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Impressive display of innovative exhibits
Chandigarh, January 3 Nearly 50 stalls, including schools from all over the country and government departments, were put up on the inaugural day today. The host, IMTECH, has dedicated a corner exclusively to the memory of Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian woman astronaut and Louis Pasteur, the brain behind the development of anti-rabies vaccine. The photographs displayed at the stall dedicated to Kalpana have been contributed by Ms Anjali Chawla, her sister-in-law, the NASA and the ISRO. The pictures of Pasteur have been contributed by the local chapter of the Alliance Francaise. The Kalpana Chawla stall also bears information regarding the country’s first exclusive meteorological satellite being named after her. The first satellite, Kalpana-I, is a precursor to future INSAT system for meteorological observation. It carries “Very High Resolution Radiometer” capable of imaging earth in the visible, thermal infra-red and water vapour bonds. MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, Sikkim, displays the local food of Sikkim, its nutritive value and related concerns, which has been exclusively worked upon by Rinkila. Siddarth has worked out a project on the nutrition chart. The stall of SC Jain Senior Model School, Ambala, has put up an exhibition on ‘critical study of food habits of adolescents of middle and upper middle class in Ambala”. The corner of the Environmental Society of India has a wide range of exhibits and literature in a whole range of subjects concerned with the environmental issues. The BK Model High School, Belgaun(Karnatka) has put up a stall highlighting” innovative experience in physics using toy lasers”. St George College, Agra, has put up on display a project report on medical use of cow dung. A rain harvesting model has also been put up. Bhartiya Vidya Peeth and St Anthony Junior College, Agra, have worked upon setting up a display showing global warming and its effects. The exhibit of the local Carmel Convent School is on assessment of “whether pregnant women were being catered as per the dietary recommendations of the ICMR”. St John’s School has attempted a study on ‘Nutra-Ceuticals”. It studies the inherent qualities and value available in daily food items, including ginger, soya, garlic and brahmi, to name a few. Also on display are exhibits by Shantiniketan Indian School, (Doha) (Qatar), Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 37, St Xavier School, Bathinda, NCERT, Him Sikha High School, Pathankot, Silver Bells Senior Secondary School, Hamirpur and SS High School, Dumka (Jharkand). Dr Manju Sharma, a secretary in the Department of Biotechnology,
delivers the inaugural address at the Science for Children function. Dr Amit Ghosh, Director of the IMTECH, and Prof H.V.Mohan, Chairman of the organising committee, also spoke on the occasion.  |
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Exploring new dimensions of chemistry Chandigarh, January 3 This was said by Prof C.N.R. Rao, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Research in a special lecture on “New Dimensions of Chemical Science” in the evening session on the inaugural day of the Science Congress here today. Professor Rao said chemistry had changed significantly over the centuries, however, the pace in the 20th century has been unimaginably fast. There has always been a tendency to relate chemistry labs to smell of soot and obnoxious gases. The image was undergoing a change now with the increase in the fields of its application. For a simple man it is important to understand that chemistry started as soon as the Big Bang. It forms the base of the entire human life. Chemistry is an ever growing science. Certain figures which have been the guiding forces in its development include Dalton, Michael Faraday and Rontgen, besides others. In 1 AD, humans were aware about the existence of seven elements, about 10 in 16 AD and 114 in the 20th century. The numbers reflect the emerging changes in the world of chemistry. Chemistry in relation to biology and advanced matters are few of the current subjects in the field. Professor Rao has over 1,000 research publications to his credit and has authored 36 books. Associated with several frontal areas of research he has been conferred with over a dozen honorary doctorate degrees by universities in India and abroad. Professor Rao has been a winner of several awards, including Dr C.V.Raman, Bhatnagar and Meghnad Saha award. He is also a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan award. The talk was presided over by Dr R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. |
