AMRITSAR
MEMORANDUM: A deputation of the non-government aided college teachers union led by Prof Gurnam Singh Kahlon, district president of the union, and Prof K.B.S. sodhi, president PCCTU, has met Mr Mohan Lal, Minister for Higher Education, and submitted a memorandum. It has urged the minister to direct the non-government colleges to deposit their share of the compulsory provident fund in the government treasury at the earliest, which would help implement the pension-cum-gratuity scheme from April 20.

BATALA
HAVAN: Mr V.K. Bhatia, Principal of S.L. Bawa DAV College and president of the Arya Samaj, told mediapersons on Thursday that a havan was organised for the welfare of the quake-hit people of Gujarat here on Wednesday. A donation of Rs 11,000 was also made.

BATHINDA
OFFICE-BEARERS: The following have been elected office-bearers of the local unit of the Class Four Government Employees Union: president — Mr Angrej Singh; vice-president — Mr Mohinder Singh; secretary — Mr Harbans Singh; treasurer — Mr Azaib Singh; and organising secretary — Mr Veer Singh.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of the Akhil Bhartiya Uttaranchal Vikas Parishad, Chandigarh: president — Mr Mahavir Rawat members — Mr Keshar Singh Visth, Mr Kundan Giri, Mr Nanda Balbh and Mr Ram Singh.

REMEMBERED: The birth anniversary of Lord Baden Powell, the founder of the Bharat Scouts and Guides movement, was celebrated here on Thursday as “Thinking day”. Scouts and guides of Kendriya Vidyalya, No. 2, 3 BRD, assembled to pay a tribute to the great soul. As many as 100 scouts and guides visited the Kusht Ashram. They distributed clothes, eatables and other household articles among inmates. Similar function was held at Government Girls Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 18. The flag hoissting ceremony was followed by prayers. Cultural programme was also presented by students. The DPI schools, UT, Mr D.S. Saroya, was the chief guest. Students of Kendriya Vidyalya, Sector 47, also celebrated the day.

WORKSHOP: A two-day workshop on “Skills in Teaching of English” started at the Dev Samaj College of Education, Sector 36 on Friday. Dr Birender Aulakh, Director, Regional Institute of English and Mr J.L. Davesar of the same Institute were the resource persons for the workshop. Mr Davesar told the students that along with language, expression of it is also important, the problem which students faced was of trying to find the right words to express what they had to say.

ORGANISED: The English Literary Society of the Department of English, Government College, Sector 46, organised an inter-college English literature and language quiz in the college on Friday. The team of Deepti Laoria, Manreep Sidhu and Shruti Mahajan from MCM DAV College, Sector 36, won the first prize in the quiz while the team of Government College for Girls, Sector 11, came second and the team comprising Mrigank Sharma, Amit and Shiraj from the host college got third position. A special prize was given to Anurag Taneja of the host college who stood first in the written quiz.

DONATED: The Welfare Committee of Sector 27-D collected a sum of Rs 37,500 for the victims of earthquake in Gujarat for the Prime Minister National Relief Fund, which was handed over to Lt Gen J.F.R. Jacob by the Deputy Mayor, Mr Mohinder Singh and Mr G.S. Cheema on February 15.

WORKSHOP HELD: The students of the Department of Psychology under the guidance of their teachers Dr Duldeep Kaur and Dr Satinder Kaur organised a psycho workshop in the college on Friday. The students of psychology, through various tests, measured the behavioural aspects like intelligence, personality, adjustment, anxiety, depression etc of more than 250 students of the college. The Principal, Mr D.P. Singh, was one of the first to be tested. Members of the staff also participated in the workshop which was inaugurated by the Principal.

YOUTH FESTIVAL: An All-India Inter University Youth Festival ‘Jhankar 2001’ will be held at Panjab University from March 15 to March 18, it was announced here on Friday. Mr Bhupinder Singh Bhuppi, president of the Punjab University Campus Students Council, addressing a press conference said the cultural show organised at a local level in 1997 had been extended to the national level. As many as 350 invitations have been sent to leading universities and professional institutes all over the country.

FUNCTION: To mark the National Science Day, the Survey of India is observing an open house from February 26 to 28 at its office premises in Sector 32. According to the Director, North Western Circle, Brig K.S. Khatri, demonstration of map making techniques — especially digitisation with the help of computers, photogrammetric surveys, scribing and printing will be held during the period. Equipment used during field surveys will also be displayed. In addition, a vast variety of maps produced by the Survey of India will be displayed.

CYANIDE RESULTS: The “Fire throwers” from the Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Panjab University, won the Mock Rock contest at the Cyanide here on Friday. While Nisheet and Deepti from the Department of Bio-Physics won the ‘Made for Each Other’ contest, ‘Streetoddler’ won the Rock Show competition. Pradeep and his team won the medley while Pradeep from Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan took away the prize in the Hindi solo. Parul and Sudarshan won the ‘Catch-an-Egg’ contest and Sumit Verma, Sumant and Varun won the ‘Teg-of-war’ contest. Aaron of D.C.E.T. won Esoterica (IT) while Gaurav of DAV college won the Jam contest. 

DIED: Ms Biba Bakshi, Senior Lecturer of English at MCM DAV College, Sector 36, died here on Wednesday. A condolence meeting was held by the Principal in the college on Thursday where staff members and students of the college expressed deep sorrow and grief at the sad and untimely death of Ms Bakshi.

