27062025-ATR-01.qxd 27-06-2025 00:33 Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 28°C GNDU INKS PACT WITH UZBEKISTAN VARSITY DAKSH SANDHU MAKES WAVES IN US SOCCER SCENE SRK IS NOT JUST AN ACTOR, HE’S AN EMOTION: SHIVANGI The MoU will strengthen international academic, research and training collaboration. P2 With roots in Amritsar, Daksh Sandhu plays for Sound FC, a premier youth soccer club. P3 Shah Rukh Khan, the King of B-Town, has completed 33 incredible years in the Indian film industry. P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 7.28 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5.24 AM » FRIDAY | 27 JUNE 2025 | AMRITSAR farmers, MC wakes up to monsoon woes Showers cheer civic body expose claims of Commissioner holds review meeting, orders inspection, cleaning ofdrains Tribune News Service Gurbaxpuri Amritsar, June 26 Heavy to moderate rainfall lashed Amritsar since 4 am on Wednesday, inundating several low-lying areas and creating waterlogging in various parts of the city. Areas like Heritage Street, MM Malviya Road, Bus Stand, Balata Road and other major streets experienced flooding, offering much-needed relief from the oppressive heat but also exposing gaps in the city’s drainage system. In response, Municipal Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh chaired a review meeting with officials of the Municipal Corporation, L&T, PWD and traffic police to evaluate the city’s monsoon preparedness. He instructed zone-wise staff to ensure daily monitoring of roads and proper drainage, especially in rain-affected areas. Use of suction pumps and operational readiness of all de-watering equipment was emphasised. MC Commissioner Aulakh took strong exception to L&T’s delay in repairing roads dug up under the Canal-Based Water Supply Scheme. He directed that a warning letter be issued to the company and instructed officials to impose Tarn Taran, June 26 Heavy rainfall in the district on Thursday was welcomed by farmers who were waiting for it for the last many days. With temperature soaring, they were concerned about the yield of their crops. The rain also exposed the tall claims of the local Municipal Council authorities of making arrangements in advance to drain out the rainwater. Knee-deep water accumulated on all roads, bazaars and other areas in the city besides some government offices in the town. Harpal Singh Pannu, Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO), said there had been 38 mm of rainfall in Tarn Taran and 32 mm in Patti sub-division. The Chief Agriculture Officer said that the rain will prove to be much beneficial for the farmers as it is the peak time to sow the paddy crop in the district and rainwater was necessary for the crop already sown.Normal life was derailed, especially in the morning, as power supply was suspended for hours and waterlogging affected normal work in the town. The accumulation of kneedeep water on Amritsar-Chabal bypass affected normal Devotees make their way past a waterlogged Heritage Street near Golden Temple in Amritsar during rain on Thursday. VISHAL KUMAR penalties if repairs were not completed on time. PWD officials informed that estimates for repairing roads falling under the municipal area had been prepared and would be implemented once approvals were granted. The traffic police assured full cooperation in removing illegal encroachments that obstruct road infrastructure. The MC Commissioner acknowledged that visible improvements were seen due to ongoing efforts for the upkeep and beautification of major city roads. However, he warned that delays in post- The SDM court complex was filled with rainwater in Tarn Taran. traffic and it became difficult to drain out the rainwater. The worst affected was the SDM office complex which was filled with rainwater. It may be mentioned that it is the SDM who is also the Administrator of the Municipal Council, Tarn Taran. The road leading to the office of the Tarn Taran MLA Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal, the local city police station complex, Gandhi Municipal Park, Municipal Council complex, Old Grain Market and other places were filled with rainwater. The situation is expected to continue for a few more days. Jasbir Singh Thekedar, former president, said the situation could have been prevented had the municipal authorities cleaned the underground pipes and the storm sewerage system in advance. Arvinderpal Singh, SDM-cum-Administrator, Municipal Council, neither responded to mobile phone calls or to messages sent on his WhatsApp number. Surjit Singh, a farmer of Mundapind village, said the heavy rain was being awaited by farmers and will prove to be of much benefit for the paddy crop. project restoration, particularly by L&T, were worsening waterlogging during rain. He reiterated that negligence would not be tolerated and strict action, including financial penalties, would follow if timely compliance was not ensured. Furthermore, he instructed the Estate Officer to work in coordination with traffic police to remove the remaining illegal encroachments from key roads. To maintain cleanliness in the city, both Health Officers were directed to conduct joint inspections of main roads and ensure thorough sanitation. Family assaulted over property dispute, 6 booked for murder bid Four held with drugs, arms in separate cases No action in tree felling case despite activist’s plea deep’s wife Preet Kaur, Major Singh, his two sons Amritpal Singh and Vishal Singh, all residents of Kaler village here. Kanwaljit Kaur, wife of Ranjit Singh, the complainant, stated to the police on Tuesday night that they were present in the house when her brothers-in-law —Jodha Singh and Gurdeep Singh – along with others who were equipped with sharp and blunt weapons, barged into her house. She alleged that they attacked her husband Ranjit Singh who fell down and the accused then hit him with swords. He suffered injuries in the arms and face. Kanwaljit Kaur said when her father Dilbagh Singh tried to intervene and Amritsar, June 26 Mehta police arrested a drug peddler with 262 grams of heroin along with a .32 bore pistol with two live rounds of ammunition and a motorcycle. The drug peddler was identified as Soni Singh alias Sonu of Tanel village, falling under Mattewal police here. Similarly, Ramdass police seized 562 sedative pills from Harpal Singh alias Babblu of Kuralia village. In another incident, Rajasansi police arrested two persons, identified as Harpreet Singh alias Happy of Bal village and Kamalpreet Singh of Tahirpur village in UP The . police seized two countrymade pistols and a live round. The police also impounded their bike. — TNS Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 26 A property dispute turned ugly in Kaler village when a group of armed persons attacked a family with weapons, leaving two persons seriously injured. The victims, Dilbagh Singh and Ranjit Singh, were admitted to a private hospital for treatment. The