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Eminent sportspersons to carry Queen’s Baton
The presence of the 14 city-based illustrious sportspersons like Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, ICC Cricketer of the Millennium Kapil Dev and the lone Olympic gold medallist (individual) Abhinav Bindra at the function would further add colours to it.
Elaborate arrangements have been made at Sector 16 Cricket Stadium, the main venue for the tomorrow’s function. The relay route, from the Matka Chowk to Sector 16 stadium, has been decorated with colourful flags.
The Queen’s Baton Relay will commence its journey from Chandi Mandir, where it stationed since yesterday evening, exactly at 4.30 pm tomorrow in a big procession. It will pass through the Housing Board Chowk, Transport Chowk (Sector 26), and the PS (East) Chowk from where it would take turn towards the Chandigarh Golf Club and then reach to the Matka Chowk at 5 pm. At the Matka Chowk, the Flying Sikh will start relay with his 200 meters run with Baton before handing it over to the next participant. Kapil Dev and Abhinav Bindra will hand over the Baton to Chandigarh’s Adviser Pradeep Mehra after which it would be displayed on a dais. Military band and cultural programmes by the local students will mark the function.
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Gangsters engage cops in gunfight
Chandigarh, July 2 The police claimed it had arrested one of the three suspects, identified as Gobind, from a park in Sector 20, seizing a “country made” .315 bore firearm along with six cartridges in his possession. However, the other two - Vikram alias Bunty and Rakesh - managed to flee in their white Hundai Verna car (PB11 AB 6397) after firing shots on the Haryana cops outside the Government Medical College & Hospital, Sector 32. Gobind, who tried to run away after taking a lift on a scooter, fired shots near the traffic lights at the Sectors 20-30 intersection before being caught. All the three gangsters are said to be hardcore criminals. Bunty, the gang’s kingpin, is said to have murdered his rival, Bobby, in a shootout in an Ambala court on March 3 this year. The gang members also allegedly killed Bobby’s sister, Ritu, and his friend, Ramesh, last year. Besides, they were also involved in a double murder case as well robbery incidents. Sources close to the Haryana police said the latter laid a trap at GMCH after receiving a tipoff that Bunty was coming to meet someone at the hospital. According to the sources, the trio came in a car at the hospital at about 1:30 pm. Only Gobind came out of the car and both Bunty and Rakesh were inside the vehicle, when they noticed the presence of the Haryana cops in civil uniform there. Rakesh immediately drove off in the car while firing gunshots. On the other hand, Gobind came on the road in front of the hospital while brandishing his pistol. He took a lift from a scooterist and was near the Sector 20-30 traffic lights when the cops, who were chasing him in their van, pounced on him. Gobind then opened fire there and began running towards Sector 20. He was again chased by two Chandigarh police constables, Balkar Singh and Amit Kumar of the Sector 30 police beat box, who nabbed him from a park there. During interrogation, Gobind is said to have confessed he and his accomplices had been living in Sector 68, Mohali for the past two and a half months. SP HS Doon stated with the arrest of Gobind, who he said hailed from Rajasthan, the police hoped to solve many criminal cases in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Rajasthan. He added the cops found about eight shells from the two spots after today’s incident. Meanwhile, the police have registered a case under section 307 of the IPC and sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act at the Sector 19 police station.
Brawl at PU
At least 10 students, reportedly from DAV College, Sector 10, entered the Panjab University campus today and spread panic by entering into an argument with each other. The incident took place near the help desk on the university campus, where members of all student organisations have been allotted space to guide the students. Eyewitnesses say the two parties entered into an argument after a brawl. The students belonged to the Panjab University Students
Union (PUSU) and the H SA Student Organisations of DAV College.
Although the PU authorities did not reacted officially, the incident has angered the PU student leaders, who claim that the authorities failed to fulfil their promise of issuing identity cards to students. “Who are sitting at the help desks? Are the authorities not aware of the fact they are PU students or outsiders? Nobody has inspected the help desks even once. They promised to make I-cards, but till date nothing has been done about it,” said Harshvardhan Singh, SOPU president.
