Mohali, August 29
In a major breakthrough, the Mohali district police today seized 1.23 kg of cocaine worth Rs 1.25 crore from a retired Army personnel who was supplied the drug by a DSP with the Haryana Police. Both have been arrested.

A police party, headed by SP (Operations) Harinderjeet Singh, laid a checkpoint on the Landran-Sohana road near the Radha Soami Satsang Bhawan and stopped a Maruti car being driven by Dara Singh (59). The police searched his vehicle and found the cocaine wrapped in a polythene bag under the driver’s seat.

SSP Jatinder Singh Aulakh said Gurdarshan Singh Sodhi, who retired as a DSP from the Haryana Police, but was later re-employed with the same, had supplied the cocaine to Dara Singh. The DSP lived in Chandigarh and worked at the Haryana police headquarters in Panchkula. Two cheques for Rs 10 lakh were found from him which Dara Singh paid as the security amount for purchasing the cocaine. The DSP had confessed to the crime, he added.

Addressing a press conference, Aulakh said Dara Singh lived in Phase III B-2 here and had retired from the Army. He said Sarabjit Singh, in charge, Narcotics Cell, Mohali, carried out a check of suspicious persons at the Sohana bus stand under the supervision of the SP yesterday. They got a tip-off that Dara Singh, who was allegedly involved in the sale of drugs, was coming with cocaine from Zirakpur towards Kandala village in a white Maruti car. A checkpoint was laid by the police, but the suspect did not turn up. He was, however, rounded up today after the checkpoint was laid on the Landran-Sohana road.

The police has registered a case under Sections 22-61-85 of the NDPS Act. The arrests came close on the heels of the suspension of six Chandigarh Police personnel who were allegedly involved in sheltering drug peddlers.

Chandigarh, August 29
The Chandigarh Administration has asked the Punjab government to vacate 16 acres of prime land behind the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat in Sector 1 here. The land in question is under illegal possession of the Punjab police.

Against the allotment of 6 acres, the Punjab police fenced 16 acres of land. The Haryana government, which had been allotted 2 acres to house the Haryana Armed Police, had objected to the encroachment by the Punjab police.

Sources in the administration said despite reminders to the illegal occupants, the possession was not handed over to the UT. When Haryana took up the issue with the UT Administrator, Gen SF Rodrigues (retd), strict instructions were issued to the Chandigarh Administration to get possession of the illegally occupied land.

The UT Estate Officer has been asked to get the land vacated. The action has also been communicated to the Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda. For the past few months, Haryana has been pursuing the matter at every level with the UT.

The sources said the chunk of land has been in the possession of the Punjab police for the last many years. Few years ago, the UT had detected an illegal dhaba and a petrol filling station being run by the Punjab police in the high security area behind the secretariat. During the days of militancy, the land was with the Punjab Armed Police (PAP).

Chandigarh, August 29
A dharna was staged by BJP councillor Ram Lal in the well of the house today on the issue of irresponsible attitude and politicising the case of the recent death of a boy at Ram Darbar due to electric current by Municipal Corporation Mayor Pradeep Chabbra.

As the House proceeding started in the morning, opposition councillors jointly raised the issue alleging that the Mayor had politicised the issue of the death of a boy at Ram Darbar recently and his supporters had pelted Ram Lal's house with stones. They stated that it was shameful and does not behove the head of the city, the Mayor, to indulge in such tactics without caring about the security of the councillors.

Anil Kumar Dubey, a BJP councillor, asked why the Mayor had not ordered a departmental inquiry into the issue to punish the culprit. He said the Mayor should have called the area councillor during his visit to the spot to resolve the issue in the right manner.

When the opposition councillors were about to stage a walkout on the issue, the nominated councillors advised them not to do so but participate in the proceedings of the House.

In response to this, Mayor Chabbra replied that the corporation was waiting for the report of the police investigation and after that stringent action would be taken against the guilty officials.

A number of councillors expressed dissatisfaction over encroachment drives run by the enforcement department of the corporation in the city. Congress councillor Davinder Singh Babla said he had made a number of complaints with the enforcement department about the encroachment in his area but no action had been taken.