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Vice-Chancellor raises pension demand Chandigarh, January 3 Prof Pathak highlighted that fact that Panjab University was the only university in the region and the country to be deprived of the pension scheme. He underlined his worry that in the absence of social security, the best brains would be drawn to other universities. In an attempt to wash his hands off the matter, Mr Johar said that the Central government should consider the demand of the university sympathetically and implement the pension scheme. However, Dr Joshi, chose not to take it lying down, and, during his speech, took the opportunity to direct the Higher Education Minister to make funds available to the university. “You should make funds available for the pension scheme to be able to retain the best minds and attract intelligentsia,” he stated during the course of his speech. It may be recalled that an emotional Mr Johar had, at the last meeting of the PU Senate, stated that the Punjab Government was willing to fund higher education if the UT Administration was reluctantly paying the grant money to the colleges. |
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A tribute to pioneers Chandigarh, January 3 The neatly laid out interiors of the venue on the opening day appeared impressive with exhibits from diverse fields in science and from all parts of the country. Few of the important exhibition stalls included the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology, Department of Haryana Science and Technology, Department of Atomic Energy, The UT Administration (mainly projecting developments at the Information Technology Park and proposed Biotechnology Park), Indian Airlines and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing. The visage of JRD Tata(1904-1993) towers benevolently upon visitors as one enters the main ‘pandal’. Huge posters depicting life of Tata have been displayed. “ He touched power… But he remained untouched by it”, “ he stretched out his arms and built not just organisations, but, institutions’ and “JRD Tata launched civil aviation in India in 1932”, are only a few of the captions accompanying the pictures. The pictures in the adjoining hall are dedicated to Dr Homi Bhabha, a physicist credited with development of science in its modern form in India. This “gentlemanly, aristocratic and international in outlook” personality stood towering above his contemporaries as depicted in the written chronology of events in his life which accompanied the photographs. The stall of the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology has on display photographs exhibiting development in a whole range of fields associated with the world of science. A few of them include energy efficient brick kilns with integrated air pollution control measures, environmental protection and cost effective technologies for controlling air pollution in rice shellers, besides others. The stall of the UT Administration has laid special emphasis on portraying its efforts in development of biotechnology. “The vision of the Chandigarh Administration is to give an impetus to the economy and human resources by realising the potential of biotechnology. The goal is to spread awareness among people about its benefits”, a note read. Another note said “Chandigarh is progressing towards becoming the leading technology city of the North and is attracting a large number of leading companies for setting IT projects. The pollution-free environment and excellent social infrastructure give the city an edge over others”. The stall of the Gujarat Council of Science and Technology specially underlines the development of science city adjoining Ahmedabad. It also highlights financial support for organising science functions, young scientists fellowships, celebration of science and technology days and details about other schemes. |
The absence of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the inaugural session of the Indian Science Congress (ISC) robbed the function of its charm. The chief guest, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, did full justice to the speech of the Prime Minister by reading it out and conveying to the delegates that the Prime Minister would try to seek expansion of regional cooperation in science and technology for mutual benefit while in Islamabad for the SAARC summit. *** Bedecked with flowers, the main hall had two giant screens. The theme of the 91st session of the ISC “Science and Society in the 21st Century — Quest for excellence” was written in white on a blue-black background showing the universe. *** The Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, failed to keep his date with the delegates of the ISC while his counterpart from Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, kept the HRD Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, engaged in conversation. One of the many speakers at the inaugural session, the Chief Minister disappointed the organisers by not showing up. *** The dais, specially distanced from the public with the Prime Minister in mind, was shared by 12 dignitaries which included the Governors of Punjab and Haryana, the Chief Minister of Haryana, the Higher Education Minister of Punjab, Mr Harman Das Johar, the Vice-Chancellor of PU, Prof KN Pathak, the Director IMTECH, Mr Amit Ghosh, and other office-bearers of the Indian Science Congress Association besides the chief guest. The scientists awarded at the function were seated behind them. *** In the many speeches that marked the inauguration, the emphasis was on the challenges before the scientists. Stressing on the effective application of science and technology, the scientists were exhorted to find solutions to water scarcity, treatment of infectious diseases and