02092025-CT-01.qxd 9/2/2025 12:31 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune CANVASSING FOR PU STUDENT COUNCIL POLLS CONCLUDES CITY GOLFER KARANDEEP SHINES AT MANDIRI OPEN NIKKA ZAILDAR 4 DELAYED AMID PUNJAB FLOOD CRISIS Last-minute campaigning blitzkrieg brings traffic to halt near varsity’s Admn and Science blocks. P3 Karandeep Kochhar the best-placed Indian at the Asian Golf Tour Mandiri Indonesia Open. P3 Makers of the movie, starring Ammy Virk and Sonam Bajwa, have decided to postpone the release to Oct 2. P4 » » RAIN MAX 26°C | MIN 23°C YESTERDAY MAX 25.9°C | MIN 22.7°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6.44 PM SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.00 AM » TUESDAY | 2 SEPTEMBER 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE No respite in sight, MeT issues heavy rain alert for next 2 days Continuing rain causes flood-like situation in parts of tricity Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Long queues of vehicles stuck in a jam on Madhya Marg in Chandigarh on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Madhya Marg choked, 15-min P'kula-Chd drive continue well beyond 11 am takes 2 hours Snarl-ups seen during peak rush hour, Sheetal Tribune News Service Chandigarh/Panchkula, September 1 Commuters were left stranded for hours on Monday morning after heavy rain triggered severe waterlogging and snarlups on key roads of Chandigarh and Panchkula. The usual 15-minute drive between the two cities stretched to nearly two hours during the peak office hours. Vehicles moved bumper to bumper along the 4–5 km stretch of the Madhya Marg connecting Panchkula with Chandigarh, with the snarlups lasting well beyond 11 am. The other route to reach Chandigarh via Hallomajra also saw about 2-km-long jam. According to the Chandigarh Traffic Police, Jan Marg near the old Secretariat building in Sector 9 and roads in Sector 10 were the worst affected. Police personnel were regulating traffic on Madhya Marg, which carries the bulk of the morning rush between 8 am and 10 am. In contrast, Panchkula residents expressed frustration over the absence of traffic regulation. Housing Board Chowk was gridlocked as Chandigarhbound vehicles were left without the aid of functioning traffic lights or police presence. “From NO ALTERNATIVE ROUTES AS ROADS ACROSS SUKHNA CHOE CLOSED ■ After two of the three floodgates of Sukhna Lake were opened on Monday at 7:30 am and 9 pm, the alternative routes to Chandigarh — Manimajra, railway station road to Industrial Area, Makhan Majra; and Kishangarh bypass to Sukhna Chowk in Sector 5 — were closed to traffic. The closure of these alternative routes to Chandigarh led to heavy vehicular movement on Madhya Marg and the Hallomajra route. NO TRAFFIC COPS AT P’KULA ROUNDABOUT ■ Housing Board Chowk was gridlocked as Chandigarh-bound vehicles were left without the aid of functioning traffic lights or police presence. “From the Sector 7 roundabout to Housing Board, there was a massive jam. Deploying traffic police personnel there during peak hours would certainly help,” remarked a commuter. WILL LOOK INTO ISSUES: P’KULA DCP (TRAFFIC) ■ Panchkula DCP (Traffic) Manpreet A bike rider crosses a waterlogged road after heavy rain at Sector 19 in Panchkula on Monday. PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR the Sector 7 roundabout to Housing Board, there was a massive jam. The roundabout is always a traffic mess. It’s high time authorities took it up seriously. Deploying police personnel during peak hours would certainly help,” remarked one commuter. The problem of neglected infrastructure was also highlighted. “Traffic lights were installed at Sandeep Sagar Chowk, but they have never been switched on. Isn’t that a waste of taxpayers’ money?” a resident asked. A Twitter user (@sensecivic77) wrote, “Despite being a regular and busy route to Chandigarh, traffic remains poorly managed at Shahid Major Sandeep Sagar Chowk. There is consistently no functional traffic signal, and no police personnel actively Singh Sudan said he would look into the issue faced by citizens. managing the traffic flow. Instead, there’s always someone stationed at the corner clicking photos of violations, while the actual traffic chaos goes unchecked. The situation urgently needs attention from the authorities.” Sumit Nayar, who usually takes 25 minutes to reach from Sector 15 in Panchkula to Industrial Area, Phase II, Ramdarbar, was stranded on the road for more than two hours. “I left around 9:25 am and till 11:15 am, I could only reach till the railway crossing. Only after crossing Transport chowk, the traffic eased,” he said. Daily commuter Partha Banerjee