COURTS

Telecom officials told to pay compensation
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, April 14
The UT Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II has directed the General Manager, Chandigarh circle; General Manager, Telecom, Patiala Circle and Deputy General Manager, Telecom, Chandigarh Circle, to pay Rs 3000 to a complainant as compensation for mental and physical harassment and Rs 1000 as litigation cost for deficiency in services.

The complainant, the vice-president of the Punjab Civil and Consumer Welfare Front, Banur, Mr Brij Mohan Singh, and Ms Jasjit Kaur had filed a complaint against the Telecom Department for delay in shifting her telephone to her new residence.

Ms Jasjit Kaur had moved a plea to the General Manager, Patiala circle, for shifting her telephone from Banur to SAS Nagar on May 23, 1997. In response to the application, the SDO, Rajpura, directed her to send the latest paid bill of the telephone to the department.

She complied and sent the copy of the bill under registered cover. On June 13, 1997, the telephone was removed from the residence of the complainant. On July 21, 1997, the SDO sent a letter to the Deputy General Manager, Chandigarh circle, giving clearance for shifting of telephone to SAS Nagar. The then General Manager, Patiala Circle, sent a reminder to the Deputy General Manager through registered post requesting him to get the telephone shifted at the earliest.

The complaint also stated that the complainant had deposited Rs 158 as the rental of the telephone with the department, despite the fact that the instrument had remained with the department for the period. She said her husband was a chronic heart patient and needed a telephone. Therefore, she had to purchase a mobile with the help of her son on payment of Rs 16, 000.

She said after a gap of seven months the telephone was shifted to her new residence.

CULTURE

Expressing heartfelt thoughts through art
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 14
The campus of the Government College of Art, Sector 10, woke up to a surprise today. Gathered on its premises for an exchange and assimilation of ideas was a team of 24 artists, who drew their heart and mind out for the six hours that followed.

Organised by the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi, the workshop offered the right ambience for expression of the heartfelt thoughts through the medium of art. The chairman of the akademi stated, “This workshop is the first of its kind. Though we see several workshops dedicated to painting and sculpture, drawing is largely left to fend for itself. But here is an attempt to give this art its rightful place. After all, it forms the foundation of all arts. Also through this workshop we attempt to set guidelines for the younger artists.”

With active participation by reputed artists of the order of Dr S.S. Bhatti, Balvinder, Satwant Singh, Ravinder Sharma, Brahm Prakash, Viren Tanwar and Aditya Prakash, the workshop was bound to take a positive shape. And it did, with all the artists doling their ideas out in the shape of sketches on a canvas. Not only did this creation stand as an expression of a unified thought, it also reflected human concerns from varied perspectives.

Apart from this canvas, which now bears marks of the creative genius of every participating artist, each one also indulged independently in the process of self-renewal through drawings. Each work reflected an urge to grow. Not in the least stagnant, the artistic process took the shape of a stream, forever changing course, yet remaining faithful to the sources of its origin.

Where Balvinder voiced his dejection over the Gujarat carnage, Ravinder Sharma reflected the sweetness of motherhood. Dr S.S. Bhatti created images to underline the strength of meditation and Satwant Singh, in his patent style, brought out the animal instinct of man. Malkit Singh was rather creative with his works that depicted the power of a woman to influence man. Among other participating artists were Aditya Prakash, Brahm Prakash, Viren Tanwar, Parbinder Lal, Ishwar Dayal, Manu Madhav Rao, Rajinder Kumar, Nirmal Prakash, Sonal Virdi, Gurjind Sandhu, Raman Bhardwaj, Vinay Vadhera, Harpreet Singh, Subhash, Rajinder Kalsi and Rajesh Kumar Sharma.

The drawings created today will be displayed during an exhibition to be organised in the Government Museum and Art Gallery between April 18 and 28.