11032023-ATR-01.qxd 3/11/2023 12:01 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY 7,618 STUDENTS ENROL FOR GOVT SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT KAMAL HAASAN’S PIC FROM SETS OF INDIAN 2 GOES VIRAL SAMEER JHANTORA READY TO EMBARK ON NEW JOURNEY An enrolment drive was carried out in govt elementary, middle and high schools of district on Friday. P2 A picture of actor Kamal Haasan from the sets of much anticipated film Indian 2 has gone viral. P3 As a participant of the reality show, Kumite 1- Warrior Hunt, Jhantora left an impact on host Suniel Shetty. P4 » » » MAX 31°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 15°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.35 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:45 AM SATURDAY | 11 MARCH 2023 | AMRITSAR Woman doctor at SGPC-run medical college dies by suicide 4 nabbed with weapon, stolen motorcycle Colleagues subjected medical intern to casteist slurs: Kin Amritsar, March 10 The Sadar police have arrested four persons, including a juvenile, and recovered a country-made pistol, a toy pistol and a stolen bike from their possession. Those arrested were Sumit Sharma of Ghanupur Kale in Chheharta, Dilpreet Singh of Khandwala and Suraj Sharma of Guru Nanak Pura in Kot Khalsa area. Assistant Commissioner of Police (North) Varinder Singh Khosa said they were nabbed during a search operation in Mustafabad area. They had several criminal cases, including those of snatchings and under the Arms Act, registered against them. “We have recovered a country-made pistol of .32 caliber along with magazine and five rounds, a toy pistol and a stolen bike from their possession. They were produced in the court and brought on police remand for further interrogation,” Khosa said. The juvenile arrested in the case had a case registered under the Arms Act against him. Investigation is on to ascertain the source of the weapons. — TNS PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 10 A woman doctor doing her internship at the SGPC-run Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research at Vallah committed suicide at her hostel situated in the hospital complex here on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. Her family members alleged that the victim, identified as Pamposh (26), a resident of Ramamandi in Jalandhar, was being subjected to casteist slurs by several of her colleagues. Following a complaint by the victim’s mother Kamlesh Rani, the police have booked two professors and four students among 10 persons on the charge of abetment to suicide and under provisions of the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. Mukhwinder Singh Bhullar, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigations) confirmed the incident and said that investigations were in progress. “The family has lodged a complaint against several doc- Victim doctor Pamposh tors and we are investigating their roles,” he added. Whoever is found responsible for the incident during the probe would be arrested, he said. The body was handed over to the family members after the post-mortem conducted by a three-member medical board to ascertain the cause of death. Kamlesh Rani, the complainant, stated to the police that Pamposh was doing her internship after completing her MBBS at the college. While naming several doctors, including two professors, she alleged that they used to harass her by making casteist slurs due to which she was very disturbed. She alleged that the victim had told her that they used to threaten by saying that they would allow her to complete her MBBS. On the basis of her complaint, the Vallah police registered a case under Section 306 of the IPC (Abetment of suicide) and Section 3 of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. A police official preferring anonymity said the incident came to light when the victim did not respond to the calls of family members for two days. Worried family members came to the hostel and found her hanging from the ceiling. “It was gross negligence on the part of hostel and college authorities that she did not come out of her room for two days and they had not noticed it,” he said. Among those named in the complaint are Dr Bir Davinder Singh, Dr Pratibha, Head of the Department of Gynaecology, Professor Swati, Dr Piyush, Gagandeep Kaur, Prabhnemat, Priyanka, Namisha, Karanbir Singh and Jimmy Steno. Police said investigations were in progress and their roles were being looked into. Start work on multipurpose sports complex: Residents Raise demand after ~258 cr allocated for sports infra in Budget Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 10 After the AAP-led Punjab Government allocated Rs 258 crore for the 2023-24 fiscal for strengthening sports infrastructure and undertaking various initiatives, local residents have raised a demand for developing a multipurpose sports stadium on priority. The project has been hanging fire for over the last 12 years. To be spread over 21 acres of land, the sports complex was proposed to have three cricket grounds, three basketball courts, three tennis courts, two volleyball courts, a hockey ground, a football ground, a synthetic athletics track, skating