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February 16, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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PU Syndicate comes to the aid of law students Chandigarh, February 15 Their lectures in the final analysis will be counted from the same day onwards. The decision is important because students were not allowed admission in the next semester because they were short of lectures in the previous semester. They had been allowed to appear in the last semester examination on the intervention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court which granted liberty to the university. Students of the Departments of Sociology and Political Science had been detained on the same issue. However, following a Syndicate decision to hold special classes, both the departments went ahead with the classes. No classes could be held in the Law Department. It was argued that the department had erred by not listening to the Syndicate to conduct the classes, in first place. The act had led to unnecessary harassment to students. Mr Gopal Krishan Chatrath, Prof Charanjit Chawla and Mr Ashok Goyal spoke on the issue. Slogans against teachers were also criticised. Panjab University has hiked fee in the teaching departments on the campus and all affiliated colleges by 10 per cent in the forthcoming academic session. The hike pertains to all fee and funds, including tuition fee and examination fee. The campus and affiliated colleges will also witness a hike in charges of certificates, re-evaluation, admission forms and hostel charges, besides others. The development and related charges will remain
unchanged. The hiked fees will be rounded off to the nearest figures. The university has decided to charge a fee of Rs 30,000 annually from students at the law centre to commence at Ludhiana from the forthcoming academic session. Prof Charanjit Chawla raised the issue of 10 per cent seats in all courses for the general category students while an agreement was reached at 5 per cent of the total seats to help meritorious students. In majority of the unfair means cases, the university has summoned the staff on duty from outstation for a question-answer. The forthcoming academic session commences from July 1 onwards. While the classes for the ongoing classes in colleges and the university teaching departments commence from the first day onwards, the classes for freshers will from July 14. A memorandum of understanding has been signed by the university with the Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology and the British Columbia University for partnership in research projects. The university accepted the University Grants Commission notification for promotion from readers as professors under the merit promotion scheme. The notification reads a teacher seeking promotion here needs at least eight years experience as a reader; already appointed professor not eligible; submit self-appraisal reports for a period of five years before the date of eligibility; assessment of research work(publication) to be done by eminent experts in the subject; and from three experts the report received should be positive. In case of a difference, it should be sent to the fourth expert. The notification provides that only those candidates are allowed to appear for interview whose name have been cleared by the three experts. |
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Cellular giants evading tax Chandigarh, February 15
Ever since Spice, Airtel and the BSNL launched their cellular services in the region, these companies have not been paying sales tax on SIM cards and activation fee. Contrarily, they have been evading tax on the ground that, since the companies are not selling SIM cards or transferring ownership, no sales tax is made out. In its judgment of February 15, 2002, against Escotel Mobile Communications, the Kerela High Court, however, held that SIM cards and activation fee were covered under sales and, so, were taxable. This judgment was upheld by the Supreme Court of India about a week ago. This has made the UT Excise and Taxation Department swing into action. The Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Mr Inderjit Singh Sandhu, when contacted, said the department had learnt about the latest judgment and served notices on the BSNL, Airtel, and Spice. “We have sought a complete record of accounts. Tax liability will be worked out thereafter,” he said. The UT Sales Tax Department was not aware that tax was leviable on SIM cards and activation fee. Meanwhile, officials of the cellular companies, when contacted, said no tax was being paid, so far, on SIM cards and activation fee in the UT. Mr S.K. Garg, Chief Financial Officer of Spice Telecom, said: “In the wake of the SC judgment, the issue concerning the tax liability on SIM cards and activation fee has been referred to the Association of Cellular Industry. The extent of the applicability of this judgment on cellular-service providers will be determined, only then will the issue be decided.” While companies say that the providers are handing over SIM cards to customers on security (hire-purchase basis) and operating indirectly through dealer networks, something has been left unsaid. As per the Punjab General Sales Tax Act of 1948, as applicable to the UT, all the IT products, including SIM cards and activation fee, are taxable at the first stage in the UT. This means that any person or company selling these products for the first time must pay sales tax. Accordingly, cellular companies should have determined their tax liability and complied with rules.  |
