09092025-CT-01.qxd 9/9/2025 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune GUV AWARDS SCHOLARSHIPS TO SPORTSPERSONS STRIKERS, BASHERS LOG WIN IN T20 LEAGUE FORMER US PREZ BARACK OBAMA WINS THIRD EMMY UT Administrator Kataria handed over cash prizes of ~7.22 lakh to 12 former and current coaches. P3 Capital Strikers edged past Altruistian by four wickets in a low-scoring match. P3 He earned the award for his narration in Netflix's Our Oceans, a series that explores the wonders of oceans. P4 » » HEALTH & WELLNESS The Tribune is starting a Q and A column to address your health-related queries. Please mail your questions (not exceeding 40 words) at healthandwellness@tribunemail.com. The Tribune’s panel of doctors will answer all your healthrelated concerns. Art Show: The Tradition of Bat-Tala & Other Practices by the Printmakers, being organised by Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi in collaboration with Punjab Kala Akademi and Art Magnum, Delhi; at Gallery, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16-B, on till Sept 10 Theatre Festival: “Shaguffe”, from September 9 to 18, Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16, 6:30 pm onwards 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 Woman killed in accident Mohali, September 8 Out for a walk with her pet, a Landran resident died after being hit by a speeding vehicle near the Landran chowk today. The victim, Mandeep Kaur, was rushed to a hospital by passersby where doctors declared her dead. She is survived by her husband, son and daughter. — TNS FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE UT submits revised High Court expansion plan to UNESCO Presentation drew a good response in Geneva, claim officials Tribune News Service CHANDIGARH MAX 34°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 34.5°C | MIN 24.9°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.04 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Dushyant Singh Pundir WHAT’S ON PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET TUESDAY 6.36 PM » TUESDAY | 9 SEPTEMBER 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST HOLISTIC DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL CONCERNS RAISED BY WORLD BODY EARLIER Chandigarh, September 8 The UT Administration has submitted a fresh roadmap for the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s expansion before the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The proposal was presented at a meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 6, where Chief Secretary Rajiv Verma, Chief Architect Rajiv Kumar Mehta and Senior Architect Sangeeta Bagga were present. According to officials, the revised holistic development plan limits the construction area to 2 lakh sqft, significantly reduced from the earlier proposal. The plan envisages 16 new courtrooms, lawyers’ chambers, cafeterias, administrative blocks and parking facilities, all to be developed within the existing premises, but away from the heritage buildings. Given the space constraints, the administration has proposed multi-storey structures to accommodate the daily influx of nearly 10,000 lawyers, 3,300 employees, thousands of litigants, and around 10,000 vehicles. Officials said the UNESCO team responded positively to the presentation. The minutes of the meeting are expected to be released in around 20 days, after which further action will be initiated. The revised plan comes after objections raised by UNESCO and its advisory body, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which had flagged concerns that the earlier proposal might endanger the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Capitol Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Following these objections, earlier schemes such as underground Child dies as soil caves in near Ghaggar 3 youths arrested for robbing elderly man at knifepoint Tribune News Service Tribune News Service Panchkula, September 8 A tragic accident occurred near the Ghaggar close to the Golf Course in Sector 3 on Sunday when three children entered the water to take a bath. Suddenly, the soil along the bank caved in, trapping them. Karan (13) died, while his friends were rescued. Passersby alerted the police, following which rescue efforts were launched. DCP Srishti Gupta said police teams immediately reached the spot and rescued two children. Karan drowned despite extensive efforts to save him. An NDRF team, an ambulance and a JCB machine were pressed into service. The child’s body was recovered later. The DCP appealed to residents to exercise extreme caution, reminding that Section 163 restrictions remain in force. She warned that river currents can fluctuate suddenly, creating dangerous conditions. Panchkula, September 8 The police have arrested three youths for robbing an elderly man at knifepoint and recovered part of the stolen cash along with the knife used in the crime. Om Prakash, a retired employee of Bijli