EDUCATION

PU regional centre to come up soon
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 20
Following the recent sanction of Rs 1 crore by Lala Lajpat Rai, MP and newly elected member of the Panjab University Syndicate, the process of setting up a university regional centre at the extension library has begun in earnest.

The university authorities have decided to utilise the grant for the construction of a new building on the library premises, buying furniture, books and other infrastructure required to begin LLB course in the new academic session. It has been decided to hold admission to the course by July next year and start classes in the first week of August.

The regional centre will also serve the purpose of providing result gazettes and admission forms to students. Besides, students taking up correspondence courses will be able to obtain information and reading material from the centre. The centre will also help the students and faculty communicate with the university and solve their queries. A portion of the funds will also be used to give a facelift to the library.

The idea to set up a regional centre in Ludhiana was mooted by local college principals and teachers about two years ago. However, due to lack of grants, it could not be implemented for quite some time. Prof Rajinder Bhandari, PU Senator, said the exact budgetary allocation was yet to be made. He, however, said there were also some plans to start industry-based courses to help the students get ample job opportunities.

Mr Tarsem Bahia, Principal of AS College, Khanna, who is also a Senator, said an application for seeking no-objection certificate from the Bar Council for starting law classes had already been sent. He said the university authorities were planning to begin the course with one unit comprising 60 seats.

School kids celebrate X-mas
Our Correspondent

Tiny tots of Lovely Lotus School and Love-Dale Montessori Home celebrate Christmas in Ludhiana on Friday. — A Tribune photograph

Strange ways of education board
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 20
He feels that he has been victimised by the Punjab School Education Board for no fault of his. Rajeev Kumar son of Mr Ram Gopal, fails to understand why he has been singled out by the board.

Rajeev passed his matriculation examination in 2001. He received a detailed mark-sheet dated July 6, 2002, showing that he had got 253 marks out of 650. The mark-sheet said he had passed in all subjects. But while he was studying in the next class, he received a letter from the board on September 11, stating that he had failed in one of the subjects and he was supposed to reappear in that subject, for which the exam was to be conducted the same month. In the beginning he tried to convince board officials, that he had already cleared the exams as was certified by the mark-sheet, but to no avail.

He ultimately filled up the form along with the late fee. But again to his shock, he did not find his name at the examination centre he was intimated about. Some other name had been mentioned against his registration number and he could not appear in the exam. However, he passed the exam later in the same year.

But his ordeal did not end here. The mark-sheet issued to him carried somebody else’s photograph. “But why always me?” he asks.

COURTS

Dhanda elected DBA president 
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 20
Mr Harish Rai Dhanda has been elected president of the District Bar Association (DBA). He defeated his opponent Mr Hemant Kalia by a margin of 291 votes, here today. He has been elected as president for the record seventh time and got the support of 797 lawyers while his opponent got 506 votes as 89 per cent polling was recorded. Out of a total of 1474 votes, 1308 votes were cast. Seven votes were declared invalid.

Except a few incidents the elections were held peacefully. Tension gripped the election process when as many as six persons tried to cast fake votes, but the Returning Officer turned them out as they did not have any I-card with them.

Mr Dhanda is the sitting member of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana for the last three terms. The Dhanda group dominated the DBA election this time by winning all important posts.

Mr B.P. Singh Gill was declared elected for the post of vice-president. He defeated his arch-rival Mr Abdul Majeed Thind with a margin of 73 votes. He got 670 votes against 603 polled in favour of his only opponent.

For the post of secretary Mr T.P.S. Dhaliwal got elected by getting 514 votes. While Mr Kuldip Singh Arora got 289 votes, Mr Narinder Sharma got 287 votes and Mr Jagdeep Singh secured 193 votes.

Mr Sandeep Kapoor, convener of the Organisation of ‘Young Lawyers’, has been declared elected for the post of joint secretary. He defeated his nearest rival Bir Inder Singh Sekhon by margin of 6 votes, as he polled 458 votes against 452 votes by his opponent. While another contestant Mr Rohit Thapar secured 279 votes.

For the post of finance secretary, Mr Rakesh Bhatia was declared elected. He got 594 votes. Mr Amandeep Bhanot secured 509 votes, while Mr Jyoti Saroop got 222 votes.

Sur-Taal contests begin
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 20
“Our dream was to revive Punjabi culture and bring our young people back to their culture and its roots. The young generation is under the Western influence and we have to bring them-back to their rich heritage. Moreover, the growing incidence of drug addiction has to be stopped and youngsters have to be brought back to the main stream. Sur-Tal was the brain child of Capt Amarinder Singh and we are happy that his dreams have been translated into reality,” said Mr Ashwani Sekri, State Minister, Culture and Tourism in his inaugural address at Ramgarhia Girls College today.

The Principal of the college, Ms Harmeet Kaur welcomed Mr Sekri, Ms Promilla Dubey, IAS, Principal Secretary, Culture and Tourism, Mr Malkiat Singh Dhakha, the city Mayor, Nahar Singh Gill, Mr Surinder Dawar, Congress MLA, to the first of its kind function. 

Venturing in realm of the bizarre
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 20
As many as 24 glass paintings with surrealistic themes used by Salvador Dali seems to have inspired the young vivacious bubbly, Bahar. The maiden exhibition of the artist aptly titled “Bazar of the bizarre” takes the viewer into a land of fantasy. Some of the paintings bring out nightmares that one faces. The frank revelation of the fantasies of the artist speaks volumes about how the artist is moved by the unreal world of dreams.

The underlying theme is the various aspects of women — woman in chains, woman synonymous with bountiful nature.