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Panjab
University’s date with sun Chandigarh, May 3 Aimed at educating the students of the various departments, the uses and working of various solar energy devices like solar dryer, solar photovoltaic panel, domestic and community solar cookers, solar home lighting, solar water heating systems were explained by the Dean University Instruction, Prof S.K. Sharma, also the Director of the centre. A solar radio blazing out film songs and a miniature fan running on the solar panel were also displayed in the exhibition and were quite an attraction for the Sun-lovers. Unmindful of the heat, the visitors had a wonderful time learning of the recent modification in existing devises as well as the changes the department was working on to bring about greater efficiency. On this occasion, Prof S.K. Sharma, Director, Energy Research Centre, emphasised the need to use alternate sources of energy and also take the message to the masses that life of conventional energy sources such as oil gas and coal was very short (from 25-120 years) at the present rate of consumption. Prof Sharma said cumulative potential of 50,000 MW of energy existed in solar thermal, photovoltaic, hydro and wind energy and there was an immediate need to harness these renewable sources of energy. “Even after allocating more than 25 per cent of our Five-Year Plan outlay to energy sector, the gap between the supply and demand was increasing continuously,” he said. Dr Sharma also stressed the need for quality control and maintenance of solar equipment as per the established Indian standards. He said state-of-the-art facilities of the centre were available to the manufacturers who wanted to use these for making improvements in their designs. On this occasion, the centre also launched software for the online testing of the solar cookers. This is the first such attempt in the country and would help save man hours besides being user-friendly. *The centre has developed a technique to eliminate the formation of algae in the solar stills, which is a major hurdle in the large-scale use of this technology. “We have developed a chemical dye which eliminates the formation of algae. It also enhances the production of distilled water from the stills,” Prof Sharma maintained. *An in-house facility for repair and maintenance of solar systems has been created at energy research centre. A number of solar water-heating systems installed at different buildings and hostels, defunct for over five years, have been repaired and made operational. This service will also be provided to other organisations in the city. *The centre has developed a lantern which uses electricity and solar energy. While there are lamps which work on electric power alone and others which use solar energy, this new lantern is an innovation of the centre. “While it relies essentially on solar energy, it meets the shortfall in energy through electricity to be fully charged at all times,” Prof Sharma stated. Chandigarh, May 3
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PU Syndicate nod to upgradation of school Chandigarh, May 3 Presently, the school is spread over 1.5 acres on the campus near the residential area. An additional 0.8 acres will be added to the present premises and the primary school will be made functional. Subsequently, university land near the gurdwara will also be made available to the school for running higher classes. This piece of land, nearly 1.7 acres, will take the area under the school to 4 acres. Funds for the construction of a new school building and adding of floor to the existing one will be carried out by the Ankur Society, headed by the Vice-Chancellor’s wife, Ms K. Pathak. The operative part, including the session from which the school will be upgraded, its board for affiliation and the fee to be charged, is yet to be decided. The Syndicate also approved reservation of 50 per cent seats in the school for university employees who will also be entitled to 50 per cent fee concession. The rest of the seats will be open to the public. An outcome of the collective effort of the Vice-Chancellor, Prof KN Pathak, and the employees, the resolution for upgradation of the school was first moved by Prof P.P. Arya over a year back in the Syndicate. At that time, it was agreed in principle though a formal approval was given at the Syndicate meeting last week. Employees of the university had time and again made representations to Prof Pathak, seeking upgradation of the nursery school, following which the case was recommended for action. |
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450 students participate in painting
contest Chandigarh, May 3 The sub-junior group from classes I, II and III was given the theme “My birthday party”. The winner was Osheen Gupta from Bhavan Vidyala; runner-up Simran Katyal from Bhavan Vidyala; and consolation prizes were given to Har Noor Kaur and Sandeep Singh of Ajit Karam Singh Public School. The junior group was from classes IV, V and VI was given the theme “Festival”. The winner was Amanjot Kaur of Ajit Karam Singh Public School; runner-up Shagun, Sacred Heart; and the consolation prize winners were Appoorva and Shaurya Munjal from Sacred Heart. The middle group of Classes VII, VIII and IX was given the theme “City Beautiful”. The winner was Arushi Saksena, Sacred Heart; runner-up Kritika Dhupar, Sacred Heart; and the consolation prize winners were Karamjit Kaur and Geetika Rawat of Moti Ram Arya School. The senior group of classes X, XI and XII was given the theme “5 human figures in a house party”. The winner was Charanjit Kaur, Vivek High, and the runner-up Gaurav Aneja of Bhavan Vidyala. |
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Teachers vow to work for
peace Chandigarh, May 3 Forty teachers from government and private schools today resolved to become peace volunteers. Dr S.N. Subbarao, was the chief guest. Ms Madhu Bala, a Youth Officer from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, was also present. The purpose of the campaign was to formally teach the teachers to be ambassadors of peace and non-violence. A two-day workshop was also inaugurated. About 10,000 students and teachers in 50 local schools are scheduled to take a pledge to spread peace on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The campaign was a creative response to growing violence in society, aimed at identifying students, teachers and families who had faith in non-violence. The target of the NGOs is to enrol one lakh families under the campaign. |
