01092025-ATR-01.qxd 8/31/2025 11:53 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLOUDY MAX 27°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 24°C PEOPLE WILL BE COMPENSATED FOR FLOOD LOSSES: CHIEF SECY VOLUNTEERS FLAG NEED TO REHEARSE RESCUE OPS BASRA MAKES A COMEBACK WITH FAMILY DRAMA MEHAR Punjab Chief Secretary KAP Sinha has announced that flood-hit people will be compensated for losses. P2 Volunteers said the floods in the border areas have taught to prepare for such a calamity in the future. P2 Geeta Basra, 41-year-old artiste, credits cricketer-turned-politician husband Harbhajan Singh for the comeback.P4 » » » SUNSET MONDAY 6.54 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6.06 AM MONDAY | 1 SEPTEMBER 2025 | AMRITSAR Heavy rain adds to people’s anxiety Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service A commuter wades through a water-logged road after heavy rain in Amritsar on Sunday. VISHAL KUMAR Schools to remain closed till Sept 3 Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 31 The city schools would remain closed till September 3 after the Punjab Government decided to extend the holidays in all the schools in view of heavy rain alerts and floods in various parts of the border state. Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains shared the news on his social media handle while adding that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann passed the necessary instructions in this regard. Earlier, the schools were closed from August 27 to 30. In view of the current grim flood situation in Punjab, the state government has decided to extend holidays in all the government, aided, recognised and private schools till September 3, said Bains on X. Ajnala and Lopoke subdivisions in Amritsar have been devastated by the floods following a breach in the earthen embankments while there has been incessant rain since morning. Amritsar, August 31 Incessant rainfall since early this morning has increased the worries of those living across the border belt of Ajnala, including those from villages where floodwaters have not yet reached. For people already battling the fury of the Ravi, heavy downpour has added to their uneasiness and distress. The city witnessed nearly 40 mm of rainfall on Sunday. The National Disaster Management Authority has already warned of heavy downpour in the area during the next 24 hours. According to official estimates, as many as 93 villages in Ajnala subdivision remained inundated after the Ravi breached its course. Nearly 23,000 hectares of standing crop, including paddy, maize, and fodder, have A family forced to erect a makeshift shelter by the roadside near Ajnala on Sunday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR been devastated. The latest showers have also triggered widespread waterlogging in adjoining fields, worsening the already precarious agricultural losses. “Even the areas spared by the river are now threatened by stagnant rainwater. If it does not stop soon, we would not be able to save what is left,” said Jaswant Singh, a farmer from a village on the outskirts of Ajnala. The situation has put villagers in a constant state of suspense. Every passing cloud is greeted with folded hands and whispered prayers. More rainfall, they fear, could mean not only more floods in marooned villages but also fresh breaches in areas still strug- gling to stay dry. Officials of the administration said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local authorities are on alert. Relief camps continue to function in schools and community halls, providing temporary shelter and cooked meals to displaced families. However, villagers complain that the relief is too little compared to the scale of the devastation. “The fields are gone, the cattle are sick, and the houses are half-submerged. How long can one survive on ration packets?” asked Balwinder Kaur, a resident. With the weatherman predicting more showers in the coming days, uncertainty looms large. For the residents of Ajnala, each drop of rain now carries the weight of fresh disaster, testing both their resilience and hope. Riverbank breach threat looms near Harike Centre urged to increase aid inflow to state due to erosion; preventive steps underway Tribune News Service Gurbaxpuri Tarn Taran, August 31 The erosion of the Beas-Sutlej riverbanks near Harike is dangerously close to breaching at two key sites, spreading fear among local residents. Communities in the area are working around the clock to strengthen the embankments and prevent disaster. Two days ago, residents of Marar village were alarmed to see the riverbank being rapidly eroded by strong water currents. Locals, along with volunteers from the Kar Sewa sect led by Baba Sukha Singh of Sarhali and employees from the Irrigation Department, rushed to the spot and began reinforcing the riverbank. At another site near Gharum village, three points Ahmadiyyas come to aid of flood-affected people Tribune News Service Qadian, August 31 The Ahmadiyya community, known for helping humanity in distress in the past, once again came to the rescue of the flood-hit victims by providing relief through its non-governmental organisation (NGO) Humanity First India. The NGO adopted eight flood-affected villages in Gurdaspur district. Its members delivered essential supplies, including ration kits, clean drinking water, medicines and tarpaulins to the affected families. The focus of the non-governmental organisation was on villages located in Sri Hargobindpur, Dera Baba Nanak and Fatehgarh Churian blocks and the Kartarpur corridor. The community has its headquarters in Qadian. “We will continue to serve humanity wherever we feel people are in distress. This is a natural calamity and everyone should come forward to help each other,” said K Tariqe Ahmed, Chairman of the media. Followers of Baba Sukha Singh strengthen river embankments at Gharum village on Sunday. PHOTO BY WRITER were reported to be actively eroding, posing a serious threat of a breach. On Saturday, Cabinet Min- isters Aman Arora, Harbhajan Singh ETO and Laljit Singh Bhullar visited both affected sites in Marar and Gharum villages to assess the situation. They acknowledged that the ongoing flood threat is causing major crop losses and severely disrupting daily life. Gurjit Singh, a follower of the Kar Sewa sect, confirmed that dozens of volunteers are working non-stop on embankment efforts using stone spurs and sandbags in both Aamara and Gharum villages. Lakha Singh, former sarpanch of Kutiwala village, said that farmers in the region are actively involved in strengthening the banks, warning that the situation could escalate at any time. Deputy Commissioner Rahul has yet to issue an official statement, remaining unresponsive on the matter via WhatsApp and SMS. BDPO, ex-sarpanch nabbed for embezzling panchayat funds Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 31 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested Lakhbir Singh, Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Jandiala Guru, currently posted at block Ghall Khurd in Ferozepur district and Manjinder Singh, a former sarpanch, gram panchayat Gehri Mandi, here for embezzlement of panchayat funds to the tune of Rs 24.69 lakh. Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the state VB said a case has been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a resident of Gehri Mandi village. Afterwards, a technical team of the VB conducted an investigation regarding misappropriation of development funds received by the said gram panchayat from 2013 to 2017. He added that during the probe, it was found that during the period, the gram panchayat had received a total fund amounting to Rs. 49.21 lakh out of which only Rs. 17.37 lakh was spent which proved that sarpanch Manjinder Singh, in connivance with then gram panchayat secretary Karanjeet Singh and BDPO Lakhbir Singh usurped the funds amounting to Rs. 24.69 lakhs. A case under Sections 13(1) (a), 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Sections 201, 409, 420 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered at the VB police station, Amritsar Range, against the accused and further investigation is under progress, he added. Digital arrest: Man duped of ~39L Tribune News Service Amritsar, August 31 In yet another instance of digital arrest, a local resident was duped of Rs 39 lakh by cyber fraudsters posing as Mumbai cops. The cyber police have registered a case against unknown fraudsters and launched a probe into the case. Balbir Julka, a resident of posh Model Town area, in his complaint lodged with the police said that the accused threatened to get him arrested and got Rs 39 lakh transferred on different dates. He said on May 5, he got a call from an unknown person and during conversation, the accused diverted to video conference with another man. He said he introduced himself as a senior Mumbai cop. He told him that they had arrested one Naresh Goyal who had returned from Malaysia and from him they had recovered an ATM card issued in the complainant’s name. He said there was around Rs 6.83 crore unaccounted money in the account. The accused said a number of transactions were made through the bank account. He said Naresh Goyal was involved in the human organ smuggling racket. He then transferred a bank account and asked him to transfer the amount in that account if he wanted to save himself from the case. He alleged a total of Rs 39 lakh was transferred on different dates. c m y b Amritsar, August 31 After visiting the flood-ravaged areas of Ajnala on Sunday, Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, who is also the state president of the Aam Aadmi Party, urged the Centre to increase the inflow of aid. He said Rs 6,800 per acre, Rs four lakh to the next of the kin in case of casualty, Rs 1.20 lakh compensation for a house were insufficient. He called upon the state BJP to convince its government at the Centre to meet the demand of his government. He added that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had already sent a communiqué regarding this to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He expressed his disappointment over the Centre not sending any of its representatives to take stock of the State AAP president Aman Arora along with other party leaders takes stock of a flood-affected area at Ghonewal village on Sunday. floods in Punjab. Accompanied by Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO, Ajnala MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Arora rode a tractor to visit flood ravaged areas. While interacting with the residents of the constituency, Arora said that the damage was massive. “I assure you that the entire government under the leadership of the CM is standing with all the flood-affected people,” he added. A special Girdawari will be conducted for building a dam once the flood recedes, he said. The officials concerned and experts from the field iron out a plan to this end after consulting local residents so that the situation doesn’t repeat. On this occasion, Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO expressed his sympathy with the people for the damage caused by the heavy rains in the mountains and said that no one had the power to stop nature, but now we could all come out of this crisis together. Dhaliwal thanked Arora for sharing the grief of the residents. He said the water from Ravi had washed away the entire road infrastructure and pushed the constituency back 20 years. 4 of robbers’ gang held with sharp-edged weapons Salon firing case: Two associates of infamous gangsters arrested Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, August 31 The Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), Punjab, in a joint operation with the Tarn Taran police, has apprehended two associates of infamous gangsters Prabh Dassuwal and Gopi Ganshampuria for their involvement in a recent firing incident at a salon in Patti (Tarn Taran). This was stated by SSP Deepak Pareek here on Sunday. The suspects were apprehended from Sarhali Road, Kairon (Tarn Taran). The SSP said those arrested have been identified as Gurpreet Singh, alias Gandhi, a resident of Khadoor Sahib, and Jaskaran, alias Karan, a resident of Phailoke village in Tarn Taran district. The police have recovered three .30 bore country-made pistols from their possession. On August 24 at around 11.30 pm, three bike-borne persons fired bullets at a salon in Patti (Tarn Taran). The salon owner had been receiving extortion calls from unidentified mobile numbers for the last few months. The SSP said a preliminary investigation revealed that both the accused were in touch with foreign-based Amritsar, August 31 The Amritsar Rural Police have busted a gang of robbers and arrested four persons with sharp-edged weapons and two bikes without registration plates. One of their accomplices managed to escape. Those arrested were identified as Sukhjinder Singh, alias Pinku, Harpal Singh Happy, Nirmal Singh and Bhagwan Singh, all residents of Jallupur Khera village. Their accomplice, Manjit Singh, of the same village had absconded from the spot. Investigating officer ASI Tejpal Singh said he along with the police party was present at the Khalchian bus stand when they got a tip-off that the accused had formed a gang involved in robbery and snatchings. The police laid a naka near Thothian drain and intercepted two bikes. While searching, they seized sharp-edged weapons from their possession. A case was registered and further probe was on. Efforts were on to nab the absconder, Manjit Singh. Our Correspondent Two suspects in custody of the police in Tarn Taran. GURBAXPURI gangster Prabh Dassuwal and Gopi Ghanshampuria and carried out firing on their directions to extort money. The accused were further planning to commit a crime in Punjab and were frequently changing their locations, said the SSP . The SSP said the police had received specific human and technical inputs about these two suspects hatching a conspiracy to commit a sensational crime in the state. The SSP said a case under Sections 125, 308(4) and 324(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act had already been registered at the Patti (city) police station.