15072026-JTR-01.qxd 7/14/2026 11:25 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune MINISTER INAUGURATES NARU NANGAL LIFT IRRIGATION SCHEME KARTOLI RAILWAY STATION TO OPEN ON JULY 17 ALIA BHATT JOINS SOHUM SHAH IN ‘TUMBBAD 2’ The project combines lift irrigation with renewable energy to ensure a reliable water supply to farmers. P2 Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate Kartoli Railway Station. P3 The announcement marks Alia Bhatt’s first full-fledged venture into the horror genre. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.33 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:34 AM » WEDNESDAY | 15 JULY 2026 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. INBRIEF SIX ARRESTED FOR CONSUMING DRUGS Phagwara: The Nakodar police have arrested two persons on the charge of consuming heroin. The accused have been identified as Manpreet of Sharakpur village and Navdeep Kumar of Mahalla Bhagat Singh Nagar. Two lighters, silver papers and plastic pipes used for consuming contraband were recovered from his possession. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. Meanwhile, the Mehatpur police arrested Deepak of Raipur Aariyan village for consuming heroin and the Shahkot police arrested Satnam Singh of Bagian village in Ludhiana, Gurjant Singh of Mannakpur village and Jogindar Pal of Raunta village for consuming heroin. OC 6 BOOKED FOR ASSAULT Phagwara: The Shahkot police have booked six persons, including two women, on the charges of criminal trespass and assaulting a woman. The accused have been identified as Manjit Kaur of Kakarr Kalan village, Puja of Gobindpur village, Harjindar Singh, Paramjit Singh, Gurmukh Singh and Baljit Singh of Kotla Suraj Mall village. Tarsem Kaur (74) of Mohalla Bagh Wala, complained to the police that the accused assaulted and injured her for a plot. OC 12 NABBED FOR DRUG PEDDLING Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a man for selling poppy husk. Two kilogram of poppy husk was recovered from the possession of the accused Baldev Singh of Sadikpur village. The Nakodar police arrested Raj Kumar of Chania village and Indrajit of Dhaliwal village with 39 intoxicating tablets. The Nakodar police arrested four drug peddlers with 84 intoxicating tablets. The Nurmahal police arrested Yogesh Giri of Morni Wala Talab, Nurmahal, with 18 tablets. The Bilga police arrested four persons with 49 tablets. oc MAN, SON HELD FOR CONSPIRACY Phagwara: The Nakodar police have arrested a fatherson duo on the charges of criminal trespass and criminal conspiracy. The accused have been identified as Tarsem Singh of Chania village and his son Jaskaran Singh. Gurveer Singh of the same village has complained to the police that the accused destroyed his paddy crop with a poisonous substance and tried to encroach on his land. oc MAN NABBED FOR SELLING LIQUOR Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have arrested a villager on the charge of selling illicit liquor. Nine bottles of illicit liquor were seized from the possession of the accused Kapil Dev of Ajtanni village under Nurmahal police station. OC 7-hour outage leaves Civil Hospital in dark Patients shifted from Emergency, OPD and key wards | Doctors seek permanent solution to blackouts Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 14 Essential healthcare services at the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, came under severe strain on Tuesday after a prolonged power outage crippled electricity supply to several critical sections, including the Emergency ward, Outpatient Department (OPD), Male Medical Ward and Medico-Legal Ward, for nearly seven hours. The disruption left patients, attendants and healthcare staff struggling in sweltering conditions as lights and fans remained non-functional for hours. With the humid weather adding to their discomfort, the hospital authorities shifted patients from the affected wards to the Surgical Wards and Trauma Centre to ensure treatment continued uninterrupted. The Civil Hospital is the largest government healthcare facility in the Doaba region where nearly 1,500 to 3,000 patients from Jalandhar and adjoining areas seek treatment every day. According to hospital officials, power supply to nearly one-third of the hospital remained disrupted from around 6 am to 1 pm. As many as 44 patients, including 10 in the Emergency ward and 34 in other affected wards, were admitted in the sections that lost power. The impact of the outage was visible across the hospital, with patients lined up on stretchers in the Trauma Centre after being shifted from the affected wards. Attendants were seen fanning patients manually, while others searched for cooler spots outside the wards to The Emergency ward remains without power at the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, on Tuesday; and (below) excavated trenches where damaged underground cables caused the prolonged outage in the hospital. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: SARABJIT SINGH Patients from the Emergency ward being shifted to the corridor of the Trauma Centre in Jalandhar Civil Hospital. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH escape the heat. Suman Devi, an attendant in the Emergency ward, said, “My husband was admitted here after suffering a leg injury. Since morning, there had been no electricity. There was no back-up and it became extremely difficult to remain inside the ward. We expected at least uninterrupted power supply in the Emergency ward.” Another patient’s family member said the prolonged outage only added to their ordeal. “We came here hoping for proper treatment, but instead we had to spend hours without electricity and water. It became very difficult to cope with the heat,” he said. Damaged underground cables to blame The hospital authorities admitted that this was the fourth major power disruption since June 23. They attributed the repeated outages to the ongoing sewerage work at the hospital. They said, during excavation, JCB machines repeatedly damaged underground electricity cables, disrupting power supply to a large section of the hospital. The situation worsened on June 26 when a major blast occurred in the hospital’s main cable duct around 5 am. An electrician suffered burn injuries to his eyes and face while attending to the fault. Officials temporarily divert- ed the electrical load through a non-functional oxygen plant but rainwater accumulated in the excavated trenches continued to trigger faults. The authorities said they immediately contacted the Public Works Department and the electricity wing of the Punjab Health Systems Corporation which is executing the sewerage work. The damaged cables were replaced on Saturday and the hospital was informed that the electrical load would be shifted on Monday. However, power supply failed again around 9 pm on Monday. Though electricity was restored through temporary arrangements by 11 pm, it snapped again around 6 am Woman, three kidsconsume poison 6-yr-old girl dies, others referred to Amritsar hospital Our Correspondent Kapurthala, July 14 A family dispute allegedly led to a migrant woman and her three children consuming poisonous substance at Mallu Kadarabad village in Kapurthala district on Monday night. One of the children died during treatment at the Civil Hospital, while the woman and her two children were referred to Government Medical College, Amritsar, after their condition deteriorated. The police have initiated an investigation into the incident. Lovekush Kumar, a resident A girl under treatment in Kapurthala Civil Hospital. of Mallu Kadarabad village, said when he returned home late at night after working in the fields, he found his wife, Santosh Devi, vomiting. A bottle of pesticide was lying nearby, while the children were in a semi-conscious condition. He immediately sought help through the 108 ambulance service and rushed his wife and children to the Civil Hospital, Kapurthala. The victims are Santosh Devi, her eight-year-old daughter Amrita, six-year-old daughter Khushi and twoyear-old son. All were admitted to the emergency ward, where they were treated by Dr Karanpreet Singh. During treatment, Khushi died. As the condition of the remaining three patients was stated to be critical, doctors provided primary treatment before referring them to Government Medical College, Amritsar, for advanced medical care. The hospital authorities informed the police about the incident. SHO Ranjit Singh of Sadar Police Station said an investigation has been initiated to ascertain the circumstances that led to the alleged poisoning. The condition of the three patients was reported to be critical. on Tuesday, leading to another prolonged outage. Dr Namita Ghai, Medical Superintendent, said, “We immediately shifted the affected patients to the Surgical Wards and Trauma Centre so that their treatment was not affected. Our staff remained on duty throughout and we made every possible effort to ensure patient care continued without interruption.” Ghai further added that the hospital has now sought the intervention of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) for a permanent solution. While the hospital has seven generators and five inverters to provide backup for critical services, she said the current arrangements are only temporary. “We are managing the situation through temporary arrangements. However, if a permanent solution is not found soon, it will become increasingly difficult to cater to the growing footfall of patients,” she said. Meanwhile, District Congress Committee (Urban) president Rajinder Beri visited the hospital and criticised the state government over the prolonged outage. “The Emergency ward is meant for serious patients where uninterrupted electricity is a necessity. It is shocking that patients and their attendants were left without power and even drinking water for hours. If the government cannot ensure basic infrastructure in the Civil Hospital, its