14082025-ATR-01.qxd 8/13/2025 10:57 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 30°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 27°C POLICE STEP UP VIGIL AHEAD OF INDEPENDENCE DAY VALLAH'S HISTORY OF DEVOTION & SACRIFICE BONEY SHARES POST ON SRIDEVI’S 62ND BIRTH ANNIV The local police conducted search operations and flag march across the city on Wednesday. P2 Known for Guru Tegh Bahadu’s visit and its residents who were instrumental in Sikh morchas and freedom struggle.P3 It has been seven years since the world lost Sridevi, but her legacy & charm are still alive in the hearts of her fans. P4 » » » SUNSET THURSDAY 7:06 PM SUNRISE FRI 5:49 AM THURSDAY | 14 AUGUST 2025 | AMRITSAR After HC order, police officer likely to get promoted as SP Finishing touches Balbir Singh took part in Dinanagar anti-terror ops Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 13 After the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered the state government to promote Inspector Balbir Singh to the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) after a 10-yearlong legal battle, he is now likely to get promoted to the rank of a Superintendent of Police (SP) soon. Balbir Singh was already promoted to the post of DSP on seniority basis in 2019. He had sustained bullet injuries during counter-terror operations CLAIM OVERLOOKED ■ Balbir Singh was promoted as DSP on seniority basis in 2019. ■ He was deputed with a PAP unit at the time of Dinanagar terror attack. ■ His claim was rejected as he received President’s medal for gallantry. when Pakistan-based terrorists wearing Army uniform had attacked Dinanagar police station in Gurdaspur district in 2015. He was deputed with the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) unit at that time. Following the Punjab government’s orders, the then Council of Ministers, in recognition of those who had participated in the cross-border attack that occurred on July 27, 2015, promoted them by one rank at that time. However, his claim was rejected by the government on the grounds that he had already been awarded the Police Medal for Gallantry by the President of India with a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 and the Parakram Padak with Rs 50,000. Currently, Balbir Singh was posted as DSP in the counter-intelligence wing of Punjab Police. Counting the tenure from when he would be entitled as a Deputy Superintendent of Police following the Punjab and Haryana HC order, he is now eligible for the SP rank and is likely to be promoted soon. Police personnel get ready to participate in full-dress rehearsal for Independence Day celebrations at Guru Nanak Stadium SEE ALSO PAGE 2 in Amritsar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR PSPCL employees’ 3-day Despite trial run, BRTS bus service fails to resume stir disrupts power supply Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 13 The much-hyped pre-poll promise to revive the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) has failed to take off, with no substantial Metro bus operations resuming more than eight months after a symbolic relaunch. The service, suspended in July 2023 following the termination of the contract with its operating firm, remains largely inactive. In December 2024, just ahead of the MC elections, then Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal flagged off six buses to ply between the Golden Gate Our Correspondent taran Taran, August 13 Power supply remained disrupted on the last day of the three-day mass casual leave by the agitating employees of Powercom and PSTransco. The disruption in power supply continued for hours in all parts of the district and the situation went out of control of officials. The employees had to work in shifts to restore the power supply. Powercom officials revealed that about 80 per cent employees went on mass casual leave and providing uninterrupted power supply proved to be a tough task for them. Farmer leader Sukhwinder Singh Dugalwala said that out of the eight feeder of the 66 KV sub-station at Rasulpur, one feeder supplying power for agriculture to Aladinpur village was nonfunctional for the last three days while another feeder supplying power to Bengalipur village stopped power supply since midnight. The farmers of Shahabpur led by Sukhdev Singh and Supre- Farmers of Shahabpur village making efforts to restore power supply after PSPCL employees’ stir. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI em Singh Piddi had to make arrangements to restore power supply on their own today. Jaswinder Singh Dhillon of Tarn Taran said that power supply remained disrupted the whole night and the officials refused to respond to calls for inquiry on their mobile phones. The residents of Khadoor Sahib, Chohla Sahib, Harike, Khalra, Khemkaran and other parts of the district complained that due to faulty power supply, people, especially the kids, could not sleep soundly at night. Deputy Chief Engineer of the local Powercom circle Mohtam Singh refused to respond to mobile calls. Bar Association forms committee to monitor lawyer’s murder probe Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 13 Days after Lakhwinder Singh, a lawyer was shot at by armed assailants in Jandiala Guru on July 2 and later succumbed to injuries at a private hospital here, the Amritsar Bar Association (ABA) has constituted a monitoring committee to keep a tab on the investigations and current status in the case. The decision was taken following a meeting of the executive body of the Bar Association, headed by Gurpreet Singh Panesar here today. "The dedicated monitoring committee will supervise and actively follow up investigation into the tragic incident of the murder of advocate Lakhwinder Singh," said Panesar.The committee would regularly liaison with the investigating officers concerned to ensure a fair, impartial and expeditious investigation, he said, while adding that Sarabjit Singh Verka, noted lawyer and Punjab human rights activist, would be the convener of the monitoring committee. He said the committee would be empowered to take all necessary legal and procedural measures to secure justice. Other members of the monitoring committee include Amandeep Singh Bajwa, Surabh Sharma, Harsimran Singh and Gurjit Singh Gug. Lakhwinder Singh was shot at by armed assailants in the Jandiala Guru area on July 22, and succumbed to his injuries at a private hospital here on August 3. The police had arrested Lovepreet Singh of Amritsar in this regard. Following his arrest, the police had claimed that the incident was the outcome of a personal enmity while denying the involvement