17042025-CT-01.qxd 4/17/2025 12:24 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune LOCALS FUME OVER POTHOLED ROADS IN FATEHGARH SAHIB DRIED-UP TREES POSE THREAT TO STUDENTS ON PU CAMPUS AR RAHMAN ON AI: MISUSE IN MUSIC SHOULD BE AVOIDED The dilapidated roads connecting villages with grain markets are giving farmers a tough time. P2 Dried-up trees tilting precariously over benches at the Student Centre pose threat to students. P3 Oscar-winner AR Rahman says there are both good and bad aspects to the use of AI in music. P4 » » MC faces tough task of maintaining supply Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service CHANDIGARH Exhibition: “Women of Urban India” by Olympe Ramakrishna, Alliance Française, Sector 36, from April 18 to 28 ONE ARRESTED WITH HEROIN Chandigarh: The police have arrested Virender Kumar, alias Varind, a resident of Shastri Nagar, Mani Majra, with 5.89 grams of heroin on the Saketri road on Tuesday. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against him. TNS Cops, banks join forces to curb cyber frauds Chandigarh, April 16 In a bid to curb rising financial cybercrimes, the Chandigarh Police, along with RBI and nodal officers from public and private banks, convened a meeting at the Police Headquarters, Sector 9, today. It was chaired by Geetanjali Khandelwal, SP (Cyber Crime). The officers discussed the growing fraud trends and challenges in investigations, such as delays in account statements, IP logs and KYC data. — TNS FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Summer brings back fear of water scarcity WHAT’S ON INBRIEF MAX 38°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 37°C | MIN 24.5°C SUNRISE FRIDAY 5.53 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Up in arms APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29, 56 and Dhanas Panchkula: Sector 15 Mohali: Sector 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET THURSDAY 6.51 PM » THURSDAY | 17 APRIL 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Congress workers protest the filing of a chargesheet against Sonia Gandhi and Rahul, in Chandigarh on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI PAGE 3 Daily slots for property registration hiked to 150 No cash payments at Sub-Registrar, Tehsildar offices Tribune News Service PAY VIA ONLINE PORTAL Chandigarh, April 16 Keeping in view the rush of applicants after the revision of Collector rates, the UT Estate Office has increased the number of appointments by nearly three times to 150 per day for registration of property documents. Earlier, 65 slots were allotted online every day. As many as 362 documents have been registered in the six days as there were nine holidays in the past fortnight from April 1 to 15. Welcoming the decision, Kamaljit Singh Panchhi, president, Property Federation of Chandigarh, said increasing the number of slots per day was a long-standing demand of the federation. Meanwhile, the UT Administration has announced that all financial transactions at the offices of the Sub-Registrar and Tehsildar became entirely cashless from today. The step has been taken to improve transparency, operational effi- The administration announced that all financial transactions at the offices of the Sub-Registrar and Tehsildar should become entirely cashless from Wednesday. Residents availing of services such as document registration, issuance of certified copies, commissions, inspection charges can make payments using the online portal of Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited at http://www.shcilestamp.com. ciency and service delivery for the general public. Residents availing of services such as document registration, issuance of certified copies, commissions, inspection charges and fee payment will no longer be permitted to make cash payments at the counters. All such payments must now be completed through digital means, using the official online portal of the Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL) at http://www.shcilestamp.com. Applicants can generate estamp certificates, make secure payments and download necessary receipts and documents required for submission at the relevant government offices. This system will eliminate the associated risks of delays or discrepancies. The administration has advised the general public to refrain from attempting any form of cash transaction at the offices of the Sub-Registrar or Tehsildar, as such cash payments will no longer be accepted under any circumstances. Further, citizens are cautioned against engaging with unauthorised agents or intermediaries, and should rely solely on the official SHCIL platform for all payments. In case of any difficulties encountered while using the online payment portal, or for clarification on the new procedure, applicants may contact the Sub-Registrar Office during official working hours. Chemist booked for selling banned drugs Our Correspondent Fatehgarh Sahib, April 16 A team of the Health Department and the police today conducted surprise inspections at two medical stores in Peerjain and Kharora villages of the district. The team, led by Drug Inspector Sukhbir Chand, seized 460 intoxicating pills from a medical store, following which the owner was booked. Around 60 syringes were recovered from Continued on page 2 Chandigarh, April 16 As temperatures soar with the onset of summer, the residents have started grappling with water shortage in different parts of the city. Among the worst-hit are those living on the upper floors of group housing societies in the southern sectors and rehabilitation colonies. Residents complained of irregular water supply over the past two weeks. Baljinder Singh Bittu, chairman, Federation of Sector Welfare Associations Chandigarh (FOSWAC), said while the Municipal Corporation (MC) was claiming to have improved water supply, nothing has changed on the ground. He opposed heavy fines being imposed on the residents in the name of wasting water, and blamed the MC’s incompetence for the shortage of water. Kamal Gupta, a resident of the Blood Donors Group Housing Society in Sector 50, said it was just the beginning of the summer, and the residents were already facing water shortage in the area. Gupta also opposed the heavy challan amount of Rs 5,788. Residents of villages and colonies also complained of poor supply. Darshna Devi, Congress councillor from Ward Number 5, Mani Majra, said the residents of her area were facing erratic water supply and the claims of 24x7 water supply remained on paper. The residents were also receiving muddy water. A house that was issued