12052022-LT-01.qxd 5/12/2022 12:41 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE PAGE 2 SMUGGLER NABBED WITH 240 GRAMS OF HEROIN Special Task Force wing of Ludhiana nabs a smuggler and recovers 240 grams of heroin from his possession. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY Migrant held for kidnapping, raping minor Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 11 The Haibowal police yesterday nabbed a migrant on the charges of kidnapping and raping a minor girl, a resident of Uttar Pradesh. The accused was identified as Suraj, who is also a native of UP A case has been regis. tered against him. The complainant (16) told the police that she used to work at a factory in UP where the accused was also working. He had proposed her for marriage and on that pretext, he also developed sexual relationship with her. On May 3, the accused took her to Ludhiana on the pretext of marrying her. However, he continued to rape her. Yesterday, when they were searching for a rented accommodation in Haibowal, people suspecting some foul play informed the police. The girl said when the police got her medical examination conducted, she was found pregnant. The police recorded her statement and arrested the accused on Tuesday. Investigating officer ASI Dilbarg Singh said after registering a zero FIR here, the case file has been transferred to the police station concerned in UP for further investigation. Girl violated by cousin A 16-year-old girl was raped by her cousin at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Colony in Salem Tabri. The accused was identified as Laddi (29) and a case was registered against him yesterday. The complainant, the girl’s mother, told the police that on May 7, she had gone to Nawanshahr to meet her relative. Next day, when she returned home, her daughter revealed about the incident. The accused had taken her daughter to his home on the pretext of taking her help in preparing food. ASI Jagjit Singh said raids were being conducted to nab him. POWER SHUTDOWN LUDHIANA 9am to 4pm: Janakpuri, Kidwai Nagar, New Kidwai Nagar, Taj Ganj, Baba Than Singh Chowk, Suffian Road, Opposite Janakpuri police station, Transport Chowk and surrounding areas. 9am to 6 pm: Aman Vihar, Jassian Road, Boparai Market, Gurnam Nagar, Bhattian village and Bhattian area near HDFC Bank. PAGE 3 HINA’S COUNTRY OF BLIND ALL SET FOR A POSTER LAUNCH Hina Khan, who made her debut on the Cannes red carpet in 2019, is now set to return to the festival. MAX 42°C | MIN 28°C | YESTERDAY MAX 40°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7:12 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:32 AM After tenders failed eight times, MC getting project redesigned Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Entry of four-wheelers and heavy vehicles was earlier banned on the unsafe bridge (below) over the Buddha Nullah near Chand Cinema in Ludhiana. PHOTOS: INDERJEET VERMA BRIDGE DECLARED UNSAFE 11 YRS AGO The bridge over the Buddha Nullah, which is said to be over 100 years old, on old GT Road near Chand Cinema, here, was declared unsafe around 11 years ago. But, the civic body has failed to get it reconstructed till date. tender conditions. He said questions were raised over its design. “GNDEC was later asked to redesign the bridge project. The new design has to be submitted by GNDEC next week,” he said. Notably, the process to design the reconstruction of the bridge had begun in 2016 during the tenure of the then SAD-BJP government. The project could not be even started during the regime of the previous Congress government. In May 2021, the tenders for the reconstruction of the bridge at the estimated cost of Rs 5.84 crore were floated for the first time. A resident of a nearby area PAGE 4 The late musician, along with Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, had delivered several iconic compositions for Big B. RECONSTRUCTION OF CENTURY-OLD BRIDGE OVER BUDDHA NULLAH Ludhiana, May 11 After the tendering process for the reconstruction of a century-old bridge failed about eight times in the past year, the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, is now getting the bridge project redesigned by Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNDEC). The bridge over the Buddha Nullah, which is said to be over 100 years old, on old GT Road near Chand Cinema, here, was declared unsafe around 11 years ago. But, the civic body has failed to get it reconstructed till date. The bridge and its safety walls are in a dilapidated condition for a long time. Bricks have broken from different points of the bridge that were closed for the movement of all kinds of vehicles, except two-wheelers, in January 2021 when a wall was constructed to stop the entry of cars, auto-rickshaws and other vehicles. Earlier in 2018, the entry of heavy vehicles was stopped on the bridge. MC Superintending Engineer Teerath Bansal said the tenders for the reconstruction of