26042024-CT-01.qxd 4/26/2024 12:22 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune WASTE CLEARED, 4 ACRES AT JHURIWALA TO BE RESTORED P'KULA COPS BUST GANG OF BIKE THIEVES, 2 ARRESTED MANDI GOBINDGARH MAN ARRESTED FOR MURDER BID Panchkula MC completes the bioremediation of legacy waste at dumping site in Jhuriwala. P2 The police claim to have solved six cases of motorcycle theft with busting of a gang of thieves. P2 Had opened fire on his rival in the main market of Mandi Gobindgarh over a financial dispute. P2 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 115 PANCHKULA 90 MOHALI 118 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD INBRIEF 1 ARRESTED FOR OPENING FIRE Chandigarh: The police have arrested a resident of Amritsar for opening fire in Sector 22. He has been identified as Jobanjeet Singh (34). The police have recovered a countrymade pistol and seven cartridges from the suspect. He was booked in a case of attempt to murder on a complaint filed by Sonu Gupta, a shopkeeper at the mobile market. The complainant alleged that Jobanjeet fired at him following an argument on April 23. TNS WHAT’S ON APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 24 & 46 Mohali: Kumbhara Panchkula: Sector 20 POWER SHUTDOWN MOHALI 11 am to 3 pm: IT City, Aero City, Sector 82, Derri, Durali, Chao Majra, Saneta, Chadiala, Gidderpur, Bharatpur, Swara, Machli Kalan and adjoining villages. FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE of Monorail among key 2019 election Vedant Saini26 city secures AIR with promises that BJP failed to fulfil 100 percentile in JEE One-time settlement by CHB, rationalising rates of self-financing housing scheme too unmet INDIA VOTES MALHOTRA’S TAKE ON PENDING PROJECTS City BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra said, “Instead of monorail, Metro was found viable for the city. For one-time settlement of CHB houses, the matter has been sent to the MHA and will be implemented on a priority basis after the elections. The 2008 selffinancing housing scheme for UT employees has been revived and the rates will be rationalised. The 24x7 water supply project is on, while only 15 per cent of the dumping ground remains to be cleared.” 2024 Sandeep Rana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 25 While the city BJP is busy preparing its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, many promises, including bringing monorail to the city, one-time settlement of issues related to the CHB and rationalising the cost of houses of 2008-self-financing housing scheme for 4,000 UT employees, made in the previous manifesto of 2019 remain unmet. However, work on many other promises, including providing 24x7 water supply and clearing the Dadu Majra dump, is either underway or nearing completion. A total of 58 new promises on development works were made in the manifesto and many of them were from the 2014 manifesto. Rajat Malhotra, Chairman, Chandigarh Residents Welfare Federation, said, “No solution could be found to need-based changes for the Chandigarh Housing Board LISTS PARTY’S ACHIEVEMENTS Residents have been demanding one-time settlement scheme for violations in CHB houses. FILE PHOTO (CHB) dwellers. Even though it was part of both manifestos of the BJP The Delhi pattern . needs to be adopted to enable the house dwellers to make one-time settlement.” Promises of allowing first floor on booths, providing free wi-fi in all markets and preference to Chandigarh residents for jobs in the city, among others, remained only on paper. Another promise of laying electricity wires underground, work on which though kicked off as a pilot Chock-a-block Malhotra said, “Cycle tracks, LED street lights, direct transfer benefit, free LPG, dispensaries upgrade, smart schools, effluent treatment plants, world-class railway station, new hospital at Sector 48, increasing retirement age to 60, MBBS seats, crime-free city and CCTV traffic surveillance are among several works the BJP has carried out in the city.” project in Sector 8 in an apparent half-hearted manner, never move beyond that. Bringing monorail to the city was one of the main poll planks of MP Kirron Kher while seeking second term in Lok Sabha in 2019. Later, it was decided to have Metro instead of monorail but that project was also junked. All of a sudden, the project was revived and the plans are afoot to bring Metro to the city. Leave alone rationalising the cost of 2008 self-financing CBI court frames charges against ASI in bribery case Tribune News Service Vehicles stuck in a long traffic jam on the Kalka-Zirakpur highway due to ongoing construction of an underpass on the Baltana-KArea intersection in Zirakpur on Thursday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: RAVI KUMAR Chandigarh, April 25 A CBI court here has framed charges against an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Chandigarh Police who was arrested for allegedly demanding bribe from a woman resident of Mani Majra and her son on February 9 this year. A team of the Central Bureu of Investigation had registered a case against ASI Balkar Singh on a complaint filed by the woman. The complainant had alleged that Balkar sought undue advantage from her to favoure her son in a case. Terminder Singh, counsel for the accused, said his client was falsely implicated in the case. However, Public Prosecutor Narender Singh argued in favour of framing of charges against the accused. After hearing arguments, the court framed the charges against the accused Under the Prevention of Corruption Act. 6 rounds of auction held, no takers for 14 liquor vends Chandigarh, April 25 Even after six rounds of auction, 14 liquor vends remain unsold in the city. The UT Excise and Taxation Department today conducted the sixth round of auction for the allotment of the remaining 21 liquor vends. Of a total of 21 liquor vends, the department has been able to sale only seven vends. Now, the department will start the auction process again for the allotment of the remaining 14 liquor vends. In the auction held today, against the reserve price of Rs 6.63 crore, the department received the highest bid of Rs 6.71 