03022025-LT-01.qxd 2/3/2025 1:10 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune CITY WAKES UP TO ANOTHER FOGGY MORNING AMAR HAS HAD COMMANDING PRESENCE ON THE SCREEN SONAM KAPOOR BREAKS DOWN ON THE RAMP Day started with a thick fog engulfing city due to which motorists had to switch on headlights. P2 As his show Doreereturns, Amar Upadhyay shares experience of returning to the ghats of Varanasi again.P4 It was an emotional moment for Bollywood diva as she paid tribute to the late fashion icon Rohit Bal. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 18°C | MIN 09°C YESTERDAY MAX 18°C | MIN 9°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.00 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 7:12 AM » MONDAY | 3 FEBRUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA Shastri Nagar rly crossing closed for a week, commuters face trouble Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 2 The Shastri Nagar railway crossing has now been closed by the railway authorities, citing the pending construction work on the tracks. The closure of the crossing, which affected from Saturday, has been causing inconvenience to commuters. The crossing connects the Malhar road and Pakhowal Road with Model Town and Shastri Nagar. Daily thousands of commuters pass through the same. Parents and students will be among those who are worst affected as they have to drop and pick up their wards every day. Even the school buses that ferry children to and from schools daily will also have to take a long route. “We daily pass through the crossing to reach children’s school in Shastri Nagar to drop and pick up our wards. Now with the closure of the level crossing, we have to take a long route to reach the school. It will not only make us to spend extra time in com- PARENTS, STUDENTS AMONG WORST HIT A notice regarding the closure of the Shastri Nagar railway crossing due to the ongoing construction work and (right) workers at the crossing in Ludhiana. PHOTOS: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN muting but we have to spend more money due to the long distance,” said Gurpreet Kaur, a resident of Haibowal. Another resident, Karuna Sharma, said she would not take a long route to drop and pick up her children and would prefer to park the vehicle near the railway crossing. After crossing the tracks, she can reach the school by walking only. Though crossing the rail tracks was violation of the norms, she would not be the only one as most of the parents would resort to the practice to save their time and fuel. In July 2024, when the Shastri Nagar crossing was closed for construc- he Shastri Nagar railway crossing, which has now been closed, citing the pending construction work on tracks, connects the Malhar road and Pakhowal Road with Model Town and Shastri Nagar. Daily a large number commuters pass through it. Parents and students will be among those who are worst hit as they have to drop and pick up their wards every day. Pedestrians risk their lives by crossing rail tracks in city areas Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 2 To save a few minutes, residents cross railway tracks to reach the other side and sometimes, the act proves fatal, especially in the foggy weather conditions. Despite efforts by the authorities in this regard, the people do not mend their ways and keep on crossing the railway tracks. Crossing of railway tracks is a punishable offence, still people pay no heed and risk their lives. The Dhandhari and Sahnew- al railway lines witnessed most of the accidents whereas in the urban areas, tracks near the Buddha Nullah claimed the majority of lives in mishaps. The major points where rail tracks are being crossed in violation of the norms in the city are located near Gurdwara Dukhniwaran, Lakkar bridge, Loco Yard, Dholewal rail line and Millar Ganj. Inadequate arrangements to cross the rail lines are also forcing residents to take shortcuts that sometimes proves fatal for many. It’s not safe from the security point of view also. Youngsters enjoy the weather on a sunny winter day in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN tion and renovation, people had started crossing tracks on foot after parking their vehicles near the spot while other commuters took other routes to reach their destinations. Amandeep Singh, a resident of the Pakhowal road area, said he visits a gurdwara in Model Town every day and the railway cross- ing was the best route to reach the place. But now, he had to face inconvenience for a week. The Damoria Bridge has also been lying closed since December due to the expansion of rail tracks and it is expected to be opened in a month or two. Commuters who were using the bridge have also been facing trouble. Three held with illegal weapons Basking in the sun Non-compliance of orders: MC chief told to appear before NGT on Feb 17 Ludhiana, February 2 The crime branch of the Ludhiana police on Saturday arrested three persons and recovered two illegal countrymade .315 bore pistols along with two cartridges from their possession. The suspects were identified as Gurpreet Singh of Gandhi Nagar, Amritsar, Lovepreet Singh of Ajnala and Gursewak Singh, also from Amritsar. ASI Balkar Singh said on Saturday, when a police team was conducting a routine patrolling near Hundal chowk in Bhamian Kalan, they got a tip-off that the three suspects were roaming near the Bhamian Khurd ground and were planning to commit some big crime. Following which, the police conducted a raid and nabbed the trio with the weapons. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 2 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Ludhiana MC Commissioner to appear before the tribunal on February 17 for non-compliance of the orders of removing encroachments from the green belt. The NGT has also issued show-cause notices to the MC Commissioner, CEO, Ludhiana Smart City Limited, Deputy Commissioner and Chairman, Improvement Trust, Ludhiana, to show cause as to why action be not taken against them and also asked them to file a Amid fog, a man crosses a railway track at Model Town in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN compliance report at least three days before the next date of hearing fixed. The Tribunal in its final orders, dated July 4, 2024, had directed the Municipal Corporation to remove illegal structures and encroachments from green belts situated at Sarabha Nagar and Model Town Extension. The time given by the tribunal was of two months but the corporation submitted the compliance report without removing the structures completely. Photographs attached with the report submitted by the MC was clearly depicting that the orders have not been complied in true spirit by the MC Commissioner. Taking cognisance of the same, the Registrar General reopened the case and matter was heard on January 13. Engineers Kapil Arora and Vikas Arora, petitioners in the case, said