24012026-ATR-01.qxd 1/23/2026 10:45 PM Page 1 c m y b Amritsar tribune 89 EMPANELLED HOSPITALS TO DRIVE ~10L HEALTH COVER CELEBRATING FESTIVAL OF BASANT IN PUNJAB The occasion marks more than the arrival of spring season, it has cultural & spiritual significance . P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 13°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 13°C | MIN 4°C KARAN JOHAR PRAISES HOMEBOUND DIRECTOR 617 Common Service Centres to serve as nodes for issuing cards under CM Health Insurance Scheme. P2 FORECAST Pens heartfelt note for director Neeraj Ghaywan after Oscars nomination miss. P4 » » SUNSET SATURDAY 5.52 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7.17 AM » SATURDAY | 24 JANUARY 2026 | AMRITSAR AIT Executive Officer, Chief Engineer suspended for irregularities in tender Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 23 The Local Bodies Department has ordered the suspension of the Executive Officer (EO) of Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) Surinder Kumari, and Chief Engineer Rajiv Sekhri, for failing to provide a satisfactory reply to a show-cause notice issued in connection with alleged irregularities in a Rs 52.80-crore tender. According to orders issued by the Secretary, Local Government Department, the action pertains to deficiencies found in a tender issued by the AIT for re-planning and beautification works of 97-acres scheme and CBlock under the Ranjit Avenue scheme, Amritsar. Based on these shortcomings, show-cause notices were served on the officers concerned through a government letter on Jan- uary 16, 2026. The officials submitted their replies. However, the department found the explanations unsatisfactory. Consequently, both officers have been placed under immediate suspension under the Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970. During the suspension period, their headquarters will be at Chandigarh. It may be recalled that on December 30, seven officials of the Amritsar Improvement Trust were suspended over alleged irregularities in the tender process, and the charge of Chief Engineer was withdrawn from Rajiv Sekhri. The suspended officials subsequently challenged the secretary's orders in the High Court on January 9. The High Court stayed the suspension orders on January 13. Rain, hailstorm lash city as temperature sees a dip Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 23 The city witnessed intermittent heavy to moderate rainfall overnight, accompanied by hailstorms in isolated areas, leading to a fresh dip in temperature and waterlogging on several roads. The sudden change in weather caused inconvenience to residents, particularly commuters, as submerged stretches slowed traffic during the morning hours. After a clear and sunny Thursday, which had provided temporary relief from the cold following Maghi festival, the weather changed abruptly around 4 pm as dark clouds gathered over the city. Heavy rain continued intermittently through the night. By morning, water had accumulated on roads at several Celebrating Basant A waterlogged BRTS lane on Mall road in Amritsar on Friday. points, while strong cold winds forced many people to stay indoors. According to the Meteorological Department, the city recorded a maximum temperature of 21.3 degree Celsius on January 22, which was 3.5 degree above normal, while the minimum temperature stood at 3.4 degree Celsius, close to Boys fly kites during Basant Panchami festival in Amritsar on Friday. PHOTO: VISHAL KUMAR Theft accused commits suicide in lock-up chores. Ranjodh Singh was found hanging, triggering panic among the police station staff. Senior officers, including SSP (Rural) Sohail Mir and SP (D) Aditya Warrier, were informed. The body was sent to Government Medical College for postmortem examination. According to police sources, Ranjodh Singh, a resident of Tarn Taran district, had been arrested a few days ago on charges of theft and was lodged in the police lock-up during police remand. After the seasonal average. The change in weather was attributed to an active western disturbance, for which an orange alert had been issued. A daily commuter, Harpreet Singh, said waterlogged roads made travel difficult in the morning. "Several stretches were flooded, and vehicles were moving very MC officials review steps to identify feeding points for stray dogs Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 23 A man arrested in a theft case allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself inside the lock-up of Mehta police station late on Thursday night. The deceased, identified as Ranjodh Singh, reportedly tore a blanket to make a noose and hanged himself from an iron grill in the lock-up. The incident came to light early on Friday morning when police personnel entered the lock-up to take inmates out for their daily Hoax bomb email threat to schools in Batala, Gurdaspur interrogation, he was again confined to the lock-up. Like other inmates, he was provided with a pillow and blanket. During the night, while other inmates were asleep, Ranjodh Singh allegedly tore the blanket, prepared a rope and took the extreme