31012023-ATR-01.qxd 1/31/2023 12:21 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune IMPROVEMENT TRUST CHIEF YET TO ASSUME CHARGE INJURED ACTOR RANDEEP HOODA TURNS WRITER Actor Randeep Hooda, who is currently recovering from an injury, is using his time to explore the writer in him. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 19°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 17°C | MIN 9°C SUSHMITA SEN IS BACK ON SETS OF AARYA SEASON 3 Row over appointment of Varun Kumar as Tarn Taran Improvement Trust chief, refuses to die down. P2 FORECAST Actress Sushmita Sen feels that her web series Aarya has become synonymous with her name. P4 » » SUNSET TUESDAY 5.58 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:13 AM » TUESDAY | 31 JANUARY 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF ONE BOOKED FOR SNATCHING MOBILE Amritsar:The Maqboolpura police have booked a youth for allegedly snatching a mobile phone from a person outside The Nexus shopping mall. He was identified as Gurjeet Singh of Harike in Tarn Taran. He was identified after his SIM was used in the phone. The complainant Rahul Singh told the police that unknown youth snatched his phone from outside the Nexus mall. A probe found that a SIM card issued on the identity card of Gurjeet Singh of Harike was being used in the snatched phone. The police registered a case under Section 379-B of the IPC in this regard. TNS 12 BOOKED FOR MURDER BID Amritsar: The Chatiwind police have booked 12 persons on the charge of attempt to murder after they barged into a house, ransacked it and thrashed the family. They also indulged in firing. The police have registered a case and raids were on to arrest them. An old enmity was stated to be the reason behind the incident. TNS Tributes paid to Mahatma Gandhi PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Congress leaders and workers pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi on his 75th death anniversary at the party’s rural unit office in Amritsar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 30 Officials of the district administration, led by Additional Deputy Commissioner Surinder Singh, paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the District Administrative Complex here on Monday. On the occasion, a twominute silence was observed in his memory. Those who sacrificed them- selves for the country were also remembered. The Additional Deputy Commissioner said the countrymen were enjoying the warmth of freedom only because of the martyrs. Martyrs were the heritage of any nation and they always remain a source of inspiration for future generations. He said today’s young generation should follow the path shown by Perennial issue Mahatma Gandhi. “We should work hard so that the country continues to progress. Each and every citizen of the country must make his/her contribution towards the progress of the country. Meanwhile, the programme to pay homage to the martyrs at the Jallianwala Bagh on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi did not take place due to heavy rain in the morning. Rainwater remains stagnant by the roadside due to poor drainage system in Amritsar. BJP holds meet to chalk out strategy Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 30 As political parties gear up for the municipal elections to be held later this year, BJP state president Ashwani Sharma today held a meeting of party office-bearers and workers organised under the chairmanship of district unit president Harvinder Singh Sandhu. Sharma laid stress on door-to-door visits by workers and leaders to make people aware of the party’s ideology and public welfare policies of the Central Government. General secretary (Organisation) Srimanthari Sri Nivasulu and state general secre- tary Bikramjit Singh Cheema were also present. Sharma said the BJP is fully prepared for the Municipal Corporation and Nagar Panchayat polls, while keeping an eye on Lok Sabha elections to be held in 2024. “A concrete decision has been taken by the party to contest all the seats in Punjab and for this, feedback has been taken from all the districts. The workers are fully prepared and they have already hit the ground and are working hard to win not just elections but also people’s trust,” he declared. Sharma said the party will give a chance to the eligible candidates after getting a feedback from each constituency for which a strategy Amritsar, January 30 With shopkeepers continuing to encroach upon roads by extending their shops despite anti-encroachment drives by the police and the civic body authorities, the traffic police have decided to deal with the problem with an iron hand. They have decided to lodge FIRs against those shopkeepers who keep encroaching on roads and do not mend their ways despite repeated requests and warnings. “Encroachers are back to the spot soon after the police and MC