29052026-JTR-01.qxd 5/28/2026 10:40 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune CONGRESS HOLDS ‘BULLOCK CART MARCH’ IN PHAGWARA CITY WRESTLER EYES OLYMPIC GLORY AFTER NATIONAL SILVER SHERBET, SEVIAN & DOLLOPS OF HISTORY Opposing the continuous rise in petrol, diesel and essential commodity prices, the party staged a large-scale protest. P2 Inspired by his Taekwondo champion sister, 18-year-old wrestler Munish took up sports at a young age. P3 Eid-al-Adha in Amritsar is all about history, interfaith harmony, shared culture and good food. P4 » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 42°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 43°C | MIN 25°C SUNSET FRIDAY 7.25 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:24 AM » FRIDAY | 29 MAY 2026 | JALANDHAR 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. INBRIEF EARRINGS OF AAP LEADER’S MOTHER SNATCHED Phagwara: Unidentified miscreants allegedly targeted the mother of an Aam Aadmi Party leader and fled after snatching her gold earrings in Phagwara. Victim Swarnjeet Kaur said she was sitting outside her office while her daughter-in-law was taking a walk in the lane nearby. A youth approached her and snatched the earrings from both her ears before fleeing from the spot. AAP leader Mintu Walia said CCTV footage had captured the accused carrying out the crime, while another accomplice was waiting on a motorcycle nearby. Both suspects escaped immediately after executing the snatching. OC MAN HELD FOR BREWING LIQUOR Phagwara: The Nurmahal police have arrested a villager on charge of brewing illicit liquor. Two bottles of hooch and 20 litre lahan (raw liquor) and utensils for brewing were recovered from the accused Makhan Ram, a resident of Taggarr (Fatehpur) village. A case under Sections 61/1/14 of the Excise Act has been registered against the accused. OC MIGRANT TIPPER DRIVER ARRESTED Phagwara: The Nakodar Sadar police have arrested a migrant tipper driver on the charge of causing death by negligence. The accused has been identified as Golu Kumar, a resident of Muzaffarpur district, Bihar, Tarlok Chand of Sriganganagar in Rajasthan had complained to the police that the accused was driving his tipper tanker negligently on May 22 evening and hit his son Raj Kumar at Tut Kalan village resulting in his death. OC MAN HELD UNDER NDPS ACT Phagwara: The Bilga police have arrested a man on the charge of selling intoxicating tablets. As many as 42 intoxicating tablets were recovered from the possession of the accused Amarjit Singh, alias Marru, resident of Talwann village. A case under Sections 22/61/85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. oc Kapurthala admn, police under fire over security of ballot boxes Power outage, ‘unauthorised entry’ at strong room trigger late night protest Deepkamal Kaur NO CHANCE OF SECURITY BREACH: SSP Tribune News Service Kapurthala, May 28 The district administration and police in Kapurthala remained under fire from Opposition parties over the safety of ballot boxes since polling for the Municipal Corporation concluded on May 26. While four candidates of the Congress have written to the State Election Commission regarding an alleged unauthorised entry by AAP halqa in-charge Karambir Singh Chandi on the strong room premises containing sealed ballot boxes of the Kapurthala MC, a power outage and no back-up late last evening led to a huge protest in the city till 1 am. Leaders and workers of all parties, including the Congress, BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal, came on the roads in front of the Virsa Vihar and expressed their ire against the local administration for not assuring a continued power back-up at the strong room centre. SSP Gaurav Toora said, “Both incidents were handled carefully. Any possibility of sabotage is completely ruled out. Our SHO and DSP had reached the spot where the power failure took place and pacified the angry workers. Virsa Vihar is a gated campus. Our police personnel remained on guard all the of ❝Any possibilityout. sabotage is ruled Opposition party leaders stand outside a strong room in Kapurthala. time. There has been absolutely no chance of any security breach. We understand the anxiety in the minds of some people and we have attempted our best to satisfy all of them”. A massive fire broke out around 10 pm at the 138 KV power house in Kapurthala, forcing the authorities to shut down electricity supply as a precautionary measure. More than half of the city plunged into darkness amid scorching weather. Fire brigade teams had rushed to the spot to control the blaze. Officials and employees of the electricity department also reached the site to assess the situation and supervise restoration work. The exact cause of the fire is under investigation. Although electricity was restored in some areas, the supply could not be normalised completely even till this evening. A senior engineer of the department has assured residents that the issue will be resolved soon. Yesterday, candidates of the Congress — Deepak Salwan, Rajveer Singh Bawa, Vinod Kumar Sood and Manjinder Singh Sahi supported by Despite admn ban, outsourced teachers assigned Census