15072025-CT-01.qxd 7/15/2025 12:19 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune UT TO REVIEW EV POLICY, LIKELY TO RESTORE E-CAR INCENTIVE 8.7% SAMPLES AT FOOD TESTING VANS FAIL TO MEET NORMS RANDEEP HOODA HAS FOUND A NEW CREATIVE CALLING The Admn is likely to restore the incentive, discontinued since May, on the purchase of EV cars. P3 Residents are increasingly turning to mobile food testing vans to check the safety of consumables. P3 He said while acting remains his first love, writing has emerged as most rewardingpartofhiscreativeprocess.P4 » » WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, and Dhanas Panchkula: Sector 15 Mohali: Sectors 68 and 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com 2 nabbed with 52-gm ICE drug Tribune News Service Mohali, July 14 The police today arrested two persons with 52 grams of ICE, a synthetic drug, in Handesra. The SUV they were travelling in was also impounded. The accused, identified as Surjit Singh, a resident of Beihara village in Anandpur Sahib; and Tarun Kumar Sharma of Niketan village, Lajpat Nagar, Part 2, Delhi, were arrested under Sections 21, 29/61/85 of the the NDPS Act. The SP (Investigation), Saurav Jindal, said the police signalled an SUV to stop at a police checkpoint set up near the Nagla road, Handesra. The driver stopped the vehicle at a distance and threw out a transparent polythene bag from his pocket. The driver, identified as Surjit, along with his accomplice Tarun, tried to flee towards Ambala Cantt but were caught by the police team on the spot. They found the polythene packet contained 52 grams of ICE drug. During interrogation, the accused disclosed that they had brought the drug from Delhi and Noida and intended to sell it in Punjab. /THETRIBUNECHD Battered by monsoon, roads in city make for risky commute RAIN PAIN Manimajra, Daria among the worst-affected areas of UT Ramkrishan Upadhyay SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5:32 AM FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Flags access hurdles at Sarangpur Saurabh Malik Chandigarh, July 14 The Municipal Corporation’s tall claims notwithstanding, residents have been left to face the brunt of damaged roads and waterlogging across the city. Cave-ins, potholes and waterlogged roads are a common sight. An MC official attributed the frequent cave-ins to damaged storm water and sewer pipelines laid underground. Notably, the pipelines are 50 to 60 years old and often fail to bear the pressure of rainwater flooding them. It results in severe damage to roads. A major portion of the road collapsed in Sectors 37, 38 (West) and 28 after the rain on Sunday. While the MC has started repair work, the ditch formed after the cave-in has paralysed traffic in the nearby areas. The road at the fruit and vegetable market in Sector 26 too is in extremely poor shape. Waterlogging, even inside the Tribune News Service market, causes massive inconvenience to the visitors. Manimajra and Daria are some of the worst-affected areas when it comes to the conditions of roads. Joginder Singh, a resident of Manimajra, said the roads are riddled with potholes that have not been repaired for extended periods. The MC recently launched road repairs from Sector 15 after funds were approved by the Commissioner. Panel takes notice of waterlogging Chandigarh: The Punjab State and Chandigarh Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of waterlogging outside the railway station, seeking a report from the civic body’s Chief Engineer. “It has been brought to the notice of this Commission that entrance to the Railway Station, UT, Chandigarh, is in bad condition. Waterlogging can be seen everywhere and it is extremely difficult to enter the railway station without entering into the pool of water first. The Commission takes suo motu cognisance of the matter and calls for a report from the Chief Engineer, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, to submit his report,” the order read. The Commission, comprising chairperson Justice Sant Parkash and member Justice Gurbir Singh, has directed the official to submit the report at least a week prior to the next date of hearing, which will be held on August 22. A copy of the order, along with a copy of photographs, has also been sent to the Municipal Commissioner. MAX 34°C | MIN 27°C YESTERDAY MAX 34.2°C | MIN 26.3°C HC tells Admn to examine IT Park for new complex Tribune news service A pipeline damaged due to heavy rain on Sector 38- 38 (West) road, and (right) a waterlogged section of Sector 26 mandi. PRADEEP TEWARI PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET TUESDAY 7.26 PM » TUESDAY | 15 JULY 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Chandigarh, July 14 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Chandigarh Administration to “explore searching” for an alternative site for the construction of a new High Court building in the IT Park area of Chandigarh, observing that the earmarked land at Sarangpur village may not be practical due to restricted access and frequent traffic congestion near the PGI. “The direction is being given since 15 acre allotted to the High Court and the additional 33 acres proposed to be allotted to the High Court in Sarangpur village may not be practical since access to Sarangpur village is restricted and often blocked by the traffic congestion at PGIMER square,” the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry asserted. The court, during the proceedings, also dealt with sever- al infrastructure-related issues concerning the High Court. UT Senior Standing Counsel Amit Jhanji assured the court that the furnishing work on four floors, including the basement, of a Sector-17 building for the high court’s administrative branches would be completed and handed over. In view of this assurance, the Court refrained from issuing further directions on this point. On the issue of landscaping the “kutcha” parking area, Jhanji informed the Court that revised drawings were in the process of finalisation and would be filed within a week for approval by the High Court’s Building Committee. The committee was requested to consider the suggestions of the Bar and expedite its decision. Seeking an extension of time for construction of the verandah in front of courtroom number one, the Senior Standing Counsel stated that revised drawings had been Continued on page 2 Gang