21072024-LT-01.qxd 7/20/2024 11:31 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune STUDENT FROM TN FOUND DEAD AT PATIALA HOSTEL THE PLAY BULLEH SHAH DELVES INTO THE LIFE OF THE POET BOMAN IRANI IS NOW READY WITH HIS DIRECTORIAL VENTURE A female student from Government Medical College, Patiala, died by suicide after she consumed poison. P3 Kuldip Raj Sharma’s play Bulleh Shah is no less than time travel to the 17-18th century Punjab. P4 Boman is now ready with his directorial venture ‘Mehta Boys’. He firmly believes learning has to be constant in life.P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 29°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 29°C SUNSET SUNDAY 7.23 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 5:36 AM » SUNDAY | 21 JULY 2024 | LUDHIANA Tobacco kiosks sell products near edu institutions, violations galore ED can intervene in Buddha Dariya, otherpollution cases, says ex-official Liquor vends located near such institutes keep ‘safe distance’ in city, rural areas Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 20 Despite glaring violations, tobacco-cigarrete kiosks are operating with impunity in the vicinity of schools, colleges, university and other educational institutes in the industrial hub. The 100-m rule of operating tobacco kiosks near educational institutions is being clearly ignored by owners of such vends. However, there are restrictions on opening liquor vends within the radius of 50 m in cities and 100 m in rural areas. Surprisingly, vends have not been opened within the 50-m radius in the city but there are some which are being run close to educational institutions and students are exposed to the same. This correspondent with a lensman visited several city areas to dig deep into violations which are being ignored by the administration while keeping their eyes closed. The extent of violation of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Act, 2022, can be gauged from the fact that a tobacco kiosk has been set up adjoining the wall of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) near Gate 3. The kiosk has given access to thousands of students of the university. Besides, three private education centres are operating opposite Gate 3 and the authorities are not both- Clockwise: A tobacco kiosk adjoining the wall of the PAU, another kiosk selling tobacco products near a pvt school on the Jassian road; and a liquor vend near a govt school in Haibowal. ASHWANI DHIMAN Institute, Harpreet, when asked if they have lodged a complaint against the liquor vend operating near their institute, said he was not aware of the same, senior officials of the institute might have information about it but they were not available now. “Most liquor vends in the city have not been opened within the 50-m radius of schools or educational institutions. Distance is measured from gate to gate. Though such vends are not violating rules, they may be located close to the educational institutions, hence, as per law, action cannot be taken against them,”senior excise official said. What the rule says ered to ponder over the issue. Then came a decorated liquor vend almost close to Aakash Institute, where hundreds of students daily turn up. The vend is two properties away from the institute in the same lane and boozelovers can be seen buying liquor openly in front of students. Not only this, sometimes drunkards also sip whisky in the daytime outside the vend but no action is being taken by the authorities concerned so far. Excise officials, however, said the vend was not opened within 50-m radius of the institute. Another glaring violation was noticed on the Jassian road where a tobacco vend is being run within the radius of 100 m near Ranjit International School. Even a liquor vend at the Jawala Singh chowk is set up near Terioat Public School, approximately 200 m away from the school. Drunkards here start drinking from the wee hours and sometimes they were also seen lying in front of the vend in an inebriated state. What impact students would have from such behaviour of drunkards. The authorities should pay attention to the matter. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawney told The Tribune here on Saturday that necessary instructions were already issued to the department concerned for the implementation of the rule. The administration would also conduct a check on the matter. Senior executive, Aakash There is a ban on the sale of tobacco products within a 100-m radius of educational institutes under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Amendment Act, 2022. As per Section 6 of the Act, “No person shall sell, offer for sale or permit sale of, cigarette or any other tobacco product — to or by any person who is under 21 years of age and in an area within a radius of 100 m of any educational institution”. However, there are restrictions on opening liquor vends within the 50-m radius of educational institutions in cities and 100 m in rural areas, surprisingly, vends have not been opened within the 50-m radius in the city but there are vends which are opened within 100-m radius or more from institutions, giving exposure to students. Former deputy director of the ED Niranjan Singh visits Buddha Dariya in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 20 Former deputy director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Niranjan Singh today visited the Buddha Dariya here to make an