10052024-ATR-01.qxd 5/10/2024 12:23 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY SVEEP ACTIVITIES HELD AT IELTS CENTRES, TOURIST SPOTS ACTRESS CATE BLANCHETT JOINS ALPHA GANG ACTRESS SOBHITA DHULIPALA TO WALK CANNES RED CARPET A series of voter awareness seminars at coaching and IELTS centres in the city were organised. P2 Actor Cate Blanchett will be seen in a pivotal role in Alpha Gang by the Sasquatch Sunset filmmakers. P4 Will attend the 77th Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera, representing an icecream brand.P4 » » » MAX 38°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 39°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET FRIDAY 7.17 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5.36 AM FRIDAY | 10 MAY 2024 | AMRITSAR Flyers face inconvenience as AI flight for Dubai cancelled With 2 more in poll fray, candidate count reaches six for Amritsar seat Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 Passengers had to face inconvenience today with Air India Express cancelling its DubaiAmritsar flight for the second consecutive day. The airline staff, however, claimed that they have intimated the passengers about the cancellation and are accommodating them with ticket refund and rescheduling support. Flight IX 191 scheduled from Amritsar to Dubai and flight IX 192 from Dubai to Amritsar were cancelled on Wednesday but some passengers got information about the cancellation only after reaching Shri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport. The flight for Dubai is scheduled for departure at 4.25 pm. Several passengers, who didn’t get information about the cancellation, reached the airport around 11 am and then got information about the cancellation of flight. Though the airline staff apologised for the inconvenience caused and assured of rescheduling or refund of continued on page 2 Residents want permanent deployment of fire tenders at dump Tribune News Service Aas Punjab Party candidate from Amritsar Love Preet Sharma (2nd from right) files the nomination paper at the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Amritsar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 Two more aspirants for Lok Sabha elections from Amritsar constituency filed their nominations here today. A total of six candidates have filed their nominations so far for the LS poll which would be held on June 1. The filing of nominations for the elections had started on May 7. Though it’s been the third day today, none of the candidates from the national political parties have filed their papers so far. The last date for filing the nominations is May 14. Among those who filed their nominations today is Lovepreet Sharma, a 34-year-old resident of Chhehharta. A private employee, Sharma has studied till Class 12. A candidate of Aas Punjab Party, Sharma has movable assets worth Rs 2.5 lakh which includes Rs 40,000 cash in hand. He has declared immovable assets of Rs 22 lakh. Ramesh Kumar, a 45-yearold resident of Mohini Park, also filed his nominations today. Kumar has declared movable assets of Rs 14 lakh which includes Rs 3 lakh in cash and 200 grams of jewellery. A post-graduate in Medical Lab Technician (MSc MLT) course from Punjab Technical University (PTU), Kumar operates a medical laboratory here. He has declared immovable assets worth Rs 73 lakh and liabilities of Rs 9 lakh. Meanwhile, in view of the reports of farmer unions preventing certain candidates from entering their villages for SGPC member, SAD leaders join AAP in CM’s presence Amritsar, May 9 The Punjab unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gave the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) another jolt in Amritsar with a prominent SGPC member along with SAD leaders joining AAP in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Talbir Singh Gill. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann welcomed Bawa Singh Gumanpura (SGPC member), Narinder Singh Noni and Malak Singh Sandhu (both senior vice-presidents, Amritsar Urban), Kishan Gopal Chachu (member, SAD working committee), Nishan Singh Gumanpura and Gurjit Singh Gumanpura (national vice-presidents) into the Aam Aadmi Party. As per the press statement issued here, Mann said the setback will weaken the Akali Dal in Amritsar Lok Sabha seat and alleged that the leaders and people of Punjab do not have any trust left in the Major fire breaks out at Bhagtanwala dump again SGPC member Bawa Singh Ghumanpura and SAD senior leader join the AAP in the presence of CM Bhagwant Mann. TRIBUNE PHOTO Akali Dal as it is now Badal Dal which is full of corrupt people. Mann claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party always has a place for people who are pro-Punjab and want to serve the people. All the new leaders who joined said that they were hap- py to be part of the Aam Aadmi Party. They said that they laud the dedication and hard work of the AAP government in Punjab. “For the first time, we have a government that is working for the people and is free of corrupt, power-hungry people,” they