01042026-LT-01.qxd 4/1/2026 1:02 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune NEED ANOTHER WEEK TO OPEN DOMORIA BRIDGE ADVANI CLINCHES 9-BALL POOL TITLE ON DEBUT ENJOY AUTHENTIC PAHADI CUISINE AT SIYARAM SIDDU MC chief attributes delay torecent rain, additional work; earlier said bridge will be opened by March-end. P2 Pankaj Advani, 28-time world billiards and snooker champion, adds another feather to his cap. P2 Siyaram Siddu offers mouth-watering siddus at its outlets at Panthaghati, Theog, Fagu and Shimla. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 31°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 32°C | MIN 16°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6:41 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:11 AM WEDNESDAY | 1 APRIL 2026 | LUDHIANA Man killed, girl injured in explosionat Ladhowal toll plaza rates illegal cracker unit on village outskirts hiked by ~5 from today Over 10 workers rescued safely with coordinated efforts of villagers, police Mahesh Sharma Raikot, March 31 A massive explosion took place in a house situated on the outskirts of Jodhan village, which was being used illegally for manufacturing firecrackers. One person, Kaif Shah, suspected to be the cracker manufacturer, succumbed to his injuries after he was taken to a hospital while a girl, Alisha (13), was also injured in the incident. About 12 occupants of the building were rescued safely with the coordinated efforts of villagers and the Dakha police, led by DSP Varinder Singh Khosa. Daljit Singh, owner of a plot adjoining the house being used as a cracker factory, said a massive explosion had occurred late on Tuesday evening due to which two lintels of his building collapsed. Though all cattle were saved as these were outside the Man succumbs to injuries sustained in scuffle at Manali Ludhiana, March 31 The Jamalpur police have initiated a probe into the death of Mandeep Sharma, a 36year-old resident of GTB Nagar of Mundian Kalan, who succumbed to injuries inflicted in a recent scuffle at Manali in Himachal Pradesh. An FIR has been registered against Ajai Sharma of Kailash Nagar and Rohit Verma of Ramgarh for allegedly causing death due to negligence. Investigating officer Gurinder Singh said the case had been registered on the statement of Mandeep Sharma’s brother Amardeep Sharma but further action would be taken on the basis of autopsy report. Preliminary probe revealed that the victim and the suspects had gone on an official tour to Manali. Mandeep was injured in a scuffle with someone following a collision with a car. Though Mandeep had allegedly received grave injuries during the scuffle, Ajai and Rohit did not arrange for his treatment. It was after the insistence of the kin of the deceased that Rohit and Ajai took him to a healthcare centre at Mandi from where he was referred to a multispecialty hospital in Ludhiana. Mandeep was declared dead at the Ludhiana hospital on Sunday. The victim is survived by his wife, son and daughter. — OC Firecrackers lying at the illegal unit on outskirts of Jodhan village. building, infrastructure worth lakhs were destroyed due to the explosion. He said the owner of the adjoining building, Deepa, had given his property on Fugitive Shaganpreet’s father lands in police net in extortion case Mahesh Sharma Payal, March 31 The Khanna police claimed to have arrested one of the accomplices of gangster Balwinder Singh Doni Ball, who had made extortion calls to a trader of Payal recently. The suspect has been identified as Saudagar Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib district, who is the father of elusive criminal Shaganpreet Singh Shagan at present staying in Australia. Shagan is a former manager of singer Sidhu Moosewala and also a proclaimed offender in the Middukhera murder case. DSP Mohit Kumar Singla said the police had arrested one out of the three suspects booked at the Payal police station for making extortion calls to a trader of the region recently. It was during investigation that the police identified Balwinder Singh, alias Doni Ball, of Sathiala village in Beas, who is handling illegal activities from foreign countries. Singla said further investigation had revealed that Shagan and his father Saudagar Singh of Fatehgarh district were also involved in the case related to extortion calls to the Payal trader. “Having confirmed the involvement of Saudagar in illegal activities being undertaken by Shagan, we included his name in the FIR and arrested him,” he said, adding that intensive investigation of Saudagar was expected to yield information about illegal activities of other accomplices of the miscreants. Investigation revealed that Doni is a member of Bambiha-Rana Kandowalia gang and had managed to flee to foreign countries on the basis of fake passports and forged documents. He is also wanted in a number of criminal cases including that of murder, attempt to murder and robbery. Saudagar is suspected to be acting as the local conduit of Ball and Shagan. Earlier Shagan’s mother Dalbir Kaur had complained to the DGP Punjab, accusing the , Payal police of