28082023-ATR-01.qxd 8/28/2023 12:53 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY ADMN WARNS RESIDENTS AGAINST SPREAD OF DENGUE HOLLYWOOD TAKES NOTE OF THE SUCCESS OF GADAR 2 CELEBS SHARE HOW THEY KEEP IN HIGH SPIRITS IN TAXING SCHEDULES People should cooperate with administration to control the spread of dengue and chikungunya, says DC. P2 Just out of success of his Gadar 2, Sunny Deol is grabbing headlines. The beeline at his office has started again. P3 Everyone’s mood depends on a number of factors from given situation, weather or theme of the day. P4 » » » MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET MONDAY 7.00 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:03 AM MONDAY | 28 AUGUST 2023 | AMRITSAR Several MC departments yet to meet recovery targets Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 27 Despite efforts by senior officials, there has been no significant increase in revenue of the municipal corporation (MC) during the first five months of the current fiscal. Several income generating departments of the MC are lagging behind in recovery targets. The property tax wing, water supply sewerage wing, advertisement wing, licensing branch, slaughter house section and land department are the major revenue generators of the civic body. The property tax is the biggest source of revenue for the corporation. The target of the Property Tax Department for the current financial year has been fixed at Rs 50 crore. The department has collected Rs 10.21 crore as only 43,600 tax-payers have paid the current and pending dues from April 1 till date. A few months ago, the MC ANNUAL TARGETS AND COLLECTION ■ The Property Tax Department ■ The advertisement wing’s target has collected ~10.21 crore against the current fiscal target of ~50 crore. ■ The water supply and sewerage wing has collected ~3.82 crore against its target of ~14.50 crore. is ~12 crore but it has collected only ~5.17 crore till date. ■ The annual budget of the licensing branch is ~4.50 crore and its collection is only ~68.15 lakh so far. employees had attended a meeting of the senior officials of the Local Bodies Department in which the former were asked to increase their sources of revenue. The MC officials started collecting property tax in May. The department has started sealing the properties of tax defaulters. The annual revenue target Official apathy of the water supply and sewerage wing is Rs 14.50 crore. The department has collected Rs 3.82 crore so far. The department started disconnecting water and sewer connections of defaulting taxpayers in August. The annual target of the corporation’s advertisement wing is Rs 12 crore but officials have collected only 5.17 crore till date. It is alleged that officials can collect more revenue from advertisers but efforts are not made in the right direction. The same is the case with the licensing branch. The annual budget of the branch is Rs 4.50 crore but officials have collected only Rs 68.15 lakh so far. “The MC is able to disburse only salaries and pensions to its employees from the existing revenue sources. Such sources should be enhanced for the development of the city. Efforts should be made to increase the revenue,” an MC official said. Four bike-borne persons assault, rob man, wife Amritsar, August 27 Four unidentified persons assaulted a couple and robbed them of an expensive mobile phone and purse near Muradpura village falling under the Kamboh police station here on Friday night. The couple was returning home after finishing their work in Amritsar when the incident took place. The complainant, Amarpreet Singh of Cambridge City, located on the Muradpura road in Kamboh, told the police that his wife Arwinderpreet Kaur works as an accountant in a factory located on the Batala road while he runs a grocery store in the Dal Mandi area. He said on Friday night, when they were returning home, four bike-borne persons came from Muradpura village side and stopped them. He said one of suspects, who was wearing a ‘punch’ on his hand, hit him on the face and head leaving him injured. They snatched purse of his wife containing Oneplus mobile phone, documents and cash. The police have registered a case and started probe. — TNS Garbage lifting stalled in city as compactor vehicles lying defunct Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 27 More than 10 refuse compactor vehicles of the solid waste management company are lying defunct. This has affected lifting of door-todoor garbage in the city. In the absence of required number of refuse compactor vehicles, the solid waste management firm is unable to dump garbage at Bhagtanwala dumping ground. According to information, only 10 compactor vehicles of the company are now functional. Due to this, garbage is not lifted from 65 small and 20 large bins regularly. In a make shift arrangement, the garbage is being dumped at Gumanpura workshop and a secondary point on the Jhabaal road instead of Bhagtanwala dumping ground. Though the garbage from Gumanpura workshop has been lifted during the past few days but more than 800 tonnes of waste is still lying at the secondary point on the Jhabaal road. With the coming up of new dumping A mini garbage collection compactor vehicle in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO grounds, residents of the areas have started complaining about stink and fear outbreak of diseases. Small vehicles do not visit homes for regular door-todoor garbage collection. The residents have complained that workers of the firm do not lift garbage from their localities twice a week. Out of 270 small vehicles, more than 50 are not functional.When contacted, company officials said, “We have paid for four new compactors this year. These vehicles will Birthday party row: Family members of suspects booked with gangster seek justice, impartial probe Tribune News Service A company has dug up a pit for laying gas pipeline at White Avenue (Bank Colony) in Amritsar. Filled with mud, the pit is yet to be recarpeted by the firm. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR ETOreviews preparations for mela Amritsar, August 27 Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO held a meeting with the MLAs and party workers to review the preparations for the state-level event to be held on the occasion of Rakhar Punya at the historic Baba Bakala Sahib. Speaking on the occasion, the minister said the state-level event would be held on August 31 at the Government ITI in which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann would also participate. ETO said many Cabinet Ministers and MLAs would attend the function. He said arrangements for the event had already started and all roads leading to the historical place were being repaired. be delivered in September. We will start repairing defunct compactors by midSeptember. However, we have invested in construction and demolition waste (C&T) equipment in anticipation of increase in tipping fee by the municipal corporation.” The officials claimed that the MC was not increasing their tipping fee which had financially burdened the company. “The