30052025-CT-01.qxd 5/30/2025 12:55 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune WATER CONNECTIONS FOR HOUSES OUTSIDE 'LAL DORA' ONLY 2 OF 11 LIQUOR VENDS AUCTIONED IN NINTH ROUND MC decides to give temporary water connections to houses outside ‘lal dora’ in 22 villages in Chandigarh. P3 Nine liquor vends remained unsold even after the ninth round of auction held by the UT Administration. P3 » » RAJA KUMARI INKS HISTORY AT AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS She becomes the first Indian-origin singer to win at the award show for her song Renegade. P4 Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 24 and 46 Panchkula: Sector 20 Mohali: Sector 68 and Phase 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF MOCK DRILL IN UT TOMORROW Chandigarh: A 29-year-old man died while two others sustained serious injuries as two bikes collided near Sai Mandir in Sector 29 here around 11.30 pm on Wednesday. The deceased was identified as Vinay, who worked at a private hospital. Bittu of Ramdarbar, the pillion rider, and Shashank from Baltana, who was riding another motorcycle, sustained critical injuries and were taken to the GMCH-32. TNS A crowd cheers before the start of the IPL Qualifier 1 between Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR SEE ALSO P3 Zirakpur civic body to be upgraded to municipal corporation: Minister Tribune News Service Mohali, May 29 Punjab Local Government Minister Dr Ravjot Singh announced the upgrade of the Zirakpur Municipal Council to the corporation status soon. During his visit to Zirakpur today, the minister highlighted the need for stronger governance due to rapid urban expansion. He stressed that a more empowered local body was essential to effectively manage civic amenities such as drinking water supply, sewage treatment and cleanliness. Dr Ravjot urged MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa to submit a formal proposal through the Punjab Local Government Minister Dr Ravjot Singh (extreme left), along with Dera Bassi MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa, speaks to officials at Baltana in Zirakpur on Thursday. PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Municipal Council to the Department of Local Government so that the process could begin promptly. The transition would be implemented from the next civic body elections in Zirakpur, he said. The Cabinet Minister, who was in the town in the early hours to inspect cleanliness and other civic amenities, expressed dissatisfaction over sanitation and ordered to enhance the number of sanitary workers. Expressing concern over the choked Sukhna Choe, Dr Ravjot Singh directed the Municipal Council to take immediate measures to clean it with the help of the Drainage Department before monsoon. The government had on May 14 initiated the construction work of a highlevel bridge on the choe at continued on page 3 P’kula cops probe family suicide from eight angles Tribune News Service Prof RP Bambah’s daughters Bindu A Bambah and Sucharu Khanna during a memorial service to pay tribute to the eminent mathematician in Chandigarh on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Tributes paid to Prof Bambah Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 29 A distinguished gathering of scholars, former students, jurists and well-wishers attended a memorial service held to pay tribute to Prof RP Bambah, one of India’s fore- most mathematicians and former Vice-Chancellor (VC) of Panjab University (PU), at the Sector 19 community centre today. Prof Bambah passed away on May 26 at the age 99. The event was attended by several eminent personalities, includ- ing PU VC Prof Renu Vig, former VCs of PU Prof Arun Grover and Prof KN Pathak, former VC of Punjabi University Prof BS Ghuman and former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. Also present were retired doctors from continued on page 2 Panchkula, May 29 New developments have surfaced in the Mittal family suicide case, as the police intensify their investigation into the incident that shocked Panchkula earlier this week. Parveen Mittal had allegedly administered poison to himself and five other family members, including three children. Investigators have reconstructed the family’s final movements. Surveillance footage and call data confirm that the car was parked in Sector 27 from around 6.40 pm until 10 pm on Monday when it was discovered. “Contrary to the rumours, the family did not attend the Hanumant Katha by Bageshwar Dham in Sector 5. It’s absolutely false,” clarified DCP (Crime) Amit Kumar Dahiya, who is overseeing the case. DCP Dahiya also shared critical insights into the scale and scope of the investigation. “We are conducting a 360-degree investigation exploring eight distinct angles. Five dedicated teams are working meticulously to examine every aspect of the case,” he said. The eight angles being investigated are banking and financial records, including loan histories and any major transactions by family members; Panchkula CCTV trail analysis to trace the family car’s movement over the past week or month; social media and digital footprint review, focusing on both the Aggarwal Associates Official YouTube channel and the personal accounts of family continued on page 2 2 UT heritage items to go under hammer in US today Chandigarh, May 29 A set of a desk and a chair from the city will go under the hammer in the US tomorrow. The reserve price of the heritage items, designed by Pierre Jeanneret, a Swiss architect, has been fixed