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Knowledge power at British Library
Chandigarh, April 23 Celebrations at the library, however, remained confined to children, who desperately need to touch base with the rich literary fare available all around. Even teachers who accompanied children on their trip to The British Library admitted that reading, as a habit, had few takers. The idea of celebrating the World Book Day, they said, was praiseworthy. The schools which attended the show included YPS, Mohali, DPS, Pinjore, and Satluj Public School, Panchkula. As for the library, it appeared like a repository of information on all aspects concerning children. From drawing and sketching manuals to exhaustive books on scientific and literary facts, the library offered everything today. The idea was to live up to the spirit of the World Book Day, so declared by UNESCO. The celebrations progressed at two levels - a display of 500 new titles meant for children in the main hall on the one hand and the screening of hugely popular films based on two most famous plays of William Shakespeare on the other. The films were “As You Like It” and “Comedy of Errors”. Each one, with about two and a half hour of duration, served to keep the pep alive in a largely “literary” show. While the screening section drew tremendous response, the book exhibition also generated interest. As many as 90 visiting children could not help indulging in the exciting offers which the library made on the occasion. Not only were they greeted with especially designed badges, carrying a logo of “World Book Day”, they were also treated to candies and special gifts. Almost unconsciously, most of the children headed for the visually appealing sets of books on world facts, scientific discoveries, space and the planets. The authors on display were Anne Fine, Eva Ibboston, Meg Cabot, Enid Blyton, Ruskin Bond, Ronald Dahl, Penelope Farmer, Philippa Pearce, Gillian Cross, among others. A first time effort in the city, the World Book Day celebrations recall the worth of literature which has taken a back seat in the lives of students. Fed as they are on heavy duty TV diet, good mental health might just become a privilege for them unless of course trends are reversed. The Manager, the British Library, Mr Sushant Banerjee, said: “Our motive was to draw children’s attention back towards books and familiarize them with the knowledge that can change their world.”  |
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Fun day for special kids
Mohali, April 23 Children from several schools located in Ropar, Ludhiana and Chandigarh took part in the mela that was organised at Thunder Zone Amusement Park near here. Apart from taking fun rides, the children also took part in a cultural function. Nine mentally challenged students from Ambuja Manovikas Kender, Ropar, presented bhangra and danced to the tune of “Dhol Jagiro Da”. Avtar Singh from School for the Blind, Sector 26, Chandigarh, sang “Jutti Kasuri, paireen na puree”. The music to the song was given by two students, Rohit and Manglesh, from the same school on harmonium and tabla. Ten girls from School for the Deaf and Dumb, Tagore Nagar, Ludhiana, presented giddha. Children from Vatika School for the Deaf and Dumb, Chandigarh, took part in a Holi dance. Mr Ajit Salani, the chairman of the society, said in future, more such functions would be organised for physically challenged children on festivals so that they were linked to the mainstream of society. |
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National Bio-availability
Centre inaugurated
Mohali, April 23 The centre was inaugurated by Prof V.S. Ramamurthy, Secretary Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. An eminent nuclear scientist, Prof Ramamurthy, in his keynote address, emphasised the importance of such facilities in the post General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT), patent-driven era. ‘‘Support for pharmaceutical research is an integral part of the DST initiative to make India a self-sufficient nation in pharmaceutical products. The centre here is one of the eight centres supported by the DST in this direction. The other seven centres deal with other aspects of pharmaceutical research,’’ he said adding that the DST had created a Drug Development Promotion Board with a corpus of Rs 150 crore in order to give boost to drug discovery and delivery research. He said herbal products and formulations could be another fruitful area of research in which India could play a major role in global scenario. However, he stressed the importance of bringing new research methodologies in this area without them becoming an impediment. Dr
C.L. Kaul, Director, NIPER, in his inaugural address acknowledged the support of the DST towards the establishment of the National Bio-availability Centre and underlined the brief history of the centre at
