Sunday, April 25, 1999
|
N E W S Sunday, April 25, 1999 |
|
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
Alert
woman foils burglary bid PANCHKULA, April 24 — An alert woman occupant of a house foiled a possible burglary attempt made by four youths in Sector 10 here late last night. The car-borne youths had to flee from the spot after the woman raised the alarm. According to information available, the youths knocked at front door of the house, saying that they had come to check the electricity meter. The woman occupant, who did not wish to be identified, was alone with her child. As she was in the kitchen facing the main gate, she told the youth that the meter was outside and they could check it. However, the youths insisted that the door of the house be opened as they had come to check electricity connections in the house. The woman, keeping her cool, did not open the door. She, instead, telephoned her acquaintances living at a short distance from the house. Sensing danger, the youths escaped. The matter was, however, not reported to the police. A similar case had happened in Sector 9 here few months ago when burglars had gained entry in to a house during daylight on pretext on being employees of a gas company. A woman occupant of the house was locked in a room before the burglars decamped with cash and jewellery. Meanwhile, after the
yesterday's incident the House Owners Welfare association
has called a meeting of the residents of the sector to
make them aware about such incidents and how to tackle
such situations. A list of precautions issued by the
administration regarding minimising thefts has been
circulated by the association among the residents. |
Special
CTU bus for Vaishno Devi CHANDIGARH, April 24 — For the convenience of pilgrims going to Vaishno Devi, the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking today launched a special deluxe bus. According to a CTU spokesman, the bus will leave Chandigarh for Katra at 7 p.m. and reach there early in morning. For the return journey, the bus will leave Katra at 7 p.m. and reach here next day in morning. The CTU also launched a
special deluxe bus for tourists going to Manali. The bus
will leave Chandigarh at 8 p.m. and reach Manali early
morning. For the return journey it will leave Manali at 8
p.m. and reach here early next morning. |
PU Syndicate accepts students’
demands CHANDIGARH, April 24 — Many students' demands got the nod of the Syndicate, at a meeting held at Panjab University, here today. These included 80 per cent reservation for B.Pharmacy students, seeking admission to the M.Pharmacy course, giving one per cent grace marks to students of M.Sc (honours) to enable them to secure 55 per cent marks, setting up regulations for M.Tech (micro electronics) and giving an additional chance to students of Masters of Finance course. However, the Syndicate decided to issue a show-cause notice for disaffiliation to the management of the DAV College, Hoshiarpur. It was decided that no new course would be started at the college and the existing evaluation centres would be shifted to some other college immediately. The members approved the permanent affiliation given to the Government Medical College, Sector 32. The provisional affiliation given to Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences, Muktsar, was withdrawn. The withdrawal came after an inspection committee reported that the college lacked adequate staff, gave low pay-scales to its staff. It was also found wanting in the qualifications of the staff . A sub-committee comprising Dr Deepak Manmohan Singh, Mr Randeep Surjewala, Dr Rabinder Nath Sharma and Prof I.M. Govil was constituted to form selection committees for the faculty of various departments. Its meeting will be chaired by the Vice-Chancellor. The item about the Guest House and Faculty House was withdrawn from the agenda because of numerous mistakes, The one-year extension to Prof R.L. Bagga, Honorary Consultant in Electric Energy Management was deferred. Mr V.P. Sharma, Senior Technical Assistant of the Department of Zoology, has been made Senior Scientific Assistant without being given an increment. Mr A.S. Bedi, a member, raised the issue of the whereabouts of funds collected from students of B.Com I at the time of admission. Rs 50 was being charged from those seeking admission as processing fee. But once the fee was levied, there was no accountability of the collection and where the funds were used. The VC assured the house that he would look into the matter. It was decided to condone the shortage of upto 40 lectures of students falling short of the required number. The shortage of upto 30 lectures could be condoned by the chairman of the department concerned and the shortage of other 10 by the VC. The remaining cases will be examined by a committee appointed by the Syndicate. The issue of superannuated persons employed at different posts in the university was discussed at length in an earlier meeting, following which a committee was constituted. This issue could not be brought before the Syndicate due to the lack of time. The committee had decided that 16 of the 19 superannuated officials would be relieved since the university was passing through a financial crunch. Many members demanded that a special meeting be held for the purpose. The Syndicate approved
