04012025-ATR-01.qxd 1/3/2025 11:08 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY SKY MAX 17°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 16°C | MIN 7°C CANCER AWARENESS-CUMMEDICAL CAMP HELD IN CITY ADMIN TO ROPE IN ACTIVISTS TO FIGHT DRUG MENACE MANY STAR KIDS LIKELY TO MAKE THEIR DEBUT THIS YR A cancer detection and awarenesscum-medical camp for policemen and their family members. P2 The Malerkotla district Committee has prepared a draft plan to rope in activists in the fight against drug abuse. P3 The year brings fresh ammo for the critics of Nepo kids as many star kids are poised to make their debut. P4 » » » SUNSET SATURDAY 5.40 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7.30 AM SATURDAY | 4 JANUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Computer teachers hold protest, burn effigy of govt in Tarn Taran 12 held with 2.1-kg heroin, 3 pistols ~2.6L drug money also seized; cartel had been active for past three months PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Computer teachers hold a demonstration in Tarn Taran on Friday. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI Tarn Taran, January 3 A large number of computer teachers, under the banner of Computer Teachers Sangharsh Committee, Punjab held a demonstration and burnt an effigy of the state government to protest against the “forcible” taking away of teacher Joni Singla by the police force led by officials of the administration. Singla was on hunger strike in Sangrur which had entered its 13th day. The teachers organised a protest march in town and burnt an effigy of the state government. Harjinder Kaur, Sandeep Kaur and Rakhi Mannan led the teachers. The other teachers and employee organisations had extended their support to the computer teachers. Sital Singh and Navjot Kaur were among those union leaders, who in their respective address, flayed the move of the state government to take away forcibly teacher Joni Singla. Besides, a 125-day chain hunger strike was launched in Sangrur by the teachers. The union leaders said that the teachers were on an agitation path demanding the regularisation of their services and stopping of the Rs 5,000 monthly deduction from their monthly salary besides stressing on their other genuine demands. The leaders warned the state government to be ready to face the wrath of the teaching community in case their demands are not met. The agitating teachers shouted slogans against the state government and alleged that in spite of assuring them of the acceptance of their demands many a time, nothing concrete has been done during the tenure of the present state government. — OC Amritsar, January 3 The city police have arrested 12 persons, including two women, in a across-border drug network. Among those arrested included an anganwadi worker, identified as Babli, whose residence was being used a safe haven for further disbursal of contraband. The police confiscated 2.192 kg of heroin, three pistols of .30 bore calibre (two of them automatic), ~2.6 lakh of drug money, an SUV (Toyota Fortuner) and a motorcycle from their possession. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the cartel was active for the past three months and consignments of drugs and weapons were sneaked into through porous Ajnala and Ramdass border belt in Amritsar rural areas. Those arrested were identified as Manjit Singh Bhola (27) of Jhanjhoti village in Rajasansi area, Jobanpreet Singh, alias Joban, of Arjan The accused in custody of the police in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Nagar Bhatha (20), Harpreet Singh, alias Happy (24), of Guru Ki Wadali, Babli (36) of Guru Amardass Colony, Naraingarh, Amritpal Singh Anshu (23) of Chheharta, Harshpreet Singh (22) of Islamabad locality, Aniket Verma of Naraingarh, Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi (23), Lovepreet Singh, alias Jashan, Mandeep Singh, alias Kaushal, of Kudi village, Islamabad, Reshma Dense fog hits air traffic, 6 flights cancelled, several delayed Puts normal life out of gear; sale of vendors affected as cold conditions keep people indoors Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 3 A thick blanket of fog enveloped the city last night and continued till Thursday morning, throwing daily life out of gear. The dense fog caused widespread disruptions to road, rail and air traffic, leaving commuters stranded. Several trains arrived late and departed with significant delay, causing inconvenience to passengers. Similarly, the air passengers faced inconvenience as six flights were cancelled and several delayed due to low visibility at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport during the last 24 hours. Last night, the Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur, scheduled to arrive at 10.15 pm, was diverted to New Delhi. The return flight scheduled to depart at 11.15 pm was cancelled. The Air India flight from Delhi, scheduled to arrive at 10.15 Passengers wait for a train amid dense fog at the Amritsar railway station on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR pm, was cancelled and its return flight to Delhi, scheduled for departure at 11.15 pm, was also cancelled. In the morning today, the Air India flight scheduled to arrive at 6.10 am and an Indigo flight from Mumbai, scheduled to arrive at 6.45 am, were cancelled due to low visibility. The Air India Express flight from Sharjah, scheduled to arrive at 7 am, landed at 11.17 am, after a delay of four hours. The Turkish Corendon Airlines from Dubai, which was scheduled to arrive at 7.40 am, arrived four hours late. A Qatar Airways flight for Doha was scheduled for departure at 4.10 am but left for its destination at 11.05 am. Another Air India flight for Delhi, scheduled to depart at 6.50 am, had to be cancelled. The visibility improved only around 8.30 am and flight operations were restored to normal at Amritsar airport. The fog also forced many residents to stay indoors, preferring to avoid the hazardous travel conditions. However, while residents could stay safe at home, traders, particularly street vendors, faced a difficult time. The fog severely impacted their business, as customers stayed away due to the inclement weather. “The city’s economy took a hit as the fog disrupted the normal flow of commerce. Vendors, who rely on daily sales to make a living, were left struggling to make ends meet. As fog continues to grip the city, the traders will be facing a tough time and are hoping that days would return to normal soon,” said Shiv Kumar, a fruit seller at Lawrence Road. (22) of Kartar Nagar, Chheharta, and Akashdeep Singh, alias Arsh (24), of Wadali Road, Chheharta. Five of the suspects were arrested from Jammu and Kashmir area where they had gone as a tourist. The police were yet to verify the motive behind their visit to the Valley. Sharing details, Bhullar said the police had arrested Aniket Verma with 192 gm of heroin along with ~10,000 drug money and an electronic scale from his possession on December 24 last year. He said during his interrogation, the police arrested Harpreet, Jobanpreet, Babli and Amritpal Singh. From Babli’s residence, the police confiscated 2-kg heroin and her arrest led to the arrest of Reshma. Further probe led to arrest of the remaining suspects, including prime accused Manjit Singh Bhola. “Bhola, a carpenter, used to work in Dera Baba Nanak area and came in contact with cross-border drug traffickers. They had been active for the past three months and investigations are on to ascertain how much drug consignments they had pushed in and further delivered to peddlers,” said the Police Commissioner. They had procured the SUV from the ill-gotten money earned by selling the contraband to peddlers, he added. He said the police were hopeful of making more seizures and arrests in the case. Meanwhile, DGP Gaurav Yadav said accused Manjeet, alias Bhola, who is a key player, was in direct contact with Pakistan-based smugglers/handlers and was receiving consignments of drugs and weapons from across the border. A probe revealed that consignments were being dropped in Ramdas and Ajnala border sectors with the help of drones, he added. Bird activist rescues barn owl injured by kite string Amritsar, January 3 A barn owl entangled in Chinese string was rescued and given first-aid by city-based avian enthusiast and activist Amit Sharma here on Friday. He found the bird injured and helpless at Company Bagh, home to several species of birds and nocturnal animals. “I got a call from a person in Amritsar that a bird was lying injured and needed to be rescued. I went to the place and saw this beautiful barn owl had its right wing injured and it was not able to fly. I had a telephonic conversation with officials of the Forest Department and they extended support to rescue it, but being a Sunday, the department was closed and they didn’t have a cage right then. So, I brought it home, gave it first-aid and later handed it over to the Forest Department officials,” shared Amit. A few days ago, Amit along with other volunteers, res- Amit Sharma, a volunteer who rescued the barn owl in Amritsar. cued a western marsh harrier, a species of bird at Harike wetlands, which had sustained similar injuries. With the Lohri festival round the corner, kite-flying has been a major pastime for youngsters. Above that, the