29072025-ATR-01.qxd 7/28/2025 10:49 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY SLIP ROAD NEAR BHANDARI BRIDGE RIDDLED WITH POTHOLES TWO WOMEN AMONG SIX HELD WITH DRUGS YOUNGER GENERATION’S NEEDS ARE DIFFERENT: RITU KUMAR The slip road along the Bhandari Bridge extension leading to the railway station is in bad shape. P2 Six persons were arrested by the Amritsar Rural Police allegedly for drug smuggling in separate cases. P2 MAX 33°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 28°C The veteran fashion designer says that fashion changes due to younger generation’s ever-changing needs. P4 » » SUNSET TUESDAY 7.28 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.44 AM » TUESDAY | 29 JULY 2025 | AMRITSAR MC launches biggest civic drive to elevate its cleanliness ranking BEAUTIFICATION DRIVE DAY 1 Tribune News Service The seized rolls of synthetic kite in custody of the Sultanwind police in Amritsar on Monday. Rolls of synthetic kite string, illegal liquor seized; 1 held Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 Even as this is not a season for kite flying, the illegal sale and purchase of synthetic kite string is going on secretly if the seizure of over 50 rolls of synthetic kite string is anything to go by. The Sultanwind police on Monday arrested property dealer, identified as Gagandeep Singh (46), a resident of New Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar (now Guru Nanak Avenue, Kot Mit Singh), and seized 54 rolls of Chinese kite string. During investigations, the police also stumbled upon illegal liquor from his possession. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishaljit Singh said the Sultanwind police led by SHO Rajinder Singh seized as many as 54 rolls of deadly kite string from his possession. He said his backward and forward linkages were being looked into to find out the source of the string which is widely used by people during the festivals of Lohri and Basant for flying kites. He said during search, the police also recovered as many as 78 bottles from him. He could not produce any documents regarding the liquor, which was, therefore, seized. Amritsar, July 28 The Amritsar Municipal Corporation has launched what it calls the biggest civic campaign to elevate city’s national cleanliness ranking and enhance its visual appeal. The initiative also aims to attract participation from residential, social and other institutions in the collective development of the city. The campaign was officially flagged off at the iconic Golden Gate on the GT Road, the main entry point to the city. MC Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh inaugurated the campaign in the presence of religious leader Baba Kashmir Singh of Dera Baba Bhuriwale and local MLAs. Over the next seven days, the campaign will be carried out MC workers busy in the beautification drive near the Golden Gate in Amritsar on Monday. across all the city zones and will conclude at Darbar Sahib. Speaking at the launch, Aulakh highlighted that this campaign goes beyond the usual scope of cleanliness drives. Unlike previous efforts that focused primarily on sanitation and routine mainte- nance, this is a comprehensive initiative involving multiple departments of the municipal corporation. The work under the campaign will include civil repairs, such as footpath restoration, fixing damaged roads, carrying out patchwork, improving central verges, and horticultural activities. It will also address maintenance issues like cleaning sewers, repairing manhole covers and resolving streetlight faults. Additionally, the estate and advertisement departments will work to remove illegal encroachments and unautho- rized hoardings that mar the city’s appearance. He said the campaign will be carried out in collaboration with different institutions every day. He appealed to NGOs, resident welfare associations, social organisations and business communities to come forward and join hands with the municipal corporation. Interested institutions have been encouraged to visit the MC office and engage in discussions with officials about contributing to the development of their respective localities. The MC Commissioner said the main objective of the campaign is to achieve the all-round development of the city and foster a sense of collective ownership among its residents. He added that such campaigns will continue in the future, ensuring that Amritsar not only becomes cleaner but also emerges as one of the most beautiful and wellmanaged cities in the country. Major disaster averted in Batala following gas leak incident Panchayat Dept reclaims 25 acres of encroached land in Karyal village Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Batala, July 28 A major disaster was averted in the city following a gas leak incident in the busy Umarpura locality on the Batala-Jalandhar road. Despite the fact that the incident occurred on Saturday, the ambers are still simmering with livid residents asking the district administration to immediately fix responsibility. Reacting to the residents rage, the cops registered an FIR today. SSP