28032026-LT-01.qxd 3/28/2026 12:55 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune DATA-BACKED AI SYSTEMS CAN SUPPORT FARMERS: GOSAL PHULKARI: THREADS OF JOY, TRADITION, PROSPERITY TRAILER OF MIHIR AHUJA’S FILM MAA KA SUM OUT PAU V-C Gosal says AI systems should leverage university's over 50 years of agricultural data. P2 No Punjabi celebration, be it weddings or festivities, is complete without a vibrant embrace of phulkaris. P3 Trailer of Mona Singh and Mihir-starrer Maa Ka Sum introduces math prodigy Agastya and his single mother. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 16°C YESTERDAY MAX 29°C | MIN 17°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.38 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 6:17 AM » SATURDAY | 28 MARCH 2026 | LUDHIANA Rumours of fuel shortage cause panic buying in city Queues seen at petrol stations despite repeated assurances from officials of no crisis Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 27 Rumours of fuel shortage in the city sent panic waves across Ludhiana leading to long queues at petrol stations and unnecessary hoarding of fuel. Viral social media messages, linking the situation to global tensions between the US, Israel and Iran, triggered widespread fear among residents, despite repeated assurances from officials and fuel pump managers that there was no real crisis. On the Ferozepur road, near Bharat Nagar Chowk, one petrol pump temporarily ran out of fuel after residents rushed to refuel their vehicles late on Thursday night. The pump manager clarified that the shortage was not due to supply disruption but excessive demand created by panic buying. “People kept coming till 2 am to refuel their vehicles. The vehicle carrying fresh supply is already on its way and petrol will be available by the evening. Diesel was available,” he said. Gagan, a college student, said: “I did not want to take a chance. Hence, I joined long queues. After waiting nearly an hour, I finally managed to buy fuel for my scooter.” Manish Verma, a govern- Commuters stand in queues to refuel their vehicles at a petrol station in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN ment employee, came with his son and both their cars, but found themselves stuck in long queues. “I have been getting calls from friends and relatives, urging me to refuel vehicles, hence, I also joined the bandwagon,” he said. At Luxmi Petrol Pump on Ferozepur Road, Kesar Singh, a senior citizen, said he had come to refuel his car as part of his routine and was shocked to see the rush. “I think people are panicking unnecessarily. Everyone is getting fuel and no pump in the city has declared itself ‘out of stock.’ People should stop trusting fake social media posts and avoid panic buying,” he said. Similarly, at a petrol station near Preet Palace, manager Shakti Kapoor reported that queues stretched past midnight. “Some people were unnecessarily filling up their vehicles repeatedly, fearing a shortage. There is no crisis. The situation remains normal,” he assured. In response to the sudden rush, several pumps in the city stopped selling petrol and diesel in cans or containers, limiting supply strictly to vehicles. Officials said this measure was taken to prevent hoarding and ensure fair distribution of fuel. Ashok Sachdeva, chairman of the Petroleum Dealers Association, said: “The present situation has been created by social media posts. There is no fuel shortage. Pumps remained functional even during Covid, and on Friday, 28 days have passed since the beginning of the war without any disruption. Moreover, the government has announced a cut in excise duty. Had the duty not been cut, prices would have gone up.” Punjab Minister Sanjeev Arora firmly clarified that there was no shortage of domestic LPG for consumers in the state and city, and supplies are fully adequate. He urged citizens to stay calm and refrain from panic buying or bulk booking. The minister issued a stern warning that anyone found hoarding LPG cylinders, petrol, or diesel would face strict legal action. While a temporary shortfall exists in commercial LPG only, essential services such as hospitals and hostels were receiving supply on a priority basis. Families organising weddings requiring commercial cylinders might contact the district administration, as special provisions had been made for such events. Arora said panic buying was worsening the situation. “Earlier, people used to book one cylinder, now they are booking four. I request residents not to indulge in such practices. There is no shortage of petrol or diesel,” he emphasised. Adding to the reassurance, the Central Government announced a reduction in excise duty on fuel to ease public concerns. The excise duty on petrol was cut by Rs 10, bringing it down from Rs 13 to Rs 3, while duty on diesel was reduced to zero. Officials said the step was taken to prevent oil companies from raising prices in response to rising international crude oil rates, which could have further fuelled panic. 