Chandigarh, March 8
A circular issued by the UT administration to the city government colleges, pointing at the disparity in the salaries of contractual employees deputed against regular sanctioned and those employed against additionally sanctioned posts created by the UT Education Department itself, is in the eye of a storm.

On the basis of a memo issued by the administration on August 6, 2009, salaries of teachers in city colleges were hiked from Rs 16,800 to Rs 25,800.

Now, a clarification on the issue, given by the Administration through its latest circular, is causing confusion and has kicked up a row in the colleges.

The fresh circular, issued by the administration (dated, February 18, 2010), clarifies that the hike was not meant for those contractual teachers who have been appointed on additional posts created by UT Education Department to deal with the extra workload.

The circular, issued by the Assistant Controller (F&A), Director, Higher Education, mentions “the revision of rates by the administration in respect of the contractual staff has been done where regular posts are sanctioned and not in case of posts given by Education Department on the basis of workload”.

Since the previous circular did not mention specifications for salaries, the colleges paid equal salaries to all teachers, permanent and contractual, following the code of equal pay for equal work.

Meanwhile, on the same issue, no solution could be found out at a recent meeting of college principals, superintendents (accounts) and college bursars to recover the amount from the contractual teachers on additionally sanctioned posts.

Chandigarh, March 8
In order to get first-hand information about all projects undertaken during the tenure of his predecessor in different departments, UT Administrator and Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil recently sent a communication to all departments concerned to send him a list of the projects.

According to official sources, the letter sent to departments, including the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh, UT Estate office, DC office, Chandigarh Housing Board and others, states that details pertaining to various projects undertaken in the current fiscal year be sent to him. The letter also seeks the detailed budgetary allocations of all projects and the amount spent on these till now.

Details have also been sought about those projects for which the funds were sanctioned, but remain non-starters and the reasons for the same.

The departments were asked to send details to Finance Secretary and Home Secretary in accordance with the departments they are heading.

It must be mentioned that most of the departments have already held meetings in this regard seeking various branches under it to tabulate the details and some of them, including the MCC and the EO, have sent the required association.

An official stated that as per the protocol, instead of different departments sending the required details to the administrator’s office, the same would be sent to the Adviser, who will apprise the Administrator of all projects.

It must also be mentioned that recently the UT Administrator had also sought details of those projects and

proposals, which were approved by his predecessor on insistence of certain officials of the administration.

Another official of the administration, claiming it to be an annual affair, stated that since the current financial year was coming to an end, it was routine on part of the Administrator’s office to seek these details of allocation and expenditure on the projects.

Mohali, March 8
A week before the beginning of the matriculation class exams of the Punjab School Education Board, the board’s examination branch has discovered thousands of cases in which the candidates have either submitted bogus middle class pass school certificates or furnished false proof of age to be eligible to appear for the exams.

About 600 cases involving fake middle class school certificates have come to light so far. The irregularity was detected due to computerisation of records. To their shock board officials found candidates who had failed in the middle class exams had submitted documents showing they passed in the same exams.

“Tallying of records revealed the candidates, in connivance with other students, had furnished false information”, said a senior Board official.

The board, after withholding the roll numbers in such cases, has asked schools to produce the original record of the candidate to enable it to hold a proper inquiry into the involvement of officials, if any.

Bogus middle class certificates apart, board officials have detected another 4,000 cases in which the candidates furnished false affidavits about their age to make themselves eligible for the matriculation exams. The irregularity was detected when the board crosschecked their details and found their actual age did not tally with their declaration.

Board chairman Dalbir Singh Dhillon stated a through inquiry was being conducted into the case. “Since most of the cases pertain to private academies, it would be very difficult to take direct action against them. However, the board may ask the police to take action against such academies. The irregularities were detected due to computerisation of data,” he said.

The board officials are also examining the middle class pass certificates issued by educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Chandigarh, March 8
It seems that Chandigarh Municipal Corporation is merely vocal on the issue of women empowerment than framing any plans or programmes on International Women’s Day, as no special scheme or project was announced or organised in this regard here today.

Interestingly, the corporation had constituted the Women Empowerment Committee three years ago to provide a better platform to women in the city and also devise projects which would help in the enhancement of their power.

