25082025-ATR-01.qxd 8/25/2025 12:02 AM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLOUDY PROTEST OVER SKIPPING RATION BENEFICIARIES’ NAMES FROM LIST PARKASH PURB OF GURU GRANTH SAHIB CELEBRATED THE RED CARPET THAT STOLE FILMFARE PUNJABI 2025 An AAP leader has criticised the Union Government for depriving nearly 55 lakh persons of free ration facility. P2 A public school at Chabal (Tarn Taran) celebrated the first Parkash Purb of the Guru Granth Sahib. P2 At the Filmfare Awards Punjabi, held at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium, the red carpet was real headline-maker. P4 » » » MAX 32°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.50 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5.55 AM MONDAY | 25 AUGUST 2025 | AMRITSAR 18-year-old girl found hanging, probe begins No relief in sight for farmers as Beas, Sutlej waters fail to recede Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Amritsar, August 24 An 18-year-old girl was found hanging in a house near Ghala Mala Chowk under mysterious circumstances here on Saturday. The family members of the victim, identified as Sonam, termed it a murder while the police have initiated inquest proceedings in the case. The house belonged to a trader, Rakesh Kumar, where she used to work as a domestic help. She was found hanging from the ceiling fan in the servant room of the house. The police took the body into custody and started a probe. Her body was handed over to the family after an autopsy. The police said the exact cause of death would be ascertained once the postmortem report comes back. They said the forensic teams have also scanned the spot. The family members alleged that the victim might have raped her before murdering her, but the police said that in the initial investigations, there were no signs of force or resistance. The victim’s mother of the Gopal Nagar area said Sonam had been working as a domestic help in the house for the past two years. Tarn Taran, August 24 There is still no relief for farmers in villages located along the Beas and Sutlej rivers here. The water in the rivers has not receded and hundred of acres of farmland continue to be submerged under water. As a result, farmers have been facing the threat of floods for over three weeks now. At the confluence of river Beas and Sutlej at Harike head works in Tarn Taran, water level downstream on Friday was 1.29 cusecs and 1.44 cusecs upstream. It has crossed the danger mark on both sides since then. Chief Agriculture Officer (CAO) Jaswinder Singh said that water level was going up every day both upstream and downstream. The CAO said that standing crops in 20,000 acres of land have been submerged in the flood waters. Villages from Bhalojla (under Beas river) to border area Muthianwala (falling under Sutlej river) have been facing the threat every year for decades. There are a large number of farmers whose crops were damaged in the year 2023 and their land too was made not worth cultivating as silt and sand from the Family stages protest outside Majitha road police station Tribune News Service Followers of the Kar Sewa sect busy in strengthening the river banks in Tarn Taran. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI river filled their fields. The situation persists till now. Roop Singh, a farmer from Dhunda village which is the worst affected by the floods, and Chainchal Singh, another farmer of Mundapind village, said on Sunday that all the temporary bundhs erected in the low-lying areas of river Beas by the farmers themselves have been breached with river water flowing over them. Gurjit Singh, a follower of Baba Sukha Singh, head of Kar Sewa sect, Sarhali, which is voluntarily strengthening the river embankment in the border vil- lage of Sabhra, said that the followers of the sect are busy strengthening of the embankment of the river for the last more than a week and are keeping a watch round-the-clock in case a breach occurs. The followers of the sect are busy strengthening the embankments and expect their work to be completed in the next few days. The farmers of the area alleged that the state government has failed to provide them with dry fodder for cattle as their own stock had been damaged by the surging river waters. Sikh devotees pay obeisance at the Golden Temple on the anniversary of the installation of the Guru Granth Sahib in Amritsar on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR MC intensifies drive against illegal water, sewer connections Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, August 24 A man who shot himself at Goindwal Sahib was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on Saturday. ASI Nishan Singh of the Goindwal Sahib police said the deceased has been identified as Jaskaran Singh, a resident of Goindwal Sahib, who shot himself and got seriously injured. His family admitted him to a private hospital in Amritsar where he succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The police said an illegal pistol was used by the victim, which was recovered along with two cartridges. Sub-Inspector Balraj Singh, SHO, Goindwal Sahib, said deceased Jaskaran Singh (21) was unmarried. The SHO said the mobile phone of the deceased had not been traced yet. The police are trying to ascertain the reason of the