21032023-CT-01.qxd 3/21/2023 12:48 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune MANSA DEVI TEMPLE ALL SET FOR NAVRATRAS, SECURITY UP STERILISATION OF DOGS TO RESUME IN P’KULA SOON 3-YEAR JAIL FOR NAYAGAON MAN IN FAKE SURETY CASE 13 police posts have been set up and 700 police personnel deployed around the shrine. P2 After a gap of about five months, sterilisation of dogs will resume in the city from March 24. P3 Nayagaon resident to undergo 3-year rigorous imprisonment in 10-year-old cheating and forgery case. P3 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 83 PANCHKULA 58 MOHALI 70 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF TWO CAUGHT PLAYING ‘SATTA’ Chandigarh: The police have arrested Ashok Kumar Panday (56), a native of Partapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Surinder Kumar (46), a resident of Attawa, Sector 42, while they were playing “satta” near Sector 22-C on Sunday. A total of Rs 3,100 was seized from them. A case under the Gambling Act has been registered at the Sector 17 police station. Both were released on bail later. TNS MAN OBSTRUCTS PUBLIC WAY, HELD The police have arrested Irshad, a resident of Mani Majra, on the charge of obstructing a public way by running a stall at Sadar Bazar, Sector 19, on Sunday. He was later released on bail. A case under Section 283 of the IPC has been registered. TNS MAX 23°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 26.9°C | MIN 16.2°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6:24 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Internet shutdown takes toll on biz, residents’ routinedeliveryMohali district in & cab services hit hard Employees working from home, food Naina Mishra Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 20 Past three days had been a nightmare for residents of Mohali district with the mobile Internet services remaining suspended in view of the crackdown on proKhalistan activists. The move was aimed at preventing the spread of disinformation or inflammatory content as the police carried out an operation to arrest Amritpal Singh, a pro-Khalistan activist, who is on the run. The sudden suspension of mobile Internet service has caused a lot of inconvenience to people, particularly those who relied on it for their daily routine or livelihood. Abhishek Sharma, an IT professional, who worked from home, was struggling to meet the work deadlines as he could not access the Internet. He said: “I have been working from home for the past year, and the Internet is crucial to my work. With no access to the Internet, I am unable to work, which is affecting my productivity. My WiFi is down due to some technical issues. I am ‘0008’ fetches ~25.43L, second highest bid ‘0005’ of CH01CP series sold for ~25.05L Delivery vehicles parked near a food shop in Mohali on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY PUBLIC AT RECEIVING END ❝ With no access to the Internet, I am unable to work, which is affecting my productivity. My WiFi is down due to some technical issues. ❞ — Abhishek Sharma, AN IT PROFESSIONAL unable to use mobile data as well. I hope the government resolves this issue soon.” Another resident of Mohali, Neha Singh, faced a different problem. She was unable to ❝ I had to go to a hospital for a check-up, but I couldn’t book a cab online. I had to rely on the local transportation, which was inconvenient. —Neha Singh ❞ book a cab online as there was no Internet service. She said: “I had to go to a hospital for a check-up, and I couldn’t book a cab online. I had to rely on the local transporta- ❝ We have closed delivery service for the time being. Since the mobile Internet services have been suspended, food delivery boys cannot assess the location. — A restaurant owner ❞ tion, which was inconvenient. It’s frustrating to be unable to use essential services due to something which is beyond our control.” The Internet shutdown also had an impact on the food delivery services, as people were unable to order food online. The food joints have closed the delivery services until the Internet services are resumed. A restaurant owner of Zirakpur shared the food delivery boys had to see the location online on Google Maps when they received an order. Since the mobile Internet services are closed, the location of delivery cannot be assessed, he said. Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Mohali, said, “I usually order food online. But since the Internet services are down, I have to buy groceries and cook my food. It’s a hassle.” Manoj Gupta, a small business owner, said, “I rely on the Internet to manage my business operations. The Internet shutdown has brought my business to a halt, and I fear I might lose customers if the situation persists.” Anoop, a cab driver, said for the past three days, I have not been able to get rides due to mobile Internet shutdown. Now, the ban has been extended to one more day. This is impacting my livelihood. LOVE FOR FANCY NOs. NUMBER CH01CP0008 CH01CP0005 CH01CP0001 CH01CP0007 CH01CP0009 CH01CP0002 CH01CP1313 CH01CP7777 BID ~25,43,000 ~25,05,000 ~17,50,000 ~6,75,000 ~6,33,000 ~4,27,000 ~4,05,000 ~3,35,000 held today. The RLA earned a total revenue of more than Rs 2,68,24,000 from the e-auction. The RLA earned a revenue of more than Rs 2,31,15,000 from the e-auction of numbers of the CH01-CH series along with the leftover numbers of the previous series and Rs1,43,84,000 from the eauction of fancy numbers of the CH01-CG series along with the leftover numbers of the previous series. Similarly, the RLA earned Rs1,10,66,000 from the e-auction of fancy numbers of the CH01-CF series and the leftover numbers of the previous series, and Rs1,15,72,000 from the e-auction of special numbers of the CH01-CE series and the re-auction of the leftover numbers of the previous series. The successful bidders will be required to get their vehicles registered as well as deposit the bidding amount within one month from the date of auction. Qaumi Insaaf Morcha members put up tents at the Sohana chowk on the Airport Road during rain on Monday. PHOTO: VICKY Protesters pitch tents at Sohana chowk Tribune News Service Mohali, March 20 Movement of traffic on the Airport Road remained obstructed for the third day today with the sympathisers of pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh pitching tents in the middle of the road to protect themselves from rain. For the last three days, most devotees have been desisting from visiting the nearby gurdwara. Road users are forced to take detours to reach their destinations. Commuters and local residents were seen walking through the blocked roads to reach their places. With road users taking alternative roads, the traffic on the inner roads of Sector 70, Sector 71, Sector 77, Sector 78, Sector 69 and Sector 68 remained chaotic. After the YPS chowk, the Sohana chowk is the second spot in Mohali to become a protest site with heavy police deployment. Meanwhile, the rest of the city remained peaceful. Mohali Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain said negotiations were underway with the protesters to resolve the matter. MP Kirron Kher tests positive for Covid-19 2 youths arrested for duping private bank of ~18.92 lakh Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 20 City MP Kirron Kher has tested positive for Covid-19. She released this information through her Twitter account today, asking all those who had come in contact with her to get tested. Kirron had attended eight events, two public-interaction programmes and six inaugurations, in the past week. Mayor Anup Gupta, Municipal Commissioner Anindita Mitra, councillors, BJP leaders, officers and residents were also present at these events. Chandigarh, March 20 Two fraudsters have been arrested by the Cyber Crime Cell of the police on the charge of duping a private bank of Rs 18.92 lakh posing as a regular client of the bank. The police have seized an SUV and gold jewellery purchased with the amount. The accused have been identified as Amarjeet Singh (31), a resident of Karnal, and Kuldeep Pannu (30) of Hisar. The complainant, Arpan Sharma, Branch Manager, Federal Bank, Sector 22, had reported that he had received a call from an unidentified person who posed as a bank client, Rajesh Makkar. The caller claimed that he needed to transfer money on an urgent basis and could share the details through WhatsApp. Arpan, who was driving at that moment, shared the mobile number with his colleague, Aditya Verma, and asked him to speak with the client and do the needful. The police said Aditya Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 20 Fancy registration number, “0008”, of the CH01CP series fetched the highest bidding price of Rs 25.43 lakh against the reserve price of Rs 50,000 during an e-auction conducted by the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) here today. This is the second highest amount ever earned for a fancy number in the history of the RLA. The highest-ever bid for “0001” of the CH01AP series was a whopping Rs 26.05 lakh in 2012. This fancy number of the CH01CH series fetched the third highest bid of Rs 24.40 lakh during an eauction in January this year. “0005” of the CH01CP series fetched the second highest amount of Rs 25.05 lakh. An official said during the eauction of vehicle registration numbers (fancy and choice) of the CH01-CP series from “0001” to “9999”, and the leftover numbers of previous series from March 18 to 20, a total of 577 numbers were auctioned. The e-auction of numbers of the CH01CP series, along with the re-auction of the leftover fancy/special registration numbers of the previous series with suffixes CN, CM, CL, CK, CJ, CG, CF