& V I C I N I T Y
Monday, January 11, 1999
|
C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
|
Monday, January 11, 1999 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
 |
|
|
Row over bridge takes new
turn Syndicate
gets back powers on appointments |
 |
|
|
‘Out
of world’ trip for PEC students Rise
in prices of Lohri essentials Meet
on obstetric anaesthesia ends |
||||||||||||
|
Row over
bridge takes new turn CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Even as the bridge at the site of the collapsed causeway, connecting the city with SAS Nagar, was officially opened to the public by the Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, today, the controversy regarding its change of design refuses to die. It has taken a new turn with one of the members of the five-member committee, Mr R. K. Aggarwal, constituted to probe the change of the design, resigning from the committee. According to sources, Mr Aggarwal, a nominated councillor and a retired Chief Engineer of the Haryana Government, in his resignation letter to the Secretary of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC), Dr Amar Pal Singh, a copy of which has been sent to the Mayor, Mr Addiwal, is reported to have reiterated his objections to the change of design. It may be recalled that the decision of the Engineering Department of the MCC to change the design of the bridge from a high level-bridge to the box culvert-type bridge had come in for a severe criticism at the hands of councillors at the civic body meeting on November 30. After prolonged discussions, the House had appointed a five-member committee to probe the change in the design. At the meeting officials, while strongly defending the change in the design, had claimed that the box-culvert was as good as the high-level bridge. It worked out to be much cheaper (cost over Rs 60 lakh) than the bridge which was estimated to cost about Rs 1.71 crore. Mr Aggarwal is reported to have written to the Secretary that since he still firmly believed in "discrepancies" regarding the change of the bridge's design there was no need of his being associated with the committee. Mr Aggarwal, a nominated councillor, while terming the change of design as "undesirable", had claimed that of the several bridges constructed on the N-choe passing through the city, no bridge of the box culvert-type had been constructed. He had also alleged that the site of the box-culvert was not got approved from the Chandigarh Administration. The waterway estimates was only about 72 feet as compared to the 150 feet estimated for the bridge. It is pertinent to mention
here that the committee is to submit its report in a
month from the day it started working. The committee
members had reportedly received terms of reference on
December 17. Till date the committee, which had been
working at a snail's pace, had met only twice-on January
6 and 8. |
Syndicate
gets back powers on appointments CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — In a significant decision, the Panjab University Syndicate today "restored" the powers of appointing selection committee for teachers to the syndicate. These powers were being exercised by the Vice-Chancellor on its behalf. The proposal in this regard was moved by Mr Randip Surjewala and seconded by Mr Ashok Goyal. The decision gains importance after more than 20 appointments had run into controversy in the past one year. Mr G.K.Chatrath, Dr V.K.Bansal and Mr Anmol Rattan Sidhu recorded their dissent on the issue. Prof M.M. Puri who offered to have the issue examined also showed his disagreement.Mr Rajinder Deepa and Mr Rajinder Bhandari also supported Mr Surjewala's proposal. In another significant move, members of various committees were appointed on the floor of the House "after a very long time", sources said . In the usual practice the VC brings in the nominations and the item is passed with minor changes. The Syndicate appointed members of the Joint Consultative Machinery with Mr Goyal as chairman, the Youth Welfare Committee, the Revising Committee, the UMC Committee, the Publications Committee and the Regulations Committee. All students of BA, B Sc and B Com, who had compartments, will be given a golden chance to clear the same. Mr Bhandari and Mr Sidhu spoke on the issue.The chance has been given to undergraduate students who could not clear the examination in two earlier chances. The issue of lapses in recording the minutes of the Syndicate once again raised its hood.The matter was clinched with the decision that each Syndicate would confirm the minutes of the previous Syndicate meeting before taking the current agenda.The agenda will also contain an item on action taken on decisions of the previous Syndicate, sources said. The Syndicate accepted the notification of the UGC dated December 24, 1998, with regard to the pay scales. Prof Rabinder Nath Sharma and Mr S.S.Hundal and Dr I.M.Govil