Friday, November 19, 1999
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N E W S Friday, November 19, 1999 |
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Theft in
Panchkula Sector 17 house PANCHKULA, Nov 18 — Miscreants set house number 36 in Sector 17 here on fire after committing a burglary in the house in wee hours today. Later, the police recovered stolen items of the house, abandoned at vacant plot number 595 in the vicinity.The occupants of the house, Mr Rajesh Sahni and his family, had gone for a wedding yesterday. A fire tender arrived at around 7 a.m. after one of the neighbours of the Sahnis rang up the Fire Brigade.The police control room was also informed of the incident. The fire was brought under control in two hours and window panes were smashed to douse the flames. The walls, as also everything else, in the house were covered with a thick layer of soot even though one room mainly bore the brunt of the fire. The bedroom of the Sahnis, from where the fire probably started, presented a dismal picture. All that remained was a mangled television set with a smashed screen, melted electricity switch boards, a burnt air conditioner and broken and charred beds. From the room, the thieves had formed a chain with clothes, cushions and mattresses leading to the lobby and kitchen to ensure that the fire spread to the whole house slowly. In the kitchen, the cooking gas had been turned on with the idea to set the whole house ablaze. However, any possible disaster was averted since the LPG cylinder was off. The thieves reportedly made entry into the house from house number 37, which has a winding staircase leading to the terrace and is without a door. From there, they jumped to the terrace of the Sahnis and managed to get in with the help of a rope tied to a pipe of the water tank through the skylight. The small opening in the skylight suggested that a child or somebody with a small frame was lowered into the house first, the police said. An empty bottle of liquor was also found in the lobby of the house which indicated that the thieves consumed liquor in the house before rummaging through the shelves, though there were no indications that a thorough search of the house had been conducted by the miscreants. The police said that at least three persons were involved in carrying out the operation. Meanwhile, on the basis of information from the occupants of house number 594 of the same sector, the police got hold of the abandoned bags, and a neighbour of the Sahnis identified the music system, computer and video as property of the Sahnis. Also, stuffed along side was a track-suit of an 8 to 10 year-old and a glove. The police suspect that either a child was also involved in the crime or the thieves deliberately left behind the track-suit to mislead the police. The glove suggested that it was the handiwork of professionals while the stolen items had been dumped at the vacant plot to escape the police."They had probably spotted a PCR van on round and left the items in a bid to escape unnoticed since carrying luggage early in morning would have raised suspicion,'' one policeman said. A fingerprint team was summoned from Ambala, a dog squad from Chandigarh and a forensic crime team from Madhuban. The dog squad could not provide any clue since the fire had eliminated any possible tracks. The police has
registered a case under sections 457, 380 and 436 of the
IPC for house-breaking by night, theft and mischief by
fire with intent to destroy a house. Meanwhile, Mr Rajesh
Sahni said that a complete list of the missing items
would be provided tomorrow morning, only after the house
was set in order. However, after initial checks carried
out, the couple claimed that a gold set, six gold bangles
and Rs 50,000 were missing. |
Uncertainty
over environment studies examination CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — Uncertainty prevails over defining the manner of carrying on the course in environmental studies in Panjab University for the current session. No decision has been taken whether an examination will be conducted or the students just have to attend lectures to procure a certificate. A committee constituted in this regard which met recently passed the proposed syllabi. It has referred the matter to the Vice-Chancellor to decide whether a written examination be conducted for the current session. In the previous session, students had been given an option of attending a minimum number of lectures to procure a certificate. A senior official of the examination branch pointed out the difficulty of the university to manage a written examination. The agenda asks the faculty to recommend syllabi for the course examination in 2001, 2002 and 2003. However, the subsequent note says that "syllabi for above examination of 2000" are enclosed. The confusion in the date of year for examination poses confusion. One of the members suggested that colleges should take the responsibility of managing classes and the examination in the environmental studies, independently. The structure of the question paper includes