16022024-LT-01.qxd 2/16/2024 1:16 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune CBSE EXAMINATIONS OF CLASSES X, XII COMMENCE TWO PUNJAB YOUTHS KILLED IN US ROAD ACCIDENTS A youth from Jahura village and his relative were killed in two road mishaps in Indiana, the US. P3 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 25°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 25°C | MIN 7°C KATE HUDSON STILL EARNS ROYALTY FROM HOME ALONE 2 On first day of CBSE exams, Class X students appeared for optional subjects such as painting and Gurung. P2 FORECAST Kate Hudson has revealed that her appearance in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York still pays her residuals. P4 » » SUNSET FRIDAY 6.14 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:06 AM » FRIDAY | 16 FEBRUARY 2024 | LUDHIANA Man sets himself afire in Mullanpur Dakha house Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 15 A man locked himself in a room and set himself on fire at his residence in Mullanpur Dakha on Wednesday night. The victim was reportedly under the influence of alcohol when he took the extreme step. He has been identified as Jatinder Kumar. Victim was having a dispute with wife for a few days Hearing the sound of his screaming amid the flames, people staying in nearby houses poured water and blankets to save the person. Though people managed to extinguish the fire, he was badly burnt. They took him to a private hospital. According to doctors, Jatinder suffered 80 per cent burns. Only his knees remain unburnt. Seeing his critical condition, the doctors referred him to the PGI. Jatinder’s kin said he was having a dispute with his wife for the past three days. A dispute arose as his wife had gone to her maternal home and he was asking her to return home but the latter refused. On Wednesday night when Jatinder was sitting alone in the room, he consumed alcohol and poured kerosene on himself and set himself on fire. Jatindra has two children, a seven-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son. Doctors at the Civil Hospital gave first aid to the victim and sent him to the PGI for further treatment. UID number plates: 25K properties Students violate traffic rules covered, around 4 lakh remaining with impunity outside schools Mapping of 1.25 lakh properties done so far in city areas Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 15 Months after the launching of the project aimed at attaching UID number plates with QR codes to properties in the city under the Smart City Mission, the mapping of around 1.25 lakh properties has been done while the plates have been affixed to around 25,000 properties thus far. The project’s goal is to cover about 4.5 lakh properties in the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation within one year from its commencement. However, the project seems to be progressing at a slow pace. Notably, the work order for the same was issued in April 2023 and its contract completion date is April 12, 2024. The way the project is progressing, it seems it might miss the deadline. Some challenges have also been faced by workers who went to collect property data under the project. Officials cited opposition from residents in some areas to the collection of the property data necessary for installing UID number plates equipped with QR codes. The QR codes allow access to property information such as property tax, water supply and sewerage charges and other details. Once the UID plates are installed, it will be easy to identify those who have not paid property tax and other charges, according to information. MC’s Superintending An aerial view of Ludhiana city. FILE PHOTO PROJECT LIKELY TO MISS DEADLINE The project aimed at attaching UID number plates with QR codes to properties in the city seems to be progressing at a slow pace. Notably, the work order for the same was issued in April 2023 and its contract completion date is April 12, 2024. The way the project is progressing, it seems it might miss the deadline. Engineer Vivek Verma said workers faced issues while collecting data in some areas initially as several people opposed to providing data. However, the MC staff resolved the matter later. He explained that the work progresses in different phases, mapping is done in the first stage, followed by the temporary writing of UID numbers on properties and finally, the installation of UID number plates. Verma added that the mapping of approximately 1.25 lakh properties had been completed and UID number plates had been affixed to 25,000 properties. Currently, the project work was going on in five blocks. Around 4.5 lakh properties had to be covered. MC Executive Engineer Balwinder Singh said the survey work was progressing at a right speed. However, the installation of the number plates was slightly affected in some areas due to opposition from residents, leading to workers making repeated rounds for the same. The MC previously launched a survey of all properties under the geographic information system (GIS) project over a decade ago and UID number plates were also affixed to a number of properties. But the plates had not been affixed to many of the properties in the city. Later, the civic body introduced a new project at a cost of around Rs 5.75 crore under the Smart City Mission for the installation of the UID number plates on the properties in its limits. A resident said a UID number was written on the front wall of his house using a blue marker around five years ago but it had disappeared over the time. However, it remains linked to the property. Nevertheless, the UID number plate had not been installed so far. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 15 Throwing norms to the winds, students of most of the schools can be seen committing traffic rules violations with impunity, mainly during the departure timings outside the institutions. Some students bring swanky cars having tinted glasses and drive at high speed around the school. Besides, some of the cars being driven by the students are fitted with police siren, which they will blow again and again outside the schools to show their presence. Apart from this, some students also bring Enfiel Bullet motorcycles fitted with modified silencers. They use the silencer with a motive to emit gunshotlike cracking sound. “Whenever I go to pick up my son from school in COPS SHOULD PATROL IN CIVVIES: PARENT f the traffic police want to catch students who pay little regards to the traffic norms, instead of holding nakas they should patrol outside schools in civvies. Usually when traffic police personnel set up nakas, to prevent police action students avoid roaming around schools on motorcycles having modified silencers or in cars with tinted glasses, said Sourabh, a parent. the afternoon, I see students creating noise pollution with modified silencers fitted on bullet motorcycles. The silencers emit a gunshot-like cracking sound and it’s quite annoying. The traffic police should take strict action against such offenders,” Ravinder Kumar, a parent, said. Another parent, Sourabh, said if the traffic police want to catch students who pay little regards to the traffic norms, instead of holding nakas they should patrol outside city schools in civvies. Usually when traffic police personnel set up nakas, to prevent police action students avoid roaming around schools on motorcycles having modified silencers or in cars with tinted glasses. When asked if schools can play any role in it, parents said schools could not do anything in the matter as students park their motorcycles or swanky cars outside and during departure time, they pick their vehicles and violate the traffic norms with impunity. The schools can only make students aware that they should follow the traffic rules. Man held on sexual assault charge Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 15 The Payal police yesterday registered a case against a man on the charge of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl on the pretext of sending her abroad. The suspect was arrested by the police. He was identified as Ajandeep Singh (44), a resident of the Payal area. The victim in a statement to the police stated that the suspect was known to his family members and he would often Suspect violated minor on pretext of sending her abroad come to their house. The man had assured that he would sent her to the USA. The victim alleged that the suspect by taking her family into confidence had taken her along and kept her with him for about one year and four months. During this period, he developed sexual relationship with the girl against her wishes. The victim alleged that now, she was eight-month pregnant. Recently, she lodged a police complaint and the Payal police on Wednesday registered a case and arrested the man. Payal DSP Nikhil Garg said after registering the case, the suspect was arrested yesterday and further investigation was launched in the matter. 50 of 340 fuel stations run dry in dist SUV taken away forcibly from AAP leader’s son by 3 miscreants, 2 held Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 15 The Petrol Dealers Association, Punjab, did not buy fuel today as a mark of protest as less commission was given by oil companies to them. Ashok Sachdeva, chairman, Petrol Dealers Association, Punjab, said of the total about 340 fuel stations in the district, about 50 went dry. At the same time, many commuters faced a tough time as few petrol stations claimed that they did not have diesel. An attendant at a fuel station on Ferozpur road said due to panic buying of diesel in Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Commuters faced a tough time as some fuel pumps went dry in Ludhiana on Thursday. INDERJEET VERMA the past two days, diesel was not available. “I had to diesel from a fuel station near BRS Nagar,” said Sushil Sharma, a commuter. Dealers in Punjab had given a call stating not to buy fuel from oil companies on Thursday. Ludhiana, February 15 Three bike-borne miscreants looted a Toyota Fortuner vehicle from the son of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader-cum-president of Nagar Council, Doraha, Sudarshan Sharma, on February 12 from Bihari colony, Industrial Area, here. After the incident, the Moti Nagar police swung into action and identified the suspects and nabbed two of them on Wednesday. The victim, Jashan