The chairman of the enforcement committee, Arshad Khan, informed the House that all the issues which had been taken up in the House were on the priority list of the committee. In reply to a query about outsourcing of manpower from a private firm, MC commissioner Roshan Sunkaria said the company was going to be blacklisted in the corporation.

Beside this, the House passed agendas, including the rough cost estimates of the main road of Indra colony, widening of V 4 road, main road from mandir to railway line, internal road in J and K colony, Sector 25. Beautification of entry points at various locations, fixation of reserve price in respect of commercial properties for auction on lease-hold basis and terms and conditions of auction and privatisation of sanitation services in the office of medical officer of health.

Chandigarh, August 29
In a case of misplaced priorities, the administration seems to be meting out a "step-motherly" treatment to residents of phase III sector (from Sector 48 to 61) leaving thousands of educated middle class residents high and dry.

Despite the fact that the administration had earned hundreds of crores of rupees as development charges from these sectors, mainly comprising cooperative house building societies, these sectors continue to be nobody's baby.

"There are no shopping centres, no schools, no dispensaries or polyclinics, no community centres, no bus connectivity to important places in city, no police stations, post office and sports facilities, a representation from the Chandigarh Social Welfare Council to the UT adviser said.

While a majority of the societies have been inhabited by allottees and tenants, residents have to rely on markets in Mohali and neighbouring sectors in Chandigarh as there are hardly any markets, S.S. Bhardwau, council co-chairman, said. Till full-fledged markets are set up, permission to start temporary rehri markets for the benefits of the residents should be given immediately.

Not only that the residents continue to be at the receiving end in case of healthcare facilities are concerned as there were no dispensaries and hospitals here and the residents have to avail services at the already overburdened city hospitals. On the education front, absence of government educational institutes gives tough time to students and their parents.

The representation added that since the phase III sectors were upcoming and surrounded by rehabilitation colonies and slums, thefts and law and order problems sent the residents in a tizzy. The absence of a police station to take care of the policing needs of residents compounded their problems.

It highlighted that a small stretch of about 200 metres needed to be developed to provide connectivity of road between Sector 50 and 51. When road is constructed on this stretch, commuters will not have to take a detour of about 3 km.

Maintenance of streetlights on V-4 and V-5 roads in Sector 50 needs urgent attention.

The residents said since a majority of the residents have shifted to the cooperative societies recently, a special drive should be launched to include the names of the residents in the electoral rolls in view of the coming Lok Sabha elections.

The construction of community centres, controlling congress grass, transfer of the phase III sectors to the municipal corporation and development of these sectors on the pattern of the sectors having the Chandigarh Housing Board flats were other demands listed in the representation.

Chandigarh, August 29
The opposition councillors have demanded a CBI inquiry into the allotment of garbage processing unit to the Jai Prakash Associates Ltd during the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation House meeting held here today.

The issue was raised in the House by Congress councillor Chander Mukhi Sharma, who raised objection over the non-functioning of the plant even after its commissioning three months back.

BJP councillor Gurcharan Das Kala questioned that why the project was allotted to the company when it had not submitted its tenders for the same when it was advertised in 2004. He said action should be initiated against the company for misleading the Corporation saying that the plant was ready, but now it was stating that the unit would be functional by October.

During the question hour, Sharma said that why was the House not taken into confidence on issue. He said the MoU was tabled in the House after it was signed. He alleged that till date, no detail project report (DPR) on the progress of unit had been brought into notice of the House.

“The DPR has a clause that if the company failed to complete the project till December 2007, it will be liable for a penalty of 5 per cent of the total project cost,” said Sharma. He questioned that why was the company not asked to pay the fine when it failed to make the plant functional within the stipulated time.

He said that the Solan deputy commissioner had informed him that the cement plant, in which the pellets of this unit would be used, would take two years to be ready.

In reply to a query, the project officer of the plant informed the House that in a status report sent by the company to the Chandigarh Administrator on May 7, 2008, it had claimed that the construction and installation of machinery had been completed and the unit was ready for functioning. As per the report, the company had already made the trails of the plant.

MC Commissioner Dr Roshan Sunkaria said that a show cause notice had been issued to the company and after receipt of reply, legal action would be initiated against the company as per the MoU. He said the Corporation had not given any extension to the company for the completion of the plant.

