27052025-LT-01.qxd 27-05-2025 00:45 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune STRAY CATTLE MENACE AILS ROADS, RESIDENTS SEEK ACTION NEETU KAPOOR, KAPIL SHOOT FOR DADI KI SHADI AYUSHMANN GEARS UP FOR FIRST BIG DIWALI RELEASE Stray cattle on various roads continue to remain a persistent threat to commuters and pedestrians. P2 The actors shot some crucial scenes for their upcoming flick, Dadi Ki Shadi, at the Mall in Shimla. P3 Ayushmann is thrilled to have his first Diwali film as it marks a milestone moment in his glittering career. P3 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 38°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 21°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.17 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:23 AM » TUESDAY | 27 MAY 2025 | LUDHIANA Ruckus at MC’s Zone D office as contractual workers hold protest Cops try to stop them from entering main gate, which led to scuffle; 6 nabbed Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 26 A ruckus was created at the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation’s Zone D office when members of the Rashtriya Safai Karamchari Mahasangh demanding regularisation of their jobs and raising their voice against the contractual system for recruitment reached the office to hold a protest. As the employees reached there, the police force stopped them from entering the main gate of the office, which led to a scuffle and resulted in the breaking of the main glass door and windows of the office entrance. Around six of the protesting employees were taken into custody by the police as they were forcefully trying to enter the office. During the scuffle, the police personnel and protesters also got injured. The protesters wanted to lock the Zone D office, located at Sarabha Nagar, and panic was created in the office as employees were present in a large huge number and were raising slogans against the government. Despite the election code of conduct being imposed due to the upcoming Ludhiana West constituency bypoll, such an incident occurred, which created fear and dis- A cop stands near broken gate of MC's Zone D office; and (top) protesting staff being taken by police in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN tress not only among the MC employees but also among visitors who came to the office to get their works done. To keep the situation under control, the police arrested the protesters. Vicky Sahota of the Rashtriya Safai Karamchari Mahasangh was leading the protest. He said they were opposing the contractual system and demanding regularisation of their jobs for which they had been struggling for a long time. “The wait has been so long that some employees have become overage in the process and protests will continue in coming days as well and we will be protest- ing at all offices of the MC, located in Zone A, B and C as well,” he said. He said they had submitted a memorandum to MC officials and given 72-hour ultimatum to stop the contract system and after the ultimatum was over, they reached the MC office in the morning to lodge their protest. “We are urging the Local Bodies Department to issue regularisation letters to employees who had been working on an ad-hoc, contract, or daily wage basis. Many Class IV employees, including peons, sewermen, sweepers, gardeners and drivers, should be given permanent positions, as they have served the civic body for many years. These employees, as well as others in temporary positions, should be considered for regular jobs. The state government had already announced to regularise sanitation employees working on a contractual basis for various municipalities of the state in 2021,” said another protesting employee. The protesting employees also raised their concern regarding the MC’s decision to outsource work of cleaning and maintenance of a few roads in the city. “We will not let the MC to outsource the cleanliness work,” Sahota said. Zonal Commissioner Jas- dev Singh Sekhon said he came to know about the protest by ad hoc employees, it should had been carried out peacefully but they resorted to force and violence, which led to a scuffle and also damage of the public property. They tried to enter the office forcefully and also misbehaved with government officials. Such an incident occurred amid poll code being imposed due to the bypoll. The police have arrested those involved and a probe is being initiated by them. MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal has asked to get an FIR registered against those who created vandalism in the Zone D office. SAD bypoll candidate seeks judicial probe into 3 deaths Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 26 Parupkar Singh Ghuman, SAD candidate for Ludhiana (West) constituency bypoll, has demanded a judicial probe into the mat- ter related to three recent deaths in Ludhiana. He said everything in the matter was suspicious and also demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore for the family of each victim and a government job for a family member. “The death of three person on account of allgedly consuming spurious liquor had been admitted by the family members of the deceased. Now, after an FIR has been registered by the police in this regard, it shows how spurious liquor was being supplied by the liquor mafia in the state under the patronage of political bigwigs of the ruling party,” he said. He claimed that the mat- CP dismisses 4 police officials Huge