13052025-CT-01.qxd 5/13/2025 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune MC GETS NOTICE OVER DIRTY WATER SUPPLY TO MALOYA MC ISSUES 145 CHALLANS FOR ENCROACHMENTS IN MARKET I THRIVE ON CHALLENGES, SAYS ACTOR AMIT SADH Rights panel asks civic body to submit report a week before the next date of hearing on June 27. P3 MC carried out anti-encroachment drive in Manimajra, during which 145 challans were issued. P3 The actor will be seen in cinematic adaptation of Rahul DaCunha's famous play Pune Highway. P4 » » PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 38°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 38.7°C | MIN 23.2°C SUNSET TUESDAY 7.07 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.30 AM » TUESDAY | 13 MAY 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Banda Bahadur memorialshape, village residents resent admnDiwas lies shut on Fateh apathy Link road leading to India’s tallest monument in bad Nitin Jain THE SIKH WARRIOR Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, & Dhanas Panchkula: Sector 15 Mohali: Sector 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Hours after resuming ops, Mohali airport shuts again Mohali, May 12 Barely two hours after a Delhi-Chandigarh flight landed at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport here today, flight operations had to be halted after drones were sighted in Amritsar and Samba at night. A Delhi-Chandigarh flight arrived here around 8:50 pm with 18 passengers on board. However, the airlines later issued a fresh update reverting to the earlier status. The official said the latest update to halt operations is till May 13 and the situation would be reviewed soon. Thirtytwo airports across the northern and western regions, including Srinagar, Jammu, Leh, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Rajkot, were closed for civilian flight operations till May 15 by Directorate General of Civil Aviation amid heightened tension with Pakistan. — TNS Chapparchiri (Mohali), May 12 Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Jangi Yaadgaar situated in remote village of Mohali district, about 15 km from Chandigarh, remained closed on the 315th anniversary of Sirhind Fateh Diwas on Monday. The monument, built in memory of the great Sikh warrior Banda Bahadur, who had vanquished the Mughals in a historic battle here, is taller than the Qutub Minar in Delhi by 28.64 metres. Sirhind Fateh Diwas is celebrated to mark his victory over the Mughals. This tallest monument of India not only holds a mirror to Sikh valour and heritage but also brings alive the memories as old as 315 years. The link road leading to this historic place is almost non-existent. Realising the importance of Sirhind Fateh Diwas, which symbolises the historic conquest of Sirhind that ended Mughal tyranny in Punjab, thus avenging the martyrdom of the younger Sahibzadas and the mother of Guru Gobind Singh, the state government had on Sunday announced that it would reconstruct and upgrade the road leading to the memorial at a cost of Rs 3.77 crore. Up in arms over what they called the indifferent and callous attitude of the authorities concerned, the residents of this village had earlier started carrying out repairs on their own. They put mud and gravel to fill the potholes to the road motorable ahead of the Sirhind Fateh Diwas. A visit to the place this afternoon revealed that the monument was lying closed. A villager said the memorial remains closed on Monday but since today was the 315th anniversary of Sirhind Fateh Banda Bahadur was deputed by Guru Gobind Singh to fight the war against oppression of Wazir Khan, who had killed Guru Gobind Singh’s four sons, mother and massacred thousands of Sikhs and Hindus. Banda Bahadur, a saint from Nanded, started his journey in 1708 from Nanded after taking blessings of Guru Gobind Singh. He established his The doors of memorial Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Jangi Yaadgaar at Chapparchiri remained shut on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Diwas, it should have been opened for the visitors. Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) Chief Administrator Vishesh Sarangal, when contacted, said the operation of the monument was with the Tourism Department and only the maintenance job was with GMADA. ‘ We had handed it over to the Tourism Department after constructing it,” he added. “Considering the importance of the day, the monument should not only have been kept open but there should also be some event to commemorate the great Sikh warrior,” said an octogenarian villager, Gurmukh Singh. Rupinder Kaur, who teaches in a local school, quipped the state government spent a hefty amount on advertise- Hit-&-run: BMW car driver lands in police net ments to mark the Sirhind Fateh Diwas but nobody realised to open the monument on the occasion. In 2011, this memorial robbed Qutub Minar of its centuries-held status of being the tallest monument of India. The 14th century 71.34-metre brick minaret is shorter than the 100metre Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Jangi Yaadgaar. Then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had dedicated the memorial to people on November 30 in 2011. Built over 20 acres in Sector 91 of Greater Mohali, this is one of the five Sikh memorials raised by the then Badal government, to preserve and epitomise the history and heritage of Sikhism and the Khalsa Panth. Costing Rs 35.4 crore, excluding the cost of land, which was estimated at Rs 30 crore, the monument had come up in a record time of 11 months. ABOUT THE MONUMENT Designed by a nationally acclaimed architect, Renu Khanna, the monument had been constructed by Larsen and Toubro. It comprises an information centre, Victory Tower called Sirhind Fateh Burj, an open air theatre, restaurant and gift shops, and offers an immersive experience with 3,600-dome projections. The open air theatre, with a 1200-seating capacity, had been planned to stage plays glorifying the sacrifices and valour of Banda Bahadur and his army. “Considering the importance of the rough landscape of Chapparchiri and tibbas, we decided to divide the site in two parts. We planned to recreate the landscape of the Chaparchiri and tibbas at the site where the Sikh army existed. Tibbas were created by RCC domed structures having statues of the Generals on top, and facilities like 3,600 immersive experiences in Mound M1 and a restaurant in Mound M6 underneath. A 100-metre high Victory Tower was planned in the centre of the site towards Wazir Khan,” Renu explained to The Tribune. She says, “The main theme behind designing the Victory Tower was to inculcate the feeling of pride in the youth of Punjab”. Sirhind Fateh Burj is an octagonal tower with an RCC central core, which can Factory blaze A closed liquor vend in Sector 30, Chandigarh. FILE PHOTO Allotment of 7 liquor vends cancelled in UT Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 12 The UT Excise and Taxation Department has cancelled the allotment of seven liquor vends for the non-payment of bank guarantee and licence fee. The department will now hold the re-auction of a total of 17 liquor vends on May 14. Ten liquor vends remained unsold after the fourth round of e-auction held on May 8. The department had managed to auction 11 liquor vends out of the remaining 21 liquor vends and earned a revenue of Rs 60.76 crore against the reserve price of Rs 47.97 crore in the auction. The department was able to auction only seven liquor vends out of 28 in the third round of the auction on April 29. The department had earned Rs 60.98 crore against the reserve Auction of 17 units to be held tomorrow price of Rs 41.08 crore in the auction. On April 21, the department put up 48 liquor vends, the licences of which were cancelled for the non-payment of bank guarantee, for auction. It managed to find bidders for only 20 units. The department earned Rs 131 crore against the total reserve price of Rs 109 crore. On March 21, the department had allotted 96 liquor vends out of a total of 97 through an e-auction and generated Rs 606 crore revenue. However, it cancelled the licences of 48 vends for bank guarantee default. The department earned Rs 23 crore by forfeiting the earnest money and security deposits of these defaulters. Youths perform Gatka during a nagar kirtan from Chapparchiri village to Fatehgarh Sahib to mark Sirhind Fateh Diwas in Mohali on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY resist winds up to 170 kmph. Two high-speed elevators and a staircase which will take the public to three levels of victory — 77-foot-high (victory of Samaana), 127-foot-high (victory of Sadhora) and 230-foothigh (victory of Chapparchiri) — had also been raised. “People can actually come out at these skywalks and get the panoramic view of the complex and Mohali through triangular windows symbolic of holes in the olden minarets through which cannons used to pop out for security. At the top is a Sikh dome with a steel spire in the shape of a Khanda,” said the architect. Renu