Notice to illegal PG owners
The Chandigarh administration has issued notices to pay guest owners who had been illegally running PGs to give an undertaking in writing that they will not run the facility in the future. Some 170 notices have been given the Sub Divisional Magistrates (SDMs). But, official said the building violation and misuse cases against these owners will continue. The steps have been taken after a tragedy last month in which three girls died in a fire in an illegal PG. Until this week, 18 illegal PGs have been closed after the administration cracked the whip on owners of such establishments.
Retirement age of govt employees brought down
The Chandigarh administration has reduced the retirement age of its employees by two years and set it at 58. As the UT administration was likely to follow the Punjab Civil Service Rules and Conditions, the final decision was to be taken by the UT Administrator who is also the governor of Punjab. The Punjab Government recently reduced the retirement age of its employees from 60 to 58 years. After getting a legal opinion, the administration had recommended the implementation of the Punjab service rules in the UT. The move will immediately affect nearly 400 employees of the total of 24,000 employees of the Chandigarh Administration. Nearly 200 employees will then retire on March 31 and the remaining half will retire on September 30.
Shopkeepers maintain safe distance
A few traders in Panchkula is doing social distancing in their own unique ways with some of them in Sector 12 having put up tapes around their shops to maintain a distance of six-feet with their customers as a precautionary measure to prevent COVID-19 from spreading further. A medicine shop owner had pasted the message outside his shop to spread the message. When asked about the message, the owner of the shop is of the view that pharmacy stores are more vulnerable to infections as these are visited by a large number of people every day. Many are following his strategy.
Fewer calls to PCR
There has been a drop in the crime rate in Chandigarh as it is down from the average of 15 cases registered daily. Sixteen FIRs were registered on March 16. Four days on, only six FIRs were reported in the city. Many feel the dip is due to the fear among the people regarding coronavirus. The city has already seen restricted movement of people in the last few days. Earlier, the PCR helplines 100 and 112 used to get 1,200 to 1,400 calls per day. The numbers trickled down to 301 and 304 on March 15 and March 20. Incidentally, the recently introduced common emergency number 112 handles all kind of emergency services related to police, fire and health services.
Harpreet Bajwa
Our correspondent in Chandigarh hsbajwa73@gmail.com