21022023-LT-01.qxd 2/21/2023 12:05 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PSEB CLASS XII EXAMS GET OFF TO A SMOOTH START ACTOR SHRADDHA ARYA POSES WITH INS VIKRANT BAFTA AWARDS: ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONTHAS 7 WINS About 35K regular students and 2K pvt students had got themselves registered for the board exams. P2 Kundali Bhagya fame Shraddha Arya has recently treated herself with a small get-away on INS Vikrant. P3 German anti-war drama All Quiet on the Western Front dominated the BAFTA Awards with seven wins. P4 » » FORECAST CLEAR SKY MAX 28°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 15°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.18 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:01 AM » TUESDAY | 21 FEBRUARY 2023 | LUDHIANA Man loses ~30K while riding in auto; 2 arrested Tribune News Service Constructionstretch of the 104.4-km project, land not available yetbegins of Ldh-Roparexpressway for 47.24-km Work takes off for 37.7-km Nitin Jain Ludhiana, February 20 The police on Sunday arrested two members of an autorickshaw gang for allegedly stealing Rs 30,000 of a senior citizen. Complainant Kharaiti Lal Narang said the accused had stolen the cash from his pocket when he was travelling in an auto after withdrawing his pension from a bank. Thse arrested have been identified as Sukhwinder Singh of Mohalla Nanaksar and Ravinder Singh of Gurmail Nagar in Ludhiana. The complainant said after withdrawing his pension (Rs 30,000) from the Model Town branch of Bank of India, he went towards Bharat Nagar Chowk for his personal work on February 13. When he boarded an auto-rickshaw from Bharat Nagar Chowk to a mall on Ferozepur Road, another man was already sitting in the passenger seat. The auto driver kept applying the brakes repeatedly and then dropped him near Bhattal Seeds Store. The victim later found that his pocket had been picked and had lost the money. Following the complaint, the police started an investigation and arrested the accused. A case under Section 380 of the IPC has been registered against the accused. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 Finally, the work to construct the upcoming LudhianaRopar expressway has begun after much delay caused in the past, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has confirmed. While the construction of 37.7-km stretch under Package-1 of the 104.44-kmlong greenfield project, including a 19.5-km spur from Pipalmajra to Kharar with Ludhiana bypass, to be built at the cost of Rs 2,857.14 crore has taken off within the limits of Ludhiana district, the land for the remaining 47.24-km stretch has not yet started for want of land, officials have said. The development assumes significance as the stiff resistance by the farmers to part away with their land coming under the entire LudhianaRopar expressway was delaying the acquisition proceedings for 337.27 hectares to build a 47.24-km stretch. Tthe NHAI Project Director, Krishan Sachdeva, told The Tribune, here on Monday that the work on Package-1 of the four to six-lane National Highway-205K from junction with NE-5 village near to Manewal in Ludhiana to junction with NH-205 near Construction work of the expressway under way in Ludhiana on Monday. EXPEDITE WORK, DCS TOLD PROJECT REPORT 104.4 km Length ~2,857 cr Cost PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Lanes: 4-6 ROW: 60-meter Status: Work started, land acquisition under way Deadline: March 2024 Owner: NHAI Project Model: HAM Route: To start from Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway (NE-5) near Manewal village in Ludhiana and terminate on NH-205 at Ropar near Bheora village. Besides, a spur from Pipalmajra to Kharar will connect Ludhiana bypass. Bheora village in Ropar including spur to Kharar with Ludhiana bypass has picked up pace after suffi- ❝ Following the nod from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the decks have been cleared for disbursement and possession of encumbrance-free land for all packages of Ludhiana-Ropar expressway. All the DCs concerned have been directed to further expedite handing over possession of remaining land for all the NHAI projects. Vijay Kumar Janjua, CHIEF SECRETARY ❞ cient land was made available for the project. He disclosed that possession of 26.45-km of the total 37.7-km land required for the Package-1 had been taken while the process to complete the acquisition pro- ceedings for the remaining 11.25-km stretch under Package-1 was still on. With Rs 951 crore civil cost and Rs 410 crore land acquisition cost, the total capital cost for Package-1, for which the work was awarded in September, 2021, was Rs 1,368.91 crore for which 260 hectares of land was required. Of the total Rs 294.12 crore awarded for the land acquisition so far, Rs 203.47 crore has been deposited and Rs 97.55 crore, which accounts for 33.17 per cent of the total award money, has been disbursed to the landowners. Sachdeva divulged that the Package-2 comprising 47.24km stretch involved a civil cost of Rs 1,035 crore and land acquisition amount of Rs 461.71 crore, taking the total capital cost to Rs 1,488.23 crore. However, the possession of just 1.25-km land had been taken