19072024-ATR-01.qxd 7/18/2024 10:30 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLOUDY SKY MEDICAL CAMP FOR ELDERLY HELD AT TARN TARAN VILLAGE HIMACHAL DASTANGOI PROJECT: STORY OF THE HILLS RICHA, ALI ‘TICKLED PINK’ AS THEY WELCOME DAUGHTER A free medical check-up camp was organised at Ayush Health and Wellness Centre in Manochahal Kalan. P2 Adept in Dastangoi, Azharuddin Azhar aims to propagate oral storytelling as an art form. P4 Bollywood couple Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal have announced the arrival of their first child, a daughter. P4 » » » MAX 36°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET FRIDAY 7.34 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5.38 AM FRIDAY | 19 JULY 2024 | AMRITSAR Asr Dev Authority takes action against unauthorised colonies The seized ammunition in Tarn Taran. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI 3 months on, children’s park still under private firm control MLA Kunwar had submitted memo to AIT chief in this regard Consignment of weapons seized near IB Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, July 18 The Khalra police and BSF personnel in a joint operation in the border village of Kalsian Khurd recovered arms and ammunition from the common path (Firni) of the village here on Thursday. Preetinder Singh, DSP, Bhikhiwind, said the recovered arms and ammunition included four China-made pistols with four magazines and 50 cartridges. The DSP said the weapons must have been sent with the help of a drone. The Khalra police have registered a case under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act and Sections 10, 11 and 12 of the Aircraft Act. The DSP said the police were investigating the accused involved to bring the arms and ammunition from across the border. An illegal colony being demolished by Punjab Urban Development Authority at Gaunsabad village in Amritsar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Amritsar, July 18 The Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) took action against unauthorised colonies being built on Ghanumpur and Gaunsabad roads, Ram Tirth Road and stopped construction work here on Thursday. District Town Planner Gursevak Singh Aulkh said some unauthorised colonies have been developed at Gaunsabad village. The Amritsar Development Authority (ADA) stopped construction work by issuing notices to unauthorisd colonies at different times under the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act, 1995 (PAPRA Act). Demolition actions were also taken against illegal colonies several times in the past and the owners of these colonies were asked to regularize the colonies as per the rules of PUDA. But the owners of these such colonies did not pay attention to warnings and did not follow the government rules. Following this, the PUDA has written to the SSP (Rural) for registration of an FIR against the illegal colonisers. Today, after checking the spot of this particular colony again, it was found that the coloniser had extended the colony. Following this, the District Town Planner talked to the SHO, Kamboh police station, over the phone to take legal action against the coloniser. Aulakh said a person, who develop an unauthorized colony, will be punished with imprisonment of three to seven years and a fine of ~5 lakh can also be imposed. Apart from this, the District Town Planner and field staff visited Kala Ghanupur village, Ram Tirth Road. Notices have been issued to unauthorised colonisers under the PAPRA Act, 1995. Work on a colony was stopped and the SHO, Chheharta police station, was asked to take further action. The District Town Planner, Amritsar, while appealing to the general public said that they should not buy plots in illegal colonies by spending their hard-earned money. — TNS Amritsar, July 18 Three months after MLA North Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh submitted a memorandum to the Chairman of Amritsar Improvement Trust demanding that the Children’s Park at Ram Bagh be handed over to the public, no development has been reported till date. On April 16, the MLA North had met with Improvement Trust Chairman Ashok Talwar and demanded that the park be opened for general public. The MLA’s initiative to free the public park is being ignored by his own Aam Aadmi Party-led government. It is worth mentioning here that in 2016 during the SADBJP regime, the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) had transferred the park at Ram Bagh to a private firm on an 11-year lease in gross violation of the established principles of public policy and governance. During the Congress regime too, no effort was made to free the public park. LED screens to guide outsiders GNDU security chief booked to prominent places lying defunct on sexual harassment charge PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar, July 18 The screens, installed on the elevated road to help the visitors coming from outside to easily find directions to the Golden Temple and other prominent places, have been lying defunct for the past few years. Thousands of vehicles coming from other cities use the elevated road daily to reach the city and most of drivers might not be aware of the routes to their destinations. At least three such screens can be seen defunct on the stretch. “It would have been better if the