26082025-ATR-01.qxd 8/25/2025 11:20 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune MINISTERS VISIT FLOOD-HIT AREA ALONGSIDE SUTLEJ FORECAST RAIN/THUNDERSHOWERS MAX 27°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 24°C NEW TUBEWELL INAUGURATED IN WARD NO. 43 Harbhajan Singh ETO, Laljit Singh Bhullar visited flood-affected villages alongside Sutlej & listened to residents’ issues. P2 » GAURAV, ZEISHAN AMONG 16 CONTESTANTS IN BIGG BOSS A tubewell was inaugurated at New Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar in Ward No. 43 of the Municipal Corporation. P2 Drama is on as Salman Khan-hosted reality TV show Bigg Boss kickstarted its 19th season on Sunday night. P4 » » SUNSET TUESDAY 7.01 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.02 AM TUESDAY | 26 AUGUST 2025 | AMRITSAR 3 booked for abetment to suicide Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 25 Days after a man allegedly ended his life by shooting himself with his licensed pistol in the New Amritsar area, the police have booked three persons on the charge of abatement to suicide. The victim was identified as Amandeep Singh (45), a resident of Uttam Avenue, located on the Sultanwind road here. He used to run a bakery business. Those booked for forcing him to end his life, were identified as Amrik Singh, alias Bittu, a resident of East Mohan Nagar, Tarlochan Singh, alias Sonu, a resident of Alpha City, and Mandeep Singh, alias Shelly, a resident of the Partap Nagar area here. A case under Sections 108 and 3 (5) of the BNS was registered against them on Sunday, while no arrest had been made till now. Mandeep Kaur, wife of the deceased, in her complaint to the police alleged that the trio had bungled around 4.4 kg of gold of her husband and his brother Ramandeep Singh after luring them for investing and sharing profits. She said on August 11, her husband went out of the house on the pretext of visiting a doctor, but he did not return. The complainant said, she along with her son, tried to find him. They found his car near the New Amritsar area. He had ended his life by shooting himself from his licensed weapon in the car, she said. The police initiated inquest proceedings at that time of filing the complaint as they did not know the reason behind the extreme step. The complainant said later she came to know that Amandeep, along with brother, had started gold business with the three accused. They had given accused around 4.4kg of gold in 2020. The accused neither returned their gold nor shared profits with her husband. The accused flatly refused to return gold or share any profits, she said. Following this, her husband got deeply upset and ended his life, the complainant said. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dr Sheetal Singh said an FIR was registered following statements of the victim’s wife and further probe initiated in this connection. Two arrested with 4.5kg bhang Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 25 The Jandiala police have arrested two persons with 4.5kg of bhang. The arrested persons were identified as Joginder Singh, alias Laddu, and Happy, both residents of Rana Kala Colony. The police said the duo was intercepted by a police patrolling party from the colony in the Rana Kala area. They were carrying a sack containing bhang. A case under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Ac was registered against them and further probe initiated into the matter. Schools in Ajnala-2, Rayya-1 blocks to remain closed today Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 25 As per the directions of Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, the District Education Office (DEO) has declared holiday tomorrow (August 26) in all government and private schools falling under the Ajnala-2 and Rayya-1 blocks. The announcement comes after day-long heavy rains lashed district, with Weather Department issuing a warning for more downpour on Tuesday. In a letter issued by DEO Kanwaljeet Singh, as a precautionary measure, schools in these catchment areas have been closed for a day. “Exemptions have been given to schools or institutions where exams are scheduled for Tuesday. The orders have been given keeping in mind the safety of students as heavy and consistent rains have increased waterlogging and flooding situation,” the DEO said. He also issued cautionary letter to all government school heads to ensure student safety in school buildings. “Any school that has a classroom or any unsafe structure, should isolate and lock the room immediately. Students should not be made to sit or use any classroom that has leakage or seepage issues. In addition, school heads will ensure that there is no waterlogging on the school campus. Any violation or non-compliance with these instructions will invite strict action,” the letter stated. Massive fire erupts at textile factory on Jhabaal road Brought under control after two hours struggle by firemen Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 25 Panic gripped the Dhapai area on Jhabaal Road this afternoon after a major fire broke out at Kunal Embroidery, a textile factory located in the locality. Thick smoke rising from the premises created chaos in the neighbourhood as residents and workers rushed out of nearby