30122020-LT-01.qxd 12/30/2020 12:41 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE 6 YRS ON, OVER 3L PROPERTIES WITHOUT UID NUMBER PLATES The Municipal Corporation has got UID number plates installed on around just 40,000 properties till date. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY Man arrested for raping stepdaughter Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 29 A man who had allegedly been raping his stepdaughter in Koom Kalan here has been arrested by the police. The accused has been identified as Sunil Paswan, a resident of Chandra village, Chandigarh road. The complainant told the police that her mother had solemnised her second marriage with the accused and then, she was only three years old. She alleged that when she turned 14-year-old, he forcibly developed physical relationship with her and he had also threatened to kill her if she reveal anything to the police. REALITY SERIES STAR NICK MCGLASHAN PASSES AWAY PAGE 3 NOW, FLASHBACK 2020: THEY LIT UP THE SCREEN & LEFT AN IMPACT No cause of death or further information has been released yet as his death is currently under investigation. MAX 16°C | MIN 2°C | YESTERDAY MAX 15°C | MIN 2°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5:34 PM As the year 2020 comes to a close, we look at the fresh faces who gave some powerful performances. SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:24 AM WEDNESDAY | 30 DECEMBER 2020 | LUDHIANA Covid: Vaccination dry run ends successfully 175 beneficiaries covered; dist all set for immunisation drive roll-out Ludhiana, December 29 As many as 42 fresh cases of Covid-19 were confirmed here on Tuesday. The virus has also claimed the life of a 60-year-old woman from the Shimlapuri area of Ludhiana. The Health Department confirmed 48 fresh positive cases, including 42 from Ludhiana and six from other districts or states. Of the 42 cases reported from Ludhiana, 24 patients had influenza like illness, 10 visited OPD and three came in contact with positive patients. Besides, five persons, including two healthcare workers, have tested positive for the virus. Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said till date, a total of 5,33,431 samples had been taken, of which reports of 5,32,227 had been received. Of these, 5,03,840 samples were found negative while reports of 1,204 were pending. He said now, the total number of positive patients related to Ludhiana was 24,711, while 3,676 patients were related to other districts/states. He said unfortunately, two Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 29 The dry run for Covid vaccination ended successfully after covering 175 of the total over 30,000 identified beneficiaries here on Tuesday. With no chinks or hiccups found in the system during the two-day mock drill exercise, Ludhiana was officially declared all set and ready for the massive immunisation drive roll-out against the ‘Chinese virus’ as soon as the vaccine arrives, anytime soon. Terming the entire system robust and expressing satisfaction over the 48-hour rigorous activity, which was undertaken to check the effectiveness and preparedness of systems and processes put in place, Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said the dry run was successfully conducted at seven locations (one in each DC Varinder Kumar Sharma inspects the process for the dry run for the Covid-19 vaccination in Ludhiana on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO subdivision) — Civil Hospital and Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana, Raikot, Jagraon, Machhiwara, Khanna and Payal. He said on a trial basis, a total of 175 healthcare workers, comprising 25 at each location, who had registered themselves on the government portal, were called at the seven locations. Ludhiana, which has assumed the dubious distinction of the Covid capital of Punjab with maximum count of infections and fatalities due to the virus, was among the two districts — the other being Nawanshahr — chosen by the state government for conducting the Covid vaccine dry run in the state. Sharma said the mock drill activity was basically aimed at testing the laid-out mechanism for Covid vaccination roll-out in the system put in place for the purpose. He said during the dry run, the end-to-end testing of the Covid vaccination process was successfully tested. The primary objective of the dry run included assessing the operational feasibility of using Co-WIN application in the field environment and to test linkages between planning. Implementation and reporting mechanisms would identify challenges and guide way forward prior to the actual implementation. The DC said in the first phase, over 30,000 healthcare workers (both government and private) of Ludhiana district, who have registered themselves on the government portal, would be administered the Covid vaccine, followed by anganwari workers, population aged above 50 years, people below 50 years with comorbidities and others. He clarified that the vaccine would not be available off the shelf for the time being and only people, who have got themselves