under this package so far, for which the work had been awarded in December, 2021. For the total 337.27 hectares of land under acquisition for Package-2, a sum of Rs 352.73 crore had been awarded, of which Rs 150 crore had already been deposited and Rs 86.24 crore had been disbursed to the farmers, which accounts for 24.45 per cent of the total award money. The NHAI had approved 46 access-controlled highway with a route alignment connecting Manewal village in Ludhiana on the upcoming Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway with Bheora village near Ropar for the construction of the greenfield expressway, which includes a 19.5-km spur from Pipalmajra to Kharar with Ludhiana bypass, and was being developed under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase-1. The expressway was being built in two parts under the hybrid annuity model (HAM) mode, and will connect Ludhiana, Ropar and Mohali districts. Under the HAM mode, 40 per cent the project cost was provided by the government as construction support during the construction period and the balance 60 per cent was paid as annuity payments over the operations period along with interest thereon to the concessionaire. While three railway overbridges to be built under the project had also been approved by the Northern Railways, the plan and profile of the project had been submitted and the alignment had been approved. INBRIEF MAN HELD WITH ILLEGAL WEAPON Ludhiana: CIA staff 2 claimed to have arrested a member of the Puneet Bains gang and recovered an illegal weapon from his possession here on Sunday. The accused has been identified as Rohit Tank, a resident of Dr Ambedkar Nagar near Cheema Chowk in Ludhiana. Investigating officer Ranjit Singh said a .32 bore pistol with a magazine and one bullet were recovered from the accused. ADCP (Investigation) Rupinder Kaur Sra said the court has sent the accused in three-day police remand today. Further interrogation into the case is under way. TNS FOUR CELLPHONES SEIZED FROM JAIL Ludhiana: Six inmates of the Ludhiana Central Jail have been booked after the jail staff recovered four mobiles allegedly from their possession. An FIR under Sections 52 A (1) of the Prison Act has been registered at the division number 7 police station against the accused. Suraj Mal, Assistant Superintendent, Ludhiana Central Jail, said the staff had conducted a surprise check on February 8 and recovered four mobiles from the accused identified as Raja, Amanjot Singh, Surjeet Singh, Jashandeep Singh, Rahul Kumar, and Gurdeep Singh. TNS CM inaugurates state’s biggest STP at Jamalpur Credit war erupts between AAP, Cong COMMITTED TO CLEANING WATER BODY Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 A newly constructed 225 MLD sewage treatment plant (STP) at Jamalpur, Ludhiana, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here on Monday. It is the state’s biggest STP and a part of the ongoing Rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah project. Mann dedicated the STP and other projects worth Rs 315.50 crore for the rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah today. He reiterated the commitment of the state government to clean and rejuvenate Buddha Nullah. He also expressed concern over the polluted Buddha Nullah. The CM said he had been raising this issue as MP too because the polluted water from Buddha Nullah mixes with the Sutlej and causes ■ Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann CM Bhagwant Mann inaugurates the 225 MLD STP in Ludhiana. dedicated the STP and other projects worth Rs 315.50 crore for the rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah today. He reiterated the commitment of the state government to clean and rejuvenate Buddha Nullah. ■ He also expressed concern over the polluted Buddha Nullah. ■ Meanwhile, he said there is no question of initiating the work on SYL as it is not in the interest of the state and its people. ■ He added that corruption his government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy against corruption. havoc in other parts of the state too. He said villages in Jalalabad and Fazilka were worst affected by it. Meanwhile, the CM envisioned that the newly constructed sewage treatment lah which was flowing in the heart of the city. Bhagwant Mann said that 14 kilometers of this nullah crosses from within the city adding that a detailed project has been chalked DISPROPORTIONATE ASSETS CASE Ex-LIT chairman grilled Ex-LIT chief Raman Balasubramaniam at the Vigilance Bureau office. Ludhiana, February 20 Raman Balasubramaniam, former chairman of the Ludhiana Improvement Trust, was on Monday summoned by the Vigilance Bureau and questioned in connection with alleged disproportionate assets amassed by him. An inquiry is already underway into the case by the VB. As per the information, the former LIT chairman was questioned for around four hours. He was asked to submit all required details for inquiry. Meanwhile, Balasubramaniam told mediapersons that he was cooperating with the VB in the inquiry. — TNS plant with a capacity of 225 MLD would be instrumental in the cleaning of the Buddha Nullah in the city. He said this will act as a catalyst in checking the water pollution