25032025-LT-01.qxd 3/24/2025 10:58 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune COTTON CROP: EXPERTS PLAN STRATEGIC SOLUTIONS ACTOR ZAHAN KAPOOR WAS IN CHANDIGARH FOR FILM FESTIVAL DENZEL WASHINGTON SHARES THOUGHTS ON HIS ACTING CAREER A consultative and monitoring committee meeting was convened on decline in cotton cultivation . P2 His resemblance with his grandfather Shashi Kapoor is uncanny, but privilege comes with weight of expectations. P4 When asked about being a ‘Hollywood actor’, he responded, “What’s the definition of Hollywood actor?” P4 » » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 33°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.41 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:23 AM TUESDAY | 25 MARCH 2025 | LUDHIANA INBRIEF FOETUS FOUND ON VACANT PLOT Ludhiana: An abandoned foetus, wrapped in a blackcolour cloth, was found from a vacant plot in Kalsian Wali Street by a vegetable vendor Prabhjit Singh. Singh said that they were preparing to hold the vegetable market near the vacant plot when they saw something on the ground, wrapped in a cloth, near the main transformer. He reached and picked it up and found a foetus in it. The police division number 6 was informed about it immediately. The police is looking into the matter and CCTV footage is also being checked for the purpose. Meanwhile, the police has registered an FIR against the unknown person in the case. Inspector Kulwant Kaur said that the foetus was around 3-4 months old and the required proceedings have been initiated. TNS 90 GM HEROIN SEIZED Ludhiana: A resident of Kuldeep Nagar, Akash Kumar, was arrested by the Daresi Police on Sunday and 90 gm of heroin seized from him. Amarjit Kumar, ASI, said that the police was on duty near street number 5 near Kuldeep Nagar when they saw the accused, who panicked on seeing the cops. The police stopped him and frisked him and found 90 gm of heroin from him. He has been sent to police custody. TNS 1.270 KG CANNABIS SEIZED Ludhiana: On March 23, while patrolling near Street number 3, Mohalla New Subhash Nagar, the Tibba police arrested Bankush, a resident of Subhash Nagar (32) and seized 1.270 kg of cannabis from him. The police has taken him into remand and further investigation is on. Another case is already registered against the accused at Division Number 2 police station. TNS Jt Commissioners inspect working of static compactors Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 24 With an aim to ensuring cleanliness, Municipal Corporation (MC) Joint Commissioners Ankur Mahindroo and Vineet Kumar conducted inspections to check the working of static compactor sites and the attendance of sweepers in Sarabha Nagar and Bhai Randhir Singh (BRS) Nagar on Monday. The officials inspected the static compactors installed in J-Block of Sarabha Nagar near Orient cinema and on Lodhi Club road. Static compactors have been installed in different parts of the city to stop open dumping of garbage at secondary dumping sites. Similarly, the attendance of the sweepers was checked in Sarabha Nagar and BRS Nagar area. MC health officer Vipal Malhotra and Chief Sanitary Inspector Gurinder Singh among others accompanied the Joint Commissioners during inspection. Mahindroo and Kumar stated that working on the directions of MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal, regular inspections were being conducted to ensure cleanliness across the city. MC to reinitiate process for ‘Yudh’ against drugs on, setting up of vending zones peddler’s house razed Tribune News Service Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 24 The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation will initiate the process for setting up of vending zones from scratch. Although the street vendors’ survey was conducted in 2017-18 in the city, the zones were never set up in the city. A total of 64 vending zones have been identified to accommodate around 9,000 vendors in all four zones of the city. With change in the government in 2022, these sites were rejected and now the process would be started all over again. According to an MC official, now, once again the survey will be conducted, registration of vendors will be done and towvending committees will be formed afresh. Newly elected councillors have been asked to provide list of possible vending zones from their wards. In the absence of streetvending zones, street vendors sell their articles from their carts along roads. Carts, which are stationed on roads, lead to encroachments and also cause traffic jams. Under the Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending Act-2014, the municipal corporation (MC) is supposed to set up vending zones in the city so that only registered street vendors can sell their products legally. Ludhiana, March 24 As part of the ongoing ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ mission, the Commissionerate Police in coordination with the municipal corporation here on Monday demolished an illegal property of a drug peddler in Rajouri Garden Colony of the city. The property