of awarding degree of Philosophy to 25 candidates. The
next meeting of the Syndicate is scheduled for May 21. |
Engineers’
meet begins today CHANDIGARH, April 24 — More than 400 engineers and scientists associated with 15 different streams of engineering will participate in the 13th Indian Engineering Congress starting at Tagore Theatre here tomorrow morning. Talking to newsmen here this morning, Prof (Dr) M.P. Chowdiah, President, Institution of Engineers, said the theme of the Congress is “Information technology for sustainable competitiveness”. Besides the seminar, there will be six memorial lectures which have been instituted by the council in memories of engineering personalities. Sir M. Visvesvaraya Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Dr R.A. Mashelkar, Director-General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and the Nidhu Bhushan Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Mr T. Bhardwaj, Director, Development Consultants, Calcutta, on the topic “Science, religion and vedanta” tomorrow. The third memorial lecture — Bhakta Memorial — will also be delivered in the conference tomorrow by Prof VC Kulandai Swami, former Vice-Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University on “Higher Education in India — a system that resists change”. Mr MVS Rao, Deputy Director-General, Indian Defence Services and Arbitrator, will speak on “The construction technology and its applications — national and international scenario, while delivering Dr A.N. Khosla Memorial Lecture. Sir Rajendra nath Mookerjee Memorial Lecture will be delivered by Lieut Gen JS Ahluwalia, Director, Institute of Directors. The sixth lecture — Dr Amitabha Bhattaacharya Memorial — will be delivered by Dr Janardan Jha, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Manipal Academy of Higher Education on “Professional Education Through Distance Mode”.... Prof Chowdiah said some eminent engineering personalities will also talk of their achievements and problems they had experienced under the “Glimpses of engineering personalities” programme. The personalities are : Prof Sujoy Kumar Saha, Professor of biomedical engineering, IIT, New Delhi; Dr K. Kasturirangan, Chairman, ISRO and Secretary, Department of Space, Bangalore; Mr S.K. Mukherjee, Senior Adviser, Chairman, Engineering Group, Tata Iron and Steel; Dr N.C. Nigam, Vice-Chancellor, University of Roorkee; and Mr E. Sreedharan, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The seminar on the theme of the Congress will be held on the second day where selected authors will present their papers in three sessions. The authors are expected to bring out the achievements of Indian engineering with relevance to the past and present, Professor Chowdiah said. He said a souvenir would be released tomorrow. The Governor of Punjab-cum-Administrator of Chandigarh, Lieut-Gen BKN Chhibber (retd), will inaugurate the Congress. General Chhibber will also present the President of India awards and National Design awards in various disciplines. A number of delegates from overseas are also expected to participate in the conference. The conference was originally scheduled to be held at Ahmedabad. The Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh State Centre of the Institution of Engineers under the chairmanship of Mr G.S. Bachhal, took the responsibility of organising the Congress. Mr Bachhal said the
Institution of Engineers, the largest professional body
established in 1920, and granted Royal Charter in 1935
has more than 4 lakh members and more than 90 chapters in
the country. Besides, it awards AMIE degrees through
distance learning to 3,000 inservice engineers by holding
their exams. |
Bailable
warrants issued CHANDIGARH, April 24 — Judicial Magistrate, Ist class, Mr Jasbir Singh, has issued bailable warrants to procure the presence of Dr Swarn Singh, IAS, in a complaint case filed by Mr Jaswant Singh, PCS, under Section 499, 500 read with 120-B of IPC. The court had earlier summoned Dr Swarn Singh today to face a trial in the complaint alleging criminal conspiracy to defame the complainant by getting a defamatory news item published against the complainant. The court had prima facie found that Dr Swarn Singh had acted in connivance with the publisher and the correspondent of a Jalandhar daily, to get the news item published with the intention to harm the reputation of the complainant. Dr Swarn Singh was posted as Managing Director, SPINFED, when the complainant was already working as Additional Managing Director there. It was during this period that alleged differences arose between the two and Dr Swarn Singh managed to get the news item published. As Dr Swarn Singh failed
to appear before the court today, in spite of receiving
the summons, the court has ordered that he be summoned
through bailable warrants in the sum of Rs 10,000 with
one surety of the like amount for May 15. The court has