Suhail Qasim Mir said a criminal case had been registered at the Civil Lines police station. “We have started investigations into the case. I have formed a team of senior officers, which will be fixing the cul- Batala Mayor Sukhdeep Singh Teja along with others visits the injured person at the Batala Civil Hospital. pability of those responsible for the incident,” he said. For two hours, the city remained sitting on a powder-keg as MC officials went on an overdrive to control the damage. Four persons have sustained burn injuries. One of them has been shifted to DMC, Ludhiana, two have been referred to hospitals in Amritsar while one has been admitted to the Batala Civil Hospital. The person admitted to DMC is said to be in a serious condition. A team of a reputed mobile company, Airtel, was engaged in excavating the earth to lay an underground cable when some residents pointed out that a natural gas pipeline recently laid by Gujarat Gas Limited was passing nearby. However, the digging went on uninterrupted following which the pipeline caught fire. The fire gutted a nearby shop even as residents ran helterskelter to save themselves. Various types of rumours were thick in the air as police investigators got busy in their inquiries. People claimed that an LPG cylinder had burst before officials confirmed that “a natural gas pipeline had burst leading to the fire”. Natural gas is often delivered through pipelines while LPG is stored in liquid form under pressure in tanks. Old-timers say the city had a providential escape because the leak emanating from a natural gas pipeline was controlled on time “otherwise we would have been involved in a major disaster”. A senior officer said natural gas is highly inflammable and could have devoured people living nearby. “Natural gas is a combustible fuel composed of methane. It is highly inflammable. Its flammability is why this gas is used as a fuel source for heating and cooking. Safety measures are crucial when handling natural gas to prevent leaks and ignition. The people engaged in digging did continued on page 2 Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 The Panchayat Department successfully reclaimed 25 acres of land at Karyal village in the district. The land was peacefully retrieved from encroachers and officially handed over to the village panchayat. Panchayat officials claimed that the initiative has been taken under the Punjab Government’s ongoing drive to vacate illegally encroached government land. The land recovery operation was conducted under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, who claimed that the administration is actively implementing the state-wide campaign to reclaim public land from illegal occupation. According to Block Development Officer (BDO) Harsha Cheena Pragat Singh, the land had been under unauthorised occupation by multiple individuals for a long time. The District Development and Panchayat Officer’s (DDPO) court had earlier ruled in favour of the panchayat under Section 7 of the Punjab Village Common Lands Act. Acting on the legal decision, a team led by Revenue Department and police officials executed a peaceful eviction. The action was carried out legally with the help of an official warrant and included coordination between the Revenue Department and the city police. Duty Magistrate and Ajnala Tehsildar Gurmukh Singh led the team, which included Bhindi Saidan SHO Satnam Singh, Kanungo Harvinder Kumar, Panchayat Officer Kulvinder Singh and Patwari Gurvinder Singh. Together, they ensured that the land was vacated without any resistance and was duly handed back to the village panchayat. Officials stated that such actions will continue in the future to protect public land and restore it for rightful community use. The successful and peaceful execution of this eviction sets a positive example for similar operations across the state,” added the BDO. EXPLAINER How Golden Temple’s surrounding areas changed over the years Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, July 28 HE Local Government Department’s directions to regulate the construction of tall buildings around the Golden Temple are virtually an admission by the authorities that over the years, its surroundings have undergone a major change in a manner that needs urgent redressal. In violation of national and international norms governing the historical monuments, contemporary modern structures have come up, drastically changing the skyline around the 450year-old Sikh shrine. The mismatch between the original and present character is reflected in a comparison between old paintings of the shrine and photographs of the present ones. T The changing skyline Over the years, professionals engaged in development of the area around the Sikh shrine have apparently not bothered to refer to Chapter-12 of the National Commission on Urbanisation — 1988 report, which mentions certain guidelines for the maintenance of historical monuments. It categorically states that old cities were not designed for auto- mobile traffic. However, over the years, massive damage to the traditional