29072022-ATR-01.qxd 7/29/2022 12:00 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE SET UP IN 1856, NJSA COLLEGE IS OLDEST INSTITUTE IN NORTH INDIA The Kapurthala Royal family established the oldest centre of learning in North — Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia College. FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY SKY INBRIEF MC SEALS ILLEGAL BUILDING IN CITY Amritsar: The Municipal Town Planning (MTP) wing of the municipal corporation (MC) has started taking action against the buildings being constructed without getting the approval of plan in the city. Today, Central Zone Building Inspector Vishal Rampal along with Building Inspector Dheeraj Kumar and other employees sealed an under-construction commercial building in Kot Atma Singh. Notices have been issued to owners of illegal buildings at Hathi Gate, Katra Parja and Rambagh area. Besides, illegal constructions in different areas were also stopped by MTP Department officials. TNS CASH, GOLD STOLEN FROM HOUSE Tarn Taran: Gold ornaments and cash, including dollars, worth Rs 12 lakh were stolen from a house at Mundapind village on Wednesday night. A team of the Goindwal Sahib police led by ASI Ram Singh and Surjit Singh visited the spot and collected evidence from the spot. A dog squad was also called. Dr Dilbag Singh and his brother Sarwan Singh said the family was sleeping in one room when the thieves entered the house and robbed valuables from other rooms. OC PAGE 2 SONAKSHI SINHA TO FEATURE IN BROTHER’S DIRECTORIAL DEBUT PAGE 3 Actor Sonakshi Sinha is set to play leading lady in her brother Kussh Sinha’s upcoming project. MAX 31°C | MIN 26°C | YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET FRIDAY 7:29 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:44 AM MC Commissioner holds meeting with health officials Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service The road outside ESI Hospital is littered with garbage in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR did not make further payments. Due to the strike on Wednesday and Thursday, the vehicles of the company were seen parked at Ranjit Avenue E-Block and Bhagtanwala workshop. MC Health Officer Dr Kiran Kumar said due to non-lifting of garbage in the city, MC Commissioner Kumar Saurabh Raj held a meeting today with the officials of the Health Department and also called the company officials. Representatives of the company will visit Amritsar tomorrow to meet the Corporation Commissioner from Delhi. He said apart from this, a delegation of the company’s employees met the MC Commissioner today. The Commissioner told the employees that they would get their salary in any case, but the strike was causing filth in the city. The MC officials are hopeful that the matter would be sorted out tomorrow. Meanwhile, large heaps of garbage were seen at various collection points in the city. In case the strike doesn’t end on Friday, the situation would further deteriorate. FRIDAY | 29 JULY 2022 | AMRITSAR LPG delivery men robbed of ~35K at gunpoint Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 Three unidentified armed persons robbed two delivery men of a gas agency at gunpoint here yesterday. The incident occurred near Khurmania village falling under the Lopoke police station here when the two were coming from Boparai village. Satnam Singh, a resident of Ghanupur Kale in Chheharta area, told the police that he works as delivery man with Jagdev Gas Agency located near Ghannupur Kale on the main GT road here. He said around 1pm on Wednesday when he along with his driver were on the way to Khurmania village from Boparai Kalan village on a goods carrier, three unidentified persons intercepted them. They opened the doors of the goods carrier from both sides and pointed a pistol towards them. He said the accused snatched Rs 35,000 cash which they had collected by delivering the LPG cylinders. The Lopoke police have registered a case under Section 379-B of the IPC and Sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act against unidentified persons. 2 of 3 drug peddlers held from No suspected monkeypox J&K history-sheeters, say cops case in dist: Health officials Preliminary probe points towards narco-terror angle PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 Even as the Jammu and Kashmir police have sought the details of antecedents of three Amritsar-based interstate drug peddlers arrested by them, the city police found that two of the three accused had several criminal cases registered against them. On Tuesday, the J&K police seized 12-kg high quality heroin smuggled from Pakistan in Narwal area of Jammu. The police also recovered Rs 11 lakh in Indian currency from the suspects. During a preliminary probe, it was found that the contraband was dropped in the area with the help of drones. The contraband was seized from a car (PB02 CQ -7749) and three occupants — Balbir Singh of Gumanpura, Malkeet Singh of Chheharta and 12-KG HEROIN SEIZED ■ On Tuesday, the J&K police seized 12-kg heroin smuggled from Pakistan in Narwal area of Jammu ■ The police also recovered ~11 lakh in Indian currency from suspects ■ During a preliminary probe, it was found that the contraband was dropped in the area with the help of drones ANTECEDENTS SOUGHT The Jammu police had sought details about the antecedents of the three suspects. We suspect the drugs were meant to be supplied in different parts of Punjab. ❝ Police official Sarvan Singh of Kapatgarh here — were arrested. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against them. A pre- liminary probe also pointed towards narco-terror angle for allegedly fuelling terror activities in the Valley. Nevertheless, local police officials were tight-lipped over this as the matter was being investigated by Jammu police. A senior police official said Balbir Singh had several cases registered against him while Malkeet Singh was earlier held with 50-gm heroin. There was no criminal record of Sarvan Singh. “The Jammu police have sought details about the antecedents of three suspects and we are sharing the information with them,” the police official said. “We suspect the drugs were meant to be supplied in different parts of Punjab. We will also hold investigations into this module, once Jammu police finish their probe,” he added. Amritsar, July 28 With reports of suspected monkeypox patients being admitted to Government Medical College here appearing in a section of the media, officials of the Health Department have termed these as false. Civil Surgeon Dr Charanjit Singh said, “No suspected case of monkeypox is admitted to any hospital in the district.” He said senior medical officers and medical officers in the district had been asked to look for patients having symptoms of monkeypox, but not even a single such case was reported. “Around 4,000 patients visit OPDs in different government hospitals of the district every day. If a suspected case is reported, we will immediately ascertain his or her travel history and then proceed accordingly,” said the Civil Surgeon. He said people should not believe in such rumours and check facts from verified sources. The Civil Surgeon said WHAT IS MONKEYPOX? Monkeypox is a viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although it is clinically less severe. ITS SYMPTOMS & RECOVERY PERIOD ■ Monkeypox is usually a self-limited disease with the symptoms lasting two to four weeks. The case fatality ratio has historically ranged from zero to 11 per cent in the general population and has been higher among young children. ■ It typically presents itself with fever, headache, rashes for up to three weeks, sore throat, cough and swollen lymph nodes. ■ The symptoms include lesions, which usually begin within one to three days of the onset of fever, last for around two to four weeks. A notable predilection for palm and soles is a characteristic of monkeypox. Extortion racket busted, 3 arrested Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, July 28 The Patti city police have busted an extortion racket by arresting three persons of a nine-member gang. The gang members allegedly used to blackmail people by sexually assaulting them and videographing the incident. The gang includes five women and four men. Two women, including head of the racket, and a man have been arrested. The arrested have been identified as Paramjit Kaur of Patti, head of the racket, Kiramjit Kaur Jhabal and Dilbag Singh of Kalanjar village. Baljit Kaur, Sawinder Singh and four unidentified persons are absconding. The police said the accused had been running the racket for long, but was unearthed recently when lambardar Kirpal Singh of Niranjanpur Fattuwala (Khilchian) lodged a complaint against them. Kirpal Singh was contacted by Paramjit Kaur on mobile on July 22 to seek his help being the lambardar. She Human-to-human transmission is known to occur primarily through large respiratory droplets generally requiring a the district was fully equipped to deal with any situation. “We have a lab at Government Medical College ready for testing prolonged close contact. It can also be transmitted through direct contact with body fluids or lesion material. such patients. GMC also has all necessary equipment and separate space for isolating such patients,” he added. — TNS The arrested accused in the police custody. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Street vendors, parked vehicles choke slip roads Amritsar, July 28 The agricultural technocrats’ protest on the alleged illegal promotion of agriculture extension officers as agriculture development officers entered the fourth day today. The association of the technocrats, Plant Doctors Services Association, said while agriculture development officers were recruited by the Punjab Public Service Commission, the agriculture extension officers’ qualification is merely of diploma in agriculture. Association president Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu said, “Ignoring merit and educational qualification for a post is not only unethical and unlawful, but is also a step towards discouraging higher education.” — TNS Tribune News Service PHOTOS: SUNIL KUMAR Manmeet Singh Gill ❝ They have not only encroached upon the slip road, but have also become a reason behind congestion on the main road as many vehicles stop in front of the stalls to buy items ❞ Amanpreet Singh, A RESIDENT A slip road has been encroached upon by vegetable and fast food sellers in Amritsar. at each boundary to restrict the entry of unauthorised vehicles or pedestrians. However, with time, the slip roads have become an easy target for encroachments. At places, permanent structures such as vegetable shops and c m y b alleged that her husband was settled abroad and her inlaws were torturing her. Kirpal Singh went to her house on July 24, where two women and a man were already present. They allegedly locked him up in a room and sexually assaulted him. Kirpal Singh was severely beaten by the accused and was videographed too. The accused demanded Rs 10 lakh to free him and threatened to put the video on the social media and lodge a police complaint, accusing him of rape. Kirpal Singh through one of his friends credited Rs 5,000 in their bank account. His other belongings such as mobile and purse too were taken by the accused. Sub-Inspector Hardial Singh said on the complaint lodged by Kirpal Singh, a case under Sections 388, 386, 506, 342, 323, 148 and149 of the IPC had been registered. The police said the arrested accused were produced in a court, which sent them to two-day police remand. HOW DOES IT SPREAD? Agri technocrats’ protest enters fourth day Amritsar, July 28 From selling vegetables to running fast food stalls to illegally parking vehicles on roadsides, slip roads along the main GT road is being used for almost every purpose except helping in easing the traffic flow. Around a decade ago, when the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS) corridor was being constructed and the idea of slip roads was introduced, it aimed at easing the flow of traffic on the main road by making these available for slow-moving vehicles looking for an exit. The boundaries between the slip road, main road and the BRTS corridor are clearly demarcated and four-fthigh iron grills were installed PAGE 4 The next episode of Koffee With Karan will feature two sizzling guests — Vijay Deverakonda and Ananya Panday. Garbage piles up in city as waste collectors strike work Amritsar, July 28 Garbage continued to pile up across the city as the strike by employees of the solid waste management company over non-payment of salaries entered the second day today. More than 700 employees of Averda, solid waste management company, which conducts door-to-door lifting of garbage in the city, are on strike over non-payment of two months of salary and other demands. Due to the strike, garbage lifting could not be done from three lakh houses in the city. Due to non-lifting of garbage on Wednesday and Thursday, garbage has piled up in the city. According to official data, 450 metric tonnes of garbage is collected from the city every day. According to the health officials of the MC, the MSW had entered into a third party contract for garbage lifting. The company officials told the MC that they had paid the contractors, but he VIJAY DEVERAKONDA & ANANYA TO SIP COFFEE WITH KARAN fast food stalls have come up. At many points on GT Road, especially near Putlighar Chowk, illegal food stalls have come on the slip road. The vendors, by breaking the iron grills that divided the slip road from the main road, have opened the front of their stall towards the main road. “They have not only encroached upon the slip road, but have also become a reason behind congestion on the main road as many vehicles stop in front of the stalls to buy items,” said a resident, Amanpreet Singh. He said iron grills on most of the stretch have been stolen. The residents said the area should be freed of all illegal encroachments. “While one side of the slip road is used by shopkeepers as they display their goods on the footpath, the other side is being used by illegal vends. The little space in between them is used for parking of two-wheelers and there is hardly any space left for flow of traffic,” said another resident Satish. Book on animals in Guru Granth Sahib released Amritsar, July 28 Prof (Dr) Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, GNDU, today released a book, “Sri Guru Granth Sahib Vich Pashuan da Zikar”, authored by Prof Pushpinder Jai Roop and published by the Centre on Studies in Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Nanak Dev University. The book presents details of the mammals mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib. The subject of the book is related to an area about which very little research work has been done so far. In the book, the author has provided detailed description of animals used in the verses of the Bani of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and has provided ample information about their nature and species. — TNS