03012024-ATR-01.qxd 03-01-2024 00:32 Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY WRESTLER GETS ROUSING WELCOME ON ARRIVAL MADHURI DIXIT, NENE VISIT SIDDHIVINAYAK TEMPLE KARMMA CALLING IS A DREAM COME TRUE FOR VARUN SOOD Uday Sharma of Spring Dale Senior School has won two bronze medals in wrestling championship. P2 Madhuri Dixit had a spiritual start to her New Year, as she visited Siddhivinayak Temple along with her husband . P3 Bagging the role of Ahaan Kothari in upcoming series Karmma Callingis a dream come true for Varun. P4 » » MAX 14°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 12°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.38 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7.30 AM » WEDNESDAY | 3 JANUARY 2024 | AMRITSAR Truckers’ strike leads to panic buying of fuel at city stations Heavy rush seen in Tarn Taran Fuel station staff refuse refill, talks underway to end crisis Dealers say strike called off, supply to petrol pumps will start soon Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 2 The truckers’ strike has caused panic buying of diesel and petrol with long queues of two-wheelers and fourwheelers witnessed at petrol pumps here on Tuesday. The strike led to depleting of the supply of fuel, besides petrol pumps going dry as long queues were seen at these places since last night. The petrol pump dealers stated that the strike by the transporters had slowed down the supply, but the foremost reason behind the pumps running dry is panic buying by residents. Messages being circulated on social media and other platforms forced the residents to believe that the pumps might run dry due to the protest by the transporters. This led to over buying by the residents which worsened the situation. A rush of motorists waiting for their turn to refill fuel tanks in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Long queues of vehicles were seen at most of the petrol pumps last night. The same situation continued since the morning of Tuesday. Subsequently, a large number of pumps closed their operations by afternoon. “Usually, a two-wheeler owner buys petrol worth Rs 200 and a four-wheeler owner spends ~1,000, but now everyone is thinking of filling up the fuel tank to the full. The sale of diesel and petrol has gone up,” said a petrol pump worker. Joginder Pal Dhingra, a leader of the Petrol Pump Dealers’ Association, said, “We appeal to the residents not to panic as the protest has already been called off and hopefully the petrol pumps would start supplying fuel as soon as the oil tankers reach here.” He said most of the pumps had exhausted their stocks till this afternoon. Deputy Commissioner Ghansham Thori said the supply of petrol and diesel to the state is made through three terminals — Jalandhar, Sangrur and Bathinda. “As per information from the district administration of Jalandhar, the oil tanker operators have called off their protest and fuel supply would be restored soon.” He said the district administration and the Food and Civil Supplies Department were ensuring that there was no shortage of products there. Two-wheeler riders face difficulty due to the exhaustion of the supply at a petrol station in Tarn Taran on Tuesday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Tarn Taran, January 2 Heavy rush was witnessed at filling stations in the district as people lined up to get petrol and diesel with strike by truck operators threatening to affect supplies of petroleum products. An employee of a petrol pump in Tarn Taran said that when they came on duty in the morning, their owners prohibited them from giving petrol or diesel. As news spread, people came in large numbers and even protested against the petrol pump operators. Parwinder Singh, a social activist, said that the petrol pump operator violated set norms and the stock record was not mentioned on the notice board. Parwinder Singh said that the role of the administration was that of a mute spectator and the people were left to suffer for want of petrol or diesel. Gurnam Singh Johal, state president, Punjab Truck Ekta, said that the 10year imprisonment and the Rs 10 lakh fine and other laws pro- posed against the driver of the vehicle in case of an accident were in no way justified. Sandeep Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, said there was no shortage of petrol or diesel as most owners of petrol pumps have their own trucks and there were certain pumps which had enough stock. However, the people were a harassed lot with long queues forming and the strike catching them unawares. — OC No thaw in chill yet as cold wave continues Amritsar, January 2 There was no respite from bone-chilling cold as residents of the holy city woke up to another icy morning on Tuesday. Like past several days, the sun remained elusive, so there was no respite from the cold wave conditions for people. Hardly any traffic jams were visible on roads as people mostly preferred to stay indoors. Pedestrians joined the homeless, sitting by the bonfire being lit on roadsides, to keep themselves warm. Several store owners pooled in money to light a fire near their shops to keep themselves warm in the biting cold. At the railway station, people