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19-month-old child kidnapped, rescued
Chandigarh, February 8 Apparently learning from its mistakes from the infamous Khushpreet murder case, the Chandigarh police acted swiftly, resulting in the kidnappers being arrested before the latter could collect the ransom amount. The police arrested all four kidnappers following an intensive operation at Siswan village, near Kurali. The boy, named Prince, was kidnapped by his 19-year-old uncle, Amarpal, a vegetable vendor, who had allegedly hatched the plan for the lure of money. He had roped in three fellow vegetable vendors known to him.
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School admission: HC to hear plea today
Chandigarh, February 8 The Chandigarh Administration’s affidavit on the admission criteria being followed and other related issues will also come up for consideration tomorrow. The students are seeking directions to the Chandigarh Administration and the private schools to consider their candidature by treating them eligible for LKG for the academic year 2011-12. The high court has already issued a notice of motion to the UT Administration and other respondents, and has asked the respondent schools, Sacred Heart, Carmel Convent, St John’s, St Anne’s and Strawberry Fields World School, to accept the petitioners’ forms as an interim measure. As of now, the schools are facing difficulty on the issue of handing over the forms, with not just the petitioners, but others also wanting to take advantage of the interim directions. As the petition came up for hearing this afternoon, senior advocate ML Sarin appeared on behalf of the schools. UT standing counsel Sanjay Kaushal, also present in court, informed Justice Mahesh Grover that keeping in view the urgency involved in the matter, the Administration would file an affidavit tomorrow.Enakshi Pant and 16 other minors, through their parents, had filed the petition. The petitioners stated their prime grievance was that the UT District Education Officer had been continuously changing the criteria of admission of children to pre-nursery, LKG, UKG and Class I. In the process, it was causing a huge loss and grave injustice to children. The petitioners said earlier, on January 14, the Chandigarh Administration mentioned in its letter that the minimum age for pre-nursery was three-plus, but on January 18, it changed the criterion and said only those in the four-plus age group would be eligible.
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Illegal access to marriage palaces closed
Zirakpur, Febraury 8 The prohibitory orders were issued by the DC for compliance of the Punjab and Haryana High Court direction regarding streamlining of traffic on the highway. In the backdrop of the marriage place owners repeatedly violating the prohibitory orders, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) today formally complained to the police to initiate appropriate action against the erring persons. The violators include NK Sharma Farm, Bristol Hotel, Paramount Tower, Swami Motors, Sethi Dhaba, Yuvraj Estate, Hotel
Alofet, Eicher
Sources disclosed that cases against the violators have been registered for violating the prohibitory orders issued under Section 174 of the CrPC. Incidentally, the Chairman of the District Planning Board and President of the Zirakpur MC, NK Sharma, only yesterday held a meeting with the marriage palace owners on the issue. Meanwhile, the NHAI today carried out a drive to close the unauthorised access to the commercial establishments and a team today closed 12 illegal entries. Earlier, the NHAI closed 21 unauthorised entries on January 25. The NHAI Project Director, Anil Dhaia, stated the drive had been carried out to ensure smooth flow of traffic on the highway. But it was found that 12 property owners, out of 21, had re-connected their illegal access to NH-22. He claimed that two of the property owners, whose access was cut today, had later in the evening filled up the trench.
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Justice Gogoi new high court CJ
Chandigarh, February 8 Currently functioning as the Acting Chief Justice after the retirement of Justice Mukul Mudgal on January 3, Justice Gogoi’s name for elevation was cleared by the Supreme Court collegium at a meeting held in Delhi in December. Since then the wait was on for the completion of procedural formalities. Available information suggests that Justice Gogoi will be administered oath as the Chief Justice either on Friday or Saturday. The Tribune was the first to report the developments. Earlier the acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court, Justice Gogoi was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September this year. He was, in fact, administered oath on September 9. At that time also it was understood that Justice Gogoi would eventually take over as the Chief Justice. His transfer was, rather, in sync with the latest trend to post a Judge well in advance to the court where he eventually has to be elevated as the Chief Justice. The rationale behind the move is to ensure the “outside Judge” is well familiar with the functioning of the court by the time he is ready to take over as the Chief Justice. It also helps the prospective Chief Justice to recognise talent among the advocates for recommending their names for elevation. Acting Chief Justice Gogoi has already been a part of the High Court collegium; and has already sent a list of lawyers to be elevated to the Bench. It is believed that the list is yet to receive approval. In a short span of just about four months, Justice Gogoi has already passed some important judgments while sitting in a Division Bench and as a Single Judge. Justice Gogoi’s efforts to bring down the pendency by expeditious disposal of cases has already won him acclaim.
