An interesting cocktail mixology event was held in Chandigarh by a community of like-minded individuals who got together to have some fun over the weekend. The community ‘Beyond 9 to 5’ was kickstarted by city dwellers and entrepreneurs, Shivankit Arora and Rajat Garg. Excited to know more? Here is our Q n A session with co-founder of ‘Beyond 9 to 5’ Shivankit Arora:

Tell us about Beyond 9 to 5. How did this community come into being?

My co-founder, Rajat, and I often discussed about ‘things to do in Chandigarh’  other than food and drinks.We had similar passion for learning new art forms, exploring travel, and engaging in unconventional activities.

We decided to pen down the list of ideas that people would enjoy doing and eventually created a WhatsApp group between the two of us. It’s good to see that we have 30 members now after our first event.

What is your vision for ‘Beyond 9 to 5’ ?

We are trying to create a community of like-minded people who are open to finer things and new experiences in Chandigarh Tricity. The aim is to get passionate people on board and enrich the community with different skills and experiences.

To put things in perspective, here are some events we have thought of

🍷Mixology/Cocktail workshops

🥢Trying new cuisines

💃Intro classes to new dance forms

⭐ Adventure Trip/Activites

🏇 Horse riding

How has the response been so far? What are people looking forward to as a part of ‘Beyond 9 to 5’?

The response was great. After our first event, we have over 30 members now who come from a variety of interesting backgrounds.

People are looking to explore more art forms and ‘skills’ based activities moving forward.

How did the event go? When is the next one scheduled for and what are you planning to do?

We had about 15 members come through for the first cocktail mixology event.

People had a great time, made some interesting cocktails, and enjoyed LIVE music.

We also had an ice-breaker session where everyone introduced themselves and suggested ideas for the next event. It helped members know each other better and collaborate on things where they had common interests.

Our community is quite gender-balanced with equal participation from both genders. The next one is not decided yet but probably be in January/February 2023. We’ve received requests for dance workshops so we might just do that

Can you tell us about yourself and your business partner?

Rajat and I are both engineers who became entrepreneurs in different industries later.

We both love Chandigarh and met each other at a gym. After hanging out for a few months, we realized we had similar interests and decided to go ahead with Beyond 9 to 5.

 How does one join ‘Beyond 9 to 5’?

It would be best if someone can reach out to me or Rajat through Instagram and give a basic introduction of themselves along with their interests.
IG : shivankit.arora

IG : rajat1194

Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) house owners have reason to rejoice.  The residents of CHB colonies have got a major relief as the CHB has allowed internal changes to the allottees who own CHB flats which was a long-pending demand.

UT Administrator and Governor of Punjab Banwari Lal Purohit has given his assent to the need-based changes which have been recommended by the eight-member committee.

What is allowed? 

The house owners can make internal changes without any approval from the CHB. However, the safety of the structure will have to be taken into consideration while bringing about any changes to a housing unit.

Any change in the structure should be carried out within the borders of the said building, and within the plotted area, and there should be no change brought about to the skyline.

In yet another relief, the CHB has also allowed the construction of elevators within the building. However, the elevators have to be designed by the Online Building Plan Approval System.

Additional doors can be constructed while keeping in mind the full safety of the structure. Though, such doors cannot be constructed for backyards that open up to public spaces.

Tens of thousands of allottees who live in the CHB flats had been demanding regularisation of the need-based changes or extra construction in the houses and one-time settlement on the pattern of Delhi.

Out of about 70,000 CHB flats, need-based changes have been made in 60,000 dwellings. Close to 18 per cent of the city’s population, lives in these flats.

Earlier, the CHB had set up an eight-member committee under the chairmanship of the secretary CHB to consider requests for need-based changes. The committee had given its report in July subsequent to which came the CHB board of directors nod and finally the recommendations were sent for the accord of the UT Administrator.

From now onwards, on-street parking outside one’s home would be a paid parking area in the City Beautiful.

A draft proposal will soon be made to decongest the city of rising parking woes due to increased vehicular density especially of cars and motorbikes.

UT Adviser Dharam Pal has ordered the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh to begin with a pilot project of on-street paid parking in the city. To begin with, the pilot project will take off in the residential areas of Sector 35. As part of it, no one will be able to park vehicles on the V4, V5, and V6 roads. The V4 roads are the roads in front of the markets, V5 roads are the circular roads around the sectors, and V6 roads are the internal sector roads.

Very soon, the draft of the proposal will be out and the rates will be fixed. The rates will be fixed within the next fortnight. The project will take off  in Sector 35, and soon the scope of this proposal will be extended in a phased manner across the city. The Chandigarh Administration had notified the policy in December 2020, however, it could not see the light of the day then.

