04122022-LT-01.qxd 12/4/2022 12:48 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE COMMITTEE TO STAGE INDEFINITE PROTEST FROM DECEMBER 7 The Road Improvement Sangharsh Committee seeks reconstruction of broken roads in Machhiwara. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY Woman held with 100 gm of heroin Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 3 The Ludhiana police arrested a woman and seized 100 gm of heroin from her possession here on Friday. The heroin is believed to be worth around Rs 50 lakh in the international market. The suspect has been identified as Seema Rani, a resident of New Punjabi Bagh. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against her. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gurdev Singh in a statement issued said a police party was on patrol on Tibba Road on Thursday where on the basis of suspicion, the police stopped the woman for checking. During the checking of her belongings, heroin, Rs 30,700 drug money, 10 syringes and a digital weighing machine was recovered. The ACP said during preliminary questioning, the suspect confessed that she had been into the heroin smuggling trade for a long time. “We will seek police remand of the suspect and in further interrogation, entire drug supply line will be busted. The woman had been buying the contraband from some big drug suppliers of the state and of other states. We will nab each and every person involved in the drug chain,” Gurdev said. When asked if the woman has a criminal history, the ACP said it was being probed. Six-yr-old raped by neighbour Ludhiana, December 3 A six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a man at Deep Nagar here. The Moti Nagar police yesterday registered a case against the suspect identified as Agan Kumar, a resident of Deep Nagar. The complainant, the victim’s mother, told the police that on November 13 when her daughter was playing outside their house, she started crying. When she was asked about the reason, she revealed that she was having a pain in her private parts. “When I checked, she was bleeding. Later, my daughter revealed that the suspect, who is our neighbour, had sexually assaulted her and fled after committing the crime,” the victim’s mother alleged. The complainant said she had recently filed a police complaint following which the police yesterday registered a case against the suspect. ASI Vijay Kumar said raids were being conducted to nab the suspect. — TNS District sees no fresh Covid case Ludhiana, December 3 According to the office of the Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, none tested positive for Covid in the district on Saturday. Civil Surgeon Hitinder Kaur said 1,13,626 persons have tested positive and 3,018 patients have lost their lives to the deadly virus since March 2020 in the district. At present, the recovery rate of Covid patients was 97.34 per cent. — TNS SAMPLES POSITIVE ACTIVE DIFFERENCE DEATHS 40,37,870 1,13,626 4 -3,018 PAGE 2 KRITIKA KAMRA TO PLAY COP IN INDIAN ADAPTATION OF SIGNAL PAGE 3 VETERAN DOCUMENTARIAN JULIA REICHERT PASSES AWAY The actress is currently shooting for For Your Eyes Only, opposite Scam 1992 fame Pratik Gandhi. MAX 25°C | MIN 7°C | YESTERDAY MAX 25°C | MIN 7°C SUNSET SUNDAY 5:24 PM PAGE 4 Julia Reichert, who won an Oscar in 2020 for her feature American Factory, passed away at the age of 76. SUNRISE MONDAY 7:09 AM SUNDAY | 4 DECEMBER 2022 | LUDHIANA 22 months on, project to develop Haibowal Leisure Valley hangs fire sidents City man booked for violating 11-year-old daughter for 1 year Harshraj Singh Ludhiana, December 3 The Sarabha Nagar police yesterday registered a rape case against a man who allegedly sexually assaulted his 11-yearold daughter. The suspect had been raping his daughter for the past over one year. The incident came to the fore after a social activist got to know about the matter. The suspect has been identified as Mukesh Kumar Mahato, a resident of Avtar Nagar, Ayali Chowk. Complainant Mandeep Kaur Sandhu, a social activist, told the police that one of her friends had informed that a minor girl was being raped by her own father for the past over one year and some family members of the girl were also aware about the same but nobody has the courage to speak against the suspect. “After I got to know about the sexual exploitation of the girl, I, along with my friend, went to the house of the girl where we personally talked to the victim. She told us that her father has been developing sexual relationship with Work was stalled earlier this year but yet to be resumed, say re Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 3 Even after passing of around 22 months, a project to develop Leisure Valley in Haibowal is still incomplete. The project work had been stalled there earlier this year. Now, the construction waste is being dumped at the project site in the absence of any check by the department concerned, residents said. On January 25, 2021, the then Cabinet Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria laid the foundation stone of Leisure Valley on 6 acres in Haibowal. The valley was to be developed on a vacant piece of land along the Buddha Nullah by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) with an estimated