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City’s performance in IIT results dismal
Chandigarh, May 25 The number of those selected to join the IIT has also fallen drastically as only a hundred odd students stand a chance of securing admission as compared to over 300 last year. “The result has really been a turnoff as compared to last year when it was raining toppers. We were expecting a little dip in the numbers but had never thought of such a poor show. Last year 100 students made it to the top 2000,” said the director of a local IIT training institute.
Gautam Prem Jain
rank: 20 Ambition: To be a computer engineer Success mantra: “I was raised in Patiala and shifted to the city two years ago because of better facilities here. From the very first day I dreamed of going to the IIT. I’ve stayed awake for nights together to study but now it has paid off.”
Rank: 30 Ambition: To be a computer engineer Success mantra: “Surfing on the Net is my hobby and ever since I laid my hands on my computer for the first time I knew I’d be a computer engineer. I studied for five to six hours a day.”
HIGHLIGHTS
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A successful training hub
“The satellite towns or even the cities in Punjab are yet to get expertise in training students for exams like the IIT or IAS. Students who come from outside are focused and perform better,” said a local tutor.
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Ropar lad secures 6th place
Ropar, May 25 A student of Netaji Model School, Kunal is at present undergoing a 10-day theory and practical training at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in Mumbai. He appeared for the chemistry olympiad and was selected among the top 35 students of the country. The centre will choose the five most enterprising and deserving students forming a national team to compete at the international level. “I hope my son makes it to the top five,” said an ecstatic Pawan Kumar Chawla, Kunal’s father who is an additional superintending engineer with Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Power Plant here. He said he informed his son about the result this morning. Kunal was happy to hear about it and will return home on June 4. Kunal had got 94.8 per cent in Class X and 92.8 per cent in Class XII. He is fond of table tennis and surfs the Internet in spare time. He is also a scholar of the National Talent Search Examination (NTSE), which the NCERT conducts.
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34-yr-old woman murdered in Mohali
Mohali, May 25 The police reportedly recovered a blood stained knife from the room where the body lay, with blood splattered on the walls, sofa and a power switchboard. Bloody foot prints were also seen on the floor in a section of the house. Blood samples and fingerprints gathered from the crime scene were sent for laboratory testing. Sonia and her husband, Rajeev Sharma, were reportedly embroiled in a marital dispute for the past many years and the two lived separately with their two children, who study at Doon School, Mohali, living with their father. But once in a while he used to come and stay with Sonia for a day or two. Even the house in which Sonia resided was a disputed property. The crime came to the notice of a relative of the deceased, Bobby, who lives in Panchkula, when the latter came here to enquire about Sonia’s welfare. He found the door bolted from outside and, on entering the house, he saw her body lying outside the kitchen. He immediately called up the police. The deceased’s parents and other family members, who live in Ambala, rushed to Mohali after failing to get any response from repeated calls made to Sonia’s cellphone. Superintendent of police (city) Harpreet Singh said Sonia and Rajeev Sharma got married in 1994. “The couple used to quarrel frequently and their relationship had gone sour. They had even gone in for a divorce but later remarried in court after some village ‘panchayat’ members intervened”, he added. The police, however, was not able to comment on how many suspects might be involved in the murder and the motive behind it. However, the deceased’s parents suspect their daughter was killed by her husband who they alleged used to beat her up her and “harass” her. Sonia’s brother, Parveen Kumar, claimed Sharma had “threatened” his wife on Wednesday when both had
Kamlesh, Sonia’s mother, said her father had talked to her (Sonia) on the phone on Tuesday night at around 10:30 pm but the latter could not be contacted since Wednesday morning. “My daughter was brutally murdered and she must have cried a lot for help, but neighbours claimed they had heard nothing. The house was ransacked after its locks were broken some days ago”, she stated. None of the deceased’s relatives could tell what the deceased’s husband was doing. According to them he was not employed anywhere but they could not figure out from where he was getting funds to support himself and his two children. The police sent the deceased’s body for a postmortem examination and has filed a case against Sharma under sections 302 & 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
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10 jail inmates hurt in clash
Ropar, May 25 Nine of the injured were undergoing treatment at the Ropar civil hospital for multiple injuries and one was referred to the PGI in Chandigarh in view of his serious condition. Sunil Kumar of Palsora, Jaspal Singh of Kalma, Jatinder Kaushal of Sekhupura in Nawanshahr, Jatinder Singh of Mehadpur in Nawanshahr, Rohit Sharma of Chandigarh, Raj Kumar of Jandla in Nawanshahr and Harpreet Singh were undergoing treatment at the Ropar civil hospital. Jaspal Singh, who suffered head injuries, was referred to the PGI. One of the undertrials injured, Sunil Kumar, told the police that he was working near the flour mill in the jail when Bachittar Singh and a few others pelted stones on them. The inmates alleged that members of the other group were in an inebriated condition and they were carrying sharp-edged weapons. Jail sources said the other group included Bachittar Singh, Bheem Singh, Bindri and Dara Singh. Jail superintendent Daljit Singh Bhatti said Jaspal Singh was under trial in a murder case. He said the police would register cases against the inmates after getting medico-legal reports. The jail authorities wrote to the police, seeking action against the accused. Two groups of inmates had heated argument during a court hearing at Anandpur Sahib on May 23.
