Chandigarh, January 11
Professor Damodar Acharya, Chairman of the All-India Council of Technical Education, inaugurated a two-day national conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Wireless Communication and e-Security’ at Panjab University here today.

In his inaugural address, Prof Acharya talked about introducing ME integrated with an element of research for the students doing BE. He also said for B.Sc students it would be better if there was a 4-year integrated masters programme.

The conference was organised by the University Institute of Engineering and Technology, PU. The chief patron was Prof R.C. Sobti, Vice-Chancellor, and the patron was Prof B.S. Sohi, Director, UIET. The conference was convened by Dr Renu Vij, Professor, UIET.

Prof H.K. Verma, Deputy Director, IIT, Roorkee, in his keynote address spoke of pros and cons of the wireless and wired communication. He eloquently put forward his viewpoint in wireless communication being both vertical and horizontal. He also made comparisons between the fixed and mobile wireless. Prof Sanjiv Sofat from Punjab Engineering College was the chairperson. Presentations were given by Basant Raj Singh, Manpreet Singh, Gurhimmat Singh and Gupremjeet Singh.

Panchkula, January 11
The town's first model school, the Sanskriti Government School, Sector 20, will begin from the forthcoming academic session. The Principal, Ms Renu Gupta, said the Sanskriti school will be a cut above the other government schools of the district.

Opened under a new initiative of the Haryana Government, the Sanskriti Government School will be English medium and affiliated to the Haryana Board.

"We have separate laboratories for Science, Maths and English besides EDUSAT laboratories for distance education. We provide indoor and outdoor sports facilities, including chess, carrom and football," the Principal stated.

Meanwhile, the sale of the prospectus has begun at the school premises and will continue for the entire month.

Chandigarh, January 11
GGDSD College, Sector 32, here organised a lecture on astrology and vaastu for its students and staff on the college premises today. The talk was delivered by Dr Deepshiri from the Bhartiya Astrology and Vaastu Reseach Centre, an expert in the fields of astrology, palmistry, numerology, gemology and vaastu shastra architecture.

The talk primarily centered around the basic concepts of astrology and vaastu. Addressing the students he said, "Every person can not become a doctor, engineer or marketing expert. A person who is not doing well in medical line can become a top-class fashion designer or a beauty expert." Besides this, he also highlighted the role that astrology and the science of vaastu played in inviting success and positive energies to the work and residential places.

Chandigarh, January 11
In the Jammu and Kashmir sex scandal, the District and Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, today rejected two separate applications of the accused: one to obtain a complete set of the statements of the victims recorded by the investigating agency, and the other for the charges under Immoral Trafficking Act being tried by a lower court.

The orders were passed at 3 pm by the judge. During the hearing of the applications of the accused, the public prosecutor of the CBI objected to releasing the list of the witnesses though the defence counsels stated it was their right to know the name of the witnesses to contest the case. The judge has fixed the next date of hearing as February 6.

Meanwhile, the prime witness was brought to the city by the CBI. Throughout the day there were rumours that she will be produced in court to record her statement before the magistrate. CBI officials, however, denied stating that she has been shifted to Chandigarh due to security reasons.

Chandigarh, January 11
Notwithstanding the overall radical development in the agriculture sector, small farmers in the country are still facing crisis due to increased financial stringency. This was portrayed by the soul-stirring play, ‘Saada Jaggon Seer Mukya’, staged by the Department of Theatre and Television, Punjabi University, Patiala, at the Tagore theatre, here today.

Brought to the city by the Roopak Kala and Welfare Society in association with NZCC, DPR Haryana and Punjab Agro, the play is a dramatic improvisation of a story ‘Kargil’ by Baldev Dhaliwal.

Based on observations of the rural life of a farmer, the script translated the woes, trials and tribulations of Indian peasantry in general and that of Punjab, in particular.

In the play, which was conceived and directed by acclaimed film personality Navnindra Behl, the adolescent, innocent and but full-of-life farmer Ranbir, is reduced to sheer poverty and falls prey to the cunning motifs of moneylenders and bankers. Left with no other alternative, the poor farmer ends the miserable story by poisoning his family.

Relying on the theatre as the most vibrant medium to intervene and participate in the social dialogue, Navnindra made bold directorial statements through the play.

Amarjit, who portrayed the protagonist, excelled with diverse emotional display as also did Charanjit, Surinder, Harkesh, Ranjit Kaur and Rupinder.

Very minute details were also enacted leaving nothing for the imagination of the audience, which at times reduced the curiosity of audience.

Chandigarh, January 11
Ripudaman Kaur was adjudged the best female dancer of the year at a dance competition organised by the Chandigarh Institute of Performing Arts (CIPA).

The competition, held at the Government Polytechnic College for Women, Sector 10, saw many contestants vying for the title.

Ripudaman Kaur, who had been winning the title for the past three years, has also performed with some of the well-known singers both on stage and on small screen.