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CBSE exam staff to get higher payment Chandigarh, February 9 To be doubly sure that the candidates did not indulge in any foul play, admit cards with facsimile photos have been issued. The staff on examination duty has been asked to match the photo on the attendance sheet and the admit card with that of the candidate. Earlier, photos of the private candidates like that of regular candidates used to be pasted on the examination related documents. Sources said the examination branch of the CBSE in directives to all the regional offices has ensured special care was taken for fair conduct of examination. As per the guidelines, the centers for private candidates have been established in the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) and other schools of repute, said a senior officer of the board. To prevent leakage of question papers at the examination centres, the board has deputed lecturers from universities and colleges as observers. An observer will be on duty at a center only for a day. The Regional Officer, CBSE, Mr P.I. Sabu, said it was for the first time that teachers from universities and colleges had been requisitioned for the examination duty. He informed that at the examination centers a teacher each would be allowed from the schools whose candidates were appearing at the center. The teachers would be present at the time of the opening of packets of question papers by the center superintendents. The directives form the board at making the conduct of examination more transparent, said the regional officer. He said the Chandigarh and Delhi regional offices of the CBSE had dispatched the admit cards to the schools in January. The presence of the “outside” witness, normally a teacher from another institution, has been made mandatory at the centres located in remote areas. The fresh instructions would be applicable in the forthcoming examinations of Class X and XII. It may be mentioned that to encourage teachers for examination related duties, the board has enhanced the rate of remuneration to the examiners evaluating the answer books of Class X and XII has been enhanced from Rs 6.50 to Rs 8 and from Rs 8.50 to Rs 11 per answer book, respectively. The remuneration paid to the staff on examination duty had also been enhanced, said the sources. |
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Pak lawyers spread goodwill Chandigarh, February 9 Elaborating upon their statement, the delegates added that so many geniuses, working in different fields all over the world, had been produced by both the countries. In Chandigarh on a two-day visit for spreading the message of peace and affection, the delegates added that most of the software and computer professionals, besides doctors and engineers, in Europe and America were from India and Pakistan. Talking to The Tribune, advocate Liaquat Ali Qureshi of Supreme Court of Pakistan said, “Together, we can earn the title of developed countries.” He added that people of both the nations were willing to work together for a common goal. “It was for the governments to take the initiative now,” said Mr Jawad Rasheed of the High Court. The members also invited Punjab Governor-cum-UT Administrator Justice O.P. Verma to Pakistan. “Lahore is simply fantastic and the variety of food available there is simply amazing”, they claimed. After meeting the Governor, they left for Panjab University campus. Regarding the difficulties faced by the citizens in free mingling, other members said the process of issuing visas should be simplified. They added that the lawyers of both the countries should be allowed free access. Commenting upon the legal system in the country, the members said that subordinate judiciary erred in Pakistan too. Quoting a former judge of the Pakistan Supreme Court, Mr Qureshi said, “Judges are humans first and judicial officers later, they too can commit mistakes”. As far as the transfer policy was concerned, he revealed that in Pakistan the Judges could be posted on any of the three Benches under the Lahore High Court. But there was nothing against the functioning of local judges with relatives practising in the same courts. Appreciating the Indians for extending a warm welcome, they said, “As soon as we arrived in India, a team of lawyers sent by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association president, Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, received us with affection. Ever since then people everywhere in the country have been hugging and embracing us”. They also appreciated the cleanliness and greenery in Chandigarh. |
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Pilot cremated with military
