30082025-CT-01.qxd 8/30/2025 12:41 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune NO SINGLE PARTY CONTESTING ALL FOUR POSTS IN PU POLLS MAN FILES PLEA TO JUNK DECREE DECLARING HIM DEAD AIR FORCE TEAM EMERGE HOCKEY CHAMPIONS Even groups belonging to national or state parties are contesting the elections on limited seats. P3 Says his wife had obtained the court order to avail of his service benefits 10 years ago. P3 Beat Sri Guru Gobind Singh College 4-1 to win the Chandigarh State Hockey Championship. P3 » » RAIN MAX 32°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 31.6°C | MIN 23.7°C SUNSET SATURDAY 6.47 PM SUNRISE SUNDAY 5:59 AM » SATURDAY | 30 AUGUST 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Farmer swept away in Lalru A caved-in portion of a road just ahead of the Khatouli-Alipur village bridge in Balawala, Panchkula; and (right) a damaged road near Moginand on the Panchkula-Barwala highway TRIBUNE PHOTOS: RAVI KUMAR Mohali, August 29 A 65-year-old farmer in Lalru was reportedly swept away in the Jharmal rivulet this morning. Locals said Janak Singh Saini was returning from his fields across the rivulet in his cart. As he tried to cross it, the cart overturned. He, along with the bullocks, was swept away in the strong current. The cattle were found later but there was no trace of Janak. Police officials said they were searching for the victim.—TNS Overnight downpour cripples life in tricity Rain wreaks havoc in P’kula Panchkula records 112.5-mm rainfall, Mohali 79 mm, UT 35.8 mm Tribune News Service Sheetal Chandigarh, August 29 The overnight downpour threw normal life out of gear with Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula facing a flood-like situation. The incessant rain started late Thursday night and continued till the wee hours of Friday. Most parts of the tricity were submerged in kneedeep water. Several roads in the tricity were damaged, forcing the authorities to close vehicular traffic on these stretches. Sukhna floodgates opened, 6th time this monsoon Though the residents woke up to a sunny day, the overnight downpour caused massive traffic jams in the morning. In Chandigarh, the Madhya Marg grid, Tribune Chowk and Transport Chowk witnessed serpentine queues of vehicles, while several road stretches leading to Panchkula, railway station and IT Park, which suffered major damage due to waterlogging, were closed to traffic. Reports of trees and poles falling on vehicles and public property were also received. The IMD issued a yellow alert for heavy rain till Tuesday. RECORD RAIN IN P’KULA Panchkula witnessed the record rainfall of 112.5-mm, which was not only the season’s highest but also the heaviest in the north region. Tribune News Service The Ghaggar in spate at Mubarakpur near Zirakpur. A flood alert has been sounded for nine villages in Dera Bassi. Chaos on Madhya Marg Water enters Mohali houses Traffic jam at the Housing Board Chowk in Chandigarh. Chandigarh, August 29 Chandigarh witnessed massive traffic jams on Madhya Marg on Friday morning, as the overnight rain left roads waterlogged. A few adjoining roads had to be closed for safety reasons near the Sector 26 light point. Traffic snarls were also witnessed during office hours near the PGI and the Sector 17-9-8-18 lightpoint. The situation was further compounded by uprooted trees and cave-ins. Lightning strikes in Sector 7-C Lightning struck a spot in Sector 7-C on Thursday night. No one was injured. A few cars parked outside houses were damaged. — TNS A flooded street in Phase 11, Mohali, on Friday. Tribune News Service Mohali, August 29 Phase 11 residents staged a protest after rainwater flooded the ground floor of LIG and MIG houses. Residents complained that their household goods were damaged. Fire tenders were rushed to the area to drain the rainwa- ter from the houses. Angry residents staged a sit-in on the road and raised slogans against Mohali MC, Punjab government and GMADA. The blockade was lifted after Mohali MC commissioner Parminder Pal Singh and senior police officials reached the spot and pacified the residents. Panchkula, August 29 The record rain that lashed Panchkula on Thursday night caused landslides, waterlogging and damage to key roads in the district. A major landslide disrupted traffic on the PanchkulaMorni road. The Industrial Park-Barwala road caved in. Authorities cleared the debris to restore normal traffic movement of traffic. A section of the highway near the Jhuriwala dumping ground also caved in due to waterlogging. Experts expressed concern that rainwater seeping through the garbage at the dumping site is contaminating the subsoil. They fear, it could pollute tubewell water used for drinking purpose across Panchkula. Residents have urged for immediate testing of water samples. A large portion of the bridge on the Khatauli-Alipur road was washed away. A swollen tributary of the Ghaggar river caused extensive damage to road infrastructure, snapping connectivity of local areas with the Panchkula. Meanwhile, images circulating on social media highlighted cracks near the newly built Ghaggar bridge connecting Peer Muchalla and Sector 26. Earlier also during the onset of monsoon this year, the same part of the bridge had suffered damage. Engineers, however, told The Tribune that part of the Traffic moves in a single line after a landslide near the Jhuriwala dumping ground in Panchkula on Friday. RAVI KUMAR embankment was washed away, not the bridge. Severe waterlogging was also reported in Sector 15. Uprooted trees blocked the Sectors 11-14 road, leading to traffic chaos during the morning hours. Meanwhile, teams of the Panchkula administration carried out repairs to restore road connectivity. However, experts warned that recurring soil erosion at the embankments points to a structural weakness, requiring long-term rectification measures. 