26032025-JTR-01.qxd 3/25/2025 10:56 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune ROOTS IN AMRITSAR, TANGRI ELECTED MPP IN CANADA 'STAY CONSISTENT, BUT FLEXIBLE': HIMANSHU OSCAR-WINNING PALESTINIAN DIRECTOR BALLAL ARRESTED With roots in Amritsar, Nina Tangri has won the re-election in Ontario’s provincial elections held recently. P2 Malhotra, who has done films like Shershaah, Wajah Tum Ho and Hum Chaar, is a fitness enthusiast. P4 Oscar-winning director Hamdan Ballal of a documentary on the Israel-Palestinian conflict has been arrested. P4 » » » FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 16°C YESTERDAY MAX 33°C | MIN 14°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.43 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:22 AM WEDNESDAY | 26 MARCH 2025 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF SHOP BURGLED IN VILLAGE Phagwara: The shop of Rajinder Singh was reportedly burgled in village Panchhat near Phagwara on Monday night.The burglars entered the shop by breaking locks and decamped with utensils and other valuable goods. The police have registered a case. OC TWO WOMEN PEDDLERS HELD Phagwara: The Bilga police have arrested two women 'drug peddlers' on the charge of selling poppy husk and intoxicated tablets. Ten kg poppy husk were recovered from the possession of the accused Navjot Kaur, alias Rekha, and 150 tablets were recovered from the possession of the accused Kaushalaya Rani of Sangowal village. oc 70-YEAR-OLD MAN MISSING Phagwara: A 70-year-old man of Hajipur village has been missing for the last 12 days. Ashok Kumar left the house on March 13 and did not return home and a missing report has been registered. OC 'DRUG PEDDLER' ARRESTED Phagwara: The police have arrested a drug peddler and seized 45 intoxicated tablets from him. The peddler was nabbed at a check point. OC Call to withdraw devp tax, set up R&D centre for sports industry BUDGET TODAY should be a slab system to increase compliance.” Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 24 As the government is set to present its Budget on Wednesday, city residents are having expectations from the Aam Aadmi Party-led government. A section of industrialists, teachers and chartered accountants have already been raking up their issues with the state Finance Department so that their demands get included in the Budget. Remove road tax on hybrid vehicles Rajesh Kakkar, a CA, has proposed, “The state government should discontinue the Punjab State Development Tax of Rs 200 per month from each income tax payer. It was their poll promise. Punjab should do away with road tax on battery-operated hybrid vehicles as has been done in Uttar Pradesh. This will boost sales of these vehicles and will clean environment. There is need to rationalise property tax as it is too much complicated. There Develop infra of industrial zones Rajan Gupta, industrialist and member, MSME, said, “The government must ensure that there is special budget allocation for infrastructural development of industrial zones. Even though these zones fall under the Municipal Corporation area, officials or the councillors pay no heed. The single window system under ‘Invest Punjab’ scheme also needs an overhaul. Whenever an application is moved through the scheme, the departments tend to raise one objection or the other and it takes an applicant almost a year to clear these hurdles. The government must spell out a new mechanism for quick clearance which could be by way of self-attestation.” Develop sports park Sports goods manufacturer Chetan Dhir said, “We are demanding a research and development centre for the sports industry for the past two decades. The long pending sports hub in Jalandhar needs to be developed on a quick pace with multiple sporting facilities, pitches and courts. A sports park or a conventional centre for sports needs to be established where individuals or groups could gather to promote and share common interests. The sports goods industry is already eagerly waiting for an exhibition centre. But our moot issue remains that the Finance Minister, who is also the member of GST Council, India, must bring in sports goods in the 5 per cent slab rate instead of the current slab of 12 -18 pc tax.” Hunar Sikhiya schools praiseworthy Manbir Singh, MD, CT Group of Institutions, said, “I am pleased with the fact that the Cabinet has amended the Punjab Right of Children to Free and Compul- sory Education Rules, 2011. This amendment will enable students from economically weaker sections to access private schools, a significant stride toward fostering inclusivity and equality in our education system. Additionally, the Cabinet’s decision to establish 40 ‘Hunar Sikhiya’ schools (Schools of Applied Learning) is a commendable initiative aimed at providing youth with valuable technical training in vital sectors such as banking, digital design, beauty and healthcare. However, it is essential to recognise that this number is insufficient given the pressing need to combat brain drain and to adequately prepare our workforce for the challenges of tomorrow. It is imperative that we expand these educational initiatives to ensure that every child has access to quality training and opportunities.” Start urban e-bus service soon A college professor, Dr Kunal Mehta, said, “The government has already been taking initia- tives. The 25 per cent seat allocation for students from economically weaker section in private schools is already a historic decision. Hunar Sikhya School too is a good initiative and can go a long way in helping children learn vocational skills right at the time of school