26072022-JTR-01.qxd 7/25/2022 11:11 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar TRIBUNE FRUIT FAIRS ACROSS STATE TO BOOST HORTICULTURE: MINISTER Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said the AAP govt would organise fairs of traditional fruits. FORECAST MOSTLY CLOUDY INBRIEF COVID: 64 TEST POSITIVE IN DIST PAGE 2 AKSHAY IS HIGHEST TAXPAYER FROM ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY PAGE 3 MANOJ BAJPAYEE TO PRESENT SECRETS OF THE KOHINOOR Akshay Kumar has been honoured by the I-T Department for being the highest taxpayer from entertainment industry. MAX 33°C | MIN 28°C | YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7:20 PM PAGE 4 Director Neeraj Pandey and Manoj Bajpayee reunite to enthral the audience with Secrets Of The Kohinoor. SUNRISE WENESDAY 5:38 AM TUESDAY | 26 JULY 2022 | JALANDHAR Monsoon exposes city’s crumbling infra Pothole-riddled Wadala Road turns into a nightmare for commuters Tribune News Service Jalandhar: As many as 71 Covid-19 cases were reported in the district on Monday. Out of the 71 cases, 64 were reported from the district and the remaining patients belong to other districts. With this, the Covid-19 tally in the district jumped to 79,366 cases. As many as 77,044 patients recovered from the disease and the number of active cases was 376 in the district. The death toll stood at 1,946 with two deaths reported on Sunday. TNS 1 BOOKED FOR DOWRY DEMAND Garhshankar: The police have registered a case against Ashwini Kumar under various sections of the IPC for harassing his wife for dowry. The victim, Seema daughter of Gurmel Chand of Dugri, had complained to the Hoshiarpur SSP that she was married to Ashwini of Jaisingh Nagar, Jhodhewal Basti, Ludhiana, on March 2, 2020. She alleged that after marriage, her husband used to harass her for bringing more dowry from his maternal home and also used to beat her. After investigation, the police registered a case against the accused. OC ASI’S UNIFORM TORN, FIR LODGED Garhshankar: The police registered a case against a woman for tearing the uniform of ASI Kulwinder Singh. He is posted in Mahilpur police station. The official, in his statement, said he had gone with a police team to Pathrala village to nab an accused, Yakub, in an old case. During this, when he was making the accused sit in the police vehicle, his sister Jaitoon tore his uniform and broke his nameplate. She obstructed government work and stopped him from performing his duty. On the statement of the ASI, a case has been registered against Jaitoon under various Sections. OC PEDDLER ARRESTED WITH 50-GM HEROIN Phagwara: CIA staff of the Phagwara police today arrested a drug peddler and recovered 50 gm of heroin from his possession. Phagwara SP Mukhtiar Rai said the arrested peddler was identified as Vipin Kumar, a resident of Kherra Colony. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered. SP Rai said the accused was wanted in a case of drug peddling in November last year. OC Jalandhar, July 25 After the recent rains, the condition of potholed Wadala Road near TV Tower has turned worse. The deep potholes, filled with rainwater, have been causing trouble to commuters for the past many days, but the Municipal Corporation has failed to do the needful. Commuters complain that even if they are moving at a slow speed of 20-30 km, there are chances of vehicles getting stuck in the potholes and drivers or riders losing control over them, leading to accidents. Apart from this, they alleged due to the poor condition of the road, not only the traffic on the stretch remains disrupted, but it also puts a financial burden on them as they have to spend a lot of money on the maintenance of vehicles. “Many accidents have taken place on the stretch, especially during rains as commuters fail to judge the depth of potholes. Just two days ago, a motorcycle hit a stone on the road and the rider received serious injuries on the leg,” said Narinder, who runs a shop along the road. He rued despite paying huge taxes, the road infrastructure in the city was extremely poor. “Officials hardly bother to take a tour of the city and check which roads urgently need to be OPEN INVITATION TO ACCIDENTS Many accidents have taken place on the stretch, especially during rains as commuters fail to judge the depth of potholes. Just two days ago, a motorcycle hit a stone on the road and the rider received serious injuries on the leg. ❝ ❞ WILL DO THE NEEDFUL I will get the road checked and ask officials concerned to do the needful on priority. ❝ ❞ Devinder Singh, MC COMMISSIONER << The pathetic condition of Wadala