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P4 » » CHANDIGARH 37 PANCHKULA 33 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 43 & 45 Mohali: Sectors 70, 78 & Phase 5 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 9.30 am to 1 pm: Parts of Sectors 20, 46 10 am to 2 pm: Motor Market, Main Bazar, Janta Rehri Market, Nagla Mohalla and Pocket No. 1 in Manimajra 11 am to 3 pm: Buterla village Crackdown on illegal vending; 55 rehris impounded Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 9 The Municipal Corporation (MC) today intensified its enforcement drive against illegal vending and encroachments at various locations across the city. The drive was conducted in Sectors 27, 26 (area around mandi), 30 and Nayagaon barrier, targeting unauthorised vendors and illegal occupation of public spaces. During the drive, enforcement teams impounded 55 rehris and issued challans to violators. The action was aimed at ensuring that public spaces, roads and pedestrian areas remained free from unauthorised vending and encroachments. The Municipal Corporation reiterated that such enforcement drives would continue regularly to maintain cleanliness, regulate vending and ensure the smooth movement of pedestrians and traffic. Chandigarh, August 9 Census and government data bear out the administrative imbalance flagged by Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari after the Centre’s admission in the Lok Sabha that the UT has more IAS and IPS officers posted than the sanctioned strength. Chandigarh, spread over just 114 sq km, is administered by 12 IAS and nine IPS officers, according to the Union Home Ministry’s reply tabled on Tuesday. By contrast, Mohali district, which extends over roughly 1,098 sq km, nearly 10 times the area of Chandigarh, is run by a single Deputy Commissioner and a single SSP as its overall administrative and police heads. Panchkula district, spanning 898 sq km, about eight times Chandigarh’s area, has an identical single-DC, single-Commissioner of Police (CP) structure. Pop- FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Domestic LPG consumption in UT higher than nat’l average Over 21,000 new consumers registered in city in four years Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 9 The number of domestic LPG consumers in Chandigarh continues to rise steadily, with the city now having more than three lakh household connections. According to data recently shared by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in Parliament, Chandigarh had 2,86,442 domestic LPG consumers as of April 1, 2022. The number rose to 3,08,020 as of April 1, 2026, registering an addition of 21,578 consumers over four years, or a growth of nearly 7.5 per cent. The data also indicates that LPG consumption per household in Chandigarh is significantly higher than the national average. During 2025-26, beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in Chandigarh consumed an average of 7.2 LPG cylinders, compared to the national average of 4.8 cylinders. Similarly, non-PMUY domestic consumers in Chandigarh recorded an average annual consumption of 9.6 cylinders, considerably higher than the national average of 6.8 cylinders. The DOMESTIC LPG CONSUMERS Chandigarh Punjab Haryana Delhi Himachal Pradesh 3,08,020 91,60,891 74,75,277 51,53,568 21,14,690 ONLY 20% PNG TARGET ACHIEVED IN CITY Despite the aggressive campaign launched by the UT Administration to encourage households to switch from LPG to PNG, the city has so far achieved only 20 per cent of its target. figures highlight the continued dependence of households in the city on LPG as a primary cooking fuel despite the expansion of piped natural gas (PNG) infrastructure. Among neighbouring states and Union Territories, Punjab had 91,60,891 domestic LPG consumers, while Haryana recorded 74,75,277. Delhi had 51,53,568 domestic LPG consumers, whereas Himachal Pradesh had 21,14,690. Despite the aggressive campaign launched by the UT Administration to encourage households to switch from LPG to PNG, the city has so far achieved only 20 per cent of its target. According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, the city had 34,175 domestic PNG connections as of May 31, 2026, against a minimum work programme (MWP) target of 1.75 lakh connections within a 90-day period beginning at the end of March. Efforts to bring the city under the PNG network gained momentum after gas supply was disrupted due to the West Asia conflict. Indian Oil-Adani Gas Pvt Ltd (IOAGPL), which introduced PNG in the city in 2016, has laid pipeline infrastructure across several areas, including Sectors 32-38, 40-51, the Industrial Area, Phases I and II, and Manimajra, covering roughly 30 per cent of the city. The UT Administration has