Also as per the proposal, to ease the parking woes, the existing empty spaces in the sector near the shops, school boundaries, green belts, and other areas in Sector 35-A and 35-B would be made available for night parking which would be a paid facility.

Earlier, an inspection of various sites was carried out to ascertain the extent of the problem, and it was found out that particularly in front of marla houses there was a huge problem of parking with one family owning as many as two to three cars, and each marla house has two to three storeys thus making it virtually impossible for them to let the parking area be chaos free.

Residents welfare associations oppose paid parking

The eight nominated councilors of the Municipal Corporation have raise their opposition to increasing tax and parking .

Chandigarh Residents’ Associations Welfare Federation (CRAWFED) held an emergency emergent with the nominated Municipal Councillors of Chandigarh on the issue charges on parking private vehicles outside residential houses. They also raised their voice against the upcoming tax/extra-charges on depositing bills at e-Sampark Centre.

Dr Anish Garg, General Secy raised the demand of developing Community Parking in dense populated areas in place of fixing parking fees for the vehicles before the houses. Rajat Malhotra, Gen Secy suggested handover of  the community parking slots to the residents so that they manage themselves.

All the eight nominated councillors,  Dr R.S.Bedi, Umesh Ghai, Dharmendra Singh, Mahinder Kaur, Satinder Singh, Anil Masih, Naresh Panchal, Geeta Devi listened to the issues patiently and committed to put up the matter before the appropriate authority as well as in House too.

A two-day literature festival was held in the Tricity over the weekend. Chandigarh Literary Society’s brainchild called ‘Literati’ which made its debut in 2013, saw 35 authors in different languages such as Hindi, English and Punjabi come together to discuss all things literary this year.

Many stalwarts in the world of literature as well as celebrities who have authored books were spotted at the event. These included Gurcharan Das, Rana Safvi, Divya Dutta and Vikram Sampath.

The event was organised in collaboration with the Chandigarh administration, the Chandigarh Sahitya Akademi, the Haryana Sahitya Akademi and the Haryana government.

The two-day long event kickstarted with a kavi samelan at the Indraprastha Auditorium in Panchkula which was followed by seminars, book launches and discussions held at the Lake Club in Chandigarh.

The topics under discussion were varied and kept the audience engaged throughout. While scholars like Rana Safvi, Affan Yesvi, Peerzada Syed Altamash Nizami and Dr Surjit Patar spoke on Sufi and mystical influences of our country, another interesting panel on the first day of the event spoke on the confluence of politics and media which had speakers such as writer and Congressman Rasheed Kidwai and AAP MP Raghav Chadha who were in conversation with the Resident Editor of Hindustan Times, Chandigarh, Ramesh Vinayak.

Bollywood actor Divya Dutta was also in conversation with Saguna Jain on the second day in a session which was called ‘The Stars in Divya’s Sky’. While at the session, Divya Dutta shared with the audience that if one really desires something, the universe conspires to bring it to you, adding that it was her dream to be introduced in the film industry by famous filmmaker Yash Chopra, and while that did not transpire, it was her supporting role in his movie Veer- Zaara that got her the recognition she had always desired.

She also shared her hesitation on getting the role of Shabbo in Veer-Zara with the audience members present and said, “With Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta in the film, I was skeptical whether I would be noticed at all. During the screening, my hands were cold, as I was sure that I would only be offered ‘best friend’ roles from here on, but when we left the theatre, everyone wanted to know who I was.”

Book launches at the Lit Fest

There were also book launches at the two-day literary festival. One book that saw its launch was from the Tricity’s own author Chetna Keer. Books that were launched included IAS officer Gauri Parasher Joshi’s ‘Flight of the Golden Eagle and Other Stories”, Lily Swarn’s poetry anthology ‘A Passionate Affair with Trees’ and Chetna Keer’s ‘Giddha on My Gulmohar’.

Symphony, an anthology by young authors from Manav Rachna International School, Mohali, and The Pursuit, a student magazine, were also launched.

On the sidelines of the event Keer, who launched her book ‘Giddha on my Gulmohar’, shared with CityWoofer that she had penned the literary work while staying in Kasauli. She said, “After attending literary events in other cities, this event in Chandigarh was like coming back to my maika (parent’s home) for me.”

About Chandigarh Literary Society

The Chandigarh Literary Society (CLS) is a not-for-profit registered body formed with the aim of promoting literature and creative writing in the region. The Chandigarh Literary Society serves as a network of creative minds, nurturing talent and bringing together writers, publishers, intellectuals, students and scholars. It organizes local, regional, national and international level workshops, meetings, conferences, interactive events and competitions.

