09072026-JTR-01.qxd 7/8/2026 11:01 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune GROWING SCREEN TIME AFFECTING CHILDREN’S HEALTH KAPURTHALA TO HAVE 14 MORE POLLING STATIONS LAUGH OUT LOUD AT COMEDY PLAY IN GAIETY THEATRE While technology is an important part of education, experts warn that prolonged exposure can have adverse effects.P2 The EC has proposed increasing the number of polling stations in Kapurthala district from 791 to 805. P3 Shimla’s The Beginners will present its comedy play, titled Salgirah Sayapa, at Gaiety Theatre on July 11. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7.35 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:30 AM » THURSDAY | 9 JULY 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. Manso defects from Congress, Depot holders seek higher margins elected Mayor with AAP backing Say delayed ration kits, ePOS issues and low commission hit operations Tribune News Service INBRIEF MAN HELD FOR RASH DRIVING Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have arrested a man for rash driving. The accused has been identified as Tarsem Singh of Bhangwan village under Lohian Khas police station. Jaspal Chand of Udhowal village has complained to the police that the accused was driving his vehicle fast and negligently on June 27 and hit his motorcycle and injured him and his family members. OC GOLD STOLEN FROM HOUSE Phagwara: The Nakodar police have booked unidentified persons for stealing gold and other items from a house. Lakhwindar Singh, a resident of Shankar village, complained to the police that some thieves barged into his house on the night of July 6 and took away gold and other items. OC TWO HELD FOR DRUG PEDDLING Phagwara: The Nakodar police have arrested a man on the charge of selling intoxicating tablets. Ten tablets were recovered from the possession of the accused Jugesh Kumar, alias Sani, of Kala Sanghian village in Kapurthala. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. The Nurmahal police arrested Akash Deep of Umrewal village in Nakodar with 24 tablets. OC Narinder Manso (centre), who was elected Mayor with the support of AAP; and (right) the police escort the bus with AAP and Cong councillors in Kapurthala. Ashok Kaura RANA TO CHALLENGE ELECTION IN HC Kapurthala, July 8 A major political development unfolded in the Kapurthala Municipal Corporation today as Narinder Singh Manso defected from the Congress and was elected Mayor with the backing of the ruling AAP Manso, who . had won the recent MC elections on a Congress ticket, was considered a close associate of MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh. AAP succeeded in taking control of the MC House after reportedly securing the support of councillors from the Congress, BJP and SAD. The party had won only 11 of the 50 wards in the civic elections, while the Congress had secured a clear majority with 31 seats. Congress MLA Rana Gurjit Singh talks to mediapersons. MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh had expressed confidence that councillors aligned with him would not switch sides. However, AAP leaders, including Hoshiarpur MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal, are said to have played a key role in the last-minute political manoeuvring. According to sources, a group of councillors was taken to Hoshiarpur on the eve of the election and brought back shortly before polling commenced at 3 pm on Wednesday. Amid heavy security arrangements around Shalimar Bagh where Mayoral poll was scheduled, Sameer Sharma was elected as Senior Despite Sikhya Kranti push, nearly half of BPEO posts vacant in state Rana Gurjit Singh strongly questioned the legitimacy of the process, describing it as illegal. He claimed that his camp had the backing of 26 councillors, along with his own vote, taking the count to 27 votes. He argued that the opposing camp had only 24 councillors, making the declared result questionable. Deputy Mayor, while Kamakshi Duggal was chosen as Deputy Mayor. Rebellion by Manso was viewed as a major setback for the faction led by Rana Gurjit Singh. Following the election, Rana Gurjit Singh strongly questioned the legitimacy of the process, describing it as illegal. He claimed that his camp had the backing of 26 councillors, along with his own vote, taking the count to 27 votes. He argued that the opposing camp had only 24 councillors, making the declared result questionable. Rana also presented his supporting councillors before the media to demonstrate his claimed numbers and announced that he would challenge the election before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Meanwhile, newly elected Mayor Manso thanked the AAP and other opposition councillors for their support. He said his foremost priority would be the development of Kapurthala city and said development projects in the Municipal Corporation would be taken up on a priority basis. Jalandhar, July 8 Amid the ongoing distribution of ration kits under the Meri Rasoi Scheme, ration depot holders have flagged a widening gap between their workload and remuneration, saying low margins, delayed kit supplies and rising operational costs have made it difficult to sustain their operations. According to depot holders, although the wheat distribution for the April-June quarter has already been completed, they are still engaged in distributing ration kits that were supposed to be supplied along with wheat by the end of June. They said delayed availability of kits has extended their workload into July without any corresponding increase in commission. The depot holders said they were being paid only Rs 3.10 per ration kit along with Rs 90 per quintal