29082026-CT-01.qxd 8/29/2026 12:36 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune RESIDENTS FLAG SINKING TILES ON KHARAR-LANDRAN ROAD EVERY FILM REVEALS A NEW ME, SAYS SHARVARI WHEN BUTTER CHICKEN ISN'T BUTTER CHICKEN Residents of Sector 115 submit a memorandum to the Mohali administration. P3 Sharvari built a foundation behind the camera by working as an assistant director. P4 One of The Oberoi Sukhvilas’ popular dishes, “Not A Butter Chicken”, feels both familiar and unexpected. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 49 PANCHKULA 54 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 40, 43 & 49 Mohali: Sectors 71 and 82 Please send information about events in Tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com POWER SHUTDOWN CHANDIGARH 8.30 am to 11.30 am: Parts of Sector 35 10 am to 1 pm: Sectors 31, 43 10.30 am to 2.30 pm: Sector 10, Bank Colony, Police Colony, Kishangarh 2 pm to 4 pm: Sector 43 Youth heading home for Rakhi dies in accident Mohali, August 28 A 23-year-old youth, Parampreet Singh, the only brother of three sisters, died after his motorcycle was hit by an unidentified vehicle near Airport Chowk on Friday morning. According to the police, Parampreet was on his way to his native village, Machhli Kalan, to celebrate Rakhi. He worked as an electrician at a hotel in Zirakpur and had been staying with relatives there for the past six months. He had finished his duty around 7.30 am and was riding towards his village when the accident occurred. His body has been kept at the Civil Hospital, Phase 6, mortuary. A post-mortem examination will be conducted on Saturday. — TNS MAX 37°C | MIN 26°C YESTERDAY MAX 36.3°C | MIN 25°C SUNRISE SUNDAY 5.58 AM /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE Process to e-auction 23 SCO sites at Sec 39 mandi begins on Sept 1 MC orders regular inspections to hasten development works Reserve price raised by 43.5%; traders from outside Chandigarh eligible to take part in bidding Tribune News Service Dushyant Singh Pundir Chandigarh, August 28 In a bid to ensure timely completion and quality of development works, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has issued directions to officers of its Engineering Department, including the constitution of joint inspection teams for regular field monitoring. Chief Engineer Sanjay Arora, in directions issued to Engineering Department staff, said the teams constituted for field monitoring would undertake regular joint inspections of their allotted areas. The inspections would cover ongoing works, quality and progress, deficiencies, encroachments, sanitation and public health infrastructure and other municipal assets. A brief inspection report would have to be submitted after each inspection, clearly mentioning the location, deficiency noticed, officer or agency responsible, corrective action required and target date. The following directions have been issued for immediate compliance and timebound action: Work display boards will be installed at sites of all applicable works, clearly mentioning details such as the agency, cost, dates and completion schedule. The status of all works will be updated at least once a week and reviewed by the officer concerned. Officers will conduct Tribune News Service WHAT’S ON PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET SATURDAY 6.49 PM » SATURDAY | 29 AUGUST 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST Chandigarh, August 28 The State Agricultural Marketing Board, UT, will hold a fresh e-auction of 23 SCO sites at the new mandi in Sector 39 from September 1. The sites, numbered 24 to 46, will be allotted on a leasehold basis. The reserve price has been substantially increased this time, with each 100.23 sq mt (119.874 sq yd) site carrying a reserve price of Rs 5.30 crore. The combined reserve price of the 23 sites is Rs 122.08 crore. An earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 10.61 lakh has been fixed for each site. Corner sites, numbered 24 and 46, will attract an additional 5 per cent charge. The sites were first offered for e-auction in March 2025, when the reserve price of each was fixed at Rs 3.70 crore. In the previous auction, bids were received for 12 of the 23 sites. However, the allotment process was stalled after the matter reached the Supreme Court. Following the court’s decision in December 2025, the way was cleared for allotting the 12 sites to successful bidders. The reserve price has now been revised following the implementation of new collector rates. It has increased by around Rs 1.61 crore per site, or 43.46 per cent, from Rs 3.70 crore to nearly Rs 5.30 crore. Officials said interested The Administration is likely to shift traders from the Sector 26 mandi to the new facility by the end of the year. FILE PHOTO bidders could submit their documents and EMD online from September 1 to 22. The scrutiny and acceptance of documents and EMD will be carried out on September 25 and 26. The actual e-auction will begin at 10 am on September 27 and continue until 11 am on September 29. The auction is expected to pave the way for the UT Administration to