16012025-LT-01.qxd 1/16/2025 12:51 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune DRONES DEPLOYED TO RID CITY SKIES OF CHINESE STRING FOOD SAFETY OFFICIALS URGE EATERIES TO IMPROVE HYGIENE WINTER CALORIES SIMPLY DON’T COUNT FOR FOODIES Police have deployed drones across all zones of Ludhiana Commissionerate to rid city of Chinese kite string, P2 Food Safety officials have identified poor hygiene in restaurants' kitchens as the main cause of food contamination.P3 Sarson ka saag drenched in desi ghee or melt-in-mouth alsi ki pinnis, winter in North India is rich in flavour. P4 » » FORECAST DENSE FOG MAX 19°C | MIN 08°C YESTERDAY MAX 20°C | MIN 6°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.45 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:19 AM » THURSDAY | 16 JANUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA Slum rehabilitation project for Shimlapuri area coming soon SURVEY IDENTIFIES 50 FAMILIES Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 15 The district administration has decided to launch a slum rehabilitation project in the Shimlapuri locality here shortly. For the purpose, a preliminary survey of the Shimlapuri slum area has identified 50 families, with a population of 400, which includes 300 children. In the initial phase of the project, the Education Department will offer counselling to slum children to facilitate their admission to appropriate classes based on individual learning assessments. Health teams will conduct screening camps to assess the health of the residents and provide necessary treatment. Additionally, the department will also ensure the enrolment of eligible individuals under the Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana (SSBY). Moreover, the Social Security Department will assist eligible individuals in enrolling For the project, a preliminary survey of the Shimlapuri slum area has identified 50 families, with a population of 400, which includes 300 children. Quality education, health screening, skill training focus areas DC Jitendra Jorwal and district officials discuss the slum rehabilitation project in Ludhiana. for various pension schemes. The District Bureau of Employment and Entrepreneurship (DBEE) will provide skill training for unemployed slum dwellers to help them secure respectable livelihoods. The Municipal Corporation will ensure cleanliness, besides community sanitary complexes in the slums. Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal said education and health were the foundation of any society and with strong foundations, societal development becomes inevitable. He announced that teams of different departments would begin working in the slum area from next week, and they would submit their reports accordingly. Based on the reports, a detailed strategy for the rehabilitation of the slum would be developed. Jorwal highlighted that the project would serve as a stepping stone to secure a bright future for children in the slums by facilitating their admission to nearby schools after proper educational counselling. A system would be established to ensure that students attend classes regularly. He said the skills of the parents would be assessed and they would receive training to help them earn a respectable livelihood by making them skilled. The Deputy Commissioner Four FIRs filed against travel company in a day Five booked in ~19.6 L travel fraud Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 15 A city-based travel firm, Globalway Immigration, at Ishmeet Chowk, faced four separate FIRs on Tuesday for committing a travel and immigration fraud with residents of different districts. The firm duped the foreign aspirants of lakhs of rupees. The suspects in the four cases have been identified as Amit Malhotra, Veenu Malhotra and Karun Kumar. In the first case, the complainant, Inderjit Singh, of Partap Singh Wala told the police that last year the firm owner had taken Rs 89,000 from him and assured to send him, his wife and child to Canada on work permit but despite taking the money, he failed to arrange a visa. He also refused to return money following which, he was forced to lodge a police complaint. Another complainant, Navdeep Singh, a resident of Gurdaspur, said the firm owner and staff had taken Rs 2.95 lakh from him to send his wife to England on a study visa. When they failed to arrange a visa and were told to return the money, the suspects started making hollow promises. To seek justice, he lodged a police complaint and after investigation, a case was registered against the accused. The third case was registered on the complaint of Sharandeep Kaur of Salem Tabri, here. The complainant alleged that she and her husband wanted to go to the UK. When they approached the accused, they promised the duo that a visa would be arranged. Believing on the suspects, she gave Rs 11.75 lakh to them but despite taking money, they failed to arrange a visa. On Tuesday, a case was registered against them. In another case, Vishaldeep of Amritsar was cheated of Rs 10 lakh by the accused on the pretext of sending him