Chandigarh, November 19
After holding that students cannot be debarred from appearing in the main examinations once they have passed the supplementary examinations and have completed the requisite period of study after being allowed to join the ‘main batch’, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today allowed a petition filed by 44 students seeking permission to take MBBS second professional examination scheduled to be held on Tuesday.

In their petition against Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Ajay Prem Salhotra and other students had claimed that after passing the supplementary examination they were promoted to the third, fourth and the fifth semester, all part of the second professional year. But, the university informed the colleges that candidates passing supplementary examinations would not be allowed to appear in the second professional in November/ December (2007) as they had not completed 18 months of study.

Pronouncing the orders in an open court this morning on their petition, a Division Bench of the High Court, comprising Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Ajai Lamba, ruled: “We are of the view that once the students passing supplementary examinations are allowed to join the main batch and complete the requisite period of study, they cannot be debarred from appearing in the main examination for the second professional, along with the main batch.”

The Bench further ruled: “Even the university is not taking the period of 18 month as rigid as the examinations for the main batch are being held before 18 months of commencement of study. From August 2006 to November 2007, the period is 15 months.

Only difference in the students joining the main batch after the supplementary examination and students joining the main batch from the beginning is two-three months.”

The Bench added: “If the students joining the main batch later have been allowed to complete the studies, as per the certificate issued by the college, they should not be debarred from appearing in the main examination of the second professional with the main batch itself.”

Chandigarh, November 19
Over 300 student artistes from over 20 schools and colleges showcased their aesthetic potential in the 17th annual “Natyotsav-2007”.

The one-act play theatre festival, organised by the Sambhang theatre group in association with the State Bank of India and Department of Public Relations is dedicated to the memory of Prabhat Gupt.

Paying rich tributes to the theatrical genius of Gupt , chief guest Pawan Kumar Bansal union minister of state for finance, said Gupt, in the prime of youth, made the supreme sacrifice to save an innocent child.

Bansal also presented awards bestowed by Sambhang on personalities engaged in the propagation of cultural heritage. They include eminent actor Rani Balbir Kaur, SK Setia, DPI, principals, Gurdip Singh, SGGS-26, Santosh Bhandari, DAV, Panchkula, Shiv Kumar, GMSSS-23, Dr Vibha Ray, DAV School-8.

MCM DAV College lifted the running trophy for the best play ‘Jalta hua rath’ followed by GCM-11 for ‘Koshish jari hai‘ and DS Gurukul Derabassi. Setia presented the awards to best actors Amrit and Lalit, both from GCM, Roshila (MCM DAV) and Shanta Sharma while Dev Samaj College won the award for histrionics. Sambhang chairperson Dharam Swaroop Gupt thanked the artistes and participating educational institutions.

Panchkula, November 19
Bhavan Vidyalaya, Sector 15, organised a Sukhna lake clean-up project at the lake here today. As many as 120 students, accompanied by 20 teachers, conducted this project under the guidance of an international NGO named The Friends Society which is at present working on coastal clean-up projects.

The students were initially made aware of the kind of polluting agents found in the vicinity of the lake and the repercussions of the same. This was also an awareness campaign wherein the students carried banners and placards to sensitise the local public to adhere by certain norms for keeping the area clean.

The entire process commenced with a Sanskrit shloka recitation which inspired the students to work towards such drives. The Bhavanites also conversed with the tourists and vendors of that area and apprised them of the significance of keeping the area clean.

The principal, Shashi Banenerji, was also present and appealed to the public that literate people should act to make their surroundings pollution free and spread the idea to the illiterate. The administration, CITCO and the police authorities and volunteer members of Jeevan Mukt Nishulak Vidyalaya rendered a helping hand to the school to make this project a success.

Chandigarh

Skit on value of trees: As part of the ongoing silver jubilee celebrations of St Stephen's School, Chandigarh, students of Class 1 in the age group of six to seven years participated in a colourful show. The function was attended by their parents and presided over by S.L. Thakur, commissioner, Customs and Taxation, Chandigarh, who inspired the children with his words of wisdom. The show began with a devotional dance 'Ganesh Stuti', followed by dances and patriotic songs. The English skit highlighted the value of trees and plants and a Hindi play emphasised the importance of fresh food and the harmful effects of junk food. The show ended with the little ones performing bhangra, followed by the traditional style of Stephanian farewell.

