19032024-CT-01.qxd 3/19/2024 12:23 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune FORMER DISTRICT CONG PANEL CHIEF LIKELY TO JOIN AAP KAMATH IN MAIN DRAW OF M15 ITF WORLD TOUR TENNIS MEET AVT CHAMPIONS TOUR TO KICK OFF AT CGC TODAY Subhash, who recently resigned from the party, says he is impressed with the working of the CM. P2 Top seed Kamath marches into the main draw by defeating Oges Theyio Jaya Prakash in straight sets. P2 AVT Champions Tour, final event of 2023-24 season, to decide the merit list winner of the season. P2 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 123 PANCHKULA 87 MOHALI 120 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF TWO HELD FOR STABBING YOUTH Chandigarh: Two persons have been arrested by the police for stabbing a youth. Arjun, a resident on Maloya colony, alleged that Chirag, Chunni Lal, Prem Babu, Abhishek and others stabbed him near his house. He suffered injuries and was admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. The police registered a case of rioting and attempt to murder at the Maloya police station and later, nabbed Prem Babu and Abhishek. TNS TRAFFIC ADVISORY RELEASED FOR UT Chandigarh: Owing to the ongoing work on sewerage and drainage at the furniture market chowk (Sector 41/42/53/54) and on slip roads of the Sector 41/42 stretch, the Chandigarh Traffic Police has advised commuters to avoid Matour chowk (Sectors 43/44/51/52), Kajheri chowk (Sectors-42/43/52/53), Furniture market chowk (Sectors- 41/42/53/54), Badheri chowk (Sectors40/41/54/55) and Sector41/42 road. Half of the road had been closed due to which traffic congestion is witnessed at the Sector 41/42/53/54 chowk. The commuters are advised to use alternative routes to avoid traffic congestion, the police said. TNS WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH APNI MANDI: Sectors 29, 56 and Dhanas MOHALI APNI MANDI: Sector 71 PANCHKULA APNI MANDI: Sector 15 80 vehicles help CTU cut CO2 emissions by 5,380 tonne Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 18 With the launch of electric buses in the city, the UT Transport Department has saved nearly 20.38 lakh litres of diesel worth Rs 17.17 crore in two years. Procured in November 2021, as many as 80 electric buses ply on city roads at present. More than 1.51 crore passengers have travelled by these buses in the past more than 26 months. UT Transport Director Pradhuman Singh says the electric buses have so far covered 1.01 crore km on intracity routes, thus saving over 20.38 lakh litres of diesel. The electric buses have also helped prevent 5380.42 tonne of CO2 emission. He e-buses fleet include vehicles of Ashok Leyland and Eicher. In order to provide eco-friendly and green transportation in the city, the Transport Department plans to procure 100 more electric buses this year. The procurement will give a fillip to the administration’s plan of replacing the entire fleet of 350 diesel buses of the 100 MORE VEHICLES TO BE PROCURED THIS YEAR EACH BUS COVERS 300 KM A DAY The Transport Department plans to procure 100 more electric buses this year. It will give a fillip to the administration’s plan of replacing the entire fleet of 350 diesel buses of the CTU with electric ones by 2027-28. A bus covers a distance of nearly 130 km on a single charge. It takes nearly two hours to fully charge a vehicle. Each bus has a seating capacity of 36 and can carry a maximum of 54 people at a time. On an average, each of these buses covers 200 km to 300 km a day. INCENTIVES FOR EVs So far, 2,881 people have been given an incentive of ~ 17.77 crore for buying EVs in Chandigarh. The city has the largest public bike sharing system in the country with 10 lakh rides covering an area of 41 lakh km, cutting more than 1,010 tonne of carbon emission. Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU), running both local as well as suburban routes, with electric ones by 2027-28. A bus covers a distance of nearly 130 km on a single charge. It takes nearly two hours to fully charge a vehicle. Each bus has a seating capacity of 36 and can carry a maximum of 54 people at a time. On an average, each of these buses covers 200 km to 300 km a day. The State-Level Steering Transparency, accountability new DGP Yadav’s priorities Gunshots fired at Kansal, 3 locals arrested Chandigarh, March 18 Welfare of society with transparency and accountability will be new UT DGP Surendra Singh Yadav’s priority. “As a team, we will deliver the best services to the citizens,” said Yadav, a 1997 batch IPS officer of the AGMUT Cadre, during a welcome parade organised at the Police Lines, Sector 26, today He emphasised the police force was like his family and he would be available to all as the DGP “New initiatives will . be taken for the welfare of the Chandigarh Police as well as citizens,” he added. The parade contingents of the Chandigarh Police, head- Mohali, March 18 At a time when the administration is on its toes to ensure compliance with the model code of conduct ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the police arrested three suspects for firing gunshots into the air from the rooftop of their rented accommodation at Kansal in Nayagaon area