In Brief

Schools visit art gallery
Under the Young Round Square Regional Conference hosted by The Lawrence School,Sanawar,12 schools visited the Art Gallery in Sector 10,Chandigarh,where they attended a talk on ‘Peace,Heritage and Global Warming-New Perspectives’ and participated in an art workshop conducted by Professor Ravinder Sharma of the College of Art,Chandigarh. The students were welcomed by Navjot Randhawa,also an old Sanawarian. They later held a talk with Professor Arun D Ahluwalia. The delegates then formed a human chain and displayed banners on peace at the Sector-17 Plaza.

Convocation held at college
ICAII – Institute of Management and Technology,Mohali,held a convocation for nearly 600 students on Saturday. S Pritam Singh Bhupal,DPI (retd) Punjab,was the chief guest for the occasion. Uditendu Bose,Deputy General Manager,Manipal Universal Learning,was the guest of honour. Speaking on the occasion,Bose said,“We are positive that students will excel in their respective fields as they are provided with the best education. We will strive towards innovative teaching.” President H S Pasricha shared the plans for the next five years. The vote of thanks was delivered by technical manager Anu.

Punjab Sports Development Association to help youth stay away from drugs
PATIALA: To give a fillip to sports activities in the state and to channelise the energies of the youth,the Punjab Sports Development Association has been constituted. Association chairman Ajay Thapar said the aim is to not only develop and boost sports,but it will also help keep the youth of Punjab away from drugs and other anti-social activities. He said the body will be patronised and guided by Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Patiala MP Preneet Kaur.
The organisation will also arrange drug de-addiction camps and provide employment guidance in India and abroad. Traditional games will be encouraged too. Kamaljeet Singh Walia is president,while Rajinder Kapoor is the vice-chairman,Bipin Talwar is secretary and Meenakshi is the treasurer. Dharam Singh will be the sports convener.

Chandimandir KV celebrates annual day
The annual day function of Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1,Chandimandir Cantonment,was marked by a vibrant cultural extravaganza put up by students at the General Manekshaw Auditorium on Saturday. The programme commenced with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by chief guest Brigadier Amil Kumar Shori and Brigadier APS,HQ Western Command,Chandimandir. Principal Bhupinder Kaur welcomed the distinguished guests and presented the annual report.

Mobile service providers to have two helpline numbers
After adopting the new directives of TRAI,different mobile service providers will now have two helpline numbers. The number for lodging complaints still remains toll free and the one which gives details of different services available would be chargeable. The calls attended by executives will be chargeable and the ones answered by computerised machines will be free. According to an Airtel spokesperson,“Our customer data indicates that a significant number of calls to our customer care representatives are routine queries,which can be serviced through our self-help channels. To further enhance the experience for our customers,they can call 198 ¿ our “complaints only” helpline toll-free for any grievances. Our query/information helpline 121 will continue to be free for self-help modes and a token charge would be levied for query/information related calls which are serviced by our customer care representatives”. Other service providers have a similar arrangement.

‘Media should play positive role for the betterment of society’
ROPAR: Jalandhar Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti said that media should play a positive role for the betterment of society. While addressing a function at the Ropar Press Club on Saturday,Bharti,who was earlier posted in the city,expressed concern over the trend of yellow journalism and stressed on the need to stop such practices. Recalling his association with Ropar district as deputy commissioner,Bharti said it was a “rich experience working in this historic district.” In his address,present Ropar Deputy Commissioner Arunjit Singh Miglani said he would extensively tour the district to get first-hand knowledge about the problems affecting people. In his welcome address,Press Club president Bahadurjeet Singh highlighted the activities of the club. Ropar Improvement Trust Chairman Dr R S Parmar,senior advocate Harmohan Singh Paul,veteran journalist Gurcharan Singh Bindra and Rajinder Saini also spoke on the occasion.

Ambala Commissioner is officiating YMCA University V-C
Ambala: Mohinder Kumar,Secretary to Haryana Governor and also holding charge of Ambala Commissioner,will hold the additional charge of Vice-Chancellor of YMCA University of Science and Technology in Faridabad. An IAS officer of 1992 batch,Mohinder Kumar has served as deputy commissioner for over six years in different districts of the Haryana. He has 31 years experience of serving in different departments with a record of organizing free medical camps,artificial limbs and mass marriages for the poor.

SGPC to constitute panel of historians
Ambala: The Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has taken the decision to constitute a committee of historians and scholars who would advise about the protection and preservation of places of worship having a historical background. SGPC President Avtar Singh Makkar said a committee would be headed by Dr Gurnam Singh Dean,Music and Culture Faculty,Punjabi University,which would submit a report of such important places after conducting a survey. He said old places of worship having murals and paintings were decaying for want of maintenance and preservation.

Rail coach to be put on display
AMBALA: After rendering 32 years service on the Kalka¿Shimla section,narrow gauge passenger coach no NRGS 341 has been put up for display at complex of the office of divisional railway manager in Ambala Cantonment. With an IRS wooden body with automatic buffer coupler,the coach was built in 1978 at the Jodhpur workshop. It completed its codal life on March 15.