Chandigarh, September 24
A Supreme Court ruling on Monday that the Aadhaar letter is not mandatory for claiming subsidies has caused confusion among residents.

A senior UT Administration official said the Centre could issue fresh directions and until then the Aadhaar status on subsidies would remain hazy. The official said they had held back other proposals, which were in the pipeline, to make the Aadhaar letter mandatory for various purposes.

While the UID Deputy Director, VP Tyagi, said there are norms that the authorities of different states would have to make the Aadhaar letter mandatory for availing various subsidies and public services. He said it was for the administration to decide that for which scheme they wanted the Aadhaar letter as a document.

Recently, the UT Administration had made the Aadhaar letter mandatory for the beneficiaries of Social Welfare Department pension, Indira Gandhi Matritava Sahyog Yojana, post-matric scholarship for SC students and pre-matric scholarship for SC students. In fact, the transfer of LPG subsidy amount direct to the bank accounts of beneficiaries has also been announced by the Centre, which will be implemented in the city from the next month.

Sources revealed that there were a numbers of projects that the administration was planning to link with the Aadhaar letter for availing benefits. Recently, the UT Administration had sent a communication to all the departments, asking them to inform their employees to submit their Aadhaar letters in their department or give details to their banks as their salaries will be disbursed through Aadhaar.

The authorities were also planning to adopt a system through which all kinds of financial transactions would be transacted through the Aadhaar letter to avoid any misuse of funds. The administration is also under the process to developing a system through which all civic services provided by the Chandigarh Housing Board to the residents in slum rehabilitation centres would be made available through the Aadhaar letter.

The Chandigarh Administration has already notified the Aadhaar letter as a valid proof for address and identity for various welfare schemes being run by the departments, boards, corporations, public undertakings and different agencies. Records of the administration also revealed that of Rs 4.6 crore allocated to the UT to process the applications for the Aadhaar letter, the UID has already released Rs 46 lakh in the first instalment.

Chandigarh, September 24
Taking up the Chandigarh's master plan, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today set a four-week deadline for the Union Ministry of Urban Development to take a decision on the proposal sent by the administration on the regional plan.

The High Court has also made it clear that if the ministry failed to take a decision within the stipulated period, a joint secretary-rank officer of the ministry should appear in person before the court.

The proposal on the constitution of a regional plan committee was sent by the administration to the Union Ministry of Urban Development a long time ago. But, the ministry is yet to take a decision on the issue.

The administration, during the course of hearing, informed the High Court that it has received 165 objections to the draft master plan of the city from individuals, states as well as institutions.

The Counsel for the UT informed the Bench that it would not be possible for 
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them to decide these objections within a time frame. Taking a note of the assertion, the bench directed the administration to file a status report on the issue after four weeks.

A public interest litigation in the matter has been filed by Gurbax Singh Shergill for directions to prepare a composite regional plan for the tricity of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula for the future planning of the periphery of Chandigarh in consonance with the said plan. The High Court had on December 23, 2009, directed the UT to finalise the master plan. 

Chandigarh, September 24
A chemist based at the PGIMER, Emergency Block, has been penalised by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum for not issuing proper bills to a patient despite his repeated requests for the same.

The chemist was directed to pay a compensation of Rs 15,000 by the district forum. The complainant had appealed to the State Commission for the enhancement of compensation. However, dismissing the appeal, the commission upheld the orders of the district forum.

Trilok Chemist, Emergency Block, Nehru Hospital, PGIMER, was penalised by the forum as nobody appeared on its behalf and the complaint was proceeded ex-parte.

The complainant's brother had met with an accident in front of a factory on the main Rajpura- Patiala road.

It was stated that he was rushed to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, in an unconscious state and was referred to the PGIMER, Chandigarh.

"It was stated that on June 17, 2011, he (brother of the complainant) was admitted to the Emergency of the PGI where he had remained admitted till July 14, 2011. He had remained in the PGI ICU for about 25 days," the judgment read.

The complainant purchased the entire medicines/surgical items from the opposite party (Trilok Chemist) and spent Rs1 lakh on his brother's treatment, during the period he had remained admitted to the PGIMER, Chandigarh.

After the complainant's brother was discharged from the hospital, the complainant approached the opposite party and demanded valid medical bills in order to enable his brother to claim medical reimbursement from his employer.

