20082025-ATR-01.qxd 8/19/2025 11:25 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 26°C INTACH ORGANISES NAT'L HERITAGE QUIZ AT DPS JAMHOORI KISAN SABHA HOLD PROTEST MARCH MASTERING THE ART OF TRADITIONAL INDIAN WEAR INTACH, Amritsar Chapter, organised the city round of the National Heritage Quiz at Delhi Public School. P2 The Jamhoori Kisan Sabha organised a march on the streets of Patti town on Tuesday. P2 Giorgia Andriani's lehenga collection shows how to honour traditional fashion while adding personal flair. P4 » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.08 PM » SUNRISE THURSDAY 5.58 AM WEDNESDAY | 20 AUGUST 2025 | AMRITSAR Internet services remain hit in Tarn Taran Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, August 19 Internet services in most parts of Tarn Taran town remained non-functional. As a result, normal working in banks, government offices and a number of personal business establishments were badly affected the whole day. The most concerning part was that no officer was available in the office of BSNL, nor did the officials whose mobile number was on the list provided to media persons respond. There was one official present in the office of the BSNL, who introduced himself as Chandandeep Singh. He confirmed that internet service in most parts of Tarn Taran town, including the office of SDM, Income Tax Officer, banks and other personal services were affected. Dalwinder Singh Pannu, a social activist, alleged that the BSNL had been reduced continued on page 2 Councillor does U-turn, rejoins Cong hours after leaving party Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 19 Politics in Amritsar took a dramatic turn when Congress councillor Dr Avtar, who joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Chandigarh on Monday morning, did a volte-face and returned back to the Congress fold by evening. Dr Avtar, councillor from Ward No. 72, and Shivani, councillor from Ward No. 79, had earlier quit the Congress and joined AAP in the presence of state party president Aman Arora and Mayor Jatinder Singh Moti Bhatia. AAP leaders welcomed them, saying it showed the increasing trust of elected representatives in the “pro-people policies” of the party. However, within hours, Dr Avtar changed his mind. By evening, he rejoined the Congress, saying he had been under pressure and never really intended to leave the party. Senior Congress leader and former minister Raj Kumar Verka Tribune News Service MC councillor Dr Avtar after rejoining the Congress in Amritsar. helped bring him back to Congress fold. The episode comes at a time when the Municipal Corporation (MC) mayoral election is under dispute in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Congress has alleged irregularities in the January 27 elections, in which AAP’s Jatinder Singh Moti Bhatia was elected the Mayor. The next hearing is scheduled for September 29. With the court case going on, the support of every councillor has become important for both the parties. The sudden switch embarrassed AAP which had earli, er celebrated the induction, and also highlighted the uncertainty within the Congress. Political observers say such quick U-turns reflect the unstable situation in the MC House. In the 85-member MC House, the Congress has 40 councillors, AAP 24, BJP 9, Shiromani Akali Dal 4 and Independents 8. Though the Congress is the single largest party, AAP managed to secure the mayor’s post earlier this year. Public library at historic Rambagh to remain open from 10 am to 10 pm now Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 19 The public library inside the historic Rambagh that was inaugurated recently by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will now remain open till 10 pm. The timings for access to the library have been revised following a request by the students and the extended hours are intended at giving them more ease of access to books and other reading material. Earlier, the library was open for eight hours, from 10 am to 6 pm, but now it will be open for 12 hours. A large number of students have been using the library for study purposes since its opening. The students who use the library for reading and study purposes had requested the Municipal Corporation to extend the hours, install power Students at the public library opened inside Panorama at Company Bagh in Amritsar on Tuesday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR back-up and keep the library open even on public holidays. Vishal Wadhawan, Assistant Commissioner, MC, said that while keeping the library open on public holidays is not possible, the request for extension of timings and power back-up has been accepted. “We have given orders and BSF nabs four smugglers, seizes drone, heroin, arms from tomorrow onward, the library will remain open till 10 pm for students. The library was set up primarily to serve as a centre of knowledge for students, who otherwise did not have access to books. We will ensure that they get the benefit of this service,” he said. As for the request to provide a generator or proper back-up to avoid problems caused by frequent power cuts, Wadhwan said that he has given instructions to the staff to install a generator for power back-up, which could take a few days. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had inaugurated a public library inside the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama at Company Bagh, under the state government’s special initiative to push for an education revolution. Amritsar has four public libraries functional currently and these have been equipped with high-end facilities like WiFi, solar power, digital analogues and others. The libraries have all types of books on contemporary literature and curriculum, providing a rich learning experience. At Panorama, the library has more than 5,000 books related to history, social and life sciences, arts and literature. Amritsar, August 19 The Border Security Force (BSF) has intensified its operations along the Indo-Pak border and arrested four persons while recovering heroin, firearms, ammunition, a drone and motorcycles in separate incidents reported from Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts during the last 24 hours. The first incident occurred near Bachiwind village in Amritsar on Monday evening. Acting on suspicion, BSF personnel intercepted a smuggler and recovered 560 grams of heroin, a motorcycle and two mobile phones from his possession. The accused was later handed over to Punjab Police for further investigation. In another operation on Monday night, the BSF carried out a search operation at Bagrian village after receiving specific intelligence inputs. During the ~7.75 lakh stolen from petrol pump Our Correspondent The seized drone, heroin and arms in custody of BSF jawans in Amritsar on Tuesday. search, troops recovered a DJI Mavic 3 Classic drone that had been used to ferry a consignment across the border. The drone was carrying a pistol, two magazines and three live rounds, highlighting the growing trend of smugglers using unmanned aerial vehicles to transport State govt turns blind eye to crusher units using illegal DG sets Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, August 19 Cash worth Rs 7.75 lakh was stolen from the cash box by breaking the locks of the office of Sai Filling station situated on the Tarn TaranGoindwal Sahib road at Alawalpur village here on Sunday morning. Deepak Chaurasia, manager of the filling station, lodged a complaint with the local Sadar police, which registered a case on Monday. ASI Sukhdev Singh of the local Sadar police said the complainant on the facts gathered information from the video of CCTVs installed in the petrol pump. The police have registered a case under Sections 331 (4) and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. drugs and arms. Today morning, BSF teams, maintaining close surveillance near the AmritsarJalandhar highway, managed to apprehend two more smugglers. On searching them, security personnel recovered a pistol and 11 live cartridges. Investigations revealed that the arrested individuals hailed from Timowal village in Amritsar and Sarsi Kalan in Tarn Taran district. Later, in a coordinated joint operation with the Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of Amritsar, another smuggler was held from Bagrian village. Officials seized 1.225 kg of heroin, two mobile phones and a motorcycle from his possession. The accused was handed over to the ANTF for further legal proceedings. Senior BSF officials said these recoveries once again highlight the force’s determination to check cross-border smuggling attempts. They said Pakistan-backed networks are increasingly resorting to drones for delivering narcotics and weapons into Punjab, posing new challenges for security agencies. The BSF , however, remains vigilant and committed to thwarting such attempts to safeguard the nation’s borders. Pathankot, August 19 The Punjab Government is turning a blind eye to crusher units operating in the miningrich district of Pathankot during the ongoing rainy season, an activity which has been banned by the government. According to the norms, no crusher can operate from July 1 till September 30. The ban has been enforced to ensure that riverbanks are protected and erosion is prevented. Crushers are machines that reduce the size of large rocks and stones into smaller fragments. There are no exact figures available on illegal crushers operating because such activity is carried on clandestinely. However, sources claim numerous units are operating leading to an ecological imbalance in the area. Abhijit Kaplish, Director (Mines and Geology), said, “Action will be taken against crushers mining on riverbed sites during the monsoon season. I have instructed the District Mining Officers (DMO) to take action against the offenders.” Despite the ban, the police have not registered even a single case. Pathankot SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon said, “We have a dedicated team to deal with mining offenses but the team acts only after it gets the green signal from the mining department.” Insiders say yet another aspect which is being constantly ignored by crushing units is the illegal use of diesel generator (DG) sets above the mandated capacity of 10 KW. “Rules