Sharma, a BA student and a resident of Doraha, said on February 12, he had come to Ludhiana in his SUV for some work. Around 5.30 pm when he reached the Bihari colony, three motorcycle-borne persons came and surrounded him. Before he could ask them anything, they pointed a sharp knife at him. They threw him out of the SUV and took away the same. Sharma said since his mobile phone was also lying in the vehicle, the location of the suspects was traced through it, which helped the police in their investigation. Inspector Satwant Singh Bains, SHO, Moti Nagar police station, said during investigation, the police arrested two brothers, identified as Sarabjot Singh and Jaspreet Singh, both residents of Transport Nagar, Ludhiana, after conducting raids in Delhi on Wednesday and the looted SUV was also recovered from the suspects while raids were on to nab the third suspect, identified as Jagga, who is also a resident of Ludhiana. The SHO said during preliminary investigation, it had come to light that there was a quarrel between the victim and the suspects sometime ago and due to the same, the latter seemed to have targeted the youth. Bains said criminal record of the nabbed suspects was being verified and the exact reason of loot was being inquired. A case has been registered against the trio. Farmers block rail tracks Women take care of fields back home, will join protest, if needed for three hours in Jagraon Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 15 Expressing anger against the Central Government for failing to meet their demands and the police action against farmers attempting to enter Haryana, farmers staged a protest at the Jagraon railway station. Farmers associated with the BKU (Dakaunda) sat on a dharna for three hours on the railway tracks to mark their protest. As a result, no trains could run during the period. The railway station witnessed a three-hour rail blockade with the support of the BKU (Dakaunda) and other farmers. Led by district chief of the union Jagtar Singh Dheerka, protesters at the sit-in also criticised the statement made by a union minister regarding the MSP issue. They slammed the Centre for the delay in meeting their genuine demands. They said instead of accepting their demands, the Haryana Government was following signals of the Narendra Modi-led Centre by resorting to concrete barricading to stop farmers. They also criticised the Haryana Government for using drone attacks and firing rubber bullets on farmers who were demanding their rights. Notably, the “Bharat Bandh” call on February 16 has been given by farmer and labour unions and the members of Samyukt Kisan Morcha have been receiving support from various organisations for the same. Meanwhile, in Ludhiana, Satnam Singh, a senior member of the Punjab Roadways, PUNBUS, and PRTC Contractual Employees Union, said they would not ply buses on roads on February 16 in support of the Bharat Bandh call. He said the union was also opposing new provisions of stringent punishment in hit-and-run cases. — TNS Ludhiana, February 15 Women have been on the frontlines during the first farmers’ protest held in 2020. They are now again ready and will join the farmers’ protest if need arises. Various farm unions are having special meetings with women as their support is also required for the protest. Even if they do not go to the protest venue, they have an important role to play, back home. At present, the majority of the women have been taking charge of their homes and agriculture fields in the absence of male members of the family. Dilbagh Singh, president of the Bharti Kisan Mazdoor Union, said they were hold- c m y b Farm leaders during a meeting with women at a village in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO ing meetings with women at villages. “Their support is important for our protest. They need to understand the reason behind the protest. At present, the majority of the women are staying back home but they are all geared up to reach the border if need arises. Currently, the majority of them are planning to take care of the fields as wheat fields need to be handled in the absence of male members of the family,” he said. Rajwinder Kaur from Maachiwara said male members of her family and neighbouring houses were going for protest to Delhi. “We will be staying home and taking care of the fields. Again, the time has come to show that women can not only manage household but also fields,” she said. Amarjit Kaur from Manuke village is managing fields and dairy animals since the first farmers’ protest. “During the previous protest, when all men were at the border, women managed everything from fields to animals and I never let that habit go off. I still actively manage farm affairs. Hence, managing things will not be difficult. If need arises, we will also join the protest,” she said. Meanwhile, Lakhwinder Kaur from Lopon village said she had decided to go along with his son. “I might return after a day or so but will accompany him to the border. I have an extended family who will be present back home and if possible, I can stay there for a long time as well,” she said.
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