03032024-ATR-01.qxd 3/3/2024 12:46 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLOUDY SKY MAX 18°C | MIN 11°C YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 15°C LPU LIFTS THE OVERALL FIRST RUNNER-UP TROPHY AT KIUG FINALLY, STOCK OF DRUGS FOR NHM-RUN DISPENSARIES ACTOR NTR JR MEETS RISHAB SHETTY AND PRASHANTH LPU has lifted the overall first runnerup trophy at Khelo India University Games (KIUG)-2023 recently. P2 Ayurveda dispensaries in the state running under the NHM have finally got the stock of medicines. P3 Telugu actor NTR Jr recently met Kannada star Rishab Shetty and director Prashanth Neel of K.G.F. fame in Bengaluru. P4 » » » SUNSET SUNDAY 6.30 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6.54 AM SUNDAY | 3 MARCH 2024 | AMRITSAR Pharmacists to hold protest on March 6 Tribune News Service Commuters drive towards their destinations amid rain in Amritsar on Saturday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Intermittent rain lashes city Tribune News Service AMRITSAR, MARCH 2 Intermittent rain coupled with high-velocity winds lashed the city on Saturday. It rained in the morning and the skies remained overcast throughout the day. The sun appeared in the afternoon for a brief period. The weather turned cold after the rain. Even strong winds kept blowing in the city. In the evening, downpour lashed the city again and rainwater got accumulated in sunken portions of roads. People were seen taking cover to escape themselves from getting drenched on a cold day. High-velocity cold wind intensified in the evening. Overcast skies and blowing of winds made the weather cold. Traffic jams were witnessed in some areas due to rain. Two-wheeler drivers accelerated the speed to avoid being drenched in rain. Traffic policemen had a tough time in controlling traffic in the evening peak hours. Amritsar, March 2 The Punjab State Pharmacy Officers’ Association has announced that its members would hold a protest at the district headquarters on March 6 in protest against Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh stating that he was not serious about fulfilling the already accepted demands of the employees. Association leader Ashok Kumar Sharma said they would also submit a memorandum to the district administration regarding their demands. He said the government has not fulfilled its promise of reviving the old pension scheme despite it having published advertisements in this regard. He said a large number of posts of pharmacy officers and other cadres of the Health Department had been lying vacant, which has not only affected treatment being given to patients but also increased the work- load on the employees. Palwinder Singh Dhammu, general secretary of the association, said a meeting of the union was held here on Saturday to take stock of the preparations being made for the protest. He said the entire cadre of pharmacists would join the protest. Dhammu said the Health Minister was not paying attention to their demands and on the contrary, efforts were being made to reverse some accepted demands and the applicable decisions. “The government had earlier accepted many of our demands and assured us of issuing notifications in this regard. Now the government is trying to break its promises, which would not be tolerated,” he said. Others present in the meeting included Shamsher Singh Kohri, Karan Singh Lopoke, Rashpal Singh Kahlon, Jaspal Singh Kot Khalsa, Virinder Singh, Gurmail Singh Mananwala, Gurinder Singh Khalsa and others. Mobile phones seized from Asr Central Jail Around 154 cellphones seized in past 2 months Amritsar, March 2 In yet another major seizure, Amritsar Central Jail authorities seized 54 mobile phones, including 21 touch phones and the remaining keypad phones with 33 SIMs of different telecom companies, during a search operation here on Friday. With this seizure, the number of mobile phones seized from the jail premises had risen to 195 in the past two months. Besides, jail staff seized 140 packs of bidis, seven tobacoo packets, nine charger adaptors and two heater springs from prisoners and under-trials. Following a complaint by Mandeep Singh, Assistant Superintendent of Jail, the police have registered a case against 43 jail inmates for violating the jail norms. Concerned over unabated incidents of seizure of mobile phones and other prohibited material from the high-securi- The Central Jail building in Amritsar. FILE PHOTO ty jail, the city police have already instituted a special investigating team supervised by Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Pragya Jain. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Darpan Ahluwalia would be holding the probe. “The SIT has been meticulously probing the seizures while all the mobile phones have been sent to the forensic lab to unearth backward link- ages and to ascertain how the prohibited materials were being sneaked inside the jail premises,” said Dr Jain. Sneaking of mobile phones has been a challenge not only for the jail staff but also for the Punjab Police as criminal elements and international drug peddlers continue to carry out their nefarious activities from inside the high-security complex. — TNS Local manufacturers demand special Buildings of property package for revival of industrial units tax defaulters sealed Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO at the inauguration of an Aam Aadmi Clinic in Jandiala Guru in Amritsar on Saturday. Jandiala Guru gets Aam Aadmi Clinic Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 2 The number of Aam Aadmi Clinics in the district has increased to 60 with the Health Department opening 12 new centres here on Saturday. This was stated by Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO while inaugurating a new centre at Jandiala Guru near here. Harbhajan Singh said the state government was committed to providing best education and health services to the people for which it is opening new health centres and new schools. He added that the government had upgraded various schools to Schools of Eminence to fulfill its commitment towards providing