23072024-LT-01.qxd 7/23/2024 12:19 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune COPS’ TRANSFER TAKES TOLL ON APPS LAUNCHED TO CHECK CRIME Even mobile apps launched by CM Bhagwant Mann and Punjab DGP missing from digital space. P2 » CHILD RIGHTS VIOLATED WITH IMPUNITY IN MALERKOTLA SHEHNAAZ KNOWS HOW TO STAY HEALTHY Organisers of political rallies held during the recent Lok Sabha poll exploited kids to raise slogans. P3 Actress is ensuring she stays fit by consuming healthy and clean food during her trip to the US. P4 » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 29°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.22 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:37 AM » TUESDAY | 23 JULY 2024 | LUDHIANA Six booked for kidnapping Ludhiana, July 22 The Khanna police yesterday registered a case against six persons on the charges of kidnapping and beating up a person. They were identified as Rohit and Hritik of Hedon Bet, their neighbour and three unknown persons. The complainant Gurvinder Singh of Bardhala in Samrala, in his complaint to the police, stated that he had been living with Kulwant Singh, his maternal aunt’s son of Kartar Nagar in Khanna, who is posted as veterinary doctor in village Samspur of Amloh but Kulwant’s wife Manpreet Kaur didn’t want him to live with her husband. Kulwant ‘s wife had also lodged a complaint but later a compromise was reached in the case. The complainant said on July 17, he and Kulwant were going to Bardhala and when they reached near AS college around 4pm, six youths on two motorcycles way laid them. Among the accused included Rohit, who is the brother-in-law of Kulwant. They kidnapped him and took him to their village where they beaten him up. The complainant said, somehow, he managed to escape and reached Bahlolpur village from where his cousin got him admitted to the Civil Hospital, Khanna. Later, he lodged a police complaint. — TNS MSME sector hopes govt will cut red tape to boost growth UNION BUDGET Tribune News Service Workers at a cycle unit in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN LIST OF DEMANDS ■ Budget allocated to MSMEs must be tripled. ■ Proposed freight corridor from Kolkata to Ludhiana must be operationalised. ■ Petrol/diesel under the GST will allow MSMEs to claim input tax credit. effectively support the sector’s growth.” CICU outlined a series of critical issues impacting the competitiveness of MSMEs in Pun- Youth shot at, 3 friends booked Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 22 A youth, Deepu, was shot at by his three friends at Machhi Colony, Meharban, here by his friends. The bullet passed through the youth’s eyebrow and hit his head. Doctors at the PGI, Chandigarh, performed an operation and removed the bullet but victim’s right eye was completely damaged. Vicky, victim’s brother, a resident of Kanija Road, Noorwala village, told the Meharban police that at 8 pm on July 15, his brother’s friends came to take Deepu to the gym. That night his brother did not return home. On the morning of July 16, a child from the neighbourhood came to their house at 6.30 am and told them that Deepu was lying unconscious in a pond located in Fish Colony. Vicky said when he went to the scene, Deepu was lying in a pool of blood. There was a deep wound on his right eye. He was screaming in pain. He New amendment to Motor Vehicles Act will be implemented from Aug 1 Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 22 The Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertaking (CICU), Ludhiana, today issued a strong call for immediate action to address pressing challenges facing the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, particularly in the state. The chamber highlighted several critical issues, hindering the growth and competitiveness of MSMEs, urging the government to implement comprehensive solutions. CICU president Upkar Singh Ahuja expressed deep concern over the low utilisation of existing MSME schemes, despite the Ministry of MSME allocating a substantial budget of Rs 22,136 crore for 6.3 million MSMEs. “The current system is riddled with bureaucratic hurdles, making it difficult for MSMEs to access these vital resources,” Ahuja stated. “The schemes need to be simplified, with streamlined documentation and procedures. Furthermore, the budget allocated to the MSMEs must be tripled to Underage driving: Parents to face music, cops to feel the heat too rushed him to the PGI, Chandigarh. When doctors scanned his head, they found a bullet. They operated on Deepu and took out the bullet but the eye suffered complete damage. Investigating officer ASI Surjeet Singh said the police yesterday registered a case against the suspects, identified as Guneet Singh, Amandeep Singh and Sonu, all residents of Machhi Colony. Deepu works as a folding machine operator at a factory. The cause behind the attack was yet to be ascertained. jab and proposed concrete solutions, expecting tomorrow’s budget would bring much needed respite. The proposed freight corridor from Kolkata to Ludhiana must be operationalised to ensure cargo reaches the port within 36 hours, significantly reducing the current 6-8 day transit time. This will significantly reduce transportation costs and improve