10042025-JTR-01.qxd 4/9/2025 11:24 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune HIGHLY ANTICIPATED ‘JAAT’ IS SET FOR A RELEASE TODAY GIPPY GREWAL AND NIMRAT KHAIRA IN HIGH SPIRIT STATUE OF DDLJ TO BE INSTALLED AT LONDON’S LEICESTER SQUARE Randeep Hooda, Viineet Kumar Siingh and Sunny Deol gear up to showcase their performances in this film. P4 At the premiere of Punjabi film Akaal: The Unconquered, actor Gippy Grewal is at his modest best. P4 A bronze statue of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol striking a pose from their 1995 superhit will be erected in London. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 37°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 38°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.53 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 6:04 AM THURSDAY | 10 APRIL 2025 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF TWO ARRESTED FOR SNATCHING Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have arrested two persons on the charge of snatching and drug peddling. Shahkot DSP Onkar Singh said the accused have been identified as Vijay of Malrri village in Nakodar and Balraj Singh of Pachharrian village. Harbans Lal of Ismailpur village complained to the police that he was going to Haripur village on April 8 to withdraw his pension on his scooter when the accused waylaid him near Tandaura village and snatched his scooter and purse containing Rs 400 at the point of a toy pistol. DSP said 240 intoxicating tablets were recovered from their possession and a case has been registered against them OC HELD FOR BUYING STOLEN WIRE Phagwara: The police have arrested a scrap dealer on the charge of purchasing stolen copper wires from farmers' motors. The accused has been identified as Raj Kumar of Vannjo Ki Basti Makhu, Ferozepur. Sahib Singh of Bharoana village, Kapurthala, who was arrested for stealing copper wire told the police that he sold it to Raju. The stolen copper wire was recovered from the accused. OC MAN NABBED FOR STEALING TREES Phagwara: The police have arrested a Nurmahal village person on charge of stealing governmental trees. The accused has been identified as Rup Chand of Kandola Kalan village. Nakodar Forest Range officer Amarik Singh complained to the police that the accused felled and stole two eucalyptus tree from forest land. A case had been registered against the accused. OC ‘Scan & Share’ for online OPD registration at Civil Hospital Phagwara, April 9 In a bid to enhance patient convenience and reduce waiting times, the Civil Hospital in Kapurthala has introduced the “Scan and Share” feature for online OPD registration under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. Civil Surgeon Dr Richa Bhatia announced the initiative, stating that patients will no longer need to stand in long queues to get an OPD slip. As part of the digital healthcare transformation, the hospital has implemented the ABHA ID (Ayushman Bharat Health Account), which enables patients to generate OPD tokens by simply scanning a QR code at the hospital, using the ABHA mobile app. “This feature not only saves time but also helps reduce data entry errors during registration,” said Dr Bhatia. She further explained that ABHA ID facilitates the creation of a digital health record for every patient, allowing them to carry their medical history digitally without the need for physical documents. Dr Bhatia urged citizens to generate their ABHA IDs.The move is seen as a significant step towards streamlining healthcare delivery in government hospitals and promoting paperless, efficient patient care. — TNS Answering nature’s call a ‘task’ in this school, 80 pupils using one toilet Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 9 A government primary school in a nondescript village with 80 students, all using one toilet! When ‘Punjab Sikhya Kranti’ drive is going on in state schools, a school located in Mandala Channa village of Lohian block portrays a picture of neglect. It was severely hit during the floods of 2023 and, as per the school staff, two out of three toilets were not fit for use after that as the walls developed cracks and the floors sunk. They are now closed. There were two toilets for girls and one for boys. Since then answering nature’s call is like a punishment for students studying in this school and this has been going on for the last two years. Despite all of this, the ‘Punjab Sikhya Kranti’ drive has found its way into the school as well. Two plaques are going to come up at the school for a boundary wall repair grant that the school received after its wall got col- lapsed during floods and a classroom that was built but there is no mention about the repair of the toilet. The school authorities have been demanding the grant for the repair of the toilets so that they could made functional again, but they have not received it. When The Tribune was about to reach the school, which