claims of strengthening public healthcare ring hollow. There should have been an effective backup system to prevent such a crisis,” Beri said. PM to address rally at railway station compound on July 17 Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 14 As Prime Minister Narendra Modi will reach Jalandhar Cantt Railway Station on July 17 evening for its inauguration, he will address a rally of nearly 5,000 BJP workers and supporters within the compound. Union Minister of State Ravneet Bittu visited the railway station and reviewed all arrangements. A huge waterproof tent has been put up at the entrance of the station wherein entire leadership, including state president Kewal Dhillon, general secretary (organisation) Manthri Srinivasulu, RS MP Tarun Chugh, Sunil Jakhar, Ash- BITTU REVIEWS ARRANGEMENTS Union Minister of State Ravneet Bittu visited the railway station and reviewed all arrangements. A huge waterproof tent has been put up at the entrance of the station wherein entire leadership will remain present. wani Sharma, all core committee members and leaders from across the state will remain present. Party workers and supporters will reach the venue from across the state in buses. The SPG team of the PM arrived in Jalandhar today and held a meeting with the police. The PM will land at PAP grounds after his rallies in Jind and Chandigarh from where he will be escorted by Bittu to the railway station. The PM will flag off Chheharta-Varanasi Sant Ravidas Express around 4 pm. From the venue, he will virtually inaugurate 75 other railway stations. After his 30-minute stay at the platform, he will move to the rally venue near the entrance gates, said the local BJP leaders. Deputy Commissioner of Police Manpreet Singh said, “High security arrangements are in place in Jalandhar, especially around the venue ahead of the PM’s visit. Police teams from other districts too have reached Jalandhar for reinforcement”. Woman robbed at gunpoint 37 diarrhoea cases reported in Jalandhar Phagwara, July 14 A woman was allegedly robbed at gunpoint by three motorcycle-borne assailants in Harkrishan Nagar, Phagwara, while she was returning home from a market with her mother-in-law late Monday evening. The robbers reportedly fled with her gold jewellery worth over Rs 3.5 lakh. The victim’s family has accused the police of failing to respond immediately despite being informed about the incident. According to victim Sakshi Salaria, the incident took place when she and her mother-in-law were returning home on a two-wheeler after shopping. She alleged that three masked youths riding a motorcycle first overtook them and then stopped at a short distance ahead and forced the woman to stop the vehicle. The assailants allegedly threatened her with a pistol before snatching her gold chain, mangalsutra and locket. The accused then fled on their motorcycle. She said one of the suspects had his face completely covered. The victim claimed that the stolen jewellery was worth more than Rs 3.5 lakh and added that the police were informed immediately after the incident. The family alleged that despite informing the city police about the serious armed robbery, they did not reach the spot. Instead, they were allegedly asked to visit the police station around 10:30 am the next day. The alleged apathetic response has triggered resentment among local residents. — OC c m y b Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 14 Jalandhar has reported 37 diarrhoea cases since the onset of the monsoon, with children accounting for a majority of infections. Of the total cases, 29 were reported among children, while eight among adults, health officials said. Dr Namita Ghai, Medical Superintendent of the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, said the situation is under control with the hospital receiving around one or two diarrhoea cases daily. “We are keeping a close watch on the situation. If we receive a higher number of patients from a particular area, we will immediately inform the authorities concerned so that timely steps can be taken to prevent any outbreak,” she said. She advised residents to take precautions during the rainy season, including avoiding outside food, eating home cooked food, maintaining hygiene and drinking The district has not reported any outbreak so far boiled water. Physicians at the Civil Hospital said diarrhoea cases usually rise during the monsoon due to the risk of water contamination. Waterlogging and sewage mixing with drinking water sources can increase the spread of water-borne infections, leading to a rise in gastrointesti- nal illnesses. They advised people, especially parents of young children, to watch for symptoms such as frequent loose motions, vomiting and dehydration and seek medical attention. The district has not reported any outbreak so far, officials said, adding that diarrhoea cases may increase in the coming days due to monsoon-related factors such as water contamination and waterlogging.