It was further stated that the opposite party, instead of giving bills for an amunt of Rs1 lakh actually spent on the purchase of medicines and surgical items, only gave bills for Rs 35,963.

"It was further stated that even the bills supplied bore wrong dates, and the names of the medicines mentioned therein were also wrong. When the complainant raised an objection, the opposite party threatened him with dire consequences. It was further stated that the complainant's brother was still on the bed and a huge amount was spent on his treatment," the judgment read. 

Chandigarh, September 24
Many married women aged between 20 and 30 years have been facing mood swings, difficulty in concentration and a negative feeling about themselves after marriage, says a study.

About 100 newly married women, working in different departments at Panjab University (PU), participated in the study conducted by the Centre for Public Health, PU, and the School of Public health, PGIMER. The study has been published in a book “Health Promotion: Need for Public Health Activism” released at the PGIMER today.

During the research period, four months in 2009-2010, 28 of the 100 women reported the problem of negative feeling while only 12 faced the problem before marriage.

The study shows that the problem of frequent crying increases post marriage. As many as 32 women faced it after marriage, while only seven have been suffering from it before marriage.

According to the study, a sleep disorder and restlessness also increased among the women after marriage.

“After marriage, working women have to do multitasking. They have to shoulder the burden of household chores and children along with their own jobs. Despite their earning potential, they are still portrayed as homemakers,” researchers found.

The findings show working women had failed to pursue their hobbies after marriage.

Offering some solutions, the researchers recommended that service rules and regulations should be modified to support women. Trained counselors should be appointed at work places.

Six months of maternity leave, age relaxation in applying for job or fellowships or degrees, three-year childcare leave, crèche facilities and daycare centres at work places are some of the steps taken by the government. 

Panchkula, September 24
In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the state, the Panchkula police will be redressing complaints relating to marriage conflicts, neighbourhood brawls or family disputes by roping in members of a peace community drawn from different social bodies.

A special section, named ‘Conflict Resolution Centre’, has been opened to the public at Sector 14 where complainants and victims would be called and the issue will be resolved in the presence of a police officer with the help of the members of the peace community.

To encourage residents who hesitate from approaching the police, this initiative has been taken by the Panchkula police.

The Conflict Resolution Centre is part of the first-ever police community hub that was inaugurated by the Haryana DGP SN Vashisht here today. To bridge a gap between the police and the public, this initiative was taken by Commissioner of Police (CP) Rajbir Deswal.

Any conflict, be it a marriage conflict or a neighbourhood brawl or a family dispute, can be solved at this centre.

“A police officer will be the in charge of the Conflict Resolution Centre and with the help of a peace community, he will resolve various issues. Usually, residents hesitate from going to a police station, and keeping that in mind, this centre has been set up,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ashwin Shenvi.

He added: “This will actually bridge the gap between the public and the police because we want to remove the element of fear of the police in the minds of people.”

The hub has been set up within the boundary of the Sector 14 police station.

Councillor of the area Lily Bawa said: “I really like the concept and the best part is that it is in my ward. So, I feel being a part of it. It is a good platform, particularly for senior citizens.”

“It is a very nice initiative. We people usually keep tolerating things and don’t approach the police. But, with this initiative, it will be easy to share our problems with the police,” said Vidya Sharma, a local resident.

Chandigarh, September 24
The double face of the BJP-SAD came to the fore at the MC House meeting on the stray cattle menace.

While the Councillors of the BJP-SAD were demanding a special House meeting to frame a proper policy to catch and release of stray cattle from the last month and had met the Mayor, MC Commissioner, UT Adviser and even the UT Administrator to hold a special meeting, but in the Monday’s monthly MC House meeting when a table agenda was brought for discussion on this specific issue, not even a single Councillor from the BJP-SAD put serious efforts for discussion. Finally, the agenda was deferred for the next month’s meeting without any discussion.

More importantly, this table agenda was brought on the demand of the BJP-SAD Councillors, but despite that no BJP-SAD Councillor raised the voice in the House meeting.

Mayor Subhash Chawla said the BJP-SAD should analyse themselves and not politicise such issues. He assured that he had some plans and would rid the city of stray cattle.

