14012022-CT-01.qxd 1/14/2022 12:51 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh TRIBUNE FRIDAY | 14 JANUARY 2022 | CHANDIGARH AAYUSH STUNS TOP SEED CHIRAG, MAKES IT TO SEMIS PAGE 2 Seventh seed USA's Aayush P Bhat wins a neck-and-neck fight against top Indian contender Chirag Duhan. FORECAST PARTLY CLOUDY TRICITY COVID REPORT CHD POSITIVE RECOVERED NEW CASES ACTIVE CHANGE DEATHS NEW P’KULA MOHALI 72,641 65,741 1,338 5,816 1,008 1,084 0 34,886 31,911 701 2,593 250 382 0 74,982 68,988 917 4,915 552 1,079 1 MAX 18°C | MIN 11°C | YESTERDAY MAX 16°C | MIN 10.7°C SUNSET FRIDAY 5:44 PM Seven persons, who had come to purchase vegetables at the Sector 26 market despite restrictions, arrested. SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:19 AM Despite surge, Covid bed occupancy in UT only 23% Naina Mishra CHANDIGARH 218 PANCHKULA 289 MOHALI 98 Chandigarh, January 13 The daily cases continue to swell in Chandigarh, leaving the Covid-19 beds at designated hospitals 23 per cent occupied now. While there were 4,808 active cases in the city on Wednesday, only 2 per cent (109) were hospitalised and the remaining were in home isolation. Chandigarh has 1,206 designated Covid beds for the third wave and 278 of these have been occupied by patients from Chandigarh and nearby states. During the second wave, the bed occupancy had increased manifold and the hospitalisation rate had gone up to 20 per cent. Many patients had died for want of Covid ICU beds. The hospital occupancy at any given time was between 85 per cent and 100 per cent when the active cases had peaked at 5,000 in May last year. A majority of the patients are admitted to the PGI. Of the 190 patients admitted to the Covid ward, 85 belong to Chandigarh, followed by 50 patients from Punjab, 25 from Haryana and the remaining from other states. As many as 66 per cent patients were in the bracket of 13 to 40 years, followed by 23 per cent in the age group of 41 to 60. Eighteen patients CURRENT STATUS OF Tribune News Service SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF TWO HELD UNDER NDPS ACT Chandigarh: Two persons have been arrested by the UT police under the NDPS Act. The police said the suspect, Karan, alias Mota (20), a resident of New Indira Colony, Mani Majra, was arrested from IT Park with 8.285 kg of ganja. A case under the NDPS Act was registered against him at the IT Park police station. In another case, the district crime cell arrested a 40-year-old man, Dharamraj, alias Dhamma, a resident of Mauli Jagran, with 60 banned injections and 2 kg of ganja. A case has been registered against him at the Mauli Jagran police station. The police said the suspect injured himself in the lock-up at the Mani Majra police station by banging his head with the lock-up gate. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and another case of attempt to suicide was registered against him at the Mani Majra police station. TNS ~17 LAKH STOLEN FROM BED BOX Chandigarh: Two theft incidents have been reported from the city. Complainant Hukam Chand, a resident of Pipliwala Town, Mani Majra, said ~17 lakh kept in a bed box was stolen. A case has been registered at the Mani Majra police station. In the other incident, Manpreet Singh, a resident of Sector 35, alleged that a youth, Mahesh Negi, alias Lala, who was residing in his neighborhood, stole one “gold kitty set” and a pair of earrings from an almirah at his house. A case has been registered at the Sector 36 police station. TNS GIRL’S MOBILE PHONE SNATCHED Chandigarh: An unidentified pedestrian allegedly snatched a mobile phone from a girl near the Centra Mall light point. The police have registered a case at the Industrial Area police station. TNS HIMACHAL MAN ROBBED BY FOUR Chandigarh: A resident of Mandi in HP was robbed by four auto-borne miscreants. Complainant Deshraj reported that he was robbed of his purse containing ~10,000 and an ATM card, and a bag containing a mobile and clothes from near the Transport light point. A case has been registered. TNS COVID BED OCCUPANCY Hospital Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 13 The sight of auto-rickshaw drivers looking for potential customers in train passengers who are dropped off at the city railway station has become a regular vexation for weary travellers and the railway authorities in the recent past. While the entry of auto drivers and cabbies is banned at the station platform, the “without platform ticket” challans and constant checks are doing little to keep them contained to the one-way “in road” of the station, which facilitates easy pickups and drop-offs for passengers and is a convenient drive-through for taxi and auto service providers. Recently, Svati Saggi had gone to receive her friend at the station, who was visiting the city from Delhi. “My friend just got off the train and reached the exit point of the station towards the Chandigarh side, but right when she got off the platform and headed for the stairs, two auto drivers started hounding her,” she said. “She was 190 42 40 6 0 278 337 317 351 151 50 1,206 TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI The peak requirement of medical oxygen is estimated at 