|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||
|
Cracker sales down 50% in city
Chandigarh, October 22 Against the average turnover of nearly Rs 10 to Rs 15 crore seen in the past five years, the turnover this year is expected not to go beyond Rs 5 crore by Thursday afternoon in the city. “We have been able to sell only 50 per cent of the stock till now (Wednesday evening),” said Rajinder Jain, a seller in Sector 37. The situation is even worse in Panchkula and Mohali. Of the total stock of crackers procured by retailers, only 5 to 10 per cent has been sold in Panchkula and 20 per cent in Mohali until this evening. The retailers in Panchkula have made an investment of Rs 8 to Rs 10 lakh this time while crackers worth Rs 75 lakh have been placed for sale across three markets in Mohali (Phase II, VII and XI). In Chandigarh, a total of 500 stalls have been installed in which crackers worth over Rs 10 crore have been put up for sale. Apart from the fact that Diwali is being celebrated towards the month-end, there are a number of other factors leading to dampening of sales of crackers, according to retailers and residents. Rajinder Jain said, “We have been hearing children asking their parents to buy mobile phones for them instead of spending Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 on crackers.” A parent, Arun Joshi, of Sector 23, said, “I was concerned about the safety of my children and somehow convinced them not to light crackers. But they made me commit that I will buy them pizzas on
“People are more interested in buying light crackers such as sparklers (phuljhari) this time. These crackers have smaller income margins for us,” said Ashok Kumar, a cracker retailer in Sector 5, Panchkula.
Mohali
Malkit Singh, a retailer who has put up a cracker stall for the first time, said, “The sales are down. People are hardly interested in buying crackers now. Even our children have lost interest.”
The demand for sweets has, however, not been affected much in the city, say retailers. The quality is under the scanner the Health Department, which recently conducted raids. “The crackdown by the health authorities on various sweets shops and the subsequent coverage in the media has partially had an impact on our sales. But this has also made most of our retailers much more quality conscious.” (With inputs from Akash Ghai and Hina Rohtaki)
Factors behind poor sale of crackers
* Children more interested in alternative modes of entertainment such as buying mobile phones instead of crackers *
Parents convincing them to adopt safety measures * Increased cost of crackers *
Awareness on pollution levels rising due to bursting of crackers * Lesser number of sellers in markets due to higher rents and restrictions imposed by the Administration.
|
|
Safe Diwali: A little care is all you need, say experts
Chandigarh, October 22 Most of these injuries occur because of reckless use of firecrackers. Sparklers are one of the major causes of firework injuries requiring hospitalisation. Dr Vikas Sharma, Chief Consultant Dermatologist and Dermato-Laser Surgeon, National Skin Hospital, Mansa Devi Complex, said 80 per cent of the burn victims were children. With a little care, these accidents could be avoided.
Advisory
* Adults must supervise children at all times. *
Do not use unfamiliar firecrackers. * Wear protective eye wear. * Practise safety; while lighting crackers, do not try to be foolishly daring.
Whom to contact in case of an emergency
CHANDIGARH * Trauma emergency: 0172-2755454 *
PGI police post: 0172-2744262 * GMSH-16 emergency/ ambulance: 102 *
GMCH-32 emergency/ ambulance : 0172-2601201 * PCR: 100 and 0172-2741900 *
Fire Control Room: 101 PANCHKULA * PCR: 0172-2582100 * General hospital emergency/ambulance:
0172-2567228 * Fire Control Room: 0172-2560926 MOHALI *
PCR: 0172-2233667 * Fire Control Room: 0172-2225902 * Hospital emergency/ ambulance: 101
First aid for eye injury
* Do not rub your eyes. * Use the corner of a soft clean cloth to draw particles out, or hold the eyelids open and flush the eyes continuously with water. *
If a particle is large or stuck in the eye, do not attempt to remove it. *
Keep eyes closed and go to the eye doctor immediately. * If there is any chemical that has entered the eyes, immediately wash the eyes with water for 30 minutes.