behind Merc robbery busted 7 yrs on, Baltana RUB a step closer to reality Mastermind nabbed with stolen goods worth ~9 lakh Tribune News Service Panchkula, July 14 The Crime Branch has cracked the Mercedes robbery case with the arrest of all three accused, including mastermind Dara Singh, a resident of Ropar (Punjab). He is already facing 32 criminal cases in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, including those related to attempted murder and robbery. Addressing a press conference, DCP (Crime) Amit Dahiya, and ACP (Crime) Arvind Kamboj said on July 1, three men in a car inter- cepted Arif Sheikh who was driving a Mercedes car to Pir Baba in Sector 3. The accused kidnapped him and drove towards the PinjoreNalagarh stretch. They robbed Arif of his car, two iPhones, an expensive wristwatch, a gold chain and other valuables, and abandoned him. The police arrested accused Sukhjeet Singh, alias Sabi (33), a resident of Hoshiarpur; and Sukhbir Singh, alias Sukhi (29), of Kiratpur, following a tip-off on July 7. Based on their interrogation, the team sub- sequently arrested Dara from Punjab. The police recovered the looted Mercedes and other valuables stolen from the victim. They also confiscated the Amaze car and a dummy pistol used in the crime. Dahiya stated all three accused had served jail time together and were currently out on bail. Their motive was to earn money by selling off the stolen items quickly. Interrogation of the accused is ongoing, and more revelations about their criminal activities are expected in the coming days. UT Admn issues notification for acquisition of 0.74 acre in Raipur Kalan Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 14 After nearly seven years, the much-awaited Raipur KalanHarmilap Nagar railway underbridge (RUB) project in Baltana has made some progress. The UT Administration has issued a notification for the acquisition of nearly 0.74 acre land in Raipur Kalan for the construction of the RUB at the level crossing No. 123-C. To provide relief to residents of Harmilap Nagar, Baltana and nearby areas from frequent jams at the level The level crossing between Baltana and Raipurkalan. PHOTO: VICKY crossing, the project was conceived seven years ago, but remained in limbo due to the delay in acquisition of land. According to officials, the Punjab Government has also given approval to the acquisition of the land on its side. According to the Social Impact Assessment report, people are not likely to be displaced in this acquisition, but two families of Raipur Kalan village will lose agricultural land. Partap Singh Rana, husband of Usha Rani, councillor from Harmilap Nagar, said the project report was prepared in 2017. The land acquisition process was to be completed by January this year and construction work by April. The RUB is a longstanding demand of the local residents, which now seemed to be fulfilled after a long wait, he added. India’s own ‘Shark Tank’ with $1-million funding launched to promote start-ups Tribune News Service Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu (centre) launches ‘Campus Tank’ in Chandigarh on Monday. Chandigarh, July 14 Aspiring entrepreneurs from across the country can now pitch their business models to a panel of investors and persuade them to invest money in their idea at $1-million funded ‘Campus Tank’, the first-of-itstype university-led platform launched here on Monday. The initiative will work on the lines of ‘Shark Tank’, an American business reality television series. To empower next generation of startup founders, Apna, an Indian Unicorn, which serves as networking platform and Venture Catalysts (VCats), India’s leading early-stage investment firm and the country’s first integrated incubator, c m y b in collaboration with Chandigarh University, launched ‘Campus Tank’. It is India’s first university-led startup launch-pad for young innovators to pitch their ideas and get funding to launch their startups along with expert venture guidance, strategic ecosystem alliances and immersive startup incubation. The portal for ‘Campus Tank’ (https://apna.co/contests/campus-tank-2025) was launched in the presence of Rajya Sabha MP and Chandigarh University Chancellor Satnam Singh Sandhu, Apna’s Chief Operating Officer Karna Choksi, Vice-President Dr Preet Deep Singh, founding member and managing partner at Venture Catalysts Rishabh Golchha. By registering for ‘Campus Tank’ till August 14, the founders and co-founders under the age of 30 will compete for investment from a pledged fund of $1 million to grow their start-ups. While the selected start-ups will get the opportunity to present their ideas before top investors from Venture Catalysts on demo day to be held at Chandigarh University, selected teams will also get incubation support from Cube Founders Space to learn from founders and experts through training and master classes. Sandhu said by supporting start-ups in their growth journey, the initiative encourages innovation and design by empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs in line with the ‘Startup India’ initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016. “India has firmly established itself as the thirdlargest start-up ecosystem in the world with over 1.76 lakh start-ups in the last decade as compared to 500 in 2016 and 118 unicorns with $1 billion valuation. As instead of job seekers, India’s youth are now becoming job providers, over 18 lakh direct jobs have been created by start-ups in the last decade with smaller cities contributing over 51% of these start-ups,” he said, while sharing that through ‘Campus Tank, the aim is to play a role in nurturing this growth and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs. Dr Preet Deep Singh said, “With ‘Campus Tank’, we are launching a powerful stage for India’s youngest and brightest entrepreneurs. This is where ideas from college dorms, canteens and jamming sessions get the chance to be seen, heard and funded.” He said each startup creates direct employment for 11 people on an average and four times more of it indirectly. Rishabh Golchha said, “This platform is for young founders under 30 who are solving real problems with bold ideas. With up to $1 million in pledged investment pool on the table, we are bringing capital, mentorship and access to help them scale. Some may be students, others recent grads, or early professionals.”