05042026-ATR-01.qxd 04-04-2026 22:57 Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune GNDU TO BACK BRIGHT, MARGINALISED STUDENTS FARMERS TO HOLD PROTEST OVER ‘NEGLECT’ OF VALLAH MANDI The Vegetable Growers Association will burn an effigy of Mandi Board officials on April 10 over persistent problems. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY, RAIN MAX 23°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 26°C | MIN 17°C MEZZE PLATTER UNDER A MESMERISING SKYLINE University signs MoU to offer financial assistance to poor meritorious students. P2 FORECAST one8 commune, one of India’s most recognised all-day dining concepts, expands to Ludhiana. P4 » » SUNSET SUNDAY 6.52 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6:12 AM » SUNDAY | 5 APRIL 2026 | AMRITSAR BJP stages protest, demands CBI probe, justice for Randhawa Cops gone to nab escapee undertrial attacked; 2 held More than 1 lakh illegal water connections, MC to start drive Charanjit Singh Teja Pathankot, April 4 The Pathankot police found itself at the receiving end when the kin of an undertrial attacked a police party at Dolewal village falling under the jurisdiction of Taragarh police station. Two cops were taking an undertrial, Suraj Shah, back to prison on a motorcycle after he had attended a court hearing. However, when the cops reached near Parmanand railway crossing, Suraj started a scuffle and managed to flee to his native village Dolewal, which is located nearby. SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon said that when a police party went to arrest him, relatives of Suraj and some villagers, including the Sarpanch, attacked them. The uniforms of some cops were torn in the scuffle. The cops managed to nab Suraj, who was hiding in somebody’s house. The police have registered a case against eight persons, including the sarpanch, at the Taragarh police station. Two of the suspects have been arrested. Dhillon said the remaining accused would be nabbed soon as the police had tangible clues about their whereabouts. —TNS Amritsar, April 4 The municipal corporation here has decided to intensify its drive against illegal water and sewer connections across the city, warning residents that failure to regularise such connections will lead to disconnection. The move comes amid mounting financial losses and poor response to earlier regularisation campaigns. The action follows the restructuring of the civic body’s water and sewerage wing into Amritsar Urban Water and Waste Water Management Limited, under conditions linked to a World Bank-funded canal water supply project. Officials said the new entity would focus on streamlining services, Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 4 The BJP held a state-level protest in Amritsar, accusing the state administration of failing to keep law and order, demanding justice for the family of Gagandeep Singh Randhawa and calling for a probe by the CBI. Addressing party workers, BJP Punjab president Sunil Jakhar said the party would continue its agitation until justice was delivered to the victim’s family. He maintained that the protest was not political in nature, but aimed at securing justice, adding that the incident had raised concerns across Punjab. Targeting the state leadership, Jakhar alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had “compromised” and claimed that the state was effectively being run by Arvind Kejriwal. He further accused the state government of failing to address public grievances and being insensitive to demands for justice. Referring to a recent attack on the BJP headquarters, Jakhar said such incidents would not deter the party from continuing its struggle. He added that the BJP would ensure that those responsible Senior BJP leaders, including state president Sunil Jakhar and Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, hold a demonstration at the Hall Gate in Amritsar on Saturday. VISHAL KUMAR for the death of the officer were punished, no innocent person was targeted in fake encounters and justice was upheld. The BJP leader also criticised the Congress, questioning its leadership over its stand on the demand for a CBI probe. He alleged that the Congress leadership in Punjab had “surrendered” before the state government, while the Chief Minister had, in turn, “surrendered” to Kejriwal. Meanwhile, Cabinet minister Ravneet Singh Bittu criticised the Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring for not signing a joint request seeking a CBI inquiry, despite an earlier understanding that all MPs from Punjab would support the demand. They also expressed disappointment over the silence of AAP MPs on the issue. Traffic chaos amid dharna BJP protest at Hall Gate led to severe traffic congestion across key city routes, leaving commuters stranded for hours. Major bottlenecks were reported at Bhandari Bridge, Crystal Chowk, Ram Bagh, elevated road and roads leading to Hall Gate. Commuters faced significant delays as traffic remained gridlocked during peak hours. “I was stuck near Crystal Chowk for nearly half an hour. There was no police management visible,” said Rajesh Kumar, a commuter. Another resident, Simran Kaur, said, “It took me over 45 minutes to cross a short stretch near Hall Gate. Such protests should be better managed.” Many commuters also expressed frustration over the lack of traffic regulation. c m y b Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service improving revenue collection and ensuring that all connections were legal. According to official estimates, around 1.04 lakh illegal water and sewer connections are currently operational in the city. Despite multiple awareness drives and special camps organised over the past two years, less than 3,000 connections had been regularised so far, reflecting poor response from residents. Officials said that those seeking new water or sewer connections would now be required to provide a valid property tax receipt. In cases where properties fall under exempted categories, particularly those below 125 sq yds, nil property tax receipt can be submitted. The MC has also made property ID mandatory through its egovernance platform, linking water and sewer services directly with tax compliance. Data from the corporation shows that Amritsar currently has 1,93,000 water connections and 1,89,000 sewer connections. Of these, 1,79,000 water and sewer connections are domestic, while 14,000 water and 10,000 sewer connections fall under the commercial category. A major concern for the civic body is the presence of around 5,546 defunct commercial meters. Consumers linked to these meters currently pay a nominal monthly charge of Rs 200, leading to significant revenue losses. In a recent general house meeting, it was decided that if such meters were not repaired within three months, then users would be billed three times the average consumption. Labourer electrocuted, another seriously hurt Tarn Taran, April 4 One labourer died after coming in contact with electric cables, while another was seriously injured here on Saturday at the local Focal Point. The labourer engaged in house construction at Focal Point here died on the spot after coming in contact with the high voltage cables, while another one was seriously injured. He has been admitted to the hospital, where his condition is critical. The deceased has been identified as Sona Singh (35), a resident of Jhander and is survived by four children. He had come here from his village to work as a labourer in house construction work. A 132 KV power line was passing over the house under construction and as soon as both passed under the power cable, they were pulled up and came in contact with it. Sona died on the spot, while the other one was seriously injured. — OC