the bridge were earlier floated eight times by the civic body but no firm showed interest to reconstruct the bridge as per the BIG B, AKHTAR PAY HOMAGE TO PT SHIVKUMAR SHARMA said: “ Since the unsafe bridge was closed for cars and other vehicles more than a year ago, traffic was diverted through another nearby bridge. It was the responsibility of the civic body authorities to get the bridge reconstructed timely as commuters are facing inconvenience.” THURSDAY | 12 MAY 2022 | LUDHIANA 15-month-old child of migrant couple run over by tractor-trailer at brick-kiln Our Correspondent Payal, May 11 In a tragic incident, a 15month-old child of a migrant labourer couple was killed after being mowed down by a tractortrailer at a brick-kiln on the outskirts of Jalajan village, near here, on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Aniket, the son of a migrant labourer couple, Parmod Kumar and Mamta Devi, from Siryan Pur in Uttar Pradesh. According to information provided by the couple to the Sihar police, Gogi of Dheero Majra, driver of a tractortrailer, had allegedly mowed down their 15-month-old Aniket, the deceased. son, when he was playing near the vehicle. “Gogi stopped the vehicle near us after unloading bricks and started talking to us. My son Ankit went almost under the vehicle while playing and Gogi started moving it while attending a phone call. We tried to stop Gogi, but he failed to listen our voice as he was busy with his phone call. Aniket died after being mowed down by the tractortrailer,” Parmod said. After the accident, the accused fled the spot. Police personnel, led by SHO Sihar Baldev Raj, seized the vehicle after receiving a formal complaint about negligent driving and the death of the child. The police have registered a case against Gogi and launched a probe to nab him. Power theft: 39 cases detected in PSPCL raids Five-year-old boy dies in roof collapse Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 11 Teams of the enforcement wing of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) today conducted mass raids at several places in the Central Zone and detected as many as 39 cases of theft for which a total penalty of Rs 13.80 lakh was imposed on defaulting consumers. According to PSPCL officials, nine cases of theft were unearthed in Tibba, Natt, Saani, Nandpur and Dharor continued on page 2 Ludhiana, May 11 A five-year-old boy died after a roof and a wall of their house collapsed at Puneet Nagar here. The boy got stuck under the debris and succumbed to his injuries on the spot. The deceased has been identified as Aditya. His father Parmod is a migrant labourer. As per information, on Wednesday afternoon, the boy, along with his mother and brother, was sitting out- side their house. As he felt thirsty, he went inside the house to drink water. When he entered the house, a roof and a wall of the house collapsed and he got buried under the debris. The family and residents of the area had to struggle for one hour to take the child out of the debris. He was taken to a nearby hospital but doctors declared him brought dead. Tibba SHO Inspector Ranvir Singh said at the rear of the house, there was continued on page 2 2 test +ve for Covid in dist Dist identifies 14 sites for mohalla clinics Manav Mander Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 11 Two positive cases of Covid-19 were reported in the district on Wednesday. Besides, the Health Department also confirmed two positive cases that belong to other districts or states. Civil Surgeon SP Singh said a total of 1,09,893 positive cases from Ludhiana district had been confirmed since March 2020. Besides, 14,763 patients from other districts or states had also tested positive for the virus in the district so far. The Civil Surgeon said 2,280 patients belonging Ludhiana, May 11 Newly formed Aam Aadmi Party’s government in the state is planning to set up mohalla clinics on the lines of Delhi and 16,000 clinics will be set up in the entire state. The Department pf Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, had asked Civil Surgeons to identify areas where these clinics would be set up. The information was to be shared by May 1 and Ludhiana district has identified 14 sites, one in each constituency, and shared the information with the department. Civil Surgeon SP Singh COVID-19 FIGURES SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DEATHS 35,37,392 1,09,893 18 1 2,280 For info Contact: 0161-2444193 & 4622276 to Ludhiana district and 1,126 patients from other districts or states had died of the virus so far. There were 18 active cases in the district on Wednesday and all patients were under home isolation. A WELCOME STEP, SAYS RESIDENT Setting up of mohalla clinics was one of the promises made by the government during the recent elections. A city resident, Harish Kumar, said the announcement of setting up of mohalla clinics is a welcome step. “It will help in providing basic medical