Chandigarh, May 24
The opposition councillors’ demand for the resignation of former Union Minister and MP Pawan Kumar Bansal from Parliament led to chaos in the General House meeting of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation today.

Incidents of manhandling, biting and slapping were the order of the day in the well of the House. Councillors threw water bottles at each other, clambered over tables, whistled and shouted slogans. Amid all this, the House meeting had to be ended abruptly.

The BJP-SAD councillors also threw bundles of pamphlets at Mayor Subhash Chawla and displayed banners demanding Bansal’s resignation.

The day’s drama started when the opposition councillors wanted to table the agenda seeking Bansal’s resignation. The Congress councillors objected to it leading to clamour in the House. Opposition councillors threw pamphlets in the air and Mayor Subhash Chawla had to adjourn the House.

After 15 minutes, when the House proceedings started again, opposition councillors demanded discussion on the agenda. This led to heated arguments and scuffle between the councillors.

Congress councillor Poonam Sharma and BJP councillors Heera Negi and Rajinder Kaur Rattu came to blows in the House. They pushed, bit and dragged each other. Congress councillors Mukesh Bassi and Pardeep Chabbra had to intervene to bring the situation under control. As if this was not enough, Congress councillor Darshan Garg snatched a banner from BJP councillor Arun Sood’s hand and tore it. This also led to heated arguments between Sood and Garg. Meanwhile, BSP councillor Jannat Jahan Ul Haq and BJP councillor Asha Jaswal alleged that Congress supporters hit them with water bottles from the visitors’ gallery.

Finally, Mayor Subhash Chawla passed the agendas of developmental works with majority and again adjourned the House.

The Mayor said what if the opposition councillors spoiled a day of the MC, the Congress was dedicated to work for the development of the city. It is in the habit of the BJP to create ruckus and stop developmental works, he added. Congress councillor Mukesh Bassi said the opposition was raising irrelevant issues.

BJP state president Sanjay Tandon said Bansal was a black spot on the face of the City Beautiful. “If he is clean and confident, he should resign and face the public mandate again. BJP councillors were only demanding debate,” he said.

Chandigarh, May 24
A labourer was buried alive while four others had a narrow escape after the earth at a construction site caved in at Sector 19 this morning.

The mishap occurred at 10 am when five labourers were digging the earth for the construction of a basement in an upcoming commercial building.

The police and fire department officials reached the spot to rescue labourers. After a struggle of over 20 minutes, two persons trapped under the debris were rescued and rushed to the GMSH-16, where doctors declared one of them brought dead. The deceased was identified as Shabeer Ali.

The other injured has been identified as Bansi. Three other labourers, identified as Mahatan, Ashgal and Ashamuddin, also received minor injuries.

The police has booked owner Suresh Kumar and contractor Amiruddin in a case of causing death due to negligence under Section 304 A of the IPC as they failed to take safety measures at the construction site.

DSP Vijay Kumar said spot investigations revealed that the contractor had failed to take security measures resulting in the mishap and the subsequent death of the labourer, thus the contractor and the owner of the site have been booked.

"As per norms, scaffolding should be placed to prevent the earth from caving in where deep trenches are dug. But no such precaution was taken," said the DSP.

The deceased, 28-year-old Shabeer Ali, hailed from a remote village in Uttar Pradesh. He got married last year and his wife is expecting.

Chandigarh, May 24
A Class VI student of St John’s High School in Sector 26 was critically injured after being hit by a speeding bus of the same school at full break today. The student, 12-year-old Harpreet Singh, a resident of Bapu Dham Colony, is admitted to the PGI and has suffered injuries on his chest and stomach. He was riding pillion on a bicycle when the mishap occurred at 10.40 am when his school got over.

As the students reached near Sacred Heart School, the school bus hit the Harpreet’s bicycle from the rear. The police reached the spot and the injured was rushed to the GMSH-16 from where he was referred to the PGI.