was built illegally and financed with drug money. The structure was occupied by Amrit Singh, who has been facing multiple cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. The demolition was carried out smoothly, with sufficient police personnel deployed to maintain order and prevent any disturbances. Commissioner of Police Kuldeep Chahal led the operation and disclosed that the demolition had been carried out in coordination with Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana. He added that notices had been issued for illegal encroachments. Chahal highlighted the fact that the Amrit was already facing 10 drug and illegal weapon related cases. The accused had been earlier operating in other areas of the state and had moved here two years ago. He added that the police had been identifying more illegal properties of the accused. All illegal prop- Street vendors line up along a roadside in Ludhiana, leading to traffic chaos. ASHWANI DHIMAN Vendors have been suffering in the absence of street vending zones. “We have been demanding for long to set up the vending zones, but to no avail,” said Tiger Singh of Rehri Phari Federation. Once street-vending zones are set up, vendors will be able to sell their products in a legal manner. They will not station their carts on roads, which leads to encroachment and traffic jams, he added. “The MC collects composition fee from us. If we refuse to pay, the tehbazari wing takes away our our carts. If we don’t station our carts, how will we earn money for our family? A designated place should be given to us,” said a vendor near the Rose Garden. Shambhu Kumar, a banana vendor from Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, said, “I have been selling fruits from a roadside cart for the past four years. We were promised vending zones years ago, yet not a single one exists. The authorities continue to remove our carts and impose fine on us. Whenever a VIP visits the area, we are asked to move away from the place we usually station our carts and that affects our daily earnings. We are hand to mouth and earn on daily basis and such days bring real hardship on us,” he said. Another member of the Rehri Phari Federation further added that the MC should ensure setting up of vending zones and prioritise the protection of street vendors’ rights. “All of a sudden we are asked to move away from our place. We have customers who come to us daily and that affect both seller and the customer,” said Ram Shankar, who has a cart selling ‘chholle-bhature’ near the Civil Lines. The house of a drug peddler being demolished in Rajouri Garden Colony in Ludhiana on Monday. ~10L penalty imposed on contractor Cong men hold sit-in at Malaud BDPO office for delay in completion of project Our Correspondent Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 24 Taking strict note of the delay in the completion of development works, the municipal corporation (MC) here has imposed Rs 10 lakh penalty on the contractor for delay in completion of the basketball court project in the Guru Nanak Stadium. Action has been taken after MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal went to the site for taking stock of development works on Monday. The project is being taken up under the Smart City Mission. On Monday, Dachalwal conducted inspection to take stock of different projects, including the all-weather swimming pool and table tennis courts being constructed near Rakh Bagh, under-construction basketball court in Guru Nanak Stadium, projects to construct two bridges over Sidhwan canal near Ishar MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal at the basketball court project site in Guru Nanak Stadium. Nagar and Lohara area, etc. Superintending Engineer Sanjay Kanwar, Executive Engineer Balwinder Singh, and Executive Engineer Rakesh Singla among other officials accompanied the MC Commissioner during the visit. Dachalwal said that the penalty had been imposed on the contractor for the delay in completion of the basketball court project and strict directions had also been issued to other contractors to speed up the project, otherwise strict action would also be taken against them. The contractor and the officials concerned have also been directed to ensure that there is no compromise with the quality of development works, said Dachalwal, while adding that he had been monitoring the development works on a regular basis to ensure completion of the projects within the stipulated time period. Payal, March 24 Office-bearers and activists of various wings of the Congress in Malaud block of Ludhiana district threatened to intensify the stir if their demands were not accepted without further delay. An ultimatum was given during the concluding session of a protest rally held in front of the office of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Malaud, near here on Monday. SDO Balwinder Singh after receiving the memorandum on behalf of BDPO Rajwinder Singh said necessary action would be taken to start functioning of panchayats at all villages irrespective of