22112025-JTR-01.qxd 11/21/2025 11:26 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune HOSHIARPUR WELCOMES HISTORIC NAGAR KIRTAN BIBI RAGHBIR KAUR: A TRAILBLAZER IN PUNJAB’S KIRTI MOVEMENT MISS MEXICO FATIMA BOSCH IS CROWNED MISS UNIVERSE To mark 350th martyrdom day, the first of four grand Nagar Kirtans , which began in Srinagar, reached Mukerian. P2 ‘Kirti Lehar Di Veerangana — Bibi Raghbir Kaur’, penned by Chiranji Lal Kangniwal, bears testimony to her courage. P3 Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch Fernandez of Mexico was crowned Miss Universe 2025 on Friday. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 24°C | MIN 11°C YESTERDAY MAX 24°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET SATURDAY 5.24 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6.54 AM » SATURDAY | 22 NOVEMBER 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. Govt puts up hoardings to mark martyrdom anniv Nagar Kirtan to enter city today; half-day in educational institutes INBRIEF TRUCK RAMS INTO TROLLEY, 1 DEAD Phagwara: A labourer lost his life after a high-speed truck rammed into a trolley loaded with potatoes on the GT Road late on Thursday night. According to initial information received, the trolley was carrying potatoes when it was struck from behind by the speeding truck, causing one labourer to fall off and die on the spot. The deceased has been identified as Gurmel Singh, a resident of Husnar village in Punjab’s Mohanpura area. One witness told police that the truck approached at high speed, hitting the rear trolley with force and dragging it for several metres. Police said the truck driver fled after the collision. Investigations are underway. — OC Almost all highways and arterial roads in Jalandhar have been covered with government hoardings on programmes being organised on the occasion of 350th martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Tribune News Service MINOR GIRL, ITI STUDENT, MISSING Phagwara: A complaint has been registered at Subhanpur police station after a minor girl from Hameera village allegedly went missing and is suspected to have been taken away by a youth from Badshahpur on the pretext of marriage. According to the statement recorded by Teerath Singh, a resident of Hameera, his youngest minor daughter, a student of an ITI course in Kirawala, Kapurthala, left home for her regular classes but did not return by evening, raising concern within the family. The complainant alleged that Gurvinder Singh, a resident of Badshahpur, lured his daughter with a false promise of marriage and took her along with him. Acting on the complaint, police have registered a case. —- OC Jalandhar, November 21 As the Nagar Kirtan to mark the 350th martyrdom day of Guru Tegh Bahadur will take a round of the city on Saturday, hundreds of hoardings regarding the event have been put up by the state government along all the highways and the arterial roads of the city. There is a hoarding at a distance of almost every 8-10 feet. Every electricity pole along the flyovers, intersections and dividers in the middle of the road has a hoarding informing the commuters about the programme being held at Anandpur Sahib from Ex-Block Samiti chief booked Our Correspondent PISTOL & BULLETS SEIZED, 3 HELD Hoshiarpur: Following a tip-off, the Dasuya police arrested three accused and recovered an illegal pistol and three live cartridges from them. According to the police, a tipoff was received that some people were planning to commit a crime on Mandi Road, Dasuya, and they were also in possession of weapons. Police said that the three accused were arrested and an illegal pistol and three live cartridges were recovered from them. —- OC GHERAO OF CM’S RESIDENCE Hoshiarpur: The Punjab BJP Mahila Morcha plans to gherao CM Bhagwant Mann’s residence to protest against the atrocities against women and false promises made to them. Before coming to power, the AAP had promised to provide Rs 1,000 per month to women in Punjab, a promise that has remained unfulfilled. According to the Punjab BJP Mahila Morcha, women from Hoshiarpur will also travel to Chandigarh to demand an account of every penny from CM Mann. State secretary of the Morcha, Meenu Sethi, said people are aware of how the state government has been ‘insulting’ women. — OC Phagwara, November 21 Sadar police, Phagwara, registered a cross-case against senior Congress leader and former Chairman of Block Samiti, Phagwara, Gurdial Singh Bhullarai. According to information received, Gurdial Singh was involved in a dispute over the grazing of cattle belonging to the Gujjar community in the village. This was opposed by others in the village who filed a case. The police filed a cross-case against Gurdial Singh and the matter is under investigation by the police. November 23 to 25. The hoarding has the picture of the Guru and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann with folded hands. The Public Relations Department of the state government in all the districts across the state is learnt to have worked for several days to ensure that the hoardings are put up in the desired pattern to ensure maximum visibility to the commuters. The Nagar Kirtan, which had entered Kapurthala from Goindwal side this evening, is expected to reach Jalandhar city late on Friday. The earmarked route