04112026-JTR-01.qxd 03-11-2026 23:03 Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune RESTORE SILK ROUTE TO PROMOTE TRADE: SEECHEWAL ECONOMIST WHOSE GROWTH JOURNEY INSPIRES MANY A TOUCH OF INDIA AND A WORLD OF COUTURE MP Balbir Singh Seechewal writes to PM Narendra Modi seeking the restoration of Silk Route . P2 From the classrooms of Hoshiarpur to international boardrooms, a look at Sunil K Chadda’s growth journey. P3 Designer Anamika Khanna takes Indian couture to London for a dazzling Diwali celebration. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR MAX 29°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 15°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.36 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:46 AM » WEDNESDAY | 4 NOVEMBER 2026 | JALANDHAR Cong notice to Dhillon over spat with party leader 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. ■ Asked to submit reply within three days ■ Row surfaces ahead of Rahul’s rally Deepkamal Kaur INBRIEF Tribune News Service MAN LOSES ~2.83L TO CYBER FRAUD Phagwara: The Phillaur police have registered a case after a resident of village Chak Sahabu allegedly lost Rs 2,83,499 in an online fraud. Complainant Sandeep Singh alleged that unidentified persons cheated him through online transactions. OC NAKODAR MINOR GIRL MISSING Phagwara: The police have registered a case against a man for allegedly luring away a 17year-old girl with the intention of marrying her. Paramjit Singh, a resident of village Seham, said accused Sunil of the same village allegedly took away his daughter on November 1 around 8 pm. OC TWO BOOKED FOR CHEATING Phagwara: The police have booked two persons for alleged cheating following a complaint by Balwinder Kaur of village Iban. She alleged that Pooja of Tajpur Colony, Jalandhar, and Sidhu of Rasulpur, cheated her of Rs 2.30 lakh. OC YOUTH HELD WITH HEROIN Phagwara: The police have arrested a youth after recovering seven gram of heroin and 20 intoxicating tablets from him during a patrolling operation near village Bagana. The police noticed a suspicious youth who allegedly threw a polythene envelope near the roadside after spotting the police party. He was apprehended and identified as Jaskaranvir Singh. oc MAN HELD WITH INTOXICANTS Phagwara: The police have arrested Amarjit, alias Gona, of village Masani and recovered 45 intoxicating tablets from his possession. The arrest was made during a patrolling operation. A case under the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act was registered against the accused. oc WOMAN ARRESTED WITH HEROIN Phagwara: The police have registered a narcotics case after allegedly recovering 8 gram of heroin from Sukhwinder Kaur of Dharme Di Chhanna village. According to the police, the recovery was made during checking, following which the accused was arrested. oc PARKASH PURB CELEBRATIONS Hoshiarpur: The 650th Parkash Purb of Sri Guru Ravidas Maharaj ji will be celebrated at Sri Khuralgarh Sahib from December 4 to 6 with a state-level religious celebrations. Tourism Department Director Sanjeev Tiwari reviewed the preparations with district officials and directed them to ensure timely arrangements. oc Smogy weather in Jalandhar on Tuesday evening. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Winter sets in, smog raises pollution concerns in city 23 farm fires reported so far, AQI fluctuates between 135-162 remains a concern, particularly as temperature dips and atmospheric conditions become less favourable for the dispersion of pollutants. The situation has also brought the focus back on the effectiveness of paddy straw management measures being implemented by the district administration and the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB). The AQI level in Jalandhar has been found to be fluctuating between 135 and 162 in the past three days, falling in the moderate category so far. Manvir Singh, a regular morning walker, said, “I could feel the smog the moment I stepped out of the house. The air did not feel fresh. I decided to come back home early cutting short my walk.” Deputy Commissioner Varjeet Walia said nearly 90 per cent of the paddy crop in the district had been harvested. He said, “Almost 75 per cent of the paddy straw has been managed through various methods. Ex-situ management, under which paddy straw is collected and transported for utilisation outside the fields, accounted for nearly 45 per cent of the total straw management. We are encouraging this method because of the greater utility of the straw and the availability of machinery, including balers, for its collection.” Speed up e-Bus Seva project: MC chief Rlys recovers ~45.36 lakh from ticketless travellers Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 3 Jalandhar residents woke up to a hazy morning on Tuesday, with a nip in the air signalling the onset of winter. As temperatures begin to dip, a layer of smog has become visible, raising concerns over deteriorating air quality