30042026-LT-01.qxd 4/30/2026 12:56 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune FOCUS ON DEVP, NOT ‘POLITICAL VENDETTAS’: CONG TO ARORA Congress councillors condemned registration of a case against party’s block president Inderjit Indi. P2 » ‘WITHDRAW DECISION TO OUTSOURCE SEWER WORK’ MAKE YOUR LIVING SPACE BRIGHTER AND BREEZIER MC workers have raised objections to recent approval to outsource sewer work in 26 wards. P2 April décor is about how a space feels. Sensory elements becoming essential, especially as temps rise. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 22°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 23°C SUNSET THURSDAY 6.59 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5:40 AM THURSDAY | 30 APRIL 2026 | LUDHIANA Faulty, damaged manholes putting lives of commuters at risk across city Personal rivalry likely reason behind Jagraon firing, say cops Kin also give names of suspicious persons to police Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service No effective action taken to fix issue by Municipal Corporation, say locals Sukhpreet Singh Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 29 The Municipal Corporation (MC) has failed to repair a large number of faulty manholes across the city, leaving residents and commuters at risk. Several manholes are either above or below the road level while many covers are damaged or missing, creating serious safety hazards. Areas such as Ghumar Mandi, BRS Nagar, Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar, Field Ganj and Haibowal are among the worst affected. Residents say the problem has persisted for months but no effective action has been taken by the civic body. Commuters complain that manholes above the road surface often lead to sudden jerks for two-wheeler riders and can cause accidents, especially at night. At the same time, sunken manholes create deep pits on busy roads, making driving difficult and increasing chances Several manholes are either above or below the road level while many covers are damaged or missing across Ludhiana. INDERJEET VERMA of vehicles losing balance. The situation becomes more dangerous when manhole covers are broken or missing. Such open manholes or weak covers pose a threat to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike. In several places, temporary fixes such as placing stones or wooden planks have been used, which offer little safety. A resident of BRS Nagar, Rajesh Kumar, said: “The condition of roads has become risky due to uneven manholes. Many times, two-wheeler riders lose control over their vehicles when they hit these raised or sunken manhole covers. We have complained several times but no permanent solution has been provided.” Sunita Sharma, a resident of Haibowal, said: “Damaged manhole covers are a serious danger, especially for children and elderly people. During night, it becomes difficult to spot these hazards and accidents can happen anytime.” Local residents allege that despite repeated complaints to the MC, the issue has not been addressed on a priority basis. They have urged the authorities to conduct a survey of all faulty manholes and repair them in minimum possible time. Superintending Engineer Harpreet Singh said: “We have already taken the matter in consideration and raised the same in a meeting conducted by senior officials and soon, faulty manholes will be repaired”. Banquet staff assaulted by groom’s City trader shares video father after being told to clear bills on social media alleging Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 29 A commotion broke out during a wedding reception at the Southend Gardens in South City here when marriage palace staff demanded the remaining booking amount. The groom’s father and his accomplices attacked the general manager and other employees. The matter escalated to such an extent that the suspects tried to run over the employees with their car and vandalised the firm owner’s luxury car. The police reached the scene after getting information about the incident. On the complaint of Jaspreet Singh, GM of the marriage palace, the Sadar police registered a case against Harpal Singh (groom’s father), Jass of City Enclave, Gopi Kumar, Dilip Kumar of Manakwal, SUSPECTS BOOKED ON SEVERAL CHARGES Investigating officer ASI Harcharan Singh said the police registered a case against the suspects on the charges of attempt to murder, snatching, criminal intimidation and launched a search for them. Sunny Pandey of Salem Tabri and their unidentified associates. Police sources said on the intervening night of April 27 and 28, a wedding reception for Harpal’s son was being held at the palace. Some bills were pending and the GM asked Harpal to pay the same. On demanding the payment, Harpal became enraged and along with his associates, began brutally assaulting the GM and other workers, Ghulam Ali and Vashisht Kumar. The suspect tried to run over their Ford car over the general manager at a high speed, potentially killing him. Furthermore, they snatched a gold chain from the palace owner, Sahil Agarwal, and vandalised his Toyota Fortuner vehicle parked there. There was a chaos after the incident at the wedding venue. The employees said they simply asked the groom’s father to clear the bills but instead they were brutally beaten. Investigating