09092026-CT-01.qxd 9/9/2026 12:58 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune CLOSE SHAVE FOR DRIVER AS CAR FALLS INTO RAIN POOL NAMAN’S 173 HELPS AMRITSAR SOORMAS BEAT MOHALI KINGS ‘I’M AN ARTIST BRO’: DILJIT DOSANJH’S DEVIL SPARKS BUZZ An SUV driver had a narrow escape when his vehicle veered off the road and fell into a rainwater pool. P2 Naman Dhir plays a record-breaking 173-run off 64 balls as Amritsar Soormas beat Mohali Kings. P3 In the new music video Devil, viewers draw parallels between its protest-themed visuals and Jantar Mantar stir. P4 » » MC rejects IDFC Bank’s ~5.75-crore settlement Tribune News Service Commuters stuck in a traffic jam due to a protest by Punjab Congress workers, at Sector 15 on the Madhya Marg in Chandigarh on Tuesday. PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR PANCHKULA 43 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Residents’ panel to monitor quality of civic works Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 8 To strengthen transparency and people’s participation in the civic development of the city, Mayor Saurabh Joshi on Tuesday launched an arealevel residents’ monitoring initiative, empowering citizens to directly monitor the quality and progress of works in their respective areas. City Mayor Joshi launches initiative in his own ward Under the initiative, arealevel committees comprising eminent and technically experienced residents, including retired engineers, professors, doctors and other professionals, will regularly inspect ongoing development works and keep track of their execution. The committees will monitor whether works are being carried out in accordance with the approved scope, specifications and estimated cost displayed by the MC at the sites. Any deficiency, deviation or delay may be Continued on page 3 Setback for AAP, another Gunshots fired at Mohali councillor joins Congress mall owner’s Ph 10 house Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 8 The city unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a setback on Tuesday as its councillor from Ward No. 15, Ram Chander Yadav, switched allegiance and joined the Congress. Punjabi actress Aditi Arya also joined the party on the occasion. Yadav is the second AAP councillor to have joined the Congress in recent times. Earlier, Munawar had quit the party on July 26. Prior to that, AAP councillors Taruna Mehta, Damanpreet Singh and Premlata had also joined the Congress. Yadav said the people of the city were fed up with the BJP rule. He said the local leadership of AAP had failed to stop the BJP from electing its mayor even as it did not have the required Gaurav Kanthwal Yadav from Ward No. 15 switches allegiance Tribune News Service Mohali, September 8 Unidentified miscreants fired gunshots at the house of a prominent businessman in Phase 10 around 10 pm on Monday. Sources said six gunshots were fired at the building, but no one was injured in the incident. The miscreants fled the spot after the incident. Panic spread in the posh residential area and residents chose to remain indoors. It was only after police personnel rushed to the spot that panic-stricken residents started coming out of their houses. On the statement of complainant and house owner Baljeet Singh, who also owns a prominent shopping mall in the city, a case under provisions pertaining to extortion and the Arms Act has been registered at the Phase 11 police station. number of councillors. He alleged that AAP had also failed to take action against the three councillors who had indulged in cross-voting during the mayoral election. Aditi Arya said she was a daughter of Chandigarh and knew its problems and challenges. City AAP president Vijay Pal Singh said Yadav had already been expelled for anti-party activities before he joined the Congress. With the induction of another AAP councillor, the Congress strength in the MC House has reached 10. With 18 councillors, the BJP remains the largest party in the House, while the number of AAP councillors has been reduced to seven. Third case of suspected extortion bid in a week Officials said Mohali SSP Varun Sharma, who carried out a night-domination exercise this evening, formed different teams to nab the culprits. Three days ago, miscreants had targeted the businessman's partner by firing gunshots, sources said. DSP City-2 Harsimran Singh Bal said, "A case has been registered and investigation is on." This is the third incident of extortion-related firing this month. A salon in Sector 80 was targeted in a suspected extortion bid on September 2. Meanwhile, there is no breakthrough in another incident of firing, in which two persons, including a woman, were injured near Khera village on August 30. Chandigarh, September 8 The Municipal Corporation (MC) has formally rejected IDFC First Bank’s claim that its remittance of Rs 5,75,47,658 constitutes full and final settlement of all dues in the Rs 117-crore Chandigarh Smart City Limited (CSCL) bank account fraud case. The MC told the bank that its supporting calculations are unclear, demanding a comprehensive transaction-wise working note, and explicitly reserving all rights to pursue outstanding recovery through the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Chandigarh Police and the Accountant General Audit (Centre). Official communications exchanged between the MC and IDFC First Bank, accessed exclusively by The Tribune, reveal that the MC Chief Accounts Officer, in a point-by-point reply to the bank’s settlement letter, stated that the Rs 5.75 crore credited by the bank to the Punjab National Bank account of the civic body “shall not be treated as full and final settle- Says calculations unclear, asks bank to provide transaction-wise details On the bank’s claimed reconciliation, the MC stated that the calculations “are not clear, as no transaction-wise details and a detailed working note have been enclosed”. The MC has called on the bank to supply a comprehensive, transaction-wise working note explaining the basis of its calculations before any settlement can be considered. MC reserves all legal remedies ment of the MC claim”. The corporation’s reply disputes the bank’s reconciliation workings on which the Rs 5.75 crore figure is based. Responding to the bank’s assertion that the MC’s original computation is erroneous, the civic body stated that its calculations were prepared by the AG Audit (Centre), and were not open to unilateral challenge by the bank. The MC further informed the bank that its detailed response has already been forwarded to the AG Audit (Centre) for examination. The MC made it clear that it retained full rights and remedies to recover any dues on the basis of the ongoing reconciliation, the AG Audit observation and the proceedings before the EOW, the CBI and the ED — agencies that are independently tracing the money trail, identifying beneficiaries and pursuing asset recovery in the case. Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, who had set the entire recovery and investigation process in motion by recommending a CBI probe, reiterated that the Administration would not accept any outcome short of full recovery of every rupee of public money allegedly misappropriated. UT reclaims 15 acres in Kaimbwala Tribune News SErvice Chandigarh, September 8 The UT Administration today carried out a demolition drive to remove unauthorised constructions and encroachments in Kaimbwala village, clearing nearly 118 kanals (around 15 acres). The operation, ordered by District Magistrate Nishant Kumar Yadav, began at 9 am under the supervision of the SDM (Central), with revenue, enforcement, police and Civil Defence personnel taking part in it. The drive focused on boundary walls and encroachments in open areas adjoining farmhouses. Three JCB machines were deployed to dismantle unauthorised structures. Tehsildars and Naib Tehsildars (Periphery), along with Kanungos, Patwaris and enforcement staff, carried out the field-level action, while adequate police personnel, including lady constables, were deployed under a DSP-rank officer to maintain law and order. The District Magistrate reiterated his commitment to firm and sustained action against violations in environmentally sensitive areas, stating that the Sukhna Catchment Area would be kept protected from unauthorised construction and encroachment. After Ola & InDrive, Uber, Rapido also pushed off UT roads for six months Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 8 The Chandigarh Administration today suspended the aggregator licences of Uber India Systems Pvt Ltd and Rapido (Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd) for six months with immediate effect. Both platforms have been barred from operating cabs and bike-taxis in the UT till March 2027. With this, all four major cab aggregators operating in the city — Ola, InDrive, Uber and Rapido — now stand suspended. Ola and InDrive were pushed off Chandigarh roads in June and August this year, respectively. Only Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Limited’s Bharat Taxi, India’s first cooperative-led, driver-owned ridehailing platform, remains operational in the city. In separate orders, copies of which are with The Tribune, issued by the State Transport Authority (STA), Secretary Nitish Singla, the Licensing Authority, invoked Rule 17 of the Chandigarh Administration Motor Vehicles Aggregators Rules, 2025, to suspend both companies over persistent non-compliance despite repeated notices and hearings stretching over a year. “Both companies were given sufficient opportunity to comply with provisions relating to driver health and term insurance, training and the notified fare structure, but they wilfully failed to do so despite considerable time having elapsed,” Singla told The Tribune. Uber’s violations According to the order, Uber was first asked to submit a compliance report on July 8, Licences suspended over non-compliance; only Bharat Taxi operational now KEY VIOLATIONS ■ OLA/INDRIVE (ANI TECHNOLOGIES): Non-implementation of Aggregator Policy amid drivers’ unrest ■ UBER INDIA SYSTEMS: No health/term insurance proof, fare violation, overcharging, office found locked, noncommercial vehicles attached ■ RAPIDO (ROPPEN TRANSPORTATION): Inadequate insurance cover, fare violation, office found locked, sought Central rules instead of UT rules ■ ONLY AGGREGATOR CURRENTLY OPERATIONAL: Bharat Taxi (Sahakar Taxi Cooperative Ltd) FILE 48 FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE ~117-CR CSCL FRAUD CASE Nitin Jain CHANDIGARH MAX 36°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 35.4°C | MIN 23.2°C SUNRISE THURSDAY 6:04 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Chock-a-block AIR QUALITY INDEX MAINLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6.35 PM » WEDNESDAY | 9 SEPTEMBER 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST 2025, and issued a showcause notice on October 10 after its response was found unsatisfactory. A committee found Uber’s local office in Sector 47-C non-functional, with the office found c m y b “closed/locked” on three inspection visits in May this year. A letter sent via Speed Post returned “unclaimed”. The order states Uber failed to implement fare rates notified on July 7, 2025, and was found overcharging commuters in violation of Rule 14(iii), which caps aggregator fares at the Administrationfixed rate. Complaints from transport unions on August 24, 27, September 1 and 3, and a fresh complaint from the Chandigarh Cab Driver Union on September 7, flagged a subscription/recharge model being forced on drivers — also a violation of rules. Non-commercial vehicles were found attached to the platform. rules. Complaints from the Tricity Cab Drivers Welfare Association on September 3 flagged the subscription model and overcharging, while non-commercial vehicles were also found attached to the platform. Rapido’s violations Public inconvenience looms Rapido’s order records similar lapses. The company’s insurance cover for bike-taxi captains was found limited to accidental death and injury only, falling short of the coverage mandated under the 2025 Rules. Its Sector 32-D office was also found locked on three visits in May this year. Instead of furnishing a compliance response, the order notes, Rapido sought incorporation of the Centre’s Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines (MVAG), 2025, in place of Chandigarh’s own The suspensions, coming close on the heels of the OlaInDrive ban, are set to squeeze cab availability further in a city already reeling from months of driver unrest over fares and aggregator commissions. With Uber and Rapido accounting for a significant share of daily bookings alongside Ola, commuters dependent on app-based cabs and biketaxis face renewed disruption, with Bharat Taxi left as the only sizeable alternative on the roads.