05112025-JTR-01.qxd 11/4/2025 11:03 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune RAIN MARS LIGHT AND SOUND SHOW IN JALANDHAR HELPING HANDS ORGANISATION: 15 YRS OF SELFLESS SERVICE GRAND RECEPTION FOR BIRLA HEIR The show ran for only nine minutes before heavy rain, accompanied by loud thunder & lightning, marred it. P2 The organisation has arranged weddings for around 200 girls at Gurdwara Akali, Phagwara. P3 The Birla family’s heir, Vedant Birla, tied the knot with Tejal Kulkarni at the Birla Residence on November 2. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 26°C | MIN 16°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 16°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.33 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:38 AM » WEDNESDAY | 5 NOVEMBER 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 PLEA TO RESTORE RAIL FARE RELIEF FOR SR CITIZENS Phagwara: Narendra Dutt Sharma, vice-president of the Municipal Corporation Employees Union, Phagwara, has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to restore the railway fare concession for senior citizens, a facility that was discontinued during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sharma said that until the pandemic, successive governments had been providing concessions to elderly passengers travelling by Indian Railways. Female senior citizens were granted a 45 per cent concession, while male senior citizens received a 40 per cent reduction in fares. He stated that withdrawing this benefit during the Covid period was unfair to elderly citizens who depend heavily on rail travel due to affordability and convenience. He informed that he has written a formal letter to Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting immediate action to reinstate the concession. — OC Minor girl gives birth in ambulance; infant Surface water supply scheme unlikely to meet revised target date of Dec 31 dies, rapist arrested Smart city project date extended Aakanksha N Bhardwaj CONSTANT DELAYS Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 4 One of the initiatives under the Smart City Mission — the Surface Water Project — continues to move at a sluggish pace even five years after its commencement. Despite repeated assurances and multiple deadline extensions, the project still appears unlikely to get completed by the revised target date of December 31, which was already extended from August. The Rs 400-crore project, ■ The Rs 400 crore project ■ Officials said several factors launched in 2020, aims to shift the city’s drinking water supply from groundwater to surface water to conserve groundwater and provide 24X7 canal-based supply. ■ So far, 57 of the planned 97 km of mild steel underground pipes have been laid. have delayed the project, including workforce shortages during the period of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, when many migrant workers had returned to their home states. ■ In 2025, deadline extended from March to Aug, then Dec. launched in 2020, aims to shift the city’s drinking water supply from groundwater to surface water in order to conserve groundwater resources and provide a 24×7 canal-based supply of clean, treated water. Howev- er, progress on the ground tells a different story. So far, 57 km of the planned 97 km of mild steel underground pipelines have been laid. Officials earlier claimed that several factors have delayed the project, including workforce shortages during the period of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, when many migrant workers had returned to their home states. In 2025 alone, the project’s deadline has been extended— first from March to August 15, then to December. Census trial run to cover Wards 16 & 32 in city Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 4 Dr Navjot Khosa, Director, Census Operations, Punjab, inaugurated the pre-test of urban areas for Census 2026-27 in Jalandhar, marking a significant milestone in the nation’s statistical and administrative evolution. Notably, this census will leverage mobile apps for digital House listing and housing census to take place from Nov 10-30 in respective wards data collection, enhancing efficiency, accuracy and reliability. The pre-test will cover Wards 16 and 32 in Jalandhar. A three-day training session has commenced for enumera- tors and supervisors to equip them with the necessary skills. During the event, Sandeep Rishi, MC Commissioner, outlined the duties of enumerators and supervisors, emphasising the role of accurate data collection in nation-building. The house listing and housing census will take place from November 10 to 30 in the respective wards. Dr Navjot Khosa highlighted that this digital census represents a major leap forward in India’s statistical and administrative capabilities, aiming to provide reliable data to inform policy decisions and drive development initiatives. ADC (General) Amaninder Kaur and Joint Commissioner-cumNodal Officer (Census) Dr Sumandeep Kaur were also present on the occasion. Guru Nanak Jayanti today THIEVES STEAL CASH, PASSPORTS Phagwara: The Shahkot police have booked unidentified thieves on the charges