13012021-LT-01.qxd 1/13/2021 12:33 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE RESIDENTS HOLD ‘JAGO’ FOR FARMERS’ CAUSE PAGE 2 “We are carrying out ‘Jago’ against farm laws. We urge the Centre to repeal the laws,” said a resident. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY PAGE 3 KANIKA TO STAR IN SONY TV’S KYUN UTTHE DIL CHHOD AAYE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY IS VAANI KAPOOR’S MANTRA Set in 1947 Lahore, pre-Partition India, Sony TV’s upcoming show narrates the story of three young & bubbly girls. MAX 17°C | MIN 4°C | YESTERDAY MAX 16°C | MIN 6°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5:45 PM PAGE 4 For Vaani, 2021 looks like an incredibly big year with her two movies, Shamshera & Bellbottom, set to hit the big screen. SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:25 AM WEDNESDAY | 13 JANUARY 2021 | LUDHIANA ~840-crore Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project launched Festivity in air CM Amarinder skips visit, Finance Minister Manpreet does the honours Tribune News Service People purchase kites and thread on the eve of Lohri in Ludhiana. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Chinese string sold despite ban, proves sting operation Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 12 Despite the Ludhiana police claimed complete strictness over the sale of banned Chinese plastic string, it is being sold by some sellers with impunity. The Tribune team conducted a sting operation to prove the fact that the string is commonly available. The new thing found in the sting operation is that now kite sellers have not kept the stock of the string at their shops as the police have been conducting surprise checking at these places, instead, they have kept Girl ends her life at school Mandi Ahmedgarh, jan 12 A Class XII student of the Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Gill, in Ludhiana district, allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan in the biology laboratory of the school, situated on its first floor, between Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. Though parents of the deceased, Harpreet Kaur (17), of Isher Nagar, Ludhiana, started searching for her after Continued on page 2 INBRIEF MAN DIES IN CO2 CYLINDER BLAST Ludhiana: A 32-year-old man died after a carbon dioxide cylinder exposed at the Focal Point, Phase 6, here, on Tuesday afternoon. The deceased has been identified as Gurdeep Singh of Lohara village. He was working in Super Gas Company, Shimlapuri. As per information,Gurdeep along with Varinder, a driver of Tata 207 vehicle, had gone to collect empty cylinders from a factory in Focal Point. The vehicle was already carrying filled cylinders of carbon dioxide. Before loading the empty cylinders in the vehicle, Gurdeep started settling the filled cylinders to make space for the empty ones, during which a loaded cylinder exploded. After the explosion, Gurdeep suffered serious injuries and was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead. The Focal Point police said the statement of the deceased’s family is yet to be taken and further action will be taken after recording the statement. TNS Boys engaged by sellers delivering it to buyers at specified spots with delivery fee the same at secret godowns and other isolates places. The sellers have now employed young boys to deliver the string at specified places. The Tribune correspondent, acting as a customer, made a WhatsApp call to one of the sellers (name withheld) to buy the banned string. Initially, the seller denied having its stock due to the ban but when he was giv- en the reference of his friend, he agreed. The seller said his boy would call him to fix the delivery point and asked for Rs 700 for each roll (gattu), along with Rs 100, for delivery. After one hour, a boy made a WhatsApp call and asked to reach at Daresi. When the correspondent reached the place, the caller entered a street and after identification, handed over two rolls of the banned string. He took Rs 1,400 for two rolls along with delivery fee of Rs 100. The delivery boy came on a white Honda Activa scooter. Continued on page 2 Ludhiana, January 12 The much-awaited ~840-crore rejuvenation project of the highly polluted Buddha nullah, a seasonal tributary of the Sutlej was launched here on Tuesday. The Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, who was scheduled to do the honours, cancelled his Ludhiana visit at the eleventh hour due to unforeseen reasons. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal launched the project and announced the deposit of Rs 320-crore first instalment in the Municipal Corporation (MC) bank account to ensure the smooth execution of the project. He vowed to transform the highest polluted Sutlej tributary into Buddha Dariya within the next two years. The rejuvenation project will give a new lease of life to one of the most polluted nullahs, which runs almost parallel to the Sutlej through most of Ludhiana district, including 14 km in Ludhiana city, before joining the Sutlej. Under the multi-crore rejuvenation plan, the existing 625 MLD untreated domestic waste water discharged directly into the nullah and the future discharge will be checked. Of the total three common Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Punjab Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Congress leaders at the foundation stone laying of the Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project in Ludhiana on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO FACT FILE ■ ~320 crore deposited in Municipal Corporation account ■ Nullah to be transformed into Buddha Dariya within 2 years ■ Project to give new lease of life to one of the most polluted nullahs . effluent treatment plants (CETPs), with total capacity of 105 MLD, being constructed to check the discharge of untreated domestic and partially treated domestic and industrial effluent directly into the nullah, a CETP with 15 MLD treatment capacity was already operational, while other two CETPs will be functional by March-end. The major work under the rejuvenation of the 47.55-kmlong Buddha Nullah has been awarded for domestic waste water management. While the capital cost of the project will be Rs 519 crore, the 10-year operation and maintenance will cost Rs 321 crore. The entire project will be completed within two years. While the project will be com- pletely in operation by November 2022, some components will be put to operation earlier. The scope of the work included setting up of two new sewage treatment plants (STPs) with tertiary filtration for treating 285 MLD waste water, two effluent treatment plants for treatment of 6 MLD waste water from two dairy clusters, refurbishment of four existing STPs with the treatment capacity of 418 MLD, infrastructure for the transfer of waste water overflowing into the nullah to the STPs, 10-year operation and No separate night