12092024-ATR-01.qxd 9/11/2024 10:46 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C FOOTPATH ENCROACHMENTS RAMPANT IN CITY MARKETS 100% POSTS OF MEDICAL OFFICER VACANT IN FAZILKA CHEF RANVEER BRAR OUT TO PROVE A POINT Residents of the city are concerned over unchecked encroachments on footpaths by shopkeepers. P2 It belies the state government's tall claims that health and education are its top priority. P3 Takes on a meaty role in Hansal Mehta-directorial The Buckingham Murders, also starring Kareena P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 6.40 PM » SUNRISE FRIDAY 6.13 AM THURSDAY | 12 SEPTEMBER 2024 | AMRITSAR PCMSA protest enters third day, holdsmeetwithFinanceMinister Habitat loss, use of chemicals hitting bird population, say environmentalists Neeraj Bagga VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Patients suffered due to the suspension of the OPD services at the Civil Hospital in Amritsar on Wednesday. Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 The protest by the doctors at government hospitals entered the third day here on Wednesday. The Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) held a meeting with the Finance Minister and senior officials to discuss their demands. The PCMSA stated that the meeting was held in a positive manner and the government has in principle accepted their demands regarding Ban on sale, purchase of liquor, meat in Goindwal Sahib Orders shall be in force till Sep 18 Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 11 Keeping in view the functions regarding the Jyoti Jyot (death) Diwas of third Sikh Guru Sri Amar Das and the Gurta Gaddi (to take the Guruship) of fourth Sikh Guru Sri Ram Das, the district administration has imposed a complete ban in a radius of 5 km of Gurdwara Sri Baoli Sahib, Sri Goindwal Sahib, on the sale-purchase and use of meat, fish, wine and the Temuco products. District Magistrate Sandeep Kumar, while issuing the orders here today, continued on page 2 assured career progression and safety of medical professionals at the workplace. The doctors’ body stated that the government has assured them of issuing a letter in this regard today itself. The PCMSA had earlier announced to extend the duration of OPD boycott from September 12. Association members stated that they would wait for the letter and continue to remain adamant on their decision to extend OPD boycott from three hours to full day if the government did not fulfil its promise. “We would call off the protest as soon as government fulfils its promise. Failing to do so would mean that we would intensify our protest,” said a PCMSA official. Meanwhile, the district administration constituted a district-level committee to check violence against medical professionals in hospitals. It also asked the hospitals to ensure CCTV surveillance and help desks for women employees. Amritsar, September 11 Experts working at the grassroots level to make the city and its surroundings clean and green are of the view that loss of habitat, destruction of biodiversity on a large scale and excess spraying of pesticides, insecticide and herbicides are a major reason behind the drastic fall in the number of small birds including house sparrows, doves, partridges and quails (bater). Sighting of butterflies and traditional honeybees has also become rare. Environmentalist PS Bhatty said that these small birds inhabit thorny shrubs and trees such as Beri, Keekar and Malha. They also like Jand and Vann trees in dry land. Uncultivated land is usually full of these trees but in the past two decades, the House sparrows are rarely seen these days in residential areas or elsewhere. FILE PHOTO habitats of these birds were destroyed and they could not multiply with the result that in a few years, their population has been reduced to near extinction. The life span of a sparrow is four to six years and it weighs 25 to 40 grams. It feeds on insects and plays a very important role in maintaining biodiversity. Partridges (Teetars) and quails (bater) are wild small birds and they are omnivorous. They can eat small grains and insects too. According to Dr Baljit Singh Dhillon, a second reason is the spraying of pesticides, insecticide and herbicides which destroy their food. Another reason is the arrival of non-native trees, plants and crops which they were not accustomed to. Fourthly, house sparrows used to construct their nest in houses and straw thatched roofs called ‘Chhapar’ but now in modern houses, no holes, cavity or niches are available for them to lay eggs. These are the causes why these small birds are disappearing. The sighting of native species of butterflies and honeybees has also reduced due to heavy spray of poisonous chemicals that have entered the soil, plants and the nectarine flowers, observed Prof Amarjit Singh Sidhu. Nectarines are glands, the base of flower petals from where all butterflies draw nectar to survive. Through studies and testing of nectar, it has been found that pesticides have largely entered the nectar that has killed butterflies. Use baler machines for crop residue management: DC Power supply remains hit in Tarn Taran as Powercom employees’ protest continues Amritsar, September 11 Ahead of the paddy harvesting season, the district administration has released a list of baler machine operators in the district to help farmers manage crop residue in their fields without burning. Officials of the district administration stated that telephone numbers of these machine operators have been advertised through various means and asked the farmers to contact them in case they need their services. In a meeting with officials of various departments, the administration has also fixed responsibility of officials for burning crop residue in areas under their jurisdiction. Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori asked the SubDivisional Magistrates to identify villages which had reported maximum number of cases. The DC asked the SDMs to Was restored later, claims Powercom official; a control room also set up Our Correspondent DC Ghanshyam Thori has asked the Sub-Divisional Magistrates to identify villages which had reported maximum number of cases. hold meetings with farmers in these villages and educate them about the harms of burning crop residue. Meanwhile, SSP Charanjit Singh said the in-charge of the police station concerned would be held accountable for burning of crop residue in his area. The Deputy Commissioner asked the officials to rope in farmer unions and other social organisations to seek their help in checking residue burning. Thori said the burning of crop residue this season would not be allowed at any cost and action as per the law would be taken against defaulters. He said farmers can use baler machines which are also procured by industrial units. He said this way farmers would not only help in protecting the environment but would also earn money. — TNS Tarn Taran, September 11 Normal power supply was disrupted