16062022-LT-01.qxd 6/16/2022 12:10 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE OFFICIALS TOLD TO BEAUTIFY MAIN ROADS, ENTRANCE POINTS TO CITY PAGE 2 MC Commissioner Shena Aggarwal issues instructions during a meeting with officials of different branches. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY INBRIEF MC TO ACT TOUGH ON SINGLE-USE PLASTIC Ludhiana: Municipal Commissioner Shena Aggarwal on Wednesday issued directions to officials of the MC health branch to issue a maximum of challans against single-use plastic in the city. During a meeting at in the Zone D office, the Commissioner also asked the senior veterinary officer to issue challans against illegal slaughtering of animals (for meat) in the city. She asked the officials of the health branch to ensure source segregation of the waste and door-to-door collection of garbage in the city. She asked them to finalise the tendering process for purchasing mechanical sweeping machines. TNS POWER SHUTDOWN LUDHIANA 10 am to 5.30 pm: Seera Road 50 (industrial pocket), Dhrampura Colony, Bajigar Colony, Harkrishan Vihar, Meharban village, Seera village, Captain Colony, Mangat, Vidya Vihar and GK Estate. 17 fresh cases of Covid reported Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 15 As the Covid-19 cases are rising, 17 new cases of the virus were reported from the district on Wednesday. The Health Department confirmed that five patients belonging to areas located outside the district had also tested positive for the virus. Civil Surgeon SP Singh said a total of 1,10,053 positive cases have been reported from the district to date. Besides, 14,781 patients from other districts or states have tested positive, he added. He said the virus had claimed the lives of 2,282 patients from the district and 1,126 patients from other districts or states. Out of 85 active cases in the district at present, 78 patients are under home isolation and seven hospitalised. SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE 36,37,137 1,10,053 85 10 DEATHS 2,282 For any information related to Covid Contact: 0161-2444193 & 4622276 SUNSET THURSDAY 7:33 PM PAGE 4 MALAIKA ARORA TURNS AUTHOR; ANNOUNCES HER DEBUT BOOK Sudha Chandran, recently seen in Naagin 6, shares how she beats the heat & maintains her style quotient. MAX 41°C | MIN 30°C | YESTERDAY MAX 43°C | MIN 31°C Malaika is all set to turn author with her debut book, which will offer a deep insight into her healthy eating routine. SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:23 AM THURSDAY | 16 JUNE 2022 | LUDHIANA Spurt in positivity rate as Covid raises head again From 0 to 0.81 per cent, daily rate jumps in two weeks Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 15 In what appears to be a matter of concern, Covid has again started raising its head with the daily positivity rate, a key indicator of the virus surge, rising over 80% in the district during the past fortnight. From 0 to 0.81 per cent, the hit rate has registered a phenomenal rise during the past two weeks in the district, the officials concerned said. Also, two Covid deaths were reported in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, in the first fortnight of June, the official data has confirmed. The development assumes significance as the steep increase in the count of daily virus cases and the positivity rate has been witnessed after a gap of four months. The daily count of Covid patients in the district has been running in double digits for the past five days, which was the highest since February this year. The last highest figure in the district during the past four months was recorded on February 15 when 30 positive cases were detected here. The last double digit count of 11 daily patients of Covid was reported here on February 27 and since then, the district had registered the daily cases in single digit with no case reported on several days together for a long time. Since June 11, the district has been witnessing daily Covid patients in double digit from 13 on June 11 to 10 on June 12, 15 on June 13 and 17 each on June 14 and 15. A dust storm hits Ludhiana on Wednesday evening. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Rain likely in next 24 hours Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 15 High-velocity winds hit the city this evening, disrupting the power supply to several areas. However, the normal power supply was restored later. The temperature reduced in the evening, giving some relief to rresidents from the A girl gets vaccinated against Covid in Ludhiana on Wednesday. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA COVID TRACKER June Daily cases 1 0 2 3 3 0 4 0 5 1 6 5 7 4 8 7 9 4 Samples Deaths Hit rate (In %) 2759 0 0 3018 0 0.1 2782 1 0 2044 0 0 2805 0 0.04 1907 1 0.26 3001 0 0.13 2895 0 0.24 3288 0 0.12 June Daily Samples Deaths cases 10 9 2848 0 11 13 3228 0 12 10 3278 0 13 15 1845 0 14 17 3518 0 15 17 2159 0 Previous high (in February) 15 30 5109 2 10 69 6202 5 Hit rate (In %) 0.32 0.4 0.31 0.81 0.48 0.79 Two booked for opening fire Tribune News Service 0.59 1.11 ‘SITUATION IS WELL UNDER CONTROL’ We have been continuing with aggressive sampling to test, trace and treat the virus cases on a daily basis. Though the situation is well under control and there is no need to panic, the residents are advised to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour by wearing masks in public places, maintaining social distance and exercising hand hygiene as a precautionary measure. – Surabhi Malik, DC ❝ Similarly, the daily hit rate touched a record high of 0.81 per cent on June 13, which was the highest after February 10 when Ludhiana had reported the positivity rate of ❞ 1.11 per cent. Since then, the key indicator of the virus surge had remained below 0.69 per cent and it even touched nil on so many days during the past four months. Ludhiana reported one Covid death each on June 3 and 6 during the past fortnight while the daily sampling ranged between 1,800 and 3,500. ASI commits suicide by jumping before train Tribune News Service COVID-19 FIGURES PAGE 3 SUDHA CHANDRAN ON HER SUMMER STYLE QUOTIENT Ludhiana, June 15 An ASI posted at the Salem Tabri police station today allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a train near the Lakkar bridge. The deceased has been identified as Jinder Kumar (48) of Mohan Majri village in Nawanshahr. He allegedly took the extreme step due to harassment at the hands of some persons in a property dispute case which was Jinder Kumar being probed by him. Initially, the police were considering it an accident but later, when a suicide note was recovered from the pocket of the ASI, the entire mystery behind his death was unravelled. The Government Railway Police station SHO, Inspector Jaskaran Singh, said in the suicide note, the ASI had mentioned that “I was entrusted with an inquiry into some property dispute case. Members of one of the parties were mentally harassing him and were forcing him to decide the case in their favour. They were also levelling fake allegations of bribe against me. Unable to bear the pressure, I am ending my life. Take action against the culprits who mentally harassed me.” The SHO said names of the persons who mentally harassed the ASI were not mentioned in the suicide note. A case of abetment to suicide was registered against the unknown persons under section 306 of the IPC and further probe to identify them was on. Ludhiana, June 15 The Khanna police yesterday booked two brothers on the charges of assault and firing into the air. They have been identified as Rohit Bawa and his brother Kandy Bawa, both residents of the Lalheri road area, Khanna. Shubham, a native of Haryana, told the police that he had been living at the house of his cousin Kaptan on the Kabja factory road, Khanna, for the past one month. His runs a salon where Rinki of Delhi and Kanu worked. Rinki rented a room in the house of the suspects. On June 13, Rinki had a scuffle with Kanu at the house of the accused. “After Rinki informed Kaptan about the scuffle, I, along with Kaptan, went to the house of the suspects. The moment we reached there, Rohit attacked me. Kandy fired two shots into the air from his licenced weapon to intimidate us,” alleged the complainant. The complainant said he suffered injuries in the attack. The investigating officer, ASI Mukhtyar Singh, said raids were being conducted to nab the suspects. scorching heat. According to the PAU, the weather is expected to remain partly cloudy with the possibility of gusty winds/thundershowers over Ludhiana and its adjoining areas during the next 24 hours. The maximum temperature on Wednesday was recorded at 42.4 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the university, in its agro advisory report released today, highlighted the forecast for the coming week. Rain is likely in Punjab during the coming three or four days. It has also highlighted a warning in the report that thunderstorm/lightning and gusty winds (speed 30-40 kmph) with rain are expected from June 16. Resident creates scene at CP office Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 15 A 53-year-old newspaper vendor, Mahinder Singh, a resident of Azad Nagar, took off his shirt at the Police Commissioner’s office today, alleging inaction by the Daba police on a missing complaint filed by him. His son Sunny Ramana (35) is missing. Employees of the office tried to calm him down but Mahinder didn’t listen to anyone. He said he took off his shirt to embarrass the police for