12032025-LT-01.qxd 12-03-2025 00:51 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune FREE DIALYSIS BENEFITS 65-70 PATIENTS AT UCHC DAILY NEPHEW OF ANU MALIK, MUSIC RACES IN AMAAL’S BLOOD PUNJAB KALA BHAWAN — THE EPICENTRE OF ARTISTIC BRILLIANCE To transform lives of those suffering from CKD, free dialysis is provided at UCHC, Jawaddi. P3 Lyricist Malik says his younger brother Armaan is not always the automatic choice to sing his compositions. P4 The Women Directors’ Theatre Festival here highlighted the strength, creativity & resilience of women in theatre. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 30°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.29 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:35 AM WEDNESDAY | 12 MARCH 2025 | LUDHIANA Factory collapse: Workers still under panic, Trade union seeks ~10L relief for kin of deceased say many forced to work in unsafe buildings Tribune News Service Seek immediate safety audit of unsafe units; rescue op complete, say authorities Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 11 Though the district authorities had declared the rescue operation complete and teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were sent back after the recovery of three bodies of factory workers, industrial workers continued to throng the collapsed factory building site. They raised the issue of unsafe factories running in the industrial hub and demanded immediate safety audit. The workers questioned that had the government serious about the safety of factory workers, they should have launched a time-bound safety audit of factory buildings in the industrial hub by now. But nothing is being done in this regard and unsafe factories are continuing to function, posing risk to the lives of workers. When asked why they spending considerable time at the collapsed buliding site, a factory worker said the incident that cost the lives of the three factory workers had been giving them sleepless nights. Still, they could not believe that their fellow workers lost their lives in the tragedy. “We are also working in Migrants gather at the site of the factory collapse in Ludhiana on Tuesday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN MC TOLD TO ASSUME CONTROL OF SITE: SOURCES Sources said the administration had asked the MC to assume control of the collapsed site for precautionary purpose. The MC was also told to send structural assessment of the remaining part of the building. The DC has asked the civic body to also take steps to demolish the remaining structure if it was unstable and could endanger lives of the people. However, the MC Commissioner has deputed officials for the task. factories where buildings are in a poor state. We also afraid of facing the same fate someday. Value of our lives is nothing in the eyes of factory owners. Since the day the incident occurred, our family members who are staying in other states daily call us to enquire about our well-being as they are also under panic,” alleged a factory worker. Another worker said the Kohli Dyeing factory collapsed due to the negligence On cloud nine of its owner. If he was getting some construction works done, unit operations should had been closed till the time the work was complete. The owner, despite being aware about the poor condition of the factory, endangered the lives of workers. On Tuesday, a large numbers of workers gathered at the dyeing factory collapse site in Phase VIII, Focal Point, levelling allegations of negligence against its owner. The migrant workers HIMANSHU MAHAJAN alleged that though the district administration had announced that the rescue operation was complete, believing that no worker could be under the debris now but the administration should not leave the work of clearing debris on the factory owner. “If the body of any other worker found under the debris, the factory owner or his aides might hide the development. Whenever we stand near the debris, people present there would ask us to leave. We request the district administration to at least comb the entire place to ensure that no body is lying buried under the rubble,” the labourers said. Sources said the administration had asked the corporation to assume control of the collapsed site for precautionary purpose. The MC was also told to send structural assessment of the remaining part of the building. The Deputy Commissioner has asked the civic body to also take necessary steps to demolish the remaining structure if it was unstable and could endanger lives of the public. The MC Commissioner has deputed the officials on task for the same. Ludhiana, March 11 The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) on Tuesday submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, demanding justice for families of the labourers who lost their lives in the recent industrial mishap at Kohli Dyeing factory in the Focal Point area here. Union leaders, including DP Maur, MS Bhattyli, Kevval Singh Banwait, Ramesh Ratan and Chamkaur Singh, met the Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) and handed over the memorandum. The memorandum demanded that the families of the deceased labourers should be given a compensation of at least Rs 10 lakh each while the injured workers be given Rs 5 lakh each. The union leaders alleged that most industrial units in the city did not provide their labourers with ESI and and PF benefits and Woman found dead at village Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 11 A 26-year-old woman, Renu Kumari, was found dead in Jangpur village under the jurisdiction of the Dakha police station on Monday. Initially, the police suspected that Tejpal, the husband of the deceased, had killed her and fled with their two children. However, during investigation, the police ruled out any possibility of murder. As per police sources, the victim, along with her two children, was staying in Jangpur. Her husband used to work as a labourer in Moradabad, UP He used to . visit his wife and children once or twice a month. About 15 days ago, the woman eloped with a man. Earlier also, she had allegedly eloped with her lover four times. On Monday, the room of the deceased was found locked. When local residents broke the lock, they were shocked to see the woman lying dead in the room, following which they informed the police. Injury marks were found on the face of the woman, raising suspicion that Blind murder case cracked, 2 held Ludhiana, March 11 The Moti Nagar police on Tuesday claimed to have cracked a blind murder case of a man and arrested two suspects. They were identified as Sanjay Bunty of Deep Nagar and Rajwinder Singh Raja of Manjit Nagar. ADCP Prabhjot Singh while addressing a press conference said on March 