29082026-JTR-01.qxd 8/28/2026 11:04 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune NHM EMPLOYEES TIE RAKHIS TO MINISTER BHAGAT WOMEN POETS ADD LITERARY TOUCH TO RAKSHA BANDHAN EVERY FILM REVEALS A NEW ME: SHARVARI Women NHM employees also submitted a memorandum addressed to Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh. P2 5-year-old Shireen recited a poem, bringing a touch of freshness to a session, dominated by senior members.P3 The celebrated actor talks about finding her groove with Main Vaapas Aaunga. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 27°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.55 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:02 AM » SATURDAY | 29 AUGUST 2026 | 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. Power cuts have residents sleepless on humid nights Outages reported in both rural and urban areas in Jalandhar Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service INBRIEF VEND SALESMAN LOOTED OF ~2,000 Phagwara: The Nurmahal police have booked two persons on the charge of looting a liquor vend salesman of Rs 2,000. Prem, a native of Jharkhand state and presently working at liquor vend at Rupewal village, complained to the police that he was sleeping in the vend on August 28 night when two persons with covered faces barged into the vend with a sharp-edged weapon and threatened him and took away Rs 2,000 from a coin box of the vend and his smart phone and noted his PayTM password and fled. OC MOGA MAN HELD FOR THEFT Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a man on the charge of stealing jewellery and other items from a house. The accused has been identified as Raghbir Singh of Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Bhatti Basti Dharamkot, Moga. Rajindar Singh of Bajwa Khurd village complained to the police that the accused and his accomplice barged into his house and stole gold jewellery, two photo cameras and other items. A case has been registered against the accused and Viki of Sant Nagar, Dharamkot, Moga. OC DAYLIGHT THEFT IN CHHAJJ COLONY Phagwara: A daylight theft was reported in Chhajj Colony here where unidentified persons allegedly entered a house and escaped with cash and gold jewellery, causing a loss reportedly running into lakhs of rupees. The incident took place at the residence of Sonu. The victim said the theft occurred on Thursday afternoon while he was away at work and his wife was sitting outside the house in the street. oc NINE BOOKED FOR ASSAULT Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have booked nine miscreants on the charge of outraging a woman’s modesty. The victim complained to the police that the accused barged into her house, assaulted, torn her clothes, ransacked the house and threatened her. OC VISA FRAUD: MAN DUPED OF ~35L Phagwara: The police have registered a case of alleged fraud involving nearly Rs 35 lakh on the pretext of sending a man abroad. A complaint was submitted by Bhupinder Singh of Fatehwad in Goindwal Sahib, Tarn Taran, against Singhara Singh of Triloki Mohalla, Kapurthala. oc BIKE STOLEN FROM PHAGWARA Phagwara: The police have registered a case after a motorcycle was stolen from Phagwara. Lakhwinder Singh of Mehliana, SBS Nagar, said his motorcycle’s registration number was PB78-B-7773. oc Jalandhar, August 28 After weeks of relatively stable power supply, prolonged outages have returned to parts of Jalandhar, with residents reporting electricity cuts lasting up to two or three hours at night, leaving them struggling to sleep in the humid weather. The cuts have been reported in both rural and urban areas of the district, with residents saying repeated outages during the evening and night hours have made the humid weather particularly difficult to endure. Families with children and elderly members have been especially affected, while those who have to report to work early next morning said the interruptions were leaving them sleep deprived and exhausted. With fans and coolers going off during the night, residents said even a few hours without power had become difficult to endure. Karnail Singh, a resident of Phillaur, said his area had been facing regular power cuts for the past week. “The cuts are being imposed between 9 pm and 10.30 pm and sometimes from 8 pm to 11 pm. It becomes extremely difficult to sleep without electricity in this humid weather,” he said. In parts of Adampur, residents faced a longer outage for nearly 15 hours. The power supply went off around 10 pm on Wednesday and was restored only around 2 pm on Thursday. Officials attributed the outage to a technical fault in an 11 kV feeder line, maintaining that it is separate from ongoing load shedding. The outages come as Punjab’s power demand surged to 3,609 lakh units on Thursday against available power of 3,513 lakh units, leaving a deficit of 96 lakh units. Officials said the shortfall had led to essential load shedding, under which supply to the selected feeders is temporarily curtailed to manage the gap between demand and available power. According to PSPCL data, 2,927 lakh units of the available power was purchased, while 217 lakh units came from the state’s thermal power plants, 158 lakh units from hydel projects, 142 lakh units from BBMB and 69 lakh units from independent power plants. PSPCL North Zone chief engineer Sarabjit Singh said, “Power cuts are being imposed across Punjab and are not just limited to Jalandhar. Essential load shedding is being carried out on selected feeders to manage the gap between demand and availability,” he said. K’thala shopkeeper loses ~46,000 in online fraud Our Correspondent Phagwara, August 28 A hardware