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No lessons learnt, tricity cops fail alertness test
Panchkula, February 25 The team kept a tiffin box at some crowded places in Panchkula to see how alert the Panchkula police and the residents were. Neither the police nor the passers-by noticed the abandoned tiffin.
A tiffin box was kept at two places in the Sector 7 market, one of the busiest markets in Panchkula. Another tiffin box was kept near the police check post in the market for about an hour, but nobody noticed it. Similarly, the Tribune team also placed the tiffin near the main entry to the emergency of the Sector 6 General Hospital, but there also the boxes failed to catch the eye of passers-by or the police. When contacted, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Virender Sangwan said: “We have asked the police personnel to keep a check at all the entry points to Panchkula.” “The police and residents are equally responsible for such situations. Nobody bothers to inform the police if he/she spots an abandoned bag or tiffin box,” said Rashi Sharma, a resident of Sector 2, Panchkula. Rajnish Chawla, another resident, said: “It shows how alert the police is.” Chandigarh The Chandigarh Police is yet to pull up its socks and tighten the vigil at public places. A reality check conducted by the Tribune team at various public places in the city found bags lying unattended. A bag was spotted on a bicycle outside the Sector 19 Sadar Bazaar, a few meters from the Sector 19 police station. The Tribune lensmen clicked the picture at around 4 pm and even after an hour the bag was still on the bicycle. Tiffin boxes were kept on bicycles at the rear of showrooms in Sector 17. The situation was no different at the Sector 17 bus stand where bags were lying unattended. While there is a laxity on the part of the police, city residents are equally responsible for being ignorant. DSP (Central) Ashish Kapoor said the police had conducted anti-sabotage checks at the Sector 17 bus stand and in Sector 22. A meeting with the managers of roadways and markets associations of Sectors 8, 15, 22, 23 and 24 has been conducted asking them to be vigilant and install CCTV cameras on their premises. He said the citizens should also understand their responsibility and inform the police if they saw anything unusual. Mohali The situation is no different in Mohali. Nobody seemed to be bothered about a black bag that was placed on a scooter in the busy Phase VII market. The market is at a stone’s throw from the police station. The bag remained on the scooter from 3.20 pm to 3.50 pm, but nobody bothered to inform the police. The town was also put on a high alert following twin blasts in Hyderabad, but no police personnel was seen in the market. DSP (City 1) Rajinder Singh Sohal said the police was on high alert. “We conduct checks at various places and also press the dog squad into service wherever needed. People should also be alert and inform the police immediately on spotting anything unusual,” said the DSP. The DSP said the police would look into the lapses, if any. He said there were 250 policemen in the town for a population of 2.5 lakh.
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Zero Dark Thirty: Oscars in LA, bhangra in city
Chandigarh, February 25 The considerable portion of the movie was shot in Chandigarh last year and several persons from the city, who were engaged in the production work, celebrated the movie’s success by distributing sweets. "I cannot stop myself from breaking into a bhangra jig," said an elated Darshan Aulakh, who was the local in charge of the production team and also had a brief scene as the ISI chief in the movie. He said the award has put Chandigarh on the global map and the city could expect a lot of foreign crew shooting here in future. He said more than 400-500 persons from the city were involved in the shooting and the way the foreign crew, including actors like Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton, worked under the direction of Kathryn Bigelow, showed their professional excellence. The movie was released on February 15. “The movie deserved to win an Oscar,” said city resident Arvind Gupta. The Indian flavour was predominant at the 85th Academy Awards when "Life of Pi", widely shot in India with Indian actors, won the maximum awards, including the best director's trophy for Ang Lee.
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BJP leader manhandled
Chandigarh, February 25 Joshi, who was accompanied by his wife, alleged that when he stopped at the checkpoint, a constable misbehaved with him and when he alighted from his vehicle, the ASI on duty manhandled him. Joshi informed senior BJP leaders who reached at the spot. Soon the party workers also reached there and blocked the road for around 15 minutes. DSP (Traffic) Kamaldeep tried to pacify the protesters. No case was registered till the filing of the report. However, the police has transferred the ASI and the constable to lines.