duties Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 28 Despite a directive from the district administration barring departments from assigning Census duties to outsourced employees, several outsourced vocational teachers in Jalandhar claim they are still being given BLO and population Census work. They allege that they have been warned of legal action if they fail to comply. Teachers, under the banner of the NSQF Vocational Teachers Front (Punjab), said they are not regular government employees and working in Government Senior Secondary Schools across Punjab through private outsourcing companies. They stated that their appointments and service conditions are governed by private agencies while their salaries are also disbursed through outsourcing companies instead of the Government Treasury. Maninder Bains, a senior union representative in Jalandhar, said, “Despite repetitive letters issued by various departments, we continue to get different assignments. Even on May 25, nine of our teachers were assigned BLO duties.” He added that there are around 270 outsourced vocational teachers in Jalandhar, of whom nearly 70 to 80 per cent commute daily from other districts. “As per the private company policy, we can be deployed anywhere in the state. Earlier, after finishing our classes, we used to return to our home districts. However, due to these duties, we are now forced to stay here due for Census duties,” he said. Bains said, “We earn around Rs 18,000 per month on average. It is financially distress- ing for us to manage accommodation, food and travel expenses while also performing these additional duties.” The teachers also alleged that they are being threatened with FIR registration for not attending to the assigned duties. “In a letter issued on May 22, one of our teachers Sukhpreet Kaur, working at School of Eminence, Bhargo Camp, received a notice warning of FIR registration under the provisions of the Census Act, 1948,” Bains alleged. Gurinderjeet Kaur, District Education Officer (Secondary), said, “These duties are assigned by the higher authorities, not by our office. We have already flagged the issue to the district administration. However, the Census process is also important and there is a manpower crunch, which may lead to the assignment of these duties.” MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh — had lodged a complaint with Raj Kamal Chaudhari, State Election Commissioner. They submitted, “Chandi entered the strong room premises located at Virsa Vihar on May 26 at 9:20 pm and remained there for 20-25 minutes. The area is a restricted zone where ballot boxes had been kept after polling. At that time, neither the Returning Officer, nor the SDM or election in-charge was present.” Expressing apprehensions, they have written, “There is a possibility that Chandi could have indulged in any corrupt Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 28 With summer temperatures already rising by 2–3 degrees in April and May, a Jalandhar-based activist has flagged the complete absence of a green belt along the Jalandhar–Phagwara stretch of NH44, saying it is contributing to oppressive heat conditions. Tejasvi Minhas has raised concerns regarding the deteriorating condition of greenery and plantation infra- structure along the NH-44 stretch between Jalandhar and Phagwara. In a representation submitted to the NHAI and others, Minhas has demanded immediate restoration, plantation and long-term maintenance of green belts, shrubs and trees along the highway corridor. The complaint highlights that large portions of the central dividers and designated plantation zones on NH-44 have turned barren or are poorly maintained, despite originally being developed with extensive green buffers. It adds that several stretches now lack proper vegetation, irrigation systems and upkeep, leaving behind dried shrubs and empty patches along the highway.The complaint noted that plantation along dividers serves both environmental and road safety functions by reducing high-beam glare from oncoming traffic. The absence of dense vegetation, it said, is increasing commuter discomfort and safety risks while contributing to rising temperatures, dust pollution and ecological degradation. The representation further points out that the lack of maintenance amounts to negligence of environmental and maintenance obligations associated with national highway infrastructure projects. It calls for an immediate survey of all barren stretches between Jalandhar and Phagwara, followed by a c m y b ❞ practice. It is a matter of concern as to how he was allowed to enter the strong room premises. Either police officials deployed outside permitted his entry knowingly or he forcefully entered the restricted area on his own. The incident has created doubt in the minds of the candidates regarding fairness of the election process. An immediate strict inquiry should be conducted into the mater and strictest possible action should be taken against Chandi and all responsible for the serious lapse.” Road on Dhussi bundh soon: CM Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 28 A long-pending demand of the Mand area got a major boost as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced that the construction of a road on the Dhussi bundh on the Sutlej would begin soon. He said the tender for the Gidderpindi–Phillaur stretch would be floated tomorrow, with work set to start shortly thereafter. The Chief Minister visited Nirmal Kutiya in Seechewal village of Shahkot today to pay obeisance on the 38th annual Barsi Smagam of Sant Avtar Singh. He said all arrangements would be made in advance during the monsoon season to prevent any damage. Seechewal thanked him for implementing the road project aimed at strengthening the Dhussi Bundh. Addressing a massive gathering of devotees, the CM paid Inaugurates Astroturf at Seechewal village stadium tribute to Sant Avtar Singh and said he had rendered services in the fields of Gurmat preaching and social welfare in the Doaba region. He praised Rajya Sabha Member Balbir Singh Seechewal, saying that he is known across the country as an environmentalist. The CM along with Seechewal inaugurated the new astroturf at Sant Avtar Singh Memorial Hockey Stadium. Seechewal had provided a grant of ~23.04 lakh from his MP fund for the installation of the astroturf in village Seechewal. The CM announced that an international-level hockey stadium would be constructed there. AAP Punjab Affairs In-charge Manish Sisodia was also present. Ex-Chancellor of tech varsity booked for scam Nawanshahr, May 28 The Kathgarh police have registered a case against former Chancellor of Lamrin Tech University in a connection with an alleged multicrore financial scam involving serious irregularities and misuse of university funds. The FIR was registered on the complaint of university owner and promoter Nirmal Singh Rayat. According to the complaint, the accused allegedly carried out paper transactions amounting to nearly several crores and was involved in financial discrepancies estimated during his tenure at the university. Police sources said the investigation has been entrusted to ASI Sandeep Kumar, who has started examining financial records and other documentary evidence linked to the case. SHO Kathgarh Abhishek Sharma said that investigation is going on in the case. — TNS Activist flags missing green cover on NH 44 stretch Aparna Banerji Our SHO and DSP had reached the spot where the power failure took place and pacified the angry workers. Virsa Vihar is a gated campus. Police personnel are on guard all the time. There has been absolutely no chance of any security breach. Gaurav Toora, SSP CM Bhagwant Mann and MP Balbir Singh Seechewal with players after inaugurating new Astroturf at village Seechewal in Jalandhar on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH time-bound plantation drive before and during the upcoming monsoon season. Among the key demands raised are installation of proper drip irrigation systems, plantation of native and climate resilient species, development of dense median vegetation for glare reduction, deployment of dedicated horticulture maintenance teams and periodic survival audits to ensure accountability and proper utilisation of public funds. Government employees stage a protest in Jalandhar. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH Employees play flute before buffalo, a unique protest over OPS delay Tribune News Service Jalandhar, May 28 In a unique and symbolic protest against the government’s delay in implementing the old pension scheme (OPS), employees under the National Pension System (NPS) staged a demonstration outside the District Administrative Complex in Jalandhar on Thursday. The protesters attempted to “wake up” the government by playing a flute before a buffalo, symbolising what they described as the government’s indifferent attitude towards employees’ demands. The protest was jointly organised under the banner of the Old Pension Restoration Joint Front by the CPF Employees Union, Old Pension Restoration Struggle Committee and Old Pension Achievement Front. Hundreds of employees gathered and raised slogans against the state government, accusing it of continuously ignoring their longpending demands. Addressing the gathering, CPF Employees Union State president Sukhjit Singh Dimpy, district president Kamaljit Singh said despite the government issuing a notification on November 18, 2022, regarding restoration of the old pension scheme, it has still not been implemented. Union leaders also criticised the government over pending DA arrears. The speakers questioned the government’s financial priorities, alleging that while the government claims to face a financial crisis, it continues to spend crores of rupees on advertisements related to welfare schemes. They also pointed out that promises regarding financial assistance to women have not yet materialised despite extensive publicity. Dimpy announced that a state-level convention will be held in Moga on July 4, where symbolic chairs for the Chief Minister and Finance Minister will also be placed, inviting them to clarify the government’s stand on employees’ demands. He further announced that a massive state-level rally will be organised on August 23 at the CM’s native village Satoj to expose “anti-employee and anti-farmer policies” of the government and unfulfilled promises made to the public through advertisements.