11012023-ATR-01.qxd 1/11/2023 12:01 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY FOOTPATH ENCROACHMENTS LEAVE PEDESTRIANS IN PERIL FOUR MOVIES MAKE IT TO OSCARS REMINDER LIST FAISAL SHAIKH SHARES HIS JOURNEY WITH MANIESH City residents feel that freeing the footpaths of illegal encroachments is the need of the hour. P2 RRR, The Kashmir Files, Kantara and Gangubai Kathiawadi have made it to Oscars 2023 reminder list. P3 MAX 12°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 14°C | MIN 9°C The Maniesh Paul Podcast in its latest episode delivers the story of internet sensation Faisal Shaikh. P4 » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.45 PM » SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:31 AM WEDNESDAY | 11 JANUARY 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF FOUR NABBED WITH HEROIN Amritsar: The Amritsar rural police arrested four persons for possessing heroin. The Gharinda police nabbed two alleged drug peddlers identified as Jai Vijay of Basarke Bhaini village and Karanbir Singh of Gumanpura village for allegedly possessing 95-gm heroin. He said the duo was arrested during patrolling near Basarke Bhaini village. Their search led to the seizure. Meanwhile, the Beas police also arrested two persons with contraband. They were identified as Satnam Singh of Beas and Rajwinder Singh of Mehama Pandori village. The police recovered 50-gm heroin from them. Two separate cases under the NDPS Act were registered against them. Further probe was on. TNS FLESH TRADE RACKET BUSTED Amritsar: The Division B police arrested two persons, including a manager of a hotel, on the charge of immoral trafficking. They were identified as hotel manager Karan of Gehri Mandi and Sonu Peter of Preet Nagar. The owner of the hotel, Balbir Singh, was also nominated in the case. The police said they got a tip-off that the hotel owner was involved in immoral trafficking following which a raid was conducted. The hotel owner, who lives adjoining to the hotel, managed to escape. The police said raids were on to nab him. TNS Self-service tourist info kiosks non-functional Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 10 Self-service information kiosks installed under the Smart City project to help tourists find key locations in the city are gathering dust with garbage and stray dogs alongside aiding in keeping the tourists away. One such kiosk has been installed at the Lawrence Road corner, where tourists visit the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama and the summer palace of Maharaja. Apart from this, a large number of patients and their attendants from Jammu and Kashmir visit the Mall Road to consult eye specialists. However, no tourist uses the self-service information kiosks. Vendors and restaurants in their vicinity dump garbage alongside the kiosks. The screens of the information machines are mostly defunct. They don’t work properly and fail to restart soon. The shopkeepers at Nehru Shopping Complex claimed that the homeless children who beg at Novelty Chowk, often play with the screen. Stray dogs are also a main reason why tourists do Technical snags prevent machines from dispensing needed information Heaps of garbage and a stray dog can be seen in front of a kiosk in Amritsar. PHOTO VISHAL KUMAR not use the kiosks. Arif, a visitor from Kashmir, said, “I have seen the board and tried to explore the city but the screen did not work 5-KG HEROIN RECOVERED Tarn Taran: Packets of heroin were found at three locations along the International Border in the district on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday. The collective weight of the contrabands is 5.092 kg. SSP Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said the packets were found in — Khalra, Sarai Amanat Khan and Khemkaran. The BSF jawans recovered these contrabands. The SSP said 2.560-kg heroin was recovered in Khalra, two kg in Sarai Amanat Khan and 532kg heroin in Khemkaran. OC EMPLOYMENT BUREAU JOB FAIR Amritsar: The district employment bureau will organise a placement camp on Wednesday. Deputy Director Employment Vikram Jeet said reputed national companies would participate in the camp. He said candidates can reach the district office between 10 am and 2 pm. TNS locations under the Smart City project last year. The Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL) had proposed to install these kiosks Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 10 While accusing a jail official of colluding with notorious gangsters, including Deepak Tinu and his accomplice Mandeep Singh, family members of Aman and Karanpreet Singh, two jail inmates of Goindwal Central Jail admitted in Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here, fear for their life. In a letter to the Punjab DGP with copies sent to , ADGP Jails and Tarn Taran SSP Kuldip Kaur, mother of , Karanpreet, urged the police to preserve the CCTV footage of the jail complex besides holding a probe and taking action against the jail official who allegedly helped the accused. On Sunday late evening, Deepak Tinu, a suspect in Sidhu Moosewala murder case, along with Mandeep and others jail inmates had attacked three prisoners Aman, Karanpreet and Manish. Aman and Karanpreet sustained serious injuries in PCS officers on mass leave, work hit Tribune News Service CITY POLICE NAB SIX WITH HEROIN Amritsar: The police arrested six persons, including a woman, in separate cases and