07052025-LT-01.qxd 5/6/2025 10:20 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune MINISTER UNVEILS STATUE OF JASSA SINGH RAMGARHIA THALASSAEMIA PATIENTS DEMAND BETTER CARE, JOB DILJIT DOSANJH MAKES A REGAL DEBUT AT MET GALA Cabinet Minister Tarunpreet Sond unveiled a statue of Maharaja Jassa Singh Ramgarhia at the bus stand. P2 Patients say they face problems like unavailability of medicines and schools shy away from giving admissions.P3 Diljit made a regal debut at Met Gala 2025, winning the Kerala-woven blue carpet hands down and how! P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.09 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:36 AM WEDNESDAY | 7 MAY 2025 | LUDHIANA Over 100 farmers leave for Shambhu protest 4 farm leaders kept under house arrest: Commissioner Tribune News Service The illegal posters are being pasted all over the city right under the nose of law enforcing agencies. ASHWANI DHIMAN With no check on spendings, parties go all out for installing hoardings, banners Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 6 The Election Commission is yet to declare the date for holding the bypoll in Ludhiana (West) Constituency but the political parties have geared up and have installed huge number of hoardings, banners and posters all over the constituency to woo the voters. The hoardings, which catch everyone’s immediate attention, are both legal and illegal, but the authorities seem to be least bothered to check the expenditure incurred on the hoardings, and neither they are making any effort to remove the illegal ones. One of the senior officials of the district administration, however, said that they could not do much in this. “The expenditure part comes when the date of election is announced or the code of conduct is imposed. Before that the parties can spend any amount on advertisements and we really cannot do anything,” said the offi- cial, adding that illegal hoardings could be taken care of by the MC only. At the same time, the interesting wordings on the hoardings are catching the attention of the voters in the constituency. Some of AAP candidate Sanjeev Arora’s hoardings read- “bedaag kirdar, tarakki di raftar, Sanjeev Arora is vaar”, imaandar damdaar, Sanjeev Arora Is Vaar”, na gussa na hankaar, Sanjeev Arora is vaar”, ghar aye da hove maan, naa hove apman, Sanjeev Arora di pehchan”, “Development that won’t rest, Sanjeev Arora for Ludhiana West”, “Lokan nu na bole kaura, is vaar Sanjeev Arora”. In case of Bharat Bhushan Ashu, the hoardings say ‘for development and trust, Ashu is must’, ‘the change we need, the voice we deserve, Bharat Bhushan Ashu’ and ‘kamman nal badli halke di taqdeer, sadi vote da haqdaar e Ashu veer’. For SAD candidate Paropkar Singh Ghuman , the hoardings say “na bahri na ahankari, is vaar Paropkar di vari”, “tuhade vichon, tuhada apna”. The hoardings dot the whole of the constituency, but still there has been no assessment as to how much is being spent on the entire advertisement campaign. One of the supporters of AAP said that ruling party always had an edge. “But we will see when the code of conduct comes into force. Until then, there has been no objection and we are paying for the advertisements,” said the supporter. Ludhiana, May 6 On a call given by various farm unions for a protest outside the Shambhu police station against the authorities to compensate for the belongings of farmers lost during the lathi-charge when they were forcibly asked to vacate the dharna site, about 100 farmers from this part of the region started for the site early morning today. Before leaving they gathered outside Gurdwara Manji Sahib near Khanna. Talking to The Tribune, state general secretary Charanjit Singh Ghalib of the Bharti Kisan Mazdoor Union, said that they would join their fellow farmers at Shambhu. “The protest is for one day. We will support for our just demands. The authorities, while forcibly removing us from Shambhu border had damaged our belongings, while some went missing also. We had to bear huge losses. Today’s protest is to put pressure on the government to provide us the compensation for our losses,” said Ghalib, adding that the police might stop them from going towards the protest site, but they would not stop and keep moving on. On being asked if the farmers were ready to block the highways today, Ghalib said that they would go by what the union leaders had said. Meanwhile, on the issue of today’s protest, the farmer unions appeared divided as the Bharti Kisan Union (Lakhowal) was among the few farm bodies which were not taking part in this protest. To avoid any unruly scenes, Commissioner of Police Swapan Sharma confirmed that four farmer leaders had been detained by the police. Harnek Singh Ladiyan under police station, Ladhowal, Manmohan Singh under Salem Tabri and Jas- dev Singh Lalton under Sadar police station have been placed under house arrest. The farmers maintained that they had already assured the state government about their peaceful protest, still their fellow farmer leaders had been detained by the