The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

B.Ed admissions to be centralised
Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 7
There will be centralised admissions to the B.Ed courses in all education colleges of Punjab. These include colleges affiliated to Punjabi University, Guru Nanak Dev University and Panjab University.

Earlier, each university used to have its own admission process. In the year 2000-2001, there had been centralised admissions, but, the process was not followed in the last academic session.

The centralised admissions, this time, cover eight colleges of Guru Nanak Dev University; three of Punjabi University and 15 of Panjab University. Sources said 85 per cent of the seats in Punjab would be reserved for students with state domicile and the rest would be in the open category. In case of colleges here, 85 per cent of the seats will be for students who have graduated from colleges here. The rest will be in the open category.

The entrance test for the courses is to be held on July 14 and the admissions will begin from August 24. The admissions, this time, will be managed by Punjabi University of Patiala.

Meanwhile, Panjab University, this year, has allowed students of its B.Com course to join the B.Ed courses as well. This follows a letter to the PU Vice-Chancellor from Dr Satinder Dhillon, Principal of the Sector 36 Dev Samaj College of Education. According to the letter, it had been decided at a conference of the principals of education colleges that the B.Com students be allowed to join the B.Ed courses.

This was done because Punjabi University and Guru Nanak Dev University had already taken such a decision. It had been written in the letter that: “Students of the PU will be at a loss if we do not include the changed clause.”

The rules were that a candidate for the course needed to have a bachelor’s degree of a recognised university with at least 45 per cent marks in aggregate and at least two school subjects in first degree course. Candidates with higher degrees also qualified. For candidates of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the university relaxed the aggregate marks criterion by five per cent.

The B.Com students could not join the course earlier because they studied no school subject in college, though a master’s degree in commerce helped if someone wanted to teach at the plus-two level. However, two other universities of Punjab made the PU change this rule.

If a candidate does not attend the classes within a week of the beginning of the session, his or her admission will stand cancelled. The fee has to be deposited at the time of the interview.

No controversy on eligibility: PU
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 7
Panjab University today asserted that there was no controversy as far as eligibility conditions to the bio-technology course in the engineering institute of the university was concerned. Referring to a news item published in these columns today, the official spokesman claimed that no engineering college, including IITs, considered students from the medical stream eligible for the BE courses.

Stating that the university regulation was approved after deliberations in view of the course content for engineering courses, it was added that students from the medical stream were considered eligible for only those branches which were related to agro-forestry and where knowledge of bio-sciences was a pre-requisite. However, contrary to this opinion, experts claim that the university authorities were displaying a “one track and hackneyed’’ approach on the issue. There being two streams, namely arts and science, all students of the science stream should be eligible to take admission to these courses, they added.

Civil defence system put on guard
Our Correspondent

SAS Nagar, June 7
A meeting to gauge the preparedness of civil defence services to fight not only war but also tackle any natural calamity was held at the office of the SDM here today.

The heads of 12 civil defence services or their representatives attended the meeting where they were told to appoint liaison officers who would remain in touch with the officials concerned.

The SDM, Mr Darshan Singh Sandhu, said the heads of different civil defence services were called to find out whether they were prepared to tackle problems arising from natural calamities. They had also been asked to present their demands and problems in this regard.

It was pointed out that there was a shortage of fire hydrants in the town. At present only two of them were functional. The Municipal Council had purchased 67 new hydrants about two years ago but these had not been installed so far. Mr S.S. Ghuman, Executive Engineer, Public Health Department, said the hydrants could not be installed because the civic body had not released the necessary funds in this regard. Now 10 of the 67 hydrants would be installed by June 20 as the council had sanctioned Rs 1 lakh for the purpose.

The SDM said a report should be submitted to him within a week about the hydrants that were lying buried in the ground and also about the new ones being installed.

Mr Balwinder Singh Sidhu, ADFO, said the four fighting vehicles with the fire brigade were in good condition but it was facing a shortage of manpower. The SDM said that fire brigade would be provided with Home Guards in case of emergency.

The SMO in charge of the Civil Hospital here, Dr Manjit Singh Bains, has been given the overall charge of make the necessary arrangements on the medical front.

The Public Health Department officials were told that they would have to increase the supply of water during an emergency. They would also have to guard water reservoirs from poisoning and other damage.

The supply services representative was told that they had to be prepared to supply ration whenever an emergency arose. The town was notified as the civil defence town by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in 1999.

