23092025-JTR-01.qxd 22-09-2025 23:20 Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune MP, MLA INAUGURATE HOSHIARPUR RING ROAD RENOVATION ONCE TORCHBEARERS, AIDED SCHOOLS STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL PANKAJ KAPUR TO BE SEEN IN HARRY BHATTI’S RAAVI DE KANDE MP Chabbewal called the inauguration on Navratri’s first day an auspicious beginning. P2 Teachers have gone without salaries for up to six months, following the govt’s failure to release grants. P3 Three decades after Marhi da Diva, acting powerhouse Pankaj Kapur makes a comeback to Punjabi cinema. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.18 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:12 AM TUESDAY | 23 SEPTEMBER 2025 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. INBRIEF MAN, WIFE GET LIFE TERM FOR KILLING MOTHER Jalandhar: The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Vishesh Kamboj has sentenced a man and his wife to rigorous life imprisonment for killing their mother with sharp-edged weapons four years ago in Nurmahal. The court had on September 17 pronounced Gagandeep alias Gaggi and his wife Gurpreet Kaur of Mohalla Ravidasspura, guilty of killing their mother Vidya (52), but the quantum of punishment was declared on Monday. The convicts sought leniency saying that they had two children, aged seven and five years, and there was no one to take care of them. They also pleaded that Gagandeep was the sole breadwinner of the family but the prosecution sought that they be dealt with strictly as they had murdered their mother. Both were convicted under Section 302 of the IPC and sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment. Both have been asked to deposit a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each, and in case of default, they shall have to undergo six months of rigorous imprisonment. SHO Gurindarjit Singh Nagra had arrested the couple from their house with sharp weapons. They had confessed to their crime before the police too. — TNS AUCTION OF REST-HOUSE Phagwara: A local court has ordered the auction of Phagwara’s government rest-house after authorities failed to release compensation for land acquired nearly 23 years ago for the construction of the Mehli-Mehta bypass. The case pertains to the land of late Surinder Singh Walia of Kupur village, who was entitled to a compensation of Rs 35 lakh. However, the government failed to disburse the amount despite repeated directions. Following his death in 2020, the matter has been pursued by his heirs. The Additional Sessions Judge has now directed that the government rest-house be attached and auctioned to recover the compensation. The next hearing is on September 30. — OC THREE HURT IN UCHA PIND CLASH Phagwara: Three people were injured in a clash between two groups in Ucha Pind. The injured were admitted to the Civil Hospital, and one of them, was referred to Jalandhar for further treatment in a serious condition. According to hospital sources, the injured— Varinder Singh and Jimmy— said they were having their meals when members of the rival group arrived and attacked them with sharp weapons. The incident is reportedly linked to a longstanding feud between the two groups. — OC Police conduct cordon and search operation, register 7 FIRs Festive fervour Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 22 A Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) was carried out along with Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Sharma, ADCP-1 Akarshi Jain, ADCP-2 Harinder Singh Gill and other senior police officers at various locations across the city. More than 130 police personnel were deployed for this operation by Commissioner of Police Dhanpreet Kaur to cover 13 identified hot spots, including the railway station, Ali Mohalla, Indira Colony, Bhargo Camp, Basti Sheikh, and others. Each hot spot was supervised by officers of an ADCP/ACP rank to ensure effective monitoring and coordination. During the operation, thor- Cops conduct a CASO operation in Jalandhar on Monday. ough checking of suspected persons, their houses, vehicles and nearby areas was carried out to curb illegal activities. The Jalandhar Police Commissioner informed that as a result of CASO, the police recovered 32.2 grams of heroin, 13,500ml of illicit liquor and two motorcycles. A total of seven accused were arrested, and seven FIRs were registered at different police stations in the city. In addition, local residents were also questioned to gather intelligence regarding drug peddlers nearby or other suspicious activities in the area. The