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Go Airways passengers stranded for over 2 hrs
Chandigarh, May 25 Another 73 harried passengers, who were travelling from Delhi to Chandigarh (G-8144), met the same fate as the plane was sent back to the IGI Airport mid air. The stranded passengers finally left for Delhi at 10.30 pm after two-and-half-hours of high-tension drama by three Volvo buses. The
Go
Soon after the airlines announced the cancellation of its flight to Mumbai, pandemonium prevailed as harried passengers demanded alternative arrangements to be made for their departure to Delhi and onwards flight to Mumbai. Some passengers even demanded that the airlines should arrange for their overnight stay in the city. Though the Go Airlines staff made arrangements for the travel of all the passengers to Delhi by Volvo buses and assured them seats on the 2 am Delhi-Mumbai flight, most of the passengers were initially not ready to accept the offer. What had irked most of the passengers was the fact that none of airlines staff had forewarned them of the possibilities of the flight being cancelled. A passenger, Gopal Thakur, said while all the announcements made by the airlines staff till 8 pm pertained to the delayed flight, they abruptly announced its cancellation. “The airline staff is rude and unhelpful,” he said, adding that there was no guarantee that he would not be meted out the same treatment at the Delhi airport. Captain, Puneet, a pilot of Go Airlines, who was returning to Mumbai along with his family after a vacation, also got the taste of his airline’s doings. Admitting that all passengers had been put to inconvenience, the pilot defended the airlines on the plea that technical delays are beyond their control.
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BTech passout held for rape bid
Chandigarh, May 25 The police said the accused committed the crime this morning and was caught by the family of the victim while he was trying to molest her. The mother of the victim complained to the police following which the accused was arrested. The youth and the child’s family are neighbours and he used to visit them often, the police said. The youth is unemployed. A case under Section 376 and 511, IPC, has been registered at the Manimajra police station. The accused was produced in court and sent to judicial custody.
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IIT JEE
Chandigarh, May 25 Raja Ram may not know about the ‘greatness’ of the institute but he is proud for his son. “I am a tea vendor that’s my misfortune but I never let my misfortune rub on my son. I never allowed him to come to my cart and always told him that his place was somewhere else where many like me would bow to him. He has done it and paid me back for all my years of sacrifice and hard work,” says Raja. “I have seen what they have gone through and had decided that I would go to the best college and redeem them. More than making it to IIT it’s the tears of joy in my father’s eyes that makes me proud. I will send him on a world tour very soon when I start earning,” says and elated Amit.
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Will gift a car to dad soon, says Divya
Chandigarh, May 25 “Till date we don’t have a car because I was to be sent to a good school and then my dad had to pay for my engineering training. My dad was too busy to ever ask about my studies, but would always say that do what your heart is in, but I knew what was best for him. I am proud to have made it to this college. Now, I will be able to fulfil my dad’s dreams. I will get him a car soon,” says an elated Divya. “We toil hard to ensure that everybody is safe in the city and in due course fail to fulfil our responsibilities towards our children. I was never of much help to him, but what he did for me today has made me proud,” says Suresh Tahniya.
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His mother’s 12-year struggle did not go in vain
Chandigarh, May 25 Not well educated, she took to stitching clothes. Nitin would see her on her machine day and night and would promise to solve all her problems one day and today he has done it. Having made it to IIT Nitin Mukesh of Khuda Lahora has marked an end to all his woes. “My mother always struggled to earn money for our education. She killed her desires to make me progress. Every time she would make a sacrifice I would promise myself to redeem her and thanks god I have done sow. Few more years and she will be the mother of an engineer or probably an IAS and I will ensure that she gets all the comforts,” says Nitin. “What can I say? I am proud that my son was determined and made it to the IIT. Its my success as a single parent,” says his mother.
