10082026-JTR-01.qxd 8/9/2026 10:36 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune INTEGRATED PIG, FISH FARMING YIELDS FARMER RICH DIVIDENDS FIX HOSPITAL INFRA AND INSTALL SOLAR SYSTEMS FROM THE FRONTLINE TO THE FRAME: INDIA’S WAR HEROES IN CINEMA Parminderjit Singh, a 48-year-old farmer's scientific approach to farming has earned him the Chief Minister’s Award. P2 Conduct safety audits & inspections and designate competent staff for power systems. P2 Over the years, several actors have taken on the challenge of portraying soldiers in films rooted in real-life conflicts. P4 » » » FORECAST RAINY MAX 33°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET MONDAY 7.15 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5:50 AM MONDAY | 10 AUGUST 2026 | JALANDHAR ‘Not invited’, MP Seechewal skips Ravidas centre stone-laying event Pash-Hans Raj complex lands in takeover row Aparna Banerji The CCTV footage of miscreants firing at a cloth merchant’s shop and residence in Kalasanghian near Kapurthala. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 9 AAP’s lone remaining Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab Balbir Singh Seechewal on Sunday said he had not received any invitation to the party’s mega event held to lay the foundation stone of the Shri Guru Ravidas Bani Adhyayan Centre at Naugajjan village in Jalandhar. Seechewal had been a prominent presence at a similar event held at Dera Sachkhand Ballan in 2023 when AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann visited the dera and handed over a cheque for Rs 25 crore for the proposed centre. However, despite a strong Sant Samaj presence at the event, Seechewal wasn’t present today. The event, which was held at Naugajjan village at Kartarpur in Jalandhar, saw the presence of religious men and saints from the Sant Samaj, including the head of the Dera Ballan Sant Niranjan Das. Speaking to The Tribune, MP and environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal said, “I was not aware of the event. CM Bhagwant Mann and the Sant Samaj during Shri Guru Ravidas Bani Adhyayan Centre’s stone-laying ceremony at Naugajjan village in Jalandhar on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH I did not receive any invitation, hence I didn’t go.” As per party sources, AAP sent invitations to about 55 saints in the region – primarily Jalandhar district and its periphery. Apart from Sant Niranjan Das, invites had also been sent to Sant Pargat Nath of Bal Nath Ashram, Sant Pardeep Dass of Kathar, Sant Teja Singh, Sant Nirmal Dass Ji Jaure Wale, Sant Lekh Raj among others. Seechewal hails from the Seechewal village in Shahkot, Jalandhar, where he was present today. The development comes barely a month after the Rajya Sabha MP voluntarily surrendered his police security, writing to the DGP to deploy the personnel elsewhere in view of staff shortages. He had raised concerns over the lawand-order situation in the state and launched the “Apna Pind Sambhalo Muhim” in his village, encouraging residents to organise vigilance patrols in response to thefts and other crimes. Asked whether his repeated concerns were going unheard, Seechewal said, “If the government does not listen to its own Member of Parliament, who will listen to the common man? I have written to everyone, from SSPs to the Chief Secretary, but no action is taken.” Referring to theft incidents in his village and the issue of untreated waste water being discharged into the Budha Dariya, he said, “We raised the matter with the SP At . least 41 meetings have been held on the continuous dumping of waste water into the river by the Municipal Corporation, but the issue remains unresolved.” Firing at cloth merchant’s shop in Kapurthala Our Correspondent Phagwara, August 9 Panic gripped the main market of Kalasanghian near Kapurthala late Saturday night after two unidentified youths allegedly opened fire at the shop and residence of cloth merchant Kuldeep Kumar Loomba. The incident was captured on CCTV cameras. No one was injured in the firing. Two youths arrived outside Kuldeep Kumar Loomba’s cloth shop on a motorcycle and allegedly fired several rounds towards the shop and the residential portion above it. CCTV footage reportedly shows the accused firing four rounds. Hearing the sound of gun- shots, night guards deployed in the main market alerted the Loomba family. A team from the Kalasanghian police post and Sadar police station reached the spot. Station House Officer Major Singh, along with the police team, inspected the scene. The police recovered shells from the spot and registered a case against unidentified persons. One of the bullets reportedly pierced the shop’s shutter and shattered the toughened glass installed in front of it. DSP Sheetal Singh said a case had been registered against the unidentified accused and an investigation was under way. Jalandhar, August 9 A controversy has erupted in Talwandi Salem, the native village of revolutionary Punjabi poet Avtar Singh Pash. Representatives of people’s organisations, progressive