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Tricity buzz: HT Chandigarh reporters’ tracker on all those making, of faking, news
UT Secretariat staff edgy after two positive cases, Chandigarh cops don’t upload FIRs regularly, Be careful what you wish for, and more...
Stray cattle have field day near Mohali MC office
Mohali’s stray cattle problem was discussed and debated endlessly at the municipal corporation meetings but nothing much changed for the city’s residents on the ground. The MC’s five-year term ended on April 26 and stray cattle are having a field day right outside the MC premises. With officials failing to act, stray cattle occupy roads in Sector 68, causing accidents and inconveniencing commuters. When will the authorities wake up?
UT Secretariat staff edgy after two positive cases
With two Covid-19 cases reported in two days in the UT Secretariat, the anxiety among staff is palpable. “It is getting harder for us to attend to office work with cases being reported from the secretariat. Even other offices such as the UT treasury and estate office have reported positive cases. Still the administration is not adequately sanitising offices nor are employees taking proper precautions. We are worried,” said a UT employee requesting anonymity.
Chandigarh cops don’t upload FIRs regularly, glitch or tactic?
Chandigarh Police don’t upload first information reports (FIRs) on their website regularly. This is a violation of Supreme Court directives of 2016 by which all states and UTs have been asked to upload FIRs except sensitive cases. This initiative was taken to save people the hassle of visiting police stations to get a copy of the FIR. But Chandigarh Police either do not upload or selectively upload FIRs. Some police stations in town don’t upload a single FIR throughout the month but suddenly as the new month begins, all FIRs are available online. Is it a glitch or a tactic to avoid information reaching the media?
Chandigarh cops on the trail of a stolen flowerpot
Chandigarh Police are on the lookout for a stolen flowerpot belonging to a former law professor. DN Jauhar, a former chairman of Panjab University’s department of laws, got a first information report (FIR) registered at the Sector 39 police station after a flowerpot was stolen from the boundary wall of his house last week. The police are yet to zero in on the thief and recover the flowerpot belonging to Jauhar, who is also a former dean of Guru Nanak Dev University, but they insist investigation is on even if it’s an ordinary planter.
Be careful what you wish for
The association presidents of smaller, congested markets, including Shastri Market in Sector 22, Sadar Bazaar in Sector 19 and Patel Market in Sector 15, are having their way with the Chandigarh administration taking a U-turn on the odd-even formula in these markets. They wanted the rule to be abolished in June, but once markets opened in July, they reported a dip in sales due to larger competition son they wanted to go back to the previous arrangement. The odd-even rule is back in August in these markets to prevent congestion and check the spread of Covid-19, but it is too early to see whether their problems will finally be solved.
Focus shifts from counting cases to saving lives
With the Covid-19 infection spreading across sectors of Chandigarh besides the UT’s periphery, the health authorities are now are not as concerned about the increasing numbers since the focus has shifted to saving lives of the seriously ill. A senior health officer said that the numbers were bound to increase when the decision to remove curbs on movement and businesses was taken. However, testing has been ramped up but the real challenge is in saving lives of high-risk patients by timely diagnosis of infection and treatment.
Not welcome to Panchkula any longer
The Panchkula district administration sure has its unique way of welcoming commuters. If earlier it was bumpy roads the moment one took a turn towards Sector 7 from the Housing Board traffic junction, now it’s the arch with missing letters that half-heartedly greets people. These days, one only finds ‘Pankula’ written on the arch with ‘welcome to’ missing. The poor maintenance makes one wonder how long before the rest of the alphabets fall, and on whom!
Inputs by Hillary Victor, Munieshwer A Sagar, Shailee Dogra, Tanbir Dhaliwal, Rajanbir Singh, and Amanjeet Singh