22022025-LT-01.qxd 2/21/2025 11:19 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune CLOGGED SEWERS IN DORAHA BANE OF RESIDENTS GAGANDEEP, HARSH, KAJAL HOG LIMELIGHT IN ATHLETICS BHUMI OPENS UP ON HER ROLE IN MERE HUSBAND KI BIWI Overflowing sewers seem to have become permanent feature in Doraha due to clogged drains. P2 Harsh, Kajal and Gagandeep Kaur hogged limelight at the annual athletics meet of Kamla Lohtia SD College. P2 She plays role of Prableen, a typical Punjabi woman whose personality traits drive film’s intriguing storyline.P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 22°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 12°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.19 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:00 AM » SATURDAY | 22 FEBRUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA DC asks IAF to complete pending work on international airport soon Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 21 As the work on the upcoming international airport in Ludhiana is still going on, the Deputy Commissioner, Jitendra Jorwal, has asked the Indian Air Force (IAF) to complete the pending work at the earliest. The development assumes significance as the new international airport coming up at Halwara air base had been granted the airport code, which is mandatory before launching the operations. It has been named Halwara airport by the Centre last month till the time any formal decision to give any specific name to the facility is taken. At a meeting with the senior officials of the IAF and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) here, the DC reviewed the ongoing works at the Air Force Station and the civil terminal. Taking stock of the progress of the runaway relaying, casting works, signages, besides other pending issues, Jorwal urged the PWD officials and private companies undertaking the ongoing work to expedite the completion of the pending tasks. He emphasised the need for effective coordination between the depart- The new international airport getting ready at Halwara near Ludhiana. WHAT IS ICAO CODE? ■ An ICAO code is a four-letter one that identifies an airport, airline, aircraft type or other aviation facility. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) defines these codes. ■ An ICAO airport code is used by air traffic control and airlines for flight planning. Based on the airport’s region and country, the first letter indicates the region, the second letter indicates the country and the third and fourth letters stand for place. ■ An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). ments concerned and their officials, instructing them to address important issues promptly. The Deputy Commissioner asked the officials to devise a detailed solid waste management plan to remove all debris and waste around the airport area within the next few days as garbage and waste could attract birds, which could disturb the flight operations. Recently, the Centre had asked the Punjab Government to hand over the physical possession of the civil airport terminal complete in all respects to launch the operations. With this, the bidding process for the operations of the airlines was also set to be launched shortly, which will take a couple of months before the commercial flights begin operations from here. Air India has already announced plans to launch flights from Ludhiana once the airport becomes operational. Except the overlaying of runway, which is also progressing fast, the airport is ready for operations with the IAF and the state government completing almost all pending works inside their respective areas of operations. “The ICAO code for IAF sta- tion Halwara is “VIHX”. Regarding the IATA code, as the information pertains mainly to IAF station, Halwara, Ludhiana, the request has been forwarded to the IAF We are awaiting their . response and will inform the airlines as soon as the details are received,” AAI Chairman Vipin Kumar had recently said. He further said that the operational date would be finalised once the terminal building was completed and officially handed over to the AAI by the Punjab Government. While the overlaying of Taxi-A, Taxi-D and New Link Taxi inside the IAF premises is almost complete, March 31 is the deadline for completing the ongoing overlaying of the runway from where the flights will operate. This Rs 50-crore much-awaited and much-delayed big ticket project took over three years and missed at least 14 deadlines to see the light of the day. Ludhiana, which is Punjab’s industrial and business capital with a population of almost 4 million, is presently serviced by a small airport at Sahnewal. Located at the geographical centre of Punjab, the new international airport will serve the entire state as well as neighbouring areas. Firing at Bhola Colony in clash over disputed land Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 21 Dispute over land led to firing of several rounds during a clash at Bhola Colony, Tajpur road on Friday. One person suffered injury in the attack and was later