02092026-JTR-01.qxd 9/1/2026 11:39 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune K’THALA GETS ROAD INFRA BOOST AS PWD BEGINS UPGRADE WORK MUSHROOM CULTIVATION OFFERS INCOME SOURCE FOR FARMERS RICKY KEJ ANNOUNCES MULTI-CITY INDIA TOUR The project will significantly improve traffic flow and connectivity on this key road leading into Kapurthala city. P2 The KVK organised a five-day vocational training programme on mushroom cultivation from August 24 to 31 on its campus.P3 Three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej is all set for a multi-city India tour from October to December. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.50 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:04 AM » WEDNESDAY | 2 SEPTEMBER 2026 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune has started 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. AAP leaders stage protest in MC action on hoardings sparks BJP protest in city front of BJP meeting venue MC denies targeting party amid hoarding removal row Oppose visit of MPs to Sajjan’s house to condole his death Tribune News Service INBRIEF MAN HELD WITH INTOXICANTS Phagwara: The Nakodar police have arrested a person on the charge of selling intoxicating tablets. As many as 40 such tablets were recovered from the possession of the accused Paramjit, alias Pamma, a resident of Gurre village. OC 13 BOOKED IN 2 ASSAULT CASES Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have booked six villagers, including a woman for assaulting a woman. The accused included Baggo, Bhola, Pindar, Bittu and Arsh Noor Singh of Singhpur Bet village. Simran of Singhpur Bet village complained to the police that the accused assaulted and damaged her house door and threatened her. The Nakodar police also booked seven miscreants for assaulting Ranjit Singh of Talwandi Sanghera village in Shahkot. OC Jalandhar, September 1 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday staged a protest outside the venue of the BJP’s state-level meeting at the Lions Club in Jalandhar over condolences expressed by three BJP MPs on the death of former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar. AAP leaders, carrying banners with messages ‘BJP MPs are anti-Sikh’, said the move of the BJP MPs was a reflection of the party’s attitude towards cases related to the 1984 Sikh massacre. The party leaders led by AAP Jalandhar Urban District President Amritpal Singh and Chairman of the Planning Board, Jalandhar, raised slogans against the BJP and registered their protest. Chairpersons of various party wings, volunteers, officebearers, councillors, sarpanches and a large number of party workers were present. Gurwinder Singh Shergill, Atin Agnihotri, Robin Sampla, Harcharan Singh Sandhu, Jasvir Jalalpur, Atam Prakash Bab- AAP leaders and workers hold a protest in Jalandhar on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH blu, Harjinder Singh Seechewal, Dr. Amit, Vijay Bhatia, Vijay Pal Yadav and Vaibhav Sethi among other leaders and office-bearers also reached the spot. The leaders and workers expressed outrage against the BJP and raised slogans. During the sit-in, the leaders said Punjab and the Sikh Minor rape case: Kin, advocates allege police pressure on victim community can never forget the tragedy of the 1984 Sikh massacre. The families affected by the massacre of thousands of innocent Sikhs are still waiting for justice. They alleged the expressions of sympathy towards those linked to the case had hurt the sentiments of the community. Kartarpur MLA Balkar Singh said the 1984 anti-Sikh riots remained a painful chapter in the collective memory of the Sikh community. He said any perceived leniency towards those accused in such cases was unacceptable and urged political parties to respect the sentiments of the victims’ families. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 1 Even as Aam Aadmi Party leaders staged a protest against the BJP in the city, the saffron party hit back at the ruling party, alleging that the MC had selectively removed its banners, flags and hoardings outside the venues of its state-level meetings on Tuesday. The BJP had installed welcome hoardings and party flags outside Lions Bhawan and a city hotel, where newly appointed Punjab in-charge and MP Satish Poonia was holding meetings with state and district office-bearers. Around noon, while the meetings were still underway, MC teams arrived and began removing the banners and hoardings. This angered the BJP leaders. Former MLA Sheetal Angural and other party workers protested against the move, photographed and videographed the action and alleged that the MC was resorting to such an action at the behest of AAP leaders. Angural and other BJP leaders then marched towards the MC office raising slogans and Tributes to Guru Ravidas alleged that although the police had registered a case and arrested the accused teacher, attempts were being made to shield him. They further alleged that the girl was being intimidated during the investigation while she was undergoing treatment at the hospital. The lawyers demanded an impartial investigation and said the girl should not be subjected to repeated questioning or pressure from the police. SP (D) Parnit Singh Dhillon, who reached the hospital, said the police were conducting a fair investigation from all angles. He said strict legal action would be taken against anyone found guilty. He added that the statement of the girl would be recorded at 11 am on Wednesday. SMO Navjot Singh said the girl had undergone a medical examination and her samples had been sent to a laboratory for examination. He said she was likely to be discharged from the hospital soon. — OC going live on social media. They targeted the state government, local AAP leaders and MC Commissioner. They first moved towards the office of MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi and found that he was not seated in his room. They then went to the office of Joint Commissioner Dr Sumandeep Kaur and asked her why the MC action was targeted only against the BJP . Angural questioned why the action was allegedly confined to BJP material. “AAP hoardings were also installed in the area, but they were not removed. Our banners were put up this morning and would have been removed after the meetings. The action was taken while our programme was still in progress. This is unfair,” he said. The Joint Commissioner said, “No political party was specifically being targeted by the MC. No such directions have been issued to any of our teams. There are general orders issued to the staff to remove illegal hoardings wherever they find them. Still we will keep a check on the action and the specific complaint that came to us today”. 