EDUCATION

Haryana Board exams begin today
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, March 6—Nearly 8500 students will appear in the Class X and Class XII examinations of the Haryana School Education Board in the district tomorrow, where 34 centres have been set up for the purpose.

The examinations of both classes will commence with the English paper scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. and 1.30 p.m. for Class X and XII, respectively. The examinations will conclude on March 14 in case of Class X and March 29 for Class XII. While there are 12 centres for Class XII, a total of 22 centres have been made for the conduct of Class X examinations, according to information from the office of the District Education Officer.

Six flying squads of three members each will be pressed into service.

Also, four police personnel have been deployed at all examination centres. A flying squad from Bhiwani will also visit the examination centres. This team has been entrusted with the task of checking centres in Yamunanagar and Ambala also, the DEO, Mrs Phool Khatri informed.

The middle school examinations will commence on March 24 and conclude on April 1. There are 27 government middle schools and eight private middle schools in the district. Besides, there are a total of 30 senior secondary schools and 46 high schools.

College teachers on strike
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The faculty, including the registered medical practitioners working in the Sector 46 Dhanwantry Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital began an indefinite strike from today in support of their long-pending demand for the implementation of government pay scales and usual allowances, which they said were being denied to them since the establishment of the college.

The agitating faculty members said that there was no proper fixation of pay and they were also not getting allowances like the DDA, HRA a increments. Even Panjab University, at the time of granting affiliation in 1992, specified that “Qualifications, pay scales and emoluments of the faculty and other employees shall be the same as approved by the university.” The Central Council of Indian Medicine had also recommended UGC scales for them, said Dr Shailender Bhardwaj, Convener of the coordination committee.

The staff also expressed its dismay at the attitude of the Administration towards the functioning of this college. They said as per a Supreme Court ruling, it was the duty of the state to fix fee structure (tuition fee) for the unaided privately-managed institutions and ensure that 96 per cent of the amount was spent towards the expenses. They lamented the misutilisation of Rs 1 crore on over heads other than the salary of the staff. The members have urged the Administration to take remedial action.

Though the strike will continue till the demand is accepted, they may start attending the OPD patients outside to avoid inconvenience to them. If need be, they will also start taking classes.

Meanwhile, the management committee, in their meeting held yesterday, have asked them to take back the strike unconditionally and then negotiate with them. They said they would not increase their salaries following such protests which are only an attempt to blackmail them.

While the management claims that no faculty member has given them a memorandum containing their demands, the agitating members say that no one from the management has come forward to negotiate with them despite repeated requests.

AIESEC observes alumni day
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The local chapter of AIESEC celebrated their alumni day in Sector 35 yesterday. Former members of the 1996 and 1998 batches shared their experiences with the other members.

According to the Organising Secretary, Anupriya, the interaction between the alumni and AIESEC's international trainees provides an oppurtunity to exchange ideas on recent projects. former students said the software computer course of the SSI opened better career avenues for them. They also expressed happiness at the reunion.

AIESEC is the French acronym for International Association of Students in Management and Sciences. In India, it has chapters in 11 cities, including Chandigarh. It runs an international student-exchange programme in which students work on traineeship basis in the development and corporate sectors.

COURTS

Justice Garg is CAT Vice-Chairman
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 6 — Justice G.C. Garg, a former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, today took over as Vice-Chairman of the Central Administrative Tribunal's Chandigarh Bench.

The post of Vice-Chairman had fallen vacant a couple of months ago following the retirement of Justice R.K. Nehru.

Mr Jawahar Lal Negi has taken over as Administrative Member of the tribunal. He earlier held the post of Administrative Member at the Ernakulam Bench in Kerala. He has been transferred here following the shifting of Mr V.K. Majotra to the Principal Bench of the tribunal in Delhi. The tribunal is still short of one Administrative Member.

Fined for selling milk without licence
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 6 — For selling milk without licence, The UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sant Parkash, today sentenced a Ropar district resident to imprisonment till the rising of the court, besides imposing a fine of Rs 500.

The accused — Surjit Singh —was earlier booked under Section 16 (1), (a), (11) of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act after Food Inspector Mr. Jagmohan Singh found him selling cow’s milk without licence on a motor-cycle in Sector 15 here.

When confronted with the incriminating evidence against him, the accused, had, however, denied the allegations. Claiming to be innocent, he had asked for a trial.

Today, pronouncing the orders in the open court, the CJM observed: “It is established that the accused was found selling food articles without any licence from the licencing authority”.

In his detailed order, the CJM also observed: “The prosecution has been able to bring home the guilt against the accused.... The accused is hereby sentenced to undergo imprisonment till the rising of the court and fined Rs 500”.

Addl. HC Registrar
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 6 — Mrs Nirmal Yadav, Sessions Judge at Sirsa, has been appointed Additional Registrar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The post has been lying vacant for some time.

CULTURE

Punjabi singers regale audience
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, March 6 — The launch of ‘‘Wah Punjabi’’, Magnasound’s latest venture into polishing and presenting talent from Punjab, proved to be an entertainer all the way at the musical evening organised here today.