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Slush, trampled rose beds is all that is left at Leisure Valley
Chandigarh, February 25 There was slush found all over the lawn and the top layer of grass has also given way. The workers of the municipal corporation had a tough time dismantling the tents and other infrastructure (erected around the lawn area) since its green bed was converted into a pool of mud. The flowerbeds in the garden were also damaged following rain. Overzealous participants trampled upon the rose plants to get their pictures clicked amidst the flowers. An official on the ground said that the MC officials should have taken precautionary measures after the heavy rain on Saturday.Big rush was anticipated on Sunday, the MC should have
spread jute carpets over the main activity lawn, especially at the entrance to flower and photography exhibition to avoid the damage. The MC officials said that more than one lakh people visited the rose festival, which put a lot of pressure on the damp ground. “It will take at least one month to repair the lawn and other places. It may even take more time, as there is a nip in the air and grass does not flourish during this season,” said an official. Talking to MC Chief Engineer SS Bida said that all efforts would be made to repair the damaged lawn. He said that it was the rain that caused havoc. “We had not anticipated such a heavy rush on Sunday too, he said. Meanwhile, several enjoyed amusement
activities at the Leisure Valley. Even as the rose festival official came to end yesterday, the administration extended the activities at Leisure Valley till Monday evening to help the vendors cover up their losses.
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Savouring liquor inside cricket stadium flayed
Chandigarh, February 25 “It was a shameful act,” opined all cricket experts and enthusiasts, with whom the Tribune team spoke today. “The cricket stadium at Sector 16 is not a marriage palace or a club, where liquor is allowed to be served openly. The officials should have understood the sanctity of the venue. The place is meant for producing players. The floodlights are provided to facilitate the game at night and not meant to light up parties,” said DP Azad, former cricket coach, who trained legendary cricketer Kapil Dev. Yograj Singh, former international cricketer and father of cricketer Yuvraj Singh, said, “This is shameful. They are supposed to be the cream of our nation, the decision makers. They themselves are breaking rules and hurting the sentiments of players. A ground is like a temple and a player is like a sage. And they have tarnished the image of sports,” said Yograj Singh. Reacting to the claims of the UT administration that the bureaucrats were permitted to consume liquor inside the cricket stadium, several cricket experts said it was strange that they were making such claims. “I was out of town and not aware of the incident. The liquor should not be served in the cricket stadium. I do not know if the excise department had granted them permission. I don’t know what exactly happened but the sanctity of the ground should have been respected” said JDS Sidhu, joint director, UT Sports department. A player, Rahul Kumar, asked, “How can the excise department provide facility of drinking liquor inside any stadium? Stadiums are meant for nurturing talent and not meant for boozing. If they are releasing liquor license for stadiums, the day is not far when these stadiums will hold wedding ceremonies. ” Girish Bhanot, a Ranji player, was critical of the move when he said, “The liquor should not be served inside the stadium at any cost. Even if the liquor was served in the past then too, the authorities should have stopped this move. I am sure children of many officials must be associated with the ground. What will they think of their parents?”
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NRI’s body found from his house in Sector 41
Chandigarh, February 25 The police said that Ashok Bhanot (55), who had come to India on a business trip, was staying alone in the house. On Sunday evening, when smell began emanating from the house, the neighbours informed the poice. On entering the house the police found the body lying on the floor. The neighbours said that they had not seen him for the past two days. The police stated that no injury marks were found on the body and the body had been kept at the mortuary of the hospital. “The cause of death can only be known after the autopsy report is out”, the police stated. The police is waiting for the deceased’s family to arrive from the USA and only after that the autopsy will be conducted. A case has been registered and an inquiry has been initiated.
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Panchkula gets a ‘temporary makeover’
Panchkula, February 25 Hooda was here to preside over the 636th Prakat Diwas of the Sant Shiromani Shri Guru Ravidass organised by Shri Guru Ravidass Sabha, Sector15, Panchkula. Around three policemen were seen on every roundabout and PCRs were seen in the PCR sheds. But as soon as Hooda left, not even a single policeman was seen at any of the roundabouts and the PCRs which were in the PCR shed had also left for the day. Interestingly, fruit and vegetable vendors who are usually found encroaching upon the land just in front of Sectors 16 and 7 were not seen there due to Hooda’s visit, but once he left they were back to normak business. “I was surprised to see policemen on every point in Panchkula just like the Chandigarh Police. I thought that now, if we face any problem on the way, we can approach them easily,” said Deepak Matoria, a resident of Sector 12, Panchkula. He further added, “But when I was coming back from office in the evening, I was shocked to see that all of them had disappeared. Later I came to know that thay were here as Hooda was visiting the city.”“Like the Chandigarh police, Panchkula police is never found on any of the roundabout or in their PCR shed,” said Vimal, another resident of Sector 15, Panchkula. Metal detector non-functional There was a major lapse in the security at the venu on Monday, as the only metal detector fixed outside the venue was not working. Nazneen
Bhasin, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), who is holding the additional charge of
Panchkula, said, “The problem might have been due to power failure, otherwise the detector was functional.”
