07022024-ATR-01.qxd 2/7/2024 12:49 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune DIOCESE OF CITY DELEGATION MEETS PM NARENDRA MODI KILLERMIKESPEAKSUPAFTERBEING HANDCUFFED AT 2024 GRAMMYS A delegation of the Diocese of Amritsar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital recently. P2 Rapper Killer Mike, who was handcuffed & questioned by police at the 2024 Grammys, has broken his silence. P3 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR ANKUR TEWARI TALKS ABOUT THE IDEA BEHIND VIRAL HIT KHALASI Hit song Khalasi has countless impressions on social media serving as background score for dramatic & funny reels on Instagram.P4 » MAX 17°C | MIN 05°C YESTERDAY MAX 20°C | MIN 06°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.04 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:09 AM WEDNESDAY | 7 FEBRUARY 2024 | AMRITSAR Pak intruder held by BSF, handed over to Khalra police Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, February 6 A Pakistani intruder was nabbed by BSF jawans on Monday morning adjacent to the fencing installed on the Indo-Pak border near Palo Patti village in Khalra sector. The intruder was handed over to the Khalra police. The police said the intruder was identified as Abu Bakar, a resident of Chathianwala district in Kasur (Pakistan). The police said the intruder reached near the fencing in the Indian territory and was nabbed by BSF jawans. Pakistani currency notes in the denomination of Rs 100, a black thread and a mobile phone with an Indian SIM with the number +9196461-12858 was recovered from the intruder. The police said a case under Sections 34 and 20 of the Passports Act, Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and Section 188 of the IPC had been registered against the intruder. MC to take action as firm fails to start bioremediation project Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 6 After inspection of Bhagtanwala garbage dump site, Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner has issued instructions to take action against the solid waste management company for not fulfilling the terms of the contract. MC Commissioner Harpreet Singh instructed officials to impose penalty as per clause of the contract on the solid waste management firm which breached the condition. The firm was supposed to start bioremediation plant after segregation of waste and install leachate treatment plant, but it failed to do so. The development comes after the MC Commissioner, municipal health officer Dr Yogesh Arora and chief sanitary inspector JP Babbar visited garbage dumping site at Bhagtanwala and reviewed the Officials of the MC at the Bhagtanwala dump in Amritsar on Tuesday. WHAT IS BIOREMEDIATION? Bioremediation is a biological process that uses living organisms, usually microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) and plants, to degrade, remove, alter, immobilise and detoxify waste products. A trimble machine crushes garbage and automatically segregates plastic, debris, soil and manure. After bio-treatment, garbage can be used as manure in fields. progress of the bioremediation and leachate treatment plants. Pankaj Upadhyay, consultant of the solid waste management firm — Averda — was also present on the occasion. The MC Commissioner was apprised that the civic body gave contract to the firm for the processing of the garbage. The company failed to start the bioremediation plant after segregation of wet and dry waste and to install leachate treatment plant even after several years of bagging the contract. Earlier, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had imposed penalty on the MC and asked it to initiate the processing of garbage, construct a boundary wall around the dump site and develop a green belt in the area in 2018. Officials of the MC had claimed to start the bioremediation plant several times in the past, but the project never took off properly. There are around 30-feethigh garbage heaps on 20 acres dump site at Bhagtanwala. At least 15 lakh metric tonnes of garbage is lying on the site. The solid waste management company — Averda — once started the bioremediation plant in October 2020, but it stopped working soon. Next hearing of civic body elections case on March 21 Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 6 The next date of hearing in the case related to the delay in holding municipal corporation (MC) polls has been fixed as March 21 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. A local resident has knocked the door of the High Court raising questions over the delay in holding the MC elections even after the end of the tenure of its House. A fresh notice has been issued by the High Court to the Punjab Government and the Election Commission to file reply in this regard. Prabodh Chandra Bali, an RTI activist from the city, filed a petition in the High Court regarding elections not being conducted even after the completion of the tenure of municipal corporation Houses in Amritsar, The office of the municipal corporation in Amritsar. FILE Ludhiana, Patiala, Jalandhar and Phagwara. The petition stated that it was mandatory to hold elections before the completion of the tenure of the House of the MCs in January 2023. “Under Article 249-U of the Constitution of India and Section 7 of the Punjab Municipal Corporations Act, the elections should be held before the civic body General House is dissolved. By not conducting elec- tions, the state government has deprived voters of their valuable democratic rights for one year. The State Election Commission has not yet notified the schedule for holding the MC elections,” said the RTI activist. Today’s hearing is considered important as the court has sought reply from the state government in this regard after which the whole situation would become clear. 