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70-yr-old woman tied, robbed
  Armed with a knife, miscreant flees with cash, jewellery from former PU Prof's house
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
Barely a week after a robbery at gunpoint was reported from Mani Majra, a masked man robbed a 70-year-old woman of jewellery and cash after tying her hands and feet with a rope at her residence in Sector 44 last night.

The woman, Nirmal Dutta, a former Panjab University professor, stays alone in her house. Her husband DL Dutta, a former professor, had died about three years ago. She has two daughters, who are settled abroad.

The incident occurred at around 9 pm when Nirmal Dutta went out to park her car inside the house. A masked youth wearing gloves, who was waiting outside, followed her inside the house. He waited for some time and as Nirmal was about to sleep, he brandished a knife at her. He then overpowered her by tying her hands and feet and threatened her to hand over cash and jewellery to him.

The robber took away Rs 9,000, an ATM card, two gold rings and a digital camera. Before leaving, he untied her feet and took her mobile phone, which he then kept at the entrance and fled.

Dutta used to park her car in the open space in front of her house during the day. Every evening, she would park her car in the porch before locking the doors.

Dutta told the police that the person had covered his face with a shawl and she could not see him clearly. She gave him Rs 9,000, an ATM card, two gold rings and a camera. Dutta then approached her neighbour Puneet, who united her hands, following which they called the police.

The police has registered a case of robbery under Section 392 of the IPC at the Sector 34 police station.

Last week, a father-son duo was robbed of Rs 5 lakh in Mani Majra at gunpoint. The police is clueless in that case. 

ATM card taken away
The robber took away Rs 9,000, an ATM card, two gold rings and a digital camera. Before leaving, he untied her feet and took her mobile phone, which he then kept at the entrance and fled

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report card-1
Mayor fails to rid city of encroachments
Rajinder Nagarkoti
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
City Mayor Raj Bala Malik, whose year-long tenure is coming to an end this month, has failed to solve the problem of encroachments in city markets and on public land.

Large-scale encroachments and the failure of the municipal corporation to remove these forced three councillors to resign from the enforcement committee of the civic body.

Enforcement committee vice-chairman and BJP councillor Devesh Moudgil, SAD councillor and committee member Malkiat Singh and nominated councillor and committee member DS Sandhu recently resigned from the committee.

The seriousness of the Mayor and officials of the enforcement department to solve the problem of encroachments can be gauged from the resignation letter of nominated councillor DS Sandhu, who quit the enforcement committee.

“In order to give more time to remove encroachments from MC land, pointed out in public interest, I addressed a letter to the Mayor. In the letter, I gave a clear notice of another week for action by all concerned. In spite of all efforts, the outcome seems to be nil. Hence, I am left with no a option but to resign from the membership of the enforcement committee,” the letter reads.

Corridors of various markets in the city have been encroached upon with vendors using the space to sell food items and shopkeepers to display their goods. These encroachments in corridors and pavements leave little space for people to walk. Encroachers are doing brisk business in markets of Sectors 15, 17, 19 and 22 and in a few markets in southern sectors.

Sector 17, which was declared an encroachment-free zone by the MC, is full of encroachments. In rehri markets of Sectors 15, 19 and 22, shopkeepers have even rented out the sidewalls of their shops, with the rent for these varying between Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000.

In these markets, it is common to find encroachers fleeing minutes before a raid by the enforcement staff of the municipal corporation. As soon as an MC team leaves their area after a raid, these encroachers come back and start their business again.

Shopkeepers are not the only ones to encroach upon government land. Despite the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, many VVIPs in the city have allegedly encroached upon public land by erecting security tents. It was only after Chandigarh Tribune highlighted these encroachments that MC officials some of these. People have now started complaining to the UT Administration to remove these encroachments from MC land. Advocate Anil Mehta of the Milk Colony, Dhanas, said he had written a number of letters to MC officials to remove encroachments from a park in their locality. After failing to get any response from the MC, he had now written to the UT Adviser in this regard, he said.

The Mayor said one-year time was not sufficient to solve the encroachment problem. Combined efforts of the UT Administration, the estate office, the MC, the public and traders were required to remove encroachments from the city.

She said shortage of staff in the enforcement wing was a hindrance.

