21082025-LT-01.qxd 8/21/2025 1:12 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PUNJAB IN FRAMES CAPTURES SPIRIT OF THE LAND ANURAG HITS OUT AT MAKER OF AI-GENERATED FILM Anurag hit out at Vijay Subramaniam, producer of upcoming AI-generated film ‘Chiranjeevi Hanuman’. P4 PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 27°C POPULAR CHEF COMES TO TRICITY TO OFFER CHAI MAGIC On World Photography Day, a photo exhibition ‘Punjab in Frames’ was held at Kala Sangam, Chandigarh. P4 FORECAST Sanjeev Kapoor made a quick dash to tricity bringing the latest offering — automatic tea maker Chai Magic. P4 » » SUNSET THURSDAY 6.57 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:54 AM » THURSDAY | 21 AUGUST 2025 | LUDHIANA Rotting waste mounds raise a stink at city’s biggest vegetable market R’sthan-based man rapes, strangles nine-year-old girl to death; nabbed Rains add to woes in absence of basic infra of water, sanitation, waste segregation Abohar/Ludhiana, Aug 20 A man based in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan, married to a woman in Ludhiana, brutally raped and murdered a nine-year-old girl there. The suspect, who has been arrested by the police, is reported to be a distant relative of the victim. As per information, the wife of the suspect was pregnant and he had sent the woman to her parents’ house in Ludhiana about two weeks ago. He had been staying alone since then at his house in Hanumangarh. The incident occurred on the night of Janmashtami in Hanumangarh. According to police officials, the girl had gone to a relative’s house on Saturday night to take part in the Janmashtami festivities. However, she did not return Manav Mander Ludhiana, August 20 City’s biggest vegetable market near the Jalandhar Bypass is now a portrait of civic failure. Every day, thousands of buyers, sellers and workers navigate mounds of garbage, stagnant water and the stench of rotting produce. Despite being second only to Delhi’s Azadpur Mandi in scale, the Ludhiana market has become synonymous with chaos. Over 1,200 authorised traders operate here, yet basic infrastructure — water, sanitation and waste segregation — are conspicuously absent. “It scares me to see vegetables being sold in such unhygienic conditions,” said Navneet Kaur from Field Gunj. “The smell is unbearable. We wash everything thoroughly at home but how long can one keep risking our health?” she asks. Under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, vegetable markets are classified HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Tribune News Service Heaps of rotting vegetables and plastic waste paint a poor picture of the vegetable market in Ludhiana. as bulk waste generators and are mandated to segregate and treat biodegradable waste on site. But the reality is far different. Plastic and organic waste lie in mixed heaps, breeding mosquitoes and threatening to leach into the food chain. Rains have worsened the situation. Pools of stagnant water have turned into mosquito nurseries, raising fears of dengue and malaria outbreaks. The partial enforcement of the ban on single-use plastic has only added to the mounting crisis. It’s unbearable most mornings,” said Harpreet Kaur, a resident of Govind Pura near the Jalandhar Bypass. “The stench from the garbage and rotting vegetables remains in the air. It is difficult to pass near the market. It’s not only unhygienic — but also inhumane.” “The condition of the vegetable market is getting worse. Piles of garbage and stagnant water is making difficult for us to even stand in the market,” said Amarvir Singh, secretary of the Punjab State Fruit and Vegetable Commission Agents Association. Rumail Singh, secretary of the Punjab Mandi Board’s market committee said a cleaning drive was conducted on Tuesday and challans were issued along with the Municipal Corporation to three vendors for dumping waste. “Despite warnings, vendors continue to discard rotten vegetables early in the morning,” he said. “It is our collective responsibility and everyone should understand the same and keep the surroundings neat and clean,” he said. A static compactor was installed in the main vegetable market recently. The Municipal Corporation claimed that the cleanliness responsibility lies squarely with the market committee. Minister orders action after ~25L solar lights scam unearthed in Khanna Weather woes Tribune News Service Pedestrians and motorists navigate a waterlogged road amid rain in Ludhiana on Wednesday. ASHWANI DHIMAN Gangster Ashu used Instagram ID to interact with Pak