crore for the Sector 48 Motor Market liquor vend. Since a licence (on clubbing basis) is to be issued for two MAX 37°C | MIN 21°C YESTERDAY MAX 37.4°C | MIN 19.6°C SUNRISE SATURDAY 5:43 AM TWITTER/THETRIBUNECHD Couple attacked in robbery bid Chandigarh, April 25 In a robbery bid, four persons attacked a couple while they were on the way to Mani Majra on a scooter. The woman, a resident of Mani Majra, lodged a complaint with the police. While she, along with her husband, was heading towards Mani Majra on Wednesday evening, four persons made them stop on the road stretch between the railway light point and Kalagram. She alleged that the suspects thrashed her husband and when she tried to intervene, they attacked her with a sharp weapon. The woman was injured and admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32. The police were informed about the incident after which a team reached the spot and started investigation. A case has been registered at the Mani Majra police station. — TNS PARTLY CLOUDY SUNSET FRIDAY 6.57 PM » FRIDAY | 26 APRIL 2024 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST SECTOR 48 UNIT FETCHES ~6.71 CRORE In the auction held on Thursday, the Excise Department received the highest bid of ~6.71 crore for the Sector 48 Motor Market liquor vend against the reserve price of ~6.63 crore liquor vends in Sector 47, the reserve price for these two liquor vends was Rs 8.26 crore. The highest bid of Rs 8.38 crore was received for the two vends. A licence (clubbing) is to be issued for three liquor vends in Sector 45, for which the reserve price was Rs 11.64 crore. The bid for these three liquor vends was only Rs 6,218 more than the reserve price. The reserve price of the Sector 15 liquor vend was fixed at Rs 4.66 crore, for which the highest bid of Rs 4.72 crore was received. For the financial year 2024- 2025, the department has decided to allot a total of 97 liquor vends. Of these, only 14 are left for which the auction process will start again. In its first round of auction held on March 7 for the allotment of liquor vends under the 2024-25 Excise Policy, the department was able to sell only 51 out of a total 97 vends then. On March 7, the department had earned Rs 243.84 crore against the reserve price of Rs 218.66 crore — an increase of 11.53% over the reserve price) and 10% over the last year’s licence fee. For the financial year 202425, the department has decided to give 84 licences and increase the number of vends from 95 to 97. The total reserve price of all these vends has been fixed at Rs 452.29 crore. For the first time, the UT decided that any liquor vend remaining unsold will be run by Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO). Having failed to allot 18 vends, out of a total of 95, despite 20 rounds of auctions under the Excise Policy 2023-24, the department has reduced the reserve prices of certain liquor vends in the 2024-25 policy. — TNS c m y b housing scheme for UT employees, the Administration in March decided not to go ahead with it stating “the implementation of the scheme at this stage is not viable in public interest” and the money deposited by the employees in the scheme would be refunded by the CHB. Two days later, UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit said the scheme would be revived. However, its fate continues to be hanging fire despite promises made the BJP in the past 10 years. As far as another flagship project of the BJP to clear the dumping ground in Dadu Majra is concerned, it is being claimed to be nearing completion. A new waste processing plant, which earlier existed across the road in Sector 25, has been planned at the reclaimed land. The project of providing pan-city round-the-clock water supply is in the tendering phase. It is a Rs 510-crore project — Rs 412 crore to come as a soft loan from a French financial institution, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Rs 98 crore as European Union’s grant. Meanwhile, city BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra said, “Instead of monorail, Metro was found viable for the city. For one-time settlement of CHB houses, the matter has been sent to the MHA and will be got implemented on a priority basis after the elections. The 2008 self-financing housing scheme for UT employees has been revived and the rates will be rationalised. The 24x7 water supply project is continued on page 2 Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 25 Vedant Saini, an alumnus of Bhavan Vidyalaya, has secured 100 percentile clinching All-India Rank 26 in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE)-Main. Hailing from a family of doctors residing in the GMCH complex in Sector 32, Vedant attributes his success to the rigorous curriculum and unwavering support from his teachers. His strategic approach, encompassing regular assessments, solving past papers and a disciplined study routine of 12 hours a day, has propelled him towards his dream of securing admission to IIT-Bombay for pursuing computer science. Vedant remarks, “In addition to clearing the theory in physics and math, more emphasis was placed on practice, whereas in chemistry, preparation was done with full focus on the NCERT syllabus. I used to practise the questions again and again. “I attribute my success to the rigorous curriculum and the constant encouragement from my teachers. My dream to secure admission to IIT-Bombay is now closer than ever, and I am determined to contin- Vedant Saini SUCCESS MANTRA: Rigorous curriculum, unwavering support from teachers STUDY ROUTINE: Regular assessments, solving past papers and 12-hour study a day DREAM: To pursue computer science at IIT-Bombay ue working hard to realise it.” Vedant’s journey to success is embellished with illustrious achievements, including bronze in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2022 held in Oslo, Norway. He emphasised the importance of NCERT for chemistry and the transformative power of Olympiads in honing mental skills. Ayush Gangal, also a former student of Bhavan Vidyalaya, has secured 99.999 percentile, continued on page 2
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