31102024-ATR-01.qxd 10/30/2024 11:08 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune JEWELLERS UPBEAT AT BRISK GOLD SALE ON DHANTERAS 3 NARCO SMUGGLERS HELD WITH CONTRABAND BY BSF The BSF has nabbed three persons involved in drug smuggling from the border area of Amritsar. P2 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 31°C | MIN 20°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 20°C LONGING FOR DIYAS AND DIWALI FEAST Jewellers are upbeat at the brisk sale of gold and silver ornaments on the occasion of Dhanteras. P2 FORECAST Former MasterChef Australia judges tell us how the festival of lights resonates with them. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 5.41 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6.46 AM » THURSDAY | 31 OCTOBER 2024 | AMRITSAR Three more arrested in Sundar Nagar firing case Nehru Shopping Complex cries for immediate official attention Lift installed at the entrance has been lying dysfunctional for the last 16 years Three suspects in custody of the Amritsar police on Wednesday. Amritsar, October 30 The police have arrested three more persons in connection with the firing outside a Sada manufacturer in Sundar Nagar locality recently. With this the police have arrested a total of five persons in the case. Those arrested were identified as Gagndeep Singh alias Gagan and Lovepreet Singh alias Love, both residents of Vairowal in Tarn Taran and Rajanpreet Singh alias Rajan of Chogawan in Amritsar. They already had several criminal cases including of robbery and arms act against them, said Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. Earlier, the police had nabbed two persons following an encounter near Diamond Avenue in Sultanwind area five days ago. They were Resham Singh alias Bau of Jhabal and Gurwinder Singh alias Guri of Bugga village in Tarn Taran. Jasdeep Singh, alias Sajan, a resident of Sundar Nagar area, told the police that some armed persons had fired several gunshots at the gate of his house on October 20. Preliminary investigations revealed that four persons were involved in the incident, which was captured on CCTV cameras. They were later identified and a hunt was launched to nab them. The police got a tip-off about their movements in the area to exchange weapons with members of their gang in Sultanwind area. The police teams raided the spot and launched a search operation. On seeing the police teams arriving at the scene, they fired at them in their attempt to flee from the spot. The police teams retaliated the firing in which Gurwinder Guri was injured. Both the accused were arrested. — TNS Garbage dumped in the washroom on the first floor; (right) waste lies near the stairs at Nehru Shopping Complex on the Lawrence Road in Amritsar on Wednesday. VISHAL KUMAR Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 30 The condition of the first and largest shopping complex developed by the Amritsar Improvement Trust, Nehru Shopping Complex on the Lawrence Road here, is in a state of neglect as garbage can be seen scattered in the open parking area and corridors on the upper floors. The apathetic attitude of the authorities towards the shopping complex can be gauzed from the fact that the lift installed at the entrance is lying dysfunctional for the last 16 years. Even the fountain, installed by the AAP government nearly a year ago, is lying defunct for the past nine months and has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Shopkeepers complained that they are now stuck here as selling shops here is an uphill task. “Who would want to buy a shop here. Many of the original buyers have already shifted and those who are left are finding it difficult to find a buyer,” said a shopkeeper. Much to the inconvenience of shopkeepers and cus- tomers, the walls of the staircases to upper floors are stained with ‘paan’ spit by people. Shopkeepers say that using these stairs to reach their shops is like they are walking inside the railway station where most walls are stained with ‘paan’. Further the entrance leading to the basement parking from the Lawrence Road side has been Take precautions while bursting crackers High cost of dry fruit pushes up rates of traditional sweets by 20% Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 30 To ensure safety and provide timely medical care services to those who sustain burn injuries while bursting crackers on Diwali night, the district Health Department has deployed extra staff for the night shift. A large number of cases of burn injuries, eye injuries and drunken brawls are reported on Diwali. Over the years, it has been seen that a large number of people sustain burn and eye injuries while bursting firecrackers. As people consume alcohol, the number of drunken brawls too on the festival night is higher than that on normal days. Further, the department has also asked the residents to take ample precautions while bursting firecrackers, especially if children are nearby. Civil Surgeon Dr Kirandeep Kaur said, “Children under the age of 10 years should not be allowed to burn firecrackers and in case they do, it must be done under the strict vigil of elders.” The civil surgeon advised people to take precautions for burn injuries, ear and eye Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Local residents purchase crackers on the eve of Diwali at a market in Amritsar on Wednesday. VISHAL KUMAR safety. It has been advised to keep first aid kits at homes. The residents have been advised to wear fitting clothes as loose clothes are more likely to catch fire. Dr Kaur said a bucket of water nearby could be of great help in case of an emergency. The official said in case of clothes catching fire, the victim should be made to lie down on the ground and should be asked to roll over to extinguish the fire. Pouring cold water on the injury till the burning sensation ends would be of help, she added. For the safety of ears, medical experts have recommended the use of earplugs. Instead of using a fire lighter or match stick, an incense stick should be used to light fire crackers. The use of glass or metal containers to burn crackers should be avoided. Amritsar, October 30 The rising cost of dry fruit has further escalated the cost of sweets this Diwali. On an average, the cost of some of the traditional sweets in which