in this nul- out for the cleaning of this nullah. The CM said that as per this the detailed project has been chalked out at a cost of Rs 650 crore under AMRUT and Smart City scheme. He said as per the funding pattern the state government is spending Rs 392 crore on this project whereas the Centre is giving a matching grant of Rs 258 crore. Mann said today projects worth Rs 315.5 crore, including STP with 225 MLD capacity and others, have been dedicated to the people. Meanwhile, he said there is no question of initiating the work on Satluj Yamuna Link Canal as it is not in the interest of the state and its people. He added that his government has adopted a zerotolerance policy against corruption. Clock promoting Punjabi released Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 On the eve of International Mother Language Day, Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday released a specially designed clock in Ludhiana, presented to him by Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu. The clock has beautifully engraved numbers and 35 letters of the Punjabi alphabet in the Gurmukhi script. The Commissioner of Police said the clock would be a 24x7 reminder of staying connected with the mother language. A special event will be held in the Police Lines of the Commissionerate where all GOs and SHOs would be presented a replica of the Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 After the inauguration of state’s biggest STP at Jamalpur, a credit war has also begun between AAP and the Congress. While AAP leaders are patting themselves on the back for starting the plant, Congressmen say the project work was started during the regime of the previous Congress government. “After AAP formed the government in the state, the work on the STP was expedited. The 225 MLD STP at Jamalpur has been inaugurated today and it will give a huge relief to the residents of Ludhiana, especially the people of my constituency,” MLA Daljeet Singh Grewal said. Grewal added that about 75 per cent of sewerage-related problems in his constituency would get resolved as the newly-constructed STP has becomes operational. He said the Buddha Dariya had Gangster brought on production warrant Tribune News Service CM Bhagwant Mann releases a specially designed clock in Ludhiana. released clock so that these can be placed in their respective offices. It is worth mentioning here that the Ludhiana police have been instructed to wear their name badges in Punjabi. c m y b To ensure that Punjabi is used in all the offices, the Commissioner of Police also ordered that the official boards of all police offices and buildings would be in Punjabi. Ludhiana, February 20 The Ludhiana police brought gangster Sagar Newton on production warrant here on Monday. He was lodged in Nabha Jail. According to the police, Sagar Newton would be questioned regarding the smuggling of illegal weapons. Notably, the police had recently arrested Munish and Aniket Chauhan, key accomplices of notorious gangster Sagar Newton, and had allegedly confiscated six illegal weapons, 12 live cartridges, and eight magazines from their possession. PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Having capacity of 225 MLD, the plant will boost Buddha Nullah rejuvenation efforts: Mann Chimneys of factories near 225 MLD STP go smokeless on Monday. ‘NO SMOKE’ FROM CHIMNEYS OF DYEING UNITS ■ Air pollution is one of the major issues on Tajpur Road in Ludhiana. No smoke was visibly emanating from the chimneys of dyeing units located near the newly-constructed 225 MLD STP on Tajpur Road today. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had arrived to inaugurate the STP in a chopper that landed at a nearby site. become Buddha Nullah due to the failure of leadership during the regime of previous governments. Project work started by our govt in 2020: Congress District Congress president and former MLA from Ludhi- ana East, Sanjay Talwar said the project for the rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah was launched in 2020 during the regime of the then Congress government. Under the project, a 225 MLD sewerage treatment plant had been continued on page 2 2 held for stealing mobiles, valuables Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 The police arrested two persons allegedly involved in theft incidents here on Monday. The police also claimed to have recovered stolen mobiles, LCD screens and other items from their possession. Following the investigation into theft that took place at a mobile shop in Haibowal area of Ludhiana, the police arrested the accused, identified as Prince Soni, alias Goru, of Mohalla Naveen Nagar on Jassian Road and Manish Kumar of Anand Nagar. A case under Sections 380, 411, 379-B (2) and 34 of the IPC was registered at the Haibowal police station against the accused on February 14. Bitan Kumar, SHO, Haibowal police station, said the police recovered various stolen items, including 52 mobile phones, four LCD screens, two water pumps, two batteries, four gas cylinders, one scooter without a number plate, parts of a two-wheeler, three gold bangles and three laptops from the accused. The police said the accused were also involved in three other theft cases.