suppliers from jail Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 20 The Ludhiana police on Wednesday brought gangster Ashu, lodged in a Faridkot jail, on production warrant in a cross-border drug smuggling case. He was brought to the city after the police nabbed a drug peddler, Mukkal Mattu, of Mohalla Fatehgarh and seized 1.05 kg of heroin, two .30 bore pistols, one 9 mm Glock pistol, 21 cartridges and Rs 2.5 lakh drug money from him and a probe found Pakistan-based suppliers arranged supply of heroin and illegal weapons to Mukkal through Ashu recently.Crime Branch in- Further probe to expose layers of cross-border drug, arms smuggling network charge inspector Beant Juneja told The Tribune that during questioning of Mukkal, it was found that gangster Ashu had been using Instagram ID to interact with Mukkal and also reportedly with Pakistanbased drug and weapon suppliers. “The police have recovered the mobile of the drug peddler in which Insta ID was also found. It was used by the latter to interact with the gangster. We have brought Ashu on production warrant from the Faridkot jail and his questioning HAD SEIZED 1-KG HEROIN, ARMS FROM PEDDLER The police had seized 1.05 kg of heroin, two .30 bore pistols, one 9 mm Glock pistol, 21 cartridges and Rs 2.5 lakh drug money from a drug peddler, Mukkal Mattu. Later, a probe found Pakistan-based suppliers arranged supply of heroin and illegal weapons to Mukkal through gangster Ashu recently. will further give details about the mobile and Insta ID used by Ashu for holding interactions with Pak suppliers and Mukkal,” he said. Inspector Juneja said since heroin and sophisticated weapons were sent by Pakistan suppliers reportedly through a drone, the questioning of Ashu would expose the entire network he was running while lodged in the jail. “Ashu’s aides had reportedly collected heroin and weapons from border areas after these were delivered through drones there and then they delivered the consignment to Mukkal,” he said. A police official said as per the ongoing modus operandi of drug deals being run by Pakistan smugglers, they gift a Glock pistol whenever anyone buys one kg heroin from them. As per Mukkal, the Pakistan suppliers gifted a Glock pistol to Ashu along with the drug but he paid Rs 3 lakh for the gun and Rs 15 lakh for one kg of heroin to the gangster. c m y b Ludhiana, August 20 Punjab’s Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond ordered strict action after a scam involving Rs 25 lakh in the installation of solar lights came to the fore in the Khanna block. The minister stated that Bhupinder Singh Bhinda had secured a tender amounting to Rs 1 crore through his son Jasdev Singh to carry out solar light installations in 20 villages of the Khanna block. Investigations have confirmed irregularities amounting to Rs 24.52 lakh in the project. The probe revealed that the Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), Assistant Engineer (AE), Junior Engineer (JE), and the contractor were directly accountable for the misappropriation. He said the investigation report had clearly established their guilt and vowed that the state government would not spare anyone involved in misusing public funds. Sond announced that implicated officials would face immediate suspension and chargesheets. Additionally, the government would recover every penny of the misappropriated funds from the contractor and other responsible parties. The scam was exposed by the complainant, Santokh Singh Bainipal, who obtained critical details through a Right to Information (RTI) request. In 2023, Bainipal submitted a written complaint directly to Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, following which an investigation was carried out. Raj Sadosh/Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune Reporters Committed crime in Hanumangarh, had sent his pregnant wife to her parents’ home in Ludhiana recently home. After an anxious night and hours of searching by her family, her body was found early the next morning. Superintendent of Police (SP), Hanumangarh, Hari Shankar, said the suspect, Chhotu Dass, alias Mukesh, who originally hails from Darbhanga district of Bihar and was married to a woman in Ludhiana, was a distant relative of the girl. He used to visit her family frequently. That evening, the suspect was drunk. When the girl returned home, he first Married five months ago, woman ends life due to husband’s ‘torture’ Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 20 After a 19-year-old woman, a native of Bihar, died by suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at Mahavir Jain Colony here on August 15, the Tibba police registered a case of abetment to suicide against deceased’s husband Amit Kumar of Uttar Pradesh. The woman was upset with her husband. In March, she had eloped from Bihar and married the man. The girl reportedly belonged to another caste, due to which the boy’s family had objected to their marriage. After taking the woman to Ludhiana, her husband used to beat her under the influence of alcohol. Frustrated by her husband’s assaults, she took the extreme step. The deceased woman was identified as Muskan, alias Shilpi. Deceased’s mother Shanti Devi said her daughter got married to Amit in March this year. A few weeks after the marriage, he started torturing her daughter after consuming alcohol. Troubled by the torture, Muskan died by suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan. When the police were informed about the incident, they reached the spot and lodged a complaint. She said the postmortem of the victim’s body was conducted on Wednesday. Investigating officer in the case SI Kulwinder Singh said after recording the statement of the deceased’s mother, a case under Section 108 (abetment to suicide) of the BNS was registered against the man and further investigation was launched in the case. The suspect was yet to be arrested. raped her and then strangled her to death when she protested his move. Investigation pointed out that after the murder, the suspect put the girl’s body in a sack and locked it in a suitcase. He was planning to dispose of the body on Sunday night but the police team caught him before he could do so. The post-mortem report has confirmed her death due to rape and strangulation. A case of rape and murder was registered and the POCSO Act is also being explored. The victim’s father said the girl had gone out to play in the evening but when she did not return by the night, he started searching for her. The next day, the police were informed. Protests are being held against the incident. Women’s organisations are demanding the closure of all illegal liquor shops. 20 temporary encroachments removed from Tajpur Road Ludhiana, August 20 Cracking the whip on encroachers, a joint team of the tehbazaari wing of the Municipal Corporation (MC) removed around 20 temporary encroachments around Buddha Dariya on Tajpur Road. Working on the directions of MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal and Zonal Commissioner Neeraj Jain, the drive against encroachments was conducted by tehbazaari teams of all four zones of the MC, led by tehbazaari inspectors Vipan Handa, Sunil Kumar, Sanjeet and Kush. The officials stated that the drive against encroachments was organised on a regular basis. During the drive, material and kiosks had been confiscated by civic body teams and a warnings were being issued to the encroachers. Further, the field staff were directed to keep a regular check and ensure that the encroachments did not resurface in the future. — TNS GLADA demolishes four illegal colonies, one building Tribune News Service Ludhiana, August 20 The Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) on Wednesday demolished four illegal colonies and an unauthorised building at Mullanpur, Manakwal and Dhandra villages by dismantling their roads and illegal constructions and structures on these sites. When developers did not stop the illegal construction works despite serving them with notices, a special team carried out the demolition drive, which went unopposed. Chief Administrator Sandeep Kumar emphasised that such enforcement drives were part of a broader strategy to curb the proliferation of unauthorised colonies at their inception. He said GLADA had planned additional demolition drives in coming weeks A demolition drive in progress at a village in Ludhiana. to ensure compliance with government regulations and to protect the public from fraudulent developers, who are exploiting innocent buyers with promises of affordable plots in unapproved colonies. He also urged the public to verify the legitimacy of properties before purchasing, cautioning that unauthorised colonies would not be provided with essential services such as water supply, sewerage, or electricity connections. A comprehensive list of approved and regularised colonies, along with their sanctioned maps, was available on GLADA’s official website (www.glada.gov.in) for prospective buyers to consult. The GLADA has also recommended filing of FIRs against developers of unauthorised colonies in the district.