Errors that stand out

Error: Colon is divided into three parts - ascending, transverse and descending part (page 259; NCERT Class XI book).

Correction: The colon consists of the ascending, transverse, descending and sigmoid colon.

Error: Nasopharynx opens through glottis of the larynx region into the trachea. (page 269; NCERT Class XI book).

Correction: Pharynx consists of three parts -- nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx. Nasopharynx opens into oropharynx, which opens into laryngopharynx. It is the laryngopharynx which opens into glottis of larynx.

Error: Each fallopian tube has the following parts: Infundibulum; ampulla; isthmus (page 45; NCERT Class XII book).

Correction: The fallopian tube is divided into four parts: Infundibulum, ampulla, isthmus and intramural.

Error: The MTP is intentional or voluntary termination of pregnancy before the full term. (page 62, NCERT Class XII book).

Correction: The MTP is voluntary termination of pregnancy up till 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Chandigarh, April 16
A 69-year-old widow, Shama Rani, who lost her husband in an accident 13 years ago, was left with no option but to be dependant on her son for her day-to-day basic necessities as Panjab University failed to implement the widow pension scheme which could have made her self-reliant.

Records of the university revealed that the widow pension scheme was approved by the Senate and the Syndicate in December 2012, but so far only the process of seeking options from widows has been completed by the authorities.

Like Shama Rani, there are around 300 widows of former PU employees who had hope of getting pension two years ago when it was approved by the Senate. However, due to the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities, the scheme has not materialised as yet.

Panchkula, April 16
Right under the nose of the Panchkla Municipal Corporation (MC), the electricity supply for advertisement hoardings is illegally being drawn using a kundi connection in Sector 6.

It was found that four hoardings were drawing over 12 kiloWatt was being drawn directly from the transformer installed there. A defunct and burnt meter hung there and sources said that the power was being drawn illegally for the last eight months. Three halogen lights of about 1000-2000 watts are put up on each hoarding (12 lights).

Interestingly, the kundi connection is in front of the head office of the Haryana Electricity Department (Uttar Haryana Bijli Vidyut Nigam Limited in Sector 6). The area is in the heart of the city.

DS Dhanda, Executive engineer, Electricity Department, said, "I will send a team headed by SubDivisional Officer (SDO) tomorrow itself. A case of theft will be registered against all those found guilty of lapse."

The contract for hoardings in Panchkula is given to a private company that gives a rent of about Rs 1.08 crore on an yearly basis to the Panchkula Municipal Corporation.

The Executive Officer of the Municipal Corporation, OP Sihag, said, "I will check with the private company. I will also check up with the officials who keep in touch with the company. It brings a bad name to the MC."

Despite the meters being installed just near the office of the Electricity Department, the violation has not come to the notice of the power.

Recently, the Sector 14 Panchkula police station was also found drawing power illegally through a kundi connection. On being noticed, the department officials immediately got the kundi connection removed.

MC gets Rs 1.08 cr as rent from private firm

The contract for hoardings in Panchkula is given to a private company that gives a rent of about ~1.08 crore on an yearly basis to the Panchkula Municipal Corporation. The Executive Officer of the Municipal Corporation, OP Sihag, said, "I will check with the private company. I will also check with the officials who keep in touch with the company. It brings a bad name to the MC."

Chandigarh, April 16
With just 14 days left for the Excise Policy 2013-2014 to end, the UT top brass is yet to decide on the new policy for 2014-15.

As a result, the existing policy is likely to be extended for another month or more till the election process is over, meaning the liquor contractors will get more time to lift their quota fixed under the policy.

Giving the logic for the expected delay, officials said the entire process to notify the policy after getting the nod from the UT Administrator would require a week.

Though officials of the Excise Department have been repeatedly taking up the subjaect with the UT top brass for the last over one month, no favourable decision has been taken so far.

On the contrary, Punjab has already announced its policy before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections.

The Election Commission of India has given a go ahead to the Chandigarh Administration to come out with new Excise Policy 2014-2015.

The ECI’s nod came after the Chief Electoral Officer had sought clearance from the former regarding the new excise policy. The existing excise policy comes to an end on April 30.