recovered 114-gm heroin from their possession. The Sadar police nabbed Gurmeet Kaur of Shri Har Rai Avenue for drug peddling. The police confiscated 42-gm heroin, besides two electronic scales, Rs 15,890 from alleged drug proceeds, besides a scooter from her occupation. Meanwhile, Gurvir Singh of Bal Kalan village, Harpreet Singh of Majitha Road and Rahul of Nehru Colony were arrested with 30-gm, 5-gm and 10-gm heroin respectively. Similarly, Gurpreet Singh of Sher Shah Suri Road and Balwinder Singh of Mahindra Colony were held with 21-gm and 6gm heroin. TNS properly when I touched it.” The self-service tourist information kiosks were installed in the city to assist tourists and local residents in finding key at 20 locations under the pilot project. The locations include the War Memorial, Urban Haat, Partition Museum, Valmiki Tirath Sthal, VR Ambarsar, Basement, VR Ambarsar 5th Floor, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama, Durgiana Mandir, Sada Pind, Jallianwala Bagh near post office, Hall Bazaar Ramada, Golden Temple Plaza, Naresh Multi Store, Mall of Amritsar Ground Floor, Mall of Amritsar Second Floor, Gobindgarh Fort, Shaheed Baba Deep Singh, Lawrence Road, Nehru Complex, Bus Stand Platform Number 8 and Bus Stand Platform Number 55. The Tourist Information Kiosk Centres (ASCL) are supposed to deliver several services, including information about the city, booking, transport and emergency. The kiosks are supposed to support both push and pull type of information service. Query-based information was proposed to be made available within the kiosks. Location-based query and driving directions, information on bus, train and bus rapid transit system (BRTS) schedules would be available. However, no such service is being provided. Clash in Goindwal jail: Kin of injured inmates demand investigation Three snatchers in the police custody on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Snatchers on prowl: Three robbed of phones, vehicle Amritsar, January 10 Five armed robbers snatched a scooter and mobile phones from three persons in Mandiala village here on Monday. The victims were returning home after paying obeisance at a shrine. The police have registered a case in this regard, while further probe was on to identify the suspects. Harpreet Singh, a resident of Mandiala village, told the police that on Sunday, around 8 pm, he along with Paramjit Singh and Baljinder Singh of the same village had gone to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Tahla Sahib. When they were returning home, five persons on two bikes stopped him. One of them attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon. He said he somehow saved himself, but the unidentified robbers snatched his scooter, their mobile phones and fled the spot. The police said a case under Sections 379-B and 34 of the IPC was registered against unidentified persons, while further investigation was on. Investigating officer ASI Angrej Singh said CCTVs in the area were being scanned for finding clues about the perpetrators. He said as there was dense fog, the police were yet to find any clues in the case. Meanwhile, the city police Police nab three snatchers in Basant Avenue case cracked a snatching case and arrested three snatchers within 24-hours of the incident. The victim, Sadiq Khan, who originally hails from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan and is now residing in Fatehgarh Churian, was robbed by three bike-borne snatchers in the Basant Avenue area here. The victim said he was on his bicycle and going through Basant Avenue, when the accused stopped him. He said the accused hit him with a dagger and a kara on his face and snatched his mobile and cash. The police had registered a case under Sections 379-B (2) and 34 of the IPC in this regard and launched further probe. Assistant Commissioner of Police Varinder Singh Khosa said following a preliminary probe, the police identified the accused as Manpreet Singh, Gurkirat Singh and Puneet Singh. They were arrested and brought on twoday police remand after being produced in a court. Further investigations were in progress and the police hoped to crack more cases during their interrogation. — TNS Amritsar, January 10 On the call of the Punjab Civil Services (PCS) Officers’ Association, all PCS officials in the district too went on a mass casual leave for five days here today. The PCS officials have been protesting against the arrest of a Ludhiana RTA by the state Vigilance Bureau. The clerical staff of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office and tehsils also joined the officials for their own pending demands. The working of the district administration offices and the revenue department was affected due to the mass leave of senior officials and staff. The officials stated that the mass leave would continue for five days. Working at all six tehsils — Amritsar-I, Amritsar-II, Ramdas, Tarsikka, Beas and Attari — in the district was affected. Intqal (mutation), fard, taking loan limits on properties, zamanat, girdawri, registries, marriage Offices of PCS officials wear a deserted look in Amritsar. registration, rural residence, SC and BC certificates and other documents were not issued to the applicants. Several works have been made online but those which require manual assistance were severely affected. DC office staff union leader Paras Dhawan said: “We are with the PCS officials in this statewide