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UT babus don't own property in city
Chandigarh, May 2 A perusal of the property details submitted by the IAS officers revealed that some officers have properties in areas where their families belong to. For instance, UT Adviser KK Sharma has an ancestral property in his wife’s name in Goa. His in-laws are from Goa. Similarly, Director (IT) and SDM (East) Tanvi Garg has an ancestral home in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Praderh in her father’s name. ADC Parshuram V Kavle, who belongs to Maharashtra, has properties in his parent’s name in Navi Mumbai and Pune. A majority of the officials have properties in Noida, Gurgaon and Mullanpur. In Noida, Adviser KK Sharma, CHB Chairman Satya Gopal and Finance Secretary VK Singh have bought plots and flats. Similarly in Gurgaon, officials, including Home Secretary Anil Kumar, Finance Secretary VK Singh and DC Mohammed Shayin, have bought properties. In Mohali, especially in Mullanpur, many IAS officials have plots in the Punjab IAS/PCS Cooperative Housing Society, including MC Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh, DC Mohammed Shayin and CITCO MD DK Tiwari. Officials have purchased these properties either from their savings or after obtaining loans from banks. Special Secretary (Finance) Ajoy Sharma has submitted mentioned "nil" in the details but has stated that his IAS wife had applied for a plot in the IAS/PCS Officers Society in
Mohali. Officers' properties
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Salman mobbed by fans at mall, hurt
Chandigarh, May 2 The "Dabangg" star condemned the Chandigarh Police for its poor security arrangements as he almost fell while entering the car in the parking lot in the basement. The actor lost his balance as a fan held his arm, following him up to the parking lot when he left the
venue.
Blame it on the organisers or the security staff, there was a near stampede as soon as the star entered the area. In a bid to control the situation, the anchor asked Salman Khan to respond to the large number of fans who had turned up to have a glimpse of the star. Fans and mediapersons rushed towards him, forcing Salman to leave the microphone and "run" inside the store. He was not even spared when he entered the Being Human store to inaugurate it. Annoyed, Salman and his bodyguard Shera left the area within five minutes. Salman was literally held by both his arms by senior police officials with mediapersons surrounding him. The near stampede resulted in a major scuffle between mediapersons and the actor's bouncers.
Salman's charm draws women constables
Salman's charm drew all women constables inside the showroom, leaving men constables to handle the fans outside. The SHO of the Industrial Area police station, Narinder Patial, faced embarrassment when a woman ridiculed him for pushing her away.
Decorative light almost gave way
A tall decorative light almost gave way and was about to fall on the fans and mediapersons during the actor's visit. One of the organisers noticed it and held the light pole and saved it from falling.
Three cellphones lost
Three people lodged complaints in the Industrial Area police station that they lost their cellphones during the launch of the showroom by Salman.
Bouncers thrash reporter
Two bouncers thrashed a reporter as the latter tried to enter a showroom to meet Salman. The organisers came in for criticism as the bouncers pushed away the crowd and thrashed those standing in the front.
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56,606 traffic violators challaned this year
A total of 4,236 vehicles have been impounded this year. Challans have been issued for offences like driving without wearing the seat belt, wrong side turn/driving, jumping the red light, overspeeding, high beam and driving by minors.
Thirty-nine persons have lost their lives in road accidents till April this year. The UT traffic police has claimed that the number of road accidents has come down from 53 during the corresponding period last
year.
The maximum number of challans (10,793) have been issued for riding without wearing a helmet followed by those for the jumping the red light (10,552). A total of 1,673 challans have been issued for drunk driving.
