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Free for all at DAV College
Chandigarh, September 3 Within seconds, the college campus turned into a battleground with broken glass pieces, damaged furniture and blood all over the floor. The students smashed windowpanes of the canteen and the library. A library attendant said they saved themselves by bolting the doors on seeing students armed with rods and sticks coming toward the library. The incident occurred when a supporter hit another with a flagstick. The groups had reached the college after participating in an open house at the PU. Four of the injured were rushed to hospital.
This time also, a dozen-odd cops did nothing, but watch the students go on the rampage. The police and the college security could have caught the miscreants by closing the main gates, but failed to do anything. The fallout of the incident was that the nominations of all three presidential candidates were cancelled. As a result, the college would not have a president on its student council. A case has been registered against Karamveer Singh, presidential candidate for SOPU, Dishant Malwa (third front), Vikas Rathi (INSO), Amandeep Multani, Manveer, Gokul and Sarpanch following a complaint by the college principal. In the evening, seven to eight students were arrested. The PRO of the college said Karamveer Singh, Dishant Malwa and Vikas Rathi had been suspended and an explanation had been sought from them. “After what happened the day before, we do not understand why enough police force was not deployed at the college today. A lot of damage could have been prevented. Innocent students get hurt in such brawls. And this incident will lead to many more ugly fights outside the college,” a student leader said, requesting anonymity. The principal called for an urgent meeting with the management to decide the next step of action.
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7 held for kidnapping woman
Chandigarh, September 3 The incident took place in Sector 9 here this morning when the couple was on their way to the High Court seeking protection from girl’s family after they got married against their wishes. The police said the runaway couple belonged to same village in Hisar in Haryana and had got married on August 31 in a temple in Panchkula. After that they went to Shimla, when they came back they stayed at Burail village. Today they contacted a lawyer and were going to the court. The SHO of the Sector-3 police station said the groom, Shamsher Singh, told the police that he had married Priya of his village against their parents’ wishes. Today the girl’s family members met them in Sector 9 and said they had nothing against their marriage and wanted to talk to the girl. They put both of them in their vehicle and went. Someone noticed the incident and informed the police. The police reached the spot and later the accused dropped Shamsher. The police managed to arrest seven persons after registering a case of kidnapping on a complaint lodged by Shamsher. The accused have been identified as Rakesh, Kuldeep, Somveer, Mani Ram, Ramphal, Kor Singh and Mnaoj. The SHO said the raids were being conducted to find out the girl and arrested the remaining accused.
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Road Accident Data
Chandigarh, September 3 A perusal of figures of the PCR of the Chandigarh police indicates that out of a total of 9,118 accidents last year (where the police reached the spot), cases of rash and negligent driving were registered only in 5.23 per cent cases. As many as 5,771 injured persons, a majority of them road accident victims, were taken to hospital. Road safety experts say that the number of road accident cases registered and the actual incidents occurred don’t match. Sources in the police said while the PCR records showed that over 5,000 road accident victims were taken to hospital, the other wing of the police said 440 persons were injured on city roads while another 146 persons lost their lives in mishaps. The police had registered 479 rash driving cases in 2008. Similarly, 102 persons were killed and another 196 were hurt till August 31 this year while the PCR records indicate that the plice reached 3,624 accident spots and rushed 3,779 injured to hospital. Similarly, a police official said though PCR personnel attended all 1,181 calls from those complaining about noise pollution in 2008, the number of cases were far less. He said throughout the year, the police had not registered cases in even 1 per cent of the total number of calls received. “To reduce the magnitude of discrepancy in the road accident data, an improved data linkage between the police and the health sector was required. Though not all accident victims go for the registration of cases, the police should record all accidents to help check factors leading to accidents and crashes. It should have a robust data of non-fatal road accidents also,” Rupinder Singh, a road safety activist, said.
