EDUCATION

A proud moment for Shivalik Public School
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, October 24
It was a proud moment for Shivalik Public School in Sector 41 as the team representing the school lifted the K.J. Khosla Memorial Trophy during the inter-school English poetry recitation competition organised by Bhavan Vidyalaya at the auditorium of the Government Art Gallery in Sector 10 here yesterday.

Harmeet Singh and Mridula of Shivalik Public School who represented the winning team beat about 28 contestants from 14 different schools of the city and it’s surrounding areas. At the individual level, Amita Rana from Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 27 won the first prize followed by Swati Puri from Carmel Convent, Sector 9, in the second position. Harmeet Singh of Shivalik Public School bagged the third prize.

Three consolation prizes were also announced and Harshit Chahal from St. Kabir, sector 26, Akashi Kaul from St. Stephen, Sector 45, and Brahmleen Kaur from YPS, Mohali, walked away with the first, second and third consolation prizes respectively.

A panel of judges that comprised of Col J.M.S. Hattar, a public speaker, who is also working for the Voice of America, Doordarshan and All India Radio as a commentator, Mrs Vidla Sahajpal, lecturer, MCM College, Sector 36 and Mr. Kailash Modgil, Lecturer, SD College, Sector 32, adjudged the winners on the basis of their style of presenting themselves before the audience, the choice of poem, memory and pronunciation and recitation style.

An annual event of Bhavan Vidyalaya, this running trophy was introduced in the memory of K.J. Khosla, Bhavan’s former Vice-Chairman and Director who, had been a motivating force in all it’s endeavors from the day of it’s inception. In today’s contest as many as 15 schools participated in the competition with each school sending two participants to recite a poem each in their own style. The selection of the poems was varied , ranging from classical to modern, philosophical to romantic.

Presiding over the function, Mrs Harjit Vasudev, former Director of the Regional Institute of English, emphasised the importance of correct pronunciation, the right stress and proper intonation while reciting a piece of poetry. Apart from installing a sense of confidence in the participants. She said that such competitions exposed today’s generation to the timeless beauty of the works of art both classical and modern.

Earlier, Mrs Meenakshi Mohindra, Principal of the school, welcomed the guests. Prominent among those who were present in today’s function were Mr. R K saboo, Chairman, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chandigarh Kendra and Mrs K.J. Khosla.

FROM THE COLLEGES
Laloo and Bill steal the show
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24
It was entertainment all the way at the annual Management Fest organised by business administration students of the Sector 32 GGDSD College here today. Brainstorming sessions dominated the day.

The fest drew a tremendous response from students of local colleges. Teams of 11 colleges turned up for participation in various contests that marked the day.

The contests were designed to inculcate managerial skills, event management tactics and creative thinking among students. The other aim was to provide them with an exposure to the corporate world. The contests saw a enthusiastic response from not only participants, but also the audience.

The contests included ‘Let’s Argue’ with discussions on terrorism, leadership and optimism. Dumb charades was a thorough entertainer and so was a mock press conferences, where those who played Laloo Prasad Yadav and Bill Clinton stole the show.

Between the events, there were songs and dances by students of the host college and youngsters joined in to shake a leg.

The results of various contests are as follows: Just a Minute — Anupriya and Ishpreet (Centre for Management Training and Research) 1; Melt the Ice — Manpreet (GCG-42) 1; Vaibhav (GCM) 2; dumb charades — Upasna, Ravleen, Anisha (1), Prerna, Satinder, Munit (SGGS) 2; Let’s Argue — Monita and Neha (SGGS) 1, Umang and Saurabh Talwar (GCM) 2.

Fashion show

A fashion show marked the conclusion of the Home Science Fest in the Sector 11 Government College for Girls here today. While Neha was crowned Ms Fresher, Jolly was declared the first runner-up with Mamta in the second spot.

Comprising four rounds, the show featured 26 participants, out of which, 10 were chosen for the second round. Her answer to the question why girls choose to study home science fetched Neha the title.

The Principal of the college, Ms Vijay Lakshmi, presided over the function. She appreciated of the efforts of students and teachers in putting-up an exciting five-day fest.

The teachers who were involved in the organisation of the fest included Dr S. Patheja, Dr Kiran Bhardwaj, Ms Seema Chopra, Ms Reena Mittal and Ms Amandeep Kaur.

The Political Science Society of Government Postgraduate College, Sector 46, organised a quiz contest to celebrate UN Day. The Principal, Major D.P. Singh (retd), gave away the prizes to the winners and lauded the role of the UNO in maintaining world peace. The results of the contest are: Shiraz Cheema, Ashish Verma, Rakesh Sharma (1), W. Shankar Singh, Lukshmi, Amit Sharma (2), Kulwinder Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Parveen Gupta (3).

