14012021-LT-01.qxd 1/14/2021 12:43 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE GUV LAUNCHES CALENDAR ON GURU TEG BAHADUR’S TRAVELS PAGE 2 Governor VP Singh Badnore launched a documentary and a calendar depicting spiritual journey of Guru Teg Bahadur. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF MAN HELD FOR BID TO KIDNAP GIRL Ludhiana: A man attempted to kidnap a five-year-old girl from an LIG flat here ON Wednesday evening. However, before the man could leave the area, he was cornered by the area residents and the girl was recovered. Later, the accused was handed over to the police division No. 7. The complainant Lucky Vohra told the police that today his wife and daughter Aishwarya had gone to celebrate Lohri at his wife’s house in the LIG flats. At 5 pm, an unknown man barged into the house and snatched the girl from the lap of her mother. My wife tried hard to take back our daughter, but she couldn’t succeed. She then raised an alarm, following which the area people gathered there and cornered the kidnapper and rescued the girl, said the father of the girl. The police division No. 7 officials said the statement of the girl’s parents was being recorded and further action would be taken after probe. Police officials felt that the alleged kidnapper seemed to be mentally upset, but the police would pursue the legal proceedings as per the law. TNS FARMERS BURN COPIES OF AGRICULTURE LAWS IN KOHARA PAGE 2 Farmers burnt copies of the Central Government’s new agriculture laws at the main chowk on Wednesday. MAX 15°C | MIN 7°C | YESTERDAY MAX 17°C | MIN 4°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5:46 PM Driver killed as car falls into Sidhwan canal Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 13 A Nepalese man was killed after the car he was driving fell into the Sidhwan canal near South City this evening. The deceased was identified as Vishal, aka Kishan, 33, a native of Nepal. Two other persons Dinesh and his 10year-old daughter were injured in the accident. As per the police, Kishan was working as a driver with some industrialist living in South City. This evening, he took the Honda City car of the owner to visit market. When he was driving along the canal, he lost control over the vehicle, which fell in the canal. The canal is dry these days due to which the two other occupants were saved. A badly injured Kishan was taken to hospital, but doctors declared him brought dead. The PAU police station initiated inquest proceedings in the matter. PAGE 3 Shama Sikander recently shot for a new set of pictures and she looked absolutely stunning! SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:25 AM THURSDAY | 14 JANUARY 2021 | LUDHIANA 38 test positive for virus Festival of warmth Tribune News Service Residents of a Ludhiana area around a bonfire on Lohri night; a woman tries her hand at kite flying, while youths risk their lives to grab kites on a busy road of the city on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: ASHWANI DHIMAN CANAL BRIDGE TO BE READY BY MID-FEB Ludhiana: Cabinet Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu today said for the welfare of residents, the widening work of the Sidhwan canal, connecting Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar with Sarabha Nagar, would be completed by mid-February. He said more than 50 per cent of the work had been completed and the remaining work was going on in full swing. The main work of erecting the pillars had also been completed. The widening of the canal bridge near the MC Zone D office is being carried out at a cost of ~1.40 crore. The project is funded by Ludhiana Smart City Limited and is being executed by the Punjab Irrigation Department. He said the project would be positively completed by mid-February. TNS SHAMA SIKANDER DOES SHOOT IN MOULIN ROUGE STYLE Ludhiana, January 13 Thirtyeight cases of Covid-19 were reported from Ludhiana district on Wednesday. A total of 25,182 cases have been reported in the district till date. Civil Surgeon Sukhjivan Kakkar confirmed that 52 fresh cases, including 38 from Ludhiana and 14 from other districts, had been reported. In Ludhiana, eight patients came in contact with positive patients, five visited OPDs, 19 persons with influenza-like illness visited flu corner and six others, including one with severe acute respiratory illness (SARI), tested positive for the virus. Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said there were 310 active patients in the district at present. He further said that till date, a total of 5,65,006 samples had been taken, out of which the reports of 5,63,484 samples had been received, of which 5,34,506 samples were found negative, while the reports of 1,522 samples were pending. Now, the total number of patients related to Ludhiana was 25,182, while 3,796 patients belonged to other districts/states. He said one patient from Himachal Pradesh lost his life today. Now, the total number of persons who had lost their lives included 976 from Ludhiana and 461 from other districts. He said that till date, 55,583 per- Samples for Covid being collected by hospital staff in Ludhiana. COVID-19 CONTROL ROOM ■ For Home Isolation: 78147-64759 COVID-19 FIGURES SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DEATHS 5,65,006 25,182 310 976 ■ 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 sons had been kept under home quarantine in the district and at present, the number of such persons was 846. Today, 37 persons were sent for home quarantine. Today, 2,253 samples of the suspected patients were sent for testing. Kite flyers violate norms, use City to get state-of-the-art exhibition centre Chinese string with impunity To come up over 20,000 square metre area with 50-room hotel Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 13 Despite the Ludhiana police giving strict warning to the kite lovers to avoid using Chinese string, many residents here used plastic string to fly kites. As the Lohri festivities began, children, youths and adults went to the rooftop of their houses carrying plastic string with their kites. Despite the Police Commissioner Ludhiana’s warning to register FIR against the persons found using the deadly string, people didn’t bother about the top cop’s order. The police had formed 30 teams in the industrial hub to prevent the use of plastic Ludhiana, January 13 A state-of-the-art exhibition centre will come up in the city. The facility will be built over 20,000 sq m area with a 50room 3 to 4-star hotel by the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA), a senior official told The Tribune here on Wednesday. The development assumes significance as the new exhibition centre in Ludhiana, popularly known as the Manchester of India, which has the largest number of registered industrial units in any district of the state, aims at creating a state-of-the-art, world-class exhibition and convention facility on a par with the best in the industry countrywide, in size and quality. Residents flying kites with Chinese string in Ludhiana during the Lohri celebrations. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN string. Nakas were also set up at some places to conduct surprise checking of people carrying the banned string. “We are aware about the top cop’s directions, but cannot fly kite with simple string as the plastic string is stronger, which gives more fun while flying kites,” a young kite lover said. At some places, the police were seen conducting patrolling and they warned the youngsters to avoid using plastic string. SALIENT FEATURES ■ Project cost: ~150 crore ■ Total built-up area: 20,000 sq m ■ Facilities: 50-room 3 to 4-star hotel, exhibition area over 16,000 sq m, indoor halls over 10,000 sq m TIMELINE ■ Agreement with developer: March ■ Start of construction: September ■ Project completion: 2024 Offering an efficient and quality setting for international as well as national meetings, conferences, exhibitions and trade shows, the facility will have an exhibition area over 16,000 sq m and indoor halls over 10,000 sq m. GLADA will sign an agreement with the developer in March and the construction will begin in September with Old drain flooded with garbage cries for care Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 13 An old drain passing near Bhadaur House, Damoria Bridge and other old city areas is crying for urgent attention as it has been flooded with garbage. No concrete steps are being taken by the Municipal Corporation (MC) to stop the solid waste flowing in this drain in which untreated sewage is also being released. It is learnt that a lot of money was earlier spent on the cleaning of the drain a few years ago, but it is turning into a garbage dump near the Bhadaur House market. Warnings against garbage dumping have been displayed on the safety wall of the drain but to no avail. Solid waste, including banned plastic carry bags and other waste items, are being dumped into the drain for a The old drain near Bhadaur House, Damoria Bridge and old city areas filled with garbage. TRIBIUNE PHOTO long time. It has come to notice that illegal sewer connections of nearby buildings have also been joined with the nullah which is meant to drain out rainwater from old city areas. A resident of a nearby area, Prince Kumar, said, “It is difficult to pass through the road at the rear of hotels due to the poor sanitary conditions. Some portion of the nullah is open and a huge amount of solid waste is being dumped into the nullah for a long time. The authorities concerned must pay attention towards this c m y b and take the necessary steps to stop the dumping of the waste into the drain.” Former councillor Parminder Mehta said, “Over Rs 1 crore was spent on the cleaning of the nullah around threefour years ago but the nullah is getting choked once again due to the collection of solid waste. Some points of nullah near Talab Bazar, Bhadaur House and other areas have not been covered due to which solid waste is being dumped in the absence of any check. Moreover, there is no check on illegal sewer connections of a number of buildings that have been joined with the drain in the past years.” “Due to the dumping of the waste, the drain gets choked and rainwater does not get cleared from some old markets of the city. It is the responsibility of the civic body to take the necessary steps to stop pollution in the drain”, he said. The civic body’s executive engineer Pardeep Saluja said they would check the drain and take the required steps to solve the problem. He further said that the officials concerned would be told to challans those dumping waste into the drain. a three-year project completion target till 2024. As per the project report, the indoor halls will have high-floor loads, minimal columns, flexible floor configurations, plug and play at each booth. The outdoor exhibition area to be spread over 5,000 sq m will support very high floor loads and underground cabling. The meeting and breakout rooms will be built over 1,000 sq m. Comprising a pantry and coffee shop as well, the entire facility will be equipped with public address in three to four languages, internet LAN, WiFi, full power backup and UPS. It will also have provision of ample loading/unloading areas with truck waiting areas. Besides, all necessary backof-house areas (kitchen, F&B etc) and 3-4-star hotel with 50 rooms, the facility has been designed with ample basement parking of over 500 cars. “A large commercial and retail development will support the industry, exhibitions and commercial activities in East Ludhiana,” the official added. Gang of thieves busted, nine cell phones seized Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 13 The Kotwali police busted a gang of thieves and arrested two of its members. Cops also seized nine mobile phones and two motorcycles from members of the gang. Those arrested were identified as Damandeep Singh Kali of Dehlon and Sunny Verma of Sangrur. SHO Kotwali Harjeet Singh said on getting information that the accused were notorious thieves and were on their way to sell the stolen mobile phones to their clients near the railway station, the police swung into action. Naka were put up at some places where after intercepting the accused, they were cornered and arrested by the police. During their checking, the mobile phones were recovered. The phones were stolen by the accused in recent days. The accused confessed to having committed thefts at some houses and shops in the city. Apart from these mobile phones, the accused had already sold some stolen phones at mobile shops. The SHO said the accused Sunny was also facing a drug smuggling case and had spent five years in jail in this case.