25082024-ATR-01.qxd 8/24/2024 10:37 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 38°C | MIN 27°C THE POLICE STEP UP DRIVE AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKERS 12 KIDS GET FINANCIAL AID UNDER MISSION VATSALYA HASEEN DILLRUBA WRITER ON PULP FICTION The Wahabwala police today froze the properties of suspected drug traffickers in the villages. P3 The process was initiated for providing financial aid to 12 eligible children living in needy families. P3 Kanika Dhillon, who is out with Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba, says pulp fiction writers know the pulse of their audience.P4 » » » SUNSET SUNDAY 7.02 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6.02 AM SUNDAY | 25 AUGUST 2024 | AMRITSAR Delhi morcha martyrs’ kin given jobs Traffic chaos outside GNDH puts patients to inconvenience 4 arrested in SGPC staffer’s murder case Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 24 Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Saturday handed over appointment letters to kin of the farmers who died during the farmers’ agitation around Delhi border. The minister said eight persons have been given jobs in the Agriculture Department as per the promise made by the state government to the farmers. Dhaliwal said the government would fulfil its promise to provide jobs to all those families who had lost their members during the Delhi morcha. He said suitable jobs as per the qualification and technical skills of the applicant would be given in various departments of the state government. The minister said the farmers were fighting for the entire agriculture community and as Punjab is an agrarian state, the farmers were fighting to save the economy of the entire state. He said the state government has also introduced various schemes for the welfare of the agrarian community. Amritsar, August 24 The Kotwali police have arrested four persons, including the prime suspect, in connection with the killing of an Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) staffer Darbara Singh on August 3. He was stabbed to death by his colleague Sukhbir Singh. Among others who were arrested in the case include his juvenile son and two relatives Malkeet Singh and Ranjit Singh, both residents of SGPC quarters in Sultanwind area. Darbara Singh was stabbed to death at the SGPC’s headquarters at Teja Singh Samundri Hall near the Golden Temple. He was working in the accounts branch while the accused was posted in the general branch. A family dispute is stated to be the reason behind the murder. Harsandeep Singh, Station House Officer (SHO), Kotwali police station, said raids were being made to arrest their five accomplices and elder son of Sukhbir Singh. A number of auto rickshaws outside the entrance of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital results in chaos on the road in Amritsar on Saturday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 24 Commuters and patients face massive traffic congestion outside the entrance of Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, one of the busiest and biggest hospitals in the city, due to the parking of auto-rickshaws and buses as they wait for passengers. Owners of the vehicles, waiting to pick up passengers, block the entire stretch of the road, causing a massive traffic jam. Shopkeepers near the place reported that traffic snarls start early morning and continues till late evening, causing inconvenience to patients, their families, and medical staff. “I was taking my mother to the hospital for treatment as she suffered immense pain, but we remained stuck in a traffic jam for long,” said Karanveer Singh, a local resident. The main entrance gate is also used by ambulances coming to the hospital. Due to the traffic jam, even patients who are on board these ambulances have to wait. “It would be better if Religious fervour autos and the bus stand is designated at a distance from the entrance. At present, with no designated spot for these vehicles, their drivers park them anywhere,” complains the owner of a nearby shop. Visitors state that traffic police should take necessary measures to address the issue. They stated that bus and auto rickshaw drivers do not care if their act is causing a traffic jam. While those waiting to get inside remain stuck outside, even a vehicle going out of the hospital gets stuck in the traffic gridlock. Cops crack murder of woman within 24 hrs Accused was nabbed from Hoshiarpur today Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 24 The police claimed to have cracked the murder of a married woman that took place in posh Sahibzada Jujhar Singh Avenue here within 24 hours of the incident here on Saturday. The police have arrested a plumber, identified as Vickey, a resident of Rajasansi area, for the murder. He was arrested from Hoshiarpur this morning. He was known to the family for the past few years. He used a kitchen knife to kill the victim, identified as 35year-old Shelly Arora. The victim had a daughter. “We