05122022-ATR-01.qxd 12/4/2022 11:45 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE OPEN HOUSE: NEED LONG-TERM STRATEGY TO POPULARISE PUNJABI PAGE 2 Promote mother tongue at school and college levels, hold events, book fairs, involve the literati: Residents FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY SKY Tribune News Service PAGE 3 SUNSET MONDAY 5:26 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 7:16 AM Asked to shun drugs, addict nephew stabs man to death EFFORTS ON TO NAB ACCUSED: DSP hold a four-hour dharna at the DC office gates on December 7. He said on December 5, demand letters would be given to Members of Parliament. On the occasion, farmers, labourers and women protesters sitting in front of the DC office raised slogans against the Centre and the state governments and burnt effigies of corporate houses. KMSC district president Ranjit Singh Kaler Bala said instead of making policies for the benefit of public, the government was working for a few business houses, while the public is suffering from unemployment and poverty. He said in the age of information technology, people were becoming aware of their rights and gearing up to force the governments to work in the right direction by holding protests. Amritsar, December 4 A man was stabbed to death allegedly by his drug addict nephew in Rayya here on Sunday. The victim has been identified as Narinder Singh. According to information, he used to stop the accused, Gurbinder Singh, alias Gopi, of Gaggarbhana village from consuming drugs. The police have booked the accused and efforts According to information, Narinder Singh (in pic) used to stop the accused, Gurbinder Singh, alias Gopi, of Gaggarbhana village from consuming drugs. The police have booked the accused and efforts are on to nab him, said Baba Bakala DSP Harkrishan Singh. He said further probe was on and the body was taken into custody for autopsy. are on to nab him, said Baba Bakala DSP Harkrishan Singh. He said further probe was on and the body was taken PAGE 4 Salman Khan recently reprimanded Archana Gautam for her in-house behaviour on Bigg Boss. Tribune News Service Will stage protest in front of houses of ministers, MLAs on Dec 12 ARCHANA GAUTAM GETS REPRIMANDED BY SALMAN Lapid’s fellow IFFI jurors have released a statement, backing his remarks on ‘The Kashmir Files’. MAX 24°C | MIN 8°C | YESTERDAY MAX 24°C | MIN 7°C Farmers to gherao toll plazas from Dec 15 Amritsar, December 4 Members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) will gherao toll plazas on the national highways from December 15 and gherao residences of MLAs and ministers on December 12. On the ninth day of the agitation outside Deputy Commissioner’s office, KMSC state general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said the state committee meeting of the KMSC had decided to intensify the struggle. Following the lackadaisical attitude of the government towards the issues of the farmers, the KMSC has prepared an action plan. It has been decided to make roads toll free for public from December 15 to January 15, said Pandher. The organisation would also ensure that salaries of toll employees during the period are paid by the companies, he said. Union’s state leader Gurbachan Singh Chabba said on December 12, houses of the MLAs and ministers of the government would be gheraoed. He said for the past nine days, the KMSC had been peacefully protesting at the DC offices and raising the demands of the farmers, but the government was not paying heed. The organisation would LAPID’S FELLOW IFFI JURORS SUPPORT HIS REMARKS into custody for autopsy. It was learnt that the accused was caught by the onlookers who had tied him with a tree. But he somehow freed himself and fled the spot. The family members of the deceased told the police that around 8 am, the accused came to Narinder’s house and stabbed him multiple times. The victim was critically injured and taken to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The DSP said the police were conducting raids to arrest the accused. MONDAY | 5 DECEMBER 2022 | AMRITSAR Woman ends life, in-laws booked Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 4 A woman died by suicide in the Daburji area yesterday by hanging herself from a ceiling fan. Harassment by inlaws is being alleged as the reason behind her suicide. The deceased was identified as Rajwinder Kaur. The police took the body into custody for an autopsy and launched a probe into the matter. Following a complaint reg- istered by the father of the victim, the police have booked four persons on the charge of dowry death. The investigating officer, Balwinder Singh, said Sukhchain Singh, husband of the victim, Surinderpal and Raajwinder Kaur, live in the US, while Sukhchain’s mother Harbhajan