07012023-LT-01.qxd 1/7/2023 12:59 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune ACCIDENTS WORSEN DISTRICT HEALTH INDEX, SAYS REPORT MX STUDIOS COLLABORATES WITH DUBAI ECONOMY MX Player has announced its association with Dubai Economy & Tourism for mini-series A Spin Around Dubai. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 15°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 9.8°C | MIN 5.4°C RENOWNED ART DIRECTOR SUNIL BABU IS NO MORE Health index due to road accidents in Ludhiana district has been on the rise for the past three years. P2 FORECAST Noted art director Sunil Babu died at a private hospital on Thursday night due to a cardiac arrest. He was 50. P4 » » SUNSET SATURDAY 5.39 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:25 AM » SATURDAY | 7 JANUARY 2023 | LUDHIANA 6 mobiles, tobacco sachets seized from Central Jail Ludhiana January 6 A surprise checking in the Ludhiana Central Jail led to the recovery of six mobile phones and 101 tobacco sachets. Of the six mobiles, five were recovered from six jail inmates and one was found abandoned on the jail premises. Assistant Jail Superintendent Kashmir Lal said on January 4 he, along with the team, conducted a surprise checking inside the jail in which belongings of jail inmates were checked and some of the inmates were also frisked, during which five cell phones were seized from six inmates. Jail officials said now, a probe would be conducted to inquire about the source which facilitated mobiles to the jail inmates. Sources said the cell phones would be sent for forensic examination and even call details would also be checked to know about persons who were in touch with the inmates. The jail officials also conducted checking in the jail on January 2 during which a mobile phone and 101 tobacco sachets were recovered from the jail premises. A case under the Prisons Act was registered. — TNS Hospital rampage: Attempt ‘Security at Civil Hospital a core issue’ Police post shifted, cops deployed, police vehicle with cameras stationed to murder case registered barge into the EMO room by breaking doors. On October 21, an incident of misbehaviour with the onduty medical officer was reported from the Sub-Divisional Hospital, Jagraon. The miscreant assaulted other patients, created ruckus and damaged public property. Manav Mander Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 6 The police have registered an attempt to murder case against unidentified persons who had ransacked the Civil Hospital on Thursday morning after bodies were exchanged. The case was registered on the complaint of Senior Medical Officer Amarjit Kaur. Apart from attempt to murder, Section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant to discharge of his duty) and 186 (Voluntarily obstruct public servant from discharge of his public functions) of the IPC, and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act were also added to the FIR. On the other hand, on the complaint of kin of the deceased Ayush Sood, whose body was claimed by some other persons and cremated, the police registered a case under Section 403 (Dishonestly misap- OTHER SECTIONS ADDED TO FIR Unidentified persons, who ransacked the Civil Hospital on Thursday morning after bodies were exchanged, were booked on the complaint of SMO Amarjit Kaur. The police have registered an attempt to murder case against them. Besides attempt to murder, Section 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant to discharge of his duty) and 186 (Voluntarily obstruct public servant from discharge of his public functions) of the IPC, and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act were also added to the FIR. propriation of property), 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 379 (Theft) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against unknown persons. The police have also asked the Civil Surgeon to submit a report pertaining to the negligence of the Civil Hospital staff, which led to the exchange of bodies, so that further action could be taken accordingly. Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu appealed to residents that they should not damage public property to settle their personal issues else police would take strict action against them. Ludhiana, January 6 Security has always been an issue at the Civil Hospital. Yesterday, the hospital was ransacked by kin of a deceased youth after his body kept in the hospital mortuary was received by another family mistakenly. It was not the first time that such an incident occurred on the hospital premises. Families attacking doctors on duty and ransacking the hospital has become common these days. After the incident, the police post has been shifted to the room located opposite the room of the Emergency Medical Officer and a few cops have been deployed at the entrance of the emergency and a police vehicle with cameras was also stationed at the hospital. Dr Rohit Rampal, vice-president of the Ludhiana Punjab Civil Medical Services Association, said security at the Civil Hospital had never been taken seriously. “Numerous incidents have occurred where doctors have to bear the wrath of the patient’s kin. We are here to help patients Make security arrangements a regular feature, says doc A police vehicle fitted with cameras stationed outside the mother