31122022-LT-01.qxd 12/31/2022 12:50 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE NO-TRUST VOTE AGAINST JAGRAON MUNICIPAL COUNCIL CHIEF FAILS PAGE 2 Jatinder Pal Rana emerged politically stronger as rival councillors failed to prove no-confidence motion against him. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY INBRIEF MYSTERY SHROUDS YOUTH’S DEATH Ludhiana: A 22-year-old youth found dead under mysterious circumstances at Dugri here on Friday. The victim, Gurusimranjit Singh, allegedly died due to drug overdose. Gurjit Singh, father of the victim, said his son had been taking drugs for some time and on Friday he reportedly consumed drugs along with his friends by sitting in an auto-rickshaw. His friends reportedly made him to consume excess drugs which led to his death. He demanded that the police should take strict action against the persons selling drugs in Dugri so that no other youth fell prey to drug abuse. TNS POWER SHUTDOWN LUDHIANA 9.30 am to 5 pm: New Model Town, Jawahar Nagar, South Model Gram, Kochar Market Chowk, Lajpat Nagar and Sampuran Colony. 11 am to 5 pm: GS Feeder. Pay property tax today without penalty Ludhiana, December 30 The Municipal Corporation (MC), Ludhiana, has appealed to residents to submit property tax in time as December 31 is the last date to submit tax for the current financial year (2022-23) without any penalty. The civic body has decided to keep suvidha kendras in all four zonal offices open during working hours on Saturday (December 31). The residents will have to pay a 10 per cent penalty on payment of tax from January 1, 2023, till March 31, 2023. After March 31, the penalty will increase to 20 per cent and the residents will also have to pay 18 per cent per annum interest on delayed payment. Officiating MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said residents could also submit tax online at — mcludhiana.gov.in to avoid standing in queues. — TNS RIDHI DOGRA TALKS ABOUT HER BIG BREAK IN LAKADBAGGHA PAGE 3 The makers of upcoming thriller revealed that the actress would be playing a CBI officer in the show. MAX 18°C | MIN 7°C | YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET SATURDAY 5:34 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:24 AM Over 3K cops to guard city on New Year’s Eve Over 45 fire tenders were used to douse the flames in four hours Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 30 The Ludhiana Police have made adequate security arrangements to maintain the law and order situation during the celebrations on New Year’s Eve in the industrial hub. Even clear instructions have been issued to the entire police force to deal with revellers strictly. Talking to The Tribune, Ludhiana Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said the city police had made a special plan to ensure peaceful celebrations on New Year’s Eve in the city. “As many as 30 gazetted officers have been assigned areas to keep a tab on revellers, safety and security of the residents celebrating the New Year. These 30 officials will supervise more than 3,000 Ludhiana, December 30 A major fire broke out in a multi-storey shawl shop (Sandeep Textiles) in the congested Mochpura Bazaar in the old city area here this morning. Goods worth several lakhs of rupees were gutted in the fire. A short-circuit is being cited as the reason behind the fire. The incident occurred around 7 am. The shop was closed when the fire broke out. Since the shop was situated in a congested market, fire tenders could not reach there. Fire-fighters had to use long water pipes to spray water over the flame. More than 45 fire tenders were used to completely douse the flames in over four hours. Firemen douse the flames that broke out at a shop in Mochpura Bazaar in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN Since most of the shops or showrooms in the Mochpura Bazaar deal in woollen products and keep a huge stock of woollens on premises, the fire created a panic among other traders. Fire tenders faced a lot of difficulty in reaching the market due to traffic and encroachments by shopkeepers on the road. Maninder Singh, Fire Officer, Central fire station, said there was a huge stock of shawls kept in the basement of the shop. Only a small part Robbery case solved, three nabbed with weapons, cash Ludhiana, December 30 The Ludhiana police today claimed to have solved the robbery incident occurred in a property dealer’s office on the Noorwala road by arresting three suspects. The office belonged to the former chairman of the market committee, Ludhiana. The suspects have been