use of deadly Chinese string despite the ban and police check, the string has been creating problems for birds. — TNS MC issues notices to property tax Massive fire breaks ‘Law needs more teeth to check defaulters, tax scrutiny on anvil out at thread factory Chinese kite string menace’ Amritsar, January 3 Additional Municipal Commissioner Surinder Singh today held a review meeting of property tax wing and issued instructions to start the scrutiny of tax received till December 31. Notices were also issued to the tax defaulters. During the review meeting, the officials discussed income and recovery status of the property tax wing. The meeting was attended by Assistant Municipal Commissioner Vishal Wadhawan, Secretary Daljit Singh, Superintendent Davinder Singh Babbar, Harbans Lal, Pardeep Rajput, Jaswinder Singh and inspectors working in the field. Surinder Singh, Additional MC Commissioner, said that the budgetary target of property tax for the year 2024-25 was Rs 50 crore, of which Rs 31.63 crore have been recovered till December 31, 2024. “The officials of property tax wing have achieved 63 per cent of the budget target till December 31. The Additional MC Commissioner said that property owners pay their tax by making self-assessments. He said teams have been constituted in all the five zone of the city to scrutinise the property tax defaulters, under the supervision of superintendents. These teams will check those property owners, who have not paid tax till date, and each team has been asked to achieve the budgetary target of ~50 crore up to March 31, 2025. The Additional MC Commis- sioner further said that the property tax department has already issued scrutiny notices to check the self-assessments under Section 112-B of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976. Assistant MC Commissioner Surinder Singh, who is also Chairman of Scrutiny Committee, will hear these cases in the coming days. He appealed to the residents to make the payment of property tax before March 31, 2025, to avoid penalty and sealing by the Municipal Corporation. — TNS Amritsar, January 3 A major fire broke out at a textile factory in Murgikhane Wali Gali on Batala Road, resulting in significant loss. The blaze, suspected to have been caused by a short-circuit, ravaged the factory, destroying a large quantity of thread estimated to be worth ~60 lakh (approximately), which was stored for cloth production. The fire was reported last night, and the fire brigade was promptly informed. Over 10 fire tenders rushed to the spot, but firefighters had to strive for eight hours to bring the flames under control. Despite their efforts, smoke continued to billow from the premises. Factory owner Sachin Tandon said he received a call about the fire last night and immediately informed the fire brigade. He said though the fire brigade responded swiftly, it took an extended period to extinguish the flames. The fac- c m y b PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Fire engulfs a thread factory in Amritsar on Friday. tory had a lone guard on duty at the time of the incident, as the employees had left for the day. A short-circuit is believed to be the cause of the fire though an official investigation is underway to determine the exact cause. — TNS Amritsar, January 3 Lack of stringent measures in order to nail the perpetrators involved in the illegal sale of synthetic kite string, has failed to bring about the desired results in the concerted drives launched from time to time. The police, at present, register cases under Section 223 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for violating the prohibitory orders of the Deputy Commissioner regarding ban on sale, purchase and use of banned kite string which is a bailable offence. The accused gets the bail in the police station only. “The law needed more teeth to act as a deterrent in using the deadly acrylic string, popularly known as dragon string or Chinese string,” said prominent lawyer and human rights activist Sarabjit Singh. “The misuse, illegal sale and A suspect in police custody in Amritsar. purchase of pharmaceutical drugs comes under the purview of stringent NDPS Act. Similarly, the police should invoke stringent sections of BNS against those involved in the illegal trading and storing of Chinese string,” he pointed out. Ravi Mahajan, another noted lawyer, said that the police should not only take preventive measure against the use of dragon dor also known as ‘Khooni dor’, but should also take the investigations to a logical conclusion by checking its pilferage from the manufacturing unit. “The spools of Chinese thread are meant only for continued on page 2