& V I C I N I T Y
Friday, March 19, 1999
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Friday, March 19, 1999 |
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City to get own
‘Pragati Maidan’ PU
admissions from July 14
14
debarred from appearing in exams Insulin
use and failing eyesight
Steel
pipes block entry to shops Easy
buy trendy wear
Yet
another woman duped RBI
‘not to dump’ shredded notes City
sportspersons a dissatisfed lot Researchers
speak out on child studies ‘Ex-SP’
nabbed for petrol theft Devotees
throng Mansa Devi temple |
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City to get
own ‘Pragati Maidan’ CHANDIGARH, March 18 — Decks have been cleared for the start of work on the much-awaited permanent exhibition complex at Sector 31 here. The project will be the first of its kind in the region. The foundation stone of the Rs 15-crore project, to be funded by the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), will be laid by the UT Administrator and the Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen BKN Chhibber (retd), on March 26. Sources told TNS today that architect, S.D. Sharma and his firm had been awarded the work and a final agreement was likely to signed soon. The ultra-modern complex, covering around 6.5 acres of prime commercial land, will have state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor exhibition area, measuring over 15,000 square metres. A modern auditorium, multi-purpose hall, restaurant, two-tier parking facility and offices would be the other highlights of the complex, likely to be completed in two-three years. It may be mentioned here that the Chandigarh Administration had invited entires for the design of the complex in May, 1995. About 70 firms had applied of which 14 were shortlisted. Of these, seven participated in the competition. The award was announced in September, 1995. The Department of Industries, which was to execute the project with financial assistance from the Union Ministry of Commerce, reportedly did not get the grants from the Centre with the result that it was delayed. Ultimately, the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation (CITCO) was entrusted with the responsibility of the execution of the project. CITCO reportedly could not get the work started on account of “financial constraints” and the corporation returned the project to the Administration last year, the sources added. The work was transferred to the CHB in December last year and since then the board had been working in direction that the work should start in the current financial year, Ms Meenakshi Datta Ghosh, CHB Chairperson, said. It is learnt that in lieu of the funding by the CHB, the Administration has decided to transfer commercial property to the board in the west of Sector 38. The board would auction the commercial property in the sector to recoup the cost of the project, the sources highlighted. Officials highlighted that once completed, the complex would cater to needs of all states in the region for holding exhibitions and fairs. The complex would provide facilities for the focussed trade fairs away from the national capital unlike the multipurpose trade fairs being organised by the ITPO at New Delhi and would help relieve congestion in the Pragati Maidan at Delhi, the officials hoped. The creation of the infrastructural facilities with new concepts of international standards at the complex would bring together the buyers and sellers of the national and international markets. Besides, it would give a boost to the exports for the states of the northern region by holding fairs and exhibitions of various products in the complex. In fact, preliminary work on the site had already started. The work on the boundary wall of complex has been in progress for the past several days. Earlier, the Chandigarh Administration proposed to demolish the temple which had come up on a portion of land of the complex. Now the Administration has reportedly dropped the idea of demolishing the temple and decided to provide entry from the rear side to the temple. The road at the rear side of the temple had been re-metalled. The entry to the temple from the front side, however, would be “sealed”, officials said. The police was in strength
at the site today to prevent any untoward incident. |
PU
admissions from July 14 CHANDIGARH, March 18 —Admissions to various classes of undergraduate courses in affiliated colleges and teaching departments of Panjab University for the forthcoming session (1999-2000) will commence from July 14. The detailed academic calendar and admission schedule has been cleared by the university syndicate.The summer vacation after examination for the current session will commence from May 15 for a period of 60 days. Normal admissions will be carried out between July 14 and July 20.Late admissions with the permission of the principal of the college or chairperson of the teaching department on payment of Rs 75 as late fee will be carried out between July 21 and 26. Normal teaching for the ongoing classes, including second and third year of, various streams at undergraduate level and second year of post graduate classes, will begin from July 14 while for new admissions, the classes start from July 21. The Vice-Chancellor has been authorised to allow late admissions in colleges and university till August 31 with a late fee of Rs 400. The teaching session has been broadly divided into three terms.The first academic term comes to an end on September 25 followed by an autumn break of eight days. The second academic term concludes on December 24.This will also include house examination for colleges from December 13.The third academic term ends on March 31 while the tentative date for the annual examination is April 1, 2000. Keeping in view the UGC regulation of a minimum of 180 teaching days, the university calendar provides for a total of 185 teaching days. Interestingly, the university has a total of five working days in a week and colleges have six.One wonders how both colleges and the university could achieve same number of working days, keeping in mind that the academic calendar was common. The total number of
academic days is shown to be 245.Out of these 60 days
have been identified for holidays and house examination. |
14 debarred
