Amritsar, June 26
The city police have arrested 400 drug peddlers in the past one month. This was stated by Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh while presiding over a function to mark International Day Against Drug Abuse at Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School today.

He said that it was overwhelming that people had reposed faith in the police and helping them in the fight against drug peddlers.

“We are not only taking action against drug addicts but also detoxifying them by ensuring their treatment at the de-addiction centre in Government Medical College. We will not leave any drug addict without treatment,” the Police Commissioner said.

“Our investigation has revealed that an addict spends Rs 1,100 on narcotics everyday, resulting in petty crimes as he fails to bear the burden. I urge the people to to help us,” Aulakh said.

KS Chauhan, Assistant Director, Narcotics Control Bureau, gave details about the international drug racket.A play regarding the drug abuse was also staged by Sai Creations, a theatre group.

Amritsar, June 26
To observe International Day Against Drug Abuse, a number of activities were organised at the Amritsar Central Jail today.

Besides an open-air concert by the prisoners undergoing treatment at the de-addiction centre on the jail premises, the authorities arranged a special screening of a movie on drug addiction.

Jail Superintendent RK Sharma and Medical Officer Dr Amritpal Singh also spoke on the topic. The jail authorities have also engaged a psychiatrist for the couselling of the drug-addicts in the jail. At present, 270 prisoners, including two women, are undergoing treatment at the de-addiction centre.

Jail Superintendent RK Sharma said various activities were held to promote the concept of a drug-free life among the prisoners. He said Dr Rahul, a psychiatrist at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, had been roped in for the counselling of the jail inmates.

“During a meeting with the DGP (Jails), ADGP, IG, and the Special Secretary (Home), at Chandigarh, we had given suggestions to give a fillip to drug prevention efforts in the jails. We were given a special movie on the issue of drug addiction, which was screened at the de-addiction centre today. The nukkad natak by the prisoners was mesmerising,” he said.

A large number of prisoners at the Central Jail are drug addicts .

A 15-day opioid substitution therapy programme has been designed to help them lead a drug-free life. Moreover, several special activities like yoga have been incorporated into their daily routine.

The prisoners are being kept isolated from other jail inmates for the 15-day course designed on the recommendation of the PGI, Chandigarh.

They are not taken for court hearing as the jail authorities have obtained a special permission for this. They are not allowed to visit the gurdwara or temple on the premises of the Central Jail.

On the occasion of International Day Against Drug Abuse, the prisontrs also pledged to say ‘no’ to drugs. “We are there to detoxify them under our special programme but they need to strengthen their will-power. We will leave no stone unturned to ensure a normal life for them,” said Dr Amritpal Singh. 

an effort to reform

* A 15-day opioid substitution therapy programme has been designed to help them lead a drug-free life

* Activities like yoga incorporated into their daily life

* They are kept isolated from other jail inmates under the 15-day course designed on the recommendation of the PGI, Chandigarh

* Not taken for court hearing as the jail authorities have obtained a special permission for this

* At present, 270 prisoners, including two women, are undergoing treatment at the de-addiction centre in the Central Jail 

Amritsar, June 26
Cracking the hoax bomb call case, the police today nabbed Shamsher Singh, alias Sunny, a resident of Nanagal Dyal village in Jandiala Guru. The accused is the son of a head constable of the Indian Reserve Battalion in Amritsar.

He was traced by a phone call he had made to Suresh Agarwal, owner of JC Motors, a car showroom on the GT Road where the fake bomb was planted.

Gulneet Singh Khurana, Station House Officer (SHO), B-Division police station, said Shamsher had placed a fake bomb at the showroom to extort money from the owner. The idea struck him when he went there to buy a car. However, he could not demand money from him as there was a huge rush in the showroom.

Following the statement of Suresh Agarwal, a case under Sections 352, 438, 386, 387, 440, 506 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against the accused. He has also been booked under Section 66-A of the Information Technology Act.

Panic had gripped the JC Motors showroom a couple of days ago after the owner of the showroom received the hoax call.

When Agarwal and his employees found a bomb-like thing in the washroom, they immediately rushed out of the showroom and informed the police. Later, the police found that it was a fake bomb. 

Amritsar, June 26
Expressing anguish over the dismal attitude of the state government in bringing back the Punjabis stranded in strife-torn Iraq, Ashok Talwar, district convener, Aam Aadmi Party, said the Chief Minister should their their safe return at the earliest.

