26042022-LT-01.qxd 4/26/2022 12:05 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE INDICTED OFFICIALS PICK HOLES IN PAGE 2 MC REPORT ON ILLEGAL BUILDINGS GET SET FOR COMEDY SERIES HOME SHANTI ON MAY 6 Officials of the MC building branch pick up courage to challenge much-touted report on 57,000 illegal buildings. Starring Supriya Pathak and Manoj Pahwa in the lead roles, Home Shanti is set to release on Disney+ Hotstar. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 39°C | MIN 24°C | YESTERDAY MAX 39°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7:02 PM PAGE 3 ROCKY AUR RANI KI PREM KAHANI IS ON THE WAY PAGE 4 Karan Johar is all set to don director’s hat for his upcoming movie, which stars Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:46 AM TUESDAY | 26 APRIL 2022 | LUDHIANA Work allotted for six-laning of Resolve Canadian college fee refund issue of students: MLA Gogi to IDP Ludhiana-Bathinda expressway Tribune News Service Two packages of ~1,716-cr project to be completed within 2 years Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 25 The work to make the 75.543-km LudhianaBathinda national highway six-laned has been allotted to two separate construction companies, the government has confirmed. While the package 1 of the 30.3-km-long greenfield expressway has been allotted to Ram Kumar contractor, the second part, comprising 45.243-km stretch on the NH-754-AD, was allotted to Ceigall India Ltd, the officials have said. A total of 13 construction companies had evinced interest in undertaking work of the six-lane access-controlled highway connecting Ballowal village on the Delhi-Amritsar expressway with Rampura Phul on the AmritsarBathinda expressway. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had invited tenders for its construction in January last with a two-year deadline. With this, the drive from Ludhiana to Bathinda will become smoother and faster as the project entails six-laning the 75.543-km-long national highway 754-AD at the cost of Rs 1,716.17 crore. The part of LudhianaAjmer economic corridor (EC-8) will be completed in 24 months under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase 1. The bidders included Ram Kumar contractor, Ceigall India, Agroh Infrastructure Developers, CDS Infra Projects, Chetak Enterprises, GR Infraprojects, HG Infra Engineering, Krishna Con- INBRIEF 2 BOOKED FOR ABDUCTION OF MINOR GIRL Work in progress on the Ludhiana-Bathinda expressway. FILE PROJECT REPORT Lanes: 6 ROW: 60 m Current status: Work allotted ~1,716.17 cr 525.19 hectares TOTAL COST Total land requirement: 75.543-km Total length March 2024 structions, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, PNC Infratech, Prakash Asphalt and Toll Highways, Ravi Infrabuild Projects and VRC Constructions (I). “Following the technical evaluation of the bids received for both packages, the financial bids of the technically qualified bidders were opened to allot the work to the lowest bidder,” said a senior NHAI officer. Sharing details, a district official told The Tribune here on Monday that the acquisition of 525.19 Deadline: Owner: National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Model: HAM hectares of land was almost complete and the few pending awards will be announced shortly. She said the widening and strengthening of the highway is being undertaken by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in two parts under the hybrid annuity model (HAM) mode. The first component of the NH-754-AD will comprise 30.3 km, while the second part will run into a 45.243-km stretch. While 13 bids were received for the package 1 on the project’s southern end, 12 bidders have evinced interest to construct package 2 on the northern end. While 201.67 hectares is acquired for the first stretch, the second leg will require 323.52 hectares of land spread across 36 villages in different parts of the district. The civil cost of the project has been estimated at Rs 1,596.3 crore — Rs 639.07 crore for the first part and Rs 957.23 crore for the second component — while Rs 119.87 crore is earmarked for the land acquisition. The 30.3-km-long first package of the six-lane access-controlled greenfield highway will begin from junction with the AmritsarBathinda NH-754-A near Tallewal village at Rampura Phul in Bathinda, while the second 45.243-km stretch from junction with the Moga-Barnala NH-703 will connect with the Delhi-Katra expressway (NE-5) at Ballowal village in Ludhiana. The new LudhianaBathinda expressway will pass through 36 villages falling in three districts of Ludhiana under Ludhiana and Raikot tehsils, Barnala under Barnala and Tapa tehsils, and Rampura Phul tehsil in Bathinda district. The official revealed that the proposal for seeking approval to acquire 5.96 hectares of forest land falling under the project has been submitted to the DFO after conducting a joint verification and the same will be accorded by the PCCF. “The plan and profile of the project stands submitted,” she added. Engage motivatorsfor awareness on sourcesegregation ofwaste:PMIDC Tribune News Service Ludhiana: A 17-year-old girl, resident of New Gurnam Nagar, was allegedly abducted by Rahul and his brother Deepak, both residents of Dashmesh Puri on Noorwala Road. In a complaint lodged with the police, the father of the girl said the girl has