cost of Rs 2.96 crore. It was then announced that it would have lush green lawns and shady trees, a dedicated footpath for morning/evening walks, an open gym, kids’ playing area, canopies for sitting, benches, tube well for water supply, modern lighting, besides other such amenities. Construction waste dumped along the Leisure Valley project site; and (right) the foundation stone of the project in Haibowal. ASHWANI DHIMAN STONE LAID IN JAN 2021 BY MINISTER On January 25, 2021, the then Cabinet Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria laid the foundation stone of Leisure Valley on 6 acres in Haibowal. The valley was to be developed on a vacant piece of land along the Buddha Nullah by the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) with an estimated cost of Rs 2.96 crore. However, residents of the nearby area complained that the Leisure Valley site is in a shambles now and the project is still incomplete. A resident of Bank Colony, located near Leisure Valley, Pawan Kumar Sharma, said the project work was stalled earlier this year and it had not been resumed. The boundary wall was not constructed but a lot of construction waste had been dumped there. “The project has already missed its deadline. Several works, including the construction of a retaining wall, are pending. The work at the entrance of Leisure Valley is also incomplete. Many saplings, which were supposed to be planted in Leisure Valley, have also dried as the LIT authorities failed to pay any attention to the same. The damaged saplings are lying inside the valley,” he said. Sharma said: “Also, nobody looks after works which have already been done at the site. There is no maintenance of the lawn area and there is no provision for cleanliness.” A Haibowal resident said the project to develop Leisure Valley here was started with much fanfare but there was no information as to why the project was delayed. “When a huge amount of money is being spent on the project, remaining works must be completed at the earliest. Staff should be deployed for maintenance of the valley,” he said. Congress councillor Maharaj Singh Raji said LIT officials who were handling the project were facing Vigilance action. Meanwhile, the project work was stalled at the site. When Bharat Bhushan Ashu was a cabinet minister during the regime of the previous government, he often used to visit the project site but no AAP MLA pays any attention towards the project now, Raji said. LIT Executive Engineer Inderpal Singh said if construction waste was dumped there, he would look into the matter. He said the project work was stalled there. However, he would not make any more comment regarding the project. Tribune News Service Mobile repair shop owner held with 22 phones 23 file nomination Ludhiana, December 3 The anti-narcotics cell-2 of the Ludhiana police today nabbed a mobile repair shop owner and recovered 22 mobile phones from his possession. The suspect had bought the cell phones from snatchers and thieves at throwaway prices. A case under Section 411 of the IPC was registered against the suspect, identified as Prince Kumar Tota of Hargobindpura mohalla. DCP (Investigation) Varinder Singh Brar, ADCP (Investigation) Rupinder Kaur Sran and in-charge, anti-narcotics cell, inspector Amritpal Singh issued a statement in this regard. Officials said the police got information that Tota was buying looted and stolen mobile phones from thieves and snatchers and he was on the way to sell the same to his clients. papers for DBA poll Suspense continues on date of elections Rajneesh Lakhanpal The suspect in police custody in Ludhiana on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Accordingly, the police laid a naka at the Sufian chowk and cornered the suspect. During checking of his belongings, 22 mobile phones of various brands were recovered. During preliminary questioning, the suspect confessed that he was doing mobile repair work at his home for the past over four years. Many unknown people used to sell him stolen and looted phones. After repairing the phones, he used to sell them to migrant labourers. The arrest of Tota might solve several theft and snatching cases in the city, the police said. Brar warned the public to refrain from buying any stolen property as it might land them behind the bars. Instead, the residents should inform the police if they found any person involved in such acts. Ludhiana, December 3 Amid the continuing suspense over the holding of annual elections of the District Bar Association (DBA) on December 16, a total of 23 contenders have filed nomination papers. On December 1, the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana had given an assurance before the Supreme Court to reschedule the elections after finalising the voters list. However, Returning Officer Kamaljit Sharma said he would conduct the elections on the date already fixed as he had not received any order to stop or postpone the election process. He said for the post of president, Chetan Verma, Gurvinder Singh Sodhi and Naval Kishore Chhiber have filed nomination papers. For the post of secretary, Himanshu Walia and Vikas Gupta have filed nomination papers. For the post of vicepresident, Harjot Singh Harikay and Karan Singh have filed