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Power cuts make it tough for residents
Officials of the HVPN said the supply was interrupted as two mainline towers near the Azad Colony and the Ambedpur Colony had been damaged due to high-velocity winds that lashed the region some days ago. There was no power in Sectors 11 and 12 from 11 pm to 1:30 am and in the entire town from 3 am to 7 am. Students preparing for examinations had difficulty in their
work. UHBVN Executive Engineer Munish Dhariwal said the workforce had been on the job since Saturday and it was likely to be completed by tomorrow evening, following which regular power supply was likely to be restored to the sectors. “The weather conditions have changed now. It is difficult to study without a fan for long. One can bear scheduled power cuts to some extent as work can be planned accordingly. Unscheduled power cuts imposed during the day and even at night have made life miserable,” said Urvashi
Bhat, a student of computer engineering and resident of Sector 11. Prem Lata
Arora, a resident of Sector 10, said there were six power cuts in the sector today and inverters failed to function as those did not get enough power supply for recharging. She said if the board has to impose power cuts, it should inform the public in advance so that it did not face any difficulty. Citizens Welfare Association president SK Nayyar said, “The HVPN and the UHBVN had undertaken work to repair the two towers and the UHBVN had declared electricity supply restoration in phases of two-hour duration during the daytime and one-hour duration at night. The rotation was started, but sectors like 15, 12-A, 11 and 10 were under trouble for more than double the time since the day the fault occurred.” Sectors across the Ghaggar were the worst affected as there was no power in Sector 23 for the past two days and in Sector 24 at night. It was difficult to do domestic chores in the severe heat, said Punam
Ahluwalia, a resident of Sector 24. Sector 25 market association president Anand Aggarwal rued that their business was affected as they could not display their products in the shop without power.
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Service tax on two new services discussed
Chandigarh, May 25 The house was presided by Commissioner, Central Excise Commissionerate, Chandigarh-I, Satyendra Jeet Singh and Commissioner, Central Excise Commissionerate, Chandigarh-II, SL Thakur. Other departmental officials, hoteliers, restaurant owners and some leading service tax consultants (advocates and chartered accountants) participated in the house. Giving details about the new services, practices and procedures to be followed by the trade, Tuleshwar Prasad, Assistant Commissioner, service tax division, Chandigarh, said: “Short-term accommodation services provided by hotels, inns, guesthouses, clubs and others and at camp site, having a declared tariff of Rs 1,000 per day, for the stay for a continuous period of less than three months are taxable under the service tax from May 1.” He said service tax is charged on the total charged value of declared tariff @ 10.30 per cent. However, an exemption of 50 per cent in the service tax is available provided the service providers do not take CENVAT Credit on inputs and input services. Similarly, restaurants having the facility of air-conditioning in any part of the establishment, at any time during the financial year, which has licence to serve alcoholic beverages, in relation to serving of food or beverages, including alcoholic beverages or both, in its premises, are also taxable under service tax from May 1. Service tax will be charged on the gross amount charged from the client in relation to serving of food and beverages, in the bill @ 10.30 per cent. However, an exemption of 70 per cent in the service tax is available provided the service providers do not take CENVAT Credit on inputs and input services, he said.
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Chandigarh Scan
Activists of the Chandigarh Territorial Janata Dal (United) today held a protest at Mani Majra in front of the MC’s office against the indifferent attitude of the Chandigarh administration towards the problems of area residents. They also burnt an effigy of the Chandigarh administration. They demanded that the Food and Civil Supply office be shifted to Mani Majra in order to streamline the issuing of ration cards to residents of the area. Later, a delegation led by Surinder Bhardwaj, president of the party, submitted a memorandum to the MC Assistant Commissioner, who will hand it over to the Adviser to the UT Administrator. Their other demands included provision of basic amenities, along with regular water and electricity supplies, and opening of more ration depots in order to distribute wheat and atta under the PDS scheme among BPL families.
Workers’ rally
Workers of Indian Council for Child Welfare Employees Union went on a strike and held a rally in front of Bal Bhawan in Sector 23. They demanded that revised pay scales be given to employees and women employees be granted maternity leave. They also sought leave encashment, release of gratuity and restoration of retirement age to 60 years.
BJP meeting
Chandigarh state unit of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha under the leadership of state president Maheshinder Singh Sidhu will be holding a national executive meeting (northern region) on May 30 and 31. According to a press release issued today, all national executive and state office-bearers of Yuva Morcha from Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi will be attending the meeting. They will discuss various issues. — TNS
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Level crossing on Kalka highway near Dhakoli closed
Zirakpur, May 25 With the closure of the crossing, residents of 20 colonies and shopkeepers nearby would have to cover at least three kilometres more to reach their destinations. The People’s Action Committee filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court yesterday, demanding that the level crossing on the Zirakpur-Kalka highway remain open to traffic. Committee chairman Iqbal Krishan rued that the closure of the level crossing would affect the life of residents and the business of shopkeepers. They requested that the authorities concerned find a way out so that the general public was not inconvenienced. A railway official said the level crossing had been closed permanently as the railway overbridge had become functional. The railway overbridge had been constructed to solve the problem of traffic, he said. On May 17, vehicular movement from the Panchkula side towards Zirakpur was resumed. NHAI project director Anil Dahia said the railway overbridge was now fully functional and traffic movement from the Zirakpur side towards Panchkula was started past night. He said the level crossing has been closed to traffic. He claimed that work on four-laning of the Zirakpur-Parwanoo stretch would be completed by December-end.