rinks as well as an indoor sports complex. It will also have sports infrastructure like four badminton, four table tennis, two squash courts, a wrestling and a swimming pool. Balwinder Singh Shammi, a hockey Olympian, said the right kind of sports infra- The land for the proposed sports project at Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar has been hanging fire for the last 12 years. SUNIL KUMAR structure with playing equipment could become a nursery of players. The holy city has produced players in different sports disciplines and availability of infrastructure would prove a nursery for budding players. Similarly, an AstroTurf (an artificial grass surface used for sports fields) inside the hockey ground of Guru Nanak Dev University should be replaced immediately. It was in January 2022 that then Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had become the third dignitary after former Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh to have laid the foundation stone of the proposed multipurpose sports stadium in E-Block of Ranjit Avenue. A brainchild of cricketer- turned politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, former president of the PPCC, the sport complex became a victim of politics. As relations between Sidhu and the Badals soured, the project was not executed. After Sidhu joined the Congress, a ray of hope was rekindled that it would be completed. But soon a tiff started between then CM Capt Amarinder Singh and Sidhu. Hopes dashed again. Work on it never saw the light of day. It was on November 12, 2011, when the then Deputy Chief Minister (Sukhbir) had laid the foundation stone of the sports complex. Later, Capt Amarinder Singh had laid the stone of the complex in 2017. Sohan Singh, a veteran wrestling player, said allocation of Rs 258 crore was 55 per cent more than the previous fiscal. Sports seemed to be a priority with the present dispensation. But at the end of the day it all depended on the implementation of the plan. Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 10 The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has fixed a new date for taking the examination of Class XII that was earlier scheduled for February 24 but was postponed. The Board has also made a partial amendment in the date-sheet for Class XII. According to the revised date-sheet released by the PSEB, the General English exam of Class XII will now be held on March 24 from 2 pm to 5.15 pm. The exam was scheduled to be conducted on February 24 but was postponed due to reported administrative reasons. Now as per the new dates, the compulsory English subject (001) exam postponed to February 24 will be conducted on March 24 at the previously fixed time and examination centres. Farmers remove smart electric Review BRTS: Kunwar to govt meters in Tarn Taran villages Woman held for theft at sister’s house Our Correspondent PSEB Class XII English exam now on March 24 Amritsar, March 10 The Sadar police arrested a woman for allegedly committing theft at her sister’s house on Wednesday. The police have recovered the burgled items from her possession. A case was registered against the suspect, identified as Manpreet Kaur, Patti in Tarn Taran. Balwinder Singh, a resident of Kirpal Colony on 88 foot road, told the police that on Wednesday morning he found pocket of his pant was torn with sharp thing and ~ 1,300 missing. He said he told his wife about this and later they checked their almirah and found Rs 55,400, two gold rings and a gold chain missing. He lodged a complaint with the police. ACP Varinder Singh Khosa said her interrogation led to the recovery of the stolen amount and jewellery. — TNS Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, March 10 The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), Punjab, in its move to remove the pre-paid electric system meters installed in the government institutions of the area, removed these in Ghasitpur and Suba Waring Singh villages here on Friday. The removed electric meters were deposited in the office of the SDO (Powercom) in Khadoor Sahib. Besides, the KMSC warned Powercom officials against entering fields to install such meters in future otherwise teams of Powercom would be gheraoed and would not be allowed to install these prepaid meters with microchip technology. Satnam Singh Manochahal, district president, KMSC, said a group of KMSC members, Leaders of the KMSC hand over electric meters to a Powercom officials in Khadoor Sahib subdivision of Tarn Taran on Friday. led by Iqbal Singh Kang, removed the meters from government school at Ghasitpur and Major Singh headed the team in Suba Waring Singh which removed the electric meters from the government school of the village. Women activists of the KMSC too participated in the protest. Activists of the KMSC held rallies in the villages and called the people to stay united as the government was trying to hand over the work of power generation distribution system to private firms. The leaders said Powercom was a public property and it must be kept under the control of the public. No mention of horticulture institute in Budget leaves farmers disappointed Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 