07042024-LT-01.qxd 4/7/2024 1:05 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune RESIDENTS SEEK REDRESS OF SEWAGE WOES AHEAD OF POLL THE LAST KINGDOM ACTOR ADRIAN PASSES AWAY AT 60 NETFLIX UNVEILS FIRST LOOK OF FARDEEN FROM HEERAMANDI In Aatma Singh Nagar and Shanti Nagar, residents are suffering due to overflowing sewers & contaminated water supply. P2 Adrian Schiller, who played Aethelhelm in series The Last Kingdom, has passed away at the age of 60. P4 Netflix shared first look of Fardeen Khan from Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, the upcoming period drama series.P4 » » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 35°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 17°C SUNSET SUNDAY 6.49 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6:06 AM SUNDAY | 7 APRIL 2024 | LUDHIANA Unending wait, contractor leaves 25-km Southern Bypass project ~957-cr six-lane Greenfield highway hanging fire for over a year Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 6 Even after a wait of over a year, the work to construct the much-awaited 25.24-kmlong Southern Ludhiana Bypass has not yet started on the ground, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has confirmed. Reason: The construction company, which was selected and awarded the work, has refused to undertake the work and has left the project. The development assumes significance as the six-lane Greenfield highway project to be built at the cost of Rs 956.94 crore has been hanging fire for the past over one year due to the non-availability of land following a stiff resistance by landowners to part away with their landholdings under acquisition, officials have said. While the physical possession of almost 100 hectares of acquired land has already been taken over and handed over to the NHAI by the district administration, the proceedings to complete acquisition for the remaining 80.58 hectares of land, which constitutes 44.77 per cent of the total land requirement, have been expedited. This big ticket infrastructure development project was planned to decongest the busy internal and external arteries of the industrial and business hub of the North. Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora told The Tribune on Saturday that the NHAI had awarded the project at the cost of ~702 crore while ~256.94 crore had been spent to acquire 180 hectares of land required for the Southern Ludhiana Bypass to be constructed under the Bharatmal Pariyojana. He said the physical possession of over 55 per cent of the total land under acquisition had already been taken and CURRENT STATUS ■ Work yet to begin ■ 99.42 hectares of land acquired, taken, handed over ■ 80.58 hectares is still under acquisition proceedings ■ 180 hectares land required PROJECT REPORT ■ Total cost: ~956.94 ~702 ■ Land acquisition cost: ~256.94 ■ Appointed date: Dec 1, 2023 (Lapsed) ■ Completion date: Dec 1, 2025 ■ Length: 25.24 km ■ Lanes: 6 ■ ROW: 60 meter ■ Owner: NHAI ■ Project Model: HAM ■ Civil cost: handed over while the proceedings have been taken up on a priority basis to complete acquisition and take physical possession of the remaining 45 per cent of the required land. The NHAI officials briefed the ruling AAP member in the Upper House of Parliament from Punjab that the deposit and payment of compensation for 39.24 hectares, determination of compensation for 34.18 hectares and final notification under Section 3D of the National Highways Act, 1956, was yet to be issued for 7.16 hectares required for the project. Of the four bidders, who had evinced interest to construct the Greenfield highway, the lowest bidder — Ceigall India Limited — had been awarded the project but the construction firm has refused to undertake the work and has left, citing cost inflation over the period of time. Arora, who reviewed the progress of the project, here recently, said since the project was awarded some time ago, the construction firm was earlier negotiating with TO ENHANCE URBAN-RURAL CONNECTIVITY ❝Besides increased road landscaping and safety features, the project would also enhance connectivity between rural and urban areas. With the improvement of road surface, the traffic congestion due to obstructed movement of vehicles would be minimised and wastage of fuel emissions from vehicles would also be reduced. ❞ Sanjeev Arora, RAJYA SABHA MP the NHAI to enhance the awarded amount in view of the inflation cost but has finally left the project. Taking up the matter, the MP called on the NHAI Chief General Manager (CGM) in New Delhi recently and impressed upon him to take requisite steps to launch the work on the project. “I have been assured that the NHAI will take up the issue on priority to ensure early start of work on the project,” he said. Besides Ceigall India Limited with the lowest bid quoted price of Rs 702 crore, Varindera Constructions Rs 768 crore, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Rs 811 crore and GR Infraprojects had quoted the bid price of Rs 851 crore. This six-lane Greenfield and access-controlled section of the Southern Ludhiana Bypass will connect the 650-km-long underconstruction Delhi–Katra expressway near Ballowal with the existing National Highway44 at Rajgarh. The NHAI, which has taken up the project as a part of the Ludhiana-Ajmer Economic Two peddlers land in police dragnet with 5.5 kg heroin Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 6 The Special Task Force (STF) wing of Ludhiana claimed to have arrested two drug peddlers and seized 5.5 kg of heroin from their possession. The suspects have been identified as Amritpal Singh (22) and Sunny Kumar (20), both residents of Amritsar. STF inspector Harbans Singh in a statement issued said he, along with the STF team, was present on the GT Road, Amritsar, near Jandiala Guru, when they received a tip-off that the two suspects, who were into the heroin smuggling trade for a long time, were on the way to deliver heroin to their clients near Jandiala Guru. He said the police team laid a naka at a strategic point on the GT Road where the motorcycle-borne duo were signalled to stop for checking. During the checking, 5.5 kg of heroin was seized from their bag. During preliminary questioning, Amritpal admitted that he was into drug peddling for a long time. He was already facing three cases of drug smuggling registered against him in the past. About a month ago, he came out on bail from the Central Jail, Amritsar, and again started the illegal trade, the STF inspector said. He said the suspects were in touch with a big drug smuggler of Amritsar who was said to be linked with some Pakistan-based heroin smugglers. Hence, cross-border heroin smuggling angle could not be ruled out. A case under the NDPS Act