& V I C I N I T Y
Saturday, March 6, 1999
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Saturday, March 6, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Parents prefer schools of repute Many
patients, few beds |
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Students
await refund of exam fee Roll
of honour for 14 students No
buyers for SCOs Plans
to beautify Mohali
Sinha
to join on March 8 |
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Sect
followers resist demolition PANCHKULA, March 5 — Amidst strong police arrangement, enforcement staff of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) demolished part of unauthorised structures raised at Manav Kendra of Ruhani Satsang at Bhainsa Tibba village here today. The drive had to be abandoned midway following resistance offered by followers of the sect. A spokesman of the kendra, however, alleged that at least 15 members of the sect received injuries. Four persons with serious injuries had to be admitted to the PGI in Chandigarh, he added. The demolition drive, led by the SDM and DSP (City), started at around 2.30 pm and lasted for about one hour before the enforcement staff withdrew from the site after stones were hurled at them, resulting in injuries to some members of the staff. Earlier the drive was abandoned on February 27 after sensing the mood of the people. In today’s exercise the enforcement staff, aided by four bulldozers and escorted by around 200 policemen, pulled down the structure of the main gate of the kendra, a central office building, a water tank and a shed. All roads leading to the Manav Kendra were blocked by the police. Members of the kendra alleged that they were bullied by the policemen. They further alleged that two inmates at the kendra — Kunwar Singh and Som Nath — received serious injuries by lathi-wielding policemen. The telephone and electricity connections to the kendra were also cut off during the exercise. Soon after the demolition, staff of HUDA left the place. Agitated members of the sect started to gather at the kendra demanding strict action against the officials. Accusing HUDA of adopting a dual approach towards the religious institutions which had come up in the area, residents said notices to remove encroachments had been served on other religious institutions in the area but they had not been touched so far. The spokesman of the kendra said a delegation met the Industries Minister of Haryana today regarding its demand to regulate the land in possession of the kendra. He claimed that the Minister had recommended to the Town and Country Planning Department that before any demolition exercise was undertaken at the site, the case to release the land to the kendra after charging the cost of the land may be considered. Efforts to show the documents to the officials did not yield any result, he alleged. A similar representation
has also been submitted to the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi
Lal. |
Witness in
Beant case turns hostile CHANDIGARH, March 5 — Mr Raghbir Singh, a prosecution witness in the ongoing Beant Singh assassination case, today turned hostile before the Sessions Judge, Mr B.S. Bedi, who held court at Burail Jail. Belonging to Chhingra Kalan village in Ropar district which is also the village of Nasib Singh, one of the suspects in the case, told the court that on September 18, 1995, a CBI official came to his house and took him to the house of Nasib Singh where certain other CBI sleuths were also sitting. He, however, denied that Nasib Singh had made a disclosure statement in his presence to the effect that he could get more RDX recovered from a fodder room. The CBI prosecutors declared him hostile. He admitted that RDX was
weighed in his presence. It was 13.700 kg. He also
accepted that the seizure memo contained his signatures. |
UT employees
fail to file property returns CHANDIGARH, March 5 — The Chandigarh Administration has taken a serious view of the employees who do not file their annual property returns as envisaged in the Government Employees (Conduct) Rules,1966. Though under the rules, the employees were required to file their property returns for 1998 in January this year, there was hardly any compliance of this mandatory provision of the Conduct Rules. Investigations further reveal that a majority of employees have not filed their property returns even for the previous years, including 1996 and 1997. Of late, the Department of Personnel of the Administration has taken a number of steps to enforce various rules and regulations with regard to conduct of employees. The Department has already instructed all heads of departments and administrative secretaries to send reports about those employees who have completed 25 years of service and have doubtful integrity or have become inefficient for compulsory retirement. By another order, the Department of Personnel gave its ruling that any transaction of immovable property undertaken under General Power of Attorney is also covered under Conduct Rules and employees must file returns for all such GPA transactions. Interestingly, some of the senior functionaries of the Administration, including engineers, who are facing inquiries and criminal cases, also did not file their property returns as required under the Rules. Some heads of the departments, who are to make sure that their subordinates file their annual property returns in time, have themselves been on the defaulters’ list. The responsibility of the officer-in-charge to collect and maintain returns of all his or her subordinates in time, failing which they will to be proceeded against suitably. The Administration has now
reiterated that all employees must file their returns for