mass casual leave. We have different issues and demands pending with the government. We are against the attitude of government.” Dhawan claimed that the general public was facing inconvenience due to mass leave of the officials but if the government accepts their demands, they will immediately resume work.” Sahil Kumar, another employee at the DC office, said they were also on mass leave from January 9 to 13. It is against the attitude of the state government towards the officers and employees. Work affected in Tarn Taran district too Tarn Taran: Work in government offices of Deputy Commissioner, Sub Divisional Magistrate, District Revenue Officer, Tehsildar and Naib Tehsildars remained paralysed on Tuesday following the officers’ decision to support the strike of Punjab Civil Services (PCS) officers who have proceeded on mass casual leave for five days starting Monday. The call had been given by the Punjab PCS Officers’ Association in protest against the ‘illegal’ arrest of a colleague in Ludhiana by the state Vigilance Bureau in a corruption case. The Patti SDM was holding the additional charge of Bhikhiwind SDM. The DRO, Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars too in solidarity with the agitating PCS officers have gone on mass casual leave. Leaders of the DC office employees’ union, Patwaris and that of other revenue offices too have warned the state government to join the agitation in case the matter is not resolved soon. The office of the DC, SDM and revenue officer wore deserted look. Write to DGP, seek preservation of CCTV footage the attack and were referred to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. In her complaint, Kuldip Kaur alleged that earlier, the accused had attacked the duo on January 3. They somehow escaped and told the jail officials about the assault. However, she alleged, instead of taking action against the gangsters, they put the two in isolation barracks. On Sunday, Deepak Tinu and his accomplices came out of jail barrack on the pretext of getting medicine from the jail hospital. When they reached near the hospital, they ran continued on page 2 Heath Dept staff observe 2 hour pen-down strike Tarn Taran, January 10 Employees of the Heath Department under the banner of the Punjab State Aids Control Employees Welfare Association observed a two-hour pen-down strike against their retrenchment from service. The employees held a protest in the office of the Civil Surgeon. Harjit Singh, district president of the association, while addressing on the occasion, said they had been working under the Union Government’ National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) for the last 12 years on meagre salary. The state government had never thought of regularisation of their service. He condemned the state government for its proposed move to terminate them from the service. He said a few state governments had regularised the service of employees working under the NACO. The employees demanded regularisation of their services. — OC Dry spell scales up need for irrigation: Experts Cabinet ministers review works in schools Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 10 Cabinet ministers Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Harbhajan Singh ETO today visited various government schools to inaugurate and review development works. Local Government Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar today laid the foundation stone for building new blocks at Shaheed Gurmeet Singh Senior Secondary School for Girls, Sultanwind. The annual prize distribution ceremony of the school was also held, where Dr Nijjar gave away awards and honours to students for academic and various non-academic achievements at the district and state level. Addressing the students, Dr Nijjar said apart from book knowledge, improving Amritsar, January 10 In view of the ongoing dry spell, the district Agriculture Department has advised farmers to keep a watch on the irrigation needs of crops, especially wheat. The officials said farmers must not ignore the irrigation needs of crops. The officials said during this time of the year, irrigation needs of crops were usually fulfilled by rain but as this time it has not rained for the past many months, the farmers are required to irrigate their fields. Chief Agriculture Officer Jatinder Singh Gill said farmers should visit their fields everyday and look out for symptoms of any disease or need for irrigation. c m y b Tribune News Service Local Government Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar lays stone of a new block of a school in Amritsar. their personality to advance in life will also lead them to success. He told the students that along with studies, sport activities are also must for mental and physical development of children. He invited the students to join sports and asked them to prioritise sports along with studies. Power and Public Works Department Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO reviewed the ongoing development works at Government Senior Secondary School in Jandiala. He said work was being done rapidly and there was no shortage of funds for development projects. “Since our government is giving priority to the field of health and education, infrastructure overhaul of all government school buildings is being undertaken. Along with this, Aam Aadmi Clinics are also being opened to provide better health services to people,” he said.