If one goes through the record of the committee of the past three years, one finds that this committee gets active only near Lohri to decide its theme and during the rest of the year, the routine monthly meetings are not even convened by the chairperson Pam Rajput. While going through the minutes of some meetings held during the past two years, one finds that no special programme for the welfare or uplift of women has been proposed by this committee in the house.

At a number of house meetings, Akali councillor Harjinder Kaur had raised the issue that the Women Empowerment Committee had not been meeting regularly, as most of the time Pam Rajput is out of station and even if the meeting is called, the members are informed at a very short notice without any agenda.

She suggested that Pam Rajput, chairperson of the committee, should authorise some other member, if she is not present in the town, to convene the meeting to discuss important issues. But the authorities had not adhered to her suggestion so far.

Talking to The Tribune, Kaur expressed anguish at the state of affairs in the corporation, as it had only been promoting the slogan of women empowerment and nothing concrete has been done to actually help them. She said by celebrating International Women’s Day in a befitting manner, the corporation could have set an example for society, but nothing was done today also.

Sunita Choudhary, another member of the committee, remarked that when this committee was constituted, all councillors belonging to colonies and slums thought that some productive result would emerge for the welfare of women belonging to the lower strata of society. But it is unfortunate that nothing tangible had been done till date. She suggested that the Mayor should give a chance to some other woman councillor to hold the post of chairperson of the committee.

Sources in the corporation revealed that there was utter confusion between the chairperson of this committee and officials, as two committees had been constituted under women empowerment, one comprising five members and the other with all women councillors as its members. Due to this, nobody is able to decide which committee meeting should be convened.

Chandigarh, March 8
The police has finally registered a case of kidnapping regarding the a 12-year-old Naya Gaon resident who had been reported missing nearly one and a half years go, IG (Patiala range) Paramjit Singh Gill told the Punjab & Haryana High Court today.

Appearing before justice TPS Mann, Gill said a special investigating team had also been set up to trace the missing girl, Sushila. The team will be headed by the Mohali SP (detective) with the Mohali DSP (city I) and the Naya Gaon SHO as the other members.

Chandigarh, March 8
The district courts today granted permission to Congress councillor and former chairman of market committee Devinder Singh Babla to travel in custody to cast vote.

Babla appealed the court to cast his vote for the post of vice-chairman, announced by the secretary, market committed/DC, to be held on Tuesday.

Accepting his request Civil Judge-cum-Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Anshul Berry said after casting the vote, the accused should be brought to the custody and also directed the DSP of the area concerned to provide security. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 8
A week-long series of events to commemorate International Women’s Day concluded with a colourful cultural programme at the Chandigarh Air Force Station today. These included a lecture on suicide prevention, workshop on cancer awareness, various competitions and an excursion to the Yadavindra Gardens, Pinjore.

President, Air Force Wives Welfare Association (Local), Neeta Sachdeva was the chief guest at the prize distribution function. She also launched a website of the association’s local chapter which will give all information of association’s activities.

Conveying his congratulations and gratitude to ladies of the station, Air Officer Commanding, 12 Wing, Air Cmde Rajeev Sachdeva said it was the contribution of the ladies on the family front which relieved their husbands from family commitments and who in turn could concentrate on their professional commitments.

At No 3 Base Repair Depot, Air Cmde Ravinder Sharma, AOC, 3 BRD felicitated the women work force of the Depot comprising Lady Officers and civilian employees and re-affirmed the pledge to protect the rights of women.

He said men’s perception of women as equals and women’s awareness of their rights are necessary for real empowerment.

Ladies were apprised of their rights and privileges and also reminded of their duties that they have to discharge to make this world a better place. Interactive lectures on domestic violence, importance of girl education, female infanticide, computer literacy, grooming and self-dependence were conducted at 3 BRD.

Chandigarh, March 8
The Department of Social Welfare, Chandigarh Administration, in collaboration with NGOs celebrated International Women’s Day at Bal Bhawan, Sector 23, today.

Director Social Welfare Samwartak Singh in his keynote address said women empowerment was necessary for inclusive growth of the nation. He called upon every one to join the movement for true empowerment and help end the gender bias.

Madhu Bansal, wife of Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources, was the chief guest on the occasion.