10, the body of an unidentified person was found at Transport Nagar near an Indian Oil petrol pump, whose face and head had signs of injuries. After registering a murder case against unidentified persons, separate teams were formed to crack the case. During the probe, the deceased was identified as Surinder Singh, alias Surinderpal Singh, alias Sajan, of Nirankari Mohalla. The ADCP said the police probe found that the deceased and his accomplices Sanjay, alias Bunty, and Rajwinder The suspects in Ludhiana police custody on Tuesday. Singh, alias Raja, had consumed alcohol together on the night of March 9 near Manju Cinema, during which the deceased had arguments with the suspects. In no time, arguments took a ghastly turn and they hit him with a brick and stone on the head, which led to his death. Later, they dumped the body on the road and fled. The ADCP said the reason for committing the crime was that the deceased had taken the name of Sanjay during an interrogation in a criminal case registered at the Jamalpur police station against the former, due to which Sanjay, along with Rajwinder, killed the victim. ACP Jasbinder Singh Khaira and inspector Amritpal Singh were among other officials present during the press meet. — TNS Travel agent booked for ~1.08-cr fraud Ludhiana, March 11 The Sadar Jagraon police on Monday registered a case against a travel agent for committing a fraud of Rs 1.08 crore on the pretext of sending a complainant to the US. According to ASI Sukhmander Singh, Balwant Singh of Baghian Khurd village had filed a complaint that Parminder Singh had promised to send his son and daughter-inlaw to the US. Instead of sending the couple to America, he sent them on a journey to several countries. He kept assuring to send them to America soon. He said later, the suspect sent them back to India. After returning, it was found that their US visas were fake. When the complainant asked him to return the money, the suspect threatened to kill him and implicate him in a false criminal case. — TNS c m y b her husband killed her and fled the scene with the children. Dakha DSP Varinder Singh Khosa said initially there was suspicion that the woman might had been murdered by her husband as the latter was aware about her extra-marital affair but later during investigation, it was found that the victim seemed to have died a natural death and her husband left the place under panic. However, the police would examine the autopsy report to find out the exact cause of the death. Inquest proceedings were initiated in the case so far. 6 illegal constructions, encroachments razed Tribune News Service Students in a jubilant mood after receiving degrees during the convocation at the CMCH in Ludhiana on Tuesday. P2 not maintain attendance records. It results in huge losses for the labourers in such cases. The union also demanded that the administration should take action against officials of the Labour and Industry departments, who failed to enforce labour laws, leading to the tragedy. If the demands were not met, the union would launch a massive struggle in the city, for which the administration would be responsible, it said. Ludhiana, March 11 Tightening noose around those involved in illegal constructions, the Municipal Corporation (MC) demolished six illegal constructions and around eight encroachments in different parts of the city on Tuesday. The building branch team of the MC Zone D also sealed five illegal shops being constructed in Pritam Nagar on the Barewal road and the 200-ft road. Building branch officials said three under-construction illegal industrial buildings were demolished in the Kundanpuri area while an under-construction labour quarter building was An illegal construction being demolished in Ludhiana. demolished in Pritam Nagar. Two under-construction shops were also demol- ished in Pritam Nagar. The officials said one shop has been sealed in Pritam Ensure cleanliness across city, health, NHAI officials told Ludhiana, March 11 For ensuring cleanliness across the city, Mayor Inderjit Kaur conducted a meeting with officials of the health branch of the Municipal Corporation (MC) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) at the Zone D office of the MC on Tuesday. Strict directions have been issued to the health branch officials to move to the field to monitor the situation on a regular basis and ensure attendance of sweepers. The NHAI officials had also been directed to ensure cleanliness on roads which fall under the jurisdiction of the authority. MC Additional Commissioner Paramdeep Singh, Joint Commissioner Ankur Mahindroo, Corporation San- Mayor Inderjit Kaur with officials during a meeting in Ludhiana. itation Officer (CSO) Ashwani Sahota, Health Officer Vipal Malhotra, CSIs and SIs were among other officials present in the meeting. The Mayor said their aim was to make Ludhiana the number 1 city. The health branch officials had also been directed to ensure proper functioning of static compactor sites. She said she would also be conducting inspections to take stock of the situation at the ground level. Meanwhile, she also appealed to the public to support the civic body in keeping the city clean and green The residents were also urged to stop dumping waste in open spaces. — TNS Nagar, three on the Barewal road and one on the 200-ft road. Over six encroachments (in the form of sheds) were demolished in the market near Krishna Mandir (Model Town Extension) and two encroachments on road portions were razed in Amardas Colony. Building branch officials stated that action against illegal constructions was taken on the directions of MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and the drive would continue in coming days too. They appealed to residents to start works only after getting building plans approved from the civic body, otherwise strict action would be taken against the illegal constructions. 3 Class X students harassed, take exam after hour Ludhiana, March 11 Three students of Class X, appearing for exams conducted by the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), faced harassment when they were not allowed to take the exam on Tuesday. It was the exam of Punjabi A of Class X and the private students had to face trouble as “they had not submitted their proper documents due to which they were not allowed to sit in the examination for about an hour at Government Senior Secondary school, Cemetry Road here. The students were issued the roll numbers by the board but their names were not mentioned in the lists at the exam centre. The matter was taken up with the higher authorities and it was decided to let them take the exam and in the next examination, they would submit the required documents. — TNS