30012023-LT-01.qxd 1/29/2023 11:45 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune IMPROVE TEACHING METHODS, PROVIDE BETTER INFRA NIYATI LEARNS BENGALI FOR HER SHOW DEAR ISHQ ALKA YAGNIK MOST STREAMED ARTISTE ON YOUTUBE Create transport network in remote areas, promote e-learning to improve enrolments in schools: Residents P2 Niyati has done various shows, like Nazar, Yeh Moh Moh Ke Dhage and D4 — Get Up And Dance. P3 Alka was the most streamed artiste globally with 15.3 bn streams in 2022, an average of 42 mn per day. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 19°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 17°C | MIN 7°C SUNSET MONDAY 5.59 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 7:19 AM MONDAY | 30 JANUARY 2023 | LUDHIANA 3-hr ‘rail roko’ brings city to halt Trains cancelled, several delayed |Farmers protest over unfulfilled demands Trains lying stationed at city railway station in Ludhiana; and (right) passengers were a harried lot as several trains were cancelled. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Our Correspondent ludhiana, January 29 A group of farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC) held ‘rail roko’ protest for threehours (from 12 noon to 3 pm) across the state over the pending demands of farmers. Railway officials said as Two arrested with 243-kg poppy husk Ludhiana, January 29 The Khanna police yesterday nabbed two persons and recovered 243-kg poppy husk from their possession. The accused have been identified as Baljinder Singh and Bant Singh, both residents of Machhiwara Sahib. The investigating officer said the police had laid a naka on Samrala Road where a truck was stopped for checking on suspicion. During the checking, nine bags of poppy husk weighing 27-kg each and hidden beneath bags containing cattle feed were found. The suspects were then arrested. The inspector said the truck driver had loaded cattle feed in the truck from Indore and mixed bags of poppy husk in the same. A case under NDPS Act was registered against the accused. — TNS MAKE MSP LEGAL GUARANTEE Our issues include MSP ❝Zira liquor factory, betteras a legal guarantee, clarity on the compensation for farmers, release of the pending dues of sugarcane farmers and cut in user charges at toll plazas. Sarwan Singh Pandher, GENERAL SECY, KMSC ❞ a result of protesters squatting on railway tracks, nine passenger trains were cancelled at different places in the state and 22429 Delhi JnPathankot Express was detained at Ludhiana for over three hours and later diverted towards its desti- nation through a different route between Jalandhar and Pathankot. Some other long-route trains were running late due to fog or operational reasons. KMSC general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said even after several rounds of meetings with government functionaries, none of the demands of farmers were accepted. “Our issues include MSP (minimum support price) for crops as a legal guarantee, clarity on the Zira liquor factory, better compensations for farmers and immediate release of payment against pending dues of sugarcane farmers. We also want the government to reduce user charges at toll plazas,” Pandher said. Vehicle lifters on the prowl , 7 cars stolen Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 29 Vehicles lifters stole seven cars in the past few days in the city. The police yesterday registered separate cases against unknown persons in this regard and began investigation into the cases. The stolen cars include six Maruti 800 and one Maruti Zen. Three cases were reported in Model Town police station, two in police division 8 and two cases in police division 5. In the first case, the complainant, Varinder Singh Sidhu, told the police that on January 26 he had parked his Maruti 800 car near his house in Model Gram and some unknown thieves stole the same. Jagdeep Singh of Model Gram told police that thieves took away his Maruti 800 parked outside his house on January 28. Manpreet Singh of Moga said on January 19 he had parked his Maruti 800 at Udham Singh Nagar as he had to go DMC Hospital to see his relative. The car got stolen the same day. Sukhwinder Singh of Patiala said he had parked his Maruti Zen car near DMC Hospital on January 22 from where thieves stole the same. Parveen Kumar of Lakshmi Nagar said on January 24 he had parked his car at Model Town and when he came back from the market, he was shocked to see that his car was not there. Later, he lodged a police complaint and FIR was registered against the unknown persons. Kulbir Singh of Vikas Nagar said on January 28 he had parked his Maruti 800 car near Baba Deep Singh Gurdwara from where thieves stole the same. Rahul Kumar of Pakhowal Road told the police that on January 25, he had parked his Maruti 800 car at Trikona Park from where it got stolen. He then lodged a complaint at Model Town police station. Notably, the police had recovered CCTV footages of some thieves and probe was on to identify them. ludhiana, January 29 A married woman died under mysterious circumstances at her in-laws house on Barota road in Shimlapuri here. The body of the woman was found on bed in her own room. The