20082024-CT-01.qxd 8/19/2024 11:23 PM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune RESIDENTS OPPOSE WASTE DUMPING AT JHURIWALA COLLEGE STUDENTS COMPLAIN OF EVE-TEASING IN SECTOR 36 FILM SRIKANTH A STORY OF SETBACKS, COMEBACKS Residents of trans-Ghaggar areas refute MC claim of having cleared waste from Jhuriwala ground. P2 Say boys in cars follow them to their accommodations and also misbehave with them. P2 Srikanth Bolla, the visually impaired entrepreneur, is real-life inspiration behind the movie. P4 » » WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH Play ‘Main Sapt Sindhu Bol Raha Hun (Partition 1947): By Samvad Theatre Group, Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, 6:15 pm Exhibition to celebrate Word Photography Day: By Chandigarh Press Club, on till August 21, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16 Art Exhibition: The Real Van Gogh Immersive Experience; Nexus Elante; On till August-end; Entry with tickets APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29, 56 and Dhanas Mohali: Sector 71 Panchkula: Sector 15 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF HOOKAHS SEIZED FROM SEC 9 CLUB Chandigarh: The police have seized 12 hookahs with tobacco from Cow Boy Club, Sector 9. Satbir Singh was arrested for being in possession of the hookahs without licence or permit. A case under Section 4(A), 27(A) of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) has been registered at the Sector 3 police station. Satbir was later released on bail. TNS HOUSE BURGLED IN SECTOR 35 Chandigarh: Mahender Khurana of Sector 35 has reported that two unidentified persons stole clothes from his house. TNS TWO ARRESTED ON THEFT CHARGE Chandigarh: The police have arrested two persons for stealing iron grills. Rishabh of Sector 49 reported that two grills were stolen from his storeroom. A case was been registered and two accused, Mohammed Inus and Anand, both residents of EWS Colony, were arrested. TNS MAX 33°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 33.2°C | MIN 27.3°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.23 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE E-buses save UT diesel worth ~20 cr in 2 years 80 e-vehicles procured in 2021 ply on tricity routes Tribune News Service Film Screening: French film ‘Rise Above’ with English subtitles will be screened at the Gallery, Alliance Francaise, Sector 36, at 1 pm on August 22. No entry fee. PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET TUESDAY 6.58 PM » TUESDAY | 20 AUGUST 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Chandigarh, August 19 The UT Transport Department has saved on nearly 25.28 lakh litres of diesel worth Rs 20.80 crore in two and a half years by plying electric buses on local routes. Procured in November 2021, 80 electric buses are in service in the tricity at present. An official of the department said the electric buses had covered 1.26 crore km till August 16 on intra-city routes, thus saving over 25.28 lakh litres of diesel besides preserving environment. These buses have helped prevent 6674.91 tonne of CO2 emission. He said the e-bus fleet of the department included vehicles of Ashok Leyland and Eicher. In order to provide eco-friendly transportation in the city, the department plans to procure 100 more e-buses this year. The administration has plans to replace the entire fleet of 350 diesel buses of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU), running both on local as well as suburban routes, with electric ones by 2027-28. Each bus covers a distance of nearly 130 km on a single charge. It takes nearly two hours to fully charge a vehicle. With a seating capacity of 100 MORE TO BE BOUGHT THIS YEAR In order to provide eco-friendly transportation in the city, the department will procure 100 more e-buses this year. The administration has plans to replace the entire fleet of 350 diesel buses of the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking, running both on local as well as suburban routes, with electric ones by 2027-28. 36, a bus can carry a maximum of 54 people at a time. On an average, each bus covers 200-300 km a day. The State-Level Steering Committee (SLSC) has decided to replace 100 diesel buses with e-vehicles sanctioned by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to Chandigarh under the Centre-sponsored PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme.The ministry will be requested to allocate 80 more buses to the city under this scheme. Apart from public transport, the share of private electric vehicles (EVs) is also increasing. Since the implementation of the EV Policy in September 2022, as many as 3,281 electric two-wheelers and 1,785 fourwheelers have been registered in the city till July 15. According to the data provided by the Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA), 352 electric two-wheelers and 114 four-wheelers were registered from September to December in 2022. The highest number of 2,103 electric two-wheelers and 1,013 fourwheelers had been registered in 2023 and 826 two-wheelers and 658 four-wheelers till July 