FROM THE SCHOOLS
DAV School earns distinction
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24
The maiden result of Kailash Behl DAV School, Sector 7, has earned it a place in the top slot amongst DAV institutions in the Secondary School Examination (Class X) category.

Placed second in the all-India list of DAV institutions in the category of 41 to 120 student strength, the school has scored a qualitative performance index of 74.57 per cent.

In a communication conveyed to the school Principal, Mrs Madhu Behl, the DAV College Managing Committee has appreciated the high academic standards which are in keeping with the DAV tradition of excellence.

Ecstatic with the performance of the students and acknowledgment of the DAV committee, Mrs Behl said that a lot of hard work went into the success of the first result of the school.

“I personally monitored the performance of each student, held special classes for all and instructed teachers to give special attention to the weak students. Consequently, all my students ended up with at least a first division,” she adds.

Meanwhile, the school is already gearing up for the next examination with the exercise of identifying students weak in particular subjects having already begun. “We have pledged to improve upon our result and make a greater mark next time. The teachers are already on the job,” she stated.

‘Say no to crackers’

Students of Government High School, Sector 40, organised a rally to spread the message of avoiding the use of crackers here today. Based on the theme, ‘Say no to crackers’, the students carrying placards and raising slogans marched through the sector.

Led by the Headmaster, Mr Bahadur Singh, the rally was organised by Children’s Alliance for Protection of Environment (CAPE) and was flagged off by Mr JS Grewal, chairperson of CAPE.

Over 1000 students of the school as well as staff members pledged not to use crackers during Dashera and Divali festivals to prevent injuries, noise and air pollution.

The president of the Environment Society of India, Mr SK Sharma, said that such rallies would be organised in over 20 schools of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.

School inaugural function

The inaugural function of eco-club “Prakriti” was organised by Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, at its premises here today. Aimed at creating awareness and evoking concern over the fragile eco system, the club has 80 members on its rolls.

Following an introduction of office-bearers, the joint secretary, Harmeet Singh, said that the club would launch a tree plantation movement, acquire land to be maintained by the “Green Park Force” and organise activities like poster-making, quiz, poetry recitation among others.

The function concluded with the speech by the Director, Mr D.S. Bedi, motivated the students to help create awareness on conservation of environment.

Student wins case against VC
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, October 24
A local court has directed the Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University (PU) to allow provisional admission to a student of the Department of Laws. It says that the student be allowed to join the third semester and take the examinations. The student had earlier filed a suit in this regard.

In the Ritika Pathak versus the VC case, the plaintiff had alleged that she had joined the first semester of the three-semester LLB course in July 2000. There are 5 papers in each semester.

She cleared one paper out of five in the first semester and two papers out of five in the second semester. In the third paper of the second semester, she obtained 39 marks against 45 marks required for passing. The university was not allowing her admission in the third semester.

According to the statement of the suit, the plaintiff is governed by a notification as contained in para 8.1 of the university calendar, according to which, the VC cannot deny the plaintiff admission to the third semester.

Meanwhile, the President of the Panjab University Campus Students Council has also submitted a memorandum to the PU VC and the Chairman of the Department of Laws regarding the admission of students who have not been able to clear 50 per cent of the papers.

Dhillon-Rano group victorious
Our Correspondent

SAS Nagar, October 24
The Dhillon-Rano group got a clean sweep in the elections to the Punjab School Education Board Non-Teaching Employees Association held here today.

Mr Gurdeep Singh Dhillon has been elected president of the association. By securing 821 votes he defeated his rivals by a big margin. The other two candidates for the post of president, Mr Amar Singh Dhaliwal and Mr Kanwar Singh, polled 178 and 221 votes, respectively.

The total number of votes of the association are 1533 out of which 1234 had been polled. The poll percentage comes to 80 per cent.

The other two factions fighting the elections were Brar-Dhaliwal group and Mulazim Bhalai Front.

The elections were held for 16 different posts and all candidates of the Dhillon-Rano group won with huge margins. The other office-bearers who have won the elections are Mr Ranjeet Singh Mann — senior vice- president (807 votes); Mr Jasbir Singh Gill —vice president (814); Mr Bhagwant Singh Bedi — general secretary (835); Ms Amarjit Kaur — joint secretary (790); Mr Ram Nath Goel — finance secretary (882); Mr Daswinder Singh Sahota — press secretary (800); and Mr Surinder Pal Singh Shinda —organising secretary (836).

A three-member election commission had been appointed by the board authorities for conducting the elections.