As many as 55 women were awarded for their outstanding contribution in different fields like social service, education, health, sports, police, business, industry and performing arts. These included Indira Sharma, Anu Chatrath, Satinder Dhawan, Vinod Sharma, Lalit Joshi, Kamlesh, Harjinder Kaur, Rita Sharma, Anju Beniwal, Sarita Devi, Raj Kumari Mishra, Sunita Chaudhary, Dr Neelam Malik, Dr Deepti, Neena Singh, Manju Bhalla, Kanwaljeet Kaur, Pam Rajput, Rani Chauhan, Santosh Singh, Anuradha Sharma, Savita Tiwari, Meena Sharma, Neelam, Rajesh Gill, Neelam Marwaha, Monica, Pooja Dheer, Dr G. Nanda, Roopa Saba, Sabu , Saroj Gupta, Harbeer Kaur, Charu Mathur and Anupama Arya,. Prabhjot Kaur, Neelam Mansingh, Rani Balbir Kaur, Savita Bhatti, Poonam Dhillon, Kirron Kher, Suchitra Mitra, Kausar, Irina Brar, Urvi, Neha Dogra, Rumpa Chauhan, Pooja Tandon, Gurdass Maan, Kulraj Randhawa, Alish DD, Neelu, Sunita Rani and Jatinder Sandhu were women to be honoured on the occasion.

There is a need to empower women or else there can be no progress on any front said Singh, The department provides different schemes for empowering women. Scholarships are provided for meritorious girls, loans and training for women.

Women from all walks of life were present and shared a desire to gear things at the national level for building women power. “In our mundane lives we can do our bit to support women. We don’t need to be a Prime Minister to be able to do something, we just need to be good human beings,” said Prof Rajesh Gill.

Though the fairer sex now has a lot of achievements to her credit but still there is a lot that needs to be done. “The Women’s Reservation Bill was tabled today in Parliament, I hope something good turns out of it. We must realise that a lot still needs our attention. Women in slums need to be taught about family planning and told that lesser children would mean better education and facilities for them and this is the key to end the vicious circle of poverty,” said Anu Chatrath, Mayor of Chandigarh.

A platform was given to children and women of Bapu Dham Colony to perform and realise their potential. 

Chandigarh, March 8
Accusing the National Commission of Women (NCW) of being “biased”, three national level organisations that are active in combating dowry harassment and other atrocities against women, said the body “should change its name to the national commission of daughters-in-law”.

The organisations held a seminar today on the occasion of International Women’s Day seeking parity in women’s rights. They alleged NCW was ignoring complaints filed by women against the misuse of laws to prevent dowry harassment.

Celebrating Women’s Day at the Chandigarh Press Club, the All India Forgotten Women’s Association (AIFWA), True Equity Network (TEN) India and Andhra Pradesh Mothers-in-Law Protection Association (APMPA) lauded the achievements and successes of women. At the same time, members of these groups addressed present day dilemmas faced by women and discussed the ways for them to achieve “true empowerment.”

Representatives of these organizations called upon the central government to “recognise that promoting women's welfare did not mean weakening and destroying the institution of marriage”.

They demanded the government should ensure “empowering women did not in any way lead to encouraging blackmail, extortion and parasitism by women by misusing the provisions of various legislations enacted”.

“India should be prevented from becoming an anti-marriage, anti-family, fatherless ‘welfare state’. Laws and policies must be based on the principles of equity and fairness and not on radical feminist ideologies and false statistics. The feminist culture of mass irresponsibility should be done away with”, they asserted.

The members referred to the “inequality and gender bias being perpetrated by NCW and the women’s cells”. A month back, these organisations had posted letters to the NCW president, but till date no correspondence had been received from the commission, they added.

“It appears NCW doesn’t consider mothers-in-law as women, hence it is biased. Why are they treated as criminals and their complaints flatly ignored?” asked Jaswinder Kaur, a representative of AIFWA.

Manjit Puri, coordinator of APMPA’s local unit, said “Women’s empowerment is not meant to be misuse of women’s power, rather it refers to using women’s power in an effective way. The way the laws are being misused the day is not far when men will stop marrying”.

Chandigarh, March 8
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has directed the PGI to decide on the case pertaining to ad hoc service rendered by 10 associate professors and to specify the reasons in case it decides against them.