1998 immediately. Besides, the officers-in-charge have
been asked to inform the Department of Personnel about
action taken against those who did not file their
property returns for 1996, 1997 and 1998. |
20-year boy
was turning girl CHANDIGARH, March 5 — A 20-year-old Ropar-based truck driver was in a quandary. His sexual appearance was changing. He realised that he was turning feminine. He had grown breasts, his testes had shrunk and his moustache and beard had thinned out. All this due to an extremely rare tumour formation just above his left kidney. The tumour, classified as supra-renal tumour in medical parlance, was secreting estrogen — the female sexual hormone — which lead to rapid changes in the body. Doctors at the Chandigarh Medical Centre (CMC) hope to reverse this after removing the tumour in a five- hour surgery this morning. The18-cm tumour weighing almost 1.5 kg was removed by Dr (Col) R.K. Sharma. This type of tumour occurs only in one out of one crore human beings, the doctor informed while explaining the rarity of the tumour. In this case the tumour was located in the adrenal gland that routinely produces androgens — the male hormone. Due to the tumour, estrogen instead of androgen was being produced. What else damage the tumour could have caused will be known only after five days when the reports of the histopathology tests are available. Only those 20 per cent of the people survive whose tumour does not spread to other areas of the body. This does not seem to be the case in the youth so far, said the doctor. The adrenal gland is 2-cm high, 2.5-cm wide 1 cm thick. The gland had stretched itself to accommodate the tumour. However, now it was growing upwards and this was life threatening. The patient had realised that he had grown breasts and went to several doctors in and around his native place. He arrived at the CMC two weeks ago where it was found that there was a swelling in his adrenal gland. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) detected a huge tumour. The entire village rallied
behind the youth and donated 10 units of blood for the
operation. |
Parents
prefer schools of repute CHANDIGARH, March 5 — Getting one’s child admitted in a school is like playing darts — there are not too many chances and one may never hit the bull’s eye. The bull’s eye here is the right private school — it may be the most reputed one, the posh one or the one which offers an environment for your child where his/her skills are best channelised. Come January and a lot of parents start looking for the right school. this means filling forms in schools, going through “interrogations” garbed as orientation exercises and worse, pumping the child with information of little consequence. Harried parents leave no stone unturned to get their wards “in” as it is a matter of social standing in society and of course, their ego. Majority of parents contacted by Chandigarh Tribune on their criteria for choosing a school accorded high weightage to the reputation of school. Quality of teaching emerges as the most important factor in determining their choice. Other factors such as the physical lay out of the school, availability of learning aids , student-teacher ratio and parent-teacher interaction are also taken into consideration. Not much importance is however given by parents to the distance of school from home, school timings and bus facility. Shukti Singh, mother of five-year-old Aditya said St John’s was her obvious choice as the school enjoys good reputation in many fields — academics, sports and extra-curricular activities. This also saves me the botheration of looking for another school for the next 10 years. “I would have been heart broken if he would not have got through for I had not applied elsewhere and had pinned all my hopes here only, she confessed. Another factor which went in favour of this school was the fee charges, which are reasonable compared to many public schools. However, parents who want co-education for their kids opt for schools like St Stephen’s, Vivek High School or St Anne’s as according to them, these offer a healthier overall personality development. Gurudutt Shourie, one such parent has opted for St Anne’s Convent mainly because he wants his son Aditya “to grow up without any complexes”. His preference is also because the school emphasises on all-round education and is nearer home. Neena Swami, who wanted her son to be involved in a variety of outdoor activities has put him in YPS, SAS Nagar as the school has provision for swimming and horse-riding. “Fewer students in each section not only ensured personalised attention but also good academic standards. B.B Mehta, who has put his daughter in Carmel Convent is of the view that name of the institution feedback from friends whose daughters are already studying there and personalised care of girls helped him make the choice. According to him, the school assured one quality. In order to be secure of one’s daughter’s future, schools like Carmel and sacred Heart are a better choice than one-man show private schools, he added. With a view to give her child a solid base in the formative years, Renu Srivastava thought more in terms of quality of education than just reputation. While some deterioration has crept in the working of some missionary schools, by and large they still do not believe in fleecing parents by making unreasonable demands. These schools also take measures to ensure that weaker students do not lag behind. The system of education is such that it saves the students the botheration of carrying heavy loads of bags every day. Parents who believe in greater degree of individual attention go in for schools like Vivek High School, which has about 25-30 students in each section. According