10052022-ATR-01.qxd 5/9/2022 11:43 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE FARMERS MEET ALL 11 MLAS OF DIST, SUBMIT MEMORANDUMS PAGE 2 Major demands are compensation for loss of yield, wheat fields burnt by fire & deferring of loan instalments. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF 21-YR-OLD DIES OF DRUG OVERDOSE Tarn Taran: There seems to be no end to deaths due to drug overdose in the district. Satwinder Singh (21), son of Surjit Singh of Mehindipur village in Khemkaran border area, died of drug overdose on Sunday. Surjit Singh said his son, who was fond of kabaddi and well built, fell into bad company some time ago. He left home on Sunday and never returned. The family came to know that he was lying unconscious in a field. The family rushed to the spot, but Satwinder Singh was no more till then. The body was cremated without informing the police and getting a postmortem done. OC 10 CELL PHONES SEIZED FROM JAIL Amritsar: The Central Jail authorities made a seizure of 11 mobile phones from the complex. During checking of room number 4 from barrack number 6, a touch screen mobile was found from a prisoner Daler Singh of Ferozepur. Two touch screen phones were found hidden outside the barrack. Similarly, the search operation in different parts of the jail led to the seizure of eight more mobile phones. ASI Avtar Singh, IO, said a case under Sections 42, 52-A of the Prisons Act was registered and further probe was on. TNS PHARMACISTS AIR THEIR GRIEVANCES Amritsar: The representative of the Punjab State Pharmacy Officers’ Association met GMC Principal Dr Rajiv Devgan on Monday to apprise him of the problems faced by pharmacists. Leaders Shamsher Singh Kohri, Ashok Kumar Palwinder Singh Dhamu said they were facing problems due to the reorganisation of the Health Department and the Medical Education Department after which two separate cadres were made instead of one. The association leaders said they have been assured by the GMC principal that he would take up the issues with the higher ups. TNS PAGE 3 PRIYANKA SHARES 1ST PHOTO OF DAUGHTER MALTI MARIE AN ODE TO LOVE: HANSAL MEHTA OPENS UP ON DIRECTING BAAI On Mother’s Day, Priyanka Chopra took to her social media account and shared the first picture of Malti Marie. MAX 42°C | MIN 26°C | YESTERDAY MAX 41°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7:16 PM PAGE 4 Amazon Prime Video’s Modern LoveMumbai is grabbing eyeballs ever since release of its intriguing trailer. SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:36 AM TUESDAY | 10 MAY 2022 | AMRITSAR Private hospitals refuse to Schools told to display child helpline number on buses admit new AB-SSBY patients Tribune News Service A sort of protest, ask government to clear pending dues first Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 The beneficiaries of Ayushman Bharat-Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana, (AB-SSBY), a flagship health insurance programme of the government to ensure medical care for the poor, is expected to hit hard as the empanelled private hospitals have stopped taking in new patients under the scheme. A sort of protest, the move is aimed at forcing the state government to clear the dues of private hospitals. The representatives of private hospitals said their dues for the treatment they had provided to the beneficiaries of the scheme have not been paid for the last many According to hospital representatives, around ~10 cr has not been paid to the hospitals in the city ❝ Approximately, reimbursements worth ~250 crore of nearly 700 empanelled private hospitals in the state are pending. The decision was taken at the state level to not take in new patients till the dues are cleared. Dr RS Sethi, PRESIDENT, INDIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, AMRITSAR CHAPTER months. The representatives of the hospitals said nearly ~10 crore of the hospitals in the city had not been paid. The hospital operators said they had made the expenses on the treatment of patients from their own funds, but now they have not received the reimbursements. ❞ Dr RS Sethi, president, Indian Medical Association, Amritsar Chapter, said: “Approximately, the reimbursements of ~250 crore of the nearly 700 empanelled private hospitals in the state are pending.” He said the decision was taken at the state level to not take in new patients till the dues were cleared. With nearly 100 empanelled private hospitals in the district, a sizable number of patients received medical care from them under the scheme. While in most cases, patients have to be referred to private hospitals by the government hospitals, in some cases patients are eligible to go to private hospitals directly. The AB-SSBY has been going through a rough patch for the past many months, as private hospitals had stopped taking in new patients in October last year as well. In the subsequent months, too, the problem continued as the government tried to work out a solution. Amritsar, May 9 Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh Sudan on Monday directed to paste stickers of national-level Child Helpline 1098 on every school bus so that children could seek help in case of any emergency. He stated this during a meeting of the child helpline advisory committee here. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in December 2015 had directed Punjab, Haryana and union territory of Chandigarh to display child helpline number on all school vehicles involved in ferrying children. It also asked the governments to include the same in the Punjab Safe School Vahan Policy also. Sudan said it was the responsibility of every individual and the government to provide a safe and secure environment to children, besides ensuring quality DC Harpreet Singh holds a meeting with child helpline advisory committee members in Amritsar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO education, food and equal opportunities. He said the helpline worked 24X7. He was also trying to create a space where abandoned children found by the district administration or the police could be put up for several days before they were reunited with their families. This would also give time to the authorities for finding their parents and families. He also asked the Health Department to get the medical examination of such children conducted on a priority basis. He also asked the department concerned to check child labour by conducting raids in different parts of the city. He said stern action would be taken against those who were found having children as labourers in their establishments. SP Jagjit Singh Walia, District Social Welfare Officer Ashishinder Singh, District Welfare Officer Sanjiv Mannan, among others, were present on the occasion. Man arrested TradersatposhRanjitAvenue for killing father upset over open defecation Cops fail to make any headway in Friday’s bank robbery case Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 Even after lapsing of three days, the police are still clueless about the robbers, who looted the Central Bank of India branch located near The Mall of Amritsar. The police authorities said the police teams were working on different theories and investigations were under progress to identify the suspects. Scrutinising the CCTV cameras in the area, it was found that the accused fled towards Tarn Taran side after committing the crime. They had come in a white Swift. “After analysing the CCTV camera footsge, we found that the robbers fled towards Tarn Taran from Taran Wala Pul. We are trying to track their movement. Further investigations are on,” said a police official. Four unidentified miscreants had looted ~5.72 lakh Amritsar, May 9 Over a week after an elderly man was murdered, the police have arrested his elder son for killing him. He was absconding ever since. Harbans Singh (62), a retired Class-IV employee was found murdered at a drain in Naraingarh village falling under Tarsikka police station here. The accused, Satnam Singh, was traced to the Beas police station here. He was a drug addict. The police recovered a mobile and ~2,500 cash from him. The deceased had retired from the mini-secretariat around two years ago and was currently working from house as a tailor. Preliminary investigations had revealed that Satnam was hooked to drugs and he allegedly sold his father’s sewing machine for money to Tribune News Service Preliminary investigations had revealed that Satnam was hooked to drugs and he allegedly sold his father’s sewing machine for money to procure his daily dose procure his daily dose. Ramandeep Singh, younger son of the deceased, told the police that on Friday evening his elder brother Satnam Singh called his wife Maninder Kaur asking her to send their father to Jandiala Guru market to get his sewing machine back. He said their father went to the market around 9 pm. After this, the mobile phones of both of them went off and they did not return home. He said Harbans Singh’s body was found near the railway track in Naraingarh village, while Satnam had also not arrived home. Amritsar, May 9 Shopkeepers at the district shopping complex in Ranjit Avenue are irked over the practice of open defecation near their shops. They alleged that visitors of a private bank, who come for some group loans, are firstly not allowed inside the bank and hence when people have to answer the nature’s call, they defecate out in the open causing inconvenience to them. Gurpal Singh, a trader in the market, said: “The bank calls nearly 25 people, mainly women, for some group loans. Sometimes they call more than 200 persons as well but do not allow them to enter the bank. They sit outside and the bank doesn’t allow them to use their wash- SHOPKEEPERSPEAK bank ❝Visitors to thewhendefecate behind the generator sets. Sometimes, shopkeepers ask them to go away from their shop, they start arguing with them. We want the civic body to intervene in the matter or facilitate visors at the bank as the city has open defecation-free certificate. In case open defecation continues in the posh market of the city, it will affect its ODF status. A trader in Ranjit Avenue ❞ room. Ironically, the bank staff hasn’t made any arrangement for them outside the bank.” Shopkeepers alleged that visitors, who came from rural areas and stay outside the bank for hours, have no other option but to defecate openly wherever they find space. “Visitors at the bank defecate