17102024-ATR-01.qxd 10/16/2024 11:32 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune INTOXICATING TABLETS WORTH ~14.80 LAKH SEIZED EAT IN MODERATION, MAKE EXERCISE WAY OF LIFE: ARJUN The actor likes to take a break from his work, but never ever he takes a break from his fitness regimen. P4 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 32°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 19°C VARUN DHAWAN, SAMANTHA PRABHU MAKE FANS DROOL The Health Dept confiscated a huge quantity of intoxicating drugs from a medical store. P2 FORECAST The actors have teamed up for Raj and DK’s spy action web series Citadel: Honey Bunny. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 5.55 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:36 AM » THURSDAY | 17 OCTOBER 2024 | AMRITSAR Religious visit VISHAL KUMAR Day after Chinese string claims life of rly staffer, Batala road flyover closed Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra pays obeisance at Golden Temple in Amritsar. Panchayat polls: Cop assaulted, rival group intimidated over support to candidate PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 16 A police constable was thrashed by several persons in Bhindi Saida area after the panchayat elections when he along with the polling staff was leaving in a bus. Among those booked were a woman Sarabjit Kaur, Bhola Singh, Puran Singh and two unknown persons. They were booked on charges of assaulting and obstructing a public servant from discharging his duty. Senior constable Jagjit Singh said that said he was posted in the intelligence wing of Punjab Police and was deputed at Khassupura village in Rajasansi for elections. He said he was deputed at polling booth number 82. He said after the counting of votes, he along with the polling staff had taken the bus to return when the defeated candidate along with his supporters attacked them. He alleged that the accused also snatched his purse that contained cash and other important documents. The police have registered a case while the accused are absconding. Meanwhile, the Tarsikka police have booked nine persons on the charge of attempt to murder and criminal intimidation after they attacked another group of persons following a dispute over panchayat polls. Those booked included Akashdeep Singh, Harpin- der Singh, Balbir Singh, Angrej Singh, Jobanjit Singh, Balraj Singh, Jagroop Singh, Yudhbir Singh and Lovepreet Singh, all residents of Dehriwal village. The complainant Davinder Singh of the same village told the police that he along with his nephew Akashdeep Singh was standing outside the ground of government school in the village on the eve of panchayat elections when the accused Angrej Singh challenged them, saying he would teach them (complainant) a lesson for supporting their rival candidate Parminder Singh who was a candidate for the post of Sarpanch. They were attacked with sharp-edged weapons, leaving them injured. Amritsar, October 16 Day after a 43-year-old man, a railway employee, lost his life after sustaining injuries from a plastic kite thread (Chinese string) on BRTS flyover, Batala road, it has been closed for traffic from both sides with posters urging people not to use the thread appearing on the stretch. While closing the flyover has served to highlight the accidents caused by the banned plastic thread, the solution seems absurd to many as they reasoned that the real problem is the sale and use of the thread and not flyovers. “This is not the only flyover. It is true that a majority of the accidents caused by the plastic thread occur on flyovers and elevated road. But closing them all for traffic would not solve the problem,” said Joginder Singh, a local resident, adding that action should be taken against those selling and using the thread despite the ban. After the Metro buses went off the road over a year ago, the commuters had started using the BRTS flyover on Batala road as it helped them avoid traffic chaos and potholes on the road beneath it. Moreover, as the stretch below the flyover has been dug up for laying pipeline and has not been recarpeted since, driving on it is A view of the flyover which was closed for traffic after a person died due to injuries caused by Chinese thread in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR troublesome. The residents stated that closing the flyover has increased the travel time for commuters. It also caused traffic congestion on the road as the number of vehicles using it has increased as the flyover is no longer available. The residents demanded that the lethal accident which occurred on Wednesday could be the first in the line of many waiting to happen if a strict ban on the sale and usage of plastic thread is not implemented. “Every year, people lose their lives after being fatally injured by the plastic thread. Many are seriously injured. The death of 43year-old Haramritpal Singh should serve as a wake-up call for the administration and residents to check the use of killer thread,” said another resident, Balkaran Singh. Despite ban, sale continues PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 16 Despite the blanket ban on the sale, purchase and use of hazardous synthetic plastic kite string popularly known as China-dor, its sale goes on in the holy city albeit secretly. The shopkeepers involved in the illegal trade were selling the same only to the ‘known’ dealers and clients. Residents and activists of various organisations wanted the district administration to clamp sections of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) in the FIRs as the plastic string was also dangerous for environment, animals and birds. Currently, the police registered a case under Section 223 of the BNS, which is a bailable offence. In January, the then Gur- daspur DC Himanshu Agarwal enforced Section 15 of the EPA after the instances of injuries by Chinese string rose there. The provision mandates jail for five years or fine of Rs 1 lakh or both. A kite trader requesting anonymity said Chinese string was being supplied to Punjab from Noida and further distributed from Ludhiana and Jalandhar traders. These were now being manufactured illegally in certain pockets of Ludhiana and Jalandhar besides Noida, he added. “There are two prominent dealers in Borian Wala Bazaar in walled city and one near Gopal Mandir on Majitha Road. If the administration acts strictly, the menace would be wiped out of the markets of Amritsar,” he claimed. “Ironically, those involved in the trade were not traditional kite and dor makers. They are from other trades,” he said while adding that in Gurdaspur, a book shop owner was selling the Chinese string. Alam Vijay Singh, DCP (Law and Order) said the police was taking appropriate measures and banned its use, sale and purchase. The public should also understand and they should not use the deadly thread of their recreational activity. Residents can burst crackers