24072024-CT-01.qxd 7/23/2024 11:50 PM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune TRUCK OVERTURNS ON KHARAR-LANDRAN ROAD OFFICE BEING RUN FROM SDM'S HOUSE, VISITORS SUFFER MINISTER’S SAREES ON BUDGET DAY DEPICT CULTURAL TALE Traffic disrupted for hours as the truck blocked most part of the road on both sides. P2 Visitors to the Dera Bassi tehsil office were redirected to the residence of SDM. P2 Bomkai, Kantha, Mangalagiri — Sitharaman’s sarees on Budget day send across subtle messages. P4 » » CHANDIGARH Meg Malhar Utsav by the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi: Four-day folk music vocal workshop by Dr Shailesh Shrivastava at Rani Laxmi Bai Mahila Bhawan, Sector 38-C, 11 am to 1 pm ‘The Tapi Project’ concert: Government Museum and Art Gallery auditorium, 6:30 pm Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi: Annual art exhibition at the Galleries of the Punjab Arts Council, Sector 16-B; on till July 30, 11 am to 7 pm (Sunday open). APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 and 52 Mohali: Phase11 Panchkula: Sector 25 (Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com) MAX 36°C | MIN 28°C YESTERDAY MAX 35°C | MIN 28.3°C SUNRISE THURSDAY 5.38 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE 681/1334: PU short Growth-oriented Budget: Traders of regular teachers Akashdeep Virk 123 posts of professor, 205 of associate professor, 353 of assistant professor vacant Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 23 Panjab University has been reeling under an acute shortage of regular faculty members for the past few years. The university has 1,334 sanctioned seats of regular faculty members on the campus, of which 681 are vacant. A university source told the The Tribune that of the total sanctioned seats, 391 are of professor, 290 of associate professor and 653 of assistant professor. As on December 26, 2023, only 268 seats of professor, 85 of associate professor and 300 of assistant professor were filled. Apart from the existing regular faculty, the university has around 400 guest faculty members and contractual staff, said a senior university official. In spite of these teachers, the campus is still short of the sanctioned strength. According to the norms of the University Grants Commission, a research supervisor/co-supervisor, who is a professor, cannot guide more than eight PhD scholars at any given point of time. Also, an associate professor as research supervisor can guide up to a maximum of six PhD scholars, and an assistant professor as research professor can only guide four PhD scholars under his/her supervision. With 123 vacancies of professor, 205 of associate professor and 353 of assistant professor on the campus and given the fact that the guest faculty members cannot supervise scholars, the scope of research is most likely to get hampered TRIBUNE PHOTO: PRADEEP TEWARI WHAT’S ON GENERALLY CLOUDY SUNSET WEDNESDAY 7.21 PM » WEDNESDAY | 24 JULY 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Posts Professor Associate Professor Assistant Professor Total Sanctioned 391 290 653 1,334 in this premier institution. “It is the Central Government’s duty to create jobs and strengthen the education departments all over the country, including PU, which should be their priority,” said Professor Amarjeet Singh Nauhra, president of Punjab University Teachers’ Association. While the issue of staff crunch has been highlighted a number of times, the university authorities claim to have their own reasons for this shortage. According to a senior university official, since 2017, the UGC’s permission is required to fill the posts of teaching faculty, which causes unnecessary hurdles. Moreover, the authorities have to operate within a set budget and for the past few years, the university had been demand- Filled 268 85 300 653 Vacant 123 205 353 681 ing more funds from the government, a senior official said. “There has been no recruitment of regular faculty since 2014. The university had advertised some posts in 2019 but the recruitment had to be cancelled. Most of the present faculty members are retiring in 2022-2026 with as many as 30-35 regular faculty members leaving the campus, including the ones on extension. This is a major issue which shall soon be addressed,” said a PU Senate fellow, Professor Jatinder Grover. The existing strength includes the teachers who are on extension after attaining the age of retirement (60 years). In April 2023, the PU Syndicate and Senate had approved teachers’ demand to increase their retirement Continued on page 3 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 23 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today presented the Budget 2024-25 in Parliament, but the budget allocation for the UT remained the same as in Interim Budget at Rs 6,513.62 crore. With presentation of the Union Budget, the restrictions on expenditure for new projects have been removed and the Municipal Corporation will get regular quarterly grants. Welcoming the Budget, the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal (CBM) termed it as “growthoriented” for the country. Mandal president Charanjiv Singh and chairman Sat Pal Gupta appreciated the various relief measures announced in the income tax slabs, standard deduction and other concessions, which will result in an increase in the spending power of common man, thus benefiting retailers and traders of the city. The simplification of GST procedures, as promised, will also be a welcome step, they added. Spokesperson of the CBM Diwakar Sahoonja stated that while the budget had some positive aspects, it lacked in specific relief measures for small and medium businesses. The CBM urged the government to consider the needs of such businesses that got burdened due to inflation. Saying that the budget emphasises overall economic growth, Naveen Manglani, vice-president, Chamber of Chandigarh Industries, added, “The increase in long- From left: Navesh Narula, chairman, CII Himachal Pradesh; Anurag Gupta, chairman, Chandigarh unit; and Prashant AN, regional director, Northern Region in Chandigarh. A TRIBUNE PHOTO CAPITAL GAIN HIKE TO HIT INVESTMENT ❝ The increase in long-term and short-term capital gain, particularly in real estate without indexation, could negatively affect investments in equity and real estate sectors in short term. — Naveen Manglani, VICE-PRESIDENT, CHAMBER OF INDUSTRIES SMALL, MEDIUM VENTURES WILL GROW ❞ IN FISCAL DEFICIT GOOD STEP CUT “With facilitation of working capital needs, food irradiation units and ecommerce export hubs, the Central Government is laying a robust foundation for MSMEs to thrive. These measures will empower small and medium enterprises to grow and compete globally. The introduction of a comprehensive credit guarantee scheme, coupled with significant provisions for long-term interest-free loans to states, underscores a commitment to fostering an aspirational India,” said AS Chauhan, Chairman, Chandigarh Branch of ICAI. “The reduction in the fiscal deficit target is a commendable step, which paves the way for fiscal discipline and sustainable economic growth. The abolition of the angel tax is a landmark decision. Startups are the backbone of innovation in India and this step removes a significant barrier for them and encourages investment. The government’s commitment to enhancing connectivity and building resilient infrastructure will not only drive steel consumption,” said Kapil Sabharwal, former chairman. PGI GETS ~2,200 CR The PGI has got ~2,200 crore in the Union Budget 2024-25, which is ~276.90 crore and ~77 crore more than last year’s budget estimates and revised budget estimates, respectively. term and short-term capital gains, particularly in real estate without indexation, could negatively affect investments in the equity and real estate sectors in the short term.” A significant deduction of House Rent Allowance (HRA) in the old income tax (I-T) regime discourages the salaried class from adopting the new regime, he said. Additional deductions beyond the standard deduction like HRA in the new regime could further enhance its appeal, house rental being the basic and major expense, he added. “An increase in the limits of MUDRA loans will benefits micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” he said. Vinod Vashisht, convener, City Forum of Residents Welfare Organisations (CFORWO), termed the budget lopsided. “An empty budget for the middle class. The government is heading towards snatching away any available art of tax planning at the hands of middle class by shelling taxes on them,” he said. Diarrhoea outbreak in Mohali locality Year on, woman accused nabbed on Nepal border Tribune News Service Motorcycles and mobiles recovered from the accused. Ragpicker arrested for vehicle, mobile thefts Chandigarh, July 23 A 20-year-old ragpicker has been arrested by the UT police for the thefts of vehicles and mobile phones. Seven motorcycles and five phones have been recovered from him. A team, led by Sub Inspector (SI) Sudesh Kumar, who is in charge of Daria Police Post, nabbed the accused, identified as Pankaj, alias Karam (20), a resident of Mauli Jagran, while riding a stolen motorcycle at a naka near the cremation ground in Industrial Area. He was produced before the court and the Judge sent him to one-day police remand. His interrogation led to the recovery of six two-wheelers that were stolen from parts of the city and Panchkula. The mobile phones recovered from him were stolen from Zirakpur and Panchkula. —TNS Mohali, July 23 Twenty cases of diarrhoea and one case of cholera have been reported in the district in the past few days with eight patients having been admitted to the local Civil Hospital, said officials concerned. A diarrhoea outbreak was reported in Kumbhran village here today. The water supply to the area had been stopped till the collection of water samples. Several residents reached the medical camp complaining of stomach ache and weakness. Water is being supplied to the area through tankers, said Deputy Commissioner Aashika Jain after she visited the area. Staff of the Health Department, Municipal Corporation, water supply and sanitation wing, and others