to Jaspreet, “I chose St Stephen’s for my son for I was looking for a school which is not located in a residential house and has spacious open surroundings. The quality of teaching and teachers also motivated me to go in for this school, she adds. Ramesh Vinayak, who had done enough spade work for choosing a school, said he did not want his son Pragun to go to a school where his friends flaunt their social status in this hierarchy-minded city. His preference was for missionary schools which have a blend of children from different sections of society and the emphasis was on imbibing them with the right kinds of values to be good human beings. The UT Education Secretary, Mrs Anuradha Gupta, lamented that parents were not evaluating the qualitative aspect of education, they just go in for status symbols. Mrs Gupta said parents who were really looking for the best should shed such notions and go in for specialised schools — be it for kindergarten or primary school education. The student-teacher ratio,
the methodology should also be taken into consideration
rather than just getting in to the rat race of what
others are doing, she added. |
Roll of
honour for 14 students CHANDIGARH, March 5—Roopa Dhawan was awarded the roll of honour for academics for standing first in MA II (English) in the college and fourth in Panjab University while Mandeep Singh Brar was honoured for topping in sociology (honours) in the university at the 46th annual prize distribution function of Government College, Sector 11, here today. A total of 14 students were awarded the roll of honour for academics, sports, co-curricular activities and representatives of the region from the college chosen to attend the Republic Day parade at Delhi while Ambuj Sharma was honoured for having donated blood eight times. Forty students were given the college colour and Parminder Singh was declared the best athlete of the college. Certificates of distinction went to eight students and 157 students were given awards for academic performance in the house tests. The Chief Guest, Mrs Anuradha Gupta, Home and Education Secretary, urged the students to act as conscience-keepers of the nation and stressed that the teachers must constantly pursue future excellence and integrity to become ideal role models. She advised the youth to face complexities and uncertainties of life with enthusiasm and determination. Earlier, Dr S.N. Singla, Principal, welcomed the chief guest and highlighted the achievements of the college in academics, sports and co-curricular activities. Bhupinder Singh, a student
of BA III, presented a ghazal at the function which
commenced with a Saraswati vandana presented by students
of the college. |
161 students
get degrees PANCHKULA, March 5 — As many 161 students of local Government College were awarded degrees at the eight annual convocation held today. A prize distribution function was also held on the occasion. The Deputy Commissioner, Ms Saroj Siwach, who was the chief guest, called upon the teachers to inculcate discipline and moral values in the students to make them good citizens. She said the teachers and students should contribute to the illiteracy eradication programme. The degrees were awarded to 19 students of science stream, 51 students of commerce stream and 91 students of arts stream. Later, she gave away prizes to students for excellence in education, sports and extra curricular activities. The Principal, Mr Vinay
Kumar Pandit, read out the annual report of the college.
He disclosed that a request to start Postgraduate classes
in Hindi, English and commerce at the college had been
made to the state government. |
No buyers
for SCOs CHANDIGARH, March 5 — A new ruling of the Income Tax Department to get the permanent account numbers (PANs) of those buying property in auctions, cast its detrimental shadow on the auction of commercial property carried out by the UT Estate Office here today. Smaller sites attracted buyers while a total of 53 bigger sites like Shop-Cum-Offices (SCOs) had to be held over for want of bidders. Despite this the UT Estate Office netted a sum of Rs 15 crore as against the reserved price of Rs 11.27 crore for the 78 auctioned sites. This is around 30 per cent more than the target for the auctioned sites. Godowns and semi-industrial sites were auctioned well above the reserved price while a smaller service booth in Sector 43 was auctioned at Rs 7.30 lakh, more than double its reserved price of Rs 3.62 lakh. A total of 21 SCOs were withdrawn from the auctioneering process as the bids were not attractive enough, the Assistant Estate Officer, Mr S.K. Sharma, said. All SCOs that were proposed to be auctioned in Sector 34 were withdrawn. Each of the SCOs fetch around Rs 2 crore on an average. Mr Sharma said that the lack of bidding for bigger sites may be due to the closing of the financial year. In the morning the picture was dismal as Estate Office officials gave slips to bidders to participate in the auction. Only 30 persons had come forward. This was the first time that the income tax ruling was experimented in Chandigarh. The last auction was held in December. Since then the reserved price of the sites was hiked by 10 per cent. Five sites of godowns in Sector 26 had a reserved price of Rs 22.30 lakh. The sites were auctioned for sums varying between Rs 36.50 lakh and Rs 32.20 lakh. The semi- industrial sites had a reserved price of Rs 16.95 lakh and the auction was for sums varying between Rs 27.10 lakh and Rs 26.80 lakh. A dhaba site in Sector 35 was auctioned for Rs 34.10 lakh. Barring one booth in
Sector 36 all other booths in the same sector were
withdrawn for want of buyers . Five sites of quite
offices in Sector 40 were held back for want of buyers.
