14102026-JTR-01.qxd 10/13/2026 11:19 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune 23 DISTRICT GOVT SCHOOLS TO GET AI, ROBOTICS KITS BLOOD DONOR CONFERRED WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD ACTRESS MICKY SINGH TO ACT IN A MOSQUITO IN THE EAR The kits will help students to understand how these emerging technologies work and explore their applications. P2 Dr Ajay Bagga attributed the recognition to the “blessings of mother nature and favourable time.”P3 Actress Micky Singh is stepping into spotlight with Indo-American feature film, A Mosquito in the Ear. P4 » » FORECAST RAINY MAX 29°C | MIN 20°C YESTERDAY MAX 30°C | MIN 18°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.57 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:30 AM » WEDNESDAY | 14 OCTOBER 2026 | JALANDHAR 2.18L MT paddy arrives in mandis, 79,685L MT lifted 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. Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service INBRIEF SARPANCH BOOKED FOR INTIMIDATION Phagwara: The Nakodar police have booked a sarpanch of a village on the charges of using casteist remarks and criminal intimidation. The accused has been identified as Pardeep Singh, Sarpanch of Talwandi Salem village. Harmesh, leader of the Khet Majdoor Union and resident of Mallarri village, complained to the Jalandhar (rural) SSP that he, along with his colleagues, came to Talwandi Salem village on September 7 in connection with the preparation for the celebration of Avtaar Pash’s birthday in Pash-Hans Memorial Complex. The complainant said the accused, along with his accomplices, came to the complex and used casteist remarks against him and his colleagues and assaulted, insulted and threatened him. OC FOUR DRUG ADDICTS HELD Phagwara: The Shahkot police have arrested a 'drug addict' on the charge of consuming heroin. The accused has been identified as Jaswindar, a resident of Mohalla Dherian, Shahkot. A lighter, silver papers and plastic pipes used for consuming contraband were recovered from his possession. The Bilga police arrested three 'drug addicts' Taranjit of Pal Kadim village in Phillaur, Avtar Chand and Davindar Kumar of Tehing village in Phillaur, for consuming heroin. oc MAN, WIFE KILLED IN ACCIDENT Hoshiarpur: A couple died in a road accident on the Miyani road. The Dasuya police have registered a case against the driver Manmohit Singh of Marasgarh. Complainant Maninder Singh of Nai Abadi, Galowal, told the police that his cousin Davinder Singh was travelling on a scooter with his wife Narinder Kaur when a car hit them on the Miyani road. Both fell on the road and Narinder died on the spot. Davinder succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Jalandhar. The police have registered a case against the driver. oc MAN HELD FOR DRUG PEDDLING Phagwara: The Nakodar police have arrested a man for selling intoxicating tablets. As many as 14 intoxicating tablets were recovered from the possession of the accused Bag Hussain of Sharakpur village. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused. OC VILLAGER NABBED FOR BOOTLEGGING Phagwara: The Nakodar police have arrested a villager for smuggling liquor. As many as 48 bottles of liquor were recovered from the possession of the accused Sukhdev Raj of Giddarr Pindi village. A case under the Punjab Excise Act has been registered against the accused. OC A student of the PTU receives degree from CM Bhagwant Mann in Kapurthala on Tuesday. 515 get degrees at IKGPTU Tribune News Service Kapurthala, October 13 Nearly 515 PhD scholars, postgraduate and undergraduate gold medallists of the academic years 2024, 2025 and 2026 were conferred degrees at the 14th convocation of IK Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU) here on Tuesday. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was the chief guest while Technical Education and Industrial Training Minister Harjot Singh Bains was the guest of honour. A major highlight of the convocation was the launch of IKGPTU-Scheme for Punjab’s advancement through research and knowledge (SPARK) under the University Research Fellowship Scheme by Mann. The initiative aims to promote research in priority areas concerning Punjab and encourage evidence-based solutions to developmental challenges facing the state. Minister Bains shared the vision of the state government for strengthening the education sector. He highlighted the transformative initiatives undertaken during the last four years to improve educational infrastructure, quality, and accessibility. Presenting the annual report of the university, Vice- Chancellor Prof Arvind Kumar Bansal said the IKGPTU’s network presently comprises 210 affiliated colleges across Punjab. The V-C said the varsity organised around 90 training, placement and career development activities, facilitating thousands of students with training and employment opportunities. The vote of thanks was proposed by Registrar Dr Navdeepak Sandhu. The ceremony was attended by Director, Technical