16042025-CT-01.qxd 4/16/2025 12:51 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune FACING OPPOSITION, UT SET TO ALTER GREEN CORRIDOR FORTNIGHT ON, PU STUDENTS CALL OFF HUNGER STRIKE SIMARAN DOES NOT MIND INDULGING IN A SLICE OF CAKE Halted 4 months ago, the work on the green corridor along the N-Choe is likely to resume soon. P3 A panel formed by PU students was demanding justice for Aditya Thakur, who was stabbed to death. P3 Simaran Kaur does not mind indulging in slice of chocolate cake, but makes it up with an extra hour in gym. P4 » » PARTLY CLOUDY SKY MAX 37°C | MIN 24°C YESTERDAY MAX 35.9°C | MIN 23.9°C SUNSET WEDNESDAY 6:50 PM SUNRISE THURSDAY 5:54 AM » WEDNESDAY | 16 APRIL 2025 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE water wastage BJP councillors call UT Admn Drive againstmercury soars rolled out as ‘undemocratic’, mull quitting Eight violators challaned on Day 1, 180 get notices WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH Exhibition of portraits on sarees: “Women of Urban India” by Olympe Ramakrishna, Alliance Française, Sector 36, from April 18 to 28 Bengali New Year: Bangiya Sanskritik Sammilani to celebrate ‘Pohela Boishak’ at Banga Bhawan, Sector 35-C, April 16, 7 pm APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 and 52 Panchkula: Sector 25 Mohali: Phase 11 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com Slam it for ‘unilateral’ decisions, failure to bail out cash-hit MC Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 15 The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillors have opened a front against the UT Administration over financial crunch plaguing the Municipal Corporation (MC) as well as its “indifference” towards public representatives. Taking a firm stand over the issue of financial crunch, the councillors today weighed options, including submitting a collective resignation to the Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator against what they called as the “undemocratic attitude” of the Administration. The main grievance of the BJP councillors was the city’s development works having come to a standstill due to the unavailability of funds. They criticised the Administration for not diverting more funds to help the civic body. The meeting of councillors was held at the BJP office in Sector 33 under the chairmanship of Jatinder Pal Malhotra, president of the party’s local unit. A majority of the 16 BJP councillors, including May- A meeting of BJP councillors underway at the party office in Sector 33, Chandigarh, on Tuesday. MALHOTRA CHAIRS MEETING ■ A meeting of councillors under chairmanship of Jatinder Pal Malhotra, president of the city BJP, was held at the party office in Sector 33.A majority of the 16 BJP councillors, including Mayor, attended the meeting ■ Their main grievance was the city’s development works having come to a halt for want of funds. or Harpreet Kaur Babla, attended the meeting. One of the councillors who attended the meeting said the condition of roads, footpaths, markets and parks of the city had been deteriorating by the day. They were of the view that if the financial crisis continued longer, they would be unable CIVIC WORKS BADLY HIT ❝ The condition of roads, footpaths, markets and parks of the city has been deteriorating by the day. ❞ — A BJP councillor who attended the meeting to face the electorate. “Renovation of community centres, maintenance of public toilets, all have been badly affected,” said Malhotra, while noting that there was no point of having elected representatives if their voices were not heard. The councillors were also vexed at the steep hike in the collector’s rates and the property tax, calling it as “unjustified”, “one-sided” and “undemocratic” decision-making of the Administration. Another councillor who attended the meeting said the Administration had been taking decisions unilaterally, ignoring the sentiments of the elected representatives. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 15 With the mercury soaring, the Municipal Corporation (MC) on Tuesday launched a drive to curb the wastage of potable water following reports of water shortage pouring in from different parts of the city. It served notices on 180 violators and issued challans to eight. Under the annual drive, which is undertaken from April 15 to June 30, watering of lawns, courtyards, washing of cars and other vehicles using hosepipe invites a challan with a fine of Rs 5,788 while notices are issued in case tanks, taps, water meters or water coolers are found leaking by MC teams. Following the orders of MC Commissioner Amit Kumar, the civic body officials have started checking misuse of potable water in the city during the morning hours (from 5.30 am to 8.30 am). Several violators were found misusing drinking water at their houses on the first day of the drive. Most of them were washing their cars and courtyards. MC teams also clicked pictures and made videos of the violations as a documentary evidence. Continued on Page 2 A violator caught by an MC team at Sector 46 in Chandigarh. MC to replace faulty water meters, charge consumers Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 15 The UT Administration has allowed the Municipal Corporation (MC) to replace defective water meters on its own and recover the cost from the respective consumers. Now, the residents have been given one month to replace the defective water meters on their own, failing which the MC will do it and recover the cost from them. Besides, the civic body will also impose penal charges on such consumers as per the provisions of the water bylaws. Sources said a large number of water meters in the city had been lying defective for years. This was causing harassment to the consumers, and huge financial loss to the civic body. An MC official said if the meter was defective, the consumer would be charged for water at the flat rate, irrespective of the consumption. Continued on Page 2 POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 10 am to 2 pm: Parts of Sectors 7, 18, 19, 21, 22, 31, 35, 39, 42, 44, Mani Majra (duplex houses at Gobindpura, MHC flats), Ashadeep Building, NCC Building, Daria village, railway station and