News Analysis India

Tag: Chandigarh

  • Chandigarh Mayor election: Congress leaders accuse BJP of conspiracy to “murder democracy”, hail SC verdict on Chandigarh Mayor election

    Accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “dirty election manipulation and “institutional sabotage”, Congress leaders on Tuesday said that the Supreme Court has saved democracy with its verdict in the Chandigarh Mayor election case.

    Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and party leader Rahul Gandhi made a scathing attack on BJP after the Supreme Court verdict which quashed the election result and said that AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar is the winner in the election for Chandigarh Mayor.

    Rahul Gandhi said that Returning Officer Anil Masih, who was the Returning Officer for the election, was just a pawn in the conspiracy. “In the BJP’s conspiracy to murder democracy Masih is just a pawn, behind it is ‘face’ of Modi,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.

    A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra quashed the decision by Anil Masih by which be declared BJP candidate Manoj Kumar Sonkar as Chandigarh Mayor on January 30.

    The order of the apex court came as it found that the Returning Officer had deliberately defaced eight ballots that were cast in favour of Kuldeep Kumar to make them invalid.The apex court today physically examined the ballot papers and found that they are not defaced. It directed that Kuldeep Kumar be declared as mayor with 20 votes (12 votes which he received and 8 which were for him and were defaced by Masih).Kharge said all Indians must fight the “onslaught on the Constitution” collectively.

    “The Supreme Court has saved Democracy from the fangs of an autocratic BJP, which resorted to dirty election manipulation. The institutional sabotage in the Chandigarh Mayor Polls is only the tip of the iceberg in Modi-Shah’s devious conspiracy to trample Democracy. All Indians must fight this onslaught on our Constitution, collectively. Never forget. Our Democracy shall be at a crossroads in the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections!” Kharge posted on X.

    Supreme Court further directed the Registrar Judicial to issue notice to Anil Masih for perjury proceedings under Section 340 CrPC for making a false statement before the court that the mark was made on eight ballots as they were defaced.

    The bench slammed Masih saying he had “unlawfully altered the course of the mayoral election”.

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  • Punjab floods: Protesting farmers stopped from proceeding to Chandigarh, detained 

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: The Haryana police on Tuesday detained farmers at various places while they were proceeding to Chandigarh to protest against the failure of the government to offer compensation for their crops damaged in floods.

    The farmers are demanding a package of Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre for damages caused by floods in the northern region, including Punjab. They are also demanding Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house, and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in the floods.

    The farmers were stopped at Ambala and several other places and detained by the police. Police have been deployed in large numbers on the points bordering Chandigarh to prevent the farmers from entering the city.

    On the Ambala-Chandigarh road, police had set up barricades at many places and the vehicles passing through were being searched.  Also, Anti-riot vehicles and a CCTV vehicle were deployed in Rajpura by Punjab Police.

    Farmers had claimed that several of their leaders were detained on Monday in different parts of Punjab, while some farmers were also held in Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana ahead of their protest plan.

    The farmers had even laid siege to some toll plazas in Amritsar and Tarn Taran of Punjab in protest against the detention of their leaders. Also, the farmers resorted to dharna at the toll plaza between Shahkot and Moga. The Sugarcane Sangharsh Samiti and Bhartiya Kisan Union demanded the government release all the detained farmer leaders immediately, failing which, they threatened to launch a huge protest.

    Earlier on Monday, a farmer died in Sangrur district of Punjab after being run over by a tractor-trolley, while five policemen were injured after growers clashed with police over the “detention” of some farm leaders.

    Family members demanded the police to hand over the body of Pritam Singh who was run over on Monday so that they can move it to a hospital for post-mortem. But police declined to handover the body suspecting that a dharna would be staged by the family.

    A case has been registered against farmers at the Longowal police station in Sangrur district for the death of a farmer yesterday evening this has further agitated the farmers and they want the case withdrawn.

    Sixteen farm bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, had given the call for staging a demonstration here to seek compensation for losses caused by floods.