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MoD orders release of arrears
to pensioners
Chandigarh, September 3 A circular issued by the Principal Controller of Defence Accounts (Pensions) to the Reserve Bank of India, public and private sector banks and pension-disbursing officers on Tuesday states that the ministry has authorised those concerned to disburse the payment thereof immediately, but not later than September 30. When the pay commission recommendations were implemented in August last year, the government had directed that 40 per cent of the arrears, along with the total tax due, would be paid in financial year 2008-09 and the balance in 2009-10. On August 25, the Finance Ministry issued orders that the balance 60 per cent be also released. Consequently, the Department of Ex-servicemen’s Welfare in the MoD had, on August 28, written to the three service headquarters that all pension-disbursing authorities have been requested to release the 60 per cent of arrears to pensioners latest by September 30. High court lawyer Maj Navdeep Singh, who deals with service and pension matters, said consequent upon the orders, not only the pay and pension arrears but also the arrears related to military casualty pensionary awards such as disability pension, war injury pension, special family pension and liberalised family pension would be released by the respective pension disbursing authorities.
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Centre initiates police reforms for UTs
New Delhi, September 3 The MHA has laid down broad policies to evaluate performance of the Chandigarh police. This is in light of the directives on police reforms by the Supreme Court in Prakash Singh & others vs Union of India. Under the reforms, a state security commission will be set up. Two separate police establishment boards (PEB) will also be formed. One will be for the ranks of inspector and above, while the other for sub-inspectors and below. The boards will decide all transfers, postings, promotions and all service related matters. Chandigarh will also have a police complaints authority. To accord two-year tenure to key police functionaries will be mandatory. Any transfer done before completion of tenure will be done under exceptional circumstances/administrative exigencies, which will be recorded in writing. The MHA has told the Chandigarh police to divide police personnel into two streams — one to maintain law and order and the other to investigate crimes. These directives will apply to all Union Territories, union home minister told reporters here on Tuesday. These are largely part of police reforms suggested by the court. Petitioner Prakash Singh, a former IPS official and a former DGP of the BSF, had been strong votary of police reform.
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City can be IT hub, says Nasscom chief
Chandigarh, September 3 Earlier, top IT decision makers and infrastructure developers of Punjab signed a memorandum (MoU) with NASSCOM for the implementation NAC-Tech certification programme in Punjab. The inaugural session of the conference on “Transforming Region: Harnessing Technology for Inclusive Growth” was jointly organised by Chandigarh administration, Government of Punjab, and STPI with the support of various organisations like NASSCOM, TIE etc. The UT administrator General SF Rodrigues (retd.) called for a concerted drive to attract investments of leading global companies and upgrading the professional skills in the IT sector here. Highlighting the success of e-Sampark and e-Jan Sampark Centres, General Rodrigues said these centres provide public utility services and an integrated mechanism was at work for speeding up the other major projects like mass rapid transport system, modern terminal market, international airport, water conservation and environmental programmes to give a boost to the tempo of development and catering to the needs of 60 million population of the whole region. “Educational curriculum has been remodeled with an aim on vocationalisation of courses to produce students with professional capabilities to meet the requirements of growing industry,” he said. Sanjay Kumar, finance secretary, also highlighted the achievements made in the IT sector by the UT administration. The aim was to initiate an informal discussion with leaders from the IT industry and to set the course for a future dialogue with industry. The one-hour conclave started with a welcome note from the chief secretary SC Agrawal and a presentation by ernst and young on behalf of Punjab Infotech on “Opportunities for IT investors in Punjab.” The 29- member delegation from industry then participated in an open house discussion sharing their views on Punjab emerging as a significant player on the national scene with Mohali’s impressive growth as a cluster in recent years. The industry leaders endorsed the state’s holistic strategy to create a favourable ecosystem for IT, which focuses on the four pillars of development like infrastructure, human resource, policy framework and investor relations. The state’s pro-active initiative to develop world-class infrastructure and human resources in the state - the new IIT at Roopnagar, Knowledge City and Convention Centre in Mohali, were highly appreciated. Recent initiatives, including the Single Window for IT investors, launching of “Doing Business in Punjab- An IT Investor’s Guide”, “IT Connect - A quarterly News Update of the State’s Initiatives for promotion of IT/ITeS Investment in the state,” were widely discussed. Top IT companies, including Dell, Wipro, IBM, Oracle, Infosys and Sapient were present.
