16042025-ATR-01.qxd 4/15/2025 11:25 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 37°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 23°C WALLED CITY LACKS ADEQUATE GOVT HEALTH FACILITIES DOCTORS FLAG RISKS POSED BY ‘ENERGY’ DRINKS PRIYANKA JOINS WILL-ZAC EFRON’S NEW COMEDY FILM The historic walled city does not have adequate government-run health facilities. P3 Many parents allow their children to consume caffeinated energy drinks without realising their health risks. P3 Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas will be featuring in an upcoming comedy film by director Nicholas Stoller. P4 » » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.47 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5.53 AM WEDNESDAY | 16 APRIL 2025 | AMRITSAR Wheat procurement begins, 56 mandis ready to operate in dist Canal water project may be delayed 50 tonnes of produce arrives at Rayya market Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 15 The much-anticipated canal water project, aimed at ensuring a 24-hour water supply to the city, is now running two years behind schedule. Funded by the World Bank, the first phase of the project was initially projected to be completed by July 2024. However, due to multiple challenges, including delays in acquiring no-objection certificates (NOCs) from key departments, a shortage of labour, and disputes over land for constructing water tanks, the project is now expected to be completed only by July 2026. Now officials of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation said canal water will start reaching the South Zone of the city by December this year. However, residents of the rest of the city will have to wait longer for uninterrupted access to canal water. The project had earlier received a one-year extension, pushing the completion date to July 2025. With that deadline unlikely to be met, authorities have already requested an additional year’s extension. The total estimated cost of the project stands at ~785 crore, with 70 per cent of the funding being provided by the World Bank. The canal water supply project is divided into two PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO at the launch of wheat procurement in Amritsar on Tuesday. It had earlier received one-year extension, pushing completion date to July 2025 tanam Park (Suncity), Sant Avenue (two tanks) near the Bhadrakali Temple, in the Cantonment Area Park, and Mustafabad. Owing to objections from local residents, construction of overhead water tanks at these sites has been stopped, reducing the total number of tanks to be built from 51 to 45. Each tank takes around one to one-and-a-half years to construct, further contributing to the delay. MC Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Aulakh said most of the NOCs from the Defence Ministry have almost been finalised and that the department is in constant touch with the Ministry of Defence. He said by December this year, a significant portion of the city will start receiving canal water, and by July next year, the entire city is expected to have access to 24-hour canal water supply. The North Zone route of the project runs from the Vallah bypass through Ram Tirath Road to Nikka Singh Colony and Chheharta. The South Zone route starts from the UBDC and goes through Vallah, Jhabal Road, Dapai Road, and Kot Khalsa to Chheharta. Overall, 112 km of pipeline is planned under this project, out of which 85 km have been laid. The water treatment plant at Vallah has been completed. Amritsar, April 15 With the arrival of wheat produce from fields getting started, the government has commenced wheat procurement across the district. During a meeting held to review the procurement process, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said so far, 50 tonnes of wheat has arrived at the Rayya grain market, which has been procured by Pungrain. The government has fixed the wheat MSP at ~2,425 per quintal, with market moisture acceptance of up to 12 per cent. Officials of the district administration stated that a total of 56 mandis have been readied for procuring wheat. As per the Agriculture Department figures, wheat is grown on 1.85 lakh hectares in the district. The district administration is making efforts to ensure that wheat procurement proceeds smoothly and farmers are not troubled, said the DC. For smooth wheat procurement, farmers have been advised to bring properly dry crop in which moisture content is within the permissible limit. The farmers have also been advised to not harvest the crop at night as it increases the moisture content. The Deputy Commissioner also took stock of the procurement arrangements done by the procurement agencies and instructed them Drug smuggler arrested, 3 kg heroin seized Border area farmers want BSF to Parallel memorial for Jallianwala Bagh martyrs relax rules for wheat harvesting in neglect; exposes govt failure to preserve history Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Amritsar, April 15 In a significant breakthrough in the fight against drug trafficking, the Amritsar rural police have arrested a drug smuggler and recovered a substantial consignment of heroin. Acting on credible intelligence