environment, land, forests, wildlife, water, atmosphere and people. Each unit will have a maximum of two lectures. The minimum time of examination will be two hours. Candidates will have the option to appear in the English, Hindi or Punjabi medium. The course ran into troubled waters right since its inception. The examination for the first chance was cancelled, keeping in mind the dismal performance of students. It was subsequently decided that students attend a minimum of five lectures in the subject. It was then decided that students should appear in the examination one year during their graduation. The suggestion for colleges to manage the course on their own received negative responses, particularly from colleges which run only arts streams. University officials, on the other hand, see an unexpected "heavy" expenditure in the conduct of examination . The committee decided that an undergraduate would be required to pay the special examination fees for the paper just once. It was discovered earlier that the students payed special fee for the subject every year. The university has also
asked the board to appoint paper setters and examiners
according to rules which prescribe that not more than two
or three from the same department be appointed in a
subject. A paper setter whose term has been completed
should not be re-appointed. |
PU CET in
May, 2000 CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — The combined entrance test for engineering, medical, architecture, honours schools and pharmacy courses will be conducted by Panjab University on May 14 and 15, 2000, a press release of the university said here today. The CET for LLB, LLM,
MCA, M.Com, MMC, MEd and certain other courses will be
conducted between June 6 and 12. The examination for
entrance in education and yoga and bachelors' degrees
will be conducted on July 2, the release added. The dates
regarding availabilit of prospectus will be announced
later. |
Rowdyism
marks ‘Dam dama dam’ CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — The Panjab University Campus Students Council organised a cultural evening a “Dam dama dam”, of songs and dances at Law Auditorium here today. Starting almost an hour late, the evening began with a series of speeches. However, the speakers were booed away by the uproarious audience. Even the chief guest, Mr Munish Tiwari, All-India Youth Congress President, had to face the hootings of the crowd when he referred to the issue of the Orissa cyclone. The function was presided over by Mr Ashok Sawhney, Dean University Instruction (DUI). Mr Nek Chand, Director-Creator of Rock Garden, was the guest of honour. The evening began with a melodiously rendered song, “Taal se taal mila”, from the popular Hindi film “Taal”. The event was being managed by Jagmeet Samudari, Assistant Director from Mumbai. Vivek Shrivastav, an assistant musician with Jatin-Lalit, had composed the music for the day. The rowdy crowd seemed
to have a field day with numbers like “Aja naach
ley” being doled out. And girls in the audience
certainly seemed to have a tough time with paper planes
being thrown at them from all corners of the auditorium.
Some members of the Press also had a tough time with the
organisers who allegedly misbehaved with the scribes
because of paucity of seats in the auditorium. |
Keeping
dying tradition alive CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — In a rare but encouraging event on the Panjab University campus, students had exposure to a dying tradition of ''Sufi'' folk singing at English Auditorium here today. The event was organised by the Third Eye (people for culture) group. The socio-cultural organisation was formed recently "to sensitise people about the rich cultural heritage". Sharif Idu, the star of the evening, with his ''sarangi'' and his sons with ''dhaden'' received due applause from the crowd. Sharif drew from myths and folklore of Punjab and sang in the genre of ''dhadi'' jathas. Besides, the dying stories of Mirza Sahiban and ''Dulha'' got a new colour. Interestingly, the auditorium was flowing with students. Talking to Tribune News Service, Sharif said that he started singing at the age of 12. The form had rich tradition and usually was carried on for generations by the special families. "I am a fourth generation singer," he said. He said that the North Zone Cultural Committee helped real traditional music to carry on with its support. He said that he had visited all over India and had seen that there was demand for real good music despite fear that Western music was taking over. Mr Jagdev Singh Jasowal
regretted the slow demise of the Indian culture. Vineet
Khanna, physically disabled director of the Youth
Technical Training Society, was the guest of honour. |
Chandigarh Carnival on December 4,