supply chain efficiency, said the CICU members. “Including petrol and diesel under the Goods and Ser- vices Tax (GST) regime will allow MSMEs to claim input tax credit, reducing transportation costs, particularly for businesses located far from seaports,” said Ahuja. Besides, the industry feels that income tax slab for businesses should be reduced. The current rates, which include a surcharge, are significantly higher than those in other countries, making Indian businesses less competitive, said the CICU president. Ludhiana, July 22 Beware underage drivers, from August 1, if any underaged is caught riding a twowheeler or driving a fourwheeler, parents will have to bear the brunt. The new amendment in Motor Vehicles Act says if any underaged driver is caught, parents would be sent to imprisonment up to three years and a fine of Rs 25,000 will be imposed. And in case, the under-aged driver borrows the two-wheeler or four-wheeler from anybody else, the owner of the vehicle will be punished. Now, all eyes are on law-enforcing agencies, how they will implement the Act in a strict manner as maximum youngsters under the age of 18 years openly flout the norms, go to schools on twowheelers/four wheelers, rashly drive vehicles in evenings. The letter regarding the amendment to the Act comes from the ADGP Traffic and , Road Safety, Punjab. The ADGP has also suggested to organise awareness camps regarding the amendment to the Act. Talking on the recent development, Principal of Nankana Sahib Public School Harmit Cops issue a challan to underage school students in Ludhiana. FILE Kaur Waraich said it was a wonderful decision taken by the authorities. She said it should had been in force long time ago as rash driving had claimed several lives. “Over 300 students in our school come on two-wheelers and four- wheelers. We do request the parents regarding the same but all our efforts go waste. Law-enforcement agencies visit schools once or twice and again, the students start coming to schools by driving their own vehicles”, she said. A parent, wishing not to be quoted, whose daughter was badly injured in a fatal accident about three years ago on a canal road said: ”Peer pressure on the children is too bad. Four students were going in the car when the driver lost control over the vehicle and it turned turtle. If we can implement everything in a strict manner in Chandigarh, which Civic body faces flak over state of sanitation Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 22 While cleanliness should be the top priority for the civic body with the onset of monsoon, heaps of garbage lying in every nook and corner of the city has left the residents in an unenviable position. Leaders from Opposition parties are also attacking the civic body officials for the state of sanitation whether on roads, streets or public parks. Former Congress councillor Mamta Ashu went live on social media on Monday, criticising the deterio- Heaps of garbage lying at an undesignated spot at Dal Bazaar. rating sanitation system. Mamta Ashu said that the sanitation system in the city had collapsed. Even in posh areas, cleanliness had been rendered a formality. Employees sweep and collect the garbage, but it is not being lifted. The surprising thing is that the officials who have the responsibility to ensure cleanliness are without a care. Mamta Ashu asked why new recruitments were not being made in the wards in place of retired employees? Meanwhile, another former councillor from the BJP, Gurdeep Singh Neetu said that the corporation was being duped in the name of maintaining Finally, work begins on 24x7 drinking water supply project in city Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 22 Finally, the work has begun for the Rs 3,394.45-crore 24x7 canal-based surface drinking water supply project to quench the thirst of the industrial capital of the state, officials have confirmed. The Municipal Corporation (MC) has awarded the work to a Mumbai-based joint venture company (JVC) at Rs 1,546-crore. The development assumes significance as the ambitious project was conceived during the previous Capt Amarinder Singh regime in 2021. MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi told The Tribune here on Monday that Kalpataru Projects International Limited (KPTL) Ohitan JV has been mandated to complete the project on design-build services (DBS) basis within 36 months from the date of award, which was July 10, and undertake the operation and maintenance (O&M) services for the next 10 years. He said the execution of the Mumbai company awarded World Bank-funded scheme at ~1,546 crore, to be completed in 36 months Survey work began to undertake the 24x7 surface drinking water supply project in Ludhiana on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO work on the DBS had been awarded at Rs 1,305.31 crore, O&M services at Rs 156.44crore and a provisional sum of Rs 84.25 lakh has been provided to the concessionaire for undertaking the project. “After accepting the bid, which was the lowest among the four received for the project, the letter of acceptance has been issued to the successful bidder on July 10,” Rishi revealed while informing that the firm had begun survey is just about 100 km away from the city, why cannot