04102024-ATR-01.qxd 10/3/2024 11:08 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 35°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 24°C PADDY PURCHASE ON IN FATEHGARH SAHIB: DC 30 FARM FIRE HOTSPOTS IDENTIFIED IN LUDHIANA CELEBRITIES TALK ABOUT DIETS, FITNESS TIPS Deputy Commissioner Dr Sona Thind said the procurement of paddy has been started in the district. P3 As many as 30 hotspots of stubble burning have been identified across 5 blocks in Ludhiana. P3 From cutting out junk food to taking high-protein meals, these stars have found routines that work for them. P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 6.11 PM » SUNRISE SATURDAY 6.26 AM FRIDAY | 4 OCTOBER 2024 | AMRITSAR Gangster Landa booked for demanding ~50L extortion Officials visit Wadala Johal village, bring farm fires under control Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, October 3 Gangster Lakhbir Singh Landa, a resident of Harike here, was once again booked on Wednesday by the city police for demanding extortion money from a local resident. The victim, Ravinder Singh, a resident of Dahi Wala bazaar in Tarn Taran, said Landa, in a WhatsApp call made to him on June 7, had demanded extortion worth lakhs of rupees and told him that earlier he had disconnected his mobile phone call. In a warning, he told him that he knows that his children are students of which school in Tarn Taran. Sub-Inspector Naresh Kumar said the complaint lodged by victim Ravinder Singh was inquired into by CIA staff and on the basis of facts of the report, a case under Section 387 of the BNS has been registered against Lakhbir Singh Landa. More than 100 cases, mostly related to extortion, have been registered against Landa till date, said a senior police official. Landa often seeks a minimum extortion amount of ~50 lakh. Farmers’ ‘Rail Roko’ protest leaves passengers stranded Were demanding justice for Lakhimpur Kheri violence victims Tribune News Service Additional Deputy Commissioner Jyoti Bala along with other officials visits Wadala Johal village in Amritsar on Thursday. guished another farm fire in his area. Officials across the district have been educating farmers on the importance of stubble management and fire prevention, utilising balers to maintain the fields, said Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney. The DC said that the administration is not only taking action against the farmers but also trying to help them by providing the required machinery. She said that teams of the district administration reached the site of farm fires and tried to douse it so as to avoid causing pollution. Agriculture official Tajinder Singh said that the next few weeks are important as harvesting would reach its peak. Amritsar, October 3 In swift response to a case of stubble fire burning in Wadala Johal village, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Jyoti Bala and her team managed to extinguish the flames on the spot. The team of the ADC including District Agriculture Officer Tajinder Singh and Punjab Pollution Control Board Executive Engineer Sukhdev Singh rushed to the site after spotting the smoke. They promptly called in the fire brigade. The farmers also pitched in with their tractors and brought the fire under control. Meanwhile, SDM of Baba Bakala Sahib, Amanpreet Singh successfully extin- He added that presently, only early maturing varieties of paddy are being harvested. The officials advocated the need for continued vigilance against crop residue burning. PPCB official Sukhdev Singh said that efforts being made this year have already started showing results as the number of farm fire cases has gone down significantly. He said that teams deputed by the administration should continue to motivate farmers and ensure that no burning of crop residue takes place. Meanwhile, only 30 MT of paddy reached the mandis here on Thursday. The district has witnessed a total arrival of 4,028 MT till this evening. — TNS Amritsar, October 3 At least six trains were delayed as farmers squatted on railway tracks near Devidaspura here on Thursday. They were demanding justice for the victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in which four farmers were mowed down by vehicles belonging to a senior BJP leader. As a result, passengers were put to great inconvenience as they were left stranded. The farmers associated with the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) started their protest at around 12.30 and ended it at 2.30 pm. Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “Two of the accused in the violence have already been granted bail and the UP Government is trying to provide respite to the remaining who are still in jail.” Pandher said former Union Minister of State and BJP Members of the KMSC during a protest at Devi Das Pura; and (right) passengers were stranded at the railway station in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTOS: VISHAL KUMAR leader Ajay Mishra Tenni has already been left out of the investigation. The protesting farmers stated that the government is trying to protect the murderers. The decision to block railway tracks was taken by a group of farmers who are already holding a protest at Haryana borders. Other farmer unions also organised events to pay tributes to the victims. Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha said, “We demand that the hearing of the case is con- ducted by a fast-track court. The accused in the case are associated with a BJP leader who was the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs in the previous BJP government.” Dr Ajnala said the government and police machinery are using every method to help the accused. Addressing the farmers at a gathering at Ajnala, Jatinder Singh Chinna said, “Mowing down people under their vehicles shows the mentality of leaders like Ajay Mishra Tenni. They do not ever consider common people as humans.” Chinna said it is strange that even after three years of the gruesome incident, the farmers are forced to stage protests as justice has been denied. Protests also seen in Tarn Taran, Patti Meanwhile, farmers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) staged day-long dharnas on the rail tracks in Tarn Taran and Patti towns. It was Tarn Taran district where continued on page 2 Chheharta police nab two snatchers City markets witness heavy traffic jams due NGT team visits villages to seek to encroachments amid festive season rush views of farmers on farm fires Tribune News Service Charanjit Singh Teja Our Correspondent Amritsar, October 3 The Chheharta police on Thursday claimed to have cracked the snatching case in which two unknown looters had decamped with ~4,000 from a dairy three days ago. The perpetrators were identified as Gurdev Singh of Anand Avenue and Shahnazbir Singh, alias Shubh, of Guru Ki Wadali here. The police have confiscated the bike used in the crime. Deepak Devgan of Vikas Nagar area told the police that on September 29 evening, he along with his son was sitting in the dairy when two bike-borne persons came to the shop and asked for milk worth ~100. He handed over ~500 and asked to return the balance amount. continued on page 2 Amritsar, October 3 The start of the festival season has brought a surge of visitors to the city markets, but with it comes the familiar problem of traffic jams. Encroachments on roads and footpaths by vendors and shopkeepers are choking the streets, leaving commuters frustrated. Shopkeepers in the interior markets display their goods on footpaths. Haphazardly parked vehicles, vendors in narrow roads and streets of the walled city add to their woes. “It has become a nightmare to navigate these markets during the festival season,” said Rohan, a local resident. “The roads are narrow enough already, but when shopkeepers display goods on the roadside and foot- SUNIL KUMAR Tribune News Service With the start of the festival season, a city market witnesses a heavy traffic jam in Amritsar on Thursday. paths, it’s impossible to move,” he added. Areas like Katra Jaimal Singh, Telephone exchange, Katra Sher Singh, Hall Bazaar and Shastri Market are particularly affected, with vendors spilling onto the roads and sidewalks. “I’ve lived in this city all my life, and it’s always the same story during festivals,” said Priya, a commuter. “The Municipal Cor- poration seems to be turning a blind eye to the encroachments,” she added. Despite anti-encroachment drives by the MC, residents say they’ve seen no continued on page 2 Tarn Taran, October 3 A team led by Dinesh Meena, observer of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), along with other officials visited some villages to collect firsthand information on farm fires and advised the farmers not to burn paddy straw. The farmers were advised to use both in-situ and ex-situ methods to dispose of the paddy straw. Harpal Singh Pannu, Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) and Jasmit Singh, SDO, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), were among the officials who accompanied the NGT team. The team visited the Bharowal, Fatehbad, Jhander Mahanpurkha, Pandori Hassan and other villages. Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Harpal Singh Pannu Officials led by NGT observer Dinesh Meena visit a field in Tarn Taran. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI informed the NGT observer that the administration has been organising awareness camps and competitions like slogan-writing contests against paddy straw burning. He also said that efforts have been made to make farmers aware through ASHA workers too. The team visited the farm fire hot spots and spoke to farmers to know their views. The CAO said that farmers have been provided with machinery to manage paddy straw by way of subsidy. City hotels fail to respond to property MCCommissionerAulakhtojoinonMonday tax scrutiny notice, MC mulls action Tribune News Service Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 3 A number of hotels and commercial establishments are not responding to scrutiny notices sent by the Municipal Corporation (MC) last month. MC officials suspect that there must be something amiss in cases where hotel owners are not responding to notices for the scrutiny of their self-assessment