In Brief

Punjabi poet gets fellowship
PATIALA: Noted Punjabi poet and president of the Kendriya Punjabi Lekhak Sabha,Anup Singh Virk,has been awarded a fellowship by the Punjabi University in Patiala. The fellowship has been granted to Virk by Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh on the recommendation of Head of the Punjabi department of the university. The fellowship includes a stipend of Rs 8,000 per month and will continue for three years.

Beopar Mandal polls on March 28
Chandigarh: The elections to the Chandigarh Beopar Mandal will be held on March 28. The nominations will be filed on Tuesday. This was announced at the Annual General Body Meeting of the CBM on Sunday. As many as 17 new members were formally inducted into the CBM. Outgoing president Charanjiv Singh,while presenting the annual report,said the Mandal served as an interface between the UT Administration,political parties and other organisations. Special attention was paid to getting building bylaws simplified. Many long-pending demands of traders were fulfilled.

PGI challenges order of labour commissioner,HC issues notice
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has issued notices to the Deputy Labour Commissioner on a petition filed by PGI. The hospital authorities have challenged orders passed by the Deputy Labour Commissioner in January this year wherein he had ruled that Class IV employees working on contract at PGI will be paid salaries at par with regular employees. The Labour Commissioner had made it clear that in case contractors hired by PGI do not make equal payment to contractual employees,the hospital will have to do so. Aggrieved,PGI authorities moved court. Justice Augustine George Masih issued the notice on Monday.

176 complaints registered at open darbar
Ambala: In compliance with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s directions,176 complaints,received from people,were registered at an open darbar held by the district administration. The first-of-its-kind camp was held at Mehmoodpur village under Barara sub-division under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner S P Sarao. The Chief Minister Hooda has expressed his desire that open darbars should be held at the village in the evening to redress grievances of the people,especially from remote areas and complaints should be looked into on the spot. The darbar continued till night.

State Akali Dal chief gets 2.5 years in jail
Ambala: President of the state unit of the Akali Dal,Kartar Singh Takkar,and Baba Charan Singh of the Kar Sewa Kurukshetra were awarded 2.5 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 each in a case of cheating by the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Praveen Gupta today. On July 17,2000,Amrik Singh Barnala had alleged that Takkar had issued a cheque of worth Rs 1.3 lakh in the name of Baba. The court found that both the accused had cheated the society by using the voucher/invoice issued by ACC Cement company as bill but neither cement was supplied nor the company received any amount. However,Takkar and Baba were granted bail on furnishing bonds and would move sessions court for appeal.

Abandoned pistol: Police to write to DMs across region
Chandigarh: A Day after an abandoned revolver was found in the parking lot of Sector 17,the police are clueless of the whereabouts of the owner. The police are now contemplating writing to district magistrates across the region to trace out the owner of the pistol,which was found abandoned in Gurdev Parking Lot in Sector 17 here last night.
The police said forensic experts had managed to lift fingerprints from the weapon and would examine them. Besides,the police would write to district magistrates in the region,providing them details of the make of the weapon,along with its identification number,in a bid to find out the owner of the weapon,in whose name the same had been registered.
“Though the England-made pistol appeared to be a licensed weapon,chances of it not being registered cannot be ruled out,” said a police officer. The police will also send the weapon,along with 21 live cartridges,to the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Sector 36 for further examination. Even as CCTV cameras are installed in the parking lot from where the weapon was found,the police could not examine the footage,as the experts were busy in some training course today.
The police had seized the weapon after a rag picker spotted and informed a shopkeeper about the bag. The pistol was carried in a holster with 21 live cartridges. The police had registered a daily diary report in this regard.

New tubewell to ease water woes of Sec-21 residents
CHANDIGARH: With the aim to improve water supply in Sector 21,the Municipal Corporation has started work for setting up a new tubewell in the area. Area councillor Anju Beniwala,along with residents of the area,was present on the occasion. A tubewell had been installed by the Administration in 1996 that was abandoned in 2008. With the sector at the tail end of the water supply network,residents face acute problem during summers. The commissioning of the new tubewell will take place by April 30. Beniwala added that the sector will soon get a new green belt and sampark centre.

Mayor visits Sector-32 Water Works
CHANDIGARH: Mayor Anu Chatrath visited Water Works,Sector 32,along with UT Chief Architect Chandigarh and area councillor Ravinder Singh on Monday. The mayor instructed officers to submit a plan of converting two rooms into an e-Sampark Centre.

Thane MC team to study city’s green belts
CHANDIGARH: A 14-member team of elected representatives and officers of the Thane Municipal Corporation visited the Chandigarh civic body on Monday evening to study greenbelts and gardens as well as planning and management in the city. Additional Commissioner P K Sharma gave a brief introduction regarding various projects and functions of the corporation.

Patiala Kisan Mela attracts farmers from across state
PATIALA : Thousands of farmers attended the Kisan Mela organised by Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) at the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK),Rauni,Patiala ,on Monday. PAU Vice-Chancellor Manjit Singh Kang inaugurated the Mela,which emphasised upon the theme “Conserve Natural Resources for the Prosperity of All“. In his address to farmers,Kang highlighted problems of lowering underground water level and deteriorating soil health in Punjab,which,he said,were detrimental to the development of agriculture in the state.