“The Punjab Government is not serious in bringing back the Punjabis stranded in Iraq as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal is holidaying abroad and the state Revenue Minister, Bikram Majithia, has been missing since the Lok Sabha debacle,” he said.

The district unit of the Aam Aadmi Party submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner and urged the Union Government to ensure safe and quick return of the Punjabis from Iraq.

They also urged the state and Union Governments to provide adequate compensation to the affected families.

“The Chief Minister has not taken the issue seriously. Instead of reimbursing telephone bills of the relatives of the people stranded in strife-torn Iraq, he should ensure their safe return,” said Vijay Mehta, general secretary, Aam Aadmi Party, Amritsar.

Even Shiromani Akali Dal leader Balwant Singh Ramoowalia appeared to have lost faith in the Union and state governments as he had started requesting US MPs for the safe return of the Punjabis from Iraq, said AAP leaders.

“This act of his has undermined the image of India globally as it shows that we are depending on other countries for the protection of our people. Had it been any other country, it would have acted swiftly to ensure the safe exit of its citizens from the strife-torn country,” AAP leaders said. JS Gill, Jagdeep Singh, HS Dhanjal, Sanjeev Lamba, Ashwani Sharma, Balkar Singh Khehra, Chunni Lal, Anil Sharma and Anil Mahajan were also present on the occasion. 

Amritsar, June 26
An additional SDO of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PowerCom), urban circle, has been suspended on graft charges.

He had allegedly took Rs 40,000 from an elderly to avert a recovery notice for drawing power illegally. However, the charge was proved frivolous. The erring official has been identified as Avtar Singh, Additional SDO, Fatehgarh Churian.

When the matter came to limelight, he tried to deposit the money in the office account in a back date. NS Bal, Superintending Engineer (Sub-Urban Circle), said the 82-year-old Loharka road resident had submitted a complaint against him.

“A thorough inquiry was conducted into the matter and Avtar Singh was found guilty. He had visited the complainant’s locality on June 20 to conduct a routine checking. The complainant had alleged that the official had detected power theft in his neighbourhood. Instead of initiating action against his neighbour, the official threatened to implicate him in a false power theft case. The complainant’s statement of paying him Rs 40,000 appears to be true as the official had tried to deposit the amount in the department’s account,” he said. — TNS

Amritsar, June 26
An SHO and an ASI were suspended for falsely implicating a local doctor in two cases, which landed him in the jail.

The action was taken following an inquiry conducted by Parampal Singh, ADCP (City-I). Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh confirmed it and said he had directed to release the victim.

Baldev Raj has been in the jail for past one month. The suspended cops have been identified as Inspector Sushil Kumar, Station House Officer (SHO), Islamabad police station, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Lakhwinder Singh.

As per information, the Islamabad police had booked Dr Baldev Raj, a resident of the Damganj area, on the charge of possessing around 2,400 intoxicant capsules and tablets on April 19 this year.

The police had allegedly recovered the intoxicants from his clinic following a tip-off from Simarjit Singh, a property dealer, who had a dispute over some property with the victim.

Later, a case of attempt to murder was registered against him and his family members after Simarjit Singh complained to the police that Dr Baldev Raj and his family had fired at his office on June 2.

Raj Rani, wife of the doctor, had approached the Police Commissioner, pleading innocence and apprised him of the property dispute. She alleged that Simarjit only wanted grab their property.

ADCP Parampal Singh pointed out that the policemen should have verified the facts before registering cases against Dr Baldev Raj. aHe has also recommended the registration of a case against Simarjit Singh under various sections of the NDPS Act and for misleading the police. The report pointed out that Simarjit Singh had hidden the narcotics in the clinic of Dr Baldev Raj and had fired at his office himself and later lodged false complaint. 

Amritsar, June 26
Traffic chaos rules the holy city’s roads. We can call it lacunae in the system or lack of integrity of the district and police authorities. The city traffic police have time and again come out with a plan to streamline traffic on city roads. But they have failed to penalise those driving without helmet, jumping red light at traffic points and driving on the wrong side.

Officials blame inadequate staff and resources as the main hindrance in streamlining the traffic. Where do they manage the adequate traffic staff when it comes to the visit of Chief Minister or Deputy Chief Minister here?

Even policemen are often found riding two wheelers without the mandatory headgear. According to a study, the number of accidents can be avoided if traffic violations are dealt with strictly. A majority of traffic policemen just go on a challaning spree. They turn a blind eye to traffic rule violators the moment their day’s target is achieved.