Paintings by schoolchildren
Our Correspondent

Panchkula, October 24
Fun City here today was crowded with schoolchildren carrying colour boxes. The occasion was “Vibgyor”, an on-the-spot painting competition.

The results of the competition will be declared tomorrow.

Night school kids get new school bags
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24
The birth centenary of Lord Mahavira brought a smile on the faces of the students of the night school being run at Government Girls High School, Sector 25, here today with each one getting school bags, stationery and sweets as part of the celebration.

Arranged by the Chandigarh Chapter of Mahavir International, the items were distributed by members of the association.

The secretary of the club, Mr A.K. Oswal, gave a detailed account of the various services rendered by the organisation in promoting education and wiping out illiteracy.

Dasehra celebrations in school
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, October 24
Inter-house competitions of painting, mask making and card making marked the Dasehra celebrations at DAV Model School in Sector 15 here today.

The effigy of Ravana was also burnt to mark the victory of the truth over the evil. The principal of the school, Ms Rakesh Sachdeva, said, ‘’Celebrating festivals brings the students close to their traditional values.’’

The judges for the competitions were the Secretary, Punjab Lalit Kala, Mr Madan Lal, and Prof Jodh Singh, Government College.

Excitement and festive spirit prevailed in Aanchal Preparatory School, Sector 35 and Mohali branches when the students witnessed the burning of an effigy.

Tiny tots dressed as Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Sita and Hanumand enacted scenes from the Ramayana.

Children celebrate Dasehra
Our Correspondent

Panchkula, October 24
The tinytots of Wonder Years school here today celebrated Dasehra on the school premises. The children clapped when the effigy of Ravana was put on fire and crackers started bursting.

The faculty members explained to the kids the importance of the festival and the concept of victory of the good over the evil. According to Mr Amrit Pal Singh, director of the school, the children were convinced by the end of the function that ‘‘Ravana was a bad boy’’.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
DGPs told to enforce order on name-tags
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24
Just over a week after a report appeared in The Tribune regarding the violation of Supreme Court directions on name tags, Mr Justice K.C. Gupta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked the Directors-General of Punjab and Haryana Police, along with the Inspector General of Chandigarh Police, to show cause why they should not be directed to comply with the observations made by the apex court.

According to the report, police officials, carrying out the arrest or handling the interrogation of a detainee, were not wearing name tags specifying their designation despite Supreme Court directions. The item had added that in the absence of the name tags, it was virtually impossible to ascertain the identity of the officials not only in cases of arrest, but also in cases of misbehaviour.

After quoting the newspaper report, Mr Justice Gupta observed: “Since the police officials are violating the directions issued by the apex court in D.K. Basu versus state of West Bengal case, let notices be issued to the DGPs of both states, as well as IGP of Chandigarh Police to show cause why they should not be directed to comply with the observations”.

The Supreme Court, in its judgement, had held: “The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name tags with their designations”. The court had added that the ‘‘failure to comply with requirements, apart from rendering the official concerned liable for departmental action, would also render him liable to be punished for contempt of court and the proceedings may be instituted in any High Court of the country, having territorial jurisdiction over the matter”.

Judge to probe bail order violation

Directing Moga’s Additional District and Sessions Judge to look into the allegations of arresting an accused despite the grant of anticipatory bail, Mr Justice K.C. Gupta of the High Court on Wednesday asked him to submit his report within a month.

The Judge observed: “It is alleged by Gursewak Singh that he had shown the certified copy of an order passed by the High Court wherein it had been directed that in the event of the arrest of the accused, they shall be admitted to bail. But in spite of this, Inspector Manvinder Singh did not release him on bail and subsequently ASI Harmesh Lal arrested him... The fact, that a copy of the order was produced before them has been denied by the two police officers. Let this fact be inquired into by Additional Sessions Judge J.S. Chawla”.

Notice to Punjab in Chohan land case

On a petition seeking directions to Hoshiarpur’s Senior Superintendent of Police and other respondents to register a case against self-styled “president of Khalistan” Jagjit Singh Chohan, Mr Justice K.S. Garewal of the High Court today issued notice to the state of Punjab for January 14 next year.

In his petition, a Hoshiarpur district resident, Balkar Singh Sidhu had alleged that Chohan, along with 20 to 25 persons had tried to take forcible possession of his cultivated land. He harvested the paddy crop and broke open the locks of the tubewell room before taking away the farmgoods and appliances. The petitioner added that the police was informed about the incident but no action was taken as Chohan had a pact with the ruling party, the petitioner added.

HUDA asked to pay Rs 2 lakh
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, October 24
The Consumer Court has directed the Haryana Urban Development Authority to grant a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to a city resident due to the harassment caused to her in getting the possession of the plot.