“The request made by the applicants ought to have been placed before the governing body, which is competent to deal with the matter, and can grant relief to the applicants. The institute will place the request of applicants before the governing body, which will be taken into consideration at its next meeting, and the governing body will take a decision in one way or the other. If no relief is to be granted to the applicants, we expect a reasoned order to be passed,” the order passed by a Bench comprising Justice VK Bali and Justice Promilla Issar read.

Ten associate professors had filed a petition, stating that they had initially been appointed on an ad hoc basis and had rendered service for between 10 months and four years and-a-half.

A duly constituted selection committee had recruited them as associate professors on an ad hoc basis after advertisement and interview.

The advertisement was issued by the PGI, inviting applications for appointment as assistant professor by October 20, 2000, at various departments on a regular basis.

The counsel for the petitioners had submitted that the petitioners applied for appointment as associate professors on a regular basis.

In response to their applications, they had been issued letters, calling them for interview in April, 2001.

On the basis of interviews conducted by the standing selection committee and acceptance of recommendations of the governing body on July 25, 2001, appointment letters were issued and they joined service the next day.

The interview letters were issued on April 4, 2001, and the governing body had approved recommendations of the standing selection committee regarding the candidates selected for appointment as associate professors.

The petitioners had submitted a representation to the PGI director, stating that that they had been working on an ad hoc basis continuously and due to a delay in the meeting of the governing body, appointment letters were issued three months after the interviews.

They also submitted that the delay had resulted in a loss ot seniority of almost one year for no fault of theirs and due to this, they were still in the rank of assistant professor, nearly six years after having been appointed on a regular basis.

The petitioners were Dr Vidya Rattan (dentistry), Dr JK Mahajan (paediatric surgery), Dr Kanya Mukhopadhyay (paediatrics), Dr Sujata Basu (experimental medicine and biotechnology), Dr KK Mukherjee (neurosurgery), Dr Anish Bhattacharya (nuclear medicine), Dr SK Sinha (gastroenterlogy), Dr Pankaj Malhotra (internal medicine), Dr Rakesh Kapoor (radiotherapy) and Dr Akshay Kumar Saxena (radiodiagnosis).

Chandigarh, March 8
“An act is usually brought in to solve a problem, but I do not know what problem the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill is going to solve?” said Justice JC Verma at a discussion forum “Alliance for GM-Free and Safe Food” where lawyers, activists and scientists from across the region assembled to discuss the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill.

The question put up did not remain unanswered, but got a consensus that the Bill would only create problems for Indians and would profit the multinational companies, who were pushing this Bill into Parliament.

“If the Bill is passed in Parliament, then the company, Monsanto, promoting the GM crops, would be the another form of the East India Company, which would control the whole food chain of India,” said Reeta Kohli, an eminent lawyer.

Navkiran Singh, another advocate, said: “To stop this Bill, we need to educate the farmers about its consequences because these are the people of whom the government of India is afraid of as they constitute their major vote bank.”

Throwing light on the objectionable provisions of the Bill, social activist Hemant Goswami said: “Agriculture is a state subject as mentioned in the Article 246 of the constitution, but there is no state representation in the proposed Bill. The Bill does not come under the criminal procedure amounting to very less punishment for the person who harms a human life. Even the Bill exempts itself from the Right to Information Act by adding the phrase ‘confidential commercial information’ in the Bill”.

Kavitha Kuruganti, member of the Alliance for GM Free and Safe Food, who was the keynote speaker and is spearheading the countrywide campaign against GM crops said, “The Bill comes under the Ministry of Science and Biotechnology, which is wrong as this is the company which is promoting the GM crops. The Bill should come under either the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Environment. Also the decisions about the crops would be taken by a team of just three technical experts with no representation from state and public.” She said that by allowing GM crops in India, we would allow toxins to enter our food from where our thought process is directly related.

Alliance for GM Free and Safe Food is an alliance that is working hard for stopping the BRAI as they believe that the bill is commerce friendly but not people friendly.

The alliance is seeking a large- scale public participation and has resolved to stop the Bill from becoming a law. 

