13122025-JTR-01.qxd 12-12-2025 23:21 Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune BERI, CONG WORKERS CLEAN SHRI RAM CHOWK FROM CODING TO THEATRE, LPU STUDENT MASTERS BOTH WORLDS ACTOR GURPREET GHUGGI IS ENJOYING A BUSY CALENDAR DCC (Urban) chief Beri first cleaned up the floating leaves, the fountain area and then put in clean water. P2 While pursuing his B.Tech and now an MBA, Raj Roshan Rai has built a parallel career in the performing arts. P3 A significant staple in Punjabi cinema, Ghuggi has lived his professional innings on his own terms. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 22°C | MIN 8°C YESTERDAY MAX 22°C | MIN 6°C SUNSET SATURDAY 5.24 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 7.10 AM » SATURDAY | 13 DECEMBER 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 PROHIBITORY ORDERS ISSUED Kapurthala: Ahead of the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections scheduled for December 14, District Magistrate-cum-Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Panchal has issued prohibitory orders under section 163 of the BNSS, 2023, imposing strict restrictions within a 200metre radius of all polling booths across the district. The orders aim to ensure a peaceful, fair and interferencefree polling environment. OC ‘DRY DAY’ AHEAD OF POLLING Phagwara: The Punjab Excise Commissioner has declared a ‘Dry Day’ across the district from 12 am on December 14 to 10 am on December 15 in view of the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections scheduled for December 14. SSP, Kapurthala, all SDMs, and Assistant Excise Commissioners have been asked to ensure strict enforcement of the order. OC Two-colour ballot paper for rural polls Snatchers nabbed; 8 Yellow for marking choice of Zila Parishad candidate & white for Panchayat Samiti mobiles, 5 bikes seized Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 12 Officials of the district administration and police of all four districts of Doaba, including Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr have completed their preparations for the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections, scheduled to take place on December 14 (Sunday). The voting is scheduled to take place from 8 am to 4 pm. The officials said that the voters would receive two ballot papers --- a yellow one for marking the choice for the Zila Parishad candidate and a white one for the Panchayat Samiti candidate. The Jalandhar rural police have implemented stringent security measures to ensure peaceful elections for which over 2,500 police personnel have been deployed across the district. Surveillance shall be underway 24X7 at 880 polling locations and 1,126 polling booths. A total of 30 patrolling parties shall work round the clock. The SPs, DSPs and SHOs have been directed to conduct checks and searches. The Jalandhar police have identified 65 booths as hyper- sensitive, 284 as sensitive and 531 as non-sensitive locations. Even the gurdwaras, religious institutions and deras shall remain under special surveillance. The teams will also remain alert along the riverbanks, isolated areas and markets. SSP Jalandhar Rural Harvinder Singh Virk has asked the public to report any untoward incident on the helpline number 112 or Jalandhar Rural Police Control Room (78373-40100). In Jalandhar, there are 80 candidates for 25 Zila Parishad zones and 582 for 191 Panchayat Samiti zones. A total of 1,683 booths will be set up with fivemember polling parties. The administration has imposed restrictions on public gatherings and meetings in the polling areas for the Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections. As per the orders issued by the Additional District Magistrate, no public meetings will be allowed in the polling areas from 4 pm on December 12 to 4 pm on December 14. However, doorto-door campaigning by groups of four people has been permitted. Outsiders, including political leaders and supporters, have not been allowed in the polling areas. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 12 The Special Cell of Jalandhar police, with the assistance of Division No. 6 Police Station, arrested three snatchers during an operation. The police recovered eight stolen mobile phones, five motorcycles and an Activa scooter from the possession of the accused. Police conduct a flag march in Kapurthala on Friday ahead of Block Samiti and Zila Parishad elections slated to be held on Sunday; (below) MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary campaigns for the Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections in favour of Congress candidates at a village in Phillaur in Jalandhar on Friday, the the last day of campaigning for the polls. ALL ARRANGEMENTS IN PLACE