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January 5, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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Badal’s picture removed
without a fuss Chandigarh, January 4 Mr Riar took away the picture installed when Ms Harjinder Kaur of the Akali Dal was the Mayor. The Congress, that won the Mayoral elections, had indicated that the picture could be removed. The local chief of the SAD took away the photograph in the absence of the Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi. However, a senior Congress leader and councillor, Mr Subhash Chawala, was present when the photograph was removed. Ms Joshi and Mr Chawla have praised the SAD leader for solving the photograph controversy in an amicable manner. Mr Riar, however, alleged that his party rival, Ms Harjinder Kaur, had left the photograph in the room apparently to let Mr Badal be humiliated by the Congress. |
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City SP to interact with Tony Blair Chandigarh, January 4 The Regional Director, CII, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, has invited Mr Dhaliwal to Bangalore during the Partnership Summit there from January 5 to 11. Another option with Mr Dhaliwal is to take advantage of the video-conference facility for interaction from Mohali, which has been linked up for the event. The other cities extended such a facility include, Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Mangalore, Mumbai, Mysore, Delhi and Hyderabad. This is for the first time that a police officer has been selected for the “Young Achievers Session”. The Session is tomorrow at the Infosys Technologies Campus, Bangalore. Mr Dhaliwal, a 1997 IPS officer, has already received the Vice-President of India’s Trophy for the Highest marks in alround assessment in 50th batch (Golden Jubilee batch) of the National Police Academy, Hyderabad in 1999. He is also the winner of Prime Minister’s Silver Cup Essay competition for 2001, when posted as ASP, Chandigarh. |
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Kulkarni coordinator of PU genome study centre Chandigarh, January 4 The centre will be functional from the forthcoming session. It will offer a four-semester MSc course. Interestingly, the PGI and IMTECH are collaborating with the university for the project. The University Grants Commission in a letter to the university has communicated “a grant of Rs 90 lakh to the university separately under the scheme for the establishment of a genome studies centre”. It has been pointed out that the university will not spend this money till the university submits a specific year-wise plan of work for the first two years spelling out both teaching and research activities. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof K.N. Pathak, has been appointed coordinator of the centre by the UGC. Prof Pathak said Prof Kulkarni, being from the related academic background, was the best suited person to take over the charge. |
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Pvt schools introduce theatre as hobby course Chandigarh, January 4 Theatre is doing poorly in the city as compared to other cities like Kolkata because there is a lack of audience who understand theatre, says Rohit Batra, a theatre activist who taught theatre in St. Kabir Public School as a hobby course for about a year. “Theatre is a tough art and audience has to have a clear idea about the expectations from a good production,” he adds. “Teaching theatre to schoolchildren would at least produce quality audience in the coming years who would know how to appreciate quality acting on the stage, if not produce good actors,” says Rohit. He will shortly be teaching the aesthetics of theatre as a hobby course to the students of YPS, SAS Nagar. St. Kabir Public School, Sector 26, introduced theatre as a hobby course two years ago for an entirely different reason. “Theatre helps building up confidence among the students, thus contributing to their overall personality,” says Mr J.P.Singh, Principal of the school. “Theatre is a complete therapy that helps in mental and physical growth of the students,” says Zulfiqar Khan, a city based theatre activist who has been running a night school for the slum children for the past 12 years . His stage productions with slum children have been drawing applause from the audience. “It will also help absorbing theatre graduates from the Department of Indian Theatre, Panjab University, who are otherwise forced to leave stage acting for TV channels to earn their livelihood,” he adds. “Theatre helps eliminating stage fright and imbibes a sense of self confidence that cannot be attained through text book teachings,” he says adding that theatre needs to be introduced as a full fledged subject. However, subject or hobby course, the government schools have not been lucky enough