15092023-ATR-01.qxd 9/15/2023 12:52 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 29°C EDU INSTITUTIONS UNDER CKD TO GET DIGITAL FACELIFT CHAK DE! INDIA ACTOR RIO KAPADIA PASSES AWAY AT 66 JAIDEEP AHLAWAT TO APPEAR IN NETFLIX FILM JAANE JAAN CKD president Dr Inderbir Nijjer said institutions under CKD management will be given a digital facelift. P2 Bollywood actor Rio Kapadia, who played a commentator in Chak De! India, died at 66 on Thursday. P3 Jaideep Ahlawat will be seen essaying the role of Naren in the upcoming Netflix film Jaane Jaan. P4 » » » SUNSET FRIDAY 6.37 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6.14 AM FRIDAY | 15 SEPTEMBER 2023 | AMRITSAR Youth arrested with 510-gm contraband Drone crisis response system proving a boon for rural police Tribune News Service PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 14 The Mattewal police have arrested a youth for allegedly possessing 510-gm heroin. He was identified as Arshdeep Singh of Raipura Kalan village in Jandiala Guru here. The police said a police team was manning a naka near Nibbarwind village. They found a youth coming from Sadhpur village. He said when the cops signalled him to stop, he tried to flee away, but was overpowered and arrested. During search, the police found the contraband from his possession. A case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against him. Amritsar Rural Police Senior Superintendent of Police Satinder Singh said the police were working on forward and backward linkages of the youth to expose the entire nexus. Amritsar, September 14 The Drone Emergency Response System (DERS) launched by Amritsar Border Range police with the help of village defence committees (VDCs) established in the border belt has been proving a boon for the police in nailing drug peddlers using drones for cross-border smuggling. There has been 38 such VDCs in the Amritsar border belt while Gurdaspur and Pathankot has around 30 and 44 such committees, respectively. “Along with VDCs, we have appointed a village police officer for better coordination not only with the police officials but also with the Border Security Force authorities,” said DIG, Border Range, Narinder Bhargav. In the recent past, nearly a dozen drones used in drug peddling were recovered from border belt, resulting in the seizure of contraband trafficked from Pakistan through different modus operandi. School office set afire by miscreants in Tarn Taran Some of the goods burnt in fire in government school at Sarhali. Tarn Taran, September 14 Record and other valuable articles of Government Elementary School (Boys), Sarhali, were gutted as miscreants set on fire the school office on Tuesday night. The miscreants also pasted a poster threatening to eliminate school authorities. The incident occurred on the intervening night of September 12 and 13 and the incident was noticed by the school head and other staff on Wednesday morning when they came to school. In his complaint lodged with the Sarhali police, school head Rashpal Singh stated that the school record, one chair, two keypads and a printer were reduced to ashes in the fire. The miscreants set afire the rear side of the school complex as a result of which one glass was broken with the efforts of the miscreants. The police have registered a case under Sections 435, 427, 436 and 506, IPC. There have allegedly been some misunderstanding between school staff and villagers for the past some time, which could be the reason behind this incident. — OC Week after auto drivers’ stir, MC suspends RAAHI project It was projected as the dream project of CM Bhagwant Mann Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service A drone seized by the Amritsar rural police. FILE PHOTO PAK BOY CROSSES OVER TO INDIA Following a tip-off provided by a village defence committee, Punjab Police have arrested a 14-year-old Pakistan boy from the border village of Dhanoe Khurd here on Thursday. He was taken into custody and further investigations were in progress to ascertain whether he crossed over inadvertently or what was the motive behind his illegal crossover, said DIG Bhargav. Bhargav said in case of a drone sortie, VDC members inform the village police officer who immediately alert the respective police officials, including DSP/SP-rank official. He said information is also passed on to BSF authorities. A considerable time saved as compared to the earlier method of informing the Rlys collects over ~28L fine from ticketless travellers Amritsar, September 14 Northern Railway’s Ferozepur division earned ~28.83 lakh from ticketless passengers in August this year at the railway stations in the district. Besides, people were also fined for littering at the railway stations. To stop the trend of unauthorised travelling in trains, a ticket-checking team of Ferozepur division conducted checking in trains. A total of 28,358 passengers were found travelling without tickets and a fine of ~2.48 crore was recovered from them during checking in trains. The fine collected from passengers travelling without