Road near TV Tower hasn’t caught the attention of officials yet. TRIBUNE PHOTO repaired. They simply keep sitting in their AC rooms, and it is the common public who have to bear the brunt of the negligence of the officials concerned,” he added. Another commuter, Shweta, said, “Hundreds of people use this road to go to their offices and business establishments. Besides, if you are coming from Nakodar side, this road is the main entrance to the city but still the MC is paying no attention to get it repaired”. She said the potholes on the road remain waterlogged even after it stopped raining. Several people have got injured while commuting on the road. “The authorities concerned should immediately get it recarpeted on priority,” she added. “It has become hard to ride two-wheelers on potholed roads of the city as the situation has worsened this rainy season. At many locations, potholes are not visible due to the accumulated water, thus, mishaps take place. The authorities should fill potholes with bitumen, if raods can’t be recarpeted now,” said Sahil, who is pursuing engineering from a private college here. MC Commissioner Devinder Singh said “I will get the road checked and asked officials concerned to do the needful on priority.” Lamma Pind traders hit by waterlogging Jalandhar, July 25 There is hardly any road or chowk in the city that remains safe for commuters during the rains. A majority of the areas and roads get inundated during a downpour. Lamma Pind Chowk is one such area where the rain compounds civic issues manifold. Councillor Rajwinder Raja and some shopkeepers, who have their shops near the chowk, today visited MC Commissioner Devinder Singh and apprised him of the perennial problem of waterlogging in the area and the resulting financial losses to them. They said their work was getting affected whenever it rained. A shopkeeper said whenever it rained the rainwater entered their shops, preventing customers from visiting them. “The problem has been there for ages but officials continue to turn a blind eye to it. We have been visiting the officials concerned, but to no avai.” Councillor Rajwinder Raja said a sewerage project worth Rs 40-45 lakh was supposed to start here in the area, but it has not been launched yet. “The MC Commissioner has promised that he will look into the matter. We will meet him again and seek a proper reply after two days. Otherwise we will have to take some action in this regard,” he said. In the absence of any solution, residents of Santokh Pura, Lamma Pind and other adjoining areas have been hit adversely. — TNS Half-burnt body of man found dumped in fields Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 25 City residents on Monday woke up to reports of two murders at separate locations. While a half-burnt body of a man was found dumped in the fields of Jalbhay village of Adampur, another blood-stained body was found along a canal at Singha village falling under the Lambra police station. The body at Adampur was identified as that of 33-yearold Loveleen Kumar, a resident of Upkar Nagar at Lamma Pind in the Jalandhar city area. He had been putting up at his in-laws at Jalbhay village in Adampur since his love marriage about seven years ago. He is survived by his wife Paramjit Kaur, a son and a daughter. The occupation of the deceased was to set up iron rod mesh for construction of buildings. His family said he had last night left for his friends’ place saying they had called him up and wanted to meet HAD LEFT TO MEET FRIENDS WITH ~1OK BLOOD-SOAKED BODY FOUND ALONG CANAL The family of Loveleen Kumar, 33, said he had on Monday night left for his friends' place saying they had called him up and wanted to meet him. He had reportedly taken Rs 10,000 cash along with him but did not return An unidentified blood-soaked body was found along a canal on Singha village to Chitti Pind road on Monday. The deceased had been murdered using sharp-edged weapons. Villagers said they spotted the body while going to work Monday morning and immediately informed the police. Some syringes and liquor bottles were also spotted near the site. him. He had reportedly taken Rs 10,000 cash along with him but did not return. His father Rajendra said that they kept searching for him the throughout, but could not get any clue. This morning his partially burnt body was found dumped in the fields of the Adampur village. The murderers had stuffed his mouth with a cloth. There was a deep injury mark on the back of his head and petrol had been thrown on his body to set it on fire. His father said that nei- ther of his two mobile phones could be traced. DSP