27042022-ATR-01.qxd 4/26/2022 11:43 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE RESOLVE OLD MUTATIONS ON TIME, REVENUE STAFF TOLD DC Harpreet Singh Sudan directed staff to expedite recovery & resolve old mutations within stipulated time. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF CHECK MISUSE OF VEHICLES: NGO Amritsar: A local NGO, Amritsar Vikas Manch (AVM), has demanded a check on the illegal use of commercial vehicles, including those ferrying passengers. AVM patron Charanjit Singh Gumtala said earlier the High Court had ruled against the use of tractor-trailers for commercial purposes, but the decision has not been implemented even after 21 years. The NGO demanded that the use of commercial vehicles and tractor-trailers to ferry passengers be banned. Gumtala said the government must take steps to check accidents, due to which many lives are lost. He said the government must ask the police to check misuse of any kind of vehicle. TNS NEW CIVIL SURGEON TAKES CHARGE Tarn Taran: Dr Seema assumed the charge of Civil Surgeon of Tarn Taran on Tuesday. The post had been lying vacant for the last two months after the retirement of former Civil Surgeon Dr Rohit Mehta. Dr Seema joined the Health Department in 1991 and was promoted to post of Civil Surgeon in 2021. After taking charge, Dr Seema held a meeting with her subordinates and issued them instructions to ensure that better medical services were provided to patients according to the guidelines. OC THREE TRY TO ROB COMMISSION AGENT Amritsar: Three unidentified armed persons tried to loot a bike from a commission agent in Tilak Nagar area. Several persons on the rooftop of the house in the locality raised an alarm after which unidentified bike-borne robbers fled. The incident was captured in a CCTV camera and the police launched further probe. Jatin of Judge Nagar area said late on Sunday evening, he was going towards Musim Ganj for some work. He said when he reached Tilak Nagar, three unidentified youths stopped him. They were armed with a pistol. He said he resisted their attempt. The accused while pointing a pistol at him took out the keys of his Bullet. As they tried to put their hands into his pocket, people on the rooftop raised an alarm. IO Jaspal Singh said they were examining the footage of CCTVs in the locality to identify the suspects. TNS PAGE 2 TWINKLE’S STORY SALAAM NONI APPA TO BE MADE INTO A FILM PAGE 3 KIKU SHARDA IS HAPPY TO TEAM UP WITH BHUVANESHWAR KUMAR A story from Twinkle Khanna’s bestselling book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad will soon be made into a movie. MAX 41°C | MIN 21°C | YESTERDAY MAX 40°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7:07 PM Kiku has taken his love for cricket a step ahead by signing up for PlayerzPot’s IPL Cricket ka Bhoot campaign. SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:48 AM WEDNESDAY | 27 APRIL 2022 | AMRITSAR ~3.50 crore of Punjab Nirman Programme funds siphoned off Pathankot MC chief says matter probed, report submitted to Director (Local Bodies) the report. We are ❝We are eagerly awaitingthe MC manages toalso watching with interest how Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Pathankot, April 26 Government funds worth crores of rupees meant for the betterment of the lower strata of society, have allegedly been siphoned off into the bank accounts of the kin of Congress councillors of the Pathankot Municipal Corporation (MC). In March, just as the Assembly elections were round the corner, a social worker Pawan Kumar blew the whistle by lodging a complaint with the Director (Local Bodies), following which the MC Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) was asked to conduct a probe. The bungling may open a can of worms for a leading Congress politician at whose behest the money was diverted. The axe can also fall on nearly 20 erring councillors as they face disqualification from the MC House. MC Commissioner Shena Aggarwal confirmed that the CVO had sent his findings to the Director. She, however, did not divulge the contents of the report. Leaders of all political parties are keenly awaiting the inquiry report. “We are eagerly awaiting wriggle out of this tight situation. Everybody knows that a Congress leader and councillors were hand in glove with each other. The MC is doing its level best to brush the controversy under the carpet which, in any case, will not be allowed to happen. I demand an FIR for embezzling government funds against the Mayor and the Congress satrap. Vibhuti Sharma, AAP HALQA IN-CHARGE, PATHANKOT the report. We are also watching with interest how the MC manages to wriggle out of this tight situation. Everybody knows that the Congress leader and councillors were hand in glove with each other. The MC is doing its level best to brush the controversy under the carpet which, in any case, will not be allowed to happen. I demand an FIR for embezzling government funds against the Mayor and the Congress satrap. Criminal cases should be registered against the councillors involved in the scam and also against their kin, who are the real beneficiaries,” said Vibhuti Sharma, AAP halqa in-charge, Pathankot. Sources claim that just before the poll, a grant of ~3.50 crore was given to the MC under the Punjab Nirman Programme (PNP). The money, according to norms, should have been spent