30012025-LT-01.qxd 1/30/2025 1:01 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune CITY LAD HARVIRAJ WINS SILVER IN SHOOTING C’SHIP MISSING SKEWERS GAVE BIRTH TO PATHAR KE KEBAB SHAHID TALKS ABOUT HIS UPCOMING FILM DEVA Harviraj has bagged a silver medal in Digvijay Singh Memorial Shooting Championship in Bhopal. P2 A missing set of skewers on a hunting trip gave birth to Hyderabad’s scrumptious pathar ke kebab. P4 Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor teased a connection between Devaand the 1975 classic Deewaar. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 24°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 24°C | MIN 7°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.58 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:14 AM » THURSDAY | 30 JANUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA MC’s sterilisation drive fails to curb rising dog bite cases in dist Hopes pinned on Census of stray canines to formulate programmes Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 29 Dog bite cases in Ludhiana are on the rise and the Municipal Corporation’s sterilisation drive seems to be a toothless tiger as cases continue to be reported in a large number. In 2024, the district witnessed 28,390 cases, which was highest in the state. Of these, 13,488 were from the city and remaining from peripheral areas. Figures reveal that around same number of cases are being reported from urban and rural belts. Hence, there is not much difference between urban and rural areas in this regard. Recently two children lost their lives within a week in Hasanpur village, near here due to stray dog attacks. After these incidents, the Punjab State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has directed the Local Government and Rural Development Departments to conduct a Census of stray dogs in all cities. Though the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation The Ludhiana MC claims to have sterilised 1.50 lakh stray dogs in the past 10 years. INDERJEET VERMA claims to have sterilised 1.50 lakh stray dogs in the past 10 years, it has failed to bring any relief to the people. Meanwhile, the Animal Husbandry Department’s livestock Census is already underway these days. It is conducted countrywide every five years. A volunteer, who was collecting information regarding the dog population, said the Census proves as a vital tool for collecting data on the livestock population, which further helps in planning, implementation, and moni- 28,390 CASES IN 2024, HIGHEST IN STATE In 2024, the district witnessed 28,390 cases, which was highest in the state. Of these, 13,488 were from the city and remaining from peripheral areas. toring of programmes to improve the livestock sector. Besides, census findings also help the departments concerned in controlling the growing population of stray animals and their relocation. “The result of the Census Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 29 Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, president of the Punjab Congress Committee and MP from Ludhiana, criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for murdering democracy. He accused the AAP of using unconstitutional means to appoint its mayors in various cities. Warring stated that AAP claims to follow ideals of Dr BR Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh, but their actions were contrary to these ideals. He alleged that AAP used threats and intimidation to make opposition party leaders to join their side. Its actions in Patiala, Phagwara, Amritsar and Ludhiana were undemocratic, he said. In Patiala, 40 candidates ASHWANI DHIMAN AAP used unconstitutional means to appoint mayors, says Warring Amrinder Singh Raja Warring addresses the media in Ludhiana. were not allowed to file nominations. In Phagwara, false cases were registered against opposition leaders. Warring questioned AAP’s morality, asking how they could accuse the BJP of ‘Operation Lotus’ in Delhi while doing the same thing in Punjab. He predicted that AAP’s fortunes would decline like those of the Shiromani Akali Dal. Meanwhile, the Congress leader welcomed AAP councillor from Mullanpur Dakha Aman and his supporters into the Congress. will help the corporation in assessment of the population of the stray dogs and they will come to know if the population of canines in certain areas has increased or decreased. Depending upon the data, they can formulate their strategy,” said a volunteer. On an average, 70-90 cases of dog bites are registered every day at the Civil Hospital. Despite the sterilisation drive in the city, there is no let up in the cases and city residents continue to live under the fear of stray dogs. Dr Vipul Malhotra from the Ludhiana MC’s veterinary branch said the project for dog sterilisation was on and every canine that was sterilised was also given an anti-rabies vaccine. “The MC is putting in all efforts to control the menace in the city,” he said. The sterilisation drive was started in 2015 and then in 2021 and nearly 1.50 lakh stray dogs have been sterilised so far. Though MLA Ashok Prashar had raised the issue of the stray dog menace in the Punjab Assembly and demanded establishment of dog shelters in all four zones of the city, nothing has been done in this regard. Karan Kawatra, a city resident said in addition to carrying out the sterilisation drive, the government also needs to build dog shelters so that they get food to eat there and did not roam on streets. Fear of dogs is so much that people avoid going on foot and even those commuting on two-wheelers are not spared by the canines. Many accidents have also been occurring due to them. Wailing kin of the deceased hold a protest in Ludhiana on Wednesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN Kin, residents block road over death of youngsterin mishap Protest lifted after registration of case against SUV driver Tribune, January 29 Family members and residents of a youth, who died in a mishap, blocked the Kochar Market chowk, demanding action against a four-wheeler driver. The youth, whose bike rammed into a pole at Jawahar Nagar Camp, died on Tuesday night. Traffic movement on the road was affected and a long queue of vehicles witnessed due to the protest. The deceased was identified as Saraj Kumar (24), a resident of Jawahar Nagar Camp. According to information, the victim had gone to a mar- ket on a motorcycle to get medicine. When he was returning, a Hyundai CreSaraj Kumar, ta passed by the deceased him near the Kochar Market police post, in an attempt to avoid the speeding vehicle, he lost control over the two-wheeler and it collided with a pole. He