Boils surface in blood as Shaheed plays on
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 7
Could history be repeated, one would have wished to see Shaheed Bhagat Singh in flesh and bones today. The furore over the five simultaneous productions on Shaheed Bhagat Singh notwithstanding, the very first production left the heart longing for more insight into this martyr who courted death for the love of his land. Whether or not the films prove true to history, they at least create boils in the blood. The only difference lay in the intensity of "patriotic" sensitisation they managed.

Most points were won by Raj Kumar Santoshi's ''The Legend of Bhagat Singh'', which people felt, "scored high on the portrayal of history and the element of drama." Where most viewers dubbed Dharmendra's ''1931: Shaheed'' as "less detailed", Santoshi's film managed an edge on four accounts — his characters are true to life, with an amazing screen presence; 85 sets by Nitin Desai add to the authenticity of settings; the roles of Bhagat's comrades Sukhdev and Rajguru are well-portrayed; Gandhi's conflict with Bhagat's ideology is shown. ''1931: Shaheed'', which played at Batra, sadly, underplays Sukhdev (played by Rahul Dev) and Rajguru.

Although the amount of authenticity in any cinematic venture that attempts a portrayal of history is hard to measure, one did not feel the need to dissect facts throughout Santoshi's film, which played at KC theatre. The viewers hummed along with patriotic sequences of A.R. Rahman and kept raising slogans of inqalaab zindabad. Anand Rai Anand's music in Guddu Dhanoa's ''Shaheed'' did not score as much.

As one juxtaposes two productions, one can sense the difference. Where Bobby Deol fails to make a fiery impact expected out of his character, Ajay manages a fair deal of it. Most of those who attended the first show of Santoshi's film felt that Ajay Devgan's intensity was unmatched. Sushant Singh as Sukhdev adds punch to the film. Even Akhilesh Mishra as Chandrashekhar Azad fairly outshines Sunny Deol, who proved that he was a director's actor.

Both the films have cashed in on Bhagat's fiancee who manages to sing a song with him even in the midst of bloodshed. This fraction of the film fails to engage the audience. In Dharmendra's film, even Aishwarya Rai cannot arrest the attention of viewers, some of whom actually left the hall while the song ''Jogiya jogiya'' played.

Interestingly, while both films draw from the same historical events, they handle them differently. Santoshi's film mentions the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) and shows that Bhagat Singh is recruited by Ram Prasad Bismil; ''1931: Shaheed'', however, shows Azad recruiting Bhagat into the HRA. Also, Shaheed does not mention the HRA; nor does it talk of the Naujavan Bharat Sabha, the party pictured by Santoshi.

The Kakori incident in which revolutionaries rob the treasury has been handled differently. In Santoshi's film Bismil is not shown as arrested. In ''1931: Shaheed'', there is a full sequence on Bismil being tortured post-arrest. The Saunders murder case is highly detailed in ''The Legend of Bhagat Singh'' which explains how Sukhdev plans to assassinate Scott who causes the death of Lala Lajpat Rai and how Bhagat Singh and Rajguru execute it. Shaheed makes no mention of Sukhdev's role in Bhagat Singh's life. Whereas it has often been quoted: "If Bhagat was the action taker; Sukhdev was the planner."

The third event is bomb throwing in the assembly session. Anjum Rajabali, script writer for Santoshi's film, maintains, "We have verified the sequences with historians, clippings from The Tribune which reported the case and many books." In Santoshi's film, there is a detail as to how Bhagat Singh learns making a bomb from Jatin Das. Then he and B.K. Dutt throw the bomb, court arrest and finally surrender their guns. In ''1931: Shaheed'' the two men are not shown carrying guns; in fact there is a sequence where their advocate proves wrong the British policemen who state that Bhagat and Dutt fired shots from their arms.

Finally, the Lahore Conspiracy case is also dealt differently: Santoshi talks of Jai Gopal as the renegade who deposes against his own comrades and weakens their case. In ''Shaheed'', there is another sequence — the British convince Sukhdev that Bhagat has turned a government witness and bring him to court to depose against Bhagat and other revolutionaries. This plan, however, does not mature. Last but not the least, where Santoshi ends his highly power-packed film at the sacrifice of three martyrs, ''1931: Shaheed'' director Guddu Dhanoa goes beyond and shows what happens after Bhagat and his friends are hanged a day before. The film ends with a fiery public setting on fire those policemen who sneak the bodies of martyrs out of the cell and are burning them on the banks of the Ravi.

‘Create military dists along LoC’
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, June 7
A number of senior retired defence officers advocated creation of military districts along the Line of Control ( LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir to check the problem of infiltration from across the border during a debate on “prospects of war between India and Pakistan” organised here yesterday.