    Meanwhile, the Punjab Government released Rs 186 crore to the farmers for the loss of their crops in recent floods.

    Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation, and Disaster  Management Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa said that an amount of more than Rs. 186 crore to compensate for the crop loss of the farmers of the affected districts due to floods has been released. He said that advance funds have been released to the Deputy Commissioners of 16 districts of the state from the Natural Disaster Relief Fund to provide relief for the crop damage.

    Jimpa said that in the months of July and August, the crops of farmers were damaged due to floods in many areas and a Special Girdawari has been conducted in all the flood-affected areas of the state. He said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann fulfilled his promise to the flood victims on August 15 and initiated the process to hand over cheques of compensation. 

    CHANDIGARH: The Haryana police on Tuesday detained farmers at various places while they were proceeding to Chandigarh to protest against the failure of the government to offer compensation for their crops damaged in floods.

    The farmers are demanding a package of Rs 50,000 crore from the Centre for damages caused by floods in the northern region, including Punjab. They are also demanding Rs 50,000 per acre compensation for crop loss, Rs 5 lakh for a damaged house, and Rs 10 lakh compensation for a family of a person who died in the floods.

    The farmers were stopped at Ambala and several other places and detained by the police. Police have been deployed in large numbers on the points bordering Chandigarh to prevent the farmers from entering the city.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    On the Ambala-Chandigarh road, police had set up barricades at many places and the vehicles passing through were being searched.  Also, Anti-riot vehicles and a CCTV vehicle were deployed in Rajpura by Punjab Police.

    Farmers had claimed that several of their leaders were detained on Monday in different parts of Punjab, while some farmers were also held in Ambala and Kurukshetra in Haryana ahead of their protest plan.

    The farmers had even laid siege to some toll plazas in Amritsar and Tarn Taran of Punjab in protest against the detention of their leaders. Also, the farmers resorted to dharna at the toll plaza between Shahkot and Moga. The Sugarcane Sangharsh Samiti and Bhartiya Kisan Union demanded the government release all the detained farmer leaders immediately, failing which, they threatened to launch a huge protest.

    Earlier on Monday, a farmer died in Sangrur district of Punjab after being run over by a tractor-trolley, while five policemen were injured after growers clashed with police over the “detention” of some farm leaders.

    Family members demanded the police to hand over the body of Pritam Singh who was run over on Monday so that they can move it to a hospital for post-mortem. But police declined to handover the body suspecting that a dharna would be staged by the family.

    A case has been registered against farmers at the Longowal police station in Sangrur district for the death of a farmer yesterday evening this has further agitated the farmers and they want the case withdrawn.

    Sixteen farm bodies, including the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee, Bharti Kisan Union (Karanti kari), BKU (Ekta Azaad), Aazaad Kisan Committee, Doaba, BKU (Behramke) and the Bhoomi Bachao Mohim, had given the call for staging a demonstration here to seek compensation for losses caused by floods.

    Meanwhile, the Punjab Government released Rs 186 crore to the farmers for the loss of their crops in recent floods.

    Punjab Revenue, Rehabilitation, and Disaster  Management Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa said that an amount of more than Rs. 186 crore to compensate for the crop loss of the farmers of the affected districts due to floods has been released. He said that advance funds have been released to the Deputy Commissioners of 16 districts of the state from the Natural Disaster Relief Fund to provide relief for the crop damage.

    Jimpa said that in the months of July and August, the crops of farmers were damaged due to floods in many areas and a Special Girdawari has been conducted in all the flood-affected areas of the state. He said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann fulfilled his promise to the flood victims on August 15 and initiated the process to hand over cheques of compensation.
     

  • Man attempts sacrilege at historic gurdwara near Chandigarh, thrashed and handed over to cops

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: After a Sikh man attempted desecration at a historic gurdwara in Morinda, there was tension in this small town near Chandigarh. He was thrashed and handed over to the Punjab Police. Later, the markets in this small town were shut and roads blocked as the public gathered in the police station demanding that the accused be handed over to them as they did not trust the law enforcement agencies.