deceased has been identified as Asha. The police arrested Asha’s husband on murder charges. Deceased’s father Chandu Bhagat said his daughter got married to Manish in 2021. Soon after marriage, his daughter’s in-laws started torturing her and due to this she went into depression, he alleged. He said the victim was allegedly murdered by her husband and in-laws and he demanded strict punishment for them. Shimlapuri SHO Parmod Kumar said on the basis of the allegations of murder levelled by the deceased’s family, Asha’s husband Manish was arrested by the police after registering a murder case against him. About the reason of death, the SHO said the post-mortem report would only clear the exact reason. — TNS Woman among three MC’s cleanliness drive to continue till January 31 held with heroin, tablets SIDHWAN CANAL Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 29 The city police yesterday nabbed three persons, including a woman, and recovered heroin and intoxicating tablets from them in separate cases. In the first case, the Ladhowal police nabbed a woman smuggler identified as Seetu, a resident of Talwandi Kalan, and recovered 30-gm heroin from her possession. Investigating officer ASI Mohan Lal said a case under NDPS Act was registered against the accused. In another case, the Ladhowal police nabbed Jaspal Singh alias Jass of Shimlapuri and recovered 50 grams of heroin from his possession. Investigating officer ASI Sansar Singh said during routine checking near Ladhowal toll barrier, a car (PB10AW1728) was stopped. During the search, 50-gm heroin was seized from the accused. The smuggler was on his way to deliver heroin to his clients. Meanwhile, the Sahnewal police yesterday nabbed a smuggler Navdeep Singh of Nanakpur Jagera and recovered 1,460 intoxicating tablets from his possession. Investigating officer ASI Savinder Singh said acting on a tip-off, the police set up a trap and intercepted the accused. During the checking of his belongings, intoxicating tablets were recovered. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against the smuggler. POLLUTION Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 29 As the Irrigation Department is set to release water in the Sidhwan Canal in the coming few days, the Municipal Corporation has decided to continue the ongoing cleanliness work at the canal till January 31. The remaining work to clean the canal would be carried out in April when the flow of water is stopped again. A huge amount of waste, including clothes, plastic carry bags and other items, had accumulated in the canal bed that falls under the jurisdiction of the Irrigation Department and flows through the city. The MC and Irrigation Department had launched a drive to Work is progress to clean Sidhwan Canal near Dugri Bridge. CIVIC BODY FAILS TO REMOVE GARBAGE DUMP ■ Though a cleanliness drive is underway, the MC has failed to remove a garbage dump near the canal bank on Gill Road despite repeated demands from environmental activists. ■ The activists have accused the MC of failing to remove the dump from where waste is falling into the canal clean the canal on January 4. MC’s Zonal Commissioner at Zone D, Jasdev Singh Sekhon, who is looking after the work to clean the canal, said the MC would clean the stretch of the canal from Lohara Bridge to Barewal Bridge. A huge amount of solid waste and silt has already been removed from the canal. Sekhon said it is expected that the Irrigation Department would release water in the water body by February 2. Thus, the MC has decided to carry out the cleanliness drive till January 31 and a temporary soil ramp, which was created to make machines enter the canal near Gill Road, would be removed by February 1. He said around 60 per cent work to clean the canal in the city limits had been completed so far and the remaining work would be carried out in April when the flow of water is again stopped. He said: “The MC has cleaned the stretch from the BRS Nagar bridge to the Dugri bridge. Work from the Gill Road bridge to the Dhuri railway line is expected to be completed by January 31. The remaining stretches Service lane work hangs fire, commuters suffer Rajguru Nagar residents bear Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Work to construct service lane under the southern bypass project along Sidhwan Canal under way in Ludhiana. INDERJEET VERMA stretch, I can reach my house from Gill Road easily. But, if I have to commute towards Gill Road from the house, I will have to drive my car on the wrong side on the same stretch. As I don’t want to drive through the wrong side, I often avoid using my car. Moreover, a number of road mishaps have taken place due to wrong-side driving,” he said. Manjit Singh said, “If the service lane from the closed railway level crossing towards Gill Road, along Sidhwan Canal, is constructed and a safe passage is made beneath the ROB, the people of our area will heave a sigh of relief. Moreover, there is a dire need to install streetlights too. We want the state government must take necessary and immediate steps to get the service lane constructed to ensure the safety of the commuters,” he said. A shopkeeper said, “The service