ICSE toppers owe success to focused study
*‘Tuitions were of little help’
*‘Teachers, parents our support system’
Tribune Reporters

Chandigarh, May 22
For students who burnt the midnight oil it was a day their efforts bore fruit. With the declaration of the ISC result of Class XII and ICSE Class X results, the students were all smiles as principals and teachers got together to congratulate the toppers and all those who had come through with flying colours.

Regularity with classwork seemed to hold the key to success this examination season with most students vouching that it was revision of classroom teaching all through the year that helped them fare well in the examinations. Most of them said that tuitions had no role to play in their performance and complete faith in themselves and their alma mater was the guiding force till the end.

Two students of St Kabir, Sector 26, who secured 94 per cent and stood first in the city are Shiv Anant Tayal and Sahil Wadhwa.``Focussed study after school for a couple of hours is more than enough for a good percentage. That is all I did for my marks,’’ says Shiv while Sahil is of the opinion that he learnt more in class than all the study hours put together at home. ``All I did was to evolve a steady study schedule and stick to whether it was weekdays or weekends,’’ he adds.

A student of St Xavier’s, Ankita Aggarwal, who is bracketed with the two boys, says: “If you are expecting good marks, you should be able to keep up in class all through the year. It is not just a matter of a few months. Besides, we were given exhaustive training on ways of attempting the paper which helped.’’

An early starter, Manu Oberoi of the same school says he started preparing for the boards while he was still in Class IX.``I began studying on the pattern of the boards by taking examinations in that style. This is where the role of tuition comes in and classroom teaching is certainly not enough,’’ he says. He secured 93 per cent. He is bracketed with Jasneet Mundra of Tender Heart School.

Shivani Kothiyal (St Xavier’s) with 92.3 per cent and Reepika Chopra, who secured 92.2 per cent, used to study ten hours a day during examinations while they devoted three to four hours throughout the year." Concentration in class is a must. At the same time this must be backed by school teachers who make you labour”, they claim.

Samarinder Sharma of St Joseph’s with 92.83 per cent is satisfied with his performance and gives all credit to his teachers and family for lending support by encouraging him all through.

With 91.7 per cent, Sakshi Gupta (St Xavier’s) is happy that her hard work has been rewarded. “I was expecting more than 90 per cent with three hours of work. I took tuitions only to the extent of understanding what my question paper would be like. It was good revision,’’ she adds.

Karan Malhotra of St Stephen’s, secured 91.67 per cent. A staunch supporter of classroom teaching, he says there is no need for ``outside’’ help. ``Our teachers were always there for us. You need to keep your promise with your books and study for atleast two hours daily. However, during the exams you need sleep for a couple of hours only to ensure you are on top,’’ he adds.

Prerna Munjal started studying only before pre-boards while ensuring her basics were clear right from the time the session started. She scored 91.67 per cent while Ashima Bhardwaj of Tender Heart School got 91 per cent.

“I used to slog all day, in school and at home. However, maths and Physical Education let me down. Though I was the school captain and had other duties as well, I studied in whatever time I had at my disposal,’’ admits Sahil Thapa of St Stephen’s, Sector 45, who has secured 91 per cent.

In complete contrast, Gaurav Chibber who secured 90.83 percentage.``I never stuck to a time schedule but studied regularly. I was participating in co-curricular activities till my pre-boards. Mathematics and physical education pushed my score up considerably and that despite no tuitions in maths,’’ he claims.

Says a very emotional Amreen Dhindsa of St Kabir with 91.67 per cent: “My father expired just over a week before the Boards. This made me work harder since I had to live up to his expectations. Through those trying times, I banked on all that was taught in class and self-study was sufficed just before the examination,’’ she explained.

Nikhil Dhar with 92. 67 per cent and Harpreet Singh with 92.5 per cent are of the opinion that studying for lesser number of hours with full concentration is much more useful than putting in more hours without achieving much.

While Tanushree Gupta studied for nine hours daily to achieve 92.67 per cent, Akash Aggarwal has scored 93.67% with three to four hours study. Citing consistency in work as the reason for his 92.5 per cent, Pulkit Kapoor agrees with Amit Jindal who has 92.17% that classroom studying not only teaches one the art of better presentation but helps learn the topic as it is explained.

Madhusudan Aggarwal with 90.83 per cent says: “As much as 80 per cent learning is done in class and the rest 20 per cent is plain, simple revision.’’ Voicing similar views, Sumit Trehan (92.67 per cent) adds: “Classroom teaching provides a compact learning environment and competition among classmates encourages one to study harder. Tuitions hardly serve any purpose other than burning holes in the pocket.’’ All batchmates, claim the credit goes to their school.