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House tax to be taken up at MC House meet on February 28
Chandigarh, February 25 The opposition councillors said that that they would be opposing the agenda. The nominated councillors had proposed the house tax amounting to Rs 1 per square feet for houses of five marlas and above. The UT Administrator had conducted a meeting with the nominated councillors earlier this month asking them to persuade the political parties to impose house tax in the city.
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PGImer gives free hand to NGO
Chandigarh, February 25 A patient who pays Rs 10 per day to the NGO, Lifeline, for services like bedding and blanket, also pays an equal amount to the PGI caretaker for the allotment of rooms. While PGI conducts an audit for the amount collected from the fee charged by its caretaker, the money collected by the NGO does not come under the purview of any audit. The PGI has no control on collection or expense of the amount. "The NGO looks after the maintenance of the serais. The PGI keeps a track of only that amount which is charged by the caretaker on the behalf of the institution. Lifeline has its own account for handling the amount generated from fee," said PGI's official spokesperson Manju Wadwalkar. "A formal permission was granted to the NGO by the competent authority for charging fee," she added. The poor maintenance of the serais poses a question on the utilisation of the fee charged by the NGO. A visit to Nehru serai and rotary serai at the PGI revealed that these were in utter state of neglect when it came to hygiene and cleanliness. The walls and roofs of the rooms at its oldest serai have developed seepage. The leaking roofs in some of the rooms keep the patient beds wet throughout their stay. While the latches in all ladies' toilets and washrooms are missing, broken doors of the toilets force the female patients and their attendants to wait till evening (when it gets dark) to use the toilets. The situation is similar at the other serais. In rotary serai, most of the patients complain about bed bugs, unhygienic conditions of toilets and broken doors. Anita (name changed), attendant of a lung cancer patient (wife), who has been staying at Nehru serai for the past few months, said, "Stink emanates from all toilets at the serai and at times there is no supply of water. I use the washroom only when patients staying in rooms closer to ours are asleep, since the doors are broken and the latches are missing."
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Joining hands to eradicate polio
Led by Cynthia Wright Covington with her husband Barry Walter Covington as co-leader from the USA, the team went to various booths in Mauli Jagran, Mani Majra, Bapu Dham Colony in Sector 26, to administer polio drops on Sunday, and later in the morning went for a "India is a shining example in the world for eradicating polio through remarkable efforts of the government and Rotarians", said Cynthia Wright Covington. There are 24 Rotarians from the USA, one each from Australia and France, and two from New Zealand, including 81-year-old former district governor William Edward Crawford from the US, and the youngest 27-year-old Rotaractor from Alaska, Ann Marie. The team also went to Fortis Hospital to interact with children operated under the Rotary Club of Chandigarh's Heartline Project.
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Residents demand train from city to Jammu
Chandigarh, February 25 In a memorandum submitted to Bansal, the residents demanded that since there was no train running from city to Jammu, the railway authorities should consider the proposal. Assuring that the ministry was already in the process of checking the feasibility of the train on this route, Bansal told the delegation that the decision will be taken soon on it. Bharat Hiteshi, association general secretary, said that since there was no train plying on the route, the residents had to opt for buses or taxies to go to Vaishno Devi and Kashmir Valley. He further added that it was a costly affair. NC Swami, president, said that a large number of commuters from Jammu and Kashmir visited Chandigarh for treatment at the PGI and they werer left with no option but to ply by bus. Sources in the railway department said that the demand for the new train to Jammu was lying pending since long. For the past four years, the proposal was mooted up with the ministry to check the feasibility on the route, but no concrete results come out of it.