also issued bailable warrants against the publisher of
the daily newspaper. |
Jagjit
Singh strikes the right chord CHANDIGARH, April 24 — The City Beautiful which is known for its boisterous crowd somehow always manages to be on its best behaviour everytime Jagjit Singh comes here. And so it was today, at the lawns of the Food Crafts Institute, Sector 42, where he gave a performance in front of a highly appreciative crowd. This time he was bought to the city by the Star Fan Club. Beginning with one of his most popular ghazals, "yeh daulat bhi ley lo, yeh shauhrat bhi ley lo", Jagjit Singh struck the right chord with his audience. Jagjit Singh on our personal stereo system and Jagjit Singh live always seem to be two altogether different experiences. His interaction with the audience is always something to look forward to at all his live performances, since his selection of ghazals seem to echo the mood of his fans. And his interesting jugalbandi with his co-artists is another experience to remember. It was with the soul-stirring "mein bhool bhi jaoon tumhe", from his latest album 'Silsilay', with Javed Akhtar, that the evening seemed to actually warm up. His "kaun ayega yahan, koi to aya hoga", from the same album, which he presented as a melange of sorts with "kabhi yoon bhi to hoo", had a touch of heart-tugging pathos and yearning for love. But the well-managed show, which did not have people stepping on each other's shoes or even going for the free eatables available, did do justice to Jagjit Singh and his delightful ghazals. Interestingly, with the coming of 'Crane Bedi' even parking at such events does not seem to pose much of a problem. The jugalbandi with Deepak Pandit on the violin during the rendition of the ghazal "apni marzi se kahan" was an interesting diversion from the otherwise serious tones of the ghazal session today. Jagjit Singh was
accompanied by Akhlakh Hussain on harmonium, Arshad Ahmed
on guitar, Abhinav Upadhyay on tabla and Santosh on
dholak. |
'Capitalism
dominant even today' CHANDIGARH, April 24 — Taking a cue from Lt Gen BKN Chhibber's, Governor, Punjab, and Administrator, Chandigarh, walkout from the 12th All-India Conference of National Federation of Progressive Writers on Friday over the remarks of Brij Behari Pandey of Jan Sanskrit Manch on the fascist forces taking over the country today, Dr Namvar Singh, a Hindi critic, today delivered his lecture on the defence of the freedom of expression. Reading the main paper on the second day of the conference Guru Gobind Singh Bhavan, Sector 15, Dr Namvar said even today capitalist forces formed a dominant part of our system, but in the garb of "liberalisation, globalisation, consumerism and post-modernism". While talking of the second session of the "progress writes" in 1938, which was chaired by Rabindranath Tagore, he said at that time also there was talk of fascism. A Left-oriented literature may not be produced today, he added, but there certainly was a need to create democratic ideology. The President of the NFPW, Mr O.V.N. Karup, said a writer could not compromise, and had to go beyond his own allurements and needed to understand the concern of the people. Talking about languages, he said each language had its own music. In the debate that followed, 27 writers took part, including Dr Kamaal Siddiqui, Poonam, S.B. Kar, Dr Kamla Prasad, Mr Jagjit Singh Anand and Dr Mohan Singh. The first session today was moderated by Dr Kamla Prasad and the second session by Dr Ali Javed. A number of books published recently in Urdu, Malaylam and Punjab also were released. In the evening a cultural programme was organised, which included bhangra, gidha and a performance by the Wadali brothers. Meanwhile, some Dogri
writers stated today that they felt
"victimised" at the conference since senior
poets and Sahitya Akademi award winners of Dogri language
were dropped at the mushaira held on Friday. |
Illicit
liquor seized ZIRAKPUR, April 24 — The local police has arrested three residents of Barot village of Barwala subdivision for possessing illicit liquor. The suspects, Suresh,
Davinder and Sanju, were arrested by the local police
during a naka on Zirakpur-Barwala road while carrying 900
pouches of country made liquor without having any permit
in a car (PB-10-J-5477) to Barwala. The police has
impounded the vehicle used in the crime and a case under
the Excise Act has been registered against them. |
Two murder
suspects held DERA BASSI, April 24 — The police arrested two suspects involved in the Gurnek Singh murder case today. Gurnek Singh, a resident of Rajomajra village, was stabbed to death on the night of November 15, last year while he was returning home. According to a press statement issued by Mr Param Pal Singh Sidhu, SSP, Patiala, the suspects Gurmukh Singh alias Rodda and Baldev Singh — both residents of Rajomajra — had murdered Gurnek Singh to take revenge. The accused and the victim often used to drink together. Their relationship soured when Gurmukh Singh allegedly misbehaved with the victim’s wife. The matter was taken by the panchayat also. Gurmukh later allegedly hatched a conspiracy with his friend Baldev Singh to kill Gurnek. Both suspects attacked Gurnek with sharp-edged weapons and one of the weapons used in the crime was thrown into a well adjacent to the spot of the crime, while the other was buried under ground near a garden, according to the police . The police came to know about the suspects when Mr Jaspal Singh, a resident of Khanpur village, filed a complaint against Gurmukh Singh and Baldev Singh for teasing his daughters and threatening him. The two surrendered before the police in the presence of the Sarpanch and the Lambardar of the village on April 22 and 23 . According to Mr MS
