31052023-LT-01.qxd 5/31/2023 12:51 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune RENAL FAILURE TURNS ‘SILENT’ KILLER IN DOGS NEW SEASON OF AASHRAM MIGHT BE DROPPING IN JUNE DILJIT STUNS IN NO TURBAN LOOK IN CHAMKILA TEASER GADVASU receiving 6-7 cases of disease daily, not all dogs can undergo dialysis, says veterinary doctor. P2 Since its debut in 2020, Aashram has caught attention of audiences with its thrilling storyline. P3 Diljit Dosanjh will be seen without his turban in the upcoming film Chamkila, directed by Imtiaz Ali. P4 » » FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 29°C | MIN 22°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.24 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5.24 AM » WEDNESDAY | 31 MAY 2023 | LUDHIANA Ex-serviceman fires at family, police team; held Tribune News Service Despite plaints, MC fails to Three of looters’ gang nabbed; cash, 2 sharp weapons seized repair damaged street lights Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 30 An ex-serviceman fired at his family members after the latter objected to the noise he was making while watching the IPL final match between Chennai Super Kings and Gujrat Titans yesterday night at his residence in Baddowal village in Mullanpur Dakha. Dakha police have arrested the suspect, identified as Gurtej Singh on Tuesday. His gun has also been impounded. Dakha SHO Daljit Singh said on Monday night, the suspect was watching the IPL match while he was in an inebriated state. He was making a noise in his excitement, to which his wife objected. On this, he turned furious and brought out his gun. He fired shots at his family. His wife locked herself and her daughter inside a room and called her brother for help. “When her brother arrived, the suspect fired shots at his car as well. When the police force reached, he fired at us as well. Fortunately, no one was hurt,” SHO Daljit said. — TNS TRANSPORT TENDER SCAM Former Punsup DM denied bail Ludhiana, May 30 The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Dr Ajit Atri today dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of Jagandeep Singh Dhillon, former district manager (DM), Punsup, in an alleged corruption case relating to food grains transportation tender allotment scam. Recently he was learnt to have been nominated by the Vigilance Bureau (VB) in the case. Apprehending arrest, he moved the anticipatory bail application, which was dismissed by the court. The VB has registered the case on August 16, 2022, in which former food and civil supplies minister and several other persons were arrested. Now, the majority of the accused arrested are out on bail.— OC Last year, issue came to light on Southern Bypass Road, no action taken Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 30 Despite numerous pleas from residents and councillors, issues pertaining to missing street lights and damaged street light poles are yet to be resolved by the Municipal Corporation (MC). Concerns have been raised regarding the working of the private company responsible for maintenance tasks. Last year, it came to light that a significant number of street lights were missing on Southern Bypass Road (along Sidhwan Canal) under the MC’s jurisdiction and around 10 poles were either damaged or missing on the stretch. However, the corporation has failed to take any concrete step in this regard so far. Gaganpreet Singh, a resident of the city, said: “Several street light poles are nonfunctional and some are even missing. Broken poles lying along dividers pose a potential hazard. The higher authorities must take the matter seriously to facilitate the installation of new street lights and poles as soon as possible to avoid any inconvenience to commuters.” An official from the civic body had earlier stated that a number of street lights were likely stolen from A damaged street light pole lying along the divider on Southern Bypass Road in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN POLES ON SHINGAR CINEMA ROAD POSE THREAT A senior BJP leader, Inder Aggarwal, submitted a memorandum to the MC Commissioner on Monday, drawing attention to the deplorable condition of street light poles along Shingar Cinema Road. Recently, a pole collapsed. He said these poles were outdated and could potentially fall at any time. He demanded new poles should be installed to replace the old ones. Southern Bypass Road. The official had also urged the company concerned to file a first information report (FIR) regarding the same. A senior BJP leader and former councillor, Inder Aggarwal, submitted a memorandum to the MC Commissioner on Monday, drawing attention to the deplorable condition of street light poles along Shingar Cinema Road. Recently, a pole collapsed. Aggarwal said these poles were outdated and could potentially fall at any time, posing a threat to commuters’ lives. He demanded new poles should be installed to replace the old ones. He urged the Commissioner to take speedy action to address the issue and prevent any untoward incidents from occurring. Long wait for additional street lights The MC has been making plans to install thousands of additional street lights in the city for the past few years. As part of the Smart City Mission, a project was proposed to install approximately 9,000 more street lights but it has not been launched so far. Earlier, under the Smart City Mission, 1.05 lakh LED street lights were installed in the city. Subsequently, councillors raised the demand for more street lights. Initially, there was a request to install 15,000 additional street lights but the number was later reduced to 9,000. The Executive Engineer of the MC, Manjitinder Singh, said seven missing lights had been replaced on Southern Bypass Road. Remaining lights and poles would be replaced within a week. “On the road near Shingar Cinema, the central verge has become too low over time due to the raised road level. As a result, the poles have been accidentally damaged. continued on page 2 Ludhiana, May 30 The Focal Point police today claimed to have busted a gang of looters and arrested three of its members. The suspects have been identified as Bittu, alias Bahubali, a resident of Mundian Kalan, Pardeep Kumar of Focal Point and Ankit of Focal Point. The police recovered Rs 17,000 in cash, a motorcycle and two sharp weapons from their possession. Focal Point Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Amandeep Singh Brar in a statement issued said on OTHER GANG MEMBERS TO BE IDENTIFIED SOON Focal Point SHO Inspector Amandeep Singh Brar said now, a two-day police remand of the suspects was taken from court and in further questioning, their involvement in past snatching and loot incidents would be inquired. The police said other members of the gang would also be identified and action would be taken against them. May 27, Santosh