01092025-CT-01.qxd 9/1/2025 12:49 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune PU STUDENT ELECTION FERVOUR FADING AWAY IVAAN BAGS 2 GOLD MEDALS AT ASIAN SKATING MEET BASRA MAKES A COMEBACK WITH FAMILY DRAMA MEHAR No platform for debates, restrictions on rallies, the election is slowly losing its charm. P3 Won tthe Junior 333m and 222m races at the Asian Open Short Track Speed Skating Trophy. P3 Geeta Basra, 41-year-old artiste, credits cricketer-turned-politician husband Harbhajan Singh for the comeback.P4 » » RAIN MAX 26°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 28.1°C | MIN 26.7°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.45 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6.00 AM » MONDAY | 1 SEPTEMBER 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Rain continues to batter tricity region Body of missing youth found in Sukhna Choe Weatherman issues orange, yellow alert for heavy rain over next two days Sheetal Nitin Jain WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH CONFERENCE: On startup launch pad to empower young entrepreneurs; Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar to be chief guest, Chandigarh University, Gharuan (Mohali), 11 am APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sec 43 & 45 Mohali: Sectors 70, 78 & Phase 5 Panchkula: MDC, Sector 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com DEAR READERS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your healthrelated queries. Please mail your questions at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your health-related concerns. INBRIEF MAN HELD WITH HEROIN, GANJA Chandigarh: A man was arrested with 6.35 grams of heroin and 113 grams of ganja in Mauli Jagran. Ravi was arrested near Nirankari Bhawan on Saturday. TNS Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 31 The body of a 25-year-old youth, who was swept away in Sukhna Choe while fishing with friends, was recovered this morning. The deceased has been identified as Premchand, a resident of Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26. According to the police, Prem had gone fishing with friends near the railway bridge on Friday evening when he was swept away in the heavy flow of water release from Sukhna Lake. Desperate attempts by his friends to rescue him went futile. The Police Control Room was informed immediately, after which daily search operation had been carried out by the Sector 26 and Bapu Dham police teams. A passerby spotted the Chandigarh, August 31 Morning downpour once again affected the normal life today, with most parts of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula witnessing waterlogging. The rain, which turned intense between 9:30 am and 11:30 am, continued intermittently for the rest of the day and evening till the reports last came in. Several road stretches suffered major damage with the potholes becoming wide and deep, putting commuters at a risk. The situation was reported grim along the Ghaggar river, which was in spate across Panchkula and Dera Bassi villages, besides the areas along the Sukhna Choe. Water from Sukhna Lake is discharged into the choe whenever the level crosses the danger mark. While certain parts of Morni remained cut off due to landslides and broken roads, Zirakpur, Mohali, Kharar and Chandigarh witnessed massive traffic snarls at major roads and busy junctions filled with rainwater. Reports of trees and poles falling on vehicles causing damage to public property and disruption in power and water supply were also received from different parts of the tricity region. While damage to roofs and other structures of some kutcha houses was also reported, no loss to life, however, was reported till the reports last came in. The apathy on the part of Municipal Corporation officials in Chandigarh, Mohali, A waterlogged road on the Panjab University campus after heavy rain on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI UT LOGS THIRD HEAVIEST RAINFALL IN 13 YEARS ■ Chandigarh recorded the third heaviest rainfall during the month of August in the past 13 years, the IMD has said. This year’s 349.8-mm downpour till 5:30 pm on Sunday was less than the heaviest 373.2-mm rainfall recorded in 2020. The city witnessed 351.6-mm rainfall in August 2024. ■ This year’s August showers till 5:30 pm were 65-mm more than normal rainfall of 284.8-mm, while precipitation was almost 23% more than normal. Zirakpur, Dera Bassi, Kharar and Panchkula was evident as the residents were left in the lurch. They