12092023-LT-01.qxd 12-09-2023 01:09 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune OVERFLOWING SEWER IRKS VISITORS AT ROSE GARDEN SHAH RUKH’S JAWAN COLLECTS ~520.79 CR IN FIRST WEEKEND SRK’s action thriller Jawancollected ~520.79 crore gross at the worldwide box-office in its first weekend. P4 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 24°C CHRIS EVANS, ALBA BAPTISTA TIE KNOT IN MASSACHUSETTS Visitors to Nehru Rose Garden are encountering inconveniences stemming from various issues. P2 FORECAST Hollywood star Chris Evans, 42, married Alba Baptista during a private ceremony at an estate. P4 » » SUNSET TUESDAY 6.36 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:09 AM » TUESDAY | 12 SEPTEMBER 2023 | LUDHIANA House catches fire as LPG cylinder explodes ~756-cr elevated highway Staff crunch hits Civil Hospital opens for traffic after 6 yrs Employees say shortage a major reason behind Aug 27 incident Manav Mander Tribune News Service 12.95-km project’s first span made ready, rest stretches to complete by Sept 30 Nitin Jain Tribune News Service A scooter that got burnt in the fire in SBS Nagar. TRIBUNE PHOTO Ludhiana, September 11 On Monday, a fire broke out in a house in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, situated along Dhandra Road in Ludhiana, after an LPG cylinder reportedly caught fire and exploded. Panic gripped the area when the incident occurred in the afternoon. Fortunately, no injuries or fatalities have been reported, as per information. According to house owner Manpreet Kaur, she was in the process of preparing something when it was suspected that LPG was leaking from the cylinder. The gas subsequently ignited and led to an explosion in the cylinder. A scooter, a bicycle and other items damaged in the fire. The house building also got damaged. A neighbour said there were no casualties. Before the arrival of the fire brigade, the fire was successfully controlled by residents. — TNS Miscreants loot ~4L from trader Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 11 On Sunday night, a trader fell victim to a robbery committed by three miscreants near Dana Mandi, Jalandhar Bypass, here. The culprits looted Rs 4 lakh from the victim. With the assistance of local residents, one of the suspects was reportedly nabbed. According to information, Amit Kumar was riding a scooter when three men intercepted him near Dana Mandi. They forcibly took away Rs 4 lakh from him. The Salem Tabri police have initiated a probe into the incident. Ludhiana, September 11 Finally, the much-awaited partially-access controlled four-lane elevated highway corridor in Ludhiana opened for traffic on Monday, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has claimed. While vehicles started moving on the first span of the Rs 756.27-crore big ticket project this morning onwards, vehicular movement on the rest of the entire 12.95-km-long stretch would be allowed by September 30, officials have revealed. The development assumes significance as the work on one of the busiest arteries of the city had already missed three deadlines of completion in April 2020, June 30 and July 31, 2023. Started in October 2017, the construction of the elevated highway between the busy Samrala Chowk and Ludhiana municipal limits on National Highway-95 is now scheduled to complete in all respects by the month-end. Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora, who reviewed the progress of the project here recently, told The Tribune, here on Monday, that the major part of the project had been completed with over 99 per cent overall completion so far while the work The first stretch of the elevated highway opened for traffic in Ludhiana on Monday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN PROJECT REPORT ~756.27 crore COST Length: 12.951 km Start date: October 10, 2017 Deadlines missed: April 7, 2020, June 30 and July 31, 2023 First span opened: September 11 Fresh deadline for remaining stretches: September 30 to finish the remaining work had been further expedited to ensure early completion. He said the first span of the elevated highway from Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) to the Sidhwan Canal side was opened for traffic this morning, while the remaining three stretches — second span on its opposite side, third span towards the Jagraon bridge side and last span towards the ISBT side — would be thrown open by September 30. Arora, who took a test drive on the completed first span of the highway, was apprised by NHAI officials that 220 men, 10 cranes, two overhead gantry, a batch-mix plant, seven hydra and transit mixers had been pressed into service to further escalate the pace of the ongoing work. Constantly pushing for the completion of the ongoing NHAI projects, the Rajya Sabha MP urged the team of the officials concerned, led by the NHAI Project Director, to finish the balance work within the minimum possible time to complete the project. “The NHAI team is working hard and seriously day and night. Even the NHAI has made arrangements for additional machinery to carry on the construction work without any interruption, if the existing machinery gets faulty,” he said. Arora, who had recently called on NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav to press for the early completion of the project, said he had been informed that there would be four slip roads — one each near Verka Plant, PAU, Bhai Bala Chowk, and Hotel Park Plaza — on the elevated highway. There would also be a provision for vehicular traffic to move towards the bus stand and continued on page 2 Ludhiana, September 11 After