nomination papers. Lawyers Jatinder Pal Singh and Hardeep Kaur have put in papers for the post of finance secretary, Jaspreet Singh Sukhija, Anita, Pargat Singh Rathore and Gurpreet Singh for the post of joint secretary. Dist logs lowest farm fires in 3 years as kharif season ends At 2,682, this year recorded less than half of the 5,817 stubble burning cases spotted in 2021 in Ludhiana Nitin Jain DRIVE TO CONTINUE The sustained campaign against stubble burning will continue in the future to keep a check on environment pollution and to make sure that residents breathe clean and fresh air. Surabhi Malik, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 3 As the paddy harvesting season draws to a close, Ludhiana district has logged the lowest number of farm fires in three years, the administration has confirmed. The district recorded 2,682 stubble burning cases this season, which were less than half of the 5,817 incidents of crop residue burning that were spotted here in 2021. This year’s figures were also lower than in 2020, when 4,330 incidents had been registered in Ludhiana. The development assumes significance as the state government recently withdrew its previous order of blacklisting farmers with red entries in their revenue records for burning paddy straw in their fields. Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik told The Tribune that the ❝ ANNUAL STATS Year number of farm fires reported in dist 2022 2,682 2021 5,817 2020 4,330 Year number of farm fires reported in dist 2019 2,532 2018 2,481 2017 3,239 Farmers get tips on in-situ management of paddy straw at Libra village. sustained campaign against stubble burning by educating farmers and spreading awareness against the illeffects of putting the crop residue on fire and motivating the stakeholders to adopt scientific management of paddy straw had turned out to be a success. The campaign had resulted in a sharp decline in the season’s farm fires, which were not only the lowest in three years, but also almost 54 per cent less than the 5,817 crop residue burning cases reported in 2021 and around 26 per cent less than the 4,330 incidents recorded here in 2020. “All-out efforts were c m y b made to create awareness and educate farmers. They were also motivated and facilitated to adopt in-situ and ex-situ paddy straw management by providing them requisite machinery and tools,” the DC said, adding that the habitual offenders who had failed to pay heed to repeated requests and warnings had to be dealt with sternly for checking environmental pollution. CAO Dr Amanjit said this season’s stubble burning cases were also less than the 3,239 farm fires recorded in the district in 2017 and the record high of 7,697 incidents of crop residue burning which were spotted in Ludhiana during 2016. Jagraon worst-hit In Ludhiana, the Jagraon block remained worst-hit with the maximum of 547 farm fires while Ludhiana-1 block remained the safest with 45 stubble burning cases being reported this season. MATTER HIGHLIGHTED BY SOCIAL ACTIVIST The incident came to the fore after a social activist got to know about the matter. Complainant Mandeep Kaur Sandhu, a social activist, told the police that one of her friends had informed that a minor girl was being raped by her own father for the past over one year and some family members of the girl were also aware about the same but nobody has the courage to speak against the suspect. her for the past over one year and even her mother and other family members were aware but no one was dared to stop her father,” Sandhu said. The complainant said now, the girl expressed concern about her safety as she fears that her family members may torture her for exposing her father. ASI Bhupinder Singh said after registering a case, raids were being conducted to nab the suspect. Neighbour tries to rape minor girl in Khanna village, booked Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 3 A neighbour allegedly attempted to rape a sevenyear-old girl at Jalajan village in Khanna. The Khanna Sadar police yesterday registered a case against the suspect, identified as Harjit Singh. The victim’s father, who is also the complainant in the case, told the police that on August 28, while he was at work, he received a phone call from his wife who informed him about the sexual assault on their daughter. “When I reached home, a few villagers had gathered at my house and they said they had seen the suspect barging into our house. After locking the door from inside, he forcibly took off the clothes of my daughter and tried to rape her. The villagers then rushed towards my house to save the girl. The suspect fled the house when they reached there,” the victim’s father said. The suspect had targeted the girl when was alone at home, since her mother was also not in the house when the incident had occurred. The victim’s mother had arrived only after the villagers had intervened. The investigating officer, inspector Parveen Sharma, said a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the POCSO Act had been registered against the suspect and raids were being held to arrest him. Sources said talks for a compromise were on in the case but when no compromise could be reached, a case was registered on Friday in this regard.