26012023-ATR-01.qxd 1/26/2023 12:20 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 19°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 17°C | MIN 9°C SHOWERS BRING CHEER TO WHEAT GROWERS IN CITY CELEBS TELL US WHAT MAKES THEM PROUD INDIANS SONU CHANDRAPAL ROPED IN FOR COMEDY SHOW Showers have brought glad tidings for wheat growers as the rain is believed to help in tillering of the crop. P2 On 74th Republic Day, celebs share one thing, among many, that makes them proud to be an Indian. P3 Actress Sonu Chandrapal will now be seen in a comedy show titled Professor Pandey Ke Paanch Pariwar. P4 » » » SUNSET THURSDAY 5:54 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:16 AM THURSDAY | 26 JANUARY 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF DCP ORDERS BAN ON FLYING DRONES on Aam Aadmi Will mere change of name Majithia shuns claimsused to promote politicalclinics Says old unsafe building being agenda improve health services? Tribune News Service AAM AADMI CLINICS Manmeet Singh Gill Amritsar: Parminder Singh Bhandal, officiating magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner of Police, Law and Order, Amritsar, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 144, imposed restrictions on flying any kind of drone camera in the Guru Nanak Stadium, Gandhi Ground, Amritsar, and Commissionerate, Amritsar city. Apart from this, a ban has also been imposed on flying drone cameras wherever Republic Day is being celebrated within the jurisdiction of the Amritsar Commissionerate. These orders will be applicable from January 25 and will remain in force till January 27. TNS MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS Ex-sarpanch, panchayat secy land in VB net Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 25 The Vigilance Bureau (VB) today arrested Gurjit Singh, former sarpanch of Verowal Bawian falling under the Khadoor Sahib block in Tarn Taran district, and Balraj Singh, panchayat secretary, for misappropriation of panchayat funds. A spokesperson for the VB said on the basis of an inquiry regarding embezzlement in the develop- Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 25 With the Health Department all set to open new Aam Aadmi Clinics in the district on January 27, a cross-section of society, including health employees, has accused the government of changing names of the already existing health centres. With the opening of more Aam Aadmi Clinics, the number of these centres would increase to 32 in the district of which 15 are in the urban areas and rest in rural areas. Ashok Kumar, president, Punjab State Pharmacy Officers Association, said, “These upcoming Aam Aadmi Clinics were working as Community Health Centres (CHC), Urban Health Centres (UHC), Primary Health Centres (PHC) and dispensaries. Now their names have been changed and not even a single new employee has been recruited”. He said merely changing the names would not improve health services in the state. The facilities which have been converted into Aam Aadmi Clinics include five satellite hospitals which were named after the Panj Pyaras (five beloved ones). These were Bhai Dharam Singh Satellite Hospital, Ranjit Avenue, Bhai Daya Singh Satellite Hospital, A mohalla clinic in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR ‘NO NEW EMPLOYEE RECRUITED’ ❝These upcoming Aam Aadmi Clinics were working as Community Health Centres (CHC), Urban Health Centres (UHC), Primary Health Centres (PHC) and dispensaries. Now their names have been changed and not even a single new employee has been recruited. ❞ Ashok Kumar, PRESIDENT, PUNJAB STATE PHARMACY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION Mustafabad, Bhai Mohkam Singh Satellite Hospital, Saketri Bagh, Bhai Himmat Singh Satellite Hospital, Kale Ghanupur and Bhai Sahib Singh Satellite Hospital, Fatehpur. The names of these five hospitals have been changed to Aam Aadmi Clinics. A prominent leader of the employees and patron of pharmacy officers association Shamsher Singh Kohri said, “We fail to understand why the government is changing the names of health institutions which are named after great religious personalities.” He said that rural pharmacists have already expressed their displeasure with the government as now they have been asked to run these centres. “The rural pharmacists are being paid Rs 11,000 as monthly salary. Now instead of doing anything concrete for the employees who are the backbone of medical services or upgrading infrastructure, all the government has done is to rename the existing facilities and advertise it as an achievement,” he said. Festive fervour EMBEZZLEMENT OF ~8,59,851 VB sources revealed that out of the total amount of ~72,22,373, the