20022023-LT-01.qxd 20-02-2023 00:30 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS TAKE STATE TALENT SEARCH EXAM ACTRESS PRIYA BANERJEE JOINS RANA NAIDU TEAM RICHARD GERE ON ROAD TO RECOVERY FROM ILLNESS The test gives scholarships to provide economic assistance to students who are financially unstable. P2 Actress Priya Banerjee will be donning the leading lady in the upcoming series, Rana Naidu. P3 The worst seems to be over for Richard Gere, who is currently recovering after being sick for weeks. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 29°C | MIN 13°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 12°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.17 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 7.02 AM MONDAY | 20 FEBRUARY 2023 | LUDHIANA Mann to inaugurate Jamalpur STP today Our Correspondent Ludhiana, February 19 Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will inaugurate a 225MLD sewage treatment plant (STP), the biggest in the state, constructed at a cost of Rs 315 crore in Jamalpur here on Monday. Presiding over a meeting to review preparations for the event, MLA Daljit Singh Grewal and Deputy Commissioner (DC) Surabhi Malik inspected the work on the newly constructed STP . They said the plant was a stategic part of the ongoing project for the rejuvenation of Buddha Dariya. The DC and the MLA asked officials to discharge their duties with dedication to ensure fool-proof arrangements by meticulous planning and execution. MC Commissioner Shena Aggarwal, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board CEO Malwinder Singh Jaggi, GLADA Additional Chief Administrator Amarpreet Kaur Sandhu, ADCs Rahul Chaba and Amarjit Bains and MC Additional Commissioner Aditya Dachalwal were among those others present. Two killed, 15 hurt as bus rams into stationary truck on highway Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 19 Two persons, including a woman, died while about 15 others suffered injuries after a bus they were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck near Khanna on the Ludhiana-Delhi highway this morning. The bus was ferrying workers of a Ludhiana-based spinning mill to their workplace when it met with the tragedy. The deceased have been identified as Mehma (21) and Sandeep (22), both natives of Gorakhpur. The injured were taken to the Civil Hospital, Khanna, for treatment. Among the 12 injured persons, Mahesh suffered serious injuries and was shifted to a hospital in Ludhiana for treatment while other injured passengers were undergoing treatment at a hospital in Khanna. After the accident, the injured accused the bus driver of rash driving. Fog was also said to be one of the caus- The ill-fated bus that met with the mishap near Khanna on Sunday. DRIVER ACCUSED OF RASH DRIVING After the accident, injured passengers accused the bus driver of rash driving. Fog was also said to be one of the causes behind the mishap as visibility was poor on the highway on Sunday morning. Some of the passengers had also asked the driver to drive slow but he didn’t pay attention to them. es behind the mishap as visibility was poor on the highway this morning. As per information, a truck loaded with stell bars had reportedly developed some technical snag last night due to which it’s driver had to park it on the highway itself. On Sunday morning, the Refrain from dumping waste into Buddha Nullah, MC tells residents Our Correspondent Ludhiana, February 19 Moving forward with the drive to stop residents from dumping waste into the Buddha Nullah, the Municipal Corporation (MC) organised an awareness drive near the water body on Sunday. The drive was organised in Shivpuri, New Kundanpuri, Haibowal and other areas. During the drive, MC teams also asked the residents to hand over segregated wet and dry waste to waste collectors. At the same time, they were requested to stop the use of banned plastic carry bags and single use plastic items to save the environment. The residents were urged to use steel utensils and leaf plates for serving food during events. Municipal Sanitation Officer Ashwani Sahota Environmentalists take out a march along Buddha Dariya to spread awareness against pollution in the drain in Ludhiana on Sunday. and MC Community Development Officer (CDO) Maheshwar Singh said the drive was organised on the directions of MC Commissioner Shena Aggarwal and more such drives would be organised in coming days to motivate the residents against dumping refuse into the nullah. Sahota said the residents should understand their duties and support the authorities in keeping water bodies clean. Dr Aggarwal said the civic body would be forced to take strict action against violators if they continued to dump waste into the nullah. Hefty challans of up to Rs 5,000 would be imposed. She said strict action was also being taken against the violators dumping waste into the Sidhwan Canal. The residents should support the authorities in keeping