28072024-ATR-01.qxd 7/27/2024 10:12 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLOUDY OPENING CEREMONY OF OLYMPICS A STARRY AFFAIR BOLLYWOOD STARS ROOT FOR TEAM INDIA PAVAN MALHOTRA STEPS INTO SHOES OF BAD MAN IN PILL Celine Dion, Lady Gaga and Aya Nakamura perform on the open stage during the opening event. P4 Actresses Deepika, Alia, Sonali take to social media to cheer for Indian contingent in Paris. P4 Actor Pavan Malhotra once again steps into the shoes of a bad man in his current series Pill. P4 » » MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7.29 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5.44 AM » SUNDAY | 28 JULY 2024 | AMRITSAR Black spots on BRTS route make stretch prone to fatal accidents ADC convenes meeting of dept heads for I-Day function Diverting of traffic, lifting of restrictions on vehicle entry contribute to mishaps Tarn Taran, July 27 Presiding over a meeting held with the heads of different departments at the District Administrative Complex here on Friday, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Varinder Pal Singh Bajwa issued instructions regarding organising of the district-level Independence Day (I-Day) function. Addressing on the occasion, Varinder Pal Singh Bajwa said the Independence Day celebrations would be held at the Police Lines playgrounds with pomp and show. He also assigned duties to facilitate arrangements for the I-Day. He said students of different schools would present cultural programmes. The ADC said the Punjab Police, women police, Punjab Home Guards, NCC, scouts and girl guides would be part of the march past. Families of freedom fighters and outstanding students, players with distinction, progressive farmers and others would be honoured on the occasion. The ADC laid stress on ensuring cleanliness and decoration at the function site. Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 27 Faulty designs and delay in implementation of highway projects are leading to accidents at BRTS lane and bypass road in the city. On Friday, when a truck driver was killed on bypass road at Vallah, some car occupants had a narrow escape as the vehicle rammed into the bus rapid transit system (BRTS) grills near the Gwaal Mandi Chowk. The Gwaal Mandi Chowk was identified as a black spot by traffic experts on the BRTS lane six years ago but the authorities did not care to rectify it. Road accidents in the BRTS lane have become a routine affair. Earlier, there was a check on the entry of other vehicles in the BRTS corridor. But for the last one year, when the BRTS bus service was discontinued, restrictions on the entry of other vehicles on the BRTS route have been removed. This led to confusion among the commuters about the Commuters drive with impunity on the BRTS lane in Amritsar on Saturday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR THE IDENTIFIED BLACK SPOTS A committee, constituted by the state government, had identified nine black spots on the 31-km long BRTS corridor in August 2019. The black spots were identified at Bhandari Bridge, BRTS station outside the railway station, Gawal Mandi Chowk, Putligarh use of corridor. A committee, constituted by the state government, had identified nine black spots on the 31-km long BRTS corri- Chowk, Civil Hospital, Ramtalai Chowk, Husainpura Chowk, Mall Mandi Chowk and outside Alpha Mall. Traffic load at Bhandari Bridge has eased after the construction of another railway bridge but others remain black spots dor in August 2019. The black spots were identified at Bhandari Bridge, BRTS station outside the railway station, Gawal Mandi Chowk, Putligarh Chowk, Civil Hospital, Ramtalai Chowk, Husainpura Chowk, Mall Mandi Chowk and outside Alpha Mall. Traffic load at Bhandari Bridge has eased after the construction of another railway bridge but others remain black spots. Meanwhile, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been constructing over-bridges at Vallah and Ranjit Avenue. The delay in completion of project is causing accidents. Following routine jams at construction sites, the commuters adopt wrong side to reach their destination. A head-on collision of trucks was reported on Friday in which a truck driver died. The residents of Vallah claimed that the timely completion of project can avert accidents. “The bridge is being constructed on the main bypass road and NHAI diverted the traffic on to side lanes. The lanes are badly damaged due to heavy traffic and it causes traffic jams. The commuters often take wrong side to reach their destination and meet with accidents,” said Manjit Singh, a resident of Vallah. 