28042023-ATR-01.qxd 4/28/2023 12:07 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLOUDY CIVIC BODY CRACKS WHIP ON ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONS SARA ALI KHAN TRAVELS BY METRO IN MUMBAI CHARRUL MALIK CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY WITH CLOSE ONES On MC Commissioner’s orders, MTP wing demolished and sealed 10 illegal under-construction buildings. P2 Taking to Instagram, actress Sara Ali Khan dropped a video, which shows her seated in the Metro. P3 MAX 35°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 21°C Charrul Malik, who is seen in Bhabi ji Ghar Par Hai, says she never gives aging too much importance. P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 7.08 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:47 AM » FRIDAY | 28 APRIL 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF MAN ROBBED OF ~6,000 CASH Amritsar: Two unidentified persons detained a watchman and decamped with Rs 6,000 from him. Dheeraj Kumar, the victim, told the police that he was working as watchman at an under-construction house in the Greenfield area. He said on Wednesday in the wee hours two unidentified persons came tied his hands and legs and took money from his pocket. The police have registered a case in this regard. TNS ONE ARRESTED UNDER NDPS ACT Amritsar: The Ghainda police in Amritsar rural police district nabbed Jagdeep Singh of Rangarh village for allegedly possessing 100-gm heroin. ASI Harjinder Singh, investigating officer, said Jagdeep was arrested from near shrine Peer Baba Dalam Shah where police have put up a naka. During search, the police recovered the contraband. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against him. TNS BIKE SNATCHED AT GUNPOINT Amritsar: Two unidentified persons detained a watchman and decamped with Rs 6,000 from him. Dheeraj Kumar, the victim, told the police that he was working as watchman at an under-construction house in the Greenfield area. He said on Wednesday in the wee hours two unidentified persons came tied his hands and legs and took money from his pocket. The police have registered a case in this regard. TNS MOBILE SNATCHED FROM MIGRANT Amritsar: Four unidentified persons snatched a mobile from a migrant, identified as Panna Lal, a resident of Jaspal Nagar in Vallah. In his complaint to the police, he alleged that four unidentified persons intercepted and snatched his mobile in the Maqboolpura area. The police have registered a case. TNS Agri Dept reports no yield dip in standing wheat crop Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 27 Contrary to initial fears of a drastic drop in wheat yield this season due to unfavourable weather conditions, the Agriculture Department has reported an average yield of 20 to 22 quintals per acre. However, this has been reported for the fields where crop was not flattened by the rain or hailstorm. The department, however, has reported losses from 25 per cent to 100 per cent in fields where crop had partially or completely flattened. “Approximately 65 per cent of the wheat fields have been harvested so far. We are not sure how much is the overall drop in the district as it would be clear only after the harvesting process is complete,” said Chief Agriculture Officer Jatinder Singh Gill. He said earlier it was feared that the yield in all fields would decrease irrespective The victim, husband had urged accused not to water plants Tribune News Service of the fact that they had flattened or not due to unusual temperature rise in February this year. “The temperature in February this year was too high and more than normal, which caused widespread panic. However, as the weather conditions improved in March, it helped wheat grains gain weight,” he said. Meanwhile, a total of 4.33 lakh metric tonnes of wheat has reached the markets in the district so far. District Mandi officials said the harvesting process would be complete in the next few days as it is going at a fast pace. As per the figures available with the District Mandi Board, a total of 6.5 lakh metric tonnes of wheat crop was procured in the district in the last year. The officials stated that they expect almost same quantity of produce would arrive in the markets this year too. Amritsar, April 27 A woman, identified as Rani, died during a dispute over watering vegetable crop in the house here. The incident occurred on late Tuesday evening at Nave Naag village falling under the Majitha police station here. The police have booked two persons, identified as Amar Singh and Malkeet Singh, of the same village on murder charge. Besides, no arrest has been made in this connection. Satnam Singh, husband of the victim and complainant in the case, told the police that Amar Singh and his son Malkeet Singh, who live in the neighbouring house, Teething trouble for waste-to-energy power plant at Bhagtanwala dump Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News service Amritsar, April 27 The proposal for setting up a ‘waste-to-energy’ power plant at the Bhagtanwala dump is hanging fire due to a property dispute and failure of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to issue a non-objection certificate (NOC) to the power regulatory commission. Averda, the solid waste management company hired by MC, has proposed to set up a 10 MW plant to process the 5,000 metric tonnes of garbage daily. At present, work