22012025-LT-01.qxd 1/22/2025 12:50 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune GUV TO UNFURL TRICOLOUR AT STATE-LEVEL R-DAY FUNCTION DILJIT DOSANJH-STARRER BIOPIC PUNJAB 95 PUT OFF KRITIKA KAMRA LIKES ROLES THAT BREAK STEREOTYPES Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria will unfurl national flag at state-level R-Day function in city. P2 The release of Diljit Dosanjh's muchanticipated biopic, Punjab 95, has been postponed. P4 Actress Kritika Kamra has shared that she consciously lets go of work that glorifies weak women. P4 » » FORECAST DENSE FOG MAX 22°C | MIN 11°C YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 11°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.50 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:18 AM » WEDNESDAY | 22 JANUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA Ludhiana most deadly among 3 Commissionerates in state PAC moves NGT against damage to forest caused by Irrigation Department Reports max 402 road mishap deaths in 2023, over double of 199 in both Asr, Jalandhar Tribune News Service Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 21 The Ludhiana Police Commissionerate continues to earn the dubious distinction of being the most deadly among all three Police Commissionerates in the state, a latest government report has confirmed. The gravity of the situation could be gauged from the fact that a whopping 402 deaths in road accidents were reported in the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate limits during 2023, which were more than double than only 199 casualties, which account for even less than half, precisely 49.5 per cent, logged in the other two Police Commissionerates in Amritsar and Jalandhar during that year, the official figures have revealed. The figures were released in the annual report on “Road Crashes and Traffic in Punjab 2023”, which was released by the Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav recently. According to the report prepared by a team led by the ADGP (Traffic and Road Safety) AS Rai, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, showed that a total of 601 persons had died due to road accidents in all three Police Commissionerates, which account for 12.44 per cent of the total share of 4,829 road accident fatalities reported in the entire state during 2023. A vehicle involved in a fatal accident in Ludhiana. FILE ADOPTED UN ACTION PLAN State has adopted the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 recommendations to reduce at least 50 per cent of road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2030. — AS Rai, ADGP (TRAFFIC & ROAD SAFETY) ❝ ❞ The report was prepared following an extensive research on road crashes and traffic in the state conducted by a team of experts comprising Punjab Traffic Advisor-cum-Director, Punjab Road Safety and Traffic Research Centre (PRSTRC), Dr Navdeep K Asija. While Ludhiana reported the maximum of 402 casualties, Amritsar logged 110 road accident deaths and Jalandhar registered 89 fatalities in Elderly man dies as auto overturns Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 21 An auto-rickshaw overturned at Khanna and as a result, a 60-year-old man lost his life while two women and another man got badly injured. All persons travelling in the auto belonged to a family and they were going to attend a function. The deceased has been identified as 60-year-old Hardev Singh. Those who were injured have been identified as Paramjot Kaur, Sikander Kaur and Sangat Singh. Passers-by, who witnessed the accident, called an ambulance and took the injured persons to the Civil Hospital, Khanna. Upon reaching the scene, Hardev Singh was declared dead and the injured were being given treatment at the hospital. KILLER STATS YEAR LUDHIANA 2023 402 2022 356 2021 380 2020 283 TOTAL 1,421 ASR JALANDHAR 110 89 68 91 65 92 66 82 309 354 (SOURCE: PRSTRC) dents and deaths due to the Covid-induced curfew and lockdown, which had kept roads free of vehicular traffic for several months. Also, the cumulative count of road accident deaths in all three Police Commissionerates had witnessed a phenomenal rise in the past four years. From 431 casualties in road mishaps across Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar in 2020, the number went up to 537 in 2021, dipped to 515 in 2022, but once again shot up to 601, which was highest in the past four years, in 2023. In the past four years, a total of 2,084 lives had been snuffed out in the road accidents across Ludhiana, Amritsar, and Jalandhar, of which Ludhiana alone reported the highest of 1,421 casualties, which accounted for 68.19 per cent of the total count, while Amritsar recorded the lowest of 309 fatalities and Jalandhar registered 354 deaths between 2020 and 2023. "The Punjab traffic police have advanced several road safety programmes, training and seminars to cope up with the traffic volume while also expanding road safety across the state. Our unique initiative of the Sadak Surakhiya Force, an exclusive and dedicated road safety police force, has also helped in enhancing road safety measures," said AS Rai, ADGP (Traffic & Road Safety). Ludhiana, January 21 In a matter