Seminar: The psychology department of Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, organised a seminar on “Strategies to increase happiness among adolescents.” The talk was delivered by Prof Jitendra Mohan. He talked about different ways to be happy and opined that happiness was a state of being which only you could create. He also stressed that tranquillity and rationality were the cornerstones of happiness. 

Panchkula, November 19
Nearly 400-odd students studying at Government Middle School in Nada village today had a narrow escape when a fire broke out in the kitchen where the mid-day meal was being cooked.

Nobody was injured in the accident. The fire, caused by leakage in an LPG cylinder, was brought under control by the fire brigade.

No fire safety measures had been put in place on the school campus.

Ranjit Kaur, the woman employed to cook mid-day meal at the school, said she had just begun cooking the meal when she detected leakage from the gas cylinder. She went out to inform the teachers about it.

“One teacher told me to turn off the gas and cook the meal on the chullah. I walked into the kitchen through the classroom. However, just as I turned off the flame, there was a small explosion and fire engulfed the entire kitchen. I ran out and the firemen did the rest,” she says.

Though the staff managed to pull out the leaking cylinder before the fire spread, the fire brigade reached the spot and put out the flames in the kitchen. “Luckily, there were no students in the classroom adjoining the kitchen because their teacher was on leave. They were in the school compound and the firemen were able to put out the flames in 15-20 minutes,” school in charge Manoj Kumar said.

Staff members claimed that they had a fire extinguisher in the school but could not extinguish the flames with that. However, neither any extinguisher nor sandbags and sand buckets were found anywhere on the school campus. The firemen, too, added that there were no fire-fighting facilities in the school.

Secretary, municipal council, O.P. Sihag, said the schools where mid-day meals were cooked for students should necessarily have a fire extinguisher installed in the kitchen. “We will shortly write letters to all educational institutions, factory owners and other institutions to follow fire safety norms to avoid major fires. The MC president along with the fire officer went and inspected some institutes and asked them to install fire fighting equipment. The drive is still on,” he added.

Chandigarh, November 19
A two-minute silence was observed during a full-court reference at the Punjab and Haryana High Court for paying homage to former Chief Justice-cum-ex-governor of both the states Justice S. S. Sandhawalia. Bhog and antim ardas is scheduled to be held at Sector 8 Gurdwara Sahib on Wednesday.

In his condolence message, High Court Chief Justice Vijender Jain said Justice Sandhawalia was a ‘man with immaculate mannerism’ and would always be remembered for his legal acumen, sagacity, courtesy and firmness.

Asserting that Justice Sandhawalia’s death had left a vacuum, the Chief Justice said Justice Sandhawalia was an eminent legal luminary and jurist with the qualities of head and heart, who discharged his duties in different capacities with utmost professional commitment, dedication and sincerity.

Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, former Chief Justices and former Judges of the Court, along with Haryana Advocate-General H. S. Hooda and Punjab Advocate-General H. S. Mattewal were also present.

Meanwhile, condolence messages continue to pour in. Former Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court-cum-Kerala Governor S. S. Kang said Justice Sandhawalia’s landmark judgement in Chaudhary Hardwari Lal case, defining the powers of the legislature and the Legislative Assembly, would always be remembered.

Gombar, anaesthesia, Dr A.K. Janmeja, pulmonary medicine, Dr Arjun Dass, ENT, Dr Sunandan Sood, ophthalmology, Dr Suman Kochhar, radiodiagnosis, and Dr B.S. Chavan, psychiatry department, also filed a joint petition.

The doctors pleaded that the administration wanted to appoint director of the GMCH on deputation because of which the feeder cadre at the institution would be deprived of the opportunity to compete for the post.

As the administration had exhausted the opportunity to fill the post advertised on December 28, 2006, the post should be forwarded to the UPSC so that doctors from other parts of country and those who intended to come on deputation could get equal opportunity to contest the post, pleaded the heads.

Chandigarh, November 19
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) today granted the last opportunity to the administration to file compliance report within three weeks.

