16032024-LT-01.qxd 3/16/2024 1:12 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune TWO-DAY KISAN MELA ENDS AT AGRICULTURAL VARSITY SIX NABBED WITH 14 PISTOLS, 66 LIVE ROUNDS IN PHAGWARA DIA EXUDES ELEGANCE AS SHE TURNS SHOWSTOPPER AT LFW Farmers from across the state and neighbouring regions came to attend two-day Kisan Mela at the PAU. P2 The police claimed to have achieved success by busting a prominent gang operating in Phagwara. P3 Dia Mirza took to ramp for Inca India on Day 2 of Fashion Design Council of India X Lakme Fashion Week. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 28°C | MIN 12°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 12°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.35 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:34 AM » SATURDAY | 16 MARCH 2024 | LUDHIANA Waste compactor system inaugurated at Bajwa Nagar Ludhiana, March 15 On Friday, the Municipal Corporation (MC), Ludhiana, inaugurated the newly installed static waste compactor system at Bajwa Nagar. Ludhiana Central MLA Ashok Prashar Pappi and Municipal Corporation Commissioner Sandeep Rishi presided over the ceremony. They announced that the compactors have been installed in the nagar. The compactor site was established at a cost of approximately Rs 2 crore, covering both civil and mechanical expenses. Now, open garbage dumps in Bajwa Nagar (near Kamla Lohtia College) and Wait Ganj, which have plagued residents with foul smells for decades, will be removed. The MLA said the open dumps were troubling residents in various ways and traditional political parties failed to resolve the issue. Prashar said after he took up the matter with the authorities concerned, a space was arranged for setting up the compactor site and the site had now been made operational. Garbage would not be dumped in the open from now onwards. Waste would directly be dumped into the compactors and it would then transported to the main dumpsite of the MC on Tajpur Road using hook loaders. He said a total of six compactor sites were being set up in the Ludhiana Central constituency. Of these, two were now operational at Cheema Chowk and Bajwa Nagar. — TNS Fleecing continues unabated at parking lots in city, visitors hit Civic body fails to take action against erring contractors Harshraj Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 15 Regardless of whether it was during the tenure of the previous Congress, SAD-BJP governments or the current AAP government, the public has experienced no relief from overcharging at several paid parking facilities managed by the Municipal Corporation, district administration, or any other department throughout the city. The exploitation of visitors remains a frequent occurrence at parking lots such as Bhadaur House and AC Market parking lots, as well as the MC’s multi-level parking facility adjacent to the Zone A Office, district administration’s multi-level parking lot; among others. Instead of taking decisive action against any contractor found to be engaging in malpractices during the past one year, the Municipal Corporation intends to conduct a fresh auction of these parking lots soon. Previously, certain NGOs had advocated that the MC should directly manage the lots instead of outsourcing them to private contractors. However, the municipal authorities had not only dismissed the request but also neglected to establish trans- Vehicles parked at Bhadaur House market lot. INDERJEET VERMA CONTRACT TO BE CANCELLED, SAYS DC Regarding the complaints of overcharging at the multi-level parking lot of the district administration, DC Sakshi Sawhney said they had sent a notice to the contractor for cancellation and blacklisting. parency in the city’s paid parking system. Questions are also being raised over the role of the MLAs and MP concerned for not coming forward to solve the serious matter for a long time. A resident of the city, Gaganpreet Singh, expressed that people were being compelled to pay up to Rs 100 for car parking for less than two hours at Bhadaur House parking lots due to lack of oversight by MC officials. The official parking fee for a car is Rs 20 for the initial two hours. Fee slips were usually not issued to many visitors there. Moreover, a few parking fee boards were positioned in a manner that makes them difficult for visitors to properly see. It was evident that the parking contractor’s intentions were clear but the MC officials had chosen to ignore the situation. Even the elected representatives concerned have neglected to address public’s grievances. A BJP leader, Inder Aggarwal, has alleged