28082026-JTR-01.qxd 8/27/2026 11:32 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune CONG HOLDS PROTEST AGAINST RISING PRICES OF GROCERY ROLLER SKATING CHAMPIONSHIP CONCLUDES AT POLICE DAV SCHOOL ROCKY HORROR SHOW FAME TIM CURRY DIES AT 80 IN US Congress organised a symbolic “onion langar” near the DC office at Master Tara Singh Nagar Market in city. P2 Several talented skaters from across the district showcased their skills at the 26th District Roller Skating Championship.P3 Tim Curry, best known for his roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Clue and Annie, died at the age of 80. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 29°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.56 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:01 AM » FRIDAY | 28 AUGUST 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 3 ARRESTED IN DRUGS CASES Phagwara: The police have registered cases across Kapurthala district and arrested three persons, recovering 15 gram of heroin and 35 intoxicating capsules in two cases. The police booked Amarjit Singh of Ariyawal village after recovering 35 capsules from him near Markfed Chowk. In another case, the police booked Satnam Singh of Birindpur village after his drug test reportedly showed the presence of morphine, benzodiazepines and buprenorphine. Meanwhile, the police arrested Ravi of Lakhan Kalan village and recovered 15 gram of heroin from him. OC 4 JAIL INMATES BOOKED Phagwara: The police registered a case against four jail inmates after prohibited articles were recovered during searches at the Kapurthala Central Jail. The accused have been identified as Surjit Singh, Deepak Kumar , Suraj Verma and Amarjit Singh.The police said the recoveries included one touchscreen device, three Nokia keypad mobile phones and 36 gram of tobacco. OC WOMAN DIES IN BIKE MISHAP Phagwara: The police booked Jagandeep Singh of Vaddala Khurd, Amritsar, after a woman died following a road accident near Chachoki village. According to a complaint, Virender Kumar was travelling on a motorcycle with his mother Inderjit on July 18 when a speeding vehicle allegedly hit their motorcycle from behind. Inderjit sustained serious injuries and later died . OC FOUR BOOKED FOR ASSAULT Phagwara: The police have booked Nikhil, Rishu, Rinku and Kundan on the complaint of 18-year-old Lakki Kumar of Phagwara. The complainant alleged that the accused stopped him on the road and assaulted him. oc TRUCKER BOOKED FOR ACCIDENT Phagwara: The police booked Raj Kumar, a military truck driver, on the complaint of Hukam Rai Soni for allegedly driving negligently and hitting his scooter near the DC office on August 16. The complainant reportedly sustained multiple injuries in the accident. oc 4 NABBED FOR SNATCHING PHONE Phagwara: The police have arrested two youths for allegedly snatching a mobile phone and ~2,000 from a resident of the town. The incident took place on August 26. The accused allegedly intercepted the complainant and took away his mobile phone and cash. The police have arrested Ashu Dogra and Anmol Singh, while Ishant Bhagat is reportedly absconding. oc Dist grinds to a halt as staff go on mass leave Oppn supports protesters as Staff demand release ofDA Teachers lead stir; OPDs shut, talks with govt remain stalled arrears, OPS restoration emergency services continue Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 27 The “Maha Hartal” by government employees across departments received an overwhelming response today, with work in most offices and educational institutions coming to a standstill. The employees, who had taken leave en masse, were asked to gather at the District Administrative Complex, where they held a three-hour protest and raised slogans against the government over the pending release of DA arrears and restoration of the Old Pension Scheme. Government schools and colleges across the city witnessed almost no student turnout as teachers remained on mass casual leave and joined the protest in large numbers. Hospital services were also affected, with medical staff attending only emergency cases. OPDs remained non-functional as doctors stayed away from work. Commuters, however, faced no issues as the state-run transport as well as private buses remained operational at the bus stand. There was no closure of roads or highways anywhere across the region. The markets and shopping malls also remained open with shoppers having a good time on account of Raksha Bandhan festival falling tomorrow. The teachers showed up in maximum numbers in the protest at the DC office. A teacher of School of Eminence on Ladowali Road, Chander Shekhar, said, “In my career, I have seen several employee protests but none was organised to this scale. Today’s protest was massive and the build-up happened as the government is taking a lot of time to clear the DA issue. We hope talks between our representatives and the government bear fruit soon so that the unrest ends and everyone can resume work peacefully”. The protesting employees also received a lot of support from the opposition parties. Congress leader and retired DCP Rajinder Singh took part in the protest and condemned the government for paying no heed to the demands of the employees and pensioners. Manoranjan Kalia, BJP leader, termed the decision of CM Bhagwant Mann to refuse to talk to the employees a reflection of his ‘arrogant behaviour’. “The government must give a hearing to all sections of society”, he said. The All Government Employees Union and Punjab Mulazam Pensioner stage a protest at the District Administrative Complex in Jalandhar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH Slogans raised against govt in Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur, August 27 The normal life in the district was disrupted on Thursday as employees joined the statewide strike held by the Punjab Sanjha Mulazam Manch to press for their longpending demands. Employees of various departments gathered outside the District Administrative Complex and raised slogans against the state government. Teachers and staff of aided schools also joined the protest by taking mass casual leave. District president of the Ministerial Staff Union Anirudh Modgil said employees were forced to go on strike as the government had failed to resolve their long-pending Employees during a statewide strike in Jalandhar. MALKIAT