24012023-LT-01.qxd 1/24/2023 12:15 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune ‘SALE BAZAAR’: BOON FOR SOME, BANE FOR MANY RICHA CHADHA TO PLAY FRONTLINE WARRIOR IN FILM SHEEZAN KHAN DENIED BAIL IN TUNISHA SHARMA DEATH CASE Majority of local shopkeepers, residents consider the bazaar a source of nuisance. P2 Richa Chadha will be seen playing a frontline worker during the second Covid wave an untitled film. P3 Actor Sheezan Khan has been refused bail in the Tunisha Sharma death case. P4 » » FORECAST CLOUDY MAX 17°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET TUESDAY 5.54 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:22 AM » TUESDAY | 24 JANUARY 2023 | LUDHIANA To be constructed on cost-sharing basis at Neelon Canal, Ishmeet Singh Chowk Nitin Jain A MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURAL PUSH Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 23 To remove traffic bottlenecks caused due to railway lines, two more railway overbridges (RoBs) and railway underbridges (RuBs) will come up in Ludhiana district, officials have confirmed. The Railways has agreed to construct RoB and RuB at Neelon Canal and Ishmeet Singh Chowk in Model Town here on cost-sharing basis, it is learnt. This was disclosed by the Northern Railway General Manager Ashutosh Gangal in a communication to the Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora, who had been raising the demand of upgrading the railway infrastructure in the district. Arora told The Tribune here on Monday that Gangal had made this disclosure in response to the issue raised by him that the railway crossings were a major hurdle in the free flow of vehicular traffic and demand to construct RoB and RuB at Neelon Canal and Ishmeet Singh Chowk in Model Town here. The Northern Railway Gen- ❝We are giving a major push to upgrade and uplift the existing railway infrastructure in Ludhiana. Redevelopment of the railway station and augmentation of infrastructure have already been approved and awarded. Sanjeev Arora, MP Heavy traffic at railway crossing near Ishmeet Singh Chowk. eral Manager said, “It can be processed for sanction on cost-sharing basis, subject to joint site feasibility, consent of the state government for sharing of cost and closure of line crossing after completion.” He added that a letter in this regard had been written to the Chief Secretary in May last but the reply was still awaited. Arora had also apprised Gangal that the current number of passenger trains halting at Ludhiana railway station was unable to cater to the passenger footfall and he demanded halt of more passenger trains at adjoining Dhandari and Phillaur stations. On this, the Northern Railway General Manager responded that there was no proposal for stoppage of more trains at Phillaur and Dhandari Kalan stations as yet. “Already 15 pairs of mail/express, six pair passenger trains have stoppage at Phillaur station, two pairs of mail/ express and 3 pairs of passenger trains have stoppage at Dhandari Kalan station,” Gangal mentioned, while stating that construction work for redevelopment of Ludhiana railway station Bundled up HIMANSHU MAHAJAN had already been sanctioned. He divulged that during the execution work of Ludhiana railway station, temporary stoppage of few trains was under consideration at adjacent station of Ludhiana due to operational constraints. Highlighting that thousands of commuters on railway services in Ludhiana, which was an industrial hub of North, the Rajya Sabha MP also apprised Gangal that the existing Shatabdi Express falls short of the demand of commuters travelling to and fro Delhi. On Arora’s demand to increase the number of bogies and draft scheduling plans for introduction of new Shatabdi trains with a gap of 3 hours from existing schedule, the Northern Railway General Manager reverted that this train was now running bi-weekly between Moga and New Delhi besides ❞ five days a week between Lohian Khas and New Delhi ex Ludhiana. “This way, the Shatabdi train services were available on all seven days of the week and it was now affordable for non-Shatabdi passengers also,” Gangal divulged, while adding that feasibility will be re-examined after commissioning and remodeling of Ludhiana railway yard, the work on which was also in progress. New railway works ■ Two new RoB, RuB at Neelon Canal and Ishmeet Singh Chowk ■ Redevelopment work of Ludhiana railway station awarded ■ Feasibility of more passenger trains to be re-examined ■ Commissioning and remodeling of Ludhiana yard in progress ■ Temporary stoppage of few trains under consideration Bicycle industry seeks GST relief in Budget China biggest threat to biz: Industrialists Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 23 The bicycle industry is passing through a recessionary phase and the Central or state governments have failed to address the issue, claimed industrialists. Avtar Singh Bhogal from Bhogalsons said the greatest threat to the cycle industry is from China. “China is sending under-billed parts and