26092025-JTR-01.qxd 9/25/2025 10:43 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune CONG STAGES PROTEST, FLAYS GOVT FOR 'ANTI-PEOPLE' POLICIES 42ND SURJIT HOCKEY TOURNAMENT SET TO KICK OFF ON OCTOBER 23 MISS UNIVERSE INDIA MANIKA MAKES HER ACTING DEBUT Congress workers staged a massive dharna in Nakodar, protesting against alleged police excesses P2 The42ndeditionoftheIndianOilServoSurjit HockeyTournamentwillbeheldfromOctober 23toNovember2inJalandhar. P3 In Ayodhya’s Ramleela, Manika makes her acting debut as Maa Sita and Rahull Bhuchar as Lord Ram. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 24°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.19 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:18 AM » FRIDAY | 26 SEPTEMBER 2025 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. NRI, caretaker found dead in Garhshankar village Murder took place 36 hours ago likely |Sharp-edged weapons used Our Correspondent Burglary at post office Phagwara, September 25 A burglary was reported at the post office in the village of Bahani. According to Branch Postmaster Richa Kumari, the office was closed in the evening as usual, but when the staff arrived the next morning, they discovered the shutter broken and the interiors ransacked. Valuable documents and items from the lockers were stolen. The loss is estimated at Rs 10,000-Rs 15,000. The incident has been reported to the police, who have begun an investigation into the theft. — OC Hoshiarpur, September 25 Panic prevailed at Moranwali village of Garhshankar tehsil here on Thursday morning when the bodies of an NRI and a woman caretaker were found. Both of them had been reportedly murdered with sharp-edged weapons about two days ago. The deceased has been identified as NRI Santokh Singh (65), who had come from Canada about three months ago. The deceased woman has been identified as Manjit Kaur (50), who had been taking care of the house since long. The incident came to light in the morning, when Manjit’s two daughters came to the village to meet their mother but Deceased NRI Santokh Singh and caretaker Manjit Kaur found the house locked. They told the villagers that they had been calling their mother for the past two days on her phone but she had not been responding. With the permission of sarpanch Amandeep Rai, they got the lock opened and found both victims lying in pool of blood in separate rooms. The daughters said their mother used to take care of the dairy and poultry animals that the NRI had owned even in his absence. They said they had last talked to their mother day before but she did not talk much saying that she would call later. “Since there was no call from her, we kept dialling her but got no response. Worried, we reached here and found her dead”, they said. Dr Mukesh Kumar, SP (D), who visited the spot, said from the condition of the bodies, it seemed that the murder would have taken place at least 36 hours ago. “We have talked to the villagers and have got some leads. We shall work on them and bring the accused to the book”, he said. DSP Garhshankar, Jaspreet , Singh and SHO Gagandeep Singh Sekhon are investigating the case. K’thala mattress factory gutted, Protest over cooking meat near temple losses worth lakhs reported Our Correspondent Phagwara, September 25 A massive fire destroyed a mattress factory on the Jalandhar road in Kapurthala’s Noorpur Dona village on Thursday morning, destroying goods worth several lakhs of rupees. The blaze, which broke out around 8:25 am, spread rapidly through the facility, reducing stock and infrastructure to ashes. Officials said the fire brigade was alerted immedi- ately and within a minute, Fire Officer Gurpreet Singh and his team reached the site to launch a rescue operation. Three fire tenders and a crew of 10 personnel have been engaged in battling the flames for nearly two hours in an effort to bring the situation under control. Though the fire caused extensive material losses, no casualties have been reported so far. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. Firefighters are con- tinuing operations to extinguish the flames and prevent any further damage. Thick smoke could be seen billowing from the factory premises as the operation continued. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, though initial suspicion points to a possible short-circuit. While no casualties have been reported so far, the factory owner is estimated to have suffered heavy financial losses. Phagwara, September 25 Tension surfaced in Phagwara last night after a group of Shiv Sena Punjab activists held a demonstration near Hanuman Temple at Kathera Chowk. The protest was triggered by allegations that a local resident had been cooking meat in a rented accommodation adjacent to the temple premises, which activists claimed had hurt the sentiments of the community. Police personnel, led by Inspector Aman Kumar Dav- eshwar, reached the spot and engaged with both protesters and local residents. Officers assured those gathered that the concerns raised would be addressed, and urged all sides to maintain peace. In an examplary way, Muslim leader Sarwar Gulam Saba reached the site and assured the leaders to maintain communal peace. Although the protesters claimed to have found meat in the residence, no FIR had been registered even after second day. — OC The MC has drawn flak over proposing the Beant Singh Park as site for cracker sale in Jalandhar. MC scrambles for cracker sale sites after backlash over park allocation in city Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 25 In view of the renovations at the sprawling Burlton Park in Jalandhar, the MC’s search for an alternative site for the sale of crackers in view of Diwali festivities has hit the wall. A new controversy has cropped up over the reports of the allocation of a park for the site. Following strong objections against all proposed sites so far, the MC has witheld the declaration of a site until September 26. The district administration and MC has been scurrying for days to allot two sites for hundreds of cracker vendors to set up shop ahead of Diwali. This has been necessitated due to the Burlton Park - the designated site for cracker sale for decades in Jalandhar - being under renovation. Earlier, Lyallpur Khalsa Senior Secondary School at Nakodar Chowk and Chara Mandi (fodder market) had been shortlisted as potential cracker sale sites. However, objections were raised due to safety concerns — the school has only one gate and is located in a traffic-congested area, while the mandi is situated near an oil depot. In response, the Municipal Corporation selected Shaheed Beant Singh Memorial Park near Focal Point, a public park, as an alternative site. Now, following further complaints, officials have stated that this park site is also under reconsideration. A complaint was filed by environmental activist Tejaswi Minhas against the the grant of NOC to a park as a site for the sale of crackers in the city. The complaint, filed with the CM Office, states that the the allocation of a park site would be a violation of environmental laws as well as the Park Management Rules of 2017. The complainant, alleges, that an NOC to the park is “100 per cent illegal and against all local, state and national environmental laws” and such a decision is in “direct contravention of the Park Management Rules of 2017 laid down by the Ministry of Local Bodies, Government of Punjab” which prohibits commercial activity inside public parks. The complaint also highlights the languishing state of the park and raises concerns over the commercial activity posing serious risk to the existing green cover. Jalandhar MC Mayor Vaneet Dhir said, “The MC has so far hasn’t designated any site for the sale of crackers. Due to objections on the safety hazards on the sites proposed so far, no place has been finalised as yet. Discussion is on and a proper site will be shortlisted by tomorrow evening, keeping in view the safety of residents.” Applications for licences for the sale of crackers will be accepted from September 25 to September 28. Every year 20 to 60 stalls are set up at Burlton Park for cracker sale. 7,127 MT of paddy procured in Kapurthala Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 25 With paddy procurement picking up pace in Kapurthala district, until yesterday, 7,705 metric tonnes of paddy has arrived across 42 mandis of the district of which 7,127 metric tonnes have been procured, which is 93 per cent. Crops have been ravaged on over 40,000 acres in Kapurthala this year, most of which is area under paddy cultivation. DC Amit Kumar Panchal today said proper arrangements have been made for the procurement of paddy in the mandis, under which the procurement is going on smoothly. He said arrangements have been made for the convenience of farmers and all steps have been taken to prevent any inconvenience to farmers. He said payment to farmers is also being made promptly and so far Rs 12.6 crore has A labourer dries grains during the paddy procurment season in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH been sent to bank accounts of the farmers. Notably, 2,838 metric tonnes of paddy has been purchased by Markfed, 2,831 metric tonnes by Pungrain, 979 metric tonnes by PUN- SUP while 207 metric tonnes , by the Punjab State Warehouse Corporation. Panchal appealed to the farmers to get the paddy harvested with Super SMS combine harvester only. They were asked that harvesting should be done only from 10 am to 6 pm. The DC also appealed to farmers to bring only dry paddy to the market so that the farmers do not face any problem in selling the crop. No waste lifting in towns for 9 days amid strike Tribune News Service Nawanshahr, September 25 Safai karamcharis of the Municipal Corporation and Committees across various towns, including Nawanshahr, Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala, have been on strike over the past nine days over the government move to privatise door-to-door garbage lifting. Owing to no lifting of waste from houses and from various dumping sites in the town, the towns wear a dirty look, especially since these are Navratri days and people like to shop. The safai karamcharis have said privatisation of work would render more than twothird staff, which is on contract, jobless. The shoppers in various markets said the condition of roads was already bad and now that the garbage was piling up along all roadsides, it was not safe to venture out. Ex-Congress MLA Angad Saini blamed it on AAP for not ensuring cleanliness and being able to take safai karamcharis into confidence ahead of plans to enter into privatisation mode. AAP halqa incharge Lalit Mohan Pathak said, “The issue is being dealt with from Chandigarh and there is a centralised plan to have privatisation of committees for garbage collection.” The AAP leaders, however, reportedly intervened and urged the safai karamcharis to at least get the roads outside temple and other religious premises cleaned in view of the festive season. c m y b *Approval Due