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Mayor threatens oppn with MC house dissolution
Chandigarh, February 8 Expressing “surprise” at the mayor’s statement, BB Behl, president of the Chandigarh territorial Congress committee, said the Congress party would not recommend dissolving the MC general house under any circumstances. “The councillors have been elected to work for the city’s development and welfare of residents, not for indulging in mudslinging matches against each other”, he added. Ravinder Pal opined there was “no need for the MC” in the city if councillors used it only for settling their grudges rather than working for civic development. Complaining about the use of “unparliamentary language” against officials of the house by the councillors, he said: “The situation will soon come when no Punjab or Haryana government official would prefer to come on deputation to the corporation. It will be better to dissolve the house rather than continue functioning in such a manner”. Referring to three recent incidents in which opposition councillors “misbehaved” with MC officials, the mayor stated; “The officials were annoyed over such incidents and have decided to boycott the house if the councillors continued to misbehave with them”. He added a proposal on amending the MC Act would be submitted to union minister and local MP Pawan Kumar Bansal. “The changes aim at debarring councillors.
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MC to beautify entry points of sectors
Chandigarh, February 8 This was decided at the environment and city beautification committee meeting of the MC held here yesterday. Committee chairman Pardeep Chhabra directed officials to initiate the beautification projects through public participation. The committee also decided that all the play equipment for children in parks would be repaired and painted. Besides, the committee approved providing and fixing of sandstone benches in the greenbelts of Sectors 20 and 33, maintenance and beautification of green patches along V-4 and V-5 road and greenbelt near parking, development of Nehru Park, Moonlit Park, Sector 22, Shanti Kunj, Sector 16, and various parks of Sector 22 and providing and fixing of hut with benches and plantation of grass in Cremation Ground Sector 25.
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PGI contract workers’ strike on Feb 21
Chandigarh, February 8 Members of the PGI Contract Workers Union, who have been protesting over the delay in being paid and demanding higher wages, have now decided to observe a strike on February 21. According to the union, the employees did not get their salaries for January, which were to be paid on February 7. “Last year, on December 9, an agreement was reached between the PGI administration and the PGI Contract Workers Union wherein the management stated all workers would receive enhanced wages based on payscales determined by the deputy commissioner. However, the arrears have not been paid yet. Further, disbursal of salaries for the month of January 2011 have been delayed once again”, said a press handout issued by the union. The union claimed the PGI’s standing finance committee had already revised salaries of contract workers in ten categories, in line with the sixth pay commission, at the panel’s meeting held on July 24 last year. It said the categories included drivers, dark room attendants, medical record technicians, receptionist, stenographers, lower division clerks and storekeepers. “A memorandum on this issue was submitted PGI officials on January 3”, the union added.
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Rose Garden to don new look
Chandigarh, February 8 Considering the decline in rose plants due to the use of a particular type of rootstock over the years and other ailments, a new experiment is being conducted at the Rose Garden. For the long-term conservation of rose plants, the administration is collaborating with the Institute of Himalayan Bio-Resources, Palampur, to test 26 rose varieties in the plains at the Rose Garden and the Botanical Garden here. “These varieties will be tested for the first time in the world in plains and this experiment will help in rejuvenating the Rose Garden,” Dr Satish Narula, eminent horticulturist, who has been appointed as the consultant-cum-adviser for developing various theme gardens in the city. “This is for the first time in the world that some of the rootstock species growing in the Himalayas are being tested in the plains to bring the Rose Garden in the league of leading “research” rose gardens in the world,” Dr Narula claimed. Spread over 30 acres and created in 1967 under the guidance of Dr MS Randhawa, first Chief Commissioner of Chandigarh, the Rose Garden had over 20,000 plants of 1,600 varieties. However, in 2009 the total number of varieties was pegged at 750 in 1,122 labelled flower beds with some of the varieties having multiple beds. Taking note of the deteriorating condition of flowers, the administration took up the job of the revitalising the garden to make it a tourist destination. “With the grants of Central government, the administration is committed to restore the Rose Garden to its lost glory and make it a tourist destination of the North India,” said Ram Niwas, Secretary Tourism of the Chandigarh Administration. According to sources, the designing care had been taken to include various sections planted with different kinds of roses and children corner equipped with modern child-friendly swings and the experiment area. Besides, over 8,000 plants were brought from Bengaluru to be planted in the garden.
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Pension Scheme
Chandigarh, February 8 A meeting of the protesting employees of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) was held today between the employees and board chairman. Agitating employees said they had even agreed to stop their protest for five days provided some assurance was given to them, but during the meeting no assurance was given to them by the authorities concerned regarding their long pending demand. After the meeting, the Chandigarh Housing Board Coordination Committee (CHBECC) announced that the working of the office will not be resumed till their demands are met. According to a press note: “Chandigarh Housing Board Coordination Committee will continue to protest.”
