25012025-JTR-01.qxd 24-01-2025 22:56 Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune DHALIWAL, DC VISIT PROPOSED COLLEGE SITE IN AJNALA VILLAGE THE CAST OF FILM SHUKRANA BELIEVES CONTENT IS KING NOW PRIYANKA & GUNEET HAIL OSCAR NOD FOR SHORT FILM ANUJA Minister Dhaliwal says degree college is one of the most important requirements in the area. P2 Punjabi film Shukrana, streaming on OTT platform Chaupal, reflects the continuous evolution of the industry. P4 Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Mindy Kaling and Guneet Monga celebrated award nomination of their film Anuja. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR MAX 21°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 21°C | MIN 6°C SUNSET SATURDAY 5.56 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:23 AM » SATURDAY | 25 JANUARY 2025 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF TWO ARRESTED FOR LOOTING Phagwara: In an ongoing drive to eradicate anti-social elements from the district, a police team has arrested two persons allegedly involved in a loot incident and recovered a stolen mobile phone, Rs 2,000, an iron chisel used in the crime and a motorcycle. SSP, Kapurthala, Gaurav Toora said here today that the arrested accused were identified as Gurpreet Singh of Kesarpur, and one more person. OC CCTVS IN REVENUE OFFICES Phagwara: In a significant move aimed at enhancing transparency and improving public convenience, the government has installed 180 CCTV cameras across SubRegistrar and Joint SubRegistrar offices in the state. Additional Chief Secretary, (Revenue), Anurag Verma, has directed all DCs to ensure that these cameras were operational. A comprehensive report on the status of the cameras is to be submitted by January 31, 2025.Senior officials at the headquarters will monitor the CCTV footage to maintain oversight. DCs have also been instructed to conduct surprise inspections of the revenue offices using live footage from the cameras. OC AAP ministers giving K’thala a miss on national events After Mayor, now residents wait for ad hoc panels Absence of AAP MLA in any of four Assembly segments the reason ? Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 24 No AAP leader has been deputed to unfurl the Tricolour during Republic Day or Independence Day functions in Kapurthala district. While AAP leaders preside over national events in other districts, it has been the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) in Kapurthala who have carried out the duties at the district level. The absence of an AAP MLA in any of the four Assembly segments in Kapurthala is seen as a contributing factor. The Congress holds a strong presence in the district with prominent leaders like Rana Gurjeet Singh in Kapurthala, Sukhpal Khaira in Bholath and Balwinder Dhaliwal in Phagwara. Rana Gurjeet’s son Rana Inder Partap is an Independent MLA in Sultanpur Lodhi. A senior district official said the AAP leadership’s lack of interest in attending functions in Kapurthala may stem from this political landscape. In the first Independence Day function after AAP assumed power in 2022, then DC Vishesh Sarangal hoisted the flag. He also performed the same duty during Republic Day 2023. Later, Capt Karnail Singh, who took over as DC, DCS ATTENDING FUNCTIONS SINCE ’22 ■ In the first Independence Day function after AAP assumed power in 2022, then DC Vishesh Sarangal hoisted the flag He also performed the same duty during Republic Day 2023. ■ Later, Capt Karnail Singh, who took over as DC, presided over the functions for I-Day 2023 and R-Day 2024. ■ Last year, DC Amit Panchal hoisted the national flag during the Independence Day ceremony and will again oversee the Republic Day ceremony this Sunday. ■ presided over the functions for I-Day 2023 and R-Day 2024. This year, DC Amit Panchal hoisted the national flag during the Independence Day ceremony and will again oversee the Republic Day ceremony this Sunday. Congress MLAs pointed out that under their tenure, ministers from their party would preside over these functions. For instance, in January 2022, Pargat Singh, a Congress minister, unfurled the Tricolour, and prior to that, then Deputy Chief Minister OP Soni had performed the duty during Republic Day. AAP leader Joginder S Mann commented that Kapurthala is a smaller district with fewer ministers, and with more districts to cover, it is likely that the district gets overlooked during such events. In AAP’s tenure, IAS officers have been tasked with hoisting the flags during the national celebrations. On August 15, 2022, Vishesh Sarangal, the then Deputy Commissioner, performed the duty, followed by him again on January 26, 2023. Later, Capt Karnail Singh, who took over as DC, presided over the Independence Day function on August 15, 2023, and the Republic Day function on January 26, 2024. 5 HELD FOR ROBBERY Phagwara: The police have arrested five accused involved in robbing four persons working in the GNA factory and recovered two mobile phones and the motorcycle used during the crime. SSP, Kapurthala, Gaurav Toora, said here today that the accused were identified as Jaspal Singh of village Malakpur (Phagwara) Inderdeep Singh, Harpreet Singh, Keith Jenny and Rahul, all of Baghana, Phagwara. OC DC Himanshu Aggarwal salute the national flag in Jalandhar. ITBP personnel participate in full dress rehearsal of the Republic Day parade a in Jalandhar on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO MALKIAT SINGH DC unfurls Tricolour in full dress rehearsal Teachers hold protest over pay panel Mahilpur, January 24 On the call of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU), its unit of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College, Mahilpur, today staged a protest against the government over its negligence in implementing the seventh pay commission and other demands. PCCTU unit president Prof Jaswinder Singh said due to the anti-student and antiteacher policies of the government, there was resentment among college teachers. He said the entire process regarding the implementation of the commission’s recommendation had been