14122025-ATR-01.qxd 12/13/2025 11:54 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY PUBLIC SPACES OUTSIDE POLICE STATION TURN SCRAPYARD ANJU MODI BEHIND ICONIC COSTUMES OF BOLLYWOOD AKSHAY’S RESPONSE TO AKSHAYE KHANNA’S TEES MAAR KHAN JOKE In Ranjit Avenue, public spaces have turned into scrapyards, right under the nose of the Amritsar MC. P2 Designer Anju Modi was in Chandigarh to launch her new Jaypore x collection of hand-embroidered garments. P4 Amid buzz around Ranveer’s Dhurandhar, Akshay Kumar dropped quick-witted response to humorous content on social media.P4 » » » MAX 22°C | MIN 11°C YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET SUNDAY 5.28 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 7.22 AM SUNDAY | 14 DECEMBER 2025 | AMRITSAR All arrangements in place for rural body polls in Amritsar, Tarn Taran Tribune News Service SAD candidate Captain Nirmal Singh (4th from right) after joining AAP in Amritsar on Saturday. SAD candidate Nirmal Singh joins AAP ahead of elections Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 Even as campaigning for the zila parishad and block samiti elections formally concluded, political activity continued on the ground in Amritsar. A day ahead of the polls, Amritsar Improvement Trust Chairman and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in-charge for the Amritsar North Assembly constituency Karamjit Singh Rintu on Saturday claimed that an Akali Dal (Badal) candidate contesting the Kamla Devi block samiti election had joined the AAP along with his supporters. According to Rintu, during election outreach activities, Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) candidate Captain Nirmal Singh said he was impressed by the policies of the Aam Aadmi Party and the development works carried out in the Amritsar North Assembly segment. Captain Nirmal Singh, along with his associates, formally joined the AAP and extended support to the party’s block samiti candidate, Gurpreet Singh Babbu. Rintu welcomed Captain Nirmal Singh and his supporters into the party and inducted them by presenting a siropa at a formal ceremony. He said the development reflected growing public confidence in the Aam Aadmi Party at the grassroots level. Claiming strong support for the AAP in the ongoing zila parishad and block samiti elections, Rintu said the party was receiving an overwhelming response from voters. He expressed confidence that AAP candidates would win all block samiti seats in the Amritsar North Assembly constituency. Amritsar, December 13 The district administration has completed all preparations for the zila parishad and block samiti elections, with polling teams dispatched to rural polling stations on Saturday. Elections will be held in 21 zila parishad zones and 132 block samiti zones across the district. The district has a total of 24 zila parishad zones and 195 block samiti zones. However, three zila parishad members and 63 block samiti members have already been declared elected unopposed, as no other candidates filed nominations against them or their nomination papers were rejected. Voting will be conducted through ballot papers from 8 am to 4 pm on Sunday. After polling, ballot boxes will be deposited at 10 designated counting centres set up by the district election office. The counting of votes will be held on December 17. Staff on poll duty collect material from a dispatch centre in Amritsar on Saturday. To ensure free, fair and peaceful elections, the district administration has declared a dry day. The ban on the sale of liquor will come into effect from midnight tonight and will continue till 10 am on December 15. Strong security arrangements have been put in place by the police administration, which stated that all prepara- tions have been completed to conduct the elections in a peaceful and transparent manner. In the city, Mai Bhago College has been designated as the main dispatch centre After months of delay & statewide protests, Nearly 30,000 pending cases govt releases aided college salary funds settled in National Lok Adalat Neha Walia Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 13 Bowing to sustained pressure from the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union (PCCTU), the state government has finally released the pending salary grants for aided colleges. In aided colleges across Punjab, discontent had been brewing for nearly a year over the state government’s failure to release salary grants. Teachers in aided colleges had not been receiving their full salaries as the state government failed to release funds under the grant-in-aid scheme to college managements, which in turn could pay only partial salaries to faculty members. An emergency meeting of the executive committee of the PCCTU was held last week, with representatives from 38 Members of the PCCTU had been putting pressure for months on the state government to release salary grants. FILE colleges in attendance. During the meeting, it was announced that a massive protest would be held in Finance Minister Harpal Cheema’s constituency, Dirba, against the non-release of salary grants for 136 aided colleges pending with the Finance Department since March. “The state government has released salary grants up to October for 136 colleges. At least teachers will now be able to receive their salaries till October. Colleges are already facing a decline in teaching staff due to multiple factors, and financial distress only worsens the problem,” said PCCTU (Punjab) chair- person Seema Jaitley, who is also a faculty member at BBK DAV College, Amritsar. Earlier, the government released salary grants on a quarterly basis. However, salary grant bills of 38 colleges had been pending since March and those of 93 colleges since August with the Finance Department. As a result, teachers in 38 colleges were deprived of salaries for the past nine months, while teachers in 93 colleges had not been paid for the last four months. All India Federation of College Teachers’ Organisations vice-president Dr Vinay Sofat said the organisation had been in continuous communication for several weeks with Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, the Finance Secretary, the Education Secretary and other senior officials. “Joint action continued on page 3 Amritsar, December 13 Nearly 30,000 pending cases were amicably resolved during the National Lok Adalat held at the district courts here and at the subdivisional courts in Ajnala and Baba Bakala Sahib on Saturday. The settlements involved a total financial value exceeding Rs 59 crore, underscoring the effectiveness of Lok Adalats in reducing the burden of litigation and ensuring timely relief to litigants. Twentysix Benches were constituted in the district, which collectively took up over 33,000 cases for disposal. Of these, 20 Benches were set up at the district courts, while three Benches each were constituted at the Ajnala and Baba Bakala Sahib subdivisions to ensure wider access to justice. In Amritsar, the Lok Adalat was held under the chairmanship of District and Sessions Judge Jatinder Kaur, with coor- from where polling teams are being sent to different areas. Around 2,800 police personnel have been deployed for election duty. The security arrangements are being supervised by 11 DSPs, three SPs and the SSP , Amritsar (Rural). A total of 10 dispatch centres have been set up in the district, and additional police force has been requisitioned from outside wherever required. Vigilance teams and companies of the Punjab Armed Police have also been deployed to maintain law and order. Returning Officer Majitha and Regional Transport Officer Khushdil Singh Sandhu said that 119 polling booths have been set up in Majitha-1 and 97 in Majitha2. All election material, including ballot papers and ballot boxes, is ready and the randomisation process has been completed. Additional security has been deployed in sensitive continued on page 3 9,808 cases resolved in Tarn Taran Our Correspondent District and Sessions Judge Jatinder Kaur being welcomed at the district courts in Amritsar on Saturday. dinated efforts by the DLSA. Several long-pending civil disputes and cheque-related cases were settled following extensive pre-Lok Adalat counselling and persuasion, sparing the parties years of further litigation. Notably, old civil recovery disputes involving banks and pri- vate firms were resolved through mutual compromise, with parties agreeing to reduced settlement amounts and structured payment plans. Similarly, commercial disputes pending for several years were withdrawn after amicable settlements. — TNS Tarn Taran, December 13 A National Lok Adalat was organised in the district on Saturday under the directions of the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA), during which a total of 10,967 cases were taken up for hearing and 9,808 cases were disposed of. The Lok Adalat was conducted under the supervision of District and Sessions Judge Kanwaljit Singh Bajwa, who is also the Chairman of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA). A total of eight benches were constituted — five for the Tarn Taran subdivision, two for Patti and one for the Khadroor Sahib subdivision. Each Bench was headed by a judicial officer. As a result of the decisions taken during continued on page 3 Obsolete machinery imports choking Squash star Tanvi inspires budding players Batala’s industrial growth: Industrialists Tribune News Service Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Batala, December 13 Genuine businessmen in Batala have claimed that a large section of the city’s industrialists are importing old and obsolete machinery at throwaway prices and, after applying superficial finishing touches, selling it in the market. This practice, they allege, is “crowding out honest industrialists”. Industrialists say this is a major reason why genuine manufacturers are rapidly shifting their base to other states, leaving the city slowly turning into a “ghost town”. While the problem is most pronounced in Batala — often referred to as the ‘steel town’, a euphemism coined during the city’s heyday in the machine-tool sector — it is also prevalent in other traditional manufacturing clus- The domestic machine-tool industry is being undercut by second-hand machines imported at scrap value. ters such as Ludhiana, Rajkot, Coimbatore, Kolhapur and Peenya in Bengaluru, which is considered Asia’s largest industrial estate. Paramjit Singh Gill, president of the Batala Industrial Estate Factories’ Association (BIEFA), said an extensive survey was recently conducted to ascertain why businessmen were relocating their assets and infrastructure to other states. “The domestic machine- tool industry is being undercut by cranky, second-hand machines imported at scrap value. These machines are refurbished and sold at cheap rates, automatically crowding out genuine manufacturers and turning the country into a dumping ground for archaic technology. Hundreds of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are fighting a losing battle. This is not fair competition,” said Gill, a leading manufacturer of defence products. He added that 20- to 30year-old Computer Numerical Control (CNC) lathe machines, imported at scrap prices, are being sold at 3040 per cent below the cost of a brand-new machine manufactured by Indian MSMEs. “Cost-conscious buyers compare only the headline price, not accuracy, continued on page 3 c m y b Amritsar, December 13 Squash sensation Tanvi Khanna — ranked 3rd nationally and 69th globally — recently visited the Senior Study Sports Centre here, interacting with students. The Asian Games bronze medallist, who is among India’s top next-generation women squash players, shared with the attendees of the event her journey, offering students expert training. Delving into how she, a Columbia University graduate, balanced an Ivy League education with a highly competitive sport like squash, Tanvi emphasised dedication and perseverance, exhorting the young athletes to chase their dreams. “One must always strive for excellence, and push one’s limits,” she said as she shared a tips with aspiring sportspersons. As one of India’s prominent professional squash athletes, known for her international Indian squash sensation Tanvi Khanna with players at the Senior Study Sports Centre in Amritsar. presence on the PSA circuit, collegiate success in the US, and contributions to India’s squash teams at major multi-sport events including Asian Games, Tanvi shared details of her training regimen, highlighting the importance of mental toughness and physical fitness. She said, for a sportsperson, being self-driven, and discipline were imperative. She demonstrated advanced squash techniques, exhorting students to stay focused and work hard, citing her own experiences. Tanvi led students — who were curious about international athletes trained — through drills and exercises. She also interacted with squash captains Siya Mehra and Anindya Arya. Shravan Mehra, director of the centre, and a squash player, said Tanvi’s passion for squash was infectious, leaving a lasting impact on the students. “We look forward to hosting more such inspiring events, nurturing young talent and fostering a love for sports. She is an icon for young athletes, especially girls, who want to exceed their limits and achieve their goals,” he said.