The complainant, Ms Dolly Aggarwal, complained that in pursuance to an advertisement floated by HUDA for the draw of lots of residential plots of various sizes in Sector 23, Urban Estate, in Sonepat in 1991, she applied for a 10-marla plot along with the prescribed earnest money in March, 1991. She was declared successful and allotted plot number 1212 vide allotment letter dated August 22, 1991.

She paid the full amount of the plot, Rs 1,60,304, in six equal installments by August 19, 1996.

Then the complainant was asked to deposit the additional price of Rs 24,772.30 vide memo dated August 13, 1997 which was also deposited by the complainant on August 12, 1999.

The court observed that there was deficiency in service on part of HUDA in not delivering the possession of the plot for 10 years to the complainant . Consequently, HUDA authorities were directed to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation for escalation in the cost of construction. HUDA has also been directed to pay Rs 5,000 as the cost of litigation.

Court tells ETO to file reply
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24
Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Gupta and Mr Justice Ashotosh Mohunta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today granted another opportunity to Banur’s Excise and Taxation Officer Inder Mohan Singh Ahluwalia, subject to the payment of Rs 10,000 as costs.

Pronouncing the order, the judges observed: “Specific allegations have been made against the respondent in the writ petition. He has filed a reply on behalf of the state of Punjab and the Excise and Taxation Commissioner but not on his own behalf”.

The judges added: “The respondent has been attending the hearing in the case. He is present in the court even today.

He had enough time to file a reply. Another opportunity is now granted to him in the interest of justice.

This would, however, be subject to the payment of Rs 10,000 as costs which shall be paid personally by the respondent of the petitioner”.

HC order on colony
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24
Admitting a writ petition filed by the Joint Action Committee — a body of eight residents’ welfare associations — challenging the decision of the Chandigarh Administration to shift Kumhar Colony from Sector 25 to Sector 38, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered the continuation of earlier order on the maintenance of status quo.

The order was pronounced in the open court by the Bench comprising Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Gupta and Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta.

Beant murder case adjourned
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, October 24
The District and Sessions Judge, Mr H.S. Bhalla, today adjourned the Beant Singh assassination case till October 29 as one of the witnesses in the case failed to appear today.

It is learnt that the Magistrate, Mr Punit Gupta, had to appear before the court for identification of the accused at the special makeshift court room in Burail Jail.

CULTURE

Stop to smell flowers of Kinnaur
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24
The latest exhibition of Sanjay Kumbhkarni that opened in the Punjab Kala Bhavan art gallery is about the beauty of Kinnaur. After putting up three solo exhibitions earlier, this time, the photographer has brought alive the Himalayan majesty in his frames.

There are about 45 pictures on display and each work reflects the desires of people of the region that is still as virgin as ever. The Dew of Kinnaur, as the show is titled, was inaugurated here today by Mr Sarvesh Kaushal. It will continue till October 28. On view are images from the most interior of Kinnaur that the lensman had visited as part of his assignment for the Geological Survey of India. On assignment, the urge of the artist took over and what resulted was a medley of pictures that reflected Kinnaur in all its shades.

The artist says, “After going through the exhibition, we will return to our homes, work and daily chores. Days will pack up each evening as always and elope with the past. However, as we leave moments behind us, let us stop for a while, break stride... hold a moment close, make some time... and feel the nuances of nature outside and within us. It is not that the story ends with Kinnaur. Rather, it begins here...”

The exhibition is open between 10 am and 7 pm every day.

Collection of editorials on display
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 24
This one is specifically for those who thirst for knowledge. The exhibition on display at the Portraits and Portfolios Art Gallery in Sector 17-B is all about the rarest of editorial columns.

One can glance through the kind of titles editors and publishers used to give to their editorial pages way back in earlier times. Put together by Ravi Mann, who has spent years in gathering the titles from strange sources, the ensemble surprises the visitor with its significance.

Titled “Of editorials”, the display includes over about 300 such titles which span the era gone by the focus is on the social heat of the bygone years on the one hand and the political issues on the other. Talking about the show, Ravi Mann said, “The titles that editors and publishers give to their pages have always intrigued me. In any publication the editorial page is of prime significance and there is a lot of knowledge to be assimilated from this page. Between 1964 and 1967 when I was graduating from Government College in the city, I would ride my bicycle to reach the university library. The only high point in my day used to be reading the editorial of Guardian. At this point of time, I am in a position to help the visitors relive a past age.”

In the backdrop of beautiful pictures lies a huge collection of titles ...waiting to be uncovered, unravelled... The exhibition can be viewed at the art gallery between 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It will be on till October 27.