step of ending his life. A probe has been ordered to verify the role of the onduty officer and other staff. SSP Sohail Mir confirmed the incident and said that a judicial probe has been initiated. — TNS Amritsar, January 23 In compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court, a review meeting was held on Friday under the chairmanship of Additional MC Commissioner Surinder Singh to review the identification of designated feeding points for stray dogs in the city. The meeting was a continuation of deliberations held on January 19, following the Supreme Court's directions in a suo motu writ petition, which mandates urban local bodies to take appropriate measures for managing stray dog-related issues. During the meeting, the Additional MC Commissioner interacted with dog lovers, representatives of animal welfare organisations and social activists to discuss measures aimed at balancing animal welfare with public safety. It was agreed that designated feeding points for stray dogs should be identified at locations away from religious places, historical monuments, educational institutions, hospitals and other sensitive public areas to minimise inconvenience to the general public. The Additional MC Commissioner directed Medical Officers of Health (MOHs) and field officials to conduct ward-wise inspections while identifying feeding points, keeping in view local conditions, cleanliness and public safety. He emphasised that ward-wise identification and finalisation of feeding points must be completed within the stipulated timeline. Officials also informed that a toll-free helpline number for stray dog-related complaints and information would be issued shortly and widely publicised for the convenience of residents. The meeting was attended by SMO-cum-Nodal Officer, Cattle Pound, Dr Geetu Sareen, Sanitary Inspector Sukhvinder Pal Singh and social activists Meenal Arora, Harkirat Kaur, Varneet Randhawa, Rupinder Pal and Agamdeep Singh. Reiterating the MC’s commitment to a humane and lawful approach to the problem, officials were directed to take timely and effective action in the interest of both animal welfare and the general public. slowly," he said. Sunita, a resident of the old city area, said the sudden rain disrupted daily routine. "The temperature dropped again, and with strong winds and shivering cold, it became difficult even to step out in the morning," she said. The weather improved after light rain in the morning, with skies clearing by afternoon. People were seen enjoying sunshine later in the day, and on account of the Basant festival, kite-flying was also witnessed in the evening. Officials said fulldress rehearsal on January 24 ahead of Republic Day would not be affected by the rain. Agriculture experts said the rain was beneficial for standing wheat crop, vegetables and fodder. Weather experts have predicted clear skies and a rise in daytime temperatures over the coming days. Tribune News Service Gurdaspur, January 23 Emails claiming that bombs had been placed in four Gurdaspur schools, an equal number of Batalabased institutions and a Pathankot school, created fear among the staff and students early in the morning before the cops assured that the mails were a "hoax". Minutes after the first mail was received, the Gurdaspur police pressed into service its anti-sabotage team that checked the premises of all the institutions. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Aditya, accompanied by senior officers, visited one of the schools and said that they were "hoax mails". "I would like to tell the parents that there is absolutely nothing to fear. There is no need to panic. My force, which handled the situation well, claimed that all nooks and corners of the schools had been checked and nothing untoward was found. We are trying to ascertain the origin of the mail," said the SSP . In the neighbouring police district of Batala, SSP Mehtab Singh was quick to constitute a team of senior officers that visited all the schools which had got the emails. "The anti-sabotage team checked the schools. I urge the parents and residents to maintain calm," he said. In Pathankot, SSP Daljinder Singh Dhillon confirmed that a similar mail had been received by the principal of a school in Bamiyal, near the international border. "A case has been registered and investigations are on," he said. Security beefed up in city ahead of R-Day Pawan K Jaiswar Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 23 In view of the Republic Day celebrations, the police have made elaborate security arrangements "Around 1,200 police personnel have been mobilised in the form of naka teams, special units, CIA teams and flying squads in plain clothes to ensure area domination and quick response," said Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. He said CCTV surveillance and naka checking have been intensified, while security checks have been strengthened at bus stand, hotels and railway station. He also urged residents to stay vigilant and report any suspi- cious activity to the police control room by dialling 112. Meanwhile, as part of its ongoing preventive strategy, the