03052023-JTR-01.qxd 5/2/2023 11:47 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune WOMEN THROW WEIGHT BEHIND WRESTLERS’ STIR ALIA MAKES MET GALA DEBUT IN ‘MADE IN INDIA’ GOWN TU JHOOTI MAIN MAKKAR’S OTT PREMIERE TODAY The Janwadi Istree Sabha on Tuesday protested in support of the wrestlers at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. P2 Alia Bhatt made her debut at MET Gala in a white gown made with 100,000 pearls by Prabal Gurung. P3 Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaarstars Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor. It will be premiered on Netflix. P4 » » FORECAST THUNDERSHOWERS MAX 25°C | MIN 18°C YESTERDAY MAX 25°C | MIN 20°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.01 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:38 AM » WEDNESDAY | 3 MAY 2023 | JALANDHAR Office timings changed, but footfall after 9 am Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 2 Even as the office timings of all Punjab Government departments on Tuesday started from 7:30 am to 2 pm, the actual public dealing began past 9 am as there were hardly any visitors in the first one and a half hours. Even as the attendance in the offices remained normal and all employees made sure that they reached in time, but all waiting rooms and benches meant for the seating of visitors remained vacant till 9:30 am. “It seems that the public will take time to get habitual to the new office timings. For the first nearly two hours, we had absolutely no work in hand. We could only clear the pending files. The footfall had remained high between 11 am to 1 pm and it was time for us to leave by 2 pm”, said an employee from the SDM’s office in Jalandhar. Interestingly, some people believed that even the timings of the Sewa Kendras had changed alongwith the government office timings. Few people assembled outside the main Sewa Kendra of the district administrative complex with that impression in mind but had to wait till 9 am when the staff started turning up. The attendance in the government offices of Kapurthala too remained normal and everyone, including Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Sarangal, reached their offices before 7:30 am. Punjab DC Offices Minis- INBRIEF SNATCHERS’ GANG BUSTED, ONE HELD Phagwara: The Shahkot city police have busted a gang of snatchers and arrested one of its members and booked two others. Investigating officer (IO) Lakhbir Singh said an employee at a rice mill in Malsian town complained to the police that the accused and his accomplices had attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon on April 30 and snatched cash and mobile from him. The IO said a case has been registered under Sections 379- B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. OC 22-YEAR-OLD DIES BY SUICIDE Phagwara: A 22-year-old youth allegedly died by suicide on Monday. Station House Officer (SHO) Jasbir Singh said the deceased has been identified as Deepak Kumar, a resident of Bhandal Butan village. Balwindar Pal, the paternal uncle of the deceased, told the police that his nephew had ended his life by strangling himself at his house out of stress. The SHO said the police, acting under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code, handed over the body to the family after post-mortem. OC CONFUSION AT SEWA KENDRAS ■ As the new office timings came into effect on Tuesday, some people visited the Sewa Kendras early only to find them shut. ■ At the main Sewa Kendra of the District Administrative Complex in Jalandhar, people had to wait till 9 am when the staff started turning up ■ As per the state government orders, all Sewa Kendras will work as usual from 9 am to 5 pm, while all state government offices would operate from 7.30 am to 2 pm. The new timings will remain in effect from May 2 to July 15 << The tehsil complex wears a deserted look on the first day of new office timings in Jalandhar on Tuesday. PHOTOS: MALKIAT SINGH Government employees get to work in the tehsil office; a couple of visitors at the DC office; and the Nawanshahr ADC during a surprise check at the District Administrative Complex on Tuesday. terial Staff Association State General Secretary Satbir Singh said all the employees working in DC office reached by 7:30 am but the general public started coming to office after 10 am. “Hence, most of the employees remained idle till that time,” he said. The employees said since the temperature was still normal due to good climate, they would not have in any case switched on the airconditioners and worked only under the fans. The employees who came from far-off places and the women staff rued that they Mahila Kisan Union to boycott AAP, BJP JALANDHAR LOK SABHA BYPOLL Tribune News Service Jalandhar May 2 The Mahila Kisan Union, a member of the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha, has called for a complete boycott of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the byelection for the Jalandhar Lok Sabha constituency, alleging both the parties have totally failed to safeguard the interests of farmers and labourers. The union alleged that both the parties had cheated farmers at every step and did not implement their demands even after agreeing to them. So both the outfits should be taught a lesson by giving them a ‘vote ki chot’. Announcing this after a meeting of the union here on Women farmers after a meeting in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO BOTH HAVE FAILED TO MEET DEMANDS after the written demands ❝EvenPrimeacceptingNarendra Modi has notofyet farmers, Minister implemented them and not given any relief to about 750 dead farmers…even the AAP government has not fulfilled any major demand to date. Rajwinder Kaur Raju, PRESIDENT, MAHILA KISAN UNION Tuesday, Mahila Kisan Union president Rajwinder Kaur Raju said the whole world is well aware of the historic ❞ ‘kisan andolan’ against the farm laws. Even after accepting written demands of the farmers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not yet implemented them and not given any relief to about 750 dead farmers, due to which the entire farming community and farm labourers of the country was strongly opposing the BJP . Taking a dig at the ruling party in the state, she said it was using the name of Shaheed Bhagat Singh but it was far removed from the ideology of Shaheed-e-Azam. She said despite giving assurances in dozens of meetings with farmer organisations in the last one year, various ministers, including the Chief Minister, had not fulfilled any major demand till date. She also alleged that neither the sale of narcotics had ended in Punjab nor the farmers’ suicides had stopped. Therefore, the farmer leader, declared that the Mahila Kisan Union would boycott AAP and BJP during this byelection. faced some difficulties. Some employees said they carried breakfast from home and took it after reaching the office. 