29032025-LT-01.qxd 3/29/2025 12:57 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune GADVASU GETS ~45L GRANT FOR ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION TEASER FOR EMRAAN’S UPCOMING FILM UNVEILED JEWEL THIEF: THE HEIST BEGINS TO PREMIERE ON NETFLIX Grant will enable to develop a canine semen bank where semen of common, rare breeds could be preserved. P2 Teaser for Emraan Hashmi’s upcoming film, Ground Zero, has been unveiled, promising an intense war thriller. P4 Saif Ali Khan’s latest movie Jewel Thief: The HeistBegins will make its debut on Netflix on April 25, streamer announced. P4 » » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 34°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 16°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.39 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:14 AM SATURDAY | 29 MARCH 2025 | LUDHIANA Restore Dholewal Chowk park to Mysterious death of elderly woman turns out to be murder original form, NGT asks civic body Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 28 In a matter related to the construction of a library by the Municipal Corporation (MC), Ludhiana, in a public park at Dholewal Chowk, encroachments over green belts by Lodhi Club and Sacred Heart School at BRS Nagar, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Municipal Commissioner to comply with the earlier orders of restitution of the park, retaining its original shape, and file a compliance report within one month. As per the NGT orders, only 5 per cent area of the parks and green belts can be covered with tiles but 50 per cent area of the green belts along Old GT Road has been concretised, resulting into major environmental damage. A social activist and member of the Public Action Committee (PAC), Kapil Arora, said the Green Tribunal has issued directions on October 4, 2024, for restitution of the park but the MC failed to comply with the orders till Swapan Sharma is Ludhiana CP Ludhiana, March 28 A 2009 batch IPS officer, Swapan Sharma has been appointed as the Commissioner of Police (CP), Ludhiana, replacing Kuldeep Singh Chahal on Friday. Sharma was recently posted as the DIG, Ferozepur Range. He is likely to join the office on Saturday. He had served on important positions in the Punjab Police. He also served as the CP Ludhiana, and DIG, , Jalandhar Range. Sharma also served as the AIG, Counter Intelligence, and broke the backbone of network of gangsters and illegal weapon suppliers. He also remain posted as SSP in various police districts, including Fazilka, Bathinda, Ropar, Sangrur, Jalandhar and Amritsar, where he busted major drug networks and arrested smugglers. Posting of Sharma as police chief ahead of the by-elections in the Ludhiana West constituency may pose a challenge before him as he has to further improve the image of the police by taking public-friendly initiatives. Meanwhile, the posting orders of incumbent CP Kuldeep Chahal are yet to be issued. — TNS A library built in a public park at Dholewal Chowk in Ludhiana. MC FAILED TO COMPLY WITH ORDERS: ACTIVIST A social activist and member of the Public Action Committee (PAC), Kapil Arora, said the Green Tribunal had issued directions on October 4, 2024, for restitution of the park but the MC failed to comply with the orders till date. The Court Commissioner submitted the report by mentioning the park area as 350 sq yards with around 50 per cent concretisation. date. The Court Commissioner submitted the report by mentioning the park area as 350 sq yards with around 50 per cent concretisation. Further, the civic body has been claiming that the library building belongs to the MC but as per reply under the RTI Act received from the library branch of the corporation, it has been made clear that the impugned building is not its library. Vikas Arora, member, PAC, said as per notification of 2018, as issued by the state government, green belts must not be used for car parking. Further, in view of directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Transport Department of Punjab has issued a policy in which it is mentioned that parking of school vehicles must be done in the area owned by schools but Sacred Heart School at BRS Eight under-construction illegal buildings demolished Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 28 Continuing action against illegal constructions, the building branch team of the Municipal Corporation’s (MC) Zone C demolished eight under-construction illegal industrial and commercial constructions in different areas on Friday. The illegal buildings were being constructed in Kunti Nagar, Pritam Colony, Baba Mukand Singh Nagar and other nearby areas. The building branch officials said they came to know about the illegal constructions during routine inspections and warning was issued to owners in the past too but they continued the illegal constructions. Working on the directions of MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal, action was taken against the buildings on Friday by demolishing the constructions. The civic body officials appealed