Mukesh Bassi, Congress Councillor and F&CC member, said earlier the Opposition was saying it was a serious issue, but in the House meeting none of their Councillors raised even a single word for the discussion of the agenda. The BJP-SAD only wants to play politics on the stray cattle issue and was not serious about solving the problem.

Deputy Mayor Satish Kainth said submitting memorandum to the MC and the UT officials by the Opposition Councillors was only a drama. If the BJP-SAD Councillors were so concerned about the problem, then why they did not discuss agenda in the House meeting?

New Delhi, September 24
In a gesture of gratitude, Vinod Kumar Paul, the recipient of the highest among Indian Council of Medical Research Awards presented here today, donated the prize money to his alma mater in Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh.

Paul, Head of Department, Paediatrics at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), received the Dr BR Ambedkar Centenary Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research which carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. Paul donated the prize money to Government Senior Secondary School, Bhawarna and Nagrota Bagwan in Kangra, where he received his education. The money will be used to institute scholarships for students.

Paul’s major contribution has been the development of a low cost life-saving drug for premature neonates and research that has influenced national programmes and global child health policy.

Among the other 50 awardees feted today by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, eight were from PGI Chandigarh. Sunit Singhi, Head, Department of Paediatric Medicine at PGI received ICMR’s Amrut Mody Unichem Prize 2010 for Research in Child Health. He has made contributions in the understanding of fluid, electrolytes and body water compartments in bacterial meningitis, pneumonia and newborns, and mechanisms of lung injury following fluid overload.

AJ Kanwar Head, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology at PGI, was presented the ICMR Lala Ram Chand Kandhari Award for his work on therapy and other aspects of vitiligo. Kanwar has worked on several aspects of vitiligo both in children and adults.

Another PGI doctor RK Dhiman from Hepatology received the ICMR’s Basanti Devi Amir Chand Prize 2009 for his contribution in the field of Hepatology while Surjit Singh from Paediatric Medicine got the ICMR Chaturvedi Kalawati Jagmohan Das Memorial Award 2010 for his exceptional research work on Kawasaki disease.

Bikash Medhi from the Department of Pharmacology, PGI Chandigarh received DN Prasad Memorial Oration Award for contributions to research and education in pharmacology. He is working in the field of neurology, arthritis, cancer and gastrointestinal disease.

Another PGI expert Akshay Anand, a neuroscientist, received the National Young Scientist Award (Shakuntala Amir Chand Award) for his contribution towards the understanding of molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration.

Ritesh Agarwal from Pulmonary Medicine Department at PGI has been awarded the prestigious ICMR Smt Kamal Satbir Award 2009 for his research work in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) and Jasmina Ahluwalia from Hematology Department received the ICMR BGRC Silver Jubilee Oration Award 2010 for her work in the field of thrombotic disorders.

Other awardees from the region were Dr Bhushan Kumar, consultant dermatologist at Silver Oaks Multispeciality Hospital, Mohali, who has bagged the JALMA Trust Fund Oration Award instituted by the ICMR and Dr Ellora Sen, Assistant Professor at the Division of Molecular and Cellular Neurosciences, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Haryana, who has received the Shakuntala Amir Chand Prize 2009.

Mohali, September 24
With back-to-back incidents of blocking traffic on the stretch of the NH-21 between Mohali and Kharar, it seems to have become a favourite point for those who want to stage a protest.

If members of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Sidhupur) had blocked traffic for several hours on the highway near Max Hospital yesterday, there were employees of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), who halted the traffic flow for about two hours on the highway near Balongi village this afternoon, resulting in a lot of inconvenience to commuters and residents of the village as well.

Notably, members of the Sikhiya Providers Union had blocked the traffic on the highway near the Traffic chowk at Kharar for 23 hours continuously. In result, residents of Kharar were virtually house arrested for several hours due to huge traffic jams on all roads in the town.

Evidently fed up with the road blocking incidents on every second day, the residents of Balongi and Kharar had asked the district authorities and the police to start taking stern action against such people.

“In past couple of months, we have witnessed over 15 incidents of traffic blockades here. We are upset over indifferent attitude of authorities on the issue”, said Tarlochan Singh Mann, state president of the Punjab Numberdar Union, who is a resident of Balongi.

Expressing similar sentiments, Kharar resident Harmohan Singh said the residents of the area were the worst sufferers.