agriculture, besides addressing the hunger problem using biotechnology. *** Chaos and confusion prevailed at the registration office where delegates continued to register themselves for the ISC. Harassed delegates complained that they had no clue about their stay and there was nobody to attend to them after registration. The organisers, on the other hand, rued that delegates were arriving without any prior information and posing a problem for them. *** Chaotic scenes were witnessed in the food village during lunch hour with delegates making a beeline for the huge hangar as soon as there was a break in the afternoon. Long queues were seen for plates, salads, food and water. *** The Punjab Higher Education Minister, Mr Harnam Das Johar, it seems, came unprepared to speak on science and its relevance to society. Instead, he took the opportunity to highlight the need for social security for teachers and repeatedly praised the Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University. He put forth the demand of giving the Chancellorship of the PU to the Governor of Punjab. He mentioned that the Vice-President of India, the Chancellor of PU, was pressed for time and had bigger things to deal with, which left little scope of dealing with the matters of the university. *** While the sun brought a smile on the faces of the delegates, numbed by yesterday’s cold, by evening the chill was back and so were the mufflers and monkey caps. In the hall, monkey caps and mufflers seemed more of a uniform as delegates sat through various sessions. *** The session was compered by Doordarshan’s English newsreader Sukanya. The programme began with an invocation by Ms Ratnika Tewari, a lecturer at the Government College for Girls, Sector 11, and ended with the National Anthem.
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12-year-old boy remains untraced Chandigarh, January 3 Initially the family members were under the impression that Manik had gone missing but the following afternoon, Manik made a telephone call to his maternal uncle at Bathinda, informing that he was in Delhi. He is learnt to have told his aunt that those people who had kidnapped him had asked him to make the call but he did not disclose his location or identify the kidnappers. The police said what intrigued them was the fact that despite knowing the telephone number of his parents, Manik chose to call up his maternal uncle at Bathinda. Manik is a class V student at J.B.N Bal Niketan School, Sector 37. He was to take part in the school’s annual function today. The family members do not suspect anybody in particular to be the involved in incident. They dismissed any chance of his running away from home. The police has registered a case of kidnapping but refused to divulge its course of investigations. The crime branch of the police has also been called in to investigate the case. “We feel there is no reason why Manik would have left home on his own, as living in a joint family he was very happy and close to his mother and cousins,” said one of the neighbours. “I do not have enmity with anyone but the only apprehension I have is that a lot of vehicles and people who are into drugs hang around in the market, close to our house,” said Mr Rakesh Jain, Manik’s father. According to the parents of Manik, at 4.15 p.m. yesterday, he had called up his maternal uncle at Bathinda. The phone was picked up by his aunt. His uncle was in Chandigarh when Manik had called up. He told her that he was in Delhi and wanted to speak to his uncle. ‘‘He was stammering and when his aunt asked him for a telephone number where his uncle could return the call, the phone went dead’’, informed Mr Jain. He told his aunt that his kidnappers had asked him to make the call. Mr Jain owns a tent house in Sector 24 here and is living in a joint family with his three brothers and their families. ‘‘Manik was sent to the nearby mini-market to exchange a packet of soup flavour by his paternal aunt. When he did not return home for more than 15 minutes, I went to the shop in his search’’, informed Manik’s mother Ms Shiksha Jain. She was reportedly told by the shopkeeper (to whom Manik had gone to exchange the packet) that Manik had come to his shop but had soon left the shop. |
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Man attempting rape ‘bobittised’ Panchkula, January 3 Ram Chander tried to rape Sudha Devi, also a resident of Rajiv Colony, as her husband was away to his work place in Dera
Bassi. Ram Chander, who forced his way to the lady’s house, threatened to kill her if she raised
an alarm. “I had opened the door in the belief that my husband had arrived. As I opened the door, Ram Chander pushed me to
the ground and tried to outrage my modesty”, Sudha told The Tribune at Sector 16 police post here. As he tried to take off my clothes, I attacked him with a knife kept for chopping vegetables in the “stomach”, she added holding her two-month-old daughter,
Pratibha, in her lap. Her son Parduman, a witness to the crime, said he and his two other sisters — Puja and Raksha — watched helplessly as Ram Chander repeatedly pushed his mother to the ground. “When my mother failed to protect herself, she picked up the knife and slit his private parts”, he said. After the incident the terrified woman raised the alarm and went to the house of Ram Rattan, a brother of the accused. From Ram Rattan’s house, the police was
