08012023-ATR-01.qxd 1/7/2023 11:55 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MC TEAM INSPECTS SANITARY CONDITIONS IN TWO WARDS ON BIRTH ANNIV OF IRRFAN, REMEMBERING HIS 5 ROLES ACTOR JENNA ORTEGA-STARRER WEDNESDAY SET FOR SEASON 2 The health wing of the Municipal Corporation initiated “Walk the Ward” drive on Saturday. P2 Let’s look at five such film roles which the actor essayed in films that fetched him global recognition. P3 American actor Jenna Ortega-starrer Netflix series Wednesday has been renewed for Season 2. P4 » » MAX 13°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 13°C | MIN 7°C SUNSET SUNDAY 5.42 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 7:31 AM » SUNDAY | 8 JANUARY 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF MEDICAL COLLEGE TIMINGS CHANGED Water supply dept staff stage protest Seek regularisation of their services Amritsar: The Government Medical College here has changed its timings due to intense cold and fog. As per orders issued by the college, the college would open at 9.30 am now. Earlier, the college and hospital were opened at 8 am. College authorities said the relaxed timings would be applicable on all public services except for official works as offices would work as per the old timings. Due to intense cold and fog, patients too had to face a lot of difficulty in reaching the hospital early in the morning, said officials. TNS Tarn Taran, January 7 Employees working on a contract basis in the Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Department organised a rally here on Saturday. They marched to the office of AAP MLA Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal and submitted a memorandum. The protesting employees were demanding the regularisation of their services. As the MLA was not in the office, his PA Rajwant Singh Dhillon was handed over the memorandum by them. The employees had been agitating under the banner of Jal Supply and Sanitation Contract Workers’ Union, Punjab. Besides Tarn Taran block, employees from Chohla Sahib, Khadoor Sahib and Naushehra Pannuan participated in the march. While addressing the employees, state leader Gurwinder Singh Bath and district president Dilbag Singh Doburji of the union were among others who said they continued on page 2 18-YEAR-OLD DIES IN ROAD MISHAP Union leaders hand over a memo to MLA Dr Kashmir Singh’s PA. Tarn Taran: A youth was killed on the spot in a road accident in front of the residence of Deputy Commissioner in Sheron village on Friday. The deceased has been identified as Gurjit Singh (18), son of Sewa Singh, a resident of Varpal village here. The deceased along with his mother Gurmej Kaur had come to attend a marriage function at Sheron village. In the evening when he was on way back home the driver of an unidentified a car hit him. Gurjit Singh received serious injuries and was killed on the spot. The Sarhali police reached the spot and took the body in its custody. A case under Sections 304-A and 279 of the IPC had been registered. The postmortem of the body was done at the local Civil Hospital. The driver of the car fled the spot. OC ~100 cr to be spent on beautification of Amritsar for hosting G-20 summit State will emerge on global tourism map & event will boost investment: Nijjar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 7 In a meeting to review the preparations being made for the G-20 summit, Cabinet ministers Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Harbhajan Singh ETO asked officials to complete all works in a timebound manner. Dr Nijjar said Rs 100 crore were being spent on beautification of the city before the international summit which would witness participation of heads of various nations, besides other dignitaries. Local Bodies Minister Nijjar asked the officials to fix all safety grills on the BRTS Corridor which had either been stolen or broken. He also asked them to get the repair work done on the BRTS route, wherever required. During the meeting, Power Cabinet ministers Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Harbhajan Singh ETO during a meeting on Saturday. Minister Harbhajan Singh directed the PSPCL officials to get the entire internet and cable wires tied to the electricity poles by private companies. He also asked them to fix the tangled wires on elec- tricity poles and in streets in a time bound manner. The ministers warned the government employees against any laxity. They said it was a proud moment for the holy city to host an inter- Dog sterilisation resumes, 24 canines neutered on Day 1 Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 7 The Municipal Corporation (MC) resumed dog sterilisation in the city on Friday after entering into a new contract with a private firm. Under the new contract, 20,000 dogs will be sterilised. The MC had stopped the project due to non-renewal of a contract with a private firm. On the first day, 24 dogs were caught and sterilised. The dogs have been kept at the Animal Birth Control Centre, Chheharta. Dr Ankit, in-charge of the company with which the contract has been signed, said after sterilisation, dogs would be kept under super- Stray dogs roam a street in Amritsar. Under the drive, 20,000 dogs will be sterilised. FILE PHOTO vision for three days and would be released after an examination. He said the company would catch dogs every day. An operation would be performed on a dog on the next day of being caught. Under the drive, 17 stray dogs were caught by the team from Putlighar, Krishna Square and Airport Road on Saturday. These dogs will be operated on Sunday. Kiran Kumar, Municipal Health Officer, said after sterilisation, the dogs would be released in the same locality from where they were caught as dogs are territorial animals. The health officials claimed that the MC