products. Many of the small time dealers on Gill Road have having the bill of Rs 1,300 per cycle whereas the gear-changer alone is priced at Rs 2,000. How can we compete with them in this tax evasion? We have submitted memorandums to the government too and hope that in this upcoming budget, steps will be taken by the Indian government to save the bicycle industry,” he said. Former president of United Cycle Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA) Charanjit Singh Vishkarma said there are 2-3 major issues, which should be addressed in the Union Budget. “The major threat is from China. Bicycle parts which are manufactured here should be banned from China. Secondly, the GST on bicycle should be reduced to 5 per cent instead of 12 per cent. The issue of reflectors is there, we should be given little breather as now in the recessionary phase, putting extra money on reflectors would not be viable,” said Vishkarma. FICO general secretary Rajiv Jain said, “The government should provide special subsidies for MSMEs to promote Make in India products. The entire bicycle industry wants hike in import duty.” MC chief tells officials concerned to get cases registered Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 23 The Municipal Corporation (MC) has recommended FIRs against 55 persons who have allegedly been caught dumping waste in Sidhwan Canal in the past two weeks. MC Commissioner Shena Aggarwal has issued directions to the officials concerned to get FIRs registered against the accused. MC Zonal Commissioner Jasdev Singh Sekhon said the recommendation had been sent to the Irrigation Department as the canal falls under its jurisdiction. He said the department had been asked to take legal action and get the FIRs lodged against the violators. Currently, the MC is carrying out work to clean the canal. An official said the Irrigation Department had also got FIRs registered against three residents for dumping waste in the canal. The FIRs were registered under Section 70 of the Northern India Canal And Drainage Act, 1873, he said. “The MC teams deployed MC carries out cleanliness work at Sidhwan Canal in Ludhiana. to stop people from dumping the waste in the canal have noted down registration numbers of the vehicles in which the violators have arrived at the site. These include cars, two-wheelers, Tata 407 etc. The list has also been forwarded to the Irrigation Department, which will help the authorities in tracing the violators,” he said. Meanwhile, MC Commissioner again appealed the residents to support the authorities in keeping the canal clean as it is also the responsibility of the residents to keep the city clean and green. Notably, members of the Public Action Committee (PAC) had lodged a complaint with Irrigation Department, against a garbage dump (secondary garbage collection point of MC) just near the bank of Sidhwan Canal on Gill Road Ludhiana earlier this month. Alleging that garbage and plastic waste from the garbage dump falls into the canal, the PAC members had demanded from the department to lodge FIR against MC officials for allegedly failing to remove the dump. Follow rules, MC to bulk waste generators Man held with ~5K fine per day for non-compliance of Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 poppy husk Ludhiana, January 23 Tribune News Service Passengers wearing warm clothes wait for a train at the railway station in Ludhiana. FIRs recommended against 55 for polluting Sidhwan Canal PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN 2 more crossings to get RoB, RuB in dist Ludhiana, January 23 The Municipal Corporation (MC) has issued a warning to bulk waste generators that fail to comply with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. In a workshop held in the MC’s Zone-A office near Mata Rani Chowk on Monday, bulk waste generators were directed to comply with the norms within 10 days or penalties up to Rs 5000 per day would be imposed on them. The civic body officials said establishments generating 100 kg or more waste on a daily basis fall under GENERATE OVER 100-KG WASTE DAILY ■ Establishments generating 100 kg or more waste on a daily basis fall under the category of bulk waste generators. ■ The wet waste has to be disposed of through composting, whereas the dry waste can be either recycled or handed over to an approved garbage collector in the city. ■ Strict action would be taken against bulk waste generators in case of non-compliance, said MC Zonal Commissioner (Zone A) Neeraj Jain. the category of bulk waste generators. These waste generators need to dispose of the waste by themselves. The wet waste has to be disposed of through composting, whereas the dry waste can be either recycled or handed over to an approved garbage collector in the city. Over 20 bulk waste gener- ators, including owners/ managers of marriage palaces, eateries/ dhabas, sweet shops, etc., participated in the workshop chaired by MC Zonal Commissioner (Zone A) Neeraj Jain. Corporation Sanitation Officer (CSO) Ashwani Sahota and