14112024-JTR-01.qxd 11/13/2024 10:27 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune ON THEIR DAY, COPS ENGAGE YOUTH IN CLEANLINESS DRIVE CAMPAIGN TO RECONNECT PEOPLE WITH NATURE RASHMIKA REVEALS DETAILS ABOUT PUSHPA: THE RULE The police mark Children's Day with a special initiative under its flagship "Sahyog" programme. P2 Tulsi Vivah has been chosen as a tool to raise awareness about the importance of planting trees, plants at home. P3 Actress Rashmika Mandanna has promised that Pushpa: The Rule is going to be an exciting ride. P4 » » FORECAST FOGGY MAX 26°C | MIN 16°C YESTERDAY MAX 26°C | MIN 17°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.29 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:55 AM » THURSDAY | 14 NOVEMBER 2024 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF YOUTH ARRESTED UNDER NDPS ACT Phagwara: The police have arrested a youth and seized 210 intoxicated tablets from his possession on Tuesday night. The accused identified as Gabbar of Chhajj Colony, Phagwara, was nabbed near Urban Estate here. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. In another case, the police have arrested a liquor trader and recovered 45 bottles of illicit liquor from his possession. The accused Ramesh Kumar of Hadiabad was booked under the Punjab Excise Act. OC MAN BOOKED FOR CREATING FAKE I/D Phagwara: The police have booked Gurbir Singh, a Shankar villager, on the charge of harassing a woman by creating her fake social media account. Mukesh Chawla of the village complained to the police that the accused created a fake Facebook I/D of his wife, gave her mobile number and used it to chat with others personating the victim and distributed her mobile number on other social media sites to unknown people. He said people started sending obscene photos on his wife's WhatsApp number. A case has been registered against the accused. oc YOUTH HELD FOR MURDER Phagwara: The police have arrested an accused for murdering a youth. The accused has been identified as Rajinder Singh of Chitti village. The accused and his seven accomplices had attacked and shot Kulwinder Singh, alias Kindi, of Kala Sangha village in August. Charan Dass, father of the deceased, had complained to the police that the accused attacked Kindi and when he tried to save himself, they shot him dead. Kulwinder had come to the village from Bengaluru to attend a court case. oc MARKET PANEL WORKER ATTACKED Phagwara: More than half dozen assailants reportedly attacked and injured an employee of the Market Committee, Phagwara, on Tuesday. The injured victim identified as Mukesh Kumar was admitted to the Civil Hospital in a serious condition. The cause of the attack could not be known yet but the assailants managed to escape. No case has been registered even after one day of the attack. OC HOUSE OF NRI WOMAN BURGLED Phagwara: A house of NRI Narinder Kaur was reportedly burgled at Dilbag Colony in Goraya on Tuesday night.The burglars entered the house after breaking locks and took away gold ornaments, cash in lakhs of rupees after ransacking her house. The police have registered a case in this regard. OC MOBILE SNATCHED FROM WOMAN Phagwara: Two motorcyclist youths snatched a mobile phone from a woman in Goraya on Tuesday. Victim Geetanjali was going to her shop when the accused snatched her mobile and managed to flee. The police have registered a case. OC Hit by reversing car, JCT Phagwara MD Thapar booked for firing at protesting employees 3-year-old girl dies Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 13 A three-year-old girl lost her life in an accident near Medicity Hospital on the Khambra road here this morning. The child, identified as Kareena, received injuries on her head when she suddenly ran behind a reversing car and was struck. Witnesses reported that the driver was reversing the vehicle at the time, unaware of the girl’s sudden appearance. Despite immediate efforts by the driver to rush her to the nearby hospital, Kareena succumbed to her injuries. The incident occurred around 10 am when Kareena was playing near her home. Her family, originally from Bihar, has been living in Jalandhar and earns a modest livelihood through labour work. At the time of the accident, her mother was away on work, while her father had File photo of three-year-old girl Kareena, who lost her life in an accident in Jalandhar. gone to their native village in Bihar. ASI Kashmir Singh from Sadar Police Station arrived at the scene and took the driver, Gurpreet Singh, into custody. The vehicle was also seized and statements of witnesses were recorded to understand the circumstances surrounding the inci- dent as no CCTV cameras were found near the spot. Kareena’s body has been sent to the Civil Hospital, Jalandhar, for a