are yet to ascertain the motive behind the murder. Apparently, as he was known to the family, the victim allowed him to enter the house. But what happened thereafter that led to the brutal murder, was yet to be established,” said Police Commissioner Ranjit Singh Dhillon. While fleeing from the The accused in custody of the Amritsar police on Saturday. crime scene, he had decamped with two gold rings of the victim and a scooter from the house. As per a preliminary probe, he was lodged in Kapurthala jail in a theft case. He recently came out on bail on August 5. The initial investigation revealed that he was in a live-in relationship with around five women. He said the accused would be produced before the court and brought on police remand for further investiga- tion to ascertain the motive. Shelly Arora was found murdered at her residence on Friday morning. She was alone at home when the incident took place. The incident came to light when the housemaid arrived and found her lying in a pool of blood near the bed. She informed the victim’s neighbours who called her husband Kaushal Arora, a bank employee. She was taken to hospital where doctors declared her dead. Promotion of Master Cadre list Theft at church, 1 held revoked, teachers to move court PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Children dressed as Lord Krishna during an event ahead of Janmashtami, which marks his birth anniversary in Amritsar on Saturday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar, August 24 Blaming the Education Department for the fiasco in cancelling promotions of 688 Master Cadre teachers of government schools in Punjab, teachers belonging to the left-out cases are now threatening to take the department to court if not given a chance for promotion. Ten teachers of Master Cadre from Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Barnala, Bathinda, Jalandhar and Sangrur have written to the DPI School Education to process the promotions of left-out cases as soon as possible. “Despite seniority, some on the verge of retirement have been waiting for promotions. Now, with the department’s intent of revoking the previous list of promotions and suggesting re-application for promotions by all categories might affect the left-out cases once again, which might lead to many teachers going to court against the decision. This would further delay things,” said Iqbal Singh, a Master Cadre teacher of Punjabi, from Government High School, Sultanwind, who was on the list and had previously gotten promoted through court. He has been awaiting promotion since 2022. Another government school teacher of Maths, waiting for promotion from Master Cadre to lecturer, says that if the teachers go to court, the entire matter would be delayed eventually leading to several teachers retiring without any promotions. The Education Department revoked the promotion of 688 teachers to lecturers due to major flaws in the screening process while teachers say that regulations were bypassed in 250 cases that were ineligible for promotions. A Master Cadre teacher gets promoted to lecturer. Similarly, around 200 ETT teachers from Amritsar are also waiting for promotions for the last three years. Amritsar, August 24 The Majitha road police have arrested a woman on the charge of hurting religious sentiments. Hasneet Kaur, a resident of Manjewali village in Gurdaspur, had allegedly stolen a sprinkler, pyx and a cross from the Saint Patrick church on Fatehgarh Churian road here on Thursday. Johnpal, a resident of Nangali Bhatha area on Fatehgarh Churian road, said that he was president of Saint Patrick Church. He said on Thursday, an unknown woman stole the sprinkler, pyx and a cross from the church which were kept in a box. The Father (priest) found these religious items used in prayer missing from the box while he was preparing for it. The entire incident was captured in CCTV cameras. Following the complaint, the police registered a case of sacrilege and hurting religious sentiments against the unidentified suspect. The Police Commissioner, Ranjit Singh Dhillon, said that taking a serious view of the incident, the police teams identified the suspect and arrested her. Further probe was underway to ascertain the motive behind the incident. RAAHI project: Auto-rickshaws Trader gets extortion Newmotorinstalledtotackleproblem fail to switch over to e-autos call from gangster, of sewage overflow in Kot Khalsa shotsfiredoutsideshop Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 24 Only 950 drivers switched over to e-autos from diesel auto-rickshaws under the Rejuvenation of Auto-Rickshaws in Amritsar through Holistic Intervention (RAAHI) scheme during the last three years. The Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL) failed to implement the project as over 40,000 unauthorised diesel autos and e-rickshaws are still plying on roads. It has been more than three years since Amritsar Smart City Limited launched the RAAHI project. Under the project, diesel auto drivers