09032025-LT-01.qxd 3/9/2025 1:06 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune 75,434 CASES SETTLED AT LOK ADALAT IN CITY GUNEET TALKS ABOUT ANUJA’S OSCAR DISAPPOINTMENT MADHURI DIXIT SPEAKS ON PAY PARITY IN BOLLYWOOD DLSA successfully mediated multiple matrimonial disputes during Lok Adalat proceedings. P2 Producer Guneet Monga has expressed gratitude for recognition Anuja received at Oscars despite not winning.P4 At IIFA in Jaipur, Madhuri Dixit shared her take on it, accepting that pay disparity has long existed. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 28°C | MIN 12°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 12°C SUNSET SUNDAY 6.26 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 6:39 AM » SUNDAY | 9 MARCH 2025 | LUDHIANA Women farmers progressing fast under special project in state Project established 17 producer firms, impacting over 25K women in four dists WOMEN’S DAY SPECIAL FARMERSPEAK ❝ Nitin Jain I’m proud to be the first drone pilot in the district. The project has been a life-changing opportunity for me. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 8 When women are achieving new heights in every sphere, agriculture and dairy development are also witnessing major strides by the fairer sex. It is evident from the way women farmers are progressing fast under a special project in the agrarian state. Launched in 2022, the project STREE (Social Transformative Rural Economic Empowerment) is a collaborative effort by Grant Thornton Bharat LLP and HDFC Bank Parivartan. Assisted by the Central and state governments, it aims to transform lives of women farmers across Ludhiana, Moga, Barnala and Ropar districts by equipping them with skills and resources needed for economic independence. The project has established 17 women farmer producer companies (FPCs), each having almost 1,500 women shareholders in each FPC, impacting over 25,000 women in the four districts. These FPCs are making significant strides in agricultural sectors and have resulted in a 20 to 25 per cent improvement in cattle health and milk yield through collaborations with Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Punjab Dairy Development Board (PDDB), and AHB Suraksha. Besides, experts from Dutch NGO PUM provide on-field health diagnostics and tele-consultations to enhance the cattle health management. With an average annual turnover of Rs 45 lakh, the 17 FPCs are at present logging business worth Rs 7.65 crore per annum. Aided by the Central and state government schemes, beneficiaries have already been facilitated with the convergence of Rs 10 crore. “After the intervention, the income of women farmers and their households has increased by an average 40 per cent, ranging from Rs 40,000 to Rs 2 lakh per annum, through various initiatives,” project state team leader Man- — Mandeep Kaur Pannu ❞ ❝ I have been part of the project for the past one year and have been immensely benefitted. — Rupinder Kaur Mandeep Kaur offers services at Barundi village; and (below) Rupinder Kaur using a drone for spraying fields at Lapran village in Ludhiana on Saturday. ❝ ❞ We have been trained in best practices in animal husbandry and agriculture by experts from PUM Netherlands, which has helped us a lot. — Simranjit Kaur ❝ ❞ Initiatives have expanded our market access and boosted our sales. — Kiranpal Kaur ❝ ❞ I’m proud to be a woman entrepreneur and drone pilot after getting a free drone and training. — Jaswinder Kaur ❞ preet Singh told The Tribune here on Saturday. The project’s strength lies in its diversity, with experts from top management institutes such as IIM, Ahmedabad, IRMA, Symbiosis, and leading agricultural institute PAU working collaboratively to empower rural women in the state. To check the transformation, The Tribune visited five women farmers, three in Ludhiana, and one each in Moga and Barnala districts, who have turned progressive, during the past less than two years. Mandeep Kaur Pannu has become the first NaMo drone didi under the PM Narendra Modi’s flagship scheme aimed at helping women to become integral stakeholders of their local farming supply chains and rural prosperity. The 40-year-old graduate from Barundi village in Ludhiana owns 5 acres of agricultural land on which she grows cucumber, okra and moong. Also running a custom hiring centre, Mandeep was facing several challenges such as high input costs, lack of quality inputs and low crop productivity. On joining project STREE, she started getting crop advisory and got training in integrated nutrient and pest management, which helped her increase crop yield by 8 to 12 per cent. Her custom hiring centre offers services of tractor, rotavator, multi-crop seeder, which has reduced 5 to 7 per cent farming costs for members of her FPC. “I’m also successfully running an input shop in the cluster, providing quality inputs to member farmers at subsidised prices,” she