today. The suspects, identified as Rakesh Kumar, Kulwinder Singh and Jasvir Singh, all residents of Kansal village, were arrested and their weapon, along with four rounds and two shells, recovered. A case under Sections 336 and 34 of the IPC and the Arms Act has been registered at the Nayagaon police station. The police said the spot where the gunshots were fired was close to a nationalised bank. “The police are investigating as to why the suspects fired gunshots into the air and for whom the licence was issued,” said DSP City-1 Mohit Aggarwal. The arms licence holders in the district have been urged to deposit their weapons at police stations without further delay. — TNS City DGP Surendra Singh Yadav takes the salute during a welcome parade in Chandigarh on Monday. A TRIBUNE PHOTO ed by parade commander P Abhinandan, DSP (North/East), marched down along with pipe and brass bands. Later in the evening, the DGP chaired a meeting with all Inspectors and DSPs and asked them to maintain transparency and discipline in their working. — TNS Youth arrested for two house thefts The suspect in UT police custody. Committee (SLSC) has decided to replace 100 diesel buses with e-buses sanctioned by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to Chandigarh under the Centre-sponsored “PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme. It was decided that the ministry will again be requested to allocate 70 more buses to the city under this scheme. Apart from public transport, the share of private electric vehicles (EVs) is also increasing. In the past 10-12 months, the number of such vehicles registered in Chandigarh has been 18-10 on an average every day. Not only two-wheelers but people are also buying four-wheelers. This also shows that from September 2023 to January 2024, the city has been ahead in terms of EV adoption across the country. In this, 578 EVs were registered in September 2023 and the adoption rate was 14.9%. Similarly, with 598 new EVs, adoption rate was 14.1% in October, 13.9% in November and 20.48% in December. In January 2024, 562 EVs were sold and the adoption rate remained 15.66%. Chandigarh, March 18 Crime Branch of the UT police has arrested a burglar who was involved in two house thefts at Shastri Nagar, Mani Majra. The suspect has been identified as Anil Kumar, alias Batish, a resident of Bapu Dham Colony (BDC). In a complaint, Sonu Gupta had reported that gold and silver ornaments, two mobile phones, Rs 18,000 and other valuables were stolen from her house during the night of March 3. The police said the other house theft was reported in December last year by Daya Shankar, who stated that Rs 30,000, gold and silver jew- ellery, and two mobile phones were stolen from his house. The police said the suspect was nabbed from Bapu Dham Colony and the stolen items were recovered. The 24-yearold suspect already faces five cases of theft registered in the city, of which he was convicted in four cases. — TNS FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE New Mullanpur stadium all geared up for IPL tie Punjab Kings to face Delhi Capitals on March 23 Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 18 Will the new stadium at Mullanpur end the title drought for Punjab Kings? As Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, gets ready to host its first mega event, all eyes will be on Punjab Kings, who will play on their third home ground since the team’s inception. The March 23 will be a historic day for the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) as Punjab Kings are scheduled to play their Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Delhi Capitals. This match will also mark a new journey for the PCA to host future international matches there. After a period of over a decade, and witnessing some controversies, the stadium with a capacity of 35,000 spectators is all set to host the match. In the past, Punjab Kings, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, had played their home matches at IS Bindra PCA Stadium, Mohali, and at HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala. In 2016, the franchisee had announced to host three home matches at Nagpur, but later shifted to Dharamsala. The Mullanpur stadium has been their home ground since 2008. Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Nathan Ellis of Punjab Kings practise at the Mullanpur Stadium on Monday. RAVI KUMAR RISHABH PANT TO MAKE A COMEBACK ■ The ground will witness the return of Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who suffered a life-threatening car accident in December 2022. He is likely to captain the Delhi Capitals on March 23 here. ■ GMADA is working on developing the 1,500m stretch from Togan village till the stadium. Instead of building the four-lane PR4 road, Chandigarh, March 18 City Congress president HS Lucky today claimed the Central Election Committee would decide the party candidate from the city parliamentary constituency at 4 pm tomorrow. In a press statement issued today, Lucky said the Chandigarh Congress Committee will also be present during the meeting. Three names — former Union minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari and city Congress president HS Lucky — were earlier shortlisted for Congress ticket for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, according to a party leader. Apart from Bansal and Lucky, City Youth Congress president Manoj Lubana and former Youth Congress president Harmail Kesari had procured forms to apply for ticket. Tewari did not take the form officially from the city party unit. “The party high command had included his name,” said the party leader. 