SPECIAL COVERAGE
CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI
JALANDHAR



THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

Every Tuesday & Friday

Record turnout in Ratia bypoll
Ratia, December 1
Heavy turnout of voters in the Ratia Assembly bypoll has come as a surprise to the people here. Although, being a byelection, it was expected of the voters to turn up in large numbers on the day of polling, the manner in which polling has broken all the previous records has amazed the people.

Four lakh apply for sports, physical aptitude test
Chandigarh, December 1
As many as four lakh students in the age group of 8 to 19 years have applied on-line for the sports and physical aptitude test (SPAT)-2012 in Haryana. According to a spokesperson of the Sports and Youth Affairs Department, the first stage test of the students had already been conducted at the school level from November 8 to November 25.

Anti-encroachment drive held
Faridabad, December 1
In an anti-encroachment drive, the police removed encroachments in the entire Old Faridabad Market and half of the market in NIT-1. The drive is first-of-its-kind after the new Police Commissioner SS Kapoor took charge.


EARLIER EDITIONS



Wheat sown on 22 lakh hectares so far
Chandigarh, December 1
Wheat crop in Haryana has so far been sown over an area of 22.10 lakh hectares against the target of 25 lakh hectares fixed for rabi 2011-12. According to sources in the Agriculture Department, wheat sowing in the state was still under progress and it was expected to achieve the target of 25 lakh hectares during the current rabi season.

Now, homeless to get ration cards
Gurgaon, December 1
Now, homeless people in the district will also get ration cards so that they can avail the benefits of various welfare schemes run by the Central and state governments. Directions to this effect were issued by Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena while addressing a meeting of district administrative officials at his office recently.

State emerges as exporter of kinnow
Chandigarh, December 1
Haryana has emerged as an exporter of kinnow, a citrus fruit. Kinnows worth over Rs 5.80 crore have been exported from Sirsa district alone to countries like the UK, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the last three seasons. According to an official spokesperson, Sirsa was the leading kinnow growing district of the state. Kinnow orchards in the district had been planted over 19,400 acres.

Campaign fever
Less expenditure criterion by EC puts check on fun element
Adampur/Ratia, December 1
Campaigning for two byelections in Adampur and Ratia passed off with little less colour, din and hardly any luster. It drove home the point that gone are the days when strings of party flags dotted streets and were waved atop homes proclaiming affiliations, when blaring loudspeakers blared throughout the day and cavalcades criss-crosed the towns whipping up support and clouds of dust.

Panipat doc to conduct renal workshop in Sri Lanka
Panipat, December 1
The management of Sri Lankan hospitals has invited Dr Pawan Gupta, a resident of Panipat city and a known urologist, to conduct a two-day retrograde intra renal surgery (RIRS) workshop which has been scheduled to be held in collaboration with the College of Urologist Surgeons on December 9 and 10.

Stray cattle add to chaos
Kaithal, December 1
Herds of stray animals on town roads have become a security hazard during the night and a big nuisance during the day. Besides spreading filth, bull fights have become routine and dangerous. Neither the Municipal Council nor the Administration has taken any action to check the menace.

Stray animals on the busy New Karnal road in Kaithal. Photo by writer

Stray animals on the busy New Karnal road in Kaithal

Sri Lanka-India Friendship Meet
Lankan artistes leave audience spellbound
Kurukshetra, December 1
The enchanting folk dances of Sri Lanka and the additional flavour of Haryanavi artistes made the evening memorable on the occasion of Inter-Cultural Exchange of Sri Lanka-India Friendship Meet organised at the Open Air Theatre of the Multi Art Cultural Centre (MACC), Kurukshetra, here recently.

Sri Lankan artistes present a folk dance on the occasion of the Inter-Cultural Exchange of the Sri Lanka-India Friendship Meet in Kurukshetra
Sri Lankan artistes present a folk dance on the occasion of the Inter-Cultural Exchange of the Sri Lanka-India Friendship Meet in Kurukshetra. Photo by writer

Sri Lankan delegation visits Sonepat varsity
Sonepat, December 1
A 24-member delegation from Sri Lanka, comprising of faculty members and students from various educational institutions, came to BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan, on a one-day visit recently.
Dr Pankaj Mittal, Vice-Chancellor of BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan, and faculty members greet the members of the Sri Lankan delegation on the university premises. Photo by writer

Dr Pankaj Mittal, Vice-Chancellor of BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan, and faculty members greet the members of the Sri Lankan delegation on the university premises

Yamunanagar college holds seminar on Bernard Shaw
Yamunanagar, December 1
A national seminar on “Reinterpreting Bernard Shaw - A postmodern scrutiny” was organised by the English Department of Hindu Girls College here recently. It was inaugurated by Prof Bhim S Dahiya, former Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University. Speaking on the occasion, Dahiya said, “There is a pressing need to have a fresh look at Shaw and seek contemporary relevance of his works.

