28122025-JTR-01.qxd 12/27/2025 11:15 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune VISA SETBACK DROVE STUDENTS TO LOCAL CAMPUSES There have been reports that Canada rejected more than 60% visas of Indian students this year owing to stricter policies.P2 » MINISTER, MAYOR LAY STONE FOR ~42L SEWER PROJECT ANURADHA’S NEW NOVEL CAPTURES UNIVERSAL STRUGGLES WITH WIT Mohinder Bhagat and Vaneet Dhir laid stone for sewerage project in Major Colony and Dashmesh Colony.P3 Anuradha Marwah doesn’t believe in labels. The eminent author of four books has stayed true to her storytelling. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 19°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 20°C | MIN 5°C SUNSET SUNDAY 5.33 PM SUNRISE MONDAY 7.25 AM SUNDAY | 28 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 TWO HELD WITH BANNED STRING Hoshiarpur: The district police, acting on secret information, conducted raids at different locations and arrested two persons with 32 spools of banned Chinese kite string. In the first incident, the Focal Point police raided a video game shop in Rishi Nagar and seized 21 spools of Chinese kite string. The accused, Naresh Kumar, a resident of Rishi Nagar, was arrested and booked in this connection. In another case, the Garhdiwala police raided a grocery shop in Jamsher Chathiala village and seized 11 spools of Chinese kite string. The shopkeeper, Sansar Singh, was arrested and a case registered against him. OC YOUTH HELD FOR MOLESTATION Hoshiarpur: The Sadar police have arrested a youth for allegedly entering a house forcibly and misbehaving with a young woman. According to the complaint, the incident occurred on December 26 at Kaimpur village around 6 pm when the victim was cooking at home. The accused, identified as Jasbir Singh, a resident of Kaimpur village, allegedly entered the house, caught the woman and behaved indecently with her. The accused fled after the victim raised an alarm. The police registered a case and arrested the accused. OC MAN ARRESTED WITH PISTOL Hoshiarpur: The Dasuya police have arrested a person during routine patrolling and recovered a country-made pistol from his possession. The accused was identified as Rohit, a resident of Bala Kulian village. A case under the Arms Act was registered against the accused in this connection. OC PEDDLER NABBED WITH HEROIN Hoshiarpur: The Tanda police have arrested a drug peddler during patrolling and recovered 10 grams of heroin from his possession. The accused was identified as Bobby, a resident of Chandigarh Colony, Tanda. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against the accused in this connection. oc ATM looted in Khajurala Three robbery accused arrested after encounter near Garhshankar, one injured village near Phagwara Our Correspondent Our Correspondent Phagwara, December 27 Unidentified armed and masked robbers broke open an automated teller machine (ATM) of the State Bank of India (SBI) and looted money at Khajurala village near Phagwara in the early hours of Saturday. According to the police, the ATM was forcibly broke open probably with iron rods or gas cutter and the entire cash kept inside was stolen. Information regarding the incident was received at the police control room in the morning, following which police teams rushed to the spot and examined the crime scene. Phagwara Senior Superintendent of Police (SP) Madhvi Sharma, who visited the site, said no security guard was deployed at the ATM despite repeated written warnings issued by the police to the bank authorities to follow mandatory guidelines. She said earlier Rs 23 lakh were looted from the same ATM in March 2022, but no effective security arrangements were put in place even thereafter. “The ATM was found broken Garhshankar, December 27 The police arrested three robbery accused following an encounter in the forest area of Rampur Bildon village near Garhshankar today. One of the accused injured in the police firing was admitted to the Civil Hospital, Garhshankar. The police said the accused were wanted in a robbery at a money changer’s shop in Mahilpur and another robbery case in the Hoshiarpur Sadar police station area. Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a police team led by DSP Daljeet Singh Khakh spotted three accused riding a motorcycle without a registration number. When signalled to stop, the accused allegedly opened fire at the police party. The police retaliated after issuing warnings and firing into the air. During the exchange of fire, a bullet hit a police vehicle, while another struck bulletproof jacket of a policeman, preventing injury. In the retaliatory fire by the police, Onkar Singh, alias Gora, sustained a bullet injury on his leg. He was taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment. The remaining two accused, Ram Asra, alias Shammi, and Arman, alias Superintendent of Police Madhvi Sharma at the SBI ATM in Khajurala village near Phagwara. and cash stored inside was stolen. There was no security guard on duty at the ATM. No instant surveillance arrangements have been observed at the site,” the SSP said. Despite repeated correspondence with the bank authorities, the latter failed to ensure adequate security at the ATM, she said. “The police are examining CCTV camera footage from nearby locations to identify and trace