06032024-ATR-01.qxd 3/6/2024 12:55 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FARMERS TO SET OFF ON ‘DILLI CHALO’ MARCH TODAY DHINDSA-LED AKALI FACTION BACK INTO SAD FOLD The SAD (Sanyukt), led by its president Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, merged into the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 22°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 19°C | MIN 7°C DANCING DIVA NORA FATEHI HAS FEAR OF RATS Farmers from northern and central states of the country would march towards Delhi tomorrow. P3 FORECAST Actress Nora Fatehi, who is one of the best dancing divas of Bollywood, has a fear of rats. P4 » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.32 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6.50 AM » WEDNESDAY | 6 MARCH 2024 | AMRITSAR Ex-Dy Speaker Babbu lays claim to BJP LS ticket from Gurdaspur Three-time legislator served as CPS in the Badal govt Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Pathankot, March 5 Three-time ex-Sujanpur BJP MLA Dinesh Babbu has thrown his hat in the electoral ring by laying claim to the BJP ticket for the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat in the forthcoming General Elections. With the clamour to field a local candidate growing with every passing day, Babbu, a former Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, made it clear that he was very much in contention for the party ticket. To indicate to his colleagues as well as his detractors that he is in the fray, he made it a point to be present in the workers’ meeting held on Sunday in Pathankot which was presided over by Kewal Dhillon, BJP state vice-president. Babbu carries with him the experience of being the Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Food and Civil Supplies) in the Parkash Singh Badal government during a part of his first term as MLA from 2007 till 2012. Miscreants fire at man, 2 sons in Tarn Taran Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 5 Baj Singh, a resident of Gaggobua and his two sons, had a narrow escape when they were fired at by a group of eight armed men. Baj Singh has lodged a complaint with the Chabal police against the accused in this regard. Baj Singh said that Yadwinder Singh Yada of the village wanted to take his son to get heroin from some drug peddler but he refused to accompany him. He said that Yadwinder Singh threatened to kill his son Rachhapal Singh on his mobile, and in a fit of anger, Yadwinder Singh along with his associates Jagdeep Singh Jaggu, Avtar continued on page 2 Dinesh Babbu He has remained the Sujanpur legislator thrice from 2007 till 2022. Babbu has also remained Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Assembly for his full term of five years during his second term from 2012 till 2017. It was in the 2012 polls that he beat his nearest rival Vinay Mahajan of the Congress by a margin of 23,000 votes, which turned out to be the maximum margin among all the 117 seats of the Punjab assembly. Sources say the fact that Babbu is a Rajput will stand him in good stead when it comes to selecting the candidate. “The Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat has nearly 3 lakh Rajput voters. A majority of them are concentrat- ed in the assembly seats of Bhoa, Pathankot, Dinanagar and Sujanpur. Kahnuwan block of Gurdaspur district also has a fair sprinkling of Rajput votes. Going by previous trends, this community is known to vote en bloc for a candidate of its caste. Babbu definitely holds an edge here when it comes to taking a final call on the candidacy,” said a senior party leader. The other Hindu candidate in the fray is Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma. However, his rant against the party high command when Sunil Jakhar was appointed the state president is sure to go against him. Babbu is responsible for bringing in the lift irrigation system in the 50 odd villages of the water-starved Dhar block, considered to be one of the most under-developed blocks of Punjab. Dhar forms a part of his assembly seat of Sujanpur. During his three terms as a BJP legislator, he brought in several development initiatives like coeducation government college, KVK and a litchi . Amritsar, March 5 Tata Steel officials, in collaboration with Amritsar Police personnel, raided the premises of a wholesaler’s shop located in Ram Bagh area for selling counterfeit Tata Wiron brand barbed wires illegally. The products were being sold under the registered ‘Tata’ trademark and branding in an attempt to deceive consumers into believing that they were purchasing genuine Tata products. On receiving information about the illegal activity, Tata Steel officials along with the police conducted a raid on the wholesaler and seized the fake products. An FIR has been registered against the local trader under the provisions of the Copyright Act, 1957. The company remains committed to taking legal action against any such illicit activities that undermine its assets and harm its customers. The company urges consumers to only purchase Tata Steel products from authorised dealers and distributors to ensure the authenticity of the product. — TNS PSU bank robbery case solved Tarn Taran, March 5 The district police on Tuesday claimed to have resolved the State Bank of India robbery in which two armed robbers had looted ~8 lakh (approximately). The police have arrested one of the miscreants allegedly involved in the robbery. Besides, they had also snatched the rifle of the security guard while fleeing the spot. The robbers, who were wearing helmets, entered the bank premises and first of all snatched the security guard’s rifle and then threatened the customers to lay down on the floor. After that, they went to the cashier and demanded him to put the whole cash in his bag which he did and they fled the spot on a Bullet motorcycle. The motorcycle was stolen from Jarmastpur village in Tarn Taran. In a press conference, Tarn Taran SSP Ashwani Kapur The accused in custody of the Tarn Taran