three employees of the Civil Hospital were suspended on Saturday in an incident in which a patient had died after falling off a stretcher, staff at the hospital said shortage of medical and paramedical staff was one of the major reasons behind the unfortunate incident occurred on August 27. Even the inquiry report of the Deputy Commissioner pointed towards staff shortage in the emergency ward and inadequate, as per the Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS) guidelines. The emergency ward should be fully equipped with manpower and infrastructure but contrary to it, the ward at the Civil Hospital is short of staff. The hospital was recently upgraded from 100 to 300 bed but the department failed to increase the staff strength, according to the Indian Public Health Standard (IPHS) guidelines. The inquiry committee, headed by the Deputy Commissioner, that has probed into the matter has also pointed towards the inadequate staff situation and mentioned in the report that the hospital did not even have staff against sanctioned posts. Civil Hospital is a 300 bed hospital and there are 17 sanctioned posts of Emergency Medical Officers against which only three are posted and 11 specialists are DY MEDICAL COMMISSIONER PAYS A VISIT Deputy Medical Commissioner Ramandeep Kaur on Monday took the round of the Civil Hospital and Mother and Child Hospital. She checked duty roasters of staff and also attendance registers. She got the area outside the hospital building cleaned and also got the work for unblocking a sewer of the hospital started. posted against the post of EMOs. Though four medical officers from Block CHCs and urban dispensaries have been deputed for emergency duties by the Civil Surgeon, due to heavy footfall of patients in emergency more EMOs are required, the report has suggested. The report said against the 49 sanctioned posts of staff nurse, there were only 45 regular staff nurses. There are four CHOs, two staff nurses under the NHM and 19 working as staff nurses on a honorarium basis under user charges. These were not sufficient for the 300-bed Civil Hospital. According to the IPHS norms, the staff nurses’ strength should be 135. For supervisory role, the post of matron should be filled. As per the norms, six nursing sisters should be posted while there are only two at the Civil Hospital. Against 104 sanctioned posts of Class IV employees, there are only 14 regular ward attendants. There are 38 sweepers and 14 ward attendants, who are outsourced. State president of the PCMS Association Punjab Akhil Sareen in a memorandum submitted to the Health Minister said the sanctioned Three land in Khanna police dragnet with 15 pistols Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 11 The Khanna police claimed to have arrested three persons with weapons in two separate incidents. The police seized 15 weapons allegedly from their possession. The suspects have been identified as Vishal Kumar (26) of Jagat Colony in Khanna and Veerpal Singh (40), alias Toni, of Signur village in Madhya Pradesh in the first incident. In the other case, Muhammad Yasin (21) of UP, now residing at Lalru, Mohali, was nabbed. Dr Kaustubh Sharma, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ludhiana, and Khanna police officials shared information regarding the arrest of the three suspects. The officials said the police seized 10 gm of heroin, 15 pistols, five magazines and 12 cartridges from them. The police said on September 4, CIA staff of the Khan- na police was patrolling near Lalheri village to check suspicious persons. During patrolling, they noticed a young man who tried to flee the spot after seeing the police. The suspect was rounded up by the police party and was questioned. On questioning, he revealed his name as Vishal Kumar. During checking, 10 gm of heroin was seized and an FIR under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered at Khanna city police station. On revelations made by the suspect, a .315 bore pistol was seized and subsequent addition of Section 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was made in the FIR on September 5. Further recovery of a .315 bore pistol was made on September 6 as per his disclosures, the police officials said. “Further investigation revealed that the suspect bought these pistols from Veerpal Singh of Madhya Pradesh. The latter was arrested from Khargone in Madhya Pradesh on September 8 and the police seized 11 .32 bore pistols from his possession. Veerpal is a weapon manufacturer and a close relative of Takdeer Singh of Signur, who was also arrested by the Khanna police two months ago,” they said. The police said in another incident on September 6, a team of the Sadar Khanna police station was patrolling near Bhadla when a young man, who got nervous on seeing the police, started running. “The suspect was rounded up by the police and questioned. He revealed his name as Muhammad Yasin of UP now residing in Mohali , district. During checking, a .32 bore pistol along with two magazines, a .9 mm pistol along with three magazines, and 12 cartridges were recovered and an FIR under Sections 25, 54, and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against the youth,” they said. Park, playground distant dream for residents of Daba village, nearby areas They seek immediate repair of potholed roads, streets in ward, redress of other issues WARD WATCH WHAT RESIDENTS SAY WARD NO 37 LUDHIANA Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Huge potholes appear on a road in Daba Colony. INDERJEET VERMA Ludhiana, September 11 Areas of Ward number 37 (as designated in the 2018 ward