06122022-ATR-01.qxd 12/6/2022 12:09 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE ENCROACHMENTS LEAD TO TRAFFIC CHAOS IN HOLY CITY Rampant encroachments on roads are a bane in the holy city. It causes a lot of inconvenience to people. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY PAGE 2 KATE WINSLET STARS WITH HER DAUGHTER IN I AM RUTH PAGE 3 ACTOR ALI FAZAL WRAPS UP SHOOT OF MIRZAPUR SEASON 3 Hollywood actress Kate Winslet stars with her daughter in I Am Ruth, where they play mother and daughter on screen too. MAX 24°C | MIN 7°C | YESTERDAY MAX 24°C | MIN 7°C SUNSET TUESDAY 5:26 PM PAGE 4 Ali Fazal dropped a fun video and pic on his Instagram account as he wrapped up the shoot of Mirzapur Season 3. SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:17 AM TUESDAY | 6 DECEMBER 2022 | AMRITSAR 2 smugglers held with ~51L drug money PK Jaiswar Produced in court; brought on remand Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 5 Following month-long investigation, the police have nabbed two alleged cross-border smugglers and recovered drug money worth Rs 51 lakh and two luxury cars from their possession. They have been identified as Bhagwan Singh, alias Bhaga, of Urban Estate near Kale village turn in Chheharta and Harpreet Singh, alias Pittu, of NRI Colony on Loharaka Road INBRIEF 35 VOLUNTEERS DONATE BLOOD here. Both the accused originally hail from the Sarai Amanat Khan area near the International Border in Tarn Taran. They were produced in a court on Monday and brought on police remand for further interrogation. They were a part of the racket of which the police had arrested three drug peddlers on October 25. They have been evading arrest since then. The CIA wing of the city police had nabbed Varinder Singh, Manpreet Singh and Davinder Singh, all residents of Sarai Amanat Khan village. They were living in a rented accommodation in Chheharta. The police had confiscated 30-gm heroin and a drone. The police had also seized two mobile phones and a car in which they were travelling. Initial probe had revealed that they had procured a drone for cross-border smuggling of narcotics. During their interrogation, the name of Bhaga cropped Cobweb of wires a threat to city residents TANGLED MESS Tribune News Service Tarn Taran: On the occasion of International Volunteer Day, a blood donation camp was organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra with the assistance of the Health Department at the local Youth Hostel here on Monday. Sarup Singh Dhotian, international handball coach, said social organisations and the youth clubs affiliated with the kendra extended their cooperation to make the camp a success in which 35 donors donated blood. Sarup Singh appealed to the youngsters to make it a habit to donate blood regularly. The donors were honoured and given certificates of honour by the administration. OC Amritsar, December 5 A maze of wires (be it cable TV wires, electric cables, telephone and Internet company wires), improperly installed pillar boxes and transformers on the 7.4-km-long circular road around the walled city not only pose a danger to residents, but also look ugly. A mesh of wires covers the facade of the remains of the historic wall. There are 12 gates around the walled city. Out of these, only seven survived. Heritage structures A pillar box installed in the middle of the footpath. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR inside the walled city were paid heed to and conserved by the government, but outside the wall they were hardly paid attention by the government. A majority of the tourists head towards the Golden Temple from the Hall Gate and come out of the Sikandari gate, both being one-way roads. Kulwant Singh Ankhi, a retired principal, said dangerously dangling low wires on AWARENESS ON VOTING RIGHTS Amritsar: Electoral Registration Officer Dr Rajat Oberoi checked the attendance of BLOs at the polling stations here on Sunday. On the directions of the Election Commission of India and Chief Electoral Officer, special camps were organised here on December 3 and 4. Oberoi asked the BLOs to register young voters (18-19 years). He asked them to submit forms to link voter and Aadhaar cards. Besides, an awareness campaign was launched on December 3 to educate young electorates about their voting rights. Officials of the Election Department visited educational institutions falling in Amritsar West Vidhan Sabha constituency. They encouraged student voter registration and linking the voter card with Aadhaar. TNS the Circular Road should be removed. A bunch of them could either be put into a duct or underground. He recalled that in 2020 the then Congress government had inaugurated a project to develop the road as a smart road under the Smart City