19092026-JTR-01.qxd 9/18/2026 10:45 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune 4 HELD DURING CASO; 52 GM HEROIN, ILLICIT LIQUOR SEIZED AFTER PERSONAL LOSS, FITNESS TRAINER FINDS SOLACE IN KATHAK SHIKHA PANDEY ON BOLLYWOOD DEBUT WITH OYE CHILL MAAR During the CASO, drug hotspots, deserted locations and other sensitive places were covered and searched. P2 With help of her teachers, Nidhi honed her skills in kathak and developed a deeper understanding of the classical form. P3 Actress Shikha Pandey, who is seen in television show Mannat, will make her Bollywood debut with Oye Chill Maar. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 23°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.28 PM » SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:14 AM SATURDAY | 19 SEPTEMBER 2026 | JALANDHAR As elections draw near, school Canal breach scare as water enters Nakodar localities facilities trigger war of words Ashok Kaura Oppn leaders flag infra gaps in govt schools | AAP says visits are poll-driven Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 18 With the Assembly elections just months away, the political battle over the state government’s ‘Sikhya Kranti’ has intensified in Jalandhar, with opposition leaders stepping up their visits to government schools in their wards and constituencies raising concerns over infrastructure and basic facilities. The issue recently came into limelight when Congress councillor Pawan Kumar of Ward No 36 visited a primary school in Basti Peer Daad in Jalandhar West. During his visit, Kumar pointed out at the worn-out school building with visible cracks in its walls, saying the structure required urgent repairs. “Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann keeps saying that schools are better than those in Kerala. I came to this school after receiving complaints that students were studying in deteriorating building. As public representatives, we focus on civic issues such as roads and electricity, but it’s equally important that we provide safe environment to children for study,” Kumar said. In a similar instance, Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh visited the Government Model Co-educational Senior Secondary School in Urban Estate-II. During his visit, he raised concerns over the filthy condition of its washroom and drinking water facilities, posing serious health concerns for students. The condition of the washroom has come under scrutiny despite a plaque installed at the school mentioning that Cabinet Minister Mohinder Bhagat had provided Rs 5 lakh during the 2025-26 academic session for its repair. Talking about his visit, MLA Pargat Singh said, “The AAP government is devoted to marketing and advertisements. The existing school infrastructure was built during the Congress regime, under which Punjab emerged as the top performer among states in the National Achievement Survey (NAS) 2021 report. The Aam Aadmi Party keeps talking Congress MLA Pargat Singh during a visit to a govt school; and (right) a washroom in a poor condition in a govt school in Jalandhar. BJP seeks probe into Ambedkar statue incident FILTHY WASHROOM Hoshiarpur, September 18 A BJP delegation, led by district president Nitin Gupta, submitted on Friday a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, seeking an impartial and time-bound probe into the alleged vandalism of Dr BR Ambedkar’s statue at Badian Kalan and the alleged assault on former Union Minister and BJP leader Vijay Sampla. Gupta said Ambedkar was a symbol of the Constitution, social justice and equality and any damage to his statue was a serious matter that could hurt public sentiments. He alleged that Sampla was assaulted and manhandled when he reached the spot to protest the incident. The BJP demanded that those responsible for damaging the statue be identified and dealt with according to law. The delegation also sought an examination of CCTV footage and all available video recordings to establish the sequence of events. — OC ■ Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh visited the Government Model Co-educational Senior Secondary School in Urban Estate-II. ■ During his visit, he raised concerns over the filthy condition of its washroom and drinking water facilities, posing serious health concerns for students. about the Delhi model based on ‘Sikhya Kranti’, but then why has Delhi not ranked first and stood at sixth? Adding to the series of visits, Jalandhar North MLA Bawa Henry, in a Facebook video posted on August 14, highlighted the incomplete school building near Burlton Park. According to him, the project was approved in 2022 at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore. Henry said the new school building, being constructed on one acre of land, was intended to accommodate around 600 students from the middle school in Kabir Nagar and 1,200 students from Gandhi Camp. Both schools are running in double shifts. Rejecting the suggestion that he was raising the issue for political reasons, Henry said he had raised