02072024-LT-01.qxd 7/2/2024 12:43 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SCHOOLS OPEN AFTER LONG SUMMER BREAK CHANDIGARH WOMAN SET FOR PAGEANT IN MAURITIUS CHANDIGARH SAHITYA AKADEMI HOLDS AWARD FUNCTION After a 40-day summer break, the government and many private schools reopened today. P2 From running an NGO to overcoming personal adversities, 51-year-old’s story is one of resilience. P4 Punjab’s Governor Banwarilal Purohit gives away awards to five authors, poets and translators. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 36°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 29°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.28 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:26 AM TUESDAY | 2 JULY 2024 | LUDHIANA Another year, same old story Even before monsoon rains, waterlogging on Chandigarh Road |MC in slumber Motorists face tough time negotiating the Chandigarh Road. The road turned into a pool of water, resulting in traffic snarl-ups at various places. INDERJEET VERMA muters faced difficult time. A stretch between Varadhman Chowk to Samrala Chowk witnessed long queues of vehicles. “This is one of the busiest roads but problem increases Central Jail biggest property tax defaulter, owes MC ~18L Ludhiana, July 1 The Central Jail has been declared as the biggest property tax defaulter by the Municipal Corporation (MC) with the state government establishment owing over Rs 18 lakh to the civic body, officials have confirmed. Besides, only 10 property owners, both private and public, owe the MC a sum of almost Rs 80-lakh as property tax in Ludhiana. This constitutes over 13 per cent of the total Rs 6.12-crore arrears that the civic body has not got on account of property tax from just 10 of the over 25,000 defaulters during the last financial year 2023-24, officials have revealed. To recover the tax arrears, the MC has launched a special drive to recover the arrears from the defaulters. Besides levying penalty and interest, the MC will also resort to attach the properties of the major defaulters in case they fail to pay the arrears without any further delay. MC chief Sandeep Rishi said the list of defaulters has been prepared and fresh notices were being issued to them. The property owners, who have not yet deposited the property tax or other levies, should do it forthwith, he said. He disclosed that besides imposing the penalty and interest, proceedings to attach the properties as per the law provisions would also be initiated. The list of major defaulters under the property tax as on June 27, prepared by the MC, included Central Jail, with the highest arrear of Rs 18.04 lakh, Samra International Rs 13.89 lakh, Upper India Steel Manufacturing and Engineering Company Limited Rs 11.71 lakh, Gurdit Singh/ Jagmohan Singh Rs 7.54 lakh, District Administrative Complex (DAC), which houses the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and other district department heads, Rs 6.9 lakh, AB Mehta Pvt. Ltd. Rs 4.39 lakh, SEL Manufacturing Company Limited Rs 6.09 lakh, Harnek Singh/ Inder Singh Rs 3.37 lakh, Abhimanyu Soin Rs 3.37 lakh, and Jasmel Singh owed the civic body a sum of Rs 3.79 lakh. — TNS Ludhiana, July 1 Amid the claims of the success of the Make in India campaign by the Government of India, the continuous increase in the import figures from China has left city businessmen worried. Imports from China stood at Rs 7 lakh 5 thousand crore in 2021-22, Rs 7 lakh 91 thousand crore in 202223 and in the 2023-24 the figure zoomed to Rs 8 lakh 43 thousand crore. Badish Jindal, president, All Industries Trade Forum (AITU), said while on one hand there has been a three per cent decrease in country’s total imports in COST FACTOR ❝Import from China has a direct impact on industries in the country. Products which can be made within the country are being imported from China as they are cheaper. ❞ Badish Jindal, PRESIDENT, AITU the last financial year, the seven per cent rise in imports from China proves that the government was not concerned about the industries of the country. “Import from China has a direct impact on industries in the country. Products which can be made within the country are being imported from China as they are cheaper. From under-billing to hawala scams, all kinds of scams are done by the importers to import these. Due to the import, country’s garment, electronic, bicycle, machine tool and plastic industries are going through a tough times,” said Jindal. The situation is such that India, which was the largest exporter of tea and coffee in the world, was now importing tea and coffee worth Rs 705 crore from China, whereas in the previous year this figure was Rs 75 crore. Most of these products can be easily manufactured by the MSME industries of the Ludhiana, July 1 A pedestrian and a motorcyclist was killed in road accident in Khanna and Samrala, respectively. In the first case, the complainant, Ram Swaroop, said he, along with his nephew Lakhbir Singh, was going to Khanna from Ludhiana on motorcycle. Near Gurdwara Manjhi Sahib, a car rammed into