16032026-LT-01.qxd 16-03-2026 01:06 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune WHEAT CROPS SHOWING PURPLE DISCOLOURATION SPREAD PEACE MESSAGE IN TIMES OF UNREST: SANDHWAN KULDEEP TIES THE KNOT WITH VANSHIKA IN ROYAL CEREMONY PAU experts warn against spraying fungicide, assert developing grains are healthy. P2 Assembly Speaker and Mayor Inderjit Kaur take part in ‘Run for Humanity’ marathon in city. P2 India’s premier bowler, Kuldeep Yadav, tied the knot with childhood friend Vanshika in a regal ceremony. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 27°C | MIN 16°C YESTERDAY MAX 29.8°C | MIN 15.4°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.31 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6:30 AM MONDAY | 16 MARCH 2026 | LUDHIANA Civil Hospital engages pvt docs to bridge shortage of specialists Under new arrangement, they will provide services from Mon to Sat for three hours a day Manav Mander CHARGES FIXED FOR THEIR SERVICES Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 15 To address the shortage of specialist doctors in the government sector and with no new specialists coming forward to take up jobs in government service, the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, has devised a middle path by engaging private doctors. The step is aimed at ensuring that patients continue to receive timely care despite the acute manpower crunch in several departments, including Medicine, Skin and Eye. Dr Amanpreet Kaur, the lone medicine specialist who was imparting services at the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana, was promoted as District Health and Family Welfare Officer last year and Dr Rohit Rampal from the Skin department was promoted as SMO, Mother and Child Hospital. Since then, the posts OPD Consultation: ~100 IPD: ~100 Minor surgeries: ~1,000 Minor procedure: ~500 Ultrasound: ~400 Emergency visit: ~1,500 per visit Anaesthesia during major surgery: ~2,000 Major surgeries/ cesarean: ~3,500 ‘ARRANGEMENT TEMPORARY, CRUCIAL’ The Civil Hospital currently caters to 1,200-1,800 patients daily. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN have been lying vacant. The Civil Hospital currently caters to 1,200-1,800 patients daily, leading to long queues and delays in treatment. Under the new arrangement, private doctors will provide services from Monday to Saturday for three hours everyday. Two doctors will be coming in general medicine OPD and one each in eye and skin OPDs. During this duty, they will examine patients, offer treatment and consultation and issue referrals when necessary. Private doctors will be bound by departmental rules regarding duty hours, patient care and Officials clarified that the arrangement is temporary but crucial till regular government doctors are appointed. Private doctors will be bound by departmental rules regarding duty hours. referral protocols. In cases requiring advanced treatment, patients may be referred to private hospitals. Officials clarified that this arrangement is temporary but crucial till regular government doctors are appointed. Dr Akhil Sareen, Senior Medical Officer of the Civ- il Hospital, said the decision was taken to balance the rising patient inflow with limited manpower. “Our priority is to ensure that no patient is denied timely treatment. By involving private doctors, we hope to reduce waiting times and improve the quality of care,” he added. Women walk on a road with umbrellas amid drizzle in Ludhiana on Sunday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Rain brings relief to residents, farmers Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 15 The city received a fresh spell of rain on Sunday, bringing much-needed relief from the soaring March temperatures. The showers cooled the city, with the minimum temperature settling at 15.4°C and the maximum at 29.8°C. Residents welcomed the change in weather. “The heat was becoming unbearable over the past few days. Today’s rain has made the atmosphere pleasant again,” said Varinder Singh, who runs a shop at Ghumar Mandi. College student Simran Kaur said, “It feels refreshing to step out after the dip in temperature. The city looks washed and lively.” The showers are expected to benefit the wheat crop, which had been under stress due to unusually high temperatures during the current month. “The rain has cooled down the fields and improved soil moisture. It will help in grain filling, which is crucial at this stage,” said Harbhajan Singh, a farmer from Doraha. Dr PK Kingra, Head, Department of Agricultural Meteorology and Climate Change, Punjab Agricultural University, said, “There are chances of thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds (30-40 kmph) along with light to moderate rain tomorrow as well, and between March 18 and 20 in Ludhiana and adjoining areas.” The city, which had been reeling under an early summer spell, is looking forward to a few more days of respite as the weather department predicts scattered showers for the coming week. Hit by speeding LPG crisis: Community kitchen organisers Two held on charge car, woman dies switch to firewood for preparing meals of seeking extortion Raikot, March 15 The Sudhar police have booked a social activist of Akalgarh village and his two companions under Sections 308 (2) and 3 (5) for allegedly demanding extortion. The key suspect has been identified as Deepu of Akalgarh, a social activist and a whistle-blower against drug peddling. One of the suspect is a journalist and a panchayat member of Akalgarh village. Deepu, and the third suspect, who is also a journalist, have been arrested by police officials, led by Manohar Lal. The panchayat member is still absconding. Perusal of an FIR registered on the statement of Raghbir Singh of South City, Ludhiana, revealed that the suspects had allegedly threatened one of his close relatives, Sikandar Singh, of Akalgarh to either pay them Rs 5-7 lakh or be ready to face consequences in a case of physically and mentally harassing a minor migrant girl. The complainant has also provided an audio having conversation of him and the key suspect in which he (Deepu) is demanding money in his and companions’ names. Meanwhile, the two journalists have denied charges levelled against them and alleged that they had been falsely implicated in the case. SHO Gurdeep Singh said Deepu and one of the journalists had been arrested while the third suspect was absconding. City police outperform state average in action against drugs, organised crime 13-yr-old schoolboy dies by suicide Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 15 A woman died on the spot after being hit by a speeding car in Ludhiana. The