02022023-ATR-01.qxd 2/2/2023 12:19 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY SGPC INTENSIFIES CAMPAIGN FOR BANDI SINGHS RELEASE ALEC BALDWIN CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER SHAMITA DISMISSES DATING RUMOURS WITH AAMIR ALI The apex Sikh body has set a target to get at least 30 lakh signatures under its campaign . P2 Hollywood star Alec Baldwin has officially been charged in the Rust fatal shooting case. P3 MAX 21°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 20°C | MIN 6°C Bigg Boss 15 fame Shamita Shetty has been making headlines for her rumoured dating with Aamir Ali. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 6.05 PM » SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:23 AM THURSDAY | 2 FEBRUARY 2023 | AMRITSAR Decline in allocation disappoints farmers Push to industry, services; agri sector feels let down Residents term it populist in nature as it was last full Budget of Modi govt before LS elections Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Residents watch live telecast of the Union Budget 2023-24 on television in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR AMBITIOUS APPROACH LEGAL AMENDMENTS WELCOME adopting an ambitious approach the RBI ❝Byyear’s fiscal paper, the FM ❝Amendments inteeth forAct would to this provide it with more better assuaged the hopes of the industry and services. Gunbir Singh, PAST CHAIRMAN, CII PUNJAB ❞ and travel services but also contribute to employment creation. supervisory role to end frauds in the banking sector. Anil Vinayak, A RETD BANKER ❞ Gunbir Singh, past chairman, CII Punjab, said the expectations from a post- pandemic and pre-election Budget had raised expectations. By adopting an Plans listed under Smart City project still in limbo Our Correspondent Charanjit Singh Teja PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Avenue The vacant land outside Hall Gate in Amritsar on Wednesday. rialised till date. According to traffic experts, residents of the walled city area needed parking lots to accommodate 5,000 vehicles. Due to narrow streets and small houses, dwellers of the old city park their vehicles on the ring road or illegal private parking lots in major streets. They have to pay Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,500 per month. A large number of residents and traders park their vehicles in parking lots meant for visitors from other cities near the Golden Temple and bus stand. The local politicians often claimed to provide parking space before the elections. In 2018, when the Municipal Corporation restricted the parking of four-wheelers at Hall Bazaar, the MC had proposed to develop the parking lot outside the Hall Gate. A large chunk of government land is lying vacant outside the Hall Gate as the old Sabji Mandi had shifted to Vallah two decades back. Due to political incompetence, the local political leaders of Congress, SAD, BJP and AAP failed to develop parking on the land. Former Mayor Karmajit Rintu had announced the use of old Sabji Mandi land for parking but the proposal was not implemented. continued on page 2 Amritsar, February 1 The Union Budget has received sharp reactions from agriculture sector as the budget allocation for the sector has been decreased. Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala, president, Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, said, “The Budget allocation for agriculture has been cut by almost six per cent.” He said it is strange that a sector which provides maximum employment in the country is not a priority sector for the government. Ajnala said allocation for the agriculture, agriculture research and agricultural education is also shrinking from the last many years. The farmer leader stated that while the Union Budget has given a ‘step-motherly’ treatment to the agriculture sector and has favoured the corporate. “The corporate taxes have been left untouched by the union budget at 22 per cent. An increase in corporate taxes could have generated enough resources for all other govern- ment schemes,” he said. Rattan Singh Randhawa of Border Area Sangharsh Committee said, “It is disheartening that the Budget has no provision to implement MSP for crops other than rice and wheat.” He said while the Budget has made allocation for ensuring purchase of wheat and rice, no other crops have been mentioned. He added that in a major setback to MGNREGA workers, the allocation for the scheme has been reduced by nearly 32 per cent. “This would mean lesser working days and hence wages for the landless and unemployed workers,” he said. The farmers also stated that no efforts have been made to increase research or irrigation facilities. They added that no special provisions has been made for Punjab, which is primarily an agricultural state, and is facing problems as depleting water table, drug addiction, agricultural debt trap and farmer suicides. — TNS Swindlers’ gang busted I-T rebate apart, not much stress on social security: Residents PARKING ISSUE-II Amritsar, February 1 The need for more parking space was felt by residents and the local administration years back and the civic body had started planning to provide new parking lots. The Centre had chosen the holy city under the Smart City project on September 20, 2016. The Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL) had