Of St Xavier’s, Meenakshi Lallar (91.6 per cent) says staying awake for a few nights during the examination stood her in good stead.”I only gave the examinations my best shot and followed instructions of my teachers. There were no compromises on that,’’ she said. Mohit Malhotra from the same school secured 90.7 percentage. Used to studying late in the night, he claims that tuitions provide individual attention which is a must in the fag end of the session.

Navpreet Singh, who scored 91 per cent, lays more emphasis on tuitions and has no faith in classroom teaching. Supporting him is Avneet Singh with 90.7 per cent who said tuitions are a must for improving performance.

Meanwhile, in Ambala, two students of Chaman Vatika scored above 90 per cent. The two students are Varun Jain with 91.20 per cent and Shivendra Swaroop with 90.60 per cent.

While students have performed well in the ICSE examination of Class X, performance of schools in the ISC examination conducted for Class XII has been below expectation, principals claimed.

While the topper in the city in the non-medical stream, Rakesh Maurya of St Xavier’s Senior Secondary School, Sector 44, has secured 88.6 per cent, Poonam Sandhu has got 74.6 per cent in the medical stream and Vishal Jain has 72.6 per cent.

In St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, Manpriya Khurana has topped in the commerce stream in her school with 70.80 per cent, Saurabh is a close second with 70 per cent to his credit.

In Ambala, Akhil Jain scored 85 per cent while Deepinder Pal Singh scored 84.75 in the commerce stream.

Meanwhile, in the ICSE section, St Kabir has 11 students to its credit from among those who secured more than 90 per cent, 30 students between 80 and 89 per cent, 17 students between 70 to 79 per cent and 10 students between 60 and 69 per cent.

Five students secured above 90 per cent, 56 between 80 and 89 per cent, 79 students above 70 and 79 per cent and 37 students between 60 and 69 per cent in Mr H Carver’s St Stephen’s school.

In St Xavier’s, while 10 students secured above 90 per cent,314 of the 324 students who appeared, passed the examination. The pass percentage for the school is 97 per cent.

Most students expressed the desire to take up the commerce stream at the plus two level. Toppers claimed that though management jobs were taxing, they earned a hefty paypacket at the end of the day.

SAS NAGAR

Six students of Yadavindra Public School here got more than 90 per cent marks in the Class X ICSE examination, the results of which were declared today. The highest percentage was 92.7.

Sanjukta Roy, who has topped the school by securing 92.7 per cent marks, says she is very happy with her result as she was expecting around 90 per cent marks and never thought that she would be the topper. She says she had to take some private tuition for maths for about two-and-a-half-months and devoted four to five hours daily to self study. She says she did not stop watching television for the sake of studies as it proved to be a strain buster for her. She gives 50 per cent of the credit for her success to her hard work and the rest to her teachers and parents. She has taken up non-medical and is aiming to get admission to IIT.

Gagandeep Singh and Raman Pratap Singh have stood second in the school by securing 92.2 per cent marks.

Gagandeep Singh says he wanted to get more than 90 per cent marks and he was happy that he could achieve his target and was among the toppers. He says that he did not have any fixed study hours and did not go in for private tuitions. He wants to go in for IIT and as such has taken up non-medical. He says that the credit for his success goes to his mother, who was always by his side whenever he needed her.

Raman Pratap Singh, who was happy with his result, says that he used to study for about five hours daily and after his second pre-boards he started putting in eight hours of hard work. He had taken tuitions for maths, chemistry and physics during his summer holidays. Now he has opted for the medical stream and his aim is to get admission in AIIMS. By doing this he will be able to fulfil the dream of his parents who have always been very helpful.

Gaurav Bhatia, who got 91.2 per cent marks, says he was overjoyed with his result as he was expecting around 88 per cent marks. Gaurav, who wants to become an IAS officer says he used to study for five hours daily but December onwards he started putting in eight hours. He says that for maths he had to go in for a tuition and he took this help for two months. He says that his parents had always encouraged him.

Jasreen Waraich, who stood fifth in the school by securing 90.3 per cent marks, says she is quite happy with her marks as she was expecting around 85 per cent only. She says that she was trying to be regular with her studies before the pre boards but after her second pre-board she became very serious and was studying the whole day. She had to depend on tuitions for maths and computers. She has taken up non-medical and wants to become an engineer.

Aman Gupta, who has secured 90.2 per cent marks, says in maths and science he had secured about 95 per cent marks. He says he had not fixed up his study hours but used to put in five to six hours daily and more during examination days. He did not go in for tuitions. He says his parents were very supportive but his elder brother was very helpful. He wants to go in for IIT.