5 CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — The Chandigarh Carnival, an annual event, will be organised at the Leisure Valley, Sector 10, on December 4 and 5. This was announced in a press note by Mr V.N. Singh, Director of Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, and Secretary of the Chandigarh Carnival Society, here yesterday. The carnival will begin with a parade on December 3. This will include cultural troupes of various Indian states, tableaux, float bands, cartoon costumed characters, dancers, painted and decorated vehicles, 'baazigars' and stick walkers, besides models of creations from Rock Garden. It will start from the Sector 17 Plaza and terminate at the Leisure Valley with fireworks. Fun and frolic activities, art workshops, food festivals and cultural programmes will be organised. The press note added that new attractions this year include participation of senior citizens and disabled children in different art and cultural activities, folk and tribal dances by foreign students and a star nite. The carnival, which will be held at the Carnival Fort at Leisure Valley, Sector 10, from 10 am to 7 pm, has proposed several interesting programmes this year, besides the usual rounds of song and dance. Workshops on creating
one's own Rock Garden, sensitisation towards animals,
architecture in daily life and meet a master chef for
special culinary tips, quick snacks competition, theatre
production by senior citizens, pottery-making and a
'Hasya Kavi Sammelan' will also be held. Regular features
like collage-making, origami, cartooning, fun games,
treasure hunts, band performances, camel and elephant
rides, cultural programmes, mask-making and
mehndi-designing have also been proposed. This being the
'Carnival of the Millennium', a Carnival Village has been
proposed "keeping in view the heritage and culture
of the country". |
Corps of
Engineers is 219 CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — The Corps of Engineers observed its 219th anniversary at Western Command Headquarters, Chandi Mandir, today. To commemorate the occasion, a solemn wreath-laying ceremony was organised at the Vir Smriti war memorial where homage was paid to the unknown soldier. A wreath was laid on behalf of all ranks of the corps by the Chief Engineer, Western Command, Major-Gen I.J.S. Dhillon. A social get-together and a dinner were also hosted which were attended by a large number of serving as well as retired engineer officers. The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Lieut-Gen Vijay Oberoi, was the chief guest. The corps has three main branches, Combat Engineers, Military Engineer Services (MES) and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), besides two other departments, the Survey of India and the Researh and Development Establishment (Engineers). The most versatile corps in the Indian Army, Combat Engineers have proved itself to be the second to none in the batlefield by executing field engineering tasks with precision. The role of Combat Engineers in Operation Vijay in keeping lines of communication open and construct new tracks has won appreciation. Besides, in the post-Operation Vijay period the corps has been engaged in the construction of bunkers in high altitude areas in sub-zero temperature. Combat Engineers has always been in the forefront to help the civil authorities during natural calamities like floods, landslides and earthquakes. The MES, on the other
hand, is the largest construction agency in the country,
with an annual workload of Rs 2,000 crore. Apart from
construction of convectional buildings, its work
programme includes construction of high-rise buildings,
hospitals, airfields, hangars, dockyards, factories and
specialised workshops. The BRO is engaged in constructing
and maintaining roads in border areas, ranging from
deserts to remote, inaccesible areas in the Himalayas.
Besides professional excellence, the Sappers — as
the corps personnel are called — have also excelled
in sports and adventure activities. |
CHB to
have own cadre for staff CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), which has been without a cadre since its inception in 1977 and functioning with the help of deputationists, will soon have its own cadre. The CHB authorities had engaged the services of a retired officer of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Mr B.S. Jagopota, to frame new service conditions and rules for its employees. Currently, the rules and service conditions governing the employees of the Chandigarh Administration are applicable to the CHB staff. Interestingly, the Administration does not have its own set of service rules and regulations and follows the service rules formulated by the Punjab Government and various other states and the Central Government. Reliable source told Tribune News Service that the need for having separate service conditions and rules had been felt as the system of filling of vacanies through deputation had been unsatisfactory and worked to the disadvantage of the board employees. The board had deputationists even at the lower level, thus defeating the very purpose of having deputationists at the supervisory and higher levels. Many a time, there was heartburning among the board employees as they were at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the deputationists. Similarly, the recruitment scene remained hazy and promotional