spoke on the issue. The Syndicate decided that necessary action should be taken to amend the regulations concerned. The Syndicate meeting rejected the recommendation of the Board of Finance to re- designate a Dy-XEN as an XEN. It also deferred the item pertaining to the confirmation of Dr Sodhi Ram as Controller of Examination. Mr Sidhu said the university should allow the students council to have the financial powers up to Rs 1 lakh, which was the practice earlier. The proposed charges by a committee for obtaining various certificates got the nod of the Syndicate as did the rates of renumeration for teachers for examination-related duties. The colleges will have to pay a continuation fee of Rs 500 to the university instead of the existing rate of Rs 250. The affiliation fee for a college for introduction of each new subject will be Rs 1000 instead of Rs 500. The fee for provisional admission of candidates in the examination at the centre without the production of roll number card if the name of the candidate figures in the cut list will be Rs 50. The fee for project report and dissertation in masters level courses will be Rs 225 instead of the existing Rs 150 ; Rs 450 instead of Rs 300 for M Phil courses ; Rs 125 instead of Rs 75 for other diploma courses. The Syndicate passed the
item pertaining to condonation of lectures of students by
the Vice-Chancellor in anticipation of approval. It,
however, said that in future no cases with lectures below
40 per cent should be entertained and cases should first
be brought to the Syndicate for approval, sources said. |
Bankmen
involved in frauds CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — With a significant rise in the incidence of frauds in public sector banks, huge amounts, running into hundreds of crores, have been misappropriated by bank officials and others. It is learnt that in most cases of frauds active connivance of the bank officials, including those functioning at the level of managers, is to be blamed for the embezzlements. And how callously the bank authorities treat the public money is clear from the directionless investigations and poor follow-up of cases resulting from snags in the procedures followed. At an Ambala city branch of the State Bank of India, an employee of the clerical cadre serving as officiating manager at an extension counter found opportunity to get away with a sum of nearly Rs 14 lakh through fraudulent withdrawals from customers' accounts. The person concerned was allegedly operating "parallel banking" on personal level. The Chief Manager of the bank at Ambala city is understood to have recommended to the higher authorities in Chandigarh handing over the case to the CBI as there is little hope of recovery of the embezzled amount. So far, the employee has been merely suspended. This is not an isolated case. The Punjab National Bank in more or less a similar case, involving misappropriation of Rs 10.5 lakh at one of its branches in Hisar, has referred the case to the CBI. It is also learnt that the SBI which had earlier suspended three officials, including a branch manager of its Jamba branch, near Nilokheri in which a sum of Rs 3 lakh remittance from one branch to other was reportedly taken away by an unknown person due to security lapses, have been reinstated, pending final investigations. Reports from different sources reveal that banks generally make efforts to recover money in cases of misappropriation rather than reporting the matter to the police authorities to escape from the impact of such incidents among the customers. However, a manager of the State Bank of Patiala in Sector 17 who was involved in an embezzlement of nearly Rs 5 lakh was first transferred to a Delhi branch, pending investigation. He has now been placed under suspension. However, the higher bank authorities affirm that no leniency will be shown in such cases where the intention of the official to commit fraud is proved. Withdrawals through forged
signatures apart, a large number of frauds have been
committed by customers, in connivance with bank officials
by drawing loans against forged Kisan Vikas Patras and
Indira Vikas Patras. |
Divergent
views on Chandigarh CHANDIGARH : "Chandigarh is at crossroads", "blame game is not a healthy game", "Chandigarh should be treated a historic city", "discourage low-cost housing", "Architects must not hesitate to plan for a change," are some of the observations made by a cross-section of architects, planners and educators participating in the international conference to celebrate "Chandigarh 50 years of the idea." Among those interviewed by TheTribune include Mr Ravi Kalia, who is come out with a revised and expanded edition of "Chandigarh, the making of an Indian City", Mr W. Cecil Steward, Dean and Professor of the College of Architecture at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln; Mr William Lim, an architect from Singapore; Ms