Amritsar, May 19
The Academic Staff College (ASC) of Guru Nanak Dev University was adjudged second in the northern region in the plan-wise ranking of ASCs on the basis of programmes conducted during the 11th plan.

The status report presented at the UGC-Academic Staff College Directors' meet held at University of Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, recently.

ASC Director Dr H.S. Bhatia was nominated member of the group one to give recommendations on the academic issues, a university press release said.

The meeting was convened by the University Grants Commission to examine the issue of making ASCs more visible, relevant and effective in the overall academic agenda of universities and the UGC.

The institution of Academic Staff Colleges provided ample opportunities to the college and university teachers to get awareness of general and peculiar problems and issues related to contemporary developing societies and possible solutions which were being taught through discourses, lectures, demonstrations and interactive sessions.

The participants got adequate insights through the general orientation programmes and refresher courses. Teachers with about five years standing got further motivation and knowledge regarding the new and recent trends, concepts and techniques in their respective subjects and disciplines.

Dr Bhatia said the UGC-Academic Staff College at this university was established in June, 1988, and was currently one of the 57 Academic Staff Colleges functioning in the country. Linked to the professional and career development of college and university teachers, it ran various programmes to cover different categories of teachers. He said, on an average, 15 to 18 programmes were conducted in a year in which nearly 600 teachers were imparted training. The courses were conducted on the lines of participative and interactive learning style. Each programme had an objective and scientific mechanism for evaluation.

Bhatia revealed that at the meeting held at Kerela, it was decided that the professional programmes for teachers would have to be reinvented and re-engineered. Hence, core groups of Directors of Academic Staff Colleges were formulated to give recommendations.

Amritsar, May 19
Municipal Corporation Commissioner D.P.S. Kharbanda along with Superintending Engineer A.S. Dhaliwal and other engineers concerned and water quality professionals today visited the areas affected by contaminated water supply for the past one month.

The residents of affected localities including Guru Nanak Nagar, Jagdambe Colony, and Shastri Nagar, Rajinder Nagar, Gopal Nagar and Kashmir Avenue areas expressed their anguish to the officials about the contaminated water supply.

It is pertinent to mention here that the residents were critical of the councillors and the MLA of the area who failed to take note of the problem being faced by them. The various areas suffering from the contaminated water supply fall in Wards 10, 11, 12 and 13. A resident of the area, who preferred not to be named, said the municipal councillors and the MLA belonging to the ruling alliance, who were visiting door to door during the parliamentary elections, turned their faces after the elections were over. Meanwhile, several private sewerage connections were found leaking during inspection which were the main reason for contamination of drinking water with sewage and the possible health hazards.

Kharbanda ordered for the repair of these connections on priority basis. He also ordered desilting of the existing sewers to remove stagnation of sewage as the people had complained that the sewer pipes had not been desilted for the past many months. Corporation professionals and the Department of Health took water samples for further analysis. The Commissioner and officials of the corporation urged the residents to change their leaking water supply pipes providing connection from the main water supply line to their houses as these old pipes were the main cause of contamination of water.

Amritsar, May 19
The Army authorities here asked the district administration and the police to enhance security and intelligence regarding Gujjars establishing their colonies near defence establishments in general and cantonments in particular.

At a meeting attended by the Brigade Commander, Deputy Commissioner Bhagwant Singh and SSP Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh at Khasa cantonment, senior Army officials expressed their concerns over raising of dwellings by nomadic Gujjars near defence establishments as they may pose security threat.

Army officials demanded a close watch on the activities of the nomads as they apprehend that anti-national elements could misuse close proximity in their guise.

The district police chief assured the Army officials that the police would soon launch a campaign to ascertain the identity of Gujjars settling in this part of the district. He added that livestock would not be allowed on defence land.

He said that cases would be registered against persons violating law by raising illegal construction on 1000 sq yds around ammunition depots.

Army officials brought the attention of the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP towards illegal construction near ammunition depot upon their visit to the Vallah ammunition depot. The Deputy Commissioner said orders were in force under section 144 of the CrPc for not raising construction under the prescribed limits around ammunition depots at Beas and Vallah.

Hoshiarpur, May 19
Ego clash between husband and wife and unnecessary interference by the parents in their life are the major reasons of matrimonial disputes in society these days. In many cases allegations by the bride and her family of the demand of more dowry against the groom and his family to harass them add fuel to the fire. These views were expressed by Parveen Wadhawan, chairperson of the local branch of the Association for Social Health in India, which is running a family counselling centre for settling disputes between husbands and wives at District Red Cross Society Bhavan while presiding over a meeting for listening to one of the matrimonial disputes here yesterday.

She said as many as 70 such disputes had been reported to the family counselling centre in 2007-08 and 68 in 2008-09, of which 124 were settled. She appealed to the people, especially those husbands and wives who were facing matrimonial disputes, that they should avoid legal procedure through the police and courts and contact the family counselling centre for settling their cases amicably.

Nawanshahr, May 19
Even though Ravneet Singh Bittu defeated SAD candidate Daljit Singh Cheema with a comfortable margin, a thin difference in the winning margins in three assembly segments of Nawanshahr, Banga and Balachaur falling under the Anandpur Sahib parliamentary constituency gave Congress workers little to rejoice.

His margins in Nawanshahr and Balachaur assembly segments were merely 945 and 210 votes, respectively.

Not only the SAD-BJP leaders and workers were left in a pensive mood with the results, the Congress camp too got little to rejoice the victory. They had their fingers crossed despite the fact that the ruling SAD-BJP alliance had virtually failed to give a momentum to its poll campaign.

The independent observers here have been attributing the defeat of the SAD-BJP to lack of coordination among workers who have been nursing grudges against the functioning of the top leadership here.

Besides, Cheema, though had enough time for campaigning, failed to strike a chord with the SAD-BJP workers at the grassroots level.

Rather, Cheema appeared overconfident about his victory after the nomination of Bittu.

“Besides, anti-incumbency, Manmohan Singh and Beant Singh factors worked for the Congress,” the observers said.