avenues for the CHB employees were hampered by the presence of deputationists. The new service conditions would put to end this tendency, besides creating a separate cadre for the over 600 CHB employees, the sources informed. When contacted, the Chairman of the board, Mr Balbir Singh, said Mr Jagopota had been assigned the task of moulding the rules and regulations of various organisations like the Administration, the Punjab Government, the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA), besides the Department of Personnel, Government of India, to suit the requirements of the board. Mr Jagopota, an expert in the field of service rules, has had the experience of formulating services rules for many central government organisations In fact, Mr Jagopota, who was in the city yesterday for holding consultations with the representatives of the Punjab Government, already had detailed discussions with these organisations. He had been asked to submit a draft compendium by the end of this month. The draft would then be placed before the board of directors and then sent the UT Administrator for final approval. Calling it a "gift
of millennium" for the board staff, Mr Balbir Singh
hoped that it should come into force with effect from
January 1, 2000. He, however, said that the service
conditions would be altered to the disadvantage of the
existing employees and only fresh recruitments would be
made according to the rules and regulations. |
Injunction
plea of Bhajan Lal's wife dismissed PANCHKULA, Nov 18 — The Civil Judge, Mr S.K. Garg, dismissed the injunction application of Ms Jasma Devi, wife of Mr Bhajan Lal and a resident of Sector 8, in the District Courts. She had sought interim injunction restraining the Haryana Urban Development Authority from demolishing the building on plot number 906 and 907 in Sector 8 here, and from disconnecting the water and sewerage supplies to it. Ms Jasma Devi said the HUDA authorities were bent upon disturbing the peace of the family by disrupting the electricity and sewerage supplies and demolishing the structure. In its reply, HUDA filed a written statement saying that Ms Jasma Devi got the building plan sanctioned for plot number 906 in May, 1994, and later a revised plan was sanctioned in July 1994. It added that the building plan of plot number 907, sanctioned in the name of Ms Rupinder Kaur in June 1987, expired in June 1989 and that the structure over the plot had been raised after the expiry of the validity of the plans. Therefore, the construction in question was unauthorised and against the terms and conditions of allotment. Also, the building constructed over plot number 906 was not in accordance with the revised building plan sanctioned in July 1994. It also said the revised building plan was submitted by the plaintiff and the site was inspected by the junior engineer concerned in March 1996 who was refused permission to inspect the building. The counsel of the defendant said the building constructed in violation of the sanctioned plan had water and sewerage connections without the permission of the defendants. Mr Garg said the building had been constructed in violation of the sanctioned site plan and Ms Jasma Devi had filed the revised site plan for approval to HUDA which had already been dismissed. Moreover, the suit had been filed on the basis of apprehension due to change of government. However, no notice for demolition or disconnection of water or sewerage supplies had been issued by HUDA so far, though a notice of resumption under Section 17 of the HUDA act had been issued. He added that Section 50
of the HUDA Act provided that no civil court should have
any jurisdiction to entertain suit or proceedings in
respect of any matter the cognizance of which could be
taken and disposed of by any authority empowered by this
Act which implied that the court had no jurisdiction to
entertain the present suit. |
Attachment
warrants issued CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — Directing the attachment of "Head 2701 Major and Medium (Non Plan)", UT Chief Judicial Magistrate Mr Sant Parkash today also issued warrants of attachment according to a list of departments under the head supplied by the Punjab Treasury officer. The Court, vide order dated October 28, had directed the Punjab Treasury Officer to attach the head of account after the decree holder, Messrs Sharma and Associates, had applied for the same. The decree holder, it may be recalled, "had got a decree, dated September 22, 1997, passed by the Court in his favour for Rs 50,76,197, which the judgement debtors (State of Punjab and others) had failed to satisfy". Today, pronouncing the directions, the CJM observed in the open court, "It is pertinent to mention that the amount attached by this court under the account head in Punjab Treasury was released by this court on November 5, 1999 on the application filed on the behalf of the low paid employees who had come present in the court in hundreds". The CJM further observed: "Admittedly, that order of attachment of the head was reviewed on account of Divali and further considering that the high paid officers had already got their salaries but the low paid employees were debarred from taking the salary on account of the attachment order. I again order the attachment of the head." The CJM, on the last date of hearing, had directed the release of pay of about 415 Sutlej Yamuna Link workers — including lab assistants and supervisors. Claiming