for wheat distribution, which was insufficient to cover transportation, labour and other operational expenses. They have demanded an increase in the wheat distribution margin from Rs 90 to Rs 150 per quintal, besides timely payments for additional responsibilities assigned to them. Roshan Lal, state president of the NFSA Depot Holders Association, said the association had already taken up the issue with the Food and Civil Supplies Department. “We are already working under financial pressure. Lyallpur Khalsa College Technical Campus Rishika Kriti G.T ROAD, JALANDHAR Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 8 Nikas Kumar, a 2020-batch IAS officer, has been appointed Commissioner of the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation. He was previously serving as the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development), Hoshiarpur. Nikas Kumar will succeed Sandeep Rishi, who had assumed charge as MC Commissioner in August last year. When Rishi took over as Commissioner, he had outlined a clear roadmap for the civic body, emphasising transparency and corruptionfree governance as his top priorities. With Nikas Kumar set to take charge, attention will now be on the new Commissioner’s priorities and plans for addressing the city’s civic and administrative challenges. ADMISSIONS 2026-27 FILE Nikas Kumar Jalandhar MC Commissioner Jalandhar, July 8 Amid the government’s much-touted claims of Sikhya Kranti, data compiled by the Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) has revealed that nearly half of the sanctioned Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) posts are lying vacant in Punjab. According to the data, 107 of the 228 sanctioned BPEO posts remain vacant, raising concerns over the functioning of the Primary Education Department. According to the DTF , BPEOs are responsible for preparing teacher salaries, processing medical reimbursement claims, maintaining service records and overseeing the functioning of government primary schools. The front said the shortage has weakened the department’s administrative set-up, delaying routine official work. The shortage is most alarming in Mansa and Rupnagar, where none of the sanctioned BPEO posts has been filled. All five sanctioned posts in Mansa are vacant, while Rupnagar has no officers against its 10 sanctioned posts. The situation is equally grim in the Doaba region. Hoshiarpur has only two BPEOs against 21 sanctioned posts, leaving 19 vacancies. Jalandhar has 10 vacancies out of 17 sanctioned posts, while Kapurthala has six vacancies out of nine and Nawanshahr has five vacancies out of seven. SITUATION GRIM IN DOABA The situation is equally grim in the Doaba region. Hoshiarpur has only two BPEOs against 21 sanctioned posts, leaving 19 vacancies. Jalandhar has 10 vacancies out of 17 sanctioned posts, while Kapurthala has six vacancies out of nine and Nawanshahr has five vacancies out of seven. The shortage extends to other districts as well. Bathinda has only one BPEO against seven sanctioned posts, while Malerkotla has one officer against three sanctioned posts. In contrast, Ferozepur, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Moga have filled all their sanctioned BPEO posts. DTF state president Digvijaypal Sharma and state secretary Resham Singh Khemuana said a large number of vacancies have forced several officers to handle multiple blocks, delaying salary preparation and other service-related work. As a result, teachers are being forced to make repeated visits to block offices to get routine official work cleared. Attributing the shortage to delayed promotions, the union leaders said the government had increased the promotion quota for BPEOs from 50 per cent to 75 per cent, meaning three-fourths of the posts are to be filled through promotions and the remaining 25 per cent through direct recruitment. The DTF demanded that the government immediately complete the pending promotions and fill the remaining 25 per cent of BPEO posts reserved for direct recruitment, saying timely appointments are essential for the smooth functioning of the state’s primary education system. This is the second such vacancy report released by the DTF within a month. In June, the union revealed that 1,113 of the 1,927 sanctioned principal posts in government senior secondary schools across Punjab were lying vacant. c m y b The distribution of ration kits has increased our workload, but the commission provided for the task does not even cover the basic expenses,” he said. Apart from financial concerns, depot holders have also flagged technical issues in the ePOS system used for beneficiary verification during ration distribution. Gurjinder Singh Sidhu, president of the Punjab Raj Depot Holder Union, said earlier only one slip was generated for wheat distribution. However, ePOS machines now generate separate slips for each of the three months’ wheat quota along with an additional slip for the ration kit, resulting in four slips for every beneficiary. He said this adds 20 to 25 minutes to the distribution process, making the whole process cumbersome. Meanwhile, Karamjit Singh Arechha, state president of the All-India Fair Price Shop Dealers’ Federation, said depot holders continue to bear expenses such as shop rent, electricity bills and labour charges. Hence, they are demanding to increase margins from Rs 90 per quintal to Rs 150 as our work goes beyond distribution. He further said these issues would be raised at the National Summit on the Public Distribution System scheduled to be held in Kolkata on July 13, where representatives from across the state are expected to discuss challenges faced by them.