identified as Rajan Kumar, alias Raja (23), Karan Kohinoor (22) and Simranjit Singh (29), all residents of Phillaur. Two other suspects, Sunny Kumar and Deepak Kumar, alias Deepa, who are yet to be arrested, are also residents of Phillaur. The police recovered a .32 bore pistol with two live cartridges, a .315 bore country made pistol along with one live cartridge, a sharp weapon, Rs 15,000 in cash and a motorcycle used in the crime. Commissioner of Police of the stock could be taken out safely by the owner with the help of firemen and a huge stock was perished in the fire. About the fire safety arrangements, officials said no such arrangements were made by the shopkeeper. City to face cold wave, dense fog in coming days Tribune News Service Cops address the media in Ludhiana on Friday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN (CP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu, ADCP Tushar Gupta, ACP Sumit Sood and CIA inspector Rajesh Kumar addressed a press conference in this regard on Friday. Sidhu said on December 25, five masked robbers had entered the office of the property dealer and robbed an employ- ee, Vivek, of Rs 80,000 in cash. “The CIA team’s probe into the case first led to the identification of five robbers. Later, after gathering information about their whereabouts, a raid was conducted and three of them were nabbed by the police”, the CP said. continued on page 2 Ludhiana, December 30 A day after cloudy weather and rainfall, there was some relief from foggy conditions in the city on Friday. With the sun shining, a rise in the maximum and minimum temperatures was recorded here. Intense chill is expected in the coming days. An India Meteorological Department expert has predicted cold wave conditions and dense fog in the coming four to five days. According to the weather forecast report released by the Department of Climate Change & Agricultural Meteorology, PAU, Ludhiana, the weather is expected to remain dry and cold wave will persist with the possibility of fog during morning hours over Ludhiana and its adjoining areas during the next 24 hours. continued on page 2 the capacity to house 130 persons. A number of folding beds are available at only this night shelter in the city. The civic body has deployed a bus to bring the homeless persons to the shelter. However, to find out its location is not an easy task at night. No separate night shelter for women People sleep at a night shelter near Dairy Complex on Hambran Road in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN NO PROVISION TO CLEAN BLANKETS, BED SHEETS There is no provision to wash or clean old blankets, bed sheets, pillow covers, etc, at any night shelter in the city. Issues related to cleanliness and lack of facilities are yet to be resolved by the authorities. On Wednesday night, 22 persons came to sleep at the night shelter but there were only 19 beddings. It came to light that old blankets which were never cleaned or washed were used by visitors. However, new blankets have reached the night shelter but new mattresses are yet to arrive. A plastic sheet that was laid on the floor in one of the halls was too dirty. There is no arrangement of toilets at the shelter for the visitors while the nearby public toilet is said to be paid one. However, Violators to be dealt with strictly, says Commissioner of Police a lone bathroom was locked. Hambran Road A drain in which cowdung is dumped from dairies is located in front of the MC’s night shelter near the Dairy Complex on Hambran Road, here, due to which it always emanates stink. It is not easy to find out this night shelter at night. According to an official, there is a capacity of 50 persons while 21 had come to sleep there on Wednesday night. One hall is reserved for women and the other is for men. But no woman comes to stay at the shelter. It came to light that there was an availability of 35 beddings. Like the other shelters, old blankets or bed sheets were never cleaned or washed. Two of the three toilets were operational. A bus has been deployed to bring homeless people from different locations to the shelter every night. A visitor, who came to the shelter in an MC bus, said there should be a provision to drop the visitors back in the morning. Ghoda Colony MC’s night shelter at Ghoda Colony near Cheema Chowk (an area under Zone B) witnessed 72 visitors on Wednesday night. An official said it had c m y b There is no separate or dedicated night shelter for women in the city. Some women with a child were seen sitting on a footpath outside Guru Nanak Stadium on Wednesday