The reserved price for each site was Rs 55.02 lakh. |
Plans to
beautify Mohali S.A.S NAGAR, March 5—The local Municipal Corporation has started gearing up to participate in the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa by clearing an estimated Rs 1 crore developmental projects, aimed at beautifying the city before April 15. The projects ranging from improvement of roads and street lights to installation of welcome gates on all entry points of the city, were cleared by a seven member committee during its meeting here yesterday. Earlier, the house had kept all the proposed projects in abeyance during its meeting last month and a seven member committee had been constituted for examining all projects relating to the celebrations. According to Mr Harinder Pal Singh Billa, the president of the council, all the 38 estimates were cleared by the house 'unanimously.' However, the sources said some members of the committee raised objections saying they were not involved in the project, which was entirely envisaged by the 'bureaucracy'. The estimates, were, however, cleared after some discussion. The projects, which were cleared by the committee included installation of mercury lamps on all A and B type roads in the city and installation of four welcome boards at different entry points of the city. According to Mr Billa, the boards, to be put up at a cost of Rs 16 lakh, would be constructed before April 15. These boards will be installed at entry points falling in Phase 11, Phase 9, PTL roundabout and near Sohana Chowk. In another resolution, the committee also approved the recarpeting of roads in different parts of the city. Mr Billa said the work of recarpeting would be completed before April 10. In addition to this, kerb
channels would be provided on the road infront of Phase
10 Shopping Centre, in phase 5 and in the Industrial Area
Phase 2, 3 and 4. |
Demolition
of houses flayed S.A.S. NAGAR, March 5 — The Ghar Bachao Committee, Nawan Gaon, has criticised the UT Administration for demolishing scores of houses in Kajehri village. In a press note issued here today, Mr Surjit Singh, Chairman of the committee, said the action of the administration was wrong and partisan. He said while on one hand the Administration had rendered hundreds of people, who had spent their hard earned money on their houses, homeless, on the other hand, it had been rehabilitating migrants, who had usurped government land by making jhuggis. He said instead of
demolishing houses, the Administration should provide
basic facilities to residents. |
Too many
patients, too few beds PANCHKULA, March 4 — The construction of the 150-bedded hospital adjacent to the 30-bedded General Hospital here is expected to take considerable time before it becomes functional. Till then the number of beds at the General Hospital have been doubled to tackle the rush of patients. Originally developed as a peripheral hospital, it was upgraded to the secondary level hospital after the number of patients coming from areas as far as Naraingarh and Kalka increased over the past few months, 800 patients on an average get themselves registered at the outdoor patients department (OPD) of the hospital daily. Besides, the number of patients admitted in the casualty and indoor wards of the hospital outnumber the effective bed strength at the hospital, which originally was 30. The authorities had increased it to 50. Sources at the hospital said instead of the provision of six beds in each of the four indoor patient wards, eight beds each had been accommodated, resulting in a cramped condition. The attendants accompanying the patients have to sleep on the floor due to space shortage. The waiting-cum-entertainment room with a corridor passing through has also been used to put up additional six beds. The corridor is the only passage to the operation theatre and the indoor wards. This defeats the purpose of disinfecting the wards, say the doctors. The entry to the casualty ward had also been restricted and 10 additional beds have been added to the capacity of five. Five of the beds are trolley-cum-beds. The end result is that the total bed strength has now increased to 65. The sources said the
Health Department may provide an additional 20-bed
facility in the adjoining building being used a logistics
store by the department. |
Encroachers