17 schools closed DC Monika Gupta has announced the closure of several schools in Morni, Raipur Rani and Barwala on Saturday as heavy rain left their premises waterlogged. Government Senior Secondary Schools in Barwala, and Parwala; primary schools in Marog, Khopar, Bijlag, Sahlon, Samlotha, Shilyon, Chaplana, Chhamla, Teepra, Runja Dakar, Slahon Redua, Mohri and Plasara; and middle schools in Singhwala as well as Prempura will remain closed. Non-bailable warrant Chd cops quickest to respond in country, 5.6-min new record against BKI terrorist Breach own 6.31-min mark, UP second with 6.83-min Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 29 The NIA court here has issued non-bailable warrant against Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorist Shamsher Singh, alias Shera, in the Sector 10 grenade attack case. Shamsher’s name had also emerged in the cases pertaining to grenade attacks at police stations in Punjab. Also, USbased Harpreet Singh, alias Happy Passia; and Pakistanbased terrorist Harwinder Singh, alias Rinda, were also named in these cases. The NIA claimed that during the investigation, they found sufficient material to substantiate the involvement of accused Shamsher in the Sector 10 grenade blast conspiracy. He is a close associate of co-accused Happy Passia, who is involved in recruiting youth to collect weapons sent through crossborder smuggling and to conduct recces of targets. The agency said accused Abhijot Singh came into contact with Shamsher in February-March, 2024, in Armenia. After Abhijot returned to India in June, Shamsher introduced him to Happy Passia. Abhijot conducted a recce of the retired Punjab Police officer’s house in Sector 10. Abhijot collected a pistol and ammunition. He, along with accused Rohan Masih, visited Chandigarh in August, 2024, and made an unsuccessful attempt to kill the officer. Shamsher provided funds to Abhijot through UPI. Passia and Rinda planned the attack and hire Rohan Masih and Vishal Masih to hurl the grenade in the house on February 10, 2024. Chandigarh, August 29 Chandigarh Police is the quickest in the country when it comes to emergency response time, reveals the data compiled by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The UT cops continue to top the country in the fastest emergency response by breaking their own previous record of 6.31 minutes in 2024, to create a new benchmark of 5.6-minute average time taken to reach the distress callers in 2025. While the Chandigarh Police Control Room (PCR) responds in 5.6 minutes to the distress calls received on 112 or 01722749194 or 0172-2744100 (its dedicated telephone lines), which is the swiftest response time in India, Uttar Pradesh ranked second with 6.83 minutes, which it improved this year from 9.84 minutes logged last year. UT PCR STRONG FLEET Having 86 four-wheelers and 18 motorcycles, the Chandigarh PCR fleet is strategically deployed across the city. PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR GRENADE BLAST CASE DEDICATED LINES 112 and 0172-2749194 or 01722744100 are dedicated telephone lines to reach the PCR round-the-clock. THE BEST THE WORST STATE/UT MINUTES Chandigarh 5.6 Uttar Pradesh 6.83 Puducherry 7.76 Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu 9.63 Maharashtra 9.92 STATE/UT Meghalaya Nagaland Chhattisgarh Assam West Bengal NATIONAL AVERAGE MINUTES 33.38 29.98 29.81 29.16 27.64 YEAR 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 MINUTES 22.18 19.43 19.09 18.58 18.61 (SOURCE: MHA, 2025 FIGURES BETWEEN JAN-JULY, REST FULL YEAR) The MHA has recognised the Chandigarh PCR for the best average response time of 5.6 minutes between January and July this year. The Chandigarh PCR c m y b improved its response time to 6.01 minutes in March 2025 and further reduced it to a record 5.6 minutes. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kanwardeep Kaur told The Tribune that the PCR was strengthened and upgraded with a fleet of 26 new Maruti Ertiga vehicles added to its existing fleet of 78 vehicles in May. According to the national data of the past five years compiled by the MHA, the average response time of the PCR in Chandigarh improved from 7.09 minutes in 2021 to 6.75 minutes in 2022 but came down to 7.09 minutes in 2023. It further reduced the time to 6.31 minutes in 2024 and touched a record of 5.6 minutes between January and July 2025. This record response time was way less than the national average of 18.61 minutes in 2025, 18.58 in 2024, 19.09 in 2023, 19.43 in 2022 and 22.18 minutes in 2021. “This achievement is a testament to the city’s investment in advanced technology and efficient coordination between various police units,” the SSP said, while adding that this was made possible by the integration of computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems and mobile data terminals (MDTs) in PCR vehicles. The CAD system, integrat- ed with the PCR’s operations, ensures that the nearest available unit is dispatched to the spot. The real-time tracking system enables the control room to monitor and guide PCR vans to the exact location of incident. “These vehicles are responsible for patrolling, responding to emergency calls and ensuring the public’s safety in real-time. The vehicles are spread out across Chandigarh, ensuring that no area is left unattended. The division of the fleet ensures that response times are minimised, with units available in both urban and suburban locations,” the SSP divulged. “The induction of new vehicles is intended to provide faster, more reliable responses to distress calls,” she said, while maintaining that the fleet was upgraded in May 2025 and in 2024, with the addition of 51 Maruti Ertiga Continued on page 3