fabric of this historic walled city has been done by road widening and beautification schemes, such as the approach road project, elevated road project, corridor plan and the Golden Temple entrance plaza. Going a step ahead, a spatial conservation planner, Dr Balvinder Singh, former head of Guru Ram Das School of Planning, Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), said numerous commercial structures have come up around the Golden Temple, which have altered its skyline forever. The area was once home to rich Sikh architecture. However, incongruous interventions have altered the surroundings of Darbar Sahib. Citing an “incongruous skyline” near the Golden Temple complex, an overhead water tank was demolished several years ago. Later the authorities, however, lowered their watch and several new buildings, including glass structures, came up defeating the purpose of the entire exercise. Recently, Local Bodies Minister Dr Ravjot Singh, in a communiqué mentioned about the buildings which are disturbing the skyline of the walled city in general and the Golden Temple area in Many multi-storey buildings have come up near the complex particular. Construction of these structures should be reviewed as per the already laid down bylaws of this specific area. If there is any violation of the bylaws, then strict action will be taken against the violators. He also demanded an action taken report in the matter within a week. Conservationists are of the opinion that the directions came too late as contemporary modern structures have already come up in the narrow winding bylanes of the walled city. They believe that the bylaws for the walled city, which also included surroundings of the Golden Temple complex, should be reviewed. They did not appreciate the change in land use from residential to commercial. While enough damage has already been done, still many areas like Katra Ahluwalia, Chowk Baba Sahib, Bazar Kesarya, Pratap Bazar, the area around Baba Attal retain their original character. The area around the holiest Sikh shrine is characterised by open spaces and traditional wells, all features which are visible in any city which has its origin in middle or ancient history. c m y b Changes over the ages The holy city has seen various ups and downs in its physical growth during its history. Initially, it was the victim of Mughal rulers, but the Sikh Misls period from 1765 to 1802 is considered to have been favourable for its development. Many areas still retain the memory of the Sikh Misls, who were instrumental in setting up several Katras. Several areas in the walled city continue to be popular from Misl names like Katra Dal Singh, Katra Charat Singh, Qila Bhangiya and Qila Ahluwalia. During the period, various Akharas (Centres of learning), Bungas (rest houses), Havelis (house with courtyard), Forts and Gardens were developed. Notably, the names of localities with Baghs like Bagh Ramanand, havelis and Qila continue to be popular in common parlance but these structures are no longer visible due to rampant commercialisation and ignoring history. The period of legendary Sikh Maharaja Ranjit Singh from 180249 is considered the golden period for the physical development of the holy city. It was during this period that a wall around the city with 12 gates was constructed, a fort in the name of Guru Gobind Singh was strengthened and a beautiful garden based on the Shalimar Bagh, Lahore, was created in the name of Guru Ramdas, the founder of the city. Decorative and architectural elements in the form of frescoes and other ornamental elements were then added, but these are now barely visible in its walled part. It was during this period that Sri Harmandir Sahib was decorated with frescoes and other art forms, such as tukri, inlaid stone, mohrakashi, gold embossing etc. During the colonial rule, the British altered the historic Rambagh’s layout and many incongru- ous additions were made in the Gobind Garh Fort, thereby destroying its originality. Major portions of the wall and gates were demolished and the moat was filled up. To quote Prof PC Khanna in his paper ‘The Ram Bagh — The splendour It Was’: “It is rather unfortunate that the well-knit place of civic design created by the Maharaja, like his dynasty, was soon destroyed after his death, through the vandalism of petty bureaucracy and unimaginative military, engineers and surveyors of British. To begin with, it was renamed, after the East India Company, to Company Bagh. They tried to superimpose their own design in Ram Bagh. The garden at present is thus a hotchpotch of formal and informal styles”. The next period from 1947 to 2006 was the worst period for this city. It was badly affected by the partition of the country in 1947. Due to riots, about 30 per cent of the areas in the walled city were burnt and replaced with new localities and structures. Appreciating the government’s direction to regulate the construction of tall buildings around the Golden Temple, now conservationists want it to devise a plan to preserve the old structures symbolic of Sikh and other medieval architecture.