were warned: Administration CHANDIGARH, March 5 — The Chandigarh Administration today said the demolitions in Kajehri village on March 3 were carried out after following the due procedure of law. In a press note issued today, the Chandigarh Administration said that about 60 structures were demolished, besides 15 boundary walls and foundations in Kajheri. There were only seven inhabited houses among these structures, which were recent and newly-occupied. There were about 50 residential structures, out of which more than 20 were only single-room ones. The other structures included shops and cattle sheds. The Administration also said the impression created in a section of the press, that a large number of inhabited houses had been demolished, was incorrect. Mainly structures, under construction were demolished. Making it clear that residents had been intimated, the Administration said senior officers had visited the area on several occasions and warned the persons to stop constructions. Notices under Section 12(2) of the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control Act, 1952, had been served upon all concerned. The mandatory six weeks’ notice had also been given as also an opportunity for hearing. Along with this, letters of warning were sent, as construction had not stopped even after the notices had been served. It added that at the time
of demolition, adequate opportunity was provided to the
owners of inhabited houses to vacate their houses, in
which help was provided by the enforcement staff. |
Kajheri
residents go on fast CHANDIGARH, March 5 — Members of the Sri Anandpur Complex Welfare Society, Sector 52 (Kajheri), have started an indefinite fast in protest against the demolition of more than 100 houses in their complex. Mr Satish Chawla, a spokesperson of the society, said the administration should provide them with compensation besides granting them permission to build their houses again and providing them with all basic amenities. The demolition was contrary to the assurances and declarations made by the Adviser to the Administrator and the local MP. The people have been put
to great hardship, especially children, who were to
appear in their examinations today. The families had used
their hard-earned money to build houses, he added. |
CHB
directive to society CHANDIGARH, March 5 — The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) has asked members of the Silvertone Cooperative House Building Society to submit 25 per cent of the earnest money for the cost of land at the rate of Rs 750 per square yard with interest at the rate of 18 per cent per annum. Mr T.C. Arora, president of the Sangarsh Samiti of the society, said the decision would go a long way in safeguarding the interests of the members. The earnest money on revised density was Rs 36, 300, Rs 25, 930 and Rs 20, 170 for A , B and C category members, respectively. The samiti members have
urged fellow members not to give any money to the
president of the society as the Administration had agreed
to hold fresh elections of the society. A delegation of
the society had recently met the Joint Secretary,
Finance, and brought many irregularities of the president
to his notice, including the forcible collection of
funds, Rs 1, 600 each, from members without issuing the
requisite receipt. |
Strike
threat by PGI staff CHANDIGARH, March 5 — The PGI employees Union has said that it will go on an indefinite strike from March 12 if the report of the high powered committee was not implemented by March 11. Already a section of the
employees are on hunger strike. The matter of employees
and their demands is pending before the Punjab and
Haryana High Court. The matter is listed for final
hearing this month. |
Call for
strike in banks puts CBSE in fix CHANDIGARH, March 5 — The indefinite strike, call for which has been given by the United Forum for Bank Unions from March 17 is likely to create problems for the Central Board of Secondary Education for the safe-keeping of question papers for the examinations of XII and X students. The examinations of the CBSE began on March 4. For the past several years, premises of scheduled banks all over the country have been used, by arrangements, for storing question papers of various examinations of the CBSE incomplete secrecy and with full safety. The banks were considered ideal places for the purpose because normal safety arrangements could prevent leakage as well as theft of question papers. Even the timing of examinations was fixed at 10.30 a.m., keeping in view the opening hours of banks. Under normal circumstances, unless otherwise, ordered bank officials have orders not to release the question papers' bunches more than half an hour before the commencement of examinations all over the country. While senior functionaries of the CBSE have woken up quite late to the difficult situation coming in the next few days, none of the officials concerned with the decision directly is able to make alternative arrangements on his own because the decision regarding the storage of question papers in secrecy and in full safety is a matter of policy to be taken up at the higher level in the Ministry of Human Resource Development. And before this is done, the CBSE is likely to be in the soup. Already, the bank managers
have informed senior functionaries of their banks as well
as the CBSE to take appropriate steps immediately for the
storage of question papers during the strike period. They
have absolved themselves from the responsibility of
providing security and secrecy....