from appearing in exams CHANDIGARH, March 18 —Panjab University has penalised at least 14 students of undergraduate classes for indulging in unfair means in university examinations. The students have been debarred from appearing in the university examinations for a period of five years. A standing committee dealing with cases of misconduct and use of unfair means found these students guilty after verification and providing the students an opportunity to prove themselves innocent. The students have been disqualified under Regulation 20 (page 14 of PU calendar Volume II). The students have been disqualified for the sessions 1998,99,2000, 2001 and 2002. They will not be admitted to any examination of the university during this period. Five cases pertained to impersonation. All cases pertain to the annual examination conducted in April, 1998. Those found guilty of impersonation are Kulwinder Singh (BA II), Shaminder Singh from Jalandhar, Darshan Singh from Muktsar, Rahul Chaudhary from Abohar and Inderjit Singh from Ludhiana. Remaining cases pertained
to copying or using other unfair means .Those
disqualified include Maninder Singh(BA I), Harwinder
Singh (BA I), Ajit Singh (BA I), Jatinder Sidhu (BA I),
Harinder Singh (BA I), Jaspal Singh (BA II), Amarjit
Singh (BA III) and Hardeep Singh (BA III) and Balkaran
Singh (BA III). |
Insulin use
and failing eyesight CHANDIGARH, March 18 — Insulin that is commonly used to control diabetes results in immediate worsening of eyesight — even blindness in some cases — when the drug is first administered to diabetics, according to a research conducted by a team of experts at the PGI . The only answer to this problem is that a diabetic must see an eye specialist before getting insulin administered. This piece of advice is also meant for general medical practitioners, who are generally unaware of such an occurence, says Prof Amod Gupta, who along with Prof R.J. Dash, Dr M.R. Dogra and Dr Roy Sarkar, formed the study team. The research has, however, faced scepticism from international experts. Today, it is an accepted fact that administration of insulin has to begin only after the patient has been checked by eye specialists. It was first pointed out by the PGI that such a thing happens and today it is a standard in eye care. Almost 66 per cent patients begin to show worsening of diabetic retinopathy when insulin is first administered. Almost all of them can become blind. The condition is curable in only 50 per cent of the affected persons. Blindness can occur rapidly between three to six months. “We would like to see patients and take corrective steps before reccomending the use of insulin,” Prof Gupta said. It is preventable through timely laser treatment that is available at the PGI. There are two types of diabetes patients. One kind is insulin dependent, while 90 per cent non-insulin dependent. A majority in the latter category requires insulin at some point of time — either temporarily or permanently. When the drug is administered retinal charges occur, says the doctor. The realisation of such an occurence was basically due to keen observation and not experimentation. Several people have been
reporting in the OPDs with deteriorating eyesight. The
common factor among all of them have been that they had
been recently put on insulin. Tests and studies proved
that the connection between insulin and deteriorating
eyesight. Now the eye department at the PGI is seeing 200
old and new cases every week. |
Hot plate
will go with gas, insist agencies CHANDIGARH, March 18 — An excited Radha, a maid from Ram Darbar colony, went to Sabharwal Gas Agency in Sector 47 this morning to get a new gas connection. She approached the salesman about it who directed her to an array of hot plates of different sizes and dimensions. After elucidating on the plus points of each plate, the salesman guided her to the manager who was busy with another customer. She waited for her turn patiently. When it came, she hesitatingly, said, “I want a connection,’’ and the manager, without batting his eyelids, casually inquired, “Which hot plate are you interested in buying?’’ On realising she was not interested in a gas stove, he immediately dismissed her with,”We don’t have any such facility.’’ When she persisted and showed a newspaper cutting that she could get a connection after having the hot plate inspected for Rs 100, he gave in and agreed to give her a gas connection. She returned in the afternoon with her husband and the money to purchase the cylinder and she was categorically refused the connection on the basis of her residence being at Ram Darbar in spite of the fact that the advertisement issued by Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum makes no such mention. Earlier, in the morning, she was refused a gas connection without a hot plate by Punnia Gas Agency of Sector 32 and Vijay Gas Agency in Sector 35 though managers at both the agencies agreed to provide her a connection at Ram Darbar if she was willing to buy the hot plate. At Punnia Gas Agency, the lady managing cash, besides denying her the connection, added, “Come, I will give you a newspaper which does not carry any such advertisement.” She was referring to the newspaper cutting which Radha presented to her after she was denied the gas connection. When another girl, present there to get a gas connection endorsed Radha’s viewpoint, the manager rudely directed her to wait outside the room and wait for her turn while he dealt with Radha. A shopkeeper in the vicinity of the agency said that the hot plates being sold by the agency for about Rs 1200 were priced at Rs 500 in the market and he was emphatic that those who purchased plates from the market would be denied connections by the agency. Next on the list was Vijay Gas Agency in Sector 35. The salesman after an elaborate explanation of the gas stoves available with the agency, guided Radha to the women at the cash counter, Who as was expected, denied the connection on the plea that no agency was giving it without a hot plate. “Moreover, the advertisement you are citing to get the connection is a way for most newspapers to increase their sale. It is of no value whatsoever,” she said. These agencies were least
interested in listening to any kind of notification and
did not hesitate to show persistent customers the door.
