02072026-CT-01.qxd 7/2/2026 1:19 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune TWO DEAD, 7 INJURED IN DERA BASSI ACCIDENTS TRIBUNAL GIVES RELIEF TO JBT TEACHER, STAYS REPATRIATION SUNNY GETS ANOTHER TAREEKH ...THIS TIME ON OTT A biker and a 21-year-old woman were killed while seven sustained injuries in two road accidents in Dera Bassi. P2 The Chandigarh Bench of CAT has stayed the repatriation of a JBT schoolteacher to Punjab. P3 Deolsays,“IKKAisnotjustacourtroom drama.Itisastoryaboutrelationships,and difficultchoiceslifeforcesyoutomake.”P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 52 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 34, 56 and Ram Darbar Mohali: Sec 88 and Phase 8 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 10 am to 1 pm: Parts of Sector 37, Motor market and areas near Dadumajra Colony Satya Pal Jain reappointed Addl Solicitor General Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 Senior BJP leader Satya Pal Jain will serve as India’s Additional Solicitor General (ASG) at the Punjab and Haryana High Court for three more months. President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday reappointed Jain to the post for three more months, starting July 1. The same order reappointed Shashi Prakash Singh and Krishna Nandan Singh as ASGs at Allahabad and Patna high courts for three more months. Jain was appointed the ASG on April 9, 2015, by then President Pranab Mukherjee. The post was created at the Punjab and Haryana High Court in December 2014. Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 1 The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the UT Administration’s July 2020 notification that included vendors selling items such as chhole-bhature, kulche-chhole, paranthas, fruits, vegetables, and flowers outside religious places in the category of ‘essential service providers’. Noting that the notification was issued under the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Bench led by Justice Sanjay Karol said it has outlived its object, purpose and utility. “Deliberations with all concerned, including the functionaries, officers present in the court led us to a consensus with the amicus curiae on this specific issue. Accordingly, we FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE After seeing 3rd driest June, city gets monsoon showers Bitumen shortage hits recarpeting work in UT Tribune News Service Ramkrishan Upadhyay Chandigarh, July 1 After recording June as the third driest in the past 14 years, the city welcomed the southwest monsoon season on Wednesday, with widespread rain bringing down temperatures sharply and setting the stage for an active wet spell over the next few days. The city received only 39.3 mm rainfall in June against the normal 155.5 mm, a 75% deficit, making it the third driest June since 2013. Only June 2024 (11.9 mm) and June 2019 (24.8 mm) recorded lower rainfall. The city had received 213 mm rain in June last year. The southwest monsoon reached Chandigarh on Wednesday after a delay of nearly a week from its normal schedule. Rainfall picked up during the day, with the city recording 10.2 mm, the Chandigarh airport 22 mm and Mohali 21 mm between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm. The rainfall brought a sharp fall in temperatures. Chandigarh’s maximum temperature dropped to 29.7°C, down 7.3 degrees from Tuesday and 5.8 degrees below normal. Mohali’s maximum temperature fell by 6.6 degrees to 28.8°C. Night temperatures also Yellow alert for heavy showers from today 22 mm rain BRINGS DOWN MERCURY BY 7.3 DEGREES Students walk amid heavy showers at Panjab University in Chandigarh on Wednesday. PARDEEP TEWARI declined. Chandigarh recorded a minimum of 27.4°C, down 2.4 degrees, while Mohali recorded 28.3°C, a fall of 2.3 degrees. However, the minimum temperatures remained marginally above normal because of increased atmospheric moisture. The India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert from Thursday to Chandigarh, July 1 Bomb threat emails to 13 schools and a government office in the city on Wednesday morning triggered panic among students, parents, teachers and office-goers. Police rushed to all affected locations, conducted searches and evacuated premises as a precautionary measure. All threats turned out to be hoax. It is learnt that bomb threat emails were received by six private and seven government schools and Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat, Sector 1. Strawberry Fields High School, Sector 26, issued a circular to parents signed by Principal Nisha Kaul, stating that the school had received a bomb threat and that the police and the Emergency Response Cell had been notified. Bomb disposal squads and sniffer dog units swept through all affected premises. Searches drew crowds of parents outside school gates. Classes and office work remained suspended for some time before the authorities confirmed that the threats had no substance. The incidents follow a series of hoax bomb threats