honours Chandigarh, February 9 The body had been brought to his residence at Preet Vihar Colony, Bartana village, yesterday. Wreaths were laid on the body on behalf of the Chief of the Air Staff and the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief and the Western Air Command (WAC) and the Commander, N-Area, here. Those who paid floral tributes included Air Officer Commanding, 12 Wing, Air Cmde S.S. Tilloo and the Air-I at WAC Air Cmde N. Brown and the Chief Administrative Officer of 12 Wing here. A ceremonial guard reversed arms and buglers sounded the Last Post. A three-shot volley was also fired as a mark of respect to the departed pilot. A number of officers and personnel from the local Air Force station and N-Area were present at the cremation. The pyre was lit by Bharat’s brother, Capt Himesh Kumar. Bharat Kumar was serving with the Desert Tigers squadron. |
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Jail officials ignored warder’s warnings Chandigarh, February 9 “The inmates of Barrack Number 7 had started leaving one person behind while going to gurdwara some days prior to the escape and there was something suspicious going on in the barrack,” the Warder Heera Nand Mishra had reported to the then Deputy Superintendent Jail D. S. Sandhu. Mishra, who had earned the ire of Hawara for being instrumental in getting a mobile and Rs 44,000 that had been seized from his barrack earlier in 2002, told the jail official that they were not leaving the barrack empty and expressed apprehension that the accused were trying to hide something in the barrack. This is the time when Hawara had disclosed his plans of having dug a tunnel to one of the jail inmates Lakhwinder, whose wife Baljit Kaur was a key person in the escape conspiracy. Mishra had also told the authorities that Hawara and others were going to gurdwara one by one and were sitting there for hours. They, however, never left the barrack unmanned. Mishra had been removed from the duty of the barrack of Hawara who had complained against the watchful and fearless Warder. The authorities had “obliged” the terrorist by removing him from duty. Sources said when Mishra reported the matter to Sandhu he told the Warder to concentrate on his work as his earlier efforts had not earned him any appreciation
from Mishra was called by the Chandigarh Police recently to be fielded as a witness against the jail officials who had allegedly connived in the escape of Hawara and three others. Mishra, a Warder on contract basis on January 26 became instrumental for the police to re-discover a second tunnel. Senior officials of the police asked for his help in locating the tunnel information about which had been hidden by the jail authorities. The senior police officials promised Mishra a permanent job if the hidden tunnel was re-discovered. Mishra had earlier reported to the jail authorities that Hawara was heard talking to somebody on a mobile phone in 2001 but the authorities did not carry out a search then. However, after a year the police recovered a mobile phone and Rs 44,000 from the barrack of Hawara. As Hawara was holding the telephonic conversation in his bathroom Mishra had to call other colleagues to climb up and peep from the ventilator to see if he was really talking to some one. Other Warders and security personnel were witness to the telephonic conversation of Hawara with someone. Mishra had also told the authorities that Lakhwinder, Shera and Subeg Singh, other jail inmates, were close to Hawara. |
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5-year-old run over by truck Mohali, February 9 According to the information, the victim Arun was run over by the truck while he along with a friend were returning home. His friend, too, was injured in the accident with the truck running over his hand. The truck driver sped away after the accident but the police have secured the truck’s registeration number and are looking out for the driver. Arun’s parents are migrant labourers. |
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33 visually impaired arrested Chandigarh, February 9 The agitators, however, received a moral booster when the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, met them at the Sector 17 police station here. He assured them that their demands would be taken up in the ongoing session of the Assembly. Talking to the TNS, Mr Hooda said the Opposition would give a call attention notice to discuss the issue in the House. Members of the sangh had gathered at Matka Chowk for take out a march to the Haryana Assembly and hold a demonstration there. The sangh has been agitating for over three months to press for its demand for recruitment in the state government vacancies reservation for the visually impaired. While the police claimed that there was no lathi charge and only the water canon had been used against the blind agitators, Mr Jagjit Singh Saini, General Secretary of the sangh alleged that they were brutally assaulted by the cops. While Jagjit Singh’s trousers were splattered with blood, another agitator complained of severe pain in his ear following the clash with the cops. |
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Workshop on investors’ rights Chandigarh, February 9 Speaking on the occasion, Col. (Dr) P.K. Vasudev,
