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| Thursday, July 5, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Fire averted in PEC hostel room Chandigarh July 4 The fire, which reportedly started sometime late in the evening, had reduced the room and its belongings to ashes by the time it was brought under control after midnight. Resident of the room, Anshuman of BE (II year) was not in the hostel when the incident took place. He came into the hostel at 1.45 am today, to find that his friends were in his room trying to recover whatever they could from the ashes. ‘‘It was a shock. I had been out since noon from the hostel doing various things in the city with my friends. I was practicing for a play till late in the evening and then I went to a friend’s place. When I reached the hostel, I saw that the room was in ashes. Most of my clothes and bedding were totally burnt. I have no idea how the room caught fire,’’ he says. No one in the hostel seemed to have an idea of how the room caught fire. Since no firemen were called to put off the fire only conjectures could be made. The residents said that some of them saw thick smoke coming out of the room when they were going back to their rooms after dinner at 9.30 pm and raised an alarm. Finding the room locked, two of the residents broke the lock and the others started throwing water into the room to douse the fire which was raging inside. The double mattress on the bed was completely burnt and the fire was licking one of the side walls. Although the hostel warden, Mr Balwinder Singh, imposed a fine of Rs 2000 on the resident stating that the fire had been caused by his negligence of having probably left a semi- lit cigarette butt in the room, most of the residents felt that the fire was caused by the electricity wires.‘‘Look at the switch board, its completely melted, the fire did start from here.’’
they say. Anshuman remembers having left the fan on when he left the hostel in the afternoon. ‘‘That could have caused it. How can a semi-burnt cigarette butt cause a fire almost nine hours after I had left the room. The window was open, anyone could have thrown a burning cigarette inside. So why penalise me? ’’ Meanwhile, the residents felt that the hostel authorities were not equipped to manage a crisis in the hostel if there was another one like
this. Mr Balwinder Singh, hostel warden, they said, was in the hostel within minutes of being informed and supervised the complete extinguishing while when the residents went to call the chief warden Mr Haldar, he refused to come to the hostel saying,
‘‘What can I do in this?’’. |
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STATE OF HOSTELS Chandigarh Home to more than 40 working women, the two blocks of the hostel are built in a very small area of the prime land belonging to the UT’s Welfare Department. The open space around it seems to have been left for wild bushes. Also on the land is a half-built basement now filled with silt and moss which tell its own tale of neglect. The residents say that the basement was supposed to be a part of another wing of the hostel but shortage of funds brought further construction to a stop. A part of the hostel houses a computer training centre for women belonging to the weaker sections. Another part is being used as a stitching and tailoring training centre. The hostel used to be occupied by nurses of the PGI but since they got a hostel of their own, it has been housing other working women. Last year, however, they also started taking in women students. There are more than 25 rooms in the hostel and the women are happy staying there. The food is highly subsidised and the residents pay Rs 500 a month of three meals a day. The rent is comparatively high — Rs 1000 a month — but the residents do not mind it. When a room is shared by two residents or more, the rent also comes down proportionally. The only problem for the residents is the lack of a regular bus service. There is only one bus which goes near the hostel and that too is not regular and most of the time they have to hire auto-rickshaws. The air coolers and water coolers function properly and the bathrooms are clean. ‘‘We will be happier if we were given bigger rooms. Since we share the rooms, there is no place to keep a cooler which we are allowed to keep in our rooms,’’ says a resident. ‘‘We also need a parking place for our vehicles. Most of us are working and have our own vehicles, but there is no place to park them. A shed would at least give a shade and security to our vehicles’’. adds another resident. What about the security of the residents themselves? ‘‘Oh there has never been any problem. It is safe here and since it is a VIP area, there is enough security on the road.’’ Visitors are allowed in the hostel but visiting hours are fixed. On week-ends more time is allowed to visitors. ‘‘We also need a proper common room. Our common room was made into a tailoring centre and since then our TV has been shifted to the dining room. Also there is no arrangement for indoor or outdoor games. We can easily have a badminton court in the ground. Outings are limited but in an emergency, we are allowed to go out to make telephone calls etc. There is a telephone in the hostel where we can receive calls. So communication is not a problem’’. |
