07102025-CT-01.qxd 10/7/2025 1:02 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune ENFORCEMENT DRIVE HELD AT THREE P’KULA VILLAGES OVER 2K GIVEN AID DURING 300 DAYS OF ANTI-DRUG DRIVE SHEFALI SHAH REFLECTS ON HER CINEMATIC JOURNEY Town Planning Department carries out a major demolition drive in three villages of Panchkula district. P2 A flagship initiative of the Panchkula police to tackle the menace of drug addiction completes 300 days. P2 Whether it is no-nonsense cop or morally complex doctor, her characters resonate deeply with audiences. P4 » » HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. PANCHKULA CELEBRATION: Haryana Minister Arti Singh Rao to be the chief guest at district-level function to mark Maharishi Valmiki Jayanti; PWD Rest House, Sector 1 (11 am) 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 Man robbed of vehicle near Gharuan, 2 held Mohali, October 6 Two youths have been arrested for robbing a jeep near Gharuan here on Saturday. The accused have been identified as Bhiwani resident Kunal Yadav and Mahendragarh resident Prince. Their accomplice Armaan of Gharuan is absconding. On the complaint of Jashanpreet Singh of Mamumur, a case under Sections 304, 126 (1) and 351 (2) of the BNS was registered at the Sadar Kharar police station on October 5. The police said the robbed vehicle and a car used in the crime had been recovered from the accused near Mahendragarh. Kharar DSP Karan Singh Sandhu said, “The accused got the fuel tank of their vehicles refilled at various filling station on the way and fled without paying.” — TNS House also exempts religious institutions from property tax; 100-acre lake planned Panchkula, October 6 In a series of citizen-friendly decisions, the Municipal Corporation (MC) today waived garbage tax for the fiscal 2025–26 and abolished paid parking in three sectors. The decisions were taken during a General House meeting chaired by Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal and attended by MLA Chander Mohan, MC Commissioner RK Singh, Joint Commissioner Gaurav Chauhan, councillors and officials of the civic body. The House unanimously decided to end paid parking in Sectors 8, 9 and 10 as the contractor had failed to deposit dues of around Rs 1.25 crore. The Mayor issued directions for immediate recovery of the dues, while the MC Commissioner warned that an FIR would be registered if the payment was not made. Once the contract ends on November 10, all parking zones in the three sectors will be made free. To curb illegal mining in rural areas, councillors raised Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal flanked by Panchkula MLA Chander Mohan (left) and MC Commissioner RK Singh during the General House meeting of the civic body in Panchkula on Monday. concerns over environmental damage and dues of Rs 4 crore. The Mayor ordered recovery within three days or suspension of mining operations. In another decision, the MC approved waiver of garbage tax for the financial year 2025–26, which will now be sent to the government for approval. Community centre booking rates were also reduced from Rs 21,000 to Rs 11,000 for centres over one acre and from Rs 11,000 to Rs 5,000 for smaller ones. Besides, 50% concession will be offered on religious events and 25% on funeral functions. The House granted property tax exemption to all temples, dharamsalas and reli- Day on, 4 councillors refuteMayor’scharges Ramkrishan Upadhyay Mohali, October 6 The administration has issued orders allowing the use, sale and storage of only green crackers during Diwali, Guru Nanak Dev’s Parkash Purb, Christmas and New Year celebrations. The permissible time for bursting of firecrackers has also been fixed. It is from 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali (October 20), from 4 am to 5 am and 9 pm to 10 pm on Guru Nanak Dev’s Parkash Purab (November 5), 11.55 pm to 12.30 am on Christmas (December 25 and 26) and 11.55 pm to 12.30 am on the New Year’s Eve (December 31, 2025 – January 1, 2026). District Magistrate Komal Mittal said, “The manufacture, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of series/chain fireworks (laris) is strictly prohibited throughout the state. Only green crackers, which do not contain barium salts, antimony, lithium, mercury, arsenic, lead or strontium chromate will be permitted for sale and use.” E-commerce websites, including Flipkart, Amazon, etc, were prohibited from accepting or fulfilling online orders for the sale of firecrackers within the jurisdiction of Mohali district. The orders will remain in force from October 1 to January 2 next year. — TNS electric AC buses for students and one for pilgrimage routes covering Mansa Devi