Make People Aware Before Penalising

 This has become a norm with most of the public authorities.  They take action and expect everyone to comply or get penalised. 

The Chandigarh Administration's recent notice to segregate their waste otherwise they would have to pay fine.  The announcement came on 19th December. And the penalisation begins w.e.f. 22nd December. 

Is the Administration and the people well informed how the wet and dry waste is to be segregated?

There are different points of engagements that need to be taken care of logistically to make segregation a seamless process. 

I remember Panchkula MC began this campaign two years back with extensive hoardings, messaging on mobile, with instructions, besides using the print media, printed leaflets and posters for displaying in public places so that the populace is informed. 

Even the three differently color waste baskets were distributed free to the households; and many retailers also started selling the wastebins in three colors to facilitate its adoption. 

The collection vehicles were painted accordingly, and the MC staff was trained in collection and disposal process. 

Chandigarh Administration should look into all these aspects and instead of imposing fines, should spend at least three months in running public campaigns in which various NGOs should also be involved to spread the message. 

Same is the case with the traffic challans.   On most roads the signage is missing for speed limits, and even if these are there, these are sparsly displayed.  

Similarly with no alternative space demarcated for parking in the absence of the limited parking spaces around the markets, the challans are issued without making any provision for parking.   

The Administration should focus on facilitating residents and making their life easy with workable solutions for which it must also take the responsibility, instead of penalising the people. 

New Environmental Landmark Opens in City Beautiful

The Governor Punjab and Administrator, Chandigarh, Mr VP Singh Badnore today inaugurated the Museum of Trees - a unique environmental project for conservation of sacred trees of Sikhism after which many Sikh Gurudwaras are named. 

Because of Covid-19, the inauguration was done online. Ex-member of Parliament & Chairman, Minorities Commission, Sardar Tarlochan Singh and PHDCCI President, Karan Gilhotra, participated in the online inauguration.

Extending Gurpurab greetings on the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji, the Governor said this was the most appropriate day and most appropriate manner of remembering Guru Nanak whose hymns are replete with references to nature, environment, trees, plants and animal life.

The Governor warned that climate change is an immediate crisis for humanity and to meet this challenge people will have to come forward with initiatives like the Museum of Trees to mobilize public opinion.

He complimented DS Jaspal for patiently working for ten years to clone 12 sacred trees and hoped work on the remaining trees will also be completed soon.

Creator and Curator of the Museum of Trees, D S Jaspal, a retired IAS officer chief curator of the museum and author of Tryst with Trees – Punjab’s Sacred Heritage. thanked the Governor for supporting the project, which he said will be a source of attraction for all nature lovers, and for the Sikhs since many of the sacred trees have been replicated in this unique museum. 

Over a period of ten years, the Museum has been successful in reproducing genetically true replicas of twelve sacred trees including Dukh Bhanjani ber tree of Golden Temple; Ber tree of gurudwara Ber Sahib, Sultanpur Lodi; Ber tree of gurudwara Babe-di-Ber, Sialkot, Pakistan; Peepal tree of gurudwara Pipli Sahib, Amritsar, D S Jaspal informed. 

Many of these trees, he said, have botanical significance, viz., the Beri tree of Gurudwara Ber Sahib in Sultanpur Lodi is unique because it has very few spines. Similarly, the leaves of the peepal tree in Gurudwara Pipli Sahib have a unique yellow pigmentation.

The Museum of Trees has India’s most modern Mist Chamber facility and a Glass House Conservatory, with sixteen air conditioners, to preserve and propagate rare and endangered species which grow at high elevations.

Situated in village Daria of Chandigarh, about two kilometers inside of Chandigarh-Ambala road, off the Halomajra chowk, the entry ticket is Rs.400 per day and the museum hosts a number of workshops, and special visits for school children, and has an exhibition area too.  

More information can be had from their comprehensive website, https://museumoftrees.org, and can be contacted through email and phone for further information. 


