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CBSE ushers in grade system

Chandigarh, November 2 With a focus on testing higher order thinking skills (HOTS), the CBSE has introduced changes in the examination system and curriculum for Classes X and XII for the academic session 2008.

Campaigning picks up Girls campaign for their candidates on the PU campus, Chandigarh, on Friday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan

PU Polls
List of candidates out
Chandigarh, November 2
After the initial dull electioneering on the university campus, campaigning has now gained momentum with supporters of both key players, PUSU-INSO and SOPU-NSUI-HSA, coming out in large numbers to extend their patronage.

80 drums of ‘synthetic’ khoya seized
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 2
The Rajpura police has seized 80 drums of “khoya” and nine drums of “dahi”, believed to be synthetic, from a cold storage unit here today. According to police sources, the city SHO received a tip-off that several sweet owners in the town had procured “khoya” and curd from Muzaffarnagar (UP) ahead of Diwali.

Underweight Pouch 
Milkfed fined Rs 5 lakh
Chandigarh, November 2
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has directed Punjab Milkfed (Verka) to pay Rs 5 lakh as compensation for selling underweight milk pouch and deficiency in services.

COMMUNITY

Making candles to light up their lives
Chandigarh: At the community centre in Manimajra, hundreds of working slum children are scripting a new story of empowerment. At the heart of this story is a little gel and lots of light. The results are bright and feisty - in line with the festival season.

Slum children prepare gel candles that they will display ahead of Diwali. — Tribune photo by Manoj Mahajan

Arty way to teach slow learners
Mohali: On the face of it, it looks like a creative arts class for children. Some of the young kids are dancing and swaying to gentle music, some are just listening attentively to every note of music and many others are painting. It’s hard to believe that these children are undergoing serious therapy for learning disabilities. “LifeSteps”, a newly opened training centre for children with special needs has integrated creative arts to help slow learners improve.

Zirakpur wakes up to aroma of coffee
Zirakpur, township of apartments and shopping malls, has woken up the fine taste of coffee. One of the coffee chains - Cafe Coffee Day - has set up a fast food joint in Zirakpur.

IPS conference at NIPER
Mohali:“There is a great scope and opportunity for the Indian pharma industry to grow and surmount the pharma world. India is the second largest and the fastest growing nation in pharma industry. India has talented young scientific brains, technical manpower to drive the country’s economy to its best,” said Dr. A.R. Kidwai, governor of Haryana while inaugurating the 40th Annual Conference of the Indian Pharmacological Society being hosted by the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) here.

Overwhelming response to GMADA flats
Mohali: The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) has received an overwhelming number of applications for the allotment of LIG flats in Phase XI here. The scheme closed on October 31.

Survival measures at Chhatbir & ... hounded at Corbett
Chandigarh: Veterinarians of Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary in Tripura are working overtime to establish the compatibility of the Chhatbir-zoo bred pair of majestic royal Bengal tigers. The pair was given to the Sepahijala sanctuary last year as part of the exchange programme between the two zoos.

Mukesh gifts wife jet on birthday
India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, has bought his wife a luxury jet with entertainment cabins, a sky bar and fancy showers for her birthday, a newspaper said on Friday. Ambani, who owns the country’s biggest private company, Reliance Industries Ltd, gifted the $60 million Airbus plane to wife Neeta on her 44th birthday on Thursday, the Mumbai Mirror newspaper said.

CTU staff stage dharna
Chandigarh, November 2
The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking Worker’s Union today staged a dharna at the ISBT, Sector 17, against the oppressive policies of Chandigarh administration.

Members of the CTU Worker’s Union protest in support of their demand at the ISBT, Sector 17, Chandigarh, on Friday. — A Tribune photograph

Vigilance week from Nov 12
Chandigarh, November 2
The Chandigarh administration will observe “vigilance awareness week” from November 12 to 16. All organisations falling under the purview of the central vigilance commission (CVC) will observe the week. During the week, efforts will be made to raise awareness among users of services provided by the departments/ organisations about initiatives taken for improving systems and procedures. — TNS

Fire at Tribune godown
Panchkula, November 2
A fire broke out at the godown of The Tribune, Industrial Area here this evening.

FAUJI BEAT
Indian Army’s first challenge
One cannot recall another event from military history where an Army was caught so unawares as the (still being formed) new Indian Army in October 1947. This event was the creation of Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, who after dilly-dallying for two months, signed the Instrument of Accession to India on October 26, thus opening the door for the entry of Indian troops into Kashmir to push out the tribals, backed by the Pakistani army, who were advancing towards Srinagar.
India’s bronze medal winner Hamzac in 1,500 mts men’s race at the Military World Games.

Postal staff donate blood
Chandigarh, November 2
A blood donation camp was organised by the Chandigarh Postal Division in association with the Department of Transfusion Medicine at GPO Complex here today.

Shiv Batalvi remembered
Chandigarh, November 2
Tributes were paid to legendary Punjabi poet Shiv Kumar Batalvi at a programme ‘Shiv ke geet, sabh ke meet’ at Kalagram here today.