PANCHKULA

For the first time, two students of the Little Flower Convent School, Sector 14, bagged top two positions in the matriculation examination conducted by the Indian Council for Secondary Education (ICSE) for 2001-02 session.

Being twins — Shailja Goel and her brother Ankur Goel — secured 95 per cent and 94.33 per cent marks, respectively, and brought name to their school as well as their parents and the city.

The two were also followed by Vishesh Sharma, Karan Aggarwal of the same school by scoring 93 per cent marks each. While Jasmine Kaur secured 92.2 per cent and Jyoti Chhibber made it by 90.88 per cent.

While talking to The Tribune, Shailja said that she used to study five to six hours a day throughout the year but extended it to eight hours during exam days. She refused to have gone for any tuition. With an aim of be a doctor, Shailja has opted for Science (medical) stream in Class XI.

Her brother, Ankur wants to become a software engineer and has opted for Science (non-medical) subjects. ‘‘The credit of our success goes to our parents and teachers. We could make it only with their efforts’’, they added.

According to Jasmine, she used to study for four to five hours on an average basis daily after school. She aims to start her career as an IIT engineer. Thorough and regular study throughout the year yielded good results for Jyoti Chhibber.

CBSE Class XII results today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
The results of the all-India senior school certificate examination of Class XII conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education will be declared on May 23, an official press release of the board said here today.

In the examination the students of as many as 446 schools of the Chandigarh region (Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, UT and Jammu and Kashmir) have appeared.

These include 27 government schools of the Chandigarh Administration, 69 Kendriya Vidyalayas, 37 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and 313 independent schools. In all 47,113 candidates have appeared, of which 27,072 are boys.

The results will be available on the Internet at cbseresult.nic.in

Laurels for gardener’s son
Our Correspondent

Panchkula, May 22
The son of a slum dweller gardener has topped the non-medical stream of plus two examination conducted by the Indian Council for Secondary Education (ICSE) among schools in the City, Panchkula and SAS Nagar for 2001-2002 session.

Rajesh Maurya has secured 88.6 per cent marks to top the list. He has spent his entire childhood in Rajiv Colony in Sector 16 of Panchkula before being picked by St. Xavier Senior Secondary School, Sector 44, Chandigarh for his free education along with residential facilities.

Rajesh had also secured 91.3 per cent marks in Class X from St. Xavier School, Panchkula, Hailing from Amethi in UP, Rajesh was brought up in Panchkula. His father, D N Maurya, is serving as a gardener with Haryana State co-operative Apex Bank Limited in Chandigarh.

While talking to The Tribune, Rajesh said that he used to devote 10 to 12 hours to his studies every day. ‘‘My father had a very tough time spending on my education and at the same time managing a rather big household (three sisters and two brothers),” he said.

Admn allows offices, restaurants on upper floors for fee
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
As part of the going exercise for revamping the building bye-laws applicable to Chandigarh, the Administration today reduced the rates applicable in case of division of big shops and also allowed restaurants and offices to run from upper floors on payment of conversion fee. These charges can be also be paid by the occupier of the building, i.e. tenants in the same building can pool for paying the charges. Thus the owner cannot use these divisions to get the building vacated from the estate office.

The conversion of upper floor office space in SCO for shops and restaurants will be on payment of the following composition fees:
In Sector 17 and Sector 34 and all showrooms on V-2 and V-3 roads. (1st floor)	Rs. 200 per square foot
For 2nd floor	Rs. 150 per square foot
3 rd floor and above	Rs. 100 per square foot
For other locations (1st Floor )	Rs. 130 per square foot
For 2nd Floor	Rs. 100 per square foot
3rd floor and above	Rs. 70 per square foot

The charges for partitions in 2 bay and 3 bay ground floor shops shall be Rs 100 per square ft. in Sector 17, Sector 34 and all V-2 and V-3 roads. A sum of Rs 80 per square ft will be payable in other locations in the city. This composition fee is payable when partitions are made for creating independent units, and not when partitions are required by a single user, such as an office or bank for functional needs. Earlier, this fee used to work out up to Rs 7 lakh per partition of a bay.

A spokesperson clarified that conversion of upper-floor office space for low intensity use such as lodging houses shall be allowed free of charge in general trade sites.

As much as 20 per cent of the composition fees in case of division of shops will be payable 20% at the time of application and the balance in four equal annual instalments. The occupier of a building may apply and pay the fee as per the procedure already prescribed in the orders pertaining to conversion of trade.

The composition fee for additional covered area in residential houses has been rationalised to only 2 slabs. These are at Rs. 40 per sq. ft. subject to a minimum of Rs. 10,000 for sites upto 500 sq. yards and Rs. 60/- per sq. ft. subject to a minimum of Rs. 20,000 for sites of 500 sq. yard and above.

