02102023-ATR-01.qxd 10/2/2023 12:29 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR CHRISSY BLAMES INSECURITY FOR NOT WRITING OWN WEDDING VOWS » ANJUMM TALKS ABOUT OFF-SCREEN EQUATION WITH CO-STAR MOUNI Model Chrissy Teigen & her husband John Legend marked their 10th wedding anniversary last month. P3 CLEANLINESS DRIVE HELD TO MARK GANDHI JAYANTI IN 5 CONSTITUENCIES The municipal corporation conducted a cleanliness drive as part of a campaign ‘Ek Tareekh, Ek Ghanta Ek Saath’. P2 Anjumm Shharma is gearing up to share the screen with Mouni Roy in Milan Luthria’s Sultan Of Delhi. P4 » » MAX 34°C | MIN 20°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 20°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.14 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:24 AM MONDAY | 2 OCTOBER 2023 | AMRITSAR Armed persons loot 1.4-kg gold worth ~76L from jeweller Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 Three armed persons looted a jeweller on gunpoint and decamped with gold worth Rs 76 lakh from him. The suspects were known to victim Gurpreet Singh, a resident of the Gurnam Nagar area. He has a shop on the Tahli Sahib Gurd- wara road. Following his complaint, the police have booked Davinder Singh, alias Dara, of Drumma Wala Bazaar, Chohan and their unknown accomplices. The police said raids were on to arrest the suspects. Gurpreet told the police that Davinder had taken 100 gm of gold from him earlier. Yesterday, he called him to give the payment. The victim said Davinder and his accomplices picked him up from Court Chowk on their I-20 car. On the way, Davinder pointed a pistol at the victim and snatched 1.423 kg of gold which he was carrying at that time. Later, the suspects dumped the victim on the 100-foot-road and fled from the spot. Shiv Darshan Singh, SHO, Division B police station, said raids were on to nab the suspects. He said a case under Section 379-B (2) of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act had been registered against the suspects. He said antecedents of Davinder Singh were also being looked into. Five booked for murder attempt Tribune News Service Visitors throng Heritage Street near the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Sunday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR After three-day rail track blockade, tourist flow bounces back to normal Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 After a three-day blockade of railway tracks that ended on Saturday evening, tourist flow has bounced back with full vigour in the holy city on Sunday. Rough estimates suggest that over one lakh tourists arrived in the city. Hoteliers, taxi operators, auto drivers, rickshaw pullers, dhabas and restaurant owners were happy that tourists were not deterred by the farmers’ agitation and arrived in the holy city by road, overnight buses and trains today morning. They said as Gandhi Jayanti would be celebrated on Monday, this offered tourists a prolonged weekend to spend time out of their homes. Satnam Singh, a hotelier, said the room occupancy had reached 100 per cent. He said all taxis and autos were also booked. Huge rush of tourists was witnessed on the Heritage Street, Jallianwala Bagh, the Golden Temple and other tourist spots in the city. Spectators surpassed the entire seating arrangements at the Attari Joint Check Post. Gurinder Singh, a tour operator, said the holy city became a major attraction for tourists in the Golden Triangle circuit — Delhi, Agra and Jaipur — as they found value in spending at least two nights here and enjoy added attractions such as the Heritage Village, Gobindgarh Fort, Ram Tirath, War Museum and Sadda Pind. Tourists from the National Capital Region (NCR) find an added attraction in the cultural capital of Punjab. Earlier, their choice was mostly confined to Agra and Jaipur. However, the holy city is offering enough choice in all segments of the hospitality industry like luxury, middle-segment and budget hotels. Besides local eateries serving authentic Punjabi cuisine are an added attraction for visitors. Harpreet Singh and Payal, a young couple from New Delhi, said the travel to the holy city was convenient as it was well connected with the national capital by air, road and rail. “Spiritual ambience at the Guru’s abode in the Golden Temple, patriotic fervour at the Jallianwala Bagh and at the Attari Joint Check Post, besides friendly locals beckon us to visit here again,” they said. Now, diesel auto drivers can buy Bajaj vehicles Youth dies of drug overdose Amritsar, October 1 In a drive to stop plying of diesel-run auto-rickshaws in the holy city, the municipal corporation (MC) is encouraging their drivers to replace their vehicles with e-autos despite protests by them. The MC is making regular efforts to facilitate diesel auto drivers to switch to electric vehicles. Under the Rejuvenation of Auto-Rickshaws in Amritsar through Holistic Intervention (RAAHI) project, now another automobile company has been empanelled with Amritsar Smart City Limited to sell e-autos. Earlier, there were three eauto manufacturing companies on the smart city panel. Now, Bajaj Auto Limited would also sell e-autos in Amritsar. Previously, e-autos from Mahindra, Atul and Piaggio were being sold in the city. Municipal Commissioner Rahul, who is also the CEO of Amritsar Smart City Limited, said observing success and importance of e-autos run under the RAAHI project, many companies wanted to contribute to the noble cause. Tarn Taran, October 1 