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MCM lecturers join DAV protest
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
Reacting to the protest by lecturers over the alleged victimisation and suspension of three lecturers of DAV College here yesterday, principal BC Josan has held “undisciplined” behaviour of these lecturers a reason for their suspension.

Addressing the media, he said: “I have nothing to do with this. This is a decision of the governing body. These lecturers misbehaved with me on Diwali dinner. When they were asked to explain the reason for it by the management, they failed to furnish it by the deadline. They have always tried to obstruct the functioning of the college. Recently, they created a huge drama over the appointment of a woman warden.”

The protesters, however, dismissed the reasons. Prof Nirmal Datt said: “This is a lie. The first letter seeking explanation from them had no deadline mentioned in it and we were trying to resolve the matter in the college and not involve the police. However, when negotiations failed, they were served a second letter that mentioned a deadline and replies were served within the time frame only.”

“The principal had overlooked the selection policy and the union objected to. He has forgotten, but it was us only who had, in a written request, asked him to appoint a woman warden,” added another.

The management has also barred the three suspended professors from even entering the college or leaving the town without the permission of the principal.

This has intensified the protest as lecturers from various city colleges have started joining the protest, with the MCM being the first one.

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Retd Air Vice-Marshal shoots himself
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
Sixtynine-year-old Air Vice-Marshal Manjit Singh Dhillon (retd) reportedly shot himself at his Sector 35 house here in the wee hours of today.

Though no suicide note was recovered from the house, the police, quoting his wife, claimed that he was depressed due to loneliness.

A highly-decorated officer, Dhillon was the recipient of Vir Chakra and two Vayu Sena Medals. The Vir Chakra was conferred upon him in 1971. Describing his career as brilliant and full of achievements, his friend, Wing Commander JM Kaushal (retd) said Dhillon was a shining officer in their unit, Air Force helicopter unit No 10, which was the first Air Force unit. He was sent to the UK for training after he joined service.

According to the police, the death came to light around 7.30 am when Dhillon’s wife Harjit Kaur went to his room and found him lying in a pool of blood on the floor. His double-barrelled gun was lying beside him.

She was in a state of shock for a couple of hours before she could collect herself and call her relatives. The incident was reported to the police around 10 am.

The police said Dhillon was feeling depressed due to loneliness and was worried about their future as his son was settled in Delhi. They had visited their son about a week ago. She said Dhillon woke up around 1 am and drank some milk and then slept in separate rooms to guard the house.

Forensic experts were called to examine the spot. The police said he had shot himself in the throat. He might have pressed the trigger with his toe. The police recovered an empty shell from the spot while a live cartridge was found in the gun.

The unkempt house reflected the loneliness and disenchantment that prevailed in the life of the elderly couple.

The furniture in the house was in a shambles and the living room was stuffed with artefacts and furniture that seemed to have not been used for years.

Kaushal said he did not notice any signs of depression in Dhillon and they had met during their routine evening walk yesterday. Dhillon was health conscious and had jotted down his blood pressure and given himself A1 and G1 grade for fitness on the dressing table mirror. He had also written that his son earned Rs 2 lakh per month.

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Rape
Police for DNA test on cinema owner
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, March 4
The police has decided to conduct a DNA test on the owner of KC Theatre, Pawan Valecha, who has been accused of raping his domestic help.

The SP, Amitabh Dhillon, said as the two other helpers of Valecha, named as witness, had denied the incident, the DNA test of the accused could reveal the truth.

Before arresting Valecha, he would be asked for his consent for the DNA test and if he refused to cooperate, the police could arrest him and seek the permission of the court to conduct the test.

The clothes of the complainant and the bedsheet, besides other articles, lifted by forensic experts from the house of Valecha in Sector 9 have been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory at Madhuban.

Meanwhile, the victim has alleged that she was being threatened and pressured by the accused to accept money for a compromise. “Some people came to my house last evening and threatened me of dire consequences if I did not withdraw my complaint. They also offered me money,” she said.

Narrating the sequence of events to mediapersons, she said Valecha’s wife had gone to pick up children from school at the time of the incident. She was dusting the house when Valecha asked her to clean the bedroom. Before that, he sent the other two helpers to market. As soon as she started dusting the bedroom, Valecha started playing a blue film on television and locked the room. He then raped her, she alleged. He kept her in the room till his wife reached home.