was registered by the police and further investigation was on to bust the entire drug supply line. The suspects in custody of STF personnel in Ludhiana on Saturday. TRIBUNE PHOTO Corridor, had invited bids for its construction with a twoyear deadline at an estimated cost of Rs 601.68 crore. Arora said the construction of the project would be taken up on a hybrid annuity mode (HAM) under the Bharatmala Pariyojana Phase I. Besides, the Southern Ludhiana Bypass will also connect the 75.54-km-long Ludhiana–Bathinda expressway and 104.44-km-long Ludhiana–Ropar expressway, for which civil contracts have already been awarded. “The project would provide a better level of services in terms of improved riding quality and smooth traffic flow. Faster transportation would ultimately lead to massive savings in the form of reduced wear and tear of vehicles, reduced vehicle operating costs and total reduction in transportation costs,” the MP said. Arora was assured by NHAI Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav, whom he had met recently, that the construction work on the Southern Bypass would begin soon and will be completed within two years. “I have urged the NHAI top brass to do the needful for beginning the work on the project at the earliest as 55 per cent of total land required for the project has already been handed over, he said, adding that the process to take over the remaining land would also be completed shortly. Scope of work The construction of six-lane Greenfield Southern Ludhiana Bypass would begin from intersection with the NH-44 near Rajgarh to intersection with Delhi-Katra expressway (NE-5) near Ballowal village as part of the LudhianaAjmer Economic Corridor Phase-I in Punjab on hybrid annuity mode (HAM) under the Bharatmala Pariyojana. Man arrested with counterfeit currency notes Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 6 The Ludhiana rural police today claimed to have arrested a person and seized counterfeit currency worth Rs 5,800 from him. The suspect has been identified as Kuldeep Singh, a resident of Lande village in Moga. One of his accomplices, who is at large in the case, has been identified as Harbhagwan Singh of Baghelewala village in Moga district. As per police officials, they had received a tip-off that the suspect runs a fake currency racket and he was waiting for clients to deliver the currency notes. The police team conducted a raid at the bus stand, Chowkiman, and he was arrested. The fake currency, which was kept in a transparent envelope, was also seized. The fake currency were in the denominations of 200 and 100, they said. A case under Sections 489A, 489B and 489C of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered against the suspects. c m y b Two days ago, ACP (East) Sandeep celebrated birthday with colleagues CIA nabs Bihar native with illegal weapon DEATH OF COP IN MISHAP Was a dedicated officer, say officials Ludhiana, April 6 The CIA wing of Ludhiana nabbed a man and seized an illegal weapon from him. He has been identified as Rohit Kumar Mishra (36), a native of Bihar, at present staying in Mundian Kalan. CIA in-charge inspector Beant Juneja said acting on a tip-off, the CIA team stopped the motorcycle-borne man at a naka. The officials seized a .315 bore pistol and three cartridges from him. A case was registered and further investigation was launched to inquire about the illegal weapon supplier from whom the suspect had bought the gun. — TNS Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 6 The death of ACP (East) Sandeep Singh, along with his gunman, in a fatal road accident has caused a huge loss to the Punjab Police, particularly to the Ludhiana police. These sentiments echoed in the entire Police Commissionerate on Saturday and messages of condolences were shared by officials in their official and private police groups on WhatsApp and other social media platforms. Two days ago, on April 4, the ACP had celebrated his birthday with colleagues at his office. Officials at the Police Division 7 and ACP’s office employees organised a small gathering, where they brought a cake for him. The ACP had wholeheartedly thanked the police personnel for the celebrations. SHO, Police Division 7 inspector Bhupinder Singh said while cutting the birthday cake, the ACP sir was quite happy. “We had never imagined that that the birthday celebrations of the official would turned out to be his last one. His loss cannot be compensated. May he rest in peace” ACP Industrial Area-A, Jas, binder Singh, said ACP Sandeep was a down-to-earth person and honest officer. He was dedicated to his job. “He was not only my colleague but also like a brother to me. May God give strength to his family for bearing the loss,” he said. ACP Gurdev Singh said Sandeep was a gentle, humble and intelligent officer. He pray to the almighty to bless the departed souls of the ACP and his gunman Paramjot. Man held for impregnating stepdaughter Mandi Ahmedgarh, April 6 The Dehlon police claimed to have arrested a resident of Mukandpur village here for allegedly sexually exploiting his stepdaughter for over six months and impregnating her. Her kin came to know about the act of the suspect when the victim went to stay with her maternal uncle at Purain village and narrated the matter to her aunt. The suspect, Charanjit Singh Jita, was arrested when he was trying to leave the area on the outskirts of his native village on Friday night. Dehlon SHO Ravinder Kumar said the man had been allegedly raping his 20-year-old stepdaughter for over six months and she remained silent as she had been threatened of dire consequences. Accompanied by her maternal uncle, the victim stated that she had been allegedly raped and impregnated by her stepfather when she along with her mother and two siblings were staying with him at Mukandpur village. She told the SHO, Mahila police station, Ludhiana, Davinder Kaur, investigating officer Subhash Kataria and other officials that she was a resident of Purain village. On the demise of her father, her mother had married Charanjit about 10 years ago and the victim and her brother had also started staying at Mukandpur village where another girl child was born to her mother from her second marriage. The victim alleged that the suspect had forcibly developed a physical relationship with her over six months ago, after which he raped her several times after threatening her of dire consequences. Kataria said the suspect had been booked on the basis of the statement of his stepdaughter on Friday. He was arrested from the outskirts of Mukandpur village when he was trying to leave the area. A Ludhiana court had remanded the man in judicial custody on Saturday. — OC
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