Police remand for Langah’s ‘touts’
Our Correspondent

Kharar, May 22
Mr Roshan Lal Chouhan, Judicial Magistrate, Kharar, today remanded three close confidants of Sucha Singh Langah, former PWD Minister, Punjab, namely Pardeep Bhatega, Vinod Garg and Kanwaljeet Singh, alias Nitu in police custody till May 24 and also ordered to produce them in the court on that day. The accused were arrested by the Vigilance Department in connection with the FIR registered against Langah.

Mr Jatinderjit Singh Punn, public prosecutor and Mr Gurmakh Singh, DSP, Vigilance, pleaded for a police remand of all accused for 14 days and informed the court that they all were quite close to Langah. Mr Punn informed the court that Vinod Garg was an industrialist and he had purchased 80 acres of land worth Rs 25 lakh in his name and the whole money was spent by Langah. He said similarly, Pardeep Bhatega and wife of Sucha Singh Langah became directors of a firm, Khalsa Warehousing Pvt Ltd, and constructed eight warehouses in Dhaliwal and 20 warehouses in Jagraon. An amount of Rs 2 to 3 crore was spent on these warehouses. He said Kanwaljit Singh belonged to Patiala and he used to charge huge amounts from officers of the rank of Superintendent Engineers for transfers and promotions. He was working as a tout of Langah and used to charge commission out of this money. He said more information was yet to be collected from the accused about the other property and lands owned by them. He said while the names of two accused appeared in the FIR, the Vigilance Department had recorded a statement of the cook of Langah about the involvement of Kanwaljeet Singh. He said all accused were helping Langah in converting his black money into white money by safer investments.

The defence counsel on the other hand refuted the charges of the prosecution and said the accused had been falsely implicated in the case. He said the warehouses had been constructed by taking a loan of more than Rs 2 crore. He said the prosecution had not produced the statement of any officer, admitting that he had paid the amount to these persons as alleged by the prosecution. He said the accused were not close to Langah.

Meanwhile, according to information received from the Vigilance Department, Pardeep Bhatega was the owner of a spinning mill at Ludhiana. He became a loan defaulter which was taken from the PFC and in this connection came into contact with Langah. Similarly, Vinod Garg had a business of import and export. He was running more than eight companies and became a defaulter of three companies in connection with repayment of loan and came into Langah’s contact in this connection. The third accused, Nitu, was introduced to Langah by a SAD leader of Patiala. He used to visit Langah’s residence.

Meanwhile, the department has already sent a registered notice to Langah to appear before the Vigilance Department on May 25. The notices were sent on May 18 as a seven-day notice was required as per the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The notices were sent to Langah, his lawyer at Chandigarh, SSP of the area and Advocate-General, Punjab. According to sources, the department has not received any information about Langah yet.

The court recorded the statements of three close relatives of Langah namely Jagir Singh, Santokh Singh and Ajit Singh in the evening under Section 164, CrPC.

COMMUNITY

GMCH staff join shramdan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
Apart from regular shramdanis, over 500 people participated in the shramdan at the Sukhna Lake regulator end today. Dr S.B.S. Mann, Director-Principal, Government Medical College and Hospital, Dr Raj Bahadur, Medical Superintendent, and staff along with 150 officials and doctors of the GMCH, 162 persons from the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh along with Mr Ashok Vasistha, Assistant Commissioner, MCC, Mr Puranjit Singh, Chief Engineer, Chandigarh Administration, and NSS volunteers from government senior secondary schools, Mani Majra, Dhanas and Sector 38 West, participated.

Dr B.M. Mahajan, Managing Director, Milfed, Punjab, and Mr Manmohan Munjial, General Manager, Milk Plant, Chandigarh, along with 150 officers and workers from the head office and the Milk Plant, Chandigarh, performed shramdan today. Verka distributed about 1,000 packets of lassi among shramdanis.

Mr P.C. Sanghi, president of the Senior Citizens Association, Sector 21, and councillor of the MCC, led a group of 60 residents consisting of prominent social workers and some NSS volunteers of Manav Mangal School, Sector 21, to the Sukhna Lake for the shramdan.

Yesterday, Ms Neeru Nanda, Adviser to the Administrator, Chandigarh Administration, took part in the shramdan being held at the regulator end of the Sukhna Lake and also had a pledge with members of the Nehru Yuva Kendra of Chandigarh at the site.

Among the prominent shramdanis was Mr Rajbir Singh, Deputy Secretary, Secretariat Establishment, Haryana, along with 100 officials of the Haryana Civil Secretariat.