HEPATITIS-B VACCINES: As many as 219 children in the age group of 3-6 years were administered free Hepatitis-B vaccines in Plasora colony on Thursday by the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh (MCC) under the Central Governments Swaran Jayanti Shahiri Rozgar Yojna. The vaccine was administered to the children in five anganwadi centres.

ORGANISED: A talk on tobacco, alcohol and ill effects of drugs was organised at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, by Drug Awareness Counselling Centre, Servants of the People Society and Drug de-addiction, Treatment Centre, PGI on Thursday. Dr Parveen Sharma delivered the talk which was followed by an interaction session with the students.

NATURE PARK: The management of Sri Guru Gobind Singh College for Women, Sector 26, allowed the Children’s Alliance for Protection of Environment (CAPE) to develop the half acre area in the college premises in a nature park. Led by Ms H.K. Khana, Principal of the college, the students planted 250 saplings of plants in the area allotted to them.

FUNCTION HELD: The Department of Sanskrit, Panjab University, organised a valedictory function to honour the winners of different competitions, here on Thursday. Ms Arun Goel, of Sanskrit Department, distributed prizes to the winners.

PANCHKULA
CM's PLEA: The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, has asked the academics of the state to launch new initiatives to involve writers and artists of the state in the overall developments in the field of information technology, education and industrial sector. A multilingual poetic symposium will be organised by the Department of Cultural and District Administration in Bhiwani on Saturday in this connection. This process of organising symposium every month will continue at district and sub-division level.

FAMILY PLANNING: About 20 persons underwent laparoscopic tuballigation in a Family Planning (Operation) Camp organised by the Panchkula branch of the Family Planning Association of India in collaboration with the Lion’s Club Central, Panchkula, at the CFF Centre, Sector 4, on Friday. Tiffins were also distributed among the FPA acceptors, informed Mr Amit Gupta, branch manager of the association.

SAS NAGAR
PROPERTY ACT: The Punjab Government is finalising amendments in the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act to check the illegal colonisation in the state. The Housing and Urban Development Minister, Dr Upinderjit Kaur, has directed the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) to make the suitable amendments in the Act.

SCHOOL COMPETITIONS: A two-day state-level educational competitions for the secondary and senior secondary school students affiliated to the Punjab School Education Board began at the Government College of Education, Sector 20, on Thursday. About 150 toppers of the regional level competitions and their teachers are participating in the competitions. The programme was inaugurated by Ms Surjit Kaur Tangri, Principal of the college, while Mr Tota Singh, School Education Minister, Punjab, gave away the prizes.

AMBALA
APPOINTED: Mrs Amarjit Kaur Sodhi has been appointed as president of the women cell of the District Congress Committee. According to a press note, the state president of the cell, Mrs Anita Yadav, has made this appointment.

HCCI's PLEA: The Minister for Local Self Government addressed representatives of trade and industry here on Thursday. While addressing the gathering, Mr Subhash Goel explained the procedure for assessment of house tax and trade tax in Haryana, which has been imposed recently. Mr Goel said the Haryana Government wanted to rationalise the house tax system, according to a press note. The state senior vice-president of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI), Mr N.C. Jain, and the HCCI president, Mr Manmohan Singhal, also spoke on the occasion.

DEMANDED: The Scientific Apparatus Manufacturers Association (SAMA) has demanded the withdrawal of the minimum power charges and the new house tax formula. The association has said from July 1999 to February 2001, heavy taxes had been imposed on the people in general and the business community in particular. “Scientific industry should be exempt from sales tax, commerical tax, minimum power charges and the new house tax,” a press note issued by the general secretary of SAMA, Mr Bal Kishan Thakur said. The scientific industry is unable to bear the additional taxes, he said.

EXPLANATION SOUGHT: The District Administration has taken a serious note of the pamphlets distributed by an international social club regarding 30 hepatitis camps to a organised in the city on February 25. The club has printed some confusing information regarding this disease in the pamphlets. The club mentioned in the pamphlets that this decease is 100 times dangerous than AIDS and it can be transmitted through blood, semen, sweat, sputum and tears. The Civil Surgeon, Mr R.K. Patnaik, said the matter had been brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner. He said the organisers had been asked to explain the confusion created by them among the people regarding the disease. He said the disease can only be transmitted through blood. He said six teams of the doctors have been constituted to inspect the camps being organised by the club. He said if any carelessness was found there the administration would take action against the club. He said in future no organisation would be allowed to organise any type of health camp without obtaining prior permission from the District Health Authorities.

JIND
ARRESTED: The district police arrested two armed members of a gang here on Thursday while three other members fired at the police party and managed to escape. However, no police personnel was injured. Mr O.P. Singh, SP, said the arrested persons had been identified as Satbir of Siwani village and Prem of Chuklana village. Two country-made pistols, six cartridges and a Maruti car were also seized from them.

ROHTAK
RESERVATION POLICY: Dr Ambedkar Teachers’ Front of Maharshi Dayanand University has appealed to the Chancellor of the university to ensure strict implementation of the reservation policy in the appointments of principals and teachers in private colleges.

SIRSA
WIRES STOLEN: Some persons stole electric wires worth Rs 2 lakh from Kalanwali Power House in the district on Thursday night. According to information, three drums of conductor wire were stolen.

SONEPAT
ROBBED: Mr Balbir Singh Rathi, a clerk of a factory, was allegedly robbed of Rs 1 lakh by two scooter-borne persons at gun point at Gohana town, 35 km from here, on Thursday. Mr Rathi reportedly withdrew the money from the local branch of the State Bank of Patiala. After returning from the bank when he was parking his scooter outside the factory two persons snatched the bag carrying cash from him at gun point and fled the scene.