boards had been installed as these could also serve the purpose. Now as the screens are not working, many drivers find themselves helpless,” said Surinder Singh, a local resident. The local authorities might have thought it better to install smart LED screens instead of the conventional direction boards. While entering the city, drivers, visiting A smart LED screens installed on elevated road in Amritsar. the city for the first time, often try to find milestones or direction boards overhead to reach their destinations and these screens, if working properly, can help them a lot in finding their routes. The elevated road is not the only place where these screens were installed. A large screen meant to advertise various tourist places in and around the city installed at Novelty Chowk has also been lying defunct for a long time. Interestingly, another LED screen was installed in front of it and was given to a private company for running advertisements. While the screen being managed by the private company is running properly, the one installed under the HRIDAY project to highlight tourist destinations is out of order. Amritsar, July 18 Days after a former woman employee of the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) accused three campus security employees, including its chief of sexual harassment, the Cantonment police have registered a case in this connection and booked the chief of security, Amar Singh Chahal, along with Ram Singh and Sahib Singh of the security team. They were charged with Section 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC. However, the GNDU Nonteaching Employees Association, security team members and the suspects including Chahal had refuted the allegations as untrue. Chahal had pointed out that the woman employee had lost her job after the GNDU authorities Case registered against two others received several complaints against her. She was terminated after an internal inquiry conducted by the university. After termination, she started levelling allegations against the security team. The victim had claimed that she was harassed on multiple occasions when she was on duty. She was removed from job on alleged false charges of indiscipline in January. Meanwhile, the victim expressed her dissatisfaction over the FIR. “The police have registered a case but there has been no action against the accused for the past two weeks. Also, the police action has been delayed and I have been made to run from pillar to post to get my complaint registered. Despite the FIR, none of them have been arrested,” she pointed out. The children’s park at Ram Bagh in Amritsar on Thursday. ‘UNFORTUNATE TO IGNORE PUBLIC DEMAND’ ■ Kunwar Vijay Partap, MLA North, said, “This is very unfortunate. It was the first time when I had visited someone to submit a memorandum during my two years as an MLA. I had raised a genuine issue with the AIT Chairman. It is sad that issues related to public are being ignored. No action has been taken in this regard.” into such an illegal contract,” claimed the MLA. MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap had raised a strong demand in this regard through question number 1011 in the Punjab Assembly in the budget session of 2024. The MLA claimed that the firm was illegally handed over to the private firm. The AIT has no authority to enter into such contract with any private firm. The object and intention of the contract was to provide an unfair advantage to a private party which is clear from the contents and phraseology of the contract. Not only this, the lessee (private party) has been authorised to charge separate fees for entry, parking and riding, which is completely contrary to the established principles of public policy. Even the term “high-powered committee” is not defined in the agreement. The formation of such a “high-powered committee” for this nefarious purpose further abets the alleged nexus of the political mafia, the MLA stated in assembly. AAP MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap claimed that the AIT entered into an illegal contract with a private firm by transferring the park on lease to a private party in 2016. The Ram Bagh is a heritage park and it is looked after by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the maintenance work was being undertaken by the Municipal Corporation. “Even the Municipal Corporation has no right to authorise the lessor (AIT) to enter 2 nabbed with 500-gm heroin 4 deaths due to drug overdose rile villagers Amritsar, July 18 The Amritsar Rural Police have arrested two drug peddlers with 500 gm of heroin here on Thursday. They were identified as Sarabjit Singh of the border village of Kakkar and Rana Ranjit Singh of Shahpur village. Satinder Singh, SSP Amrit, sar (Rural), said a police team on patrol was going from Lopoke to Manjh village, it intercepted two bike-borne persons near Shaheed Sewa Singh stadium. In order to escape from the police team, they entered a room of overhead water tank. The police chased and arrested them. During search, the police seized the contraband from their possession. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against them while further investigation was under way to identify their backward and forward links to expose the entire nexus. The contraband was apparently smuggled from Pakistan through a drone. — TNS Tarn Taran, July 18 Residents of Jaur Singh Wala village falling under Patti subdivision have expressed resentment over the death of four persons due to drug overdose in the last three weeks. The residents are planning to take to the streets to express their resentment. SSP Ashwani Kapur who visited the village on Thursday tried to pacify the agitated villagers. SSP Kapur after his visit to the village said that Surjit Singh (25) died after being injected with drugs on Wednesday. The SSP said that the Sadar Police, Patti, have registered a case under Section 105 and 3 (5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against two persons of the same village who administered the injection to Surjit Singh. The police officer said that the arrested person has been identified as Bikkar Singh while his associate Mandeep Singh Mani was absconding. SSP Ashwani Kapur visits Jaur Singh Wala village. The police are conducting raids at his possible hide-outs. The villagers expressed their resentment saying that drugs were easily available in the villages and it was in the notice of the police, civil administration and leaders of the ruling party. But leaders of the ruling party never came to express their sympathy with the affected people fearing their ire, they said. A study has found that it was an area from where drugs were easily available. The addicts often stole whatever they could lay their hands on and it had disturbed the normal life in the area. — OC UGC advisory on junk food leaves canteen owners in quandary Court sets August 17 as next date of hearing in Majithia’s defamation case Amritsar, July 18 The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued an advisory for universities and colleges, banning the sale of junk food prepared in their canteens. Citing a report of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), the UGC has said that sale of unhealthy items should be checked because of health concerns. However, college managements are in a quandary over its implementation as they feel that checking the eating habits of students, who are adults, is next to impossible. “The UGC has emphasised the importance of healthy food but if we implement the decision, then students would eat the same food outside the campus. Fast food is easily available everywhere and is College authorities are of the view that checking students’ habit of eating junk food is next to impossible. TRIBUNE PHOTO popularly consumed by all age-groups. I feel that in colleges, the canteens have quality control and if university or college canteens ban the sale of junk food, quality control will become a problem,” said Dr Sandeep, senior academician, DAV College, Amritsar. Most college canteens have limited food options, which also include sandwiches, burgers, samosa, pizza or instant noodles. While the UGC has been issuing these health advisories previously as well, dating back to 2016 and 2018, the sale of junk food continues in all major high- er institutions of education. According to the ICMR report (2020-2023) that the UGC cited, obesity and diabetes which are increasing rapidly in India, have assumed serious dimensions. To tackle this growing problem, NAPI has called for the speedy implementation of the National Multi-Area Action Plan (NMAP). But offering a healthy replacement might come at a cost for canteen owners as well. “If we don’t sell these food items, the students would go out and eat. Eventually, you cannot check what the students eat outside of campus anyway. But this will hit our business as most students ask for these food items,” said a canteen owner (name withheld on request) inside GNDU campus. His single day sale mostly comprises of c m y b selling instant noodles, sandwiches and pizza. Another café owner, inside GNDU campus, said that restraining students from eating what they like is difficult. “The ones who live in hostels also do not eat the food served in hostel canteens or mess. They choose to order junk food from outside the campus or go out to eat. Then how does the decision serve its purpose?” Often, these canteen owners serve junk food priced between Rs 40-Rs 90, which is suitable for students as they have limited means. “Banning them in college canteens would mean that students would go out and spend Rs 200-Rs 500 on eating this kind of food outside the campus. While it might not hinder them, it will definitely mean lesser business for us,” said the cafe owner. — TNS SAD leader skips SIT summons in 3-year-old drug case Amritsar, July 18 SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia today appeared in the district court in a defamation case he had filed against AAP leaders in 2016. The next date of hearing has been fixed for August 17. However, Majithia skipped acknowledging the summons of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Punjab police in Patiala for questioning in a separate three-year-old drug case, due to a clash of dates. After serving jail sentence for five months, he was out on bail in August 2022. In Amritsar court, Majithia had filed a defamation case SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO against Arvind Kejriwal, Ashish Khetan and Sanjay Singh of AAP in May 2016, in the run-up to state assembly elections in 2017 During the rallies, the AAP leaders had publicly accused continued on page 2