    Sources said that 36-year old Jasbir Singh of Morinda, an electrician by profession who lived near the railway crossing in the town, suddenly jumped the railing of the sanctum sanctorum in the historic Kotwali Sahib gurdwara wearing shoes and started hitting the priests there.

    The devotees present in the gurdwara overpowered Singh. “A few people intervened to save his life as the others thrashed him badly,” said an eyewitness.

    As news of the incident spread, the markets of this small town were shut down and a large number of people staged a dharna in front of the police station demanding strict action against the accused. A mob also pelted stones at the house of accused, though no family member was present inside.

    ALSO READ | Deras & gurus most sought after as Jalandhar by-election draws near

    A case under Section 295 A of the IPC (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) has been registered against the accused.

    Senior Superintendent of Police of Ropar Vivek Sheel Soni said the police is taking all steps to maintain law and order and appropriate action would be taken against the accused.

    Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami has demanded strict and exemplary action against the accused. “This person should not be spared under any circumstances and the police should set an example by taking strict action. This case should be investigated properly so that the forces behind this incident can be brought to light,” he said.

    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that no one involved in the incident would be spared.

    Meanwhile, on Sunday night sacrilege of Gutka sahib took place in Golewala village of Faridkot district and on Monday there was a clash between two groups at the gurdwara in Kapurthala.

    CHANDIGARH: After a Sikh man attempted desecration at a historic gurdwara in Morinda, there was tension in this small town near Chandigarh. He was thrashed and handed over to the Punjab Police. Later, the markets in this small town were shut and roads blocked as the public gathered in the police station demanding that the accused be handed over to them as they did not trust the law enforcement agencies.

    Sources said that 36-year old Jasbir Singh of Morinda, an electrician by profession who lived near the railway crossing in the town, suddenly jumped the railing of the sanctum sanctorum in the historic Kotwali Sahib gurdwara wearing shoes and started hitting the priests there.

    The devotees present in the gurdwara overpowered Singh. “A few people intervened to save his life as the others thrashed him badly,” said an eyewitness.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    As news of the incident spread, the markets of this small town were shut down and a large number of people staged a dharna in front of the police station demanding strict action against the accused. A mob also pelted stones at the house of accused, though no family member was present inside.

    ALSO READ | Deras & gurus most sought after as Jalandhar by-election draws near

    A case under Section 295 A of the IPC (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) has been registered against the accused.

    Senior Superintendent of Police of Ropar Vivek Sheel Soni said the police is taking all steps to maintain law and order and appropriate action would be taken against the accused.

    Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami has demanded strict and exemplary action against the accused. “This person should not be spared under any circumstances and the police should set an example by taking strict action. This case should be investigated properly so that the forces behind this incident can be brought to light,” he said.

    Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said that no one involved in the incident would be spared.

    Meanwhile, on Sunday night sacrilege of Gutka sahib took place in Golewala village of Faridkot district and on Monday there was a clash between two groups at the gurdwara in Kapurthala.

  • Chandigarh airport to be named after Bhagat Singh, says PM Modi

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a tribute to the great freedom fighter.

    In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi also said that climate change is a major threat to marine ecosystems and that the litter on beaches is disturbing. “It becomes our responsibility to make serious and continuous efforts to tackle these challenges,” he said.

    In the broadcast, Modi paid tributes to BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, saying he was a profound thinker and a great son of the country.

    Modi also said that 130 crore Indians were filled with pride over the return of cheetahs. He said a task force will monitor them and on the basis of that it will be decided when people can see them.

    He said that an important day of ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ is coming on September 28 when the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh will be celebrated.

    “Just before his birth anniversary, as a tribute, an important decision has been taken, it has been decided that the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh,” Modi said.

    NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a tribute to the great freedom fighter.