been missing since April 14. He said on making an inquiry, he learnt that Rahul and his brother Deepak could be behind the disappearance of the girl. The police have registered a case under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC. OC MAN BOOKED FOR ABDUCTING 21-YR-OLD GIRL Ludhiana: The police have booked a man, Ankit Kumar, resident of New Amarjit Colony, Jagirpur Road, under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC for allegedly abducting a 21-year-old girl. The father of the girl complained to the police that his daughter had left home on April 21 without telling anybody about her whereabouts. He suspected that Ankit Kumar might have allured his daughter to elope on the promise of marrying her. OC Ludhiana, April 25 The Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) has written to the Municipal Corporation Commissioners, Additional Deputy Commissioners (Urban Development) and Executive Officers of the Municipal Councils in Punjab for engagement of motivators to create awareness on segregation of solid waste. Dr Naresh Kumar, Assistant Director, Solid Waste Management, PMIDC, has written to the officials of the civic bodies that the motivators may be engaged by the urban local bodies under the Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban 2.0 for attaining and sustaining the source segregation of solid waste and awareness creation for the period of six months. The civic bodies can deploy the motivators at Rs 5 per household honorarium per month subject to a maximum of 1,000 households per month and a ceiling of Rs 30,000 for the period of six months. A motivator will have the responsibility to ensure 100 per cent source segre- Ludhiana, April 25 Gurpreet Gogi, MLA from Ludhiana West, has asked the officials of the IDP company to resolve the issue of hundreds of students whose fees has not been refunded by Canadian colleges after their study visa refusal. Gogi along with a number of such students and IDP officials from Punjab conducted a meeting at Circuit House here on Monday. During the meeting, students said they had deposited study fees in three different Canadian colleges, which were suggested by the IDP. These colleges were later shut down. But, their fees had not been refunded by these colleges even after passing of a long time after the rejection of their study visa, they said. The IDP officials said, “Our company has come to an arrangement with a Canadian institution in Alberta where students can get admission and the IDP has secured this opportunity for students which ensures they will not pay tuition fees for the first year.” “Additionally, they will be eligible for a significant discount on their second year’s tuition fees. In the scenario wherein a student does not get the offer for MLA Gurpreet Gogi and students during a press conference at Circuit House in Ludhiana on Monday. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN admission from the institution in Alberta or his/her visa application gets rejected, the IDP will provide interim financial assistance to all such students,” they added. The IDP has also offered that it will cover the cost of any applicable admission fee and any visa reapplication fees for impacted students who were placed by the IDP’s counsellors. Moreover, the IDP will waive the IELTS test fees if the IELTS validity has lapsed. But, a number of students in the meeting said they wanted that their fees should be refunded at the earliest as they don’t want to reapply for study visa now. Gogi said the students had deposited fees in those Canadian Colleges which were recommended by IDP. The MLA asked the IDP officials to take the matter seriously and take steps to resolve it. He also asked the officials to make lists of students — one list of those who want to reapply for admission and another list of those students who want their fees to be refunded. A student, Diksha from Kaithal in Haryana, said, “My parents had taken a loan from a bank and fee of Rs 9 lakh was deposited in a Canadian college that was suggested by the IDP. The firm counsellor had told me that if I apply to that college, it would provide laptop, accommodation and other facilities. I applied for admission to that college in 2019. 3 arrested for robbing woman of ~60K; 2 mobile phones snatched Our Correspondent Shop, house burgled Ludhiana, April 25 The police have arrested three persons in the course of investigation of a robbery of Rs 60,000 from a woman, running a Verka milk agency on Noorwala Road here. Rajinder Kaur, resident of Lajpat Nagar in Shivpuri, had reported to the police that on April 10 evening, three youths had barged into her shop and fled after snatching an envelope containing around Rs 60,000. During investigation of the case, the police nabbed three persons on Sunday and recovered Rs 10,000 from them. The robbers, identified as Angrej, resident of Jaspal Colony, Ajit, resident of Basant Vihar, and Ashu, resident of Kakowal Road, have been booked under Section 379-B of the IPC. Meanwhile, two persons lost their mobile phones to A readymade garments shop in Guru Nanak Nagar, Bhamian Kalan, was burgled on the intervening night of April 22 and 23. Thieves took away readymade shirts, pants and t-shirts after breaking open the main shutter of the shop. On a complaint lodged by owner of the shop Paramjit