best possible education services to people. The minister said efforts were being made to develop the city as a world-class tourist hub for which it has made various policies. He said the new Aam Aadmi Health clinics would ensure that people get all kinds of medical services near their place of residence. Auto-rickshaw driver held for raping girl Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 2 The Lopoke police have arrested a man for allegedly raping a 20-year-old girl in Tapiala village here. The accused was known to the family and often used to visit their house. The victim was alone at home during the incident. He gained entry into the house on the pretext of drinking water. The accused was identified as Padarath Singh of Bhullar village, who was booked. The victim told the police that the accused runs an auto rickshaw. She said as she worked in a distillery at Khasa, she used to go to factory in his auto rickshaw. The accused used to taunt her, Amritsar, March 2 After the state government announced that it was planning to give a special border area industrial package to Pathankot to revive the sagging industrial units, local manufacturers have also sought a similar package for the vanishing and vanished industries of Amritsar, which is also a border district. Industrialists, associated with vanishing industries like electric fans, carpet, nut bolts, textile and others, have demanded a special package and R&D support to revive them in the holy city. The once-flourishing processing and dyeing industry has also witnessed a fall with the number of existing industrial units coming down from over 100 units to nearly 30 in this border city. Piara Lal Seth, a leader of the trade and industry, said the industry has fallen on bad days due to the failure of owners to modernise the units and lack of technical and monetary support by the government. Though the units set up shops after the 1950s, the golden period of textile processing industry was between 1970 Customers visit a unit selling fabricated steel-made material in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR and 1990. A majority of these units were located either on the Batala or Majitha road, providing employment to thousands of people. He said the government must take measures to revive it. The district was once famous for hand-made Persian-style carpets, also called Bukhara style (a place in Iran where the art is quite popular), now the art is on the verge of extinction. Rajasansi, an area in the city, was a hub of such units. therefore she left the job. She said on February 26, her family members had gone to work and she was alone at home. She alleged that at around 11am, someone knocked at the door. When she opened the door, she found Padarath Singh standing there. He said he had come to meet the family members. She said they had gone to work. When the accused asked her to bring drinking water, she went inside. Meanwhile, he entered the house, bolted the door from inside and raped her. He later left the house while threatening her of dire consequences if she told anyone about this. She said she got frightened after the incident and did not share it with any family member. c m y b European countries and Russia used to be its major customers. The government seems to have never bothered about making any roadmap for the revival of manufacturing units, which could provide employment to thousands of workers. Satnam Singh, who used to operate a fan manufacturing unit a few years ago, said their number has come down significantly. He demanded that the government must make a proposal to revive the dying units. The local units used to produce a vast range of ceiling, table, exhaust and pedestal fans. Brands like Unison Fans, Universal Fans, Atlas, Grindlay, Neelam and ABC had become household names across the country when the industry was at its peak here. Those associated with the industry gave a slew of reasons for the present crisis. He held that the Central Government’s decision in the early 1990s to withdraw nationwide uniform prices of raw material came as a major blow. As a result, the cost of raw material like iron, steel, coal and copper shot up in this part of the country, which is dependent entirely on other parts of the country for raw material. Consequently, locally manufactured fans became costlier and decade-long militancy gave many a final blow. Dinesh Mehra, a trader, said by employing hundreds of skilled weavers, the industry has now become a cottage industry. Some families have kept the art alive but they prefer weaving carpets at their houses. He said hand-made products hold an immense export potential so its revival could bring more employment opportunities. Officials of the MTP wing stop an illegal construction in North Zone area in Amritsar on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Amritsar, March 2 The property tax wing of the Municipal Corporation (MC) sealed seven buildings of tax defaulters on Friday. A team of the north zone staff sealed seven major establishments in Ranjit Avenue which includes restaurant, SCOs, dhaba and showrooms. Senior MC official Vishal Wadhawan said that a team led by north zone superintendent Davinder Babbar, inspector Satinder Singh along with MC police visited several defaulters. Out of sealed seven buildings three defaulters paid their pending property tax and MC opened the sealed property. Vishal Wadhawan said that the seal- ing drive against defaulters of property tax will continue. On Friday, the property tax department has collected Rs 15.78 lakh. So far Rs 33.41 crore has been collected in this financial year. The MC has set a target of Rs 45 crore to collect from property tax during 2023-24. The MC officials claimed that the target would be achieved by the end of March as majority of the commercial units pay tax on the last minute. The MC has initiated the sealing drive from Monday and sealed more than 20 buildings to press the defaulters. The property tax wing have issued hundreds of sealing notices in each zone. — TNS
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