21082026-CT-01.qxd 21-08-2026 00:49 Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune SOON, RENAL TRANSPLANT AT MOHALI, PATIALA HOSPITALS MAYOR, COMMISSIONER RAP OFFICERS OVER WATERLOGGING SUNIEL SHETTY FINDS PEACE AT GOLDEN TEMPLE Punjab Minister Dr Balbir Singh says renal transplant facility will be provided at Mohali, Patiala hospitals soon. P2 Mayor, MC chief reprimand officers for not hearing out people stuck in waterlogged areas recently. P3 Actor Suniel Shetty, accompanied by his wife Mana Shetty, visits Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 54 PANCHKULA 49 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 24 and 46 Mohali: Sector 68 and Phase 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 8 am to 11 am: Parts of Sector 37 10 am to 2 pm: Parts of Sectors 20, 30, 41, Badheri village, Butrela, Indra Colony, Subhash Nagar (Kisangarh), Makhanmajra and Mauli (Sunder Nagar) 3 pm to 4.30 pm: Parts of Sector 37 MOHALI 11 am to 2 pm: Mullanpur, Parol, Tira Rehmapur, Sangalan, Ratwara, Toggan, Mastgarh, Kansal, Karoran, Nayagaon, Tanda, Tandi, Perch, Seonkh, Singha Devi, Nada, Omaxe Cassia, The Address and Eco City. City colleges affiliated with university to go to polls the same day Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 20 The Panjab University Campus Students’ Council (PUCSC) elections will be held on August 31. The student council elections will also be held at PU-affiliated colleges in the city on the same day. After receiving the nod of the UT Administration on the poll date, the university announced the election schedule, bringing the model code of conduct into force on the campus. The voting will start at 9.30 am, followed by the counting of votes and declaration of the results in the evening. The election process will start on August 24 with the filing of nominations from 9.30 am to 10.30 am, followed by immediate scrutiny of the documents. The list of candidates will be displayed by 12 noon. Objections can be filed between 12.30 pm and 1.30 pm on the same day. A provisional list of candidates and objections will have to be submitted by 2.30 pm at the office of the Dean Student Welfare (DSW). On August 25, the list of approved candidates will be out at 10 am. Withdrawals will be allowed between 10.30 am and 12 noon. The final list of candidates will be displayed by 2.30 pm. FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE 2 workers die, 1 hurt as soil gives way in Mohali Incident occurs at under-construction hospital site Gaurav Kanthwal Tribune News Service Vehicles being checked at Gate No. 2 of Panjab University in Chandigarh on Thursday. PARDEEP TEWARI NUMBER OF STUDENTS NEARLY 17,000 (admissions underway) The elections will be held for the posts of president, vicepresident, secretary and joint secretary of the council. Besides, voting to elect 100 Department Representatives (DRs) will be held on August 31. The results for the DR elections will be released on September 8. On September 11, DRs will elect five of them to the Executive Council. The four officebearers of the student council will be other members of the Executive Council. Nearly 17,000 students from TOTAL DEPARTMENTS: 76 FILING OF NOMINATION PAPERS: August 24 WITHDRAWAL OF PAPERS, FINAL LIST OF CANDIDATES: August 25 DAY OF POLLING, COUNTING OF VOTES, DECLARATION OF RESULT: August 31 76 departments are likely to have the right to vote, as the admission process is still underway. Last year, there were 16,124 registered voters and 9,535 of them exercised their franchise. As the model code of conduct has come into force, rallies and larger gathering have been prohibited on the university campus. Restrictions have been imposed on campaign material as well. “A candidate’s nomination can be cancelled if a party is found littering on the campus,” said an official. Campus security stepped up Security on the campus has been ramped up. The campus will be guarded by nearly 450 Chandigarh Police personnel. For the girls’ hostels, seven shift incharges have been deputed and 17 safety incharges have been appointed for the campus. The students have been asked to mandatorily carry identification cards. continued on page 2 Mohali, August 20 Two construction workers died while another was seriously injured after earth collapsed at an under-construction building of a hospital in Aerocity A-Block on Thursday evening. Sources said a portion of the soil along the side wall collapsed at the construction site of Elite Medicity Hospital near Papdi village around 7 pm and fell on workers at the site. The deceased were identified as Udayvir and Ominder, both residents of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. Another worker, Anuj, sustained an injury to his leg and was also shifted