police on Tuesday. stated here on Tuesday that the accused has been identified as Gurinder Singh Ginder, a resident of Naushehra Pannuan. The SSP said following the quizzing of the accused, the stolen amount of ~90,000, the rifle and the Breeza car and the Bullet motorcycle used in the crime all have been recovered. Gurinder Singh is an Australian citizen and had come to India a few months ago. He is allegedly an addict State’s poll year Budget elicits mixed reactions and indulged in drugs. The SSP said three more robbers involved in the bank dacoity were identified as Suraj of Naushehra Pannuan, Sehzad Singh of Fatehchak locality in Tarn Taran and the third accused is yet to be identified. The remaining cash robbed from the bank is yet to be recovered. The SSP said another accused, Suraj, is expected to be arrested any time. — OC Farmers to stay at Shambhu till govt opens border: KMSC ‘Central Govt trying to suppress farmers’ agitation by police force’ Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Tribune News Service allows farmers to sit at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, then farmers from all states are ready to be there with other modes of transportation. We gave a call to farmers of other states to reach Jantar Mantar,” said Pandher. The district unit of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee held a preparatory meeting for the nation- Gold seized from flyer at city airport Consumers decry delivery of LPG cylinders without checking weight Amritsar, March 5 The Customs Department at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport seized 449gm gold from a passenger here on Tuesday. The passenger had reached the airport from Dubai by a SpiceJet flight. A department official stated that the checking staff found the passenger’s behaviour suspicious during routine checking. During scanning and checking of suspicious items in his baggage, the staff found a noodlemaking machine in which the gold in crude form was concealed. The estimated value of the gold was around ~28 lakh. The smuggled gold has been seized under relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. A probe is on. — TNS Tribune News Service KMSC leader Sarwan Singh Pandher pays obeisance at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar, March 5 LPG consumers are at the receiving end as most of the deliverymen do not carry with them the required weighing machines. Moreover, officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department seem little serious about the matter. People say let alone getting the weight of an LPG cylinder checked before a consumer, all deliverymen do not carry the weighing equipment with them, which is mandatory. According to social activist PC Sharma, as per the standard norm an LPG refill should weigh 29.7 kg which includes 14.8 kg LPG gas. However, when the delivery is made at wide “Rail Roko” on March 10 and decided to participate in the Shambhu agitation with more strength. Addressing on the occasion, KMSC leader Gurbhachan Singh Chabba said the movement has gained momentum in the entire country and at the behest of the Central Government and the governments of other states, includ- the residences of consumers, deliverymen do not carry with them any weighing machine to clear the doubts of consumers. Hapless consumers have to show trust in them as they do not have any alternative to cross-check the weight of a cylinder. He demanded that the state-run LPG companies must direct the distributors to Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Gunbir Singh state resources that would continue. But being a parliamentary election year, it remains to be seen as to what is accomplished ultimately, he said. Gunbir Singh, former Chairman, CII Punjab, said the Budget needed a deep dive into employability of youth through augmentation of industry and business potential. Healthcare and education continue to be focus of the AAP government. This is especially so because overseas opportunities for undergraduates are drying up quickly. The tourism push is appreciable but the proof of pudding will be in eating, he said. Office-bearers of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal (PPBM) said the industry was Piara lal seth allocated only 1.65 per cent of the entire Budget. The service sector, which contributes 50 per cent to the state GDP , received peanuts, they said. Piara Lal Seth, president, PPBM, said the government’s estimate suggested a nine per cent increase in the state budget for 2024-25. However, only Rs 3,367 crore was kept for trade and industry, which is only 1.65 per cent of the Budget. Seth said a cursory look at the allocations for agriculture, education and healthcare suggested that a nominal provision in the Budget was made for the taxpayers. New business hubs should have been created for the retail sector, wholesale trading sector and service or tertiary sector. ensure that their deliverymen must carry weighing machines while delivering refills at the doorstep of consumers. District Food Supplies Controller Sartaj Singh said officials would conduct checking whether the deliverymen possess the machines. Distributors would be asked to to keep an eye on deliverymen. Hawala racket: Police Punjab Budget: Govt to launch write to I-T Dept, FIU fresh fleet of e-buses in city soon BRTS failure no for detailed probe deterrent for push to PK Jaiswar Dr S S Chhina ing Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, are trying to suppress the farmers’ agitation by police force. It proves that they are very fearful of people’s movement. He said whatever action programmes will be decided by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha in the coming days, they will be implemented with full force. He said thousands of people from across the district will join the agitation at the Shambhu border. On the occasion, district secretary Gurlal Singh Mann, secretary Singh Kotla and Baldev Singh Baga said there is great enthusiasm for the movement in