informed. Police sources said Ram Chander was taken to the local General Hospital in a
serious condition from where he was referred to the PGI. Later in the day, he
was operated upon at the PGI and his private parts were “reconstructed” through plastic surgery, the doctor attending
to him said. His condition is stable and the blood circulation in the genitals had started and he would be kept under observation for
the next 72 hours, the doctors said. However, he is still under trauma, they added. Later, in the morning Sudha was take to the Sector 16 police post for questioning. Meanwhile, the police has booked Ram Chander for
attempt to rape. Her husband, Mr Kirpa Ram Singh, said that he had stayed back in his factory as a machine had developed some technical snag. He informed that he had a quarrel with the accused and other residents of the colony in July 2001, and a police complaint was lodged against them. |
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MC moots cancellation of
sanitation contract Mohali, January 3 Council members will also finalise the MC's plan of action regarding stray cattle, to be submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on January 28, 2004. This is the second time that the proposal for the cancellation of the sanitation contract is coming up for discussion at the council's meeting. The proposal had been discussed earlier during a meeting held in October, 2003 and members had granted a three month extension valid till January 18, 2004, to the contractor after issuing a warning to him to improve his working. However, following a surprise check by the SDM Mohali on the instructions of the Deputy Commissioner Ropar, it was discovered that the contractor had not employed a requisite number of workers for cleaning and garbage collection. Notices were also issued to the contractor but little improvement in his work was noticed. The council has also in the past six months slashed over Rs 5.5 lakh from the contractor's bills for not performing well. In a major changeover from the earlier system of sanitation and garbage disposal in Mohali, the council had since July, 2003 given a single contract of sanitation work unlike the earlier system when Mohali was divided into zones and each zone had a separate contractor to do the work. During the last meeting on the issue, the Executive Officer of the Municipal Council had strongly recommended that the sanitation contractor had not been preforming his duties properly and his contract should be cancelled forthwith. But when put on the table for voting, a majority of the councillors voted in favour of giving a three-month extension to the sanitation contractor. Another item on the agenda is the submission of the plan of action for catching stray cattle in Mohali before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The council and the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) have, for over two years now, locked horns over the cost of the land of a cattle pound. A two acre piece of land had been identified by PUDA to be sold to the MC but no decision could be taken about its price. While PUDA had demanded a sum of Rs 30 lakh for the land, MC had shown its inability to pay a huge amount for the land. However, sources pointed out that following the failure of the MC's experiment to privatise cattle catching, this work was being carried out at a small scale by the council in the township. ‘‘The MC is simply using the cattle pound land issue as an excuse. Even the existing cattle pound is not being put to use,’’pointed out a council member. |
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Nagar panchayat seeks shifting of ST centre Zirakpur, January 3 The civic body has also passed a resolution offering private contractors to construct rain-queue shelters within the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat limits and operate them on their own. The rain queue shelters would be constructed on ‘Build Operate and Transfer’ (BOT) basis and the contractors have been permitted to install display advertisements and signboards of Indian and multi-national companies on these shelters. In addition to this the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat has also decided to remove encroachments that have come up on the panchayat land in past a couple of years. While talking to the Chandigarh Tribune, Mr Narinder Sharma, president of the civic body, claimed that these public interest resolutions had been passed with a thumping majority in the House. He said the Sales Tax Collection Centre was a major block in the smooth flow of traffic on the Kalka-Ambala highway since long. Heavy and light loaded vehicles remained parked there causing traffic chaos on the busy highway. The presence of this centre had virtually turned into a death trap for the road users. The civic boy has passed a resolution for shifting of the centre outside the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat limits and a copy to the resolution has been sent to the department, concerned, claimed Mr Sharma. Mr Sharma also revealed that the bus-queue shelters would be constructed within the civic body limits by private contractors on BO basis. The contractor has been permitted to beautify these shelters by displaying advertisement boards of various MNCs. The contractor would charge from the MNCs for displaying their advertisements on monthly bases, which would add to the Nagar Panchayat revenue too, he added. ‘‘About 15-20 per cent of the common land (shamlat) of the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat has been encroached upon by migrants, well connected and influential persons and the elected body of the civic body has passed a resolution to clear the encroachments,’’ claimed Mr Sharma. |
