NEIGHBOURHOOD

Students protest against English paper leak
Attar Singh
Tribune News Service

Ambala, March 10
The Haryana Chapter of Spic SME Pharma Industries Confederation India and all-India joint secretary, Spic SME Pharma Industries Confederation India, has demanded that central excise exemption on small-scale industries which is presently Rs.1.5 crore for all types of industries should be increased to Rs 5 crore in case of pharma industry.

Vinod Gupta, president of Haryana Chapter of Spic SME Pharma Industries Confederation India, said here today that the confederation had submitted a memorandum to Kumari Selja, Union Minister for Housing, Urban Poverty Alleviation and Tourism, highlighting the woes of the Haryana Pharma SMEs and the available excise sops to pharma industry in Himachal Pradesh and Uttranchal.

He said the confederation had pointed out that the pharma industry could not be bracketed with other industry, which was neither regulated nor was it under price control.

The memorandum said while calculating excise, abatement of 60 per cent should be stipulated instead of 35 per cent allowed presently, so as to remove the anomalies of maximum retail price excise. Both these had the approval of the Prime Minister.

The confederation has also demanded that the central excise may be levied on contract manufacturing in excise-free zones of Himachal Pradesh and Uttranchal so that thousands of traders and doctors who are sourcing medicines with high maximum retail price from there are checked and government gets revenue.

Vinod Gupta further said that Kumari Selja was the only hope as she was the lone Haryana MP representing in the Union Cabinet. He said that by taking up the cause of the pharma industry the minister would not only be saving pharma industry but other industries also in the state.

Dera Bassi, March 10
Thieves decamped with eatables and a LPG cylinder from two shops on Gulabhgarh road here late last night.

According to the information, Rajesh Kumar, the owner of Sri Harmilap Enterprises alleged that he got a call from his neighbour on Wednesday morning that the locks of his shops were broken.

When he reached his shop, he found eatables, including chocolates, packets of ghee, ice creams and other food items, missing. He informed the police about the theft.

In another incident, thieves entered office of a property dealer and decamped with a LPG cylinder.

Sirhind/ Rajpura, March 10
While summer round the corner, power cuts have begun to haunt the people in the areas of Rajpura, Fatehgarh Sahib and Banur.

“It seems that unscheduled power cuts will continue to haunt people this summer too. Last year we stayed without electricity for 17 hours together”, said Harpreet Singh of Banur.

He said that despite tall claims of the Punjab government nothing seemed to have changed. The residents will continue to suffer in the next coming years.

Children and elderly are at the receiving end facing discomfort. Presently, the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) is imposing four-hour long cut, which may be extended in peak, said the area residents of Sirhind.

They said that they were facing power cuts every day from 10 am to 12 noon and 2 pm to 4 pm and sometimes the duration increased during the day time and at night. In Rajpura and Banur too, residents were facing power cuts for two hours at a stretch in the morning as well as in the evening.

Another Pavittar Singh at Rajpura said that three days ago there was continuous six hours power cut. “Inverters in many houses too got exhausted. The residents had to resort to using gensets to get power back up,” he said.

He said that hard days were ahead where people could have facility of electric appliances only for few hours in a day.

The PSEB officials said they had brought the matter to the notice of their seniors, who had assured to provide domestic electricity for consumers.

Patiala, March 10
A two-day national seminar on “India’s National Security: Emerging Trends” organised by the department of defence and strategic studies, Punjabi University, Patiala, began on the university campus today.

Major General Rajinder Nath while delivering the keynote address emphasised upon developing latest weapon technology to counter external threats. He said, “Our neighbouring countries have friendly relations with each other.” He said defence budget should be increased to strengthen the weapon system in India.

Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Jaspal Singh said, “Numerous socio-economic and religious conflicts exist in our society and several insurgencies are being supported by Pakistan and China.”

While Indian economy had registered phenomenal growth, internal and external threats were haunting the nation. The entire growth process would come to a halt if security concerns were not addressed on time, Dr Jaspal added.