said,” Globalisation and the developments in the international trade and commerce have led to expansion of business and trade. Though consumers have access to a wide range of products and services in insurance, transport, power, housing, entertainment, finance and banking sector, yet a section of manufacturers and traders would trap them through false advertisements to sell low-quality products". He said the consumer awareness was an ongoing process to create consciousness among them about their rights, but customers should ensure that they were buying the right product at right price. Appreciating the efforts of the consumer Forum, Chandigarh, Mr R.K. Sharma, Deputy General Manager, RBI, said it was the only organisation in the region that had come forward to mitigate the plight of investors. He claimed that in case of default, the non-banking companies could be booked, prosecuted and even their property could be confiscated and auctioned to pay the amount of sufferers. It was now a cognizable offence. Speaking about the plight and rights of investors, Mr B.S. Grewal, said, “some of the companies in the region have collected crores of rupees from gullible investors by promising them high rate of interest as much as 24 per cent. They had even issued post-dated cheques that were never honoured at the time of maturing of the term deposits”. On the occasion, Mr G.S. Chawla, Director, Master Capital Services, Mr Lok Manya Negi, Branch Manager, UTI, and Mr A.K. Vashisht, Professor of Accounting and Finance, University Business School, Panjab University, and Mr Sushil Mahajan, Manager of the ICICI Bank, addressed the investors. |
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No clue to triple murder Panchkula, February 9 With the accused Dr Vinod Arora and Amit Arora, both close relatives of the deceased, getting bail from a local court, the functioning of the local police has come under a cloud. In fact, the discharge application of the two was moved by the local police arguing that there was no evidence against the two thus in a way conceding that the police had acted in a hasty manner in arresting them. Though the SP, Mr Ranbir Sharma, could not be contacted today despite repeated efforts, yet police sources conceded that Vinod Arora and Amit Arora were ‘‘wrongly’’ arrested. In the last two months, the police had virtually failed to find any clue to the gruesome murders, which had spread panic among the residents of the township. Sources said it was widely believed that the killings were the handiwork of members of one of the criminal tribes, probably of the Kangar gang.This is reinforced by the fact that the members of these criminal tribes inflict injuries on the victims before killing them as was the case with the Aroras. However, the very fact that Vinod Arora and Amit Arora were made to spend almost two months behind bars speaks volumes about the efficacy of the police in solving the case. And it took the police two long months to come to the conclusion that there was no evidence against them. The fate of the current status of the investigation is anybody's guess and like in several unsolved cases, the functioning of the police leaves much to be desired. Dr K.L Arora, his daughter-in-law, Praveen and her 10-year-old son Anmol were brutally done to death on December 9 last. The police had ruled out the robbery motive as cash and other valuables were found intact in one of the almirahs of the house. The police had arrested Vinod Arora and Amit Arora, son and grandson of Dr K.L Arora while acting on the complaint of the brothers of Parveen. A property dispute was stated to be the cause of the crime. The husband of Parveen, Vijay Arora, had also died under mysterious circumstances a few months back. |
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Councillors to protest against octroi privatisation Mohali, February 9 Mr Manjit Singh Sethi and Mr Sham Bansal, municipal councillors, said today that
they were against the privatisation of the work of octroi collection and since the civic body was bent upon giving the work in private hands, they would hold a protest in this regard. Mr Sethi said the privatisation of the work only let to the harassment of people. A large number of complaints had been received last year against the contractor. He said he along with Mr Manjit Singh, Mr Manmohan Singh Lang and Mrs Harbans Kaur (councillors of the Opposition group) would meet the Secretary, Local Government, Punjab, in this regard. Mr Bansal, who belongs to the ruling group, said he had always been opposing the privatisation of the octroi work. He said the councillors were the representatives of the public and such it was their duty to save people from harassment at the hands of the octroi contractor. The council is once again hunting for a contractor to take over the work of octroi collection in the town despite three unsuccessful attempts earlier. The auction had now been fixed for February 1, which would be held at the council office here. The earlier three auctions were held at Ludhiana. |
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TDS centres set
up Chandigarh, February 9 Mr Vijay Khanna, Chief
Commissioner, North Western Region, Income Tax, in a press statement
issued here today, said, “Electronic filing of TDS returns by
corporate assesses have been launched in North-Western region of the