Chandigarh, August 29
For residents, the city might have been the place with limited spots to visit, but for tourists, the city still holds a unique appeal unlike any other city in the country.

While some visit the city to have a glimpse of its unique architecture - the Capitol Hill Complex and the Rock Garden - some just use it as a gateway to the scenic Himachal hills. But rarely anyone would have come to the city with a desire to meet the mayor.

Sophie Baginski was the one out at the MC office here this morning. Clad in hand-embroidered blue-coloured salwar suit, Sophie elegantly attempted to pose as a part of the Indian society with blond hair and grey eyes. She was sitting in the mayor’s office to meet the first citizen of the city.

“I had never met the mayor of my town in Norway, the place where I work. But I like the way the corporation works here, so I thought of visiting its office,” she said exuberantly.

She is one of the thousand tourists to Chandigarh who defines the city as a very friendly and warm place. Sophie has come from Germany and to her surprise, Chandigarh appeared to her as a reflection of Europe to a great extent. She found the architecture here akin to buildings in Europe and got amused by the design of the city.

Though, the Chandigarh tourism has not done much to draw the attention of tourists, Sophie fell in love with it after her short visit, which she paid as a part of her honeymoon tour to India.

“Chandigarh bahut acha shehar hai” said Sophie in her flawed Hindi with an accent.

Ask her the one thing she didn’t like during her short stay of four days in the town and she instantly replies, “Rickshaws are very annoying here.”

“As you walk on the street and they line up before you to offer the unwanted ride and then charge the high prices, which are specially marked for the foreigners,” she said.

The second penchant she developed after visiting the city is towards the Punjabi food. After having experimented with several dishes in the last few days, Sophie liked the Punjabi’s exclusive lassi and the spicy “chana bhatura”.

The two places that are labelled as the trademark of the city, Sukhna Lake and Rock Garden, made special place in Sophie’s heart too. “The best things I saw in Chandigarh is the Rose Garden and Sukhana Lake. Specially the garden as it is quite innovative,” she added.

Chandigarh, August 29
A day after the Chandigarh Tribune highlighted the issue of Abhinav Bindra’s trainer Dr Amit Bhatacharjee being served a show-cause notice by the PGI for accompanying the ace shooter to China, the authorities went in for a damage control exercise by assuring him that no action will be initiated against him and also offered to associate him with the hospital’s prestigious project of sports injury surveillance (SIS).

Sources said that Bhatacharjee was called for tête-à-tête by PGI director K.K. Talwar this morning. Deputy director, administration, A.K. Gupta said: “He had gone to Beijing with Abhinav and we are proud of his contribution.” He said that the head of gynaecology department had no idea about the procedure and she had served notice to him by mistake. But the matter was now closed, he added.

It is learnt that Dr Bhattacharjee has also been asked to associate himself with the SIS, a brainchild of renowned orthopaedic surgeon Dr Mandeep Dhillon. As mental training is more important than the technical training for the players, he should help the sportspersons, said PGI officials.

Dr Amit Bhattacharjee, who has been associated with Abhinav for the last 12 years, said he had also learned ‘chiropractor therapy’ and had already used it on Abhinav when he was recommended for spine surgery to Germany in 2004. After this therapy, he didn’t need to undergo surgery.

Chandigarh, August 29
Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum dismissed a consumer complaint filed by an advocate after it was found to be frivolous.

The complainant wanted the refund of the computer price, as the model had become old with the passage of time. The forum stated that with the prices of computer going down, the model purchased by the complainant became out-dated in a very short span of time.

The petitioner, Arun Bansal, had complained to the police but when his complaint was rejected there, he moved to the consumer forum.

Arun Bansal stated that he installed intex gold computer for Rs 29,800 and paid Rs 10,000 in advance on the assurance that he could run his camcorder/video camera and could copy or convert the mini-cassette of camcorder on to CD/DVD by using the computer. He alleged that the camcorder could not be copied to the DVD as assured and the company failed to rectify it and therefore, he moved the forum against Niva Infotech and Intex Technologies.

Niva Infotech, in its reply, stated that it was never assured, at the time of purchase, that the computer was compatible with the camcorder or video camera.