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Army commemorates mechanisation of cavalry
Chandigarh, May 2 As part of the commemorations, a social get-together was organised at the Kheterpal Officers Institute last evening. It was attended by a large number of serving and retired officers of the regiment as well as senior officers from Western Command. From a humble beginning of Vickers light tanks and Chevrolet armoured cars, the Army became better equipped post-Independence with the coming in of Centurion Mk-7 and AMX-13 light tanks. Since then, the armoured corps has operated the indigenous Vijayanta and Arjun tanks, the Russian series of T-54, T-55, T-72 and the state-of-the-art T-90 tanks. With the combination of forces and armoured vehicles, the Army was able to register a first rate performance in the 1965 Indo-Pak War. Equipped mainly with Shermans and Centurions, the Army was successful in destroying the sophisticated Pakistani Patton tanks, resulting in what is known as the famous graveyard, “Patton Nagar”, near Khemkaran in Punjab. Lt-Col (later Gen) AS Vaidya and Col Caleb were awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) for gallantary in the Khemkaran Sector. Lt-Col AB Tarapore was posthumously honoured with the Param Vir Chakra (PVC) for his action against the Pakistanis in the Shakaragarh Bulge in the 1965 war. In the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the corps was in the forefront of operations. Second Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal was awarded the PVC for gallantry in the Battle of Basantar. Today the corps boasts of a number of gallantry awards, including two PVCs, 16 MVC, 24 Vir Chakras and eight Shaurya Chakras.
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Kits distributed among students
Chandigarh, May 2 The SJSRY is a scheme sponsored by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, which is initiated for the urban poor families. Vivek Trivedi, social development officer, State Urban Poverty Alleviation Cell, Municipal Corporation, in the presence of Gurmeet Singh, managing director, GCS Computers, gave away the kits to beneficiaries. Vivek Trivedi, social development officer, State Urban Poverty Alleviation Cell, Municipal Corporation, said the objective of this scheme was to address urban poverty alleviation through gainful employment to the urban unemployed poor youth by encouraging them to set up self-employment ventures. This scheme was launched by the Government of India in 1997, which has benefited lakhs of poor youth across the country. GCS Computers is imparting computer education free of cost to 55 urban poor youth in a three-month-long course. The course would be duly certified by the Chandigarh Administration, which includes the basis knowledge of computing ranging from MS Office, networking, accounting with tally soft skill training. Gurmeet Singh, managing director, GCS Computers, said: “The training will help skill development and the programmes will enable the urban poor to gain employment.”
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PG definition invites objections
Chandigarh, May 2 Advocate Jagga submitted that the new PG definition would be misused, as people will start hiring such accommodations for a day or two. He requested the Administration to review its decision in the larger interest of public, law and order. A letter sent by the Finance Department of the UT Administration to the Estate Official on April 23 defining the PG term, reads, "A paying guest is a person such as a student of any class or course or an employee, government or private, or a professional, who is allowed to use a part of a residential premises, either individually or jointly, by its owner or occupier for shelter, with or without food, for a certain period of time, on a payment basis or otherwise, but not allowed to run his or her kitchen (as the common kitchen for all paying guests in the same premises is run by its owner or occupier like in school or college hostels)." "A paying guest does not mean a tenant or a sub-tenant in a hotel, dharamshala, inn or a similar premises and he or she can be asked to leave the residential premises by its owner or occupier at any time without giving a notice," the letter states.
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Yoga session spells out meditation methods
Chandigarh, May 2 Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, IAS, Director Higher Education, Chandigarh Administration was guest of honour. Dr Harsh Batra, Principal, welcomed the guests. The rationale behind the drive was shared with the audience by Jasvir Kaur Chahal, programme co-ordinator. Swami Chidananda, a former Acharaya at Chinmaya Mission and Director Rural Centre, Krishnamurti Foundation, Varanasi, during the drive, delivered an inaugural discourse on Vedanta and Yoga: The Vision of Transformation. Quoting extensively from Vedanta, Upanishads and ancient texts, he blended the meanings of Vedanta and Yoga. He clarified that though outwards Vedanta appears to be an intellectual exercise, it remains unaccomplished without a healthy body. He said yoga though outwardly appears to a commoner to be a physical exercise only but the state of perfect yoga remains elusive to a person who is not inwardly drawn. The state of ‘sachidananda’, the blissful joy, he told the audience can be attained only through the perfect blend of the intellectual and the physical leading to a state of self discovery. He advised the listeners that the answer to question as to ‘who am I?’ needs to be addressed by each individual in order to finish the quest of happiness. Two Sessions were conducted were conducted by Dr GD Sharma, Head of the Department, Yogic Science, Patanjali Yoga Vidyapeeth, Haridwar and Acharya Balvinder, the Popular Yoga Teacher. Other two sessions on different types of Meditation were conducted by Dr. Manisha form Brahmarishi Bawra Trust Pinjore and Dr. Seema Chopra a Spiritual Leader from Brahmakumari Sect.
