30122022-ATR-01.qxd 12/30/2022 12:13 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar TRIBUNE LOOKING BACK 2022: THE YEAR OF HOPE AND CHANGE PAGE 2 A first-of-its-kind night food street opened a new chapter of tourism in city offering midnight experience. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY INBRIEF APPLICATIONS INVITED FROM FARMERS Amritsar: The District Agriculture Department has invited applications from farmers interested in getting farm machinery on subsidy till January 3. Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Jatinder Singh Gill said interested farmers could visit the website of the department or get in touch with Agriculture Development officers of their respective areas. Gill said while individual farmers were given a subsidy of 50 per cent on the selected machines, farmer groups could avail of 80 per cent subsidy. TNS HONOUR FOR PUNJABI LECTURER Hoshiarpur: Popular poetess and storywriter Dr Neena Saini has been honoured with Bharat Ratan Atal Award by the Print Media Working Journalists Association in Lucknow. Having retired as a Punjabi lecturer from the Education Department, Chandigarh, her 10 stories and anthologies have already been published. TNS NAKUUL MEHTA QUITS SHOW BADE ACHHE LAGTE HAIN 2 Nakuul Mehta, who played the role of Ram Kapoor in Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2, has now quit the show. MAX 14°C | MIN 10°C | YESTERDAY MAX 13°C | MIN 6°C SUNSET FRIDAY 5:34 PM Minority panel member gets ~50L extortion calls Tribune News Service PAGE 4 Sai Tamhankar to host a documentary series Postcards from Maharashtra. It will premiere on National Geographic. SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:26 AM FRIDAY | 30 DECEMBER 2022 | AMRITSAR LIGHTS OF FAITH WHATSAPP CALLS Amritsar, December 29 A member of the Minority Commission received extortion calls from unidentified overseas numbers. The caller demanded ~50-lakh in extortion from him. The suspect threatened to eliminate him if his demand was not met. Lal Husain, a member of the Minority Commission, Punjab, in his complaint to the Beas police, stated that he was at his residence at Wazir Bhullar village on December 11. Around 11.44 pm, he got a WhatsApp call from an unidentified number (+355695328741). The called told him that he had grabbed a huge land of the Waqf Board, Punjab. The caller told him to pay ~50 lakh in Canada or the UK, otherwise he would kill him. Lal Husain, a member of the Minority Commission, Punjab, in his complaint to the Beas police, stated that he was at his residence at Wazir Bhullar village on December 11. Around 11.44 pm, he got a WhatsApp call from an unidentified number (+355695328741). The called told him that he had grabbed a huge land of the Waqf Board, Punjab. The caller told him to pay ~50 lakh in Canada or the UK, otherwise he would kill him. Husain claimed that he didn’t take the caller seriously. Next day i.e. on December 12, he again received a call around 3 am and the caller repeated similar words. He again received a call at 1 pm on the same day from another number (+4915213872250). The caller threatened him with dire consequences if he didn’t pay the money. After that, Husain started received calls at regular intervals wherein the caller kept on demanding ~50-lakh Tribune News Service extortion money and threatening him of consequences. On December 28, Husain received three WhatsApp calls. The caller told him that he was aware of his residence and his men were already at work. The called threatened Husain that he would be killed soon. On the complaint of Lal Husain, the Beas police have registered a case under Sections 387 and 506 of the IPC. The police have initiated investigations into the matter. The entire rank and file of the BJP was present at a programme in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Sandhu said the first target of the party was to win the upcoming Municipal Corpo- ration elections. He would stand by the party workers through thick and thin and they would be given due respect in the party. Ashwani exhorted the party cadres to reach out to the people in mohallas and villages and apprise them of the policies of the BJP Government led by Narendra Modi. He said party workers and leaders should also focus on the next Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. “Only BJP government in Punjab can help in fulfilling the aspirations of people and put the state on the path of development,” he claimed. The Golden Temple illuminated to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Under-construction flyovers a threat to motorists People face trouble in fog as NHAI fails to install proper signboards Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 29 The ongoing construction work of flyovers on the National Highway-1 poses a threat to motorists these days due to dense fog. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has made no special arrangements to avoid road accidents. Commuters are facing inconvenience in the absence of proper signboards for diversions and single lanes. The NHAI has been constructing four flyovers for the ease of commuters on the NH-1. The NHAI authorities have diverted the traffic to side lanes. As a result, commuters are Despite shortcomings, pandemic proved an opportunity to revamp city’s healthcare LOOKING BACK2022 Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 29 Even as the Covid-19 virus started spreading again during the initial months of the year, the district reported a total of 3,400 coronavirus cases and at least 220 deaths. However, the figures were minuscule in comparison to the number of cases and deaths reported during the first two waves of the infection. The year also saw an upgrade of infrastructure, especially oxygen plants at government hospitals in the district, as a total of four pressure swing adsorption (PSA) units were set up at Government Medical College, Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital, subdivisional hospital, Baba Bakala, and sub-divisional hospital, Ajnala. Apart from these, two liquid oxygen plants were also set up at the Government Medical College and Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital. In another milestone, the year also witnessed the setting up of a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for children at Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital. SAI TO TOUR MAHARASHTRA FOR NAT GEO’S DOCU-SERIES Caller threatens to eliminate him if demand not met Harinder takes over as BJP urban president Amritsar, December 29 Harinder Singh Sandhu took over as the president of the urban unit of the BJP during a function held at Shaheed Harbans Lal Khanna Smarak here today. The entire rank and file of the BJP including party , state president Ashwani Sharma, former Rajya Sabha member Shwait Malik and former Cabinet Minister Dr Raj Kumar Verka, were present. Speaking on the occasion, PAGE 4 Fire-fighters douse flames at Guru Nanak Hospital; and (below) a health worker collects a sample from a woman for Covid test at the Civil Hospital in Amritsar. FILE PHOTOS MILESTONES ■ Two liquid oxygen plants were set up at the Government Medical College and Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital. ■ The year also witnessed the setting up of a 12-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for children at Jallianwala Bagh Martyrs Memorial Civil Hospital. ■ With a change of government in the state, the District Health Department also added eight more health facilities under the Aam Aadmi Clinic programme of the new government. With a change of government in the state, the District Health Department also added eight more health facilities under the Aam Aadmi Clinic programme of the new government. However, the district failed to witness any improvement c m y b in services at dispensaries and primary health centres (PHCs) being run in the rural areas as no efforts were made to upgrade the infrastructure, services and manpower at these institutions. Even the Government Dental College (GDC) here which is facing an acute shortage of faculty failed to get any attention from the government. The GDC at present is managing the medical education of students and treatment facilities for patients with merely 20 per cent of its sanctioned staff strength. A major mishap at Government Medical College caused by an electricity transformer blast caused a massive fire on May 15 this year. However, human cooperation and zeal to help each other in adversity helped the medical staff, students, patients and visitors vacate the building quickly as a result of which no casualty was reported. Learning a lesson from the mishap, the PSPCL later changed all old transformers. Later on July 30, the GMC exhibited another example of solidarity when the three senior most officials - principal, vice-principal and medical superintendent - resigned from their position in protest against the treatment meted out to BFUHS Vice-Chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur. RISKY RIDE An under-construction flyover on National Highway-1. facing inconvenience. Ironically, roadside encroachments were not removed before diverting the traffic to the side lane from Daburji to Manwala. There are often long traffic jams due to single lane and encroachment by vendors. Traffic coming from Jalandhar side has been diverted to the single lane, which often leads to traffic jams near Daburji. During foggy days, several road accidents are reported on the NH-1. Due to inappropriate diversions, motorists complain of traffic jams, especially during the peak morning and evening hours. Gurpal Singh, a resident of Kahnkot, said: “The flyover is required to address the traffic rush from Daburji to Manwala. However, the construction company should provide proper diversions so that commuters don’t face inconvenience. Moreover, vends and haphazardly parking should be removed from the side lane for the smooth flow of traffic”.