Bhullar, DSP, both arrested men have confessed to having
murdered Gurnek Singh. |
Traffic
menace in Subzi Mandi CHANDIGARH, April 24 — The Subzi Mandi Aarthi Association criticised the action of Chandigarh traffic police of towing away vehicles that unloaded fruits and vegetables here. They claimed that the mandi could not be treated like other sectors of the city. Lack of space is a hindrance in carrying out various operations started by the traffic police here. Following the implementation of the new guidelines, arrivals of fruits and vegetables have delayed. The association
threatened to stop selling the produce that arrived in
city, if a solution was not found soon. |
Debate
contest on World YWCA Day CHANDIGARH, April 24 — The YWCA of Chandigarh, today organised an inter-school debate competition on the occasion of the World YWCA Day, at Working Women's Hostel, Sector 11. Mr P.H. Viashnav, Director of SOSVA was the chief guest. As many as 78 children of various Chandigarh schools participated in the competition. Out of these, 20 qualified for the finals. The topic for 12 to 14-year-old students was whether television was a teacher or a destroyer. The topic for students in the age group of 14 to 17 years, was whether the generation gap was a reality or a myth. Results of the competition are as follows: Junior group (12 to14 years), in English — Ishita Aggarwal, Sacred Heart School (1); Hargunn Bedi, Carmel Convent School (2); Radhika Bhalla, Vivek High School (2); and special prizes — Simran Lamba, Sacred Heart School; and Jasleen Arora, Carmel Convent School. Junior group (12 to 14 years), in Hindi — Ranjit Bhagirath, Christ High School (1); Sangeeta, Christ High School (2); and Ridhima Monga, St Kabir Public School (3). Senior group (14 to 17
years), in English — Arush Chopra, St Kabir Public
School (1); Aaftab Kharbanda, St Stephen's School (2);
Munal Saini, St John's High School (3); and special prize
— Sachit Grover, St Kabir Public School. |
Protest
rally by students MANI MAJRA, April 24 — Students of the IITT College of Engineering at Kala- Amb in Sirmour district of Himachal Pradesh today held a protest rally in front of the local office of the business house running the college here today. The agitating students have been on strike for the past one week demanding proper infrastructure at the engineering college despite the college management having charged the requisite fee from them. Mr Sarbjot Singh, President of the Students Union of the college alleged that the college management had not added facilities as per the norms of the All-India Council of Technical Education. He demanded that the students should be given three chances to clear the supplementary examination. Filling of all posts in the administrative section of the college was also sought by the students. Equipping the library of
the college with relevant books and increased seating
capacity, hostel facility for boys, adequate sports
facility, proper medical facilities, and a permanent
Principal in the college were among the 17 demands of the
students. A memorandum of the demands has earlier been
submitted to the Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh
University (HPU), said the student leaders. |
SNIPPETS HAC accuses Admn of indifference CHANDIGARH, April
24— The Hotel Association of Chandigarh In a statement released by Mr Ashok Bansal, General Secretary of the HAC, it was said that the area of 277 square yards was not adequate to run two, three and four star hotels. The allotted area was not enough for setting up of certain facilities such as lift room, solar system, generators etc. The height of hotel buildings needed to be increased, the association demanded. According to Mr Bansal, there was no change in the frame control except to maintain verandah for beautification purposes. Opt for govt schools: Sharma PANCHKULA, April 24 — The State Education Minister, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma, today urged parents not to run after the convent schools and instead opt for government schools as the government schools provided a better opportunity to the students to get moral education. The minister was speaking at a function organised by the local unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad as part of its 'Sahyog' project at Government School in Sector 7 here. He appreciated the role of the Bharat Vikas Parishad for taking up social projects to eradicate illiteracy and poverty. He donated Rs 50,000 