10042025-ATR-01.qxd 4/9/2025 10:20 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ‘JAAT’ IS SET FOR RELEASE TODAY GIPPY GREWAL AND NIMRAT KHAIRA IN HIGH SPIRITS STATUE OF DDLJ TO BE INSTALLED AT LEICESTER SQUARE Randeep Hooda, Viineet Kumar Siingh and Sunny Deol gear up to showcase their performances in this film.. P4 At the premiere of Punjabi film Akaal: The Unconquered, actor Gippy Grewal is at his modest best. P4 A bronze statue of Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol striking a pose from their 1995 superhit film will be erected in London. P4 » » » MAX 37°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 23°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.56 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:06 AM THURSDAY | 10 APRIL 2025 | AMRITSAR Kisan Sangharsh Committee stages protest at Tapiala village, questions govt on MSP Farmers on strike over lifting charges Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 9 Farmers under the banner of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee staged a protest at Tapiala village today, where the Chief Minister along with the Health Minister was expected to inaugurate a school as part of the Sikhya Kranti campaign. Farmer leaders stated that they wanted to question the CM and the Health Minister about why the police force was used against farmers peacefully protesting at Haryana borders. Sangharsh committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “We want them to clear their stand on the legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP). We wanted to ask them about what happened to their statement that if the Centre did not give the MSP, then the state government would give it.” The protesters also demanded cancellation of membership of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Gurpal Ghanur. “The MLA and his men were directly involved in the theft of tractor trailers and other equipment of farmers Farmers raise their arms to show unity during a protest against the Punjab Government over MSP near Amritsar on Wednesday. from Haryana borders,” said Pandher. The protesters also criticised the government for its Sikhya Kranti programme. “The government has asked the school teachers to use a picture of the Chief Minister with Sikhya Kranti written on it on their social media profiles. How would this help in improving the standard of education?” asked Pandher. He added that a similar situation had arisen with regard to their drive ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’. “Send any of the your police officer or civil administration official to our villages and we will show them that drugs are being sold without any fear of law,” said the sangharsh committee leader, adding that instead of running a government, the chief minister was busy running a media campaign. Meanwhile, the All-India Kisan Federation has announced the constitution of a committee of representatives from 13 states to spearhead the movement for demand of MSP and other issues. Dr Satnam Singh Ajnala of the federation said that there was a need for the farmers of the entire country to unite against the pro-corporate policies of the Centre and state governments. AAP ministers on inauguration ‘kranti’ in border area schools Woman found murdered School (Girls), Tapiala, in the Rajasansi Assembly constituency. Earlier, Bains visited schools near the international border in Khemkaran (Tarn Taran), inaugurating Rs 3.07 crore worth of infrastructural projects. “Rs 2,000 crore is being invested to transform the government schools,” he mentioned. Meanwhile, AAP leaders and ministers, including Harbhajan Singh ETO, Kuldeep Dhaliwal and Karamjit Rintu, also inaugurated development works in Tarn Taran, April 9 A woman of Kang village on the Tarn Taran-Khadoor Sahib road was found brutally murdered on Wednesday afternoon. The incident came to the notice of the family when her kids returned home and saw the body lying in a pool of blood in a room of the house. “The deceased has been identified as Gurpreet Kaur (35) and further investigation is going on,”said SSP Abhimanyu Rana. She was residing in her parental house. Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 9 Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains today inaugurated development projects worth Rs 4.25 crore in the border districts of Amritsar and Tarn Taran under the “Sikhya Kranti” initiative. During his visit to borderarea schools, he inaugurated works worth Rs 32.02 lakh, including seven renovated classrooms and a toilet block worth Rs 23.38 lakh at Government Senior Secondary schools in their respective constituencies. Dhaliwal inaugurated development worksworth Rs 2.5 crore in schools in Ajnala’s Balwarwal and Sarang villages near the Indo-Pakistan border. Harbhajan Singh ETO inaugurated the buildings of seven different schools in Jandiala Guru constituency. Chairman of the Amritsar Improvement Trust, Karamjit Singh Rintu, also inaugurated new block of classrooms. Our Correspondent Tarn Taran, April 9 Farmers of the district under the banner of Jamhoori Kisan Sabha started a relay hunger strike for an indefinite period from today, demanding return of the amount deducted by arhtiyas from the accounts of farmers in the name of lifting charges during procurement of paddy. The farmers organised a rally in front of the District Administration Complex (DAC) before starting the relay hunger strike, in which farmers from different villages participated. Mukhtar Singh Mallha, Dajit Singh Dialpura, Manjit Singh Baggu and Narinder Kaur among others addressed the gathering. The leaders alleged that they had been bringing the matter to the notice of the district administration and they had been given an assurance that they would get back the deducted amount. But this had not been received by them till date, which had forced them to go on the agitation path, they added. On the first day, 11 farmers sat on the hunger strike. Certain other public organisations too have extended their support to the agitating farmers. — OC Farmers on relay hunger strike in front of the District Administration Complex in Tarn Taran on Wednesday. GURBAXPURI Teachers’ union gives memo to Guv on ‘wrong’ notification Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 