the matter twice in the Vidhan Sabha and had also highlighted it during a DISHA meeting last month. “The funds for the construction were released four years ago. The government should explain why the building has still not been completed, leaving students in Kabir Nagar and Gandhi Camp to study in small buildings,” he said. Meanwhile, responding to the concerns, Ramneek Randhawa, AAP Lok Sabha in-charge for Jalandhar, questioned the timing of the leaders visits. “If the leaders are claiming that the existing school infrastructure was constructed during their regime, why did they not highlight these issues then? Why are they visiting these schools only when elections are approaching?” Randhawa said. He said the government Hockey lovers recall 2006 craze as uncertainty looms over Indo-Pak tie Aakanksha N Bhardwaj PAK SHOULD PLAY Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 18 Uncertainty o4ver the IndiaPakistan match scheduled for November 1 at the Asian Champions Trophy in Jalandhar has cast a shadow over the excitement surrounding the tournament. The anticipation has brought back memories of the match that was played between the two countries in the India-Pakistan Test series held in Jalandhar in 2006. Organisers and players from that series recall an overwhelming response from spectators, with the police having to intervene to manage the massive crowds outside Burlton Park because of the craze of the fans. Olympian Surinder Sodhi, Nakodar, September 18 The Bist Doab Canal passing through Nakodar overflowed around 6.30 am on Friday, causing water to spill over its embankments and inundate low-lying residential areas near Kapurthala Chowk. The sudden rise in the canal’s water level triggered concern among residents of Bagadpura and Kamalpura, as water entered streets and flowed across major roads in the locality. Local residents said the situation had raised serious concerns as a similar incident had occurred at the same location around three years ago when the canal banks had reportedly breached, resulting in extensive waterlogging across a large part of the town and causing losses to residents. The residents alleged that no concrete measures had been taken by the administration to address the canal breach. They said the recurrence of the problem had again exposed the lack of ade- reflected the unmatched ❝The massive turnoutIndia-Pak hockey contest, passion surrounding an with the stadium packed to capacity as spectators flocked to watch the two rivals in action. The craze was immense then and remains undiminished even today. Pakistan should participate this time as well. Kulbir Singh, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF HOCKEY PUNJAB ❞ who was joint secretary of the Punjab Hockey Association and was among the organisers, remembers it vividly. “It was a great day. There was a huge rush that time. The police had to install barricades outside the gates because the crowd had gathered outside as well,” he said. The gates at Burlton Park were reportedly on the verge of being broken down. “The massive turnout reflected the passion surrounding an India-Pakistan hockey contest, with the stadium packed as spectators flocked to watch the countries face each other. There was a craze which is still there. Pakistan should play now as well,” said Kulbir Singh, the Chief Executive Officer of Hockey Punjab. He was then covering the event for a newspaper. Rajpal Singh Hundal, now SSP-Vigilance, Patiala, was part of the Indian team in 2006 and played as a forward. Recalling the atmosphere, he said the stadium was jampacked when the two sides met. “It works for the players like a multivitamin when the audience and spectators love the teams. That happened in 2006 as well. It was a great feeling,” Hundal said. Hundal also felt that the presence of Pakistan would have helped generate greater interest in the tournament and promote hockey. “If Pakistan comes, it will be great for the promotion of sports as well,” he said. c m y b had delivered on its promises in the education sector, adding that any shortcomings pointed out by opposition leaders would be brought to the government’s notice for necessary action. Earlier, AAP leaders in Jalandhar had also visited government schools and posted videos of their visits on social media, highlighting modern school buildings, upgraded computer labs, interactive panels and other facilities under the state government’s ‘Sikhya Kranti’ initiative. quate preparedness ahead of the rainy season. According to the residents, the canal had been flowing at a high level for the past two or three days. They claimed that a higher discharge of water late on Thursday night led to a sudden rise in the water level on Friday morning, following which water began flowing over the canal banks and into adjoining areas. The affected stretch is also located near two religious places. With water accumulating on roads, commuters and pedestrians have been facing difficulty in moving through the area. Water outside houses A local resident Mohan