“As soon as he found that his wife was parking the car outside, he opened the door of the room, threatening me of dire consequences if I said anything to his wife,” she alleged, adding that she left the house immediately, but fell near the gate. His wife helped her gain consciousness.

She had been working for them for the past several years and no one had misbehaved with her.

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Citco cuts discount to babus
Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
UT babus with privilege cards will have to shell out more while dining at administration’s hotels, including its flagship Hotel Mountview. Stung by media criticism, Citco’s board of directors today decided to roll back the discount to bureaucrats and former board members to 25 per cent as against the prevailing 50 per cent.

According to sources, the highly-discounted buffets would be a thing of the past as the meeting decided to offer discount on à la carte menus only. However, there is good news for cardholders as liquor would also be available at 25 per cent discount.

The decision to extend the discount facility to buffets was taken during a meeting on December 13. It was implemented on December 29, the last day of Niharika Rai’s stint as the officiating managing director of the corporation. The proposed 50 per cent discount was later reduced to 40 per cent as it sparked protests.

Sources said there were over 500 bureaucrats and others who possessed privilege cards and were entitled to discount up to 40 per cent. The present and former directors of the board were privileged to 50 per cent discount.

Since there was no photograph on the card, the facility was reportedly being misused by the kin of beneficiaries. The corporation had failed to provide details of discounts under the RTI Act.

The Citco staff had been resenting the discount for long. The staff is entitled to 10 per cent discount in Mountview, 15 per cent in Shivalikview and 25 per cent in Hotel Parkview.

Meanwhile, the meeting enhanced the compensation to be paid to a deceased employee’s family from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3.5 lakh. It was also decided to rationalise room tariff for de luxe rooms in Hotel Parkview where occupancy in the new block had been hit on account of high rent.

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‘Eve-teaser’ thrashed; car panes broken
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
High drama was witnessed at the railway lights here this afternoon when a woman accompanied by her friend thrashed a man who allegedly passed some offensive remarks against her, before smashing his car with a baseball bat in full public view.

The police played its usual role with officials of Mani Majra and Industrial Area police station debating on jurisdiction for over an hour. In the end, the Industrial Area police station admitted that the area fell under its jurisdiction. By that time, both parties reached a comprise even as the eve-teaser suffered a fracture on his finger.

According to eyewitnesses, the woman, driving a modified jeep, chased a Maruti Swift car and a motorcycle followed the jeep. She tried to intercept the car, but the latter did not give her way and she banged her jeep into the car from the rear.

At the same time, the motorcyclist overtook the car and blocked it, forcing the driver to come out. As soon as the driver came out, the motorcyclist began to hit him.

The woman, meanwhile, took out a baseball bat from the jeep and smashed the windowpanes of the car.

She alleged that the man was passing filthy remarks and when he refused to give her side, she decided to teach him a lesson. On the other hand, the occupant of the car, later identified as Yadwinder Singh of Sector 21, Panchkula, claimed that he was impressed by the modified jeep and was looking at the vehicle and not her.

People assembled there and it led to a traffic jam. The police then reached the spot and pacified both parties.

The motorcyclist was identified as Vikram Singh of Zirakpur and was an acquaintance of the woman. However, both parties reached a compromise and told the police that they did not want any action.

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UN rights council to examine turban ban
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
The United Nations Human Rights Council is set to examine the issue of ban on wearing of turbans and religious symbols in France during its current session at Geneva.

The council will deliberate on the report of special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief submitted by Asma Jahangir to the United Nations General Assembly on “Promotion and Protection of all Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development.”

Manjit Singh Randhawa, president of Sikh Nation Organisation (SNO), disclosed here today that Asma Jahangir, in her report, observed that “indirect or de facto discrimination based on religion or belief has been encountered in the context of legislation regulating the wearing of religious symbols in education institutions.”