You can also become a member by filling and submitting the membership forms. The fee is as follows:

Life Membership : Rs 5,000 (One time)

Institutional Membership : Rs 10,000 (One time)

Student Membership : Rs 200 per annum

Contact: Chandigarh Literary Society

1536, Sector 34B, Chandigarh

chandigarhliterary@gmail.com

To promote cycling in Chandigarh on a larger scale, Chandigarh Smart City Limited & Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, have come together to execute the concept by brainstorming the issue. As a right step in this direction, the second ‘Healthy Streets Capacity Building Workshop’ is being held at The Lalit Hotel, Chandigarh in partnership with the Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, ITDP, the knowledge partner – Patiala Foundation and Municipal Corporation Chandigarh.

“Walking and cycling are the cleanest ways to get around a city, and both can have enormous benefits for health, greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, road safety and equity. Despite it being the most environment friendly, healthy and low-cost mode of travel, cycling, for many upper-class urban Indians, is merely another way to keep fit. However, for a sizeable number of people who are employed in the informal sector, cycling is a vital component of their work lives.”, said Nitin Kumar Yadav, Secretary Local Government, UT Administration, Chandigarh during the inaugural session of the workshop.

Over 100 officials from 35 cities across India, including Smart City CEOs, are attending the workshop.

A ‘Healthy Streets Vision’ and ‘Design Workbook’ was also released which will guide Chandigarh administration and other associated parties to carry out strategic changes will help make streets suitable for cyclists and pedestrians.

Rahul Kapoor, Director, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs said, “Through the India Cycles4Change and Streets4People Challenges, we have collectively achieved more than 500 km of healthy streets in the last few years. These challenges have helped us imagine and realise a world beyond cars. However, the real success will be when we scale up not just across, but beyond the cities enrolled under these challenges.”

Anindita Mitra IAS, Chief Executive Officer, Chandigarh Smart City Limited welcomed Nitin Kumar Yadav, Secretary Local Government, UT Administration, Chandigarh; Rahul Kapoor, Director, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Councillors of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, Sivasubramanium, National Lead Transport Systems and Electric Mobility, participants, partners from ITDP and media for being a part of healthy streets capacity building workshop.

Supply of 24×7 potable water in your taps for which you don’t need to install a water purifier will soon be reality in the coming years in Chandigarh.

Work on this front has begun in the right earnest with the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh signing a historic project agreement with a French financial institution, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) with the support of the European Union. Apart from the design of the programme, AFD is funding the major part of the investment through a Rs 412 crore soft loan.

Ageing water supply system

The water pipes have been laid down many years ago …. which has put a lot of pressure on them over decades. Due to the multi-dimensional pressure on the city infrastructure, increase in population and the criss-crossing of pipelines, many welded due to repair work, it is not possible to isolate and detect leakages.

Now, that most of the pipleines will be replaced, there will be no problem of low pressure on upper floors of buildings. Over 270 km of water supply network which hinders high pressure water, would be replaced.

No need for over-head/ underground tanks as water supply will be avaialabe 24×7, This would lead to lesser pumping of water, further reducing the carbon footprint of the project.

Round-the-clock high pressure water at every household would eliminate chances of contamination. Due to continuous flow of water in water pipes, less rate of contamination through seepage from sewer line will take place.

Also, women would be at the forefront of the project and occupy 20% to 50% posts at every level, right from operator to managerial cadres.

All slums and colonies will get a tap in every household, there will be no need to install tubewells  which will aLso save ground water from depleting.

Smart water metering

Due to smart metering up to the household level, all leakages even in the internal plumbing would be identified. Once citizens rectifies any leakage, water bill would automatically come down.

Through smart water metering, the consumption pattern of residents would be monitored and consumer would be made aware of any deviation from the normal in use of water.

Chandigarh’s pan city project with Smart Water Metering for all the 1.77 lakh connections, is the first of its kind in the country.

Water bill on mobile

SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) will be linked with AMR (automated meter reader device) meters, so the water bill will appear on your mobile.

1.78 lakh water meters will be converted to AMRs at the cost of 60.77 cr

From SCADA, complaints of line leakage/ breakage/ water theft will go directly from SCADA to the mobile phones of area JE and SDO. The problem of line leakage will get reduced from 40 pc to 10-15 pc.

Existing old, worn-out pumping machinery will be replaced with energy-efficient pumps.

Where will the money come from:

Total cost: Rs 591.59 cr

FID bank loan: Rs 412cr 80 lakh

Grant-in-aid from EU: 97.87 cr

MC+Smart city: 80.92 cr

The Grain Market, popularly known as ‘sector 26 ki sabzi mandi’, is finally being shifted from Sector 26 to Sector 39, Chandigarh.