First aid for skin injuries
* Move the injured person away from the heat source. *
Remove clothing from the affected part immediately. * Run cool (not cold) water over the affected area (if water isn’t available, any cold, drinkable fluid can be used) or hold a clean cold compress on the burn for approximately 10 to 15 minutes (do not use ice, as it may cause the burn to take longer to heal). *
Do not apply butter, grease, powder, toothpaste, flour dough and oil to the burn; instead apply topical antibiotic such as silver
sulphadiazine, soframycin. * If the affected part is small, loosely cover it with a sterile gauze pad or bandage.
|
|
Khattar’s swearing-in venue changed
Panchkula, October 22 Interestingly, all arrangements had been made at the stadium, which had been given a complete makeover after spending lakhs of rupees when the decision to shift the venue was taken at the eleventh hour. Haryana Chief Secretary Shakunthla Jakhu today visited Tau Devi Lal Stadium following which the decision was taken in consultation with the Panchkula administration. Regarding the change at the eleventh hour, Panchkula Deputy Commissioner SS Phulia said, “There were several reasons behind changing the venue. Initially we thought there will be a gathering of around 15,000, but just in case more people turn up, the stadium wasn’t adequate.” He said, “Besides, we thought it won’t be apt to disturb players from practising at the cricket stadium where the swearing-in ceremony was earlier scheduled to take place.” The Shalimar ground is centrally located and can accommodate a huge crowd. After the new venue was announced, cleaning work started at the Shalimar ground, which had bushes all over. In four hours, the area was cleaned by HUDA staff. “At least due to the swearing-in function, the township is getting a facelift. We had been approaching the authorities regarding several issues for the past eight months, but in vain, and now everything has been done in two nights,” said Richa Khanna, a resident of Sector 6, Panchkula. The routes leading to the venue are also being cleaned. * Lakhs spent on Tau Devi Lal Stadium makeover Tau Devi Lal Stadium, that was lying neglected for years, was given a makeover overnight after spending lakhs of rupees, thanks to the oath-taking ceremony that was initially scheduled to take place at the venue. Twenty streetlights near the stadium were lying non-functional for months and repeated requests by residents, who alleged that the area was becoming prone to crimes, fell on deaf ears. Now, all streetlights have been repaired. Besides, all roads near the stadium, which were full of potholes, have been recarpeted overnight. The broken gate of the stadium has also been replaced. The slip road near the Shalimar ground, the new venue, has been recarpeted. Paint work on road berms was going on till late in the evening.
Modi likely to attend oath-taking ceremony Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Panchkula on Sunday for the swearing-in cermony of Haryana Chief Minister-designate Manohar Lal Khattar. The ceremony will take place at 11 am.
|
|
Shoppers fail to make most of parking space in schools
Chandigarh, October 22 Even though the UT Traffic Police deployed homeguards and traffic personnel to guide the commuters to park vehicle in schools but most of the visitors parked their vehicles on the roads. During a visit to various market places including Sector 18, 19 and 22 it was found that the homeguards were deployed on the roadsides by the traffic police to guide the commuters to park their vehicles in the nearby government schools. Resultantly there was some relief to the commuters who were facing problems. But the commuters were reluctant to park their vehicles in the schools which were far from markets. While as this decision of additional parking space in major market came late the commuters were not much happy about it. Shalini Gupta, a resident of Sector 49, who came to shop in Sector 19, said it is strange that the authorities woke up from slumber so late. This decision should have been taken a month ago as the festival season commence that could have made things easy. Deepak, a shopkeeper in Sector 22, said this should be converted into a policy by the UT Traffic Police that during the festival season the facility to use schools parking lots to park vehicles especially in main markets where every year there is huge rush of vehicles.
|
Centre okays nutrition division for PGI
Chandigarh, October 22 The decision was taken during a meeting of the governing body of the institute chaired by Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi last week. Finding malnourishment a common problem among children coming to the APC for treatment of various ailments, the PGIMER had proposed to set up a nutrition division at the centre. “The children are further prone to develop in-hospital malnutrition unless a special attention is paid to them. Children who are critically ill are more prone to malnutrition,” stated officials in the agenda placed before the governing body. It was proposed that apart from serving as a diagnostic and research centre, the nutrition division will also be required for training programmes of various postgraduate and doctoral courses. The nutrition division will comprise consultants, dieticians, resident doctors and lab technicians. A total of 15 posts will have to be sanctioned for running the centre. More than 12,000 patients from different parts of the country visit the APC every year. There is enough literature to show that nutrition therapy teams help patients in recuperating. Malnutrition has emerged as one of the most critical challenges to India’s development planners, believe experts. The country is also facing an epidemic of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Children, as young as one-year old come to the PGIMER for treatment of chronic ailments like cancer and other severe problems related to neurology, orthopaedics and pulmonary medicine.
