04052026-CT-01.qxd 5/4/2026 12:43 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune COMMAND HOSPITAL CARRIES OUT FIRST HEART RETRIEVAL SAVEER EMERGES WINNER OF JUNIOR GOLF MEET STARS BEAT THE HEAT, RAISE CLIMATE ALARM The Command Hospital saves the life of a 14-year-old Sudanese boy admitted to a Delhi facility. P3 Saveer Singh Pruthi lifts the boys’ title (below 7 years) in the 5th Indian Golf Union North Zone meet. P3 As summer intensifies, celebrities highlight urgent need for mindful living in the face of climate change. P4 » » PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 33.2°C | MIN 17.1°C SUNSET MONDAY 7:02 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 5:37 AM » MONDAY | 4 MAY 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Storm batters Tricity, leaves trail of damage Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 3 The fresh Western Disturbance, which had been forecast by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), struck the Tricity on Saturday night — unleashing hailstorm, thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds of 50 to 60 kmph. Chandigarh received 24.5 mm of rainfall till Sunday evening — the highest singleday downpour recorded anywhere in Punjab and the second highest in Haryana after Yamunanagar’s 29 mm. The city’s maximum temperature crashed three degrees to 33.2 degrees Celsius, 4.3 degrees below normal, and the minimum plunged a sharp 4.8 notches to touch a season-low of 17.1 degrees Celsius, 6.2 degrees below normal and the coolest night recorded across the PunjabHaryana region on Sunday. The rain spell brought an end to the sweltering heatwave that had held the Tricity in a furnace-like grip through the past fortnight. Trees, electricity poles and unipoles were uprooted across Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula, snapping power supply lines and damaging public property. Major parts of the Tricity remained without electricity and water supply for most of the day. Residents wake up to darkness and storm Residents woke up on Sunday to darkness — with dense cloud cover, loud thunderclaps, hailstorm and light to moderate rainfall continuing through the morning and into noon. The storm left streets strewn with fallen branches and debris across sectors of Chandigarh, MORNING SHINE GIVES WAY TO DARKNESS UT logs 24.5-mm rainfall , highest across Punjab Mercury crashes to 17.1°C — coolest night in entire Punjab-Haryana region An uprooted tree on the Phase II-IV road in Mohali. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY MOHALI POWERLESS FOR 9 HRS MERCURY METER Darkness engulfs Chandigarh at 7:45 am just before the storm on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI Mohali and Panchkula. However, no loss of life was reported from any part of the Tricity region till the reports last came in. As the weather cleared through the afternoon, residents made the most of the sudden and dramatic drop in temperature. Sukhna Lake, Rock Garden, Rose Garden, Leisure Valley, Geri Route and Sector 17 Plaza drew large crowds. Elante Mall and other shopping destinations received heavy footfall. Hotels, restaurants and eateries across the Tricity reported near-full houses as families stepped out to enjoy the pleasant weather. Minimum temperature plunges in Mohali Mohali’s station recorded 20.5 mm of rainfall — the MAX MIN CHANDIGARH 33.2°C 17.1°C MOHALI 32.4°C 18°C Most parts of Mohali — showcased as the region’s upcoming IT hub and investment destination — remained powerless for close to nine hours. Power supply, which snapped around 7:30 am when the storm struck the Tricity, was restored only around 4 pm. Power officials attributed the prolonged outage to major breakdowns and extensive damage to the supply network caused by the storm. P2 A waterlogged road in Sector 25, Chandigarh; and (right) a broken unipole on the Phase VII road. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: PARDEEP TEWARI/VICKY third highest in the combined Punjab-Haryana data for the day. Its minimum temperature plunged 7.4 notches from Friday night to 18 degrees Celsius on Saturday night, the second coolest night in the entire PunjabHaryana region after Chandigarh. Ludhiana logging 24.6 mm of rainfall — the highest in Punjab outside Chandigarh. In Haryana, Yamunanagar led the state at 29 mm, fol- lowed by Narnaul at 4.5 mm and Ambala at 2.7 mm. Across Punjab, average maximum temperatures were appreciably below normal by 4.7 degrees Celsius — the sharpest single-day below- normal departure of the season. Faridkot topped the state at 38.1 degrees Celsius even after a sharp fall, followed by Bathinda at 37.5 degrees and Patiala at 34.6 degrees. The lowest minimum in Punjab was shared between Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur and Mohali at 18 degrees Celsius. In Haryana, average maximum temperatures were appreciably below normal by 4.4 degrees Celsius — with Narnaul leading at 37 degrees, Hisar at 35.8 degrees and Rohtak at 35.4 degrees. The state’s average minimum was below normal by 2.6 degrees. The lowest minimum in Haryana was 18.7 degrees Celsius at Ambala. Chandigarh’s seasonal rainfall since March 1 has now surged to 95.4 mm — 195.4 per cent above the seasonal normal. Orange alert holds till Tuesday The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has kept its orange alert firmly in Centre set to roll out digital food No more time: HC seeks Centre’s stand subsidy pilot programme in city on 65-yr retirement age for PU teachers Chandigarh, May 3 The Central Government is set to roll out its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)-based food subsidy programme in Chandigarh on a pilot bases by June. The move is being seen as a significant step to integrate digital currency with the Public Distribution System (PDS). Under the proposed system, beneficiaries will receive their PDS entitlements in the form of digital tokens through a wallet issued under the Reserve Bank of India’s CBDC framework. This will replace the conventional practice of collecting subsidised foodgrain from ration shops. According to officials, the initiative would improve transparency, efficiency and targeted delivery, as it would plug gaps in the existing distribution system. Currently, beneficiaries often face issues such as stock shortages or reduced entitlements, particularly if they visit fair price shops later in the monthly cycle. While direct benefit transfer (DBT) has been considered as an alternative, concerns remain that unrestricted cash transfers may be diverted towards nonfood expenses, defeating the purpose of food security. Issued by the RBI, the CBDC carries the same legal status as physical currency but can be Saurabh Malik ISTOCK Tribune News Service HOW IT