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Land Acquisition Case
Chandigarh, July 2 In a letter to the CBI director, Babla said a few prominent citizens of Chandigarh had raised their voice against the mega projects during the tenure of former UT Administrator Gen SF Rodrigues (retd). The citizens had demanded a CBI inquiry into the irregularities into the land allotments and filing of FIRs against the officials involved. The case against Nirvikar is a tip of the iceberg and a detailed inquiry into the entire issue will roll many skeletons from the cupboard. Therefore, I request the CBI to thoroughly probe the scams and unearth the nexus which plundered the public money and book the guilty to restore the faith of the common man, Babla added. — TNS
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College cutoffs soar, 84% at GGDSD
Chandigarh, July 2 While the impact on all courses has been similar, things have become difficult with BBA (bachelor in business administration) that has emerged as the most sought after option with an all-time high requisite merit. While at GGDSD College, Sector 32 the cutoff stands at 84 per cent it is approximately 78 per cent at DAV College, Sector 10. According to college officials, the BBA course is the most sought after for non-science students and it is the large number of applicants that has led to this jump in cutoffs. “Though there only 120 seats for BBA in our college we received over 1,100 applications for the course. It remains a popular choice for many. The cutoffs have soared as the number of those securing above 90 per cent marks in class XII results increase every year,” said GGDSD College principal AC Vaid. Though the government colleges that have gone in for centralised counseling for BBA and BCA courses will declare their cutoffs on July 5, things are expected to be the same there as well, according to academicians. “Every year a large number of students get tons of marks in the class XII results and thus cutoffs go up. I think it’ll be a tough race in government colleges as many meritorious students who will not make it to private ones will be interested in getting admission there. The numbers of applications was thrice the number of seats this year,” said Shyam Sunder, principal of the Post Graduate Government College, Sector 11. “It’s high time the boards review their class XII evaluation process. Though students secure very high marks they often lack the aptitude for a particular subject and fail to cope with it in the very first year of the course. Many students might have secured above 90 per cent marks in science, but generally they are not right for courses like biotechnology. The evaluation system needs to get stricter and more aptitude oriented. Colleges or universities cannot increase their seats in proportion to the cutoffs, and thus many a time deserving students who scored 70 per cent and above fail to get their due”, noted Dr Rupinder Tiwari, head of Panjab University’s biotechnology department.
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Commonwealth Express reaches city
Chandigarh, July 2 The special 11-coach exhibition train, a joint venture of the Railways and the Information & Technology Ministry, will stay at the city railway station till July 3 before resuming its journey to Una in Himachal Pradesh. It would remain open to visitors between 10 am and 8 pm. Five coaches each feature exhibition on the Commonwealth Games and the information technology in the railway operations. The eleventh bogey has been converted into a 100-ft-long travelling sports photo exhibition by sports filmmaker Sunil Yash Kalra, who has also donated rare pictures from his collection of over 5,000 photos. There are around 70 rare pictures in the exhibition of which the oldest is of the Indian hockey team that won the gold medal in 1928. Photographs of around 100 national sports award winners from the Railways in the last 75 years are also displayed in the exhibition train. Earlier, Sanjay Kumar, Finance-cum-IT secretary, visited the colourful coaches of the train. Besides the games, Railways' contribution to sports has also been highlighted in the train. “We have chalked out the schedule of the train keeping in mind the Queen's Baton journey in the country. The train will stop at those stations where the baton would reach," said GM Singh, senior divisional commercial manager, Northern Railway, Ambala division.
Focus on IT, not games
Chandigarh July 2 Sportspersons across the city were disappointed to see nothing special to promote Commonwealth Games when they visited the special train at the Chandigarh railway station here today. The train seemed to be the promotional platform for information technology instead of the games. There are a total 11 coaches in the train out which five are dedicated to the Commonwealth Games history and other are dedicated to the IT section. Surprisingly, there is no photo or history of flying Sikh Milkha Singh in the train, who is the lone individual gold medallist from India in the games so far. A feedback form is being provided in the last coach the train, which again has no mention of the Commonwealth Games.