had to give up their old vehicles and buy e-autos. In lieu of this, a subsidy of Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 15,000 was offered for old diesel auto scrap to the drivers under the Smart City project. The nationalised banks were empanelled to pay the rest of the amount in easy instalments. Under the scheme, 7,440 eautos were earlier approved for subsidy. After this, the number further reduced. Despite this, there were few takers for eautos. The ASCL reserved Rs Few electric autos (in blue colour) are seen on roads in Amritsar on Saturday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR 21 crore for the RAAHI project. Currently, more than 40,000 diesel autos are being operated on city roads. The Municipal Corporation, district administration and traffic police officials tried to impose restrictions on the operation of diesel autos and seized a few of the diesel auto-rickshaws declaring them illegal. But diesel auto operator unions blocked the road and put political pressure for leniency. Under the RAAHI project, the ASCL organised awareness programmes and also offered several welfare schemes for the family members of diesel auto drivers but did not get satisfactory results. Only about 950 e- autos were sold after making a lot of efforts. The ASCL even introduced the Pink Auto project for women drivers under the RAAHI project. It has also been widely publicised. Despite offering a huge subsidy of 90 per cent, only 70 pink autos have been allotted to women drivers, which are being operated by their male family members. “In contrast to the government’s initiative, diesel auto drivers are buying locally made unauthorised e-rickshaws. The authorities should restrict the sale of diesel autos and unauthorised e-rickshaws which are far cheaper,” said SK Sharma, a local activist. Amritsar, August 24 A garment and cosmetics trader at Chowk Mehta got an extortion call from Portugalbased notorious gangster Manpreet Singh alias Munn Ghanshampuria and his accomplice Billa Arjanmanga. His unknown accomplices fired outside the shop of the victim, identified as Kamal Arora of Mehta Chowk, here yesterday. Besides Manpreet and Billa Arjanmanga, their three unknown accomplices were booked by the police. In his complaint lodged with the police, the victim had claimed that the accused demanded Rs 40 lakh in extortion from him. Kamal Arora told the police that four days ago, he got a call on WhatsApp and the caller identified himself as Billa Arjanmanga, a member of Gopi Ghanshampuria gang. He said Manpreet Ghanshampuria, brother of Gopi Ghanshampuria, was calling him but he was not picking up the phone and demanded c m y b Rs 40 lakh in extortion money. He threatened him with dire consequences if he did not give the money. He said the next day, Billa called on the phone of his son Prashu Arora. When he did not pick up, he received a voice message that if they did not cough up the money, he should be ready to face the consequences. He said yesterday when he along with his son and other staff was present at the shop, three persons with their faces covered came on a bike and fired gunshots at them. Two gunshots hit near the cash counter where he was sitting. They immediately took shelter behind the counter to save themselves. The accused later fled towards Mehta side. This is the second case in which Manpreet has been booked. Earlier, the police had arrested his three accomplices who had fired at a book store owner and demanded Rs 50 lakh in extortion money on August 16. — TNS The new motor being installed at the disposal plant in Kot Khalsa of Amritsar on Saturday. Amritsar, August 24 The Municipal Corporation installed a new motor near the sewerage drain in the western zone for disposal of waste water here today. MC officials claimed that it will solve the long-pending sewerage problem in Kot Khalsa area. MC Commissioner Harpreet Singh stated that there were numerous complaints regarding sewerage problems in the western zone of the city, particularly in Kot Khalsa area. In order to overcome the sewage problem of areas like Kot Khalsa, Indira Colony and Indrapuri in the western zone, the disposal near the sewage drain has been activated by installing a new motor. It will solve the problem of sewage overflow in the area, he said. “I have visited the sewerage treatment plants and disposal plants many a time to resolve the sewerage problem. Now a permanent solution has been worked out and a new motor has been installed so that the sewerage flow can be maintained. Had this disposal plant been activated earlier, the people would have had no problem. We took the initiative to get the motor installed and assured the residents that there will be no such problem in Kot Khalsa area regarding sewerage. The power connection of the disposal plant will be operational by evening today,” said the MC Commissioner. MC officials said they will complete the desilting work of all sewer lines in these areas, ending the problem of sewage overflow. — TNS