decked up Devi Talab Mandir during Navratri celebrations in Jalandhar on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARBJIT SINGH Work begins to remove sand, silt from inundated farms AFTER THE FLOODS Tribune News Service Farmers have begun clearing their flood-affected fields of silt and sand in Sultanpur Lodhi. Sultanpur Lodhi, Sept 22 The people of Punjab have begun tackling the challenge posed by the devastation caused by the floods. More than 25 tractors started the work of removing sand and silt from the fields of flood-affected farmers of Baupur Mand villages in Sultanpur Lodhi which had got hit by floods on August 11. The initiative is being led by Rajya Sabha member Balbir Singh Seechewal, who him- self drove a tractor for several hours to symbolically launch the effort. Most farmers in the Baupur Mand region are small and marginal, owning between two to five acres of land. Many others had sown crops on leased land, which were completely destroyed by the floods. Along with the widespread destruction of crops, a thick layer of silt and sand had settled across the fields. To restore the land to cultivable condition, a large number of youth have come from distant areas to help the affected farmers. Among Floods make performing last rites an ordeal for family Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 22 As floods devastated fields and homes across several villages in Sultanpur Lodhi, leaving behind a trail of destruction and despair, one of the most emotional stories has emerged from Sangra village. The Tribune recently highlighted how when farmer Satnam Singh’s mother, Gurnam Kaur, passed away on September 17, the family had no choice but to cremate her in the courtyard of their home — the village cremation ground was completely submerged. Even now, with the area still waterlogged and roads inaccessible, relatives are unable to visit. As a result, the Antim Ardas and Kirtan will be held on September 26, from 12 pm to 2 pm, at Gurdwara Dera Sant Seechewal, Sultanpur Lodhi. The family will perform the bhog at home, while the ardas will be held at the gurdwara to accommodate relatives. Member of Parliament Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, who visited the family upon learning of their ordeal, expressed his sympathy “The family will do bhog in their house, and for antim ardas, relatives will be called to the gurdwara, where they will be served.” The family’s grief is compounded by the loss of their crops. Satnam Singh lost his entire paddy crop to the floods. On the day Gurnam Kaur passed away, her health had deteriorated rapidly. She was taken to the hospital by boat, but tragically passed away the same day. Bringing her body back was another challenge — the family returned at 10 pm that night, again by boat. With the cremation ground inaccessible, the family gathered dry wood from a sawmill in Sultanpur Lodhi, transported by boat, to perform the final rites in their courtyard on September 18. Many relatives were unable to attend due to the flooding; some made it through the water, while others could not. Emotional toll is deep “Every day they step into that courtyard, they’ll be reminded that their mother was cremated there,” Nambardar Kuldeep Sangra said. Village Sarpanch Gurjit Kaur Sangra recently said, “The decision to cremate at home was taken collectively. The cremation ground is still under water. Given the circumstances, the villagers came together and supported the family.” 20 NIT faculty among world’s top 2% scientists Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 22 Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology has brought laurels at the global level as 20 of its faculty members have featured in the top two per cent scientists of the world. The list includes its Director Prof BK Kanaujia and has been compiled by Stanford University in collaboration with Elsevier, which is considered one of the most credible assessments of scientific research impact worldwide. It evaluates scientists across 22 broad fields and 174 subfields using a composite indicator that accounts for research productivity, citations, H-index, co-authorship and author position. NIT Jalandhar scientists have earned global fame. Scientists are recognised both for career-long impact and for contributions in the most recent year. The recognition underscores NIT’s academic and research growth across key areas, including engineering, technology, applied sciences, biotechnology, environmental sciences and material sci- ence. Other than Prof Kanaujia, the faculty members who have