26102023-ATR-01.qxd 10/26/2023 12:34 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR DIST TEAM OF BOYS & GIRLS WINS POWERLIFTING TITLE DILJIT CONFIRMS COLLABORATION WITH SINGER SIA FOR NEW TRACK AKANKSHA PURI TO HOST MTV DATE TO REMEMBER SEASON 2 The district weightlifting team of boys and girls won championship under Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan. P2 Punjabi popstar Diljit Dosanjh will be collaborating with Australian singer Sia for his new single Hass Haas. P3 MAX 30°C | MIN 16°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 16°C Renowned for her captivating presence, Akanksha Puri steps into role of host for popular reality show MTV Date. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 5.46 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:42 AM » THURSDAY | 26 OCTOBER 2023 | AMRITSAR Man held with 470-gm heroin Amritsar, October 25 The Gharinda police have arrested a drug peddler identified as Inderbir Singh, a resident of Khanchhabri village in Tarn Taran district, for allegedly possessing 470 gm of heroin. According to the police, he was coming from Sarai Amanat Khan to Rajatal when a police team intercepted him on a tip-off. He was travelling on scooter without number plate. The police team also seized an expensive mobile phone and Rs 27,000 drug money from him. The suspect was produced in the court and brought on police remand. The rural police arrested Prabhjot Singh of Nathupura and recovered 40 gm of heroin from him. In another incident, the city police nabbed three persons with 210 gm of heroin. They were identified as Amritpal Singh, Manjit Singh and Sukhpal Singh. The police seized 100 gm, 50 gm and 60 gm of drug from them, respectively. — TNS Holiday on Oct 30 Chandigarh: The Punjab Government has declared a holiday on October 30 on the occasion of the ‘Parkash Purab’ of Guru Ramdas in Amritsar district. Guru Ramdas was the fourth of the 10 Gurus in Sikhism. An official spokesperson said all offices of the state government, boards and corporations and government educational institutions would remain closed in Amritsar on October 30. — PTI 10 booked for killing youth, injuring two Old enmity cited as reason behind incident Raids are on nab ❝suspects, whotoare the Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 25 A youth was shot dead and his two friends were injured after several armed persons opened fire at them over a dispute on the Amritsar-Attari bypass road here yesterday. The deceased was identified as Gurparvesh Singh (22), a resident of the Mohni Park area. His injured friends were identified as Sunitpal Singh of Urban Estate located on Ram Tirath Road and Sawanpreet Singh of Kamboh. They suffered gunshot injuries on arms and legs. Both were admitted to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital for treatment. Gurparvesh, a hotel management student of Khalsa College, was the only son of his parents. Following complaint of his father Balwinder Singh, the police have booked 10 persons on charges of murder, attempt to murder and under the Arms Act. Among those booked included Fateh Randhawa of Kukkrawala village, Rajasansi, and his accomplices Gurwinder Singh Mann, alias Bagga, Parman and Bhola, alias Ladda, and six unknown persons. The suspects are absconding. Balwinder Singh told the absconding. A case under Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has registered against the suspects. Old enmity is the reason behind the incident. ❞ Prabhjot Singh Virk, ADDITIONAL DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF POLICE police that he retired from Cooperative Sugar Mill at Zira and now he was doing farming. He said yesterday, he, his son and wife Lakhwinder Kaur were at home when Gurparvesh’s friend Sunitpal called him. He said his son went to meet him at his residence in Urban Estate. Balwinder said after some time he and his brother Resham Singh of Rattoke village in Khemkaran, Tarn Taran district, went to Ram Tirath Road to meet his son. Balwinder said when they reached near a dera, he saw his son Gurparvesh and Sunitpal going towards bypass road in a car. Balwinder said they followed their car. He said the car stopped near Holy City colony where two cars had met with an accident. He said the duo came out of their car and started interacting with a youth standing nearby. Balwinder said in the meantime, three cars arrived on the spot and the prime suspect Fateh Randhawa came out of one of the vehicle. Balwinder said he started quarrelling with Sunitpal and hit him with his pistol butt. He said Gurparvesh tried to intervene and save his friend. Balwinder said the suspect and his accomplice started firing at Gurparvesh and his friend. Gurparesh received bullet injuries in stomach and on arms. He fell on the road. He was rushed to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Balwinder said Sunitpal and another youth Sawanpreet also sustained bullet injuries. Prabhjot Singh Virk, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), said raids were on to nab the suspects, who were absconding after the incident. He said a case under Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against the suspects. “We are conducting raids to arrest the suspects. Old enmity is the reason behind the incident,” the ADCP said. Sanitation, illegal cable network need MC attention WARD WATCH Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 