Mission. The project cost was pegged at Rs 125 crore and the work would be completed in 28 months. The ever-increasing traffic, a high number of floating population and poor management of infrastructure are leading to frequent traffic jams. A major portion of the footpaths is encroached at several places by pillar boxes because they have been installed in a manner that they block the movement of pedestrians. Farmers and labourers during a protest against the government on Monday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Pakka Morcha enters 10th day Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, December 5 On the 10th day of the Pakka Morcha launched by the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Punjab, outside the local District Administrative Complex, leaders of the union stressed on releasing Sikh detainees who have completed their sentence here on Monday. On the directions of the state leadership of the union, the leaders presented a memorandum to Jasbir Singh Dimpa regarding the demands of the farmers and labour class to be highlighted at the national level by producing in the Lok Sabha also. DEMAND RELEASE OF DETAINEES ■ Leaders of the KMSC, stressed producing in the Lok Sabha also on releasing Sikh detainees who have completed their sentence ■ The leaders presented a memorandum to Jasbir Singh Dimpa regarding the demands of the farmers and labour class to be highlighted at the national level by ■ The leaders alleged the anti- In their address, Satnam Singh Manochahal, Fateh Singh Piddi and other leaders condemned the Union Government for not implementing the demands accepted before the conclusion of the Delhi Morcha. The leaders alleged the anti-people policies of the government were responsible for unemployment, corruption, disparity and other social, political and economic problems being faced by people of the country. They also raised Sikh issues and demanded strict punishment for those involved in sacrilege incidents. people policies of the government were responsible for unemployment, corruption, disparity and other social, political and economic problems being faced by people Commuters, locals suffer as work on flyover moves at snail’s pace STRETCH OF ANNUAL GAYATRI MAHAYAGYA HELD Amritsar: The Arya Samaj, Lawrence Road, organised an annual “Gayatri Mahayagya” on Sunday. The yagya was performed by Pawan Tripathi. Bjajans and sermons were delivered by Jagat Verma of Kurukeshtra and Swami Sadanand Saraswati. MLA Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh was the chief guest, who presided over the function. He exhorted people to come out of their comfort zone and work for nation building. He asked youngsters to disseminate Vedic knowledge and join in the task of removing illiteracy and ill-beliefs for a classless society. He also released a calendar of the Arya Samaj and a booklet on the life and teachings of Maharishi Dayanand, written by Ram Prakash Vinayak. TNS up. However, when the police raided his residence in Amritsar and Tarn Taran, he had already fled the spot. Bhaga had several criminal cases registered against him. A police official said the duo was produced in a court and brought on four-day police remand. He said their crossborder links were being ascertained. “During preliminary interrogation, the police seized Rs 51.3-lakh drug proceeds and two cars from their possession,” he said. PROBLEMS Tribune News Service A huge traffic jam on the road due to ongoing construction work of flyover on Monday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar, December 5 Owing to the ongoing work of construction of a flyover near the sabzi mandi on the bypass road here, commuters are facing a lot of inconvenience. People have been complaining that traffic snarls on the Mehta Road turn (locally known as Khande Wala Chowk) on the road were a frequent phenomenon earlier too but the problem has aggravated with the construction work beginning earlier this year. Residents said with the completion of the work of flyover, there will be a respite for commuters soon. However, the slow pace of the work is a cause for concern. At the ongoing pace, residents might not get relief from traffic woes in at least a year. Commuters travelling from local areas to the bypass road have to cross the stretch to reach the Golden Gate and travel on the main GT Road for Jalandhar and beyond. Gurmeet Kaur, a daily commuter, said: “I consider myself lucky on the days when there is no traffic jam on the road, while I am travelling to work and back. Sometimes, people get stuck in jam for hours and face a lot of problems.” She said traffic police should be deployed there during rush hours. Residents of the area said traffic jams are witnessed even during early morning as vegetable