03042026-JTR-01.qxd 4/3/2026 12:03 AM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune PROTESTERS BLOCK TRAFFIC OVER HP ENTRY TAX HIKE INDIA’S FIGHTER STAKES CLAIM AT HIGH-OCTANE MMA FIGHT NIGHT THE TEASER OF 'THE RAMAYANA' UNVEILS A FASCINATING WORLD AAP and Taxi Union, Talwara, staged a protest against an increase in entry toll imposed by the HP Govt. P2 Mandi Department officials said the delay is primarily due to weather conditions affecting crop maturity. P3 Immediate standout is its sheer scale — the grandeur of palaces, the mystique of forests, and the intensity of war.P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 30°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 17°C SUNSET FRIDAY 6.48 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:13 AM » FRIDAY | 3 APRIL 2026 | JALANDHAR Channi builds house near city to shed ‘outsider’ tag, invites leaders 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. Hosts house-warming party for his political friends from 9 Assembly segments Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service INBRIEF 3 BOOKED FOR ~11 LAKH FRAUD Phagwara: The police have registered a case against three individuals for cheating and criminal breach of trust following a complaint regarding a fraudulent property deal. The accused have been identified as Lakhwinder Kaur, Kulwinder Kaur and Kulvir Singh, all residents of a village near Nakodar. According to complainant Baldev Singh Aujla, a resident of Uggi village, the accused took Rs 11 lakh from him after he entered into an agreement with them for the sale of a house. However, the accused failed to transfer the possession of the property and refused to return his money. According to officials, an investigation has been launched to verify the claims and appropriate legal action would be taken against the accused. OC MAN BOOKED FOR MURDER Phagwara: The Nakodar police have booked Gurdev Singh of a village in Mehatpur, who is residing in Nakodar. According to complainant Amanpreet Singh of Shahkot, the accused was responsible for the killing of his uncle Amarjit Singh. He said after the accused committed the crime, he tried to destroy evidence by disposing of the victim's body. The police have registered a case related to murder and destruction of evidence against the accused. An investigation was in progress and efforts were being made to locate the accused and collect evidence. OC A view of Punjab NRI Sabha office, Jalandhar. Hold NRI Sabha elections before Dec 31, rules HC Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 2 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered that the elections to NRI Sabha will be held by December 31 and the process for the poll should be initiated by September. The orders were passed today as member of the sabha Karan Singh Randhawa had moved the court for the second round of litigation, saying that even as the tenure of president Parvinder Kaur Banga had expired on January 5 this year, the process of election had not yet started. In the first round of litigation, chairman of the NRI Sabha-cum-Divisional Commissioner, Jalandhar, had stated that the process of election had been initiated. The respondent waited for a few months after the order on December 23 last and again approached the HC through senior advocate Mandeep Sachdev with a plea that even the lists of the eligible members had not been published. On this, the counsel for NRI Sabha chairman responded, saying that it was not desirable to conduct the elections during summer season as most of the NRIs preferred to stay out of country. They visit India during winter season. The participation of members would reduce. After the response, the court of Justice Jagmohan Bansal ordered that the election process should be initiated by September and the election should conclude before the end of the year. “If the respondent does not initiate the process well within time, the petitioner will be free to move an appropriate application”, the order reads. Meanwhile, in a note of the Commissioner, Jalandhar Division, it has been mentioned that the election held in January 2024 involved an expenditure of Rs 11 lakh with participation of only 160 voters. He estimated that the participation could be as low as only 50 members in the summer season and that the expected expenditure could rise to Rs 12-14 lakh. The sabha also reasoned that the travel of NRIs had been impacted owing to current international situation. There are 23,000 members of the NRI Sabha and the participation last year was as low as 0.7 per cent. Jalandhar, April 2 Politics has heated up in Jalandhar as former Chief Minister and MP Charanjit Singh Channi hosted a house-warming party for his colleagues and leaders from nine Assembly segments. A palatial house, raised on five kanal land at Khajurla village near Jalandhar Cantonment, was the venue of a series of party to be held over the next few days. Prior to Channi, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had built his house in Jalandhar and regularly holds lok milnis. This morning, Channi organised ‘bhog of Sehaj Path’ after which langar was organised. About 100 persons had been invited by him, including local MLAs Hardev S Laddi Sherowalia, Pargat Singh, Bawa Henry and Sukhwinder Kotli. Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary, who does not get along with Channi, was missing. Halqa in-charges Dr Navjot Dahiya, Rajinder Singh and Rajinder Beri too were present. Owners of media houses and some heads of religious deras too attended the event. The move is being seen as an attempt on his part to shed the ‘outsider’ tag attached to him by his political opponents in Jalandhar since he was earlier staying in Jalandhar temporarily. “I had promised to my people that I would shift to Jalandhar. So I have fulfilled my promise. I had bought a land here last year. Now that it is ready, I will start my political activity here. Since there are nine segments falling under my constituency, I will host workers and supporters Five reject AAP Legal Cell posts Our Correspondent Unpredictable weather patterns have troubled farmers in Jalandhar district. From heat to sudden rain, erratic weather fuels farmers’ anxiety Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 2 Unpredictable weather patterns have troubled farmers in the district, leaving them anxious about crop yields and financial stability. From unseasonal heat to untimely rain, the past few weeks saw rapid shifts in weather that also affected wheat in some areas. March began with unusually high temperatures, raising concerns about the health of the wheat crop during its crucial growth stage. It was then being dreaded that the heat will prove detrimental for the crop. This was soon followed by rainfall. Those who had irrigated their fields witnessed their crops flatten due to the combined effect of waterlogging and winds. Farmers say the uncertainty has kept them constantly on the edge. Amarjit Singh from Charke village said such erratic conditions have affected crops earlier as well, but the frequency and intensity appear to have increased. “This time, sugarcane, paddy and now wheat have been hit,” he said. Echoing similar concerns, Subeg Singh from a village near Nakodar said, “Erratic weather conditions are troubling us and ‘asi kuch nahee kar skde. Kisan te upar hi dekhda rehnda hai’”, highlighting the helplessness. (“We cannot do anything. A farmer can only look up to the Almighty.”) Meanwhile, farmers are now hopeful. Amrit Singh from Hardaspur village said with rain having stopped, the wheat crop is expected to mature properly. “We hope to begin harvesting within 10 days,” he added. Last season, thousands of acres of paddy in Kapurthala were destroyed due to floods, adding to farmers’ distress. The farmers had suffered huge losses then. Farmers said unpredictable weather conditions every season is giving them stress and now they are only praying that they harvest the crop without any problem. With livelihoods heavily dependent on stable weather conditions, farmers continue to monitor forecast closely, hoping for a smooth harvest season ahead. Hoshiarpur, April 2 A day after the AAP’s Punjab unit announced appointments to its Legal Cell, a controversy erupted as five advocates from Hoshiarpur district, named as district joint secretaries, denied giving consent for their inclusion in the list. As per the official list, Sandeep Bharti has been appointed as district president. Sunil Kumar, Ankit Sharma, and Arsh Badhan have been named as district vice-presidents, while Sudarshan Sharma has been appointed as district secretary. Party had appointed nine district joint secretaries, including Jasleen Kaur Sachdeva, Amritpal Singh Takkhi, Varun Sharma, Manish Patiyal, Ishan Kaushal, Puneet Joshi, Umesh Sharma, Munish Joshi and Vishwas Badial. However, the controversy arose as five of these appointees, Ishan Kaushal, Umesh Sharma, Munish Joshi, Varun Sharma and Manish Patiyal, issued two separate signed clarification, stating that they were aware of their inclusion in the list. They said their names were included without their permission. c m y b Congress leaders from Jalandhar at the house-warming function of MP Charanjit Channi on Thursday. A TRIBUNE PHOTO from each segments at my place”, said Channi. The house had been decked up with drapes and flowers. Furniture, including sofas, are still being readied. Channi showed the set-up. “We have constructed only a one-bed room house here. The entire ground floor will be dedicated to party work. I have made two big halls for meeting. The lawn can be used to organise meetings and events,” he said. A staunch believer in Vastu, Channi has left the Northeast portion of the house unconstructed and intends to use it as his lawn. Jalandhar is a preferred location of politicians for several reasons. Keeping a political base in Jalandhar