25062024-ATR-01.qxd 6/25/2024 12:39 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune MONSOON AROUND THE CORNER BUT SIRHIND CHOE YET TO BE CLEANED Though monsoon is around the corner, cleaning of choe in Fatehgarh Sahib is yet to be undertaken by Irrigation Dept. P3 » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR GIPPY GREWAL LAUNCHES ARDAAS SARBAT DE BHALE DI TEASER SONAKSHI SINHA, ZAHEER IQBAL DANCE TO TERE MAST MAST DO NAIN Gippy Grewal says the story of the film came to him out of nowhere and in 15 minutes his mind processed it all. P4 Sonakshi Sinha & Zaheer Iqbal mesmerised guests with rendition of song Tere Mast Mast Do Nainat their wedding reception.P4 » » MAX 43°C | MIN 30°C YESTERDAY MAX 42°C | MIN 29°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.39 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:27 AM TUESDAY | 25 JUNE 2024 | AMRITSAR PHOTOS: VISHAL KUMAR 9 held with four illegal firearms MC officials remove a hand drawn cart; and (right) cops detain a Nihang Sikh from Heritage Street during an anti-encroachment drive in Amritsar. Encroachments removed from street heading towards shrine Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 24 After a long hiatus, the municipal corporation (MC) authorities swung into action and removed rampant encroachments from the Heritage Street leading to the Golden Temple here on Monday. Devotees coming to pay obeisance at the holiest Sikh shrine from around the world and across the country have been at the receiving end while walking on the street. Officials of the MC along with the police removed encroachments from the stretch from where majority of devotees head to the Golden Temple on foot. Devotees often complain of being troubled by beggars and those sell- Youth dies of drug overdose in Patti ing articles on the roadside. Parts of the paved street, quite similar to the European countries, were covered with sheets spread out to display several items for visitors and induce them to buy these. The very purpose of providing aesthetically rich environs was defeated with a large number of beggars annoying devotees and people selling articles and eatables for children and women on the street. A strong police contingent accompanied by MC officials, who also brought their open truck to carry unauthorised carts, descended on the street. They went to each nook and corner of the street to remove encroachments. They detained those people who tried to defend encroachments. The beautification project on the Heritage Street heading from Town Hall to the Golden Temple was considered as a path-breaking development for tourists and pilgrims, but rampant encroachments and groups of beggars were undoing the entire efforts of the administration, said Jaswinder Singh, a pilgrim from Abohar. He rued that visitors were unable to recite “Waheguru” (the name of Almighty) on the aesthetically beautiful way leading to the holiest Sikh shrine. Tourists and SGPC officials are perplexed that despite continuous drives by the MC and the presence of the police, encroachments remain a bane for the Heritage Street. Apart from this, beggars and stray dog menace also irritates visitors. A group of beggars mainly women and little children can be spotted seeking alms on the street. They surround young couples and ask them to give money. Loitering in Heritage Street, these beggars give a tough time to devotees going and coming back from the shrine. Beggars are trained to emotionally blackmail tourists and do not give up until they get money. The Heritage Street was constructed during the SADBJP regime by spending crores of rupees to make the pilgrimage hassle free and beautify the surroundings of the Golden Temple, but it has become congested with people teeming around for carrying out commercial activities. Intense heat wave makes a comeback in dist Amritsar, June 24 Heatwave has made a comeback with the highest temperature touching 42°C here on Monday. Residents in the district would likely face hot weather conditions as a forecast predicts temperature to rise further in the coming days. As per weather prediction, the highest temperature would touch 45°C this week. Today, residents woke up to a comparatively hot day as the temperature had already risen to 28°C in the morning. In comparison to the last few days, the morning temperature hovered around 25°C. Mild showers last week led to a significant drop in PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, June 24 A Sabhra village resident allegedly died of drug overdose on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. The deceased has been identified as Manpreet Singh (26). Jassa Singh, father of the deceased, said his son went with his friend yesterday evening, had an overdose of drug and died. Inspector Gurpreet Singh, SHO, Patti Sadar, said the police visited Manpreet’s residence to record the statement of his family, but they refused by saying they did not want to pursue the case. The family members of the deceased alleged that drug trade was rampant in the area and there was no control over it. — OC Amritsar, June 24 The police seized three pistols and a revolver from a group of persons who had gathered outside an eating joint in Ajnala on Sunday. According to the police, they were waiting for some other group with whom they were going to clash. Satinder Singh, SSP Amrit, sar (Rural), said following the information, police teams were immediately