25092024-LT-01.qxd 9/25/2024 12:35 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune FEROZEPUR GOVT HOSPITAL SANS REGULAR EYE SPECIALIST PATWARIS TO HELP FARMERS SHUN STUBBLE BURNING A campaign has been launched to sensitise farmers to burning stubble in Malerkotla. P3 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 35°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 27°C ACTOR ALIA BHATT DAZZLES AT PARIS FASHION WEEK DEBUT The eye hospital has turned into a ‘white elephant’ in the absence of specialist doctors. P3 FORECAST Bollywood star Alia Bhatt looked gorgeous as she made her Paris Fashion Week debut. P4 » » SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.15 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:13 AM » WEDNESDAY | 25 SEPTEMBER 2024 | LUDHIANA Ministry asks Addl Chief Secy to act on major design flaws on Smart City Road Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 24 Acting upon a complaint filed by the Council of Engineers (CoE) regarding major design flaws on Smart City Road, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has asked Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development) of the Punjab Municipal Infra- Complaint filed by Council of Engineers structure Development Company (PMIDC) to take appropriate action in the matter. The CoE had raised some important issues, including the appointment of the consultant, who was lacking knowledge of basic IRC code for design of roads, and undue benefit given to the contractor by change in work of scheduled items, etc. The Council of Engineers through its president Er Kapil College student ends her life Ludhiana, September 24 A BA student of CT University, Jagraon, died by suicide by jumping from the fourth floor of the university. The victim was taken to a hospital where she was declared brought dead. She has been identified as Kirandeep Kaur (20) of Moga. The police were informed about the incident and a probe was started in the matter. Sources said she was on medication for depression. She looked restless even today before taking the extreme step. Her father said the girl was under depression but stable. — TNS A stretch of Smart City Road (Malhar Road) in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Dev in the complaint submitted had mentioned that despite raising the issue of major flaws (violation of the IRC code) in design of Smart City Road (Malhar Road), the project started without removing discrepancies, resulting in traffic jams due to missing slipways, illegal parking on cycle track, decrease in width of road, etc, and hence, was against its prime motive. Now, the work of disman- tling/removing RCC balusters and curves made with kerb stones along roadsides, constructed under the project, has been started. Besides such major changes, Ludhiana Smart City Limited company earlier continued to fix interlocking tiles within prohibited areas around trees by going against the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and now, those tiles are also being removed, resulting in financial losses for the second time. “Therefore, it’s a matter of investigation for corruption, technical as well as financial audit,” Kapil Dev said. He questioned how and why the design of such important project having major flaws in violation to the IRC code was designed by the consultant and approved by the SPV and when the matter was highlighted at the time of the commencement of civil works, why such changes/corrections were not made by officials to remove the flaws? He asked how the consultant, who is not having basic knowledge of IRC codes of civil engineering, of the project was selected and now, why changes are being made without getting prior approval from the higher authorities? Further in his complaint he stated that why the department did not plan electrical works at the time of finalising the detailed project report, resulting in extra benefit to the contractor due to change in work of scheduled items. “Were such changes made to give undue benefit to the contractor to save him from the penalty due to delay in the project? The portion of the road has not been constructed but claimed to be completed by Ludhiana Smart City firm. A probe should be conducted into the matter and action be taken,” said Er Kapil Dev. Three nabbed in snatching, loot incidents 5 mobiles, four motorcycles recovered from suspects Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 24 The Ladhowal police have arrested three persons, Manpreet Singh, alias Mann, a resident of Chitti Colony, Jaswinder Ram, alias Jassa, of Nawanshahr and Mohammad Shaka, alias Kaka, a resident of Phillaur, Jalandhar, for snatching and looting residents. The police recovered five mobile phones of different makes, one CD Deluxe motorcycle, one Splendor motorcycle, one Pulsar motorcycle and one Platina motorcycle from their custody. A case was registered against the suspects under Sections 303 (2), 304, 317 (2) and 3(5) against them. Against Shaka, a criminal case is already registered by the Phillaur police. The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana. >>> DEATH OF 11-YEAR-OLD BOY It’s a murder, allege kin; autopsy confirmed suicide, say police Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 24 While the parents of a 11year-old boy, Abhishek Kumar, who reportedly died by suicide, alleged that their son could not end his life and it was a murder, the police claimed that the postmortem report clarified that the boy died after hanging himself. At the same time, the police also stated that his parents had denied having any