said. — TNS campaigning, District Election Officer Ghanshyam Thori has instructed the officials to ensure a level playing field for all candidates. Thori stated that in case anyone obstructs a candidate in campaigning, the election staff including those assigned for the security of the candidate, must take immediate legal action. The DC said gatherings by protesting farmers are often held without permission, despite orders under Section 144 of CrPC wherein loudspeakers are also used without any permission. As outlined by the ECI, ensuring the security of candidates and adhering to its guidelines is essential to providing a level playing field for all candidates through fair campaigning, he said. Amritsar, May 9 There is no end to the woes of Bhagtanwala residents as a major fire erupted again at the dump site on Wednesday evening. Residents witnessed high flames on one of the heaps of the legacy garbage at the Bhagtanwala dumping ground. Dense smoke billowing from the garbage spread all over in the area and residents said that it was very difficult for them to breathe in toxic air. A moderate wind last evening spread the smoke towards residential localities. On receiving information, fire tenders of the MC reached the spot and initiated efforts to douse the fire. It took the firefighters three hours to control the flames. However, the smoke kept billowing from the dump till this morning. According to information, there is around 18 metric tonnes of garbage lying at Smoke emanates from garbage at the Bhagtanwal dump in Amritsar. the dump. In 2018, the Amritsar Municipal Corporation had proposed to eliminate all garbage by conducting bioremediation within two years. The MC had proposed to install a waste-toenergy plant to produce green coal. However, the process of bioremediation has failed to start properly. Despite the directions of the National Green Tribunal, no plan has been implemented. Cops bust cross-border Farmers protesting cops’ excesses arms smuggling module convert dharna into morcha Amritsar, May 9 In a rapid intelligence-led operation, the Amritsar rural police has successfully dismantled a cross-border high-tech weapon smuggling module, apprehending three individuals and seizing two 9 mm Glock pistols, one Zigana pistol, four magazines, nine live cartridges, five mobile phones, a motorcycle and Alto car today. The suspects have been identified as Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Lakhana village in Tarn Taran, Gurpreet Singh of Maujpur village and Bohar Singh, a resident of Saidpur village in Janala area. Satinder Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), stated that the special cell of rural police got a secret tip-off about the cross-border high-tech weapon module. Working on the secret information, the police nabbed three persons and recovered the weapons, mobile phones and vehicles. Used to trade high-tech weapons, 3 nabbed “Initial investigation suggested the involvement of Qasim Dhillon, a smuggler based in Pakistan. During interrogation, the accused confessed that they had links with Pakistan-based weapon smuggler Qasim Dhillon. The recovered weapons were also supplied by Dhillon through drones. An FIR under the Arms Act has been filed at Gharinda police station, with investigations underway to uncover both backward and forward linkages. The Amritsar rural police is committed to taking decisive action against all parties involved in illegal weapon smuggling networks,” said SSP Satinder Singh. The police officials stated that they have adopted a zero-tolerance policy against the crime and drugs or arms trade would not be tolerated. — TNS Activists of the KMSC raise slogans against the police at the dharna site in Tarn Taran. GURBAXPURI Tarn Taran, May 9 After three rounds of talks between the representatives of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), Punjab, and police officials, deadlock continues to persist. As a result, the KMSC leaders declared that today’s dharna would be converted into an indefinite morcha against the administration. The farmer organisation has made arrangements for lodging and boarding at the dharna site. 2 Independents, Cong’s Zira file BSF recovers 2 drones, heroin papers from Khadoor Sahib Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, May 9 Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira and his wife Manmeet Kaur along with Independent candidates Harjinder Singh and Ajit Singh filed their nomination papers for the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency on Thursday. The papers were filed in the office of Sandeep Kumar, Returning Officer-cumDeputy Commissioner, Tarn Taran. The tally of candidates for the constituency has reached five so far. Returning Officer Sandeep Kumar said the last date for filing of nomination papers is May 14. The RO said that A candidate submits papers at the DC Office in Tarn Taran. the scrutiny of papers would be done on May 15 and the date for withdrawal of papers is May 17. He said that polling has been scheduled for June 1 and the