Shopkeepers have encroached upon large parts of markets in  Sector 15.
Shopkeepers have encroached upon large parts of markets in  Sector 15. Tribune photo: S Chandan 

sidewalls rented out

* Corridors of various markets in the city have been encroached upon

* Shopkeepers have even rented out the sidewalls in rehri markets in Sectors 15, 19 and 22

* Some VVIPs have encroached upon public land by pitching tents

* Three members of the enforcement committee of the MC have recently resigned 

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  Mayoral poll on January 1
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
UT Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Shayin today announced the election schedule for posts of Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the municipal corporation.

According to the orders issued by the Deputy Commissioner, the election will be held on January 1. Nominations can be filed on December 28 between 11 am and 5 pm for all three posts.

From the Congress, besides two former mayors Pardeep Chhabra and Subhash Chawla, Mukesh Bassi and Sat Prakash Aggarwal are also in the fray for the post of Mayor. In the BJP, the situation is a little complex as there are "different camps" in the party. Arun Sood, Saurabh Joshi, Davesh Moudgill and Rajesh Gupta Bittu are the prospective candidates from the BJP for the post of Mayor. 

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  Nigerian arrested with cocaine
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
The UT police today arrested a Nigerian national, identified as 42-year-old Godwin Ulo Awa, with 30 gm of cocaine. The value of the drug is estimated to be Rs 80 lakh in the international market. The police suspects the accused to be part of the gang busted in Amritsar two months ago when heroin worth Rs 115 crore was seized from a goods train.

The accused was staying as a paying guest in Sector 69, Mohali, and was smuggling drugs for the past few years, the police said.

A team of the Industrial Area police station had set up a barrier near the nursery at Daria village, Chandigarh, and nabbed the accused while he was coming in his car (CH 52 2T 4110). During a search, 30 gm of cocaine was found in his possession.

The police seized two sealed samples of 5 gm cocaine each and another packet containing 20 gm of cocaine.

During interrogation, the accused disclosed that he used to smuggle drugs along with his accomplice Atol, who is a Nigerian based in Delhi. The police has dispatched a team to Delhi to arrest the other Nigerian.

Inspector Narinder Patial, SHO, Industrial Area police station, said they had written o the authorities in Amritsar to ascertain whether the Nigerian was involved in the drug haul busted in October when heroin worth Rs 115 crore was seized.

The Nigerian was produced in a court and remanded in five-day police custody.

Public prosecutor JP Singh told the court that the other accused was yet to be arrested and to find out the source of the drugs, the custody of the accused was required.

A case under Section 21 of the NDPS Act has been registered in the Industrial Area police station.

On October 2, the UT police had arrested a 37-year-old Nigerian, Daniel Ebera, with 19 gm of cocaine at the Inter-State Bus Terminus in Sector 17. 

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  Mothers of babies born on 12.12.12 consider themselves fortunate
Ritika Jha Palial
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
For Reetu Arora, who has been yearning to have a child for the past nine years of her marriage, nothing could be as fortunate as delivering a baby girl on a date, which comes once in 100 years.
Preet Kanwar, father of a baby born on 12.12.12 looks at his daughter in Sector 19, Chandigarh, on Wednesday.
Preet Kanwar, father of a baby born on 12.12.12 looks at his daughter in Sector 19, Chandigarh, on Wednesday.  Tribune photo: Manoj mahajan

While opting for the date 12.12.12 for the C-section delivery, Reetu and the members of her family wanted the delivery at 12 noon. “They wished to have the time also to be 12 noon to make the birth of the child even more remarkable. However, due to medical requirements, the delivery was conducted at 9.50 am,” said a doctor at Dr Jindal’s Nursing Home in Sector 20.

“It is a dream comes true for me since I successfully delivered the baby on the date of my choice. God has listened to our prayers. My husband was always inclined to have a baby girl and so did he get,” said Reetu, a resident of Sector 22.

“It seems the wait was quite worthwhile. We are blessed with an angel,” said Reetu’s husband Dinesh Arora, who is a businessman.

For Baljeet Kaur, her prayers proved to be all the more worthwhile, as she delivered the baby on 12.12.12 naturally. In fact, she had another ‘12’ attached to the birth as the delivery took place at 12.25 pm.
Reetu Arora with her baby born on 12.12.12 in Sector 20.
Reetu Arora with her baby born on 12.12.12 in Sector 20.

“I am glad that my baby is born on such a special date. We were keen not to go for C-section delivery. But, my wife certainly said, two days ago, that it would be great if the delivery takes place on 12.12.12. I feel like the most fortunate person on this earth as everything turned out to be the way we wanted it,” said Preet Kanwar Singh, Baljeet’s husband, who is a Mohali resident.