were forced to fend for themselves in the absence of proper drainage system and adequate road network. Even as the administrations of all three cities were quick enough to sound alerts, advising the residents to exercise restraint by staying away from the areas close to the swollen Ghaggar and rivulets, the rain-hit residents complained that not enough Key accused in ~1.6-cr cyber fraud cases lands in police net Chandigarh, August 31 The cybercrime police station here has arrested a 28-year-old man, identified as Deepak, from Jhajjar, Haryana, in connection with two major online investment frauds. The victims, both local residents, had lost over Rs 1.6 crore. The FIR was registered in May on a complaint filed by a city resident, who, along with his wife, was duped of Rs 1.4 crore through fake trading websites – gomcz.com and wuihdjh.com. They were lured via a WhatsApp group named “W6 Stock Uptrend Club”, where the fraudsters impersonated JM Financial representatives and convinced them to open Portfolio Management Service accounts. Initial small profits were shown to build trust before withdrawals were blocked. Large sums were routed through multiple accounts, including one belonging to M/s Mavona Logistics Services, before being diverted to Deepak’s Kotak Mahindra Bank account. The police arrested him in Jhajjar on August 28. The other case was registered in July. The victim, after clicking a YouTube popup advertisement, was added to a WhatsApp group featuring fake investment lectures, quizzes and fabricated success stories. The fraudsters persuaded him into transferring Rs 26.5 lakh into various accounts, including Deepak’s Axis Bank account. When he sought withdrawals, he was threatened with legal consequences. — TNS A commuter pulls his scooter on a flooded Green Valley-Sante Majra Colony road in Kharar. PHOTO: VICKY REPORT ON PAGE 2 TRICITY METER AUGUST RAINFALL YEAR 2025 CITY Chd Mohali P’kula MM 349.8 351.6 373.2 2024 2020 MAX MIN RAIN 28.1°C 26.7°C 41.3-mm 28.1°C 26.9°C 32-mm 28.1°C 26.5°C 19-mm (SOURCE: IMD, AUGUST 2025 RAINFALL TILL 5:30 PM, REST YEARS TILL 12 MIDNIGHT) the day on Sunday while it soared upto 2.2 degree Celsius on Saturday night. The day temperature settled at 28.1 across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, which was 5.6 notches less than Saturday’s mercury, and 5.5 degrees below normal. However, the night temperature rose to 26.7, 26.9 and 26.5 degree Celsius in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, respectively, which was 1.7, 0.9 and 2.2 notches above the previous night’s reading. 25-yr-old Premchand was swept away while fishing with friends body lying on the banks of the choe and informed the police. The spot from where the body was found is 5 km away from the place where the incident occurred. It was shifted to the mortuary of the Government MultiSpeciality Hospital, Sector 16, for post-mortem. Prem belonged to a modest family comprising three brothers and one sister. One of his brothers had died earlier. His sudden death has left the family devastated. Relatives recounted that fishing by the Choe was a favourite pastime for Prem and his friends. The police are trying to piece together the final moments before Shyam disappeared in the choe. was being done by the official machinery to provide relief and rescue the needy. Chandigarh recorded 41.3mm rainfall followed by 32mm in Mohali and 19-mm downpour logged in Panchkula during the past 24 hours. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) today issued orange and yellow alerts predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. It said a spell of widespread rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy rainfall at few places is very likely over Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana during the next 36-48 hours. “Light to moderate rain is very likely at most places on September 1, at many places on September 2 and at isolated places thereafter in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana,” the weathermen predicted, while warning of heavy to very heavy rain at few places likely till Septem- 5 houses burgled at Sunny Enclave Machines deployed at Ghaggar embankment Mohali, August 31 Five houses were burgled in broad daylight within four hours at Kendriya Vihar, Sunny Enclave, Kharar, yesterday. Local residents said thieves had no fear of the police, as hardly any patrolling was carried out in the area. Meanwhile, two thieves stole ornaments and cash from a flat at Golden Palm Premium Colony near Dera