19022025-LT-01.qxd 2/19/2025 12:49 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune NEEDLE SHARING LEADS TO 25% SPIKE IN HIV CASES Data of past four years suggests that a majority of patients contracting HIV are injecting drug users. P3 » ACTRESSES MAKING A MARK IN THE WORLD OF FASHION From Alia Bhatt to Richa Chadha to Soha Ali Khan, actresses are making waves with their own fashion labels. P4 » AMEESHA PATEL-HRITHIK’S REUNION CHEERS UP FANS FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 26°C | MIN 10°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 12°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.14 PM The duo, which shared screen space in iconic Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, has left fans eagerly hoping for a sequel.P4 SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:58 AM » WEDNESDAY | 19 FEBRUARY 2025 | LUDHIANA Work begins to stop dirty water flow into BuddhabyNullahtounder kar sewa Drive was spearheaded Seechewal clean, preserve Sutlej tributary lages located in the upper region of the Buddha Nullah was flowing into the waterbody. As part of arrangements being made to stop the same, a grant of Rs 15 lakh has been released by Seechewal to provide vacuum tankers of 6,000 litres to four villages. These will be used to pick up faeces from dairies and take it to the fields. Another grant of Rs 7.31 lakh has been released by the environmentalist to two villages for purchase of new tankers of 5,000 litres of drinking water. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 18 After plugging some outlets flowing cow dung, the work has begun in three villages to stop dirty water of eight villages falling into the Buddha Nullah during the ongoing kar sewa spearheaded by environmentalist-turned-parliamentarian Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal to clean and preserve the Sutlej tributary. Following his visit to the villages and reviewing of the ongoing works, Seechewal said the construction work of three wells being built in Bhukhri Khurd village was 70 per cent complete while a similar work was about to be completed in Lakhowal village. He said the cleaning of a village pond in Bhukhri Khurd remains a big challenge. It was located on the banks of the nullah. It took about a week to remove cow dung from dairies along the pond. He said two machines were running continuously day and night to remove the accumulated cow dung. “Now, the work of the wells being built Environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal reviews the work to clean the Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana. Kar sewa enters 2nd month under the Seechewal model is about to be completed and soon the dirty water of the village will be treated and used for agriculture,” he said. A separate team was engaged in building a pond in Lakhowal village. Besides, the work of digging and building a pond was going on at Budhhewal village. During the ongoing kar sewa, the work was on at four places. Two excavator machines have been deployed to remove silt from the Buddha Nullah near the pumping station, close to Gurdwara Gaughat and 225 MLD treatment plant on the Jamalpur road. “The waterbody was flowing in the opposite direction due to the deposition of 8 to 10 feet of silt. With the operation of the excavator machines, a large amount of silt has already been Seventh suspect held in woman’s murder case Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 18 The Ludhiana police on Tuesday arrested the seventh suspect in the Lipsy murder case. The suspect, Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, was arrested and produced in a court, which remanded him to seven-day police custody for further questioning. According to Dehlon SHO Sukhjinder Singh, the suspect was involved in a conspiracy to murder Lipsy, who was murdered by five con- tract killers on Sunday night. The police investigation revealed that Lipsy’s husband, Anokh Mittal, a businessman, and her girlfriend had hired Gopi to kill his wife because his (Anokh) wife had come to know about his illicit relationship with his girlfriend, Pratiksha. Gopi further hired four persons to commit the crime. Now, the police arrested all seven suspects involved in the case, including Anokh Mittal, Gopi, and five others, SHO Sukhjin- der Singh said, adding that the suspects would be questioned during their remand to uncover more details about the conspiracy. The murder was a result of Anokh’s extramarital affair with Pratiksha, which had been going on for four years. Lipsy had become a hurdle in their relationship, leading Anokh to hatch a conspiracy to eliminate her. The police solved the case and arrested all suspects, who were charged with murder and conspiracy. removed from the tributary, following which the water flow has started moving in the right direction,” Seechewal said while adding that the bathing ghat being built on the Jamalpur road was also being finalised and stones had also been ordered to build more ghats along the nullah. Grants of Rs 22L released Dirty water from eight vil- Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal had started the kar sewa on December 28 last to stop the toxic and dirty water flowing into the Buddha Nullah. During the first phase of the kar