education. We expect the urban e-bus service to start soon which can ease transportation of students and staff, besides the local population. An MoU that the state government is planning to sign with the British Council can be the next good initiative”. Frame own education policy Karnail Singh, press secretary of Government Teachers’ Union, Punjab, said, “Our demand before the government is that the state should have its own education policy instead of following the National Education Policy. The government should also focus on restoring the old pension scheme for its employees”. Boy missing since Feb 9 still untraceable, police clueless After prayers in mosque, took auto but didn’t return home: Cops Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 24 A 55-year-old painter, Nafeesh Ahmed, has been running from pillar to post to trace his 16-year-old son Faiz Alam, who went missing on the night of February 9 in Jalandhar. A resident of Tej Mohan Nagar in Basti Sheikh, Faiz had set out to offer evening prayers from his house but didn’t return. The Jalandhar police said according to the CCTV footage, the boy got into an auto but has not been traced, due to inadequate footage of the auto’s route. An FIR was registered against unknown persons on February 10. The FIR, registered on the complaint by Nafeesh Ahmed (55), states that his son (16), a student of Class X at School of Eminence, Bhargo Camp, went out for namaz (evening prayer) on February 9 at 9 pm from his house but did not return. Nafeesh expressed Faiz Alam suspicion that an unknown person was “keeping my son hidden somewhere”. Nafeesh lives with his wife and three children (including one daughter and two sons), at Tej Mohan Nagar. He has gone to look for Faiz at Jammu, Amritsar, Nurmahal, Nakodar, etc. in the past over a month. The police also said a detailed search had been launched to look for the boy. As per CCTV footage, the youth was seen sitting in an auto on his way back from the mosque, but due to the absence of CCTV footage of the entire stretch of the road, he was not traceable. Nafeesh said, “He went out only with the clothes he was wearing and a pair of chappals. That was the last time we saw him. I’m a painter and earn barely enough to keep my family afloat. I have no enemies. Faiz’s mother refuses to eat. We have looked everywhere we could.” Nafeesh has met the Commssioner of Police twice, along with the ACP Harshpreet Singh, and has also appealed to the Cabinet Minister and Jalandhar West MLA Mohinder Bhagat to find his missing son. Sahil Chaudhary, SHO, Division number 5 police station, said, “The CCTV footage reveals that the child had an auto ride after coming out of the mosque. Since the auto’s registration number is unclear in the footage, we haven’t been able to trace it. The youth did not take any phone with him, so we can’t trace his location. Searches have also been made at madrasas in Kartarpur, etc, and friends and acquaintances have been questioned.” ACP-2 West Harshpreet Singh said, “We are missing the trail of the auto that the boy hired. But investigations are proceeding in the case technically and we’re tracking the Insta ID and social media accounts of the youth. We will also be issuing notices.” Waste segregation at Wariana dump suspended due to fire Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 25 Due to the fire that broke out on the Wariana dump, the process of segregation of wet and dry waste that is going on at the dump under the biomining project was stopped for two days. On Sunday night, the dump had caught fire and 20 fire tenders were pressed into service. For two days, the smoke kept on emanating from the dump. The much-touted bio-mining project that initiated in August last year is supposed to be completed in 32 months. In 2017, the project was planned to manage and process the waste at Wariana dump. A detailed report of its importance was prepared too. Because of no work done, the contract of previous company was terminated last year and the garbage mound at the dump only grew bigger all this while. The process under the project has finally been started by the new company that was given the contract. There is 8 lakh cubic metric waste at the site and a hill-like structure of garbage oversees the city. The overflowing waste is spewing toxins into the air. People living nearby areas at the Wariana dump site are stressed and depressed. They are surviving amidst pollution and diseases. The city generates above 450 tonne of garbage every day. Even other small dump sites are filled. To tackle the problems, the bio-mining project has been initiated under which a machine has been installed. A resident living near Nakodar Chowk said it was sad that the project that should have got completed years ago is still under process. “The fire on the dump is not a small thing. It should be dealt with seriousness,” he said. Govt to honour 1975 Hockey 2 held for demanding Residents raise alarm over World Cup winners tomorrow bribe over Swachh pollution, demand action Survekshan Survey Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 25 After Hockey India celebrated the 50th anniversary of 1975 Hockey World Cup in New Delhi, the Punjab Government is also going to felicitate players in a state-level function, who played and registered a historical win during the 1975 Hockey World Cup. The Sports Department will hold the event under the supervision CM Bhagwant Mann on March 27 in Chandigarh. Four players of the 1975 team belonged to Jalandhar. Sons of the hockey Olympian Varinder Singh (who died three years ago) will attend the event. Gurpreet