Kaur lives in Sangeet Nagar, Daburji. The father of the victim told the police that her daughter was married to continued on page 2 Planned growth can help ease traffic congestion: Experts Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 4 Despite the Union Government-funded mega infrastructure projects like the elevated road, bus rapid transit system (BRTS) and smart city being implemented, traffic situation in the city is increasingly becoming hard to control because of its haphazard expansion. Experts blame the present mess to not complying with the rule book. Most of these rules were contained in the Master Plan (MP). Adopted over a decade ago, the Master Plan did not elicit the desired results due to its limited implementation. Experts say Deviation from Master Plan reason behind haphazard expansion Commuters stuck in a traffic jam near the railway station in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO the panacea lies in planned expansion of the city as per Amritsar’s Master Plan. Rawal Singh Aulakh, assis- tant professor in department of architecture, GNDU, said there should be synchronisation of all infrastructure projects taking shape in the city, the golden rule being no infrastructure development succeeds in isolation. So all projects must be approved by the Amritsar Development Authority (ADA) in light of the Master Plan. Presently, the Master Plan comes in use only when the CLU (change of land use) is to be done for transforming a residential into commerical area. The need of the hour is to blend a futuristic approach with technology. A technological approach does not find mention in the Master Plan. At a point of time, multiple agencies are involved and one of them dictates terms, a sad part of any development project. The Master Plan must have a separate heritage plan for the walled city, another for the area outside the walled city which stretches up to the bypasses and the peri-urban, that is beyond the bypasses. Dr Sakshi Sahni, assistant profesor in GNDU’s Sri Guru Ramdas School of Planning, said the BRTS was proving to be a white elephant and a duress on limited infrastructure of the city, reason being the norms of town planning were not being complied with before its introduction. Autos and BRTS run in the same lanes. continued on page 2 Pressure horns add to cacophony on city roads MP Harbhajan Singh promises to Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 4 Pressure horns, modified silencers, jarring sound of auto-rickshaws and other obsolete vehicles besides excessive honking are causing noise pollution and nuisance on the roads. The roads around the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT), those connecting with the state and national highways and popular roads have acquired the status of being a hotspot for noise pollution, jarring and ear-piercing sound. The excessive honking at traffic signals, railway crossings, markets and traffic jams becomes unbearable for NHs, POPULAR ROADS HOTSPOTS OF NOISE POLLUTION ■ The roads around the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT), those connecting with the state and national highways and popular roads have acquired the status of being a hotspot for noise pollution, jarring and ear-piercing sound. ■ The excessive honking at traffic signals, railway crossings, markets and traffic jams becomes unbearable for motorists. Noise pollution has become an inalienable part of city life whether it is construction sites, loudspeakers, music systems or industries. motorists. Undoubtedly, noise pollution has become an inalienable part of city life whether it is construction sites, loudspeakers, music systems or industries. However, the earpiercing sound of vehicles is the biggest culprit. Pressure horns are ram- pantly used by speeding vehicles like buses, cars and even two-wheelers to create panic among fellow commuters to clear their own path. It often leads to accidents. This rash move by restless drivers is the root cause of road-rage incidents. A good number of teenagers Mesh of wires in Joshi Colony belie govt’s claim of providing obstruction-free roads TANGLED MESS Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 4 The mesh of wires in and around Joshi Colony belie the government’s claim of providing obstruction-free roads. Its residents rue that in spite of being a planned residential colony, a bunch of wires cross-crossing and even dangling dangerously can be seen not only in its nook and cranny but also on its main roads. A resident of the colony, Manish Bajaj, said low dangling power transmission cables were a perpetual source of trouble. Sometimes these cables contribute to road accidents. There have been instances when low- Mesh of wires in Joshi Colony in Amritsar on Sunday. VISHAL KUMAR hanging