Enhancing road infrastructure fruitless

The government’s endeavour to provide hassle free and safe ride on the Amritsar-Jalandhar GT road by constructing multi-crore overbridges and elevated roads has served a little purpose. Most of these stretches remain unmanned and commuters take to wrong shortcut routes.

A number of accidental deaths were reported in the past on elevated roads, but no lesson was learnt. A few days back, five occupants of a car lost their lives when their speeding car overturned on Kitchlew Chowk flyover.

Although entry of heavy vehicles is banned on the elevated road, loaded trucks and ten-wheel tourist buses take this route to cross over the Bhandari Bridge. These trucks can be seen stationed on the elevated road from Bhandari Bridge side.

DC’s orders

On March 20, the Deputy Commissioner had issued stern orders after holding a special meeting with the Police Department, DTO Rajat Oberoi, Municipal Corporation officials, and representatives of local NGOs, to ensure the compliance of traffic norms. During the meeting, another plan was chalked out to streamline the flow of traffic, but it all proved to be another futile exercise.

Additional burden on roads

Around 8,000 vehicles enter the city daily from neighbouring states. This additional traffic flow is of those pilgrims, who visit the Golden Temple. Auto-rickshaws, whose number is increasing day-by-day, add to the traffic woes. Ironically, the administration has no record of the number of autos plying on the city roads. According to a rough estimate, over 35,000 unregistered autos operate illegally within the city limits. A majority of auto-rickshaw drivers do not possess valid driving licence. Many of them are even underage

Amritsar, June 26
A minor dispute of taking a ride on Hardley Davidson bike turned ugly last night. The incident lead to firing in which a youth and owner of the bike were injured. They were rushed to a private hospital, where their condition is stated to be out of danger. One of the victims was identified as Navkaran Singh Gill, a coloniser residing at Vrindavan Garden here. The incident occurred around 12.30 am at C-block of the Ranjit Avenue area.

According to information, Navkaran had parked his motorcycle in the C-block market. After a couple of hours when he returned with his friend Jasminder Singh and was going to start the bike, some youth, who were present at the spot, asked for a ride. The accused were in the Innova car (No. PB-02-AU-1410).

Navkaran refused and said he was getting late for home. This enraged the unidentified accused and they entered into a brawl. Jasminder, the victim’s friend and complainant in the case, said the accused took out his pistol and fired at Navkaran injuring him on his head. He was taken to a private hospital. The culprits fled from the spot.Investigating officer Jatinder Singh (IO) while confirming the incident said a case under Sections 307, 324, 427 of the IPC and 25/54/59 of the Arms Act has been registered at the Civil Lines police station. He said investigations were underway to identify the accused. —TNS

Amritsar, June 26
Hundreds of tonnes of wheat stored in open godowns is rotting in absence of proper care. It seems that the authorities concerned have turned a blind towards it. The incident came to the light during a visit by volunteers of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the godown of the Punjab Agro Food and Grain Corporation Limited, located at Jandiala Guru, near here, today.

AAP volunteers claimed that wheat worth crores was lying in the open. There were only four labourers for looking after the wheat in the godown. The actual requirement is of 10 persons for covering the wheat bags with tarpaulin. APP workers said wheat had been lying at the godown for the last three to four years. In the absence of proper care, the authorities had failed to save it.

“This wheat is not even fit for the consumption of animals what to talk about the humans,” said Ravinder Kumar Sultanwind, who was a part of the AAP team, which visited the godown.

Dr Daljit Singh, who unsuccessfully contested for Amritsar parliamentary seat in the recently held polls on the AAP party ticket, urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to take appropriate measures for storing the wheat or to sell it to the poor people on a cheaper rate so that they could feed their families. He questioned whether the wheat was deliberately left to rot so that it could be later sold to liquor distilleries. — TNS

Amritsar, June 26
We all know him for his punchline ‘Namak shamak’, but Harpal Singh Sokhi, the affable master chef from ‘Turban Tadka’ is as sweet as his popular dessert recipes. One of the most top-rated chef’s from India, and the most energetic ones on the television, Sokhi’s love for Punjabi cuisine brought him to Amritsar, for professional and personal reasons.

“My visit is professional as I have come here with my production team for a new travel food show. The personal reason, and more assertive, is of course to savour the very authentic Amritsari flavours, which I love,” he shared.