Singh, resident of Khasi Kalan, the police have registered a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC. Varun Puri, resident of Moti Nagar, lodged a report with police that thieves broke into his house between April 12 and 18 when he, along with his family members, had gone to Srinagar. “When we came back, we found the bedroom lock broken and house ransacked. Thieves had taken away four mobile phones, Nikkon camera, Sony headphones and Phillips trimmer,” he said. The police have registered a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC. snatchers at different places in the city. Gopal Krishan, resident of Kot Mangal Singh, Miller Ganj, reported to the police that when he was going back home from duty late in the night, six motorcycle-borne persons stopped him near Kashmir Nagar and fled after snatching his mobile phone. In another incident, a snatcher, riding a motorcycle without number plate, came from behind and snatched a mobile phone from Vinod Kumar, resident of Chander Nagar, on Saturday evening while the victim was walking in front of his house talking on phone. The police have registered cases under Section 379-B of the IPC. One fresh Covid case in district Heaps of unsegregated waste lies at a garbage dump in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN gation in 1,000 households in a sustainable manner. Motivators shall provide handholding support to the waste collectors/households in recording the daily waste collection from all households, motivating households for source segregation of waste and giving segregated waste to the waste collectors. The Ludhiana MC has failed to ensure 100 per cent source segregation of waste in the city. The NGT monitoring committee had earlier also pulled up the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for failing to ensure the source segregation in the city in the right manner. The garbage is generally dumped at the secondary collection points without proper segregation of the waste. An official of the Ludhiana MC’s health branch said the civic body is planning to deploy the motivators for creating awareness on source segregation of solid waste. c m y b Ludhiana, April 25 One fresh Covid case was reported, while there was no death due to the disease in the district today. A total of 1,09,840 persons have tested positive for the virus since March 2020, while 2,280 persons from the district have succumbed to the virus till now. The recovery rate of Covid-19 patients was 97.90 per cent today. There were 27 active cases in the district and 26 patients were asked to isolate themselves at their homes by the Health Department. At present there is one Covid patient admitted to hospital in Ludhiana. My visa was refused but my fee has not been refunded to date. Now, I don’t want to go abroad. Thus, my fee should be refunded. We are already under debt.” Sukhwinder Kaur from Nawanshahr said, “I had applied for admission in 2020 but my fee was not refunded after visa refusal. My parents had borrowed the money to deposit the fee. We are passing through a tough time. I want my fee should be refunded at the earliest.” Another student said, “If any student wants to reapply for admission as per the IDP’s offer, we have no objection. But, those who don’t want to reapply for study visa, their full fees should be refunded.” 4 drug runners arrested Ludhiana, April 25 The police have arrested Harpreet Singh, resident of Jeeto Market, Shimlapuri, from Dugri Bridge on the Sidhwn Canal on Sunday with 5 gm of heroin, while he was going on a scooter to make delivery of the contraband. A case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered. Another drug trafficker, Joginder Singh, resident of Ayali Kalan, was nabbed from F-Block in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. The police said Joginder was driving a car and tried to take a U-turn on the sight of a police party. His search led to seizure of 10 gm of heroin. He has been booked under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act. The police arrested two persons involved in the sale of poppy husk from near Sanjay Gandhi Chowk on Tajpur Road while the duo were waiting alongside their truck for their customers. During search of the vehicle, 40 kg of poppy husk was seized and the truck was also impounded. The drug smugglers, identified as Jagtar Singh, resident of Puneet Nagar, and Gurdeep Singh, resident of New Vijay Nagar, were booked under Sections 15-B, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act. — OC 16-year-old girl goes missing An elderly woman gets vaccinated in Ludhiana. INDERJEET VERMA Till date, a total of 34,85,108 samples for Covid test have been taken, of which 33,60,515 were found negative. Samples of 2,034 suspected patients were sent for testing today, the results of which are expected shortly. — TNS COVID-19 FIGURES SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DEATHS 34,85,108 1,09,840 27 5 2,280 For info Contact: 0161-2444193 & 4622276 Ludhiana, April 25 A 16-year-old girl, residing in Kila Mohalla, has been reportedly missing from her house since April 22. The mother of the girl complained to the police that she and her husband had gone to work and when they came back in the evening, the girl had disappeared. The police have registered a case under Section 346 of the IPC. — OC