growers and sellers visit the market on their tractor-trailers and pickup vans. “Temporary traffic signals at the Mehta Road turn can also decrease the problem. Traffic snarls are usually caused when people violate traffic norms,” said another traveller, Sukhmeet Singh. Set to host G-20 meet, airport needs proper amenities Hearing in Usman case deferred Manmeet Singh Gill Gurbaxpuri Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 5 The lack of civic amenities at public places in a city like Amritsar which is thronged by visitors both from across the country and abroad is apparent at the Sri Guru Ram Das Ji International Airport here. Even as efforts are being made to increase the frequency of both international and national flights from this airport to keep the Punjabi diaspora connected to their roots and the city prepares to host the G-20 meetings, the lack of public conveniences only indicates that much effort needs to be made in this direction. The airport, a premium public place, does not even have a proper public toilet entailing hardships for the visitors bringing the Western notion of ‘Indians eat in private and ease in public’ alive. The apathy of the airport authorities here is forcing people to complain that the toilet blocks in the parking area are often found closed. Residents demand that the senior management of the airport must look into the A locked toilet block in the parking of the international airport in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO issue and ensure that visitors get clean and hygienic washrooms. Former Civil Surgeon Dr Manjit Singh Randhawa who visited the airport three days ago said, “It was astonishing to see that all the toilet blocks were locked and people were easing themselves in the open.” He said in the entire parking area spread over several acres, he found only a small toilet outside the arrival gate. With thousands of people coming to pick and drop their relatives and friends, one small toilet is not sufficient, he pointed out. Interestingly, the airport officials along with Lok Sabha member Gurjit Singh Aujla had inaugurated a community toilet constructed with 100 per cent recycled and recyclable material in October this year. The toilet was built under the special 2.0 Swachh Bharat c m y b Abhiyan campaign. However, it was also found closed often forcing people to look for other places to use as public convenience. While the parking area is at least half a kilometer away from the arrival gate, visitors mostly wait in their cars in the parking as the security personnel do not allow them to wait for more than a few minutes in the drivethrough near the arrival gate. continued on page 2 Tarn Taran, December 5 Manjinder Singh Lalpura, AAP MLA from Khadoor Sahib along with a total of 11 accused nominated in a more than nine-year-old case of molestation and assault on a girl belonging to a Scheduled Caste family, had to wait outside the court for more than five hours for the hearing of their case on Monday. The case is being heard by the court of Preeti Sahni, Additional Sessions Judge, Tarn Taran. The victim Harbinder Kaur, a resident of Usman village, was allegedly caned brutally by the Tarn Taran city police and the other accused including AAP MLA Lalpura on March 3, 2013 at a marriage palace on the Goindwal Sahib road. The victim was reportedly molested too by the accused. The incident attracted widespread condemnation and the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of the incident ordering to provide paramilitary force The victim, Harbinder Kaur, waiting for hearing of the case outside the court in Tarn Taran on Monday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI protection to the girl, Jagjit Singh her cousin who was an an eyewitness and her family members besides the Sarpanch of Usman village. The accused included eight policemen and some civilians including AAP MLA Lalpura. One of the accused policeman Paramjit Singh, Head Constable, died during the case proceedings. The challan against the 11 is pending in the court for hearing as of now. The victim Harbinder Kaur along with her family members was attending a marriage programme in a Tarn Taran marriage palace on March 3, 2013 when she was brutally attacked by the police. The city police had registered a case under Section 354, 323, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC and also provisions of the SC/ST Act. The case was fixed for hearing today by the court of Preeti Sahni, Additional Sessions Judge. All the accused were present in the court and were called for hearing at 3.30 pm. The court required the original SC certificate from the victim which Harbinder Kaur had not brought with her. The next date of hearing has been fixed for December 19 by the court.