25052026-CT-01.qxd 5/25/2026 12:47 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune TWO-DAY THE TRIBUNE EDU EXPO CONCLUDES ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS PROTEST MANN’S REMARK AISHWARYA SIGNS OFF IN STYLE AT CANNES Over 1,000 students registered for the event and took advice from experts for a brighter future. P3 Activists took to Sector 17 streets to protest Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s remark over stray dogs. P3 At Cannes Film Fest, Aishwarya wears a striking all-white structured suit by Chinese designer Cheney Chan. P4 » » 119 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD Dushyant Singh Pundir Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 43 & 45 Mohali: Sectors 70, 78 & Phase 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 9 am to 11 am: Parts of Sector 2 10 am to 2 pm: Parts of Sector 51, Phase I of Ram Darbar, Palsora Flames engulf a spinning unit of the Nahar Group of Companies in the Lalru industrial area on Sunday. Spinning unit gutted in Lalru Tribune News Service Mohali, May 24 A massive fire gutted a spinning unit of Nahar Group of Companies in the Lalru industrial area on Sunday. Local residents said the fire spread in the cotton stored in two large compounds on the ground floor and intensified within minutes. The blaze engulfed the entire premises and the thick smoke was visible from several kilometres. The administrative officials got nearby companies vacated as a precaution. The Fire Department received a call around 1:25 am. Around 40 fire tenders had to be called in from Dera Bassi, Lalru, Rajpura, Chandigarh, Ambala and Panchkula. The Army also assisted in controlling the fire, said sources. A Fire Department employee, Baljeet Singh, said after the fire broke out, power supply to the entire area was disrupted, making firefighting in the dark extremely difficult. However, after hours of continuous effort, the fire was largely brought under control. No loss of life was reported. An investigation has been launched to ascertain the cause of the fire, said the officials. MCterminatesextensionto firm engaged in sanitation work in southern sectors Three kids drown as family attempts suicide in canal Ramkrishan Upadhyay Jumped into Bhakhra canal near Rajpura over family dispute Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 24 The Municipal Corporation has terminated the extension given to M/s Lion Services Ltd, which has been providing sanitation services in Southern sectors — from 31 to 50, 61 and 63 — for many years. Besides terminating the extension, Amit Kumar Commissioner Municipal Corporation has written a dissent note with respect to the agenda passed by the MC general house for giving a contract to the company, which quoted the lowest rates in response to the tender floated a few months ago. The MC had been granting extension to the company on a regular basis for many months due to the non-finalisation of a fresh tender, after its contract expired last year. The contract was extended initially in September 2025 for three months. After that, the company was granted extension on a regular basis on the plea that sanitation in the southern sectors shouldn’t be hit and process to float a fresh tender and allot work to a successful bidder would require due time. The company has been providing its services in southern sectors since it was FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE PGI fails to recover ~25.61 cr spent on treatment of Ayushman Bharat patients 76 PANCHKULA MAX 42°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 40.9°C | MIN 24°C SUNRISE TUESDAY 5.24 AM /THETRIBUNECHD AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET MONDAY 7.15 PM » MONDAY | 25 MAY 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Commissioner writes dissent note on agenda passed by House for giving tender to the company awarded the contract in 2017. The corporation pays the company approximately Rs 50 crore annually. When the agenda about giving information regarding the status of the tender process was placed before the MC House, many councillors favoured giving the contract to the same company, overruling the objections raised by the MC officers. The company had quoted the lowest rates in its response to the tender. The MC officers were not in favour of allotting a fresh contract to the company as it had failed to give a satisfactory reply to a questionnaire sent to it. The officers claimed that the bid quoted by the company was still on the higher side (lowest price is more than 35.01% of the estimated rate), and hence, it is recommended that the tender should not be considered. Sources