5 cars damaged as wall collapses near RTO Our Correspondent One of the cars that was damaged following the collapse of a wall of a building in Putlighar area in Amritsar. TRIBUNE PHOTO Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 27 Five cars, parked alongside an under-construction illegal building in Gawal Mandi area, got damaged as one of the walls of the building collapsed on vehicles on Friday. One of the cars was totally damaged. The owners of the damaged cars had gone to a government office building by parking their vehicles near the under-construction building. The vehicle owners claimed that they had parked their vehicles here and had gone to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in front of the underconstruction building to get some work done in the office. Later, they came to know that the wall had collapsed, caus- ing a lot of damage to the vehicles. The car owners were unaware of the owner of the building and the cause of the wall collapse. On receiving information, a police team reached the spot and started investigating the matter. Officials of the municipal corporation also reached the spot and found that the construction was going on without the approval. The building the wall of which collapsed was being filled with debris from inside. The tall wall could not bear the burden of the debris and collapsed towards the road. It is worth mentioning here that there is no proper parking facility at the RTO office. Visitors have to park their vehicles alongside the road. Rice growers urged not to use banned chemicals Unauthorised colony on Ram Airline companies charging too high: Aujla Tirath road demolished by PUDA Demands regulation of ticket prices to stop ‘fleecing’ of air passengers Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 27 Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) today took action against an unauthorised colony located in Kale Ghanupur area on Ram Tirath Road here. Gursewak Singh Aulakh, District Town Planner (Regulatory), said that an unauthorised construction was demolished in the illegal colony on Ram Tirath road. The action was taken after several notices were served to the owner constructing the illegal colony. The District Town Planner said the owner had failed to abide by the required norms and violated the rules with impunity while constructing the colony. The construction work was stopped under Pun- Amritsar, July 27 The Agriculture Department has asked basmati growers to not use the banned chemicals on the crop considering its export value. Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Dr Tajinder Singh said the government had earlier banned 10 chemicals — acephate, buprofenzin, chloropyriphos, methamidophos, propioconazole, thaimethoxam, profenofos, isoprothiolane, carbendazim and tricyclazole. The CAO urged dealers, distributors and agro chemical companies to not sale or store the banned chemicals. Any violation would attract action under the Insecticides Act, 1968, and Insecticide Rules 1971. Tribune News Service PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service PUDA staff take action against an unauthorised colony on Ram Tirath Road in Amritsar on Saturday. jab Apartment and Property Regulation (PAPRA) Act, 1955. “Under the Act, the owner of the unauthorised colony could be sentenced for three to seven years while imposing a fine to the tune of Rs 2-5 lakh,” said Aulakh. He said PUDA had issued notices to various unau- thorised colonies under PAPRA Act and they were asked to stop work. He said the police were also asked to take legal action against the defaulters. The District Town Planner (Regulatory) also advised the people not to procure properties in illegal colonies. Amritsar, July 27 Member of Parliament Gurjeet Singh Aujla has raised the issue of privatisation and fleecing by airline companies in Parliament yesterday. There was also a vigorous debate on the subject with Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. Aujla raised the issue of unregulated hike in ticket prices by airlines. He said that many people have to postpone their journey due to this ‘robbery’ by the airlines. He said that even after receiving the report of the Parliament Standing Committee on the subject way back on August 10, 2023, there has been no change. “During the coronavirus pandemic, the airlines MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla raises the issue in Parliament. had increased the prices many times, but now the hike has not been reduced despite the situation turning normal. The BJP government has been in power for the last 10 years, so instead of pointing fingers, why have these things not been corrected,” he asked. Giving an example, Gurjit Singh Aujla said that lakhs of people visit Amritsar as tourist destination, but the tickets keep getting costly as regulations are not in place. Talking about international flights, he said for a ticket to Singapore, the international airlines charge anything between Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 one-way while the domestic airlines charge Rs 28,000 for one-way ticket. “Many people fly to UAE from Punjab but Air India Express tickets from Amritsar are 25 to 35 per cent expensive than from Delhi. Amritsar is at a distance of 400 kilometres less than Delhi but the ticket is expensive,” he said. Aujla