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Students
await refund of exam fee CHANDIGARH, March 5 —Scores of undergraduate and postgraduate students of Panjab University declared ineligible for annual examination await the refund of their fee nearly an year after they applied for the same. What can be termed as absolute apathy, over 200 cases are yet to be processed at the preliminary level in the examination branch before being forwarded for actual payment.While a large number of receipts have been forwarded to the branch concerned, many remain untouched, sources said. These cases pertain to the students who applied for appearing in the annual examination in April, 1998.Those found ineligible, were refused roll numbers following which they had applied for refund.Sources pointed out that there were several cases which were yet to be processed which dated back even prior to 1998. Sources indicated that the students misery did not end at that. After being processed and forwarded by the examination branch to the branch concerned, the payments were yet to be made in a large number of cases. The normal procedure of payment should take about six months .Objections were raised at this level about the delay in forwarding the cases at the previous step. Students pay approximately Rs 300 at the undergraduate level for appearing in the annual examination.In case they are found ineligible, they are entitled to refund of 75 per cent of this amount, a process which should ideally take not more than six months, a senior official of the examination branch said. A student from Makhu while talking to TNS said “ this was his sixth visit to the department concerned for the refund.I am based in the city so can afford to visit the office frequently.Imagine the fate of students who have to travel from far off places in the affiliated colleges of the university in Panjab.They will be paying more fare than the amount to be refunded.No one seems bothered about accountability”. A senior official conceded that the students who had been left out may not receive their amounts in near future.The financial year comes to an end and moreover the payment of most cheques issued by the university had not been released except the salaries. The official said he would look into the matter .The problem can only be solved if there is greater coordination between all branches concerned.The first thing on the agenda should be that students receive their refund within six months to save them harassment. A student said “ when
I was refused the refund despite several requests I tried
to find out at what step the problem persisted. I was
told that my refund had been forwarded by the examination
branch but had stopped when it reached the audit
branch.The university should ensure better information
facilities so that the students can approach the official
concerned directly instead of shuffling between
branches”. |
Anganwari
workers to get allowance CHANDIGARH, March 5 — In a significant decision, the Chandigarh Administration has decided to give special allowance to anganwari workers and anganwari helpers over and above the allowances given to them by the Union Government. The Administration today decided to give each anganwari worker a special monthly allowance of Rs 200 over and above the Rs 500 paid by the Union Government to him or her. Similarly, the special allowance granted to anganwari helpers is Rs 140 a month in addition to Rs 260 a month paid to them by the Union Government. In fact, the
Administration had initially proposed a special allowance
of Rs 140 for anganwari workers and Rs 75 for anganwari
helpers. But later, it was revised upwards before the
final decision was taken today. |
Need to
build up on ‘bus diplomacy’ CHANDIGARH, March 5 — India and Pakistan need to build up on the “bus diplomacy” to improve relations, sign trade pacts and encourage cultural exchange for better relations, stated Maj-Gen Himmat Singh Gill (retd), while delivering a lecture on “Irritants in Indo-Pak Relations”, here today. The lecture was organised by the Defence Studies Society of Government College, Sector 46. Terming politicians and governments in both countries as the real irritants, General Gill said the problems between the two governments needed to be worked out for a lasting solution. Jammu and Kashmir had been the bone of contention for quite some time while the other major cause of bad blood between the two countries was the tension-ridden Siachen glacier. These problems had viable solutions, he stated. Most problems could be simplified if the Line of Control could be legalised de facto and de jure and by declaring a ceasefire by both countries at Siachen. A solution needed to be worked out before a third front emerged, Jammu and Kashmir might want to break away from both countries and demand complete independence, he warned. He stressed that Pakistan did not like being reminded of its ancestry which the Indians had time and again emphasised and both sides must emphasise that foreign interference must stop to enable them to solve all irritants bilaterally. There was need to look at these irritants from the point of view of opportunities to resolve pending issues, analyse the cause of hostility between the two nations and initiate a working relationship between them. Earlier, the Principal of
the college, Major D.P. Singh, welcomed the speaker. |
