09012025-ATR-01.qxd 1/8/2025 10:58 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FINAL VOTERS’ LIST OF TARN TARAN DIST RELEASED In all, 7,85,478 voters were registered in Tarn Taran, Patti, Khadoor Sahib and Khemkaran segments. P2 » FORECAST VERY DENSE FOG THE ACTRESS TERMS INDIRA GANDHI A PRODUCT OF NEPOTISM SKY FORCE SONG MAAYE PAYS A TRIBUTE TO SOLDIERS Kangana Ranaut is currently busy promoting her much-awaited political drama Emergency. P4 The much-awaited song Maayefrom Akshay Kumar’s upcoming historical action thriller Sky Force has been released. P4 » » MAX 17°C | MIN 3°C YESTERDAY MAX 16°C | MIN 3°C SUNSET THRUSDAY 5.43 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:30 AM THURSDAY | 9 JANUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Ban on ferrying more than five schoolchildren in auto-rickshaws PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Students brave chill while going to the Government School at Pandori village on Wednesday morning. Schools reopen after winter break Record low attendance as cold conditions prevail in dist Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 8 Attendance in government schools remained thin as a few students braved through foggy and frosty conditions in the morning to reach their institutions post winter break. All government schools re-opened today for Classes V to XII after the extended winter break. In the district, there are around 1,200 schools (Both government and private), out of which a majority of institutions in the rural areas saw extremely low attendance in comparison to schools in the urban areas. With morning temperature hovering between 5°C and 7°C and dense fog reducing the vis- ibility considerably on roads in the district, teachers shared that it was likely that students would wait for another two to three days to come back to schools in full strength. “Most of parents, whose wards study in government schools, have demanded an extension in the winter break in the wake of the biting cold conditions. With that now happened, it is still quite chilly for students to return to schools, even with changed school timings. We are hoping that schools will have full student strength post Lohri,” said a teacher from the Government Senior Secondary Smart School, Pandori Waraich. Unlike government schools, majority of private schools in the city remained closed for the winter break and would open only after January 14. With extreme cold conditions prevailing, schools in Chandigarh have extended winter break till January 11, while schools in the neighbouring state of Haryana would open for Class VII onwards after January 14. Another factor to consider is an announcement for the board exam date sheet by the Punjab School Education board (PSEB). For Class VIII and Class XII boards, the exams would commence from February 19, while for Class X, the PSEB boards would begin from March 10. Teachers want students to come to schools at the earliest without any extension in holidays as they had to finish the syllabus by then. Amritsar, January 8 Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney has issued an order under Section 163 if the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, as per which no auto-rickshaw driver in Amritsar district would be allowed to ferry schoolchildren exceeding the vehicle capacity to school. Principals/Headmasters of all schools would ensure that they made parents aware of this rule, the order states. The order further states: “It has come to notice of the administration that in Amritsar district, the number of children ferried to schools in autorickshaws exceed the vehicle seating capacity, which apart from creating traffic problems, also poses a risk of accidents. This ban order will remain in effect till April 6, 2025.” Ignoring safety norms, an overloaded auto-rickshaw ferries schoolchildren in Amritsar. FILE The order comes in line with the Safe School Vahan guidelines of the Supreme Court and one seat, one child rule that explicitly implies on the safety of schoolchildren. Despite multiple orders passed in the past, a large number of auto-rickshaws and vans openly flout the safety norms by transporting more children than the seating capacity of the vehicle. According to the norms, autorickshaws carrying schools students can only ferry five kids up to age of 14 years. These vehicles must be approved by the Transport Commissioner from time to time. In case of school buses, one seat, one child policy has to be adopted. But often auto-rickshaws ferry 12 to 14 children, along with their bags, to schools. The recent orders state that those not complying with the norms would invite punitive action. Man wanted in Batala murder case arrested Amritsar, January 8 Five months after a youth was shot dead in Batala, the city police have arrested one of the suspects wanted in the case. He was identified as Heera Lal of Jhariawal falling under the Civil Lines police station in Batala. Alam Vijay Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Law and Order, said a youth identified as Yudhbir Singh, alias Jodha, of Gandhi Nagar, Batala, was shot dead in broad daylight on July 23, 2024. He said among those suspects involved in the murder, who were on the run since the incident, was Heera Singh. Heera Singh was father of Amanpreet Singh, alias Anda, an alleged gangster having many criminal cases registered against him. Amanpreet was also nominated in this case. He absconded to Germany on the basis of fake documents. The DCP said Heera would be handed over to the Batala police. — TNS Police crack ~70 lakh gold jewellery burglary case Amritsar, January 8 The police today claimed to have cracked a burglary case within 24 hours of the incident. The police recovered the entire gold jewellery c m y b stolen from a house. Vineet Ahlawat, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), East, said the complainant, identified as Harcharan Singh, a goldsmith and a resident of the Partap Nagar area had gone to attend cremation of a relative two days ago. When the complainant returned, he found that the locks of his house were bro- ken and gold jewellery and cash worth Rs 70 lakh stolen. While scanning footage of the CCTV cameras in the area, the police identified the suspect as Veeru of the New Amritsar area. He was produced in a court and brought on police remand. During interrogation, the police recovered the entire stolen jewellery and cash from his house. — TNS