26052025-LT-01.qxd 5/25/2025 10:12 PM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune ILLICIT LIQUOR SEIZED IN RAIDS, TWO ARRESTED ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION ON AT KIRAN VIHAR DESPITE NOTICE WAMIQA GABBI IN MOHALI TO PROMOTE HER LATEST FILM Under a drive to curb illegal liquor trade, substantial quantity of illicit liquor confiscated in a raid. P2 An illegal construction is going on at Kiran Vihar Colony on a piece of land meant for a community centre. P2 Actress Wamiqa Gabbi lit up CP67 Mall in Mohali during a promotional event for her film, Bhool Chuk Maaf. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 37°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 43°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET MONDAY 7.22 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5:25 AM MONDAY | 26 MAY 2025 | LUDHIANA Ludhiana (West) byelection to bedate June 2, scrutiny June 3on JuneJune 5 conducted & withdrawals on 19 Paper filing Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 25 The Election Commission (EC) has finally declared June 19 as the date for Ludhiana byelection. The notification in this regard will be issued on May 26. As per the schedule, the last date for filing nominations will be June 2, scrutiny of the papers will be done on June 3 and June 5 will be the date for withdrawal of candidature. The counting will be on June 23. Ludhiana (West) constituency bypoll are being held following the demise of sitting MLA from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Gurpreet Bassi Gogi. Sibin C, Chief Electoral Officer, said that the nomination papers could be submitted on all days from May 26 to June 2, except Sunday, June 1. Polling time will be from 7 am to 6 pm. Following the announcement of the election date candidates of major parties swung into action by holding meetings with workers and supporters. With this, the code of conduct has also been implemented with immediate effect in the constituency. With code in force, it is expected that now VOTER BEST JUDGE ❝ TO HAVE MORE FOCUS ❝ We are determined as the Congress will give its best in this battle. People have seen me and others as well and they are the best judges I have been engaging with the people of Ludhiana (West) for the past several weeks, and now I will move ahead with greater focus and urgency. — Bharat Bhushan Ashu, CONG CANDIDATE — Sanjeev Arora, AAP CANDIDATE candidates will remove all their posters and banners as a vigil will be kept on their campaigning expenditure. All advertisements will be allowed, keeping in mind the total budget given to the candidates. Punjab Congress working president and party candidate for the byelection Bharat Bhushan Ashu welcomed the announcement. In an informal interaction with reporters after the announcement, he said, “We were waiting for the date for the final battle and it has been announced by the EC today.” Expressing confidence about his party’s performance, he said, “We are determined as the Congress will give its best in this battle.” At the same time, he said the final decision lies with the peo- ple of Ludhiana (W) and “we leave our case with the people with all humility and will respect their choice”. Ashu expressed confidence that the people of Ludhiana had tried and tested everyone and they would make the right choice this time. “They have seen me and others as well and they are the best judges,” he remarked. AAP MP Sanjeev Arora has been actively campaigning for nearly three months, holding extensive public outreach programmes throughout Ludhiana (West). Reacting to the announcement of the election date, he stated, “The official declaration of the election date has brought clarity and new energy to my campaign. I have been engaging with the people of Ludhiana (West) for the past ❞ ❞ several weeks, and now I will move ahead with greater focus and urgency. I appeal to every voter to come forward and participate actively in this democratic process. This is not just an election, it’s an opportunity to shape the future of our constituency with a clean, responsive and developmentoriented leadership.” With the schedule now official, Arora’s campaign has shifted into a more aggressive phase. He said, “I am committed to working tirelessly for the development of Ludhiana, with a focus on improving healthcare, education and infrastructure. My vision is to make Ludhiana a model constituency, where every citizen feels heard, respected and empowered.” Paropkar Singh Ghuman, SAD candidate, said that he welcomed the declaration of the date of election. "Residents of Ludhiana (W) are my family and I am indebted to all who have given me immense love and blessings in the last one month of my campaign. I have a clear vision of improving law and order, infrastructure development and financial uplift of industry and farm sector," said Ghuman. c m y b Thunderstorm, rain cause damage in region Uprooted electricity poles at Kanganwal village after Saturday’s gusty winds. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Squall uproots 50 power poles Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 25 Saturday night’s squall led to falling of nearly 50 electricity poles on a road near Kanganwal village, causing losses worth crores to the city’s power infrastructure and plunging the village into darkness. Area residents say power was supplied for a few hours only as repair work was going on and it might continue for three-four days. In addition to this, commuting in the area has become difficult as the road was covered by cables and fallen electricity poles. Some trees in the vicinity of the village fell on the power cables due to the high velocity winds, ultimately leading to the falling of the poles. Kokila, an area resident, said that a major tragedy had been averted as his son entered the house only a few minutes before one of the electricity poles fell near their house. “Had he been out, it would have been devastating,” said she. Another area resident, Ashok said that one of the poles fell on a car that was parked outside the house. Thankfully, there was no human loss, but it led to huge losses, both to the PSPCL and people living in the area. Dinesh Kumar, who runs a shop in the area, said that he was shocked to see the condition of the road in the morning. “I could only see electric- ity poles and cables spread across the entire road. I had to walk with great care on the road,” he said. Chief Engineer, PSPCL, Narinderpal Singh Boparai said that the strong winds uprooted poplar trees in the area, snapped branches and brought down electricity poles, leading to outages in the area. “We have started the repair work and as of now power is being supplied to the area for few hours only. It will take two-three days to fully repair the damage. The losses are in crores, the assessment of which will be done tomorrow and only then the exact amount will be known,” Boparai added. Mandi Ahmedgarh, May 25 Thunderstorms followed by rain played havoc in the region, uprooting a large number of trees, damaging installations and rendering residential areas powerless. Signboards installed at private and government establishments, sheds of commercial organisations and cowsheds and vehicles parked in open places were among the worst hit during the bad weather that continued for more than five hours on Saturday. Dehlon Civil Hospital SMO confirmed that two residents of Shankar village got injured on Dehlon-Sahnewal road and had been taken to a hospital. Both were later discharged. “While one of the victims, a motorcyclist, had received a head injury when a heavy tree branch fell on him, the pillion rider received minor injuries,” the SMO said. Deepak Sharma, chairman of Radhe Krishna Gaushala Kaind, said almost all roofs of the cowsheds had been dismantled or damaged. Senior Executive Engineer, PSPCL, Amandeep Singh Khangura said that at least seven transformers had been damaged, along with 70 electricity poles and numerous cables. He said the technical staff would take two more days to get all lines and equipment repaired. — OC