A resident of the Officers Colony died of an alleged drug overdose. The deceased has been identified as Harjap Singh Lada (25). His body was found from the residence of Surjit Singh Batha in Nanaksar locality on Sunday. Gurcharan Singh Bittu, father of the deceased, said Harjap left home on Saturday evening but did no return till late evening. The family searched for him but failed to find him. His mobile phone was also switched off. Later, the family saw Lada’s moped at Surjit Singh Batha’s house and found his body on the premises. The deceased was an addict. He had been treated at a deaddiction centre. The family suspected that Harjap died of drug overdose and demanded police action into the matter. The post-mortem of the body was conducted at the Civil Hospital today. A report under Section 174 of the CrPC was registered in this connection. Further action would be initiated after receiving the post-mortem report, said the police. ❝Bajaj Auto Limited has also joined the RAAHI project. Now, drivers of old diesel auto-rickshaws have got many options to buy e-autos as per their range and preference. ❞ Rahul, MUNICIPAL COMMISSIONER The MC Commissioner said thosewhohadswitchedtoe-autos had managed to increase their earnings and savings. He said, “Electric vehicles have a good future. The government has allotted the e-auto project to Amritsar under the Smart City Mission. This would help in making the city clean and pollution-free.” The MC Commissioner appealed to all diesel-run auto drivers to help in keeping the city’s environment clean and pollution free by disposing of their old vehicles. — TNS Our Correspondent Amritsar, October 1 Opposing alleged drug peddlers proved costly when several persons attacked a house of Tola Nangal village resident falling under the Rajasansi police station here yesterday. The police booked five persons on the charge of attempt to murder, criminal trespass and criminal intimidation while no arrest was made till now. Harinder Singh (37), a resident of Tola Nangal village, told the police that they had formed a “Nasha mukt committee” (Drug free committee) in the village for opposing peddlers, who were openly selling drugs. In a complaint, he alleged that a village resident Jasbir Singh used to sell drugs in the area on his bike. He said their panel had lodged a complaint against him with the police. He alleged that yesterday, Jasbir Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Sarabjit Singh and Jugraj Singh, who were carrying sharp weapons, barged into his house and started abusing him and his family. Harinder said he and his family members ran away from the house. He said the suspects ransacked the house for half-an-hour in their absence. Following Harinder’s complaint, the Rajasansi police registered a case under Sections 307, 452, 506, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code against five suspects, said Sub-Inspector Gurbax Singh. He said the antecedents of the suspects were being checked and raids were on to nab them. 2 arrested with over 1-kg heroin Drug peddlers held with 1.6-kg heroin Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, October 1 The Chabal police during patrolling in the area falling under their jurisdiction arrested two smugglers and recovered 1.103 kg of heroin from a drain near Jagatpur village on Saturday night. The Chabal police station Station House Officer (SHO) said that the suspects had been identified as Anand Lal Nandoo, a resident of Guruwali, and Veer Shambhuk, alias Shambhu, a resident of Ram Tirath Road, Amritsar. The SHO said that besides heroin, the police also seized Rs 80,000 drug money and a motorcycle from the suspects. A case under Sections 21-C, 61 and 85 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act had been registered against the suspects, the SHO said. The suspects were produced in a court, which sent them to two-day police remand for interrogation, the SHO added. Amritsar, October 1 The Amritsar (Rural) police arrested a cross-border drug smuggler on Sunday and recovered 1 kg of heroin, besides Rs 8,000 drug money, a mobile phone and a scooter from him. The suspect was identified as Jasbir Singh, a resident of Pandori village falling under the Lopoke police station. The police said officials got a tip-off that Jasbir Singh was involved in drug smuggling as he had links with cross-border smugglers. He used to sell the drug in the local market. The informer told the police that the suspect had recently got a drug consignment from across the international border and was coming from Rajatal side on a scooter. Following information, the police laid a naka near Neshta village and intercepted the suspect, who was driving a scooter. During search, the police recovered 1 kg of heroin from his possession. A case under provisions of the NDPS Act was registered against the A suspect in custody of the Amritsar (Rural) police on Sunday. suspect. He was produced before a duty magistrate and brought on police remand for further investigation. In the second incident, the Chheharta police recovered 60 gm of heroin from two persons identified as Sajan Singh and Malkeet Singh of Bhaini Basarke village and arrested them. The police said a naka was laid near Miri Piri Academy. On seeing the police party, the duo, who were coming on foot from the academy side, tried to flee. The police managed to stop them. During search, 60 gm of heroin was recovered from the suspects. In another incident, the Civil Lines police arrested