18082026-CT-01.qxd 8/18/2026 12:34 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune INCOMPLETE PAVER BLOCK WORK IRKS RESIDENTS GOLFERS VIRK, TOOR LIFT INDEPENDENCE DAY CUP PARVIN DABAS IS BACK WITH KHOSLA KA GHOSLA 2 Incomplete work is not only ruining the aesthetics of the city, but also inconveniencing residents. P3 Maj RS Virk (retd) and Ravisher Singh Toor defeat Darvesh Kumar and Sanjay Talwar. P3 Dabas returns as Cherry, revisiting a much-loved character & reuniting with the original cast. P4 » » THE TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE Tribune News Service Artistes stage “Vibhajan Vibhishika: Tamas”, based on the novel by Bhisham Sahni, with theatrical adaptation by Asif Ali Haidar, during a theatre festival at Tagore Theatre on Monday. The play was presented by the National School of Drama. TRIBUNE PHOTO: PARDEEP TEWARI 35 PANCHKULA 38 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 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 Kin of rape victim, villagers block national highway at Lalru, seek arrest of accused Tribune News Service Mohali, August 17 Traffic on the Chandigarh-Delhi National Highway was disrupted at Lalru for nearly three hours on Monday after the family of an alleged rape victim, along with village residents and Dalit leaders, blocked the road demanding the arrest of the main accused. The protesters alleged police inaction in the case and accused the authorities of failing to arrest a medical practitioner from Khajoor Mandi, who has been accused of rape, threats and forcing the young woman to undergo an abortion. The protesters also staged a Protesters block the national highway near the Lalru police station. sit-in on the main road outside the Lalru police station, demanding immediate action. The blockade resulted in long queues of vehicles on both sides of the highway. On the basis of the victim’s statement, the police registered a case against a man and a woman under Sections 75, 64, 90, 91, 351, 238 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The victim’s family alleged that although the case had been registered some time ago and a woman accused of facilitating the alleged abortion had been arrested, the main BJP issues notice to councillor for demanding party chief’s resignation Yellow alert for heavy rain today Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 17 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rain at isolated places on Tuesday. Several parts of the city experienced showers on Monday evening. Chandigarh’s maximum temperature fell to 34.6°C, down 1.6 degrees from the previous day. The minimum temperature declined to 24°C, also 1.6 degrees below the previous day’s level. Relative humidity ranged from 68% to 97%. The IMD’s five-day forecast for the Tricity indicates rain and thunderstorms on Tuesday, with maximum temperature around 33°C and minimum around 25°C. Rainfall activity is expected to continue thereafter, with temperatures rising gradually to 34°C by Thursday and remaining around that level through Saturday. The city’s seasonal rainfall since June 1 stood at 452.7 mm till 8.30 am, with the IMD putting the rainfall deficit at 26.4%. Local residents raise health concerns near the waste processing plant at Jagatpura. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY Residents demand closure of Jagatpura waste plant Mohali, August 17 Residents of Phase 11, Sector 48, Industrial Area, Phase 9, and surrounding villages held a meeting on Monday to raise concerns over pollution and alleged health hazards caused by the waste processing plant at Jagatpura. The residents claimed that nearly two lakh people in Phase 11, Sector 48, Industrial Area and adjoining villages, including Jagatpura, Kambali, Dharamgarh, Kambala and Rurka, were facing breathing problems due to the foul smell emanating from the plant. Demanding its permanent closure, the residents announced that if the plant was not shut down by September 7, they would block garbage trucks headed FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Suspend transfer of UT heritage items sold in US, UNESCO tells auction firm Nitin Jain CHANDIGARH MAX 33°C | MIN 25°C YESTERDAY MAX 34.6°C | MIN 24°C SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 5.52 AM /THETRIBUNECHD Reliving Partition AIR QUALITY INDEX PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET TUESDAY 7.01 PM » TUESDAY | 18 AUGUST 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST towards the facility. They said normal traffic and public roads would not be disrupted. The protesters said they had submitted memorandums to the Mayor, MLA, Deputy Commissioner and Municipal Corporation officials. They also met Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, who, they said, assured them that the issue would be resolved within 15 days. Core committee members Pawanjit Singh Bhangu, Gurnam Singh Gill (Kambali), Amarjit Singh Kambali, Bakhshish Singh, Kulwant Singh Kler, Mohali councillors Opinderpreet Kaur Gill, Amarjit Singh, Gaurav Jain and Narpinder Singh Rangi attended the meeting. — TNS Chandigarh, August 17 The city BJP has issued a show-cause notice to Ward No. 14 councillor Kuljeet Singh Sandhu for making public statements against the party leadership. The notice was issued by BJP Chandigarh Pradesh general secretary Ramveer Bhatti, who has asked Sandhu to submit his reply to the party president within three days. Sandhu, a former Senior Deputy Mayor, had sought the resignation of Chandigarh BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra over remarks allegedly made by the latter against the Punjabi community. While Malhotra maintained that his comments had been misinterpreted, Sandhu, in a video released on social media while he was in Australia, demanded his resignation. He later raised the issue during a meeting of the MC General House through video-conferencing. In the show-cause notice, Bhatti said the BJP was a disciplined political organisation in which organisational dignity, discipline and collective leadership were given the highest priority. continued on page 2 c m y b accused remained at large. According to the victim’s statement, she had dropped out of school after Class VIII due to financial constraints. In 2022-23, she allegedly went to the accused’s house to work as a domestic help, where he allegedly molested her. She further alleged that she was raped on December 