Harpreet’s father Jagtar Singh, an auto-driver, refused to lodge a police complaint. A daily diary report has been lodged at the Sector 26 police station. The driver of the school bus has been identified as Kamal and the bus belonging to St John’s High School has been impounded.

Harpreet’s father said he was more concerned about his son’s recovery. “I don’t know what went wrong and even Harpreet is not able to speak anything. I had told him that I will pick him up from the school, but he wanted to come with his friends," said Jagtar Singh.

Chandigarh, May 24
The anxious wait of Class XII students seems to be ending soon as the countdown for the CBSE results-2013 is inching closer. The board is expected to declare the results on May 27.

To facilitate students, the CBSE will provide the result through SMS which will cost students Re 1 per result. Like the ICSE, the CBSE too has launched the same service.

The board has made the SMS facility available for the subscribers of all major telephone companies, including MTS, BSNL, Tata Teleservices (Indicom and Docomo), Aircel, Airtel, NIC and Vodafone. Board officials say the results will be available on the CBSE website after 10 am on Monday. The students can also access their results through SMS that will cost them Re 1 per roll number.

The result will appear on their mobile screen within seconds after they type “cbse12 roll no” and send it to the number of the service provider (see box).

Officials say the CBSE is hosting results with the technical support of National Informatics Centre (NIC), Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Government of India on net. The schools can get the results on www.results.nic.in, www.cbseresults.nic.in and www .cbse.nic.in.

Like last year, students can also get their results through the interactive voice response system (IVRS), for which they will be charged 30 paise per minute. This facility is available at 1255536 for BSNL subscribers, 5432128 for MTS subscribers, 54321223 for Tata Teleservice (Indicom, Docomo) subscribers and 5207011 for Airtel subscribers.

Chandigarh, May 24
A day after the tragic death of Amandeep Singh Dhaliwal, a fourth year student of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), Panjab University, the Fire and Emergency Department of the Municipal Corporation today slapped a fresh notice on Panjab University for fire safety violations.

In the notice, the Fire and Emergency Department has rapped Panjab University for lack of fire safety measures in its 36 buildings.

Confirming the development, Rajiv Gupta, MC Joint Commissioner-cum-Chief Fire Officer, said that in the past also they had issued notice to Panjab University. Till date, the PU authorities had only started the process of installing fire-fighting equipment in some buildings. As the PU authorities had failed to comply with earlier notices sent to them, therefore, they had issued fresh notice to the PU authorities, he added.

Gupta further said that they had sought compliance report from PU and in case they failed to submit the report, necessary action would be initiated.

In the present notice, the MC has mentioned the details of earlier notices issued in 2011 and 2012. These violations include lack of fire extinguishers, automatic detection and alarm system, manually operated electric fire alarm system, illuminated type exit signboards etc. 

Chandigarh, May 24
Sitting silently under the shade of a tree at Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, Kuldeep Singh seemed completely perplexed, blank and was not ready to believe that his brother, with whom he had been discussing plans to return to Canada for the past few months, was no more.

While his relatives, who took him to Chandigarh yesterday, after learning that his brother Amandeep Singh was charred to death inside his hostel room in Panjab University, kept whispering that Amandeep seemed to have committed suicide, but Kuldeep refused to believe them.

He was dazed and in complete shock. When one of the relatives asked him something related to Amandeep, he looked at him blankly.

“Amandeep was very excited about his wedding. Over the past few months, he was busy planning his future. It is difficult to understand what went wrong suddenly”, said one of his relatives.

When Amandeep’s body was handed over to the relatives, Kuldeep broke down and said, “My mother was in India to prepare for the wedding. She fell unconscious after learning about his death and could not even travel to Chandigarh. She will lose her mental stability after seeing his body, I am afraid”, said Kuldeep Singh.

It was a love marriage and he had planned to settle down in Canada after completing his engineering degree. He had insisted on completing his engineering degree from PU. His parents and fiancée are all settled in Canada.

His fiancée is also an engineer. They both had planned to work together after marriage.