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BJP dubs Sonia infiltrator Chandigarh, February 15 Earlier, Mrs Sonia Gandhi was branded “videshi” ( foreigner) by the BJP. But now, it has gone one step ahead to brand her as “guspathia” ( infiltrator). And the word “infiltrator” against her was used by Mr Om Parkash Dhankar, secretary of the national body of the BJP. Though another top leader of the BJP, Mr Rajnath Singh, general secretary also hit at Mrs Sonia Gandhi, he used a bit modest language. He said that Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s heart was not Indian. “The day her heart becomes, the heart of an Indian mother, people would accept her as their leader,” he added. Both Mr Dhankar and Mr Rajnath Singh, were here today to address a rally organised by the BJP under the banner “dhokha-hi-dokha” (great deception) against Capt Amarinder Singh’s alleged failure on all fronts. From today’s attack it seems that the tempo against Mrs Sonia Gandhi would be built up steadily keeping in view the coming Lok Sabha elections. Mr Dhankar, whose speech was loaded with wit and satire, said that people should pose questions to her that why she did not take Indian citizenship even 15 years after her marriage with late Rajiv Gandhi and why photos of Mahatma Gandhi, Vallab Bhai Patel and other senior leaders were missing from the election posters of the Congress in Himachal Pradesh. He said that as Mrs Sonia Gandhi failed to click as voter-catcher in Gujarat, the Congress strategists had now preferred to use her daughter Priyanka Gandhi’s photo in election posters in Himachal Pradesh. If Congress failed to win even in Himachal Pradesh. Mr Rajnath Singh said though Mrs Sonia Gandhi had adopted this country, her heart did not beat for Indians. To justify his point, he said that Mrs Sonia Gandhi, who had control over the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation having Rs 600 crore in its kitty, did not donate a single penny from the foundation for the earthquake victims of Gujarat. If her heart had been Indian, she must had donated for the kith and kin of the victims, he alleged. “She wants to rule India, forgetting the fact that the country was not a “Jagir” (fiefdom) of Nehru dynasty,” he said. With all political cleverness, both leaders not only attacked Mrs Sonia Gandhi but also tried to instigate other senior Congress leaders like Mr Arjun Singh, Mr Digvijay Singh, etc. Why the photos of these Congress leaders were not there on the election posters? asked Mr Rajnath Singh. Both leaders alleged that the Congress was responsible for the spread of terrorism and infiltration of Bangladeshi. The Congress, which had been ruling in over a dozen states, has not allowed its various Chief Ministers to enforce POTA. “Because of the soft approach of the Congress for several years, terrorism and the ISI succeeded in establishing its network in India. The BJP would not rest till this network was wiped out,” they said. |
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Prayers fail to give India win Chandigarh, February 15 The impressive crackers, stored in some remote corner of the cupboards since Divali, were tucked back safety by the dejected residents even before the Australian batsmen descended upon the field to indulge in a not-at-all-wild goose chase where the goose was merely "limping". This was not all. By about 5.30 in the evening, the youngsters were out of their residences after switching off the television sets to play some real nice shots themselves in the adjoining ground. The reason was not hard to see. They "did not have the inclination to see the Indian team helplessly watch the Australian cricketer shatter their dreams of bringing home the glittering cup". Since morning, they had been travelling between hope and apprehension. The match with Australia was not going to be easy, they were sure of it. In fact, the game with Holland had created doubts in their mind regarding the team's capabilities of fulfilling their hopes. The country had won the match, but lost face, they were alive to the grim reality. That was, perhaps, the reason why so many school children marched down to the temples in Sector 15, 16, 19 and 20 to pray for the country's success in the crucial match. In fact special prayer sessions were held by the cricket clubs of the local school students. Toil, tears and prayers do sometimes fail, they realised only in the evening. Anyway, at about 1.30 pm, the