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Railway projects hanging fire; UT admn blamed
Chandigarh, May 2 At the meeting, the Divisional Railway Manager said the administration should provide them with revised plans of road-widening projects so that the Railways could allot them the required land. Sources said after chalking out the project plans, the administration would request the Railways to spare some land for it, against which the authorities would allot an alternative site to the Railways. The administration requires land for a six-lane road project. Another project, which has been hanging fire for a long time, is the construction an underpass at Mani Majra (level crossing no. 126). Sangi pointed out the administration had not given its consent to the underpass project yet. The administration was apprised that work on an underpass near Daria was almost complete, but the administration had not commenced work to construct an approach road. The UT Adviser informed the railway officials that the contract for the construction of the approach road had been awarded to a contractor but owing to the delay in the shifting of sewers and water pipelines, the work couldn't be started.
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Special train to tackle summer rush
Chandigarh, May 2 Taking into cognisance the sale of tickets which has touched a figure of above 110 in two trains, including Shivalik express and Himalayan queen, which are plying on this route the authorities have decided to add another train from Kalka. The special train number 52451 will ply at 6:30 am from Kalka and reach Shimla at 12:10 pm, while the train number 52452 will start from Shimla at 3:50 pm and reach the Kalka at 9:10 pm. The railway senior divisional commercial manager, Gulshan revealed that the department had decided to add this special train on the basis of the demand of the passengers. He said that such special trains were added to the time table to meet the needs of the commuters. Revealing the fact that earlier the authorities were planning to commence this train from May 10, but keeping in view the waiting time of the Shivalik express and Himalayan queen, he said that the plying of the train pre-ponded by the authorities.
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High drama at traffic barricade
Chandigarh, May 2 The police said the traffic barricade was set up near PEC in Sector 11 at about 3 pm. A youth, Kamal, who was riding a motorcycle without helmet, was signalled by the traffic constable to stop. Constable Yashpal picked up his baton to signal the youngster to stop. According to the police, the youth thought the constable was about to hit him, and in that confusion the youngster’s bike skidded. Kamal and his sister-in-law, who was riding pillion, fell on the ground and suffered bruises. Bhupinder, Kamal’s father, who was waiting for him, saw his son lying on the road. Bhupinder rushed towards his son and then allegedly slapped the constable and hit him in the eye. High drama prevailed at the spot as a crowd gathered there. Bhupinder alleged that his son Kamal was, in fact, hit by the constable while the police denied that the constable had beaten him up. The police has booked Bhupinder in a case of assault on a public servant.
— TNS
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Rural polls: Mohali BJP severs ties with SAD
Mohali, May 2 He said he had apprised the party high command of their decision, which was taken at a meeting of the core committee of the district BJP held today. Goldy said they had asked for three Zila Parishad and 15 Block Samiti seats according to the arrangement the BJP had with the SAD in 2008. “But, we felt that we were being kept in the dark by them (SAD), so we took this step,” said Goldy. He said a meeting of all the mandal presidents would be held tomorrow where candidates’ names would be
finalised.