Sources said since the existing policy had literally flopped due to increased excise duty and assessment fee, the UT was keen that the new policy should be investor friendly and brought it on a par with Punjab by reducing the quota of liquor.

The existing quota is 2 lakh proof litre and till date at least 25 per cent of the quota is yet to be lifted. A veteran in the liquor trade, Satpal said , “The traders are in a fix as there is no word from the UT about the policy. The quota should be reduced and the prices should be on a par with Punjab”.

Since Punjab has reverted to its two year-old excise policy, the UT was under pressure to lower the excise duties while announcing its new excise policy for 2014-2015.

Under the new policy, Punjab has doubled the number of groups (licensing units) to bring down the liquor prices. It is also learnt that Punjab was trying to put a cap in the maximum retail price of liquor.

As per the existing excise policy, liquor prices and the taxes are much lower in Haryana when compared to Punjab and Chandigarh. As a result, Haryana has emerged as a source of liquor smuggling.

Since UT follows Punjab in framing the liquor policy, Punjab’s policy will reflect in this year’s UT excise policy. Last year, the UT while following Punjab had increased the excise duty by 20 per cent to 300 per cent and the assessment fee by 33 per cent. But this year’s UT policy was a flop as out of the total 256 vends, 96 unsold vends remained unsold. Of these 19 vends had failed to attract even a single bid in the past five attempts. 

Chandigarh, April 16
A day after unidentified assailants fled after firing at a 22-year old PU student, Yugam Anand, in Sector 37, the UT police are still groping in the dark.

The condition of the injured is stated to be stable. Injured Yugam is a resident of Sector 20 and had come to attend the birthday party of his close friend, Karanveer Singh Sandhu, in Sector 37 when he was shot at.

SI Dalbir Singh, who is the investigating officer, said that they were looking for clues in the case but they had not got any lead.

The police also said that contradictions in the statements of the complainant were also hampering investigations.

In his statement to the police, Yugam said that he came out of the house at 3 am to attend a phone call and was going towards his car when he saw a person hiding in one of his friend’s car.

“He appeared to be a thief and got up on seeing me and said he was hiding as some persons were trying to kill him. After a heated confrontation, he fired two gunshots at me when my friend Parul tried to overpower him. He then fled on a motorcycle while his accomplices were in a car,” he told the police. The police said they had registered a case of attempt to murder against the assailants but certain contradictions had been found in the statements of the complainants.

Chandigarh, April 16
The municipal corporation today issued 12 challans to residents in different parts of the city for misusing potable water.

A fine of Rs 2,000 each was slapped on each violator. The penalty will be added to the water bills.

Besides, the MC also issued notices to 38 persons. An MC official said they were issuing challans to those who were washing their vehicles and watering their lawns. But in cases where there was leakage of water and the house/shop owner was not aware of it, the MC staff was issuing notices and giving two days time to get the leakage repaired, the official added. The MC has constituted 16 teams that will move across the city in the morning till June 30 to check the misuse of water.The violatores are not going to be spared, said the official

Mohali, April 16
While Bollywood actor Gul Panag may have been the star candidate in a place like Chandigarh, there seem to be few takers for her role as a campaigner for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in rural areas of Punjab on the city’s periphery.

Several rural folks did not know Gul Panag when she went to seek votes for the AAP during a poll campaign in an area of Punjab.

The campaign kicked off today with holding road shows in favour of AAP candidate from Patiala Dr Dharamvir Gandhi at Lalru, Dera Bassi, Zirkapur and their peripheral villages.

“Eh jharu waale aaye ne par asi kisi nu pehchande nahi” (These people are from the “Broom party”, AAP’s symbol, but we don’t recognise anybody). These were the words of Surinder Singh and his friend, both residents of Rurki village in the Lalru area.

Similarly, at Handesra village, a woman was heard saying “eh Gul Gulab (Panag) kaun hai" (who is this Gul Gulab). “Haan jhaaru waaiya da saanu pata hai” (We know about the AAP).

However, clad in a simple kurta and jeans and wearing sunglasses, the dimpled actor was the centre of attraction wherever she went today.

Rurki, Handesra, Jarot, Kasauli, Basauli, Rani Majra and Mirpur were some of the villages which Gul Panag covered today.