shopkeeper from Kala Sanghian in Kapurthala allegedly lost around Rs 46,000 in a cyber fraud incident. The victim, Gurdaur Singh Bassan, claimed that the money was withdrawn without him receiving any OTP or transaction-related verification message. According to Gurdaur Singh, he was using Facebook on his mobile phone when an option related to updating the phone appeared on the screen. He said he did not act on it immediately and kept the phone aside. After some time, he noticed that the mobile screen had turned black. He said he initially did not consider the incident serious. However, a few hours later, when he attempted to transfer money through Google Pay, he discovered that around Rs 46,000 had been withdrawn from his bank account. He claimed that almost his entire bank balance was withdrawn, leaving only a few rupees in the account. Gurdaur Singh subsequently lodged an online complaint and also approached the Cyber Crime Cell in Kapurthala. However, he said despite reporting the matter, the money had not yet been recovered and he had not received any relief. The victim has raised concerns over the security of digital banking, particularly his claim that the transactions were carried out without an OTP being received on his phone. He said with more people depending on bank accounts and digital payment platforms, incidents of this nature are particularly alarming. Gurdaur Singh said he also contacted the Canara Bank branch concerned regarding the transactions. He was reportedly informed that the account to which the money had been transferred was in the name of Arnav Sharma, son of Vivekanand Sharma. However, he said the bank was unable to provide him with the person’s complete address as the transactions had been made through Google Pay. The incident has caused concerns among shopkeepers in the Kala Sanghian area, who have urged the police and Cyber Crime Cell to investigate the matter thoroughly, trace the suspected fraudsters and take effective steps to recover the victim’s money PUDA, JDA told to refund ~30 lakh to plot buyer over undeveloped colony Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 28 The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jalandhar, has directed the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) and Jalandhar Development Authority (JDA) to refund Rs 30.06 lakh to a plot buyer with 9 per cent annual interest after finding that a residential colony near Army Cantonment in Kapurthala had not been properly developed despite the allottee having paid the entire plot price. The commission also set aside the non-construction and extension charges imposed on the allottee and directed the authorities to pay Rs 30,000 as compensa- PM, Harbhajan encourage youth to excel in sports NIT students connect with Modi during Khelo India outreach Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 28 The Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar, hosted ‘Khelo India Samvaad – Khel Ki Baat, PM Ke Saath’ on Thursday. The programme brought together students and young participants to promote sports, fitness, discipline, teamwork and a strong sporting culture among the youth. A major highlight of the programme was the virtual interaction of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the youth, including students of the NIT-Jalandhar. The Prime Minister emphasised the importance of sports and fitness in the holistic development of the youth and encouraged them to actively participate in sporting activities, nurture their talent and contribute towards building a stronger sporting ecosystem for the nation. The interaction also reinforced the importance of youth participation in shaping India’s sporting journey and aspirations for future international sporting achievements. Harbhajan Singh, former Indian international cricketer, was present on the occasion as the Chief Guest. Interacting with the stu- dents, Harbhajan shared his sporting journey and encouraged the youth to participate actively in sports, pursue their dreams with dedication and remain committed to fitness and discipline. He stressed that sporting success requires hard work, perseverance, self-belief and consistency, and inspired students to give their best not only in sports, but also in their academic and professional pursuits. His presence provided a valuable opportunity for students to interact with and draw inspiration from a celebrated sportsperson, who had represented India at the highest level. The programme also featured Manya Ralhan, accomplished international badminton player and promising young sporting talent, whose presence motivated students to pursue sports with commitment and ambition. Prof Binod Kumar Kanaujia, Director, NIT Jalandhar, highlighted the vital role of sports and physical fitness in overall development. The programme was attended by Prof Anish Sachdeva, Registrar; Prof Shailender Bajpai, Prof Subhash Chander and Prof Ajay Bansal, Dean, Neha Sharma, District Youth Officer, etc. tion for mental agony and harassment and Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses. The order was passed on a complaint filed by Anupreet Singh of Gurdaspur, who was allotted a 200 square yards plot in 2013 for a tentative price of Rs 25 lakh. According to the order, he had deposited Rs 30,06,250 towards the sale consideration and applicable Man hangs himself in Phagwara interest. Singh alleged that even after waiting for years, the colony was not properly developed and lacked basic facilities, including roads, sewerage, water supply and electricity. He said despite having paid the plot price, he could not construct a house on the site. The