Mr Balbir Singh, DPE and 100 NSS volunteers of Government High School, Karsan, took part in the shramdan. Some students from Convent Carmel Public School also participated in the shramdan.

Conspicuous at the site of the shramdan were Mr Ajit Pal Singh and Mr Jagjit Singh, both deaf and dumb, and Jatinder Kumar Marwah, a veteran athlete.

More than 100 volunteers from the Nehru Yuva Kendra, Sector 23, took part in the shramdan.

Till date 1,43,000 cubic feet of silt has been removed from the bed of the Sukhna Lake.

Mr Puranjit Singh, Chief Engineer, Chandigarh Administration, along with Mr Krishanjit Singh with his 50 staff members, Mr V.K. Chopra, Executive Engineer, with his staff participated in manual disilting. The agencies having machinery are being pursued by the Chief Engineer to participate in the shramdan by providing JCB and tippers. As a result Asphalt Construction provided one JCB and 10 tippers for shramdan.

Awareness generation camp ends
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
The awareness generation camp, which was organised by the Citizens Awareness Group in collaboration with the Chandigarh Social Welfare Advisory Board from May 13 to May 20 in Government High School, Kajheri, concluded here yesterday. About 40 “preraks” and other women from the village attended the camp.

During the eight-day training programme, representatives of the Social Welfare Department, the Women and Child Development Corporation and the Small Industries Development of India stressed the need and importance of self-help groups and gave a brief account of schemes launched by the government for welfare of the rural and poor women. A resource person from General Hospital-16 gave a talk on leprosy and goitre and checked the suspected patients. Members of the Lok Adalat and the Citizens Awareness Group spoke about the Legal Service Authority Act, 1987, and Consumer Protection Act, 1986, and gave certain guidelines for filing complaints in Lok Adalat and consumer courts. Lectures and demonstration on food and nutrition and mehandi were of special interest to target the audience.

Mr Surinder Verma, Chairman, Citizens Awareness Group, welcomed the guests and said the objective of camp was to identify the needs of rural and poor women and increase their active participation in fulfillment of their needs and poverty eradication programmes. Follow-up action on the problems of target population would continue and the group would carry forward the message of Social Advisory Board in other rural areas also, Mr Verma said.

Ms Santosh Singh, secretary, Mahila Dakshista Samiti, who presided over the programme, emphasised the need to organise more women-oriented programmes in community centers and public places. She appealed the NGOs to supplement the efforts of the government in changing the attitude and behavioral pattern of the success of awareness generation programmes.

Ms Nancy Ganju, finance member, Chandigarh Social Welfare Advisory Board, who was chief guest on the occasion distributed the honorarium and certificates to participants. She said awareness on important issues related to everyday life likes health, legal rights, environment and economic independence and vocation courses were necessary to overcome their problems. She exhorted the voluntary organisations to come forward for such noble cause and said the board has been set up to promote social welfare activities and welfare programmes for women and children.

Heatwave claims another life

Chandigarh, May 22
The blistering heatwave gripping the northern region claimed one more life, even as temperatures increased further today with Hisar sizzling at 46°C, four degrees above normal.

The weather will remain mainly dry at most places in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh during the next 24 hours, the Met office said. PTI

Red lights from slip lanes may be removed
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
The UT police is reportedly considering the feasibility of removing traffic signals from slip lanes at various traffic light points in the city. According to sources in the Police Department, the lights at the slip lanes were not only causing confusion among the commuters, but were also leading to traffic chaos.

Giving details, a senior police officer admitted that the purpose of carving slip lanes had been defeated due to installation of traffic light signals. Slip lanes were essential to ensure free flow of traffic and avoid congestion at light points, he added.

However, the presence of lights at the slip lanes were forcing the commuters to stop their vehicles at red signals, obstructing the free flow of traffic in the process. The officer added that a lot of drivers were also jumping the red signal at the slip lanes. Most of the drivers were under the impression that traffic signals at slip lanes were not required and were ignoring them under this impression, he added. He cited the example of Delhi traffic rules, where the left turn at all traffic light points is free.

Another officer added that there was a lot of resentment among the drivers challaned for jumping red lights at the slip lanes. Some of them had even approached the higher police officials with copies of challan, seeking the redressal of their grievance. A senior police officer, when contacted, said in legal sense, the challaning was not illegal as the red lights were being jumped by the commuters. He, however, confessed that there was no need for such lights.