Luo Xiao-Wei, Consultant, College of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University in China; and Mr Ralph Allen, a renowned Architect practising Corbu style in the USA. All those interviewed were unanimous in their view that "Chandigarh was unique". Mr Ravi Kalia, an Associate Professor of History at the City College of the City University of New York, whose book was released by the President, Dr K.R. Narayanan, yesterday, feels that it is wrong to credit Le Corbusier alone for the plan and development of Chandigarh. Like others, he feels that Chandigarh is an expression of aspirations of people of an Independent India and represents pain and struggle of Punjabis who underwent the agonising experience of partition in 1947. Those interviewed also agreed that segregation of the population on the socio-economic basis was an unusual phenomenon and difference in low- density areas and high density areas should not be much. "Some apparently resent unauthorised encroachments and growth as tarnishing image of City Beautiful", feels Professor Kalia. Most of those interviewed had been here before. Professor W. Cecil Steward, however, visiting India for the first time. I have been to China more than 20 times since 1979 but could never make it to India. "This visit is filling in a huge cultural gap. My participation in this conference heightens my awareness of other global issues besides deepening my knowledge of India and Chandigarh," he says. In December last year he was conferred the 1999 Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural education from the American Institute of Architects and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. Professor Luo from China had been to India once before, to Mumbai exactly 10 years ago. She has included Chandigarh in her book on architecture in 1962, though she never had a chance to be here before. "It is an extraordinary conference where you find all top architects, planners and critics of the world at one place. The Master Plan of Chandigarh is like a manifesto of expression. The use of local material — like bricks in houses and concrete in public buildings— makes the city unique. Le Corbusier successfully connected modernity with regional climatic identification." She says she cannot comment on criticism of the City as "inhuman" or "City of long distances for pedestrians" and also cannot call it wrong. She was not happy with the quality of construction as she noticed cracks in public buildings and houses. Further, she says, there are some problems about managing open spaces where there is no grass and no trees but huge piles of garbage and waste material. She also feels that Chandigarh should be treated a historic city as the Capitol Complex, a unique thing, represents the age. For Mr William Lim it has been his third visit to the city. "I do not find any difference in the low-density areas I visit each time. I did not go to high density areas. But I do not subscribe to the idea of low-cost housing. In some other countries, where there has been a segregation of the population, the planners are now trying to correct it. The cities have to be dynamic, not on financial matters alone, but socially too. I am really impressed by ‘sensible administration’ you have here. Instead of low-cost housing, I feel if it is community participation. The practice the world over was to have the high-density areas in the middle of the city and rich people on the fringe with big and large houses. Here, Le Corbusier made a change. The people needed for services have been put on the fringe of the city. In fact, the poor have to be right in the centre so that they do not have to go far to reach their work place." Mr Lim maintains that planning can only be made for a foreseeable future and not for infinity. He also feels that conferences only provide a forum to exchange views and not solutions to problems. "I am against passing resolutions at the end of the conference. It is a terribly arrogant thing to do," he adds. Mr Ralph Allen from California feels that artistic touch to buildings make their design distinct. An expert in giving Corbusier touch to buildings, mostly educational institutions and libraries, Mr Allen has been to India before. He says that this "conference" is unique for it brought together the galaxy of planners, designers and critics. He maintains that he exploits the power of materials, particularly that of concrete to give it a sense of presence and permanence. As a practitioner within the Modernist tradition, he uses natural shapes, which people relate to, with an intriguing twist. Allen has been influenced by the work of Eero Saarinen, Le Corbusier, and L.M. Pei. During his last visit to
Chandigarh, he gave a lecture to students of College of
Architecture, reflecting his work. He also sponsored a
conference on the conservation of energy and a symposium
entitled "Campus Architecture: directions for a new
