23012025-ATR-01.qxd 1/22/2025 11:12 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY NO POWER SUPPLY, JCT MILL WORKERS PROTEST INDIAN COAST GUARD BIKE EXPEDITION FLAGGED OFF ACTING IS A DEEPLY PERSONAL JOURNEY: AHSAAS CHANNA They demand restoration of electricity supply, which has been disconnected since Jan 15. P2 To mark the 49th Raising Day, ‘Sarhad Se Samandar’ motorcycle expedition flagged off. P2 MAX 21°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 9°C Actress Ahsaas Channa says for an actor to have an actor parent has no bearing on their craft. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 5.56 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:27 AM » THURSDAY | 23 JANUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR 8 yrs on, Amritsar Culture & Tourism ADGP Parmar dispels fear on R-Day attack threats Devp Authority yet to get office, staff Tribune News Service Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 22 Even eight years after the formation of the Amritsar Culture and Tourism Development Authority (ACTDA), the state government has failed to bring in more tourist sites under its control, set up its independent office and hire staff. Till date its jurisdiction is restricted to the Heritage Street and at the Golden Temple entrance plaza, even as it neither has any office, nor staff. Insiders said there used to be only one official of the ACTDA, i.e. the General Manager. That position has been lying vacant for over three years now. Now, there is no official of the authority in the city, which is categorised as the top most tourist destination in North India. Passed by the Cabinet in 2016, the constitution of an authority provides for preservation, maintenance, cleanliness, provision for supply of essential services like electricity, water supply, beautification and monument lighting, sanitation, proper maintenance of roads and disposal of solid waste in the vicinity and around the specified areas or sites and services for development and promotion of tourism in Amritsar. The jurisdiction of the Amritsar Culture and Tourism Development Authority is restricted to the Heritage Street and the Golden Temple entrance plaza. As per the ACTDA Act, the authority would have to work within a radius of 500 m to 750 m of heritage, tourism and cultural sites like the Golden Temple, Durgiana Mandir, Valmiki temple in Ram Teerath area, Gobindgarh Fort, Town Hall, panorama and Urban Haat. It was to look after the facades of all these buildings, roads, roundabouts and street furniture (Town Hall to Golden Temple and exit), hop-on, hop-off bus and amphibious bus services. The authority consists of Chief Minister as Chairman; Ministers of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Local Government; Chief Secretary; Principal Secretary to CM; Principal Secretary of Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs; Secretary, Public Relations, and Technical Adviser to CM as members; Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Department of Finance; Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Department of Local Government, and Director, Tourism and Cultural Affairs, as member secretaries. At the district level there is a provision for formation of an executive committee to discharge day-to-day work of the authority. The executive committee consists of Deputy Commissioner as its chief executive officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Director, Tourism and Cultural Affairs, as members, besides Municipal Corporation Commissioner as member secretary. The authority was to be responsible for planning, coordination and implementation of all activities, events, virtual reality shows, live per- formances, operation and maintenance of sanitation work in the specified areas, façade of buildings near the Golden Temple, operation and maintenance of lighting in the specified areas, overall infrastructure, upkeep and maintenance of all civic facilities, undertaking overall comprehensive development, including holding of conferences and seminars and all functions as may be necessary to promote tourism and increase tourist footfall. To carry out the activities of the authority, the fund was to be provided by the state government out of the cess collected under the excise policy or any other source. The authority was to create posts and appoint officers and other employees as it might have considered necessary for the efficient discharge of its functions. Sakshi Sawhney, DC, said the matter of the authority was discussed during the last visit of Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Speaker, Vidhan Sabha, in the city. She assured that she would positively take up the matter with the authorities concerned. Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, Malwinder Singh Jaggi, Secretary Tourism, neither responded to calls, nor to text message. Amritsar, January 22 In preparation for the upcoming Republic Day celebrations, ADGP Law and Order, SPS , Parmar conducted a thorough review of the security arrangements across various police stations, hi-tech checkpoints and other important locations under the district rural police here on Wednesday. During a press conference later, Parmar said that senior officials had been tasked with reviewing security arrangements across the state. He emphasised that his visit aimed to assess the security measures in place at various police stations, police lines and other places. ADGP Parmar also interacted with SHOs and senior officials at the police stations, conducting a detailed review of the security preparations in their respective areas. He emphasised the importance of ensuring no laxity in security arrangements and recommended maximum deployment of police personnel and modern equipment during ‘nakabandi’ and antisabotage operations. In response to a question, he said the police was working diligently to prevent the entry of drones, weapons and drugs from across the border. He noted that the concerted efforts had led to a significant reduction in such incidents. He added that the police remained fully alert to the threat of attacks on police stations, which are often carried out by mischievous elements to create fear among the public. Dispelling concerns about potential terrorist attacks on January 26, Parmar announced that police presence had been increased in crowded areas. The police administration was on full alert, conducting routine and special checks at markets, bus stands, railway stations and other public places, he added. ADGP Surinder Pal Singh Parmar visits a police station in Amritsar on Wednesday. Man held for distilling illicit liquor Admn cancels licences Duped of ~32 lakh , victim of four IELTS centres awaits arrest of travel agents Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 22 The Verowal police in its ongoing drive against drugs and distillation of illicit liquor in Mand area alongside the Beas conducted a raid at Sarlai Kalan village on Wednesday and arrested a person who was distilling illicit liquor at his home. The SHO, Naresh Kumar, said that the accused had been identified as Maninder Singh Soni, and a working still, 70 ltr of ‘lahan’ and 15,000 ml of illicit liquor were seized. The police party took the apparatus in its custody, including the gas cylinder. A case has been registered under Sections 61, 1 and 14 of the Excise Act. The SHO fur- Tribune News Service The accused in the police custody along with the apparatus used to distil illicit liquor. GURBAXPURI ther said that the police were conducting frequent AAP MLA blames horse-trading for delay in forming MC House Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 22 AAP MLA Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh has alleged that the delay in making the Amritsar Municipal Corporation House operational, even weeks after declaration of the result, was an effort to indulge in horse-trading. He said this at a press conference here on Wednesday, but did not name any political party. It is an open secret that AAP and Congress have been desperately trying to increase their numbers of councillors to elect their mayor. The Aam Aadmi Party second in this race with 24 seats has been claiming every other day of having support of more councillors. Hectic parleys have been going on in the Congress after it had bagged clear majority with 40 seats in the 85 ward municipal corporation election. However, it requires 46 seats to enable Congress leaders to elect the mayor from the party. Meanwhile, Kunwar categorically stated that he did not name any political outfit and added that councillors should be sworn-in to resume the work of the House while the Mayor could be chosen later. He claimed that he had been performing the duties of a councillor in the absence of a proper House for the past over two years. raids in the Mand area, the interior part of the Beas. Amritsar, January 22 The district administration has cancelled licences of four IELTS centres-cum immigration consultancy services after receiving no applications from these for renewal of their licences issued under Human Smuggling Act 2012 and Punjab Travel Professional Regulation Act. While cancelling the licences, Additional District Magistrate Jyoti Bala said that these centres were not interested in getting their licenses renewed and some had even closed down their offices. As a result, licences of several coaching institutes and consultancies, including Grand Leys International Immigration, Tuli’s Academy, Lingua Franca and English Hub, have been cancelled. The Additional District Magistrate has stated that these agencies will not be able to run IELTS centres or immigration consultancy. She further said that the Punjab Travel Professional Regulation Act empowered authorities to regulate and monitor travel agencies, ensuring compliance with rules and regulations. She added that any licence holder or firm found guilty of noncompliance with any Act or rules would be held responsible and may face reimbursement penalties. This move aims at maintaining the integrity of the travel industry and protect the interests of consumers. Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, January 22 Sukhbir Singh, a resident of Singhpura village under Bhikhiwind police station, who was duped of Rs 32 lakh about three years back by a travel agent and his son, has since then been moving from pillar to post to seek justice. The Bhikhiwind police had booked accused Gurpreet Singh and his father Raghbir Singh, both living near the Guru Nanak Dev University, Chhehtra (Amritsar), under Section 420, 467 and 468, IPC, and had initiated further proceedings. But no arrest has been made in the case so far. The accused took Rs 32 lakh from Sukhbir for sending his NOW FACING HARRASMENT I months back, ❝thefiled a complaint with the district policeBhikhiwind but accused named in the FIR lodged by police have not been arrested so far. I was duped of the huge amount, and now I am also facing harassment. ❞ — Sukhbir Singh, THE VICTIM son Sajanpreet Singh to the UK on a work permit for five years. The accused gave the victim a fake visa on which Sajanpreet went to England and when he reached there he found out that there was no such company for which he had been given the visa. He had to take shelter in a gurdwara and was issued notice to leave the country by the UK government. Sukhbir said that he lodged a complaint with the district police months back but the accused named in the FIR lodged by Bhikhiwind police had not been arrested so far. He said that he was moving from pillar to post and after being duped of the huge amount he was now facing harassment. Preetinder Singh DSP , Bhikhiwind said on Wednesday that the accused were absconding and the police was conducting raids to arrest them. 34th World Punjabi Conference ends in Smuggler arrested Lahore amid pledge for promoting Pbi with four pistols Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 22 The three-day 34th World Punjabi Conference concluded in Lahore, with participating writers, poets and artists pledging to raise the flag for Punjabi mother tongue and make sincere efforts for its promotion on both sides of the border. The chief organiser of the conference and former minister of Pakistan, Fakhar Zaman, said that efforts from both sides of the border had been going on for the last 40 years to preserve the essence of Punjabi, linguistically and culturally, while working to expand the scope of the conference in the coming time. “The conference is working Pakistani poetess Bushra Ejaz releases her poetry book ‘Main Puni Katti Raat Di’ on the concluding day of the conference. as a bridge through which all Punjabis come together and raise the flag for Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat,” he said. Surinder Singh Sangha, while reading the evaluation report of the three-day conference at the concluding ses- c m y b sion, said that during the conference organised on the theme of Sufism, the message of mutual understanding and partnership between the two Punjabs was conveyed. It was said that efforts would be continued to take forward the pledge taken to promote and develop Punjabi through literary and cultural exchange. During the closing ceremony, a play, ‘Gumsuda Aurat’, by acclaimed Indian playwright Anita Sabdeesh called for the empowerment of women. During the musical programme, singers from both India and Pakistan, including Akram Rahi, Pammi Bai, Dolly Guleria, Sukhi Brar, Arif Lohar, Imran Shaukat Ali and Satnam, performed to a packed house and thunderous applause. In the concluding session of the conference, the Gurmukhi edition of the book “Main Puni Katti Raat Di” by poetess Bushra Ejaz from Pakistan was also released. Amritsar, January 22 In an operation conducted on the basis of intelligence gathered by the district rural police, cops arrested a Tarn Taran district resident involved in smuggling of sophisticated weapons from across the border using drones. The accused, identified as Bikram Singh, a resident of Bhusse village under Sarai Amanat Khan police station, was arrested with four pistols. The weapons, Px5 Storm .30 bore pistol, along with four magazines had been smuggled from Pakistan using drones. In a press conference here today, police officials stated that Bikram had returned from Dubai recently. Amritsar Rural SSP Charanjit Singh said that Bikram developed relations with a Pakistan-based smuggler during his stay in Dubai. The SSP said that the police had so far identified a few persons who had been in touch with Bikram. “We are investigating to whom these weapons were to be supplied and for what purpose. We are checking all links,” he said. The senior cop said that the operation was run by CIA staff after which a case was registered at the Gharinda police station. The SSP said that the properties of smugglers purchased using ill-gotten money were being identified and these would be attached by the government as per law.