|
|
Traders challaned for damaging MC property
Chandigarh, October 22 The exercise was reportedly not more than eyewash as the MC only issued challans to a handful of shopkeepers while tents were pitched across the city. A shopkeeper in Sector 18 said at the time of issuing coupons for installing tents in parking areas, the civic body had not mentioned any such punitive clause. However, a day before Diwali, MC officials started issuing challans. Deepika Singla, a resident of Sector 27, said instead of issuing challans a day before Diwali, the MC should not have allowed installing tents in parking lots. An MC official said a team of officers conducted a surprise checking in Sectors 18, 19 and 22 and challaned the traders who have put up stalls in the carpeted parking area by pitching tents and damaging the public property. The violators have been penalised with a road damage charge of Rs 250 per iron pipe installed in the carpeted parking area.
|
|
Cleanliness drive at PGI
Chandigarh, October 22 Five teams of volunteers, including faculty, staff and students, collected about 65 kg of garbage from the campus. Prof Rajesh Kumar, Head, School of Public Health, PGIMER, highlighted the significance of cleanness in daily life and how it could prevent common diseases. Dr Ravindra Khaiwal, Assistant Professor, Environment Health, and organising secretary of the event, said maintaining cleanliness could even help prevent the emerging threat of Ebola virus.
|
|
Suspended IG visits Mohali DSP’s office to record statement
Moahli, October 22 Sources said Cheema was summoned to record his statements in the case of kidnapping of Sumedh Gulati, a proclaimed offender, from the Phase 1 police station. Cheema came to the area’s DSP (City 1) office at Phase VII and remained there for around one hour. Confirming the development, Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti said Cheema was summoned to record his statements in the Sumedh Gulati kidnapping case. However, he refused to divulge the details, stating that the matter was sub judice. “I can’t tell the details of the investigations,” added SSP Bhatti. Notably, Cheema had been booked in two cases. A case was registered against him on August 30 for allegedly kidnapping Sumedh Gulati, a proclaimed offender, from the Phase I police station. Another case was registered at the Mataur police station on September 2 for allegedly molesting Kriscpy Khaira, wife of “conman” Davinder Singh Gill. Following Punjab and Haryana High Court’s order, Cheema joined the police investigations on October 17 after remaining underground for about one and a half months after registration of the two cases.
|
|
Chandigarh, October 22 CHB chairman Bhupinder Singh Bhalla will be going for a training programme and MC Commissioner Vivek Pratap Singh will look after the CHB. Besides, Home Secretary Anil Kumar will hold additional charges of Secretary, Science and Technology, Secretary, Environment and Forests, and Secretary, Food and Supplies and Consumer Affairs. Further, SDM (south) is going to attend the World Travel Market, 2014, in London. In his absence, Assistant Commissioner Kriti Garg, will hold the charge of the SDM (South) while Assistant Commissioner Parth Gupta will look after the charge of the Registering and Licensing Authority (RLA) and the Director Tourism.—TNS
|
|
Chandigarh, October 22 An official of the UT Administration said due to Diwali some of the staff were on leave. Besides them, some staff members had availed half day leave for Diwali shopping, he added. In the MC, attendance of staff was good as compared to the UT Administration. But still some of the staff were absent after lunch hours. —TNS
|
|
Call of duty keeps them away from their loved ones
‘My parents place my profession above their needs and emotions’
For Dr Gurdarshan Kamboj, Emergency Medical Officer, who has been associated with the GMSH-16 for the past two years, serving patients at the Emergency is better than bursting crackers. When the duty rosters were being prepared early this week, she readily agreed to be on duty on Diwali night. A young and dedicated doctor, she is committed to the demands of her profession. “My parents place my profession above their needs and emotions. The day I took oath, I had told myself
Dr Gurdarshan Kamboj with her family at their residence in Mohali on Wednesday. Tribune photo: vicky Gharu ‘Haven’t celebrated Diwali with my family for the past 15 years’ When everyone will be celebrating Diwali tomorrow night, he will be on duty. Fireman Narinder Singh posted at Panchkula fire station has not celebrated Diwali with his family for the last 15 years. Reason: Every Diwali night, Narender has to run with the fire tender when ever any fire breaks out. “At times I feel sad when I see others celebrating the fesival with their families and my family spends it like any ordinary day, but we cant help it, it’s our job,” said Narender.