Dr Satyavir Singh gets Ben-Gurion Award in horticulture
Chandigarh, December 1
Dr Satyavir Singh, Director-General of Horticulture, Haryana, has been conferred with the prestigious Ben-Gurion Award for 2011 in recognition of his contribution in the field of horticulture.

Dr Satyavir Singh (left), Director-General of Horticulture, Haryana, receives the Ben-Gurion Award from Alon Ushpiz, Ambassador of Israel, in Delhi.

Dr Satyavir Singh (left), Director-General of Horticulture, Haryana, receives the Ben-Gurion Award from Alon Ushpiz, Ambassador of Israel, in Delhi

Seminar on ethics in science and technology held
Kurukshetra, December 1
“Let us keep in mind that the history of the world civilisations shows that societies have risen to a higher level not through mechanical or technological efficiencies but by practicing sound moral and ethical values”.

IBM - The Great Mind Challenge
NIT among top 20 teams
Kurukshetra, December 1
A team named “Apxicos” comprising four students of MCA, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, under the guidance of Dr Mayank Dave, associate professor and head of the MCA Department, has been declared in top 20 teams in IBM - The Great Mind Challenge (TGMC) - 2010, a nationwide software development contest conducted by the academic initiative team of the IBM recently.

Gul Panag receives the Artistes for Change, Karmaveer Puraskaar (Mainstream Actress) from Mark Parkinson, director of The Shri Ram School, during an award function in Gurgaon
Gul Panag receives the Artistes for Change, Karmaveer Puraskaar (Mainstream Actress) from Mark Parkinson, director of The Shri Ram School, during an award function in Gurgaon. Tribune photo: Sayeed Ahmed

Help build better Gurgaon, MDI students urged
Gurgaon, December 1
Dr Praveen Kumar, Gurgaon HUDA Administrator, has exhorted the students of the Management Development Institute (MDI) here to come up with fresh ideas for rebuilding Gurgaon city which faced various nagging problems.

Shahabad college holds blood donation camp
Kurukshetra, December 1
A blood donation camp was organised by Markanda National College, Shahabad-Markanda, with the help of Punjab National Bank, MN College Branch, here recently. The camp was inaugurated by Shiv Kumar Aggarwal, manager, Punjab National Bank, MN College Branch.

Nokia hold campus recruitment
Panipat, December 1
A campus recruitment drive was organised by Nokia at the NC and SD Group of Institutions, in which final-year students of CSE, IT and MCA participated. The drive was conducted in three stages, which started with PPT (pre-placement talk) followed by a written test in which 298 students participated, out of which 72 students were found to be eligible for the next round of group discussion.

Movies This Week
The Dirty Picture
Directed by: Milan Luthria
Ekta Kapoor and Milan Luthria team up once again after “Once Upon A Time In Mumbai” in this film based on the life of the late South Indian actress Silk Smitha.
“The Dirty Picture” stars Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Tusshar Kapoor and Emraan Hashmi in lead roles.
A still from “The Dirty Picture” Mika Singh in “I Am Singh”
(Left) A still from “The Dirty Picture”; and Mika Singh in “I Am Singh”

Breast cancer awareness drive held
Ambala, December 1
The NSS Unit and the Red Cross Society of MDSD Girls College, Ambala City, organised a breast cancer awareness drive in collaboration with Rani Breast Cancer Trust from Chandigarh.

Major surgery performed
Ambala, December 1
In a major surgery conducted by Dr Duke Jaspal, a laparoscopic surgeon, 30-mm single piece stone was removed from the kidney of Punjabi singer, Satish Rana (28). Talking to The Tribune, Dr Duke said a laproscopic procedure was done for the first time in the North.

Students of JK Business School participate in a sack race Students during a 'matka race' during the Annual Sports Day Function in Bhoodsi
Balancing Act: (Top) Students of JK Business School participate in a sack race; and students during a 'matka race' during the Annual Sports Day Function in Bhoodsi, Gurgaon. Tribune photos: Sayeed Ahmed





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Record turnout in Ratia bypoll
Tribune News Service

Ratia, December 1
Heavy turnout of voters in the Ratia Assembly bypoll has come as a surprise to the people here. Although, being a byelection, it was expected of the voters to turn up in large numbers on the day of polling, the manner in which polling has broken all the previous records has amazed the people.

Nearly 82 per cent of the 1.76 lakh voters exercised their franchise in the November 30 bypoll, which is a record.

The previous record of 77.99 per cent was set in the last elections in 2009, when Gian Chand Odh of the INLD defeated Jarnail Singh of the Congress to win the seat.

Ratia witnessed its minimum polling of 54.92 per cent in the very first election held here after the constituency was carved out in 1977.

As many as 63.80 per cent voters exercised their franchise in the 1982 elections when Neki Ram of the Congress won this seat by a slander margin of less than 200 votes. That was the only time when the Congress won the Ratia seat.

