04122024-LT-01.qxd 12/4/2024 12:44 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune CULTURAL EVENTS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT GADVASU YOUTH FEST CINEVESTURE FEST GETS BIGGER AND BETTER MASSEY ISSUES FRESH STATEMENT ON HIS ‘BREAK’ The 13th Inter-College Youth Festival of GADVASU entered the second phase with stage events. P2 Cinevesture is thrilled to announce its partnership with the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. P4 The actor clarified that he is not retiring from films and is just going for a break to focus on his family. P4 » » FORECAST MODERATE FOG MAX 26°C | MIN 13°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.22 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:04 AM » WEDNESDAY | 4 DECEMBER 2024 | LUDHIANA Against pollution in BuddhaNullah, not migrants: Activists Tribune News Service Cops put up barricades to stop environmental activists on the Ferozepur road; and (below) vehicles stuck in a traffic jam during the protest on the road in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN Stand-off between dyeing industry, activists leaves commuters in lurch Routes diverted, long serpentine queues of vehicles were witnessed on roads Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Man arrested for selling fake branded clothes Tribune News Service school but could not reach on time and had to call one of my acquaintances to do the same.” Why do we have to suffer,” rued Aradhna. One held with illegal arms Ludhiana, December 3 The Moti Nagar police have arrested Ajit Singh, a resident of Giaspura, and seized one pistol, magazines and two cartridges from him. During patrolling near Sherpur, the police got a tip-off that the suspect was carrying illegal arms and was standing in a vacant plot in Fauji Colony to commit some crime. The police reached the spot and arrested the man. A case under the Arms Act was registered. — TNS sonnel did not afford to take any chance. The commuters had to take alternative routes to reach their destinations. On the other hand, the entire industry, especially the dyeing and a few allied garment and textile industries, remained shut today as workers were called by the Punjab A police official interacts with protesting activists near a CETP on Tajpur Road. PHOTO: INDERJEET VERMA 2K flower varieties on displayat Late wheat sowing may hit yield, farmers worried PAU Chrysanthemum Show Tribune News Service Ludhiana, December 3 The Daresi police have arrested Mohit Sharma, a resident of Ganeshpuri street, for selling fake garments by putting logos of leading companies, including Levis, CK, Tommy Hilfiger, etc, on them. The police also seized 496 fake pieces of garments from his custody during the raid and arrested the suspects. A case under Sections 63 and 65 of the Copyright Act is registered against him. Many persons on roads were seen pleading to the police to let them go but since strict instructions were passed on to them, the per- Ludhiana, December 3 Presenting a multitude of flowers through the display of 2,000 varieties of flowers, the two-day ‘Chrysanthemum Show’ kicked off at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Tuesday. Dedicated to the celebrated Punjabi poet Bhai Vir Singh, who was a great admirer of flowers; the show has been jointly organised by the Department of Floriculture and Landscaping (DF&L) as well as the Estate Organisation of the PAU. Inaugurating the show, the chief guest, Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, said: “With its demand gaining momentum and no replacement to its natural beauty, chrysanthemums remain the highly sought after flowers for enriching surroundings.” Beneath trees, in this open area of Dr Manmohan Singh Auditorium, the beauty of numberless chrysanthemums was a pleasant sight to the eyes of the beholders, who had a rare opportunity to enjoy their company, rather than sitting in isolation and ASHWANI DHIMAN Ludhiana, December 3 While tension prevailed across the city and the police were seen at every nook and corner of the city, it was the common man, who suffered the most due to the standoff between the industry and activists of the ‘Kale Pani da Morcha’ campaign. Residents and commuters had to bear the brunt due to the call given by the activists and the normal life in the city was affected. Aradhna Singh, a resident staying near Aggar Nagar, said she was stuck for over an hour in traffic near the BRS Nagar bridge. “I had to pick up my daughter from the Dyers Association to safeguard the Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) of dyeing units as activists wanted to stop the discharge of water from the CETPs. Routes were diverted and the commuters were not allowed to go from Ferozepur Road towards Agar Nagar and traffic was diverted from the BRS Nagar side. Long serpentine queues of vehicles were witnessed on roads outside Gurdwara Nanaksar and opposite GADVASU. Schoolchildren also faced inconvenience as they had to take long routes due to heavy barricading across the city. Police officials, including Commissioner Police (CP) Kuldip Chahal, ADCPs, ACPs and SHOs, were on duty in different areas of the city. The normal life hit in the city following the call given by the activists as the Ferozepur road was also blocked for several hours. Ludhiana, December 3 As the dyeing industry had engaged thousands of migrant labourers to reach near the Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) to guard these, activists of the ‘ Kale Pani Da Morcha’ campaign clarified that they were against contamination of the Buddha Nullah and not migrants. The activists said an impression being created that Punjabis were against migrant workers was totally wrong and it was done to divert attention from the real issue. A