18012021-CT-01.qxd 1/18/2021 12:33 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh TRIBUNE MONDAY | 18 JANUARY 2021 | CHANDIGARH PU MAY CONDUCT SEMESTER EXAMS IN BLENDED MODE PAGE 3 An official announcement in this regard to be made after getting the approval of the PU Vice-Chancellor. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY P’KULA SAMPLES TESTED 2,00,245 SAMPLES REJECTED 942 POSITIVE 20,537 NEGATIVE 1,78,766 RECOVERED 19,978 REPORTS AWAITED 61 ACTIVE 229 DEATHS 330 MAX 19°C | MIN 9°C | YESTERDAY MAX 19.2°C | MIN 8.3°C 1,86,679 — 19,019 1,67,095 17,835 565 830 354 AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 101 PANCHKULA 169 MOHALI 144 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF FOUR BOOKED ON CHARGE OF ASSAULT Chandigarh: Four miscreants have been booked for allegedly attacking three persons. According to the police, the complainant, Mohammad Tafazul of Dadu Majra Colony, alleged that Suresh, Mukesh, Zehreela and Spati, all residents of EWS Colony, Dhanas, attacked him and his friends Faizal and Wahid at the fish market in Dhanas on January 12. The complainant and Faizal were hurt and admitted to the GMSH-16. The police have registered a case at the Sarangpur police station. TNS MAN’S BODY FOUND HANGING Chandigarh: The body of an unidentified man was found hanging from a tree at a forest near Sarangpur. The police said prima facie, it appeared to be a case of suicide. The victim, aged around 35, was found hanging on Saturday. “The body appeared to be around five days old,” the police said. An investigation has been initiated at the Sarangpur police station. TNS YOUTH DIES AS MOBIKE SKIDS Chandigarh: A 21-year-old youth was killed after the motorcycle he was riding reportedly skidded near Raipur Kalan. The victim has been identified as Sagar Mukhiya of Mauli village. According to the police, information about a youth lying unconscious near the Raipur Kalan T-point was received by them. The police reached the spot and found the victim’s motorcycle lying near the spot. The victim was shifted to the GMCH-32, where doctors declared him brought dead. The police said prima facie it appeared that the victim’s bike skidded due to speeding. “No foul play has come to the fore,” the police said. Inquest proceedings have been initiated. TNS SUNSET MONDAY 5:47 PM 20 mild reactions reported on Day 1 MOHALI 1,51,597 — 10,349 — 10,007 — 197 145 A beneficiary gets the Covid vaccine on the first day of the vaccination drive in Panchkula on Saturday. Day after vaccination, beneficiaries report no major side effects Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 17 A day after the first jab of Covishield was given to healthcare workers in the city, no major side effects or adverse events have come to the fore so far. Dr Amandeep Kaur Kang, Director, Health Services, UT, said: “No calls were received on the emergency helpline — 1075. A few reported fever, which is a common side effect after any vaccination. However, health workers are reportedly consulting their peers rather than approaching the authorities through the helpline.” A total of 109 healthcare workers were vaccinated at the PGI. Dr SS Pandav, who heads the Covid-19 immunisation at the institute, said some beneficiaries reported soreness at the injections site and two or three reported mild fever. “These are expected and common side effects of any vaccine,” he said. Dr Sanjay D Cruz, who is in- ❝ No calls were received on the emergency helpline — 1075. A few reported fever, which is a common side effect of any vaccination. However, health workers are reportedly consulting their peers rather than approaching the authorities through the helpline ❞ Dr Amandeep Kaur Kang, DIRECTOR, HEALTH SERVICES, UT charge of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) at the GMCH-32, said all beneficiaries were doing fine. “Just three healthcare workers from our institute reported fever.” On the first day of the Covid-19 vaccination, 374 healthcare workers were inoculated in Chandigarh. The vaccination drive went off without any major adverse event at all session sites. The next session will be conducted on Tuesday. One fatality, 54 fresh cases in Mohali dist Tribune News Service Mohali, January 17 One more fatality was witnessed in the district during the past 24 hours, taking the toll to 354. Meanwhile, 54 fresh Covid cases surfaced in the district, while 40 more patients recovered from the virus. Among the fresh cases, 33 were reported from Mohali (urban), one from Kurali, two from Dera Bassi, three from Gharuan, seven from Kharar and eight from Dhakoli. The district has so far seen 19,019 cases and 17,835 patients have been cured. There are now 830 active cases in the district. 