15072025-LT-01.qxd 7/15/2025 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune WRONG PARKING, HELMET-LESS DRIVING COMMON OFFENCES 50-KG PLASTIC BAGS SEIZED FROM VEGETABLE MARKET RANDEEP HOODA HAS FOUND A NEW CREATIVE CALLING Traffic police collected ~3.21 crore from challans between January and June this year. P2 A team of MC conducted a raid at vegetable market near sports complex in Sector 39. P2 He said while acting remains his first love, writing has emerged as most rewarding part of creative process. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 33°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 28°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.26 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:32 AM TUESDAY | 15 JULY 2025 | LUDHIANA Plastic reverse vending machines gather Beware, cyber thugs may cheat you by sending fake e-challan messages dust in city amid public apathy, neglect Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Nearly three years ago, civic body installed 10 machines at a cost of ~41L Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 14 Ludhiana’s ambitious effort to combat plastic pollution under the Smart City Mission has hit a wall of neglect, poor implementation and lack of public awareness. Nearly three years ago, the Municipal Corporation installed 10 plastic reverse vending machines across the city at a cost of Rs 41 lakh — meant to recycle plastic bottles, wrappers and cans into reusable material. Today, most machines stand idle, unused and have turned merely into dustbins. Installed at high-footfall locations such as Civil Hospital, Guru Nanak Stadium, Mother and Child Hospital, DC Complex, Sarabha Nagar Main Market, Model Town Gole Market, Model Town Extension Market, Bus Stand and Government College for Girls, these machines were intended to reduce plastic waste volumes. Each unit had a A plastic reverse vending machine lying unused at Mother and Child Hospital in Ludhiana. bin capacity of up to 2,000 bottles (100 ml to 2,500 ml) and was capable of crushing multi-layer packaging, including chips wrappers and soft drink bottles. However, officials failed to ensure that the machines receive electricity connections at several sites. In a place such as Sarabha Nagar, a temporary power hook-up from a public toilet was used initially but later removed — rendering the machines useless. At the Civil Hospital, the machine was declared defunct just days after installation. It had its charging point broken by vandals and missing parts were reported. A shopkeeper from the Sarabha Nagar main market said they were not aware of the use of the machine. Officials should have at least given them a demonstration on its working. The location of the machine was not apt as most people did not go to that side. It is just wastage of money as the machine is just gathering dust,” said another shopkeeper. A common problem across all locations was lack of awareness among citizens. No training or demonstrations were offered and signage was often in English, leaving less-educated citizens confused about the usage. Hospital staff admitted to rarely using the same and patients — largely from economically weaker backgrounds — were unaware of their purpose. “I once tried putting a plastic bottle in the machine but I don’t know where the crushed material went,” said a doctor at the Civil Hospital. Even when someone tried using them, it wasn’t clear whether the recycling process was completed or the waste properly collected. A patient at the hospital was looking with curiosity at the machine and asked what was this machine about. When he was told about its usage, he seemed little interested in knowing more and was unable to understand its importance. The vending machine project included a five-year maintenance plan yet upkeep has been virtually absent. The machines have been vandalised or broken and some turned into garbage bins themselves. According to experts, lack of proper plastic disposal contributes significantly to growing heaps of waste across Ludhiana. Municipal officials had once hailed the machines as eco-friendly innovations but the fanfare quickly faded and the initiative devolved into a symbolic gesture. Experts continue to warn about toxic effects of plastic waste — including soil contamination, polluted groundwater and centering the food chain. “Burning plastic emits hazardous fumes that heighten risks of asthma, cancer and other respiratory diseases and the machines designed to mitigate this danger remain neglected,” said Kulwinder Kaur, a senior citizen from Model Town. Four held in drug Woman among five land in peddling cases police net in separate incidents Ludhiana, July 14 In the ongoing campaign against drugs, the Ludhiana police took action and arrested four drug peddlers with narcotics. ASI Sukhwinder Singh of the Sadar police station said when a police team was on patrol in Janta Colony, Gill village, a suspicious person was spotted. When the police stopped him for questioning, the suspect was identified as Iqbal Singh, alias Pala, a resident of Bachittar Nagar. During search, five gm of heroin was seized from him. The Daba police arrested Jashandeep Singh, a resident of Basant Nagar, with 50 narcotic pills. According to inspector Rajinder Singh, the police stopped Jashandeep near Daba Lohara Road, Lohara Colony, and while searching him, found 50 narcotic pills in his possession. The Shimlapuri police apprehended Lavjeet Singh, alias Jonty, a resident of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar, near the Dasehra ground wall and