inputs, the police apprehended Tarsem Singh alias Sema, a resident of Ratan Kalan village in Amritsar district, and seized 3 kilograms of heroin from his possession. Tarn Taran, April 15 Farmers in the area who have to cross the fencing on the Indo-Pak border to harvest their wheat crop have demanded relaxation in the recently released norms stipulated by the Border Security Force (BSF). Surjit Singh Bhura, state vice-president of the Punjab Border Area Kisan Union, said in a press release issued here on Tuesday that the headquarters of 148 Battalion of BSF in Khemkaran recently issued orders that one gate would be opened for one post of the BSF to go across the fencing and only one combine machine for one gate would be allowed to harvest wheat crop. The farmer leaders said that the timing to go across the fencing has been fixed from 8 am to 4 pm which was extended previously as per the needs of the farmers. The farmer leaders said that in case their grievances are DRUG SMUGGLED FROM ACROSS BORDER ■ Preliminary investigations suggest that the drug was smuggled from across the IndoPak border, indicating the involvement of a larger transborder drug network. Preliminary investigations suggest that the drug was smuggled from across the Indo-Pak border, indicating the involvement of a larger trans-border drug network. The accused is currently in police custody and is being interrogated to trace the broader nexus of smugglers and facilitators operating in the region. An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Gharinda police station. Further investigations are underway. Punjab Police officials claimed that they are committed to root out drug network from the state. In a statement, Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav emphasised that the police force will continue to act decisively against those involved in narcotics smuggling to ensure a drug-free Punjab. to work as a team. To ensure transparency and address any concerns, the Deputy Commissioner will hold online meetings with procurement agencies, farmers, and commission agents every day at 6.30 pm. The link for these meetings is also being shared with farmers and commission agents, allowing them to provide suggestions and complaints regarding wheat procurement. The Deputy Commission said that the farmers can join the meeting by using the link; https://dgrpunjab.webex.com/dgrpunjab/j.php?MTID=ma9b87a87 25e67eeea10b114badf53334 or dial 25198601786@dgrpunjab.webex.com. The pipes, which are to be laid for supplying canal water, kept at Ranjit Avenue in Amritsar. PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED BY JULY 2026 ■ Owing to multiple challenges, including delays in acquiring no-objection certificates (NOCs) from key departments, a shortage of labour and disputes over land for constructing water tanks, the project is now expected to be completed only by July 2026 ■ Now officials of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation said canal water will start reaching the South Zone of the city by December this year. However, residents of the rest of the city will have to wait longer for uninterrupted access to canal water. The project had earlier received a one-year extension, pushing the completion date to July 2025. With that deadline unlikely to be met, authorities have already requested an additional year's extension. The total estimated cost of the project stands at ~785 crore, with 70 per cent of the funding being provided by the World Bank. zones, North and South, with the Jalandhar railway line serving as the dividing boundary. In the first phase, the focus has been on building a water treatment plant at Vallah, laying the required pipelines, and constructing 51 new overhead water tanks. As of now, 77 per cent of the first phase work has been completed and around 70 per cent of the total project work is done. Pipelines have largely been laid, but NOCs from the Defence Ministry and the Public Works Department are still pending. While the NOC from the Railways has been received, the actual work of crossing railway lines for pipeline laying still needs to be executed by the Railways themselves. A major hurdle has come in the form of local resistance at six sites where water tanks were planned. These include locations near San- Tiles with names damaged, overgrown bushes show lack of maintenance Tribune News Service Farmers seek relaxation in the recently released norms stipulated by the Border Security Force in Tarn Taran on Tuesday. not heard, they may boycott the harvesting of their crop across the fencing. The permission of the BSF is necessary for the farmers to enter their fields across the fencing. The farmer leaders said that if acted upon as per the new instructions of the Khemkaran headquarters of the BSF, the harvesting period will linger on and may cause loss of produce. Moreover, certainty in weather conditions too cannot be forecast, leading to need for deviations. SK Singh, BSF Adjutant, 148 Battalion, Khemkaran, said that he has assumed charge only today and the farmers must approach senior officers of the BSF . Amritsar, April 15 The parallel memorial built in honour of the martyrs of the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre has shockingly fallen into a state of neglect, raising questions about the government’s commitment to preserving history and paying true homage to the sacrifices made for India’s freedom. Tiles carrying the names of the martyrs have been dismantled and dumped carelessly, gathering dust. Overgrown bushes, broken infrastructure and the general state of disrepair of the site have left it in ruins, barely four years after its inauguration. However, on the very day that marks the anniversary of the massacre, Baisakhi, not a single government representative was seen paying tributes at the site. Activists and locals have termed this an insult to the martyrs. A local activist Pawan Shar- PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Engineer Pawan Sharma shows a damaged nameplate at the Jalianwala Bagh memorial in Amrit Anand Park in Amritsar. ma, who visited the site, said, “Is this not a grave dishonour to the sacrifice of our martyrs? What kind of respect is this, where the memorial is built for political mileage, and then abandoned? This is not just a monument, it’s a symbol of our national pride and struggle for independence. The fact that no one from the government came to pay homage reflects how far we have drifted from our values. We demand immediate restoration of the memori- al, a full inquiry into the materials used, and accountability of those responsible for the negligence.” Citizens have also raised concerns over the use of substandard materials in the construction of the memorial. Established in Amrit Anand Park, Ranjit Avenue, the memorial was unveiled on August 15, 2021, by then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Constructed at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore and spread over 1.5 acres, the structure features granite walls engraved with the names of 488 officially recorded martyrs of the April 13, 1919, massacre, one of the darkest chapters in India’s colonial history. The memorial, once intended to educate future generations and keep the memory of the martyrs alive, now stands as a grim reminder of how even the most sacred tributes can be forgotten in the maze of politics and poor governance. Despite free units, power theft rampant in Tarn Taran Powercom circle Gurbaxpuri Tarn Taran, April 15 The Tarn Taran circle of Powercom has been known as the hotbed of elements involved in power theft for decades. Being a border belt and also as an area known for its involvement during the days of militancy, the officials were hesitant in checking power theft which has made the consumers habituated to power theft. The trend still prevails in the area. The circle is not only notorious for power theft but also for defaulting on payment. Being a stronghold of farmer unions too has been a factor instrumental in encouraging power theft by consumers. Some consumers who have contacts with senior and influential politicians also take advantage of it. Though the state government is giving the facility of free power to consumers, still power theft in this border area has been causing heavy losses to the Powercom. The customers take direct power supply from the cables and it is not recorded in the meter installed by the Powercom to supply power to the consumers. This is visible at every point in the rural and urban areas. In case when teams come to check power theft in the villages, the Powercom employees face opposition from the residents. Recently, a team of the Powercom visited the Vein Poin village where it was attacked. Some village elders too were involved in the assault and the Powercom employees had to launch an agitation for action against the alleged accused for assaulting the c m y b The missing door of a power meter box is one of the reasons behind power pilferage in Khemkaran. Powercom team members. The Powercom officials too are disturbed over the theft of electricity. Sources in the Powercom circle office revealed that teams of the Powercom checked about 60,000 connections of which 2,378 were found to be causing losses through power theft or other techniques. Most consumers stealing power take direct supply from the main cables. The consumers stealing power were fined Rs 5.14 crore of which fine worth Rs 1.15 crore has been received. The Patti division tops in stealing power as out of the 7,602 connection checked, 438 cases were detected involved in stealing power. A fine of Rs 2.35 crore was imposed and Rs 61.36 lakh has been received. The consumers of Tarn Taran city circle come second in stealing power where of the 12,807 connections checked, 579 were detected stealing power on whom a fine of ~88.07 lakh was imposed. Patti is the native town of Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar who also is representing Pat- ti Vidhan Sabha constituency at present. The consumers of Rayya sub-division are comparatively sincere and refrain from stealing power. In this division, out of 14,851 connections checked, only 488 were detected stealing power. They were imposed a fine of Rs 39.43 lakh of which Rs 9 lakh has been received. Powercom circle office sources revealed that the Bhikhiwind division, Amarkot and Khemkaran sub-divisions, are notorious for power theft.