begin shifting traders from the existing Sector 26 mandi to the new facility by the end of the year. Of the 92 plots planned at the new mandi, only 12 were auctioned in the first phase. For the next auction, all eligible buyers, including traders from outside Chandigarh, will be allowed to participate. No preference will be given to commission agents (arhtiyas). Once completed, the Sector 39 mandi is expected to provide modern trading, storage and logistics facilities while easing congestion and addressing infrastructure constraints at the existing market. According to the detailed project report prepared by Nabard Consultancy Services (NABCONS), the project is estimat- ed to cost Rs 185 crore. Of this, Rs 13.50 crore has been earmarked for the State Agricultural Marketing Board office building and Rs 9.60 crore for the Market Committee office. Although the Agriculture Department had asked the consultancy to explore the possibility of reducing the project cost, a fresh assessment found little scope for any reduction. The Administration plans to finance the project primarily through revenue generated from the auction of commercial plots rather than borrowings. E-AUCTION SCHEDULE ■ SEPT 1 TO 22: Bidders can submit documents, EMD online ■ SEPT 25 & 26: Scrutiny of papers ■ The e-auction will begin at 10 am on Sept 27 and continue until 11 am on September 29 ■ Shifting of traders from Sector 26 mandi to the new facility to begin by the end of the year MODERN FACILITIES The new mandi is being developed on nearly 75 acres in Sector 39. The project includes modern trading infrastructure, administrative buildings and two cold storage facilities. Joint teams to monitor quality and progress of projects WORK INFO BOARDS Boards will be installed at sites of all applicable works, clearly mentioning details such as the agency, cost, dates and work completion schedule. surprise inspections of vendors and contractors at least once a week. The inspections will cover quality, manpower, deployment of machinery, progress, compliance with contractual conditions and deficiencies at the site. The status of all procurement cases processed through the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) will be reviewed and updated. Compliance with the General Financial Rules and other applicable procurement rules will be ensured. All encroachments on roads, road berms, footpaths and other municipal land will be identified and documented. Field officers will coordinate with the enforcement and other branches for their removal and submit an action-taken report. Field inspections will also be carried out to identify hanging, unsafe or improperly supported overhead cables in public areas. The agencies and utilities concerned will be asked to take corrective action on priority wherever public safety is at risk. UT’s modern waste processing plant project at Sec 25 faces further delay MC House rejects proposal to invite bids for new facility at Sector 25 Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Class VIII girl dies at PGI after being set on fire Tribune News Service Mohali, August 28 A 17-year-old Class VIII girl succumbed to burns at the PGI, Chandigarh, today, a week after she was allegedly set on fire by a 24-year-old youth in Phase 7, Industrial Area, here. A youth had set the victim ablaze after pouring sanitiser Following her death, the police added a murder charge against the arrested accused, Deepak, a resident of Guru Nanak Colony, Phase 7, Industrial Area. His two cousins, who allegedly accompanied him during the incident, are yet to be arrested. The victim’s father had recently lodged a complaint with the police that Deepak was allegedly stalking and harassing his daughter. Deepak was arrested after he allegedly barged into the girl’s house on August 21, poured sanitiser on her and set her on fire. According to the police, Deepak and his two relatives entered the house in Guru Nanak Colony and started arguing with the girl’s parents. Deepak allegedly ran upstairs to a first-floor room, poured sanitiser from a bottle on the girl and set her on fire. The retail onion price in Chandigarh rose to Rs 70 per kg on Friday. FILE PHOTO City to get subsidised onions from Nashik as prices soar Nitin Jain Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 28 Chandigarh is set to receive subsidised onions from the Centre’s buffer stock as the government moves supplies from Nashik to cities across the country under its “Kanda Express” initiative to contain a sharp rise in onion prices. The first Kanda Express — a dedicated rail rake carrying about 453.65 tonnes of onions from Nashik, Maharashtra — reached Delhi on Friday morning, said Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare. The consignment comprised 21 wagons. The bulk of the onions would be sold in Delhi-NCR at a subsidised rate of Rs 35 per kg, while a portion would be sent to nearby cities, including Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jammu. The move comes amid a sharp rise in onion prices across the region, including Chandigarh. The retail onion UT among destinations for Centre’s buffer