Simarpreet Singh of Prem Nagar in Batala and Lovepreet Singh of Guru Nanak Nagar in Batala and recovered 250 gm of opium from them. The police also impounded the scooter they were riding. Man sitting in park loses cellphone to snatchers before injuring their victims, sometimes leaving them grievously hurt. In the latest incident, three armed persons attacked a man sitting in Amrit Anand Park in posh Ranjit Avenue with sharp weapons and snatched his mobile phone. The victim, Arjun Soni, was injured in the attack. Though the police registered a case, it has failed to make any breakthrough. Arjun told the police that on Friday evening around 5 pm, he was sitting in Amrit Anand Park and answering a phone call when three unknown miscreants snatched his mobile. He said when he tried to resist, one of them hit him with datar (sharp weapon) on the head. The victim said he tried to defend himself with bare hands and was injured. He fell on the ground and the suspects fled from the spot. A case under Section 379-B of the IPC was registered and further investigation was in progress. 86 active farm fires detected on Sunday Stubble burning goes unchecked in Tarn Taran dist Pawan Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 The police have miserably failed to curb snatching incidents with miscreants targeting people at their own sweet will in different parts of the city. The miscreants have become such a threat that they do not think twice Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 The farmers seem to have taken full advantage of the holiday on Sunday as the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre detected a total of 86 farm fires during the day. The district has reported a total of 260 farm fire incidents since September 15. Maximum incidents have been reported from areas known as vegetable belts. In these areas, farmers are in a rush to sow vegetable crops. So they burn stubble, which is the fastest and easiest method to clear their fields. While the government has imposed a blanket ban on burning of crop residue and even announced that penalty would be imposed on erring Our Correspondent Crop residue set on fire near Amritsar on Sunday. VISHAL KUMAR farmers, the cases of stubble burning are rapidly increasing in the district. The government is providing subsidy on machines for management of crop residue but that too seems to have failed to check farm fires. A farmer said, “We have hired baler machines to cut stubble but a significant part of the plant still remains in a field. As very less time is available for the third crop in between harvesting of paddy and sowing of wheat, the burning of crop residue is the only viable option to clear fields.” An Agriculture Department official said, “The next two weeks are crucial as harvesting of paddy would reach its peak and so would the farm fires.” Tarn Taran, October 1 Although the district administration claimed to have taken all necessary steps to check stubble burning, a large number of farm fire incidents were reported from several villages in the area on Sunday. Clouds of smoke were seen touching sky on the link road leading from Bengalipur village to Sheron village that polluted the environment and reduced visibility. The farmers burning paddy stubble said they had to sow peas before sowing wheat. They said there was no other option except to burn crop residue to prepare fields in a shortest time. Encroachments galore, garbage dumped in vacant plots WARD WATCH WARD NO. 13 AMRITSAR Charanjit Singh Teja Garbage dumped along roadside in Ward No. 13 of Amritsar on Sunday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 1 Ward No. 13 of the city comprises Green Field, White Avenue, Indira Colony and Dutta Enclave localities on Majitha Road. The residents of these areas face sanitation-related issues. Residents dump their garbage in vacant plots. Door-to-door garbage collection by the sol- c m y b id waste management company entrusted with the task is reportedly irregular. Some residents, especially shopkeepers and vendors, prefer to dump garbage in vacant plots. There is a section of residents, who do not pay Rs 50 per month to the solid waste management company. They dump waste in nearby vacant plots. In the last few years, the area has witnessed major changes. The brick-laid streets were replaced with cemented and concrete tiles. All localities got sewer and water connections. However, the ward faces problems like choked sewer lines and water contamination in Indira Colony and other areas but complaints in this connection are addressed by the MC. Residents say that desilting of sewer lines is required. Gurpreet Singh, a resident said, “The condition of streets and other infrastructure has improved but sanitation is still a problem. Heaps of garbage can be seen on road- sides and in vacant plots. There is no proper arrangement to sweep streets. The residents also face issues like choking of sewers, especially during rains. The MC should make efforts to curb the stray dog and cattle menace.” “The main roads in the ward are encroached by shopkeepers and vendors. The congested streets in most localities do not have space for parking. The residents face inconvenience due to unplanned growth of colonies. The MC should remove illegal occupation on main roads and streets. The main 27-feet-road in the ward is encroached by shopkeepers. People also park their vehicles outside shops, which disrupts the flow of traffic,” said Sukhwinder Singh, another resident.