29032023-ATR-01.qxd 3/29/2023 12:21 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune POLICE MEET HOTELIERS OVER TRAFFIC PROBLEM NETFLIX GETS NOTICE FOR OFFENSIVE REMARKS Netflix has been served a legal notice for using inappropriate language for actress Madhuri Dixit in a show. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 28°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 14°C KAPIL OPENS UP ABOUT HIS BATTLE WITH DEPRESSION The traffic police on Tuesday met shopkeepers on Queens Road to discuss traffic jams. P2 FORECAST Kapil Sharma openly discusses his mental health issues in Kareena Kapoor Khan’s chat show. P4 » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.47 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6.22 AM » WEDNESDAY | 29 MARCH 2023 | AMRITSAR Non-teaching staff of GNDU hold meeting over promotions Amritsar, March 28 The general house meeting of the Non-Teaching Employees Association was held at the GNDU campus here today. Secretary Rajinder Singh said that several issues were discussed in the meeting. He said that for the last two years and four months, the issue of promotion of non-teaching employees is being delayed by the government and the university authorities without any reason. The president of the association, Hardeep Singh Nagra, while addressing the employees, said that the university authorities had been requested to look into the matter of some disagreement between teaching and non-teaching staff to ensure the smooth functioning of the administrative work. Apart from this, Nagra said that they would take up the long pending issue of promotions of non-teaching employees. “The promotions of assistant registrar and programmer are also pending and if any instruction is issued by the government regarding consistency, then it will be acceptable,” he said. — TNS Residents protest over deteriorating law & order situation in Tarn Taran Pension disbursed to over 1.60 lakh beneficiaries Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 28 The district administration has disbursed an amount of ~4.13 crore to 1,60,843 actual beneficiaries of the old aged pension and pensioners of the social security schemes for the month of November last year. Activists of the JPMO raise slogans against the government in Patti on Tuesday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 28 The Joint Platform of Mass Organisations (JPMO) organised a protest in Patti town here on Tuesday. They were protesting against the drugs menace and deteriorating law and order in the area. Besides the farmers, students, women and others participated in the protest. Dharam Singh Patti, Narinder Kaur, Jagir Singh, Harbajan Singh and representatives of various other unions addressed on the occasion. The leaders in their respective address alleged that the government and the administration had totally failed to check the menace. They said addicts indulged in anti-social activities like snatching, looting, thefts, etc, to buy drugs. They said women, sensing a threat from snatchers, hardly stepped out of their houses. While addressing on the occasion, Narinder Kaur, head of the Nari Mukti Morcha, said women were not safe even in their homes as there had been incidents in which robbers entered their homes and decamped with their valuables and the police remained a mute spectator. The leaders alleged not to talk of those living in farmhouses, even people living in busy areas were being targeted by thieves and robbers in rural and urban areas. They urged the administration to check the drug menace and anti-social activities and in case the administration failed to act in this regard, they would intensify their protest. A sum of ~1.79 crore also released for paying pension to the divyangs for the month of February. It was stated by Deputy Commissioner Rishipal Singh here on Tuesday. The DC said pension was disbursed in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries through the online system. The beneficiaries are yet to receive their threemonth pension. The Deputy Commissioner said Rs 16.35 crore had been released for 1,09,097 beneficiaries of the old aged pension to be paid for February month and Rs 4.38 crore for 11,917 beneficiaries of widows and the reliant women categories. Health Dept workers hold pen-downbestrike ‘No contract employees should retrenched’ Members of the Punjab AIDS Control Employees’ Welfare Association submit a charter of demands to the Civil Surgeon in Tarn Taran on Tuesday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 28 Employees working with the AIDS centres observed a one-day pen-down strike here on Tuesday. Through the strike, they were trying to lay stress on fulfilling their current demands. The strike affected the normal functioning like giving medicine to AIDS patients across the district. The strike call was given by the Punjab AIDS Control Employees’ Welfare Association. The agitating employees under the leadership of Harjit Singh, district president of the association, submitted a memorandum to Dr Dilbag Singh, Civil