21072024-ATR-01.qxd 7/20/2024 9:58 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY PLAYWRIGHT JATINDER BRAR’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATED THE PLAY BULLEH SHAH DELVES INTO THE LIFE OF THE POET BOMAN IRANI IS NOW READY WITH HIS DIRECTORIAL VENTURE Theatre artistes celebrated eminent playwright Jatinder Brar’s birthday at Punjab Naatshala here on Saturday. P2 Kuldip Raj Sharma’s play Bulleh Shah is no less than time travel to the 17-18th century Punjab. P4 Boman Irani is now ready with his directorial venture ‘Mehta Boys’. He firmly believes learning has to be constant in life.P4 » » » MAX 38°C | MIN 30°C YESTERDAY MAX 39°C | MIN 31°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7.33 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5:39 AM SUNDAY | 21 JULY 2024 | AMRITSAR Humidity, frequent power cuts make summer unbearable for residents Amritsar, July 20 As the highest temperature in the region hovers around 37°C these days, the high level of humidity is making weather troublesome for residents who are also forced to bear long scheduled and unscheduled power cuts. The increased demand for electricity during hot and humid conditions has also hiked frequent power supply disruptions due to technical snags in the district. “In these hot and humid conditions, air-conditioners are a necessity. No electric supply means that such equipment cannot be used,” Sunita Mahajan, a home maker said, while adding that three to four hour power cuts in the city were a routine affair these days. Mehakdeep Singh from Sukharchak village said, “The residential areas in villages face long power PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Tribune News Service A woman driving a two-wheeler covers her face to save herself from heat in Amritsar on Saturday. cuts. As trees have grown under transmission lines at various places, even a medium velocity wind can cause power disruption.” He said last Wednesday, they had to remain without power supply for 14 hours due to a fault in transmission lines. With a less than normal monsoon so far, residents are praying to the rain God to show mercy during the coming days. “A long spell of showers is very much required. The short spell of rains only increased humidity,” said a college student Kavita. Nearly 40 per cent less rainfall than the normal during the ongoing season has not helped paddy cultivators as they are using tubewells to irrigate their fields. “After recent downpour, farmers’ dependence on tubewells decreased. But as there has been not enough rain this season, tubewells are still running,” said Sukhdev, a farmer. 672 gram gold worth ~50 lakh seized at airport Seizure of animal organs: Prime suspect still on run Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 20 Even after lapse of 15 days, the prime suspect in smuggling of organs of endangered species and corals, is yet to be arrested. He was identified as Simer Lugani, a trader in the Majith Mandi area in the walled city which is famous for wholesale dry fruit trade. According to Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Amneet Singh the Forest Department had written to the police for seeking their help in the arrest of the suspect. Both the departments were making efforts for Lugani’s arrest. Meanwhile, the local court yesterday asked the suspect to surrender and personally appear before it on August 2, the next date of hearing. Lugani’s servant Ramchain, who was arrested at the time of raid from his godown, appeared before the court through video conferencing. “We have requested the court for sealing of Lugani’s godown and shop till investigations are completed,” the DFO said, while adding that samples of animal organs seized during the raid were sent for foren- Amritsar, July 20 The Customs Department seized 672 gram of gold worth Rs 50 lakh at Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International Airport last night. The gold was seized from a passenger who arrived from Italy. According to information, the suspect arrived at the Amritsar airport from Milan, Italy, last night. Officials of the Customs Department said Neos flight number N 0534 landed at the Amritsar airport yesterday night. They said a passenger’s luggage was checked during routine inspection. The customs staff recovered four gold bangles from his bag. During preliminary investigation, the passenger could not show the complete documentary proofs of the gold bangles. Officials said the suspect had brought 24 carat raw gold by converting it into four bangles. When bangles were weighed, their weight was found to be 672 gram. Their estimated market value was around Rs 49,92,960. The gold was seized under Section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962. Further investigation was still in progress. PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Court asks him to surrender before August 2 One of the suspects in custody of the Forest Department and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO requested the court for sealing of Lugani’s ❝We have shop till investigations are completed. godown and Samples of animal organs seized during the raid have been sent for forensic examination in a Dehradun laboratory. The report is expected within a week. ❞ Amneet Singh, DIVISIONAL FOREST OFFICER sic examination in a Dehradun laboratory. He said the report was expected within a week. Acting on a tip-off, the Forest Department in collaboration with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) confiscated huge quantity of smuggled body parts wild animals and endangered sea coral from the godown of Lugani in the Majitha Mandi area here on July 5. During the raid, officials arrested Lugani’s servant Ramchain on the spot. The raiding team led by Madhivanan, Assistant Director, WCCB, Sukhwinder Chohan, Range Officer, along with forest guards and staff members, seized huge cache of illegal animal body parts allegedly used for occult rituals. The seizure was made by officials under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Officials seized 38 suspected bear biles, 158 hatha jodi of monitor lizard genital parts, 1.498kg of organ pipe corals, 69 sea fan corals, 4.814kg of gorgonians (corals) and 400 frozen sandfish skink lizard, an exotic species smuggled from the Middle East countries. A case was registered under Sections 44, 48 and 49 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, in this connection. The Act prohibits trade of wild animals, their body parts or trophies. Illegal import of wildlife is in violation of the Wild Life (Protection) Act. Under Section 51 of the Act, a suspect could be awarded a sentence upto seven years of imprisonment for trading in wildlife. A preliminary analysis of the seized wildlife animal body parts indicates that these were smuggled from various parts of India and the Middle East countries. Six villages remain without powerformorethan18hours Powercom workers repair a snag at the Fatehbad power station on Saturday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Tarn Taran, July 