Income Tax Department with effect from January 19, 2004. The centres
in city are located at Karvy Consultants Ltd, SCO 371-72, Sector 35-B,
Alankit Assignments Ltd, SCO 371-373, Sector 34-A and Shell Transource
Ltd, Sector 34-A. Companies can file their returns here.” |
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Council to make movie
on disabled kids Mohali, February 9 This was stated by Mr Ajit Salani, National Director Secretary of the National Handicapped Welfare Council, while addressing a press conference here today. He said he would keep fighting for the rights of this section of the society and start a campaign to make society and the government aware of the problems being faced by the physically challenged persons. He said he would make a telefilm, “Hum bhi hain Insaan”, focusing on the life and problems of disabled children. |
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HVP flays MC for poor civic Panchkula, February 9 Talking to reporters here, the HVP leader claimed that the roads were in bad shape and power supply situation was also very poor. The INLD had failed to constitute a committee to regulate the cable rates and rehabilitate the slum dwellers. He informed that the power transmission losses in the township were only 16 per cent while for the state the figure stood at 40 per cent. The local residents paid an extra amount of Rs 41 crore per year to the electricity department, he added. Meanwhile, Mr Shiv Kumar Gupta and Mr Madan Lal Gupta have been nominated as the president and vice-president,
respectively, of the block unit of the HVP. |
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Tribute to Surjit Singh Bindrakhia Ropar, February 9 The SDM Ropar, Mr Daljit Singh, who was also present on the occasion, said the old student association of Ropar Government College will organise a cultural programme to commemorate Mr Surjit Singh Bindrakhia. The Punjab Government has already formed a trust in memory of late folk singer and the Chief Minister has announced a contribution of Rs 10 lakh to it. |
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Bansal visits
Mani Majra areas Chandigarh, February 9 Residents of the area told Mr Bansal that their houses should be exempted like the houses in Darshani Bagh Manimajra were exempted from acquisition.
TNS |
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VJ Shenaz creates flutter at multiplex Chandigarh, February 9 The occasion was AirTel’s Xpress Zone introduction and the mood was spirited indeed. As the veejay took over, it was time to understand what this whole new Xpress zone issue is all about. It is a new model of communicating within the mall. “The idea is to connect you where ever you are within the multiplex or a mall or wherever,” said Shenaz. The concepts were clarified through games and chat shows that were conducted there at Fun Republic today. A host of fun activities like singing on set tunes and others were also undertaken to give the visitors to the multiplex a hang of things. |
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Naval band to play in city on Feb 13 Chandigarh, January 23 The band will perform before a select audience at the Tagore Theatre, Sector 18, on February 13 and for the public at Sector 17 Plaza the next day. It will gave a special performance for Army personnel and their families at Chandimandir on February 15. Commissioned in 1945, the band is being conducted by Cdr P. George, the Navy's Director of Music. Symphonies, overtures, solos, duets, concertos as well as contemporary music, including Indian and foreign classical and pop music . The band, consisting of about 90 musicians, had played in the city last year also . Prior to coming here, the band will play at Amritsar and Patiala and thereafter proceed to Bathinda. It is also scheduled to visit the United Kingdom later this year. |
| 5,500 chickens killed in poultry farm fire Chandigarh, February 9 The owner of the farm, Mr Inderjeet Singh, said the fire was caused by a short-circuit in the heating system of the farm. Three fire-tenders took more than an hour to douse the fire, sources said. |
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Scooterist crushed
to death Dera Bassi, February 9 A resident of Sector 22, Chandigarh, Mahesh Kumar was going towards Ambala when the oil-tanker (HR-37-5689) rammed into the two-wheeler from behind, leaving him dead on the spot. The driver of the tanker, Dila Ram was arrested by the police for negligent driving causing death. After impounding the vehicles involved in the accident, the body has been sent to Civil Hospital, Rajpura, for post-mortem examinations. |
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Driver booked for rash driving Chandigarh, February 9 Mr Parshotam Sahi, a resident of District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, who was travelling in HRTC bus (HP18 3605) was injured after he fell from the bus at the Inter State Bus Terminus, Sector 17. He was rushed to General Hospital, Sector 16. The bus driver, Charan Dass, was arrested under Sections 279 and 337 of the IPC and was later released on bail.
