24082023-LT-01.qxd 8/24/2023 1:00 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune DEHLON POLICE NAB TWO OF FIVE MURDER SUSPECTS FARHAN UNVEILS POSTER OF WEB SERIES BAMBAI MERI JAAN Filmmaker Farhan Akhtar on Tuesday unveiled the poster of his new web series Bambai Meri Jaan. P3 GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 31.4°C | MIN 28.2°C BRITNEY SPEARS IS SEEKING THERAPY AMID DIVORCE ROW Dehlon police claimed to have nabbed two of the five men who had beaten a Mukandpur farmer to death. P2 FORECAST Singer Britney Spears is reportedly getting therapy amid her divorce from Sam Asghari. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 7:00 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:58 AM » THURSDAY | 24 AUGUST 2023 | LUDHIANA Woman dies by suicide, spouse arrested Ludhiana, August 23 A woman died by suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at her in-laws’ residence in the Railway Colony here. She took the extreme step due to alleged harassment by her husband. The victim’s husband, who wanted a son, used to blame her for giving birth to three girls. The man was arrested by the police on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Anamika Gill, alias Jyoti (29). The Police Division 5 yesterday registered a case of abetment to suicide against the suspect identified as Amit Kumar and launched further investigation. The SHO, Police Division 5, SI Avneet Kaur, said Jyoti was married to Amit Kumar, a MC employee, in 2013. After some time of the marriage, he began to harass her over trivial matters. The couple had three daughters. Even after the birth of the three children, the man continued to harass Anamika. The deceased’s mother, Urmila, a resident of Rohtak, Haryana, demanded strict action against her son-in-law as her daughter ended her life due to his torture. She said the suspect had physically assaulted her daughter on Monday as well and the victim had informed her about the same. — TNS Plan to revamp Dhandari Kalan railway station in dist finalised Edu Dept’s tall claims fall flat as tragedy strikes Baddowal school Host of new facilities, amenities to be provided, upgraded Tribune News Service Nitin Jain Ludhiana, August 23 The plan to revamp the Dhandari Kalan railway station in Ludhiana district at the cost of Rs 17.6 crore has been finalised, the Northern Railway has confirmed. This is the second railway station after Ludhiana city in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, to be upgraded under the ‘Amrit Bharat Station Yojana’ of the railways. As many as 508 junctions have been covered under the ambitious scheme for remodeling and redevelopment across the country, officials have said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the major upgrade projects of the Ludhiana and Dhandari Kalan railway stations among others in the country on August 6 through videoconferencing. Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora, who reviewed the progress of the project here recently, told The Tribune, here on Wednesday that a host of facilities and amenities would be introduced and upgraded under Sex racket being run from house busted Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 23 The Ludhiana police today busted a sex racket being run from a house on the college road. Some residents, including women, were reportedly rounded up by the police. Sources said the house was reportedly given on rent by some retired government JUNCTIONS TO BE REVAMPED Tribune News Service employee. After the raid, senior police officials reached the police station and started a probe into the matter. The police officials did not respond to repeated calls. Sources said the police officials received calls from city’s prominent residents, including politicians, in favour of the persons detained from the house. Station Ludhiana Chandigarh Dhandari Kalan Mohali Patiala Ferozepur Cantt Sirhind Kotkapura Abohar Mansa The Dhandari Kalan railway station will be upgraded at the cost of ~17.6 crore. PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN Amount 460 436 17.6 23.2 47.5 27.6 25.1 23.7 21.1 26 (SOURCE: NORTHERN RAILWAY, AMOUNT IN RUPEES CRORE) Shivani Bhakoo Ludhiana, August 23 In a tragic incident occurred today, a teacher of Government Senior Secondary School, Baddowal, lost her life while three more sustained injuries when the roof of the staff room of the school, where they were sitting, collapsed. The incident has put a question mark on the functioning of the Education Department, which, after a thorough survey had submitted the list of schools which were unsafe, following the floods in the recent past. But the name of the Baddowal school was not on the list. At present, a construction was going on at the institute to make it a ‘School of Eminence’. It created a panic among the teachers and students. It was only after disaster management teams reached the scene that the injured were taken out from under the debris. “After the second-floor collapsed, the roof of the first floor also fell down,” said a teacher. It has also exposed how unsafe buildings of government schools are, which need the attention of the authorities. While the state government claims to replicate Singapore or Delhi education model in Punjab, the reality remains that the school buildings are not even safe to provide safety An injured teacher being taken to a hospital in Baddowal. ASHWANI DHIMAN NOT ON LIST OF UNSAFE SCHOOLS The roof collapse incident has put a question mark on the functioning of the Education Department, which, after a thorough survey had submitted the list of schools which were unsafe, following the floods in the recent past. But the name of GSSS, Baddowal, was not on the list. to the teachers and students. DEO Dimple Madan said she had ordered for a probe into the matter. In July, after the flood fury in the region, the government had asked DEOs to get a survey of government school buildings that were unsafe conducted. Following which, a detailed report was submitted to the authorities and on the list, boundary walls of many schools were found to be “unsafe” by the District Education Department. One of the former principals of the school was also instrumental in getting the survey conducted. “But she never noticed that her own school building was unsafe or unfit and in this rainy season only, the construction work to make it a ‘School of Eminence’ started. Who should be held responsible for the tragedy?”, asked a teacher at the school. “What was the fault of the teacher who lost her life? There are approximately 30 teachers and 700 students in the school and anything could have happened to them during the tragedy,” rued a non-teaching staff member at the school. the plan finalised by the railway authorities. The major passenger amenities to be provided included a 12-meter-wide foot overbridge with 775 sq m ramp, a 200 sq m general waiting room, a 110 sq m airconditioned waiting room, a 110 sq m executive lounge and a 160 sq m entry porch. Besides, a 1,830 sq m circulating area, three passenger platforms measuring 8,150 sq m, 1,350 sq m and 850 sq m, 90 sq m toilet block, 990 sq m parking lot, 210 sq m green area and improved signages as per the CSTM station will also be provided. The project also entails a baby feed room spanning 10 sq m, two kiosks and a ceremonial flag. The non-suburban grade (NSG)-5 category station, Dhandari Kalan caters to 10 trains with an average of 200 passengers that halt here daily. Located on the AmbalaAttari line, the Dhandari Kalan station is one of the busiest junctions in Ludhiana and serves as a major transportation hub for both passengers and goods, connecting the city with the rest of the country. Renovated police post inaugurated Two young motorcyclists killed in accidents Ludhiana, August 23 CP Mandeep Singh Sidhu has inaugurated the renovated building of the Police Post at Canal View. He said considering the growing population in South City and the Canal area, this would be a high-tech police post. CCTV cameras would be installed at the police post to ensure 24x7 surveillance. Besides, it has been provided with a round-the-clock patrolling vehicle. — TNS Ludhiana, August 23 A speedy and rashly driven Mahindra PikUp truck collided with a motorcycle on Tuesday night on the Khanna-Malerkotla road in Khanna. The motorcyclist killed in the mishap. Following the collision, the PikUp vehicle also overturned, causing injuries to its driver. A bottle of alcohol was found in the vehicle, leading to speculation that the driver may have been under the It offers a wide range of facilities for the convenience of passengers. Besides a separate platform for long-distance trains, it has three platforms for different trains that halt and pass through the station. Besides Dhandari Kalan and Ludhiana, the Kotkapura railway station in Faridkot has been approved for revamp at the cost of Rs 23.7 crore, Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib at Rs 25.1 crore, Ferozepur Cantonment at Rs 27.6 crore, Abohar in Ferozepur at Rs 21.1 crore, Mansa at Rs 26 crore, Mohali Continued on page 2 influence of liquor. The deceased has been identified as Sahil (24). Sources said the youth was riding his motorcycle along with his friend when PikUp, which was coming at a high speed from the wrong side, collided with his bike. Gagandeep, who was riding pillion on the motorcycle, said the accident occured due to the fault of the PiKUp driver. After the mishap, he informed the police control room, following which Sahil was taken to the Civil Hospital where after giving him first aid doctors referred him to a private hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Sahil was working as a promoter in Samsung. The deceased was survived by his mother and two sisters. The Khanna police registered a case against the errant driver. In the other incident, anoth- er youth lost his life in a road accident on Malerkotla Road in Khanna on Wednesday night. The accident occurred when the victim’s motorcycle collided with a ‘modified cart’. After the incident, the driver of the cart fled the scene along with the vehicle. The deceased has been identified as Akbar Ali (24), a resident of Aluna Tola. Akbar’s relative was admitted to the Civil Hospital, Khanna. After meeting his kin, he DC marks magisterial probe into incident DC Surabhi Malik has ordered a magisterial probe into the incident. She has constituted a fourmember team, including SDM (west) as the chairman, SSP , Mulanpur Dakha, Executive Engineer, PWD, and DEO (Secondary) as its members. The committee has told to submit a detailed