non-disbursement of the pay by the Punjab treasury due to
the attachment of "Head 2701 Major and Medium,
Irrigation (Non Plan)", the applicant —
convener of SYL workers Sham Sunder had stated that near
starvation condition had been created for them and the
families. |
Woman
acquitted in husband death case CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — A housewife, accused of abetting commission of suicide by her husband, was today acquitted by the UT Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr G.S. Sandhu. Pronouncing the order in the case against the 39-year-old housewife Saroj Garg, the Additional Sessions Judge observed: "As the material witnesses have not supported the prosecution version, therefore the evidence tendered by other witnesses is of no help to the prosecution". The judge further observed: "I am of the view that the prosecution has badly failed to prove its case against the accused. Accordingly, Saroj Garg is entitled to acquittal and is accordingly acquitted of the charge framed against her". The accused was earlier booked by the Chandigarh police under Section 306 of the IPC after her husband, Subhash Garg, consumed some poisonous substance. A relative, Rakesh Tayal, in his complaint before the police, had alleged that the victim had been killed after his wife conspired against him. The accused, when
confronted with the incriminating evidence against her,
had, however, denied the allegations. Claiming to be
innocent, her counsel had stated that the accused was
being implicated in the case. |
Bail plea
in forgery case rejected CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — Assistant in charge in the Haryana Printing and Stationary Department Hari Om Bansal's bail application, filed after he was remanded in judicial custody, was today dismissed by the UT Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr H.S. Madan, in a cheating and forgery case. He was earlier arrested by the Chandigarh police in a first information report under Sections 420, 467, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, registered on a written complaint by the Assistant Controller of Printing and Stationary Department. According to the prosecution, the accused, along with certain other employees, had conspired with the Bharti Sarv Kalyan Society to get a payment of Rs 7,54,350 in excess compared to the rates fixed by the Government Press. Pronouncing the
directions in the open court after hearing the arguments
on the bail plea, the ACJM observed: "Keeping in
view the gravity of offences, the request for bail is
declined". Bail for two CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — Two city residents, accused of setting a jhuggi on fire, were today directed to be released on bail by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr S.S. Lamba. The two, Ram Naresh and Pappu Parshad, were directed to be released after furnishing personal bonds for Rs 10,000 each along with sureties of the like amount. They were earlier booked by the Chandigarh police under Sections 436 and 34 of the IPC after a "chappar outside the verandah of the house belonging to the complainant's father caught fire". Seeking their release on
bail, counsel for the accused today contended that the
duo were being implicated in the case by the police. The
two, counsel added, had merely been named by the
complainant as suspects. |
PUDA’s
plan to develop govt land SAS NAGAR, Nov 18 — The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) has drawn a comprehensive plan to develop unutilised government land on ultra modern lines in Patiala. The necessary proposals formulated by PUDA in consultation with the district authorities had been approved at a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary, Punjab. Giving details, a spokesman of PUDA said here today that an old homoeopathic dispensary at Adalat Bazar would be developed into a mini-shopping complex. An old store of the PWD (B and R) opposite the Sher-e-Punjab market would be converted into a modern shopping centre. Besides, prime government land on Mall Road opposite Rajendra Tank, presently occupied by an office of Home Guards, would also be developed into a state of art shopping plaza. The provision for parking and other amenities had also been incorporated into the plan. He said under the
comprehensive plan the old Kaur Sahib Haveli near Tehsil
Complex would be demolished to develop into a commercial
centre. Shifting of the SDM office and the tehsil office
was also in the plan. He said special efforts would be
made to ensure that the architecture of the new building
was in harmony with the other heritage building of
Patiala that had been in existence since the time of the
