12052026-ATR-01.qxd 5/11/2026 11:52 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY VEHICLES BANNED ON BUSY GOLDEN TEMPLE PATHWAY GNDU SPOTLIGHTS PUNJAB’S PIONEERING TECH ICONS PRIYANKA CHOPRA SHINES IN CHIKANKARI GOWN Stretch connecting Langar Sri Guru Ramdas Ji to Gurdwara Baba Atal Rai Sahib to be revamped. P2 On the same wavelength as India’s future, Amritsar varsity joins nation’s quantum leap. P3 Priyanka Chopra wore an off-white Chikankari gown to receive Global Vanguard Honour in Los Angeles. P4 » » MAX 35°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 22°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.17 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.35 AM » TUESDAY | 12 MAY 2026 | AMRITSAR City girls shine in PSEB Class X exams The district recorded the highest pass percentage in the state at 98.41% Neha Saini Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 11 Amritsar district topped Punjab in pass percentage as the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) declared the Class X examination results on Monday. The district recorded an impressive 98.41 per cent pass percentage, with girls outperforming boys. A total of 31 students from Amritsar secured places in the state merit list. Tanvir Kaur, Gagandeep Kaur and Rajpreet Kaur, all students of Amber Senior Secondary School, Nawa Tanel village in Baba Bakala, jointly secured the top position in the district and eighth rank in the state by scoring 98 per cent marks. They were followed by Sumanpreet Kaur and Charanjit Kaur of the same school, who shared the ninth rank in the state merit list and second position in the district with 97.85 per cent marks. Among government school students, Jaskirat Singh Dhaliwal of Government High School, Maha Singh Gate, stood out by securing 97.23 per cent marks and earning the 12th rank in the state merit list. “Out of 26,443 students who appeared for the examination in the district, 26,022 passed, taking the district’s pass percentage to 98.41, the highest in Punjab. This achievement Customs seize hydroponic weed worth ~5.17 cr at city airport Man booked for unlawful confinement Judicial probe ordered into death of Amritsar Central Jail inmate passenger arrived on the night of May 9/10 aboard Thai Lion Air flight SL-214. During screening, Customs officials conducted an X-ray examination of the passenger’s baggage, leading to the recovery of 5,176 grams (5.176 kg) of hydroponic weed (ganja). Officials said the seized contraband is estimated to be worth around Rs 5.176 crore in the international market. The narcotic substance was seized under the provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985. The passenger was immediately taken into custody and formally arrested. Further investigations are underway to trace the source and possible net- Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, May 11 The city police have booked an unidentified man for wrongfully confining a 26year-old woman. The father of the victim woman, in his complaint to the city police, stated that his daughter had gone to the university in Amritsar a week ago, but she did not return home. The mobile phone of the woman was switched off and she did not return home. The victim’s father alleged that she had been wrongfully confined by some unidentified person. ASI Narinder Singh said that a case under Section 127 (6) of the BNS was registered against some unidentified person on Sunday. Amritsar, May 11 A judicial probe has been initiated into the death of an inmate lodged in the Amritsar Central Jail, who died during treatment at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH) on Saturday night. The deceased, identified as Lovepreet Singh, had been in jail for nearly two-and-ahalf years. Family members of the deceased accused the jail authorities of negligence and alleged that Lovepreet was denied proper medical care despite being unwell for over a month. They also raised allegations of drug abuse inside the jail premises. Rakesh Kumar, SHO, Police personnel inspect the BJP office in Tarn Taran on Monday. PHOTO BY WRITER BJP office attacked by miscreants in Tarn Taran, police probe begins Gurbaxpuri Tarn Taran, May 11 Around 10 unidentified persons on Monday entered the office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) here and vandalised the premises. The attackers raised slogans of “Punjab Ekta Zindabad” and “Bharatiya Janata Party Murdabad”. Some party workers managed to catch one of the attackers, but the assailants soon started hurling bricks inside the office, forcing the workers to run for safety and defend themselves. The doors of the office were dam- Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 11 Customs officials at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport have busted two separate international drug smuggling attempts, recovering hydroponic weed worth Rs 5.17 crore and suspected MDMA tablets weighing more than 25 kg from passengers arriving from Southeast Asian countries. Acting on specific intelligence shared by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Customs officials intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok and recovered a large quantity of hydroponic weed valued at over Rs 5 crore. According to officials, the aged in the attack. The miscreants also threw ink inside rooms of the party office before fleeing the spot. A government agency office is located close to the BJP office. The attackers allegedly broke doors and caused further damage to the property. BJP district president Harjit Singh Sandhu said some of the attackers had covered their faces, while others were bare-faced. SSP Surinder Lamba said the entire incident was captured on CCTVs and a police team was sent to the spot to gather information. He said the police are treating the matter seriously and necessary action is being taken. Reports also suggested that the attackers fired shots during the incident. SSP Lamba did not deny the possibility of firing and said police have launched a thorough investigation using CCTV footage. The BJP office is situated on the outskirts of the town, which helped the attackers escape from the scene. Harjit Singh Sandhu said that at the time of the incident, several party activists as well as members of the public were present at the office to seek redressal of their grievances. work involved in the smuggling attempt. In another case, Customs officials arrested a passenger arriving from Cambodia after recovering suspected narcotic tablets weighing over 25 kg from his baggage on the intervening night of May 6 and 7. According to officials, the passenger arrived via Kuala Lumpur on flight MH-118. The interception was carried out on the basis of Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) profiling by Customs officials. During a detailed examination and X-ray screening of the passenger’s baggage, officials recovered tablets weighing 25.25 kg suspected to be continued on page 2 District toppers and state merit list holders (L-R): Tanvir Kaur, Gagandeep Kaur and Rajpreet Kaur being congratulated by their teachers in Amritsar. reflects the hard work of teachers, school heads, students and education department officials, who implemented the state government’s new education policies despite multiple responsibilities,” said District Education Officer Rajesh Kumar Sharma. District Review