been recognised in this global ranking are Prof Balwinder Raj, Prof Vishal S Sharma, Prof Balbir Singh Kaith, Prof Mahendra Kumar, Prof JN Chakraborty, Dr Samayveer Singh, Dr Mohit Kumar, Dr Amritpal Singh, Dr Satyender Singh, c m y b Dr Prangya Ranjan Rout, Dr Harpreet Singh, Dr Uma Shanker, Dr Ranchan Chauhan, Dr Pritam Kumar Dikshit, Dr Shivraj, Dr Afzal Sikander, Dr Karan Veer, Dr Arvinder Jeet Singh and Dr Vijay Rakesh Kumar. Congratulating the faculty, Prof BK Kanaujia said, “Such achievements inspire the entire institute to strive for excellence.” Registrar Prof Ajay Bansal congratulated all deans and faculty members. Meanwhile, the Department of Textile Technology of NIT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Trident Group, one of India’s leading textile conglomerates to foster strong industry-academia collaboration. The MoU was formally signed by Prof Nemai Chandra Ray, Functional Head – Fibre and Yarn Innovation, Trident Limited, in the presence of Prof Monica Sikka, Head, Dept of Textile Technology; Prof Ajay Bansal, Registrar and Dr MD Roy, Dean (Industry and International Affairs). From the Department of Textile Technology, Prof A. Mukhopadhyay, Prof Vinay Midha and Prof AK Choudhary were also present on the occasion. The collaboration aims to promote mutual academic interests between the Trident Group and NIT Jalandhar, support internship opportunities and the trained manpower needs of Trident, collaborate in development programmes, workshops, R&D projects and knowledge-sharing initiatives. them, 10 tractors have come from Ramgarh village near Nabha in Patiala district, with the young volunteers now working for the third consecutive day. Similarly, four tractors have arrived from Rahimpur village of Jalandhar, and another four were brought by a young volunteer named Jasvir Singh. The remaining tractors belong to nearby villages. The silt and sand removal work was launched on a war footing, with the extracted sand being used to strengthen the embankment. The temporary embankment around Baupur stretches up to nearly 32 kilometers. During the floods, it was breached at eight different points. As a result, crops across thousands of acres in 17 villages of the Mand area were completely destroyed. With community support, the first breach was repaired on the night of September 20. Work to repair the remaining seven breaches will begin soon. Expressing gratitude to all those who came forward to help, Seechewal said that people from far and wide have stood with the affected farmers. He added that the people of Punjab have always supported one another in times of hardship. DBA gives statewide call for ‘No-Work Day’ in courts Lawyers in Jalandhar observed ‘No-Work Day’ following allegations of extortion levelled by an advocate against a Canada-based gangster. TRIBUNE PHOTO Jalandhar, September 22 The District Bar Association (DBA) on Monday has given a call for observing a state-wide ‘No-Work Day’ by all Bar Associations of the Punjab and High Court Bar Association, Chandigarh, in support of an incident of harassment and intimidation of advocate Mandeep Singh Sachdev. Sachdev had on Thursday last alleged that he was getting messages allegedly from Canada-based extortionist Sandeep Singh Sunny, originally hailing from Nakodar here. To express solidarity with him, DBA president Aditya Jain said that any attempt to malign or endanger an advocate is an attack on the rule of law itself. Jain expressed satisfaction with the role of police stating that they have fully cooperated in the matter. “The alleged defamatory videos have been deleted, the YouTube channel of the extortionist had been blocked, appropriate provisions have been added in the FIR and investigation into the role of Sandeep Singh’s father was underway.” The DBA has requested every Bar Association to pass its resolution and independently submit a representation to the Chairman of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana and Punjab Chief Minister to press for the immediate enactment of the Advocates’ Protection Act. ‘No-Work Day’ was observed in the court even on Monday. Meanwhile, Sachdev has on Monday withdrawn his waqalatnama in the case of fatal accident of ex-MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee’s son Richie Kaypee. Both the ex-MP and his son have been members of the District Bar Association and a majority of the lawyers had declined to contest the case against Kaypee. Sachdev, however, had a defence counsel in the case for accused Gursharan Singh Prince, who is absconding for the past nine days. — TNS