process will be completed on June 6 after the counting of votes takes place on June 4. The candidates of AAP , SAD, BJP and others have not filed their papers yet. There are reports that Amritpal Singh of ‘Waris Punjab De’ is also expected to file his nomination papers from the constituency. Heaps of garbage produce methane gas. MC officials claimed that with the rise in temperatures, methane gas catches fire. However, residents of Bhagtanwala area claimed that the solid waste management company and the MC allegedly set the garbage on fire. Sandeep Sharma, an activist of the Sanji Sangharsh Committee working against Bhagtanwala dump, stated that the municipal corporation has failed to conduct the bioremediation of garbage. “Now tonnes of garbage, being thrown here over the years, has turned into a virtual mountain. They don’t have the space to dump more garbage here. Instead of processing the garbage, the solid waste management company set the garbage afire.” The area residents demand permanent deployment of fire tenders at the dump. However, three different fire incidents in various parts of the city last evening made it hard for the Fire Brigade Department to deploy a permanent fire tender at the dump. A major fire broke out at a godown on the Tarn Taran road last evening. A huge quantity of dry fodder was lying inside the godown. The firefighters used 35 fire tenders to douse the fire. A liquor shop in Ram Bagh area also gutted on the last evening. The firefighters took four hours to control the fire. Amritsar, May 9 The BSF has recovered two drones lying abandoned in a field near the border and a packet of heroin. Getting information from its intelligence wing regarding the presence of a drone in the border area of Amritsar district, BSF troops promptly carried out an extensive search operation in the suspected area. During the search operation at about 4.45 pm, vigilant BSF troops recovered one drone in damaged condition along with one packet of suspected heroin (gross weight 480 grams). The narcotics were wrapped in yellow colour adhesive tape and a metal ring was also found attached with the packet. The contra- c m y b BSF personnel with the drone and heroin packet in Amritsar. band was recovered from a farming field near Bharopal village in Amritsar district. The recovered drone has been identified as a Chinamade DJI Mavic 3 classic. In another instance at Roranwala Khurd village in Amritsar district, a search operation was carried out at about 11.30 am today, BSF troops successfully recovered one drone in a harvested field of Roranwala Khurd village. The recovered drone is identified as a China made DJI Mavic 3 Classic. The reliable input of the BSF intelligence wing and timely action of BSF troops once again proved their commitment to plug the entry of illicit drones from across the border. The KMSC activists were staging dharna in front of the District Administrative Complex (DAC) against the police atrocities in different villages of the district on Thursday. Sukhwinder Singh Sabhra, state president of KMSC, while addressing the gathering, condemned the police for its indifferent attitude towards the poor who were being made a victim by the leaders of the ruling party. Sukhwinder Singh Sabhra said that the organisation brought a number of issues relating to police atrocities to the notice of senior officials but the victims have not got justice. He said there was an issue in Rure Assal village where the police had not completed its investigation despite a period of one year. The KMSC leaders declared that the protesting activists would carry on their dharna till justice is assured to the victims in different cases. — OC Helpline to fix citizens’ issues in time-bound manner begins Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 9 In a significant initiative — aimed at enhancing community engagement and addressing citizens’ problems on priority — started by the district administration, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori on Thursday launched a helpline (WhatsApp) number (79738-67446) and designated a representative from the administration to take complaints through calls and ensure their solution within a stipulated time period. The purpose of the move is not only to resolve citizens’ complaints efficiently and in a timely manner but also to facilitate the citizen-adminis- tration collaboration. Chaitanya Sehgal, an intern of Public Policy at the DC office and a student of journalism from DAV College, has been designated as the representative who would register complaints through calls. “On the first day, we have received 11-12 calls from citizens and most of the complaints received were about garbage collection glitches and waste management issues. The complaints have been documented and now will be forwarded to the DC and further routed to officials and departments concerned for their timely resolution,” shared Chaitanya. The representative will also prepare an area-wise details continued on page 2
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