behind the generator sets. Sometimes, when shopkeepers ask them to go away from their shop, they enter into an argument. We want the civic body to intervene in the matter or facilitate visors at the bank as the city has open defecationfree certificate. In case open defecation continues in the posh market of the city, it will affect its ODF status,” another trader said. Tribune News Service After scrutinising the CCTV cameras in the area, it was found that the accused came in a white Swift and fled towards Tarn Taran side after committing the crime in a broad daylight from the bank on Friday. One of them gained entry to the bank as a customer and later informed his accomplices who came armed and detained the staff before decamping with the cash. Vijay Mehra, a bank official, said the incident occurred around 11.30am. He said all accused were wearing masks and caps. One of them entered the bank as a customer and later informed his three accomplices who barged into the bank and committed the robbery. DC asks Edu Dept to focus on needs of special children Sohna-Mohna happy, posted near home at Manawala office Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 DC Harpreet Singh Sudan on Monday instructed the Education Department to set up special squads to look into the arrangements for imparting education to children with special needs (CWSN) studying in private schools and mainstream government schools. He said a detailed report must be submitted on the shortcomings in infrastructure or otherwise and action taken on improving quality of education being imparted to children with special needs. He also directed the Education Department to ensure equal participation in education and sports of such children studying in government schools to ensure equal opportunity. In the wake of the amped up efforts by the administration towards CWSN, district’s only government-run school for children with disabilities, the Pehal Resource Centre, recently celebrated sporting achievement of one of its sportsmen. A contingent of special athletes from Pehal along with their coaches; and (right) Gurnoor Singh who won bronze at the national games for people suffering from cerebral palsy related disabilities. TRIBUNE PHOTOS Spl athlete from Pehal Resource Centre bags bronze at national meet Gurnoor Singh, a student at Pehal Resource Centre’s school at Karampura, won bronze at the national games held by Cerebral Palsy Sports Federation of India in New Delhi. The sports event saw 180 players with disabilities participating from different states of the country, with six children from Pehal Resource Centre, Amritsar, and one participant from Sri Muktsar Sahib. Gurnoor Singh, who suffers from disability related to cerebral palsy won bronze in the F36 category of shot put event. His coach Amit Mehta, who is also special educator, said despite the fact that there was no regular sports instructor or coach hired for these kids, their team had been training them in sports and athletics. “Our kids participated in the 100m, 200m and 400m race, shot put, ❝ The centre has been running sports training programme for children with special needs, training them in field events. It's a challenging process, given limited facilities and funds for special diet for these kids under training are managed by the school or teachers themselves. Amit Mehta, SPL EDUCATOR ❞ discus throw, long jump and club throw events. The centre has been running sports training programme for children with special needs, training them in field events. It’s a c m y b challenging process, given with limited facilities and sometimes funds for special diet required for these kids under training are managed by the school or teachers themselves,” he said. Pehal’s sportspersons with special needs have earlier also brought laurels in special Olympics and special games at the national level. They currently train 25-30 special athletes, without a regular sports coach. The special diet requirement, which includes eggs, proteinrich foods, vegetables, fruits, milk etc., is arranged every now and then. Amit shared that ~800 per child is required to arrange special diet for them. “Sometimes, we get funds from the department after we write to them. At times, we arrange when teachers, parents chip in. Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO with Sohna-Mohna at his residence on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 Power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Monday met Sohna and Mohna and handed over their transfer orders as PSPCL engineers to Manawala as per their request. The siblings, who are conjoined twins, had secured a job in PSPCL earlier this year and requested to work in Manawala, as it is closer to their home at Pingalwara. Sohna-Mohna are presently posted at RTM post at the Power Colony on Majitha Road and had requested for the transfer to avoid conveyance issues. On Monday, both brothers met Harbhajan Singh ETO at his residence and mentioned the difficulty of commuting from Manawala to Majitha Road office. “Harbhajan Singh contacted PSPCL headquarters in Patiala and immediately asked for their transfer. He also directed them to depute them as Sub-Station Attendant from RTM.