10 As the budget presented in the Assembly today with focus mainly on agriculture and diversification of crops, farmers and educationists rue that the proposed Post Graduate Institute of Horticulture Research and Education (PGIHRE) to be set up in the holy city did not gain attention at all. Hanging fire for over eight years, the research institute also aims at crop diversification and increasing income of farmers. It was in 2015 that a chunk of 100 acres was transferred in the name of Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) at Attari village. Thereafter a significant progress took place over eight months ago when the The site of the proposed postgraduate institute of horticulture research and education on the Amritsar-Attari road. TRIBUNE PHOTO state government had issued a notification to purchase 32 acres of land in Chhiddan village for the PGIHRE project on the Amritsar-Attari road. A progressive farmer, Kuljit Singh, said the budget announced to introduce a new scheme for diversification through flower seed production to be operationalised in the upcoming financial year and setting up of new horticulture estates at Ludhi- ana, Gurdaspur, Patiala, Bathinda and Faridkot. Just like horticulture estates, the PGIHRE institute also aims to scientifically and technically guide farmers to come out of stagnation in farming and diversify crops. Yet it does not find attention among the leaders of the AAP government. This despite the fact that the Central Government would provide entire funding for construction of the buildings, salary of faculty and research works along with other contingencies, which is estimated to be over Rs 1,700 crore in the initial stages. The project is yet to see the light of day. Once operational, the institute would have over 100 horticulture scientists of international fame to carry on continued on page 2 c m y b Amritsar, March 10 In Budget session, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, MLA North, today urged the government to review the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project in the city. He asked to constitute a committee to review the project and listen to residents views regarding the BRTS service. Vijay Pratap Singh said, “The BRTS project is a flop show and the SAD-BJP government had ruined Rs 550 crore on this project. The BRTS lane in the mid of road creates a routine traffic congestion on city roads. As a result, commuters face long traffic jams on a daily basis in the city. The Local Government Minister should tell whether the project is generating any profit.” In reply, Minister for Local Government Inderbeer Singh Nijjar said, “The public transport projects are not meant for the profit.” The project was initiated under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2014. “As compare to BRTS Jaipur and Lucknow, we are doing well. From 37,000 to 42,000 passengers use the metro bus service daily in Amritsar. If we stop the project, 10,000 more vehicles would added to the traffic. Two nabbed for stealing copper wire Aadhi Raat Ke Baadbrings a tale of lawmaker and lawbreaker Amritsar, March 10 The Islamabad police nabbed two person, identified as Subham Kumar of Kot Khalsa and Shiv Kumar of Guru Nanak Pura, for allegedly stealing copper wire from streetlight poles near Guru Nanak Dev University here. Tribune News Service Surinder Singh, JE, streetlight department of the MC said that the MC had installed LED streetlights on the road and on Thursday he found the two stealing copper wire from the streetlight poles. They were overpowered and later handed over to the police. A case was registered against them. — TNS The Bus Rapid Transit System (corridor) in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar, March 10 Punjab Sangeet Natak Academy and Manch Rangmanch Amritsar in collaboration with North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of India, Amandeep Hospital and Virsa Vihar, Amritsar, are hosting the 20th edition of National Theatre Festival at Virsa Vihar. The team from The Laboratory from Haryana today presented a play titled Aadhi Raat Ke Baad, written by Shankar Shesh and directed by Shobhit Mishra. As the title suggests, the play was a story of a thief, who attempts to burglarise a judge’s house and dramatically ends up solving the mystery of a journalist’s murder as he is an eyewitness to it. The time to reach destination will increase. It is a good project. Instead of earning profit, we have to focus on the service. We have to appreciate the work even if it was constructed during the tenure of previous governments. We are planning to implement the BRTS system in other cities too,” Nijjar replied. Artistes enact a scene from the play at Virsa Vihar in Amritsar. The dramedy style narrative was fats paced and tout, as we are introduced to a thief on the run, escaping a builder’s goons. In his attempt to burglarise the judge’s home, he gets caught and surprisingly, the thief wants the judge to hand him over to the police, because he would feel safer in jail. In an interesting on-stage enactment, a lawbreaker and a lawmaker engage in a series of conversations about several issues that seem random but have an obvious relevance.