11042024-CT-01.qxd 4/11/2024 12:46 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune SIX ARMED ROBBERS LOOT ~1.5L FROM P’KULA SHOP OVER 19K PAY OBEISANCE AT MATA MANSA DEVI SHRINE WOMAN FOUND MURDERED AT PARK IN PANCHKULA Six armed robbers barged into a shop and looted over Rs 1.5 lakh at gunpoint in Budhanpur area. P2 19,500 devotees paid obeisance at Mata Mansa Devi on the second day of the nine-day Navratri fair. P2 The body of a 21-year-old woman was found at a park in Sector 20 here late on Wednesday night. P2 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 98 PANCHKULA 54 MOHALI 92 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD Ex-city unit chief was in reckoning for ticket in 2014, 2019 too Sandeep Rana HIS TAKE ON... Tribune News Service INBRIEF MAN DIES BY SUICIDE Zirakpur: The police have booked five persons, including the wife, mother-in-law and father-in-law, for abetment to suicide after Sukhbir Singh died by suicide at Saini Vihar, Phase I, in Baltana on Tuesday. He was found hanging in his house. People got suspicious when a foul smell started emanating from the room. The complainant, Des Raj, father of the deceased, said his son was married to Renu, daughter of Ramesh Kumar of Palwal in Haryana. TNS WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 34, 56 and Ram Darbar Mohali: Sector 76 Panchkula: Sector 5 Chandigarh, April 10 The BJP has finally reposed its faith in former city unit president and present HP coin charge Sanjay Tandon declaring him candidate for the city Lok Sabha seat. Sources said Kher was not in the race for ticket this time. Apart from sixty-year-old Tandon, former BJP president Arun Sood and ex-MP Satya Pal Jain were among several other contenders for ticket. Earlier, the names of Union minister Anurag Thakur, actress Kangana Ranaut and devotional singer Kanhiya Mittal were also said to have been discussed for BJP high command. However, realising the city was highly in favour of a local candidate, Tandon emerged as the obvious choice of the leadership. Explaining why the party disregarded a decade old trend of bringing a celebrity to contest the Chandigarh seat, BJP sources said under Tandon’s city unit presidency, the party won two LS polls (2014, 2019), two corporation continued on page 2 KIRRON KHER Despite her health issues, she bravely did Chandigarh’s “seva”. She had 95 per cent attendance in Parliament during her term. I will start from where she left. CITY ISSUES Several UT issues have been pending with the Centre for a long time. “I will try to get them resolved as soon as possible,” said Tandon. Priya S Tandon offers sweets to her husband Sanjay Tandon in Chandigarh on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Joined RSS at the age of eight Chandigarh: Tandon, a businessman, is an ardent follower of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Son of former Chhattisgarh Governor and ex-Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Balramji Dass Tandon, he first joined the RSS at the age of eight. On how he got into the party, Tandon said once Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the then Chandigarh party in charge, had come to his house to meet his father, who was then Punjab BJP president. When he brought tea for Modi, he asked him why not he worked for the party. Soon, Tandon became a member of the city BJP executive. During Emergency (197577) when his father was in jail for 19 months, he led a rally comprising children for detained leaders. He worked continued on page 2 Baltana girl raped at knifepoint, 2 arrested Tribune News Service Zirakpur, April 10 Police have arrested two youths of Nayagaon for raping a girl of Baltana at knifepoint after entering her house during a theft bid in the wee hours of April 5. The suspects, identified as Sanjay Kumar, alias Rohit Bisht; and Goldy were arrested the same day and two knives recovered from them. In her statement to the police, the victim has stated that the duo entered the house with an intention to steal but raped her at knifepoint before fleeing with Youths entered her PG accommodation to steal The suspects in the rape case in custody of the police. valuables and cash. The police have recovered stolen cash, ornaments and car without registration plate .Two knives and a motorcycle used in the crime have also been recovered by the police. The in charge of Baltana police post, Ajay Kumar, said, “The victim is an unmarried girl of around 25 years of age. She was staying as a paying guest in the house. She complained that she was raped at knifepoint by the suspects around 1:30 am. The suspects later fled with her gold ornaments and cash. Multiple cases of theft are already registered against the duo in Chandigarh and Nayagaon police.” A fresh case under Sections 376-D, 506, 457, 380, 379, 411, 34 and 201 of the IPC was registered at the Zirakpur police station on April 5. CBI nabs SI, ASI for taking bribe Tribune News Service The place at Bhago Majra village near Landran in Mohali after the fire. A TRIBUNE PHOTO 40 shanties destroyed in fire at Mohali, migrants left homeless Tribune News Service Mohali, April 10 Around 40 shanties were destroyed in a fire near Bhago Majra village on the Landran road this morning. No loss of life was reported. Fire officials reached the spot but by then the damage had been done. Local residents said the incident took place in the morning when children were away for school. Dwellers escaped to safety as the fire broke out. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Village residents tried to douse the flames, but in vain. Arrangements to provide food and shelter to the affected migrants were made at local religious places. Mohali SDM Depankar Garg spoke with the persons whose shanties were destroyed in the fire and shared their grief. “Accommodation for the affected persons has been arranged at the nearby religious places where food is also being served. No casualty was reported in the incident. A large amount of household goods has been damaged,” he said. Chandigarh, April 10 The CBI apprehended Chandigarh Police SubInspector (SI) Balwinder Singh and Assistant SubInspector (ASI) Harmeet Singh by laying a trap in an alleged bribery case today. Balwinder is posted at the Sector 17 police station and Harmeet at the PO Cell. The ASI was reportedly caught while he was taking Rs 10,000 in bribe in lieu of closing a complaint and not registering an FIR against the complainant. Subsequently, the SI was also arrested. Search is being conducted at residential premises of the accused in Chandigarh and Mohali, officials said. A case was registered by the CBI against the accused after allegations that the accused threatened the complainant and demanded an illegal gratification of Rs 1 lakh from him in lieu of closing a complaint and not registering an FIR. It was also alleged that the bribe amount was negotiated to Rs 40,000 and subsequently, the accused agreed to accept Rs 10,000 as part payment. c m y b FIGHTING INDIA BLOC Two plus two is four. But, this alliance is -2. People want to know why they are together in UT and rivals in the bordering state. People will also ask them what are their common issues and goals. They will fall apart as the elections draw near, he said. SURE OF VICTORY Tandon thanked the leadership for showing faith in him. To achieve the party’s target of 400+ seats, the first seat would come from Chandigarh, he said. CONG CANDIDATE LIKELY AFTER APRIL 14 Congress is likely to declare its candidate after April 14. Pawan Kumar Bansal and MP Manish Tewari are front runners. MAX 36°C | MIN 19°C YESTERDAY MAX 36.7°C | MIN 19.2°C SUNRISE FRIDAY 5.59 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD Third time lucky, BJP fields Sanjay Tandon from city MAINLY CLOUDY SUNSET THURSDAY 6.47 PM » THURSDAY | 11 APRIL 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE ‘Axing of trees to cause irreparable green loss’ TRIBUNE CHOWK FLYOVER PLAN Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 10 Environmentalists have said the uprooting of nearly 700 “fully grown” trees for the construction of a flyover at the Tribune Chowk will cause irreparable damage to the environment. Expressing concern, they said the trees were planted in accordance with the landscape planned during the inception of the city. Fully grown mango and other species of trees had not only helped in increasing the green cover of the city but also in reducing pollution caused by traffic at the chowk. The felling of trees would contribute to increasing the “urban heat”, as green trees prevent direct contact of the sunlight with the concrete road, said LR Budaniya, a local environmentalist. The cutting of the trees and the construction of a concrete flyover would increase the temperature of the area by 5-7 degrees Celsius, as sunlight would directly reach the concrete road, he said, added that constructing flyovers was not a solution to mitigate the traffic problem. Trees lining the Dakshin Marg near the Tribune Chowk. RAVI KUMAR ENVIRONMENTALISTS’ CONCERN ■ The cutting of the trees and the construction of a concrete flyover would increase the temperature of the area by 5-7 degrees Celsius, said LR Budaniya ■ If a flyover is constructed at the Tribune Chowk, the traffic bottlenecks would shift to the next chowk ■ The best way to streamline traffic is to enhance public transport, encourage people to shun private vehicles and construct a ring road If a flyover is constructed at the Tribune Chowk, the traffic bottlenecks would shift to the next chowk and in such a way, it would be an endless process, and the authorities would not be able to construct flyover at every chowk. To avoid such a situation, the best way to streamline traffic was to enhance public transport and encourage people to shun private vehicles and use public transport as it would not only reduce traffic pollution but also decongest the roads, he added. Expressing similar sentiments, another city-based environmentalist said there was no way to replace the old and grownup trees and axing these would adversely impact the green cover of the city. Development activities have environmental costs. On a petition filed by the Run Club, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had stayed the move of the UT Administration to cut 700 continued on page 2
The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).