century." |
UT planners,
engineers honoured CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Lesser-known architects and engineers instrumental in giving a concrete shape to the present-day Chandigarh out of the masterplan received their due recognition on the second day of the international conference on "Celebrating Chandigarh:50 years of the idea" at Panjab University today. An entire session titled "Other contributors was dedicated for the theme in which relentless efforts of Pierre Jeanneret, Maxwell Fry, Jane Drew and Indian architects and engineers, including Aditya Parkash, P.L.Varma, P.N. Thapar, Jeet Malhotra, Prabhavalkar and U.E. Chaudhary received critical attention. M.N. Sharma, an eminent architect, said Corbusier did ultimately incorporate some of the figures of the original plan of Mayer and Noviki (architects originally chosen for the Chandigarh project). Jeanneret used stone in its natural form. Fry and Drew who had the advantage of working in Africa stressed the need for protection from inclement weather in their creations. Sharma, who worked with both the first and the second teams, said the contribution of P.L. Varma, Chief Engineer, R.N. Dogra, then under-secretary, P.N. Thapar, N.S. Lamba, D.P. Mathur, Prabhavalkar and Giani Rattan Singh (a craftsman) was no less. Mahender Raj, an engineer on the project, dwelt exclusively on the contribution of Varma whom he called the"soul of Chandigarh". He highlighted his role in the approval of the plan, in convincing people while evacuating them from their land and in getting Corbusier to India besides the creation of Sukhna Lake. Interestingly, when Varma went to convince Corbusier he and Jeanneret (Corbusier's cousin) were not on talking terms, he added. S.D Sharma chaired the session while Anant Raje was the discussant. A panel discussion was conducted on "Corbusier's architecture" which was chaired by Raj Rewal. Sir John Colin Wilson and Arata Isozaki spoke. In her paper Zainab Faruqui Ali said buildings along with the site planning of the capitol complex were good examples of climate conscious design in the hot tropical climate of Chandigarh. The high court building with its double roof was found to be best among the three buildings. She measured the environmental performance of these buildings for her Ph D. Dushko Bogunovich said He Corbusier's model of the city as a machine, just as his analogy with human organisms, may be obsolete and crude, but they are not totally misplaced. The latest theory of sustainable urban development suggests that cities should indeed be viewed as organisms,with their metabolism integrated with the surrounding eco-system. In another panel discussion on the city Kiran Joshi Nangia said despite its incredibly recent origin, the heritage of Chandigarh was no less threatened than the long array of archaeological and historical examples. Rahoul B. Singh in his paper suggested that Corbusier's work in Chandigarh could be understood from the dual perspective of "the grotesque" and the "grid". Richard S. Bullene in his
paper took a look at the cultural understanding of
modernism, suggesting that an appropriateness for
modernism might be found in developing countries whose
cultural climates and aspirations find common ground with
the cultural movements from which modern architecture
grew. |
‘Out of
world’ trip for PEC students CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — It was a trip to space fiction, showcasing opportunities for the next decade, for 22 students of the Aeronautical engineering branch of Punjab Engineering College who were in Bangalore for the bi-annual aviation and aerospace show, Aero '98. A month later they vividly "call back yesterday'' with glistening eyes and voices tingling with excitement. They are still awe struck over what they saw at the air force station in Yelahanka, near Bangalore, and the experience has left an indelible impression on their minds. Sanchan Saxena says: "It was just out of the world. The response of the international community was fantastic.'' The rest of them vouch for what he says, nodding their heads in approval. Getting down to business, after the initial exuberance has subsided, Harpreet Singh recalls. "The most-striking dialogue which I remember verbatim came from Mr Anant Kumar, representing the Ministry of Defence, telling Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, "You build aircraft and I will buy them.'' He was referring to the first 100-seater aircraft under production, to be completed by the year 2000.'' Ashu Garg, one of the two girls who went to Aero '98, asked Dr Abdul Kalam. "When will the light combat aircraft (LCA) roll out?'' to which he answered: "July '99.'' Meeting the man behind the successful nuclear explosions was a feat in itself, she says. Ashish Nageet says: "Dr Kalam's emphasis was that the students could contribute by cutting down on