even as the paddy harvesting season nears its end and Diwali approaches. Pollutants from vehicular traffic, farm fires, crackers, construction activity and other emissions continue to contribute to the deteriorating air quality. Even though the number of farm fires reported this season is relatively lower, their contribution to pollution Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 3 Municipal Corporation Commissioner Surinder Singh directed officials to expedite work carried out under the the PM e-Bus Seva project and ensure that the pending infrastructure work is completed without further delay during a review meeting held on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by the Executive Engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD) and PSPCL, contractor Vikas Bansal and other officials. During the meeting, Commissioner Surinder Singh issued directions to all officials and contractor to complete the remaining work at the earliest through better coordination among departments. He made it clear that any delay in the execution of the project would not be tolerated and directed the officials to ensure regular monitoring of the work. Under the PM e-Bus Sewa project, Jalandhar is slated to receive 97 electric buses. To facilitate their operation, two bus depots are being constructed at Company Bagh and Lamma Pind Chowk, with the civil work expected to be completed by the end of this year. Meanwhile, the tendering process for the procurement The DC said the administration was also monitoring reports of farm fires and verifying each incident before taking action. Of the 43 reports of farm fires received so far, only 23 were found to be correct. The remaining 20 were cross-checked by the authorities but were found not to be related to paddy straw burning. Dr Ravinder Verma, ENT specialist in Kapurthala, said, “With air getting polluted due to smoke and paddy straw cutting, patients begin to complain of nasal congestion and allergies. It happens every year around this time. Thankfully, so far the number of patients visiting doctors is so far relatively less.” Jalandhar, November 3 Almost a week after a spat between two Congress leaders, former Punjab Youth Congress president Brinder Dhillon and former Punjab Congress Committee secretary Ranjit Singh Tarkhan Majra at the Congress Bhawan, the former has got a show-cause notice. Chairman of the Disciplinary Action Committee Avtar Henry issued a show-cause notice to Dhillon on Sunday, directing him to submit his reply within three days. Henry has written, “A complaint has been received against you by the PCC. There have been allegations that you behaved inappropriately with Tarkhan Majra and passed objectionable and derogatory comments against him. You are given three-day time to give a satisfactory reply, failing which a disciplinary action can be taken against you”. Dhillon confirmed having received the notice. He denied any allegations of manhandling that have been going around. “It was just an exchange of verbal arguments. I hope I shall be able to sort it out”, he said. While Dhillon is a ticket aspirant from Ropar, Tarkhan Majra has been claiming the ticket from Bassi Pathana and hence they do not have any direct political confrontation. They, however, represent two rival groups in the party. Since Dhillon’s supporters managed to remove the specific portion of the video from the DVR of Congress Bhawan, Govt staff hold gate rallies in Jalandhar Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 3 Employees of various government departments in Jalandhar held gate rallies on Tuesday as part of a protest called by the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union against the state government, announcing escalation of their agitation over pending demands. Will burn effigy of state govt today, pen-down strike from Nov 5 Tarkhan Majra is reportedly all the more annoyed. Tarkhan Majra, however, has been publicly voicing his grievance against Dhillon. Before submitting a complaint to PCC president Pargat Singh, he posted on Facebook: “I am a loyal Congress worker and have been serving the party for decades. The assault and use of casteist remarks by Brinder Dhillon at Congress Bhawan, Chandigarh, have deeply disturbed me. At a time when the 140-year-old Congress is led by Mallikarjun Kharge, a leader from the Dalit community, such an incident is extremely unfortunate. I appeal to Pargat Singh to ensure justice and take strict action in the matter. What happened to me should not happen to any other party worker. My fight is for my self-respect, the dignity of the Dalit community and justice.” Even though the notice was issued on Sunday, it came into public domain today, just a day before the rally of Rahul Gandhi in Sangrur. There are reports that AAP leaders plan to take an advantage of the anti-Dalit sentiment within a section in the Congress. Union president Tejinder Singh Nangal, general secretary Vinod Sagar, and chairman Zorawar