Sanitary Inspector Pawan Sharma were also present during the meeting. Jain said the MC had been appealing to residents to comply with the solid waste management norms as the goal could not be achieved without the support of the public. Now, strict action would be taken against bulk waste generators in case of non-compliance, he added. The police seized intoxicating tablets and poppy husk from a resident of Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir. The accused has been identified as Ravinder Singh. Investigating Officer ASI Gurmit Singh said the accused was nabbed during a naka at Lalton Kalan village. He was riding a truck coming from the Kheri side. The ASI said when the vehicle was checked on suspicion, the police seized 8-kg poppy husk and 990 intoxicating tablets from the vehicle. A case under Sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered at the Sadar police station against the accused. — TNS Complete elevated road project by June 30, MP directs officials MLA’s PA alleges overcharging at parking lot Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 23 A team of Ludhiana West MLA Gurpreet Gogi has alleged overcharging at the multi-level parking lot of the district administration on Ferozepur Road, Ludhiana, on Monday. A personal assistant of MLA Gogi alleged that they found the parking staff overcharging the visitors today. He said MLA Gogi had earlier asked the parking staff to stop overcharging but fleecing of visitors was still on. The Division Number 5 police were also informed in this regard. MLA Gurpreet Gogi said, “I had asked my PA to visit the multi-level parking lot at Administrative Complex. My PA found overcharging at the parking lot today. A complaint has been submitted to the police to lodge FIR against the persons who were caught overcharging the visitors.” Meanwhile, the police said the matter is being investigated. Cabinet Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra pays tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Ludhiana on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Netaji remembered Ludhiana, January 23 Cabinet Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra attended an event held by the Freedom Fighters Successors Organisation on Monday to commemorate the 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Presiding over the event, Jauramajra said the government was making every possible effort for the welfare of the freedom fighters. The minister said he would meet each 22 living freedom fighters in Punjab and all issues concerning them will be resolved promptly. He said financial assistance c m y b of Rs 50,000 would also be given to the needy freedom fighters to repair houses/roofs. He said he had also proposed to hike the monthly pension of freedom fighters and would also raise the matter with the Chief Minister. Earlier, the Cabinet Minister paid floral tributes to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and other freedom fighters and said the government would initiate more welfare measures for freedom fighters and their families. He added that the youth must play an active role in cherishing the aspirations of our great freedom fighters. — TNS Ludhiana, January 23 Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora on Monday directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials working on the elevated road project on Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway to complete the assignment by June 30. He said senior NHAI officials in Delhi have personally assured him that the project would be completed by June 30. Taking stock of the progress of various ongoing projects under NHAI in Ludhiana, Arora said under-construction elevated road project on Ludhiana-Ferozepur highway has become a serious cause of traffic snarls and NHAI need to give topmost priority to the complete the construction as soon as possible. He added that tenders of laying 66-kV underground cable near Aarti Chowk had already been floated and the work must be over well before expected time to facilitate the commuters on the lifeline of the city. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora holds a meeting with officials. Meanwhile, Arora said 90percent work of ROB near Sherpur Chowk had already been completed and Tajpur flyover will be thrown open to the public in the first week of February. The MP also asserted that road safety must be accorded foremost priority and asked the officials to install proper traffic signage and remove all illegal cuts on the highways to save precious lives. Further, MP also appealed the industrial houses to ensure their workers wear helmets and reflectors on their vehicles which will help to minimize road mishaps. He also asked the officials for speedy land acquisition in Delhi-Katra expressway and Ludhiana-Ropar four lane. Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik said the administration was firmly committed to ensuring safety and security of people besides facilitating them for smooth commuting on the roads.