echoed these concerns: “Panchkula traffic problems are not new, but they have become a permanent headache. A simple 15-minute distance often takes 30 to 45 minutes due to daily jams. Roundabouts like Sector 7, 8, 17 and 18 are the worst.” Mohit Gupta, who runs a resident’s group called Solution Box, called for urgent reforms. “The Sector 7/8 roundabout is always a mess. Authorities need to find a permanent solution. Regular deployment of traffic personnel during peak hours and activation of the already-installed traffic lights will certainly ease the chaos.” SK Nayar, President, Citizens’ Welfare Association, Panchkula, added, “The traffic lights were stopped at that roundabout because 90 per cent of the traffic from Panchkula heads towards Housing Board in one single direction, which makes it unfeasible to maintain. I think the only solution is to deploy more traffic constable to regulate traffic and stricter actions to those who don’t listen to traffic officers.” Chandigarh, September 1 Medium to heavy rainfall continuing for the past four days has caused a flood-like situation in several parts of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula. With Sukhna Lake full to capacity and the Ghaggar in spate, the opening of the lake floodgates has added to the woes of the residents living along the Sukhna Choe. Also, the rising water level in Ghaggar is giving sleepless nights to those residing along its banks in Panchkula and Mohali districts. During the past 24 hours, Chandigarh received 99.9-mm rainfall while Mohali and Panchkula logged 84-mm and 77-mm downpour, respectively. The downpour that began on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday continued on Monday as well leading to massive waterlogging, damage to public property and major traffic snarls on most of the roads and busy junctions across the tricity region. Several stretches of roads were washed away, while the landslides were keeping the residents in the vulnerable pockets of Morni, Barwala, Pinjore and Raipur Rani blocks cut off from other areas. There were reports of trees UT, MOHALI SCHOOLS CLOSED TODAY ■ While all schools in Chandigarh will remain closed on Tuesday, Mohali’s all schools, colleges, universities and ITIs/ polytechnics will remain closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. In Panchkula, certain schools have been closed in the vulnerable areas. and poles falling on vehicles and damaging public property besides disruption in power and water supply from different parts of the tricity region. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued orange and yellow alerts for heavy to very heavy rain coupled with thunderstorms at isolated places in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana for the next two days – Tuesday and Wednesday. The administrations of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula have sounded alerts, advising the residents to exercise restraint and stay away from the swollen water bodies and vulnerable areas. Deputy Commissioners Nishant Kumar Yadav, along with SSP Kanwardeep Kaur, in Chandigarh, Komal Mittal in Mohali and Monica Gupta in Panchkula conducted field visits in their WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 & 56, and Dhanas Panchkula: Sec 15 Mohali: Sectors 68 and 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Chandigarh, September 1 Politics over Rs 125-crore grant given to the Municipal Corporation (MC) has intensified with Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla considering convening a special meeting of the MC House to pass a resolution on thanking Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria for approving the amount. The meeting is being planned amid the Opposition attack, accusing the BJP-led MC of not improving the financial condition of the civic body and terming the grant meagre. They have demanded a white paper on the MC’s financial health over the past 10 years. The Mayor has criticised the members of the Congress-AAP alliance for their stand over the grant. The grant is a significant step toward improving the city infrastructure, she said, adding that she expected all Opposition councillors to attend the special meeting and thank the Central Government and the Administrator for their support to the civic body. She said both the AAP and the Congress were not interested in the city’s development and the politics over CONG DEMANDS WHITE PAPER ON FISCAL HEALTH ■ City Congress president HS Lucky has demanded that the MC should immediately issue a white paper on its financial health over the past 10 years. He said during the Congress tenure, the MC maintained a fixed deposit of over