10092025-CT-01.qxd 9/10/2025 12:45 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune LIVING ON EDGE, RESIDENTS FEAR HOUSE COLLAPSE GAGANJEET, AADIL, NEHA TO PLAY GOLF LEAGUE OPENER WAMIQA GABBI IS ONE OF THE BUSIEST IN INDUSTRY Panic grips families residing in Sector 22, Panchkula, amid soil erosion following incessant rain. P2 Inaugural edition of Indian Golf Premier League set to kick off at the Chandigarh Golf Club. P2 In an industry where visibility is everything, Wamiqa is doing more than just making appearances. P4 » » PARTLY CLOUDY MAX 34°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 35.1°C | MIN 25.5°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.35 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 6.04 AM » WEDNESDAY | 10 SEPTEMBER 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH 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 6th Tricity Theatre Festival: From September 15 to 19, Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, 6:30 pm, tickets price ~100, call 9041410260, 9915588938 APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 Panchkula: Sector 25 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Big leap for UT, ranked 8th in Centre’s air quality survey Court attaches CHB account for award default Tribune News Service 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. Ramkrishan Upadhyay Chandigarh, September 9 The city has secured the eightth rank in the Swachh Vayu Survekshan-2025, up 19 spots from the 27th in 2024. The survey, conducted annually by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), assesses cities on their sustained efforts and progress towards improving air quality. “Chandigarh’s upward movement by 19 positions is a testament to its sustainable urban development initiatives, proactive air quality management strategies, and active citizen participation,” said Saurabh Kumar, Director Environment-cum-Member Secretary, Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC). The authorities have attributed the rise to collective efforts of the Municipal Corporation, Traffic Police, Transport Departments and the CPCC. The Swachh Vayu Survekshan evaluates cities across eight major parameters, covering waste and dust management practices as well as Decks cleared for procurement of 100 e-buses Chandigarh, September 9 The Delhi High Court has paved the way for the procurement of 100 electric buses for the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU). A legal dispute over the conditions in the tender for the procurement of new buses has finally been settled and the court has directed the Central Government to issue a letter of award to the contractor concerned. At least 85 diesel buses will be condemned in November after the completion of their operational lifespan and 15 diesel ones in February. According to UT officials, a meeting will soon be held with the ministry concerned in Delhi to decide the timeline for the arrival of the new buses. The buses will be replaced under the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme. Up 19 spots from 27th position secured last year WHAT’S BEHIND THE RISE ■ Expansion of green cover through urban forestry and plantation drives. ■ Strict enforcement of dust-control measures at construction sites. ■ Proper management of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. ■ Scientific remediation of legacy waste. ■ Introduction of e-mobility in public Electric buses have contributed to reducing pollution in Chandigarh. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI enforcement of measures to limit emissions. Among the measures undertaken to check all the boxes were expansion of green cover through urban forestry and plantation drives, strict enforcement of dust-control measures at construction sites, scientific remediation of legacy waste and proper management of construction and demolition waste. Several steps were also implemented to check emissions, including the introduction of e-mobility in public transport and expansion of EV charging infrastructure, development of an expanded non- Immigration agent shoots himself in toilet of Mohali bank Tribune News Service Mohali, September 9 A 45-year-old immigration consultant allegedly shot himself dead in the toilet of a Sector 68 bank this afternoon. The victim, Rajdeep Singh, hailed from Moga and was residing in Sector 80 with his family. He had an office in Sector 82. Those present at the HDFC bank at the time of the incident said Rajdeep arrived there around 2 pm and headed straight to the toilet where he shot himself with a pistol. No suicide note was found from the spot. The police have launched a probe into the incident and restricted entry to the bank. The body was sent to the mortuary of the Phase-6 civil hospital. The police have also Deceased Rajdeep Singh recovered the weapon. They are questioning bank staff and scanning the CCTV footage to establish the sequence of events. Investigators said they are verifying whether the weapon was licensed. “It is being probed whether the victim had an account or a running loan from the branch,” said Satnam Singh, Phase-8 SHO. transport and expansion of EV charging infrastructure. ■ Development of an expanded nonmotorised transport network. ■ Implementation of the Intelligent Traffic Management Systems (ITMS) to reduce congestion and vehicular emissions in the city. ■ Automatic road sweeping and water sprinkling to control road dust. ■ Community-led awareness campaigns promoting behavioural change and citizen involvement. motorised transport network and implementation of Intelligent Traffic Management Systems to reduce congestion and vehicular emissions. The Director Environment said, “This achievement reflects Chandigarh’s strong commitment to ensuring clean air for its residents. Our Criminal held with pistol collective efforts, from policymakers to citizens, all have made this possible, and we will continue to work towards a healthier and greener city.” The objective of the survey is to create awareness among all sections of society, inform citizens about the impact of pollution on health. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 9 A local court has issued a warrant of attachment of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) bank account as the board has failed to execute an arbitration award pronounced three years ago. A company, M/s Inter Solar System Pvt Ltd, had filed an application through advocate Jagtar Kureel for the execution of the award dated May 26, 2023. The company pleaded that the Sole Arbitrator had passed the award and directed the respondents (CHB) to refund Rs 27, 66, 547, along with simple interest at the rate of 12% per annum, within two months from the date of this award, failing which the claimant shall be entitled to the simple interest at the rate of 12% till its realisation. The respondents were also directed to pay the claimant Rs 50,000 as damages suffered by the company on account of mental agony and harassment. The company had demanded a total of Rs 48, 86, 530, which included interest and Passion for golf Tribune News Service Panchkula, September 9 The police have arrested a criminal with a countrymade