Chandigarh, May 24
The autopsy of the PU student, who had died under mysterious circumstances in his room at Hostel Number II, was held today at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16. Since the body was charred nothing could be ascertained. The viscera samples have been taken and sent for tests. Meanwhile, a magisterial probe on the request of the Chandigarh Police has been ordered.

Since the family members are suspecting foul play, a magisterial probe has been ordered. SDM Kavle V Parashuram visited the GMSH, Sector 16, to record the statements of the PU hostel staff that was present at the time of the incident and deceased Amandeep Singh’s roommate and friends.

The autopsy was conducted by a board of doctors that also had doctors from Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.

Sources in the hospital stated that since 70 per cent of the body was burnt nothing substantial could be ascertained, following which the viscera samples was sent to GMCH-32 for tests to establish whether there was presence of poison or some other substance in the body.

Ashish Kapoor, DSP (Central), stated that something could be said only on the basis of the viscera report. “The entire autopsy process was video graphed to keep a record”, the DSP added.

Chandigarh, May 24
Waking up from a deep-slumber, following the death of a student of University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), Panjab University has decided to rope in two counsellors for students. Interestingly, the demand to have a counsellor in PU was pending for the last few years. AS Ahluwalia, Dean, Student Welfare (DSW), today made this announcement during the condolence meeting organised at the Boys Hostel No. 2. “The counselors will be appointed on a part-time basis”, the DSW added.

“The decision was taken today at a meeting of the Hostel Wardens on the advice of PU Vice-Chancellor (VC) Prof Arun Kumar Grover”, the DSW said.

The VC who is not in the city, sent an email to convey his condolence to the deceased’s family, friends and teachers. The message read, “I have stayed in the PU hostels for long enough and I can well imagine the grief and concern all around. Let us pray for him, and hope that we will strengthen our support system that such incidents do not recur”. 

Chandigarh, May 24
It sounds strange, but it is a fact that deployment of the Railway Protection Force staff (RPF) in trains is merely an eye wash as no action is taken by the staff in case of any untoward incident during journey. A classic example is the incident which took place yesterday in one of the trains in which five robbers looted passengers at gunpoint and the RPF staff was clueless about the incident.

In fact, the passengers boarding the executive class coaches of the trains are on higher risk during the journey, as no RPF is deployed in the executive coaches due to shortage of staff in the Railways. Records of the Railways revealed that out of 815 RPF staff sanctioned for the area, 180 posts were lying vacant for more than a year. Resultantly, in all the executive coaches the ticket travel examiner (TT) and the attendants have been asked to keep a check of the security of the passengers and monitor the movement of anti-social elements. While in general coaches, where the chances of mishap are more, the authorities have deployed four RPF personnel for the safety of 
the passengers.

Railway Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Mohinder Singh said that the proposal for fulfilling the vacant posts in the RPF had been lying vacant with the Northern Railways authorities for a long time. He said that the decision to recruit the staff would be taken by them. He accepted that due to shortage of staff proper security could not be provided in a number of trains in the region. Reports of the Railways revealed that there was shortage of over 20 per cent of staff in the RPF in the railway security wing of the Ambala division. Thousands of passengers were travelling at their own risk from the city due to non-availability of proper security.

Worst affected are 19 to 22 coaches in the long route trains as only four RPF personnel manage their security. In fact, all the special trains run by the authorities onvarious occasions lack security due to shortage of staff in this region.

Chandigarh, May 24
More than 500 passengers aboard the morning Shatabdi from New Delhi to Chandigarh today had a harrowing time as a majority of them were not served breakfast on time due to shortage of pantry staff. The passengers were even asked to fetch their food from the pantry, if they were keen on having their breakfast on time.

Accepting the delay in serving breakfast to the passengers, Gulshan, Railway Senior Divisional Commercial Manager said that a detailed report had been sent to the Northern Railways headquarters for necessary action against the contractor who was responsible for the serving breakfast on the train. He said that the contractor told him that due to the shortage of staff, breakfast could not be served to the passengers on time. After receiving the complaint, immediate remedial action was taken by the authorities in providing breakfast to the passengers.