officer ASI Harcharan Singh said the police registered a case against the suspects on the charges of attempt to murder, snatching, criminal intimidation and launched a search for them. threats from gangster Ludhiana, April 29 A Ludhiana-based trader, Sunil Dhir, who owns a shop, ‘Cover King Mobile Shop’, in Ghumar Mandi and Dugri, alleged threat and extortion calls from a gangster. The shopkeeper, who appeared distraught, posted a video on social media, referring to a threat call from a gangster. In the video he says: “Either stop harassing me and my family or shoot me in the head.” “I and my sister are constantly receiving threatening calls. The gangster says that if we don’t pay Rs 1 lakh every month, he will shoot us in the head,” Dhir alleged. Dhir said he was being harassed on WhatsApp and social media with photos of his wife and family members and obscene songs were being played in the background. He was facing mental torture. When the police came to know about the incident, they swung into action. ACP Civil , Lines, Sarabjit Singh Cheema, said acting on the complaint, the police registered a case and action was being taken in the matter. The mobile number was also put on surveillance. Dhir in the video said: “I recently opened a new shop in Dugri. The gangster even called my sister and threatened her that if money was not paid, he will shot me in the head.” He further shared in the video that what’s wrong I have done to anyone? I’m neither upset with the police administration nor with the state government. Officials are doing their duties and even protecting me.” The trader alleged that if anything happens to him, the responsibility would not be on the administration or the police but on the one who was threatening him and his family. — TNS Ludhiana, April 29 The firing at a house in Rumi village, Jagraon, was not the handiwork of a organised gang, rather personal rivalry of a family was being suspected as the key reason, stated the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Ludhiana Rural, Ankur Gupta. Notably, two unidentified bike-borne persons had fired six rounds of gunshots at the house of Paramjit Kaur early on Monday morning. Out of fear, the family did not come out of the house to check but later in the morning, family members were shocked to see the main gate riddled with bullet holes. While talking to The Tribune here on Wednesday, the SSP said initially there was suspicion that some organised gang might be behind the shooting incident. However, during police investigation and questioning of family members, angle of personal enmity was found. “An organised gang is not behind the shooting, instead, the preliminary investigation of the police has found that family’s personal enmity could be the reason. A special police team has been formed to trace the suspects and the persons behind the conspiracy,” Dr Gupta said. The SSP said the family had also given some names to the police, for registering the FIR, suspecting their role behind the firing and during their questioning, their role was not found. Hence, so far the police registered a case against unidentified persons only. The police would not spare the real culprits involved in the crime. Gupta held that now Paramjit Kaur has raised a suspicion on a Canadabased businessman, at whose place her husband had worked for about twoand-a-half years. Kaur had claimed that her husband had to work at the place of that businessman for seven to eight years as per agreement but he left the job and started working somewhere else. Kaur suspected that the businessman could have been nursing a grudge against her husband and due to the reason, he might have sent men to fire shots at their house in Jagraon. “We have verified names of some local persons against whom the victim family had raised suspicion but their role was not found. Now, the Canada angle is being verified and legal action will be taken as per law if role of any person whether staying in the country or abroad is found,” Gupta revealed SSP . With help of CCTVs, cops get info of exit route Police sources said a special team formed to crack the case had been consistently checking CCTV cameras and over 50 cameras are already checked. On the basis of the footage, the police have got to know about the exit route of the suspects. Police teams are establishing a CCTV trail to reach out to the suspects who came on a motorcycle to fire the shots. The police suspect that bike-borne suspects could have been hired by the person who wanted to intimidate the family. SAD, Cong target AAP over unscheduled power cuts Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 29 The ruling government in the state may be claiming about surplus power in Punjab and no shortage of power, the fact remains that unannounced power cuts being imposed on both domestic and industrial users have inconvenienced the people. After taking a dig at the chronology of events when trusted men of AAP left the party, the Congress and SAD have started targeting the ruling party over unscheduled power cuts. Former president of the District Congress Committee, Ludhiana (Urban), and ex-chairman of the Punjab Large Industrial Development Board, Pawan Dewan, has launched a blistering attack on the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government over the worsening power crisis in the state, particularly in densely populated Ludhiana. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Dewan said it was “shameful” that with the onset of summer, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has begun imposing hour-long power cuts, even though the paddy season has not yet started. Pointing out that the PSPCL had officially announced scheduled power cuts across five major districts — Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Bathinda and Patiala — in the last week of this month, Dewan said: “According to the notice, residents will face daily outages lasting 8 to 10 hours, severely impacting households and daily life.” Taking aim at the government’s repeated claims of Punjab being a “power surplus” state, Dewan questioned: “If the state has 14,500 MW available from various sources, why are power cuts being imposed, particularly in Ludhiana?” He pointed out that while the peak load touched 9,478 MW earlier this week, the demand during Tuesday afternoon hovered between 6,000 MW and 6,500 MW — far below the claimed capacity. “Then why is the PSPCL resorting to cuts?” he asked. Akalis to hold protest today Further, the SAD is going to hold a massive protest at BRS Nagar, opposite the PSPCL office on April 30. Party leaders said frequent and prolonged power outages have left domestic consumers to suffer in the scorching heat. Senior SAD leader Paropkar Singh Ghuman said the industry was also crying due to interrupted power supply. The AAP government was claiming to have surplus power then where is the power being diverted? Deformity no deterrent, Jodhan doc reaches Everest Base Camp Man who attacked Dr Rupinder Kaur was only participant from Punjab in group of six differently abled persons live-in partner faces public wrath Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 29 Dr Rupinder Kaur, a female Ayurveda doctor, working as a Ayurveda Medical Officer at PHC, Jodhan, Ludhiana, with 65 per cent deformity in both legs, has redefined courage by reaching the Everest Base Camp, proving that determination can overcome even the toughest physical barriers. Her journey stands as a powerful reminder that sympathy is not what one needs, the real strength lies in pushing oneself to explore the world beyond limitations. The only participant from Punjab in a group of six differently-abled individuals, she completed the challenging expedition organised by Tinkesh Ability Foundation Dr Rupinder Kaur moving towards the Everest Base Camp. (TAF) with unwavering spirit. Her achievement is not only a personal milestone but also an inspiring message to countless others that no obstacle is too great when the will to move forward is stronger. Talking to The Tribune, Dr Kaur said she was a wheel- chair user polio survivor who reached the Everest Base Camp with other differently-abled persons from different states. c m y b “Tinkesh from the TAF himself is a triple amputee while other had disabilities in legs, arms, knees, etc. At the age of four months, polio afflicted but the constant support of the family provided me courage to fulfil my dreams. I did Bachelor of Ayurveda Medical and Surgery from Moga and then started my job. But I always liked mountains and on phone, I used to watch people scaling heights. It was last year that I came to know about the expedition when I visited Goa,” said Dr Kaur, adding that deformity was taken normally and in a positive way when a group was talking about organising expedition. Dr Kaur became part of it and she decided to go trekking for which she dai- ly practiced using wheelchair for hours at the PAU. She done it as practice to check if she felt loss of breath or had any other health- related issues. She got her wheelchair customised as per her convenience so that she can be a part of the expedition. “It was not easy, my legs and hands used to hurt like anything but then positivity by the organisers failed to dampen my spirits and I moved on. I also took help from a piggyback rider too. On April 14, we reached the base camp of Mount Everest. Don’t look at us with sympathy, be our solid support and motivate people like me that we are any other normal being. We are ready to push ourselves, just give the direction,” she added. Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 29 The suspect who brutally attacked his live-in partner in the city faced the wrath of locals on Wednesday. After being on the run for five days, people spotted him in the area and apprehended him. The victim’s neighbours and local residents alleged that since the incident, the suspect had been hiding and avoiding to pay for her live-in partner’s treatment. On Wednesday, when he came to the area, they surrounded him and put a garland of slippers around his neck and beat him severely. People said on one hand, he left the woman half dead and on the other, he was now running away from his responsibility. Sources said the suspect was used to consume alcohol, which his partner opposed. The argument escalated to a point where he attacked the woman, leaving her seriously injured. She was hospitalised, but the suspect had been reneging on his promise to pay for her treatment for the past five days. Following which, the police was called by the residents and the suspect was handed over to them.