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Change of Cards
Chandigarh, September 3 The IT chiefs, who were in town to participate in the two-day IT conclave of the Chandigarh administration, said the real growth for them now lies in the cities than the metros, especially those cities which have the requisite human capital and good social infrastructure. Cities like Chandigarh, Jaipur and Bhubaneshwar will witness a phenomenal growth in the coming years because of their good human resource and infrastructure, they said. Pramod Bhasin, chairman of NASSCOM, and CEO of GENPACT, said his company was now looking at Bhubaneshwar, Noida and Jaipur for expansion. “We are also thinking of setting up a centre in Punjab. With the International School of Business being set up in Mohali and an IIT coming up at Ropar, there would be no dearth of talent for our operations. Besides, we are also looking at tie-ups with some private colleges in Punjab and Haryana, so that the skill gap for fresh recruits in the IT sector can be bridged,” he added. Sumit Bhattacharya, executive vice-president, HCL technologies, too, said they were looking at organic growth in smaller cities of India. “We are evaluating six of the tier II cities to expand our operations. But we will first like the market to reach to a certain level, before we start investing,” he said. Tanmoy Chakrabarty, vice-president and head of the global government industry group at TCS, said they were looking at increasing their turnover from e-governance projects to ten per cent of the total company’s turnover. “Though we are getting major e-governance projects from Government of India, we are now looking at getting projects from Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. Then, we would be expanding our operations here,” he said, adding that TCS would also hire 25,000 more people this year to support its ongoing and upcoming projects.
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Most export awards for Infosys
Chandigarh, September 3 Dr SS Channy, principal secretary, Industries and Commerce, Government of Punjab, gave away the software export awards. The highest exports awards for software development for SME category were bagged by Visionaire Technologies Pvt Ltd of Haryana, Mobera Systems Pvt Ltd of Chandigarh, Smartdata Enterprise India Ltd of Punjab. In the ITES segment, the highest export awards for SME category went to Seamless Soft & Rece Solutions Pvt Ltd, from Chandigarh and Webart Softech from Haryana, and ADI Back Office from Punjab. Three units were honoured with Fast Trackers Award- ION Solutions Pvt Ltd from Panjab, Xportsoft Technologies from Haryana under software development and IT & BPO Solutions of Chandigarh under ITES categories. Tushar and Shivam Goswami from Solutions Beyond Software were honoured with the Youngest Entrepreneur Award, while Anuja Lath, CEO, Pugmark Design Studio, was given Women Entrepreneur Award for 2008-09. Vinay Johar, director, Connoisseur Infotech Pvt Ltd received the Emerging Entrepreneur Award. Care Fusion Dev Pvt Ltd from Chandigarh and Agilyst Consulting Pvt Ltd from Punjab were also awarded with New Entrant Award under software development and ITES categories, respectively. Meanwhile, Seasia Consulting from Chandigarh and IDS Infotech Ltd, Punjab, were awarded with Excellent SME Award (software development).
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Double-digit growth expected in IT export
Chandigarh, September 3 "We feel that IT software and service exports will attain growth in double-digit in next financial year on the back of revival of economies of the US and Europe," said NASSCOM chairman Pramod Bhasin. NASSCOM had earlier projected that the country's software and IT exports would grow by four-seven per cent to USD 48-50 billion in 2009-10 in view of sluggish demand for outsourcing in the US and Europe, which are the largest markets for the Indian IT vendors.
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Open House
Chandigarh, September 3 Amidst tight security, the supporters of three main panels — SOPU-INSO, PUSU and ABVP-SOI — headed towards the open house area, unfurling flags of their unions and singing praises for their panels. The procession was followed by a debate in which candidates got 10 minutes to speak. Presidential candidate of PUSU Arshbir Singh Johal initiated the debate and highlighted the need for focussing on basic infrastructure rather than beautification of the university. He also accused SOPU of holding ‘Mika Night’, which resulted in a controversy as the singer used “inappropriate” language in front of the PU authorities and female audience. His speech was followed by that of Rajdeep Dhillon, of the same party, who elaborated on the promises made by PUSU. ABVP’s Aswathy Rajan, who is the only woman presidential candidate in the fray, managed to steal the show as her powerful speech overshadowed those of other candidates. She highlighted the plight of research scholars and promised to improve the conditions of laboratories in the university. ABVP’s Kunal Kumar of the UIET challenged the knowledge of SOPU and PUSU leaders on the companies coming to the campus for placements. Meanwhile, the proceedings grew more interesting with contestants accusing each other of non-performance in the previous years. Rohit, another candidate from Himachal Pradesh Students Union, (HSPSU), pitied the play of regional politics on the campus. The SOPU-INSO panel members were the last to come on stage to announce their agenda. Amit Bhatia, presidential candidate of the alliance, who was accused of being a “dummy” following the disqualification of earlier candidate Rajwinder Singh Aulakh, defended himself by saying that he had been a committed worker of the party since 2004 and he was just a “worker”. The speeches were followed by the introduction of panel members by presidential candidates. Later, the other contestants asked the candidates two questions each, even though most of these questions were “personal attacks”.
