10012021-ATR-01.qxd 1/9/2021 11:13 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE RESIDENTS SENSITISED TO PERILS OF PLASTIC STRING Members of an NGO made people aware of not using plastic string, outside the Hall Gate in the city. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY TWO HELD WITH 117 GM OF HEROIN DIST LOGS 1 DEATH, 16 FRESH CASES WHERE ARE THEY NOW Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 9 Eminent theatre artiste Suresh Pandit (76) keeps himself engaged with art and literature as he prefers staying home after the Covid-19 outbreak. Painting, writing poems and reading literature is what keeps him busy for most of the day. Pandit played and directed hundreds of one-act and fulllength plays during last 55 years of his theatre career. Born in 1945, he joined diploma in fine arts at Art Gallery Amritsar in 1965 where he met theatre artiste Gursharn Singh and joined his theatre group. His first play was ‘Maut’ written by Gurdial Singh Phull. Coming to his PAGE 3 I AM NOT FOR SALE, SAYS D-DAY ACTOR ARJUN RAMPAL SUNSET SUNDAY 5:45 PM Currently seen in Teri Laadli Main, Kavi hopes that the show is successful in delivering a powerful message. SUNRISE MONDAY 7:31 AM SUNDAY | 10 JANUARY 2021 | AMRITSAR There was a time when spotlight was on him Suresh Pandit, an eminent theatre artiste, was in the public eye for direction of various plays ❝ I preferred realistic theatre which highlights social issues. We used to stage plays at open air theatre at the Gandhi Ground. In 1979, I got a call from Doordarshan Delhi and worked for a telefilm ‘Lakeer’ and another telefilm ‘Akhara’ at Doordarshan Jalandhar Suresh Pandit in a still from the movie Lahoriye. directions, he has directed a play called ‘Kanak di Balli’ of Balwant Gargi. He trans- lated ‘Petite Bourgeoisie’ of Maxim Gorky, directed it and was performed in Bom- ❞ Suresh Pandit, EMINENT THEATRE ARTISTE bay, Amritsar and several other cities. He got the second best direction award for ‘ Petite Bourgeoisie’ in a competition organised by ‘All-India All Languages SEIZURE OF 4 LAKH SEDATIVE PILLS Prime suspect held after 8 months Full Length Play’ competition in 1970. He also directed the Maxim Gorky’s ‘Lower Depth’, Samuel Beckett’s ‘ Waiting for Godot’ received much appreciation for it. “I preferred realistic theatre which highlights social issues. We used to stage plays at open air theatre at the Gandhi Ground. In 1979, I got a call from Doordarshan Delhi and worked for a telefilm ‘Lakeer’ and another telefilm ‘Akhara’ at Doordarshan Jalandhar,” said Pandit, who also has had a whiff of work as a textile designer. Suresh Pandit also played lead role in a TV serial ‘wanjara’ at Door- city police had ❝Thearound 4 lakh seized Amritsar: The district health authorities reported 16 positive cases from the district here on Saturday. With this, the total number of positive cases has reached 14,678. Of these, nine were found to be suffering from influenza-like illness (ILI) and seven were contacts of positive cases. The deceased has been identified as Gurdeep Kaur (70) of Prakash Vihar area on the Batala road. The 14 positive patients have recovered which took the total tally to 13,913. The total number of active cases in the district stands at 203. TNS Prime suspect Naval Sood was nabbed from Delhi on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO court on Friday and brought on police remand for further interrogation. Deputy Commissioner of Police Mukhwinder Singh Chaos rules Anand Amrit Park road in absence of traffic lights Unchecked traffic flow heightens risk of accidents Unchecked traffic flow around Anand Amrit Park leads to chaos and increases the risk of accidents in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 9 Unchecked traffic flow around Anand Amrit Park has led to chaos and amplified the risk of accidents here while the authorities seem to be oblivious to the danger involved. Residents fear that the unregulated traffic flow around the park goes haywire at its intersection on the four-lane road. Commuters heading to the Loharka area pay scant regard to one-way traffic norms so as to take a shortcut. Pawandeep Sharma, a resident of the Ranjit Avenue, said: “To avoid taking the long route, motorists do not mind taking risks and drive on the opposite side of the ❝ There is not even a single day when accidents are not reported in the yet motorists