authorities. At the same time, the maximum farmers who took part in today’s protest were from Jagraon side. The leaders said that the police had already moved to the villages to stop the movement of farmer leaders. The main demands of farmers include the suspension of the policemen who lathicharged farmers on March 19-20, FIRs should be cancelled against youth who helped farmers in getting back their belongings, FIR against AAP MLA for ‘stealing’ the belongings of farmers and compensation should be given to farmers who were injured. Court orders FIR against 3 in alleged land grab case Legal Correspondent Ludhiana, May 6 The court of Judicial Magistrate Karun Kumar has directed the SHO of Sadar police station to register an FIR against Harwinder Singh, alias Nihang, a resident of Saiyan Kala, Ludhiana; Balkirat Singh of Noorwala Road, Ludhiana; and Vassu Madan of Dhandra Road, Ludhiana, in connection with an alleged land grab case. The order came on a complaint filed by Sumeet Sofat, a resident of Hira Road, Ludhi- Snatchers’ gang busted, three arrested Our Correspondent Ludhiana, May 6 The police have arrested three miscreants who had been involved in robberies and snatchings by threatening passersby with sharpedged weapons. The accused, who confessed to having committed at least eight snatchings during recent past had been identified as Jaswant Singh Jass of Jaspal Bangar (now resident of Lohara Colony, Shimlapuri, Ludhiana) and Sahil Kumar and Bablu Mehta, both of Gurbachan Nagar, Lohara village in Ludhiana. The accused had been booked during the investigation of a case registered on the statement of Davinder Chaudhary of Daba Road, Ludhiana, in connection with a snatching case of Rs 5,000 committed by the accused on April 29. The police said that cops under the supervision of SHO Daba Kulwinder Kaur nabbed the trio from different places today and recovered a motorcycle, seven mobile phones, a sickle and some cash snatched from the victim. ana, who alleged that the accused fraudulently prepared documents and attempted to take illegal possession of his 3,000 sq yd property located near Lodhi Club, Sunet village, Ludhiana, which he claimed to have been in possession of for over 24 years. After examining the status report filed by the SHO and documents placed on record, the court observed that prima facie the preparation of the rent deed appeared to be fraudulent. The court expressed surprise that despite the police having concluded during preliminary inquiry that a cognisable offence had been committed, no FIR was registered and the matter was merely forwarded to higher officers. “Preparation of the rent deed by Harwinder in favour of Balkirat and Vassu prima facie shows that the document has been forged,” the court held. It also granted liberty to the investigating officer to add or remove sections as per facts emerging during investigation and to identify and nominate any other indi- vidual found involved. According to the complaint, the accused forcibly entered the property on February 14, 2025, broke the front gate lock, damaged the lawn and boundary wall and installed poles. When the complainant objected and called the police, a team from Lalton Chowki arrived, but the accused managed to flee. However, Vassu was allegedly found inside the property with his motorcycle and he produced a forged rent deed claiming tenancy rights. Sofat claimed that the rent deed was fraudulently prepared by Harwinder to falsely show his ownership and to present Balkirat and Vassu as tenants. He further pointed out that an FIR had already been registered against Harwinder and others in a related matter, and another FIR had been lodged for selling the same property on the basis of forged documents. Despite his repeated complaints to the police and senior officers, no FIR was registered in the present instance, prompting him to approach the court. Residents dig up roads to connect sewers to main line in Sahnewal Complain that the municipal council has closed all house drains Lovleen Bains Sahnewal, May 6 In a brazen attempt to unlawfully connect their house sewers with the main sewer line of the municipal Council, some residents of Sahnewal have dug up roads, thus damaging public property and inviting trouble for commuters. The worst part is that it is happening under the very nose of the authorities concerned, but the latter has shown least concern to check this practice till date. “The situation is such that in the absence of any check on the part of the authorities concerned, the people have made it a usual habit and every second person tries to imitate his neighbour and does not want to lag behind in this race for illegal connections,” a local resident said. “We have tried to approach the authorities concerned regarding the issue of illegal connections and the consequent damage to roads and streets, but to no avail. The council never bothers to look into the issue and thus the Farmers from this part of region gather outside Gurdwara Manji Sahib before going to Shambhu protest site on Tuesday. Civil defence mock drill at Verka plant today Ludhiana, May 6 A civil defence mock drill to enhance disaster preparedness will be conducted on May 7 at the Verka milk plant. The exercise aims to test and strengthen the district administration’s response capabilities for emergencies. Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Jain appealed to residents to remain calm and not panic during the drill. He added that emergency sirens, coordinated with defence authorities, would be sounded at 4 pm to signal the start of the exercise at the milk plant. The drill will simulate a fire safety and rescue operation in a building, evaluating the administration’s ability to ensure safe evacuation. Participants will include school students, NCC cadets, NDRF Punjab Police, fire , services, municipal corporation, Health Department and other key agencies. Additionally, a 30-minute blackout will be enforced in designated areas from 8 pm to 8.30 pm to test emergency protocols. The DC sought public cooperation to ensure the smooth execution of the drill, emphasising its importance in bolstering the city’s disaster readiness. — TNS Women held with 110 gm heroin Ludhiana, May 6 A woman member of a gang of drug peddlers has been nabbed by cops of the Crime Branch when she was waiting on the outskirts of Hussainpura village for a regular client to deliver a consignment of heroin. Around 110 gm of the contraband was seized from the accused, who has been identified as Rekha of Green City at Hussainpura village in Ludhiana district. The accused was nabbed from the vicinity of a marriage palace at Hussainpura village. She is already facing two cases under the NDPS Act and had been released on bail. — OC City’s wait for e-buses gets longer Manav Mander Tribune News Service A road which was dug up to connect sewers from residents’ houses with the main line in Sahnewal. exercise goes on without any fear of the authorities,” shared a resident of the town. Some residents, however, have their own story to narrate. They told this correspondent that they have been forced to take such an extreme step. “The council has closed all outlet drains along the houses and provided no sewer outlet at all in some of the wards. Resultantly, the sewer water, finding no outlet, begins to collect in the streets, thus creating unlivable conditions for the resi- dents as well as passersby. This issue of sewer water accumulation on the roads and the nonconnection of sewers to the main pipe was brought to the notice of the council several times. As the latter failed to find a solution, the residents arranged their own outlets, without which it had become next to impossible to stay in their houses,” added a local. Meanwhile, Ludhiana East SDM Jasleen Bhullar said that the Executive Officer c m y b would be directed to look into the issue. “Further, I may order a town-wide review of sewerage and strict action will be taken against defaulters who have illegally connected sewers with the main line,” she said. Further, when asked if the council has given any such permission, the SDM stated that no such permission can be granted for digging of the roads for connecting sewer lines with the main sewer. Ludhiana, May 6 It appears that the city’s wait for getting e-buses will get longer. As this project will help in improving the local transportation system of the city, so a lot of enthusiasm can be seen in the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, but still there is no sign of the 100 buses arriving any time soon. The MC has finalised Ghora Colony and Humbran Road for the setting up of a bus depot for the e-buses. “We have shortlisted the places where a depot for the e-buses will be set up and have forwarded the proposal to the Union Government, which has been approved. The estimate for setting up of the depots has been sent to the Central Government for approval after which tenders will be floated. We are waiting for the funds to arrive and after that tenders for the setting up of depot will be floated. It is necessary to provide infrastructure first, only then can buses be demanded,” said Additional Commissioner Paramdeep Singh. The civil work for Ghora Road will cost Rs 12.56 crore while the civil work for Humbran Road will cost Rs 6.01 crore. For the civil work 50 per cent cost will be borne by the Government of India and the remaining 50 per cent by the state government. But for other works, the cost will be borne by the Centre. Six places have been selected as charging points. Bus will be charged in 45 minutes and can run for 250 km after charging. Charging points will be set up at Model Town Extension, BRS Nagar, near MC Zone-A office, Sarabha Nagar and Feroze Gandhi Market. These 100 buses will be part of the PM e-bus Sewa Scheme. Keeping in view the narrow lanes of the city, the MC has asked for mini buses. The scheme was launched on August 16, 2023, but the city is still waiting for the buses. Under this scheme, a PPP operator/original equipment manufacturer will procure, maintain and operate the ebuses on a gross cost contract model.