on-the-spot assessment of its pollution. He was joined by activists from the Naroa Punjab Manch and the public action committee (PAC) running ‘ Kale Pani da Morcha’, a campaign against the polluted water of the nullah flowing into the Sutlej. Seeing the water coming out of the sewage treatment plant of Jamalpur and common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) of 40 and 50 MLD of the dyeing industry, he asked why they were not treating the same before releasing it. When told that it was treated water, he was taken aback. He said the main purpose of his visit today was to find out why no effective solution had been found for such a long time for the pollution of state’s water bodies, especially the Bud- dha Dariya and the Sutlej. He wanted to understand if it was due to some sort of connivance and corruption among the pollution control authorities and polluters, especially those in the industry, and if the ED’s intervention was possible to tackle such corruption. The former ED official said: “If pollution control board officials or industrialists conspire to pollute rivers or the groundwater, then the ED has the discretion to take action against them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. They can be prosecuted as such earnings can be considered proceeds of crime. The ED can also take action against politicians if they are found obstructing officers or industrial owners from doing proper work according to the norms and the law”. On the occasion, Kuldeep Singh Khaira of the Public Action Committee (Matewara, Sutlej, and Buddha Dariya) said the ED had taken cognisance of the matter and taken action in the case of a liquor factory’s groundwater pollution at Zira, which was dumping its effluents via borewells into the ground. Jaskirat Singh of the Naroa Punjab Manch said if institutions such as the Punjab Pollution Control Board had failed to do their job in making the Buddha Dariya clean, they would not hesitate to find other institutions that could be more effective in tackling pollution and corruption together to clean rivers and save people from drinking toxic water. Niranjan Singh said today that he had also met former vice-chancellor of the PAU, Dr Kirpal Singh Aulukh, who had headed the committee that prepared the first report on the Buddha Dariya pollution in 2007. He had obtained a copy of the report and would study it to find out why successive governments could not follow its recommendations and if any of the officers and politicians could be held accountable under law for such a crime against humanity. Now, report water contamination on helpline nos 7 get life term for setting woman ablaze Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 20 Helpline numbers to report water contamination for both urban and rural areas of the district have been launched where people can report instances of contamination of water in their homes. For rural areas, individuals can call toll free number 18001802468 to report any problems related to drinking water contamination. In urban areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Cor- poration, Ludhiana, residents can contact 01612749120 and for areas governed by local municipal councils, the number to report water contamination is 0161-2920012. Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney said the district administration and the Health Department had identified 32 high-risk areas where fogging was being carried out by respective MC teams. Doorto-door surveillance was being ensured to monitor suspected cases of dengue and other infections. Action will be taken where water sample will be found non-potable. Additionally, teams have taken samples of drinking water from schools and corrective actions are being taken where the report is not satisfactory. Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation will be sending the report of the water samples collected to the government. The step has been taken keeping in view diarrhoea cases being reported from various parts of the state. The Chief Secretary, Punjab, Anurag Verma, has instructed every state to do chlorination of tube wells, collect water samples daily and send them for testing. The report of the samples would be shared with the government to know the real situation. Instructions had also been issued to clean sewer lines as many times sewer water gets mixed with the drinking water. Ludhiana has nearly 1,500 tube wells and nearly 2.76 lakh water connections. Legal Correspondent Ludhiana July 20 The Court of Additional Sessions Judge Harbans Singh Lekhi has sentenced seven persons — Mohd Anwar, Mohd Shahzad, Mohd Niaz Chotu, Bindra Bharti, Amarjit Singh, Jua Bharti and Vikas Kumar Sinha, residents of Prem Nagar, Dhandari Khurd, here, to undergo rigorous life imprisonment on the charges of setting ablaze a woman following old enemity. A fine of Rs 28,000 each was also Apheresis machine lying defunct at Civil Hospital Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 20 In Ludhiana district, 32 cases of dengue have been reported so far, of which 18 are from urban areas and 13 from rural areas. However, the apheresis machine at the Civil Hospital is lying defunct. The machine separates blood received from donors into its various components such as plasma, platelets and white and red blood cells. Sometimes, patients need transfusion of platelets as their count drops due to dengue. The apherisis machine, also known as single