Heritage Garden Farms Hallomajra – Panchkula Road Daria, Chandigarh

(Information courtesy, DIPR Punjab)

Chandigarh Lit Fest Literati from 20th November

Ireland is the partner country

Noted author Gurcharan Das 

The eighth edition of Chandigarh Lit Fest, Literati 2020, opens on Friday in its virtual avatar with noted author, intellectual, speaker, and former CEO of Procter & Gamble, Gurcharan Das, featured in the opening plenary session.

Dr Sumita Misra, chairperson of Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) said that this time again the three-days weekend Literati shall feature some of the noted authors from India and abroad, and it is a matter of great pleasure that we have Embassy of Ireland and HAREDA as partners with Radio Mirchi 98.3 as Happiness Partner, she added.

Some of the other prominent authors participating in Literati include Sudha Murthy, Rajdeep Sardesai, Ashish Vidyyarthi, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Dr. Rakhshanda Jalil, Radhakrishnan Pillai, Anuja Chauhan, Dr. Janki Santoke, Amandeep Sandhu, Sarabpreet Singh, Anuja Chandramouli, Erner Davis amongst others..

The Chandigarh literary society is back with its eighth edition of Literati: Chandigarh International Lit Fest 2020 in association with HAREDA. This time it features some of the most prolific authors of national and international arena including Sudha Murthy, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Gurucharan Das, Anuja Chauhan, Rajdeep Sardesai, Dr. Rakhshanda Jalil, Sarabpreet Singh, Anuja Chandramouli, Dr Janki Santoke, Navtej Sarna, Emer Davis and many more.

There are over 30 authors from English, Hindi and Panjabi genre  participating in the three days event which would go live on facebook and youtube on 20^th November from 5:30pm to 9pm.   

 CLS had been organizing the Chandigarh Lit Fest for the last eight years and this year immediately after lockdown in end March, it launched CLS Conversation online featuring some of the celebrated writers like Amish Tripathi, Ashwin Sanghi, Bilal Siddiqi, Sanil Sachar, Dr Farah Adam Mukadam, Mukul Kumar, Rajni Sekhri Sibal, Meghna Pant, Khushwant Singh, among others.

Literati 2020
YouTube LIVE- https://bit.ly/35G7O39
Facebook LIVE - https://bit.ly/3lIAmyi

The Dream City of India

 

It was around 1966 that my dad's friend from Jain Soda Factory in Ambala Cantt, lent us his driver and ambassador car to take us around the city of Chandigarh. Neelam and Jagat were the plush theatres, and vast market place of Sector 17 was enchanting.

There were hardly any cars at that time on road. A few scooters and cycles.

No one wanted to come to the new city. The then Chief Minister of Punjab S. Partap Singh Kairon brought in people from different parts of the country with attractive offers to own land and populate it.

We shifted ultimately in 1969.

Famous author and journalist Khushwant Singh described the city as a place of "Hariyaan Chariyaan, te Chitti Daariyaan" (the city of green hedges and white beards, referring to it as the city of retired people. 

Today it is the most sought after beautiful city  

City at 67.

On 7th October 1953, the city of Chandigarh came into being, officially.

Having lost the spirit of celebrations in the long pandemic, just as a 67 years old won't have interest in its celebrations, Chandigarh too, perhaps, let go of it. 

No one celebrated this historic moment.  

Even from amongst the media, The Tribune did carry a story remembering its formation and formal inauguration by the then President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad.

However, the city remains a favourite destination for travellers.  The winters are the best time when the city wrapped in morning fogs unravels the blooming flora as the day proceeds.  It delightfully captures the heart of the people who have made it their home.  Many chose to stay put despite the career opportunities outside; and those leave its boundaries, look forward to returning, even for a brief holiday, to go around the 'geri' route, eat at Hot Millions, enjoy the coffee at University's students centre, or do some shopping in Sector 19 and 22 markets. 

Cheers. 

Do you know, Burail is an 18th Century habitat established by Mughals?