In the report, Ms Jahangir said “she examined a law that prohibits symbols or clothing by which students conspicuously show a religious identity in public elementary schools, middle schools and secondary schools. Although the scope of the law applied equally to all religious symbols, it turned out to disproportionately affect young Muslim women wearing the headscarf, thereby constituting a form of indirect discrimination. It also seriously affected members of the Sikh community, who reported that displaying religious symbols was an essential part of their faith. The implementation of this law led to the exclusion of children from the school public system and consequently hindered the right of some children to have access to educational institutions.”

In her concluding observations she recorded that “In many countries, religion is exploited for political ends. As illustrated in the report, discrimination based on religion or belief often emanates from deliberate state policies to ostracise certain religious or belief of communities and to restrict or deny their access to, for example, health services, public education or public posts. State authorities usually tend to be more sensitive to the interests of a religious majority community and, as a result, minority religions or beliefs may find themselves marginalised or discriminated against.”

Special Rapporteur concluded, “All human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. States must take steps to ensure that, in practice, every person on their territory enjoys all human rights without discrimination of any kind.”

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Stress laid on regulation of surrogacy
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
To keep a check on the increasing reproductive industry in India, there is a dire need to have a law in order to regulate it, said Dr Justice A R Lakshmanan, chairman, Law Commission of India, at a panel discussion on Surrogacy: Bane or Boon organised by the department of laws, Panjab University, here today.

Justice T S Thakur, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court, laid emphasis on regulation of surrogate motherhood through instrumentality of law and he also emphasised that the Indian society might face a problem if no law would be framed if no proper law was enacted in this regard. In America the cost of the hiring surrogate mother is between Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh whereas in India it is one third, he added.

Justice K Kannan explained the judicial perspective of surrogacy and highlighted the role of Judiciary in protecting the interest of the child born out of the surrogacy and the biological parents.

Prof Vanita Suri from PGI explained the medical viewpoint of the surrogacy and highlighted the problems of those women who lend their womb for surrogacy. She also explained the problem, which might be faced by surrogate mothers after the delivery of the child.

The panel also included Dr Gabriele Annis, head of the Consular and the Visa Section of the Embassy of Italy, who narrated that there was a sizeable population of India settled in Italy and they might face problems with the children born out of the surrogacy because it had not yet been legalised in Italy.

One of the speakers discussed the immigration issued in regard to child born out of surrogacy. The recent decision of the Supreme Court in Baby Manji Yamada case of 2008 has initiated a new debate in the legal circle regarding the surrogacy and its effects.

Prof P S Jaswal, chairman, department of laws, explained the surrogate motherhood was well known in India since Vedic times. However, today’s primordial urge to have a biological child of one’s own blood has generated the “reproductive tourism industry” which is estimated at Rs 25,000 crore.

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Family recounts doctor’s betrayal
Swati Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
Nine years after the operation conducted by former Head of PGI’s cardiovascular and thoracic surgery department Prof RS Dhaliwal, who was sent behind bars yesterday, the family of a patient who died soon after the surgery has still not recovered from the shock.

Mohinder Kaur (50), the wife of the patient, still regrets the decision to take her husband to the hospital.

“I considered Dr Dhaliwal a saviour but he betrayed us. The sentence pronounced to the doctor is mild considering the way he played with the lives of his patients.”

She has been living with this belief that her husband was not given the right treatment for past nine years.

Mohinder Kaur, who deposed as witness before the trial court, said: “My husband used to complain of pain in the left arm so we took him for a routine check-up to the PGI in January, 2000. After consultation, Dr Dhaliwal told us that my husband urgently required a surgery. The date of operation was postponed time and again. Finally, the doctor conducted surgery on February 8, 2000 and his condition deteriorated after that.”

Mohinder Kaur, a resident of Sector 7, said: “We were told that the total expenditure for the surgery was around Rs 85,000, out of which Rs 45,000 was for the heart valve. We had gone to a house in Sector 16 to hand over the money for the valve and but were not provided with any receipt.”

“On the day of the operation, my husband was taken to the operating theatre at 8 am and the operation lasted till 4 pm. The doctor called me in and told me that if my husband’s heart worked till next morning he would be fine. But he never recovered,” she said.

Her daughter-in-law Sukhwinder Kaur said their family business had taken a backseat after her father-in-law’s death.

“My father-in-law used to handle the business and we suffered great losses after his death. Dr Dhaliwal was a contractor. The sentence handed out to him should have been harsher considering the gravity of his crime,” asserted Sukhwinder.