said while revealing that their FPC had generated an annual income of Rs 60 lakh. Having received a drone worth Rs 15 lakh free of cost and 15-day free training to become a certified drone pilot, this NaMo Drone Didi is offering drone-spraying services for agricultural fields at the rate of Rs 300 per acre, aiming to cover 4,000 acres every year and generate additional income. With this, Mandeep’s annual income has increased from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2.25 lakh, a jump of over 40 per cent. Another progressive farmer is Rupinder Kaur from Lapran village in Ludhiana. Having done a PhD in Botany, the 37-yearold woman also owns five acres of agricultural land where she grows paddy, wheat and maize. Besides, she also has a custom hiring centre and is engaged in animal husbandry with seven cattle heads. Also becoming a NaMo Drone Didi by getting free drone and training of certified drone pilot, Rupinder has increased milk yield by 18 per cent to raise her income from animal husbandry by almost 38 per cent. Her custom hiring centre has prevented the burning of crop residue on over 1,000 acres, showcasing the effectiveness of innovative farming techniques. “By producing and selling paddy straw bales at the rate of Rs 100 per quintal, our FPC has generated a substantial income of Rs 30 lakh,” she said while showing drone spraying in the fields, which has helped earn additional income. Rupinder’s annual income has gone up from Rs 5.1 lakh to Rs 7 lakh, an increase of over 37 per cent. Simranjit Kaur (24) is among the youngest NaMo Drone Didis. She owns two acres at Gehlewal village in Ludhiana while doing animal husbandry as her primary activity with eight cattle heads and cultivating wheat and paddy on her land as secondary activity. She has been able to increase milk fat by 26 per cent, solid not fat (SNF) by 13 per cent, and milk yield by 18 per cent, which boosted her income by 38 per cent. Her crop yield has also gone up by 8 to 12 per cent. Offering drone spray services with a target to cover 4,000 acres every year, the BSc degree holder has increased her annual income from Rs 1.6 lakh to Rs 2.25 lakh, a jump of over 40 per cent. From Chardi Kalan village in Barnala, Kiranpal Kaur (35) is into animal husbandry with four cattle heads, besides growing wheat, paddy and maize on her 1.5-acre agricultural land. Having increased milk fat, SNF by 11 to 13 per cent and milk production by 1.5 to 2 litres per cattle, this matriculate’s income from animal husbandry has increased by Rs 37,000 per annum. On the agriculture front, she has opted crop diversification by shifting from traditional paddy to basmati, which has helped her increase income by 40 per cent. This NaMo Drone Didi is offering drone spray services with an aim to cover 4,000 acres annually. Kiranpal’s total annual income has gone up from Rs 2.4 lakh to Rs 3.1-lakh, an increase of over 29 per cent. Jaswinder Kaur from Rattian village in Moga owns 6 acres on which she grows wheat and paddy, besides having a wheat flour unit. Having increased crop yield by 8 to 12 per cent, she has been selling packaged wheat flour by procuring wheat from FPC members. Also a NaMo Drone Didi offering drone spray services over 4,000 acres every year, Jaswinder, who is a Class XII pass-out, has increased her continued on page 3 AAP’s Delhi model has proved to be a failure: Warring PPCC chief says Cong’s block-level public outreach will ensure win in 2027 elections Lovleen Bains Sahnewal, March 8 Reposing faith in the ‘Judega block Jittegi Congress’ campaign initiated by the party, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring today held meetings with party workers in Samrala, Machhiwara, Sahnewal and Ludhiana blocks. Warring expressed the confidence that the Congress will be able to form a government in Punjab in 2027. The PPCC chief who is a Member of Parliament from Ludhiana was accompanied by senior Punjab Congress leaders, Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Fatehgarh Sahib MP Dr Amar Singh, who reiterated PPCC president and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring addresses a gathering at Kohara on Saturday. the party’s commitment to strengthening its grassroots presence across the state. Calling out the failures of AAP Raja Warring said, “The , Aam Aadmi Party talked about the ‘Delhi Model’, but even Delhi has rejected it. They have nothing substan- tial to offer anymore. What happened in Delhi is now happening in Punjab. The public does not believe in the sugarcoated words of CM Bhagwant Mann anymore. You cannot take the public for a ride every time. The public knows and can judge better. The peo- ple of Punjab deserve better and the Congress party is here to ensure that,” he added. Ridiculing the policy of AAP in the fight against drugs, he said, “This is nothing but a ploy to deceive Punjab and its people.” Raja Warring