farmer, Sucha Singh, said activists were attached with the campaign as the industry was polluting the nullah by discharging effluents into it. “Now, the migrants were made scapegoat by industry. We came to know that many of the migrant workers were called from other districts. We are fighting for a cause as the contaminated water of the nullah was playing havoc with the lives of lakhs of people by spreading deadly diseases among them. We are against pollution, not migrants,” he said. In August too, the activists in a large number gathered in Ludhiana for the cause under the same campaign and that time, they had given time to the government to come up with a solution to save lives from the pollution in the nullah but since nothing could be done and the problem still persisted, the activists gathered on Tuesday to stop discharge of effluents into the nullah. “The authorities are sleeping and we want them to wake up from their deep slumber as it’s already late, said Kuldeep Singh Khaira, an activist. At the same time, today’s development on the issue was discussed on various social media platforms. Pritpal Singh Baliawal, spokesperson for the state BJP on his twitter account, , has asked Balbir Singh Seechewal where was he today when the people were fighting against pollution in the Buddha Nullah. He wrote: “Dear Eco Baba, as an MP environmentalist, , your silence is deafening. Do we need to remind you that you are reprresentative of AAP Punjab, under Bhag, want Mann, Aman Arora and Arvind Kejriwal?” Taking dig at MP Raja Warring from the Congress, he wrote: “Where are you? Being MP from Ludhiana this is also your duty, do we need to remind you?” Manav Mander Tribune News Service A woman clicks a selfie during the Chrysanthemum Show that kicked off at the PAU on Tuesday. remaining glued to their smartphones, he observed. With chrysanthemum placed at the second spot in the international flower market, the university has been bestowed with the honour of being one of the top centres of ICAR for floriculture research and production, the VC said. Dr APS Gill, former professor of floriculture, PAU, and ex-national consultant of floriculture, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA); Dr JS Arora, and Dr Ramesh Kumar former head, DF&L, PAU, were the special guests on the occasion. The dignitaries extolled the undeviating attention of the DF&L in keeping this age-old tradition of holding Chrysanthemum Show alive during its peak blooming period. Dr Parminder Singh, head of the DF&L, while sharing intricacies of the show, said the department had a collection of over 250 varieties of chrysanthemum and developed 17 varieties of chrysan- c m y b themum, including seven hybrids, till date. Garnering an enthusiastic response on the opening day, the show exhibited over 90 varieties of chrysanthemums belonging to diverse categories, he said. There were 10 classes (incurved, reflexed, spider, decorative, pompon/button, single/double Korean, spoon, anemone, any other and specially trained plants) for the competition comprising Japanese and Korean varieties of chrysanthemum, he added. Ludhiana, December 3 After going through perils of paddy procurement, farmers are now worried about wheat crop as sowing has been delayed this year and it can affect its yield. The delay in sowing can hit the crop’s productivity by extending the harvesting period, exposing the crop to heat conditions, resulting in shrivelled grain and low productivity. Various factors can be attributed to late sowing, this year, including tardy lifting of paddy, shortage of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser and high temperature. “Paddy crop was standing in my fields when the time was optimum for wheat sowing. Since paddy was not being lifted from the market, I waited to har- vest the crop and had to water it as the field was getting dry. The problem that I am facing now is that there is too much moisture in the field and we have not seen sun for the past few days due to prevailing weather conditions. I am left with no other option but to wait for a few more days for wheat sowing,” said farmer Baljit Singh from Lalton Kalan village. Another farmer, Sukhpal Singh, from Issewal village, who retired as chief agriculture officer, said late paddy purchase had resulted in late sowing. “Fields are still full of moisture and if wheat is sown now, it will result in low yield. Those who have sown wheat during the normal period of November 1 to 15 can also face issues as temperature at that time was high, which led to early germination. As no tilling took place, yield will be low. If temperature rises at the time of harvesting, it can result in shrivelled grains and hence, low yield. Early sown or late sown, famer can face issues both ways,” he said. BKU (Lakhowal) president Harinder Singh Lakhowal said late sowing meant low yield. Delay by one week results in two quintal less yield and now farmers were praying that the temperature does not rise at the time of harvesting. Dr Virinder Singh Sohu, principal wheat breeder from PAU, said though wheat had to be sown till November 30, there were varieties that could be sown in December and January as well. “Sowing time and temperature play a crucial role in agriculture and if these are not optimum, it can lead to low yield,” he added. Truck driver injured in mishap Ludhiana, December 3 An accident occurred on National Highway-44 when a truck driver lost control over the vehicle and it climbed the divider. Though no casualty was reported in the incident, traffic remain disrupted for some hours. The truck was coming from Rajasthan to Ludhiana. It was loaded with stock, which was to be delivered in the city. The driver was injured and taken to a hospital, where his condition was said to be stable. — TNS