In Brief

World Book Day celebrated at British Library
To mark World Book Day,the British Library has organised a series of events from April 22-24. A fancy dress competition,where Shakespeare’s characters came alive,was organised on Thursday,followed by a book-mark design competition. Library manager Bipin Kumar said they will also organise a remarkable programme for young adults,known as Quest-Seekers. It is the summer reading challenge for 2010. There would also be a debate competition on the topic Television or books,which is better? and draw your favourite Shakespeare character competition at 11 am on Friday. The prize distribution ceremony will be held on Saturday at 5 pm.

To book Rock Garden,shell out Rs 10,000 as security deposit
The refundable security deposit for booking the Rock Garden has been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000.
From now on,the open space in Phase III of the Rock Garden shall be strictly reserved for only 24 hours – 10 am to 10 am.
If the premises is not vacated by 10 in the morning on the next day of booking,the earnest money shall be forfeited. The decisions were taken during a meeting of the governing body of Rock Garden,convened on Thursday,under the chairmanship of Home Secreatry Ram Niwas. Nek Chand and various officials of the Chandigarh Administration also attended the meeting. Various other decisions,including installation of CCTV cameras and rain shelters,were also taken during the meeting. It was decided that since Rock Garden has become a tourist hub and is visited by a large number of people,CCTV cameras have become a necessary security measure. It was also decided to restart the pending renovation work at Phase III of the Rock Garden. A new concept “village life” depicting rural India with statues of waste material,will be introduced at the garden. Phase III of the garden will also be illuminated and the College of Architecture shall design artworks for the area.

Posts dept’s Project Arrow gets PM award for excellence
Ambala: Indu Gupta,chief postmaster general,Haryana,Ambala,while addressing the media in her office on Thursday,talked about the Prime Minister’s Award for excellence in public administration for 2008-09. The award was given to the department of Posts by the Prime Minister yesterday,for its outstanding initiative Project Arrow — Transforming India Post. Under the project’s Phase-III,1,100 post offices throughout India have been modernised. Earlier in Phase-I and Phase-II,52 and 500 post offices were modernised respectively and the process will continue to modernise 4,500 post offices in India in the next two years,she said. In the Haryana Circle,CPMG Gupta said,“Project Arrow has been implemented in 35 post offices,of which 20 have been totally modernised. The project envisages beautification,modernisation and upgrade both in terms of physical appearance,conducive and friendly work environment as well as service quality.”

Cultural fest at Mohali college
MOHALI: The Sahibzada Ajit Institute of Information Technology and Research (SASIITR) organised a cultural function ‘Platform 2010’ at the college campus on Thursday. The event commenced with a semi-classical dance,followed by other performances,including regional dance,solo songs,solo dance,games and western dance. A business quiz was also organised.

Pensioners hold seminar
The Punjab Government Pensioners’ Welfare Association held a seminar on the topic The corporate psyche of sixth pay commission injurious to subordinate services and pensioners,at the community centre in Sector 38-C on Thursday. Former registrar of the Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences,Dr Pyara Lal Garg,initiated the discussion by analysing all aspects of the report. P P Arya,Bant Singh Brar,S K Khosla and other speakers lamented that employees and pensioners have no other way but to fight unitedly against the anomalies in the report. Later,Sudagar singh Grewal and Shamir Singh were honoured for their services for the welfare of employees and pensioners.

Bombshell found in Bapu Dham Colony
A bombshell was found in a garbage heap in Bapu Dham Colony on Thursday. A rag-picker noticed it around 8 am and called the police patrolling the area. Panic spread and the bomb disposal squad of the Chandigarh Police quickly cordoned off the area. A team from the Operation Cell also reached the spot. The police then took the shell into their possession and dumped it in an open ground near the Bapu Dham Police Post. Later in the day,the shell was sent to the Army for disposal. In-charge of the Bapu Dham police post,Jaswinder Singh,said “It is difficult to know from where it had come. We have strengthened our vigil after the incident.”

Leopard kills minor boy
SHIMLA: A two-and-half-a-year-old child died after being attacked by a leopard at Dogali village in Rampur area of Shimla district on Tuesday night. According to reports,the animal entered the house at night,picked up Piyush in its mouth and fled to the nearby forests. Villagers gave it a chase but failed to catch the predator. The child was later found dead in the forest. Earlier,a leopard had attacked two men at Darshal village in Teklait panchayat of Rampur.

MoU signed for 45-MW cogeneration plant
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with A2Z Maintenance and Engineering Services Ltd for adding 45 mega watts (MW) of renewable power to the state grid from their three cogeneration projects being set up in the cooperative sugar mills at Morinda,Nakodar and Fazilka. PEDA Chief Executive Officer Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu said they had already facilitated the commissioning of 232-MW biomass and bagasse-based cogeneration projects in the state and were committed to achieving a capacity addition of 400 MW by March 2011.

AISAD to contest all SGPC seats
AMRITSAR: All India Shiromani Akali Dal (AISAD) chief Jaswant Singh Mann on Thursday announced to contest all seats in the upcoming Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections. Mann said they had kept the option open to tie up with like-minded parties. He said political interference,misuse of golak money and failure of SGPC in evangelism activities are the main issues. Addressing the media,Mann said they were also geared up for the next Assembly elections and would work to oust the ruling SAD from power. Manjit Singh Tarn Tarani,general secretary and spokesperson of the party,alleged that the SGPC had failed to resolve the issues confronting the Panth.

Cop,3 others held for setting woman on fire
Fardikot: The local police have arrested four persons for setting a woman on fire on Wednesday. Among those arrested are the victim’s husband Bhola Singh,a constable with the Punjab Police,Taj Kaur,her husband Gurdev Singh and their daughter-in-law Mamta. The victim Parveen Kumari was against Bhola’s frequent visits to Mamta,who is married to one Namdev Singh. On April 21,the police said,she went to Mamta’s house to talk to her in-laws when things went out of control and the four accused set her on fire. SHO Gurpal Singh said the statement of the victim was recorded and arrests made. Mamta,however,is yet to be arrested as she consumed a poisonous substance on seeing the police. She has been admitted to hospital where her condition is said to be out of danger. Parveen,meanwhile,has been shifted to Dayanand Medical College in Ludhiana and is still critical.

ABVP reacts to skit on Ramayana
SHIMLA: A skit enacted by students at a cultural programme organised by the Students’ Central Association at Himachal Pradesh University has earned the ire of the rival students’ body Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. Narinder Thakur,president of the campus unit of ABVP,said: “Lord Ram was shown drinking liquor.” He asked the university administration to take stern action against the students for “showing Lord Ram in bad light”.

HP gets Rs 30 cr under horticulture mission
SHIMLA: The Centre has sanctioned Rs 30 crore under the Horticulture Technology Mission for integrated development of horticulture in Himachal Pradesh. This is a 100 per cent increase over last year’s grant. The decision was taken in a meeting held between Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta and Union Agriculture Secretary P K Basu in New Delhi on Tuesday,” said an official release.