13052022-ATR-01.qxd 5/13/2022 12:03 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE IN PICS: GARDENS BREATHING LIFE INTO CITY’S GREENSCAPE City founders gave due importance to having a green cover. Tribune explores the city to know more about its history. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY PAGE 2 ACTRESS SHILPA SHETTY TAKES A BREAK FROM SOCIAL MEDIA MAX 44°C | MIN 27°C | YESTERDAY MAX 43°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET FRIDAY 7:17 PM PK Jaiswar INBRIEF FARMERS TOLD TO AVAIL SUBSIDIES Amritsar: Shailinder Kaur, Director, Horticulture Department, said the Horticulture Department will provide subsidies to farmers under various schemes. Assistant Director, Horticulture, Gurinder Singh Dhanjal said the department has been working with Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) and providing various subsidies to farmers. He said a subsidy of ~19,000 per hectare was being given for planting new orchards and ~20,000 per hectare for reviving old ones; ~8 lakh for mushroom production unit, and ~16,000 per hectare for cultivation of flowers. For a polyhouse, a farmer can get 50 per cent subsidy for protected farming. The department is providing ~1,600 per box, including eight frames per bee, to increase pollination. TNS PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service The walls of the buildings that caved in due to digging of the basement of a hotel on Thursday. However, a distance of less than five feet has been kept from the hotel that is coming up, he said. Residents alleged that repeated requests, to political leaders, including the then deputy chief minister OP Soni and officials of the MC, fell on deaf ears. “Nobody bothers about rectifying the faults, which could lead to loss of life. Looking at the risk, I believe that in the SHILPA SHUKLA ON BEING A PART OF THE BIG FAT CITY The actress enjoys a huge fan base and used to post inspirational videos on yoga and her day-to-day activities. Hotel digging work caves in walls of adjacent buildings Amritsar, May 12 The negligent attitude of the civic authorities came to the fore after the walls of the residential and commercial structures caved in as a result of digging up of a basement of an upcoming hotel. Luckily, no loss of life was reported. Sanjay Kumar, an owner of the adjacent hotel that also suffered loss, said the matter was brought to the notice of the authorities concerned umpteen number of times, but they deliberately turned a blind eye. He said the authorities were informed that the construction of the property was in contravention to the sanctioned plan, while building by-laws were blatantly ignored. “The basement is nearly 50 feet deep, which is in contravention to the permitted depth,” he claimed. Another resident said the adjoining buildings, which are two and three-storeyed needed a minimum gap of around 8 feet from the new building to be constructed. PAGE 3 coming monsoon season, there would be a worst situation,” he said. Another resident said cracks had appeared in the basement and ground floor of his 180-square yard commercial property. He recalled that about two years ago, the owner of the property started digging up the site. He blamed long delay in construction as the prime reason for weakening of the adjoining struc- tures. Due to this, the adjoining buildings started becoming unsafe and unfit for human habitation, he said. Ironically, IPS Randhawa, Municipal Town Planner, said the construction of the upcoming hotel was being done as per the plan. “The map of the hotel was passed within the limits of the building norms. We cannot raise objections to it,” he said. Shilpa Shukla first shot to prominence as a rebellious hockey player in the 2007 sports saga Chak De! India. SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:34 AM Tribune News Service Dinanagar, May 12 Barely days after he secured a bail in an attempt to murder case under Section 307 of the IPC, the Gurdaspur police have sent a youth back to the Central Jail after slapping him with a murder charge. Rahul Kumar was out on bail last week. He was jailed after he tried murdering a close relative. However, once he stepped out of the Gurdaspur Central Jail, he tried seducing a Dinanagar-based girl identified as Puja Bala. For days, he tried convincing her that they should get married as he was a “changed man.” Dinanagar SHO Kapil Kaushal said Puja was not willing to marry Rahul. This peeved him. He also got in touch with Puja’s sister Rajni Bala and requested her to convince Puja in a matrimonial alliance. On Wednesday, without waiting for an answer from Rajni, Rahul chalked out a plan to murder Puja, who lived with her maternal grandparents. He bludgeoned her to death in her sleep with sharp-edged weapons. Later, he decamped with her scooter, mobile phone and an ATM card. Kaushal said they launched a manhunt in and around Dinanagar and after two days, the cops managed to arrest him. “He was in the process of fleeing to some other city, when we nabbed him,” the SHO said. Amritsar, May 12 A woman and her minor son died in a road accident when a car hit their scooter on the Taran Wala Bridge here on Thursday. The victims were identified as Rasam Sharma (40) and Hritwik Sharma (4). She was going to drop her son at DAV International FRIDAY | 13 MAY 2022 | AMRITSAR No let-up in deaths due to drug abuse in border districts Tribune News Service NOT THE FIRST TIME Amritsar, May 12 Another drug abuse victim lost his life due to alleged drug overdose in Rorawal village here. He was identified as Shamsher Singh (32), who