also underlined the need for concrete action to address the drug menace in Punjab. “If you want to reduce drug addiction in Punjab, give jobs to our people. Employment opportunities and a strong economy are the real solutions, not hollow claims and deceitful actions.” Warring asserted that the Congress shall win by a big margin in 2027 elections as both the Akali Dal and AAP have done practically nothing to win the favour of the gener- c m y b al public. “SAD has been a mute spectator to the sacrilege incidents and its anti-farmer, anti-labour, anti-teacher and anti-employee policies are sure to land the party in trouble. AAP on the other hand, has , long lost the faith of common public. The public has only one single choice and that is the Congress party,” he added. Raja Warring stated that the ‘Judega block, Jittegi Congress’ initiative is a testament to the party’s dedication to connect with every block in Punjab, ensuring that the Congress creates a strong foundation for the future. “Grassroots programmes enable us to engage directly with the people, understand their challenges and work collectively towards finding solutions,” Warring added. Factory roof collapse: Weak pillar ledto mishap, says injured worker Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 8 The persons who suffered injuries in the factory roof collapse at Focal Point, Phase 8, late on Saturday evening were rushed to Fortis Hospital here. Till the filing of the report, five of the injured workers were sent to the hospital. Neeraj was admitted with a head injury and a CT scan of the head was done, which came out normal. Abhilash had a fractured tibia (lower leg) while Avtar complained of lower back ache and his X-ray was done, which was normal. Krishan has fracture of tibia fibula (lower leg). Sintu has pain in the left hip. His X-ray was done, which was also normal. Neeraj, who had received an head injury, said when the hydra machine was doing the work of pillar shifting and he was standing near the machine, the roof collapsed and afterwards, he did not remember anything and received injury in the head. One of the workers at the hospital said at the time when the incident occurred, the work of pillar shifting was going on. “The pillar of the building had loosen strength and a new pillar was being installed right next to the existing pillar and crane was called to carry the work and then all of a sudden the roof collapsed and we could see nothing and there was no escape route,” he said. Abhilash, whose leg got fractured, further added that it took more than half an hour to rescue them. “The building’s pillar was weak and work for the same was going on. The incident occurred around 6 pm. The building is nearly 25 years old and at the time of the incident, nearly 2025 workers were working inside the building. My leg is paining badly and I have a fracture,” he said. Civil Surgeon Pardeep Mohindra, who also reached the site said they had deployed medical teams and ambulances on a 24-hour basis at the site till the operations are complete. All patients rescued till now have been referred to Fortis Hospital and the Health Department is regularly in touch with the team of doctors and patients are out of danger. The Municipal Corporation and the Fire Safety Department have also been directed to depute their additional staff there round the clock. Police continue to crack whip against peddlers 2 fraud cases filed against real estate agent Ludhiana, March 8 Cracking the whip against drug peddlers in the state, 189 gm of heroin was seized by the Ludhiana police from different areas in separate incidents. Arvinder Singh, alias Billa, was arrested with 90 gm of heroin from Kuldeep Nagar, Basti Jodhewal, by the Daresi police. In another incident, the Division Number 2 police arrested Pradeep Kumar with 22 gm of heroin. A resident of Bhamian Kalan, the suspect was riding a scooter when the police nabbed him. The Daba police have Ludhiana, March 8 In two cases lodged by the PAU police, Karan Arora, a resident of Barewal and a partner in JK Arora Builders and Developers, Ludhiana, has been booked on complaints lodged by Namita Bansal, a resident of Garden Enclave, and Ramandeep Singh of Model Town Extension, and Gurmit Singh. There are allegations against the agent that less land was provided to the buyers, contrary to registered documents. The complainants alleged that they could not get required documents made by government agencies due to the mismatch in the land details. — TNS 12 arrested with 189-gm heroin arrested nine persons — Harjinder Singh, Kamaljit Kaur, Bhupinder Singh, Sandeep Singh, Kajal, Karamjit Singh, Sahil, Ramandeep Singh and Vipan. The police seized 60 gm of heroin and polythene bags from the suspects. The suspects have been remanded in police custody. In yet another incident, Rohit Kumar was arrested by Police Division Number 5 with 17 gm of heroin. — TNS