The forum found that there was no fact mentioned at the time of purchase that the complainant could run his camcorder camera or copy its mini-cassette on the CD/DVD through the computer.

The forum also found that the complainant had not been able to produce the receipt or the camcorder before the forum to suggest if he has/had any such camcorder, which he wanted to run thorough the computer.

Chandigarh, August 29
The Panjab University Vice-Chancellor today gave a clean chit to 13 of 14 candidates from the graduates’ constituency whose nominations were cancelled for the ensuing Senate elections.

The nominations were cancelled as the candidates failed to address them to the returning officer by name. Following an appeal, the V-C okayed the case of 13 candidates and their nominations were accepted after studying the rules.

However, Jodha Ram’s nomination has been cancelled since he had written his wife’s registration number instead of his own. The registrar-cum-returning officer released the final list of candidates.

With this, one of the oldest sitting senators, R.N. Sharma, who is contesting elections for the fifth time and is a Senate member since mid-nineties, is emerging as a strong contender for the post.

Chandigarh, August 29
“It’s the result of his deeds. Jaisi karni vaisi bharni.” That’s how Balwinder Singh, the mukh sewadar of the Nanaksar Gurdwara, Sector 39, which was illegally taken over by Ajit Singh Poohla in 1987, describes the death of the controversial Nihang.

Though Poohla had been behind bars since May 2008, his terror existed even today at the gurdwara. “We always apprehended that he would come back to take over the place again. We have been preparing to defend ourselves,” said Balwinder Singh, pointing towards the 50-odd sticks kept in the gurdwara’s office complex. “It was a bitter fight even in 2005 and 2007 when he forcibly attempted to take over the possession of the gurdwara after being removed in 2004,” he recalled

“The sanctity of this place of worship was lost when Poohla forcibly entered this place,” he said. All kinds of sins were committed in this complex, he alleged, adding that opium and poppy husk was cultivated and non-vegetarian food was consumed with liquor on routine basis, he added.

The possession of the gurdwara was taken over in 2004 when Bhag Singh was appointed as the sewadar here. “We had written to the administration several times to help us in taking the possession back, but to no avail, since some Punjab Police officials backed Poohla. However, we succeeded in getting back the gurdwara with the help of the Majha Ex-Servicemen Human Rights Front,” he added.

“Two FIRs were registered against Poohla and his accomplices when they had attacked us in 2005 and 2007,” Balwinder Singh said.

Besides, cases under the NDPS Act were also registered against Poohla for cultivating opium and poppy husk in the gurdwara complex. 

Chandigarh, August 29
The woes of the applicants who have provisionally been shortlisted for the final draw of lots for the Sector 63 scheme of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) continue unabated.

In fact, the notices by the Axis bank to deposit the full earnest with the bank by August 31 sent the applicants into a tizzy. Arranging lakhs of rupees at such a short notice was next to impossible as most applicants come from middle and lower middle class. Moreover, an interest of Rs 16 per day, which comes out to be about Rs 5600, is also being objected to by the applicants.

“My husband is out of station and this sudden notice from the bank to deposit this huge amount with the interest of Rs 5600 in a week’s time is an uphill task for us,” said Madhu Sharma, a customer.

“This is nothing but a way of the bank to earn the money through interest,” said another agitated customer.

Meanwhile, bank officials said a decision on whether more time should be given to the customer rested with the bank headquarters in Mumbai.

Chandigarh, August 29
Functioning of the Chandigarh Police once again came under scanner when residents of Sector 40-D called the police after nabbing an alleged car thief here today.

Contrary to their tall claims of reaching at the spot within five minutes, the police took around 20 minutes to reach the spot after receiving a call at number 100.

Interestingly, it was Highway Trauma van, which came first while the PCR Gypsy reached there after 10 minutes of the van.

The incident happened around 10 pm when Rajan Kapoor, a resident of Sector 40, saw a bare-chested man while trying to open Maruti car of his neighbour. He immediately gave a chase along with two of his friends, Johny and Charlie and nabbed him.

“This is the way the police deals with the miscreants. We are very disappointed with the functioning of the police”, the residents said.