and child ward at Civil Hospital in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN and we do not expect such treatment from families,” he said. In July last year, a youth was murdered at the emergency ward. After the incident, doctors were angered over poor security arrangements at the hospital and issued an ultimatum to the police authorities. Doctors had demanded adequate security, especially on the emergency premises. Ludhiana Police Commissioner, in response to the doctors’ demand, had promised to provide a round-the-clock PCR van at the hospital. He had also promised to increase staff at the police post on the hospital premises. But things remained the same and nothing much changed as again in October on Diwali night, an incident of misbehaviour with an onduty medical officer was reported from the hospital. Five persons were reported to the Civil Hospital emergency at around midnight for their medico-legal examination. They were in an intoxicated state and demanded an out-of-the-queue turn and earliest MLR preparation on the pretext of their links to a local politician. Miscreants used abusive language and Dr Rampal said: “We have been repeatedly apprised the higher authorities of the sorry state of security arrangements at the Civil Hospital. We need permanent solution to the problem so that doctors, who saves lives, do not have to worry about their own lives. We hope arrangements made by the Police Department would be on a permanent basis.” “Security has been a core issue for us. We have discussed it time and again with previous governments and with the current government as well. Its high time that a pragmatic solution is provided to the perennial problem,” said another doctor from the hospital. Youth feared drowned ascar falls into canal Tribune News Service Chetan Verma gets a certificate from returning officer Kamaljit Sharma in Ludhiana. Chetan Verma is DBA chief Young faces dominate new Bar Association team Rajneesh Lakhanpal Ludhiana, January 6 A sitting member of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, Chetan Verma, was elected president of the District Bar Association (DBA) in the annual elections held today. He defeated his nearest rival candidate with a huge margin of 296 votes. Earlier, his father Vijay Verma remained president of the DBA thrice. Young faces dominate the new DBA team. Voters have given chance to the young generation to work hard for the legal fraternity while utilising their energy. The elections remained less expensive this time in comparison to the past. Chetan Verma got 1,148 votes, whereas his nearest rival candidate Naval Kishore Chhiber managed to garner 852 votes and 236 votes were polled in favour of third contender Gurvinder Singh Sodhi. Out of total 2,732 voters 2,254 exercised the right to franchise. However, two votes were found to be invalid. Two voters were caught making video while casting votes. Their votes were cancelled. Verma’s supporters were overjoyed as his victory was clear with the increasing margin of votes much prior to the official announcement of the result. Former DBA president Vijay Verma, Navin Bawa, Tarun Lakhanpal, Shubham Malhotra, Parmod Kumar, Ajay Chopra, Rakesh Sharda, Lokesh Batta and Vishal Jain congratulated Verma on his victory. Meanwhile, Karan Singh was elected for the post of the DBA vice president. He defeated his opponent Harjot Singh Harikay by a margin of 161 votes. Karan Singh garnered 1,205 votes, whereas Harikay got 944 votes. His staunch supporters Jaswant Singh, Nitin Kapila, Gurpreet Saini, Gagandeep Singh Saini and Chander Kalia congratulated him. A young lawyer Vikas Gupta was elected for the prestigious post of the DBA secretary. He defeated his nearest rival candidate Himanshu Walia by a margin of 312 votes. Vikas got 1,222 ballots whereas Himanshu garnered 910 votes and third contender Gurinder Sood had to content with 101 votes. The elections were conducted by returning officer Kamaljit Sharma, along with a team of 10 assistant returning officers, under the supervision of two observers Hargobinder Singh Gill and continued on page 2 Ludhiana, January 6 Four friends returning home after celebrating birthday met with a tragedy after their Maruti Zen car fell into a canal, a branch of Sirhind feeder, passing under the Dalla bridge yesterday night. Satnam Singh (24) was feared drowned in the canal. He was yet to be traced. Body of one occupant Dilpreet Singh (23) was recovered 10 km away from the accident site after hours of search operation. Fortunately, two other car occupants were safely rescued by villagers. All the occupants were residents of Lakha village. The incident occurred at around 11 pm on Friday night. Dilpreet, along with his friends Satnam Singh, Iqbal Singh and Manjinder Singh, had gone to celebrate his birthday in his Zen car (bearing registration No. DS3C3430). While returning home when they reached Dalla bridge, Dilpreet, who was driving, lost control over the speeding car and it fell into the canal. As per the information, after car fell into the canal, Dilpreet and Satnam reportedly came out of the vehicle, but they were washed away in the water. Other two youth Iqbal and Manjinder had also come out of the car and stood over the roof of the floating vehicle. They had then made a phone call to a villager of Dalla