20022026-LT-01.qxd 20-02-2026 00:49 Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune TWO LIVES SNUFFED OUT IN JAGRAON ROAD MISHAPS STAR WEIGHTLIFTER TO MISS MAJOR INT’L TOURNAMENTS PRIYANKA CHOPRA RECALLS MOTHER’S FIERCE ACT Two unidentified persons were killed in road mishaps on intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. P2 Sources close to Vikas Thakur say he is recovering steadily post surgery for cervical spine injury. P3 Priyanka Chopra Jonas says motherhood shaped her role as Bloody Mary in The Bluff. P4 » » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 27°C | MIN 12°C YESTERDAY MAX 27°C | MIN 13°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.14 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:57 AM » FRIDAY | 20 FEBRUARY 2026 | LUDHIANA Expect major infra overhaul as 230 devp worksconnectivity in key residential, commercial zones cleared in F&CC meeting Move aims to improve Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 19 City residents can expect a major infrastructure overhaul as the Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) of the Municipal Corporation (MC) cleared a wide range of development projects during its meeting on Thursday. A total of 230 work orders were issued, including approvals for the construction of eight pending road projects that had been stalled after contractors raised objections against each other and submitted complaints to the civic body alleging irregularities in tender documents. The works will be executed under the Special Assistance Scheme in the seven Assembly constituencies. Roads will be built using hotmix and cement concrete technology, with several stretches widened to 50 feet to ease traffic congestion. The works Civic body officials during the F&CC meeting in Ludhiana on Thursday. cleared by the committee include over 100 additional proposals for civic development, including tube well installations, electrical wiring upgrades and other essential services. Mayor Inderjit Kaur said the initiative aims to accelerate urban infrastructure upgrades and improve con- nectivity in key residential and commercial zones. Some of the major projects cleared in the meeting also include the upgrade of bitumen main roads in the West and North constituencies, strengthening of the Elevated Road from Jagraon Bridge to Chand Cinema with mastic asphalt and the improvement of various main roads using ready-mix concrete (RMC) and mastic in the North constituency. Construction of new roads has also been approved in the South, Atam Nagar and Central constituencies and along the Jalandhar bypass. In the North constituency, projects sanctioned include the upgrade of the elevated road from Jagraon Bridge to Chand Cinema with mastic asphalt, along with improvements in Wards 1 and 95 and sub-zone D. The South constituency will see major works in Industrial Area C and the Focal Point to ease heavy vehicular movement. For the West constituency, projects will address damaged and narrow stretches, fulfilling long-pending demands of residents. In Central, both bituminous and RMC roads will be upgraded across multiple wards. Atam Nagar will see bituminous macadam (BM) and semi-dense bituminous concrete (SDBC) works in the sub-zone D2 while several arterial roads, including Tajpur Road, Bahadur Ke Road, Metro Road, Rahon Road, Bhamian Road and stretches in Jamalpur and Mundian Kalan will undergo strengthening. Teachers welcome on-screen marking for Class XII students Several schools conduct mock drills to train teachers Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 19 With the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) deciding to implement onscreen marking (OSM) of answer sheets for Class XII students, several schools in the city conducted mock drill sessions on Thursday to train teachers in the new system. Training sessions were held from 11 am to 4 pm. Welcoming the initiative, Harmit Kaur Waraich, principal of Nankana Public School, said teachers were pleased with the move as the concept was not entirely new. “In 2017-18, teachers had also carried out evaluation through on-screen marking. It is a familiar system for many of us,” she said. She said a mock drill was organised at the school to familiarise teachers with the process. “During the session, the teachers were guided on how to evaluate scanned answer sheets PROS & CONS OF PROCESS AS PER TEACHERS ■ Digital checking reduces ■ Server can crash or chances of tampering. ■ Every action is recorded, making system more accountable. ■ Teachers do not need to travel to evaluation centres. ■ Papers can be allotted and submitted digitally, speeding up process. ■ No physical risk of answer sheets being misplaced or damaged. connectivity issues can delay evaluation. ■ Teachers may face difficulties since they are unfamiliar with new technology, ■ Long hours in front of a computer can cause eye strain and fatigue. ■ May affect concentration and low speed can be irritating. online. They were trained to assess soft copies efficiently,” she said. Each school has been provided a separate login ID by the CBSE. The teachers can access the portal using their designated credentials and scanned copies of students’ answer sheets will be made available online for evaluation. It will enable teachers to mark papers while sitting in their respective schools. One of the teachers termed the move a positive step, stating that consider- able time was earlier spent travelling to designated evaluation centres. “Now, it will be far more convenient to assess answer sheets in a familiar environment. For instance, if a Class XII board examination is conducted today, answer sheets will be available for evaluation after about 10 days. The mock drill conducted on Thursday was aimed at identifying and resolving any technical issues to ensure smooth final evaluation,” the teacher said. 14-yr-old girl abducted by 2 car-borne youths Two nabbed with pistol, cartridges Man dies as fire Our Correspondent Our Correspondent Ludhiana, February 19 A 14-year-old girl was abducted in broad daylight from a busy area falling under the Daba police station on Wednesday. Two car-borne youths, one of whom was later identified as Sahil, abducted the victim when she was returning from tuition along with her younger brother. The police have initiated a manhunt for the suspects on the basis of a CCTV footage of cameras installed in the region. An FIR registered on the statement of Ajay Kumar Kuswaha of Gagan Nagar in Daba revealed that his minor daughter had been kidnapped udhiana, February 19 The police claimed to have nabbed two members of a gang of robbers