SINGH issues, including payment of pending dearness allowance (DA) installments. Routine work at govern- ment offices, tehsil and revenue offices was disrupted, affecting services such as registration of properties, power of attorney and issuance of certificates. Health services were also hit. OPD services at the Civil Hospital and other government health facilities remained suspended, while emergency services continued. Patients arriving from far-off areas faced inconvenience. In Garhshankar, employees and pensioners held a rally at Gandhi Park before taking out a march through the town. They demanded restoration of the OPS, release of pending DA and pay commission arrears, regularisation of contractual employees and implementation of minimum wages for various workers. — OC Strike peaceful in Phagwara, Kapurthala Phagwara, August 27 The strike call given by employees and pensioners evoked a good response in Phagwara, with employees, teachers, pensioners and representatives of various organisations gathering at Town Hall to press for their demands. The bandh affected the functioning of several government departments and institutions, while markets, banks and public transport continued to operate normally. The overall law-and-order situation remained under control. The protest also received political support from the Congress, SAD and BJP Bal. winder Singh Dhaliwal, MLA, Phagwara, Ranjit Singh Khurana, president of the Phagwara Urban Circle, and Som Prakash, former MP from Hoshiarpur, were associated with the party delegations. Prominent representatives present during the protest included Satwant Singh Toora, president of the SC/BC Gazetted and Non-Gazetted Union Phagwara; Jasvir Saini of the Government Primary Teachers Union; Pankaj Rawat of the Computer Teacher Union Punjab; Happy Kaul of Jai Bheem United Voice of Punjab; Gurmukh Singh of the Democratic Teachers Front; and Parminder Pal, convenor of the Purani Pension Bahali Morcha, among others. Meanwhile, members of the Punjab Civil Services Medical Association, Punjab, staged a sit-in at the Civil Hospital in support of the bandh and their demands. In Kapurthala, the bandh also witnessed participation from employees. Markets and banks in Kapurthala continued to function as usual. No major protest or law-andorder incident was reported, and the situation remained peaceful. — OC The Civil Hospital wears a deserted look during ‘Maha Hartal’ on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH If issues not resolved, struggle will be intensified, say staff Tribune News Service Students stay away from a govt school, Jalandhar on Thursday. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Jalandhar, August 27 On a call by the Joint Coordination Committee of the Punjab Employees and Pensioners Joint Front and the Sanjha Mulazim Morcha (Joint Employees Forum), teachers and employees took out a massive protest march and demonstration in Phillaur in which hundreds of employees of various organisations participated. Leaders carrying union flags in their hand raised Phillaur teachers, employees take out a massive march slogans against the state government. They said the government has not resolved any issue of the employees in four-and-ahalf years and is also refusing to implement the order of the High Court on the 18 per cent dearness allowance. They said if the government does not resolve the issues, the struggle will be intensified. Leaders demanded that the old pension scheme be restored unconditionally, 18 per cent dearness allowance be released immediately, and all remaining arrears be released in lump sum. State leaders Karnail Phillaur, Surinder Kumar Puari, Avtar Mehsampur, Kuldeep Walia, Sandeep Rajowal Anju Vardi, Poonam Rani, Amandeep Kaur, Sita Rani, Santosh Rani, among others, were present. No two-hour relief 87-year-old teacher joins protest in Jalandhar on Rakhi for staff Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, August 27 The government’s decision not to grant the customary two-hour relaxation in working hours on Raksha Bandhan this year has left government employees, students and parents disappointed in the district. Every year on Rakhi, government offices, schools, colleges and other educational institutions traditionally begin work two hours later than their normal timings. However, this year, the government’s holiday gazette only mentions August 28 as the date for celebrating Raksha Bandhan and does not provide for the customary two-hour holiday. The absence of the provision has caused confusion among employees and students, many of whom had expected the usual relaxation. Several educational institutions had also made arrangements based on the expectation of the two-hour holiday. Democratic Teachers Front district general secretary Inder Sukhdeep Singh condemned the decision, saying it had hurt people's sentiments and dealt a blow to Punjab's cultural heritage. Jalandhar, August 27 The strike organised by employees and pensioners led to chaotic scenes in Jalandhar on Thursday, with protesters demanding the release of long-pending DA instalments and restoration of the OPS. Among those participating in the protest were retired employees, including retired Punjabi lecturer Baljit Bal, who arrived at the protest site with her 87-year-old mother, a retired employee of the Education Department. Baljit Bal said she had brought her mother to the protest because the demands were genuine and the government had failed to pay heed to these. c m y b “The government is not paying heed to us, which is actually disappointing. We are here to wake the government up from deep slumber,” she said. Baljit said, “That is why to show unity with those who are here protesting, I have come here with my mother.” The protesters, who gathered in large numbers, said they would not call off their agitation until they were allowed to meet and speak with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who was in Jalandhar on Thursday. The situation remained tense as employees pressed for a direct interaction with the Chief Minister over their long-pending demands. A retired teacher sitting on a chair during a protest. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH The agitation was not limited to the city. Employees from various government departments and offices joined protests in different blocks and tehsils across the district.