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Melodious end to Basant fest
Chandigarh, February 8 The soft sheen of her voice came across like cool moon beams as she delineated the melody of raaga Basant with “Aao re basant ritu raj” in Vilambat, which melted into a fast-paced “drut ek taal” composition. Ashwini captured the spiritual fervour in Saraswati vandana before doling out her self-created raaga Nand Dhwani through two immaculately rendered compositions. Earlier, she established the raaga’s serene mood, exuding the reflections of raaga Nand and Hansdhani. Displaying her versatility in the lighter classical realm and folklore, Ashwini cast a mesmerising spell of “Sabai bhan and Sakal braj dhaam”. She concluded the recital with captivating Horis like “Naa maro pichkari” and “Sooraj much naa”, which were replete with intense romantic fervour and melodic appeal. Vinay Mishra and Vinod Lele provided the accompaniment on the harmonium and the tabla, respectively.
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Construction of illegal house on greenbelt
Driver told to stop work Sanjay Bumbroo Tribune News Service
Panchkula, February 8 Confirming the same, KK Jain, executive officer, MC, said as it was a gazetted holiday in view of Basant Panchami, he had sent a team of fire brigade officials to ask the driver to stop the work. He said they had asked the driver to present his case in the office and submit an approved plan of the building so as to verify whether there were violations on the land. He said the MC would also verify whether the greenbelt fell under its jurisdiction or some other department. Jain said they would file a complaint against the driver if he had indulged in any illegal construction on the greenbelt. He said he would recommend the same to other departments if the land fell under the MC’s jurisdiction. Taking advantage of his posting with the Chief Administrator of Haryana Housing Board, a driver, Raghunath, has constructed an illegal three-storey building on a five-marla greenbelt at the Housing Board Colony in Sector 19. Residents had brought the matter to the notice of Ashwani Sharma, Estate Officer (EO), Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), that Raghunath had constructed a house on a five-marla greenbelt located in the parking. The driver not only misbehaved with the Junior Engineer of HUDA but also manhandled him. Sharma said he had sought a detailed report from the Junior Engineer, besides informing the HHB authorities. He said a case would be filed with the police against Raghunath if any violations were found in the area.
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Exam Jitters
Chandigarh, February 8 In what is being dubbed as the success of the CBSE’s ambitious plan to make the board optional, the Class X students appearing for both CBSE examinations and school examinations seem to be chilled out, while the parents are fretting over their lack of seriousness. “The number of calls from the Class X students are a way less than the average number of calls, which we use to get over the years. The parents, however, are perturbed by the easygoing attitude of the children, who are surely missing the ‘boards environ’ at home,” says Rakesh Sachdev, principal DAV, Sector 15, and one of the counsellors at the CBSE. According to counsellors, the parents are also confused and worried about the forthcoming Class XI admissions, as most of them are still not sure of the choice that they made. “The parents whose children have opted for the school boards are apprehensive about problems that their ward may face in switching schools. Those who have opted for the boards are worried about percentage viz-a-viz school candidates,” added Sachdev. Interestingly, the students are, however, bothered about their internal assessment, as most of them call to find a way ahead in case they have goofed up their internal assessment that amounts for 60 per cent of the total evaluation. CBSE regional director RJ Khanderao, meanwhile, considered it a success of the board that children are finally relieved of the Class X board examination stress.
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PU Notes
CHANDIGARH: Taking cognisance of a report published in Chandigarh Tribune on February 6, the Panjab University Syndicate has now scheduled the meeting of a committee, which was constituted to consider the colour of the convocation robe, to February 10. A Senate-Syndicate member had objected to the usage of black convocation dress, which he said should be “according to Indian culture and weather” and not an imitation of the western countries. PUTA meet
The Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) executive body is meeting on Thursday to discuss the outcome of the HSJ Institute of Dental Sciences and Hospital case. Dental college students had demanded ouster of their director-principal, Dr Krishan Gauba and held protests. Dr Gauba later resigned and sought repatriation to the PGI. A PUTA member said the executive members would decide whether to call a general body meeting of teachers to discuss the matter in detail or not. — TNS
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Discipline: Split wide open
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Students apprised of flight safety
Chandigarh, February 8 Highlighting the importance of aerospace safety and the role of each citizen towards reducing the cases of bird strike on aircraft, Wg Cdr Pankaj Chopra told students that throwing garbage and other food items in open attracts a lot of birds, resulting in aircraft accidents. The students from Hawan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, and St Soldier School, Panchkula, were also given an overview about career opportunities in Air Force. Air Cmde Rajeev Sachdeva, Air Officer Commanding 12 Wing, interacted with schoolchildren and shared his views with them. A motivational film “Akash Yodha” was also screened and students were shown transport aircraft like IL-76, AN-32 and MI-26 helicopters along with two of the front line fighters Mig-29 and Mig-27. They were presented aircraft posters, notebook covers, pens, calendars, pocket calendars and key chains printed with aerospace safety awareness slogans.