the presence of an active parking mafia in the city. He alleged that the AAP government’s claims to combat corruption were proving ineffective as overcharging continues at paid parking facilities. He remarked: “People are being compelled to pay amounts exceeding the prescribed parking fees at the district administration’s multi-level parking lot. This situation persists in certain parking lots managed by the corporation and at Sabji Mandi. No decisive action has been taken to eradicate the parking mafia from the city.” DP Maur, CPI district secretary, emphasised the necessity for the district administration to formulate a concrete policy to instill transparency in city parking lots. He said: “I was charged Rs 40 for car parking at the multi-level parking lot under the district administration’s jurisdiction due to unchecked overcharging. It’s imperative to take measures to eliminate the parking mafia, which has been active not only under the current government but also during previous governments.” AAP MLA Madan Lal Bagga acknowledged receiving a few complaints regarding overcharging at the MC’s parking lots. He said: “Necessary measures will be implemented to prevent such incidents in the future.” MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi said the civic body was going to conduct a fresh auction of the MC’s paid parking lots and affirmed that steps will be taken to curb overcharging. City couple robbed of car by three miscreants Ludhiana, March 15 Three miscreants took away a Hyundai i20 car from a city resident and his wife yesterday night. The incident occurred at Midha Chowk near the Kochar Market police post. The woman was sitting in the vehicle and the suspects also tried to kidnap her but her husband managed to pull her out of the car. After receiving information about the incident, ACP Jatin Cops at crime scene in Ludhiana on Thursday night. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Bansal reached the scene and started a probe. The police were scanning CCTVs installed in the area to get any clue about the suspects. Narinderpal Singh, who stays in the Green Field area, said he, along with his wife, was going to home in their Hyundai i20 car and on the way, they stopped at Midha Chowk to buy some medicines. He went to the shop while his wife Simmi was sitting in the vehicle. After buying the medicines, when he was heading towards the car, he was shocked to see that three miscreants entered his car. They were trying to take away the vehicle. Somehow, he pulled his wife out of the car, following which, the miscreants fled the scene in the vehicle. Simmi said after three miscreants entered the car, they tried to close her mouth with their hands. She managed to open one of the windowpanes of the car and called her husband for help. ACP Jatin Bansal said the police got some vital clues about the suspects and they would be arrested soon. — TNS Once victim of ~20-L fraud, his gang committing similar crimes Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 15 Once deceived by a fraudster of Rs 20 lakh on the pretext of providing him a job in the Punjab Police as assistant sub-inspector, Pinder Sodhi, a resident of Mahilpur district, Hoshiarpur, took the fraud as inspiration and suc- Pinder-led gang duped people of crores of rupees by posing as CBI, Vigilance officials ceeded in becoming a kingpin of a gang, which duped gullible people of crores of rupees in the past in Punjab and Haryana. The gang members by impersonating as CBI and Vigilance Bureau officials conducted fake raids in Punjab and Haryana, and by showing their closeness with bureaucrats and politicians, cheated people on the pretext of providing them jobs in state and Central Government departments. Notably, the gang came to limelight when kingpin Pinder, along with gang members namely Manjeet Singh and Paramjeet Singh of Mehlon village, Samrala tehsil, Parminder Singh, a resident of Akash Colony, Hoshiarpur, Hardeep Singh and his wife Pooja Rani, both residents of Khamano town in Fatehgarh Sahib district, had conducted a raid at the house of Palwinder Singh at Bhaini Salu village in Ludhiana by posing as Vigilance officials from Chandigarh in 2023. The suspects had told the house owner that he had sold 18 acres of the panchayat land. They demanded Rs 50 lakh from him to sort out the matter of selling the land, claiming that an inquiry was pending at the Vigilance office in Chandigarh, otherwise, a fraud case would be registered against him. The gang was later busted by the Ludhiana Vigilance Suspect Pinder Sodhi in custody of the VB