03032023-ATR-01.qxd 3/2/2023 11:50 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY A TREAT FOR CRAFT LOVERS AT RANJIT AVENUE BHUMI TO ADDRESS WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS AT G20 BIGG BOSS 13 FAME TEHSEEN IS BLESSED WITH BABY BOY A 10-day exhibition began at Ranjit Avenue. The objective of the fair is to promote handicraftsts. P2 Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar will address women entrepreneurs attending the event. P3 Bigg Boss 13 contestant Tehseen Poonawalla and his wife Monicka are blessed with a baby boy. P4 » » MAX 25°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 26°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.22 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:46 AM » FRIDAY | 3 MARCH 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF EATERY OWNER ARRESTED Amritsar: The Ranjit Avenue police have recovered as many as 17 hookahs from a restaurant, Blind Tiger Hall, in the Ranjit Avenue area here yesterday evening. The police received a tip-off that the owner of the restaurant was involved in serving hookahs. Following this, a raid was conducted and 17 hookahs, along with hookah flavours, were recovered from the spot. The police arrested the owner identified as Nitesh in this connection. A case under the Cigarette and Tobacco Act was registered against him. TNS TWO SNATCHERS IN POLICE NET Amritsar: The city police have nabbed two snatchers identified as Sajan Singh and Gurjit Singh . The police seized a bike and a mobile phone from their possession. According to police, Gurjit had two snatching cases registered against him in Tarn Taran. They were produced in a court and remanded in police custody. TNS Multi-level parking at old sabzi mandi may end parking woes Land that can be used as parking lot has turned into a dump Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 2 Around two decades after shifting the old sabzi mandi opposite Hall Gate, the land has been lying vacant since. This prime land can be utilised for developing a multi-storey parking to decongest the old city area, specifically Hall Bazaar. The Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) owns this 6.5-acre chunk of land worth crores. The PUDA had pledged the land to Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) some years ago. Owing to this ownership issue, the land has been laying vacant and the Amritsar Municipal Corporation has to spend money and make efforts to remove encroachments, garbage and filth heaped on the land. A view old Sabzi Mandi in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Keeping in view the close proximity of the land to the Golden Temple, the land can be used for an automated multi-storey parking lot, which can accommodate more than 5,000 vehicles. The walled city is in dire need of a spacious parking space to address traffic jams. The old sabzi mandi site opposite the Hall Gate was de-notified in 1995 and a majority of the shops were shifted to the new vegetable market at Vallah in 2004. Yet several wholesale fruit merchants operate their shops from this location. The PUDA had taken over the possession of the sabzi mandi land in 2005. Around two acres out of this land had been used by the PUDA for the construction of the Bus Rapid Transit project in 2015 and constructed a flyover on the chunk. Now around three and a half acres of land is lying unused and it has turned into a dumping yard. Residents of the walled city dump debris on this vacant land. Fruit and vegetable residue and garbage from nearby godowns are also dumped here. Bus operators illegally park their buses here. The civic body has to often remove such waste. Sandeep Rishi, Commissioner, MC, said, “We can use this land as a parking lot to address the nagging issue of parking around the walled city area. I will make efforts in this direction. Moreover, we are identifying such government lands to construct and operate the parking lot on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.” Barricades aggravate traffic chaos at Putlighar Chowk Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 2 The local Traffic Police and the administration seem to have forgotten the Putlighar chowk where traffic jams are witnessed throughout the day on a daily basis. Instead of finding a solution for managing traffic, the administration has rather blocked the passage by putting barricades on the road. Commuters are forced to travel more and use other routes to reach their destinations. Shopkeepers near the chowk say wrong-side driving has increased since the day the barricades were installed. A visit to the area reveals that commuters coming from the Islamabad side can cross over to the side of Gwal Mandi. They have the only option to turn left and take you turn from near Khalsa College for Women. Similarly, commuters com- Barricades installed at Putligarh Chowk. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR ing from the Gwal Mandi side cannot go to Islamabad directly. They too have the only option of turning right and taking a U-turn from the next traffic signal. Residents say the local authorities should have used traffic cops to manage the chaos instead of leaving the people to find their own way. “Surely it has helped commuters travelling on the GT road a little, but no relief from traffic jams has been received,” said Joginder Singh, a shopkeeper. Commuters say the problem of traffic jams is deepening with each passing day and the administration must come up with a plan to improve the situation. “Traffic Police personnel are not even taking action against those drivers who flout each and every traffic rule and cause traffic chaos,” said another resident. Activists demand grant for buying Drug abuse remains a challenge, says DIG Border Range land for horticulture institute PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 2 Local residents and activists have asked the Punjab Finance Minister to allocate the required budget for the purchase of land for postgraduate institute of horticulture research and education (PGIHRE) in Amritsar. The official permission has almost been issued by the district, divisional and statelevel competent authorities to purchase land at Chhiddan village (in tehsil Lopoke), situated on the main Amritsar-Attari road to construct administrative, academic and residential blocks of the PGIHRE. At present, the main necessity is the availability of funds with the state government DELAY CAUSE HUGE LOSS TO FARMERS ❝ A delay of eight years in purchasing the approved land for PGIHRE has caused a huge loss to farmers of the state, especially of Amritsar. Farmers of the area should be provided better avenues by paving the way for the establishment of the institute. ❞ Kulwant Singh, AMRITSAR VIKAS MANCH which will be paid to the owners of the land. “The Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab Government deserves to be applauded as it issued a notification within three months, which the previous regimes could not issue for eight years. Local Cabinet ministers Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar and Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal played a commendable role in issuing the necessary official sanctions at various official levels,” said Hardip Singh Chahal, an activist. The annual budget of the Punjab Government will be presented in the state legislative assembly on March 10 by state Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. The Amritsar Vikas Manch also demanded the allocation of the required budget for the purchase of nearly 30 acres of land for the institute. Country-made weapon recovered Love story goes wrong, girl ends life by suicide Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 2 A 22-year-old girl died by consuming a poisonous substance after her boyfriend refused to tie the knot with her. The deceased has been identified as Jashanpreet Kaur, a resident of Ibban Khurd village. The police have booked Tejwinder Singh of Meerakot Kalan village in this regard. A case has been registered under Section 306 of the IPC, but the suspect is yet to be arrested. Paramjit Kaur, the mother of the victim, told the police that her younger daughter Jashanpreet Kaur went out of the Amritsar, March 2 The Ajnala police have recovered a country-made weapon from Harwinder Singh, a burglary suspect, of Jagdev Kalan village. The police came to know about the weapon during the interrogation of Harwinder in a burglary case. The police said Harwinder was arrested by the police for stealing buffaloes from a cattle shed in Jagdev Khurd village. A fresh case under Section 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against him . Body found in Ibban Khurd village fields house without informing anyone and around 3pm she was found lying unconscious in the fields of Nirmal Singh. Jashanpreet was rushed to a private hospital where she died. The mother of the victim told the police that Jashanpreet had an affair with Tejwinder Singh and wanted to marry him, however, he refused to marry her. Upset over this and fearing social stigma, she ended her life. — TNS Amritsar, March 2 Challenges are not new for Narinder Bhargav who joined as the DIG Border range yesterday after the transfer of IG Mohnish Chawla as ADGP State , Crime Record Bureau, in the recent reshuffle of police officials by the Punjab government. He also holds the additional charge of DIG, NRI Affairs. Bhargav’s exemplary work against rampant drug abuse during his stint as SSP Tarn , Taran, two decades back was even followed by the state government and many social 62-yr-old hangs himself to death Tarn Taran, March 2 Sawinder Singh (62), a resident of Lalu Ghuman, committed suicide by hanging himself from a girder in his house on Wednesday. Sawinder Singh was mentally disturbed as he had been threatened by Amanjit Kaur of the same village and her brother-in-law Dilbag Singh of Qilha Kavi Santokh Singh (Noordi) over monetary transaction. The said Amanjit Kaur had taken an amount of Rs 4 lakh from Sawinder Singh to sell her 5 kanal of land years back but she did not agree to a written land deed in this regard. She threatened to lodge a criminal complaint against him as a result of which he went into depression. The accused have been booked under Section 306 and 506 of the IPC for abetment to suicide. — OC organisations to get substance abusers back into the mainstream after detoxification. Nevertheless, this time his joining comes days after the clash in Ajnala between the Punjab Police and supporters of radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh. Amritpal Singh along with his armed supporters had stormed into Ajnala police station and forced the release of his supporter Lovepreet Singh, booked for kidnapping and thrashing a youth. While Amritpal was among the