Lal said he woke up aaround 6 am and found that water had reached close to the houses. He immediately informed the ward councillor and Municipal Council president Pradeep Sherpur about the situation. Following the information, Municipal Council employees reached the spot. However, residents alleged that the staff neither arranged soil, nor provided sandbags to prevent the water from spreading further. The employees reportedly maintained that controlling the canal water was the responsibility of the Irrigation Department. No Irrigation Dept official reaches spot The residents alleged that no official from the Irrigation Department had reached the spot to assess the situation. They said during the rainy season, vulnerable stretches of canals should be identified in advance and strengthened with sandbags and other protective measures to prevent overflowing or breaches. The situation has also caused concern among farmers in nearby areas. Residents said the paddy crop was at an advanced stage and water had accumulated in agricultural fields after the canal outlets were closed. They apprehended that prolonged waterlogging could damage the standing crop. Residents have urged the authorities to immediately control the alarming situation. Two held with 216 gm heroin Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 18 The CIA staff of the Jalandhar Rural Police have arrested two alleged drug smugglers and seized 216 gram of heroin from their possession in two separate operations. The arrested duo have been identified as Kashmir Singh, alias Sheera, from whom 116 gram of heroin was recovered and Sarabjit Singh, alias Babbi, from whom 100 gram of heroin was recovered. The arrests were made as part of a special campaign against drug trafficking and anti-social elements being conducted on the directions of Harvinder Singh Virk, SSP . The operations were carried out under the supervision of Vineet Ahlawat, SP (Investigation), and Lakhwinder Singh, DSP (Investigation), and led by Inspector Pushp Bali, in-charge, CIA staff, Jalandhar Rural. Abducted 4-yr-old child rescued Virk stated that the first arrest took place on September 13 during checking on the Kartarpur-Kapurthala road. A CIA team led by ASI Balwinder Singh allegedly intercepted Kashmir Singh of Hamira, Kapurthala, near a gurdwara. During his search, 116 gram of heroin was recovered from his possession. In the second operation on September 17, a team, led by ASI Subhash Kumar, was conducting patrolling in the Lambra area. When the team reached near Nijjaran Adda, a young man standing near a bus stop attempted to flee after noticing the police party. The man was identified as Sarabjit Singh of village Latianwal, Kapurthala. A search resulted in the recovery of 100 gram of heroin from his possession. The police said preliminary interrogation indicated that both accused had previously been named in drugs cases. Protest over new UPI charges Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 18 Four-year-old boy Keshav of Pannu Vihar, who had been abducted by two youths on Thursday afternoon, reunited with his family late last evening. A son of a labourer, the boy had been abducted while he was playing in the locality with his friends around 2 pm yesterday. CCTV footages of the masked scooterists with the child had also been circulated. Former MLA Sheetal Angural said he and his team had widely shared the picture of the child on social media. “The accused youths perhaps got panicked. So when it was pitch dark, they left the child outside the bus stand, telling him that his mother was waiting for him. The helpless child was spotted by commuters, who informed the police and hence the child was rescued”, he said. ADCP-2 Madhvi Sharma said since the accused were still at large, the motive of abduction was not clear. “It was not for ransom as the boy’s father is a labourer”, she said. Aatish Bhatia, ACP West, said it was around , 2 pm on Thursday when information was received regarding the disappearance of a 4year-old child. He said, “The Commissioner- The child, who was abducted by two youths, with his father in Jalandhar. ate Police Jalandhar immediately initiated police action and investigation. During the preliminary inquiry, it came to light that two persons riding an Activa had taken the child with them.” Jalandhar, September 18 The AAP on Friday held a protest at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk here against the Centre’s decision to impose additional charges on certain UPI merchant transactions. During the protests, angry people carried placards and raised slogans against the Centre and burnt the effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The protest was held under the leadership of AAP leader and Adampur halqa in-charge Pawan Kumar Tinu. Tinu said, “The decision of the Centre to impose additional charges on UPI transactions is a direct assault on the pockets of people. This decision will put a major economic burden on traders, students and ordinary citizens of the country.” — TNS