recently came from Bihar. He is survived by his wife and three daughters. On the complaint of Balwinder Kaur, his mother, the police have booked two for culpable homicide. They were identified as Rajbir Singh, alias Ravi, and Gurjit Singh, alias Geeta, who live in his neighbourhood and were allegedly involved in the illegal trade. They were arrested by the police. The victim’s mother said her son Shamsher Singh went to the accused’s house on Tuesday afternoon after having his meal. He said later, they came and said that something had happened to him. She alleged that the accused gave him some drug which led to his death. The police said a case has been registered under Section 304 of the IPC and handed over the body to the family after autopsy. ASI Satnam Singh, IO, ■ May 10, 2022: Satwinder Singh (21), son of Surjit Singh of Mehindipur village in Khemkaran border area, died of drug overdose. Satwinder was fond of kabaddi and well built, but fell into the drug trap. He was found lying unconscious in the fields ■ May 2: A 40-year-old man died of drug overdose in Kale Ghanupur area. This was the third death due to drugs in the family. The victim was also infected with HIV due to alleged sharing of syringes for consumption of drugs. Family members of the deceased the victim fell into the deadly trap around three years ago. He used to consume medicinal drugs besides smack and heroin. Earlier, his father and brother, too, had died due to consumption of illegal drugs ■ The same day, drugs claimed two lives in the Tarn Taran area as well. One of the deceased was a resident of Alawalpur village and the second was from Manochahal Kalan village. Alawalpur village resident identified as Rupinderjit Singh (38) had gone missing. His father Bakhshish Singh said some unidentified person took him to some undisclosed location and he did not return after that. On Tuesday morning, his body was recovered from the outskirts of Pandori Gola village. The other victim of drug over doze was identified as Bikram Singh (30). He was found dead at his farmhouse ■ March 19: A man, identified as Simarjit Singh, allegedly died of drug overdose at Rumana Chak village in Amritsar said the exact cause for death would be ascertained after the autopsy report Out on bail, man back Woman, son die in road accident in jail for killing girl Tribune News Service PAGE 4 School, Verka Bypass, here. Shashpal Singh, Investigating Officer, said the police have booked the unidentified car driver under Section 304 A and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code on the statement of Amit Sharma, the husband of the deceased. The car was later found abandoned near Taran Wala bridge. The incident occurred near Diamond Estate. The car dragged the victims to quite a distance. The car driver fled from the spot. The victims were rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared them dead. The Investigating Officer said the owner of the car (PB-02-CY-5905) was being identified. arrives. He said Shamsher and his cousin had recently returned from Bihar. Fight over sharing of alms claims begger’s life Amritsar, May 12 A beggar allegedly killed another beggar over a minor dispute over sharing of money near Sakatari Bagh on Wednesday evening. The deceased was identified as Manu, a resident of Jalandhar. He was stabbed to death by Jai Kamle of Nasik, Maharashtra. He was later arrested by the police. The accused attacked Manu over a minor dispute with some sharp weapon on the left side of his neck, due to which he started bleeding and died Shankar Dass, the complainant and eyewitness to the incident, told the police that he came to Sakatarri Bagh near Chattiwind Chowk at a tea stall. He said at 3.20pm, two persons started quarrelling with each other. He said the accused attacked Manu with some sharp weapon on the left side of his neck, due to which he started bleeding profusely and died. The police recovered the sharp weapon from him and registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against Jai Kamle. — TNS Man opens fire, injures wife, her niece Amritsar: A matrimonial dispute turned ugly after a man shot at his wife and her niece in Mustafabad area. The accused, identified as Daljit Singh of Nehru Colony on Majitha Road, injured Charanjit Kaur, his wife, and her niece, Manpreet. They were admitted to GNDH, where their condition was stated to be stable. Charanjit’s brother Sukhbir Singh said Charanjit had a dispute with her husband and was living with them for the past one month. He said on Wednesday, when Daljit came to his house to take her back, they entered into a verbal duel. He took out a pistol and fired at Charanjit, which hit her on her right foot. He said when his niece came to save her, he opened fire at her also with the bullet piercing her right leg. The accused fled after firing another shot in the air. SI Jagbir Singh said a case under Section 307 of the IPC and Sections 25/27/54/59 of the Arms Act was registered against Daljit. TNS Driver, conductor attacked for not halting bus at village Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, May 12 Disturbed over not stopping the bus at Shahabpur village, miscreants armed with sticks, baseball bats launched an attack on the bus of Punjab Roadways, Patti, on the Tarn Taran-Patti Road near Shahabpur-Piddi village on Thursday. The bus (PB-02, AG-4537) which left for Chandigarh from Patti at 6.20 am reached near Shahabpur village, did not stop, which irked the villagers. Armed with sticks and baseball bats, some miscreants started following the bus and when they