14102024-CT-01.qxd 10/13/2024 11:38 PM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune FARM FIRES: DC WARNS OFFICERS OF COURT ACTION SEC-26 COLLEGE, PU CAMPUS WIN SWIMMING MEET DANCE EXPONENT FROM ASSAM PERFORMS AT PU Fifteen incidents of stubble burning have been reported in Mohali district in the past 24 hours. P2 SGGS College and PU teams win championship in men and women categories, respectively. P3 Mallika says one should follow path shown by Bhakti saints to deal with complexities of modern-day life. P4 » » WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 43, 45 and Maloya Mohali: Phase V Panchkula: MDC, Sector 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF DRUG PEDDLER HELD WITH HEROIN Chandigarh: A drug peddler has been arrested by the Operations Cell of the UT police with 44.73 gram heroin. The suspect, identified as Deepak, alias Deep (38), a resident of Sector 46, was arrested in Sector 49 with the drugs. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered at the Sector 49 police station. He was also arrested in an NDPS case in 2021. TNS COUPLE HURT IN ROAD ACCIDENT Chandigarh: A man and his wife were injured when their bicycle was hit by a motorcycle. Pramod reported that he and his wife Rani were injured when a motorcycle sped away after hitting their bicycle in Sector 26. Both were admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. The police have registered a case and started investigation. TNS TWO ARRESTED FOR ASSAULT Chandigarh: Two persons have been arrested in a case of assault. Balwinder Singh had reported that his brother Rajinder and nephew Akash were allegedly attacked by Rakesh Rana, Sher Singh, alias Shetty, and others. A case was registered at the Sector 31 police station and both were arrested. They were later released on bail. TNS Commuters condemn frequent protests by unions, forced to take detours Gaurav Kanthwal Tribune News Service Mohali, October 13 Commuters were inconvenienced as several farmer unions blocked inter-state and inter-district roads for three hours (from 12 noon to 3 pm) today. The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) had announced a statewide threehour blockade against the tardy procurement of paddy. Rice millers and commission agents also joined in the protest. With the wedding season on, the protest played spoilsport for many marriage parties in the afternoon. Motorists had to take detours to reach their destinations. They condemned frequent protests and blockades by farmer unions. The protesters said they planned the blockade for Sunday to minimise inconvenience to the public. “Every blockade had an alternative route so that people do not face problem in emergency. Since the state government and the Centre were not listening to us, we had to resort to the protest,” they said. At the Dappar toll plaza in Lalru, there was chaos as vehicles stuck in a traffic jam tried to take a U-turn. Leaders of the SKM and the Bharti Kisan Union (BKU), Lakhowal, blocked the national highway from 12 noon to 3 pm, highlighting the difficulties being faced by farmers in paddy procurement. The connectivity on the Punjab-Haryana border was affected due to the blockade in Lalru. The nearby town of Dera Bassi, too, witnessed chaotic traffic in the afternoon. Farmers blocked the road near the Bhagomajra toll plaza and shouted slogans against the state government. The protesters blocked the Landran chowk by putting up tyres on the road. Commuters said the protesters blocked almost all major roads. At Ropar, farmers squatted on the national highway near the Solkhian toll plaza. The BKU (Lakhowal) general secretary, Jaspal Singh Niamian, said the state government had failed in beginning paddy procurement from October 1. A woman requests a protester to let her cross the Dappar toll plaza in Dera Bassi on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: NITIN MITTAL Vande Bharat, Shatabdi delayed Akashdeep Virk Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 13 Thousands of rail passengers faced inconvenience today as a number of trains, including the afternoon New Delhi Shatabdi and the Chandigarh-Ajmer Vande Bharat Express, were delayed due to the farmer protest. The Shatabdi train, which starts from here at 12:05 pm, had to be delayed by two hours and was given the goahead by the authorities at 2:05 pm. The passengers, who were supposed to reach New Delhi at 3:20 pm, were upset over the delay. “Rather than stopping the train midway causing a lot of inconvenience to the passengers, we decided to delay the train’s departure by two hours. The protest was supposed to end at 3 pm,” said a senior railway official of Ambala division. The Shatabdi reached late by 2 hours