panchayat spent ~63,62,522 and the remaining amount was FILE embezzled by the former sarpanch in connivance with panchayat secretary Balraj Singh. Kite maker Jagmohan Kanojia shows kites on the eve of Republic Day and Basant Panchami in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR ment funds received by the gram panchayat from 2013 to 2017, an embezzlement to the tune of ~8,59,851 had been detected. Vigilance Bureau sources revealed that the panchayat received government funds amounting to ~47,47,373 and ~24,75,000 from contract farming on shamlat land of the village panchayat. Out of the total amount of ~72,22,373, the panchayat spent ~63,62,522 and the remaining amount was embezzled by the former sarpanch in connivance with panchayat secretary Balraj Singh. A case under Sections 13 (1) (a) and 13 (2) of the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act and Sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 201 and 102B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Vigilance Bureau police station, Amritsar. Further investigations were on into this case, the VB sources said. c m y b Amritsar, January 25 Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia today claimed to have exposed the Bhagwant Mann government on Aam Aadmi clinics by showcasing the old and unsafe building being converted into AAP clinics. Talking to the media at Thariewala village, Majithia alleged that an old primary health centre in the village, which was established in 1966, had been converted into an AAP clinic. He said an amount of ~25 lakh was being spent on renovation work, which mostly included installation of false ceiling and re-painting old buildings. He said civil works which were being done at a market rate of ~4 lakh to ~5 lakh per centre were carried out at ~20 lakh to ~25 lakh per centre. Majithia further asserted that an IAS officer had refused to sign orders for the promotion of such AAP clinics in Southern states at a SESSION 2023-24 SGPC budget panel SAD leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia during a visit to old Primary Health Centre at Thariewala village on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO PEOPLE’S LIVES BEING PUT TO RISK: SAD LEADER Asserting that this was a scam in the making, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) senior leader and former minister Bikram Singh Majithia said people’s lives were also being put to risk by converting unsafe buildings into AAP clinics without understanding structural repairs. cost of ~30 crore, whereas the establishment of such clinics had cost the state ~10 crore. Asserting that this was a scam in the making, Majithia said people’s lives were also being put to risk by converting unsafe buildings into AAP clinics without understanding structural repairs. The SAD leader also cautioned officers to avoid doing any wrong thing, adding that an SAD delegation would meet the Punjab Governor on the issue and file a complaint on the loot of the government exchequer by the AAP government. He also said the SAD would demand inquiry into this entire issue in order to fix the responsibility for the plunder of tax payers’ money. RPO refutes MP’s allegations meets, discusses Claims to provide services in transparent, efficient manner Tribune News Service post-Covid. In order to deal parameters with the rising demand for Amritsar, January 25 Ahead of presenting its annual budget for the session (2023-24) in March, the SGPC has started preparations. The sub-committee constituted for the purpose held a meeting at the SGPC headquarters today. The panel discussed the parameters to be taken into consideration before finalising the budget. SGPC general secretary Gurcharan Singh Garewal said besides managing historic gurdwaras, several educational and health institutes were being run by the Sikh body. “The sub-committee will hold a series of meetings and procure the status of the Continued on page 2 Amritsar, January 25 A day after the protest by Gurjeet Singh Aujla, MP from Amritsar, officials at the Regional Passport Office (RPO), Amritsar, claimed that they are committed to provide all passport related services to the general applicants in a transparent, convenient, efficient and comfortable manner. In an official statement, officials at the RPO stated that the Amritsar office had witnessed a large number of applicants seeking passport services for travelling abroad passport, reducing resultant unavailability period in the appointment cycle and improving the overall transparency, competency and services, Regional Passport Officer NK Shil took good initiatives since he assumed charge on December 14, 2022. In the past month, the Continued on page 2