to experiment with the wisdom of theatre so far. And with the administration harbouring a negative attitude towards introducing theatre as either a hobby course or a subject, there is no ray of hope insight for having it as a part of the school curriculum. “Though theatre is an effective medium of teaching, introducing it as a subject or a hobby course will make it loose it’s charm,” says Mr D.S.Saroya, Director Public Instruction (Schools). “School events like annual functions or other cultural activities give enough opportunities to the students to show their natural talent in acting,” he adds. So it is sad news for both school teachers and parents who are waiting for introduction of theatre in government schools for different reasons. “Theatre is so beneficial as a personality building aspect, if the management and the government introduces it in the curriculum, I would be the first one to introduce it in my school," says Ms Sumati Kanwar, Principal of government-aided IS Dev Samaj Girls Senior Secondary School, Sector 21. “Theatre can channelise the energy of the youth which is otherwise wasted on anti-social activities,” says Ms Indira Dhingra, Principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 21, echoing the same sentiment as many other school teachers who welcome the idea of introducing theatre as a hobby course. |
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Dr Sodhi Ram
reinstated Chandigarh, January 4 This was communicated in an official note signed by the Registrar here today. Dr Sodhi Ram was placed under suspension on June 9, 2000. There were allegations of his role in a paper leakage case and the case was even taken up by the CBI. The university Senate, however, unanimously resolved not to prosecute Dr Sodhi Ram. Confirming the news, Prof K.N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor, said that Mr Ashok Raj Bhandari, who held the office of Controller of Examination currently, would be in charge of the examination for the current academic session since he had been associated with the total process. |
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PUDA to revive demolition drive SAS Nagar, January 4 During November last, the enforcement staff had started an exhaustive exercise of razing structures which had been constructed after November 3,2001. The drive had reportedly been launched without giving notices to the violators after the HC had stayed the operation of an order of the Punjab Government to regularise constructions in the periphery till November 3, 2001. The Chief Administrator of PUDA, MR KBS Sidhu, said after seeking legal advice it had been decided that the demolition would be carried out after issuing the mandatory notices to the violators. |
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CISF officer
in CBI net Chandigarh, January 4 According to CBI sources, Mr J.P. Thakur, Commandant, CISF, at the Jyotipuram Hydel Project, was caught red-handed while allegedly demanding and accepting Rs 8,000 from Head Constable Jyoti Singh on the pretext of helping him get the notice issued to him for dismissal from service withdrawn. The sources said while the trap was laid for the Commandant and he was caught red-handed at Jammu on January 2, a couple of constables and Head Constables also appeared before the CBI team to complain that the Commandant had been allegedly extorting money from them. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the Commandant, the sources said. |
Employees threaten to
intensify agitation Chandigarh, January 4 According to a press note issued by the Punjab Bank Employees Federation, these employees were protesting against their illegal, coercive and malafide transfers. These employees had refused to accept VRS out of linguistic area in violation of the Sastri Award. Clearing houses throughout the state remained paralysed and instruments amounting thousands of crores of rupees had been blocked. Mr T.K. Dutta, secretary of the federation, said a mass rally was held at the Sector 17 Bank Square. It was addressed by Mr N.K. Gaur, joint secretary of the All-India Bank Employees Association, Mr Devinder Singh, president of the All-India State Bank of Patiala Employees, and several other leaders. During their speeches these leaders said during the past six years, the SCB Management had introduced VRS for the fifth time and twice during the last year as a management policy to wipe out the existence of award staff. Mr Gaur urged the government to intervene failing which bank employees throughout the country would be forced to intensify the agitation. Office bearers of the AIBEA would shortly chalkout further programme of action, including boycott of Standard Chartered Bank Management. |