writers, artists, literary bodies and democratic groups gathered at the Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall in Jalandhar today and alleged that attempt were made to take over the PashHans Raj Memorial Complex, while panchayat members said the land had already belonged to panchayat. The meeting was jointly convened by the Pash Memorial International Trust and the Shaheedi Yadgar Committee, Nakodar. It was presided over by intellectual and writer Dr Swarajbir. At the meeting, the organisations announced that Pash’s birth anniversary would be observed at his native village, Talwandi Salem, on September 9 at 11 am. The organisations had earlier submitted a written complaint to the SDM, Nakodar, and met officials, seeking action over the alleged attempt to take over the premises. SDM Simranjit Singh said the land belonged to the village panchayat. “They had approached me. The issue is now almost resolved,” he said. — TNS Panel tells Yes Bank to pay ~30,000 for Extend Assembly session for debate on delay in returning property papers six new Bills: MLA Khaira to Speaker Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 9 A delay in returning original property papers after a loan was cleared has cost Yes Bank Rs 30,000 with the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, holding the bank guilty of deficiency in service. The commission directed the bank to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation for harassment and inconvenience and Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses to Jalandhar trader Manish Bansal, proprietor of Bansal Steel Traders on Tanda Road. According to the commission’s proceedings, Bansal had taken a Rs 30 lakh cash- credit facility from Yes Bank in March 2021 against his immovable property. A cashcredit facility is a bank approved borrowing limit that allows a business to withdraw money when required up to the sanctioned limit. Bansal later decided to shift the facility to Punjab National Bank (PNB), alleging that Yes Bank was charging higher interest and other charges than what he had been assured when the facility was sanctioned. The PNB approved the takeover and issued a Rs 29 lakh demand draft towards the outstanding amount. Following the takeover, Bansal alleged that when he visited the Yes Bank branch to make the payment and collect his original property papers, the bank did not initially accept the demand draft or close the account. He further alleged that the bank demanded around Rs 1.40 lakh as foreclosure charges. The demand draft was eventually credited to his Yes Bank account in April 2022. The complainant further noted that despite receiving the outstanding amount, the bank did not promptly close the account, issue a No Due Certificate or return the original property documents. Bansal repeatedly approached the bank before filing a consumer complaint on August 2, 2022. The bank received notice on August 18 after which it finally issued the No Due Certificate and original property papers. The commission said Yes Bank failed to satisfactorily explain the nearly four-month delay and observed that the formalities were completed only after the bank received notice of the complaint. It held that the delay caused unnecessary harassment and inconvenience, amounting to deficiency in service. In its final verdict, the commission ordered Yes Bank to pay Rs 30,000 within 45 days. Failure to pay will attract 9 per cent annual interest on the Rs 20,000 compensation from the date of default until realisation. Questions rationale behind introducing legislation at the eleventh hour Our Correspondent Phagwara, August 9 Senior Congress MLA from Bholath Sukhpal Khaira on Sunday urged the government and Speaker to extend the ongoing Assembly session by a few more days to allow adequate examination and debate on six new Bills listed for consideration in the closing stages of the session. Khaira said the legislative business includes six Bills dealing with three Digital Universities, GST, outsourced personnel and contractual engagement and common infrastructure. He questioned how legislation with poten- tially far-reaching implications for Punjab could be properly scrutinised, debated and passed on the last working day of the session. “How can six new laws, having far-reaching implications for Punjab, be properly scrutinised, debated and passed on the last working day of the session? This is not meaningful parliamentary democracy. The government must give legislators adequate time to study the Bills, consult stakeholders and move amendments in the larger public interest,” Khaira said. He questioned the rationale behind introducing important legislation at the eleventh hour, arguing that MLAs have little opportunity to examine the provisions in detail, understand their implications or seek clarifications from the departments concerned. “The Vidhan Sabha is not a rubber stamp for the Cabinet. The purpose of the legislature is to scrutinise legislation clause-by-clause, debate its merits and demerits and