27032025-ATR-01.qxd 3/26/2025 11:30 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY SGPC CHIEF FLAYS CENTRE’S APPROACH ON SIKH PRISONERS ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT WINS BEST FEATURE FILM AWARD ON WORLD THEATRE DAY, STARS RECOLLECT THEIR FIRST PLAY The SGPC president has criticised the approach of the Union Government on release of Sikh prisoners. P2 Diljit Dosanjh wins best actor and Darshana Rajendran best actress at Critics Choice Awards. P4 It is theatre that has paved the way for some finest actors, bolstering their confidence to own the big screen. P4 » » » MAX 31°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 17°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.36 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6.15 AM THURSDAY | 27 MARCH 2025 | AMRITSAR Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 26 The state budget has made a provision of Rs 80 crore for the construction of Unity Mall in Amritsar. To be built with the financial support of the Centre, the project is likely to put an end to the convention centre which was proposed inside the area of Old Jail about 15 years ago. The Unity Mall will have stalls representing all states and UTs, where artisans from across the country will showcase their products. Proposed about a decade and half ago, the project has seen several changes in its nomenclature but actual work on the ground never kicked off. The state government, endorsing the demand of the traders, had officially announced its establishment in 2010. Citing the example of cities like Frankfurt and Dubai that thrive only on the basis of being major centres for trade exhibitions, similar plans were mooted for the city of Golden Temple. The then SAD-BJP government had made a budgetary announcement to establish a world-class trade centre in Amritsar in 2013. As per the plan, an integrated trade cen- Swindlers take away ~1.97 lakh from cement shop Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 26 Two swindlers stole Rs 1.97 lakh from a building material shop on Tuesday in the border town of Khemkaran. Ravinder Mohan, proprietor of the shop, in his statement to Khemkaran police, said that the swindlers came to the shop on the pretext of purchasing cement. One of the swindlers took him to a nearby shop to check the quality of the cement. Meanwhile, his coswindler took away cash worth Rs 1.97 lakh kept to deal with the customers. The swindlers managed to escape from the spot on a motorcycle on which they came to the shop. The Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Jagdish Singh, said that a case under Sections 331 (4) and 305 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered against the swindlers. PROJECT MOOTED AROUND 15 YRS AGO ■ To be built with the financial support of the Centre, the project is likely to put an end to the convention centre which was proposed inside the area of Old Jail about 15 years ago. The Unity Mall will have stalls representing all states and UTs, where artisans from across the country will showcase their products. ■ Proposed about a decade and half ago, the project has seen several changes in its nomenclature but actual work on the ground never kicked off. The state government, endorsing the demand of the traders, had officially announced its establishment in 2010. Citing the example of cities like Frankfurt and Dubai that thrive only on the basis of being major centres for trade exhibitions, similar plans were mooted for the city of Golden Temple. tre-cum-commercial-cumrecreational complex at the Central Jail venue, spread over an area of 109 acres, was unveiled. Its building was pulled down and the jail was shifted to Fatahpur village on the city’s outskirts. Construction work on the Old Central Jail is yet to begin, though debris and rubble have been removed. Stakes of various trades were interlinked with these projects. Said Kulwant Singh Ankhi, retired principal, “Unity Mall is an initiative of the Central Government, but the AAP government is taking credit for it.” An RTI application filed in 2023 revealed that no site was earmarked for the Trade and Exhibition Centre inside Sri Guru Ramdas Urban Estate. Instead a state-of-the-art building would be raised to set up a convention centre. Again, the name was changed. Now, the state government in unison with the Union Government proposed to set up a Unity Mall on 10 acres of land, which was earlier earmarked for a multipurpose sports stadium in the Ranjit Avenue area. The Punjab Public Works Department (PWD) had already floated a tender for the construction of the mall, with an estimated cost of Rs 153.2 crore and a completion period of 24 months. The mall aims to promote Punjab’s handicraft products in a modern environment, catering to tourists visiting Amritsar daily. The project will also feature the “One District, One Product” initiative, allowing artisans from across the state to showcase their goods. Mixed reactions to AAP govt budget Technology extension centre in city welcomed, state’s debt burden causing concern Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 26 There has been a mixed response to the fourth budget presented by the Bhagwant Mann led-AAP government in state from the industry, hoteliers, agriculturists and the common people. Gunbir Singh, former chairman, CII Punjab, said in his observations on the state budget that the