garbage from Gumanpura workshop has been completely removed,” said a worker of the waste management firm. He said in view of the huge footfall of devotees during the event, arrangements for parking, medical assistance and clean drinking water were also being made. MLAs Dalbir Singh Tong, Jeevanjot Kaur, Manjinder Singh Lalpura, Sarwan Singh Dhun and others were also present at the meeting. — TNS Amritsar, August 27 The family members of the suspects booked along with alleged gangster Kamal Kumar Bori in wrongful confinement and Arms Act case today demanded justice. They alleged that the police acted in desperate manner without verifying the facts. Among those booked include Jeevan, alias Sham, who is suffering from paralysis and is bedridden for the past four months. Remaining suspects are daily wagers and auto-rickshaw drivers. Led by RTI activist Varun Sareen, the family members of eight ‘suspects’ urged the senior police authorities to do justice to them. Sareen alleged that the complainant in the FIR, Vinod Kumar Samra, wanted to grab three acres where the poor families had been residing for decades. The land belonged to the Cantonment Board and Samra did not have any documents to claim the property, Sareen alleged. Family members of suspects booked in wrongful confinement case in Amritsar on Sunday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR He alleged that earlier too, there were similar attempts and a false FIR was registered in 2015. But the case was cancelled after an ACPrank official investigated it. He alleged that their names were included in the FIR only to uproot poor families from their houses. Around 15 families are living on the land for past five decades. Sareen said there were reports of dissolving the Cantonment Boards in the country following which the land in question would come under the municipal corporation and its price would go up considerably. Besides Bori and Jeevan, the police had booked Sun- ny, Kalu, both sons of Jeevan, and Mannu, Ajay, Shamsher and Vicky under Sections 342 (wrongful confinement), 506, 148, 149 of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act. The family members urged Police Commissioner Naunihal Singh and senior officials for impartial probe and to provide justice to them. They said, “We have nothing to do with the dispute between Samra and Kamal Bori.” Abhimanyu Rana, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, said the case was still under investigation. Meanwhile, the police got two-day police remand of Kamal Bori and further probe was under way. The police did not take action against Bori under the influence of a senior official, who was also under scanner, but investigation in several pending complaints against the alleged gangster had already been initiated. A few days ago, a video of cops partying with Kamal Bori went viral on social media. Bori has over 15 criminal cases registered against him. Following this, the Punjab Police shifted five inspectors seen in the video to Malerkotla and Mansa while two DSPs were transferred yesterday. An ADCP-rank officer Harjit Singh Dhaliwal was also under scanner for attending the function. Potholed Vallah road gives bumpy ride to commuters YouthshotdeadatshopinJandialaGuru Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 27 The road leading from Vallah to Ranjit Avenue bypass is teeming with potholes. The construction of a flyover on the road is underway. Heavy traffic jams are witnessed on the road throughout the day. After recent rains, the size of potholes increased significantly and became a hurdle in the smooth movement of the traffic. The potholes are filled with water used for the construction of the concrete pillars. The two-wheeler riders suffer the most. They often lose balance and meet with accidents every day as they are unable to gauge waterfilled potholes. Ironically, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the district administration have shown no concern over the poor condition of the road and inconvenience faced by commuters. Several educational institutes and hospitals are located on the Vallah road. Thousands of residents visit these institutes and hospitals every day. They often get stuck in long traffic jams on the potholed road. Randhir Sharma, a resident of the bypass road said, “A car occupant was injured in an accident due to the negligence of the authorities concerned at Daburji a few months ago. The same negligence can be seen at the Vallah chowk, where potholes have emerged on the road after starting of the construction work. The author- Tribune News Service SECOND MURDER IN 10 DAYS Vehicles pass through slush on the Vallah road leading to Ranjit Avenue bypass. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR ities are not concerned about the present situation. In case of an accident or loss of life, the NHAI should be held responsible.” “During the ongoing con- struction of the flyover traffic is diverted to alternate routes. The commuters face inconvenience as it takes 30 minutes for them to cross a small stretch. The same road c m y b links the entire Punjab with the international airport at Rajasansi. The administration should intervene and asked the NHAI to recarpet the Vallah road,” he said. Amritsar, August 27 A man was shot dead at a barber shop in the Jandiala Guru area here last night. The two armed shooters were already present at the shop when the deceased, identified as Ravi, arrived there. The police officials, including Satinder Singh, SSP Amritsar (Rural), reached the spot and started investigation after registering an FIR on the statement of victim’s father Balwinder Singh of Nathuana Gate in Jandiala Guru. The police are scanning the footage of the CCTV cameras installed in the area to find clues about the perpetrators of the crime. The police are working on On August 18, a man identified as Ram Sharan of Jandiala Guru was shot dead by armed assailants in a similar way. Sharan and his three-year-old daughter had returned after meeting his brother. When the victim was coming out of his car outside his residence, the suspects shot him. different theories, including drug peddling, behind the incident. Balwinder told the police that he works as plumber at the Ghah Mandi chowk. Balwinder said on returning home around 8.30 pm yesterday, he found the house locked. He went to barber’s shop for taking keys from his son who was present there. Balwinder said as he called his son, two unknown persons who were at the shop took out pistol and shot him. They fled on a bike after committing the crime. Balwinder said he and another person rushed his son to Manawala hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. The police have registered a case under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act against unidentified shooters. On August 18, a man identified as Ram Sharan of Jandiala Guru was shot dead by armed assailants in a similar way. Sharan and his three-year-old daughter had returned after meeting his brother. When the victim was coming out of his car outside his residence the suspects shot him.