15042025-LT-01.qxd 4/15/2025 12:44 AM Page 1 c m y b Ludhiana tribune PADDY SOWING TO START FROM JUNE 9 IN DISTRICT The government has divided the state into three zones for sowing paddy, this season. P2 » PRAYERS AT THE GOLDEN TEMPLE BY STARS MEGHNA TO DIRECT KAREENA, PRITHVIRAJ IN NEW FILM Akshay Kumar, R Madhavan and Ananya Panday are in Amritsar to promote their film Kesari 2. P4 Kareena and Prithviraj Sukumaran have boarded new film by Talvar & Raazi director Meghna Gulzar. P4 » FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 37°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 20°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.46 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:00 AM » TUESDAY | 15 APRIL 2025 | LUDHIANA Despite rise in fire incidents, safety measures not in place Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 14 Despite the industrial hub having earned the dubious distinction of witnessing the maximum number of fire incidents in the state every year, no steps are being taken in terms of safety measures by the authorities concerned. It is learnt that in most of the fire incidents, the affected industries, showrooms, godowns or business establishments did not have the fire safety arrangements because of which the fire could not be controlled in the initial stages. The owners’ failure to make fire safety arrangements became a reason for the major loss of goods, machinery and even the building. Apart from the loss of properties, fatalities were also reported in some incidents as workers either died of asphyxiation or due to burn injuries. The lethargic attitude of the department can be gauged from the fact that despite the A fireman tries to douse the flames that erupt in a godown on the Pakhowal road in Ludhiana. FILE ‘LESS THAN 2% POSSESS VALID FIRE SAFETY CERTIFICATES’ "Less than two per cent of the industries, commercial establishments, educational institutions and other buildings possess valid fire safety certificates,” said a fire official. violations being evident, the authorities failed to take action against the owners of the establishment. After a fire incident, the owner usu- ally revamps the establishment and again pays less heed to completing the fire safety arrangements. Ludhiana’s record of fire Remembering the icon 2 garment shops gutted in fire A girl pays floral tributes to Dr BR Ambedkar on his birth anniversary in Ludhiana. HIMANSHU MAHAJAN P2 Ludhiana West bypoll: SAD to select candidate in few days Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 14 While Sukhbir Singh Badal has been elected as the president of the SAD again, all eyes are on the byelections in the Ludhiana West constituency. Akali leaders in the city maintained that in a day or two, a meeting would be held by the president and in next few days, the candidate’s name will be announced by the party. One of the senior Akali leaders here said names of three prominent persons are taking rounds. These include a former minister and loyalist of Sukhbir Badal, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, advocate Parupkar Singh Ghuman and Bhupinder Singh Bhinda. “Since Grewal is close associate of Badals, he may be given the ticket. But we have come to know that Grewal, instead of fighting the election himself, may suggest his son’s name, Hiteshinder Singh Grewal. Ghuman is also in the list of front-runners. Bhupinder Bhinda can also be NAMES OF 3 LEADERS DOING ROUNDS A senior Akali leader said names of three prominent persons are taking rounds. These include a former minister and loyalist of Sukhbir Badal, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, advocate Parupkar Singh Ghuman and Bhupinder Singh Bhinda. the choice of the party”, said one of the senior party leaders. A prominent party leader, who was earlier with the Bharatiya Janata Party, has again been approached by leaders of the BJP to be its candidate in the bypoll. “I have been approached by BJP leaders but I have not made my mind as of now. I have a good rapport with SAD and BJP leaders. I will take the final decision in coming days,” the SAD leader, who served for long in the BJP said. , The Congress and AAP have already announced their candidates while the BJP and SAD are yet to decide the names of their candidates. safety is a grim issue in context of the tragic fire in a plastic factory near Suffian Chowk, which resulted in the death of 16 persons, nine of whom were firefighters, in 2017. The city’s neglect in enforcing fire regulations is apparent given the unpermitted storage of flammable chemicals which caused the calamity. “Less than two per cent of the industries, commercial establishments, educational institutions and other buildings possess valid fire safety certificates. Fire safety certificate violations are rampant throughout the city’s 425,000 properties, 200,000 of which are commercial and industrial sites, due to a lack of personnel. Many residents and business establishment owners do not adhere to fire safety