03012023-LT-01.qxd 1/3/2023 12:36 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana TRIBUNE KHANNA COP SHARES DETAILS ABOUT SEIZURES MADE IN PAYAL PAGE 2 In a meeting, the SP sought cooperation of the public in fighting crimes, especially drug trafficking, in the district. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY 75 cops honoured for exemplary duty Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 2 Commissioner of Police (CP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu on Monday honoured 75 police personnel by awarding certificate of appreciation grade II for doing exemplary duty. Two police officials were also awarded with DGP Disc for playing an important role in arresting cybercrime perpetrators. Extending new year greetings to the force, Sidhu encouraged police personnel to behave well with common people while on duty and instructed to deal strictly with bad elements to make a crime-free society. To maintain discipline in the Police Department and to keep the police physically/mentally fit, a general parade of police officers/employees was held on Monday at the Police Lines in which all gazetted officers and 651 police personnel posted at Ludhiana participated. They were also awarded with a certificate of appreciation grade 3 for their encouragement. Stop using banned plastic items: MC officials to residents Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 2 Extending New Year greetings to residents and the Municipal Corporation (MC) officials, Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu and officiating MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal appealed the public to support the authorities in promoting ‘Swachhta’ and stop the use of banned single-use plastic items. In an initiative taken by officiating MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal, a meeting of senior MC officials was organised on the first working day of the New Year in Nehru Planetarium near Rose Garden on Monday. Joint Commissioners Ankur Mahindroo, Kulpreet Singh and Sonam Chaudhary; Zonal Commissioners Jasdev Sekhon and Neeraj Jain; Secretary TS Panchhi, among others were also present in the meeting. Mayor Sandhu appreciated officials and asked them to further improve efficiency and facilitate the public at large. PAGE 3 ERICA FERNANDES MOVES BASE TO DUBAI FROM INDIA RAPPER GANGSTA BOO FOUND DEAD ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON Actor Erica Fernandes is known for her spectacular performance in the TV show Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2. MAX 18°C | MIN 3°C | YESTERDAY MAX 18°C | MIN 4°C SUNSET TUESDAY 5:36 PM The cause of Gangsta Boo’s death has not been disclosed. She was a former member of Three 6 Mafia. SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:25 AM TUESDAY | 3 JANUARY 2023 | LUDHIANA STAFF SHORTAGE AMID BF.7 SCARE At Civil Hospital, lone medicine specialist handling patient rush Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 2 Even as the Health Department is on its toes due to the BF scare, the Civil Hospital .7 is not fully equipped to deal with the situation as the hospital is staring at a shortage of staff. There is only one medicine specialist at the hospital. Keeping in view the possibility of any future wave, more specialists are needed at the hospital as it will become difficult for the lone doctor to handle patients if the rush increases. The hospital caters to the entire district and around 300 patients visit the OPD daily and at present, the lone doctor has to attend all of them. Till new appointments are made, doctors from Koom Kalan, Khanna and Raikot visit the hospital once a week. There are three posts of medicine specialist at the hospital and only one has been filled. “There is only one medicine specialist at the Civil Hospital, while three doctors come once a week from the periphery. If need arises, we will call more doctors to handle the situation,” Senior Medical Officer COVID PREPAREDNESS CIVIL HOSPITAL ■ 593 oxygen cylinders and 85 oxygen concentrators Level 3 facilities ■ 40 beds (including 10 for for paediatric patients) IN DISTRICT Level-2 facilities ■ 390 beds (government sector), 1,603 (private sector) paediatric patients) in govt sector, 256 in pvt Ventilators ■ 23 (govt) + 256 (pvt) PSA plants ■ Seven in government sector, 11 in private Amarjeet Kaur said. A doctor from the hospital said the hospital badly needs more staff. “There are three posts of medicine specialist but keeping in view the rush of patients and the size of the district, there should be at least five sanc- tioned posts,” she said. “Not only medicine specialists, but there is also a shortage of nursing staff,” another doctor said. Kundan Lal, a resident of Daba Road, who had come to the hospital to see a medicine specialist as he was hav- ■ 180 beds (140 for adults and 40 Visitors face ‘harassment’, MLA pays surprise visit to driving test centre Tribune News Service THREE HANDED OVER TO COPS FOR ‘TAKING BRIBE’ Ludhiana, January 2 As staff were not present at counters, visitors were forced to face sheer harassment at the Automated Driving Test Centre near SCD Government College here on Monday. As the visitors were standing in long queues waiting for the staff, MLA Gurpreet Gogi conducted a surprise visit. The visitors informed the MLA that they were standing in queues for a long time but no employee was available. It later came to light that the staff had gone to attend an religious event to mark the first working MLA Gurpreet Gogi said people were standing in queues when he reached the driving test centre. Three persons, who allegedly used to take bribe from visitors, had been handed over to the police for further investigation and action. A security guard at the centre was in uniform, which was similar to the police uniform. That security guard allegedly used to take bribe from applicants to get their driving test conducted. day of the New Year. Meanwhile, some visitors complained to the MLA against private agents who allegedly used to take bribe from the visitors to get their driving test conducted and passed. Gogi said he found the people were standing in queues when he reached there. Three persons, who allegedly used to take bribe from the visitors, had been handed over to the police for further investigation and action. He said a security guard at the centre was in uniform, which was similar to the police uniform. That security guard allegedly used to take bribe from applicants to get their driving test conducted. Now, the police have started a probe into the matter. ing a fever, said there was a huge rush in the OPD and he had to wait for nearly three hours for his turn. “There should be more doctors so that everyone’s turn comes in time,” he said. Talking about the preparedness in view of the BF.7 scare, Civil Surgeon Hitinder Kaur said: “We have 180 beds for Covid patients, which include 140 for adults and 40 for paediatric patients. We have seven pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generating plants in the district in the government sector and 11 in the private sector.” In the level 2 facility, there were 390 beds in the district in the government sector and 1,603 in private. In the Level 3 facility, the government sector had 40 beds (including 10 for paediatric patients) and the private sector had 570 beds. There were 23 ventilators in the government sector and 256 in private. The Civil Hospital had 593 oxygen cylinders at present and 85 oxygen concentrators, the Civil Surgeon added. Waste dumped along the Sidhwan Canal bank on Gill Road in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO PAC complains against MC for not removing dump near canal bank Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 2 Members of a public action committee (PAC) lodged a complaint with the Irrigation Department against a garbage dump (secondary garbage collection point of the MC) near the bank of the Sidhwan Canal on Gill Road here. Alleging that the dump is illegal and the MC failed to remove it, they sought action in the matter. Today, the committee through Kuldeep Singh Khaira and Kapil Dev filed Harshraj Singh NGT ORDERED BAN IN 2017 Tribune News Service Used Chinese string lies on the rail tracks in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN reach of children and youngsters despite the ban. Bunches of the used string can also be seen dumped on roads nowadays, troubling pedestrians and commuters. A senior citizen, Satish Thaman, said the dangerous banned string had claimed a number of lives and injured many persons too. He said: “In an unfortunate incident, a child died after coming in contact with such a string around five months ago in the city. Birds are also getting killed after coming in contact with the string at various locations.” “It is the responsibility of In 2017, the NGT had ordered there should be a total ban on manjha or thread for kite flying which is made of nylon or any synthetic material and/or is coated with synthetic substance and is nonbiodegradable. The state governments were directed to prohibit the manufacture, sale, store, purchase, and use of synthetic manjha/nylon thread and all other similar synthetic threads, used for kite flying. However, the ban is being flouted in the city. the state government, district administration and police to ensure enforcement of the ban on the string. Those selling the same should be booked and given strict punishment. Moreover, parents or guardians must encourage their children not to use it c m y b a complaint to the Executive Engineer of the Sidhwan Canal Division, Irrigation Department, Ludhiana, against the MC for not removing the dump. They said the PAC had been regularly raising the issue of the “unauthorised” dump for the past two years but despite their protests, the Municipal Corporation never bothered to shift it to the nearby static compactor. They alleged garbage and plastic waste from the dump fall into the Sidhwan Canal at the time of loading of garbage in tippers by the MC as well as due to wind too. “We have already moved the NGT against dumping of waste into the Sidhwan Canal,” the PAC members said. MC Health Officer Vipul Malhotra said it was a secondary garbage collection point and the civic body was making efforts to shift it to another place. Irrigation Department’s Executive Engineer Sandeep Singh Mangat said a complaint had been received and he would look into the matter. 5 held with 7 stolen two-wheelers, mobiles Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 2 The police have arrested five persons in two cases and recovered six stolen motorcycles, two mobile phones and a scooter from their possession, Haibowal SHO Birtan Kumar said. In the first case, ASI Sukhwinder Singh said the police arrested four persons and recovered five motorcycles and a Honda Activa scooter from their possession. He said the suspects were arrested while waiting to sell the stolen vehicles to their customers at Jawala Singh Chowk, here. A case under Sections 379, 411, and 34 of the IPC was registered at the Haibowal police station The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO against the suspects, identified as Sunny Kumar of Balaji Enclave, Sandeep Singh of Bank Colony, Harmeet Singh of Haibowal Kalan, Vishal of Bachan Singh Nagar, Rana, Jaswinder Jassi, and Satinder Singh. He said Open use of banned ‘Chinese’ string for flying kite poses threat Ludhiana, January 2 Even after a number of fatal mishaps, the banned ‘Chinese manjha’ (string), which is also known as synthetic or nylon string, is being used openly for flying kites in various parts of the city, posing a grave threat to human beings, birds and animals these days. Some people also call it a plastic string as it is hard to break. In August 2022, a six-yearold city boy was killed after his neck got slit with a sharp string used for kite flying on Gill Bridge, here. Such incidents have occurred in other parts of the state also but the same is still being sold and used without any fear of law by many. Questions are being raised as to how such dangerous string, which can easily cut the skin, is still within the PAGE 4 for flying kites. A mass-level campaign against the menace should be run in schools and colleges to avert such mishaps,” said Thaman, who is a former member of the Ludhiana West SubDivision Grievances Redressal Committee. A resident, Kuldeep Singh, said: “As the festival of Lohri is near, many persons fly kites these days with the dangerous string. While riding two-wheelers, commuters can come in contact with the string. It is harmful for birds and animals. As it is a matter of big concern, the district administration must take concrete action and ensure implementation of the ban on the sale and use of the Chinese string.” In 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered that there should be a total ban on the manjha or thread for kite flying which is made of nylon or any synthetic material and/or is coated with synthetic substance and is nonbiodegradable. The state governments were directed to prohibit the manufacture, sale, store, purchase, and use of synthetic manjha/nylon thread and all other similar synthetic threads, used for kite flying. Also, the chief secretaries/administrators of all the states/union territories were further directed to send a copy of the NGT order to all district collectors/district magistrates and Superintendent of Police for its compliance in letter and in spirit and to ensure that no synthetic manjha/nylon thread and also those which are coated with synthetic materials are purchased, sold, stored and used for kite flying within their area. But the ban is being flouted here. the four suspects — Sunny Kumar, Sandeep Singh, Harmeet Singh, and Vishal — were arrested, while their three accomplices, identified as Satwinder Singh, Rana, and Jaswinder Jassi, were at large and would be arrested soon. In other case, the Haibowal police claimed to have arrested a man allegedly involved in motorcycle theft cases. The suspect has been identified as Gaurav Verma of Ashiana Colony, Jassian. ASI Ram Krishan said a stolen motorcycle had been recovered from him. The suspect was arrested when he was going to sell the stolen motorcycle, he said. A case under Sections 379 and 411 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against him. The police said it came to light during the interrogation that the suspects were drug addicts and they were already facing FIRs at various police stations. Vashishat takes over as PSPCL Chief Engineer Our Correspondent Ludhiana, January 2 SR Vashishat today took charge as the new Chief Engineer for Ludhiana Central Zone of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). He has replaced Parvinder Singh Khamba. Vashishat had last served as Superintending Engineer in the Central Zone, Ludhiana. After taking charge, Vashishat conducted a meeting with senior officials, including SEs, XENs and other staff of the Central Zone, Ludhiana, to seek their support in achieving targets set by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO. He said he would live up to the expectations of PSPCL CMD Baldev SR Vashishat Singh Sran and DPS Grewal, director distribution, and also ensure uninterrupted power supply to the consumers. The Chief Engineer appealed to residents to help the PSPCL in putting an end to the menace of power theft and said he would take strict action against those found misusing the electricity or stealing the power. He directed his subordinates to keep raiding areas with more complaints of power thefts.