night. However, it is not clear whether they had any arrangement for accommodation or not. MC Joint Commissioner Kulpreet Singh said the MC had made proper arrangements and there was no shortage of bedding and blankets for any night shelter. He said 100 blankets were recently donated by the Vardhman group for the night shelters. The staff concerned have already been directed to ensure cleanliness. At night, the civic body used to arrange food (langar from a gurdwara) for the visitors at the shelters. SPECIAL PLAN TO ENSURE PEACEFUL CELEBRATIONS Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said the city police had made a special plan to ensure peaceful celebrations on New Year’s Eve in the city. “As many as 30 gazetted officers have been assigned areas to keep a tab on revellers, safety and security of the residents celebrating the New Year. These 30 officials will supervise more than 3,000 police personnel, who will also be on duty on New Year’s Eve,” he said. police personnel, who will also be on duty on New Year’s Eve. The police do not want to create a hurdle in the celebrations and want full cooperation from the residents. They should hold celebrations without taking the law into their own hands,” added Sidhu. The Police Commissioner said around 190 police vehicles would also be in the field for patrolling or for chasing purpose depending upon the situation. “This time apart from already available vehicles with the Ludhiana Police, some more vehicles which are available with the police, but were not being used for policing purpose, will also be in the field for better policing,” asserted Sidhu. Talking about the security scenario, CP Sidhu said cops would also be deployed at vital installations in the city so that no anti-social or any criminal elements dare create any tension in the city. A late night meeting with all officials and SHOs of all police stations was also conducted for chalking out a safety and security plan for the city on December 31. Drunken drivers, hooligans to be dealt with strictly in region Our Correspondent Tribune News Service A visit to the night shelter near Vishwakarma Chowk (area under Zone C) revealed that there was a shortage of beddings. According to an MC official, 40 persons can sleep in two halls at the shelter running from an old fire brigade building. SATURDAY | 31 DECEMBER 2022 | LUDHIANA Goods worth lakhs gutted in fire at multi-storey shawl shop Harshraj Singh Vishwakarma Chowk PAGE 4 Brazilian star soccer player died due to multiple organ failure. He was undergoing treatment for colon cancer. Need to improve facilities at night shelters in city Ludhiana, December 30 The Municipal Corporation (MC) has made three of its four night shelters (Raen Baseras) operational for homeless persons this winter season but various issues related to cleanliness and lack of facilities are yet to be resolved. There is no provision to wash or clean old blankets, bed sheets, pillow covers, etc, at any night shelter. The night shelters that have been made operational are located near Dairy Complex on Hambran Road, at the old fire brigade building near Vishwakarma Chowk, and in Ghoda Colony near Cheema Chowk. The most preferred night shelter near Clock Tower has been closed after its building was found to be unsafe. TRIBUTES POUR IN AS FOOTBALL LEGEND PELE PASSES AWAY Mandi Ahmedgah/Payal/ Raikot, December 30 Drunken driving, hooliganism, smoking and drinking in the open will be dealt with strictly by the police during the New Year celebrations in this part of the region falling under Ludhiana and Malerkotla districts. The police claimed to have drafted a foolproof strategy to combat any attempt by the anti-social elements to disrupt peace and tranquility. Combing operations, enhanced patrolling and special nakas were cited among the proactive measures taken to prevent any untoward incident during New Year celebrations. Special staff, including Mahila Mitars, have been deployed at all police stations and chowkis to serve as help desks for the assistance of those facing any problem during the celebrations. Anti-sabotage teams have been deployed to check the infiltration of illegal weapons or explosives. Over 300 police personnel would be on duty round the clock to ensure that no untoward incident takes place in beats falling under Malerkotla, Ludhiana (Rural ), Khanna and Ludhiana Police Commissionerate, said police sources. DSP Raikot, Rachhpal , Singh Dhindsa said extra arrangements had been made keeping in view apprehensions about probable attempts by anti-social elements and continued on page 2