Voters turned out in a large number in 1987, when riding on the Devi Lal wave, Atma Singh Gill of the Lok Dal won this seat. The poll percentage on that occasion was 74.73 per cent.

In the 1991 election, 65.81 per cent voters cast their vote to elect Peer Chand of the Haryana Vikas Party.

The Haryana Vikas Party won this seat again in 1996, though this time the candidate was Ram Swaroop Rama and 76.27 per cent voters turned up.

The poll percentage was 70.77 per cent in 2000 and 76.09 per cent in 2005 and the seat went to the INLD on both occasions, though the candidates were different - Jarnail Singh 2000 and Gian Chand Odh in 2005.

However, the two occasions in 1987 and 1996, when the poll percentage has been much higher than the preceding election, people have voted for a change.

Initial trends reveal that polling has been nearly 90 per cent in some villages.

The fact that farmers are relatively free during this part of the year may be one of the reasons behind the heavy turnout.

But how this extraordinary heavy turnout will behave is anybody’s guess. All eyes are on December 4, when votes will be counted.

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Four lakh apply for sports, physical aptitude test
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 1
As many as four lakh students in the age group of 8 to 19 years have applied on-line for the sports and physical aptitude test (SPAT)-2012 in Haryana. According to a spokesperson of the Sports and Youth Affairs Department, the first stage test of the students had already been conducted at the school level from November 8 to November 25.

About two lakh students had successfully qualified this test. The second stage test of the selected students would be conducted at all district headquarters from December 6 to December 15.

The final round of SPAT would be conducted from January 20 to January 25 and 5,000 children getting more than 75 per cent marks would be selected. The selected children in the age group of 8 to 14 years would be given a monthly scholarship of Rs 1,500 and those in the age group of 15 to 19 years Rs 2,000. The state government has earmarked Rs 10 crore for this purpose.

A workshop on the second phase of SPAT was organised at the State Sports Complex, Faridabad, on November 30, which was attended by sports officers, coaches, PTIs, DPIs and other officials. The officers and officials affiliated to SPAT were given guidelines to conduct its second stage successfully.

Sports Minister Sukhbir Kataria has directed the officers of the department to conduct the second stage of SPAT in a fair and transparent manner so that the hidden sports talent of the rural areas could be identified and benefited.

Addressing the participants of the workshop, OP Singh, director, Sports, gave guidelines to the officers and officials for the successful conduct of the second stage of SPAT through multimedia presentation.

Impressed with this programme, sports departments of other states are contacting the Haryana Sports and Youth Affairs Department, for the implementation of such kind of programme in their states.

Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Ajay Maken also praised the SPAT programme of Haryana at a conference of the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministers of the states and the Union Territories held recently in Delhi.

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Anti-encroachment drive held

Faridabad, December 1
In an anti-encroachment drive, the police removed encroachments in the entire Old Faridabad Market and half of the market in NIT-1. The drive is first-of-its-kind after the new Police Commissioner SS Kapoor took charge.

The police said such drives would be conducted more often now. The city has five NITs and each of them has a market. The markets in all NITs account for about 10,000 shops. The police has permitted the shopkeepers to utilise a maximum of 4ft area outside their shops. The anti-encroachment drive was launched in response to several complaints to the police from the public, including the Faridabad Vyapar Mandal. Recently, the mandal had sent a representation to the police commissioner informing him about the inconvenience faced by shoppers due to the lack of parking space and difficulty in movement. Jagdish Bhatia, president of the Vyapar Mandal, said: “People prefer to go to the nearby malls rather than congested markets which has resulted in a sizeable drop in business”. The shrinking passage caused security hazards, he added.

The encroachments were removed in the presence of the mandal office-bearers. The task was accomplished in the NIT-1 market within a few hours, without any protest. The encroachments were done either directly by the shopkeepers or they leased the space to vendors at rates ranging from Rs 15,000 to 20,000 per month. — TNS

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Wheat sown on 22 lakh hectares so far
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 1
Wheat crop in Haryana has so far been sown over an area of 22.10 lakh hectares against the target of 25 lakh hectares fixed for rabi 2011-12. According to sources in the Agriculture Department, wheat sowing in the state was still under progress and it was expected to achieve the target of 25 lakh hectares during the current rabi season.

Last year, wheat crop was sown over an area of 25.15 lakh hectares. The average area under wheat crop stands at 24.61 lakh hectares in the state.

The sources said: “Weather is cool and congenial for the favourable growth of wheat in the state. The production target of wheat for 2011-12 has been set at 118.35 lakh metric tonnes (MT) with increased per hectare productivity of 47.35 quintals against 116.30 lakh MT of wheat production with per hectare productivity of 46.24 quintals during last Rabi season”.

“The districts of Ambala and Panchkula will be specially focused as per hectare wheat productivity in these districts is less as compared to other districts, besides making efforts to increase wheat productivity in other districts as well,” they said.

