13022021-JTR-01.qxd 2/12/2021 11:16 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar TRIBUNE CT GROUP OF INSTITUTES LIFT UNDER-19 CRICKET TROPHY PAGE 2 SHARING A MIRACLE STORY, SOHA ALI KHAN EXPLAINS WHY A week-long tournament ended with a finale between Police DAV Public School and CT Public School. FORECAST MAINLY CLOUDY SKY Tribune News Service MAX 22°C | MIN 11°C | YESTERDAY MAX 25°C | MIN 9°C Jalandhar, February 12 On November 22, 1963, the day the former US President John F Kennedy was assassinated, a numbing incident also unfolded here in India. A copter crash at Poonch in Jammu consumed five senior commanders of the Indian Army and the Air Force. Lieutenant General Daulat Singh, General Officer Commanding In Chief, Western Command, Lieutenant General Bikram Singh, General Officer Commanding, 15 Corps, Air Vice-Marshal Erlic Wilmot Pinto, Air Officer Commanding, Western Command, Major General Nalin Kumar Dhirajlal Nanavati, Military Cross, General Officer Commanding 25 Infantry Division, Brigadier SR Oberoi, Military Cross, Commander 93 Infantry Brigade and Flight Lieutenant SS Sodhi were the victims. The generals were en route a reconnaissance mission and the accident impacted a protocol change wherein senior generals of the army were banned from traveling together in future. “This was the first major accident in which Indian Army and Air Force officers lost their lives,” Brig (retd) Onkar Singh Goraya says. A native of the Kahma village in Nawanshahr, Lt Gen Bikram Singh, also famous as the ‘hero of Ladakh’ is all set to get a memorial at his ancestral village (Nanka pind) of Siana (in Nawanshahr). Last year on November 22, Finance Minister of Punjab Manpreet Badal unveiled a statue and laid the foundation stone of a library and museum in his memory there. “In think in the crash we lost a future army chief. He was a hero. The government of Punjab thinks people ought to have a sense of history to get a sense of destiny. We want the future generations to remember him. The government is installing a statue and setting up a library in his memory. We are open to contributions of doc- SHREYA GHOSHAL BECOMES MTV BEATS’ ARTIST OF THE MONTH Soha shares many hilarious stories, about her life, career and at the end what she learnt from all her mistakes. SUNSET SATURDAY 6:12 PM Finally, he got what he deserved! Aparna Banerji PAGE 3 The singer diva cheekily lists down ways to her heart — music, flowers, a romantic dinner and an exotic trip. SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:10 AM SATURDAY | 13 FEBRUARY 2021 | JALANDHAR HERO OF LADAKH Siana, ancestral village of the gone veteran, Lt Gen Bikram Singh, gets a statue, memorial and library in his honour TWIN COMMITTEES KEEP HIM ALIVE ■ Two separate committees – Lieutenant General Bikram Singh Society at Kahma village and the Lieutenant General Bikram Singh Yadgaar Committee in Jammu – hold ceremonies, akhand paths, blood donation camps among other events to remember him. ■ Lalita Sharma, chairperson of the Shaheed General Bikram Singh Yadgaar Committee, Jammu, says: “His statue is at the Bikram Chowk by the Tavi. We had asked the govt in 2007-08 to shift his statue to a more prominent place. We made the committee 20-25 years ago. Now, they have made a chowk here. Every family has people he has helped. His cremation was also held at Bikram Chowk because locals wanted to conduct his last rites here. His mother herself approved of the ceremony because people loved him.” ■ ~4 lakh was spent by the Kahma village committee for the museum and statue at Kahma village. Jaswinder Singh, a resident of village, shares, “In 2007 and 2008, we started camps and memorial ceremonies. In 2011, we held his 100th birth anniversary. Siana is his ancestral village. He was born here and we would hear his stories as kids. Lt Gen Bikram Singh with former PM Jawaharlal Nehru; and (right) his statue in Jammu. uments and other memorabilia from the Rajput Regiment and his family as well for the memorial,” the minister says. Lost in obscurity, this revival of his legacy has triggered nostalgia among people. In Jammu and Ladakh, his portraits can still be PAGE 4 found in houses, while grocers, dhabas and paan walahs don’t charge money, as a token of respect, from the family whenever they Lt Gen Bikram Singh’s statue at his ancestral Siana village. visit and a Jammu committee still fights to get his statue shifted to