15102024-CT-01.qxd 10/15/2024 12:20 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune 266 PANCHAYATS IN MOHALI GO TO THE POLLS TODAY MODI, SHAH TO ATTEND SAINI’S SWEARING-IN ROBBERS TARGET JEWELLERY SHOP IN ZIRAKPUR AREA A total of 63 villages of the district have elected their panchayats unanimously. P2 BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh visits Shalimar Ground, the venue for the ceremony. P2 Take away box containing gold and silver jewellery worth lakhs from Divya Jeweller. P2 » » TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Authorities tell hospitals of neighbouring states not to refer patients till further notice CHANDIGARH 19th Guru ML Koser Award ceremony: By Pracheen Kala Kendra, October 15, 6:30 pm, Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, performance by Pt Vinod Pathak (tabla) and Pt Harvinder Sharma (sitar) PANCHKULA Audition for MTV Roadies: Indradhanush Auditorium, Sector 2, Panchkula, October 15 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 YOUTH STABBED AT RAM DARBAR Chandigarh: Around 12 armed persons attacked a youth at Ram Darbar. The victim, Nikhil, a resident of Ram Darbar, was stabbed during the assault in Phase II of Ram Darbar. The suspects have been identified as Vishal, alias Bawa; Sonu, Rohit, alias Kukar; Ujjawal, Ravi, Jannu, Gaurv, Akram. Nikhil has been admitted to the PGI. The police have registered a case of attempt to murder on a complaint filed by his brother. TNS Sheetal NO NEW PATIENT REGISTRATIONS Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 14 Patients continue to bear the brunt of strike by outsourced employees, who started their protest on October 10 to press for payment of pending arrears and bonus. Elective services have been suspended since Friday when sanitary attendants and bearers also boycotted work in solidarity with the hospital attendants. Though the PGI administration had time to resolve the matter as OPDs were closed on Saturday, owing to Dasehra, and on Sunday, none of the top officials made efforts to hold a meeting or hear the grievances of outsourced workers. Director Vivek Lal, Deputy Director of Administration (DDA) Pankaj Rai and Medical Superintendent (MS) & Head of Department of Hospital Administration Vipin Koushal have been continuously talking about their primary focus on “patient care and safety” and “maintaining the highest standards of healthcare” during this challenging period, but have miserably failed in ensuring both. On Monday, only old patients were entertained with limited registration time from 8 am to 10 am. Patients ■ Emergency, Trauma and ICU services are operational ■ OPD services will be limited to follow-up patient registrations from 8 am to 10 am on October 15. ■ New patient registrations and online appointments stand suspended. ■ The authorities have requested hospitals across Chandigarh and neighbouring states not to refer new patients to PGI until further notice. DOCS TO GO ON STRIKE TODAY, CRISIS TO DEEPEN Contractual staff of the PGI protest near the Director’s office on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI coming from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir were denied entry at the OPD gate. Generally, Mondays are the busiest days as OPDs remain closed on Sundays. Many local residents said they thought that the strike must have ended by now. A man, who came from Kashmir to get his newborn kid Fund shortage to delay waste removal at Dadu Majra dump MC unable to procure machine to segregate trash: Mayor Tribune News Service Estate Office clerk caught taking bribe Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 14 A clerk posted at the Colony Branch of the Estate Office was arrested by the CBI while allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 10,000. He has been identified as Sanjeev Kumar. According to the complainant, he had approached Sanjeev regarding the settlement of his dues. The clerk demanded Rs 30,000 to settle the matter and later agreed to Rs 10,000. The CBI laid a trap and caught Sanjeev while taking the bribe at the Estate Office in Sector 17. A CBI team searched the clerk’s office and residence to gather more evidence. treated in the OPD, was disheartened as he came to know that his online booking stood cancelled. An old patient from Sangrur reached after 10 am, unaware of the curtailed functioning of OPDs. He had to return without seeing a doctor. Contractual sanitation attendants, cooks and bearers have also joined in the protest demanding the release of Chandigarh, October 14 Shortage of funds is likely to delay the removal of waste from the Dadu Majra dumping ground. In an affidavit submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in June, the Department of Environment, UT, had stated that bioremediation of the landfill on 8.28 acres was started on August 26, 2022. Of 8 lakh metric tonne (LMT) of waste, 7.67 LMT had been processed and the work will be completed by December 31 this year. According to officials, the removal of the waste was likely to get delayed in the absence of complete segregation of waste at source and non-procurement of a shredder at the dumping ground. The Municipal Corporation (MC) collects about 500 tonnes of waste daily, of which about 300 tonnes is wet waste, including horticulture waste, while the remaining is dry waste. 