sewa, saplings were planted on the banks of the Sutlej tributary. The second phase of the kar sewa was launched to stop the discharge of dirty water from dairies, factories and urban drains. Couple jumps into canal, woman’s body found Ludhiana, February 18 A couple jumped into the Sirhind Canal near Machhiwara. The body of the woman, Neha Rani (36), was recovered while the search for her husband Jaswant Singh (36) was on. They are residents of Hedon Bet village. The incident occurred on February 17. Both of them left home in an Toyota Etios car in the afternoon and jumped into the canal in the evening. Jaswant’s car was found near a petrol pump. On receiving information, the police reached the scene and started a probe. Jaswant’s brother Gurjant Singh said a person from Hedon Bet village and his two nephews were harassing the couple for a long time. They were threatening to make the objectionable video of the woman viral. The deceased man’s father Surinder Singh said his son was having a dispute with a family from the village and the suspects were threatening him. The police registered a case against the suspects named by the deceased’s kin. The search for Jaswant’s body was on with the help of divers. — TNS Two members of snatchers’ gang land in police dragnet Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 18 The Focal Point police claimed to have busted a gang of snatchers and arrested two of its members. The suspects were identified as Arvind Sharma and Ashu Kumar, both residents of the Focal Point area. The police recovered three mobile phones, one motorcycle and two sharp weapons from the suspects. Station House Officer (SHO), Focal Point police station, inspector Amandeep Singh Brar, said on Monday a police team, which was present near Bindra Complex, received a tip-off that the two suspects were running a gang of snatchers and they had committed several snatching incidents in the recent past. After verifying their whereabouts, the police conducted a raid and nabbed them. The SHO said during preliminary questioning, the suspects confessed that they had been mainly targeting factory workers and in the recent past, they had snatched mobile phones and cash from over 12 The suspects in police custody in Ludhiana on Tuesday. migrants. Some of the snatched mobiles were also sold by the suspects. Arvind had a criminal past as a case of snatching was registered against him at the Focal Point police station in 2021 and after coming on bail, he formed a gang with his friend Ashu, Brar said. The SHO said now, police 3 held with drugs in two incidents Our Correspondent Raikot, February 17 The Ludhiana (rural) police claimed to have arrested three persons in two incidents and recovered drugs and narcotics from their possession. Police personnel, led by Jagraon CIA in-charge Kikkar Singh and investigating officer Manohar, nabbed Sandeep Singh, alias Sunny, of Machhana village in Bathinda district and recovered 307 gm of heroin and paraphernalia used in distributing the drug among addicts. Ludhiana (Rural) SSP Navneet Singh Bains said on Monday that a joint drive launched against drug peddlers in the Raikot subdivision, under the supervision of Raikot DSP Harjinder Singh and DSP (D) Guriqbal Singh, had resulted in arrest of a member of a Bathinda-based gang of drug smugglers, Sandeep. “Having received information about the member of a notorious gang of drug peddlers, we intensified surveillance in the region and a team of police personnel, led by Manohar Lal, nabbed the suspect when he was going to deliver a consignment near the grain market Anxiety, stress grip students as they fail to sleep, eat during exams Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 18 “I am unable to sleep…I can’t eat…I am feeling too anxious…I am under immense stress…I don’t know what to do…” These were the common and major concerns shared by Class XII and X students, appearing for their ongoing annual exams, with counsellors at the ASMAAH 24x7 helpline for free counselling, support and guidance here. Brainchild of Deputy Commissioner (DC) Jitendra Jorwal, the annual student mental health support helpline, ASMAAH, was launched with the support of the District Red Cross Society and District Bureau of Employment and Enterprises for the Class X and XII students ahead of the board examinations here on February 10. In the first week, the helpline has received 72 calls from the students of Class XII, X and XI. Jorwal told The Tribune here on Tuesday that more girl students have called than the boys and besides 16 Class X and 2 Class XI students, 24x7 helpline ASMAAH gets 72 distressed calls in first week Students come out of a centre after appearing for CBSE Class XII exam in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN rest of the 54 callers were from Class XII. “Around 15 parents have also called and asked for help for their children. They have enquired about how they can help their children manage their stress as many flagged their kids have stopped eating and are not getting proper sleep,” the DC said while stating that the counsellors have taught them techniques which could help reduce stress. He said the students have asked questions regarding disturbance of their sleep patterns during exams, not being able to