01102026-JTR-01.qxd 9/30/2026 11:28 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune FOOD SAFETY TEAM DESTROYS 50-KG SPOILED JAGGERY PHAGWARA BLOOD DONATION CAMP DRAWS 1K VOLUNTEERS STALLONE IDENTIFIES HIMSELF WITH CHARACTER IN ROCKY A food safety team destroyed 50 kg of spoiled jaggery and collected five samples of spices in Tanda. P2 As many as 1,027 donated blood at the camp organised by Hindustan Welfare Blood Donors Club. P3 Fifty years after one of Hollywood’s all-time hit Rocky, Sylvester Stallone still identifies himself with character. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 32°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 20°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.13 PM » SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:21 AM THURSDAY | 1 OCTOBER 2026 | JALANDHAR Posters question Shah on drugs, river-water issues Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 30 Hours before Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s arrival in Jalandhar for the BJP’s anti-drug rally, hoardings questioning the party on key Punjab issues appeared at several inter-sections across the city on Wednesday. The posters, put up alongside BJP hoardings welcoming Shah, raised questions about drug trafficking and Punjab’s river-water dispute with neighbouring states, drawing the ire of local BJP leaders. The hoardings question the BJP-led Centre regarding its inability to check supplies of drugs being routed in Punjab from the Gujarat border. One such poster carries the message in Punjabi, “BJP nu swaal. Punjab vich BJP Gujarat ton nashe di taskari kyon karwa rahi hai? (There is a question for the BJP Why is it getting drug . trafficking done from Gujarat to Punjab?)” These also question him about the BJP’s stand on water issues of Punjab with Haryana and Rajasthan. With a picture of Amit Shah, No one claims responsibility, BJP points finger at AAP Shah flags industry issues, state traders hope for relief Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service A hoarding seeks answers on the alleged drug supply route from Gujarat. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH such kinds of hoardings read, “Why does BJP want to offer Punjab’s waters to Haryana and Rajasthan?” Those who have got the hoardings installed have not taken any credit for the same. The Municipal Corporation authorities or the police have not initiated any action. These hoardings have been erected all along highways connecting Jalandhar from Pathankot, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Kapurthala and other peripheral towns. Anil Sarin, general secretary of the Punjab BJP said, , “Even though no one has taken credit for this, I suspect it to be the handiwork of the Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP government is frustrated. Instead of asking a question on sharing of riverine waters from Amit Shah, they should first go and ask Arvind Kejri- wal about his stand and what he has said about this in Haryana in the past. Only then, the Punjab AAP leaders should allow him to enter Punjab. On drugs issue, he asked AAP how it could not check home delivery of narcotics in the state.” Jalandhar, September 30 Home Minister Amit Shah visited Jalandhar on Wednesday for a ‘Nasha-Mukt Punjab’ rally, marking his first visit to the city. Addressing a gathering, Shah said the BJP would fight the upcoming election in Punjab only on the issue of drugs. At the same time, Shah referred to issues concerning farmers and industrialists, acknowledging that both sections had grievances that needed to be addressed. Amit Shah also referred to the alleged Smart City scam in Jalandhar during his address. Pawan Kumar, a senior Congress councillor, said if the Centre is so concern about the alleged scam, then why are not they doing anything about it. “If they think that there is any scam, then they must take action, not just talk about BJP workers during a rally in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH it,” said Pawan Kumar. Reacting to the Home Minister’s mention of industry ke ‘mudde’, Gursharan Singh, convener of the Joint Action Committee, said it was not surprising that issue concerning the industry were finding mention in political speeches with elections approaching. Tajinder Bhasin, convener of the United Forum of Trade and Industry, welcomed the Home Minister’s acknowledgement of the industrial sector. “If the Home Minister has mentioned industrialists and acknowledged that there are issues, then we welcome it. From time to time, we have also been raising our issues with the Centre. We want these issues to be addressed,” Bhasin said. Muslim body leaders detained Tribune News Service Vehicles stuck in traffic at BSF Chowk in Jalandhar on Wednesday.TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH Rally rush slows traffic on Jalandhar-Phagwara road Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 30 The traffic movement in Jalandhar remained largely normal on Wednesday with a slowdown reported for nearly three to four hours on the stretch from BSF Chowk to PAP Chowk towards the Ludhiana-Phagwara highway during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to the city. The stretch witnessed slower movement as buses ferrying BJP workers and supporters to the rally near Paragpur were parked along the service lanes, causing congestion for regular commuters. Commuters travelling towards Phagwara and Ludhiana faced delays during the afternoon hours. Navtej Singh, a commuter travelling to Phagwara, said, “The journey back home usually takes around half an hour but today, due to the slow moving traffic on this route, it took me nearly one-and-ahalf hours to reach home.” Despite the rush near the rally venue, traffic movement in other parts of Jalandhar city remained normal. The traffic police had