21012021-JTR-01.qxd 1/20/2021 11:25 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar TRIBUNE BADMINTON C’SHIP: TOP SEED MANYA POWERS INTO FINAL The U-15 singles girls’ semifinals match between top seeds Liza Taank & Manya Ralhan piqued everyone’s interest. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF THREE HELD WITH 3.5-KG HEROIN Kapurthala: The Kapurthala police busted an international narco-smuggling module by recovering 3.5-kg heroin from a truck (JK-050-5194). SSP Kapurthala Kanwardeep Kaur said the Kapurthala police team, under the supervision of DSP Sultanpur Lodhi Sarvan Singh Bal, and SHO Talwandi Chaudharian Sub-Inspector Jasvir Singh intercepted a truck during a nakabandi and recovered a heavy quantity of contraband from them. The accused have been identified as Salman Sheikh of Sopore in Baramulla, Shahbaz Shah of Shopor in Baramulla and Peer Mohammad Makbool of Handwara in Kupwara. She said the preliminary probe revealed that the module was being run by a Dubai-based entity, which was running cut off modules for smuggling of narcotics. The accused procured the contraband from J&K-based smugglers, who in turn procured it from across the border. An FIR was registered at Talwandi Chaudhrian, Kapurthala, under the NDPS Act. Further probe is on, the SSP said. TNS PAGE 2 PAGE 3 OUTRAGES LIKE LOVE JIHAD MAKE NO DIFFERENCE: RICHA KARISHMA TANNA ON WORKING WITH RICHA AND ARUNODAY Chadda, who will be seen as Madam Chief Minister, is often a target of online trolling, but she is cool about it. MAX 18°C | MIN 5°C | YESTERDAY MAX 18°C | MIN 5°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5:52 PM PAGE 4 Karishma Tanna, who is making her OTT debut with Lahore Confidential, opens up about her experience. SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:25 AM THURSDAY | 21 JANUARY 2021 | JALANDHAR 2 session sites closed |Authorities rope in pvt hospitals to give fillip to drive No death, 18 new cases reported Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service JAL ROUND-UP Jalandhar, January 20 With 18 more people testing positive for Covid-19, the tally reached 20,407 in the district on Wednesday. The death toll remained at 662. There are 204 active cases in the district. So far, as many as 19,541 persons have been discharged, while 126 persons were under home isolation in Jalandhar. Meanwhile, Kapurthala district saw 12 persons testing positive for Covid on Wednesday. Samples collected 5,34,823 Negative 4,91,560 Positive 20,407 Active 204 Deceased 662 Discharged 19,541 Sample inappropriate 5,442 Results awaited 3,356 Home isolated 126 140 beneficiaries inoculated in dist them have ❝We have 600 employees and all ofThe staff willbeen registered with the vaccine database. be Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 20 With beneficiaries refusing vaccination in Jalandhar, the health authorities have roped in private hospitals to give a fillip to the drive in the district. With various vaccination centres closed in Jalandhar on the occasion of Gurpurb on Wednesday, as many as 140 staff members were administered the dose at the Tagore Hospital session site on Wednesday. The drive began with Dr Vijay Mahajan, managing director, Tagore Hospital, getting vaccinated along with his staff. Civil Surgeon Dr Balwant Singh and the District Immunisation Officer, Dr Rakesh Chopra, visited the vaccination centre at the Tagore Hospital. While the session site at the PIMS became operational yesterday, the district saw closure of two session sites, including the Nakodar Sub-Divisional Hospital and the CHC Basti Gujan, due to vaccinated in subsequent days. No adverse reaction was reported among any of our employees and the drive went off smoothly Dr Vijay Mahajan, MANAGING DIRECTOR, TAGORE HOSPITAL ❞ Wednesday were from ❝Health workers vaccinated onthe Civil Hospital sessionthe Tagore Hospital. Due to Gurpurb, site Civil Surgeon Dr Balwant Singh at the Tagore Hospital, a vaccination site, in Jalandhar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO limited response. On Tuesday, around four to five beneficiaries came forward to get vaccinated at the Nakodar Sub-Divisional Hospital. Across all the sites, only doctors were coming forward to get vaccinated as very less paramedical or support staff has been willing to get the dose. In broadened protocol to ensure more vaccination, it has been directed that if beneficiaries receiving the message don’t turn up, other registered health workers at the session site may also be included in the vaccination process. With more private hospitals added as the session sites, the vaccination sites for tomorrow include the Civil Hospital, PIMS, Tagore Hospital, SGL Charitable Hospital and Shriman Hospital. Dr Mahajan said, “We have 600 employees and all of was closed. The PIMS site was also not operational. The Shriman Hospital site will become operational on Thursday. The Nakodar and Basti Gujan session sites have been closed due to limited response. From Thursday, more private hospitals will be roped in. Dr Rakesh Chopra, DIST IMMUNISATION OFFICER ❞ them have been registered with the vaccine database. The staff will be vaccinated in subsequent days. No adverse reaction was reported among any of our employees and the drive went off smoothly.” Dr Chopra said, “Health workers vaccinated today were from the Tagore Hospital. The process went on smoothly. Due to Gurpurb, the Civil Hospital session site was closed. The PIMS site was also not operational. The Shriman Hospital vaccination site will become operational tomorrow. The Nakodar and Basti Gujan session sites have been closed due to limited response. From tomorrow onwards, more private hospitals will be roped in.” Dr Chopra said due to technical glitches in the portal, numerous health workers could not be vaccinated. Blind guess: When to stop, when to go? Two positive in Hoshiarpur, no death reported Two people tested positive for Covid-19 in Hoshiarpur, taking the count to 7,952. Meanwhile, no death was reported on Wednesday, and the toll remained at 328. Civil Surgeon Dr Ranjit Singh said with the receipt of 821 new samples from people with suspected flu-like symptoms, the number of samples taken in the district till date has reached 2,65,743. According to the reports received from the lab, 2,56,472 samples were negative, while 2,971 report are still awaited and 184 were invalid. The number of active cases is 40, while the number of patients who have recovered