political allegiances of the officebearers of the civic bodies. Former MLA Payal Lakhvir Singh Lakha said office-bearers and activists of various units of the Congress in Malaud block had organised a sit-in and rally with intent to impress upon the authorities at the BDPO office to stop discrimination against the Congress-supported sarpanches and panches. Block president Gurmel Singh Gill, Ber Kalan, led the activists. Accusing the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of coercing leaders of rival parties to join the AAP legislator Lakhvir , Singh Lakha alleged that none of the Congress-supported sarpanches had been handed over charge of the panchayat with ‘sinister’ design to force him or her to shift loyalties. “Having failed to get their demands accepted, sarpanches and panches organised a dharna in front of block office and handed over a memorandum to BDPO through SDO Balwinder Singh,” said Lakha, adding that a subdivision-level dharna would be organised in front of SDM Payal’s office in case of harassment of Congress activists was not stopped with immediate effect. High drama as parents cry foul over being forced to buy books Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 24 High drama was witnessed outside a house selling books in BRS Nagar today when a few parents alleged that they were being pressurised to buy the whole set of books instead of only those books which were needed for their wards. The parents gathered outside the house from which the set of books were being sold to the students of a particular lead- erties of the drug peddler will be razed and the police teams are working round-the-clock to apprehend the absconding peddler. “The commissionerate police have so far registered more than 250 cases under the NDPS Act,” the Commissioner said and emphasised the commitment of the Punjab government, led by Bhagwant Mann, in taking strict action against those involved in the drug trade. He assured the people that no one would be spared until the drug menace was completely eradicated, pledging severe penalties for the peddlers. He also called for public cooperation in this fight against drugs. ing school in BRS Nagar. The parents also called some mediapersons there and told them that they were being allegedly being forced by the booksellers to purchase whole set of books, which was costing them approximately Rs 4,500. The persons who were selling books not only abused the parents, but even misbehaved with the mediapersons present there. One of the parents alleged that her son was in Class III and he only need- ed one or two books as other books were given to him by his first cousin. But she was asked by the book sellers, who were operating from the house that one or two books would not be given and she would have to purchase the whole set. She said now she would got to some other book seller and try to get the particular books. Some parents rued that this kind of monopolistic approach adopted by the school and the book sellers c m y b was uncalled for. They said that the parents must not be pressurised by the school authorities or the persons given the rights to sell books, to purchase all books even when these were not needed. The book sellers even misbehaved with the mediapersons present there, they added. Following this incident, some parents complained to the police about the bookseller who was later taken to the Sarabha Nagar police station for further questioning. The book seller gestures to mediapersons while arguing with them as parents line up for buying books. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Man gets life term for killing 14-year-old boy Legal Correspondent Ludhiana March 24 The court of Additional Sessions Judge Shiv Mohan Garg has sentenced Sarup Ram, alias Rupa, a resident of Kariana Kalan village, Meharban, Ludhiana, to undergo rigorous life imprisonment for killing a 14-yearold boy of the same village. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the convict. However, the court acquitted Nanak Ram and Jagdeep Ram, the father and brother of the prime accused, respectively, both residents of same village, giving them the benefit of doubt. According to the prosecution, on September 11, 2020, Sub-Inspector Harshpal Singh lodged the FIR on the statement of Makhan Singh, father of the deceased, who narrated the sequence of events. Makhan, a labourer, stated that he had a daughter and a 14-year-old son, Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, who was a student of Class IX. On the fateful day, around 8 am, Gurpreet had gone to irrigate the paddy crop in the fields. Makhan and his cousin Rajvir Singh went to deliver tea to Gurpreet on their motorcycle. Around 10 am, as they approached the fields of Bhinder Ram, they saw Sarup having a scuffle with Gurpreet. Makhan saw Sarup snatching the spade from Gurpreet and attacking him, inflicting fatal blows on his head and leg. They rushed Gurpreet to the CMC Hospital, Ludhiana, where the doctors declared him dead on arrival. The prosecution examined 11 witnesses to prove its case.