10012025-ATR-01.qxd 1/9/2025 11:39 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST FOG IN MORNING MAX 14°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 15°C | MIN 5°C TIME CAPSULE: TATA NANO LAUNCHED ON JAN 10, 2008 100 COUPLES CELEBRATE LOHRI WITH THEIR NEWBORNS PRIYANKA JOINS ANUJA AS AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Ratan Tata, the then chairman of Tata Group, envisioned an affordable vehicle for burgeoning middle class. P2 The couples share their inspiring journey and joy of parenthood with the guests present on the occasion. P2 Priyanka is happy that she has come on board as an executive producer for the Oscar-shortlisted film. P4 » » » SUNSET FRIDAY 5.45 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7.31 AM FRIDAY | 10 JANUARY 2025 | AMRITSAR Man out on bail shot at, injured Tarn Taran, January 9 Kanwaljit (35), a resident of Mohalla Guru Ka Khooh here, was shot at and injured by four motorcycle-borne armed persons in the busy bazaar of Mohalla Guru Ka Khooh this afternoon. The victim was admitted to the Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran, in a serious condition. SP (Investigation) Ajayraj Singh and DSP (City) Kamalmeet Singh visited the spot and visited the hospital to enquire about the condition of the injured. Considering his condition serious, the doctors of the hospital referred him to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar. Kanwaljit said he had identified three of the assailants as Bant, his son Vinay and Tota of the local Muradpur locality and claimed that he may recognise the fourth accused in case he is presented before him. Kanwaljit said even a policeman was allegedly behind the attack as he was hand in glove with the assailants who indulged in anti-social activities. The injured was booked in a case of attempt to murder and was out on bail. Today, he also complained to the court that his statement was not being recorded by the police so that it could be shown that he was not helping the police in the case. The police said a case was being filed in this regard. — OC Dense fog reduces visibility, leads to disruption of flight, train ops PPCB seizes 1,200 spools of synthetic kite string PK Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amid dense fog, school students walk to their school in Amritsar on Thursday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 9 With dense fog making a comeback, passengers had a tough time in reaching their destinations as rail, road and air traffic were hit due to poor visibility. Fog led to the cancellation of at least three flights coming to the city from various destinations and delay in arrival of as many flights. Besides, fog also caused delay in arrival of trains as many of them reached late and passengers had to quite a long time in travelling. As per railway officials, the Hazur Sahib Nanded-Amritsar Superfast Express was late by two hours and 10 minutes, the Jammu Tawi-Sambalpur Express by 30 minutes, the Vande Bharat Express by 21 minutes, the New Tinsukia-Amritsar Express by 45 minutes and the Bhagat Ki Kothi-Jammu Tawi Express by one hour. The railway officials said with fog clearing in many regions earlier, trains had started running on schedule but with a fresh spell of fog, these got delayed in reaching the destination. The officials stated that trains will face more delay if fog persists. Apart from rail and air passengers, those travelling by road also faced inconvenience as the visibility was reduced to just a few metres. “In some areas, it was very clear but in other areas, fog was so dense that one could not see beyond a few meters away,” said Ranjit Singh while talking about prevailing of fog on the AmritsarKhemkaran road. Though no major road accident due to fog was reported on Thursday, the absence of light reflectors and tail lights on most goods carriers and trolleys was a cause for concern for commuters. “An employee has to reach his office on time despite dense fog. With most drivers unaware of the hazards caused by absence of reflectors and tail-lights, risk to commuters becomes even graver,” said Harmanjit Singh, another resident. Amritsar, January 9 Following a tip-off on the helpline number, the Punjab Pollution Control Board on Thursday seized 1,200 spools of synthetic kite flying string, popularly known as dragon dor or Chinese kite string, from Ghee Mandi area. This was the first seizure in Amritsar after the PPCB issued a helpline number about the illegal sale purchase of the banned kite string five days ago. After getting information, a team of the PPCB led by SDO Jasmeet Singh raided the spot and confiscated 12 boxes containing the string. “The informer shared the number of the truck and the transport address where the banned string was being unloaded. The consignment, arrived from Karnal district in Haryana, was to be delivered to Nikhil Gupta in Jandiala Guru,” said Jasmeet Singh, while adding that the seized string was handed over to the police station concerned for further action. He said that in the bill, the boxes were showcased as containing textile yarn The seized spools of banned kite string in custody of officials of the PPCB in Amritsar on Thursday. in order to dodge the police and the raiding PPCB teams. Taking a serious note of rampant sale of the banned kite string, the PPCB launched a toll free number 1800-180-2810 five days ago while urging people to share information regarding illegal sale and storage of the Chinese string. It also announced a reward of ~25,000 for the informer by assuring him of keeping his name confidential. The National Green Tri- bunal, Government of Punjab, Department of Science and Environment in exercise of the powers conferred under the Environment (protection) Act issued a notification in July 2023 completely banning the manufacturing, sale, storage, purchase, supply, import and use of kite flying thread made of nylon, plastic or any other synthetic material, including Chinese dor or Manjha and any other synthetic kite flying thread, which is coated with synthetic sub- stance or is non-biodegradable as well as any other kite flying string that is sharp or made sharp by being laced with glass, metal or any other sharp material in Punjab. If any person violates the provisions issued under the Environment Protection Act, he would be liable to penalty which shall not be less than ~10,000, but may extend to ~15 lakh. The violator could also be sentenced for five years and/or imposed a fine of ~1 lakh or both. Cold conditions bring cheer to Vehicle lifter nabbed, Water supply dept employees wheat-growing farmers in dist six bikes recovered stage protest, want regular jobs Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 