illegally detaining her husband Saudagar. A Payal-based commission agent had informed the police of receiving calls and voice messages from a foreign number demanding Rs 1 crore extortion, following which the police initiated a probe leading to arrest of Saudagar. rent to some migrant labourers who had set up cracker manufacturing unit illegally. Though the police are yet to ascertain the exact reason behind the explosion, circumstantial evidence suggests that a huge quantity of raw material for making crackers filled in bags had caught fire due to some spark. The DSP, who supervised the rescue operation, said two persons, including a girl and an elderly person, were injured in the incident. The girl received injuries in the head but the other person succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. Preliminary investigations revealed that some miscreants had been involved in the manufacturing of crackers in violation of the Explosive Act, 1884, for a long time in the region. The owner, now injured critically, had recently stocked heavy quantities of explo- sives on the premises, the police said. Owners of buildings situated on the outskirts of the village had been renting their premises, unaware of consequences of illegal activities being undertaken by tenants. Recently, a similar explosion occurred at a house, situated in congested lanes of Indira Colony in Ludhiana in which about 12 persons, including children, were injured. Illegal stock of crackers and raw material for preparing the same were kept at the house. Army personnel were also called for undertaking the rescue operation with the help of officials of the Mullanpur fire brigade unit. The rescue operations, which continued from 8.30 pm to 10.30 on Tuesday, would be resumed on Wednesday morning said Karamjit SIngh, Executive Magistrate. Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 31 Commuters and residents passing through the Ladhowal Toll Plaza, one of busiest toll plazas in the state, will have to shell out more money from April 1 onwards. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has released new rates for the toll plaza. The new rates will be implemented at the toll from 12 pm tonight. According to the recent notification, the toll rates has been increased by Rs 5. On the other hand, cash transactions at the plaza will be completely stopped from April 1. Last year also, the toll rates were increased from April 1 and an increase of Rs 5 was recorded that time. Now, ~225 have to be paid for car, jeep Toll manager Vipin Rai said the rates had been revised based on the notification issued by the NHAI on March 27. Car, jeep or van at the Ladhow- Ladhowal Toll Plaza is one of the busiest in the state. FILE al plaza will now have to pay Rs 225 instead of Rs 220 for single side. At the same time, instead of Rs 335 for a round trip (both sides), one has to pay Rs 340. A single trip of LCV, LGV or mini bus will be charged Rs 365 instead of Rs 360 and double trip will be Rs 550 (previously Rs 545). The monthly pass of Rs 340 has also been marginally increased by Rs 10. Annual pass for long dis- tance commercial vehicles and regular commuters has become expensive. Its old rate was Rs 3,000 and now, it costs Rs 3,075. The pass includes 200 trips. Toll tax rates are determined based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). This fee is determined based on the length of the road, flyover, underpass and facilities provided. The list of the new rates has been put up at the toll plaza. Sanitation workers dump garbage on road in protest at Pratap Chowk, commuters face trouble Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, March 31 A tense situation unfolded at Pratap Chowk on Tuesday when several sanitation workers staged a protest against the Municipal Corporation (MC) by dumping garbage in the middle of the road and sitting on a dharna. They raised slogans against Local Bodies Minister Sanjeev Arora and Municipal Corporation officials. The workers alleged that after working for four to five hours in the field they collect garbage by going door to door. Afterwards, they have to spend six to eight hours for unloading the garbage at dumping sites. There are 32 dumps in the city and the workers have been demanding to raise the number to 85 for easy workflow. The 32 dumping sites have compactor sites and the same are managed by a private company. For the past three days, compactor drivers and garbage collection vehicle operators have been on strike, leaving the dumping facility closed. As a result, the sanitation workers have been forced to wait for hours to unload Garbage dumped on a road by sanitation workers at Pratap Chowk in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN EMPLOYEES GET ASSURANCE Officials assured the employees that they would no longer have to wait for hours to dispose of waste and promised to streamline the system. Following the assurance, the workers ended their protest and cleared the garbage from the road. waste, while officials have failed to intervene. According to the protesting employees, the strike has led to the closure