12092025-ATR-01.qxd 9/11/2025 11:34 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 25°C LITERARY EVENT HELD TO ENCOURAGE READING HABIT 161 PRIMARY SCHOOLS SUFFERED DAMAGE DUE TO FLOODS: DEO VISHAL, JANHVI ATTEND SCREENING OF HOMEBOUND A special literary event was organised with the aim of connecting readers with books and library. P2 Most government primary schools in Amritsar district have been badly damaged by the floods. P2 Excited to be at Toronto Film Festival, Vishal said it felt amazing to be in the spotlight for the film. P4 » » » SUNSET FRIDAY 6.40 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6.12 AM FRIDAY | 12 SEPTEMBER 2025 | AMRITSAR SGPC panel reserves ~20 cr for flood relief Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) executive committee on Thursday decided to reserve an initial amount of Rs 20 crore for the assistance of flood-affected people, along with several major measures for different affected sectors. Addressing mediapersons after the executive committee meeting, its president Harjinder Singh Dhami said apart from reserving an initial amount of Rs 20 crore for flood-affected victims, it would also provide 8 lakh litres of diesel to farmers to help level and prepare fields for cultivation again. In addition, farmers having less than 10 acres of land would be provided high-quality wheat seed for the upcoming sowing season. Each floodaffected gurdwaras would also receive Ra 50,000 in financial assistance. It would also provide free textbooks to children whose school books were destroyed in the floods, said the SGPC president. The SGPC further announced that as many as 50 medical vans from Sri Guru Ramdas Medical College would be deployed in affected areas to address post-flood health issues, apart from providing langar and ration supplies as before. Dhami urged the Punjab Government to waive VAT on diesel for farmers in order to maximise relief benefits. He emphasised that the SGPC’s relief work is being carried out through the Guru’s Golak (religious treasury) and public contributions, urging the sangat (community) to generously support these efforts. During the meeting, the association of former SGPC employees presented a cheque for Rs 1.01 lakh towards flood relief. The committee also paid homage to those who lost their lives in the floods as well as Baba Baljinder Singh of Rara Sahib, who recently passed away. The SGPC has already sent relief material worth over Rs 77 lakh. Over 7 kg heroin seized, five held Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 The Border Security Force (BSF) has arrested five smugglers and recovered a quadcopter drone along with 7.35 kg of contraband in separate incidents in the past 24 hours. A BSF spokesman said that on Wednesday evening, acting on an intelligence input, BSF jawans in a joint operation with the special cell of the Amritsar rural police arrested a drug peddler and recovered three packets containing 1.43 kg of heroin, apart from a mobile phone from him. The accused was a resident of Ballarwal village. Similarly, the troops conducted a search operation resulting in the recovery of a quadcopter containing a large packet weighing around 3.140 kg of heroin from a paddy field ahead of the border fence near Khanwa village in Amritsar. In another incident, while tracking the movement of a drone, BSF jawans confiscated a narcotic packet weighing around 578gm from near Mahawa village. In another operation, it Amritsar, September 11 The anganwadi centres were closed due to the floods in 195 villages of Ajnala area bordering the Ravi river, due to which, pregnant mothers and children aged six months to six years are not getting nutritional food as per the anganwadi project. To overcome accessibility issues, anganwadi workers are now delivering sweet porridge, salty porridge, khichdi, murmura at the doorstep under supplementary nutrition in villages hit by the floods. So far, this supplementary nutrition has been provided to 78 villages of Ajnala, Chaugawan and Baba Bakala blocks and the supply is being forwarded continuously. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said under the leadership of District Program Officer Suman- Tribune News Service Three smugglers in custody of the BSF in Amritsar. arrested three smugglers with a packet having around 550gm of heroin from Atalgarh village. Earlier, the BSF had confiscated three packets of heroin having 1.658 kg of heroin from Pala Megha village in Ferozepur last night in an intelligence based operation. Besides, in Khemkaran (Tarn Taran), BSF troops arrested a suspected smuggler, who was later handed over to Punjab Police for further investigation. Amritsar, September 11 The Amritsar police commissionerate have busted a cross-border weapon smuggling module with the arrest of six persons, including an operative of a weapon syndicate being operated from foreign shores. Besides, the police also seized six weapons along with Rs 5.75 lakh of hawala money from them. Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav said the racket had smashed the trans-border organised arms smuggling module following an intelligence input. Those arrested were identified as Pargat Singh of Vaan Tara Singh village in Tarn Taran, Ajaybir Singh, alias Ajay, of Gali Punjab Singh in Amritsar, Karanbir Singh, alias Karan, Ram of Pal Avenue here, Mehakpreet Singh, alias Rohit, of Officer Colony here and Dinesh Kumar of Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar addresses mediapersons in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Adampur in Jalandhar. The recovered weapons include one 9MM Glock, three .30 bore PX5 pistols, one .32 bore and .30 bore pistol. Sharing details, Police Com- missioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the syndicate was being operated by Mehakpreet Singh at the behest of his foreign-based handlers via social media. During the operation, multiple recoveries were made at different stages of investigation, he said. Bhullar said accused Pargat Singh was initially arrested with two weapons, which were part of cross-border consignments and meant to be distributed further through the network. Ajaybir, Karanbir and Shri Ram, other members of the module, were arrested along with one pistol. Mehakpreet, the kingpin of the racket, was arrested from Goa and three weapons were recovered from his possession. The Police Commissioner said a probe revealed that the money earned through the arms smuggling trade was routed through hawala network in which accused Dinesh was arrested along with Rs 5.75 lakh of hawala money. A case has been registered and further investigations are in progress to identify their backward and forward linkages. Amid health crisis in Ajnala, Ramdas areas, Admn initiates fever survey in livestock too face disease threats flood-affected villages Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 While flood-affected families in the Ajnala and Ramdas areas are battling health concerns, animals too are facing serious health risks in the aftermath of the calamity. The Veterinary Department has confirmed cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Dhariwal Kaler village, and experts have also warned of a potential outbreak of gal ghotu, a bacterial disease that affects cattle. ASF a viral disease that , affects only pigs and wild boars, was detected at a pig farm in Dhariwal Kaler. Following the confirmation, the village has been declared the epicenter of the outbreak. Navraj Singh Sandhu, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, clarified that the disease does not spread to humans or other Anganwadi workers serving food to 9,546 flood-hit people Tribune news Service Cross-border arms smuggling module busted, 6 arrested deep Kaur, anganwadi workers are going door to door to establish contact with people in distress and they are being provided with necessary health materials as per their requirement. She said as the flood water is receding, efforts are being made to bring life back on track. District Program Officer Sumandeep Kaur said there were a total of 9,596 persons from flood-affected areas, with whom their teams are continuously in touch and supplement nutrition is being provided to pregnant mothers. She said anganwadi workers are providing relief materials to them, paying special attention to pregnant women and small children. “This food service will continue for a month from now and we will ensure that mothers and children get a healthy diet as per our original plan,” she added. A veterinarian checks a buffalo at a village in Amritsar. a 0-1 km radius of Dhariwal Kaler has been declared an “Infected Zone”, while the 110 km surrounding area has been designated a “Surveillance Zone”. The district administration has invoked Section 163 of the Bharatiya Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, to enforce a complete ban on the movement of live or dead pigs, unprocessed pork, or pork products in and out of the infected zone. The sale and purchase of such products in local markets have also been strictly prohibited. These orders will remain in effect from September 10 to November 9. Animal Husbandry officials have appealed to the public not to panic or spread misinformation, emphasizing that ASF is restricted to pigs and poses no threat to human health. Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 As part of its disease prevention drive in flood-affected areas, the Health Department on Thursday deployed 26 teams to carry out a largescale fever survey in 14 villages of Ajnala and Ramdas areas. During the door-todoor survey, 2,046 people were examined, out of which, 74 were found with suspected symptoms and were given medicines immediately. In addition, 268 blood samples were collected for testing. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said the survey is aimed at detecting cases early and stopping the spread of waterborne and mosquito-borne illnesses. She urged residents to cooperate with the visiting doctors and allow fogging teams to spray inside their houses. Meanwhile, teams of the Health Department are conducting daily fogging and anti-larva spraying in the affected villages to check the breeding of mosquitoes. “Since the floodwaters are receding, the chances of diseases like dengue and chikungunya are higher. We are taking preventive action before the situation worsens,” officials said. Civil Surgeon Dr Swaranjit Dhawan said dengue and chikungunya are spread to humans through the bite of Aedes mosquitoes, which breeds in clean, stagnant water and bites mostly during the day. Common symptoms