21022025-LT-01.qxd 2/21/2025 12:57 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune 800 PARKS, BUT NOWHERE TO PLAY FOR CITY CHILDREN I STILL GET MAAR FROM MY MOM, SAYS VICKY KAUSHAL ONE HAS TO LEARN TO MANAGE FAME, SAYS SHARUL CHANNA Lack of sports grounds is forcing kids to play on streets or roads, exposing them to threat of accidents. P3 Bollywood heartthrob Vicky Kaushal has talked about how so much has changed around him over the years. P4 “You don’t choose comedy, it chooses you,” says Singapore-based Sharul Channa, a well-known stand-up comic. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 23°C | MIN 12°C YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 13°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.14 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:58 AM FRIDAY | 21 FEBRUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA Civic body yet to begin work on tree census MC is accessing viability of project before taking final call Manav Mander Tribune News Service A man riding a cycle in the backdrop of clouds after rain makes for a beautiful view in Ludhiana. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Chill returns as city gets 7mm rainfall Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 Residents woke up to chilly weather conditions with rainfall for about four-five hours that started around 1:30 am on Wednesday night. Experts, however, maintain that the rainfall was awaited and good for crops. Talking to The Tribune, Dr KK Gill, a weather expert at the PAU, said 7mm of rainfall was recorded in Ludhiana and many other parts of the state also witnessed rain. She said the weather conditions would remain similar till Friday. The chilly wind blew the region accompanied with the rainfall last night. There was no Sun in the morning as clouds were scattered in the sky. While many people liked the weather, there were some who wanted to get respite from the persisting cold weather conditions. A resident, Ritu Verma, said as compared to previous years, February was little warmer this time. “If weather conditions are such in February, you can imagine how extreme hot would be May and June,” she said. The rainfall was witnessed in many parts of the state, including Ludhiana, Rupnagar, Nawanshahr, Sangrur, SAS Nagar and Bathinda. Following snowfall in a few hilly areas, the weather conditions were changed in Punjab, experts said. Ludhiana, February 20 The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (MC) is yet to begin work on the tree census in the city. Though tenders were floated once, the work was not allotted and now the MC is accessing the viability of the project before taking the final call on starting the census. The plan is to do a comprehensive GIS and GPS mapping and quantitative analysis of trees under the jurisdiction of the civic body. It will also help in preventing illegal cutting of trees. Kapil Arora, a social activist and member of the Public Action Committee, said illegal cutting of trees goes unabated in the city and to check the same, they had filed a petition with the National Green Tribunal (NGT). Acting on the petition submitted by the Council of Engineers, in August 2023, the NGT had ordered the MC to do a survey of the number of trees. Though the Municipal Corporation had assured the Activist booked for creating ruckus at hospital Mystery shrouds death of former sarpanch Misbehaved with doctors, CCTV camera captured incident, probe on Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 A former sarpanch of Faizgarh village in Khanna, Kamaljit Singh Bawa, died under mysterious circumstances. His body was recovered from Mandi Gobindgarh, GT Road. The head of the victim was found crushed. The police have started a probe into the matter. According to information, Kamaljit had gone to a party on Wednesday night at a restaurant in Bija and was returning home in his Toyota Fortuner vehicle when some untoward incident occurred. The vehicle was recovered and no damage was found on it. The police said they were investigating the matter and footage of nearby areas was being checked. The police were trying to check how the victim came towards Gobindgarh as his route of reaching his Faizgarh village was different. Ludhiana, February 20 The Police Division 2 registered a case against a social activist-cum-gym owner on the complaint of senior doctors of the Civil Hospital here. The suspect was identified as Ramesh Bangar, a resident of Jail Road here. A case was registered on the charges of obstructing public servant in performing his duties, criminal intimidation, etc. Dr Amanpreet Singh and Dr Rohit Attari were the complainants in the case. According to the doctors, on February 16, Ramesh came to the hospital emergency ward with a dead patient where he misbehaved with staff and created obstruction in their duties. Entire emergency staff got panicked due to his presence and the matter was raised before the A CCTV grab shows the suspect (in red T-shirt) misbehaving with doctors at the Civil Hospital in Ludhiana. senior medical officer. “The person entered the hospital at 8.30 pm, misbehaved with staff and barged into doctors’ duty room. Not only staff but patients also got panicked.The staff faced difficulty in seeing the patients,” the complainants stated in the FIR. The doctors demanded that strict action should be taken against the man as per law. They told the police that Ramesh, without listening to hospital staff, started creating ruckus and issued threats to doctors. SHO, Police Division 2, Inspector Gurjit Singh, said senior doctors of the Civil Hospital had lodged a police complaint and even CCTV footage was also procured from the hospital which captured the incident in the emergency ward. After bringing the matter to the knowledge of senior police officers, a case was registered against the suspect and further investigation was launched. Sources said Ramesh also runs an anti-corruption NGO. Notably, it is not the first case when Civil Hospital doctors faced such a situation where visitors had misbehaved with them on one pretext or the other. Sources said the Health Department had given clear instructions to doctors that if anyone misbehaves with them or creates obstruction in their duties, they should lodged a police complaint. The survey of trees will also help prevent their illegal cutting. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN NGT to complete the tree census across the city by December 2023, it has not even initiated the process so far. The petition was filed by members of the public action committee (PAC) emphasising the important role of trees in maintaining ecological balance after which the NGT had directed civic body officials to conduct a comprehensive tree counting process in response to petitions filed against encroachments on green belts in the city. Kapil Arora said: “The MC has failed to comply with the orders of the NGT in maintaining complete record of the trees and now, they plan to approach the NGT again for violation of the compliance,” he said. Amandeep Singh Bains, member, PAC, and environmentalist said the tree census would also help in understand- Man dies in hit-and-run ~14L ‘looted’ from factory worker Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 An accident occurred at Baddowal near here in which a man, Jagmohan Singh Baddowal, died. The police have registered a case against the unidentified driver of the vehicle, which hit the victim. The Dakha police said on Wednesday night, Jagmohan, along with his brother Rajvinder Singh, was crossing the road near High School, Baddowal, when a speeding vehicle hit Jagmohan and since it was dark, the suspect managed to flee the scene. Rajvinder took his brother to Raghunath Hospital, from where he was referred to the DMCH due to his serious condition, where Jagmohan succumbed to his injuries later. — TNS Ludhiana, February 20 Rs 14 lakh was allegedly looted from a worker of a private firm here on Wednesday. The man was allegedly targeted near Cheema Chowk. At the same time, the police suspect that the person, Harpreet, alias Harry, had concocted the whole story as a complaint has also been lodged by his employer Rajan Goyal against Harry. The incident is being probed by the Moti Nagar police. According to ADCP (City 4) Prabhjot Singh, the police got a call from Harry who claimed that his employer had sent him to collect payment from a person from Cheema Chowk. When he was returning after taking the payment, he was stopped ing species composition of the studied area, tree to human population ratio, monitoring and maintenance, management of defective trees, carbon sequestration potential, etc. The XEN, MC, GP Singh, said the work for the tree census could not be allotted, though tenders were floated. The civic body is accessing the viability of the project before finally beginning the work on the tree census. Employer suspects foul play, files plaint against him by two persons, who claimed to be members of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) staff and they wanted to search him. After taking away the money from him, the duo alleged that it was black money. Harry told the police that the two persons asked him to sit with them on their motorcycle and they continued to roam around and after an hour, they left him at Cheema Chowk. However, the police said Harry was changing his statements frequently and they were looking into the matter. Meanwhile, officials from the crime wing started checking CCTV footage of factories in nearby areas to crack the case. A first: Undertrial juveniles to be rehabilitated in dist Man gets five-yr RI Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 20 In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the district administration has launched a project to rehabilitate undertrial juveniles in Ludhiana. ‘Navi Roshni’ to train young criminals in extra-curricular activities, soft skill development courses Christened as ‘Navi Roshni’ (New Light), the project will train the young criminals lodged at observation homes in the district in extra-curricular activities and soft skill An observation home in Ludhiana. FILE development courses. Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal while launching the project here said it was aimed at shifting the focus of the juveniles, who had been caught on the wrong side of the law, towards enriching activities and cultivating a lasting positive change among them. He said the programme would help juveniles to master new skills that they could apply when they leave observation homes to embark on a new journey in their lives. Jorwal said the initiative was being implemented by Ludhiana Red Cross Society in collaboration with Art Life and Beyond Society. Currently, there are approximately 160 juveniles residing in the observation home here, where they would be taught moral education, theatre, singing, bhangra, painting, drawing, poetry and more as part of the first phase of their rehabilitation curriculum. In the subsequent phase, they will participate in soft c m y b skill development courses, including, tie and dye, knitting, weaving, kalamkari, baking and allied activities. Highlighting the importance of engaging juveniles in meaningful ways, the DC expressed surprise at the creativity displayed by many participants, noting that some of them excel in drawing while some others have interest in different fields. “The artistic engagement not only improves their concentration and creativity but also helps them make productive use of their time,” he said. Jorwal emphasised that the purpose of such sessions was to keep the juveniles engaged and to prevent them from dwelling on their past. “By fostering a positive outlook, the programme aims to help these young individuals, who have a long future ahead of them,” the DC expressed while hoping that even a few successful transformations in their lives would be a significant achievement. He said the initiative was an effort to create a positive environment within the observation home. He also expressed gratitude to Sapna Mittal from Art Life and Beyond Society for collaborating with the district administration to uncover the hidden talents of the juveniles and assist them in transforming their lives. in snatching case Ludhiana, February 20 The Court of Sessions Judge Harpreet Kaur Randhawa has sentenced Rajveer Singh, alias Vicky, a 24-year-old resident of Street No 3, Pavittar Nagar, Haibowal Kalan, here, to five years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a snatching case. The court also imposed a fine of ?10,000 on the convict. According to the prosecution, on September 8, 2022, a police team, led by ASI Jaspal Singh, was patrolling near Bhuriwala Gurdwara, Haibowal Road, when they received a tip-off about the accused, who was allegedly involved in multiple snatching incidents. He was reportedly riding a motorcycle and carrying snatched mobile phones with the intent to sell them. Acting on information, the police set up a naka and apprehended him. A search led to the recovery of nine snatched mobiles from his possession, for which he failed to provide any ownership proof. The police took the seized items into custody and registered a case against him. Rahul Sharma, the victim, identified the accused. The former’’s snatched mobile was also seized from Rajveer. After hearing arguments and examining evidence, the court found him guilty. — OC