When asked the reason of getting late to reach the spot, Sector 39 Police Station’s SHO said, “We have around 14-15 other spots that time”. “He seemed to be a mental case but we would take appropriate action against him”, said the SHO.

Zirakpur, August 29
Till a few years ago, this town practically had no identity of its own. It’s only vantage point was its proximity to Chandigarh or the turning ‘point’ for the road leading to Patiala on the one side or Shimla on the other.

However, spiralling land prices in the region in the recent times have changed the face of this otherwise nondescript town. With major housing and commercial projects coming up, the town’s profile has changed fast.

However, this development has brought with it the slum culture, which today has become a part and parcel of any metropolitan. These illegal slums on the one side and the swank glittering malls on the other, willy-nilly also depict the growing disparities in society.

The mushrooming of slums and other dwelling units at various places within the Zirakpur Municipal Committee limits also shows the negligent attitude of the enforcement wing of the civic body. With allegations flying thick and fast that these encroachers are being encouraged by the civic authorities, prime land located along the Chandigarh-Ambala and Zirakpur-Kalka highways has virtually been taken over by them.

The prime encroachers are rehri owners, rickshaw owners, horse-cart pullers and migrant labourers. Moreover, an illegal colony has also come up on the land. Illegal parking of trucks and auto-rickshaws has also been causing inconvenience to residents of the nearby housing colonies.

According to sources, earlier there was a proposal to develop a park on this piece of land, but later the proposal was changed and the place was given for a bus-stand building. All plans, however, remain just in the files and the slum colony continues to remain and spread.

In the next two months, the flyover work is going to be complete, but encroachers have already encroached their places beneath the flyover or near the flyover.

Though a numbers of VVIPs, VIPs, bureaucrats, political leaders and other high-profile commuters from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi cross the area daily but that too has failed to make the authorities concerned to take action.

Executive Officer of Zirakpur Municipal Council R.K. Mittal said, “We will look into the matter and take necessary action against the squatters.” He said the particular area was being provided for greenbelt. All encroachments would be removed as soon as the flyover work was 
completed.

Mohali, August 29
The executive officer of the Mohali Municipal Council has assured the elected representatives that the town will be freed from illegal rehri menace in a week’s time if the councillors do not interfere in the working of the civic body.

The assurance was given by Amna Kumar Goyal at the meeting of the council held here today. Councillors had pointed out that employees working in the tehbazari wing allegedly adopted a pick-and-choose policy while removing rehris. Rehris of persons who allegedly obliged the employees of the tehbazari wing were not impounded, while others were not spared.

Kuljit Singh Bedi pointed out that a vehicle used for advertising purposes by a company was impounded by the council employees even when he had paid the required tehbazari.

Goyal said when employees impounded illegal rehris, some councillors approached the staff asking for the release of those rehris. He said this way the problem would never be solved. He assured the town would be freed of the menace only if the interference of councillors was stopped totally.

The issue of sanitation also attracted heated discussion. Harpal Singh complained that the state of sanitation in Matour village was very poor. He objected that why were sanitation contracts being given to the same persons who had failed to keep the town and villages falling under municipal limits clean.

The civic body has empowered councillors to check whether the sanitation contractor had engaged as many number of employees as mentioned in the terms of the contract. If it was found out that less number of persons were engaged , the contractor would be imposed fines.

Bedi had objected to the move of GMADA according to which councillors were asked to issue affidavits for legal heirs in the case of property transfer. He said one person of a family could be identified but it was not possible for councillors to identify all the members of families living in their wards. He said it was decided that no elected representative of the civic body would issue such affidavits.

Chandigarh, August 29
Baljit Singh, Rajpal Singh and Jaswinder Singh, members of the Indian hockey team, were honoured with a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh for their meritorious performance at the international level on the National Sports Day, the birth anniversary of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand, by the Chandigarh Sports Council at Cricket Stadium, Sector 16, here today.

Adviser to the UT Administrator Pradip Mehra, who was the chief guest on the occasion, honoured the players with the cash prize. Home-cum-sports secretary Sanjay Kumar accompanied the adviser.

The adviser said, “Chandigarh has been the nursery for sports persons and athletes for the last 30-35 years because of its wonderful maintained infrastructure.”