Special campaigns and kisan melas were being launched in the state to increase per hectare productivity and production of wheat. Special attention would be paid on controlling any kind of disease to wheat, the sources added.

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Now, homeless to get ration cards
Govt teams to conduct surveys, get forms filled on the spot
Sunit Dhawan/TNS

Gurgaon, December 1
Now, homeless people in the district will also get ration cards so that they can avail the benefits of various welfare schemes run by the Central and state governments. Directions to this effect were issued by Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena while addressing a meeting of district administrative officials at his office recently.

Meena directed the officials concerned to prepare the ration cards of the homeless people promptly.

“The Central and the state governments run a number of schemes for poverty alleviation. The poor and homeless people are the most deserving ones, but they can get benefit of these schemes only if they have ration cards,” he said.

He also directed the district social welfare officer to get the homeless people fill the forms for pension or allowances as per the government schemes meant for them on the spot.

As per the directions, teams of officials headed by tehsildars and naib tehsildars concerned will conduct surprise surveys of the poor and homeless and they will be issued ration cards then and there after getting the formalities completed. The teams will also carry forms of schemes like old-age allowance, widow pension and orphan allowance and get these filled by the eligible persons. Random surveys of the homeless will be conducted after 6 pm.

City Magistrate KK Gupta said till now, 183 homeless families had been identified in the district.

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State emerges as exporter of kinnow
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 1
Haryana has emerged as an exporter of kinnow, a citrus fruit. Kinnows worth over Rs 5.80 crore have been exported from Sirsa district alone to countries like the UK, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the last three seasons.

According to an official spokesperson, Sirsa was the leading kinnow growing district of the state. Kinnow orchards in the district had been planted over 19,400 acres.

Kinnow grading plant of Abubshahar in Sirsa district has proved to be a boon for kinnow growers and kinnow export agencies of the district. During the last three seasons, kinnow growers and exporters of the district and the nearby areas got their kinnows graded from this plant and exported more than 2,500 tonnes of kinnow worth over Rs 5.80 crore to UK, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and metropolitan cities of south India, where farmers and agencies get two times more prices than the open market.

During the current season, grading target for kinnow has been set at 2,000 tonnes, keeping in view its production from kinnow orchards planted in the district.

The Abubshahar kinnow grading plant was made functional in 2008 and 500 tonnes of kinnow were graded by the plant in the first season. The plant graded 900 tonnes of kinnow in 2009 and 1,017 tonnes of kinnow in 2010, which was exported to various cities of the country and also foreign countries and thereby farmers earned an income of Rs 2.5 crore.

During first two seasons, the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board managed the plant. Its management has now been handed over to a private company, Messrs Moti Ram and Sons, from the last season. The plant charges nominal rates from the farmers for grading kinnows.

The kinnow grading machine of Abubshahar was the first-of-its-kind world-level electronic machine in the country, which ensures grading by size, by weight and colour. After grading of kinnows with this machine, farmers get about two times more prices of kinnow in the market.

Contract farming of kinnow has also been introduced in Sirsa district. The procurement agencies of Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and other cities were contracting with the local farmers for the purchase of kinnow and promoting new techniques in its production. The production of kinnow was likely to be more than 2,500 tonnes this year thanks to better management and new techniques.

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Campaign fever
Less expenditure criterion by EC puts check on fun element
Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

Adampur/Ratia, December 1
Campaigning for two byelections in Adampur and Ratia passed off with little less colour, din and hardly any luster. It drove home the point that gone are the days when strings of party flags dotted streets and were waved atop homes proclaiming affiliations, when blaring loudspeakers blared throughout the day and cavalcades criss-crosed the towns whipping up support and clouds of dust.

Leaders of all shades and sizes smiled down from hoardings whichever way you looked.

That is history now. With the Election Commission not only restricting the budget for fighting an election but also keeping an eye on the slightest expenditure incurred for the battle of the ballot, the candidates were overcautious about exceeding the Rs 15-lakh limit set for the assembly bypoll.

As candidates went about canvassing, they watched out their budgets which probably explained the shrinking size of the candidates’ entourage as also the fewer number of hoardings and greater emphasis on door-to-door campaigning.

Asked why not many women were a part of her campaign team, HJC-BJP candidate from Adampur, Renuka Bishnoi, said that the number of vehicles had to be restricted since two duty magistrates were trailing them all over the constituency to keep a record of the expenditure.

While Congress candidate Kulbir Beniwal had fewer hoardings in the constituency, the Indian Nationa Lok Dal’s Ram Singh Baswana entourage had lesser vehicles.

In Ratia too, the district administration kept a tab on the expenditure of all the candidates. The Deputy Commissioner, Fatehabad, ML Kaushik, said that four teams were constitiued to take note of every little detail of election-related expenditure.

“We served notice to the candidates for any extra vehicles plying to canvass for them. You can imagine the sensitivity of the poll given the fact that we recorded 82 percent polling,” he said.

