04042021-LT-01.qxd 4/3/2021 11:53 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE THIEVES STEAL ~30,000 FROM SHOP, CAUGHT ON CCTV CAMERA PAGE 2 Thieves took away ~30,000 and some valuables. However, they were captured on CCTV camera FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY FATIMA SANA SHAIKH SHARES HER COVID HEALTH UPDATE PAGE 3 I WANT TO EXPERIMENT, SAYS ACTOR AARVIKA GUPTA Fatima is Covid-positive and she took to Instagram on Saturday to share a picture of herself in quarantine. MAX 34°C | MIN 11°C | YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET SUNDAY 6:48 PM PAGE 4 Aarvika of Tera Kya Hoga Alia fame talks about the break she took and what is she looking forward to next. SUNRISE MONDAY 6:11 AM SUNDAY | 4 APRIL 2021 | LUDHIANA Dist ranks 3rd in Covid Many healthcare, frontline workers give 2nd shot a miss management in state Change in time frame, side effects of Covid vaccine to blame Rankings released in testing, vaccination, positivity, deaths Nitin Jain ❝ We are compiling and reviewing each district’s performance on a daily basis and wherever any district was found lacking, necessary directions are issued with requisite support from the state government. Overall the districts are performing well and the health apparatus is fully geared up to battle the current second wave of Covid in the state. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 3 Ludhiana has ranked third in the individual and overall performance in the Covid management in the state. The first-of-its-kind rankings were released by the Department of Health and Family Welfare in respect of every district’s performance in testing, vaccination, positivity and deaths due to the virus. The report, a copy of which is with The Tribune, ranked Ludhiana third on vaccination front, eighth in testing, eleventh in positivity rate and 10th on the casualty chart. While Pathankot stood first, Hoshiarpur bagged the second position in the state. Among other districts, Faridkot ranked fourth, followed by Nawanshahr, Mansa, Mohali, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur, Ropar, Amritsar, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Bathinda, Sangrur, Moga, Barnala, Tarn Taran and Muktsar (last on the rankings table). According to the frontwise performance chart, Ludhiana ranked third on vaccination front with 4,065 per lakh vaccination till March 25. Hoshiarpur stood second with 4,747 per lakh figure, and Mohali bagged the first slot with highest 5,316 per lakh inoculation coverage. Among other districts on the vaccination front, Pathankot ranked fourth with 3,771 per lakh vaccina- INBRIEF NRI, FRIEND BOOKED FOR RAPING GIRL Ludhiana: The Jagraon police have registered a case against an NRI and his friend for raping a girl on the pretext of sending her abroad. The accused have been identified as Mukhtyar Singh and his friend Sarpanch. The victim complained to the police that one of her friends introduced her to Mukhtyar, who is an NRI and now lives in Jagraon. She was interested in going abroad for greener pastures and Mukhtyar promised her to send her abroad. Mukhtyar asked her to bring some documents and passport so that he could start the process to send her abroad, the victim said, adding that on April 1, Mukhtyar told her to hand over the documents of him at Jagraon. The victim revealed that Mukhtyar took her to his house from where his friend Sarpanch, another accused, took her to Nanaksar gurdwara and then dropped her back at Mukhtyar’s house. “Mukhtyar served me a cold drink and the moment I drank it, I became semiconscious. Both Mukhtyar and Sarpanch then raped me. When I regained consciousness, I raised alarm but the duo threatened me with dire consequences if I reveal anything to the police,” the victim said. Investigation officer SI Kamaldeep Kaur said a case of rape was registered after the girl approached the police and raids were being conducted to nab the accused. TNS A man gives a sample for Covid test. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA ❞ Hussan Lal, HEALTH SECRETARY 26,483 GET VACCINE As many as 26,483 persons got vaccinated for Covid-19 in the district on Saturday. To ensure that maximum number of Ludhiana residents is vaccinated, the district administration has started the “vaccination at doorstep” initiative, under which camps are being organised in mohallas, clubs, factories, business/commercial establishments. tion, followed by Jalandhar (3,520), Amritsar (3,278), Faridkot (2,740), Patiala (2,451), Nawanshahr (2,231), Kapurthala (2,111), Ropar (2,090), Fazilka (2,030), Ferozepur (1,998), Tarn Taran (1,993), Gurdaspur (1,900), Barnala (1,871), Bathinda (1,780), Fatehgarh Sahib (1,713), Moga (1,471), Mukt- Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 3 Many of the healthcare and frontline workers who got their first dose have not turned up for their second dose yet and some have even skipped the stipulated time frame to get the second dose. The change in time frame by the government for getting the second dose and reluctance shown by some after getting side effects are the main reasons cited behind the same. The vaccination drive started on January 16 and healthcare workers were the first one to be vaccinated. The second ones to follow were the frontline workers. According to the data of the Health Department, till Friday, 29,500 healthcare workers have got their first dose, while only 17,039 have come to get their second dose. Similarly, 41,507 frontline workers have A man gets his Covid jab during a vaccination camp at AC Market in Ludhiana on Saturday. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA got the first jab but only 6,734 have received the second dose. “A huge difference has been seen in the number of beneficiaries of the first and second dose of vaccine. Many healthcare workers who developed even slight side effects after the jab missed the second jab, which is uncalled for. It is sad to see that despite being 5 dead, 382 test positive for virus Tribune News Service COVID-19 CONTROL ROOM The Payal SDM counsels Doraha residents on wearing masks. sar (1,336), Sangrur (1,263), and Mansa (1,046). The state average was recorded at 2,744 per lakh. On other fronts, Ludhiana recorded 1.3 per cent case fatality rate (CFR), 4.7 per cent positivity rate and 2,453 per lakh population testing coverage, which is much better than the state’s average of 1.7 per cent case fatality rate, 5.4 per cent positivity rate and 2,282 per lakh population testing. The rankings were reviewed at the highestlevel during subsequent meetings, chaired by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan, recently. Ludhiana, April 3 As many as 382 persons tested positive for Covid while five lost their lives to the virus today. The total number of positive cases from the district has now reached 35,537, while 1,162 have lost their lives due to the virus. Those who tested positive today include two healthcare workers, two pre-operative cases and four teachers. The teachers who tested positive are one from GSS School, Bhaini Sahib, two from Tagore Global School, Dyalpura, and one from JNV Campus, Dhanasu. ■ For Home Isolation: 78147-64759 ■ For Ambulance Problem: 78143-63850 ■ For Hospital Problem: COVID-19 FIGURES SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DEATHS 8,04,477 35,537 2,918 25 1,162 62849-12553 ■ For General Problem: Five patients — Three men and two women — who lost their lives today were in the age group of 30-70 years. The deceased Ludhiana, April 3 The Municipal Corporation has given around Rs 12 lakh to the Railways to prepare a plan and estimate for the construction of a subway (underpass for vehicular movement) on Jassian Road here. The commuters have been facing inconvenience while passing through the passage beneath the Ludhiana-Amritsar railway section at Jassian village. If the subway is constructed, a large number of people would be benefitted, officials said. The existing passage is not meant for vehicular movement. But, a high volume of traffic passes through the passage. A number of area residents wanted that proper subway should be constructed there. MLA Rakesh Pandey had raised the matter before the MC officials for early con- struction of the subway so that the commuters don’t face any inconvenience. MC officials had then met the railway officials in this regard. A resident of Jassian Road said, “It would be very beneficial for the residents and commuters if the underpass is constructed there. We also demand from the MC to resolve the problem of overflowing sewers and water accumulation on the stretch at the earliest. The underpass work should be carried out in a time-bound manner. Once it is constructed, the people can easily commute between the Haibowal areas and NH-44.” The MC’s Superintending Engineer Teerath Bansal said they had deposited around Rs 12 lakh for the construction of the subway. Once the plan was made and approved, the next steps would be taken for early construction of the subway. A plan is to be prepared to build a railway underbridge on Jassian Road. 62845-31852 Weblink where residents can check real time status of vacant and filled beds in all hospitals: https://ludhiana.nic.in/notice/covid-19bed-status-in-ludhiana-district belong to Azad Nagar, Jagraon, Panglian village, Hargobindpura Nagar and Shivpuri. Today 386 persons were sent for home quarantine, while 68,171 persons have been home quarantined till now. Today 18 patients were