recovered 55 gm of heroin from him. In another incident, the CIA team arrested Rohit Kumar, alias Thuthi, a resident of Jawahar Nagar Camp, from Ferroze Gandhi Market with 22 gm of narcotic powder. — TNS Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 14 The police claimed to have arrested five persons, including a woman for their alleged involvement in separate cases registered under different police stations. The suspects nabbed by police officials posted at the Hathur and Malaudh police stations in Ludhiana were identified as Ranjit Singh Raju, Jugraj Singh of Manuke, Supinder Singh of Sohian, Sikandar Singh of Chomon village and Palo of Malaudh. Perusal of communications released by SSP Ludhiana (rural) Ankur Gupta and Khanna SSP Jyoti Yadav revealed that Ranjit and Jugraj were nabbed for their alleged involvement in theft cases registered at Hathur The suspects, nabbed with stolen items, at the Hathur police station. and Malaudh police stations. Police officials, led by Hathur SHO Kuljinder Singh, had recovered electrical and electronic items worth lakhs from the two suspects, which were stolen from Sewa Kendra, Manuke, a few days ago. Their third accomplice Tarunpreet was still at large. The Malaudh police nabbed Supinder and Sikandar when they were carrying illicit liquor in a plastic container. Around 24 bottles of liquor were found in the container. A woman, Palo, was nabbed by the Malaudh police for carrying 7 gm of heroin and drug money worth Rs 500. — OC Ludhiana, July 14 Beware of fake APK challan files circulating on WhatsApp. These are fraudulent links that can steal your personal data and money. Cyber criminals are now resorting to a new tactic of stealing money. They send fake messages to random people, informing them that online challan has been issued on their name and share APK links asking them to click and download the link. Interestingly, these messages which look exactly like those sent by the traffic police can easily target a layman. When you click on it and download the APK file, your bank account, internet media accounts and all personal details may reach cyber thugs. Cyber cell of Ludhiana has also received complaints in the matter. To make the people aware, the police have uploaded a video on its official social media handles. A video message shared by the police on its social media handle said in the fraud, cyber criminals send fake challan messages via WhatsApp, SMS or email, claiming to be officials of the traffic police or a government agency. It says that your vehicle has violated traffic rules and you have to pay a fine. Also, an APK file (like e-parivahan.apk) or a link is given, claiming that you can view details of the challan or pay the fine. Fraudsters will ask you to install the app to make payments. When anyone downloads the file and installs the app, the app asks for access to sensitive information from the phone such as SMS, contacts, banking apps, passwords and OTP Once . the access is obtained, the thugs hack the phone or take it on their remote and steal money from the account through mobile banking or UPI. What is APK APK i.e. android package kit is a file format used to manually install apps in Android mobile. When an app is downloaded from Google Play Store, it gets installed automatically. If you download and install an APK file from any website or link, then it can be dangerous for your phone. What to do after downloading app? If you have downloaded the app from APK, then uninstall the same immediately. Go to mobile settings and remove all permissions. Also quickly City players clinch 10 medals in state TT meet Our Sports Correspondent Ludhiana, July 14 City players performed well, securing 10 medals, including two gold, in the First UTT Punjab State Ranking Table Tennis Tournament, organised by the Mohali District Table Tennis Association under the aegis of the Punjab Table Tennis Association from July 11 to 13 at Table Tennis Hall, Sector 23, Chandigarh. Naman Mehra emerged champion in the men’s section and clinched a gold medal while Aryan Sachdeva fetched the second gold for the Ludhiana contingent as he came out victorious in the boys U-19 category. Gauranshi Uppal and Rudra added two silver medals to Ludhiana’s kitty. Gauranshi finished as first runner-up in the girls U-13 section and Rudra won a silver medal in the girls U-11 group. The bronze medal winners are Raghav Bhanot and Jasmeen Kaur (boys and girls U-17 category), Kovid Jain and Kavya Gupta (boys and girls U15), Abhirvey Ghai and Sachin (shared bronze medal in the boys U-13 category). Manmeet Singh, honorary general secretary, Ludhiana District Table Tennis Association, along with other office-bearers, congratulated the players on their achievements. change your bank, UPI and social media passwords. Still, if money has been withdrawn or you are being blackmailed, lodge a complaint with the cyber crime cell. You can also lodge an online complaint on the cyber crime portal. In this way, identify real, fake messages The real challan message comes from the government’s official SMS ID. There is no mention of any APK file or suspicious link in it. For information about the real challan, you can check by visiting the government website https://echallan.parivahan.gov. in. There you have to enter the RC number of the vehicle or the driving licence number. You will get information. On the other hand, fake challan messages contain fear-mongering language and also pressure is created to download an APK file or click on a link. The police had been making people aware through digital medium or awareness