05012023-CT-01.qxd 1/5/2023 12:36 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune G20 MEET: CENTRAL TEAM REVIEWS PREPARATIONS TWO UP NATIVES HELD FOR ATTACKING P’KULA YOUTH QUALIFIER REHAN MARCHES AHEAD IN BADMINTON MEET A team from the Dept of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance, reviews arrangements in city. P2 Police claim to have arrested two persons for attacking a youth of Abhaypur village on January 1. P3 Rehan Siddiqui of UP faced a tough resistance from Shaurya Pant in a second round qualifier match. P3 » » TRICITY COVID REPORT CHD P’KULA MOHALI POSITIVE 99,353 48,433 1,01,156 RECOVERED 98,167 48,012 99,987 NEW CASES 2 0 0 ACTIVE 5 0 1 CHANGE 0 0 0 DEATHS 1,181 421 1,168 NEW 0 0 0 AIR QUALITY INDEX Naina Mishra WILL STEM FLEECING Tribune News Service CHANDIGARH 298 PANCHKULA 254 MOHALI 268 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 One each to open at Mani Majra, Sector 45 health facilities soon SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF SCOOTER RIDER DIES IN ACCIDENT Chandigarh: A two-wheeler rider died after being hit by a vehicle in Sector 24. Complainant Sunil Kumar, a resident of Kansal, Mohali, said a vehicle sped away after hitting the scooter being ridden by his brother, Sanjay. The victim was admitted to the PGI, where he succumbed to injuries. A case has been registered at the Sector 11 police station. A suspect, Kulwinder Singh, a resident of Punjab, was later arrested. TNS TAJ PAYS ~70.80L IN TAX DUES Chandigarh: Hotel Taj here on Wednesday deposited principal amount of Rs 70.80 lakh against property tax dues to the MC. It, however, sought time for deposition of the interest. The MC had been sending notices to commercial as well as residential property tax defaulters. The efforts have now started bearing fruit. Government agencies have deposited Rs 11.60 crore dues. “We are committed to recovering property tax dues. No one will be spared,” said an MC official. TNS TWO YOUTHS HELD FOR ROBBERY Chandigarh: Two persons have been arrested for allegedly hitting a man with a stone and robbing him of his mobile phone. Tinku of Hallo Majra reported that two persons hit him with a stone and snatched his mobile phone near Colony No. 4, Industrial Area, Phase I. He suffered injuries and was admitted to the GMCH, Sector 32. The police registered a case and later arrested the suspects, Sandeep Patel (24) and Bholu (20), both residents of Maloya. TNS Chandigarh, January 4 In a first, a chemist shop has opened at a UT Civil Hospital. It was univeiled at the facility in Sector 22. The move is aimed at facilitating patients who have to visit outlets at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, for purchase of medicines at controlled rates. This will also help stem fleecing of patients by chemist shops outside the facility. The Health Department is on course to opening a chemist shop each at the Civil Hospitals of Mani Majra and Sector 45. Yash Pal Garg, Health Secretary, says: “Another chemist shop at the Civil Hospital, Mani Majra, will open next week and bidding process for the one at the Sector 45 hospital is on.” The department had recently opened three more chemist shops at the GMSH16, including a Jan Aushadhi store. This was done to break the monopoly of a sole chemist, who had been running the shop for the past 29 years on the premises of the district hospital. This has been done to allow patients to purchase medicines from elsewhere, even in late hours, instead of relying on a single shop. These chemist shops will run round the clock. ■ Move will help stem The medical shop that opened at the Civil Hospital, Sector 22, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI fleecing of patients by chemist shops outside facility and let them buy medicines at controlled rates ■ The Health Department had recently opened three more chemist shops at the GMSH-16 to break monopoly of a sole chemist ■ This has given patients the option to purchase medicines elsewhere, even during late hours, instead of relying on a single pharmacy store FreshsetbackforGMSHchemist; UTto get passage vacated today Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 4 The owner of chemist shop No. 6 at the GMSH-16, who had been running operations for the past 29 years without the tendering process, has again been ordered to vacate the public passage and restore the load-bearing wall by January 5, according to a public notice issued by the Director Health Services (DHS), Chandigarh. The move comes after a local court today dismissed an application of Sunil Kumar, owner, challenging the DHS order issued on Shop owner served another notice after court dismisses plea TO BEAR COST OF WORK Chemist has again been ordered to vacate public passage and restore load-bearing wall by January 5, failing which it will be done by the administration at his risk and cost from 8 am onwards on Thursday. December 22. The DHS had directed the chemist to vacate the public passage and restore the load-bearing wall by December 25. The Six projects in week, outgoing BJP Mayor on unveiling spree Sandeep Rana LIST OF WORKS Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 4 With mayoral election less than a fortnight away, i.e. on January 7, outgoing BJP Mayor Sarbjit Kaur is on an inauguration spree. She has six inaugurations lined up within a week. Yesterday, she formally launched the renovation work on the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) wing