05112024-LT-01.qxd 11/5/2024 12:32 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune AGRI VARSITY STUDENTS GO ON INDEFINITE STRIKE EKTA TIWARI IS SEEN IN THE SHOW GUDIYA RANI Protesting students said for the past two years, they had been repeatedly forced to endure hardships. P2 Ekta, who is seen in show Gudiya Rani, says playing a character quite in contrast to her in real life is interesting. P4 » » MEGHRANJANI MEDHI FOUND HER GURUS IN HER PARENTS FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 32°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 16°C SUNSET TUESDAY 5.32 PM Dance chose me … says Kathak exponent Meghranjani Medhi, who found her gurus in her parents. P4 SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:40 AM » TUESDAY | 5 NOVEMBER 2024 | LUDHIANA Thief opens fire after being caught stealing street lights Ludhiana, November 4 A thief opened fire at the people when they tried to catch him red-handed while stealing street lights in Jagdishpura. Flees scene after firing bullets at residents The suspect fired two bullets. One bullet grazed a resident of the locality while the other bullet pierced through the stomach of a youth. The injured youth, Prince, was undergoing treatment at a private hospital and was out of danger. A CCTV footage of the incident has also surfaced. As per information, in the Jagdishpura area, incidents of theft of street lights were being reported in the past few days. Street lights installed outside houses of residents were also being stolen. Victims installed CCTV cameras in the area to catch the miscreants. On Monday, residents saw a thief, who was roaming in the street, in a CCTV camera. They came out of their houses and caught him. When the residents caught hold of the man, he took out a weapon from his bag and opened fire at them. Prince’s father Surjeet said the man fled the scene after opening fire. Later, police officials reached the scene and checked the CCTV footage of the incident. SI Sukhwinder Singh said the police got vital clues about the suspect and he would be arrested soon. — TNS MLAs on inauguration spree after HC directions on civic body poll Bihar man gets 20-year RI for sexually assaulting minor boy State, Election Commission were directed to notify poll schedule in 15 days on Oct 19 Ludhiana, November 4 In a landmark judgment underscoring the judiciary’s commitment to safeguarding children, the Court of Amar Jeet Singh, Additional Sessions Judge, under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, sentenced 35year-old Rajesh Kumar Mandal to 20 years’ of rigorous imprisonment (RI). Mandal, a resident of Ward 3, Araichan Colony, Doraha, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a fouryear-old boy. Delivering the verdict, the court observed that the prosecution had presented cogent and convincing evidence, establishing guilt of the suspect in the heinous crime beyond any reasonable doubt. Rejecting the convict’s plea Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 With the Punjab and Haryana High Court directing the state and its Election Commission to notify election programmes in municipalities and municipal corporations in 15 days without conducting fresh delimitation exercise, a spurt has been seen in the inauguration of new projects in Ludhiana. The directions came on October 19 and after that many new projects have been inaugurated by local MLAs in the city. On October 21, Ludhiana North MLA Madan Lal Bagga inaugurated a project to install tube well on the Bal Singh Nagar road in Ward 8. It was opened by a girl child of the area. A 25 HP tube well was being installed at a cost of around Rs 12.65 lakh. Bagga also inaugurated stateof-the-art badminton, basketball and volleyball courts, established under the Lakkar bridge, near Pavilion mall. On October 23, MLA Ashok Prashar Pappi inaugurated a project to install tube well at Dhandiya mohalla in Ward 60. Meanwhile on October Ludhiana North MLA Madan Lal Bagga inaugurates a tube well project in Santokh Nagar. FILE GOVT WANTS TO MAKE IMPACT ON PEOPLE’ MIND: RESIDENTS Kulwinder Kaur, a resident of the Jassian road area, said the ruling AAP government seems to be in a race against time, and on an average, one project was being inaugurated daily. "Inaugurating projects before the civic body elections shows the ruling state government wants to make an impact on people’s mind,” she said. 26, Bagga inaugurated two tube well projects in Santokh Nagar and Sardar Nagar, repectively, to streamline the water supply. The MLA also inaugurated a street construction project in Naveen Nagar on the Jassian road on October 27. The project to construct a road on the other side of the Buddha Nullah