15022025-LT-01.qxd 2/15/2025 12:49 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PLASTIC REVERSE VENDING MACHINES LYING IDLE KASHMIRI YOUTH EMBRACE PUNJAB’S WARMTH RICHA CHADHA NEXT, A DRAMEDY FILM AKHRI SOMVAAR Plastic reverse vending machines, purchased two years ago, have failed to serve their intended purpose. P2 120 students from Kashmir have come to Ludhiana under a student exchange programme by Nehru Yuva Kendra. P3 Actor-producer has also penned script of Akhri Somvaar, which revolves around a successful TV producer. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 23°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.11 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7:02 AM SATURDAY | 15 FEBRUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA A first: Digital education project F&CC approves 12 proposals for govt school students in dist Tribune News Service CM hands over 115 hi-tech laptops for personalised learning to 14 schools under phase 1 Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 14 In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the district administration has come up with a digital education programme for underprivileged students of government schools in Ludhiana. Brainchild of Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal, the pilot project is aimed at equipping the government school students with essential personalised learning tools for achieving success and competing with affluent private school children in a digital education environment. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched the project by handing over 115 hitech laptops to selected 14 government schools across the district for the use of their students in a day-today learning process. This CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative was supported by International Marketing Corporation Private Limited, which has supplied 115 Prime Book 4G laptops, recognised as one of the world’s most affordable, under the first phase of the pilot project. “These high-performance Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, flanked by DC Jitendra Jorwal and Commissioner of Police Kuldeep Singh Chahal, launches the digital education programme in Ludhiana on Friday. laptops are specifically designed for the students and are equipped with the Ei PAL Mindspark software module, which provides personalised and adaptive learning,” the DC told The Tribune. He said the education transformative project aims to improve access to digital education, ensuring that students from all backgrounds could benefit from the advanced technology in the present and future age of computerisation. “The integration of Ei PAL Mindspark allows students to access AI-powered and personalised learning that adapts to their individual needs,” Jorwal said. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister lauded the DC for coming up with the innovative project to bridge the learning technology gap between the students of government and private schools. He said the laptops were part of broader efforts to democratise digital education while ensuring security and accessibility for all students. Mann said the laptops had been designed to be affordable and durable, featuring advanced digital safety measures such as a secure operating system, controlled access and data encryption, ensuring a safe and seamless learning experience. Conveying his best wishes to the district administration for the success of the programme, the CM reiterated the firm commitment of his state government to ensure that the students of government schools were able to Love is in the air compete with their private school peers, for which no stone was being left unturned. Giving insights into the project, the Deputy Commissioner said the initiative would serve as an experimental model to assess the impact of cost-effective and high-specification laptops on improving educational outcomes. He hoped that the programme would empower the students with essential digital skills and knowledge and provide educators with tools to integrate digital resources into their teaching methodologies. Jorwal divulged that the Mindspark platform would further enhance learning by providing adaptive, curriculum-aligned content, realtime assessments and multilingual support, equipping both students and teachers with data-driven insights to improve learning outcomes. “Through the initiative, the administration is taking a significant step in bridging the digital divide and making quality education scalable, secure and student-centred,” he expressed. Jorwal extended gratitude to CSR partners for their commitment and support to the administration’s initiative. 2 city residents lose over ~50L to cyber fraudsters Tribune News Service Girls carry heart-shaped balloons on Valentine’s Day in Ludhiana on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Bank unions hold demonstration, to observe strike on March 24, 25 Tribune News service Ludhiana, February 14 On the call given by United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) a massive protest demonstration was organised by the Ludhiana chapter of the forum in front of the State Bank of India (SBI) branch, Fountain Chowk, here. The protesters were addressed by Naresh Gaur, convener, UFBU, Pawan Thakur, president, Punjab Bank Employees’ Federation (PBEF, AIBEA), Ludhiana, Narinder Kumar, Kulwinder Lohat from the AIBOC, Vinay Dogra, Pawan Suman from the NCBE, Gurmeet Singh and Chiranjeev Joshi from the AIBOA and Rohit Kapoor from INBOC. Bank employees protest at Fountain