The notification, however, mentions that “those
wait-listed persons who are in possession of hot plate,
and desire to have LPG connection, will have to get the
same inspected from our LPG distributors on payment of Rs
100 as inspection charges to make sure that it conforms
to the ISI code numbers 4246 and 4760. |
CHB to
invite tender for abandoned project CHANDIGARH, March 18 — The Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) will shortly make a tender again the project for completing the construction of 184 showrooms and booths in Sector 38 meant for the rehabilitation of mechanics in the city by the Chandigarh Administration. The contractor entrusted with the work reportedly abandoned it after completing only 15 per cent of the project. The rehabilitation process has suffered a setback as it will take almost eight to nine months to complete it even if the work is restarted later this month. The market is located adjacent to the Sector 38 veterinary hospital and upon completion, will have 143 booths and 43 showrooms with basements. A visit to the market site revealed scores of partially-built structures standing in what was the pond of Dadu Majra-Shahpur village. The pond was completely drained of water before work began in 1996. Owing to the delay the entire site has been overtaken by wild vegetation. Even the surroundings are abundant with the growth making it a hard place to find. Sign posts, if any, indicating the market are missing. The lone watchman leads us around the complex and shows the incomplete work. Although many rows of shops have been built, they either lack access or do not have roofs. The entrance of some booths is more then three to four feet above the ground and approach would be possible only after a land filling or proper development. He recalls that the site was abandoned nearly two years ago, but some of the material like cement mixers and other heavy machinery was stored in one of the sheds for nearly a year. Last year, those too were taken away by the workers of the contractors, he added. Some villagers living along the complex have encroached on the structures and many of them are being used to store cowdung cakes and firewood. Some of them were seen clearing the wild vegetation in the complex to make place for their needs. Today, a patch was being levelled to install a fodder shredding machine near one of the sites for the showrooms. While many booths have been constructed, only the basements of the showrooms have been raised to the ground level. Their roofs too are missing and have been covered with wild growth. Whatever metal fittings were used have rusted and the quality of construction speaks for itself. Sources in the board point out that the issue has raised questions about the delay in initiating action against the contractor by the CHB authorities. A period of almost one and a half years was “allowed” to lapse before the authorities woke up and initiated action. Officials, on the other hand, maintain that the contractor left the work due to differences between the partners but kept on assuring them the work would be started soon. As a considerable amount of time has lapsed, the contract has been cancelled and the works would be put out to tendered in the next few days. Estimated to cost Rs 1. 12
crore, the work was allotted to a Bathinda based firm in
June, 1996, and was to be completed by December 1997. |
Steel pipes block entry to shops Place: The Sector 29-D market. Problem: Dumping of steel pipes and other material used for erecting “shamianas” in the corridor and open space by a tent house owner. History: The problem has been here for the past several years. The material has been dumped in the corridor and the open spaces opposite the shop and near the post office building, hindering movement of the shoppers. At times, the loading and unloading of material from trucks totally blocks the open space opposite the shop, putting residents and motorists to inconvenience. Keeping the material near the post office building virtually blocks the entry to the building from one side. Response from the public: The residents, particularly shopkeepers have urged the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) authorities to take immediate steps to remove the encroachments from the public land and the corridor so that these could be used by the public. “The parking of vehicles outside the shop and dumping of the material here affects the business of the shopkeepers as there remains no place for shoppers to park their vehicles,” complained a shopkeeper. Official version: Officials
claim that the civic body has launched several campaigns
with a view to removing encroachments from corridors and
public spaces. The tent house owner was fined heavily
when the matter was brought to the notice of senior
officials of the MCC during their visit to the sector
recently, they added. |
Easy buy
trendy wear CHANDIGARH, March 18 — Swingers today brought a range of trendy casual wear for the summer at Aroma Hotel, Sector 22. And the best part of the display-cum-sale is the price. Most of the items are priced in the vicinity of Rs 150 to Rs 200. Thus, you have till Sunday to re-stock your wardrobe with T-shirts, shirts, bermudas, jumpsuits, skirts, wraparounds, rompers and other western-style dresses. The export quality fabric tailored in the latest cuts to attract kids and teenagers. As expected, whites, reds, greens, oranges, and blues dominate in an array of checks, stripes, florals and plains. Living much up to its name, the Swingers apparel is mainly meant for the swinging generation that believes in easy buy and easy wear’n wash till the next season. Particularly cool are the chikan blouses in white as also the sleeveless halter neck T-shirts that can be worn in combination with tank tops, or if you are bold enough, alone. Swingers is a subsidiary
of Cotlon India Limited, a government-recognised garment
export house, supplying to prestigious chain stores and
mail order houses of Europe and the USA like Quelle,
Adler, Kaufhof, JC Penny, K-Mart and Walmart. |
Insurance
company penalised CHANDIGARH, March 18 — The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I comprising its president, Dr H.C Modi, and its members, Dr R.K Behl and Ms Shashi Kanta, has penalised an insurance company by imposing costs of Rs 2,000, besides interest on the claim amount for failure to pay the claim of the insured complainant in time. The complainant, Mrs Samidha Aggarwal, had contended that her car was insured for a sum of Rs 70,000 and after an accident on January 31, 1994, New India Assurance Company had assessed it to be a case of ‘total loss’. But while making the payment, the insurance company deducted Rs 3,500 and also delayed the payment by around six months. The insurance company took the plea that the delay was caused only due to procedural formalities. After going through the records the forum held that “when the claim of the complainant had been approved by the opposite party (Insurance Company) for total loss of vehicle and the complainant too had given an affidavit dated April 8, 1994, relinquishing her right in the ownership of the vehicle and had also asked the opposite party to get the salvage, then she should not have been deprived of the interest accrued to her from the date of approval of the claim of Rs 66,500 viz April 18, 1994, till its payment to the complainant”. The forum further observed that the said amount of Rs 66,500 as assesed by the surveyor on April 18, remained with the opposite party till its payment on October 17, so “we deem it expedient to direct the opposite party to pay interest at 12 per cent per annum on the amount of Rs 66,500 for the period of 6 months apart from Rs 2000 as cost.’’ In an order against one of the Forest companies, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-I has directed Okara Agro Industries Ltd to refund the deposit made by a complainant along with interest and costs. In a complaint, the complainant, Mr Vikram Mehta, contended that he had invested Rs 25,000 through a local agent in the company and in lieu of this M/s Okara had issued a post dated cheques amounting to Rs 28,000. However, the said cheques on presentations were dishonoured as the company had closed its bank accounts. Notice was issued to the opposite party but since no one appeared, they were proceeded against ex parte. After hearing the complainant, the forum comprising its president, Dr H.C Modi, and members, Dr R.K Behl and Ms Shashi Kant, held that “the complainant is entitled to get Rs 25,000 plus Rs 3,000, which is equivalent to Rs 28,000, with further interest at the rate of 12 per cent with effect from May 1, 1998, to the date of actual payment.’’ They further observed that had the opposite party (forest company) been efficient in refunding the amount well in time, there would not have arisen any necessity for the complainant to enter the arena of litigation, for which she had to incur expenditure and inconvenience.The complainant is thereby awarded Rs 1000 as costs/compensation for the same. Fresh survey on mechanics ordered CHANDIGARH, March 18 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed Chandigarh's Estate Office to conduct a survey on whether members of the Chandigarh Automobile Association, numbering 2312, whose names figured in the survey conducted for allotment of sites under the 1986 scheme still worked and carried on their business of motor mechanics. This order was passed by a Division Bench consisting of Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice A.S. Garg on a petition filed by the Chandigarh Automobile Association praying for directing the Chandigarh Administration not to dislocate its members from carrying on their work on the roadside in Sectors 27 and 28. The petitioner-association also prayed that the administration should be restrained from confiscating their tools without notice and without allotting alternate sites. The Judges directed that if it was found that the business was being carried on by the persons mentioned in the list, then the names of the proprietors of the concern should also be noted. The Bench said Mr H.L. Sharma, president of the association, would also accompany the Estate Office officers, who would carry out the survey. This survey should start on March 22, 1999, the Judges held and added: "The members of the survey team may assemble at booth No. 194 in Sector 28, Chandigarh at 10 a.m. daily till the survey is complete. The survey report be submitted to this court on the adjourned date. The case is adjourned to April 5. Plea on Institute for Blind disposed of Our Legal Correspondent adds: A writ petition seeking a C.B.I. inquiry into the working and management of the Institute of Blind, Chandigarh, and handing over the management to the District and Sessions Judge, during the pendency of the probe, was disposed of by the High Court on the assurance by Lieut-Col J.S. Bindra, Secretary of the Institute that all efforts would be made to ensure that incidents of February 21, 1998, whereby students left the institute, would not recure. The writ petition was filed by Mr Harmanjit Singh, alleging that due to inhuman and barbaric acts of the respondent management, blind students left the institute and that it was not running as per its aims and objectives. The court had earlier appointed Mr R.K. Batta to visit the institute and report to the court about its working. In his report he said that in spite of the institute's explanation why the boys were transported to the bus stand, he felt that it was their indiscreet act. He, however, reported that at present the institute was being run smoothly. Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice A.S. Garg in view of the report and the assurance disposed of the writ petition. The petitioner also withdrew his allegations against the Deputy Commissioner.
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RBI
‘not to dump’ shredded notes CHANDIGARH, March 18 — The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said that notes which are considered unfit for circulation are written off using modern systems. Mr G. Jaganmohan Rao, Deputy General Manager of the bank, said currency notes considered unfit for circulation were being written off by punching through various methods. The punched notes and bits are destroyed by incinerating them in brick kiln type incinerator and through water jacketed oil fired incinerators. Other methods used are shredding of punched notes and bits into very small pieces through a shredder and giving them for briquetting and online shredding and briquetting through modern currency verification and shredding system. He said the previous methods were not environment-friendly and were discontinued. Using the modern system the currency is shredded to 1/10 mm size so that nobody could misuse the waste. This method started functioning on February 18. Before this, the bank had
the permission of the Chandigarh Administration to dump
the biodegradable shredded notes in dumping grounds.
Either sand or some other dumpings were immediately
placed on the shredded pieces. However, the bank has now
decided not to use the method of dumping shredded
currency in garbage dumps, he added. |
Yet another
woman duped PANCHKULA, March 18 — A fifth incident of an aged woman becoming victim of a couple who appear to be on a duping spree has come to light. This time the victim, a 60-year-old woman of Sector 16 was made to part with her jewellery worth Rs 25,000. Though the incident took place on March 8 when the victim, who did not wish to be identified, preferred to remain mum about her loss due to her ailing husband back home. However, when similar incidents were reported in the township she managed to muster enough courage to narrate the incident to her husband who reported the matter to the police today. The police has registered a case under Section 420 of the IPC. The incident took place when the victim was crossing a road dividing Sectors 9 and 10. As in earlier cases the couple posed as followers of a religious sect and in the process made her part with her jewellery. As per the victim, the person was of medium height and appeared to be in his late thirties while the woman who kept short hair, appeared to be in her early forties. The Superintendent of
Police, Mr Alok Mittal, had on Wednesday said policemen
in plain clothes had been deputed to nab the culprits.