23 come late in Nawanshahr; reply sought Nawanshahr, May 2 On the first day of new timings at the government offices, Nawanshahr Additional Deputy Commissioner (G) Rajiv Verma conducted checking at various offices in the District Administrative Complex, where as many as 23 employees were found as latecomers. He said among these employees, five employees of the District Programme Office, one of PLRS Society, 12 employees of the Food Supply Office, two employees of the Election Tehsildar Office, two employees of the STRICTLY FOLLOW NEW TIMINGS: DC TO STAFF Employment Office, and one employee of the Skill Development Office were found to be late. Verma said he had submitted his report to the Deputy Commissioner after which an explanation had been sought from these employees. He said further action would be taken after the reply received from the employees. Deputy Commissioner Navjot Pal Singh Randhawa instructed all government officials and employees of the district to strictly follow the new office hours fixed by the government and said the checking regarding the new office timings would continue. He said the decision had been taken in the interest of the state and the common man, so it is the responsibility of the employees to fulfil the duty. — TNS 3 held for snatching SUV at gunpoint Tribune News Service One dies of Covid, 11 more positive Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, May 2 A woman lost her life to Covid-19 in the district today. Giving information about the latest situation of Covid-19, Hoshiarpur Civil Surgeon Dr Balwinder Kumar said 11 new positive cases of Covid19 had been reported today. As many as 389 samples were collected today. At least 30 new samples from persons with flu-like symptoms were taken today. At present, there were 57 active cases in the district. A 36-year-old resident of Thiara village died of Covid at the Government Medical College in Amritsar. Jalandhar, May 2 The rural police claimed to have arrested three accused who snatched a SUV at gunpoint on April 26. The accused have been identified as Agiapal Singh (31), Jaskirat Singh (24), and Happy (26). Stolen vehicles and weapons have been recovered from the possession of the accused. The victim Sukhwinder Singh had filed a complaint with the police that unidentified men robbed him of his car, Rs 1,71,000 and a mobile phone at gunpoint. Following his complaint, teams were formed and a search was started to nab the snatchers. The police said they got secret information that Agiapal Singh, a drug addict lives in Kartarpur and he was seen in a Bolero (the snatched SUV). “When we reached the place, he tried to flee, resulting in him (Singh) hurting his foot too,” the police said. The police added that during the investigation, it was found that Agiapal’s acquaintances were also involved in the same and they were arrested too. “The police said that around five months ago, the accused had snatched a motorcycle from a man on Jalandhar-Pathankot Road. Apart from this, the three had also looted an Alto from a student of a private university,” he said. Cases under Section 379-B of the Indian Penal Code, 25/27-54-59 of the Arms Act were registered against the accused. Health Minister donates portion of house for wellness centre Ashok Kaura PO IN SHAHKOT POLICE NET Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a proclaimed offender (PO) absconding for the past many days. Investigating officer (IO) Harnek Singh said the accused has been identified as Gurmit Singh of Mohalla Bagh Wala, Shahkot, and was wanted in a case of drug peddling. oc Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh at Bhaura village in Nawanshahr. Phagwara, May 2 Exhibiting a rare gesture towards residents of his native village in Nawanshahr, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh has announced that a portion of his ancestral house would be converted into a government-run health and wellness centre. Dr Singh, who visited Bhaura village to meet his mother on Monday, acceded to the demand of villagers and approved a health and wellness centre for the village. The minister not only provid- c m y b TO BEAR ENTIRE EXPENSES ■ A government-run health and wellness centre will come up on a portion of the ancestral house of Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr Balbir Singh at Bhaura village in Nawanshahr ■ The minister said he would bear the expenses of setting up the centre that would have a community health officer besides an ANM, a health worker and an ASHA worker. ■ The centre would provide facilities for tests, special care for high-risk pregnant women besides child immunisation. Patients diagnosed with TB would also be followed up ed a portion of his ancestral house but also announced to bear the entire expenses on setting up the centre. He said he and his brother own the house jointly. One portion of the house was being used by his mother who did not wish to leave the village, and the other was lying vacant. He and his brother chose to give that portion to set up a health and wellness centre for providing healthcare services to village residents. He said the mandatory addition such as a washroom and a mini-kitchen besides aluminum fitting and other required renovation is going on a war footing. He expressed hope that after getting the clearance from his own department for this new health institution, it will be made functional within a month. He added that the new health and wellness centre would have a community health officer besides an ANM, a health worker and an ASHA worker. The centre would cater to nearby residents and provide facilities for tests, check-ups like ANC, special care for high-risk pregnant women besides child immunisation. Apart from that, patients diagnosed with TB would also be followed up. The centre will also work as a telemedicine nodal point to get opinions from specialists. Getting nostalgic, he said the journey of becoming a student to a doctor and now the Health Minister began from this village only. He said he would always remain indebted to the village.