preferred to consume piping hot tea and coffee to gain respite from cold. — TNS Shopkeepers sit around a bonfire in Amritsar on Tuesday. Two arrested with six illegal Admn releases ~4.5 cr Digging in fog at bypass road pistols in separate instances to open new libraries poses a threat to commuters Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 2 The city police nabbed two persons with six illegal pistols in two separate cases here on Tuesday. In the first instance, five pistols were recovered from a notorious criminal. The accused has been identified as Sahil Kumar, alias Chhanga (22), a resident of Indira Colony, Jhabal Road, Amritsar. The police recovered five pistols and 40 cartridges of .32 bore, .315 bore and .12 bore from his possession. Harsandeep Singh, SHO, Gate Hakima police station, said a team led by Balwinder Singh, in-charge, Annagarh police post, nabbed Sahil Kumar and recovered five pistols from Annagarh gate area. A Class V drop-out, Chhanga had come out on bail after staying in jail for four years in different cases. During a preliminary interrogation, Sahil Kumar con- Two accused in custody of the Amritsar police. TRIBUNE PHOTO fessed that he along with his accomplices Ajay Singh, alias Bhiri, and Rakshit Saini formed a gang and sold illegal arms. Ajay Singh and Rakshit Saini are currently lodged in the Amritsar Central Jail and Ludhiana, respectively, under the Arms Act. The accused, Sahil Kumar, was also wanted in two cases of attempt to murder. Police officials said Chhanga faced seven cases of snatching, attempt to murder and clashes in different police stations of the city. A fresh case has been regis- tered under Sections 25 (7), 54 and 59 of the Arms Act at the Gate Hakima police station, Amritsar, in this regard. Meanwhile, in the second case, one person was arrested with a weapon. The accused has been identified as Vishal Singh, alias Shala (23), a resident of Dhappai village in Amritsar. The accused works in a gas agency. CIA Staff-1 in charge Inspector Amolak Singh said Vishal Singh was nabbed with a .32 bore pistol and two cartridges. A case has been registered. Amritsar, January 2 In tune with the programme designed by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to make libraries a reality, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori today released a grant of Rs 4.50 crore to build 10 libraries in the district in the first phase. He forwarded the funds to Executive Engineer Panchayati Raj and Supervising Engineer Municipal Corporation and directed them to start work immediately. He also stated that quality of work should be taken care of for the construction of public libraries. These libraries will be established in Attari Assembly constituency’s Chicha and Gharinda villages, Baba Bakala Sahib constituency’s Tung village, Amritsar West Constituency’a Chheharta Zone number eight and Amritsar North constituency’s erstwhile deputy commissioner office, which now ‘NEW BUILDING FOR LIBRARIES NEEDED’ The Deputy Commissioner, Ghanshyam Thori, said a new building has to be constructed for some libraries, while for some libraries, the existing buildings have to be renovated. houses district library, Rs 32 lakh each per library has been released. While an amount of Rs 64 lakh per library has been released for the construction of libraries in Gol Bagh, Bolaria Park in the South constituency, Chali Khoo Park in the Amritsar East and Lahori Gate zone number two in the Amritsar Central constituency. He said out of this, a new building has to be constructed for some libraries, while for some libraries, the existing buildings have to be renovated. He said that our effort will be to complete this work as soon as possible and hand over the libraries to the public. Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 2 The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has not learnt a lesson from past incidents, as road digging is being conducted at Vallah bypass even in dense fog. The absence of lights or other measures to prevent accidents on the spot poses serious risk to commuters. The construction of overbridge at Vallah Chowk is underway for the last one-andhalf year. Initially, the road contractor didn’t take any precautions to prevent accidents, but after highlighting the negligence on part of the authorities, a solar blinker was installed on the main road. In the recent digging being conducted alongside the road diverting towards the Coca Cola factory, concrete blocks were installed for the diversion, but such blocks are not visible in the dense fog. “The weather conditions would normalise after 10 days. The bypass road near Vallah Chowk which was dug up by the National Highways Authority of India in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR Such digging should be avoided in foggy season, when visibility is low. If digging was imperative, then there should be proper reflectors and lights on the spot to indicate the drivers about the trench,” said Ravi Kumar, a commuter, whose car rammed into a concrete block during a foggy evening. Last year, the police had booked the NHAI road contrac- tor for not putting up proper signs for diversion and displaying reflectors at an