said the Municipal Commissioner has sent his dissent note to the Secretary, Local Government, on the agenda passed by the general house for giving the contract to the company Mohali, May 24 Three children died while their parents survived after a family of Maujpur village jumped into the Bhakhra canal near Rajpura over a family dispute. Ekam Singh (14), a Class X student of Government High School, Landran; Muskan Kaur (12), a Class VII student of Government Middle School, Bharatpur; and Rajvir Kaur (7), who studied in Class III in a village school, drowned. Their father Harprabhjot Singh and mother Jaswinder Kaur were saved by local residents. Residents of Maujpur village said all children were good in studies. Harprabhjot used to work as an electrical mechanic and earlier ran a shop in Bhagomajra. His elderly father Swaran Singh also had a depot in Bhagomajra. Swaran and his wife Gurmail Kaur were lying on their bed devastated. The grandmother blamed her daughter-in-law for the children’s death. Harprabhjot blamed his parents for the family dispute and driving him into depression. The Patiala police are investigating the matter. — TNS Chandigarh, May 24 The office of the Principal Director of the Audit (Central), Chandigarh, in its latest report, has pointed out that the PGIMER has failed to recover the outstanding claims of Rs 25.61 crore for the treatment of patients under the Ayushman BharatPradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) as on March 31, 2025. The audit report of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) for the period 202122 to 2024-25 states that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was executed between the National Health Agency (NHA) and the institute for providing services under the Ayushman BharatNational Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM). The source state of the AB-NHPM beneficiary will be responsible for payments for patient care. During checking of the records made available by the PGIMER, it was noticed that Rs 25.61 crore from 4,579 claims as on March 31, 2025, was lying pending for recovery from various states on account of treatment provided to the patients under the Central scheme. As per the agreement, the payment of the claim amount should be made to the PGIMER within 30 days after receiving all required information/ document. However, even after the lapse of the stipulated period, the payment has not been made by the states concerned. The audit report further reveals that of Rs 25.61 crore in respect of 4,579 claims, Rs Testing times ~25.61CR IN 4,579 CLAIM CASES LYING PENDING ■ Payment is to be made to the PGIMER within 30 days after receiving all required information/documents 16.59 crore (in 2,973 claims) was rejected by the states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Efforts were made by the PGIMER to recover the unpaid claims from the various states. The institute says claims are lodged from multiple counters in the PGIMER round the clock. In some instances, patients were directly discharged from wards and never visited the Ayushman counter. Claims in these cases were done after retrieval of files and other clinical data from treating departments, which led to the delay in claim filing in these cases. Now, biometric authentication has been made mandatory during discharge at the PGI and there is no scope for late submission of details. Further, the institute says that claims Chandigarh, May 24 With most of the offices remaining closed on Sunday, the peak power demand in the city dropped to 338 MW today. The maximum power demand yesterday was 357 MW . It touched 407 MW on Friday and reached 415 MW on Thursday, the highest recorded so far in the month of May. According to Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL), the peak power demand increased from 307 MW on May 16 to 415 MW on May 21, reflecting a sharp Corner meetings, roadshows mark last day of campaigning in Mohali Tribune News Service Dr Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, AAP candidate from Ward No. 6, during a roadshow on the last day of campaigning in Mohali. Mohali, May 24 On the last day of campaigning for the Mohali Municipal Corporation elections on Sunday, candidates of various parties and independents put up their full might to increase their chances of winning. Most of the candidates relied on roadshows and corner meetings to reach out to a maximum number of electorate. AAP focused on corner meetings while the Congress held a show of strength in its strongholds through roadshows. Independents relied on door-to-door campaigning and personal interaction. Phone calls and