In order to check any untoward incident tomorrow, the fire station has been alerted by the administration.
Narender’s family resides at the fire station in Sector 5 itself. “My son asks me as to why I am never there with him, but when I tell him that I take care of others, he becomes happy,” added Narender.Fireman Narinder Singh with his family at his home in Panchkula. Tribune Photo: Nitin Mittal ‘Duty comes first for me, everything else can wait’ Like every year, Punjab Police sub inspector Rajiv Kumar’s Diwali will also be spent on roads, performing his duty. However, Rajiv Kumar, the Station House Officer at Mataur Police Station has no no regrets celebrating Diwali with his family members. “I am a policeman and I know my duty comes first”, said Rajiv Kumar.
His wife Darshana Kumari, a private teacher, college-going son Ashutosh Gujjar and his daughter Kritika, a Class X student, also know the responsibility Rajiv Kumar has to shoulder.
“We do miss our father on festivals, but we know about the responsibility he has to shoulder”, said Rajiv Kumar’s children.
First comes duty and everything else comes after that, said Rajiv Kumar. Rajiv Kumar, SHO, Phase VII police station, Mohali, with his family members. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu ‘I celebrate the occasion with my colleagues on duty’ “Diwali is like any other day for me as I have to stay away from my family and serve the people of the town by discharging my duty,” said Shiv Murti, a lineman with the PSPCL posted in Mohali. Murti, who stays in Sector 56, Chandigarh, said many years had passed since he celebrated the festival of lights with his family as his job required him to remain on duty. He said Diwali was celebrated by him with his colleagues on the premises of the power complaint centre itself. Candles were lit on the boundary wall of the complaint centre, prayers offered and sweets shared while on duty.
He used to feel quite upset earlier, as he had to leave his children at home, who often cried when he left for duty. But now, they had grown up and understood the call of his duty. Murti, a lineman, with his family at his residence in Sector 56, Chandigarh, on Monday. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu
Some enjoy burning it, some don’t
We shouldn’t burst crackers
Since crackers create noise and sound pollution, so I have decided not be burn them this year. It is a waste of money. I would rather use the money to help orphans. — Utkrisht Sharma, 10 years Animals suffer the most on Diwali. The atmosphere gets polluted and there is depletion of ozone. So as a responsible citizen, I will not be burning crackers. — Aastha Arora, 17 years Every year, we get to hear about accidents caused by crackers. This one-day celebrations, pollutes the entire environment. There are other ways to celebrate the festival too. — Aashita Garg, 17 years Crackers pollute the environment and deplete the ozone. Animals and old people suffer the most. Accidents leads to severe burn injuries and people are scarred for life.
— Navneet Arora, 17 years
We should burst crackers
We burn crackers for fun. All my friends burn it. We burn crackers while taking all safety precautions. Diwali comes only once in a year. — Vishal Singh, 15 years It is because all my friends burn crackers so even I do it. It’s fun watching and burning them. We all enjoy it. Nobody stops us from doing it even elders burn crackers with us. — Haspreet Singh, 6 years Diwali means festival of lights and crackers. All my siblings and elders burn it. It’s only once in a year that we get to burn crackers and that too only for a few hours. — Jatin Kumar, 12 years All my friends and neighbours burn crackers. My parents buy crackers for me they have never stopped me. Burning crackers is fun. We enjoy watching the sky lit with them. —Om Bhatnagar, 10 years
|
|
Students sell diyas to light up the smile of the elderly
Chandigarh, October 22 The six students — Yana Kohli, Yashi Kohli, Ayshu Latawa, Priysha Kohli, Danish Kohli, Guarika Mittal — from Delhi Public School, were motivated by their science teacher, Deepika, to do something special this Diwali. While giving details about her group’s initiative, Priysha Kohli said, “First I thought of decorating pens and selling them to make money in order to donate something to old-age home inmates. But then my teacher gave me this idea that if I worked with a group of friends, decorated diyas and sold them, then I could make more money. So, all of us joined hands.” The students decorated nearly 50 diyas in two days and sold them for Rs 6,000, in order to buy shawls, food items and sweaters for inmates at the Sai Seva Samiti Ashram, Sector 30. The youngest member of the group, 7-year-old Yana, said, “Today, when we went to the old-age home to present the old people with gifts, we felt so happy for they gave us lots of blessings.” The group of young children, who have pledged to celebrate eco-diwali this year, claimed that from this year onward they would help the needy people every year.
