26072024-ATR-01.qxd 7/25/2024 10:38 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MINISTER INAUGURATES STATUE OF ‘OM JAI JAGDISH HARE’ COMPOSER EXPLORE AUDIOBOOKS & FILMS ON KARGIL WAR ANNIVERSARY TAHA SHAH TURNS SHOWSTOPPER FOR ABU JANI & SANDEEP KHOSLA Cabinet Minister Bram Shankar Jimpa inaugurated the statue of Pandit Shraddha Ram Phillauri at a memorial in Phillaur.P2 As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Kargil War, we explore the stories that defined the bravery of our soldiers. P4 MAX 35°C | MIN 31°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 31°C Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, the veterans of the Indian fashion industry, returned to India Couture Week on Wednesday.P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 7.30 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:42 AM » Five booked for illegally axing trees near canals Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 25 Following a complaint by the Department of Forest and Wild Life Preservation, the Amritsar (Rural) police have booked five members of a timber mafia gang who were allegedly involved in illegal chopping of trees from areas along canals. Those booked were identified as Lakhwinder Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ajmer Singh, Madhul and Avi, all residents of Khujala village in Tarsikka block here. Gursewak Singh, Beas block in-charge of the Department of Forest and Wild Life Preservation, in his complaint lodged with the Jandiala Guru police alleged that beat in-charges of Raipur and Tarsikka areas informed him about illegal chopping of trees from forest strips near Gadli distributary, Raipur distributary and Malakpur minor canal. He said a court case was already pending against suspects. Gurwinder Singh, Forest Range Officer, said one of the suspects Lakhwinder Singh was a former employee of the department. He along with others were allegedly hooked to drugs. They had been causing extensive damage to trees. During investigations, it was found that the suspects had sold many trees at the Kartarpur wood market. Officials also found two trunks of Sagwan tree. The police said a case under Sections 303 (2) and 324 (3) of the BNS; Sections 32 and 33 of the Indian Forest Act; and Sections 51 and 52 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act was registered against the suspects. Efforts were on to nab the suspects, the police said. 16 teachers booked for submitting fake domicile certificate Tarn Taran, July 25 Sixteen aspirants, who were recruited as teacher in the elementary wing of the Education Department under 9998 teachers category in September , 2007, have been booked by the police for cheating the department by submitting fake documents. The police said on Thursday, the suspects had submitted bogus experience and domicile certificates of the rural area. The police said the suspects were removed from service on October 22, 2009. An inquiry in this regard was conducted by Gursewak Singh, Chief Director, Vigilance Bureau (VB). The suspects were called to explain their stand in this regard. The police said 16 candidates found guilty of submitting bogus certificates were Mohanjit Kaur of Ghariala, Rajwinder Kaur of Mundapind, Rajinder Kaur of Khadoor Sahib, Ashwani Kumari of Chabal, Sukhdeep Kaur of Ganga Singh Nagar (Tarn Taran) , Charanjit Kaur of Khalra, Parwinder Kaur of Chabal, Gurpreeet Kaur of Bhalaipur Dogra, Kuldeep Kaur of Miglani, Ramandep Kaur of Sakkianwali, Sukhjit Kaur of Mohalla Noordi (Tarn Taran) , Navtej Singh of Jalalabad, Kuldeep Singh of Khalra, Pardeep Singh of Bodewal, Sital Kumar of Mohalla Jassewala (Tarn Taran) and Ram Singh of Chheena Bidhi Chand. The police said the suspects were absconding and raids were on to nab them. — OC Choked sewer lines rile Gurbax Nagar residents Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 25 Residents of Gurbax Nagar near Khazana Gate are facing inconvenience due to choking of sewer lines in their area. Residents have complained several times to the municipal corporation (MC) to clean sewer lines, but all their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Ashish Wahla, a resident, said for the last several days, they had facing the problem of choked sewer lines in Street No. 2 of Gurbax Nagar. “All residents of the street visited the MC’s zonal office at Lahori Gate several times to lodge complaint, but no civic body official visited the spot. We have also met former councillor of the area, but he too didn’t take any initiative to address the issue,” said Wahla. Residents of the area claimed that manholes of sewer lines overflowed. They said stinking Sewer water accumulated in a street of Gurbax Nagar in Amritsar. water gets accumulated in the street. On July 24, on the complaint of Wahla, civic body officials at the Lahori Gate office sent a few workers to open blockage in the sewer lines. “MC workers claim that there is a wall inside the sewer lines to prevent the flow of water towards the adjoining locality. Residents of the adjoining area oppose removing blockage in the sewerage as it would lead to waterlogging in their locality. Workers returned without solving the issue,” rued Wahla. Residents claimed that due to fault in construction of manholes and sewer lines water didn’t drain out from their street and got accumulated in the low lying area. “We are residing in hell like conditions as stinking water accumulates outside our homes. The water has become breeding ground of mosquitoes. Also roads in our locality have become slippery due to which two-wheeler riders often meet with accidents,” said another resident. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR FRIDAY | 26 JULY 2024 | AMRITSAR Vehicles parked in the waiting area for patients at Dr Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health in Amritsar. Healthinstitute’sOPDwaiting area turned into parking lot Amritsar, July 25 A portion of the waiting area for the patients at the Out Patients Department (OPD) of Dr Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health here is being used by employees to park their two-wheelers as they fear that these might get stolen from the open parking. The only public sector mental health institute in the region receives patients from Punjab and many other states. Patients have to fend for themselves as concrete benches in the waiting area have been rendered useless as scooters and bikes are parked here. Hundreds of medical students also visit the institute every day as they have to gain one month clinical experience which is mandatory for various courses. In the absence of separate restrooms for students, they too use the waiting area in the OPD during their breaks. An employee when asked about the reason behind many of them parking their twowheelers inside the institute's building said, "There have been multiple instances in which two-wheelers have been stolen from the open parking." He said, “With only one security person at the gate and hun- dreds of people coming to the institute daily, it's not possible for him to keep an watch on antisocial elements and thieves.” Meanwhile, visitors at the hospital say two-wheelers parked in the OPD area look odd. They said it would be better if a secure parking space was created for employees. “Scooters are parked in the OPD. It seems that there is no one responsible for the affairs of the hospital,” Kuljit Singh, a visitor said, while adding that providing basic facilities for employees and visitors was government’s responsibility. — TNS Australia-based NRI gets extortion Putlighar Chowk barricaded, people forced threats from Bishnoi gang members to travel more distance to reach destination Unknown persons open fire outside his Jaintipur residence Traffic jams now restricted to the spot where commuters take a U-turn PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 25 Three accomplices of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi allegedly fired outside the residence of an Australiabased NRI Sukhcharan Singh Bal. The incident occurred on Tuesday outside his house located at Jaintipur village here. The police have recovered eight empty bullet shells from the spot. A case has been registered against unknown persons in this connection. Besides filing an online complaint with the Kathunangal police station here, Bal also complained to the Australian police which registered a case regarding the incident. In his complaint to the police, Bal stated that on Wednesday he was in Sydney (Australia). Bal said he also had residence at Jaintipur village in Amritsar dis- POLICE PATROLLING PARTY HEARD SHOTS A police party on patrol duty heard the shots being fired at Jaintipur village. The police party rushed to the spot. In lights of police vehicles, cops noticed three youths out of which two were firing outside complainant’s residence. On seeing the police party, the suspects fled from the spot on their bike. Eight empty bullet shells were recovered from the crime spot. trict. Bal said he received a call on his WhatsApp number from members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang who demanded extortion from him. Bal said he lodged a complaint with the Australian police immediately after receiving the call. Bal said on Tuesday, some unknown persons fired indiscriminately outside his residence at Jaintipur village. Bal assured officials that he would hand over the voice mail of the conversation that took place between him and extortionists and the CCTV footage of the firing incident outside his residence at Jaintipur village to the police. The cops said on Tuesday, a police patrolling party also heard shots being fired at Jaintipur village. The police party rushed to the spot. In lights of police vehicles, cops noticed three youths out of which two were firing outside Bal’s residence. On seeing the police party, the suspects fled from the spot on their bike. The police recovered eight empty bullets shells from the crime spot. The police registered a case under Sections 125 (act of endangering lives) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the BNS and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act against unknown persons in this regard. Further investigation is in progress to identify the suspects. Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 25 Permanent barricading alongside the median of the GT road at Putlighar Chowk is forcing people to travel extra distance to reach their destinations. The arrangements though have resolved the problem of frequent traffic jams which are now restricted to the point where people take U-turns which is another headache for residents. If someone living on the stretch heading from the Putlighar road to Islamabad has to go towards Rani Ka Bagh, the barricading means that he would have to drive nearly one-and-a-half kilometres in the opposite direction after reaching Putlighar Chowk. A person can take a U-turn near Khalsa College for Women from where he would again reach Putlighar Chowk and then drive towards Rani Barricading along the median of the GT road in Amritsar. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Ka Bagh. “After driving 3 km, a person again finds himself at Putlighar Chowk,” said Amanpreet Singh, a resident. The same holds true for commuters coming from the Gwal Mandi side, who want to cross over to the road, heading towards Islamabad. They have to drive till Valmiki Chowk, take a U-turn and then come back again towards Putlighar Chowk. This chowk is not the only place which has been completely barricaded to prevent traffic jams. Similar situation can be witnessed at Kacheri Chowk where commuters coming from the district courts are forced to turn towards Ranjit Avenue even if they have to go straight. “Earlier, there used to be traffic jams at Kacheri Chowk. Now, the congestion has shifted to the point where people take a U-turn,” said Raman Kumar, a shopkeeper. Residents said in a Smart City, the traffic police ought to take smart decisions to regulate the flow of vehicles instead of merely shifting traffic bottlenecks from one point to other. At Paris Olympics, Guru Nanak Dev varsity will be watching its shooting stars Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 25 As India begins its campaign at Paris Olympics 2024 with ambitions of creating history with a double digit medal haul, the Sports Department at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) would be cheering loud for the young sharpshooters in Team India —- Sift Kaur Samra and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar. The two are students of GNDU and would be competing in various rifle and pistol events as they aim to build on India’s strong history in shooting at Olympics. This would be the second Olympic outing for Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who was the youngest member of the Indian shooting team in Tokyo Olympics, while Sift would be making her Olympic debut. Both star shooters made history for India in the Asian Games at Hangzhou last year by winning several medals and registering world records. Aishwary won gold in 10m air rifle team event (with a new world record); bronze in 10m air rifle individual; gold in 50m rifle team event (with a new world record) and silver in 50m rifle individual at the Asian Games, Hangzhou, China last year. Sift Kaur holds the current world record in women’s 50 metre rifle three positions final she set. She won the gold medal in the women’s 50 metre rifle three positions event, followed by a silver in 50m rifle team event at the Asian Games, Hangzhou 2022. Both of them are students of BPT (Bachelor of Physical Education) at the GNDU campus. Dr Kanwar Mandeep Singh, Director, Sports, and ❝ We are hopeful that Sift Kaur Samra and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar would bring medals home as they have the skill and temperament to do so. Over the last year, they have competed in World University Games, Asian Games and several international tournaments to face some of the toughest competitors. This has prepared them well for Olympics as they would probably face the same competitors again. Asian Games medal winners Sift Kaur Samra and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO Rajwinder Kaur, university shooting coach, shared how c m y b they would be watching Olympics with excitement. “We are hopeful that both of them would bring medals ❞ Rajwinder Kaur, SHOOTING COACH, GNDU home as they have the skill and temperament to do so. Over the last year, they have competed in World University Games, Asian Games and several international tournaments to face some of the toughest competitors. This has prepared them well for Olympics as they would probably face the same competitors again,” shared Rajwinder Kaur. She believes that Sift would be a key player for the Indian shooting team as she is a gogetter. “Sift’s strength lies in her mental fitness. She remains focussed, calm and unhinged under pressure, which is required in shooting. As an athlete, who is competing in her first Olympics, Sift would take it as any other competition as she gives her best every single time. That would take some pressure off while she focuses on her game,” said Rajwinder Kaur, who has been training both the students at the GNDU grounds.
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