Committee (DRC) member Dr Majitha Road police station, said on Monday that a judicial inquiry had been initiated as per protocol in custodial death cases. He added that the body was handed over to the family after a postmortem conducted in the presence of a judicial magistrate. “Initially, the family was reluctant to allow the postmortem and wanted to take the body home. However, they were informed that in such cases, a judicial probe and autopsy by a medical board are mandatory,” said the SHO. He said the exact cause of death would be confirmed only after the postmortem report is received. According to the police, Lovepreet Singh had been Rajan congratulated the teachers and students and expressed confidence that they would continue setting new benchmarks in education through dedication and hard work. ‘Being a farmer’s daughter, hard work is in my blood’ Tanvir Kaur, a Class X stu- arrested under the Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Jail authorities shifted him to GNDH after he reportedly complained of breathing difficulties. The inmate died during treatment late Saturday night, triggering allegations against the jail administration. Family members claimed that Lovepreet’s condition had deteriorated due to alleged drug abuse inside the jail. They further alleged that marks resembling injection wounds were found on his arm and held the jail authorities responsible for his death. The family has demanded a thorough investigation into the circumstances leading to the inmate’s death. dent of Amber Senior Secondary School, Nawa Tanel, aspires to pursue science education. Her father, Gurjit Singh, is a farmer, while her mother is a homemaker. She attributed her success to selfstudy and determination. “A farmer’s daughter, hard work is in my blood. I want to make my parents, village and school proud,” she said while celebrating her achievement with classmates. The school has six girls in the state merit list. Tanvir said she wants to study artificial intelligence (AI) and technology with the aim of contributing to the welfare of the agrarian community. Sukhwinder Singh, director of Amber Senior Secondary School, said students from rural border areas, especially girls, are highly determined and often achieve excellent results without coaching or tuition. “They are aware of the importance of education and see it as a path to growth and success. Most of our merit holders achieved these scores through self-study,” he added. Congress gains strength as AAP ex-councillors switch sides Tribune News Service Batala, May 11 In a setback to the ruling AAP , three former municipal councillors joined the Congress in the presence of district Congress in-charge Amandeep Singh Jayantipuria. The leaders switched sides ahead of the municipal corporation (MC) elections scheduled to be held later this month. The term of the previous MC House ended in April. The three former AAP councillors who joined the Congress are Rajesh Kumar Tuli, Balwinder Singh and Sardool Singh. All three were members of the previous MC House. Several former councillors continued on page 2 CCTV-based online challaning Roadside green belts bear brunt of stubble burning system to start in city soon Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, May 11 After the successful implementation of automated online challaning systems in Jalandhar and Ludhiana, Amritsar is now set to introduce the facility within the next 10 to 15 days. The launch, however, has been delayed due to the absence of essential traffic safety markings such as zebra crossings, speed limit indicators and other mandatory road signs, despite the restoration of networking for CCTV cameras installed under the Smart City Project. Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the police department has been coordinating with the Amritsar Municipal Corporation to complete the pending work. “Proper road signage and markings are crucial for the effective enforcement of traffic rules through automated systems. We expect the municipal corporation to CCTVs installed at a light point in Amritsar. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR complete the work shortly,” he said while speaking to The Tribune. Once operational, the automated challaning system is expected not only to penalise traffic violators as per the law, but also to improve overall traffic management and road discipline in the city. Under the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) project launched as part of the Smart City Mission at a cost of Rs 105 crore, over 1,200 CCTV cameras were installed across major roads and intersections in the holy city. The project deadline had earlier been continued on page 2 Amritsar, May 11 Even as the district administration continues to claim a decline in farm fire incidents across the district, vast stretches of roadside green belts and tree lines along highways and link roads are showing visible signs of damage caused by recurring stubble-burning fires. A visit to several rural roads in the district revealed blackened soil, burnt undergrowth and severely damaged trees lining agricultural fields. In many places, flames from crop residue fires appear to have spread beyond fields into green belts maintained along roadsides, leaving tree trunks charred at the base and destroying shrubs and natural vegetation. “It is strange that the administration has not highlighted the action taken against these fires, unlike in previous seasons. Maybe this is an election year and the government does not want to annoy any section,” said Rajinder Singh, a c m y b Wheat stubble in flames at a field near Amritsar. local activist. Environmentalists and residents say the impact of these fires goes far beyond temporary smoke pollution. Repeated exposure to intense heat weakens roadside trees, damages bark and roots, reduces the lifespan of plantations and affects biodiversity in the area. Small plants and nesting habitats for birds and insects are often destroyed in the process. Locals travelling on rural roads said that while the number of officially reported farm fires may have declined compared to previous years, farmers in several areas continue to use fire as the quickest and cheapest method to clear crop residue after harvesting. They added that many incidents occur during late evening or night hours when monitoring is less strict. The issue has also raised concerns over road safety. Smoke from farm fires drifting onto highways and village roads reduces visibility, particularly during early morning and late evening hours, increasing the risk of accidents. Fires often spread to dry grass and roadside plantations, causing long stretches of green cover to wither. Agriculture expert Dr Tejinder Singh pointed out that burning stubble not only damages the environment but also reduces soil fertility by destroying beneficial microorganisms and organic nutrients present in the topsoil. Continuous burning can harden the soil and increase long-term dependence on chemical fertilisers, he said. Officials maintain that awareness campaigns, subsidies on residue-management machinery and strict penalties have helped reduce the number of fire incidents in recent years. However, environmental activists argue that the damaged condition of roadside green belts in many parts of the district reflects that the practice still remains widespread on the ground.