Another bus stand planned for Mohali
A new bus stand will be built in Mohali in four acres of land along the airport road near the Singh Shaheedan Gurdwara in Sohana. Directions in this regard were given to Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) in a meeting recently chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The demand for a new bus stand was made by Mohali MLA and former minister Balbir Singh Sidhu. Already the city has an air-conditioned interstate bus terminus (Picture), which also has a commercial complex on the Chandigarh-Kharar highway in Mohali. However, this bus stand operates only partially.
Chandigarh municipal polls on December 24
The election to Chandigarh Municipal Corporation will be held on December 24 and the counting of votes will be held on December 27. The State Election Commission made an announcement to this effect on Monday. Election Commissioner SK Srivastav said candidates can file nominations from November 27 to December 4. December 9 is the last date for withdrawal of nominations. The elections will be held on December 24 while the counting will be held on December 27. The entire election process is to be completed by December 30. There are 6.3 lakh voters (3.3 lakh males and 2.99 lakh females) in the city. The poll panel has increased the number of polling booths from 474 to 694. “Arrangements will be made for Covid patients. They will be able to vote in the last one hour of voting,” said Srivastav.
Migratory birds flock to Sukhna Lake
Migratory birds, especially from Siberia, have started arriving at Sukhna Lake in Chandigarh as the winter season has begun. Common species such as common pochard, common coot, mallard and pintail duck have started coming at the lake and more of these birds will arrive here in the coming days with further fall in the mercury. These winged visitors will stay around the lake till March next year. The wildlife department will create floating islands for migratory birds in the lake as the water level in the lake is quite high and these birds prefer shallow water for feeding.
Tendering process for purchasing buses begins
The Chandigarh Transport Department has initiated the process for procuring 40 diesel AC buses for intercity operations. The bids in this regard have been invited. As many as 20 buses will be purchased and another 20 will be hired for a period of ten years. Eligible agencies have been asked to submit their bids by December 10 and the tenders will be opened the same day. Meanwhile, for a lot of 40 electric buses, e-tender has been invited. These buses will be put on commercial operations in the coming financial year. A few electric buses have been flagged off for local routes recently. Five more electric buses have reached the city and will be put into operation after trials.
Harpreet Bajwa
Our correspondent in Chandigarh hsbajwa73@gmail.com