But so far no success had been achieved, lament the
residents. |
City
sportspersons a dissatisfed lot CHANDIGARH, March 18 — Chandigarh surely takes pride in the fact that it has produced sportsmen like Kapil Dev and Chiranjeev Milkha Singh, but for how many more years is the city going to shine in the reflected glory of these stars? TNS spoke to some sports-loving people to talk about the facilities being provided to nurture sportspersons in the city. It was found that little was being done to come out of the shadow of these stars. “I am basically a judo player, but also play games like basket-ball, football and kho-kho. These I am forced to play, as there are very few women players. For me games other than judo are simply “time-pass”, with the only motivation being that I manage to collect sports-kits for every sports that I play”, said Monica Sharma, student of Bachelor in Physical Education. She gets Rs 50 per day as diet money while attending various sports camps and Rs 10 per day during inter-college matches. Even a glass of juice costs Rs 10. There is no motivation to play, she says. Hardip Singh, a body builder and winner of North India title of ‘Haryana Classic’, and studying in the first year in DAV, College, Sector 10 says, “The college gives me Rs 900 per month as diet money, which obviously is insufficient to meet my demands as a body-builder. I spend about Rs 7,000 per month on my diet, which my parents finance. Otherwise playing this game well would not have been possible for me. The saving grace is free hostel accommodation”. Hardip’s case could be considered ‘lucky’ if one were to take into account the diet amount of Rs 4 that students get while playing local matches! “Imagine the number of chakkars that a teacher would have to make to go to the clerk, then the bursar and then get the bill approved by the Principal to take out Rs 4 for the students. The whole situation is like “pay and play”. Students are paid some measly amount and then asked to play, and that too on grounds, most of which are wanting in maintenance, because of unavailability of staff”, said Mr Ravinder Singh Duggal, Head of Department, Physical Education, Government College, Sector 11. According to Mr JPS Sidhu, Joint Director Sports, “Things are not as bad as they seem. Our department is actually responsible for maintaining stadia of the city, and we provide the colleges with extra staff whenever asked for. The medal tally in the National Games for Chandigarh this year was 27. The department provides Rs 10,000 for those sports-persons who win at international level and Rs 5,000 to those who win at national level”. Most students and teachers claim that the future for sports in the city is not as bright as claimed by the authorities. “What future do we talk about, when you can see heaps of syringes lying around during times of various matches. It is an open secret now that most sports people in the city cannot play without injecting themselves with dope. Also with one student competing in more than one game what specialisation can we think of?”, said Dr N.S. Mann of the Department of Physical Education, Panjab University. “Chandigarh does not have the facility of dope test, in fact nowhere in Punjab does this facility exist. Also Chandigarh has very less percentage of dope cases. Regarding one student playing more than one game, it must be made clear that Chandigarh is a very small territory. So when we give wings to the colleges, we provide them with a certain number of seats. And since for every discipline a seat cannot be provided, students play all those games in which transfer of training is possible”, said Mr Sidhu. With reported stories of students staying put in the same class for many years in order to represent their college, sports is certainly doing more harm than good. “I am even denied lectures if I attend camps that last for more than a month”, added Monica Sharma. “I play volleyball, but have also played football. But in a country where sports like cricket get wide coverage, I am not too sure about my future. Also with Rs 10 as diet money during inter-college matches how well does one expect me to play”, queried Suresh of the Department of Physical Education, Panjab University. “When 5 per cent
seats are reserved for sportspersons in various
departments of the university, why is that none of these
so-called sports-persons are to be seen in the grounds?
The future for students of physical education, as I can
see, is that the maximum these lads would get is the job
of a hawaldaar somewhere”, said Mr N S Mann. |
Researchers
speak out on child studies CHANDIGARH, March 18 — A three-day research methodology workshop, “The logic of research : Putting it all together’’ commenced at the State Guest House, Sector 6, here today. Organised by the Department of Child Development, Government College of Home Science, the workshop is being sponsored by the United States Educational Foundation in India at New Delhi. The workshop began with the lighting of the lamp by Prof Reed Larsen, Ms Usha Dhawal and Prof Rashmi Nair. “Itni shakti hamen dena daata’’ was presented by Hemalatha Ganpathy of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Baroda. About 25 delegates with multi-disciplinary backgrounds from all over the country are participating in the workshop.TNS talked to some of these delegates. “When it comes to mentally retarded children, there has been an immense attitudinal shift in the parents over the ages. There was a time when the parents of children suffering from cerebral palsy or mental retardation would come and ask for medicines to cure them, but now not only are the parents more aware about their children, but also help us a lot in dealing with their child’s ‘so-called’ disabilities”, said Ms Shruti Bhargava, faculty of Home Science, M S University, Baroda, doing her research for the last six years on cerebral palsy and mentally-retarded infants. Ms Bhargava, who is working in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, added, “There is also a Balwadi for ‘normal’ children in our department. This gives a greater chance to children to interact, and gives an opportunity to parents of normal children to understand both the parents of mentally-retarded children and the mentally-disabled children”. With problems of adolescents forming a major part of both sociological and psychological studies, a research being conducted on the ‘daily life experiences of adolescents’ also figured. Conducting a research on the topic, Ms