16112023-ATR-01.qxd 11/16/2023 12:38 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR RAILWAY STATION RECEIVES COACH FOR RESTAURANT RADHIKA MADAN'S SANAA TO BE SCREENED AT IFFI RACHEL ZEGLER OPENS UP ABOUT HER CHARACTER LUCY GRAY BAIRD The local railway station has received a discarded bogey to set up a ‘rail coach restaurant’ P2 Radhika Madan and Pooja Bhatt-starrer Sanaais all set to be screened at the 54th International Film Festival of India.P3 MAX 26°C | MIN 13°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 13°C She’s a songbird or is she? Rachel Zegler is known for her soulful singing voice and stupendous acting prowess. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 5.31 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7.00 AM » THURSDAY | 16 NOVEMBER 2023 | AMRITSAR Political, religious banners, hoardingsdotcitylandscape CONFECTIONERY SHOP OWNER’S KILLING Third murder suspect arrested with pistol Parmal procurement only at five mandis 42 markets shut as fresh arrival goes down Manmeet Singh Tribune News Service A political banner pasted on a direction tower installed on the road leading to the railway station in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 15 While unipoles and hoardings have cropped up in every nook and corner of the city in the absence of any checks, the direction towers on main GT road have also not been spared. Cocking a snook at the norms, these were covered with political and religious banners with impunity leaving the tourists arriving in the holy city clueless for directions. What is ironical, the political banners and hoardings were put up by leaders of the ruling party that came to power with a promise to bring about ‘change’ in governance. The banners also adorned the pictures of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The district and civic authorities have failed to take any action so far, turning a blind eye to the violations. One banner that covered the direction tower near Cantonment police station has the picture of Punjab media coordinator Gurbhej Singh Sandhu while another banner has the picture of District Planning Board Chairman Jaspreet Singh. Amritsar witnesses a huge footfall of tourists visiting the Golden Temple and Wagah border. The covering of signages with banners has meant difficulties in finding road directions for the commuters. “The government should rename Amritsar by changing ‘holy city’ to ‘hoarding city’ because of the number of hoardings have come up after the new government came to power,” said Parkash Singh, a resident of Putlighar area. “The direction towers from Khalsa College to railway station were covered by these illegal banners. When a common man can see these violations, why not the civic authorities? It clearly indicates that the civic authorities work under the influence of their political bosses,” said another resident, Rajinder Sharma. Gurbhej Singh Sandhu and Jaspreet Singh could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Pushpinder Singh, in-charge, advertising wing, also did not respond to phone calls. The accused in custody of the Chheharta police in Amritsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Amritsar, November 15 The Chheharta police have arrested the third suspect involved in the murder case of a former PSPCL Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Rajinder Kumar Kalia. He was shot dead on August 21. The accused was identified as Arshdeep Singh, alias Gholu, of Pehalwanke village in Tarn Taran. The police have confiscated a .32 bore caliber pistol from his possession, said Nishan Singh, SHO, Chheharta police station here. Earlier, the police had arrested Sahil Kumar, alias Band Makhan, of Bhagat Singh Colony, Indira Colony of Jhabal Road and Ajay Kumar of Mehrapura Nawakot area. Kalia was at his confectionary shop in Bhalla Colony in Chheharta when he was shot dead by three bikeborne persons on August 21. Robbery was stated to be the prime reason behind the incident. The police had registered a murder case on the statement of Kalia’s wife Snehlata, a schoolteacher. According to the police, the suspects had entered the shop as customers. As they tried to snatch money from the cash box, Kalia confronted them. One of the suspects took out a pistol and shot at him. He was rushed to a private hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. — TNS Amritsar, November 15 The local administration has restricted the procurement of parmal varieties of paddy to only five grain markets in the district from today as it has shut down a total of 42 markets after the arrival of fresh produce from the fields went down. District Mandi Board officials stated that a total of 7.65 lakh metric tonnes of paddy crop have been procured so far out of which an estimated 2.75 lakh