is a calibrated move of leaders since it PARTIES DEFERRED Due to the death of Congress leader from Bathinda (Rural) Khusbaz Jattana in a road accident in Sonepat, Charanjit Channi has postponed the house-warming ceremonies for the followers of hisconstituency. falls geographically at the centre of Punjab. Keeping a base here and moving about to other districts from here becomes convenient in election time. Jalandhar also is a hub of media houses. A nerve centre of Doaba, it has a sizable (39 pc) population of Dalit voters, upon whom almost all political parties depend. Channi is the only Dalit CM so far and thus has a huge following in Jalandhar. He had lost from two Assembly seats in 2022 - Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur. But in 2024, he had won with a huge margin of 1.75 lakh votes from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat. CM Bhagwant Mann, too, had taken a house on rent near Cantonment but had Revised toll charges come into effect at Ladowal plaza Our Correspondent PHAGWARA, APRIL 2 Commuters crossing the Ladowal Toll Plaza will pay more charges now, as revised rates have been implemented. The hike, though marginal, is expected to affect daily passengers and transport operators, who frequently pass through this key highway point. Ladowal Toll Plaza manager Vipin Rai told The Tribune that the revised rates have been introduced following a notification issued by the NHAI, with officials confirming that the updated toll structure has come into force from April 1. In addition to the rate revision, toll plazas have also Car owners will be charged ~225 for a single journey transitioned to a cashless system, discontinuing cash payments and mandating digital modes of transaction. As per the updated charges, car and van owners will now pay Rs 225 for a single journey, up from Rs 220, while the return trip rate has been increased to Rs 340 from Rs 335. Similarly, operators of light commercial vehicles, light goods vehicles and minibuses will be charged Rs 365 for a single trip instead of Rs 360, and Rs 550 for a round trip, compared to the earlier Rs 545. The monthly pass has also seen a slight increase of Rs 10 and will now cost Rs 350. Meanwhile, the annual pass for frequent commuters and commercial vehicles has been revised from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,075, allowing up to 200 trips. Rai stated that the revision in charges is based on the Wholesale Price Index, which takes into account factors such as road length, infrastructure development, including flyovers and underpasses, and the range of facilities available to commuters. The updated rate chart has been displayed at the toll plaza to inform the public about the new charges. Farmers write to Prez against US deal Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 2 As per the programme devised by the Sanyukt Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) India, farmers, under the Bharti Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur), organised a protest against the IndoUS trade deal here today. The farmers demanded that the agriculture, poultry and dairy sectors must be exempted from the deal as it will adversely impact these farm sectors. Handing over a demand letter to the President of India and the Chief Minister through the Deputy Commissioner in Jalandhar, district president, Bharti Kisan Union, Kulwinder Singh Machiana, speaking to mediapersons, said the farmers’ rightful demands include minimum support price (MSP) guarantee law, crop prices as per Dr Swaminathan Report, total debt waiver of farmers and labourers, etc. Farmers said the deal would destroy agriculture, poultry and dairy sectors. moved to government accommodation in Old Baradari almost three months ago. He has been holding Lok Milnis here and recently organised the birthday party of his daughter Niyamat in the same house. Scooter-borne couple robbed at knifepoint Phagwara, April 2 The police have registered a case against two men following a robbery in Kapurthala, where a man and his wife were stopped and robbed while travelling on a scooter. According to the complaint, the incident took place on Wednesday when the couple were heading from College Road towards Kartarpur. Near a house along the route, two men on a motorcycle approached from behind and asked them to stop their scooter. The accused have been identified as Sunil, also known as Shankar, and Karan, both residents of Kapurthala. As per the complaint, one of the men brandished a sharp-edged weapon, while the other removed the victim’s purse from his pocket. The purse contained two ATM cards, two identification cards, a PAN card, other important documents, and about Rs 20,000. After the robbery, both men fled the scene on their motorcycle. The police said a case has been registered under relevant sections of the law and further investigation is under way to arrest the accused and recover the stolen items. — OC