of the Municipal Corporation at Sector 17. On January 5, she will unveil a tube-well in Sector 26 and two days later, i.e. on January 7, she is scheduled to open as many as three projects. She will first kickstart work on makeover of MC’s suboffice in Mani Majra at an estimated cost of Rs 6 crore. The same day, she will inaugurate road widening work in Mani Majra and then head to Khuda Ali Sher to unveil ‘Amrit Sarovar’. The pond has been rejuvenated to pro- Jan 3: Renovation work on MOH wing of the MC in Sector 17 Jan 5:Tube-well unveiling in Sec 26 Jan 7: Work on MC’s sub-office facelift & road widening in Mani Majra; unveiling of ‘Amrit Sarovar’ at Khuda Ali Sher Jan 10: Unveiling of horticulture waste processing plant at 3BRD FOR DEVELOPMENT ❝ These works were in the final phase of being started. City’s development mustn’t suffer. I will ensure these works get started before I leave office. ❞ — Sarbjit Kaur, MAYOR mote environment and water conservation. On January 10, Sarbjit Kaur will open a dedicated horticulture waste processing plant on the premises of an existing sewerage treatment plant site at 3BRD. The Rs 3.50-cr plant has a capacity to process 30-40 tonnes of waste per day into briquettes — a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material used for fuel and kindling to start a fire. Sources say more such inaugurations may be planned before her tenure comes to an end on January 16. “These works were in the final phase of being started. I do not want city’s development to get delayed further. Thus, I will ensure all these works get started before I leave office,” the Mayor told Chandigarh Tribune. AAP’s Leader of Opposition Yogesh Dhingra is, however, not impressed with the last-minute inaugurations. “It is only meant to get names on plaques for publicity. They (BJP) are only cutting ribbons, but doing little development.” operation of the notice was earlier stayed by Additional Civil Judge till January 2. Gagandeep Wasu, advocate appearing for the DHS, argued before the court the December 22 notice had been issued in pursuance of the show-cause notice dated September 15, which was challenged by the plaintiff (chemist) in the earlier civil suit. On September 23, the defendants (DHS) were restrained from dispossessing the plaintiff in pursuance of the show-cause notice. Chemist’s advocate Munish Dewan, however, maintained Continued on page 2 MAX 14°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 11.9°C | MIN 6.2°C SUNRISE FRIDAY 7:20 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD UT Civil Hospitals’ 1st chemist shop gets functional in Sec 22 MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET THURSDAY 5:36 PM » THURSDAY | 5 JANUARY 2023 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Toy gun used in UT carjacking; two held 2 insurance firm officials land in CBI net for graft Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 4 The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today arrested an insurance surveyor and Regional Manager of The New India Assurance Company, Chandigarh, while allegedly accepting Rs 5 lakh bribe. A case was registered against NS Sidhu, insurance surveyor, on the allegations of demanding Rs 12 lakh in bribe from the owner of a Baddi-based factory for early release of his insurance claim and withholding an appeal in a higher court by Regional Manager JK Mit- Surveyor caught taking ~5L bribe on behalf of Regional Manager tal. It was alleged the factory of the complainant had caught fire in 2010. The complainant had approached the CBI, following which a trap was laid and the surveyor was caught accepting Rs 5 lakh bribe from the complainant as first instalment on behalf of Mittal. Subsequently, the Regional Manager was also nabbed. The CBI said searches were conducted on the premises of both suspects in Chandigarh and Panchkula, which had so far led to recovery of some documents related to investment and keys to bank lockers, etc. The two officials will be produced before the Special CBI Judge, Shimla, tomorrow. Chandigarh, January 4 The UT police have nabbed two suspects for robbing a couple of an SUV at Mani Majra on New Year’s Eve. A toy pistol and the red Brezza have been recovered from them. The suspects have been identified as Amit Gupta, a resident of Zirakpur, and Satwinder Singh of Fatehgarh Sahib. SP (City) Shruti Arora said Amit, who had earlier worked at a garment store in NAC, Mani Majra, had arrived at the parking lot on December 31 with a toy pistol with the intention to rob a car. The suspect saw a Zirakpur couple, who had just finished shopping, seated in their car. He sneaked up from behind and asked them to step out of the vehicle holding the toy gun. Fearing harm, the couple let the suspect drive off. The police said the suspect fled towards Panchkula and a few hours later got the fuel tank of the car topped up at a petrol station near Sector 49, Chandigarh, before escaping without paying. The suspect then contacted his accomplice Satwinder to sell the car. “Since the suspect wanted to sell the car, they tried to change the information provided by the car owner while getting a FASTag issued. In the process, the suspect uploaded their information, alerting the police, who were already keeping a watch,” said a police official. The two suspects in police custody at Mani Majra in Chandigarh. PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR TINKERED WITH FASTAG INFO TO SELL