donor platelet concentrate (SDPC) machine, extract the platelets from blood while other components are transfused again to the donor. It helps extract around 50,000 32 cases of dengue have been reported so far in district BOUGHT 10 YEARS AGO DENGUE TEST ■ Patients can get the test to detect dengue at Civil Hospital, sub-divisional hospital in Khanna, Jagraon, free of cost. ■ Health Department has capped the price of dengue confirmatory test. Private hospitals and labs, which have ELISA test facilities, should not charge more than Rs 600 for the test. platelets from the blood. The machine is useful for highrisk patients, whose platelet count decreases considerably. It was bought around 10 years ago and had been developing snag time and again for the past many years. Since the past year, it is lying defunct. In 2023, the hospital had asked the depart- The apheresis machine is useful for high-risk patients, whose platelet count decreases considerably. It was bought around 10 years ago and had been developing snag time and again for the past many years. Since the past year, it is lying defunct. In 2023, the Civil Hospital had asked the department to buy a new machine and this year also, the authorities have sent a request for the replacement of the same. It separates blood received from donors into its various components such as plasma, platelets and white and red blood cells. ment to buy a new machine and this year also, the authorities have sent a request for the replacement of the same. “One part of the machine c m y b has to be replaced and that costs around Rs 13-14 lakh and still no guarantee is being given for it. Amid such a situation, it’s better to buy a new machine, instead of getting it repaired. We are hopeful of getting a new machine this year,” said District Epidemiologist Sheetal Narang. If the blood bank of the Civil Hospital has enough stock of blood units, random donor platelets can be prepared and given to patients. If the stock is not available, patients are left with no other option but to go to private hospitals and get single donor platelets. Random donor platelets are prepared from donated blood within four to six hours of collection. Singledonor platelets are obtained from one donor and prepared by an apheresis machine. imposed on the accused. Delivering the verdict, the court held that the prosecution has successfully proved the guilt of the accused. Considering facts and circumstances of the present case and further considering the manner in which the offence was committed, the court declined the plea of 3 booked for obstructing officials’ duty Ludhiana, July 20 The Khanna police registered a case against three persons, including Congress councillor Amrish Kalia, who is close to former Congress minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli. Besides Amrish, Hardeep and Binny were also named in the FIR. They were charged for obstructing government officials from discharging their duty. A case was registered on the complaint of municipal council officer Paramjeet Kaur, who is a junior assistant. On July 18, when Paramjeet, along with her team, was removing encroachments on the Amloh road, Amrish argued with officials and obstructed their duty. When encroachments were removed from Chandla Market, Hardeep and Binny obstructed their duty. — TNS leniency raised by them. In this regard, a case was registered by the Focal Point police station on December 4, 2014, on the statement of badly burnt Shehnaz Kahtoon, a resident of Prem Nagar, Dhandari Khurd. The complainant had stated to the police that she was alone at her home when the incident occurred. The accused entered her room and put kerosene on her and set her ablaze. It was done to teach a lesson to her as she had filed a case against the four accused and was not succumbing to their pressure to withdraw the case. The badly injured woman was got admitted to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. Thereafter, she was shifted to the GMCH in Chandigarh but could not survive due to severe burn injuries. However, during the trial, the accused pleaded innocence. But after appreciating the evidence on record, the court found them guilty and sentenced accordingly. Upset over marriage refusal, 18-yr-old girl dies by suicide Ludhiana, July 20 An 18-year-old girl, Roshni, who was annoyed with her fiance, died by suicide by hanging herself at her residence in Hira Nagar here on Friday night. The girl was alone at home when she took the extreme step. When her mother returned home from market, she saw her daughter’s body hanging from the ceiling fan and raised the alarm. Neighbours gathered at the spot. Following which, the Basti Jodhewal police were informed, which started a probe. Roshni’s brother Suraj Kumar said about a year ago, the victim got engaged to a youth, Shiva, a resident of UP She was . in touch with him over phone. Lately, the youth refused to marry her. When her family members asked him the reason for refusing to marry the girl, Suraj said if he would be given a car and motorcycle in dowry, he would marry her. Besides, he also used to make allegations regarding the conduct of Roshni and her mother. ASI Harnek Singh said the police confiscated the victim’s mobile for probe. The family also stated that Shiva used to quarrel with her. The police would investigate the matter and appropriate action would be taken. — TNS
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