21012021-CT-01.qxd 1/21/2021 12:55 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh TRIBUNE THURSDAY | 21 JANUARY 2021 | CHANDIGARH PUNJABI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS AWAIT HOSTEL ALLOTMENT PAGE 2 CITY CIVIC BODY’S NEW WASTE COLLECTION PROJECT TAKES HIT Students forced to commute daily to the campus due to unavailability of hostel rooms, many stay back home. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY TRICITY COVID REPORT CHD P’KULA SAMPLES TESTED 2,03,275 SAMPLES REJECTED 942 POSITIVE 20,623 NEGATIVE 1,81,710 RECOVERED 20,122 REPORTS AWAITED 52 ACTIVE 171 DEATHS 330 MOHALI 1,53,842 — 10,401 — 10,061 — 193 147 1,87,528 — 19,134 1,68,017 17,977 377 803 354 MAX 19°C | MIN 8°C | YESTERDAY MAX 18.4°C | MIN 9.7°C SUNSET THURSDAY 5:50 PM Tribune News Service CHANDIGARH 107 PANCHKULA 186 MOHALI 191 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF BURGLARS STRIKE AT GROCERY STORE Chandigarh: A theft was reported from a grocery store at New Indira Colony, Mani Majra. Complainant Ravi Kumar reported that an amout of ~2,000 and cigarettes worth ~2,000 were stolen after breaking into the store on the intervening night of January 17 and 18. The police have registered a case at the IT Park police station. TNS 37 NEW CASES, NO DEATH IN MOHALI Mohali: The district reported 37 new cases of Covid on Wednesday. As many as 46 more patients recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours. Among the new cases, 26 were reported from Mohali (urban), three each from Dera Bassi, Dhakoli and Kharar, and one each from Banur and Lalru. The district has seen 19,134 cases so far and 17,977 patients have been cured. The active case tally stands at 803. With no new death, the toll stays at 354. TNS 18 FRESH CASES IN PANCHKULA Panchkula: The district reported 18 fresh coronavirus cases on Wednesday, taking the tally to 10,401. The toll remained at 147. While 10,061 patients have recovered from the infectious disease so far, 193 cases are still active. The recovery rate stands at 96.73 per cent. TNS 28 IN CITY CATCH INFECTION Chandigarh: The city on Wednesday reported 28 fresh cases of Covid, taking the UT case tally to 20,623 and the toll to 330. A total of 42 more patients recovered from the disease in the past 24 hours. TNS SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:18 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Colours of faith THE RIDER An MC team will inspect parking lots on January 31. If smart features have been added to the parking lots being managed by the firm concerned, it will be allowed to charge visitors on an hourly basis. ❝ A worker collects fee from a motorist at a parking lot in Sector 8, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR ❞ KK Yadav, MC COMMISSIONER THE CHARGES Parking rates, except outside malls, for two-wheelers and four-wheelers are ~5 and ~10, respectively. It was approved in the MC House that after smart features are added to the parking lots, the rates will at designated places and proper display of information regarding the 10-minute free parking facility. However, the features are lacking at many parking spaces. A Sector 35-C store owner lamented: “Some of the street lights inside the parking lots are non-functional. be doubled after the first four hours of parking. In the third slab, after 12 hours, the parking fee will be doubled again till 24 hours. There will be no charges for the first 10 minutes. Roads are full of potholes. Attendants are present only at exit and entry points, but do not manage vehicles inside the space. Whether you find parking space is not their problem. Twowheelers and four-wheelers are not parked at their designated spaces.” RK Garg, president of a senior citizens’ body, has already asked the MC to make its contracts public. “The firms should not be allowed to charge on an hourly basis even in a phased manner till they add smart features to all parking lots,” he said. Devotees pay obeisance at Gurdwara Nada Sahib on the birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh in Panchkula on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: NITIN MITTAL REPORT ON PAGE 2 16 more crows, eagle found dead in UT Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 20 As many as 17 more birds — 16 crows and an eagle — were found dead in different areas of the city today. Confirming this, Debendra Dalai, Chief Conserva- tor of Forests, UT, said all 21 samples of dead birds sent to the Regional Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RDDL), Jalandhar, so far had been tested negative for avian influenza. Fifteen birds were found dead in the city yesterday. Amit Bathla Tribune News Service Panchkula, January 20 With only 84 health workers turning up at Alchemist Hospital, the vaccination site, the health administration fell short to achieve the 100 per cent vaccination target for the fourth consecutive time. The authorities had a target of vaccinating 100 persons today. In view of the gazetted holiday to mark Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti, only