30092023-ATR-01.qxd 9/30/2023 12:50 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST CLEAR SKY ILLEGAL POSTERS CONTINUE TO DEFACE PUBLIC PROPERTIES RAPPER YO YO, ACTRESS SONAKSHI SINHA ARE BACK! MEDICAL DRAMA TRAILER OF MUMBAI DIARIES 2 OUT Illegal advertisers do not even hesitate about pasting posters even on historical monuments in city. P2 Rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh and actress Sonakshi Sinha are collaborating once again after nine years. P3 Medical drama Mumbai Diaries 2 is coming back with a new brand season. P4 » » MAX 35°C | MIN 22°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 23°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.17 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6.24 AM » SATURDAY | 30 SEPTEMBER 2023 | AMRITSAR Farmers seek ~50K per acre compensation for crop loss Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 29 On the second day of the threeday ‘Rail Roko’ agitation, a large number of farmers participated in the dharna staged on the rail tracks here on Friday. Harjinder Singh Shakri, Fateh Singh Piddi, Ranjodh Singh and other leaders condemned the Centre and the state government for their antifarmer policies. The leaders said the Central Government had promised to fulfil the promises made to the farmers to end the protest on Delhi borders. They said the compensation being given to the flood-hit farmers for the crop loss was just a cruel joke on the farmers. The leaders demanded Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for the crop loss. The leaders warned that in case the state government tried to force them to install chip meters in the state, it would cost the government dear. Over 25 trains stay cancelled Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 On the second day of the ‘Rail Roko’ protest, the farmer unions, which are part of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), continued to block the railway tracks at Devidaspura causing undue inconvenience to thousands of passengers. Seeking a special package for the flood-affected people, 18 farmer organizations would meet at Kisan Bhawan in Chandigarh on October 23 and 24. Sarwan Singh Pandher, a leader of the Kisan Sangharsh Committee, announced that members of the 18 farmer organisations would celebrate “Kisani Dasehra” by burning effigies of corporate houses and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said farmers were sitting on the railway tracks at 20 places across the state leading to cancellation of a large number of trains. Meanwhile, farmers continued to squat on the railway tracks at Devidaspur on the city outskirts, raising slogans Rail Roko protest hits hard vendors at city rly station Footfall of passengers come down sharply, costs remain high Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service On the second day of their protest, farmers block the railway tracks at Devidass Pura in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR against the government. Different farmer leaders addressed the protesters terming the Central Government’s policies anti-farmer. Former cabinet minister Lakshmi Kanta Chawla questioned the government’s public transport arrangements as the farmers had announced to stop the railway tracks much in advance. She asked the protesting farmers why they put the people of the state to inconvenience when their dispute was with the Central Government. She appealed to them to spare the people of the state inconvenience. Meanwhile, over 25 trains remained cancelled on the second day of the protest with members of farmer unions blocking the Amritsar-Delhi railway tracks at Devidaspura village on the city outskirts here on Friday. The Ferozepur Division of Northern Railway informed that 136 trains were cancelled, with over 25 of them from the Amritsar railway station, 73 trains were shortterminated, 31 short originated and 50 were diverted due to the farmers' protest. Amritsar, September 29 The call for ‘rail roko’ stir by farmer unions has affected the business interests of vendors as the running of several trains at the Amritsar railway station continued to be hit for the second consecutive day on Friday. Because of the agitation, the footfall of passengers has also seen a dip. Seeking a special package for the flood-affected people of Punjab, farmer unions which are part of the Sanyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political), continued to block the Amritsar-Delhi main line at Devidaspura on Friday. Requesting anonymity, vendors at the railway station said rents and running cost of vends were extremely high. For instance, the operator of a The Amritsar railway station wears a deserted look on Friday. VISHAL food plaza at the station shells out over Rs 11,000 per day. They rued that an ordinary vendor shells out a monthly rent between a minimum of Rs 15,000 to a maximum of Rs 20,000 to the railways and 18 per cent GST over it. Some stall operators cough out Rs 3 lakh annually as rent to the railways. Their other standing expenditures include Rs 12.07 per unit commercial power tariff, salaries to staff, maintenance and other charges. There are about 14 vends and 30 trolleys besides a food plaza. Vendors said they were incurring huge losses on account of the railway track blockade as customers have vanished. Many vends were closed today as platforms remained deserted. The city railway station falls under category ‘A’ but there is no provision to help them overcome the economic crisis. They rued that since shops remained closed, their fixed expenses remained intact. All these factors together aggravated the financial losses of vendors. The vendors pointed out that the railway station has not managed to recover the daily footfall of around 50,000 passengers and plying of 130 trains at the local railway station. It is enough to suggest that already a continued on page 2 Cleanliness, choked sewers Woman’s suicide case: Three held in murder attempt major issues in Ward No.80 Police book her partner case; 2 pistols, scooter recovered Tribune News Service WARD WATCH WARD NO. 80 AMRITSAR Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 Ward number 80 consists mainly of the village of Guru Ki Wadali and surrounding localities. Though all localities and streets in Guru Ki Wadali area of ward number 80 are facing the problem of choked sewers, the situation at Golden Avenue and Purrian Wali Gali is far from satisfactory. The manholes have been overflowing and stink- The overflowing sewage water floods a road in Ward No.80 in Amritsar on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO ing water has accumulated in the streets for the last several weeks. Residents of several localities are forced to live in disgusting conditions. The residents arranged for water pumps to suck the sewer water from the