10112024-LT-01.qxd 11/10/2024 12:46 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MC FOR FIR OVER VERKA UNDERPASS DEFACEMENT SAVI HAS SHIFTED BASE FROM NEW ZEALAND TO INDIA Civic body has recommended FIR over defacement of Verka underpass on Southern Bypass. P2 MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 28°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 28°C | MIN 17°C RICKY EARNS NOMINATION FOR 67TH GRAMMY AWARDS Savi Kahlon, who became a sensation after Apa Phir Milange, has shifted base to India to focus on singing career. P4 » FORECAST SUNSET SUNDAY 5.29 PM Kej earned his fourth nomination for Break of Dawn in the Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album category. P4 » SUNRISE MONDAY 6:44 AM » SUNDAY | 10 NOVEMBER 2024 | LUDHIANA Here, littered roads, insanitary conditions are coommonplace BHADAUR HOUSE-III Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 9 Garbage littered around, insanitary conditions and rodents rotting around, moving from one hole to another and feasting on leftovers is a common site in Bhadaur House. The rodents have caused huge damage to the flooring of the Bhadaur House market which can be seen uprooted at many places. Adding to the woes, Ganda Nullah passes from the area, which raises stink, and the bridge built over the drain behind Hotel City Heart is in a shambles and can collapse anytime. Sewerage of the market often overflows during the monsoon season. Worse part is that garbage, including polythene bags and plastic ropes, is set afire regularly. The burnt garbage produces toxic gases, particulate matter and ash residue, giving difficult time to the people visiting the market. “Several requests have been made to the authorities concerned to look into the problem of poor sanitation but only little efforts had been made in this regard. Roadside vendors selling eatables often leave leftovers and waste material in the market itself. One can also notice garbage dumped in the rear of the market and it is not picked on a regular basis. Situation turns worse during the rainy season when stink emanating out of garbage makes it difficult for people to pass through the road,” said Devinder Singh, a shopkeeper. Asha Lata, a resident resid- Garbage lies unattended in an open drain passing from the Bhadaur House area in Ludhiana. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA WILL ENSURE REGULAR CLEANLINESS I will issue instructions to ensure proper cleanliness of the place. I will go visit the place personally and see that things are in order. People visiting here from other places should return with a positive outlook about the place and I will work upon the same. Regular sweeping and cleanliness of the area will be ensured. Madan Lal Bagga, MLA ❝ ❞ ing near Bhadaur House, said it was one of the oldest areas of the city and sanitary conditions were same here for years. “Piles of garbage keep lying at the place and shopkeepers and roadside vendors are also to be blamed as they leave waste from their shops and carts on roads,” she said. EFFORTS ON TO IMPROVE SITUATION A cleanliness drive is being carried out in the entire city and the Bhadaur House area will also be taken care of. I will issue strict instructions to maintain cleanliness in and around the market. People should also be careful and understand that it is their moral responsibility to not to litter in the market. Officials have been directed to conduct inspections to take stock of the situation at the ground level Aaditya Dachalwal, MC CHIEF There are public washrooms in the market but their condition is pathetic. Chandan Kumar, who works at a shop, said drains in washrooms often overflow and sewage also overflows on many occasions, and visiting the market in rainy days was like a nightmare. Aman Arora, a cloth trader ❝ ❞ from Muktsar who is a regular visitor to the market for the past many years, said he had seen Ludhiana growing in leaps and bounds but what had not changed and had only turned worse was the Bhadaur House market. “No improvement in infrastructure has been made and the condition here is deterio- UNENDING WOES Rodents have caused huge damage to the flooring of the Bhadaur House market which can be seen uprooted at many places. Adding to the woes, Ganda Nullah passes from the area, which raises stink, and the bridge built over the drain behind Hotel City Heart is in a shambles and can collapse anytime. rating with each passing day. I have heard a lot from my elders about the place who used to get together here after shopping at the AC market and the iconic Indian Coffee House is also located in the market. Today, one can find only garbage, filth, encroachments and traffic jam in the area,” he said. Villagers oppose move to release polluted water for irrigation Tribune News Service ACTIVISTS THREATEN MASS STIR ■ Civil society movement activists meet 32 village residents Ludhiana, November 9 Residents of 32 villages located on the banks of the Buddha Nullah, a Sutlej tributary passing through Ludhiana, on Saturday opposed the government move to release polluted water for irrigation purposes in their fields. The move came to the fore during the ongoing proceedings before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) wherein the counsel for the polluting industries has submitted that the state government had prepared a scheme to divert the water in the lower Buddha Nullah for providing the irrigation facilities in over 15 villages in the vicinity by lifting the water by use of diesel lift pumps. Reaching out to aggrieved villagers, the activists of Kale Pani Da