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Deadline to fix new number plates nears
Chandigarh, February 25 Though the exact date to start the process has not been decided, officials in the RLA said February-end was the deadline to start the process. The UT Administration has finalised the lowest bidder to resume the project in the Union Territory of Chandigarh. This time, a registration plate for a four-wheeler will cost around Rs 200. Initially, the Administration had launched the high-security registration plate scheme in Chandigarh on August 1, 2011, with much fanfare, but after the directions of the Supreme Court, the process was stalled and the UT was asked to start the entire process from tendering, shortlisting the bidder and awarding contracts to the installation of these number plates. “The lowest bidder, Real Amazon, has been finalised by the UT Administration to execute the project. Last time, 18 vendors were found eligible to sell the number plates in the city and only three had set up their outlets in Chandigarh. The installation of new number plates is mandatory in pursuant to rule 50 of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, as notified by the Central Ministry of Road Transport & Highways to introduce the high-security registration plate system in India. As per the notification, the high-security registration plates shall be fastened on the front and rear of a vehicle. In case of three and four-wheelers, a third registration plate in the form of a self-destructive sticker shall be affixed on the vehicle’s windshield. It is the responsibility of vehicle owners to procure the registration plates from any of the eligible vendors. The owners shall also bring a person to fasten/affix the plates. It is mandatory that the fastening/affixing of the high-security plates (and the third registration plates, as the case may be) on the vehicle shall be done within the premises of the office of the UT Registration and Licensing Authority in Sector 17 or at the office of the Sub-divisional Magistrate (East) Industrial Area, Phase I, Chandigarh, or SDM (South), Sector 42, Chandigarh, in the presence of an RLA representative. Non-compliance of the orders shall invite action under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
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Session on pre-budget assumptions
Chandigarh, February 25 Representatives from the industry, academia and financial services sector deliberated on the state of Indian economy and the tightrope that the Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, would have to walk in order to give a boost to the Indian economy, and revive the growth trajectory that had continued through most part of the past decade. Chitranjan Aggarwal, a senior chartered accountant, said he expected the government to impose a super tax. AL Aggarwal, vice-president of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said he hoped that the budget had something for the medium and small industry, like an interest subvention to promote entrepreneurship. Dr Upinder Sawhney, a leading economist, said there was a need to bring down fiscal deficit. She said there was a need to give stimulus for growth of agro industry.
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Education department raises demand
Chandigarh, February 25 The act stipulated every state government to maintain its pupil-teacher ratio at 1:40 for primary classes and 1:35 for other classes. Following this, the education department began an exercise last year to calculate the actual requirement of both the teaching as well non-teaching staff as per the act and got it approved from the local authorities before sending to the ministry. As per the proposal sent to the ministry, the city's government schools need approximately 1330 Trained Graduate Teachers (TGT) and 1070 Junior Basic Teachers (JBT) besides 15 headmasters and 83 NTT to fully comply with the RTE act. Besides these posts, the department has asked for 106 posts for Ayas, 42 librarians, 85 counsellors, 52 accountants, 86 clerks, 110 lab attendants and 127 class IV employees. In non-teaching staff, there are more than 60 posts have been asked for the directorate officials as there is acute shortage of supporting staff including clerks, senior assistant, steno, peons, data entry operators. 20 new employees have been proposed for DEO office including 8 clerk, and six 6 senior assistant. A senior official said that these new posts would help the Chandigarh administration to effectively implement the new RTE act. More over the department has drafted plan to open new schools for which the staff would come our these these posts requested from the ministry. Arvind Rana, president, Sarv Sikhsha Abhian (SSA) teachers Welfare association has welcomed the move taken with a purpose to regularise the existing SSA teachers and said that after getting the sanction, the department should expedite their regularisation process.
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PG courses syllabi to be upgraded
Chandigarh, February 25 Dean University Instructions (DUI) RK Kohli said that all the departments had been asked to analyze the syllabus that was taught to the students and compare it with the National Eligibility Test (NET) syllabus to figure-out the deficiencies. “All the departments will have to upgrade their syllabus based on the deficiencies found during the comparison”, DUI said. DUI said it was mandatory for all the departments to revise the syllabus once in three-years and soon all the departments would introduce the upgraded syllabus that would provide students with wider knowledge. “Every department makes amendments in its syllabus every year, so it will not take much time to upgrade the syllabus of all the PG courses at the university”, he said. The syllabus would be passed by the Academic Committee of the department. PU officials said that the up- gradation of syllabus would also help the students in cracking various competitive exams including NET.
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PU seeks faculty of subject experts
Chandigarh, February 25 All the departments have been asked to fill a chart which contains the data about strength of faculty in the department, vacant posts along with the specialisation. “The departments as soon as they upgrade the syllabus will have to determine the requirement for the teachers according to which the posts will be advertised”, kohli said.
