19012025-ATR-01.qxd 1/18/2025 11:39 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST DENSE FOG TRAFFIC COPS APPRISE STUDENTS OF ROAD NORMS I WANT TO BE CHALLENGED, SAYS VIJAY VARMA OTT RELEASE FOR ABHISHEK BACHCHAN’S I WANT TO TALK The traffic police organised a road show to mark National Road Safety Month in the city. P2 The Darlings actor reveals that his success stems from people recognising his potential. P4 Prime Video has announced the global streaming premiere of the Shoojit Sircar-directed movie. P4 » » » MAX 16°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 16°C | MIN 7°C SUNSET SUNDAY 5:52 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 07:29 AM SUNDAY | 19 JANUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Choked sewers near Golden Temple Fog grips city for third day in a row, brings daily life to a halt leave locals, shopkeepers fuming Manmeet Singh Gill Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 18 Choked sewers in several streets and roads near the Golden Temple have become a nightmare for residents and shopkeepers. Among the affected areas is Bazaar Kathian Wala, which is situated behind the Akal Takht. The rise in the number of hotels in the area has largely contributed to the problem. The streets are continuously filled with sewage, causing discomfort to the locals and raising health concerns among them. The putrid smell and insanitary conditions have made it challenging for businesses to operate, and residents are forced to navigate through the filthy streets. The situation is a consequence of inadequate drainage infrastructure, which is unable to cope with the increased wastewater generated by the growing number of hotels in the area. “We have been crying for past several years that the newly constructed illegal hotels would burden the Sewage accumulated on roads of Bazaar Kathia Wala in Amritsar. PHOTOS: SUNIL KUMAR ~1.97 crore fine collected for traffic rules violations last year PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 18 Adding Rs 1.97 crore to the state exchequer, the city police commissionerate issued 40,059 challans to offenders under various traffic violations in the year 2024. As per data, maximum challans were issued to wrongly parked vehicles in the holy city closely followed by residents driving without mandatory safety headgear. Frequent traffic snarls in the city have been an order of the day, while the district administration and the police authorities are found to be wanting. As per details procured by The Tribune, as many as 16,007 challans were issued for wrong parking of vehicles. Wrong parking is a bane of the city. Because of lack of parking spaces, people park their vehicles on roadsides which further aggravates traffic congestion in the city. Apart from this, 2,123 wrongly parked vehicles were towed away by the traffic police. The second most traffic rule violated by city residents was driving without helmets. The traffic police challaned 6,500 violators under this category. Besides, the police also challaned 1,797 people riding pillion on two-wheelers while not wearing necessary safety headgear. Residents also did not lag behind in violating traffic signals. At least 4,698 persons were challaned for the violation under this head. Out of these 3 masked youths rob doctor of ~1.83 lakh challans issued, 2,289 were for jumping red light, while the remaining 2,409 were for the violation of the traffic signal. Challans issued under other categories included 1,783 for driving four-wheelers without safely belts, 1,193 for triple riding on two-wheelers, 1,188 for wrong side driving, 952 for not having pollution certificate, 873 for using mobile phones while driving, 845 for putting black films beyond permissible limits on windscreens of fourwheelers and 661 for vehicles without proper number plates. Police Commissioner (CP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the education cell of the traffic police had been holding camps at schools and other places to make students and young people aware about traffic norms. Farmers to meet LS member Aujla on January 21 Amritsar, January18 Jamhuri Kisan Sabha, a prominent organisation in Samyukt Kisan Morcha, held a special meeting at Dalla Rajput Sahowal village to ensure the participation of public organisations and commoners in the plan to meet Lok Sabha member Gurjit Singh Aujla on January 21. Jamhuri Kisan Sabha’s state president Satnam Singh Ajnala said public organisations across the country would meet Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members from their areas on January 21 to ask them to urge the Centre Government to initiate talks with protesting farmers. “To pressure the Centre to save the life of farm leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, we request all members of Parliament to help us,” said Ajnala. — TNS Amritsar, January 18 Three unidentified armed men robbed a doctor of Rs 1.83 lakh while he was on his way to attend a medical camp at Sarli Khurd village, falling under the Khalchian police station here on Friday. Dr Harpal Singh (54), a resident of Gurbax Nagar, Rajpura (Patiala), runs a non-governmental organisation (NGO). He told the police that he was going from Khalchian to Sarli Khurd village when three motorcycle-borne youths intercepted his car. The youths, who had their faces covered, took out a pistol and threatened to shoot him. He said the accused fled with his briefcase containing Rs 1.83 lakh in cash, original degrees, licence of his organisation, medicines and other important documents. The Khalchian police have registered a case under Sections 304 (snatching), 324 (5) (mischief), 351(2) (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 3(5) (common intention) of BNS and Section 25/54/59 of the Arms Act against the unidentified persons. The police authorities said the CCTV footage in the area were being checked to find the perpetrators. Amritsar, January 18 For the third consecutive day, a thick blanket of fog enveloped the city, bringing the daily life to a nearstandstill. The lack of adequate infrastructure to navigate through the dense fog has left residents frustrated and helpless as they are forced to spend hours more than usual to reach their destinations. The rural areas of the district also reported frost, due to which vegetable crops, especially peas and potato, are at risk. Farmers were seen irrigating their fields to mitigate the impact of the frost on the crop. The day began with a brief respite as the sky was clear until 6.30 am. However, the fog soon started to build momentum, covering the entire sky by 7.30 am. As a result, the residents were deprived of sunlight for most of the day, except for a brief period in the afternoon. The fog’s impact on air travel was significant, with at least two flights cancelled and six others delayed. Passengers were left stranded, struggling to make alternative arrangements. The fog also caused disruptions in rail traffic, A commuter rides his vehicle amid dense fog in Amritsar. with several trains delayed. The delayed trains included the Vande Bharat Express, Sachkhand Superfast Express, Indore Amritsar Express, Jan Shatabdi Express, Amarapali Express and Shane Punjab, with