personal enmity. Assistant Commissioner Police (North) Devinder Chaudhry said the police had reached the conclusion that the boy had died by suicide and the lone witness, another minor boy, who saw the vic- Four of robbers’ gang arrested Ludhiana, September 24 The police have busted a gang of robbers who were active in looting valuables from passers-by and arrested four of its members. On September 23, when a team of the Division Number 2 police station was on a routine checking, they got a tip-off regarding four youths who were going to sell snatched mobiles. They were coming from Cheema Chowk side and going towards Sufiyan Chowk. The police stopped the suspects, Rohit Kumar from Vijay Nagar, Rohit Yadav from Dholewal, Sumit Kumar from Shankar Colony and Rahul Pal from New Preet Nagar, and seized two iron rods and looted items, including one motorcycle and one Honda Activa from them. They were arrested and a case has been registered against them. — TNS tim hanging from an iron rod attached to a shop, told the deceased’s parents that he saw Abhishek hanging on the rod and the parents of the victim misunderstood that someone hanged their son. “We have gone through the CCTV camera footage also in which a boy was seen roaming alone in the grain market. Nobody was with him,” the ACP said. On Sunday night, Abhishek was reportedly found hanging from an iron rod in the grain market near Jalandhar Bypass. His body was seen by another boy, who told the victim’s parents about the matter. Abhishek’s parents, who are daily wagers, said they believe their son could not die by suicide as he was not having any issues. They said when they saw the body of their son, his feet were touching the ground. Hence, it could not be a suicide. The parents said Abhishek had gone to the grain market to get milk around 8 pm on Sunday and when he did not return, his mother started searching for him. It was then that a minor boy came running and told them that two men had taken Abhishek on a motorcycle. They strangled him and hanged him from an iron rod at the grain market. But the police stated that CCTV cameras did not capture anyone and only Abhishek was seen in the footage. Thefts on rise, miscreants target locked houses Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 24 There has been a rise in number of theft cases in the city. In the past 24 hours, three incidents were reported in which thieves targeted houses. These were reported at the Sarabha Nagar, Model Town and Tibba police stations. In two of the incidents, house owners were not available at home. In the first case, Sanjay Aggarwal of New Rajguru Nagar, along with his wife, had gone to meet his son in Canada on May 24. When he returned home on September 8, he found windows of his bedroom and kitchen broken. In his complaint to the police, he stated that his valuables, including two gold bangles, three pairs of gold earrings, two gold rings, 10 silver coins, LEDs, a laptop, five silver idols, three watches and two silver plates, were stolen from the house. The CCTV footage showed that the incident took place on the intervening night of August 23 and 24. The police have registered a case against the unidentified miscreant(s). A 72-year-old man, Subhash Bali, a resident of Model Town, complained that he had gone to Chandigarh on September 21 and when he returned home on September 23, he found locks broken and Rs 3,10,000 and $1,950 missing from his house. A case has been registered. In the third incident, the Tibba road police have registered a case on the basis of a complaint filed by Hardeep Singh of New Shastri Nagar. He said thieves stole valuables, including two gold rings, one gold kara, Rs 60,000 in cash, a gold set, five bangles and a mobile, from his house. A case has been registered. — TNS FIRST-TIME MLAS FROM LUDHIANA IN MANN CABINET Rewarded for loyalty to party: Mundian ‘Ministry is sewa, will perform with humility’ Accountability, transparency, responsiveness top on agenda of hotelier Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 24 “I have been rewarded for my loyalty and commitment towards the party,” new Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian has said while expressing gratitude towards party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for inducting him into the Council of Ministers. The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) another new face and party hopper Mundian (48) had also scripted history by winning the rural Assembly seat of Sahnewal in Ludhiana district by defeating the two-time sitting Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA and former minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon, who had ended third in a triangular contest in the high-stakes 2022 Punjab Assembly elections. In an interaction with The Tribune, here on Tuesday, the new minister said he would work hard with zeal and honesty to discharge the big responsibility, which the party leadership had assigned to him, and come up to the high expectations of the public. Mundian, who was sworn in as Cabinet Minister in Chandigarh on Monday, Newly inducted Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian being welcomed at Circuit House in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN was given the portfolios of Revenue and Rehabilitation, Disaster Management, Housing and Urban Development, and Water Supply and Sanitation. “I will review the working of all departments assigned to me and bring necessary changes in the present system to facilitate the public at large and cut red-tapism, if any,” he expressed. Asserting