12092026-JTR-01.qxd 9/11/2026 10:56 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune PVT SCHOOLS MUST RESERVE 25% SEATS UNDER RTE ACT CITY ARTIST MAKES WAVES WITH NATURE-INSPIRED SCULPTURES PRINCESS DIANA’S ‘REVENGE DRESS’ TO BE AUCTIONED Information regarding the 25 per cent seats available in private schools must be displayed on the schools’ notice boards.P2 Working with clay, wood, metal and mixed media, his work is today celebrated across states and galleries in the country. P3 The iconic ‘revenge dress’ is set to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in New York on December 9. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 32°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.37 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:10 AM » SATURDAY | 12 SEPTEMBER 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. INBRIEF MAN HELD WITH 100G HEROIN Phagwara: The Phillaur police have arrested a man after allegedly recovering 100 gram of heroin from his possession during a patrol near the Phillaur bridge. A case was registered against Vijay Kumar of Pajhera Jagatpur in Phillaur. The police said the accused was intercepted during patrolling in the area. The DSP said 100 gram of heroin was recovered from his possession. A case was registered under Section 21-B of the NDPS Act. OC WOMAN ALLEGES RAPE BY VILLAGER Phagwara: The police have registered a case following a complaint by a woman, alleging that a man forcibly took her from Apra village, established physical relations against her wishes and subsequently threatened her. The complaint was submitted by a resident of Mandi village near Phillaur. The police registered a case against Jaskaran Kumar, also a resident of the village. OC WOMAN CHEATED OF ~1.50 LAKH Phagwara: The police have registered a case following a complaint that a woman was cheated of ~1.50 lakh in connection with a transaction dating back to August 2023. According to the police, the complaint was submitted by Sarnjit Kaur of the Mathurapuri locality in Phillaur. She alleged that Amit Pamma of Dana Mandi, Phillaur, had allegedly cheated her of ~1.50 lakh. OC MAN HELD WITH 11G HEROIN Phagwara: The police have arrested a man after allegedly recovering 11.10 gram of heroin and 16 intoxicating tablets from his possession in Sultanpur Lodhi. A patrol party was conducting checking near the cremation ground at Mothawal when it intercepted Balkar Singh of Latiawal village near Sultanpur Lodhi. The police caught him with 11.10 gram of heroin and 16 tablets. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act. oc Mid-day meal served feet away from toilets in school Space constraints force school to run in two shifts, students eat in batches Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 11 Students of Government Primary/Middle School in Kabir Nagar, Jalandhar, have their mid-day meals barely a few feet away from toilets, raising questions over hygiene and the basic facilities available. The kitchen, where the midday meal is prepared, is located adjacent to toilets, while students sit near the washrooms to have their meals. Due to severe space constraints, the school is being run in two shifts, with more than 250 students enrolled in the primary section. The primary school functions from 7.30 am to 12.30 pm, after which the middle school operates. The cramped infrastructure has left little room for other essential activities such as sports. On the ground floor, the staff room doubles up as a classroom, with teachers sharing the space with pre-primary students from nursery to UKG. The school has only two other rooms on the floor, with two classes (Class 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th) being accommodated in each room. When The Tribune visited the school, students were seen having their meal in batches because of the lack of space. Some students were also eat- Due to cramped space, students eat mid-day meal near toilets at Govt school, Kabir Nagar in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH ing inside their classrooms. The situation is equally constrained on the first floor, where a single hall houses almirahs marked ‘Library ’ and ‘Khedan Da Samaan’ (sports equipment), which is ironical as with no playground, the school has no dedicated space for sports or other extra-curricular activities. The middle school, which has more than 100 students, faces similar space constraints. ISSUE TO BE RESOLVED SOON ■ District Education Officer Gurinderjit Kaur said there are certain issues ■ which were being looked into and will be resolved soon. Ashok Basra, district smart school in-charge, said efforts were underway to facilitate the students shift to another school. He said there had earlier been a provision to shift the students to the school at Burlton Park. "Hopefully, the issue will be resolved soon," he said. Despite the inadequate infrastructure, teachers have made effort to maintain the school and ensure that students receive proper education. The classrooms and Protest by teachers on Sept 14-15 over non-teaching duties Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 11 With teachers increasingly being assigned responsibilities beyond teaching, government teachers in Punjab have announced protests outside the offices of District Education Officers and Deputy Commissioners on September 14 and 15, saying such duties are eating into teaching time. The protest comes amid continuing concerns over the functioning of government schools, including delays in the release of mid-day meal funds, difficulties in meeting GST-related billing requirements and a shortage of sani- tation staff. Karnail Singh Phillaur, district president of the Government Teachers Union Punjab, said teachers had been raising the issues with the department for several months. He said schools are also being asked to organise block-level primary sports competitions despite not receiving the required funds. “The department, instead of releasing funds for these games, is asking schools to bear the expenses”, he said. On mid-day meals, Phillaur said delays in funds had forced teachers to spend money from their own pockets while the requirement of GST-compliant bills are creating further difficulties. “For vegetables and fruits, we often purchase supplies from local vendors and hawkers. How can we arrange GST bills from them,” he said. Teachers have also raised concerns over schools being expected to maintain cleanliness despite a shortage of sanitation workers. They say this adds another responsibility which is not a part of their teaching duties. The protest calls have been given by several teachers organisations who have said they will boycott these nonacademic duties if pending funds and payments are not released within a week. available spaces have been kept clean, with proper