Adampur Sarabjit Rai and CIA Jalandhar Rural incharge Pushp Bali reached the spot. A team of forensic experts and a dog squad was called to collect evidence. A dog squad team was also called in. The cops said that the body had been moved to the Civil Hospital for postmortem. In another incident ,an unidentified bloodsoaked body was found along a canal on Singha village to Chitti Pind road. Theft on Phagwara MC premises near SP office Phagwara, July 25 One air-conditioner (AC), fans of another AC and three batteries of vehicles of the Phagwara Municipal Corporation (MC) were found stolen from the premises of the civic body today. While the AC was found stolen from the Library Hall, three batteries were stolen from MC vehicles parked Narinder, TRADER ON WADALA ROAD Lamma Pind residents hand over a memorandum to the Municipal Corporation Commissioner in Jalandhar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO SECOND INCIDENT IN A MONTH, COPS SUSPECT CONNIVANCE OF CIVIC BODY STAFF near the office of the Superintendent of Police, Phagwara. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Navneet Bains said the police had received a written complaint in this regard and were working in two different theories whether the theft was committed by criminals only or with the connivance of the MC employees. A few batteries of MC vehicles were found stolen last month also. The SSP said the police were scouring the footage of CCTV cameras to nail the culprits. The theft on the corporation’s premises and that too near the SP office has become the “talk of the town”. SSP Bains later held a meeting with police officers and took stock of the law and order. He instructed the personnel to maintain law and order at any cost. — OC c m y b A delegation of the Kirti Kisan Union and Pendu Mazdoor Union meets the ADC, Development, demanding the construction of a roof at a primary school (left) at Udhowal on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Anganwari centres at Udhowal without roof; kids’ strength down Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 25 Children and staff of the twin anganwari centres, which are being run from the Government Primary School, Udhowal, are in a dire straits after having lost the roof over a month ago. A delegation of the Kirti Kisan Union and Pendu Mazdoor Union met Additional Deputy Commissioner, Development, Varinder Singh Bajwa, with the demand to get pucca rooms for the anganwari centres at the school constructed. In the absence of roof, anganwaris were functioning from the verandah of the primary school. As parents are scared to send their wards to school, the strength at the anganwari centres has dramatically dropped. The twin BELONGINGS SHIFTED The anganwari centres ❝forced to function from are the verandah in this heat. Their belongings have also been placed in a room at a nearby high school due to the lack of space. ❞ Udhowal school staff anganwari centres collectively had 17 to 18 children about a month ago, now it been reduced to mere 4-5. The primary school on the other hand has 45 to 50 students. A four-room building at the school was demolished after being declared unsafe a month and a half ago. The building had three rooms for the primary school and one for the anganwari centres. MEHATPUR BPEO TO VISIT THE SITE Acting on the delegation's demand, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Development, Varinder Singh Bajwa on Monday asked the Mehatpur BPEO to visit the school site himself for further action. The ADC assured the delegation that the issue would be addressed at the eariest. After the demolition, the school is left with only three rooms, while the angawari centres are left completely roofless. Staff at the school said: “The anganwari centres are forced to make do in the verandah in this heat. Their belongings have also been placed in a room at a nearby high school for the lack of space.” Meanwhile, the primary school is also making do with only two classrooms now as the third available room is being used for storage purposes. Members of the delegation which met the ADC today alleged the village panchayat was not serious about providing the roof for the children at anganwaris. Acting on the delegation’s demand, the ADC, Development, asked the Mehatpur Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) to review the site himself. He assured the delegation that the issue would be addressed soon. Village panches Jagtar Singh, Sandeep Kumarm Shanti Devi and Harman Kumar; Kirti Kisan Union leader Amar Singh Mann and Pendu Mazdoor Union leader Tarsem Peter were part of the delegation.