34 more test positive in city Panchkula, January 17 Twenty mild cases of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) were reported on Day 1 of the vaccination drive in the district yesterday. The Civil Surgeon, Dr Jasjeet Kaur, said mild symptoms such as pain at the injection site and shivering were reported by about 20 receipients. As many as 266 healthcare workers received a jab yesterday, registering 95 per cent coverage. The local health administration had targeted to cover 282 health workers on Day 1 of the drive. Session at Sector 4 dispensary today The drive had taken place at three sites – Civil Dispensary in Sector 4, Alchemist Hospital and Community Health Centre (CHC) in Raipur Rani. While the CHC, Raipur Rani, and Alchemist Hospital saw 100 beneficiaries each, the Sector 4 Civil Dispensary received only 66 persons against 82 expected by the health administration. “The authorities will hold another session at the Sector 4 Civil Dispensary tomorrow and about 150 healthcare workers from the Civil Hospital and the National Health Mission will be inoculated,” said Dr Kaur. — TNS New norms under 2007 Delhi law being extended to UT Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 17 Not adhering to the fire safety norms can now cost violators the water and electricity connections. Any encroachment, which is against the fire safety norms, will invite a challan. These are the new rules under the Delhi Fire Service Act-2007, which will now be extended to the UT. Till now, the city was following the Delhi Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Act-1986, which has already been repealed by Delhi. “Many developments took place in the past few years like coming up of multistorey buildings, housing societies and coaching institutions, along with certain modifications in commercial establishments. Thus, provisions under the 1986 Act were proving to be outdated. Since Delhi has already repealed it, we too have to go with the latest norms,” said a senior fire official. “The Surat fire tragedy was a wake-up call for all. By following this new Act, we will Encroachments make entry of emergency vehicles difficult at Shastri Market in Sector 22. PRADEEP TEWARI passage and ❝If goods are kept in the we will issue apose a hindrance to the fire safety operation, challan. ❞ A UT fire official have more stringent norms for such institutions to follow. We will be in a better position to ensure safety of people and compliance with the fire safety directives,” he added. A committee was formed to prepare a draft of the Act, which the MC will follow with minor modifications as per the Chandigarh set-up. The panel headed by Addi- Tribune News Service People keep themselves warm around a bonfire in Chandigarh on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI department recorded the maximum temperature at 11.3°C and the minimum at 5.8°C. For the past few days, residents have had a tough time due to foggy weather. March of the faithful A nagar kirtan being taken out ahead of the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Sikh Guru, in Panchkula on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: NITIN MITTAL Mukesh Kumar Ahuja said the culling operations in the infected region of 1-km had been completed in nine days. In an earlier notification, it was stated that around 1.66 lakh birds will be culled at five farms. However, the Panchkula administration later excluded two farms. On the basis of remeasurement, the administration had claimed that their locations were outside the 1-km radius of the two epicentres. Even as bird flu has already been confirmed by the Jaland- c m y b tional Commissioner Anil Kumar Garg also has all fire station officers, a law officer and a fire superintendent as members. The committee has already held two meetings. The draft of the Act will be brought to the MC House for approval. “If goods are kept in the passage and pose hindrance to the fire safety operation, har-based Northern Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at four more poultry farms in the Barwala-Raipur Rani belt, their confirmatory reports from Bhopal are still awaited. The DC said they were still awaiting reports from the Bhopal lab on confirmation of bird flu in more poultry farms. He added that samples collected from 16-17 poultry farms of late would be sent to the Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar where these would be tested for bird flu. — TNS 10 birds found dead in city Chandigarh, January 17 Ten more birds were found dead in differen5t parts of the city today. Officials said the birds seemed to have died a natural death. Till now, no positive case of bird flu has been detected in the samples of birds found dead in the city. Today, a pigeon each was found dead in Sector 7 and 63, three crows in Sector 38, a crow each in Sector 40 and 38 (West), the PU and Mani Majra and a bat in Sector 32. — TNS we will issue a challan. If fire safety directives are not followed despite notices, we will have the power