3 suspects in Majitha road firing case held Amritsar, February 6 The police today nabbed the suspects involve in a firing case reported from the Majitha road on Monday. The Sadar police have also registered a case against the victim who received a bullet injury in the firing. Investigation revealed that the victim’s group started an altercation. The police nabbed associates of victim Gurkirat Singh, alias Kirat. Whereas, the main suspect in the case, identified as Giani, is still absconding. Kirat, a resident of New Nehru Colony, stated in his complaint that on February 5, around 3 pm, he was going on a bike with his friends. When he was passing through Gali No. 5 of his colony, suspects Ankush and his two friends, hurled abuses and fired at them from a pistol. A bullet hit Gurkirat in his waist. A case was registered on the statement of Kirat at the Sadar police station. The suspects in custody of the police in Amritsar on Tuesday. Police Commissioner (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar gave instructions for the immediate arrest of the attackers. After investigation, the police arrested Ankush Kumar, a resident of Sandhu Colony on Batala Road, who attacked Gurkirat. During interrogation, Ankush confessed that a person identified as Giani came to his house. Ankush told the police that Gurkirat, Rohan and Sahiyad, alias Suraj, alias Aastha special train to departforAyodhyatoday Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 6 A day ahead of the start of a pair of Amritsar-Ayodhya train, all arrangements are in place to run the Aastha special train. All seats in the train have been booked. Railway officials said 222 passengers would board the train at the Amritsar railway station, maximum 472 from Ludhiana and 283 from Jalandhar. The Railways introduced the train to facilitate pilgrims visit to Ayodhya after inaugu- ration of the Ram temple. The special train would depart from Amritsar at 5:55 am on Wednesday and reach Ayodhya at 4:20 am on February 8. The train would undertake the return journey from Ayodhya at 10:30 am on February 9 and arrive at the Amritsar railway station at 7:15 am on February 10. During 1,000 km-long journey, the train would halt at 11 railway stations. Equipped with 22 coaches, the train would cover the distance in 22 hours. Sherry, also came to his residence on a bike. They hurled abuses at Ankush and threw stones at his house. After this, Ankush and his accomplice Giani opened fire at Gurkirat. A case was registered against Gurkirat, Rohan and Sahiyad at the Civil Lines police station in this connection. Rohan and Sahiyad are already facing two criminal cases. The police said teams had been formed to arrest Giani. — TNS Biker arrested for snatching handbag Amritsar, February 6 A youth, who snatched a handbag from a woman in the Sultanwind area, was arrested within half-an-hour of incident today evening. The police received information that a handbag of a woman riding in an autorickshaw in the Sultanwind area was snatched by a bikeborne youth. The police started a search operation and nabbed the suspect with in half-an-hour. The snatched handbag and the motorcycle used in the crime was also recovered from the suspect. The handbag was handed over to woman. —TNS Camps held at 24 places under ‘Aap Fourhockeyplayersfrom Bhai Gursharan Singh Memorial Di Sarkaar Aap De Dwar’ programme district get coveted jobs Award for thespian Jatinder Brar Tribune News Service Neeraj Bagga Amritsar, February 6 The district administration organised 24 camps at various places on Tuesday as part of the ‘Aap Di Sarkaar Aap De Dwar’ programme of the government during which 453 services were provided to residents. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ghanshyam Thori, who visited the camp at Bharariwal village along with Commissioner of Police (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, said apart from employees of various departments, sarpanches, patwaris, child development project officers, SHOs of police stations concerned and representatives of the PSPCL were present to resolve complaints of the public on the spot. The DC said camps would continue for one month during which people would be provided all required services on one spot. He said it would be ensured that camps were organised in all areas of the Tribune News Service DC Ghanshyam Thori (2nd to right) and Police Commissioner Gurpreet Bhullar (2nd to left) at the camp in Bharariwal village. district so that no resident had to visit a government office to resolve his/her issue. Thori said camps were being organised as part of the government’s resolve to provide services to residents at their doorstep. The DC also asked the Sub-Divisional Magistrates to regularly monitor the working of these camps so that maximum number of people could avail their benefit. The CP said employees of the Police Department would listen to complaints of residents at these camps and try to resolve them at the earliest. Officials of the district administration said residents of an area where camp was to be organised would be informed about the date and venue in advance through ASHA and Anganwadi workers and public announcement systems. Amritsar, February 6 Four