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Will women come of age this time?
Chandigarh, September 3 A stark example of “girl power” is the election battleground at the Delhi University. ABVP’s Nupur Sharma was elected president last academic year. Acknowledging a difference between the political scenario between the two universities, she said: “It’s not about parties fielding candidates, but more importantly it’s about your family and friends supporting you. Delhi is definitely ahead of times. Only when students in the PU want a female president, one will come to power. And if this is a probability in the PU elections this year, it’s about time. It’s a significant advancement in Panjab student politics.” With elections scheduled tomorrow and energies soaring, women candidates who have made it big in student politics speak their mind on the “changing winds” in the PU elections, this season. Anytime soon now, a university with over 70 per cent girl students, which continues to ache for a woman president, may actually have one. Commenting on why women fail to come up strongly in PU politics, ABVP’s presidential candidate Ashwathy Rajan says: “The normal stereotype that women cannot handle politics is deeply ingrained in the mindset here. Most think that because girls are more inclined towards studies rather than violence, they are no good for the post.” In a country with a woman President, woman Lok Sabha Speaker and woman president of the ruling party, the wide disinterest in young girls in Punjab reflects a sorry state of affairs. The so-called “male dominance” in PU politics is obvious as the entire deal is projected with power, fame and money. With huge financial backing and influential family backgrounds, entering politics is a cakewalk for boys. A lot of girls, on the other hand, in the PU come from smaller towns with prime focus on studies. Try talking to most about politics, and they wouldn’t even want to talk. Most of these girls do not even vote. So where will a woman interested in politics appear in the scenario? Most boys active in PU politics are fed details right from the beginning. So evidently the difference creeps in at a very early stage. PUCSC vice-president (2001) Mukta Sharma said: “It’s a man’s show in the PU. Situation was the same 10 years ago and it is like this even now. Almost 10 years ago, women were just ‘dummy candidates’ on the panel. If elected, their role was merely ornamental. Even we were an alliance, but girls always had to fight and secure their position.”
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For Centre-backed outfits
Chandigarh, September 3 Parties like the ABVP (BJP student wing) and the NSUI (Congress student wing) still fail to grab a strong independent foothold, reflecting how regional identities in the university strongly overshadow the student political scenario. Almost every year, succumbing to vote bank pressures, these parties seek alliances with other established outfits. Noticeably, the two major players in the PU student politics that have hogged the limelight are the Panjab University Student Union (PUSU) or the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU). Both the NSUI and the ABVP are strong student outfits, nationally. They continue to enjoy a strong position, especially in North India, in the overall student political scene, including Himachal Pradesh and Delhi. The local “Jatt” mage that is generally projected of the Punjabi and Haryanvi boys is associated with machosim in the region. It cannot be ignored that personas are pivotal, but so much so that they challenge “center-backed” parties, is phenomenal. The regional candidates exploit the feeling of “ones own” and try to connect with the masses on a personal level. The “power game” gets exponential with the flamboyant display of wealth, violence and fame at the university elections. Referred to as “brand recognition” in advertising language is what has happened in the university with parties like SOPU and PUSU. Vineet Joshi, who had been active in PU politics in the past on the BJP front, says: “The youth in PU especially is power-driven. Local students contesting elections very well establish the ‘power factor’ and add to it their backs in state-level politics, a perfect intimidating candidate.” The strategies and energies in PU never dip anytime of the year, when it comes to politics. Congress youth leader Rahul Sidhu comments: “The initial focus among the local NSUI members in the university was not clear. At the beginning stages, they were not able to make their presence felt. But now since Rahul Gandhi has taken over the youth brigade, a lot of changes have been made. But every change takes time. And gradually we hope that the NSUI will soon achieve a independent influential voice here as well.”
