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HIMACHAL PRADESH |
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NURPUR
Sale of pulses: The Himachal Government has started selling pulses to the consumers at cheaper rates through the Food and Civil Supplies Corporation. The corporation had received pulses stock last week. The prices of the pulses are 10 to 20 per cent lower than the market rates. The corporation has been supplying the pulses to the fair price shops for sale to
consumers. PALAMPUR
Fire in shop: Property worth Rs 50,000 was damaged in a fire that broke out in a shop at Paprola on Saturday night. The fire was noticed at 5 a.m. Mr Munish Sood, owner of the shop, said that the goods stored in the shop were damaged. Fire engines were rushed from Palampur which controlled the fire. Short-circuit was reported to be the cause of fire.
Regional potpourri
Future faces Prez-ent
Anukriti with her grandfather. — Photo by Manoj Mahajan |
It was youthful restlessness and childish reasoning questioning a seasoned, rational mind. And for once, even a person of the stature of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was left speechless by a chit of a girl. The child in question was Anukriti, who along with 63 other students of Sri Sathya Sai Jagriti Vidya Mandir in Darwa village of Yamunanagar, had been invited to Rashtrapati Bhavan recently. During the interaction with the President, held in Ashoka Hall, when the ‘Vision Document 2020’ was being explained to the children, Anukriti had got up from her seat and asked Dr Kalam: “Why can’t India become a developed nation before the year 2020?” So impressed was the Prez by this ‘ignited mind’ that he now wants Anukriti to field the question in Parliament. Dr Kalam felt that a child asking such a question should make elders think deeply about the issue. A picture of these students and Anukriti’s question were thereater posted on the official website of the President, in the ‘recent events’ section. As for his reply to her query, he said that faster development was not impossible if Vision 2020 caught the imagination of all and everybody worked harder for development, setting aside their differences, to strengthen the nation’s human resource base. Amar Vivek, father of Anukriti and founder trustee of the Sri Sathya Sai Jagriti Gramin Sewa Sadan, which runs the Darwa school, who accompanied the children to meet the President, says the he will take his daughter to Parliament and introduce her to all MPs. Two years ago, the school caught the attention of Dr Ashok, a DRDO scientist and one-time junior of Dr Kalam. He reportedly brought the activities of the sadan to the notice of the President, following which the students got invited to Rashtrapati Bhawan. Madhu Sharma, Principal of the school, says that the President fielded the students’ questions with great patience. The students also sang ‘mantras’ for Dr Kalam, who then asked them about their meanings. The children have also invited the President to attend the school’s annual function on November 23. India to Italy, for better policing
Hisar SSP Arshinder Singh Chawla (fourth from left) along with other participants at an international training programme for police and peacekeeping personnel organised in Italy recently. |
With a view to acquiring specialised training in modern policing and peacekeeping techniques, a group of senior police and paramilitary officers from India had been sent to Italy under a G8 mission. The officers, including members of the police force, the CBI, NSG, BSF, CRPF and ITBP, recently returned after completing the training programme. Hisar SSP Arshinder Singh Chawla, who was among the few IPS officers selected for the assignment, said they were given effective tips on mob control and firefighting, besides practical lessons on using the latest sophisticated weapons. The training was conducted at the Centre of Excellence for Stability Police Units (CoESPU), Vicenza. The centre is being run under an Italian initiative, supported by other G8 countries, as part of an international project to increase global capacity for sustaining peace-support operations, with emphasis on Africa. It imparts training to the officers of member countries in order to maintain peace and stability to foster social development and economic growth. A total of 132 officers from different countries across the world participated in the training programme. These included 24 police and paramilitary forces officers from India. The SSP says the training will prove helpful in handling the diverse situations encountered by them. The trained officers can also be called/sent to any member country when needed.
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Room for superstition
 An institution of higher learning that ought to clear cobwebs from peoples’ minds is itself in the grip of superstition. There are no takers for a room in one of the teaching blocks of Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, because teachers fear bereavement if they occupy it. Everything was normal with this office room till a year ago. It was occupied by the then Head, Department of Sanskrit. Though shabby looking, this room was the hub of activity – both academics and intrigues. The late Dr Yajanbir Dahiya, Professor of Sanskrit, ensured that along with him, this room too generated lots of controversies. However, he was struck by cancer and he passed away after a prolonged illness. The room then changed hands and was allotted to another senior teacher of the department. Within months, the new occupant’s son fell ill. After battling for life in the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, located within the same campus, he died. His father immediately requested a change of room and was allocated another nearby office. Since then, no teacher is prepared to shift to this ‘ill-fated’ room. The department has now decided to shift computers and records to this room instead. However, it remains to be seen how many employees will prefer to operate from there, even if for short periods, given the nature of equipment and records to be kept there. In view of the superstition now attached to the room, a non-teaching employee has already predicted that these computers will develop snags and printers will begin to malfunction. He can hardly be blamed – he is a mere graduate, while those who refused to shift to the office possessed Ph. D degrees. To think that seats of higher learning are meant to lead the ignorant from darkness to light. Contributed by Nishikant Dwivedi, Sunit Dhawan and Raman Mohan
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