Accepting the plea of the counsel for the UT Administration, the Division Bench of CAT deferred the hearing till December 17, 2007, granting three weeks time to comply with the orders passed in April, 2006. The Bench, in its directions, has specified, "If the compliance report is not filed by the next date, then the respondents, including the home secretary, UT administration, would have to appear personally before the Bench explaining reasons for non-compliance".

The tribunal had made these observations while hearing the contempt petition filed by two deputy district attorneys who have been awaiting compliance of orders passed by CAT in April, 2006, directing the UT to consider them for promotion to the post of district attorney.

Two deputy attorneys of the UT cadre had approached CAT seeking direction to the UT administration for promotion. They had pleaded that the posts were held by the attorneys who were on deputation either from Punjab or Haryana. They had pleaded that there were no provisions of appointment on deputation for district attorneys. The tribunal accepting their prayer had directed the UT to consider them for promotion.

Alleging the UT administration of delay the compliance of the orders, the applicants in October, 2006, had filed a contempt petition. The administration while replying to the contempt petition had maintained that the tribunal orders could not be complied as the matter was pending with the UPSC.

Meanwhile, the UPSC had maintained that though the matter was forwarded to them, the administration had not forwarded all documents. The case is now listed on December 17, 2007, when the UT Administration is expected to either file the compliance report or face contempt proceedings for delaying the compliance for nearly a year.

Chandigarh, November 19
"Though acting in feature films is a blissful experience for its gloss, glamour and gold but working in a television serial, closely related to the realities of life, is nevertheless encouraging," feel Kanchi Kaul and Vishal Singh, lead actors of Star Plus’ popular serial “Bhaabhi”. The actors were in town for the promotion of the serial.

Vishal, who has so far worked in 15 serials, maintained that actors of TV soaps hadbecome household names. Portraying the lead roles of Dr Dev and Suhana, both Vishal Singh and Kanchi Kaul had gone straight to the hearts of the viewers of "Bhaabhi ". The engrossing TV show with a philosophical thematic content has an edge over the conventional storylines, the actors claim.

The Mumbai-born commerce graduate and self-taught actor Vishal Singh entered the Bollywood serials through "Dekh bhai dekh" during his college days at Indore. As the enterprising actor Shekhar Suman groomed him by sharpening his acting skills, Vishal 's academician father and doctor mother approved of his career in acting. Though a godfather in film industry is always an asset, it is the talent and disciplined hard work which keeps you moving, he adds.

“Dil hai ke manta nahin”, “Kashmir”, “Lakshmi” and “Jiyen to kiske liye” are close to my heart and I wish to direct a film.

With six Telugu feature films to her credit, including the superhit "Sampangh", vivacious and versatile Kanchi Kaul made it to Hindi serials through a distinctive achievement in over 100 commercials. A graduate in microbiology, the Mumbai-bred Kanchi is proud of her Kashmiri origin, though she had never visited Kashmir so far. After 'Ek ladki anjani si' “Bhaabhi” is her favourite serial, especially the complex role of Suhana, who is projected as an epitome of morality, benevolence and sacrifice. Portraying the protagonist with a display of diverse emotions is a real challenge, she feels.

Natural talent and luck are instrumental in the making of a successful career, Kanchi believes, determined to make it big in the Hindi filmdom.

Regarding participation in reality dance shows, she remarked with a hearty laugh, "Let me find a compatible 'Balliye' first, may be from your City Beautiful."

Chandigarh, November 19
Seventeen students of the International Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD), Sector 8, here, have done the city proud by winning the first prize in the fashion show, “Ritambhara”, held at All-India Inter-Collegiate Cultural Festival, “Antaragini 07” during the annual festival of IIT Kharagpur.

Many premiere fashion institutes from around the country were competing for the coveted position in Ritambhara. INIFD students proved themselves by placing a cut above the rest. Their fashion show’s theme, garments, presentation and choreography were very much appreciated by all.

The preliminary round was a casual round. The final round was a theme-based round wherein the college had to select a theme of its own and portray it on the ramp. This was followed by a judge’s questionnaire session related to the theme they displayed.