29032026-ATR-01.qxd 3/28/2026 11:32 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY AMRITSAR DISTRICT GETS 7 NEW AAM AADMI CLINICS FARMERS FLAG ENCROACHMENTS, EXPLOITATION AT VALLAH MANDI FATIMA SANA SHAIKH, ANANYA PANDAY READY TO STORM OTT Health System Corporation Chairman Gursharan Singh Chhina inaugurated one of the clinics at Rani Ka Bagh. P2 Alleging lack of action by administration, Vegetable Growers’ Association leaders warn of protest. P3 Ananya returns as the bubbly Bella Bae in Call Me Bae Season 2, ‘nayi behen’ Shruti Haasan will also accompany her. P4 » » » MAX 28°C | MIN 18°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 18°C SUNSET SUNDAY 6.48 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6.21 AM SUNDAY | 29 MARCH 2026 | AMRITSAR Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 28 The Amritsar Municipal Corporation has proposed a budget of Rs 481.18 crore for the financial year 2026–27, marking an increase over the previous year’s Rs 459.45 crore. The budget will be tabled for approval during the General House meeting scheduled to be held on March 30 at 10 am at the Ranjit Avenue office complex. According to official sources, the budget allocation reflects a continued emphasis on administrative expenditure, with 66 per cent earmarked for staff and establishment costs. Development works have been allocated 30 per cent of the total outlay, while 4 per cent has been kept aside for contingency expenses. The upcoming General House meeting is expected to be significant, with 38 proposals listed in the main agenda and an additional 22 proposals included in the supplementary agenda. Sources indicate that several table proposals may also be introduced during the proceedings. Given the scale of the budget and pending civic issues, the meeting is likely to witness heated discussions The Municipal Corporation building in Amritsar. and possible disruptions. The budget has been prepared by the civic body’s finance wing and cleared by the Municipal Commissioner and Mayor before being placed for House approval. Officials stated that the corporation has set higher revenue and development targets across multiple sectors compared to the previous fiscal year. In terms of projected revenue, the corporation aims to generate Rs 65 crore from COMING UP IN CITY State’s first ‘Halfway Home’ for recovered mental health patients Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 28 In a major step towards improving mental healthcare, a “halfway home” is being constructed at Dr Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health here for patients who have recovered but have no place to go. The facility aims to support patients who are medically stable but remain stranded due to the lack of family support, unknown addresses or social stigma — issues often overlooked in mental healthcare. The initiative gained momentum after the Punjab State Human Rights Commission Chairperson Justice Sant Parkash flagged the issue during his recent visit. He noted that recovered patients should not be housed alongside those undergoing treatment, highlighting the urgent need for a separate rehabilitation space. Director Dr Savinder Singh said the institute currently had several patients who are clinically stable but cannot be discharged. “We have a few patients who are healthy now, but have nowhere to go. A halfway home is being constructed where they will be shifted once it is complete,” he said. He added that construction was progressing rapidly and is expected to be completed soon. At present, the institute houses 226 patients, including 85 women. Officials say many recovered patients remain admitted due to social and family challenges. “In some cases, there is no one in the family to take care of them. In others, parents are too old or have passed away,” Dr Singh explained. Continued on Page 3 property tax, Rs 18 crore from water supply and sewerage charges, and Rs 12 crore from road cutting fees. The building fee and development charges under the Town Planning wing are expected to contribute Rs 72 crore, while a major share of Rs 250 crore is projected from GST compensation from octroi. Additional revenue streams include rental income from municipal properties, street vending (tehbazari) fees, elec- tricity duty, excise duty, license and sanctioning fees, regulation charges from unauthorised colonies and hotels, as well as collections from services such as libraries, Fire Brigade operations, and slaughterhouse facilities. With ambitious revenue targets and a packed agenda, the March 30 meeting is expected to be a stormy affair even as political tensions hint at a potentially turbulent session. Amritsar, March 28 Two alleged weapon smugglers arrested by the counterintelligence (CI) were produced before a local court on Saturday, which sent them to three-day police remand for further investigations. The CI had busted a crossborder illegal arms smuggling module with the arrest of two persons and seized 10 foreign-made sophisticated pistols from their possession. Those arrested included Resham Singh of Khusupura village in Amritsar, and Manpreet Singh, a resident of Khwaspur in Tarn Taran. The police had also confiscated a black Platina motorcycle, allegedly used to transport the consignment. The seized weapons included a Turkey-made Zigana pistol, an Austriamade Glock pistol, two USAmade Beretta pistols, five PX5 pistols and a Chinamade Norinco pistol along with magazines. According to the police, the duo was working at the behest of a foreign-based gangster in coordination with Pakistan-based smugglers to facilitate the smuggling of illegal arms into India. The consignment was meant for further distribution among criminal elements across Punjab.—TNS Tribune News Service Charanjit Singh Teja Amritsar, March 28 In a push to streamline the city’s sanitation system, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation has floated a Rs 55-crore tender aimed at improving waste collection and management across the city. Under the new plan, an additional private agency will be hired alongside the existing system to handle garbage collection from markets and residential colonies developed by the Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT). Earlier, the Improvement Trust independently managed waste collection in its areas. However, residents had expressed dissatisfaction with the arrangement, citing inefficiencies. Given the Municipal Corporation’s larger infrastructure and capacity, the responsibility of lifting waste from Trust colonies was recently taken over by the civic body, leading to an increase in the overall waste management load. Officials said this integration had added nearly 120 metric tonnes of waste per day to the city’s existing burden. Currently, door-to-door garbage collection across 85 wards is being handled by a private firm, with a target of lifting 274 metric tonnes daily from 44 wards and 281 metric tonnes from 41 wards. According to senior officials, the agency is presently lifting around 700 metric tonnes of waste per day, which is higher than the initial target. In addition, it is required to manage the