Surgeon, regarding their demands. Harjit Singh said the agitating employees had been demanding that none of the employees working with the Health Department for years should be retrenched, besides not to put a break in the service of the employees in the month of April. The employees had been working on contract in the OST, ICTC, ART and STI Town planning wing exceeds revenue VB books Naib Tehsildar, Patwari target but other MC departments lax for tampering with records Tribune News Service arrest the remaining accused. Disclosing this here, a spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau said a case had been registered against the accused officials and the woman after investigating the case. Giving details, he said during the probe, it came to the fore that the revenue officials in connivance with Harjeet Kaur of Muhava village here had got 79 marlas of land transferred in her name. He further said while transferring the land in the woman’s name, the accused officials allegedly tempered with the revenue records as the owner of the land had died way back in 1959 and executed the transfer of the land on the basis of photocopies of the forged deeds and without ensuring physical presence of the land owners. The spokesperson said in this regard a case under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against all the accused at the VB police station, Amritsar range. Further investigation in this case was in progress, he added. centres attached to the Government Health Centrer. The employees were also working in Blood Banks and being deployed for counselling purpose too. The association was also demanding an increase of 20 per cent in their remuneration as was committed by the government. Besides in the district-level Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran, these centres exist in Patti, Chabal, Khadoor Sahib and other hospitals of the department where the normal working was affected. Illegal building sealed in city Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 28 Taking a tough stand against unauthorised construction and encouragements, the Municipal Corporation today took action against an illegal building and removed encroachments. The MTP wing of the Municipal Corporation sealed an under-construction building being built without getting an approval. The building was being reconstructed in the residential area of Basant Avenue. The MC officials found that the house line was also being violated during construction. A continued on page 2 Amritsar, March 28 Except for the Municipal Town Planning (MTP) wing, all the MC departments are far from achieving their revenue targets. The financial year 2022-23 is going to end on March 31. Though senior MC officials had issued instructions to all the department heads to achieve their respective targets, not much was witnessed in most cases. As per the information, except for the MTP department, all others are proving to be lax in achieving the target. The MC had set a target of recovering Rs 2.50 crore for the tehbazari and street vending wing from the Estate Department. Of this, the department has recovered only Rs 80 lakh. The Estate Department has recovered only Rs 1.20 crore against the target of Rs 10 crore from the sale of MC properties. In the licence branch, the target was to recover Rs 90 lakh but the department has achieved only Rs 55 lakh. The MC had targeted to earn Rs 2.5 crore from the rented properties but achieved only Rs 90 lakh. The Health Department was given a target of Rs 2 crore Two nabbed with 11 stolen motorcycles Start survey to identify illegal Farmers’ body criticises govt for slashing buildings: MC Commissioner per person quota of wheat under PDS Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 28 The city police nabbed two persons and recovered 11 motorcycles from their processions here on Tuesday. The accused have been identified as Sarup, alias Roop, a resident of Chuchakwala here, and Lovepreet Singh alias Love, a resident of Wariah village in Bhindian Saida area of the district. The Amritsar Commissionerate Police has launched a special campaign against vehicle thieves and special nakas are being set up. On the directions of Prabhjot Singh Virk, ADCP-2, and Varinder Singh Khosa, ACP (North), SHO Jaspal Singh at Ranjit Avenue along with police team comprising ASI Harpreet Singh installed a naka in front of Beant Park. During the checking, accused Sarup Singh and Lovepreet Singh were arrested along with stolen motorcycles. A case under Sections of continued on page 2 for the recovery of conservancy charges but the department has been able to recover only Rs 80 lakh. The property tax department was earlier given a target of recovering Rs 36 crore but only Rs 31 crore has been recovered. MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi had increased the target of property tax to Rs 50 crore but the property tax wing is far away from achieving the target and is expecting to recover just Rs 35 crore till the end of fiscal. The MTP department has collected Rs 42 crore by meeting the