Chandigarh, March 8
He can direct rickshaw pullers in Hindi. They cannot take him for a ride as he knows how to tackle them, the Indian way. He talks of the Indian culture, music and art with enthusiasm that many Indians lack. The red holy thread adorns his wrist and he is just back from his visit to the Golden Temple. He has learnt how to spell his name in Punjabi and desires to learn Indian musical instruments.

Petar Jovanovski, Ambassador from the Republic of Macedonia to India, visited Punjab for the first time. He has been in India for a year now and aims at popularising his country. He comes from a country with astonishing scenic beauty. Back home, when he opens the window in the morning, he is greeted with a beautiful landscape with around 20 horses galloping around.

“I could have come here with a protocol. But I wanted to experience the real Punjab. So, I am here with my friend,” he said. He met Gurpreet Singh at a lounge in Delhi and expressed his desire to visit the Golden Temple and learn more about Sikhism and Punjabi culture. Gurpreet and his brother, Sukhpreet, put together this trip for Petar.

“I interacted with a cross section of people at Sukhpreet’s farmhouse on Saturday. This gave me a good insight about the Indian cultural. The ambience was traditionally Punjabi. I also met Dara Singh,” quipped Peter. His itinerary also included a visit to Wagah Border, Jallianwala Bagh and Rock Garden in Chandigarh.

Petar said he has discovered himself while discovering different philosophies and religions of the world. He loves spicy Indian food and at sunup tunes to the music of Pt Chaurasia and Pt Ravi Shankar and meditates on its resonance.

He signs off with a message: “It is important to enjoy to be able to discover yourself. My friends have helped me realise a new dimension of myself.”

When he is not working, he lets his driver rest and hops on to a rickshaw to explore Delhi. His friends tell that now he can guide Delhi residents about some fantastic, not so popular places in Delhi.

Chandigarh, March 8
The highly decomposed body of a man in his mid-thirties was found hanging from a tree under mysterious circumstances in the jungle area near cremation ground opposite Hallo Majra village here this evening.

The victim’s hands had been tied with a string, which raised suspicion about foul play behind the death, even as no visible marks were found on the body, the police said.

The body, which appeared to be some days days old, had started decomposing and had maggots on it. Someone spotted the body and informed the police around 5 pm, which reached the spot.

The victim was a Sikh having long hair and a beard. He was wearing a green shirt on which ‘Blue Bird Model School’ had been printed. The body was hanging from a ‘patka’.

Industrial Area police station SHO Yashpal Vinayak said the deceased could be a school bus driver.

A pair of slippers was found on the ground where the body was found 
hanging.

No documents or article was found which could help identify the victim. A large crowd gathered at the spot and the police showed the body to onlookers for identification, but to no avail.

The SHO said the body was shifted to a hospital for post-mortem examination after the scene where the body was found was videographed.

The post-mortem report might shed light on the cause of death, he added. The police initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Code in this regard.

Mohali, March 8
The Kisan Hit Bachao Committee has criticised the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) for cheating the landowners in the name of land-pooling scheme.

DP Baidwan, convenor of the committee, said in the land-pooling scheme cleared by the Punjab Cabinet, it was clearly mentioned that the landowners would get 968 sq yard residential plot and 121 sq yard of commercial plot. However, in the public notice, the clause of 50 per cent space being used for parking had been incorporated.

The committee has threatened to go in court against the land-pooling scheme offered by GMADA.

Chandigarh, March 8
To make girls of slum areas self-dependent, Yuvsatta, an NGO, and the Chandigarh Social Welfare Board launched a project ‘Sakhi’ in Bapu Dham Colony, Sector 26.

Madhu Bansal, wife of Union Cabinet Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, was the chief guest on the
occasion.

Under the project, more than 150 girls will be imparted vocational skills to become self-dependent. Parmod Sharma will coordinate the project.

Appreciating the effort of the NGO towards empowering girls, Bansal said there was an urgent need to create opportunities for girls for proper education, health awareness, legal literacy, nutrition, reproductive health, pre-marital counselling, etc.

Dr Shashi Kumar, lead manager, Punjab National Bank, told the girls to make use of the government schemes in starting their own ventures. He assured them of providing easy loans, once they were confident to start their own business.

Chandigarh, March 8
“Vatan waalo isse tum beqas-o-majboor mat samjho, yahi aurat kisi din mulq ki tasveer badlegi…” the essence of Nafas Ambalvi’s couplet got substantiated during the dramatised presentation of author Veena Verma’s story “Firnagian di Noonh” at the Randhawa Auditorium here today.