establishments. According to officials, the blaze started around 2.19 pm inside the factory, which had a large stock of cloth and raw material stored on its premises. The highly flammable textile material fuelled the flames, making the fire spread rapidly. The Fire Brigade Department was immediately alerted, following which multiple fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Assistant Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO) Dilbag Singh, who supervised the operation, said 10 fire tenders were pressed into service. Firefighters bat- Fire tenders douse flames at a textile unit on Jhabaal Road in the Dhapai area of Amritsar on Monday. tled the inferno continuously for nearly two hours, he said. “Due to heavy stock of fabric, the fire kept intensifying on the factory premises. It required extensive effort and coordination to control it. Our teams managed to douse the flames completely by 4 pm,” the ADFO said. While the fire was successfully brought under control without any reported loss of life, the factory suffered massive damage. Large quantities of cloth and finished embroidery products were reduced to ashes. The extent of the financial loss is yet to be assessed, but pre- liminary estimates suggest it could run into several lakhs of rupees. The exact cause of fire has not yet been determined. The authorities will conduct a detailed investigation to ascertain whether the fire was caused by an electrical short circuit or any other reason. Guest house owner among 14 held for gambling Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 25 Acting on a tip-off, the Beas police raided a guest house and busted a gambling den being run from there. During raid, the police arrested 14 persons, including owner of the guest house, identified as Prince and recovered Rs 43,500 in cash from the spot. Victor Singh, investigating officer (IO), said the police got specific information that Prince was running a gambling racket from his guest house. Following this tip-off, a team headed by senior police official raided the guest house. Among others, who were arrested from the guest house located in Beas, included Vinay Kumar of Jandiala, Dalip Singh of Gehri Mandi, Sukhwinder Singh of Tangra, , Ghaniya Lal of Sheikhpura Mohalla, Jaswinder Singh of Baba Bakala, Gurdeep Singh of Harike, and Tilak Raj, Sultan Singh, Raju, Germanjit Singh of Tangra, Shiv Kumar, Raman Kumar and Avtar Singh of Beas. A case under relevant sections of the Gambling Act was registered against them. Harike police arrest one for sexual abuse of minor girl Our Correspondent The accused in custody of the Jandiala police in Amritsar. Tarn Taran, August 25 The Harike police arrested a person on Sunday on the charge of sexually abusing a minor girl, slightly over four years old. The accused has been identified as Gopi of Navan Pind, Fatehpur. The accused had gone to a nearby village to see his married sis- ter where the victim lived in her maternal household (nanke). The accused took the victim to a room and molested her. The accused is a close relative of the victim. The incident reportedly took place on August 16, but came to notice after a few days. Sub-inspector Kiranpal Kaur recorded statements in the case and arrested the accused on Sunday. The police said a case under Section 65 (2) of the BNS and Section 6 of the POCSO Act was registered agains accused. Wholesale vegetable, fruit agents in Vallah MC staff told to ensure cleanliness, market demand hike in commission total ban on single-use plastic in city Want increase from 5% to 10% | Say less rate for past 27 yrs taking toll on trade Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 25 Commission agents dealing in wholesale fruit and vegetables at Vallah Sabji Mandi have demanded that the AAP government should double their commission from present five per cent to 10 per cent. They crib that the same rate for the past 27 years has been taking a toll on their trade. Om Prakash Arora, chief patron, Vegetable and Fruit Commission Agents Association, Sabji Mandi Vallah, said risks of commission agents had increased manifold during the past three decades. During this period their employees, who used to draw a salary of Rs 5,000 were now getting more than Rs 20,000, he said. The interest rates of banks, fuel prices, prices and Over 500 commission agents deal in 600 tonnes of vegetables and fruit, which come from across the country, at Vallah Sabji Mandi. rents of shops, vehicle maintenance expenses, electricity and water bills and mobile phone expenses had increased accordingly, he said. Association president Gursevak Singh appealed to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to increase their commission to 10 per cent. Citing rates of commission in other states, he said their counterparts in Nashik were getting six per cent to eight per cent, Delhi six per cent, Himachal between six to seven per cent, and Ahmedabad seven per cent commission. Association general secretary Surinder Bindra said seeking they had written to Punjab Chief Minister Bhag- want Singh Mann, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudia, and Punjab Mandi Board and Market Committee for increasing their commission. “Over 500 commission agents deal in 600 tonnes of vegetables and fruit received from all over India daily,” said Bindra. The data includes the share of fruit imported from overseas countries, including the USA, China, Indonesia and others, he said. He said the government never bothered to fulfil its commitments like providing a cold storage, shelters for farmers, toilets and a dispensary at the Vallah market, while it was charging two per cent of the market fee and the rural development fund from commission agents. Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 25 The newly appointed Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Bikramjit Singh Shergill has set citywide cleanliness and a complete ban on single-use plastic as his top priorities. Acting on his directions, Additional Commissioner Surinder Singh chaired a meeting with senior officials of the Health Department on Monday. During the meeting, the Additional Commissioner instructed officials and sanitation workers to go beyond their routine duties to ensure a robust cleanliness system across the city. He also directed them to launch awareness campaigns among residents and to strictly enforce penalties against those using single-use plastic. Health department officials informed that all Chief Sanitary Inspectors and Sanitary Inspectors were regularly supervising cleanliness in their respective areas and issuing challans with fines against individuals and shopkeepers caught violating the plastic ban. The meeting was attended by Health Officers Dr Kiran, Dr Yogesh Arora, Chief Sanitary Officer Malkeet Singh, Ranjit Singh, Chief Sanitary Inspector Vijay Gill, along with other senior officials. Speaking on the occasion, Additional Commissioner Surinder Singh said Amritsar, being a sacred city was thronged by daily by lakhs of devotees and tourists, must reflect a clean and welcoming image. “It is responsibility of the Municipal Corporation to ensure daily road clean- ing and prompt garbage lifting so that visitors carry back the impression of a clean and beautiful Amritsar,” he remarked. He said the corporation was already running a special campaign against single-use plastic in line with the government guidelines. Despite regular challans, fines and confiscation of plastic goods, many people still used such banned items, he said. Singh cautioned that plastic bags not only damaged the sewerage system, but also posed a serious risk to animals and the environment. Appealing to residents, Surinder Singh said, “We need the cooperation of every resident to maintain cleanliness in the city. Everyone must stop using single-use plastic so that Amritsar can truly shine as a heritage and religious city.” Sub-inspectorbookedfor Continuous rain throws life out of gear in city, suburbs wrongful confinement Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 25 The Amritsar rural police have booked a sub-inspector on the charge of wrongful confinement following orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The sub-inspector was identified as Narinder Singh. He was posted at the Kathunangal police station here. A case under Section 127 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered against him. A departmental action was also initiated against him as per the High Court orders, the police authorities said. The High Court had issued the orders on August 18 in connection with an attempt to murder case in which Jugraj Singh, a resident of Talwandi Dasaudha Singh village, had filed a writ petition in the court. Amritsar, August 25 Persistent rain since early Sunday morning has thrown life out of gear in Amritsar and its surrounding areas. Intermittent showers, at times heavy, continued throughout the day and into late Monday evening, leaving several parts of the city inundated. According to weather experts, the city is likely to witness more rainfall in the next 24 hours, as the monsoon remains active over Punjab. The downpour has exposed the poor condition of city roads, many of c m y b A car passes through a waterlogged road in Amritsar. VISHAL KUMAR which are already damaged due to ongoing showers. Potholes and construction work at various flyover sites have added to the misery of commuters, with rainwater collecting on uneven and broken stretches. The traffic movement has slowed, particularly along major routes like the GT road. Kashmir Singh, a commuter, shared his ordeal after his car stalled in accumulated water near the canal stretch. “My vehicle got stuck in a kneedeep water. I had to struggle to get it out. The authorities need to improve the rainwater drainage system,” he said. Delivery workers and twowheeler riders also faced difficulties navigating waterlogged lanes. Ravi Kumar, a food delivery executive, said, “Rainy days may feel pleasant to many people, but for us it becomes a struggle. Poor roads and heavy traffic make our work even harder.” As rain continues, residents have called for urgent action by the Municipal Corporation to address drainage issues and repair broken roads, warning that unchecked waterlogging could worsen traffic woes and raise public health concerns. Meanwhile, agricultural experts issued an advisory for farmers, urging them to ensure proper drainage of water from their fields to prevent crop damage. They cautioned that excess water accumulation could harm standing crops.