25 The residents of areas such as Green Field, White Avenue, Indira Colony and Dutta Enclave comprising Ward No. 11 of the municipal corporation (MC) here are troubled by shortcomings in sanitation, especially doorto-door collection of waste from households. Residents of the area said that as waste collection was not regular, vacant plots and street corners had become garbage dumping sites. They foul smell emnated from garbage that also worsened sanitation. A visit to the area revealed that there were garbage heaps at various places. Residents and shopkeepers throw A broken road in an Indira Colony street on Majitha Road in Amritsar. waste in the open. Due to irregular cleaning, garbage heaps have become permanent dumping sites. Though the area has witnessed unprecedented development during the past decades with streets being paved with interlocking tiles, streetlights and underground sewer lines need an upgrade as the existing system is unable to bear the increasing load of waste water. “The sewage pipes get choked during rains and even otherwise leading to over of waste water, which leads to waterlogging in streets. The area needs better sewerage system and storm water drains for draining rainwater,” said Sanjeev Kumar, a local resident. Residents of the area also demanded that encroachments should be removed and there should be a check on illegal parking of vehicles on roadsides, which often leads to traffic jams even in the residential areas. They said commercial establishments like shops had opened in the residential areas creating problems for residents. The residents also pointed to the problem of illegal wires installed by private internet, cable and telephone companies. They said these cables had been installed without seeking permission from the municipal corporation and are were causing inconvenience to residents. VB arrests ASI on charge of bribery Cop caught red-handed while accepting ~17,000 from the complainant PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 25 Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) arrested an Assistant SubInspector (ASI) Raj Kumar, posted as reader to Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ajnala, red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 17,000. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, a VB spokesman said the ASI was arrested following a complaint by Mohan Singh, a resident of Ajnala town here. The complainant alleged that ASI Raj Kumar called him in his office and said that he had received a complaint against him alleging purchase of stolen pendants of gold. The complainant further alleged that the ASI asked him to pay Rs 50,000 as bribe to avoid any police case. The deal was struck at Rs 35,000. Feeling coerced and threatened, the complainant reluctantly agreed to pay the bribe to resolve the matter. The VB official said following preliminary investigation, a trap was laid for the operation. He said ASI Raj Kumar was arrested red-handed while accepting bribe of Rs 17,000 from the complainant in his office in the presence of two official witnesses. A case has been registered under Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at the VB police station, Amritsar range. The accused was produced in court and brought on police remand for further investigation. Woman, 12-yr-old son abducted Our Correspondent The ongoing construction work of a flyover in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Slow construction work on roads, frequent traffic snarls irk commuters Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 25 The ongoing construction work at several places on roads in the city is inconveniencing commuters as no efforts have been made by the authorities concerned to ensure smooth flow of the traffic. At most construction sites, including Ranjit Avenue bypass and Vallah bypass where flyovers are being constructed, the construction work has been going on for over one year. The commuters say the stretches along the construction sites are narrow as major portion of the road has been used for the works leaving little space for the traffic movement. “To add to the commuters’ woes, these narrow passages have big potholes due to which vehicles have to move at slow speed,” said Joginder Singh, a resident. He said if unnecessary hurdles on narrow passages were removed and these were recarpeted, frequent traffic jams would reduce considerably. The residents demanded that the construction work on busy roads should be completed in a time-bound manner. They said an alternate passage should be provided for commuters till the construc- tion works were finished. “It seems that the construction work is too slow as it takes years to complete one bridge. By the time a bridge is constructed, another road-widening project is initiated,” said another resident Himmat Singh. The flyover construction site on the Vallah bypass witnesses long queues of vehicles waiting for their turn to cross the point throughout the day. The commuters said it was difficult to cross the road as trucks coming or going to Attari also plied on the stretch. The commuters said they had be extremely cautious while driving on potholed roads. Tarn Taran, October 25 A woman identified as Rajwinder Kaur (38), a resident of Dadehar Sahib, and her 12-year-old son was abducted from their house at night under suspicious circumstances a week