22082026-JTR-01.qxd 8/21/2026 11:27 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune PHAGWARA BACKS PUNJAB BANDH CALL, MARKETS REMAIN SHUT JANG-E-AZADI MEMORIAL AWAITS BETTER UPKEEP STRONG SILHOUETTE, OODLES OF DRAMA Buses and private vehicles were also largely absent from the roads during the bandh in the city. P2 The Jang-e-Azadi Memorial is grossly understaffed, underused and under-advertised. P3 Rohit Gandhi+Rahul Khanna’s show Noir Botanicablends glamour, craftsmanship& clothes designed for real people. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 34°C | MIN 26°C SUNSET SATURDAY 7.03 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 5:58 AM SATURDAY | 22 AUGUST 2026 | JALANDHAR HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune has started 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. PUDA ordered to pay over ~25L for undeveloped plot Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service INBRIEF VILLAGER BOOKED FOR MINOR’S RAPE Phagwara: The police have booked a villager on the charge of raping a minor girl. The accused has been identified as Harjindar Singh of Badshahpur village. The mother of the victim complained to the police that the accused barged into her house when she was out for work and raped her minor daughter and threatened her. A case has been registered against the accused. OC AMRITSAR TIPPER DRIVER DETAINED Phagwara: The Mehatpur police have detained an Amritsar tipper driver for causing death by negligence. The accused has been identified as Gurjant Singh of Gunowal village, Amritsar. Sukhbir Kaur, wife of the deceased Parmindar Singh of Malowal Road, Mehatpur, told the police that the accused was driving his tipper negligently and fast and hit her husband standing on the roadside and killed him on the spot. OC 2 ARRESTED FOR BOOTLEGGING Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested two Kapurthala residents on the charge of smuggling liquor. As many as 112 bottles of liquor were seized from the possession of the accused Deepak Sahota and Ravi Kumar, residents of Kapurthala district. A case under the Punjab Excise Act was registered against the accused. OC TWO BOOKED FOR ENCROACHMENT Phagwara: The Bilga police have booked two villagers on the charge of encroaching a piece of agriculture land. The accused have been identified as Gagan Deep Singh and Gurbaksh Singh, residents of Talwann village. Satwindar Singh of the same village complained to the police that Gagan planted paddy in his one-acre land at the behest of Gurbaksh with an intention to encroach it. oc MANY BOOKED FOR STEALING CASH Phagwara: The Nakodar police have booked unidentified persons on the charge of stealing cash and other items from a village society. Rupindar Kaur of Gandharan village complained to the police that unidentified persons barged into the Guru Nanak Dev Ji Sewa Society and stole Rs 7,000 and one inverter and battery. oc VILLAGER HELD FOR ASSAULT Phagwara: The Nakodar police have arrested a villager for allegedly outraging religious sentiments.The accused as Gurinder Singh alias Gindi was a resident of Rasulpur village. According to the police, Jagtar Singh of Uggi village lodged a complaint alleging that the accused assaulted him, used abusive language and removed his turban. oc Jalandhar, August 21 A Kapurthala man, who paid nearly Rs 25 lakh for a residential plot in a PUDA colony in 2013, was left waiting for years to build a house as the promised development work was not completed and electric wires continued to pass over his plot. The Jalandhar District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has now ordered PUDA and the Jalandhar Development Authority (JDA) to refund his money with 9 per cent annual interest. The complaint was filed by Amaninder Singh whose wife Satwant Kaur was allotted a 200 squares yard plot near the Army Cantonment, Kapurthala, under a PUDA scheme launched in 2013. The family paid Rs 24.94 lakh towards the plot and also incurred expenses on registration and other formalities. Under the scheme, PUDA had promised to hand over possession after completing the development work or within 18 months of allotment. But the colony did not have basic facilities such as proper roads, sewerage and electricity even years later, the commission noted. Singh said he repeatedly approached the authorities to get the site developed and the electric wires removed. Although the authorities claimed that possession was handed over in May 2018 and the building plan had been sanctioned, the commission found that the plot was not actually usable for construction. “Though the physical possession of the plot was handed over, it was only paper possession,” the commission observed, noting that construction could not begin while electric wires were still passing over the plot. After years of waiting, Singh sought to surrender the plot and get his money back in 2019. The authorities did not accept his request, prompting him to approach the consumer commission. The commission held PUDA and the JDA guilty of “grave deficiency in service and unfair trade practice”, saying they had failed to develop the colony within the promised period and provide infrastructure. The authorities have been directed to refund the amount deposited