17052023-LT-01.qxd 17-05-2023 00:48 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SHORTAGE OF DOCS PLAGUES HEALTH SERVICES AT CHC ACTOR SAMARTH JUREL TO PLAY BANARS BOY IN MAITREE Actor Samarth Jurel will play the role of Banaras boy Harsh in Zee TV’s fiction show, Maitree. P3 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 41°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 41°C | MIN 24°C BRITNEY SPEARS’ HUSBAND UPSET OVER FILM ON WIFE Frequent transfers also a factor for current predicament of Ahmedgarh Community Health Centre. P2 FORECAST Sam Asghari has lashed out at the “disgusting” television special centred around his wife. P4 » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.16 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5.29 AM » WEDNESDAY | 17 MAY 2023 | LUDHIANA YOUTH HELD FOR MOLESTING GIRL Ludhiana: The Shimlapuri police yesterday arrested a youth (21), identified as Dharminder Kumar, a resident of Shimlapuri, on the charges of sexually exploiting an eight-year old girl. SI Ranjit Singh said on May 14, the suspect had lured the girl by saying that if she would accompany him, he would buy candies for her. After which, she sat on the bicycle of the suspect. The youth took the girl to some isolated place in Shimlapuri where he molested her. Passers-by after noticing the act, stopped the suspect and took him to the victim’s house. Later, the girl’s family called the police and handed over the suspect to the police, he said. TNS TWO MORE TEST +VE FOR COVID Ludhiana: Two persons tested positive for Covid in the district on Tuesday. The positivity rate was 0.33 per cent and there were 18 active cases in the district today. One person who tested positive today was a antenatal care patient while the other is still being tracked by the Health Department. A total of 1,14,513 persons have tested positive and 3,031 patients have lost their lives to the virus. TNS POWER SHUTDOWN LUDHIANA 8 am to 2 pm: New Janta Nagar street number 1, 4 to 9, Ranjit Nagar street number 1 to 5, Kot Mangal Singh street number 23 to 28 and Angad Colony street number 1 to 4. 10 am to 3 pm: Mahavir Nagar, Sunil Park, Shamsher Avenue, Prof Colony, Raja Garden, Malkiat Avenue, Ranjit Nagar, SN Paper Mill, Hemkunt Paper & Delight Food. 10 am to 5 pm: Baba Gajja Jain Colony street number 1 to 6, Mohindra Enclave and Transport Nagar. Work begins to construct four bridges over Sidhwan Canal Days after garbage fire incident, MC removes accumulated waste ~19-cr NHAI project will ease traffic congestion in busy South City area Ludhiana, May 16 Days after a fire broke out at a garbage dump near Giaspura flats, the Municipal Corporation (MC) woke up to remove accumulated waste from the site. However, despite repeated demands from residents, the dump has not been completely removed. Residents of Adarsh Colony and nearby areas recently went through a distressing ordeal due to the toxic smoke emanating from the burning waste at the garbage dump located near Giaspura flats. It Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 16 Finally, work has begun to construct four bridges over the Sidhwan Canal on the Laddowal bypass here, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said. It will help decongest massive traffic congestion in the busy South City area, which is becoming a hotspot for the food, recreation, and tourism industry. The development assumes significance as the project was awaiting nod for the past some time and the Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora, had recently impressed upon NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav to accord green signal to the project. Arora, who reviewed the progress of the NHAI project with Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik and the NHAI officials concerned, here, told The Tribune, on Tuesday that following the in-principle approval received from the NHAI headquarters in March, the local office has floated the tender inviting bids from interested firms to construct four bridges over the Sidhwan Canal at an estimated cost of Rs 19 crore. He said nine bids had been received, which were being examined, and the most eligible one would be awarded the project within the next fortnight. The MP said following the NHAI nod, a feasibility and alignment survey was conducted to prepare the detailed project report on the HIMANSHU MAHAJAN INBRIEF rat Chetra, in a statement issued said acting on a tip-off, the Doraha police laid a naka at a strategic place in Doraha where a Maruti Swift car (bearing registration no. PB10CP3695) was intercepted. During the checking of the vehicle, 40 gm of heroin was found kept