authorities subsequently raised non-construction charges against him for failing to complete construction within the stipulated period. The opposite parties denied the allegations and maintained that the development works had been completed. They argued that Singh was required to take possession within 90 days and complete construction within the prescribed period and was, there- fore, liable to pay the extension charges. The commission, however, found the authorities’ claim regarding the development of the colony unreliable. The commission further noted that the photographs taken in 2021 showed incomplete roads, overgrown wild grass, undemarcated plots, encroachments and high ten- sion electricity wires crossing over the plots. It also noted that the tubewell and park had not been developed, making it unfit for habitation. The commission held that when the site was undeveloped, the allottee could not be penalised for failing to construct a house. It, therefore, set aside the demand for nonconstruction charges. Father gives up life in Canada to support javelin thrower youth Our Correspondent Returns to Jalandhar to help Arshdeep focus on training, chase sporting glory Phagwara, August 28 A man allegedly died by hanging himself at his residence in New Model Town here on Friday morning. The deceased has been identified as Vishal Sharma, a resident of New Model Town in Phagwara. The incident came to light when Vishal’s son entered the room to check on his father and found him hanging. The matter was subsequently reported to the police. Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Family dispute likely reason behind extreme step Talking to the media, Rahul Sharma, brother of the deceased, said Vishal had been married since 2006-07 and that a marital dispute had been going on between him and his wife. He said family members had made several efforts to resolve the differences, but the dispute could not be settled. Rahul stated that the family suspected the marital dispute may have contributed to Vishal taking the extreme step. SP Major Singh told this correspondent that police personnel reached the spot after being informed and initiated an investigation. The body was sent to the Civil Hospital, Phagwara. Police investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death is underway and further developments are awaited. c m y b Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 28 Jalandhar’s javelin thrower Arshdeep Singh, who is set to compete in the Athletics Final Series 2026, carries with him a story of his family’s support. His journey is incomplete without his father who gave up a settled life in Canada to ensure that his son could pursue his dream here without compromise. Arshdeep, who is serving as a senior CCTC in the Railways, is training intensely in Jalandhar for the upcoming event that will be held in New Delhi on September 10. His father accompanies him to practice daily twice a day in the morning and evening for five hours. Arshdeep’s parents Hardeep Singh and Lakhwinder Kaur had been settled in Canada since 2017 and held permanent residency. But around 4 years ago, they decided to return to India after realising that their son was finding it difficult to manage his training, work and the strict diet required for high-level athletics. “My parents asked me if I wanted to settle in Canada, but I wanted to continue pursuing sports here,” Arshdeep recalled. “Managing training, work and diet on my own was becoming difficult. I never told my father about these challenges, but he understood. One day, he told me he was returning to India so that I could focus entirely on my sport. Since then, I have been able to train without any worries.” Hardeep Singh, a former national-level wrestler, had already built a life in Canada, but chose to return to Jalandhar to support Arshdeep’s sporting ambitions. “Apne bete layi aana hi si, main koi vadda kamm nai kitta,” Hardeep Singh says. “I knew that my son needed me. I actually wanted him to come to Canada and stay with us, but he chose sports, so it was my duty as a father to support him and now I am settled here with him,” he shares. And his return has also helped Arshdeep. In May 2026, Arshdeep struck gold at the Indian Athletics Series held in Chennai, adding another important achievement to his glowing career. In his journey, his other achievements include win- ning a gold medal at the Junior SAF Games, besides claiming a gold in Open Nationals. His medal tally also includes a bronze at the World School Games. He has also been part of the Indian camp in Bengaluru, where he had the opportunity to train and practise alongside Neeraj Chopra. Behind Arshdeep’s rise has been the steady guidance of his coach Bikramjit Singh under whom he has been training in Jalandhar. Originally from Abohar, Arshdeep took his first step into sport at the age of 10. Like many youngsters, cricket was initially his first sporting love. But meeting with Bikramjit Singh changed the course of his career. “I always wanted to play. My first interest, like every other Indian, was cricket. Then I met my coach Bikram and he took me into javelin and that is how the journey started,” Arshdeep recalled. His coach believes it is not merely physical ability that sets him apart. According to Bikramjit Singh, Arshdeep possesses a strong fighting spirit, a quality that makes him different from other athletes and helps him push through difficult phases of training and competition. Now, with another major competition approaching, Arshdeep remains focused on turning his hard work into another strong performance, with his father by his side every step of the way.