14012026-LT-01.qxd 1/14/2026 12:39 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune POLICE INSTALL ‘CHINA DOR GUARDS’ ON TWO-WHEELERS NEW SONG FROM BORDER 2 UNVEILED AT MUMBAI The use of these hazardous strings is high as people fly kites during the Lohri celebrations. P2 Jaate Hue Lamhon, a timeless classic by Anu Malik and Javed Akhtar, has been reimagined by Mithoon. P4 » » SUNIEL SHETTY TO HOST SHOW BHARAT KE SUPER FOUNDERS Bharat Ke Super Founders show brings together business tycoons to back India’s next wave of entrepreneurs. P4 » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 13°C | MIN 4°C YESTERDAY MAX 12°C | MIN 3°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.44 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:20 AM WEDNESDAY | 14 JANUARY 2026 | LUDHIANA Music, kite-flying, bonfires add festive spirit to Lohri celebrations across city Adverse weather conditions play spoilsport for kite flyers during morning hours Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 13 The absence of a bright sun on Lohri on Tuesday played a spoilsport for those keen on flying kites to celebrate the festival in the morning. Youngsters and children, who had made bulk purchases of kites and strings, waited for long to begin kite-flying but foggy weather and a chill in the air dampened their spirits. The early morning temperature around 7 am hovered at 4°C. By 11 am, the temperature rose to 8°C but conditions still did not support kite-flying. However, during noon, people started gathering at rooftops to start enjoying the festival though the Sun played hide-and-seek. Youngsters flew kites, some danced to the tunes of Punjabi songs while others enjoyed eatables to celebrate the festival. There were children who were not able to fly kites due to fog in the morning. Eleven-year-old Yadhuraj Pathak, a Class V student, said he stayed awake till 3 am preparing strings for nearly 25 kites, which he had planned to fly with his friends. However, due to moisture in the air and the lack of sunshine, the kites could not be flown and kept getting wet. “I am disappointed as I spent over Rs 2,000 on kites bearing pictures of Chhota Bheem, Sidhu Moosewala, Mr Bean The suspects in Ludhiana police custody. ASHWANI DHIMAN 4 held with Canadian $ worth ~20 lakh , 2 guns Mahesh Sharma Residents gather on a rooftop in the old city area and (right) stand around a bonfire during the Lohri celebrations in Ludhiana on Tuesday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN & ASHWANI DHIMAN and others,” he said. Residents, especially youngsters and children, in areas such as Chaura Bazaar, Chawni Mohalla, Field Ganj, Roopa Mistri Gali, Daresi and near Khud Mohalla, were seen on their rooftops with music systems and eateries, attempting to fly kites. Sarabjit Singh Bunty from Chawni Mohalla said though it was not a bright sunny day for Lohri, they had made all arrangements to make the day special. “We have arranged a music system and friends are here to celebrate Lohri on Punjabi beats,” he said. With loud music being played in city areas, residents seen struggling to fly kites in difficult cold conditions. At the same time, residents were enthusiastic about celebrating Lohri and made last- minute purchases of coal, wood, rewri, gajak and peanuts to light bonfires. Shops selling these items opened early in the morning so that buyers did not return disappointed. Ram Saran, who works at a godown selling coal and wood, said such items were selling like hot cakes. “We have to add more stock daily to meet the demand as days are extremely cold and people want to light bonfires to keep themselves warm,” he said. Dholis were seen moving across city areas. To celebrate the Lohri of newly-wed couples and families with newborn babies, special celebrations were held at many places during the daytime and evening. Traditional Lohri songs such as “De mai Lohri, jeeve teri jodi, khol mai kunda, jeeve tera munda” echoed as relatives and friends joined the festivities. Meanwhile, the underprivileged were seen keeping themselves warm by burning trash and wood along roadsides. “For us, it is Lohri every day as we light bonfires to keep ourselves warm in the biting cold weather,” said Vijay Das, a daily wager. Ludhiana, January 13 Four miscreants who had robbed a money exchanger’s employee by posing as members of the Amritsar CIA team over a week ago were nabbed by the Ludhiana CIA officials on Tuesday. Two licensed weapons, 30,000 Canadian dollars robbed from the victim and a white Toyota Innova SUV used in the crime were seized from the suspects, identified as Sarabjit Singh, alias Gosa (Ludhiana), Harjeet Singh (Amritsar), Sattar Singh (Amritsar) and Steven Masih (Gurdaspur). The Commissionerate Police, Ludhiana, has successfully solved the high-value Canadian dollar robbery case with the arrest of four suspects and the recovery of 30,000 Canadian dollars (around Rs 20 lakh), two licensed pistols and 12 live bullets along with a SUV. Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma said the CIA wing of the Ludhiana police had nabbed four persons for robbing a money exchanger’s employee on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway on January 5. Posing as Amritsar CIA team, suspects had robbed man of money on January 5 Having received information about the incident, the Sarabha Nagar police, led by SHO Aditya Sharma, registered an FIR against the unidentified persons and initiated a probe into case. Sharma said due to a prompt and coordinated operation, staff posted at the CIA wing, Ludhiana, succeeded in identifying the suspects and arrested them on Tuesday. Though the police was yet to divulge details of the case, preliminary probe revealed that the suspects had intercepted Ravi, an employee of China Western Union, a money exchange firm of Jagraon when he had deboarded a bus near Verka milk plant on the Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway on January 5. Posing as members of a CIA team from the Amritsar police, the suspects, including an armed ex-serviceman, snatched the bag containing the Canadian currency and fled the scene. Civic body’s Zone A office to get facelift Three of robbers’ gang land in police Proposed multi-level parking