Everyday the account monitoring cell prepared the expenditure for the day while every event was captured by the videography surveillance team. They handed over CDs of the recording to the video viewing team which examined them. Any aberration in the expenditure list shown by the candidate was cross-checked with him by showing him the recordings. We fixed rates for everything from rooms in ‘dharamshalas’ to average expenditure on food to arrive at the total tally,” he said.

While the Congress candidate, Jarnail Singh, is learnt to have touched the Rs 15-lakh mark, INLD’s Sarfi Bai spent nearly Rs 10 lakh on the election and the HJC-BJP candidate Mahavir Prasad has spent Rs 7-8 lakh.

Like many others, 52-year-old Lali singh of Rattangarh in Ratia, missed the ‘feel’ of elections. “Elections are no longer an entertaining affair. Earlier, people would leave whatever they were doing and set aside time for campaigning. Now, we are not needed for anything other than doing a door-to-door campaign in the village. The limiting of expenditure has taken the zing out of elections,” he said.

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Panipat doc to conduct renal workshop in Sri Lanka
Manish Sirhindi/TNS

Panipat, December 1
The management of Sri Lankan hospitals has invited Dr Pawan Gupta, a resident of Panipat city and a known urologist, to conduct a two-day retrograde intra renal surgery (RIRS) workshop which has been scheduled to be held in collaboration with the College of Urologist Surgeons on December 9 and 10.

Dr Gupta, who is the pioneer of flexible ureterorenoscopy in the country, has already carried out a three-year study in the field of laser and intracorporeal lithotripter for ureter, which was even published in J Endourol, a world-renowned journal on medical research.

With a wide range of topics covering every area of urology, the participants of the workshop would get most up-to-date information on advances of fundamental and clinical researches and challenges of urology. A large number of urologists of Sri Lanka are expected to take part in the event to get a first-hand experience about the latest techniques.

In 2006, Dr Pawan was invited by the Urological Society of India to demonstrate his experience on Flexible Ureterorenoscopy at its 39th Annual Conference held at Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, Varanasi.

He was invited to demonstrate the procedure of Flexible Ureterorenoscopy at PGI, Chandigarh, in April 2005. He again gave a live demonstration of Flexible Ureterorenoscopy in Srinagar in September 2005 during the XV Annual Conference of Northern Chapter of Urological Society of India. Besides, he also presented a paper at the EPS Global International Urological Surgery Forum that had converged in Lanzhou in China in August last year.

Dr Gupta also holds the distinction of being the first urologist in the world to conduct clinical trials on the smallest semirigid ureteroscope manufactured by Richard Wolf Gmbh, Germany. The results were published as “Initial Experience with a Prototype Ureteroscope” under the head “New Technologies in Endourology” in Journal of Endourology published from New York, US.

He also has the credit of organising India’s first workshop on Flexible Ureterorenoscopy at his clinic in 1998 under the aegis of the North Zone Chapter of Urological Society of India which was graced by international luminaries like Dr AJ Gross (Germany), Dr David Albala (US), Dr Mahesh Desai and Prof NP Gupta. He again organised the second workshop at his clinic here in April this year on retrograde intra renal surgery.

He even revolutionised the treatment of kidney stones in the state by the introduction of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy, PCNL and ureterorenoscopy with holmium YAG laser in 1990s.

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Stray cattle add to chaos
Satish Seth

Kaithal, December 1
Herds of stray animals on town roads have become a security hazard during the night and a big nuisance during the day. Besides spreading filth, bull fights have become routine and dangerous. Neither the Municipal Council nor the Administration has taken any action to check the menace. Despite repeated assurances given by the government, the problem continues to aggravate.

On the directions of the Deputy Commissioner, the Municipal Council had launched a drive to send stray cows to nearby ‘goshalas’ earlier.

The farmers also bear the brunt of stray animals getting into their fields and destroying their crops in the night. Some farmers pass sleepless nights to save their crops from their onslaught.

Some villagers leave their milch cattle in the morning to feed in the town and take them to their cow-sheds in the evening.

The city residents offer left-overs to the stray cattle which make them return to the streets time and again.

In the absence of any effective measures on the part of the MC and the Administration, there seems to be no solution in sight.

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Sri Lanka-India Friendship Meet
Lankan artistes leave audience spellbound
D.R. Vij

Kurukshetra, December 1
The enchanting folk dances of Sri Lanka and the additional flavour of Haryanavi artistes made the evening memorable on the occasion of Inter-Cultural Exchange of Sri Lanka-India Friendship Meet organised at the Open Air Theatre of the Multi Art Cultural Centre (MACC), Kurukshetra, here recently.

Ashok Bansal, CEO, Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB), was the chief guest and the show was presided over by deputy director-cum-in charge of the MACC Vishav Deepak Trikha.