For Chandigarhians, Burail has remained an intriguing place. When we shifted to the city in 1969, Burail was the place where the students arriving in the seat for further studies would find an easy-on-pocket tenement accommodation.

Later it became a haven for the cottage industry and today it is a place where you can get most of the hardware that you won't find in many of the stores in the city, and at a much affordable price. 

But I was surprised to know that this this tenement right in the middle of the city, growing haphazardly, is an 18th century wonder.  The Fort inside, only the few ramanants of its glorious past remain amidst new constructions around it, 

At one time it had acquired a bad reputation and was feared the most.  Mughal Faujdar controlled this fort till 1712, who was more of a tyrant, and was notorious for abducting and keeping every newly married women with him before returning her to her husband. 

The wales of the destitutes reached the fearless Sikh general, Banda Singh Bahadur, he immediately sent an army of Khalsa, who fought the mughal army, killed Faujdar and captured the Burail Fort. 

This fort is also known as 'shaheedi' fort also, where brother of Banda Bahadur's great warrior general and Governor of Sirhind, Baba Baaj Singh's brother, Bhai Sukha Singh, laid down his life while valiantly fighting the mughal army in 1769. 

When you get the time to visit Sector 45, park your car outside in the parking, and explore the labrynth of small streets (galis) on foot. 

 

Health Safety Guidelines to create #SafeEvents: EEMA

 EEMA releases COVID safety guidelines for the events industry

Punjab's Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, and Punjab Health Minister Sardar Balbir Singh Sidhu, commended the efforts of the Events and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) for formulating a comprehensive 300 page Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the events and entertainment industry. 

At a special showcase event organised by the newly formed Chandigarh and Punjab regional chapter of EEMA at JW Marriott, the COVID safety guidelines were presented to both the Ministers by EEMA's founder member Ankur Kalra from Delhi. 

While Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi said it is time that the events and entertainment industry which employs nearly 1 crore people with a turnover of Rs.5 lakh crore, must open up to revive the economy. 

Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu appreciated that EEMA's efforts to train and introduce the COVID safety guidelines shall assure the government, the corporate and the participating guests that it is safe to be a part of social and corporate events, though there is a greater need for every individual to inculcate this discipline and remain responsible by themselves taking all the precautions. 

Ankur Kalra, a founder member of EEMA,  appreciated the Government’s decision to open up the event industry allowing the gathering of a maximum of 100 people for social, religious, cultural, and corporate events in most parts of the country under Unlock 4.0.

 

The  SOPs are for the event organisers and other stakeholders including hotels to ensure complete safety of the guests, which in fact can be used by any organization, informed Vijay Arora.

 

Earlier, the local representatives of EEMA presented a copy of the 300-page document  to the Punjab’s Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, who hoped that events conducted under strict supervision as per the health guidelines shall ensure the safety of organisers and the guests.

 

Ankur Kalra said that the lockdown has taken away the jobs and earnings of the people engaged in this industry impacting their families and it is industry's responsibility to revive events by assuring safe events. 

EEMA's President Roshan Abbas in his recorded message from Delhi welcomed the government's decision to allow 100 people gatherings which would definitely be incased provided we are able to demonstrate complete safety in events that we create. 

The event partner, JW Marriott's safety officer assured how the hotel was taking care of its guests through extensive health safety measures they have undertaken at all their establishments. 

  

A simulated corporate event titled “India is an Event: We’re ready for Safe Events” was also held in the evening for invited guests, event organisers and other industry leaders and government representatives to experience its efficacy.  

 

One of the region’s biggest wedding planner, Tony Singh, hoped that the same zeal and zest that Punjabis represent during their social and wedding events, would return to herald the prosperity in this region.

 

Another well-known name in corporate events and advertising field Shaleen Kapoor, said that the return of the business gathering would help businesses of all sizes to the network again and revive their closed enterprises through collaboration in this region.