    In his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast, Modi also said that climate change is a major threat to marine ecosystems and that the litter on beaches is disturbing. “It becomes our responsibility to make serious and continuous efforts to tackle these challenges,” he said.

    In the broadcast, Modi paid tributes to BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, saying he was a profound thinker and a great son of the country.

    Modi also said that 130 crore Indians were filled with pride over the return of cheetahs. He said a task force will monitor them and on the basis of that it will be decided when people can see them.

    He said that an important day of ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ is coming on September 28 when the birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh will be celebrated.

    “Just before his birth anniversary, as a tribute, an important decision has been taken, it has been decided that the Chandigarh airport will now be named after Shaheed Bhagat Singh,” Modi said.

  • Navjot Sidhu hospitalised due to liver-related problems; condition stable

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Jailed Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu, who was admitted to Chandigarh’s PGIMER on Monday afternoon due to liver-related problems, is in a stable condition, the medical facility said.

    He underwent a medical examination at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research’s hepatology department in the morning.

    In the afternoon, Sidhu was admitted to the PGIMER, where he had been brought under heavy security from the Patiala prison. In the evening, PGIMER issued a statement, saying Sidhu has been kept under observation and is stable.

    “Former Indian cricketer Shri Navjot Singh Sidhu has been admitted in hepatology ward, Nehru Hospital Extension, PGIMER, Chandigarh, due to liver-related problems and requires further evaluation. “He has been kept under observation and is stable now,” the statement said, quoting Professor Virender Singh, head of the hepatology department at the hospital.

    The former Punjab Congress chief was on May 20 sent to the Patiala central jail in a 1988 road rage death case. He has been sentenced to one-year rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court.

    About two weeks back, Sidhu was taken to Rajindra Hospital in Patiala for a medical examination. The cricketer-turned-politician’s counsel, H P S Verma, recently said Sidhu had sought a special diet in prison.

    According to the counsel, Sidhu cannot consume wheat, sugar, ‘maida’ and some other food items. “He can have berries, papaya, guava, double-toned milk and food items which do not have fibre and carbohydrates,” Verma had said.

    The 58-year-old Congress leader suffers from medical conditions like embolism and has a liver ailment.

    In 2015, Sidhu had undergone treatment for acute deep vein thrombosis (DVT) at a hospital in Delhi. DVT is caused by a blood clot in a deep vein which hinders the normal blood flow.

    The apex court had sentenced Sidhu in the 34-year-old case, saying any undue sympathy in imposing an inadequate sentence would do more harm to the justice system and undermine the public confidence in the efficacy of law. A 65-year-old man, named Gurnam Singh, had died in the incident.

  • Resolution in Punjab Assembly seeks immediate transfer of Chandigarh to state

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday moved a resolution in the state Assembly seeking immediate transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab. In the past, the House has passed a number of resolutions urging the Central government to transfer Chandigarh to Punjab, he said.

    “For maintaining harmony and taking the sentiments of people into account, this House once again recommends to the state government to raise the matter with Central government to immediately transfer Chandigarh to Punjab,” according to the resolution moved by CM Mann in the House.

    The one-day special Assembly session comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement that the central service rules will apply to employees of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.

    Earlier, after the session began, Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh and his son Rana Inder Pratap Singh, who is an Independent legislator, were administered oath of office.

  • Punjab CM slams Shah’s announcement on applying central service rules to Chandigarh UT staff

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday slammed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s announcement to apply the central service rules to employees of the Union territory of Chandigarh, claiming that it went against the Punjab Reorganisation Act.

    “The central govt has been stepwise imposing officers and personnel from other states and services in the Chandigarh administration. This goes against the letter and spirit of Punjab Reorganisation Act 1966. Punjab will fight strongly for its rightful claim over Chandigarh…,” Mann said in a tweet.

    After Shah’s announcement here on Sunday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had taken a dig at the BJP, saying it is scared of the AAP’s “rising footprint”.