is almost 62 km away from the city, posters reading ‘Dakhila Muhim 2025-2026’ bearing pictures of CM Bhagwant Mann and Education Minister Harjot Bains were seen installed at a height and were visible from a distance. On entering the school premises, the actual position of the school became clear. While students were having the mid-day meal, a 10-yearold girl student, a 5th grader was wanting to relieve herself. As she went towards the toilet area, a few students were already standing, including boys. The girl then knew that it was going to take a while and it was not going to be easy. The malodorous smell emanating from the toilet makes it almost impossible to stand inside the school premises, forget about standing near it. ‘Bahut badbu aati hai, bahut mushkil hai (It smells a lot, it is very difficult), a shy 9-yearold girl shared with the correspondent. She further shared that it doesn’t feel comfortable at all as boys were also using the same toilet. “Sometimes I wait for the school to get over and avoid using this toilet,” another 10-year-old told The Tribune. Deepak Kumar, head teacher at the school, said the two washrooms were locked as any mishappening could be possible if they allow children to use these. “We are hopeful that we would soon receive the grant and then things will improve,” he expressed hope. The District Education Officer (Primary) Harjinder Kaur said she was aware of the fact. “We have already sent the proposal and the grants will arrive soon and the toilets will be repaired,” she said. Girls and boys use a common toilet in government school at Mandala Chhana village in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH 12 women councillors made chiefs of ad hoc committees Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 9 Mayor Vaneet Dhir has constituted 20 ad hoc committees in the Municipal Corporation. Within two months, the committees have been formed which will help the civic body to streamline the work. Of 20 committees, 12 will be headed by women councillors who have been made the chairperson, and of these 12, a few are those who had shifted to AAP after winning the elections. According to the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976, the corporation has to constitute committees of water supply and sewerage disposal, building and roads, house tax assessment and other such committees.The Act also reads that each committee will elect one of its members as the chairman and another member as the vice-chairman. The committees play a major role in various works of the corporation. Councillors are the members of the committees and they can raise problems of residents with the respective branch. Besides, works of various branches get distributed and decentralised. The building and roads committee will examine all proposals for construction, development and repair of works of buildings and roads of the corporation. The chairman and members of the committee will examine all estimates and make recommendations in regard to the estimates. The committee members will have to ensure that the works are executed in accordance with the administrative approval and specifications of the estimates. The water supply and sewerage committee will ensure adequate supply of water to citizens and for the disposal of sullage and storm water. For that purpose, the committee may examine all proposals related to the installation/maintenance of tubewells and disposal work and recommend priorities. The sanitation and health ad hoc committee will ensure proper cleanliness, scavenging and drainage of areas of the city and for that purpose, the chairman and members of the committee may undertake any action, while the transport and workshop ad hoc committee will ensure proper functioning of the MC transport and municipal workshop. Big intel failure: Majithia on grenade attack case Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 9 Leaders of all political parties, including former SAD minister Bikram Singh Majithia, Congress MLA Vikram Chaudhary and AAP MP Raj Kumar Chabbewal, on Wednesday visited the residence of former BJP minister Manoranjan Kalia. They all had come to his place to express concern over the grenade attack by unidentified men a day ago. Majithia said this was a huge intelligence failure as Kalia is a senior politician and former minister. He said the police are misleading the public by claiming ISI link in the incident. He said reality is that the police are trying to sell this story because Kalia is a Hindu leader and the police know that story to link this attack with ISI will bring credibility to the incident. Govt opens purse strings to boost school infra Smart classrooms, science labs, sports tracks inaugurated Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 9 Reaffirming its commitment to revolutionising school education, the government, under its flagship ‘Punjab Sikhiya Kranti’ initiative, dedicated development