Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrived in Chandigarh Tuesday to attend two convocations and police were on high alert since morning with traffic snarls expected in the city during his day-long visit.
The prime minister will first attend a convocation at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER). He will also inaugurate the advanced cardiac centre at the institute.

He will then attend a special convocation at his alma mater, Panjab University, Tuesday afternoon where he will be honoured with a Doctor of Laws degree.

This is his first visit to PU, where he was a postgraduate student and later joined as a faculty member.

Tight security measures were in place across Chandigarh in view of the prime minister’s visit. The routes that he will take during the day were manned by armed police and traffic personnel.

Major parking lots in commercial areas of Sector 7 and 26 (along Madhya Marg) were made out of bounds for all vehicles. Office goers had a harrowing time parking their vehicles behind these markets as the regular parking zones were sealed.

Traffic was halted on roads taken by the prime minister from the airport to the PGIMER.

The Congress sees Prime Minister’s visit to the city on November 3 as the golden opportunity to give a final push to the decision to revert back to the old system of Chief Commissioner, which had already been taken by the Ministry of Home Secretary (MHA) in principle.

The local unit of the Congress deciding to take up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit to the city on November 3 Read