to remove water and power connection of the occupant of the building. There are several such new guidelines in the new law,” said a UT fire official. Meanwhile, implementation of existing laws is already a Herculean task for officials as well as people. At present, violation of fire safety norms is rampant at many commercial and rehri markets in the city. PNB official booked for fraud of ~16 lakh Tribune News Service 23 new cases in Panchkula Operations over at three farms; Bhopal lab yet to send confirmatory reports FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Sandeep Rana Chandigarh: The city on Sunday reported 34 fresh cases of Covid, taking the UT case tally to 20,537. The toll remained 330. A total of 43 patients recovered from the disease in the past 24 hours. TNS Panchkula: The district on Sunday reported 23 fresh coronavirus cases, taking the overall tally to 10,349. The Covid toll remained at 145. While 10,007 patients have recovered from the infectious disease, 197 cases are still active. The recovery rate of the district stands at 96.69 per cent. TNS TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD Fire safety: Violators to lose water, power connections Expect clear sky for three days Chandigarh, January 17 For the next three days, the city is likely to witness a clear sky. However, shallow to moderate fog may prevail. According to the Met Department, the day temperature improved today with a partly clear sky. The maximum temperature was 19.2°C, two degrees below normal. The minimum temperature too improved in the city. It was 8.3°C, three degrees more than normal. Yesterday, the PAGE 3 AAP district president Goldy says they will hold a survey regarding the winning capability of candidates. SUNRISE TUESDAY 7:19 AM Avian influenza: Over 81K birds culled in nine days Panchkula, January 17 The culling operations got over at three poultry farms in the Barwala-Raipur Rani belt on its eighth day on Sunday after the confirmation of avian influenza in the region. A total of 81,878 birds were culled at Siddharth Poultry Farm, Nature Poultry Farm and Narender Poultry Farm to break the chain of infection. As many as 3,008 eggs were also destroyed since January 9. Confirming the development, Deputy Commissioner MOHALI MC POLL DATE OUT, AAP YET TO NAME CANDIDATES Brother’s Hub, an eatery at Tira village near Mullanpur, sealed for serving hookah to customers; two arrested. TRICITY COVID REPORT CHD PAGE 3 HOOKAH SERVED AT CLUB NEAR MULLANPUR, 2 HELD Panchkula, January 17 A retired manager of the HMT was allegedly duped of ~16 lakh by six Punjab National Bank (PNB) officials, who floated “fake” insurance policies for the victim. One of the officials, Kuldeep Singh Rana, has been booked in the case. The victim, Jasram of New Saini Mohalla in Pinjore, told the police that he had visited the PNB Main Bazaar branch to renew his FD account in 2017. Rana had then “induced him to buy a policy with quick benefits that will mature in a year”. The victim fell for the scheme and invested in the single-premium policy on April 2017. Jasram paid ~1,50,000 for the policy through a cheque. In April 2018, when the victim enquired about the maturity of his policy, the suspects offered him another policy of ~5 lakh and asked him to have the maturity amount of the previous policy (~1.90 lakh) adjusted towards the new policy. The victim then issued a cheque for ~3.10 lakh to Rana, who encashed the cheque on April 12, 2018. The next day, ~1.47 lakh was deducted from the bank account of the victim. Upon asking the bank manager, the victim came to know that the deduction was for his PNB MetLife policy. Rana, while terming it an error, assured him of a rectification. The suspect kept offer- Retired HMT manager duped via fake policies ing the victim cold comfort for a year to quell his suspicion. In April 2019, Rana promised the victim complete repayment of the previous two policies. The victim was issued five cheques amounting to ~11 lakh between August 20, 2019, and November 30, 2019, by Rana. These cheques bounced later. The victim, during the same period, paid an amount of ~10 lakh for another policy. After the policy matured in 90 days, the victim was handed over a cheque for ~10.15 lakh, which also bounced on July 25, 2019, like the previous ones. After the victim reached out to Rana, he urged him not to take any legal action and promised repayment in cash. As he was under financial strain, the victim approached the Sector 17 PNB MetLife office, where he got to know that only the first policy offered to him for ~1.50 lakh was legal. The other two — one for ~5 lakh and the other for ~10 lakh — were fake and non-existent. The suspects could only return the victim ~2.50 lakh. A case was registered under Section 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the IPC against Rana at the Pinjore police station. ISTOCK