accused were brothers and relatives of victim Ranjit Singh. The police have booked six persons on charges of attempt to murder and other relevant sections of Bhartiya Nayaya Sanhita while no arrest has been made so far. Those booked were identified as Jodha Singh, his brother Gurdeep Singh, Gur- Drug addicts found injecting buprenorphine Amritsar, June 26 Drug addicts in the Maqboolpura are now trying to take buprenorphine tablets from OOAT centres by way of injecting it in the veins after dissolving it. This came to light when a video went viral on social media. The Maqboolpura police identified both the youth and booked them under the NDPS Act. Dr Sheetal Singh, ACP (East), said that they were actually injecting buprenorphine after dissolving it. “This is the first of its kind incident,” said the ACP while adding that a probe would be carried out to ascertain how these medicines, provided to registered drug users at government OOAT centres, were being misused. He said it was also being verified from where they had got the tablets. — TNS save Ranjit Singh, the accused attacked him with swords. During the attack, his four fingers were severed from the hand. He also sustained grievous injuries in his arms, legs and shoulder. She said when her son Sartaj Singh intervened, he was also thrashed. Hearing their shouts and cries, the people started gathering following which the accused fled the scene. About the reason behind the attack, she told the police that they had built a new house and this had not gone down well with the accused. ASI Jaswinder Singh said that raids were being carried to arrest the suspects who have been absconding since the incident. Further probe was in progress, he added. Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 26 Even after six long months, no action has been taken on a complaint regarding unauthorised cutting of trees in a residential area of Amritsar, exposing the apathy and bureaucratic delay within the city’s administrative machinery. A local social activist, Anil Khanna, continues to run from pillar to post, urging action against those responsible, but his repeated efforts have only been met with silence, indifference and endless forwarding of complaints. On January 16 this year, Khanna filed an online complaint with the Commissioner of Police, Municipal Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner regarding the illegal felling of trees in a park at Katra Moti Ram. He alleged that mature trees were chopped and the wood was taken away from the site. However, instead of redressing the grievances promptly, the complainant has spent the last six months moving from one department to another, with no one taking responsibility. According to Khanna, more than 18 officers have handled the complaint, but none have taken concrete action. “Initially, there was no response. Then the officers simply started forwarding the email from one desk to another,” he said. The Deputy Commissioner’s office uploaded the complaint on the Punjab Government Grievance Portal, which was then forwarded to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. On February 3, the Chief Conservator of Forests resolved the complaint with a remark that the location does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department, yet he did not forward it to any relevant authority. As a result, the complaint was marked “resolved” without any ground action, further misleading the system with incorrect closure status. Anil Khanna filed an appeal on March 17 this year again. Since then, the appeal has been in a never-ending loop of bureaucratic forwarding, passed among officers in the Department of Local Government at least 18 times. Still, no accountability has been fixed, and no investigation has been initiated on the ground. “It’s become a joke. These officials are experts in forwarding complaints. They treat this like a game, passing the file without resolution. Nobody is serious about protecting the city’s green cover,” Khanna remarked. In his latest effort, Khanna has now written directly to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking his intervention. “All these officers are being paid for lip service. Kindly look into the matter and fix responsibility with a time-bound action plan,” he wrote. Historic Ram Bagh’s beauty marred by weeds & neglect Charanjit Singh Teja Concerns voiced ahead of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death anniversary Tribune News Service Amritsar, June 26 As June 29, the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh approaches, the historic Summer Palace in Ram Bagh, once a symbol of royal grandeur, lies in utter neglect. Despite crores being spent on its conservation under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme and renovation of Summer Palace by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board, the parks are far from the condition they deserve to be in. The 84-acre Ram Bagh, once a pristine quadrilateral garden (Chahar Bagh) around the Summer Palace of the Sikh ruler, now presents a grim picture. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is responsible for the park’s upkeep, Ill-maintained parks in the Summer Palace of historic Ram Bagh on Thursday. PHOTOS: VISHAL KUMAR reportedly has only one gardener to maintain the entire area under its control. Due to this chronic understaffing, wild growth of weeds, untrimmed shrubs and withering ornamental plants dominate the landscape. The parks are not only overgrown and mismanaged, but also filthy and foulsmelling. Rats can be seen scurrying around in large numbers. According to regu- c m y b lar visitors, leftover food from nearby clubs and visitors continues to attract rodents, worsening the situation. The Municipal Corporation, too, appears to have turned a blind eye to the gar- den’s dismal condition. The Summer Palace itself, after 14 years of meticulous conservation work, was reopened as a museum by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board. While the building is under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the museum is managed by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Department. However, the project to construct a wall to link watch towers was incomplete due to encroachments in the garden. Heritage lovers now urge immediate intervention from the state and Central authorities to clean up the park, remove encroachments and restore the dignity of one of Punjab’s most important historical landmarks. Kuljit Singh of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Virasat March, said while expressing his concern, “With the death anniversary of Maharaja Ranjit Singh just days away, one would expect some attention to be given to such a historic site. Unfortunately, no one seems to be bothered.” Shri Om, an office-bearer of the ASI, said, “We have written to the head office for the outsourcing of gardeners for the upkeep the parks. We will do a follow-up.”