to the Civil Hospital. Local councillor Harvinder Singh Binder said the earth was dug around 50 feet deep to construct the basement of the hospital. Due to alleged lack of proper arrangements, soil embankment on the roadside gave way. One of the side walls collapsed too. The councillor and several local residents said the workers had to lose their lives due to the negligence of the contractor and the lack of atten- A rescue operation underway at the under-construction hospital site in Mohali on Thursday evening. TRIBUNE PHOTO tion from GMADA. Locals said mounds of loosened earth fell over construction workers. The construction work being carried out deep below ground level had rendered the earth loose. MC House declares controversial ~250-crore agenda null and void Resolution passed to bring it in next meeting for proper discussion Tribune News Service Labourers carry out restoration work after a portion of a road on the Sector 28 side of Madhya Marg collapsed, in Chandigarh on Thursday. Madhya Marg cave-in triggers traffic chaos Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 20 Motorists and commuters faced severe traffic congestion near the Sector 26 grain market chowk and Transport Light Point on Thursday as a portion of Madhya Marg on the Sector 28 side caved in following heavy rainfall on Tuesday evening. The Traffic Police cordoned off the damaged stretch on the Sector 28 side. Traffic was diverted towards the Motor Market road in Sector 28 and the road running between the mandi and Police Lines in Sector 26. Officials said repair work by the Municipal Corporation and Engineering Department was underway and the damaged portion would be restored soon. According to officials, the road caved in after an underground water pipeline burst due to the heavy flow of rainwater. The diversion, however, has led to major traffic snarls, particularly for motorists coming from Panchkula. During peak morning and evening hours, traffic movement has slowed consider- MAX 35°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 35.7°C | MIN 25.4°C SUNRISE SATURDAY 5.53 AM /THETRIBUNECHD PU student council elections on Aug 31 PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET FRIDAY 6.59 PM » FRIDAY | 21 AUGUST 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Chandigarh, August 20 The General House of Chandigarh Municipal Corporation on Thursday declared all development-related agenda items involving projects worth over Rs 250 crore, which were passed in a hurried manner during the July 31 meeting, null and void. As the meeting began, Mayor Saurabh Joshi announced that the agenda items involving projects worth over Rs 250 crore had been withdrawn and would be placed before the House at its next meeting for detailed deliberation. AAP and Congress councillors objected to the unilateral announcement and circulated a resolution signed by members of the House seeking withdrawal of the agenda items. The Mayor then put the issue to a vote, following which a resolution was passed declaring all agenda items null and void and directing that they be brought in the next House meeting for proper discussion. Besides opposition councillors, many BJP councillors also opposed the manner in which the agendas had been passed without discussion. The councillors alleged that an agenda for the replacement of water-supply pipelines worth Rs 227 crore had been passed without providing details of the project. However, the Mayor accused the opposition councillors of disrupting House meetings and allegedly being non-serious about development. He said the opposition councillors remained absent during the meetings and later objected to the agenda items being passed in a hurry. Among the agenda items declared null and void was the Rs-227 crore project for replacing pipelines supplying water from the Kajauli Water Works to the Sector 39 Water Works. Another was the request for proposal (RFP) for selecting an agency to process dry and mixed waste at the existing dry-waste processing plant in Sector 25. Other agenda items included the RFP for the design, supply, installation, testing, commissioning and comprehensive operation and maintenance of effluent treatment plants at municipal dhobi ghats; approval for the rejuvenation of selected ponds; the RFP for the design, construction, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance of wastewater treatment system for the Faidan drain; estimates for upgrading the Sector 38-C and 38-D markets; augmentation of strengthening of the water supply network in the Industrial Area, Phase ll; and replacement of old and damaged pipelines to prevent contamination of the water supply address low-pressure complaints in Badheri village and Sectors 41-A and 40-A. Onlookers and local