“Several times, we have to miss our urgent jobs just due to traffic jams, being caused by these protestors”, said Harmohan.

The authorities should deal with such protesters sternly and should not allow them to block traffic at their sweet will.

On the issue, Mohali SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar admitted that there was an increase in the incidents of traffic blockade on the stretch. “Firstly, we try to resolve the issue peacefully but where we feel it necessary, we also deal with the protesters firmly,” said SSP Bhullar.

He added that the police had registered a case against several protesters today.

“We had also registered a case against 200 persons for the Kharar traffic jam. We have procured their arrest warrants and they would be arrested soon”, said Bhullar.

Chandigarh, September 24
A Holland-based Punjabi NRI today came forward to help an acid attack victim by providing her financial help.

The NRI, Harjot Singh Sandhu, who is in the town, today gave Rs 2.5 lakh cheque to the victim, Inderjit Kaur, at the residence of Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia, a Shiromani Akali Dal leader and in charge, women wing (SAD), Mohali.

The victim, a resident of Kharar, was attacked with acid by her classmate when she refused his advances. The incident had occurred around four years ago. The victim’s face has been badly burnt in the incident.

“As the victim belongs to a humble background, we have been trying to arrange funds for her treatment,” said Amanjot Kaur.

Former union minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, father of Amanjot, said he had taken up her case at various levels and the victim had got an amount of Rs 3 lakh on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

“So far, we have collected around Rs 7.5 lakh. The victim has already undergone seven surgeries. Now, we would again take her to Chennai for her further treatment,” said Ramoowalia.

The attacker has been sentenced for three years in the case.

Chandigarh, September 24
“Decisive,” "bold policy-maker", "visionary", "communicative" were some of the adjectives that the Rotarians used to describe the expectations they have from the Prime Minister of the country at a panel discussion organised here at the Rotary Club of Chandigarh.

The dismal socio-economic situation and freebies being doled out by the government as populist measure to garner votes were ruining the country, said Atma Ram Singh, director, Drish Shoes. The unstable policy and poor execution of existing policies was a bane for the businesses, he said. Providing a professional's perspective, Dr Raman Abrol, an ENT specialist, remarked that despite the country having immense knowledge base of technocrats and professionals we remain an under-developed country.

In the absence of rational policies, doctors and paramedics were not available in rural areas of the country, despite the fact that these medical professionals take admissions in medical colleges under the rural or reserved quota, he said.

Nagina Bains, a young professional, said the PM should take the responsibility of ministers and other departments, besides being transparent in governance initiatives with open communication that was absent currently.

Panchkula, September 24
The first people friendly police station in the state was inaugurated by Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) SN Vashisht at Sector 14 here.

An initiative by Commissioner of Police Rajbir Deswal, the police community hub has been established to bridge the gap between the public and the police.

It will have two halls generally for women and senior citizens to have their usual congregations and meetings.

A children’s park has also been created with a 350-m lap for joggers and walkers.

The aim behind this move was that people could mix up with police officials and share their issues with the latter. Not only this, even the Deputy Commissioner of Police and the Commissioner of Police would be available there for some time to address their issues.

Dr Sunita Vashisht, the DGP’s wife, inaugurated a blood donation camp on the occasion. About sixty police officers from the Panchkula-Ambala Commissionerate, including 10 station house officers and seven women police officials, donated blood.

The Haryana DGP said Panchkula would get additional police force.

Increase in the existing police force in Panchkula is on the cards. The Panchkula police has been groping with the problem of shortage of staff. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Vashisht said about 3,500 new recruits had been instilled in the police force.

Chandigarh, September 24
Bulkier Senate agenda seems to have become a routine for Panjab University as the agenda for the forthcoming meeting weighs around 7.5 kg. This is not for the first time a bulkier agenda has been served to members. Earlier in the December 2012 meeting of the Senate, an agenda weighing 11.5 kg was put before the members.

The index of the agenda has the annexure along with minutes of meetings of various Syndicate meetings held in the past few months.

The agenda has 76 items for consideration of the House, 30 for ratification and six items for information.

PU officials said the House members while holding deliberations over the issues in the agenda need the background of the issue, which was the annexure without which the discussion could not be held.

The university publishes over 100 copies of the agenda for the Senate meeting for members, assisting staff and even journalists.