sleep, being jittery, while some have also shared that they fall asleep while studying. “Counsellors made each student comfortable and then asked them some basic questions such as are you having trouble sleeping and do they feel anxious to gauge the level of stress of the callers,” he said while informing that some required only positive affirmation while others were guided with practice techniques like box technique — a deep breathing technique that can help with stress and anxiety by breathing in and out slowly and steadily while counting to four and c m y b Pomodoro technique — a time management method that involves working in focused intervals, called pomodori, with short breaks in between and the goal to increase productivity by breaking work into manageable chunks and building in time to rest. The DC said there had been no serious case till now, which required referring to the next level of counsellor or psychiatrist and all cases had been handled by experienced psychologists. A total of six counsellors have been roped in for running the helpline round-theclock. “Their time has been divided in such a manner to ensure that at least two counsellors remain available all the time,” he said while stating that there was a provision for increasing the number of counsellors manning the helpline, based on the need and demand. Jorwal divulged that in case, the first level of counsellor assesses that the student/caller was facing higher level of anxiety and stress, then the callers will be referred to two experienced psychologists from the team remand of the suspects would be sought from court so that in further investigation, more members of the gang, if any, could also be arrested and more recovery of snatched valuables be made. The police would also find out people who had been buying looted mobiles from the suspects. of Global Child Wellness Centre, who will further counsel and guide them as per their expertise. “The whole process is being monitored by a senior psychiatrist, Dr Priyanka Kalra,” he said. “Counsellors have given all callers positive affirmations that the students need to believe in themselves. Counselled them to follow and practise the box breathing technique,” he shared. Jorwal said the helpline was planned to be functional for at least three months and further operation will be decided as per the requirement in future. In case of any serious/ acute case of mental stress/ anxiety coming to the fore, the DC said the first level counsellors have been trained by the senior psychiatrist on assessing the level of stress the students were facing. “Already, the ASMAAH helpline has a protocol in place to escalate the call to two higher level experienced counsellors/ psychologists, if there is an acute case of stress/ anxiety,” he stated, adding that the level 2 psychologists had ample experience in handling the high stress/ anxiety cases. Exams not end of world: DC “Today, the students are under immense pressure to perform well and achieve high marks. Therefore, it is important for parents, teachers, and the community to convey to the students that exams are not the end of the world and there is no need to fear them. The best approach to handle examinations is to stay calm and tackle each paper one at a time without worrying about the results. ASMAAH helpline is to help and guide the students in overcoming their fear of exams, providing them with trained listeners, who can support them through tough times of stress and anxiety,” said Jitendra Jorwal, DC. Free, confidential counselling If you are feeling stressed about exams or under pressure, you are not alone, call this 24x7 mental health support helpline at 9646470777. The expert and trained psychologists and psychiatrists will offer free and confidential counselling, guidance to manage exam stress, emotional support for anxiety and pressure, practical tips to stay focused and motivated. at Manuke village late on Sunday night,” said Bains, adding that links of the suspect would be ascertained during further probe. In another incident, police officials, led by Raikot Sadar SHO Kulwinder Singh, had arrested Harjit Singh and Jaswinder Singh of Lohatbaddi village from the village grain market with habit-forming tablets on Sunday night. Seventy habit-forming tablets were seized from their possession. The suspects were nabbed when they were trying to escape from the scene after seeing the police team. Owner, contractor booked in factory fire incident Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 18 In a factory fire incident that claimed the lives of two minor workers, the Police Division 6 registered a case against the factory owner, Gurpreet Singh Gaba, and contractor Sonu Singh. Both of them were booked on the charges of causing death by negligence and endangering the safety of others. On Monday, a fire broke out in the cycle parts manufacturing unit at Kalsian street in Millar Ganj in which two minor workers had lost their lives while two visitors suffered burn injuries. The factory had allgedly not made any fire safety arrangements. On Tuesday, the postmortem examination of the deceased was conducted at the Ludhiana Civil Hospital and as per doctors, the deceased had died due to asphyxiation and later, they might got burnt in the blaze.