Lukewarm response
The response to the Commonwealth Express in the city was lukewarm on the first day. A few people, including schoolchildren, were seen at the railway station to have a glimpse of the train. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had flagged off the Commonwealth Express from Safdarjung railway station, New Delhi, on June 24. The baton would return to Delhi on September 30 and the games would start on October 3.
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Delay in Work
Chandigarh, July 2 The move comes after the IT company was served notices in the past asking it to start work on the project. Sources said around 30 acres was allotted to the firm at a rate of Rs 40 lakh per acre. However, the project remained a non-starter even after nearly four years. Now the firm has only two months to comply with the notice. As per the agreement with the UT administration, the firm has time till September 2010 to start the work. Earlier, the UT administration had served notices on at least 10 non-IT firms who had gained entry into the IT Park and were engaged in non-IT activities. Since the very inception when the land acquisition for the three-phase IT park began to 2005, when it was inaugurated by the Prime Minister, after nearly 10 years, the IT Park is yet to be “fully functional”. A section of farmers showed resentment over low compensation for their acquired land for the IT Park and the discontentment in a section of industrialists who paid crores for conversion of their plots under the conversion policy of the UT claiming that some non-IT firms have taken premises in the IT park.
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Auto-rickshaw drivers hold up traffic
Chandigarh, July 2 While the police was able to lift the jam within minutes, the authorities lodged a complaint against the union members and president Harcharan Sahni. Sahni, however, denied his role in holding up the traffic. The STA authorities yesterday started a one-week challan drive against autorickshaw drivers who did not install fare meters and were found driving without uniform. A total of 93 challans were issued yesterday, following which, the auto drivers union had decided to go on strike. Sahni, however, claimed that the strike was against the administration’s failure to revise fares despite an increase in the fuel prices. However, when drivers gathered to take out a rally this morning, the police assured them that it would arrange a meeting between the STA authorities and union members, following which the strike was called off. Later, it was learnt that some of the auto drivers were challaned near Kisan Bhawan Chowk and in protest others parked their vehicles on the road, he said. “I reached the spot and persuaded drivers not to resort to such methods following which the blockade was lifted,” claimed Sahni. Meanwhile, 35 auto drivers were challaned today. The drive, however, has been suspended till Monday to avoid any untoward incident ahead of the arrival of Queen’s Baton tomorrow. STA secretary Vandna Disodia when contacted, confirmed the suspension of the drive. She said she would consider the union’s demands.
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Bansal writes to Badal
Chandigarh, July 2 In a letter, released through his media coordinator Pardeep Chhabra, Bansal said he had come to know that the Punjab government had decided to take up the construction of the Phases V and VI exclusively for Mohali. Chandigarh and Panchkula have been asked to wait for the later Phases VII and VIII for which the land was yet to be acquired. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in its order dated April 9, 2010, had asked the Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Haryana, the UT Adviser, the Executive Officer, Cantonment Board, Chandimandir, to sort out the issue relating to water from Kajauli. “I understand that at a meeting held on May 4, 2010, at the UT guesthouse, it was agreed that the Chandigarh administration could go ahead with the execution of the augmentation project of Phases V and VI based on the 1983 agreement as approved by the Government of India,” Bansal said. He said the decision of the Punjab government had come in only a few days after the meeting of two Chief Secretaries and the UT Adviser and was contrary to the agreement arrived at by officials, which had already been filed in the high court. The Chandigarh administration is already in the process of receiving a grant of Rs 130 crore for the purpose under JNNURM. “There is every possibility of our losing this grant if the water supply augmentation work is not taken up now,” Bansal said. Chandigarh has already undertaken that it will provide remaining water from its share for Mohali and Panchkula in the proportion as specified in the 1983 agreement. In case, Punjab feels the need of still more water for Mohali, it can undertake Phases VII and VIII by acquiring the land and laying the pipelines for Mohali,” Bansal said.
