02082025-JTR-01.qxd 8/1/2025 11:11 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune MLA DHALIWAL SLAMS AAP OVER LAND POOLING POLICY AWARD-WINNING ACTIVIST FIGHTS FOR RIGHTS OF DIVYANGS ASHUTOSH SPEAKS ON HUMARE RAM & RAVAN’S CHARACTER Participating in a tractor march against the policy, Dhaliwal said the Congress has always stood by the farmers. P2 Inderjit Nandan has made significant contributions to literature and welfare of persons with disabilities in Punjab. P3 Veteran actor Ashutosh Rana, known for his intense screen presence & versatile acting, opens up about Humare Ram. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 30°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET SATURDAY 7.15 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 5:43 AM SATURDAY | 2 AUGUST 2025 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF TWO KILLED AS THAR HITS TREE Mahilpur: A Thar vehicle lost control and collided with a tree near village Paldi on the Mahilpur-Phagwara road on Thursday night, killing two youths, including the only son of the Sarpanch of Dhada Khurd. Police officer Sukhwinder Singh said that Harshveer Singh Mann, son of Hardeep Singh, resident of Dhada Khurd, was going from Mahilpur to his village Dhada Khurd with his friend Harsimran Singh, son of Pavitra Singh, a resident of Mukhomajara in a Thar (PB 08 FC 0079). Their vehicle lost control and collided with a tree, due to which both the youths were seriously injured. Harshveer Singh Mann was brought to Civil Hospital Hoshiarpur where doctors declared him dead. An injured Harsimran Singh was brought to Civil Hospital, Mahilpur, where, seeing the seriousness of his condition, he was sent to a private hospital in Hoshiarpur, from where he was referred to DSC Hospital in Ludhiana, where he also died during treatment. OC SNACHERS’ BIKE HITS CAR, BOY DIES Garhshankar: Three motorbike-borne youths snatched the gold earrings of a woman who was going with her husband on a scooter. But travelling at high speed, they collided with a car coming from the opposite direction near village Moranwali of Garhshankar. All three were seriously injured in the accident while a 12-year-old child in the car died and six other passengers were injured. Amandeep Kaur was returning with her husband Ranjit Singh on a scooty from Kasba Banga in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district to get medicine when suddenly three youths riding a Bullet motorcycle stopped near them and snatched Amandeep Kaur’s gold chain and fled. When the couple raised an alarm, the people present there started chasing the youths. The youths drove the Bullet motorcycle at a high speed and collided with an Ertiga car coming which overturned. The car riders were going back to their village Noura, in district SBS Nagar after dropping their relative’s daughter at Mohali airport. Seven people including 12-year-old child Karanjot, son of Gurpreet Singh, were injured. They were taken to Civil Hospital, Garhshankar, for treatment. Karanjot was declared dead by the doctors there. — OC HARASSMENT FOR DOWRY Nakodar: The Sadar police have booked Jagtar Lal, a resident of Chanann Pur village under the Jamsher police station, in a dowry harassment case. The complainant Amrit Ranni, daughter of Harmesh Lal, a resident of Chak Vendal, who was married to Jagtar Lal, had filed a complaint with the SSP Jalandhar (rural), that her husband had been harassing her and demanding more dowry since her marriage. IO Jagtar Singh said a case under section 85 of the BNS has been registered against the accused after an inquiry, and further probe was on. OC Sarpanch’s husband injured in attack on Civil Hospital Our Correspondent Phagwara, August 1 A shocking incident occurred late last night at the Civil Hospital in Phagwara, Kapurthala district, when unidentified assailants attacked a man with sharp-edged weapons inside the hospital’s mini operation theatre. The victim, Dayal Chand, is the husband of the current sarpanch of Balalo village. The attack sent shockwaves among the hospital staff, some of whom were forced to flee for safety. According to police sources, Dayal Chand was undergoing treatment when the assailants barged into the operation theatre and launched a violent assault. Hospital authorities immediately alerted the police and a team arrived on the scene to secure CCTV footage and begin an investigation. Preliminary information reveals that Dayal Chand, who leases land for farming, was returning from Pandori village after collecting motor parts from a former sarpanch’s residence when he was allegedly attacked by two youths. In his statement to the police, Dayal Chand claimed that the assault was politically motivated, tied to his wife’s recent victory in the village elections for the post of sarpanch. “The attack was not random,” he stated. “It was because my wife won the election. They wanted to send a message.” Phagwara DSP Bharat Bhushan confirmed that an FIR has been registered against the named individuals involved in the earlier altercation with Dayal Chand, and two unidentified assailants have also been added to the list of accused. The police have seized CCTV footage and are examining it to identify the culprits. The hospital staff, while treating the victim, confirmed that he was