14072025-ATR-01.qxd 7/13/2025 10:44 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY SPECIAL INSPECTION DRIVE IN TARN TARAN AUJLA: LIFTING WASTE FROM BHAGTANWALA NOT A SOLUTION HEARTBREAK, HOPE AND A STORY STRAIGHT FROM SOUL The district police launched a special drive aimed at ensuring safety and security of the general public. P2 MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla has said just lifting garbage from the Bhagtanwala site is not a permanent solution. P2 MAX 34°C | MIN 29°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 29°C An eternal romantic, director Mohit Suri has often made hearts ache with his stories of heartbreaking love. P4 » » SUNSET MONDAY 7.36 PM » SUNRISE TUESDAY 5.35 AM MONDAY | 14 JULY 2025 | AMRITSAR Four booked for thrashing granthi Amritsar, July 13 The Lopoke police have booked four persons for allegedly thrashing a granthi who stopped them from consuming some drugs near a gurdwara. The incident occurred at Thatha village on Saturday evening. Those booked were identified as Ashwani, Sonu, Heera Singh and Kabal Singh, all residents of Chogawan. No arrest has been made till now. Victim Sarwan Singh (50) told the police that he works as a granthi at Gurdwara Baba Jeewan Singh at Thatha village. He said yesterday, he had gone to the Chogwan village gurdwara where he found four persons consuming some kind of drugs opposite to the shrine. He said when he objected to this, the accused starting beating him up. He said he was badly thrashed and seriously injured by them. When nearby residents started gathering, the accused escaped from the spot. Residents rushed him to the Lopoke Civil Hospital for treatment. — OC ACCEPTED DEMANDS REMAIN UNFULFILLED Employees’ unions to take part in agitation Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, July 13 District-level representatives of different employees and pensioners’ unions of Powercom/Transco held a meeting at Guru Arjun Dev Sarai here on Sunday. They decided to take part in the agitation announced by the organizations to press the government for implementing their current demands. Representatives of the PSEB Employees’ Joint Forum, the Bijli Mulazm Ekta Manch, Punjab, the Junior Engineers Association, the Pensioners’ Welfare Federation, Powercom/Transco and other unions participated in the meeting. State leader Gurpreet Singh Gandiwind, Sukhwinder Singh Chahal, Gurbhej Singh Dhillon, Amrik Singh Kang and Pooran Singh Marimegha addressed on the occasion. Leaders of the unions took a serious note of the attitude of the state government and the management of the Video of addicts go viral on social media Tribune News Service Leaders of different employees’ unions during a meeting held in Tarn Taran on Sunday. GURBAXPURI Powerom/Transco for not implementing their demands accepted during the meeting held on June 2 chaired by Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO and officials of the management. They said despite the appeals made to the state government and the management for fulfilling the accepted demands, nothing has been done in this regard so for and to lodge their protest, employees have been holding work-to-rule agitation from June 25. The leaders said to push for the implementation of the accepted demands, employees would hold a circle-level convention on July 18 in Tarn Taran and then they would organise a division-level demonstration in Patti, Bhikhiwind, Beas, Tarn Taran city and in sub-urban areas on July 24. The leaders said employees would attend the state-level demonstration to be held in front of the Amritsar residence of Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on July 27 in a big number and employees would organize a flag march in Amritsar on that day. The leaders appealed to state government and the management of the Powercom /Transco for the implementation of the accepted demands without delay. Amritsar, July 13 A number of disturbing videos, showing individuals under the influence of drugs, have gone viral on social media platforms, highlighting the persistent issue of drug abuse in the region. Footage includes men and women seen staggering along roadsides, allegedly intoxicated. One recent incident involved a woman at Mehma village, who was accused by locals of selling narcotics. In the video, she claimed that she was there to procure drugs while her alleged supplier fled the scene. Villagers recovered two pouches of narcotics and handed her over to the police. On June 23, a video showed two young men injecting drugs in Maqboolpura. Prior to that, a similar footage appeared on a social media platform showing a woman A video grab of a woman caught recently by villagers for selling drugs in a village of Amritsar. and a man allegedly taking narcotics on 100 Feet Road. The woman claimed she was an addict and that the police were aware of her situation. Despite repeated seizures and arrests, authorities admit that access to contraband remains widespread. A significant challenge is the relapse of rehabilitated addicts. Assistant Commissioner of Police Dr Sheetal Singh referred to a case involving a woman found near a bus stand, who had been admitted to the government rehabilitation centre three times in June, but refused to give consent for continued treatment. She was transferred to an OAAT centre with authorities now seeking the support of an NGO for her recovery. Expert Dr Jaswinder Singh Gandhi emphasised that while anti-drug campaigns are commendable, the long-term battle requires persistent public involvement and stronger rehabilitation measures. He stressed the need for reintegration programmes alongside law enforcement efforts. Huge quantity of ‘beef’ seized from illegal Crop damaged due to waterlogging, farmers factory in city, five UP residents nabbed demand loss assessment, compensation Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 13 Acting on a tip-off by an NGO, “Gau Raksh Dal”, the Amritsar rural police along with officials of the Health Department have confiscated a huge quantity of ‘beef’ from an illegal factory located near Chabba village on the Tarn Taran road here on Saturday evening. The police have arrested five persons from the spot while the prime accused, identified as Mohammad Imran, of Meerut along with several women fled the spot before the arrival of the police. Those arrested were identified as Naseem Ansari, alias Bittu Ansari, Saanu, Imran, Haseen Mohammad and Mohammad Imran. All the accused belong to Uttar Pradesh. “A case under Sections 3, 5 and 8 of the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act and Section 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Sections 299, 153, 325, 111 (3), 190 and 191 (3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered against them,” said the police. The police recovered 1650 kg of alleged cow meat along Amritsar, July 13 Recent spells of rain in the region have caused significant damage to crops, particularly paddy and maize, with nearly 400 acres affected due to waterlogging and poor drainage system. Farmers of various villages like Bhindi Saidian, Jhunj, Hashampura and Bhindi Khurd in Ajnala have reported losses ranging from 30 per cent to 100 per cent, sparking a widespread outrage and demands for compensation. Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala, a prominent leader of the Sanyukat Kisan Morcha and state president of the Jamhuri Kisan Sabha, said he has visited dozens of villages to assess the damage. He lamented that the lack of a transparent policy by the Punjab Government regarding crop losses has left farmers without proper compensation since the current government came to power. The affected farmers have expressed their frustration, stating that they have not received adequate compensation for their losses during Man booked on abduction charge Tarn Taran, July 13 The city police have booked a resident of the local Muradpur locality in connection with the abduction of a teenage girl. The victim went missing under mysterious circumstances on July 1. The victim was abducted when she was alone in the house as her parents were daily wage earners and were for work. The family has been making allout efforts to trace the girl. Kirpal Singh, ASI (city police), said on the statement of the victim’s father, suspect Palwinder Singh Rahul of the Muradpur locality has been booked under Sections 137 (2) and 87 of the BNS. It is alleged that the accused abducted her by luring to marry her. — OC The seized packets of ‘beef’ seized during a raid at an illegal factory in Amritsar. with 6,000 boxes and packing material with ‘halal meat’ written on it. The boxes also had the sticker, which showed “manufactured in Andhra Pradesh”. Satish Kumar, a resident of Patiala, national president of the organization, along with a local leader got the tip-off about an illegal cow-slaughtering factory on the Tarn Taran road, which was involved in cow slaughtering in a illegal manner. He alleged the factory was being run by Mohammad Imran of Meerut who had a number of cases of similar nature registered against him in Jalandhar and other parts of the country. He said he along with local leaders of the organization raided the factory and also informed the police about it. They found five persons on the spot who were detained and handed over to the police. The police found sharp-edged weapons used for slaughtering of cows. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Attari, Lakhbir Singh said a case has been registered and raids were on to nab the absconders. He said further investigations are in progress. Officials of the Health Department have taken samples of the meat to ascertain whether it was beef or some other meat. The boxes recovered from the spot have a note “buffalo meat” written on it. Farmers show the paddy crop damaged due to the excess water in Ajnala area. the previous season too. Dr Ajnala demanded that the government provide compensation for maize and paddy crops, with the compensation amount ranging from Rs 25,000 to Rs 60,000 per acre, depending on the extent of the damage. The farmers have also demanded immediate crop assessment and stated that compensation should be released at the earliest. Dr Ajnala strongly emphasised the need for prompt action to alleviate the suffering of the farmers. Other prominent figures, including Harnek Singh Nepal, Gurpal Gill, and Charan Singh Bhindi Aulakh, have also joined the demand for full compensation for damages and stated that the government should come up with a policy regarding compensation for the crop losses due to extreme weather conditions. Harnek Singh said if the departments concerned had cleaned the drains and channels which could have helped in proper drainage of the excess water, the farmers could have been saved from suffering losses. He said the situation highlights the need for a more effective and responsive agricultural policy that addresses the concerns of farmers and provides them with adequate support during times of crisis. IMPROPER WASTE DISPOSAL Polling for vacant posts of sarpanches, MC to take action against govt depts, pvt institutions panches on July 27 Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, July 13 Polling for vacant posts of sarpanches (nine posts) and panches (99 posts of member panchayats) in the district would be held on July 27 from 8 am to 4 pm and the counting completed the same day. District Election Officercum-Deputy Commissioner Rahul said here on Sunday that the schedule in this regard has been released by the State Election Commission. The DEO-cum-DC said the nomination papers would be filed from July 14 to 17 from 11 am to 3 pm and the scrutiny to be held done on July 18 and the date of withdrawal has been fixed on July 19. The election process is to be completed till July 28. The DEO-cum-DC said the nomination papers and other relevant papers are available on the website of the State Election Commission and the other details of the vacant posts of sarpanches and panches with reservation, name of the returning officer, the assistant returning officer along with the whole election schedule is available on the website of the district administration. Amritsar, July 13 The Amritsar Municipal Corporation has decided to take stringent action against government departments, hospitals and private institutions if they are found accumulating garbage within their premises instead of scientifically disposing it off. The move comes in the wake of increasing complaints and health concerns arising due to unhygienic waste disposal practices in various establishments across the city. MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh said it has come to the administration’s notice that several institutions, including government offices and pri- c m y b Piles of garbage on the pavement of a road at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR vate organisations, have been collecting and retaining waste, dirt and unhygienic refuse within their premises. Offi- cials warned that such practices not only contribute to environmental degradation but also pose serious public health risks, including the spread of vector-borne and communicable diseases. Following the directions of MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh, notices will now be served on all such establishments under Section 279 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976. The section clearly mandates that owners and occupiers of properties are responsible for maintaining cleanliness within their premises and are obliged to hand over waste to the municipal corporation’s collection vehicles. The MC Commissioner emphasised waste should not be stored or dumped within the boundaries of institutions. Instead, it must be disposed of in designated public bins or dustbins provided by the municipal corporation. Strict action will be taken against those who fail to comply with the directives. Penalties and legal measures may be initiated under the provisions of the MC Act. The civic body has urged all institutions concerned to adhere to these waste management norms to ensure a cleaner and healthier Amritsar. The municipal corporation has also appealed to the public to cooperate in maintaining civic hygiene and report any violations they observe.