24102023-ATR-01.qxd 10/24/2023 1:08 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY ADMN CLAIMS LESS CASES OF STUBBLE BURNING THIS YEAR PRABHAS’S FANS CREATE 230 FT CUTOUT ON HIS BIRTHDAY DRASHTI SPEAKS ABOUT HER ROLE IN DURANGA SEASON 2 Last year, till October 23, there were 1,034 cases of straw burning which has come down to 234 this year. P2 Prabhas’s fans created a colossal cutout of his poster from one of the films in Kukatpally, Hyderabad. P3 MAX 28°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 17°C Drashti Dhami opens up on the emotional journey of her character in crime thriller series Duranga. P4 » » SUNSET TUESDAY 5.49 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.40 AM » TUESDAY | 24 OCTOBER 2023 | AMRITSAR INBRIEF TWO HELD WITH 100-GM HEROIN Amritsar: The city police nabbed two Gurdaspur residents with 100 gm of heroin here on Sunday. They were identified as Amarjit Singh of Rauwal village near Dhianpur and Mani Masih of Pakiva village near Kalanaur in Gurdaspur. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against them. Amolakdeep Singh, in charge, CIA staff, said they were arrested during checking of vehicles near the Metro shopping mall here. The police also confiscated an electronic scale from their possession. TNS FOUR ARRESTED FOR GAMBLING Amritsar:CIA staff arrested Ashok Kumar of Gate Hakima, Sagar Seth of Chita Katra, Satish Kumar of Kot Khalsa and Sandeep Kumar of Roop Nagar area for indulging in gambling. They were arrested from the Islamabad chowk while gambling. The police seized ~9,340 cash and the playing cards from them. A case has been registered against them. TNS Farmers upset as basmati prices dip after initial spike Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 The recent downward spiral in the prices of basmati variety of rice, an export commodity, has left the cultivators dejected as they are at the sole mercy of private traders who purchase the produce. The price of basmati touched a low of Rs 2,000 per quintal this week, forcing the cultivators to regret their decision to cultivate the crop instead of parmal varieties which have an assured price in the form of Minimum Support Price (MSP) given by the government. Most farmers who sold their basmati crop this week reported that they could only get a price of Rs 2,400-Rs 2,600 per quintal. On the other hand, the parmal varieties are getting an MSP of Rs 2,200 per quintal. The yield of basmati is much less than parmal and if Labourers dry paddy at the Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar on Monday. VISHAL they are fetching almost the same price, the basmati cultivators are certainly at a loss. During the early days of harvesting, basmati had been getting a price of Rs 3,400-Rs 3,600 per quintal. Earlier this year, as the state government ran an extensive campaign to promote the cultivation of basmati in the district, citing its export value, the cultivators were enthusiastic and the area under the crop touched a record high of 1.42 lakh hectares. Consequently, the area under parmal varieties got reduced to only 38,000 hectares. “Farmers have no say in deciding the prices of agricultural produce. The price is whatever the traders decide. If all traders of the district or even a grain market form a sort of syndicate, then they are able to control the price as the government has no checks,” said Gurbhej Singh, a farmer. Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha said, “It is easier to organise a few hundred buyers who export basmati. Now it seems that they have constituted a sort of syndicate as they know that they are the only buyers. In such circumstances, farmers cannot get a fair price unless the government regulates the business.” He said that this was the reason why farmers demand MSP for all crops and a legal guarantee to protect the same. Newborn kidnapped from hospital traced, couple held Baby recovered from Ludhiana bus stand, six rounded up in case PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 Two weeks after a newly born boy was kidnapped from Guru Nanak Dev Hospital here, the police have arrested the prime suspects and recovered the boy who was later handed over to his parents, Harpreet Singh and Baljit Kaur of Jhabal. The woman, who kidnapped the boy, was identified as Sarabjit Kaur alias Babbu and her husband Bunty Masih of Harimabad village in Gurdaspur. They were held from Ludhiana bus stand last night. Till now, the police have arrested six persons including three women in the case. Earlier, the police nabbed James Masih and his friend Karan Kumar of Sagarpur vil- The accused couple in custody of the police in Amritsar on Monday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR lage in Batala, Raj of Harimabad and Suman of Kale Nangal village. James is the brother-in-law (sister’s husband) of the prime accused Babbu while Raj is the mother of Bunty Masih. Suman was a friend of Babbu. Varinder Singh Khosa, Assistant