Sharing his experience on the telephone, VK Jain, who was travelling in Coach Number 13, said that the pantry staff failed to serve the breakfast on time and even the snacks were not served to the passengers. He said that when he enquired from the pantry staff about the delay, they made an excuse that it was due to acute shortage of staff in the train. He said that food was served to them after they crossed Ambala station.

He further said that despite lodging a complaint with the Ticket Traveller Examiner, no action was taken by the official.

Another passenger complained that that there seemed to be shortage of food material also in the pantry, as the pantry staff adopted pick and choose policy while serving biscuits with the morning tea.

One of the passengers said despite of the hefty fare, the service provided by The Railways was very poor. The authorities kept on claiming that after the hike in fares the services would improve, but all in vain.

Panchkula, May 24
With the MC elections nearing, candidates are putting in efforts to woo voters.

There are seven contestants in the fray from Ward Number 8 which comprises Mansa Devi Complex, Sectors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, Saketri, Manav Colony, Swastik Vihar, Bhainsa Tibba, Bilaspur and Mahadevpur.

Ward Number 1 to 6 falls in Kalka and Pinjore. From Ward Number 7 which comprises villages such as Gunthala, Chowki, Beer Ghaggar and Kharag Mangoli, 17 candidates are contesting the elections. The main problems plaguing the area are irregular power, water supply and poor sanitation.

Hemant Kinger
Hemant Kinger, who has been working for the development of the town for the past 20 years, said, "If I win, I will go on an indefinite hunger strike till the time the authorities pass the bills for our area."

Kinger said he would work with dedication and honesty.

Other candidates contesting the elections are Anil Chauhan, Kuljeet Waraich, BB Bansal, Rajan Bali and Sadhu Ranbir Singh Malhi.

Subhash Sachdeva
Subhash Sachdeva, a resident of MDC, Sector 5, said he would not let liquor vends open in the area. "People know my work and will help me win the elections."

Retired from the High Court, Sachdeva aims at putting an end to parking woes, maintaining markets and re-carpeting roads. He said he was accessible and residents could take up their problems with him. 

Luxmi Devi
Luxmi Devi, former BJP councillor of the ward, said she had been working for the welfare of people for the past five years. “The condition of roads leading from Singh Dwar to Rail Vihar was pathetic and I got the stretches repaired despite the authorities dissolving the council. I am hopeful of getting their support.”

Pritam Singh Lubana
Pritam Singh Lubana (62), who is the sarpanch of Kishangarh, said his experience would help him solve residents' problems. He has been the sarpanch of the village for the past 15 years. Lubana, who resides in MDC, Sector 4, Panchkula, said he was aware of the problems of the area.

"My work will speak for me. I have worked hard for the development of the area," said Lubana.

Lubana said a representative should be accessible and down to earth. "I don't believe in show-off culture," he said.

His priorities: Checking stray dog menace, re-carpeting of roads, solving power problem and maintaining parks.

Panchkula, May 24
With the campaigning picking up, the Commissioner of Police, Rajbir Deswal, has directed the officers to keep a check on the transportation of liquor in the town.

He held a meeting with senior officers, including Deputy Commissioner Ashima Brar, Sub Divisional Magistrate

RK Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ashwin Shenvi and others.

Deswal also reviewed security arrangements ahead of the State Election Commissioner's visit to the town.

"I have asked the DC to keep a check on the supply of liquor. I have told them to conduct raids on sensitive areas," said Deswal.

Candidates dole liquor to woo voters residing in slum areas. "We have made arrangements to check any such practice," he said.

The police will also keep a vigil on those possessing arms. Police personnel will be deployed at all sensitive areas on the day of the elections.

The Municipal Corporation elections are scheduled for June 2. State Election Commissioner Dharam Vir is expected to review the arrangements in the town in the coming week. 

