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| Thursday, November 2, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Premier public school turns 40
AMRITSAR FOUNDATION DAY: Guru Nanak Dev University, which was founded in 1969, will celebrate its 31st Foundation Day on the campus on November 24. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr, Harbhanjan Singh Soch, presided over a meeting of the foundation day committee constituted to celebrate the function here on Tuesday in which senior teachers, officers and principals participated. EYE DONATION: Dr Surjan Singh on Tuesday addressed a gathering at Government Primary School in Rasulpur Kaler village. He spoke on awareness about eyecare and eye donation. Twentythree villagers pledged to donate their eyes. Ms Parvesh Rani, councillor in the local municipal corporation, took the lead in signing the pledge. SEMINAR: Guru Nanak Dev University and the Press Council of India will jointly organise a one-day seminar on “Future of print media — problems of regional press” on November 5 at Guru Nanak Bhavan on the university campus. Stating this, Dr S.P. Singh, coordinator of the seminar, said Lt-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), Governor of Punjab, would inaugurate it. BATHINDA OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Bathinda Central Cooperative Bank Employees Union: president — Mr Parampal Singh Sidhu; general secretary — Mr Baljinder Singh; senior vice-president — Mr Gurcharan Singh; and cashier — Mr Tarsem Lal. ONE KILLED: One person was killed and another injured seriously when their motorcycle collided with a stationary tractor-trailer on the Bathinda-Goniana road near the octroi post on Monday night. Police sources said Mandeep Singh succumbed to his injuries at the Civil Hospital. The other injured identified as Anil Kumar was under treatment. LUDHIANA MEETING: The state executive of the Punjab State Pensioners' Confederation will meet at the Bharatiya Kisan Union office in Ludhiana on November 3 to chalk out a phased programme of dharnas and rallies all over the state against the "biased attitude" of the state government towards the pensioners. Mr B.R. Kaushal, President, PSPC, in a press statement informed that the demands of the pensioners as recommended by the Punjab Fourth Pay Commission had not been implemented. Mr Kaushal flayed the government for the raw deal meted out to the pensioners. HEPATITIS-B CAMP: The Rotract Club, in association with the GGN Khalsa College, organised a hepatitis-B vaccination camp at Grewal Hospital under the guidance of the Zonal President, Mr Dalbir Singh Makkar. As many as 1,047 patients were vaccinated at the camp. The children up to the age of 15 years were vaccinated for Rs 70 and above 15 years for Rs 135. PADDY PROCURED: The paddy procurement in the district till October 29 had touched 12,08,983 metric tonnes as against 11,55,492 tonnes during the corresponding period last year. Giving this information, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.K. Sandhu, said the total procurement in the district was expected to exceed 13 lakh metric tonnes. Of the total purchase so far, the government procurement agencies had procured 10,65,660 tonnes (88 per cent) which included 3,90,391 tonnes by the Food Corporation of India, 1,03,388 tonnes by the Food and Supplies Department, 1,30,093 tonnes by Markfed, 2,27,303 tonnes by Punsup, 1,46,090 tonnes by the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, 68,405 tonnes by the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation and 1,43,323 tonnes by millers. JATHA FOR PAK: A jatha of Sikh devotees to visit gurdwaras in Pakistan will leave from the office of the Guru Gobind Singh Sevak Jatha, Civil Lines, on November 6 morning. According to Mr Kartar Singh Garib, mukh sevak of the body, devotees from various parts of Punjab and other states will reach Attari border on the same day. The devotees will pay obeisance at the gurdwaras Sacha Sauda, Rori Sahib, Aminabad, Tambu Sahib, Panja Sahib, Chuna Mandi and the birthplace of Guru Ram Das in Pakistan on the occasion of gurpurb of Guru Nanak Dev. BLACK DAY: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has termed Punjab Day being observed on November 1 as ''black day''. In a joint statement, the party district President, Mr Rashpal Singh Gill, Senior Vice-President, Mr Ramesh Nanchahal, and the youth wing President, Mr Ashwani Bhalla, have said that Haryana and Himachal Pradesh might have valid reasons to rejoice on the day but Punjab was trifurcated and truncated on this day. It was ridiculous and beyond comprehension that Punjab Day should be observed at the state level with much fanfare. WIDOW PENSION: The 39th widow pension distribution function will be held at the Shri Gyan Sthal Temple on November 5 under the chairmanship of Mr Som Nath Maini. Mr Jagdish Bajaj, President of the temple management committee, informed that about 351 widows would be benefitted. AUTHORS' MEET: The recipient of the Shiromani Sahitkar and Sahitya Akademi awards for his contribution to the Punjabi literature, Prof Niranjan Tasneem would deliver a lecture at the authors' meet at Bhasha Bhavan, Patiala, on November 5. Prof Tasneem has retired from the Postgraduate Department of English, Government College, Ludhiana. PHAGWARA SAD MEETING: The local unit of the SAD on Tuesday decided to hold village and mohalla level mini-conferences for carrying constructive policies of the Badal government to people’s doorsteps and countering canards being spread by its detractors. Mr Gurmukh Singh who chaired the meeting made a plea to the Chief Minister to fill vacancies in government bodies. TARN
TARAN ARREST DEMANDED: Ms Satinder
Kaur, daughter of Mr Kuldeep Singh, a lecturer in Government Senior Secondary School,
Kasel, has demanded the arrest of her husband Amarjit Singh and other members of her in-laws’ family against whom a case under Sections 406, 498-A, 506 and 452 of the IPC was registered at the local Civil Lines police station on October 16. She said her husband and in-laws had been torturing her and demanding dowry since her marriage.