pertaining to severe damage to the forest by illegal axing of trees, brutal killing of wildlife and illegal mining and encroachment by installation of ready mix plant by the Irrigation Department for widening and concrete lining of Sirhind Canal Project, the Public Action Committee (PAC) has moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT) with a plea of registration of an FIR and imposing environment compensation against the Principal Secretary and Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department. Dr Amandeep Singh Bains and Gurpreet Singh said they got information about the same from their PAC member Samita Kaur. “We came to know that the Irrigation Department has started a project of widening of Sirhind Canal to increase its capacity from 12,000 cusecs to 15,600 cusecs and has axed a large number of trees on both sides of the canal,” they said. “On our first visit, we found severe damage being done to the forest by the Irrigation Department by axing a large number of trees, illegal mining around trees in forest for theft of soil and installation of batching plant and procurement of building material resulting in damage to roots of trees as well as the natural Damaged roots of trees due to illegal mining near Doraha. habitat of wildlife,” Bains said. Er Kapil Arora and Jaskirat Singh said they contacted DFO Rajesh Gulati and after inspection, an official complaint was filed by the Range Officer with the SHO, Doraha police station, against culprits under provisions of the Forest Act but no FIR had been registered so far. It is a well-known fact that the Forest trail along the Sirhind Canal from Chamkaur Sahib is sacred and among a few such historical forests as the Tenth Sikh Master Guru Gobind Singh went through the Forest to reach Alamgir Sahib at Ludhiana, but it is being destroyed too. The PAC members again visited the location from Garthali Bridge to the railway crossing at Sirhind Canal at Doraha and found a large number of trees axed again by the Irrigation Department. Further, three batching plants were found to be operational, resulting in spreading of cement dust in the forest area which has a bad effect on trees and wildlife. Two rat snakes (protected species under the Wildlife Act) were found to be brutally killed too. “We have moved the NGT with a plea of abolishing the project as well as registration of an FIR and imposing hefty penalty on the Principal Secretary as well as the Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department under the provisions of Forest Act, 1927, Forest Preservation Act, 1980, Wildlife Protection Act and Environment Act,” he said. road crashes in 2023. Ludhiana remained the worst-hit and deadliest among all three Commissionerates in the state for the fourth consecutive year as the industrial and business hub of the state had reported the maximum of 356 road accidents deaths in 2022, 380 in 2021, and 283 in 2020. While Amritsar had logged 68 casualties in road crashes in 2022, 65 in 2021, and 66 in 2020, Jalandhar had registered 91 fatalities in road mishaps in 2022, 92 in 2021, and 82 in 2020. The analysis of the reports pertaining to the previous four years revealed that the number of road accidents deaths was on the rise in Ludhiana and Amritsar since 2020 while Jalandhar recorded a dip in casualties in 2023 as compared to 2022 and 2021 but the count was more than that in 2020. The year 2020 reported the lowest count of road acci- Girl jumps from first floor, hurt Vigilance nabs PSPCL JE taking ~5K bribe Ludhiana, January 21 A girl studying in Class XII, a resident of Doraha, jumped from the first floor of her house. She got injuries in the incident. She took the extreme step after she was eve-teased and abused by Manpreet Singh, a resident of Gurditpura village. She was mentally harassed and jumped from the first floor on January 17 after Manpreet followed her back home from school and tried to talk to her. A case in this regard has been registered at the Doraha police station. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 21 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing drive against corruption in the state, has apprehended Kuldeep Singh, Junior Engineer (JE), posted at the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) office, Cheema Chowk, here, redhanded while accepting the second instalment of bribe amounting to Rs 5,000. Disclosing this here on Tuesday, an official spokesperson for the state The suspect in custody of VB sleuths in Ludhiana. VB said the suspect had been arrested on a complaint lodged by Jaswinder Pal Singh, a resident of Ram Nagar, Shingar Road. He said the complainant had approached the VB and alleged that the JE had demanded a bribe of Rs 36,000 for installing a new electricity meter at his tea stall and the deal was struck at Rs 15,000. The complainant said the suspect had already taken Rs 10,000 bribe as the first instalment but the meter had not been installed. He was demanding the remaining bribe money of Rs 5,000. The spokesperson said after a preliminary inquiry on his complaint, a VB team from the Ludhiana unit laid a trap during which the JE had been caught red-handed from his office