a notice for wasting water on Wednesday. USE WATER JUDICIOUSLY: MAYOR the officers ensure that people ❝We have directedshortage. Wetoare working on don’t face any water increasing the tertiary-treated water consumers. I appeal to the residents to use water judiciously and help MC in its drive against wastage. — Harpreet Kaur Babla, MAYOR ❞ 4 CHALLANED, 31 ISSUED NOTICES The MC on Wednesday issued 31 notices and challaned four persons for wasting potable water. The teams checked for misuse of potable water from 5.30 am to 8.30 am. A fine of Rs. 5,788 was imposed on those challaned. Under the drive, challans are being issued for watering of lawns, courtyards, washing of cars and other vehicles using a hosepipe. Gurpreet Singh Gabi, another Congress councillor, said he would raise the water supply issue in the MC House. Plugging the leaks According to MC sources, the water supply demand during the summer reaches 100 MGD but the city receives only 87 MGD of water, resulting in a 13 MGD shortfall. Officers of the civic body claim that they have been working on a plan to reduce leakage. They said around 38 MGD water was being supplied without bills and efforts were underway to stop that by replacing faulty meters. The civic body is also working on increasing the consumers of the tertiary treated water. Goldsmith robbed of cash, silver at gunpoint Tribune News Service People gather at the shop after the robbery in Zirakpur. Zirakpur, April 16 Four bike-borne youths robbed at gunpoint a goldsmith of Rs 80,000 cash and silver ornaments in Bhabat village near Zirakpur around 3:15 pm today. The victim, Sorav Kumar, who owns “Guddu di Hatti” in Shiva Enclave, Victoria City, Bhabat, said two masked youths stood outside on a bike while their accom- plices entered his shop. They pointed a pistol at him and took away Rs 80, 000 cash along with silver ornaments. One of the robbers broke the CCTV camera in the shop. They also snatched the keys of an almirah but it did not open, the victim said. The entire incident has been caught on the CCTV camera of the shop. The victim said both youths were wearing turbans. Mohali SSP Deepak Continued on page 2 UT has 3rd-highest women share in police force in country Drug network busted No vacancy among judges at district courts, reveals India Justice Report-2025 released on Tuesday Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 16 Chandigarh is among the top three position holders in the country when it comes to the share of women in the police force. With 22.5 per cent of the total cops from the fairer sex, which is almost double the national average of 12.3 per cent, the city has ranked the second best among the eight Union Territories (UTs), including Delhi. While Ladakh has topped the country with the highest 29.6 per cent share of women in the police force, Bihar stood second among all states and UTs in the country with the fairer sex forming 23.7 per cent of its police staff. The 2025 India Justice Report (IJR), India’s only ranking system for states/UTs on delivery of jus- tice in the country, was released yesterday. It has provided key insights into the capacity of the justice system of Chandigarh. The IJR was initiated by Tata Trusts in 2019, and this is the fourth edition. The partners include the Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, DAKSH, TISS–Prayas and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. How India Lives is the data partner. According to the report, a copy of which is with The Tribune, the per capita spending on police in Chandigarh was Rs 5,902 in 2022-23, which was more than four times the allIndia average of Rs 1,275. The constable vacancies in the Chandigarh Police were 17.3 per cent and that of officers 15.4 per cent. The share of women at the WOMAN SSP Among the top three position holders, Chandigarh has a woman Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). A 2013-batch Punjab cadre IPS, Kanwardeep Kaur is the second woman SSP of Chandigarh, serving here since March 2023. She assumed charge from the 2008-batch Punjab cadre IPS, Nilambri Vijay Jagdale, who was the first woman SSP in the UT from 2017 to 2020. FOURTH EDITION OF REPORT COMES AFTER TWO-YEAR RESEARCH Through a 24-month quantitative research, fourth edition of the India Justice Report -2025, like the previous three reports, has tracked the performance of states/UTs in capacitating their justice delivery structures to effectively deliver mandated services. Based on the latest official statistics, from authoritative officer level was 8.4 per cent, which was almost on a par with the national average of 8 government sources, it brings together otherwise siloed data on the four pillars of justice delivery — police, judiciary, prisons and legal aid. Each pillar is analysed through the prism of budgets, human resources, workload, diversity, infrastructure and trends against the state/UT’s own declared standards and benchmarks. per cent. Almost 50 per cent of the posts of both SC and OBC officer were vacant in the UT c m y b police. All police stations have at least one CCTV camera and 95 per cent of the city’s police stations have women help desks. On the judicial front, against the national average of Rs 182, Chandigarh’s per capita spending on judiciary was Rs 746. At the district court level, the data showed no vacancy among judges with 43.3 per cent share of women judges. It was also able to fulfil its quota for SC and OBC reservations within the district judiciary. However, 37.1 per cent of the cases were pending for more than three years. At Burail Model Jail, the only prison in the city, the officer vacancy was at 10 per cent, while half of all correctional staff posts were vacant. Women form only 4.9 per cent of the prison staff. There was at least one video-conferencing facility available. The occupancy rate was 107 per cent with 70 per cent inmates being undertrials. Continued on page 2 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 16 In a crackdown on inter-state drug trafficking, the Crime and Anti-Narcotics Task Force of the Chandigarh Police has arrested five persons, including two women, with 54.91 grams of heroin, 2.04 grams of intoxicants and Rs 45,000 drug money. The arrests were made as part of a follow-up on the recent drug cases. The operation began on April 13, with the arrest of Rajat, a resident of Dadu Majra, with drugs. The next day, Navneet Kaur of Mohali and Balkar Singh of Fazilka were nabbed with 35.17 grams of heroin. A day later, Sangeeta (45) was Continued on page 2 The accused in the custody of the police.