08042025-ATR-01.qxd 4/7/2025 11:05 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY DHRITRASHTRA OF MAHABHARTA IN CHANDIGARH MANASI GHOSH WINS INDIAN IDOL SEASON 15 RITUPARNA WAS IN DHARAMSALA FOR SHOOT OF A FILM Only 28 at that time, with a good physique, he was aiming to play Arjun or Duryodhan. P4 Captivated judges and audiences with her dynamic vocals, consistently earning accolades throughout the season. P4 Recipient of the National Film Award for Best Actress Rituparna Sengupta is now enjoying wave of the content-driven cinema. P4 » » » MAX 37°C | MIN 20°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 20°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.43 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.02 AM TUESDAY | 8 APRIL 2025 | AMRITSAR Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 7 The customs department at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Amritsar, has seized 7.7 kilograms of cannabis (ganja) from a passenger arriving from Bangkok. The incident took place on Monday when the passenger, identified as Channan Singh, landed in Amritsar via Air India Express flight IX167. According to official sources, customs officials grew suspicious of the passenger during routine checks. Upon inspecting his luggage, officials discovered the banned substance cleverly concealed inside snack and candy boxes. These boxes were further hidden between layers of clothing in an apparent attempt to avoid detection. Ragi on way to gurdwara waylaid, shot at by armed robbers, injured Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, April 7 Prabhjit Singh, a ragi who was on his way to gurdwara in Khadoor Sahib to perform his duty, was shot at and injured by six robbers on the Tarn Taran-Goindwal Sahib road near Vein Poin village. The injured Prabhjit Singh, a resident of Raishiana, was stopped by six assailants who were on three motorcycles. The assailants asked him to hand over all his valuables and cash and warned that he would be killed in case he refused to hand it over. When Prabhjit Singh refused to hand over cash, one of the assailants fired at him and he fell on the ground. They searched his pockets, took away his mobile phone and fled, leaving behind his motorcycle as Prabhjit had thrown away the keys of the bike. The injured ragi Prabhjit Singh Guv’s ‘padyatra’: Restrictions leave commuters hassled Tribune News Service PHOTO: GURBAXPURI 7.7 kg of ganja seized from flyer returning from Bangkok The injured ragi Prabhjit Singh under treatment at Vallha hospital. has been admitted to Guru Ram Das Hospital, Vallha. The Goindwal Sahib police have registered a case under section 310 (2), 311, 191 (3) and 190 of BNS. Amritsar, April 7 Much to the annoyance of city residents, the Yudh Nashean Virudh Padyatra, led by Governor Gulab Chand Kataria, caused inconvenience to commuters as the police had barricaded the entry point to the Mall Road to facilitate the dignitaries’ visit to Company Bagh here this morning. With no prior information about the blockade or the VIPs’ visit to the area, commuters, most of whom were trying to reach their workplaces on time, were left stranded on roads. Furthermore, with no signs displayed for the public to take alternate roads and with no one to give them directions, most of these commuters took to narrow streets, where they faced Commuters stranded on the Mall Road in Amritsar on Monday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR traffic congestion. Even as the blockades at various intersections on the Mall Road were lifted by 10 am, another barrier at the end of the Lawrence Road could be seen after 11 am. Shockingly, no traffic personnel was avail- able from Lawrence Chowk to D-Mart to direct commuters regarding the blockade at the end of the stretch. However, as one reached the tail end of the road, it was certainly a harrowing experience as one had to turn all the MC takes action against illegal constructions MLAs lay stones for projects in schools to mark ‘Sikhia Kranti’ Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 7 The Municipal Town Planning (MTP) wing of the Amritsar Municipal Corporation carried out a demolition drive here on Monday. It targeted unauthorized constructions in two colonies located in South Zone. The action was led by Assistant Town Planner (ATP) Wazir Raj, along with Building Inspectors Rajrani, Manish Arora, and Nitin Dheer. The operation was supported by field staff and a demolition team from the MC police. According to ATP Wazir Raj, the first case of illegal construction was found in Kanwar Avenue, situated on Sultanwind Road. A portion of additional land was being unlawfully encroached to an existing property for the construction of a school. MC authorities had earlier intervened and halted the unauthorized development. However, despite the initial warning and stoppage order, construction activities were resumed at the site. Acting decisively, the MTP team carried out a dem- Workers of the MTP wing of the MC raze an illegal building of a school at Kanwar Avenue on the Sultanwind road in Amritsar. olition drive today, razing the under-construction illegal school building. In a second operation, the enforcement team took action in Pyramid City Colony, also located within the South Zone. The colonizer of the area had begun extending the boundaries of an already approved residential colony and had initiated construction work without obtaining the mandatory permissions from the authorities. ATP Wazir Raj confirmed that this too was a clear violation of the MC regulations. As a result, the unauthorized extension and its ongoing construction were demolished on the spot. Officials stated that both actions were necessary to uphold the city’s building norms and maintain discipline in urban development. The municipal corporation claimed that they are committed to cracking down on unauthorized constructions and warned colonizers and builders to strictly adhere to approved plans and regulatory procedures. MC authorities have also indicated that similar inspections and enforcement drives will continue across the city to ensure compliance. Residents and developers have been urged to cooperate with the authorities and avoid engaging in or supporting illegal construction practices. Tribune News Service Tarn Taran, April 7 As part of the ‘Punjab Sikhia Kranti’ initiative, inaugural stones were laid for various projects in nine different government schools of the district by MLAs of the Vidhan Sabha constituency concerned on Monday. Functions in this regard were organised in schools where the MLAs concerned were the chief guests. Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal, MLA, Tarn Taran, laid stones in five schools while four stones were laid by Sarwan Singh Dhunn in the border area constituency of Khemkaran and four in Khadoor Sahib constituency by Manjinder Singh Lalpura. The fourth, Patti MLA, Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, has not yet started the process of laying stones. Functions were organised in schools concerned in which local residents and parents of the students were invited. As a result, educa- Amritsar, April 7 The Amritsar Rural Police have arrested a key accused and recovered 2 kg of heroin and 900 grams of ICE (crystal meth) from his possession worth crores of rupees. The arrested person has been identified as Tamandeep Singh, a resident of Kakkar village. The suspect was arrested following a secret tip-off, and sent to police custody for further investigation. Police sources revealed that Tamandeep Singh was allegedly running a drug trafficking operation in border areas. During the raid, the police recovered 2 kg of heroin and 900 grams of ICE (crystal meth) from his possession. An FIR under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act has been registered against him at the Lopoke police station. Following his arrest, efforts are being made to uncover the entire network involved in the illicit trade. Tribune News Service Punjab Minister for Power Harbhajan Singh ETO said pilferage of electricity, transmission losses and power theft were brought down. undertaken, he said pilferage of electricity, transmission losses and power theft were brought down. In addition, optimum utilisation of staff, men and material was done to control expenses. Addressing the children, he said that the only weapon for progress is education and urged them to move with the times by getting education, enabling their families to progress. Talking about the changes in schools of Punjab, he said that the education revolution has begun in Punjab, the image of schools has changed and the fate of children is changing. Now, children of government schools will get admission on merit basis and also their share of government jobs. Amritsar, April 7 In an effort to boost revenue, the water supply wing of the Municipal Corporation was converted into a limited company — Amritsar Urban Water and Waste Water Management Limited —- three years back. However, instead of improving income, the department has seen a 40 per cent decline in revenue compared to the previous year. Due to flaws in the M-Seva software, along with acute staff shortages, recovery efforts were significantly hampered. Last year, the department earned Rs 12 crore, but this year, the figure dropped to Rs 7.12 crore. The company had set an annual income target of Rs 20 crore. To streamline operations, it phased out physical billing and began sending bills via SMS two years ago. The issue of faulty software was raised in a recent board meet- c m y b Man held with 2 kg heroin, 900 gm ICE Our Correspondent ~311 cr profit inspiteof 600 units Water supply wing of free power, says minister ETO of MC registers decline in revenue Amritsar, April 7 Even after giving a waiver of 600 units of power to each family in Punjab, the electricity department has gained a profit of Rs 311 crore which has come as a surprise with people questioning the economic model behind it. Punjab Minister for Power and Public Works Department, Harbhajan Singh ETO, while addressing the students, their parents and others at a function held at Government Senior Secondary School, Wadala Johal, said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had entrusted him with important departments and he along with officials of the power utility worked tirelessly to make it profitable despite offering 600 units of free power to the consumers. The department has netted Rs 311 crore in profit even after this, he said. Elaborating the measures way back. Traffic police vehicles towing away vehicles parked on roadsides, however, gave commuters an inkling about the visit of some VIP . “If it is necessary to block a continued on page 2 ing of the company. The Municipal Commissioner has been asked to submit a report to the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC). Additionally, the department does not currently have an updated list of defaulters, further complicating recovery efforts. Out of the required 30 employees to recover bills across 85 wards, the department currently operates with only 18 employees. The impact of staff shortage was particularly felt this year, as 19 employees were either retired, promoted, transferred or are deceased. Currently, only three clerks are handling administrative tasks. The M-Seva portal’s malfunctioning has disrupted accurate bill generation, and the Point-of-Sale (POS) machines provided to field staff are not properly connected to the network. — TNS Khemkaran MLA Sarwan Singh Dhunn lays the stone of a school in his constituency on Monday. PHOTO GURBAXPURI tional work remained affected besides normal working in offices in the district. A District Education Officer said that Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains too would be visiting to lay stones in the coming days. The laying of stones is expected to continue till May 31, with no break. Satnam Singh Bath, District Education Officer (Secondary), Jagwinder Singh, District Education Officer (Elementary), and other officials of the department remained present on the occasion. Relief for patients as Gurdaspur hospital gets new platelet machine Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, April 7 Much to the relief of local residents, a new blood platelet machine has been installed at the Civil Hospital. Earlier, in the absence of such a facility, patients from Gurdaspur and its adjoining areas had to travel to Amritsar or Jalandhar for treatment. A delegation of residents had approached Raman Bahl, Chairman of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC), who in turn, got in touch with the manufacturing units of these machines. Patients had to spend a huge amount of money while travelling to other cities. However, they will have to pay just Rs 2,000 as government expenses for platelet transfusion. These are called apheresis machines. Gurdaspur had just one Raman Bahl, Chairman, PHSC, during the inauguration ceremony of the platelet machine in the Gurdaspur Civil Hospital. machine which was installed in a private hospital. This entity will not only benefit patients admitted to the district hospital, but also those who are admitted to private hospitals as they will get platelets at the price at government hospitals. “Patients admitted to private hospitals who were facing a shortage of blood platelets were forced to buy these from private blood banks at high prices and had to pay around Rs 15,000,” said Raman Bahl.