ago. The Sarhali police registered a case under Sections 346 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against four persons of the same village on Tuesday in this connection. Rajwinder took Rs 70,000 in cash, gold ornaments and some important documents along with her before she and her son were abducted. Dhira Singh (41), Rajwinder’s husband, in a report lodged with the Sarhali police stated that on October 21 morning, he noticed that his wife and son were missing from their home. Dhira said he tried his best to locate them, but failed to do so. On Dhira’s statement, four residents of the same village identified as Jagdeep Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Gurmel Singh and his wife Sarabjit Kaur were booked by the police. Dhira said Jagdeep in connivance with the other three suspects abducted his wife and son. A case had been registered against the four suspects, said Hardyal Singh, investigation officer. Quack booked for using doc’s stamp, issuing fake bills Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 25 The police have booked a quack, who used a stamp of a doctor and ran a nursing home on the Jagdev Khurd road in Ajnala. The incident came to light when doctor’s father complained to the Health Department authorities, who further lodged a complaint with the police. The police have registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC and Section 15 (2) of the Indian Medical Council Act against Balraj Singh, owner of Raj Nursing Home, Jagdev Khurd Road. He is yet to be arrested. Emergency Medical Officer Dr Gurpartap Singh at the Civil Hospital, Ajnala, in his complaint to the police, stated that Balwinder Singh of Tung Bala located on Majitha Road had alleged that Raj Nursing Home authorities were using stamp of his son Dr Vishaldeep Singh. They were issuing medical bills using Dr Vishaldeep Singh’s stamp and name thereby duping innocent people while treating them. Balraj Singh did not possess any medical degree. Following this, a team of doctors raided the nursing home and found a stamp for Dr Vishaldeep Singh, a surgery slip with his name, besides a mobile phone from there. The team wrote to the police authorities for appropriate action against Balraj who absconded after the raid. Residents call for festivities, sparing a thought for city air quality index EFFIGY BURNING ON RISE TAKE FLU AND PNEUMONIA VACCINES of ❝The traditionduring burning effigies The increase in traffic has led to deterioration of air quality. Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 25 According to medical experts, more than one crore people suffer from asthma and their numbers are rising. The most difficult time for those suffering from allergies and chest infections, including asthma and respiratory issues, is the ‘festival’ season, lasting from October till December. The onset of winters send alarm bells ringing with rising air pollution resulting in poor air quality. While there are a number of reasons adding to the poor air quality during the season, including vehicular traffic and stubble burning, the burning of firecrackers during Dasehra and Diwali adds to the problem. Or so we ask the citizens? ❝ Dasehra celebrations has risen significantly raising questions over its environmental impact and alignment with political motives. In the past, Amritsar had only a few spots for effigy burning. We must acknowledge and respect religious sentiments attached to the festival, but it’s crucial to scrutinise motives behind surge in effigy burning. It is convenient to point fingers at farmers for paddy straw burning, but they’ve made efforts to address this issue. Increase in ozone level, pollens, dust, smoke and other particulate matter in air causes respiratory problems. Weather change can worsen asthma and can cause cough, cold, itching in throat and eyes and breathing problems. Proper hydration and taking healthy food rich in vitamin C and antioxidants and doing yogic breathing exercises helps in fighting respiratory problem. People above 65 years and those who suffer from health problems during the onset of winters, should take flu and pneumonia vaccines. Sanjeev Sharma, A GOVERNMENT SCHOOL TEACHER Dr Naresh Chawla, A PULMONOLOGIST ❞ c m y b ❞ NEGLIGENT ATTITUDE UNPLANNED CONSTRUCTION ❝The negligent attitude of the administration Extreme winter has ❝even begun in the city, not towards air pollution irks residents. Already severe air quality deteriorates due to unchecked crop residue burning. Individuals struggling with respiratory issues are left with no choice, but to stay indoors. Everyone must contribute towards improving other people’s quality of life by refraining from burning firecrackers, planting trees and carpooling. Above all, spreading awareness about clean environment in institutions is paramount. but the air is filled with smog due to stubble burning, heavy traffic, unplanned construction by people and the government. Due to this, there is rise in respiratory and cardiac problems among residents. Although the festivities are only a day long, the trend of burning tall effigies laden with firecrackers at politically-backed celebrations adds to the air pollution. The festival should be celebrated in spirit while keeping in mind its impact on the environment. ❞ Neeta Mehra, PRESIDENT, VOICE OF AMRITSAR ❞ Manisha Behal, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, KHALSA COLLEGE