the brain drain and working for the progress of the country.'' Munish Kumar observed that French companies were taking more interest in India than the rest of the 22 nations participating in the show. The group is disappointed that there are no such opportunities or shows in North India. Citing it as "the first real exposure," they said they felt they were part of the industry for the first time. Dr S.C. Sharma, the man behind the visit of the students says: "My aim in sending them to the show was to make them understand the difference between what they study and what really exists. As this is the biggest show in the whole of South-East Asia, there is no better way to give the students a feel of their discipline.'' Meanwhile, the students are happy that they were provided free board and lodging during their stay and even excused the fee of Rs 2000 the participating delegates were charged and all because their teacher had intervened in time. The students were provided with information on new projects to be undertaken by the companies, and those under production. The seminar focussed attention on air and aerospace power in the next century, technologies and products on the design board, weapons' upgradation programmes and safety in aviation and aerospace programmes. The other students who
went to Bangalore are Amit Goyal, Amit Maheshwari, Kiran
Singh, Yash Bhatia, Anurag Sobti, Munish Kumar, Sachin
Saxena, Sumeet Singh, Ashish Ahuja, Amit Khatri, Deepayan
and Girish Sagoo. |
Rise in
prices of Lohri essentials CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — Almost all Lohri essentials such as gachak, rewri and til bhugga have become dearer this season as compared to their prices last winter. During a survey of the local market today, it was found as the festival was nearing people were going in for these items in different markets. If a kg of Gujarati peanuts was available for Rs 30 around Lohri last year, this year also it is priced at Rs 30. Similarly, the desi variety of the commodity is priced at Rs 25 a kg as compared to Rs 20 a kg last year. The difference of price was more in case of items containing til as a major ingredient. The Rohtak rewri, which was available for Rs 30 a kg last year is available for Rs 40 a kg now. Same is the case with all varieties of gachak. The gur-moongphali gachak has jumped from Rs 30 to Rs 40 a kg. Likewise, a kg of gachak til khasta, which was priced at just Rs 40 a kg last year, is currently available in the market at Rs 60 a kg. Til bhugga, another winter favourite, has become costlier by Rs 20 a kg. The price of one variety has jumped from Rs 60 to Rs 80 a kg, while the ordinary one is available for Rs 60 a kg. According to dealers, the price rise was mainly due to high demand of items containing til and as well as shortage of the crop in the market. The buyer was going for items like til gachak and til rewri this year and there was little demand for the ones containing peanuts, said one of the stockists in Sector 22. He said after assessing the mood of the buyer, he brought only 10 bags of moongphali gachak this time as compared to 25 last year. According to sources,
another reason behind the hike was the effort on the part
of certain stockists to make up heavy losses incurred by
them last year due to overstocking of the Lohri
delicacies. Expecting a heavy sale, most of the dealers
had reportedly stocked a huge amount of these items
before Lohri last year, their but calculations were
dampened by unexpected heavy rains during the week
preceding the festival. "How can there be any other
reason when there was no hike in the prices of til and
gur as these are still available at the old prices of Rs
42 and Rs 10 a kg, respectively," said a karyana
merchant of the Sector 26 grain market. |
‘Lohri’
celebrated CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The local unit of the Bharat Vikas Parishad organised a function to celebrate ‘Lohri’ at the Sector 21 Dev Samaj Girls Senior Secondary School today. A number of school children amused the participants by presenting patriotic songs, Punjabi folk songs and classical dances. The event culminated in the traditional ‘Lohri’ song, "Sunder mundriye ho" which was sung by participants who ringed around a bon-fire which was lit in the school ground. Mr Madan Gupta Spatu,
press secretary of the organisation, appealed to the
gathering to donate blankets for distribution among the
needy and poor. He said the celebrations were advanced to
enable the participants to celebrate the festival in
their homes. |
|