    Taking to Twitter soon after the home minister’s statement, Sisodia said Shah did not take away Chandigarh’s powers when the Congress was ruling Punjab, but he did so soon after the AAP formed its government.

    The union territory employees are currently working under the Punjab service rules.

    According to Shah, the move will benefit them in a “big way”, their retirement age will increase from 58 to 60 years, and women employees will get childcare leave of two years instead of the current one year.

    However, his announcement had evoked a sharp reaction from some rivals of the BJP, with many leaders saying this was “another big blow to the rights of Punjab” after changes in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) rules.

    Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Daljit Singh Cheema had on Saturday tweeted, “MOH’s (Ministry of Home Affairs) decision to impose central government rules on employees of Chandigarh is in violation of the spirit of the Punjab Reorg (Reorganisation) Act and must be reconsidered.

    “Congress leaders, including Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, too condemned the decision.

    The change in appointment rules for top officers to the BBMB had raked up a storm with many political parties in Punjab and Haryana criticising the Centre.

    The BBMB, which is a statutory body under the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, and manages the water resources of Sutlej and Beas, has a whole-time chairman and two members for irrigation and power.

    Political leaders have claimed that according to the BBMB Rules, 1974, the member (power) in BBMB must be from Punjab and the member (irrigation) from Haryana, but the requirement has been removed in the amended rules.

  • Chandigarh will become country’s most disciplined & modern city: Amit Shah

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said Chandigarh will become the most disciplined and modern city in the country in the coming days as he inaugurated a slew of projects, including a state-of-the-art Integrated Command and Control Centre, in the union territory.

    Shah was in the city for inaugurating as well as laying foundation stones of projects worth Rs 632.78 crore.

    The projects that were inaugurated included the Integrated Command and Control Centre, a new office building of Chandigarh Housing Board, two government schools and an urban park. He also laid foundation stones of a college hostel block and a bus depot-cum-workshop.

    Punjab Governor and Chandigarh Administrator Banwarilal Purohit also attended the event.

    Addressing the gathering, Shah said he was visiting the “city beautiful” after a long time and felt very good. Chandigarh is known as the “city beautiful”. “In the history of the modern world, Chandigarh is the most developed city in the category of planned cities,” said Shah.

    He recalled that when he was young, children in Gujarat were given the example of Chandigarh as a planned and very good city. “When a city grows, its requirements also change and when times change, there is a change in needs and requirements. And those which do not change with time, they cannot keep themselves relevant,” he said.

    He also lauded the Chandigarh administration for making a system for adapting this change. “And that is not only for people’s facilities, it includes security and environment protection also,” he said, adding that the mixed culture of the city was also taken care of.

    Shah said that when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, he got many projects related to urban development implemented. He said Gujarat is among those states where urban population is perhaps maximum.

    Shah said that after Modi became the prime minister, he brought the smart city concept to the entire country. “How modern cities should develop. How to do planning, how to upgrade facilities and to synergise those facilities and integrate them,” he said.

    PM Modi brought the AMRUT scheme, solar mission and green city initiative. Shah said, “In the coming days, Chandigarh will become the country’s most disciplined and the most modern city.”

    Speaking about the Rs 300-crore Integrated Command and Control Centre project, Shah said it will bring a change in the delivery of citizen-centric services. “It will lead to monitoring of citizen-centric facilities,” he said. “This command centre will work for bringing traffic discipline or for security,” he stated.

    “People of Chandigarh should keep in mind that cameras will be watching your vehicles and after a violation, challan will reach home through email,” he said, adding, “with this, there will be an atmosphere of new discipline in the city.” He urged the administrator that a programme should be initiative so that school students are shown this command centre.

    Under ICCC, more than 2,000 CCTV cameras have been installed in the city to keep a check on traffic violations. ICCC is also integrated with major citizen services, including water supply, electricity, sewage, solid waste management, transport, e-governance, parking and public-bike sharing, for an effective monitoring of services and data analysis.