not imposed any major diversions on the regular routes. Shah arrived in Jalandhar on Wednesday to address the BJP’s anti-drug rally near Paragpur along the Ludhi- ana-Phagwara highway. He landed at Shri Guru Ravidas Ji Maharaj Airport, Adampur, around 12.30 pm and later travelled by air to the helipad at LR Doaba School before visiting the Devi Talab Mandir. From there, Shah reached the rally venue at around 2:05 pm. The rally marked the culmination of four Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatras which were launched from different parts of the state on September 18. While the rally caused a temporary slowdown on the approach roads, officials said normal traffic routes in the city remained operational and no major diversion was put in place. Jalandhar, September 30 Members of the Muslim Organisation Punjab, who had announced plans to show black flags to Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his visit to Jalandhar on Wednesday, were reportedly detained by the Punjab Police at their residences on Wednesday morning. The police reached the house of Mazhar Alam, general secretary of the Muslim Organisation Punjab, this morning and placed him under house arrest. Alam yesterday condemned the ‘anti-Muslim policies’ of (Clockwise from above) Punjab state BJP president Kewal Dhillon honours Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the Devi Talab temple; helicopter of the minister before landing at a helipad; Amit Shah in the car on the way to rally venue; and having lunch at BJP vice-president Rakesh Rathour’s house in Jalandhar on Wednesday. BY SARABJIT SINGH AND TRIBUNE PHOTOGRAPHS Had plans to show black flags to Union Home Minister the BJP government. He had said, “There is anger in the Muslim community over issues such as declaring mosques, madrasas and dargahs as illegal and bulldozing them overnight in an unconstitutional manner. In such circumstances, the organisation would register its protest democratically.” He had said the organisation would show black flags to both Prime Minister Modi and Amit Shah whenever they address any election rally in Punjab. City schools get bomb threat e-mails BJP V-P Rathour hosts Shah for lunch Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 30 A threatening e-mail referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Jalandhar was received by the authorities of several schools on Wednesday morning, hours before he was scheduled to address the concluding rally of the BJP’s “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra”. The email, received around 7.07 am, was sent from an unidentified Gmail account and addressed to multiple school email IDs, including those of MGN, Urban Estate Ph-2, and Cambridge Innovative School, Jalandhar. The subject line also made a reference to “IED” and Jalandhar schools. The message specifically referred to Shah’s rally and threatened bomb attacks at locations associated with his programme. It also contained references to the Shri Devi Talab Mandir area, where Shah was scheduled to pay obeisance before proceeding to the rally venue. The e-mail further carried pro-Khalistan references and named individuals and organisations. The contents of the e-mail have triggered a security alert in the city at a time when security agencies are already carrying out extensive arrangements for the Home Minister’s visit. Shah visited Shri Devi Talab Mandir before addressing the BJP’s rally at Paragpur on the JalandharPhagwara highway. The e-mail appears to be part of a recurring pattern of threats targeting schools in Jalandhar around high-profile visits by national political leaders. In January, several schools received similar bombthreat e-mails ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan. No explosive was subsequently found. The latest threat was being examined by the police and security agencies. Its authenticity and the identity of the sender could not be independently established from the e-mail itself. c m y b Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 30 Union Home Minister Amit Shah was hosted for lunch by Punjab BJP vice-president and former Jalandhar Mayor Rakesh Rathour at his residence in Paragpur village on Wednesday. After arriving by helicopter at Shri Devi Talab Mandir and offering prayers, Shah, accompanied by Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon, flew to the rally venue on the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway. Before addressing the gath- CANDIDATURE SPECULATION GAINS GROUND The meeting has sparked speculation that Rathour could be projected as the BJP candidate from the Jalandhar Central Assembly constituency. ering, Shah stopped at Rathour’s residence, located less than half a kilometre from the rally venue. He spent around 40 minutes there, during which party-related matters were discussed. Hotelier Gautam Kapoor and his son-in-law Pankaj Sardana were also present at the luncheon. Rathour said, “It was our previlege to host Amit Shah at our place. It was a programme finalised by the party seniors which they just conveyed to me”. A leader with strong RSS links, Rathour has also been known for his close links with the family of Hamirpur BJP MP Anurag Thakur. The meeting has sparked speculation that Rathour could be projected as the BJP candidate from the Jalandhar Central Assembly constituency. His newly built residence in Paragpur falls within the constituency, whereas his earlier residence in Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Nagar was in Jalandhar North. Rathour, who has largely remained engaged in organisational activities, says, “I am keen to contest the coming Assembly elections, if given a chance”. Manoranjan Kalia, former minister, has been contesting for the party from the seat for the past seven terms since 1992. He has won thrice in 1997, 2007 and 2012.