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KNOW YOUR COUNCILLORS MS Kamla Sharma, councillor from Ward 6, has many firsts to her credit — first Mayor of the city, the first woman activist of the UT BJP, first president of the UT BJP Mahila Morcha. Born at Kadian in Gurdaspur district on September 5, 1944, Ms Sharma was married in Una district of Himachal Pradesh after graduating in Hindi (Honours). The former Mayor had been arrested several times by the police of different states during the Ram Temple movement, ekta yatra to Srinagar, the Doda bachao movement and the Punjab bachao movement. Ms Sharma had been in the forefront to get houses to industrial workers on the no-profit, no loss basis in 1977 and collection of donations to the flood-hit in 1978. A member of Seva Bharti, the Bharat Vikas Parishad, Sevika Samiti, the Red Cross Society and the Society for the Care of the Blind, the Brahamin Mahasabha, the Advisory Committee of the Chandigarh Administration, the Education Committee of the Chandigarh Administration and the Police Sadbhavna Committee, Ms Sharma is one of the two sitting BJP councillors who survived the recent electoral rout. Ms Sharma is the chairperson of the Chandigarh Social Welfare Advisory Board. An NSUI product who was written off when discharged of the presidential responsibility of the Chandigarh Territorial Youth Congress, Chandermukhi Sharma has established himself in the senior category of the party winning the election by a whisker. A staunch supporter of former Indian Youth Congress President Manish Tiwari, Sharma was rehabilitated as general secretary of the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee before being nominated by the party to contest from ward number 1, held by the Chandigarh Vikas Manch supremo Harmohan Dhawan’s wife Satinder Dhawan. SharMa succeeded in drawing the attention of people through innovative marketing and advertisement, his occupation. In 1978 he won the President’s Scout Award, represented India in the World Youth and Student Festival in Korea in 1989. He has also been a member of the Chandigarh Consumer Protection Council and the Punjab University Film Society. |
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‘Raksha sankalp abhiyan’ of BJYM Chandigarh, January 4 A number of BJYM activists led by its chief Satinder Singh, the BJP local unit ad hoc committee convener, Mr Yashpal Mahajan, and former local unit president, Mr Dharampal Gupta, held a demonstration this evening. Banners in the demonstration read, “Ltihas to badalte aye hein, ab bhoogol badalna hei, Tiranga ab Islamabad aur Lahore mein ferayange”. The political war cry by the youth wing of the BJP has come at a time when the international community is fearing a war between Pakistan and India, resulting in diplomatic gains to India and may bring electoral gains to the BJP in Uttar Pradesh and other states. As part of the rashtra raksha abhiyan launched on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s birthday on December 25, the BJYM activists started collecting Re 1 each from the people, apart from their signatures on a pledge of do-and-die. The local unit of the BJYM, which has appointed incharge for all 20 wards and has set a target of 11,000 signatures by January 23, the birthday of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The pledge circulated for signatures said: “We all Indians, swearing in the names of martyrs and Mother India as witness, vow to sacrifice everything for the security, integrity and unity of the country.” The pledge is being signed with a Re 1 donation towards the families of martyrs. The demonstration was staged at the Sector 20-30-32-33 roundabout. |
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Marwaha is MC sr vice-president SAS Nagar, January 4 Mr Manjeet Singh, a councillor of the opposition group, was again elected as vice-president after he polled eight votes for the post of the senior vice-president. Earlier, Mrs Indu Sehgal was the senior vice-president. A total of 27 members, including the MLA from Kharar, Mr Daljeet Kaur were present. The vote of Mr Amrik Singh, Tehsildar, was cancelled after he raised his hand in support of both contestants. As the developments in the past few days indicate, at least two councillors , Mr Phool Raj and Mr S.S. Barnala, were said to be desirous for the post of senior vice-president. But reservations against the two in the ruling group prevented them from coming to the fore. Certain municipal councillors in the ruling group said the president of the ruling group, Mr Kulwant Singh, held a close-door meeting in which Mr Marwaha was decided upon as the consensus candidate. After the meeting began, Mr Amrik Singh Mohali said the candidates should be elected on the basis of consensus — a point contradicted by councillor Mr BB Maini, who sought that the procedure of voting should be followed. A councillor said the ruling group insisted on voting by raising of hands as the dissidents, if any, among them would be exposed.