Chandigarh, May 24
Concern over accidents caused due to chaos prevailing outside schools came true when a student was seriously injured after being hit by a bus while coming out of a city-based school. Harpreet Singh, a Class VI student of St John's High School, who was riding pillion on a bicycle, was hit by a recklessly driven school bus in Sector 26 outside Sacred Heart School.

The Chandigarh Tribune had recently carried a series on the issue of traffic chaos outside educational institutes in Sector 26.

It becomes a nightmare for commuters on these roads and parents who come to drop off their wards in the morning and pick them up after school closes for the day. An influx of hundreds of vehicles in the area creates a traffic bottleneck and the parents are held up for nearly half an hour.

The influx of vehicles also makes it tough for the pedestrians to cross the road.

One of the parents said that as Sector 26 witnessed worst traffic chaos during the school hours, the police and schools should depute their staff to regulate the traffic outside the schools.

"Each school can depute its staff outside the gates to ensure that the vehicles can easily enter and exit the school, and the vehicles are not parked outside the school gates parallel to the boundary wall,” said a parent.

Chanidgarh, May 24
While defending herself after courting controversy here, singer-rapper Hard Kaur said that she never wanted to hurt anyone's feelings and sentiments. "My comments during my performance were completely misinterpreted and blown out of proportion," said the singer, who used abusive language during her performance at a five-star hotel on Wednesday night. Many people uploaded the video of her performance on YouTube.

Talking to The Tribune, she said, "I am a rapper and follow certain style of lyrics and music during my performance. I was in a happy mood while performing and the crowd was enjoying it to the core. I just wanted to give a rocking performance to make my fans happy. I never meant to hurt anyone's feelings. But if someone felt offended because of my songs or any of my comments, I apologise to them from the bottom of my heart."

However, on the question of using abusive words, she said she hardly knew any Punjabi slang. She said she was not aware of the fact that it could create such a problem.

Ravinder Singh Kitna, president of Nawashehar-based NGO Hope said that tomorrow he would file a police complaint against Hard Kaur. 

Mohali, May 24
On the call given by the Philips India Employees’ Union, workers staged a dharna in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office in support of their demands here today. Among those who took part in the protest were members of the families of the employees and leaders of the AITUC and other trade unions.

Speakers at the protest called for an agreement between the management and the workers. They demanded an increase in the salaries of employees, regularisation of the services of the temporary staff and higher increments.

Chandigarh, May 24
The iconic urban design of Chandigarh, planned to avoid congestion and pollution, is now in danger of falling victim to these very problems.

In a city-specific seminar, organised by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment in association with the Chandigarh Administration, experts highlighted as to how air pollution around the world was causing major health issues, and Chandigarh with high transport emission per capita due to the high density of vehicles was no exception to it.

One of the major points highlighted in the seminar was the need for an official assessment of the sources of pollution in the city. Quoting figures of the local department of environment, the officials of the Centre for Science and Environment said air pollution in the City Beautiful had touched critical level at places such as Imtech, Sector 39; Industrial Area, Phase I; Kaimbwala village and Sector 17.

“While there is no official study stating the major sources of air pollution in Chandigarh, it can safely be said that motorisation is one of the prime reasons,” said Animita Roychowdhary, head of the right to clean air campaign of the CSE.

She said among the cities with population between 10 lakh and 20 lakh, Chandigarh witnessed maximum transport emissions per capita, and its urban design had a strong influence on it.

The CSE presentation stated that Chandigarh had 4,41,284 vehicles per 1,000 km of road length, whereas Delhi had only 2,43,783 vehicles against the same road length. If two-wheelers and cars were included, Chandigarh had 878 personal vehicles per 1,000 people, as compared to 362 personal vehicles in Delhi.

It further stated that 43 per cent households in the city owned cars, while the percentage stood at 20 in the case of Delhi. In Chandigarh, nearly 73 per cent residents commuted on personal vehicles, the officials said.

