The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

EDUCATION

Ayurvedic students’ strike continues
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
Stalemate continued at Shri Dhanwantry Ayurvedic College, Sector 46, as the strike by students and Class IV employees of the hospital, entered the sixth day today with the college management failing to resolve the issue.

Students are demanding expulsion of Dr Naresh Mittal, member, Dhanwantry Educational Society, and Dr Ravinder Kaur Shukla, officiating Deputy Medical Superintendent of the hospital, to whom they are attributing most of their problems. According to Student Welfare Council College leader, Ripudaman Singh, ancient ayurvedic principles had been discarded at their behest and the private rooms converted into luxury resorts. He also alleged groupism and misappropriation of hospital funds and resources by them.

When contacted Mr R.K. Garg, President, Dhanwantry Educational Society, said the students’ genuine demands were under consideration and in fact, many had been agreed upon at a meeting held between the management and student leaders. However, regarding removal of Dr Mittal and Dr Shulka, Mr Garg said, these demands were unjust and uncalled for.

Meanwhile, the issue regarding the number of trees that were chopped off on the Dhanwantry Ayurvedic College, campus, took a new turn today with contradictory statements regarding the number of trees that were cut. While the students are claiming that as many as 13 medicinal trees were cut , members of the Dhanwantry Educational Society claimed that they were just three.

According to Ripudaman Singh, 13 full grown green trees, including mahaneem, gooler and arjun, were cut by the hospital management and sold for just Rs 13,000 without even seeking permission from the Forest Department and the UT Administration. Even the regular gardener of the college agreed that 13 medicinal trees had been chopped and sold by the college management.

Mr R. K. Garg, refuted these allegations and said only three trees had been removed from the premises only after they had been infested with termites.

Mrs Nirmal Bhatia, vice-president of the society, affirmed this. She however, agreed that trees had been cut without any permission and that it was a genuine mistake on the part of the management.

The Principal, Mr R.P. Kaushal, however, giving an entirely contradictory statement said that more than three trees had indeed been chopped ‘‘without his knowledge.’’ He added that 50 per cent of these trees were indeed of medicinal value.

Literacy vital for national prosperity
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
Literacy plays an important role for individual as well as national prosperity. Punjab has achieved prosperity in many spheres but lags behind in the field of literacy. It is a matter of concern that majority of the children in the state do not got to school and about 45 lakh persons in the age group of 15 to 45 are illiterate.

It becomes very imperative therefore to make the adult education campaign successful and popular among illiterate people, said Mr Sarvesh Kaushal, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and Secretary Information and Public Relations, Punjab, while inaugurating the workshop “Development of communication support for adult education programmes” organised by the Regional Resource Centre for Adult and Continuing of Education, Panjab University, here yesterday.

Mr Kaushal said that content and concept of adult education material was very important. It should be prepared keeping in view the mental ability of the people concerned. Media could play a vital role in this aspect. Electronic media was more effective for illiterate persons as they could understand easily through it. Today with technological advancement and instant global reach, communication and the media had become integral part in the life of people.

In recent times, media had played a better role than in the past in supporting total literacy campaigns of the National Literacy Mission throughout the country and in popularising adult education. Different forms of media were the mainstay in promotion of adult education. The organisers instead of depending upon the government more and more NGOs should be involved for the success of literacy campaign.

Earlier, Ms Manjeet Paintal, Director, Regional Resource Centre for Adult and Continuing Education, Panjab University, welcomed Mr Sarvesh Kaushal and give detailed activities of the centre.

ITI students gherao Director’s office
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, April 26
On the call given by the Industrial Training Institutes Students Action Committee, students gheraoed the office of the Director, Technical Education, Punjab, here today. They also held a rally in front of the office of the Director.

The President of the Punjab Students Union, Mr Raminder Singh, while addressing the rally said that students would intensify their agitation as the authorities had not even responded to the charter of demands of the committee. The committee alleged that the government was privatising the ITIs.

Efforts had not been made to modernise the infrastructure in these institutions. The courses started 30 years ago had not been updated.

COURTS

HIGH COURTS
District bodies to select JBT teachers
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
The decks were cleared for the recruitment of 7230 JBT teachers in the state of Punjab with Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directing that the selection would be made by the district level selection committees.

The order is significant as the selection in pursuance to an advertisement dated April 2 last year had been stayed by the court while taking up the petition filed by Ms Bhupinder Kaur and others. Over 60,000 candidates had applied for the post.

Pronouncing the orders, Mr Justice Kumar ordered that the committees would consist of a chairman, three members and two experts. The experts would be nominated by the Vice-Chancellor of the university mentioned in a letter dated April 4 issued by the state. The Judge also warned that the selection committees would not interview any candidate in the absence of the experts.

In his detailed order, Mr Justice Kumar directed that “the list of the applicants shall be made available and shall be duly displayed on the notice board fixed at the place where the interviews were to be held two days prior to the event”.

Partly allowing the petition, Mr Justice Kumar further ordered that the merit list, along with the criterion adopted by the state for selecting the candidates, would be furnished to each member of the committee.

Challenging the advertisement issued by Punjab’s Education Department for filling the post in the district cadre, Ms Bhupinder Kaur and others had earlier contended that the selection could be made only through the Punjab Subordinate Service Selection Board as the post was Class III in nature.

Counsel for the state of Punjab, on the other hand, had contended that as the number of posts was large, the state government had taken a conscious decision to take these out of the board’s purview. To expedite the selection, 21 departmental selection committees at the district level had been constituted, he had added.

Pre-arrest Bail to MLA confirmed

Confirming the anticipatory bail granted to Haryana MLA, Mr Karan Singh Dalal, in a murder case, Mr Justice Amar Dutt of the High Court today directed the trial court to dispose of as expeditiously as possible the bail applications that may be filed by his three relatives if they surrendered before the court.

Mr Justice Dutt observed that it was improper for the court to stand in the way of the custodial interrogation of the MLA’s brother, Mehar Chand Dalal, his son and daughter-in-law as their questioning may be necessary to find out the circumstances in which a relative of the accused, Sumitra Chaudhry, died.

The Judge added that protection could not be refused to Karan Singh Dalal till additional evidence was available regarding his role in the conspiracy. The MLA was, however, directed to surrender his passport before the investigating officer.

In his detailed order, the Judge observed: “While disposing of the present applications, I do not propose to go into the details of the allegations being made primarily that the investigation was not being conducted fairly by the state as the Chief Minister was out to get Karan Singh Dalal and his family. In case the petitioners have doubts regarding the fairness of the investigations, it was open for them to seek directions for the transfer of the same”.

Claiming to have been implicated in the case, the petitioners had earlier contended that the visera of the deceased, sent for chemical examination, had been changed.

Madhan trial
Focus on conduct of counsel
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
Little progress could be made in the trial of Major V.K. Madhan as the proceedings focused on the conduct of counsel in the court. After submissions by the prosecution as well as the defence counsel, the court advised them to maintain the decorum of the court and conduct themselves amicably.

Soon after as the examination-in-chief of the third prosecution witness, Capt S. Basu, started, the Judge Advocate, Major Mahender Yadav, tried to admonish the prosecution counsel, Col R. Malhotra (retd), for using an incorrect term in his questions and “not doing his homework”. The prosecution counsel lost his cool and said that he would like to withdraw from the trial. He said he would write to HQ, 14 Corps, for changing the prosecution counsel.

When there was no reaction from the court, the prosecution counsel kept insisting that he would like to approach the convening authority in this regard.

At this stage, the defence counsel, Major R.S. Randhawa (retd), contended that the prosecution counsel’s actions should be brought on record as these amounted to “browbeating” the court. He said if this episode was not brought on record, he would like to give a written submission, to which the court’s presiding officer, Col A.K. Chopra, told him not to threaten the court. The court thereafter adjourned.

When the court reassembled, the prosecution counsel still insisted on his withdrawal, but the court, after telling him that he should not raise objections on clarifications sought by the court, desired that he continue with the trial.

The court, on the request of the prosecution counsel, adjourned for half an hour, but when it reassembled the prosecution counsel was not present. On being asked, the prosecuting officer told the court that the counsel had booked a call to HQ, 14 Corps, and was still on the line.

Later, an argument ensued between the Judge Advocate and the defence counsel on the written submission forwarded by the defence in regard to the earlier transactions being brought on record. While the defence counsel repeatedly insisted that the submission be taken on record, the Judge Advocate showed reluctance. Finally, at the bidding of the presiding officer, the submission was taken on record.

DEATH OF ITBP TRAINEES
Court accepts plea on jurisdiction
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
In a significant decision, the general force court (GFC) trying three Indo-Tibetan Border Police officers for alleged negligence of duty today accepted the special plea to jurisdiction raised by two of the accused.

The court accepted the plea challenging the jurisdiction of the seven member GFC raised by Deputy Commandant A.S. Rawat and Assistant Commandant Dawa Tshering. The decision of the court has been sent to the higher authorities for confirmation. If confirmed, the trial of these two will not proceed further.

They had raised the plea on the grounds that the convening order of the court was improper and that pre-trial procedures and investigations were not conducted in the prescribed manner.

Another officer, Commandant G.S. Kapoor, had also raised a similar plea to jurisdiction, but it had been overruled by the court. His trial is under way.

The three officers had been charged under various sections of the ITBP Act, 1992, for dereliction of duty, violation of good order and discipline of the force, ill-treating subordinates and unbecoming conduct. They were held responsible for an incident in which eight ITBP trainees were killed and 11 seriously injured.

The incident had occurred at the Khullia Garbia glacier, near Joshimuth, in Uttar Pradesh in October, 1998. A team from the ITBP’s Mountaineering and Skiing Institute at Auli had left Mana on October 15 while on a glacial training course.

It started snowing heavily, which continued till October 17. Owing to the inclement weather conditions, the training officer, Assistant Commandant Tshering, ordered the trainees to return to Mana on October 17. However, eight of the trainees died while 11 others were injured during the period, allegedly due to inadequate facilities provided to them.

Assistant Commandant Tshering had reportedly deposed before the court of inquiry that the incident was a natural calamity, which could not have been anticipated. Both Commandant Kapoor and Deputy Commandant Rawat had maintained that the snowfall had been unprecedented and they had done all that was humanly possible.

Speed governors issue: notice of motion for July 30
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 26
On a petition filed by Banur-based Punjab Civil and Consumer Welfare Front seeking directions to the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking, besides Punjab and Haryana Roadways, to install “speed governors” in heavy transport vehicles for preventing accidents, Mr Justice R.S. Mongia and Mr Justice K.C. Gupta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion for July 30.

Claiming overspeeding and congested roads to be the prime reason behind most of the accidents, the petitioner stated that the only viable solution was the installation of speed governor — an instrument which controls the flow of oil to the engine thereby fixing the maximum speed.

Counsel for the petitioner added that the technique had successfully been carried out in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata. He also claimed that the installation of the gadget in all state transport buses has already been ordered by a division Bench of the Delhi High Court.