while accepting Rs 5,000 as the the second instalment of bribe from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act had been registered against the suspect at the VB police station, Ludhiana range. He would be produced in a competent court on Wednesday and further investigation in the case was under progress, he said. New Mayor assumes office, shares her dreams about city Water supply project: Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 21 The two-year long wait of the people of Ludhiana is finally over as the MC House has been formed and the city got its new Mayor. Inderjit Kaur after being elected as the Women safety, discipline among employees, clean & green city priorities Mayor on Tuesday assumed her office and shared her priorities about the city. She said besides ensuring basic civic amenities provided to all in the city, her another priority will be ensuring women safety. “Being a woman, I fully understand how necessary it is to ensure safety of women and let them have the free- Mayor Inderjit Kaur and officials during a meeting in Ludhiana. dom to step out anytime without thinking twice about safety concerns. Installation of CCTVs at major junctions and also in interiors parts of the city will be ensured. We will also think about separate buses for women,” she said. For Mayor Inderjit, who served as the principal of a school in the past, the first thing that is of utmost importance is discipline and if small children can be disci- plined and reach school on time, then why not adults. “Reaching late to office will not be excused as I do not want people to wait for employees to reach office to get their works done,” she said. When asked about her priorities about Ludhiana, she said: “Every ward will be on my priority list. Each ward has its own issues and problems. Firstly, I will understand the issues and then chalk out the plan to solve the same. The plan will be formulated according to different wards. Ludhiana is a Smart City but still a lot more needs to be done.” “I want to make my city, clean and green and set an example before others. Beautification projects will also be undertaken in the city,” she said. Another issue that the Mayor felt serious about was the clean and potable drinking water. “It is sad to see that people even today are unable to get basic civic amenities such as clean drinking water. Our new House will collectively make efforts to ensure that clean drinking water is provided to every citizen,” she said. Another issue that Mayor Inderjit Kaur wants to take up is facility of public toilets. “We will get a survey done c m y b and construct toilets where there is need,” she said. On alleged scams and corruption in the civic body, she said: “The AAP government is strict when it comes to corruption and if anything has occurred in the past two years, I will ensure strict action against the guilty.” On the Buddha Nullah issue, she said they would again turn the nullah into Buddha Dariya. The Mayor along with Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Prashar, Deputy Mayor Prince Johar and Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal conducted a meeting at the MC’s Zone D office in Sarabha Nagar to review ongoing development works. Joint Commissioner Ankur Mahindroo, Joint Commissioner Abhishek Sharma, Assistant Commissioner Neeraj Jain, Assistant Commissioner Gurpal Singh, Chief Engineer Ravinder Garg, Superintending Engineer (SE) Ranjit Singh, SE Parveen Singla, SE Surinder Singh, SE Sham Lal Gupta, MTP Vijay Kumar and CSO Ashwani Sahota were among other officials present in the meeting. During the meeting, the Mayor said the goal was to make Ludhiana number one city. She appealed to the public that they should also support the civic body in achieving the goal. Residents should support the MC by keeping their surroundings clean. She said they would also take feedback from residents on a regular basis. Councillors, civic body officials and residents would work together and comprehensive efforts would be made for overall development of the city. MC chief tells officials to expedite works Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 21 A meeting of the Project Monitoring Committee (PMC) was held under the World Bank-funded canal based-water supply project at the MC’s Zone D office here on Tuesday. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal. Chief Engineer Ravinder Garg, SE (projects) Parul Goyal and other officials from various departments, including Irrigation and Forest, were present in the meeting. The officials said a 580-MLD water treatment plant (WTP) has to be established under the project at Bilga village, near Sahnewal. A field survey and designing works are going on. During the meeting, the MC Commissioner issued directions to expedite the work of getting NOCs from different departments which were required for taking up the project at the ground level. NOCs were being obtained in advance so that there was no delay in taking up civil works after completion of the survey. Directions were also issued to expedite the field survey and designing works, so that the civil works could be commenced under the project at the earliest.