NIPER, which was conceived in 1995, followed by accreditation by the WHO for bio-equivalence evaluation of anti-TB drugs. ‘‘Now NIPER has become a major player in the global alliance against TB eradication. The work done at NIPER is received well by the international scientific community as evidenced by more than 30 publications in various peer-reviewed journals,’’he said. Prof R.C. Mahajan, Chairman, NIPER Ethical Committee, emphasised the importance of ethics during the conduction of bio-equivalence studies and congratulated NIPER for the clean history in this regard. Mr Ashwini Kumar, Drug Controller General of India, also appreciated the efforts put in by NIPER in creating the facility, adding that the facility would be put on the international map in the days to come. Dr K.K. Bhutani, Dean, NIPER, proposed a vote of thanks. The centre at NIPER is one among the two centres in the world accredited by the WHO for conducting bio-equivalence studies of fixed dose combinations of anti-tuberculosis drugs. The bio-availability centre is equipped to conduct studies on drug products in healthy volunteers and collaborate actively with other medical institutes and hospitals. |
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Campus notes
Chandigarh, April 23 Result declared
The result of
B.A.Part-I English, (compartment) examination conducted on March 31, 2004 has been declared. The result gazettes would be available in the new enquiry office of the university for consultation/personal enquiry on all working days between 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. No telephonic enquiry would, however, be entertained, said a spokesman of the university. Continuing education
The Center for Adult Continuing Education and Extension, Panjab University, organised a one-day orientation course on “Traditional human values in modern society” at Government High School,
Kaimbwala. As many as 50 students and parents from the village participated in the camp. Memorandum
The University Science Students Association in a memorandum to the DUI, Panjab University, has demanded a placement cell for every department, make provision for better lab facilities, upgradation of department libraries, better living conditions in hostels, and sharing of charges that were for room rent, electricity bills. The members of the association are chairman - Mr Arun Kaushik, president - Mr Charanjeet Singh, vice-president - Mr Sunil, general secretary - Mr Piyush, joint secretary - Mr Vijay and organising secretary - Mr Manjeet Singh. |
High Court
Chandigarh, April 23 Taking up a petition filed by Nitin Goyal, president of the Chandigarh unit of the National Students Union of India, Gurparvez Singh Sandhu, president of the Panjab University Students Union (PUSU), Nidhi Bawa, a VI-semester student of the Department of Laws, and others, seeking postponement of the exam, the court also directed the Chairman and Dean of the Department of Laws, Panjab University, to file affidavits. In their petition, the students had said that the datesheet of the exam had been changed three times, leading to a lot of confusion among the students. They also requested that the exams to be postponed. After hearing the counsel for the petitioner, the Bench asked the Dean and Chairman of the Department to file affidavits, stating therein the reasons for the confusion. It also asked them to inform the court for clear criteria to be maintained while setting date-sheets. The case will now come up on April 27. |
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Bar association poll on April 30
Chandigarh, April 23 Today, on the last day of filing the nominations, it became clear that the posts of president and vice president would witness a straight contest. The present president, Mr Anmol Rattan Sidhu, is again being challenged by last year’s runner-up Rupinder Khosla. For the post of the vice-president, the contestants are Mr Ram Avtar Yadav and Mr Surjeet Singh Salar. Those who will vie for the post of secretary are Mr Munish Jolly, Mr Narinder Hooda and Capt Sandeep Bansal (retd). A total of three advocates will slug it out for the post of joint secretary. The post of treasurer will also witness a three-cornered contest. Apart from this, a total of 19 executive members will also be elected. According to senior advocate R.S. Cheema, returning officer for the poll, 10 members who have a standing as an advocate for 10 years will be eligible for becoming members of the executive, seven members will be those who have been in the profession for over 10 years. Two posts are reserved for senior advocates and one for a female advocate. Mr Cheema said that a total of 1,509 members are eligible to vote. He said all arrangements had been made to ensure that the polling goes off peacefully. The results will be declared on the same day. |
Rafi society contest on May 15
Chandigarh, April 23 Besides the Best singer award there will be two runners-up trophies in both categories. The boys will sing Rafi’s songs and the girls Lata’s. The awards will be given by a film personality in November this year at Rafi Nite. Entries close with Mr B.D. Sharma, 3035/29-D, Chandigarh on May 10, 2004. |
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