Letters
Check unfair banking

CRIME

Husband, in-laws booked for dowry
Chandigarh, November 2
Geeta Goel, a resident of Sector 40, lodged a complaint against her husband and in-laws at the police station-39 here alleging harassment and maltreatment for dowry at their hands.

NRI’s murder: No arrest so far
Mohali, November 2
The police has not made any arrests in the alleged murder of 24-year-old NRI Yadvinder Singh.

BUSINESS

Market welfare assn chief held
Chandigarh, November 2
Acting on a five-month-old complaint, the police arrested Arvind Jain, president of the Market Welfare Association, Sector 22-D, today.

Arvind Jain being taken to court after his arrest from Sector 22, Chandigarh, on Friday. — A Tribune photograph

New Hyundai i10 launched
Chandigarh, November 2
Hyundai Motor India Ltd launched its new compact car i10 at a function held here today. The i10 is the first car from Hyundai, which made its world debut in India, which will be the sole production and export hub for the car. — TNS

EDUCATION

Booking profit on students
Shopkeepers sell NCERT books at inflated prices
Chandigarh: Opening a new chapter in unscrupulous marketing, many bookstore owners and stationers across the city are selling school books by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) at more than the printed rates. So open and blatant is the illegality that shopkeepers do not even hesitate in issuing cash memos with inflated prices. Most of the times, their action goes unnoticed by the harried parents in a hurry to buy the books! Just in case they happen to read the fine print, the shopkeepers take little time to claim a slip-up and apologize.

Punjabi varsity youth fest concludes
Mohali: The three day long “Youth Festival” of Punjabi University concluded at Desh Bhagat Institute of Management and Computer Sciences at Mandi Gobindgarh.


Students perform on the last day of Punjabi University youth festival at Desh Bhagat Institute of Management and Computer Sciences at Mandi Gobindgarh.

PU dept names to go literary 
Chandigarh, November 2
Panjab University’s departments of English, Hindi and Punjabi might soon be named after literary stalwarts. While the Department of English might bear the name of Dr Mulk Raj Anand, the department of Hindi might be known after Munshi Prem Chand. Punjabi Department might be named after Shiv Kumar Batalvi. The syndicate will look into the recommendations for these changes.

Students of PEC, Chandigarh, take part in a fashion show during the PEC Fest on Friday. — Tribune photo by Pradeep Tewari

From Colleges
Mohali: Indo Global College of Engineering organized campus placement in association with Insurance Major ICICI Prudential. As many as 16 MBA students of 2008 batch were selected. The process involved a presentation by the company about its network across the country and its expansion plans, brain storming session in the form of group discussion, written test and the final interview. Chairman of the Indo Global Colleges Sukhdev Kumar Singla informed that those selected will be paid a package of Rs 2.3 lakh per annum during the training and Rs 3-4 lakh per annum after completion of the training.

One in 5 Delhi school kids obese: Study
One in every five school children in Delhi is overweight, as they love binging on fast food, says a study.

NIPER signs pact with Chicago college
Mohali, November 2
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between NIPER and and the Chicago College of Pharmacy, Midwestern University, USA, during the 40th Annual Conference of the Indian Pharmacological Society, here, today.

Sahodaya Conference
Set up thinking schools, says CBSE chairman
Chandigarh, November 2
“Learning is not confined to the walls of an institution nor is it confined to the pages of textbooks,” opined CBSE chairman Ashok Ganguly while delivering a lecture during the XIV CBSE Sahodaya Schools Conference at PU Law Auditorium, here, today.

Unanimous elections in five colleges, campaigning in rest
Chandigarh, November 2
With five city colleges already electing their candidates unanimously, only six colleges are left where the elections would take place.

Students display varied talents
Chandigarh, November 2
As many as 400 students from different schools of Chandigarh and Panchkula took part in various competitions organised by the Aeronautical Society of India here.

IETE should reach out to rural folk: Expert
Chandigarh, November 2
The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) should extend its operations and set up its centres and sub-centres at the block level as well as in towns so that the youth and women in these areas can be imparted vocational and computer training. This was stated by S.S. Aggarwal, former chairman of the IETE, Chandigarh, while addressing a gathering on the foundation day of the IETE.

COURTS

Contempt notice against Mohali DC withdrawn
Chandigarh, November 2
Accepting unconditional apology of Mohali deputy commissioner H.I.S. Grewal in the local municipal council election matter, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today withdrew the notice for contempt issued to him.

Lawyers protest setting up of shed
Mohali, November 2
The Mohali police had a tough time keeping the tempers reined in at the district court complex here today.

CULTURE

She now makes music for soul
Chandigarh: Versatile Bollywood singer Hema Sardesai, was in the city recently. Talking about her experiences, Hema shared her journey to stardom.

                                                                     Hema Sardesai

King Khan turns 42
The undisputed Badshah of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan turned 42 today. Shah Rukh, aka SRK, has a huge fan following from Mumbai to Manhattan and from Bangalore to Boston.