Singh said employees from all departments across the district will burn the effigy of the state government during a district-level gate rally planned outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office on November 4. They announced that clerical employees will further observe a two-day pen-down and computer shutdown strike on November 5 and 6, bringing routine official work to a halt. The union leaders said the government had been ignoring their demands which include reducing the qualifying service period for promotion to Superintendent Grade 1, restoring posts abolished in the name of restructuring, filling vacant positions, increasing salaries, implementing the Old Pension Scheme and restoring various allowances. The union leaders warned that if the government failed to fulfil their demands, it should be prepared to face intensified protests by employees. Shoppers gear up for Diwali Tribune News Service CITY TO GET 97 BUSES Under the project, Jalandhar is slated to receive 97 electric buses. Two bus depots are being constructed at Company Bagh and Lamma Pind Chowk, with the civil work expected to be completed by the year-end. and operation of the buses is also in its final stage. Once operational, the fleet will run on 12 proposed routes covering around 180 km across the city and its outskirts. The planned network will include the inner, main and outer ring roads, besides connecting the bus stand with LPU, Kartarpur, Gopalpur, Kishangarh, Jandu Singha, Lambra and Jamsher Khas. The officials said the proposed routes could be revised based on public demand and in coordination with existing public transport services. The project is being implemented under a 10-year public-private partnership (PPP) model under which private operators will run the buses while the Central Government will provide financial support for their operation. Jalandhar, November 3 The Railways recovered Rs 45.36 lakh from passengers travelling without tickets at Jalandhar City railway station during October as part of its drive to curb unauthorised travel. The recovery was part of the ticket checking campaign being conducted across the Ferozepur Railway Division to prevent ticketless travel and ensure that passengers with valid tickets do not face inconvenience. Railway checking staff detected 30,466 passengers travelling without ticket or with irregular ticket and recovered more than Rs 2.50 crore in penalties. Apart from checking ticketless travel, Railways officials have also stepped up inspections at major stations to prevent littering and maintain cleanliness. Across the division, 169 passengers penalised for littering on station premises with fines of more than Rs 65,000 recovered under the Anti-Littering Act. Divisional Railway Manager Sanjeev Kumar said ticket checking drives will continue . The exercise aimed to ensure safe and comfortable travel for passengers and prevent unauthorised travellers from causing inconvenience to those holding valid tickets. c m y b DAZZLING DAYS: Women shop for colourful decorative items ahead of Diwali in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH MC to link property UID numbers with property, water and sewer bills Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 3 The Municipal Corporation (MC), Jalandhar, has initiated the process of linking unique identification (UID) numbers allotted to residential, commercial and industrial properties with their property, water and sewerage bills under the Smart City initiative. According to officials, Geographic Information System (GIS) tools will be used to map properties and integrate their details with the billing records, helping the civic body streamline tax collection, improve record management and identify properties that may have been left out of the tax net. As per official data, Jalandhar has around 3.25 lakh properties, including 1.94 lakh residential, 41,601 commercial, 5,423 industrial and 18,692 mixed land-use properties. The remaining 66,112 properties comprise plots, agricultural land and religious properties. Dr Surjit Singh Saini, urban planner (GIS expert) and team leader at Jalandhar Smart City Limited, said, “The initiative will help the corporation maintain digital records of properties and eliminate duplication in its database.” “Of the 3.25 lakh properties here, around 1.5 lakh are exempted from property tax as their plot size is less than 125 square yards. However, of the remaining 1.75 lakh properties, only around 98,000 are paying property tax. Linking UID numbers with water and sewerage bills will help us identify such properties and bring them under the tax net. We will also have records of properties that are exempted from property tax,” he said. The measure will also allow residents to check their water and sewerage dues using their UID numbers. The MC is planning to bring all its services under the system, allowing residents to access civic services and register complaints through the identification number.