In brief

HIV/AIDS workshop for counsellors concludes
CHANDIGARH: A 12-day induction training programme on HIV/AIDS for counsellors concluded at the School of Public Health,PGIMER,on Monday. Representatives from Chandigarh,Uttarakhand,Punjab and Himachal Pradesh attended the workshop. The use of various communication tools was also introduced during the training for counsellors to visualise the quality of their own performance.

‘New technology can help hearing impaired’
CHANDIGARH: Demonstrating the latest technique in hearing aids,the Ritu Chaudhary Hearing and Speech Clinic for Children held a special camp for parents of children suffering from severe to profound hearing loss. The latest advancement,called FM systems,explained Dr Chaudhary,cuts down surrounding noise and aids clear hearing. “Hearing impaired people usually complain of external noises interfering with speech intelligibility. FM systems are especially useful for children in classrooms and for working people,” said the doctor.

Members of senior citizens’ body elected
CHANDIGARH: Brig Keshav Chandra (Retd) was elected president of the Chandigarh Senior Citizens’ Association. Of the total nine posts,Promila Mahna,Dr G L Goyal,Harbir Kaur,R A Sakuja,Surinder Verma and S C Passi were elected unopposed. Surjit Kaur was elected vice-president and Joginder Singh Jogi the secretary (public relations). ens

20-yr-old dies in accident
CHANDIGARH: A 20-year-old youth died after an unknown vehicle hit his motorcycle on the dividing road between Sectors 42 and 43 late on Sunday night. The deceased was identified as Vinod Kumar Thakur,who belongs to Uttarkashi,the police said. He was pursuing his studies as a private student and also worked in Chief Boot House in Sector 19 in the city,the police said. Thakur resided in Sector 7C with his brother-in-law. A seriously injured Thakur was rushed to the PGI where he was declared dead on arrival. The police said a case had been registered under Sections 279 and 304 A of Indian Penal Code for causing death due to negligent and rash driving against the unknown driver.

CBM elections: Sahoonja releases manifesto
Chandigarh: Diwakar Sahoonja,who is contesting for the post of president of the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal,released his election manifesto on Monday. The polls are scheduled for March 28.

Rickshawpuller held on murder charges
PANCHKULA: The Panchkula police claimed to have solved the murder of rickshawpuller Ghunsu Ram alias Kishan,a resident of Pir Muchchala whose body was found on March 17 near mandi area in Sector 20 here. The accused,Ganga Ram,another rickshawpuller,has been arrested in the case. “During interrogation,the accused has confessed to his crime and has also named co-accused Ram Avtar in the crime. The accused had a fight with Ghunsu Ram over money and they both killed him,” said the Sector-20 Station House Officer Karambir Singh. The accused was later produced in court where he was sent on five-day police remand.

Man found dead at Mauli Jagran home
CHANDIGARH: A 27-year-old man was found dead in his residence at Mauli Jagran on Monday. The deceased was identified as Zakir Alam alias Sonu. The police said the exact cause of death was not known yet though intoxicants have been discovered from the spot,hinting at a drug overdose. Foul play has not been ruled out either as one of Zakir’s friends has been missing since his death. Inquest proceedings were initiated under Section 174 of the CrPC.

2 youths,junk dealer held with stolen vehicles
MOHALI: The local police arrested two local youths and a junk dealer on Monday evening and claimed to have recovered six stolen vehicles,including four motorcycles and two scooters,from their possession. The arrested persons have been identified as Jaswinder Singh of Phase IX,Kulwinder Singh of Sector 68 and junk dealer Satish Kumar. Police said on a tip-off,a motorcycle coming from Chandigarh side was signaled to stop near PCA stadium in Phase IX. Jaswinder and Kulwinder,who were riding the vehicle,failed to produce valid documents,following which,they were arrested. Later,during preliminary interrogation,the two confessed they had stolen the bike and also led to the recovery of five other vehicles stolen in the recent past,claimed the police. They said the junk dealer was also arrested on the statement of Jaswinder and Kulwinder. A case was registered under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC against the accused,who were put to sustained interrogation to solve more vehicle theft cases.

