8 of robbers’ Gang held 
Amritsar, August 13
The Civil Lines police today arrested eight members of a gang, involved in robbery, snatching and vehicle-lifting.

Amritsar, August 13
A land dispute turned ugly when members of two families clashed with each other in Madoke village late last evening. The two groups fired indiscriminately injuring at least six persons.

There was a dispute between the families of Nirmal Singh and Baljit Singh over a land measuring over 2 kanals located in front of the Nirmal’s house.

Ranbir Singh, a relative of Nirmal Singh, claimed that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted a stay on the disputed property in favour of Nirmal Singh and his family.

For the last several years, the said land had become a bone of contention between the families. Yesterday, Baljit Singh along with Gurjit Singh and over a dozen armed assailants attacked Nirmal and his son who were parking their vehicle at home.

Ranbir alleged that the accused, who were armed with pistols and sharp-edged weapons, attacked and fired indiscriminately in which Nirmal Singh, Karanjit Singh and an aged person Harbirpal Singh and a relative of Nirmal Singh sustained injuries. While Nrimal and Karanjit suffered injuries on their heads, Harbirpal Singh sustained a bullet injury. They were rushed to a private hospital here.

Three persons, including Jagbir Singh, from the other side were also injured in the clash.

Ranbir alleged that the families had entered into a verbal dual earlier in the evening. He said Nirmal Singh had already informed the Ramtirath police regarding the verbal dual.

“This infuriated Gurjit Singh and Baljit Singh, who along with armed persons attacked the victim’s house,” said Ranbir adding that the victim’s family retaliated in defence.

Preet Paul Singh Virk, SSP, Amritsar rural police district, said a case of attempt to murder besides other relevant sections of IPC and Arms Act has been registered against the accused in this connection. Further investigation was going on, he added.

These eight shops inside the Durgiana Temple complex, which were vacated by traders, were to be acquired by the land acquisition department on Monday. A Tribune photo

The entire police force was kept on the vigil ahead of the Independence Day. The 48-hour ultimatum served on traders to vacate shops ended this morning. In the first phase, the department was to take possession of eight shops to pave way for the proposed beautification project.

Though tenants of eight shops, owned Durgiana committee, had shifted their belongings to their houses or some other place, they alleged that they had been targeted deliberately by the Durgiana managing committee. They alleged that a trader, who owns four shops and is closely related to one of the committee members, was intentionally excluded from the beautification plan. “He owned four shops near the century-old Parshuram Mandir, located within the complex. This portion of land was excluded from the beautification plan,” they resented. “We had to request our relatives and friends to accommodate our belongings. If we had not vacated the shops, these would have demolished,” said one of the affected shopkeepers. Under the proposed project, as many as 54 shops and around 120 houses would be demolished to widen the galliara of the Durgiana Mandir. 

Amritsar, August 13
Imposition of 5 per cent VAT of sugar and recent surge in its prices at the national-level has hit the manufacturing of locally-made ‘parshad’ items like phullian, patashe etc, which are prepared from sugar.

Instead of manufacturing these products, traders who continued with the centuries-old trade have started buying these items from Jaipur.

Traders said the markets of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir are gradually slipping out of their control.

Hardip Singh, a manufacturer of mishri and makhana, said first it was the imposition of 4 per cent entry tax on sugar about five years ago and now the VAT had served blows to the age-old trade.

He said after a lot of lobbying, the entry tax was rolled back last year. He said holy city’s loss was a gain for other states, including Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. “The biggest gainer is Jaipur, which along with Amritsar, had been the traditional manufacturers of these products,” he said.

Another manufacturer Gurdeep Singh said about manufacturing of these items came down by 25 per cent after the introduction of VAT. Earlier, four-year-long imposition of entry tax had brought down the number of manufacturers from 25 to 17 in traditional markets of Mishri Bazaar and Ganda Wala bazaar, situated near the Golden Temple.

Comparing the prices of these items, he said, “Mishri was available at Rs 52 per kg in Amritsar and Rs 43 per kg in Jaipur. Makhana is available at Rs 45 per kg in Amritsar and at Rs 41 per kg in Jaipur; sugar in powder form is available at Rs 45 per kg in Amritsar and Rs 41 per kg in Jaipur. Patashe is sold at Rs 50 per kg in the holy city and at Rs 45 per kg in Jaipur.

Harbands Singh said no order had come from neighbouring hilly states. “The Mishri Bazaar, which was a manufacturing centre, is gradually becoming a trading hub. He said biggest customers of these items are gurdwaras and temples situated in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. These products are also used during festivals and marriages.

When asked about the transportation cost from Jaipur, Harbans said it was profitable to procure these items from Jaipur instead of preparing these items in Amritsar.

A wholesale sugar merchant, Brij Mohan Arora said there was a difference of Rs three per kilogram of sugar in wholesale markets in Punjab and Rajasthan. “While sugar is available at Rs 37 per kg in Rajasthan, its price in Punjab is Rs 40,” he said.

