27092023-ATR-01.qxd 9/27/2023 1:02 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR NGO EQUIPS 10 GOVT SCHOOLS WITH WATER PURIFIERS, COOLERS BOBBY DEOL’S ‘BLOODIED’ LOOK AS FEROCIOUS ANTAGONIST REVEALED TELEVISION HAS MANY BIG STARS BUT FEW GOOD ACTORS: SUMBUL Students have received help from a NGO with their schools being equipped with water purifiers and coolers. P2 The makers of the upcoming film Animal have shared poster featuring a “bloodied” look of actor Bobby Deol. P3 Sumbul Touqeer Khan is coming back as a lead in Sony TV’s show Kavya - Ek Jazbaa, Ek Junoon. P4 » » MAX 33°C | MIN 22°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 22°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.21 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:21 AM » WEDNESDAY | 27 SEPTEMBER 2023 | AMRITSAR Ex-HSGMCchiefappeals to Shah to hold SGPC General House elections Surprise checking at anganwadi centres, schools Tarn Taran, September 26 In a surprise visit to government schools and anganwadi centres on Tuesday, member of the Punjab State Food Commission (PSFC), Vijay Dutt, took serious note of the fact that most of them had not mentioned the helpline number to help the beneficiaries in case of any complaint. The PSFC member visited the schools and anganwadi centres at Pakhoke and Bagrian villages. Dutt instructed schools to ensure physical check-up of children and mid-day meal workers. He also checked records of schools and Anganwadi centres. He laid stress on sanitation and quality of food served to children. Dutt instructed that the helpline No. 9876764545 be displayed in schools and anganwadi centres in case anyone needs to approach the PSFC. He also enquired about the quality of meals from children. — OC Survey conducted to install electric vehicle charging stations Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 26 A team from Adani Total Energy Company conducted a survey in the city to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The EV charging stations wouuld soon be installed at major places to charge e-autos. Under the Rejuvenation of Auto-Rickshaws in Amritsar through Holistic Intervention (RAAHI) scheme of Amritsar Smart City, the municipal corporation (MC) was offering a subsidy of Rs 1.40 lakh on the replacement of old diesel autos with e-autos. The installation of EV charging stations is also part of the e-auto project under RAAHI. The MC authorities had promised to instal charging stations in the city. A work order has been given to instal a charging station to Adani Total Energy Company in this regard. A spokesperson of the company said they had got an opportunity to install charging stations. He said firm would build these stations as soon as possible, which would benefit EV drivers and city residents as well. Two-wheelers and four-wheelers would be charged at these EV stations. Rahul, CEO of Amritsar Smart City and Municipal Commissioner, said there was a demand for e-auto charging stations from drivers. There continued on page 2 Tribune News Service (From left): Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann welcomes Union Home Minister Amit Shah; Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar during the 31st meeting of the Northern Zonal Council; and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu pays obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTOS Traditional welcome given to dignitaries at meeting of Northern Zonal Council Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 26 Dignitaries were accorded a warm welcome on their arrival at the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) meet here today. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Ministers of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwari Lal Purohit and Lieutenant Governors of Jammu Kashmir, Ladakh and Delhi attended the event. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, his Cabinet colleagues and senior officials of the administration welcomed the dignitaries. The visitors were honoured with robes in a traditional style by cultural ambassadors from the state dressed in colourful traditional attire. Many dignitaries, including the Punjab Governor , visited the Golden Temple to pay obeisance. Speaking on the occasion, Purohit said he always yearned to visit the holy shrine and could not give it a miss, especially when he was in city. Senior officials of the district administration said it was an opportunity for Punjab to showcase its rich culture and traditional heritage. Longroutestoreachdestination,trafficsnarlsirkcommuters Amritsar, September 26 Despite traffic management plan keeping in view the visit of dignitaries for attending the Northern Zonal Council’s meeting, commuters complained of traffic hassles here today. They were irked over taking long routes and getting stranded in traffic jams for hours together before reaching their destination. The impact was more perceptible in areas where there was movement of dignitaries. For instance on the Circular road, the venue of the Northern Zonal Council meeting and on routes to the Golden Cops stop motorists from going near venue of the Northern Zonal Council meeting in Amritsar. SUNIL KUMAR temple and Gobindgarh Fort. A city resident Lalit Sachdeva said he had to wait for one hour before the opening of the barricade for traffic on the Circular road. Sachdeva said he had gone for a medical check-up of one of his family members at a nearby clinic. However, it took him hours to commute on a stretch of a road which otherwise takes only 10 minutes. Another city resident Harpreet Singh said the route from Hall Gate to the Golden Temple was closed throughout the day. He said the police conducted a dry run for the traffic plan. Similar was the situation on roads around Gobindgarh Fort and the bypass road heading from Gumtala Chowk to Fatehgarh Churriyan intersection where VVIP movement was maximum. The police said the traffic route plan was made public two days in advance to intimate commuters. The police said if residents had commuted on roads as per the given plan, they would not have got stranded in traffic jams for long hours. — TNS Amritsar, September 26 Former Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) president Baljit Singh Daduwal has appealed to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to hold General House elections of the Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) as soon as possible as these had been delayed for several years. The Union minister was in the city to attend the 31st meeting of the Northern Zonal Council. Addressing mediapersons here on Tuesday, Daduwal said the SGPC election was held over a decade ago. He said as per the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, the elections were to be held after a gap of five years. He said it was high time that the Centre must intervene and conduct the