driver fled the scene after the incident. Later after identifying the suspect, the police arrested him and seized the car. The deceased was identified as Nirmala (56). In a complaint to the police, Rahul Kumar, a resident of Phase 2, Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar, said he had come to a hospital on Pakhowal Road to drop his mother Nirmala Devi (56) in an auto-rickshaw on Friday. He was standing behind his mother as she was crossing the road. Meanwhile, a Maruti Swift car (bearing registration Driver fled scene, landed in police net later, vehicle seized no PB91R-9386) being driven recklessly and at a high speed hit his mother. The complainant said his mother suffered serious head injuries in the accident and died on the spot. The suspect fled the scene with the vehicle. The driver was later identified as Gulzar Singh, a resident of Lohara, here. During the investigation, the police arrested the suspect and recovered the vehicle. The Dugri police registered a case against the man and initiated further probe. Mahesh Sharma Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 15 Amid LPG shortage firewood comes to the rescue of community kitchen organisers. The gas scarcity has forced them to replace items such as bhaturas and pooris with chapatis. Women are now in demand as daily wagers to prepare the chapatis. Organisers of football tournaments at Ahmedgarh, Malha, Mangat and Mullanpur localities said they had almost stopped using LPG for preparing meals for participants and visitors coming to venues. Logs and branches are easily available in rural localities. Manpreet Singh and Ravinder Bhaskar, commu- Community kitchen organisers use firewood as fuel to prepare meals during an event in Ahmedgarh. nity kitchen organisers of a football tournament, said they had switched over to firewood during the event keeping in view the LPG crisis due to the ongoing war Nikhil Bhardwaj IN FIGURES Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 15 Setting a records of sorts in the ongoing statewide campaign ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ (war on drugs), the Police Commissionerate, Ludhiana, have outperformed the state average on various parameters in the fight against drugs and organised crime. The state average is calculated by adding total recoveries, arrests, cases registered, etc, under the NDPS Act or in the organised crime parameters in the state and then dividing the particular parameter with 28 (25 police districts and three police commissionerates in the state). Internal reports regarding the action taken against drugs and organised crime prepared by the Ludhiana police and of districts leading in the state’s average on various parameters, copy of which is with The Tribune, clearly states between Iran and Israel. “While we used to bring gas cylinders from our houses earlier, this time, we decided to use firewood,” said Bhaskar. Parameters CP Ludhiana State Average NDPS cases filed 1,536 1,309 Held 1,978 1,780 Booked 1,838 1,280 FIRs with helpline tips 621 504 FIRs with VDC/WDC tips 24 14 CRACKDOWN AGAINST ORGANISED CRIME Arrested 635 356 Preventive action 236 182 RECOVERIES UNDER NDPS ACT Heroin Intoxicating tablets Powder Poppy husk Ganja Drug money Opium Cocaine Ice Cops during the Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign in Ludhiana. FILE in terms of NDPS cases registered, smugglers arrested, converting tips of Ward Defence Committees(WDC)/Village Defence Committees(VDC) into FIRs, registering FIRs after receiving tips from Safe Punjab Helpline and nominating NDPS suspects in backward links, the Ludhiana district police have been leading. The data states that the Ludhiana police have arrested about 1,978 smugglers since March 1, 2025, while the state average was c m y b 32 kg 32,443 1.258 kg 581 kg 199 kg ~12.61 lakh 30 kg 16 gm 125 gm 1,780. Even as many as 1,536 NDPS cases are registered in this period while the state average rests at 1,309. The Police Commissionerate has also led from The organisers said wood was being used in rural areas in routine and it provides a vital, sustainable energy source when used efficiently. the front when it comes to nomination of suspects by probing backward links in drug cases. The city police have booked 1,838 suspects in backward links while the state average on the parameter stands at 1,280. The police data also states that the city police registered 621 FIRs after receiving tips from the Safe Punjab Helpline while the state average shows 504 cases registered under the parameter. The Ludhiana police have also registered 24 FIRs under the NDPS Act after getting tips from the WDCs/VDCs. Heroin seizure tops drugs recovery chart The drug recovery data procured by The Tribune states that heroin recovery tops the drug recovery chart prepared by the Ludhiana police since 2025. As 32 kg of heroin was recovered followed by 32,443 intoxicating tablets, 581 kg of poppy husk, 199 kg of ganja, 30 kg of opium and Rs 12.61 lakh drug money. Smugglers’ properties worth Rs 97.6 cr attached As per the report, the Ludhiana police attached properties of drug smugglers worth Rs 97.64 crore. Even properties worth over Rs 5 crore is also pending for final approval of the authorities concerned for attachment orders. 95% conviction rate in drug cases Interestingly, the Ludhiana police have a good conviction rate of 95 per cent in drug cases. From January 1, 2025, to March 14, 2026, professional investigation of the police led to the conviction in 343 drug cases out of 364 brought to courts for trial and as many as 424 drug smugglers were convicted by the courts. Pertinently in December last year, DGP Gaurav Yadav in a tweet stated: “Punjab Police had recorded an 88 per cent conviction rate — the highest in India”. Ludhiana, March 15 Fear of examinations led a 13year-old boy to end his life by hanging. The deceased has been identified as Ayush (13), son of Arjun Pandit, a resident of Murgi Farm, 33 Feet Road. The victim’s father, Arjun Pandit, said he had four sons, and Ayush, a Class VI student, was the second eldest. On Saturday, around 2:30 pm, the eldest son, Prince, returned home. Finding the bedroom door locked, he called out to Ayush to open it. When there was no response, Prince broke down the door only to find Ayush hanging by a towel. The police probe revealed that Ayush had falsely told his family that the school was closed for holidays, whereas examinations were being conducted. The family suspects that the overwhelming fear of examinations drove him to take the extreme step. A post-mortem was conducted at the Civil Hospital on Sunday afternoon, which confirmed suicide as the cause of death. — TNS