Deepali Sharma, of the Department of Child Development, Government Home Science College, Chandigarh, said, “My two-year research on the subject indicates that adolescents these days are under a lot of stress, due to which not only have their coping abilities come down, but such adolescents also tend to have low scholastic achievements. Interestingly, though we found that self-esteem is almost the same in both the working and the non-working mothers, the children of working women experience greater stress”. Ms Sharma’s research on the emotions of working parents passing on to their children, has led her to conduct a research on the divorce rate in Chandigarh, which, she claims, is amongst the highest in the country. Ms Sarita Saini, of the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, College of Home Science, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, who is involved in developing a ‘Comprehensive intervention programme for three-and-a-half year old to eight-and-a-half year old rural children’, said, “This is a government-aided project, in which we are trying to improve the cognitive abilities of rural children, which they lack in comparison with the children of urban areas”. Hinting at the initial hesitation faced in rural areas for such programmes, Ms Saini said, “Such children and their parents need repeated counselling to become a part of such projects. But we found that mothers are very receptive, because they are keen that their children should do ‘something’ in life”. For a teacher to think that her subject needs to be re-oriented sounds both interesting and encouraging. Ms Nandini Pathania, of the Department of Home Science, St Bede’s College, Shimla, said, “I have started research on the curriculum of home science at the graduate level. I think that home science is not only about washing clothes and dishes. I would like to work on the content of this subject and make it more vocational and professional. I have been teaching this subject for the last 14 years, and think it needs to be made more competitive”. Ms Meena Mathur, of the Department of Home Science, Jaipur, University of Rajasthan, has conducted research on the street children of Jaipur. “The main idea behind my research was to document the situation. My research breaks down myths like there are no family ties among these children, or all such children have run away from home. Another interesting fact was that most of these children do not view the police as a threat”. “The female street-children need to be focussed upon. Many NGOs work within this strata, but most of these have still not been able to touch upon the real vulnerable groups of the street children”, she added. Dr Reed Larsen, the
primary instructor at the workshop, a Professor of Human
Development, Family Studies and Psychology, University of
Illinios, United States, has published several research
papers on adolescents and their families, he said,
“The workshop is not only about methodology, but
also about research being creative, exploratory and full
of excitement and challenges”. |
‘Ex-SP’
nabbed for petrol theft CHANDIGARH, March 18 — A man, who fled without paying at a petrol station, claiming himself to be a retired SP of J&K police, was nabbed by a patrol party of the Chandigarh police this morning after a dramatic chase. The man, accompanied by two youths, came in a car bearing a Jammu and Kashmir registration number and got petrol filled in his car from a petrol station located along the Dakshin Marg. He reportedly got annoyed with the attendants as they had filled unleaded petrol in his vehicle. The man fled saying he was a retired SP and he would not pay, according to sources in the police. As the man fled, and turned his car towards Zirakpur, petrol pump managers rang up the police. Patrol vehicles intercepted the car near Zirakpur. A compromise was, however, reached between the two parties after the man paid the money for the petrol. According to sources, the
man in a written compromise, said that he lived in Phase
I of S.A.S. Nagar. |
Devotees
throng Mansa Devi temple PANCHKULA, March 18 — A large number of devotees from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and other parts of the country visited the Mata Mansa Devi temple on the first day of the eight-day Navratra mela which began at the temple here today. The devotees could be seen waiting for their turn to pay obeisance to the deity of the temple. Expecting at least 15 lakh visitors during the mela the Mata Mansa Devi Pooja Sthal Board and the district administration have made elaborate arrangements. The volunteers also helped in the community kitchen being run by three religious organisations — the Grain Market Bhandara Committee, Chandigarh, Mata Mansa Devi Sewak Dal Bhandara Committe and Mata Mansa Devi Charitable Trust — at three different places in the temple complex. The representatives of the organisation running the community kitchen alleged that along with their donation boxes the temple authorities had put up their own donation boxes in front of the dining halls. Earlier, they alone were allowed to collect donations to run the kitchen. The Chief Executive Officer of the Mata Mansa Devi Board, Mr H.S.Pannu, said the decision to put up the donation boxes had been taken by the board. The Governor of Haryana, Mr Mahabir Prasad, who visited the temple in the morning performed yajana in the newly constructed yajshalla. Later, he suggested that the temple authorities set up a college for women. He also suggested a Sanskrit vidyalaya. Mr Prasad called upon scholars and intellectuals to undertake a study to discover the mythological legends and the persons behind the renovation and promotion of this ancient shrine. Meanwhile, the temple authorities have made elaborate arrangements for stay of the devotees. Three fair price shops have been set up by the Food and Supplies Department. Two dispensaries, including one mobile, has been set up. Beds have been reserved at the Mani Majra civil hospital and the Panchkula General hospital, in case of an emergency. To maintain law and order,
around 300 police personnel and 100 home guard jawans
have been deployed. |
CHANDIGARH, March 18 — The Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) today formally constituted nine committees of the civic body. According to information available, the corporation authorities sent the official intimation to the councillors concerned regarding their membership of the committees. The election to the Chairpersons and the deputy chairpersons will be held on March 22,23 and 24, sources added. Visit: The Commissioner, Mr Satish Gathwal, and the councillor from Ward No 18, Ms Kamlesh, on Thursday visited the ward for an on-the-spot assessment of the problems. According to Ms Kamlesh,