launched a multi-pronged strategy, including door-todoor awareness campaigns, registration camps in group housing societies and coordination with resident welfare associations (RWAs). Officials of the Food and Supplies Department have been directed to hold camps daily in housing societies to facilitate on-the-spot registrations and address consumers’ concerns. Some of the advantages of switching from LPG to PNG include convenience and uninterrupted supply through a pipeline network, eliminating the need for cylinder booking and refilling. Teej fervour Women celebrate Teej at Community Centre, Sector 35, Chandigarh, on Sunday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY A web of electricity wires hangs dangerously low on the Church road in Nayagaon. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: VICKY Nayagaon residents blame power utility for girl’s death Say PSPCL must provide relief to victim Mansi’s family Gaurav Kanthwal Tribune News Service Mohali, August 9 A day after an eight-year-old girl was electrocuted in the Nayagaon area on Saturday morning, the police registered a case of unnatural death and initiated proceedings under Section 194 of the BNSS. Officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL), meanwhile, got illegal connections removed from a transformer in Baba Balak Nath Colony. Residents criticised the PSPCL and held it responsible for the death of the child, alleging that its negligence had exposed residents to serious risks. It has come to light that the low-hanging wires that caused the incident were part of illegal direct-hookup connections from the transformer. Nayagaon councillor Makhan Singh said, “PSPCL officials should have been held responsible for the death of the child. Electricity wires are hanging loosely in almost every street here.” Advocate Ravneet Singh said, “There is no accountability of PSPCL officials here. The administration has given them a free hand. They do not move an inch here without a bribe.” Eight-year-old Mansi, the eldest of four children of construction labourer Ravinder, died after coming into contact with low-hanging electricity wires around 9 am on Saturday. She died on the spot, while three others accompanying her had a narrow escape. Irate residents and councillors said the victim’s family Chandigarh’s officer count dwarfs Mohali, Panchkula's Tribune News Service MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 36°C | MIN 25°C SUNRISE TUESDAY 5.47 AM /THETRIBUNECHD FILE AIR QUALITY INDEX PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET MONDAY 7.09 PM » MONDAY | 10 AUGUST 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST ulation figures tell a similar story. Chandigarh’s population stood at 10.55 lakh in the 2011 Census, with unofficial estimates putting it well past 12-14 lakh today. Mohali district’s population was 9.95 lakh in 2011, projected to have crossed 15 lakh by recent estimates, while Panchkula district’s population was 5.61 lakh in 2011, with unofficial estimates putting it around 910 lakh today. LAYERED COMMAND STRUCTURE Unlike Mohali and Panchkula, which fall under Punjab and Haryana’s standard district administration, respectively, Chandigarh’s governance as a Union Territory, which serves as the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, is layered under the AGMUT (Arunachal PradeshGoa-Mizoram-Union Territories) cadre. The Punjab Governor serves concurrently as the UT’s Administrator, a Chief Sec- City MP Manish Tewari had flagged administrative imbalance THE COMPARISON Area Population (2011 Census) IAS/IPS officers posted Police head Administrative CHANDIGARH 114 sq km 10.55 lakh MOHALI 1,098 sq km 9.95 lakh PANCHKULA 898 sq km 5.61 lakh 12 IAS, 9 IPS 1 DC* 1 DC* 1 DGP Governor of Punjab (Administrator) 1 SSP Deputy Commissioner 1 CP Deputy Commissioner *overall charge retary functions as the de facto executive head, a DGP as the police head, and separate secretaries oversee Home, Finance and other departments — a structure that differs from that of the two adjoining districts. The Home Ministry, in its reply, did not offer a comparative rationale, stating only that staffing was “determined based on functional requirements” and was “a dynamic process,” while ruling out any review of the cadre strength for now. LONG HISTORY OF CADRE DISPUTES The Centre’s stance is consistent with a pattern stretching back decades. The Chandigarh Administration has periodically been rocked by disputes c m y b over how posts are divided among the Punjab, Haryana and AGMUT (joint cadre for All-India Services officers) cadres — under a 60:40 PunjabHaryana formula laid down by the Ministry of Home Affairs in November 1996, pursuant to the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966. But