13022024-LT-01.qxd 2/13/2024 1:21 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PUBLICITY VAN TO PROMOTE ENROLMENT IN GOVT SCHOOLS RACHANA STEPS INTO THE SHOES OF ARYA IN DABANGII ZEENAT AMAN COMPLETES FIRST ANNIV ON INSTAGRAM Edu Dept has arranged a publicity van to encourage people to get their kids admitted to govt schools. P2 Viewers will witness a 14-year leap in Sony Entertainment Television's, Dabangii - Mulgi Aayi Re Aayi. P3 Veteran actress Zeenat Aman has completed one year on the social media platform Instagram. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 23°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.11 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:09 AM » TUESDAY | 13 FEBRUARY 2024 | LUDHIANA Major upgrade, revamp of ESIC City grapples with unattended carcasses, situation getting worse at many places hospital begins at ~8.2 crore Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service First-ever advancement of 55-yr-old ailing health facility in Ludhiana Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 12 In a major development, the ESI Corporation (ESIC) Model Hospital here is in for a major upgrade and revamp. For the purpose, the Union Government has begun the work at the cost of Rs 8.2 crore. The development assumes significance as it will be the first-ever major advancement and overhaul of the ailing health facility for employees, especially industrial workers, since its inception in 1969. Besides, the proposal to add 200 more beds and develop the ESIC hospital as the stateof-the-art facility with 500-bed capacity is also under active consideration of the Centre. An announcement to this effect was made by ESIC Director General (DG) Rajendra Kumar while acceding to the demand raised by Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora. This followed a series of meetings held between Arora and Union Minister of Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav during the past over a year. The minister had also held a meeting of officials from his ministry and the state government in Chandigarh recently to discuss and finalise the plan to establish six new ESIC Hospitals in the state, including another one in Ludhiana district, besides other demands of Punjab pertaining to the welfare of labour and employees. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member in the Upper House of Parliament from Punjab has impressed upon Yadav that the Ludhiana ESIC hospital with 262bed capacity was not only lacking beds but also other facilities to provide treatment and medical facilities to almost 12 lakh workers employed in various establishments covered under the ESI Corporation, which runs the lone hospital in the state’s biggest and largest district, in terms of area and population, since its inception in 1969. Arora told The Tribune on Monday that ESIC DG Rajendra Kumar has conveyed to him that the work to upgrade and revamp the ESIC had been initiated at the cost of Rs 819.51-lakh. He said the renovation of the intensive care unit (ICU) had been awarded at the cost of Rs 73.03 lakh, firefighting work at Rs 467.76 lakh, extension on medical gas pipeline at Rs 9 mobiles seized from jail, 11 booked DC writes to top cop, DEO after students ‘car rally’ videos go viral Ludhiana, February 12 After the recent recovery of nine mobiles from the Central Jail, Ludhiana, two FIRs were registered under the Prisons Act at the Division Number 7 police station on Sunday. Eleven inmates have been booked for allegedly violating jail rules. In the first FIR, five inmates were booked after the recovery of four mobiles. In another case, six inmates were booked after the recovery of five mobiles. ASI Gurdial Singh is investigating the cases. — TNS Tribune News Service ‘ASSIGN TRAFFIC-RELATED DUTIES TO OFFENDERS’ Ludhiana, February 12 Following the emergence of purported videos on social media depicting students’ alleged car rally to commemorate their school farewell, and a media report on the matter, Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney has written to the Commissioner of Police and the District Education Officer (Secondary) to take appropriate action. In a letter addressed to the In a letter addressed to the Commissioner of Police, the DC has instructed that those responsible for violating road safety rules should be assigned traffic-related civic duties. Work in progress to upgrade the ESIC hospital in Ludhiana on Monday. HOSPITAL AT A GLANCE BUILDING FLOORS G+2 ■ New hospital B+G+4 ■ Hostel G+1 ■ Dispensary G+1 ■ 89 staff quarters G+1 ■ Old hospital PHOTO: ASHWANI DHIMAN PROJECT REPORT PLINTH AREA 4,175 16,679 1,936 1,107 9,681 WHEN BUILT 1969 1995 1969 1986 1969 COMPONENT Renovation of ICU Firefighting work Extension on medical gas pipeline Provision of 240 TR central AC plant Total AMOUNT 73.03 467.76 49.73 228.99 819.51 (SOURCE: ESIC, AREA IN SQUARE METERS, AMOUNT IN RUPEES LAKH) 49.73 lakh, and provision of 240 TR central air