The play presented by Roopak Kala and the Welfare Society in association with the Babbi Badal Foundation marked International Women's Day.

Actor director Sangeeta Gupta had made a bold attempt to illustrate the dilemma of Indian women through the life story of protagonist Shanti Devi, an illiterate Indian women enacted by young Mallika Bhaskar and elder Sahnti portrayed by Sangeeta.

Through narration the actors depicted the strained relations of Shanti with her, cruel, bad character alcoholic husband while living in Europe with him and three children. Perturbed Shanti, along with her children, left him to join a hospital to feed herself and her children. People with Asian origin in Europe tortured her though she liked European culture. As her children get settled she marries her friend John and bought a shop, which she ran with the help of John resurrecting her life.

The society artistes and Babbi Badal Foundation, chief guest S Harsukshinder Singh Badal honoured the noted art critic journalist Nonika Singh, Assistant Editor, The Tribune, for her contribution to visual arts.

Chandigarh, March 8
To give thrust to maintenance activities at the residential quarters of IAF personnel in the city, a repair and servicing mela has been organised by the Military Engineering Service (MES) here. The aim of this is to improve the living conditions and to give boost to the morale of the personnel.

Close to 500 complaints of various natures were received on first day yesterday and most of them were attended to on the same day itself. Another 421 major complaints would be addressed with in a period of a week, according to a statement issued.

Air Officer Commanding, 12 Wing, Air Cmde Rajeev Sachdeva, Chief Administrative Officer, Gp Capt Atul Kumar Singh, Commander Works Engineer, Col Sadeep Soni, and Shirish Sharma, Garrison Engineer of Air Force Station, Chandigarh, were among those present during the mela and supervised its conduct.

Speaking on the occasion yesterday, Air Cmde Sachdeva said the MES intended to solve 35-45 per cent of the complaints received in two days, with the remaining being addressed over the following week.

Since work relating to IAF’s operational role tends to be given priority by the MES during routine functioning, the focus of the mela was to meet the repair and servicing of residential accommodation in a larger magnitude engaging all the available resources with MES. Repairs to 1,500 married accommodation units are being undertaken during this initiative.

Chandigarh, March 8
More than 500 officials of the Bank of India yesterday converged here to attend the 21st annual general body meeting of the bank.Top leaders of the federation were also present in the meeting, including AK Motayad, president of the federation, and officer-director on the board of the bank, Harvinder Singh, the general secretary of federation and AIBOC vice-president.

Harvinder Singh discussed in detail the problems of high inflation, particularly the food inflation rate of 18 to 20 per cent, which has become a cause of concern for every citizen of the country. Huge job losses due to recent recession, rampant violation of labour laws, lack of adequate protection to unorganised workers and disinvestment in public sector were the other issues, which were vehemently deplored.

Emphasising on the need for extensive expansion of public sector banks in the country to achieve the national objective of financial inclusion, he made out a case for rapid recruitment in the banking industry. He emphasised that lack of staff will lead to violation of Know Your Customer norms and ultimately may adversely affect the UID project and give rise to more staff accountabilities.

The conference ended with passing of resolutions of regulated working hours for officers in the industry.

Chandigarh, March 8
Double tracks on the rail line between Ambala and Chandigarh will be completed soon at a cost of Rs 200 crore, said Ambala division railway manager (DRM) YP Singh.

He was on an inspection on the ongoing development works at the Chandigarh railway station on Saturday. Members of the Railway Board, New Delhi, also accompanied him.

The DRM said the double lining was required in view of the increasing passenger traffic on the Ambala-Kalka-Shimla line. He added that the double line up to Dappar had already been completed.

He said to streamline the traffic at the railway station, the parking lot will be divided into segments for housing different categories of vehicles, including private four and two-wheelers, auto-rickshaws, taxis and buses. Parking lot would be expanded to provide for the increasing number of four-wheelers going there and the ‘premium parking’ lot adjoining the main entrance to the station would also be shifted to front parking lot, he added.

“Though the entrance from the Panchkula side is not used as much as the Chandigarh one, we plan to develop this area too,” added the DRM.