 

Hardeep Singh, another leader in the trade fairs domain felt that there is a greater need to have more and more exhibitions where businesses and trade can find opportunities to grow.   

Punjab Chapter Chairman of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Karan Girhotra said that EEMA's safety guidelines shall definitely help the industry in this region grow and hopefully tradefairs and exhibitions shall also be organised soon to benefit the trade and business.

 

Present on the occasion were EEMA’s local representatives Binay Pal Singh, Bharat Dhiman, Daman Preet Singh, Vikramjit Singh, Angat Walia & Deepak Kumar besides representatives of the hospitality and tourism industry.

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Humour in White Coat

Enter a hospital and there is nothing humrous about it.  People in pain around you make you feel half sick, if you are visiting a hospital not as a patient.   But Dr Jas Kohli is incorrigibly witty and opens up the doors of the hospital to a world not experienced by any, except perhaps those in the medical fraternity.
It is second book of Dr Jas Kohli.  His first book, "Anything to look hot", gave a hilarious insight into the world of plastic surgery and the how the Bollywood celebrities are getting themselves transformed into younger avataars.
And this piece of fiction, "Lights! Scalpel! Romance!" published by Rupa Publication is worth a read.
Without spelling any beans, go ahead and read it.

Chandigarh awaits its Leaders

National Open Bridge Tournament on 21st April at The Lalit Chandigarh

Chandigarh Bridge Association (CBA)is hosting its annual national level Chandigarh Open Bridge Championship  at The Lalit Hotel in the city.

CBA President Mr. H.S. Dhariwal informed that more than 30 teams comprising five to six players each are expected to participate including from Punjab, Haryana, Uttrakhand, UP, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi, and Chandigarh.

Sponsored by the Steel Strips Group, the tournament shall have team events of eight rounds of Swiss League of 10 boards per round to be played on 21st and 22nd April, out of which the top eight teams will play Super League on 22nd and 23rd April.

The pair event will consist of three sessions to be played on 22nd and 23rd April, President Dhariwal informed. There is a prize money of Rs.2 lakh for eight teams and eight pairs in the tournament.

Chandigarh Open has been a major attraction since its inception in 2000, and Bridge being the game of patience and intellect, fascinates every age group, he added.

CBA also runs training workshops at the Bridge Coaching Centre that it has opened in the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium, where those interested to learn the fundamentals of this game can join.

Chandigarh team has been participating in international bridge tournaments , and the game stands on the verge of being included as an Olympic sports.

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Lager n Barrel Festival

19th - 20th September  2015 at Hotel Park Plaza, Zirakpur.

Lager n Barrel festival is a  rock n roll festival to celebrate beer, music and the love of a good time. The city's first beer festival ranging from late afternoon through the night, offering

a diversity of beers available for tasting and purchase intends to ensure that the festival goers experience full flavor of life through enriching music acts, lovable activities, delicious food and endless beer. For what its is Lager n Barrel is poised to turn into summer playground for beer lovers.
More than 5 Top Bands of the region will be perform naming Gurnazar Live, SWASTIK The Band, Rail The Band & many more.

The event will have the performance of top artists like Jassi Gill, Babbal Rai, SukhE (Jaguar fame), Milind Gaba etc. Live bands, Beer Activities, games & alot more at the venue.

For more details : https://www.facebook.com/lagernbarrel
Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/688656811277783/

Online Tickets Link: http://in.bookmyshow.com/events/lager-n-barrel-festival/ET00033078

Ticket Price: 
One Day Ticket : Single Entry : 700       Couple Entry : 1000

Festival Pass : Single Entry : 1000          Couple Entry : 1500



All benefits, activities, and access details on BookMyShow.
http://in.bookmyshow.com/events/lager-n-barrel-festival/ET00033078

How can we make Chandigarh smart?