camping in the area have been asked to carry out a door-to-door survey. The officials said the resi- Amit Sharma Tribune News Service Patients with cholera symptoms at Civil Hospital, Mohali, on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY dents had made underground water tanks which might have led to the diarrhoea outbreak. A team of the Municipal Corporation, water supply and sanitation wings is carrying out an inspection in the area to detect the sources of con- tamination in the water supply lines. Local residents said at many places, the pipes were passing through drains and close to sewage pits. Residents have been asked to clean their tanks and check for signs of contamination. Student hangs herself at GMCH-32 Panchkula resident duped Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 23 A third year MBBS student of Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, allegedly hanged herself in her hostel room. Sources claimed the police found a suicide note and the matter was under investigation. The incident occurred on Monday evening. According to the preliminary investigation, the victim was alone in her room and didn’t respond to her friends’ calls. “Her friends repeatedly knocked at the door. However, there was no response. They informed the authorities concerned. The door of her room broken and she was found lying unconscious on the ground. A rope was hanging from the fan,” said an eyewitness. The student was taken to the Emergency Medical Officers. They tried to save her. She did respond to the efforts by the doctors but died after sometime. The sources claimed that she had taken admission under the NRI quota and was having some personal issues. of ~15 lakh in cyber fraud Panchkula, July 23 A resident has been duped of Rs 15 lakh by a cyber fraudster. Nikhil Khemani, a resident of Sector 8, who runs a factory in Baddi, said he was added to a WhatsApp group, “Motilal Oswal wealth management”. The administrator collected his Aadhaar card, pan card and bank account c m y b details to register his account and asked him to download an application on the phone. Khemani started sending money to the given bank account. He transferred Rs 15 lakh, which, according to the fake website, had increased to Rs 27 lakh. When he failed to withdraw money, he realised that he had been cheated. — TNS “Chlorine tablets have been distributed in the area to disinfect the drinking water. A medical team has been deployed at the dispensary of the village, which attends to patients till 8 pm,” said an official. 2,763 cops transferred Chandigarh, July 23 The UT Police Department today transferred 2,763 police personnel, including constables and sub-inspectors (SIs). The orders were issued by SP Ketan Bansal. Around 120 SIs stationed across various wings have been transferred. This marks the highest number of police transfers in recent years. —TNS Chandigarh, July 23 One-year run of a 37-year-old woman, who was accused of duping a large number of people aspiring to settle abroad of crores, ended on India-Nepal border in Bihar where she was apprehended by immigration officers while trying to flee the country. A lookout circular had been issued against her. The accused, Shailka Wadhwa was wanted by the UT police in multiple cases of cheating. The police have brought her to the city to face a trial. Shailka was the owner of The Sapphire, an immigration consultancy firm in Chandigarh. Anticipating an attempt by her to escape the country, the police got the lookout notice issued against her. “We got the circular issued because we suspected she might flee the country,” said a police official. She was apprehended at Raxaul border in Bihar by immigration officers on July 12 and handed over to the local police station in East Champaran district. The UT police were informed about her arrest and a team was sent to Bihar. “The Bihar police presented her in the court on July 12 and the Judge remanded her in judicial custody. Our team SURGE IN CASES OF IMMIGRATION FRAUD This year, nearly 100 cases have been registered against immigration consultancy firms for fraudulent activities. Last year, 60 cases were registered, while 36 were registered in 2022 and 11 in 2021. reached Bihar on July 15, obtained her transit remand from the court and brought her to the city on July 17,” said an officer of the UT police. During interrogation, the woman revealed her plans about fleeing to Nepal and starting a business there. The police are investigating her movable and immovable assets, which she amassed by duping people. “We have discovered she owns several vehicles, including a Jaguar car, which has been impounded,” said police sources. The accused had immigration offices in Sectors 17 and 44. “Six cheating cases have been filed against her at the Sector 17 police station, including two of 2023 and four registered this year,” said the police. The sources said the accused, who hailed from Abohar, did her MBA from the US. She had worked for immigration consultancy firms before starting her own business.
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