The programme began a couple of hours behind schedule, but Dolly Guleria set the mood immediately with her song ‘Nikka Jeha’. Another local artiste, Bill Singh, whose first release is in the pipeline presented the title song of his album ‘‘Yaadan Teriyan”. Later, he rendered another catchy number ‘‘Kandh ute rakh camera”.

The other artistes associated with the company also performed on the occasion. These included Palwinder Dhami who sang two songs from his forthcoming album “Kya Baat Hai” and his song ‘‘Patya gaya” was a spirited presentation.

Dolly Guleria once again occupied centre-stage with “Do pal” also from her forthcoming release scheduled for the end of this month. Her songs won tremendous applause from the audience. Devinder Khannawala, presented foot tapping numbers “Nach de ne saare” and “Billo”. Heer Kamal, performed with his own dance troupe to his song “Kamli kamli”.

Earlier, the local unit introduced the concept behind the musical evening and the idea of promoting local talent and taking it to national and international levels. The Chairman and Managing Director of Magnasound, Mr Shashi Gopal, spoke at length on his company and its performance. Also present at the function were Sardool Sikander, singer, and Surinder Bachan, music director, among others.

‘Folk music strong in Punjab, Gujarat’
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, March 6 — “Folk art has a deep and strong presence in Punjab and Gujarat. There is music in everybody’s life and for that reason alone we see tremendous marketing potential in these states which has prompted us to open offices here,’’ Mr Shashi Gopal, Managing Director of Magnasound, stated at a press conference organised here today.

The company has allocated Rs 10 crore for developing a network in Punjab. The incharge of the state network, Mr Kunal Sarin, said that the idea was to tap talent in the state, mould the image of the artist to suit the times and make him a brand name.

“Our endeavour will be to involve local people who understand the tastes of the public and present a polished singer to them. Irrespective of the financial backing of the artist, we will fund everything from his launch to creating his identity in the marketing,” Mr Gopal informed.

Speaking on the myths plaguing the music industry, Mr Gopal said that an artist leaving a company need not imply that the company was in doldrums as is usually assumed. “We are in a progressive world and an artist leaving a company is not a reflection of its position in the market,” he opined.

Mr Gopal said that with the launch of star artists of the likes of Alisha Chinoy, Daler Mehndi, Colonial Cousins among others, the company had proved its mettle in the music industry but was keeping away from film music since it was a speculative proposition.

He rued that the music industry had to resort to borrowing in the face of the huge expenditure involved. “We need to build trust in bankers and make them believe in the changing scenario where the information technology sector, the pharma sector and the media stocks are zooming,” he said. He acknowledged that the music industry was becoming more professional with every passing day. “We put big money on the taste of the people and it is only a matter of time before the public chooses to switch its choice. So, we are in greater need of funds from the back but are instead relying on loans,” he added.

Commenting on piracy in the industry, he opined that society gradually takes everything in its stride and it has assumed serious proportions owing to the indifference. He said that the chances of picking up an original cassette were very rare in some markets of the country.

He also informed that the company was taking off in the state with the launch of three local artists, Dolly Guleria’s Nikka Jeha, Bill Singh’s Yaadan Teriyan and Kya Baat Hai by Palvinder Dhami by next month.

Sahit Chintan meeting held
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 6 — The monthly meeting of the local Sahit Chintan held this morning at the Punjab Kala Bhawan, Sector 16, was attended by experts from the field of theatre and poetry. Dr V. Mehndiratta presided over the meeting.

Before commencing the meeting, all those present condoled the recent deaths of Mr Joginder Singh Beharla, a well known theatre activist, and Mr Albel Singh Grewal, a retired high ranking official of Doordarshan and also a known committed social worker. Mr Grewal’s work on better Indo- Pak relations through his newspaper writings is also well known.

Earlier in the day, Dr Harinder Ranawat, a journalist and a photographer read out his poetry for the select audiences. Dr Ranawat has also authored many books including Akhri Baar Ka Bhojan and Gone Case.

Later in the day a ru-ba-ru session with Mr Swadesh Deepak was held here. Mr Deepak’s popular play Court Martial has, meanwhile, run 400 shows in the city.

Mr Deepak was introduced to the audience by well-known playwright Dr Atamjeet.

Later while speaking about Court Martial, Mr Deepak said that it was both the play of the media and politics that was creating disharmony in our lives and creating a havoc. He said that earlier it were the feudal lords ruling over the common man and now it was the time of the bureaucracy to do the same, and added in the same breath that man would certainly rise up and revolt if any one tries to trample on his self-respect or tries to attack his self-esteem.

Cultural show by Lahaul students
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 6 — Members of the Lahaul-Spiti Students Association presented an absorbing cultural programme at the Sector 23 Bal Bhavan yesterday.

They presented colourful folk dances and songs to celebrate the Millennium Gozi.

Dr Ram Lal Markanda, Himachal Pradesh Minister of State for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, presided over the function. He announced a grant of Rs 25,000 for the association. Besides, he also gave away prizes and awards to students who had excelled in academics, sport and extra-curricular activities.

Mr Jai Singh, President of the association, felicitated Mr Ram Lal Markanda, while Mr Rajender Kumar, Secretary, read out the annual report, highlighting various achievements of the association in the past one year.