“We are already in touch with our counterparts in different departments of the UT Administration, including the Engineering Department and the PWD. We have asked them to study the traffic flow on such roads and suggest remedial measures as soon as possible. In some cases, we might consider the possibility of increasing the length of the slip lane to rule out chances of accidents. In other cases we might even broaden the slip lanes,” the officer asserted. “The action is expected to be taken soon,” he added.

Cable operators meet Mayor over tax
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
A delegation of cable operators of city today met the Mayor, Ms Lalit Joshi, and apprised her of their problems regarding the proposed tax on the cable operators. They said they were not against paying the ground rent but want that the fee should be charged nominal. The specification of sector was not clear in the policy.

For example: in the Khuda Lahora colony that falls under MC limits has only 150 houses whereas Mani Majra has 40,000 houses. Villages and colonies like Badheri, Buterla, Kajheri, Attawa, Ram Darbar, DMC, Bapu Dham, Colony No 4, Colony No 5, Maloya, Dhanas, Palsora, Janata Colony Indira Colony etc. and some of these fall in sectors are also not clearly mentioned whether these are to be treated as sector or part of sector or anything else. The criteria of charging Rs 1000 per sector per month as ground rent is not appropriate, they said.

In many sectors there are several operators carrying out business in the same sector. Some operators are doing business in very small area of the sector or have very few connections. Some operators hardly use municipal land (don’t use poles to lay the cables). In other cases some of the sectors are not yet fully developed.

No bylaws have been made for the operators whether they shall get any license or any agreement or lease deed. No land has been specified for fixation of poles. No design of pole/wooden pole has been mentioned in it, they said.

One review committee was formed by the previous Mayor, which was dissolved without any chance to represent and without any report. In the absence of bylaws or the rules and regulations, no tax can be charged and retrospective tax has never been charged by any government agency.

So the tax should be imposed thereafter only, a press release of the Chandigarh Cable Operators Association said today.

Copy of the minutes of the meeting, in which the policy was made, also be supplied to us. Personal hearing should be given to each operator in respect of the notice after fixing a date and permission of the written replay of the notice also.

Facilities sought for MC sweepers
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, May 22
The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has been asked to provide its safai karamcharis with necessary equipment like masks, gum boots and machines for cleaning manholes. It has also been told to ensure that its sweepers get at least the minimum wages.

At a press conference here today, Ms Manju Chandra, officiating chairman of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis of the Union Ministry of Social Welfare and Justice, asked the MC to provide its sweepers with the protective gear and loans upto Rs 5 lakh to be self-employed. “The government wants to free sweepers of brooms,” said Ms Chandra.

She also said the contract system of employing sweepers was illegal and the MC should do away with it. She would take up the demand for domicile certificates for sweepers of the Scheduled Castes with the Union Home Ministry.

Ms Chandra said she resented the non-implementation of the NSLR scheme for sweepers here. When she asked him about dwelling units for sweepers, Mr M.P. Singh, Commissioner of the MC, said there were some hurdles in the implementation of this housing scheme due to non-availability of land in the city.

She told officials concerned to maintain proper sanitation in colonies here, besides schools for children of sweepers. She also stressed the need for free computer education for children of sweepers. She said contracts of parking lots etc. should be given to sweepers to make them progress.

Earlier, Ms Chandra met various officials of the UT Administration and the MC, besides various leaders of the MC sweepers’ union, to discuss problems of sweepers.

Those who attended the meeting included Mr M.P. Singh, Commissioner of the MC, Mr G.K. Marwaha, Chairman of the Chandigarh Housing Board, and Ms Madavi Kataria, Director Social Welfare of Chandigarh. The union leaders present at the meeting also gave a memorandum to Ms Chandra.

Put junior staff on field duty: union
Our Correspondent

SAS Nagar, May 22
The Municipal Employees Union here yesterday demanded that junior employees posted at the main civic body office should be put on field duty.

The general secretary of the union, Mr K.L. Saini, said nearly 15 senior clerks had been put on octroi duty while junior staff members were given work at the main municipal office.

He said even junior clerks who had been promoted from peons had not been given octroi duty.

He demanded an end to such discrimination and a better deal for the senior staff.

Neerja Bhanot Trust invites nominations
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
The Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust today announced the call for nominations for the prestigious Neerja Bhanot Awards, 2002. There are two awards, each consisting of Rs 1,50,000, a citation and a trophy.

Award I will be conferred on an Indian woman who, when subjected to social injustice like dowry harassment, desertion etc, overcame the situation with guts and grit and then helped other women in similar social distress. Award II will be conferred on any flight crew member, worldwide, who went beyond the call of duty in a difficult situation. The Neerja Bhanot Awards are conferred annually in memory of Neerja Bhanot, the brave Pan Am airhostess who died at the age of 23 while saving the lives of hundreds of passengers in a plane hijack at Karachi airport in 1986. Neerja is the only civilian woman recipient of India’s highest honour for bravery — the Ashok Chakra.