for property tax. The Municipal Corporation had issued around 100 notices to hotels and some other commercial establishments in the walled city area to submit documents in order to scrutinise their self-assessment of property tax last month. MC officials were suspect- THE RULE MC officials suspect that most hotels in the walled city area are operating on lease or rent. But to save tax, owners claim that they have self-occupied hotel premises. As per property tax rules, if an owner occupies his building and operates a hotel from the premises himself, then the MC collects tax as per the size and covered area of the property. In case of rented or leased hotels, the MC collects 7.5 per cent as property tax from its owners ing that a large number of hotels in the walled city area are paying less than their actual dues by submitting wrong information in self-assessment of property tax. According to the information available, a number of hotels didn’t respond to the notices of the MC. Now, the property tax wing officials suspect that the hoteliers are hiding actual facts from them. MC officials believe that most hotels in the walled city area are operating on lease or rent. But to save tax, owners claim that they have selfoccupied hotel premises. As per property tax rules, if an owner occupies his building and operates a hotel from the premises himself, then the MC collects tax as per the size and covered area of the property. In case of rented or leased hotels, the MC collects 7.5 per cent as property tax from its owners. That is why the MC had asked hotel owners to submit registered documents of their property, lease and rent deeds, income tax and GST returns and previous property tax receipts in the first week of September. Said Sushant Bhatia, Municipal Corporation Secretary, “We got response from several hotels about their selfassessment but those who didn’t respond will not be exempted. We will reassess their claims about property tax and conduct physical verification to collect the right amount of tax. The newly appointed MC Commissioner will join office on Monday and we will get directions from him for further action.” c m y b Amritsar, October 3 Gulpreet Singh Aulakh who was posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Tarn Taran has been reappointed as Municipal Commissioner, Amritsar. He will join office on Monday. Aulakh had joined the MC office on September 24 but two days later, he was transferred to Tarn Taran. It is worth mentioning that during the last two and a half years of AAP regime, 11 municipal commissioners have been transferred till date, taking its toll on the day-to-day working of the civic body and development works being implemented. The General House of the Municipal Corporation (MC) was dissolved in January 2023 and there is no Mayor, no Municipal Commissioner, no Joint Commissioner and no Additional Commissioner at the civic body because of which work has been getting New Amritsar MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh. affected. After the formation of the AAP government in state in March 2022, the then MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi was transferred from Amritsar on April 24, 2022 and the MC remained without a head for a long time. The state government then appointed Karnail Singh as Municipal Commissioner on May 23, 2022, but he did not take charge. After a month, on June 24, 2022, the government gave the additional charge of MC Commissioner to Harpreet Singh Sudan, then Deputy Commissioner. Later, on July 7, 2022, Sandeep Rishi was again appointed the MC Commissioner. Two days later, Sandeep Rishi was transferred and on July 10, 2022 Kumar Saurabh Raj took charge as the MC Commissioner. After four and a half months, Saurabh was transferred and Sandeep Rishi was once again appointed as the MC Commissioner on November 27, 2022. Rishi remained on the post for nine months and was transferred on August 10, 2023. Then Rahul was appointed as the MC Commissioner and transferred on December 5, 2023. The charge of MC Commissioner was given to Joint Commissioner Hardeep Singh and later to then Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori on December 5. Harpreet Singh was appointed as the MC Commissioner on January 29, 2024 and transferred on September 12, 2024. Harpreet was replaced by Gulpreet Singh Aulakh, who joined office on September 24, but was transferred two days later. The government then appointed Rahul Chabba as the MC Commissioner but he didn’t join. Now again, Aulakh has been appointed to lead the civic body. The city residents feel that instability in command has added to their problems as they were facing hardships in getting their issues resolved. “The civic body is sans public representatives and an administrative head, taking its toll on dayto-day functioning and development works. I have written to the Chief Secretary, Punjab, to stop the practice. We meet every new officer and make him aware about the issues concerning the city. Whenever an officer understands the city, the government transfers him. This should be stopped,” said PS Bhatti, a social activist.