of stealing cash and passports. Shital Singh, a resident of Salaichan village, complained to the police that unidentified thieves barged into his house on October 2 and stole Rs 30,000, his passport as well as his son and mother-in-law’s passports also. Investigating Officer Angrej Singh said a case under section 331(4) and 305 of the BNS has been registered against the unidentified accused. Shital Singh, a resident of Salaichan village, complained to police that unidentified thieves barged into his house in October 2 and stole Rs 30,000 and passports. IO Angrej Sindh said a case under section 331(4) and 305 of the BNS has been registered. — OC Tribune News Service Panj Piaras lead the Nagar Kirtan to mark the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in Sultanpur Lodhi on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH Bar Association protests merger of Garhshankar with proposed district Our Correspondent Nawanshahr, November 4 Monitoring teams of the district administration are actively working to check the practice of stubble burning following directions from Deputy Commissioner Ankurjeet Singh. Stating this, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Avneet Kaur informed that compared to previous years, a significant decline in stubble burning incidents has been recorded this season. The ADC informed that during the 2023 season, 61 cases of stubble burning were reported in the district, which got reduced to 12 cases in 2024. In this season so far, only eight sites of burning Tribune News Service Members of the Bar Association, Garhshankar, protest against the merger of the subdivision into the proposed district of Sri Anandpur Sahib on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO now, efforts are underway to reduce Garhshankar sub-division in size due to which the common people coming to get their work done in Garhshankar sub-division will have to face a lot of trouble. On the occasion, Garhshankar Bar Association president Raj Kumar Phillaur, November 4 In a deeply distressing case from Phillaur, a 14-year-old minor girl gave birth to a baby boy inside an ambulance en route to the Civil Hospital. Tragically, the newborn died six days later, prompting a police investigation that has led to the arrest of the alleged rapist. According to police sources, the minor had been experiencing severe abdominal pain when her maternal uncle rushed her to the hospital. However, she delivered the child in the ambulance before reaching the facility. Due to her critical condition and young age, doctors referred her to a hospital in Jalandhar for further treatment. The infant, reportedly in fragile health since birth, succumbed during treatment. The family, overwhelmed by grief, buried the child at a local cremation ground without informing the authorities. Upon learning of the incident, Phillaur police registered a zero FIR and transferred the case to the police station in the girl’s native village near Muktsar. During preliminary investigation, the minor revealed that she had been working as domestic help in a household due to her family’s financial hardship. She alleged that the homeowner repeatedly raped her, threatening her with dire consequences if she disclosed the abuse. The girl’s mother eventually recalled her from the job and sent her to live with her maternal uncle near Phillaur. It was only after her pregnancy became visible that the family learned the truth. DSP Phillaur, Sarwan , Singh Bal said here today the accused has been booked under Section 65 (1) of the BNS and Section 6 of the POCSO Act. Police have since exhumed the infant’s body and sent it for post-mortem to determine the exact cause of death. Further investigation is underway. Bhatti, former president Pankaj Kripal, Sanjeev Kumar Kaliya, Ram Nath Rai, Harpreet Singh, Deepankar Lab, Sanjeev Dod, Harvinder Pal, Naresh Kumar Bhatti, Satpal, Harjeet Kumar, Jas Nagpal, Sanjeev Banga and Ram Nath Rai were present. c m y b crop residue have been detected. Action has been taken in six cases, where the farmers involved have been fined Rs 45,000 as environmental compensation. FIRs have been registered, and red entries have been made in the revenue records (Khasra Girdawari). ADC (Development) Avneet Kaur added that teams under the supervision of SDMs are holding village-level meetings with farmers and conducting regular police patrolling in the fields. Cluster officers and village-level nodal officers are also spreading awareness among farmers about in-situ stubble management practices. Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Rakesh Kumar Sharma shared that the Agriculture Department has provided 2,716 crop residue management machines to farmers in the district, available on subsidy for in-situ stubble management. Each farmer’s field has been mapped with nearby Custom Hiring Centres and cooperative societies equipped with these machines. Priority is being given to small and needy farmers for machine access through village nodal officers. Demonstration plots using decomposer sprays have been set up to promote ecofriendly stubble decomposition. Training camps, awareness van campaigns and contests on stubble management in schools are also being organised. Activist raises queries as DL issued for youth in Canada on study visa Deepkamal Kaur Garhshankar, November 4 Members of the Garhshankar Bar Association protested against the merger of Garhshankar subdivision with the proposed Sri Anandpur Sahib district by blocking traffic on the Chandigarh-Hoshiarpur main road, raising slogans against the Punjab government, and holding a protest march to the Garhshankar bus stand. The protesters stated that whenever a new state or district was created from Punjab, Hoshiarpur district suffered the most. For example, with the creation of Himachal Pradesh, a large portion of Hoshiarpur was transferred to Una district. After the creation of Ropar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar districts, Hoshiarpur district was shrunk and several sub-divisions were merged with them. Even Our Correspondent FIRs against farmers in six cases for burning paddy residue in fields FOUR PEDDLERS ARRESTED Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a drug peddler on the charge of selling heroin. Investigating Officer (IO) Sarwann Singh said that 4.3 grams of heroin were recovered from the possession of the accused, identified as Soma alias Lovpreet alias Luv, a resident of Shahkot. The IO stated that a case has been registered under sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act against the accused. The Nakodar Sadar police arrested drug peddler Kulwindar of Shankar village with 42 intoxicating tablets, said IO Kulwindar Singh. The Nurmahal police arrested drug peddler Vijay Kumar of Kandola village with 19 intoxicating tablets, said SHO Gurnam Singh. The Bilga police arrested Jaj Singh, son of Mohindar Singh of Burj Kela village, with 205 intoxicating tablets, said IO Charanjit Singh. — OC Now, even the latest deadline appears uncertain, as work on several components is still incomplete. At Jaganpur village in Adampur, a 275 MLD (million litres per day) water treatment plant is being constructed. While the civil work is reportedly complete, electrical installations are still pending. In addition, five water reservoirs are planned at Surya Enclave, Dhilwan, Model Town, Burlton Park and Focal Point, but construction at Surya Enclave is yet to begin. Jalandhar, November 4 If you are in Canada and want to get a driving licence made from Jalandhar, it is quite possible. You can take a cue from Krishna Khurana of Pucca Bagh, who is in Canada on a study visa. Someone else appeared for his driving test on October 13 and he managed to get the licence issued the same evening. The fact that the Punjab Vigilance Bureau had conducted a raid in the same department exactly seven months ago is also no deterrent here. The malpractices continue on a higher scale even as the senior officials have chosen to overlook the wrongdoings being done in nexus with the agents. Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, Aman Pal Singh had on Monday marked an inquiry into the matter to Assistant Transport Driving licence issued to Krishna Khurana in Jalandhar. Officer Vishal Goel. Goel today went to the driving testing centre and said, "I have started the inquiry. I am checking all the records." Aman Pal too said, "Whosoever is found guilty shall be taken to task". The matter came to light when social activist and Congress leader Sanjay Sehgal lodged a complaint with the Principal Secretary, Transport Department, Punjab Vigilance Bureau and Secretary, RTO, alleging that the incident clearly pointed to the prevailing corrupt prac- tices in the department. Putting the evidence on record, Sehgal said, "Permanent driving licence application was applied for on October 5, with a driving test appointment fixed for October 13, and the licence was approved the same day at 8:23 pm. The licence was cleared after the official working hours by ARTO Kamlesh Kumari. Even as other applicants are facing significant inconvenience and harassment in accessing these services, Krishna Khurana faced no such hassles". Sehgal has sought verification of mobile phones and details used by the applicant at the time of applying for learner's licence on June 26, 2023 and later on March 20, 2025 and September 5, 2025. He has also sought an inquiry as to whether those applicants who applied on September 5 were also given appointments within a week just as Krishna managed it for October 13 and that whether their licences too were approved the same day by ARTO Kamlesh Kumari. The complainant has also sought verification of CCTV footage from the driving test track to verify whether he had personally appeared for the test, both inside and outside the track area. He has also sought identification of the individual who appeared on the applicant's behalf. The preliminary investigation, however, has shown that the applicant's brother had appeared for him and that the videos of the particular applicant have been deleted so as to remove the evidences against him. Meanwhile, the Vigilance Bureau officials too are learnt to have sought a preliminary report from the department on the blatant wrongdoing which has got exposed.