17112023-LT-01.qxd 11/17/2023 1:07 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune 18 DIE OF DENGUE, 1,075 TEST POSITIVE IN DIST SO FAR NEED TO LEARN MORE SKILLS, SAY CELEBS ON AI USAGE Abhishek Duhan says, “AI would play a significant role in making our tasks more professional and faster.” P3 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 27°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 10°C JIMMY KIMMEL TO HOST THE OSCARS FOR THE FOURTH TIME Dreaded dengue fever is spreading its tentacles as 155 cases have been reported in past week in district. P2 FORECAST Comedian Jimmy Kimmel is returning as host of the Academy Awards for the second straight year & fourth time overall.P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 5.28 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:55 AM » FRIDAY | 17 NOVEMBER 2023 | LUDHIANA Cycle rally creates history, enters record books Participation of over 25K cyclists recorded in India Book of records, Asia Book of Records Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 16 What can be termed as record of sorts, first time residents of the district have gathered in such a huge numbers for a cause. Over 25K cyclists, mostly youths, pedalled 13 km to spread the message against drug menace. Brainchild of Commissioner of Police (CP), Ludhiana, Mandeep Singh Sidhu, the country’s biggest cycle rally, ‘ Youth Against Drugs’ witnessed the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav. The state police chief and the CM was too enthused to see the huge turnaround of cyclists on the call of the Ludhiana police and they lauded the efforts of CP Sidhu and his team. The rally’s success can be measured from the fact that it made entry into book of records. CP Sidhu told The Tribune here on Thursday that the Ludhiana Commissionerate scripted history by hosting a record-breaking cycle rally against drugs and registered 4 conmen booked for duping elderly resident of ~80K Tribune News Service Cyclists take part in the mega cycle rally; and (right) DGP Gaurav Yadav, CM Bhagwant Mann and CP Mandeep Sidhu during the event at the PAU in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN CP SIDHU CREDITS TEAM FOR SUCCESS Commisoner of Police Sidhu said the rally became successful due to the efforts of his team which along with him had spared time from the busy policing schedule and brought over 25,000 people under rone roof who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Ludhiana police to combat the drug menace. the PAU campus. However, they all went together after the rally was flagged off by the Chief Minister. CP’s bhangra moves make cops, cyclists tap their feet ground could not stop themselves from tapping their feet on the Punjabi songs. Cyclists also made videos of the Commissioner of Police while he was performing bhangra. Everyone present enjoyed the event organised to wean the youth away from drugs. JCP Saumya Mishra, ADCP Rupinder Bhatti, ACP Jasroop Kaur Bath were also present on the stage. glider was seen showering colourful paper pieces on the cyclists at the mega rally on the PAU ground. The participants were shouting in joy when it was passing over them. Ludhiana, November 16 An elderly man was cheated by four conmen, who after exchanging the ATM card with him stole Rs 80, 000 from his savings bank account recently. The city police yesterday registered a case against the four unidentified persons and launched investigation to identify the suspects. The complainant, Karnail Singh, of Bhai Himmat Singh Nagar said he had lodged a complaint with the Dugri police on November 7 and the police took almost eight days to register a case. Karnail said he had an account with the State Bank of India and on November 7, he had gone to withdraw money from an ATM of the SBI near the Ittanwala road. When he was trying to withdraw the money from the ATM, CASE FILED AFTER EIGHT DAYS: VICTIM The complainant, Karnail Singh, of Bhai Himmat Singh Nagar said he had lodged a complaint with the Dugri police on November 7 and the police took almost eight days to register a case. four unidentified persons came to him. The suspects engaged him in a conversation and fraudulently changed his ATM card and fled the spot. Karnail said before he could identify his card, he started receiving messages for withdrawing money and Rs 80K was withdrawn in a few minutes. The victim apprised the ATM guard of the matter. The card which the miscreants had exchanged with him belonged to Gurcharan Singh. The multi-level parking lot of at the Mini-Secretariat in Ludhiana. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA might find place in other book of records as their teams were still on the job. Interestingly, with the onset of Thursday morning, cyclists in a large number started gathering on the PAU footbal ground. Since the cyclists had arrived in a huge number, hundreds stayed on roads on When Punjabi singer Kulwinder Billa was joined by the top cop Mandeep Singh Sidhu, other senior cops, including DCP (Traffic) Varinder Singh Brar, JCP JS Teja, ADCP Suhail Qasim Mir, ADCP Sameer Verma and thousands of cyclists standing in the Girl sexually exploited by father, brother its name in Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records. The rally drew an impressive gathering of over 25,000 cyclists, illustrating the community’s unwavering commitment to combat the menace of drugs and making our beloved state drug-free. Besides, the rally 110 fresh cases of stubble burning, count 1,634 Ludhiana, November 16 A girl was sexually exploited by her father and brother. On her complaint, the Khanna city police registered a case against the duo on Wednesday. The victim told the police that her father and his brother had been sexually harassing her and they even threatened her of dire consequences if she reveals about the matter to anyone. Theywere arrested yesterday. Later, both suspects were released on bail. — TNS Ludhiana, November 16 On Thursday, 110 cases of stubble burning were reported from the district. Now, the total number of cases from the district have reached 1,634. The average air quality index (AQI) of Ludhiana today was 245. Meanwhile, Khanna remained an exception in Ludhiana where the least, only 10 cases of stubble burning have been reported till now. It came to the fore that the reason behind achieving success in managing stubble burning is Khanna has many indus- Nitin Jain 1,121 lives lost in road accidents involving animals in past three years in state Glider main attraction First time in any event, a Many eager to join event Raghav Kumar, a Class XII student of a government school in Dholewal said the day he came to know about the rally, he and his five friends were eager to join the event. This morning, they all continued on page 2 Manav Mander Tribune News Service A baler machine collects stubble from the field. TRIBUNE PHOTO tries around the city which pick up stubble and farmers there are using ex-situ management methods for crop residue. Stubble burning figures of Ludhiana district point out that the maximum fire incidents have been reported from Jagraon and the minimum from Khanna. Reason for the same is there are many industrial units around Khanna which are picking up stubble while there is none around Jagraon. Mohar Singh from a village near Khanna said it had been years since he burnt the stubble. “I take the baler machine on rent in advance. After the crop is harvested, machine clears the fields, makes bales out of the stubble and supply to the nearby factory. My field gets clear and what else I want. I pay rent to the private operator who owns the machine,” he said. Another farmer, Tarsem Singh, from a village near Khanna said they had been clearing their paddy fields with balers which they hire on rent. “There is an agro industry in Khanna to which I have been giving stubble from my field. My field is clear and ready for wheat crop after paddy straw bales are picked. I feel in-situ method is not that effective as compared to ex-situ,” he said. Chief Agriculture Officer Narinder Singh said one paper industrial unit was being set up near Jagraon and they expect cases to go down by the next year. Khanna had many industries around which collect stubble due to which it had registered least number of farm fires this year and last year as well. Mishandling alleged at Mini-Secretariat multi-level parking lot A first: Punjab maps stray animal hotspots, 95 of 109 in Malwa Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 15 Alleging mismanagement and lack of cleanliness at the multi-level parking lot of the district administration at the Mini-secretariat, a professor from a city-based college made a complaint to the Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner on Wednesday. Professor PS Bhogal, a city resident, was allegedly forced to pay more than the designated fees during a recent visit to this parking lot. Additionally, he highlighted the absence of monitoring for cleanliness standards at the parking lot, citing instances of waste being openly dumped and accumulation of dirt at various sites. In his complaint, Prof Bhogal stated, “I was recently charged Rs 40 as car parking fee for an hour and a half at the parking lot. Upon questioning a person collecting the fee at the exit, I was informed that the parking fee was a fixed lump sum, indicated by the barcode. However, to my surprise, the same person did not possess a barcode reader. Today, when I was recording a video of my interaction with him, he charged only Rs 20, yet he still did not PROFESSOR COMPLAINS TO DC Professor PS Bhogal, a city resident, was allegedly forced to pay more than the designated fees during a recent visit to this