08012026-JTR-01.qxd 1/7/2026 11:11 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune PUNJAB EXTENDS SCHOOL HOLIDAYS UNTIL JAN 13 AIR POLLUTION RAISES RISK OF LUNG, RESPIRATORY DISEASES DHURANDHAR GROSSES OVER ~831 CR, SETS BENCHMARK The extension of school holidays in Punjab has brought cheer to students across the state. P2 The risk intensifies during winter, as falling temperatures aggravate COPD symptoms, says consultant. P3 Ranveer Singh-starer Dhurandhar has become the only Hindi film ever to gross over ~831 crore. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 13°C | MIN 7°C YESTERDAY MAX 13°C | MIN 8°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5.41 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:27 AM » THURSDAY | 8 JANUARY 2026 | 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. Dallewal denies split in BKU group, calls it ‘drama of expelled leaders’ Accuses Centre, state govt of targeting union over farmer issues Tribune News Service INBRIEF BODY OF MISSING YOUTH FOUND Phagwara: The body of a young man was recovered from agricultural fields near Sukh Sagar Colony on Kanjli Road, sparking concern among local residents and the victim's family. The deceased has been identified as Sagar of Nadala. Sagar had been missing for the past two days. They said he had travelled by bus from his sister's village, Dole, to Kapurthala and left home stating he was going to attend a church. When he failed to return, the family made repeated efforts to trace him and eventually lodged a missing complaint with the city police. Upon receiving information about the body, a police team reached the spot and took custody of the body. The body was shifted to the mortuary at Kapurthala Civil Hospital for preservation. oc ELECTRIC WIRES CATCH FIRE Phagwara: Panic gripped Gaushala Bazaar here on Wednesday after electric wires caught fire, but a major mishap was averted due to the timely response of the Fire Department. According to information received from the fire brigade, they were alerted in the morning about a fire in electric wires outside shops located opposite the mosque in Gaushala Bazaar. Fire personnel rushed to the spot and brought the fire under control. Officials said had the fire not been controlled in time, it could have spread to nearby shops, leading to heavy losses. OC MINOR GIRL GOES MISSING Phagwara: A 15-year-old minor girl has been reported missing under suspicious circumstances. According to the complaint, the minor girl has allegedly been kept in illegal confinement by an unidentified person. Her father Dilmanga Ram told the police that despite making continuous efforts, he had been unable to trace her whereabouts, deepening fears for her safety. Following the statement of the girl's father, the police registered a case at Sultanpur Lodhi police station against an unknown person. OC ILLEGAL MINING IN TALWARA Hoshiarpur: The Talwara police have registered a case under the Mining and Minerals Act in connection with alleged illegal mining in the area. Jatin Garg, JE-cum-Mining Inspector, Dasuya, submitted a complaint to the Talwara police, seeking legal action against those involved in the illegal extraction of minerals from a rivulet near village Bhol Kalota, close to the boundary of village Jandor. Acting on the complaint, the police conducted a spot inspection of the rivulet area near village Bhol Kalota and village Jandor along with a police team. During the inspection, it was found that minerals had been illegally mined at the site. oc Jalandhar, January 7 Members of the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur), led by Jagjit Singh Dallewal, on Wednesday said there was no split in the BKU (Ekta Sidhupur) and the split was a drama orchestrated by a faction of leaders, who had already been ousted or expelled from the union or had other ambitions of their own. Union leaders said the split was the government’s attempt to weaken the union. This was stated during a press conference at Jalandhar today. The BKU faced a split into two factions on Tuesday after senior office-bearers, block presidents and district presidents from eight districts demanded the removal of Dallewal. The group announced Dalbir Singh Sidhupur, son of the union’s founder Pishora Singh Sidhupur, as convener. Leaders led by Dallewal today said the union was created by the effort of Pishora Singh’s and still worked on his ideals. Pishora Singh’s Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal along with members of the kisan union addresses a press conference at the Punjab Press Club in Jalandhar on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO OTHER GROUP NAMES SIDHUPUR AS CONVENER The BKU faced a split into two factions on Tuesday after senior office-bearers, block presidents and district presidents from eight districts demanded the removal of Dallewal. The group announced Dalbir Singh Sidhupur, son of the union’s founder Pishora Singh Sidhupur, as convener. nephew Jasvir Singh Sidhupur was also present. Speaking on the occasion, Dallewal said, “We doubt the Centre with the help of the state government is attempting to weaken a union which questions the government on key issues. Our ideology was always non-political. The issue is of the ideology. The other faction claiming a split is led by those who wanted a ticket to contest poll or who had joined Akali Dal or adopted their ideology.” He added, “Our prime issues are debt waivers, the Swaminathan Report