targeted BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and said that if the NDA government has been in power for 10 years, then why nothing has been done to regulate the situation. He also raised the issue of privatisation of public bodies, saying that the entire country has been privatised. He said that he supports the private bill brought by Congress MP Shafi Parambil on regulating airfare but it should be strictly implemented. He demanded that a regulatory committee be formed to fix airfare and other expenses for the airlines. OTT platforms giving actors more Four drug peddlers Central MLA Gupta listens to opportunities: Miss India North held in separate cases problems of Majith Mandi traders Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 27 Amritsar-based actor and former Miss India North, Charu Kapoor, walked the ramp as showstopper for the Asian Fashion Tour held in Dehradun by a leading lifestyle channel. Charu is the daughter of playback singer Ramesh Kapoor and has featured in several Hindi and Punjabi films and theatre as well. Charu shared that she felt excited to be part of a show where young talent in fashion got the opportunity to showcase their work. “It’s always fulfilling to be a part of something that gives opportunities to new talent. Indian designers and fashion industry have grown hugely and are set to go global with the kind of expo- INDIAN FASHION SET TO GO GLOBAL ❝Indian designers and fashion industry have grown hugely and are set to go global with the kind of exposure we have for the next generation. ❞ Charu Kapoor, FORMER MISS INDIA NORTH sure we have for the next generation. I walked for Black Pearl, which was part of Asian Fashion tour event and had beautifully crafted clothes made by upcoming designers,” she said. Charu Kapoor who was previously part of films like Irfan Khan’s ‘Qissa’, ‘RSVP’ and others, said she now feels that OTTs are giving actors more opportunities and space to co-exist. “Currently, I am part of a web series on Prime Video and my experience working for OTTs has taught me that there are ample opportunities for everyone. It has given me a chance to experiment and grow as an actor and prove my talent in various genres.” She has also been juggling as an anchor and judge for several talent shows, which she considers are a bit different from being in front of camera. “It gets real while judging some one’s else’s talent and skill. So, it’s a bit tougher,” she said. Amritsar, July 27 The Amritsar Rural Police have arrested two drug peddlers and recovered 920 tablets of banned tramadol and 150 gm of heroin from their possession. They were identified as Bugga Singh and Jaggi Singh, both residents of Khanwal village. SSP Satinder Singh said they were travelling on a bike (PB02-EH-8965) when a patrolling police party intercepted them while going from the Sarangdev village canal bridge to Jaggiwal village here on Friday. Getting suspicious, the police team searched them and recovered the contraband and 92 strips of tramadol tablets. The police have registered a case under the NDPS Act against them and further investigations were in progress to expose their backward and forward links, the SSP said. c m y b Tribune News Service The accused in custody of the Amritsar Rural Police. Meanwhile, the Lopoke police have arrested Karnail Singh and Harpreet Singh, both residents of Sarangra village, for allegedly possessing 50-gm opium and 15-gm heroin, respectively. They were going towards Kakkar Manjh village when they were nabbed by the police team from near the grain market of the village. A separate case under the NDPS Act was registered against the duo. — TNS Amritsar, July 27 MLA Dr Ajay Gupta from Central Assembly constituency heard the problems of traders of Majith Mandi here today. Anil Mehra, president of Kirana and Dry Fruit Commercial Association said that the traders of Majith Mandi were facing a lot of problems. Mehra said there is a maze of electric wires and load-shedding takes place due to low kV transformers. Streets and markets were in poor condition, sewerage was getting choked and sanitation was in poor condition, all of which were causing problems to the traders and residents. MLA Dr Ajay Gupta asked the officials of departments concerned to address the problems and assured the MLA Dr Ajay Gupta meets traders and assures them of solving their problems at Majith Mandi in Amritsar on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO traders that the issues would be resolved. The MLA said that teams are being formed to ensure cleanliness. He assured that sanitation system will improve in the coming days. Instructions have also been issued to the officials of PSPCL to streamline the cable wires. MLA Gupta said that after the end of the rainy season, the construction of roads, streets and markets will also start. Apart from president Anil Mehra, Ashok Kumar, Suman Mehra, Rajiv Kumar, Sanjeev Mehra and other traders were present on the occasion.