the Commissioner had assured her that the civic body
would look into the problems related to the roads and the
development of parks on a priority basis. |
CHANDIGARH, March 18 — A man riding pillion of a scooter was crushed to death by a speeding Punjab police gypsy driven by a constable of the Punjab Armed Police late last night. The scooter driver was seriously injured. The deceased, Gambhir Singh, of Sector 7 was riding the pillion of a scooter ( CH-01-W-8963) driven by Vijay Kumar. The scooter was hit by a gypsy (PB-12-3435) in Sector 38. The driver of the gypsy, Gautam Singh, was arrested by the police and a case was registered under sections 279, 337 and 304-A of the IPC. The injured was admitted to the PGI. Ornaments stolen: Two gold rings and some documents, were stolen from the purse of a woman, while she was visiting a beauty parlour in Sector 21. The woman, Sarbjit Kaur Dhaliwal, a resident of Sector 18 , has told the police about the incident. A case has been registered. Complaint filed: A Sector 32 woman, Mrs Jaspreet Pannu, has alleged that a man posing as an army officer used abusive language and derogatory language with her in the golf club yesterday. The woman has alleged that one Mr I.P.S. Dhaliwal , of Sector 71, SAS Nagar, used highly abusive language. A case has been registered under Section 509 of the IPC. Money stolen: A sum of Rs 10,000 was stolen from the glove compartment of a scooter as it was parked in Sector 17. The owner of the scooter, Ravi Kumar , of Bapu Dham said the money was stolen by Naresh, Ved Pal and Hans Raj, all residents of Maloya village. A case has been registered under section 379 of the IPC. Injured: A minor argument between a resident of sector 55, Shakti Chand, and Manoj Kumar of Sector 40 resulted in injuries to Shakti Chand. The police has registered a case under section 325 of the IPC. Arrested: A man , who defrauded his partner of Rs 2.5 lakh by forging his signatures has been arrested by the police. Mewa Singh of Ropar was arrested following the complaint of Mr R.K. Chauhan. PANCHKULA 1 dies in mishap: One person died and another was injured in two separate accidents in the district during the past 48 hours. A scooterist died after being hit by a truck on the Ambala— Shimla National Highway near HMT, Pinjore, near here on Wednesday. The victim, Mr Raghbir Singh, died on the spot. The driver of the truck has been arrested by the police. A case under Sections 279 and 304-A has been registered against him. In another case an unidentified pedestrian was seriously injured after being hit by a truck near Fatehgarh village in Raipur Rani. The police has registered a case against the unidentified truck driver under Sections 279,337 and 338 of the IPC. Burns victim dies: Sashi Bal, who was admitted with 100 per cent burns at the PGI in Chandigarh died on Thursday. The victim, a resident of Rajiv Colony, was admitted at the hospital on Wednesday. Servant quizzed: In connection with the incident in which a Nepali servant decamped with jewellery worth Rs 10,000 and other household goods worth Rs 2 lakh after drugging two women at their house in Sector 7 on Wednesday, the police on Tuesday questioned the servant, who worked for their neighbours and on whose reference the culprit was kept. A police official said nothing much came out of the questioning of the servant. Two arrested: The police has arrested two persons for allegedly stealing water taps from Shiv Mandir in Sector 9 here. Mr Gulshan Rai, a resident of Sector 9, caught Kuldeep, a resident of Patiala, and Janson, a resident of Babhat, allegedly while stealing water taps worth Rs 2000 from the mandir. The police has registered
a case under Section 380 of the IPC. |
CHANDIGARH : Exhibition of photograps and that too by somebody like Deep Ram Bhatia is something which cannot be missed. Thus is so because his picture have that quality in them which cannot be described but they touch the viewer’s heart and soul. Bhatia is once again holding a solo exhibition, third of his career, and he has titled it ‘sea scapes’. It is so called as it has snaps revolving around the sea. These frames depict the life of the poeple who live off sea activities. Fishermen throwing a net in the water, a line of coconut trees, people relaxing in the evening on the sand, fishermen’s children frolicking in the water — everything is there. They all make captivating scenarios. Snapshooting for him is not just pressing the button. For Bhatia, who has been in this field for more than a decade, photography means using new techniques for better result. In this show also he has employed montage, which is like superimposing, whereever clouds are shown. Then he has given grainy effect in one of the exhibits. It is called high contrast detailed image and it is done with the help of frosted glass film. Bhatia has also cleverly clicked wave formation using 500 shutter speed. Besides these there is polar solarisation. This converts the picture into an outline, this is applied where the subject needs to be emphasised. Viewers can easily make out from the pictures that they have been clicked at various locations. For this the artist travelled to different coastal areas like Kerala, Cochin, Tamil Nadu, Kanyakumari, Goa and the frames put up have been collected over the past six years. This exhibition will be open at Punjab Kala Bhawan till March 22. * * * “Seed” is the subject of the exhibition put up by Prerna Sharma. Prerna an ex-student of Chandigarh College of Art is holding her second solo show at Indus Ind Bank Art Gallery. Her attention was caught by this tiny substance in the rainy season when it started germinating on its own. It reminded her that this small wheat seed, which everyone takes for granted, is also a living organism. This in turn gives sustenance to so many living beings. In her paintings Prerna has tried to show the germination of seeds and how they are used by human beings for survival. The show will be open till March 28. —
Priti Verma
|
Stamp on