The problem of congestion on the existing foot overbridge at the city railway station has prompted the authorities to come up with a wide new foot overbridge that will stretch from the station parking area and cover all the platforms. The proposal has already been sent to the Railway Board.

“There was a long pending demand for a wider foot overbridge as the existing one proved insufficient to cater to the passengers during peak hours. The proposal has also been presented to the Railway Board, ” said the DRM.

“The new foot overbridge would be at some distance from the existing one. Apart from the platforms, it will also cover the landing and circulation area including the parking. It will also help de-congest the main entrance of the railway station as the passengers will be able to access the platforms more comfortably,” added Singh.

Talking on traffic movement on railway crossings, DRM said there is a need for one more rail over bridge (ROB) in Chandigarh, apart from the one already under construction near Mansa Devi. “We are considering an ROB at Mauli Jagran to connect Chandigarh and Panchkula,” he said.

He said that facilities like escalators, mechanised parcel handling, entry and exit points at different grids would also be designed as per international standards adding that the station will also have its own sewage plant.

Students take out a candle march on International Women’s Day at Panjab University on Monday. Photo: Vicky Gharu

Prof Jitendra Mohan, Professor Emeritus, psychology department, PU, was the keynote speaker. He highlighted how the police was one of the most stressful professions and stress related diseases, viz. heart disease, hypertension, stomach disorders, pain disorders, alcohol and drug abuse were more prevalent among the police.

Lecture

The department of economics, PU, will organise Brij Narain Memorial lecture, instituted in 1958 in the memory of Prof Brij Narin, a teacher and a scholar of economics.

According to sources, the lecture will be delivered on March 9 by Dr Isher Judge Ahluwalia, chairperson, board of governors, the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), New Delh.

Rally

Students of Institute of Educational Technology and Vocational Education, PU, went to slum area of Sector 25 and organised a rally to promote awareness regarding “girl child education” today. The students of BA Hons (education) -BEd participated in the rally by raising slogans.

The students carried various placards and motivated the people.

Principals’ meet

A three-day principals’ meet organised jointly by Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Association of College Principals (AICP) concluded here today. As many as 100 college principals from various parts of the country attended the conference on “Mapping Higher Education”.

Issues, including role of technology in building knowledge society, gender equality in education, RTI in the field of higher education, society oriented quality research and role of teachers in imparting education and their status in the society were discussed. In the concluding session, Prof MM Puri, former Vice-Chancellor, was the chief guest

Awareness programme

Human Rights and Duties (CEASS), PU, celebrated International Women’s Day in collaboration with the Student Human Rights Network (SHRN) at Sarangpur village, Chandigarh, here today. An awareness programme on women empowerment, under the theme “Equal Rights — Equal Opportunities — Progress for All” was held.

The programme commenced at the Anganwari Centre of the village where as many as 100 participants gathered for the celebrations.

Dr Swarnjit Kaur stressed on the need and significance of empowering women at the grassroots level.

An interactive session was held on various issues under the broad themes, “Har Ghar Di Kahani: Ik Naar Di Zubani”, “Soch Bhavikh Di” and “Udaari Mann Di” by Divya, Deepikaa, Buta Singh, Sony Pal and Baljit.

Veena Kumari, executive director, Human Rights Law Network, Chandigarh, delivered a talk on “Access to Gender Justice”. It was followed by the screening of a docudrama on female foeticide in Punjabi under “Simatda Kanya da Astitva”.

The programme concluded with plantation of saplings at cremation ground and school premises of the village.

Seminar

A seminar on “Trends in Teacher Education” sponsored by UGC SAP-DRS was held in the department of education, PU Campus, here today. The seminar was inaugurated by Prof SS Bari, registrar, PU.

He talked about the present scenario of education in India. The keynote address was delivered by Prof AK Sharma, former NCERT director.

He emphasised the supply-oriented approach to enrich the educational programmes.

In the first technical session, “Preparing Teachers for Tomorrow” Prof SK Yadva, Dr Aarti Srivastava, Dr Vibha Ray and Dr Rajiv Rattan presented their views. In the second technical session “National Curricular Framework (NCF)-2005: Its Implications for Teacher Education” Jasvir Chahal was the main speaker. 