country had moved from being a 2.1 trillion dollar economy in 2015 to a 4.2 trillion dollar economy in 2025. The progress of Punjab must be measured against the bar that the nation has set. Considering that Punjab has fallen from number one rank to being 18th state in the country, the government needs to do much more. This budget is but a proposed account statement in the third year of AAP governance, and no radical change seems to be feasible given the financial health of the state which is today the second most indebted state in India at 46.6 per cent debt-toGDP ratio. “Where will Punjab find funds for the change required is the question to be asked,” he stated. Anil Vinayak, a retired banker, said the budget of Rs 2.36 lakh crore pegged the Shopkeepers watch Punjab Budget at a shop in Amritsar on Wednesday. PHOTO: SUNIL KUMAR state’s financial liability at Rs 3.75 lakh crore and it was nothing short of fiscal jugglery. With no new tax imposed and continued dose of freebies, the decrease in capital expenditure would affect infra development in the border state, negating this year’s theme of ‘Badalta Punjab’. With meagre revenue income, the government should take urgent measures to curtail expenditure like advertisements, VIP security expenses and put a brake on unnecessary office expenditure or ready be to 26-year-old’s decomposed body found; land dispute behind murder, say police Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, March 26 The Chohla Sahib police on Tuesday night found a decomposed body buried under bundles of paddy straw in Dadehar Sahib village. The body was that of a man who was missing from home for more than a month under mysterious circumstances. The police said that the body has been identified as that of Kuldeep Singh Ghuddar (26) of Chohla Sahib. Nishan Singh and Gursewak Singh, brothers of the deceased, and village elders including Sarpanch Kewal Krishan Nayyar, alleged negligence on the part of the police. The family members said that Kuldeep was missing from home since February 23 when he went outside to meet some persons but failed to return home. Inspector Raj Kumar, SHO, Chohla Sahib, said the police was keeping a close watch and had found his Family members of Kuldeep Singh (inset) express anguish over the negligence of the police in Tarn Taran. PHOTO: GURBAXPURI decomposed body on Tuesday night on the basis of information provided by one Sukhdev Singh Sonu of Khara village. Sukhdev Singh Sonu had given the information to Chohla Sahib police following his interrogation done on the orders of a local court. Sukhdev Singh was lodged in Central Jail, Goindwal Sahib, and was interrogated by the Chohla Sahib police. Sukhdev Singh informed the police that Kuldeep Singh was killed by the group led by businessman Jatinder Kumar Goldi of Patti, Arashdeep Singh, Gurpal Singh (both of Sarhali village), Baljit Singh Bhujia of Patti and Shamsher Singh Sonu of Piddi village. Sukhdev, during the interrogation, confessed that they called Kuldeep on February 23 and killed him by hitting him on the head with an iron rod and then strangulated him. The Chohla Sahib police recovered the decomposed body of Kuldeep on Tuesday night. Atul Soni, DSP Goindwal , Sahib, refuted the allegations leveled by the victim’s family regarding alleged negligence on the part of the police and said the police was closely watching and had booked all six accused in the case. The accused Jatinder Kumar Goldy and Sukhdev Singh Soni have been arrested while the other four are still absconding. The police said that the key accused in the killing of Kuldeep is Jatinder Kumar who had purchased four acres of land in which Kuldeep Singh created a hindrance in taking possession. He had planned to kill him with the help of others. face financial anarchy. Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal president Piara Lal Seth and general secretary Sameer Jain said that Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented a budget of Rs 2.36 lakh crore which is about 15 per cent more than last time. Only 0.001 per cent of the total budget was allocated for trade and industry, which is almost negligible. For a Rangla Punjab, the government should allocate at least two per cent of the budget for trade and industry, they demanded. Ravinder Singh Brahmpura, vice-president of the Shiromani Akali Dal and former MLA from the Khadoor Sahib constituency, condemned the state budget as a blatant disregard for the needs of the common people. According to Amritsar Vikas Manch, a city-based NGO, two months ago, the Manch submitted a document on the demand of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, highlighting the economic, religious, tourism and horticultural aspects of the holy city. However, a majority of these demands were ignored. Some of these were land acquisition for the Patti-Makhu railway line, a parking facility for 5,000 cars in Jahajgarh, relocation of the city’s bus stand, bus connectivity between Sri Guru Ramdas Jee International Airport and cities of Punjab. Sundeep Khosla, president, Bal Kalan Industrial Welfare Association, urged the government to clear the incentives announced in the industrial policies of 2017 and 2022. Notably, the seniority list for the 2017 policy is available on the Invest Punjab portal, but the same list for the 2022 policy is missing. However, the move to set up a technology extension