one immunisation session was organised at the private hospital. There was no report of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) at the site and 66 minor reactions have come to the fore till date. So far, only 797 healthcare workers have received the first dose of Covishield vaccine. As many as 6,219 — 3,541 government employees and 2,678 private professionals — are being prioritised in the first phase of the vaccination. The overall vaccination coverage stands at 64.7 per cent. If the vaccination drive continues at the current pace (almost 200 a day), it will take 30-odd days to cover over 6,200 targeted healthcare workers. The authorities said the number was less as many health officials were adopting VACCINATION DRIVE 267 282 Day 1/ Jan 16 Day 2/ Jan 18 16 150 Day 3/ Jan 19 84 100 Turnout 430 699 Day 4/ Jan 20 797 Target 1,231 Total turnout Target a “wait and watch” approach before getting the vaccine. However, they said, the number would increase in the coming days. On the slow pace of vaccination, Immunisation Officer Meenu Sasan said they would increase the vaccination sites on Friday and motivate the beneficiaries. “Class IV employees are a bit reluctant. The media representation of the vaccination plays a greater role in motivating them to take the vaccine,” said Sasan. PGI to use only one of five sites Chandigarh, January 20 Keeping in view the low response from health workers for Covid-19 immunisation, the PGI has decided to continue the vaccination session at only one site till more volunteers come forward. Dr Surinder S Pandav, Professor of Ophthalmology, who chairs the internal vaccination committee of the institute, said, “So far, we have received only 1,500 doses of vaccine from the UT Administration, of which 218 have either been used or stored for a second dose. We are not able to open the remaining four sites due to shortage of doses and secondly due to vaccine hesitancy among health workers.” The PGI had earlier earmarked five sites with a daily target of 500 to inoculate at least 12,000 health workers. The drive will resume at the PGI tomorrow. The UT Administration gave 500 more doses to the institute today. Allocation from the 11,500 doses received on Tuesday is still awaited. The second vaccine consignment is believed to be for the PGI. — TNS Tribune News Service Mohali, January 20 A day after India scripted a historic win against Australia to lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the euphoria around the win and one of its architects, Shubman Gill, refuses to die in his hometown. With today being a holiday on account of Guru Gobind Singh’s birth anniversary, most of the grounds in and around Mohali were buzzing with frenetic cricketing activities. In some of the grounds, more than four teams were immersed in their respective matches, perhaps riding the success wave of the Indian team Down Under. Most of the budding cricketers were pleased with India’s new-found heroes, particularly Shubman Gill. In one such ground in Phase 9, The Tribune correspondent met with a motherson duo who had an interesting story to share. They are inspired by the same dream Shubman and his parents had — making it to the Indian cricket team. And, the duo lives in the same house where Gill used to live earlier. Before moving into their own flat at Mayfair Society, 8-year-old wants to seek batting tips; Mohali grounds abuzz with cricketing activity The society where Shubman Gill lives with his family in Sector 70, Mohali; and (right) the mother-son duo that now resides at the cricketer's previous accommodation in Phase 9. Chandigarh, January 20 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the principle of ‘no work, no pay’ was not applicable in the case of an employee restrained from discharging his duties in an illegal and arbitrary manner. Justice Harsimran Singh Sethi also made it clear that a government employee, exonerated in the criminal and departmental proceedings, was entitled to THE CASE ■ Petitioner Raghubir Singh, through counsel Ranjivan Singh, had challenged the refusal to restore salary and promotion despite acquittal. ■ Ranjivan Singh had contended that the petitioner was on PCR duty when an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against him on December 17, 2012. ■ He was dismissed from service on that very day without holding an inquiry, but the Mohali special court acquitted the petitioner in 2017. service benefits for all intents and purposes for the out-of-job period. “If the employee is not held guilty either in criminal proceedings or in the departmental proceedings, the employee is to be treated in service for all intents and purposes even for the period he/she remained out of job so as to compensate him for the illegal acts of the department. The least com- pensation that can be given to the employee is granting him/her the benefits which he/she would have earned otherwise while in service. Therefore, the rule of ‘no work, no pay’ cannot be made applicable...” Elaborating, Justice Sethi asserted ‘no work, no