lane construction work was stalled due to unknown reasons. The construction material is lying under the ROB for a long time. The pillars were also constructed inside the canal for the construction of the service lane. Hundreds of people are forced to suffer due to delays in the project work. The government is requested to pay the attention to get the service lane construction work completed at the earliest.” According to the sources, the construction work of the service lane was stalled amid a shortage of funds in the past. The PWD executive engineer, Davinderpal Singh, said he will look into the matter and take the necessary steps. He, however, said the department has got the approval from the government for funds to be used in southern bypass project. c m y b brunt of insanitary conditions Kuldip Bhatia Ludhiana, January 29 Residents of Rajguru Nagar are a worried lot due to poor sanitary conditions at the posh colony. Poor maintenance of parks and green belts are making things worse for residents. “Residents of the so-called posh colony are living in a miserable condition. Authorities have turned a blind eye to the insanitary conditions here,” said a resident of the colony. The residents complained that the sanitation workers have stopped sweeping roads and streets as well as collection and disposal of garbage. As a result, heaps of garbage lie scattered all over causing inconvenience to the people. Moreover, poor maintenance of parks and green belts had further compounded the problem. Residents of the colony begrudgingly said the unchecked growth of weeds and wild grass, coupled with TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN PWD blamed for delaying construction under southern bypass project Ludhiana, January 29 As the service lane construction work along Sidhwan Canal near Guru Nanak Colony is lying incomplete for years, commuters are forced to pass through the wrong side by putting their lives at risk. The service lane from the railway level crossing (Ludhiana-Dhuri railway line) towards Gill Road was to be constructed under the southern bypass project. The railway-level crossing was closed after the construction of the ROB. But, the PWD failed to get the service lane constructed to date. The residents said iron rods and other materials, which were to be used for construction work, are getting rusted at the project site. A senior citizen Manjit Singh said his house in Guru Nanak Colony is located on the left side of the stretch from Gill Road towards the closed railway level crossing. “By using the Woman dies under mysterious circumstances Heaps of garbage at the Rajguru Nagar colony in Ludhiana. the dumping of debris, garbage etc. in the parks were wreaking havoc on the health of residents. It had become difficult for children and elderly people to step out of their houses as most of the parks were in a pitiable state, they added. LIT officials acknowledged the grievances of the residents as genuine while admitting that sanitation contractor had stopped work in Rajguru Nagar and also in some other colonies as payment of their pending bills had not been made due to certain objections by the vigilance wing. Work or maintenance and upkeep of parks was also at a standstill due to ‘park management committee’ (PMCs) going non-functional over payment of dues. A senior LIT official said all efforts were being made to restore sanitation work by clearing pending bills of contractors and proper maintenance of parks and green belts through revival of PMCs. like Lohara bridge to Gill Road and BRS Nagar to Barewal Bridge will be cleaned in April.” Sekhon said the MC has deployed its own staff and machinery to clean the canal. The MC has also issued 50 challans against violators who were found dumping waste in the canal recently, he added. Though a cleanliness drive is underway, the MC has failed to remove a garbage dump near the canal bank on Gill Road despite repeated demands from environmental activists. The activists have accused the MC of failing to remove the dump from where waste is falling into the canal. Meanwhile, a project at an estimated cost of Rs 6.64 crore to install chain-linked iron fencing (2-metre height) along the stretch of the canal within city limits is also underway. Activists march over Buddha Nullah pollution Ludhiana, January 29 Environmental activists carried out 11th phase of “Padayatra”, which was started from Old GT Road Bridge to Haibowal Bridge, along Buddha Dariya. The march, which aims to create awareness to save Buddha Dariya from pollution, was carried out under the leadership of Dan Bir Singh, a social activist and ex-technocrat of GAVADSU. The distance was covered by participants carrying placards either in their hands or hanging on their necks. They raised slogans demanding the government to protect Buddha Dariya and shut down the industries, which pollute the water body. An activist, Col CM Lakhanpal, said, “Awareness drive was carried by sharing information on the delay in the Rejuvenation Project of Buddha Dariya. People were made aware of the causes of the pollution in Buddha Dariya. Locals joined Padayatra at different locations in support of the cause. — TNS