painted walls, and the teaching staff continue to focus on academics despite limitations. The issue of inadequate space is there since long. It was earlier stated that a school building had been constructed near Burlton Park and that the middle school would be shifted there. However, there has been no clarity or update on when the proposed shift will take place. AAP’s Jalandhar North Halqa in-charge and Jalandhar Mayor Vaneet Dhir said he would get the matter checked and take steps to resolve the issues. Power crisis spreads to rural households Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 11 After industries and agricultural feeders, power cuts have now been extended to rural households in Jalandhar, with domestic consumers facing outages during evening and night hours amid a power supply crunch in Punjab. According to official communications, domestic connections in parts of rural Jalandhar have witnessed outages of up to three hours over the past two days. The development comes as restrictions on industrial feeders have also been extended. As per a message issued by the Power Controller, Patiala on Friday evening, Category II and Category III industrial feeders have been directed to face 10-hour power cuts, from 8 pm to 6 am, against around four hours earlier. The state has been facing a power shortage for the past few days, with generation remaining well below its installed capacity. According to State Load Dispatch Centre data, Punjab’s peak power demand on Friday reached 16,159 MW, while generation from stateowned and private thermal plants, hydel projects and independent power producers was around 4,500 MW. The state is drawing nearly 11,000 Megawatts from the Northern Grid to meet the shortfall. A PSPCL official said the situation becomes more difficult after sunset. Solar power helps meet a significant part of the state’s demand during the day but its availability falls Up in arms Domestic consumers in rural areas face up to three-hour outages sharply after sunset. At the same time, demand remains high at night due to the use of air-conditioners, coolers and other cooling appliances. The official said the PSPCL is managing the situation through load curtailment to maintain a balance between demand and supply. The cuts have also triggered protests by several farmer bodies in Jalandhar. Farmers said against the scheduled six to eight hours of power supply to agricultural feeders, they were receiving less than four hours, making it difficult to irrigate their crops. Gulshan Chutani, Deputy Chief Engineer, PSPCL North Zone, said the department had asked its staff to allow the 10 per cent approved relaxation for Category II and Category III industrial feeders. Responding to farmers concerns, Chutani said they are demanding six to eight hours of power supply for tubewell connections. “We were supplying 13 to 14 hours of electricity in these areas till Tuesday but following snags in two units of power plants, the supply has been affected,” he said. The latest restrictions have, therefore, widened the impact of the power shortage, with industries, agricultural consumers and now rural households facing cuts. 76K held in 551 days’anti-drugs drive: Arora Members of the United Forum of Bank Unions raise slogans during a nationwide strike in support of their demand for a five-day week, outside the SBI main office in Jalandhar on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH Phillaur, September 11 Minister Aman Arora on Friday termed Yudh Nashian Virudh a decisive war against drugs in Punjab, with more than 76,000 arrests made during the 551-day drive. Addressing over 500 members of a Yudh Nashian Virudh team gathered at the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, from across the state, Arora said Yudh Nashian Virudh had now entering its final stage. During the next one month, more than 500 team members would visit every village and ward to interact with residents and discuss the progress made in the fight against the drug menace. — TNS Dua Jalandhar DBA chief, Thind wins secy’s post Harpreet Phagwara Bar Association Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 11 Former secretary of the District Bar Association (DBA) Rattan Dua was elected president of the lawyers’ body in polling held here on Friday. The results were declared late in the evening. Dua was locked in a triangular contest with Rajinder Kumar and Tarsem Singh Taak but secured a comfortable victory, winning by a margin of over 900 votes. He enjoyed the backing of several prominent lawyers, including Mandeep Sachdev and RK Bhalla. Outgoing president Aditya Jain did not seek re-election. Amarinder Thind was elected secretary after defeating Rakesh Dhir in a direct contest. A total of 2,112 voters cast their ballots, out of the DBA’s 3,373 members. Twenty-eight candidates, including eight women, were in the fray for eight posts. The results for the remaining posts were withheld as recounting was underway for the post of senior vice-president, where Kunal Goyal and Sunny Kumar were in the contest. They campaigned aggressively on social media while also hosting lavish parties for the members of the DBA. women-reserved category, Advocate Preet Mattu won. Reena Rani Brar is the new general secretary, Advocate Renu joint secretary and Sunny Dev is cashier. Our Correspondent PHAGWARA, SEPTEMBER 11 Advocate Harpreet Kaur was elected president of the Phagwara Bar Association on Friday, becoming the first woman lawyer to hold the post. Returning Officer Advocate Raman Narang declared the election results here this evening. A total of 169 votes were polled out of 176 eligible votes. Harpreet Kaur secured 97 votes, while her rival Advocate Sanjeev Agnihotri polled 71 votes. Her election marks a significant development in the history of the Phagwara Bar Association. During the election campaign, Harpreet Kaur had spoken about the need for transparent and effective Rattan Dua in a cheerful mood after winning the elections in Jalandhar on Friday. >> TRIBUNE PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH c m y b Bajwa Kapurthala DBA chief functioning of the Bar Association and greater attention to issues affecting advocates in their day-to-day professional work.The election campaign largely centred on matters concerning the functioning and infrastructure of the court complex. For the vice-president’s post in the general category, Advocate Gurdeep Singh was elected while in the The election process for the Kapurthala District Bar Association concluded peacefully on Friday, with 329 out of a total of 353 eligible voters casting their ballots. In the election for the post of president, RPS Bajwa emerged victorious. For the post of vice-president, Harpreet Kaur won the election. The post of secretary went to Manpreet and joint secretary to Viveka.