implementation, MSP guarantee, opposing GM crops through free trade agreements, which will destroy our established human structures – which do not go well with the Central Government.” Party Jalandhar president Kulwinder Singh said, “The union is still with Dallewal. The BKU stands strong. Some persons are trying to split the union. A union can’t be split if more than half members remain on one side.” He added, “We are all witness that the BKU has never split. Those who had to go have already been ousted. The split is a drama created by the opposition group.” Leaders, office-bearers and district presidents’ name were also read out during the PC. Apart from state president Jagjit Singh Dallewal, Jasbir Singh Sidhupur, Mann Singh Rajpura, Baldev Singh Sandoha, Tarsem Singh Mansa, Lakhwinder Sing Fazilka, Jagdeep Singh Patiala, among others were also present on the occasion. Dubai returnee dies in car mishap near Jalandhar His two friends injured Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 7 A man, who returned from Dubai and was heading towards his house in Shahkot from the Amritsar airport, died in an accident on the LohianMalsian Road in Jalandhar, late on Tuesday night. Deepak Sharma, a resident of Kotla Suraj Mal at Shahkot, died while returning to his house in a car. Two of his friends have sustained injuries, one of whom is seriously injured. Employed as a driver in Dubai, Deepak had come to meet his family in Jalandhar. He and two of his friends Vansh Arora and Sahil Arora were in a car when the reportedly speeding vehicle collided with another car near Government Senior Secondary School, Nihaluwal. The out-of-control vehicle was then reportedly hit by a truck after which it rammed into a tree. The impact of the accident was so severe that Drug menace can end with lehar, not kehar: CM Mann State govt expands rehabilitation capacity, opens 31 OOAT centres under Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service Phagwara, January 7 Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said the drug menace could not end with ‘kehar’ (expressing anger) but only with ‘lehar’ (mass movement). He was speaking at the launch of the second phase of the ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign held at Lovely Professional University here. He accused previous governments of creating systemic leakages and asserted that Punjab was a blessed land whose people know how to overcome challenges. “If we can surpass huge catastrophes like floods, we shall overcome the drug problem too,” he said, adding that other states must stop blaming Punjab for everything. He pointed out that despite paddy straw burning being completely controlled, Delhi continued to blame Punjab. “They have made Punjab a punching bag. All states, including Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, are eyeing our resources. Thankfully, we do not have coal or oil reserves, or else they would have targeted those too,” he remarked. State government officials talked of steps taken to check drug menace. “Rehabilitation bed capacity has expanded from 1,455 beds at the launch of the campaign to 4,940 beds. Thirtyone new Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment (OOAT) centres have been opened. To keep the youth engaged in constructive activities, 3,100 stadiums are being constructed at a cost of Rs 1,350 crore, 3,000 modern gyms are being set up and 17,000 sports kits have been distributed”, the officials, including Chief Secretary, Punjab, KAP Sinha and Special DGP Arpit Shukla said. Shukla added, “A comprehensive and multi-dimensional strategy has been adopted to make Punjab drug-free. This includes breaking supply lines, arresting and jailing major players connected to the drug trade, treating and rehabilitating drug victims. Between March 1 and December 31, 29,352 cases were registered under the NDPS Act, 39,981 traffickers were arrested, 1,849 kg of heroin and 28 tonnes of poppy husk were CM Bhagwant Mann with ex-CM, Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia during the launching of Phase-2 of the Yudh Nashian Virudh drive near Jalandhar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH seized, and drug money worth Rs 15.25 crore was recovered.” “During this period, 358 major traffickers involved in cases with over 2 kg of heroin were arrested, 490 drone activities were detected along the international border with 252 drones recovered and proper- Travel agents booked for cheating youth of ~25 lakh Our Correspondent Phillaur, January 7 A case of alleged cheating and criminal breach of trust involving a large sum of money has come to light after a 55year-old complainant accused two travel agents of duping his family on the pretext of sending his son abroad. According to a complaint, Raspal Singh,a resident of Rasoolpur village near Phillaur, alleged that the accused assured him of sending his son, Sukhvinder Singh, to Canada and got Rs 25 lakh for the purpose. However, despite taking the money, the accused neither arranged the promised foreign visa, nor fulfilled their commitment. The complainant further stated that after repeated demands, the accused returned only Rs 4.85 lakh and failed to refund the remaining Rs 20.15 lakh, committing fraud. It has been alleged that both accused acted in connivance with each other to cheat the complainant and his family. Following an inquiry conducted by the DSP Phillaur, Bharat , Masih, and subsequent approval from the SSP , Jalandhar (Rural), the allegations were found to be prima facie substantiated. The police registered a case against Sunil Ghai of Garha and Rahul Luthra of Ashok Nagar, Jalandhar. c m y b ties worth Rs 299 crore were confiscated. Courts heard 6,040 NDPS cases, resulting in 5,317 convictions, reflecting an 88 per cent conviction rate. Additionally, 50,433 anti-drug awareness meetings were held across districts,” he said. State coordinator of the campaign Baltej Pannu said, “To institutionalise the campaign, more than 50,000 Village Defence Committee members were trained on November 6 and 7”. On the treatment front, Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh said, “More than 10.48 lakh patients have been registered at 547 OOAT clinics. Over 5,000 dedicated beds are now available for drug rehabilitation and treatment, with all services provided free of cost and government reimbursement extended for private treatment as well. Punjab currently has 36 government deaddiction centres, 19 government rehabilitation centres, 143 private de-addiction centres, 72 private rehabilitation centres and 55 empanelled rehabilitation centres, in addition to facilities linked with 44 nursing colleges and 11 medical colleges. A DDRP portal has been created for real-time monitoring, with secure record-keeping and Aadhaarlinked biometric verification.” He said, “The government de-addiction centres have seen a sharp rise in patient numbers, increasing from 962 to 2,674 in August 2025 and from 632 to 2,756 in September 2025. Government rehabilitation centres recorded an increase from 254 to 888 patients in August and from 275 to 804 in September. OOAT clinics registered 27.64 lakh monthly visits in September 2025, showing a year-on-year increase.” ...GOD DISPOSES Deepak, who arrived at the Amritsar airport on Tuesday evening, had plans to take a bus to Jalandhar. However, on sharing info about his arrival with his friends, they volunteered to pick him. Deepak was driving the car when the accident took place. passersby heard a loud crash. While Deepak died on the spot, his friend Vansh has sustained serious injuries. Sahil Arora has also received injuries. Deepak, who had arrived at the Amritsar airport on Tuesday evening, earlier had plans to take a bus to Jalandhar. However, on sharing about his arrival with his friends, they volunteered to pick him. Deepak was driving the car when the accident took place. Bhim Singh, SHO, Lohian police station, said proceedings had been initiated under Section 174 of the CrPC by the police. Food safety team collects six samples Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 7 Food safety teams in Jalandhar collected six food samples from Bhogpur, Jandu Singha, Adampur among others under Dr Sukhwinder Singh, District Health Officer, Jalandhar. The food sampling drive was carried out under Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, Punjab, on the directions of Dr Rajesh Garg, Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar. Samples of pulses, sugar, mathi, coffee, biscuits and gachak, etc were taken by the food safety teams. Robin Kumar, Food Safety Officer, took samples of food items and sent these to the State Food Laboratory, Kharar, for inspection. Officials said on receipt of the report from the Food Laboratory, action would be taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act. Dr Sukhwinder Singh appealed to the food vendors to provide clean food to the people. He asked the food vendors to follow the food safety rules and take special care of safety, quality standards, personal hygiene and cleanliness as per the provisions of the Act. Kar sewabrings life in Mand back on track Wheat sowing completed on 200 acres, thanks to Seechewal, volunteers Phagwara, January 7 Following the massive devastation caused by floods in the Mand, Rajya Sabha MP Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal has been continuously engaged in relief and rehabilitation work for the past five months. Now, after last year’s severe floods, life in the Mand region is gradually returning on track. Closely understanding the problems of flood-affected residents, Seechewal held joint meetings with people from the villages of Baupur Kadim, Baupur Jadid, Bhaini Qadar Bakhsh and Sangra. The affected residents informed him about the disruption in the electricity supply, delays in compensation payments and other basic infrastructural problems. Seechewal issued directions to the departments to resolve these issues on a priority basis. Farmer Satvinder Singh said due to the kar sewa, around 200 acres were made cultivable by November, and wheat sowing was completed. He further said the fields of 25 small farmers, who could not sow wheat, had now been prepared for maize cultivation. He added that at a time when the area required largescale support, Seechewal had stood firmly with the farmers from day one. The farmers also shared that even now, many fields in the area remained buried under 5 to 6 feet of sand and silt, requiring heavy machinery and large quantities of diesel for clearance. Thanking the volunteers for their continued support, Seechewal appealed to the people to come forward and help those farmers who could not sow wheat, so that maize sowing can be ensured by February. He said although the floodwaters had receded, the flood of sand and silt remained a major challenge for farmers. He added that approximately Rs 1 lakh was being spent daily on diesel. — OC