and 43 minutes at its next stop, Ambala Cantonment, and 3.10 hours late at Farmers block railway tracks in Patiala on Sunday. ANI Karnal. The Ajmer-bound Vande Bharat Express, which starts from here, commenced its journey 45 minutes late. The train was scheduled to depart at 3:15 pm but left at 4:01 pm. Another Vande Bharat, which starts from Ajmer and ends its journey here, also had to be stopped en route. It reached here at 3:26 pm instead of 2:45 pm. The Paschim Express, from Amritsar to Mumbai Central, had to be halted in the city for 2 hours and 31 minutes. Also, the commuters travelling via Kalka-Ambala Cantt passenger train were hassled as it reached here late by 3 hours and 4 minutes. The train, which started late by 1 hour and 13 minutes from Kalka, reached Chandimandir 1 hour and 17 minutes late and left from there 2 hours and 33 minutes late. Similarly, the Nangal DamAmbala Cant train also reached Chandigarh 2 hours and 47 minutes late at 4:07 pm. MAX 34°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 33.8°C | MIN 19.5°C SUNRISE TUESDAY 6.23 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD Farmer blockade spells chaos in Lalru, Dera Bassi, Mohali areas MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET MONDAY 5.54 PM » MONDAY | 14 OCTOBER 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE UT Admn to allot 12 sites for sale of green crackers Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 13 With the approaching of Diwali festival, the UT Administration has planned to give licence to 96 vendors for selling green firecrackers at 12 designated sites across the city. The UT Administrator has given approval to start the process of allotment of the sites to firecracker sellers. The office of the Deputy Commissioner (DC) is likely to issue a notification on the schedule for allotment of sites to vendors on Monday, in which the date of online application as well as the date of draw will be mentioned. There will be eight to 10 shops at each site. Vendors will be allowed to sell firecrackers for only three days. Last year, 790 people had applied for 96 sites. Applications will be sought from the interested vendors online and the draw will also be held online ensuring transparency and ease of access for vendors. The Administration has decided to allow bursting of only green crackers for two hours between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali, October 31. On Gurpurb, November 15, the window will be from 4 am to 5 am and from 9 pm to 10 pm. The Cracker Dealers Association has expressed resentment over the delay in starting the process for issuance of licence for selling firecrackers in the city. Chirag Aggarwal, general secretary of the association, stated that the festival season had already started, but the UT Administration was yet to start the process for allotment of sites. Nearly, a fortnight was left for Diwali, and they were yet to place the NOTIFICATON LIKELY TO BE ISSUED TODAY ■ The DC office is likely to issue a notification on the schedule for allotment of sites to vendors on Monday ■ The date of online application as well as the date of draw will be mentioned ■ There will be around 10 shops at each site. Vendors will be allowed to sell firecrackers for only three days order for purchase of green crackers, he said, adding that the delay would affect their business, as it would be difficult to procure firecrackers at the last moment. In a letter to DC Vinay Pratap Singh, the association had requested that the process of draw of licences should have been initiated before the onset of the festival season so that only the successful applicants can make bookings with wholesalers. For availing the stock of crackers, the order booking have started by the wholesalers elsewhere. However in Chandigarh, the successful applicant could purchase crackers only after the draw of the licences by the administration, whereby the vendors suffer from last minute harassment. Last year also, many vendors who were not successful in the draw had to suffer financial loss due to prior booking of orders. They demanded that temporary stall area for selling of cracker be increased from 15x15 ft to 15x30 ft. That the vendors are authorised to put the cracker stalls in the area of 15x15 ft at the designated sites, the space is insufficient. The association urged that the stall area be increased to 15x30 ft, for the proper display and sale of crackers. 2 held with 6 stolen vehicles Tribune News Service Mohali, October 13 The police have arrested two vehicle thieves and recovered one stolen car, four motorbikes, one scooty and one battery from them. The arrested youngsters have been identified as Gurjeet Singh of Jhungiya Road, Kharar; and Chandan Singh of Mundi Kharar. A case under Sections 303 (2), 317 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered at the Kharar City police station. 