facilities to undeserved population. We hope the clinics are set up soon,” he said. said they had identified the sites and sent the information. All buildings that been selected were government owned and not on rent. In eight constituencies, buildings had not been selected, land was available in such areas. In Khanna, the location identified is at Bhagat Puran Samarak Rajewal, in Dakha, at Bhundri village, in Raikot, at Rotary Hospital, in the Gill constituency, at Sanghowal, in Jagraon, at Sewa Kendra Purani Dana Mandi, at Payal, in Dhamot village, at Sanhewal, in Kohara, at Samrala, in Hedon Bet, at Atam Nagar, in Mohalla Ram NagarRamgarhia Sewa Society Hospital, at Ludhiana North, in Ward No. 90 in Kundanpuri, at Ludhiana West, in Gopal Nagar, at Ludhiana East, in Star City Colony inside park on Tibba Road, at Ludhiana South, in Bapu Market and at Ludhiana Central, in Islam Ganj. Setting up of mohalla clinics was one of the promises made by the government during the recent elections. It is a primary healthcare facility that the AAP government first introduced in 2015 in Delhi. It offers primary healthcare services, medicines and diagnostic facility free of cost. A city resident, Harish Kumar, said the announcement of setting up of mohalla clinics in the state is a welcome step. “It will help in providing basic medical facilities to undeserved population. We hope the clinics are set up soon,” he said. Resolve issues related to dairies, MC officials told MLA Gogi kicks off road work Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 11 MC Commissioner Shena Aggarwal asked officials to resolve issues related to dairy complexes on Hambran Road and Tajpur Road here. She also reviewed the ongoing Rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah project and discussed the upcoming 24x7 Surface Water Supply project. The MC had earlier planned to shift the dairies outside the civic body’s limit but now it is planning to set up effluent treatment plants at the dairy complexes. Untreated waste from these dairies is being dumped into the Buddha Nullah by dairy owners for decades. MC Superintending Engi- MC Commissioner Shena Aggarwal interacts with officials during a meeting in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO neer Rajinder Singh said the civic body chief had given directions to the officials to take necessary steps to resolve issues related to the dairies. The Commissioner had also asked them to remove hindrances and speed up the Rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah project. Rajinder said two effluent treatment plants were sup- c m y b posed to be set up under the Rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah project at the dairy complexes. Earlier, a high-powered committee, formed by the Department of Local Government under the chairmanship of Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu, had taken a decision to shift the dairies from the city to Gorsian Kadar Baksh village. But, residents of the village had refused to give land for setting up the dairies in the village. At present, there are hundreds of dairies located on Hambran Road and Tajpur Road in the city. Environmental activists have been demanding shifting of the dairies outside the MC limits and away from the drain. Ludhiana, May 11 Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Gogi today kicked off a road construction work at Focal Point, Phase VIII, here. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 2.25 crore. Meanwhile, Gogi also conducted a meeting with industrialists. He said development works in the Focal Point area would be expedited. He said the industry in the state had been neglected by previous governments, which had resulted in many reputed companies moving to other states to set up their factories there. He said the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state was committed to providing uninterrupted and affordable electricity, infrastructure and other possible facilities to the industry. Bagga listens to arhtiyas’ grievances Meanwhile, Ludhiana North MLA Madan Lal Bagga visited Dana Mandi on the Bahadur-ke Road here, and listened to problems of arhtiyas and assured them of a speedy resolution. Market Committee chairman Darshan Lal Baweja, secretary Tej Bahadur Singh and district mandi officer Davinder Singh Kainth were among others present. Bagga said the arhtiyas of the Mandi Board and residents of residential colonies were reaching out to him regarding their various problems. Thus, he paid a special visit to the mandi. The MLA said in this regard, meetings had been held with various senior officers of the departments concerned so that people’s problems could be resolved on a priority basis. He said issues such as potholed roads, choked sewerage and poor sanitation in the market would be resolved soon. During the meeting, he issued instructions to the contractor concerned to ensure the cleaning of the mandi area.