manholes and drain it out in vacant plots. They claimed that they have met all officials of the MC in this regard but to no avail. Gurmail Singh, a resident of Golden Avenue, said, “We are residing in hell. The sewers have been choked for the last six months. We met all the senior officials of the MC but no one visited the area to continued on page 2 Amritsar, September 29 Adding a twist to the woman suicide case, the police on Friday booked her partner on the charge of abetment to suicide, said the police. He was booked following a complaint filed by the woman’s husband. Confirming the development, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP) Abhimanyu Rana said further investigations were in progress. A 30-year-old woman and her partner attempted suicide in a hotel room in the walled city area here on Wednesday night. While the woman died, her partner was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and is stated to be out of danger. The duo had reprotedly consumed phenyl to end their lives. The man was identified as Ajay Kumar, who originally hails from Uttar Pradesh. Assistant Sub-Inspector Satnam Singh, investigating officer in the case, said the duo was in a relationship and living in a rented accommodation in Gujjarpura area. The incident came to light when the hotel authorities informed the police about it. They were found unconscious in the hotel room. They were taken to the hospital where doctors declared the woman dead on arrival. They had booked the room on Wednesday. A case under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code was registered against Ajay Kumar and further investigations were in progress. His statement would be registered once he was declared fit for giving statement, the police added. Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 The Gate Hakima police on Friday arrested three persons wanted in an attempt-to-murder case registered with the police on August 27. The police have recovered two country-made pistols and a scooter (PB-02-DZ-1641) from their possession. They were identified as Anil of Aare Wali Gali, Preet Avenue, Sandeep Singh, alias Bhadkila, of Bharariwal and Vishal Singh, alias Kanda, of Fatahpur. Their fourth accomplice Sandeep Singh, alias Tolu, of Bharariwal was yet to be arrested. The accused had attacked Mohit Singh, alias Mogli, of Fateh Singh Colony on August 27 when he was going to a temple to pay obeisance. He had told the police that when he was going to the The three suspects in the custody of the Gate Hakima police in Amritsar on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO temple, the four accused suddenly came in front of him. He said they pointed pistols at him and challenged to teach him a lesson for ‘becoming a leader’ in the area. He said he ran away towards his brother Rohit Singh’s house to save himself. The accused fired at him, but he narrowly escaped in the incident. Assistant Commissioner of Police Surinder Singh and Gate Hakima police station SHO Harsandeep Singh said the accused were produced in a court and brought on police remand for further interrogation. They said raids were on to nab their fourth accomplice Sandeep Tolu. 50-yr-old woman Losses mount as Metro buses still off road 1 killed in road mishap found murdered Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 29 A 50-year-old woman, identified as Rajwant Kaur, a resident of Bal Bawa village falling under Jhander police station in Amritsar rural police district, was found dead under mysterious circumstances here yesterday. The deceased had injury marks on her head which was apparently the cause behind her death though she also had blunt injuries on her body. Her earrings were missing while some household goods were found ransacked. Gurpreet Singh, SHO, Jhander police station, told that as per preliminary probe, robbery seems to be the reason behind the incident, though it would be clear only during further course of investigation. He said the victim was alone at home as her husband Khushwant Singh, a truck driver, had gone out of station. Her one son was living in New Zealand. He said a murder case had been registered in this connection. continued on page 2 Amritsar, September 29 It has now been around three months that the Metro bus service being run under Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) was discontinued due to the non-availability of drivers and staff. But the government is still bearing the burden of expenses including security, ticketing and technical support staff whereas the service remains suspended. The Metro buses have been off road since July 4. One of the private firms, Swarna Satnam Transport Services, which used to operate and repair buses and take care of A Metro bus station in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR the terminal at the Verka bypass, stopped functioning. The government had imposed a penalty of around Rs 2 crore on the private firm c m y b for allegedly taking more fuel than the actual consumption. Instead of paying the penalty, the company ended its contract. Over 37,000 passengers used to avail the bus service every day. The BRTS authorities had issued smart cards to more than 8,000 daily passengers. Apart from this, a large number of students of various educational institutions used to travel on these buses every day. Some local activists claimed that thousands of residents are facing inconvenience after the suspension of the BRTS service. The local activists have written to the Chief Minister and other departments concerned of the government but to no avail. Ironically, no local MLA has taken up the issue with the government continued on page 2 Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 29 One person died while another was injured when a motorcycle collided head-on with a makeshift illegal vehicle called ‘Motorcycle rehri’ near Kale village falling under Bhikhiwind police station on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Harman Singh (30), a resident of Bhikhiwind. The rehri operator Jagdish Singh Rajan, a resident of Sandhpur village, has been admitted to the Civil Hospital, Patti, where his condition is said to be stable. Subinspector Balbir Singh from the Bhikhiwind police has registered a case under Section 304-A, 279 and 427 of the IPC against Jagdish Singh who is under treatment. The police said that people who gathered at the spot after the accident called 108 ambulance and took both of them to the Civil Hospital, Patti, where Harman Singh was declared dead by the doctors. The residents said that there are frequent reports of accidents involving makeshift rehris as these are operated by untrained drivers and they have no approval to ply these vehicles on the roads. But the administration has not been taking action against them out of political compulsions.