Singh, elder son of Varinder, said the government school at Varinder’s native village Dhanowali should be named after his father. “We have been taking up this matter for the last two years. Now that the government is going to hold the event, we are thankful to it and also want that the govern- Ashok Kaura Satta Satpal Singh, brother of Olympian Mohinder Munshi in Jalandhar. TRIBUNE PHOTO:MALKIAT SINGH ment should name the school after my father’s name,” Gurpreet Singh added. Varinder played in the 1975 World Cup, the year when Indian hockey team beat Pakistan and won the historic gold medal. Along with Varinder Singh, Olympians Onkar Singh, Ajit Pal Singh (captain of the Indian hockey team in 1975) and Mohinder Munshi, who originally belonged to Jalandhar, were all part of the team that performed with brilliance. The World Cup was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While Onkar Singh and Ajit Pal Singh are residing in Mumbai and Delhi, Varinder and Mohinder Munshi are no more. Satta Satpal, the brother of Munshi said his brother who died at a very young age of 24 must be given Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award. “I am thankful to the state government as they are going to hold the grand event. I also wish that my brother should be given the award for his achievements at such young age,” he said. PHAGWARA, MARCH 25 A major bribery scandal has come to light in the Swachh Sarvekshan 2024 Survey conducted within the Municipal Corporation, Phagwara. Two officials, appointed by the Quality Council of India (QCI) for the verification of Water+ and GFC Star Rating, have been arrested for allegedly demanding a bribe to manipulate the city’s rankings. Municipal Commissioner Dr Akshita Gupta said here today that officers Ravi Kumar and Gulshan Kumar apppointed by the QCI, arrived in Phagwara on March 22 to collect data and reports related to the Swachh Survekshan survey. Dr Gupta said during the third day of the assessment, on Monday, Ravi allegedly demanded a bribe of Rs 1.80 lakh from municipal officials, later negotiating it down to Rs 1.50 lakh after consulting a higher official c m y b over a phone call. According to Dr Gupta, the accused officer allegedly told the officials that he was not acting alone and that half of the bribe amount was to be forwarded to his superiors. When the officials refused to comply, Ravi reportedly threatened them with poor scores in the survey, warning that Phagwara’s municipal ranking would be deliberately downgraded. He further asserted that he had the authority to influence the final ratings, making it clear that the demand for money was linked to manipulating the city’s evaluation. The municipal officials secretly made its video and promptly reported the matter to Dr Gupta. Taking immediate action, she informed the police department, leading to the swift arrest of the two accused officials. Phagwara SP Rupinder Kaur Bhatti confirmed that a case has been registered. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, March 25 Residents of various localities at Sodal, under the banner of the Bharatiya Sarvahit Parishad, have raised serious concerns over the alarming levels of air and noise pollution, plaguing the city. In a letter to the Chief Secretary and the Punjab Pollution Control Board, president of the parishad Rajan Sharda has highlighted gross violations of environment laws, particularly in the industrial area, while accusing the authorities of turning a blind eye to the escalating crisis. Sharda has detailed how several industrial units are openly engaging in the illegal and hazardous practice of burning electric motors to extract copper. This activity has resulted in the uncontrolled release of toxic fumes, heavy metals and carcinogenic particles into the atmosphere. The pollution levels have now reached a dangerous threshold, with thick smog blanketing industrial zones and making it difficult for residents to breathe. Vulnerable groups, including children, senior citizens and persons with respiratory conditions, are suffering the most, with many experiencing severe health complications due to prolonged exposure to polluted air. The letter also raises the issue of unbearable noise pollution caused by unauthorised public gatherings. High-decibel loudspeakers continue blaring until the early hours of the morning, severely disrupting public peace and violating prescribed noise limits. The situation is further aggravated by the growing menace of illegally modified motorcycles fitted with excessively loud horns and attached trolleys roaming recklessly across the city. Auto-rickshaws with noncompliant exhaust systems also continue to operate without restriction, adding to the already deafening noise pollution, which has made daily life unbearable for residents. Another major concern highlighted in the letter is the rampant violation of environmental norms in construction activities. Residents have pointed out that builders and contractors are openly disregarding NGT guidelines by failing to implement basic dust control measures such as water sprinkling and proper waste disposal. As a result, unchecked dust pollution has transformed several areas into hazardous zones, worsening respiratory problems among the population and further deteriorating the city’s air quality. “Despite clear mandates from the NGT and other regulatory bodies, the authorities have failed to take any action against the environmental violations”, they said, while demanding immediate action, including unannounced inspections in industrial zones to identify and shut down units involved in illegal motor burning.