hockey stars of India, who hail from Amritsar district, made the city proud as they have been given PPS and PCS jobs. These players include Harmanpreet Singh of Timmowal, Shamsher Singh of Attari, Dilpreet Singh of Butala and Gurjant Singh of Khaliara. They were part of the Indian hockey team which created history in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics by winning a medal (bronze), that came after a gap of 41 years. Harmanpreet, Shamsher and Dilpreet have been given jobs in the Punjab Police Service (PPS) and Gurjant in the Punjab Civil Service (PCS). They have been performing consistently for the country in international fixtures. Harmanpreet and Shamsher were part of the Indian team which won at the 2023 Asian Games. Now, all of them are in Odisha to play in the much-awaited FIH Pro League at Bhubaneshwar. Shamsher’s father Hardev Singh, a farmer by profession, said not only his family but the entire border village of Attari was overjoyed as the state government felicitated the players with coveted jobs. Sharing his feelings about the Tokyo Olympics, Hardev said he had expected that the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab would offer jobs to players upon their return to state. He said though it took some time for the government to give jobs, it was a nice gesture to encourage sports. He recalled that Shamsher never missed practice sessions and his dedication took him to Olympian Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar and later ensuredselection in the PNB team, Delhi. continued on page 2 Amritsar, February 6 Punjab Natshala founder and eminent playwright Jatinder Brar has been conferred Bhai Gursharan Singh Memorial Award by the Punjabi Sahit Akademi for his contribution to Punjabi theatre. Padma Shri awardee Dr Surjit Patar, head, Punjabi Sahit Akademi, gave away the award to Brar, who despite being a septuagenarian, manages and curates theatre festivals at Punjab Naatshala. Earlier, Brar has received accolades and honours, including Punjab Gaurav and Shiromani Natakakar. A mechanical engineer by profession, Brar’s love for theatre and literature can be gauged from the fact that he converted his factory located in front of Khalsa College into a theatre hub, now known as Punjab Naatshala. It started as an open-air theatre in the year 1998 and is recognised globally today for the state-ofthe-art technology and hosting several theatre festivals. Jatinder Brar (4th to right) at the felicitation ceremony in Ludhiana. Artistes from more than two dozen countries have performed here. So far, 3,000 shows have been held here. Many noted names of Indian film and entertainment industry, including Kapil Sharma, Bharti Singh and Chandan Prabhakar, have been nurtured here. Celebrated actors like Seema Biswas, Nadira Babbar, Juhi Babbar and Rajit Kapoor have performed at Punjab Naatshala. Brar has composed around 100 plays and short stories, and produced several of his plays including Kudessan, Saka Jallianwala Bagh and others. A film has been made on his play Kudessan and one of his play Padaan is taught in the BA syllabus. While presenting the award, Patar said, “Brar’s services can never be forgotten. He has put Punjab on the world stage through theatre. All this will be remembered for the generations to come.” — TNS Roll back hike in stamp duty on loans: SAD president to govt Farmers urge DC to fix June 10 as start dateforpaddytransplantationindistrict Amritsar, February 6 During the Punjab Bachao Yatra in Jandiala Guru and Baba Bakala, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal demanded that “unwarranted taxes”, including the hike in stamp duty on loans and on power of attorney for transfers, after amending the Indian Stamp Act and The Registration Bill, be revoked immediately as the cost of buying SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal during the Punjab Bachao Yatra. vehicles and homes would go up for the common man. He said the AAP government had nothing to show by way of development of infrastructure. It seemed that new taxes were being imposed for financial publicity stunts, he added. He said the price of sand had risen considerably due to the mafia. Badal said he got a feedback that the sand, which was avail- c m y b able for around Rs 15,000 per trailer during the SAD government’s tenure, was now being sold for Rs 60,000 per trailer. He claimed that representatives of the trade and industry told him that the economy of the Majha region was affected due to lawlessness, increase in power rates and withdrawal of incentives given during the erstwhile SAD government. — TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, February 6 Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ghanshyam Thori visited villages which had reported maximum farm fires during the paddy harvesting season to learn about the reasons behind farmers still sticking to the practice despite the availability of crop residue management machines. The DC said the district had reported a total of 1,577 farm fires during the paddy season. He said as per the data available from Punjab Remote Sensing Centre, no farm fires were reported from 280 villages in the district. Thori during a visit to Nag Kalan village, near Majitha, said farmers could get machines on subsidy from the government for crop residue management. He said a total of 885 machines were provided to farmers continued on page 2
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
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