guidelines, neglecting the need for enhanced overall safety,” said a fire official requesting anonymity. Fire officials are now waiting for the enforcement of the Punjab Fire and Emergency Services Act, 2022, so Ludhiana, April 14 Two garment shops destroyed in the fire at the Gandhi Nagar market in Fatehgarh mohalla on Monday evening. Loss worth several lakhs reported in the incident. Since the fire broke out in a thickly populated commerical area, dominated by hosiery goods, panic had gripped the entire area. Nearby shopkeepers also rushed out of their shops for precautionary purposes. The fire broke out around 5.45 pm. In one-and-a-half hour, firemen managed to douse the flames. due to which it did not spread to nearby shops. It is being suspected that a shortcircuit could be the cause behind the fire. — TNS that they can properly wield the authority necessary to enforce fire safety compliance. The implementation of guidelines, random inspections and legal measures would improve fire safety compliance in Ludhiana. Periodic checks, alongside legal strategies, can enhance overall safety, fire officials added. “Less than two per cent of the industries, commercial establishments, educational institutions and other buildings possess valid fire safety certificates. Fire safety certificate violations are rampant throughout the city’s 425,000 properties, 200,000 of which are commercial and industrial sites, due to a lack of personnel. Many residents and business establishment owners do not adhere to fire safety guidelines, neglecting the need for enhanced overall safety,” said a fire official requesting anonymity Mayor kick-starts ‘Fire Safety Week’ with awareness rally Mayor Inderjit Kaur along with cops at a fire station in Ludhiana on Monday. INDERJEET VERMA Ludhiana, April 14 With focus on spreading awareness among residents regarding fire safety, Mayor Inderjit Kaur kick- started the ‘Fire Safety Week’ at the fire brigade headquarters near the railway station here on Monday. On the first day of the ‘Fire Safety Week’, the fire authorities organised an awareness rally in the city to sensitise residents. The rally was organised on the theme - ‘Unite to ignite, a fire safe India’ and it moved through different parts of the city, including Railway Station Road, Gill Road, Fer- Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, April 14 Instead of appointing new doctors and encouraging freshers to join the public healthcare sector, the government move to increase the retirement age of PCMS specialist doctors and reemployment of retired doctors has not gone down well with PCMS specialists. Flaying the government’s decision, president, Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA), Dr Akhil Sareen, said: “As far as the move to re-employ PCMS specialist doctors (post-retirement) on a contractual basis is concerned, though it seems to be an effort by the government in the larger public interest to retain specialists in the cadre in the backdrop of shortage of specialists, the PCSMA feels that in the long run, a more pragmatic way to address the issue should be a renewed focus on encouraging young doctors to join the public health cadre through annual rounds of walk-in interviews, annual recruitment of MBBS doctors and A few days ago, suspects made attempt to rob a grocer in Khanna Nikhil Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Police officials address mediapersons in Khanna on Monday. robbing the victim, they threatened him by pointing pistols at him and beat him up. On seeing a gathering of people, they fled the scene after firing a bullet. Taking immediate action, a case was registered and investigation was initiated. She revealed that the investigation of the case was carried out in depth. On the basis of CCTV footage, on April 13, Vikramjit Singh, alias Shinda, Deepak, alias Deepi, both residents of Dugri, Ludhiana, and Gurdeep Singh, alias Deepi, of Fatehgarh Sahib c m y b drills at public places/hospitals, etc, blood donation camp and competitions in schools/educational institutes would be held by the fire brigade wing of the civic body during the week- long celebrations for spreading awareness among residents. The Mayor and ADFO said ‘ Fire Safety Week’ was observed every year and the aim was to sensitise residents to fire safety. They further appealed to the residents to follow the fire safety norms and install proper fire safety equipment in their respective properties to avoid any untoward incident. — TNS Instead of increasingretirement age, re-employment, hire new docs: Assn 7 of robbers’ gang land in police net Ludhiana, April 14 The Khanna police on Monday claimed to have busted a gang which attempted to rob a grocery store owner at Khanna a few days ago. The police arrested seven members of the gang. When a police team was chasing two of the suspects on Monday, the latter fired at the police personnel and after a brief encounter, they were arrested. SSP Khanna, Jyoti Yadav , Bains, said after the incident, special police teams