of any gangster. However, later the police nabbed two alleged operatives of notorious gangster Happy Jatt from Dehradun in Uttarakhand in the case and recovered two pistols from them. They were identified as Manminder Singh alias Harman alias Billa, a resident of Bazigar Basti in Faridkot, and Manpreet Singh alias Mani alias Kala Papa, of Khalsa Nagar here. The police have recovered five weapons smuggled from Pakistan during their interrogation. Among the weapons seized included two .32 bore pistols, 9mm pistol and a .30 bore pistol. Besides, 24 bullets were also recovered from them. Earlier, the police had booked Balwinder Singh of Boparai village, Gurpreet Singh, Ajaypal Singh, Abhi and Angrej Singh following the statement of Daljit Singh, brother of the victim, who had told the police that the accused suspect that Lakhwinder Singh, who was contesting the case from their side, had been supporting the opposite group also. A view of the BRTS bus stop in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR and India Gate, marking the return of operations after a 14-month break. The trial run, offering free of cost travel to commuters, was projected as the first step towards a full-scale revival of the Rs 600 crore project. With a fleet of 90 buses, expectations were high that the service would soon return to normal. However, even after eight months, the trial operation has not expanded beyond the single corridor. The main service remains suspended for over two years, leaving more than 40,000 regular commuters, primarily students and office-goers, without a reliable public transport. The shutdown resulted in nearly 1,000 employees losing their jobs. “The BRTS project, launched in 2016 by the then SAD-BJP government, initially drew strong public sup- port. But over the years, it suffered from political neglect, with the Congress government reducing operations and partial revival attempts made only during Navjot Singh Sidhu’s tenure as the Local Bodies Minister. The AAP government seems to be little bothered about resuming the service. Public transport users feel let down by repeated political assurances that have failed to translate into action. With the bulk of the fleet lying idle and no concrete expansion plans in sight, the city’s ambitious Metro bus network remains stuck in the side-lane,” said local activist Kulwant Singh. Tarn Taran, Ferozepur DCs visit Harike head works to assess flood situation Agri experts focus on DSR to save water Our Correspondent Amritsar, August 13 A field day-cum-travel seminar was held at Chhina Bidhi Chand village by PAU-Farm Advisory Service Centre (FASC), Tarn Taran, during which agricultural experts, including Dr Makhan Singh Bhullar, Director of Extension Education at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), visited the fields where direct seeding of rice technique have been used. Dr Parvinder Singh, in charge of FASC, said that the event focused on DSR which is a technique to help save water and reduce costs. Dr Bhullar shared updates on the latest research from PAU and encouraged farmers to adopt the DSR technique. Dr Hari Ram, Head of Agronomy at PAU, advised farmers to use PAU-recommended crop varieties and farming practices to improve crop yield and reduce costs. Dr Jasvir Singh Gill, Senior Agronomist, suggested using a Lucky Seed Drill, a machine that sows seeds and sprays herbicide at the same time, helping with weed control. Dr Amit Kaul, Extension Scientist, talked about proper management of fertilisers and weeds in paddy and basmati fields. Dr Navjot Singh Brar, Agronomist from Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dr Gurwinder Singh, Block Agricultural Officer and Dr Parminder Singh Sandhu advised farmers to consult university experts when using DSR to get better results. — TNS Tarn Taran, August 13 The Deputy Commissioners of Tarn Taran and Ferozepur, Rahul and Deepsikha, visited the Harike head works on Wednesday and took stock of the floodlike situation arising out of the rising water level in Beas and Sutlej rivers. There is a confluence of both the rivers at Harike. The two DCs also got firsthand information regarding the preventive measures to be taken in case of floods. The Tarn Taran DC said that though there was no loss of life or property till date but the increasing water level in some villages had created a flood-like situation and the administration was in touch with the local residents and all aid was being provided. He assured that there was nothing to worry. Meanwhile, the Ferozepur Deputy Commissioner also said that there was no threat The DCs of Tarn Taran and Ferozepur conducted a joint visit to Harike head works on Wednesday to assess the flood situation arising out of rising water levels of rivers Sutlej and Beas. GURBAXPURI of floods till now in the district and a close watch was being kept on the situation. Deepsikha appealed to the people not to believe in rumours and panic. She said that the administration had established flood control rooms in the district and at the sub-division level. Rajdeep Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), Sanjeev Sharma, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Preetinder Singh, SDM, Patti, Gurmit Singh, SDM Zira, Lindia (under-trainee IAS), Sahil, XEN Irrigation, and other officials accompanied them. The increasing water level in Beas and Sutlej rivers is causing heavy loss of crops in more than 40 villages and people themselves are keeping a round-the-clock watch on the situation. INTACH to conduct heritage walk every month Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 13 The Amritsar chapter of INTACH plans to conduct a heritage walk every month for raising awareness among the people. This was decided in a meeting at Virsa Vihar, with resolutions being passed to c m y b strengthen heritage preservation efforts. The meeting was chaired by Maj Gen (retd) Balwinder Singh, VSM, Punjab State Convener and eminent heritage enthusiasts like historian-author Surinder Singh Kaushar and CII president Davinder Singh, among others. Gagan Deep Virk, convener Amritsar Chapter, highlighted the chapter's achievements to include awareness campaign in schools and colleges by organising various functions. highlighting the virasat of Bhai Vir Singh, organising visits to cultural heritage sites, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum, Ram Bagh, Attari and other sites. Maj Gen Balwinder Singh mentioned that the first military heritage site is being developed by Army authorities in collaboration with INTACH at Asal Uttar and is expected to be commissioned and opened by September