10112026-CT-01.qxd 11/10/2026 12:33 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune BOLLYWOOD STARS SHARE THEIR DIWALI MOMENTS AMITABH BACHCHAN DROPS BULLETPROOF SHIELD BHUMI PEDNEKAR RAISES POLLUTION CONCERNS Ranbir, Alia, Abhishek and Genelia share glimpses of festive fashion and fun-filled festivities. P4 Amitabh Bachchan stepped out on Sunday for his weekly meeting with fans sans the bulletproof glass. P4 The actor puts up an Instagram post expressing concerns over health risks posed by rising pollution levelsP4 » » Air quality returns to satisfactory levels by 3 am; noise levels remain a concern Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 9 The city recorded an improvement in air quality at several locations this Diwali, with three of the six monitoring stations reporting a lower Air Quality Index (AQI) than last year. Two stations recorded almost unchanged levels, while Sector 25 witnessed an increase in pollution. Increased public awareness, enforcement of restrictions by the Administration and adherence to the prescribed timings for bursting firecrackers appear to have contributed to the improvement. Meanwhile, a member of the Chandigarh Crackers Association said firecrackers worth nearly Rs 5 crore were sold in the city over three days. According to the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) report, Sector 22 recorded the sharpest improvement, with the AQI dropping from 234 last year to 158 this year. Sector 17 also registered a decline from 183 to 170, while IMTECH-39 recorded a marginal improvement from 318 to 310. The AQI at Sector 53 remained unchanged at 304, while PEC-12 recorded 312, also unchanged from last year. However, Sector 25 witnessed an increase from 296 to 326. The administration had permitted the bursting of green crackers only between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali night. While firecracker sounds continued late into the night in Panchkula and Mohali, noise levels in Chandigarh dropped considerably after 10 pm. Air quality began improving after the permitted period for bursting crackers ended. Favourable weather conditions also AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 183 PANCHKULA 155 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 29 and 56, & Dhanas Mohali: Sec 68, 71 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Cong leader joins SAD Chandigarh, November 9 Chandigarh District Court Bar Association president Amarjeet Singh Gujral and his wife Ravinder Kaur Gujral joined the SAD in the presence of party president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday. Gujral is currently a Congress general secretary and member of its campaign committee for the upcoming Municipal Corporation elections. His wife was elected councillor from Ward 23 on Congress ticket in 2016. Gujral said he would contest the MC elections if given the party ticket. — TNS Children celebrate Diwali on the Panjab University campus on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI DIWALI POLLUTION: A FOUR-YEAR COMPARISON (AQI) MONITORING STATION SECTOR 22 IMTECH-39 PEC-12 SECTOR 17 SECTOR 25 SECTOR 53 2023 392 360 301 138 267 453 contributed to the improvement, with the AQI returning to the satisfactory category by 3 am on November 9. None of the monitoring stations recorded pollution levels in the severe category during the period. Green Diwali campaigns in schools, environmental awareness programmes and initiatives to educate children about the harmful effects of firecrackers have also played a role. The CPCC report highlighted growing environmental awareness, particularly among school- 2024 395 306 240 287 341 350 2025 234 318 312 183 296 304 2026 158 310 312 170 326 304 children and young people, as a positive sign of change. However, noise pollution remained a cause for concern. Between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali night, IMTECH-39 recorded the highest noise level of 83.9 decibels, against 74.3 decibels last year. In Sector 22, the noise level increased from 80.7 to 81.3 decibels. Most monitoring stations recorded higher noise levels than last year. However, noise levels declined at most locations after 10 pm. Police receive 203 cracker-related calls Chandigarh, November 9 The Chandigarh Police control room received 494 calls related to Diwali celebrations, with cracker-related complaints accounting for a significant share. Of these, 203 calls pertained to firecrackers, while 34 were related to fire incidents reported from different parts of the city. The 10 pm deadline for bursting crackers was widely flouted. Fireworks continued in several neighbourhoods well past midnight on Diwali. Violations were also reported on Monday. Despite the violations, the police did not take any specific action against those bursting crackers beyond the permitted hours. Only one FIR was registered during the festival. To PU alumnus Tankeshwar appointed Vice-Chancellor Stuti Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 9 After a 103-day interim arrangement, Panjab University (PU) has got a regular Vice-Chancellor. Prof Tankeshwar Kumar, currently Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Haryana, has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the PU for a three-year term. His appointment was announced by the office of the Vice-President of India on Monday. According to a notification issued by the Vice-President’s Secretariat, the appointment has been made by the PU Chancellor under Section 10 of the Panjab University Act, 1947. His tenure will begin from the date he assumes charge. Registrar YP Verma said the selection board had held meetings on July 3 and 4, following which the matter remained pending with the office of the Vice-President. The board was constituted by the Vice-President in his capacity as PU Chancellor. It comprised three women members — Lt Gen (retd) Madhuri Kanitkar, ViceChancellor of Maharashtra Prof Tankeshwar Kumar University of Health Sciences, Nashik; Prof Shashikala Wanjari, ViceChancellor of the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), New Delhi; and Prof Vibha Tandon, Director of CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata. Prof Kumar completed his BSc in 1983, MSc in Physics in 1985 and PhD in 1990 from PU. He subsequently joined its Department of Physics as a lecturer in 1995 and became a reader in 1999. He also served as Director of the department and the Abdul Kalam Computer Centre. An academic specialising in condensed matter physics and nanotechnology, Prof Kumar has extensive experience in university administration. He served as Vice-Chancellor of Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology (GJUST), Hisar, from 2015 to 2021 before taking charge of the Central University of Haryana in July 2021. He has also held administrative responsibilities at Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani, and Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University, Murthal. His academic contributions include more than 170 research publications and the supervision of several doctoral scholars. Before joining PU as a lecturer, he taught at Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, from 1993 to 1995. He also worked as a CSIR Research Associate at PU from 1992 to 1993 and was a postdoctoral fellow at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP), Trieste, Italy, from 1991 to 1992. PU spokesperson Vineet Punia said six candidates were shortlisted for the post, out of whom Prof Kumar was selected. The appointment comes after the university functioned under interim Vice-Chancellor Prof Meenakshi Goyal, who assumed charge on July 29 following the completion of Prof Renu Cheema Vig’s extended tenure on July 28. c m y b maintain law and order on Diwali night, the police had deployed more than 800 personnel across the city. A police official said the priority was to ensure public safety and prevent mishaps. The emphasis, therefore, remained on maintaining law and order rather than taking penal action for violations. The only enforcement action reported during the festival came from Sector 26, where Mohammad Mukeem (56), a resident of Phase 2, Bapu Dham Colony, was arrested near his house on Diwali. The police said illegal firecrackers or explosive material were allegedly recovered from his possession during a search. — TNS MAX 31°C | MIN 15°C YESTERDAY MAX 31.4°C | MIN 14.6°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 6.43 AM /THETRIBUNECHD City breathes easier this Diwali, AQI improves at 3 of 6 stations GENERALLY CLOUDY SUNSET TUESDAY 5.29 PM » TUESDAY | 10 NOVEMBER 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Bystanders account for 74% of eye injury patients reporting at PGI Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 9 Bystanders bore the brunt of firecracker-related eye injuries on Diwali, accounting for nearly 74 per cent of patients who reported to the Advanced Eye Centre, PGIMER. Of the 27 patients who visited the centre on November 8, 23 were men and four women. Nine were children, including two aged just six years. While 20 sustained injuries as they watched fireworks, only seven were injured while bursting crackers themselves. Nine patients were from Haryana, seven from Punjab and six from Chandigarh. The remaining patients belonged to neighbouring states. Bombs caused the highest number of injuries, accounting for 10 cases, followed by sky shots (four) and rockets (three). “Phuljhari”, wax lantern candles and potash guns accounted for one case each. Fifteen patients required surgical intervention. Anticipating a surge in emergencies, the Advanced Eye People burst firecrackers on Diwali. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Centre had deployed a dedicated team of doctors, nursing staff and other healthcare personnel on round-the-clock duty from 8 am on November 8 to 8 am on November 11. Meanwhile, the Department of Plastic Surgery received seven patients with firecracker-related injuries. According to Dr Atul Parashar, Professor and Head of the department, four patients suffered hand injuries after firecrackers burst in their hands. Three underwent surgery at the Advanced Trauma Centre, while the fourth required dressings. 