20 A major technical snag in the 66 kV Naushehra Pannuan power station disrupted domestic power supply in six villages from 10 pm on Friday. Residents, particularly the elderly and children, had to bear extreme heat for more than 18 hours. Officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) said the affected villages were Warrian Purane, Warrian Naven, Thathaian Mahantan, Dargapur, Jallew- al and Kheda. Navreet Singh Jallewal, sarpanch of Jallewal village, Balkar Singh, sarpanch of Dargapur village, Kulwant Singh, sarpanch of Thathaian Mahantan village and others said the power supply was suspended at 10 pm on Friday. They said residents lodged complaints with officials concerned. They said when workers of the PSPCL despite their best efforts failed to find the fault, powercom officials switched off their mobile phones. They said power supply was frequently disrupted in their villages. When workers of the PSPCL found the defect at 5 pm, senior officials heaved a sigh of relief. When contacted, Hardeep Singh, Senior Executive Engineer, Tarn Taran suburban division, said the defect was located at 5 pm. He said the Fatehbad power station too had developed some snag. He said technical workers were deputed to remove the defect. — OC Three arrested with 1.5kg heroin Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 20 The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) and the counterintelligence wing of the Punjab Police, has arrested three traffickers who came to pick up a drug consignment in Khasa on the Amritsar-Attari road here on Saturday. The police seized 1.5kg of heroin from their possession, officials said. The police received a tipoff that the trio had hidden contraband in agricultural fields in the area. The police waited for the suspects to come and pick up the drug from fields. Those arrested were identified as Gurlal Singh of Margindpura village, Gurpartap Singh of Talwandi and Harjit Singh, alias Jita, of Kohala village in the Lopoke area. The SSOC has lodged an FIR against the three suspects and initiated probe to establish their backward and forward links. The police said investigation was underway to ascertain how many drug consignments were picked up by the three suspects. Their Pakistani links were also being looked into, the police added. Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal inspects strengthening work of a Ravi river embankment near Ghoneval village in Ajnala segment. Govt fully prepared to deal with floods, says Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 20 Ahead of the threat of floods due to increase in level of water in rivers, Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal inspected the ongoing strengthening work of the embankment of the Ravi river near Ghoneval village in the Ajnala area here on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Dhaliwal claimed that the Punjab Government was fully prepared to deal with natural disasters like floods and all arrangements were in place to tackle any untoward situation. Dhaliwal said last year, weakness of the embankment at some places had created a breach in rivers. He said this time, the fault had been rectified and the strengthening work was still going on. He said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had asked ministers and MLAs to keep a close watch on the flood preparedness measures in their respective areas. Dhaliwal said last year, the Ravi river water entered agricultural fields. He said like many other parts of the state, residential areas in the district had remained unaffected. He also appealed to the people not to dig soil near river embankments. He said it could cause soil erosion and damage embankments leading to floods in many villages. Vet hospital cries for attention Deorhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh awaits tourists Amritsar, July 20 A veterinary hospital at Hathi Gate, managed by the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC), is in a pathetic condition. The hospital used to provide inpatient department (IPD) facility. For the past few years, its OPD is functional, but the IPD is lying defunct. Dr Ajay Gupta, MLA, Central Assembly constituency, visited the veterinary hospital recently. During his visit, he found several irregularities at the only public veterinary hospital run by the MC. Dr Gupta said former Cabinet Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla had informed him about the bad condition of the hospital. During his visit, the MLA found that only one vet- ❝ In the coming days, the tendering process for the renovation of the hospital would start. A new building of hospital would be constructed at the cost of ~85 lakh. Funds would be provided to the MC for the construction work of the hospital. ❞ Dr Ajay Gupta, MLA, AMRITSAR CENTRAL erinary doctor was present at the hospital. He said the hospital had OPD for sick animals, but the IPD was not functional. He said for the improvement of the hospital, a meeting would be held soon with Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori. He said appropriate steps would be taken to keep helpless animals at the hospital. During his visit, the MLA gave instructions to officials of the MC for the renovation of the hospital. Dr Gupta said in the coming days, the tendering process for the renovation of the hospital would start. He said a new building of hospital would be constructed at the cost of Rs 85 lakh. He said funds would be provided to the MC for the construction of the hospital. Dr Gupta said he would check the estimate prepared by corporation officials for the renovation of the hospital. No stone would be left unturned to accomplish the task, he said. — TNS Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 20 The municipal corporation (MC) has opened to public the Deorhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Ram Bagh located opposite police station. The MC has opened the historical structure with the help of a local NGO. However, only a few tourists visit the monument as no government department makes efforts to popularise it. An NGO, City on Pedals, has deployed a representative who keeps the gates of the monument open for tourists. Even after spending a huge sum on the restoration and conservation under the national Heritage City Devel- c m y b Need to popularise & maintain the historical structure, say NGOs opment and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), the MC has not been able to free Deorhi’s surroundings from encroachments. Heaps of garbage can be seen at the entrance of the Deorhi. Not only the MC, the Tourism Department also did not make efforts to mark the monument on its city maps. Principal Kulwant Singh Ankhi, a local activist, said the historic gate was beautifully restored only a few years ago. However, the building was not being maintained properly. After investing Continued on page 2 Deorhi of Maharaja Ranjit Singh at Ram Bagh in Amritsar. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR
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