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AMBALA CLUB: A golden friends club has been formed by the local youth. At a meeting held in Lal Kurti Bazar Cantonment Board member Umesh Sahni was chosen as the chairman of the club. President is Mr Lalit Chaudhary, working president is Mr Sanjeev Chaudhary, general secretary is Mr Vasudev Sharma, vice president is Mr Inder Singh, secretary is Mr Rajvinder Singh Titoo, treasurer is Mr Raju Arora and press secretary is Mr Rajesh Sharma (Lal), a release said. VISIT: The international general secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Mr Pravin Bhai Togadia, will be visiting Ambala on November 4. Mr Togadia will be attending the Prakash Utsav of Swami Kalyanji Maharaj. Besides VHP, Bajrang Dal activists will be present during the function, a release issued by the general secretary of Ambala Cantonment unit of the VHP, Mr Madan Lal Bhola said. HISAR HELD: The Hansi police has nabbed three persons who had freed a criminal Ranbeer Fauji from its custody near Madina village in Rohtak district on Monday. They were caught at Garhi village on Tuesday night and three countrymade pistols seized from them. According to the police, after freeing Ranbeer these persons were returning to Hansi in a Maruti van. PANIPAT ONE KILLED: One person was killed when a car coming from Delhi hit him on the G.T. Road near the old bus stand, Samalkha, on Monday. The body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. HONOURED: ‘Manvata Premi Samman Samaroh’ was organised by the All Regions Ekta Mission at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, G.T. Road, Panipat. Babu Parmanand, Governor of Haryana, honoured social workers on the occasion. Ms Brij Rani Sharma, chief patron of the local Bharatiya Mahila Kalyan Samiti, was among those honoured. SONEPAT SUICIDE ATTEMPT: A housewife, Anju, is reported to have made an attempt to commit suicide by consuming an insecticide at her house in Rai village, about 15 km from here, on Tuesday. According to reports, she was admitted to the Civil Hospital here where she is stated to be out of danger. A family quarrel is stated to be the cause. BEATEN UP: A youth, Rakesh, was beaten up allegedly by the parents of a girl while he was teasing her. He was caught red-handed by them in the Sunder Sanwari area here on Tuesday. Later, the youth was hospitalised. BURNS: A labourer, Yunis, sustained burns when he touched electricity wires in Tara Nagar area here on Tuesday. He was immediately hospitalised. He is stated to be out of danger.  |
KANGRA FOUNDATION STONE: The foundation stone of a veterinary dispensary in the upper Danotoo village in the Shahpur tehsil of the district could not be laid down on Tuesday as residents of the lower Danotoo protested against ignoring their village. They blocked the Pathankot-Mandi highway at Chambi for two hours. The police said the SDM, Dharamsala, had rushed to the village. SHIMLA
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Premier public school turns 40 THE British on leaving India in 1947 left a large fund to be utilised for rehabilitation of ex-servicemen who had fought World War II. This was called post-war reconstruction fund (PWSR). By the late fifties all the ex-servicemen had been rehabilitated and there were a few crores still left. Col Naunihal Singh Man and Gen Kalwant Singh approached the then Chief Minister of Punjab, Partap Singh Kairon, a visionary. It did not take the duo long to hit upon the idea of starting of a school on the model of public schools to educate children of ex-servicemen with scholarships from the PWSR. After studying the functioning of the best schools of India, a Sainik School was started in Nabha within the buildings of the erstwhile state. Mr J.K. Kate who was later awarded Padma Shree was picked up as founder-headmaster. A Maharashtrian, he had made his reputation as an administrator while serving as bursar at Lawrence School, Sanawar. When this team approached the then Defence Minister, Mr Krishna Menon, for the help of a physical instructor and a doctor from the Army, he quickly grasped the idea and started Sainik Schools all over India on the lines of this school. However he refused to help the school at Nabha unless the head of the institution was a defence officer. Mr Kairon was an excellent judge of men he decided not to let go of Mr Kate and turned the school into what is called Punjab Public School, Nabha. This was in 1960. This year — the last of the second millennium and of the 20th century — PPS completes 40 years of existence. The best way to judge a school is from the students it turns out. The ONA is an association of the old students of the school. They celebrated a well-planned rendezvous on October 22. The spirit of Old Nabhaites, can be gauged from the fact that in spite of six counters for registration at “Rendezvous 2000,” the reception was packed till late afternoon. They had trooped in from the eastern states, Calcutta, Delhi, Bombay and even the UK and the USA. Professionally they were a mixed bag of doctors, engineers, journalists, executives, businessmen, farmers, defence officers and even teachers. The day started with a welcome address by Navin Talwar, president of ONA, then Mr Punia, an ex-headmaster associated with school for 31 years, conducted the assembly with singing of the school song by old students and a prayer. The programme reached its zenith with honouring of three martyrs’ families. Mrs Jatinder Cheema and her daughter received the honours for Major Rajwinder Singh Cheema who single-handedly captured an enemy post and then held it all night long repulsing many counter-attacks in 1971 and getting a Vir Chakra. Mrs Harpal Singh was honoured for her husband, Capt Harpal Singh of the Para Commando regiment, who was fatally wounded by LTTE while firing at them to protect his colleagues. Capt Vardip Singh Bhinder (hony) received the honour for his son, Capt M.S. Bhinder, an ace rider of India who won four golds, one silver and one bronze at the Bangalore National Games and was declared best rider. Capt M.S. Bhinder had died with his wife and son in the “Uphaar” cinema fire in Delhi while trying to save the lives of those trapped inside. The photo shows Capt Vardip Bhinder (right) being honoured by Mr Y.P. Bhardwaj, an ex-teacher of the school. There was a video show on the history of the PPS using computerised slides from old photographs lasting more than an hour. One was glad to see Rajendra Prasad’s Presidential train entering Nabha railway station in 1961 to inaugurate the school. The spirit of the great Partap Singh Kairon must be smiling with great satisfaction in the heavens when it looks down upon the success of his “creation”. A corporator with impeccable credentials Had there been a `best councillor’ award on the pattern of best parliamentarian, Mala Singh would be the unanimous choice amongst all the councillors of the Shimla Municipal Corporation. This suave, pretty and energetic young woman is so intensely committed to her job that even her male counterparts appear as pygmies when compared to her high standards. A staunch Virbhadra Singh loyalist, Mala Singh’s deep concern on the environment, unauthorised constructions and lack of cleanliness have been appreciated by one and all irrespective of party affiliation. A first-time corporator, Mala Singh does not believe in petty politicking and calling a spade a spade is her forte. She is always on the move, be it in the field or inside the corporation. The developmental works done by her and close rapport with the public amply manifest her versatility. And she has a special word of praise for the Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal, for having banned plying of all vehicles in her ward (around the Ridge and Lakkar Bazar) to the relief of pedestrians. It is quite amazing that while Mala Singh’s female colleagues are nowhere to be sighted after being victorious at the hustings and despite their dismal performance during the past three years, she has struck a fine balance between her public commitments and family affairs. She is M.A. ( Public Admn.) married to an HPSEB Executive Engineer and has two kids. The corporator is a strong votary of banning polythene bags and other plastic materials as she considers these to be the biggest hazards responsible for abysmal hygienic conditions in the town: she wants the Municipal Corporation to take the initiative to distribute cotton and jute bags to replace polythene products in phases. Among her future plans and priorities in the ward, she is getting a parking place built near Amar Bhavan to tide over this ever-growing problem. Besides, she will also strive hard to create strong public opinion against multi-storeyed buildings, especially in her Jakhu ward. She also firmly believes leaving alone the safai karamcharis’, it is the common man who is primarily responsible for the deteriorating public hygiene. “Heavy penalties must be imposed on all such offenders, who throw waste, garbage and rubbish at public places. Stringency in this regard is the only resort keeping in view the gravity of the problem,” she asserts. She sounds highly critical of the cumbersome and preposterous laws governing the corporation at present. “These laws can be bent any time, to any extent to suit vested interests. Unauthorised constructions, encroachments and tree felling that have taken place during the past are all due to unbridled bureaucratic and political pressure”, she asserts. Mala Singh deserves a lot more. She does not regret that she lost the race for coveted post of the Mayor by a whisker last year owing to party bickerings. But she has firm faith in “karma” and stoically goes about her job of serving the public without expecting rewards. —
Contributed by Jashanjot Singh Bhangu and Som Kirti |
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