tickets at the local railway station is ~28.83 lakh. Railway officials said the revenue generated from fines was 24 per cent higher than the corresponding period in the previous year. — TNS BSF and thereafter a search operation is carried out and by that time, notorious smugglers decamp with the drone and contraband smuggled. “The info now reaches policemen earlier than got by the BSF The method has resulted . in the recoveries of drones and drugs regularly basis,” he said. Amritsar, September 14 After protests by diesel autorickshaw drivers last week, the municipal corporation, the district administration and traffic police have suspended the RAAHI project without official announcement. The Rejuvenation of Auto Rickshaws in Amritsar through Holistic Intervention (RAAHI), projected as the dream project of CM Bhagwant Mann, has been dropped on the instructions of the ruling Aam Adami Party leadership. The Smart City and Municipal Corporation authorities have been working to implement the RAAHI project for the last one and a half years. A number of fairs, camps and awareness programmes had been conducted throughout There are over 10,000 illegal diesel autos being operated in the holy city. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR the year. After spending a huge amount and human resource, the MC did not get good response from auto drivers, most of who were not willing to buy subsidised e-autos. There are over 10,000 illegal diesel autos being operated in the city. During the last few years, illegal battery-operated e-auto-rickshaws have been the major mode of transportation for city people. These vehicles are not regis- tered with any government agency and there is no data available about e-autorickshaws, commonly known as “battery rickshaw”. According to information, the number of e-autorickshaws would not be less than 10,000. There would be another challenge for the authorities to register ill-designed e-autorickshaws with the Regional Transport Authority. “All diesel auto-rickshaws being plied on city roads are illegal as the National Green Tribunal had imposed a ban on the registration of diesel auto-rickshaws in Amritsar in 2009. These auto-rickshaws are registered from the periphery tehsils and they cannot operate it in the city. But the authorities cannot take any action against these continued on page 2 SARKAR-SANATKAR MILNI Industry concerns raised, CM assures quick redressal PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 14 Basmati rice exporters today urged the Punjab government to raise the issue of restrictions imposed by the Central Government on the export of basmati variety of rice. They were interacting with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal during the Sarkar-Sanatkar Milni here today. Ravinderpal Singh of Lal Qilla Basmati Rice Association expressed his gratitude to CM Mann for banning the use of pesticides on basmati and urged him to direct all Punjab MPs to raise the issue of restrictions imposed by the Central Government on the export of basmati so that it could be easily exported. Industrialist Naval Gupta expressed concern over the safety of entrepreneurs in the absence of CCTV cameras at Focal Points. The Chief Min- CM Bhagwant Mann addresses industrialists in Amritsar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO ister directed to install high mega pixel cameras at 20 places in the next 35 days. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs of Majha lauded the steps taken by the government for the betterment of the industries and bringing about a positive change in the state. Vikramjit Sharma, an entrepreneur who came from Hyderabad and set up an IT company in Bhikhiwind, said that his father was keen to send him abroad, but he took a chance and with the assistance of Punjab government, managed to fulfill his goal. Sandeep Khosla from Amritsar said that the system has been reformed for the first time after the formation of a new government. He said that for 10 years, there was a problem of the Focal Point, which this government has decided to resolve by inviting a tender of Rs 14 crore. On the demand of a fire station by an industrialist Rajesh Kumar Ladi from the old Focal Point, the Chief Minister directed the officials concerned to provide fire vehicles there within this month and said that the construction work of new a fire station will begin from September 20 at a cost of Rs 2.25 crore. Sanjay Gupta, Director, NCML from Singapore, said that Punjab’s agricultural production and policies of the government attracted him and now he is setting up large silos for storage of food grains in Batala and Chheharta. Vijay Sharma from the National Hotel Hub said that due to the policies of the government, he is investing Rs 2,000 crore in the hotel industry. Wave Beverages Sales Officer Harsh Agarwal said that they are expanding the area of plots in Patiala and Amritsar as well as setting up a new plant in Gurdaspur and whatever was required, the officials had completed it within days boosting their morale. Meanwhile, CM