Applauding the winning of the three medals in the Olympics this year, he said this was mere beginning of a long road of achievements for the coming Olympics and other sports tournaments.

All three players are from Chandigarh and are being honoured by the department for the first time. “This cash prize will help us to continue our journey. Players should be honoured for their good performance,” said Rajpal Singh after receiving the prize.

“The new techniques should be introduced in sports and coaches should also be updated with the new techniques, it would help us to perform well at the international level,” he added.

Meanwhile, I. S. Sandhu, director, sports, said more than five passouts of this year from hockey academy would be the part of the Indian hockey Team and some passouts of football academies would also get place in the Indian football team.

As the Web 2.0 is getting momentum, a lot of words, unfamiliar to us, come to the fore. Here is a short glossary of such terms.

Blogs: Blogs are Web logs kept by individuals, groups or organisations to record thoughts, ideas, work notes or outcomes on the Web chronologically. Viewers can comment on blog posts and post discussion comments.

Bookmark: A way of storing Web addresses so one can find them easily. Bookmarks can be found on Netscape - they are called ‘favourites’ on Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Browse, browsing: A way of finding information by looking a set of Web pages containing lists of resources grouped by subject.

Click: A single press and release of a mouse button.

Copyright: Many web pages on the Internet are protected by copyright. Always check copyright information before using images, written material or other resources on the Web in the course work.

Cursor: A movable, blinking bar of light on a computer screen marking the next point of character entry or change.

Double-click: Checking a mouse button twice in quick succession.

Download: Process of transferring a file or programme from a remote location on to your own computer.

DVD: Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) is used for storing digital data (eg. audio, video, text for use on computers, televisions, etc.

eLearning: Learning with the support of electronic materials (eg. Via computers, the Internet and DVDs)

electronic books: Also known as ebooks, these are electronic copies of books.

FAQ: It is short for “Frequently Asked Questions”. FAQs are commonly used on the Web to offer novice users help on a particular topic.

hits: (a) search hits -- the number of results retrieved from an Internet search

(b) Site hits - the number of times a server is accessed for different Web object. This is sometimes used to compare the usage of different sites, but is an unreliable indicator as one page with five graphics will register six hits when viewed, whilst a page with no graphics will display one hit.

Home page: The default document World Wide Web users see when connecting to a Website for the first time. Websites often use the term to describe the first (or most important) page on their particular site.

HTML: It is short for “Hypertext Mark-up Language”, which is the standard computer language for creating Web pages.

Hyperlink: One can navigate around Web pages using hyperlinks via mouse clicks. Hyperlinks are usually blue, underlined text although other colours are sometimes used. Hyperlinks usually change colour (often to purple) one the user click on them.

HTTP: It is short for “Hypertext Transmission Protocol” - the standard language that World Wide Web clients and servers use to communicate.

Internet: The global collective of computer networks.

interactive: An interactive Website is one in which an action of the user generates a response either from another human being at the other end of the connection or with a computer programme.

Internet Explorer: The name of a Web browser (a means of accessing information on the World Wide Web).

IP address: An IP (Internet Protocol) address is something that identifies the computer one is using.

ISP: An ISP, Internet service provider, is a company that provides Internet access for individuals, organisations, and companies.

keywords: Used throughout this tutorial to indicate words you can use as search terms.

link: A connection between two documents, image maps, graphics etc. on the Web.

multimedia: The combination of plain text, pictures, sound and even moving video clips.

netiquette: The cultural and social rules on the Internet. Ignoring them may result in being flamed or embarrassed in public.

online: Connected to the Internet, usually via a personal computer and telephone line.

password: A strong of characters from the computer keyboard selected by a user to authenticate them when they log on. Passwords prevent unauthorised access to personal accounts, restricted files, subscription services etc.

pay-to-view: In the context of the Internet, thuis refers to sites that charge users subscription fees to view Web content.

pdf: Pdf is short for “Portable Document Format”. Which is a file format for electronic documents. To read pdf documents one needs to have Adobe software on the user’s computer. Adobe software can be freely downloaded from the Web. PDF documents have the advantage that they always appear with the same format, look and feel, whatever the equipment people use to view them. Because of this, they are often used by publishers who want some control over how their publications will appear to people who see them.