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An evening of Sufiana kalam at Kala Kendra
SD Sharma

Chandigarh, March 4
Coupling their versatility in full measure so as to experience, define and bare the mystical content of the utterances of Sufi saints the Kumar Bandhus enraptured the audience at the Pracheen Kala Kendra here today.

The musical soiree aptly titled as “Sajda” an evening of Sufiana kalams featured the brothers Anup Kumar and Hemant Kumar, popularly known as Kumar Bandhu in the live concert.

Supported by an array of musicians Kumar Bandhus they commenced the recital with an invocatory Ganesh Vandna and attempted to bring alive the blissful realisation comprehended by Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusro, Kabir Meera and other Sufi saint poets who always reveled in the glory of their master yearning for his beatific vision. Be it Amir Khusro’s “Chhap tilak sab chheeni toh se naina milyeke”, Baba Bulle Shah’s “Sade val mukhra mod”, “Jis tan lagya ishq kamaal” or “Ni mein kamli haan” Kumars delineated the emotional and spiritual fervour with immaculate ease and effect. The recital proved to be a perfect amalgam of classicism, poetic elegance with moral intent, pulsating rhythmic patterns and enunciation of its significance laced in each couplet. After rendition of “Saawan ki bhegi raaton mein” and a Meera bhajan “Mein to saanware ke rang rachi”, the Kumar brothers were just to conclude their recital with all-time favourite compositions “Nit khair mangan sohnye mein teri” but had to dole out “Dama dam mast kalandar” on request amid thunderous applause.

The accompanists who contributed to the success of the concert included Prof Murlidhar Soni (harmonium), Sunil Kumar (tabla), Prakash Nepali (flute), Vijay Chohan (keyboard), Dharampal (dholak) and Prem Kumar (octopad). Kendra registrar Shobha Koser honoured the artists.

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PGI head for diversification of healthcare
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
Stressing the need for greater diversification, decentralisation and improvement in healthcare services, PGIMER director Dr KK Talwar said Punjab’s prosperity had also brought in some kind of health problems that needed to be addressed immediately.

He was delivering the valedictory address at a seminar on “Population and development: issues and challenges” organised jointly by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, and the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) here.

The aim of the two-day national seminar, inaugurated by Prof Lakshmi Kanta Chawla, Minister of Health, Punjab, was to discuss the issues related to population and health, especially focusing on elderly population, demographic transition in the state, gender, health, nutrition and migration.

Nineteen technical papers were presented and discussed today.

Prof Saraswati Raju from the JNU highlighted issues related to survival outcomes within gender contexts. She foresaw the importance of girl child in future as males were migrating from Punjab.

Dr Usha Ram, Reader in the IIPS, depicted the changing trends in reproductive and child healthcare at the district level, while Dr Rajesh Kumar Aggarwal, Associate Professor at Population Research Centre at CRRID, pointed out the importance of a separate state health policy for Punjab, given the current health scenario.

Dr Krishan Mohan’s paper on disabled population in Punjab revealed that the mental disability in Punjab was one of the highest in India.

In his paper, Prof Aswini Kumar Nanda from CRRID elaborated the dreams, displacements and development within the overall contexts of international out-migration from Punjab.

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MC to hand over graveyard land to wakf board
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
After much ado, the municipal corporation will finally have to give a piece of land measuring 12.9 kanal, which was acquired by the UT administration in 1989 and is meant for a Muslim graveyard, to the Chandigarh Wakf Board.

According to a letter sent by the UT administration, the gazette of 2006 mentions the land on khasra number 78/34 as that of a graveyard. The land was acquired in 1989.

The Punjab Wakf Board had filed a case in the High Court against the acquisition.

The case is sub judice.

According to sources in the administration, under its new plan the MC was going to construct a road there. According to the sources, the plan to construct a road on the land may hurt the sentiment of Muslims who have buried their forefathers.

Members of the community had even met with officials of the administration and sought their intervention.

UT’s Finance Secretary Sanjay Kumar has sent a letter to the MC asking it to immediately hand over the land to the Chandigarh Wakf Board.