culprits. Stern action will be taken against the bank authorities for negligence and non-compliance with the security norms,” the SSP said. The SSP further informed that bank officials were unable to provide details regarding the exact amount of cash looted as the incident occurred on a bank holiday. She said neither bank manager Monica Sehgal, nor zonal security incharge Vijay Kumar responded effectively despite repeated follow-ups by the police. “A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in this connection. The looting incident is being investigated from multiple angles,” the SSP said. SSP Sandeep Malik inspecting the encounter site in the forest area of Rampur Bildon village. Manga, residents of Shahbazpur village under the Rahon police station in Nawanshahr district, were arrested on the spot. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sandeep Malik visited the encounter site and reviewed operation. He said in the Mahilpur incident, four motorcycle-borne robbers had looted approximately Rs 4 lakh from a money changer’s shop. One accused, Dilabar Singh, alias Jora, had already been arrested earlier in the case. The police claimed that during preliminary interrogation, the arrested accused also confessed to a robbery at gunpoint MC loses case in arbitration with advertiser One arrested with pistol, Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 27 The Municipal Corporation (MC), Jalandhar, has lost a case in arbitration with an advertiser which was pending for nearly two decades. The case was decided by sole arbitrator Justice Rajiv Narain Raina, former judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court. Outdoor advertisement company Shri Durga Publicity Services through its proprietor Jugal Kishore Joshi had staked a claim of pending payment of Rs 33.53 crore, but the arbitrator ordered the MC to pay Rs 21.65 crore to the company. In 2005, the MC invited tenders on a build-own-operatetransfer (BOOT) basis for the construction of a railway overbridge (ROB) on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala railway line near DAV College on the GT road in Jalandhar. The scheme envisaged that the cost of construction of the ROB would be substantially met from private investment, and that, in consideration of such investment, the selected investor would be crore was stipulated, with an initial payment at the time of execution of the agreement and successive instalments thereafter. The ROB was, thereafter, constructed by the MC through its contractor, M/s Gaman and Company, at an approximate cost of Rs 12 to 13 crore and was commissioned and inaugurated in June 2011. The company asserts that the entire agreed amount of Rs 18 crore was ultimately paid/deposited with the MC as per the agreements. The MC officials, however, allege repeated delays and defaults in payment of instalments. There was a material dispute as to the timeline, completeness and adequacy of such lists and approvals and on the number of sites handed over and made available to the company. The company had alleged that the MC failed to approve and handover the contracted number of sites within the stipulated time. The MC contended that all sites for which lists were submitted by the company were duly approved and that the civic body discharged its obligations in this regard. To pay company ~21.65 crore The office of the Municipal Corporation in Jalandhar. granted advertisement rights in relation to the structure and within the municipal limits of Jalandhar. The advertiser submitted a bid of Rs 18 crore as the amount it would provide to the MC towards the cost of the ROB project to be executed by a third party. The bid was accepted by the MC and also approved by the state government. The company was granted advertisement rights within the municipal limits of Jalandhar for a specified period, including the right to install 199 unipoles, 50 sky signs and 1,500 lollipops. The overall contract period was 11 years. The advertisement rights granted to the company were exclusive/monopolistic for the entire contract period. The agreements contained a clause whereby the MC was not to grant advertisement rights to any third party during the exclusivity period (of first five years) and was to remove unauthorised hoardings/boards from sites allotted to the company and not to permit other advertisements at those locations. A payment schedule for the total amount of Rs18 live ammo in firing case Our Correspondent Phagwara, December 27 The police have achieved a significant breakthrough under a special campaign against illegal weapons, with the arrest of a key accused and recovery of a countrymade pistol with live ammunition from him in connection with a sensational firing incident at Phagwara. Acting under directions of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gaurav Yadav, the police intensified operations against illegal arms, leading to decisive action in a case that had triggered serious lawand-order concerns. The case pertains to an FIR registered at the Phagwara Sadar police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act. The incident occurred on the evening of October 14, when Sukhpreet Singh, alias Sukha, a former employee, who had been dismissed from job at Eastwood, returned to the premises along with his associates. When