“Sri Lanka and India are having a long cultural and heritage bond from the time immemorial and these ties will further get strengthened with the visit of Sri Lankan artistes to the land of Mahabharata,” said Bansal in his presidential speech.

He congratulated the authorities of the MACC for organising a memorable evening for the people of Kurukshetra. He also thanked Suresh Rathi, president, Haryana Yuva Shakti, on whose invitation the Sri Lankan artistes had come to India.

The night, rich in Sri Lankan folk and the Haryanvi flavour, was compared by Haryanvi singer Gajender Phogat. The programme which kept the audience spellbound for about two hours saw Sri Lankan artistes performing “Gajga Vannamma”, which was followed by “Wadiga Pattuna”, “Vais”, “Rabanna”, “Salupalia”, “Rudaka” and “Thalama” dances.

The highlight of the evening was a fire dance performed by Y Upeksha Sangamali and Aalawis. Artistes were given mementoes by the chief guest. JP Kamboj, XEN, B&R, DR Sirohiwal, DIPRO, PPS Pannu, chairman, NIFFA, Karnal, and various other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

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Sri Lankan delegation visits Sonepat varsity
BS Malik

Sonepat, December 1
A 24-member delegation from Sri Lanka, comprising of faculty members and students from various educational institutions, came to BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan, on a one-day visit recently.

The visit was a part of the Indo-Sri Lankan Friendship Venture and was organised by the NSS cell of the university. Sushma Joshi was the coordinator of the programme.

The team arrived on the campus where the NSS team and the faculty members of the university welcomed them.

Thereafter, the delegation met Pankaj Mittal, Vice-Chancellor of the university, who welcomed the delegation and said such events played a crucial role in fostering the spirit of friendship and trust between the two countries.

She said such programmes should be a regular feature of the educational system.

Her speech was followed by a cultural programme where students of the university and the members of the delegation gave performances reflecting the culture and life of their respective countries.

While the students of BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya gave performances on Indian dances and the life of Bhagat Phool Singh, the founder of the university, the delegates gave a delightful insight into their traditional dance forms and culture which was thoroughly enjoyed by more than 700 students present to witness the function.

Dr Kokila Malik, Dr Shrilekha, Ashish, Shakuntala Shastri and Krishna Rathi were among others who were present on the occasion.

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Yamunanagar college holds seminar on Bernard Shaw
Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, December 1
A national seminar on “Reinterpreting Bernard Shaw - A postmodern scrutiny” was organised by the English Department of Hindu Girls College here recently. It was inaugurated by Prof Bhim S Dahiya, former Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University. Speaking on the occasion, Dahiya said, “There is a pressing need to have a fresh look at Shaw and seek contemporary relevance of his works.

In our postmodern outlook, we need to reinterpret Shaw’s work to grasp its social relevance for our times”.

He said in the closing years of the 19th century, Shaw could raise his voice against actors and directors, journalists and moralists, who were out to either silence his voice or misinterpret his text.

He said Shaw’s progressive ideas about individuals and nations, women and evolutions, science and philosophy, which seemed to be ahead of his time, were more appealing to the postmodern mind.

“The seminar will help focus our attention on the postmodern element in Shaw and generate interest for new interpretations of his work. Shaw was not a mere thinker but a complete dramatist. He defined drama as an art of expressing ideas about life and how dramatic art is different from poetry and fiction,” Dahiya added.

The inaugural session was chaired by Prof AK Sharma from Central University of Jharkhand Brambe, Ranchi. Dr Angshuman Kar of Burdhwan University, West Bengal, released a book entitled “Tagore and the West Essays in Appreciation”.

Prof RN Bakshi, director, The English and Foreign Language University, Lucknow, gave his presentation in the session. He spoke about the use of dramatic speech, which was also correlated to the role of the participants and actors in spatio-temporal setting.

Dr Suman Panjeta, organising secretary of the seminar, presented the vote of thanks. The first technical session was chaired by Prof SL Paul, Kurukshetra University, in which Prof Tejinder Kaur, Punjabi University, Patiala, Dr Sucheta Pathania, University of Jammu and Dr Monika Sethi, University of Jammu, presented papers.

Prof Tejinder Kaur chaired the second technical session in which Prof SL Paul, Dr Ram Niwas, associate professor, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra and Dr Geeta Sharma, RKSD College, Kaithal, presented papers.

Dr Ujjwal Sharma, principal, Hindu Girls College, Dr Subhajit Sen Gupta, Krishannagar Government College, West Bengal, Dr Sucheta Pathania and Dr Monika Sethi chaired four parallel sessions.

In these sessions many delegates from various colleges and universities presented their papers, including Prof RN Bakshi, Anand Prakash (retd), professor, Delhi University, and Prof AK Sharma. Prof Anand Prakash chaired the third technical session in which Dr Angshuman Kar, Dr Subhajit Sen Gupta, Dr Ujjwal Sharma and Dr Gitanjali Mahendra presented their papers. The valedictory session was chaired by Dr Ujjwal Sharma.