brought in with serious injuries and that the police were promptly informed. Doctors said they were deeply disturbed by the brazenness of the attack, which occurred within a medical facility meant to be a safe zone. This is not the first time that such violence has erupted at Phagwara Civil Hospital. Despite the presence of security personnel, previous incidents of assault have raised serious concerns over the safety of patients, staff and visitors. Civic and health authorities have come under pressure to strengthen hospital security and ensure that such politically-driven violence does not threaten lives inside public institutions. PCMSA offers to join probe in Civil Hospital death case Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 1 Softening its stance over the suspensions/dismissal of four doctors following three deaths at the Jalandhar Civil Hospital, the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) on Friday declared to participate in the Health Department’s ongoing probe into the issue. The PCMSA declared that an association member would join the state investigation, as the members were optimistic about a fair probe in view of the Home Minister’s recent declarations. The association also reiterated its demand for compensation to victims’ families. Having earlier announced an alternate probe to look into the hospital deaths and the “scapegoating” of doctors; the PCMSA’s changed stance comes in the wake of Ride in the rain Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh’s extension of invitation to the association to join the probe panel. The minister had also promised a fair and impartial probe. A PCMSA delegation visited the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, this morning and obtained feedback from doctors. Youth Cong to file PIL The Punjab Youth Congress has announced that it will file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) tomorrow in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, following back-to-back failures of oxygen plants at government hospitals in Punjab, which have already claimed three lives in Jalandhar and now threaten patients’ safety in Kapurthala. On July 27, three patients – including a 15-year-old girl, a 32-year-old drug overdose patient, and another critically ill man – died in Jalandhar Civil Hospital after oxygen supply was disrupted for nearly 30 minutes. Preliminary reports revealed untrained staffs were operating the oxygen plant, alarms were non-functional and no postmortems were conducted, raising concerns of a potential cover-up. Days later, Kapurthala Civil Hospital’s PSA oxygen plant stopped functioning, forcing patients to rely on backup cylinders. Families fear a repeat of the Jalandhar tragedy as no statewide safety checks have been carried out despite earlier assurances by the Punjab Health Department. Angad Dutta, secretary, Punjab Youth Congress, who recently submitted a complaint to Jalandhar’s Joint Commissioner of Police (JCP) demanding registration of an FIR against negligent officials, said, “Hospitals are meant to save lives, not take them. Three people died due to gross negligence in Jalandhar and now Kapurthala faces the same risk. This is not an accident – it’s a failure of governance. We will take this fight to the High Court tomorrow to ensure accountability and systemic reforms.” The Youth Congress has demanded an immediate FIR against hospital authorities responsible for the deaths, a judicial inquiry monitored by the HC into both incidents and a compensation of Rs 25 lakh each for the bereaved families besides emergency safety audits of all government hospital oxygen plants and ICU systems within seven days. The party has vowed to continue its campaign until the officials responsible are punished and citizens can feel safe in government hospitals. Contract Multipurpose Health Workers to boycott online work Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 1 Members of the Contract Multipurpose Health Workers (Female) Union (Punjab) submitted a demand letter and notice to the Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar, Dr Gurmeet Lal, announcing to boycott all online work and the work of additional centres from today. The letters and notices have been handed over to all civil surgeons of Punjab by members of the union on August 1, announcing the boycott amidst the long-pending demands of the union —- on issues including non-implementation of ‘equal work, equal pay’, burden of online work, including that of additional centres, lack of basic infrastructure at many cen- People make their way in heavy rain in Jalandhar on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH tres, vacant posts etc. The decision was made by the union after holding an online meeting on July 31. They requested the Punjab government to resolve all these issues to settle their demands. The health workers said that if no solution is found to these issues by August 10, they will hold a protest rally at the Director’s office on August 11 and start a permanent dharna. They also said that they will oppose the Punjab government in the upcoming by-election for the vacant Tarn Taran Assembly seat. The union leaders said that the Punjab government had decided to give ‘equal pay for equal work’ to contractual multipurpose health workers in 2014. The orders had also been issued on October 22, 2015. However, due to objections from some employees to the seniority list, the department stayed the move till further orders, following which the orders have not been implemented by the department till date. They added that after 10 years, on February 10 this year, following a decision by the High Court, fresh orders have still not been issued. The union leaders added that the Health Minister and Health Secretary gave directions to the department, after holding panel meetings with the union on June 10 and June 16, 2025 —- but no further action was taken by the Director’s office and Mission Director, NHM Punjab, even after almost two months. Auction deferred as cutting trees for MC extends OTS scheme sports stadium meets with opposition deadline now to Aug 15 said, defending the administration’s environmental mitigation plans. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 1 The long-delayed Sports Hub project at Burlton Park, which was recently revived after over a decade of uncertainty, has once again come under scrutiny—this time due to environmental concerns. The Jalandhar Municipal Corporation’s decision to chop down more than 50 trees for the construction of a new sports stadium has triggered strong opposition from environmentalists. A scheduled auction of trees related to the project was supposed to take place today, when members of the Burlton Park Welfare Society intervened. As officials arrived at the park to proceed with the auction, a senior office-bearer of the society also reached the site, asserting that the process was in violation of law and order. Harish Sharma, general secretary of the Burlton Park Action Committee, expressed his disapproval, stating, “What they are More than 50 trees at Burlton Park are to be chopped for a stadium, igniting opposition from the environmentalists. FILE doing is not acceptable. I’ve made it clear to the officials. We will approach the High Court to seek legal intervention and ensure such actions are halted.” Sharma criticised the Municipal Corporation for prioritising construction over conservation. “The Municipal Corporation’s responsibility is to provide civic amenities, not to destroy our green spaces in the name of development,” he added. Although officials were present at the site, the auction did not take place. When contacted, Mayor Vaneet Dhir said, “The auction couldn’t be held because there weren’t enough bidders,” he explained. However, Dhir affirmed that the project would move forward. “The auction will take place soon. For trees that will be cut, we plan to plant 300 more. These won’t be saplings, but mature trees—13 to 14 feet tall—to ensure quick growth,” he c m y b Aakanksha N Bhardwaj The project: The Sports Hub project, first envisioned more than a decade ago, was formally inaugurated on June 11 by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal. The ambitious plan includes the development of multiple sports facilities at Burlton Park, such as stadiums for cricket, football, volleyball, badminton, table tennis and judo. A swimming pool meeting international standards is also part of the blueprint. It is a Rs 77 crore project. While supporters argue that the project will transform Jalandhar into a premier sports destination and boost talent, the Burlton Park Welfare Society general secretary maintains that it comes at the cost of environmental degradation and they will not let anyone cut any tree on the pretext of undertaking development. Jalandhar, August 1 The deadline for the OneTime Settlement (OTS) scheme for property tax recovery has been extended from July 31 to August 15. The extension comes amid efforts to encourage more property owners to clear their dues with the benefit of financial concessions offered under the scheme. The scheme was implemented in May to provide a major relief to defaulters who are otherwise supposed to pay 20 per cent penalty and 18 per cent interest on the outstanding principal amount of all previous fiscal years. Until now, the property tax wing of the Municipal Corporation has recovered Rs 12 crore 60 lakh. Last year, the recovery was more than Rs 7 crore. “This year, due to the scheme, several new people came and paid tax,” Superintendent Bhupinder Singh said. Tribune News Service For the dissemination of information regarding OTS scheme, the officials sent messages, played ads on the radio and used social media. “This year, we have received good response and we are hopeful that in the next 15 days, more people will come forward and pay the tax,” Bhupinder Singh said. The city has 1,85,000 taxable properties including commercial and residential ones. The recovery target for property tax is Rs 75 crore this year. It may be mentioned that if the tax is not paid, property tax wing officials of the MC also take action against the defaulters. Under the procedure of taking action against defaulters, the inspectors of property tax wing visit different areas to recover the tax. The defaulters who have not paid the tax are served a notice under Section 112 of the Municipal Corporation Act to which they have to file a reply within three days, failing which another notice of sealing the property is served under Section 138 of the Act.