23032024-LT-01.qxd 3/23/2024 1:08 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune AMID PROTEST, MC ACTS AGAINST 15 ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTIONS PUNJAB AGRICULTURE VARSITY PRODUCES SURPLUS SEEDS WORLD WATER DAY: COPS BRIEFED ON CONSERVATION MC Building Branch officials demolished 11 illegal structures and sealed five commercial buildings. P2 After struggling for two years, Punjab Agricultural University has managed to replenish its seed stocks. P3 The police roped in social organisations to spread awareness about causes of depletion of water table. P3 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 13°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.40 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:25 AM SATURDAY | 23 MARCH 2024 | LUDHIANA 3 years on, man held in youth’s murder case Cash, drugs, liquor worth ~2 cr Concerns arise over ‘discrepancies’ in width of under-construction footpath seized since poll code imposition Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service 9,360 hoardings, banners, posters have been removed so far Tribune News Service INDIA VOTES Ludhiana, March 22 The Ludhiana rural police today arrested a man involved in a case of murder occurred three years ago. The suspect has been identified as Harjeet Singh, a resident of Baddowal. ASI Baljeet Singh said in November 2020, the body of a youth was found in a sewer at Victoria Garden colony at Baddowal. Then, the police had registered a case against unidentified persons and later during investigation, the police arrested two persons, including a minor, in the case. Following which, family members of the deceased had filed an application in court alleging that Harjeet was also involved in the murder case but the police did not take action against him. Now on the orders of the court, the police arrested the suspect. Gurdev Singh, the father of the deceased and a resident of Barewal, said his son Jashanpreet Singh (18) was studying in Class XII. On November 21, 2020, someone called on his son’s mobile. Following which, his son left the home and he did not return. The next morning, he got a call that his son’s body was recovered from sewer at Victoria Garden colony. The victim was killed by hitting bricks on his head. 2024 Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 22 Since the imposition of the model code of conduct (MCC) on March 16, the district administration has confiscated cash, drugs, liquor and precious metals worth approximately Rs 2 crore. Surveillance teams have seized Rs 40 lakh in cash, along with drugs valued at Rs 1.48 crore, liquor worth Rs 18.14 lakh and various other items. While addressing a press conference on Friday, District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney, accompanied by Khanna SSP Amneet Kondal, SSP Ludhiana (Rural) Navneet Singh Bains, said a total of 126 flying squad teams comprising a magistrate and police officials were constituted in the district. The teams were given vehicles mounted with cameras ensuring real-time feed to the control room and keeping a close vigil in the field. Sawhney said since the imposition of the MCC, 9,360 hoardings, banners and posters, including 5,376 from public and 3,984 from private properties, had been removed in the district. The DEO said 94 per cent of com- Police and paramilitary personnel take out a flag march in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN plaints received by the administration manually, on the NGSP portal, and C-vigil had already been resolved. She said directions had been issued to all arms license holders in Ludhiana district to deposit their licensed weapons and ammunition at the nearest police stations by March 31. Any person wanting to seek exemption due to compelling reasons should apply to the screening committee for review of the decision with grounds for the particular case. Any such representation would be decided by the screening committee, preferably within 24 hours. Noncompliance with the order would lead to prosecution under the appropriate sections of the IPC and other relevant laws. She also said the district administration would also keep a close vigil over paid news and advertisement content in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls as per the guidelines of the Election Commission (EC). The MC committee will closely monitor news content in news channels/social media as well as newspapers. She said the EC had now provided the facility to authorised journalists engaged in the coverage of polling day to cast their votes through postal ballot. This facility will be available only to those journalists who have been issued authorisation letter by the EC for coverage of election work. Journalists would have to apply for voting through postal ballot by attaching their authorisation letter. Expressing her commitment to ensuring transparent, free, and fair elections in Ludhiana, the DEO said holding elections peacefully and transparently was the top priority of the administration and every effort would be made to accomplish this gigantic task without any hindrance. Sawhney and police officials said the administration would make elaborate security arrangements for 381 polling stations with vulnerable pockets in the district. They said the administration had completed the vulnerability mapping of the district as per which 381 out of 2,919 polling stations had been identified with vulnerable pockets. Special care would be taken to man the vulnerable polling stations across the district. Directions for hotels, marriage palaces The DC directed owners of hotels and marriage palaces to submit report of their bookings daily to the election office. Presiding over a meeting with them here, she said during the imposition of poll code, the administration would keep a strict vigil over bookings of hotels and marriage palaces to keep a tab over political