their lethargic approach towards the serious case of his son’s disappearance. His son worked as a recovery agent with a private finance firm. On June 13, he was on the way to deposit about ~1 lakh in the bank but didn’t return, said Mahinder. “The same day, I rang the police control room up and next day, went to the Daba police station where a policeman was sleeping. When I asked the policeman to register a missing person complaint, the policeman misbehaved with me,” he alleged. He resorted to today’s CP Kaustubh Sharma talks to the complainant. TRIBUNE PHOTO WHAT SHO SAYS Daba SHO Amarinder Singh said no complaint in writing was received in the case. In fact, Mahinder’s son had not delivered the recovery money to the finance company and officials of the company had lodged a complaint against his son at the Shimlapuri police station. “We are tracing the missing person. The truth will prevail soon,” added the SHO. action to draw the attention of Dr Kaustubh Sharma towards corrupt policemen, alleged Mahinder. “My son cannot commit suicide. He could have been kept under illegal confinement by some persons for their personal gain. If the police investigate the case seriously, the conspiracy behind the sudden disappearance of my son can be exposed,” said Mahinder. Rains around the corner, but MC goes slow on unsafe buildings Applicants of ‘demand Harshraj Singh NO LESSONS LEARNT FROM PAST Tribune News Service Ludhiana, June 15 Learning no lessons from the collapse of a number of unsafe buildings during the past rainy season, the Municipal Corporation is yet to take measures to avert such mishaps this time. While the rainy season is around the corner, the MC is yet to take action against a number of unsafe buildings located across the city. Following a report on 142 unsafe buildings in the city, the then MC Commissioner in July 2021 had written to the police to get the unsafe buildings vacated. Most buildings were being used for either residential or commercial purposes, while many others were disputed properties. ■ July 2021: A portion of an unsafe building on Deepak Cinema Road collapsed. The debris caused damage to a two-wheeler parked near the building. ■ August 2021: At least 10 persons, including two children, were injured when an unsafe multi-storey factory on RK Road here collapsed. A fire had broken out at the factory earlier. The fire caused damage to the building but the owner and the MC did nothing to get it demolished on time. ■ August 2021: a portion of an old building near Neem Wala Chowk here collapsed. No one was present there at the time of the incident. ■ September 2021: 13 head of cattle were killed after the roof of a dairy collapsed at the Dairy Complex, Haibowal. ‘NOTICES TO BE SERVED SOON’ A rescue operation underway after a building collapse in Ludhiana. FILE PHOTO Former councillor Inder Aggarwal said the MC should take the matter of unsafe buildings seriously. He said the civic body should con- concerned failed to get their unsafe buildings dismantled, the MC should demolish these structures and recover the expenses from duct a survey across the city and issue demolition notices to the owners of all unsafe buildings. He said, “If the owners c m y b We will take and serve notices ❝the owners ofnecessary actionunsafe buildings in on more than 100 the next few days. ❞ SS Bindra, SENIOR TOWN PLANNER the former.” “I came to know a fire broke out in an old building, a portion of which was said to be unsafe. The civic body should conduct a survey of the buildings where a fire had been reported in the past, so that any untoward incident can be averted,” he added. survey’ want inclusion of names in draw of lots Kuldip Bhatia Ludhiana, June 15 There is a hue and cry over the draw of lots for allotment of HIG and MIG residential flats in the proposed ‘Atal Apartment’ housing scheme to be conducted by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) on June 16 at Nehru Sidhant Kendra here. A few applicants, who had deposited ~10,000 as earnest money during a “demand survey” of the scheme carried out in January 2019 and have not taken refund to date, have demanded their inclusion in the draw, and that too with a preferential quota for them as their ATAL APARTMENTS earnest money had been lying with the LIT for the past more than three years. A former councillor, Pran Bhatia, has written to the LIT Chairman that he had deposited the earnest money during the demand survey for an MIG flat in his own name and for an HIG flat in the name of his wife Nirmal Bhatia. “We have not taken any refund and the money is still lying with the LIT. But unfortunately, our names do not figure in the final list of applicants for the draw of lots,” he said. Another city resident and Continued on page 2