the city and its water bodies clean. bus driver could not notice the truck due to fog and rammed his vehicle into the truck. The collision was so intense that the hanging rebars pierced through the front glass of the bus and hit some of the passengers. After the accident, nearby residents gathered and PENDING SEWERAGE WORK Show-cause notice issued to MC Secy Phagwara, February 19 The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has issued a showcause notice against the Secretary of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation for ignoring the commission’s order. Justice Nirmal Jit Kaur said in her order that the commission has no choice but to issue the notice as contemplated under Section 16 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, to the Secretary of Ludhiana Municipal Corporation to ask as to why penal action should not be taken against him for intentionally and willfully not submitting the relevant report to the commission despite various opportunities. The order said the reply to this show-cause notice can be sent on or before the next date of hearing failing which the matter shall be considered and decided ex parte. continued on page 2 helped passengers stuck inside the ill-fated vehicle to come out. They also called an ambulance which took the injured to a hospital in Khanna. A worker, Pooja Kumari, who was also travelling in the bus, said despite poor visibility, the bus driver was driving in a rash manner. Some passengers had also asked the bus driver to drive slow but he didn’t pay attention to them. Khanna DSP William Jejji, who visited the spot, said about 25 workers were going to the spinning mill. The driver failed to notice the stationary truck on the highway. When asked about the overloading and hanging steel bars in the parked truck that pierced through the front glass of the bus and became the cause behind two casualties and injuries to some, the DSP said a case under various sections of the IPC was registered against the truck driver, Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Mandi Gobindgarh. Thief held, stolen scooter, gold ornaments recovered Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 19 Police officials at the Kailash police post today claimed to have nabbed a thief and recovered a stolen scooter and gold ornaments worth several lakhs from his possession. The arrested accused has been identified as Jatinder Kumar, alias Joti, a resident of Chawni mohalla. In-charge, Kailash police post, ASI Ashwani Kumar, said on February 17, Varun Khurana, a resident of Haibowal, had parked his scooter near DMC Hospital. Gold ornaments were kept in the scooter’s dickey. The victim said when he returned, the two-wheeler was not there. The victim lodged a complaint with the police. After registering a case of theft against an unidentified person, the police launched an investigation. CCTV footages of the area were scanned and the police got vital clues related to the suspect, ASI Ashwani said. He said acting on a tip-off, a raid was conducted and the thief was arrested. The stolen scooter along with gold ornaments were recovered from the suspect. The ASI said he would be produced in a court. The accused with the stolen vehicle in police custody in Ludhiana on Sunday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Illegal colony being constructed in Lohara, civic body officials in slumber Kuldip Bhatia Ludhiana, February 19 Contrary to tall claims of the state government against development of unlicensedcolonies, an illegal colony is coming up on Lohara Road in the city limits (under Zone-C), that too on shamlat land (village common land) in blatant violation of relevant provisions of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act (PAPRA) and the Punjab Village Common Land Act. Ironically, the officials concerned of the building branch (C-Zone) have miserably failed to rein in the defiant developer even after making claims that a challan has been issued and further construction work has been stopped at the site. Taking full advantage of the lackadaisical attitude of MC officials, the developer was The illegal colony being developed on common land in Lohara village. wooing gullible people to buy plots in this industrial colony and the illegal colony was being advertised widely on social media as well as print and electronic media – with no mention of statutory requirements like license number and registration from GLADA/RERA. Social activist Rachpal Singh Gabria has lodged a complaint with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in this regard. Copies of the complaint have also been sent to the Principal Secretary, Local Government Department, Punjab; Director, Local Bodies, Punjab and Chief Vigilance Officer, Local Government, Punjab. Alleging that the said illegal colony, being developed in erstwhile agricultural land without CLU (change of land use) or license for development of a colony from the