a more prominent location of the town. A gurdwara at Bikram Chowk (named after him) in Jammu is also graced by his portrait. Brig (retd) Goraya, tells, “The general perception among people was that he saved Ladakh. I was posted as a second lieutenant in the early 60s. The first time I travelled to Kashmir Bikram Singh was the Corps Commander at the headquarters in Udhampur. He was worshipped by most of the Kashmiris because he maintained peace and was apolitical. They were very happy with him and many households had his photographs hung.” Lt Gen HS Panag talks about his departed counterpart. “Bikram Singh had a sterling reputation as a general in Ladakh. People were quite happy to see him. There is no doubt that Ladakh was a much better battle than the one fought in NEFA. However, the withdrawal from Chushul remained controversial.” Amid incidents of violence, campaigning ends CIVIC POLL Injured Cong, SAD activists admitted to hospital Tribune News Service Heatlh team collects swab samples of students at GSSS Rahon. No stopping, 122 students test +ve in Nawanshahr Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 12 The coronavirus again spread its tentacles in the district from where it actually began almost a year ago. As 122 students tested positive in Nawanshahr schools, parents have become panicky. Rapid sampling is being done in the schools. The everyday increase in the infections, regarding students, in Nawanshahr has become a major cause of concern for the Education and Health Departments. Along with them, 17 staff members have also caught the virus. Government High School, Saloh, was the first to come under the effect and now a high number of students have also tested positive at Government High School, Balachaur, and Government Senior Secondary School, Nawanshahr, and Government Senior Secondary School, Karyam. Such is the situation that the Health Department has sought permission from the state authorities to start vaccination of the teachers in the school. Senior health officials said that after the students started testing positive, they decided to conduct sampling in every government and private school of Nawanshahr and the 100% testing of the staff and the teachers will be done now. Samples of the students and staff have already been taken During the assembly, ❝students are being the asked to put on their masks and maintain distance. We are increasing our awareness activities and are continuously reviewing the situation with the school principals. ❞ Dr Shena Aggarwal, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER from 26 schools in the district. Civil Surgeon Dr Gurdeep Singh Kapur said every possible measure was being taken to tackle the problem. “We have now sought permission from the state department to vaccinate the teachers of the schools. The permission has been granted and now the data of the teachers is being prepared,” he said, adding that proper awareness campaigns were also started in the schools. Deputy Commissioner Dr Shena Aggarwal said according to the guidelines from Government of India, the staff of Education Department, which is on Covid duty, will be vaccinated. “During the assembly, the students are being aware to put on their masks and maintain distance. We are increasing our awareness activities and are continuously reviewing the situation with the school principals,” she said. Jalandhar, February 12 Amid incidents of violence reported in Kapurthala and Adampur, campaigning for 22 civic bodies ended on Friday in various parts of Doaba. Polling is scheduled for February 14 for the Municipal Corporations of Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala, municipal councils of Sultanpur Lodhi, Nawanshahr, Banga, Rahon, Kartarpur, Adampur, Alawalpur, Nakodar, Nurmahal, Phillaur, Mukerian, Tanda, Mahilpur, Garhdiwala, Hariana, Sham Churasi, Dasuya, Garhshankar, and nagar panchayats of Mehatpur and Lohian Khas. At Ward No. 34 of Kapurthala, workers of Congress and SAD indulged in violence today evening. Stones and bricks were pelted by supporters of candidates from the two parties. Four workers, including a woman got injured during the brawl and were immediately admitted to the Civil Hospital for treatment. Both factions blamed one another for the violence. A Congress supporter, Jaspreet Singh, who suffered injuries on his hand and head, said he GREEN FINGERS Ajay Joshi Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 