FOR D-DAY ■ Voting is scheduled to take place from 8 am to 4 pm on Dec 14. ■ Jalandhar police have identified 65 booths as hypersensitive, 284 as RESTRICTIONS ON OUTSIDERS Kapurthala: Acting on the directions of the Punjab State Election Commission, the district administration has issued orders prohibiting the presence of outsiders in areas where Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections are scheduled. The directive also enforces a complete ban on holding public election meetings during the mandatory silence period. According to the orders, the 48-hour silence period will begin at 4 pm on Friday (December 12), and will remain in force until 4 pm on Sunday (December 14), when polling concludes. oc ELECTION OBSERVER ARRIVES IN K’THALA Kapurthala: General Observer Jagdeep Sehgal, joint secretary in the Department of Local Government and appointed by the Punjab State Election Commission, arrived in Kapurthala to oversee election preparations. The observer will be stationed at the GO Mess, Police Training Centre, Kapurthala, during the election period. His contact number has been shared as 87278-56083, while Liaison Officer Varun Joshi can be reached at 85568-30060. oc ILLICIT LIQUOR SEIZED BY COPS Phagwara: The Bilga police recovered 250 litres of lahan, two tarpaulins, two drums and 266 bottles of illicit liquor from the Sutlej riverine area under the jurisdiction of Bilga police station. The operation was carried out as part of a special drive launched on the directions of Harvinder Singh Virk, SSP, Jalandhar Rural, to curb the activities of anti-social elements and drug traffickers ahead of rural polls. OC sensitive and 531 as non-sensitive locations. ■ Helpline number 112 or Jalandhar Rural Police Control Room number 78373-40100 to report untoward incidents. ■ In Jalandhar, there are 80 candidates for 25 Zila Parishad zones and 582 for 191 Panchayat Samiti zones. ■ A total of 1,683 booths will be set up with 5-member polling parties. Commissioner of Police Dhanpreet Kaur informed that the operation was carried out under the supervision of DCP (Investigation) Manpreet Singh Dhillon, ADCP (Investigation) Jayant Puri, ADCP Paramjit Singh, ACP Model , Town, Parminder Singh Mand and ACP (D) Amarbir Singh. The police have lodged FIR No. 264 under Section 304 of the BNS at Police Station Division No. 6. The three accused who have been arrested include Sunny Kumar of Dhannowali, Akashdeep of Haripur village of Sangrur and Jatinder Singh of Rahon Road, Ludhiana. Sunny Kumar already had three FIRs lodged against him at Rama Mandi police station in Jalandhar for snatching. Akashdeep had eight FIRs lodged against him in Ludhiana, Malerkotla and Sangrur. Indian youth held Moosewala’s mother objects to use of pic in protest The protesters had wrongly made three effigies, captive in Iran, including that of Charan Kaur. They, however, had raised slogans only against Tejasvi Minhas and Seechewal tells Parl Bhana Sidhu and did not name her once. They Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 12 Two days after the Global Christian Action Committee had erroneously made an effigy of Charan Kaur, mother of slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, during its protest, she has issued a legal notice to the organisers for trying to defame her. Charan Kaur has sought an apology from them within 15 days, failing which they shall be liable to pay Rs 10 lakh in damages. The members of Global Christian Action Committee Our Correspondent Phagwara, December 12 During the ongoing winter session of parliament, Rajya Sabha Member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal raised the issue of Indian youths being kidnapped in Gulf countries and held for ransom. In a written question submitted to the External Affairs Minister, Sant Seechewal stated that several families from the Majha and Doaba regions had approached him with distressing accounts: travel agents lure young people abroad with promises of high-paying jobs, but once they reach the destination, they are kidnapped and subjected to inhuman torture. Many of these youths are coerced into making objectionable videos, which are then used to blackmail their parents. Sant Seechewal asked the Ministry of External Affairs whether the government is aware that Indian youths are being trapped with false job offers in Iraq, Iran and other Gulf nations, and later held captive by human trafficking networks. He also questioned what action the government plans to take against such fraudulent travel agents. Responding to this written question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said that social media plat- forms are often used to mislead youth with fake overseas job offers. He emphasised that the