249 gram opium, 120 cases of liquor seized Seek strict action against accused schoolteacher Hoshiarpur, September 1 Alleging inaction by the police in a case involving the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl studying at a government middle school in Hariana, members of the District Bar Association and the victim’s family on Tuesday demanded strict action against the accused. Family members and lawyers, including District Bar Association president advocate PS Ghuman, reached the Civil Hospital, where they BJP leaders protest the MC action in Jalandhar on Tuesday. A drone show lights up the Phagwara sky on Tuesday evening during celebrations marking the 650th Parkash Purb of Guru Ravidas. TRIBUNE PHOTO Hoshiarpur, September 1 The police have arrested six persons and seized narcotic substances, habit-forming tablets, liquor and drug money in separate cases. The Mahilpur police, during patrolling, arrested Tarsem Singh, alias Gurdawar, of Dhadda Khurd on the charge of alleged drug trafficking. The police claimed to have recovered 249.39 gram of opium and Rs 10,000 in suspected drug money from his possession. In another case, the Focal Point police arrested Bikramjit Singh, alias Bobby, a resident of Shanti Nagar, and allegedly recovered a large quantity of habit-forming tablets from him. The Chabbewal police arrested Raju of Meghowal and claimed to have recovered habit-forming tablets from his possession. Meanwhile, the Dasuya police arrested Sangampreet Singh of Randhawa and Paras, alias Yakka, of Dasuya and allegedly recovered habitforming tablets from them. The police also arrested Mohit, a resident of Bahadurpur. The police claimed to have seized 120 cases of liquor from his possession. — OC 178 sanitation workers for 1,377 schools: Manpower 14 years on, Pesticide Residue shortage comes in way of cleanliness drive in district Testing Lab remains defunct Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 1 The School Education Department’s directive to government schools to keep their campuses spick and span has run into a basic challenge in Jalandhar where the district has only 178 sanitation workers for 1,377 government schools, leaving schools to manage sanitation with severely limited manpower. Of the total sanitation workforce, only 56 are regular employees, while the remaining 122 have been engaged by the district Education Department on a contractual basis, officials said. With the staff strength far below the requirement, the school authorities are also forced to hire private cleaners on fixed wages to keep classrooms, toilets and other parts of their campuses clean, the officials added. The manpower crunch assumes significance as the Directorate School Education (Secondary), in an order issued on August 21, launched a “School Cleanliness and A severe shortage of cleaning staff has left government schools in Jalandhar struggling to maintain cleanliness on their campuses in Jalandhar. A TRIBUNE PHOTOGRAPH Readiness Drive” and directed all government schools to ensure that their campuses are free of garbage, waste, debris and unnecessary material. The order puts the onus squarely on school heads, asking them to conduct a physical walkthrough of their campuses, identify deficien- cies and get them rectified immediately. They have also been directed to assign cleanliness-related responsibilities to staff wherever required. But teacher representatives said the directions overlook the ground reality, particularly in smaller schools where sanitation funds are limited. Karnail Singh Phillaur, district president of the Government Teachers Union said, “The department provides a sanitation grant of Rs 3,000 to schools having more than 100 students. But schools with lower enrollment do not have adequate financial support, making it difficult for c m y b school heads to maintain sanitation. They have to make arrangements from whatever limited resources are available,” he said. Rajeev Joshi, Deputy District Education Officer (Secondary), said the department is aware of the sanitation requirements in schools and is working to address them. “The recruitment of sanitation workers is pending at the higher level. Meanwhile, we are ensuring that schools receive the necessary support to maintain hygiene and sanitation on their campuses. Cleanliness, particularly during the monsoon, remains a priority. As part of the preparations, drinking water tanks and taps in schools were cleaned to ensure that students have access to safe and hygienic water,” he said. The department has warned that negligence in maintaining school campuses and basic facilities will be viewed seriously and may invite disciplinary action, further increasing the pressure on school heads to deliver despite the staff shortage. Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 1 Punjab got its second government-owned virus-indexing laboratory at the centre of excellence for potato in Dhogri village, Jalandhar, on Monday. The hi-tech facility was established at a cost of nearly Rs 1 crore. Punjab Horticulture and Defence Services Welfare Minister Mohinder Bhagat, who inaugurated the laboratory, said the facility would play an important role in strengthening disease detection and improving the quality of potato cultivation in the state. However, while the new laboratory has become operational, another important facility, the Pesticide Residue Testing Laboratory (PRTL), has remained incomplete for years despite the construction of its building being completed more than a decade ago. The Agriculture Department had proposed setting up Punjab’s first PRTL in 2008 to monitor pesticide residues. In 2009, the construction The stone of Pesticide Residue Testing Lab in Jalandhar. FILE work was entrusted to the Punjab Mandi Board and the building was completed at a cost of Rs 2.84 crore. The laboratory and agriculture office was inaugurated by then Director, Agriculture, Mangal Singh Sandhu, on May 18, 2012. However, the proposed laboratory has still not become functional. The eight-room laboratory building was being used by the Agriculture Department for record-keeping purposes. The Chief Agriculture Offi- cer, Dr Randhir Singh Thakur, said work on the laboratory was underway and expressed confidence that it would be completed by the end of this year. “The work now is going on. Some machinery and equipment have already been received. The laboratory will be ready by the year-end,” he said. Once functional, the laboratory is expected to help the department scientifically assess pesticide residues in the agricultural produce.