hospitalised. As the information reached the police, senior police officials led by Additional DCP Prabhjot Singh Virk rushed to the spot and calmed down the disputing parties. During the incident, tension gripped the area and people started gathering after hearing the gunshots. Police had to close the main gate of the contentious property, citing ongoing probe. Parminder Bajwa, one of the opposing parties, said that today he had gone to see the land of which he had legal ownership. But when he along with some persons reached there and parked his car on the land, the opposite party arrived and fired several rounds to intimidate them. He said they had to run for cover to save themselves. Fortunately, they didn’t suffer injuries. On the other hand, the other party led by JS Gill denied the allegations of firing by his group and levelled allegations on the Bajwa group for firing at his group. Gill also claimed that he had the ownership of the land. Police division No. 7 SHO Bhupinder Singh said that when Parminder Bajwa and the other party came face to face at the disputed property, firing took place. Empty shells were found at the spot. “Bajwa is claiming that he is having the legal ownership of the land, but the possession of the same land is with JS Grewal, who is operating a cricket academy on the land. CCTV cameras installed at the land were also being scanned to get evidence,” he added. Meanwhile, Additional DCP Prabhjot Singh Virk said a cross case had been registered and two persons who opened fire had been arrested. Further investigation was on, he added. Police officials at the firing spot in Bhola Colony, Ludhiana, on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN VB nabs Jr Engineer 2 held for snatching cash at petrol pump Sangrur man resorts to celebratory firing accepting ~5K bribe at wedding, arrested Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, February 21 The Vigilance Bureau (VB), Ludhiana, today arrested a junior engineer (JE) of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), Manoj Kumar, red-handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000. Ludhiana VB SSP Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu stated that the case was registered based on a complaint filed by a resident of New Amar Nagar, Daba, Ludhiana. The complainant, who runs a welding shop, stated that his wife had purchased a two-storey house at New Amar Nagar, where he intended to set up a small factory on the ground floor, requiring a 10 KW commer- cial electricity meter. The SSP added that according to the complaint, he submitted an application for the new meter at the PSPCL office in Janta Nagar, Ludhiana, and deposited the required fee. Fifteen days later, JE Manoj Kumar visited the site and took Rs 3,000 from him for “miscellaneous expenses”. He then demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000. Upon the complainant’s request, the JE agreed to accept an advance payment of Rs 5,000 with the remaining amount to be paid after the installation. When the JE called the complainant to the office for payment, he was nabbed by the team there. — TNS Raikot, February 21 The Ludhiana (Rural) Police claimed to have solved a snatching case in which two motorcycle-borne miscreants snatched a cash bag from a salesman of a petrol pump situated at Narangwal village in Ludhiana district. The motorcycle used in crime and Rs 10,570 snatched from the complainant were recovered from the accused identified as Harmandeep Singh Nikka of Narangwal and Vicky of Majri village, presently staying at Ghungrana village of the district. The accused were arrested from different places within hours of committing of crime on Thursday afternoon. Ludhiana (Rural) SSP The two suspects in the custody of the Jodhan police. Navneet Singh Bains said the cops nabbed them when they were trying to leave the area under the garb of darkness. The accused have been booked under Sections 3(5) of 307 of the BNS for the robbery at Dashmesh Filling Station at Narangwal village around 1 pm on Thursday. The accused had visited the filling station on the pretext of buying petrol for Rs 100 for a motorcycle when salesman Shiv Shankar was alone at the petrol pump. While one of the accused kept sitting on the motorcycle, the other over- powered Shiv and snatched the cash bag from him before fleeing. Preliminary investigations revealed that no weapon was used in the crime. The police swung into action immediately after receiving information about the incident and managed to nab them within hours. “Having received information we constituted separate teams of cops under supervision of SHO Davinder Singh for identifying and arresting the accused on the basis of information available from some eyewitnesses and CCTV cameras installed at various places in the area,” said Varinder Khosa, adding that the surveillance had been increased following the incident. The police are yet to ascertain antecedents of the accused. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 21 The Jagraon City police yesterday registered a case against a Sangrur-based man who resorted to celebratory firing during a marriage function at a hotel in Jagraon. The accused was identified as Gurinder Singh, a resident of Ramnagar Sibia, Sangrur district. He was later arrested by the police. The investigating officer, ASI Gurdeep Singh, stated that a police party yesterday received information that a marriage party was going on in Hotel Five River, GT Road, Jagraon, which Gurinder had come to attend. He was carrying a revolver in the cover of a belt tied around his neck and appeared to be in an inebriated state. The person giving information added that the accused had been continuously firing in the air from his revolver. Due to this, there was a panic among those attending the function. The ASI said the accused had been arrested and a .32bore revolver was seized. He added that the accused had not shown the licence of the weapon. Rain brings cheer on worried farmers’ faces Cyber police crack fraud Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 21 The recent rain has given the much-needed relief to famers as February was getting warmer and there had been almost no rain throughout the month. The temperature this year has remained high as compared to last year and rainfall has been below normal. This had made farmers worried as it could have an adverse effect on wheat crop, which is in the flowering and grain filling stage. Pavneet Kaur Kingra, head of the Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, Punjab Agricultural University, said that Ludhiana received 7mm rainfall, which was not too much, but it would prove beneficial for the crops as it would help in adding moisture to the land. The recent rain has added the much-needed moisture to the soil. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN “After the rainfall, there will be no immediate need to irrigate the crops as the rain has done its job. This rain will prove beneficial for the crop. The weather will remain clear for the next 4-5 days and after that there is a possibility of some rain, but as of now the weather will be clear,” said Kingra. Gurmail Singh, a farmer from Samrala, said that this rain was beneficial for the crops, but he feared that if it led to sudden rise in temperature, then it could become a cause of concern because it can lead to shrinkage of the wheat grain. This may further result in less yield of low quality, which is likely to c m y b fetch low prices,” he said. “In addition, crops like mustard and chickpea may also experience early maturity. Horticultural crops like apple and other temperate stone fruits may experience premature bud break and early flowering due to warm temperatures, resulting in poor fruit setting and quality, which may ultimately reflect in poor yield,” he said “Rain has finished the long dry spell and helped in irrigating the crops. It will prove a boon for various crops, especially wheat. Now, we pray to God that the temperature does not rise suddenly. This winter season was of very short duration and hope summer does not arrive with a bang, bringing high temperature, which can impact the crops,” said Balwinder Singh, another farmer from Begowal village. case in 24 hrs, recover ~3L Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 21 The Cyber Police Station, Ludhiana, has claimed to have solved a cyber fraud case within 24 hours, and transferred the fraudulently withdrawn cash back into the account of the complainant. Station House Officer, Cyber Police Station, Inspector Satvir Singh said that a complaint was received from Palak Luthra of Ludhiana. She said she got a call from an unknown mobile number and the fraudster on the call convinced her to click on a web link on some pretext. The moment she clicked on that link, Rs 3 lakh were debited from her credit card. The SHO added that the complainant was shocked to MODUS OPERANDI Palak Luthra of Ludhiana said she got a call from an unknown mobile number. The fraudster convinced her to click on a web link and the moment she clicked on it, ~3 lakh were debited from her credit card. see the message of Rs 3 lakh being debited from her credit card and she immediately reported the matter to the cyber police station. “After the cyber police station received a complaint, a cyber team immediately launched investigation. The debited transaction was immediately blocked and within 24 hours, the entire amount was recovered,” claimed the SHO. Palak on Thursday reached the cyber police station and thanked the team for recovering the entire debited amount. She also urged the people that they should not click on any unwanted web links or attend calls of cyber criminals. Meanwhile, SHO Satvir said that the cyber wing had been spreading awareness about the prevailing kinds of cyber frauds through social media and seminars. He asked the people to report the matter to the cyber police or the national cyber helpline immediately on being targeted by the scamsters. “If the people will report the matter of fraud immediately, chances of recovering the lost funds are more,” he added.