residents were glued to their seats in front of the television sets, eager to witness the team in action. Saturday being a holiday, most of the government employees had not even moved out of their homes. Others had taken the afternoon off. Little wonder, the dingy market corridors wore a deserted look. Rush could be seen in Sector 17 only in front of the picture windows with television sets. The residents craned their necks to watch India win the toss. Thunderous applaud filled the air as the team elected to bat. Executives and businessman, who could not make it to their residences, did not wait for the action to take place in front of the showrooms. They poured in the bars and restaurants with giant screens to see their favourite batsmen hit the ball real hard. But as the game progressed, hope gave way to uncertainty. Rahul Dravid lost his wicket after wasting good number of balls. Well, Yuvraj was still there. Nothing to worry. He and Tendulkar would steer India towards victory. Moments later, the twinkling star of the young Indian team Yuvraj also walked back to the pavilion. Soon with five down and score just 50, victory became a distant hope. Disgusted with the team's performance, the residents walked out of the bars and the pubs. Others went back to their bedrooms for siesta. They woke up in the evening only to find India all out for 125 — the country's lowest ever score in the World Cup. By now, sure of the country's defeat, they left the cozy comfort of their residences for enjoying their evening after pushing the thoughts of defeat from their minds. "After all, we did not lose the match by all 10 wickets," they asserted, trying to lessen the shame of defeat. After the country lost the match, there was just one thing the residents were demanding — recall of the team from the world cup. |
ESIC scheme for unorganised sector Chandigarh, February 15 Dr Dua was in the city to take stock of the operations of the scheme in the northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Addressing officials of the corporation, he said the scheme would soon be extended to self-employed and contract workers. They would be able to avail medical and other facilities by paying a small premium. He claimed the scheme had an in-built advantage of being competitive with the lowest premium for covering a variety of risks. Dr Dua said the corporation had also decided to take direct control of the 200-bedded ESI hospital at Ludhiana. It would be developed as a model hospital with full strength of doctors, staff and adequate equipment within the next few months. He said negotiations were in progress with the Himachal Pradesh Government for taking over the 50-bedded ESI hospital at Parwanoo. It would also be developed as a model ESI hospital, he added. The Director-General urged the officials to speed up the process of implementation of the scheme in the new geographical areas with the cooperation of the state governments. Referring to the strategy to reinvent the importance of the scheme, he said the management was determined to give a new look to the scheme in the coming months. It would be made beneficial for the growing segment of part-time and mobile workers. As part of the government’s policy to provide a social security net to employees in the unorganised sector, the scheme would be extended to other sectors as well. Dr Dua urged the officials to play a “pro-active role” in seeking cooperation of the employees, state governments and employers for putting the scheme on a faster track. |
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Embedded technology
promising: experts Chandigarh, February 15 Prof
D.K. Sharma from IIT, Mumbai, said it was important to develop appropriate platforms for software as well as hardware application tools and design innovative products around these platforms. He added that lack of entrepreneurship zeal and the no-risk-taking attitude were the reasons for our not having been able to develop products that could bring in substantial revenue. Dr Chandra Shekhar from CEERI
Pilani, was of the view that most of the computing systems in future will have embedded-technology systems performing intelligent functions. He also suggested the adoption of at ocussed approach for developing core competency in this area. Stating that there was a need to develop professionals with specialisation in this area, Prof
A.B. Bhattacharyya from Delhi added that they should be provided practical training so that they are picked up by the industry faster. Prof Swapan Sen from the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, suggested that the curriculum should be modified to give a greater exposure to students of different branches of science so that they are able to acquire expertise in designing products using a multi-disciplinary approach. Mr
M.M. Sihota from SCL opined that the real issue was the marketability of indigenously developed products as merely offering design services was not bringing in adequate revenue commensurate with the technical manpower available in the country. |