officials leave the area. We have been facing the problem since the launch of our anti-encroachment drive over a month ago,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Amandeep Kaur. “I have spoken to my senior officials, including Police To deal with stubborn encroachers with an iron hand, the Traffic Police will start registering FIRs against them. FILE PHOTO Commissioner Jaskaran Singh and Deputy Commissioner of Police Parminder Singh Bhandal in this connection and we would soon be going to do this in order to make the city roads free from encroachments,” she said. Following the registration of cases, the property of the shopkeepers displayed on the road would be confiscated. Owing to the closure of Rego bridge to heavy vehicles and construction of the railway flyover at 22 number railway JAC to intensify stir over Centralised admission portal, retirement age row Tribune News Service CIVIC BODY POLLS Traffic police to crack whip on encroachments in city has been prepared. He called upon party workers to make people aware of the anti-Punjab and anti-people policies of the state government. “The public is fed up with the misrule of the Bhagwant Mannled government and has made up its mind to hand over power to the BJP he said. ,” Sreenivasulu said the BJP is among the biggest political parties and workers are its backbone. Former state president and ex-MP Ishwait Malik, along with state secretary Rajesh Honey, Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina, Jagmohan Singh Raju, Dr Raj Kumar Verka, Janardan Sharma, Dr Ram Chawla and advocate Kumar Amit were present on the occasion. BJP leaders discuss for MC elections during a meet in Amritsar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Amritsar, January 30 The Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising the NonGovt Aided Colleges Management Federation (NGACMF), three State Universities’ Principals’ Associations and Punjab Chandigarh Colleges Teachers Union (PCCTU) on Monday decided to intensify their joint agitation against the state government over centralised admission portal and lowering of the college teachers’ retirement age. The JAC in the meeting held at Khalsa College here reviewed the ongoing developments taking place with regard to the sensitive issues Burglary in Army officer’s house: Son-in-law held Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 30 After over one-and-a-halfmonth-long investigations, the police have cracked the burglary case in which unidentified persons had decamped with a licensed pistol and valuables, including cash, from the residence of a retired Lt Colonel Parmajit Singh Hundal, a resident of posh Ranjit Avenue area here. His son-in-law turned out to be the main culprit behind the theft. The accused identified as Gagandeep Singh was allegedly a drug addict. He was arrested by the police. Hundal and his family had gone to attend a wedding in Verka on December 5 when unidentified persons burgled the house. The burglar also took away a digital video recorder of the CCTV camera. Paramjit Singh, a retired Army officer, said at 12 noon, the entire family went to Verka and returned around 4.45 pm. He said he found the windows of the house broken and an almirah and the DVR of the CCTVs damaged. He said his licensed .32 bore continued on page 2 c m y b confronting higher education. The meeting was presided over by federation president Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina. Federation secretary SM Sharma, Principal Dr Khushwinder Kumar (Patiala University), Principal Dr Gurdev Singh (GNDU University), PCCTU president Dr Vinay Sofat and general secretary Dr Gurdas Singh Sekhon represented various teachers’ bodies in the meeting. The JAC termed the government’s attitude as ‘callous’ over the issues. “The JAC decided that no college would participate in the ‘discriminatory’ Centralised Admission Portal, which is being implemented by the Department of Higher Education arbitrarily,” said Chhina after the meeting. Asking the government to come clear over the retirement of teachers at the age of 58 instead of 60 years of age, the JAC appealed to the college managements of all the aided and un-aided colleges not to relieve any teacher or principal at the age of 58 till March 31, since the JAC is in talks with the government on critical issues. It was decided that on February 7, all teachers in over 200 colleges in Punjab would wear black badges while performing their duties in their respective colleges and observe a stay-in strike from 1 pm to 3 pm on February 10 at their college gates as a mark of protest. They would hoist black flags at the entry gates of the colleges. Further, on February 15 and 16, the college teachers will observe a complete bandh of the colleges and organise a stay-in strike and dharna at the college gates and hold the march to the deputy commissioner’s office