70 TONNES OF WASTE DUMPED EVERY DAY Of about 500 tonnes of waste collected in the city every day, the MC is able to process only 430 tonnes of trash and the rest of 70 tonnes is dumped on the Dadu Majra landfill. A mountain of garbage at Dadu Majra in Chandigarh. PRADEEP TEWARI ADMN SHOULD RELEASE FUNDS: TEWARI ❝ The UT Administration should honour its commitment to removing waste from the dump by December this year. The Administration should give funds to the MC so that it can speed up the process of waste removal. — Manish Tewari, CHANDIGARH MP ❞ LANDFILLING NEEDS SCIENTIFIC APPROACH PAGE 3 According to the MC, 100% waste is being collected from households in four categories — dry, wet, sanitary and domestic hazardous waste. Though wet and dry waste processing plants are functional, the MC is able to process only 430 tonnes waste every day and the rest of 70 tonnes is dumped on the continued on page 2 Notice to golf body for non-payment of dues Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 14 The UT Administration has issued a show-cause notice to Chandigarh Golf Association over the non-payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST). According to the notice, a licence was granted for the use and occupation of land measuring 6.87 acres situated in the green belt bound by the existing Golf Club, the Sukhna Choe and Sukhna Lake, vide registered licence deed dated February 2, 2022 on annual fee basis for a term from October 3, 2014 to October 1, 2022. Budding golfers train at Golf Range in Chandigarh. COURTESY FACEBOOK On September 26, 2022, a request was received from the licensee and a decision was taken by the UT Admin- istration to renew the licence up to September 10, 2025 on same terms and conditions. The decision to renew the licence was communicated to licensee vide letter dated June 13, 2023 and a demand for outstanding on account of GST/service tax was also made. According to the notice, “You have failed to deposit dues to the tune of Rs 1,17,14,756 on account of GST and Rs 3,90,587 on account of Service Tax calculated up to October 1, 2022 conveyed to you vide demand letter/order dated June 13, 2023 issued by the Estate office.” CGA president SK Sharma stated that in response to the continued on page 3 c m y b remainder 20% of their arrears. The strike has led to unhygienic washrooms, garbage heaps in corridors and a shortage of food with Emergency and Advance Trauma Centre where patients are being served “khichdi”, “dal” and curd. On Monday, a video was also circulating wherein a patient’s attendant was sweeping the floor near the bed. In the morning, regular hospital attendants and sanitation attendants helped in removing the waste in Emergency and Advanced Trauma Centre. By the evening, more waste accumulated, which highlights the fact that one third of regular employees strength wouldn’t be able to manage various tasks till the outsourced staff is on strike. MAX 33°C | MIN 20°C YESTERDAY MAX 32.8°C | MIN 20.1°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.25 AM Patients suffer as PGI strike enters fifth day WHAT’S ON MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET TUESDAY 5.52 PM » TUESDAY | 15 OCTOBER 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Crisis in the PGI is going to deepen as the resident doctors will go on strike on Tuesday in solidarity with the doctors of West Bengal. The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the PGI will stay off work at elective wards/OTs/OPDs initially for a few days and extend their strike to Emergency later. A 31-yearold trainee doctor was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. Several other associations, All-Contract Worker Union, PGI Nurses Welfare Association, OT Technical Staff Association, Employees’ Union (NonFaculty), have extended their support to the protesting outsourced workers. Phone snatched from traffic marshal in city Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 14 Two motorcycle-borne persons snatched a mobile phone from Vijay Kumar, a traffic marshal with the Chandigarh Police, on the Dhanas-Dadu Majra road in the city. Vijay was riding a scooter when two persons stopped him. They requested him to guide them to an address. “They engaged me in a conversation and suddenly grabbed my phone, which was kept in the tray of my scooter,” the victim said in his complaint. After snatching the phone, the suspects sped away towards Maloya. Vijay chased them but couldn’t match their speed as he was riding an electric scooter. He returned to the scene and called up the police. He said the police rudely behaved with him. “I also told them that I am a traffic marshal, despite that they were rude,” he alleged. A case has been registered at the Sarangpur police station on the complaint filed by Vijay. The snatchers were riding without helmet and their motorcycle was without number plates.