conditioned (AC) plant has been initiated at the cost of Rs 228.99 lakh. “The proposal for expansion of the ESIC hospital from 300 beds to 500 beds is also under consideration,” Arora said while quoting the ESIC DG’s communication. He reiterated that Yadav had already promised him to almost double the capacity of the Ludhiana hospital and provide state-of-the-art facilities here during a meeting with him in New Delhi last year. “He has promised to upgrade the Ludhiana ESIC hospital to the state-of-the-art facility and increase its bed capacity to 500,” the MP said. Divulging the proposed upgrade plan and outcome of Commissioner of Police, the DC has instructed that those responsible for violating road safety rules should be assigned traffic-related civic duties. Furthermore, traffic classes on road safety should be conducted to ensure that students do not repeat such mistake in the the survey conducted to this effect, Arora said the hospital was spread over 10.3 acres and at present, was catering to 4.3 lakh insured persons. “The hospital building was constructed in two parts. The old block, in which the administrative block and OPD is running, had been declared unsafe as per the structural audit report conducted by the NIT, Jalandhar. However, during a site visit by the Chief Engineer, it has been observed that the old building was in a good condition and there were no signs of any distress/ deterioration of the building,” he said. To get the second opinion from another agency/ institute, the proposal for fresh continued on page 2 future. Additionally, she instructed the DEO (Secondary) to identify the schools concerned and issue notices to responsible students. The DEO has also been directed to issue strict instructions to all schools in the district to prevent such incidents in the future. Ludhiana, February 12 In the absence of lifting of dead animals for burial or disposal, a significant number of carcasses belonging to cows, buffaloes and calves are at present decomposing openly within dairy complexes and other locations in the city. The situation was reported to be similar at a gaushala. The stench permeates the air as these carcasses remain unburied. Private workers (skinners), who used to lift the dead animals from the complexes and other places in the city, have allegedly declined to do so following the NGT orders preventing them from disposing of the same at a ‘hadda rodi’ near Ladhowal on the banks of the Sutlej. Additionally, the MC’s carcass utilisation plant at Rasulpur Patti near Noorpur Bet is not operational, as it was locked a few weeks ago by a Congress leader in solidarity with villagers who opposed the establishment of the plant. With no necessary alternative arrangements made available, the carcasses are accumulating along roadsides or vacant sites in the dairy complex areas situated on Hambran Road and Tajpur Road, Ludhiana. Parshotam Lal, a worker Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 12 Several days after the recovery of the decomposed body of a woman near Bagga Kalan village on Ladhowal Bypass Road, the police initiated a murder case against unidentified suspects on Sunday. After receiving the postmortem report, an FIR under Sections 302, 318, 201, and 34 of the IPC has been registered at the Ladhowal police station against the suspects. On January 30, the body, appearing to be that of a woman around 25 years old, wrapped in a bed sheet, was found under mysterious cir- cumstances near Bagga Kalan village. However, the deceased could not be identified yet. Her face was found burnt, possibly to hide her identity. The body was sent to the mortuary at the Civil Hospital. Inspector Lovedeep Singh, SHO, Ladhowal police station, said an FIR had been registered after receiving the autopsy report. The investigation was underway. Ludhiana, February 12 Two youngsters were apprehended by shopkeepers when they allegedly tried to flee after snatching a mobile phone. The complainant ,Rajwinder Kaur Chopra, alleged that three youngsters had attacked her on Sunday outside her showroom in the Chauri Sadak area and snatched her mobile phone. She alleged that when c m y b (skinner), said they had received NGT orders to cease disposing of carcasses at the ‘hadda rodi’ location near Ladhowal. Hence, the skinners had stopped lifting the dead animals from city areas as even the MC’s carcass utilisation plant was not functioning. Many carcasses were lying in the dairy complexes and other locations, he said. The worsening situation, exacerbated by the foul odour emanating from the collection of carcasses in the dairy complexes, has left the dairy owners concerned about the potential outbreak of diseases resulting from the fail- ure to dispose of dead animals. DS Oberai, president of the Tajpur Road’s Dairy Complex Association, said there had been no lifting of dead cows, buffaloes and calves from the dairy complexes of both areas for the past few days. He said the skinners explained that