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Community Centre
Mohali, May 2 There is an unrestricted access to the building. Besides, many windowpanes are shattered, toilet seats, sinks and urinals have been damaged, tube lights, switchboards, ceiling fans, taps and even metallic manhole covers are missing. Former councillor Rajinder Sharma said people had no problem when the Community Centre was occupied by the police. But ever since the building had been vacated, it had become a hideout of addicts and criminal elements.
— OC
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Pensioners knock at CAT doors
Chandigarh, May 2 "It is a high time that the Govt re-fixes the pension correctly from 1-1-2006 as per directive of CAT and reconfirmed by Delhi High Court without any further delay and let not the obduracy of bureaucracy come in the way of belated justice. Subjecting the aged Senior Citizens to any further unwarranted litigation in the evening of their life is not only a wasteful expenditure of government and harassment to pensioners but also in blatant violation of the National Litigation Policy," said NP Mohan, Chief Engineer (retd) , Railways.
— TNS
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Student falls off school building, hurt
Panchkula, May 2 According to the police report, the incident occurred during the lunch break while she was waiting for her friend outside her classroom. The primarily inquiry revealed that she fell on a muddy surface. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where the doctors advised to keep her under supervision for the next four weeks. In her statement to the police, the girl, a resident of Zirakpur, denied any foul play behind the
incident.
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RTE act Vivek Gupta Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 2 Acting on the recommendation of a three-member high-level committee, the UT has notified Rs 825 and Rs 865 per month per child for 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively. The calculation for 2012-13 session is under process and the per child reimbursement rate for that year is expected soon. As per the information, no payment has been released so far by the Education Department to any private school for providing free and compulsory education to the poor children under the RTE Act. The notification has removed all legal hurdles and the payment will be released soon. A senior official said the department had already acquired the data of the past three academic sessions of the students admitted under the Act in schools. On the basis of it, the schools will start getting the reimbursement. For future, he said, the department would form a system to release the payment whether on a monthly or quarterly basis. According to officials, the UT is one of the few states to notify per child reimbursement and it would be a vital step to implement the Act in its true spirit in Chandigarh. The Education Department has clarified that the private schools, which were given land at concessional rates, would be reimbursed to the extent of 10 per cent of the seats only, since they all are already under obligation to fill 15 per cent of their seats from EWS students as part of the land allotment agreement, renewed in 2005. The confusion is looming large over the applicability of the provisions of the land allotment agreement in several schools, including minority schools, for which a meeting was scheduled today. However, it was deferred for further date, which is yet to be decided.
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Earth Day observed
Earth Day was celebrated at Government High School, Sector 46. Various cycle-related competitions such as slow cycling, decorate your cycle, largest team on a cycle and picking up balls were organised on the occasion. About 150 students participated in the contest. Headmistress Suhinder Kaur gave away prizes to the winners. Earth Day
Students of Genius Public School, Mohali, celebrated Earth Day. Several events were organised to make students aware of the importance of the blue planet and its environment. The students from class I to class V made beautiful drawings. The students from class VI to class VII displayed their artistic skills by making bookmarks on this day. Labour Day celebrated
Labour Day was celebrated at Bhavan Vidyalaya Junior, Sector 33, with great pomp and show. A special assembly was organised by the Samarpan House under the aegis of Sanskara, the Human Excellence Cell. A drama “Ek Ehsaas” was presented by the Hindi Drama Club and a scintillating dance performance was also given by the dance club. DAV Public School
Labour Day was celebrated for the class IV employees at DAV Public School, Sector 8C and 39D, Chandigarh. The school paid respect to them and highlighted the efforts made by these employees from time to time for the school. The kids of the kindergarten section presented a musical bonanza for their helpers in the school. The heartfelt wishes of one and all were received by the helpers. Refreshments were served at the end of the celebrations to all of them. Annual day
The annual day and prize distribution function of Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, Chandimandir Cantonment, Panchkula, was celebrated with great zeal and enthusiasm today as part of the ongoing golden jubilee celebrations of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan across the country. Chief guest Brig Meena Datta, Brig APS, HQ Western Command, Chandimandir, and chairperson, Vidyalaya Management Committee, inaugurated the function. Principal Randhir Singh welcomed the distinguished guests and presented the annual report highlighting the glorious achievements of the Vidyalaya in multifarious fields during the 2012-13 session. The theme of the vibrant cultural programme - Kendriya Vidyalayas - “A Miniature India” presented a kaleidoscope of the unity in diversity of our country, which characterises the essence of Kendriya Vidyalayas. Labour Day
Labour Day was celebrated at St Soldier’s, Mohali. Tiny tots of class I-A honoured and thanked the class IV employees, including the maids, sweepers, gardeners, gatekeeper and caretaker, of the school. In a special assembly, the students told the audience about the significance of the day. Investiture ceremony
An investiture ceremony of Col VR Mohan DAV Public School, Dera Bassi, was held to nominate the school captain and ''sadan'' captains for the proper functioning of the school administration. Students were divided into three 'sadans'' - Dharma, Ahimsa, and Viveka. Each house selected a captain, a vice-captain and five perfects. The three flags - green, maroon and yellow - fluttered throughout the campus as the school cabinet took part in march-past.
