14042025-CT-01.qxd 4/14/2025 12:32 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune WALKATHON, STREET PLAY MARK WORLD VOICE DAY SHUBHAM WINS OVERALL TROPHY AT CHESS MEET SAN DIEGO NAMES APRIL 13 AS AMJAD ALI KHAN DAY Students, PGI staff and faculty members unite to highlight the importance of oral health. P3 Ludhiana lad scores 8 points to emerge victorious at Chandigarh Shatranj Academy Open. P3 Baisakhi celebrations turned joyous as San Diego officially proclaimed April 13 as Amjad Ali Khan Day. P4 » » MAINLY CLEAR SKY MAX 35°C | MIN 17°C YESTERDAY MAX 34.9°C | MIN 16.8°C SUNSET MONDAY 6.46 PM SUNRISE TUESDAY 6.00 AM » MONDAY | 14 APRIL 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Mohali turns 19, no more Chandigarh’s poor cousin Was created 18th district of Punjab by then Chief Minister Capt Amarinder in 2006 ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH Exhibition: “Women of Urban India” by Olympe Ramakrishna, Alliance Française, Sector 36, from April 18 to 28 Exhibition on fashion, lifestyle, home décor: Global Fashion Baisakhi Special, Kisan Bhawan, Sector 35, on till April 14 APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 43 and 45, and Maloya Mohali: Phase V Panchkula: MDC, Sector 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 10 am to 2 pm: Parts of Sectors 8, 24, 35, 39, 43, 52, 61and Kajheri village 10am to 12 noon: Parts of Sector 37 Six arrested for Cong-AAP clash at Dera Bassi Tribune News Service Mohali, April 13 The police have arrested six persons and booked 17 others on charges of attempt to murder and rioting, a day after a clash at the Dera Bassi subdivisional hospital. Anil Kumar, alias Honey Pandit; Naresh Kumar, Naib Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Manish Kumar and Mohit, all residents of Mukandpur village, were arrested. The clash between AAP and Congress supporters over alleged mining in Mukandpur village had left 11 people injured. The AAP group was led by Ranjit Singh Minta, the husband of Mukandpur sarpanch Suman Devi, while Congress supporter Anil Kumar, alias Honey Pandit, led the other group. The accused have been identified as Anil Kumar, alias Honey Pandit, Angrez Singh, Mahipal, Naresh Kumar, Manish Kumar, Karampal, Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Kumar, Raj Kumar, Amar Singh, Mohit, Gurmeet Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Gurjant, Naib Singh, Mayank and Sanjeev. Those arrested were produced in the court and sent to a three-day police remand. Dera Bassi MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa today visited the PGI to inquire about the wellbeing of the AAP supporters. District Congress in-charge Deepinder Singh Dhillon, meanwhile, blamed Randhawa for encouraging illegal mining, claiming that Minta faces 14 cases registered. Minta alleged that the rival group attacked them with rods before reaching the hospital where they were Continued on page 3 Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Mohali, April 13 Flying high with international air connectivity from stateof-the-art international airport, international cricket and hockey stadiums, Knowledge City, IT City, country’s second-of-its-type Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, Mohali district is no more Chandigarh’s poor cousin on its 19th anniversary, which falls on Monday. It was on April 14, 2006, that Capt Amarinder Singh, the then Chief Minister of Punjab, laid the stone for Mohali as 18th district of the state. Nineteen years down the line, Mohali is no longer Chandigarh’s poor cousin, as it used to be two decades back. The district has seen tremendous development in its almost two-decade journey and become the pride of Punjab. It is the first choice of people coming to this part of the region to live. Mohali, which is being developed as the Information Technology hub of Punjab, has also been witnessing a surge in its growth as well as population. Spread across 1,098 sq km, the district’s population, which was nearly 8.5 lakh in 2006, has now swelled to around 15 lakh. Today, the district boasts of several firsts in the region — AC fruit and vegetable market, the state’s first Kisan Vikas Chamber, international cricket and hockey stadiums, IT City and the region’s biggest mall (VR Punjab) etc. The Knowledge City has India’s top higher education institutions, including the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) and Indian School of Business (ISB). New Chandigarh is fast becoming a modern city Then CM Giani Zail Singh unveils the foundation stone of Mohali (Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar) on November 1, 1975. FILE BORN IN 1975 Mohali district is all set to have its own public transport service. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY HIGH GROWTH POTENTIAL ❝ TOP-LEVEL BASIC AMENITIES ❝ Mohali is strategically located with international airport and has a high growth potential. I am confident key stakeholders — district administration, MC and GMADA — will work in a cohesive manner for harnessing this potential and for providing top-quality urban services. Mohali is today nowhere less than Chandigarh when it comes to basic amenities, cleanliness, online services and development. Our government is committed to its overall progress — Tejveer Singh, FIRST DC OF MOHALI & NOW ACS, LOCAL GOVT, PUNJAB — Kulwant Singh, MOHALI AAP MLA ❞ where the Edu City, Medi City and the country’s second-ofits-type Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital are coming up. Starting administrative services from old Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) office housed in a couple of showrooms in Phase I here in 2006, Mohali now has its own district administrative and judicial complex in Sector 76, which is fully air-conditioned. The district has the best road network with up to 200foot-wide