15 this year in the city. Eight public charging stations have been made functional in the city. According to the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST), nearly 20 more charging stations will be made operational by September 15. From September 2023 to January 2024, the city has been ahead in terms of EV adoption across the country. As many as 578 EVs were registered in September 2023 and the adoption rate was 14.9%. With 598 new EVs, adoption rate was 14.1% in October, 13.9% in November and 20.48% in December. In January 2024, 562 EVs were sold and the adoption rate remained 15.66%. Doctors of the PGI tie rakhis to campus security personnel during their ongoing protest in Chandigarh on Monday. PRADEEP TEWARI Resident doctors continue protest Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 19 With resident doctors continuing their protest at the PGI, GMCH, Sector 32; and the GMSH, Sector 16, the elective services remained suspended today. As only follow-up cases were registered in the morning, 2,248 patients were examined at the OPDs of the PGI. On a normal day, the health institution sees 10,000 registrations, including follow-ups and new cases. The resident doctors have been on strike since Monday. “We came to Chandigarh on Friday. Since the residents are on strike, my mother has After 2 dry months, city witnesses highest August rainfall in four years Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 19 After driest June and July in over a decade, the city has witnessed the highest August rainfall in four years. The Weather Department has recorded 276.3 mm rainfall this month so far, while the entire month last year witnessed 270.2 mm rainfall. The figures were 159.1 mm and 168.3 mm in 2022 and 2021, respectively. In 2020, 441.3 mm rainfall was recorded in August, for which the normal rainfall is 284.8 mm. “This month is set to cross the normal rainfall mark. There is a forecast of above normal rainfall and weather conditions are favourable as well,” said an official of the local Meteorological Department. Its Director, Surender AUGUST RAIN (IN MM) 500- 441.3 400- 168.3 159.1 270.2 276.3 3002001000- 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 TILL AUG 18 (Normal rainfall: 284.8 mm) Paul, said, “Monsoon trough has come to its normal position of southward. Earlier, monsoon was confined to foothills only. Now, plains are also witnessing normal rainfall. Bay of Bengal has been active compared to June and July, which is resulting in a good rainfall this month.” From June 1 to August 18, 510.7 mm rainfall has been recorded, which is still 17.5 per cent less than normal. The previous two months saw below normal rain. June was the driest month in 12 years and the hottest in more than 14 years, with only 11.9 mm rainfall —92 per cent less than the normal June rainfall of 155.5 mm. In July, the city recorded 35 per cent rainfall deficit, resulting in the hottest day and night temperatures since 2011. Against the normal rainfall of 273.2 mm, they city received only 178.2 mm rainfall in July. 2,248 PATIENTS EXAMINED AT OPDs As only follow-up cases were registered in the morning, 2,248 patients were examined at the OPDs of the PGI. On a normal day, the health institution sees 10,000 registrations, including new cases. not been examined. I buy her medicines from a chemist shop and that is how she gets relief from pain in her ear. We cannot afford treatment in a private hospital. We are waiting for the protest to end,” said Paramjit Singh, who had come from Hoshiarpur. Marking the occasion of Rakhi, the resident doctors tied rakhis to security personnel, policemen, workers and fellow doctors in the morning. “We work safely because of their presence. Many of us are Mohali civic body House meeting on August 22 Mohali, August 19 Creation of a police post in the Mohali Municipal Corporation office, installation of CCTV cameras at various places and garbage disposal are among the main agenda items to be taken up during the MC House meeting scheduled for August 22. The House will take a call on the request for proposal for execution, installation, operation and maintenance of a project based on segregated municipal solid waste (organic) under public private partnership at Samgauli. The collection of waste from the resource management centres has begun but the House is expected to formalise it in the meeting. The MC has not held a House meeting for more than five months. — TNS Licence for Suntec City cancelled, High Court told Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 19 More than six years after a licence was given to M/s Indian Co-operative Housing Building Society Limited for developing “Suntec City” on 108.58 acres in New Chandigarh, the “competent authority” has cancelled it. As a bunch of petitions evolving around the issue came up for resumed hearing before the Bench of Justice Arun Palli and Justice Vikram Aggarwal, the State counsel submitted that an affidavit to this effect had been submitted by GMADA senior town planner Harpreet Kaur. The Bench also referred to another status report, which said the promoters