on the ventilator support, out of which nine belong to Ludhiana district and nine to other districts. Total samples collected so far in the district are 8,04,477, while report of 441 is awaited. “It is very important that people should be made aware of the present situation. So, I request all the city residents to kindly follow the guidelines of Mission Fateh — wear mask properly, wash your hands frequently and maintain social distancing,” said Civil Surgeon, Dr Sukhjeevan Kakkar. Design finalised, tenders yet to be floated for bridge MC pays ~12 lakh to Rlys for underpass Tribune News Service healthcare workers, some missed the second jab,” said Dr Bishav Mohan, senior cardiologist at Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, who is also member of the Covid-19 task force formed by the state government. He added that there was confusion among people regarding the time frame for getting the second dose. According to the new guidelines, the second jab is to be taken after six-eighty weeks. “Earlier the guidelines by the government were to get the second jab after four-six weeks and the revised guidelines recommend to take the second dose after six-eight weeks, which is one of the reasons that some are waiting for the second jab,” said Civil Surgeon, Dr Sukhjeevan Kakkar. A healthcare worker said after the vaccination she got fever and body aches and was unable to work for two days. “People are contracting virus even after two doses and I gave the second dose a miss,” she said. Seeing the healthcare workers and frontline workers reluctant to take the jab, the Health Department has already directed for mandatory weekly Covid test of those who have not taken the shot. Tribune News Service MC staff uses a JCB machine to demolish a slum along Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO MC demolishes slums along Buddha Nullah Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 3 The Municipal Corporation on Saturday demolished around 40 slums along Buddha Nullah. During the drive, some slum dwellers also opposed and raised questions over the civic body’s drive. Municipal Corporation officials said these encroachments had come up on the land along Buddha Nullah. The encroachments were removed by using JCB c m y b machines. The civic body had earlier removed encroachments from the back of dairies on Tajpur Road and also near Upkar Nagar bridge. Articles of some slum dwellers were allegedly damaged during the demolition drive. “The slum dwellers had been staying there for a long time but they have not been rehabilitated. We were not given enough time to get our articles shifted by the civic body,” a dweller alleged. The Municipal Corpora- tion’s Assistant Town Planner MS Bedi said they removed around 40 encroachments today. He said the drive remained peaceful as no slum dwellers opposed the drive. Sewer pipes are to be installed on both sides of Buddha Nullah under the Rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah project worth Rs 650 crore. Electricity transformers and poles are also to be shifted from the both sides of the nullah. Ludhiana, April 3 Even more than two months after the unsafe bridge over Buddha Nullah near Chand Cinema was closed for all kind of traffic movement, except two-wheelers, the MC is yet to float the tenders for the reconstruction of the bridge. However, officials said the design for the reconstruction of the bridge, located on Old GT Road, has been finalised. The bridge was declared unsafe around nine years ago but required steps were not taken at that time. The bridge has got damaged from different points while a number of bricks have fallen from the bridge on the road underneath it. The railings of the bridge are also in bad condition. In 2018, the civic body had stopped entry of heavy vehicles on the bridge but cars, three-wheelers and twowheelers were allowed at that time. In January 2021, the MC had got a wall constructed on the road to stop entry of vehicles, except twowheelers, on the stretch. At The bridge over Buddha Nullah that has been closed for heavy traffic. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA present, the traffic is diverted through a nearby bridge. Members of Yuva, an NGO, had recently protested against the delay in project. They demanded from the civic body to reconstruct the bridge at the earliest. The residents of nearby areas also want that the work to reconstruct the bridge be started soon. The MC’s Superintending Engineer Teerath Bansal said the design for the reconstruction of the bridge had already been prepared. “The estimate of Rs 6 crore has been approved for the project. Now, the process is underway to finalise the further process and tenders would be floated shortly,” he said.