on helping the poor and backward to repair their houses. Norms stipulate that a JElevel officer undertakes a mandatory visit to the houses of applicants. Verifications of credentials of applicants are stringently adhered to before money is given. However, in this case, the rules were broken with impunity even as nearly 600 relatives of 20 Congress councillors illegally benefitted. An amount of ~30,000 has been credited directly to the bank accounts of each of the 600 relatives, making a complete mockery of the stipulations of the PNP . Fathers, mothers, aunts, uncles, nephews and nieces of Congress councillors were all part of the rip-off. “When the money was being diverted and distributed, it was a free for all. Councillors had a hard time identifying relatives who were actually being left out of the circus. If anybody was left out, he was asked to join the revelry. Everybody was in the loop. ~3.50 crore has gone down the drain without a whimper. These people were thinking that the Congress will retain power. Consequently, they were also hoping that the dust will not hit the fan. Now, with AAP sweeping to power, these very councillors are finding themselves swimming against the tide,” maintained Vikas Saini, area coordinator of AAP . Ex-Pathankot Mayor Anil Vasudeva said: “It is high ❞ time the chaff was separated from the grain. I have information that the probe may turn out to be a wishy-washy affair. Only a judicial inquiry can bring the culprits to book. Councillors are under oath not to give any monetary advantage to their relatives. Moreover, a councillor falls in the ambit of the ‘Office of Profit’ clause, which prohibits him from helping out his kin. Not one, but all rules have been shredded to smithereens,” he said. Sources say the connivance of MC officials cannot be ruled out. “In such a big scandal, it is simply not possible that officials had no role to play. They should also be brought under the microscope. This is a perfect case of fiscal misdemeanour,” Vibhuti said. Power outages add to veggie growers’ woes Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 26 The vegetable growers in the district continue to face power shortage for irrigation and are forced to burn diesel to save their crop. The vegetable growers demanded that they be provided a four-hour daily supply of power every day. Vegetable farmers from Majitha belt, who held a meeting with the power corporation officials on Tuesday, said they were promised four-hour power supply daily. Farmers said the officials informed them that as the three sub-divisions of the PSPCL in Majitha were not listed in the vegetable belt, they were facing this problem. “The officials said now they have added the said three divisions in the vegetable belt and farmers will get adequate supply as per their needs,” said Lakhbir Singh Nizampura, president, Vegetable officials ❝TheMajitha’ssaid they’ve added three divisions in the vegetable belt and that farmers will get adequate supply. On Monday, farmers did not receive the promised supply after which we approached them again. ❞ Lakhbir Singh Nizampura, PRESIDENT, VEGETABLE GROWERS’ ASSOCIATION Growers’ Association. He said on Monday, farmers did not receive the promised power supply after which they approached the officials again. “Now, they said since they received instructions to apply power cut from the higher-ups in the entire district, the power could not be supplied on Tuesday,” Nizampura said, adding that the government must ensure power supply to vegetable fields and orchards to promote crop diversification. Wheat yield loss 1 quintal per acre in dist Man posing as PSPCL employee As harvesting begins late in Majha, loss here less than in other districts dupes resident, steals his meter Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 26 Wheat farmers in the district have suffered a loss of up to 1 quintal per acre as has become evident from the field trials conducted by the district Agriculture Department. The agriculture officials said total 166 trials were conducted in the district and the average per acre yield loss was assessed to be around 1 quintal. Meanwhile, the loss of yield in wheat crop has been reported to be around 4 quintal per acre in the state. As farmers in many other districts of the state have reported much higher loss in the wheat crop, those here seem to be lucky, as they did In the state, however, the loss of yield in wheat crop has been reported to be around 4 quintal per acre. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR not had to face the similar fate. The harvesting of wheat in Majha district, especially in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts, starts late than in Malwa and Doaba. In fact most of the combine harvester machines come to Majha after the harvesting in Malwa is over. Agriculture experts said the wheat crop in the district ripens late and this could be one of the many possible reasons for comparative less loss of yield as compared to other districts. However, in comparison to the wheat harvesting season last year, it has seen an early start this year. During the last year, grain markets in the district have seen a total arrival of 1.91 lakh metric tonne (MT) till April 25. However, this season, a total of 4.82 lakh MT has arrived in the markets till date. Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Dalbir Singh Gill said: “In many other districts, the loss of yield has been as high as 4 quintal per acre.” He said the harvesting of the wheat crop in the district is nearly over. He said exact reasons for the loss of yield, too, would be ascertained by the experts. Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 26 The city police have nabbed a person for allegedly duping a local resident by posing as a Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) employee. He allegedly took ~3,000 from Nirmal Singh, a resident of Satnam Nagar, Fatahpur, located on Jhabal Road. Nirmal Singh bought a new house in the locality and was duped as he wished to change the meter on his name. Following a probe, the police have arrested Jaswant Singh, alias Kuldeep Singh, alias Ganja, a resident of Plying of autos on service lane along ISBT a nuisance ❝ Neeraj Bagga Walking in the service lane is fraught with danger. Autorickshaws ply on both sides. Being driven rashly, these autorickshaws do not obey traffic norms. Encroachment of the lane further compounds the problem. Jatinder Kaur, Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 26 A separate lane for plying of autorickshaws was earmarked along the ISBT on the GT road a couple of weeks ago. Despite that, autorickshaws can be seen plying on the service lane of the same stretch. It is causing undue inconvenience to commuters, especially pedestrians, and two-wheelers who find their space gobbled up on both sides. Simarjit Singh, a resident of Hussainpura, said: “Opposite the ISBT, there are several narrow streets on the GT road. All these lanes are densely populated. The government built a service lane during the construction of the elevated road. It provides a secure and easy passage to PAGE 4 ❞ A RESIDENT OF TEHSILPURA Even as a separate lane for autorickshaws has been earmarked along the ISBT on GT Road, these continue to drive even on the service lane. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR the people living along the streets from speeding heavy vehicles on the GT road”. The service lane is no longer safe and secure. A large number of autorickshaws are being plied, making the Hussainpura-Ram Talai stretch unsafe. Saurav Mahajan, another resident of the area, said, “The service lane provided relief to c m y b residents of Hussainpura, Sharifpura and Tehsilpura. Besides, two-wheeler riders find it a convenient alterna- tive to avoid traffic bottlenecks near ISBT. Pointing out another glaring problem, he said, “Shopkeepers have encroached upon the service lane. A move which further narrows the lane. He urged the authorities to redress these two glaring problems to provide relief to commuters. Jatinder Kaur, a resident of Tehsilpura, said, “Walking in the service lane is fraught with danger. Autorickshaws ply on both sides. Being driven rashly, these autorickshaws do not obey traffic norms. Encroachment of the lane further compounds the problem.” Iqbal Singh, ACP (Traffic), said he would direct the cops on duty at the stretch to keep a watch so that autos were not plied on the service lane. Prem Nagar located in Kot Khalsa area. He was booked under Section 379 of the IPC in this regard. Nirmal Singh in his complaint to the police said they bought a new house in the locality. He said the accused approached them while posing a PSPCL employee named Sandeep Singh. He pressurised them to change the meter on his name and took ~3,000 as ‘departmen- tal charges’. He later changed the electricity meter and installed a new one in its place. He said but he received the bill in the name of previous owner. He said he tried contacting him on his number, but he did not respond to his repeated calls. He said he then went to the PSPCL office, where he came to know that there was no employee named Sandeep Singh. The electricity meter installed at his house was also found to be a stolen one. During probe, the police registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC and arrested the accused who was identified as Jaswant Singh. Father-son duo held for attacking police team Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 26 A police team, went to investigate a complaint, was attacked and thrashed by suspects at Sainsra Kalan village falling under the Jhander police station here on Wednesday. The team was led by ASI Jagtar Singh. Following his complaint, the police have booked the suspects, Judgepal Singh and his father Balraj Singh, both residents of the same village, for assaulting and obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty. They were later arrested by the police. Judgepal said Dhanwant Singh of the village lodged a complaint with the police that Judgepal and his father Balraj had threatened him to kill over a dispute. He said the SHO marked a probe to him and he along with constables Sukhbaj Singh, Amrinder Singh and Jubanbir Singh went to his house who lived just opposite the complainant’s home. He said as he called Judgepal outside for investigation, the accused along with his son started abusive language against the police team. Armed with wooden stick, the duo attacked the police team and injured two cops, besides tearing their uniform. The accused later fled away from the scene. The police have registered a case under Sections 353, 186 and 506 of the IPC against the two. Later, both were arrested.