Shakti Bhawan, Sector 6, was on his way to his daughter’s place in Sector 28, Chandigarh, on September 4. While walking from KC Cinema in Sector 5 towards Shakti Bhawan to hire an auto-rickshaw, he was accosted by three youths near the Sector 24 market. They threatened him with a knife and snatched Rs 11,600 from his pocket before fleeing. Acting on secret information and technical inputs, a team under Crime Branch-19 in-charge Pritam arrested the three accused from Industrial Phase, Sector 19, on Sunday. They have been identified as Salman Ansari, son of ■ The revised holistic development plan limits the construction area to 2 lakh square feet, significantly reduced from the earlier proposal. ■ It proposes 16 new courtrooms, lawyers’ chambers, cafeterias, administrative blocks and parking facilities, all to be developed within the existing High Court premises, but away from the heritage buildings. ■ Given the space constraints, the UT Administration has proposed multi-storey structures on the HC premises to accommodate the daily influx of nearly 10,000 lawyers, 3,300 employees, thousands of litigants and around 10,000 vehicles. ACTION AFTER MEETING MINUTES Officials said the UNESCO team responded positively to the presentation. The minutes of the meeting are expected to be released in around 20 days, after which further action will be initiated. parking and an AC chiller plant were stalled. Prior to resubmitting the plan, the UT Administration carried out a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) to gauge the potential effects of the expansion. The 2023 ICOMOS review highlighted the need to preserve the green belt and open spaces at the rear of the High Court, even while acknowledging the imperative of expansion to meet the current and future demands. Last month, while hearing a PIL, the High Court had asked the administration to clarify whether the revised proposal had the approval of both the The revised plan comes after objections raised by UNESCO and its advisory body, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which had flagged concerns that the earlier proposal might endanger the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Capitol Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Following these objections, earlier schemes such as underground parking and an AC chiller plant were stalled. administration and the heritage committee, especially since the number of proposed courtrooms had been reduced. The administration had earlier offered 48 acres in Sarangpur village for setting up a new High Court complex, citing its higher floor area ratio and better connectivity through a 200foot-wide road and a proposed elevated corridor, and refused to give land in the IT Park area. On IT Park land, the UT informed the Court that the IT Park land cannot be considered, as it was originally allotted for information technology and allied services, making land use change unfeasible. A damaged stretch of the Sector 61-70 road in Mohali. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Road cave-ins haunt Mohali Old sewers, ongoing drainage work add to residents’ woes Gaurav Kanthwal Tribune News Service Mohali, September 8 Commuting on city roads has become a risky proposition, with incessant rain and ageing sewer lines making them prone to cave-ins. “One never knows when the road may cave in right in front of you. The roads are perennially waterlogged, putting us at further risk of accidents,” said GK Bhullar, a Phase-XI resident. The monsoon rains have left the city with severely damaged roads. The old sewer and stormwater pipelines have also col- Inter-state drug syndicate busted, 2 held with heroin Tribune News Service BHANKHARPUR SCHOOL BUILDING IN NEED OF REPAIR The building of Government High School, Bhankharpur, is in an urgent need of repair. Heavy rain this monsoon has led to cracks appearing in the walls, beams and pillars of the building. The ceiling in many rooms has also begun to leak. “Current leakage has also be witnessed in one fo the rooms,” said Jagpreet Singh, a village resident. The school playground is also facing the problem of waterlogging, other residents said, adding that drains in the nearby area had been blocked due to the ongoing work of national highway. School authorities said alternative arrangements had been made and the repair work of damaged portion would be carried out after the monsoon season. lapsed at several points, resulting in sinking of roads. The sewer line from PCL to Kumbhra Chowk and the stormwater drainage system near CP-67 Chowk has also collapsed despite recent repair work. A 100m Youth arrested from Hisar in Amaravati Mall murder case Tribune News Service The accused in custody of the police. Mohammad Furqan; Saqib, alias PA, son of Aslam Khan; and Sarvesh, alias Savage, all residents of Mani Majra. The police recovered the knife used in the crime and Rs 9,000 cash from their possession.They were produced in the court