2, 2025, and subsequently assaulted under threats. The victim learnt that she was pregnant in January. In the first week of May, a woman allegedly administered medication and injections to her, resulting in a miscarriage. As her health deteriorated, she was admitted to the continued on page 2 Chandigarh, August 17 In a development that appears to have significantly strengthened India’s effort in recovering Chandigarh’s heritage furniture sold at an auction in Chicago, US, on August 13, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has written to Wright Design Auction House, Chicago. The world body has asked the auction house to suspend the transfer of ownership of all eight Chandigarh heritage lots — including the six already sold for Rs 83 lakh — pending verification of their provenance and the legality of their export from India. The letter, addressed to Richard Wright, President, Wright Design Auction House, Chicago, Illinois, signed by Krista Pikkat, Director, Culture and Emergencies, UNESCO Culture Sector, Paris, marks the first time the UN body has intervened directly with an auction house over the sale of Chandigarh heritage furniture. A copy of the letter is with The Tribune. The letter states that India’s national authorities, through their permanent delegation to UNESCO, had addressed a letter to the world body on August 13 — the day when the auction was held — stating that the eight cultural objects listed in Wright’s sale catalogue, lots 138, 139, 155, 158, 160, 161, 163 and 165, form part of India’s cultural heritage under Indian law. Their export from Indian territory had been carried out in violation of the Customs Act of 1962, specifically Sections 50, 113 and 114 World body backs India’s claim; cites 1970 Convention, says furniture auctioned in Chicago may have been illegally exported UT HERITAGE PIECES SOLD ITEM File rack Desk & chair Set of 8 dining chairs Pair of chairs Linen chest Desk & chair INSTITUTION Admn buildings GCG PU PSEB, Punjab Pb MLA Hostel DPI SALE PRICE ~9.16 lakh ~10.38 lakh ~21.99 lakh ~10.99 lakh ~15.88 lakh ~14.66 lakh Two lots not auctioned: Writing chair (Panjab University) and day bed (PGIMER) relating to declaration obligations and the sanctions applicable in the event of a false export declaration, it added. The UN body told the auction house that India had expressed serious concerns regarding the sale and requested that any transfer of ownership be suspended pending verification of provenance and the legality of export. The letter invoked the UNESCO International Code of Ethics for Traders in Cultural Property, adopted in 1999 and revised in 2026. It states that Principles 1 and 5 of the Code recommend that professional traders refrain from transferring ownership of cultural property when they have reasonable cause to believe that the item has been illicitly exported. UNESCO asked the auction house to provide the Indian authorities with any supporting documentation or other information regarding the sale within the framework of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. In the event that such documentation was not available or sufficient, UNESCO rec- ommended that Wright “temporarily suspend the sale of this cultural property in order to clarify the situation with the country concerned.” WHY THIS MATTERS The UNESCO letter addresses both the six lots sold at the auction and the two held back — a writing chair from Panjab University (Lot 161) and a daybed from the PGIMER (Lot 165) — covering all eight pieces under the suspension request. In his representation to Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on August 14, heritage activist Ajay Jagga had pointed out that physical delivery of the six auctioned pieces had not yet been effected and shipment was pending from different locations. The invocation of the Customs Act of 1962 — Sections 50, 113 and 114, covering export declaration obligations and sanctions for false declarations — is also significant. It means India has represented to UNESCO not merely that the furniture is heritage property, but that its export was carried out in violation of specific continued on page 2 School open despite holiday, parents object Deepankar Sharda Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 17 While the UT Administrator had declared August 17 a holiday for government, government-aided and private schools in the city, the management of Banyan Tree School, Sector 48, asked students and staff to attend school, prompting several parents to raise objections. Some parents submitted complaints to the UT Administration, while others approached the school authorities, but said they received no satisfactory response. According to the school management, it was awaiting official confirmation from the UT Administration until the last moment. “As per practice, we have to seek permission from the school’s higher management to declare a holiday. However, for August 17, we did not receive any official information that could have been shared with the higher authorities before taking a decision. Therefore, we did not declare a holiday today,” the official said, requesting anonymity. Meanwhile, parents and staff members said they too had waited for an official communication from the Children come out of Banyan Tree School, Sector 48, on Monday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY school before reaching the school. “We had asked the class teachers several times about the August 17 holiday, but did not receive a satisfactory reply. While all Chandigarh-based schools were closed, the Sector 48 school management asked our children to attend school,” a parent said. Another parent said the UT Administration had been informed about the school’s decision on Monday morning. “We have submitted a complaint to the UT Administration and asked whether any special permission had been granted to the school to continue classes for teachers and students when all other schools were closed. We also tried to contact school officials, but to no avail,” the parent said. A staff member said there was confusion among employees as well. “We had no clarity on whether the school would remain closed on Monday. While other schools were shut and several reports indicated that August 17 had been declared a holiday, the management maintained that it had not received any official communication from the UT Administration,” the staff member said.