06052025-ATR-01.qxd 5/5/2025 11:04 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune LATE IRRFAN KHAN'S SON BABIL KHAN LASHES OUT AT ACTORS LADY GAGA SHATTERS RECORD FOR MOST-ATTENDED CONCERT Lady Gaga shatters record for mostattended concert by a female artiste in history, held earlier by Madonna. P4 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 22°C PARTH SAMTHAAN FROM FAN BOY TO CID’S NEW FACE Babil Khan, actor and son of late Irrfan Khan, posted videos on social media in which he lashed out at actors. P4 FORECAST Parth Samthaan’s emotional comeback transforms him from a fan to forensic sleuth. P4 » » SUNSET TUESDAY 6.59 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.35 AM » TUESDAY | 6 MAY 2025 | AMRITSAR Ferozepur rly divn recovers ~3 cr from ticketless passengers in April Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 5 The Ferozepur railway division earned a revenue of Rs 3.32 crore, which also included about Rs 45 lakh share of the Amritsar railway station, as fine from ticketless passengers in April. Ticket checking teams of the division conducted intensive ticket checking in trains to curb ticketless and irregular travel to provide a comfortable travel and better services to all genuine rail users. During ticket checking in trains during April, the ticket checking staff and Chief Ticket Inspectors of the division, found 33,439 railway passengers travelling without tickets. In view of the increasing passenger rush in the summer season, a special ticket checking campaign will be run till May 21. Under this campaign commenced from April 22, a revenue of about Rs 1.55 crore has been collected from more than 23,000 passengers so far. In addition, regular check- 9 days after closure of ICP, porters, transporters shift to other vocations Import from Afghanistan was only source of their earning from ICP since 2019 Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service The Amritsar railway station. FILE PHOTO ing is done at main stations to keep them neat and clean and stop the general public from spreading dirt and filth at the stations and make them aware of cleanliness. As a result, more than Rs 54,000 was recovered from 319 passengers in the month of April under the Anti-Littering Act. Railway passengers have been appealed to travel in trains only after taking proper tickets, informed Divisional Railway Manager Sanjay Sahu. He said ticket checking campaigns would continue in the division. The main objective of ticket checking is to improve the sale of railway tickets and ensure that no passenger travels without a ticket. Hence, a target of zero ticketless travel has been set. Attari, May 5 Nine days after the closure of the Attari Integrated Check Post (ICP), porters and transporters have shifted to other vocations to eke out their living. Most of the porters and transporters are suffering as their earnings from the lone import from Afghanistan have totally ceased. Import from Afghanistan has been the only source of their earning from the ICP since 2019 when Pakistan had snapped all kinds of business activities with India to protest against the abrogation of Article 376 from Jammu and Kashmir. Kulwinder Singh, an officebearer of the Attari Border Truck Operators’ Association, said about 230 trucks of nearly 80 members came to a Porters stand at the Attari Integrated Check Post. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR halt after the closure of the ICP They had been getting . some orders to deliver the Afghan goods to different parts of the country after 2019. Now these trucks are entirely dependent on orders emanating from farmers to take their harvest to mandis, rice millers, distilleries at Khasa and factories. He recalled that there used to be over 500 trucks before 2019 the number of which came down to 230. Now members are likely to take away trucks to focus on other areas for a living. The transport sector used to employ hundreds of truck drivers, cleaners and technicians, who came from all over Amritsar and Tarn Taran, to eke out a living. With the closure of the ICP they are also , shifting to other vocations to eke out a living. Over a week after the functioning of the ICP came to a complete halt, Sukhchain Singh, 31, has shifted from being a porter to a helper of a tractor-trolley driver. “Being a sole bread earner in the family, it is indispensable for me to earn daily. Earning a living from the border has never been a cakewalk. Uncertainty has always been there.” Pharmaceutical company owner goes live after NCB GMC staff nurses take out rally, action; allegations, counterclaims emerge amid probe demand revised pay grade Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 5 Two day after the arrest of a pharmaceutical firm owner by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) following the seizure of psychotropic drugs, web journalist Deepak Bhandari, who is also a partner in the company and also known for running a web channel, went live on social media to publicly present his side of the story. He firmly denied the accusations, stating that neither he nor his family members are drug peddlers. He further defended the doctors named in the case, asserting that they are legitimate medical professionals and not involved in any illegal drug trade. The NCB has registered a case under the NDPS Act against the partners of Ballista Pharmaceuticals and Deepak Bhandari doctors associated with two hospitals in Amritsar for allegedly selling narcotic drugs illegally. One of the partners of the company, Amit Bhandari, is currently in NCB custody as the investigation is underway. Bhandari specifically accused Sukhdeep Singh, Drugs Control Officer (DCO), of falsely implicating him in retaliation for a story he had done on his web channel against the officer, which included his photograph. He alleged that the entire case was a conspiracy to silence him and defame his family and friends. “This is a deliberate attempt to shut me up,” Bhandari said, adding that his company holds a valid licence for the purchase and supply of tramadol, a prescription painkiller often misused as a narcotic. He claimed that every tablet sold by Ballista Pharmaceuticals is accounted for through proper billing and that their supplies go exclusively to hospitals and registered medical practitioners. “We submit complete monthly reports to the Zonal Licensing Authority (Drugs), Amritsar. While there may be allegations of maintaining excess stock, there has been no misuse,” he added. Deepak Bhandari also stated that his legal team is actively KMSC leaders detained ahead of protest outside Shambu Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 5 The Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee has accused the state government of trying to stop farmers from reaching Shambu for their protest by using police. The committee said a large number of farmer leaders have either been arrested or detained at their homes. Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the KMSC, said, “Many senior leaders, including Manjit Singh Rai, Kaka Singh Kotla and others, have been arrested. Even Jagjit Singh Dallewal has been detained at his home.” He said all this is being done to stop farmers from going to Shambu for their protest scheduled for May 5. “The question here is why farmers are going to Shambu. We are going there because police force used brute force against peacefully A heavy police force outside the house of KMSC leader Gurbachan Singh Chabba near Amritsar on Monday. protesting farmers. Their tractor-trolleys, tents and other goods were stolen from the protest site in the presence and connivance of police personnel. We have demanded action against cops who had done this,” said Pandher. While reiterating that the protest outside the Shambu police station would be held as per the plan, Pandher asked the farming community to participate in it in large numbers. “Even the Mughals and other autocratic rulers had some ethics. But it seems continued on page 2 working on the case and that all legal matters will be handled strictly through proper judicial procedures. “I went live only to state my side of the story,” he emphasized. Meanwhile, Drugs Control Officer Sukhdeep Singh has refuted Bhandari’s claims and released an official statement. He said on May 2, , he was instructed by Kulwinder Singh, Zonal Licensing Authority (Drugs), Amritsar, to join an NCB inspection at Corporate Medicos inside Corporate Hospital on Batala Road and Lifekare Medicos inside Lifekare Hospital on Fatehgarh Churian Road. The FIR against Ballista Pharmaceuticals’ partners had already been filed a day earlier on May 1. Singh further stated that Deepak Bhandari had previously tried to attack him in connection with another case involving DSP Vavinder Mahajan. The matter was investigated by the CBI, and the preliminary report reportedly found no wrongdoing. Singh alleged that Bhandari had tried to intimidate him then as a witness and is now attempting to do so again. The firm was recently inspected by a joint team of the NCB, DCO Bableen Kaur and DCO Sukhdeep Singh on May 3. In view of Bhandari’s objections, Sukhdeep Singh has requested his department to consider a reinspection by an independent team, stating, “If Deepak Bhandari has any issues with the inspection report, I welcome a fresh audit by a different set of officers.” He concluded by saying that Deepak Bhandari is trying to demoralise an honest officer because he knows there is no other legal escape from the case. Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 5 Nursing staff members of Government Medical College took out a protest rally against the state government demanding revision in pay grade and promotional avenues here on Monday. The employees, who have been protesting for the last three days, accused the state government of advertising a different pay grade. They said they were not being given the pay grade the government had declared in the recruitment advertisement published. The nurses’ association of the college also demanded from the government to bring a one-time scheme for employees who want to shift from the directorate of medical and research to the department of health servic- Nurses of Government Medical College during a protest in Amritsar on Monday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR es and employees. The association further demanded that the services of nurses, who have worked on a contract basis for more than 10 years, should be considered for promotion. “The service period should be considered for promotion so that the seniority list of the employees could be maintained. In our profession, there are not much avenues for promotion,” said Gurmeet Kaur, a staff nurse. Raj Bedi Anand, patron of the Government Medical College Nursing Association, said, “The nurses are still not continued on page 2 Lack of amenities at city bus stand irk passengers Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 5 With the mercury rising sharply, visitors to the city’s interstate bus terminal can be seen sweating heavily for want of basic amenities like cold drinking water and fans. The scorching heat has only added to the misery of passengers, who are forced to wait in discomfort. “The drinking water taps here dish out hot water as most of the coolers are defunct. We have to buy packaged drinking water from shops, which is expensive,” said Rohan, a passenger travelling to Delhi. He said the lack of fans in the waiting area makes it more difficult for passengers to stay there. Echoing similar views, Jaswinder Singh, another passenger, said, “The condition of the bus stand is pathetic. The entrance is waterlogged and the parking area has been left dug up. It is a mess. We expect better facilities, especially when we are paying for our tickets.” The absence of basic ameni- c m y b PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR Charanjit Singh Teja Passengers sit in the waiting area of the bus stand where fans are defunct in Amritsar on Monday. ties has turned the bus terminal into a testing ground for passengers’ patience. With temperatures soaring, there is an urgent need for fans and water coolers to be in working condition. Passengers are left to fend for themselves, seeking shade and shelter from the blistering sun. The waterlogging at the entrance of the bus stand is not just an eyesore but also a safety concern. Passengers have to navigate through the puddles, risking their safety. The dug-up parking area adds to their woes. Authorities concerned must revamp infrastructure at the interstate bus terminal at the earliest. Passengers hope that their plight would not go unnoticed and that the authorities would take swift action to address these issues. Asked about the situation, passengers demanded immediate attention from the authorities. “It’s not too much to ask for basic amenities like cold water and fans. We hope the authorities would take notice and improve the facilities,” said Ranjit Kaur. The interstate bus terminal is a gateway to the city, and its condition reflects poorly on the city’s infrastructure. It is used by thousands of people daily to travel to and from different places of Punjab and many other states.