The delivery was conducted at Dr Mangla Dogra’s clinic in Sector 19. At the city’s three government hospitals, meanwhile, a total of 37 deliveries were conducted today. Of these, 11 were conducted at the PGI, 12 at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, and 14 at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.

37 deliveries at 3 govt hospitals

At the city’s three government hospitals, meanwhile, a total of 37 deliveries were conducted today. Of these, 11 were conducted at the PGI, 12 at the Government Multi-Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, and 14 at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.

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  Strike cripples postal delivery system in city
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
The postal delivery system collapsed in the city today as the employees of group C and D went on a strike on a call given by the National Confederation of Central Government Employees Association. The employees of group C and D of four other Central government departments held a silent protest in their respective departments by staying away from office work. Around 500 employees of the postal and income tax departments, the central ground water board and the Survey of India were on strike.

The general secretary of the General Postal Office Association, Raspal Singh, said no mail was distributed in the city by the postal staff today. In fact, urgent office work is also managed by daily wage earners of the department. He said about 90 per cent of the employees of the rail mail service were also on strike in protest against the non-fulfilment of their pending demands.

Revealing the charter of demands of the central government employees, general secretary Surinder Pal, a member of the central government employees coordination committee, said the employees were demanding the implementation of the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission with effect from 2011. He said as per the norms of the pay commission, the salary of the central government employees is revised after a decade but in the charter, the confederation has demanded the revision of pay after five years. All the vacant posts in every central government department should be filled and there should be 100 per cent employment on compensate grounds for the kin of deceased employees.

President of the Income Tax Employees Federation, North West, PK Vasudeva said the strike was for one day and employees of the department had not done any work today. He said there were around 350 employees of group B, C and D who participated in the strike.

The general secretary of the Central Under Ground Water Board Employees Association, SL Saggu, said all the employees of the board went on protest.

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Residents stage dharna outside Raj Bhawan
Tribune News Service

The police removes protesters who staged a dharna in front of the Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh on Wednesday
The police removes protesters who staged a dharna in front of the Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Manoj mahajan

Chandigarh, December 12
A Hallomajra resident, Om Prakash, who was allegedly manhandled by the security staff of UT Administrator Shivraj Patil during a public darbar in October, today staged a dharna outside the Punjab Raj Bhawan.

He alleged that since 1997, he had been applying for an industrial loan under various government schemes but to no avail. Besides, a theft had also taken place in his factory in Industrial Area but the police had failed to solve the case, he added.

Om Prakash said earlier he had registered for the last public darbar but he was not called. Thereafter, he wrote to the UT Administrator and had sought a meeting with him. But today, when he failed to meet Patil, he staged a dharna outside the Raj Bhawan. The UT police officials reached the spot and took him to the office of the Director, Industries, Chandigarh. Om Prakash said now the officials had assured him that the Director, Industries, would meet him tomorrow and redress his grievances. 

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Developer penalised for cancelling plot allotment

Chandigarh, December 12
The UT Consumer Forum has penalised a city-based builder for failing to issue a No-Objection Certificate for the sanctioning of a loan to the complainant and cancelling the allotment of a plot after receiving 30 per cent of the payment of the plot from the complainant.

Taneja Developers and Infrastructure Limited, based in Sector 22, has been directed to refund Rs 5,21,250 (the initial payment) at the rate of 12 per cent interest per annum from the date of deposit and pay a compensation worth Rs 25,000 to the complainant for mental agony.

According to the complainant, Vishal Saxena, in 2009, the builder had allotted a plot measuring 250 square yards in TDI City, Mohali, to him. The total cost of the plot was Rs 21,50,000.

The complainant deposited 30 per cent of the total cost of the plot,i.e. Rs 5,21,250 with the builder and for the remaining 70 per cent amount, he was advised to avail himself of loan facility.

A loan of Rs 16 lakh was sanctioned by a bank in favour of the complainant. On getting the sanction letter, the complainant immediately requested the builder to provide him an NOC, which was to be submitted to the bank for the disbursement of the loan.

A tripartite agreement was also signed between the parties. However, the NOC was not issued to the complainant and the builder kept on assuring him that he would be receiving the same very soon. — TNS

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red ribbon express
Curious students pose queries on spread of HIV 
Ritika Jha Palial
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
Defying the taboos associated with sex education, several school students shot a volley of questions related to sexual transmission of HIV during their visit to the counselling centre of the Red Ribbon Express stationed in the city today.