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Thousands throng Jayanti Devi temple Jayanti Majri (Kharar), February 15 The devotees, after offering their prayers to the deity, also participated in langar organised at the occasion. Worshippers could be seen waiting in line to pay their obeisance to the deity. Such was the rush that it was difficult to make an easy passage around the area. Many stalls had been set up in the area, with a view to apprise the visitors of the spiritual elements. Religious books were also being sold in the fair. People urged the local MLA, Mr Jagmohan Singh Kang, who was also present there, to make elaborate electricity and water supply arrangements on the temple premises. Chandigarh Tribune on Friday had carried a story about the bad condition of roads leading to the temple. Mr Kang also promised that steps would be taken to improve the condition of the roads. ‘‘I will take up all demands related to the temple with the government’’, said Mr Kang. The Union government has proposed to include the name of the temple in list of protected monuments. |
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Guru Ravidas’ teachings relevant Chandigarh, February 15 In a message on the eve of the birth anniversary of Guru Ravi Das, General Jacob said that throughout his life Guru ji had stressed upon the principle of dignity of labour, recognising that it was the only way to free the underprivileged from the economic servitude. General Jacob urged the people to make sincere efforts in fighting the distortions prevailing in society and help in the fulfillment of Guru Ravidas dream of building a classless society. SAS NAGAR:
The 626th parkash utsav of Shri Guru Ravidas will be celebrated at Shri Guru Ravidas Bhavan in Phase VII here on Sunday. A nagar kirtan was organised on Saturday. Mr K.R. Chaudhry, president of the Shri Guru Ravidas Naujwan Sabha said here that Dr Harbans Lal, Minister for Forests and Food and Civil Supplies, Punjab, would attend the function being organised on Sunday. |
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Sounds of Sea regales Chandigarh, February 15 The band, which will perform at different venues for two more days, started off under the aegis of Plaza Carnival which began with the band doling out beautiful melodies. The aim of the band concert which was followed by an evening of Punjabi songs and dance by Sarbjit Cheema, is to reach out to a larger cross section of the society and spread awareness about the Navy. The Naval band has come a long way since its commissioning in 1945. It performs for all the services and ceremonial functions. The band has graduated from delightful martial music to other forms, including arrangements of symphonies, solos, duets, concertos and other forms of contemporary numbers. The strengths of the band were visible in plenty at Sector 17 this evening. Be it India or Western classical, jazz or pop music, the Band performed everything well. In fact, the band has also earned a lot of name for itself in foreign countries. The recent international events like the Bicentenary of the Statue of Liberty and the President’s Fleet Review in the USA, the Australian Bicentennial, the International Fleet Review in Mumbai and the International Fleet Review at Tokyo had the Naval Band in full form. In keeping with its mission of reaching out to the masses the band is touring various cities of the country between February and March 2003. As far as this evening’s concert was concerned, the theme was Sounds of the Sea. In addition to a variety of band tunes and remix of evergreen Hindi numbers, the band also rendered Vande Mataram and Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo... |
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Blue rules at Forest Hill Valentine bash Chandigarh, February 15 Forest Hill Resort laid out the first of its kind Open Air Disco-theque with the backdrop of hills, blue lakes with DJ in attendance. Blue ruled the event as blue was the dress code as well. Gelling with the theme was the jingling blue light which swayed to the rhythmic beat of thumping music. The foot tapping music was never like this as it was at Forest Hills. Pepsi Blue was served free to all the members and guests. The Creme-De-La-Creme of the City had a gala time. It was out of harm’s way party well attended without any sort of gate crashing. |
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Cong leaders to visit HP Chandigarh, February 15 The team will include the Mayor, Mr Subhash Chawla, Senior Deputy Mayor, Mr Kuldeep Singh Kajheri, Mr Ram Pal Sharma, Mr Parampal Singh Matharoo, Mrs Shrestha Mehta, Mr Phool Chand, Dr Onkar Jagpal and Mrs Pushpa Sharma. |
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22 women inducted into ITBP Chandigarh, February 15 Mr N. Thangaiyan, DIG, Bhanu Training Centre inspected the troops of women recruits and took the salute He exhorted the recruits to prove themselves worthy of the force and keep up the tradition of the ITBP. These woman have undergone training in weapon, drill, physical training , firing, tactics and subjects like human rights and law. Inspector Minju Malhotra, who was the course leader was declared the best all-round cadet. |