were formed which succeeded in nabbing the seven gang members. The police also recovered four pistols, nine cartridges, five magazines and two motorcycles from them. The SSP said on the night of April 8, Munish Singla informed the police that his shop Vivek Grocery Store was located on the Malerkotla road in Khanna. Around 8:30 pm, four unidentified masked persons carrying pistols in their hands barged into his shop and attacked him. With the intention of ozepur road, Mall Road, Jagraon bridge. Accompanied by Assistant Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO) Maninder Singh and other officials and firefighters, Mayor Inderjit Kaur also paid tributes to fire fighters who lost their lives in the line of duty by observing two minute silence. Assistant Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO) Maninder Singh said the ‘Fire Safety Week’ was being observed on the directions of Mayor Inderjit Kaur and MC Commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal. Traning exercises, mock were arrested. Their interrogation led to disclosures that other suspects involved in the crime were Narinder Singh, alias Noori, Mandeep Singh, alias Dicky, and all other suspects were given shelter by Abhimanyu, alias Mannu, of Basant Nagar, Khanna. The motorcycle used in the incident was provided by Sahil, alias Dholi, of Khanna. Later, Abhimanyu was also arrested. The SSP further revealed the police went towards the Amloh side in search of Narinder and Mandeep. When they were told to stop for checking, they fired at the police team. The police also fired two shots in retaliation. Later, they managed to chase down the suspects. Illegal weapons and cartridges were also recovered from them. She said a stolen motorcycle used in the crime was provided to the suspects by Sahil, who was also arrested. The suspects also have a criminal background as cases of attempt to murder, under Arms Act, etc, were registered against them in the past. paramedics, coupled with adequate infrastructure and a safer and more conducive work environment.” As the decision to extend the retirement age from 62 to 65 years in the PMES cadre is concerned, the PCMSA has expressed concern over the move, as it will affect the career progression and promotion opportunities of young specialist doctors. “There is no shortage of specialist PCMS doctors who are qualified enough to be promoted to these posts in various government medical colleges of the state. The extension, if necessary, should be limited to clinical work only and administrative posts should be kept out of its ambit,” said another PCMS doctor. Members of the association are of the view that the government should encourage the younger lot to join healthcare services by providing good pay scales and job security. “Reappointing doctors and extending the retirement age are temporary solutions and the government should rather work on providing long-term solutions,” they said. Police extend operating hours for eateries in city Ludhiana, April 14 The Ludhiana Police Commissionerate has extended operating hours for eateries, including restaurants and bars, across the city. In an order released by the commissionerate, Deputy Commissioner of Police (HQ), Ludhiana, Snehdeep Sharma, exercising powers vested under Section 163 of the BNS, 2023, it is stated that restaurants and bars not having excise licenses L-3, L-4, or L-5 can operate till 2 am and hotels and bars having excise licenses L-3, L-4, or L-5 can remain open till 2 am. However, an extension up to 3 am is permitted, provided establishments meet the norms specified under the existing excise policy. It also emphasises the safety of employees and visitors, particularly women. According to the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act and a notification dated July 15, 2024, establishments open past 10 pm must provide separate lockers, restrooms and security for female employees. Women cannot work after 8 pm without written consent and safe transportation to home must be ensured for them. The Prevention of Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, must also be enforced in these establishments. Further, the order mandates stringent safety measures, including installation of CCTV cameras with a minimum 15day recording backup, provision of emergency alarms and adequate security staff to prevent disturbances, well-lit parking spaces or valet services to avoid traffic disruptions, strict compliance with noise pollution guidelines, ensuring levels do not exceed 10 dB(A) above area standards or 75 dB(A) between 10 pm and 6 am as per the Supreme Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court rulings. Amarvir Singh, president, Hotel and Resort Association, Ludhiana, thanked Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora for providing much-needed relief to their businesses. “It was our demand for the past over 10 years,” he said, adding that it was only around 10 days ago that the issue was brought to the notice of the MP — TNS .