Gupta of Jiwan Nagar had lodged a police complaint that the three suspects had barged into his house and looted Rs 20,000 from him. They thrashed the victim and also threatened to not to reveal about the incident to anyone, the complaint said. The Station House Officer said now, a two-day police remand of the three nabbed suspects was taken from court and in further questioning, their involvement in past snatching and loot incidents would be inquired. The police said other members of the gang would also be identified and action would be taken against them. The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Jagraon woman illegally detained in Oman, returns ~20K, laptop stolen Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 30 A Jagraon-based woman who went to Dubai through an agent on a tourist visa was illegally detained in Oman for over two weeks. The agent in connivance with the two Dubai-based agents demanded Rs 2.15 lakh extortion to let her go to her native place. Fortu- Took help from Indian embassy to reach her native village nately, she managed to escape from the clutches of the agents. After taking help from the Indian embassy there, she reached her village in Jagraon. The booked suspects have been identified as Vicky Singh, a resident of Bassian village in Raikot, Krishan Lal of Dubai and an unidentified woman agent from Oman. Complainant Veerpal Kaur, a resident of Dholan village in Jagraon, told the police that she wanted to settle abroad on a work visa. Her mother Gurpreet Kaur knew the travel agent, Vicky. She talked to the agent who promised to send her daughter to Dubai and also assured that he would arrange a good job for her there. On March 14 this year, she boarded a Dubai flight from the Delhi airport. A female agent, counterpart of agent Vicky, took her passport and other documents and employed her as a domestic help at the house of an Arab family, victim said. Since the family had a big house and several family members, she faced difficulty in doing all household works. As a result, she refused to work at the house. Later, the female agent took her to her office in Oman where she illegally detained her for over two weeks. One day she managed to escape from the clutches of the woman agent continued on page 2 Ludhiana, May 30 The Police Division 5 yesterday registered a theft case against an unidentified person and launched a probe. The suspect was captured in CCTV cameras when he was committing a theft in a house at Bharat Nagar here. Complainant Rajesh Kumar told the police that early on Monday morning when he and his family members were sleeping in their house, a man entered the house to commit a theft. The thief decamped with Rs 20,000, two mobile phones, a laptop, ATM cards and some other valuables. When they checked the footage, they saw the man parked his motorcycle outside their house and entered it and later, left the place with the stolen items, the house owner said. ASI Balkaran Singh said the police launched a probe in the case. — TNS Speedy container truck Work on ~2,857-cr Ludhiana-Ropar expressway picks up pace crushes 13-year-old girl Barring seven-km stretch, land acquisition completed for package 1 of NHAI greenfield project PROJECT REPORT to death in Sahnewal Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Sahnewal, May 30 A 13-year-old girl was killed while her friend injured in a road mishap here early this morning. The incident occurred when a speedy container truck took a sudden turn at Sahnewal Chowk towards the Kohara side and hit the children early this morning. The mother of the deceased also accompanied the two children, who were going to school on foot when the mishap occurred. The container driver has been taken into custody by the police and a case under Sections 279, 337 and 304-A was registered against him. As per information, Lakshmi (13), the only sister of two brothers and resident of Garcha Colony, Nandpur, was going with her mother and friend Suhani, a resident of Basant Da Vehra, Nandpur, to school when a driver of a container truck (bearing registration num- ber PB 11 AS 9122) hit Lakshmi and her friend while taking a sudden turn from the Ludhiana side towards Kohara early this morning. Both were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Sahnewal, from where they were referred to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. While Lakshmi breathed her last at the Ludhiana hospital, Suhani suffered a fracture in one of her legs. A case has been registered against the driver of the container truck at the Sahnewal police station on the statement of the mother of the deceased. The container driver has been identified as Kehar Singh of Samana in Patiala. He was nabbed by the police and the vehicle was impounded. — OC Ludhiana, May 30 The work to construct the upcoming Ludhiana-Ropar expressway has picked up pace after much delay caused in the past, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has confirmed. While the construction of the 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, being built at the cost of Rs 2,857.14 crore has achieved 6 per cent completion within the limits of Ludhiana district, the land acquisition for the remaining 47.24-km stretch was underway, officials have said. The development assumes significance as the stiff resistance by farmers to part away with their land coming under the entire Ludhiana-Ropar expressway was delaying the acquisition proceedings for 337.27 hectares to build a 47.24-km stretch. Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora, told Work in progress on the Ludhiana-Ropar expressway in Ludhiana on Tuesday. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN The Tribune, here on Tuesday that the work on Package 1 of the four to six-lane National Highway-205K from junction with NE-5 village near Manewal in Ludhiana to junction with NH-205 near Bheora village in Ropar, including spur to Kharar with Ludhiana bypass, had picked up pace after sufficient land was made available for the project. “As of date, the project has achieved 6 per cent c m y b physical and financial progress,” he said. Arora, who reviewed the progress of the project, said the possession of 30.7-km of the total 37.7-km land required for the Package 1 had been taken while the process to complete the acquisition proceedings for the remaining 7-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. Arora divulged that the Package 2 comprising the Length 104.44 km Cost ~2,857.14 crore Lanes 4-6 ROW 60-meter Status: Work started, land acquisition still underway Deadline: March 2024 Owner: NHAI Project Model: HAM Route: To start from DelhiAmritsar-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 47.24-km 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 the 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 continued on page 2