delays ranging from 30 minutes to four hours and 15 minutes. The infrastructure in city, or lack thereof, has been exposed by the fog. Many link roads connecting the city to rural areas lack even basic white markings to help drivers navigate through the fog. As a result, commuters were left to fend for themselves, relying on their own wits to navigate the treacherous roads. “We need better fog lights, more efficient traffic management and improved public transportation,” said Jaswinder, a local. Another resident, Kewal Ram said, “It’s not just about convenience, it’s about safety. The city’s infrastructure is woefully inadequate to handle foggy conditions, and it’s putting people’s lives at risk.” As the city struggles to cope with the fog, the residents are left to wonder when things would return to normal. With no end to the fog in sight, the commuters are bracing themselves for another day of disruptions and delays. Amritpal’s party Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) to commence membership drive soon Tribune News Service Amritsar, January18 After praying at the Akal Takht for the progress and expansion of the newly formed Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), Tarsem Singh, father of jailed MP Amritpal Singh, and MP Faridkot Sarabjit Singh Khalsa stated that they were soon going to start the membership drive. Speaking outside the Akal Takht Secretariat, they stated that the party would establish offices in Chandigarh and Amritsar. A seven-member constitution and agenda committee has been formed to draft the party’s constitution. MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, also present on the occasion, said a membership campaign for the party would commence Tarsem Singh, father of jailed MP Amritpal Singh, offers prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Saturday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR soon and affirmed that the party would participate in the 2027 Assembly elections. He added that they would also field candidates in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections. Tarsem emphasised that the Akal Takht had been informed that the Akali Dal had now lost the moral right to lead Punjab. He accused Sukhbir Singh Badal of trying to suppress the Jathedars and not adhering to the orders of the seven-member committee formed by the Singh Sahibs. He questioned how Sukhbir Singh Badal could follow the directives of the Akal Takht if he ignored the committee’s orders. Tarsem outlined the party’s initial plans, stating that five members from each district would be selected to lead a membership campaign at the district level. Under this campaign, 11member executive committees would be formed in each district, with the president and other office-bearers chosen among the members. A seven-member panel has been established to draft the party’s constitution, which will be prepared based on public input and discussions. Kiran Bedi returns to her alma mater to release Punjabi translation of book Fearless Governance Gangster Landa booked for demanding ~50L from bizman Neha Saini Our Correspondent Tribune News Service infrastructure in the walled city. More than 1,000 hotels have been illegally built in the area with the connivance of MC officials. Now the sewer lines are overburdened as each hotel has at least 50 occupants,” said Sham Lal , a shopkeeper in Kathian Wala Bazaar. “The local authorities must take immediate action to upgrade the sewerage to ensure the regular maintenance of sewer lines in order to prevent such incidents in future,” he added. “The residents and shopkeepers of Bazaar Kathian Wala and surrounding areas deserve a cleaner and healthier environment, and it is the responsibility of the authorities to provide them with the necessary infrastructure and services,” said a visitor, Jasdeep Singh. A tea seller in the market said, “The street is filled with the stinky sewage, who will sit here and have tea. The MC has failed to provide a solution to our problem and our business have been ruined. The sewer lines should be replaced.” PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, January 18 The police have booked gangster Lakhbir Singh, alias Landa, for demanding an extortion of Rs 50 lakh from a shop owner here. In his complaint, the shopkeeper said the gangster had threatened him of dire consequences if he failed to pay the said amount. He said he had received a WhatsApp call on January 16, and the caller, who introduced himself as gangster Lakhbir Singh, had demanded money from him. Sharing details, ASI Surjit Singh said a case under Section 308 (4) of the BNS had been registered against Lakhbir Singh on Friday. Amritsar, January 18 Getting things done right is what Kiran Bedi believes in. Taking an action-oriented approach, in service and in life, Bedi has been among the movers and shakers of governance. One such recent example is her successful action plan to turn draught-ridden Puducherry into a water-rich city. Serving five years as the Lt Governor of Puducherry, the former IPS (retd) now wants to share lessons she learnt during the process with the world through her book Fearless Governance. Bedi, along with Arvind Chhabra, released the Punjabi translation of her book at an event at Saroop Rani College for Women on Saturday. c m y b Kiran Bedi during an event at Saroop Rani Government College for Women in Amritsar on Saturday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Fearless Governance has been translated into Hindi, French and other languages and shares pointers through real life experiences by Bedi on good governance and effective, people friendly administrative practices. Sharing her excitement over coming to Amritsar and releasing her book in Punjabi, a language she has held close to her heart, Bedi said that it was destiny. “I was invited for a lecture on my book from Amritsar and I was thankful for it, but it could not materialise. So, today we created our own event,” she said in a light-hearted confession. Talking about her book, she said it was a team work. “Pondicherry has changed much and it’s a place with so much history. There is also a history of its administration and governance. So, I wanted to document it through a book on how the governance was turned into a people’s governance. It’s not a utopian concept, but requires conviction and consistency,” she said. In the book, Kiran details her teams’ action plan to replenish canals and natural water bodies, get corporates to contribute in cleaning water bodies, ponds and engage citizens in cleaning and water harvesting, effectively brought about the transformation. “If it can be done in one place, it can be done in several others. All it requires is effective resource management, policy implementation and on-ground mobilisation. We made it into a people’s movement,” she said. She interacted with students, asking them to adopt a healthy lifestyle, though process to create future for themselves. “I am the result of my habits. You need to understand that inculcating good habits from childhood help shape our future. Habit of eating healthy food, healthy value system, fitness of body and mind adds to our overall growth and personality.”