07102025-JTR-01.qxd 10/6/2025 10:56 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune FESTIVE START TO PRE-KARVA CHAUTH CELEBRATIONS ASHAHOOR GOVT SCHOOL SETS BENCHMARK IN EDU EXCELLENCE I WON’T DO ANYTHING THAT I DON’T LOVE: SHEFALI SHAH The spirit of festivity came alive at Hotel Stella, Goraya, where the pre-Karva Chauth celebrations were held . P2 The vibrant campus of the school in Jalandhar’s Bet area stands as a beacon of educational excellence. P3 Powerhouse performer Shefali Shah, in Chandigarh to attend a film fest, reflects on her cinematic journey. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY, RAIN MAX 23°C | MIN 18°C YESTERDAY MAX 24°C | MIN 19°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.05 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:25 AM TUESDAY | 7 OCTOBER 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. INBRIEF MURDER ACCUSED STILL AT LARGE Phagwara: More than three years on, the Nurmahal police have failed to arrest the accused involved in the murder of a local resident. Rohit (22), son of Ram Lubhaya, a resident of Mohalla Khatikan, was shot dead on August 10, 2022, by Jaswinder Singh Bunty, son of Mohindar Singh, a resident of Lohar village under Jamsher Sadar police station. The police had registered a case under Section 302(murder) of the IPC against Bunty. The Station House Officer, Gurnam Singh, stated that raids were being conducted to apprehend the absconding accused. OC NINE BOOKED FOR ASSAULTING WOMAN Phagwara: The Bilga police have booked nine persons on charges of assaulting a woman. Investigating officer (IO) Vijay Kumar said that the accused had been identified as Hardeep Singh, Hari Krishan, Parveen Kumar and Surjit Kumar, all residents of Mao Sahib village, and five unidentified accomplices. Parmindar Kaur, a resident of the same village, complained to the police that the accused barged into her house on October 4 and assaulted her and threatened her children. The IO said that a case under Sections 333 (house trespass after preparation for hurt), 115(2)(voluntarily causing hurt ), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 190 (unlawful assembly) of the BNS has been registered against the accused and further investigations were on. The police also booked 10 villagers for assaulting and seriously injuring Malkit Singh of Mao Sahib village, said IO Charanjit Singh. OC 1 HELD FOR SELLING ILLICIT LIQUOR Phagwara: The Shahkot Pur police have arrested a villager on the charge of selling and brewing illicit country-made liquor. The investigating officer, Sukhwindar Singh, said that the accused had been identified as Baljindar, a resident of Dhando Wal village, and 20 kg of lahan and utensils for brewing were seized from his possession. A case under Sections 61/1/14 of the Excise Act has been registered against the accused. OC Rain brings down mercury, people brace up for change in weather With harvesting on, paddy arrivals remain sluggish Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 6 Intermittent rain since Sunday morning has brought down the temperature in the city by about 10 notches. While people had been using air conditioners till two days back, majority of them had to switch off even fans by Monday evening as the maximum temperature fell to 23 degree Celsius and minimum stood at 19 degree Celsius. People savoured hot cup of ginger tea and coffee while trying to ensure that the sudden drop in temperature does not affect their health. There has been a spurt in footfall of patients complaining of cough, cold and mild fever in almost all hospitals. Even though rainfall remained light to moderate, it was perhaps snowfall in the upper reaches of HP that led to a drop in the temperature. “My son has been unwell since last evening. I have strictly told him not to Jalandhar, October 6 Paddy arrivals in local mandis continue at a sluggish pace as farmers have still not harvested crops in major parts of their fields. A fresh three-day weather alert has further heightened concerns among the farming community, already grappling with significantly lower yields this season. Farmers report that untimely rains and increased humidity have impacted both har- Jalandhar, October 6 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested Balwant Singh, Superintendent, posted at the Punjab Roadways Depot-1 in Jalandhar, red-handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000. An official spokesperson of the VB stated that the case was registered based vesting and crop output. Many are also raising alarm over the spread of diseases like ‘haldi rog’, which is compounding their difficulties. Tarsem Singh, a farmer from the region, shared his struggle: “I have harvested paddy from 4 acres so far, and the yield is only about 20 quintal. Normally, I would expect around 30 quintal. I still have 24 more acres to harvest, which I took on contract, and I’m really worried.” Singh said this year has been especially tough, with unpredictable weather taking a heavy toll on productivity. Another farmer, Subeg Singh from Dhogri village, echoed similar concerns. “The yield this time is lower, mainly because of the erratic weather. On top of that, diseases like ‘haldi rog’ are damaging the crops. It’s becoming very difficult to cope with this.” With weather alerts now in place for the next three days, many farmers say that harvesting will be done later. Vehicles move through a flooded road after rain in Jalandhar on Monday. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH take cold drink or cold coffee for the next two-three days till the weather normalises again. Full-sleeve clothes and full length lowers have replaced his Tshirts and shorts. Wardrobes need certain changes in view of changing weather. The tap water was already cold today. It seems that a change in the weather is in the offing,” said Supriya, a mother. The rain did not affect the procured paddy much as these have been kept inside covered on cemented platforms in the mandis. Most of them were kept covered with tarpaulin sheets. The arrivals have so far been slow. “After these rains, we expect the paddy harvesting to slow down further. The farmers will wait for the crop and the grains to dry out again before begin- ning to harvest it,” said Sukhbir Singh, a commission agent in Jalandhar mandi. The weather prediction for tomorrow also remains to be rainy, with temperature ranging from 19 to 24 degree Celsius. After the wet spell ends, the temperature will again begin to normalize, touching 30 degree by next Monday, the weather experts have predicted. Labourers cover paddy bags with a plastic sheet at the grain market, Jalandhar, on Monday. SARABJIT SINGH Disparity in teacher-student ratio in govt schools exposes deployment lapses Ashok Kaura Illegal construction by a drug smuggler being demolished at Chandigarh Colony in Tanda under the supervision of Hoshiarpur SSP on Monday. Drug smuggler’s house demolished in Tanda Had encroached upon 281 sq yds of Waqf Board Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur/Tanda, Oct 6 As part of the “War Against Drugs” campaign launched by the Punjab Government, the Hoshiarpur police in collaboration with the Tanda civil administration demolished illegal encroachment by a drug smuggler near here on Monday. In the joint operation in collaboration with the Waqf Board, unauthorised construction measuring 281 sq yds (khasra numbers 38, 40, 41, and 42) on Waqf Board land in Chandigarh Colony (Dala, Tanda) was demolished. This illegal construction had been carried out by an accused, against whom 11 FIRs had been registered, all of which were NDPSrelated cases, and the accused was currently in jail. Providing further details, Hoshiarpur SSP Sandeep Kumar Malik stated that the Waqf Board required police assistance to demolish this illegal construction. He said that a large police force was present during the operation. He stated that the action was taken against Sarbjit Kaur, wife of Sarup Lal, a resident of ward No. 8, Chandigarh Colony, Tanda. The SSP reiterated that following the instructions of the state government, the police would continue to crack down on drug abuse and illegal encroachments. He appealed to the public to report such illegal activities to the police. He assured that immediate and strict action would be taken against the culprits. He warned drug traffickers to either give up smuggling and take up some other work or be prepared for strict action. VB arrests Punjab Roadways Supdt for accepting ~40K bribe Tribune News Service Aakanksha N Bhardwaj on a complaint filed by a retired driver of the Punjab Roadways. “The complainant had approached the VB, alleging that the Superintendent had demanded Rs 50,000 for preparing his pending overtime bills prior to his retirement. Upon his requests, the Superintendent agreed to take Rs 40,000 for the same, but he didn’t want to pay the bribe. He further alleged that the accused official had already received Rs 1.54 lakh in instalments during pendency of his case in the labour court, ” he stated. The spokesperson added that following verification of the complaint, a VB team from Jalandhar range laid a trap, during which the accused had been caught red-handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 40,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. In this regard a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the Superintendent at VB police station, Jalandhar range. The accused would be produced in the court tomorrow and further investigation into this case was under progress, he added. c m y b Phagwara, October 6 Stark disparities in teacherstudent ratio have come to light in several government schools of