    Shah lauded the Narendra Modi government for the development of the vaccine for COVID-19 and its vaccination programme. He said 185 crore doses have been administered so far.

    “The world is surprised at how the vaccination programme worked smoothly in the country with a population of 130 crore,” said Shah. He said even some developed countries sought Cowin app for use there.

    “Many developed countries were worried over the third wave of COVID-19 but nobody knew when the third wave came and went in India because there was 100 per cent vaccination,” he said.

    Shah said with the use of technology, the Modi government ran a successful vaccination programme in the country. “Modi ji held video conferencing with the chief ministers 22-23 times irrespective of party politics,” he said.

    Shah also spoke about how the Modi government provided foodgrains free of cost to 80 crore poor people in the country.

    The government used technology in providing foodgrains to the poor. He said foodgrains worth Rs 3.40 lakh crore have been distributed so far. He said this scheme has been extended up till September 30.

    In March 2020, the Union government had launched the scheme — Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) — to provide free 5 kg foodgrains per person per month to over 80 crore beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) because of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Shah said that change was happening in every sector be it agriculture, industrial development, urban development, making the country a manufacturing hub, new education policy, rural development, facilities to poor people.

  • Chandigarh Diary: Housing board tells defaulters to clear dues

    Express News Service

    The Chandigarh Housing Board has asked the defaulting flat buyers to pay their pending dues by October 31 or face action. The board stated there were pending dues, including rent and installments, and the allottees were requested to clear these by October 31 along with the applicable interest for the delay. If they failed to do so, action would be taken as per the terms and conditions of allotment and relevant rules. There is a considerable amount pending against many allottees of the CHB apartments. The CHB has made available various payment options for hassle-free payment of dues. 

    More teachers nominated to PU senateFor the first time in the history of Panjab University’s senate, maximum number of teachers has been nominated as Ordinary Fellows by the Vice-President of India as he is the Chancellor of the university. Of the total of 36 Ordinary Fellows being nominated, 18 are from teaching faculty. The term of all the Ordinary Fellows shall be until October 31 2024. Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) said it hoped that with the nomination of more teachers in the new senate, it would get a decisive say in the matters related to the functioning of the university. A statement issued by Panjab University Teachers’ Association stated: “Hopefully, the newly nominated members will work in unison with PUTA for the betterment of the university. We look forward to working along with the nominated members.”

    Chandigarh’s traffic system to get facelift From January next year the roads in the city will be safer. Also, a tab will be kept on traffic violators as 2,000 CCTV cameras at 285 locations across the city will be functional for real-time surveillance. Of these, 20 will be at the entry points of the city. A total of 87 traffic junctions will also be covered. The city will also get Adaptive Traffic Control System, which works automatically based on real-time traffic. All this will be executed under the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) project worth Rs 295 crore.

    Approval for sites to relocate hawkersThe Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has approved seven of the eight proposed sites to relocate street vendors. These are Sector 54, near Bassi Theatre; Sector 55, near phase-1 barrier; Sector 56, near UT-Mohali border; Sector 68, near Temple of Knowledge; Sector 77, near waterworks; Sector 77, near Akal Ashram Colony and Sector 78, near fire station. The approval was given during a meeting between the officials of GMADA and the Mohali Municipal Corporation. The hawkers are currently sitting in front of shops in the main markets in the city.

    Harpreet BajwaOur correspondent in Chandigarh [email protected]

  • Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit gets additional charge of Punjab, UT Chandigarh

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit has been given the additional charge of Punjab and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

    Earlier, V P Singh Badnore was the governor of Punjab and the administrator of Chandigarh.

    “The President of India has been pleased to appoint Purohit, the governor of Tamil Nadu, to discharge the functions of the governor of Punjab, in addition to his own duties from the date he assumes charge of the office of the governor of Punjab, until regular arrangements are made,” the statement said.

    The president has also appointed Purohit as the administrator of Chandigarh, in addition to his duties as the governor of Punjab, it added.