will provide relief to visitors in congested area net, motorcycle, four mobiles seized Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 13 The Municipal Corporation’s Zone A office is finally getting a facelift. In addition to this, a multi-level parking lot will also be constructed to solve the problem of parking in the congested area. The work will be done under the public-private partnership mode. The Zone A office building is one of the oldest among the MC offices and will get a new ultra-modern look with better facilities for employees and visitors. The Municipal Corporation office in Ludhiana. FILE An MC employee said: “The upkeep and renovation of the office was long overdue. With the new facilities, both staff and citizens will benefit from a more functional and wel- coming space.” Many old bazaars are located around the area and the new parking will give respite to the people visiting here. The proposed parking facility will have a capacity of around 1,000 vehicles and help in reducing haphazard roadside parking problem. A city resident remarked: “Parking has always been a nightmare in this part of the city. A multi-level parking facility will finally ease chaos and make visiting bazaars much more convenient.” Our Correspondent Ludhiana, January 13 The police claimed to have nabbed three members of a gang of miscreants who had been involved in robbing vehicles and valuables by threatening people with sharp weapons. One motorcycle, a sharp weapon and four mobiles phones were recovered from the possession of the suspects, identified as Vikas Kumar of Chak Guru village in Garhshankar, now a resi- Cops address mediapersons in Ludhiana on Tuesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN dent of Kakowal road Ludhiana, Ashu Kumar of Kakowal Road here and Nawab Khan of Raja Barsoni in Sitamarhi, Bihar, at present residing in New Nanda Colony, Ludhi- ana, in separate incidents. Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, Swapan Sharma, said police officials, supervised by ADCP Rupinder Singh, ADCP Samir Verma and ACP Kikkar Singh, had identified and arrested the suspects during investigation of an case registered at the Jodhewal police station on January 7. Though antecedents of Ashu and Nawab were yet to be ascertained, preliminary investigations revealed that Vikas had previous criminal history. Temp nearing sub-zero, agri varsity sounds fresh alert for farmers, residents Manav Mander & Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 13 With temperatures dipping sharply across the state, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has sounded an alert for farmers and the public, warning that coming days may bring even harsher winter conditions. Severe cold waves, dense fog and ground frost are expected to grip the region, raising concerns for crops, orchards, vegetables and livestock. Sharing observations, Dr PK Khingra, head, Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, PAU, said the day and night time temperatures had been recorded below normal for the past few days in the state Says severe cold waves, dense fog, ground frost expected to grip region, raising concerns for crops, livestock and the minimum temperature had dropped below 4°C at many locations. As per the India Meteorological Department, there was a warning of severe cold wave conditions along with dense fog and ground frost occurrence during coming days, she divulged. Such extreme cold conditions might have deleterious effect on some of the crops, orchards, vegetable crops Motorists commute amid dense fog in Ludhiana on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN and livestock, she warned. “Vegetables and newly planted orchards are more vulnerable to cold wave and frost conditions,” she cautioned horticultural growers. “Under such circumstances, such crops need to be kept hydrated by providing light irrigation to maintain the soil temperature. Application of mulches and protection barriers on north-west direction are also effective, especially, c m y b tender vegetable crops and fruits,” she advised. Hence, farmers were advised to make regular visits to their fields and take these measures for protecting their crops from extreme cold and frost conditions, urged Dr Khingra. Animals should be kept indoor and be given nutrient rich feed during extreme cold as health of animals could be severely affected under these conditions, she said to dairy farmers. Local farmers also echoed the concern, stressing that the cold and frost demand extra vigilance in the fields. “This season our crops need more care than usual,” said Baljit Singh, a farmer from Ludhiana. “Regular monitoring, timely irrigation and protective measures are essential, otherwise the frost can damage vegetables and young orchards badly,” he added. Elderly, small children confined to homes The excessive cold wave pre- vented several elderly and small children from venturing out in the open to celebrate Lohri. As the minimum temperature was recorded at 3°C while maximum was reported around 15°C, most of the residents preferred to remain indoors in the chilling weather. It was a cloudy and foggy day as was predicted by weather experts. The sun played hide and seek for some time but it failed to provide the needed warmth due to the prevailing weather conditions. Confusion prevailed over the opening of schools as on social media platforms, it was being circulated that the winter break was extended till January 16 but no orders were received till the filing of the report. Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain said no such instructions came and the same would be conveyed as and when received. Markets wore a deserted look during morning hours while roadside vendors struggled to keep their small businesses running amid the harsh weather. “It becomes difficult to face the extreme cold. Customers are a few but we have no option but to work and get both ends meet,” said a tea vendor at Ghumar Mandi. All government schools in the state would reopen on Wednesday after the winter break. Though teachers, parents and students had expected that the winter break would be extended seeing the prevailing cold weather conditions, the government has decided to reopen them.