extra 120 metric tonnes generated from Trust areas. Despite five months having passed, the door-to-door collection system has not been operating at full efficiency. The authorities believe that the new tender will address these gaps and significantly improve service delivery. The slow pace of collection has been a major hurdle in improving the city’s cleanliness ranking. With the inclusion of Improvement Trust areas, officials said no part of the city will remain outside the sanitation network. The additional 120 metric tonnes of waste processing is also expected to reduce the burden on existing dumping sites. The Municipal Corporation will now directly collect user charges for door-todoor garbage collection instead of routing them through private contractors. This move is expected to curb complaints, eliminate irregularities, and strengthen accountability. Officials expressed confidence that the new system will put pressure on the executing agency to perform efficiently while ensuring better data transparency and overall sanitation outcomes. Power supply to deceased warehousing Fake currency dropped from drone raises red flag officer’s house snapped by miscreants Pawan K Jaiswar BJP, SAD reiterate CBI probe in Gagandeep Singh Randhawa’s death Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 28 Unidentified persons allegedly snapped the electricity supply to the residence of deceased Punjab Warehousing Corporation district manager Gagandeep Singh Randhawa at Ranjit Avenue, triggering panic in the bereaved family and drawing sharp political reactions. Family members said the incident took place around 5.30 pm on Friday. Initially, the family mistook it for a routine outage, but later realised that only their house was without electricity, causing fear and anxiety among the members. Varinder Singh, brother of the deceased, said an electrician confirmed that the power line had been deliberately cut. The police were immediately informed about the matter and a team, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Ravinder Pal Singh Sandhu, reached the spot. Meanwhile, the CCTV footage reportedly showed two motorcycle-borne persons carrying out the act. The family flayed the Punjab Police for failing to arrest the remaining two accused in the case. While former minister Laljit Singh Bhullar was arrested in the case, his father Sukhdev Singh and personal assistant Dilbagh Singh were absconding. The family also raised questions over police inaction in arresting the duo. Sandhu said a DDR under Section 324 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) had been registered against unknown miscreants. He added that the accused had Sr leader Gurdev Singh Sandhu quits AAP Tarn Taran, March 28 Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Gurdev Singh Sandhu from Tarn Taran has resigned from the primary membership of the party and announced to join the Waris Punjab De. Unhappy with the party’s leadership, Sandhu said here today that he had decided to leave the party as he did not like the party’s principles. He said the party had not been able to do anything in the matter of sacrilege till date and corruption was rampant in Civic body floats ~55-cr tender to improve waste collection in city FILE PHOTO MC to present ~48-cr budget, stormy house meeting likely 3-day police remand for weapon smugglers government departments. He further said the government had neither been able to control gangsterism nor had it been successful in providing clean administration to the people. While Gurdev Singh Sandhu was the state chairman of the Punjab State Corporation, he was also the vicepresident of Forest (Janglat) Corporation Limited. He tried for the party ticket for the Tarn Taran by-election in November 2025, but was not successful. He also expressed disappointment over the party not taking any action against the drug menace. — OC c m y b been identified and would be arrested soon. The family was also provided security after the incident. Condemning the incident, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar launched a scathing attack on the state government. In a statement on ‘X’, he alleged that the incident reflected the “deteriorating moral standards” of the ruling dispensation. Jakhar said under Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s government, such incidents were taking place and questioned whether the government would “stoop to such a level”. He alleged that the deceased officer had earlier been “mentally harassed to the extent of being driven to suicide” and now attempts were being made to intimidate the family seeking justice. He further claimed that the family had not been provided adequate security and alleged that efforts were being made to threaten them “under the patronage of the government”. Jakhar reiterated that this was why a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was necessary, adding that “the entire Punjab is demanding a CBI inquiry into the matter.” BJP state executive member Gurtej Singh Dhillon also visited the family members of the victim and assured them that the party stood by the family. Meanwhile, former Punjab minister and senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia also condemned the incident, terming it an attempt to intimidate the bereaved family, and supported the demand for a CBI probe. Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 28 The seizure of fake Indian currency notes, worth around Rs 2.5 lakh, by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Amritsar rural police along the IndoPak border in Amritsar has triggered concerns of a potentially dangerous shift from conventional smuggling to calibrated economic sabotage. The counterfeit currency, dropped via a drone from across the border, was seized during a search operation in the Gharinda area following intelligence inputs about aerial movement. While the amount involved is modest, security experts warn that the implications are far more serious. This is the first instance of fake currency being smuggled through drones in the region — a method so far largely used for narcotics and arms trafficking. “This may be an attempt of testing a new channel to systematically inject counterfeit notes into the Indian economy,” said a senior Punjab police official. “What looks like a small seizure could be a pilot run,” he added. He pointed out that drone-based delivery allowed precise, low-risk drops that are harder to intercept. Unlike drugs or weapons, fake currency directly targets financial stability, said another official. The incident also exposes a potential blind spot in existing counter-drone systems being used to detect consignments. Smaller payloads like currency packets can evade radar and surveillance grids, making these an attractive option for hostile networks. Investigators are now probing whether the consignment was meant for a local distribution chain, and if similar drops have gone undetected in the past. The seized notes have been sent for forensic analysis to trace their origin and printing quality — key indicators of whether they are part of a larger, organised counterfeit operation.