07102024-ATR-01.qxd 10/6/2024 11:54 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune GNDU COLLEGE SHINES AT YOUTH FEST IN AMRITSAR THE CONNECTING THREAD, THANKS TO SAMARJEET Chandigarh designer is preserving traditional embroideries and integrating them into modern fashion narrative.P4 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 35°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 19°C CAPITOL COMPLEX HOSTS PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION The college secured second runnersup position at the Zonal Youth Festival among 20 teams . P2 FORECAST The Foundation Chandigarh’s first event at Open Hand Monument celebrated the iconic site. P4 » » SUNSET MONDAY 6.07 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6.28 AM » MONDAY | 7 OCTOBER 2024 | AMRITSAR Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, October 6 Strong winds followed by heavy rain last night caused great loss to the crops, especially certain varieties of basmati like PR 1121 and 1718. The paddy crop has been less affected than the basmati varieties. Trees too were seen fallen by the roadside at certain places which caused traffic disturbance. Normal power supply too was affected in the district which disturbed the routine of the people. Harpreet Singh, senior XEN of the local city division of Powercom, said though major defects have been removed and the supply restored, in Chabal and in Sarai Amanat Khan area, supply from two transform- Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, October 6 Two unidentified armed robbers looted a person from near the Defence Drain near Havelian Jhad Sahib village here on Friday. The victim, Lavjot Singh, a resident of Havelian Jhad Sahib, in his complaint lodged with the Khemkaran police stated that he was on his way back to his village from Khemkaran after withdrawing ~40,000 from the HDFC bank branch on his motorcycle. He said as he crossed the Defence Drain, two unidentified armed and masked motorcycle-borne robbers overtook him and came in his front. He was stopped by the robbers who parked their motorcycle in front of his motorcycle. He said the miscreants robbed his purse, which was containing ~40,000, his driving licence, Aadhaar card and the PAN card. ASI Jagdish Singh said a case under Section 304 (2) of the BNS and 25, 45 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered in this regard. After committing the crime, the robbers escaped to the Bahadur Nagar village side. ers is yet to be restored. Work in this regard is on, added Harpreet Singh. Harpal Singh Pannu, Chief Agriculture Officer, said that high velocity winds and heavy rainfall caused damage to late varieties of basmati in 11,000 hectares (27,500 acres of land) in the district. Pannu said that the officials of the department were collecting details of the loss. The rain has affected the whole of the district including the border areas of Khemkaran, Valtoha, Khalra and Sarai Amanat Khan villages besides Chohla Sahib, Khadoor Sahib, Chabal and other parts. He said that the crop may have been affected by discolouring which is not acceptable in the market. Farmer Sukhwinder Singh, a resident of Rattoke village in the border area, said that the basmati crop that was damaged by the strong wind and rain was ready to be harvested in the next few days. He said that the affected basmati crop has been flattened and it is not possible to harvest it with the help of combine harvesters. Farmer Tajinderpal Singh, a resident of Rasulpur village, said that the loss has broken the backbone of the farmers economically. Nachhatar Singh, a resident of Mughal Chack Pannuan, said that in their village, basmati crop in 250 of the total 800 acres has been totally damaged. He demanded that the state government conduct a special girdawari on the loss of crops. Two drug peddlers nabbed with heroin Amritsar, October 6 CIA staff have arrested two drug peddlers, identified as Arshdeep Singh, alias Bhola, of Attari and Sahib Singh of Hamidpura village, and recovered 110-gm heroin and ~9.16 lakh of alleged drug proceeds from them. The police also seized the scooter on which they were Two accused in custody of the Amritsar police. VISHAL KUMAR travelling in. DCP Alam Vijay Singh said the duo was nabbed from near the India Gate bypass area. On seeing the police party, they tried to flee but were caught by the police team. They were produced in a court and brought on police remand for further investigation. Farmers worried as gusty winds, rain flatten paddy crop in dist Parmal, basmati varieties on over 15,000 hectares affected Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 6 High-velocity winds and heavy rain on Sunday night damaged paddy crops in the district with farmers fearing huge losses in terms of yield and quality of grains. Initial estimates suggest that widespread damage has been caused to premium parmal and basmati varieties on over 15,000 hectares. Besides loss of yield, farmers also fear discoloration of the grains which would make it eligible for purchase by government procurement agencies on the minimum support price (MSP). The hardest-hit areas in the district include Ajnala, Majitha, Jandiala, Attari and Manawala in Amritsar. However, inclement weather has more or less affected every area of the district. Farmer leader Rattan Singh Randhawa said, “A special girdawari should be conducted to assess the loss.” He demanded that the government should come to the rescue of farmers who suf- VISHAL KUMAR Girdawari sought in Tarn Taran Man robbed of ~40K near Defence Drain A villager shows damaged paddy crop at Pani Gilla