The assent has been accorded by the UT Administrator Banwarilal Purohit to auction the shops on a freehold basis at the new market.

To shift the present mandi from Sector 26 to Sector 39 about 75 acres of land was acquired about 32 years ago. Subsequently, the site was allotted for the second grain market in Sector 39 in the year 2003.

Now, about 100 SCO sites at the market will be up for auction. The existing shopowners of Sabzi Mandi of Sector-26 market will be given preference.

After the shifting of shops, the Sector 26 market will be de-notified in a phased manner. The entire Sabzi Mandi will be moved by April 2023.

The need to shift

Most buildings in Sector 26 mandi are no longer safe, cracks have developed in buildings

There is wild growth and rats have hollowed out the land below

Unhygeinic conditions due to poor cleanliness

No space for unloading of trucks which come from across the country

Faulty sewerage

Long history of shifting

Earlier, the construction work of the mandi had come to a halt in 2015 due to the non-availability of funds. In August 2015, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had to intervene and asked the administration to begin the functioning of the market. Responding to the court, the UT Administration assured that the market will become operational by March 31, 2016. However, it took another six years for it to finally see the shifting of the grain market.

There are intellectuals, like-minded individuals, and community-conscious people in the Tricity who want to do something for the city and have a bagful of ideas that are people-centric and not person-centric.

One such venture beginning Dec 16 is the Chandigarh Urban Festival CUF 22 which believes in the collective participation of people, administration, senior citizens, children, professionals, industrialists, the common man … everyone.

The week-long festival is meant to celebrate togetherness and love.  City Beautiful Chandigarh- Apna Shehar Apna Jashan is the event which will take you  through various cultural and sports activities that reflect the true nature of Chandigarhians. Watch the event live here:

“The aim is to create a lively and vibrant atmosphere in a responsible manner,” says Shilpa Das, a Tricity-based leading architect and one of the founding members of CUF. There is a core group of 15 people including advocates, doctors, and industrialists, and a great support system of volunteers, NGOs, schools, which work in tandem to take forward the historic legacy of Chandigarh.

Not just a week-long affair, the CUF works around the year working on its sector-to-neighbourhood initiative in which people communicate and interact with each other with the help of some fun activities, and competitions, in their sectors, and competitions are held between residents of different sectors too.  “Our contribution includes upgrading green spaces for creating social infrastructure where people can catch up  and interact, form activity based groups  like sports, weekend rituals, etc which are based on common interests and so are more meaningful . We just act as catalysts for bringing people together through these activity groups,” says Das.

Into the fifth year, CUF ‘s ‘City Celebration’ part includes Apna Shehar, Apna Jashan which is being celebrated from Dec 16-18 and everybody is invited to the Capitol Complex and plaza in Sector 1, Chandigarh.

The third part of the Chandigarh Urban Festival is the ‘Process of Chandigarh’ which is an academic exercise where activists, politicians, retired officers,  NGO heads, academicia brainstorm to find ways and means to create common public opinion.

“The whole exercise is easier said than done, the idea to bring everybody together is much bigger tahn joust a part, doesn’t happen naturally, you have to get people out of their comfort zones, generate awareness and it’s a small step at a time,” says Das. “It is a celebration of the human spirit, human contact is the main thing. That is why the theme this year is ‘Unlocking hope of life, happiness, togetherness, freedom, and balance,” she says.

CUF 22 events which are held throughout the year are being organized by the residents (RWAs), educational institutes, corporates, NGOs, and regional, cultural & sports clubs/ groups, etc. with support from Chandigarh Administration. ACT! Chandigarh Society and Chandigarh Tourism Department are also a part of the endeavour.

Day 1 of CUF 22

Chandigarh Urban Festival express CUF 22 chugged along despite hurdles. The organically growing annual event was inaugurated by Secretary Tourism, Hargunjit, in the presence of prominent citizens, senior citizens, students and members of community at the Tourism Information Centre, Sector 1.

Folk orchestra, Xylophone performance by GMHS Manimajra, patriotic songs by local artists, Puadi Akahada by Samar Singh and group, were the highlights of the day.

The Smiles group made their presence felt with an energetic interaction with the visitors. The zest of senior citizen group dressed in regional attires representing different parts of the country rubbed off on the audience as they braved the cold

Sanskar Bharti ikai Chandigarh and Art India Fort also conducted clay modelling, pottery and painting workshop.