Morcha, a civil society movement waging a war on rampant water pollution, met the residents of 32 villages at Walipur — the confluence point of the nullah with the Sutlej. The villagers expressed opposition to the proposal for using dyeing effluent for irrigation purposes and demanded immediate dismissal of all those officers of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), especially its chairman and member secretary, whom they accused of misleading the Vidhan Sabha committee formed to probe the pollution sources in Sutlej tributary. Strongly opposing any such move, the villagers, backed by the Kale Pani Da Morcha activists, announced to launch a mass agitation for fighting against any such proposal tooth and nail. They also announced that more meetings will be held in the ■ Threaten mass stir to check widespread pollution in Buddha Nullah ■ seek dismissal of PPCB Chairman, Member Secy for misleading Vidhan Sabha committee area in coming days to form an organised team to fight this battle. Addressing villagers, Jaskirat Singh, a founder member of the morcha, said: “It is surprising that the important environmental clearance document that was presented by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in the NGT and on the basis of which the PPCB had to order the closure of the entire dyeing industry in Ludhiana, finds absolutely no mention at all in the 81-page report given by the Vidhan Sabha Committee on Buddha Nullah recently.” “It is abundantly clear from this that the officers of the PPCB are misleading not only the people of Punjab but also the representatives of the people and the members of the committees of the Vidhan Sabha and are hiding these important facts from them,” Jaskirat asserted while demanding dismissal of the PPCB Chairman and Member Secretary for what he termed as “huge blunder and a serious lapse” on their part. He also demanded appropriate action from the Vidhan Sabha Speaker against them. Kapil Arora said the dyeing industry of Ludhiana was not allowed to release even its treated water into the Buddha Nullah and it was clearly written in the environment clearance they had got in 2013. “These documents, which were hidden so far by the PPCB and the industry, had come to the fore during the ongoing proceedings in the NGT,” he said. Amitoj Mann of the Morcha said: “We are surprised that the state government and the industry have made this plan without consulting any one in these 32 villages. This plan is not practical and the industry and government only want to waste more time by creating more confusion around this issue.” He said if the PPCB, the state government and the dyeing industry did not stop the illegal activity before December 3, the people of the state would come forward to close their illegal pipes themselves. Lakha Sidhana said the entire district in Sriganganagar of Rajasthan was today observing complete bandh against the rampant water pollution. He appealed to the people of Punjab and Rajasthan to reach Ludhiana in maximum numbers to close such illegal pipes on December 3. Kuldeep Singh Khaira said the NGT, in its order dated November 4, had said if the industry fulfills the conditions of its environment clearance and norms only in those circumstances, the PPCB might not take any strict action against them till the next date of hearing which was fixed for December 2. “As the industry is clearly flouting both norms and clearance conditions, the PPCB is at liberty to take action if they want,” he argued. Tender floated for ~7-crore project to park 750 vehicles across 14 lots Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 9 The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has begun work to develop parking lots on both sides of the newly-built elevated highway in Ludhiana. Following the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway’s (MoRTH) formal nod, the NHAI has floated a tender to call bids for development, operations and maintenance of parking facilities along the elevated highway, connecting Samrala Chowk to the Ludhiana municipal limits till Ferozepur road on th NH-05 in the city. To come up at the cost of Rs 7 crore, the project will entail parking of 750 vehicles across 14 lots on both sides of the elevated highway, passing through main arteries of the city. Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora told The Tribune, here on Saturday that the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), Col Anil Sen, has issued a notice inviting tender from interested builders till December 11 after submitting their queries, if any, till November 13. The tender notice reads that as part of its endeavour The elevated highway in Ludhiana. FILE to provide world-class infrastructure and related service for the highway network, the NHAI/ NHLML has proposed to set up parking facilities for road users. “The parking facilities are aimed at improving urban mobility and reducing congestion within the urban limits,” it noted. Arora, who was the main force behind the construction of the elevated highway, had recently met the NHLML Chairman, Vinay Kumar, who had granted in-principle approval to the project. The ruling AAP member from Punjab in the Upper House of Parliament had called on the chief of the NHLML, which comes under the aegis of MoRTH and NHAI, to discuss the urgent need for expediting the construction of parking facilities along the elevated highway in Ludhiana. He had emphasised the critical importance of the project in easing traffic congestion, which affects local businesses and commuters. “Our local MLAs had been following up