23072025-LT-01.qxd 7/23/2025 12:53 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune SAD PROTEST LEADS TO TRAFFIC DISRUPTION IN CITY SECOND TRAILER OF SON OF SARDAAR 2 UNVEILED Commuters faced a hard time for almost three hours due to protest held by SAD against land pooling policy. P2 The makers of Ajay Devgn-starrer Son Of Sardaar 2, unveiled the second trailer on Tuesday. P4 » » FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 26°C | MIN 25.2°C SINGER-ACTOR DILJIT TO HONOUR 1971 WAR HERO SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.22 PM The film sees Diljit playing Flying Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon, a war hero of the 1971 Indo-Pak conflict. P4 SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:37 AM » WEDNESDAY | 23 JULY 2025 | LUDHIANA City wakes up to 89.4 mm rain, chaos Waterlogging reported from many low-lying areas, including underpasses, commuters hit Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 22 Heavy rain lashed the city early on Tuesday morning, disrupting routine life and turning its large parts into waterlogged pockets. According to the Department of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology at the PAU, the city received 89.4 mm of rainfall, with temperature dipping to 26°C (maximum) and 25.2°C (minimum). The department has forecast cloudy conditions with moderate to heavy rainfall over Ludhiana and adjoining areas for the next 24 hours. While the downpour provided a brief respite from muggy weather, it also brought misery. Waterlogging was reported from multiple low-lying areas, including underpasses on Lodhi Club Road and South City and near the pulley at Ganda Nullah, making commuting a challenge for office-goers and schoolchildren. Be it posh localities such as BRS Nagar, Sarabha Nagar, Model Town and Pakhowal Road or old city areas such as Dhoka Mohalla, Tajpur Road, Shivpuri, Moti Nagar and Dhandari Khurd, every area was waterlogged. Chandigarh Road, as always, was also submerged by water, giving a tough time to people entering and leaving the city through the road. “My scooter got stuck near the South City underpass. I was not the only one, there were many others in cars and on two-wheelers who got stuck on the stretch,” said a commuter, Rajeev Kumar, who was going to office, while expressing frustration over poor preparedness. School students were REJUVENATION OF BUDDHA NULLAH Submit action plan within week: NGT to state government Civic body chief, top cop conduct joint inspection Ludhiana, July 22 As civic body staff and workers remained active in the field since early this morning to drain out the rainwater at the earliest, CP Swapan Sharma and Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal conducted a joint inspection on Hambran Road to take stock of the situation on Tuesday. The joint inspection was conducted to ensure early draining out of rainwater and smooth movement of traffic. Necessary directions were issued to expedite the work and the staff were directed to ensure regular cleaning of road gullies/sewer lines. Chief Engineer Ravinder Garg and Executive Engineer Ekjot Singh were among other officials present during the inspection. The civic body officials said besides field staff, 19 jettingcum-suction machines and suction tanks were also deployed across the city to clean sewer lines/road gullies. Further, cleaning/desilting of the Buddha Dariya was also being carried out on a regular basis and the situation was being monitored by the officials. Civic body teams also kept vigil in low-lying areas such as Dhokka Mohalla, Kundanpuri and Upkar Nagar. Clockwise from top: Commuters wade through waterlogged Chandigarh Road; MC staff repair a damaged road in Jamalpur; and a woman walks with her luggage amid heavy rain in Ludhiana. ASHWANI DHIMAN & HIMANSHU MAHAJAN CLOSE SHAVE AS PORTION OF BUILDING COLLAPSES A potentially tragic incident was narrowly avoided on Tuesday in the Roopa Mistri Gali, where the front portion of an old residential building collapsed. Continuous rainfall since morning is believed to have weakened the already dilapidated structure, causing bricks to fall intermittently. Fortunately, passers-by managed to escape in time, preventing any injuries. among the worst affected. With rain pouring during early morning hours, parents struggled to drop their children off safely. Many schools allowed vehicles to enter their premises. “I had to carry my child through ankle-deep water. If the situation continues, schools must declare a holiday during such days,” said Amandeep Kaur, mother of two kids from Model Town. Meanwhile, residents voiced concerns over inadequate drainage infrastructure and lack of municipal response. “The situation remains the same every monsoon. We want to know what the authorities are doing. The issue isn’t new,” said Harbhajan Singh, a continued on page 2 The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 7. FILE Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 22 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the state government and other stakeholders to provide a detailed report about further action plan to rejuvenate the Buddha Nullah, within a week. Since the state government had stated in the NGT that a high-level committee had been constituted by it on curbing pollution levels in the nullah by involving experts from the IIT, Roorkee, the NGT asked the government to submit its plan of action to save the water body, within a week. As of now, no orders have been issued for the closure of the three CETPs by the NGT. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for October 7. Talking to The Tribune, Bobby Jindal from the Punjab Dyers Association said it was a major respite to the dyeing industry. “We have already curtailed discharge levels in all the CETPs and are adhering to the norms. Representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, have also made it clear to the 24x7 flood control room For ensuring safety and reducing reaction time, the civic body has established a 24x7 flood control room at its Daresi sub-zone office. In case waterlogging is witnessed in ther areas, residents can call at 0161-2749120 and civic body teams will reach at the spot for resolving the problem at the earliest. — TNS NGT that the need for environmental clearance was required for dyes and chemicals and not for dyeing. We will do whatever is required to clean the nullah from our end,” Jindal said. At the same time, Er Kapil Arora, member of the core committee of the Punjab Action Committee (PAC), said the PAC had requested the NGT to reissue orders of compliance of Environmental Clearance to the PPCB to which the Tribunal maintained that their orders still stand. “But for compliance, we will now be moving to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Ministry of Environment and Forest to stop the discharge of dyeing units in CETPs,” said Arora, who was also present during the hearing of the case at Delhi. The state government will now discuss about the action plan with experts of the IIT, Roorkee, and the reply in the form of an affidavit would be submitted to the NGT within a week and by October 7, the state government, PPCB and other stakeholders will reply about the progress made in rejuvenating the Buddha Nullah. Gangster Moni’s name crops up in shooting Stray dog attacks elderly All set for inauguration, Halwara case,brought on production warrant woman, causes severe int’l airport gets IATA code Tribune News Service Ludhiana, July 22 Strings of investigation in the shooting case reported at Jawahar Camp on the intervening night of July 1415 has further stretched to the Central Jail, Ludhiana, and Patiala as dreaded gangsters Sukhwinder Singh Moni and Darpan were brought on production warrant from Ludhiana and Patiala jails, respectively. The duo have been imprisoned in connection with the murder of financier Harjinder Singh, alias Jindi, who was brutally shot dead in the Jawahar Camp market on January 23, 2020. Both gangsters were produced in a court, which remanded them in two-day police custody. As told by the police, besides the three arrested assailants, Manya Sharma, Kushveer Singh Guri and a 16-year-old juvenile, who opened fire at the house of Jindi’s brother Kanwaljit Singh, gangster Darpan and Dubai-based Namit Sharma (also facing seven FIRs and now suspected to be hiding in Dubai) was already booked by the police in the targeted shooting case a day after the firing. Now, the gangster Moni’s name cropped up in the ongoing police probe and he was also nominated in the same FIR of the shooting incident at Jawahar Camp by the police. A police official privy to the Another gangster Darpan brought from Patiala jail for questioning, duo had killed Jindi investigation told The Tribunehere on Tuesday that gangsters Moni and Darpan, who are lodged in the Sukhwinder Ludhiana and Moni Patiala jails, respectively, hatched the conspiracy of shooting with a motive to intimidate Kanwaljit, brother of slain Jindi as Kanwaljit, a hotelier and a key witness, was supposed to testify against the murder suspects in the court and the hearing is scheduled in July only. The testimony of Moni and Darpan is being considered as essential to seek maximum punishment for the Jindi’s killers. A police official also said Moni was the mastermind in the killing of Jindi as he had been suspecting that Jindi had shared information about him with the police. When he was murdered, the police had also announced Rs 1 lakh reward for information leading to the arrests in the case. Planned shooting from jail, might used phones As gangsters Moni and Darpan hatched targeted shooting, as claimed by the police, while sitting in separate jails, the police suspect that they might have used cell phones to interact with another key conspirator Namit Sharma, who was staying in Dubai. The Ludhiana police alerted the jail authorities to inquire if the duo got illegal access to cell phones inside the jail. They suspected that even weapons, cartridges and other logistics support were also arranged by jailed inamates. Interestingly, use of cell phones inside jails in the state is not new as earlier also the police had busted networks of drug smuggling, extortion, etc, being run from jails. Moni facing over 20 criminal cases ADCP (Crime) Amandeep Singh Brar said gangster Moni was a hardcore criminal facing over 20 criminal cases, including of murder, attempt to murder, robbery, dacoity, ATM thefts and under Arms Act, registered against him across the country (most in Punjab). He had even attempted to kill Ambalabased hotelier Rajesh Kumar Ahluwalia, striking a deal of Rs 8 lakh as contract money, which left Ahluwalia seriously