princely state of Patiala and the erstwhile Pepsu state. |
Geophysics
seminar begins CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — In response to the landslide tragedies past year, a national programme on landslide studies had been evolved, Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Santosh Gangwar, said here today. Inaugurating the 25th annual convention and seminar on exploration geophysics organised by the Association of Exploration Geophysicists, Mr Gangwar said the thrust of this programme was on setting up composite teams of geologists, geotechnical engineers and geophysicists to take up benchmark studies. He said these studies should combining different aspects of a representative set of landslies in Himalayas so that an understanding of various slip processes emerged. The theme of the three-day convention which began today is 'Exploration, Education and Industry in Hydrocarbons, Minerals, Groundwater and Environment'. Mr Gangwar said bigger challenges awaited the Earth scientists in the coming millennium where they would have to work with atmospheric scientists, oceanographers and agriculture scientists. "Non-traditional fields like land-use planning and environment law will need the support and inputs of Earth sciences," he said. The minister said India had rich resources of metals like magnesium, aluminium, calcium, titanium, chromium, iron and lead-zinc etc. "However, there is a need for an added thrust on exploration of gold, uranium, nickel and platinum group of elements (PGE). Study of beach and inland placers and exploration of radioactive elements in conglomerate horizons and granitic rocks needs to be taken up in the near future," he said. The mineral exploration activity in our country would be greatly facilitated through the adoption of modern theoretical approaches, involving modelling, better data generation and dissemination and regular widespread application of current exploration technologies, Mr Gangwar said. "This becomes more important in the present domain of liberalised economy and the new mineral policy. Foreign investments will be encouraged if the basic geological data is provided to the prospective investors who can then adapt their state-of-art technological tools to provide answers to the exploration problems," he added. Mr Gangwar said the production of crude oil in the country in the year 1997-98 was 33.86 mmt against a target of 34.01 mmt. "The steps taken to arrest the declining trend include maintenance of reservoir health through workover operations, implementation of specialised technology, stimulation of wells and 3-D seismic surveys for better reserve oil delineation." He said in recent years, the availability of water and its quality had emerged as a major constraint to economic development and quality of life. "There is a need to increase our ability to manage all surface flows and ground water in a region, providing for drainage in waterlogged areas," he said. Earlier in the day, prizes were given to school children who had secured top positions in an essay competition organised by the AEG. The first position among Class VIII students was won by Ritu Goyal of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 35-D. The second position went to Parneet Kaur of Shivalik Public School and the third to Vasuda Bansal of Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School. Among the Class IX students, Vijay Kumar Saini of Government Model Senior Secondary School, 35-D, stood first, Komal Gulati of DAV Model School, Sector 15-A, came second and Siddharth Saini of Government Model Senior Secondary School, 35-D got the third position. In the Class X group, Vikram Gupta of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16-D came first, Aswin Kaur Tuli of Guru Nanak Public School stood second and Pradeep Kumar Anand of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 20-D, got the third position. The ONGC-AEG awards for the best PhD thesis in geophysics for the year 1997-98 were also given. The President of the AEG, Mr T.K.N. Gopalaswamy, said India was one of the few countries in the world which had developed its own hydrocarbon indigenous industry successfully since Independence and brought it to maturity. "However, due to phenomenal increase in consumption, our import dependence has gone up lately to 65 per cent of the consumption from 30 per cent in the year 1985-86. This is due to change in the hydrocarbon energy consumption of the country from 13 per cent in the year 1950-51 to around 41 per cent in the year 1996-97 of the total energy consumed," he said. "I expect further revolution in seismic data acquisition and integration technologies in the next millennium. I expect a convergence of geoscience disciplines and an integrated approach in all activities which has already been ushered in due to interactive workstation," Mr Gopalaswamy said. It may also be possible
that all other allied technologies like gravity
magnetics, resistivity methods, electro-magnetics,
acoustic surveys would contribute towards this
convergence and technology vision, he added.