to city schools and establishments in recent months. The most recent cases — threat emails sent to Tender Heart School and three government schools in Sectors 16, 35 and 19 on January 28, and to the Punjab Civil Secretariat on January 29 — were cracked last month with the arrest of Saurav Biswas (30), a Bangladeshi national illegally settled in West Bengal. He was found to have procured nearly 300 Gmail accounts, of which 219 were sold to a Bangladesh-based person, to send such threats. — TNS next Tuesday for heavy rain, thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph. The forecast indicates light to moderate rainfall at many places with isolated heavy spells during the period. The maximum temperatures in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula are expected to remain between 32°C and 34°C, while the minimum tempera- tures are likely to hover around 25°C over the next five days. An IMD meteorologist said the delayed onset had resulted in a large rainfall deficit during June, but with the monsoon now reaching Chandigarh, frequent spells of rain were expected over the coming days, which should keep daytime temperatures below normal. Commuters unlikely to get relief from potholed roads Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 1 Shortage of bitumen has adversely hit recarpeting of roads across the city. With the onset of monsoon, it is unlikely that the work will resume, dashing residents’ hope of getting relief from potholed roads. Mayor Saurabh Joshi had stated that he had directed the contractors and officials to explore all possible alternatives for procuring bitumen and ensuring uninterrupted execution of work. However, the ground reality is different. The issue was raised by councillors during the MC General House meeting on Monday. Councillors alleged that over 70% of the allotted recarpeting work was pending due to the shortage of bitumen. MC officials admitted that the bitumen shortage disrupted the supply chain and slowed down the recarpeting work. The supply has been affected due to the US-Iran war. The MC is totally dependent on the public sector oil companies for the supply of bitumen. MC Commissioner Amit Kumar assured the councillors of taking all steps to procure bitumen. Former Senior Deputy Mayor Jasbir Singh Bunty Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 1 The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in the UT rose 7% year-on-year in June 2026 to Rs 229 crore, up from Rs 215 crore a year earlier, according to provisional Finance Ministry data released on Wednesday. The growth rate matched the national average of 7% for domestic GST collections across states and UTs. The June data, a copy of which is with The Tribune, caps a volatile quarter for the city. Collections opened the fiscal year down 7.8% in April at Rs 306 crore, before surging 3% in May to Rs 373 crore, then falling back in June. The month-on-month drop from May to June, nearly 39%, was sharper than seen in most states, though the year-on-year comparison held positive. Cumulatively, Chandi- SC Bench quashes UT Administration’s July 2020 notification A vendor sells fruits along a road in Chandigarh on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI quash the said notification dated July 17, 2020. Undoubtedly, the earlier notification would govern the field,” said the Bench, which also included Justice N Kotiswar Singh. A damaged road in Sector 26, Chandigarh. PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI RAIN EXPOSES MC READINESS FOR MONSOON ■ The rain on Wednesday exposed the MC preparedness for the monsoon. Rainwater accumulated on roads at many places, causing inconvenience to commuters. ■ The MC has cleaned only 74% said the recarpeting work was pending in his area. Raising the issue during the House meeting, AAP councillor Anju Katyal stated that road recarpeting had not started even as tenders were floated for the work. She added that Chandigarh residents should not suffer due to supply-related challenges. She suggested that the MC could start patch work till bitumen supply was restored. of storm water inlets before the monsoon. Only 22,696 out of 30,453 road gullies have been cleaned so far. ■ MC officials said all gullies would be cleaned by the next week. Monsoon rains had battered city roads last year, causing caveins at many places turning them into death traps for commuters. The roads were not recarpeted for thepastfewyearsastheMCfaced huge financial crisis. Ex-Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla said while the financial crisis was over now and tenders had been floated, the shortage of bitumen had hit the recarpeting work. The condition of roads in villages and colonies is also poor. UT’s June GST mop-up rises 7% Matches nat’l average, ~229 cr collected against last year’s ~215 cr garh’s April-June GST collection stood at approximately Rs 908 crore, a modest 2-3% rise over the same period last year. Among Union Territories, Chandigarh’s performance was middling. Andaman & Nicobar Islands (+53%) and Lakshadweep (+59%) posted the sharpest June gains, both off small bases. Chandigarh outpaced Jammu & Kashmir (-15%), Himachal Pradesh (-26%), Puducherry (-28%) and Ladakh (-7%), but trailed its immediate neighbours Punjab (+14%), Haryana (+9%) and Delhi (+8%). A more encouraging signal lies in State GST (SGST) settlement data, what actually reaches Chandigarh’s account after the Centre distributes Integrated GST (IGST). The pre-settlement SGST rose just 3% for the quarter to Rs 204 crore, but post-settlement SGST, which includes Chandigarh’s IGST share, jumped 29% to Rs 713 crore, suggesting the UT has gained from the settlement mechanism this fiscal year. Nationally, gross GST revenue for June touched Rs 1,94,812 crore, up 13.9%, driven largely by a 34.6% jump in import-linked IGST. Net revenue after refunds rose 11.2% to Rs 1,62,377 crore. The ministry cautioned that all figures are provisional and subject to revision. Chhole-bhature, fruit vendors no longer essential service providers Satya Prakash MAX 32°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 29.7°C | MIN 27.4°C SUNRISE FRIDAY 5.25 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Bomb threat to 13 schools, Secretariat turns out hoax Satya Pal Jain PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET THURSDAY 7.28 PM » THURSDAY | 2 JULY 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST The order came on a plea seeking eviction of street vendors from Chandigarh’s Man- c m y b imajra locality. The top court directed shifting of licensed vendors to recently identified vending zones at the earliest. “The vending zones should be made fully operational. The public amenities in each of these vending zones, if not already there, be established forthwith. Once operational, requisite attention be paid to their upkeep. Advertisements be placed both in print and electronic media at regular intervals informing the public of the vending zones and their timings,” it said. The process for issuing smart cards was a welcome step that ought to be carried out swiftly for all vendors, the Bench said. “To ensure safety and security of the vendors as also the buyers visiting the vending zones, the installation of CCTV cameras must be completed within six months with adequate provision of storing the videos for a specified period of time as may be deemed fit,” it said. The top court ordered the Chandigarh Administration to file an affidavit by July 22, indicating the status of compliance with its directions, and posted the matter for further hearing on July 24. “All pending applications/ appeals should be decided at the earliest after giving due opportunity of hearing to all interested parties. At any rate, the current batch of applications/appeals has to be decided within 60 days. For fresh applications/appeals, an outer limit of 30 days should be implemented, subject to provisions of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014, and its bylaws,” it said. The Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19, Chandigarh. UT Admn proposes digital makeover for Le Corbusier Centre Dushyant Singh Pundir Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 1 The UT Administration has planned to set up a fully digital museum in Block B at the Le Corbusier Centre in Sector 19 here. It has submitted a comprehensive plan to the Union Ministry of Tourism under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme with the aim of further strengthening Chandigarh’s identity as a globally recognised city of architecture and urban planning. Once the proposal is approved, the centre will offer visitors immersive experiences through virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), holographic and interactive displays, and digital archives. The centre will present the architectural journey of Le Corbusier, with a room dedicated to his contribution to Chandigarh and another to his contribution to the world. It will have a workstation for scholars, a library, a reading area, a lounge and a reception. The souvenir shop at the centre will be revamped. According to officials, Proposal sent to Centre for approval under Swadesh Darshan 2.0 the proposal was prepared to make the museum more interactive by introducing VR tours and AR displays. Officials believe that digitisation will significantly enhance visitor engagement. New features will allow visitors to virtually explore Chandigarh ’ s planning history and better understand the vision of Le Corbusier and his colleagues. The centre has a special place in Chandigarh’s history. Built as a temporary office in 1951, the building served as the planning headquarters where SwissFrench architect Le Corbusier and his team prepared the master plan for Chandigarh after Partition, when a new capital for Punjab was being developed. International architects, including Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, worked alongside Indian architects from this very building to shape the city’s continued on page 2