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Parishad gives books to school
students Panchkula, May 3 Mr Saran Dass Kamboj, an NRI, presided over the function. The units also announced that 300 poor and needy students from various government schools of Panchkula would be given books and stationery under its annual project ‘SAHYOG’ on May 8. The newly elected office bearers of the unit also took an oath, on this occasion. Earlier, secretaries of the Panchkula and the Mansa Devi branches of the units, respectively, also presented their annual reports, informed Mr Vinod Jaidka, press secretary of the unit. |
HIGH COURT Chandigarh, May 3 At the last hearing, the Court had summoned the six students for having misled the court. On the plea of the students, the court had ordered postponement of the first examination of the LLB. However, it later transpired that the date-sheet had been prepared after consultations with students’ representatives. Today, the students filed affidavits in the court and sought pardon for the mistake. The petitioners include Nitin Goyal, president, Chandigarh unit of National Students Union of India, Gurparvez Singh Sandhu, president, Panjab University Students Union (PUSU), and Nidhi Bawa, a VI-semester student of the Department of Laws. After hearing counsel for the petitioners, a Division Bench reserved judgement in the matter.
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City residents going in for ‘meditation tourism’ WITH summer vacations round the corner, soft adventure tourism and herbal and meditation tourism are what the city residents are taking to rejuvenate their city- tired souls. From kayaking, canoeing, para-gliding, trekking and camping in the cool climes of Himalayas to heading for herbal spas in the Himalayas and ayurveda and Panchkarma centres in God’s own country, the tourist from the city is trying out a different holiday this year. So hot on the list of tourists from the city, and not just for those who cannot afford a trip to the phoren lands are Rishikesh and Raison here, and the Himalayan nation of Nepal, for adventure sports, and Varkala and Thekaddy in Kerala for those seeking spirituality in their break from the daily rigmarole. Tour operators in the city say that these destinations are high on the list of those denizens who have seen the world, and look forward to a holiday for relaxation, rather than sight seeing. Says Mr Ikam, sales executive with Bajaj Tours and Travels: “With lifestyles getting more stressful, people look forward to a vacation that helps you unwind and relax. It is thus that inspite of the humid weather in Kerala in June, the state will be flooded with tourists. Since both Indian Airlines and Sahara Airlines have come up with packages of Rs 26,000 per person, inclusive of hotel accommodation. The ayurvedic and panchkarma treatments offered by these hotels are extra. We are booking about 12 packages a month for Kerala, and many people are heading South for these ayurvedic treatments.” The Ananda Spa and Resort, near Rishikesh, say the tour operators, are preferred by a niche segment, because of the cost factor. Nestled in the Himalayas, this world class Spa and resort, invites the leisure, lifestyle and business traveller. A Wellness Centre, yoga sessions, ayurvedic and herbal remedies for various ailments, and an aveda beauty institute offer complete relaxation — though at a cost of approximately Rs 11,000 a night for a couple. Says Mr Rohit Badhwar, Proprietor of Airpak International, “While the herbal destinations are preferred by the middle aged bracket, the youth have a streak of adventure and prefer a soft adventurous holiday.” Agrees Dr Gulshan Sharma, Director, Institute of Tourism and Future Trends, “The trend towards soft adventure tourism is catching on. If Raison and Manikaran were the best destinations for kayaking, canoeing and river rafting, now the tourists from the city are moving towards Rishikesh. About 9 km north of Rishikesh are the gradients where river rafting is a preferred sport as is trekking and camping.” He adds that a new trend is to head for Lonavala, a small town between Mumbai and Pune, where the city youth are heading for camping and trekking in the ensuing summer vacation. Dr Sharma says that though herbal tourism is restricted to a niche segment of the city’s populace, it is catching on. “Seeing the success of these herbal tourism package, the Chandigarh Administration could also set up these herbal spas in Hotel Mountview or Hotel Shivalikview,” he says. TNS |
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SHE has been selected as the perfect homemaker. Ms Ashi Prashar of Patiala won the tiltle of Ms Homemaker, 2004, at a glittering show organised by Net4Barter at North Park Resorts on Sunday night. Ecstatic at winning the crown, the lady with a charming smile says that she was very confident and composed, which proved to be her cutting edge over the other contestants. Ms Ashi Prashar says that she was not very sure that she would win the title, as there were other women, equally confident and talented as her. The beauty-cum-personality contest was held for homemakers in the region, and 25 contestants were selected from over 500 applications that were received. Ms Prashar says that though she was a late entrant in the contest (she filed her application online on the last day, and was informed of her selection on the same day), it was her confidence that proved to be her biggest asset. Married to a defence official, 39-year-old Ashi is the mother of a 14 year old son. But what is her biggest asset as her homemaker? “I am a perfectionist to the core. I believe in excelling in all that I do — be it keeping my home spic and span and beautiful, or tending to my husband, Col Neeraj Prashar, and son, Rishabh Prashar. I like to be there for them always,” she says.