pro- tect the interests of the people of Punjab,” Khaira said. Khaira said laws were not temporary political announcements and, once enacted, could affect Punjab’s institutions, economy, employees, students, businesses and citizens for years. He particularly questioned the urgency of introducing three separate Digital University Bills along with other major legislative proposals at the fag end of the session. He said the government should explain why such matters could not have been introduced earlier, allowing legislators and stakeholders sufficient time for discussion and scrutiny. Schools struggle to serve mid-day meals amid fund crunch MP dedicates ~12-cr Workers buying ration on credit, teachers in some schools paying to ensure students do not go without food link road to public Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 9 Three months after government schools last received cooking cost funds, primary and middle schools across Jalandhar are struggling to keep their mid-day meal kitchens running. Workers are buying ration on credit, while teachers in some schools are paying from their own pockets to ensure students do not go without food. According to mid-day meal workers, the funds meant for purchasing ingredients have been pending since April. While the honorarium for workers was released on August 5, cooking cost payments have yet to reach schools. Around 1,434 government primary and middle schools in the district serve mid-day meals to students. Under the scheme, the government provides Rs 6.78 per child for pri- mary classes and Rs 10.17 for middle classes towards cooking costs. With the money unavailable, the workers said they have been forced to depend on local vendors for supplies on credit. Pulses, cooking oil, spices and fruits are among the items being purchased this way. However, workers said for several items such as milk, curd, vegetables and cylinder, vendors often demand immediate payment, leaving them struggling to meet daily requirements. Kulwinder Kaur of Amanatpur, a local representative of the Punjab Mid-Day Meal Union, said, “We have not received the cooking cost funds since April this year. Teachers are pooling in money to buy ingredients and prepare the food. Even our last month salary is also pending.” Similarly, a government employees, who looks after Mid-day meal being served at a govt school. FILE mid-day meal preparation at a school on Ladowali Road, said the problem has also extended to the supply of foodgrains. “We are facing a shortage of rice and wheat provided by the department. We are arranging stocks from nearby schools. To keep serving the meals, we are buying most of our ration on credit from local vendors by assuring them that their dues will be cleared once the cooking c m y b cost is released,” he added. The meal scheme provides free cooked meals to students in government and aided schools to improve child nutrition and encourage school attendance. A block primary education officer said the delay is largely due to a change in the system through which cooking cost payments are released. “The release of cooking cost funds has been delayed due to the transition to a new portal aimed at preventing fund leakages. Earlier, payments were made through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS). They are now being shifted to SNASPARSH (Single Nodal Agency-System for Payments, Accounting, Reconciliation and Settlement),” the officer said. He added that training for accountants and assistant block managers on the new system was held in Chandigarh on August 5 and 6. Regarding the salary of midday meal workers, the officer said their salary have been released by the department which will be credited to their bank accounts on Monday. Our Correspondent Tanda, August 9 Hoshiarpur MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal and Urmar MLA Jasvir Singh Raja Gill on Sunday inaugurated a 4.44-km-long link road connecting Rara and Tahli villages. The road has been constructed at a cost of around ~12 crore. The project also includes side-slope protection works aimed at strengthening the road and enhancing its durability. Chabbewal said the improved road connectivity was essential for the overall development of rural areas and would make commuting easier for farmers, students, traders and other residents. He said the new road would provide better access to educational, healthcare, employ- ment and commercial facilities for people of Rara, Tahli and adjoining villages. He said the government was undertaking extensive work to improve rural road infrastructure and around 45,000 km of rural link roads were being renovated across Punjab. Gill said the completion of the road fulfilled a long-pending demand of residents of the area. He directed officials to ensure proper maintenance and adherence to quality standards. He said other ongoing development projects in the Urmar constituency would also be completed soon. Village sarpanches and residents present at the inauguration thanked the MP and MLA for getting the road constructed.