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P4 » » » MAX 31°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.41 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6.06 AM FRIDAY | 4 APRIL 2025 | AMRITSAR Govt buses go off roads in dist for two hours Meeting reviews 11 Lead life full of bravery, not of projects to check drugs, Guv exhorts youngsters water table depletion Tribune News Service Neha Saini Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 3 Commuters in the district faced inconvenience as contractual employees of the Punjab Roadways Transport Company (PRTC) and Punjab Bus Service (PunBus) staged a protest at the bus stand here on Thursday. They were demanding the regularization of their services and better working conditions. The protest, which lasted for two hours (from 10 am to 12 pm), brought the city to a standstill with government buses remaining off the road. Passengers were left stranded. “I had to reach Jalandhar on time, but due to this protest, I got late. I understand their demands, but they should find alternative ways of protest so that common people are not affected,” said Rohan, a commuter. The employees, who were raising slogans against the state government, also burnt copies of a government decision to hire private buses on government routes. They claimed that the government’s proposed policy to use private buses on government routes is the final step towards privatisation of the public Contractual employees of PRTC and PunBus during a protest in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR transport system in the state. “The Transport Minister has brought a new policy as per which private buses would be hired on a per kilometer scheme,” said Jagwinder Singh, an employees’ union leader. He said they have demanded from the government to add new buses to the existing fleet of roadways so that people can travel at affordable charges. The employee leaders stated that while private bus operators are flourishing, the state transport is struggling for survival. They said government policies are responsible for the existing crisis staring at public transport. The employees’ union has announced that they will halt buses for three days from April 7 if their demands are not met. The union has also demanded better working conditions for the drivers and conductors. They further added that repair and maintenance of the buses should be done on priority by the state transport department. Amritsar, April 3 Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney held a meeting with officials of the district administration regarding the launch of 11 projects by the Soil and Water Conservation Department under Punjab government. The department has prepared a proposal to cover about 365 hectares of area in Amritsar district through 11 projects for irrigation from moghas (canal connection) to check the declining water table. Divisional Soil Conservation Officer, Amritsar, Ravinder Singh, Sub-Divisional Officer, Canal Department, Jaskaran Singh and PD Harnek Singh from the Agriculture Department were part of the meeting held today as the administration prepares a preventive as well as counteractive plan for groundwater conservation. Sharing details of the meeting, Divisional Soil Conservation Officer Ravinder Singh said that a total of 11 projects will provide water for irrigation from moghas in 11 villages: Kohala, Waryam Nangal, Gunnowal, Kawe Lelian, Bua Nangal, Pathan Nangal, Kandowali, Gujjarpura, Sehnewali, Kathunangal and Kumaska, on which c m y b the government will spend Rs 1 crore 88 lakh. “The objective is to provide water for agriculture to 178 beneficiaries so that the groundwater level can be saved from falling and the yield of farmers’ crops can also be increased. Drawing of groundwater needs to be checked to prevent the water level from falling further from the already critical stage,” he said. The Divisional Soil Conservation Officer said that taking the indiscriminate use of groundwater seriously, the government has started supplying canal water to the tailend villages of Punjab. He said that due to the groundwater getting depleted further, a dangerous situation has arisen in many areas. To address this threat, canal water is being pumped to farms to reduce dependence on groundwater. After a recent revelation by the Annual Ground Water Quality Report-2024, in a report released by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), citing severe groundwater exploitation and overdrawing of groundwater in certain blocks, the district administration has resolved to act in time to contain the situation. Gurdaspur, April 3 Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday exhorted the youth of Punjab to stay away from the scourage of drugs. He also led a 4-km ‘padyatra’ (foot march) from the Kartarpur corridor to a local school. After taking the salute from a contingent of the Batala police, the Governor delivered his speech and led an impressive procession to the school. He also presided over an oath-taking ceremony on the school’s premises. The Gurdaspur administration and the Batala police had made elaborate security arrangements to make sure no untoward incident took place. DIG (Border) Satinder Singh and SSP Suhail Qasim Mir supervised the security measures. Kataria recalled his recent interaction with a woman during one of the village defence committee (VDC) meetings. “A middle-aged woman came to meet me during a VDC gathering. She told me her son was on heroin. Whatever money was saved by her after doing menial jobs was taken away by her son. She asked me to make sure drug peddlers in her village were put behind bars. I Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria lays a wreath at the Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum in Amritsar on Thursday. could see the pain and agony in her eyes. This one incident reflected how bad the problem was in Punjab,” he said. He invoked the Sikh Gurus who, he said, were synonymous with bravery. He told the children, “Follow the footsteps of our Gurus. The sons of Guru Gobind Singh were martyred after they were bricked alive by the Mughals. See how brave the boys were. You should lead a life full of bravery and not a life full of drugs.” The venue swarmed with CID personnel since morning. Senior BSF and Army officers, too, were present. The proceedings went off in a smooth manner, but for the fact that students had to stand for more than an hour before the Governor started his speech. There were many who recalled how Kataria’s predecessor Banwarilal Purohit regularly visited the border areas to carry forward an antidrug initiative. “He took meetings of bureaucrats and police officers in border towns and spoke about how drugs were destroying the lives of youngsters. However, not much came out of his initiatives. We hope the present drive does not turn out to be a hollow one,” said a government teacher. Devotees on their way to Pakistan to pay obeisance had to stand outside the ICP till the Governor finished his speech.