in all parts of the district for the last two days with employees of the Powercom going on mass casual leave. There were reports that there was no employee available to restore the disrupted power supply despite complaints from the residents. Besides Tarn Taran, power supply was disrupted in Patti, Khalra, Valtoha, Khemkaran, Khadoor Sahib, Harike and other places. Mohtam Singh, Deputy Chief Engineer of the local Powercom circle, said that he had received information that there was power disruption in the feeder of Patti city, Bath, Varpal and Jawanda. Gurpreet Singh Gandiwind and Gurbhej Singh Dhillon Employees of Powercom stage a dharna in Tarn Taran on Wednesday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI. were among the other state leaders of the agitating organisations who addressed the meeting. The employee leaders said that they have been stressing on giving jobs on compassionate ground to families that have lost their bread-winners while on duty for the department. The leaders also stressed on their other demands, including the removal of anomalies in the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission report. Deputy Chief Engineer of Powercom, Tarn Taran circle, Mohtam Singh stated that 784 technical as well as clerical employees are posted in the circle for distribution work out of which 78.92 per cent have gone on strike. To face this challenge of catering to the supply from various 220 KV/132KV and 66KV substations, all officers of different ranks like AAE/AE/AEE, Senior XEN and Additional SEs have been posted at substations along with officers of P&M company. He said that at least two officers along with an assistant are being ensured at the substations, and are performing 12-hour duty in two shifts. Although it is a challenge to cater to 4,00,000 consumers of various categories, the left out staff is working continuously and succeeded in supplying uninterrupted power to the consumers of Tarn Taran district. A control room has been established to monitor supply at the circle and zonal levels which are functioning round the clock. He said that officials on duty have shown their capability in this tough time. PSPCL cuts revenue Gambling dens in hotel rooms, farmhouses Drone, heroin seized in border villages loss by curbing cases creating law & order problems for police of power thefts: Official PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 Despite offering a heavy subsidy to agriculture and domestic sectors, PSPCL has drastically reduced its revenue loss by curbing power thefts since the AAP government came to power in the state. This was stated by PSPCL Director (Administration) Jasbir Singh Sur Singh. In a note issued here on Wednesday, PSPCL Director (Administration) Jasbir Singh Sur Singh stated that the AAP government managed to reduce revenue losses of Powercom due to the sustained efforts to combat power thefts and strict action taken against offenders. He said previous governments led by the Akalis and the Congress failed to check rampant power thefts with frequent incidents occurring in senior Akali leaders’ constituencies, including Sukhbir Singh Badal. He said comparative data revealed a significant reduction in power thefts in the financial year 2020-21 and fiscal 2021-22. Division-wise losses ranged from 10.75 per cent to 50.68 per cent in 202223 and 2023-24. Division-wise losses decreased to 7 per cent to 48.93 per cent. He said this achievement was attributed to the zero-tolerance policy against corruption by the government. He said PSPCL officials conducted special checks and 296 FIRs were registered in August. Besides, the services of 38 employees have been terminated for indulging in corrupt practices. The distribution and enforcement wings of PSPCL held a massive campaign to check rising incidents of power theft and due to the government’s efforts, cases of power thefts have been significantly curtailed. Amritsar, September 11 With the festival season approaching, gambling dens operated as organised rackets have become active in the holy city. These (gambling dens) have increasingly became a major headache for the police as unscrupulous elements create serious law and order problem by indulging in firing and looting. Patronised by low-rung political leaders, these rackets are being operated by the people with a chequered history, right under the nose of the police department. If recent as well as previous instances are anything to go by, they organise gambling parties, where stakes run into lakhs. These parties are organised in hotel rooms, marriage resorts and farm houses on the outskirts of the city. Three days ago, several armed persons looted a gambling den in a hotel room locat- Amritsar, September 11 Vigilant jawans of the Border Security Force on Wednesday seized 520 gm of heroin and a drone in two separate incidents — one at Daoke and another at Kahangarh border village here — on Wednesday. A BSF spokesman said at 2.20 pm, the BSF got an intelligence input regarding the smuggling of the heroin by a drone at Daoke border village here. During the extensive search, the police seized a packet weighing 520 gram, which was wrapped in yellow adhesive tape and an improvised wire loop. Similarly at around 2.50pm, BSF jawans sighted a drone in border area. As per the laid-down technical counter measures, BSF troops found a small drone near Kahangarh village. This was a China-made DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone. A CCTV grab of the incident in which several persons looted a gambler in a hotel room in Amritsar. ed inside Hall Gate area. They allegedly looted cash to the tune of several lakhs from there and fled. The police later registered an FIR on ‘specific inputs’ as CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media. Understandably, there was no complainant in the case. The police arrested one of the accused, identified as Raman Uppal of Nawa Kot area, while among others booked were Amandeep Sharma of Jawahar Nagar, Chhe- c m y b harta, Gurdeep Singh of Harikrishan Nagar, Chheharta and Avinash Kumar of Gate Hakima area. The incident occurred on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. According to sources, this was the second such incident in the recent past. Earlier, some criminal elements looted a gambling den in Jhabal road area. In November last year, a youth was shot dead and three others were injured when a group of armed persons tried to loot a gambling den in Katra Dullo area on Diwali night. The gambling was being organised in a residential accommodation at that time. Police Commissioner Ranjit Singh Dhillon said that whenever a complaint is received, appropriate action is taken. “It is wrong to say that gambling rackets were running under the nose of police. The city police have launched a drive against such gambling dens which were busted recently,” he said. A packet of the contraband (left); and a drone seized by jawans of the BSF in Amritsar on Wednesday.