Interestingly, the university had also received flak by some senior Syndics in the meeting held in December 2012 for publishing bulkier agenda. The members had suggested that the PU should look for various ways to save paper by providing the agendas in the form of compact disks.

A majority of the issues that would be discussed in the meeting are related to teacher’s promotions and appointments and the issues pertaining to granting extension in affiliation to various colleges and various other issues related to the colleges.

A few other issues that are in the agenda include pass percentage of candidates for the entrance of MA in English conducted by the university be increased from 20 per cent to 35 per cent, and in case of students applying under the reserved categories, the pass percentage be 30 per cent.

A provision to be incorporated in the regulations for MA semester system allowing the students to complete their third and fourth semester within five years from the date of passing second semester will also be put for discussion before the House.

Chandigarh, September 24
BSP Councillor and Lok Sabha candidate Jannat Jahan Ul Haq said she would fight for the housing scheme for the tenants who were residing in city from last many years. She was addressing a rally in Sector 41, Chandigarh, today.

She said that till now the congress party has cheated city residents in the name of rehabilitation.

While addressing the rally, Narendra Kashyap, Rajya Sabha MP, assured the members of the tenant association that the BSP would fight tooth and nail for their rights despite the corrupt polices of the Congress that have always hampered the growth of the country.

Meanwhile in the rally, Yogesh Verma, General Secretary of District Congress Urban Committee-II joined the BSP party today.

Chandigarh, September 24
High drama was witnessed at Sector 17 today when staff of the Municipal Corporation demolished the taxi stand. While taxi stand owners claimed that the MC did not issue an advance notice to them, the MC officials said they have not renewed the contract of the taxi stand, which had lapsed two months back.

The MC demolished structure as the multi-level parking is coming up in Sector 17 and the taxi stand was also on the site.

Jagmohan Singh, owner of the taxi stand, said the MC had not issued even a single notice to them before demolishing the structure.

SAD Councillor Malkiat Singh said the taxi stand was operating since 2005 and the MC officials should have given some time to the owners before demolishing the structures.

In the afternoon, taxi stand owners and councillor Malkiat Singh met MC Commissioner, which assured that needful will be done. 

Chandigarh, September 24
A 50-year-old Roshni, a resident of colony number 5, who came to enrol herself to open a bank account through which she can get her widow pension from the next month had to return disappointed today as no bank representative was available at the Bal Bhawan to help her fulfil formalities.

“I am a daily wager and cannot afford to skip my work often to get myself enrolled for the pension. There was no notice pasted at the venue, mentioning the days on which one can contact the officials for opening their accounts,” she said.

Another pensioner Om Parkash (65) said officials of the social welfare department asked him last week to visit the Bal Bhawan to enrol himself for the old age pension. He along with his wife came on foot from the colony number 5 to complete the formalities, but no official was available there for it.

All those who are visiting the Bal Bhawan for the past two days have been complaining of absence of bank officials at the venue.

Social welfare department director Rajesh Jogpal said they had directed the banks to deploy their representatives for the convenience of pensioners, but to no avail. He said the official who was deployed for the enrolment was on sick leave and no other replacement had been made by the banks till date.

Zirakpur, September 24
Bharti Walmart training centres located at different places in Punjab have been playing a key role in providing training for jobs to unemployed youth.

Nearly 10,797 unemployed youths have been trained by these centres in Punjab that are being run by Bharti Walmart Private Limited, which is a joint venture of Bharti group of companies and Walmart Group of Companies. Addressing mediapersons here today, a spokesman for the company said these training centres in Zirakpur, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar had trained 10,797 youth for jobs in the retail industry.

The centres have placed 4,467 candidates in various jobs in retail, telecom and other sectors.

He said the trained youth included nearly 32 per cent women.

The spokesman further said men of these training centres visit slums and other areas and guide unemployed youth to join job training at free of cost.

In Zirakpur, 1,210 youth, including 300 women, have been trained and 733 youth have been placed in firms like Tech Mahindra, Best Price, RS Steel Private Limited, Big Bazaar, Whirlpool, Tata Docomo, Shoppers Stop and Reliance.

Over 27,000 students had been certified from different centres and nearly 11,000 placed with various prestigious firms at various locations in the country, the spokesman added. 

