29012025-CT-01.qxd 1/29/2025 12:12 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune BUREAU RAIDS HOUSE OF EX-OFFICIAL, SEIZES ~3.65 CR INCIDENTS OF SNATCHING, HOUSE BREAK-IN UP IN MOHALI BABBU MAAN RELEASES DEBUT POETRY BOOK Anti-Corruption Bureau also seizes gold worth Rs 6.5 lakh from his house in Sector 26, Panchkula. P2 Snatching and several thefts have been reported from parts of Mohali in the past two days. P2 The Saaun Di Jhadi hitmaker’s book Mera Gham gives a peek into the real Ma(a)n. P4 » » WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH Theatre Festival: CSNA Haryana Rang Utsav, play “Panchlight” to be staged on January 29, Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, 6 pm Exhibition: Works by architect SD Sharma, Govt Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, on till February 15 APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 and 52 Panchkula: Sector 25 Mohali: Phase 11 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF ONE-WAY TRAFFIC AT GMSH-16 Chandigarh: From Wednesday, there will be one-way traffic at the Government Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, from 7 am to 4 pm. The entry of vehicles is allowed from the main gate on the Madhya Marg and exit from the rear gate towards the Rose Garden. TNS Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 28 Ghaggar water is not suitable for bathing even before and after the point where the Sukhna Choe merges into it in Zirakpur. A joint committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has found that the river water contained from two to three times the prescribed limit of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), making it unfit for outdoor bathing. Members of the committee (or nominated members in absence of joint committee members) and representatives of the departments concerned carried out a survey and collected samples from Sukhna Choe on December 5 and 6 last year to identify the polluting sources. The committee collected samples from 16 sites, including Raipur Khurd, Baltana bridge, the Kalka Road bridge near Sohi Banquet in Zirakpur. It observed that there were a number of slums near Mansa Davi Complex, Rajiv Colony, Indira Colony in Haryana and near Sohi Banquet hall, which were directly discharging Toxic foam in the Ghaggar river at Dera Bassi. FILE PHOTO their solid as well as liquid waste into the choe. According to a representative of the Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority (PMDA), a local drain carrying untreated domestic sewage from the Panchkula areas, namely Rajiv Colony, Indira Colony and Budanpur village, falls into the Sukhna Choe. The committee had taken samples from the Panchkula drain at the Vikas Nagar bridge. It was found that the BOD and total suspended solids (TSS) levels were not as per the general standards for discharge of environmental pollutants into inland surface. Later, the committee visited the Baltana bridge, where the c m y b drain is cumulatively flowing with treated water from Chandigarh and untreated sewage from the Panchkula drain, and took samples. It was found that the BOD level there was also not as per the general standards. The committee also collected samples from the upstream and downstream of Continued on page 2 FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE 2 UT cops held for extorting money from drug peddler Dushyant Singh Pundir Chandigarh, January 28 Two policemen of UT have been arrested on charges of extorting money and drugs from a drug peddler who opened fire at them in Sector 38 recently. The suspects, Senior Constable Pardeep and Constable Surinder, who were posted in the Sector 38 police beat under the Sector 39 police station, have come under the scanner for their alleged connections with drug peddlers. On January 23, a man had opened fire at Pardeep and another Senior Constable Deep, after the former was allegedly stopped for checking. On a complaint filed by Pardeep, a case was registered at the Sector 39 police station. A few days later, the District Crime Cell (DCC) nabbed Deepak Kumar Verma, alias Deepu (38), who has 14 cases registered against him, including 12 under the NDPS Act; and Rishab Sharma, alias Rishu (27). Sources said during interrogation, Deepak revealed that he knew Pardeep and accused him of previously extorting cash, drugs and a mobile phone from him. He MAX 22°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 24.4°C | MIN 6.2°C SUNRISE THURSDAY 7.16 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Ghaggar water not suitable for bathing, says NGT panel MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.54 PM » WEDNESDAY | 29 JANUARY 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST ALSO ‘SNATCHED CHAIN’ ■ Sources said during interrogation, Deepak said he knew Senior Constable Pardeep and accused him of previously extorting cash, drugs and a mobile phone from him. He also alleged that the cops forcibly took away his gold chain on January 23 when he was stopped for checking. ■ Deepak used to visit drug peddler Bala, also known as 'drug queen', who resides in Sector 38. also alleged that the policemen forcibly took away his gold chain in Sector 38. The sources said Deepak used to visit drug peddler Bala, also known as ‘drug queen’, who resides in Sector 38. Bala was recently arrested in an NDPS case. Acting on these allegations, the police registered a case against Pardeep and Surinder at the Sector 39 police station and arrested them. Both were produced before the court today and the Judge remanded them in police custody for two days. The UT police are tightlipped regarding the accusations against the two police personnel. Committee to reassess Metro financial viability Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 28 An eight-member committee constituted to examine the financial viability of the Metro project in the tricity today presented its report at a meeting chaired by Haryana Additional Chief Secretary, Transport, Ashok Khemka. The committee recommended that the Metro project was feasible, but would become profitable only after a decade. The committee prepared its report after studying the Metro projects in Ahmedabad, Kochi, Jaipur, and Noida. The report has also stated that Metro projects are planned with a 30-year operational prospect. An official said the committee members had been directed to reassess and reconfirm the financial viability of the project and to present detailed explanations on how ridership projections were calculated and the methodology used, during the next meeting scheduled for February 18. The construction costs for the tricity Metro are expected to be recovered within the first five years but operators are unlikely to make profits before a decade of operations. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 24,000 crore.