At a recent house meeting, the matter was discussed as one of the agenda items in the supplementary agenda.

The house members didn’t discuss the matter on the pretext that there was no point in debating over the issue when the UT administration had already ordered the MC to hand over the land. Therefore, the same was passed in the house meeting.

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Punjab, UT staff stir enters second day
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
The relay hunger strike by the Joint Action Committee Punjab and UT Employees, who are seeking the release of the fifth pay commission report, entered its second day today. The employees are protesting at the plaza in Sector 17.

They are demanding the Punjab government to release the report. They have condemned the undue delay in the matter.

Also, they want daily workers and ad-hoc employees regularised and vacant posts filled.

Besides, they are also demanding old pension scheme for employees recruited since January 2004 and fulfillment of promises of promotion scheme made in the SAD manifesto of 2007 Assembly election.

Meanwhile, general secretary of Punjab School Education Board Employee Union Gumail Singh Mojowal and union member Paramjit Singh Pamma broke the fast of Prem Singh Maloya and Kaka Singh after the completion of 24 hours. The two were replaced by Bhagwant Singh and Sudagar Singh on the fast.

Among others, committee chairman Ranjit Singh, president Kartar Singh Pal, general secretary Gurmail Singh Sidhu and senior vice-president Rakesh Bajaj addressed the protesting employees during the rally and condemned the indifferent attitude of the state government.

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Daytime recarpeting harasses commuters
A Correspondent

Chandigarh, March 4
The move of the municipal corporation to carpet roads during daytime resulted in traffic violations and jams at Matka roundabout, Sector 17, here recently.

Commuters were harassed and situation worsened during evening as vehicles moved at snail’s pace. Some youngsters violated traffic rules by using the road dividers as shortcuts to cross the road, which resulted in minor disputes.

The commuters said the construction work should be carried out during late-night hours.

Most office-goers alleged that they were late to reach their respective offices and faced troubles due to the road carpeting. Harjeet, a bank manager in Sector 9, said it was not an easy task to cross the Matka rotary. His car even met with a minor accident.

Though cops were deputed there to manage traffic, they were helpless to control the vehicular movement.

When contacted a senior traffic police official, he said it was a normal thing during the construction work and it was not possible to issue challans to violators.

Pallav Mukherji, a nominated municipal councillor, said he had raised the issue in several meetings, but in vain.

Senior officials of MC accepted that they had received the proposals from many councillors to carry out the construction work during night hours and the matter had been discussed several times, but it had not been approved yet.

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Plaque of foundation stone goes missing
Archit Watts

Chandigarh, March 4
The brass plaque of the foundation stone of a government school in Sector 53, which was laid by UT Administrator SF Rodrigues last month, has gone missing.

In a development that reflects poorly on the people’s civic sense, the structure of the foundation stone has been vandalised. The area is inhabited by migrants from various parts of the country.

The plaque apparently went missing just a few days after the foundation-laying ceremony. And nobody seems to have a clue about the foundation stone as a visit to the area revealed.

“If the administration can’t maintain the foundation stone then how can it take care of the building in this area,” said Ram Chand, a local resident.

The area seems to be a no man’s land with no habitation in the vicinity.

Sources said the school is being built to provide education to residents, mostly migrants from other area. However, the missing plaque seems to bring the entire project under a cloud.

A senior official of the administration said an inquiry would be marked into the matter.

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Gurdwara Santsar mgmt approaches admn
A Correspondent

Chandigarh, March 4
With the hope of release of nine followers of Gurdwara Santsar Sahib, Sector 38-West, a delegation of the gurdwara management went to meet senior officials of the UT administration here today. However, they were asked to come tomorrow.

They also demolished a disputed part of the building on the gurdwara premises.

The management said a delegation comprising Ranjit Singh, Anand Singh, advocate Manhas and Kang had gone to meet senior officials of the administration.

Meanwhile, advocate Ramdeep Partap Singh said five followers — Satbir Singh, Gurcharan Singh, Harbhej Singh, Amrik Singh and Jatinder Singh — had been granted bail from the court of KK Garg, session judge.

He added that the anticipatory bail of the two sons of Baba Sarup Singh, head of Gurdwara Santsar Sahib, Gurpreet Singh and Gurkirpal Singh, have been rejected by the court.