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‘Defer
implementation of parking fee’ Chandigarh, January 4 A press note issued by Mr B.S. Gill, Convener, Joint Action Committee, against paid parking, said the Mayor was told that it would add financial burden on people. The deputation pleaded with the Mayor that at least Bank Square area should be exempted from paid parking. Mr Gill said the Mayor was told that each family would be required to keep a budget of Rs 400 to Rs 500 per month only for paying parking fee. He claimed that the deputation told the Mayor and the Commissioner of the municipal corporation to defer the implementation of parking fee in the city for the time being. The decision to introduce parking fee would lead to a wide spread resentment among all sections of residents, he said. |
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Samiti chief’s poll on Jan 14 Chandigarh, January 4 This was announced today during the swearing-in ceremony of 14 of the 15 Panchayat Samiti members. The oath was administered by the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Gurmail Singh. Ms Lata Sharma could not be sworn in due to her indisposition. While Meenakshi and Jasbir Kaur took the oath in Hindi, P .C. Sharma took it in English. Surinder Kaur, Mohinder Singh, Shingara Singh, Jagir Singh, Bhupinder Kaur, Bhupinder Singh Badheri, Amrik Singh, Dayal Singh, Sudarshan Kaur, Hukum Chand and Didar Singh took the oath in Punjabi. While the Congress seems inclined in favour of Mr Badheri as chairman, Mr Didar Singh is likely to contest with a tacit support of the BJP. |
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KHARAR DIARY Kharar These delicacies have become the poor man's substitutes for popcorn which is yet to become popular in this area. It has become a habit for the people of this town to go on an evening walk and enjoy these delicacies just as those in towns and cities enjoy popcorn. Come chilly winter, the migrant labour sell these sweets every evening in the entire stretch from the post office, the main bazaar up to the Arya college road. Couples especially enjoy the delicacies during their evening walks. Even the cinema hall complex here has groundnut and rowri stalls. Popcorn is yet to establish its roots in this small town. The migrant labour have been playing an important role in this trade. Scores of labourers have migrated from Mathura in UP and other places known for these items. They bring these items from UP at a cheaper price and make a quick buck taking advantage of their high demand here. The local dealers are happy with the sales although the peak season is yet to come. Mr Ganesh Kumar Goel, a delighted wholesale dealer, says, "the local population prefer local shops as we have established our goodwill and reputation over the years. Even though our rates are slightly on the higher side, when it comes to quality, we are the best". Although there is less chance of adulteration, the rules regarding hygiene are being flouted. The roadside stalls are especially vulnerable to dust and other contaminants as these items are seldom covered. |
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Villagers protest against police role Panchkula, January 4 These residents demanded that the police arrest the accused, Ashok, and his 15 henchmen, who were allegedly unleashing a reign of terror in villages, near Kalka. They accused the police of being hand in glove with the accused and said that in spite of yesterday’s incident, they were roaming freely. It is learnt that Ashok along with Mukesh, Bindu, Raju, Shoki, Pammi, Bhadur Singh, Bhagat Ram and others, assaulted Gurdas Ram, his brother Harmesh Chand, and Babu Khan, sarpanch of Bargodam. It is learnt that Ashok had a dispute with the complainants. According to information available, Gurdas had a minor altercation with Ashok some 15 days ago. Yesterday’s events were reportedly a fallout of the previous altercation. It is learnt that the accused, who were travelling in a jeep (HR-32A-008) first picked up Babu Khan from Gidrawali village and assaulted him. Gurdas was picked up from an electronics shop in Pinjore and assaulted. He was then thrown out of the jeep. They later assaulted Harmesh, brother of Gurdas. The police has registered three separate cases of assault and kidnapping. These people had gathered near the Secretariat this morning and only dispersed after an assurance by DSP J.P. Dahiya and ASP Vikas Arora that appropriate action would be taken against the accused. |
