24062025-CT-01.qxd 6/24/2025 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune CHANDIGARH HOCKEY ACADEMY CLINCH TITLE PGI PLAN TO GET AI TECH FOR NEW CENTRE HITS HURDLE DILJIT FACES BACKLASH AHEAD OF SARDAAR JI 3 RELEASE The team beat the Sector 26 team at the Chandigarh State Junior Men's Hockey Championships. P2 Standing Finance Committee turns down proposal, Director says will submit revised plan. P3 Singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh has been receiving backlash for Sardaar Ji 3 featuring Pak artiste Hania. P4 » » PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 35.6°C | MIN 28.4°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.28 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:23 AM » TUESDAY | 24 JUNE 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE breaks out at Despite electrocution deaths, MC Firebar room, loss HC fails to fix loose live wires in parks pegged at ~35 lakh WHAT’S ON Auto driver died after touching electric pole in Vikas Nagar three days ago Ramkrishan Upadhyay APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, and Dhanas Panchkula: Sector 15 Mohali: Sectors 68 and 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Two arrested for duping city resident of ~2.5L Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 23 The cybercrime police have has arrested two residents of Jaipur for duping a city resident of over Rs 2.5 lakh in an online investment fraud. The accused — Vimal Kumar (29) and Raj Kumar, alias Raju (26), —were arrested from Jaipur on June 20. The victim, Vijayander Prasad of Dhanas, had reported that he had received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The caller offered attractive stock investment opportunities. He was added to a WhatsApp group sharing daily trading tips. Later, the fraudsters created a personal investment portfolio in his name on a fraudulent website. Believing the scheme to be legitimate, the complainant made three separate bank transfers, amounting to a total of Rs 2,50,000, to AU Bank accounts provided by the fraudsters. He later found himself removed from the group. When he noticed the website had vanished, he reported the matter to the police. Police investigations revealed that one account receiving the funds belonged to Vimal Kumar, while the associated mobile number was registered in the name of Raj Kumar. Both admitted to their role in the fraud during interrogation. The police are looking for their accomplice. The case was registered on May 6 last year under Sections 419, 420, 467, 471, and 120 of the Indian Penal Code. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 23 The death of an auto driver by electrocution near a Mauli Jagran park here recently has once again exposed the Municipal Corporation’s failure to maintain junction boxes of electric poles in the city. While the Chief Engineer has sought a report from the Superintending Engineer (Horticulture and Electrical) over the incident, residents say a more permanent solution is required. The auto driver died after coming in contact with an electric pole near a park in the Vikas Nagar area of Mauli Jagran on Friday night. He was at the park with his young daughters. Local residents said the junction boxes of streetlight poles had been in need of repairs for a long time now. The wires, they added, are exposed but no action has been taken by the authorities. A social activist, RK Garg said he had raised the issue of exposed wires dangling from the junction boxes An open junction box at the Sector 20 park in Chandigarh. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI with the civic body on multiple occasions, but to no avail. He also emphasised on the need for a proper policy to compensate the families of those killed or seriously injured due to the fault and carelessness on the part of the civic body. Sunil Kumar, a resident of Mauli Jagran, said the area OVER 50,000 JUNCTION BOXES IN CITY A civic body official said there were more than 50,000 junction boxes in the city and the department was facing the problem as their covers were often stolen by miscreants. has become vulnerable to electrocution incidents, especially in the monsoon season. Rajesh Kumar, another resident, said children who frequent the parks in the area can also meet with such accidents if repairs are not carried out urgently. “The MC must start identifying the damaged junction boxes and fix the exposed wires to ensure the safety of people,” they said. Notably, this is not the first electrocution-related death in the area. A 17-yearold boy had also lost his life in a similar incident in Manimajra in 2017. A civic body officer said there were more than 50,000 junction boxes in the city and the department was facing the problem as their covers were often stolen by miscreants. Aam Aadmi Party and Congress councillors, meanwhile, targeted the civic body after the Mauli Jagran incident. Deputy Mayor Taruna Mehta said several complaints had been lodged regarding the damaged junction boxes but the problem had not been resolved so far. “The boxes of street light poles are damaged across the city, from parks to roads. Wires are lying exposed at many places,” she said, adding that several boxes are lying damaged even in her own ward. Yogseh Dhingra, AAP councillor, said he would raise the issue in the next House meeting of the civic body. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 23 A fire broke out at the Punjab and Haryana High Court early Monday morning. Important files, furniture and office materials were destroyed and the estimated damage was pegged at about Rs 35 lakh. The fire occurred around 5:20 am in the women advocates’ bar room near Gate No. 5. The fire brigade was alerted promptly. Two fire tenders — one each from Sector 11 and Sector 17 — were dispatched to the site. Firefighters took about 45 minutes to bring the blaze under control. According to the fire officials, a suspected short-circuit in the air-conditioner wire in the bar room triggered the fire. The room was completely gutted. It also After long wait, MC hits ground running with road repair work Mayor orders officials to prepare estimate for recarpeting THE TRIBUNE IMPACT Tribune News Service The police inspect the crime scene on the Tehsil Complex road in Zirakpur on Monday. Property dealer shot at in Zirakpur Zirakpur, June 23 Two unidentified bike-borne youths fired a gunshot at a property dealer near the Zirakpur police station this afternoon, leaving him and his friend injured. Victim Jagtar Singh of Sundra village in Dera Bassi and his friend Jagtar Singh of Pandwala were on their way to the tehsil office on their bike when they stopped near a document centre. Two youths on a bike came from behind and fired a gunshot at them and fled the spot. Both were wearing helmets. Jagtar was hit on the back while his friend suffered a minor wound. They were rushed to a private hospital. A police team, led by Zirakpur SP Jaspinder Singh, started an investigation into the incident. — TNS Chandigarh, June 23 A day after the Chandigarh Tribune highlighted the poor condition of roads in the city, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has begun repair work from Sector 15. Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla also directed the civic body Chief Engineer to prepare an estimate for recarpeting the roads that have been found to be in poor shape after holding a review meeting. Notably, a recent civic body survey had found at least 60 roads in the city to be in a “very poor” condition. Besides, the condition of 23 other roads was cate- Road repairs underway at Sector 15, Chandigarh. gorised as “poor”. The Mayor said recarpeting work for these roads will start once the civic body receives the anticipated additional grant of Rs 238 crore from the administration. She said the amount is likely to flow soon and road repairs will be start immediately after. In the meantime, Babla has sought a detailed report on the civic body survey. The MC is for now focusing its attention on some of the roads in poor condition. Councilor Saurabh Joshi said the repair work started from road behind the bay shops in Sector 15 today. He conducted an inspection, accompanied by officials from the civic body. A few members of the Sector 15 Market Association were also present at the spot. It is pertinent to mention that the cash-strapped civic body has been calling for financial assistance to help them maintain city roads. Earlier, the Mayor had Continued on page 2 caused damage to two adjacent rooms, members of the Bar Association confirmed. President of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association Sartej Singh Narula rushed to the court premises soon after receiving information about the incident. The estimated damage is pegged at about Rs 35 lakh. The Bar Association also stated that all necessary restoration measures were being undertaken to resume normal functioning at the bar room at the earliest. The members have been requested to contribute funds for the restoration of the room. No one was present there at the time of the incident. An inquiry has been ordered to fix accountability and ensure stricter measures to prevent such incidents in the future. Jind native held with 76 rounds from Mohali Tribune News News Mohali, June 23 The police arrested Sahil Pannu, a native of Jind district in Haryana, with 76 rounds of ammunition here this afternoon. The 28-year-old youth was residing in Gillco Parks Hills, Sector 126, for the past sometime. The police said they had received information that the suspect was in possession of illegal ammunition. The police recovered the rounds from him. He is Class XII pass and unmarried. The police said Sahil had no criminal background. The in charge of Mohali CIA staff, Harminder Singh, said the suspect was produced in the court and remanded in police custody for further questioning. A case under the Arms Act has been registered against him at the Balongi police station. Now, security check mandatory for guests at Golf Club UT to regulate app-based cab Will be required to submit their credentials and get photographs taken before entry aggregators, notification soon Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 23 Guests at the Chandigarh Golf Club (CGC) will now have to submit credentials and get their photographs taken, claimed sources. The development comes after a committee formed by the Chandigarh Administration is said to have asked the management to ramp up checks at the club, given its proximity to the Punjab Raj Bhavan. Sources claimed that guests can avail of the club’s facilities 12 times a year, but no more than thrice a month. “The entire exercise is being carried out on the recommendation of a committee constituted by the Chandigarh Administration. Considering the proximity of A player in action at the Chandigarh Golf Club. FILE PHOTO the club’s building with the Raj Bhavan, the guests shall get registered and the club shall follow all rules and regu- lations set by the Administration,” a club official said. Sources claimed that the registration process includes not- ing credentials and taking photographs of guests, if (or not) accompanied by members. The decision has received a c m y b mix response from members. “The decision will, in a way, help the members use the facilities in a proper way. I know some guests who use the club more than I do,” said a member, not wishing to be named. While another member added, “This is just not the way to treat the guests. If a member is inviting a guest, he/she (the member) shall be held accountable in case of any wrongdoing. The club already possesses the credentials of the members. If there’s some security threat, it should be extended to UT Guest House as well, which hosts visitors on a daily basis,” the member added. The CGC has nearly 1,200 registered (regular) members, including national and international golfers. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 23 The UT Administration will soon implement comprehensive regulations for mobile app-based motor vehicle aggregators in the city. The Chandigarh Administration Motor Vehicle Aggregator Rules, 2025, expected to be formally notified this week, are aimed at bringing a fare control, operational discipline and enhanced safety standards to the aggregator ecosystem. The new rules will set up minimum and maximum fare limits, with a cap on surge pricing. As per the draft policy, the city taxi fare indexed to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for the current year will serve as the base fare. Aggregators will be allowed to charge as low as 50% below the base fare and a maximum of 1.5 times the base fare as surge pricing. The base fare will cover 3 km, accounting for fuel and distance travelled in reaching the passenger, a move aimed at discouraging overcharging. The rules also prohibit the use of private vehicles under aggregator services, a concern often raised with operators running dual vehicles not registered for commercial use. Additionally, 2% of the fare per ride may be directed to the state exchequer via future notifications to support transport-related public amenities and infrastructure. To enhance passenger safety, especially for women, the regulations mandate a 24/7 call centre, ride pooling options, integration of electric vehicles and strict compliance with operational norms, including minimum fleet size requirements. Cab drivers’ protest enters second week While the policy promises to formalise and streamline aggregator operations, protests by the Tricity Cab Continued on page 2