Students pose queries on HIV at a counselling centre onboard the train; and (right) students inside a coach of the train.
Students pose queries on HIV at a counselling centre onboard the train; and (right) students inside a coach of the train.

Going by the analysis of the counsellors addressing the queries of the students, who visited the HIV AIDS testing and counselling centre on the Red Ribbon Express, students were quite confident in raising the tabooed questions.

“It is natural for a youth to be curious about sex education. But what turned out to be surprising this time was that these children aged 14 to 17 put forth their doubts about the sexual transmission of the virus while sharing their experiences also,” said one of the counsellors at the designated HIV AIDS counselling centre on the train.

Another counsellor said: “It was quite impressive to see the confidence of these children in asking questions related to Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI). In fact, even girl students were equally confident in posing queries. Another observation we made after answering the queries of these children was that many of them were sexually active and were curious raising awareness on HIV transmission too.”

The train, which has been launched with the aim of creating awareness on AIDS, was inaugurated in the city today. It was visited by more than 8,266 people, including 5,000 school students. The train will remain stationed at Chandigarh Railway Station for two more days (December 13 and 14). All the six coaches of the train housing exhibits, graphics and HIV testing centre will be open to the public from 9 am to 6 pm on both the days.

Dr Vanita Gupta, Project Director, Chandigarh State AIDS Control Society, said in 2010 the train arrived in the city for the first time. “This is the third phase of this campaign and our focus is more on youngsters and women.”

A total of 38 persons volunteered for the HIV test at the testing centre. A total of 56 persons got themselves checked for sexually transmitted infection.

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booth scam
UT to submit report to Union Ministry
Rajinder Nagarkoti
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
Waking up from deep slumber, finally, the UT Administration is going to submit the action taken report on the infamous booth scam to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

Recently, the MHA had asked the UT Administration for the report.

The three-member probe panel, which was constituted to take action on the PS Shergill's report on the scam, in its report submitted to the UT Administrator had stated that proceedings had been initiated in eight cases for the cancellation of the allotment. The panel had also recommended further probe into the monthly income profile in around 30 cases.

After sitting on the inquiry report, which had rocked the city, the UT Administration in November last had termed the report prepared by former UT Additional Deputy Commissioner PS Shergill as incomplete and had issued directions to the Deputy Commissioner for a complete probe into the scam.

After the directions from the UT Administration, the Estate Office in January this year had issued notices to 88 booth allottees and asked them to file their replies.

The show-cause notices were issued to the allottees, as there were serious allegations against them in the inquiry report.

In his approximately 1,000-page report, Shergill had pointed out the involvement of top politicians and senior officials, including city MP and Union Railways Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, former UT Adviser Pradip Mehra, former Deputy Commissioner RK Rao and former Mayor Pardeep Chhabra.

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assault on Punjabi singer
Cops yet to identify culprits
Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 12
The Mohali police is yet to identify the culprits who were involved in the assault on Punjabi singer Subhash Sharma, alias Babbu Chandigarhia, allegedly by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) supporters at a marriage ceremony at the PCA Club on Monday night.

SP (City 1) Swarndeep Singh said the victim was shown the footage of the reception party during which the incident had occurred. But, he failed to pinpoint any person.

He said they (the police) had also summoned some outstation relatives and friends of the host of the party to record their statements. “Babbu cannot identify anyone from them,” said the officer.

The police said they would develop the still photographs of the function to show these to the victim. “Our investigations are on in the case,” said the SP.

Notably, Babbu Chandigarhia claimed to have beaten by some SAD workers at the marriage ceremony on Monday night. He had raised doubts that he was probably beaten up for his satire on the SAD party, which had been uploaded by him on YouTube recently. Babbu sustained injuries on his right eye, forehead and legs.

The police had registered a case under Sections 307, 323, 506, 148, 149 of the IPC against unidentified persons at Phase 8 Police Station.

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  Mohali selected for Green India Mission project
Kulwinder Sangha

Mohali, December 12
Mohali district now has the distinction of being selected for implementing the Central Government’s Green India Mission project. Three other districts in Punjab - Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Hoshiarpur - will also be covered under the project.

Under the project, lantana camara (scientific name), a noxious weed, will be removed from the Seonk area in Mohali district.