state that a 10 KW DG set is allowed to be used and that too only for office purpos- es. The installation of a generator exceeding this capacity will result in the suspension or termination of the crusher unit’s registration,” said an official. Sources, however, said crushers were using sets of 150-200 KW capacity to engage in illegal mining. Lakshman Nayyer, president of the Pathankot Crushers’ Association, said they had already purchased expensive DG sets more than the mandated capacity much before the ban came into place. “What will we do with these DG sets as now there is a ban on operating them?” he said. Abhijeet Kaplish said rules pertaining to DG sets had been formulated just recently. “We should give adequate time to crushers to come to terms with the new regulations,” he said. continued on page 2 Separate authority to maintain Focal Points, State Food Commission member checks investment summit in March next year: Arora mid-day meal quality in govt schools Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 19 Industries and Power Minister Sanjiv Arora today said that the Punjab government was going to form a separate authority for the maintenance of Industrial Focal Points, which will solve the problems of industrialists. Addressing a press conference here today, Arora said that tenders worth Rs 100 crore have been floated for the upgrade of Focal Points and arrangements for sewerage, CCTV cameras, lights, roads etc are being made. For the convenience of industrialists, exhibition centres will be built in Mohali, Amritsar and Ludhiana soon, he said. Arora said that for the development of industry in Punjab, ‘Rising Punjab—-Suggestion to Solution’ events are being organised in all big cities, starting from Amritsar today. He said the government is taking new initiatives for artisans. Talking about the achievements so far, the minister said Amritsar, August 19 Member of Punjab State Food Commission, Vijay Dutt, conducted a surprise inspection at different government schools and Anganwadi centres located in Jandiala Guru and Rayya blocks of Amritsar. The inspection was done to take stock of the schemes being run under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). In Jandiala Guru block, schools in Ballia Manjpur and in Rayya block, schools in village Niranjanpur, were inspected. During the inspection, it was found that in many schools, food tasting registers for midday meal did not exist and at some places, the registers were not maintained for months. Besides, the staff preparing the mid-day meals was not wearing hats, aprons, gloves and was not following the rules of cleanliness. Dutt reprimanded the school managers and said that hence- Cabinet Minister Sanjay Arora (centre) addresses mediapersons in Amritsar on Tuesday. VISHAL KUMAR that an investment of Rs 14 thousand crore has been made in Punjab so far, due to which four and a half lakh people have got employment. He said over 40-year-old issues have been resolved with the One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme, which has benefited plot holders. The state would be giving ownership of the plots allotted on lease to the artisans so that they can easily conduct their financial transactions. He said all approvals for setting up industries in Punjab are being ensured within 45 days. To take industry to the top, the government has formed 24 committees for different sectors, with all members being nominated from that particular industry. The minister said that a Punjab Investment Summit will be held in Mohali on March 13-14 in which artisans, traders, NRIs and foreign companies will be invited so that they can invest as much as possible in Punjab. He also said that approval under the Right to Business initiative, which was earlier up to Rs 25 crore, has been increased to Rs 125 crore and these approvals are being ensured within five to 15 days. Arora said that last year, incentives of Rs 90 crore had been given to the artisans and now Rs 222 crore has been distributed in five months. c m y b A member of the State Food Commission during the inspection of government schools in Rayya and Jandiala Guru blocks. forth, all rules should be strictly followed. He said that regular health check-up of those who cook and serve food is necessary and the place and process of cooking should be completely clean. He also gave instructions to check the health of school children from time to time and discussed the quality of midday meal with the kids and also ate with them. The inspection also revealed that water quality (TDS level) was not good in many schools. Dutt instructed that the departments concerned should be contacted and clean drinking water provided to the children. In addition to these, the complaint number of Punjab State Food Commission was not mentioned anywhere in many schools and Anganwadi centres. Dutt said that the complaint and helpline number — 9876764545 — should be clearly displayed in every school and Anganwadi centre, so that if a beneficiary has any complaint, he can call up directly. Vijay Dutt said that negligence in schemes related to health and nutrition of children will not be tolerated.