She left her house at 9 am today to join the party workers at Lalru, the first spot of the campaign.

The road shows in the entire area did not draw the expected response, particularly in the villages. The cavalcade of around 15 cars passed across several villages in the Lalru area, but got a lackluster response there.

Facing the scorching heat and dust for over four-five hours while roaming in an open jeep in the villages of the Lalru area, Panag felt sickness and skipped the programme at Dera Bassi. However, Dr Gandhi continued the programme along with the party activists of the area.

While some of the party workers claimed that she went to have her lunch 
at Zirakpur, her cousin and campaign manager CS Garewal said they were in a meeting with Bar Counsels.

She rejoined the entourage at Zirakpur after around three hours in the evening. Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Gul Panag said she was satisfied with the response of the rural folks.

“One important thing I have noticed about the rural people here is that they are more aware than the people living in the urban areas,” said Panag.

“They talk about their problems and want solutions. They seem virtually fed up with the false promises of the two big parties and want a change now,” said Panag.

The absence of proper educational institutes, primary health centres, roads and other basic infrastructure were the main issues in Punjab villages.

After the culmination of the elections in Chandigarh, the party has given her the responsibility to campaign for other AAP candidates in the state.

“Tomorrow, I will go to Ludhiana for the purpose. After that, I will hold rallies in Amritsar, Sangrur and other places,” said Panag.

Mohali, April 16
To facilitate the election process, trained micro observers will be deputed at 300 polling booths in Mohali district during the Lok Sabha elections to be held on April 30.

Addressing mediapersons after inaugurating a photo exhibition on voter awareness at the District Administrative Complex here today, district electoral officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu said for the better control of the election process, 50 sector officers would be deputed. Besides, live webcasting of 21 hypersensitive polling booths would be done. The control room for the same would be set up at the District Administrative complex and these booths would be under strict monitoring. Videography of the polling booths would also be done.

Sidhu said the photo exhibition, organised by the District Administration in collaboration with the Directorate Advertisement and Visual Publicity (DAVP), aimed at encouraging voters to exercise their right to franchise.

He said the same exhibition would also be organised at the SDM’s office (Tehsil Complex), Kharar, on April 21 and 22 and the Municipal Bhawan, Zirakpur, on April 24.

He said there would be special programmes like awarding appreciation letters and giving T-shirts, gifts, etc, to voters for casting their ballot for the first time.

He said different counting centres for the Kharar and SAS Nagar segments would be set up at Shivalik Public School, Phase VI, Mohali. For the Dera Bassi segment, the counting centre would be set up at Rajpura. CCTV cameras would monitor these counting centres. 

Mohali, April 16
Extending a warm welcome and support to Ambika Soni, senior Congress leader and party candidate for the Anandpur Sahib constituency, residents of Landran village weighed her against ‘laddoos’ during an election rally here today.

Balbir Singh Sidhu, MLA, Mohali, and Kuljit Singh Nagra, MLA, Fatehgarh Sahib, were also present on the occasion.

While addressing the rally, Soni said during the regime of the SAD-BJP combine in the state, people had been crying for basic facilities. Elderly persons were not getting old-age pension and the poor were not being given funds to build their houses.

She said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had turned the Punjab Government into a private limited company and was solely interested in the “development” of his family.

She said “jungle raj” prevailed in the state where the common man had no say. Soni said if the Congress came to power at the Centre, employment opportunities would be provided to 10 crore youth. Pension schemes would be introduced to improve the lot of the poor. The poor would also be given the facility of free medical aid.

She appealed to the people to strengthen the Congress for the development of the country. She said if the BJP came to power, it would harm the nation because of its communal approach.

While addressing the gathering, MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu said whatever development had taken place in Punjab was because of the funds provided by the UPA Government. Apart from giving important educational institutions to the area, a cancer hospital was also being set up.

The MLA said Soni had released about Rs 2.50 crore from her discretionary quota for the development of the Mohali constituency. He appealed to the people to vote for the Congress candidate.

Earlier, former sarpanch of the village Harcharan Singh Gill, along with other residents, welcomed Soni and other Congress leaders to the village and promised to extend their support.