at Rs 2.05 lakh. Los Angeles Modern Auctions would conduct the auction in California on May 30, said Ajay Jagga, a member FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Forced to think about shifting premises: HC WHAT’S ON ONE DEAD, 2 HURT AS BIKES COLLIDE MAX 38°C | MIN 29°C YESTERDAY MAX 41.3°C | MIN 27.7°C SUNRISE SATURDAY 5.22 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Fan moment Chandigarh: A mock drill will be held in the city on May 31 as a part of the nationwide civil defence exercise. The Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to conduct the second civil defence exercise, named “Operation Shield”, across all districts in states and UTs located along the western border of the country. Earlier, the exercise was to be held on Thursday, but was postponed due to administrative reasons. TNS PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET FRIDAY 7.18 PM » FRIDAY | 30 MAY 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST The heritage items to be auctioned. of the Heritage Items Protection Cell of the Chandigarh Administration. Jagga has requested Dr K Srikar Reddy, Consul General, San Francisco, USA, to stop the auction of the artefacts. Giving reference of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra of ‘Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi’, he stated that a set of the desk and chair was being auctioned for a minimum bid of Rs 2,05,021. He said recently, the PM had stated that “Heritage is not only history, rather it is a shared consciousness of humanity. Whenever we look at historical sites, it lifts our c m y b mind from the current geopolitical factors.” In view of the PM’s statement, he requested Reddy to ask the auction house to suspend the event till the matter was examined by India. “Legal frameworks such as the UNESCO 1970 Convention and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in the US facilitate the repatriation process,” he added. — TNS Chandigarh, May 29 The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday said it was being forced to think about shifting the High Court elsewhere due to the UT Administration’s adamant attitude in not clearing the “holistic development plan”. As the development plan case came up for resumed hearing, a Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel asserted that it (shifting) should be the last thing to do. “We are forced to think about an alternative site for the High Court…. Such a good and unique building you have. I haven’t seen such a building in the entire country. And yet, you are compelling people to leave it by your adamant attitude,” the Chief Justice told the UT Administration. The Bench said it had asked Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association president Sartej Singh Narula to place before the court their opinion “whether they are ready and willing to shift from this place to an alternative site”. Also, the High Court ruled out the IT Park area for shifting purpose. “No, IT Park is difficult because of the wildlife board and all those things…. Migratory bird passage… lot many obstacles.... They (UT Administration) are not ready for that”. The Bench, at the same time, pointed out that the IT Park area had a hotel and questioned how it got the required clearances. The High Court said another option was Sarangpur. “They are ready to give us about 70- Slams UT Administration over adamant attitude on development plan 80 acres. However, the bottleneck around the PGI will have to be removed. But before that, the Bar has to furnish its opinion on leaving the current site,” the Bench observed. UT told to construct verandah, preferably within a month A day after the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of a verandah in front of the Chief Justice’s courtroom on the High Court premises, the Bench today directed the UT Administration to carry out the construction “preferably within a period of four weeks”. Referring to the urgency, the Bench made it clear that the monsoon would start in a month’s time. The Bench also asked the UT Administration to follow the directions contained in the SC judgment on laying green pavers in the kutcha parking area. The apex court had, among other things, suggested that the High Court administration might consult the landscaping experts and ensure plantation of “a suitable number of trees at appropriate intervals so as to facilitate parking of the maximum number of vehicles and creating shade as well as shelter for the said vehicles and in addi- tion thereto, increasing green cover in the area”. Setting a week’s deadline, the Bench directed the UT to submit the proposal for laying pavers and landscaping, including trees, to the High Court’s building committee. The committee, in turn, could meet virtually during the summer break before considering and finalising the proposal expeditiously. ‘Seems UT not respecting India’s sovereignty’ The Bench rapped the UT Administration for not respecting the country’s sovereignty by always heading towards UNESCO. At the very onset, the Bench referred to UNESCO as the “bogey” the UT Administration created and was “like a ghost before us”. The UT counsel, during the course of hearing, told the Bench that “UNESCO, in fact, does not say ‘permission’, they say that you run (route) it through us…. They say that before you do anything that will change the outstanding universal value, you have to run the project by first getting the heritage impact assessment conducted and then run (route) it continued on page 3