from 8-10 pm on Diwali Over 57K MT paddy reaches mandis Amritsar, October 16 Deputy Commissioner-cumDistrict Magistrate Sakshi Sawhney has issued the guidelines for bursting firecrackers on festival days as per the orders issued by the Supreme Court. Temporary licences will be issued in the district for the sale of firecrackers on the occasion of Diwali and Gurpurb. Besides, timings for bursting firecrackers on Diwali, Gurpurb, Christmas and the New Year in the district have also been set as Allotment of firecracker licences underway in Amritsar. per the guidelines of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. As per the HC orders, a pro- visional licence will be issued for the sale of firecrackers within the district. On Diwali, firecrackers can be fired from 8 pm to 10 pm and on Gurpurb, from 4 am to 5 am and at night from 9 pm to 10 pm. Similarly, on the Christmas Eve, from 11.55 pm to 12.30 am, the next morning and on the New Year’s Eve from 11.55 pm to 12.30 am the next morning, as the timings of bursting fireworks have been fixed. Firecrackers of any kind before and after this time will be prohibited and action will be taken against violators. The sale of firecrackers on website, ecommerce site, etc, has been banned too. Meanwhile, Amritsar Improvement Trust Chairman Ashok Talwar, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Jyoti Bala, led the draw of firecracker sellers. The ADC said 1,822 applications were received from firecracker traders, of which 15 draws have been made. She said only green firecrackers, which are approved by CSIRNEERI, will be sold. — TNS Tribune News Service Amritsar, October 16 The arrival of paddy in the grain markets of the district has reached 57,621 metric tonnes here on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a total of 3,65,135 MT basmati has also reached the mandis. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said Rs 86.94 crore has been disbursed to farmers for procurement of parmal by the government agencies. She said the admin- istration is ensuring payment to farmers within 48 hours of the purchase. She said 53 per cent of pro- cured stocks have been lifted from the grain markets. Sawhney said there is no shortage of bardana (gunny bags) for the purchase of paddy. The DC said the farmers should bring fully ripened crop to the markets so that they do not face any problem in procurement. Paddy has been cultivated on a total of Rs 1.8 lakh hectare in the district. Out of this, basmati has been cultivated on 1.4 lakh hectares. NOTA gets highest votes in Jodhpur Girl uses hair mesh to clean water bodies village; election panel opinion sought Neha Saini Tribune News Service Balwinder Kaur gets 271 votes, rival Rani polls 247 votes, NOTA gets 368 votes PANCHAYAT POLLS Gurbaxpuri Tarn Taran, October 16 In the election for the gram panchayat of Jodhpur village, it was the NOTA (None Of The Above) option which was ‘elected’ sarpanch of the village. The election for 228 sarpanches along with other members of the village panchayat was held on Tuesday under tight security cover. It was only Jodhpur village from where NOTA got the maximum number of votes than the candidates fielded by political parties. Meanwhile, election of the Muse village panchayat has been cancelled as unidentified miscreants snatched the ballot papers from the presiding officer. A case in this regard has been registered by the Chabal Elected members of the Jodhpur village panchayat. GURBAXPURI police, said Kamalmeet Singh, DSP (City), Tarn Taran. In the election for the Sarpanch of Jodhpur village, Balwinder Kaur, backed by the ruling AAP was facing a tough , fight against her rival Rani. Balwinder Kaur got 271 votes and her rival Rani polled 247 votes. NOTA got 368 votes which surprised the leaders of different political parties. The Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) said a letter is being sent to the State Election Commission to seek its guidance in this regard. None of the candidates have been given the certificate of winning the election for the post of Sarpanch as of yet, said official sources. Besides the sarpanch, the panchayat in Jodhpur village has nine members (panches). Three of the nine were elected unopposed and the remaining six were elected after voting on Tuesday. In another report, the polling percentage has risen to 64.40 per cent from the earlier 52 per cent. There was no polling in Patti block as all the sarpanches of 72 villages were elected unopposed. It was the block where the election of not even a single panchayat member took place. Hence, the polling was zero per cent. In Naushehra Pannuan block, there was 73.37% polling, in Bhikhiwind 67.77%, Valtoha 76.69%, Gandiwind 66.29%, Tarn Taran 66.19%, Khadoor Sahib 64.79% with Chohla Sahib registering 62.24% polling. c m y b Amritsar, October 16 City girl Mannat Samra has come up with a unique way remove oil-based pollutants from contaminated water bodies and drains. Currently studying at Jayshree Periwal International School, Jaipur, she has taken taken up the challenge to mitigate the impact of water pollution in the Tung Dhab drain in Amritsar. Spanning 44.2 km, the drain ultimately merges with Ravi. However, the drain has off late become a subject of environmental debate due to the presence of pollutants. Mannat uses human hair to make these mesh tubes that are then thrown into the drain to clean the oil-based pollutants. “For years, the severely polluted water has posed a grave health risk to the local population on both sides of the border, leading to contaminated crops, dangerous level of heavy metals, Mannat Samra with the human hair mesh at Tung Dhab drain. and even reports of cell mutations in people living nearby. Despite international attention, the situation has remained largely unchanged. As a local resi- dent, I couldn’t help but work out some kind of a solution to mitigate the impact,” said Mannat. Her method might be unconventional but it’s not unknown. “Hair is an adsorbent, not absorbent, which means that the oil sticks to it effectively, separating the oil particles from water. It is incredibly efficient at absorbing oil pollution owing to its lipophilic properties. One kilogram of hair can absorb up to eight litres of oil. The natural solution is far more sustainable than the synthetic polypropylene currently used, which is non-biodegradable and potentially harmful in the long run,” explained Mannat. After one month of collecting waste hair, and another to create mesh tubes filled with these hair, she is now busy putting her project in action. “I am set to leave these mesh tubes in Amritsar’s waterways for the next 50 days, after which we will extract these and study water samples from the drain to confirm its efficacy, though similar initiatives in countries like Chile proved the method to be highly effective,” she said.
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