residents alleged that repeated warnings to the contractor and workers had fallen on deaf ears for the past one month. Rescue workers were continued on page 2 Tricity remains dry despite yellow alert Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 20 The Tricity remained largely dry on Thursday despite the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) yellow alert for heavy rain at isolated places, as the weather system that triggered Tuesday’s flashflood-like conditions weakened further. The dry spell provided respite to civic agencies engaged in restoring roads and public utilities damaged by Tuesday’s intense rainfall, when large parts of the Tricity were inundated. Several roads, bridges and drainage structures were damaged. With rainfall activity subsiding, temperatures began to rise again in Chandigarh. The maximum temperature climbed to 35.7°C, an increase of 1.3 degrees over Wednesday, while remaining 2.9 degrees above normal. The minimum temperature also rose marginally to 25.4°C, up 2.2 degrees from the previous night, but remained 0.1 degree below normal. The relative humidity continued on page 2 ~116-CR SMART CITY FUNDS SCAM Ex-employee of civic body gives up in CBI court Ramkrishan Upadhyay Traffic coming from the Panchkula side being diverted towards the road separating the Sector 26 mandi and the Police Lines, at Transport Chowk on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: PARDEEP TEWARI ably, with traffic volume increased significantly on the alternative routes. As per the Traffic Police, the diversion was necessitated after a portion of the Madhya Marg stretch caved in, obstructing normal traffic movement. For public safety, traffic coming from Panchkula was diverted from the Transport Light Point via the road behind Police Lines towards ITI Light Point. Commuters have expressed frustration over the prolonged congestion and traffic management arrangements. “Is the Traffic Police only for issuing challans or do they have to manage traffic too?” questioned Ramanjit Singh, a commuter. Aman Sharma, who works in Sector 17, said traffic jams had significantly affected his daily commute. “I have to face massive traffic jams while going to the office and returning home. The authorities should carry out the repair work on a war footing. These days, I have to leave Panchkula at least half an hour early to reach my office on time,” he said. Another commuter, Raj Kumar, a government employee, said Madhya Marg was one of the city’s main arterial roads and even a partial closure had a major impact on traffic. “One can imagine the traffic situation when one side of such a major road is blocked, particularly on the stretch from Transport Light Point to Sabzi Mandi Chowk,” he said. c m y b Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 20 On the run for over five months, Anubhav Mishra, a former employee of the Municipal Corporation and one of the accused in the over Rs 116-crore fraud involving Smart City funds deposited in IDFC First Bank, surrendered before the CBI court in Chandigarh on Thursday. He has been sent to a seven-day CBI remand. Seeking Mishra’s remand, Narender Singh, Public Prosecutor for the CBI, told the court that after the registration of the case, the accused left India and did not join the investigation despite repeated efforts and notices issued by the agency. His custodial interrogation was required for fair, complete and effective further investigation to confront him with documentary and digital evidence collected during the investigation regarding opening and operation of specific MC account as well as to ascertain the circumstances under which his email-ID and mobile number were linked with the account. He was also to be confronted with WhatsApp chats, call details and other digital evidence, said Narender Singh. Mishra’s counsel Vikas Garg argued that the accused was falsely implicated in the case. He had no authority to make any transaction of the money lying in IDFC Bank accounts. Mishra and bank officers were booked following a complaint by the MC Commissioner, who reported fake FDRs of over Rs 116 crore and mismanagement in various accounts of Chandigarh Smart City Limited and the MC in the IDFC First Bank’s Sector 32 branch. The FDRs were reportedly issued by Rishab Rishi, the then branch manager, and Anubhav Mishra was the custodian of the FDRs, the complainant stated. While granting the remand, the CBI court said the investigation involved a complex financial conspiracy, digital evidence, banking transactions, purported FDRs and movement of substantial government funds. The custodial interrogation of the accused was necessary to verify his role in the larger conspiracy and to ascertain the involvement of other persons/entities.