In Brief

Telecom advisory for customers
A meeting of the Federation of Telecom Consumers Advocacy Groups (FOTCAG) was held on Saturday where it was decided that an advisory will be issued to telecom consumers across the country to prevent them from being cheated by operators. The advisory said that customers should obtain a receipt of every document submitted to the operator with a stamp giving his address. It was also advised that in case the customer is not satisfied with the services,he/she should write to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

GCG-11 students bid farewell to seniors
Students of the commerce department of Government College for Girls,Sector 11,bade farewell to the outgoing class of BCom on Saturday. Achla Dogra,principal of the college,was the chief guest on the occasion. A cultural programme was also presented by students.

British Council launches scholarship
The British Council has announced an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Scholarship Award for students planning to study abroad,as part of its mission to promote global sharing of knowledge and ideas. The council will select eight students from India,each of whom will receive an award of Rs 3 lakh towards the cost of tuition fee. Applicants must have an IELTS test score. The winners will be given a full-time postgraduate programme at any foreign university which uses IELTS as part of its admission requirements. Detailed information and the application form is available on the British Council website,http://www.ielts.britishcouncil.org.in.

SBoP official reviews rural training centre
The State Bank of Patiala has established Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (R-Seti) at eight centres,seven of which are in Punjab and one in Haryana. In order to review the effectiveness of these institutes,Ashok Nayar,managing director of the bank,visited the Patiala unit on Saturday. He interacted with students of the tailoring and embroidery course being conducting at the institute. Other courses on offer are bag making,beauty,mobile repairing,stitching,embroidery and food processing. Opened under the scheme of Ministry of Rural Development with the aid of the district administration,the four to six week training course is free of cost and lunch and tea is also provided.

Corps of Signal hold centenary celebrations
The Corps of Signal—Info Warriors of the Indian Army — held a function to mark the commemoration of the centenary celebrations of the Corps at Army Cantonment on Saturday. The programme commenced with the display of Kalaripayuttu,one of the oldest known forms of martial art in Kerala. The art involves fighting with swords,daggers,sticks and unarmed combat. A large number of officers and jawans from all units in Ambala besides ex-servicemen and children attended the show.

‘Honour killing an offshoot of partiarchy’
Honour killing is a social evil which is an offshoot of patriarchal and casteist ideology and political contingency. This was the consensus of regional consultation on honour killings and honour crimes held at Panjab University today. Various advocates,social activists and educationists from the northern region attended the conference which dwelled on the genesis,effects and prevention of honour killings. Most of the speakers felt that the genesis of honour killings went back to a few generations when society was inter-related more closely and social ties were stronger. “There was much significance of feelings of brotherhood which prevented people from marrying their daughters in villages in the neighbourhood or within the village as well. The cluster of villages was considered a big family where it was blasphemy to marry girls within the family. Also this system was followed to prevent sexual relations among people within the same village,” said Dr Khazan Singh from Maharishi Dayanand University in Rohtak.

Mohali college holds annual convocation
The annual convocation of Government College was held at its campus in Phase VI here on Saturday. Justice Swatanter Kumar of the Supreme Court was the chief guest. He was accompanied by his wife Parnam. As many as 174 students were awarded degrees.

YPS celebrates 31st founder’s day
Yadavindara Public School (YPS) celebrated its 31st founder’s day at the school campus on Saturday. The function started with a shabad by the school choir and a welcome speech by the principal Dr H S Dhillon. Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla gave away the prizes and congratulated the winners. March 15 has been declared a holiday in the school.

SBI Ladies’ Club donates Rs 1 lakh to blind school
Jyoti Bhatt,president,State Bank Ladies Club from Mumbai,along with Kavita Sehgal,president of the Chandigarh unit,and other members of the club donated a water cooler with a purifier and six desert coolers to the Pingalwara in Palsora village. She also visited the blind school and handed over a cheque of Rs.1.32 lakh to The Society for the Care of the Blind,Sector 26,Chandigarh.