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Student politics in PU has become highly politicised and vested interests from both within and outside the university has contributed to aggravating this issue. Dr Gauba suffered because of politics. He was beyond doubt a strict disciplinarian. But he also laid the foundation of this dental college. He deserved a more dignified exit. In any case, he was leaving after two months.
The teacher-student relation has been lost due to increasing communication gap. Problem in the dental college case occurred from all sides. An intern was expected to be properly dressed since she has to treat patients also and there is no excuse for not wearing proper dress. On the other hand, there is a manner in which teachers must correct a student and their style must be student-friendly. The role of parents is also under question. If the parents give an expression to the child that they have bought the teachers by giving fee for a professional course, which runs into lakhs of rupees, then they have damaged the relation between the student and teacher badly.
Protests or hunger strikes are not the right means to resolve issues. One after another, teachers would now be targeted like this. On several occasions it is the internal politics of the institute, which triggers such incidents. If the students remove one teacher and are still not satisfied with the next teacher, what will they do? The student leaders must also behave responsibly. It is unfair if undue power is given to certain student leaders. Anyone who replaces Dr Gauba would now be sceptical to impose discipline in college.
Dr Gauba exited with grace. A teacher is just like a parent and the manner in which the students went on strike was uncalled for. If the teacher said anything, it was for student’s benefit. Pressure created by student leaders was also unfair. The intention behind the teacher’s objection to intern’s dress was not wrong. 
Instead of the dharnas that student leaders opt for, such incidents actually call for a more intense debate. You don’t want to get treated by a doctor who is wearing a week old dress or clothes that are not suitable to their job. Tomorrow even Army men could say they want to fight a war in jeans. Fashion could be for the outside world. But when it comes to medical profession, discipline is a must. Agitations could follow in any other PU department next or even at the National Defence Academy. 
I am surprised at the decision taken by the PU Syndicate (to accept Dr Gauba’s request). It is just like playing with the future of dental college students. In fact, the Syndics should have been more concerned on how their decision would affect the reputation of the dental college if Dr Gauba were to exit like this. He should not have been allowed to go back to the
PGI. He made a significant contribution in setting up the university’s dental college and had been working towards its affiliation. Any teacher-doctor would now be fearful to replace him or to try to bring about discipline. It is a known fact that there is a serious shortage of competent doctor-teachers. On the dress issue, interns in all dental colleges are supposed to wear decent clothes since they have to attend patients. 
The dental college issue got so entangled and was taken to such extreme that it is beyond comprehension why such a situation had arisen in the first place. At times we do scold students. But why did this issue become so big? Nobody could really figure out. During my interaction with Dr
Gauba, he had expressed his willingness for repatriation to the PGI much before this episode since his term was coming to an end. But such an exit was uncalled for. To establish a medial college is a tough job and he did it. 
The issue could have been handled in a better way. I sense politics behind the fact that such a small issue was taken to such an extreme. If at all it was a matter of the girl’s dignity, why did her father exaggerate the whole thing and use words in his complaint that her daughter later testified were not used at all. In resolving such an issue, the dignified position of a teacher must have been kept in mind. 
The value-based system has changed now in the educational set up. The impact of what happened in Panjab University could also be on society at large. Often such problems occur due to a communication gap between teachers and students. The teacher-student relationship also gets affected because of such incidents. 
Whatever happened in the dental college issue was unfortunate. Neither is there any need for over-discipline by teachers nor should the student leaders politicise such issues.
If you see past incidents, the teachers are never held guilty for anything. In this case, much hype was created. The end result of the case was positive. 
If the teachers start behaving in this manner, then there is not much option for students but to protest and go on hunger strike.
The issue should not have worsened. It could have been handled in a better way. It got dragged unnecessarily. 
For the first two days I felt that the demands of students were genuine. But when I saw the protest taking a political turn and even university officials were doing politics on the issue, I felt sorry about the whole situation. 
It is just vote bank politics that caused student leaders to exaggerate the dental college issue. Nobody knows what exactly happened that day. 
It is unfair to point to any teacher’s character. There could have been a more intensive inquiry into the whole case. But the final result of the dental college case was good.
The dental college issue eventually took a political turn. Teachers can also be at fault on certain occasions. It is not that students are at fault always. 
The dental college matter could have been resolved in a better way. But the role of student leaders could have been more constructive. They continued to take political mileage out of the dental college issue. 