Chandigarh, September 24
UT Education Secretary VK Singh today gave away state awards to the best programme officers and the best volunteers of the NSS at a function held at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10, today.

The State NSS Cell, Department of Education, Chandigarh, organised this function. Sri Guru Gobind Singh Senior Secondary School, Sector 35 B, was awarded with the best NSS Unit Award for 2010-11.

Madhu Bala from Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 15; Rakesh Dahiya from GMSSS, Sector 38 (West), and Surinder Pal Chauhan from Government Polytechnic College for Women, Sector 10, were awarded with the best programme officer awards.

Navneet Kaur, Sanjay, Simranjit Kaur and Sandeep Kumar were given the best NSS awards at the school and college levels for 2010-11 and 2011-12. The award carried a medal, a certificate and cash.

Bikram Rana, State Liaison Officer (NSS), State NSS Cell, Chandigarh Administration, said the awards were presented for creating environment awareness among public; blood donation awareness camps; conduct of medical camps; road safety programmes; village adoption, etc.

VK Singh lauded and highlighted the services rendered by the Chandigarh NSS Cell, especially its NTSE Project and RTE Awareness among the public.

He hoped that the volunteers would do more at different community levels in the days to come.

Chandigarh, September 24
The president of the Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) today submitted a memorandum to Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover regarding various issues related to the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS).

PUCSC president Chandan Rana said the one-year LLM course that is available to the students of five-year integrated course should be made available for the students of the UILS.

The current two-year course being run from the Department of Laws had limited seats due to which the students of the UILS were not getting a chance to pursue LLM from the university itself, he said.

The student council has also highlighted the issue of parking. The students said there was strength of over 800 students in the department. However, there was parking for less then 100 cards, following which the students have to park their vehicles in other departments of PU and walk down to the UILS Department.

The student council has also demanded that digital notice boards should be made available in the UILS as they are in the Department of Laws. These notice boards should display daily notices, along with any directions regarding exam forms, fee, etc.

The PUCSC president said the law fest had been pending for the past six years. A law fest should also be organised at the PU for law students on the pattern of other universities.

The students also highlighted the shortage of teachers in the UILS Department.

Chandigarh, September 24
KK Sharma, Adviser to the UT Administrator, laid the foundation stones of two government high schools at Dhanas village here today.

The schools are being constructed at an estimate cost of Rs 11.53 crore and Rs 11.78 crore with an objective to impart education to the children of the allottees of the flats under the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme of the Chandigarh Administration.

Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh handed over the possession of over 8,000 flats to the beneficiaries of the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme at a function at Dhanas recently.

The plot areas of the two schools are 3.54 acres and 3.78 acres, respectively, with a provision for 40 classrooms each and scientific infrastructures like biology, physics and general science lab, library and music rooms. The construction will be done in a supervised manner adopting all safety features for work site safety.

The Education Department has estimated that approximately 5,000 children of the allottees of the small flat scheme would require schools post their relocation. About 3,000 children would be in the classes up to the primary level. For the interim period, children of the beneficiaries of the reconstructed flats will be accommodated in the existing schools at Dhanas village.

Two schools namely Government Senior Secondary School and Government Model High School are already functional at Dhanas village. There are 37 classrooms available in these two schools and these schools are presently running in single shift. These schools would be converted into double shift, and approximately 1,800 children up to the primary level will be adjusted in these schools.

Fatehgarh Sahib, Sept 24
A delegation of Govt-Aided School Progressive Front, led by its state president Upjit Singh Brar, called on officials of the Finance Department at Chandigarh to get released the last six month's salary of over 8,000 teachers of govt-aided schools.

The delegation told the officials that the teachers in the state had not received their salaries from the last six months and were forced to live a miserable life.

Gurdish Singh, state press secretary, said the officials of the department had assured that a meeting of top officials would be held on Wednesday and a positive decision to release their salaries be taken on the occasion.

He urged the government to release their salary in time.

He said they had been struggling since long to get their demands like restoration of the pension scheme, implementation of the new pay scales as per the Fifth Pay Commission report, permission to fill the vacant posts of principal and teacher in aided schools accepted.

Nakesh Jindal, president, Private-Aided School Managements Association said due to the non-release of government grant as well as sanction to fill the vacant posts of teachers, managements were finding it difficult to run the schools.