that the public was supreme, the new minister said accountability, responsiveness and transparency in the public delivery system will be on top of his agenda. Except the SAD and the Congress nominees, all other 16 candidates in the 2022 poll fray had lost their security deposits as they had failed to garner even 16.67 per cent of the total polled votes. A matriculate businessman, dealing in building material and running a hotel, Mundian, who had switched over to the AAP few months before the February 2022 state poll after his previous stints in the Congress, the Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), and also contesting as an Independent candidate in the past, had polled 61,515 votes, which accounted for 34.33 per cent of the total 1,79,196 votes polled. He had defeated Congress nominee Vikram Singh Bajwa, son-in-law of former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who had got 46,322 votes, constituting 25.85 per cent of the total votes polled. “The new state Cabinet will act tough against corruption and provide pro-people governance to fulfill all the prepoll promises made by us,” the new minister said. He said: “I had got a massive response from the people as they were fed up with the bad governance and corrupt system during the successive governments run by traditional parties.” “We will also introduce public-friendly initiatives in the public delivery system, especially pertaining to the Revenue and Housing departments, and upgrade the water supply and sanitation infrastructure, besides ensuring better basic civic amenities to all,” the first-time minister added. Sahnewal, which was part of Koom Kalan and Ludhiana Rural Assembly segments till 2007, before being carved out as an independent constituency following the delimitation in 2009, had elected SAD’s Sharanjit Singh Dhillon in the past both elections held in 2017 and 2012 before Mundian wresting control over the rural constituency in 2022. c m y b A businessman, Sond vows to come up to high expectations of public Tribune News Service Ludhiana, September 24 Calling the Cabinet berth assigned to him as sewa (service), new Cabinet Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond has said he would strive hard to perform with all humility and dedication. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) first-timer Sond had scripted history by trouncing the then Industries Minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli from the Congress citadel Khanna, famous for Asia’s largest grain market, in the high-stakes 2022 Punjab Assembly poll. Inducted in the 30-monthold Bhagwant Mann Cabinet during the fourth expansion held in Chandigarh on Monday, a young businessman, Sond (40), was assigned the portfolios of Industries and Commerce, Investment Promotion, Rural Development and Panchayats, Labour, Tourism and Cultural Affairs and Hospitality. Speaking to The Tribune on Tuesday, the new minister said he would attract new industry to the state, especially Ludhiana, which is the industrial and business capital of the state, and at the same time, help facilitate the existing industry to prosper by resolving their New Cabinet Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond gets a rousing welcome in Khanna on Tuesday. genuine issues. “By bringing a legislation against contesting the ensuing panchayat poll on party symbols, I believe that our government has paved the way for electing majority of the sarpanches unanimously and in turn most of the village panchayats will also be formed with mutual agreements,” Sond expressed while hoping that it would ensure the all-round progress of villages by getting additional grants for development. Sond had joined the AAP in January 2012 and had been active in politics since 2014 after he was inspired by reading AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s book, ‘Swaraj’. “Traditional parties that had ruled the state since Independence had failed to fulfil aspirations of the public following which voters brought about a change by voting AAP to power in 2022,” the new minister said. The 12th pass Khanna resident had polled 62,425 votes, which accounted for 48.55 per cent of the total polled votes, while Kotli, grandson of slain Chief Minister Beant Singh and cousin of Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, had even lost his security deposit by failing to get even the minimum required 16.67 per cent vote share. Kotli, who was the lone MLA to win two consecutive elections from Khanna in 2017 and 2012 till 2022, had secured only 20,305 votes, constituting 15.79 per cent vote share. Sond, who had tasted success in his maiden election, said he was inspired by the anti-corruption movement spearheaded by Anna Hazare, in which Kejriwal also took a prominent part. “I worked at the grass-roots level before contesting my maiden election and was appalled by the plight of residents in the Khanna segment before contesting the Assembly elections,” Sond asserted. Having served as in-charge of the party’s industry, trade, transport and BC wing in the Fatehgarh Sahib LS segment, Sond runs a soap and detergent manufacturing industry. Listing his priorities, the new minister vowed: “The new Cabinet will come up to high expectations of the public while working to resolve and address problems and demands of the public on a priority basis.” A new face Sond has promised industrial development, investment promotion, and overall development of villages, tourism sector and better facilities for the labour class and infrastructure development to regain the lost glory of Punjab.