elections for the Sikh religious body. After the Punjab Vigilance Bureau issued a lookout notice against former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal in a corruption case, Daduwal expressed his astonishment on his going underground. Daduwal recalled that he was the same leader who used to flaunt simplicity and down to earth demeanour. He said despite being given a chauffeur driven car, Manpreet preferred to drive himself. Daduwal appealed to Indian and Canadian governments to cooperate in tracking those who eliminated Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Manjeet Singh Bhoma, president, Punjab Dharam Prachar Committee, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), demanded that the government should release Sikh political prisoners, who were languishing in jails for the past over three decades. He said the government had shown magnanimity in releasing over 90,000 Pakistani army personnel captured during the 1971 war. He recalled that even the then Rajiv Gandhi government had released 365 Sikh detainees of the Jodhpur jail after five years sentence. He said the DSGMC would kick off a drive against drugs in Punjab from next month. Former Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Baljit Singh Daduwal addresses mediamen in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR Preserveancestralhouse Autos, buses halt at GNDH entrance, rile patients, attendants of actor Gursharan Singh: Theatre lovers Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 26 A day before the death anniversary of noted playwright and theatre actor Gursharan Singh, theatre lovers and Tarksheel Society have demanded that the government should conserve his ancestral house in Ranjitpura locality of the holy city. Members of Tarksheel Society have demanded that the state government and the district administration should convert the ancestral house of dramatist and social thinker Gursharan Singh, who was famous for his character portrayal of Bhai Manna Singh in a popular Punjabi TV serial drama on DD Punjabi, into a museum. Sumit Singh of society said the house was in dilapidated condition. The actor’s house should be repaired without any delay and converted into a museum, he said. Theatre lovers Rajinder Bhadour and Joginder Kullewal said Gursharan’s house was a historical monument of national importance as he was the precursor of the Rang Manch in the state. His house was the place of work for four continued on page 2 Amritsar, September 26 Auto-rickshaws and private buses plying on the Majitha road here have turned the entrance of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) into a pick and drop point for passengers. This inconveniences hospital staff and patients. “Some buses stop in front of the hospital gate for more than five minutes as drivers wait for passengers to board vehicles. Drivers are indifferent to the plight of patients whose passage they block,” said a doctor. Guru Nanak Dev Hospital caters to patients not only from Punjab but nearby states too. The hospital gate on the Majitha road is the only entry to the emergency block where patients are Auto-rickshaws parked at the entrance of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR against drivers who block the hospital ❝The police should takesoactionpatients requiring emergency treatmententrance. The entrance should be clear that can be shifted to hospital without wasting any time. ❞ Balkar Singh, A LOCAL RESIDENT brought round-the-clock from far off areas. When a patient is being shifted from an ambulance to hospital every minute is crucial. The traffic jam caused by auto- rickshaws and private buses at the hospital entrance wastes crucial time. “The police should take action against drivers who block the hospital entrance. The entrance should be clear so that patients requiring emergency treatment can be shifted to hospital without wasting any time,” said Balkar Singh, a local resident. Visitors to the hospital say auto-rickshaws and bus drivers should park their vehicles a few metres ahead of the hospital to pick and drop passengers. — TNS Tardy garbage lifting behind poor sanitation in Ward No. 26 City fast becoming conference, WARD WATCH WARD NO. 26 AMRITSAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 26 The residents of Ward No. 26 are irked over poor sanitation conditions in the area. The ward comprises Pawan Nagar, Tung Pai and localities behind the Celebration Mall. A garbage dump at Pawan Nagar in Ward No. 26 of Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tardy garbage lifting has added to woes of the people residing in narrow streets of the congested areas of the ward. Residents dump garbage on vacant plots and street corners. Heaps of garbage can be seen in localities and streets. The area residents have demanded that the municipal corporation (MC) should address the sanitation issue in the Pawan Nagar area. Saurabh Kumar, a resident c m y b said, “During the last five years, the MC has recarpeted several streets and replaced sewer lines. A private firm collects garbage from door-todoor. Initially, vehicles of the firm used to visit the ward regularly for waste collection. Now, waste collection is irregular. The MC should make arrangements for regular lifting of garbage.” “There are several issues in Ward No. 16 localities. There is no park or green area where residents can go for a walk or children can play. The streets are congested and filthy. There are some vacant plots in the area, continued on page 2 exhibition hub, say experts Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 26 By hosting back to back national and international conferences, the city of the Golden Temple is fast becoming a destination for meeting, incentive, conferences and exhibition (MICE) tourism. After successfully hosting the G20 meet followed by the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) meeting, the city is ushering towards a corporate, religious and medical tourist destination. Such events are heralding a cultural change in the city home to the holiest Sikh shrine in the world. Prof Bikramjit Singh Hundal from Guru Nanak Dev University Business School said selecting the city of Golden Temple for G20 and the 31st meeting of the Northern Zonal Council had connected with Asia. Seamless connectivity to Peshawar, which is close to Afghanistan, integrated South Asia. Its trade potential would be a game changer for Amritsar, he said. Apart from religious tourism, the city is a hub for medical tourism. National and international conferences held here bring together civil societies, parliamentarians, think tanks, women, youth, universities, labour, businesses and researchers. This would go a long way for the city to establish international credence. The participants learn about culture, cuisine and social activities of the state. Gunbir Singh, president, continued on page 2