for Friday is via Kartarpur, Verka Milk Plant, New Vegetable Market, Workshop Chowk and Kapurthala Chowk. The procession will halt in the night at Gurdwara Dera Santgarh Sahib. On Saturday morning, it will pass through Kapurthala Chowk, Patel Chowk, Basti Adda Chowk, Bhagwan Valmik Chowk, Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk and then at Guru Nanak Mission Chowk where a Guard of Honour will be given. Then on, it will proceed towards BMC Chowk, Ladowali Road, BSF Chowk, PAP Chowk, Rama Mandi Chowk and then Haveli. In view of the Nagar Kirtan, the district administration has announced half day in all the educational institutes of the city till 12 noon. Since it is Saturday tomorrow, most schools including St Joseph's Convent School and Cambridge Innovative School have decided to keep the campuses closed for full day. "It won't be easy to start the school at noon time. We do not want our buses and our children to get caught up in bad traffic anywhere on the route. Even the Nagar Kirtan could be running a little late behind schedule. We do not want everyone to remain in confusion tomorrow and hence keeping full day off was more advisable," said the principal of a private school. Youth fires at brother-in-law after dispute over drug booty Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 21 A firing incident took place at Guru Diwan Nagar near Garha locality late last evening in which a youth was said to have been injured. Both the assailant and the victim, who are brothers-inlaw, are learnt to have fought over the drug booty, and fled right after the incident. The accused, Shyam, reportedly fired two shots, one of which was in the air while the other bullet hit Amarjit in his hand. By the time, the police from Divi- sion No. 7 reached the spot, both the accused had already escaped. The police investigated the spot based on CCTV footage, blood stains and other evidence. The forensic team also arrived to collect samples. Residents of the locality said the twosome had been fighting over drugs worth Rs 3 lakh snatched from him. While they were in arguments with one another, Shyam fired at his brother-in-law. Fearing that the police would reach anytime, both of them fled from the spot. SHO, Division No. 7, Balwinder Singh said no bullet shell had been found from the spot and they were looking for both the accused and the victim. "We can ascertain the drug angle after the investigations reach a conclusion," he said. The police are learnt to have rounded up two youth in this connection. MC suspends sanitary inspector for serious lapses Ashok Kaura Phagwara, November 21 The Municipal Corporation suspended sanitary inspector Hitesh Sharma after an inquiry confirmed that an unclaimed body had been transported to the cremation ground in a municipal garbage-collection vehicle, in violation of established protocol. Officials said the action was taken after the disturbing incident came to light through visuals showing the sanitation staff loading the unidentified corpse into the waste carrier, sparking outrage among residents and rights groups over the dignity of the deceased. The preliminary investigation found that despite the availability of authorised vehicles for handling unclaimed bodies, the garbage-collection van was used without any official approval. The probe also concluded that Sharma failed to inform senior authorities and allegedly attempted to conceal the matter, rather than escalating it as required. Family blocks road after youth’s suicide Jalandhar, November 21 Following the death of a youth by suicide in the Bhargo Camp area, his family blocked the Jalandhar-Nakodar highway this afternoon seeking immediate arrest of the accused for mental harassment. Anjali, mother of victim Amandeep, alleged that her son was in love with a girl. She said that both of them had got engaged two years ago and it had been decided that the marriage would be solemnised after three years. Amandeep’s family alleged that the girl had stopped talking to him about 20 days ago. He learnt that the girl wanted to marry another youth from abroad hoping for a brighter future. Amandeep reportedly felt offended at this and gave up ending his own life. Among the accused in the case is also the husband of an MC councillor. The family alleged that the accused were getting protection from the police. SHO, Bhargo Camp, Mohan Lal said the accused were on the run and would be nabbed soon. — TNS Health Dept asks men to aid in family planning efforts RENEWED FOCUS Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 21 With the aim of controlling the continuously increasing population, the Health Department has organised a programme under the theme, “Healthy and Happy Family, This Dream Will Come True Only with the Participation of Men”. A campaign is being run to make people aware of family planning. In this regard, Civil Surgeon Dr Rajesh Garg held a special meeting with the District Programme Officers on Friday and gave the necessary guidelines. The Civil Surgeon said that to increase the participation of men in family planning, a sterilisation fortnight is being celebrated from November 21. This fortnight has been divided into two parts. In the first part, from November 21 to November 27, public awareness will be created and in the second part, from November 28 to