03112023-CT-01.qxd 03-11-2023 01:04 Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune 1,775 AWARDED DEGREES AT PGI CONVOCATION VARSITY STUDENTS CONTINUE PROTEST FOR STIPEND HIKE HARYANA SPEAKER HEARS OUT RESIDENTS IN P’KULA As many as 1,775 doctors were awarded degrees at the 36th convocation of the PGIMER. P2 Students of Dr Harvansh Singh Judge Instt of Dental Sciences & Hospital, continue protest on Day 2. P2 Speaker Gian Chand Gupta holds Janata Darbar, hears complaints, problems of P’kula residents. P3 » » MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 31°C | MIN 14°C YESTERDAY MAX 31°C | MIN 14.1°C SUNSET FRIDAY 5:34 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 6:38 AM » FRIDAY | 3 NOVEMBER 2023 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI BAN ON PETROL TWO-WHEELER REGISTRATION AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 179 PANCHKULA 146 MOHALI 162 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD Fate of over 700 bookings for Dhanteras delivery in limbo Auto dealers in city stare at financial losses, customers at sea Dushyant Singh Pundir Tribune News Service INBRIEF MAN LOSES ~15.2L TO ONLINE FRAUD Chandigarh: A Sector 22 resident, Ranjit Singh, reported that an unidentified person withdrew Rs 15.20 lakh from his account in an online fraud. A case has been registered at the Cybercrime police station. TNS PEDESTRIAN HURT IN HIT-&-RUN Chandigarh: Nayagaon resident Laksay, 19, reported that the driver of an unidentified auto-rickshaw sped away after hitting a pedestrian near Shiv Mandir, PGI, on November 1. The victim sustained injuries and was admitted to the PGI. A case was registered. TNS MOHALI RESIDENT DUPED OF ~1 CR Mohali: The police booked Mumbai residents Sailesh Ramlal Mehta, Sshish Sailesh Mehta and Shivangi Mehta for allegedly duping a Sector 78 resident Vishesh Singla of Rs 1.19 crore on thè pretext of giving 30% return per year on the investment in M/S Bliss Consultants, Goregaon East, Mumbai, in December 2021. The complainant stated that for the past two weeks, the trio was not taking his phone calls and he had come to know that the firm was not registered with SEBI. A case has been registered. TNS 4-yr-old knocked down by car, dies Tribune News Service Zirakpur, November 2 A four-year-old boy died after being hit by a car in Peer Muchalla here today. The deceased was identified as Prince. In a complaint to the police, Varinder Kumar, a resident of Ward No. 11, stated that his son was playing outside his house when a car hit him from behind. He said he took the boy to the Civil Hospital in Panchkula in a critical condition where doctors declared him dead. The Dhakoli police have registered a case against the car driver and started an investigation into it. Chandigarh, November 2 The fate of more than 700 bookings of fuel-based twowheelers for Dhanteras is in limbo after the UT Administration imposed a ban on registration of petrol two-wheelers last week. The decision left many in a state of shock, as bookings had already been confirmed, and deliveries were expected on the auspicious occasion of Dhanteras on November 10. Chandigarh has nearly 10 dealerships of petrol twowheelers and each of them has approximately 70 bookings. While dealers are staring at financial loss, customers are at sea too. Maninder Singh, a resident of Mani Majra, booked a motorcycle to present it to his younger brother as a gift. He had planned to receive the motorcycle on Dhanteras and a considerable portion of the payment had already been made. “The ban caught us off guard. I am unsure of the fate of my booking,” he lamented. In a blow to the potential NO REGISTRATION SINCE OCT 29 ■ The UT Administration had on October 29 stopped the registration of two-wheelers running on internal combustion engine (ICE) on achieving the target fixed for 2023-24 in the revised EV Policy. ■ The Administration closed the portal for the registration of non-electric two-wheelers, as the extended target of 1,609 vehicles set under the revised EV policy was achieved. ■ It was the second time in the financial year when the registration of non-electric two-wheelers was stopped. ■ The Administration is yet to provide clear guidance on the way forward, leaving the stakeholders, including dealers and customers, in a state of uncertainty. buyers, the UT Administration had on October 29 stopped the registration of two-wheelers running on internal combustion engine (ICE) on achieving the target fixed for 2023-24 in the revised EV Policy. The Administration closed the portal for the registration of non-electric two-wheelers, as the extended target of 1,609 vehicles set under the revised EV policy was achieved. It was the third time in the calendar year and second time GMCH nurses to strike work on November 19 over unresolved issues Clear markets of encroachments: Mitra to officials Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 2 A day after Chandigarh Tribune carried a report on encroachments in corridors and parking lots in the city markets, MC Commissioner Anindita Mitra today directed officials to remove unauthorised encroachments by shopkeepers and vendors. “To ensure free flow of traffic and pedestrian movement, a strict action should be taken against unauthorised vendors who occupy roads and parking spaces at busy markets in the city. Any sort of encroachment by shopkeepers in the markets, roads or parking space be removed immediately to avoid traffic congestion as well as to ensure free movement for emergency service vehicles,” Mitra told officials during a meeting at the Sector 17 fire station today. She directed officials to take necessary measures to ensure that firefighting vehicles and personnel reach the continued on page 2 Chandigarh, November 2 The GMCH Nurses Welfare Association has decided to observe strike