12072026-LT-01.qxd 7/12/2026 12:34 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PAU SWIMMERS BAG FREESTYLE GOLD, BRONZE District Sub-Junior and Junior Swimming Championship gets underway at agri varsity pool. P2 » ’84 RIOT VICTIMS SUSPEND HUNGER STRIKE MAIN VAAPAS AAUNGA WINS BACK THE AUDIENCE Governor Gulab Chand Kataria assures a delegation of riot victims’ welfare body to look into its demands. P2 After a slow opening, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali reflects on Partition, Punjab & enduring power of stories rooted in love. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7:27 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5:30 AM SUNDAY | 12 JULY 2026 | LUDHIANA Heavy rain leaves many roads waterlogged, damaged in city Tragedy averted as old wall, temporary shed collapse in Kesar Ganj Mandi Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 11 The season’s first spell of heavy rain exposed the city’s poor monsoon preparedness on Saturday as several roads were waterlogged, newly dug stretches turned muddy and an old wall collapsed in Lakkar Bazaar, narrowly missing passers-by. Heavy rainfall lashed the city on Friday night and continued till the early hours of Saturday. While the accumulated water receded from most of the areas by the morning, many roads damaged due to ongoing works across the city. A major incident was reported from Lakkar Bazaar in Kesar Ganj Mandi, where an old wall and a temporary shed collapsed. Two parked two-wheelers and a rehri were damaged after being buried under the debris. The structure was part of a plot where goods had been stored under temporary sheds. The incident could have turned tragic as labourers working at a nearby shop were standing close to the structure just before it collapsed. A newly married couple had also crossed the spot moments ago. Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Prashar visited the site after being informed about the incident. He appealed to owners of old and unsafe buildings to get them demolished before they become a threat during the rainy season. Rain also exposed the condition of roads dug up for underground utility works. Near the police station in Sarabha Nagar, a stretch excavated for laying water pipelines under the canalbased surface water supply project developed depres- Clockwise from top: A waterlogged damaged road near Dairy Complex, Haibowal; a cyclist on a flooded Hambran Road; and the site where a wall and a temporary shed collapsed after rainfall at Kesar Ganj Mandi in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN sions after the rain. The road was closed to traffic as the surface had become unstable and movement of vehicles could have caused further damage. Similar conditions were reported from the Smart City Colony on Jassian Road, where water supply and sewer pipelines are being laid. As road restoration is still pending, several stretches became uneven and muddy after the rainfall, making commuting difficult. Twowheeler riders had to move cautiously while motorists slowed down to avoid damaged portions of the road. Municipal Corporation officials said road excavation was necessary for laying underground pipelines. They said roads could not be rebuilt immediately as the excavated soil requires proper compaction. Constructing roads before the ground settles could lead to further sinking and damage. Waterlogging was reported from several parts of the city, including Haibowal, Kali Sadak, Hambran Road, Shepur Choowk, Samrala Chowk, Chandigarh Road, Transport Nagar, Chander Nagar, Model Town, Model Town Extension and Dhoka Mohalla. While water was drained out from most of the locations by the morning, areas such as Hambran Road and Sherpur remained affected for several hours before normal traffic movement resumed. Repeated road cave-ins near City Centre project raise concerns Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 11 Repeated road cave-ins near the abandoned City Centre project in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar have become a major concern for commuters and residents, with another portion of the road collapsing after rainfall on Saturday morning despite temporary repair work carried out a few days ago. Residents have alleged that the absence of a permanent solution has put hundreds of motorists at risk during the ongoing monsoon season. The affected stretch connects G Block and H Block near the City Centre project and serves as an important route for residents of the locality. According to locals, the road first caved in earlier this month after rain. Though the damaged portion was filled with debris, another section collapsed following fresh showers, exposing the weakness of the temporary repair work. A motorcycle rider narrowly escaped injury on Saturday morning after his twowheeler got stuck in the caved-in portion of the road. A resident, Arvind Sharma, present at the spot rescued the rider and pulled out the motorcycle. He said a major tragedy could occur if immediate steps were not taken, particularly during night hours when the damaged stretch was difficult to notice. Residents said officials of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) had visited the site a few days ago to inspect the damaged road. However, before any permanent repair could be carried out, another cave-in occurred after rainfall, further increasing public anger. With all LIT colonies and schemes recently transferred to the Municipal Corporation, residents said they have now lodged complaints through the Municipal Corporation’s Monsoon Complaint Chatbot, A two-wheeler that got stuck in a road cave-in near the City Centre project in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar on Saturday. requesting immediate repairs and preventive measures. They urged the civic body to treat the issue as a priority before more accidents occur. Demand to barricade unsafe road The residents have demanded that the damaged stretch be temporarily closed by installing barricades and warning signboards till permanent repairs were completed. They said alternative routes were available and a temporary closure would be a safer option than allowing traffic to continue on the unstable road. According to the residents, the road condition has worsened after every spell of rain, indicating possible damage beneath the surface. They have urged the authorities to inspect the underground infrastructure and identify Man gets life term for killing nephew Op Prahaar 3.0: 476 nabbed in 24 hours Rajneesh Lakhanpal Ludhiana, July 11 In a sensational blind murder case dating back to nearly four years, a local court has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for abducting and murdering his seven-year-old nephew and disposing of the child’s body in a canal. Additional Sessions Judge Dr Rajneesh convicted Swaran Singh of Abdulapur Basti for kidnapping and murdering the boy. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him. The case was registered on August 19, 2022. As per the prosecution, complainant Simranjit Kaur of Abdulapur Basti reported to the police that her seven-yearold son, Sahajpreet Singh, went missing from home on the night of August 18, 2022. Despite search by the kin, the child could not be traced, following which a missing report was lodged on the next day. The police found that the child’s paternal uncle, Swaran, had taken him on his bike on the day of the incident. The police interrogated the accused. During the probe, the child’s body was recovered from a canal on the basis of the statement made by the accused. The prosecution alleged that the accused had strained relations with his sister-in-law and felt humiliated by her. Since Sahajpreet was the only son in the family, the accused believed that after the child’s death, the family’s property would eventually pass on to his children. Ludhiana, July 11 In a major crackdown on crime and narcotics, Punjab Police’s Operation Prahaar 3.0 has yielded significant results in Khanna with 476 persons arrested in 24 hours, till 4 pm on Saturday. According to the latest update, out of the total arrests, 326 were substantive and 111 preventive while 10 proclaimed offenders (POs) and four gangster associates were also nabbed. The operation led to sub- stantial recoveries of contraband and stolen items. The police seized 247.6 gm of heroin, 3 kg of ganja, 1.4 kg of opium, 100 kg of poppy husk and 380 banned tablets/capsules. Cash worth Rs 13,250 linked to drug trade was also recovered. In the stolen property category, the authorities recovered five stolen two-wheelers, one stolen four-wheeler, eight stolen trucks, four stolen mobiles, and one silver chain. Excise teams seized 153 continued on page 2 Police officials during the Op Prahar 3.0 in Khanna on Saturday. City firm unveils ‘nation’s first’ pneumatic system for buses at Guj expo Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana/New Delhi, July 11 Nearly two decades after starting with just Rs 8 lakh in savings, a Ludhiana entrepreneur’s dream of building world-class engineering solutions in the country found a national stage as Punjabbased Satflo Technologies India Private Limited unveiled what it described as India’s first indigenously developed pneumatic system for buses at Prawaas 5.0, the country’s premier bus and public transport exhibition at FOUNDED IN 2007 AS A SMALL VENTURE Founded in 2007 by Ajay Sharma, a city resident, Satflo Technologies India Private Limited began as a small manufacturing venture to prove that Indian engineering could build products on a par with global standards. the Mahatma Mandir Convention and Exhibition Centre in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Founded in 2007 by Ajay Sharma, a resident of Professor Nagar in the city, Satflo began as a small manufacturing venture in Ludhiana with a simple ambition, to prove that Indian engineering could build products on a par with global standards. Start- ing with personal savings of Rs 8 lakh, the company posted nearly Rs 1 crore profit in its first year, laying the foundation for what has today grown into an engineering enterprise with an estimated market valuation of around Rs 16 crore. At the expo, Satflo showcased a range of Made in India products, including pneumat- ic bus door mechanisms, compressed air treatment systems, wheelchair access ramps and automatic footstep mechanisms, aimed at reducing the country’s dependence on imported technologies. The pneumatic door systems incorporate emergency safety features, anti-pinch mechanisms and have been tested for over five lakh operating cycles, while the accessibility solutions are designed to make public transport safer and more inclusive. Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Sharma said c m y b building a company demanded far more than technical expertise. “Forming a company can be rewarding, but it also comes with many difficulties and challenges. Choosing the right business idea and finding a product or service that meets market demand is only the beginning. Raising capital, managing cash flow in the early years, ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, building the right team and competing with established businesses require constant perseverance. Every chal- lenge became a lesson and overcoming them helped us build Satflo into what it is today,” he said. Sharma said the company’s vision had always been to develop indigenous engineering solutions that could compete globally while supporting the Make in India initiative. What began as a modest workshop in Ludhiana has today evolved into a company manufacturing advanced compressed air treatment systems, industrial automation products and automatic bus door solutions for the public transport sector, a technology long dominated by overseas manufacturers. For Sharma, the unveiling at Prawaas 5.0 was more than a product launch. It marked the culmination of a journey that began with faith in Indian manufacturing and personal savings and today stands as proof that technology once imported can now be conceived, designed and manufactured in the city before being showcased on one of the country’s biggest platforms for public transport innovation. the exact cause of repeated cave-ins, instead of carrying out temporary repair works. Meanwhile, social activist Ravinder Pal Singh Ghai has urged the state government and the Centre to utilise the abandoned City Centre land for establishing an AIIMS in Ludhiana. He said the City Centre project, once planned as a commercial and residential hub by the LIT, has remained abandoned for years after getting embroiled in a multicrore scam. The unused land should be put to productive public use instead of being left neglected. Ghai said repeated cave-ins reflect poor maintenance and pose a serious threat to commuters. He appealed to the authorities to repair the damaged roads, fix accountability for the recurring problem. Three M’rashtra residents booked for ~52.9-L fraud Ludhiana, July 11 The Moti Nagar police have registered a case against three persons from Maharashtra for allegedly cheating a city businessman of over Rs 52.91 lakh on the pretext of supplying imported kidney beans (rajma). The FIR was lodged after a probe was initiated into a complaint filed by Shyam Gupta of Agar Nagar. The police have booked the trio under various sections of the BNS. The suspects have been identified as Vikram Shinde, Ranjit Shinde and Umesh Bapu More, all residents of Maharashtra. According to the complaint, the businessman had entered into an agreement with the suspects for the purchase of Brazilian rajma and pink rajma through their firms. Trusting the agreement, he transferred Rs 52,91,320 to them in multiple transactions. The complainant alleged that despite receiving the payment, the suspects neither supplied the agreed consignment nor returned the money. He claimed that the deal resulted in a financial loss of over Rs 52 lakh. ASI Sethi Kumar said the case was registered after verifying the allegations. — TNS