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‘Hey Dumbo’ captures
magic of circus Jumbo circus virtually came to town today, thanks to students of Ryan International School, who put up so realistic a performance involving acrobats, jugglers, jokers and other characters that it was easy to mistake them for professional circus artistes. In this perfect backdrop unfolded Walt Disney’s story “Hey Dumbo”, the star attraction of the first International Children’s Festival of Performing Arts, that was inaugurated at Tagore Theatre today. The story may have a foreign ring to it, but it has been improvised to suit the tastes of everyone. The joker introduces the characters that reminds you of so many Bollywood comic characters. Even the character called Chappan Churi, who goes to a dreamland, looks like a miniature version of Madhuri Dixit in her famous “Ek Do Teen ...” number. If you could detach yourself from the colourful costumes of the young participants, the laser rays and well-choreographed dance items, the message that came across was — “think positive and be optimistic in life.” The central character, Dumbo, who is born with a deformity, teaches you that it’s not necessary that if you are born with a defect you will lose out in life. Written by Helen Abserson and Harold Pearl, directed by Utkarsh Marwah, the play boasted of a very competent team, with Gaurav Bangia and Sanjay Phillips as music directors, Sandeep Salaria and Narinder Kumar as choreographers and Gaurav and Abhilasha Pathak as lead singers. The set was designed by Utkarsh while costumes were designed by Mrigank Srivastav. Puppets had been designed by Dadi Pudumjee while light designing was by Milind. On the inaugural day of the festival, another spectacular item was presented, “Vande Mataram”, based on A R Rehman’s famous song, which acquired an international flavour with dancers from Poland, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Morocco, dressed in their national costumes and carrying their national flags onto the stage. The show started with Ms. Grace Pinto, Director, Ryan International Group of Schools, reciting a few lines from the Bible, followed by a prayer item presented by the students. In between awarding certificates to meritorious students and those who excelled in extra-curricular activities, students trained by Monica Smekot from Poland, Gulaz Rasulova from Uzbekistan and Sayra Sodirova from Turkey presented group dance items from those countries. |
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SRIJAN, an institute of creativity, organised a talent hunt at DAV Public School, Sector 8, here on Monday. As many as 400 students from Class II to X participated in various activities of art, making the best out of waste, music , dance and creative writing. The selected children were put through daily practice and summer camps to judge the talent for the final exhibition in December this year. The topics of the talent hunt were ‘Information technology’, ‘Silence speaks louder than words’, ‘Female feticide’, ‘Kite flying’, ‘Balloon seller’, ‘Peace and laughter’, ‘Nature study’ and ‘My dream’.
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Impressive display of Chhattisgarh handicrafts Handlooms and handicrafts from Chhattisgarh have been brought to town by the artisans and master weavers of Chhattisgarh. These handlooms and handicrafts are contemporary in style and design, crafted after a study of the existing market trends. The exhibition, called, Shabri, is being organised by the Rural Industries Department of Chhattisgarh. The exhibition began yesterday, and will be on till May 7, before it shifts to Shimla from May 10 to 18. On display are artefacts in bell metal, wrought iron, wood and terra cotta. In handlooms, the exhibition has brought a gamut of cottons, silk (kosa) and cotton silk blends ( baftha). Mr C.B. Tiwari, an official at Shabri Emporium, Delhi, who is accompanying the craftsmen, said they had brought 25 artisans and six master weavers from the state. “The aim of the exhibition is to give a fillip to the weavers and artisans to sell their produce,” Mr Tiwari said. The shell crafted pots and belts in vibrant hues of red and blue, and the sisal floor mats, coasters, hammocks and other items are attractive. Bell metal craft items are available in the range of Rs 10 to 8,000, wooden artefacts can be had for Rs 50 to 2,000, terracota ware are priced at Rs 10 to 250, and sisal juteware from Rs 10 to 700, are quite affordable.
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