plagiarism: Plagiarism is using other peoples’ ideas and words without clearly acknowledging the source of the information.

scroll, scrolling: Scrolling allows a viewer to view consecutive lines of information on a computer screen. A viewer often needs to scroll down a Web page to read all the data available.

search engine: An Internet search tool that is created automatically by a robots (also known as ‘spiders’ or ‘crawlers’). Search engines usually catalogue millions of Web pages, so are a good place to go if the user want to find a specific piece of information.

searching: A way of finding information on the Internet by entering one or more keywords into a search tool.

search tool: There are tools that allow a user to search the Web. Common tools include search engines, Web directories and subject gateways.

server: A computer whicjh provides a service to other client computers.

spam: Don’t be confused with SPAM which is written with Capital S. Unsolicited email advertising. Named after a sketch on Monty Python.

Surfing: A favourite pastime for many Internet users! It means to move from place to place on the Internet searching for topics of interest. It’s usually used to describe a rather undirected type of Web browsing where the user jumps from page to page, as opposed to specifically searching for specific information.

URL: It is an abbreviated term for “Uniform Resource Locator” - a unique address that allows you to access a Website. An example is <http://www.instablogs.com>. Also called a Web address.

Some VVIPs of the city beautiful seem to carry their inflated egos wherever they go. They don’t seem to care even if it’s a goods shop or even a salon. Just a few days back, this correspondent happened to be at a salon waiting for her turn. Just then, a big fat woman in her late fifties (apparently, a politician’s wife), who was addressed as “Madamji” by the entire salon staff, entered for her usual manicure and pedicure.

Chandigarh, August 29
The ongoing row between squatters of the Panjab University’s boys hostel and the authorities is manifesting itself in a number of other problems. After the authorities move to make sure that the squatters are thrown out from the hostels, the squatters are now looking for opportunities to embarrass the university.

For instance, new water filters were installed in the water coolers on Monday and due to some snag in the instalment, there was no water supply for a few hours.

As soon as the matter was brought to the notice of the dean, student welfare (DSW), and the hostel warden, the problem was rectified. The water supply was also restored thereafter.

But a group of students’ groups made it a point to spread the word around even though the problem was rectified. These students also claimed that due to the ongoing renovation work in one of the blocks of hostel No. 4, they faced a lot of inconvenience.

However, some other inmates of the same hostel said otherwise. They said some students were only becoming “over-sensitive” about the issue and the problem was rectified well in time.

Hostel warden Kamljit Singh said: “The water supply got disrupted due to the installation of water filters. But, it was restored immediately. As for the construction, the contract of renovation of three blocks was given to the UT administration after informing the students and they all gave their consent for the same. But when we saw that the repair work was taking longer than it should, we decided to get the other blocks renovated in vacations.”

DSW Prof Naval Kishore, seconding his opinion, said: “The plumber was called in the evening itself and there was no problem as such.”

Chandigarh, August 29
Is EVS a subject in Class I and II curricula? Schools say yes, and UT administration says no. Result: total confusion. After a prolonged wait for EVS books, while city schools are trying to prepare students for upcoming unit tests through 'skill based' teaching, administration has no plans to provide one as according to it, enviornmental studies is not a part of curricula for these classes.

The imparity came into light when following the declaration of the cancellation of EVS unit test by Anil Sharma, principal, GHS-32, on pretext of unavailability of book, TNS confronted the authorities.

Chanchal Singh, deputy DEO (S), Chandigarh, said: "Which book are they talking about? We have no subject as EVS for Class I and II. They are just taught English, maths and primary language. I am amazed to hear that they have even included it in the date sheet. We issued the list of NCERT books when the session commenced; I am shocked that they have not even bothered to read it. Without a book, they draw the syllabus out of air?"

However, most city principals confirmed having regular periods of the subject and even voiced the problem being faced by them due to unavailability of book.

"We are teaching the subject using skill- based techniques. The books haven't arrived yet and there are many other books as well. We have already announced the date sheet. I am not too sure about books," said Indira Beniwal, principal, GMSS, Sector 10.

According to Sanjay Walia, principal of GMSSS, Sector 19: "Teachers are teaching the subject and managing without books. Yes, we will be having the unit test, but questions will be devised based on what has been taught in class."