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EATING OUT Chandigarh But be prepared. All this luxury comes for a price (though not as much as the ‘real’ five-stars). In the absence of any competition, this CITCO-run hotel enjoys the top slot in hospitality in the city. No wonder, international cricketers, film stars, beauty queens and other celebrities, all prefer to check in here. In fact, it was to fulfil the criteria of this prestigious label that the 24-hour coffee shop was set up in 1993, perhaps the first such venture in the city (today, a couple of more hotels offer this facility). It has indeed come as a boon for the night birds. Besides the adventurous lot, those who drive down here after midnight are usually people wanting to unwind after a late night shift at work, hotel guests landing late in Chandigarh and, at times, a boy wooing his girlfriend with a candle-lit romantic meal. Lending a modicum of organisation is the division of the menu according to the hours of the day. While breakfast is served from 7.30 am to 10.30 am, mini-meals are available from 1 pm to 3 pm and 8 pm to 11 pm. The midnight menu comes into force after 11 pm. Snacks and beverages are, of course, always ready round-the-clock. The breakfast menu comprises a nourishing mix of fruit, milk and cereals that ensures you start the day in a great way. By the way, the morning meal is complimentary for the room guests. From a choice of Indian, American and Continental delights, you take a pick of dosa/dade/idli, paratha, poori/pav bhaji, danish pastry, croissants, eggs with ham/sausages and hash brown potatoes, baker’s basket with toast, jam, marmalade or honey to be dipped with tea/coffee/hot cho-colate/juice/lassi/shake. Farm fresh eggs, as you like them and hot/cold cornflakes or porridge are the options for the calorie-conscious. Daytime favourities include prawn cocktail, chicken tropicana, tempting tureens, sandwiches and burgers as well as the thirst quenchers. The mini meals (for lunch and dinner) comprise an assortment of veg and non-veg dishes served with rice. The midnight menu are sandwiches, pakoras, eggs, pav bhaji etc. The food and beverages manager, Mr Praveen Goswami, with a degree from the USA and experience with Le Meridien, Delhi, says that they have been getting a positive feedback from the customers, with the hotel netting a Rs 7 crore profit. While renovations continue off and on, he informed that the on their agenda was the setting up of an eco-friendly garbage disposal system. |
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YOUNG VOICE ONE of the most outstanding students of Punjab Engineering College, Jitin Talwar, passed out with a degree in mechanical engineering last year. As convener of the Students Council, PEC, Jitin organised PECFEST 2001, coordinated the college’s NSS activities and remained secretary of the PEC speakers club. Jitin was one of the few PEC students to be picked up by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) through campus selections but Jitin chose to pursue studies in law. Currently doing his first year in law in Panjab University, Jitin says that the reason he opted for law as he feels that there is what he belongs and has the ability to reach the top in the profession. Presently, Jitin is working towards bringing up a Legal Awareness Forum which will raise legal issues and act as a watchdog for the rights of the ordinary people.
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Braille
remembered Chandigarh, January 4 |
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Schoolgirl ends life Chandigarh, January 4 The police said that a suicide note had been recovered from the spot. The note states that she was unable to perform well in two of her plus two class examination papers, as a result of which she was ending her life. She was a student of the Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sector 20. |
1 dead after falling into ditch Chandigarh, January 4 Liquor
seized Driver
booked Vehicles
stolen Stolen PANCHKULA Theft
cases Mr N.K. Gupta’s car ( HR- 06K- 0007) was stolen from Sector 5 yesterday. Mr Balwant Kumar’s car stereo ( HR-03B- 5399) was reportedly stolen while it was parked near Gymkhana Club on January 1. In another incident, a woman, Ms Rajkumari, has been accused of stealing power. A case of theft has been registered against her and the UHBVN has imposed a penalty of Rs 15 191 on her. A number of caboles were reportedly stolen from a showroom in Kiratpur village during the night intervening January 2 and 3. A case under Section 379 of IPC has been registered. Unknown miscreants are alleged to have stolen the uniform of CPL Anil Kumar and some cash from his quarter in the Western Command Headquarters in Chandi Mandir. A case has been registered in this regard in Police Station Chandi Mandir. Accident |
BIZ CLIPS TIE-UP Nippon Audiotronix Limited has tied up with Maruti Udyog Limited for designing, manufacturing and sales promotion for Maruti-Nippon Mobile Security. The Maruti Mobile Security has features like 2 Button 433.9 MHz remote tansmitter, long-range remote, remote lock/arming remote/unlock/disarming, door/trunk/bonnet protection, personal protection alarm (panic alarm), mute lock/unlock, trunk release, L.E.D. status indicator, personalised pin code, valet mode by remote and switch, permanent siren chirp enable/disable, starter immobiliser etc. The product is priced at Rs 5,000 for car equipped with central locking and Rs 5,500 for those without central locking.
TNS
LAUNCHED Stryde has launched a range of shoes inspired by the fashion industry of Tuscany. The shoes are made out of high quality nappa and styled keeping in mind the discerning customers. After selling to the fashion and quality-conscious markets of western Europe, the USA and Far East for the past 25 years, Tata International Limited is set to revolutionise domestic leather fashion wear industry.
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