of dengue include high fever, severe headache, muscle pain, rashes, eye pain, and bleeding from gums or nose. Chikungunya can cause fever, swelling and painful joints along with skin rashes. Dr Dhawan said both illnesses are treatable and can be prevented with simple measures. People should clean coolers and flowerpot trays once in a week, wear clothes that cover the body, use mosquito nets or repellents, and avoid taking aspirin or brufen during fever. Only paracetamol should be used. Drinking enough fluids and taking rest are also important. He said the Health Department teams have been deployed in villages for continuous monitoring and testing so that suspected cases can be quickly identified and treated. animals and has no connection to the recent floods. He further explained that since ASF has no known cure, strict containment measures are essential. These include the culling and safe disposal of pigs at affected farms, sealing and sanitizing the premises, and banning the movement of pigs and pork products between farms. Regular surveillance is also being carried out in surrounding areas to prevent further spread. According to a notification issued by the Director of the Animal Husbandry Department, Punjab, the area within AAP MLA Lalpura shifted to Amritsar Central Jail Punjab eyes GI tag for Amritsari kulcha, industry growth Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, September 11 AAP MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura who was convicted in a more than 12-year-old case of molestation has been shifted to Central Jail, Amritsar, last night. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Deepak Pareek, who has been transferred as AIG, State Special Operation Cell (SSOC), Punjab, to SAS Nagar, Mohali, confirmed the shifting of the MLA to Amritsar Central Jail. There are reports that the MLA is suffering from some serious ailment because of which he has been shifted to Amritsar for better medical facilities. Ravjot Grewal has been appointed as the new SSP of Tarn Taran, as per the orders issued by the state government. Ravjot Grewal was serving as Joint Director, IVC-SU Vigilance Bureau, Punjab. Grewal is yet to take charge as SSP here. Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, September 11 Amritsari kulcha — the stuffed, leavened flatbread baked to golden perfection in a clay tandoor and deeply rooted in Amritsar’s culinary legacy — may soon receive a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, provided the Punjab Government’s efforts bear fruit. In a move aimed at preserving Punjab’s culinary identity and traditional foods, the Punjab Food Processing Department is actively exploring the possibility of securing a GI tag for Amritsari kulcha, a beloved dish that originated in Amritsar. A GI tag is a certification granted to products that possess distinct qualities, reputation, or characteristics due to their geographical origin — whether a town, region, or country. Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, Principal Secretary of the Food Processing Department, Punjab, while chairing a meeting at Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, discussed initiatives to strengthen the food process- c m y b Principal Secretary (Food Processing) Rakhee Gupta along with GNDU faculty and stakeholders of food processing industry in Amritsar. ing sector. She noted that a GI tag for Amritsari kulcha could soon become a reality. The meeting saw participation from faculty members of the Department of Food Science and Technology, industry representatives, and processing unit stakeholders. Bhandari emphasized that such recognition would not only elevate Amritsar’s culinary heritage but also open new doors for branding, exports, and market expansion — ultimately leading to increased employment opportunities. “The food and agro-processing sector is a ‘Sunshine Industry’ because of its enormous potential for growth and job creation. It’s essential to build strong backward and forward linkages for Food Business Operators (FBOs) to ensure the sector’s sustainable development,” she said. She reaffirmed the Punjab Government’s commitment, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, to strengthening the agro-food processing ecosystem. “Under the leadership of Cabinet Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian, the Food Processing Department and GNDU are formulating policies to fortify the entire value chain — from farm to factory to fork — ensuring a seamless and efficient process,” she added. The meeting also addressed key demands from the industry and explored potential solutions for the growth of Punjab’s food processing sector. Key points of discussion included the establishment of Food Parks and Technology Exchange platforms to foster innovation and build infrastructure. Other critical topics included the need for skilled manpower, modern food testing labs to ensure quality and safety, and better processing facilities for fruits, vegetables, papad, wadian, honey, spices, and jaggery. Proposals were also discussed for cold storage facilities with APEDA support and enhanced cargo handling of perishables at Amritsar Airport. Additionally, promoting honey exports through Punjab Agro was highlighted as a promising growth avenue for the sector.