Chandigarh, April 16
The premier health care centre of north India, the PGIMER, lacks a mechanism to provide information about availability of doctors in OPDs.

Thousands of patients visit the OPDs at the PGIMER everyday.

Among the patients are those who travel several miles to get consultation. While the institution takes pride in its quality of health care, it has miserably failed in creating a mechanism, which could help patients to check availability of consultants before they travel to the city.

Neither the PGIMER website nor ringing up at the reception prove helpful to a patient wishing to know the respective consultant's OPD day for follow-up.

Sample this: A 65-year-old patient from Amritsar, Dilbagh Singh (name changed), had to travel four times on alternate days over the past week before he could finally see the consultant, who had earlier examined him. He visited the medicine OPD on Monday, Thursday and Saturday - specific OPD days allotted to the consultant - but could not find the consultant. He tried ringing up at the department's office but nobody answered the phone, as the offices open at 9.30 am, while patients reach at 9 am.

The sexagenarian also tried to see another doctor of the same department. However, he learnt from the hospital attendants that other consultants would be reluctant to see his case.

He said, "I rang up the reception on Sunday when I had to leave from home. But the person attending the phone said such an information was not available with them. I then reached the hospital and did not find the doctor in the OPD. I rang up 
at the department office by taking their contact number from the reception but nobody answered,” Singh said.

A senior PGIMER official suggested that since the PGI has the facility of locating doctors appointed in different departments, it should also introduce a mechanism to check availability of doctors online.

Chandigarh, April 16
Air Vice Marshal Sumit Nath Mukerjee, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Education), inspected the IAF’s Ground crew Examining Board (GEB) and Regional Examining Board (North Zone), at 3 Base Repair Depot (3 BRD) here today.

He presented the distinctive crest approved by the country’s President to the GEB, which was received by its Commanding Officer, Gp Capt Amit Goel.

On his arrival, Air Vice Marshal Mukerjee was received by Air Cmde AK Barik, Air Officer Commanding, 3 BRD, and was briefed on the progress of indigenisation and infrastructure development at the depot.

Air Vice Marshal Mukerjee will inspect the reference and technical library and the Air Force School, 3 BRD. He will also visit the site of the Air Force School in Sector 31.

Zirakpur, April 16
The Alpine Residents Welfare Association elected a panel of new office-bearers unanimously for year 2014-15 who took over the charge of the society during a specially convened general body meeting.

The election committee headed by RK Bhateja declared the results.

Anupam Kumar, a resident of the society, was declared the new president. Shalabh Gupta was declared the secretary, while Savita Bhagat was declared the treasurer.

Other board members of the committee elected unopposed are Madhu Gupta Kakkar, Purshottam Kumar, Rohit Gulati, Rajan Bhateja, Ashok Kumar, Neeraj Ratti, Ram Gopal Maheshwari and Deepak Mehta. — TNS

The UT Administration has to be congratulated and appreciated for providing Election SMS Helpline service par excellence on April 10, the day of polling in the UT. The helpline proved to be a great convenience for the residents who wanted to exercise their franchise. Before leaving for polling booths, one could get information regarding the number of persons waiting in the queues. Providing slips to the individuals by the Election Department was another excellent service for the voters. The Election Department of the UT Administration should recommend its helpline model to the other UTs and states for the convenience of voters.

GR Kalra, Panchkula

Panchkula, April 16
Now, parents can keep tabs on their children studying in classrooms.

In a one-of-its-kind initiative, four schools in Panchkula are all set to go hi-tech. With this, students will go ‘live’ and parents will be able to see the activities of their children.

The school authorities are mulling to procure a connection through the cameras installed in the classrooms and provide a password to the parents, to enable them to watch their kids on the school website.

Jaya Bhardwaj, principal of Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, said, “The school is currently in the process of constructing its new wing where all classrooms will be wired so as to create a virtual classroom facility.” Not only this, students — who are not able to attend their classes — can also do the same through the internet.

“All students will be provided a login access to the classroom, so that when they miss their classes, they can view the entire teaching period online while sitting at home,” added Bhardwaj,

Harsimran Kaur, principal of The Gurukul, Sector 20, said, “We will be starting this facility for our play-way students as parents are anxious to know whether their child has settled in the classroom or not.”