RSS founder CHANDIGARH, March 18 — The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today released a commemorative stamp on Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar, founder of the RSS, at a function here today. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Badal gave a clarion call to the people for preserving the hard-won freedom and unity of the country to make India a “model” of strength and growth for the world to follow. Justice J.V. Gupta, retired Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, called for bringing awakening among the masses about the rich Indian cultural heritage. Col Tilak Raj (retd), Chief Postmaster General, while giving details of the stamp, said the aim of the stamp was to propagate the ideals of Dr Hedgewar. Prominent among those
present were, Mr Balramji Dass Tandon, Mr Madan Mohan
Mittal, Mr Mohan Lal and Mr Manoranjan Kalia, all Punjab
Ministers, and Mr Kewal Krishan Addiwal, Mayor. |
Katia case
adjourned CHANDIGARH, March 18 — The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sant Parkash, today adjourned the Katia molestation case to March 23 following the failure of one of the seven suspects to appear in court. Mr Sant Parkash directed defence counsel to ensure that all seven suspects are present in the court on the next date of hearing when he would hear final arguments in the case. The court adjourned the case when the defence counsel informed the Chief Judicial Magistrate that suspect, Inderjit Singh, had sent a fax message showing his inability to appear in the court due to illness. The counsel also assured the court that they would conclude their arguments on the next date of hearing. Katia, a French tourist,
was allegedly kidnapped and molested by Gurkirat Singh,
grandson of the former Punjab Chief Minister, Beant
Singh, and six other persons on August 31, 1994, at SAS
Nagar. |
‘Shamlat’
land encroached MULLANPUR-GARIBDAS, March 18— Community land of Mullanpur- Garibdass village is fast being eaten into by encroachers. The panchayat knows about the problems but little action has been taken. Over the years portions of “shamlat” land in various parts of the village has been encroached upon due to the inaction of the gram panchayat. Local residents are themselves involved in the encroachments of the community land. The encroachments are done in a very interesting manner. Encroachers first use the village land on temporary basis and then claim ownership on it. According to Mr Jaswant
Singh, a local resident, in a number of cases villagers
dumped their garbage and later erected constructions.
Certain shopkeepers in the area had constructed makeshift
shops. |
Fasting
teacher shifted to PGI CHANDIGARH, March 18 — A former teacher, Mrs Ritu Joshi, who had been on an indefinite fast for the past eight days in front of the office of the Punjab DPI ( S), was today shifted to the PGI in view of her deteriorating physical condition. She was shifted amidst tight security arrangements. The fast of another protester, Mrs Tejinder Kaur, meanwhile, entered 11th day at the PGI. Mr Jaspal Singh from Nabha has taken the place of Mrs Joshi. Slogan-shouting protesters did not allow the police to remove their fasting colleague on the first attempt and additional forces had to be requisitioned to remove the Gurbani-reciting agitator. Among those who visited
the venue were Justice Ajit Singh Bains, Chairman of the
Human Rights Commission, Mr G S Grewal, a former
Advocate-General and Mr Kanwaljit Singh Lalli, Congress
legislator from Adampur. |
Kharar bar
panel demand KHARAR, March 18 — The local Bar Association while welcoming a recent letter issued by the Punjab Government withdrawing powers given to the District Development and Panchayat Officers in the state under Section II of the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961, has demanded that Section 13 of the Act should be cancelled and all powers under this Section should be given to civil courts. The association sent letters about this to the Chief Minister of Punjab, Chief Secretary and Director, Panchayats yesterday. The Association said DDPOs
were not using powers given to them in a proper way. They
have said that if these cases are decided by civil courts
then people would get justice in real sense. |
Federation
holds rally CHANDIGARH, March 18 — Members of the Punjab Subordinate Services Federation staged a rally in support of their demands in Sector 17 here today. The agitators from various parts of the state raised slogans against the state government for its anti-employee stance. They alleged thatneither were their genuine demands being met, nor were they being called for negotiations. They later marched towards the assembly but were stopped by the police. Their memorandum was accepted by a senior functionary of the state government on behalf of the Chief Minister. They were assured that the Chief Minister would make an announcement pertaining to their demands in a day or two. Mr Sajjan Singh and Mr
S.S. Mattu, President and General Secretary of the
federation, respectively, said their main demands
included release of bonus for 1997-98, reinstatement of
the dismissed teachers who had been on an indefinite fast
and acceptance of the demands of the teachers of aided
schools. |
Protest by
Telecom union CHANDIGARH, March 18 — The All-India Telecom Employees Union (Punjab Circle) Class III today resolved to lodge a protest against shortage of staff. This was resolved on the concluding day of the circle conference of employees here. About 350 delegates from Punjab attended the conference. A resolution was adopted that senior TOAs should be allowed to appear in screening test for departmental JTO examinations. The union also demanded free telephone connections for serving telecom employees. The following were,
meanwhile elected office-bearers of the union : President
— Hans Raj; Vice- Presidents — Baldev Singh,
Amrik Singh, Charanjit Singh, Harbir Kaur, Lalit Prasad
and Nacchhatar Singh Khewa; Circle Secretary — M.L.
Sharma; Assistant Circle Secretaries — Onkar Singh
Rana, Swatanter Kumar, Harish Khanna, S.S. Pannu, Daljit
Kumar and Surjeet Mitter; Treasurer — Nirmal Prasad. |
Lecture on
English teaching CHANDIGARH, March 18 — A two-day extension lecture on “Communication perspective of learner based methodology in teaching of English,’’ under the UGC’s special scheme, was inaugurated by Mrs H. Vasudev, Director, Regional Institute of English, at the Government College of Education, Sector 20, here today. Speaking at the lecture,
Mrs Vasudev said the functional purpose of the language
was the most important aspect which was planted in real
life situations through correct structural usage. |
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