centre in Amritsar was welcomed by all Furthermore, during a recent interview, the Industry and Commerce Minister announced upgrade of five focal points, including Amritsar. Unfortunately, this was not mentioned in the budget. Additionally, in a meeting with Ludhiana industrialists, CM Bhagwant Mann and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal announced to remove the 0.25 per cent mortgage charges on bank loans. Regrettably, this announcement was also missing from the budget. Unemployed teachers climb water tank in protest in city Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 26 Members of the Unemployed Physical Education Teachers’ Union held a demonstration against the Punjab Government by climbing a water tank located in Friends Colony on the Majitha road here on Wednesday. They were protesting against the exclusion of the physical education teachers from the latest gazette notification issued by the Punjab School Education Board regarding the recruitment of 2,000 PTI teachers. As information regarding the climbing of a water tank by unemployed teachers spread, police teams rushed to the spot and persuade them to come down. Mandeep Singh, joint secretary of the association, said in the recent notification issued by the Education Department, BPEd teachers should also be made eligible for giving examination. He said unemployed teachers had been preparing for the exami- PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR ~80 crore for Unity Mall, but will the project see the light of day? Members of the Unemployed Physical Education Teachers’ Union Punjab climb up a water tank in protest in Amritsar on Wednesday. nation for the past two years. Now, the government has issued notification, in which only CPED and DPED teachers were included while the remaining teaching courses, including BPED, were excluded from giving the exam. The union urged the Punjab Government to amend the notification and include all PTI teaching courses in it. Later, following the intervention of the district administration, which arranged a meeting of the union members with the Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains, the agitating unemployed teachers climbed down. The meeting of the union and the minister is fixed for April 4. Sujanpur MC bulldozes smuggler’s house Human rights body submits inquiry report to Dhami on charges against ex-jathedar Tribune News Service Pathankot, March 26 The Sujanpur municipal council on Wednesday demolished the house of a known smuggler using a JCB machine. The demolition action allegedly was initiated at the behest of the Pathankot police. Ashwani Kumar had as many as 11 cases registered against him, including those pertaining to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. However, since there is no provision in the NDPS Act to carry out demolitions of smugglers, the Pathankot The house of a smuggler being razed in Sujanpur in Pathankot. police ostensibly kept an arm’s length from the proceedings. At present, Ashwani Kumar is in jail serving time for an offence. However, since it was basically an operation that took place at the behest of the Pathankot police, a team of senior Pathankot police officers were present at the site. A magistrate had also been called to do duty. “We are here after the Sujanpur municipal corporation called us and informed us that a house was constructed on encroached land. We had to be present to maintain the law-and-order situation,” said an officer. c m y b GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 26 The Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) has submitted its inquiry report pertaining to the allegations levelled against former Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, claiming that he was made a scapegoat because of vested political interests. PHRO activist Sarbjit Singh Verka said the report was submitted to Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami. He said the inquiry was conducted after a member of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee executive who is in opposition approached the PHRO along with four other members to conduct a fair inquiry into the allegations levelled against him. He said that the SGPC inquiry panel, under a deep rooted conspiracy, had held Giani Harpreet Singh guilty while overlooking the records of the SGPC, police and judiciary. The PHRO panel conducted a probe only to discover that the complaint submit- ted in 2007 against Giani Harpreet Singh was found to be frivolous, yet the records with the SGPC pertaining to it were missing. Similarly, the police cases and judicial action against him were overlooked. “We discovered that the SGPC panel’s inquiry was biased. The complainant was approached and persuaded by a couple of Akali leaders to lodge a complaint against Giani Harpreet Singh over a domestic dispute. In our inquiry, we found that the charges against him were frivolous in nature. We have urged the SGPC president that since the matter pertains to the dignity and sanctity of the Takht connected with the Sikh sentiments, a thorough probe through a judge be conducted to reveal the truth,” he said. A resident of Sri Muktsar Sahib, Gurpreet Singh, who claimed that he was married to the Jathedar’s sister-in-law (now separated) had lodged a complaint with the SGPC president against Giani Harpreet Singh on December 16. continued on page 2