Mauli Jagran Complex-II (EWS houses) Punjab Kings’ Knight out UT cop awarded four-year jail for ~5K graft INBRIEF MAN FOUND DEAD ON RAILWAY TRACK Zirakpur: A Peer Muchhala resident, Vikas Jain (41), was found dead near the Dhakoli railway gate on Kalka-Ambala track on Monday around 11.30 pm. He was carrying a mobile phone and some cash. Railways officials said it appeared to be an accident case. The victim’s vehicle was found nearby. The Government Railway Police has started investigating the matter. TNS PAY ONLINE AT OFFICE OF SUB-REGISTRAR Chandigarh: To bring in transparency, the UT Administration has decided to accept only online payment for various services at the Office of Sub-Registrar. In a press release, the Administration stated that all types of fee payable under the Registration Act, 1908, would be accepted only through online mode. Payments have to be made via Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited on its web portal http://www.shcilestamp.com. TNS COP SHIFTED OVER ‘HARASSMENT’ Chandigarh: Naveen Antil, the in-charge of Burail police post, was sent to the Police Lines following a workplace harassment complaint filed by a woman constable. The constable had approached SSP Kanwardeep Kaur with a written complaint, alleging persistent inappropriate behaviour by Antil, despite repeated objections. Acting promptly on the complaint, the SSP ordered a departmental inquiry against Antil and sent him to the Police Lines. TNS Spectators during the IPL match between Punjab Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA International Cricket Stadium at New Chandigarh on Tuesday; and (right) Kings franchisee co-owner Preity Zinta throws team T-shirts at spectators during the match. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: RAVI KUMAR Landowners near Mullanpur stadium cash in on IPL craze Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Mohali, April 15 “If an opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door”. This has been the mantra for those who own land in the vicinity of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh (previously known as Mullanpur) where Indian Premier League (IPL) matches are being played this summer. While the vacant land surrounding the stadium has failed to attract investors, owners have begun to make a quick buck by converting the space into temporary parking lots. Notably, the home team had earlier this month announced paid parking for fans — Rs 200 for a fourwheeler and Rs 100 for a two- Turn vacant swathes into parking lots to make a quick buck A worker directs a vehicle towards a private parking lot near Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA International Cricket Stadium at New Chandigarh on Tuesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: DEEPANKAR SHARDA wheeler. Three general public parking lots (P4, P5 and P6) were developed for the purpose. However, the land owners are cashing in on the high footfall. Posters and employees ‘handing out’ directions to private parking lots are now a common sight near the c m y b stadium. The parking fee ranges from Rs 250 to Rs 350 based on the distance from the venue. The stadium, which can accommodate around 38,000 spectators, has parking space for a certain number of vehicles. Due to security concerns, no vehicle is allowed to reach the venue barring the ones receiving a clearance from the PCA or the Punjab Police. In order to accommodate the rush, the organisers have leased out nearby fields and converted them into parking lots. “The closer you go to the stadium, the more expensive the parking fee will be. We have the best space available, and after the match you won’t even get stuck in a traffic jam,” said an employee guiding the vehicles off the main road towards a private parking lot. Such lots came up on both sides of the road leading to the stadium today. “It’s better to park a vehi- cle a little far from the stadium and walk towards the arena. It’s an easy way to avoid snarl-ups after the match. In addition, it’s cheap in comparison to the fee charged at parking lots near the stadium,” said Ankush Aggarwal, a spectator. Last year, when the stadium hosted IPL matches for the first time, the spectators had a tough time parking their vehicles and reaching the venue. “Parking of vehicles is still a huge concern here. The parking lots are uneven and poorly maintained. Though lights have been installed to help the parking users at night, the uneven surface is a matter of concern. Also, after the match, no employee stays back to manage the rush of vehicles,” said Gaurav Singh, another spectator. Chandigarh, April 15 A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court here has sentenced Head Constable Raj Kumar of the UT Police to undergo four years of rigorous imprisonment in a corruption case registered against him eight years ago. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict. The CBI had arrested the accused cop in January 2017 while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 from the complainant, Anil Kumar, a resident of Ram Darbar. The agency had claimed that the cop, who was then posted in the Sector 31 police station, was demanding the bribe from the complainant to let him off in an assault case. The CBI had claimed that the police had received a complaint of assault against Anil Kumar. The complaint was filed by a woman of his locality. The accused cop was tasked with the investigation into the complaint following which he visited the complainant’s house and met his father. Later, when the complainant visited the police station, the cop demanded Rs 20,000 in order to let him off in the case. The CBI claimed that since the complainant did not want to give the bribe, he approached the agency. Acting swiftly, the CBI sleuths laid a trap and arrested Raj Kumar while he was allegedly accepting the bribe of Rs 5,000. The counsel for the accused argued that the accused was falsely implicated, while Narender Singh, the public prosecutor, claimed that the prosecution had proved the case beyond a shadow of doubt. After hearing the arguments from both the sides, the court held the accused guilty and pronounced the quantum of punishment. — TNS