09112023-LT-01.qxd 11/9/2023 12:57 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune UNAUTHORISED CRACKER STALLS DOT CITY MARKETS AMAZON MINITV ANNOUNCES THIRD SEASON OF CRUSHED ‘MERE KHAYAALON MEIN ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVOURITES’ Shopkeepers are selling firecrackers by setting up makeshift vends outside their shops in the markets. P2 Amazon miniTV is back with the latest installation of the most anticipated teen drama. P3 Singer-composer Armaan Malik has released the music video of his track Mere Khayaalon Mein. P3 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.32 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:48 AM THURSDAY | 9 NOVEMBER 2023 | LUDHIANA Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 8 A suspect escaped from police custody in Khanna. She was brought for medical treatment at the Civil Hospital from where she dodged police officials. They tried to locate the woman for hours but to no avail. Was brought to the Civil Hospital for treatment, raids on to locate her According to information, the Sadar police on November 5 had registered a case against Preeti and her husband Malagar Singh, a resident of Hol village, for abducting a minor girl from her house on the pretext of getting her married. After registering the case, the police arrested the woman on Wednesday. After presenting her in the court today, she was brought to the Civil Hospital for medical treatment. A woman constable was accompanying her. It was only during the medical procedure that the police realised that the woman escaped from the spot. Sadar Station House Officer (SHO) Hardeep Singh said after the escape of the woman, police teams kept searching for her in different areas of the city for several hours. Raids were being conducted to locate her. done at 19 Farm fires cross 1K mark, still Civil workssystems notsites, waste compactor installed yet less than half of 2022 in dist WASTE MANAGEMENT-II Respiratory cases up 40% as city turns third most polluted in state Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 8 With 96 fresh cases, highest daily count in the current season, reported on Wednesday, the stubble burning tally crossed the 1,000 mark to reach 1,089, which was the ninth highest in the state, in Ludhiana district, the government has confirmed. Even as the farm fires this season so far were less than half of 2,682 crop residue burning incidents recorded in the district in 2022, the air quality index (AQI) remains in poor category, causing a serious concern for public health, and turning Ludhiana as third most polluted city in the state on Wednesday. The rising pollution levels, which engulfs Ludhiana under a thick blanket of smog, especially during the morning and evening hours, has led to the sudden spike in cases of respiratory, eye disorders and pulmonary complications. A visit to a few clinics and hospitals in the district on Wednesday revealed that the patients, especially the children and aged, were flocking to doctors for treatment of various ailments caused by air pollution. “We have witnessed a surge of almost 40 per cent patients complaining of respiratory, ASHWANI DHIMAN Woman flees police custody in Khanna Patients at the pulmonary ward of Civil Hospital, Ludhiana. THIRD MOST POLLUTED TELLING NUMBERS CITY AQI 347 ■ Mandi Gobindgarh 340 ■ Ludhiana 289 ■ Patiala 271 ■ Jalandhar 266 ■ Khanna 254 ■ Amritsar 245 ■ Ropar 208 ■ Bathinda (SOURCE: CPCB, FIGURES AT 7 PM ON NOV 8) LOWEST SINCE 2021 YEAR CASES ■ 2023 1,089 ■ 2022 1,506 ■ 2021 3,252 (SOURCE: PPCB, FIGURES AS ON NOV 8) eye disorders and pulmonary complications, mainly caused by rising pollution levels since last week,” a leading paediatrician, Dr AP Singh, said. The AQI further shot up from 239 on Tuesday to 294 ■ Farmers: ■ Done harvesting: ■ Total paddy area: 70,286 56,229 2,56,900 hectares ■ Area harvested: 2,05,520 hectares ■ Total paddy yield: 18.5 LMT ■ Already arrived: 14 LMT ■ Paddy straw estimated: 1.7 LMT ■ Farm fires: 1,089 ■ AQI: 289 ■ Farmers fined: 151 ■ Environmental compensation slapped: ~3.6 lakh ■ FIR: Nil (SOURCE: AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT, FIGURES TILL NOVEMBER 8) on Wednesday. The data monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) showed that the AQI levels rise as the day progressed. On Wednesday, the AQI was recorded at 246 at 12 am, which remained static till 2 am, and went up to 248 at 3 am, 249 at 4 am, 252 at 5 am, 255 between 6 and 7 am, 263 at 8 am, 268 at 9 am, reached 272 at 10 am, 277 at 11 am, 284 between 12 noon and 1 pm, 289 at 2 pm, 294 at 3 pm, 292 between 4 and 5 pm, 291 at 6 pm, and settling at 289 with PM2.5 remaining the prominent pollutant at 7 pm. It left Ludhiana as the third most polluted city in the state on Wednesday. “The trend clearly points fingers towards stubble burning as farm fires start with the onset of day and increase as the day progresses,” an agronomist, Dr Rajshree Nijjer, opined. Spearheading a sustained campaign against the age-old menace, Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik on Wednesday instructed field officials from various departments, including the Police, Agriculture and the Revenue, to further intensify the IEC (information, education, and communication) campaign by fanning out in fields to check the incidents of stubble burning. “Since the paddy harvesting has reached an advanced stage with over 80 per cent harvest already over, it is the most critical period with only a week left for the current Kharif season to end,” she continued on page 2 Vigilance nabs Forest Dept Shopkeeper robbed official for taking ~30K bribe of ~17K, gold chain Ludhiana, November 8 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Wednesday nabbed Sukhminder Singh Hira, PFS, posted as regional manager, Punjab Forest Department, at Phillaur, Jalandhar district red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000. Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson for the state Vigilance Bureau said the official had been arrested on a complaint lodged by forest contractor Balkar Singh, a resident of Kalas Kalan village here. He said the complainant had approached the economic offences wing (EOW) of the VB, Ludhiana, and alleged that the forest official had demanded Rs 35,000 as commission out of cutting of trees under a tender allotted to his firm. The complainant said Sukhminder Singh had threatened him that no such tender would be allotted to him in future if the commission was not paid. The complainant alleged that he did not want to pay the bribe but due to compelling reasons, the official had already taken Rs 5,000 as the first instalment and was demanding the balance amount. The spokesperson said after a preliminary investigation of the complaint, a VB team from the EOW, Ludhiana, laid a trap and nabbed the Forest Department official while accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. A casehas been registered against the suspect.— TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 8 The Khanna police yesterday booked two unidentified miscreants who robbed cash and jewellery from a shopkeeper by pointing a weapon at her. The complainant, Mehnaj, of the Samrala road, Khanna, in her complaint told the police that after the death of her husband she had been running a medical shop on the road. In the late hours of November 3, two unidentified persons wearing masks entered the shop in her presence. One of the suspects was carrying a pistol while the other was carrying an iron rod. The suspects by pointing the gun at her took away Rs 17,000 in cash and a gold chain. The police booked the suspects under Section 379-B (snatching) of the IPC and various sections of the Arms Act and launched a probe to identify the suspects. Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 8 Open garbage dumps or secondary garbage collection points located along roads, green belts, near residential zones and markets have become a significant problem in various parts of the city. These dumps are not only causing unpleasant odours and unhygienic conditions but also polluting the soil. Aiming to eliminate a number of such garbage dumps, the Municipal Corporation’s project to install the waste compactors at 22 locations under the Smart City Mission has experienced delays. As part of the Smart City Mission, the MC has already issued a work order to procure 63 portable compactors and 26 hook loaders for 22 locations in the city, with an estimated cost of Rs 27.67 crore. Besides, the estimated cost for the civil works under the project is around Rs 13.57 crore. According to MC officials, the civil works, including the construction of sheds and floors (where compactors will be installed), have been completed at 19 locations, including Books Market, Jail Road, Backside Dental Hospital, Cheema Chowk, Bajwa Nagar, Partap Chowk, Military Camp areas, Dhandari Kalan, Giaspura flats, Bhai Chattar Singh Park, and others. However, the civil works on Metro Road is still in progress and the MC is awaiting a no objection certificate (NOC) from the Mandi Board for civil works in the Dana Mandi and Sabzi Mandi areas. But, waste compactor A shed that was constructed for the installation of a waste compactor on Jail Road near the Civil Hospital. ASHWANI DHIMAN systems have not been installed at any of the 19 sites where the civil works have been completed. Satinderpal Singh, who operates a business in the Scooter Market near Bhai Chattar Singh Park, expressed difficulties and unsanitary conditions they had been facing due to an open garbage dump located near their shops. A portion of land has also caved due to the garbage dump. To remove the dump from Scooter Market, the MC constructed a shed in Bhai Chattar Singh Park nearly two years ago for the installation of a waste compactor system. Still, it remains uninstalled, another shopkeeper said. Furthermore, the people have raised their voices demanding the removal of open garbage dumps situated in multiple locations throughout the city, including near the cremation ground on Daresi Road, outside a recently constructed government school building near Suffian Chowk, at the junction of Jassian Road, outside MC’s Night Shelter on Clock Tower to Deepak Cinema Road, in proximity to Old Courts Chowk, and numer- Two booked for attacking cop Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 8 The Model Town police yesterday registered a case against two persons on the charges of attacking a policeman on duty and interfering in the functioning of the police. The suspect has been identified as Sagar, alias Sahil, and Lovish, alias Golu, both residents of Ludhiana. The complainant, constable Lovepreet Singh, said on November 2, he, along with ASI Gurdev Ram, was patrolling near the Dhuri Lines where they saw the two persons who were passing lewd and obscene comments at girls.”When we tried to stop them, they, instead of paying heed to our request, started arguments with us. After the arguments, the duo even Dengue on rise, two more deaths take count to 17 in district Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 8 The dreaded dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease occurring in tropical and subtropical areas, is spreading its tentacles fast as 154 cases of the vector-borne disease have been reported in the past week and the tally has almost doubled in the past three weeks in the district, the official figures have revealed. With two more deaths suspected to be caused by the disease on Wednesday, the count of suspected dengue deaths has risen to 17. Another 26 