Nominations have to be sent to Mr Harish Bhanot, Managing Trustee, Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust, Ashok Chakra Nivas, house no 3727, Sector 46-C, Chandigarh, and should be received latest by July 25.

EATING OUT
Help yourself to confectioneries fresh from the oven
Harvinder Khetal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh
Ovenfresh. The name itself conjures up an image of fresh-smelling bakery goodies that whet your appetite as they are brought on a platter, steaming hot straight from the oven. Well, it’s almost like that at Ovenfresh in the Sector 35 lane of hotels. The only difference being that the goodies don’t come to you on a platter. You have to pick the platter, place the goody of your choice on it. Take it to the counter, pay up and then take the goody that belongs to you now rightfully to the table and savour it. If there’s anything else that you want, you do the same. Get up to get water. Get up to get the spoons and knives. Get up to get the bottle of sauce you forgot earlier. Self-service. That’s the mantra at this specialty eatery which came up in 1996. And going by the good business that it’s doing, it seems Chandigarhians don’t mind helping themselves.

The proprietor, Rohit Kumar, who started off at the young age of 23, seems to have his finger pat on the confectionery pulse of the residents. The reason for this is the emphasis he lays on personal supervision over the production. Unlike most restaurateurs who prefer to have their offices in a far corner of the dining area or just sit at the cash counter, Rohit stations himself next to the kitchen and keeps an eye on the bakers for quality.

He ensures that no preservatives are used. Hence, the notice to customers, requesting them to consume the food items within a day of purchase. The alcoves in right-hand wall are filled with baskets of cakes, an assortment of breads, puffs and rolls for you to choose from. But it’s not unusual to find a few of the baskets empty, much to one’s frustration. The board behind the cashier displays the menu of sandwiches, burgers, pizzas and toasts, while the glass fridge encasing the tempting cakes with icing shows the list of such varieties available.

Priced between Rs 70 and Rs 80, you have cakes in such flavours as coffee walnut, honey walnut, kaju bar, date walnut, banana and milk bar. The 1-kg cakes cut into 10 slices for Rs 20 to Rs 27 each come in chocolate vanilla, pineapple, butterscotch, black forest chocolate truffle, chocolate walnut, fresh fruit glaze, mocha and coffee almond flavours.

Their most popular snacks that double as meals remain grilled sandwiches (Rs 55 to Rs 65) in both veg and non-veg varieties served with potatos chips and mayonnaise sauce. Burgers cost Rs 45 (veg) and Rs 55 (non-veg). Don’t forget to get the confectionery items heated in the microwave, unless you want it cold.

As part of their expansion, besides the increase in the area, they keep adding new items on the menu. Garlic bread with cheese has done well in their new addition list recently, as also pizzas (Rs 45- to Rs 80) and enchiladas.

But they seem to be short on the list of beverages (there are only aerated drinks and hot coffee). Realising the competition from the neighbouring coffee shops, Rohit promises to introduce cold coffee and milk shakes soon to attract customers. While doing so maybe, he should also check the temperature setting of the ACs. The eatery is freezing cold.

Cong activists hang Musharraf’s effigy
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
An effigy of General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan, was publicaly hanged by activists of the Chandigarh Youth Congress and the District Congress Committee (Urban), led by their presidents Mr Harmohinder Singh Lucky and Mr Pawan Sharma.

The activists enacted a mock court in which charges were read out against General Musharraf following which, the jury consisting of eminent citizens of Chandigarh ordered the public hanging of General Musharraf. The activists raised slogans against Pakistan’s ISI and the General. The activists were carrying the Tricolour.

Mr H.S. Lucky said General Musharraf was promoting cross- border terrorism to divert the attention of Pakistan’s masses. He was responsible for killing of innocents in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India, he said.

He said Mr Musharraf had turned Pakistan into a terrorist state, perhaps he had not learnt a lesson from Afghanistan.

Meeting to seek views on cow protection
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22
The National Commission on Cattle will hold a meeting to seek public opinion, memoranda and representations on any aspect of protection, preservation and development of cow and its progeny and related issues at the UT Guest House on May 23.

The timings will be from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Gurmel Singh, has been appointed as contact person for the purpose.

The commission set up by the Government of India has been empowered to review the relevant laws of the Centre and states relating to protection, preservation, development and well-being of cow and its progeny and suggest measures for their effective implementation.

It will also study the existing provisions for the maintenance of goshalas, gosadans and other organisations working for the protection and development of cattle and suggest measures for making them economically viable.