roads, 24x7 power supply, first-of-its-type mechanised sweeping system and several domestic sports stadiums to hone the skills of budding sportspersons. It also has the state headquarters of several important government departments, including the Vigilance Bureau, Forests and Wildlife, Medical Education and Research, and Intelligence Wing of the Punjab Police among others. ❞ Mohali is all set to have its own public transport service. “The much-awaited project is almost ready to take off with the route plans of buses having been submitted to the Punjab Transport Department,” a senior official told The Tribune. Recalling the memories of 2006 when he was appointed the first Deputy Commissioner of Mohali, Tejveer Singh, who is now posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Local Government, Punjab, says, “With good amenities and infrastructure, SAS Nagar (Mohali) has certainly emerged out of the shadow of being a satellite city of Chandigarh since its creation as a district in 2006”. “As the first Deputy Commissioner of Mohali, we had many administrative and developmental challenges then. I recall that the DC office was run from the refurbished PUDA showrooms in Phase 1 but now operates from a modern District Administrative Complex.” Today, the Mohali airport has direct flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. However, the wait for more international flights from here is getting longer. The international airport has given a boost to the economy of the area by all means. To look after the civic amenities, Mohali now has a municipal corporation, which came into existence in mid2013 with Kulwant Singh as its first Mayor. T HEN Punjab Chief Minister Giani Zail Singh had laid the foundation stone of Mohali and named it as Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar on November 1, 1975. However, not only the foundation stone has gone missing but also no record pertaining to it is available with any government agency. A local resident, Baljit Singh Papneja, who had painted and written that historic stone, still has the photograph of the foundation stone-laying ceremony. “I’m hurt to know that neither the stone nor its record is available now,” said Papneja. He remembers the spot where the stone was laid. Industrial sheds have come up at the spot, which is located behind Phase 1 police station and adjoining Kamla Market. “At that time this area was part of Mohali village, which was renamed as SAS Nagar to develop it as a township with a cluster of Mohali, Shahimajra, Lambeyan, Kumbra and Mauli villages,” he recalls. Several other old-timers, who claimed to be eyewitnesses of Mohali’s origin, also still remember the stonelaying ceremony. Baljit Singh Papneja, who created the stone, shows the location from where it has disappeared now. Another sambar mauled by stray dogs near Sukhna Second incident in 5 days; injured calf shifted to hospital Tribune News Service ALL SET FOR APRIL 15 CLASH: Quinton de Kock of Kolkata Night Riders practises ahead of the team's match against Punjab Kings on April 15, at the New PCA Stadium in Mullanpur on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Now, drunk driver rams Merc into Matka Chowk Chandigarh, April 13 A speeding Mercedes car crashed into the Matka Chowk here last night. The 50-year-old driver, a resident of Sector 9, was reportedly drunk. A PCR team reached the spot and took the driver to a hospital. The damaged vehicle was removed from the spot.? According to eyewitnesses, the luxury car was being driven at a high speed. The driver lost control over the vehicle and rammed it into the chowk. The driver escaped unhurt as the airbags were deployed. Preliminary investigation suggested that the driver was drunk and speeding.? A case has been registered against the driver under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. — TNS Chandigarh, April 13 A sambar calf was seriously injured by stray dogs at the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary this morning. Three to four stray dogs attacked the calf in the Nature Walk area. It was the second such incident in a week as dogs had also mauled a sambar to death at the sanctuary last Wednesday. In the latest incident, 15year-old Raj Bahadur, who was at the trail for his morning run, came to the deer’s rescue. He chased away the stray dogs and saved the sambar. Jaspal Singh, a Haryana The sambar calf after its ear was bitten by stray dogs. Congress leader, who is a regular visitor to the park, then informed the wildlife department about the injured calf, which was rescued and taken to the wildlife veterinary hospital. Raj Bahadur said he heard a sambhar baying loudly around 7 am. He then noticed the deer’s calf being attacked by the stray dogs. On hearing the commotion, Jaspal Singh and the morning walkers also reached the spot and came to the injured animal’s rescue. In Wednesday’s incident, a group of nearly 15 to 20 stray dogs attacked a pair of sambar and inflicted deeps wounds onto the animals. The young sambar later died of the injuries. 3 held for betting Mohali, April 13 The police have arrested three persons for accepting bets during IPL matches. Four laptops, 12 mobile phones, two LEDs, two cars and a large amount of cash, including foreign currency, has been recovered from them. The suspects have been identified as Ashu Garg of Bathinda, Dhakoli resident Ankit Singla and Naresh Kumar of Sector 69 in Mohali. c m y b Last week, the police arrested seven persons for running an online betting racket at a housing society in Peermuchhala, Dhakoli, and recovered 20 mobile phones and three laptops from them. They were identified as Avdesh Tomar, Sandeep Dangi, Neeraj, Shivam Patel, Ranjit Singh, Shashikant and Rahul Namdev, all natives of Madhya Pradesh. — TNS A 9-foot python being rescued near the nature walk of Sukhna Lake.