stock under ‘Kanda Express’ initiative price in the city rose 75 per cent to Rs 70 per kg on Friday from Rs 40 per kg a month ago, according to Consumer Affairs Ministry data. The all-India average retail price stood at Rs 46.58 per kg, while the wholesale rate was Rs 38.29 per kg on Friday. Households across the Tricity have also felt the impact of the increase in recent weeks, as local markets largely depend on the same wholesale supply chains feeding Delhi-NCR. The Centre currently holds 1.21 lakh tonnes of onions as buffer stock under the Price Stabilisation Fund. Officials expect the release of the stock to help bring down retail prices within a week. The Nashik-loaded rake was originally scheduled to arrive on Wednesday but was delayed following protests at the loading point. The local administration brought the situation under control before the train departed. Launched in 2024-25 with 14 rakes carrying about 12,000 tonnes of onions to five cities, the Kanda Express programme has expanded significantly this year. It now covers 86 rakes carrying roughly 88,000 tonnes to 16 major cities, with Chandigarh among the newer additions to the network. Despite the current price surge, the UT Administration said onion availability in Chandigarh remained comfortable and was sufficient to meet domestic demand in the coming months. The assurance comes against the backdrop of an estimated national onion production of 307.37 lakh tonnes in 2025-26, broadly in line with the previous year’s output of 307.67 lakh tonnes. c m y b Chandigarh, August 28 The proposed modern and upgraded waste processing plant in the city is likely to face further delay after the Municipal Corporation (MC) General House rejected an agenda to float a request for proposal (RFP) for selecting an agency to process dry and mixed waste at the existing plant in Sector 25. The agenda was among 16 proposals cancelled by the General House at its meeting on August 20 following a controversy over their alleged hurried passage. Social activist RK Garg criticised the councillors’ decision to cancel the agenda, saying that it would further delay the establishment of the modern dry and mixed waste processing plant. He said the model code of conduct was likely to come into force in the next few months in view of the coming Municipal Corporation elections, after which new tenders could not be floated. The project could, therefore, face a further delay, he said. Existing plant outdated The dry waste processing plant in Sector 25 was established in 2008. According to an IIT-Roorkee report dated August 9, 2020, the existing machinery had outlived its utility and there was a need to strengthen dedicated dry waste processing facilities. The MC agenda stated that the existing machinery was inadequate to meet the current processing requirements. The solid waste processing plant in Chandigarh. FILE PHOTO NEW FACILITY TO PROCESS BOTH DRY AND WET WASTE ■ Chandigarh generates 550 tonnes of municipal solid waste every day ■ Proposed facility to process dry and mixed waste at the existing plant for 12 years, extendable by three years ■ It will have an operational processing capacity of at least The RFP had been prepared for selecting an agency to process dry and mixed waste at the existing 200 tonne-per-day (TPD) plant on a long-term basis for 12 years, extendable by three years. Chandigarh generates around 550 TPD of municipal solid waste every day. Wet waste is processed at a plant on the dumping ground, while dry waste is processed at the existing plant in Sector 25. The proposed upgraded facility was envisaged to have an operational processing capacity of at least 200 metric tonnes per day, with provision for further expansion in line with the increasing generation of waste in the city. The integrated facility would process both dry and mixed waste using modern technologies and scientific waste management systems. Under the proposed model, the MC would not have to make a significant investment in processing infrastructure and machinery. The selected company would invest in establishing and equipping the facility, enabling the corporation to leverage private investment, modern technology and operational expertise while reducing recurring expenditure and improving processing efficiency. Meanwhile, the MC has allotted work for enhancing the capacity of the horticulture waste processing plant in the Industrial Area. The 200 metric tonnes per day ■ The integrated facility will process both dry and mixed waste using modern technologies existing facility has a capacity of 30 TPD. The selected company has been given four months to complete the work. The capacity is being enhanced in view of the increasing quantity of horticulture waste and to enable the processing of other horticulture waste. The agency will have to operate and maintain both facilities. Mayor Saurabh Joshi said the General House had unanimously decided to bring all the table agendas before the next meeting for detailed discussion. “After discussion, a decision will be taken on each agenda item so that development works do not suffer or get delayed,” he said.