What are the ingredients of a smart city?  Does it mean being technological infrastructure? How can we make development inclusive to cover every strata of society?
These and many questions confound every Chandigarh resident.  There are big plans in the offing but a middle class household still struggles with a few essentials.  Water supply for example.  The condition of roads, and street lights in the southern part of the city.
Chandigarh Management Association opens its forum to discuss various aspects of "Integrated Development of the Tricity", inviting you to participate in it.
An officer of long stint in Chandigarh, and currently the Deputy Commissioner Panchkula, Mr. Vivek Atray, IAS, talks about this Chandigarh Capital Region including Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali, which coexist and require an integrated plan for development.
Let's discuss the spcifics with him on 8th May 2015 at 5:30pm at PHD House, Sector 31, Chandigarh. 
Mr. Vivek Atray, besides being a highly energetic and people-friendly bureaucrat, is an author of two fictions, with regular middles and columns in daily newspapers, and much-in-demand motivational speakers.

Mayor launches India’s first toll-free service for Home Repair, Renovation, Design and Construction in tri-city

Chandigarh Mayor launches toll free number 1800-1800-7200 for repair, maintenance, renovation and construction services

City based group of entrepreneurs along with US based NRIs have launched a new business venture, LoyalHut, offering host of repairs, renovation or construction services to residential and commercial establishments in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.
City’s mayor Poonam Sharma formally inaugurated the toll free number 1800-1800-7200 at a press conference here today.  She complimented the promoters for addressing the pressing problem of most housewives who are unable to cope with repair and maintenance work because of non-availability of enough skilled people in different trades.
Chandigarh Administration, she said, is engaged in making city a ‘smart city’ and services like LoyalHut would immensely contribute to that end, besides ensuring complete trust and security for senior citizens and lone women in homes.  She suggested that LoyalHut should provide employment to ladies from lower starta who are being trained in different skills.
Addressing the media, co-founder of LoyalHut and PEC alumnus Neeraj Sood said that LoyalHut intends to provide hassle-free and dependable service to every household in the tricity.

Besides the routine repair and maintenance work of any type, LoyalHut has tied up with a large number of best professionals like architects, interior designers, vaastu consultants, to provide prompt and affordable services to the people even for major repairs, renovation or construction work, he said.
LoyalHut has already built a team of carpenters, plumbers, electricians, masons, supervised by team of engineers who would attend to the call, provide on-the-spot assessment, arrange for the material required and carry out the entire job, Neeraj Sood added.
Pradeep Gupta, Director of LoyalHut, and a mechanical engineer PEC with over 30 years of experience, said that the company has set up a call centre which is operational from 8am to 8pm 7-days a week, to manage customer requirements and coordinate with the field staff.
He said that even during the trial period of last one month, the company has already received over 400 projects that are successfully serviced or still in progress, informed Mr Gupta.
In order to ensure reliable supply of material, LoyalHut has entered into exclusive sourcing partnership with Jagan Hardware, a market leader for supply of all type of hardware and building material. 
Brij Singhal and Raman Singhal of Jagan Hardware expressed hope that with extensive service package which LoyalHut intends to create for the tricity, would help domestic and ommercial establishments heave a sigh of relief.
Arjun Kamboj, Director of Jan Shiksha Sansthan (JSS), with whom LoyalHut has tied up to source skilled manpower, informed that JSS would upgrade the skills of many casual workers also doing odd jobs, to be able to join the company and gainfully employ them.

Weekend Destinations around Chandigarh

Explore some of the destinations around the city during weekends. Even kids would love it.

Pinjore Gardens: 20 Kms from Chandigarh, the gardens also called Yadavindra Gardens cover a 100 acres of area. It

houses a mini zoo, historic places, Japanese garden, nursery and a number of picnic spots. It also serves as the venue for hosting the annual mango festival in the month of July. Beautiful jal mahal and sheesh mahal along with the huge variety of flora attracts many visitors. According to the Hindu mythology, it is said that it is over here that Pandava brothers had rested during their exile.