ministry takes immediate action upon receiving such complaints. The minister further explained that under the Immigration Act of 1983, no travel agent is permitted to operate without obtaining a valid licence. Strict action is taken against agents who violate these regulations. As part of its awareness campaigns conducted through social media and other channels, the ministry has identified and listed a total of 3,505 unregistered agents on the e-Migrate portal across the country up to October 2025. The ministry continues to educate people about safe and legal migration through the e-Migrate system and will keep working to spread awareness in the future as well. also tried to hide her effigy and remove her photo. had burnt the effigy of Charan Kaur on Wednesday last and had come to protest right outside the District Administrative Complex. The organisation had been protesting mainly against two persons — Tejasvi Minhas, president, Punjab Bachao Morcha, and activist Bhana Sidhu. The duo had submitted a complaint regarding the Christian organisation with the Enforcement Directorate last week alleging that they were indulging in religious conversions for which they had been getting funds from abroad through hawala transactions. During the protest, the protestors had wrongly made three effigies including that of Charan Kaur. They, however, had raised slogans only against Tejasvi Minhas and Bhana Sidhu and did not take her name even once. When the media persons present at the spot had questioned them about the use of the photo of Charan Kaur, who was totally unrelated to the issue, the protestors tried to hide the effigy and removed her photo. They later said that they thought she was the mother of Tejasvi Minhas. The bizarre incident had invited a huge backlash with all major media outlets covering the issue. Fans of the singer objected to the irresponsible, unethical and provocative act and demanded that the Jalandhar administration take strong action against such people. The videos had got widely circulated online and thousands of people had demanded action against the organisers of the rally. Hoshiarpur takes leap in promoting renewable energy Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, December 12 Hoshiarpur district has achieved a significant milestone in the promotion of renewable energy by becoming the first district in the state to integrate the GoSolar Project with the Common Service Centre (CSC) network. This pioneering step has created a seamless link between solar rooftop installation services and CSCs, enabling the mission to reach both urban neighbourhoods and remote villages more efficiently. Launching the integration of the Go-Solar mobile APK with CSCs-developed jointly by the district administration and Red Cross Society-and addressing a special workshop of village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs) at the District c m y b Administrative Complex, Deputy Commissioner Jain said that Hoshiarpur is currently the fastest-progressing district in Punjab in terms of solar rooftop adoption. This reflects the high level of awareness and enthusiasm among local residents toward renewable energy, she noted. With CSCs now providing doorstep access to the service, the process of installing solar systems will become more convenient, transparent and streamlined. The Deputy Commissioner explained that the application will enable VLEs to collect consumer details, including vendor information, low-interest loan options and technical specifications related to the installation. Once an application is submitted, the respective vendor will directly contact the consumer to initiate the installation process. She added that through this system, citizens will have access to all essential services near their homes, while CSC operators will receive incentives for each application and installation, thereby boosting the campaign's momentum. Highlighting the government's substantial subsidies on solar systems, she informed that consumers can avail benefits ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 for 1kW to 2kW systems, Rs 60,000 to Rs 78,000 for 2kW to 3kW systems, and up to Rs 78,000 for systems above 3kW capacity. She credited the project's success to the dedication of Assistant Commissioner and Go-Solar Project Nodal Officer Oishee Mandal. She also acknowledged the contributions of Red Cross Society secretary Mangesh Sood and joint secretary Aditya Rana for their efforts in expanding the project's outreach. Expressing confidence in the initiative, DC Jain said the integration would not only establish Hoshiarpur as a model district in renewable energy but also contribute significantly to energy conservation and environmental protection in the coming years.