in a polythene bag. The DSP said the suspects were on the way to deliver heroin to their clients. Now, their police remand would be sought from court so that the entire drug smuggling network could be busted. In the other incident, the ‘CONSTRUCTION TO BE COMPLETED BY YEAR-END’ RS MP Sanjeev Arora said the NHAI Chairman had also assured him that the construction of the four bridges across the Sidhwan Canal towards South City in Ludhiana will be completed by the end of the year. basis of which tenders were floated to award the work. “The bridges would help decongest the south city area which is dotted with heavy traffic flow,” the Rajya Sabha MP said while adding that the project would also help improve road safety and convenience of commuters on national highways covered under the project. Arora said the NHAI Chairman had kept his words of giving approval to the construction of the four bridges over the Sidhwan canal, which he had demanded during his recent meeting with him. “I had apprised the NHAI Chairman that construction of the four bridges across the Sidhwan canal towards South City in Ludhiana was yet to see the light of day for which application was pending with the NHAI since long,” Arora Ludhiana police on Tuesday arrested a woman and seized 80 gm of heroin from her. She has been identified as Neelam of Ekta Marg, Shimlapuri. ADCP Rupinder Sran in a statement issued said officials of the anti-narcotics cell of the city police had received a tip-off that the woman was into the drug smuggling trade and she was on the way to deliver heroin to her clients. The police laid a trap and nabbed her along with heroin from a strategic point. A case under the NDPS Act was registered. — TNS said while thanking Yadav for approving the project. He had informed the NHAI Chairman that Ludhiana being one of biggest industrial cities in the country with over 5 million population, the traffic situation was getting chaotic due to the pending projects. The MP had requested him to direct the officials concerned to speed up the pending projects in and around Ludhiana. While appreciating the work being done, he had drawn the NHAI Chairman’s attention towards the matters, which needed immediate intervention. He had told Yadav that the traffic situation within the MC limits of Ludhiana was in a bad shape on account of the ongoing NHAI projects passing through the city, causing a nightmare for commuters. “Frequent and long traffic jams are making citizens lose their temper as it takes long time to commute between office and home,” the MP said while requesting the NHAI Chairman to take stock of the situation and take necessary initiatives for speedy work at the earliest possible to enable easing out of the traffic situation. “All assurances of the NHAI Chairman have come true,” he said while recounting that the Sherpur Chowk railway over bridge (ROB) had already been opened for traffic in March after its construction was completed and the ongoing work on the elevated road project had been expedited to meet the completion target of June. “Ludhiana residents had been raising a demand for the construction of the four bridges over the period of time and had been meeting him with this demand, which has been finally met,” the MP said. 3 held for arranging bail with fake documents Ludhiana, May 16 The Ludhiana rural police claimed to have busted a gang facilitating bail applications of criminals on the basis of fake documents. The nabbed members of the gang have been identified as Gurmeet Singh, alias Meeta, Bhinderjit Singh alias Deepu, residents of Moga, and Kamaljit Kaur, alias Gagan, of Mohali. A case has been registered. SI Angrej Singh of the CIA Staff, Jagraon, said a tip-off was received that the sus- pects were running a racket of obtaining bails for criminals and they had been using fake documents of properties and stamps of village sarpanch and other officials. After verifying information, a police team was formed to nab them. Yesterday, they had come to the courts for facilitating bails of some persons lodged in the jail where police apprehended them. Fake stamps and documents of properties were seized from them, the SI said. — TNS Two brothers acquired properties, luxury cars V-TRADE APP SCAM Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 16 In a tale that blends ambition, deceit and the allure of wealth, two brothers embarked on a journey that changed their lives. Born into a humble family, they were raised with strong values. As young boys, they would often assist their father in his small hosiery business, dreaming of a future where they could rise above their modest beginnings. Driven by a desire