One principal, on the condition of anonymity, said: "My teacher is teaching from last year's notes. It is very shocking that administration has not been able to provide the book as yet."

Amid all confusion, DPI (S), S.K. Setia was unavailable for comments.

Chandigarh, August 29
It was a rejoicing day for players as the Education Department of the Chandigarh Administration honoured the outstanding sportspersons on the National Sports Day at Government College for Girls, Sector 11, here today .

Sanjay Kumar, UT home-cum-education secretary, who was the chief guest on the occasion, gave away gifts and certificates to the sportspersons, including renowned international sportspersons of the tricity Wg. Cdr. Satish Bhatia, Gurdishpal Singh, Satinder Walia, Sumiti Kanwar, Suman Malhan, Rama Kant, Parminder Dhillon, Prema Saini, Atul Kapoor, Manjeet Singh, Capt. G. S. Sidhu and P.S. Sidhu.

Education secretary also gave away gifts and certificates to the medal winners from various schools. The students of the city brought 30 medals, including eight gold, seven silver and 15 bronze.

Visually challenged students from the Institute of Blind, who participated at the 4th National Athletics Meet for the Blind held at Ludhiana, brought eight gold, 13 silver and 10 bronze medals were also honored by the chief guest.

DPI S.K. Setia revealed that the refreshment rates were increased from Rs 4 to Rs 15 per day and the outstation refreshment rates during camp had been fixed at Rs 50 per day. He also congratulated all PTIs /DPEs and lecturers, physical education, who have worked tirelessly for achieving the success.

Chandigarh, Aug 29
An information-education communication (IEC) series was initiated for the students of Ankur School on the theme of oral hygiene and dental care by the department of public health. As many as 200 students of the junior wing were provided information through animation movies, demonstration and active information by the first-year students of masters in public health programme. Co-ordinator of the MPH programme, Prof Vijay Lakshmi Sharma, said such type of programmes give students an exposure to working environment in the community.

TIME MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP: The Centre for Adults, Continuing Education and Extension, organised a one-day workshop on time management and women at Maloya Crèche, Madrasi Colony at Maloya today. More than 30 girls and women participated in the workshop. The main objective of the workshop was to equip women and girls with the art of arranging, organising and scheduling their day-to-day activities so that they could work effectively to raise their quality of life.

ADOLESCENT HEALTH PROGRAMME: The Center for Adult, Continuing Education and Extension, celebrated National Sports Day by organising programme on adolescent health today at Government Senior Secondary School, village Khuda Alisher. As many as 100 students and teachers attended the training programme. The main objective was to guide the adolescent at their tender age about their physical, mental and social problems they face and how they could able to solve them by taking active part in sports and physical exercise. Renu Gandhi, programme co-coordinator, having deep concern over the adolescent problems, said adolescent were those who accepts risk-behaviour activities, undertakes new ventures and ample health and energy for work.

LAST DATE EXTENDED: The vice-chancellor extended the last date for admission in various courses at PU’s teaching departments and regional centres at Hoshiarpur, Muktsar and Ludhiana for the session 2008-09 with late fee of Rs 1,155 to September 10 by 5 pm. Earlier, the last date was August, 31.

RESULTS DECLARED: Panjab University declared the results of BEd Part-I (DCS), BEd Part-II (DCS), BA (General) 1st year (Re-evaluation), Masters in Financial Control Part-I, BA/BSc (General) 1st year (Additional/Improvement and Deficient candidates).

EXPERIENCE SHARED: Gurmeet Chawla, managing director, Master Portfolio Services Ltd, Chandigarh, shared his journey with the students and faculty of UBS, members of the Indus Entrepreneur (TIE) and CMA, as an entrepreneur since 1995. He advised the students to be focussed and passionate about whatever they do. The alumnus of UBS narrated the ups and downs in his professional and personal life finally culminating in creation of one of the largest stock-broking outfits in the region and 18th biggest in the country. The session was organised in association with the Chandigarh chapter of the Indus Entrepreneur (TIE). Puneet Watsayan, president, TIE, and Harshvir, secretary, TIE, also interacted with the participants.