2 held with illegal arms Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 27 The Khanna police arrested two persons with illegal weapons and cartridges. The police seized one .32 bore countrymade pistol with two empty magazines and 13 cartridges and a .315 bore rifle with six cartridges from the suspects. Interestingly, one of the suspects was possessing licensed firearm but its licence was issued by the UP Government. The suspect was not possessing pan-India licence. As per rules, even if a person is having a licensed arm and if the licence is not panIndia, the arm can only be possessed in the state where the licence was issued and carrying the Licence of gun carried by one of suspects, issued in UP, lacks pan-India permit arm in any other state will be considered illegal and liable to be seized with the registration of an FIR. Darpan Ahluwalia, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, said a special operation was launched to take action against gangsters and other anti-social elements. During the operation, a police team, led by Pawanjit, SP (I); Mohit Kumar Singla, DSP (I); inspector Hardeep Singh; SHO, City-2 police station, Khanna; arrested two suspects with weapons. Dr Ahluwalia said on March 26, a police team was checking suspicious vehicles on the Delhi-Ludhiana road near Pristine Mall, GT Road, Khanna, when a tip-off was received that Abhay Pratap Singh of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and Jagvir Singh, also a resident of UP were , coming towards Khanna from Delhi in their car. After intercepting the vehicle, the suspects were arrested. The SSP revealed that during the interrogation of Abhay, it came to light that his divorce case with his wife was going on due to which he was carrying an illegal weapon. Jagvir’s licensed weapon was seized as he did not have any panIndia licence. The Khanna SHO said criminal records of the suspects were being verified. The suspects in custody of the Khanna police on Friday. Pay property tax by March 31 to avoid Councillor writes to Guv alleging lack 20% penalty, Mayor tells residents of transparency in MC functioning Ludhiana, March 27 With March 31 last day to submit property tax for the current financial year (2025-26), Mayor Inderjit Kaur has appealed to residents to submit the same in time to avoid additional penalty and interest on the pending payment. The residents will have to pay a 20 per cent penalty and 18 per cent annual interest on the payment of tax after March 31. Civic body officials said the residents could have availed a 10 per cent rebate on payment of property tax during the current financial year if the payment was done by September 30. No penalty was imposed on payment of tax from October 1 to December 31 while the department is imposing a Pay online to avoid queues The civic body officials said for avoiding long queues at MC zonal suvidha kendras, the residents can also pay property tax online by visiting the official website of corporation (mcludhiana.gov.in). Suvidha kendras to remain open on weekend No penalty was imposed on payment of property tax from October 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025. FILE 10 per cent penalty on payment of tax between January 1 and March 31. The penalty will be increased to 20 per cent and 18 per cent annual interest to be imposed, if the residents fail to pay the tax for the current financial year by March 31. Mayor Inderjit Kaur said the amount collected from residents was used for providing basic amenities to them and taking up development works in the city. For facilitating the residents in submitting the tax in time, the MC has decided to keep its zonal suvidha kendras open on weekend and government holiday too. Besides working days, the kendras would remain open on Saturday (March 28), Sunday (March 29) and Tuesday (March 31), a government holiday, during routine working hours. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 27 Lack of transparency in civic body functioning and failure to upload essential data on the official website have been flagged as major concerns by councillor Bhupinder Kaur of Ward 93 in her representation to Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria. She alleged that the Municipal Corporation(MC), Ludhiana, has consistently withheld information on project estimates, tenders and progress reports, leaving residents in the dark and undermining constitutional mandates. The councillor stresses that the outdated and incomplete digital platform of the corpo- ration has become symbolic of a wider administrative crisis, creating conditions for corruption to thrive. She points out that despite the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act and the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act mandating openness in civic works, no data on project estimates, tenders or progress is being made public. The official website of the MC, she notes, remains outdated and fails to provide a dashboard of ongoing development projects, undermining the spirit of e-governance. The councillor highlights ambiguity in the recent recruitment of sanitation workers, stating that there was no clarity on their deployment, attendance or verifica- tion, which has led to unhygienic conditions in several areas, including her ward. She further alleges that repeated requests for basic data had been