shelter 3 fall prey; 27 +ve in dist for homeless women Tribune News Service They face higher risk of exploitation due to lack of security STATE OF SHELTERS PART – V Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 12 Though there are four night shelters of the Municipal Corporation in the city, none of these are exclusively for women. Some homeless women were seen on roadsides or under flyover amid the cold waves. Notably, one room each at a few night shelters was reserved for women but men were allowed to rest there when these are vacant. There is no security arrangement for women and no women staff is available at any of the existing night shelters of the civic body. Some men under inebriated condition commonly visit these night shelters for sleeping. But, no steps have been taken by the civic body to set up a separate night shelter for the needy women. At one of the night shelters, an employee, on condition of anonymity, said, “A few women used to visit at the night shelter nearly two years ago. But, now not even a single woman visit here during this winter season. Many times men come here in inebriated condition and get into scuffle with others. It is difficult for women to stay under such conditions.” An employee at another night shelter said he had never seen any woman visiting there. Notably, a number of women, including elderly, used to stay under the flyover near the Railway Station, Ludhiana, and other areas in the city a few years ago. However, such women are seen in less numbers now. An elderly woman and a man live under the flyover just near MC’s night shelter in Zone A area. The woman was sleeping in open in such cold nights. Besides, some homeless women along with their family members live in temporary structures in absence any proper shelter. Shalini Pathak, a teacher, said, “The government should set up separate night shelters for homeless women in the city and female staff should be deployed there. Moreover, required arrangements must be ensured there for the security of women.” Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu said, “We will soon take necessary steps to set up a separate night shelter for women in the city.” Many homeless stay in the open under the flyover near the civic body’s night shelter near Clock Tower in Ludhiana. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN c m y b Ludhiana, January 12 Three patients died due to coronavirus, while 27 persons tested positive for it in the district today. The total positive cases in the district reached 25,144, while 976 persons have lost their lives so far. Those who fell prey to coronavirus today included a 70year-old woman from Ghumar Mandi who was admitted to Deep Hospital. She was also a patient of hypertension and was asthmatic. Two males, aged 86 and 71, also lost their lives today and belonged to Jagraon and Sidhwan Bet village, respectively. Both were patients of hypertension. Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma today said that under the “Mission Fateh” of the Punjab Government, the number of Covid patients getting cured in Ludhiana district was increasing with each passing day. He said there were 293 active patients in the district at present. Till date, a total of 5,62,753 samples had been taken, out of which the reports of 5,61,739 samples had been received, of which 5,32,813 samples were found negative, while the reports of 1,014 samples were pending. He said now, the total number of patients related to Ludhiana was 25,144, while 3,782 patients belonged to other districts/states. According to the Health Department, till date, 55,519 persons have been kept under home quaran- maintenance of the entire infrastructure. As per the agreement, the contractor will provide Rs 55crore credit for gas generated from the two existing STPs (UASB technology plants), and will take care of additional unforeseen works like the transfer of domestic/industrial waste water and additional treatment capacity for domestic waste water, worth Rs 22 crore. The work has been awarded to M/s KIPL Ltd & GVPR Engineers Ltd, a joint venture, after an online bidding process.While the MC has also initiated a massive effort to tackle the problem of solid waste dumping into Buddha Nullah, a special awareness campaign was launched on December 28 last with the help of the NCC and NSS volunteers of seven local colleges. Besides, the improvement of environment microforestation, release of 200 cusecs of clean water from the canal and landscaping and beautification along the nullah has also been planned in the next phase. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, PWD and School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla and PPCC president Sunil Jakhar were present on the occasion. Dist gets ready to receive Covid vaccine Manav Mander Tribune News Service A woman gives her sample for Covid test in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO COVID-19 CONTROL ROOM ■ For Home Isolation: 78147-64759 COVID-19 FIGURES SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DEATHS 5,62,753 25,144 293 976 ■ 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 tine in the district and at present, the number of such persons was 900. Today, 53 persons were sent for home quarantine. Civil Surgeon Dr Sukhjeevan Kakkar appealed to the residents to adhere to all safety protocols like wearing masks, maintaining social distance and washing hands frequently to not only save themselves but also to keep those around them safe. Ludhiana, January 12 The district is expecting to receive its share of Covid vaccine tomorrow and the same will be administered to healthcare workers across the district. In Ludhiana district, 30,000 healthcare workers have been registered for the vaccine which include 7,000 from the government sector and 23,000 from the private sector. “The vaccine reached Chandigarh on Tuesday and will be transported to Hoshiarpur from where these are expected to be transported to Ludhiana by tomorrow evening or by day after tomorrow. We are not sure about the exact number of vaccines which will be received by us,” said Civil Surgeon Sukhjeevan Kakkar. A cold chain has been set up for its storage. A special van will bring the vaccine to the district. The department has set up 63 cold chain points and arrangement of adequate ice-lined refrigerators and deep freezers has been made for preserving the vaccine. The department has also set up 805 session sites where it will be administered. Rumours of possible side effects of the vaccine are making rounds and to put an end to these, post-vaccination monitoring of people will be done. “After vaccination, the person will be observed for 30 minutes. The Nodal medical officer present at each centre will be observing the person after vaccination and his/her number will be shared with the person so that he/she can contact the officer in case of any emergency after leaving the vaccination site,” Dr Kakkar said.