Rs 500 crore, ensuring fiscal stability and ability to fund developmental projects. The recent Rs 125-crore grant was originally earmarked for power purchase, but after the privatisation of the power sector in Chandigarh, it remained unutilised. everything. Vijay Pal Singh, president of city AAP described the claims , by the Mayor and the BJP over the grant as “misleading and an attempt to confuse the public”. He said the Rs 125crore package released to the Municipal Corporation was not a BJP achievement, c m y b rather, it is taxpayers’ money re-appropriated by the UT Administration from the Electricity Department’s ‘Material and Supplies’ head under ‘Grant-in-Aid’. Misrepresenting this as a political accomplishment to mislead citizens is wrong, he claimed. He also targeted the BJP’s 2690523, 2703507, 2655816, 2642611, 2648610, 2734656 ■ MOHALI: 0172-2219506, 7658051209 (Mohali), 01602280222 (Kharar), 01762283224 (Dera Bassi) ■ PANCHKULA: 0172-2562135 respective districts to take stock of the situation. Crops over 2,000 hectares damaged in Mohali In Mohali, the DC confirmed loss of a farmer’s life due to drowning in Lalru, collapse of a kutcha house and damage to standing crops over 2,000 hectares of land. “Around 7,000 residents were hit due to disrupted access roads,” said Komal, while informing that the affected areas include Tiwana, Khajur Mandi, Sadhanpur and Dangdhera. According to her, heavy rainfall and strong water flow in the seasonal rivulets/choes had also disrupted road connectivity to five villages near Jayanti Ki Rao rivulet. In Chandigarh, the officiating Chief Secretary Mandip Singh Brar reviewed the Continued on page 2 MC officials on toes, asked to submit report in 24 hours MC officials near the waterlogged basement of the GPO in Sector 17 in Chandigarh. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 1 Continuing rain caused huge traffic jams on waterlogged road across the city. Besides, rainwater entered the basements of several buildings in Sector 17, including the GPO building. The MC officials carried out an extensive inspection across sectors to assess the situation and address waterlogging issues. Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar also visited the GPO building. He was accompanied by the Chief Engineer and other MC officers. The GPO complex has been plagued by persistent water accumulation, resulting in foul smell, mosquito Mayor Babla mulls convening special MC House meeting to thank Home Minister Amit Shah, Kataria Tribune News Service ■ CHANDIGARH: 0172-2747820, Water enters GPO basement Politics over ~125-crore grant to MC intensifies Ramkrishan Upadhyay FLOOD CONTROL ROOM NUMBERS rhetoric and political publicity over the grant. The BJP spread rumours of Rs 92 crore and later Rs 328 crore grant, offering “sweet treats”, while, in reality, such amounts never materialised. He alleged that the V3 road-transfer agenda was a ploy of the BJP to shirk civic responsibility. The president, Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee, HS Lucky, demanded that the MC immediately issued a comprehensive white paper on its financial health over the past 10 years. He said during the Congress tenure, the MC maintained a fixed deposit of over Rs 500 crore, ensuring fiscal stability and ability to fund developmental projects. In sharp contrast, the Corporation’s financial condition has now deteriorated to such an extent that it is compelled to transfer its core assets to the Chandigarh Administration in order to survive. He said that the recent Rs 125-crore grant was originally earmarked for power purchase, but after the privatisation of the power sector in Chandigarh, it remained unutilised. These funds have now been reallocated for developmental purposes only. breeding and potential damage to equipment. Amit Kumar issued strict directions to the departments concerned to investigate the reasons for the unresolved complaints and fix accountability. He instructed all municipal wings to carry out inspections in areas within their respective jurisdictions Continued on page 2 Sukhna gates opened, 8th time this monsoon Chandigarh, September 1 Continuing rain in the city and the Sukhna Lake catchment since last night forced the UT Administration to open two of the three floodgates of the lake this morning as the water level crossed the danger mark of 1,163 feet. According to officials, one floodgate was opened around 7.30 am and the second one around 9 am up to the height of three inches. As the water receded, one floodgate was closed around 3 pm. The traffic was disrupted in the morning after water flowed over the Bapu Dham Colony causeway on the Sukhna Choe. — TNS