delimitation) have no park or green belt. Despite assurances and the laying of foundation stone multiple times in the past years, elected representatives and the MC have ‘failed’ to fulfill people’s demand for a sports stadium in the Daba area, residents alleged. Ajit Singh, a resident of Daba village, emphasised the absence of parks or green areas in their locality. ❝The foundation stone was laid multiple times to establish a sports stadium during the past 10 years but to no avail. We want a sports stadium established here by the MC. The main village road should be recarpeted as potholes are giving an open invitation to mishaps. Permanent safai karamcharis should be deployed. We also want a public sector bank branch opened in the area. Varinder Singh, RESIDENT OF DABA VILLAGE ❞ He said their request for the establishment of a sports stadium or playground in Daba had gone unaddressed for years. He urged the government and the Municipal Corporation to take action to establish a playground in the area at the earliest so that children and youngsters be encouraged to take part in sports activities. Residents of Daba village, c m y b no park or ❝There isfor people. We playground want the government must provide provision for a park and playground as well so that the public can avail benefits of such facilities. Besides, we recently used to receive contaminated water supply. Necessary measures must be taken to prevent such instances of contaminated water supply in the future. Baljinder Singh RESIDENT OF DABA COLONY ❞ Daba Colony and nearby areas in the ward have also raised concerns about certain deteriorating roads and internal streets. At the Daba village intersection riddled with potholes, a group of residents sought early repair of the stretch. Moreover, they also highlighted instances of erratic water supply and low water pressure in some parts of the village and sought res- olution. They further alleged that sweepers only visit their area for some days in a month, urging the civic body to ensure regular cleanliness of the street. In Daba Colony, a few residents said they recently faced issues such as contaminated water supply and waterlogging during rainy days. They have also highlighted the absence of parks and spaces for senior citizens in thee area, urging the civic body to provide these amenities. They further said potholed streets of Daba Colony must be repaired. A property advisor in Moji Colony also pointed out the absence of parks and playgrounds in their locality and called for the civic authorities to take steps to provide these facilities. Another resident raised concerns about potholes on the main road leading to Moji Colony from the New Amar Nagar side. Additionally, residents have expressed frustration over a tangled network of cables in various parts of the ward and some dysfunctional street lights in the ward. Former councillor Sarabjit Kaur, who won the 2018 elections in the ward as Lok Insaaf Party candidate, could not be reached for her comments. However, her husband, speaking on her behalf, claimed that numerous continued on page 2 staff strength at the Civil Hospital was as per the 1991 population Census. “Lack of cadre review coupled with a manifold increase in population in the district has led to a glaring mismatch in the doctor-patient ratio. “The long standing vacancies of EMO posts as well as other support staff has had a crippling effect on the functioning of the institution,” said Dr Sareen. The Punjab Nurses Association in the memorandum has also mentioned that there was an acute shortage of staff nurses in the hospital. Staff nurses and doctors during the visit of Health Minister Balbir Singh on Saturday also highlighted these issues and submitted a memorandum to him. Staff nurses quizzed The Punjab Medical Council and Punjab Nurses Registration Association have initiated action against the doctors and nurses, respectively, in the case where a patient had died after falling off the stretcher at the Civil Hospital. Staff nurse (emergency ward) Kuldeep Kaur and staff nurse (male ward) Amanpreet Kaur, who have been continued on page 2 Woman critically hurt by neighbours succumbs to injuries Ludhiana, September 11 A woman who had suffered critical injuries in an alleged assault by her neighbours in Ambedkar Nagar, Giaspura, a few days ago has breathed her last. The victim, Manti Devi, was getting treatment at the GMCH in Sector 32, Chandigarh, where she succumbed to her injuries. The police have filed murder charges against six individuals in connection with the case. The suspects have been identified as Ajay Gupta, Kishore, Pankaj, Kiran, Ramawati from Giaspura and an unidentified person. Lalan Shah, the victim’s husband, alleged that the suspects used to pour water in front of their house. When they were asked to stop doing the same, they harboured a grudge against them. He alleged that the suspects armed with sticks had assaulted him and his wife on September 8. He said Manti Devi sustained severe injuries in the attack and was subsequently taken to the Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. Later, she was referred to the GMCH, Chandigarh, due to her deteriorating health. Lalan Shah said his wife passed away during the course of her treatment. He got married to Manti Devi around 17 years ago. Based on the statement provided by the victim’s husband, the police have registered an FIR under Sections 302, 148 and 149 of the IPC against the suspects. Jaspal Singh said so far, two of the suspects, Pankaj and Kiran, were arrested in the case. An FIR has been registered in this regard on Sunday. — TNS