villages and to raise awareness about the demands. Village-level meetings are being held in this regard. Mann said if the government did not sort out the matter soon, the farmers’ agitation would be intensified. Amritsar, March 5 Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) leader Sarwan Singh Pandher has said that farmers will sit on the borders of Haryana till the Central Government does not open the roads to Delhi. Pandher was in holy city to pay obeisance at the Golden Temple where he prayed for the success of the farmers’ ongoing agitation. Talking about the call to reach Jantar Mantar in Delhi on public transport, Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “Apart from Punjab and Haryana, farmers of other states cannot reach Delhi on tractor trollies, they will reach Delhi by public transport. The government had offered to Punjab farmers to come Delhi without tractors. If the Modi government Tribune News Service Neeraj Bagga Amritsar, March 5 The Punjab Budget presented in state Assembly on Tuesday by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema has elicited mixed reactions from people belonging to different sections of society with experts being of the view that giving away freebies to people may burden the state exchequer. Dr SS Chinna, Senior Fellow, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi, said the Budget for 2024-25 appeared to be one filled with high hopes in a state overburdened with debt. The allocation of ~575 crore for crop diversification was prudent as it shall promote employment both for labour as well as capital and reduce the extraction of groundwater, he said. The allocation of ~3,367 crore for industry, though short is still encouraging as it would be used to provide subsidy for electricity. Sports nurseries in villages are needed to divert the young from intoxicants. The power subsidy and free travel for women was a big misuse of the 1 booked for selling fake Tata Steel products Amritsar, March 5 For detailed financial investigations into two Hawala rackets busted by the Amritsar Rural Police in the recent past, the police have written to the Income Tax Department and the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) in this connection. The police had two days ago arrested Raman Kumar, a grocery trader, a resident of Namak Mandi area in the walled city, with ~45 lakh of alleged drug money. Besides, they had also seized ~55.90 lakh of alleged drug proceeds from a spice and natural gum trader, Rajiv Jain, on February 21. Their names had cropped up during the quizzing of foreign-based drug cartel members arrested by the police with the contraband. “We are writing to the IT and the FIU for a detailed probe into the drug and Hawala rackets. It would help the police during further probe and in c m y b nailing their accomplices,” said Amritsar Rural Police SSP Satinder Singh while confirming the development. During investigation, the police found virtual numbers on which the two traders used to talk to their accomplices in Pakistan, Dubai, Canada, the US and the UK, said a senior police official privy to the investigations while preferring anonymity. We are still investigating the module with which they used to transact money to their foreign-based accomplices, he said while adding that the accused, Rajiv Jain, was brought on extended police remand and sent to a joint interrogation cell where other agencies were also questioning him. It has been learnt that several other traders in Majith Mandi area have come under the radar of the police for running Hawala rackets. However, they were tight-lipped over this and said a probe was underway in this regard. Amritsar, March 5 Though the Punjab government announced that it would introduce a fresh fleet of e-buses while implementing e-Bus Sewa Scheme in Budget session, the city dwellers are concerned about the failure of two such projects of approximately Rs 750 crore previously, including the much hyped Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project last year. More than 90 Metro buses used to run under the BRTS project and 60 vehicles of the City Bus Service are gathering dust at the Vallah bus terminal and Mall Mandi, respectively. The windowpanes and tyres of Metro buses have been damaged as the buses have remained parked there since July 4. The government failed to hire drivers to operate buses after the company hired for outsourcing drivers left the contract mid-way following financial issues. During the last 10 years, two major projects have failed. In January 2014, the state Central project Metro buses gather dust in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR government had launched the City Bus Service funded under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). As many as 60 buses were introduced in its first phase. After two years, all the buses went off road and have suffered damage at the Mall Mandi bus stand. Then in December 2016, the government launched the BRTS by spending Rs 550 crore. Then Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal was in a hurry to launch the project to reap its advantages in the 2017 Assembly elections. Instead of making suitable financial arrangements for operating the bus service, the government made makeshift arrangements. The fleet of 92 buses plying on the 35-kilometre track from 6 am to 10 pm cost Rs 4 crore monthly. The fund-strapped government was unable to take enormous financial liabilities. Now, the bus is off road for eight months. Now, the Central Government has launched the PMeBus Sewa Scheme and the state government is going to introduce electric buses in Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala. Pawan Sharma, a local activist, said, “Before spending funds on e-buses, the government should conduct a study on the failure of previous transport projects. The ebuses also need to recover the operational cost. Without reviewing the failure of previous projects, it would be another blunder to launch ebuses in the city.”