from the Sundar Nagar puli to the Balancing act Bajwa Nagar puli was also opened. It was the second project launched within a week to construct two major stretches of the road along side the nullah. Kulwinder Kaur, a resident of the Jassian road area, said the ruling AAP government seems to be in a race against time, and on an average, one project was being inaugurated daily. “A spurt was observed in inauguration of projects after directions came from the Punjab and Haryana High Court to hold the civic body elections. Inaugurating projects before the MC elections shows the government wants to make an impact on people’s mind,” she said. A worker from an opposition party said the people know the ruling party in the state had failed miserably. It has failed to live up to the expectations of the people and inauguration of projects would make no impact on residents’mind, he added. Legal Correspondent VERDICT UPHOLDS ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY The court verdict sends a strong message about the zero-tolerance policy upheld by the judiciary against crimes involving minors, reinforcing the importance of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act in ensuring child protection and justice. for leniency, the judge emphasised the need for strict punishment to deter similar offences, especially those targeting minors. Mandal, originally hailing from Banka district in Bihar, was convicted under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012. Alongside the sentence, the court imposed a fine of Rs 1,10,000 on the accused. The court further directed that Rs 1,00,000 from the fine be paid as compensation for the young victim’s rehabilitation and support. The case was registered on October 23, 2023, at the Doraha police station, here. According to the complaint lodged by the victim’s father, his son was playing outside their home when Mandal, who was residing as a tenant in the area, lured the child away and sexually assaulted him. The brutal incident left the child in a distressing condition, prompting swift police action and investigation. The verdict sends a strong message about the zero-tolerance policy upheld by the judiciary against crimes involving minors, reinforcing the importance of the POCSO Act in ensuring child protection and justice. Farmers protest tardy paddy lifting Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 Members of the Dashmesh Kisan Union today held a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office here against the tardy lifting of paddy. Gurdial Singh Talwandi, while addressing the farmers, said announcements made by the government regarding smooth lifting of the paddy were mere declarations as farmers were forced to sit in grain markets across the state for days and wait for their produce to be lifted. Around 300 vehicles are required for lifting paddy but there are only 30 due to which the process has become slow. The farmers are not getting the price as per the minimum support price (MSP), said Jaswant Singh, another farmer leader. Cop nabbed for illegally detaining drug suspects A girl walks on a tightrope in one of the busy city markets. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Ludhiana, November 4 Punjab Police’s Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) on Monday arrested SI Gurmeet Singh, head of its Ludhiana unit. He allegedly illegally detained two drug suspects, Charanjeet Singh and Ranbir Singh, residents of Patiala, and falsified facts about the opium seizure. Snehdeep Sharma, AIG, STF Ludhiana range, in a , statement issued said Gurmeet apprehended the drug suspects in Patiala district, illegally confining them overnight. The next day, Gurmeet claimed the arrest and 600 gm of opium recovery was made in Ludhiana. A probe is underway to deter- mine if the recovered drugs were genuine or planted. The authorities are scrutinising Gurmeet’s actions, citing wrongful confinement, criminal conspiracy and violations of the NDPS Act. Two private persons, Narinder Singh and Avtar Singh, were also booked in the case for allegedly conniving with the SI in the matter. Gurmeet was booked under multiple charges, including Sections 127-2 and 61-2 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 59(2) of the NDPS Act. The case is a significant blow to the police force’s efforts to combat drug trafficking. — TNS Farmers hold a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner's office in Ludhiana. INDERJEET VERMA Civic body chief conducts surprise 60 per cent of required DAP fertiliser inspections to ensure cleanliness already received by district admn Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 4 With an aim to ensure regular