report on the incident in seven days. was returning to the village on his motorcycle. Near Rasulda Majri village, without giving any signal, the driver of the cart took a turn, colliding with the victim’s mobike. As a result, he fell on the road and sustained severe head injuries. A police official rushed the victim to the Civil Hospital. The youth was declared brought dead by doctors due to his serious head injuries. A case has been registered. — TNS Poor sewerage, drainage main causes of concern in many areas 2 posing as cops Sewage-related issues escalate during rainy days, residents seek permanent measures by MC to resolve problems WHAT RESIDENTS SAY? WARD WATCH ❝We have been suffering due to in our persistent rain water accumulation WARD NO 21 street even after a 30-minute downpour. It takes several hours for water to recede post-rain. The civic body must improve drainage and sewage systems in the area. The Municipal Corporation must implement measures to enhance green belts and tackle air pollution. LUDHIANA Manjeet Singh, RESIDENT OF HARGOBIND PURA difficulties ❝We are facingoften in theas sewers it keep overflowing area. When Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 23 Various sections of Ward number 21 located on Chandigarh Road near Samrala Chowk and National Highway-44 (Delhi Road) in the Ludhiana East constituency are grappling with waterlogging during rainy days due to the poor drainage system. In specific localities such as Saini Colony and Hira Nagar and other areas, inhabitants are facing challenges, including overflowing sewage, unhygienic circumstances and sporadic cases of contaminated water supply. The Municipal Corporation is yet to provide a permanent solution to the problems. ❞ rained in the past, we noticed waste water of different colours was coming out from a sewer chamber. We demand that the MC authorities must take measures to resolve seweragerelated problems and ensure cleanliness in the area. Sewage accumulates in a vacant plot between Beant Pura and Samrala Chowk. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA Moreover, certain areas lack green space or parks. The presence of industries and proximity to the highway also contribute to air pollution in certain places. Residents of Hira Nagar have expressed grievances about poor amenities. Besides lack of development in the area, they are confronting insanitary living conditions. A resident, Vivek Kumar, said: “We are forced to consume contaminated water. Sewers often overflow here. During rain, our street turns a water body due to severe waterlogging. It takes hours for water to recede after rain. The authorities should address our problems promptly and implement necessary meas- ures. Additionally, numerous street lights in our vicinity are non-functional.” Some traders from Saini Colony said sewage often overflows in their area, resulting in foul-smelling water reaching near their shops. It inconveniences commuters who have to navigate through the accumulated sewage on streets. Despite raising the matter c m y b Lakshit Arora, RESIDENT OF SAINI COLONY with the authorities and elected representatives, their concerns have gone unanswered. Areas such as Hargobind Pura, Baba Deep Singh Nagar, and nearby localities along the National Highway44 (Ludhiana-Delhi Road) are grappling with significant water accumulation during rainy days. Notably, storm water drains along the NH-44 ❞ are dysfunctional and blocked with garbage, causing rainwater from the highway to inundate the areas. Furthermore, residents of Moti Nagar have raised complaints about sewage overflow near a private school severely during rainy days, leading to water accumulation in low-lying areas. Continued on page 2 rob youngster of money, nabbed Ludhiana, August 23 The Dugri police yesterday claimed to have arrested two persons who by impersonating themselves as police personnel from the anti-narcotics cell kidnapped and robbed a man of cash. They extorted money from the victim by threatening to book him in a drug smuggling case. They also taken a video confession of the complainant that he was involved in drug smuggling. The suspects have been identified as Kamaljit Singh, a resident of Phase 1, Dugri, and Pawan Kumar of Nirmal Nagar. The complainant, Kamaljit Singh, of Dugri told the police that he supplies medicines to drug stores in the area. On August 21 around 9.40 pm, he, along with his friend Lovely Kumar, was heading towards Kartar Chowk in Dugri for collecting payments from his clients. “When we reached Kartar Chowk, two youths on a Honda Activa scooter stopped us and posed themselves as police officials from the anti-narcotics cell. They snatched Rs 12,000 from my pocket and forcibly took me to CRPF colony and asked me to give Rs 40,000 else they may book me in a drug smuggling case. Afterwards, I transferred Rs 15,000 through GPay. Later, they took me near the Civil Hospital where they forcibly took my video confession that I am involved in drug smuggling,” the complainant alleged. He said after that the suspects dropped him near a gurdwara in Dugri. Later, he lodged a complaint and the police arrested them on Tuesday. ASI Kulwant Singh said the suspects were arrested and further probe was on to inquire if they committed similar loot incidents in the past. — TNS