He said the imposition of VAT and recent escalation of prices at the national-level had tilted the balance in favour of manufacturers of Rajasthan. He said it was no longer economically viable and wise to manufacture these eatables.

A shop owner in Mishri Bazaar, Bhupinder Singh, said already the trend of buying sugar-made toys was on the decline. “People buy just to keep the tradition alive. They do not buy more than few pieces of these eatables,” he said.

Another trader, Harpreet Singh, said most of the shopkeepers had stopped manufacturing mishri, phuliya etc. 

Amritsar, August 13
The Civil Lines police today arrested eight members of a gang, involved in robbery, snatching and vehicle-lifting.

Those arrested were identified as Sarabjit Singh, Pardeep Kumar, Malkeet Singh, Gurmit Singh, Harpal Singh, Shalu (all residents of Dashmesh Nagar, Kot Khalsa), Lovepreet Singh and Balbir Singh of Housing Board Colony.

The police has recovered 14 stolen motorcycles, 700 g of narcotic powder, Rs 10,000 and a mobile phone, which they snatched from a person in the Ranjit Avenue A-block area.

The police authorities said the accused had stolen motorcycles from the Ranjit Avenue, Putlighar and bus stand areas. A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC and Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the eight.

In another incident, the Sadar police nabbed four persons, identified as Baldev Singh, Stephen, Malkieat Singh of Nehru Colony and Sahil of Dhapai village, with 560 g of narcotic powder and 400 g of charas.

The city police also nabbed Karanpreet Singh of Krishna Nagar, Tarn Taran, with 400 grams of intoxicant powder; Raju of Gujjarpura and Sunil Kumar of Lohe Wala Karkhana, Dhapai village, with habit-forming drugs. 

Proud they stand: Jawans of the Punjab Police during the full dress rehearsal for the Independence Day function at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Amritsar on Monday.

Colours of Independence

Flying high on patriotism: Kite maker Jagmohan Kanojia displays a kite with images of Indian Prime Ministers and Presidents, in Amritsar on Monday.

Amritsar, August 13
As many as 40 city artists came together to display their works at Alpha One Mall today. Opening the exhibition, which celebrates the Independence Day, these artists said they would interact with the audience during the event.

“We hope that the exhibition attracts art lovers from the city. Usually, private conversations and showings at art galleries are not enough to spread and popularise the art. But with a live exhibition we hope to achieve that,” said Brijesh Jolly, artist and director of KT Kala. — TNS

Amritsar, August 13
It was an evening celebrating the free spirit of Sufism, beyond any bias, prejudices, social laws and boundaries. The occasion was a seminar on exploring and finding answers to problems like terrorism and diplomacy in the quiet yet strong principles of Sufism organised by the South Asian Free Media Association in collaboration with Folklore Research Academy, Amritsar, Hind-Pak Dosti Manch and Punjab Jagruti Manch at Punjab Natshala.

Members of the Pakistan National Assembly and a delegation of SAFMA that had known names from media like Khalid Ahmed and Khushnoor Ali Khan were the prominent guests.

Other names in the panel were Sufi singer Hans Raj Hans, Samajwadi Party member Ambika Chaudhary, Satnam Singh Manek and ex-MP and editor, Nayi Duniya, Shahid Siddiqui. The common sentiment shared at the common platform from both the sides was the role of Sufism and its promotion to fight political issues between India and Pakistan and bridging the gap between the two divided societies.

From suppressed mentions of 26/11, political tussle between the two countries, the gas pipeline and visa issues, there was a vocal unison when the panel asked for promotion and adoption of Sufi principles to counter issues that remained unsolved even after years of dialogues and diplomacy.

"Sufism began as a revolt against corrupt practices and reckless bloodshed and its whole emphasis was on simplicity, honesty and pious life. They were against religious and social intolerance and Punjab has been the centre of it all with Baba Farid to Bulleh Shah and Mian Meer who laid the foundation of the Golden Temple. People have always connected with Sufism and it can be used as a bridge to gap the geographical and political divide of the two countries," said Shahid Siddiqui.

Making relevant references to Bhakti Movements, Gurmat and Sufi movement, the scholars laid stress on importance of Sufism in finding certain answers to political problems. "We were never culturally divided and our soul is still the same. Both the communities and citizens share the same sentiment of peaceful existence and economical reforms," said Khalid Ahmed later reading out a message from President Asif Ali Zardari.

Shahid Siddiqui and Khushnoor Ali Khan though, were more vocal in highlighting political issues like strict visa norms and political indifference between the two countries. "It's sad that our political leaders are stuck in 'breaking news' phenomenon. Both governments should make it their priority to take one issue at a time to make some progress. Moreover, those involved in religious violence are not terrorists, but fanatics who fail to understand the concept of Sufism," said Khushnoor.