29012026-CT-01.qxd 1/29/2026 12:31 AM Page 1 c m y b Chandigarh tribune FOG BACK AFTER RAIN, COLD WAVE INTENSIFIES EXPERTS DWELL ON INTER-AGENCY SYNERGY, DISASTER RESPONSE REVISITING ARIJIT SINGH’S ICONIC TRACKS AS HE RETIRES A day after the Tricity received heaviest rainfall of the season, the region slipped back into the grip of dense fog. P3 Experts, stakeholders in disaster mgmt from Army and civilian domains discuss response strategies. P3 After the success of Tum Hi Ho from Aashiqui 2, Singh went on to delivermemorable tracks that demonstrated his vocal range. P4 » » AIR QUALITY INDEX CHANDIGARH 68 PANCHKULA 98 401-500 301-400 201-300 101-200 51-100 0-50 SEVERE VERY POOR POOR MODERATE SATISFACTORY GOOD WHAT’S ON CHANDIGARH LECTURE: “A state from green perspective” by Prof Paramjit Kaur Gill of Punjabi University; Seminar Hall, First Floor; Panjab University; 11:30 am DANCE: Shri Bawa Lal Dayal Educational Society to host dance show; Tagore Theatre, Sector 18; 6:30 pm APNI MANDI Chandigarh: Sectors 34, 56 & Ram Darbar Panchkula: Sector 5 Mohali: Sec 88 and Phase 8 Please send information about events in tricity at: whatson@tribunemail.com INBRIEF TRUCK SEIZED FOR ILLEGAL MINING Panchkula: A joint team of the Mining Department and the Amravati police outpost impounded a truck over illegal mining near Burj Kotiyan on Tuesday evening. The driver had failed to produce any valid bill or taxrelated documents. MAX 18°C | MIN 9°C YESTERDAY MAX 18.2°C | MIN 10.2°C SUNRISE FRIDAY 7.14 AM /THETRIBUNECHD FACEBOOK/CHANDIGARHTRIBUNE 30 schools in city get bomb threat, evacuated Police launch massive security operation as parents rush to schools; no explosive material found after checks Deepankar Sharda & Sheetal Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 28 Panic gripped parents after around 30 government and private schools of the city received bomb threat emails this morning. While some of the schools closed their premises and started the evacuation process in the morning, the others announced the optional closure of classes as parents started to turn up in large numbers to pick their wards. Most of the schools received email —“Chandigarh is Khalistan, Bomb Blast @1.11pm Chandigarh Schools’— ‘Schools- Stop Jana Gana Mana’, Start- Deh Shiva Bar Mohe Eha’—- Hindu TerroristPM Modi is Target- February 1, Dera Ballan”. It was reportedly sent to some schools at 6.11am, and after the staff reached the school, they alerted the police. Meanwhile, Chandigarh SSP Kanwardeep Kaur, said, “We received a complaint in the Police Control Room regarding bomb threats sent to four schools in the morning around 8 am. The police immediately swung into action and alerted local teams, the fire brigade and the bomb disposal squad, apart from deploying ambulances at the schools. By the afternoon, 26 Students of Manav Mangal School, Sector 21, return home after it was closed following a bomb threat; and (right) cops deployed at Chitkara International School, Sector 25. TRIBUNE PHOTOS: PARDEEP TEWARI more schools reported having received the same bomb threat. Our teams thoroughly checked and sanitised the schools, and police personnel were deployed outside throughout the day to ensure that no untoward incident occurred due to negligence.” The affected institutions included 20 private and 10 government schools. Popular private schools, including Vivek High School, Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chitkara International School, Strawberry Fields, St Xavier’s and St Stephen’s, along with major government senior secondary schools, received the bomb threat via email. “That was an unfortunate act, which put parents, schools and others in trouble. There was no other option, but to start the evacuation process. Our school security was alerted and every measure was taken before informing the police,” said HS Mamik, Trustee, Vivek High School, and president, Independent School Associations, Chandigarh. “We got to know about the threat around 9 am. After the news flashed, we checked our official mail and found the threat mail in the spam folder. In no time, we started evacuation process and informed the parents,” said a senior functionary of a school. Parents rush to schools Meanwhile, parents turned in large numbers to pick their wards after the bomb scare in schools spread like a fire across the city. Some schools, which didn’t announce the closure, were seen allowing parents to take their wards. “I got this news, and contacted the school reception. After I reach here, I was told that everything is fine, but I insisted to take my wards back home,” said Anupama Mittal, a local resident. Amit, a father of two, added: “I picked both my children from the Maloya man gets life term for double murder Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 28 A local court has sentenced a resident of Maloya Colony, Raju, to life imprisonment for killing two persons with stones at a park in Sector 38 here four years ago. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict. The police had registered the case in May 2022 under Section 302 on a complaint filed by Sunil Kumar. He reported that he found two persons with injuries lying in a pool of blood in the park. He immediately called the Police Control Room. The police took both injured to the hospital. Both succumbed to injuries later. The police arrested the accused and claimed he had confessed to killing Manoj and his friend with a stone during a fight. The Public Prosecutor argued that the prosecution had proved the case beyond a shadow of doubt. The court said the convict had taken the life of two per- sons after causing grievous injuries to them with a stone. Hence, he is liable to be punished severely and calling of lenient view in the matter of sentence is not possible. At the same time, this case does not fall within the category of “rarest of rare case”, the court observed while sentencing the convict to life imprisonment. Mobile, social media breaking family bonds: Guv Kataria launches ‘Project Saathi’, warns of rising mental stress among students sis on life skills education to help students manage emotions, relationships, academic pressure and digital habits. A sensitisation workshop for all 108 government school principals was conducted. It was led by senior mental health professionals from the PGIMER and the GMCH. Balamurugan said based on the outcome of the pilot project, the programme would be expanded to more schools and colleges. Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 28 Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria has cautioned that excessive use of mobile phone and social media is creating isolation within families and leaving children increasingly ignored. Mental health challenges among young students are rising, he added. Speaking at the inauguration of ‘Project Saathi’, a holistic wellness initiative for school students, here today, Kataria said Indian families traditionally acted as the strongest emotional safety net, bringing members together during festivals and daily life. “Today, mobile phones and social media have created distance even within families. Children are getting ignored, and this isolation is deeply affecting their mental and emotional well-being,” he said. The project, a joint initiative of the Department of School Education and the Chandigarh Citizens Foundation (CCF), is aimed at addressing growing mental health concerns among government school students through early intervention, life skill education, yoga, meditation and communitybased activities. Kataria described the initia- MOSTLY CLEAR SKY SUNSET THURSDAY 5.57 PM » THURSDAY | 29 JANUARY 2026 | CHANDIGARH FORECAST SALIENT FEATURES ■ UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria addresses a gathering at the launch of 'Project Saathi' in Chandigarh on Wednesday. TRIBUNE PHOTO: VICKY tive as timely, pioneering and socially relevant. He appreciated the coming together of mental health professionals, educators and social workers to design an intervention focused on prevention and emotional resilience rather than crisis management alone. The CCF president, Gen VP Malik (retd), said the foundation functioned as a collaborative platform where over 225 professionals worked across 12 subjectspecific focus groups to design and implement social initiatives. They also served as a policy think-tank to sup- port government efforts. Earlier, CCF general secretary JM Balamurugan outlined the vision and structure of the foundation and explained the background and framework of the project. He said the project had been developed after extensive consultations with experts from institutions such as National institute of mental health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru; PGIMER and GMCH, Sector 32, along with schoolteachers, counsellors and social workers. The six-month pilot project will be implemented in seven government schools here and will focus on students of Classes VII, VIII, IX and XI. Alongside students, principals, teachers and counsellors will attend workshops to better identify and respond to emotional and behavioural issues among children. For students, the programme will introduce yoga and meditation through engaging games, creative therapies and group activities, aimed at reducing stress and improving both mental and physical well-being. There will be special empha- c m y b Six-month pilot in seven Chandigarh government schools ■ Students of Classes VII, VIII, IX and XI to be covered ■ Capacity building of principals, teachers and counsellors ■ Expert inputs from NIMHANS, PGIMER and GMCH-32 ■ Yoga and meditation introduced through fun, gamebased activities ■ Creative therapies including music, movement and healing arts ■ Life skill education covering digital discipline, relationships and leadership ■ Community group activities to build empathy and social responsibility ■ Multidisciplinary implementation team from healthcare, education and social work school. The management had announced plying of buses, but given the nature of the call…I preferred to pick my children on my own.” As soon as the rumour of schools’ closure spread, all roads leading to local schools were jampacked with traffic. While the Chandigarh Police Bomb Disposal Squad tried reaching at various schools, the police personnel were asked to be stationed outside the schools as a precautionary step. Edu Dept advisory Soon after the reports, the UT Education Department Continued on page 2 SCHOOLS RECEIVING THREAT EMAIL ■ Vivek High School Sector 38 ■ Gurukul Global, Manimajra ■ St Kabir Public School, Sector 26 ■ St John’s High School, Sector-26 ■ Saupin’s School, Sector 32 ■ Sacred Heart School, Sector-26 ■ Delhi Public School, Sector 40 ■ Guru Gobind School, Sector-26 ■ Ryan International School, Sec-49 ■ Strawberry Fields High School, ■ Chitkara International, Sec-25 ■ St. Stephen’s School, Sector-45 Sector-26 ■ GMSS School, Sector-16 ■ KB DAV School, Sector-07 ■ GMSS School, Sector-47 ■ SD Public School, Sector-32 ■ GMSS School, Sector-35 ■ ■ GMSS School, Sector-22 Tender Heart High School, Sec-33 ■ AKSIPS, Sector-41 ■ AKSIPS, Sector 45 ■ St Xavier’s Senior Secondary School, Sector-44 ■ Mount Carmel School, Sector-47 ■ Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector-27 ■ GMSS School, Sector-19 ■ GMSS School, Sector-21/A ■ GMSS School, Sector-8 ■ GMSS School, Sector-56 ■ GMSSS School, Sector-26 ■ Govt Model High School, Sec-38 All set for triangular contest in mayoral elections today Ramkrishan Upadhyay Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 28 The Chandigarh Mayor’s election is all set for a triangular contest tomorrow with no candidate withdrawing his nomination. Saurabh Joshi from the BJP Gurpreet Singh , Gabi from the Congress and Yogesh Dhingra from AAP are in the fray. For the post of Senior Deputy Mayor, the candidates are Jasmanpreet Singh of the BJP Sachin Galav of , the Congress and Manuar Khan from AAP Suman . Sharma (BJP), Nirmla Devi (Congress) and Jaswinder Kaur (AAP) are contesting the post for Deputy Mayor. Ramchander Yadav of AAP is contesting the post of Deputy mayor independently. Two Congress councillors had proposed his name. To win the Mayor’s election, a party needs 19 votes. With two AAP councillors switching sides, the BJP’s numbers in MC House have reached 18. The Congress has six and AAP 11 councillors. The Chandigarh MP also has one vote. Both the ruling party and the Opposition are equally HC DISPOSES OF AAP CANDIDATE’S PLEA Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday disposed of a petition filed by AAP councillor Yogesh Dhingra seeking the appointment of an independent observer for the mayoral election. Dhingra, who is contesting the Mayor’s seat, had expressed apprehensions of irregularities in the polls. The counsel appearing for the UT Administration informed the court the voting would be conducted by a show of hands and that the entire process would be videographed. poised with 18 votes each. As per the Municipal Corporation Act, there is provision to decide the result by toss in case two candidates get an equal number of votes. This time, the Mayor’s election will be held through a show of hands. During secret ballot polls, cross-voting played a major role in close contests. Despite the fact that both the Congress and AAP declaring that they would contest the elections separately, the BJP is not taking chances. With just a few hours remaining for voting, the BJP has taken its councillors to Panchkula. They will directly come to the MC office for voting tomorrow. City Congress president HS Lucky said his party would contest the elections for a symbolic fight. Their main aim was to defeat the BJP in next MC election to be held in December. Vjjay Pal Singh, Chandigarh AAP president, said his party would fight all the three posts. Jatinder Pal Malhotra, city BJP president, also claimed victory on all three posts. Dr Ramneek Singh Bedi, a nominated councillor, has been appointed the presiding authority for the meeting to be held for Mayor’s election. The election process will start at 11 am. As per the SOPs, councillors shall raise their hands clearly when their choice is called. Votes shall be counted through visual verification and verbal confirmation. A proper documentation, including maintenance of a register of votes and recording in the minutes of the meeting shall be ensured to avoid any ambiguity or dispute. Tewari bats for 5-year tenure for Mayor Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 28 Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari has urged all political parties to rise above the party lines and support his initiative for a five-year tenure for Mayor and a direct election to the post. In a statement released today, Tewari said this would approximately be the 30th Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor elected since 1996, accounting for 90 eminences in all — all good people but structurally powerless and ineffectual, to put it very mildly and kindly. The time has come to evaluate whether the current system of electing a Mayor and his deputies for a one-year term has worked for the civic governance of Chandigarh or not, he asked. The answer clearly is that it has not worked otherwise the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh would not be plagued by such systemic issues and challenges, particularly a perennial resource crunch. The only way out of this morass is to transition to a Mayor and his deputies directly elected by all the electors of Chandigarh for a period of five years with commensurate powers. He had moved a Private Member’s Bill in the Lok Sabha last year to provide for a five-year term for the Mayor and his deputies, along with consequential powers to discharge their respective responsibilities.