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Aerocity Reservation for Riot Victims
Mohali, July 2 Applicants would have to file separate forms, as the existing applications would not be entertained. GMADA’s estate officer Balbir Singh said the schedule for availability and submission of forms would be intimated through a public notice in advance. Banks have also been told not to accept the existing application forms from those enquiring about the riot-victim quota. The decisions comes after the state government through a fax message intimated GMADA to go ahead with the implementation of 5 per cent quota for riot victims. Sources said riot victims who had earlier availed of a similar benefit might not be considered this time. GMADA officials would hold a draw in 60 days or so. It would refund money to all unsuccessful applicants or would send it to banks financing the applications. “If a draw is held within three months, banks will refund the extra money,” said a GMADA official. Meanwhile, after a meeting with GMADA officials, banks have been told to transfer the application money to GMADA accounts on a daily basis. This will enable GMADA to process the applications on time. Officials added that from the first week of August, the draw for various categories would be spread over a period of one month or beyond. Each and every details regarding the draw of lots, schedule and name of successful applicants would be posted on GMADA’s website.
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Boy falls in pit, dies Simpal Sakalani
Chandigarh, July 2 Narinder Choudhary, general secretary, DMC colony, said the MC had dug a three-foot deep pit for laying water pipes but failed to refill it on time. The victim was admitted to the Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, from where the doctors had referred him to the PGI due to his critical condition, added Chaudhary. He was operated upon on Thursday.
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A salute to women’s spirit
Chandigarh, July 2 The function was organised by all veteran female artistes under the aegis of Chandigarh Senior Citizens Association Chapter 6 at Guru Nanak Public School’s auditorium here today. Directed by SS Lamba, the programme was a veritable salutation to women, who had been extolled as an angel in old epics. Earlier, noted poetess Taran Gujral set the pace with the rendition of her favourite classic “Titly”, while Nisha Pandya and Neelima Choudhry, too, doled out poems on social evils. Veena Puri brought alive the rustic flavour in “Mitti da Bawa” immortalised by Jagjit Singh, while Harbir Kaur and Amandeep Kaur attempted to emulate legendary Surinder Kaur in “Sadke Sadke” and “Lathhe di chadar” to win applause. A skit “Dhoodh waale ka Interview” brilliantly enacted by Sudha Puri, Ranjana Kapur and others bared the tactics of milk vendors, besides providing a genial laughter to audience, including Anu Chatrath.
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Govt School Micro Escorts
Chandigarh, July 2 The buses, which were launched around two months ago, to provide subsidised transportation to the government schools’ students might see an increase of Rs 100 in the current fee. While the idea might disturb many students, the transporters claim it to be inevitable. “Things were difficult from the beginning. The recent hike in the diesel prices has left us with no option. The drivers are demanding salary hike. We submit a written proposal to the STA soon and hope that it will understand our position,” said one of the transporters, Trilochan Singh. STA director Vandana Disodia though claimed that she was yet to get any such proposal, she assured that any step would keep the students’ interest as first priority. “The service was launched with an aim to subsidise transport and we will uphold this goal. Let me get the proposal and then only I will decide anything but whatever will be done it would keep the students into priority,” she said. “Even we are bothered about the students and will negotiate the hike but it has to be a minimum of 12.5 per cent, otherwise we will not be able even to buy the fuel for them,” reacted Singh.
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Hostel Admission
Chandigarh, July 2 The members claimed that there was only one counter in the administrative block for distributing the forms related to the hostel admission. Hence, the time consumed was much more and this was causing inconvenience to the students. The members demanded that the respective hostels should also distribute the forms, so that the students do not face any problem. “The authorities must be considerate towards the students and separate counters must be opened for this purpose. The first year students are already getting the forms from the respective departments. For the old students, who wish to seek renewal of the hostel rooms must also be given similar facility,” said SOPU president Harshvardhan Singh.