from his discretionary quota to the parishad. Earlier, the minister distributed books and stationery to 825 poor and needy students of different schools in the district under the "Sahyog' project. Mr Saran Dass Kamboj, an NRI donated Rs 21,000 to the parishad for its activities. Mr C.B.Goel, President of the local unit of the parishad, said the parishad would own the responsibility of education of the poor and needy students. Computer gifted to school CHANDIGARH, April 24 — Students of Dr Ambedkar Primary School, New Janata Colony, were awarded prizes at a prize distribution function held here today. Mr D.P Singhal, Assistant General Manager, State Bank of India, gave away the prizes and donated one computer to the school and cash awards to students who participated in cultural activities. Brig Gurinderjit Singh, President of the Citizens Association for Relief Education and Service (CARES), gave a brief account of objectives and activities of the organisation. Earlier, welcoming the chief guest, Mr Surinder Verma, Joint Secretary of CARES informed that besides this, the society runs four more schools in Kumhar Colony, Bapu Dham Colony, Maloya Colony and Kali Bari Mandir. Palliative care in cancer CHANDIGARH, April 24 — A two-day continuing medical education (CME) programme on “Palliative care in cancer” commenced at the PGI today with doctors discussing methods to improve the quality of life of terminally ill cancer patients. The basic idea mooted by the experts was that the treatment should be done keeping in mind the emotional, social, medical and spiritual needs of the patients and their families. The CME is being sponsored by a non-government organisation (NGO), Global Cancer Concern India. They are into training people, doctors and nurses to deal with pain. Palliative care can be in any stream of health care but this CME has been dedicated exclusively for cancer. In India this concept of relieving and managing pain is new. In the morning a lecture on the needs of patients was delivered by Gilly Burns of the UK. The CME is being attended by experts from India and abroad. Oncologists, nurses and social workers are participating in it. Prof N.N. Wig, Professor Emeritus, PGI, inaugurated the programme. Awareness week to focus on AIDS CHANDIGARH, April 24 — The local Health Department will observe a week-long family health awareness week from April 26 to May 1. This is being done in in order to generate AIDS awareness and encourage early diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and reproductive tract infections (RTIs). This is in continuation of the family health awareness campaign which was launched on March 15,1999. After an intensive programme that started with training of anganwari workers, malaria workers, nursing staff and volunteers of the Nehru Yuvak Kendra, a survey was conducted in all villages and colonies of Chandigarh from April 1 to 7. Information regarding HIV, AIDS and STDs was disseminated in the house-to-house survey conducted during the first and second phase of this campaign. People falling between the age group of 15 to 49 years are being motivated to reach out at the nearest medical-cum-awareness camp being held in their area to access the facility of specialised team of doctors and counsellors from the PGI, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, and the General Hospital, Sector 16, Chandigarh. The State AIDS Control Society is organising 26 camps in collaboration and active support of NGOs, anganwari workers, health workers, volunteers of the Nehru Yuva Kendra to generate awareness about HIV and AIDS and provide medical facilities for early detection and treatment of STDs and RTIs . The following provisions in these camps being organised at doorstep for the population living in villages and colonies: specialist male and female doctors for check-up of patients suffering from STDs and RTIs; free distribution of medicines; arrangement of blood testing; counselling facility through trained counsellors of senior faculty members of Nursing College, P.G.I ; information and awareness about prevention of AIDS. Every day four to five such camps will be organised in various villages and colonies. Mrs Anuradha Gupta, Home Secretary-cum-Secretary, Health, Chandigarh Administration, will inaugurate the camp being organised in Kumhar Colony on April 26, 1999. The recent HIV surveillance data indicates a sharp rise in HIV and AIDS cases. Inderpreet, Amrita top declamation
contest CHANDIGARH, April 24—Inderpreet Singh of GMSSS-33 and Amrita of GMSSS-10 were declared first in the age-group of 15 to 18 years and 12 to 15 years ,respectively, in the inter-school declamation contest on "Khalsa Celebrations'' organised on the instructions of the Education Department, here today. The second place in the two categories was bagged by Ruchi Katari of GMSSS-33 and Pranav of DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8. The contest was held at
Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 10. |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Editorial | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