parking lot. Additionally, he highlighted the absence of monitoring for cleanliness standards at the parking lot, citing instances of waste being openly dumped and accumulation of dirt at various sites. have a barcode reader. The slip issued to me did not mention any fees.” “Over the past two weeks, I have had to frequent the district courts due to some work. Every time I parked my car in the multi-level parking facility, I was confronted with piles of garbage and litter scattered everywhere. I have communicated this experience to the Deputy Commissioner and MLA Ludhiana West. I urge the relevant authorities to assess the on-site situation and take necessary action,” Prof Bhogal urged. ADC Gautam Jain said that he would look into the matter. He said that the parking charges remain similar to those in the previous year. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 16 In a first, the state government has mapped stray animal hotspots, where more than two road accidents involving animals, either directly or indirectly, have been reported. Surprisingly, a whopping 95 of the total 109 animalvehicle collision (AVC) hotspots, as they have been defined, fall in the Malwa region whereas 11 were under Doaba while the Majha region has the least of three AVC hotspots. These hotspots had claimed 1,121 lives in road mishaps involving collisions with stray animals in the state during the past three years between 2020 and 2022. It has been revealed in a special research-based study conducted by the Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre (PRSTRC). The study was conducted by a team led by PRSTRC Director Dr Navdeep Asija and comprising lead researcher Simranjeet Singh, on the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwan Mann in a bid to reduce animal-related road fatalities in the state. Disclosing this here on Thursday, Additional Director General of Police KILLER FIGURES Stray cattle on roads is a common sight in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN (ADGP), Traffic, Amardeep Singh Rai, told The Tribune that a comprehensive approach had been adopted to identify and map stray animal hot spots across the state under the project initiated by the PRSTRC. “Over the past three years (2020-2022), 1,121 lives have been lost due to animalrelated accidents on state’s roads. These animal-vehicle collisions (AVCs) accounted for 7-8 per cent of the total road accident fatalities in Punjab,” Rai shared. He said the analysis of the regional data has c m y b showed that the Majha region had contributed 6.2 per cent of the total AVC fatalities, Doaba 10.8 per cent, while the Malwa region had accounted for a staggering 83.1 per cent of all AVC-related fatalities, highlighting Malwa as a major concentration area for such accidents. “In our study, which identified 109 specific animal hotspots, where more than two road accidents involving animals, either directly or indirectly, had been reported, we aim to reduce AVCs in Punjab by addressing both direct and indirect animalrelated accidents, guided by our improved diagnosis, as highlighted by Simranjeet Singh, the lead researcher for the project,” PRSTRC Director Dr Navdeep Asija, who is also Traffic Advisor to Punjab, revealed. He said the preliminary part of this study has been completed within three months. According to the study, a copy of which is with The Tribune, Bathinda with the highest of 14 AVC hotspots followed by Muktsar and Faridkot with 11 each, Patiala 10, Moga 9, and Mansa with 7 REGION DIST AVC HOTSPOTS MALWA Ropar 1 Mohali 2 Fatehgarh Sahib 2 Malerkotla 1 Ludhiana CP 6 Ludhiana Rural 1 Barnala 5 Fazilka 4 Ferozepur 5 Mansa 7 Faridkot 11 Moga 9 Patiala 10 hotspots were among the most critical districts under Malwa region in the state. “Anticipating the upcoming foggy season, we have taken the initiative by informing the Director General, Lead Agency on Road Safety. We are hopeful that concrete action, in compliance with the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, will be taken on the ground with the assistance of district administrations during this winter season,” said Dr Asija, who led the project, while hoping that the mapping of hotspots will help check AVCs and save REGION DIST AVC HOTSPOTS Sangrur 6 Muktsar 11 Bathinda 14 Total 95 DOABA Jalandhar CP 1 Jalandhar Rural 4 Nawanshahr 6 Total 11 MAJHA Pathankot 1 Batala 1 Tarn Taran 1 Total 3 Punjab 109 precious lives in the state. To check AVCs in future, says ADGP Rai “The police, with the assistance of NGOs, conduct regular campaigns and apply reflectors to stray animals to enhance road safety. These ongoing efforts will be further supplemented based on study outcomes and steps are being taken to collaborate with the Urban Local Government for a much more coordinated and effective approach,” said Amardeep Singh Rai, ADGP (Traffic), Punjab.