Chattbir Zoo: 
5 Kms from Chandigarh on Chandigarh-Patiala road, this zoological park houses hundreds of different mammals, birds and reptiles. Royal Bengal Tiger is the pride of this zoo. The highlight of this place is the lion safari where the visitors are taken on the adventurous trips to the lion reserves where the animals roam around freely. You can catch the glimpse of these beautiful creatures and also find distinctive species of birds over here. The zoo is open all days except Mondays.


Chandi Mandir: After a tiring week, a visit to the temple sooths the mind and soul. Chandi Mandir

is a very famous temple located at a distance of about 15 kms from the city beautiful. The city Chandigarh gets its name from the goddess Chandi- The goddess of power. During the festivity of Navratras, thousands of people visit this temple.

Nada Sahib Gurudwara: The gurudwara is located 15 Kms from Chandigarh in Panchkula district on the banks of river Ghagar. It is said that Guru Gobind Singh ji along with his victorious fellow warriors had taken a halt at this place while on their way back, after having fought the battle with Mughals. Gurdwara Nada Sahib has a lot of reverence for Sikhs and many people visit this gurudwara on a full moon night every month.




Mansa Devi Temple: 8 Kms from Chandigarh, this temple is located in Panchkula and was

established in 1815 A.D.  According to the Hindu mythology, the head of Devi Sati had fallen over here. Mansa Devi Temple basically houses two temples. The temple near the parking lot is said to be the main temple. Nature lovers can enjoy the beauty of a garden adjoining this temple that houses sacred plants. fairs take place in the surrounding areas of Mansa Devi temple during Navratras.

Morni Hills: 45 Kms from Chandigarh, these hills are an off-shoot of the Shivaliks and run in two parallel ranges from south-east to north-west. Adventure and trekking lovers can utilize these relatively unexplored hills. The river Ghaggar makes these hills picturesque. It also supports some birds like doves quails and sand grouse, wild animals like the hyena, the sambhar and jungle cat. Trees like  neem, pepal, jamun, dhak, amaltas and jacaranda fills the low hill tracts. Camping at the lake side is an another addition to the trip to Morni Hills.


Thunder Zone: 
It is an Amusement and Water Park at a drive away distance of just 13 Kms from Chandigarh. The

park is situated in 11 acres of land and includes 12 exclusive rides and the water park includes 4 pools. The park is divided into three categories of water park, amusement park and fun zone.

Fun City: 
It is the biggest amusement park and water park in the northern region of the country. It is just 20 Kms away from Chandigarh on the Panchkula-Barwalla Nadha Sahib gurudwara highway. The park is spread over 43 acres of land and offers a huge variety of rides and water slides.

Fateh Burj: 
enter the main gate of the Banda Singh Bahadur War Memorial at Chappar Chiri to see the India's tallest minaret. The Fateh Burj has earned the title of the tallest minaret in India from Delhi's Mughal-era Qutub Minar, which is 72.5 metres high. The memorial site, at large, is spread over 20 acres and has sand dunes as part of the landscaping. Artificial water bodies have been designed to provide visitors the reflections of the pillar. An automatic colour-changing light system is installed in the pillar, which functions in the evenings.

Jayanti Devi Temple: 
Just a 13 Kms drive away from Chandigarh the temple offers the beauty of Shivalik Hills and
streaming Jayanti river. the devotees living in Punjab decided to establish the similar shrine as in Himachal Pradesh inspired by the bliss of goddess Jayanti.

Siswan Region: 
The Siswan forest and Siswan Dam just 18 Kms from the city beautiful is an opportunity for all the nature lovers to enjoy the aura of this dense forest and also appreciate the fauna like stags, wild boars, barking deers and neelgai.

The journey to your destination will make you fall in love with the serenity of the nature and piousness of the temples. The fun and adventure of the amusement parks and trekking expedition will surely be a refreshing experience.

~ Mehak Chauhan

Sikh Museum

A Weekend trip to a place near the city, rich with culture and heritage of Sikhism can be a great idea.
Sikh Museum also known as Sikh Ajaibghar located in Mohali is the brainchild of Parwinder Singh, a former scooter Mechanic who dreamt of spreading awareness and educating people about the Sikh heritage.