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Strong winds lash Mohali
Mohali, May 25 As the power supply got disrupted during water supply hours, the water pressure was adversely affected, causing inconvenience to those living on upper floors.
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Road Widening
Chandigarh, May 25 In November 2010, the department had earmarked six feet area in front of houses to be left out during road widening. However, the work was held up for six month as the contractor had withdrawn and the MC had to re-tender the same work. Now, the new contractor is using his whims to earmark the area, ranging between four and six feet for the same work as per his convenience. Residents question why the MC has no check on the contractor who is not following instructions of the authorities. Sardul Singh, a resident of Sector 40 and an architect, said it was strange that when the drawing of the work was approved and the area was earmarked in November last year, how the contractor could change it? A number of MC officials, including Mayor Ravinder Pal Singh, visited the area and assured that the work would be completed within a month. But till date, nobody has turned up to commence the work. Residents also said while digging the ground in front of the entrance to the houses, labourers had promised to make some temporary arrangement but went away without fulfilling it. They said a number of accidents had occurred due to the absence of warning signboards in the area. Even the stacking of the concrete, slabs, gravel and paver blocks along the roads was hindering the movement of vehicles. While motorists have a tough time in negotiating vehicles on narrow stretches, bicycle riders and pedestrians are the worst affected. As the construction material is stacked on both sides of roads, cyclists and pedestrians are at risk of being hit by fast moving vehicles.
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Delhi blast
Chandigarh, May 25 The police has set up barriers and check posts throughout the city. A thorough search of parked abandoned cars as well as dustbins and markets was carried out. All the 11 station house officers and three sub-division police officers (SDPO’s) were directed to remain on field at special nakas till 11 pm. “All the parking places are being checked and special nakas have been set up till 11 pm. Police is on high alert after the news of bomb blast in Delhi,” said DSP, PCR and communication, Roshan Lal.
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Dust storm, drizzle bring down temperature in city
Weather changed all of a sudden at 6 pm when a dust storm, along with winds at a speed of 63 km per hour, hit the city. Light and visibility were reduced considerably as the entire skyline was covered with dust, giving a reddish hue to the sky. The storm was followed by showers that settled the dust and brought the mercury down. Officials at the Met office predicted that the change in the weather was due to disturbance over areas of Pakistan and They predicted more showers late in the night and tomorrow morning. The forecast for Thursday is an overcast sky. According to the Met department, the maximum temperature today was 40.2degree C, which was two degree more than the normal. The minimum temperature was recorded at 28.2 degree C. A fresh spell of rainfall in the city has brought relief to residents, who had some respite from the heat following showers on Friday night. However, the dust storm, like last week's squall, disrupted power supply in certain areas.
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SDMs to check stocks at fair price shops, says Home Secy
Chandigarh, May 25 In order to check pilferage of essential commodities being distributed among the targeted population under the Public Distribution System in Chandigarh, it was decided that on the receipt of stocks at the fair price shops, stocks would be checked by the SDM/Additional Deputy Commissioner/Inspector Food & Supplies and members of the Vigilance Committee before the start of its sale. The Home Secretary issued strict instructions that in no case, a depot holder or a kerosene dealer would be allowed to retain ration cards with them. Strict action against defaulters will be taken under the provisions, according to a press note issued here today.
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What went wrong?
According to many it was the physics paper, which dampened the results, as it was way more tough and tricky than last year. “This year, the physics paper was much above the expected average level. An IIT professor who is also the author of many competition books probably set the paper. We had more time consuming and tricky questions set in an unprecedented manner. Though we had worked hard with students but they were not ready for such a paper,” said a city based physics tutor. According to many others it was the teaching methodology of local tuition centres which was to blame. “The trend which various coaching centres are following should be blamed for the poor performance. Unlike any other city, the tuition centres here divide students into sections on the basis of class X board marks and train only one of these sections for IIT. Thus the total number of students ready to take the paper is reduced there by affecting the probability of getting a topper. The competitive exams these days test you for your aptitude for the subject and every child deserves a chance” says a competitive exam result analyst from Delhi. What has further affected ranks is the IIT’s decision to award marks to students for the three questions which had errors. As these marks were awarded across the Board even those who had not attempted them stood benefited and this affected the ranks.