dry fruit is liberally mixed has increased by about 20 per cent before the festival of lights. Confectioners and traditional sweetmeat makers said though the cost of several ingredients has gone up this season, the rates of mithais (sweets) have not been hiked accordingly. Amitesh Singh, Director of a leading local chain of confectioner, which also has interest in automobiles, reacting to the hike in the prices of traditional sweetmeat, said the hike was limited to a range of sweets. He said there was an overall hike in several other ingredients as well. However, the hike in three major varieties of dry fruit made them pass it to the customers as they are profusely used in the preparation of sweets. encroached by a junk dealer who stores his goods there. Even the area of the footpath near the place is under this junk dealer’s control. Shopkeepers say that at the time of selling the shops, the AIT had painted a very rosy picture. They say that now junk dealers who did not pay a single penny, are reaping more benefits than the shop owners. Use TSP, SSP, NPK as an alternative to DAP: Official Tribune News Service A kilogram of kaju katli is being sold between ~1,050 and ~1,080, which was sold for ~900 last year in Amritsar. Anil Mehra, a wholesale dry fruit merchant, said as compared to last year, the wholesale prices of cashew have increased from ~450 to ~750 per kg, pistachio from ~1,400 to ~1,800 and almonds from ~600 to ~650. Various varieties of dry fruit has gone up as compared to last year. A kilogram of kaju katli is being sold between ~1,050 and ~1,080, which was sold for ~900 last year, pinni from ~740 to ~800, panjeri from ~900 to ~1,100. Sushil Bansal, owner of a leading local chain of traditional sweetmeat maker, said roughly, sweets worth ~4-5 crore has, so far, been sold this festival season. Their main stress is to maintain quality by using quality ingredients. Amritsar, October 30 Chief Agriculture Officer Tajinder Singh Hundal has said that farmers can use other phosphate fertilizers available in the market amid the ongoing shortage of DAP to sow the wheat crop. He said triple superphosphate (TSP) when used with urea gives the same results as DAP . Hundal said Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has also recommended the use of other phosphate fertilizers instead of DAP He said farm. ers get 18 per cent nitrogen and 46 per cent phosphorus from DAP . He said TSP has 46 per cent phosphorous and if used with 20 kilograms of urea, it would also give similar nitrogen as available in DAP As another . alternative, farmers can use 20 kg of urea with 155 kg of single super phosphate, which has a phosphorus content of 16 per cent. Teachers open front against govt Central team inspects 3,000 cops deputed across city work on CWPP plants to ensure safe & happy Diwali over regularisation of services Amritsar, October 30 Turning the festive season into a season of protests, government teachers’ body Democratic Teacher’s Front (DTF) has criticised the state government and Education Minister Harjot Bains for their failure to resolve long-pending demands of promotions, regularisation and appointments. As activities, related to the byelections to be held in the state on November 13 this year, pick up pace, zonal protests have been announced at Gidderbaha, Chabewal and Barnala by government teachers in three assembly constituencies. In this regard, the DTF issued a statement, questioning the Punjab Chief Minister and the Education Minister for ignoring the demands of teachers for the last two and a half years. DTF district president Ashwani Awasthi said that pending regular orders of the Other Distance Learning teachers and 14 Hindi teachers of state cadre and failing to meet vacancy demand of the teaching faculties in the schools have long been ignored. “In several cases, the regular orders of deserving teachers were not issued despite the consent of the organisation in three meetings with the Education Minister. Implementation of mission capable, NEP based CEP away from prescribed syllabus throughout the academic year, silent elimination of thousands of posts from education department is education revolution or education waste policy?” questioned Awasthi. Government teachers are also protesting against 15% less instalments of Dearness Allowance, cancelling notification of the old pension scheme despite announcement, removing rural allowance and border allowance for employees serving on distant posts. — TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 30 To ensure clean and fresh water supply to villages of the district, community water purification plants (CWPP) are being set up in various areas. A team from the Central Government, along with officials of Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, visited these community water purification plants plants for inspection on Wednesday. The team visited a total of 44 villages of the district c m y b here. The team inspected technical aspects of these plants to ensure regular supply of safe and pure drinking water to the village residents. Executive Engineer Nitan Kalia, Ravi Solanki and Bhavana Trivedi. On this occasion, Sub-Divisional Engineers Gurpreet Singh and Akashdeep Singh, JEs Jatin Sharma, Gurbachandeep Singh, Dishant Salwan, Deepak Mahajan , Gurpreet Singh, Surinder Mohan and Shamsher Singh, along with others, were present. Amritsar, October 30 The police have enhanced security in the city in view of the Diwali festival. Around 3,000 cops and officials were deputed at vital locations, including famous religious shrines and crowded bazaars, to ensure security and safety of the citizens. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said adequate measures have been put in place to thwart any untoward incident during the festival. He said all police officials were asked to remain vigilant to maintain law and order. Due to Diwali festival there has been huge rush in the markets. A police van toes away a wrongly parked vehicle from the roadside in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR This also led to the congestion on the already busy roads. He said traffic wing was also deputed on the chowks for streamlining of the traffic movement. The police teams took action against the wrongly parked vehicles causing traffic jams. — TNS