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Ex-servicemen seek separate pay commission for soldiers Chandigarh, January 3 Ruing the fact that armed forces personnel were being clubbed with civilian government employees, they said that service conditions of both categories were entirely different, which had led to discrepancies in the pay and allowances of soldiers. “Every category of employees in the central government serves till the age of 60, whereas armed forces personnel retire at a very young age. Then how can qualifying service for grant of full pension be the same for both, they questioned. Added to that are harsh service conditions, frequent transfers and limitations on certain fundamental rights, they said. They said in Britain, the pay commission was a standing body that submited its recommendations to the government every year. It was not so in India where a pay commission was set up once in 10 years. The recommendations were submitted several years behind schedule, they added. A demand for reservations for ex-servicemen in Parliament was also raised at the meeting. They said that though several ex-servicemen were members of Parliament, yet they
could not raise their voice as they were bound by their respective party’s agenda and directives of party leaders. Reservation for ex-servicemen in the Rajya Sabha, they added, would give them a forum to aid their views and Parliament could thus be kept aware of issues pertaining to the welfare and needs of serving and retired soldiers. |
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Drivers given tips on safe driving Mohali, January 3 Over 20 constables of the Ropar police and technicians were put on duty for the camp. Drivers of vehicles plying on these roads were stopped and told about safety precautions that should be adhered to during fog. "The main point that we emphasised on was the use of head lights. It is generally observed that drivers use headlights only in the night. We told the drivers that headlights are to be used during the day also if its is a foggy day," said Mr Atamjit Chopra of Chopra Engineering Works. Pointing that with headlights on, the chances of accident during a foggy day are reduced to a minimum, Mr Chopra said most of drivers don't realise that the electricity being used for headlights is not being wasted during the day. Faulty and non-working of head lights of all passing vehicles were repaired free of cost by the volunteers. "We were encouraged by the SP (Headquarters) Ropar Mr Jagdish Kahlon in this venture," said Mr Chopra. Mr Chopra said drivers should realise that it is not important to see the road during a foggy day but to be seen by others is more important. "Many people think that visibility will improve if the headlights are switched off but that does not make much difference. However, by putting off the headlights, the vehicle becomes virtually invisible to others which is most dangerous," he added. |
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British Library gets 1000 new members Chandigarh, January 3 The enrolment process that opened at 9 am and continued till about 7 pm, ended with the Library managing to add another 1000 members to its list. While the expectation was of 700 members, the final number turned out to be 1000. The Manager of the Library, Mr Sushant Banerjee, informed that out of the total members, about 500 had opted for family membership, while another 300 had taken individual membership. With today’s enrolment, the library membership stands at around 5000. The process will continue tomorrow and day after, with the Library deciding to enroll more members. The timings for enrollment will remain the same — 9 am to 7 pm both tomorrow and day after tomorrow. |
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Devotees join nagar kirtan Chandigarh, January 3 It all started at about 12.30 pm. As the band played religious tunes, school students, clad in the traditional white attires, marched ahead, while the gatka players displayed their talent. More and more devotees joined in as the “panj pyaras” walked in front of palki with the Guru Granth Sahib. The kirtan started from Sector 34 Gurdwara. It passed through Sector 33, before reaching road separates Sector 32 and Sector 33. The procession then passed through Sector 20, 21, 22 and Sector 23 and 24 markets. It culminated at Gurdwara Sahib in Sector 38 at about 7.30 pm. Elaborate arrangements had been made to divert the traffic during the nagar kirtan. |