|
|
A noble initiative by school students
Chandigarh, October 22 Giving information about the initiative, Poonam Katoch, school principal, said, “We are motivating students to shun crackers due to rise in cracker injuries and pollution. We have also tied up with a leading bank and motivated our students to ask parents not to buy crackers for them this Diwali, but to give them the money to open their first-saving bank account in the bank and they’ll also use part of this money for charity and bring smile on faces of the needy”. Pramod Sharma, coordinator of Yuvsatta, said that those who’re going to use crackers despite of all the efforts of the Department of Environment, NGOs and various educational institutions, this Diwali, such people must watch the side effects of crackers on environment, city streets, health and lives of all living beings. He also said, “Since ages, Diwali was a festival of lights and never was a festival of crackers. And now it’s upon each one us to celebrate this festival in its true spirit”. Later, Pramod honoured the winners of ‘Green Quiz’ by presenting books on right living by Mahatma Gandhi. The progamme ended with a pledge to say “no to cracker” by all school students.
|
|
Some cracker sellers give norms the miss
Chandigarh, October 22 Recently, the Department of Civil Defence-cum-Disaster Management, Chandigarh, had organised a workshop for cracker sellers where they were made aware of the safety measures. It was decided that strict action would be taken against those who failed follow the safety guidelines. “We are following all the safety measures as given by the UT Administration” said a cracker-seller at Sector 43, whose stall did not have sand bags in place. While another shopkeeper at Sector 26 added, “All cracker-sellers should follow the guidelines as they are for our good” said he. Meanwhile Sanjeev Kohli from the Department of Civil Defence-cum-Disaster Management, Chandigarh, added, “We are kipping a proper check on all the cracker selling units of Chandigarh. Strict action will be taken against those who are found flouting the norms.” said Kohli.
|
|
Sushma Group celebrates special Diwali
In an initiative to bring hope and joy into the lives of visually challenged children, the Sushma Group connected with the children of Blind School. In an effort to appreciate and reward the special kids on the auspicious occasion of Diwali, the group bought thousands of handmade candles from the school children and distributing these as gifts among the residents of Sushma townships.
Elante announces winners of Diwali fiesta
The winners of the ‘Elante Mall Diwali Fiesta’, a mega lucky draw, were declared on Wednesday. Prizes were handed over to the winners of the weekly, daily and hourly lucky draws by Manoj Agarwal, head (operations), Elante Mall, at a glittering ceremony organised on the mall premises. — TNS
|
PU to act tough against violators
Chandigarh, October 22 After the incident, instructions were issued to all wardens to check their hostels minutely. PU chief security officer Jatinder Grover said due to the ongoing festival season there was a thin strength of students in hostels so security officials had been asked to keep a check on the movement of outsiders. He said instructions had been issued to check the hostels regularly from next week by the wardens. Routine checking was conducted by the wardens and whenever some outsider was found without permission, fine was imposed on the student concerned. Sources said in the past week also, four outsiders were consuming liquor near the library of the university after which the police was informed. Later, they were arrested. As per the university norms, hostel inmates have to make entry of their guests before taking them on the hostel premises. There is a strict ban on the consumption of liquor in hostels and security staffs usually keep a check on inmates. Dean Student Welfare Navdeep Goyal said as per the norms, there was no special fine imposed on students who were found consuming liquor in the hostel rather they were told to leave the hostel. Records of the university revealed that in the past six months, two complaints had been made by the wardens of hostels, one each from boys’ and girls’ hostels regarding liquor consumption on hostel premises. Both students, against whom complaints had been made, were fined Rs 2,000 each by the authorities with a warning that if the same incident was repeated they have to leave their hostel.
|
|||||
|
Thrashing of child at school Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 22 Devi Sirohi, chairperson, Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said in the daylong hearing, the statement of all faculty members have recorded over the the matter and they also submitted CCTV footages about the incident to the commission. The principal also submitted a probe report which the school conducted into the incident, she said. She said the commission had decided to call the father of the student on November 10, 2014, who made the complaint about the incident. Recently a complaint was filed by a parent that his child was beaten up thrice during the past month by different faculty members due to various reasons at the school. Despite the parents’ complaint to the higher authorities of the school about the incident, no action was taken against the faculty members. A complaint was also submitted to the DPI (Schools) and the UT SSP.
|
|||||
|
PU Prof appointed adjunct faculty by UFV
Chandigarh, October 22 The communication received from president and vice-chancellor of the UFV Dr Mark D Evered said this was an honorary, non-remunerative academic appointment in recognition of Prof Ghuman’s qualifications, expertise and potential to contribute to the academic mission of the UFV’s teaching and research programmes. The appointment is for a period of three years which is renewable subject to the review. He would be accorded the right to claim association with the UFV, the right to use the title and right to supervise students. He will be provided Internet access, an email account, library privilege and business cards. Whenever, he will visit the UFV, he will be provided office space as well. Earlier, Professor Ghuman has also been appointed as the senior associate at the Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies, UFV, British Columbia, Canada.
|
|||||
|
Rangoli-making contest
In order to inculcate awareness about Green Diwali, University Institute of Fashion Technology and Vocational Development (UIFT&VD), Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, today organised a rangoli- making competition on the PU campus to mark the Diwali celebrations. As many as 30 students of BSc Fashion and Lifestyle Technology participated in the competition and made 13 rangolies. The gallery of the department dazzled with lights and colours. A variety of designs like peacocks, Lord Ganesha, diyas and various other traditional motifs were made by the students. Materials and decorative items like saw dust, rice powder, flowers, diyas were also used. The first position was bagged by a team comprising Anjali Jangra, Smridhi and Komal Preet Kaur of BSc (I semester) and the second position was secured by Karina Bedi and Manveen Rai. Greetika Jassi and Jatinder Kaur of BSc (V semester) bagged the third position. A consolation prize was won by Kiranjot Kaur and Anmol of BSc (III semester). AFTME-2014
Department of Mechanical Engineering, PEC University of Technology, organised a national conference on advancements and futuristic trends in mechanical engineering (AFTME-2014). Conference coordinator Alakesh Manna, prof and head of the department, deliberated upon the theme of the conference that included the advancement in engineering materials, techniques, systems, tools, processes including, manufacturing, energy, power generation, transportation, aerospace and defence. ‘Tech-Mania’
The Department of Computer Science, DAV College, organised an inter-departmental power point presentation competition: ‘Tech-Mania’. The competition was organised for promoting students to showcase technical, artistic and presentation skills. As many as 24 teams of various departments participated in the event. — TNS
|
|||||
|
Diwali celebrated with fervour across tricity schools Chandigarh: Eco Club and NSS volunteers and students of Moti Ram Arya Senior Secondary School, Sector 27, Chandigarh, organised Diwali celebrations on the theme of ‘Save Environment - Say No to Crackers’. Students were told about the ill-effects and hazards of firecrackers. Principal Saroj Savant in her address emphasised on the need to celebrate a Eco-friendly Diwali with sweets and diyas to save the environment from air and noise pollution. Students walked through lanes and roads holding banners, placards and raised slogans. GMSSS -33
A poster-making competition was organised by the Vasumati Eco-Club of Government Model Senior Secondary School (GMSSS), Sector 33, to mark Diwali celebraions. Students from Classes VI to XII participated in the event with enthusiasm. Students also wrote interesting slogans to spread the message of a pollution-free diwali. A rally was also organised by the club and the NSS unit of the school. The students went through various parts of Sector 33 raising anti-cracker slogans. They also interacted with commuters and urged them to celebrate a pollution-free Diwali. A rangoli competition was also organised. Students also took anti-cracker pledge in a special assembly in which Yuvsatta, an NGO, also participated. Teachers told students to celebrate a green and safe Diwali. IS Dev Samaj Senior Secondary School