49.5 MT in the third wave and the UT has 53.8 MT oxygen production capacity installed already. No concern of oxygen requirement has been flagged by any hospital as of now. HOSPITALISATION RATE COVID IS DYNAMIC, DON’T WAS 20% IN 2ND WAVE LOWER GUARD: PUROHIT During the second wave, the As of now, the public hospitalisation rate was 20%. Many perception is that Covid patients had died for want of ICU beds. The hospital occupancy at infection in the ongoing any given time was between 85% wave is mild. The lesson and 100% when the active cases had peaked at 5,000 in May last. learnt from the past experience is that the Covid scenario is dynamic and keeps evolving. So, we need not lower our guard. ❝ ❞ Banwarilal Purohit, UT ADMINISTRATOR ‘WE NEED TO BE CAREFUL’ We are seeing a sharp rise in cases. So far, the cases have been largely asymptomatic. However, we have the elderly and those with co-morbidities. We need to be careful as mild disease can affect them. Dr Suman Singh, DHS, UT ❝ were admitted to Covid-19 ICUs and 13 to the paediatric Covid ward. Looking for potential customers, they hound weary travellers THE ORDEAL My friend just got off the train and reached the exit point of the station towards the Chandigarh side, but right when she got off the platform and headed for the stairs, two auto drivers started hounding her. Svati Saggi ❝ Death count low this time The city has witnessed five deaths due to Covid-19 this Expect foggy conditions till January 17 ❞ month, while the first two weeks of April last year had seen 24 deaths due to Covid. TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE UT relaxes timings for home delivery of food Permits it till midnight; no fresh curbs AT 1,338 CASES, CITY CLOCKS ANOTHER HIGH Chandigarh: With 1,338 cases, Chandigarh clocked its highest daily Covid count ever. The positivity rate stood at 20.80 per cent. The active caseload rose to 5,816. While the overall tally reached 72,641, the death toll stood at 1,084. Meanwhile, 330 patients were cured of the infection, taking the total recoveries to 65,741. In the past seven days, the average number of positive cases reported from the city is 831 and the positivity rate is 18.53 per cent. TNS 1 FATALITY, 917 FRESH CASES IN MOHALI DIST MOHALI: One person died while 917 new Covid-19 cases were reported from the district on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as a 79-year-old man from Kharar. As many as 364 persons recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours. Among the new cases, 387 were from Mohali (urban), 289 from Dhakoli, 138 from Kharar, 38 from Dera Bassi, 28 from Gharuan, 22 from Boothgarh, nine from Kurali and three from Lalru. The total positive case count in the district is 74,982, of whom 68,988 have recovered. The active case count is 4,915. With one more death, the toll has climbed to 1,079. TNS 701 FRESH CASES IN PANCHKULA DIST PANCHKULA: At a positivity rate of 27%, the district saw 701 fresh cases on Thursday. It was the second highest daily count since the inception of the pandemic. It had clocked its highest daily peak with 734 cases on Wednesday. There are to 2,593 active cases. The case tally is 34,886 and the toll 382. TNS Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 13 Not in favour of imposing strict restrictions, the UT Administration has decided to relax the timings for home delivery of food. The decision was taken at a review meeting, presided over by UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit here today. A consensus emerged at the meeting that hotels, restaurants, café, coffee shops and eating places would be allowed to function up to 10 pm. However, kitchens of these premises will be allowed to remain open up to 11 pm and no home delivery will be allowed after midnight. It was also decided that persons with disabilities and pregnant women employees in government offices in Chandigarh will be exempted from attending office but they were required to work from home. To prevent overcrowding, it was decided that continued on page 2 Chandigarh, January 13 The UT Administration has achieved a milestone in vaccination as it has administered the first dose to 125 per cent of the target population against the national average of 92 per cent. As per a presentation given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the review of Covid status today, with 125 per cent first dose of the vac- Lohri fervour July August Sept Oct Nov Dec Total Residents celebrate Lohri at Sector 21, Chandigarh, on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: NITIN MITTAL No. of people Fine fined amount* 132 118 130 156 179 155 870 53,540 47,190 52,085 63,110 75,090 61,745 3,52,760 *in ~ too tired of the long journey and had told the driver that continued on page 2 Auto drivers look for customers at the Chandigarh railway station. TRIBUNE PHOTO: NITIN MITTAL ■ Hotels, restaurants, café, coffee shops and eating places allowed to function up to 10 pm. Kitchens of these premises to remain open up to 11 pm and no home delivery to be allowed after midnight. ■ Persons with disabilities and pregnant women employees in government offices will be exempted from attending