Phagwara and nearby villages, revealing serious lapses in the planning and deployment of teaching staff by the Education Department. In some cases, schools with barely a handful of students have more teachers than required, while others with large enrolments are struggling with a severe shortage of staff. At the Government Primary School in Khati village, only two students are enrolled against three teachers, while the Government School in Palahai has 81 stu- dents being managed by a single teacher. The Government School at Chachoki has 396 students and 17 teachers, whereas Gobindpura school has 133 students, but only three teachers. The imbalance persists across several other schools. Khajurala Government School has 148 students and nine teachers, Mehtan has 124 students and 10 teachers, Rihana Jattan 121 students and eight teachers, Hadiabad 208 students and 14 teachers, Khalwara 153 students and 10 teachers, Bohani 37 students and five teachers, Ucha Pind 47 students and eight teachers and Rampur Khalian has 23 students and two teachers. The situation in govern- ment middle schools is equally concerning. The Government Middle School at Charrha has eight students being taught by a single teacher, while Dhadhey has 14 students and one teacher. The Khaira middle school has as many as 174 students but just one teacher to handle all classes. Sham Nagar School has 81 students and two teachers, and Jamalpur has 62 students with only two teachers. Retired principal Gurmit Singh Palahai alleged that the government was functioning in an “unplanned and inconsistent manner”, leading to such imbalances. “Some schools are overstaffed, while others are left to struggle. This clearly Protesting FIRs, farmers burn effigies of state govt shows a lack of rationalisation and planning in teacher deployment,” he said. District Education Officer (Elementary) Harjinder Singh acknowledged the issue of imbalance and shortage of teachers. He said the matter had been noted and assured that he would write to the higher authorities to take necessary corrective measures. The situation has raised serious questions about the effectiveness of teacher rationalisation drives, which the Education Department claims to undertake every year. Parents and educationists say that unless staffing is aligned with student strength, the quality of education in government schools will continue to suffer. 30-year-old Kapurthala man dies in Canada Our Correspondent Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 6 Members of the Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) burnt effigies of the state government at all district headquarters, tehsils and blocks on Monday against the recent FIRs filed against farmers on the issue of stubble burning. Members of the union said amid losses sustained in the recent Punjab floods, farmers had no other choice but burn stubble, unless they are compensated Rs 6,000 per acre or Rs 200 per quintal for stubble management. While the union had made a declaration, as soon as FIRs began to be filed, that it would oppose any action against farmers on stubble burning, its leaders today burned the effigy of the state government across districts and blocks. Union members also blamed the state and Central governments for failing to pay heed to farmers demands after the recent floods. Farmers hold an effigy of the state government at the Behram toll plaza in Nawanshahr. A TRIBUNE PHOTO In Doaba, effigy-burning protests were held at the Behram toll plaza, Mehatpur, Nakodar, Phillaur and Jalandhar among other areas. At Mehatpur, farmers gathered amid rain and burnt an effigy of the state government while condemning the state and Central governments. BKU Mehatpur activist Kashmir Singh Pannu said, “After the Supreme Court’s observation on stubble, asking the state government to file FIRs in this regard, the state government has repeatedly been registering cases against farmers. We have held protests against this today. We don’t want to set stubble on fire, but we are forced to do this. Unless we are compensated Rs 6,000 per acre for stubble management, we have got no other choice.” Phagwara, October 6 A 30-year-old man from Bhatnura Kalan village in Kapurthala district, Manvinder Singh, has died in a construction accident in Surrey, Canada. According to reports, Manvinder had been working in Canada for the past two years on a work permit and was engaged in construction work. The accident occurred while he was on site, though the exact circumstances were still under investigation. Local authorities and family members have expressed their grief over the untimely death. Efforts are underway to coordinate with the Canadian authorities regarding the repatriation of his body to India. This incident highlights the ongoing risks being faced by Indian workers employed abroad in the construction sector.