12 While most of the people detest the idea of growing cactus in their gardens, Navdeep Singh, a city resident, is out to dispel the myth. With around 2,000 varieties of cacti and succulents, he is also trying to create awareness regarding the benefits of growing these plants. It was in 2015 when he met cactus lovers and was immediately drawn towards beautifying his balcony with cacti. He regularly started keeping more and more varieties of cactus and succulents in his garden. After collecting these Rebels giving tough fight in Hoshiarpur Sanjiv Kumar Bakshi Punjab Police take out a flag march at Alawalpur (Adampur ) in Jalandhar ahead of civic elections. was campaigning for party candidate Narendra Singh when some Akali workers attacked him. Injured woman, Amandeep Kaur, said Congress workers manhandled her and even threw bricks at her. Arvinder Singh and Manjinder Singh, too, got hurt in the incident. In another incidence of violence in Adampur on Thurs- day evening, Akashdeep, husband of a candidate (Kanu) from Ward No.7 was attacked with sharp-edged weapons while he was returning home after the day’s campaign. Kanu has the support of Akalis. SAD MLA from the area said, “The victim was hit so brutally that he had to undergo multiple surgeries. His thumb got completely cut and doctors have said that his two fingers may not work properly.” The entire incident got captured on CCTV cameras and cops were saying that they were identifying bike-borne miscreants. While Kapurthala Municipal Corporation is going for polls for the first time, Hoshiarpur Municipal Corporation will get its second House. Hoshiarpur, February 12 While Congress has fielded candidates in all 50 wards of the Hoshiarpur Municipal Corporation, Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiromani Akali Dal, which are contesting polls separately for the first time, failed to field their candidates in all the wards. The BJP fielded its former councillors to contest from other wards and the Akalis shunned their Panthic agenda and fielded candidates from different sections of society. The AAP, which has been contesting civic body polls for the first time, managed to field 50 nominees. At the same time, a large number of rebel candidates from various parties, were in the fray as Independents. As a result, close contest can be expected in many wards. The most talked about wards with Independent nominees include Ward No. 6 and 34. In Ward No. 6, Congress took a big risk by not giving a ticket to its three-time councillor Brahmshankar Jimpa. Candidates from various parties were trying hard to gain ground in Jimpa’s ward. Similar is the case in Ward No. 34, where the BJP refrained from giving ticket to its former councillor couple - Sanjeev Dua and Sunita Dua. Sanjeev filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate. The ward had councillors from Dua family for five times. Sanjeev and his wife Sunita had been councillors from this ward for two consecutive terms. The candidates fielded by AAP and Congress in Ward No. 34 were not residents of this area while BJP’s nominee’s ‘criminal’ record may cost dearer to the saffron party. After Khraiti Lal Katna was denied ticket by Congress, Katna and his daughter-in-law (Monica) jumped into the fray as Independents. The MC election has become a prestige issue for former cabinet minister Tikshan as his wife Rakesh Sood is in the fray from Ward No. 5. Anything for the love of spines & succulents Navdeep Singh is out to dispel the myth that cacti bring bad luck from various parts of the country and through the exhibitions, he has dedicated c m y b the top floor of the house to the thorny plants. “I started up with roadside cacti plants, I gathered more information on cactus and found out that there are hun- dreds of breeds of plants, including those that produce flowers,” said Navdeep. Refusing to believe that cacti bring ill-luck to its owner, Singh has also named his home as ‘Passion Garden (Cactus House)’. A resident of the Model House here, he is regularly visited by those having a green thumb. They also purchase plants from him. Most growers share seeds among themselves. “Getting seeds and saplings of cacti is very difficult since people are wary of having these plants,” says Singh. “All over the country there are a few nurseries that sell these plants. Having imported some plants from foreign countries, continued on page 2