Women’s
week celebrated CHANDIGARH, March 5 —The Indian Council of Social Welfare (ICSW), Chandigarh Branch, today celebrated the International Women’s Week at Karuna Sadan Building, Sector 11. A cultural programme was organised on the occasion in which a large number of women from adjoining colonies and villages participated. Cultural items, including songs, dances and skits were presented. Inter-personal talks on various issues related to women like dowry system, reservation for women etc. were also discussed. Ms Sharestha Mehta, Hony
General Secretary, ICSW, and Mr R.I. Kochhar,
Vice-President, ICSW, presided over the function. |
CHANDIGARH, March 5 — A fee hike in Panjab University is imminent as the university is hard pressed to generate its own resources in the wake of the ongoing financial crises.This was largely agreed to in the meeting of the Finance Board held recently. Several other options being studied by the university to generate its own resources also came up for discussion which was ultimately postponed till March 10. The meeting was attended by Mr Rajan Kashyap, Principal Secretary (Finance) , Prof M.M. Puri, the Vice Chancellor, the Registrar, the Dean, University Instructions, Mr S.S.Gill, Prof I.M. Govil , Mr Raghuvir Singh and Prof J.S. Yadav, among others. Enhancing fee and funds figured prominently among suggestions for generating finances.The university proposes to approach the industry besides looking for avenues where it could provide consultancy services to the industrial sector; starting short time courses in computers; enhancing hiring charges for university facilities, including auditoriums; and approaching alumni . Members pointed out that non revenue generating departments under the non plan budget should be re -studied and if found to be a losing proportion, done away with. Sources said that objections were raised to the delay in putting up a letter of the Principal Secretary dated November 14, 1998, before the Finance Board.The letter had urged universities look into means to generate its own resources. It was also suggested that the practice of subsidies should be done away with besides not creating any new departments.The board agreed on the point that while making appointments in the non-teaching department, the university should seek prior permission from the government. The item pertaining to hiring of services in the service sector was also cleared. The main item pertaining to the actual facts and figures of the budget both the current and the proposed budgets were, however, deferred for the next meeting. Concern was expressed at wasteful expenditure in the university. The budget at a glance shows that the total income in the original budget in 1998-99 was Rs 828.93 lakh. The revised budget was Rs 1,532.06 lakh. The estimate for the year 1999-2000 is Rs 861.84 lakh. At the same time on the expenditure front the university showed a budget of Rs 7,049.72 lakhs; revised at Rs 8,528.58 lakh; while the estimate for the year 1999-2000 is Rs 7,812.57 lakh. The original deficit in the non plan expenditure was Rs 6,218.69 lakh which was revised at Rs 7,245.72 lakh. The proposed deficit for 1999-2000 was Rs 6,889.62 lakh. Academic function: The annual academic function of the German Department was held at the English auditorium, yesterday. The Registrar, Prof Paramjit Singh, gave away prizes and certificates to students of certificate, diploma, advanced diploma and MA courses. A cultural programme was also presented on the occasion. Mr Jeewan Kumar, Chairman of the department, presented the vote of thanks. Blood donation camp: A blood donation camp was organised by the Panjab University Non-Teaching Employees Federation in front of the Administrative block, here today. As many as 175 employees donated blood at the camp. The guests of honour were people who had donated blood more than 120 times. Certificates, gifts and badges were given to the donors by Fellows of the university which included Dr Deepak Manmohan Singh, Mr Rajinder Deepa, Prof Charanjit Chawla, Mr Rabinder Nath Sharma and Prof SP Gautam. Hunger strike: The 48-hour strike by Dr P.P. Arya, Dr Satya P. Gautam and Dr M. Rajivlochan entered its second day at Panjab University on Friday. They were joined by Dr Keshav Malhotra, Dr V.K. Singh, Dr M.M.S. Chauhan, Dr M.P. Sharma, Dr Jayant Pethkar, Dr Rajan Gaur and Dr Shankarji Jha. The strike is being organised on the platform of the All-India Federation of University Teachers’ Associations to highlight problems of university system. Messages of the government to freeze grants to university have not been welcome by the associations as this would lead to fee hike. Teachers are demanding immediate implementation of the UGC scales. Elected: The
following have been elected office bearers of the Panjab
University Stenographers Association: Chairman — Mr
C. Haridasan; Vice-Chairman — Mrs Darshna Devi;
Secretary — Mr Shiv Sharma; Joint Secretary —
Mr S.K. Bhandari; and Treasurer — Mr Janak Raj. |