CE, CD, , CC, CB, CA, BZ, BY, BX, BW, BV, BU, BT, BS, BR, BQ, BP , BN, BM, BL, BK, BJ, BH, BA, AZ, AY, AX, AW and AV was GENERALLY CLOUDY SUNSET TUESDAY 6:34 PM » TUESDAY | 21 MARCH 2023 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST The road separating Sector 20 and 21 during the rain in Chandigarh on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI Highest 24-hr March rainfall in three years Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 20 The city today received the highest 24-hour March rainfall in three years. According to the Weather Department, 18.5mm rainfall was recorded from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. In March last year, no rainfall was recorded by the department. While 6.2 mm rainfall was witnessed on March 24, 2021, 25.2mm rainfall was recorded on March 7, 2020. This year’s March rainfall is 12.3 per cent more than normal. It is expected to rise further as there is a light rain forecast on Tuesday. Wednesday is likely to be partly cloudy. Thereafter, Western Disturbance will be active again. There is a forecast of light rain on March 23 and 24. The city recorded 26.9°C maximum temperature, 2.1 degree less than normal. The minimum temperature was 16.2°C, 2.6 degrees more than normal. The temperatures are expected to see no significant change over the next few days. Waterlogging was witnessed in parts of the city. Commuters had a tough time driving on waterlogged roads. The situation was worst in villages. Posed as bank client by using his pic on WhatsApp The accused in custody at the cybercrime police station in Sector 17, Chandigarh, on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO SUV, GOLD RECOVERED The police have recovered a Mahindra Thar, four gold rings, ~5 lakh in cash and four mobile phones from the accused. called up the accused, who shared the details of the account to which he wanted to transfer the money. To trick the bank staff, the accused uploaded Makkar’s picture as DP (display picture), which made the bank official believe him to be a genuine client. The bank staff transferred the money and later, when the accused asked them to transfer more money, they got suspicious. The bank staff called up Makkar on his mobile number registered with the bank and found that they had been duped. The police were informed about the incident and a case was registered at the cybercrime police station. During investigation, the call details of the mobile number were obtained and it Continued on page 2 Now, watch mouse deer, sarus crane at Chhatbir zoo Tribune News Service Zirakpur, March 20 Visiting the Chhatbir zoo will be more fun now with a pair of sloth bears, two pairs of marsh crocodile and a pair each of bonnet macaque, golden jackals, chausinga, mouse deer, sarus crane, white dove, silver pheasant and grey pelicans having been received by the authorities under an exchange programme. The new arrivals have been received from Nehru Zoological Park, Hyderabad, and quarantined as per the standard protocol. These will be put in specially designed sections. “Sloth bears are adaptable to different types of climatic and weather conditions. Marsh crocodile is a broad scouted crocodile, also known as mugger crocodile. It is found in freshwater habitats from southern Iran to the Indian subcontinent and inhabits marshes, lakes, rivers and artificial ponds. The Chhatbir zoo already has bonnet macaque, but to prevent in-breeding and to keep the bloodline pure, one more pair has been brought here,” said Kalpana K, Field Director, Chhatbir zoo. In exchange for the new arrivals, the authorities provided the Hyderabad zoo with two gorals, three chinkaras, one Indian fox, four golden pheasants, four kalij pheasant, two c m y b New arrivals, a sarus crane, marsh crocodile and a sloth bear, released at Chhatbir zoo. sarus crane, 10 painted stork, four blossom-headed parakeets and 10 knob-billed ducks. Today, the zoo celebrated World Sparrow Day in collaboration with Madhuban Vati- ka School, Nurpur Bedi. A special online awareness campaign was organised to sensitise students to the conservation of sparrows, particularly house sparrows. Harpal Singh, Range Officer-cum-Zoo Education Officer, interacted with 300-odd students online and explained that diminutive house sparrow (passer domesticus) was perhaps one of the earliest birds they could remember from their childhood. The association between humans and house sparrows dates back to several centuries and no other bird has been associated with humans on a daily basis like it. It is a bird that evokes fond memories and has thus found mention in folklore and songs from time immemorial, he said. The number of house sparrows is believed to be declining for various reasons, ranging from the destruction of its habitat to the lack of insects to feed the young, and even the increasing electromagnetic wave pollution.