“Even children will feel secure that their parents are watching them,” she added.

Santosh Bhandari, principal of The Sky World School, Sector 21, said, “We have decided to start this facility in our day-care centre meant for toddlers. The parents will be given a log through which they can gain access to the classroom.”

The facility for parents will be available periodically so as to maintain privacy of the classroom.

“Our smart classrooms are connected to a device. Parents need to purchase the same device provided by the service provider. Currently we’ve started 
it as a pilot project and will soon extend the service to all the other classrooms,” said Krit Serai, principal, Satluj Public School, Sector 4.

TEACHING MADE EASY

The school authorities will procure a connection through the cameras installed in the classrooms and provide a password to the parents, to enable them watch their kids on the school website. Students will be provided a login access to the classroom, so that when they miss their classes, they can view the entire teaching period online while sitting at home.

Chandigarh, April 16
A large number of parents were at the receiving end today after the authorities at Government Middle School, Sector 46-D, allegedly ‘denied’ admission forms to their children despite repeated requests.

As per information, the school’s current strength has decreased to nearly half as compared to the previous academic year. This is because a majority of the students — who were earlier residing in Colony Number 5 — have shifted to other schools near Dhanas.

A teacher on the condition of anonymity said, “Though the teachers have been urging the principal to provide them the admission forms, he has refused to do so. Only those students — who passed Class V from the school — are being given the forms.”

The parents alleged that despite making several rounds to the school to obtain the admission forms, the authorities concerned had failed to do so.

Principal Ram Singh Sandhu said, “I have not stopped anyone’s admission. Our school’s strength has decreased. We want more students to join our institution.”

Panchkula, April 16
Blame it on the lackadaisical attitude of the official machinery, but school children at Government Primary School, Sector 15, are being forced to take their lessons on the floor.

In stark contrast to its image of being known as the Paris of Haryana, the current state of affairs at ‘Bachpanshala’ (school for pre-nursery students) is a grim reminder of the ground reality.

The gravity of the issue can be gauged from the fact that due to the absence of benches, students sit on the floor even in the biting cold.

The school authorities claimed that they had not received benches from the ‘higher-ups’ for the last two years.

Santosh Goyal, a teacher at the school, said, “We’ve got to know that the government does not provide benches to the students of Bachpanshala. These children have no other option but to sit on the floor. The benches are only granted by the head office.”

A parent of the child requesting anonymity, said, “We’ve asked the teachers several times to arrange benches for the students. The situation worsens in the winters.”

Meanwhile, Education Department officials kept passing the buck and refused to comment on the issue.

District Education Officer (DEO) Savita Sihag said, “The school falls under the jurisdiction of the District Elementary Education Officer (DEEO).”

When DEEO Attar Pal was informed about the issue, he said, “I’m on leave. I have no information about it. The DEO would know.”

Chandigarh, April 16
Panjab University (PU), has invited applications for various post-graduate courses in the university. The interested students can apply before May 20.

The prospectus, number of seats and application form is available on the Panjab University website — http://cetpg.puchd.ac.in/. The admissions will be based on the results of the entrance tests, which will be conducted from June 13-16, 2014.

The last date for the submission of the online applications to generate the bank receipt is May 20, 2014. The last date for the submission of fee in any branch of SBI is May 23, 2014.

The E-admit cards will be available on the website on June 6, 2014. There will be no physical communication for this purpose, said the PU spokesman. — TNS

Chandigarh, April 16
The Council of Architecture (COA) report — which includes the cancellation of admissions for the 2014-15 batch of the Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA) -- will be tabled in the Syndicate meeting of Panjab University on April 26.

A senior official said the UT Administration was also taking up the matter with the council to get it resolved.

As per the observation of the COA inspection team —visited the CCA on May 15 and 16, 2012 — the college was asked to recruit adequate faculty, particularly senior-level professors, set up a computer laboratory with licenced software and upgrade other labs and instruments.

In response, the college informed the council in September 2012 that upon approval of the recruitment rules — which were pending with the MHRD — the vacant posts will be filled by them.