05112023-LT-01.qxd 05-11-2023 01:08 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune IKG-PTU YOUTH FEST: GNDEC WINS OVERALL TROPHY LUPITA NYONG’O THANKS FRIEND ON INSTAGRAM FRIENDS STAR CAST ATTEND CO-STAR PERRY’S FUNERAL IKG-PTU youth festival of Jalandhar concluded at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College on Saturday. P2 Actress Lupita Nyong’o thanked her friend Palmer Hefferan for supporting her through the ‘hardest days’. P4 Matthew Perry’s funeral service was held at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 16°C SUNSET SUNDAY 5.35 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6:45 AM » SUNDAY | 5 NOVEMBER 2023| LUDHIANA Paddy procurement picks up, 11.36 ASI suspended for sexually harassing woman constable LMT grains arrive, 99% purchased Policeman arrested, later released on bail Government agencies buy 99.91% stock, Khanna leads with 15% trade Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 The paddy procurement has picked up in all 13 grain markets (mandis) of the district as the harvesting of the crop has reached an advanced stage here. Even as the “glut” like situation prevailed in most of the mandis due to heavy inflow of grains, the district administration has claimed smooth paddy procurement and lifting with no hardship to farmers in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population. Of the total 11.36 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of paddy arriving across the district till this evening, 11.27 LMT stock has been procured, which accounts for 99 per cent of the total arrivals. Of the total procurement, over 7.97 LMT grains had already been lifted from the mandis, which accounted for 71 per cent of the total purchase. The development assumes significance as the harvesting of the paddy crop had been delayed due to the spoilsport played by the recent heavy rainfall, resulting in flooding of most of the area under the rice crop. Besides, the area under cultivation had also reduced from 2,58,800 hectares in 2022 to 2,56,900 hectares this season. The Agriculture Department has estimated almost 70 per cent of the total paddy crop has already been harvested while the rest, mainly late varieties, are in the process of harvesting. Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik, who is monitoring the paddy purchase in the district on a daily basis, told The Tribune, that the pro- TELLING NUMBERS CURRENT SEASON Market Arrival Doraha 65,954 Hathur 48,195 Jagraon 1,55,652 Khanna 1,66,552 Kila Raipur 62,170 Ludhiana 47,042 Machhiwara 1,16,656 Maloud 30,988 MDakha 1,54,914 Raikot 68,940 Sahnewal 62,231 Samrala 84,380 Sidhwan Bet 71,973 Total 11,35,646 PARMAL DOWN 3% YEAR ARRIVAL 2023 11,35,646 2022 11,72,084 Purchase 65,904 47,574 1,53,007 1,66,496 61,506 46,288 1,16,536 30,822 1,53,437 68,103 62,166 84,350 70,788 11,26,977 Unsold 50 621 2,645 56 664 754 120 166 1,477 837 65 30 1,185 8,670 PURCHASE 11,26,977 11,58,579 LIFTED 7,96,637 9,18,982 (Source: District Administration, paddy figures in MT till November 4, area in hectares) curement of rice was undergoing in a smooth and hasslefree manner at all 13 grain markets across Ludhiana. She said all arrangements were in place to facilitate the farmers, arriving with their paddy crop at the mandis by ensuring swift procurement, lifting, and payment of their foodgrain. While government agencies lead the charge by procuring 11.26-LMT of paddy, which was 99.91 per cent of the total purchase so far, private agencies had bought only 1,057MT of the foodgrain, which accounted for only 0.09 per cent procurement. Arhtiyas had bought the meagre produce at only five of the total 13 mandis while no private purchase has yet been reported at the rest eight grain markets. With 57,824 MT more paddy arriving at the district mandis on Saturday, 58,270 MT of stock was procured during the day, leaving 8,669 MT grains unsold so far. This season’s paddy arrival was 36,438-MT, which accounted for almost 3 per cent, less than 11.72 LMT of grains that had arrived in the district during the corresponding period last year. Besides the arrival of 11.36 LMT of parmal rice, of which 11.27 LMT had been purchased by the government and private agencies at the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 2,203 and maximum of Rs 2,211 per quintal, as many as 33,697 MT of basmati rice had also been received and the entire stock purchased by private agencies at the maximum price of Rs 4,600 per quintal and min- BASMATI UP 81% 2023 33,697 33,697 2022 18,622 18,622 BASMATI PRICE RISE 10% YEAR MAX MIN 2023 4,600 2,325 2022 4,190 2,040 CULTIVATED AREA 2023 2,56,900 PARMAL 2,46,600 BASMATI 10,300 2022 2,58,800 PARMAL 2,51,250 BASMATI 7,550 imum of Rs 2,320 per quintal till date. The entire procured basmati rice had also been lifted from the mandis. With 368 MT of basmati rice arriving and the entire stock getting purchased on Saturday, the basmati arrival and procurement this year so far was almost 81 per cent more than 18,622 MT of basmati rice that had arrived and was procured in Ludhiana during the corresponding period last year. This season’s maximum price of Rs 4,600 per quintal was also almost 10 per cent more than Rs 4,190 per quintal of maximum price that the basmati rice had fetched during the corresponding period last year. Divulging the procurement figures, the District Mandi Officer (DMO), Bir Inder Singh Sidhu, said Khanna, which was Asia’s biggest grain market, was at the top with the arrival and procurement of almost 15 per cent of the district’s total stock so far. The mandi-wise data showed that the maximum of 1,66,552 MT of paddy had