of dump gates, forcing those who collect household waste on carts to wait up to six hours before they can dispose of the same. They further accused the corporation of reneging on its earlier assurance that garbage collection would not be privatised. Despite promises, no written guarantee has been provided. In a dramatic move, the sanitation workers overturned carts filled with garbage onto the main road at Pratap Chowk, spreading stench across the area and bringing traffic to a standstill. The road remained blocked for nearly 90 minutes, causing inconvenience to commuters. “I was stuck in the jam for nearly an hour, surrounded by the stench of garbage. It was frustrating and exhausting. The authorities need to act faster so ordinary people don’t suffer like this,” said Komal, a commuter. “The foul smell was unbearable and with the road completely jammed, it felt like the whole city had come to a halt. Waiting in traffic for so long in such conditions was miserable,” said another commuter. Senior officials of the corporation rushed to the spot after realising the gravity of the situation. The authorities managed to pacify the protesting workers and ordered the reopening of the dump gates. Officials assured the employees that they would no longer have to wait for hours to dispose of waste and promised to streamline the system. Following the assurance, the workers ended their protest and cleared the garbage from the road. Despite the temporary resolution, the sanitation workers issued a stern warning that if the corporation fails to improve its functioning and provide a permanent solution to the dumping issue, similar protests would be staged at other key intersections across the city in coming days. Suspected dyeing industry effluents Kin accuse ASI of illegally detaining youth found in fields near Tajpur Road He ran away from car while being brought to police station, says cop Mahesh Sharma Ludhiana, March 31 A fresh case of industrial pollution has come to light in the city with suspected dyeing industry effluents found accumulated in open agricultural fields near Tajpur Road, near Balaji Puli in Puneet Nagar here. The incident was reported by the public action committee (PAC) in the evening on Tuesday. Geotagged photographs and videos recorded at the site show wastewater spread across farmland, with a dark red coloration consistent with textile dyeing effluents. The proximity of the site to textile processing units has raised serious concerns about unlawful discharge of untreated or partially treated industrial waste. The effluents are currently stagnant in the fields, posing immediate risk of seepage into soil and groundwater. Experts warn that such contamination could damage agricultural productivity and lead to long-term public health hazards through polluted local water sources. The PAC has formally written to the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Ludhiana, with a copy to its member secretary, seeking urgent intervention. The complaint stresses the need for immediate site inspection and collection of samples before the effluent infiltrates the ground and critical evidence is lost. The committee has cautioned that any delay in sampling will dilute or erase primary evidence, undermining enforcement under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. In its communication, the committee has demanded identification of responsible industrial units, verification of effluent treatment systems and initiation of legal action in case of violations. —TNS c m y b Raikot, March 31 Members of a family from the Boparai village in Ludhiana district have accused a Ludhiana (rural) police ASI of harassing their son, picking him up from a workshop at Sudhar town and detaining him at an unknown police station. The police have denied charges levelled against the ASI, claiming that the youth was called to the Dakha police station to record his statement in connection with alleged derogatory remarks made on social media against the uniformed force and its officials. The youth, identified as Hanauk Singh Honey, had allegedly run away while local residents were bringing him to the Dakha police station in a private car on March 24, said sources at the police station. Satnam Singh and Surinder Kaur Rani alleged that ASI Narinder Kumar had been harassing their son Honey and had detained him at an unidentified location since March 24. Dakha SHO Kuljinder Singh Grewal denied the family’s allegations against Kumar. Grewal said Honey was called to the police station to provide a statement in connection with derogatory remarks made on social media against police personnel, particularly Narinder Kumar. “He ran away from a private car while being brought to the police station on March 24,” said Grewal, claiming that the police was in possession of video clips that showed him running away and trying to hide in a shop at a busy market on the Mullanpur-Raikot road. The police said Honey was earlier booked for allegedly selling a stolen car and the family had developed a personal grudge against Kumar since he was the investigating officer in the case.