pistol and two cartridges from Sector 15 here. A patrol team of Crime Branch-19 received information that an armed youth, originally from Jind and at present residing in Rajiv Colony here, was roaming around in Sector 15. Acting swiftly, a team arrested Rakesh, alias Monty. A case under the Arms Act was registered and he was produced before the court. He was remanded in six-day police custody. Preliminary investigation revealed that Rakesh already has multiple cases of brawls registered against him in Chandigarh. He had also been arrested earlier in Odisha with two quintals of cannabis. Sharma new Panchkula DC Tribune News Service Panchkula, September 9 Satpal Sharma, a 2017-batch IAS officer, has been appointed as the new Deputy Commissioner of Panchkula, replacing Monika Gupta. He has also been entrusted with the responsibility of Chief Administrator of Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board. Sharma has served as Administrator (Headquarters) of the Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP). Over the years, he has held several important positions in the Haryana. Chandigarh, September 9 In a first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at transparent, efficient and need-based infrastructure development, the Chandigarh Administration has adopted cutting-edge Geographic Information System (GIS) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies for the planning and execution of urban road projects in the city. The UT Engineering Department has introduced, for the first time, a major advancement through Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven road identification for a comprehensive videographic survey of the city roads and analysing AI to improve quality of roads by efficient planning of maintenance ROAD NETWORK ■ Total linear road length: 97.25-km ■ Due for recarpeting: 42.88-km ■ Recarpeting tenders allotted: 10.8-km worth ~10.4-crore ■ Tenders under process and to be allotted by September 30: 32.1-km worth ~31.8-km V-3 STRETCHES A road being repaired in Chandigarh on Tuesday. PARDEEP TEWARI MOVING TOWARDS SMART GOVERNANCE: KATARIA ❝TheintegrationofGISandAImarksasignificantstride towards smart, accountable and cost-effective urban governance. With efficient monitoring and updated data bank, it will set new benchmarks in road infra development and its maintenance. — GULAB CHAND KATARIA, PUNJAB GUV AND UT ADMINISTRATOR ❞ and development. The detailed reports on the condition of roads will help in efficient planning for maintenance and development of the road infrastruc- c m y b Recently, the MC transferred 275-km V3 roads, which divide the city sectors, to the UT Administration. As per maintenance norms, the resurfacing, re-strengthening and recarpeting of roads are to be undertaken every five years, covering around 50-km every year. However, the cash-strapped civic body failed to even repair these roads for the past over five years, resulting in the present state of broken roads ture, UT Chief Engineer CB Ojha told The Tribune. He disclosed that the AI- 2 held for firing shots at hotel in Dera Bassi Tribune News Service Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh takes part in a practice session ahead of the Indian Golf Premier League in Chandigarh on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR A first: UT takes to AI for smarter road development Tribune News Service the principal amount. The Sole Arbitrator was appointed on the direction of the High Court in the arbitration case on October 21, 2022, to resolve the arbitral dispute. The disputed amount pertains to the work for supplying, installing and commissioning of solar heating systems at the Sector 63 housing scheme comprising 260 two-bedroom flats. The company had claimed despite completing the work, the CHB arbitrarily made a recovery of10 per cent of the estimated cost and also deducted penalty illegally imposed on the company from the final bill. The company said it had sent a demand notice dated August 31, 2023, to the respondents, directing them to comply with the award order within seven days of the receipt of the notice, but the latter failed to do so. It is, therefore, prayed that the execution may be allowed by the way of attachment of the property of the defendants. The company placed the details of the CHB bank account during the hearing. based surveys would also analyse the existing road safety signage to identify the shortcomings in road safety display signs, if any, to further enhance the safety of commuters. To further strengthen planning and monitoring, Ojha said a comprehensive road data bank would be created as part of this initiative. “Detailed road condition data, surveys, tenders and performance records will be maintained for review purposes. This will create a valuable historical record for evidencebased policy making and transparent governance,” he shared. Initially, this project will be implemented on the V3 roads, which have been recently transferred to the UT Engineering Depart- ment by the Municipal Corporation. These roads will serve as a pilot project for the GIS–AI-based survey, ensuring that lessons learnt can be scaled up for the citywide implementation in the coming days. He highlighted that this technological integration will reshape urban governance, embedding transparency, accountability and efficiency into the administration’s infrastructure strategy while the regular manual field inspections will continue across all city roads for ensuring better quality infrastructure. “Technology is transforming our ability to plan, tender and monitor urban road projects with precision, efficiency and accountability,” Ojha added. Mohali, September 9 The police have arrested two accused who had opened fire at a hotel on the Gulabgarh road near Dera Bassi around 2 am on September 1 in an extortion attempt. They have been identified as Amandeep Singh, alias Amna, a resident of Patton village near Sohana; and Navjot Singh, alias Santi, of Matran village near Aerocity. Their accomplice, Aniket Singh of Bakarpur village, is absconding, the police said. Two pistols, along with four magazines and the two-wheeler used in the crime, have been recovered from them. The complainant, Karan Kumar, hotel owner and resident of Rosewood Estate, GBP , Gulabgarh road, had stated that three unidentified persons fired shots at his hotel and fled the scene on a scooty. Navjot was arrested from Mauli village, Sector 80, Mohali, on September 7 and Amandeep, who opened fire, from Sultanpur village near Barwala the next day. According to the SP (Operations), Talwinder Singh Gill, and Dera Bassi DSP Bikramjit Singh Brar, the two accused had opened fire at the hotel with the intention of extorting money from the owner. The police had registered a case on September 1. Mohali SSP Harmandeep Hans said the gang was operating from Bakarpur and Matran villages. As soon as the police started raids in these areas, the accused escaped from their hideouts. Both accused, who are already facing cases, were out on bail. During the investigation, it came to light that an unidentified person had made a threat call to the owner of Aman Hotel from a foreign number and demanded money.