Kharar remains without power for nine hours
KHARAR: Kharar township and its surrounding urban and rural areas remained without power and water supply for almost nine hours on Monday morning. The power supply was cut at 6 am and restored around 2.30 pm. Besides,routine unscheduled power cuts added to public woes. During the power failure,the drinking water supply also remained suspended. Kharar Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) Sub-Divisional Engineer Satwant Singh attributed the nine-hour power cut to a breakdown of 132-KV main supply line from Ropar to Kharar. However,Singh refused to give any details on where the line broke and why it took such a long time to restore supply.

Student thrashed: Kin meet Panchkula SP
PANCHKULA: A day after Kalyani,a Class XII student of Alpine School in Pinjore,was beaten up by Thai students of the same school,her father met the Panchkula SP on Monday to file a written complaint. The student was severely beaten up by her roommate,a girl from Thailand,and her friends,following an altercation over switching off the lights of the hostel room on Saturday night. Kalyani,a resident of Kurukshetra (Haryana),sustained serious injuries and was rushed to hospital at midnight and was discharged on Sunday.

256 get degrees at Khalsa College convocation
PATIALA: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar conferred degrees to the 256 students of Khalsa College in Patiala. While addressing the degree holders,Makkar wished them success for their future endeavours. He said self confidence,positive attitude and determined vision were important ingredients of success. He gave scholarships of Rs 2,100 to each of the 21 students of the college who had excelled in the fields of academics,sports and cultural activities.

School bags for students
CHANDIGARH: The UT Education Department has started the distribution of school bags for the students of Classes I to VIII in non-model government schools in the city. The students will start getting school bags from their respective schools in the first week of April.

History conference ends at Punjabi University
PATIALA: The 42nd Punjab History conference on Role,Place and Contribution of Women in Punjab,organised by Punjabi University’s Department of Punjab Historical Studies,concluded on the university campus on Monday. In his valedictory address,J S Grewal,former V-C of GNDU in Amritsar,urged the Punjab historians to use the available creative literature and cultural history in their academic and scholastic pursuits. History,he said,helps a lot in establishing the identity of variegated patterns of different civilizations.

Sikhs protest atrocities on minorities in Pak
Patiala: Sikhs held protests against the United Nations inaction to stop continued forced conversion of minorities to Islam and grave abuse of human rights of minorities and women in Pakistan near Dukhniwaran and Singh Sabha Gurdwaras in Patiala on Monday. Manjit Singh Randhawa,President,of Sikh Nation Organisation,said appealed to the international community to prevail upon Pakistan to repeal the ‘Nizam-e-Adl 2009 Regulation’ that has legitimized and legalized tyranny by Taliban in complete disregard to its international commitments under various UN conventions,to safeguard Human Rights of its citizens.

Call to conserve water on World Water Day
PATIALA: In the wake of World Water Day 2010,the students of Punjabi University have asked the university authorities to adopt a policy for using rain water to raise the subsoil water levels. The Sikh Students’ Federation submitted a memorandum to Dean Students Welfare.

‘Graduation ceremonies for school students boost morale’
Chandigarh: “Often the psychological realisation of graduating to another level is ceremonially depicted in schools after Class X or XII and as convocation ceremonies at the college level. But seldom has such a thing been tried for younger children which is extremely relevant for their mental development,” said Komal Singh,principal of the Millennium School in Mohali. She added that at the school,the learning process is divided into four stages which goes up till Class VIII,which is senior most class in the school. “The crossover from one stage to another is marked by graduation ceremonies which are brief,simple but impact the minds of little ones who nurture a feeling of belongingness and self pride at the school level. It also boosts their morale,” the principal explained.