today, where the victim identified them as the culprits. They were remanded in judicial custody. Road repairs on in UT PANCHKULA INCIDENT Om Prakash, a retired employee of Bijli Shakti Bhawan, Sector 6, was on his way to his daughter’s place in Sector 28, Chandigarh, on September 4. While walking from KC Cinema in Sector 5, Panchkula, towards Shakti Bhawan, he was accosted by three youths and robbed of ~11,600 near the Sector 24 market at knifepoint. Chandigarh, September 8 The Anti-Narcotics Task Force (ANTF) of the UT police has dismantled an inter-state narco smuggling syndicate and seized 65.26 grams of heroin valued at about Rs 4 lakh. Two accused have been arrested and vehicles used in the smuggling seized. On August 30, a police patrol team, acting on a tipoff, arrested Parabjot Singh, alias Raja, in Sector 15 here. He was caught with 20.02 grams of heroin. The two-wheeler he was riding was impounded. Following his disclosure, a case under Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was registered. Subsequent interrogation led to the arrest of Parkash Kumar, alias continued on page 2 patch on the dividing road of Sector 61-Sector 70 sunk in after the sewer line collapsed a week ago. Residents complain that collapsed infrastructure is leading to waterlogging and continued on page 2 Panchkula, September 8 The Panchkula police have arrested an accused from Hisar who allegedly sheltered the shooters and helped destroy evidence, in the Amaravati Mall murder case. Sonu Naulta (32), who ran a transport business, was killed in the attack outside the mall in June. The DCP (Crime) Manpreet Singh Sudan confirmed the arrest, carried out by a team of the detective staff. ACP (Crime) Arvind Kamboj said on September 7, a team, led by Sub-Inspector Mandeep Singh, arrested the accused, Surender (28), a resident of Hisar. Investigations revealed that around 4 am on June 6, Surender received a call. The caller informing him that the prime accused, Piyush and Ankush, were on their way to Hisar after the killing of Sonu Naulta out- BIZMAN WAS KILLED Sonu Naulta (32), who ran a transport business, was shot dead outside Amravati Mall near Pinjore on the night of June 5. He had gone to the mall to watch a movie along with his friends. side Amaravati Mall. Surender arranged a place to hide for them and later helped shift them to another location. He is also accused of taking their weapons to a different place. The police said the accused further assisted Piyush in receiving treatment for a gunshot wound. He was also involved in creating and circulating a video after the murder. His full criminal background is now under scrutiny, and investigators are probing his wider role in the conspiracy. Surender was produced before the court and remanded in three-day police custody. Noise pollution directions can’t be used to regulate online content: HC Saurabh Malik Tribune News Service Recarpeting in progress near the Hallo Majra chowk in Chandigarh on Monday. RAVI KUMAR c m y b Chandigarh, September 8 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the scope of its earlier directions on curbing noise pollution could not be stretched to regulate online content, while dismissing a contempt petition seeking action against alleged failure to prevent playing of songs glorifying liquor, drugs and violence. “It is a well-settled principle that the contempt jurisdiction is quasi-criminal; consequently, the standard of proof is high and presumptions cannot substitute proof. Further, it is trite law that contempt is not a vehicle to expand or re-write an order or to conduct a roving enquiry into generalised noncompliance,” Justice Sudeepti Sharma observed. The petition was filed by an advocate in person for alleged wilful disobedience of a July 22, 2019, Division Bench judgment by the then Bench of Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu. The petitioner contended that songs glorifying drugs, liquor and violence were still being played at marriage functions, clubs, discotheques and other public events, besides being freely available on online platforms despite the order. After hearing him and going through the case file, Justice Sharma asserted: “A careful and contextual reading of the directions reveals that the Division Bench was primarily addressing the menace of noise pollution and ensuring enforcement of the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, and related cognate provisions. The direc- tions regulate the use of loudspeakers, public-address systems and sound-amplifying devices in physical spaces and lay down temporal restrictions, cast monitoring and enforcement obligations on the State machinery.” Justice Sharma added that the present petition was deficient on foundational facts. “No specific instance has been pleaded such as the date, venue, event or the identity of the persons or authorities where the directions extracted above were violated”. The court also continued on page 2