these have centred on the composition of postings, not on reducing the overall officer count. In several such episodes, the AGMUT cadre’s presence among IAS officers in the UT Administration rose sharply even though only two AGMUT posts were formally sanctioned here, prompting Punjab’s then Chief Ministers Parkash Singh Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh to raise concerns that the state’s 60 per cent share was being eroded. The response at the time was an audit of the ratio — not a review of whether Chandigarh needed as many senior officers overall. At presently, 14 of the total 21, comprising seven of 12 IAS and seven of nine IPS officers posted in Chandigarh are from the AGMUT cadre with only five IAS (three from Punjab and two from Haryana) and 2 IPS (one each from Punjab and Haryana) working on deputation here. Successive UT Advisers (now Chief Secretary) have also had to publicly appeal to officers to set aside their parent-cadre loyalties and function as one administration. Tuesday’s reply in the Lok Sabha follows the same template: the Home Ministry acknowledged the numbers exceed sanctioned strength but stopped short of committing to any structural review. It leaves Tewari’s core question — why a 114 sq km city needs a bureaucracy this size — formally unanswered. A transformer installed barely two feet above the ground in Adarsh Colony, Nayagaon. was from a very humble background. “The least the PSPCL and the administration could have done was provide compensation, but that too has not been done,” they said. A visit by Chandigarh Tribune found several such safety hazards in crowded localities of Nayagaon, where small children and residents face serious risks on a daily basis. On the Church road, a web of electricity wires from a transformer hangs dangerously low, putting commuters and residents at risk. A glaring example of the PSPCL’s alleged poor handling of its infrastructure is a transformer installed barely two feet above the ground on a narrow street in Adarsh Colony. Children playing in the street are exposed to serious danger. “During the summer and monsoon seasons, sparking and minor blasts happen here frequently,” said an eld- erly resident living nearby. At Janta Colony, one of the most densely populated localities in Nayagaon, an overhead wire mesh hanging across a street is also inviting trouble, particularly during the rainy season. Nayagaon MC vice-president Taranjit Kaur said, “The administration must ensure the safety of residents here.” This is the second death of a migrant labourer’s child allegedly due to negligence by authorities in the Kharar area. Virat, son of a migrant labourer, drowned after falling into a rainwater-filled pit near a park under construction in Badhmajra on July 31. Kharar SDM Gurmit Singh said, “The body has been handed over to the kin after postmortem. The family had come here from Bihar in search of a livelihood a few days ago. A vehicle has been arranged for them to take the body for cremation, along with some financial assistance. PSPCL officials have been directed to immediately process their case for compensation. I have also directed officials to conduct a survey of illegal connections and take appropriate action.” Ground reality belies PSPCL claim In a PIL recently filed in the HC regarding loose wires over the Khuda Ali Sher–Shivalik Vihar road, the PSPCL had submitted that a survey of Nayagaon had been conducted and all loose-hanging wires on the Shivalik Vihar road had been properly fixed. Three days after attack, school headmaster succumbs to injuries Tribune News Service Mohali, August 9 Gursevak Singh (48), headmaster of a government school in Kumbhra, succumbed to stab injuries at a Mohali hospital on Sunday morning, three days after he was attacked outside his home in Sunny Enclave, Kharar. Unidentified assailants, who were in a white car, attacked Gursevak with sharp weapons. He was admitted to a hospital in Mohali, where he died early Sunday morning. His death has sent shockwaves through teaching community. Meanwhile, the police have launched an investigation and are examining footage from CCTV cam- eras installed in the area to identify the assailants. Gursevak’s wife is also a teacher, while their 16year-old son is a Class XI student. According to the victim’s acquaintances, he had also been attacked in Sector 71 a month ago. The assailants in that incident, too, remained unidentified. The police are investigating whether there is a connection between the two attacks on Gursevak. A murder case has been registered at the Kharar City police station. No arrest has been made so far. Meanwhile, former Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said the police had failed to maintain law and order in Mohali.