Education, Moneesh Kumar, ViceChancellor MRS-PTU, Bathinda, Prof Sanjeev Sharma and former Vice-Chancellor, IKGPTU, Dr Rajneesh Arora. Jalandhar, October 13 Paddy arrival has already picked up pace at mandis across Jalandhar district. According to official figures, the total paddy arrival in Jalandhar’s 79 mandis has reached 2,18,197 metric tonnes (MT), of which 2,16,821 MT has been procured. However, 79,685 MT has been lifted so far. Officials maintained that lifting was proceeding at a normal pace, noting that the process typically takes 72 hours to complete. “It is not possible to lift the entire crop in a day,” a senior official said. On Tuesday, paddy was seen lying in the mandis where the crop was being dried up, including near the offices of arhtiyas. Meanwhile, the rain has added to farmers’ concerns and anxiety, with harvesting becoming difficult in some areas. Gurmeet Singh, a farmer from Wadala village, said harvesting had slowed down due to rain. “Harvesting has become difficult at the Young farmers with their produce in the grain market in Jalandhar on Tuesday. PHOTO: SARABJIT SINGH moment. We will have to wait another day or two for the crop to be harvested,” he said. Sukhmanpreet Singh, a young farmer, was found also sitting near his crop as he was waiting it to get dried. “We had harvested the crop two days ago before the rain, and we had kept it under the shed to save it from the water, so today I brought the crop to the mandi,” he said. Another farmer from Kartarpur said he had harvested and brought produce from two acres, while the crop on the remaining 12 acres was yet to be harvested. “The rain has caused some problems, as they have delayed harvesting this time, however there is no ill-effect on the crop” he said. DTF seeks duty relief for Census staff MC chief reviews progress of e-Bus Sewa project in city Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 13 The Democratic Teachers Front (DTF), Punjab, has sought full-day exemption from regular duties for teachers and other government employees engaged in second phase of Census work from December 1 to 25, citing shorter winter days and long distances to assigned locations. The demand follows an order granting half-day relief from regular duties to employees deployed for the exercise. DTF leaders said the arrangement could leave teachers with insufficient time to complete their fieldwork, particularly when their assigned locations are far from their schools. DTF state president Vikram Dev Singh, general secretary Mohinder Kaurianwali, finance secretary Ashwani Awasthi and state press secretary Pawan Kumar said teachers would have to travel to their designated areas after completing half a day of school duty. Tribune News Service Teachers stage a protest at Budhlada, seeking relief from regular duties for Census work. With daylight hours already limited in December, this could make household visits and data collection difficult within the stipulated timeframe. The leaders said the problem would be particularly acute for teachers whose assigned locations were 25 km or more from their schools. Travelling to these areas after school duty and then visiting households to collect information would leave them with lit- tle time to complete the assigned work, they added. They warned that the arrangement could not only cause unnecessary hardship to employees but also affect the pace and quality of data collection. As the Census requires accurate information from every household within a fixed deadline, employees must be given adequate time to carry out the exercise effectively. The DTF leaders urged the government and the authorities concerned to exempt employees engaged in the Census work from their regular duties for the entire day. They said the move would allow the staff to focus on field work without the added burden of travelling between their schools and assigned locations, helping ensure the timely and smooth completion of the exercise. Jalandhar, October 13 MC Commissioner Surinder Singh today visited the ongoing e-Bus Sewa project sites at Lamba Pind Chowk and the adjoining Municipal Corporation office area along with representatives of the executing agency and officials concerned to review the progress of work being carried out under the PM-eBus Sewa Scheme. During the visit, the Commissioner reviewed the development of bus depot infrastructure, civil works, electrical installations and other facilities required for the operation of electric buses in the city. He directed the officials and executing agencies to expedite the ongoing works and ensure timely completion while maintaining the standards of quality. Under the project, Jalandhar is planned to operate 97 electric buses, comprising 16 standard 12-metre buses and 81 midi 9-metre buses. Two depot sites have been finalised: Lamba Pind Chowk, with a capacity of 55 buses, and the MCJ Central Town Depot near Lal Bahadur Shastri Chowk, with a capacity of 42 buses. The estimated cost of civil and electrical infrastructure