reached Rasulpur, they overtook on order to launch an attack. The driver saw them and somehow applied emergency brakes to avert any untoward incident, in which bus passengers received minor injuries. The miscreants started attacking the bus and the driver somehow took it towards the Raspulpur canal, where a police naka is usually set up, but the cops were nowhere to be seen. Driver Jaswinderpal Singh and conductor Harpal Singh were injured and the cash bag of the conductor containing ~1,100 and his mobile also got lost in the milieu. The roadways employees held a protest on the road that resulted in blockade. The police led by Inspector Gurcharan Singh, SHO, local sadar police, reached and assured protesters that action would be taken against the miscreants. The employees lifted the protest after which the traffic was restored. The police said a case under relevant sections was registered against the accused. Three miscreants have been identified as Happy, Surinder Singh Shinda Fauji and Suba Singh of Shahabpur while other associates were yet to be identified. One should go for thalassaemia Best director award for Dengue threat: Isolation wards test before marriage, says Ghuggi city filmaker at MIDFF in government hospitals soon Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 12 Actor and comedian Gurpreet Singh Ghuggi pledged to ask his children to go for thalassaemia test before marriage so that the future generations can be saved from the disease. Ghuggi was here to attend an awareness programme organised by Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Sciences to raise awareness about thalassaemia. Other prominent personalities present included Dr Shruti Kakkar, senior haemato-oncologist; and Dr Narinder Singh, former principal, Government Medical College. Ghuggi said: “We should all try to make India thalassaemia-free and help all tha- Tribune News Service Gurpreet Ghuggi also pledged to ask his kids to go for thalassemia test before marriage to save future generation from the disease. lassaemics patients with moral, emotional and financial support.” He talked about the need for continuous public awareness. Vice-Chancellor Dr Daljit Singh said if both parents of a child are carriers of thallassaemia, chances of the newborn acquiring the disease are much higher. He said the test helps in preventing the disease in the newborn. Dr AP Singh, Dean, said on an average, 65 to 70 thalassaemic patients come to the hospital every month. He said all necessary facilities along with blood transfusion and filters are provided for free by the institute to these children. Amritsar, May 12 ‘Masquerade’, a 20-minute film, made by city-based Urdu poet and filmmaker Dev Hindavi has won the Best Director Award at the Multi-Dimension Independent Film Festival (MDIFF) held in the UK recently. The MDIFF is a festival celebrating independent cinema from across the world and Hindavi’s film Masquarade was nominated in the Best Short film category and Best Director, which it won among four other nominees. The short film is Hindavi’s first project as a filmmaker and the star cast include citybased poet and actor Arvinder Chamak and Dilraj. The c m y b film is an English language, drama based on complexity of human relationships, a critique on gender-role and perception of love. The film is produced by East West productions and Balvinder Kaur. Hindavi has previously composed Urdu poetry books’ translations. He used to also run Urdu podcasts and has been part of various national, international literary forums. Masquerade has also been shortlisted for the Dadsaheb Phalke Awards in the short film category. The film has been also shortlisted for several independent film festivals in India, including Ideal International Film Festival. The film is looking for an OTT release. Tribune News Service SYMPTOMS Amritsar, May 12 In view of the reports of dengue cases from other districts, the District Health Department conducted an emergency meeting of the senior officials to take stock of the preparedness at the government hospitals. Civil Surgeon Dr Charanjit Singh said no case of dengue has been reported from the district, adding that there was a need to make preparations for any situation as the neighbouring districts were reporting dengue cases. The department is making preparations to set up isolation wards at the government hospitals. At the same time, it has also asked the general public to take ample precautions. People infected by the dengue virus may suffer from high fever, severe headache, severe pain behind the eyes, joint pain, muscle and bone pain, rash and mild bleeding The health officials said dengue was easily preventable, for which residents have to ensure that no mosquito breeding takes place inside their homes or in the neighbourhood. Dr Charanjit Singh said: “The past experience tells us that the dengue mosquito breeds at places where people least expect them to. It could be the waste water container at the back of the fridge or in the money plant water bottle.” He said people should remove all junk from the roofs of their houses which could hold water. The officials said dengue mosquitoes breed in fresh water and usually they bite during the day. The health experts said people should wear full sleeved clothes while going to parks for jogging and apply mosquito repellent creams on the exposed body parts. Dr Singh said in case of any symptoms of dengue, the patients should report at the nearest government hospital. He said dengue diagnosis test and treatment was conducted free of cost at all government hospitals.