Commissioner of Police (North), said that Raj had refused to keep them when they returned after kidnapping the boy and the accused stayed with Suman for a couple of days. As they did not inform the police about this, they were also arrested in the case, he added. Yesterday, the police got the information about the accused couple’s presence in Ludhiana. With the help of local police, the duo was arrested from Ludhiana bus stand and brought to Amritsar. The complainant Harpreet Singh had told the police that on October 6, his wife gave birth to a baby boy after 14 years of marriage. Two days later, an unknown woman who had befriended the family in the hospital premises, kidnapped the boy when they were sleeping outside the ward. Khosa said that during preliminary investigations with the help of CCTV footage, the police identified James Masih and his friend Karan Kumar, who were arrested on October 9. Later on October 13, the police arrested Raj continued on page 2 Farmers’ body burns effigies of 1,200 policemen to Leaders at helm, Dasehra festival Union Govt, corporate houses stay on toes in city not untouched by political colour Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 Members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee burnt effigies of the Central Government and corporate houses on Dasehra eve to express their anguish against the government policies regarding the agriculture sector. The KMSC also announced that they would start indefinite protests at toll plazas on highways from November 15 and no commuters would be charged any toll tax. “Dasehra is celebrated as the victory of good over evil. We have burnt effigies of evil to highlight alleged evil polices of the government which are largely in favour of corporate houses and not poor farmers,” said Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the KMSC. Pandher said farmers Amritsar, October 23 Around 1,200 cops have been deputed at various places for security during the Dasehra festivities in the city. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Parminder Singh Bhandal said only seven Dasehra committees were allowed to hold programmes related to the festival. The programmes would be held at the Dasehra ground near Baba Tahli Sahib, Majitha Road bypass, Old Grain Market at Naraingarh, Deen Dayal Colony stadium, Verka, Mata Bhadarkali temple, Gate Hakima, Army ground near Durgiana temple, Tibba ground colony, Islamabad and Navi Park Himmatpura. Bhandal said adequate security arrangements had been made for the festival Farmers and labourers burn effigies of PM Modi and corporate houses in Amritsar on Monday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR burnt effigies of the Union Government and corporate houses in six states as per the programme earlier announced by farmer unions. He said the KMSC organised protests in 15 districts of the state today. The farmer leaders said the Central Government had failed to fulfill its promise regarding the minimum support price. They demanded that the MSP should be given on all crops and a legal guarantee to protect the interests of the farmers. The KMSC leaders said the MSP should be fixed as per the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission report. The union also demanded continued on page 2 season in the district. He said senior police officials, including Additional Deputy Commissioners of Police and Assistant Commissioners of Police, were instructed to remain on roads in order to ensure security and safety of the people. He urged the people to cooperate with the police in order to maintain law and order and a peaceful atmosphere. He asked them to park their vehicles in orderly manner at parking spaces so that no traffic chaos occurred on city roads. He also warned unscrupulous elements against indulging in acts of hooliganism. He urged the people to inform the police in case they found any suspicious thing or movement of suspicious people in order to thwart any untoward incident. Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 Ahead of civic polls and General Election, the festival of Dasehra is being organised on political lines in the city. Politicians are holding the festival in their constituencies to nurse their electorates. With veteran BJP leader Lakshmi Kanta Chawla at the helm in Durgiana temple, a massive Dasehra festival will be held at the open Defence land adjoining the temple tomorrow. Dussehra celebration has been organised at the ground for the past several decades. Politicians of major political parties find ample space on the stage erected on the ground. Like every year, former MLA Inderbir Singh Bolaria and his team have made arrangements at Mata Bhadra Kali Mandir in the South assembly segment. During FESTIVE FERVOUR: A man carries an effigy of Ravana on the eve of Dasehra in Amritsar on Monday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR SINGLE WINDOW SYSTEM FOR NOC After a train mowed