quantity of yarn, fabric Trainee cop fails dope test, others found absent from duty gutted in fire Nikhil Bhardwaj less employees have a negaTribune News Service Ludhiana, May 26 Taking strict action against negligent police personnel of the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate and a new trainee constable who tested positive in a dope test, Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma on Monday straightway dismissed three officials. Reason for the dismissal was the negligence and unprofessional conduct of the three police officials. The fourth one faced wrath for consuming drugs. Talking to The Tribune here on Monday, Sharma said: “I have dismissed four police personnel posted at the Police Commissionerate. Three of them faced stringent action as they are continuously absent from duty and negligent in their duties while the fourth trainee constable was addicted to drugs.” “Of the three police personnel, one employee was declared as a PO by the court for not repaying a loan taken from bank and was continuously absent from his duty since June 16, 2024. Among the other employees, one female employee was continuously absent from her duty since June 6, 2024, and one recruit constable, who was CP Swapan Sharma absent from his duty for a total of 467 days during two different periods, and these cops have failed to justify the reason of being absent from duty for a long time. Due to which these employees have been dismissed from their jobs due to continuous absence from their official duty.” Sharma while revealing about the fourth cop, said after he received a letter from the office of the Commandant Police Recruits Training Centre, Jahan Khelan, Hoshiarpur, which stated that a new recruit constable of the Ludhiana police, who was undergoing training at the recruits training centre, has failed the drug test, he was dismissed from the police service. “The police had been capturing drug smugglers but if a policeman will consume drugs, such addicts may not be able to do policing in a disciplined way and I will not tolerate such behaviour,” he said. Such irresponsible and care- tive impact on the rest of the staff. Therefore, these employees have been dismissed from their jobs so that the rest of the staff can also learn from the same and perform their duties with diligence, dedication and honesty, Sharma said. City trainee constable among 6 failed dope test “Six recruit constables, three from Patiala, two from Tarn Taran and one from Ludhiana, are undergoing basic training at the Commandant Police Recruits Training Centre, Jahan Khelan. According to the report received from the intelligence regarding these recruits, it appears from their physical movements that they consumed some kind of drugs. On the basis of which these recruits were sent to the Civil Hospital, Hoshiarpur, for medical examination/necessary tests regarding their drug use and it has been found that they were tested postive in the dope test. Now training of these recruits have been stopped midway and they are being sent back to their respective commissionerate/district police for further action,” states the letter of the Commandant of the centre, which is with The Tribune. Ludhiana, May 26 A major fire broke out at Vikrant Knitwear in Qadian village late on Sunday evening. The intense fire posed a significant challenge for firefighters who struggled for hours to douse the flames. The blaze, which engulfed almost half of the three-storey building, was difficult to control due to the congested lanes, which hindered the movement of fire tenders. The narrow roads leading towards the unit made it hard for the fire personnel to reach the scene quickly. To douse the flames completely, the Fire Department had to took 100 rounds. Water was sourced from a nearby factory as the affected unit lacked fire safety arrangements and even water was not available in it. As per the fire officials, the incident was reported around 7:15 pm, with the fire spreading rapidly due to large quantities of yarn and fabric stored in the unit. They said the blaze was brought under control by around 4 am on Monday while two fire men were deployed at the site till 4 pm to prevent any escalation of the incident. They said the fire might had been caused by a shortcircuit after electricity was restored in the area. — TNS c m y b ter was being hushed up. The mother of the deceased gave statement, but the police did not take action on the spot as it seemed that they wanted to first deliberate the same with ‘their political bosses’. Admn all set to hold free, fair byelection, says DEO Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 26 A total of 1,74,437 voters will exercise their right to franchise on June 19 during the Ludhiana West byelection. Deputy Commissionercum-District Election Officer (DEO) Himanshu Jain stated that the administration was fully prepared to conduct the bypoll in a free and fair manner. He said 192 polling stations across 66 locations had been established to facilitate voting. The voter demographic includes 89,602 males, 84,825 females and 10 individuals identifying as third gender in the Ludhiana West segment. Additionally, the electorate comprises 100 service voters, 2,039 senior citizens, 2,896 young voters (aged 18-19), 17 overseas voters and 1,234 persons with disabilities (PWD). To enhance the voting experience, the administration will set up 10 model polling booths. These include one managed by women, one by PWD staff and one eco-friendly ‘green’ polling booth. The polling will take place from 7 am to 6 pm, with counting scheduled for June 23. According to the election schedule, the notification for the byelection has been issued on Monday. The last date for filing nominations is June 2 and the scrutiny of nomination papers will be held on June 3. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 5. The polling will be held on June 19 from 7 am to 6 pm, with counting on June 23. Nominations will be accepted between 11 am and 3 pm, with only five individuals, including the candidate, allowed during the filing process. Candidates must be registered voters in any constituency within the state. Security deposits are set at Rs 10,000 for general category candidates and Rs 1.74L voters to exercise franchise on June 19 DC Himanshu Jain addresses media in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN 5,000 for SC/ST candidates, to be deposited before or during the nomination filing. A certified copy of the voter list must accompany the nomination form for candidates from outside Ludhiana. Recognised parties require one proposer while Independents and unrecognised parties need 10. Jain said the maximum limit for election expenses for an Assembly constituency had been fixed at Rs 40 lakh. Furthermore, any election expenditure incurred by candidates or political parties exceeding Rs 10,000 must be made using a crossed account payee cheque, draft, RTGS, NEFT, or any other electronic mode linked to the candidate’s bank account opened for election purposes. The rates for every election item have been set by the Election Commission. To assist in monitoring of the electioneering, several flying squad teams, static surveillance teams, video surveillance teams, and video viewing teams had already been formed. The District Election Officer also mentioned that the commission had developed the Candidate App Suvidha, which allows candidates and political parties to allocate public spaces for meetings and rallies. The application can be downloaded from Google Play Store and helps users track their nomination and permission statuses. Additionally, ‘Know Your Candidate’ app has also been developed to inform voters about candidates’ criminal antecedents. Jain emphasised the administration’s commitment to ensuring a peaceful and transparent electoral process, enabling all voters to exercise their democratic rights without hindrance. He also directed all enforcement agencies to strictly adhere to the model code of conduct, stating that strict action would be taken in case of any violations within the district, in accordance with the ECI guidelines. The DEO instructed officials to remove all political posters and hoardings from public properties under the jurisdiction of the Ludhiana West segment. He also mentioned that 24x7 CCTV surveillance of breweries, bottling plants, warehouses and godowns to prevent any unauthorised liquor distribution and emphasised continuous monitoring of liquor vends and thorough checks of vacant houses, plots and flats near these facilities, which could be used for illicit liquor storage. He called for cooperation from all stakeholders to ensure the bypoll is conducted smoothly and peacefully. MC removes posters, hoardings as election code comes into effect Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, May 26 As the model code of conduct is imposed in the Ludhiana West constituency following the announcement of the date for the bypoll by the Election Commission, District Election Officer Himanshu Jain has asked the Municipal Corporation authorities to remove posters and huge hoardings of candidates belonging to various political parties with immediate effect from city areas. And following the instructions, the Municipal Corporation authorities were seen removing hoardings from constituency areas, including Aarti Chowk, Rani Jhansi Road, Damdi Swami and BRS Nagar. At the same time, one of the senior leaders of SAD, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, has raised objection over the ‘pick and choose’ policy of the authorities in removing posters. “While the posters of candidates of other parties are being removed from many parts of the city fol- A hoarding of the Congress at Sutlej Club; and (below) others being removed from a location in the Ludhiana West constituency. ASHWANI DHIMAN & HIMANSHU MAHAJAN lowing the poll code implementation, why huge hoardings of Aam Aadmi Party candidate were spared by them,” asked Grewal, adding that even at Sutlej Club, which was a prestigious club of the city, hoardings of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress still visible. Municipal Corporation Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said they had 72 hours to remove the posters and hoardings. “There will be no bias and within the next 72 hours, all posters will be removed from the constituency by the authorities,” he said. “If these are not removed within the stipulated time, everyone has the right to object but before that all should understand that the task takes time,” he said. Meanwhile, many residents have heaved a sigh of relief with the removal of the posters of party candidates. Terming these as distractions during driving, they said these should not dot all places and some policy needs to be adopted by the system for putting such advertisements. “While driving, the hoardings draw attention of motorists, which can cause accidents,” said Mohit Jain, a resident.