under-construction bridge on NH-1 near Manawala. The case was registered on the complaint of an accident victim’s mother. The accident took place due to the contractor’s negligence on January 31, 2022, when a youth’s car hit a bridge, leaving him and a relative seriously injured. Land from 21 villages SKM announces Delhi Morcha from Feb 13 Activist starts survey acquired, says DC on addicts in villages KATRA EXPRESSWAY Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, January 2 In a meeting with officials of the district administration regarding the Delhi-AmritsarKatra national highway project, Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar stated that land from a total of 21 villages has been acquired for the construction of the expressway. The DC asked the officials to ensure distribution of compensation for the land acquired as soon as possible so that it could be handed over to the NHAI for beginning the construction. The DC said the process is on to acquire 239.51 hectare (for a stretch of 22.75 km of expressway) land in 19 villages of Khadoor Sahib sub-division for which the compensation awarded would be Rs 284 crore. He said that Rs 238 crore has already been received by the administration, “Of the amount received so far, Rs 121.24 crore has been distributed to the beneficiaries so far and 2.5 per cent of Government Contingency Charge of Rs 4.70 crore has been deposited in the account of Punjab Government,” said the DC. He added that of the total 22.75 km of land to be acquired, possession of about 13.90 km has been given to the NHAI. He also asked the officials to submit a detailed report of land acquisition and compensation disbursement. The DC said that in case farmers want to appeal for an enhanced compensation, they can do so before the arbitration court. Amritsar, January 2 The Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) that comprises 18 farmer unions of north India announced to intensify its protest against the government during a maha rally held at Dana Mandi, Jandiala, here on Tuesday. The farmer leaders sounded the bugle for another Delhi Morcha from February 13. The farmer unions from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand participated in the rally. Addressing a massive gathering of farmers, the leaders stated that the Central Government had failed to fulfill promises on the basis of which the agrarian community had called off its protest at Delhi borders. They stated that the government has not changed its stance towards the agrarian sector and continues to favour Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service A maha rally of farmers being held at the Dana Mandi, Jandiala, in Amritsar on Tuesday. corporate houses. The major demands of the farmer unions include minimum support price (MSP) for all crops and implementation of Dr Swaminathan Commission report. The unions also demanded a crop insurance scheme and justice for Lakhimpur Kheri violence. The farmer leaders also criticised the state government for rampant drug problem in state and demanded that the govern- c m y b ment take action against drug smugglers and peddlers. They also demanded a loan waiver for small and marginal farmers. A prominent farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “The government has not yet withdrawn the cases registered against farmers for their participation in the Delhi agitation. It has also not given jobs to the kin of farmers who died during the agitation.” He said that not even a single promise made by the Central Government has been fulfilled. He said that the Delhi Morcha starting from February 13 would force the government to fulfill its promises. The farmer unions also expressed its support for the truck drivers’ protest against the Central Government for the new motor vehicle laws. They stated that the laws should be made after consulting all stakeholders. — TNS Amritsar, January 2 A local activist initiated the step of conducting villagelevel surveys of drug addicts and deaths in drug-affected villages, along with awareness campaigns. Mandeep Singh Manna, former Congress leader, conducted an awareness programme in Sohian Kalan village. Speaking on the occasion, Manna said the youth of Punjab is facing a tough situation, but there is no political debate on it. He asked the villagers to focus on the youth instead of petty political issues related to sewerage and streets. “Every political activist claims to save Punjab but is doing nothing about it. Those who are well-off and can afford to pay Rs 30-40 lakh to travel agents are going abroad. Those who don’t have assets to sell are unemployed and dying because of drugs and most of these deaths are unreported,” said Manna. Quoting the situation of Chatiwind village of Amritsar, where hundreds of youngsters are drug addicts and a large number of them have died, Manna said, “Punjab will survive if the youth survives. The price of sand and gravel is not an issue. We can survive with potholed streets or choked sewerage but we can’t survive without our youngsters, who are the future of the nation. Lakhs of migrant workers from UP and Bihar are occupying the space of Punjabi youngsters here. With the help of local continued on page 2