on finalising the power tariff is in the negotiating stage. The company was supposed to set up the waste-to-energy power plant within two years but delayed the project by more than three years. Company officials said that they need 25 A heap of garbage at Bhagtanwala dump in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO acres for proper functioning of the plant. As per the proposal, after cleaning of six acres, the company was supposed to start construction on the land but now its officials claim that they need a 25-acre chunk before starting the construction. Apart from the power plant, the com- Traffic rule violations add to difficulties on city roads pany needs land for pre-processing of garbage, storage of fuel, scientific land-filling and ash. Dispute over some portion of the Bhagtanwala dump land is pending in the High Court as a local farmer claimed that the MC occupied his land and filled it with garbage. Firing in Tarn Taran village, 18 booked Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 27 Even as the local administration has taken a number of steps to streamline the traffic in the city, including installation of new traffic signals near the petrol pump on stretch from SSSS Chowk to Hussainpura Chowk, the drivers are not bothered to follow the rules especially if a traffic cop is not in sight. The intersection faced chaos all through the day before the traffic signals were installed. For a few days after the signals were installed, the flow of traffic at the place eased. However presently, when the traffic cops are not around it becomes free for all as drivers do not care about their turn and flout the signals without any fear of the law. While the local police have initiated a number of steps and a lot of experiments are being conducted to find the perfect routes to avoid traffic congestion on the roads, the lack of participation on the part of the local residents is disheartening. “The city traffic was in complete chaos before the G20 Quarrel over watering plants turns deadly, woman dies Averda officials said the PSPCL did not issue NOC to the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) to fix the power tariff rate. After the PSERC fixes the tariff rate, the purchase agreement will be signed between the Municipal Corporation and the PSPCL. The company will spend Rs 287 crore to set up the plant and it will be completed within two years. “We needed 25 acres of land and clearance from the departments concerned. The MC sent a reminder to the PSPCL to issue an NOC to the PSERC. After getting the NOC, the PSERC will fix the tariff rate and an agreement will be signed to get the power supply. We hope that the process will be completed within a few months,” said a senior company official from Averda. VICTIM FELL OVER AFTER BEING PUSHED ■ The omplainant told the police ■ Around 7pm on Tuesday, the relling with them. He said they pushed his wife Rani on the ground causing an injury in one hand. Soon after Rani fell unconscious. She was immediately rushed to the village hospital, which referred her to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. However, she succumbed on her way to the hospital in the night. On Satnam Singh’s complaint, the police registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against the father-son duo and raids were on to nab them, said the police, adding that the body was handed over to the family after a postmortem. The police said they were waiting for the postmortem examination report to ascertain the cause of death. that Amar Singh and his son Malkeet Singh, who live in the neighbouring house, had cultivated vegetables next to the wall of their house. This led to seepage in the walls whenever they watered the vegetables. ■ He said they had brought this matter to their notice a number of times, besides urging not to water vegetable plants. But all their pleas fell on deaf ears. duo came to their house and started quarrelling with them. He said they pushed his wife Rani on the ground causing an injury in one hand. Soon after Rani fell unconscious. She was immediately rushed to the village hospital, which referred her to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. However, she succumbed on her way to the hospital in the night. had cultivated vegetables next to the wall of their house. This led to seepage in the walls whenever they watered the vegetables. He said they had brought this matter to their notice a number of times, besides urging not to water vegetable plants. But all their pleas fell on deaf ears, he said. The complainant said on Tuesday he along with his wife had again brought the problem to their notice and returned to their house. He said around 7pm on Tuesday, the duo came to their house and started quar- Man loses Thar to miscreants, case filed Farmer uses surface seeding technology to boost wheat yield Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 27 Some unknown persons snatched a Thar from a person in New Amritsar area here on Thursday afternoon. The accused also decamped with the victim’s licensed weapon, it is learnt. The victim, Anil Kumar of Fatehgarh Churian Road, had gone to New Amritsar for some work when some the miscreants intercepted him and allegedly snatched his SUV at gunpoint. He raised an alarm and alerted the police on control room. Amolakdeep Singh, SHO, Maqboolpura police station, said