Scientists say lantana camara, a flowering plant, is a danger to the ecosystem. It is described as an invasive species in many tropical and sub-tropical areas. It adversely affects not only the growth of indigenous plants but also is a threat to biodiversity. It can make animals ill if it is ingested.

Parveen Kumar Thind, Additional Deputy Commissioner, said here yesterday that Rs 1 crore had been earmarked by the Centre for each selected district for rooting out the deadly weed. Mohali had already received the funds allocated under the special project.

The Punjab Chief Minster was taking a lot of interest in the mission, he added.

He said 1,000 to 2,000 persons would be employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for the removal of the weed. The work would start at Tandi village. It had already been undertaken in various foothill areas.

He said the growth of lantana was widespread. It was also found along roadsides and in residential pockets in the rural areas.

He estimated that it would take about two months to get rid of the weed in the target areas and said the reclaimed area would be used for cultivation.

The ADC said the aim of the project was to reclaim the land, provide employment to needy persons and preserve the biodiversity.

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Tricity Scan

Actors visit Aryans campus

The star cast of “Sadi Gali Aaya Karo” visited Aryans campus recently. They interacted with students of Aryans. Dr Anshu Kataria, chairman, Aryans Group of Colleges, presided over the event. The upcoming Punjabi movie, “Sadi Gali Aya Karo”, has been extensively promoted by the students and faculty members of Aryans Business School (ABS). Dr Anshu Kataria, chairman, ABS, said the students and faculty of the Marketing Department of ABS had taken this movie as a product and it was an important assignment for them to plan for its promotion.

Corporate meet

Amity Global Business School, Chandigarh, has organised the corporate meet and CSR Awards-We Care, at CII, Sector 31. The corporate meet is an annual and high-profile mega event of Amity to strengthen academia-institute bond. The meet involves inviting industry captains from the region to deliberate upon the critical subject of value-enhancing partnerships between the industry and academic institutions. Top managers representing the national and multinational companies from the manufacturing and service sector shared meaningful discussions and their views on the theme, “leadership challenges in the modern organisations”. For the first time, Amity, Chandigarh, has also institutionalised CSR Awards-We Care to recognise exemplary contributions in the field of corporate social responsibility by the corporate houses in and around the tricity.

North-East delegation

Today, 35 delegates from North-East, who came to Chandigarh under the SEIL (Student's Experience in Inter State Living) tour, a vision started by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP), interacted with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at the Punjab Bhawan, Sector 3, Chandigarh. The host families with whom these delegates are living in the city and volunteers of the ABVP were also present. Both talked about their respective food, outfits, culture as well the level of education and development around them. The Chief Minister also told them about the historic places in Punjab and assured that students from North-East can come to Punjab and complete their studies.

Blood donation camp

The Quest Group of Institutions organised a blood donation camp under the banner of NSS on its campus. Around 106 students of the institute, including faculty and support staff members, donated blood. The camp was inaugurated by HPS Kanda, vice-chairman of the Quest Infosys Group.

MAT exam

The All-India Management Association (AIMA) has approved the Doaba Group of Colleges (DGC), Kharar, as a centre for the online Management Aptitude Test (MAT) for a third consecutive time. MAT is a standardised all-India examination being conducted by the AIMA since 1988 to facilitate business schools to screen candidates for admissions to MBA and allied programmes. Dr Daljit Singh, director-general, Doaba Group of Colleges, said DGC was the only centre in the region for the online MAT examination.

Blankets donated

The Omnipotent Global Trust, an NGO, donated 25 blankets to the Mother Teresa Missionaries of Charity, Sector 23. OP Longia, who runs the NGO, said such donations would be organised from time to time.

Rare surgery

A private hospital, Cosmo Hospital, claimed to have saved the life of a 22-year-old patient from Sirsa by performing a rare neuro surgery here. The patient had intracranial bleeding due to intracranial aneurysm. “CT angiography showed right large internal carotid artery bifurcation aneurysm (ballooning), which was clipped during the surgery,” said Rakesh Redhu, neuro surgeon at the hospital. — TNS 

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PU mulls online roll numbers 
Amit Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
The Panjab University’s rule of sending roll numbers and mark sheets to the students, enrolled under correspondence course, through ordinary posts instead of regular posts and charging Rs 110 from students for duplicate roll numbers and Rs 360 for duplicate degrees in case they get misplaced has earned the ire of students, who are now demanding that the university should send all the documents through registered posts or else the students should not be asked to pay for the duplicate documents. A representation regarding this was also submitted to the Registrar by the students today.