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 (PTI) — The intense cold wave continued unabated in Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh today even as most parts of the region remained overcast and fog-bound reducing visibility to a few metres. Chilly winds swept across the north-west region and fog lowered the visibility disrupting rail and road traffic. The mercury dipped to seven degrees in Chandigarh with the maximum temperature recorded at 16.2 degrees celsius, weather office spokesman told PTI. The recent snowfall in Himachal Pradesh and winds resulting from the western disturbances are the reason for cold wave, he said. In the plains of Punjab and Haryana the mercury hovered between 4.7 degrees and 9.4 degrees celsius. Ambala had a low of 9.4 degrees, Hisar and Rohtak 8.2 and Amritsar in Punjab 4.7 degrees celsius. The weather office has
predicted a mainly dry weather in Punjab and Haryana
during the next 24 hours and rains and snow at a few
places in Himachal Pradesh. |
Meet on
obstetric anaesthesia ends CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The two-day continuing medical education (CME) programme on obstetric anaesthesia and analgesia concluded at the PGI here today. Speaking on the topic of pregnancy with heart disease, Prof Nita Saxena from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, stressed the importance of treating the heart disease before a woman got pregnant. Prof Kala Vashist from the PGI said since rheumatic heart disease was common among Indian women, pregnancies should be managed carefully in case of these women. While Dr J. Verma, Additional Professor in the Department of Cardiology, PGI, spoke on the management of patients without surgery, Dr G.D. Puri from the Department of Anaesthesia, PGI, dwelt on the anaesthetic treatment of these patients when they were not pregnant. Dr Y.K. Batra, Additional Professor in the Department of Anaesthesia, spoke on the different choices and techniques of anaesthesia in case these patients went in for operative delivery. Painless delivery was more important in case of these patients, he added. Earlier Dr Indu Bala spoke on how to go about anaesthesing these patients, particularly in case of bleeding during pregnancy. Dr Sandha spoke about how to handle these patients in the intensive care unit. Dr Sarla Hooda dwelled on
the cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in case of
sudden cardiac arrest. |
Air Defence
Artillery Day celebrated CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The Air Defence Artillery Day was celebrated at Chandimandir military station, near here, today. The celebrations began in the morning with a wreath-laying ceremony at the "Veer Smriti" to pay homage to the soldiers of the ADA, who laid down their lives for the motherland. Major-Gen SS Uppal laid a wreath on behalf of all ranks. Lieut-Gen HB Kala, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, was the chief guest. The function was attended
by a large number of serving and retired officers. |
CHANDIGARH, Jan 10 — The police today claimed to have arrested four persons allegedly involved in theft of TV sets from certain shops in Sector 47 recently. According to the police, the arrested persons are Daljit Singh, Punjab Singh, Sahib Singh and Harvinder Singh. A case has been registered. Gold stolen: A resident of Panchkula, Mr A.P. Jain, in a complaint with the police alleged that gold worth Rs 5 lakh had been stolen from the dickey of his scooter parked outside the Jain Temple in Sector 27 here. A case has been registered. Sarees stolen: Mr Manohar Singh, a Sector 17 trader in a complaint with the police alleged that sarees worth over Rs 80,000 had been stolen from his shop. A case has been registered. Motor cycle stolen: A motor cycle (CH01-X-5333), belonging to Mr Santosh Chowdhury, has been stolen from Sector 19. Hurt: Mr Ranjit Singh, a resident of Mauli Jagran, sustained injuries when he was hit by a scooter in his locality. He has been admitted to the PGI. Admitted: Mr Avtar Singh, a resident of Sector 45, was hurt when a dog came in the way of his scooter. He is in the PGI. |
| calling |
Conspicuous absence THE international conference celebrating "Chandigarh: 50 years of the idea" is unique in more than one ways.It is perhaps the first such event where such a large galaxy of world renowned architects, planners and critics has assembled at one place. But a number of eminent architects, engineers, planners who have been closely associated with the building and planning of the city are conspicuous by their absence. For example, of the former Chief Architects of Chandigarh, only a few can be seen at the conference while others, including Mr Wazir Chand Malhotra, Mr O.P. Mehta, Chief Engineer, Mr J.S. Kohli are nowhere to be seen. They all live in Chandigarh. Same is the case with Mr S.S. Bhatti, former principal of College of Architecture. Similarly, the famous architects team of Stein, Mani and Chowfla, which is being assigned a number of important projects in the city, including the Bradlaugh Hall India International Centre and Beant Singh Memorial and Chandigarh Centre of performing Arts, are not to be seen anywhere. No post offices With a population touching almost two lakh mark, Panchkula — which celebrated 25 years of its inception last year — has only four sub-post offices. The worst hit are the residents of Sector 15 and its surrounding sectors. Two months back a sub-post office, which was functioning from a rented building in Sector 15 was shifted to the building of the Sector 4 sub-post office. The residents living in the sectors covered by the Sector 15 post office have now to cover at least four kilometres to reach the Sector 4 post office. The state of affairs of other post offices is not sound. The Sector 8 sub- post office, which is running from a residential accommodation is involved in a court case. The sub-post office at Old Panchkula is running from a dilapidated building. Though HUDA has allotted land to the postal department to construct post offices at different places in the township the latter has only been able to raise its building in Sector 4. Signboards New blue and white signboards have been put up at various intersections in the city to guide visitors and tourists to the city to their destinations (see photo on top of the page). The size of these signboards is too small to be noticeable. At places, they have been fixed at such inconsequential positions that they are not visible until the road user comes very close to them. At a few other places, they are too close to the vegetation on traffic islands and road dividers to remain noticeable. Further, the road users want that such signboards should be fixed a little higher as the normal tendency of a driver is to look up and not down for such signboards. Bigger signboards, which carry more directions are, however, very useful. Back to school Former students of St Kabir Public School, a leading ICSE coeducation school in the city, have come together under the banner of Kabir's Roll of Old Students (KROS). The launch get-together was held on the school premises on Sunday. Mr Pankaj Chandgothia is the president of the club and Ina Kataria the secretary. Incidentally, the school is celebrating its silver jubilee this month. Ambulance The Sector 34 Shri Guru Granth Sahib Sewa Society is planning to launch its second ambulance service in the city later this month for night patrolling from SAS Nagar to Chunalon, a village near Landran. The Society is already running 24-hour ambulance service in the city to take victims of road accidents to hospitals at Chandigarh, SAS Nagar and Panchkula. Besides, the Society has also been organising free eye operation camps at Laser Eye Hospital at SAS Nagar and Mirchia Eye Hospital at Panchkula. Fiftyeight operations were performed with latest Phaco technique on December 27 by a team of doctors comprising Dr Rajiv Mirchia, Dr Sukhwinder Singh and Dr Surinder Kumar. Earlier the Society organised an eye checkup camp at Morni. So far, the Society has performed 523 operations in 10 camps, besides providing 1310 pairs of spectacles to needy and poor patients. Among the eminent Madan Mohan Lal is a venerable name in four fields — biographical literature, service to the people, the National Cadet Core and historical studies. He was in The Tribune office on Saturday to dig up a few facts from the old files of the newspaper for substantiating the second volume of his acclaimed work, "Among the Great Indians". Mr Lal has presented authentic sketches of 14 eminent personalities in the first volume. They include persons of eminence from the Rani of Jhansi and Bankim Chandra Chatterjee to Sri Aurobindo, Srinivasa Ramanujam, Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh. He has personally met some of the figures described in the volume and written their life stories authentically. His language is simple and his style is distinguished by factuality and straight narration. M.M. Lal, the senior citizen, journalist and biographer, has got numerous commendations, including one from the Chief of the Army Staff. Dr D. D. Jyoti was one of his teachers and mentors. His visit to The Tribune revived many memories of the days when this newspaper was the flagship of the freedom movement at Lahore. Besides "Among the Great Indians", he is widely known for his biography of Lala Har Dayal which the Modern Review published with immense pride. Schroff Award The Council of the Indian Hospital Pharmacists' Association has conferred the Schroff Memorial Award 1998 on Prof Harkishan Singh, a distinguished pharmaceutical academician, scientist and historian. Chandigarh-based Prof Harkishan Singh has been Head and Dean, Pharmaceutical Sciences, at Panjab University. He has over 200 review, research and professional papers, and 14 patents to his credit. Prof Harkishan Singh is a
venerated member of the pharmacy profession. He has been
intimately involved in the working of several
professional and statutory bodies. He was the General
President of the India Pharmaceutical Congress in 1981. |
 |
 |
| 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 | |