proposed to develop two automated multi-storey parking lots. The automated parking projects were announced by the ASCL in 2017 and a tender was released for design, operation and maintenance for 10 years of the fully automated multi-level car parking facility at Kairon market on October 10, 2018. The tender submission process for Kairon market is still in limbo even after five years of its announcement. The ASCL didn’t initiate the tendering process for the Machhi Mandi parking. Apart from the ASCL, the civic body had proposed to develop new parking lots in the past but nothing has mate- 1889, still in vogue is likely to be replaced in the new proposed amendments. Two-Governor norms for the RBI should be implemented on priority basis; one for policy implementation and another for supervisory role. In the health sector, 157 new nursing colleges are to be established along with the existing 157 medical colleges and there are proposals for a new pharma programme for R&D through a centre for excellence which was hailed by the pharma sector. Raman Gupta, who operates an export-oriented herbal unit, said the Budget acknowledged the growing role of R&D in the pharma sector. Industrialists feel that capital investment outlay increased by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore (3.3 per cent of GDP) and effective cap expenditure by the Centre at 13.7 lakh crore (4.5 per cent of GDP) would help bolster the domestic economy. Tarn Taran, February 1 The police in a raid at Seven Star Hotel and Restaurant busted a 50-member gang of swindlers who had been defrauding foreigners by collecting their e-mail id and other details. Senior Superintendent of Police Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said 63 computers installed in different rooms of the hotel have been taken into custody and the team of the cyber crime branch had been roped in. The SSP added that three suspected members of the gang had been detained and further proceeding had been initiated. The gang had taken sever- al hotel rooms on rent and installed its VICI dial software system. They had been dealing with persons residing in the US, the UK and other countries as its customers. The gang members had been introducing themselves as the employees of the Department of Work and Pension with the National Insurance Company. The gang members were collecting the e-mail ID of their customers and with the latest technique got the money to be transferred in their own bank accounts. A case under Sections 420-,120-B , 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code and 66-C, 66-D and 75 of the IT Act had been registered. said it was a small step in the right direction as more needs to be done, adding that working hours were agonisingly longer for employees in the organised private sector and there was no in-house system to air one’s grievances. He said since the state governments were restoring old pension schemes to their employees, there was a strong reason to offer good pension scheme to the employees in private sector to bring in parity. Prabhjot Kaur, an employee, welcomed the relief to women and senior citizens by way of enhancing the limit of deposit but felt that it did not translate Amritsar, February 1 After the creation of behemoth corporate houses, employees feel that the service class is growing yet they are largely dependent upon the policies of these business houses while successive governments ignore them. They found huge relief for the burgeoning middle class as the income tax rebate limit in the new regime has been increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. Harpreet Singh, an employee with a private bank, said the Budget gave relief to the middle class via rejigging of the personal income tax with exemption up to Rs 7 lakh. He into any big benefit. The rising inflation has been directly affecting the personal financial independence of women in families. Amarjit Singh Asal, a labour leader, said trade unions have been demanding restoration of the old pension scheme, social security, regularisation of workers, minimum wages for the unorganised sector, including agricultural workers etc. “This is a Budget that leaves behind the interests of the nation, it is the 94 per cent unorganised workforce that contributes 60 per cent of the GDP,” he said. — TNS Children’s Park at Company Bagh lies in a state of neglect Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 1 Six year after the Children’s Park at Company Bagh was revived, it’s back to square one. The grass at the park has dried up, electricity wires are dangling from trees, slides and swings are broken and the pool for boating is filled with dirty water. The park was leased to a PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar, February 1 The Union Budget evoked a mixed response from people hailing from diverse sections of society. Most feel that the Budget was populist in nature as it was the last complete Budget of the present government before the Lok Sabha elections next year. Abhilash Bhardwaj, founder of The Fit Food, said Covid-19 concerns and the lock-down negatively hit the hospitality industry in India and also worldwide. But the tourism industry underwent a great turnaround over the last one year. There was an increasing thrust on