Bangiya Sanskritik Sammilani participated in the Chandigarh Urban Festival held at Open Hand, a world heritage site, with its members performing a dance drama based on Durga Puja with Durga Stotram keeping the audience spell bound.

Through the day, parking issue kept the organisers and various departments of UT on their toes as the CISF ground allocated for parking remained out of bounds for most part of the day. Even the open hand monument side was not accessible for most visitors who had to turn back.

Main events:

Activity:  CUF T10 tournament  

Place: Capitol Complex

Date: Dec 16

Time: 7:00 am  -4:00 pm

Entry: FREE

 Activity:  Cultural evening

Place: Capitol Complex

Date: Dec 16

Time:  6:30 pm onwards

Entry: FREE

Activity:  CUF’22 Photography & Videography Competition

Place: Capitol Complex

Date: Dec 17, Dec18

Time:  9 am – 5 pm

Entry: FREE

Activity: Yaadon Ke Jharokhe Se: A retro Musical & Dance Medley curated by Senior Citizens of Chandigarh

Place: Capitol Complex, Sector 1–

Date: Dec 17

Time:  2:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Entry: FREE

Activity: Togetherness march involving community walk along with colorful parade, dance performances, masquerades and fun.

Place: Capitol Complex, Sector 1, Chandigarh

Date: December 18

Time:  3:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Entry: FREE

Activity: All Faith Walk, a peaceful march of people from all faiths and communities

Date: Dec 17

Time:  09:00 am – 10:30 pm

Entry: FREE

Activity:  Footloose activities, like  painting & drawing competitions,  Calisthenics, live performances by local bands

Date: Dec 17

Time:  11:00 am – 1:00 pm

Entry: FREE

Activity:  Fashion Show

Place: Capitol Complex

Date: Dec 17

Time:  3:00 PM

Entry: FREE

Chandigarh residents may now have to loosen their purse strings a little more for availing government public services. All services provided at e-sampark centres in Chandigarh will now cost money from Dec 1.

The UT Administration is planning to levy charges for 18 services which were free till now.

Who will not pay?

If you want to avoid paying the surcharge. you can install the e-sampark mobile app, use internet banking or debit card. However, 70-80 pc people in Chandigarh  deposit their bills by visiting the e-sampark centres.

LIST OF CHARGES

Birth  certificate: Rs 25

Death certificate:  Rs 25

Scheduled Caste certificate:  Rs 20

Backward Class certificate:  Rs 20

Payment of electricity/ water/sewerage bills: Rs 25

Tenant verification: Rs 25

Booking of tubewells: Rs 25

Aadhar card application: Rs 20

VAT/ CST returns;  Rs 25

Tax payment:  Rs 25

The proposal for the levy has come from the Society for Promotion of IT in Chandigarh (SPIC), set up under the aegis of the Department of Information Technology. So far, the UT administration had been bearing the cost of 12 services provided at e-sampark centres.

Who was footing the bill till now?

The IT Department was not paying any fee to SPIC for five services of the Social Welfare Department and one service of the Treasury Department.

Twelve other services are being supported by the Department of Information Technology. The department is paying Rs 25 per service transaction to SPIC for four services offered by the Municipal Corporation, two offered by the police, one offered by the Estate Office, three services offered by the Electricity Department and two services of the Excise and Taxation Department.

Piano enthusiasts in the Tricity had a feast as two events were held one after the other, with one held at the Contemporary Art Festival, Sector 27, Chandigarh where city pianists Anupama  Bains, Pratham Pal Singh, Atul Lakra and Nainika enthralled the audience with their performances.

The other one was at the Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, Chandigarh, by French pianist Shani Diluka, a musical nite organised by the French Embassy in India, Institut Français, Alliance Française de Chandigarh, the Chandigarh Cultural Department and Furtados.

Contemporary Art Festival

Acoustic piano from the famous CoLab Studio of the city reached the auditorium of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. Nipun Cheema’s student pianists Anu Bains, Pratham Pal Singh, Atul Lakra and Nainika enthralled the audience with their performances.

Shani Diluka, all the way from France

The unique concert of the French piano virtuoso was held by Shani Diluka, one of the greatest pianists of her generation.

Born in Monaco to Sri Lankan parents, she was discovered at the age of six by a program initiated by Princess Grace of Monaco for exceptional talent.

She is the only pianist from the Indian sub-continent to enter Paris Conservatory gaining 1st prize with Unanimity of the jury, and to enter the prestigious Lake Como International Piano Academy presided by Martha Argerich. After legends like Callas, Rostropovitch or Menuhin, she joined the prestigious label WARNER Classics as an exclusive artist.

Shani Diluka is touring only in two cities in India, Delhi and Chandigarh.