Ash celebrates special day with special people
It can't be anything but destiny. Aishwarya Rai, who will be playing Mumtaz Mahal in Ben Kingsley's film on the Taj Mahal, celebrated her 34th birthday in Agra with husband Abhishek Bachchan. "You make it sound so dramatic and romantic. It's nothing like that. I've brought it in with Abhishek, Ma (mom-in-law Jaya Bachchan) and Pa (father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan)," Aishwarya, who turns a year older Thursday, told IANS.

Sapna, Ashwani win GTE titles
Chandigarh, November 2
The freshers’ party of GTE Computer Education was held here today. A cultural programme was organised. Among other items, students of the institute presented Himachali dance, Haryanavi dance, skits etc.

Sapna Kaundal and Ashwani, who were crowned Miss GTE and Mr GTE, respectively, at the freshers’ party of the institute.

HEALTH

Obesity more in brain, less in food: Docs
With nearly 30 percent of Indians suffering from obesity, people may be blaming their food habits. But doctors in the capital on Thursday said the real cause of this ailment lies in “the brain”. “We are not giving a clean chit to food and lifestyle habits for this disease but metabolic activities in the brain is a major cause of this ailment,” said Surendra Kumar, head, department of endocrinology and metabolism at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

Bridge healthcare gap between cities, towns: Doctor
Chandigarh, November 2
Even as India has made a remarkable progress in medical research and healthcare in the recent past, its advantages remain confined to merely 10 per cent of its population living in big cities, said Dr R.P. Sengupta, a neurosurgeon from the UK, here today.

SPORTS

Shivam corners glory for St Anne’s
Chandigarh, November 2
An all-round splendid performance by Shivam Puri (42 n o, 2 for 10) enabled St Anne’s School 32 team to beat Ryan Public School- 49, Chandigarh, by 3 wickets during the II Sister Alberta Memorial Cricket Tournament. The tournament held at St Anne’s ground here, today.

Shubham of Ryan School loses his wicket during the Sister Alberta Memorial Cricket Tournament at St Anne’s School in Chandigarh on Friday. Tribune photo: Parvesh Chauhan

ATC announces Rs 1 cr as prize money
Chandigarh, November 2
The Association for Twenty20 Cricket (India) announced Rs 1 crore prize money for six-team ATC Twenty20 league for ATC (India) registered players. Besides, the prize money to the winners, the ATC (India) will also give match fee to all players who figure in the ATC (India) league. 

GGDSD College lift trophy
Chandigarh, November 2
GGDSD College, Sector 32, lifted the trophy beating SGGS College, Sector 26 by 21 runs in the final of the Panjab University Inter-College Cricket (men) Tournament  played at PU grounds, here today.

Billiards
Umesh triumphs 
Panchkula, November 2
Umesh Gupta emerged champion drubbing Chirag Arora 238-198 in junior billiards category of the Haryana state sub-junior, junior, senior billiards and Snooker Championships-2007, concluded here today. Abhishek Verma got the second place as he defeated Chirag and Karan Dhir but lost to Umesh Gupta.

Equestrian show from Nov 5
Chandigarh, November 2
The New Delhi Equestrian Promoters is organising a zonal horse show in Panjab University, which is scheduled from November 5 to 11 here. Giving details, Inderjit Singh, the organiser said in the show, the first of its kind in the city, a total of 43 events would be held during the seven-day affair in which more than 400 riders would participate.

Pugilist creates history, bags gold
Patiala, November 2
Patiala pugilist Pushpinder Singh created history by becoming the first boxer from the city to win a gold medal in a national-level meet. Pushpinder Singh, who was being trained by Harpreet Singh from the Punjab Sports Department (PSD), won a gold in the super heavy weight category in the Junior National Boxing Championship, which concluded at Warangal (Andhra Pradesh) on Tuedsay evening.

Petition against PCA dismissed
Chandigarh, November 2
A petition seeking direction to the state of Punjab and the DGP to recover an amount of Rs 1 crore from the Punjab Cricket Association it owes to the state on account of providing security during the international matches in the Mohali stadium was yesterday dismissed as withdrawn.

India-Pak Tie
Cops on duty not to get passes
Mohali, November 2
The 1000-odd policemen who would be on duty at the PCA Stadium here for the Indo- Pak ODI on November 8 are not likely to get their share of passes for the match.

Seminar by Haryana Olympic Assn
Chandigarh, November 2
To create awareness about the abuse of drugs and ill effects of doping, the Haryana Olympic Association in collaboration with the Federation of Jat Institutions and Jat Sabha, Chandigarh, is organising a National Seminar on Prevention of Drug Abuse and Doping on December 9 from 10 am to 5 pm at Jat Bhawan, Sector 27-A, here.

ADMINISTRATION

Work on underpasses passed on to CHB
Chandigarh, November 2
In a shift from standard practice, the Chandigarh administration has decided to outsource the work of constructing underpasses in the city to the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB).

Conversion of plots
Admn accepts panel recommendation
Chandigarh, November 2
The Chandigarh administration has accepted the recommendation of a sub-committee of not allowing conversion in plots smaller than two kanal.

Action against residents dumping debris in parks
Mohali, November 2
The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), which is making all efforts to make Mohali green and clean has decided to take action against the residents who dump debris and other materials in parks.