to the residents that they should commence the construction works only after getting building plans approved from the Municipal Corporation, otherwise strict action would be taken against illegal constructions. An illegal construction being razed by the MC in Ludhiana. Nagar is using green belt for parking vehicles of its staff and school vans. “We have produced all facts before the NGT and also served the documents well in time to all respondents but the respondent have failed to submit any reply on our objections. The Bench had given last opportunity to all respondents to file their reply within one month and afterwards, we are also given time thereafter to file the Rejoinder, if any,” Arora said. Arora said 50 per cent of the green belt along Old GT Road had been concretised and it was being used for parking by commercial outlets, mainly car showrooms and vehicle repair shops. Two-wheelers of staff working in companies in a large number are parked in the green belts resulting in major environmental loss. The Old GT Road gets waterlogged during monsoon due to lack of space for rainwater to enter the ground. The next date of hearing is fixed for July 2. Ludhiana, March 28 The mysterious death of a woman in Haibowal turned out to be a murder. The victim was initially suspected to be died in an accidental fire at her house but later during investigation, the police found out that she was murdered. As per the Station House Officer (SHO), Haibowal police station, inspector Madhu Bala, in a statement issued stated that on March 23 the police got information that a fire broke out in a house in Mohalla Raghbir Park, Haibowal. Acting swiftly, the police reached the scene. As a woman had suffered burn injuries, she was rushed to a hospital. The elderly victim, Narinder Kaur, had suffered Victim was killed after she asked tenant to clear pending ~50K rent of room serious burn injuries and after undergoing treatment for over three days, she succumbed to her injuries. The SHO said on the statement of Ravinder Kaur, the daughter of the deceased, the police had initiated inquest proceedings under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), suspecting no foul play in the incident. However, during further investigation on March 27, the deceased’s daughter gave a fresh statement to the police that their juvenile tenant had not been paying rent of the room he taken on rent DC chairs meeting of Revenue Dept, reviews progress on key agenda Property tax: MC team goes to seal defaulting mall Ludhiana, March 28 Cracking the whip on property tax defaulters, a team of Municipal Corporation (MC) officials went to seal JMD Govardhan Mall near the Jagraon bridge here over its failure to submit property tax. Mgmt buys time for submitting papers However, the mall management sought some time for submitting documents, after which a week’s time has been given by the civic body. Civic body officials said the mall management had failed to submit an estimated amount of around Rs 2 crore as property tax to the civic body. However, the exact amount would be calculated after scrutinising documents. Leading the team of officials, Superintendent Ashok Garg said working on the directions of MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and Zonal Commissioner Neeraj Jain, the team had gone to seal the mall as it had failed to submit property tax. But the mall management had sought some time to submit documents. — TNS DC chairs a meeting with revenue officials in Ludhiana on Friday. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 28 Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain on Wednesday held a meeting with officials of the Revenue Department to review progress on various priority agenda. During the meeting, he evaluated the department’s performance and discussed several key items, including the digitisation of Jammabandies, the digitisation and geo-referencing of cadastral maps, the SVAMITVA programme (survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology in village areas), mutations, demarcation, encroachment on panchayat land, NOCs, recoveries, court cases and more. Jain emphasised the importance of resolving all pending mutations promptly, stating that any delays would not be tolerated. He instructed the officials to ensure timely resolution of revenue cases pending in court and to provide daily reports to his office. He highlighted the need to prioritise collection of recoveries to enhance the state government’s revenue and urged SDMs to personally oversee recovery cases to expedite the process. Jain said he would monitor pending cases daily to establish a comprehensive mechanism for the timely registration of mutations. Additionally, he told the officials to submit details regarding any requirements they have to ensure smooth functioning of the department, including staff, computers, accessories and other resources. The Deputy Commissioner asked them to perform their duties sincerely, reiterating that the state government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, had provided clear