29012025-JTR-01.qxd 1/28/2025 10:41 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune FATHER-SON DUO ARRESTED FOR ARMED ROBBERIES MERA GHAM GIVES A PEEK INTO THE REAL MA(A)N SIKH ARTS AND FILM FEST RETURNS TO CHANDIGARH Police recover three pistols, 25 cartridges, 9 mobile phones, a smart watch and gold ornaments from their possession. P2 Who would have thought Saaun Di Jhadi hitmaker Babbu Maan endured enough gham to write a book on it?. P4 Sikhlens, celebrating 26 years globally, returns to Chandigarh for its sixth consecutive year. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR MAX 21°C | MIN 3°C YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 2°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.59 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 7:21 AM » WEDNESDAY | 29 JANUARY 2025 | JALANDHAR All shops are closed; a road wears a deserted look; and BJP leaders hold a silent protest against the Amritsar desecration case, near Dr BR Ambedkar statue during a bandh in Jalandhar on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: MALKIAT SINGH AND SARABJIT SINGH Normal life comes to halt for 7 hours BandhMarkets wear deserted look |Attendance thin in schools, offices | BJP targets AAP Tribune News Service Protest march in Hoshiarpur Jalandhar, January 28 The city seemed to have come to a standstill on Tuesday as various Dalit organisations had given a call for a bandh over attempt to vandalise the statue of Dr BR Ambedkar in Amritsar. As the call for bandh had been given from 10 am to 5 pm, grocery shops and milk bars that opened in the morning, were shut after a few hours. All markets and private offices wore a deserted look. While government offices and educational institutes remained open, the attendance of the staff and students remained low. All private schools and colleges remained shut and the parents had been informed about it last evening through school apps and WhatsApp groups. Several establishments kept their shutters down as the staff kept working inside. There, however, could be no public dealing. People moved about in internal lanes of the city, but there was hardly any traffic. All highways connecting with adjoining towns of Nakodar, Pathankot, Phagwara, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala had been blocked by the Ravidasia and Valmik organisations. Over 2,000 cops remained deployed in the city and An elderly woman beggar looks at her empty bowl near the District Administrative Complex during the bandh in Jalandhar on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH periphery to ensure that the protests passed away peacefully. The youths, who were moving around on bikes, forced to shut several offices, banks, restaurants, dhabas and liquor vends. Dharnas were held at least 10 locations in the city with big ones at Nakodar Chowk and Rama Mandi. Among those who organised led the protests were Arun Sandal of the Satguru Kabir Tiger Force, Vipan Sabharwal of the Bhagwan Valmik Utsav Committee. BJP leaders, led by ex-MP Sushil Rinku, led a huge protest at Ambedkar Chowk. Like the Congress, the BJP too blamed the AAP for its failure to check the incident at Amritsar in view of Republic Day. “AAP leaders are putting pictures of Dr Ambedkar in their offices but have failed to prevent disgrace of his statue. The entire leadership has camped in Delhi and have left Punjab, leading to lawlessness”, said Rinku. AAP’s Dalit leader and minister Mohinder Bhagat also took to Facebook saying that the design behind the episode would be uncovered and the case be probed in depth. He appealed to everyone to maintain peace and not get carried away by the plans of unscrupulous elements. After 5 pm, some shops and eateries in the town opened for the customers but footfall remained low. Hoshiarpur, January 28 The city remained completely closed today due to a bandh call given by the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. SC organisations protested the incident of vandalism of Ambedkar’s statue located at Dr BR Ambedkar Chowk on Heritage Street, Amritsar. Officials and members of various organisations gathered in large numbers and took out a protest march in the city. Meanwhile, a few shops and banks that were open were forcibly closed by protesters. The leaders, leading the protesters, said Baba Saheb had been disrespected by miscreants and this had hurt the sentiments of crores of people. They said such an incident on Republic Day was a proof of the big failure of the Amritsar police and administrative officials. Raising slogans against the government, they said the Chief Minister should focus on the law and order situation instead of being busy in election campaign in Delhi and other states. They said AAP had now become VIPs’ party. There had been an increase in robbery, theft, murder and corruption cases and people were feeling insecure. Due to the shutdown, shops in city markets remained closed and people had to face inconvenience. District Bar Association, Hoshiarpur, also held a protest. District Bar Association president Advocate Ranjit Kumar said the incident of insult to the constitution maker in Amritsar was a sad and incident. — OC Industrial units open, work hit Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 28 The effect of Jalandhar bandh was seen on the working of industrial units as well. Although factories remained open today in Gadaipur, Focal Point, Transport Nagar, there was no transportation in the city which affected the working of the industry. Industrialists said no orders could be dispatched because of the bandh. Charanjit Singh Maingi, Chairman, Jalandhar Chamber of Industries and Commerce, said the demand for raw materials could not be met. “Because of no transportation, raw material could not arrive,” he said, adding that even labourers were not present in large numbers. Gursharan Singh, a senior industrialist and president, Jalandhar Industrial and Traders’ Joint Action Committee, said even small shops in localities remained closed. “How