do not mind taking risks. They don't mind putting their lives in jeopardy. ❞ Pawandeep Sharma, A RESIDENT OF THE RANJIT AVENUE one-way lane, which is risky.” “There is not even a single day when accidents are not reported in the yet motorists do not mind taking risks. They don’t mind putting their lives in jeopardy.” Even the dense fog engulfing the region and the adjoining open areas of the park fails to act as a deterrent to commuters who don’t mind taking risks. He demanded a traffic signal to be installed at the intersection to regulate the vehicular flow and avoid any mishap. Failure to put the relevant infrastructure at place could lead to loss of life. Residents have been demanding traffic cops to man the intersection. Over the years, as a result of urbanisation, many residential localities have sprung across the bypass roads. Lokarka road is one among these. A large number of localities are situated on this road leading to many villages. Balram Kumar Sharma, president of the Punjab Sudhar Sabha, said, in case the local authorities do pay heed to the demands of the continued on page 2 Bhullar said the city police had seized around 4 lakh habit-forming drugs which were smuggled from Delhi in a special parcel train. The habit-forming drugs which were smuggled from Delhi in a special parcel train. The drugs were smuggled under the garb of essential commodity. The same was sent to a private godown located in the Bhagtanwala area. ❞ Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar, DCP drugs were smuggled in the garb of essential commodity. The same was sent to a private godown located in the Bhagtanwala area. Investigation revealed that the consignment was ordered by Naval Sood and Mukesh Yadav of Amritsar. Owing to the nationwide lockdown because of Covid pandemic, Indian Railways started 134 special parcel trains to ensure the supply of essential commodities. Bhullar said following a tipoff, the police raided Golden Deep Enterprises at Bhagtanwala and recovered eight cartons containing 4 lakh intoxicants containing banned tramadol salt. He said the accused were to supply these drugs in various parts of the border belt at higher rates. The accused continued on page 2 darshan Jalandhar. “It’s the fruit of my hard work that great artist Balraj Sahni acted in two of my plays ‘Uparli Manzil’ and ‘Arash Tohn Farsh’ under my direction”, he added. In 2017, Pandit played a memorable role in Punjabi movie ‘Lahoriye’. Then he also worked in ‘Mr and Mrs 420’ and ‘Puwara’. “I got first movie at the age of 72. My journey with theatre television and movies is going on. But I do reserve time for paintings too,” Pandit, who is the 2018 winner of Shiromani Punjabi Television Radio Film Award, he quipped. Family held hostage, cash, weapons looted Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 9 The city police have nabbed Naval Sood, a prime suspect in the seizure of 4 lakh sedative pills in April last year. He has been evading arrest since then. Sood, who originally hailed from Dhariwal in Gurdaspur, was held from Prashant Vihar, Rohini in Delhi. He used to run a chemist shop in Gurdaspur. The police also recovered a car (PB02-N0090), a laptop and a mobile phone from his possession. The laptop and the mobile phone has been sent for forensic analysis while the accused was produced in the PAGE 4 ALL FOR STRONG CHARACTERS, BELIEVES HEMANG KAVI As Arjun completes 20 yrs in cinema, the actor talks about how he never felt the need to market himself. MAX 16°C | MIN 5°C | YESTERDAY MAX 16°C | MIN 5°C INBRIEF Tarn Taran: The police have arrested two persons with 117 gm of heroin on Friday. One of the accused was the husband of a lady police personnel residing in the official residence at the local police lines. The accused have been identified as Bikaramjit Singh and Gurpreet Singh Gopi of Harike village. Sub Inspector Sukhdev Singh of the local CIA staff, who along with his police party arrested Bikaramjit Singh, said five gm of heroin had been recovered from his possession. The accused had been booked under Sections 21-A, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act by the local city police. Accused Gurpreet Singh had been arrested with 112 gm of heroin from his village by the Harike police, who was booked under Section 21-B, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act. OC PAGE 2 Tarn Taran, January 9 Four masked robbers