26022023-LT-01.qxd 2/25/2023 11:59 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune GLADA OFFICIALS BLAMED FOR VIOLATIONS IN LIG FLATS EISHA GETS NEW AVATAR IN FANTASY DRAMA BEKABOO Set in a universe where a war between good and evil rages on, show follows journey of two mystical beings. P3 GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 29°C | MIN 13°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 12°C INDIAN IDOLFAME MOHD DANISH TO FEATURE IN O MAAHI Samaj Sewa Society, a representative body of residents, has raised its voice against the menace. P2 FORECAST O Maahi is a melody composed by Tabish Ali and Naila Nawaz, with lyricsby Shabab Aalam & Mohd Islam. P3 » » SUNSET SUNDAY 6.22 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6.56 AM » SUNDAY | 26 FEBRUARY 2023 | LUDHIANA MC yet to launch anti-rabies vax drive for stray dogs in city Rising dog bite cases in dist worrisome 19,043 incidents reported in 2022, a sharp increase from past years Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 The alarming situation of the stray dog menace can be assessed from the huge number of dog bite cases reported in the district each year. In the past years, the average number of dog bite cases have been almost the same while a sharp increase was observed in the past year. Anti-rabies vaccine is given free of cost at all community health centres, subdivisional hospitals and the Civil Hospital. On an average, 40 new cases of dog bites are reported every day in the district. A total of 15,324 dog bite cases were reported in 2018 and 16,634 in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, only a slight decrease was observed in comparison to previous years as lockdown was imposed during these ALARMING FIGURES Year Cases reported 2018 15,324 2019 16,634 2020 13,265 2021 14,677 2022 19,043 A child gets vaccinated against rabies at the Ludhiana Civil Hospital. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and not many people were venturing out. In 2020, the dog bite cases reported in the district were 13,265 and in 2021, the cases reported were 14,677. In 2022, the cases reported were highest as compared to the past four years. A total of 19,043 cases were reported in 2022. A huge rush of dog bite victims is witnessed at Civil Hospital every day. At present, 300 protesters booked for blocking national highway Contractual staff had blocked road at Bharat Nagar Chowk Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 The Ludhiana police on Friday registered a case against 300 protesters who had blocked the national highway at Bharat Nagar Chowk here yesterday. Notably, Powercom and Transport Contract Employees Union members had held a protest at Bharat Nagar Chowk in favour of their long-pending demands on Friday. The protesters had blocked all sides of the chowk, which led to a major traffic jam in the city. Investigating officer ASI Mohan Lal said Surinder Singh had yesterday lodged a police complaint in which he mentioned that he and hundreds of commuters faced huge inconvenience as the agitators were holding a protest by blocking the road at the chowk. They had even set up a loud speaker on a mini-truck through which they were raising slogans. The protest lasted for a long time and the police had also tried to persuade the protesters to lift the protest but they didn’t budge. The ASI said on the basis of the complaint, a case on the charges of blocking the national highway and causing inconvenience to the public was registered against around 300 protesters under various sections of the IPC and under 8B of the National Highway Act. Of the 300 protesters, some were identified as Balihar, Tekchand, Ekam, Parminder, Sukhpal, Anuj Kumar, Gurlal, Sher Singh, Sukhjit Singh, Malwinder Singh and Lakhvir Singh. Two held with 15.2-kg ganja Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 The Meharban police on Friday arrested two persons and seized 15.2 kg of ganja along with Rs 23,400 drug money from their possession. The suspects have been identified as Vishawnath Yadav, a native of Bihar staying at Jaspal Colony, and Dinesh Kumar of Bihar, at present residing at Sanyas Nagar. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against the suspects. Investigating officer ASI Surjit Singh said he, along with the police party, was conducting a routine patrolling near Jaspal Colony when on suspicion, the two pedestrians were asked to stop for checking. “When a polythene carried by them was checked, 15.2 kg ganja was seized. The duo were on the way to deliver narcotics to their clients in the area. The suspects were arrested and a case of smuggling was registered against them,” ASI Surjit Singh said. He said now, police remand of the suspects would be sought from court so that more smugglers involved in the drug racket could be nabbed. The Ludhiana police had also arrested four peddlers with 22 kg of ganja on Friday. RS MP Sanjeev Arora and others during a panel discussion in Mohali. Ensure availability of affordablehealthcare for needy patients: MP Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 Sanjeev Arora, the Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana, has laid stress on ensuring the availability of affordable healthcare facilities to the people of the state, especially the needy and poor ones. He was speaking at a panel discussion held on ‘Evolving Healthcare and Medical Ecosystem — Appraising, Adopting, Affecting Lives’ during the healthcare and pharmaceutical session at fifth Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit-2023 in Mohali. He also appreciated the initiative of mohalla clinics started by the state government. Dr Balbir Singh, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Pardeep Aggarwal, CEO, State Health Agency, and VK there is no shortage of antirabies vaccine in the district but sometimes the paucity do occur as the supply arrives from the head office. “Anti-rabies vaccine is given free of cost at government ASI caught taking bribe of ~10K Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Saturday nabbed an assistant subinspector (ASI), Balwinder Singh, posted at the Sandour police station in Malerkotla district, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000. A spokesperson for the Vigilance Bureau said the police official was arrested on the complaint of Mohammad Sadiqe, a resident of Noor Basti, Malerkotla city. He said the complainant had approached the bureau and alleged that the policeman had demanded Rs 10,000 as bribe to cancel a police case already registered against him and his family members at the police station. The spokesperson said a VB team had laid a trap and the