they appeared in person at the impugned scrap yard, which had not been demolished till date by the corporation. Further, commercial outlets which had been sealed by the MC earlier are again operational in the green belt at Model Town Extension but the civic Beware of fake Maha Kumbh websites, links Jagraon village man Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 2 People going to take a holy dip at Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, need to be cautious while booking cottages, tents or hotels as fraudsters have been targeting gullible residents by offering fradulent deals to them. Scamsters have created fake websites and web pages for booking tents or cottages near Triveni Sangam. Fraudsters have been targeting gullible residents booking cottages, tents or hotels at Prayagraj The UP police have recently blocked several fake websites after receiving complaints of frauds committed with people on the pretext of such bookings. The miscreants were also arrested by the police who were operating such websites. Interestingly, not only websites, scamsters have also created Facebook or Instagram pages, offering tent bookings at Prayagraj. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Investigation) Shubham Aggarwal said those visiting Maha Kumbh should take due precautions while booking tent, cottage or any other accomodation. Cyber criminals might resort to various tactics on the pretext of providing such facilities. “The Ludhiana police advise the people to book any accommodation through the However, most of the residents are unaware of rules and could not understand that the act can leave them in trouble. “Crossing railway lines instead of using foot overbridges is easy and saves time,” said a city resident, Neeraj Sood, while trying to cross the tracks near the city railway station. He said he was not aware that crossing the tracks was an offence as all of his friends do the same. They take a shortcut from the place to reach their homes as using the foot overbridge takes extra time. official website or channel of the Uttar Pradesh Government only. Do not make any payment to unknown persons else you may fall prey to cyber frauds,” he said. The DCP said: “If you fall prey to any such cyber fraud, take immediate action by calling the National Cybercrime Helpline at 1930. Alternatively, you can file a complaint on the official cybercrime portal or at with the cybercrime police station.” This correspondent also came across one of the fake Facebook pages, ‘Mahakumbh Utsav Tent City’. Interestingly, the page has only one follower and zero likes. During an interaction with the page admin, the person claimed that their agency was government-approved offering premium tents at just 200 m away from the sacred confluence of Triveni Sangam. He offered Rs 1,200 per person per day along with three meals. However, tents near the sangam is not available at such a cheap price that too with three meals. The suspect even asked for advance deposit to reserve the tent and also asked to deposit money in his personal Paytm account. When the admin was asked to send QR code of a company managing tent bookings, the suspect refused. The person sent several pictures of tents and facilities but when asked to arrange a video call to have a glimpse of the same, he refused to do so. Guidelines by Uttar Pradesh Govt, police For a safe and authentic c m y b Maha Kumbh experience, it’s essential to rely on official websites and registered service providers. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind while booking accommodation. Official websites: Use only official websites for Mahakumbh-related information and bookings, such as the official website of the Uttar Pradesh Government (kumbh.gov.in). Registered hotels and tent cities: Opt for hotels and tent cities registered with the UP Government and local administration. You can find the list of registered hotels and tent cities on the official website of the Department of Tourism, Uttar Pradesh. Avoid Suspicious Links: Be cautious of suspicious links and websites, especially those received through social media or unwanted messages. Verify the authenticity of websites before sharing personal or financial information. succumbs to injuries in assault case Ludhiana, February 2 In Sadarpura village of Jagraon, a man faced a brutal attack from his friend and his aides for not getting married his daughter to the suspect’s nephew. The victim succumbed to the injuries at a hospital. The deceased was identified as Rehandin, a resident of Sadarpura village. In this regard, the Sidhwan Bet police registered a case against five persons of the same family, identified as Shahdin, Surmudin, Rajha, Mamm Hussain, Baghi and an unidentified person. Shokat Ali said he belongs to a Gujjar family. His father Rehandin was a friend of Shahdin, due to which his father and the friend fixed his sister’s marriage with Shadin’s nephew in childhood. But after some time, his father had a quarrel with Faced attack for not getting married his daughter with friend’s nephew his friend over some issue due to which the deceased refused to marry his daughter to the suspect’s nephew and recently got married her with some other person. The accused started threatening the victim that he would kidnap the girl. Late on Friday night, when Rehandin was sleeping in his room after having dinner, the suspects attacked him with sharp weapons. Rehandin got seriously injured and ater died during treatment at a hospital. SHO, Sidhwan Bet, inspector Heera Singh, said a raid was being conducted to nab the suspects. — TNS body has turned its eyes closed to such serious issue. From this, it is clear that the MC had sealed the outlets just to prepare the record to produce before the NGT. Keeping in view of the seriousness of non-compliance of its orders, facts and circumstance of the case, the Bench issued orders of personal appearance of the MC Commissioner, physically or through videoconferencing on the next date of hearing with records for assisting the Tribunal in just and proper adjudication of questions involved in the case. Six booked for bid to possess property illegally Ludhiana, February 2 The Police Division 7 registered a case against six persons, including a woman, who attempted to take illegal possession of a property belonging to a local resident. The suspects have been identified as Jaskiranjit Singh Gill, Sukhwinder Singh, Sunil Kumar, Kala Gujjar, Mahinder Kaur and Amarpreet Singh. The complainant, Parminder Singh Bajwa, a resident of Sector 32, Chandigarh road, in a complaint to the police stated that he owns a property at Kulliawal village. The key suspect, Jaskiranjit, while conspiring with other accomplices tried to take possession of his property illegally and after he got to know about the development, he filed a complaint and after investigation, a case was registered on Saturday against them. — TNS