There was a general consensus among the speakers that war with the hostile neighbour would not solve the of terrorism. Maj Gen D.P. Singh (retd), said terrorist training camps were not static targets. He said the current policy of cohesive diplomacy being pursued by the government was the best way out. It had started to bear fruits, he said.

Brig Harwant Singh ( retd) said India and Pakistan could not be compared with Israel and Palestine as in the latter case, Israel had superiority over Palestine. Both nations possessed nuclear weapons and there was parity in terms of weaponry, also in the case of India and Pakistan. Brig H.S. Ghuman (retd) said the military districts should be under the control of an Army brigade. The district administration should be directly under the control of the Army.

Brig Ghuman said terrorism could be weeded out by a responsive government with active participation of every citizen. He said the country’s intelligence needed to be spruced up to check the enemy within the country.

Dismissing the theory of checking infiltration, Brig T.S. Bakshi said even with sophisticated surveillance equipment, total infiltration along the LoC could not be checked. Another section of officers opined that Pakistan’s activities could be controlled by hitting at its interests. Diverting the flow of Chenab could bring Pakistan on its knees. “All these years we have been at war with the masked enemy. Once at war the Indus water treaty ceases to exists”, said Brig Ghuman. The funds used in diverting the flow of river would be much less than a few fighter aircraft purchased by the country, he said.

The officers said the problem could be solved only if the Army, which had a long experience in counter insurgency, was involved in the decision-making at the top level. The wings of the bureaucracy needed to be dipped. Col A.S. Sandhu and Lieut Col S.S. Sohi also spoke on the occasion.

Sarangal reviews poll arrangements
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, June 7
The election observer for the forthcoming Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections in Ropar district, Mr T.R. Sarangal, chaired a meeting of the electoral officers in the office of the SAS Nagar Municipal Council here today.

Mr Sarangal reviewed the arrangements for the elections to be held on June 9. He directed all the electoral officials to ensure a free and fair poll.

The District Electoral Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Seema Jain, said all arrangements for the elections had been made. The rehearsal of the election staff were held on June 3 and June 6. There were 13 zones for the Zila Parishad elections and 122 for the Panchayat Samiti poll. There were 632 polling stations . The Returning Officer for the Zila Parishad election-cum-ADC, Mr VIkas Garg, and the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr G.P.S. Bhullar, were also present in the meeting. Mr Bhullar said there were 169 sensitive polling booths in the district.

Puppet show
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 7
Promoting emotions through inert bodies in the form of puppets is not as easy as it seemed at the Chandigarh Puppet Mix Masala staged by 28 trainees of world renowned puppeteer Dadi Padamji at Alliance Francaise in Sector 36 here today. The show was the result of a 21-day-long puppet workshop organised by the Chandigarh Sangeet Natak Akademi in collaboration with the Centre of Education and Voluntary Action (CEVA), Chandigarh.

Though most of the artistes, who took part in the show, were new in this field, the show — a collage of short stories depicted through puppets made of most unconventional things like baskets, shoes, bottles or tharmocol figures — was a successful one.

So when two baskets portrayed the roles of Heer-Ranjha or a tharmocol figure in combination of shoes played the role of a bearded “fakir” with an “ektara” telling the story of a little boy’s fascination towards the musical instrument, the audience remained absorbed.

The “mix masala” remained true to its nomenclature as the series incorporated a number of comic themes dotted with socially relevant themes like bribery or door-to-door sellers cheating gullible housewives. The narration done by G.S. Channi, which bound the acts together, made it easy for the viewers to grasp the subject matter.

Cinema halls flouting fire safety norms
Our Correspondent

Chandigarh, June 7
It happened in Delhi in 1999. Cine-goers enjoying a Bollywood blockbuster were caught unawares as the cinema hall went up in flames. Soon after the incident, safety measures were taken. Some concrete, some on papers. Cinema halls in other cities also took steps to prevent the occurrence of such incidents in future. Chandigarh too followed suit but enough was not done — at least this is what the Chandigarh Parents’ Association is claiming.

The association, which conducted a detailed survey of cinema halls in the city and found a number of irregularities, has issued a legal notice to the UT Administrator, Adviser to the Administrator, Mayor, the Deputy Commissioner and the Fire Officer, besides the Inspector-General of Police, for taking remedial measures.

In their notice, the members have alleged that most of the cinema halls have improper entry and exit points, and fortified halls. There is no arrangement of emergency lights and water coolers, besides extra chairs are placed in the passageway. They have also alleged that air-conditioners are never switched on and there is an “organised loot” going on in the canteens.

The members say slightly opened iron gates at the entry and exit points create problem. The problem is worsened during showtime when the points are locked from inside making it impossible for spectators to move out in case of fire.