To offer the maximum recreational as well as educational value of this Museum, Parwinder Singh, the founder and CEO has displayed self-made sculptures presenting the richness of Sikh history. Various eminent incidents from the Sikh history are portrayed using the fiber-glass made sculptures. The Museum has 12 sets of sculptures on display.

The sculptures include:
•         Bhai Kanhaiya Ji
•         Banda Singh Bahadur Ji and His three years old son Uday’s martyrdom
•         Shahidi Bhai Taru Singh Ji
•         Shahidi Bhai Mati Das Ji
•         Shahidi Bhai Mani Singh Ji
•         Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Ji
•         Bhai Subegh Singh Ji and His son Shahbaaz Singh Ji’s martyrdom
•         Sardad Hari Singh Nalua
•         Sher-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh

This museum was set up by Sikh Heritage and Culture Society. The Founder President of this society, Parwinder Singh has been designing these sculptures since twelve years. He has been taking care of this museum solely. In the year 2005, this museum was located on Landran road and now it has been re-located to Balongi Village in Mohali. The museum is almost 4.4 Kms away from the Mohali Bus Station.

Contributed by Mehak Chauhan

City needs robust infrastructure, job opportunities, connectivity to be a Global City: Experts

‘Visioning Chandigarh’ Conference looks at challenges and opportunities for city

The city ‘s growth requires holistic view of the challenges including its satellite cities of Panchkula and Mohali, and future planning should be inclusive of them, felt experts participating in the ‘Visioning Chandigarh’ conclave-cum-workshop organized by Taaleem College of International Studies (TCIS) and the Institute for Competitiveness India.

Leading senior lawyer of the city M.L. Sarin said that though city indeed is a success in terms of the contribution it has made to the country in more than one way, the original character of the city must be preserved.

The city needs a permanent administrative body, and resented the short-sighted changes and ‘accidental development’ that are harming the eco-system and putting unnecessary pressure on the city’s resources.

Dr. Amit Kapoor, honorary chairman of the Institute for Competitiveness India, which is an extension of global network of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, said that the city has failed from the business perspective because of the absence of manufacturing industry, lack of highly qualified talent, and low job opportunities for the skilled professionals.

City has much more potential to be a global city and more importantly requires much more proactive people’s engagement with the city, encouraging walking, cycling, etc, he said.  Despite being a small city only 9 percent of the people use the pedestrian way, he added.

Dr. S.P.S. Grewal founder of Grewal Eye Institute said that though the city is relatively a healthy city yet its aging population require more centres of excellence in the medical field, and promotion of medical tourism has great potential.  A good convention centre could be another driver of growth for the city, he added.

Quark Media’s Senior Global HR Director Sofi Zahoor said that there should be a uniform policy for Greater Chandigarh – the tricity – and have a long-term plan to attract bigger companies, and more employment opportunities in the region.

CII-Yi (Young India) Chair of Youth Affairs Amanjot Kaur said that youth in the city have been showing remarkable interest in entrepreneurship, and the city must evolve startup funds and incubators to support them.

Jaiprakash Hasrajani, CEO and co-founder of TCIS and Taaleem India felt the need for better international connectivity that could make the city as a gateway to various other tourism and religious destinations in the adjoining states.

Dr. Kevin Stolarick, Research Director, Martin Prosperity Institute, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Canada, facilitated the workshop and involved the participant in group exercise to identify the challenges, that ranged from traffic to corruption, waste management, un-cleanliness, vandalized gardens, to ineffective administration.

Some of the other speakers included  Principal Advisor to Government of Haryana Sastry Tumuluri; Business India’s Advisor Dolly Bhasin; Director of The Millennium School Robin Aggarwal, and Gursimran Kaur, founder and COO of ValuerHR eSolutions Pvt Ltd.