the sector announced in the Budget which will not only create opportunities for hotels aggressive and ambitious approach to this year’s fiscal paper, the Finance Minister assuaged the hopes of the industry and services, although the agrarian sector was feeling let down. Environmentalists found the green thread that runs through the entire Budget, towards sustainability and responsible practices, laudatory. It showcased the nation’s leadership on the high table of G20 committed towards climate change remediation and aspiring for a net-zero emission goal in lifestyle, business and agri-practices. Anil Vinayak, a retired banker, said amendments in the banking company and RBI Acts were long overdue and in line with financial sector reforms to safeguard public money. Amendments in the RBI Act would provide it with more teeth for better supervisory role to end frauds in the banking sector. Negotiable Instruments Act, A non-functional ride at Children’s Park in Company Bagh. private firm by the Amritsar Improvement Trust for a period of 11 years. The private firm at present charges Rs 5 for the entry of kids, Rs 10 for adult, Rs 20 and Rs 30 for various kinds of rides besides Rs 20 for car parking. It also runs two eating joints inside the place. Major controversy had erupted at the time when AIT had leased out the chil- dren park to a private firm after spending crores on its revival. However, a visit to the park revealed that the slides and swings are broken. Even a few of the rides are non-functional. The residents stated that now if the government has leased out the prime land to a private firm, it must be ensured that terms and conditions of the continued on page 2 Listening to Punjabi songs these days breaks heart: Rabbi Shergill Encroachments razed Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 1 Speaking at the inaugural day of the eighth edition of Amritsar Sahitya Utsav, singer Rabbi Shergill shared that listening to popular Punjabi songs today doesn’t engage the soul and heart like it used to. Rabbi, whose music has always found its own audience, inclining towards originality and melody unlike the ‘commercial numbers we hear, was one of the speakers in a session on “Punjabi Music: Contemporary Situation”. “We have heard Punjabi music, which is about uplifting oneself and praising others. There have been several Rabbi Shergill (C) at the literature festival in Amritsar. SUNIL KUMAR popular yet meaningful genres of Punjabi music. Now, it has become a tool for fame and money,” he said. While deliberating on the contemporary popular Punjabi music and what ails it, he said now the question was whether the dominant social class of Punjab had any responsibility towards others. Agreeing to Rabbi’s views and taking the conversation forward, famous thinker Taskin, who was among the speakers, said after 1970, Punjabi culture had been predominantly limited to singing only, which has made it a commodity, by breaking it from the beauty of art. The discussion on contemporary Punjabi music saw speakers, including Alankar Singh, a Sikh scholar, who gave information about Punjab’s sangeet gharanas and expressed his thoughts about contemporary Gurbani music trends. The inaugural session of the day was dedicated to Gurbachan Singh Bachan, famous Punjabi writer and thinker. A seminar, ‘Academic Research: Status and Evaluation’, was also held where the expert scholars expressed that the original c m y b spirit of literature had now been replaced by theory and universities and colleges need to be freed from colonial models. Gurpal Singh Sandhu said research and capital had nexus in our universities, which needed to be freed. Eminent Punjabi writer Amarjit Singh Grewal, who was also one of the key speakers, said on this occasion that more resources are being spent on buying land in Punjab and not acquiring knowledge. “Land industry and capital will not save Punjab. Creation of knowledge is the way of liberation for Punjab,” he said. In another session, Ishwar Dayal Gaur from Panjab University, Chandigarh, speak- ing about the relationship between literature and history, said history needs to be thought of with the cosmic method present in literature instead of sequential. “The concept of time in folklore is like a celebration, waiting from one celebration to another. History is also a creative process rather than a model-bound history that we can only make possible through a philosophical and cosmological perspective,” he said. Various exhibitions have also been put up at Khalsa College for Women, the venue for the festival, including chitrakla, wood carving, ancient Punjabi musical instruments and book exhibition. Encroachments under elevated road being removed. TRIBUNE PHOTO Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 1 The Municipal Corporation removed illegal encroachments under the elevated road from bus stand to the Mall of Amritsar. The team of the estate wing led by Estate Officer Dharminderjeet Singh stated that the drive has been started on the direc- tions of Local Governments Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Rishi. The Local Governments Minister ordered the removal of encroachments under the elevated road during a recent meeting. The team also removed the encroachment from Heritage Street and seized the goods today.