implement the directions here?” In almost all leading schools of the city, a good number of students come either riding two-wheelers or driving fourwheelers hurriedly, driving these in a rashly manner but neither parents, nor school authorities or the law-enforcing agencies discourage underage driving. The parents openly say that their wards refuse to listen to them. “Strictness means now all will be held accountable — parents, schools and law-enforcing agencies. The more fines and challans are issued by the police, better will be the implementation of the directions. Since the police have told to make the masses aware, the ball is in their court to get it implemented in a strict manner,” said Reena Malhotra, principal of a play-way school near the Division Number 3 police station. ground work, besides channelising its human resource and machinery here. The MC chief said the scheme would be executed in two phases with the first phase comprising raw water system, water treatment c m y b plant, treated water pumping, transmission mains from water treatment plant to overhead service reservoirs and the second part consisting distribution system and house service connection with metering process. “As of now, the work on the first phase will be executed with the WB support while the second part work will be taken up subsequently under other schemes,” he said. Under the project, as many as 137 overhead supply reservoirs (OHSRs) and 173-kmlong transmission main lines will supply 24x7 canal-based surface drinking water supply to residents of Ludhiana. “The objective of the project is to shift from groundwater to surface water while supplying the essential commodity on a 24x7 basis,” he said. Rishi said 53.02 acres located just adjacent to the proposed raw water source in Bilga village had already been purchased for setting up the WTP . The WB and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) had approved $105 million dollar each in financial support for the ambitious project in March 2021. The WB and the AIIB had in March last approved their respective 35 per cent financial aid share of $105-million dollar each for the Punjab Municipal Services Improvement Project (PMSIP) to strengthen the urban services in Ludhiana and Amritsar, the two largest cities in the state. The remaining 30 per cent share, which amounts to $90-million, will be borne by the state government. approved by the MC General House on November 10, 2020, while the state government on August 24, 2022, had notified the setting up of the seven-member WSS utility, headed by the Local Government Secretary as its chairman and the PMIDC CEO and MC Commissioner as the directors. The overall scheme cost of Rs 3,394.45-crore, Phase I works will cost Rs 1,252.51crore, including land cost, while the Phase II projects will be undertaken at the cost of 2,141.94 crore, including Rs 700 crore for 10 years of operation and maintenance. Salient Features Salient features of Phase I works include design of per capita water supply at 150 litres per capita daily (LPCD), raw water source from a distributary from the Sidhwan canal, construction of 580MLD capacity WTP at Bilga village, laying of 173-km-long transmission mainline of 150 mm to 2,000 mm and 55 new OHSRs. The resolution for volumetric water tariff had been 3-million beneficiaries A major focus of the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Improvement Project (PMSIP) will be on providing efficient water supply and sanitation services in Ludhiana and Amritsar, cities that are the engines of economic growth for the state. The improvements in the water supply will benefit over 3 million people by 2027 and an Continued on page 2 cleanliness in the city. The situation in most areas is very bad, he said. Neither the streets and mohallas are being cleaned properly nor is the garbage being lifted. In case of power failure, the generator does not work and a long line of carts loaded with garbage can be seen outside the static compactor sites. MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi, however, blamed lower-rung employees and claimed that they are preparing a proposal to fill up vacant posts and the problem will be resolved shortly. Youth dies by suicide in hotel Ludhiana, July 22 A youth died by suicide by hanging himself in a hotel room near the bus stand here on Monday. The incident came to the fore when staff of the hotel knocked on the door of the room and no one opened it. Turning suspicious, they broke the door and were surprised to see the hanging body of the youth. The deceased has been identified as Amritpal Singh. Dharampal, in-charge of the Kochhar Market police post, said on Monday morning, they had received information that a youth had died by suicide at Hotel Maple. When the police went into the room, they found the body hanging from the ceiling fan. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital. The deceased was a resident of Goindwal village. He worked as a mason. Amritpal had taken the hotel room on rent yesterday. The ASI said no suicide note was recovered. The family of the deceased was informed and further legal proceedings would be initiated after recording their statements. — TNS
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