when they were conspiring to strike at some target on Wednesday. A .32 bore pistol and two cartridges were seized from the possession of the suspects, identified as Sarabjit Singh of Boothgarh village and Manoj Kumar Monu of Karamsar Colony, Ludhiana. CP Swapan Sharma said police officials, supervised by DCP (I) Harpal Singh, ADCP (I) Amandeep Singh Brar and ACP (D) Deepkaran Singh, had nabbed the suspects from the Basti Jodhewal area on the basis of a tip-off on Wednesday. Investigation by in-charge, by two car-borne youths while she was returning home in the evening. Her parents came to know about the incident from victim’s brother. The suspects came in a white car (bearing registration number PB 01 3632). On the basis of inquiries made by the complainant, he accused a youth, Sahil, of kidnapping the girl with the help of another accomplice. Investigating officer Dharam Pal said a search for the suspect had been launched after registering an FIR under Sections 137 (2) and 96 of the BNS. Members of a robbers’ gang, they were conspiring to commit crime breaks out in industrial unit Our Correspondent Ludhiana, February 19 A person was killed after a fire broke out at an industrial unit operating from a residential property in a narrow street of Dal Bazaar here on Thursday morning. The deceased has been identified as Charanjit Sharma (68). Though fire brigade staff reached the unit soon after receiving information around The suspects in custody of the Ludhiana police. special cell, Harpreet Singh Dehal, revealed that the suspects had conspired to rob someone by threatening with the pistol but were intercept- ed by the police when they were waiting for their target at an abandoned plot near the Bajra cut on Rahon Road. Though the police are yet to 10 am, they had to make extra arrangements to get water to the unit premises, given constraints of the area. About one dozen pipes were connected for extinguishing the fire as vehicles could not enter the narrow street. It was only after the fire was doused that a body was recovered from the debris. The police have initiated a probe into the sequence of events leading to the fire and death of the victim. ascertain identities of other accomplices of the suspects, preliminary probe revealed that the miscreants had a criminal history. CM honours bull that bagged prizes for 2 yrs at Rural Olympics 20-year-old Katari, its companion 22-yr-old Manki were centre of attraction on concluding day Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 19 ‘ Katari’, a bullock aged 20, that roared through the Kila Raipur Games continuosly for two years and clinched positions became the centre of attraction on the concluding day of the mini Olympics. When it entered the ground and an announcement was made, spectators erupted in cheers. Even Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann could not resist himself and stepped down the stage to have a glimpse of the champion. The companion of Katari, another bull named Manki, who is 22-year-old now, earlier in the day was taken to the ground and received applause from the audience. Jaspal Singh, relative of owners of Katari, said Katari was owned by Sukha Nagra, an NRI staying in Canada, and Golu Jodhan. Katari, along with companion Manki, now stays in Mahma Singh CM Bhagwant Singh Mann honours a bull, 'Katari', in Ludhiana on Thursday. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN Wala, Ludhiana. “Katari and Manki had won first prizes continuously for two years in bullock cart races in Kila Raipur. Their team was considered as one of the best in the mini Olympics. Since the bullock cart race was banned in 2014, they couldn’t take part and it’s been 12 years now, their names are still resounding in the Kila Raipur ground,” he said. Had the team of Katari and Manki won in the third year too, it could have won 1 kg of gold as Kila Raipur Sports Society had announced that three c m y b times winning in a row in bullock cart races could fetch 1 kg of gold but unfortunately in the third year (in 2014), bullock cart races were banned. “Now after 12 years, though races were resumed, Katari and Manki have turned too old and could not participate but both bulls have been taken care of in a proper manner by us for years now and treated like our owns sons,” Jaspal said. He said the Chief Minister was quite happy to see Katari. “The Chief Minister appreciated us and termed Katari and Manki as real champions. We told him that both bulls were like our children when we were nurturing them and now as they have turned old, we consider them as our elders,” Jaspal said. He said even both bulls would stay with them till their last breath. “Both are being given the best highquality diet and daily we are spending a huge money on the same,” he said. Mann in his address said: “Bulls are an integral part of the cultural heritage of the state and the first Sikh Master Guru Nanak Dev spent a long time farming with bulls at Kartarpur Sahib.” He said: “We are witnessing historic moments. People have deep affection for their bulls and raise them like their own sons.” Winner got Rs 2 lakh cash award, first runner-up Rs 1.5 lakh and second runner up Rs 1.25 lakh in the bullock cart races. Results of bullock cart races Kulwant Singh of Chinarthal village in Fatehgarh Sahib, 1st; Resham Singh of Dhandari in Ludhiana, 2nd, Gurinder Singh of Kulewal in Ludhiana, 3rd; Sukhraj Singh of Latala 4th; Mahinder Pal Singh Gujjarwal 5th; Jaswant Singh 6th; Sukhwinder Singh of Jartauli 7th; and Sarabjit Singh of Aassi Kalan 8th. Fire officials and police personnel outside the industrial unit that caught fire in Ludhiana on Thursday. Haryana youth booked for kidnapping minor girl Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, February 19 The Ludhiana (rural) police have booked a youth of Haryana for allegedly abducting a minor girl on the pretext of marrying her over a week ago. Booked under Sections 137 (2) and 96 of the BNS at the Sidhwan Bet police station, the suspect was identified as Amandeep Singh of Badalgarh village in Fatehabad district of Haryana. A resident of Gorsia Qadir Baksh village, she alleged that the suspect had allegedly abducted her by alluring her on the pretext of marriage when she had visited the Sidhwan Bet main market on February 10. The victim went to the market for buying a mobile phone when the youth abducted her. The suspect, a native of Haryana, had been staying with her aunt at Gorsia Qadir Baksh village for a long time. Investigating officer in the case Gursewak Singh said a manhunt had been launched for arresting the suspect and rescuing the minor girl.