Ranbir Singh, Gurkirpal Singh and Jatinder Singh are three other accused who are still behind bars.

The followers present at gurdwara said they were removing illegal construction. The administration should take back the case against the gurdwara management. During the clash between gurdwara followers and the police, Additional Deputy Commissioner IS Sandhu had received head injury.

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Actor Gurkirat Chauhan dies
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, March 4
The artiste fraternity of the city plunged into grief following the sudden demise of acclaimed actor Gurkirtan Chauhan here yesterday. Acclaimed artist Gurkirtan has done wonderful stage performances in over twenty dramas staged at Tagore Theatre and in around thirtyPunjabi movies also.

Hailing from Govindpur village near Nabha in Punjab, he made Bollywood his other home. Working with him in plays Rani Koklan, Ek tha gadha Aldada Khan besides films like Des Hoya Pardes, Dev D, was a wonderful experience, said Kuldip Sharma, the noted film actor.

He gave incredible performances in Namstey London, London Dreams, Taare Zameen Par etc but he was very grounded. Produced by Mumbai-based producer director Lt. Kanwar Shourie, the film portrayed drinking menace in the state and was telecasted by Doordarshan in 1991. Later, it was dubbed in 14 languages by the film division, thereafter, Gurkirtan never looked back.

Sukhmani — Hope for life, Jashan, Jawani Zindabad, Love U Bobby are some of his forthcoming films.

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Book on military pensions released
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
A book on defence pensionary, allied provisions and regulations for armed forces personnel was released by Lt Gen TK Sapru, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, at Chandimandir today.

Titled “Pension in the Defence Services”, the book is authored by Maj Navdeep Singh, a High Court advocate and a decorated Territorial Army (TA) officer, according to a release issued here. Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice RN Aggarwal and former Vice Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman have written the forewords.

The book contains orders issued by the Central government and service headquarters, notifications, various provisions related to service, disability and family pension, group insurance benefits and battle casualties, along with associated commentary. Pension related orders issued after the Fourth Pay Commission till the Sixth Pay Commission and tables detailing pay and pension of different ranks, are also carried.

The book was released amidst a gathering of senior Army officers and retired judges. Speaking on the occasion, General Sapru dwelt upon the need to educate officers and jawans on various provisions concerning pension-related entitlements and orders issued by the government from time to time and appreciated the efforts undertaken by the author in this regard.

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‘Mann de Haani’ staged
A Correspondent

Chandigarh, March 4
The NZCC-Adakar Manch National Theatre Festival, supported by the Punjab Arts Council and Punjabi Akademy, New Delhi, commenced at Randhawa Auditorium here yesterday.

Punjabi play ‘Mann de haani’ staged by hosts Adakar Manch, Mohali gave a grandiose start to the festival. The play depicts the psyche of a married woman in its entirety.

The acclaimed director, Dr Sahib Singh, seems to have relied on thespian Bharat Muni’s perception of drama, as an imitation of emotionally rich actions and conducts of people in different situations when the human nature is depicted by means of physical and other modes of acting.

The play was a treat to watch for its dialogues in verse and actors’ competence that could actually bring out the intent of the script.

Engrossed in the transport business and other money generating pursuits, the protagonist ignores his loving wife who had no option other than finding a sympathetic partner in her life. Finally the relationship between the two is accepted by all as a will of God.

Musical score by Jatinder Shaw augmented the production level. Actors Anmol Bharat and Harman Pal led the cast with Manish Kapur, Gurbir and Manjit Kaur.

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Awards given to small-scale units
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
The state award function for distribution of prizes to outstanding small-scale industrial units for their significant contribution to quality was held at the UT Guest House here yesterday.

Adviser to UT Administrator Pardip Mehra gave away the prizes. Earlier, UT director of industries Vandana Disodia welcomed the guests. Home-cum-Industry Secretary Ram Niwas was also present.

According to a press note, the Chandigarh administration has formulated a scheme for state-level awards consisting of a cash prize of Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 for first, second and third winners, respectively.

Among the industries awarded were M/s Essen Deinki, M/s Chandigarh Flour Mills Private Limited and M/s Azad Offset Printers (P) Limited. M/s Engraavepro and M/s Adharshila Potteries were given consolation prizes.