with me to get this finalised with the authority concerned,” Arora said while apprising the NHLML Chairman the project’s significance as it would help increase footfall to local businesses. He said the NHLML Chairman had agreed to develop parking slots and footpaths on the service road along both sides of the elevated highway at an estimated cost of Rs 7 crore. “The NHLML Chairman, while understanding the gravity of the situation, had granted statutory approvals for the project, covering 14 locations with a parking capacity of around 750 vehicles,” the parliamentarian said. He said the parking lots would come up along Bharat Nagar Chowk, DC Office, Bhai Bala Chowk, Park Plaza, Novelty, Nagpal Regency, Aarti Chowk, Maharaja Regency, Kaka Marriage Palace, Malhar Road, PAU Gate 1, PAU Gate 2, Jagdish Store and Sidhwan Canal. Appreciating the NHLML Chairman’s prompt response and commitment to address the traffic congestion issue in the city, Arora said the NHAI had already approved estimates of the project, which had been prepared after conducting the feasibility study. As per the estimates, around 750 vehicles can be parked at the proposed lots between the service road and main carriage along the elevated road. The 12.951-km partiallyaccess controlled four-lane NH-05 section passing through the city was constructed by the NHAI on the EPC mode under the NHDP Phase IV at the cost of Rs 756.27 crore to provide uninterrupted flow of traffic to several government offices, including Mini Secretariat, Commissioner of Police office, head post office and major business establishments. c m y b Major fire breaks out in scrapyard Nikhil Bhardwaj NHAI begins work on parking lots along elevated highway in city Gangster facing 26 cases among 2 held for murderous attack on trader Ludhiana, November 9 A major fire broke out in a scrapyard on Karabara Road here on Saturday, destroying junk worth lakhs of rupees. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Shankar Prasad, the owner of the scrapyard, recounted the terrifying moment when he heard voices outside his shanty and saw flames engulfing the area. His workers narrowly escaped in the incident. People attempted to extinguish the fire themselves but as it spread further, they alerted the fire brigade. Firefighters received the call at 3:30 pm. They worked tirelessly for two hours to bring the blaze under control. Leading fireman Vijay Kumar said the fire had spread widely due to the presence of junk and waste but fortunately, there were no casualties. However, onlookers posed a challenge for firefighters and the narrow road leading to the plot hindered access for larger fire tenders. To overcome the same, fire officials stationed bigger tenders on the main road and refilled smaller ones to combat the fire effectively. The quick response of the fire brigade prevented any loss of life and the situation was brought under control. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 9 The Ludhiana police claimed to have arrested a gangster, Rishab Benipal, alias Nannu, along with another person in a murderous attack on a shoe trader, Gurvinder Singh, alias Prinkle. Both suspects had also suffered bullet injuries as the trader had also fired shots in self-defence. Notably, on Friday armed the assailants barged into the shop where they shot at Prinkle and his business partner Navjit Kaur. Seven bullets were fired at Prinkle of which two hit near his chest. Navjit Kaur suffered two bullet injuries. Rishab also suffered three bullet injuries, including two in the stomach, while Sushil, the other suspect, suffered three bullet injuries. After committing the crime, the suspects took away a Honda Activa scooter from a person near the incident site and fled the scene. Rishab Benipal, is a resident of Jattan Wali Gali, Dharampura, and Sushil Kumar is a resident of Kabir Nagar. Rishab had a criminal background as he is facing 26 criminal cases, including heinous ones, registered against him in various districts of the state. In July last year, he came out on bail from Patiala jail. He had also com- Cops address mediapersons in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN mitted a major crime near the Jalandhar bypass when he snatched a huge amount of cash from some gambler. Even Sushil is facing three criminal cases, including of Arms Act, registered against him in the past. The other suspects who are at large in the case were identified as Mukul Sharma, alias Paras, Sahil Sapra of Khud Mohalla, Akash of the Tibba road area and Jaat of Reru Sahib. Honey Sethi, a shoe trader, was also booked by the police in the case but the police said he would be arrested after verifying his role in the incident. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Investigation, Shubham Aggarwal, said after the firing incident at Khud mohalla, police teams were formed and all entry-exit points of city were sealed. During checking, both suspects were arrested within seven hours of the incident from near Durga Mata temple. The two suspects had also suffered bullet injuries due to which they were admitted to a hospital for treatment after arrest. Aggarwal said when the police team reached the scene, one .32 bore weapon left by assailants, five live cartridges and 17 empty cartridges were recovered. Both suspects were undergoing treatment at the DMCH while the victims, Prinkle and Navjit Kaur were undergoing treatment at Fortis Hospital. Doctors had operated Rishab while operation of Sushil was pending. Meanwhile, police teams were formed to conduct raids at the suspected whereabouts of the suspects.