police today conducted a large-scale, coordinated tenant verification drive and hot spot checking across the city in order to thwart any untoward incident, strengthen public safety and maintain law and order. A total of 43 police teams were deployed at 33 identified hot spot locations, during which 364 persons were checked and 330 documents verified on the spot to ensure compliance with norms. Bhullar said that during the operation, police rounded up 34 suspicious persons and registered an FIR. The enforcement action also resulted in the impounding of 33 vehicles, issuance of 109 traffic challans and recovery of three spools of Chinese kite string. Tenant verification and hot spot checking were carried out in several sensitive localities, including Godam Mohalla, Fateh Singh Colony, Gujjarpura, Nagar Nigam Colony, Mohini Park, Kabir Park, Khalsa Nagar, Ward 6 Pandora, Guru Ki Wadali, Cantt area, near Khalsa College, Palm Groves, Rani Ka Bagh, Yasin Road and Green Avenue. Focused verification was undertaken in Katra Baggiya, Gali Kharasia, Kot Baba Deep Singh, Guru Teg Bahadur Flats, Maqboolpura, Rasulpur Kallar, Lal Kothi, 40 Quarters and Jaspal Nagar. BSF seizes arms, ammunition near IB Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 23 The Border Security Force (BSF) recovered three pistols along with magazines and ammunition from the Ghoga border outpost area here last night. The inci- dent came to light when the police registered an FIR in this regard. Apart from three pistols, the BSF recovered six magazines, 144 live rounds and six empty shells from the spot. The weapon consignment was reportedly smug- gled from Pakistan. A case under the Arms Act has been registered against unknown persons in this connection and further investigations are in progress to identify the suspects who were to receive the consignment. Smuggled peacock, walrus trophies ring alarm bells for enforcement agencies Charanjit Singh Teja Tribune News Service Amritsar, January 23 The seizure of illegally imported taxidermy trophies of a peacock and a walrus at Sri Guru Ram Dass Jee International Airport, Amritsar, has put focus on the global illegal wildlife trade and the growing demand for exotic animal artefacts in the country. The trophies, smuggled from Bangkok, have also alerted wildlife enforcement agencies, as such species are neither native to India nor legally permitted for personal possession. Wildlife experts say that India has very limited expertise in taxidermy, especially for exotic species, but demand among private collectors continues to fuel illegal imports. Officials said this was the first reported case of its kind in the state. The Customs Department has arrested Mohammad Akbar Ahmed in connection with the smuggling and has launched an investigation to trace the international network involved. A preliminary examination by a team of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) confirmed that the seized taxidermy trophies were genuine. As per the Wild Life (Transactions and Taxidermy) Rules, 2024, the import of hunting trophies into India is permitted only for educational or scientific purposes and The focus is now on global illegal wildlife trade and the growing demand for exotic animal artefacts in the country. requires valid permits under the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), along with mandatory clearance from the WCCB. Personal display of such trophies is strictly restricted under law. Sunal Singh Roamin, wildlife biologist and expert on wildlife crime, said c m y b wildlife trafficking is among the world’s top five illegal trades, alongside weapons, drugs and human trafficking. Citing data from TRAFFIC (an NGO), he said the global illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth over USD 200 billion annually. He added that India is both a source and transit country for several wildlife products, including leopard skin, tiger bones, pangolin scales, bear bile, snake, rhino horn, elephant ivory, peacock feathers and bird feathers, which are used for home décor and traditional medicine. Officials of the WCCB stated that investigations would determine whether the seized trophies were intended for a buyer in India or were part of a wider international supply chain. Amritsar District Forest Officer Rajesh Mahajan said enforcement teams frequently conduct checks at herbal medicine shops and other outlets suspected of dealing in wildlife-derived items banned under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. He noted that many seized items turn out to be fake, such as plastic replicas sold by fraudsters exploiting superstition, though genuine wildlife contraband is also occasionally recovered. However, a major raid was conducted by the WCCB on July 5, 2024, during which two shops were raided at a local market. The operation led to the seizure of 137 hatha jodi (dried copulatory organs of monitor lizards), 38 bear bile units used in traditional Chinese medicine, 69 sea fans, 1.4 kg of organ pipe corals and 4.814 kg of gorgonian corals, all derived from species protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.