temple, Chandi Mata temple, Kalka Mata temple and Trilokpur temple, and Nada Sahib. The MC House also approved a Diwali bonus of 15-day salary for sanitation workers and seven-day salary for contractual staff. The meeting ended with the approval for a 100-acre lake and resort project on PPP mode in Kot, Jaswant and Billa villages, and renaming of parks and community centres in the memory of Late Rattan Lal Kataria and Padma Shri Jagdish Lal Ahuja (Langar Baba). The MLA raised concern over illegal mining, bad condition of roads and excessive use of promotional hoardings. As it was likely the last meeting of the current MC House before the upcoming elections, residents from across the city reflected on its five-year tenure with mixed views — praising a few developmental initiatives but largely criticising its failure to address core civic issues. Continued on page 2 Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari addresses the gathering during an event organised by the CII on Monday. Tewari bats for mass rapid transit system Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 6 MP and former Union Minister Manish Tewari has emphasised the urgent need for major fundamental structural changes in the city to make business activities more efficient and profitable. “The current governance model of Chandigarh is unviable, ossified, redundant and unsustainable to meet the aspirations of its residents. There should be a properly empowered Mayor in Council, directly elected by all electors of Chandigarh for a fiveyear term. The Mayor in Council must have control over all subjects, except for land, public order and police,” he said while addressing an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today. Tewari said several administrative reforms were required in Chandigarh and that he had been consistently voicing these demands both inside and outside parliament. He said an integrated mass rapid transit system (MRTS) connecting Chandigarh with its adjoining cities of Mohali, Panchkula and New Chandigarh must be established, along with granting Point of Call status to the Chandigarh airport to enable more international flights from the region. He recalled that during his tenure as the MP from Anandpur Sahib, he had written to Union Minister for Continued on page 2 Mohali admn allows only green crackers Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 6 Four councillors, including Senior Deputy Mayor Jasbir Singh Bunty and Deputy Mayor Taruna Mehta, have denied the charges levelled against them by Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla in a letter to Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria. In a counter-attack, they accused the Mayor of suppressing their voices in the MC House. In a press conference at the MC office today, the Mayor’s deputies and other councillors of the opposition AAP and Congress, claimed that they tore up the minutes of the last House meeting as those were City AAP chief claims pressure tactics being used to suppress them wrongly recorded. They claimed that they only protested in the well of the House and did not throw the papers at anyone. They said their claims could be verified from the footage of the House meeting. Other councillors present at the press meet included former AAP Mayor Kuldeep Kumar, councillors Sachin Galav, Gurpreet Singh, Hardeep Singh, Suman Sharma, Yogesh Dhingra, Darshana Rani and Prem Lata. Continued on page 2 Senior Deputy Mayor Jasbir Singh Bunty speaks to mediapersons in Chandigarh on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR AIRPORT CLOSURE FROM OCT 26 TO NOV 7 Consider partial operations: Residents Mohali, October 6 A two-week closure of Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh, beginning October 26, will cause inconvenience to passengers during the festive season when the footfall is maximum. Residents have urged the authorities to allow partial operations at the airport. The airlines have stopped taking bookings from October 26 (1 am) to November 7 FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE P’kula MC abolishes paid parking in three sectors, waives garbage tax Tribune News Service CHANDIGARH CME: Department of Anesthesia & Intensive Care, PGIMER, in collaboration with ISA, Chandigarh, to hold continuing medical education (CME) themed on “NORA CARE 2025 – Non-Operating Room Anesthesia: Challenges, Advances, Resources & Excellence”; LT-1, PGIMER (9.30 am onwards) MAX 26°C | MIN 20°C YESTERDAY MAX 24.8°C | MIN 22.2°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.20 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Sheetal WHAT’S ON PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET TUESDAY 6.01 PM » TUESDAY | 7 OCTOBER 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST (11.59 pm). All bookings for the period have been cancelled and the airlines have promised full refund of the tickets. “The airfield will remain closed for fixed wing aircraft operation due to polymer modified emulsion work planned on the runway. Rotary wing aircraft will be cleared subject to prior clearance, as per IAF information subject to further NOTAM (Notice to Airmen),” officials had said on September 26. Haryana Cabinet Minister Anil Vij had yesterday urged the Union Civil Aviation Minister to explore the possibility of temporarily shifting flight operations from the Chandigarh airport to Ambala for the convenience of passengers. “Delhi and Amritsar are the nearest major airports, around 250 km away from Chandigarh. Railways, public transport and taxis will have to take the passenger load while the airport is shut,” said a Chandigarh-based travel agent. “This will cause a major loss to the industry in the region. The marriage season has already begun. This is also the time of the year when NRIs visit Punjab. The authorities should arrange for partial operation of flights,” said Sanjeev Vashisht, former president of Mohali Industries Association. Continued on page 3 c m y b gious bodies for the year, and approved a 50% rebate on interest for “overdue” residential and commercial taxes. Land in Chandimandir, Alipur and Jallouli will be leased to religious organisations for dharamshalas, schools and hostels. Other key decisions included the procurement of five Women walk amid rain at the Sector 17 Plaza in Chandigarh on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Rain cools Tricity, temp dips 11°C Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 6 A spell of moderate to intense rainfall, coupled with thunderstorm and gusty winds, lashed Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula through Monday, with temperatures witnessing a sharp drop -- marking one of the most significant post-monsoon cool-downs of the season. According to the Meteorological Centre, Chandigarh, the maximum temperature in the city plummeted to 24.8°C, which is 7.8°C below normal, while the minimum settled at 22.2°C, around 1.3°C above normal. The maximum temperature fell by 11 notches in 24 hours. Relative humidity fluctuated between 93% and 72%, keeping the air muggy amid intermittent lightning and thunderclaps. The city's observatory recorded 33.3 mm of rainfall till 5.30 pm, which was heaviest in the region. Mohali recorded a maximum of 26.4°C, about 9°C TRICITY METER CITY Chd Mohali P’kula below normal, with 32.5 mm rainfall in the past 24 hours, the second heaviest in the region. Panchkula, influenced by the same convective system, saw similar conditions with evening thunder and medium downpour sweeping several sectors. The spell marked a dramatic turnaround after a dry and hot start to October, when temperatures had soared above 36°C just a day earlier. The maximum temperature in the city fell by nearly 11°C in 24 hours, while the average maximum temperatures across Punjab and Haryana were 7-9°C below normal, making Monday the coldest day of the month so far. Over the next few days, the MAX 24.8°C 26.4°C 25.8°C MIN RAIN 22.2°C 33.3 mm 23.1°C 32.5 mm 22°C 31 mm IMD expects the weather to gradually stabilise. The forecast shows partly cloudy sky with chances of thunder or rain on Tuesday (October 7), followed by mainly clear conditions from October 8 onwards. Day temperatures are likely to recover from 26°C on Monday to around 31°C by Friday, while minimums will hover between 19°C and 20°C. Meteorologists attributed the sudden change to a western disturbance interacting with moist easterly winds from the Bay of Bengal, triggering intense convection across north India. "The interaction of two air masses created unstable atmospheric conditions, leading to thunderstorm development and heavy precipitation," a weatherman explained. The system is expected to move eastwards, leading to clearer sky mid-week. Why wet weather this week The intense spell is part of a post-monsoon convective system triggered by a western disturbance - a weather phenomenon originating over the Mediterranean region that travels eastward - which interacted with moist southeasterly winds from the Bay of Bengal. The collision of these contrasting air masses caused rapid cloud build-up, thunderstorms and localised hail. Such events are typical in early October when monsoon withdrawal is delayed, keeping the atmosphere humid and unstable. As the system shifts towards northeast, dry northwesterly winds are expected to resume, leading to clearer sky and a gradual rise in day temperatures later this week.