fresh cases on Wednesday took the tally of confirmed patients to 920, which was 20.1 per cent more than 766 positive cases recorded here on November 1. The gravity of the situation couldbegaugedfromthefactthat the number of Ludhiana’s confirmed dengue patients has shot up from 81 on August 25 to 252 on 26 fresh cases, confirmed patient count touches 920, 154 added in past week, tally doubles in 3 weeks RISING GRAPH Year A dengue ward at a hospital in Ludhiana. FILE PHOTO September 23, 564 on October 21, 766 on November 1, and further rose to 920 on November 8, which accounted for a whopping 1,036 per cent surge in almost two-anda-half-months. As many as 154 fresh cases have been reported during the past week alone. The trend in the past three weeks showed that the dengue patient count has almost dou- bled from 464 on October 17 to 920 on November 8. Taking cognisance of the situation, Deputy Commissioner Surabhi Malik has directed district officials of all the departments concerned – Health, Public Health, and Municipal Corporation – to take effective steps to check the further spread of the vector-borne diseases in the state’s biggest and Confirmed Deaths Cases ■ 2023 920 17 (suspected) ■ 2022 570 6 (confirmed) (As on November 8) Month-wise Three-week rise ■ Aug 25 ■ Oct 17 81 464 ■ Sept 23 ■ Oct 21 252 564 ■ Oct 21 ■ Nov 1 564 766 ■ Nov 1 ■ Nov 8 766 920 (SOURCE: HEALTH DEPARTMENT) ■ Nov 8 920 largest district, in terms of area and population. Director, Family Planning, Dr Hitinder Kaur Sohal, who is also holding the additional charge of Civil Surgeon, told The Tribune on Wednesday that a massive test, trace, and treat campaign was being undertaken by the Health Department to check the spread of dengue and malar- c m y b DRIVE TO CONTAIN SPREAD We have been regularly reviewing the situation arising out of dengue, malaria and other vectorborne diseases in the district and have been undertaking a joint concerted campaign with the help of all departments concerned to contain the further spread of such cases in the district. ❝ ❞ – Surabhi Malik, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER ia cases in the district. She said 26 fresh cases of dengue were confirmed in the district on Wednesday, which included 22 from urban and four from rural areas. With this, the cumulative total of dengue cases has reached 920, of which 120 active patients, including 90 in urban and 30 in rural areas, were admitted to various govern- ous other areas in the city. Notably, the first waste compactor system in the city was installed by the MC in 2016 near the Sidhwan Canal bridge on Dugri Road, Ludhiana, but it has remained nonfunctional for the past few years. The MC has failed to get it fixed so far. Waste compactor systems have been installed at 10 other locations in the city but by different departments. “The Ludhiana Improvement Trust has installed nine of these waste compactor systems, while GLADA has installed one. The compactor systems at all 10 sites are operational and have been transferred to the corporation by the respective departments,” said an MC official. Meanwhile, MC officials are also hopeful that the work to install the compactor systems under the Smart City Mission will commence soon. MC’s Joint Commissioner Ankur Mahindroo said the contractor concerned was expected to deliver the waste compactors soon. Once the machinery was received, the work to install the waste compactor system at designated sites in the city would commence. ment and private health institutions in the district. Except single active patient admitted to the Civil Hospital, all other serious patients were under treatment at private hospitals. The district has also recorded the death of 17 patients with dengue-like symptoms but their actual cause of death was yet to be confirmed. “These casualties have been marked as suspected dengue deaths as yet,” the Civil Surgeon said. Last year, six dengue deaths had been reported in Ludhiana. Dr Sohal said adequate arrangements had been made at all government institutions to test and treat the dengue and malaria patients with a special ward reserved for dengue patients at the Civil Hospital here. Urban-rural divide Urban areas were much more prone to dengue as compared to rural areas in the district. Of the total 26 confirmed patients reported on Wednesday, 22 were from urban areas while villages have reported only four dengue cases. The number of active cases was also more in urban areas with 90 seriously ill patients under hospitalisation in the city while 30 dengue patients had been hospitalised from rural areas. manhandled and abused me. They also issued life threats to me. When residents of the area gathered, the suspects fled the spot. Later during investigation, the suspects were identified and an FIR was lodged against them,” the constable said. ASI Gurcharan Singh said after registering a case, raids were being conducted to nab the suspects. Fire breaks out at printing factory Ludhiana, November 8 A fire broke out in a printing factory located in the Daba area on Wednesday. The incident occurred on the first floor of the factory. The cause of the fire was said to be a short-circuit in the printing machine. Nearby factory owners tried hard to extinguish the fire with the help of labourers but could not control the same. Afterwards, they informed the Fire Department. Fire brigade personnel, who reached the site, sealed the building and the area. No person was allowed near the factory till the fire was extinguished completely. To control the flames, fire personnel entered the factory through nearby buildings. The situation was brought under control with the help a fire tender. A printing machine and some other factory equipment had gutted in the fire and no loss of lives reported in the incident. — TNS