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Dr Satyavir Singh gets Ben-Gurion Award in horticulture
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 1
Dr Satyavir Singh, Director-General of Horticulture, Haryana, has been conferred with the prestigious Ben-Gurion Award for 2011 in recognition of his contribution in the field of horticulture.

His name was selected by the jury of the Indo-Israel Friendship Association under the patronage of Ambassador of Israel in India Alon Ushpiz. He was the only person from the agriculture sector in the country to be selected for this award.

The award was conferred upon him by the Israeli Ambassador at a function organised at India International Centre, New Delhi, recently.

Satyavir had joined the Haryana Horticulture Department as its director on deputation from the Union government in 2006. After the completion of his tenure, he rejoined the Union government, but keeping in view his contribution to the department, the state government called him back as the director-general of the department. The Centre of Excellence for Vegetables and the Centre of Excellence for Fruits under the Indo-Israel project was his endeavour in addition to other activities of horticulture which are being followed in the country.

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Seminar on ethics in science and technology held
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, December 1
“Let us keep in mind that the history of the world civilisations shows that societies have risen to a higher level not through mechanical or technological efficiencies but by practicing sound moral and ethical values”.

This was stated by Padma Shri professor KL Chopra, former director, IIT, Kharagpur, and president, Society for Scientific Values, who was also the chief guest on the occasion, while inaugurating a one-day seminar on “ethics and value education in science and technology” organised by the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, on its premises here recently.

Prof Chopra also emphasised on nurturing ethical values among all the academic institutions, particularly in the areas of research. He said the centres for value education should be established in universities and academic institutions.

In his presidential address, Prof Anand Mohan, director, NIT, emphasised on the nurturing of ethical values at the level of elementary education.

Prof RC Sharma, Vice-Chancellor, Amity University, Gurgaon, who was also the guest of honour, enlightened the participants in the area of business ethics.

Renowned academicians like Prof Narender Nath, Prof PJ George, Prof SD Chamola and Prof DK Nauriyal also spoke on the occasion. Prof Rajender Kumar, Head of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, delivered the welcome address.

The faculty members and research scholars of the institute also participated in the seminar.

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IBM - The Great Mind Challenge
NIT among top 20 teams
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, December 1
A team named “Apxicos” comprising four students of MCA, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, under the guidance of Dr Mayank Dave, associate professor and head of the MCA Department, has been declared in top 20 teams in IBM - The Great Mind Challenge (TGMC) - 2010, a nationwide software development contest conducted by the academic initiative team of the IBM recently.

Dr Dixit Garg, Prof-in charge, Public Relations, NIT, said the team members were Sojo Joseph, Pallav Grover, Amit Yadav and Mohit Sapra.

He said as many as 34,070 teams from 1,642 colleges across the country participated in the contest.

In the felicitation ceremony held in New Delhi on November 15, the team from NIT, Kurukshetra, was given the award by Shankar Annaswamy, regional general manager, IBM, India.

Arun Menon, director, Software Group Marketing, IBM India Asia, was also present on the occasion.

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Help build better Gurgaon, MDI students urged
Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, December 1
Dr Praveen Kumar, Gurgaon HUDA Administrator, has exhorted the students of the Management Development Institute (MDI) here to come up with fresh ideas for rebuilding Gurgaon city which faced various nagging problems.

Speaking at an interactive session with the MDI students organised on the premises of the institute here recently, Dr Kumar said the difficulties faced by the residents in their day-to-day life could be mitigated only if some well-meaning residents came forward with practical and path-breaking ideas to manage the affairs of the city in a better way.

“It is in this context that I am urging you, some bright young minds, to assist the HUDA and other government officials in providing smooth and efficient administration,” he said.

The HUDA Administrator, who is a key government functionary in the district, candidly admitted that the residents of Gurgaon were facing multiple problems like water-logging, power shortage, bad roads, heavy traffic and poor sanitation and a lot was needed to be done to develop Gurgaon as a millennium city in real sense.

Asserting that the innovative ideas of the management students of the institute could go a long way in building a new and better Gurgaon, Dr Kumar asked them to freely put across their views and ideas on improving traffic management and other relevant issues.

The students of infrastructural development and financial management at the MDI have especially been asked to share their administrative plans with the HUDA authorities.

“We wish to rope in creative minds as well as youth to develop Gurgaon as an example of public-private partnership model,” he opined.

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Shahabad college holds blood donation camp
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, December 1
A blood donation camp was organised by Markanda National College, Shahabad-Markanda, with the help of Punjab National Bank, MN College Branch, here recently. The camp was inaugurated by Shiv Kumar Aggarwal, manager, Punjab National Bank, MN College Branch.

He complemented the students for coming forward to donate blood and said it was the supreme donation. Such camps inculcate the spirit of fellow-feeling, sacrifice and service among youth, he added.