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PUDA to grant land to societies SAS Nagar, February 15 |
Suspect in murder case caught Chandigarh, February 15 Billa used to be a conductor on a school-bus driven by Shiv. The youth was hit in the neck and the chest with a chisel used for carving wood after Shiv had refused to pay Billa Rs 800 that he owed him. After hitting Shiv, Billa ran towards the railway station and, eventually, reached Hardwar, where he had been hiding from the police all these days. On December 15, 2002, after being hit, profusely bleeding Shiv was declared brought dead in the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital. Since then, the police had been searching for Billa. Shiv’s wife, Prem, said her husband had fallen in the company of addicts and, once, given them Rs 10,000. After quitting as the school-bus driver, Shiv had opened a confectionery shop in Hallo Majra. His wife said he had not been able to establish himself in any business, at which, he had taken to drugs. A police official said Billa had been taken to the Sector 31 police station, as the case against him had been registered there. Information gathered by the police showed that Billa was a hardened criminal, involved in two cases of murder and one of contract killing. Billa, charged with killing a man called Sarmukh Singh in 1992, was, later, acquitted. It was alleged that he had stabbed Sarmukh in Mani Majra after an altercation. Then, he was accused of killing Ranjit Singh, a man who lived in Ram Darbar, in 1995. |
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Pirated VCDs seized Chandigarh, February 15 Two cars stolen Two Maruti cars were stolen in the city during the past 24 hours. Ms Neelam Sahni of Panchkula had reported that her Maruti car (No. CH-01-A-0136) was stolen from Sector 34 on Friday. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered in the police station of Sector 34. Mr Arundeep Singh of Sector 27 D has also reported that his Maruti car (No. CH-01-T-0021) was stolen from Sector 35 on Friday. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered.
Motorcycle stolen Mr Kuldip Singh Saini of SAS Nagar had reported that his Bullet motorcycle (No. PB-65-B-2122) was stolen from Sector 22 yesterday. A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered in the police station of Sector 17.
Injured A middle-aged woman, Mrs Krishna Kant, a resident of Sector 20, was hit by a bus at the Inter-State Bus Terminus yesterday. She was rushed to GMCH, Sector 32. A case under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC has been registered in the police station of Sector 17.
Woman consumes poison A woman, said to be in her mid-20s, allegedly consumed poison outside the district courts in Sector 17 here yesterday. The victim, a resident of Palsora, had gone to meet an advocate in the court. She was rushed to the Sector 16 General Hospital by police personnel of the Sector 17 police station.
Cheating case The police has registered a case of cheating against Surinder Singh of Baltana for allegedly duping Surinder Pal Singh, a resident of Sector 46. The complainant had alleged that Surinder had taken Rs 5 lakh from his relative Gurcharan Singh to send his son and brother-in-law abroad. The case is being investigated by the Economic Offences Wing of the police.
Bag snatched Ms Arti Dhamija, a resident of Sector 34, has reported that unknown scooterists snatched her bag containing Rs 1,800, an ATM card and a mobile phone.
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Man missing Chandigarh, February 15 The woman in her complaint to the police said her husband had taken Rs 1,000 from her in April last year saying that he required the money for some work. But he failed to return home and also did not report at his office. She said her husband kept on calling her on telephone for some days. But later he stopped calling her. Inquiries with the relatives her husband did not yield any results. She said after her court marriage with Gurbachan Singh in 1993, his relatives did not approve of their marriage. |
Ebony’s special World Cup offer Chandigarh, February 15 The cricket memorabilia include T-shirts, caps, ties, complete cricket gear, bat and ball, keychains, table mementos, mugs, bags and much more. In addition, to make the cricket World Cup even more memorable, the store is offering all these products at an unbelievably low price. Also there is more fun in store with the ‘Choose your Team’ scheme in which on the day of the match anyone can come to the store and choose the winning team. “All you have to do is to fill a coupon for the team you support before half time on the day of the match and get free gifts if your team wins,” said a spokesperson. This scheme is valid till the World Cup finals. |
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