social media claim in 2,973 cases was rejected by Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir ■ ~4.02-crore claims under HIMCARE pending with the Himachal Pradesh Govt from J&K and Punjab are under active consideration of the respective State Health Agency. Final recovery of these claims is, however, awaited. Similarly, the PGIMER also failed to recover outstanding claims worth Rs 4.02 crore from the Himachal Pradesh Government for the treatment of patients under the Mukhya Mantri Himachal Health Care Scheme-HIMCARE. It was observed that Rs 4.02 crore pertaining to 657 cases was outstanding as on September 8, 2025. Of a total of 657 cases, claims worth Rs 3.88 in 629 cases were outstanding for more than 30 days as on September 8, 2025. The Institute stated that the matter had been taken up with the Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh from time to time. Peak power demand dips to 338 MW in UT Students come out of a centre after taking the UPSC preliminary examination in Sector 11, Chandigarh, on Sunday. PARDEEP TEWARI Gaurav Kanthwal ■ ~16.59-crore appeals were the most extensively used medium for campaigning today. Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh of AAP campaigned for Kulwinderjit Kaur (Ward No. 7), son Sarabjit Singh Samana (Ward No. 42), Arvinder Kaur (Ward No. 5), Satvinder Singh Mithu (Ward No. 26) and Jasvir Kaur Atli (Ward No. 27) and hailed the success of government steps such as free electricity and mohalla clinics. He said the first mohalla clinic of the state was launched in Phase 5 of Mohali. Ward No. 5 candidate Arvinder Kaur (AAP) held a roadshow in her ward and canvassed in Phase 2. She said she had been getting tremen- c m y b dous support from local residents. “I will work for the betterment of area residents with full dedication,” she said. Former Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu held a roadshow in Phase 7 and 10 in support of the Congress candidates. In Phase 7 of Ward No. 10, Congress candidate Kanwarbir Singh Ruby and his supporters campaigned in marla houses. Congress workers alleged that they caught an SUV, with Punjab Police sticker, uniform of an ASI and liquor. Ruby alleged that one of the two occupants of the SUV pointed a pistol at him but fled the spot when his supporters got agitated. The police reached the spot and controlled the situation. DSP City-1 Gurcharn Singh said the vehicle had been impounded and the suspect detained for questioning. Candidates skip garbage, waterlogging issues The third tier polls in democracy are primarily about civic issues such as roads, streetlights and sewerage, but the candidates of the Congress as well as AAP were silent about these. The most pressing issue confronting the Mohali MC is garbage disposal, which every candidate avoided to discuss. The streets, roads and parks remain littered with garbage. BJP leader Sanjay Tandon on Saturday participated in a programme organised in Sector 117, TDI Mohali, in support of BJP candidate Sherry Ahuja. Addressing the gathering, Tandon said, “Only the BJP can ensure a holistic and sustainable growth of Mohali by strengthening basic amenities and enhancing the quality of life for citizens.” Meanwhile, AAP candidate from Ward No. 6 Dr Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, who is general secretary of Punjab AAP and chairman of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, received huge support from local residents during his roadshow. Former MLA Gurpreet Singh GP also participated in the roadshow. increase in electricity consumption across the city, after that started decreasing with a slight dip in the maximum temperature in the city. Officials of the company stated that no major power disruption was reported from any part of the city. The city had witnessed an unprecedented spike in electricity consumption, with the power demand reaching an alltime high of 465 MW on June 12 last year. On June 11, 2025, the peak demand reached a staggering 452 MW — TNS . Officials of two firms booked Chandigarh, May 24 The police have booked Yuvraj Sobti and Harneet Walia, directors of True Way Consultant, Sector 26, for allegedly duping a man of Rs 20,34,000 on the pretext of arranging visa. A case under Sections 316(2), 318(4), 336(3), 340(2) of the BNS, and 24 of the Immigration Act has been registered on a complaint filed by Deepak Choudhary. In another case, Ravi Verma alleged that Rahul Narwal, Kiran Bala and Ravi Narwal of Sky Academy Immigration, Sector 9, cheated him out of Rs 16,25,000 on the pretext of providing a work visa abroad. A case under Sections 318 and 61 of the BNS has been registered, — TNS