20012021-JTR-01.qxd 1/19/2021 10:54 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar TRIBUNE FARMERS’ STIR: LEARNING LESSONS QUITE EARLY IN LIFE PAGE 2 YET AGAIN, SAJID KHAN ACCUSED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT Not only farmers and women, children, too, are marking their presence at the Delhi borders. MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF TWO KILLED IN ROAD ACCIDENTS Hoshiarpur: Two persons were killed in separate road accidents in the area. According to sources, Satnam Singh, a resident of Kotfatuhi village, lodged a complaint with Mahilpur police station, saying that his father Nirmal Singh had gone to Kotfatuhi on a bicycle for some work. On the way, an unidentified vehicle hit his father. He was rushed to a private hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The police have registered a case against the driver of an unidentified vehicle. In another case, Shinderpal, a sugarcane farmer of Jhawan village, was going to Randhawa Sugar Mill with a sugarcane laden trolley, which overturned near Moonak Kalan village. Shindarpal died on the spot. OC TRAVEL AGENT HELD FOR DUPING COUPLE Hoshiarpur: The Bullowal police have registered a case against a travel agent and arrested him for allegedly duping a couple of ~8 lakh on the pretext of sending them to Portugal. Santosh Kumari, wife of Iqbal Singh, a resident of Pyalan village, had lodged a complaint with the police, saying Munish Kumar, alias Kamal, a resident of Alawalpur in Jalandhar district, had a deal to send her daughter Shivani and son-in-law to Portugal. The accused took ~8 lakh from them and after that neither sent them abroad nor refunded the money. After investigating, the police have registered a case and arrested the accused. OC OPIUM, POPPY HUSK SEIZED, 3 HELD Hoshiarpur: The district police have arrested three smugglers with a large quantity of opium and poppy husk from them. According to the information, the Dasuya police arrested a smuggler at Hajipur Chowk during a special check-point in the area and recovered 200gram opium from him. The accused has been identified as Ajaib Singh, alias Jaiba, a resident of Khokharwal district, Gurdaspur. Meanwhile, the Mukerian police arrested Amandeep Singh, alias Aman, of Sahnewal and Seva Ram of Banur and recovered 15-kg poppy husk from them. The police have also seized the canter of the accused. Separate FIRs were lodged against the accused under the NDPS Act. OC 6-DAY BADMINTON TOURNEY STARTS Jalandhar: The six-day District Badminton Championship being organised by the District Badminton Association got underway at Raizada Hansraj Stadium on Tuesday. As many as 32 events are being organised, in which 387 entries have been received. Today 62 matches were played in the U-11, U-13, U-15, U-17 categories for boys and girls. Draws for the event were held on Monday and participants had been given schedule a day prior. Players from Dipankar and Ratti Academy took major leads today. All players, their parents and coaches had been issued ID cards and entry was kept restricted in the wake of the Covid-19 guidelines. TNS THE PANDEMIC HAS FORCED US TO RE-DESIGN OUR LIVES Actress-model Sherlyn Chopra took to Twitter and alleged that Sajid Khan had asked her to ‘feel his private parts’. MAX 18°C | MIN 5°C | YESTERDAY MAX 19°C | MIN 6°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5:51 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:25 AM FUDGING OF ELECTORAL ROLLS IN PHAGWARA Police, admn tight-lipped PSPCL clerk made wrong entries, changed password of email Tribune News Service in the ❝PSPCL clerk Sandeep Singh, who was workingused Election Branch, committed several violations. He Phagwara, January 19 Even six days after arrest of a Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) clerk and getting an FIR registered against him for tampering with electoral rolls for the Phagwara Municipal Corporation, the police and administration remained tight-lipped on the moot point as who was behind the act. It was because of this FIR that the Phagwara MC poll was put off. On January 13, the Phagwara (city) police had lodged an FIR on the complaint of Sub-Divisonal Magistrate (SDM) Major Amit Sareen. Sareen, who had joined his office just three weeks ago, found glaring anomalies in the voters’ list and immediately reported the matter to the his mobile phone to access the data, which itself is a violation. He made all the changes using his phone and taking advantage of the fact that I was on a transition mode and had just got transferred. He changed all passwords, including that of an email Amit Sareen, SDM State Election Commissioner. The SDM said, “PSPCL clerk Sandeep Singh, who was working in the Election Branch, committed several violations. He used his mobile phone to access the data, which itself is a violation. He made all the changes using his phone and taking advantage of the fact that I was on a transition mode and had just got transferred. He changed all passwords, including that of an email. He ❞ even changed passwords of recovery email. He deleted a few vote entries, which ideally he should not have done. He made wrong voter entries. He shifted votes from one ward to another in a wrong manner. There are 50 wards and he fudged with entries of many wards.” Asked at whose behest Sandeep was working at, Sareen said, “That is for the police to find