abroad. The complainants in all cases demanded that all suspects should face strict punishment so that they don’t dare to cheat other foreign aspirants in the future. Ludhiana, January 15 The Model Town police on Tuesday registered a case of travel fraud against five persons. The suspects after taking Rs 19.60 lakh from the complainant failed to arrange a visa. The suspects have been identified as Sukhmanpreet Kaur, her husband Aman Masih, Shabnam Sharukh, Shivani and Patel. The complainant, Josheph Chand of Nehru Nagar, here, in a complaint to the police stated that the suspects had taken Rs 19.60 lakh from him to arrange a visa of England but despite taking the money, they failed to fulfil their promise. Many a times, he asked them to at least return his money but to no avail. Later, he filed a police complaint, after which a case was registered against them on Tuesday. The victim demanded that suspects should be arrested soon. — TNS said upon the successful completion of the project, the district administration would focus on rehabilitating more slum areas in the district. He said the project was in line with the state government’s commitment for the holistic development of the community, and every effort would be made to support the people in this endeavour. Additional Deputy Commissioners Amarjit Bains, Rohit Gupta, Chief Minister’s field officer Kritika Goyal, SDMs Jasleen Kaur, Poonampreet Kaur were among others present in a meeting to finalise the plan. Private company to conduct dog sterilisation in Hasanpur village Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 15 The district administration has tied up with a private firm associated with the Municipal Corporation to conduct sterilisation of stray dogs in Hasanpur village on an emergency basis. The administration will compensate the company, which was already operating in the Ludhiana MC limits, as per existing terms and conditions. All action will be carried out in accordance with the standard operating procedures of the Animal Birth Control programme. The development assumes significance as stray dogs had mauled two minor school children to death in the village last week, following which panic had gripped Hasanpur and residents were not letting their wards step out of houses for fear of ferocious canines. Besides, municipal councils in different towns of the district will also issue tenders for the sterilisation of stray dogs in rural areas of the district this week. Deputy Commissioner( Civic bodies in the district will also launch sterilisation drives to control the stray dog menace in rural areas. FILE DC) Jitendra Jorwal said the sterilisation project aims to control the canine population and reduce the incidence of dog bites. “The private firm associated with the Municipal Corporation will start sterilisation of stray dogs in Hasanpur village, on an immediate basis,” he said, adding that the BDPO along with the Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry Department would be the nodal officers to ensure effective implementation of the project. The DC said all other civic bodies in the district had been directed to float tenders within this week and award works to suitable firms for efficiently carrying out the sterilisation operations in accordance with the guidelines set by the Animal Wel- fare Board of India in villages and towns under their respective MC limits. “The selected firms will be required to maintain thorough records of each sterilised dog to ensure transparency in its operations,” the DC said. He said the firms would also provide services in rural areas on payment basis. Jorwal said a committee would be established at the civic body level to oversee the work being carried out by the chosen company. Additional Deputy Commissioners Amarjit Bains and Rohit Gupta, Chief Minister’s field officer Kritika Goyal and SDMs Jasleen Kaur and Poonampreet Kaur were among those others present in the meeting to chalk out a plan in this regard. Civic body teams seize 1.27 quintals of plastic carry bags, issue 41 challans Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 15 Acting tough against violators using banned plastic carry bags, Municipal Corporation (MC) teams conducted a major drive in all four zones of the civic body on Wednesday and confiscated 1.27 quintals of banned plastic carry bags. In total, the health branch of the civic body issued 41 challans (amounting to Rs 2,000 each) to violators. Corporation Sanitation Officer (CSO) Ashwani Sahota said the drive was organised on the directions of MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and more such campaigns would be conducted in coming days to discourage residents/shopkeepers from using banned plastic MC officials confiscate plastic carry bags during a drive in Ludhiana. carry bags. Health branch officials Rajinder Kalyan, Gurinder Singh, Amrik Singh Bajwa, Nishu Ghai, Naveen Kumar, Jagjeet Singh, Amandeep Singh, Satinder Bawa, Gurwinder Singh, Satish Kumar, Nathi Ram, and Yogesh were among those who were part of the civic body teams. Sahota said