WORKS ■ Beneficiaries to get PDS entitlements in the form of digital tokens through an RBI wallet ■ The tokens are redeemable at authorised ration shops ■ Beneficiaries with smartphones can use a digital wallet, while those with feature phones can receive redemption codes ■ The existing physical distribution of ration will also continue programmed for specific usage. In this case, the digital tokens can only be used to purchase essential foodgrain such as wheat and rice. The tokens will function like digital coupons, remaining under the beneficiary’s control and redeemable at authorised ration shops or designated outlets. Importantly, the system is designed to prevent usage beyond approved categories, thereby ensuring that the subsidy is utilised for its intended purpose. Beneficiaries with smartphones can use a digital wallet, while those with feature phones can receive redemption codes. Individuals with- out access to any device will continue to receive benefits through the existing physical distribution channel. In the current pilot phase, the validity of digital tokens is one month, although officials noted that this could be extended up to three months if required. The officials clarified that the reform was aimed at improving subsidy delivery and did not impact procurement systems, minimum support price mechanisms or entitlements under the National Food Security Act. The physical ration distribution system would continue to operate alongside the digital model to ensure no beneficiary was excluded. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 3 Bringing the Centre’s extended deliberations on the Panjab University retirement age issue to a halt, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has declined further adjournment and directed the Union Government to place its stand on record through a personal affidavit of the Secretary, Department of Higher Education. Taking up the matter, a Division Bench directed that “a responsible officer not below the rank of Joint Secretary shall remain personally present before the Court on the next date along with the relevant record.” As the matter came up for resumed hearing, Additional Solicitor-General of India Ticket sale for Dharamsala tie Chandigarh, May 3 The sale of tickets for Punjab Kings’ match against Delhi Capitals, scheduled for May 11 at their second home ground in Dharamsala, has begun. The online sale of tickets has started on the district app and the team’s website. The ticket for general stands will cost Rs 2,250, while hospitality tickets will be available from Rs 8,000 onwards. — TNS c m y b Two months ago, the Centre had informed the High Court that a three-member panel would examine the proposal Satya Pal Jain placed on record a communication dated April 27 stating that the committee —constituted to look into the pending issues — had discussed the matter on March 30 and required six weeks’ time to take an appropriate decision. The Division Bench of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor, however, refused to grant more time, noting that the case had already been adjourned repeatedly at the Centre’s request. “This matter has been repeatedly adjourned in order to accommodate the Central Government so that an appropriate decision on the legal issues raised and pressed is taken by the competent authority,” the Bench observed. Referring to earlier warnings, the court added: “The order sheet indicates that the matter has been adjourned repeatedly with observations made that no further request for extension of time would be entertained. In that view of the matter, we are not inclined to accept the request for adjournment of the matter.” The Bench has now listed the case for hearing on July 29, while directing that the Centre’s stand be formally placed on record. The Bench was hearing an appeal filed in 2016, along with connected cases. It was earlier informed that the Centre had set up a three-member panel to examine the varsity’s proposal to raise the retirement age of its teachers from 60 to 65 years. Jain had then informed the court that an order to this effect was issued by the Union Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education, on February 25. The committee would be headed by UGC’s former chairman M Jagadesh Kumar. The other members are Delhi University ViceChancellor Yogesh Singh and Panjab University Vice-Chancellor Renu Vig. The court, during the course of hearing, was told by one of the counsel R Kartikeya that Panjab University Senate had earlier resolved to amend the age from 60 to 65. Supporters of P’kula BJP nominee, Independent clash over posters Tribune News Service Panchkula, May 3 Supporters of BJP candidate from Ward No. 9 Harender Malik and Independent Ravikant Swami traded blows in a residential area over the issue of tearing each other’s posters here on Saturday night. Area residents witnessed a flurry of fisticuffs, kicking, punching and shoving as both sides entered into a fight. One person reportedly suffered a serious head injury. There was no policeman to be seen around. Initially, there was an argument over removing the poster. Soon, the matter escalated so much that both groups came face to face and a scuffle broke out. The police remained tightlipped over the clash. This is the first incident of pollrelated violence in the Panchkula Municipal Corporation elections. Voting for 20 wards will be conducted on May 10. place for Sunday through Tuesday — the most intense phase of the Western Disturbance’s influence. Monday and Tuesday will bring fairly widespread rainfall, thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds of 50 to 60 kmph with hailstorm at isolated places across Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. The alert steps down to a yellow alert on Wednesday with similar but less intense conditions. No weather warning is in force from Thursday to Saturday, though isolated rainfall is expected through the week, keeping heatwave conditions firmly at bay. The IMD forecasts no large change in temperatures over the next 24 hours, followed by a further fall in maximum temperature of 3 to 5 degrees thereafter. AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 79 PANCHKULA 58 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 43 & 45 Mohali: Sectors 70, 78 & Phase 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF 3 FLIGHTS DEPART AN HOUR LATE Chandigarh: ChandigarhHyderabad flight scheduled to depart at 7:50 am was delayed by more than an hour due to inclement weather at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh international Airport. The Chandigarh-Mumbai flight (8:20 am) left at 9:10 am and Chandigarh-Bengaluru flight, which was scheduled to depart at 8:10 am, was held back till 9:18 am. TNS