06012024-LT-01.qxd 1/6/2024 1:12 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PWD TO RECARPET FIVE NEGLECTED LINK ROADS FOR LOKIT, WEDDING SCENE FOR A SHOW IS EXCITING & REPETITIVE Lokit Phulwani said acting inonscreen wedding can be a mix of excitementand repetition, filled with drama.P3 The PWD is scheduled to recarpet five damaged major link roads at an estimated cost of ~50 crore. P2 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 17°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 9°C | MIN 6°C MICHELLE BREAKS DOWN FIGHT SCENES IN THE BROTHERS SUN Oscar-winning actress Michelle Yeoh described her process for a fight scene in new series The Brothers Sun. P4 SUNSET SATURDAY 5.39 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:25 AM » SATURDAY | 6 JANUARY 2024 | LUDHIANA 44 ghost employees, seven employed by civic body among 51 suspects Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 5 After a major scam has been exposed in the Health branch of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi has recommended FIR against 51 persons, including 44 ghost employees (bogus employees who are not actually employed by the MC but are receiving payments) and seven MC employees allegedly involved in the case. After the inquiry conducted by the MC, the seven employees have been suspended. With alleged connivance of the MC employees, arrears were deposited in bank accounts of the 44 fake employees. Also, six senior officials from Health, Accounts and Local Audit branches are also facing the heat as show-cause notices will be served on them too. Following concerns raised by CAG last month, MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi had ordered probe that revealed that arrears amounting to around Rs 2 crore were deposited into the bank accounts of 44 bogus employees who were not associated with the MC, Ludhiana. After the probe, the Commissioner suspended the seven MC employees — Rajesh Kumar (clerk, now sanitary inspector with the MC, Jalandhar), Ramesh Kumar Bobby (safai sewak), Mintu Kumar Bunty (safai sewak), Hem Raj (clerk, now sanitary inspector), Harsh Grover (clerk), Manish Malhotra (clerk) and Kamal SHOW-CAUSE NOTICES TO BE SERVED ON SIX After the inquiry conducted by the Municipal Corporation, seven employees have been suspended. With the alleged connivance of the MC employees, arrears were deposited in bank accounts of the 44 fake employees. Also, six senior officials from Health, Accounts and Local Audit branches are also facing the heat as show-cause notices will be served on them too. COUNT OF FAKE STAFF MAY RISE: SOURCES According to sources in the MC, the authorities are currently also scrutinising the records of 16 other persons suspected of fraudulent activities. Consequently, there is a possibility that the count of bogus employees within the Municipal Corporation may rise. Kumar (safai sewak). Besides, show-cause notices will be served on senior officials, including Dr Jasbir Kaur (MOH), Dr Vipul Malhotra (MOH), DCFA Pankaj Garg, Accountant Sandeep Garg, Local Auditor Harmandeep Singh and Jyoti Sharma from the Local Audit branch, as per the inquiry report. The notices will also be served on six other persons — Jyoti, Ajay, Rajni, Santosh Rani, Sunil and Mamta. Notably, the CAG team had recently conducted an audit of the Municipal Corporation’s records spanning from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. The team had sought record of 46 employees of the MC. The requested documents include service books, step-up orders, recast of pay orders, ECR registers, and bank statements related to these employees for the audit. Thereafter, the corporation’s investigation uncovered that step-up arrears were transferred to the bank accounts of 44 fake employees, whose service books and other documents were not found in the MC records. According to the investigation findings, 40 of the 46 persons whose records were sought by CAG were identified as 79K new vehicles registered in city in 2023, 65 per cent up than 2021 On an average, 219 new vehicles daily, 6,576 vehicles a month hitting the road in Ludhiana Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January5 In what appears to be vehicular population explosion, a whopping 79,000 new vehicles were registered in Ludhiana during 2023, the official figures have revealed. It was almost 65 per cent more than less than 48,000 new vehicles registered here in 2021 and over 12 per cent increase over around 70,000 new vehicle registrations made in the state’s biggest and largest district headquarters, in terms of area and population, in 2022. If account of the past year’s figures is taken, over 219 new vehicles were hitting the road in Ludhiana daily and on an average, 6,576 vehicles were registered here every month. The official figures compiled by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) here, a copy of which is with The Tribune, showed that November last year had recorded the highest monthly registrations of 9,939 new