will one work like this. Already the government is not paying any heed to the Punjab’s industry and the work is suffering a lot,” he said. Tajinder Bhasin, another leading industrialists, said although all of them opened their factories, the work got affected. Even shops and showrooms selling sports items at Basti Nau of the city remained closed. A large number of sports goods shops are concentrated in this area. The bandh that started at 8 in the morning ended at 5 pm. The factory owners said they did not face any inconvenience in going to their work places. Road blocked in Phagwara On a call given by several Dalit organisations, a complete bandh was observed in Phagwara, Goraya, Phillaur and Nakodar today. The call was given against the vandalising incident of the statue of Dr Ambedkar in Amritsar. In Phagwara, thousands of Dalit activists assembled before the statue of Ambedkar in Hargobind Nagar, garlanded it then staged a dharna. All shops and commercial establishment remained closed the whole day and roads and bazars were witnessing a deserted look. SSP Gaurav Toora remained in Phagwara and monitored the law and order situation The activists blocked road before Rest House, Phagwara. The blockade remained continued for more than two hours. Private Schools remained closed as precautionary measures. — OC 3 Cong councillors join AAP in Phagwara; seat Teams formed to remove political count rises to 18, still 8 short of majority in House hoardings, illegal billboards Tribune News Service Ashok Kaura PHAGWARA, JANUARY 28 The Congress’s dream of securing the mayor’s seat in the Phagwara Municipal Corporation seems to be shattered when three senior Congress councillors, including Block Congress Committee president Munish Parbhakar (Ward 20) Ram Paul Uppal (Ward 18) and Padam Dev Sudhir Nikka (2), and former Block Congress Committee president Pawan Sharma today joined the Aam Aadmi Party. The shifting was orchestrated by MP Rajkumar Chabbewal along with Phagwara constituency in-charge Joginder Singh Mann, Punjab spokesperson Harnur Singh Mann and senior AAP leader Daljit Singh Raju. The Congress Councillors also announced their allegiance to AAP The party also . welcomed Youth Congress leaders Rajan Sharma, Arjun Sudhir and Karan Uppal in its fold. This unexpected develop- Congress councillors join AAP in the presence of MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal in Phagwara on Tuesday. ment has left the Congress short of the majority, it previously had, with AAP now commanding 18 councillors in the MC. AAP had won 12 seats in the MC elections held on December 21. Later, two Independents Inderjit (Ward 26) and HS Bhogal (10) joined AAP then , BJP councillor Paramjit Singh Khurana (Ward 48) joined AAP on January 27 but today, with the joining of three Congress councillors, AAP’s number has risen to 18. However, the party is still eight members short of the 26-seat majority required to claim the Mayor’s position. Speculation is rife that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), with three councillors each, may extend support to AAP There are also whispers . of more opposition councillors considering switching to the party, potentially altering the city’s political landscape further. The shift is a significant blow to the Congress, particularly to MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal, who had earlier asserted his party’s unity and c m y b dismissed AAP’s potential to poach councillors. The development highlights the Congress’s internal challenges and AAP’s growing influence in Punjab’s local politics. Meanwhile, it was observed that the Congress had still 19 elected councillors, one vote of the Congress MLA and the support of three BSP councillors and more than three Independents. On the one hand, Chabbewal himself camping at Phagwara and, on the other side, Phagwara MLA Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal is constantly in touch with the Congress high command. Meanwhile, reviewing the petition of a Congress councillor Bikram Singh (Ward 50) the High Court has taken a stern stand about the postponement of the MC elections on January 25. Taking serious note of this lapse, the High Court has summoned the Divisional Commissioner to appear before the court tomorrow on January 29. Jalandhar, January 28 Four teams have been constituted after Mayor Vaneet Dhir asked officials to remove unauthorised advertisements and political hoardings and boards from various parts of the city. Four teams have been constituted for Jalandhar West, Jalandhar North, Jalandhar Central and Jalandhar Cantt. There were several hoardings of Dhir and other boards that were installed during the elections and these boards were not removed even after the elections got over. The issue was highlighted earlier as well. The Mayor had strictly ordered the officials to ensure that the work was done at the earliest. Dhir has ordered to take off his own hoardings as well. An official said the Mayor had also asked them to identify specific areas where the boards bearing religious messages could be installed. A time period of one or two months had been given to the officials so that these boards were not installed on main chowks. “Boards and hoardings are the reasons for accidents and traffic hindrance as well, which is why such orders have been given. Also, the boards mar the beauty of the city too,” an official said. Ashwini Aggarwal, councillor from Ward number 80, had set an example when, a day after winning the elections, he took to social media and shared that he had started removing the party hoardings. “I have asked my party workers to remove the hoardings that have my pictures. I had promised my ward residents of clean the ward, so I will start it myself,” he had said. “Elections are done. My ward residents have elected me and now it’s time to work. We have to start cleanliness drive. Apne ward di safai main hi krni hai, hor kaun krega (Who else will clean my ward. I will have to do that),” Aggarwal had then said.