arrived of which 1,66,496 MT had been purchased in Khanna, followed by 1,55,652 MT arrival and 1,53,007 MT procurement in Jagraon, 1,54,914 MT arrival and 1,53,437 MT procurement in Mullanpur Dakha, 1,16,656 MT arrival and 1,16,536 MT procurement in Machhiwara, 84,380 MT arrival and 84,350 MT procurement in Samrala, 71,973 MT arrival and 70,788 MT procurement in Sidhwan Bet, 68,940 MT arrival and 68,103 MT procurement in Raikot, 65,954 MT arrival and 65,904 MT procurement in Doraha, 62,231 MT arrival and 62,166 MT procurement in Sahnewal, 62,170 MT arrival and 61,506 MT procurement in Kila Raipur, 48,195 MT arrival and 47,574 MT procurement in Hathur, 47,042 MT arrival and 46,288 MT procurement in Ludhiana and the minimum of 30,988 MT grain had arrived of which 30,822 MT had been purchased in Maloud grain market till this evening. The DMO revealed that of the total procured 11.27 LMT of paddy, 7.97 LMT, which accounted for 71 per cent of the total purchase, had been lifted from the grain markets while the remaining of purchased foodgrain was in the process of being lifted. Divulging the extent of damage caused by the recent floods and relief extended to the farmers, Chief Agriculture continued on page 2 Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 Showing a tough stance against the unwanted behaviour of the ASI who had been sexually harassing a woman constable, Khanna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Amneet Kondal suspended the guilty policeman and also got registered a case against him. He was arrested and later released on bail. The suspect has been identified as Manjit Singh. He is posted as OASI at the SSP’s office. Confirming to The Tribune here on Saturday, Kondal said yesterday only, she was approached by the woman constable, who is also posted at his office, and alleged that the ASI had been asking for sexual favours and also 24 fresh dengue cases in district Ludhiana, November 4 On Saturday, 24 persons tested positive for dengue in the district, of which 20 belong to urban and four to rural areas. Fifteen persons belonging to the district have lost their lives so far. Now, the total count of dengue cases has reached 834. Today, there were 146 active cases, of which 114 belong to urban and 32 to rural areas. They are admitted to various hospitals across the district. Symptoms of dengue include high fever, severe headaches, joint and muscle pain, vomiting, skin rash, and mild bleeding. People should not let water get stagnant in and around their houses and adopt hygienic practices. — TNS TWO ASIS HELD ON SIMILAR CHARGES ON OCT 7 On similar charges, the Khanna police had arrested two ASIs, including in-charge of a police post in the Payal area, for allegedly molesting a woman on October 7. The suspects were identified as ASI Balveer Singh, a police post in-charge and his colleague ASI Harmeet Singh. A case was registered against both of them at the Payal police station. threatened to transfer her if his wishes were not fulfilled. The victim was even having a voice recording and other messages of the policeman, which proved her allegations. “Today, I suspended the policeman and also got registered a case against him. The Khanna police will not tolerate such behaviour and strict action will be taken against such officials,” the SSP said. She said after action was taken against the ASI, four more policewomen approached her and alleged sexual harassment at the hands of the suspect. “We will record the statement of all such policewomen and action will be taken against the guilty,” the SSP said. The ASI had been asking for sexual favours from the woman constable for the past several months. Even a day before the CM’s open debate in Ludhiana, the suspect asked her to spend a night with him at a hotel in the city. Cops raised the matter after the policeman crossed all limits. Ex-councillor attacked Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 Assailants attacked former Congress councillor Sukhdev Bawa on the Kakowal road here on Friday night. Bawa’s wife, who intervened to save the victim, also suffered minor injuries. After the incident, former Congress MLA Sanjay Talwar along with the Congress workers staged a protest on Saturday and demanded immediate arrest of the assailants. Talwar said after the protest by Congress workers, the police registered a case against the assailants and started raids to nab them. The police assured that no assailant would be spared Victim, wife suffer injuries, Cong workers seek suspects’ arrest and action be taken on merit in the case. The former Congress councillor of Ward 4, Sukhdev Bawa, said there was some religious event in the area and late night preparations were going on for the same. He was standing outside the office when the assailants came on two motorcycles and attacked him. The incident was also captured in CCTV cameras installed in the area. The Basti Jodhewal police were informed about the incident by residents. Two held for stealing ~4 lakh Vendor nabbed with intoxicants, heroin, ~3.50 lakh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 The Police Division 4 today claimed to have nabbed two thieves who had stolen Rs 4 lakh from the dickey of a Honda Activa scooter on the Shivpuri road here on October 19. The suspects have been identified as Simranjit Singh and Amit Verma, both residents of Dugri. Police officials in a statement issued stated that on October 19, Gagan Aggarwal had withdrawn Rs 4 lakh from the Sundar Nagar branch of the HDFC Bank. Later, he went to an ATM of the SBI on the Shivpuri road. When he came out of the ATM booth, he was shocked to see that the