9 The Ranjit Avenue police have arrested a vehicle thief and recovered six stolen bikes from his possession during interrogation. He was identified as Dilbagh Singh, alias Baga, of Kandiala village and now residing at Guru Ram Das Nagar near Kot Khalsa here. Assistant Commissioner of Police Maninderpal Singh said during the checking of vehicles near the Ranjit Avenue D block market, the police intercepted a motorcyclist. He could not produce the papers of the bike which was later found to be stolen one. He was arrested and brought on police remand for further interrogation. His quizzing led to the recovery of five more motorcycles which were stolen from different parts of the city. The ACP said the police were hoping for more recoveries during further investigations. A vegetable farmer works in his field at Bhangali Gilla village in Amritsar on Thursday. VISHAL KUMAR Amritsar, January 9 While cold weather conditions may have impacted normal life in the city, it has certainly brought cheer to farmers in the district. Farmers say cold conditions are conducive for the growth of wheat plants. While the region has been witnessing frost during the early morning hours for the last many days, the chill in the air remains throughout the day. However, wheat growers are not worried as they stated that the condition is good for tillering of the plants which would eventually lead to a good harvest. Vegetable growers, however, are a little worried as the prevailing weather condition has stunted the growth of saplings and slowed the flowering process which would lead to a drop in harvest. The farmers are also making efforts to protect the small vegetable plants by covering them with tarpau- lin sheets to protect them from direct harm caused by frost. Tajinder Singh, Chief Agriculture Officer, said, “With frost conditions, farmers do not have to worry about the wheat crop. They might have to take extra care of vegetables and fruit trees in case of frost.” He said fodder and vegetable fields should be applied light irrigation in early morning hours to lower the temperature around them. — TNS Contractual employees burn an effigy of the state government in Tarn Taran on Thursday. Our Correspondent The suspect in custody of the Amritsar police. Tarn Taran, January 9 The employees working in the Water Supply and Sanitation Department on enlistment and outsource basis, organised a demonstration and burnt an effigy of the state government here on Thursday. The protesting employees, under the leadership of Dilbag Singh Doburji, district president of the Water Supply and Sanitation Man, daughter die BSF seizes heroin, pistol from border areas in road accident Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, January 9 A man and his three-year-old daughter died in a road accident that took place on the Tarn Taran-Patti road on Wednesday evening. The mishap took place near Shahabpur village. The man’s wife and son were injured in the accident. ASI Gursewak Singh of Sarhali police said the deceased have been identified as Gurpreet Singh (35) and his daughter Roohi. The injured Priya (30), wife of the deceased and son Jaspal Singh (8), were admitted to the local Civil Hos- pital but keeping in view their serious condition, were referred to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar. The police said the family, all residents of Sabhra village, was on its way to Amritsar from Patti side on a motorcycle when a speeding canter (UP-61 T-3352) coming from the other side hit their motorcycle. Both father and daughter died on the spot. DSP Guriqbal Singh said the driver fled from the spot leaving behind his canter. A case has been registered against the unidentified driver. — OC Amritsar, January 9 Acting on information received from the Border Security Force intelligence wing about the presence of suspicious items at two different locations along the border area in Amritsar district, the paramilitary force conducted search operations in the suspected places. During the search operation, conducted at about 11.40 am, the troops successfully recovered a packet containing suspected heroin (gross weight 520 gram) from a sugarcane field adja- The seized heroin in custody of BSF personnel in Amritsar. cent to Khanwal village in Amritsar district. The pack- c m y b et, wrapped in yellow adhesive tape, had a thread- made ring and two illumination strips tied to it. In another incident, during a search operation at about 3:30 pm, BSF troops successfully recovered a PX5 Storm pistol of .30 bore along with an empty magazine from a field ahead of the border fence, adjacent to Rajatal village in Amritsar district. The recovered pistol was found wrapped in yellow adhesive tape, which was further wrapped in blue polythene. An iron ring and two illumination strips were also found tied to the pistol, indicating that it was dropped by a drone. Contract Workers Union, Punjab, flayed the state government for not regularising the services of those employees who have been working in the department for years. The protesting employees staged a march in town and burnt the effigy of the state government warning that they would go on an agitation path if justice is not delivered to them. Gurwinder Singh Bath, state leader of the organisation, besides Des Raj Randhawa and Sukhwinder Singh Patti were among those who addressed the gathering and criticised the sub-committee formed by the state government which invited the leaders of Theka Mulazam Sangharsh Morcha to discuss their current demands on January 7 but refused to meet them. The leaders returned without meeting the members of the subcommittee. Licences of travel agents, IELTS centres cancelled Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 9 Taking action under the Prevention of Human Smuggling Act, 2012 and Punjab Travel Professions Regulation Act, the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) has cancelled licences of several IELTS centres besides travel and ticketing agencies. ADM Jyoti Bala stated that no request has been made by these agencies to renew their licences and some agencies have given a request that they are not willing following which their licences have been cancelled. ADM Jyoti Bala, in exercise of powers vested in her under Section 6(1) (e) of the Punjab Travel Professions Act Regulation Act, 2012, issued notices to Dhruv Sekhri, immigration consultant at Kennedy Avenue, BS Institute at Jethuwal, Subha Travels, Katra Baggiyan, First Step Visa Services at Ramtirth Road, Max Education Service and Test Centre at Pal Plaza, Ranjit Avenue, Ganesh Service at Kabir Park, True Visa World at main Market, New Amritsar, Guru continued on page 2