development at both depots is approximately Rs12.98 crore, including Rs 7.08 crore for civil works and Rs 5.90 crore for electrical works. As per the progress report, civil works at the Lamba Pind depot have reached approximately 13 per cent, while the MCJ Central Town Depot has recorded around 49 per cent progress. The Commissioner reviewed the status of the works and emphasized the need for close coordination among all departments and executing agencies to address bottlenecks and accelerate implementation. He also reviewed the proposed electric bus routes, which cover major areas of Jalandhar, including the Outer Ring Road, Inner Ring Road, Bus Stand-LPU, Kishangarh-Lambra, Bidhipur-Jandu Singha, Kartarpur-CT Institute, Wariana-Haveli and Soldier College-Jamsher. The proposed network covers approximately 146 km. The Commissioner directed the officials concerned to regularly monitor the progress of each component, ensure coordination regarding civil and electrical infrastructure, and take all steps to complete the project within the revised timelines. Anganwadi food crisis persists despite minister’s assurance Protests from Oct 15 Rishika Kriti Tribune News Service Jalandhar, October 13 Nearly five months after food supply disruptions began at Anganwadi centres across Punjab, children, pregnant women and lactating mothers continue to face difficulties despite Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Baljit Kaur’s September 15 assurance that supplies would resume within a week. Under the supplementary nutrition programme, children aged three to six years are entitled to hot cooked meals at Anganwadi centres, while children aged six months to three years, pregnant women and lactating mothers receive take-home rations. In a social media video posted on September 15, the minister acknowledged the shortage, Biscuits being served at Anganwadi centre in Jalandhar. MALKIAT SINGH saying supplies of pre-mixed food items such as daliya and khichdi through Markfed had been halted in April over quality concerns. She had promised ration for cooked meals within a week along with funds at Rs 8 per child per day for other ingredients. However, Anganwadi workers said irregular supplies and delayed payments continued to hamper meal preparation. Mandeep Kaur, an Angan- c m y b wadi worker in Jalandhar, said, “For the past five months, we have not received any food to serve children. Earlier, we would buy biscuits and toffees with our own money. Now, we are asking the children to bring their own tiffins.” Amritpal Kaur, finance secretary of the Anganwadi Workers Union, Punjab, said workers had been instructed in May to prepare sweet and salted porridge, khichdi, kheer and halwa for children aged three to six years. The department was to provide wheat and rice and release funds for other ingredients, but workers across the state were still awaiting supplies. She said funds for cooked meals were released last week only to centres in Sangrur, Tarn Taran, Barnala and Bathinda. The allocation was also insufficient to cover milk, ghee, sugar, pulses, oil and spices. Baljit Kaur said wheat and rice supplies had reached Anganwadi centres in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala, while bills for ingredients and cooking costs were being processed. She attributed the delay to the payment procedure being implemented for the first time. Regarding take-home rations, the minister said district-level tenders had been allotted to NGOs and orders placed, but deliveries were delayed at their end. NGOs would operate district-level food preparation plants, monitored by committees comprising parents and Anganwadi workers. On the Rs 8 daily allocation per child, she said the amount had been fixed by the Centre and that she had repeatedly sought an increase. over Delhi crackdown Jalandhar, October 13 Activists of the Anti-Fascist Front have announced rallies and protests at district headquarters across Punjab from October 15 to 18 against the alleged brutal crackdown by the police and paramilitary forces on peaceful protesters in New Delhi during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the front’s state leaders Rattan Singh Randhawa, Pargat Singh Jamarai, Darshan Khatkar, Kulwinder Singh Waraich, Rajbinder Rana and Gulzar Singh Bhumbli alleged that protesters were assaulted and manhandled on October 10 and 11 while demonstrating against the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The activists also alleged that RSS-backed elements assaulted protesters, particularly women. The protests will be held in Jalandhar, Amritsar, Kapurthala and Faridkot on October 15; Moga, Sangrur, Patiala and Sri Muktsar Sahib on October 16; Fazilka, Nawanshahr, Gurdaspur and Ludhiana on October 17; and Barnala, Bathinda, Mansa, Rupnagar, Tarn Taran, Hoshiarpur and Mohali on October 18. The front has demanded the dismissal and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, an immediate halt to the SIR exercise and restoration of deleted votes. — TNS