following the statement of the victim, the police have registered a case under section 379-B, IPC, and under the Arms Act against several suspects. — TNS Amritsar, April 27 A progressive farmer from Kalas village of Tarn Taran district has got a record yield of 26.30 quintal per acre using the surface seeding technique of wheat. The farmer Gurdev Singh said that he had set up a demonstration plant of wheat crop under an Agriculture Department scheme in which he broadcast the seeds and fertilisers without burning the paddy residue. “The seeds were put in while the paddy stubble was still there. Later, we cut the paddy stubble using a cutter and spread the residue in the field itself,” he said, adding that the mulching of wheat crop with paddy residue helped in retaining moisture and decrease in the growth of weeds. Agriculture Department offi- Farmer Gurdev Singh from Kalas village in Tarn Taran. cials stated that the farmer did not have to use any weedicide to control weeds as the mulching took care of it. The officials stated that surface seeding is a technique with which farmers can decrease their input cost and get more yield. — TNS Coaching centre for slum children gets new building, health facilities Ravi Dhaliwal Motorists can be seen jumping the red light in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR Summit held in the city. However, the efforts made by the administration during the international conclave and how these manage to remove traffic bottlenecks had given hope that the situation could be improved,” said Ravinder Singh, a local resident. “We all know how the driving licenses have been issued. Nobody in the past had to undergo the training or the tests. In such a situation, it would be beneficial in the long run if the violators are made to undergo a mandatory session to teach them traffic norms,” said another resident Kuljit Singh. ADCP Amandeep Kaur said, “No violation of traffic norms will be tolerated. Traffic cops have asked to penalise all violators. The strength of cops in the field too have been increased to nab violators.” She added that the residents too have a duty to abide by the traffic laws. Tarn Taran, April 27 An argument between two groups of students taking IELTS coaching at a centre took an unexpected turn when one of the groups opened firing on the other at Jeobal village here on Tuesday. However, no casualty was reported. Eve teasing is said to be the reason behind the incident. ASI Baljinder Singh, posted at the Sadar police (Tarn Taran), said a few days ago a verbal duel took place between Sukhmanpreet Singh of Bakipura and Ramandeep Singh of Tarn Taran near the IELTS centre over eve teasing. Sukhmanpreet Singh brought it to the notice of his uncle Rachhpal Singh of Jeobal. Meanwhile, Ramandeep Singh contacted Navraj Singh of the same village to resolve the matter. Navraj Singh contacted Rachhpal Singh on his mobile phone and asked to meet him at the village. Some armed persons appeared on continued on page 2 c m y b Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, April 27 Romesh Mahajan, Secretary of the Gurdaspur District Child Welfare Council, was running a philanthropic initiative in the form of teaching children of beggars in a ramshackle tent for the last six years at Ram Nagar. However, with more and more parents wanting to ensure their kids get a decent educational base, Mahajan was virtually forced to construct a new building at a cost of Rs 35 lakh where he can impart the basics of school education to these children of the less privileged. The new building was inaugurated today at Mann Kaur village by Deputy Commissioner Dr Himanshu Aggarwal. ADC (General) Dr Nidhi Kumud Bambah, too, was present. The location is ideal as it is on the outskirts of the city and is surrounded by slums. It is these slum dwellers which send their wards to taste the fruits of education. Minutes after inaugurating the venture, DC Aggarwal said, “Every educated person may not be rich but almost ADC (General) Dr Nidhi Kukud Bambah along with children at Mann Kaur village in Gurdaspur. every educated person has a way out of poverty. Hence, in my opinion, education is a fundamental solution to poverty. Quality education grants us the ability to fight a war on ignorance and poverty.” Right now, 50 odd students arrive at 11 am and continue their studies till 5 pm. The new structure comprises four rooms, a hall and a kitchen. Ashu Attri and Manjit Kaur are the two teachers who slug it out till evening just to make certain that for these children there is no wealth like education and no poverty like ignorance. Mahajan says the ‘old tented school’ was getting smaller and smaller with every passing day as more and more parents started opting for education for their wards. “Hence, I had to construct a new building. Once the youngsters acquire proficiency in basic education like reading, writing and recitation, we shift them to nearby gov- ernment schools. The project is run on a no-profit basis. A majority of the kids are anaemic when they arrive. Hence, we have roped in doctors of the Civil Hospital to deal with this disease. I started this venture secure in the knowledge that literacy is a bridge between hope and misery. The rich have the resources to teach their kids, but who will teach the kids of beggars and ragpickers? Somebody had to take the initiative,” he said.