Bhagwant Mann accepted the demand of hotel owners of Amritsar Walled City Centre and gave them time for a meeting on September 19. He said that he is committed to the inclusive development of the holy town Expedite work on three more VOA comes to aid of Ward No.9 residents complain SoEs, Bains tells edu officials farm labour in need of poor sanitation, unkempt parks of kidney transplant WARD WATCH Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 14 A day after inaugurating the School of Eminence (SoE), Chheharta, as the first such transformed school, Education Minister Harjot Bains today conducted a series of meetings with school heads, principals of other three schools, that are to be developed as Schools of Eminence. Considering SoE, Chheharta, as model, Principals of SoE Town Hall, Jandiala Guru, and Mall Road, along with the officials of Education Department and administration were briefed on the infrastructural and other upgrades done under Phase II and Phase III of the project. Bains addressed the objectives of the SoEs and directed the officials to ensure that development works are completed within the stipulated time frame. Currently, the civil and repair works are being carried out in SoEs at Jandiala Guru, Town Hall and Mall Road under Phase I and Phase II. According to officials, these three SoEs in Amritsar will be developed at the cost of Rs 10 crore. Each school has a student strength of more than 2,500. The school at Mall Road has previously also been under spotlight when 10 of its students (all girls) were part of the 75 students from across the country, to build components for ISRO’s satellite programme. Vikas Kumar, Principal, SoE, Town Hall, said the Education Minister had directed the officials to oversee the development requirements while teachers and school heads will only focus on teaching. “The highlight of the meetings remained that the focus must on relieving teachers from administrative duties or hassles for the ongoing project, so that teaching is not compromised in schools. Usually, principals have to run around for getting grants, approvals for development, compromising the attention on classroom teaching or related works,” he said. Proposed with “zero vacancies”, the Schools of Eminence will also complete recruitments for teaching, non-teaching posts. “Currently, our school is conducting recruitments for teaching and non-teaching faculty, undergoing building and civil works and soon work on installing routers for Wi-Fi will be completed on campus. SoEs would have 100 per cent teaching strength,” he said. Mall road and Town hall schools are also building dining halls for mid-day meal dining for children, smart play grounds, modular science and computer labs among other upgrades. WARD NO 9 AMRITSAR Charanjit Singh Teja NGO members hands over a cheque to Khazan Singh and his wife. TRIBUNE PHOTO Amritsar, September 14 Even as Palwinder Kaur is ready and her kidney a perfect match for her ailing 38year-old husband Khazan Singh who needs a transplant, arranging finances for the costly surgery remained a big challenge for her until Gurbir Singh, a farmer, approached Voice of Amritsar, a local NGO, for help. The NGO on Thursday presented a cheque for Rs 1.25 lakh to Khazan Singh and his c m y b wife, both of whom are farm labourers and do not have many resources. Lending a helping hand to the distressed couple, Gurbir Singh and his sister have also pooled money for the treatment. “But it was not enough and one of my friends suggested last week that I should contact the VOA. We are happy that the organisation acted so promptly and has donated the money,” said Gurbir Singh, a farmer from Khemkaran. — TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 14 Ward No.9, which comprises Basant Avneue, Race Course Road, Kannedy Avenue, among others, is one of the developed wards in the city. Residents of these posh localities do not face the issues of choked sewer lines and water contamination, but they often complaint about poor sanitation. As compared to other city localities, garbage lifting is quite regular, but heaps of garbage can be seen alongside parks and footpaths. Residents of Basant Avenue area are upset over poor A pile of garbage lies on the roadside at Basant Avenue in Ward No.9 in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR upkeep of parks and footpaths. “The sanitation conditions are not up to mark. The footpaths and streets are filthy in the area. The sanitation workers broom the streets and collect a heap of garbage alongside the park or green belt. The workers of the solid waste management firm collect garbage from every door, but do not pick garbage from streets. The MC should take note of it,” said a resident, Raman. Anil Vinayak, a resident of Basant Avenue, said, “Pet lovers, especially dog owners, spoil morning walks by leaving their pets to defecate in the open on or by the roadside, residential areas, footpaths, near parks, etc. “They don’t care about hygiene and visit parks along with their pets. The sweepers continued on page 2