Chandigarh, December 22
A thick blanket of fog enveloped the city and brought the temperature down to 6.4 degrees Celsius. Eight trains were delayed and passengers were left stranded on railway platforms, battling the winter chill. Poor visibility also hit the road traffic in the city.

It was a harrowing time for passengers who were stranded at the railway station. Not only the Shatabdi Express, but almost all trains in the Ambala division are running late by several hours. The long distance trains were most affected due to the thick fog. Many trains had to be rescheduled. The Howrah-Kalka Mail was delayed by 10 hours and the Unchahar Express was delayed by seven hours.

The Shatabdi which reaches Chandigarh at 11.05 am was late by an hour. Similarly, the Himalayan Queen, which reaches Chandigarh at 10.27 am, was also late by one hour. Even the Jan Shatabdi was running an hour late.

Railway officials said the thick fog, which started showing its effect on Friday night, threw the train schedule haywire due to which eight trains were running late by several hours. He said that the backlog is likely to take sometime to clear. We have advised train drivers not to exceed 30 kmph speed mark in any case in the fog-affected areas. Speed inevitably takes a hit, creating a backlog for the coming days.

The meteorological department has predicted more fog over the next two days with the maximum and minimum temperature hovering around 19°C and 6.4°C, respectively.

Weather department director Surinder Pal Singh has advised residents to avoid driving during late evening hours for the next three days as their will be thick fog in the city. There will be a dip in the day temperature and the nights will become cooler, he added.

The chill forced many to cover themselves in woollens. For the homeless, the only solace was bonfires which they lit under trees and in parks.

Chandigarh, December 22
Dense fog and inclement weather played a spoilsport today as all outbound flights from the Chandigarh domestic airport were cancelled due to poor visibility.

The traffic was disrupted as none of the inbound flights could land at the airport, resulting in the cancellation of all outbound flights.

Sources said there were about 12-13 scheduled flights to Delhi, Mumbai and other destinations, which could not take off today as the dense fog and cloudy weather reduced the visibility.

“In the afternoon, the visibility at the airport could not meet the prescribed air traffic norms, therefore none of the flight was allowed to land and take off from the airport,” said a senior official.

He added that the visibility could not go beyond 400m.

The disruption, however, left hundreds of passengers stranded at the airport.

While the airlines officials claimed that the money was refunded and passengers were given flight options from Delhi and Chandigarh for tomorrow, several passengers spoke otherwise and alleged harassment at the hand of the airlines.

A passenger, Sandeep Day, who had to board a flight for Mumbai, said the airlines here did not off-load the passengers to other flights from Delhi in the evening,

reasoning that all the flights were full. "However, flights were available when we checked on the Internet," he said, adding that there were no drop-in facility.

Another passenger, Pushak Raj, said, "We had the flight scheduled at 10.30 am, but we were made to wait till 4 pm and then we were told that the flight was cancelled.

“While many passengers booked their flight from Delhi for tomorrow morning, they could have arranged a bus for us, which they did not do," he said. Dr Soma, a passenger, said the airlines officials were rude to them.

Jet Airways cancelled four flights- Chandigarh to Delhi at 8.10 am, Chandigarh to Mumbai at 12 pm, Chandigarh to Delhi at 5.15 pm and Delhi-Bangaluru at 5.35 pm.

SpiceJet cancelled four flights, Chandharh-Srinagar at 12.40 pm, Chandigarh-Mumbai at 4 pm, Chandigarh-Delhi at 10.25 am and 2.30 pm. Indigo had two flights from Chandigarh to Mumbai at 10.15 am and 4.05 pm.

Chandigarh, December 22
Following the verdict of the National Commission For Minority Educational Institution (NCMEI), which came down heavily on the Chandigarh Administration in an alleged case of promotion of cyber crime and obscenity against St John’s High School, Sector 26, school principal Kavita Das expressed satisfaction over the judgment and stated that the order had come as a relief for the school.

Addressing the media at the school today, she said the order had vindicated the school’s stand on this issue as well as reaffirmed their institution’s autonomy being a minority institution. She said the commission had clearly stated that the UT Administration’s action was in violation of laws governing the rights of the minority educational institutions under Article 30(1) of the Constitution.

She said while the school had cordial relations with the UT Administration, but in 2009 when these charges were levelled on her and the art teacher of the school, the Chandigarh Administration officials did not let the school conduct its in-house inquiry.