post-mortem examination. Meanwhile, the accident has left the family devastated. Neighbours revealed that Kareena had been playing near the road and had been sent back inside by her family and neighbours earlier for safety, but she ventured out again unnoticed. Her mother, upon hearing of the incident, rushed to the scene and was inconsolable. SHO Suresh Kumar of Police Station Sadar confirmed that an FIR under Section 106 of the BNS has been registered against Gurpreet Singh and he was arrested on the spot. He said the driver was reversing the vehicle for parking when the girl suddenly appeared and was struck. He said further investigation was underway. FIR was registered on Oct 28 but cops didn’t disclose it Our Correspondent Phagwara, November 13 The police have booked JCT Mill Director Samir Thapar for allegedly opening fire at protesting workers on the night of October 27. Earlier, the police had not disclosed having lodged the FIR, but now they have made it public, probably sensing the anger of workers. The FIR had been lodged on a complaint by ASI Jaswant Singh of the Phagwara city police under Section 125 of the BNS and 25 of the Arms Act against Thapar on October 28 at 1.17 am, said an official. As per the copy of the FIR, the complainant said during a noisy protest by JCT workers late night on October 27, Thapar had opened fire, which could have been in self-defence. JCT workers on a dharna in front of the mill at Phagwara. FILE Thapar had reportedly stayed at JCT Guest House in Phagwara for a few days even after the firing incident as there had been noisy demonstrations by the employees outside, who had gheraoed the residence of Thapar since October 27 night. Since then, the irate employees had been demanding the arrest of mill directors Thapar and Mukulika Sinha. However, the police had remained mum and did not comment on it till the departure of Thapar from Phagwara. There are several questions being raised on the matter. Mill union leaders Ajay Yadav and Sunil Pandey have been asking, “Why did the police hide the registration of the FIR against Thapar till now? Were the police waiting for Thapar to escape?” Another FIR in the provident funds irregularities was also registered against directors Thapar and Sinha. Phagwara DSP Bharat Bhushan said investigation in both the cases was on. On October 27 night, tension prevailed in JCT Colony when about 200 irate workers of JCT Mill had gheraoed the residence of both directors in protest against the non-payment of salaries, allowances, bonus and other dues lying pending for the last six months. The protesters were demanding immediate arrest of both directors for the alleged PF and ESI frauds. Meanwhile, despite registration of FIRs against the mill directors in the alleged PF irregularities, no arrest has been made yet. The protesters are also alleging that Thapar was trying to sell the machinery of the mill and could escape. MC outsourcing staff burn effigy of govt over unpaid dues, regular jobs Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, November 13 The Municipal Action Committee Punjab, led by its president Kulwant Singh Saini, held a protest against the government by burning effigies on the Municipal Corporation office campus in Hoshiarpur. During this, an effigy of the government without limbs and head was burnt. The leaders said it was the first government in Punjab which neither had a tongue, nor hands and legs to do anything. The employees protested on the office premises and accused the government of breaking its promise and said the government had cheated the employees and not given them their dues. They said neither had the MC employees burn an effigy of the government in Hoshiarpur. government paid the dues, nor it fulfilled its promise of making the employees permanent. Kulwant Singh Saini and other leaders said it was difficult for the employ- ees, employed on outsourcing and DC rates, to run their households with low salaries and they had spent a lifetime serving in the corporation. Therefore, they should get their rights. The union leaders said if the government did not pay attention to their demands, they would be forced to go on strike for which the responsibility would be of the Municipal Corporation and the government. They presented a memorandum of demands to corporation Commissioner Dr Amandeep and Joint Commissioner Sandeep Tiwari. Karanjot Adia, Somnath Adia, Dalip Kumar, Nachattar Lal, Vikramjit, Jai Gopal, Sanjeev Arora, Jasvir Kumar, Kaushal, Arun Sandhu, Joginderpal, Harbilas, Balram, Ashwani Laddu, Shilpa, Ashok, Ashu, Pradeep Kumar, Anita, Simmo, Parveen, Jyoti, Lekhraj, Ashu Batra, Rajinder, Ravi, Harjeet and a large number of employees were present. A truck that met with an accident due to a dense layer of smog near Phillaur. 