were instructed to furnish the original consent letters for the disputed area, but they failed to do so. The ownership/title of the petitioners over the disputed area of 27.78 acres in one village and 2.71 acres in another had been established and verified, and no longer formed a part of the change of land use (CLU) previously granted to the promoters. It also said the promoters had been directed to submit and obtain approval for a revised layout plan, as the licence stood cancelled. They were also instructed not to carry out development activity on the remaining project area. Peti- RERA has issued notice for revocation of another project tioners’ counsel Charanpal Singh Bagri and Gurjit Kaur Bagri, however, argued partial alteration or modification of the CLU was impermissible under the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act and that the authorities were obliged to revoke the CLU permissions in their entirety. The court observed the Punjab Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) registered the project `de hors’ the fact that promoters had failed to submit even the joint c m y b development agreement or collaboration agreement in an apparent violation of the Punjab State Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Rules, 2017. The Bench noted Punjab Additional Advocate-General during the course of hearing shared a communication dated August 5, issued by RERA to the promoters “whereby a notice for revocation of registration of the project `District Seven’ under Section 7 (1) (b) (c) and (d) of the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016, has been issued. And 30 days’ period to submit response, if any, has been afforded, after which appropriate orders, in this regard, from far-flung areas and do not have their families here. For us, these policemen and guards are like our brothers who protect us,” said a young resident doctor from Himachal. Around 6 pm, the residents and various associations of the PGI took a pledge to raise awareness regarding the safety of women and educate children on the same. Later in the day, the protesting doctors took out a “light for right” march from the PGI campus to the Sector 17 Plaza. Around 10:30 am, the residents marched towards the Kairon Block on the campus and handed over a memorandum to the Director, Dr Vivek Lal. Carrying banners and posters, they raised slogans demanding justice for the victim of the Kolkata incident. “Hands that heal should not bleed,” read one of the banners. A woman resident doctor was allegedly raped and murdered in RG Kar Medical College of Kolkata. The doctors have also demanded the enactment of ‘Central Protection Act’, which would have provisions of stringent punishment for people indulging in violence against medical staff. would be passed”. The Bench was also told that an FIR for cheating and other offences was registered on November 19, 2022, under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 472 and 120-B IPC at the Mullanpur police station against four accused –Ajay Sehgal, Suresh Kumar Bajaj, Rajesh Girdhar and Ashish Kamra. Documents regarding 250 sq yd plot allegedly sold by the accused/accused’s company out of petitioner Balwinder Singh’s land were examined during Sehgal’s interrogation. The State counsel added Bajaj was evading arrest and proceedings to declare him a proclaimed offender had since been initiated. MP Manish Tewari with UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria. MP Tewari raises city issues with Governor Chandigarh, August 19 After raising the city’s issues in the Lok Sabha, local MP Manish Tewari has now met Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria and requested him to resolve five major problems, some of which have remained unresolved for over 25 years. The issues Tewari has raised with the Governor are share-wise sale/transfer of property, need-based changes in houses of the Chandigarh Housing Board, ownership rights to people living in resettlement colonies, abolition of the revenue concept of “lal dora” and Cooperative Group Housing Societies. These were also the main issues during the Lok Sabha election here. During the recent session of Parliament, the MP had raised the issue of constructions outside the lal dora in the city. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had ruled out any move to regularise illegal constructions outside the lal dora in 22 villages. — TNS City traffic police launch awareness campaign Chandigarh, August 19 To mark the Raksha Bandhan celebrations, the Chandigarh Traffic Police has launched a road safety programme, “Sadak Suraksha Bandhan”, to promote the safety of all brothers and sisters. The initiative is aimed at achieving zero accidental death rate by raising public awareness about traffic rules and regulations. As part of the programme, the police tied special rakhis featuring traffic rule symbols to road users, representing a bond of protection and safety. The awareness events were held at Balmiki Dharamshala, Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26, and the Housing Board light point in Mani Majra. — TNS