village, who then ensured an announcement in a gurdwara, following continued on page 2 The ill-fated car that fell into the canal near Jagraon on Thursday night. Max temperature dips to 9.8°C, cold wave continues Manav Mander Ludhiana, January 6 Cold wave continued in the region as maximum temperature in the city dipped to 9.8 degree Celsius today. It is the lowest maximum temperature recorded on January 6 in the past 12 years. The minimum temperature recorded on Friday was 5.4 degree Celsius. The evening relative humidity was 78 per cent while morning relative humidity recorded was 85 per cent. ASHWANI DHIMAN Tribune News Service Residents sit around a bonfire to warm themselves in Ludhiana. Dr Pavneet Kaur Kingra, Head, Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), said 9.8 degree Celsius was the second lowest maximum temperature recorded on January 6 since 1970, when a metrological observatory was established at PAU. On January 6, 2011, the lowest maximum temperature was recorded at 8 degree Celsius, whereas in 2000, the same temperature, i.e., 9.8 degree Celsius, was recorded. “Cold wave will continue to persist for the coming two or three days and people need to careful during this time,” Dr Kingra said. c m y b Civil Surgeon Dr Hitinder Kaur said as the district was facing biting cold conditions, residents need to be cautious to not fall prey to infectious diseases like flu, hypothermia, frostbite, etc. “People should keep an eye on weather forecast and follow necessary measures to keep themselves safe. Frostbite and hypothermia are dangerous conditions that can arise if a person is exposed to extremely cold temperatures,” Dr Hitinder said. The work in progress on the elevated highway in Ludhiana on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN ~756-cr elevated highway to be complete by June NHAI Chairman orders to expedite work on 13-km stretch Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 6 The work on partially-access controlled four-lane elevated highway in Ludhiana will be completed by June, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has assured. The 12.95-km-long stretch between the busy Samrala Chowk and Ludhiana MC limits on the National Highway-05, costing Rs 756.27 crore, was earlier targeted to be completed by March but due to certain bottlenecks and delays, the initial deadline has been extended by another three months to June. An assurance to this effect was given by NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav to the RS MP from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora, who called on him in New Delhi, the other day. The development holds significance as the stretch, which is at present narrow, has assumed the distinction of a killer highway due to high volume of vehicular traffic, snuffing out precious lives in major and minor accidents on a daily basis. The MP told The Tribunehere on Friday that he discussed in detail issues related to ongoing projects of the NHAI in the state, particularly in Ludhiana. “While taking up pending issues regarding NHAI projects in Ludhiana, I drew attention of PROJECT REPORT COST ~756.27 CRORE LENGTH: 12.95-KM START DATE: OCTOBER 10, 2017 PROPOSED COMPLETION DATE: JUNE 30 the Chairman towards matters of public importance with respect to inconvenience faced by commuters at large due to pending projects of the NHAI in and around Ludhiana,” he said. Arora said the NHAI Chairman had ordered the officials concerned to expedite the ongoing work and had assured him that the elevated highway project in the city would be completed by June. According to project details, the NH-05 section passing through the city was being constructed on the EPC mode under the NHDP Phase IV , . The elevated highway, connecting Samrala chowk to Ludhiana MC limits till the Ferozepur road on the NH-05 in the city, will be six lane from Bharat Nagar to the municipal limits with two loops — one towards the railway station and another towards the ISBT. The project entails six ramps — three each at exit and entry points, and a flyover at the Cheema chowk with 320-m length, which has already been completed and opened for traffic by the then NHAI Chairman Sukhbir Singh Sandhu here in February last. The under-construction elevated highway will provide uninterrupted flow of traffic to several government offices, including Mini-Secretariat, CP office, head post office and major business establishments. Even as the construction work on the project had commenced in October 2017, it could not be accelerated due to existing trees, electricity supply lines of 11, 66, and 220-KV and , presence of sewer and water supply lines at several locations. After clearance of all hurdles coming in the way, the work on the project has finally picked up pace and was expected to be completed within the stipulated time frame.While the Cheema chowk flyover was completed and opened to traffic in December 2020, the work from 9.5 km to 12.95 km, including two ramps on either side for exit and entry, was also completed recently. “This 3-km stretch was opened to traffic recently to provide much-needed relief to commuters and residents in the vicinity of the Ferozepur road,” an official said. The work on the remaining portion of the project from Bharat Nagar to the canal would be completed by June, she added.