|
Regional
workshop on nutrition CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — The two-day Regional Advocacy Workshop on Nutrition was inaugurated by Ms Veena S. Rao, Joint Secretary (nutrition) of the Department of Women and Child Development in the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, at a hotel in Sector 22 here today. More than 60 officials of Haryana, Punjab, Union Territory of Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh are participating in this workshop. An emphasis was laid on intensifying awareness generation on various aspects of nutrition, at the workshop. In her inaugural address, Ms Rao said the objective of the workshop was to advocate the cause of nutrition to all those connected directly or indirectly with it. She added that the Department of Women and Child Development being the nodal one for nutrition at the centre, it had been making efforts to mobilize state governments to set up State Nutritional Councils with Chief Ministers as Chairpersons, besides inter-department co-ordinatation committees under the chairmanship of Chief Secretaries. She said the entire development process could benefit significantly if nutrition was included as an important part of development reviews at state and district levels. The State Government Officers of the seven northern states presented the nutritional situations, the existing programmes and the innovations adopted in their respective states. Many of them admitted that it was the nutrition and health education of the community which would ultimately help in solving the problems of nutrition. Dr Erina Manoncourt, representing UNICEF at the workshop, talked about basic and immediate causes of child malnutrition and stressed the need for promoting childcare practices and appropriate feeding. Later, she conducted a session on visualization in participatory planning, in which she discussed causes of various forms of malnutrition and actions taken against these. The session also generated many new ideas for addressing specific nutritional problems. Dr Shanti Ghosh, a
paediatrician, highlighted the problems of malnutrition
among children under the age of two and the urgent need
to address these. Various causes of the problem and
approaches to it were also suggested through a slide
show. |
Language,
religion not linked: Sahni CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — "Our cultural values and ethos are under a lot of strain today, but I am totally convinced that it would never be too easy to disrupt a democratic polity," said Bhisham Sahni, an eminent Hindi writer of Tamas fame, while delivering the third N K Joshi Memorial Lecture today at Panjab University. The lecture was organised by the Balraj Sahni Memorial Foundation. The lectures were instituted in 1997 in the memory of late N K Joshi, a well-known Leftist social activist, freelance journalist and literary and music critic, who passed away on October 29, 1996 after a car accident. These lectures were instituted after friends of Joshi brought out a collection of his select writings, 'People's Path to Social Change', on his first death anniversary. Titled 'India — the cultural landscape', Sahni's lecture expressed concern about the social and cultural inter-relationships among the religious communities of our country. Sahni said that in his time, when traditional moral values bordered on the puritanical ideologies, there existed greater levels of tolerance. He also pointed out at the damage that is being caused today because of linking languages with religions. "I resent Urdu being called a minority language, because it is certainly a part of the great Indian heritage, like any other Indian language. A language in which creative works have been done by both Muslim and non-Muslim writers", he said. On the subject of the "powerful" Bhakti period, he said it broke caste and religious barriers and was about the basic tenets of humanism. The saint-poets of this era, like Guru Nanak, Kabir and Rai Das, were spiritual leaders who propagated the tenets of equality for all people. However, he added, that even with the orthodoxy and vested interests prevalent today, the situation would not be vitiated to a great extent, since even in the past, the rich Indian pluralistic culture had withstood the onslaughts on its components. Sahni condemned the pulling down of the Babri masjid, the murder of Graham Staines, a Christian missionary, the harassment caused to artist M F Husain and the humiliation caused to cine-actor Dilip Kumar. "What kind of image of our cultural life are we projecting to the world with actions like this?", he queried, and added that the common man needed to understand that riots happened only when they were engineered. Calling upon the "cultural workers", Sahni said that it was essential to strengthen the forces of secularism in order to strengthen the nation. The lecture was followed
by a question-answer session between the speaker and the
audience. |
Workshop
for teachers ends CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — A two-day workshop for English teachers of various public and convent schools of the city and organised by the British Council-Addision Wesley Longman at the Sector 8 DAV Public School concluded yesterday. The seminar was part of a series being organised for the benefit of English teachers throughout the country by the council. "Grammar in
communication" was conducted by Dr Rajani Badlani,
manager, English Studies at British Council, and Ms
Sarita Manuja, Principal of the host school. In all 35
teachers from various public and convent schools of the
city attended the seminar. |
Science