on November 19, citing several unresolved issues. If their grievances remained unresolved, they warned of going on an indefinite strike. The association issued a notice of strike after a meeting at the office of the Director-Principal, GMCH on September 25 to discuss the issues concerning nursing professionals. During this meeting, the GMCH administration had promised a follow-up meeting to address their concerns. However, a month has passed without any such meeting, prompting the association to believe that the administration is not serious about addressing their concerns. In the strike notice, the association highlighted that the termination of the services of two nursing officers, Allege hospital admn not serious about addressing grievances MAIN DEMANDS ■ Reinstatement of two sacked nursing officers ■ Filling of over 300 vacant posts ■ Allowing contract nursing officers to put in papers without giving a one-month notice ■ Removal of restriction on availing earned leave ■ Allowing gazetted and national holidays Rakesh Kumar Yadav and Ankit Singh, was ‘disproportionate’. The association demanded an immediate withdrawal of the punishment and their reinstatement without any service break. The association also continued on page 2 Tribune News Service 83 died in road mishaps in UT last year: Report Speeding, driving on wrong side remain main causes in total 237 accidents Gaurav Kanthwal CRASH COUNT Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 2 As many as 83 persons lost their lives in 237 road accidents in Chandigarh in 2022. This was revealed in the Road Accidents in India-2022 report released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Among the victims were 23 pedestrians, 12 cyclists and 40 two-wheeler riders. The report revealed that 64 accidents took place during the period from 9 pm to 12 midnight. The city had recorded 89, 104, 53 and 96 deaths in the Year 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 Accidents 316 305 159 208 237 Deaths 89 104 53 96 83 year 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively. With 83 fatalities, the city has been ranked 32nd on the list of states and UTs in the number of deaths this year. As many as 237 road accidents took place in the UT last year as compared to 208 that took place in 2021, registering a 13.9% increase. In terms of total road accidents in states and UTs across the country in 2022, the city stood at 30th spot, a rung below the last year’s standing. In 2022, Chandigarh had accounted for 0.1 percentage share of road accidents in the entire country. According to the ministry, Chandigarh ranks 47th among 50 cities with million-plus population in the number of deaths in 2022. Ludhiana, which is ranked 15th, recorded 364 deaths in 467 accidents, while Amritsar (48th) recorded 82 deaths in 117 accidents last year. Delhi topped the list with 1,461 deaths in 5,652 accidents in 2022. Srinagar (50th) registered 53 deaths in 426 accidents in 2022. Speeding and driving on wrong side caused a majority of the accidents. continued on page 2 c m y b in the financial year when the registration of non-electric two-wheelers was stopped. The sudden ban left many stakeholders, including dealers and customers, grappling with the implications of their pending bookings and payments. The UT Administration is yet to provide clear guidance on the way forward, leaving the stakeholders in a state of uncertainty. A dealer said they had requested the UT Administrator to review the policy at the earliest as livelihood of thousands of people directly or indirectly was associated with the automobile industry. The Administration had revised its electric vehicle (EV) policy on October 18, reducing the registration target for electric two-wheelers to 15% for the financial year 2023-24, down from the previous 25%. With this revision, additional 1,609 non-electric two-wheelers were allowed to be registered in the current fiscal. The registration target for personal electric cars was also lowered to 12% continued on page 2 Street lights out of order on the road separating Sectors 19 and 27 in Chandigarh on Thursday. MC admits poor upkeep of street lights in City Beautiful Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 2 Taking note of the “poor management of street lighting service”, the Municipal Corporation Chief Engineer has sought a report from the electricity wing of the civic body on the overall performance of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a public sector undertaking (PSU), allotted the work. The Chief Engineer, in an official note, asked the Superintending Engineer (Electricity) to get the whole issue examined and put up a report on the overall performance of the EESL as per the agreement with the firm. Report on performance of the company allotted the work sought While residents have been complaining about non-functional street lights and poor complaint redressal system, the MC has now taken note of the issue. “Rather than expressing concern over the matter, they should have penalised the firm for not resolving the defunct street light issue in the stipulated time period,” remarked a resident. Repeated complaints about non-functional street/park lights on the Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) application have been falling on deaf ears. Even toll free number had not been of much help, rued residents. In February 2017, the MC had signed a Rs 48-crore contract with the EESL for replacement of 48,000 ordinary street lights with LEDs, which has already been completed, and maintaining these for seven years. Following complaints, this correspondent checked the non-functional lights redressal system. A complaint filed about a non-functional street light in Sector 22 on the application on October 9 with a complaint number 091344 continued on page 2