The students, mainly hailing from Punjab and studying through correspondence courses, face similar problem every year. They fail to get their roll numbers, following which they visit the university for duplicate roll numbers and even pay Rs 110 as fee.

SOPU leader Manoj Lubana said:" the fee, charged from students for duplicate roll numbers and mark sheets is unjustified. “There is no mistake of students and the university should not charge fee for duplicate roll numbers."

He further added that PU should send the roll numbers and mark sheets through registered posts so that the documents didn’t get misplaced. “The university can charge for registered post from students along with the fee for the course," Lubana said. SOPU also submitted a memorandum to the PU registrar demanding the same.

NSUI leader Sunny Mehta, who had earlier approached the university with similar demand, said the PU authorities had turned a blind eye toward the issue. “Earlier there was annual system and students faced the problem only once in a year, however, with the commencement of semester system, students now face the problem twice a year," Mehta said.

Meanwhile, PU Registrar AK Bhandari said it was not possible to send registered post to thousands of students at a time. “We are planning to make the roll numbers available online to solve the problem, which is expected to be introduced from the next semester," Registrar said.

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Engineering students study Sukhna biodiversity
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
A team of Techfest Green Campus Challenge of Swami Vivekanand Institute of Engineering and Technology studied the biodiversity in the Shivalik area and the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. The team, comprising 19 members, will participate in the Techfest of the IIT, Bombay.

The members of the team said with the help of the government, NGOs as well as the citizens of our country, they could conserve the biodiversity. They had taken a pledge to protect the environment and make the world a better place to live, they added.

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  Beeline for admission forms

Chandigarh, December 12
Parents continue to make beeline for getting their children admitted to entry-level classes. St Anne’s School began the sale of admission forms today. Parents turned up in huge numbers at St Anne's School.

The school sold a total of 730 forms and is expected to witness heavy rush in upcoming days. “The response was good on the first day and long queues were witnessed till noon. We will continue to provide forms till December 15,” said Mavi, spokesperson of the school. — TNS

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Poor response to admission process in govt schools 
Vivek Gupta
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
In contrast to private schools, the government schools in Chandigarh are getting dismal response with respect to the sale of admission forms for the entry-level classes. There is hardly any government school, which has sold admission forms more than the number of seats available.

Similar response was witnessed in various popular government schools, including GMSSS-16, 35, 37. "We have sold about 70 forms against the 90 seats but we are hopeful to fill all the seats," said Anujit Kaur, principal of the GMSSS-16.

Heads of various government schools said stereotypical view of people was the major problem for the government schools in Chandigarh. "There are several government schools in Chandigarh where infrastructure is far better than private schools. Parents, therefore, must be aware of the good infrastructure in government schools," said a school principal

Another principal said the condition of enrolling the children from the surrounding sectors was another probem for the government schools. "The schools should be given some flexibility in terms of enrolling the students," he said. The forms can be submitted in government schools till December 15.´

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Over 200 TGTs appointed
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
Over 200 trained graduate teachers (TGTs) were given appointments letters by the Education Department today. The teachers have been appointed by the Sarav Shiksha Abhiyan Society, Chandigarh, on contractual basis. Officials said the teachers have been asked join in a week .

The process of recruiting the teachers started in September this year. More than 4,400 candidates had applied for these posts, out of which 200 final candidates had been given appointment letters today. The process of appointing 654 junior basic teachers is also going on and the officials said the final list of JBT candidates would be issued by the end of this month.

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Misplaced service books: Attested copies available for teachers, says PU
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 12
In a bid to save teachers from harassment due to misplaced service books, Panjab University has asked the teachers to avail the attested copies of their service books from PU after paying a nominal fee.

The Panjab University Teachers' Association (PUTA) president Mohammed Khalid said the teachers had the option of procuring an attested copy of their service books by paying just Rs 10, however, not many teachers knew about the rule. "We are publishing this rule so that teachers could have an authenticated copy of their service books and if the original service book gets misplaced," khalid said.

PUTA had recently written to the Registrar over the misplaced service books of teachers that had led to delay in the release of arrears and increments. The PUTA leaders said they also had a meeting with the Registrar regarding the issue, who stated that in the month of September all the university officials had been ordered to be more vigilant and strict while handling the service books.