village on the Majitha road in Amritsar on Sunday. fered a major loss. In many areas, heavy showers caused waterlogging in the fields, which would also delay harvesting until the soil is dry enough to bear weight of heavy combine harvesters. A visit to different areas of the district revealed that paddy crop on thousands of acres have been flattened. While the harvesting of parmal varieties has just started, most of the crop was standing in fields. Similarly, late-sown basmati 1121 variety would also be ready for harvesting within a next fortnight. Joginder Singh, a farmer from Ajnala, said, “It is difficult to harvest flattened paddy crop. A large number of grains fall off the plant when the machine is used and it directly causes a loss of yield.” The flattened fields would not get proper sunlight and air and as such grains would not only ‘Over 2L MT of basmati lifted by pvt agencies’ Residents face power outage Amritsar, October 6 Procurement agencies have lifted 2,24,260 metric tons (MT) of basmati while 9,570 metric tons (MT) of paddy reached the grain markets of the district. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said this after a meeting with District Mandi Officer Amandeep Singh, District Food and Supply Officer Sartaj Singh, District Manager, Warehouse, Gagandeep Singh Randhawa, District Manager, Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (PUNSUP) Sukhwinderjit Singh and District Manager Maninder Singh. She claimed that adequate arrangements have been made in the markets to ensure smooth procurement of the crop. The Deputy Commissioner said that if any farmer faces any problem in the district, he can personally come to the DC office in Amritsar from 9:30 am to 10 am in the morn- VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Labourers busy at the Bhagtanwala grain market in Amritsar. ing or contact through their mobile phones. He said there is no shortage of sacks in the grain markets and special officials have been deployed in each market for the convenience of farmers. She said that till now, 2,24,260 MT of basmati has arrived in the district and the entire basmati has been purchased by the private agencies concerned. The DC further informed that 9,570 metric tons of paddy has arrived in the markets out of which 8,185 MT of paddy has been purchased by private and government agencies and it has been ensured that payment for the purchase of paddy is made to the farmers within 24 hours. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said that for government procurement, it is important that farmers do not bring paddy with more than 17 per cent moisture to the grain market. “Bring dry crop to the market,” she said. The DC directed the mandi officials to check the moisture in paddy at the gate of the mandis and if the paddy comes with more than 17 per cent moisture content, then it should not be allowed to enter the mandis. She said that on the advice of combine owners, now combine harvesters will be able to harvest paddy from 10 am to 7 pm. District Market Officer Amandeep Singh said that this time, 50 procurement centres have been established in the district where government agencies are procuring the crop. He said that the MSP on paddy has been fixed at Rs 2,320 per quintal for A-category crop. He appealed to the farmers not to bring wet paddy to the market. Therefore, it is important that the combines are not operated early in the morning or late in the evening and only dry paddy is harvested. Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 6 Gusty winds last night uprooted trees and damaged power infrastructure in the city. The gust led to widespread power outage, plunging most areas in darkness, from midnight till morning. The employees of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) worked tirelessly to restore electricity supply, with crews deployed to repair damaged lines and poles. “We have restored power supply by repairing all the lines damaged last night, by 8 am. The power cuts were imposed as a precautionary measure to avoid any untoward incident in bad weather conditions,” said a PSPCL official. “We are working to restore power to all areas as soon as possible. Our teams are on the ground, assessing the damage and making repairs,” he added. “It was the storm. I was returning from the market late at night, there was a pow- Tribune News Service A tree lies on the road blocking the movement of vehicles on the Majitha Road in Amritsar on Sunday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR er cut and it was difficult to navigate the dark streets,” said Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Golden Avenue. The winds, followed by rain, though brought a welcome respite from the sweltering heat, with temperature dipping significantly. Despite the disruption, residents appreciated the cool weather. “The rain and wind brought a much-needed Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 6 Counting of votes for the panchayat elections will be done at polling stations after voting is over on the day of polling itself. The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 7 (Monday) till 3 pm and voting will be held on October 15 (Tuesday) through ballot boxes from 8 am to 4 pm. Harpreet Singh Sudan, Election Observer for the district, informed this after holding a meeting with heads of different government departments here on Sunday. He held a meeting with the officials to review the process for panchayat polls. Sudan instructed the offi- cials to conduct the panchayat elections in a transparent and fear-free environment. He asked the police officers to crack down on mischievous elements in the villages and prevent any kind of disturbance during the elections. The observer said that the Election Commission had completed all necessary arrangements to conduct the elections in a fair, free and peaceful manner in the state. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney informed the Election Observer that the duties of officials and employees have been listed for the conduct of elections. The DC said that strict legal action will be taken against officials who are absent from election duty. During the meeting, SSP Rural Charanjit Singh assured the Election Observer that every effort was being made by the police to maintain peace and a campaign has also been launched against suspicious elements. Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-Additional District Election Officer Paramjit Kaur, Assistant Commissioner Gursimranjit Kaur, SDM, Ajnala, Ravinder Singh Arora, SDM, Baba Bakala, Amandeep Singh, SDM, Amritsar-2, Mankanwal Singh Chahal, DSP Samar Vineet, District Development and Panchayat Officer Sandeep Malhotra and other officials were also present on the occasion. c m y b The accused in custody of the Amritsar police on Sunday. her village. She said the auto rickshaw driver took the autorickshaw towards the Verka bypass and said he was to take fertilizers for the fields. He said he took the vehicle to a secluded place and robbed her of mobile phone, purse containing ~5,000 cash and ear rings. Taking a serious view of the incident, the police immediately swung into action and arrested the suspect within Police arrest eighth suspect in Gate Hakima murder case PK Jaiswar break from the heat,” said Manpreet Singh, a student. “It’s nice to finally enjoy some pleasant weather.” The city’s weather remained cloudy throughout the day, with forecasts indicating a continued pleasant spell. As residents began to clean up the leaves and tree residue from the streets, they had a sense of relief at the relenting of heat and humidity. Admn reviews preparations Cops nab auto driver for looting elderly woman for panchayat elections Amritsar, October 6 Taking swift action, the police arrested an auto-rickshaw driver for allegedly looting an elderly woman on the Amritsar-Attari bypass road near Verka here on Saturday. According to Alam Vijay Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), the suspect, identified as Prabhjit Singh (26), a resident of Mudhal village, was arrested within two hours of the incident. He had three criminal cases of theft and snatching registered against him. The DCP said Surinder Kaur (65), a resident of Pandori Lubana village falling under the Kamboh police station, said she had gone to pay obeisance at Gurdwara Shaheed Baba Deep Singh. While returning, she hired an auto rickshaw for start to germinate but also change colour due to moisture. Mandeep Singh, another farmer, said, “The biggest problem is that the grains that have touched the ground due to flattening of crop would start germinating in the next few days.” He said they fear a loss of 20 per cent yield. Most farmers are concerned that more showers in the coming days would amplify the damage. two hours from Fatehgarh Shukarchak village. Besides impounding the auto rickshaw, the police recovered the looted valuables from him. Meanwhile, a Border Security Force jawan was robbed by an auto-rickshaw driver on the Loharaka road here yesterday. Originally hailing from Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, victim Kishore Kumar was current- ly posted at Ajnala. He told the police that he had returned after 15-day leave and reached the Amritsar bus stand at around 2.45am on Saturday. He said as it was midnight, he could not go to his posted station at that time. He hired at auto rickshaw for the Golden Temple. Besides the driver, there was another unknown person in the auto-rickshaw. He said as he was not aware of the road, the accused took him towards the Loharka road. He said as the auto driver was taking a long time to reach destination, he got suspicious and asked them about the reason for delay. He said the accused snatched his bag containing ~10,000 cash, two keypad phones and other important documents. They also snatched his smart phone and fled the spot. Amritsar, October 6 Six months after a youth was shot dead outside Gate Hakima area, the police have arrested one of the suspects in the case. He was identified as Yuvraj Singh (22) of Ganda Singh Wala area on Majitha road here. This was the eighth arrest in the case. Incident took place when victim tried to rush inside police station Among those arrested by the police earlier were Sahilpreet Singh alias Sohi, Abhi Gill, Sanju, Parasdeep Singh, Nikhil, Bholu, Raj Kumar and now Yuvraj Singh alias Sahil. The victim Rajvir Sethi alias Veenu, a garment trader and resident of Rambagh area, was shot dead by three motorcycleborne armed assailants. He along with his two friends, Harjit Singh and Sanju, was travelling in a car when the incident took place. An old enmity of Harjit Singh and Sanju with the armed assailants was stated to be the reason behind the incident. Veenu along with Harjit and Sanju was going towards Gate Hakima police station side. The three youths travelling on two bikes were chasing them. Sensing trouble, Veenu turned the car towards Gate Hakima police station. When they tried to rush inside the police station to save themselves the accused fired at them. A bullet hit Veenu who was later rushed to the hospital with the help of police. The doctors declared him dead.
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