His passion for rustic and rooted Punjabi cuisine is the reason behind the success of his show ‘Turban Tadka’. It is a proof of Sokhi’s affinity towards the Punjabi food. Terming Punjabi hospitality as overwhelming, he said, “The fact that it defies all metabolic rules of the body is enough proof. It is only in Punjab that you will find a person loading on a glassful of lassi, tea, hot gulab jamuns, rabri kulfi all at once. The nature of force feeding the guests is a way for Punjabis to show their love and warmth. For some, it might be offending, but to Punjabis it comes naturally. The food transforms into a mode of communication for them, which is found nowhere else in the world.”

Taking pride in cooking traditional Punjabi food, not generic, Sokhi says his visits to Amritsar have been learning experiences. “Every time I came to the city, I took tips for better cooking. Specific dishes that the city is known for, like mutton tikkas, makhan fish, or kulchas, everything added to my knowledge of food and cooking,” said the chef, whose restaurant chain ‘The Funjabi Tadka,’ is all about fun and food.

His food travel show ‘Desh da Swad’ will showcase popular food destinations of North India, including Amritsar, Srinagar, Lucknow and more. Apart from visiting the culinary landmarks and delectable dishes specific to a city, it will also have cook-offs with a traveling modular kitchen and signature Sokhi-style entertainment. “The show will be aired in July, and will be interactive as well as educative. It’s something different from what I have been doing in Turban Tadka,” said Sokhi.

It is time for his fans to wait for an extra dose of ‘Namak shamak’ and more.

Kitchen queen contest

Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi judged the ‘Kitchen Queen’ contest held at Alpha One. Several women participated in a live cook-off. Organised by Cakelicious, along with Zespari Kiwi Fruit, the contest had recipes made exclusively from Kiwi fruit, Komalpreet Kaur was declared the winner of the contest.

Amritsar, June 26
Officials of the Municipal Corporation (MC) today successfully conducted the auctioning of the Town Hall parking lot, but Gole Bagh, the other site, could not find any takers due to the higher reserve price.

Yesterday, auctioning for parking stand at Deen Dyal Upadhaya Market and Chattiwind, too, was cancelled because the inflated minimum price, fixed by the MC, deterred the bidders.

The Town Hall parking lot, whose reserve price was kept at Rs 16.10 lakh, fetched the MC Rs 16.22 lakh. On the other hand, the Gole Bagh parking lot, for which the reserve price was fixed as Rs 20.65 lakh, had to be kept pending as not a single bidder, came forward.

The aspirants also complained to the MC officials about the inflated reserve price for the parking lots.

The MC postponed the auctioning of Deen Dyal Upadhaya market and Chattiwind parking lot on the same grounds yesterday. The MC has kept Rs 20 lakh as minimum price for Deen Dyal Upadhaya Market parking lot and Rs 11.55 lakh for the Chattiwind parking.

The officials, who were present on the occasion include superintending engineer (civil wing) PK Goyal, councillor Rajesh Honey, deputy controller (finance and accounts) Manu Sharma, superintendents Anil Arora and Veena Kumari.

Amritsar, June 26
A host of activities marked the beginning of the Amritsar Foundation day celebrations. The aim of these activities was to spread awareness about the foundation day. Discussing the programme itinerary for the day, Eco Amritsar volunteers briefed about the day’s highlights. The focus of the themes this year will be on saving water, conserving energy, shunning plastic, substituting pesticides and chemicals in food and planting trees. NGO’s and residents are being encouraged to preserve the ecology and the balance of the nature in their surroundings. Religious discourses are also being held.

Sharing some details about the initiatives, Gunbir Singh, chairman, EcoAmritsar, said, “Dr Rajwant Singh, head of Eco Sikh, Washington
DC, is also involved in our initiative. The project, which has evolved into a multi-faith system for a change, is being watched at the international forum with much interest and satisfaction.”

Many new initiatives have also been launched such as nature walk series for children, waste to vegetable programme for responsible households, zero disposal parks, black gold manure extraction programme et al. Events on the anvil are workshop on ecology by IAFA artists for Amritsar transformation, photo presentation, paper recycling for school waste, and continuation of the successful initiatives launched last year on the Amritsar Foundation Day.

The day shall begin with a citizen’s march from the Golden Temple to Company Bagh, followed by a residents meet at the historic Ram Bagh gardens. “All the city residents, who believe in the maxim, ‘Amritsar-my city, my pride, my responsibility’ are invited for participating in the march and adopting environmentally beneficial programmes,” said Gunbir.