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The original Teachers
Day Chandigarh, July
4 Vyasa, the Rishi, who brought his vision and expertise in making the revealed Vedas distinct, is also credited with the writing of the
Puranas. How could one organise, synthesise and authentically put together incredibly vast knowledge in one life time? The question is irrelevant for an answering seer — ‘Bhavishya
drashta’. July 5 is dedicated to this guru of gurus. Dr Sansar Chandra, a modern guru cast in a classical mould, quotes the famous
shloka, “Gururbrahma, gururvishnu” and urges us to celebrate Guru Poornima by saluting our teachers on this indisputable Teachers Day. Remember Rishi Parashar and his son
Vyasa. Then move on to the Bhagavat. Vyasa's son, Shukadeva, is remembered for freeing
Parikshit, the frightened and accursed king, from fear and human bondage by his emancipating narration of a holy
tale. Kaliyuga arrives despite the mass destruction of venomous serpents. One serpent is enough to kill the personification of ordained, sad destiny. The remedial trend continues, thanks to Vyasa and the successors of his
successors. Takshaka is primordial evil. It spews vitriol. We cannot hide in an
Aranya—a seemingly afforested part of the earth. Worship Amitabha, the Buddha, or the actor (as his fans are doing). However, says a
Shankaracharya, revive the memory of Vyasa. Celebrate Guru Poornima today and walk into light. Dr Radhakrishnan himself asked us to do so. Let the Aranya deepen its
darkness. Vyasa taught us how to overcome the selfishness of society by socialisation of self. This is the age of Nomen and Non-men, the
Unperson! Teachers Day today demands dedication to a timeless stance, self-awareness and the celebration of
Navajataka, adds Dr Shankarji Jha. Is it difficult to do so? Nothing worthwhile is easy! |
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Resource centre for
primary teachers Chandigarh, July 4 Students of non-model government schools would be free to use the pupils corner, a part of the centre. The corner would comprise games, books and toys. “Primary school teachers of the northern region from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and UT would be given training at the centre,’’ said, the Director, Regional Institute of English, Ms Brinder Aulakh Anand. The centre is part of a five-year project which took off in April this year. Under this project, 1200 UT government non-model primary school teachers would be imparted training. As part of the project, two batches have already been trained. This is a centre for teachers where the teachers would have access to books on primary-level teaching, including books on language games, nursery rhymes, role play, dramatisation and also non-verbal activities like mime, drawing and painting. Ms Anand said “Training of the primary-level teachers is crucial for the linguistic development of children as well as proficiency in language
skills. The aim of this training is to give exposure, awareness and implementation of certain strategies and methodologies to the teachers regarding subjects ‘’. The staff of the Regional Institute of English are planning to go to the government schools once in a month to help out the teachers with any kind of problems . Commenting on the coming up of the resource centre, DPI (Schools), UT, Mr D.S. Saroya , said, “Such courses are essential for the professional growth of teachers. The courses offered by Regional Institute of English for the teachers help in grooming teachers. They learn new kinds of teaching skills.” “The teachers would be taught how to listen efficiently and effectively to the students. They would be taught voice training and how to make their voice pleasing to the students. They would be imparted training on how to read quickly and learn various kinds of writing’’, said Ms
Brinder. |
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Interviews for admissions Chandigarh, July 4 Interviews for admissions to the LL.B (first semester) course will be conducted on July 6. Interviews will be conducted for both categories, reserved as well as general, a press release said. Interviews for M.Ed (morning and evening) will be conducted on July 9. Interviews for M.Ed (guidance and counselling), M.Ed (educational technology) and MA-I (education) will be conducted on July 10 in the Department of Education, an official press release said.