directions to facilitate residents in their daily administrative tasks. in the same house to her mother. When the victim told the tenant to clear pending payment of around Rs 50,000, he turned furious and started a fight with the elderly woman. “When the victim was cooking, the suspect attacked her and dragged her near the gas stove. Her clothes caught fire and she suffered serious burn injuries. She later succumbed to her injuries at a hospital,” the SHO said. On Friday, a case of murder was registered against the suspect and he was arrested near Sangam Chowk here. The youth was working at some medical shop. He, along with his family, was staying in a portion of the victim’s house. Further investigation in the case was on, the SHO said. 84-yr-old man dies as bike hits bicycle Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 28 An 84-year-old man died in a road accident in Jagraon on Thursday. The victim was going on a bicycle for some work when a speeding motorcycle hit him. Family members took the man to a hospital but he died on the way. The police after registering a case started a probe in the matter. The deceased has been identified as Mahinder Singh, a resident of Gill Patti Chuhadchak village. As per information, Mahinder Singh went to Jagraon on his bicycle for some work. He stopped to drink water at a brick-kiln near Sua Pul in Kaunke Kalan village. When he was returning, a speeding bike hit him. The collision was so severe that he suffered serious injuries on his head and neck. The deceased’s grandson, Harinder Singh, told the police that when his grandfather did not return home for a long time and failed to pick up calls, he went out to look for him with his father. After reaching the scene, he was taken to a hospital in an ambulance but he died on the way. ASI Harpreet Singh of Sadar Jagraon said the bike driver was identified as Lachman Singh, a resident of Kaunke Kalan village. A case was registered against the suspect. After autopsy, the body of the deceased was handed over to his family. Investigation was on in the case. 17-yr-old girl found hanging Clean water released into Buddha Dariya after decades Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 28 A Class X student died under suspicious circumstances at her residence here. The body of the minor girl was found hanging from a noose. The reason for the girl’s death was not not known so far. The student had returned home after appearing for her science exam on Thursday. The body of the teenager was brought to the mortuary of the Civil Hospital on Thursday night. The deceased was identi- fied as 17-year-old Anjali, a resident of Nishant Bagh, Bhattian village. The police team reached the scene and took her body to the mortuary of the Civil Hospital for conducting autopsy. According to information, the police investigation revealed that Anjali was a native of Balua Afghan village in Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh. Two weeks ago, her grandmother died in the village, due to which her parents had gone there. The police said the elder sister of Anjali went to tuition following which the latter hanged herself. When her sibling returned home from the tuition at night, she saw the victim’s body hanging and raised the alarm. Residents of the locality informed the police. Later, officials from the Salem Tabri police station reached the scene and took the body in their custody. Afterwards, her parents were informed. Ludhiana, March 28 Thanks to the ‘Seechewal Model’, clean water has started flowing into the Buddha Dariya after decades. Rajya Sabha member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, who has been striving to revive the dying Buddha Dariya, credited its success to people and stated that it was a historic moment as clean water has started flowing into the river again after decades. Seechewal said arrangements had been made to prevent dirty water from entering the river at various points c m y b Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal has been striving to revive the dying Buddha Dariya. upto Gurdwara Gaughat. Waste was accumulating in the dariya, exceeding four feet in some areas. Along its banks, nearly 72 dairy farms were discharging their waste directly into the dariya. Over the past two-and-a-half months, five villages have implemented the ‘Seechewal Model’ in areas where waste was removed from the river. Notably, around 32 km from the Koom Kalan drain to Gurdwara Gaughat, clean water has now started to flow into the dariya and the cleaning of the remaining sections was on. Officials from the Drainage Department reported that initially, 100 cusecs of water was released into the dariya and since then, the flow had been increased by 20 cusecs daily. Residents were happy to see clean water reach Bhukhri Khurd after 35 years. To celebrate the occasion, sarpanch Satpal Singh, nambardar Narinder Singh and other villagers distributed porridge. Notably, in the past, when borewells and motors were installed, people used to distribute porridge and remember Khwaja Pir as a traditional custom.