said, “Three skywalks of Sirhind Fateh Burj take you 315 years back and give a proud feeling of victory looking at the statues of Banda Bahadur and his five Generals atop tibbas as they might have stood at that time.” Foundation is supported on 35-metre-deep 269 piles. Using the slip form technology, the centre core was raised from ground level to the dome level in just 40 days span. Tibbas (small hillocks) were created by RCC domed structures having statues of the Generals on top and restaurant underneath. The water-body along with its viewing platform and photograph point was so positioned to get the reflected image of the tower and the statues. The information centre had been designed to look like a quila with big arches, minarets and huge wooden doors with iron nails. Continued on page 2 BKI member held from Daria village Linked to gangster-terror nexus Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 12 The police have arrested the BMW car driver who allegedly ran over a UT police constable in Sector 9 here yesterday. The suspect, identified as Ishan Shanker Roy (26), a resident of Sector 26, Panchkula, was allegedly doing stunts in his BMW car bearing a temporary registration number. According to the police, Roy was driving at high speed in a reckless manner when he hit Constable Anand Dev, who was on way to his workplace on a bicycle, behind the police headquarters in Sector 9. He died on the spot. Roy fled the scene in his car after hitting the cop. The police registered a case under Sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (rash driving and culpable homicide not amounting to murder) at the Sector 3 police station. After a thorough investigation, which included on-site inspection, a mechanical examination of the BMW car and the analysis of CCTV footage of the nearby locations, Section 105 (gross negligence leading to death) was added to the FIR. Roy is the son of retired Colonel and holds a Master’s degree in Management (MIM). The police have stated that the case would be handled strictly in accordance with the law. headquarters in February 1710 at Mukhlispur, situated in lower Shivalik hills, south of Nahan, 20 km from Sadhaura. His fort stood on a hill top. He changed the name of Mukhlispur to Lohgarh, and it later became the capital of the first Sikh state. Banda Bahadur had abolished the zamindari system of land prevailing under the Mughals. Tribune News Service Flames rise from the National Inks and Allied Industries factory in Panchkula. c m y b PAGE 2 Chandigarh, May 12 The Crime Branch of the UT police has arrested a key operative of the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) group in connection with the gangster-terrorist nexus including gangsters Happy Pasia and Manu Agwan, and Pakistan-based terrorist Harwinder Rinda. The latest arrest of Harwant Singh, alias Harry, a resident of Hardo Putali village, Ajnala, Amritsar district, is linked to the recent recovery of an improvised explosive device (IED) from two gangsters arrested in Sector 39 here on Thursday night. The two accused, Sumandeep Singh and Jobanjit Singh, alias Billa, were recruited into the Happy Pasia gang by Harwant. Their interrogation led to his arrest from Daria village here. The operation was conducted on the directions of SP (Intelligence) Manjeet Sheoran and SP (Crime) Jasbir Singh, and under the guidance of DSP (Crime) Dhiraj Kumar. Inspector Satvinder Singh supervised the operation. Harwant was arrested with a pistol and three cartridges. He has a long history of criminal and anti- ACTED AS CONDUIT TO PROVIDE LOGISTICS According to the police, Harwant was operating as a key conduit in the terrorcrime syndicate backed by gangsters Happy Pasia, Manu Agwan and Gopi Nawasaria. He arranged arms and logistics for the anti-national network. The BKI operative was to receive a consignment of weapons in Punjab, which was intercepted by the Punjab Police before delivery. national activities. The previous cases registered against him include five FIRs in Amritsar — four in 2020 and one in 2025. According to the police, Harwant was operating as a key conduit in the terrorcrime syndicate backed by gangsters Happy Pasia, Manu Agwan and Gopi Nawasaria. He arranged arms and logistics for the anti-national network. The BKI operative was to receive a consignment of weapons in Punjab, which was intercepted by the Punjab Police before delivery. The police said they would seek his remand for further interrogation to trace his associates involved in terrorrelated activities.