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And those who couldn’t care less
Chandigarh, September 3 One could spot students at the university today that almost seemed to be mocking the entire “election drama”. When rallies of leading panels with hundreds of supporters proceeded towards the open house, flags and posters did not interest many. Almost within 20 minutes, they were back to business, chatting to friends at the student centre, articulating what “Have they ever concentrated on studies this much?” said Deepika, a PU student. Another student Ravi said: “Ask most of these boys and girls to name the cabinet ministers, and I am sure not even half would know. They talk about politics, they have no ‘pulse’ except for the ‘perks’ and limelight they receive.” “It’s like a big fat Indian wedding. People come, enjoy, shout and dance and after the ceremony return home, pretty much like the students who get elected here. I have never been able to understand the expenses involved in elections here, and we are just students,” says Parveen Kaur, a former PU student. They term it pointless and claim they have “better things to do in life” than get involved in student body elections. And sadly, this disinterest reflects in the voting turnout at the elections as well. However, most also agree that this trend isn’t healthy for student politics at large and that somewhere down the line leaders need to come up. But without the “tantrums”, they add.
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Violations: Admn seeks fresh report from VC
Chandigarh, September 3 The PU authorities had earlier replied that they had been “closely observing” the entire campaign and “no violations” had taken place. The violations had been repeatedly highlighted in the media. With printed material on cars continuing to be a prominent feature, despite a ban, the defiance is visible. Moreover, the expense borne by each party has visibly exceeded the stipulated limit of Rs 5,000. Varun Malik, an LLM student, had filed a writ in the High Court and submitted a complaint to the Home Secretary. “The recommendations of the committee are being taken lightly and the worst part is that the authorities refuse to take any action,” Varun, who is supported by the HSA, claimed. He also accused the PU authorities of adopting dual policies. Home Secretary Ram Niwas said: “The administration had directed the VC to submit a report. The PU authorities had replied that they were observing the campaign closely. We will look into the matter and will take action in case of any violation,” he said.
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When crowds lapped up lemonade
Chandigarh, September 3 Though the classes were dismissed after midday, to enable the students to witness the open house debate, most students remained glued to their seats at the centre, disinterested in the show. Except party supporters, who were present throughout the debate, large groups of students were spotted strolling near AC Joshi Library, while others preferred eating “rajmah-chawal” and “grilled sandwich” at the centre. “There was a huge difference in the sales today during the debate hours. They were up by nearly 35 per cent for ‘neembu-paani’ and other drinks. While sales of other food items remained less than the other days,” said Anup, a shopkeeper. “The sales increased as a large number of students assembled at the centre for the debate. Despite the fact that there are so many shops here, our sales went up by 30 per cent for drinks,” said another. The period following the debate was crucial for these shopkeepers, as “thirsty souls” longed for a chilled glass of “neembu-paani” after raising slogans during the debate. “We had been screaming non-stop for the past three hours. A glass of ‘neembu-paani’ came in handy at such a time,” said Sachin, a supporter of one of the contesting panels.
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Kiran first in painting contest
Panchkula, September 3 Students were categorised in three groups A, B and C, where students from classes VI to VII formed group A, while group B comprised students from classes VII to XI and group C included students from classes X to XII. Varun Arora of Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh, and Saloni Singh of DAV 8 stood first in groups B and C, respectively. Running trophy was clinched by Bhavan Vidyalaya, Chandigarh.
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3-week refresher course begins at Pbi varsity
Patiala, September 3 Dr Jaspal Singh pointed out that the ideal political system was the one that served the purpose of inculcating ethical and moral values in the lives of common people. It is the responsibility of the social scientists to debate and ponder over the issues to work out a solution for the betterment of Indian society. Dr NK Dogra, director, ASC, dwelt upon the importance of learning of new skills by teachers. He said the current situation is characterised by an unprecedented expansion of knowledge. Teachers, therefore, have a special responsibility to prepare young generations in various fields through the optimal use of information and knowledge resources. He further elaborated that ASC of Punjabi University had already conducted one refresher course in Punjabi and two orientation courses within a short span of time.
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The incident has again busted the claims of the police regarding foolproof security arrangements for these elections. This is the second incident of violence in less than a week. 
