BHOOMI PUJAN: The “bhoomi pujan” ceremony of the building of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India(ICAI) was performed at Sector 35 here on Friday. According to a press note, a decentralised office of the ICAI would also be set up at the building, which would cater to the needs of professionals and chartered accountancy students from the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir besides Chandigarh. Later, addressing a press conference, Mr Kamlesh S. Vikamsey, president of the ICAI, said the role and responsibilities of the CAs had increased with the introduction of value added tax (VAT) and fringe benefit tax. 

CULTURAL SHOW: The Swami Vivekanand Group of Institutes, Banur, organised a cultural show “Melody 2005” on its Campus on Friday. Mr J.B. Goyal, Secretary, Technical Education, was chief guest and the function was presided over by Mr Manmohan Garg, chief executive officer of the group, students of the Swami Vivekanand Institute of Engineering & Technology, Swami Vivekanand College of Pharmacy, Swami Vivekanand College of Education, Swami Viveka-nand Mass Communication participated in the event. 

Information Act: Under the Right to Information Act, the Punjab State Board of Technical Education and Industrial Training has designated Mr A.S. Arunachala, Registrar, as Assistant Information Public Officer, and Mr H.S. Nanda, Secretary, as Public Information Officer, according to a press note of the board. 

LECTURE: A lecture on “Future of bio-nano devices” was delivered by Dr R.P. Bajpai, Vice-Chancellor of Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar, and formerly Director, CSIO, in the Department of Physics, Panjab University, on Friday. 

AWARENESS ON AIDS: The Centre for Adult, Continuing Education and Extension, Panjab University, will organise a series of lectures in the university hostels on HIV/AIDS. As a part of this project, the centre organised a talk on “Social implications of HIV/AIDS and role of women” in the Sarojini Hostel on the university campus here on Friday. 

INTER-COLLEGE CONTESTS: The Environment Society of Government Home Science College organised inter-college, competitions in poster making, rangoli, landscaping and embroidery on “Save plants, save life”. Ten teams from various city colleges participated in the contests. 

PROGRAMME: Carmel Convent School, Sector 9, on Friday held a programme on environmental issues in the school auditorium. The programme began with a presentation on medicinal plants and slide presentations depicting various environmental topics like Chipko Movement, etc. 

FRESHERS’ PARTY: Students of Government Central Crafts Institute for Women, Sector 11, organised a freshers’ party on Friday. Abida was crowned Miss Fresher, while Sangita and Sarika were crowned first and second runners-up, respectively. Students presented cultural items on the occasion.

MANAGEMENT FEST: Students of BBA, SD College-32, organised management fest, PANACHE-2005, on Friday. The event saw students participate in events like just-a-minute, mock press conference, quiz, talent hunt, etc. Mr Harnam Das Johar, Education Minister, Punjab, was the chief guest on the occasion.

AWARENESS PROGRAMME: A week-long AIDS awareness programme is being organised in GGMSS, Sector 18. Competitions like slogan writing, on-the-spot painting were held on AIDS. The programme will end on October 18. 

ANTI-CRACKERS RALLY: The Eco-Club of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 46, on Friday organised an anti-crackers rally in association with the Environment Department, UT. Around 200 students took part in the rally to protect the environment. The rally was flagged off by Mr R.S. Goraya, District Education Officer, UT. Students were carrying banners and placards. The rally passed through Sector 46. A paper reading contest was also organised. 

DHARNA: A dharna was staged by the PGI contract workers on Friday. The workers rued that their salary for September has not been paid although they were promised that it would be paid before Dasehra. The workers, who serve as sanitary attendants and ward servants, raised slogans against the PGI administration. Meanwhile, the contractor said the salaries could be released only after the nod of the PGI administration. He, however, assured that the salary would soon be given to the workers.