suspect was arrested on the spot while taking a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. In this regard, a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against the ASI at the VB police station in Ludhiana. Further investigation in the case was under progress. Meena, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, were among those present. Arora said both public and private initiatives were needed in healthcare in the state but the government should spend more. He opined that in India, 1.98 per cent of the total GDP was being spent on healthcare, whereas the world over around 7 to 8 per cent of the GDP was being spent. He asserted that the government expenditure on healthcare facilities should be much more to help the needy. Arora said people would be availing more chances of affordable healthcare if the government participation was increased. Arora requested the pharmaceutical industry that it should make healthcare facilities as affordable as possible. c m y b hospitals and health centres. There is no shortage of vaccine in the district and all doses are being given free. Ludhiana being a big city, the number of cases reported here is huge,” Civil Surgeon Hatinder Kaur said. A nurse attending patients at the anti-rabies clinic at the Civil Hospital said during summers, dog bite cases increase as dogs become irritable due to scorching heat. A patient requires four doses of anti-rabies vaccine. One dose is given right away and the rest on the third, seventh and 14th day. A woman from Salem Tabri, who had come for getting anti-rabies vaccine for her daughter, said she was playing outside when a few stray dogs attacked her. “There was a huge rush at the hospital and our turn came after an hour,” she said. Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 Though dog bite cases are common in Ludhiana, the Municipal Corporation’s planned project to make the city free of rabies — which is a fatal but vaccine-preventable viral disease — is yet to be launched. The rabies virus spreads to people and animals via the saliva of an infected animal, usually through bites, scratches, or direct contact with mucosa (e.g. eyes, mouth, or open wounds). According to information available on the website of the World Health Organisation, vaccinating dogs, including puppies, is the most costeffective strategy for preventing the spread of rabies because it stops the transmission at the source itself. A pack of stray dogs on a road in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN PROJECT ‘PLANNED’ 2 YEARS AGO The Municipal Corporation had planned a project to administer antirabies vaccine to all stray and pet dogs for the prevention of rabies outbreak in the city around two years ago but the civic body had a shortage of required staff for the same. It was also planning to take the support of the Animal Husbandry Department and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) so that the required staff could be arranged to launch the project. A senior veterinary officer of the Animal Husbandry Department said: “For the prevention of rabies, dogs must be vaccinated. The local body concerned can carry out a drive for the prevention of continued on page 2 Phagwara woman, husband arrested in honey trap case NOCs issued to plot holders Made obscene video of ex-serviceman, extorted ~1.68L Ludhiana, February 25 With an aim to facilitating residents in getting NOCs issued against their plots in the unauthorised colonies, the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) organised a special camp on its premises on the Ferozepur road on Saturday. During the camp, over 150 NOCs were handed over to plot holders who had applied for the same. Working on the directions of GLADA Chief Administrator (CA) Amarpreet Kaur Sandhu, the authorities also answered queries of plot holders, who were facing issues in completing formalities required for getting NOCs issued from the department. GLADA Additional Chief Administrator (ACA) Kulpreet Singh and Estate Officer Baljinder Singh Dhillon were also present during the camp. Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority CA Sandhu said as per the directions issued by the state government, initiatives were being taken to facilitate the public in availing routine services. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 25 The Khanna police on Saturday arrested a woman and her husband on the charges of honey trapping an ex-serviceman. The woman, after developing a friendship with the complainant, had shot an obscene video of the latter, in connivance with her husband. Later, they used the video to extort money from the victim. The suspects have been identified as Kirandeep Kaur, alias Shweta Saini, and her husband Mandeep Singh, residents of Joginder Nagar, Phagwara. The police also recovered Rs 25,000 in cash from the duo. Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amneet Kondal and DSP Waryam Singh addressed a press conference in this regard. Navdeep Singh of Machhiwara Sahib had lodged a complaint that he had given an advertisement in newspapers for “friendship”. On February 5, he got a call from the woman, Shweta Saini, who offered friendship to him. She had claimed that she was doing a beautician course from some college in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO Manav Mander Khanna SSP Amneet Kondal addresses the media on Saturday. “As we started meeting, the woman continued to extort money from me on some pretext or the other. I had given thousands of rupees to her for buying clothes and groceries and for other purposes. On February 20, she took me to some house in Phagwara where he offered me a cold drink laced with some intoxicants. After drinking it, I became almost unconscious. Then a man entered the house and started beating me. Afterwards, they forcibly put off my clothes and made a video,”the complainant alleged. He told the police that the suspects snatched credit cards, PAN card, Rs 15,000 in cash and other items from him. They took him to a nearby ATM kiosk from where they withdrew Rs 20,000 in cash. The suspects had extorted Rs 1.68 lakh from him in the past few days. “Recently, they called me again and asked to pay Rs 5 lakh else threatened to viral my objectionable video on social media. After which, I lodged a police complaint and the accused were arrested,” the complainant said. SSP Amneet Kondal said after verifying the allegations, the police got registered a case and arrested the suspects. Further, the questioning of the couple was on to inquire if they had extorted money from other people by resorting to the same modus operandi in the past. Tribune News Service