sweeping and cleanliness across the city, Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal conducted surprise inspections on Monday to take stock of the situation at the ground level. Warning issued to sanitation employees found absent from duty The surprise inspections were conducted in Model Town/Model Town extension, areas around the bus stand, Ghumar Mandi, Dugri, besides other places. Sanitation staff were found absent at a few locations, following which strict warning was issued to the employees. The staff had been directed to ensure attendance, otherwise strict departmental action would be taken against them. Central verges of roads, parks, etc, were also checked during the inspections. Chief sanitary inspectors (CSIs) and sanitary inspectors were among officials who had been directed to monitor their respective areas. Action would be taken against staff if laxity was witnessed regarding cleanliness, they were told. MC Joint Commissioner Ankur Mahindroo, Executive Engineer Jatinderpal Singh and Health Officer Vipal Malhotra were among other officials who were present during the inspections. The MC Commissioner said strict instructions were issued to health staff in the past to ensure cleanliness and surprise inspections had been commenced to check the ground reality. He said the sanitation staff was found absent at a few locations on Monday and warnings had been issued for now. If any laxity was witnessed in future, departmental action would be taken. The horticulture wing has also been directed to ensure cleanliness in parks, green belts, central verges, etc. A roster has also been issued wherein sanitary inspectors had been directed to conduct inspections in different wards across the city to ensure regular sweeping and door-to-door collection of waste. Stating that more such surprise inspections would be conducted in coming days, the MC chief appealed to residents to support the civic body in keeping the city clean. He appealed to the residents to submit a complaint with civic body officials, if sanitation staff remain absent in their respective areas. Strict action would be taken to ensure regular sweeping. c m y b Ludhiana, November 4 Deputy Commissioner (DC) Jitendra Jorwal said today that the district administration had received 60 per cent of the required diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser for farmers in Ludhiana district. Jorwal said for the sowing of wheat (covering 2,43,563 hectares), potato (covering 20,485 hectares) and other crops (covering 4,529 hectares) in the district, a total of 39,000 metric tonnes of DAP was needed. Till today, 25,400 metric tonnes of fertiliser had arrived in the district, which includes 23,400 metric tonnes of DAP and 2,000 metric tonnes of substitute fertiliser. The Deputy Commissioner REMAINING STOCK TO ARRIVE IN FEW DAYS Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal reassured farmers that the remaining stock of fertiliser was expected to arrive in the district within the next few days, urging them not to worry about diammonium phosphate fertiliser availability. reassured farmers that the remaining stock of fertiliser was expected to arrive in the district within the next few days, urging them not to worry about DAP availability. He also mentioned that orders had been issued to fertiliser sellers to ensure that farmers were not pressured into buying other chemicals alongside DAP Fail. ure to comply with the same would lead to strict action. All private dealers and cooperative societies have been instructed to display their stock of DAP and other fertilisers prominently outside their shops and godowns. Additionally, they are required to ensure that all bills issued to farmers include sellers’ mobile numbers. DAP is available at a regulated price of Rs 1,350 per 50 kg bag. Meanwhile, Chief Agricultural Officer Parkash Singh had encouraged farmers to consider alternative fertilisers to DAP for sowing wheat and other crops. He advised that single superphosphate, which contains 16 per cent phosphorus, could be used as a substitute. Three bags of this fertiliser was required for every one bag of DAP This alternative also pro. vides additional sulphur. Similarly, NPK123216 contains 32 per cent phosphorus, and one-and-a-half bags of this fertiliser was equivalent to one bag of DAP offering , added potash which is absent in DAP Furthermore, triple . superphosphate contains 46 per cent phosphorus and can be used in equal quantity to DAP while providing additional sulphur benefits. While NPK102626 contains 26 per cent total phosphorus and can also meet phosphorus requirements of crops, offering the added advantage of potash, which is not present in DAP .