He said India’s policy makers, nuclear scientists and national security experts should join hands and come out with a nuclear doctrine.

Experts deliberated upon internal and external security challenges, international terrorism, proliferation of WMD, energy security, radicalisation, and changing nature of conflicts.

Patiala, March 10
Laughter is the best medicine. We’ve heard the expression time and again. For decades, researchers have explored how humour helps patients relieve stress and heal. In today’s world where each and everyone is engulfed in their daily problems, there are some for whom life is all about laughing. Comedian Jaswant Singh is one of them.

Known for his mimicries, especially of Sunil Shetty, Jaswant loves to entertain people. Talking about his journey, Jaswant said he started doing comedy when he was in college.

“I began my career by doing mimicries during various youth festivals and they were widely appreciated.

But my career got a real boost when I won Channel MH1s popular show ‘Hasde Hasaunde Raho’ in 2006. This show gave me a lot of exposure and recognition. The next big thing that happened was Star One channel’s Laughter Challenge-4. That gave me an opportunity to present my talent in front of artistes like Shekher Suman and popular cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu. Then Sony Channel’s ‘Comedy Circus Teen Ka Tarka’ and Colors ‘Chhote Mian Bade Miyan’ increased my popularity among people,”he added.

Sharing his experiences, he said, “The best thing that happened to me after Laughter Challenge was that people started calling me ‘Laughter Sunil Shetty.’ I really loved it because since I was young, I was a big Sunil Shetty fan. So his mimicry was my strength. Now wherever I go for my shows, people enjoy my talent and laugh. That I guess is the best reward for a comedian.”

Jaswant believes that reality shows provide a lot of exposure and are good for artistes but one must always be very careful not to lose themselves in this glamour. “Comedy requires a lot of talent. One must be very careful because now days comedy has double meaning but this kind of comedy has very short life. Also, it is very important for a comedian to enjoy a healthy image among viewers,” he stresses.

About his future plans, Jaswant said he was playing a role of comedian in Punjabi movie titled ‘College.’ “Other projects are in the pipeline but I will be able to comment only after the things are final,” he signs off.

Fatehgarh Sahib, March 10
The 17th athletics meet of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College commenced today.

The three-day meet was inaugurated by MS Grewal, principal of the college.

Grewal urged students to take part in extra-curricular activities.

Today’s results:

800m (boys): Nobeljeet Singh 1, Dilraaj Singh 2 and Pranav 3; 800m (girls): Jasdeep Kaur 1, Harkirat Kaur 2 and Jasjit Kaur 3; 5,000m (boys): Varinder Singh 1, Pranav 2 and Sandeep Singh 3; long jump (girls): Sandeep Kaur 1, Arshdeep Kaur 2 and Samandeep Kaur 3; long jump (boys): Harsharan Singh 1, Tejinder Singh 2 and Jasreet Singh 3; 100m race (girls): Sandeep Kaur 1, Sukhjeet Kaur 2 and Samandeep Kaur 3; 100m (boys): Gurjant Singh 1, Amritbir Singh 2 and Mandeep Inder Singh 3; shot put (girls): Amandeep Kaur 1, Jaspreet Kaur 2 and Gagandeep Kaur 3.

Kharar, March 10
Two motorcycle-borne youths snatched gold chain of a woman on Jandpur road on Tuesday afternoon at around 4.15 pm.

The incidence took place when the woman was going towards Didar Nagar. The youth approached the woman and the pillion rider got down from the motorcycle and snatched away her gold chain.

The police was investigating the case.

Mohali, March 10
The police has booked two residents of Mumbai on charges of criminal breach of trust and cruelty.

According to the police, Zubi Bains, a resident of Phase IV, had complained that her husband Ali Lakshman, and mother-in-law SamtiLakshman allegedly tortured her for not bringing enough dowry.