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Contractual teachers meet DPI(S), raise salary issue 

Chandigarh, December 12
Facing delay in getting salaries , the contractual computer teachers and data entry operators of government schools in Chandigarh met DPI (S) Upkar today. They also raised the issue of enhancement of their salaries which they said was pending for the past one year.

DPI (S) Upkar Singh assured them that the salary of October had already been issued and the Department would seriously purse the issue of enhancement of salary. — TNS

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from schools
  Water conservation campaign

Taking a huge leap, students of Gian Jyoti Global School, Phase II, Mohali, bagan a campaign for the cause of water conservation in adjoining areas. A team of the students made message cards, bearing the slogan, "Every drop of water is precious", and gave them to the residents of Phase II, Mohali. They urged the residents for the sensible use oe water as the priceless natural resource might vanish because of the careless handling by human beings. Principal Ranjeet Bedi applauded the efforts of the students.
Student present an item during an inter-school dance competition at Panjab Kala Bhawan in Chandigarh on Wednesday
Student present an item during an inter-school dance competition at Panjab Kala Bhawan in Chandigarh on Wednesday. Tribune Photo: S Chandan

One-day orientation programme

A one-day orientation programme of the CBSE was held at KBDAV-7, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. Nearly, 175 teachers from reputed CBSE-affiliated school of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Panchkula, Mohali and Chandigarh attended the orientation programme. The workshop started with various PowerPoint presentations.

Annual function

Ankur School celebrated its annual class function at the university auditorium, Sector 14, Chandigarh, on Wednesday. The programme started with "ganesh vandana". The popular, "gangnam aance’ and a folk dance of Poland were also performed along with a Haryanvi dance. Two English and Punjabi plays were also staged on the occasion. The highlight of the programme was an extraordinary "lilliput dance".

Science exhibition

The five-day State Science and Environment Exhibition-2012 was held at SIE,Sector 32, Chandigarh, in which 103 schools of Chandigarh region participated. The overall best prize in the rural high cchool category was bagged by Government Senior Secondary School, Manimajra, along with four other individual prizes. A programme was also organised at the school on the occasion of the World Human Rights Day.

Annual function

Green Castle Public School , Sector 47C,Chandigarh, organised its annual function on the school campus on Wednesday. Raj Bala Malik, Mayor, chandigarh, was the chief guest on the occasion. The students showcased their talent during the celebrations. The students presented various dance items that enthralled the audience.

Student brings laurels

Jinsa Elizabeth George, a class VI student of Mount Carmel School, grabbed the best all-round student award for the session 2012-13. She was given the Best Student of Chandigarh Award by Chhaaya School of Art for her outstanding performance in fine arts. The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) has also awarded her a scholarship in the field of dance. Apart from dance she has made a mark in the field of art too. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BBMB) had organised a state-level poster -making competition, in which she had won a consolation prize.

Painting competition

The Forum of Senior Citizens in Education in collaboration with M/S Pharmaffiliates organised an on spot painting competition at Satluj Public School on wednesday. Students of Bhavan Vidyalaya participated with great interest and showed their skills during the competition. The students retained the overall running trophy for the second time in group folk dance and group song competitions.

Dance contest

Saupin’s School, Panchkula, organised a dance competition for the junior classes on Wednesday. The children astounded everyone with their scintillating performances. A Saalad making activity was also organised for the junior sections. They learnt about the nutritional value of vegetables. Junior coordinator Vandana Vinayak gave them tips on healthy diet.

Function

Budha Dal Public School, Zirakpur, celebrated the annual function, “Melange”, on the school campus on Wednesday. The students presented a variety of items such as patriotic songs, folk dance and Arabic dance.The celebrations began with the recital of a shabad. All the items carried a message to save water.

Felicitated

KV sangathan gives incentive to motivate teachers for the good job, being done by them. Jasbir Kaur Sidhu, a primary teacher of KV, Sector 31, was given the KVS incentive Award for her excellent performance in the field of education by the HRD Minister .She has contributed towards the project, ECTLT and E-Content.

Population Prevention Day

Students of Government High School, Sector 46C, Chandigarh, were sensitised about the ill-effects of increasing population on Wednesday. The Population Prevention Day was celebrated by Srishti, the eco-club of the school. A slogan writing and poster-making competition was organised by eco-club in charge Sunita Kamboj and Nardev Kaushik. About 75 students participated in it. —TNS

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