Bassi. House owner Sanjeev Kumar said the theft occurred around 11:20 pm and the thieves were caught on a CCTV camera. — TNS All set for Ganpati Visarjan c m y b MERCURY DIPS IN DAY, RISES IN NIGHT Following the intense rain, the mercury dipped considerably upto 5.6 notches during Workers start filling sandbags at vulnerable spot in Tiwana village Gaurav Kanthwal Tribune News Service Mohali, August 31 Earth-moving machines have been deployed and filling of sandbags by MGNREGA workers has started to strengthen the Tiwana embankment as the water level in the Ghaggar continues to rise in Dera Bassi. The administration and police officials have been instructed to keep a round-theclock watch over the situation. Landowners and farmers, who can provide tractors, trailers or other equipment, have been asked to come forward. The officials said the embankments across the Dera Bassi constituency will be further strengthened. Dera Bassi MLA Kuljeet Singh Randhawa today visited the Tiwana embankment along with senior officials to review the situation. He assured the residents that the administration was fully alert and prepared to tackle any emergency. The MLA also reviewed the condition of the dam and water flow of Ghaggar near Amalala and Panj Grami villages. He assured the villagers that the administration would take necessary measures in time. He also visited the MubarakpurDhakoli causeway. Special girdawari Devotees from Sector 45 gaushala in Chandigarh take Lord Ganesha idols for immersion on Sunday. ber 2 over Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. The weatherman has predicted partially and generally cloudy skies with thunderstorms and rain in the tricity region till September 5. The day and night temperatures are expected to remain maximum and minimum between 31 and 25 degrees Celsius. Aspecialgirdawari(croplossassessment) will be conducted in Sarseeni, Sadhanpur, and Khajur Mandi villages, where overflowing water damaged standing crops recently. The matter of providing compensationtoflood-affectedpeo- MGNREGA workers fill sandbags near the Ghaggar embankment at Tiwana village on Sunday. VILLAGES PUT ON ALERT ■ Tiwana, Khajoor Mandi, Sadhanpur, Sarsini, Alamgir, Dangdhera, Mubarikpur, Mirpur and Bakarpur villages have been put on alert. Several villages had borne the brunt of floods in 2023. The floods caused a large-scale soil erosion and damage to agricultural land alongside the river. Floodwater had left two-foot layer of silt on the agricultural land here. EMERGENCY HELPLINES ■ Randhawa said in case of any emergency, residents may contact the District Administration Control Rooms at: 0172-2219506 (DC Office), 76580-51209 (Mobile, DC Office) and 01762-283224 (SDM Dera Bassi). They can also reach him at Dera Bassi Office – 01762-280095 and Zirakpur Office – 01762-528902 besides his personal mobile number. plefromtheSpecialReliefF will und be taken up with Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. MLA meets kin of farmer who drowned in rivulet Dera Bassi MLA Randhawa visited Lalru to meet the family of farmer Janak Raj, who was swept away in the Jharmal rivulet two days ago. Randhawa expressed his condolences to the bereaved family and assured them of due financial assistance from the government. He said efforts would be made to provide employment on compassionate grounds to an eligible member of the family. Dehar-Alamgir-Tiwana link embankment a key point The Dehar-Alamgir-Tiwana link embankment is a crucial point for many villages located alongside the Ghaggar in Dera Bassi. On August 29, water was flowing above this embankment but it remained intact. A 4,500-foot-wide breach at this embankment in 2023 had caused widespread damage, after which it was fortified. Punjab Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, while responding to the motion moved by the Dera Bassi MLA in the Assembly on July 15, had stated that Rs 10 crore had been spent on the strengthening of this embankment. The department had proposed to widen the Ghaggar near Tiwana village and strengthen its embankments. Experts say the water level in the river had increased significantly at the village after the heavy rain in 2023, flooding the cultivable lands on the left side. Also, erosion had resulted in the land level getting lower by about 10 feet, after which the department had put up stone revetments and studs on a 2,500-foot length to protect the cultivable land from further erosion. A bundh was also built by putting soil behind it which got eroded at some places.