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Chandigarh: Brace for traffic snarls as city welcomes PU alumni, Punjabi singer AP Dhillon

By, Chandigarh
Dec 21, 2024 09:20 AM IST

While Dhankar is expected to arrive at the PU campus in Sector 14 around 11am and leave by 12.30 pm, Dhillon’s concert is scheduled for 8pm at the Sector-25 rally ground, which faces the PU’s South campus in Sector 25 where alumni events will go on well into the evening.

It’s all set to be a tough day for commuters and the UT police as two high-profile events – the Panjab University Global Alumni meet where Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar will be the chief guest and Punjabi singer AP Dhillon’s concert which is expected to draw a crowd of over 20,000 people – are lined up for Saturday, and that too in close vicinity.

While Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar is expected to arrive at the PU campus in Sector 14 around 11am and leave by 12.30 pm, Dhillon’s concert is scheduled for 8pm at the Sector-25 rally ground, which faces the PU’s South campus in Sector 25 where alumni events will go on well into the evening. (HT File)
While Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar is expected to arrive at the PU campus in Sector 14 around 11am and leave by 12.30 pm, Dhillon’s concert is scheduled for 8pm at the Sector-25 rally ground, which faces the PU’s South campus in Sector 25 where alumni events will go on well into the evening. (HT File)

While Dhankar is expected to arrive at the PU campus in Sector 14 around 11am and leave by 12.30 pm, Dhillon’s concert is scheduled for 8pm at the Sector-25 rally ground, which faces the PU’s South campus in Sector 25 where alumni events will go on well into the evening.

In view of the two events, the traffic police have issued advisories on diversions and routes to avoid (see box).

Senate polls issue: Talks fail, students announce protest

While PU will turn into a fortress during the V-P’s visit, with Gate number 1 (facing PGIMER), remaining closed for the public from 7am to 3pm, or till the VVIP’s departure, the announcement by students protesting for senate elections to burn the effigies of the chancellor and the vice-chancellor during Dhankhar’s speech will pose an added challenge to the authorities. While PU had managed to mollify the agitating students during Prime Minister Narendra’s visit to the city earlier this month, they are unwilling to relent this time around. PU had promised to withdraw FIRs lodged against 14 students for disrupting Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s event on November 13, provided they maintained peace during the PM visit. As per the students, PU has failed to do good on the promise so far.

Vice-chancellor Renu Vig on Friday called a meeting with students who have been protesting under the banner of Panjab University Bachao Morcha since October 31 to press for senate elections. In a statement issued in the evening, the students said the sole responsibility of delay in senate elections lay with the vice-president who is also the chancellor of the varsity. They further alleged that V-C spoke rudely with them. “We condemn this behaviour of the V-C and hold both the chancellor and the V-C accountable for this assault on students rights,” they said and added that it’s not just a protest, it’s a warning and they will not rest till PU’s integrity is guarded from these anti-democratic and anti-Punjab forces.

PU senators, meanwhile, distanced themselves from the students’ protest, stating that this is being done by students in their own capacity. Senator Ravinder Singh said the protesting senators have been trying to fix a meeting with Dhankhar during his PU visit but they will not participate in the effigy burning. The Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) members are also expected to meet with Dhankhar and raise this issue.

Meanwhile, V-C Renu Vig said that the university has tried to reason with the students but to no avail. “We have been talking to the protesting students and the dean students welfare (DSW) tried to reason with them throughout the day. If students misbehave during the event, they will have to face the consequences,” she said.

She added that to represent the students’ voice, the democratically elected student council’s request to interact with the chancellor will be considered. Members of the Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) and Panjab University Staff (non-teaching) Association (PUSA) are also likely to meet with Dhankhar.

UT to monitor noise levels at Dhillon concert

Chandigarh: The UT administration has announced that it will closely monitor noise levels at the upcoming AP Dhillon concert, following a breach during singer Diljit Dosanjh’s performance on December 14. Deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said the noise levels at the concert will be measured, and if they exceed the permissible limit of 75 decibels, strict action will be taken against the organisers.

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