incident. The police said a case under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the deceased. Family members of the deceased along with others stage a protest outside the Majitha road police station in Amritsar on Sunday. Hepatitis. He was immediately admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital where he died. They said further investigations are in progress. The family members alleged that the deceased was not a drug addict nor was he involved in drug peddling. The police had lodged a false FIR against him on August 20 while showing a recovery of 20 gm heroin. The police produced him in a court, which sent him to police custody for further probe. His condition started deteriorating on Saturday night and was admitted to hospital where they came to know that he was suffering from Hepatitis and HIV. Reduce GST on medicines, urges AIOCD Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Amritsar, August 24 A man arrested by the Majitha road police in a drug-related case died under mysterious circumstances. According to the police, he was HIV positive, besides being a Hepatitis patient and died in the hospital. However, the family members of the deceased on the other hand alleged that he was arrested in a false case and died in police custody. They raised slogans against the Punjab Police and staged a dharna outside the Majitha Road police station in this connection. Senior police officials reached the spot and pacified the protesters, adding that appropriate action would be taken after the autopsy report of the deceased. The Majitha police said he was brought on police remand for interrogation, but his health condition deteriorated in the evening as he was HIV positive and was also suffering from Day after man’s murder, wife, paramour held Divine glow Man shoots himself dead at Goindwal Sahib Man arrested on charge of drug peddling dies in hospital Amritsar, August 24 The Amritsar Municipal Corporation has intensified its campaign against illegal water and sewer connections and recovery of pending dues. As part of the drive, notices are being issued to defaulters, while special camps are being set up across different constituencies to facilitate residents in regularising their connections and clearing outstanding property tax and water and sewerage bills. Additional Commissioner Surinder Singh stated that 1,310 residential and 373 commercial establishments had been issued notices. Out of these, nearly 600 connections have already been regularised. However, despite repeated warnings, many defaulters have failed to approach the civic body. As a result, the MC has now started disconnecting such connections. In the past few days, five connections in each zone have been cut, and the action continued on Thursday as well. Yesterday, disconnection drives were carried out at Rana Fruit Ice Cream near Lohgarh Gate in the Central zone, at a residential unit in Dashmesh Nagar (South zone), in Mustafabad (North zone), on Batala Road (East zone), and at Chheharta (West zone).Singh revealed that the Water and Sewerage Department currently has 58,000 registered residential connections, in addition to nearly 1.47 lakh connections falling under the exemption category. However, due to rapid urbanisation, an estimated one lakh illegal connections are believed to be operational in the city. If these connections are regularised, the civic body’s revenue is expected to see a significant boost. The department is also struggling to recover pending dues amounting to Rs 29 crore. To address this, notices are being issued and staff members are visiting households to raise awareness. Amritsar, August 24 A day after the police arrested a woman and her alleged paramour for allegedly killing her husband to hide their illicit relations, the police on Sunday recreated the scene and took the duo to the Bohar village canal where they dumped the body. The police recovered the piece of cloth used to strangle the deceased, identifed as Mani Sharma, in Katra Karam Singh area here. The police also suspect the role of more persons in the case. Though he was murdered by the accused on August 17, the incident came to light when his sister Minni Sharma lodged a missing complaint with the police next day when her mother told her that he had not returned to the house. The arrested were identified as Mani’s wife Rajni Sharma and her alleged lover Sonu Sharma. In her complaint, she alleged that her brother used to run a cattle feed shop. His brother Mani Sharma was married to Rajni Sharma in 2016. However, the couple did not enjoy a cordial relation though the couple had two children from the marriage. She alleged she came to know that the accused Rajni developed illicit relations with Sonu Sharma who used to run a photography shop in front of the house. She alleged that on August 17, the accused Sonu Sharma had come to the house to meet Rajni. She said her brother Mani also arrived home at that time and allegedly found them in objectionable position. She alleged that the duo then strangled him to death and later dumped his body somewhere. Rakesh Kumar, investigating officer said that after suspicion, the police detained Tenders for waste collection, processing to open today Amritsar, August 24 The Amritsar Municipal Corporation’s plan to streamline