camps. People should be cautious of such messages coming online. If anyone becomes a victim of cyber fraudsters, then they should lodge a complaint with the cyber cell, said Swapan Sharma, CP . Booth-level officers receive training Ludhiana, July 14 On the directions of the Election Commission, the training of booth-level officers (BLO) of the Atam Nagar constituency under the National Training Programme was held at the Zone A office of the MC here on Monday. Additional MC Commissioner-cum-ERO for Atam Nagar Paramdeep Singh supervised the training session and it was provided by an assembly-level master trainer (ALMT). During the training session, the BLOs were given information about different forms, which are filled during the poll process. They were also informed about the working of the BLOs and voter helpline mobile apps. After the completion of the session, an assessment test was also taken and the winner was felicitated with a certificate by the ERO. — TNS Warring leads Cong protest against land pooling policy Five youths arrested Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 14 In a strong show of opposition to the state government’s newly introduced land pooling policy, the Congress organised a sit-in outside the GLADA office here on Monday. The demonstration was led by Punjab Congress president and Member of Parliament Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who made a dramatic entry to the protest site by driving a tractor. The protest began at 11 am, drawing participation from district Congress leaders and workers. Warring urged all party members and supporters to join in large numbers, emphasising the importance of collective action.| Former ministers Gurkirat Singh Kotli, former MLAs Lakhbir Lakha, Malkit Dakha, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Surinder Dabur, Sanjay Talwar and Bikram Punjab Cong chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring addresses protesters in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Bajwa were present. However, factionalism within the party was clearly visible during the event. During the protest, the faction led by former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu was absent. Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and MLA Pargat Singh also did not attend the demonstration. Former deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said those who failed to participate in the protest did not truly love the Con- gress or its president. Taking a jibe at the Chief Minister, he said earlier Bhagwant Mann spoke of empowering villages but now, he seems determined to eliminate them. Randhawa warned that if the Congress comes c m y b to power, the land pooling scheme would be scrapped on the very first day. Addressing the gathering, Warring invoked the legacy of freedom fighters such as Bhagat Singh and Kartar Singh Sarabha, urging people to awaken their inner patriots and not be deterred by rain or discomfort. “Our land is our mother and we will fight every battle to protect it,” he said. “We do believe in Shri Guru Granth Sahib but we do not follow what it teaches. Whether it rains or gets dark, we must not be afraid. Governments know that these people won’t get wet, won’t dirty their clothes — that’s why they treat us unfairly. Punjabis may die but will never give up their rights,” he said. Former MLAs Simarjit Singh Bains and Kuldeep Singh Vaid said the state government had announced the acquisition of land. Here, 23,000 acres were to be acquired. Do the AAP government have ?23,000 crore to compensate farmers? “This policy is not in favour of farmers’ rights. Plots being offered under the scheme are in areas that hold no real value. GLADA is keeping prime lands for itself. We fought for water before and now, will fight for land. We will not tolerate any kind of coercion from the government,” said Simarjit Singh Bains. Reason behind the protest The protest by the Congress is in response to the land pooling policy that aims to consolidate over 40,000 acres of agricultural land for planned urban development. Under the scheme, farmers are promised developed residential and commercial plots in exchange for their land. The government claims the policy will economically empower farmers and ensure land security. for consuming drugs Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 14 The PAU police station claimed to have nabbed five youths who were consuming drugs together near the Income Tax office in Rishi Nagar here. Investigating officer Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Lakhbir Singh said on July 13 he, along with the police team, was present near GST Income Tax Office when five persons were seen sitting on the ground forming a circle and consuming drugs. They were caught. The police also recovered five lighters, silver coins, five notes of Rs 10 denomination and five empty plastic carry bags from the suspects. A case under Sections 27, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against and further investigation Five lighters, silver coins, currency notes and empty plastic carry bags seized from suspects was launched in the case. In further prob, the police would also question the suspects to inquire if they were also involved in drug peddling. The Ludhiana police had also been sending drug addicts to drug de-addiction centres for treatment. In the past few weeks, the police had sent many addicts to the centres for treatment. Even police personnel have also been instructed that every police station should send addicts of their areas for treatment at such centres.