They say fortification of halls causes wastage of time. It tantamounts to illegal detention of cine-goers as they are not permitted to move out once the movie starts, the members say. “Otherwise also, it usually takes 10 to 20 minutes for cine-goers to move out after the show is over,” they claim.

Association chairman Bhim Sen Sehgal says there are no emergency lights in the staircase. This, he adds, may cause a stampede in case any incident takes place.

Regarding placing extra chairs to accommodate spectators during the release of new films, he says that these cause obstruction in the free movement of spectators and as such may result in greater loss of life. He also alleged that the cinema hall managements are indifferent towards the maintenance of fire fighting apparatus. “Some of these have not been inspected for a long time,” he says.

Mr Sehgal says eatables and drinks are sold at exorbitant rates in cinema hall canteens. “These are stale, filthy and unfit for human consumption,” he said. The chairman says food inspectors have never tried to check this. Neither have they registered a case nor taken any action against erring persons. He says, “Police personnel on duty in cinema halls indulge in black marketing of tickets”.

He says, “In case any incident takes place due to lethargy of authorities, the UT Administration will be liable, along with the cinema hall management, for any damage caused to cine-goers”.

CRIME

Man injured in assault
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 7
A resident of Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Mr Mool Chand, was injured when he was allegedly beaten up and threatened by Sanjiv, alias Kaka, and Jia Lal, both residents of Lakkar Aara, Palsora, last night.

The incident occurred at about 10 p.m. Mr Mool Chand was injured and admitted to General Hospital, Sector 16. A case under Sections 323, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, has been registered.

VEHICLE THEFT: A jeep and two motor cycles were stolen in separate incidents in the city. Mr Giresh Ahuja of Sector 23 reported that someone has stolen his Bolero jeep (CH03-E-7403) from his residence on the night of June 5. A case under Section 379, IPC, has been registered.

A Hero Honda motor cycle (CH-03-5087) owned by Mr Vivek Saini of Phase VI, SAS Nagar, was stolen as it was parked in front of SCO No 1004-05, Sector 22. A case under Section 379, IPC, has been registered.

In another incident, Mr Gurdev Singh of Sector 23 reported that someone stole his motor cycle (CH-01-W-2360) from a parking lot in Sector 17. A case under Section 379, IPC, has been registered.

COLLISION: Two trucks collided on the Chandigarh-Panchkula road last night. A complaint in his regard was lodged by Mr Jagtar Singh of Channa village Ropar, He reported that his truck (PB-03-F-7505) was hit by another truck (HR-030-A-0549). No one was injured in the accident. A case under Section 279, IPC, has been registered.

4 ARRESTED: The local police has arrested four persons for allegedly indulging in gambling. Mohinder Kumar and Nathu Lal, both residents of Maloya Colony, and Vinash, a resident of Bapu Dham Colony, and Tek Ram, a resident of Dadu Majra Colony, were arrested for gambling in Maloya Colony at about 9 p.m.

Panchkula

SATTA OPERATOR HELD: The police has arrested Ram Lal on charges of playing satta in Old Panchkula and seized Rs 1,520 from him. A case under various Sections of the Gambling Act has been registered against him.

CONVICTED: The court of the Additional Sessions Judge has sentenced three persons, Pawan Kumar, Jaibir Singh and Abhimanyu Singh, to seven years of imprisonment. They have been convicted of attempting to murder Agat Singh of Bhairaili village in July, 1997.

GAMBLING: Under its anti-gambling drive, the Panchkula police claims to have arrested five persons for gambling at public places and seized Rs 10900 from their possession.

In a press note the police said that Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Bartana village in Zirakpur, Virendra Singh and Inderjit Singh of Kalka, Mohan Lal of Mani Majra and Ajay Kumar of Pared Mohalla in Kalka were arrested while gambling at different places.

ILLICIT LIQUOR: The police has recovered 105 pouches of illicit liquor from Pawan Kumar of Alipur village, near local bus stand. After being signalled by the police to stop, the person reportedly fled from the scene after leaving the stuff.

A case under the Excise Act has been registered by the police with the Chandi Mandir police station.

Zirakpur

2 HELD: During its anti-smuggling drive launched by the Patiala police, two residents of Ambala were nabbed by the police while carrying 40 cases of countrymade liquor. The duo — Harpreet Singh and Dipti Singh — were nabbed at a naka put up by the police on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway, near Zirakpur, last night.

Sources in the police said that the accused were carrying the liquor from Chandigarh to Ambala for sale. A case under the Excise Act has been registered against them at Dera Bassi police station.