looted weapons, cash, gold ornaments and other valuable articles from a farmhouse at Khadoor Sahib village here on Friday midnight. In his complaint to the Goindwal Sahib police, Amar Singh, head of the family, stated that at midnight when his pet dog was barking, he went near the gate of the house and opened the door. Four masked robbers hurriedly entered his house. After attacking him with a sharp-edged weapon, they held hostage all family members in a room. Amar Singh said after searching the almirahs and the door ❝I openedmy pet dogat midnight as was barking. Four masked robbers hurriedly entered my house. After attacking me with a sharp-edged weapon, they held all family members hostage in a room. ❞ Amar Singh, COMPLAINANT other boxes, they took away his licensed pistol, rifle, Rs 15,000, about 5 tola gold ornaments and a laptop from the house and fled away. IO ASI Sukhdev Singh said a case under Sections 458 and 380 of the IPC was registered and launched further action to nab the accused. Physical hearings Raen Basera is almost full of emptiness of cases in district Caretakers courts from Jan 11 Neeraj Bagga blame Covid-19 restrictions and movement of few trains Amritsar, January 9 The District and Sessions Judge here has asked judicial officers to hold courts physically from January 11 while adhering to the guidelines issued by the Punjab and the Central governments regarding social distancing and wearing safety equipment during the court proceedings. The order was issued to all judicial officers on Saturday besides the local police and jail authorities with copies being sent to the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court, district attorney and presidents of bar associations of Amritsar, Ajnala, Baba Bakala sub-division. The physical hearings had been suspended since the outbreak of Covid-19 in March last year. Officiating District and Sessions Judge Sarbjit Singh Dhaliwal also asked all judicial officers to send their report on a daily basis. Amritsar Bar Association president advocate Vipin Dhand said it would take another week for streamlining the functioning of the courts. He said the decision was taken by the Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court after a request by a 17-member action committee of the Bar Council (of High Court) led by Karanjit Singh. The action committee has also threatened to go on a strike if the High Court did not resume the physical hearings immediately. — TNS c m y b Only seven persons residing at present. ■ Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 9 Despite the severe cold wave gripping the city like any part in the northern India, Raen Basera, a home for destitute, has not recorded any increase in the number of inmates. The Covid-19 pandemic is said to be the reason behind it. Otherwise, number of inmates increases manifold with temperature dipping every year. Vijay Kumar, an inmate, who had been living at Rambagh’s Raen Basera for the last four years, said it was for the first time that only seven persons were residing here. Otherwise, over 200 impoverished people, who normally forced to live roadside, used to shift here, which was housed in an abandoned hospital building. The inmates get bed, bathroom, medical facilities and food. A Red Cross vehicle ferries meal for them from the Golden Temple daily. A caretaker at the Raen Basera said most of the destitute were habitual of consuming tobacco or alcohol. Since such activities are prohibited here, they prefer to stay out. Attempts to locate the needy and bring them to the place have not yielded much positive results. “If people stop giving them money, they will come to live here,” he opines. Two units of Raen Basera are situated at the Gol Bagh Usually, over 200 impoverished people, normally dwelling on roadsides, used to shift here, which is housed in an abandoned hospital building. ■ Unoccupied beds at the Raen Basera in the Gol Bagh area of Amritsar. PHOTOS. SUNIL KUMAR with a combined strength of 100 beds. They also serve as shelter homes for those passengers who do not have funds to foot the bill of hotels. Caretakers state that since the movement of trains was negligible due to the farmers’ stir and in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, the footfall remained low. Yet there’’s no denying the fact that a huge number of beggars, especially children, can be witnessed on the roads.