2024 Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 18 With the model code of conduct coming into force, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Anindita Mitra, referring to the Election Commission of India’s instructions, has written to the MP , councillors and all party presidents to make sure they comply with these guidelines. “Public buildings such as community centres should be available to all parties and their candidates in a free, fair c m y b and transparent manner,” she says in the letter. Mitra has fixed the responsibilities of officers con- a two-lane road is being widened to three-lane. ■ A majority of tickets have been sold and the match is expected to witness a huge crowd. ■ The new stadium has a total of 1,620 parking slots, 16 gates, eight ramps, 21 lifts and six pavilions. ■ A meeting is likely to be held on March 20 between the Punjab Government and PCA officials to review the construction work around the stadium. Practice starts Lead by skipper Shikhar Dhawan, Punjab Kings players have started practising at the stadium. Dhawan, during the jersey launch, termed this new stadium as the team’s “lucky charm”. In the last edition, the team finished 8th with six wins. Meanwhile, for this season, Harshal Patel is likely to play a big role in pacing up the team’s attack. His inclusion will be supported by Kagiso Rabada and the leftarm duo of Sam Curran and local lad Arshdeep Singh. Rilee Rossouw and Chris Woakes are the top-order and new-ball back-ups, respective- Road work underway near the PCA cricket stadium in Mullanpur. VICKY ly. Rishi Dhawan, who has already played domestic matches here, and Sikandar Raza will be the best pick-up option for the team. No update on ‘Yuvraj stands’ In 2022, the PCA dedicated two stands to former international cricketers Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh at Mohali. However, at the new arena (Mullanpur), only Harbhajan’s name gets a mention at the ‘pavilion’ stands. According to sources, the PCA management is yet to take a decision on naming a stand after Yuvraj. Grand opening planned Sources also claimed that the PCA was planning for a grand opening of this stadium. “We will surely make it a memorable event. The preparations are already underway,” said Dilsher Khanna, secretary, PCA. The association has already decided to give free entry to underprivileged and specially-abled children. EV station targeted Thieves have stolen parts from units installed at the EV charging station in Sector 42. VICKY Congress to decide MC chief writes to parties on use of community centres on candidate today INDIA VOTES Tribune News Service MAX 31°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 29.4°C | MIN 13.5°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.26 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD E-buses: UT saves on diesel worth ~17 crore in two years MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET TUESDAY 6.33 PM » TUESDAY | 19 MARCH 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST cerned to ensure compliance with the guidelines. The ECI has also directed that even the causal meetings by members of parties at any public buildings such as community centres are not permitted and it shall be deemed a violation. No permission shall be granted to any single individual to use a community centre beyond 48 hours. The community centres shall not be made campaign offices or used for holding any public meetings for the purposes of election propaganda. Further, no political meeting will be allowed in any gov- ernment accommodation and it should not be used as election campaign office. The ECI has further directed that the photographs or images of the political functionaries, who may have a deep influence on the minds of voters and many of whom are still active in public life with high possibility of them contesting the elections, should not be displayed in any government building or premise. The Superintending Engineer has been directed to ensure no photographs or images of political functionaries is displayed in any government building. Modi’s pic removed Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 18 Acting on a complaint of violation of model code of conduct made on the C Vigil App by city advocate Pankaj Chandgothia, a team of the Election Commission today removed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s photo from the website of the Consumer Court office. Advocate Chandgothia said PM Modi was the star campaigner of the BJP and his name was always used in BJP’s slogans, hence the use of his picture on a government website or government channel was a violation of the code of conduct.
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