activities. Ludhiana, March 22 Residents are expressing apprehensions about the ongoing construction of a footpath along the bank of the Buddha Nullah in Joshi Nagar of Haibowal, particularly noting ‘discrepancies’ in its width. They highlighted points where the footpath measures approximately 4 feet wide in Residents say footpath along Buddha Nullah measures around 4 ft wide in some areas but narrows down to only about 1 or 1.5 ft at other points some areas or even more, while in others, it narrows down to merely around one foot. Interlocking tiles are currently being installed on the footpath as part of a project undertaken by the Municipal Corporation, with an estimated cost of around Rs 70 lakh, as per information. Besides, residents have also raised questions about the uneven surface of the road that was constructed last year by the Municipal Corporation following the installation of a sewer line by another department. At one point of the road, a big pothole has developed due to leakage in a pipe beneath the road. The residents want early redressal of the issues. Harpreet Singh, a resident, expressed that the Municipal Corporation (MC) was currently constructing a pave- The work to construct the footpath is underway along the Buddha Nullah Bank at Joshi Nagar in Haibowal. INDERJEET VERMA ment with interlocking tiles along the Buddha Nullah bank, despite being aware of the fact that the road level was still not correct at different locations. He criticised the unplanned manner in which the footpath was being constructed, noting disparities in its width. Singh pointed out that while the footpath measures around 4 feet wide at some locations, it drastically reduces to only around 1 or 1.5 feet wide at other points. He questioned how pedestrians would pass through such narrow sections, especially with electricity poles causing obstructions. He alleged that the construction of the pavement in such a disorganised manner represents a significant wastage of funds. Keemti Rawal, a BJP leader from Haibowal, also flayed the ongoing work to construct the footpath and install interlocking tiles, describing it as being carried out in an unplanned manner. He emphasised that it would be a waste of funds if the footpath does not adhere to standard design specifica- tions. He called for a technical audit of the project and urged the authorities to address the issue of uneven road surfaces seriously. On the other hand, MC’s SDO Vineet Kumar explained that fencing had been previously installed along the Buddha Nullah bank as part of another project in the past. He clarified that the footpath was now being constructed based on available space between fencing units and the road, adding that they could not reduce the road width or remove the fencing units. Kumar further elaborated that the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) had laid sewerage pipes under the Rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah project. After completing the sewerage-related work, the MC had reconstructed the road. However, the PWSSB later discovered leakage in the sewer line at a few points beneath the road, causing settling in those areas. Kumar said they had repaired the damaged road portions and further steps would be taken to correct the road level. Travel agent dupes elderly couple of ~11.62L AAP leaders flay Centre for ED action against Kejriwal Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 22 The Police Division 7 yesterday registered a case of fraud against a travel agent, who duped an elderly couple of Rs 11.62 lakh on the pretext of sending them abroad. The complainant had lodged a police complaint in 2022 in this regard. The suspect has been identified as Sarabjit Kaur, a resident of Bholath in Kapurthala district. The complainant, Jagir Singh, a resident of Jaswant Nagar, Samrala Chowk, told the police he along with his wife Sukhwinder Kaur wanted to settle abroad with their children, who were already settled there. He came in contact with the travel agent who assured that she could arrange a permanent visa for them and in lieu, she took Rs 11.62 lakh. The money was given to the suspect on different dates. Despite taking the advance money, the suspect failed to arrange a visa and when she was asked to return their money, she categorically refused, the complainant said, adding that she had lodged a police complaint on October 17, 2022, and the police registered a case against her. Investigating officer in the case ASI Jagdish Raj said after registering a case, further investigation was launched by the police. Ludhiana, March 22 To oppose the arrest of AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, a large number of AAP leaders and workers went to participate in a protest held at Mohali on Friday. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday night in Delhi. Today, AAP leaders and workers criticised the Centre, led by Narendra Modi, for the ED action against Kejriwal. They accused the Central Government of adopting a dictatorial attitude to misuse the government machinery for Kejriwal’s arrest and demanded his immediate release. On her social media account, Ludhiana South MLA Rajinderpal Kaur Chhinna shared a post, stating that the Centre’s tyranny would not be tolerated. She demanded Kejriwal’s release and further mentioned that members of AAP participated in a protest in Mohali opposing his arrest and demanding his release. Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Gogi, on his social media page, accused the BJP government at the Centre of misusing the government machinery to arrest the AAP national convenor. To protest against the action of the Centre, he, along with party leaders and workers, participated in a protest at Mohali today. Meanwhile, Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Prashar Pappi alleged that the AAP chief was arrested in an unconstitutional manner. Prashar, along with his supporters, also participated in the protest held at Mohali. — TNS 607 centenarian voters, equal number of male, female in dist Man posing as cop lands in police net Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 22 When Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib will vote to elect their new Members of Parliament (MPs) on June 1, as many as 607 centenarians will also be among those who will be exercising their franchise during the general elections to the 18th Lok Sabha. Of the total 607 centenarians, as many as 111 voters, including 77 male and 34 female, were even aged 120 years and above. Ludhiana district tops the state with the maximum number of eldest voters. In the state, as many as 4,845 voters, including 1,917 male and 2,928 female, were aged between 100 and 119 years, of them 159 electors, including 59 male and 100 female, were aged between 110 and 119. Besides, there were 205 registered voters aged 120 years and above in the entire state, including 122 male and 83 female, of them a maximum of 111 were living in Ludhiana district. Interestingly, the total of 607 electorates aged 100 years and above, across the 14 Assembly segments in Ludhiana district, CENTENARIANS AT A GLANCE ASSEMBLY SEGMENT Khanna Samrala Sahnewal Ludhiana East Ludhiana South Atam Nagar Ludhiana Central Ludhiana West Ludhiana North Gill Payal Dakha Raikot Jagraon District MALE 12 25 23 82 9 15 25 18 27 22 13 9 3 21 304 FEMALE TOTAL 13 25 25 50 27 50 47 129 6 15 18 33 31 56 14 32 28 55 21 43 15 28 21 30 12 15 25 46 303 607 TELLING NUMBERS MAXIMUM Ludhiana East: 129 MINIMUM Ldh South, Raikot: 15 each MAXIMUM MALE Ludhiana East: 82 MAXIMUM FEMALE Ludhiana East: 47 TRANSGENDER: NIL TOTAL: 607 MALE: 304 FEMALE: 303 111 ABOVE 120 As many as 111 voters were aged 120 years and above in Ludhiana district, which was the highest number in the state. which are bifurcated into Ludhiana (9) and Fatehgarh Sahib (5) parliamentary constituencies, as many as 304 were male and 303 were female. While the maximum of 129 centenarian voters were registered in Ludhiana East Vidhan Sabha constituency, the mini- Elderly voters discuss political developments ahead of LS poll in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO mum of 15 electors aged 100 years and above were present in Ludhiana South and Raikot Assembly segments each. Sharing the data of centenarians, Deputy Commissionercum-District Electoral Officer (DEO) Sakshi Sawhney told The Tribune, here on Friday, that the district administration had identified all registered voters aged 100 years and above across the 14 Assembly constituencies in Ludhiana district to provide them all possible and requisite help and support to make them visit their nearest polling stations to cast c m y b their votes on the polling day. “We are in the process to meet each and every centenarian in our district to motivate them for exercising their franchise and offering them all possible help and support for ensuring that they exercise their franchise during the world’s biggest festi- val of democracy,” Sakshi said. The Assembly constituencywise break-up of the centenarian voters registered in the district showed that Khanna has 25 electorates aged 100 years and above, including 12 male and 13 female, Samrala 50, 25 male and female each, Sahnewal 50, 23 male and 27 female, Ludhiana East 129, 82 male and 47 female, Ludhiana South 15, nine male and six female, Atam Nagar 33, 15 male and 18 female, Ludhiana Central 56, 25 male and 31 female, Ludhiana West 32, 18 male and 14 female, Ludhiana North 55, 27 male and 28 female, Gill 43, 22 male and 21 female, Payal 28, 13 male and 15 female, Dakha 30, nine male and 21 female, Raikot 15, three male and 12 female, and Jagraon Vidhan Sabha segment has 46 centenarian electorates registered, which included 21 male and 25 female. To make them role models: DC “Our endeavour is to facilitate our eldest voters in casting their votes and, in turn, project them as role models for our young electors to follow suit,” said Sakshi Sawhney, DC-cum-DEO. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 22 The Sadar police yesterday nabbed a man who by posing himself as an inspector of the Vigilance Department of the Punjab Police, had been cheating people on various pretexts. The suspect has been identified as Harmanpreet Singh (30), a resident of Ishar Nagar. The police seized a police uniform, police stars, name plate of the suspect, police belt, police turban, a book related to recruitment in police exam, a Maruti Swift car (bearing registration no PB29 R 1213) and a police sticker being used on the vehicle. ADCP-2 Dev Singh, ACP (South) Guriqbal Singh and Sadar SHO inspector Harshvir Singh addressed a press meet in this regard. The ADCP said the police had received a tip-off that the suspect by impersonating himself as a police inspector had duped many people on the pretext of getting their works done from the Police Department and from other government offices. “He used to take money from the people by exerting his influence as a police officer. His arrest may follow influx of complaints from people whom he cheated in the past, “ he said. The ADCP said since no person could sell uniform of disciplined force without verification to anyone so shopkeeper(s) from whom he bought the uniform would also be questioned. There are clear orders of the CP , which warns shopkeepers against selling uniform of the police, army, paramilitary forces and Punjab Home Guards to unidentified persons. Sellers have to ensure proper identification of buyers before selling the same to customers. He said the suspect also had a desire to join the Punjab Police but due to some reasons, he could not fulfil his dream. The suspect resorted to fraudulent tactics and turned out to be an impersonator to enjoy benefits of a police official. — TNS
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).