The NSS unit of IS Dev Samaj Senior Secondary School, Sector 21, organised an anti-cracker rally. Principal Sumati Kanwar flagged off the rally and gave a motivational speech to volunteers to celebrate an eco-friendly Diwali. Around 100 volunteers (boys and girls) participated in the rally. They made the residents of Sector 21 aware about how to celebrate an anti-cracker diwali and protect environment from pollution. Volunteers raised slogans and showed flash cards and also interacted with the people to convey the message. GSSS, Dhanas
The NSS unit and Eco-Club of Government Senior Secondary School (GSSS), Dhanas, along with their in charge Ramesh Kumar organised a rally propagating ‘A Cracker-Free Diwali”. Around 60 NSS volunteers participated. The rally was flagged off by principal Harmeet Kaur. The volunteers covered Dhanas and its adjoining colonies convincing people to celebrate a safe and pollution-free Diwali. A pledge was taken by students to celebrate an eco-friendly and safe Diwali. Students participated in rangoli-making, poster-making and essay writing competitions. The principal appreciated the students and the teachers for their enthusiastic participation. The students were told about the ill-effects of burning crackers and were advocated with the idea of celebrating the festival with candles and sweets. Bachpan, Nayagaon
Diwali was celebrated with great enthusiasm at Bachpan, play school, Nayagaon. A Diwali pooja was organised and children were told about the significance of the festival. They were also told about preserving environment by not bursting crackers. Sweets were distributed and diya-decoration competition was also organised. Children enjoyed themselves by dancing to the tune of lively music. Saupin’s School
Panchkula: Saupin’s School, Panchkula, organised intra-house lamp and candle decoration competition for Classes I to IV to celebrate the spirit of Diwali. Students showcased their creative skills by decorating colourful lamps and candles. The competition gave flight to their artistic skills and they thoroughly enjoyed the festival with enthusiasm. Students were also told about the festival and how it should be celebrated. Sant Isher Singh
Public School
Mohali: Sant Isher Singh Public School, Sector 70, Mohali, organised a rangoli -making competition for students to mark Diwali celebrations. The students made beautiful rangolies. In the junior group of the rangoli-making competition, Meena And Tamnjot got first prize, Angenlina and Akshita got second prize and in the senior group Nancy Tura And Richa got first prize, Mandeep Singh and Amrinder Singh got second prize. Students also took an oath to celebrate A cracker-free Diwali. Hardeep Kaur Gill, Director of the school applauded the talent of the participants. Green Field Smart School
Green Field Smart School, Phase V, Mohali, celebrated Diwali with enthusiasm. The students visited “Prabh Aasra- Home for Helpless” and celebrated Diwali by lighting diyas and candles and distributed sweets. The students participated in various events like rangoli-making competition, class decoration and tool oath to ‘Say no to cracker and celebrate green Diwali’. Director Jagtar Singh and Principal Bhupinder Sharma addressed students and congratulated them. Shemrock Senior Secondary School
Shemrock Senior Secondary School, Sector 69, celebrated Diwali in a novel way and set example for students by celebrating it with blind students. The trip was organised with help of the Rotary Club Shivalik, Chandigarh, to the Institute of Blind, Sector 26. After that senior students visited the Blind School and Entertained inmates by singing songs and rhymes and cracking jokes for them. They also shared their experiences with them. Different scenes of Ramayana were also enacted. The students gave them swords and burnt the effigy of Ravana. Students of the school also visited a factory where candles were manufactured and learnt candle-making. — TNS
|
|||||
|
|||||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
that this profession can never have the comforts of being able to spend time with family on all occasions. I am quite used to the schedule now,” she said.
Every year, schools take out eco-friendly Diwali rallies and the students are made to pledge that they would not burn crackers. However to find out how effective these drives are and how many students live up to the pledge they take, Chandigarh Tribune spoke to students from across the city to find out the reasons for them not burning or burning crackers.