registered on the government portal, would be covered under it. He said upon registration, beneficiaries would receive an SMS informing the date and Continued on page 2 Tribune News Service COVID-19 CONTROL ROOM ■ For Home Isolation: 78147-64759 COVID-19 FIGURES SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DEATHS 5,33,431 24,711 350 960 ■ For Ambulance Problem: 78143-63850 ■ For Hospital Problem: 62849-12553 ■ For General Problem: 62845-31852 WEBLINK WHERE RESIDENTS CAN CHECK REAL TIME STATUS OF VACANT AND FILLED BEDS IN ALL HOSPITALS: https://ludhiana.nic.in/notice/covid-19-bed-status-in-ludhiana-district patients lost their lives today (1 each from Ludhiana and Nawanshahar districts). Now, the total number of persons who lost their lives include 960 persons from Ludhiana and 445 from other districts. He said till date, 54,823 persons had been kept under home quarantine in the district and at present, the number of such persons was 1,448. Today, 65 persons were sent for home quarantine. The DC said 2,069 samples of suspected patients were sent for testing today and their results were expected shortly. AAP to contest all seats Waste mgmt: Now, firm issues Civic body inks pact in local body elections public notice to quit services with company to Tribune News Service POWER SHUTDOWN LUDHIANA 9 am to 6 pm: GT Road Bharat Petroleum to Jugiana Chowk, General Mohan Singh Road, Sua Road, Mansarover, Kangnawal Road, Kanganwal village, Jaspal Banger Road, Neelu Colony, Texla Plastic Road, Hara Enclave, Nakha Wala Bagh, Amar Udyog Road, Padam Motor Street, Raja Vanaspati Complex, Shivalya Street, Fittex Road, Raizo Road, Fouji Colony, Singla Colony, Aam Admi Colony, Mann Kanda, Jagdambay Cycle Road and Raj Casting Area. 10 am to 4 pm: Shingar Cinema road, Kashmir Nagar, Narinder Nagar, Dhoka Mohalla, Ranjit Singh Park, Harcharan Nagar, Shivaji Nagar, New Shivaji Nagar and adjoining areas and Focal Point Phase 2 and Phase 3. PAGE 4 60-year-old woman dies, 42 fresh cases in district Dry run conducted at seven locations, says DC The victim alleged that the accused continued to rape her for two years. When she turned 16, she left the house and got married to Sonu to save herself from her stepfather. She alleged that her husband had been torturing her due to which she again started staying with her mother and stepfather after which the latter continued to violate her. Later, she complained to the police. PAGE 2 AAP leaders address mediapersons in Ludhiana. INDERJEET VERMA Ludhiana, December 29 The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest the upcoming elections of municipal corporations and municipal committees in the state on its election symbol ‘broom’. The announcement was made jointly by Ludhiana (urban) president Suresh Goyal and Ludhiana (rural) copresident Gurdarshan Singh during a press conference convened at the party headquar- ters in Ludhiana on Tuesday. Goyal said the party would contest all seats in the forthcoming local bodies’ elections with full vigour. Gurdarshan Singh said: “Crores of rupees were being swindled in municipal corporations and municipal councils. To prevent corruption in local bodies, it is imperative that an educated and competent person be elected as their representative.” — TNS MC NOT PAID ANY FEE SINCE JUNE THIS YEAR: FIRM Ludhiana, December 29 A2Z Group, which handles solid waste management in city, has issued a public notice to quit its services now. In the public notice, A2Z Waste Management (Ludhiana) Limited stated that they have handed over a termination notice to the MC, Ludhiana. Accordingly, the concession agreement pursuant to which the company is providing services, shall stand terminated as of February 4, 2021, the firm authorities stated in the notice. Vishant Chaudhary of the A2Z Group said the MC had not paid any fee to them since June this year and it also failed to resolve other issues till date. Notably, the civic body had signed an agree- Vishant Chaudhary of the A2Z Group said the MC had not paid any fee to them since June this year and it also failed to resolve other issues till date. Notably, the civic body had signed an agreement with the firm, A2Z Group, for solid waste management in 2011 for a period of 25 years. Meanwhile, showing dissatisfaction over the firm’s performance, the MC had issued a termination notice to the A2Z Group in 2015. ment with the firm, A2Z Group, for solid waste management in 2011 for a period of 25 years. Questions were also raised over the working of the firm in the past. Showing dissatisfaction over its performance, the MC had issued a termination notice to the A2Z Group in 2015. But after receiving the notice, it had then moved court against the notice. Interestingly, after five years, now the firm issued a termination notice to the Municipal Corporation. How- ever, the MC authorities have not announced their further strategy regarding the solid waste management so far. Notably, the National Green Tribunal has already given strict instructions to the MC to ensure compliance of rules for solid waste management. As per information, around 1,100 MT of garbage was generated daily in the city. Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu said they were looking into the matter and take necessary steps in this regard by the first week of January. run slaughterhouse Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 29 The Municipal Corporation (MC), Ludhiana, on Tuesday, signed an agreement with Noida-based Micro Transmission Systems company to run the modern slaughterhouse here. The agreement was signed between MC Joint Commissioner Swati Tiwana and company’s partner Manoj Jha. Joint Commissioner Swati Tiwana said the entrusted company, which would start slaughterhouse operations in January 2021, would ensure to provide fresh and hygienic meat to residents. She explained that under the project, the manual slaughter would be replaced by automation and the company would deliver meat to over 500 meat shops. Air-conditioned (AC)-fitted reefer vans would be used to deliver the meat to shops. Tiwana said different modern slaughtering halls had been established and separate skilled workers were hired to perform “halal” slaughtering. She said slaughter of as many as 16,000 poultry birds could be done in a single shift, besides the modern slaughterhouse also had a provision of cold chain chillers to preserve the poultry meat. The entrusted firm will also start online registration and booking service for providing better slaughtering services. Vehicle thefts: Police identify 34 spots in city Stray cattle to have radium stickers, Signboards, CCTV cameras installed to spread awareness among residents belts to reduce road accidents Tribune News Service VEHICLE THEFT HOTSPOTS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 29 After checking the pattern of vehicle theft incidents reported in the industrial hub, the Ludhiana police installed signboards at several places to make people aware of vehicle theft-prone areas. Police Commissioner Rakesh Agrawal, Joint Commissioner of Police Bhagirath Meena, Additional DCP-3 Sameer Verma, Civil Lines ACP Jatinder Chopra, along with other officials, visited the spots where these boards were installed. Agrawal said over 800 incidents of vehicle thefts, especially of two-wheelers, reported in the city and around 80 per cent of the incidents were already solved with the recovery of stolen vehicles and with Police Commissioner Rakesh Agrawal inspects a signboard installed outside Rakh Bagh in Ludhiana on Tuesday. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Parking outside city railway station, Mata Rani Chowk, Civil Hospital, Mini Rose Garden, Samrala chowk, Chawni mohalla, Kips Market, Court Complex, Silver Arc Mall, Leisure Valley, area outside MC Zone D office, Feroze Gandhi market court complex side, Vishal Mega Mart Sector 32, both sides of Rose Garden, Pavillion Mall, outside Hero Heart and DMC Hospital, Fountain Chowk to Pavillion Mall side, Western Mall, MBD Mall, Deep Hospital, Sabzi Mandi, Transport Nagar, area outside passport office, area outside Alamgir gurdwara, PAU hostel, Cremation Ground Civil Lines, Kichlu Nagar tuition market, Urban Estate Phase 1 and 2 Dugri market. the arrest of members of vehicle thieves’ gangs. “We have conducted a study and have found that there are 34 such places in the city where vehicle trol room would keep a tab over the CCTV cameras and after noticing any suspicious persons, control room police officials will alert the police station concerned. Ludhiana, December 29 With an aim to reduce road accidents caused by stray animals, the Ludhiana police have started a novel drive. The police have started tying radium stickers on the horns of stray cattle and belts on their necks. Reflective tapes ensure longdistance visibility and have high standard reflectivity and the glow of radium can be seen from a distance of over a kilometre, even in foggy conditions. ADCP Deepak Pareek, along with his team, today went to various places in the city to tie radium stickers on the horns of stray cattle. After the police posted information about the initiative on it’s Facebook page, people in large numbers posted their comments. theft incidents reported the most. Now, warning signboards displaying awareness messages to prevent vehicle thefts have been put up at these spots. Even CCTV cameras have also been put up in these areas to keep a tab over vehicle thieves,” said the CP. Agrawal said the police con- c m y b Police officials put a radium belt on the neck of a stray animal to prevent accidents during a drive in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO Gaurav Mittal wrote “nice initiative but the police should make provision of making roads safe and no stray animal should roam on roads.” Jitender Viswas stated “why not remove all stray animals from roads and put them in shelters? So many dog bite incidents occur daily. It will avoid accidents.” Jyoti Arora said: “good effort but cow cess should be used to provide them shelter.” Anoop Gupta stated “good work but can’t we move these animals to some shelter rather leaving them on roads after tying radium stickers and belts on them.”