Bus service eludes villages
From Our Correspondent

RANI MAJRA (Kharar), Sept 26 — resentment prevails among residents of Rani Majra, Salampatpur, Teor and other villages in the absence of any bus service to these places.

villagers demand that a regular public transport facility should be started for the development of the villages. A number of villagers complained that a CTU bus was started for the villages earlier but was withdrawn afterwards.

A teacher at Government Primary School, Salampatpur, complained that in the absence of any bus service, she had to walk 3 km to catch a bus. "In an emergency, a patient has be transported in tractor-trolley. Lack of transport facility endangers life of an ailing person," said a local resident.

Poor roads are another problem in the area. Villagers complain that roads have not been repaired for past several years.Potholes on roads have often resulted in accidents, particularly during night. Villagers demanded that streets lights should also be arranged.

Mrs Gurjeet Kaur, principal of Rani Majra Government High School, said it becomes difficult for them to reach the school in time as water remains stagnant on road. The grossly ignored area discourages teachers to be posted in the rural areas, where even a good road is not available to reach easily, complained a teacher.

Several teachers demand that buses, which halt at Mullanpur village, should pass through the villages. A girl said a regular bus service would benefit the womenfolk. "We are not allowed to carry on our higher education due to travelling problems but if the area is connected with buses, we could also dream of getting better and desired education."

"Our political representatives and the administration have not paid any attention to our problems," said Mr Jagdeep Singh, a local resident.

Students for placement cell on campus
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 26 — Maintenance of law and order to ensure proper academic environment, better facilities for students in the campus and hostels, easy availability of student leaders and establishment of a dean placement cell are among the main demands of most university students.

Kuljit Katoch, an M.Sc student in the Department of Geology, wants "action, not just words.'' The new PU student council should help maintain discipline by eliminating violence, thereby assuring a peaceful academic session. It should concentrate on providing drinking water, proper furniture and lighting facilties in the hostels. By moving away from politics, it can also minimise the presence of the police force on the campus, he adds.

"The new council should try to protect the rights of students on every front," says Satwinder Singh, a research scholar in the Geography department. The council should step up academic activities for hostel residents by organising seminars and quiz competitions.

He also expects the elected representatives to fulfill their promise with regard to the establishment of a dean placement cell and changes in the curriculum of various professional courses. Separate hostel for research scholars, proper food arrangements for them during holidays and library facilties all through the week are his other demands.

"Let the new council ensure timely declaration of results incluing the re-evaluation ones, as students have to suffer harassment at the time of admission on account of delays,'' says jaswinder Singh, a student of M.Sc mathematics. He demands tranparency in the university administration and accessibility of student leaders.

According to Chitra, a student of Masters of Computer Applications (MCA), the new council should also strive for revival of cultural activities on the campus.

Cleanliness on the campus and upkeep of the buildings are other issues which need to be focussed. She hopes that the elected leaders will work for the welfare of the student community at large and not concentrate on promoting their respective parties. She also expects them to take up their demand for holding the re-appear examinations in December and not along with other subjects in April.

Shefali, an M.Sc final year student of biochemistry, expects the winners to bring about a marked improvement in the mess and canteen services, besides fulfilling their promise of providing STD booths in the girls hostels. They should also go ahead with their promise of getting a dean placement to help the varsity students get better jobs. The council members should also push for an early declaration of results.

"The elected leaders should help resolve students' problems, both in the department and hostels,'' says Anjali Khokhar, a University Business school (UBS) student.In the hostels, they should strive to improve the sanitation and ensure better hygiene. While provision of diverse food items should be made at the Students Centre, the route from the girls hostel to the library should be well-lit for the benefit of the girls passing through from there late at night.

Sanjeev Thakur, a postgraduate student in the Department of Ancient Indian History and Archaeology, is confident that the SOPU-ABVP-HSU victory is bound to change the university scene. " They had performed well as the council members last year and will now fulfill the remaining demands in their manifesto,'' he says.

Amit Dhawan, a second year student of the Department of Indian Theatre, wants the council to upgrade the library facilties and provide new up-to-date editions of various books. He wants them to bring about an improvement in the quality of food in the hostels. They should also focus on organising extra-curricular and sports activities in the campus.

Senior Sikhs warn against controversies
Changes to gurdwara Act, Bill
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 26 — A group of leading senior Sikh citizens, who met here today, want that the initiative taken in proposing amendments to the Sikh Gurdwara Act and the draft All-India Gurdwara Bill should not be frittered away in needless controversies.

"There have been earlier moves which proved abortive due to inordinate hold-ups and lack of will to surmount procedural intricacies. While members agreed that any amount of refinements and objective considerations should be welcome at any stage of the process of enactment, there must be due restraint, in projecting objections which could again jeopardise the very passage of the Act. The case now appropriately rests with the SGPC for further action and this opportunity must not get dissolved in unproductive internecine controversies," a Press note issued by the group after the meeting said.

The meeting was attended, among others, by Justice Ranjit Singh Narula, Justice Kuldip Singh, Dr Kharak Singh, Brig Gurdip Singh, Principal Gurbaksh Singh Shergill, Dr Malkiat Singh Rahi, Mr Mohinder Singh and Col Parminder Singh Randhawa.

The Core Group deliberated upon the issues related to the proposed amendments to the Sikh Gurdwara Act and the draft All-India Gurdwara Bill. The members unanimously appreciated the efforts of Justice Harbans Singh in preparing the proposals after undertaking prolonged, laborious and extensive consultations with the entities concerned. The members were generally aware of the sustained and relentless endeavour made in compiling broadly acceptable amendments and the draft.

They felt that the definition of a Sikh given in the draft was the purpose of the Act only and not a comprehensive description of a Sikh. Further, the purpose of the constitution of the proposed central and state boards is efficient management of gurdwaras and planning and implementation of religious programmes.

Further, the present system of elections based on adult franchise has been tried for almost three quarters of a century and the opinion is almost unanimous that it has been widely misused and led to corrupt practices like alleged distribution of liquor and bribery at the time of elections.

The suggested constitution of the Central Religious Committee is considered very purposeful, the Core Group said.