vehicles while January had registered the lowest monthly average of 4,067 vehicles in 2023. The November 2023’s registrations of 9,939 was the With hundreds of new vehicles rolling on city roads, vehicular population is exploding fast in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO TELLING NUMBERS ANNUAL FIGURES 2023 78,910 2022 70,362 2021 47,919 HIGH & LOW November 2023 9,939 May 2021 1,839 Monthly average 6,576 | Daily average 219 THREE-YEAR TREND MONTH January February March April May June July August September October November December Total 2023 4,067 5,164 6,436 5,828 6,419 5,790 6,609 6,642 6,506 7,520 9,939 7,990 78,910 highest monthly figure in the past three years while 1,839 registrations were the lowest monthly number since 2021. The cumulative figure of the 2021 2022 4,545 3,988 4,304 4,052 5,146 5,380 3,854 5,470 1,839 5,154 3,019 5,084 3,694 4,833 3,359 6,358 3,194 4,639 4,709 9,778 5,551 8,952 4,705 6,674 47,919 70,362 (Source: Transport Department) past three years takes the new registrations in Ludhiana to 1,97,191 vehicles, which accounted for 5,477 new vehicles hitting the road here every month and almost 183 new vehicle registrations daily. Of the total 78,910 new vehicles registered here in 2023, 68,683 were non-transport, meaning private vehicles, while the rest 10,227 were transport vehicles. The month-wise data revealed that January registered 4,067 new vehicle registrations in 2023, 3,988 in 2022, 4,545 in 2021, February recorded 5,164 in 2023, 4,052 in 2022, 4,304 in 2021, March got 6,436 in 2023, 5,380 in 2022, 5,146 in 2021, April added 5,828 in 2023, 5,470 in 2022, 3,854 in 2021, May registered 6,419 in 2023, 5,154 in 2022, 1,839 in 2021, June got 5,790 in 2023, 5,084 in 2022, 3,019 in 2021, July reported 6,609 in 2023, 4,833 in 2022, 3,694 in 2021, August added 6,642 in 2023, 6,358 in 2022, 3,359 in 2021, September got 6,506 in 2023, 4,639 in 2022, 3,194 in 2021, October registered 7,520 in 2023, 9,778 in 2022, 4,709 in 2021, November got 9,939 in 2023, 8,952 in 2022, 5,551 in 2021, and December had added 7,990 new vehicles in 2023, 6,674 in 2022 and 4,705 in 2021. Ludhiana leads Vehicle registrations in the state were maximum in Ludhiana following which the workload here was also the highest. “The last two months of 2023 had recorded the maximum registrations of new vehicles during the entire year,” RTO Randeep Singh said, adding that efforts were on to clear the pendency due to excess workload. c m y b fraudulent employees. Additionally, four more persons were discovered to be fake, bringing the total number of exposed bogus employees to 44 so far. Commissioner Sandeep Rishi said a request has been made to the Police Commissioner to register an FIR against 51 persons, which includes 44 bogus employees and seven MC employees. According to the inquiry, these bogus employees were not working for the MC, yet arrears were transferred to their accounts. Additionally, show-cause notices have been ordered to be issued issue to six senior officials, and they will write to higher authorities for further action. Questions have been raised regarding the involvement of some senior officials, as it is alleged that they approved documents for arrear transfers. The inquiry has revealed financial losses for the MC, and irregularities involving serious tampering with government records. The commissioner has also ordered an audit of records related to fake arrear bills approved between the period of January 1, 2021, to March 31, 2023, to be conducted by an independent agency. According to MC sources, the authorities are currently also scrutinising the records of 16 other persons suspected of fraudulent activities. Consequently, there is a possibility that the count of bogus employees within the MC may rise. People sit around a bonfire to keep themselves warm. INDERJEET VERMA A PCR vehicle equipped with dashcam being flagged off in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 5 The Commissioner of Police, Ludhiana, Kuldeep Singh Chahal, flagged off PCR vehicles equipped with dashboard cameras on Friday. The state government has issued directives to maintain law and order consistently in the state. Each camera has a memory of 64 GB, capable of storing data for seven days Chahal said under the initiative, with the support of an NGO, cameras had been installed in PCR vehicles to keep a check on activities of those engaged in anti-social behaviour. He said each camera had a memory of 64 GB, capable of storing data for approximately seven days. Continuous recording would occur during patrolling by the vehicles and the footage would be essential for investigating incidents. The CP highlighted the presence of speed radars in the cameras, enabling them to check the speed of vehicles within a radius of about 300m. Miscreants thrash civic body driver, booked Protect yourself from intense cold conditions, city residents told Manav Mander Max temperature recorded 9°C, after 11 years on this day Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 5 Biting cold conditions continue to persist in Ludhiana today as well. It was for the second time since 1970 when the meteorological observatory was established at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) that the maximum temperature dropped to 9.0°C. Yesterday, the maximum temperature recorded was 9.6°C. “Today the maximum temperature plummeted further and it was in 2013 that 9.0°C was recorded on January 5 and today after 11 years, the same temperature had been recorded,” said Pavneet Kaur Kingra, head of the Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, PAU. Dr Kingra further said the weather was expected to remain dry with the possibility of cold wave conditions/dense fog during morning hours over Ludhiana and its adjoining areas during the next 24 hours. The day’s length today was 10 hours and 12 minutes while morning relative humidity was 97 per cent and evening was 89 per cent. The Health Department has issued an advisory to the people to protect themselves from the intense cold conditions. Civil Surgeon Jasbir Singh Aulakh said children and elderly should save themselves from cold. “Elderly persons, especially cardiac patients, should avoid going out during early morning and late evening hours. Those who regularly go for walks should discontinue the same these days,” Dr Aulakh said. He said proper layers of warm clothes should be there and wearing socks and caps should be ensured before going out. He advised that brazier (angithi) should never be burnt inside a closed room as it leads to shortage of oxygen and forms carbon monoxide which could prove fatal for the occupants. He advised the people to stay warm by taking hot liquids such as soup, coffee and tea, besides balanced diet should be taken and one should also remain active. Footwear & Accessories FLAT Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 5 A group of persons has been booked for allegedly assaulting a driver employed by the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana. In his formal complaint, Gurprakash Singh, an MC employee working as a tractor driver, alleged that on Thursday, while transporting water pipes, the tractor he was driving touched the bumper of a car when its driver applied the brakes. He alleged that afterwards, the driver called his accomplices who physically assaulted him, also causing damage to the tractor. Two of the suspects identified as Vishal Kumar and Yograj from Peeru Banda. A case has been registered against both of them and around three unidentified persons under Sections 353, 186, 323, 341, 506 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Salem Tabri police station here. The MC Employees Union has urged the police authorities to apprehend the suspects. Members of the union also met the Municipal Corporation chief in this regard on Friday. ON SELECTED MEN’S FOOTWEAR BUY 1 GET BUY 2 GET 1 FREE 3 FREE ON SELECTED WOMEN’S FOOTWEAR PAVILION MALL - LUDHIANA EXCLUSIVE BRAND OUTLETS BENGALURU | LUDHIANA | CALICUT | CHENNAI | HYDERABAD KOCHI | PATIALA | ALSO AVAILABLE AT FOLLOW US : language.shoes SHOP ONLINE AT www.languageshoes.com BATHINDA TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY* Harshraj Singh % OFF Ludhiana, January 5 In a tragic incident, a 20-yearold girl, Simpi, lost her life while crossing a road near Jalandhar Bypass. The victim’s father, Ajay Kumar, filed an FIR, accusing an unidentified driver of fatally injuring his daughter with the vehicle. Simpi succumbed to her injuries on the spot. A case has been registered on Thursday against the unidentified vehicle driver. In the second mishap, a 37year-old cyclist died in a road mishap after his bicycle was allegedly hit by a speeding car on the highway near Baddowal on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Gurdeep Singh of Baddowal. Victim’s father Charanjit Singh alleged that the driver of the car hit his son’s bicycle, resulting in the victim falling down on the road and succumbing to injuries on the spot. His cycle got badly damaged. A case has been registered against the car driver, Sunil Kumar of Jalalabad. In another incident, a 20year-old youth lost his life after being mowed down by a bus on the Southern Bypass near Jawaddi. He has been identified as Rohit Giri. As per the complaint filed by victim’s uncle Anil Kumar, he and his nephew travelled in a private bus to Ludhiana on January 2. As it approached Jawaddi, Anil exited from the rear door of the bus but when Rohit tried to exit from the front door, the driver accelerated the vehicle, causing Rohit to fall. He got crushed under its rear tyres. He was rushed to the CMCH and succumbed to his injuries on Thursday. A case has been registered against the bus driver, Resham Singh of Bathinda district. — TNS Bogus staff: MC chief recommends FIR against 51, seven suspended CP flags off PCR vehicles equipped with dashcams TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY* Two youngsters among 3 killed in road mishaps