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DNA sample of financier’s father taken
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, March 4
The police has got the DNA test conducted on Ved Parkash Mittal, father of Vinod Mittal, at Karnal today.

After the bodies of the financier and his son remained untraced, the family members had apprehended that the blood splattered in the car may not be of their kin and there was possibility that the accused were misguiding the police by concocting the story of murder of Vinod Mittal and his 4-year-old son Yashan.

The family also claimed that a youth on his bike with his face covered reached their shop in Baltana two days after Vinod disappeared on February 16 and demanded a ransom of Rs 1 crore for his release.

However, SP, Panchkula, Amitabh Dhillon said the motive of ransom behind the missing financier did not come in the investigation.

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Tribune employee bereaved
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
Krishna (58), wife of Balwant Singh, a supervisor in the composing department of the Punjabi Tribune, died after a brief illness at the PGI here today.

She was cremated at the Sector 25 cremation ground in the evening.

She is survived by her husband, a son and a daughter. Her son, Gagandeep Arora, is employed as a sub-editor with The Tribune.

The bhog ceremony will be held at their residence (#5, Kalgidhar Enclave, Baltana) on March 8 from 1 to 2 pm.

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New SP takes charge
Tribune News Service

Mohali, March 4
Sukhwant Singh Gill has taken took over as the Superintendent of Police (City), Mohali. He replaced Varinder Pal Singh, who has been transferred as AIG (Intelligence) at Punjab Police headquarters, Chandigarh.

Talking to The Tribune, the new SP said he was focussing on solving the pending cases. He held a meeting today with police officials to review the crime situation.

Meanwhile, Sarabjeet Singh Pandher took over as the SP (Headquarters), Mohali and MS Sidhu took over as SP (Traffic), Mohali in place of SS Gill.

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EDUCATION
 

PTU to start six schools by 2010
Our Correspondent

Mohali, March 4
Punjab Technical University (PTU) will set up six schools of excellence in the state by 2010, which will facilitate the students and faculty for conducting research and development programmes , said Dr Rajneesh Arora, Vice-Chancellor, PTU, during the second Annual Placement Day celebrations at Chandigarh Group of Colleges, Landran.

Rajneesh said the university would start running academic programmes on its new campus by 2010. He informed in order to facilitate students, the PTU had made all arrangements to make the admission process online in 2009, under which a student could opt the college and stream of his own choice. Moreover, the university would be going global in September, 2009, by opening its overseas campus at Dubai and Hongkong, he added.

Rajneesh further said the university had decided to update its curriculum on a regular basis, keeping in mind the interests of over 2.5 lakh students of the university. The university had appointed members from industry in its board of studies to look into the matter.

The vice-chancellor handed over offer letters to the CGC students who were placed in many multinational companies last year.

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Class X Exam
Diagram confuses students
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
The Class X board question paper of Social Studies left many students confused over a diagram today.

The question number 25 reportedly had a diagram of a crop and the students were supposed to identify the crop and comment on its climatic needs etc. However, the students claimed the black and white diagram was not clear, and hence, left many doubtful about this question carrying 4 marks.

“We were supposed to identify the crop. But, the diagram was not clear as it was black and white. Moreover, because it was predominantly the outline of the crop so, we were confused that was it wheat, rice or sugarcane,” said one of the students.

While the confusion left the students expecting a grace of 4 marks, DR Yadav, joint director, CBSE, said, “Papers cannot be printed in colour. We have a committee that decides the marking scheme and if there is any discrepancy, the decision will be taken based on the reports from all regions of the nation.”

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PU exams rescheduled
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 4
After the announcement of general elections, the Panjab University has modified datesheet for the undergraduate and postgraduate exams, which were scheduled for May. It has been decided that for the courses being run in the affiliated colleges in Punjab and Chandigarh, there will be no exams from May 4 to 16. The second stage of exams will resume from May 18.

For the affiliated colleges in Chandigarh there will be no exams on May 7 and from May 11 to 16. The modified datesheet is also available on the university official website www.puchd.ac.in According to controller of examination PU, it has been decided that there will be no change in the CET exams, which is going to be held on May 17.

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