nimbale presided over the gatherings while MLA Dr Dharambeer Agnihotri was the chief guest on the occasion. The Chandigarhbased team of the police department presented ‘Corner One Act Play’ (Nukad Natak) on the occasion and advised people not to disclose their detail regarding bank accounts, ATM number and the password, OTP number, etc, to unknown persons who often contact them on mobile. Dr Dharambir Agnihotri appreciated the police move to alert innocent people who were often cheated by criminals. oc PAGE 3 ing with his Maruti Suzuki Swift car bearing number PB-02-DV-4805. 3 held with stolen mobiles The CIA staff has arrested three snatchers in two separate incidents here. In a statement issued here on Sunday, Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, in-charge CIA staff, said that the police arrested Akashdeep Singh of Chheharta, Narain Singh of Kot Khalsa and Harpreet Singh of the Guru Nanak Pura area. Akashdeep and Narain were nabbed from near Canal office. The police recovered two snatched mobile phones and a bike from their possession. The police authorities said that all three accused had several cases of NDPS Act and snatchings against them. Harpreet and Narain had recently came out on bail. The suspects in the custody of Amritsar police on Sunday. and dense fog in the evening. Addressing mediapersons on Sunday, Sukhwinder Singh Randhawa, in-charge CIA staff, said the accused were held at a checkpoint near Gumanpura village following a tip-off. As the car stopped near the naka, Surinder fled from the backdoor of the car. The remaining accused persons were held by the police team headed by ASI Ashwani Kumar. The police recovered a gas cutter, a gas cylinder for cutting the ATM, a gas pipe, iron cutter, black colour spray and sharp-edged weapon and a car in which they were travelling. Randhawa said Harjinder and Varinder worked at a Modikhana shop in the Chheharta area. He said Harjinder learnt the cutting of ATMs from YouTube channel and they later conducted a reconnaissance at different parts of the border belt, including Kukkrawala village, Rajasansi, Chheharta, Tarn Taran, Sarai Amanat Khan, Varpal and Dhand Kasel areas. They identified the ATMs where no guards were posted and were located in secluded areas. Their interrogation revealed that they were going to break open an ATM at Dhand Kasel village when they were intercepted and arrested by the police team. Randhawa said the accused would be produced in the court tomorrow and their police remand would be sought for further interrogation. baggage arrivals at city airport Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 3 Passengers at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport (SGRDJI) have complained about inordinate delay in passenger baggage arrivals, especially on Air India flights. Yogesh Kamra, Convener, Fly Amritsar Initiative, wrote to to the Director Airport about regular delays in passenger baggage arrivals. “A lot of passengers have been sharing this issue with us on social media and on calls. I have also experienced similar experience while travelling on Air India to Amritsar from Delhi and Mumbai,” he said. Kamra said, “Recently, one of my family member arrived on Air India flight from Delhi to Amritsar on December 30. While the flight duration was around 50 minutes, it took more than 50 minutes for baggage to arrive on the belt. There was no duty manager from airline available at belt area where passengers could complain. Many passengers could be seen fuming due to dismal level of baggage delivery service.” Earlier, Yogesh Kamra had filed a complaint on Air Sewa portal (complaint number WW158108) on December 14, 2019. It may sound surprising that even on maiden London Stansted (STN) flight to Amritsar (ATQ) last year, most of the passengers had to wait for around two hours for their baggage. Videos posted on social media of this particular incident went viral and aggrieved passengers had submitted their complaint to the Director Airport office as well. Councillor Charan Kanwal Singh Sekhon (chairman, SEVA Trust, UK), who was travelling on the maiden first flight from the UK categorically raised the issue with the officer concerned. Kamra urged the Director Airport to discuss the matter with respective airlines. He suggested to highlight contact numbers of helpdesk, customer service at all check-in counters, security hold waiting areas, gates and baggage arrival belts. Kamra discussed the issue with RP Singh, Manager, Air India, who assured to address the problem. Committed to serving those with limited resources Head of Manav Adhikar Sangharsh Committee, he derives contentment out of serving needy PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 3 Harish Sharma, an Ayurvedic doctor, hardly finds any time for his clinic as working for society and the needy people gives him more satisfaction. Founding president of the Manav Adhikar Sangharsh Committee India, his organisation works in diverse fields to serve people. His organisation is also instrumental in solemnising marriage of hundreds of girls belonging to the lower strata of society for past over a decade while it also distributes stationary to the poor and orphans in the schools. Besides, his organisation also cremated many unclaimed bodies ever since it was founded. I start my day from my office located in the Sandhu Colony Harish Sharma (C), a social activist, solemnises the marriage of a poor girl in Amritsar; and (right) Sharma distributes ration to a needy. area in Chheharta. This month, my organisation managed to solemnise marriages of three poor girls, he said. “Serving people demands c m y b dedication and there is no time limit to this. Whenever, anybody approaches me for help, we are always there for them,” he said. During the past decade, we have arranged for marriages of hundreds of girls under our watch. We check the credentials of the both girl’s and boy’s families before committing them for marriage, he added. All arrangements are made by his organisation. Sharma said the organisa- tion has its units in different parts of Punjab and several foreign countries, including Canada, Australia and USA and being the founder member he would have to coordinate with all of them also. “I have seen difficult times in my life and therefore I always wanted to help others in whatever way I can,” he said. His organisation even bore the school fees of many children who could not pay their fee, besides distributing books and copies to them. “This is could not be happened without the help of members of my organisation. Therefore, a lot of time passes in coordinating with them,” he said. Harish Sharma also donated his blood at least 80 times. He also held free medical camps in different parts of the city, especially slum areas.