out.” He added that there were at least 36 PAGE 4 Your mind is the most prized possession you have, but it is only of consequence when used wisely. entries, which Sandeep had fudged. “These were all related to objections, which our office had received recently for the revision of electoral rolls. Owing to his wrong conduct, we cannot deal with as many as 1,400 objections out of 1,800 we received in total,” he said. Phagwara Superintendent of Police Sarabjit Bahia said, “The accused is in our custody till tomorrow. We might not seek extension of his police remand. This inquiry needs clarifications at the administrative level and we have sought more details from the SDM on the matter.” Phagwara ADC-cum-Commissioner Municipal Corporation Rajeev Verma said, “Since the complaint came from the SDM and is being dealt with by the police, I do not have much to say.” WEDNESDAY | 20 JANUARY 2021 | JALANDHAR 72-year-old man found murdered, cops clueless Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 19 A 72-year-old man was reportedly killed by some unidentified persons late on Monday. Apparently attacked with sharp-edged weapons, his body was found in a pool of blood at Nau Gajja on Tuesday. According to the information, Seva Singh, a resident of Nau Gajja village, went missing from Nau Gajja Kala Bahia link road around 5 pm on Monday. His family members told the police that as per routine, he had gone there to get fodder for their cattle. However, he didn’t return for hours, following which, his family members approached the local police. Bhagat Singh, his son, said after searching for hours, his body was found from a field. Rajeev Kumar, SHO, Kar- Police conduct investigation at the crime spot after an elderly was found murdered at Nau Gajja village of Kartarpur. TRIBUNE PHOTO tarpur police station, said there were severe injury marks on his body. While they were yet to ascertain the exact reason behind the murder, they were investigating the matter. On receiving the information, DSP Kartarpur and a team of CIA Staff-2 also reached the spot. After sending the body for the postmortem examination, a case under Sections 302 and 34 of the IPC was registered. Covid vaccination drive: Third day’s a no charm Authorities record low response on Day 3 | Only 25 healthcare workers turn up for the jab, while the list entailed 100 Tribune News Service ❝ Those who refused on Day 1, their names were still appearing. Whereas, other healthcare workers are coming but since their names are not enlisted, they cannot be inoculated. Jalandhar, January 19 It seems that there are still inhibitions among the healthcare workers regarding the vaccination. The trust is still to be gained. On third day, only 25 healthcare workers turned up for the jab while the list entailed 100 for Tuesday. Dr Indu Bala, the nodal vaccination officer, said that the percentage of the healthcare workers for vaccination hasn’t increased as ❞ Dr Indu Bala, NODAL VACCINATION OFFICER per the expectations. When asked about the reason, Dr Bala said it was names of the workers who have refused should get omitted from the list. “Those who refused on Day 1, their names we were still appearing. Whereas, other healthcare workers are coming but since their names are not enlisted, they cannot be inoculated,” she said. 5 TEST POSITIVE IN HOSHIARPUR, NO DEATH REPORTED Hoshiarpur: With five new positive patients traced in Hoshiarpur district, the total number of positive patients has risen to 7,950. The number of deaths remained 328 as no death was reported on Tuesday. Civil Surgeon Dr Ranjit Singh informed that with the receipt of 1,286 new samples of people with suspected flu-like symptoms the total number taken in the district till date has reached 2,64, 922. According to the reports received from the lab, 2,56, 260 samples are negative while 2,363 are awaiting results and 184 are invalid. The number of active cases is 45, while the number of patients who have recovered is 7,577. Out of 5 patients who tested positive today, three are from Hoshiarpur, while two hail from other health blocks of the district. OC entirely a personal choice and there was no pressure from the Health Department or the government. She said that promotional videos were also being made and circulat- Reaping the fruits of his labour Dr Kusum Bali, Professor, PIMS, being administered the Covishield vaccine. ed to encourage the staff. As per the information, there is a problem with soft- ware too. Dr Bala said some people do come voluntarily for vaccination, but the 70 staff members get vaccine shots at PIMS The Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) joined continued on page 2 Keeping on track for the golden run AGENDA 2021 SETTING TRENDS Athlete Gurvinder Singh is prepping up to make his mark in the upcoming events Ajay Joshi Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 19 Gurvinder Singh (20), a star athlete from the district, who had won several international and national championships prior to the lockdown in 2020, is aiming to maintain his record in the 100m event this year. His personal best is 10.35 seconds but now he’s a man on a mission who’s looking forward to better that number. Having recovered from injuries, he is back on the track to prepare for the upcoming events announced by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). He is on to it. Besides waking up early