injured. Besides several ATM thefts, Moni with his gang had also looted Rs 25 lakh from SBI’s cash van in Roorkee in 2019. Moni, Darpan and their Dubaibased aide suspected to have been coordinated in the targeting shooting at the house of hotelier Kanwaljit. injuries on victim’s face Ludhiana, July 22 In Khanna’s GTB Market, a stray dog attacked a 65-yearold woman on Tuesday. The canine severely bit the woman’s face, leaving her seriously injured. People present at the scene admitted her to the Civil Hospital, Khanna, where doctors after giving her first-aid referred her to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. The dog’s attack left the woman’s face badly bloodied as it clawed her face in seven places, resulting in a deep cut on the face. The canine ate the flesh from one side of the victim’s face. The elderly woman, identified as Amarjeet Kaur, was walking in the market when the stray dog appeared and attacked her. In just a minute of attack, it caused her serious injuries. Hearing her screams, passers-by rescued her from the animal but by then, the dog had already badly mauled her face. They took her to the hospital. Civil Hospital SMO Maninder Bhasin said the woman was brought in a serious condition to the hospital. She even lost lot of blood. Doctors present on duty provided first aid to her and administered rabies injections. “ The dog had bitten the victim badly, causing significant damages to her face, which led to her critical condition. She has been referred to a hospital in Patiala for further treatment so that her life could be saved. — TNS Ex-AETC gets jail in graft case Ludhiana, July 22 In a significant judgment, the court of Special Judge Corruption Cases, Amrinder Singh Shergill, today sentenced Sukhwinder Singh (67), former Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, to five years of rigorous imprisonment in a seven-year-old corruption case. It also imposed a fine of Rs 80,000 on the convict, a resident of Jalandhar. c m y b Co-accused Ruby Kapoor (48) of Ramneek Avenue, Jalandhar, was also sentenced to five years of imprisonment for his involvement in the case. He was also ordered to pay Rs 55,000 as fine. The case was registered in November 2017 at VB police station, EO Wing, here, on charges including cheating, corruption, and destruction of crucial evidence. — OC Announcement made by DC after holding review meeting Mahesh Sharma Raikot, July 22 The Halwara international airport, which is all set for inauguration on July 27, has been officially assigned its airport code. The announcement was made by Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner (DC) Himanshu Jain after conducting a review meeting at the airport on Tuesday. The IATA code for the airport is HWR. An airport code is a unique identifier consisting of letters or numbers that designate an airport, enabling efficient communication and organisation in aviation. The code is crucial for various aspects of air travel, including ticketing, baggage handling and air traffic control. The administration has also announced that the terminal building is fully operational. The authorities confirmed that infrastructural set-up for starting flights had been laid up to satisfaction of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) authorities. “We have assessed the progress of ongoing minor works, including CCTV installation and cleanliness, which are slated for completion within a day,” said Jain, maintaining that the district administration was working in close coordination with the AAI and other agencies to ensure all preparations were finalised promptly. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Nikhil Bhardwaj DC Himanshu Jain oversees final preparations being made at airport. Earlier, he held a meeting with key officials from the PWD, Public Health, PSPCL, AAI, NHAI, drainage departments and representatives from contractual firms. Expressing optimism, Jain highlighted that the Halwara International airport was set to become an economic driver, fostering industrial growth, boosting exports and generating employment in the region. PWD Executive Engineer Pardeep Kumar said all infrastructural works at the Halwara international airport had been completed to the satisfaction of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and the process for handing over of the premises to the AAI had also been started. It was after missing several deadlines that the Rs 50-crore project has been declared completed by authorised government personnel and the coordinated process for the inauguration was underway. Punjab Industries and NRI Affairs Minister Sanjeev Arora had made a formal announcement regarding virtual inauguration of the airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 27. While access to strategic areas, including runways and watch towers, was denied due to security purposes, cleaning work and interior decoration were underway at the main waiting hall, counters and VIP lounge. Foundation stones for the construction of the boundary wall of the airport and link road were laid during the previous Congress regime. Construction works had been underway during the past three years. The Punjab Government and the AAI had signed an agreement for a joint venture to set up the airport in 2018. The airport is expected to boost business, tourism and development in the region.