29 FIRE CALLS RECEIVED CHANDIGARH: The fire and rescue services received 29 fire, rescue and other emergency calls on Diwali night. No casualties or injuries were reported, while the average response time of firefighting vehicles was 4.34 minutes. Most incidents involved minor fires in garbage heaps, dry grass and waste materials. In an unusual rescue operation, firefighters also rescued a cat. TNS The cars gutted in a fire at Auto Focus Detailing Studio in Sector 117, Kharar. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Firecracker sales in Kurali market touch ~100 crore A dream come 17 cars gutted in Sector 117 garage fire while, Seventeen cars parked true: New VC Tribune News Service at a garage in Sector 117 were Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 9 The appointment of Prof Tankeshwar Kumar as PU Vice-Chancellor comes at a significant time, with the university having recently elected a new governing body of the Senate. Prof Kumar was also a member of the Senate from 2000 to 2006. “It’s a dream come true for me. This university is a place of worship for me,” Kumar told The Tribune. “I will devote myself to two main objectives. The foremost is students’ welfare and bringing the university among the top 10 educational institutions in the country. The second is to strengthen the university’s academic research,” he said. Sources said Prof Kumar was also a frontrunner for the post of PU Vice-Chancellor in 2023, before Prof Renu Vig was appointed to the position. Asked about this, Kumar said, “I am not aware of any such developments in the past. I am happy to have been appointed and express my gratitude to the Vice-President of India and Chancellor of Panjab University, CP Radhakrishnan. I will put all my administrative experience to use for the development and betterment of the university.” Mohali, November 9 Firecracker sales in Kurali are estimated to have crossed the Rs 100-crore mark this Diwali season, with wholesale dealers and stockists reporting brisk business over the past week. Though no official figures are available for the largely unorganised trade, market players estimate that sales have crossed Rs 100 crore. Kurali has 42 permanent firecracker licence holders, while eight temporary licences are issued through a draw of lots ahead of Diwali. However, nearly 200 stalls are set up along the Kharar-Kurali bypass on the national highway and the Kharar-Morinda road. “An average customer spends about Rs 5,000, while some youngsters spend as much as Rs 10,000. A rough estimate puts the seasonal sales at Rs 100 crore. The actual figure could be higher,” said a stockist who runs a shop in the main market, Kurali. Suresh Aggarwal, proprietor of Punjab Fireworks, Kurali, said compiling the total sales figures was difficult. “Individually, it takes about a week to compile the sales figures. There is no mechanism to assess the total sales during this period,” he said. Kurali was once among the biggest 41 fire incidents in Mohali dist Mohali, November 9 The Fire Department received 41 reports of fire across Mohali district during Diwali celebrations. Of these, five incidents caused significant damage to property. However, no loss of life was reported, said Fire Officer Lakhwinder Singh. Mohali city recorded the highest number of incidents at 15, followed by Kharar with 10, while Zirakpur and Dera Bassi reported eight incidents each. Most of the fires involved dry grass, bushes and garbage heaps in vacant plots. Fire Department teams rushed to the spots and brought the blaze under control. In Baltana cracker stalls caught fire after a “rocket” landed in one of the shops. In Kharar, a burning firecracker fell on the battery of a mobile tower, triggering a fire. — TNS wholesale firecracker markets in North India, with licence holders transporting stocks in bulk from southern states, particularly Tamil Nadu. Mean- gutted in a fire on Diwali night. The police are also probing the possibility of foul play. The fire broke out at The Auto Focus Detailing Studio, a facility made of tin sheds, around 8 pm. Fire tenders rushed to the spot and launched firefighting operations, primarily to prevent the flames from spreading. However, most of the vehicles had already caught fire by the time the firefighters arrived. Sources said car owners and garage operators were being questioned as part of the investigation to rule out foul play. In another incident, case properties kept at the Operation Cell office in Phase 7 were damaged in a fire on Diwali night. An SUV parked outside a house in Phase 2 was also gutted after fireworks fell on it. 27 suffer burns As many as 27 burn-related cases were reported at the Phase 6 Civil Hospital, Mohali. Of these, 10 involved eye injuries and complaints of burning sensation. A 10-year-old boy sustained burn injuries and was referred to the PGI for further treatment. Doctors said most patients were discharged after receiving treatment.