sleuths. FILE Bureau and all suspects, excluding Hardeep Singh, were arrested. Senior Superintendent of Police, Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana, Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu, told The Tribune here on Friday that the Pinderled gang had been facing five cases registered in Ludhiana, Mukandpur (SBS Nagar), Kathgarh (SBS Nagar), Ferozepur and Pehowa in Haryana. In four cases, Pinder was also declared a proclaimed offender. Sandhu said in 2018, Pinder was duped of Rs 20 lakh on the pretext of employing him in the Punjab Police on the post of the ASI. “After the fraud when Pinder failed to get his money back, he decided to form his own gang of swindlers and fraudsters to cheat people with the same modus operandi. After he was cheated by the miscreants, he thought he can earn huge money by doing the same with gullible people. Since then, he and his accomplices had duped 16 persons of their money. In some cases, they impersonated as CBI and Vigilance officials while in others, he duped people by showing his proximity with government officials and politicians,” the SSP said. The SSP said now, the Vigilance Bureau had started gathering details of properties made by Pinder and others members of his gang with the illegal money and the same would be attached. Frauds committed by the gang in state, Haryana ■ Posing as Vigilance officers, the gang conducted Green move: Industry offers to adopt public parks in city areas Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 15 In what appears to be a green move aimed at preserving and promoting the environment in one of the most polluted cities of the country, the local industry has offered to adopt public parks in the city. Coming forward to make Ludhiana clean and green, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has expressed its willingness to take over the public parks and green belts spread across 453 acres in the municipal limits here. The development assumes significance as majority of the public parks and green belts located across 159.39 sq km municipal limits, catering to over 20-lakh population in the state’s biggest and largest city, in terms of area and population, were lying in a state of utter neglect in the absence of proper maintenance and upkeep by the Municipal Corporation (MC). The offer came quick on the heels of the Rajya Sabha MP , Sanjeev Arora, inaugurating a fountain water body and a public park renovated and maintained by a local industrialist here recently. CII ready to take over parks, green belts for maintenance, upgrade PARKS AT A GLANCE A renovated public park at Sarabha Nagar in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN In a formal offer letter submitted to MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi, the CII Ludhiana zone chairman, Lokesh Jain, proposed a collaborative approach to ensure the proper maintenance and enhancement of the public parks in the city, as per a plan chalked out by the industrial body. “Our city is blessed with several public parks in industrial areas that serve as recreational spaces for residents of all ages. However, over a period of time, these have faced challenges in terms of maintenance, cleanliness and over- all upkeep,” he wrote. Jain noted that despite the best efforts being made by the municipal authorities, the increasing population and limited resources have made it difficult to maintain the green spaces effectively. “Also, the green cover of our city has been rapidly declining due to the ongoing construction projects all around the area,” he mentioned while stating that it had resulted in an unprecedented rise in air quality index (AQI) levels as well as drug menace due to the non- Total parks: 892 Area: 453 acres Large parks (1-acre or more area): 94 Area under large parks: 233 acres Parks maintained by park management committees: 675 Area under such parks: 281 acres Large parks maintained by management committees: 55 Area under maintained large parks: 97 acres Parks maintained by industries under CSR: 25 Area under industry maintained parks: 139 acres Large parks maintained by industry: 9 Area under large industry-maintained parks: 28 acres maintenance of parks. Sharing the proposal plan, the CII chairman said they had started a project under the banner of ‘Lungs of Ludhiana’, under which the industry body had pledged to plant 10-lakh native trees, with the Miyawaki foresting technique, of which 85,000 saplings had already been planted across various industrial units in Ludhiana. Exploring partnerships with local industries and business houses to