17082026-LT-01.qxd 8/17/2026 12:34 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune DIST KARATEKA VIBHU BAGS BRONZE AT THAILAND OPEN SUPERSTAR RAJINIKANTH COMPLETES 51 YRS IN CINEMA PUNJABI SINGER-SONGWRITER RABAB’S KASHMIR STORY A roadshow has been planned to honour achievement of 11-year old boy from Rurka village. P2 Rajinikanth completes 51 years in cinema, marking milestone onsets of his upcoming film Dharman. P4 The Punjabi singer-songwriter explores love, longing and humanity in her latest single, Sajjna Ve. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C SUNSET MONDAY 7:02 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5:51 AM » MONDAY | 17 AUGUST 2026 | LUDHIANA Minister Cheema hoists Tricolour, recalls supreme sacrifice of martyrs on I-Day Highlights state government’s achievements, honours kin of freedom fighters, achievers Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Finance Minister Harpal Cheema hoists the Tricolour during the Independence Day celebrations at the PAU ground in Ludhiana. Ludhiana, August 16 On the occasion of the nation’s 80th Independence Day, Minister for Finance, Planning, Transport, Excise and Taxation advocate Harpal Singh Cheema hoisted the Tricolour at the PAU ground on Saturday and extended warm greetings to residents in the city. Remembering the unmatched sacrifices of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Rajguru, Shaheed Sukhdev, Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, Shaheed Udham Singh, Shaheed Lala Lajpat Rai, Shaheed Dr Diwan Singh Kalepani and all other freedom fighters, he said Punjabis led from the front in India’s freedom struggle. He affirmed that the state government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, was following ideals of the martyrs and Dr BR Ambedkar, which led to installing their portraits in government offices and setting up a statue of Shaheed Bhagat Singh at the Chandigarh airport. Cheema said the state government increased the ex-gratia grant for the next of kin of martyred personnel from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore, covering Agniveers and martyred police personnel as well. Monthly financial assistance for Dharmi Faujis was raised to Rs 12,000, freedom fighter pensions were increased to Rs 11,000 per month and a 1 per cent reservation was provided for their legal heirs in government jobs. Preserving religious heritage, Rs 100 crore was allocated for the 650th Parkash Purb cele- Students perform during the I-Day celebrations in Ludhiana. PHOTOS: ASHWANI DHIMAN brations of Guru Ravidas and a Rs 37-crore Bani Research Centre is being constructed at Dera Sachkhand Ballan. Major events also include marking the 350th Martyrdom Day of Guru Tegh Bahadur, staging religious plays such as Humare Ram and enabling over 4 lakh pilgrims to visit sacred shrines under the ‘Mukh Mantri Tirath Yatra Scheme.’ He said the state registered a 20 per cent growth in GST revenue during the first four months of the current financial year and in July, the state achieved a 16.23 per cent SGST cash growth — the highest in the country. He said: “State schools have introduced AI and entrepreneurship curricula. As many as 118 Schools of Eminence are being developed, teachers are receiving training in Singa- pore and Finland, over 15,000 students have access to free bus services, fee hikes in private schools have been capped at 5 per cent and ITI seats have expanded to 52,000. Students have also achieved top ranks in JEE and NEET exams.” Emphasising employment generation for the youth, Cheema said over 69,000 government jobs had been provided since April 2022, a dedicated bill was passed for outsourced employees and workers’ wages saw a 15 per cent increase. A march past was also held under the command of Parade Commander Harshpreet Singh, PPS, featuring contingents from the Punjab Police, Punjab Home Guards, NCC scouts and other units. Government school students presented a mass PT drill, followed by patriotic cultural performances by pupils from various schools. The minister felicitated freedom fighters’ families, police personnel and parade participants, along with outstanding achievers in diverse fields. He distributed tricycles among persons with disabilities and sewing machines among women from underprivileged backgrounds. On behalf of the administration, DC Himanshu Jain and CP Swapan Sharma honoured the minister. Schoolboy honoured Yuvraj Singh Chauhan, who in his young age has shown essence of his artistry by using dangerous tools in woodworking was honoured by the Finance Minister during the Independence Day event. The teenager had already received the state award on August 15, 2025. 14-yr-old boy dies as tractor-trailer hits bike Ludhiana, August 16 A teenager died in a road accident here on Friday. He was out to distribute wedding cards of his sister when hit by a rashly driven tractor. According to the family, they spent nearly an hour for providing medical help for Yuvraj but he could not be saved. The deceased was identified as Yuvraj Singh (14), a student of Class X. Manjit Singh, a resident of Bhama Kalan, reported to the police that his nephews, Gurmanpreet Singh and Yuvraj Singh, had gone to distribute wedding cards of the victim’s sister on Friday on a motorcycle. Meanwhile, an unknown tractor-trailer driver veered off the road without signalling and hit their motorcycle. After the accident, Yuvraj and Gurmanpreet were rushed to a hospital. Yuvraj suffered a serious head injury. His condition worsened during treatment. According to family members, Yuvraj told the doctor: “I am having difficulty in breathing, please give me an injection.” He died shortly thereafter. Yuvraj was the only brother of two sisters. The family had scheduled the wedding of one of his sisters on August 23. The news of Yuvraj’s death, amid wedding preparations, plunged the family into mourning. A case has been registered. — TNS Scrap dealer gets ~5L extortion call Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 16 A scrap dealer from the Focal Point area here has received threatening calls and messages from unknown mobile numbers with the caller demanding Rs 5 lakh extortion and warning that the man and his family would be killed if the money was not paid. The matter came to light after the complainant approached the police. During investigation, the police have identified the suspect. Vijayender Kumar, a resident of Rajiv Gandhi Colony, lodged a complaint at the Focal Point police station, stating that a few days ago he was at home when a threatening message from an unknown number was received on his mobile phone. It stated that