MT is parmal and 4.94 lakh MT is basmati. The parmal crop has been procured by government agencies while the share of private buyers in the purchase is negligible. On the other hand, the basmati crop has been solely purchased by private traders as it is not covered under MSP . Deputy Commissioner Ghanshayam Thori said that farmers who have still not brought their parmal crop to the markets can bring it to grain markets at Bhagatanwala, Harsha The Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO ‘FARMERS CAN BRING THEIR PRODUCE’ Farmers who have still not brought their parmal crop to the markets can bring it to grain markets at Bhagatanwala, Harsha Chinna, Attari, Ajnala and Rayya, said DC Ghanshyam Thori. Chinna, Attari, Ajnala and Rayya. He said that though the harvesting of parmal crop is nearly over, there might a few farmers who are yet to sell their produce. Thori said that the number of incidents of burning of crop residue has gone down considerably. He said that SHOs of the concerned police stations have been made accountable for farm fires in their respective jurisdiction. The district administration has registered a total of 13 FIRs for violation of ban orders on burning crop residue besides filing 27 criminal cases in courts under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act. The DC stated that an environmental compensation of over Rs 22 lakh has also been imposed on farmers who have burnt the crop residue. The district has reported a total of 1,488 farm fire incidents till date. SGPC celebrates foundation day Martyrdom day of Shaheed 19anganwadiworkers, Baba Deep Singh observed helpers get job letters Tribune News Service SGPC celebrates its foundation day at Gurdwara Manji Sahib Diwan Hall at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on Wednesday. Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 15 The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) celebrated its foundation day here on Wednesday. Various events were held to mark the occasion at Gurdwara Manji Sahib Diwan Hall, situated inside the Golden Temple complex. After the bhog ceremony of akhand path, the ragi jatha of Shamandeep Singh, Hazuri Ragi of Golden Temple, performed Gurbani Kirtan. Giani Gurminder Singh, a granthi, recited the hukamnama. He then shared the history of struggle and sacrifices made to set up the SGPC. In his address, Rajinder Singh Mehta, general secretary of the SGPC, said there were many religions in the world but none has a system to democratically elect a party to administer its religious shrines. He added that the SGPC has this honour and the entire Sikh community must endeavour to make it a successful one. He also congratulated devotees on the foundation day of the SGPC. Gurcharan Singh Grewal, former general secretary of SGPC, said the campaign initiated to establish the apex Sikh body, had laid the foundation for the movement of country’s independence. He said the Sikh body always served humanity without any discrimination. Tribune News Service Amritsar, November 15 The martyrdom day of Baba Deep Singh Shaheed was observed with Khalsai Jaho Jalal at the historic gurdwara named after him here on Wednesday. A large number of devotees came to pay homage at the historic shrine. The bhog of the akhand path was performed in the morning followed by a kirtan. Dhadhi and Kavishri groups rendered compositions on the life of Baba Deep Singh and his sacrifice. He had sacrificed his life while valiantly repulsing the attack on the Golden Temple by the invading Afghan army under Ahmed Shah Abdali. Volunteers of the Sukhmani Saheb Sewa Society and the office-bearers of Gurdwara Bibi Kaulan together rendered path (recital) of Sukhmani Sahib on the occasion. Amritsar, November 15 Jaswinder Singh Ramdas, MLA, Attari Constituency, handed over appointment letters to 19 anganwadi workers and helpers here on Wednesday. He said the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan was giving clean and corruption-free administration in the state. In addition to giving more than 37,000 jobs, the government had regularised the services of thousands of employees. He asserted that educated youngsters would continue to get ample job opportunities. The MLA said the promises made by the Aam Aadmi Party to the people during the elections were now being fulfilled one by one. He said ordinary people were receiving zero electricity bills and families were financially becoming stronger by saving on electricity bills. He Devotees recite prayers on the occasion of martyrdom of Shaheed Baba Deep Singh at a gurdwara in Amritsar on Wednesday. Rajinder Singh Sangha of Sewak Jatha Ishnan Amrit Vela said volunteers of the jatha brought water from ‘Amrit Sarovar’ of the Golden Temple to the gurdwara situated at Chattiwind