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vacant posts at PU Is adviser to a college that was barred from enrolling students Neha Miglani Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 25 The report on the dismal condition of Sant Harisingh College, Chelen, Hoshiarpur, which is running 10 courses with only three permanent teachers, will be tabled in the next Syndicate meeting and incidentally, Bedi is an Adviser to this college. The college, which was incepted about five years ago, was barred from enrolling students in 2009-2010, as per PU records, due to inadequate infrastructure. As per report of inspection committee, the three teachers were being paid Rs 8,000. A PU fellow has also sought information under the RTI in this regard. However, Bedi nullified all claims against him and said he had resigned from the college in April this year. Reacting to the statements given by the PU Vice-Chancellor, Ranbir Chander Sobti, Bedi has now sought time from the PU Chancellor. “The Vice-Chancellor is misleading the Syndicate. Did he give 15 days time to candidates before postponing the interviews? What was the need to postpone interviews at all? He has his own candidates to accommodate. We will raise the issue in the Syndicate,” said Bedi. Reports of certain colleges submitted to the PU VC by an inspection committee includes status of colleges in Mansowal, Rattewal and Chelen, which have had poor infrastructure, but are enrolling students each year using the PU’s affiliation stamp.
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Shivalik Public School gets relief
Chandigarh, May 25 The significant directions by Justice Ranjit Singh came on a petition filed by the Shivalik Educational Society and another petitioner. Justice Ranjit Singh also directed the declaration of the Class XII result by tomorrow. The institute was de-affiliated by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) on January 6 last year. The de-affiliation was ordered on the recommendations of the Chandigarh administration. In its petition filed through counsel ML Saggar, the school had sought directions to the CBSE and Chandigarh administration to quash the de-affiliation orders. The directions were sought on the ground that the affiliation was valid up to March 31, 2013. But it was illegally withdrawn by the CBSE. In his detailed order, Justice Ranjit Singh ruled: “Counsel for the respondents has placed before me an order dated May 25, 2011, whereby provisional recognition till March 31, 2012, has been granted to the petitioner school. It is pointed out that the CBSE has not declared the result of students during the pendency of this issue.” “Since the school has been recognised provisionally till March, 2012, there is no reason or cause to withhold the affiliation. Counsel for respondents say the result would be declared within a period of three days. Since the result is already prepared and is only required to be put on net, let this be done by tomorrow i.e. May 26, 2011.”
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From Schools & colleges PANCHKULA: Students of junior wing of St Soldier’s School, Sector 16, presented their respective club activities before going for the summer break. Eco club children emphasised upon the need to keep environment clean to save earth. Children learnt to make and use paper bags. Students of the art club showed paper art techniques. Yoga club students displayed various exercises like ‘Pranayam’, ‘Vajrasana’, ‘Tarasana’, ‘Padmasana’ etc to promote their motto “Healthy living is good living”. Students of drama club showcased their acting skills in the form of play, skits and mono-acting, besides highlighting, the need to save water. MoU signed
Chandigarh: The Modern Institute of Engineering and Technology, affiliated to Kurukshetra University, has signed an MoU with Aspire and Cambridge ESOL to prepare its engineering and MBA students. The MoU has been signed to create global employability opportunity for students. Cambridge ESOL will assess all students at the end of this programme and provide them with international certification. Second-year and third-year engineering students and first-year MBA students will receive a four-semester special employability training. — TNS
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Australian institutes to enrol students with Cambridge English
Chandigarh, May 25 “The new rules give students, who want to study in Australia, an opportunity to use high quality and secure international qualification to prove that they have the language skills they need for academic success. Previously, IELTS was the main English language test accepted by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) for Australian visa purpose,” said Bowen. CAE is conducted in 110 countries around the world and recognised by more than 2,800 organisations, including 50Australian universities and TAFE institutions. Dr Mike Milanovic, CEO of Cambridge ESOL, welcomed the minister’s announcement and said the decision ensured that there was greater choice in the English language tests available for student visas.
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Couple win award for quality education
Chandigarh, May 25 They were awarded in recognition for their work during the past 10 years for providing quality service after scrutinising quality of education in more than 800 pre-schools branches across the country. According to director Munish Verma: “It is highly imperative that we recognise the need of a separate pre-school structure for the little ones, as their core needs can be addressed only in an environment customised to suit their intellectual, emotional as well as creative needs with the help of well researched structured curriculum.”
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