target of Rs 31 crore. The Water Sup- ply and Sewerage Department has also crossed the target of Rs 8.50 crore and collected Rs 10.50 crore. On the other hand, the advertising department was given a target of Rs 10 crore. Out of this, Rs 9 crore has been recovered. “The budget for 2023-24 will be presented after the municipal elections. The MC has to increase its revenue to fulfill the demands of residents and for payment of salaries and pension to its staff. For better services, the MC needed more funds which would come from taxes, bills, fee and rent,” said a former councillor. Says violation of the building bye-laws to invite action Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 28 Municipal Commissioner Sandeep Rishi has issued a letter to the Town Planning wing asking them to conduct a survey and compile data on all illegal buildings and handed-over colonies. As per the information, thousands of commercial buildings have been constructed without CLU (Change of land use) in residential localities within the municipal limits. The MC has 87 localities developed under Town Planning schemes and 30 have been handed over by other agencies to the MC. Commercial businesses are being run illegally in residential buildings but the Municipal Town Planning (MTP) wing has no check on the practice. Now, the MC Commissioner has issued instructions to prepare data for taking action against the violators. After getting the data on ille- gal buildings, the MC will ask the residents to pay the fee for CLU to get the buildings regularised. Where the CLU cannot be issued as per the rules, sealing or demolition of the structure will be done. It is worth mentioning here that a large number of hotels and other commercial ventures are being constructed in residential areas and other posh localities of the city. Inderbir Singh Nijjar, Punjab Minister for Local Bodies, is believed to have issued instructions to the Municipal Commissioner, ADC (Urban Development) and Estate Department officials to take strict action on violation of building bye-laws. There are some roads in the city where the MC issues the CLU by paying the fee but there are several localities where the CLU can’t be issued, still residents convert their houses into commercial establishments. MC Commissioner Rishi has requested the residents to stop violating the byelaws in Town Planning scheme areas on their own failing which the MC will take action. c m y b Amritsar, March 28 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Tuesday registered a criminal case against Amarjit Singh, Naib Tehsildar, Sub Tehsil, Attari, Balwinderjit Singh, Patwari, and a woman for misusing their official positions and tampering with revenue record to give undue benefit to the woman during the transfer of land in her name. In the case, Balwinderjit Singh Patwari, now Kanungo, Revenue Halqua, Neshta, Amritsar, was arrested and teams had been formed to Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 28 The Jamhoori Kisan Sabha (JKS) has criticised the state government for slashing per person quota of wheat given to poor people under public distribution system. The sabha has asked the government to provide sufficient wheat to the poor families. Addressing a gathering of the workers here, Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala, state president of the JKS, said that as per requirements of nutrition, a hardworking person requires at least 400 gm of wheat daily. “With this standard, the total per person consumption of PDS beneficiaries considering that they are poor and have to do manual labour to earn their livelihood, they require 12 kg of wheat every month,” he said. He argued that recently the beneficiaries of the scheme were getting five kilograms of wheat per person but the Members of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha address mediapersons in Amritsar on Tuesday. government had reduced the per person allocation of the beneficiary families by 28 per cent. “With the reduced allocation, now a family from poor set up is getting only 3.6 kilograms of wheat which is insufficient as per their dietary requirements,” said Dr Ajnala. He further added that considering the high inflation rate, the government should also consider providing more kitchen items under the PDS system. “All this was not required if the labourers were getting fair wages and adequate working hours. However, as the government has failed to provide any of these conditions whereby a person can earn his or her livelihood in a honest way, a government which claims to be pursuing socialist values needs to provide for its people,” he said. The government is pursuing pro corporate policies in which a common human being is merely a human resource which can be exploited merely to increase profits, he added. “For the corporate, a human being is just a resource, like another raw material which he exploits to produce a product and to maximise his profits. A government which claims itself to be working for the masses must act in the interest of the masses,” he said.