pay’ would not be applicable in the case when the allegations against the employee have not been proved while investigating the FIR and in the departmental inquiry on the same allegations. c m y b The principle was applicable only where an employee knowingly and for reasons attributable to him did not discharge his duties. In case the employee was stopped in any manner and the act was ultimately found illegal and arbitrary, further prejudice could not be caused by declining benefits for period he was restrained in an illegal and arbitrary manner. Petitioner Raghubir Singh through counsel Ranjivan Singh had challenged the refusal to restore salary and VICKY ‘THEY WERE OUR TENANTS’ I have seen Shubman play from the very beginning when the family moved from Jalalabad. They were our tenants in a two-bedroom flat on the first floor. The father-son duo lived for cricket. They had a brown Fiat Uno car. He was eight years old then and a very sincere child. I must say his father, Lakhwinder, sacrificed a lot for his son’s career. — Jagmit Singh, MOHALI RESIDENT ❝ Shubman Gill Sector 70, the Gill family used to live at a house in Phase 9, Mohali, The house is close to the PCA Stadium and facilitated Shubman’s training. It is now occupied by Shivani Singh Gaur and her eightyear-old son Onish Chauhan. Onish, a budding cricketer who trains near the stadium, ❞ said: “I like the way Shubman bhaiya plays the cut and pull shots. I am eagerly waiting to meet him when he comes back to the town. It would be great if he shares some batting tips with me.” Mother Shivani Singh Gaur, herself an ardent cricket fan, said: “Being the mother of a If restrained from discharging duties in an arbitrary manner, employee entitled to service benefits for the out-of-job period Tribune News Service Since the outbreak of bird flu in the Barwala area of Panchkula, the Animal Husbandry Department, UT, has increased surveillance in the city. However, no unusual morality or sickness has been observed in poultry birds in the UT. Day 4: 84% get jab in P’kula I like the way Shubman bhaiya plays, At this pace, targeted staff will get first dose in 30 days can’t wait to meet him, says little fan Can’t apply ‘no work, no pay’ if employee isn’t guilty, says High Court Saurabh Malik PAGE 3 Four members of the Nehra-Bishnoi gang arrested with three pistols, a gun and 17 rounds of ammunition. Come Feb, hourly fee at all smart parking lots in city Chandigarh, January 20 Hourly parking rates are likely to be applicable at all parking lots across the city from February. The contract of 89 parking lots was given to two agencies in January last year. The Chandigarh Municipal Corporation had earlier allowed one of the agencies to charge visitors on an hourly basis at the parking lots in a phased manner. The other firm was not permitted to do so as smart features were not added to lots under it. According to MC Commissioner KK Yadav, an MC team will inspect the remaining lots on January 31. “If smart features have been added to the parking lots being managed by it, the firm will be allowed to charge the visitors on an hourly basis,” he said. Smart parking features include adequate parking attendants to manage vehicles, boom barriers, parking FOUR MEMBERS OF BISHNOI GANG ARRESTED WITH WEAPONS In blow to MC project of waste collection through vehicles, only one-third of the collectors register with the civic body. Sandeep Rana AIR QUALITY INDEX PAGE 3 promotion despite acquittal and exoneration. Ranjivan Singh had contended the petitioner was on the PCR duty when an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act was registered against him on December 17, 2012. He was dismissed from service on that very day without holding an inquiry, but the Mohali Special Court, vide judgment dated September 12, 2017, acquitted the petitioner. The DGP ordered his reinstatement and initiation of a departmental inquiry. The petitioner, accordingly, was allowed to join on October 15, 2018, but was granted pay he was drawing at the time of termination of his services in December 2012. He was exonerated in the departmental inquiry on February 18, 2019. However, his request for the restoration of the salary by way of annual increments and arrears for the period his services remained terminated and promotion was turned down. budding cricketer, I can very well understand the joy of Shubman and his family. I am really happy that their hard work has borne fruit and Shubman has made a place for himself in the national team. I wish the house that was lucky for the Gill family proves lucky for us too.” Expect a cloudy sky tomorrow Chandigarh: After a clear sky for a few days, expect clouds on Friday and Saturday. According to the Meteorological Department, the weather will, however, be clear tomorrow. Moderate to dense fog is expected. The maximum temperature in the city today was 18.4°C, three degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature was 9.7°C, four degrees above normal. The temperatures are not expected to see much change in the coming days. TNS