would get 1,000 dogs sterilised within one and a half months. The project was hanging fire for the past six months due to non-renewal of the contract. Earlier, the MC had sterilised 7,000 dogs in two years. As per an estimate, there are over 50,000 dogs in the city and residents often complaint about dog bite cases. With the start of the project, the residents will be benefitted. Development works will be expedited: MLA Tarn Taran, January 7 Tarn Taran MLA Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal assured residents that development works in the town would be expedited. The MLA addressed a meeting of party volunteers of Ward No. 5 on Saturday. He said construction of a railway overbridge on Jandiala Road had started and decision to equip parks with Tourists and residents stroll on the Heritage Street on a cold Saturday evening in Amritsar. SUNIL KUMAR Power cuts in intense cold a double whammy for residents Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 7 Long duration power cuts, at times lasting six to 10 hours, have become painful for those living in rural areas. They complain power outages have affected their life in many ways during the intense cold. Even residents in the city too are troubled by unscheduled power cuts, but frequency and duration of power outages is greater in rural areas. Gurjit Kaur, a resident of Cheema village in the border belt, said, “For the last few days, power cuts have become a routine affair. If most of the household works depend on machines run by electricity, it has become very difficult to operate them.” She said power was usually off when they national event and the event should be harnessed to project the city on the international tourist circuit. The G-20 summit is tentatively scheduled to be held from March 15 to 17. “The event is expected to highlight the city on the international level and it would also help us get international investors. We have to use the opportunity to create a world class infrastructure,” said Dr Nijjar. The minister also highlighted the issue of traffic jams during the meeting. He asked the officials concerned to find a solution and take necessary action to ease the flow of traffic. The ministers also asked PWD officials to remove all encroachments from public lands. The meeting was attended by MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi, District Planning Board Chairman Jaspreet Singh, Urban Development Additional Deputy Commissioner Amandeep Kaur and other senior functionaries of different departments. woke up and the supply was resumed only by afternoon. The residents stated that thankfully, the government had announced holidays in schools in advance. “With no hot water in the morning to carry out daily chores and for bathing, one cannot even imagine waking up children and sending them to school,” rued another homemaker Sukhpreet Kaur. She said water in the overhead tanks was nearly frozen and even brushing the teeth with such cold water was an uphill task. The residents quipped that with the available power supply, most households would not be able to utilise more than 600 units, which have been made free of cost. “The power consumption during the intense cold months is the same as during the peak summer days as people use water geysers and room heaters. With no power supply available, most elderly people are not able to stay comfortable as they cannot use room heaters,” said another resident Kewal Singh. Farmers too complained that electricity for tubewell connections was sometimes provided during night. They stated that power supply for the tubewells should be made available for a fixed-period duration during the day so that they could irrigate their fields and complete other tasks on time. The residents stated that the government also had a responsibility to ensure regular and uninterrupted power supply as electricity is a necessity these days. c m y b required infrastructure for tiny tots and youngsters was under consideration. Dr Sohal, while taking about bad condition of roads, said the repair work would be started soon. He also said a library would be set up at the old grain market. Expressing his views on deteriorating traffic problem in the town, Dr Sohal said steps would be taken to check the problem. The poor condition of drains, streets and street lights in the ward was brought to the notice of the MLA by AAP ward president Jatinderpal Singh. Most of the street lights in the town were non-functional and street lights on the road to the Darbar Sahib were also defunct. — OC Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO with industrialists on Saturday. Power Minister promises uninterrupted supply Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 7 Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO assured industrialists of the Bal Kalan and Nag Klan areas that uninterrupted power supply would be provided to the industrial pockets situated on the city outskirts. During a visit to the industrial area here on Saturday, the minister said no state could progress without flourishing industry and the biggest basic requirement to develop industries was electricity. Development of industries will generate employment and boost the economy of the state, he said. Representatives of the Bal Kalan and Nag Kalan Industrial Welfare Association apprised him of the shortage of staff at three feeders installed in Bal Kalan and Nag Kalan and inadequate machinery. The Power Minister directed the officials concerned to immediately resolve the shortage of staff at Bal Kalan and Nag Kalan and provide required machinery by Monday. He also assured to build a drinking water tank at Bal Kalan, keeping in mind the demand of the association. He said the government was standing with industrialists continued on page 2