for success, the brothers ventured into the world of online trading by creating a mobile app, ‘V-Trade’, which promised incredible returns on investment. CP Mandeep Singh Sidhu addresses the media in Ludhiana. WILL WRITE TO ED, I-T DEPT, SAYS TOP COP Commissioner of Police Mandeep Singh Sidhu while addressing the media regarding the matter said since the suspects had made properties worth crores in the recent past, the police would write to the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department for further probe involving illegal money and properties. Through deceitful practices and manipulation, the duo transformed V-Trade into a money-making machine. The police on Tuesday RESIDENTS HAD A TOUGH TIME Residents of Adarsh Colony and nearby areas recently went through a distressing ordeal due to the toxic smoke emanating from the burning waste at the garbage dump located near Giaspura flats recently. It resulted in health issues among several residents. resulted in respiratory issues, irritation in eyes and frequent coughing among several residents. A man reportedly lost consciousness after inhaling smoke. As per the residents, the Municipal Corporation used JCB machines to lift the accumulated waste from the dumpsite today. Dr Vipal Malhotra, health officer of the MC, con- firmed that the waste was being removed from the site. However, when asked about the timeline for completely eliminating the dump, he said the MC was planning to install static waste compactors at the location soon. The official asserted that a passer-by had set the garbage on fire a few days ago. However, the culprit had not been identified so far. The Sidhwan canal on which four bridges will be constructed to ease traffic flow in the South City area. Four arrested with heroin Ludhiana, May 16 The Khanna police today arrested three persons and seized 40 gm of heroin from their possession. In another incident, a woman was nabbed with heroin by the Ludhiana police. The suspects have been identified as Karanvir Singh, Amandeep Singh and Pardeep Singh, all residents of Dhamot Kalan village, near Payal. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against the suspects. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Payal, Harsim- Tribune News Service busted the online trading app involving fraud worth crores with the people across the state. The arrested suspects are master- mind Anil Jain (40) of Bawa Colony, Karamjit Kaur (31) of Malerkotla and Sunny Kumar (37) of Haibowal. Jatin Jain (brother of Anil) of Bawa Colony and Gagandeep Singh of Daad Village are at large. After the death of their father, Anil and Jatin did not continue the hosiery business. Anil worked as a system analyst in trading firms in Delhi and Ludhiana to gain the technical knowledge of online trading. Since he knew the pulse of investors, he along with his brother initially started a genuine trading platform in the name of ‘ Vardhman Commodities and Securities’ at Feroze Gandhi Market, here, said ADCP Rupinder Kaur Bhatti. c m y b They had made properties, gold and diamond ornaments and luxury cars worth crores in the recent years, besides the seizure of Rs 40.62 lakh in cash, Rs 30.80 lakh freezed in bank accounts, five laptops, six desktops, seven mobile phones, several record registers, several property documents, 62 gold and diamond articles, 135 cheques worth Rs 3.01 crore, two cash counting machines, a Mercedes car, a Maruti Ciaz car, police have come to know other properties of the accused, Bhatti said. “Our probe found that the suspects also own luxury vehicles, including Porche, Audi, XUV Ecosport, Harley , continued on page 2 MC vehicles lift waste from a garbage dump near Giaspura flats. TRIBUNE PHOTO Fire at dumpsite on Tajpur Road Ludhiana, May 16 A major fire broke out on Tuesday evening at the MC’s garbage dumpsite near Kakka village on Tajpur Road, leading to panic among residents of nearby areas. The massive flames and billowing smoke were clearly visible from surrounding residential areas. An official from the Fire Brigade services confirmed the incident, stating that the fire originated at the dumpsite. Three fire tenders were dispatched to the location upon receiving the information. Kapil Arora, a member of the Public Action Committee, said a complaint would be filed with the NGT, citing the MC’s failure to implement neces- sary measures to prevent such fire incidents at the dumpsite. MC Health Officer Dr Vipal Malhotra said he had no information regarding the fire. Congress leaders Satish Malhotra also said a major fire had erupted at the dumpsite. The fire had rapidly escalated and spread during the night. — TNS