— TNS
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Cost accounting exam not to be re-conducted
Chandigarh, May 2 First, the Board of Studies will send its recommendations over the grace marks to be issued to the students and the VC will take the final decision. Following an uproar by students over the decision of Panjab University to re-conduct the cost accounting exam, the Syndicate had called a special meeting today. Overruling the decision of the Board of Studies (BoS) to give 20 grace marks to BCom second-year students in the cost accounting exam, the Syndicate had last week decided to re-conduct the exam, keeping in view the wider perspective and interest of students. However, the students raised objections over the re-conducting of the exam. The recommendations of the BoS were discussed in the Syndicate meeting held last week and the House, after a long deliberation, decided that the re-examination should be conducted. The BCom students were left surprised on April 10 after they found that the paper, which was supposed to be a mixture of theoretical and numerical-type questions, turned out to be an entirely theoretical paper. Based on the complaint by the students, a referral committee of experts was formed by PU, which found that the student’s complaint was genuine and the exam should be re-conducted. The referral committee's recommendations were tabled before the Board of Studies, which, however, recommended 20 grace marks to the students. Over 4,000 students had appeared for the exam across various examination centres in Chandigarh and Punjab.
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Fee structure of private schools under scanner
Chandigarh, May 2 The committee, besides physical inspection of the schools, will minutely check their financial accounts to dig out whether the schools were indulging in profiteering. The committee is expected to hold 10-12 hearings for the purpose of their overall inquiry, which can be prolonged, subject to the cooperation provided by the schools or evolving complexities during their investigation. The matter can be referred to the High Court if the schools are found mincing cooperation with the committee and not submitting the required information to it on time. To begin with, the committee has sent the pro forma, having a set of questions, to DPI (s) Upkar Singh, who has been directed to send the pro forma to each and every private school to gather information about their overall financial matters, specifically for the past two years. In that pro forma, which according to officials will be sent within the next two-three days, the schools will be asked to submit the information about their fee structure for 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14 sessions, besides their admission fee, strength of students and staff for these three years. “These details, for which the schools are given two weeks' time, will provide the basic information on which the committee will initiate its inquiry,” said Justice (retd) RS Mongia. He said: “The overall scope of our inquiry, as directed by the court, is to check the fairness and reasonableness in the fee hiked by the schools vis-à-vis the facilities provided by them. All kinds of factors, including infrastructure, available facilities, investment made, salaries paid to teachers and staff, future plans for expansion, fee structure, other funds charged from the students, will be considered”. “It will not be difficult to carry out the overall work, but the cooperation with the schools is required,” he said. As per information, the three-member committee will also have one charted accountant and one educationist. The committee, it is learnt, has already asked the Education Department to recommend the name for the educationist, which is already under consideration of the department and to be shortlisted soon. The Education Department will also provide a suitable sitting place to the committee for its overall functioning. As it is learnt, the committee was the result of the recent direction of the Punjab and Haryana
High Court on the issue of fee hike.