Chandigarh, March 8
“Is India ready to tackle regionalism,” was the topic of discussion among three Panjab University law students at a panel discussion organised by the First Friday Forum at Punjab Kala Bhawan here yesterday.

Initiating the discussion, Suvir Sidhu said, “It seemed to be a matter of the past when we Indians used to feel proud of unity in diversity in our country. People of different states would cherish the cultural differences and felt amazed to see so many diverse lifestyles in one united India. With the current regional hatred, one felt insecure and helpless.” However, the young speaker was happy to note that the forum encouraged discussion on topics of social importance among different age-groups for the betterment of society.

Sikander Tuteja blamed politicians for creating chaos among the masses to sustain their existence. “But there are also other factors that ignite regional indignation. To be proud of oneself is good, but it becomes a problem when one tries to prove the other person is less important to establish one’s communal superiority,” he stated.

Prateek Sodhi concluded that an overdose of diversity was injurious to nation’s unity. “We should be different only to the extent we can enjoy and cherish being so by keeping our touchiness to ourselves,” he emphasised.

Dr SS Bhatti, forum’s founder, said this event would turn the Forum into a platform of the youth by the youth and for the youth as a transforming force to revitalise the present lacklustre political will for inventing an India of our dreams.

Chandigarh, March 8
Prof Laxmi Kanta Chawla, health and family welfare minister, Punjab, today presided over a function to mark the International Women’s Day at DAV College, Sector 10.

She emphasised upon the students, especially girls, to follow the true traditional values of womanhood taking inspiration from great women and freedom fighters like Panna Dhai, Kanak Lata, Rani of Jhansi, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of the nation.

Speaking against the ill-practice of female foeticide, she said unfortunately even the educated and affluent people were indulging in the killing of girl child.

Prof Chawla highlighted the plight of women who were not so well of and had to do petty jobs to make both ends meet. She called upon the advertisers to reflect women portrayal in print and electronic advertisement in a more responsible and dignified manner.

She criticised the practice to blindly follow the British education system that was introduced by the British for their own interest, which went contrary to our rich, cultural values and ethos.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr BC Josan, principal of DAV College, Chandigarh, thanked Prof Chawla for her inspirational words and ensured to introduce some of her suggestions as rules in the institution.

He congratulated the women staff and students on this day and elaborated that the International Women’s Day was a global day for celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women.

Chandigarh, March 8
With grades replacing marks in Class X from this year, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has come out with a solution to deal with the uncertainty over the admission criteria to be followed for Class XI.

Giving a serious thought to schools’ apprehensions about grades making allocation of streams in Class XI more tedious, the CBSE has designed a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) system, which will provide schools with average grades in each subject.

The CBSE is also working out minute details to deal with the problem of grades being given on a 10-point scale.

According to senior CBSE officials, affiliated schools will soon receive an advisory on admission to Class XI.

“By March-end, we are expected to come up with a detailed and concrete list, which will clarify on how to break a tie. Schools had expressed concern over admission to Class XI, with hundreds of students expected to get the same grades. It will be a test and we expect it to work well,” said CBSE chairperson Vineet Joshi.

Till last year, admission to Class XI was nothing less than a nightmare for students, whose streams were decided not on the basis of aptitude, but scores.

With the CBSE replacing marks with grades and planning to do away with board examinations, many schools had expressed doubts over admission to Class XI.

The principal of a local school said, “We are yet to get details, but it will be great if we get a proper format. The CBSE’s idea of letting us judge a child’s aptitude through average grades in a particular subject will be a great step. Details need to be worked out as even half a mark makes a huge difference in seat allocation so far.”

Mohali, March 8
Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal conferred the North-West QualTech Awards for 2009 at a function organised at PTU’s Gian Jyoti School of TQM & Entrepreneurship here recently.

Instituted in 2004, these Quality Awards recognise project teams from organisations which have achieved outstanding results in their quality improvement journey.

In the manufacturing category, Subros Ltd. Noida, won the Vardhman Quality Navigator Award for large business, Moser Baer Photo Voltaic Ltd, Noida, won the Trident Quality Pioneer Award for medium business, and Hycron Electronics, Baddi, won the Winsome Quality Pathfinder Award for small business. In the service category, Tata Teleservices Ltd, Mohali, won the Educomp Quality Innovator Award.