stonewalled by officials, suggesting deliberate suppression of information to facilitate corrupt practices. According to her, this opacity has resulted in sub-standard infrastructure, financial losses through inflated estimates and “ghost projects,” and operational chaos in sanitation management. In her letter, Bhupinder Kaur has sought urgent intervention from the Governor. She has demanded a high-level inquiry into sanitation recruitment, mandatory public disclosure of ward- wise development works, immediate publication of duty rosters for sanitation staff and a special audit of projects undertaken in the past two financial years. She has also called for disciplinary action against officials found guilty of withholding information and requested an actiontaken report within 10 working days. Positioning her representation as a whistleblower complaint, the councillor emphasised that the corporation was meant to serve the people and not operate as a closeddoor entity. She urged decisive action to safeguard public funds and restore accountability in Ludhiana’s civic administration. Three of family attacked at Youth dies of suspected 2 brothers barge into house, village, youngster critical drug overdose in Jagraon attack family in Haibowal Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 27 A minor dispute escalated into a violent clash in which three members of a family were brutally assaulted with bricks, stones and sticks at Chaunta village under the jurisdiction of the Koom Kalan police station here. One youth, Babu Din, sustained serious head injuries and was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, in a critical condition. According to the police, the incident occurred around 8:30 pm when Masoom Ali, a resident of Chaunta, was buy- ing something from a grocery shop near the bus stand. He was accompanied by his cousin Najir, a resident of Bhagpur village. The complainant alleged that some persons, who were under the influence of liquor, reached the place and started beating them. When Masoom Ali’s mother Bano Najir and brother Babu Din came to rescue him, the assailants also attacked them. The miscreants allegedly pelted bricks and stones at them and used sticks to assault the victims. Masoom and his mother received mul- tiple injuries, while Babu Din suffered serious injuries on the head. He fell unconscious and was bleeding profusely. The suspects fled the scene after issuing threats. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital from where Babu was referred to the PGI. ASI Gurmeet Singh said the condition of Babu was critical. On the complaint of Masoom, the police on Thursday registered a case against Karn, Bobby, Shani, Ravi, Nikku, Sanjay and seven unidentified persons under appropriate sections. The police also launched a manhunt to nab them. Ludhiana, March 27 A 26-year-old youth died due to suspected drug overdose in Mohalla Mai Jeena near Jagraon’s Raikot Adda on Friday afternoon. The deceased has been identified as Iqbal Singh, a resident of the area. On receiving information, a team from the Jagraon police station, led by SHO inspector Parminder Singh, reached the spot. The police took the body into custody and sent to the Civil Hospital for a postmortem examination. Baldev Singh, father of the deceased, told the police that his son was addicted to “chitta” (a synthetic drug) and also c m y b consumed alcohol. Iqbal had gone out with some acquaintances earlier in the day. Around 2:30 pm, two boys dropped him at home, after which he collapsed and died. Inspector Parminder Singh, SHO, City police station, Jagraon, said the exact cause of death would be ascertained only after the arrival of the autopsy report. He said action would be taken on the basis of statements of his kin. The family has shared details of the two persons with whom the deceased had gone out. The police have initiated further investigation into the matter. — TNS Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 27 Two brothers barged into a house in Tarsem Colony, Haibowal, and attacked a family performing Kanjak Puja to mark Ram Navami on Friday. The suspects also allegedly spoke against the rituals. On the complaint of the family, a case was registered against the suspects under Sections 298 and 351 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The complainant, Sandeep Kumar, a resident of Tarsem Colony, told the police in his statement that on Thursday, Navaratri and Ram Navami were being celebrated at his home. After a nine-day fast, the family was preparing for Kanjak Pujan. “We were performing rituals and serving food to girls. Meanwhile, two brothers from the neighbourhood, Richard Joy and his brother Javed Chauhan, forcibly entered our house. They became enraged upon seeing the rituals. They also used filthy language in front of the family and guests,” he said. When the victim’s family tried to stop the suspects and asked them to leave, they became more violent. They abused him and even threatened to kill him. This incident not only disrupted the rituals but also frightened the children. The police said strict action would be taken against the suspects to prevent such incidents in the future.