Dr Vinay Malhotra, principal, Markanda National College, said the NSS, Youth Red Cross volunteers and NCC cadets donated blood, adding that three faculty members and two non-teaching staff members of the college also donated blood. As many as 54 units of blood were collected during the camp, he added.

Dr Sanjay, a staff member, has donated blood for 32 times, Prof Harpal has donated blood for eight times, Dr Jawahar, Prof Kajal and Prof Suresh have donated four times each.

A team from the Kurukshetra District Blood Bank and Red Cross, LNJP Hospital, Kurukshetra, led by Dr Puneet Kalra performed technical and paramedical work in the camp.

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Nokia hold campus recruitment
Tribune News Service

Panipat, December 1
A campus recruitment drive was organised by Nokia at the NC and SD Group of Institutions, in which final-year students of CSE, IT and MCA participated. The drive was conducted in three stages, which started with PPT (pre-placement talk) followed by a written test in which 298 students participated, out of which 72 students were found to be eligible for the next round of group discussion.

In group discussion, 29 students were selected for technical and personal interview round, out of which 12 students were selected at a package of Rs 3.20 per annum.

Vice-chairman ML Gupta while congratulating the selected students lauded the efforts put in by AN Mahereja and SD Singh, placement heads of the group. He said in coming days, more such companies were expected to visit the campus to hold placement drives.

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Movies This Week

The Dirty Picture

Directed by: Milan Luthria

Ekta Kapoor and Milan Luthria team up once again after “Once Upon A Time In Mumbai” in this film based on the life of the late South Indian actress Silk Smitha.

“The Dirty Picture” stars Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Tusshar Kapoor and Emraan Hashmi in lead roles.

Imagine a make-up girl who became an extra and then the most-wanted heroine of the early 80s. Chronicling the meteoric rise and steep fall of the erstwhile screen sensation, this film is set against the backdrop of South Indian film industry of the 80s. To the world, Silk Smitha was the queen of sensuality. But at heart, she was just another woman yearning for love. Vidya plays the lead role of sexy siren.

The film will hit the screens today at Minerva- Ambala, BMG-Rewari, Sheila, Bangar (Rohtak), Fun Cinemax (Panipat), KC, Fame Shalimar (Panchkula), Big Cinema, PVR Ambience, PVR MGF, PVR Sahara, SRS Celebration, SRS Omaxe, DTCC, DTMM (Gurgaon), PVR Crown Plaza, SRS CC, SRS Pristine, SRS Eldeco, SRS Shubham, INOX, Q Cinema (Faridabad), Movie Time-Karnal.

I Am Singh

Directed by: Puneet Issar

Puneet Issar is back with his second much-awaited movie “I Am Singh” based on real-life incidents after Salman Khan-starrer “Garv”.

“I Am Singh” is a film about Sikhs living in the US for generations and the hardships they had to go through after the 9/11 attack.

“I Am Singh” is a four-year research of script writer Puneet Issar who has come up with a powerful drama. He has also incorporated his own experiences in this film.

Gulzar Chahal and Tulip Joshi play lead roles in this film which opens today at Everest-Rewari, Minerva, Fun (Ambala), Harsha, Movie Time (Karnal), Glitz-Kurukshetra, Dimple Cineplex-Jagadhri, Satyam, Bangar Multiplex (Rohtak), PVR MGF, PVR Sahara, PVR Ambience, SRS Omaxe, SRS Wedding, DTCC, DTMM, DT Star Mall (Gurgaon), Fame Shalimar-Panchkula.

— Dharam Pal 

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Breast cancer awareness drive held
Our Correspondent

Ambala, December 1
The NSS Unit and the Red Cross Society of MDSD Girls College, Ambala City, organised a breast cancer awareness drive in collaboration with Rani Breast Cancer Trust from Chandigarh.

Bittu Saffine Sandhu of the NGO delivered a lecture on breast cancer awareness. She made it clear that if detected well in time, the disease could not be fatal. Many alarming facts were told and factors increasing the risk of cancer were numerated.

The students were sensitised about this commonly “urban” disease. About one lakh women are diagnosed every year with this disease and, thus, counselling is very important.

Sandu said the NGO also gave financial aid to the needy. Dr Kiran Angra, principal of the college, asked the students to make the best use of the knowledge in spreading awareness against the disease.

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Major surgery performed
Tribune News Service

Ambala, December 1
In a major surgery conducted by Dr Duke Jaspal, a laparoscopic surgeon, 30-mm single piece stone was removed from the kidney of Punjabi singer, Satish Rana (28). Talking to The Tribune, Dr Duke said a laproscopic procedure was done for the first time in the North.

“Laproscopic method is used when a kidney stone is too big. There is minimal chance of damage to skin or internal organs because biologic tissues are resilient, and not brittle,” he said. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) associated with a kidney stone often require urgent assessment and may need a urologist’s help to remove the stone, Dr Duke added.

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