CHANDIGARH, March 5 — A car thief was caught red handed while removing the registration plates of a stolen car in Sector 36 last night. In a separate incident the two youth were arrested while trying to steal a car from Sector 28. Parminder Singh of Sector 32 was nabbed by the Sector 36 police last night while he was removing the number plates of a car ( CH-01-M-0847). He had stolen the car from Sector 33 while the car owner Mr Ved Bansal was attending a marriage. Aman Vashist of Panchkula and Jeewan Jyot Singh of Rajpura were nabbed while they were trying to open a car outside a house in Sector 28. Molestation bid: A resident of Palsora colony, Jagmohinder Singh , allegedly barged into the house of his neighbourer and tried to molest a woman, Sonia. The woman protested and the man was arrested. He has been booked under sections 452 and 354 of the IPC. Assault case: A resident of Ferozepore, Navdeep alias Navi, wanted in a case of assault has been nabbed by the police. He was involved in a scuffle in Sector 17 and a case under sections 323, 326 and 506 of the IPC was registered. Injured:
A man , Ram Lal, living in Sector 22, was injured when he
fell off the roof of his house while Saroj Bala of Sector
39 was injured when his moped skidded. Both were admitted
to the PGI. |
CHANDIGARH, March 5 — The Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, has reconstituted the nine committees of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC). According to sources, the names for various committees have been finalised and the lists are likely to be sent to the Commissioner, Mr S.K. Gathwal, on Monday after some changes. The Mayor, who is the ex officio Chairman of the Finance and Contract Committee, would not be a member of any other committee. It has been assured that all councillors would be members of at least two committees each. While a majority of the seven councillors of the ruling group find place in three committees each, the BJP-SAD councillors have been made members of two committee each. Similarly, some of the nominated members find place in three committees. The placing of ruling group members in three committees is seen as a clever move by the ruling group as at the time of elections of the chairmen and deputy chairmen of the panels it would be in a better position. According to information available, Mr RK Aggarwal, Maj-Gen Gurdial Singh (Retd) and Mr OP Goyal would be in the Water Supply and Sewerage Disposal Committee. Mr Gian Chand Gupta, Mr OP Goyal and Maj-Gen Rajinder Nath (Retd) will be among the members of the Art, Culture and Sports Committee. The names of Air Marshal RS Bedi (Retd), Mr RL Arora, Mr Gian Chand Gupta and Ms Satinder Dhawan figure in the list of Environment and City Beautification Committee. The Electricity Committee would have, among others, Ms Harjinder Kaur, Mr Mohinder Singh and Kamlesh. The Legal Affairs Committee will have Mr Goyal, Mr RS Kailey and Air Marshal Bedi. Mr Mohinder Singh, Mr Gurcharan Dass Kala, Mr Kailey and Mr Surya Pandit figure in the Apni Mandi Committee. On the other hand, the Senior Deputy Mayor, Mr K.L. Sharma, the Deputy Mayor, Mr Bachan Singh, Ms Sunita, Mr Rajinder Kumar and Ms Kamlesh would be part of the Slum Development Committee. While the Roads Committee would have Ms Kamla Sharma, Dr I.C. Pathak, Air Marshal Bedi, Ms Harjinder Kaur and Mr RK Aggarwal, the House Tax Assessment Committee would have Ms Shanta Abhilashi, Mr Prem Sagar Jain, Ms Sunita and Ms Pandit. Mr Addiwal said the lists
would be submitted to the Commissioner on Monday. |
Role of
yoga stressed CHANDIGARH, March 5 — India can play a prominent role in the world through spirituality and the science of yoga. This was stated by Swami Krishnananda Giri, a senior monk of Yogoda Satsanga Society of India, at a function in the Tagore Theatre here today. Delivering a lecture on “Harmony among religions — relevance of the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda”, the Swami said yoga was not a religion, but an approach for spiritual attainment. It was neither a Hindu idea nor did it stand for the creation of a Hindu land, but it was applicable universally. Jesus Christ and Lord Krishna were great yogis, he claimed. Devotional songs by Geeta Prem and “vachitra veena” recital by Ramesh Prem, noted artistes from Mumbai, were other highlights of the function. It had been organised by the Yogoda Satsanga Dhyana Kendra as part of the 47th “mahasamadhi” of Sri Paramahansa Yogananda, a great philosopher and founder of the society. Earlier, Mr AL Gupta,
Vice-President of the kendra, highlighted the activities
of the kendra. |
Sinha to
join on March 8 CHANDIGARH, March 5 — Mr KAP Sinha, an IAS officer of the Punjab cadre, is expected to assume charge as Joint Secretary Finance, Chandigarh Administration on March 8. Though the new Inspector-General of Police, Mrs Kiran Bedi, was also scheduled to take over on that day but her engagements in Delhi may probably hold her back for some time before she joins here early next month. Meanwhile, Mrs Meenakshi Dutta Ghosh, Chairperson of both the Chandigarh Housing Board and the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation, is also expected to take up her new assignment as Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Health in New Delhi, soon. Her formal posting orders were received by the Administration yesterday. SSP to go to Australia CHANDIGARH, March 5 — The local SSP, Mr C.S.R. Reddy, will be a part of a team of the Rotary International that will go to Australia under a group study exchange programme. The month-long programme begins on April 1. The SSP is scheduled to
interact with the Australian police. |
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