12 hurt in mishaps due to smog Our Correspondent Phagwara, November 13 Vehicular traffic was disrupted today due to poor visibility caused by dense smog enveloping the region. More than one dozen passengers, including four women, sustained injuries when a Dehradun-bound tourist bus coming from Jammu rammed into a parked truck near Phillaur last night. The injured were admitted in the Civil Hospital. In another incident, a motorcyclist couple sustained serious injuries when their bike dashed against a grill fitted alongside the highway near Phillaur. Inspection of coop Green activists upset at mutilation of trees, societies on to check submit memo to horticulture department fertiliser hoarding Tribune News Service Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, November 13 Different teams of the Agriculture Department inspected outlets of fertilizer sellers across the district today. Chief Agriculture Officer, Hoshiarpur, Dr Depinder Singh led the teams to examine these at Hoshiarpur. Apart from that, Agriculture Development Officer (Enforcement) Dr Jatin Vashisht and agriculture officer Dr Harmandeep Singh inspected cooperative societies in Hoshiarpur district. During the inspection, the officer reviewed POS records, cross-checked stock inventory and assessed the compliance of dealers and cooperative societies with regulatory guidelines. The aim was to prevent any potential shortages, hoarding or misuse of fertilizers, ensuring that the farming community has consistent access to necessary inputs. The Agriculture Department has asserted that such checks will be conducted to promote transparency, combat black marketing of fertilizers. The inspected cooperative societies were instructed to follow all regulatory requirements and keep updated records in their POS systems.These efforts were part of a broader initiative by the Department of Agriculture to ensure sustainable agricultural practices. DC Komal Mittal said fertiliser was available in sufficient quantity across the district and hoarding of fertilizers by any dealer will not be tolerated at all. The DC said fertilizer was being provided to farmers through cooperative societies and dealers and if any dealer was found to have committed hoarding, strict action will be taken against him under the Fertilizer Control Order 1985. Jalandhar, November 13 A group of citizens and environmentalists met the Joint Commissioner for Horticulture, Dr Mandeep, at the Municipal Corporation office and submitted a memorandum against the widespread tree mutilation in the city. The group, led by members of the local environmental organisation Rukh Baba, sounded the alarm over the excessive pruning practices that leave trees stripped of their leaves and reduced to barren stumps. Jagdish Chander, a member of the Rukh Baba, highlighted the recent instances of tree mutilation on Garha Road and near the district courts on Police Line Road. He presented photograps of seven such cases to the Joint Commissioner and emphasised the urgency of the issue. Responding to the con- c m y b A group of citizens and environmentalists submits a memo to the Joint Commissioner for Horticulture, Dr Mandeep, at the Municipal Corporation office in Jalandhar on Wednesday. cerns, Dr Mandeep assured the group of her commitment to addressing the problem. She explained that a shortage of gardeners may be contributing to the overzealous pruning as workers attempt to minimise their workload. In their memorandum, the group stressed the environmental repercussions of such practices, pointing out that leaves play a crucial role as carbon sinks and pollutant absorbers. “Punjab already has the lowest tree cover in India. This reckless lopping further destroys green cover, disrupts ecosystems and endangers biodiversity, including birds and insects,” said Dr Navneet Bhullar, an environmentalist. Dr Archana Berry urged the Municipal Corporation to use social media campaigns and radio jingles to raise awareness about the consequences of overpruning, describing it as “ecocide.” Echoing the concerns, Dr Pawandeep said, “Citizens are effectively deforesting Jalandhar for the winter season. Trees are the lungs of our environment and their leaves lie discarded in heaps across the city.” The group also highlighted that the excessive pruning often far exceeds the necessary clearance required for utility lines. “A senior engineer from the electricity department informed us that only three feet of clearance is needed between trees and power lines, but we are seeing branches cut back as much as 15 feet,” the group pointed out. They also urged residents to intervene and stop such destructive practices. They urged the public to cite the MC orders for minimal pruning when confronting workers.