by Singh with 9 per cent annual interest from the dates of payment till realisation. They have also been ordered to pay Rs 30,000 for mental agony and harassment and Rs 10,000 towards litigation expenses. The order is to be complied within 45 days, failing which an additional 3 per cent annual interest will be payable on the deposited amount. Revised 8-year solid waste mgmt plans on MC agenda Jalandhar, August 21 The General House of the Municipal Corporation (MC), Jalandhar, is scheduled to meet on August 25 to consider the latest proposal for implementation of an Integrated Solid Waste Management (ISWM) system covering collection, segregation, transportation, processing and disposal of fresh munici- pal solid waste generated from all 85 wards of the city. The project has undergone several revisions following directions from the Department of Local Government, discussions at the Head Office level, repeated failure to attract bidders and subsequent technical and financial review of the estimates. — TNS Markets, pvt schools shut as bandh disrupts life in Doaba Traffic hit as protesters stage sit-ins at intersections for Bandi Singhs’ release Tribune News Service Jalandhar, August 21 A complete bandh was observed across the Doaba region on Friday on a call given by the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha in support of the release of Bandi Singhs. Highways connecting Jalandhar with Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Kapurthala remained blocked, with supporters of the morcha sitting in the middle of the roads. All private educational institutes remained shut. Most market associations announced to remain shut till 2 pm. Transport system also remained paralysed as buses went off road. Even bikers from Phagwara, which is barely 18 km from the city, also faced problems in reaching Jalandhar. A government employee residing in Phagwara said, “Since buses were off road, I started from my place on bike. Since all highways and even internal roads through Jalandhar Cantonment remained blocked, I had to drive through an alley of narrow lanes to reach my office in Jalandhar. It took me an hour to cover the 25minute distance.” Government schools were open but the attendance was recorded to be below 5 per cent. A government school on Ladowali Road, which has 1,500 students on roll, had seen the attendance of just 45 students. “As the day started and some videos of protest by Sikh activists emerged, the parents of 25 students came and picked them. Since the atmosphere outside was quite stressful, we chose to keep the main gate closed from inside as a safety measure”, said a teacher. In Jalandhar, the main centre where leaders of all Sikh organisations converged turned out to be Guru Nanak Mission Chowk. Leaders of the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha, Awaaz-e-Qaum, Shiromani Akali Dal, Sikh Talmel Com- 4 youths try to run over cops in Sultanpur Lodhi, one held Our Correspondent KAPURTHALA, AUGUST 21 Four youths travelling in a car allegedly tried to run over police personnel, including the SHO, after being signalled to stop during a naka in Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala district. According to the police, the team chased the vehicle and intercepted it near Sidhpur village. One of the occupants was arrested, while the three others managed to escape. According to SHO, Sultanpur Lodhi, SI Davinder Pal, a police party was conducting checking of suspicious vehicles near the bus stand at village Toti on Thursday evening. Around 7 pm, a white car bearing registration number PB-10-DH-3022, carrying four persons, was spotted approaching from the Dadwindi side. When the police signalled the vehicle to stop, the driver allegedly accelerated towards the police personnel with the Raids on to arrest three accused intention of causing serious harm. The SHO reportedly jumped aside to save himself. Senior constable Vinod Kumar, constable Manpreet Singh and constable Munish subsequently attempted to stop the vehicle, but the occupants allegedly again tried to drive the car towards them. The driver then reversed the vehicle at high speed, turned it around and fled towards Dadwindi. The police party immediately launched a chase in a vehicle and alerted the control room as well as all nakabandi and patrolling teams across the district. Around 7.40 pm, the police team succeeded in stopping the vehicle near village Sidhpur, falling under the jurisdiction of Sadar Kapurthala police station. One of the occupants was identified as Vishal, a resident of Sundar Nagar, Kapurthala, who was arrested. The other three occupants managed to flee from the spot. During questioning, Vishal allegedly identified the absconding suspects as Kakra, Kabir and Manish, all residents of Sundar Nagar, Kapurthala. Kabir was allegedly driving the car at the time of the incident. According to the police, the suspects also allegedly attempted to hit several people with the vehicle while fleeing. The vehicle reportedly struck a motorcycle near village Mothanwal and a car near village Toti, causing damage to vehicles and injuries to some persons. ASP Sultanpur Lodhi, , Dhirendra Verma said efforts were underway to arrest the remaining three suspects. He added that police teams were conducting raids at various possible locations to trace the absconding accused. A case has been registered against the accused under relevant provisions of law. c m y b Trucks stranded in the middle of the Jalandhar-Phagwara highway; and (below) a jatha performs kirtan on the Guru Nanak Mission Chowk in Jalandhar during Punjab bandh on Friday. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: MALKIAT SINGH mittee, nihang bodies and other Sikh organisations sat on a dharna in the middle of the road intersection and ensured that the traffic did not pass through. A jatha from Guru Nanak Mission Gurdwara performed kirtan in the middle of the road as mattresses were laid for everyone to squat and listen to the religious hymns. Speeches were delivered with activists expressing their anger against the BJP-led Centre. The protesters raised slogan, “Narendra Modi, Panth virodhi”. SAD leaders, including Iqbal Singh Dhindsa, Harjaap Singh Sangha and Charanjiv Singh Lalli and Congress councillor Paramjot Singh Sherry Chadha, were among those who took part in the sit-in. Pal Singh France of the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha and Manjit Singh Kartarpur of the Awaaz-e-Qaum expressed anger against the state government and Centre for not ‘Unauthorised colony’ board sparks row Garhshankar, August 21 A controversy has erupted after a board purportedly carrying the orders of the Executive Officer (EO) of the Garhshankar Municipal Council was erected outside a colony on Behrampur Road, describing it as an “unauthorised colony”. The board states that no building plan for the colony will be approved by the council and that no construction be permitted there. It also cautions prospective plot buyers that they will be responsible for their purchase. MC EO Madan Lal denied having got the board installed. He said he had been away from Garhshankar for the past two-three days as he was holding additional charge of several municipal councils. He said he would visit the site on Saturday. Locals, however, questioned the functioning of the MC, alleging that despite several unauthorised colonies in the town, effective action against such developments remained lacking. — OC releasing the Sikh prisoners even decades after completion of their jail term. “This is the violation of human rights. The AAP government is also indulging in lip service. There is a lot of difference in what its leaders say and how they put things in writing to the Centre”, they said. Jalandhar City and Rural Police remained on toes since the morning to ensure that the bandh passed off peacefully. Multiple nakas were laid across all major intersec- 36 trees axed in Garhshankar village Our Correspondent Garhshankar, August 21 A controversy has erupted over the alleged felling of 36 green trees on shamlat land in Dhada Khurd village of Garhshankar block. Villagers and environmental activists have sought a probe, alleging that the trees were cut without a resolution of the village panchayat. Villagers said 36 trees, aged nearly seven to eight years, were felled on the night of August 17-18 at the village playground. These included 14 dek, seven eucalyptus, two jamun, three guava, two neem, one peepal, two mango, three toon and two shisham trees. They alleged that the trees were cut and the wood was removed from the site. Complaints have been submitted to senior officials, including the Deputy Commissioner, seeking an inquiry and action against those responsible. Village panch Jasvir Singh said the trees were obstructing the installation of a pipeline and streetlights for development works at the playground and were, therefore, cut. When asked about a panchayat resolution permitting the felling, he said a resolution would be passed. Development work was more important. However, on being asked by mediapersons, Panchayat Secretary Jaswinder Singh said no resolution regarding the felling had been received and no permission had been issued. BDPO Manjinder Kaur also confirmed that neither a resolution, nor departmental permission had been granted. The villagers have demanded an impartial inquiry and strict action under the rules. tions and ahead of all blockades. Incidents of altercation between commuters and Sikh activists were also reported. There were incidents of forcible shutting down of showrooms, shops and milk bars in the city. 3 of family die in Phillaur accident Phillaur, August 21 A religious trip ended in tragedy for a family from Nakodar when a road accident near Phillaur claimed the lives of a man, his wife and their daughter. The family was returning home after paying obeisance at the Nakodar dera along with relatives. Vinay, 38, a resident of Ludhiana, was travelling on a scooter with his wife Suman, 35, and their six-yearold daughter Kaveesha. The accident occurred near the Haripur Khalsa Gate in Phillaur when a speeding car allegedly rammed into their scooter. The impact was so severe that the scooter was badly damaged. Suman and Kaveesha reportedly died on the spot, while Vinay sustained serious injuries. Vinay was immediately rushed to a hospital for treatment, but he later succumbed to his injuries. The deaths of all three members of the family have plunged their relatives and friends into grief. — OC