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PU mulls over introducing paid parking
Chandigarh, February 25 Traffic on campus has become a major problem for the university authorities which has also led to the parking problem outside departments and hostels. Dean University Instructions (DUI) RK Kohli said that he had forwarded a proposal to the vice-chancellor suggesting that there should be restriction on the movement of vehicles on the campus, atleast for those who reside on the campus. DUI further stated that, he had suggested that the car parking should also be made paid. “We can strength the bus service within the campus to avoid the use of vehicle by the campus residents and also lessen the traffic”, he said. The idea has also been discussed by the university at the all chairpersons meeting held every month. Interestingly, the university recently started the shuttle bus service between the Sector 14 and Sector 25 campus, however, there were hardly any takers for the bus service.
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school notes Chandigarh: The scouts and guides of GMSSS-19 celebrated the ‘World Thinking Day’ with great enthusiasm. As many as 50 scouts and guides participated on this occasion. The school principal Sukhneer Sekhon unfurled the scouts and guides troop flag. Dr Ramesh Sharma, the in charge of school scout troop addressed the students and remembered the scarifies of the founder of Bharat Scouts and Guides along with the purpose of this celebration. The principal also expressed the benefits of positive thinking. The scouts and guides also presented a very beautiful cultural bonanza including poetry recitation and speeches. Farewell party
Gian Jyoti Public School, Phase 2 , Mohali, organised a farewell party with enthusiasm for the outgoing students of class XII in the school premises, here. The students of class XI presented cultural extravaganza along with the creative talent in abundance and seniors attired in formals, walked the ramp confidently. The ceremonial lighting of the Deepshikha- the lamp of knowledge gave a flying start to the function followed by the foot taping and heart enthralling dance performances, which filled the hearts of all the spectators with joy. The highlights of the day was a fashion show in which both boys and girls walked on the stage. Sachi and Tushar Raina bagged the title of Ms Gian Jyoti and Mr Gian Jyoti respectively. Principal, Ranjeet Bedi blessed the outgoing students and wished them good luck for the forth coming examination. Saptrang dance programme
Science exhibition
The children of the Gem Public School, Mohali, displayed their scientific innovation, creativity and dexterity in the Science and Maths Exhibition 2013 put by classes VI to X here. Keeping in mind, the principle of ‘Learning by Doing’, the faculty members inspired the students to make working models so as to grasp the concepts properly. The hard work of the students and teachers was reflecting in the variety of models exhibited. Some of the models which got accolades from the parents were theodolite, abacus, dialysis system, wind mill, modern parking stand etc. Director Mr H S Midha congratulated the students and the teachers on the successful exhibition of the models. Sukhmani Sahib path held
To seek the blessings of the almighty for success in the forthcoming board exams, Sukhmani Sahib paath and langar was organised at Shri Guru Gobind Singh school by the management A special ardas was done for the success of the students in the exams. Students, staff as well as parents of the students did the sewa at the langar. Hundreds of people had their share of parshada. As the school is named after the great martyr, Shri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Guruprab is celebrated every year as an annual event of the school. The paath marks the end of the session. Creative literary work
Students of middle wing of Shivalik Public School, Chandigarh today displayed their creative literary work of Hindi and Punjabi languages on different social issues. Students beautifully created their own newspapers, self-composed poems, moral stories and other activities related to their syllabus. It was highly appreciated by the principal Ms Gurkiranjeet Nalwa, co-ordinator Ms Preetinder and by the parents also to see the sincere efforts made by the teachers to improve the linguistic skills of the students. Visit to Ramgarh Fort
the fort management in traditional Rajput style of flower petal showers & drum beats. According to Mrs Poonam Katoch, Principal, RIMT World School, “Visits like these are part of the teaching philosophy of our school. Students learnt more about Forts are and how royalty used to live.
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Chandigarh, February 25
The junior wing (P-Nursery to class V) of AKSIPS Mohali Smart School presented a spell binding combination of dance, rhythm, colors & gestures in the form of Saptrang. The event started by garlanding the statue of Lord Natraj-the king of dance & lighting of the jyoti kalash by the executive director AKSIPS group of smart schools, Mr Jasdeep Kalra, followed by the welcome address by the chairman NEDT Dr B N S Walia.This was followed by the tiny tots of Pre Nursery dancing to the theme of monsoon.
Students of RIMT World School, Manimajra, Chandigarh visited Ramgarh Fort which, resonates with a glorious 360 year history of Chandel Rajputs. The children who were accompanied by teachers and staff were welcomed, through the 37-feet tall wooden door, by