they were stopped by the officials concerned for not disposing of the dead animals at ‘hadda rodi’. The situation was now worsening due to no lifting of the dead animals, many of which were about to burst. It can lead to an outbreak if the dead animals were not lifted from the dairy complexes. The issue must be resolved on a priority basis, he said. The dairy owners, skinners and others also met to discuss the matter on Monday evening. They said they would meet the Ludhiana West MLA tomorrow. The ‘hadda rodi’ near Ladhowal was causing pollution in the Sutlej and emanating a foul smell. The skin of the dead animals was removed at the ‘hadda rodi’, and the remains were allegedly dumped in the river. A resident had also moved the NGT against the ‘hadda rodi’. During the hearing on January 25, the NGT directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board to submit a fresh report regarding “the status of the new plant and old plant”. MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi said the ‘hadda rodi’ near Ladhowal was closed as it was causing pollution in the Sutlej. He said they were looking into the matter and requisite measures would be taken. Also, in 2020, the skinners had stopped lifting the dead animals from dairy complexes and other locations after the PPCB issued notices to five skinners to pay compensation of around Rs 11.40 crore (Rs 2.28 crore each) for allegedly discharging effluents from the ‘hadda rodi’ near Ladhowal into the river. PSEB: Class X, XII exams begin today Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 12 A 42-year-old man hailing from a West African country has been arrested for allegedly smuggling ‘ice’ drug. The special task force (STF) of the Ludhiana Range claimed to have recovered 260 gm of ‘ice’ allegedly from his possession. The suspect has been identified as Frank Chubezi, who was currently residing near a mall on Ferozepur Road here. According to the police, he said he had come to India for treatment of his wife in the past and had allegedly been involved in smuggling drugs for the past few years. The police claimed that he was also a drug addict. Ludhiana Range STF Inspector Harbans Singh said they had received a tipoff that the suspect had to supply ‘ice drug’ to his customers in Mohalla Gobind Singh Nagar of Ludhiana. On Sunday night, a police Two youths nabbed Victim was murdered, says for snatching mobile Tribune News Service Cattle at a dairy complex at Haibowal in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN 42-yr-old foreigner held for smuggling ‘ice’ drug RECOVERY OF DECOMPOSED BODY OF WOMAN autopsy report, case filed Carcasses of cows, buffaloes accumulate at dairy complexes in absence of lifting for burial the suspects attempted to flee after snatching the mobile, two persons, identified as Naresh Kumar and Ajay Kumar, were apprehended by the shopkeepers. Both were handed over to the police. The third suspect in the case is yet to be identified and arrested by the police. A case under Sections 379B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at the Division Number 3 police station in Ludhiana. The suspect in police custody in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO team, led by SI Naresh Kumar, caught the suspect. When he was frisked, 260 gm of ‘ice’ drug was found, the STF official said. Harbans Singh said a case under Section 21 of the NDPS Act had been registered at the STF police Station, Sohana, in Mohali on Monday against the man. He said the suspect revealed that he remains idle while two FIRs related to alleged drug peddling were registered against him in the past. He was also declared a proclaimed offender by a court in October 2023. The man was also addicted to heroin and had been involved in smuggling heroin for the past around four years. The STF official said the suspect would be presented before court for getting his police remand. Further investigation would be conducted to identify his accomplices. Ludhiana, February 12 The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) examinations of Classes X and XII will start from tomorrow onwards. The examinations would be held for Class X students from February 13 to March 6 while for Classes XII, these will be from February 13 to March 30. The exams will be held in morning and evening sessions. “We all are prepared for the smooth conduct of examinations, which start from tomorrow onwards. All last- minute preparations are done by respective schools/different centres and we hope that we do not face any issue,” said a teacher at Government Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar Camp. Meanwhile, the board exams of Classes V are commencing from March 7 to 14 while Class VIII exams will be held from March 7 to 27. Traditional toast Participants during an exhibition showing Punjabi heritage on the inaugural day of Kila Raipur rural Olympics at a village in Ludhiana on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN PAGE 2