office, but are required to work from home. ■ Public transport such as buses, taxis and auto-rickshaws will run only with their permitted seating capacity. HOME DELIVERY TILL 10 PM IN MOHALI Mohali: The administration on Thursday ordered that home delivery would be allowed till 10 pm on all days. The orders would remain in force till January 15. All earlier Covid-related orders would continue in the same manner to ensure their compliance. TNS cination, Chandigarh is first among all states and UTs, said UT Health Secretary Yashpal Garg. “With 97 per cent second dose of the vaccination, we are fifth in the country against the national average of 69 per cent and in the next three days, we will be in the league of 100 per cent,” he added. Expressing satisfaction over continued on page 2 Yamunanagar teacher found dead in car ❞ 2021 EATERIES ALLOWED TO FUNCTION TILL 10 PM UT tops in vaccination Chandigarh: Expect foggy conditions and a partly cloudy sky in the city till January 17. According to the UT Met Department, fog/mist in the morning is likely till January 17. After that, there is likely to be no significant fog for a few days. The city recorded a maximum temperature of 16°C on Thursday, five degrees below normal, while the minimum temperature was 10.7°C, five degrees above normal. — TNS CHALLANS FOR ‘NO PLATFORM TICKET’ THEFT AT SHOP Chandigarh: An amount of ~8,500, 10 boxes of perfume and a box of nail polish were stolen from a cosmetics shop in Sector 29. A case has been registered in this regard. TNS Total People without a mask at Sadar Bazar, Sector 19-C, Chandigarh, on Thursday. Chaos at city rly station, courtesy auto drivers Amarjot Kaur Occupied PGIMER GMCH GMSH & allied hospitals Private hospitals Central Govt hospitals TOTAL OXYGEN CAPACITY SUFFICIENT PAGE 3 SEVEN BUYING VEGETABLES AT SECTOR 26 MARKET ARRESTED Directions to repair the badly damaged Zirakpur-Kalka highway in 15 days yet to be complied with. It was 85-100% in 2nd wave; admitted patients from states too AIR QUALITY INDEX 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 PAGE 3 NHAI DOESN'T CARE TWO HOOTS FOR DC'S ORDERS Panchkula, January 13 The body of a 35-year-old man was found in a car at the Sector 11 market here this morning. The victim, Padam, was a resident of Mansurpur village in Yamunanagar. He was a computer teacher. The police said according to his family members, he had left home yesterday in an Alto car, which he had borrowed from his friend. The police got an alert around 11.30 am, following which a team of the Sector 10 post reached the spot. The victim’s body had been sent for a post-mortem, the police said. There were no injury marks on the body. — TNS UT on the green path, forest cover crosses 50% Dushyant Singh Pundir Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 13 There is a good reason to rejoice for residents of Chandigarh as the green cover in the city has almost doubled in the past two decades. According to the India State of Forest Report (ISFR), 2021, the green cover of Chandigarh has increased from 46.25 per cent in 2019 to 50.05 per cent in 2021. The Forest Survey of India (FRI), Dehradun, a premier institute, brings out a biennial report on the forest cover map of the entire country following both remote sensing data followed by ground truthing at the field. As per the report released by the Ministry of Environ- c m y b Has doubled in the past two decades A view of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. ment, Forest and Climate Change, there is a jump in the forest cover of the UT by 85 hectares. The open forest area has also increased by 158 hectares that signifies that more non-forest area has been brought under the green cover, said Debendra Dalai, Chief Conservator of Forests and Chief Wildlife Warden, UT. The efforts of the Department of Forest and Wildlife and other greening agencies of the UT Administration have paid dividend in enhancing the green cover of the city, he said, adding that in 2001, the green cover of the city was nearly 26 per cent, which had increased to 50.05 per cent in 2021. To increase the green cover in UT, the Greening Chandigarh Action Plan (GCAP) was prepared every year by all greening agencies such as the Forest Department, the horticulture wing of the Engineering Department, UT, and the Municipal Corporation, he said, adding that the annual target of plantation was set for all three departments. Further, the Department of Forest and Wildlife is making sustained efforts in improving the quality of the forest by planting indigenous species such as shisham, shahtoot, khair and babul and no exotic species are being planted for the past couple of years. Saplings are also distributed free of cost to local residents to add to the total greenery. In addition, the continuous engagement of the department with all important stakeholders such as NGOs, RWAs, eco clubs, environmental societies and involvement of media has played a crucial role not only in protection of the forest but also in further increasing the green cover of the UT. Dalai said the green cover included all trees in the city and the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary.