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| Friday,
June 15, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Environmental studies
paper Chandigarh, June 14 Panjab University has also decided to accord grace marks in the examination for mistakes in the Hindi and Punjabi versions of the question papers. A total of four marks each will be given to students who appeared in the morning session. Classes for which examination was conducted in the morning session were BA I and BA III. The university has decided to give five marks each to students who appeared for the examination in the afternoon session. This
includes students from BA III, all three years of BBA, BCA and B Com courses. The reduction in the pass percentage is seen as an interesting development for paper evaluation. The paper is only for a total of 50 marks. The pass percentage with the changed percentage becomes 13 approximately. If five marks are to be given as grace then a student needs to secure only eight. This would render the whole exercise a farce, a senior fellow of the university said. A decision in this regard has been taken by the committee nominated by the Vice-Chancellor which is looking after the function of the Board of Control in the subject. The members of the committee include Principal Vijaylakshmi, Principal A.C. Vaid, Prof R.C. Sobti, Principal K.S. Arya, Dr V.K. Bansal, Registrar and Mr A.R. Bhandari, the Joint Controller of Examination, besides others. Informed sources said evaluation for the examination conducted this session had been completed. The result shows a pass percentage of more than 95 per cent. This is a very positive showing when compared to the pass percentage in the past. The percentage was so abysmally low the first time that the examination had to be cancelled. Instead, a system of attending a minimum number of stipulated lectures was introduced which continued till the last session. The
university will not be issuing a separate certificate for the course, sources said. Instead a regular marksheet will carry the
status. The university will make a mention of ‘already completed’ or ‘still to appear’ on a normal marksheet. The marks in the environmental education paper do not carry any weightage for the final result. The candidate only needs to have qualified. In case fit, the phrase ‘lectures attended’ will also be a qualifying statement for the candidate. In a special concession for candidates who failed to appear in the examination on April 30, Panjab University has decided to give another chance. A separate examination will be conducted on June 29. The chance will be specially beneficial to students of the final year who failed to appear for the examination or have failed to attend the stipulated lectures. Students in the private category also top on the list of
beneficiaries. Students were expected to apply on a plain paper or a form available free from the office of the Joint Controller of Examination along with a passport-sized photograph. The paper was introduced as a compulsory paper in the university following a Supreme Court directive to all universities in the country for compulsory introduction of the subject. Panjab University is the first university in the region, and perhaps the only one in the country, to have introduced the subject. Justice Kuldip Singh, the pen behind the court directive, following his retirement has been closely associated with the course in the university. The university has had its share of problems during the introductory period. The number of teachers was less than required. The course content was far too complex to suit students from different academic fields including the arts, commerce and science streams. The course contents had been
revised. |
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PU to utilise 100 acres
of unused
land Chandigarh, June 14 Almost 70 acre of this land has already been constructed as residential area for university employees. Another 70 acre has been given to the UT Administration for slum resettlement. This leaves the university with almost 100 acre of unused land, parts of which are, at present, occupied by slum dwellers. Starting from the Sector 38 end of Sector 25, there are going to be two hostels for the boys and three for the girls. A working women’s hostel, diametrically opposite at the Sector 14 end of this campus near the residential area is already under construction. There are four warden’s houses in the proposed plan near these hostels. Another health centre is proposed to be built near the girls hostel along with a cultural
centre. Playgrounds will separate the boys hostel from a proposed staff club and shopping
centre. The building, almost in the centre of this campus, is the proposed Centre for Religious Studies built in the middle of an artificial water body. Opposite this will be the Faculty House the Students Centre and the Centre for Performing Arts. Out of the proposed set of buildings which will be constructed in this extended campus, only the Government High School, had been built and being used. Opposite the Government High School, towards the Sector 24 Section of the sector, will be a Museum of Science and a Library. The rest of the area towards the Sector 14 end of the campus will have four science blocks, two arts blocks, with two auditoriums and an office of the Controller of Examinations. The alumni house which had to be constructed earlier is also located next to the controller’s office building. The master plan has been made with a lot of foresight but the question that remains is where is all the money to get these buildings constructed going to come from, specially when the university is facing a major financial crunch. The answer to this question may lie in following the advice of the UGC and the governments to Institutions of Higher education to generate their own resources. Also, the university will have to with help from the UT Administration,
relocate the slum colonies located in some parts of this area which could also take a lot of time and effort. |
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CAREER COUNSELLING Chandigarh, June 14 A casual visit to the office revealed that there was a long queue every Monday for registration for the exercise. The institute experts conduct a written examination on Tuesday. After a couple of days, the candidates are called for a personal interview for a final recommendation. Mrs Asha Gupta, a senior counsellor in the Science section, said that parents in the city came up enthusiastically these days. That several parents take leave from their offices for getting their kids tested, is an interesting aspect. Vital information is kept secret and the candidate and parents are addressed individually. Information about the assets of a candidate and his limitations are two broad areas of information for parents. Mrs S. Tangri, officiating director, said that capabilities of a candidate are tested in the fields of arts, medicine, engineering and commerce, with a neatly drawn up written examination followed by an interview. It is often discovered that an intelligent student might be more capable of excelling in a field, contrary to what his parents want him to pursue. Counselling often saves future trouble for kids, said Mrs Tangri. The guidance and information services extend to graduates and postgraduates also, Mrs Gupta said. She said that the guidance bureau keeps a regular record of the forthcoming admission schedule in the universities and colleges. Eligibility conditions and fee structure are also gathered for student aid. Mrs Gupta said that it was not possible to contact all the institutes directly. The bureau made regular newspaper
cuttings of related information. These included maximum possible information on recognised, as well as unrecognised institutions. The counsellors are qualified with specific job training by the NCERT. A batch of 40-50 students is taken each week. Parents are also expected to be actively involved in the counselling programme for better counselling results, Mrs Gupta said. The bureau also goes to schools for extension lectures for direct counselling and guidance opportunities. It is felt that counselling should be made a part of regular school curriculum. One big section of beneficiaries identified are students of the local government schools, where more students could benefit from the counselling and guidance facilities of the SIE. |
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BE students boycott workshop
training Chandigarh, June 14 The students have decided not to enter the workshop in the college till the PEC administration decides to reduce the number of hours they have to spend in the workshop. These students have not entered the workshop since yesterday afternoon. These students attend their workshop each day for a period of almost seven hours, starting from 8.30 a.m. till 4 p.m. with an hour’s lunch break. Sources state that the temperature in the workshop is high and with all the 400 students crowding in the workshop at a particular time, the atmosphere becomes suffocating. Although the students have refused to go on record about the strike, fearing a negative action of their teachers, sources have informed that two girls had some days back fainted in the workshop. These changes in timings have been effected from this session. Earlier, the whole class was divided into two sections of almost 200 each and these two batches were alternately coming to the workshop in the morning or evening timings. As a result, a single student on an average spent three and a half hours in the workshop in a day and since there were not more than 200 students at a particular time in the workshop, it was relatively less crowded. A delegation of the students met Prof Nagsarkar, officiating as principal today in the absence of Mr R.S. Gupta, who was on leave today. Mr Nagsarkar and the Head of Department of mechanical course, Mr Arun Lal, refused to comment. The students have been asked to wait till a decision is taken in this regard and have been asked to start attending the workshop, which they have refused to do till the hours are reduced to those being
maintained in the earlier sessions.
Highlight The PEC Principal, Mr R.S. Gupta, issued an order to the various faculty members of the PEC, stating that ‘‘directions have been received from the Chandigarh Administration that any news regarding the Punjab Engineering College will be released to the Press by the DPR, UT Administration. Any violation of this will be treated as misconduct and disciplinary action will be taken against those violating this norm.’’ Following this decision, the faculty of PEC today refused to comment on any issue regarding the students strike. Mr Nagsarkar clearly told this reporter that they were too busy to talk to the Press. |
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SUMMER WORKSHOP Chandigarh, June 14 About 45 children from various schools were taught the intricacies involved in making soft toys and flowers from cloth and paper, besides mask-making from newspapers. Kids also made sceneries using materials like coconut “burada” and sticks. Action motion song was another item through which the children conveyed the message to protect the environment. As a part of the art and craft workshop, children also made idols out of chalk. The teacher in charge of the workshop said, ‘’Students have put in a lot of effort and have made creative things out of waste material. Kids took keen interest in making art and craft items. Drawing and painting was also taught to the kids.’’ A student participating in the workshop said, ‘’This is the time when we learn something creative. The whole year we remain busy with our studies and during the workshop informal atmosphere has prevailed.” The Principal of the school said, ‘’There is a lot of hidden talent among the children which needs to be explored. These summer workshops help in inculcating confidence in children for making new things. The District Education Officer also visited the summer workshop and encouraged the children.’’ On the last day of the workshop, the students will exhibit their creations at the school. The lady trainer, Scouts and Guides, will be the chief
guest. |
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Roll numbers dispatched Chandigarh, June 14 |
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Rally by PU staff Chandigarh, June 14 |
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ABVP raises demands
with DUI Chandigarh, June 14 Other demands included availability of compartment forms at the guidance counters, availability of staff members at enquiry counters and safety from alleged unnecessary harassment by security personnel at gates. |
HIGH COURT Chandigarh, June 14 In an application submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking three months’ extension for completing the inquiry, DIG Archana Ramasundram stated that “some of the witnesses have come out with certain details which have given a new turn to the inquiry and needed to be probed further”. She, however, did not divulge the details. Claiming to have examined 18 witnesses, including Mamta Sharma, her mother Bimla Sharma, the ADGP’s family and his personal staff, the DIG further stated that the house in which the petitioner was allegedly molested had been inspected. She added that Mamta and her mother had even been re-examined. Taking up her application, Mr Justice Mehtab Singh Gill of the High Court granted three months time for the completion of inquiry. Pronouncing the orders, Mr Justice Gill observed that the “prayer of the DIG seems to be genuine”. It may be recalled that Mr. Justice V.M. Jain of the High Court had, on February 19, directed the premier investigation agency to nominate an officer not below DIG’s rank to inquire into the allegations and register a first information report only if “circumstances so warranted”. Mr Justice Jain had clarified that as of now, case was not made out for ordering the registration of an FIR “especially when even the petitioner had not made any such prayer in the petition”. The Judge had also directed that the officer looking into the allegations should be an IPS not from the Punjab cadre. He had added that the officer shall join both sides in the inquiry and complete the same within three months after the order’s copy was received by the CBI’s director. The Judge had concluded that depending upon the result of the inquiry “necessary action shall be taken by the CBI, including the registration of an FIR, if the circumstances so warrant”. In her petition, Mamta had earlier alleged that Mr. Tiwari had tried to outrage her modesty by staying home on December 13 last year. She had added that Mr. Tiwari had even asked her if she had ever seen a blue movie after calling her to the drawing room. Pre-arrest bail
plea rejected Finding no infirmity in the orders of Ludhiana’s Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Justice Mehtab Singh Gill of the High Court on Thursday dismissed the anticipatory bail plea of a bank official in a cheating case. Gurdev Singh Sahota had filed the application after apprehending arrest in a case registered at Payal Police Station under Sections 409 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. According to the prosecution, the accused had indulged in embezzlement by withdrawing amount from the accounts of the holders by forging signatures. Seeking the grant of bail, counsel for the petitioner had stated that the accused was innocent and was being implicated in the case. He had added that the accused was being singled out.
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8 remanded for trafficking Kharar, June 14 The police sought police remand of the accused, pleading that the information regarding other members of the gang was yet to be collected from the accused, but the court sent them to judicial custody. The names of the accused are Bhupinder Singh, Surinder Singh, Inderjit Singh, Sukhdev Singh, Surinder
Kaur, Payal, Renu and Sunita.
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DISTRICT
COURT Chandigarh, June 14 The UT Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sant Parkash, framed the charges against, Suresh Kumar, Deputy General Manager, and adjourned the case till October 29. The case against the accused was registered under Section 509 of the IPC on August 11 on the complaint of Ms Karin Fithna, a German tourist.
Plea dismissed The U.T. Judicial Magistrate (First Class) dismissed the application moved by the Chandigarh Administration for the withdrawal of the case registered against the former city Mayor, Gian Chand Gupta. The administration has moved an application under Section 321 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The administration has stated in the application that the present case relates to the dispute which took place on question of electricity supply between employees of the Engineering Department of the MCC and BJP workers who had assembled their to welcome Mr L.K Advani. It was also stated in the plea that the present case was registered on the complaint of Mr K.B Sharma SE of the MC’s and perusal of the FIR would indicate that no over act was attributed to Gupta.
Notice issued The UT Judicial Magistrate (First class) on Thursday issued a notice to the president and the secretary of the Central Club, Sector 9, for July 21 on the suit moved by a city resident for holding fresh election of the club. The magistrate has issued notice to the president of the club, J. Sikri, and the acting secretary, A. Saluja. |
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Order to produce Syal in Lok Adalat Chandigarh, June 14 The chairman-cum-managing director of Golden Forests Limited, R.K. Syal, had sent a letter to Justice N.K Sodhi of the Punjab and Haryana High Court-cum-Chairman of the UT State Legal Services Authority, requesting that the cases pending before the authority relating to their company, be transferred to the Lok Adalat of the High Court or a direction be issued to the Member Secretary of the UT Legal Services to expedite the disposal of the cases which were already settled. The authority had also directed the Burail Jail Superintendents produce Syal on July 9 and July 10 before the authority for the settlement of the disputed cases. The cases of thousands of investors were pending in the UT Lok Adalat. The total amount invested by the investors in the various schemes of Golden Forests was about six crore. Investors from all over India had filed cases individually, in a group or through societies against Golden Forests Limited. |
A blend of post-modernism and folk
traditions Chandigarh, June 14 Ramendra Jakhu “Sahil” fits well in the latter category of Urdu poets, as was evident after today’s function, which marked the release of an audio cassette of Jakhu’s ghazals, titled “Mauj-e-Sahil”. As portions from the cassette were played for the audience which filled the hall of the Sector 10 Government Museum to capacity, what touched, the heart was a soulful experience. The only regret about the evening was that Padamshri poet, Bashir Badr, could not preside over the function. The function was, instead, presided over by the famous poet-scholar from Punjab, Zeenatullah Javed. The chief guest for the evening was Mr S.Y. Quraishi, principal secretary to the Haryana CM. Bashir Badr’s absence was compensated to some extent by the quality of Jakhu’s works and also by the introduction to his style provided by Mr Aziz Parihar from Ludhiana. Parihar was chosen to offer an introduction to Jakhu, who belongs to Nakodar. As a childhood friend of Jakhu, Parihar went out of the way to simplify the context of his poetry for the gathering. The major observation of Parihar was the post-modernist context of Jakhu’s poetry, as also its friendly style of narration. Calling Jakhu’s poetry as an extension of “Miriyat”, Parihar went on to state that Jakhu had successfully attempted to revisit Urdu folk traditions, which were pioneered by Mir Taki Mir. Jakhu’s style is simple and liberated. Instead of being trapped in the issue of the ghazal’s technicality, the poet rises above formalities of language and simplifies the idiom of ghazals. Parihar’s observation was later confirmed when verses from the former’s cassette were played in the hall. Rendered in the soothing voice of Jakhu himself, the first ghazal went, “Jab dost keh diya hai to phir khamiyaan na dekh tukdon mein jo kubul ho vo dosti nahi.” While the ghazal did its bit in tickling sensibilities, the background score of the audio cassette added melody to the collection. The music is by Kanwar Iqbal, who also presented one of Jakhu’s ghazals on the occasion of the cassette release. An interesting fact is that Jakhu has risen above his bureaucratic status (he is currently an IAS officer posted with the Haryana government) to go back to Urdu moorings and transport the same into the contemporary scene for the listeners to relish. Jakhu’s poetry speaks of his involvement with the works of great poets of the past, right from Mir to Firaq Gorakhpuri. It also reminds one of the 18th century Urdu poetry’s folk traditions, while at the same time imbibing elements of the modern times. In that context, Jakhu’s poetry rightly falls in the post modernist time frame. |