Chandigarh, March 10
Rajeev Kundra, station superintendent, Chandigarh Railway Station, who was held guilty by the CBI court yesterday for accepting Rs 5,000 as bribe from taxi operators, was sentenced to two-year imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000. He was later released on bail on a surety bond of Rs 50,000.

The team of the CBI had caught Kundra while accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000 on the complaint of Kulwant Singh, a taxi owner.

Singh had had alleged that Kundra had demanded Rs 10,000 per month from taxi operators and asked them to give him Rs 30,000 for three months. He had then forcibly removed a board of the taxi operators from the station premises and kept it under lock in his office.

Fed up of his behaviour, taxi operators approached the CBI. Kulwant Singh reportedly made a phone call to Kundra from the CBI office, in which Kundra had asked them to come with Rs 5,000 as advance to his office in the evening after the departure of Shatabdi Express from the station.

The CBI team recorded their conversation and a trap. The CBI sent a member of team along with the complainant. When the complainant handed over the money to Kundra, the official nabbed him.

AS Sukhija, counsel of Kundra, told The Tribune that the CBI had failed to follow the procedure laid down by the law. “They investigated the case and submitted the chargesheet under Section 173 of the CrPC, but it had become necessary to place on record each point in writing apart from the oral arguments,” he said, adding: “The article published in a journal ‘crimes’ has highlighted the violation of the law by the CBI to the prejudice of the accused person and the same defects are found to the present case also.” He claimed that no care has been taken by the CBI to comply with the link evidence deliberately.

Chandigarh, March 10
Three persons, including a woman scooterist, were injured in two separate road accidents in the city.

Savita Tripathi of Milk Colony, Dhanas, reported that Khushal Singh of the same village had rammed his motorcycle into her scooter in Dhanas on Tuesday. She suffered injuries in the mishap and was rushed to the Sector 16 Government Multi-Specialty Hospital. The police has arrested the accused after registering a case.

In another incident, Amit Tyagi of Uttar Pradesh filed a complaint with the police alleging that a car driven by Dapinder Singh of Sector 34 had hit two pedestrians, identified as Rajinder Singh of Sector 16 and Rupanj Gupta of Mohali, near Hotel Taj in Sector 17 today.

The injured were admitted to the Sector 16 Government Multi-Specialty Hospital.

Mohali, March 10
Bollywood’s glam girl Preity Zinta wants to be the ‘ambassador of women sports’ in the country.

Expressing happiness over getting the “Sports Illustrated Award” of top 50 most influential persons in Indian sports on March 8 at Mumbai, Preity said she would be happy if she gets a chance to be ambassador of women sports in the country.

“The award inspired me to do more for the other sports except cricket, she said. “I used to play basketball before making it to Bollywood. Now, I am in cricket. If I get a chance to associate with women sports, I would gladly accept it, said the Bollywood actor and co-owner of Kings XI Punjab.

Preity claimed that she is keen to promote other games in the country, which incidentally have been overshadowed here due to excessive love of the people for cricket.

People should also take initiative and reach the venues, where other games are held. The sponsors 
will automatically follow, said Preity.

“We are a country of over one billion people and we have come with only one Olympic gold medal. The other games need to be promoted,” said Preity.

She said her team is a ‘socially aware’ team, which would work towards HIV positive people in India along with the UNAIDS.

“We have launched red bands today and the 25 per cent of the total amount generated from the sale of these bands will be donated for the social cause,” said Preity.

Meanwhile, the IPL organisers claimed that they had already sold over 70 per cent of the total tickets for the first match.

Chandigarh, March 10
Shivraj V Patil, Governor of Punjab, honoured players of the junior national netball team at Raj Bhawan here today.

Patil interacted with the players of the Chandigarh netball team who won a gold medal in the Junior National Netball Championship (boys), a silver medal in the Girls Federation Cup and a bronze medal in the Boys Federation Cup at Nasik in February this year.