projects worth Rs 2.34 crore across 38 government schools in Jalandhar, giving a massive push to educational infrastructure in the district. The infrastructure revamp — covering both primary and upper primary schools — includes smart classrooms, science laboratories, sports tracks, digital learning systems, cluster rooms, upgraded toilet blocks, boundary walls and essential repair work. The initiative aims to create a modern, studentfriendly environment conducive to holistic learning and development. MLAs Balkar Singh, Raman Arora and Inderjit Kaur Mann dedicated these projects across their Assembly constituencies while several other schools in the district also witnessed inauguration of upgraded facilities. In Kartarpur, MLA Balkar Singh dedicated infrastructure projects worth Rs 26 lakh at three government schools, Government Primary Schools in villages Rani Bhatti, Sattowali and Khandala Guru. Similarly, MLA Raman Arora inaugurated projects costing Rs 18.80 lakh at Government Primary and Senior Secondary Schools in Adarsh Nagar, Dhilwan, Chugitti and Abadpura. He further announced an additional grant of Rs 5 lakh for the government school at Adarsh Nagar, reiterating the government’s unwavering focus on strengthening the education sector. In Nakodar, MLA Inderjit Kaur Mann dedicated projects worth Rs 33 lakh across seven government schools, including Government Primary Schools at Khiwa, Uggi, MLA Raman Arora inaugurates smart classrooms, science labs in Jalandhar. Chuhar, Bahupur and Government High Schools at Khiwa (Boys and Girls) and Uggi. Addressing a gathering, the MLAs highlighted that under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab’s education sector is undergoing a historic transformation. They asserted that the Punjab Sikhiya Kran- c m y b ti is setting new benchmarks, with government schools now matching the standards of private institutions. They underscored that the state government has ensured there is no dearth of funds for strengthening school infrastructure, a sector long overlooked by previous regimes. Initiatives like send- ing government school teachers abroad for specialised training, appointing campus managers and security guards, introducing bus services, setting up smart classrooms, promoting digital learning and establishing Schools of Eminence have redefined the contours of school education in Punjab. SAD leader Bikram Majithia with former minister Manoranjan Kalia during his visit to latter's house in Jalandhar. MALKIAT SINGH He asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Cabinet why they are silent on the attack. He said this attack is nothing but an attempt to ignite passions in the state and create instability. He said the government had failed in the state. He also mocked, “The AAP government should hand over Home Department to Aman Arora, who is commenting on every issue of the state without knowing the truth.” An FIR no. 27 in the case has been registered against the unknown under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 324 (3) (attempt to cause injury to person), 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS and Sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act. Class X student Temple priest selected for assaulted, ISRO Yuvika man arrested Jalandhar, April 9 Scientist Tension gripped the Sodal area Hoshiarpur, April 9 Anmolpreet Kaur, a Class 10 student of Government Secondary School, Gobindpur Khun-Khun, was selected for the ‘ISRO Yuvika Scientist Training Programme’. School headmistress Smriti Rana said with this achievement, student Anmolpreet has brought glory to her parents and the school. She has given the credit for this success to the hard work of Anmolpreet and science guide teacher Pawandeep Chaudhary. She said she was proud that a child from this school had been selected for ISRO for the third consecutive time. Sapna Sood, Arvinder Kaur, Meena Songkhla, Amandeep Kaur, Pawandeep Chaudhary, Rajdeep Kaur, Anita Raj, Saroj Bala, Jaspreet Kaur, Jaswinder Singh Sahota, Randeep Kumar, Rachpal Singh, etc. were present on this occasion. — OC this morning after a disturbing act of vandalism at a local temple was reported, where miscreants also allegedly assaulted a priest and desecrated the idol of Shani Devta. The incident, which took place at the Shani Maharaj temple in Thapra Bagichi on Sodal Road, has sparked outrage among devotees and area residents. According to witnesses, the attackers entered the temple premises and began damaging the idol. When the priest intervened, he was assaulted. The attackers then allegedly severed the head of the idol and threw it to the ground before fleeing the scene. As word of the incident spread, residents rushed to the temple and demanded strict action against those responsible. A complaint was immediately lodged with the police. ACP Rishabh Bhola, said, “An FIR has been registered and further investigation is underway,” he said. — TNS