our motorcycle from behind. Due to the collision, his nephew’s legs got crushed under the car and he died on the spot. In another accident, the complainant, Ravi Singh, of Samrala said a rashly driven truck hit his brother when he was crossing a road at Lalori Kalan, Samrala. He was admitted to the Civil Hospital, but he died during the treatment. — TNS Zero FIR registered by Dehradun police Ludhiana, July 1 A 14-year-old girl was raped and impregnated by a resident of Subash Nagar. The incident came to light when the girl delivered a premature baby at her maternal house in Dehradun. The family then lodged a complaint, following which the police registered a zero FIR and the case was transferred to Ludhiana police for further investigation. The accused has been identified as Amit. The complainant, victim’s mother, told the police that on May 14, she came to Dehradun at her parents house where she lives now along with her daughter. On May 26, when her daughter went to the washroom, she gave birth to a pre-mature dead infant. When asked, she revealed that Amit had developed sexual relations with her several times in the last month of last year. She was, however, not aware that she has turned pregnant. Investigating officer ASI Sukhjinder Singh said the accused has been booked under relevant sections of the IPC and The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and raid was being conducted to nab the culprit. DC reviews Buddha Nullah project work Jail guard held for supplying tobacco products to inmates Ludhiana, July 1 DC Sakshi Sawhney reviewed the ongoing project to rejuvenate Buddha Nullah here on Monday. After taking over the additional charge of MC Commissioner, Sakshi chaired a meeting of senior MC officials at the MC Zone D office in Sarabha Nagar and directed the civic body officials to expedite the pending/proposed works. During the meeting, she also directed the officials to take up extensive plantation drive during the monsoon season and if required, NGOs/residents should also be involved in the environment protection exercise. — TNS Ludhiana, July 1 The Ludhiana police arrested a Punjab Home Guard jawan who was allegedly supplying prohibited goods to inmates of Borstal Jail here and used to receive money through UPI. The police have recovered the mobile phone from him and started an investigation. Harjit Singh, Head Warder, Borstal Jail, said Punjab Home Guard jawan Kulwinder Singh, who was posted in the jail, used to supply banned items mainly tobacco products like cigarette, beedis, etc. to the inmates inside the jail. A complaint was lodged in the police station Division 7. On receiving the Bizmen worried over rising Chinese imports Tribune News Service Tribune News Service during rains, leading to traffic jams. It has been a long time since the problem of waterlogging is being faced in the area and the authorities concerned should taken up concrete steps to solve the country, but due to cheap bank loans and technology, the products coming from China are cheaper than the products made in India. Due to the price difference, importers purchase goods at cheaper rate and reap profit. The government is also watching this whole game with closed eyes in the greed of import duty. While the imports from China are affecting the trade in the country, the business of bogus billing is also flourishing in the country. “If the government wants to save the eight crore MSME industries of the country, then it will have to curb the unnecessary imports from China in the country,” said Jindal. c m y b Woman, son climb atop water tank Were upset over property dispute among family members Ludhiana, July 1 A woman and her son climbed atop water tank near Chand Cinema on Monday afternoon. They were upset over the ongoing property dispute among the family members. However, cops were able to take them down safely. The incident occured at around 3 pm when mother along with her son climbed atop water tank. It was only when some passersby noticed them, they raised alarm and informed the police. The police said the husband of the woman had died recently. Now, some property dispute complaint, the police arrested Kulwinder Singh on Sunday and took his mobile phone into possession. Investigation Officer ASI Sukhwinder Singh said on the complaint sent by Head Warder Harjit Singh, a case was yesterday registered against Kulwinder Singh, a resident of Kailas Nagar, Basti Jodhewal. Now, further investigation would be conducted to inquire if other officials of jail are involved in the illegal practice or not Was taking ~500 to ~1,000 commission During questioning of the nabbed accused, he con- HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Tribune News Service claims about solving the problem of waterlogging but all these claims were washed away in today's rain. Traffic movement also slowed down after the rain and waterlogging and com- Pedestrian, biker killed in mishaps same,” said Jaswinder Singh, a commuter. Another resident of Sector 32 on Chandigarh Road said they have been raising the issue of waterlogging but nothing has been done to solve this. Rainy season is here and it also results in overflowing of sewage on Chandigarh Road and also in various parts of Dhandari Khurd. “It was a just short spell of rain and Chandigarh Road turned into a pool of water. I wonder what will happen during peak rainy season. Ludhiana is a Smart City but I can see nothing smart in it. Just spending money on the projects does not serve the purpose as proper, planning, implementation and repair is required,” said Amrik Singh, a commuter. Manav Mander Ludhiana, July 1 Though the short spell of rain gave much-needed relief to city residents, waterlogging at Chandigarh Road gave commuters a tough time. The rain also exposed the working of storm water drainage system installed from Vardhman Chowk to Policy Colony. The drainage system is supposed to carry rainwater from Chandigarh Road to Buddha Nullah. Stretch leading from Police Colony Chowk to Vardhman Chowk on Chandigarh Road here was submerged in water. Traffic jams were also witnessed on Chandigarh Road, leaving commuters to face inconvenience. Renu, Sector 39 resident, said the MC had made tall 14-yr-old girl raped The woman and son atop a water tank near Chand Cinema. was going on between the family and woman and her son was upset over the same. Today afternoon they climbed atop water. “After reaching the spot, the police convinced fessed that he had been supplying tobacco products to the inmates since April this month. In lieu, he would take Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 commission from the inmates via UPI mode. The police said the development came to light when the jawan stopped supplying tobacco products to inmates. The latter threatened him that if he would not supply tobacco products to them they would reveal his name to the senior officials. When the jawan refused to budge, the inmates spilled the beans to jail officials. The police said so far no role of other jail officials came to the fore. them to climb down. They were sent to the Civil Hospital for check-up. Now, further investigation would be done to know the reason behind such step. — TNS MC organises awareness drive Ludhiana, July 1 With an aim to spread awareness among masses regarding cleanliness and segregation of dry and wet waste, Municipal Corporation organised an awareness-cum-cleanliness drive at Chimney road (Shimlapuri area) on Monday. During the drive, announcements were done to urge the residents to hand over segregated dry and wet waste to the garbage collectors. The shopkeepers and residents were also asked to keep separate dustbins for dumping dry and wet waste. Further, the residents were urged to stop the use of single use plastic items and support the authorities in solid waste management. — TNS Non-functional CCTVs at rly station hamper probe Jammu youth pushed out of train on May 19, infant went missing on June 30 Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 1 Two serious crime incidents that took place in the jurisdiction of Government Railway Police (GRP) have put the railway police on toes. However, a major roadblock which is hindering the investigation in both the cases are the non-functional CCTVs installed in and outside the Ludhiana railway station. Notably, on Sunday a seven-month-old girl went missing from the city railway station. Girl’s parents and other family members had returned after paying obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi Temple on Sunday afternoon. Tired, all of them A view of the Ludhiana railway station. FILE PHOTO planned to leave for their house in the morning and slept at the railway station. However, when they woke up, the girl was missing. In another incident, Tushar Thakur (24) was pushed out the a moving train by three miscreants on May 19 after he objected to smoking cigarettes inside the train. The youth, who hailed from Jammu, was thrown out of the moving train a few kilometres behind the city railway station. He was undergoing treatment at DMCH. The police were investigating Tushar’s case to trace the three suspects who pushed him out of the moving train. All the CCTV cameras of different railway stations from Jammu to Ludhiana were being checked. SHO GRP Inspector Jatinder Singh said investigation into both the cases is going on and different angles are being explored. The main roadblock in the missing child case is the lack of CCTV footage. A CCTV was installed at the place from where child was stolen, but it was in working condition. Even the CCTVs at exist and entry points of the railway station, including the reservation counter, were also not functional. Even camera put up on the railway road outside the station were also not functioning due to some technical issues when the child was stolen. In Tushar’s case, we checked dozens of camera at different railway station from Jammu till Ludhiana, but the suspects could not be identified. We are working on different angles, we will definitely solve this case and provide justice to Tushar, said Singh.
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).