adopted, despite that teachers were not being paid salaries according to the increased pay scale. He said such a policy of evasion showed the anti-education mentality of the government. The teachers raised slogans against the government and warned that if the government continued such authoritarian behaviour, then a fierce struggle would be waged. The teachers took a pledge to participate in the state-level protest organised by the PCCTU on January 31 in Mohali. The college’s viceprincipal Prof Aradhana Duggal, staff secretary Prof Dev Kumar and all teachers of the unit were present. — OC Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 24 In view of Republic Day, a full dress rehearsal for the district-level event was held at the local Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, where DC Dr Himanshu Aggarwal unfurled the national flag. The DC inspected the parade and saluted the march past led by parade commander Vainela. The parade included the ITBP , Punjab Police (men and women), Punjab Home Guards, Punjab Battalion NCC boys, Punjab Battalion NCC girls, and the CRPF band. A tableau depicting the government’s development policies and achievements of various departments were displayed. During the rehearsal, students from various schools also presented mass PT shows, along with cultural performances showcasing patriotism by students from New Saint Soldiers School, Innocent Hearts School, Red Cross School for the Deaf, DIPS SchoolSuranussi, Sacred Heart Con- vent School, Naugajja, APJ School, Manav Sehyog School, STS School-Rurka Kalan, SD Phullerwan School and Police DAV School. Following the rehearsal, Aggarwal held a detailed discussion with civil and district police officers, providing necessary directions to ensure the smooth and organised conduct of the district-level event, where Cabinet Minister Aman Arora will unfurl the Tricolour as the chief guest. He emphasised that all essential arrangements, including security, traffic, and parking, should be wellcoordinated. Present on this occasion were Joint Police Commissioner Sandeep Sharma, Assistant Commissioner Sunil Phogat, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development) Jasbir Singh, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Major Dr Amit Mahajan, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Rural Development) Budhi Raj Singh, along with officers from various departments. Mayor’s hoardings block martyr’s statue Jalandhar, January 24 The way with which the city is being defaced with the posters bearing congratulatory messages for Mayor Vaneet Dhir has annoyed residents. The most annoyed are the parents of Major Raman Dada, who got martyred in 1999 in the Operation Rhino. The statue of the Army martyr has been covered from all sides by the hoardings, making it completely invisible to the passersby at Adarsh Nagar here. Ravi Dada, father of the martyr, said, “This is not the first time that the publicityhungry people of the city have covered my son’s statue with hoardings. It keeps on happening but the Municipal Corporation authorities and the district Find the statue of Major Raman Dada, who was martyred in 1999 in the Operation Rhino. administration must watch it. It is so annoying. If they cannot ensure respect for the statue of the country’s martyr, what else can one expect from them?” Dada said, “I had recently written to the MC Commissioner about the matter. I had also met DC Dr Himanshu c m y b Aggarwal at a public function and apprised him of the negligence on the part of the officials but no one seems to be paying any attention”. — TNS Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 24 Two years ago when the fiveyear term of the previous MC House got completed, the ad hoc committees that were constituted by then Mayor Jagdish Raja also got dissolved. Now, as the city has got its new Mayor, there is a wait for the ad hoc committees. According to the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the corporation has to constitute committees of water supply and sewerage disposal, building and roads, house tax assessment and other such committees. The Act also reads that each committee will elect one of its members as the chairman and another member as the vice-chairman. Balraj Thakur, a senior Congress leader, who has been a councillor for six times, said although there was an Act, it depended entirely on the Mayor whether he wanted to constitute the committees now or after wards. The committees play a major role in various works of the corporation. Councillors are the members of the committees and they can raise problems of residents with the respective branch. Besides, even works of various branches get distributed and decentralised. Balraj Thakur, who was the chairman of Health and Sanitation Ad hoc Committee during the last MC House, added, “As the part of ad hoc committee, we can conduct checking and then tell our PLAY ROLE IN MC WORK According to the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the corporation has to constitute committees of water supply and sewerage disposal, building and roads, house tax assessment and other such committees. findings to the Mayor who can then take action accordingly. Even the former mayor had formed the committees quite late, will see when the Mayor forms the same.” The committees help various works related to the MC to get streamlined. Councillors become the committee members and then they also help in exposing several loopholes in the system. For example, the Water Supply and Sewerage Committee ensures the adequate supply of water to citizens and the disposal of sullage and storm water. For that purpose, the committee examines all proposals related to the installation/maintenance of tubewells and disposal work and recommend priorities. Former councillor and then Chairman of the Building and Roads Ad hoc committee Nirmal Singh Nimma had also highlighted that the colonisers owe crores of rupees to the Municipal Corporation. This was revealed in a report on regularisation of colonies submitted by the MC’s Town Planning Department to the Building and Roads Ad hoc Committee.