down about 60 people, including women and children, while watching Dasehra at Jodda Phatak railway crossing, on October 19, 2018, the government made a provision for single window system for granting no-objection certificate (NOC) to the organisers of Dasehra. The application for this is to be routed through the office of DCP (Law & Order). his association with the SAD, he used to invite Akali patri- MC, not Improvement Trust, should Locals mourn cricketer Bedi's take over, say Ranjit Avenue residents loss, remember his city connect arch Parkash Singh Badal as continued on page 2 Tribune News Service Tarn Taran to Muktsar Sahib bus service flagged off Amritsar, October 23 Bishan Singh Bedi (77), former Indian cricket team captain and legendary left-arm spinner, who passed away in Delhi on Monday, kept in touch with his ancestral house in Puttalighar. The house still exists in the area which still belongs to the Bedi family. A Congress leader of the area, former councillor Surinder Chowdhary said, “Bishan Bedi’s father Gian Singh Bedi was a Congress party leader who died over three decades ago.” He recalled that Bishan used to visit his ancestral house on and off, adding that he last visited some two years ago. Born in Amritsar in 1946, Bedi was part of Indian cricket’s golden quartet of spinners, whose other members were Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrashekhar and Srinivas Venkataragha- Tarn Taran, October 23 On the occasion of Parkash Purb of Baba Budha Sahib, Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar flagged off two bus services to different places here on Monday. The bus services would be operated by the Punjab Roadways. The minister said one bus service was started between Tarn Taran and Sri Muktsar Sahib and the other one between Khemkaran and Chandigarh. He said the bus for Muktsar Sahib would depart at 5.40 am from Tarn Taran and having halts at Chabal, Baba Budha Sahib and Amritsar, it would reach Muktsar Sahib. The minister said the other bus service would leave Khemkaran and reach Chandigarh after having stoppages at Bhikhiwind and Moga. Tarn Taran MLA Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal, Khemkaran MLA Sarwan Singh Dhunn and others were present. — OC Neeraj Bagga WARD WATCH Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 23 Ward number 3 comprises the major area of Ranjit Avenue, Defence Enclave and some localities on Ajnala road. Though the posh Ranjit Avenue is comparatively better than other areas in the city, still issues like illegal encroachment and sanitation are faced by the residents. A large area of the ward, mainly Ranjit Avenue, is being managed by the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT). The localities on Ajnala road are unplanned and deprived of basic amenities. Residents dump garbage in vacant plots and street corners in the area around Housing Board Colony. A major chunk of land is being used by the solid waste management company on Chinmaye road. Heaps of garbage can be seen in posh localities and streets of Ranjit Garbage lies strewn outside the dustbins in Ranjit Avenue area in Amritsar on Monday. VISHAL KUMAR Avenue. Though the Amritsar Improvement Trust manages the sanitation in Ranjit Avenue, area residents have demanded that the MC should address sanitation in Ranjit Avenue as they have more infrastructure. Several roads and streets, especially service lanes behind the main market, are encroached upon by the shop owners. Generator sets are seen lying on government land. Despite instructions by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Amritsar Improvement Trust has not made any concrete effort to check the practice. As a result, commuters face inconvenience due to haphazard parking of vehicles and encroachments by vendors. Balveer Singh, a resident said, “The parks and green belts are not maintained properly. The green belts and footpaths are encroached by the vendors. The AIT didn’t take action against illegal encroachers. One can’t walk on the footpath in Ranjit Avenue in the evening as it is encroached by the vendors. The number of vends is regularly increasing. The posh area of Ranjit Avenue has turned into rehri market.” c m y b The ancestral house of cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi in Putlighar area in Amritsar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO van. The four formed the core of India’s bowling unit for more than a decade between 1966 and 1978. Bedi played 67 Tests for India and took 266 wickets with 14 five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori expressed deep grief over the death of the former captain of the Indian cricket team, Bishan Singh Bedi, who was a native of Amritsar, here today. In a message, he described the death of Bedi as a big jolt to cricket lovers and added that the man known as ‘Sardar of Spin’ in the history of Indian cricket will always be remembered for his continued on page 2