security guard Sandeep Kumar attempted to stop them, the accused allegedly assaulted him and opened fire with an intention to kill him. A bullet struck the guard on his left thigh, leaving him critically injured and sparking panic at the spot. Providing details, Phagwara Superintendent of Police (SP) Madhvi Sharma said a case was registered against Sukhpreet and his unidentified accomplices. During the course of investigation, the role of Rohit Verma, a resident of Puranpur village, Jalandhar district, surfaced. Verma was arrested by the Kullu police in Himachal Pradesh in a case involving narcotics. Subsequently brought on a production warrant, Verma was formally arrested in the Phagwara case. During interrogation, the police recovered a 7.65 mm pistol along with four live cartridges from Verma’s possession. The pistol was used in the crime. in the Hoshiarpur Sadar area, in which Rs 15,000 was looted from a shop. The police recovered two country-made pistols, one desi pistol, four live cartridges, two empty shells and an unregistered motorcycle from possession of the accused. Further investigation is in progress in this connection. One critically injured in bus, truck collision Our Correspondent Phagwara, December 27 A major road accident was reported on Saturday on the national highway near Phagwara after dense fog severely reduced visibility. According to the police, a Punjab Roadways bus collided with a truck moving ahead due to poor visibility conditions. The impact left the bus driver critically injured, while passengers on board sustained only minor injuries and escaped narrowly. The bus was coming from the Jalandhar side, whereas the truck was en route from Jalandhar towards Sri Anandpur Sahib. The collision led to a long traffic jam on the highway, disrupting the vehicular movement for a considerable time. Punjab Road Safety Force (SSF) in-charge Makhan Singh said traffic movement was affected following the accident. Later, the police used a crane to move the damaged bus to one side of the road, after which traffic movement on the highway was restored. Over 1,000 throng Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan on Day 1, crowd doubles on Day 2 Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 27 Making up for the day one of the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, the pandal filled to the brim on day two of the music festival, so much that some savoured music standing due to lack of space. Over 1,000 visitors turned up on day one of the sammelan on Friday. Done up with pink and green floral motifs, mirror work amidst the stage backdrop glistened with lights as artistes engaged audience in classical treats. A bit smaller than expected, the pandal housed most gather- ing, while many visitors roamed outside, ate chaat and clicked selfies. The 150th Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, which is dedicated to the 350th Martyrdom Anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib and also to Benares Gharana vocalist Pt Chhannulal Mishra, saw packed pandals at the front and relatively sparse crowds at the back. The people thronged food stalls, which ushered in visitors at the entrance, to beat the chill. The pandal, which is still visibly smaller than preCovid years’ sprawling set ups, however saw loyal audiences who sat until the last want to miss the 150th sammelan. We have grown up watching it and didn’t want to miss it this year.” An elderly couple from Karnataka also come all the way to Punjab just to attend the festival. Notably, in the Covid and postCovid years Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan has been held amidst social distancing norms and sparse gatherings. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: MALKIAT SINGH Aparna Banerji Pt Shubhendra Rao, Vidushi Saskia Rao and Pt Abhishek Mishra; and (right) Vidushi Malini Awasthi perform at sangeet sammelan in Jalandhar. Mattress-style seating arrangements note was struck on the Harivallabh stage. Members of the Gurmukh Sewa Dal, keepers of the people’s joras (footwear) at the festival, The Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan is held at Shree Devi Talab Mandir. The festival was founded by Baba Harivallabh, a revered saint. Artistes preforming at festival informed that the sammelan witnessed the presence of over 1,000 visitors on the first day. Some visitors frequented front seat rows at the sam- c m y b melan, where removing footwear wasn’t necessary. Audience from different places were also present at the sammelan. Lal Singh, an NRI, cancelled a flight to attend Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan. He said, “My sons have gone back abroad, but I stayed here for the festival. I didn’t sing to the Gods. The sammelan has mattress-style seating arrangements where shoes aren’t permitted in pandal. The Gurmukh Sewa Dal, a group rendering “Jora Sewa” at gurdwaras, has been taking care of visitors’ footwear at the sammelan for the past many decades. Shoes are kept in a couponed gurdwara style setting in show racks. The selfless service of the group allows thousands to attend the sammelan without worrying for their footwear. Members of the sewa dal, who are among the last to leave, hear hundreds of hours of classical recitals. They are classical music connoisseurs themselves.