8 yrs on, heritage furniture gathers dust at police station PGI crisis: Students, voluntary Govt College of Art makes no effort to get back 15 chairs stolen from its premises in 2016 bodies lend a helping hand Akashdeep Virk Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 13 Chairs designed by Le Corbusier, which were stolen in January 2016 from the Government College of Art, Sector 10, and recovered after a few days, have been lying at the Sector 3 police station, while the college authorities have not made any effort to get these back. Recently, the UT Administration took up the issue of smuggling and illegal sale or auction of the city’s heritage furniture with a French delegation and both decided to form a Joint Action Committee. According to art collectors, each chair can fetch Rs 5- Rs 10 lakh in international market. Smuggled heritage items, especially furniture designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, have been sold for lakhs at auc- The two accused and the stolen heritage furniture of Arts College, Sector 10. FILE PHOTO tions in foreign countries in the past few years. As many as 15 sofa chairs and a table were stolen from the storeroom of the college on the night of January 18 in 2016. Fifteen days after the incident, 10 chairs were recovered and two thieves were arrested. A few days later, the remaining five chairs were also recovered. “The stolen furniture is in our custody. The college authorities have to only approach the local court to get it back. But as of now, we have not received any such request from the college authorities,” said a police official. Commenting on the issue, Director, Higher Education (UT), Rubinderjit Brar said since the issue had come to his notice now, an c m y b appropriate action would be taken and responsibility fixed. College Principal Alka Jain was unavailable to speak on the matter. Ajay Jagga, a lawyer and member of the Chandigarh Administration’s Heritage Items Protection Cell, who has been advocating for the preservation of the city’s heritage, said a standard operating procedure (SOP) should be adopted to deal with such issues. “It is saddening to know that while we have been striving hard to conserve our heritage and taking up the issue with the Central Government and foreign counterparts, stolen heritage furniture items are not being claimed back by the institution that these belong to.” A few months ago, two heritage chairs from Chandigarh were auctioned for over $10,000 in the US. Sheetal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, October 13 With the contractual attendants continuing strike at the PGI, the hospital administration is taking all necessary steps to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of essential medical services while prioritising patient care. The authorities have asked the regular hospital attendants, sanitation staff and bearers to work 12-hour shifts. Deteriorating sanitation in Emergency —washrooms stinking and garbage bags not being removed — is still a major concern. Prof Vivek Lal, Director, PGI, said, “We understand the concerns of our outsourced workers and acknowledge the importance of their role within the institution. Our primary DOCTORS TO RESTART PROTEST TOMORROW The Association of Resident Doctors, PGI, in solidarity with their West Bengal counterparts, will re-start their protest from October 15. Initially, they will stay off work in elective wards/OTs/OPDs for a few days, and boycott duty in Emergency later as a common nationwide plan. A trainee doctor was raped at RG Kar hospital in Kolkata in August. focus is on patient care and safety, and we are committed to maintaining the highest standards of healthcare during this challenging period. We are open to dialogue and are actively engaging with all stakeholders to resolve the matter amicably.” Lauding the efforts made by student volunteers and voluntary organisations during this challenging time, the Director said, “We commend voluntary organisations like Vishav Manav Ruhani Kendra, Nawan Nagar, Sukh Foundation and Rotaract District 3080 in addition to NSS volunteers for their invaluable role to ensure that patient care remained uninterrupted.” Case registered against union president A case has been registered on a complaint filed by ASI Dilbag Singh, who reported that Rajesh Chauhan, president, Contract-Based Employees Union, PGI, along with Sukhdev and other union leaders, led a protest against the PGI administration. The protest defied the DM orders prohibiting rallies, dharnas and protests.