28082026-LT-01.qxd 8/28/2026 12:57 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MINNOWS GURDASPUR STUN CRICKET OBSERVERS CELEBS OPEN UP ABOUT SPECIAL BONDS ON RAKSHA BANDHAN Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of memories & unconditional support that define sibling relationships. P4 Finish runners-up in the Punjab inter-district cricket meet for the prestigious Katoch Shield. P3 » ROCKY HORROR SHOW FAME TIM CURRY DIES AT 80 IN US 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 37°C | MIN 29°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6:50 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:58 AM FRIDAY | 28 AUGUST 2026 | LUDHIANA OPDs at govt health centres remain shut; patients troubled Manav Mander Tribune News Service Government employees hold a protest; and (right) the DC's office wears a deserted look during the strike in Ludhiana on Thursday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Work in govt offices takes a hit as staff observe strike Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 On the call given by several government employee unions and pensioners across the state, a complete strike was observed in all government offices in the city on Thursday. The Mini-Secretariat, which witnesses thousands of visitors in a day, wore a deserted look due to the strike and most of the rooms of clerical staff and officials were locked. On the call of the ‘Maha Hartal’ given by employees’ unions in the state, staff of all government departments went on a mass casual leave. Despite being hot and humid, hundreds of employees, including women, reached outside the DC’s office to hold the protest. Leaders representing unions addressed the gathering and condemned the state government for taking demands of the employees lightly. They warned the state government that if their demands were not met, the strike would be intensified and the AAP government should start counting its days in Punjab as during the next elections, it should be ready to face defeat. There were hardly any visitors in offices as they were aware about the strike. Opposition leaders join protesters The protesters were joined by senior Congress leaders, including Sanjay Talwar, Simarjit Bains and Surinder Dawar. Besides many pensioners from various departments came to be a part of the protest. The Congress leaders extended their support to the protesting employees and said dearness allowance (DA) was the right of the employees and they were begging for the same. The district unit of BJP had also extended support to the employees. Sunil Moudgil, president of the district unit of the BJP , said the state government could no longer evade its responsibility by citing excuses or administrative difficulties in the matter of the pending DA. He said the government had also appealed against the court’s decision but the earlier judgment was upheld. Despite this, the government’s failure to effectively comply with the court’s orders was a matter of serious concern. BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu also condemned the AAP government’s apathetic approach towards the employees. Thin attendance in educational institutions Amid the strike by the employees, government educational institutions saw a thin atten- dance of students in schools and colleges. While government schools witnessed around 60 per cent attendance of students, in colleges the attendance was negligible. The Punjab State Veterinary Officers Association, an organisation of veterinary officials working with the Animal Husbandry Department, also issued a press release in support of the protesting employees and pensioners. General OPDs in group hospitals of the Animal Husbandry Department were also shut. The association leaders demanded from the state government that it should fulfil legitimate demands of the employees and pensioners. Ludhiana, August 27 Outpatient departments (OPDs) remained suspended across all Community Health Centres (CHC), Urban Community Health Centres (UCHC), ESI dispensaries, sub-divisional hospitals and Civil Hospitals in the district on Thursday. The PCMS Association supported the struggle initiated by the Punjab State Ministerial Service Union. Elective surgeries were postponed. General emergency services, MCH services, emergency surgeries, indoor admissions, medicolegal and post-mortem-related works and judicial medical examinations continue to remain functional. The government healthcare services were hit badly on Thursday. Pritam Singh, who visited the medicine OPD of the Civil Hospital, said he reached the hospital at 10 am. When he went to get the OPD slip made, he came to know that doctors were on strike. “I was on half-day leave to see the doctor,” he lamented. Kusum Rani, another patient from Karimpura at the OPD, had to return without consultation. She had come to visit the ENT Department. “My ear was paining badly and I came to see the doctor. Now, that the doctor is not available, I will have to shell out money for visiting a private doctor,” she said. Kuljit Kaur first went to a dispensary near her house in Haibowal but it was shut and later, she went to the Civil Hospital as she was having flu symptoms. “Despite not feeling well, I travelled all the way to the place but the hospital OPD was also shut. ” she rued. Tirath Singh (72) also faced inconvenience after he went to the UCHC in Subhash Nagar and found OPD servic- es shut. “I was feeling breathlessness and went to see the doctor but the services were shut,” he said. As a symbol of support and solidarity towards various government employees’ associations and unions of the state, the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) on Thursday went on a one-day strike, leading to complete closure of OPDs, said Senior Medical Officer Dr Akhil Sareen. The strike and a rally was held by the PCMS staff at the Civil Hospital, which was also supported by the Civil Surgeon, Dr Ramandeep Kaur, and all programme officials of the district. The protesting employees are demanding the implementation of Old Pension Scheme, Dearness Allowance instalments/arrears, rationalisation of 7th Pay Commission anomalies and end of contractual/ad-hoc/outsourced recruitment. The government healthcare services were also affected on Thursday due to the strike. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Minor siblings die of snakebite One-year-old bitten Man attacked with swords over on eve of Raksha Bandhan by stray dog, critical minor dispute, suspects at large Nikhil Bhardwaj CASES AT Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 On the eve of Raksha Bandhan, the festival that celebrates the sacred bond between brothers and sisters, pyres of a boy and his sister were burnt together at Bassian village, near Raikot, in Ludhiana district. The girl lost her life first after a snakebite early on Wednesday morning and later, her brother died in the evening. The deceased were identified as eight-year-old Jobanpreet Singh and sixyear-old Jaspreet Kaur. Jaspreet studies in Class I while her brother studies in Class III. The incident has left the family shattered. As per information, the children were sleeping in the courtyard of their home. Initially, their family members thought the kids had been bitten by a mosquito and they took the matter lightly. However, when the children struggled to breathe and began crying loudly, the family noticed a sting on their hands. They also found a snake under the cot, which further escalated their worries. Both children were rushed to a hospital. Sources said around 3 am on Wednesday, Jobanpreet told his grandmother LUDHIANA CIVIL HOSPITAL YEAR 2025 2024 JOBANPREET 158 172 JASPREET SINGH (8) CASES KAUR (6) Jinder Kaur that he was bitten by an insect on his hand. At first, his grandmother thought it was a mosquito. When Jobanpreet felt uneasiness and started crying loudly, other family members woke up. A sting mark was visible on his hand. On founding the snakebite, Jobanpreet’s grandmother tied his hand tightly to prevent the spread of the poison to other parts of the body. Meanwhile, Jobanpreet began having trouble in breathing. By then, Jaspreet woke up and asked her father to take her brother to the hospital. Soon, her condition also started deteriorating and she began to faint. The family rushed both children to the Civil Hospital, Raikot. Doctors at the hospital confirmed snakebite and declared Jaspreet dead two hours after the incident while her brother Jobanpreet’s condition was critical. He was referred to the CMCH in Ludhiana, where he was admitted to the pediatric ward ICU. Doctors tried hard to save Jobanpreet but the snake venom had spread throughout his body due to which he could not be saved. The deceased’s father, Amandeep Singh, a daily wager, said due to the hot weather, the family often sleeps on cots in the courtyard and everyone was sleeping there at the time of the incident. Meanwhile, a villager, Jagtar Singh, said the victims’ family was poor and they could not even afford treatment. Some villagers collected money to fund the treatment of the children but unfortunately the siblings could not be saved. Ludhiana, August 27 A one-year-old boy was seriously injured in a stray dog attack at the Khanna Grain Market on Thursday morning. After first aid, doctors at the Khanna Civil Hospital referred the child to a hospital in Patiala. As per information, the incident occurred around 6 am when the child was lying outside his house. A stray dog came and attacked him. Hearing the child’s cries, a passer-by rescued him. Family members told mediapersons that the incident left the child with over 10 deep wounds in his head, neck and other parts of the body. The child was rushed to the Khanna Civil Hospital from where he was referred to a hospital in Patiala due to his critical condition. Kalu, the victim’s father, said there had been stray dog menace in the area for a long time and the administration had failed to take any serious action in the matter. Family members of the child said immediate steps should be taken to catch stray dogs roaming in the area so that such incidents could be prevented in the future. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 27 A man was attacked with swords by a group of people near Mangat village. The incident occurred over a recent minor dispute between the victim with the assailants. The victim’s sister, Rajinder Kaur, told mediapersons at Civil Hospital that the attackers attempted to murder her brother, Veer Davinder Singh (36), and had almost left him dead on the road for the entire night. They had wrapped the victim in a cloth and threw him on the MangatSeera road. He suffered fractures in arms and legs. She said on Thursday morning, after noticing her brother lying in a pool of blood, passers-by informed the family about the incident. He was taken to the Civil Hospital. Doctors referred him to the PGI, Chandigarh, due to his critical condition. Sources said the victim, who was working as a hairdresser, was a resident of Mangat village. He was married and staying alone in the village. Investigating officer ASI Ranjeev Kumar of the Meherban police station said they received information from the 112 control room that a man was lying on the roadside in a critical condition. After which, a police team rushed to the scene and took the injured to the Civil Hospital in a vehicle. Employees of a liquor vend were being questioned. Strict action would be taken against the suspects in the case after receiving the doctor’s report from the hospital and a formal statement from the victim. Woman among four arrested Man lands in police net in carjacking case in 24 hours on sexual assaultcharge Lovleen Bains Ludhiana, August 27 In a late-night incident, miscreants surrounded a man travelling in his Hyundai i10 car and robbed him of the vehicle. Acting swiftly, the police cracked the case within 24 hours, arresting four suspects, including a woman, and recovered the looted car. Kunal was travelling from Patiala to Batala in the vehicle. According to information, Kunal, a resident of Patiala, c m y b was travelling from Patiala to Batala in his i10 car for some important work. During the night, a woman and her accomplices stopped him on the way on the Chuharpur road. They surrounded him and later, took away the car. On receiving information about the incident, officials from the Haibowal police station launched an investigation. On the basis of clues, the police team nabbed the four suspects and recovered the looted car from their possession. SHO Jasbir Singh, in charge of the Haibowal police station, said the police solved the case within 24 hours. The suspects had been identified as Paras, Balram, Kiranpreet Kaur and one of their accomplices. The police were interrogating the suspects. Efforts were being made during the probe to ascertain the motive behind the crime. Sahnewal, August 27 An incident of a man, a native of Uttar Pradesh, assaulting his minor stepdaughter has come to the fore here. The case has been registered under Section 74 of the BNS and Section 4 of the POCSO Act at the Sahnewal police station. The victim has complained to the police that her mother Sudesh Kumari had married Arvind Singh, a resident of Khajni village in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh. It was her second marriage. The complainant said on the night of August 25 when her mother went to sleep, her stepfather Arvind Singh entered her room and sexually assaulted her. Investigating officer in the case Randhir Singh said the suspect had been arrested and would be presented in the court on Friday.