24012026-JTR-01.qxd 1/23/2026 10:53 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune DC REVIEWS PREPARATIONS FOR REPUBLIC DAY CELEBRATIONS CITY-BASED ANIMATION CHANNEL DRAWS MILLIONS OF VIEWERS KARAN JOHAR PRAISES HOMEBOUND DIRECTOR He affirms that the district-level Republic Day function will be celebrated with great enthusiasm and fanfare. P2 Shakkar Parey, an animated venture by a couple has captured the imagination of an entire generation of children. P3 Pens heartfelt note for director Neeraj Ghaywan after Oscars nomination miss. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 18°C | MIN 11°C YESTERDAY MAX 13°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET SATURDAY 5.55 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:24 AM » SATURDAY | 24 JANUARY 2026 | JALANDHAR No HC relief for Jalandhar hotel Upholds PCB’s emergency powers in case Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 23 Holding that the Pollution Control Board is empowered to act without issuing a showcause notice in emergent situations, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has disposed of a writ petition challenging the closure of a Jalandhar hotel and disconnection of its electricity, leaving it open for the aggrieved party to avail remedy before the National Green Tribunal. The order by the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry came on a petition filed against Punjab and other respondents by Hind Samachar Limited and another petitioner. The matter was placed before the Bench after the petitioner challenged action taken by the Punjab Pollution Control Board against the hotel situated at Project Park Plaza, Civil Lines, Jalandhar having 72 rooms, a banquet hall, two restaurants and a swimming pool. “The nature of pollution involved in the present case is the effluent discharged by the petitionerhotel,” the Bench observed. The court was told that the board’s team found deficiencies in “the requirement of compliance with the Water Act and the Rules framed under it” following an inspection on January 13 by a team of officers. Taking note of the “emergent situation”, the board invoked its powers and ordered the closure of the hotel and disconnection of electricity without issuing a prior show-cause notice. The board was represented by senior advocate DS Patwalia with counsel AS Chadha, while Advocate-General Maninderjit Singh Bedi appeared for the state along with counsel Kavita Joshi and Sangam Garg. Referring to the argument that an opportunity of hearing ought to have been granted before taking such action, the court made it clear that procedural safeguards could not override statutory emergency powers. “If opportunity was given in an emergent situation, the very purpose of vesting the board with emergent powers would stand defeated,” the Bench observed. Rejecting the plea that the reasons for closure had to be given to the hotel in advance, the Bench clarified the statutory position: “The Statute, neither the Water Act, nor the Punjab Water Rules Continued on page 2 Rain, hailstorm bring day temperature down by 7° ■ Model Town, Urban Estate among areas inundated after overnight showers ■ Market bodies alarmed as waterlogging returns despite drainage claims Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 23 Heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorm that lashed the city since the late last evening, brought down the maximum temperature from 21 degree Celsius down by seven notches. There was a cold breeze accompanying the rain. There were reports of hailstorm also from certain parts on the periphery, including Dhilwan and Sultanpur Lodhi. Moderate to heavy showers lashed the area all night till this afternoon, which led to inundating of several areas, including the posh Model Town, Urban Estate and New Jawahar Nagar localities. The entry to the shops remained so difficult that concrete slabs had to be arranged by shopkeepers to have the customers in. The popular Flower Point and Six 96 Baker Cafe had a lot of water accumulated at their entrance and their staff had to stand outside to take orders and make the deliveries. The road in front of gurdwara in Model Town and Mata Commuters make their way on a waterlogged road amid rain in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJITSINGH Rani Chowk remained inundated till the evening and hence the footfall was low. Rajiv Duggal, President of the Model Market Association said, “Shopkeepers in the market were worried. In the last rainy season, the showrooms here have suffered losses worth crores as the rainwater had entered the basements. We were told that the drainage lines had been c m y b cleaned and there would no waterlogging again but the situation was there for everyone to see again”. The commuters on road from Ambedkar Chowk to Kapurthala Chowk also remained sufferers as it is yet to be rebuilt after the laying of surface water pipelines. “It was too risky to drive on the muddy, bumpy, waterlogged road. The MC authori- ties need to get the work expedited”, said Shefali Kapoor, a resident of Adarsh Nagar. The commuters to the District Administrative Complex too were a harassed lot. The road outside and the entrance area inside the complex was under one-foot deep water, making it accessible only for SUV travellers. The strength of the staff remained less in government offices. BKI terror module busted, 4 nabbed 2.5 kg RDX, illegal arms seized Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi Garhshankar, January 23 In a major breakthrough against Pakistan’s ISIbacked terror network ahead of Republic Day, the Hoshiarpur police, in a joint operation with Counter Intelligence (CI), Jalandhar, busted a terrorist module of the banned outfit Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and arrested four of its operatives, recovering a powerful RDXbased improvised explosive device, weighing nearly 2.5 kg along with illegal arms. Disclosing this on Friday, DGP Gaurav Yadav said the arrested men , Diljot Singh, Harman Singh, alias Harry, Ajay, alias Mehra, and Arshdeep Singh, alias Arsh Kandola, all residents of Rahon in district Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, were in possession of an IED and two pistols. He said preliminary investigations revealed that the recovered explosive was intended for a targeted terror strike during the upcoming Republic Day celebrations. According to sources, the CI wing had been following a specific lead regarding explosives smuggled into India from Pakistan. Acting on the Explosives and pistols recovered from the BKI module by Hoshiarpur police. input, agencies learnt that the consignment had reached the suspects in Rahon and was meant to be used for carrying out untoward incidents during the functions. The suspects were kept under surveillance for a couple of days before police teams moved in and effected the arrests and recoveries. The DGP said the module was being operated by USAbased BKI handlers and that further investigation was underway to establish both forward and backward linkages in the case. SSP Hoshiarpur, , Sandeep Malik said the accused had been tasked with receiving weapons and managing logistics after the arms were smuggled through the border areas of Ferozepur and Amritsar Rural.