more such drives would be organised in coming days and action would also be taken against illegal slaughtering and other violations. Meanwhile, the MC officials appealed to residents to support the civic body in improving solid waste management and to stop the use of banned plastic carry bags and singleuse plastic items. MC may land in trouble again over interlocking tiles Cyber crook posing as firm Last date fixed by NGT for replacing tiles is January 31 but majority of work yet to be done MD dupes employee of ~15L Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 15 It seems there is no end to problems faced by the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) in the New Year. The last date for completing the work of replacing tiles fixed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is January 31, 2025, which is approaching near, but the majority of the work has not been done. The civic body could be in trouble again if the work is not completed before the stipulated date as the complainants are now planning to initiate criminal proceedings against the MC and will again knock the doors of the NGT. The case before the NGT was filed by Yogesh Maini and Jaskirat Singh, complaining about placement of solid impermeable interlock- It has been noticed that less space was left uncovered around trees by the authorities at many places in the city. INDERJEET VERMA ing tiles and cement concrete along with permeable/semipermeable perforated tiles around trees and on pavements and road sides by local bodies in the municipal limits of Ludhiana. The complainants have said placement of impermeable tiles that too above the road level results in waterlogging and damages to roads. The Tribunal had disposed of the case and directed the Municipal Corporation and Ludhiana Improvement Trust to replace ordinary impermeable tiles with perforated ones, keeping one meter radius area around trees uncovered and making it green by planting grass or shrubs, as the case may be. The NGT had asked to file a compliance report with the Registrar General of the Tribunal by January 31. The corporation had reported to the NGT that Rs 49 lakh was allocated for replacing tiles in the Ludhiana West constituency alone and more projects were also approved. Instructions were given to field officials for the use of perforated tiles for future projects. c m y b The LIT submitted that it had spent Rs 100 crore on laying of interlocking tiles across the city and said it was replacing the same near trees. However, it was not in a position to relay entire tiles due to financial constraints. Kapil Arora, member of Public Action Committee, said only 20 per cent work of replacing tiles had been done in Ludhiana while the remaining work was pending and the deadline of January 31 was approaching near. “The NGT has asked to keep one meter radius area uncovered on all sides of the tree but at many places, it has been observed that less space is left uncovered. If the work of replacement was not completed by January 31, we will initiate criminal proceedings against the MC,” he said. Ludhiana, January 15 A case of cybercrime has been registered against an unidentified person who duped an employee of a company of Rs 15 lakh by impersonating the firm’s managing director (MD). According to the complaint filed by Narinder Singh, an employee of a company in Jamalpur, Ludhiana, he received a WhatsApp call on January 8 from an unknown number. The caller had a display picture of the company’s managing director (MD) and introduced himself as the MD, asking him to transfer Rs 15 lakh to a bank account for a project. Narinder said believing the caller to be the MD, he transferred the amount. However, when the caller asked for more money, he became sus- BE CAUTIOUS WHILE MAKING ONLINE TRANSACTIONS The incident highlights rising cases of cybercrime and the need for individuals and companies to be vigilant while making online transactions. Earlier also, frauds with the same modus operandi occurred in the city and despite awareness being spread by the Punjab Police through social media, people are falling prey to the scammers. picious and contacted the actual managing director, who revealed that he had been impersonated by a scammer. The cybercrime team on Tuesday registered a case against the unidentified suspect and initiated an investigation. The police are tracing the suspect’s location and bank account details to recover the money. The incident highlights rising cases of cybercrime and the need for individuals and companies to be vigilant while making online transactions. Earlier also, frauds with the same modus operandi occurred in the city and despite awareness being spread by the Punjab Police through social media, people are falling prey to the scammers. Notably, the city has reported hundreds of cases of cyber fraud in the past year and few of the these have also been solved by the police but most of the cases are lying unsolved with the police and in the name of investigation, the police only register cases against unidentified miscreants. — TNS