Patil congratulated players and coaches. He said the city players were well versed with the nuances of the game but they still needed to work hard. Speaking on the occasion Jagdeep Cheema, senior vice-president of the Chandigarh Netball Association, said Pushpa, Navneet, Amandeep Kaur, Kundu, Ankur Sharma and OP Sharma of Chandigarh netball teams represented India in various championships held in Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Pakistan.

Chandigarh, March 10
Poonam defeated Sonalika of ECE in badminton (singles) on the inaugural day of the annual sports meet of Government Polytechnic College for Women, Sector 10, here today.

Chief guest Sandeep Hans, PCS director, joint secretary, finance, administration, inaugurated the meet.

He appreciated the efforts of the faculty. He encouraged students to learn, appreciate and follow the “True spirit of Sportsmanship in Life.”

Earlier, principal of the institute Vin Dosajh apprised the chief guest about the achievements of the institute. A cultural programme was organised.

More than 360 students participated in the event.

Brief results:

Throw ball: MOP department 1and ECE department 2; carom (singles): Nisha, ECE, 1 and Punnet 2; doubles: Punnet and Veenam 1, Vandna and Poonam 2; cricket: Architecture department 1pharmacy department 2; kho-kho: ECE department 1 and MOP department 2; badminton (singles): Poonam of pharmacy 1 and Sonalika of ECE 2; doubles: Archana and Poonam 1and and Ruby and Neetika 2; basketball: ECE department 1 and MOP department 2.

Chandigarh, March 10
For the first time, the Chandigarh Golf Club is going in for a five-year rolling plan for the maintenance of the course.

If such a five-year plan finally comes through, the country’s most trampled golf course will emerge greener with the designers for Aamby Valley golf course taking stock of the situation.

Yes, David Hemstock’s team has been working on the tees, fairways and greens of the club. The team has designed 200 golf courses around the world, including the Aamby Valley golf course, considered among the best in Asia.

Heading the designers team is David Hemstock from the UK. In the trial six-month period, which started in November last year, the designers have already brought about a lush green look to the fairways and tees even after the harsh winter months. This has been made possible with the successful overseeding of tees with Rye grass from Oregon.

During an interaction at the Golf Club here on Tuesday night, David Hemstock said:”A lot of work has to be done, as the course has the highest player traffic in the world”. He felt that the only answer to the problem was continuity in the maintenance work. This was the practice in most of the courses all over the world.

He was happy that the greens had become healthier and were playing well. “We are working to further improve the putting surface and looking at bringing about improvements in the fairways and bunkers also. However, for all this the club needs to get some essential machinery and equipment and use the latest techniques,” he said. David Hemstock complemented the club management on their decision to go in for a five-year rolling plan so as to provide continuity in maintenance and upkeep of the course and to improve the course in all aspects.

Captain of the course IPS Mann agreed that the player traffic was the highest in Chandigarh. The Delhi Golf Club also had a very high traffic, but their course was well maintained. The reason is the availability of more and better machinery and a considerably high budget for maintenance expenses. “If the CGC has to come up to the same or better level, it needs to provide for more funds for maintenance and invest in latest machinery,” he said.

With an open hand given by club president BS Gill, course manager Col Navkesh Singh had chalked out a collaboration plan with the Delhi Golf Club and Classic Golf Resort, Gurgaon, on assorted maintenance issues.

The club president and course captain said the blockages in the draining outlets had been removed. But water still remained a big problem in summer. “The club will have to go in for boring tubewells to maintain a regular water supply to the greens”, said the captain.

The course now had a large nursery of Tif Dwarf, Selection 1 and Bermuda grass.

Over the years, the Chandigarh Golf Club course has faced a lot of problems with every elected team having its own priorities. But with a pucca five-year maintenance plan on the anvil, the club is sure to see better days. Even at 10 in the night on Tuesday, David Hemstock was giving a brief on the new design he had in mind for the 18th greens.The Wednesday interaction had to be shelved as David had to head for Delhi for a Commonwealth Games project.