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Sarabjit Singh’s death
Chandigarh, May 2 Representatives of the Panjab University Students Union (PUSU) burnt an effigy of the Pakistani government on the university campus. PUSU members said: “We strongly condemn the irresponsible act of the Pakistan government”. Yadwinder Singh, president, and Baljeet Choudhary, chairman of PUSU, said all this happened because of the lack of intervention by the Indian government in the case of Sarabjit Singh. “It is shameful on part of our government, and it shows how much irresponsible the government is towards its citizens,” the students said. Harjit Singh, chief patron, Parmjit Batth, chairman of all colleges, Gary Maur, Guri Dhaliwal, campus in charge, Ishaan Rattan, Sukhjot Singh, party in charge, Shivdeep Singh, vice-president, and senior leaders like Ravinder Dhaliwal and Mandeep Jawanda were also present on the occasion. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad held a candlelit march to express its resentment over the Union government for its inaction.
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Dance, musical play mark GMCH technofest
Chandigarh, May 2 The students, while highlighting the issue of atrocities on women for dowry and having male child in society, performed a musical act “Khedan De Din Char”. Keeping in view the growing threat to security of Indian boundaries, a patriotic act “Kabhi Bhul Na Jana” was played to pay tributes to Indian soldiers for protecting the boundaries of our country. This act was well appreciated by the audience and the students pledged to work for the betterment of the country. Prof Atul
Sachdev, Director-Principal, GMCH, was the chief guest and Kirron Kher, bollywood star, was the guest of honour on the occasion. Kirron
Kher, while delivering the speech, congratulated the students for organising Technofest-2013. She said 50 per cent of the youth in the world were living in India and they could play an important role in building a good cultured society and a strong nation. Laxmikant Tewari delivered the vote of thanks.
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Gandhi’s life highlighted
Chandigarh, May 2 He was also influenced by various religious thinkers and had impact of various religions and their ideologies as of Buddhism, Jainism and Christianity. Due to influences of these religious and spiritual doctrines, Gandhi became humble, simple and liberal. He found ‘truth’ in every religion of the world. So, he was not a believer but a real and true practitioner of the theory of “Sarva Dharma Sambhava” (equal respect for all the religions/faiths). He concluded the talk while explaining that in today’s world where the gap between ideals and reality are widening and life has become hollow and meaningless, the study of ‘Gandhian Philosophy’ becomes very important and relevant.
— TNS
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NIPER students to suspend stir for 8 days
Mohali, May 2 The protesting students said the agitation had not been called off, but merely suspended. The next course of action would depend on the kind of measures taken by the authorities concerned to concede to their demands. The students have now resumed their classes as well as research work and had also started signing the “muster”. The students said heads of various departments were holding meetings with the Dean to resolve the issue related to cut in the stipend.
— OC
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Labour Day celebrated
Chandigarh, May 2 The residents of the YWCA presented a cultural programme and played games with the labourers. Dr Joginder Mukerjee, chairperson, Working Women Hostel, Sector 11, Chandigarh, addressed the audience and said labourers were the backbone of society. “There is a need to educate them so that they will able to become well-informed citizens of the nation,” he said. Renu Gandhi, associate professor from the Department of Lifelong Learning and Extension, appreciated the efforts of the labourers put forth for creating a social structure of physical development in society.
— TNS
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Student chapter of computer society inaugurated
Mohali, May 2 Various competitions like mud rally, B-plan, big fight and quiz-13 were organised on the occasion. More than 100 students from different colleges participated in this event. Dr Sanjay P. Sood, vice-chairman, CSI, Chandigarh region, was the chief guest for the CSI inauguration event. He delivered a talk on the importance and role of CSI to society. He also highlighted his experience in the domain of e-health and e-governance.
— OC
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Chandigarh, May 2