Gate to clean its premises as the practice has been carried out since time immemorial. In addition, milk is also used to clean the premises. Attari MLA Jaswinder Singh Ramdas with anganwadi workers and helpers in Amritsar on Wednesday. exhorted the anganwadi workers to do their job honestly. Attari BDO Bikramjit Singh, District Programme Officer Kuldeep Kaur, supervisor Sharanjit Kaur, Gurdayala Singh, Nishan Singh and a large number of local residents were present on the occasion. Two killed in road Armed Forces Flag Day: Cycle rally Canada-based drug smuggler mishap in Tarn Taran arrives in city from Chandigarh nominated for trafficking Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, November 15 Two persons riding a motorcycle were killed on the spot in a road accident that took place on the Tarn Taran-Patti road near Shahabpur village here on Tuesday. The accident took place when a speeding car hit the motorcycle from the front. The deceased have been identified as Joga Singh and his aunt Gian Kaur, residents of Jaura village. Kashmir Singh, husband of Gian Kaur, who was at the local Civil Hospital, said after taking medicines from Tarn Taran, Gain Kaur and his nephew Joga Singh were returning to the village when their motorcycle was hit by a car. After being hit by the car, both Amritsar, November 15 Dedicated to the Armed Forces Flag Day, a cycle awareness rally from Chandigarh arrived here on Wednesday. The rally reached the office of the Defence Services Welfare Department here. The rally will conclude at Raj Bhawan, Chandigarh, on December 7, on the occasion of Flag Day. Sukhbir Singh, Superintendent at the local office of the Defence Services Welfare Department, said the youth of Punjab had always served the country by joining the armed forces to maintain the unity and integrity of the country. He said the cycle rally would instil patriotism among the youth and motivate them to Amritsar, November 15 The Amritsar Rural Police have nominated a Canadabased drug smuggler, Manbilawal Singh, in connection with the arrest of two drug peddlers and confiscation of 540-gm narcotics by the Border Security Force and Punjab Police two days ago hinting that the module was being operated from foreign shores. The contraband was reportedly dropped by a drone. Those arrested were identified as Daljit Singh of Udhar Dhaliwal village and Palwinder Singh of Rajatal village located near the IndiaPakistan border. During a preliminary inter- Deceased Joga Singh and Gian Kaur. PHOTOS: GURBAXPURI fell down on the road and died on the sport due to head injuries. ASI Gursewak Singh, posted with the Sarhali police station, reached the spot to collected information about the accident. The police registered a case under Sections 304-A, 279 and 427, IPC, on Wednesday. The car occupants managed to escape from the spot after the accident. The bodies were cremated in the village cremation ground in the evening. Cycle rally participants in Amritsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO join the security forces. He said the main objective was to spread awareness among the people about the sacrifices made by soldiers for the protection of the country and to motivate them to join the armed forces. He said besides that, the purpose of the rally c m y b was to inform the residents about Flag Day and encouraged them to contribute more. He said the cycle rally would be flagged off by Brigadier Harcharan Singh, VSM (retd), from Punjab State War Heroes Memorial for Tarn Taran on November 16. rogation, the duo had named Manbilwal Singh who has links with Pakistan-based entities who got the drugs smuggled. Though his name had never figured in drug trafficking cases in the past, his father Punjab Singh and uncle Suba Singh were notorious drug smugglers. They had around 12 cases of drug smuggling registered against them and they were currently out on bail, informed Manmeet Singh, SHO, Gharinda police station, here. They had a huge chunk of agricultural land across the border fence. Even the Border Security Force had restricted their entry to their land across the barbed border fence, said a police official privy to the investigations. Following the registration of a case against Manbilawal now, they are absconding from their houses in Rajatal village located near the IndiaPakistan border. According to BSF authorities, on the intervening night of November 12 and 13, BSF jawans intercepted a drone and heard dropping sound near Udhar Dhaliwal village. During the search, the police recovered a packet of contraband (540 gm). Later, BSF jawans conducted a joint search operation with Punjab Police in a surrounding area and arrested the two smugglers with a motorcycle from a house in the village. “The house was being used continued on page 2