“The UT Administration even tried to impose its inquiry report on us, which we felt was biased. Whereas the independent inquiry conducted by Justice SS Sodhi (retd), former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, exonerated the art teacher and the school from the charges,” said the principal.

She said the school is relieved with the verdict of the minority committee and hope to run the administration of the school in a better way.

On November 3, 2009, that the school received a written complaint from Meeta Goyal and TK Goyal against art teacher Michael Angelo Francis for allegedly indulging in an obscene practice with students. There was another complaint against the principal of the school for promoting cyber crime.

Following complaints, the then UT Home Secretary Ram Niwas ordered an inquiry against the school through the Director, Public Instructions (S), and found both the art teacher and the principal guilty.

While the independent inquiry by Justice Sodhi exonerated both of them, the school, however, approached the NCMEI towards the end of November 2009 citing harassment at the hands of the UT Administration in the case.

After hearing both the sides over the last two-three years, the NCMEI on December 20 came down heavily on the Chandigarh Administration and stated that the UT officials demonstrated “hearts of stone” and interfered with the internal administration of a minority institution despite protection which the Constitution guarantees.

The order stated: “Such interference is against the Constitution. State can only interfere in case of misadministration and in this case there is no evidence of misadministration.”

In another case pending in the commission challenging the school’s minority status, Kavita Das said that she was taken aback by the reply of the UT Administration in this case. But she said she did not want to say anything since the matter was still sub judice.

Chandigarh, December 22
A major tragedy was averted after a school bus carrying 50 students of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16, rammed into a wall of St John’s School in Sector 26 at around 7.45 am. Luckily, all students escaped unhurt.

Principal of the school Anujit Kaur said another bus was arranged for the students. A student received a minor injury on his hand. She said senior officials of the education department were informed about the incident and a report about the incident was already sent to the department.

She said the cause of the accident would be known in a couple of days, but the school had asked the transport to remove the driver as it was his responsibility to check the vehicle.

Chandigarh, December 22
Government Multi-Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, has been penalised for negligence in administering timely treatment to a 55-year-old woman which led to her death.

The District Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the hospital to compensate the complainant (kin of the deceased) by paying Rs 5 lakh.

The case dates back to May 2010, when the complainant’s mother, Tarawati, was taken to the hospital after she complained of acute stomach ache, fever and dehydration. She was admitted at 6.30 pm. The complainant said the deceased was only given a glucose drip. “No other medicine, injection or tablet was given to her from the hospital supply nor the attendant was called to purchase any medicine for treatment,” stated the complainant.

“The complainant stated that the doctors and nurses who were on duty on the said night locked the emergency ward from outside to save themselves from the patient’s complaint. The condition of the deceased deteriorated at night," reads the copy of the judgment.

“The attendant was constantly knocking the door for the doctors and nurses to unlock the ward, but to no avail. At 5.45 am on May 27, 2010, the patient was having no sign of life and despite repeated requests no one attended to her," the judgment read.

Pronouncing the judgment, on the basis of the evidence produced by both the parties in support of their claims, the forum said, “The complainants have successfully established deficiency in service on the part of opposite parties and deserve to be compensated in an adequate manner.”

The forum has directed the Medical Superintendent, medical officer on duty in the emergency ward at the time of death of the deceased (Dr Arvinder Joshi) and Amarjit Kaur (a paramedic at the hospital) to pay Rs 5 lakh to the complainant (Rajinder Kumar).

Mohali, December 22
A day after the students of Government Primary School, Mauli Baidwan village, were told to return their uniforms so that these could be redistributed, Mohali MLA Balbir Sidhu has demanded an inquiry into the matter.

"The students were asked to bring back the uniforms so that these could be redistributed by Amanjot Kaur, who is the daughter of Akali leader BS Ramoowalia to get political mileage. I have demanded an inquiry into the case as the uniforms are being given to the students under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme, for which funds are being provided by the Centre Government," said Sidhu.

He added that neither Amanjot Kaur nor BS Ramoowalia had any right to distribute the uniforms being given under the SSA scheme.

Sidhu added that he was also approached by some parents. The uniforms were distributed a month ago.

"I have also received similar complaints (redistribution of uniforms) from other villages as well," said Sidhu.

Meanwhile, an inquiry report was submitted by the District Education Officer (Elementary) to the Mohali Deputy Commissioner, Varun Roojam, today.

The report reportedly failed to convince the top brass of the district.

Confirming the development, Roojam said, "I have directed the DEO to check the facts and submit a detailed report by Wednesday," said Roojam.