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30 women attend awareness camp Chandigarh, January 3 In the camp, different topics related to women, including diet and nutrition, panchayatiraj, social welfare schemes for
women, dangers of female foeticide, HIV/AIDS awareness, women rights, legal aid, small savings and income generation were discussed. The chief guest, Ms Madhavi Kataria, advised the women participants to work for their economic independence and help in literacy drive undertaken by the Adult Education Department. |
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Hafed staff to stage dharna Panchkula, January 3 According to a press note, the management had not released the bonus for the years 2001-02 and 2002-03 despite huge profits. Even the board of directors had already okayed the payment of ex-gratia to the staff, it added. |
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Leaders express grief over
Bhaura’s death Chandigarh, January 3 Mr H.S. Hanspal, President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, said that Mr Bhaura was a gentleman politician, who believed in an issue based politics. Mr Amritpal Singh Brar, a senior leader of the National Congress Party (NCP) from Bathinda, said that Mr Bhaura would be remembered for his clean political image. |
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Traders’ plea to shift liquor shop Chandigarh, January 3 The association has demanded that the shop should be shifted out of the market and the SCO should be used for the purpose for which it had been allotted. |
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Man held, 2 pistols seized Chandigarh, January
3 Sources in the police said Abrar Khan had allegedly procured the arms from Uttar Pradesh two months ago. The police is investigating as to why he had brought these arms and if he had any plans to commit any crime in the city. It is also trying to find out if it was part of a bigger racket to smuggle arms into the city. A case under the Arms Act has been registered. |
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Students clash, 1 injured Dera Bassi, January 3 According to the police, Jatinder Singh was on his way back to his rented accommodation in Sarswati Vihar Colony, Dera Bassi, after taking an examination, when Banka Sridhar and one other students of the same college attacked him. The assailants fled from the scene after the incident. The police has registered a case against Banka Sridhar and his accomplice. No arrest has been made so far. |
Unit-linked insurance plans launched Chandigarh, January 3 The two products on the unit linked platform — Unit Linked Endowment Plan and the Unit Linked Pension Plan, is aimed at helping an individual grow his savings in the long term while providing ongoing risk cover and help in accumulating a corpus for post retirement life. "With this launch we have a complete range of solutions to offer to customers . The unit linked plans will offer a choice of investment options to customers looking for the same," informed Mr Maninder Sood, Branch Manager. The newly launched plans offer a lot of flexibility to customers.The HDFC Unit Linked Endowment Plan comes with five fund options to match a customers risk profile. This plan allows the customer to choose the level of life insurance cover he needs and also an optional health cover. In addition, the customer can switch money between funds, redirect future premiums and top up premiums to invest additional income. On the other hand the HDFC Unit Linked Pension Plan comes with four fund options and allows customers to switch funds, re-direct future premiums and top up when needed. He said these plans are targeted at individuals who want to make their own investment choice while choosing their insurance and pension plans. The flexibility of increasing premium contributions in an existing account is likely to help the unorganised segment of the market in managing their cash flows. |
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Jewellery exhibition Chandigarh, January 3 With the city’s women having an eye for the diamond jewellery, crafted in Mumbai, the designer duo is here to offer them the rocks in different shapes and sizes. The designer couple, who work under the label of JP Gems and Jewellery Co., have been selling their designs to many city-based jewellers for the past several years. It is for the first time that they have come up with an exhibition of jewellery in the city under their own label. From the more conservative Indo Western designs, to the futuristic designs using the small size diamonds, and diamond necklaces and earrings made of a combination of diamonds and other precious stones like blue topaz, peridots and pearls – the exhibition offers a lot. This exhibition also offers rings, pendant sets and jewellery for men ( tie pins, rings, bracelets and watches). While Purnima is into designing, Jatin is more into marketing and sales of their label. They say that other than the jewellery with diamonds set in gold, they are also offering diamonds in rodium polish and diamond platinum jewellery. The prices range from Rs 4,000 to Rs 8 lakh. |
Planet M to shift
to Fun Republic Chandigarh, January 3 The store which was started four years ago in Mumbai, now has 22 stores in major cities. |
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