14012026-CT-01.qxd 14-01-2026 00:21 Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune NO PHYSICAL CLASSES AT UT SCHOOLS TILL JANUARY 17 DELHI, INDORE TEAMS TO CLASH IN TT MEET FINAL SUNIEL SHETTY TO HOST SHOW BHARAT KE SUPER FOUNDERS Education Department announces revised school timings in view of persistent foggy weather. P3 Delhi team trounce Chennai to march into final of the All-India Civil Services Table Tennis meet. P3 Bharat Ke Super Foundersshow brings together business tycoons to back India’s next wave of entrepreneurs. P4 » » CHANDIGARH 289 PANCHKULA 280 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH EXHIBITION: by Lalit Kala Akademi and Parindon Ki Udaan Society, featuring contemporary artworks by 30 talented artists from across India; Sector 16-17 underpass: 10 am to 8 pm APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 15, 40, 46 Panchkula: Sector 25 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 10 am to 2 pm: Parts of Sectors 52, 61 & Kajheri village Green light for Zirakpur bypass MAX 14°C | MIN 5°C YESTERDAY MAX 15.2°C | MIN 2.8°C SUNRISE THURSDAY 7.20 AM /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Lohri warmth beats chill TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Environment Ministry grants final approval to ~1,878-cr project THE TRIBUNE SPECIAL TIMELINE ■ Project conceptualised: Nitin Jain Over a decade ago acquisition completed: 2020 ■ CCEA approval: April 9, 2025 ■ Fresh tenders floated: June 2025 ■ Stage-1 forest clearance: July 31, 2025 ■ Bid deadlines extended:6 times ■ Stage-2 forest clearance: Granted by the Union Ministry’s office in Chandigarh ■ Technical bids opening: January 16, 2026 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 13 Ending months of bureaucratic logjam, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has granted final Stage-2 forest clearance to the much-delayed Rs 1,878crore Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass, paving the way for award of work of the Tricity’s most critical road-decongestion project. The final approval has been issued by the ministry’s Integrated Regional Office (IRO), Chandigarh, following a formal consent by the Punjab Forests Minister on the recommendation of the Forests Secretary, who cleared the file after it remained pending at the state level for weeks. The project had remained stuck in red tape for over nine months after receiving a green light from the Prime Ministerled Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), forcing the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to repeatedly postpone the bidding process despite completing all statutory requirements. With the Stage-2 clearance now in hand, the NHAI will proceed with the opening of technical bids later this month and the award of work ■ Land MAP NOT TO SCALE AIR QUALITY INDEX MOSTLY CLOUDY SUNSET WEDNESDAY 5.44 PM » WEDNESDAY | 14 JANUARY 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST TO DECONGEST TRICITY: GADKARI ❝The Zirakpur-Panchkula bypass is a vital infrastructure project that will significantly decongest the Tricity, improve road safety and cut travel time for commuters and freight. Projects like this reflect our continued focus on strengthening road transport infrastructure to support economic growth and improve the quality of life of citizens. ❞ — NITIN GADKARI, UNION MINISTER OF ROAD TRANSPORT & HIGHWAYS by next month. The last date for submission of bids was extended six times since fresh tenders were floated in June following the CCEA approval in April. Senior officials confirmed that the final forest clearance has been granted for the diversion of 17.57 hectares of forest land for construction of the six- lane bypass under the Hybrid Annuity Mode. The approval has been accorded subject to compliance with the stipulated environmental and forest conservation conditions, including implementation of compensatory afforestation, payment of statutory levies, protection of adjoining forest areas, and adherence to c m y b PROJECT DOSSIER ~1,878.31 crore 19.2 km (6.195 km elevated) Configuration Six-lane Mode Hybrid Annuity Mode (HAM) Forest land 17.57 hectares diverted Land Completed in acquisition 2020 Cost Length approved mitigation measures during construction. The final clearance became possible after the Punjab Forests Minister accorded a formal approval to the proposal, acting on the recommendation of the Forests Secretary. The file was thereafter forwarded to the IRO, Chandigarh, which continued on page 2 MC employees celebrate Lohri at the Sector 17 office in Chandigarh on Tuesday. PAGE 2 UT logs lowest temperature in 9 yrs Mercury drops to 2.8°C, city still colder than Shimla Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 13 Chandigarh shivered through its coldest night in nine years on Monday, recording a minimum temperature of 2.8 degrees Celsius, plunging well below Shimla’s 6.6 degrees Celsius minimum and 14.6 degrees Celsius maximum. Dense to very dense fog blanketed the Tricity region with ground frost, mist and haze gripping the area amid a severe cold wave, even as the sun peeked briefly on Tuesday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin confirms Chandigarh’s maximum reached 15.2 degrees Celsius, with minimum relative humidity at 65 per cent and maximum at 94 per cent. A weather official noted Chandigarh’s prior lows were 2.4 degrees on January 11, 2017, and 2.1 degrees on January 24, 2016, marking Monday night’s reading as the season’s harshest. An orange alert warns of dense to very dense fog and cold to severe cold wave across the region on Wednesday, followed by a yellow alert for dense fog over the next five days. Tricity forecasts continued on page 2