is 7,584. Of today’s two positive patients, one is from Hoshiarpur city and the other patient belongs to another health block of the district. Resonating with the Guru NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY MONTH Commuters at receiving end due to defunct traffic lights Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 20 While National Road Safety Month is being observed in the district these days under theme ‘Sadak Suraksha Jeevan Raksha’, there seems no solution to the inconvenience faced by commuters on the roads due to the dysfunctional traffic lights. It has become a regular scene that the traffic police have to manually manage the traffic. The traffic lights on the busiest chowks of the city apparently need repair as they have been lying defunct for the past many weeks. Locals also took to social media to highlight their plight. Besides criticising the civic body, they are also accusing it of not doing the needful. Commuters said that due to cold there was more risk involved. At times, the traffic DIASPORA TALES TRAFFIC COPS OVERBURDENED Defunct traffic lights at Guru Nanak Mission Chowk. TRIBUNE PHOTO lights stop giving signals and they rely on the mercy of the lights erupting from vehicles. One of the users wrote on social media that on Tuesday stoplights at the Guru Nanak Mission Chowk were not working, leading to chaos on the road. It took more than the usual time for the officials to clear the traffic from one direction. Similarly, problems related to the traffic lights at Pathankot bypass ASI Kamaljit Singh, a traffic police personnel, said the repair was done by the Chandigarh-based technicians, however, this time the repair has been delayed. Apart from the Guru Nanak Mission Chowk and Apeejay College, the traffic police in large numbers remain deployed at Kapurthala Chowk, Model Town and other areas to manage traffic. In the absence of stoplights, a portable beam light is used to move the vehicles smoothly on busy roads. Chowk, Ravidas Chowk, Workshop Chowk, and Nakodar Road were also underlined by the residents. Moreover, as several stretches on JalandharAmritsar highway and other city roads, including Ravidas Chowk were recently mentioned among the black spots or the accident-prone zones, it has become more significant to resolve the issue. It is also prominent to mention here that Maqsudan bypass is one of the busiest roads in the city which receives heavy traffic during the day as well as night. People usually take this route to commute to Amritsar or subsequent areas. Vimal Kumar, a resident of the Urban Estate Phase-2 area, said, “A number of traffic signals in my area have been lying defunct for a long time but the authorities concerned have not done anything in this regard.” While accusing the authorities of not maintaining traffic lights, he urged them to streamline the mechanism to ensure proper maintenance. COME, LEARN HOW TO GIVE A ragi jatha performs kirtan at a gurdwara on the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, 10th Sikh Guru, in Jalandhar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH A Canada-based NRI has selflessly helped a government school in his village blossom Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 20 Master Gopal Singh Memorial Government High School Kalyanpur is no less than any leading school in a city. It has a beautiful, stylish building, a full-fledged science lab and a library brimming with a plethora of books. The students of the school have one person to thank – Hari Singh Auluck (77), an NRI based at Kalyanpur village. He travelled overseas to settle in Canada 50 years ago but his heart lies here. The name of the school was kept after his father in 2014 under a policy of the state government, when Auluck donated ~20 lakh for the renovation of the building. Then he splurged for the construction of a library, a science lab and also donated a lot of books. Until now, he has donated ~50 lakh for the school. As per the information, it was a middle school and got Villagers accuse depot holder of corruption Tribune News Service ❝ Master Gopal Singh Memorial Government High School in Kalyanpur. The name of the school was kept after NRI (left) Hari Singh Auluck’s father in 2014 under a policy of the state government, when Auluck donated ~20 lakh for the renovation of the building. upgraded to high school in 2001. Even after the upgradation, the infrastructure could not be provided by the government accordingly. When Auluck visited the school, he donated to do justice to the tag of high school. “My only desire is that no student should be deprived of anything. They must get everything here like other students in public schools,” he said. Auluck always wanted the students there to touch new heights in their lives and always stands for them. He also got three washrooms built in the school along with hall, besides providing c m y b My only desire is that no student should be deprived of anything. They must get everything here like other students in public schools. This year, I couldn’t go to my village due to Covid, but next time I’ll definitely come. benches and chair. Sukhwinder Paul, a Punjabi master from the school, said that Auluck had gushed forth all kind of happiness in the school. “He is such a dedicated person that he talks to ❞ Hari Singh Auluck (77), AN NRI FROM KALYANPUR VILLAGE me about the development of the school and education every day. We are thankful to him,” he said. Auluck visits his village every year and meets the students of the school. “This year I couldn’t come due to Covid, but next time I’ll definitely come,” he spoke of his plans. Interestingly, he also distributes trophies to the toppers of Class X every year to motivate them. Jalandhar, January 20 A depot holder of Mehrajwala was gheraoed by residents of Mehrajwala, Chak Wadala, Gatta Mundi Kasu, Mandala Channa, Dhakka Basti, Bhanewal and other villages on Wednesday. They alleged that ration due to be distributed to them under the Pradhan Mantri Ann Yojana, hadn’t been disbursed to them during the pandemic. Six families of Mandala Channa alleged that free ration papers given to them were taken back by a local inspector. Now, they were running from pillar to post for it. After hours of demonstration, the Lohian police reached the spot with the depot holder, but the demonstration continued due to non-satisfactory answer by the depot holder. Labourers warned of blocking roads if no action was taken.