exhibition opens CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — An inter-state (North India) science exhibition began at DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, here today. The theme of the exhibition is “science for better life” with an aim to create general awareness about science among the general public and the students. As many as 42 institutions from North Indian states are participating in the exhibition. About 250 working and non-working models, related to all disciplines of science, have been displayed. The models of “lift and shift house, nuclear energy, wireless communication, volcanoes and hydroelectricity have an educative and creative value. The exhibition was inaugurated by Mr R. S. Rao, Dean, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi. Dr Rao encouraged the students to become great scientists like C. V. Raman. He said India had a high ranking place in the world of science. The best three models
from five categories of the students will be rewarded at
the end of the exhibition on November 20. |
Painting,
slogan-writing contests held CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — As part of the ongoing Children’s Day and national book week celebrations, on-the-spot painting and slogan-writing competitions were organised on the premises of TS Central State Library, Sector 17, here today. According to Mrs KC Ramola, Librarian, over 600 students from different schools participated in the painting contest and over 200 in the slogan writing contest. The contests were organised to give exposure to children and help them inculcate reading habits which were diminishing with the advent of the electronic media and satellite television, she added. The following are the results: Painting contest (Sub-junior group): Gita, Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Sector 21-A (I); Anmol, Blue Bird Model School, Chandigarh (II); and Amit Tiwari, Vijay Public School, Panchkula (III) Junior group: Drishti Vohra, Blue Bird Model School, Panchkula (I); Priya Saini, Tender Heart School, Sector 33, (II); and Avinash Kaur, GMSSS, Sector 21-A (III). Senior group: Paritosh Verma, GMSSS, Sector 35, (I); Priyanka Khandelwal, Sacred Heart, Sector 26 (II); and Tejwar Chauhan, Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 27-C (III). Slogan-writing contest ( sub-junior group): Geeta, GMSSS, Sector 21-A (I); Meena, GMSSS, Sector 21-A (II). Junior group: Zubeena Boparai, Sacred Heart, Sector 26, (I); Varun and
Gurleen, Sri Harkrishan Model Senior Secondary School,
Sector 38-D, second and third, respectively. Senior
group: Amanpreet Kaur, GMSSS, Sector 10, (I); Paritosh
Verma and Varun Thapar of GMSSS, Sector 35, second and
third, respectively. |
Patriotic
song contest held CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — The Government College for Girls, Sector 11, and the Bharat Vikas Parishad jointly organised an inter-college patriotic song competition on the college premises here today. Eight teams from various colleges of the city participated and seven solo items were presented. Mr J.V. Gupta, former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, presided over the function and gave away the prizes. Results: Team prizes
—Government College for Girls (Sector 11) 1, DAV
College (Sector 10) 2 and Government College (Sector 46)
3; and solo items — Bhupinder of Government College
(Sector 11) 1, Manas Tyagi of DAV College (Sector 11) 2
and Sandeep Sandhu of Government College (Sector 46) 3. 150 children get prizes CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — As many as 150 awards were distributed among winner students of different schools at a prize distribution function organised in connection with the Children's Day competitions at the Sector 23 Bal Bhavan here today. The prizes were given away by Mr R.K. Saboo, an eminent academician and industrialist. Students also presented
songs and skits on this ocassion. |
SNIPPETS Rally by schoolboard staff SAS NAGAR, Nov 18 — The Punjab School Education Board Karamchari Association organised a rally here yesterday. The association, while thanking the PUDA authorities for allotting 7.20 acres for a staff colony, demanded that the PSEB Chairman should deposit the necessary dues and begin construction of the colony. The association also demanded that the board authorities should stop the alleged misuse of official cars. Leaders of the association said work relating to the admission forms for the middle, matriculation and plus two examinations to be held in March next year should be completed in time so that students were saved from harassment. Bus fare hike condemned CHANDIGARH, Nov 18 — The local unit of the Samajwadi party has condemned the hike in the local bus fare. In a press note issued here yesterday, Mr Davinder Dhillon and Mr Bhupinder Kakar, Secretary General and the spokesman of the party, said the hike in the fare was a burden on the commonman and would affect his budget. He dubbed the hike as a gameplan of the government to levy more taxes on public. Mr Kakkar said the hike should be taken back by the UT Administration without any delay. SSP’s appeal to people KHARAR, Nov 18 — The SSP of Ropar, Mr G.S. Bhullar, has appealed to the people to help the police in solving their problems and maintaining law and order. He has asked them to contact senior officials in case of any problem. Mr Bhullar was
addressing a gathering here yesterday in connection with
a lok darbar organised to know the complaints of the
people. He said that it was not possible to solve any
problem without the cooperation of the people. |
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