02062025-ATR-01.qxd 01-06-2025 22:53 Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MID-DAY MEAL WORKERS' UNION SEEKS HIKE IN WAGES ETO LAYS STONE OF ROAD IN JANDIALA CONSTITUENCY DOSANJH STRIKES A PLAYFUL YET CONFIDENT POSE The Mid-Day Meal Workers' Union said it would intensify its stir if their issues were not resolved. P2 Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO laid the stone of road connecting Gahri Mandi to Mahita in Jandiala. P2 MAX 38°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 28°C Diljit Dosanjh on Sunday unveiled the official motion poster for his upcoming film Sardaar Ji 3. P4 » » SUNSET MONDAY 7.15 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5.23 AM » MONDAY | 2 JUNE 2025 | AMRITSAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 1 The Amritsar Improvement Trust has unveiled plans for a major residential development in Bhai Gurdas Ji Nagar, located within the 340-acre New Amritsar township. For the first time, the Trust will construct 12 to 14-storey luxury residential flats, a significant step towards modernising the city’s housing infrastructure. A demand survey for the project began on May 13 and will continue until June 10. So far, around 650 people have submitted their applications, reflecting strong interest in the initiative. According to the proposal, the project will include a mix of High-Income Group (HIG) Super Flats, HIG Flats, and Middle-Income Group (MIG) Flats. The HIG Super Flats, with a super area of 1,610 square feet, will feature three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a store. These flats are expected to cost Rs 58.20 lakh for the fully furnished option and Rs 45.80 lakh for the unfurnished version. For the HIG Flats, which will span 1,510 square feet and include Cops bust drugs, arms smuggling racket PROJECT TO BE DEVELOPED ON 8.14 ACRES ■ The residential project will be developed on 8.14-acre site and promises to provide affordable luxury living to city residents. These high-rise flats will come with an array of modern amenities, including earthquake-resistant construction, uninterrupted water supply and power backup, high-speed elevators, broadband connectivity and CCTV surveillance. Residents will also have access to landscaped lawns, jogging tracks, balconies with every bedroom, UPVC windows, top-tier bathroom and kitchen fittings. three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a store, the prices have been set at Rs 54.90 lakh for the furnished and Rs 43.30 lakh for the unfurnished version. The MIG Flats, offering two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a store in a 1,310 square feet layout, are estimated to cost Rs 49.50 lakh for fully furnished and Rs 39.50 lakh for unfurnished. The demand survey fee is Rs 15,000 for HIG categories and Rs 10,000 for the MIG category. The residential project will be developed on 8.14-acre site and promises to provide affordable luxury living to city residents. These highrise flats will come with an array of modern amenities, including earthquake-resist- ant construction, uninterrupted water supply and power backup, high-speed elevators, broadband connectivity and CCTV surveillance. Residents will also have access to landscaped lawns, jogging tracks, balconies with every bedroom, UPVC windows, top-tier bathroom and kitchen fittings. The Trust also plans to provide facilities such as EV charging stations, rainwater harvesting systems, a clubhouse with a swimming pool, gym, spa, business centre, creche, café, housekeeping services and a shopping centre at the doorstep. Chairman, Amritsar Improvement Trust, Karamjit Singh Rintu emphasised that this is the first time Amritsar will witness the development of such high-rise luxury flats at affordable prices. The project aims to balance modern living with open green spaces, allocating only 30 per cent of the land for construction while preserving 70 per cent as open area. The entry road to the residential complex will be 100 feet wide, while the commercial complex will have an 80-foot-wide entrance. Arrested on May 30, he was being taken for recovery of arms Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 1 With the arrest of two shooters, the Amritsar Commissionerate police on Sunday claimed to have busted a terror and extortion module being run by Pakistan’s ISIsupported Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Jeevan Fauji here. They had recently fired at a furniture shop leaving one person injured. One of the shooters, identified as Gurlal Singh, alias Harman (23), a resident of Goindwal Sahib, Tarn Taran, was injured in a police encounter on Sunday when he was taken to Sultanwind area for recovery of a weapon. He was arrested by the police from Fazilka district on May 30. The other arrested accused, Karajpreet Singh (23), a resident of Verowal, Tarn Taran, was arrested from Tarn Civic negligence irks residents of New Dashmesh Nagar in Ward 24 Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 1 Acting on intelligence inputs, the Special Cell of Amritsar Rural Police has busted a transnational drugs and weapons smuggling network and recovered eight foreign-made sophisticated pistols from three traffickers in this connection. They were in touch with a Pakistan-based notorious weapon smuggler, identified as Rana. Amritsar rural SSP Maninder Singh said that those arrested