December 4, sterilisation operations will be performed. Civil Surgeon Dr Rajesh Garg said that family planning can increase happiness in households because if there is no gap of at least three years between the births of children, then it has a negative impact on the health of women, and at the same time, the children cannot be nurtured properly. In view of this, a gap of three years should be kept between children and permanent means of family planning should be adopted after two children. He appealed to the people to get information c m y b about permanent and temporary means of family planning from government hospitals or health workers and take advantage of them. District Family Welfare Officer Dr Raman Gupta, while giving information about the sterilisation fortnight, said due to the government campaign, people have become aware of family planning, but it is still considered to be the responsibility of women. That is why, the government is celebrating a special sterilisation fortnight, so that men also con- tribute their share in it. In the first week of the fortnight from November 21 tp 27, health workers in the district are going among the people and motivating them to adopt permanent methods of family planning. After this, family planning services will be provided from November 28 to December 4. He said to mark the beginning of the sterilisation fortnight, a special family planning camp was organised at CHC, Kartarpur, today, in which 15 surgeries were performed. Unclaimed body in garbage vehicle Municipal Commissioner Dr Akshita Gupta. FILE PHOTO Following the suspension order, senior officials from the Municipal Corporation and the Health Department have been tasked with conducting a comprehensive investigation to identify additional lapses and recommend corrective measures. The episode has raised concerns over accountability within civic services, prompting calls for strict enforcement of protocol to ensure that similar incidents are not repeated. Youth’s body found in fields, police suspect murder Our Correspondent Phagwara,November 21 Panic spread in Dhilwan area after the body of a young man was found in agricultural fields near village Miani Bakarpur, close to Dhilwan town in Kapurthala district, on Friday morning. A motorcycle belonging to the deceased was also recovered lying nearby. DSP Bhulath, Karnail , Singh and Dhilwan police reached the spot and took the body into custody. It was later shifted to the mortuary at the Civil Hospital for postmortem examination. A dog squad has also been deployed to assist in the investigation. The deceased has been identified as Harvinder Singh, alias Lalu (35), son of Balwant Singh, a resident of village Miani Bakarpur. According to police officials, Harvinder Singh had left home on his motorcycle on Thursday evening, but did not return during the night. On Friday morning, villagers spotted his body in the fields. DSP Karnail Singh confirmed that the case appears to be a planned murder. He said an FIR was being registered and a probe was on. Co-op Bank revives loan facility for farmers after 3.5 yrs Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 21 Almost four years after the then Congress government had announced to waive the loan of all farmers and cooperative banks across the state had suffered massive losses, the credit facility has once again been revived in the Punjab State Cooperative Agriculture Development Bank (SCADB). Chairman, Punjab Agriculture Development Bank, Pawan Kumar Tinu on Thursday launched a loan disbursal programme by handing over cheques worth Rs 1 crore to 24 farmers from various districts. The event was held at the Agriculture Staff Training Institute and marked the official relaunch of the bank's long-halted loan facility. Addressing the gathering, Tinu said it was a "matter of pride" that the pro-farmer institution had resumed operations after years of stagnation. He said the Punjab State Cooperative Agricultural Development Bank, which had been offering simpleinterest loans since 1957, saw its services paused due to "ignorance of previous governments." The Chairman highlighted that the revival became possible only after the Punjab government infused over Rs 900 crore in 2022, giving the bank "a new lease of life". Tinu was accompanied by District Planning Committee Chairman Amritpal Singh and Chairman, Jalandhar Improvement Trust, Ramneek Singh Randhawa, during the distribution of cheques to the beneficiaries. He also said that the bank will offer loans under various sectors including farming, non-farming, education and its employees. He emphasised that the relaunched loan facility would significantly support farmers, enabling them to access credit at some of the lowest interest rates compared to the broader banking sector. Expressing gratitude to the Punjab CM, Tinu said the government had consistently prioritised farmers' welfare, citing the recent rapid disbursement of crop-loss compensation as another milestone. He added that the renewed credit initiative would help empower Punjab’s agricultural community and boost rural economic growth. Chairman, Punjab Agriculture Development Bank, Pawan Kumar Tinu, handed over cheques worth Rs one crore to 24 farmers from various districts of Punjab in Jalandhar. PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH