31012026-LT-01.qxd 1/31/2026 12:51 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune 3 COPS AMONG 7 BOOKED FOR THRASHING CAB DRIVER CENTRE WILL HAVE TO BOW, REINSTATE MGNREGA: BAGHEL Members of taxi unions, Sikh outfits block traffic, alleging the suspects thrashed taxi driver. P2 Former Chhattisgarh CM addresses Congress rallies at Mullanpur Dakha and Raikot. P2 » G KHAN, SABBA & JASMINE AKHTAR SET STAGE ON FIRE PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 20°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 18°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET SATURDAY 5.57 PM The concert highlighted the growing relevance of art and culture in campus life. P3 » FORECAST SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:14 AM » SATURDAY | 31 JANUARY 2026 | LUDHIANA Construct foot overbridge to decongest road near bus station: CP to civic body Move will also save pedestrians from mishaps; many accidents reported on stretch in past said the foot overbridge was the need of hour. During heavy traffic, they have to cross the road and put their lives at risk. The authorities should approve the FOB soon to promote road safety and prevent accidents. Even shopkeepers near the bus stand also demanded that it should be constructed as soon as possible. Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 30 To decongest traffic and improve road safety near the Inter State Bus Terminal (ISBT) here, the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate has written to the Municipal Corporation asking it to build a foot overbridge (FOB) for the convenience of residents. Besides traffic problems faced by the people at the point, other purpose of the initiative was to save pedestrians from roadside accidents as they endanger their lives by crossing the road. Several accidents also reported in the past near the bus stand, on the stretch from Bharat Nagar Chowk to the bus stand, in which pedestrians were either hit by two-wheelers or cars while they were trying to cross the same illegally. Since the bus stand has a huge footfall of passengers, people, instead of choosing a proper route, usually cross the road divider near the bus stand, putting their lives in danger. It has 26 dark zones lit up for public safety in 2025 Traffic congestion near the bus station in Ludhiana on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN raised road safety concerns. Speed of the traffic also gets slow down due to the same. Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma after getting feedback from lower rung officials called the staff concerned of the Commissionerate and drafted a letter. The letter was recently sent to the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, urging him for the construction of a foot overbridge. Confirming to The Tribune, the CP said the letter was already sent to the corporation to seek construction of the FOB near the bus stand. The overbridge FOB would serve a dual purpose. First, it would give safe passage to pedestrians and prevent accidents, and the other, it would also decongest the road. “Like other road safety initiatives taken by the Police Commissionerate, it is also another such initiative for the safety of the people and to prevent accidents on the road. Though our traffic police personnel remain deployed near the bus stand to man traffic and stop pedestrians from crossing the road, the people risk their lives by crossing it illegally,” Sharma said. Residents too pitch for FOB During an interaction with passengers at the bus stand, they In August last year, the initiative of Ludhiana Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma had yielded fruit as on his recommendations, as many as 26 high-mast lights had been installed in the designated 26 dark zones. The zones were identified by the police after holding deliberations with police station heads, representatives of society and other sections of people. The CP had then written a letter to the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT), seeking immediate installation of the lights and agreeing to his suggestion, the lights had been installed. Mayor reviews canal-based water supply project in city Ludhiana, January 30 Mayor Inderjit Kaur reviewed the progress under the World Bank and AIIB-funded canalbased water supply project during a meeting held at the MC’s Zone D office in Sarabha Nagar on Friday. 22% progress achieved in 11 months; complete works on time, officials told The project has achieved 22 per cent physical progress only within first 11 months after it commenced on February 25, 2025. The Mayor directed officials to further expedite works and complete the project within the stipulated time period. Joint Commissioner Vineet Kumar, SE Harpreet Singh, SE Sham Lal Gupta, SE Parul Goyal, Executive Engineer Balwinder Singh, project manager Amit Singh, assistant general managers Deepak Sharma and Manish Malik and senior manager Paramjit Singh were among other officials of the MC B&R branch, O&M cell and Ludhiana Urban Water and Wastewater Management Limited who were present. For ensuring safety of residents, the Mayor directed the Mayor Inderjit Kaur addresses a meeting in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN officials to repair roads, which had been dug up to install water supply lines under the project, at the earliest. The Mayor said the officials concerned had been directed to ensure that the roads should be made motorable within 20 days and repair works should be conducted as soon as the weather conditions become favourable. In future too, it should be ensured that the dug-up roads should be repaired at the earliest so that residents should not face any trouble. The Mayor also reviewed the ongoing works to establish overhead water reservoirs in different parts of the city and a world class water treatment plant (WTP) at Bilga village, near Sahnewal. Necessary directions were issued to expedite works. She said fortnightly review meetings would be held to ensure that the project was completed within the stipulated time period. The canal-based water supply project — a flagship initiative of the state government — is being implemented by the Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana with technical support from the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC). It is jointly financed by the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The first phase of the project has a budget of Rs 1,305 crore (civil cost). The deadline for the first phase of the project is February 2028. — TNS Pastor nabbed for keeping 150 addicts rescued during raid Two PHSC officials girl captive for three weeks on four illegal de-addiction centres caught red-handed accepting bribe Mahesh Sharma Khanna, January 30 The Khanna police have initiated a probe into an incident in which a ‘pastor’ had allegedly kept a 21-year-old girl of the Kartar Nagar area in illegal detention at an undisclosed location for over three weeks. The prime suspect, identified as Chaman Lal Masih, was arrested after the girl was rescued by social activists, led by Nihang Singh, of Tarnadal on Thursday night. Khanna DSP Vinod Kumar said a probe had been initiated to ascertain the sequence of events leading to alleged illegal detention and harassment suffered by the girl of a Christian family, led by Sat Pal Masih of Kartar Nagar. He said the pastor was arrested following registration of an FIR against him on the statement of Sat Pal. Sat Pal alleged that Chaman Lal had taken his daughter to an undisclosed place in Machhi- The victim meets her family in Khanna. wara on the pretext of attending satsang on January 7 and had kept her in illegal detention for about three weeks. Though the victim’s family had been trying to use its clout for the release of the victim, nothing concrete occurred till social activists, led by Nihang Paramjit Singh Khalsa Tarnadal, used mild force to get her released on Thursday. A video regarding allegations levelled by the victim’s family and claims and warnings made by the Nihang leader was being circulated on social media late on Thursday evening, following which the Khanna police cleared that a probe had been initiated into a sequence of events leading to the illegal detention of the girl. Khanna, January 30 At least 150 inmates of illegal deaddiction centres of the district were rescued during a crackdown on Friday against four of the unauthorised centres. Illegal activities of the centres were ascertained during interrogation of over 100 criminals nabbed during the threeday state-level operation against gangsters recently. The raided centres included those situated on the outskirts of Khanna, Ghungrali Rajputan, Gobindpura and Karamsar villages. Khanna SSP Darpan Ahluwalia said the police had initiated action against owners and managers of at least four establishments which were exploiting youths who had fallen prey to drug abuse. The owners, yet to be identified, were found to have detained inmates illegally on the pretext of de-addiction and extorted huge amounts from their parents in the name of expenses to be incurred on their boarding Mahesh Sharma Cops during a raid at an illegal de-addiction centre on Friday. lodging and medicines. “Having confirmed unlawful nature of their activities, we have advised to initiate legal against the owners and managers of the centres as none of them could show permission or licence to run the same,” said Ahluwalia, maintaining that competent health officials had accompanied the raiding team during the action in which 150 victims were rescued. The rescued youths would be shifted to government deaddiction wings of Civil Hospitals or other authorised centres. She said unauthorised deaddiction centres had also emerged as a safe haven for miscreants as the rescued youths included some criminals. Members of the raiding teams interacted with some inmates with an intent to inquire about facilities being provided by the owners and the treatment given to them. Preliminary probe revealed that the inmates were not living a dignified life inside the centres, exhibiting unhygienic conditions. “While no doctor ever visited to examine us, we have been given only two meals which are far from being nutritious,” most of the inmates said. — OC Jagraon, January 30 The economic offences wing (EOW) of the Vigilance Bureau has arrested two officials of the Punjab Health systems Corporation (PHSC), including an SMO, for allegedly accepting a bribe on the pretext of ‘share in audit expenses’ at the Civil Hospital, Sidhwan Bet. The suspects were identified as SMO, Sidhwan Bet, Harkirat Gill, and senior assistant Satwinder Singh. DSP Inderpal Singh and inspector Yogesh Kumar led the raiding team. Preliminary investigation revealed that the SMO had allegedly been exploiting staff posted at various healthcare centres on the pretext of clearing their documents. Mandeep Singh, posted at Barsal Dispensary, falling under Sidhwan Bet, had informed the Vigilance Bureau through an AAP leader that SMO Harkirat Gill had demanded and accepted Rs 4,000 from him. He alleged that the suspect had demanded and received amounts between Rs 2,500 and Rs 6,000 from about 50 contract-based employees posted at various dispensaries under her jurisdiction. EOW officials laid a trap at the Civil Hospital on Friday and arrested Harkirat Gill and her assistant Satwinder Singh red-handed after she accepted chemically treated currency notes worth Rs 32,000 from Satwinder. A spokesman for the department said the total amount of Rs 1,04,500 was recovered from a purse belonging to the SMO and another amount of Rs 1,07,000 was recovered from pockets of the senior assistant. Site to build school for underprivileged kids finally cleared of cow dung Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 30 In a ray of hope for hundreds of students deprived of education due to lack of resources, a 4,400-sq yard parcel of land on Tajpur Road, which earlier turned into a cow dung dumping site, has finally been vacated. The original proposal to construct a government school on the land will now be implemented. Confirming this, Mayor of the Ludhiana MC Inderjit Kaur said the land was earmarked exclusively for a school and tenders had already been floated. “The school will be up to Class V, for which construction will be started soon,” she added. An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said the site had always been designated for a school but the presence of overhead high-tension wires had posed hurdles. “After evaluating all pros and cons, the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) was requested to provide the adjoining land meant for a petrol pump so that it could be included in the project. The LIT has agreed to transfer that land for the school, enabling construction of a proper facility for the poor and needy,” the leader said, requesting anonymity. During the Congress regime, the LIT had allotted the land for a government school in Ludhiana East on Tajpur Road. However, after BEFORE AFTER The plot where cow dung was dumped in the past; and (right) after it was vacated to start construction of school in Ludhiana. INDERJEET VERMA the AAP government came to power, the site was allegedly converted into a massive cow dung dumping ground. The land, leased at Re 1 per sq yard per month, c m y b was intended to facilitate the Right to Education for children from underprivi- leged families. A boundary wall had been constructed and school plans sanctioned. Residents of nearby colonies, including Preet Nagar, EWS Colony, Bhola Colony, Bhamiyan and Dhanansu, had pinned hopes on the project for quality education. Instead, heaps of cow dung, up to three feet deep, covered the site for several months. Expressing satisfaction over the recent development, former Congress MLA from Ludhiana East Sanjay Talwar told The Tribune: “The entire belt houses nearly two lakh people, most of them from modest backgrounds. After sustained efforts, we got the land allotted for a school and even used LIT funds to construct the boundary wall. It was sheer negligence that the land was lat- er converted into a cow dung dump.” With several dairies operating along Tajpur Road, the dumping continued allegedly under the nose of the MC authorities and the area MLA. In August 2025, the issue was highlighted in these columns. During monsoon, the situation worsened as rainwater mixed with cow dung spread across the area, causing severe inconvenience to residents and traders. With the land now cleared, hopes have been rekindled among residents that a school will finally come up, ensuring the Right to Education for hundreds of deprived children in the area.