were identified as Fatehbir Singh alias Gandhi, Jagroop Singh alias Lalli and Ranjit Singh alias Kaka, all residents of Vaniake in Lopoke area. They were intercepted at a check-point set up on the village Brar and Kohala link road after intelligence inputs. The police seized three Glock Gen 43 pistols (9mm), one Glock 26 Gen pistol (9mm), a .30 bore pistol, a PX5 .30 bore pistol, a Zigana pistol, 10 live cartridges of .30 bore calibre, a motorcycle used for transportation of smuggled weapons and three mobile phones. “Three persons travelling on a motorcycle were intercepted under suspicious circumstances. During preliminary questioning, the suspects were apprehended and sophisticated weapons were confiscated from them,” said Maninder Singh. Preliminary investigation reveals that the arrested persons were in direct contact with the primary suspect, identified as Dugh, a resident of Manawala. He said during technical and scientific investigations, the police found that they were in active communication with Pakistan-based arms smugglers involved in pushing weapons into Indian territory. A case under the Arms Act was registered against them and further investigation was underway to dismantle the entire terror network. BKI terrorist Jeevan Fauji’s aide injured in encounter Amritsar, June 1 Residents of New Dashmesh Nagar in Ward Number 24 are grappling with civic issues, such as choked sewers and broken manhole lids. Besides, neglected rainwater chambers continue to pose a threat to public health and safety. Despite multiple complaints lodged with the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC), no concrete action has been taken, leaving local residents upset. Moreover, the monsoon season is drawing near. The locality has been facing repeated sewer blockages due to the accumulation of silt and garbage. According to local residents, manholes and rain chambers, covers of many of which are missing or broken, are a major safety hazard, particularly for children and elderly residents. A broken manhole at New Dashmesh Nagar in Ward No.21 in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR “The condition is worsening day by day. I personally filed complaints with MC staff, but they keep passing the buck. No one is ready to take responsibility,” said Pawan Kumar, a local resident, who has been raising the issue for several weeks now. Gurpreet Singh, another resident, expressed concern over the open and broken manholes in the area. “These damaged manholes are death traps. Anyone can fall into them, especially during waterlogging in the rainy season. It’s shocking how the authorities are turning a blind eye to such a serious issue,” he said. Residents claim that some inner streets of the locality remain waterlogged for days even after mild rainfall, turning the area into a breedingground for mosquitoes. This not only leads to inconvenience to people but also raises the risk of the outbreak of vector-borne diseases, such as dengue and malaria. With the monsoon season around the corner, residents fear the situation will deteriorate further if immediate steps are not taken. “Last year, many streets were completely submerged and dirty sewer water had accumulated in streets for weeks. We cannot go through that again,” said Narinder Kumar, another local resident. The residents are demanding urgent de-silting of sewer lines, repair and replacement of manhole covers, and regular maintenance of drainage infrastructure to prevent future waterlogging. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR AIT to build luxury flats in New Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar along with other officials inspects the crime scene in Amritsar on Sunday. Taran on May 26. The police have recovered .30 bore pistol with a live round and a bike used in the crime from them. Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav said Jeevan Fauji, an active BKI member, has been targeting individuals in border districts of Punjab for extortion. He had provided a .30 bore pistol to Karajpreet and Gurlal for firing at the furniture shop on May 17. The incident had left an employee, Prince Sharma, injured. Fauji was demanding extortion money of Rs 1 lakh dollars from Manvir Singh, a Canada-based relative of the furniture shop owner. While sharing details, Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said following the disclosure of accused Gurlal, a police team took him along for the recovery of the weapon used in the crime. During this operation, the accused took out a pistol and tried to shoot at the police party. However, an alert cop caught hold of him resulting in the scuffle in which Gurlal suffered a bullet injury in the leg which was fired from his own pistol. He was immediately shifted to the Civil Hospital, Amritsar, for treatment. Police book Cong leader Vaneet Mahajan on land grab charge Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 1 Following the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Amritsar police have booked Vaneet Mahajan, Congress leader and lawyer, on charges of fraud and forgery on Sunday. Along with Mahajan, the police also booked Jasbir Singh of Katra Moti Ram and Saurav Seth of Ranjit Avenue in the case. They were booked following a complaint filed by his mother Usha Mahajan. Flanked by her other son, Avnish Mahajan, while addressing mediapersons, Usha Mahajan alleged that the accused wanted to grab her residential plot by forging documents. A complaint was lodged with the police over a year ago and an inquiry was conducted by the Assistant Commissioner of Police ACCUSED OF GRABBING MOTHER’S PLOT ■ Vaneet along with two others was booked following a complaint filed by his mother Usha Mahajan. She, along with her other son Avnish Mahajan, while addressing mediapersons, alleged that the accused wanted to grab her residential plot by forging documents. (North) in this connection. Ranjit Singh, SHO, Majitha road police station, confirmed this and said that raids were on to arrest the suspects who were absconding since the registration of an FIR. This was the fifth FIR registered against the lawyer in the past one and a half years. Usha Mahajan alleged that in 2023, she came to know that Vaneet wanted to grab her 200-yard plot located on Batala road by forging the documents. She said she lodged a complaint with the Majitha road police station after getting the copies of the fake documents and sought justice. She said she had disowned him from her property. She said the inquiry officer, ACP North, got forensic analysis done of signatures on the documents which were later found to be forged. She said that as the police did not initiate further action, she had to approach the high court for justice. She said that last month, the court directed the city police to take appropriate action within 14 days. Today, the Majiitha road police registered an FIR against Vaneet, Jasbir Singh and Saurav Seth in this regard. Chain snatchers, adamant motorcyclists beware! Police officers are on the prowl Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, June 1 In recent days, the police have embarked on the job of restoring the confidence of parents in the working of the police department and as part of this process, senior officers now visit public places, identify addicts and subsequently take them to de-addiction centres. “Earlier, the drug was available on the streets but suddenly it has disappeared. We are indeed relieved,” said Suresh Verma, a parent. This concept has been initiated ever since the flights of drones carrying payloads of heroin coming in from across the international border (IB) have considerably subsided. Sources say this is the result of the anti-drone mechanism installed near the IB by Punjab Police recently. The other factor is that Post Operation Sindoor, the Pakistani state and non-state actors have decided to take things slowly SSP Aditya is seen mentoring students of the Gurdaspur Meritorious School. till the war’s din dies down. A man dressed in civvies, having the unmistakable gait of an officer, enters the main gate of Fish park-also called the city’s walkers paradiselate in the evening and starts mingling with the locals. SSP Aditya is not on a fit- ness run; hence his walk is slow and steps measured. His primary aim is to talk to the walkers and elicit their views on how policing is going on. Recently, he has volunteered to be the ‘Mentor’ of Gurdaspur Meritorious School. He regularly goes to c m y b the school on Batala road and delivers pep talks to students against drugs and on how to embark on a successful career. “I have taken up this assignment for two years,” he said. This is an unprecedented development as leave alone an IPS officer, not even middle- rung officers had ever sauntered alone into a crowd to know what exactly is happening in the city. “In the last 15 years I have not seen an SSP rank officer discussing the city’s problems in public places like parks,” said Sushma Sharma, an expert who teaches yoga to women in the Fish Park. Before the India-Pakistan hostilities started, drones carrying payloads of heroin regularly swarmed this border district due to which the availability of drugs was embarrassingly easy. However, once the fighting ended on May 10 and the ceasefire came into force, these drones, too, stopped flying in from Pakistan. Officers say the recent arrests of several carriers, who pick up heroin packets from near the IB and deliver it to the big fish for further delivery, is one of the reasons why the drug is not available now. “Nothing is more distressing and upsetting for parents to know their wards are on drugs. I have spoken to many parents and now we are jointly making efforts to send these youngsters to rehabilitation centres,” said SSP Aditya. His walks, and those of other senior officers at different places of the town, have become the talk of the town. Minutes after he stepped into the Fish-park, the SSP hears a loud sound originating from the motorcycle’s modified silencer. His guards stop the two motorcycle-borne youngsters. The SSP who reaches the spot, , tells the boys that they will be challaned. One of the boys says he is related to a local ruling party leader. “Challan them and then let them cool their heels in the City police station,” he tells his guards as they quickly take away the boys and their bike. The message is loud and clear that crime and criminals have no place in the town. In fact, residents heaved a sigh of relief the day the police arrested Harvinder Soni, vice-president of the Punjab Shiv Sena (Thackeray) for misbehaving with policemen when they went to his house for some work. Locals were elated because Soni had been creating nuisance every now and then in the city.