Experts said the Chandigarh Administration needed to scale up and modernise the public transport, for which there is need to make changes in the urban planning and design. “Delhi Master Plan targets 80 per cent share for public transport by 2020; Pune, too, targets 80 per cent; and Kolkata aims as high as 90 per cent share. Chandigarh needs a target too. Commuting trips are expected to nearly double in the coming decades in Chandigarh. It needs to find out what share of this should be on the public transport,” said Animita Roychowdhary.

Sumit Kaur, Chief Architect of UT, who was present at the seminar, said all these issues would be addressed in the city’s master plan, which is being prepared.

Air pollution–related deaths on rise, among top-10 killers in world Emphasising on the bad effect of air pollution, experts said the perception that air pollution did not lead to death had been shattered. In December 2012, the Global Burden of Disease, estimated by 450 scientists from 300 global organisations including WHO, revealed that air pollution-related deaths had increased by 300 per cent since 2000 and was among the top-10 killers in the world. Nearly 65 per cent of these deaths occurred in Asia, especially in South Asia, it stated. More recently, in February 2013, GBD findings for India found that over 18 million healthy life years were lost due to air pollution that triggered stroke, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, cancer, etc.

Mohali, May 24
A sewer line on a road near PTL Chowk here has further damaged, posing a danger to motorists and residents.

The sewer, which falls under the road that was widened by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority about a year ago, was slightly damaged earlier. It got further damaged after a heavy vehicle passed over that part of the road.

Dr Sanjiv Dhingra, who lives close by, said earlier complaints had been submitted to the department concerned to repair the sewer, but to no avail. He said there was a danger of someone falling into the sewer. — OC

Chandigarh, May 24
Rapid lifestyle changes such as lack of physical activity, high fat intake, obesity and stress are resulting in high blood pressure which is contributing to 45 per cent of the total cardiovascular disease burden worldwide.

"Hypertension is responsible for 57 per cent of stroke deaths and 24 per cent of coronary heart disease deaths in India," said experts during a public lecture organised on hypertension at the PGIMER.

“Hypertension is a silent killer. It remains undetected for a prolonged period. The only way to diagnose it is to get it recorded multiple times at an interval of days to weeks by a physician,” said Dr Dr Sanjay Jain, professor, department of internal medicine, PGIMER.

Highly salted and processed foods should be avoided. Potassium intake should be increased. Apricots, tomato, chickoo, watermelon, banana, leafy vegetables, bitter gourd, brinjal and potato should be included in the daily diet since these contain low sodium and high potassium.

The prevalence of hypertension in India varies between 20 and 40 per cent in urban adults and 12 and17 per cent among rural adults. It is one of the established, modifiable and major risk factor contributing to premature deaths from heart and brain diseases. Hypertension is ranked third as the cause of disability. Many other risk factors tend to accompany hypertension, including diabetes mellitus, obesity, heart enlargement and lipid abnormalities.

Chandigarh, May 24
The Syndicate Bank organised a customer meet in all of its branches in India. The activity was also held at all its branches in Panchkula, including Sector 7, Sector 11 and Swasthik Vihar.

Bur Singh, Assistant General Manager, regional office, Chandigarh, highlighted the performance of the bank besides it various products and services. — TNS

Chandigarh, May 24
The sexual harassment committee of Panjab University (PU) probing into allegations of sexual harassment made by an assistant professor of University Business School (UBS) today recorded statements of the UBS staff.

“Apart from various teachers, statements of the office superintendent, clerk and gatekeeper were also recorded,” said a committee member.

The complainant, who accused the chairperson and another faculty member of the department of sexual harassment, could not produce her witness and sought some more time. The complainant also sought information about the set of rules and regulations on the basis of which the committee had been constituted and members appointed to it.

“I have asked the university authorities to provide me with the information regarding the rules on the basis of which they have constituted the committee. They have not provided me with any information,” said the complainant.

The complainant has also asked the university to clarify as to whether her lawyer could accompany her to the meeting.

The committee members, however, said the Supreme Court judgment on the basis of which the committee was formed could be accessed on the Internet.

“The committee was already in place for the past few years and has been dealing with such complaints; so the credibility of the committee can not be questioned, as it was not formed after the present complaint,” said a committee member.