9 Challenging the alleged incorrect recruitment notification published in the Punjab School Education Department gazette for the recruitment of 2,000 physical training instructor (PTI) teachers, the president of the Unemployed Physical Education Teachers Union, Saurav Rai, along with others, submitted a demand letter to Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria during his Amritsar walkathon tour. Rai said that the Punjab School Education Department in 2021 had invited applications for the posts of PTI teachers, the advertisement of which was published by the Punjab School Education Department in newspapers. “The applications were invited for CPed, DPed, and BPed teachers. In 2023, the Punjab School Education Department gazette included BPEd, MPEd, DPEd and CPed qualified teachers for these posts, which was now amended again to just CPEd, DPEd and BPEd in 2025, without any notification. This exercise has deprived an opportunity to qualified BPEd and MPEd teachers to apply for the jobs in schools,” he said. Rai said that more qualified BPEd and MPEd teachers were not considered in this. “ It is clear from this that the Punjab Education Minister is in favour of giving jobs in Punjab to CPEd and DPEd teachers who have passed from outside states, ignoring the youth of Punjab,” said Rai. Before this, the union had already met the Punjab Education Minister and explained the errors in the notification of the gazette, but received no positive response from him in this regard. Additionally, the union leaders said that for the last 20 years, the recruitment of PTI teachers has not been completed and many teachers have crossed their age limit. Whatever physical education teachers have been recruited in schools till date, it has been done on the orders of the High Court and the Supreme Court. He said that the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s double bench decision of 2010 and 2012 had declared B.P passed teach.Ed ers as eligible for recruitment of PTI teachers. The union members demanded that BPE B.P .Ed and M.P .Ed teachers who had obtained their degrees before the date of revision in the Gazette should be included in this recruitment. Kataria assured the union that he would soon meet the Education Minister and get the gazette changed. Residents want stopping of mindless destruction of city’s green cover Manmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 9 Even as residents staged a protest against cutting of a tree in front of a liquor vend in Rani ka Bagh area here on Tuesday, it was not a first such incident as hundreds of trees planted in markets and residential areas of the city have already been cut during the past few years. While the residents, NGOs and the government are trying to increase the green cover and several tree plantation drives are being held every year in this regard, the greenery, especially in the city, is continuously declining as most of the residents do not let a tree grow in front of their shops or near their homes. The fresh incident in which the tree was cut outside a liquor vend was the result of the common misconception that a tree would hinder their commercial establishment’s visibility to the customers. “Not long ago, there were incidents in the city, wherein shopkeepers poured acid on the roots of a tree, which caused it to wilt and die. This way, people used to get rid of a tree without attracting punitive action,” said an old-timer, Jagtar Singh. The residents demanded that the trees in the market places and in residential areas not only provide clean air, but also give a cooling effect, especially during summer. If everyone starts destroying trees near their properties, it would not be far when there would be no tree left in the city. The city has already lost its green cover to mindless development projects. In a recent example, hundreds of fully grown trees on the Mall road and elsewhere were chopped off to pave way for a Bus Rapid Transport System (BRTS). With the BRTS buses off the roads for a long time, the residents are questioning the cutting of trees. “The buses are not operational and neither do we have the trees. All we have got is a corridor barricaded by iron grills,” said Jaswant Kumar, another resident. Potholed Bhagatanwala road likely to delay procurement: Arhtiyas Tribune News Service The badly damaged road leading to the Bhagatanwala grain market ahead of the wheat harvesting season in Amritsar can slow down the pace of procurement. PHOTOS: SUNIL KUMAR c m y b Amritsar, April 9 The arthiyas at the Bhagatanwala grain market have raised concerns about the poor condition of the road leading to the market, citing it as a major issue ahead of the upcoming wheat harvesting season. With the wheat harvest expected to begin around April 15, the arthiyas are urging the authorities concerned to get the damaged road repaired to facilitate smooth transportation of grains. The road leading to the Bhagatanwala grain market is full of potholes, while the road has completely worn off at other places, which can cause difficulties to tractortrailers carrying tonnes of wheat. Local officials have expressed concern that the poor road conditions could lead to delays in wheat procurement, which may impact farmers and traders. Another spot where the road has worn off, exposing the pebbles and stones. The arthiyas further said that though the Punjab Government had assured that arrangements were in place for wheat procurement and that the Mandi Board was prepared to handle the influx of grains, but it had forgot about the road which the farmers would use to bring their produce to the market. The Bhagatanwala grain market is the biggest for procurement of grains in the district, and its infrastructure plays a crucial role in the procurement process. The market has faced issues with garbage disposal and maintenance, which may affect the quality of grains and the overall procurement process. The arhtiyas stated that harvesting of wheat would begin after Baisakhi. “The entire produce would arrive in the markets within a span of seven to ten days. If the tractors remained stuck on the road due to traffic jams, the entire process would be affected,” said Jaspal Singh, a commission agent.