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Dental college affiliation issue
Chandigarh, July 2 The institute is in the process of recruiting teachers and mandatory guidelines of the Dental Council of India (DCI) will soon be accomplished, said the university authorities in an official version. For four years, 10 advertisements for the post of professor at the dental institute could not fetch enough applicants. After the DCI pointed out at the staff crunch, the dental institute has managed to fill three out of six posts for professorship (nearly 50 per cent). PU Institute of Dental Sciences director Krishan Gauba confirmed that DCI committee members officially visited the institute in April and later sent a letter stating that the institute was required to fill up the vacancies for an annual approval by the council. Based on the inspection, the DCI had sent a letter to the dental institute about its deficiencies and has directed it to fill up the vacancies for the posts of teacher through a letter issued in May. The dental institute subsequently filed a reply on May 15 and another letter was sent to the DCI in June informing about the progress. The institute is now awaiting a mandatory annual approval from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which is acquired once the norms laid down by the DCI are fulfilled. The process of approving the dental institutes across the country is likely to start after July 15. An annual approval by the DCI, which is a recommending body, is also required for the dental colleges to apply for a final approval by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said Krishan Gauba. “It is a challenging task for all government dental colleges to hire expert faculty. In the last recruitment process, all experts were present and two candidates for the posts of professor did not turn up. After the DCI’s inspection, we have filled up 50 per cent posts for professor,” he added. The director added that the norms set up by the DCI would remain the same and the onus falls on the institutes to fulfil the criteria. He added that the institutes must fulfil the annual targets of the DCI and the ministry each year.
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PUTA Meeting
Chandigarh, July 2 PUTA unanimously rejected the UGC regulations, dated June 30, 2010 on various grounds. The most contentious clause that drew flak from members pertained to the career advancement scheme (CAS) promotions, claimed PUTA members. “According to the new regulations, those who become eligible for CAS after December 31, 2008 are to be promoted under the new guidelines. This has seriously hit a number of CAS candidates, who have already been interviewed and selected,” said the members. PUTA has urged the Panjab University authorities to clear CAS cases, which have already been processed, interviewed and are pending for the formal approval of the Syndicate. The teachers’ union also claimed that the hasty decision of the Syndicate to adopt these regulations should not have come in the way of already processed CAS cases. The members insisted that the interim order regarding CAS promotions given by the UGC through its letter dated February 18 should have been adhered to. They added that in its interim order, the UGC had clearly stated that till the new regulations come into force, the previous regulations would remain operative. The sudden change in stance of the UGC has nonplussed all. The members also pointed out that even in the notification of the Punjab government dated September 2, 2009, it was clearly mentioned that till the new regulations are issued by the UGC, the promotions and selections would be guided by the UGC regulations of 2000. PUTA also decided to join hands with various regional and national teachers’ associations in protesting against the anomalies in the new UGC regulations.
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PU Notes
CHANDIGARH: The entrance test for Masters in Social Work has been rescheduled for July 7 to be held from 10 am to 11 am instead of tomorrow. The group discussion and personal interview will be held on July 10 at 10.30 am and 2.30 pm, respectively, instead of July 5. The venue will be Arts Block IV, sociology department, Sector 14, PU campus, informed Mohinderjit K Teja, coordinator, Centre for Social Work. The decision has been taken in wake of the postponement of the last date for submission of application forms for admission in various courses in the teaching departments of Panjab University from July 1 to July 5. Interview date
The interview for the admission to first year of MSc (zoology) will be held on July 12 at 10 am in the department of zoology. Aptitude test
Aptitude test for the admission in MA Music (vocal and instrumental) first semester will be held on July 7 at 9.30 am in the department of music, PU, instead of July 5 due to the extension of date of submission of the forms. No separate call letters will be sent, said Pankaj Mala Sharma, chairperson, department of music. Certificates awarded
A function was organised to award certificates to female wards of university employees on the successful completion of their training in computer and English speaking courses at the department-cum-Centre for Women Studies and Development, Panjab University. Research scholars and members of office staff have been imparting computer training and English speaking skills to the female wards of the university employees on voluntary basis.
— TNS
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Chandigarh, July 2
Milkha Singh: “I am excited to participate in the Baton relay after 28 years (Asian Games, 1982 in New Delhi).”
Kapil Dev:
“I am very happy to be a part of the welcome function for the Queen’s Baton Relay. Being a sportsperson it is a proud moment for me.”
Abhinav Bindra:
“For me, participating in such an event is really an honour.”