take responsibility for specific parks and encourage the c m y b local industries operating with Ludhiana to adopt specific parks, Jain proposed hat these industries can allocate resources, manpower and funds for regular maintenance, landscaping, cleanliness, and planting sustainable model of Miyawaki forests. Divulging the proposed implementation plan, the CII chairman submitted that the MC can identify the parks suitable for industry adoption, based on location, size and existing condition, following which formal agreements, clearly outlining responsibilities of industry partners, could be made for regular monitoring and periodic audits to ensure compliance as per agreed-upon standards. However, the MC was yet to take call on the proposal. “We are waiting for a positive response to benefit our community and city as well in the larger public interest,” Jain said. Parks, green belts to improve, says MP “The proposal is aimed at improving the condition of public parks and green belts in the city. With Ludhiana ranked among 20 most polluted cities in the country, it is the dire need to work for environment protection and promotion for providing clean and green surroundings to residents,” said Sanjeev Arora, Rajya Sabha MP Win-win situation: CII “By involving industries in the parks’ upkeep, we create a win-win situation. Industries will fulfill their CSR (corporate social responsibility) obligations while contributing to the well-being of our citizens and the condition of public parks and green belts will improve under the plan,” said Lokesh Jain, Chairman, CII, Ludhiana. Among the 20 most polluted cities Ludhiana has figured among 20 most polluted cities of the country in a latest study. Amritsar and Mandi Gobindgarh in Punjab were also listed among the 20 most polluted cities in India with maximum pollution levels, the national-level National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) study has revealed. While Ludhiana has been the worst among three most polluted Punjab cities with respect to PM10 pollution level, Mandi Gobindgarh has the maximum PM2.5 pollutants in the state. The NCAP study, which was released recently, was conducted by Climate Trends and Respirer Living Sciences. It examined the annual concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 in nonattainment cities from 2019 to 2023 from the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) data. raids at the house of farmer Parminder Singh at Bhaini Salu village in Ludhiana. ■ Posing as CBI officials, the gang duped a family of Pehowa, Haryana, of Rs 52 lakh. ■ Cheated a man of Rs 8 lakh on the pretext of providing job to the complainant’s daughter in Punjab Police. ■ Cheated SBS Nagar-based bank employee Shiv Kumar of Rs 4 lakh, assuring govt job to his wife. ■ Deceived Jagsir Singh of Mehlon, Ludhiana, of Rs 35 lakh for providing him a job in the Income Tax Department as inspector. ■ Cheated Gurdeep Singh of Pakhowal Ludhiana of Rs 35 lakh for assuring job in IT Department as inspector. ■ Committed a fraud of Rs 28 lakh with Sukhdev Singh of Fazilka for job in IT Department. ■ Rs 25-lakh fraud with Dyal Singh of Fazilka for job in IT Department. ■ Rs 20-lakh Fraud with Rasbir Singh of Sahnewal for job in Punjab Police. ■ Fraud of Rs 13 lakh with Harkaran Singh of Kharar for job in Punjab Police. ■ Rs 13-lakh fraud with Harbans Singh of Pakhowal assuring job in Police Department. ■ Cheated Gagandeep Singh of Samrala of Rs 13 lakh for a job in Police Department. ■ Rs 13-lakh job fraud with Balwinder Singh of Panchkula. ■ Rs 26-lakh fraud with two Sardulgarh-based residents for providing job in Police Department. ■ Rs 12-lakh Punjab Police job fraud with Sudagar Ram of SBS Nagar. Youth dies of suspected drug overdose at Issa Nagari Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 15 A youth was found dead under mysterious circumstances at Issa Nagari here on Thursday. He was suspected to be died of drug overdose. The deceased has been identified as Deepak Dhaliwal, a resident of Khudh Mohalla. As per information, people after noticing a youngster lying dead in the street raised the alarm and informed residents of the area. The victim was taken to the CMCH, Ludhiana, where doctors declared him brought dead. Deceased’s kin alleged that some drug peddlers were staying in the street, who sells drugs to addicts. The police should take action against such miscreants so that drug chain could be broken. Meanwhile, suspecting no foul play, the police have initiated inquest proceedings in the case.
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