SUV ■ After robbing SUV, suspect Amit Gupta contacted his accomplice Satwinder to sell the car ■ In a bid to change FASTag details of the car, they used own info, that helped cops crack the case ■ Investigations reveal the two had earlier been arrested together in an NDPS case registered in Punjab The police tracked the suspects and arrested them while riding in the car bearing a fake registration number. Investigations reveal the two had earlier been arrested in an NDPS case registered in Punjab. Sammi Kumar Srivastava, a resident of Dhakoli, along with his wife Rubina, had returned to their car parked at NAC Mani Majra parking lot around 8.45 pm, when the “armed” suspect sneaked up from behind and asked them to step out. He then drove away in the car. Artillery shell empty, was made in 1963 Western Disturbance to affect region from January 7: MeT Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 4 The UT police today claimed the artillery shell found on January 2 in the forest area near Nayagaon on the PunjabChandigarh border, 2 km from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s official residence, was empty. The police said the shell belonged to the Indian Ordnance Factories. A train heads from Chandigarh to Ambala amid dense fog at Dera Bassi on Wednesday. NITIN MITTAL No respite as fog to stay till Jan 9 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 4 The city’s weather department has now forecast dense fog over a longer period, saying the conditions are likely to persist till January 9. It had yesterday stated dense fog would continue at least till January 6. “A fresh Western Disturbance is likely to affect western Himalayan region from January 7. Dense to very dense fog is very likely at many places during the next three days and at isolated places thereafter in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh,” said the weather department. “Cold to severe cold day conditions are likely at a few places on January 5 in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh. Cold wave conditions are likely at isolated places on January 5 and 6 at these places,” it added. The city witnessed yet another chilly day today as the maximum temperature dropped Continued on page 2 Bomb scare:Explosive no longer in use, say cops The shell, which is no longer in use, was manufactured in 1963. “The shell was having no explosive contents and can only be fired from a gun mounted on an armoured vehicle. Hence, the firing of the shell by someone is ruled out,” said a police official. The police said it could be training ammunition used by the Army more than five Continued on page 2 AC technician held for extortion Cold start to year at Chhatbir; chill, fog keep visitors away Tribune News Service Mohali, January 4 The State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) has arrested a 20year-old AC technician for making extortion calls to a Mohali-based pharmaceutical company owner by posing as a foreign-based gangster, said Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav today. Suspect Suraj, a resident of Maloya Colony, Chandigarh, was arrested from Verka Chowk here, when he along with his aide, Mandeep Singh (32) of Mangew- Sought ~30L from pharma firm owner posing as gangster MODUS OPERANDI ■ AC technician Suraj used his aide Mandeep Singh’s WhatsApp account to demand ~30L from owner of Mohali-based pharma firm ■ He used to identify affluent people as potential targets while visiting their premises to repair ACs ■ He would note down their details to give victims the impression their activities were being monitored al village in Anandpur Sahib, was going on a bike to collect extortion money. The police have recovered two mobile phones and a motorcycle without a registration number plate from Continued on page 2 Gaurav Kanthwal RECEIVING 1K VISITORS DAILY Tribune News Service Mohali, January 4 Extreme cold and foggy conditions have impacted footfall at the Chhatbir Zoo despite extended school vacations this year, say zoo officials. The Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park is receiving around 1,000 visitors daily in January. In comparison, the zoo saw record 14,290 visitors on a single day in January 2017, and 18,917 on October 7, 2018. Officials say June-July and December-January witness maximum footfall at the zoo, c m y b ■ Zoo is receiving 1,000 visitors daily in January, in contrast to 14,290 seen on a single day in January 2017 ■ Officials say cold and fog have kept visitors indoor; animals and birds too are staying inside enclosures ■ As soon as the sky clears and days get sunnier, the footfall is expected to pick up, say officials but this year, cold conditions and fog have kept the visitors indoor. Animals and birds too are enjoying the warm hospi- tality of zookeepers by staying inside enclosures. Heaters have been installed to protect them from extreme weather. Field Director Kalpana K says: “We received around 1,100 visitors yesterday and 900 today. The number goes up on weekends.” Cold and foggy weather may be the primary reason why parents are keeping children indoor. As soon as the sky clears and days get sunnier, the footfall is expected to pick up, say officials. Around nine lakh visitors thronged the zoo in 2018. During the Covid pandemic in 2020, there was a cap of 2,700 visitors at the zoo. The zoo is spread over 505 acres of forest area in and around Chhat village and houses around 1,500 animals Continued on page 2