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Kathak
her first
love A former student of the local Stepping Stones School and a disciple of Birju Maharaj, she has carved a niche for herself in the city’s art scenario. “I was lucky to be born in the Rashtrapati Bhavan as there I got the right kind of exposure to pursue my talent,” says Vanita, who started her kathak training from the Gandharva Mahavidyalaya at the age of three and later bagged a scholarship from kathak Kendra, a kathak school run by Birju Maharaj in Delhi. As the city has no training facility for the Lucknow Gharana of kathak, Vanita is left with no other option than diversifying her interest in other dance forms like folk, western and classical. “Even an institute like the Pracheen Kala Kendra here does not teach Lucknow Gharana dance form, which is the most superior among all the gharanas of kathak”, she says. This small hurdle has not set Vanita back so far. Her name keeps
appearing in the newspaper columns for her achievements, which that include Star Watch, Tak Dhina Dhin and various local-level competitions like an inter-school contest and a dance programme organised by the Punjab Sangeet Natak Academy. This young dancer has shared the stage with Hans Raj Hans at Ludhiana and Jalandhar. Vanita was recently declared winner of a dance episode of DD Metro’s programme “Superstar”. She is all set to try her luck in
tinsel town. “After my graduation, I am planning to join NSD and get trained to be an actress. Given a chance, I would like to work in some good musicals,” she adds with a twinkle in her eyes. Though kathak is her first love, Vanita does not see much scope in it as a career.” One cannot go on dancing for the rest of the life. Ultimately one has to resort to something stable like teaching, which I do not want to do,” she says. “Working in movies will give me an opportunity to enhance my dance and other creative talents,” she adds. Vanita is disappointed in the city for the limited scope it provides in learning kathak, but is all praise for the media exposure one can attain here. “In places like Delhi, so many talent goes unnoticed by the media, whereas in Chandigarh, which is a small place, even small achievements gets media attention, which is very important for budding artistes, ” she adds. |
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NEW RELEASES OPENING this Friday are two big-budget films Gadar — Ek Prem Katha and Lagaan. How big are these two films will be decided by the cinegoers when they watch a clash between Sunny Deol starrer and Aamir Khan starrer. Gadar — Ek Prem Katha is the first corporate film to be made in India, produced by Nitin Keni and directed by Anil Sharma. This Zee TV's feature film production will be released at Jagat, Chandigarh, and KC, Panchkula. The film by Zee Network is a partition era love story featuring Sunny Deol and Ameesha Patel. Shot extensively in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, the film is a tragic story of a Sikh truck driver's love for a muslim girl. Sunny and Ameesha Patel's performances and Uttam Singh's melodious score are the main assets of Gadar — Ek Prem Katha. * * * Aamir Khan is confidant about his home production
Lagaan which opens at Piccadilly, Chandigarh, and Suraj, Panchkula. Lagaan is once-upon-a-time story though set in colonial India. It is a story about a peasant revolution against the British. After three months of continuous shooting in the interior locales of Bhuj, Aamir Khan's first outing as producer-actor will show his determination to make the perfect film. TV actress Gracey Singh (of Amanat fame) makes her debut. The film stars more than 40 British actors and almost every scene in the film has at least 50 actors. Music director A.R. Rahman has come up with a mind blowing score. Rahman has proved that he is number one at present. Lagaan has an interesting story line and is pull of patriotism. To get a feel of ambience watch this movie. — DP |
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Chandigarh, June 14