Meanwhile, sources said the faculty and other staff gave statements in the favour of the two professors against whom the complaint was made.

Chandigarh, May 24
Giving major relief to students who had applied for the Combined Entrance Test (CET) and LLB entrance test, but failed to complete their online forms, the Panjab University has extended the last date for submission of forms to May 31.

Controller of Examinations (COE) Dr Parvinder Singh said the applicants had been asked to log in to the websites and complete their forms by May 31.

Officials said 12,949 candidates had applied for the CET (PG), of which online forms of 165 candidates were found to be incomplete. The exam will be conducted from June 15 to 18.

For the LLB (three year) entrance test, to be held on June 23, 3,018 candidates have applied. Of these, 44 online forms were found to be incomplete.

The COE said students who had already paid the fee, but could not complete their forms were given another chance to complete them so that they didn’t suffer.

Chandigarh, May 24
They might be visually challenged, but today it did not deter these 31 students of the Institute for the Blind, Sector 26, from staging a visually stimulating performance on the life of Saint Kabir.

Students synchronised with each other effortlessly while unfolding the life and philosophy of the great poet at Tagore Theatre. The play showed how Kabir challenged the entrenched superstitions and religious stereotypes ailing the society during his lifetime.

Brought up a by a Muslim couple after being found floating in a pond, Kabir grew up in picturesque Kashi amid temples and mosques; all details effectively captured in the play.

The play further touched upon interesting incidents such as Kabir’s encounters with religious leaders and priests, his efforts to find a mentor, his marriage with Loe and his meeting with Sikandar Shah Lodhi, all part of a journey to discover his inner self.

Most of the story was narrated through couplets and rhymes, well sung by the students. Through the performance, the audience discovered Kabir’s message of love, peace and religious harmony.

Later addressing the audience, UT Administrator Shivraj Patil, who was the chief guest, said that Kabir’s life and his message were still relevant and the youth must be apprised of his teachings.

Indira Chhibber, Manju Suri, Reva Gandhi and Alka Gupta spent two months with the students, helping them in preparing for the play. Shiv Kumar was the narrator, Mohit scripted the role of Kabir, Samta played the role of Kabir’s mother, Kulwinder his father, Shivangi the wife and Ritik was his son.

Mohali, May 24
Students of the Garment Manufacturing Technology (GMT) programme of the Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology presented their final diploma projects on the campus here today.

The jury evaluating the projects comprised Anil Sharma, vice-president, HRD, Nahar Spinning Mills, Anuja Mahajan, head merchandiser, RB Knit Export, Ludhiana, Satinder Singh Bhuttar, senior manager, FILA, Ludhiana, and Avinisha Mehra, business development manager, Active Clothing, Mohali.

The GMT programme holds a diploma project presentation of the fourth semester students. The students work in conjunction with known names in the industry for four months and find out areas of concern, thereby giving suggestions, implementing and helping the units to resolve problems being faced by the factory or the management.

The students made 12 presentations that focused on different areas, including enhancing production and developing processes to meet deadlines and reducing the high labour cost.

The first prize of Rs 2,000 was won by Jasmeet Batra, Ankita Awasthi and Saeed Ahmed. The second prize of Rs 1,500 went to Rubina, Sandeep and Minakshi. The third prize of Rs 1,000 was won by Ramadeep and Lal Kumar.

The students worked with houses like Shahi Exports, Faridabad, Nahar Spinning Mills, Ludhiana, BL International, Delhi, Pearl Global International, Gurgaon, Neva Garments Limited, Ludhiana, Pee Empro Exports, Faridabad, Richa Global Exports, Gurgaon, Winsome Knitwear, Mohali, Matrix Clothing , Gurgaon, Vardhman Nisshinbo Garment Company, Ludhiana and Active Clothing, Mohali.

Vikas Pratap, director-general, NIIFT, and director, Industry, and Commerce, Punjab, said the skilled approach of the students of the Garment Manufacturing Technology was proving beneficial to textile industries.