Mercury shoots past 30ºC in Himachal
SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh has recorded an unusually high temperature in March. Hills stations like Shimla and Kalpa have recorded over 25.5 degree Celsius on March 21,which is at least 10 to 14 degrees above normal for this time of the year,said the Met department.
Una remained the hottest district on Monday at 37 degrees Celsius. The places where temperature crossed 30 degrees include Solan (31.2° C),Sundernagar (34.5° C),Mandi (31.7° C),Bhuntar and Dharamshala (30.4° C). “Long gaps in rain and snow in the higher reaches have resulted in the unusual warming of the hills. There is at least two to 14 degrees of difference from the normal temperature,” said Manmohan Singh,Director of the Shimla Met office. On Monday,Shimla recorded a maximum of 24.8 degrees Celsius and minimum of 17 degrees that has increased by one degree as compared to Sunday. Kalpa in Kinnaur district recorded 21 degrees Celsius as maximum.

Separate police station for CID
SHIMLA: A separate police station for the Crime Investigation Department (CID) was inaugurated at Bharai Police Lines in Shimla on Monday. The idea of a separate office of the CID for investigating and registering cases regarding narcotics and cyber crime and those with inter-district and inter-state ramification and links,requiring specialized investigation skills was conceptualised in September 2009.
ADGP CID,I D Bhandari,said the station will strengthen the functioning of the CID wing. Thirteen police personnel have been deployed here.
“Ordinary cases will not be register here. But cases assigned by the government or the police headquarter will be dealt with here,” said Bhandari.
On the occasion,the department also honoured 14 cops deployed with the CID for outstanding services,which included 10 from the crime department,four from security,one from the special branch and two head constable.

HPTDC announces special package
SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) has announced a special discount of 30 per cent in its hotels for newly-wedded couples visiting the state till April 5.
The package will be available at Hotel Holiday Home,Shimla; Palace Hotel,Chail; Hotel Manimahesh,Dalhousie; Hotel Devdaar,Khajiiyar; Hotel Bhagsu,Macleodganj; Hotel Dhauladhar; Dharamsala,Hotel Sarvari,Kullu and Hotel Renukaji,Renuka in Sirmaur district.
Facility of deluxe buses for local sight seeing,including meals for three days,will also be provided,said a HPTDC statement issued on Monday.

Adopt high yield flower varieties,say experts
Shimla: A three-day national symposium on floriculture,which ended at Dr Y S Parmar Horticulture University,Nauni (Solan),has recommended for adoption of new high-yield flower varieties,beside common branding of flowers produced in Himachal. State Chief Secretary Asha Swarup inaugurated the workshop,Dr H P Singh,Deputy Director General (horticulture),ICAR,also attended the inaugural function on March 19.
“The workshop deliberated on the scope of floriculture and recommended for selecting only high-value crops for seed production and proper designing o the poly houses using quality material,” said P D Bhardwaj,the university spokesman.
Other recommendations included dissemination of information to farmers on control of soil borne diseases in lilium and research focused on the need for targeted approach towards optimum utilisation of resources like land and water.

Withdraw frivolous cases against Cong workers: Bajwa
Chandigarh: Despite several Congress MLAs agreeing with the Deputy Speaker on the issue of dropping politically motivated cases against top leaders,many Congress leaders feel the move will encroach upon the domain of the judiciary. Punjab Congress spokesman Fateh Jung Bajwa on Monday said such a move will create a new class of the “privileged corrupt” enjoying immunity from being tried for crimes. Bajwa said Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal should first order withdrawal of frivolous cases against Congress workers and punish officers responsible for getting them registered.

Panth Sewak Sabha set up
Chandigarh: A new organisation,Panth Sewak Sabha,has been set up with a view to strive for establishing an ideal society based on the great spiritual,ideological and institutional tenets on which the creation and existence of the Sikh religion as Panth are based. The former jathedar of Damdama Sahib said,“Our objective is to strengthen Sikh institutions including the Akal Takht for the glorious future of Sikh Panth.”

Provide feedback,PAU V-C to farmers
Bathinda: Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) Vice-Chancellor Dr Manjit Singh Kang on Monday exhorted farmers to provide feedback on farming practices and challenges to PAU to enable the university to customise its research and extension programmes in tune with their (farmers’) needs. Dr Kang was here to inaugurate a Kisan Mela.