The commission has also been empowered to study the contribution of cattle towards the Indian economy, suggest ways and means of organising scientific research for maximum utilisation of cattle products and draught animal power in the field of nutrition and health, agriculture and energy and submit a comprehensive scheme in this regard to the Union Government.

Seminar to generate legal awareness
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, May 22
In order to generate legal awareness among the villagers, the UT State Legal Service Authority in collaboration with the panchayat of Kishangarh village organised a seminar in the village today.

Mr Sant Prakash, member secretary, State Legal Service Authority-cum-Judge, Permanent Lok Adalat, District Courts, presided over the function. Briefing the people, he informed that a permanent Lok Adalat was functioning on the Punjab and Haryana High Court premises and on the District Courts Complex, Sector 17, Chandigarh.

“The Authority offers legal aid and assistance to persons who are involved in disputes like matrimonial discord, company fraud, harassment on account of financial hazards, property disputes and family disputes etc. The disputes are settled amicably by way of compromise between the parties at pre-litigative stage. However, if no compromise is arrived at, the matter remains open to be taken up by the courts,” he added. The litigants may file a simple application before the member secretary, State Legal Service Authority, for resolution of their disputes without any court fee, Mr Prakash said.

CRIME

Truck driver killed in accident
Our Correspondent

Panchkula, May 22
A truck driver died on the spot in an accident involving two trucks on the Panchkula- Kalka road here today.

According to the police, Teja Singh, driver of a truck (CH01K-7577), was killed when another truck (HR-37A-0982) collided with it near Chandi Mandir.

In a complaint to the police, Mr Harbhajan Singh of Ghegha Majra in Punjab, alleged that Swaran Singh, driver of truck No HR-37A-0982, was driving negligently that caused the death of Teja Singh.

A case under Sections 279 and 304 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.

Arrested
The police has arrested a resident of Amar Nagar in Ambala cantonment for carrying 35 kg of poppy husk on May 18 night.

The accused, Vinendra, alias Vinto, was arrested after the police laid a trap.

Vinto had fled from the spot while his two other co-accused — Samay Singh and Randhir Singh — were arrested along with the drug at the Kakrali T-point. The police had also impounded the car (HR-01B-1943) that was being used in the crime.

The police has already registered a case under the NDPS Act against the trio.

Gambling
The police has arrested Prakash of Old Panchkula red-handed while gambling near Chandikotla village here today. A sum of Rs 325 has been seized from his possession.

A case under the Gambling Act has been registered against him.

Theft
Thieves broke into a house in Sector 25 and took away some household items including a colour TV set, a CD, a juicer mixer, a camera and a gold chain, besides Rs 20,000.

The owner of the house, Ms Padma Devi, in her complaint to the police said that the thieves broke open the window and entered the house on Tuesday.

A case under Sections 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered by the police.

Chandigarh

Vehicles stolen
The police received four complaints of theft of vehicles from different parts of the city during the past 24 hours.

Toyota Qualis (UP-32-AK-3299) belonging to Mr Gurdeep Singh of Sector 18 was reportedly stolen from a parking lot in Sector 35 last evening. Mr Pankaj Goel, a resident of Sector 15, reported to the police that his Maruti car (CH-01-C-0226) was stolen from Sector 35 on Tuesday.

Another Maruti car (PB-11-5296) of Mr Surinder Pal Singh, a resident of Morinda district, was stolen from a free parking lot in Sector 17 yesterday. A scooter (PB-65-B-2633) of Mr Vijay Kumar, a resident of Phase VII, SAS Nagar, was stolen from Sector 20 on Tuesday.

The police has registered cases of theft under Section 379 of the IPC.

Caught red-handed
A resident of Janata Colony, Sector 25, Rajesh, was allegedly caught red-handed while stealing a plastic pipe from a Sector 23 nursery here on Tuesday. A case was registered on the complaint of Mr Om Prakash.

Booked
Panna, a resident of Gandhi Colony, Sector 26, was booked under various sections of the Excise Act for consuming liquor at a public place in Sector 26 here on Tuesday.

Injured
A 22-year-old woman of Darua village was admitted to the PGI with burn injuries here on Wednesday. According to police sources, the incident occurred while she was cooking food on a kerosene stove. Her condition is said to be stable.

Smack recovered
The operation cell of the police recovered 13 gm of smack from Jasbir Singh, a resident of Burail, at a naka at Zirakpur barrier here on Wednesday. The arrest assumes importance as the name of Jasbir was given to the police by women of Burail who had also gheraoed the Sector-34 police station last week against large-scale use of smack by their male counterparts of the area. The women had given a list of names of alleged smack addicts of the area.