suspects in the FIR, Lovepreet was released a day after the protest that led to injury to six cops including Amritsar DIG Narinder Bhargav rural SP (investigations) and former international hockey player Jugraj Singh. The incident led to widespread condemnation from all quarters while lack of action against Amritpal and his supporters raised eyebrows. “Such challenges are part and parcel of the job of police,” he said while adding that he would be visiting the border areas to get the pulse by interacting with the locals. Nobody is above law and no one is allowed to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in Punjab, he said. Besides law and order, rampant drug abuse, especially in the border belt, remains a challenge before the Punjab Police. Recent surge in crossborder smuggling of drugs, arms and explosives through drones has become a major threat to security. Drone sorties were being reported in the border state almost on a daily basis while Amritsar is one of the major affected areas. Bhargav said the Punjab Police have already made huge seizures and shot down drones. “We would be working in tandem with Central intelligence and security agencies at the international border to nail the smugglers,” he said. “We would be working with civil society and NGOs to encourage the substance abusers to go for treatment. This is a social problem and people should join hands with the police to not only cut the supply line but also rehabilitate drug abuse victims,” he added. Batala SSP initiates probe against AAP leader Punsup chairman in soup as his vehicle found with fake registration plate Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Batala, March 2 The Batala police district’s first ever woman SSP, Ashwini Gotyal, has earned kudos from residents for summoning senior AAP leader and chairman of Punsup Balbir Singh Pannu to her office. The SSP had received a complaint that despite not being entitled to a police escort vehicle, he had deployed one in his cavalcade and was also using a fake registration number plate on it. Pannu skipped the summons yesterday but reached the police chief’s office today. Residents say it is for the first time that an SSP-rank officer had dared to take the political class head-on. Pannu has been designated as The vehicle of Punsup Chairman Balbir Singh Pannu. TRIBUNE PHOTO the halqa incharge of the Fatehgarh Churian Assembly constituency. In the 2022 Assembly polls, Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa had won the Fatehgarh Churian seat while Pannu was placed second. The SSP has ordered a probe to be conducted by SP (Detective) Gurpreet Singh. She also ensured that the police seized the ‘police gypsy’. It has been stationed at the Sadar police station for the past few days. Sources say the registration number plate on Pannu’s escort vehicle is actually the number of a bullet motorcycle. The police logo was removed when the vehicle arrived at the police station. Meanwhile, Pannu said some people inimical to him had changed the number plate of his vehicle just to bring him a bad name. “The registration papers are in my name. Some miscreants changed the number plate. They are trying to stall my progress in the political arena,” he said. Woman dies by consuming poison Farmers need to decrease input cost: Agriculture varsity VC Amritsar, March 2 A woman died by suicide by consuming a poisonous substance in Kherabad village yesterday. The police have booked her husband and sister-in-law on the charge of abetment to suicide. The investigating officer (IO), Shashpal Singh, said no arrest had been made so far. The victim was identified as Shanu (22), a resident of Kherabad village. Those booked included her husband Naresh and sisterin-law Lakshami. The mother of the deceased, Manjit Kaur, told the police that her daughter ended her life because her husband and his sister had been harassing her. The IO said a case under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC was registered against the duo. He said investigation was being conducted in this regard. — TNS Amritsar, March 2 The Krishi Vigyan Kendra in association with Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, organised a kisan mela in Nag Kalan village on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, PAU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, expressed concerns over c m y b prevailing warmer than usual temperatures and its impact on the wheat crop. Dr Gosal claimed that the PAU had developed a heatresistant variety of wheat, which is being further improved. The PAU VC stated that in view of the depletion of water table, the farmers should sow only those varieties of paddy that require less water. He also encouraged the farmers to use drip irrigation to save water. “The farmers need to decrease input costs in order to maximize their gains,” he said, while warning against the indiscrimi- nate use of chemicals and fertilizers. Instead of paddy, the farmers should increase the area under basmati varieties as it helps in saving water, he said. The experts from the university also discussed various new schemes developed by the scientists and exhorted them to join training sessions organised by the PAU to increase their profits by learning new methods. Director Research Dr Ajmer Singh Dhat said the university had developed a new wheat variety keeping in mind the dietary needs of diabetic patients. — TNS