competent authority, Gabria said the developer was reportedly connected to the persons who had earlier carved out a colony in loh/langar land at Giaspura village. “It was not only a violation of PAPRA and the Municipal Corporation Act but an offence of illegal occupation on village common land for which criminal action is called for,” said the complaint. He called for an immediate probe in the issue with directions to officials concerned to sternly stop the ongoing work. “At the same time, role of field staff and supervisory officials be looked into and responsibility fixed for their negligence and/or collusion, if any,” added Gabria. Three months on, Vertical Garden project site sans plants Driver among 3 held for Civic body awaits electricity connection to run water pumps for dedicated drip irrigation system for gardens Harshraj Singh PROJECT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE COMPLETED BY JAN 31 Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 19 Even three months after the inauguration of the project of vertical gardens under the Southern Bypass flyover along the Sidhwan Canal at BRS Nagar here, plants have not been planted at the project site. Panels for the vertical gardens were installed around flyover piers but the plants are not being grown at the project site to date. Reason: there is no electricity connection to run water pumps for a dedicated drip irrigation system for vertical gardens, as per information. When the project was launched by Local Bodies Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar on November 8, 2022, in the presence of a few local MLAs and with much fanfare, hanging The project under which vertical gardens are to be installed at 31 piers under the flyover was supposed to be completed by January 31, 2023. It was earlier announced that 260 plants of different varieties would be strung on bio-panels under the flyover, besides a dedicated drip irrigation facility will be set up for watering the plants daily. The estimated cost of the project under the Smart City Mission is ~2.17 crore. Panels for vertical gardens without plants near the BRS Nagar canal bridge in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN planters with plants were temporarily displayed on the panels at one of the piers under the flyover. However, the pots and plants were later removed. The project under which vertical gardens are to be installed at 31 piers under c m y b the flyover was supposed to be completed by January 31, 2023. It was earlier announced that 260 plants of different varieties would be strung on biopanels under the flyover, besides a dedicated drip irrigation facility will be set up for watering the plants daily. The estimated cost of the project under the Smart City Mission is Rs 2.17 crore. It came to light that the Municipal Corporation is still waiting for an electricity connection that is required to run water pumps for water- ing the plants through the drip irrigation system. MC’s Executive Engineer Balwinder Singh said the civic body had applied to get the electricity connection to make the water system operational at the project site. PSPCL officials had been asked to provide a power supply connection so that the drip irrigation system could be made operational at the earliest. Notably, the company that handles the project will have to maintain the gardens for the next three years. duping 92-yr-old of ~2L Ludhiana, February 19 A 92-year-old man was looted by his driver of Rs 2 lakh after hatching a conspiracy in connivance with two of his accomplices. The city police arrested the three suspects, including the driver, on Saturday. The suspects have been identified as Raja Babu, alias Nihal, of Phullanwal, the driver of the elderly man, his accomplices Naresh Paswan, a resident of Bhai Bala Colony, and Sunny of Phullanwal. Complainant Geeta Devi, a tenant at the house of the victim, Rachpal Singh, at Model Town told the police that on February 16, she and her landlord had gone to a Punjab National Bank branch. They were taken to the bank by his driver Raja Babu in a car. “After Rachpal withdrew Rs 2 lakh in cash, they left the place for home in Model Town in a car. On the way, two bike- borne miscreants stopped the car and after brandishing a sharp weapon at the elderly man, they snatched a bag containing cash from him and fled. Afterwards, we lodged a police complaint,” Geeta said. She alleged that when the robbers were committing the crime, the driver did not try to stop them which created suspicion in her mind. ASI Gurmeet Singh said when the police started a probe, the complainant raised suspicion over the involvement of the driver. When he was questioned, he confessed to having committed the crime along with his two accomplices. The police also matched call details of the driver with the two accomplices which confirmed his role. Yesterday, acting on a tipoff, the trio were arrested and Rs 1.70 lakh were recovered from them. — TNS