in all districts. “If the government did not move and wake up, we will hold a meeting after February 16 to decide a strategy to go to Chandigarh and gherao the Punjab Vidhan Sabha,” said PCCTU president Dr Sofat. Traffic rule violations add to difficulties on city roads Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 30 Given no let-up in the traffic situation in the city, experts have come up with various measures like land acquisition for road widening, separate lanes for slow and fast-moving vehicles and other remedies. Traffic is becoming unmanageable because of the constant rise in the number of vehicles. To manage this effectively, the conventional approach of deploying traffic police personnel on roads would not help much. Prof Ashwani Luthra, head of Guru Ramdas School of Planning of Guru Nanak Dev University, said the need of the hour was to adopt applications of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). It is vital to control and regulate traffic. For instance, nearly 6.5 lakh people were challaned in the past year in Chandigarh, where about 12 lakh people reside. Under the ITS, special cameras were installed which automatically issue challans for overspeeding, jumping the red light and Traffic is becoming unmanageable day by day due to the constant growth of vehicles and lack of people’s cooperation. TRIBUNE PHOTO other traffic violations. Unlike Chandigarh, which has a grid iron pattern where traffic can be diverted in case of traffic blockade, it is not possible here. So, a traffic jam lasts longer and needs external intervention to guide the vehicles, he says. People do not use public transport keeping in view short to medium trip length, falling between 5 km to 8 km. Such a short travel trip does not cost much fuel expenditure, so people prefer personal transport, not public transport. During peak hours, traffic congestion rises. Professor Sakshi said there were several infrastructural gaps concerning the road network in the city. For instance, ring roads around bypasses were to be constructed, but only one was partially raised. Arterial roads in the city are narrow which can be addressed through compulsory acquisition. Anti-encroachment drives should be made regular and unauthorised commercial developments like parking of handcarts on roadsides in new areas should be checked. crossing that connect the main GT Road with the Islamabad and walled city area, the volume of traffic from the Amritsar railway station to Chheharta has increased leading to traffic jams, especially at Putlighar and near the railway station areas. The problem is likely to aggravate when the Vallah road would be closed owing to construction of a flyover there. Lack of traffic and parking sense among residents also compound the problem. Besides lodging FIRs against the offenders, the police were also contemplating closing the entry of heavy vehicles inside the city during the daytime. “We will limit the timings of entry of heavy vehicles,” said the ADCP . Public cooperation is a must to deal with the rising problem of traffic bottlenecks in the city. And ironically, they do not understand it. Minor girl kidnapped, eight booked Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 30 A 15-year-old girl was kidnapped by several persons in two cars near Cheema Bath village falling under the Beas police station here late on Saturday evening. The victim along with her brother was returning to their native village Kiri Afghana in Gurdaspur on motorcycle when the incident took place. The accused also took away the bike of the victim while fleeing from the spot. Though the police have registered a case in this connection, the girl was yet to be recovered. Those booked were identified as Sharif and his brother Sadiq of Vairowal, their father Shahdeen and Sipahi of Badesha village in Tarn Taran. The complainant, brother of the victim, told the police that he along with his sister had come to Pheruman for meeting a relative. He said at around 8.30 pm when they were returning home and reached near a brick-kiln near Cheema Bath village, a Swift car abruptly stopped in front of their bike. In the meantime, another car came from the rear and hit them. Their bike went off the road and they fell down. He said from the Swift car, Sharif and Sadiq along with two unidentified persons came out while Shahdeen, Sipahi and two unidentified persons came out of another car. He alleged they bundled his sister into the Swift car and fled from the spot. They also took away his bike. He told the police that Shahdeen wanted to marry his elder son Sharif’s marriage with his sister, but they refused the proposal. He alleged since then the accused was threatening to kill them. The police said a case under Sections 365, 379-B, 341 and 506 of IPC was registered against the suspects and efforts were on to recover the girl and nab the accused.