rushed to the spot and nine persons were arrested thereby averting a clash. During search of the arrested suspects, the police seized three illegal .32 bore pistols and a .32 bore revolver from their possession. Among those arrested were identified as Akashdeep Singh of Ajnala, Jashanpreet Singh of Ugar Aulakh village, Harmandeep Singh and his brother Jagpreet Singh of Gaggobuha village, Manpreet Singh of Ruriwala (Chohla Sahib), Gurmit Singh of Dhariwal Kaler village, Sahib Singh of Nepal village, Taranbir Singh of Kot Kesar Singh, and Maninder Singh of Bul Khurd village. The police got information that Akashdeep along with 20 accomplices, who were carrying firearms, and sharp and blunt weapons, had gathered outside his eating joint — Mr Burger Hut — in Ajnala. They were waiting to clash with another group which could create law and order problem in the border town. The SSP said investigation was in progress to identify remaining suspects. — TNS Children trying to beat the summer heat with a splash of water in Amritsar. the temperature, which is again on the rise. Along with high temperature, humidity in the air has also started increasing. It’s expected to increase further in the coming weeks. “Last few days were so comfortable that residents started feeling that the sum- mer had receded. But the happiness evidently was short-lived. Hot weather is back again,” said Sunita Sharma, a local resident. While residents are anxiously waiting for the arrival of monsoon, it is expected to reach here in the first week of the next month. Increase in temperature has also increased demand for the electricity resulting in long scheduled and unscheduled power cuts. “It’s been the longest dry summer in the last few years. Earlier, it used to rain which provided people some respite from heat. Last month the city received scanty showers. It has rained only once this summer,” said Harnam Singh, a senior citizen. ~3.4L drug money seized from two aides of smuggler Bhola Hevelian PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 24 Following the interrogation of two accomplices of the USbased drugs and arms smuggler Sarvan Singh, alias Bhola Hevelian, the Amritsar (Rural) police recovered Rs 3.4 lakh drug money, gold jewellery and a car from their possession here today. The money, jewellery and car were seized following disclosure of Akash Seth, alias Raghu, and Sukhdeep Singh, both residents of Rajansani village. According to sources, the police have launched a manhunt to nab four accomplices whose names cropped up during interrogation of three accomplices of Bhola Havelian. Besides Akash and Sukhdeep, the police had arrested Karanjit Singh, a resident of Khalra in Tarn Taran. An official privy to the investigation wishing anonymity said absconders got contraband smuggled from Pakistan which was hidden in the border belt. Their 3 snatchers held with pistol, bike Amritsar, June 24 Acting on a tip-off, the Chheharta police arrested three snatchers identified as Harmandeep Singh, Varinder Singh and Bikramjit Singh here on Sunday. During search, the police recovered a .32 bore countrymade pistol along with four rounds from their possession. The bike on which they were travelling was also snatched from someone. The police said they got specific information that the suspects were habitual offenders and used to rob people on gunpoint. The informer told the police that the suspects were coming towards the Amritsar-Attari bypass road from Kale village. A naka was laid and three motorcycle-borne youth were signalled to stop, but they tried to flee. However, a police team chased the suspects and managed to overpower them. A case under the Arms Act and robbery was registered against the trio. — TNS Pistols and a revolver recovered from the suspects in Ajnala. arrest could lead to the recovery of the contraband, he said. Amritsar (Rural) police in a joint operation with the Central agencies had recovered six pistols along with 10 magazines from the possession of the trio. The police had recovered six pistols — five .30 bore Star model, one 9mm Glock, six live cartridges, 10 magazines, 200 grams of heroin and one electronic weighing machine — from their possession. Bhola Havelian is carrying Rs 2 lakh cash reward for the information leading to his arrest. He is brother of drug smuggler Ranjeet Singh, alias Cheeta. Bhola Havelian is wanted in a 532 kg heroin haul case in which he was arrested in May 2020. He was mastermind behind smuggling of the contraband which was seized by the Customs Department at the Integrated Check Post, Attari, in July 2019. The case is being investigated by the NIA. The police said they would soon bring Ranjit Singh on production warrant from jail for further investigation in the case. Three nabbed with 1 kg opium, 250 gm heroin Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 24 The city police have arrested two persons with 1 kg of opium and cash while cops in Chatiwind have nabbed a man with 250 grams of heroin in separate incidents. In the first incident, the city police arrested Abhay and Sandeep Sharma and recovered 1kg of opium from their possession. The police also recovered Rs 7,000 in cash and a bike from them. The source of opium was being ascertained, the police said. In the second incident, the Chatiwind police arrested Avtar Singh, alias Dabbal, a resident of Pandori village, and recovered 250 grams of heroin from his possession. He was nabbed by a police patrolling party near Varpal. He was travelling on a bike when the police intercepted him. During search, the police recovered the drug The suspect arrested with 250 grams of heroin in custody of the Chatiwind police in Amritsar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO from him. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against him. Polls over, AAP govt back to installing flex boards to highlight achievements 4 men open fire at biz the partners in restaurant ❝Once againusing display government is Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 24 After a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, the AAP-run state government has once again accelerated installation of flex boards on roadsides to publicise its policies, achievements and social welfare schemes in and around the city. The development comes after Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann held a series of meetings with ministers, MLAs, halqa in-charges and senior party officials from each district. The motive of meetings was to find reasons leading to the party’s debacle in the polls after it had stormed to power in the state with a thumping majority by winning the Assembly elections. All display boards have one thing in common — a big-size photograph of an immacu- A display board informs about free units of power for consumers in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR lately dressed and beaming CM Bhagwant Mann. People wonder if it was the outcome of a series of meetings. The top brass of the party and the government feel that they failed to properly educate the masses about government’s policies, social welfare schemes and achievements. They think that their priorities were misplaced ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. So, the par- ty had installed umpteen display boards in the city. These flex boards of different sizes with a majority being 10 feet x 5 feet are installed on almost all popular roads of the city, including Mall Road, Court Road, GT Road, besides peripheral roads connecting to the rural areas. A display of this size costs Rs 1,500 per piece in retail and placing the order in bulk brings the cost down to Rs 1,200. For instance, a display board installed on on Court Road informs about 300 free units of power supplied to consumers . All vantage positions on city roads, including the Rani Ka Bagh locality, near Khalsa College, Guru Nanak Dev University, Bhandari railway overbridge, New Amritsar, Court Road, Mall c m y b boards to advertise its achievements which mar the city’s landscape. Besides it gives an impression that the AAP-led government’s advertisement budgetary allocation has no limits. It’s blatant wastage of taxpayers’ money and burden on state treasury. ❞ Gautam, RANI KA BAGH RESIDENT Road and several other stretches are teeming with large size hoardings. Many display boards announce the achievements of the AAP government in arresting drug peddlers, regularising jobs of contractual staff in government departments and offering new employment opportunities to youths. Gautam, a resident of Rani Ka Bagh locality, said once again the government had taken the help of display boards to advertise its working and achievements which ultimately mar the landscape of the city. Besides it gives an impression that the AAP-led Punjab Government’s advertisement budgetary allocation had no limits, he said. It was blatant wastage of taxpayers’ money and a burden on state treasury which was facing a financial crunch, he said. He suggested that the government should utilise resources for public welfare and shun useless advertisements at the cost of the state exchequer. When contacted, Manish Aggarwal, president of the AAP (Urban unit), said the publicity campaign was run by party functionaries from the Chandigarh office and at the local level, they were not aware of its affairs. Tarn Taran, June 24 There was a panic at Jalsa Restaurant in Marhana near Harike village on Sunday when four armed men opened fire on their business partners. However, the victims managed to escape unhurt. Two of the suspects were identified as Partap Singh and Kanwalpreet Singh. Both are residents of Rasulpur Nehran village. The other two suspects involved in the incident are yet to be identified. The victims, identified as Simranjit Singh, a resident of Bhaini Massa Singh village, falling under the Khalra police station, and his business partner Om Parkash of Rajasthan, were having a discussion at Jalsa Restaurant when Partap and one unidentified person came there. Later, Kanwalpreet too came there with an unidentified person. There were heated exchanges between Simranjit and Kanwalpreet over their business money transaction. Enraged Kanwalpreet pulled out his pistol and shot at Simranjit. Simranjit hit Kanwalpreet and the latter’s pistol fell on the ground. The victims took shelter behind a wall when the suspects fired several shots at them. The victims too fired at the suspects in self-defence. However, the suspects managed to escape from the spot on their vehicle. After receiving information, cops from the Chohla Sahib police station led by sub-inspector Naresh Kumar visited the spot and recovered four empty cartridges. The police registered a case under Sections 307, 506 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act in this connection. — OC
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).