fell on the road and succumbed to his serious injuries. The CCTV footage of the incident also emerged which showed that Saraj was coming on a bike. Afterwards, a speed- ing SUV passed by him. To save himself, he tried to move on the one side of the road due to which his vehicle collided with a pole. After the accident, people from the nearby areas reached the scene. They tried to give first-aid to the victim but he could not survive. On Wednesday after kin and residents of the victim held protest for over two hours, the police registered a case against the SUV driver on charges of causing death by negligence. The suspect was yet to be arrested, said Kochar police post in-charge subinspector Dharampal. —TNS 20-yr-old woman hangs self Three snatchers land in police dragnet Sahnewal, January 29 A woman from Kanganwal village in Sahnewal ended her life by hanging from a ceiling fan late on Tuesday night. The body has been kept in the mortuary and the Sahnewal police are waiting for her parents’ arrival to take further acttion in the case. The deceased was married 7 months ago to a factory worker in Kanganwal. The victim has been identified as Sapna (20), who is also a factory worker. She was married to a native of Hardoi in UP , currently residing in Kanganwal. Her husband was at work on Tuesday night when the woman took the extreme step. Chowki in-charge Mewa Singh said her body had been kept in the mortuary. “No suicide note has been recovered. We are waiting for her parents to arrive before initiating any further action. Her parents belong to Hardoi and they are on the way to Ludhiana. The woman was mentally unwell,” he said. — OC Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 29 The Ludhiana police claimed to have nabbed three snatchers and seized 36 mobile phones and sharp weapons from their possession. When the police team took two of the suspects to some underconstruction building for weapon recovery, they jumped from the first floor to flee the place and suffered fractures in their arm and leg. The suspects were identified as Sahil, alias Wattu (31), of the Tajpur road area, Prem Singh, alias Kaku (22), of Transport Nagar and Sonu Kumar (33) of EWS colony. ADCP (Crime) Amandeep Singh Brar in a statement issued stated that on Tuesday, when a police team, led by CIA-2 in-charge Bikramjit Singh Ghuman, was conducting a routine patrolling, they got a tipoff that the suspects had formed a gang of snatchers The suspects in custody of the Ludhiana police on Wednesday. and committed many snatching incidents in the city. After getting information about whereabouts of the suspects, the police conducted a raid at Onkar Vihar. After their arrests, snatched mobile phones, sharp weapons and a stolen motorcycle were recovered from them. Brar said on Wednesday when the police took Sahil and Prem to recover illegal weapon from the underconstruction building on the Chandigarh road, they pushed the policeman and tried to flee by jumping off the first floor. Prem suffered a fracture on his arm while Sahil suffered an injury on his leg. Both were rushed to a hospital for treatment. The suspects had a criminal past cases were registered against them in the past and after coming out on bail, they again form a gang and continue to commit snatchings. Now, further investigation was on to make weapon recoveries, he said. Commuters flout traffic rules, resort to wrong parking on roads Womangetsthreatcalls over property dispute Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 29 Residents in the industrial hub continue to flout the traffic rules, particularly when it comes to parking vehicles, despite the traffic police issuing a record number of challans for wrong parking every year. Even with frequent campaigns aimed at promoting traffic rule compliance, violations persist across the city. According to the traffic police data, a total of 48,591 challans were issued for wrong parking violation, followed by 38,568 challans for driving without helmets. During a recent survey, the The Tribune team, observed several instances of vehicles parked improp- Vehicles parked on roads in violation of the traffic norms in Ludhiana. PHOTOS: ASHWANI DHIMAN erly across various roads. Notably, trucks were spotted parked on national highways outside eating joints (dhabas), posing a serious safety hazard to commuters. Such improper parking increases the risk of accidents, especially on foggy days when visibility is reduced, potentially leading to collisions with stationary vehicles. Many vehicles were also parked in areas marked with ‘No Parking’ signs. High-traffic locations such as Jalandhar Bypass, Hambran Road, Haibowal, Civil Lines, Kitchlu Nagar, Gill Road, Sahnewal, Doraha, Jassian Road, Ghumar Mandi, Railway Road, Clock Tower, Shingar Cine- c m y b ma Road and Samrala Chowk were some of the areas where wrong parking violations were observed. A local resident at Ghumar Mandi, a popular shopping spot, said: “I had no choice but to park my car on the road as there is no parking lot in the market. It’s not just me, anyone coming to the market has to park vehicle on the road.” Another resident, Raman Arora, pointed out that in addition to wrong parking, the encroachment of roads by shopkeepers and roadside vendors further exacerbates traffic congestion. He stressed the importance of responsible parking to alleviate such issues. Traffic police officials said while the department had deployed several tow-away vans to remove wrongly parked vehicles and issues a large number of challans daily, violations continue to occur, highlighting the public’s disregard for traffic regulations. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, January 29 The Ludhiana rural police on Tuesday registered a case against unidentified persons claiming to be gangsters for making threatening calls to a woman, Manpreet Kaur, over a property dispute. Manpreet, a resident of Jangpur village in Dakha, alleged that despite obtaining a stay order on her property, the village sarpanch had been illegally occupying it and harassing her for two months. The situation escalated when Manpreet started receiving threatening calls from different numbers, with the callers claiming to be gangsters and threatening to kill her. She shared screenshots and recordings of the calls with the Dakha SHO. Acting on her complaint, the Dakha police booked the unidentified suspects under Sections 506 (criminal intimidation) and 294 (related to obscene acts and songs in public places) of the Indian Penal Code. The DSP Dakha, Varinder , Singh Khosa, said investigation in the case had been started and soon, the suspects would be identified and arrested.