garbage collection and processing in the city has been delayed once again as the tenders for dividing the city into two zones will now be opened on Monday. The tenders were originally scheduled to open on August 22 but were postponed after contractors sought additional time to complete their documents. At least three contractors had written to the MC via an email, requesting an extension. The fresh tenders were floated on July 31, after earlier attempts failed to attract bidders. Initially, the MC had issued separate tenders for 41 wards and 44 wards. The tender for 41 wards, scheduled to open on July 16, saw no participation, while the one for 44 wards, slated for July 18, was extended by 10 days but still received no bids when it opened on July 28. Eventually, both tenders were reissued together on July 31, but once again the process has been delayed. The urgency of the situation has increased as the existing contractor, Averda c m y b The Amritsar Municipal Corporation building. Company, has formally notified that it will cease operations after October 20. To avoid a crisis in waste management, the MC has also floated an alternative tender under which tractor trolleys would be deployed in all constituencies to lift garbage. However, officials admitted that the plan may run into difficulties in narrow lanes where trolleys cannot reach, potentially stalling garbage collection in such areas. Officials said that if at least three bidders do not participate in the current round, the corporation will issue a short-term tender for seven days. In such a case, the contract could even be awarded to a single bidder to ensure continuity of services. Meanwhile, the outgoing Municipal Commissioner Gulpreet Singh Aulakh, who was relieved from his duties on Friday, was given a warm farewell by the staff. Additional Commissioner Surinder Singh praised his role, stating that while nobody could challenge Averda despite its poor performance in garbage collection, it was Aulakh who compelled the company to withdraw. He also highlighted that the tender for bioremediation at the Bhagtanwala dumpyard was successfully executed under Aulakh’s leadership, marking a significant step towards resolving the city’s waste crisis. — TNS the two suspects. During investigations it was found that they had dumped the body in the Bohar Canal. His body was later found in the bushes in Khalra area in Tarn Taran district. A case of murder has been registered and further probe was on. Apart from the cloth used for strangulation, the police also recovered the scooter used for dumping his body and a mobile phone which the accused Rajni used to contact Sonu Sharma. She used to conceal this phone from the family. Meanwhile, the police handed over the body of the deceased to the family after autopsy. Two held with 566 gm heroin Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 24 The Amritsar police have nabbed two alleged drug peddlers, identified as Surjit Singh and Love Singh, both residents of Attari and recovered 566 gm of heroin from their possession. Maninder Singh, SSP, Amritsar (Rural), said continuing with the drive against drug trafficking under the state government’s campaign ‘Yudh Nashiyan Virudh’, CIA staff has arrested the duo from near the Attari defence drain. “The patrolling party was conducting checking on the Attari road when they found the two coming from the Attari side. They were signalled and stopped by the police team, which later seized the contraband from them,” he said, while adding that a case under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act was registered against them. Their backward and forwards links were being looked into, he added. Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 24 The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) has requested Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is also the Chairperson of the GST Council, to lower the GST on all medicines. The organisation has demanded that all medicines be placed under the 5 per cent GST category. AIOCD Punjab general secretary Surinder Duggal welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement about simplifying the GST system made on Independence Day. He said chemists are the most important link in the healthcare system, directly serving 140 crore people. Rising medicine prices affect ordinary patients the most, he added. He said essential medicines, which are controlled under government price rules (DPCO), should not face extra tax. He also said that medicines for cancer, kidney and heart disease, chronic or rare illnesses, and blood-based treatments should be placed under zero percent GST, meaning no tax at all. “Medicines are not luxury items, they are life-saving,” he added. He also urged that there should be no tax increase on ayurvedic medicines, especially with the 12 per cent GST slab possibly being removed. He said that painkillers and vitamin supplements should be affordable, as they help people stay healthy and prevent bigger health problems. AIOCD leaders said they are hopeful that the government will reduce GST on medicines in the upcoming council meeting. They said this move will bring direct relief to lakhs of patients and show that the government puts humanity before profit and compassion before commerce.