cash kept in his scooter’s dickey was missing. He raised the alarm and informed the police. Later, when the police started a probe, two scooter-borne persons were seen stealing the money from the vehicle and fleeing the spot in a CCTV footage. The police said after identifying the suspects, Rs 1.5 lakh cash was recovered from the car of Amit. Simran- jit said he had lost Rs 1.5 lakh in gambling and he had given Rs 1 lakh to his father Ranjit Singh, police officials said, adding that Simranjit’s father was aware that his son had stolen the money from a scooter and still, he accepted the same. Now, Ranjit was also nominated in the theft case and raids were being conducted to nab him. Ranjit also had a criminal past as a case of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy was registered against him at the Sarabha Nagar police station in April this year. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 The Special Task Force (STF) wing of Ludhiana yesterday arrested a newspaper vendor in a drug smuggling case. The officials recovered 2,400 intoxicating tablets, 10 gm of heroin and Rs 3.50 lakh drug money from the suspect. He has been identified as Rajdeep Singh, alias Rippy (36), a resident of Adarsh Nagar, and one of his accomplices, Vinod Kumar, alias Johny, of Gurpal Nagar managed to give the The suspect in custody of STF officials in Ludhiana. slip to the police. The police also seized his Maruti Swift car, which was being used to smuggle drugs. Inspector, STF, Harbans Singh, in a statement issued stated that a tip-off was received that suspects, who were into drug smuggling, were supposed to deliver a huge quantity of drugs to their clients. He said the police conducted a raid and nabbed Rajdeep while Vinod managed to flee the spot. Intoxicating tablets, drug money and heroin were seized from him. During preliminary questioning, the suspect, Rajdeep, told the police that he sells newspapers. To become rich in a short span of time, he also started smuggling of intoxicants and drugs. He himself was also a drug addict. He admitted that he along with his friend Vinod had been selling drugs for the past over one year. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against the suspects. Now, the STF would seek police remand of Rajdeep so that the entire drug supply line could be busted and more recovery of drugs be made, Harbans added. City’s air quality index turns ‘very poor’ at 306 Odisha, WB conmen dupe city Manav Mander ON NOVEMBER 4 Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 The air quality index (AQI) of Ludhiana today crossed 300 and entered into the red category indicating “very poor”. As the day progressed, the AQI kept on worsening and it reached 306 by 7 pm, as per the data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). 1Prolonged exposure to very poor quality air can lead to respiratory illness. OPDs of hospitals are seeing a surge in patients complaining of respiratory issues. Elderly and children are the worst affected under such circumstances. 7 AM 10 AM 1 PM 263 259 280 3 PM 5 PM 7 PM 289 301 306 AIR QUALITY INDEX 401-500 SEVERE 301-400 VERY POOR 201-300 POOR 101-200 MODERATE 51-100 SATISFACTORY 0-50 GOOD << Labourers work at a site as smog engulfs the city on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN The paediatrics OPD at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital is witnessing nearly 50 to 60 children complaining of breathing problems. Those children who are already asthmatic are having a difficult time. “Children should not be allowed outside exposure, especially during evening hours. Asthmatic persons should be extra careful and should avoid going out and carry inhalers with them or nebulise themselves regular- ly if they are having difficulty in breathing,” said an expert from the department. Mamta, whose son is asthmatic, has stopped his evening cricket practice these days. “It becomes difficult for c m y b him to breathe when he is playing outside in the evening. We have stopped his cricket practice for at least a week or till the smog subsides,” she said. Meanwhile, 74 cases of farm fires were reported from the district on Saturday. A total of 634 cases have been reported from the district till November 4. The highest number of stubble burning cases in the district — 276 — had been witnessed at Jagraon followed by Samrala 131. From Raikot, 92 cases have been reported so far, 55 from Ludhiana East, 40 from Payal, 34 from Ludhiana West and six from Khanna. resident of ~4.75 lakh, booked Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 The Ludhiana police yesterday registered a case against two conmen who duped a city resident of Rs 4.75 lakh on the pretext of approving a franchise of Haldiram company. The suspects have been identified as Ajay Kumar of West Bengal (WB) and Saumya Ranjan of Odisha. Complainant Kartar Singh of Bhaini Sahib told the police that he wanted to get franchise of Haldiram and had applied online for the same. He said on September 18, the suspects sent an application form to him. After filing the same, he sent the same to the duo. Later, they took Rs 4.75 lakh as fee for the allotment of the franchise. The complainant alleged that when he did not get any update regarding his application for the franchise, he enquired from the suspects. But they demanded to send Rs 6.50 lakh more. Following which he turned suspicious about the suspects and found out that they were fraudsters, Kartar Singh said. The investigating officer in the case, Inspector Amandeep Singh, said after registering a case, further investigation was launched by the police in the matter.