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HIGH COURT
Chandigarh, July 4 Pronouncing the orders, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice Nirmal Singh, observed: “The order shall be subject to the direction that Mr R.K. Sharma shall not be assigned seniority over Mr P. Lal and other officers who were promoted during his absence from duty till the government takes a comprehensive decision on the allegations of his absence from duty, going abroad without prior permission, taking up employment with a foreign company and joining the Board of Directors of a company registered in India, and till he is exonerated in the departmental inquiry, if any, held in these matters”. The Bench added: “The state government is directed to take appropriate decision in the matter within a period of six months without being influenced by the fact that the inquiry initiated in 1993 was dropped vide a letter dated November 9, 1994, and wholly unwarranted observations recorded by the then Punjab Home Secretary in his note dated March 24, 1999.” In their detailed order, the Bench observed: “A disturbing feature of which we constrained to take cognizance is that even though Mr Sharma had entered into correspondence with various government agencies on an address given in an application dated May 5, 1993, he avoided acceptance of a letter sent by the Punjab Director-General of Police by registered post. The special messenger sent for the delivery of the copy of a letter also returned with a report that the owner showed complete ignorance about his living at the said address”. The Judges concluded: “However, we do not want to dilate on this aspect of the matter in detail and feel that it would be appropriate for the Government of Punjab to look into the entire matter”. Former minister gets bail
Mr Justice Nirmal Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday granted three weeks’ interim bail on health grounds to former Haryana minister Vinod Kumar Marya in a cheating and corruption case. He was earlier booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, after a Hisar resident alleged that Rs 1 lakh was taken by the former minister for getting him selected as a constable in the Haryana Police. Giving details, he had added that the accused had paid back half the amount after the selection was cancelled but had refused to return the other half despite repeated requests. Denying the allegations, his counsel had stated the accused was innocent and was being implicated in the case due to political reasons. He had added that Mr Marya was elected MLA on the Samajwadi Party ticket but was expelled from the party after differences arose between him and present Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala. Mr Marya was later taken in as a minister in the Bansi Lal government, counsel had added. Seeking release on interim bail, he had said the former minister was suffering from heart ailment and had even undergone a surgery in 1995. He had added that the accused needed proper medical attention. Fresh applications for mining lease
Disposing of eight writ petitions, Mr Justice V.K. Jhanji of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the State of Haryana to invite fresh applications by public notice for granting mining lease in Gurgaon district for extracting silica sand. Delivering the verdict, Mr Justice Jhanji also directed: “After the receipt of the applications, the state government shall inform the applicants if the applications are incomplete in all material particulars or are not accompanied by required documents”. Mr Justice Jhanji further directed that opportunity of hearing shall be given to the applicants before the lease is granted on merit basis after considering all the applications received in response to the public notice. The reasons for “granting lease or otherwise” shall be recorded and communicated to the applicants simultaneously, Mr Justice Jhanji added. The judge also asked the government to complete the exercise within two months from today. “Till the state government decides to grant lease to an appropriate person, no mining operation in regard to lease shall be permitted,” the judge concluded. Directive to file status reports
A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the States of Haryana and Punjab to file status reports regarding the condition of schools in the rural areas. The petition will now come up for further hearing on August 16. Pronouncing the orders in the open court while taking up a public interest litigation regarding the condition of a school in Panipat district, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice M.M. Kumar, impleaded the State of Punjab as a party in the petition and asked the respondents to file the report on the conditions of both primary and secondary schools. Chohan files plea for anticipatory bail
In yet another petition filed in the high court, once “self-styled President of Khalistan”, Dr Jagjit Singh Chohan, today sought anticipatory bail. The application is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow. His two previous applications had earlier been dismissed by Mr Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Mr Justice Nirmal Singh of the high court on technical grounds. Dr Chohan, it may be recalled, landed in India after Mr Justice V.K. Jhanji directed the Union of India and other respondents to issue travel documents to him. In his detailed order, Mr Justice Jhanji had observed: “As regard to the contention that the intelligence agencies had not favoured the grant of travel documents to the petitioner in view of his known stand in favour of Khalistan, it is only to be stated that the return to one’s own country is the fundamental right conferred on a citizen under Article 21 of the Constitution of India”. The judge had concluded: “The right cannot be taken away simply because the intelligence agency has not favoured the issuance of passport to a citizen.... The writ petition is allowed.” Issuing notice for August 20, Mr Justice S.S. Nijjar of the high court on Wednesday directed the then Assistant Labour Commissioner, Mr S.S. Pandher, to file his reply within 14 days of receiving the order’s copy on a petition alleging tampering with the court record. Pronouncing the orders on a petition filed by the Divisional Forest Officer of Ropar forest division, Mr Justice Nijjar observed: “In this petition, serious allegations have been levelled against the Assistant Labour Commissioner-cum-Authority under the Minimum Wages Act. It is stated that on inspection of record the management found that the next date of hearing was changed”. The judge further observed: “It is submitted that the interpolation was done in connivance with the representatives of the respondent with some officials of Assistant Labour Commission (ALC)”. The judge concluded: “It prima facie appears that either the order was substituted by the ALC concerned or his signatures were forged by some other official. Tampering with the court record, which constitutes serious misconduct, if proved, would be a serious lapse on part of the official concerned. Therefore, it is necessary to seek a clarification from Mr S.S. Pandher who was designated authority at the relevant time. He is directed to be impleaded as a respondent”. |
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