Chandigarh: A delegation of traders in Sector 17 under the leadership of JP Singh Kalra met the MC Commissioner to discuss various problems being faced by the traders and people. One of the major problem is Plaza carnival entertainment programme, which is being held in front of Neelam Theater instead of designated stage.

There is resentment among traders regarding the location of the programme, which is adversely affecting trade and business, beside causing inconvenience to public. After considering the aspects and a detailed conversation with DK Tiwari, Secretary, Tourism, and AK Malhotra, GM, Tourism, who are organising the entertainment show to celebrate Christmas and New Year, have agreed to shift the event stage to permanent stage in the PLAZA. — TNS

Panchkula, December 22
Justice DK Jain, Supreme Court judge and executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority, today laid the foundation stone of the office building of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority at Sector 14 in Panchkula today.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was also present on the occasion.

The building would be constructed over an area of 2,400 sq m at a cost of Rs 7.50 crore. It would be completed within a year.

“The state government has increased the annual income limit for availing the facility of free legal aid from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh. The government will also set up 18 alternative dispute resolution centres in the state to ensure justice to the poor and the needy,” said Hooda.

He said: “The government will extend full support to the Haryana State Legal Services Authority in its endeavour to provide justice to all.”

While stressing the need for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanism for quick settlement of cases out of court, especially when the courts were overburdened with the pending cases, Hooda said there was a need for setting up of such centres.

Chief Judicial Magistrate Jaibir Singh Hooda and others were also present on the occasion.

Chandigarh, December 22
After a gap of over four years Panjab University will get a regular Controller of Examination (COE). The appointment of Dr Parvinder Singh was approved by the Senate today. After Sodhi Ram, who got retired in 2008, the temporary charge was given to SS Bari, who was then Registrar of PU, for couple of months. Later, the charge was further given to Prof AK Bhandari and since then Bhandari was the acting Controller of Examination. Dr Parvinder Singh was selected by a high-powered committee, consisting of various retired vice-chancellors in 2011, however, the PU Syndicate had disapproved his selection.

Parvinder Singh, a teacher in chemistry department at Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector 42, had then approached the High Court that had quashed the orders of the Syndicate and asked PU to reconsider the selection. After considering the selection in Syndicate a meeting, held on October 10 this year, the matter was finally brought to the Senate.

Although, Singh's appointment was opposed by various Senate members, the Senators, including former PU Vice-Chancellor RP Bambah, who was also a member of the selection committee, Dalip Kumar, Mukesh Arora and RPS Josh supported the appointment following which the House approved the appoint of Dr Parvinder Singh.

RP Bambah said Parvinder Singh was the best candidate among all the candidates who appeared before the selection committee.

Senator RPS Josh said there were no grounds on which the selection could be rejected by the Senate.

Chandigarh, December 22
The Panjab University teachers will get additional two-years of re-employment as the Senate gave its approval to the re-employment of teachers till the age of 65 years. Presently, the PU teachers were being re-employed till the age of 63 years. The House after a long debate approved the proposal and allowed the university teachers to continue till the age of 65 years. The retirement age of PU teachers is 60 years after which the teachers seek re-employment.

The House decided that initially the teachers would be given a three-year extension and further on the assessment of the work done by the teacher in recent years the extension of two-years would be given. The Syndicate members also demanded that the re-employment of the teachers should not be made against the existing posts.

Chandigarh, December 22
Alumni of the Indo-Swiss Training Centre (ISTC) here today observed the golden jubilee of their alma mater by getting together on a common platform to share their experiences and old memories.

Pawan Bansal, Union Minister for Railways, interacted with the old students and shared his views about the ISTC, which, he said, was famous all over the world for filling a vital gap in providing skilled manpower to the industry.

The Minister said he could consider sanctioning a grant of about Rs 10 lakh for setting up certain additional facilities at the centre.

An exhibition showcasing some technical products and various technologies used by the industry as well as a cultural function was also organised to mark the occasion.

The foundation stone for the ISTC was laid in December 1962 on the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation campus in collaboration with the Swiss Foundation for Technical Assistance. The purpose of the centre was to produce skilled technical manpower to fill the gap between engineers/designer and workmen. It offers diploma courses in several technical disciplines.

ISTC laboratories and infrastructure are being modernised at an outlay of Rs 34 crore. New courses on robotics and automation, biomedical, advanced instrumentation technology and computer-aided manufacturing are being introduced. The vision is to transform the ISTC into a global technical education centre. — TNS