in the wee hours, he is also preparing his daily meals as per his diet these days due to the college hostel being closed. He says that for the forthcoming athletic meets he is training his body for five hours daily. From strength to endurance, his coach is training him on various scales. A student of Lyallpur Khalsa College, Gurvinder clocked 10.42s in the boys’ 100m event to bag the gold in the (U-20) Asian Athletics Championships in 2019. The 24th edition of National Federation Cup Seniors Athletics Championships 2021 is to be organised between 10th and 14th March in Patiala will define his athletic journey as it is the Olympics qualifying competition. Jalandhar, January 19 While farmers are largely dependent on the government for adequate pricing and tax waivers, an enterprising agriculturist — Harkirat Ahluwalia — has emerged as a role model for them. He has diversified into agritourism business that ensures him rich dividends throughout the year. He has achieved this by converting his two plantation sites of citrus and poplar trees into farm-stays. The 70 acre site at Chhauni Kalan, on Chandigarh Road, has AC-equipped nine tent accommodations, another on 15 acres at Firdaus, on Una Road, has seven huts of concrete. Within a span of just a few years, his farm-stays have become extremely popular among NRIs and foreign travellers. Even Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh likes to visit his farms and spend some leisurely hours at his villas, as he did two weeks ago. Enter his farm at Firdaus and one gets a feeling of an altogether new world. Light classical music also plays in the background. The tables are set up in the garden area between two huts. On a cold, winter day, a bonfire lit up alongside spreads some warmth. One can sight huge citrus plantations a few hun- PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH FORECAST PAGE 3 ■ Enterprising agriculturist Harkirat Ahluwalia converts his citrus, poplar plantation sites into farm-stays, earns rich dividends ■ Popular among NRIs & foreigners, he offers them tractor rides, fruit plucking, cycling, bush walks, outdoor lunches & bonfires dred metres away. Chefs in uniforms come and serve some hot coffee or spiced tea. Harkirat, who has studied mass communication from PU, Chandigarh, shares: “When I got into my ancestral business of citrus cultivation, I realised that the input costs were increasing and not matching with the static income from the produce. Nothing much could be expected from the Horticulture Department or the governments. So, that was when it struck my mind that we could set up rural homestays here and have guests and foreign farmers from the UK, Australia and other countries, whom we can show trends of citrus plantation in Punjab a ❝Beingnotfarmer,toI can empathiseawith them. It’s easy carry on such long protest in such cold weather. Autocracy cannot work in the country and it is wrong to thrust laws. Our PM could’ve been sensitive. Harkirat Ahluwalia, AGRICULTURIST ❞ while giving them a feel of Punjab’s countryside.” Harkirat adds: “While the tent houses came up in 2008, this one is a new property. Even I am living here and enjoying being in nature. My presence here ensures that all visitors are taken care of well by the staff, all of whom are from nearby villages and have been trained by me. We have many activities for visitors including tractor-trailer rides, fruit plucking, cycling, bush walks and outdoor lunches. We have created setups within the plantations, where we arrange for lunches. Our chefs cook on the spot and offer a variety of cuisines as per the demand of the visitors. For children, we have an c m y b activity to help them learn how to sow vegetables.” A diehard supporter of farm protests, Harkirat says he recently sent oranges and kiwis for the protesting farmers. “Being a farmer, I can empathise with them. It is not easy to carry on with such a long protest and that too in such cold weather. I believe that autocracy cannot work in the country and it is wrong to thrust laws upon farmers. Our PM could have been sensitive. He should understand that governments are not just meant to do business, they have social obligations too. He should have spoken to farmers before finalising the draft.” the 24th edition of National Federation ❝AfterAthletics Championships 2021, our Cup Seniors international tours will start. From 60th National Inter-State Seniors 2021 to Asian Youth Athletics Championships 2021, and four-five qualifying competitions for the Olympics are of massive importance to me. Gurvinder Singh, AN ATHLETE FROM THE DISTRICT ❞ “After this competition our international tours will start. From 60th National Inter-State Seniors 2021 to Asian Youth Athletics Championships 2021, and four-five qualifying competitions for the Olympics are of massive importance to me,” added Gurvinder. His coach mainly focuses on stamina, rope drills, core strengthening and functional workouts. While most of the championships were postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-induced lockdown, however, it helped him gain the lost strength due to an injury. “I spent most of my time recovering myself and gearing up for the next start,” he said. In the list of his achievement tally, his major achievements include a gold in the 2017 Youth Asia Championships, a silver medal in South Asian Games 2019, continued on page 2