Chowk in Ludhiana on Friday. ASHWANI DHIMAN Gaur said: “Our important demands still remain pending. Hence, after due discussions and deliberations, it has been decided to launch our agitational programme culminating in two-day continuous strike on March 24 and 25 in support of demands, includ- ing recruitment in all cadres, regularisation of all temporary employees, implementation of five-day work week in the banking industry, immediate withdrawal of recent DFS directives on performance review and PLI, which threaten job security, create division and discrimination among employees and officers and violate the 8th Joint Note and undermine PSB’s autonomy, safety of bank officials against the assault/abuses by unruly customers, filling the post of workmen/officer directors in PSBs.” c m y b Ludhiana, February 14 Cyber criminals are continuing to dupe city residents. Now, two fresh cases have been registered by the cyber police station here on Thursday in which scamsters have duped two city residents of over Rs 50 lakh. The first case was got registered by Pooja Kumari, a resident of Madhopuri. The complainant alleged that last month he got a call from some unknown number and the caller posed himself as a customer care executive of Lendingcart finance company. The caller told her that the company was going to cancel instalments of loan taken by her. On this pretext, the suspect made her to transfer Rs 10.15 lakh in different bank accounts. After she transferred the money, she realised that she was cheated by the suspect. Afterwards, she lodged a police complaint and a case was registered against the miscreant. Another case was registered against an unidentified person on the complaint of Narinder Singh, a resident of Raghubir Park, Haibowal Kalan. The complainant told the police that he had received a call from some unknown number and the caller introduced himself as an employee of a company. The suspect created his ID on the website and on the pretext of completing the task on the website, the suspect had taken Rs 40.69 lakh from him. Later, he lodged a police complaint, following which a case was registered against the unidentified person on Thursday. Now, the cyber police have launched further probe in the case and the numbers from which both victims had received calls are being checked by the police. Ludhiana, February 14 A meeting of the Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) of the Municipal Corporation was held here on Friday after a gap of two years. It was the first meeting of the 7th General House of the Municipal Corporation (MC). The meeting was chaired by Mayor Inderjit Kaur and green signal was given to 12 proposals. MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Prashar were among other civic body officials present in the meeting. An important decision that was taken in the meeting include formation of a committee to oversee works done by contractors, especially those who get contract on lesser rates. Checking of the material being used and work being undertaken will be done on a regular basis. They will also get the works done from third party. ASHWANI DHIMAN MC’s committee met after gap of two years The Mayor chairs the F&CC meeting in Ludhiana on Friday. With focus on sustainable development and to ensure cleanliness across the city, the committee approved around 12 resolutions for taking up development works worth crores. Accompanied by Senior Deputy Mayor Rakesh Prashar, Mayor Inderjit Kaur said their focus was on making Ludhiana the number one city. Various other resolutions have been approved for sustainable development, including construction of a bridge over the Buddha Nullah near Shivpuri and Mana Singh Nagar and management of parks in Zone B and D. The officials have also been directed that there should be no shortage of material, including manhole covers and brooms, in stores of the civic body. Also, the officials concerned of different branches of the civic body have been directed to keep a check on the quality of works being taken up in the city and no laxity would be tolerated in terms of quality. 5 booked for ~45L property fraud Drunk man falls on stove while cooking, suffers burns Ludhiana, February 14 The Jamalpur police on Thursday registered a case against five persons who committed a property fraud of Rs 45 lakh. The suspects were identified as Satnam Singh, a resident of Ahluwalia Colony, Jamalpur, Ravi Kumar, a resident of the Chandigarh road area, Fateh Chand, Roshan Lal of Ravinder Nagar, Kolkata, and Sukhpal Nagar, a resident of Bathinda. The complainant, Jaswinder Pal, a resident of Focal Point, told the police that the suspects had struck a deal to sell a property and after finalising the same, they took Rs 45 lakh from him. Later, he realised that the suspect had shown fake documents of the property to him and committed a fraud with him. He said he had lodged a police complaint in July last year and after investigation spanning months, a case on charges of fraud and criminal conspiracy was registered against the suspects on Thursday. — TNS Ludhiana, February 14 A drunk man suffered burn injuries after he fell on a stove while cooking food. The victim suffered 70 per cent burn injuries on his face and rushed to the Civil Hospital. He was identified as Awadhesh. His kin said the victim, a resident of Sarabha Nagar, works as a rickshaw puller. He comes home drunk every day. On Thursday night, while cooking food on a stove in an inebriated state, he fell on the stove. He was taken to a clinic but was later referred to Civil Hospital. — TNS