05062025-CT-01.qxd 6/5/2025 12:09 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune PANCHKULA'S MONSOON PREPAREDNESS REVIEWED DRUG PEDDLER IN POLICE NET, 6-KG GANJA RECOVERED FINALLY, JERSEY NUMBER 18 — AFTER 18 LONG YEARS SDM Kataria inspects cleaning of drains and blockages in areas of Old Panchkula. P2 The peddler was arrested while selling drugs at the Kisan Mandi in Sector 15, Panchkula. P2 Stars Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal post messages to celebrate Virat's performance in IPL final. P4 » » PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 35°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 34.5°C | MIN 21.7°C SUNSET THURSDAY 7.21 PM SUNRISE FRIDAY 5.21 AM » THURSDAY | 5 JUNE 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Bids invited for ~1,878-cr Zirakpur-P’kula bypass 19.2-km 6-lane road to ease traffic rush in tricity areas, project was conceived 10 years ago MAP NOT TO SCALE Nitin Jain Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 34, 56 and Ram Darbar Panchkula: Sector 5 Mohali: Sector 88 and Phase 8 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com IIT-Delhi student from Chd found dead in hostel Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 4 A second-year student at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Delhi was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his hostel room today. The body of the second-year undergraduate student pursuing biomechanical engineering had no visible injury marks, though vomit was found on the floor near the bed, suggesting possible medical complications, a senior police officer said. “The incident came to light after a PCR call was received at the Kishangarh police station, claiming a student from Chandigarh was not responding to repeated knocks on the door of his hostel room that was locked from inside,” the officer said. A preliminary inquiry revealed that the student was last seen two days ago having dinner. As his prolonged absence raised concern among the fellow students, they informed the campus security staff, who alerted the police. A forensic team has been called to the scene to collect evidence and conduct a detailed examination of the room, the officer said, adding that the body had been shifted to the Safdarjung Hospital for post-mortem examination. The exact cause of the death will be ascertained after the autopsy report. No immediate reaction came from the IIT-Delhi authorities. Chandigarh, June 4 The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has floated a fresh tender to invite bids for the Rs 1,878.31-crore Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass. The officials concerned said the 19.2-km six-lane bypass would help motorists avoid the heavy rush on the existing overlapping portion of the four-lane National Highway (NH-5) and NH-7, which passes through the highly urbanised areas of Zirakpur and Panchkula. The development assumes significance as the project was conceived over a decade back. Taking note of the inordinate delay, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 9, gave in-principle approval to construct the bypass in Punjab and Haryana on Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM). A senior NHAI official told The Tribune here on Wednesday that the last date for submitting the bids is June 16 and the bids received will be opened on June 17. The project will be awarded to the lowest bidder by July 31. The entire land required for the project was acquired by the Punjab Government and handed over to the NHAI in 2020. The bypass has been planned to facilitate a smooth traffic movement and ease the tricity PLAN DETAILS Traffic chaos at Patiala Chowk in Zirakpur. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR traffic by extending the connectivity and effectively diverting the traffic around Zirakpur and Panchkula. The 19.2-km road, which will comprise a 6.195-km elevated stretch, five flyovers, nine light vehicular underpasses, one vehicular underpass, one railway overbridge and one each major and minor bridge, will commence from the Zirakpur-Patiala junction on NH-7 and termi- nate at the Zirakpur-Parwanoo junction on NH-5, after traversing through Mohali and Panchkula districts in Punjab and Haryana, respectively. The bypass will provide vital connectivity to Sector 24 and 25 in Panchkula as well as to the outer areas of the city. “The project received approval from the CCEA in April, following which the bids have been invited and Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 4 Congress and AAP councillors have opposed the decision of the Municipal Corporation (MC) to provide temporary water connections to the residents living outside “lal dora” (red line) in 22 villages at double rates. The MC General House approved the agenda in this RESPITE FOR COMMUTERS The road will allow motorists to bypass heavy traffic on the overlapping portions of four-lane NH-5 and NH-7, which pass through Zirakpur and Panchkula. FLAGSHIP PROJECT: GADKARI It’s a flagship project under the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, aimed at decongesting the busy Zirakpur-Chandigarh corridor. The bypass will link the tricity while removing traffic bottlenecks. We have taken up traffic decongestion in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali with the development of a ring road. — NITIN GADKARI, UNION MINISTER OF tion in Zirakpur, Panchkula and surrounding areas by diverting traffic coming from Patiala, Delhi and Chandigarh international airport in Mohali sides and providing a direct connectivity to Himachal Pradesh. “The bypass will not only reduce the travel time but also ensure hassle-free traffic movement in the highly urbanised sections of NH-7, NH-5 and NH-152,” he added. Come June 9, fly from city to Hisar RAHUL IN CITY: Rahul Gandhi being welcomed by Chandigarh Congress chief HS Lucky as he arrives at the airport to chair a meeting of the HPCC in Chandigarh on Wednesday. Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is also seen. this NH project is currently in the bidding stage,” the official said. He disclosed that subject to the fulfilment of all condition precedents, the construction of the bypass will commence in January next and will be completed within an estimated period of two years. According to the detailed project report (DPR), the primary purpose of the project is to ease up the traffic conges- Political battle erupts over MC claims on water crisis Mohali, June 4 A flight between Hisar and Chandigarh will start from Chandigarh international airport in Mohali on June 9. It will operate on every Monday and Friday with a 72-seat aircraft. Officials said ticket booking has commenced with one-way fare of around Rs 1,700. The flight will depart from Chandigarh international airport in Mohali at 3:20 pm and arrive at Maharaja Agrasen Airport in Hisar at 4:30 pm. The departure from Hisar is at 4:55 pm and arrival in Mohali at 5:55 pm. — TNS Cong, AAP oppose double rates for water connection AREA OUTSIDE LAL DORA Length 19.2-km Elevated stretch 6.195-km Major bridge 1 Minor bridge 1 ROB 1 Flyovers 5 Vehicular underpass 1 Light vehicular underpasses 9 Total cost ~1,878.31 cr CURRENT STATUS: Approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in April, the project is under bidding stage. Work is likely to be awarded by July 31 and completed within two years. regard on Tuesday. Hardeep Singh, AAP councillor, said the proposed double rates for water connection and construction charges would put a heavy financial burden on these residents. Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh also condemned the MC decision. He said water connections should be provided to these residents without imposing double rates and construction charges on old buildings. Senior Deputy Mayor Jasbir Singh Bunty said water was a basic need and there cannot be different rates for different areas. Meanwhile, an official of the MC said the agenda would be sent to the Chandigarh Administration for approval. The “lal dora” is an extension of the village habitation and this area can be used by the villagers for non-agricultural purposes only. Any construction on the agricultural land beyond this boundary is illegal. A lot of constructions have come up in these areas over the years. As per the draft Chandigarh Water Supply Bylaws Amendment-2025 presented in the MC House, temporary water connections shall be given to the residents living outside the “lal dora”/phirni of 22 villages subject to the submission of certain documents and acceptance of conditions. Onetime construction charges will c m y b be levied as per the constructed area of a house. The water connection will be provided to residents outside the “lal dora” on a temporary basis. The consumer shall have no ownership rights or claims to the connection, and no permanent entitlement will arise from it. Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla had termed the decision historic. She said the residents had been demanding water connections for a long time. Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, June 4 A political battle erupted today over the Municipal Corporation (MC) officials’ claims that the dispute between Punjab and Haryana over Bhakra Canal water had affected the city’s water supply for over two months. The engineering wing officials made this revelation in the MC House meeting yesterday. Former Mayor and BJP leader Subhash Chawla blamed the AAP government in Punjab for creating the water crisis in Chandigarh. Chawla said the residents of Chandigarh, which is the capital of Punjab and Haryana, should not be made to suffer for a political tussle between the two states over canal water. Vijay Pal Singh, president of Chandigarh AAP, said the BJP-led civic body had come up with these excuses to conceal their failures. They promised 24x7 water supply to the city residents, but nothing happened on the ground. Many tubewells in villages are non- ❝ ❞ ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS Officials informed House that dispute between Punjab, Haryana over Bhakra Canal water affected UT supply for over two months functional. The MC has failed to ensure proper water supply. The residents of Manimajra had complained about muddy water supply for a long time. Officials of the engineering wing blamed the interstate dispute for water supply disruption after councillors raised the issue of water shortage in their respective areas. The officials, however, claimed the city is now getting full water supply. They said Chandigarh received almost 20 per cent less water than the normal supply for two months. At present, the MC is getting around 60 MGD through the Kajauli waterworks, while the remaining 25 MGD supply is met through the tubewells located across the city. The pipelines supplying water to Chandigarh from Kajauli ha;ve been laid at a certain level and if the water level goes below the pipelines, then the supply pressure gets affected. Since the water level in the Bhakra Canal came down by almost two feet, the water supply to the city was affected, said the officials. They also claimed that the Punjab officials did not inform them officially about the reasons for the reduction in the water level in the waterworks reservoirs for over a month. Meanwhile, an official of the Municipal Corporation said when the civic body raised the issue with the Punjab officials, they cited repairs as the reason for a reduction in the supply to Chandigarh. When the canal water dispute deepened and was highlighted in the media, they came to know about the real reason behind a reduction in the canal water supply. The normal water supply has now been restored, they said.