bullets would be fired at his scrap shop. As per the complainant, phone calls were received on his mobile on August 11 and on August 13. The caller allegedly demanded Rs 5 lakh and said if the money was not paid, he and his family would have to face the consequences. The police checked the mobile numbers used by the suspect. During the probe, information regarding the alleged involvement of Rajinder Kumar of Rajiv Gandhi Colony, came to light. The probe also found old enmity between the complainant and the alleged suspect. The police on Saturday registered a case against the suspect. Despite ~1-cr maintenance bill, hundreds Seechewal launches ‘Treat Buddha of street lights remain defunct for weeks Dariya as your own’ campaign Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 16 Hundreds of street light points across the city are lying defunct, dysfunctional or missing for weeks, even as the Municipal Corporation (MC) is paying over Rs 1 crore every month to a private company for maintaining nearly 1.20 lakh streetlight points. Have got complaints, will take action against firm if anything found wrong, says MC chief The glaring gap between the expenditure and the ground situation has raised questions over the monitoring of the maintenance contract, with residents alleging that complaints regarding faulty lights are not being addressed within the stipulated 48 hours. Street lights in several areas, including Focal Point Phase 4 and 5, Dugri, Southern Bypass, Rahon Road and Jamalpur, among others, have reportedly remained non-functional for prolonged periods. In some places, residents claimed that light fittings or poles were missing while in others, existing points had remained dysfunctional despite repeated complaints. A damaged pole on the stretch of Southern Bypass in Ludhiana. The issue is significant as the private agency was being paid over Rs 1 crore a month for maintenance. Residents have questioned why the civic body continues to incur such a large expenditure when basic complaints were allegedly taking weeks to resolve. The penalty mechanism has also come under scrutiny. Sources said the MC generally imposes penalties of around Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 on the agency when lapses are detected but residents have questioned whether such penalties are adequate when compared with the monthly payment being made to the firm. “The MC is paying crores every year for street light maintenance but residents are still forced to travel through dark stretches. If a complaint is supposed to be resolved within 48 hours, there should be a clear record of how many complaints were actually attended to within the deadline,” said Sachin Aggarwal, a resident of Focal Point. A Dugri resident, Ramneet Kaur, said the problem becomes more serious on roads with heavy traffic and limited lighting. “There are stretches where several lights remain off together. People have to rely on vehicle headlights. The civic body should ensure that the agency is held accountable, instead of waiting for complaints to pile up,” she said. The residents also demanded that the MC should make public the number of complaints received, the number resolved within 48 hours and the penalties recovered from the private agency. The prolonged failure of streetlights has also raised concerns over road safety, particularly for pedestrians, two-wheeler riders and women travelling at night. Several poorly lit stretches have become a recurring complaint among residents. MC Commissioner Ojasvi Alankar acknowledged that complaints regarding dysfunctional streetlights had reached him. “I too have received complaints in this regard. I will check and take strict action against the firm if I find anything wrong,” he said. c m y b Ludhiana, August 16 Rajya Sabha MP and environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal on Sunday launched a campaign, ‘Treat Buddha Dariya as your own,’ to encourage residents staying along it to take responsibility for keeping the water body clean and protecting its environment. Addressing gatherings at Baran Hara-Talwara village and Guru Ramdas Nagar, Seechewal appealed to residents to treat the Buddha Dariya as their own and work together with the government and administration for its revival. He said staying away from nature had added to several problems and public participation was necessary to restore the river and prevent pollution. Seechewal said wastewater from all villages on the eastern side and three villages on the western side had been stopped from entering the dariya, except Gaunspur on the western side. The ‘Seechewal model’ has been implemented in these villages to treat wastewater and prevent its discharge into the river. He said dung and urine generated by 79 dairies in rural areas had also been prevented from entering Rajya Sabha MP and environmentalist Balbir Singh Seechewal during a campaign in Ludhiana. the dariya. Besides, the discharge of 70 to 80 MLD of sewage from the Municipal Corporation area into the river had also been stopped, he claimed. He said a tender worth Rs 19 crore had been floated to prevent nearly 850 tonnes of dung generated daily by the dairy complexes at Tajpur and Haibowal from entering the water body. Temporary ‘Seechewal models’ had also been implemented at the two dairy complexes. “Once people start considering the Buddha Dariya as their own, no one will dare to discharge even a single drop of polluted water in it,” he said. Talwara village sarpanch Bibi Pal Kaur thanked Sant Seechewal for helping the village address its wastewater issue. She said the installation of the ‘Seechewal Model’ had provided a permanent solution for the disposal of wastewater. Residents at the gathering recalled the condition of the dariya in the past, when its foul smell could be detected from four to five km away. They said water from tubewells along the river was polluted. Residents, however, said a visible improvement in the water quality could be seen now. At an event in Guru Ramdas Nagar later in the day, sarpanch Balwinder Singh Virk thanked Seechewal and said efforts to control industrial emissions had brought relief to residents. He recalled that houses in the area were earlier often covered with black soot due to factory emissions. Plantation drive Seechewal also launched a plantation drive along the Buddha Dariya in Talwara village. He said trees would be planted at different locations to make villages along the water body greener. He also announced a campaign to make villages along the dariya “drug-free”. Youth would be encouraged to take part in sports and other positive activities as part of the drive.