Thefts Thieves took away some gold ornaments and Rs 10,000 from the house of Mr Tarun Sharma in Sector 44 house. Mr Sharma reportedly told the police that two persons had climbed the stairs of his house at around 4 pm on February 4, while the women in the family were downstairs. They had seen them climbing the stairs but they took them as someone from the family. After about an hour, when the thieves were coming down two of them bumped into Mr Sharma’s brother Lokesh. “When I asked them who they were and they said they had entered the house accidentally. As I asked my family members to check the top floor (of the house), the two ran away’’, said Lokesh, who along with other neighbours made an attempt to chase the burglars. Mr Sharma told the police that the entire top floor of the house had been ransacked by the thieves. A case has been registered. Meanwhile, Ms Anju Gupta, a resident of Sector 24 reported to the police that a stereo had been stolen from her car which was parked at her residence on the night of February 7. A case has been registered in this regard. |
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Miscreants
beat up old man Chandigarh, February 9 He remained unconscious for two days with injuries on his head and other parts of the body. He was discharged from the Sector 16 Government Hospital on February 6. He was going to Sector 8 when the incident took place about 70 m from the traffic signal on the road separating Sectors 9 and 10. |
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Teenager
kidnapped Panchkula, February 9 The parents have alleged in the complaint that Suraj lured the girl when she had gone to a market in Moli Jagran on February 5. A case has been registered. |
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Reliance Infocomm enters prepaid segment Chandigarh, February 9 Under the new scheme, a customer will have
to pay Rs 3,500 for a Motorola C131 handset and, in return, will get a
free RIM prepaid connection and recharge vouchers worth Rs 3,240. It
will be valid for six months with an additional six-month grace
period. During the grace period, the subscriber will be able to
receive incoming calls and use SMS service without recharging the
account. The RIM prepaid promotional scheme is also available with
all other Reliance India Mobile handsets. For example, a customer can
buy a Java and multimedia-enabled LG RD2030 handset for Rs 6,500 and
get RIM prepaid recharge vouchers worth Rs 6,480 for free. “RIM
prepaid customers will have full mobility across the country and
roaming service comes to them without any extra charge. They will also
be able to recharge their account with any denomination from virtually
anywhere in India. It is also the only prepaid service in the country
that provides data applications through R World and the Internet
connectivity through R connect,” said Mr Himanshu Kapania, CEO
(Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh), Reliance Infocomm Limited, at
a press conference here. All local calls, intra-circle calls and
inter-circle calls to another mobile phone within 50 km distance will
have a flat rate of Rs 2.49 per minute. All inter-circle calls beyond
50 km to another mobile phone will have a flat Rs 2.99 per minute
rate. All local calls, intra-circle calls and inter-circle calls of
less than 200 km to a fixed phone will have a flat rate of Rs 2.99 per
minute and all inter-circle calls of above 200 km will have flat rate
of Rs 3.99 per minute. Other unique features of RIM prepaid include
automatic roaming in pan India RIM network at no extra cost,
nationwide recharge facility with any denomination, STD and ISD
facility, call forward and voice message service at local mobile call
rates from anywhere in RIM network. RIM prepaid customers having
Java-enabled handsets will be able to use their phones as modems for R
Connect Internet connectivity and access R World data applications.
RIM prepaid customers will also have access to 1234 SMS based services
and a host of call-management services like three-way conference call
and caller line identification. |
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Chandigarh, February 9