wires got stuck in vehicles like mini-buses, wagons and trucks, he said. Gurinder Singh Marwaha, another resident, said several lanes of the colony lead to a large number of narrow winding streets which open on to Lawrence road. Cobwebs of wires pass through these streets and their pillars occupy vital space on roads. The link road, opposite BBK DAV College for Women, connecting Lawrence road with Joshi Colony and the Majitha road behind it, has become a prime commercial road. Yet multiple cables can be seen passing on a side of the road eclipsing their front view. Shopkeepers in the area demand ducting of cables. and young drivers use pressure horns unnecessarily to attract attention on roads. Despite the fact that all these are in violation of the Motor Vehicles Act, traffic police do not take stern action. Constant and frequent exposure to pressure horns can result in hearing problems. Medical experts state that excessive exposure to jarring and blaring noise can cause hearing disabilities or permanent damage to tympanic membrane (eardrum). In addition, experts said it is responsible for stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, hypertension, irritation and restlessness among commuters. Charanjit Singh Gumtala, Hardeep Singh Chahal and other office-bearers of the Amritsar Vikas Manch yesterday shot off a letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, seeking their intervention in controlling the problem. Amandeep Kaur, ADCP (Traffic), said the traffic police acts against pressure horns from time to time and campaigns are also undertaken to check the offence. She said it seemed that most drivers were unaware of the hazards being caused by pressure horns. They need to be educated and made aware of the impact on health of pressure horn use, she added. make int’l cricket stadium in city Amritsar, December 4 Former cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh has said that he would make an international cricket stadium in the city, while responding to a tweet from local activist Michael Rahul. Michael had tagged Harbhajan Singh and asked to make efforts for setting up international cricket stadium in Amritsar. Michael writes, “Harbhajan Singhji make efforts for setting up international cricket stadium in Amritsar. All political leaders, bureaucrats interested in Mohali, no one for Amritsar but now, we have you as hope Former cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh for Amritsar.” Responding to his tweet, Harbhajan Singh said, “With the blessings of Guru Ramdas Maharaj this dream of all will be fulfilled soon. I will do my best it’s my promise.” “We are hopeful that Harbhajan Singh will fulfil his promise. The international cricket stadium will boost hospitality industry in the city. I wish that it should be named after Mahraja Ranjit Singh,” said Michael. Even as the holy city’s Gandhi Ground had hosted several international tournaments in the past, but the failure of authorities concerned to upgrade it has made the ground unworthy for organising international matches. The last international match played here was between India and New Zealand in 1995. — TNS BSF celebrates 58th Raising Day at GNDU Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 4 An open invitation to attend the celebrations of 58th Raising Day of the Border Security Force (BSF) led to a huge rush of people at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) complex here today. The stadia of the GNDU was jampacked and people from all walks of life throng to watch the special parade on the occasion by the BSF troops. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai took the salute of the parade as the chief guest in the presence of BSF Director General Pankaj Kumar Singh, Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla and MLA Jasbir Singh, along with Deputy Commissioner Harpreet Singh Sudan, GNDU Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Police Commissioner Jaskaran Singh. He first arrived at the ‘BSF Martyr’s Column at SHQ BSF Khasa, Amritsar (Punjab), and c m y b BSF personnel during the parade in Amritsar on Sunday. PHOTOS: VISHAL KUMAR laid a wreath at the Martyr’s Column of the personnel who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty. Also, it was for the first time that the BSF was holding this annual event in Amritsar. The minister bestowed the force personnel with ‘ Police Medals for Gallantry’ who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty and to the serving BSF personnel, besides ‘President’s Police Medals’ for distinguished service to the serving and retired personnel. The pres- tigious ‘General Choudhary Trophy’ was awarded to 66 Bn BSF for their exceptional performance. He also released the annual ‘Borderman’ Magazine of the Force.