Two YPS students selected for Japanese scholarship
MOHALI: Two students of Yadavindra Public School ,Mohali,were selected for the prestigious “Kamenori Foundation Scholarship”. These students,Taramdeep Singh and Meghna Singh Sehgal,were selected by the Youth for Understanding India (YFU India) to visit Japan for a Semester Programme. YFU is one of the world’s oldest organisations conducting exchange programmes around the world.
Taramdeep was enrolled as an international student in Kwansei Gakuin Senior High School at Nishinomiya,Kobe,in the western part of Japan,where he stayed with a host family. Meghna stayed with a family in Akita,the northern part of Japan,where she was enrolled in Nashiro-Kita High School. Both students tried to imbibe good things of Japanese culture and projected the value system of India.

Hold immediate general body meeting,say PGI staff
CHANDIGARH : A section of faculty members has expressed the need for calling an urgent meeting for the faculty at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on the issue of delay in implementation of recommendation of the Sixth Pay Commission. In a latest letter to the Faculty Association,Dr Aditya Aggarwal stated: “As you all know,we had to struggle hard and put in a lot of effort to get pay packages from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (Sixth Pay Commission),unprecedented in the whole history of PGI and AIIMS. However,more than two months have passed but there is no word of implementation of the pay packages.”

Six-day workshop on research methodology begins at PU
CHANDIGARH: A six-day basic training workshop on “Qualitative Methods and Techniques in Social Science Research” began at the ICSSR Complex in Panjab University on Monday. Organised by the North Western Regional Centre of the ICSSR,the workshop was attended by 50 young research scholars and teachers from Jammu,Himachal Pradesh,Punjab,Haryana and Chandigarh. The workshop will draw resource persons from different research institutions and universities.

Sukhbir allowed to go abroad
MOHALI: A special court in Mohali on Monday allowed Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal to go abroad for a month. Also,Sukhbir’s mother Surinder Badal was permitted a two-month foreign tour. Allowing the applications moved by the Badal mother-son duo,Special Judge J S Bhatia ordered the release of passports of Sukhbir and Surinder after furnishing requisite surety bonds and an undertaking to deposit them back with the court after returning back within the stipulated time period.
While Sukhbir was allowed a foreign visit from March 18 to April 18,his mother was permitted to remain abroad from March 18 to May 18. While Badals’ counsel Vikram Chaudhary confirmed this,he refused to divulge the countries to be visited by the Badals for security reasons. He,however,said Sukhbir would be accompanying his mother for her medical exigency and treatment abroad. The Badals,including Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal,are facing trial in a high-profile corruption and disproportionate assets case registered against them by the Punjab vigilance Bureau in Mohali on June 24,2003.

Cop cleared of corruption charges
CHANDIGARH: A UT constable,who was booked under the Prevention of Corruption Act by the Central Bureau of Investigation in a graft case dating back to February 20,2008,was acquitted of the charges by the CBI Special Court of Darshan Singh here on Monday. Constable Surender Singh was posted at Sector-34 police station at the time. He was booked on the complaint of a former head constable’s wife,who had alleged that the constable had demanded a bribe of Rs 3,000 for lodging an FIR. The court cleared him of the charges in an order passed here today.

Three get jail in dowry case
CHANDIGARH : Three persons,including the complainant’s husband,father-in-law and mother-in-law,who were held guilty in a dowry case,were sentenced to one-and-a-half years’ imprisonment by a district court here on Monday. The court of Civil Judge,Senior Division,Anshul Berry ,also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the husband of the complainant and a fine of Rs 1,000 each was also imposed on her father and mother-in-law. Anjala Rani had filed a complaint on January 15,2003,alleging harassment by her husband,father-in-law and mother-in-law for bringing more dowry. Anjala’s husband Dharmender Shastri,a Sanskrit teacher who resides in Sector 7,father-in-law Bhoop Singh and mother-in-law Chandrapati — were booked for harassing her on numerous occasions. She had alleged that their demands had continued to increase ever since the marriage took place on December 16,1998.

Councillor comes out with unique directory
MOHALI: Local municipal councillor Harman Preet Singh Prince has come out with a unique directory of his area residents. The directory,which contains the contact details of the residents of Phase 3B1,also has specimen copies of application forms for several government public welfare schemes,besides detailed information on criteria and entitlement of such schemes. The directory was released by the District Planning Committee Chairman N K Sharma here on Monday. Prince,who had served as senior vice-president of Mohali Municipal Council,has distributed free copies of the directory to all 1,500 residents. “The idea behind it is to make the residents aware of their neighbours and at the same time avoid them from visiting various government offices for getting information and application forms of various schemes,” he said.

‘Mountview not to be privatised’
CHANDIGARH: The five-star Hotel Mountview,a flagship venture of the Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO) is not going to be privatised. Disclosing this on Monday,CITCO Managing Director clarified that the hotel is earning great revenues and netting huge profits. “In the last fiscal,the hotel had registered total sales of Rs 25 crore and earned a net profit of around Rs 10 crore. The hotel will continue to up the benchmark it has created and continue to serve the citizens and guests of Chandigarh in the best possible manner,” said D K Tiwari.

Seminar and book exhibition on Vedic culture
CHANDIGARH: A national seminar and book exhibition on Vedic culture was held at DAV College,Sector 10,Chandigarh,on Monday in an attempt to promote culture and tradition among youth. Principal Dr B C Josan inaugurated the function and stressed upon the need to uphold moral values and called upon the youth not to alienate themselves from their glorious heritage.

Training programme for teachers
PANCHKULA: A ten-day training programme was organised for teachers by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in collaboration with the Intel Teach Programme at the District Institute of Education and Technology (DIET),Panchkula. The company has trained an initial group of 20 teachers as Lead Master Trainers (LMTs) from five districts of Haryana: Panchkula,Ambala,Yamuna Nagar,Kurukshetra and Kaithal. The initiative will further be extended to all districts in the state. The LMTS will be responsible for sharing their new skills with teachers in their respective districts. Under the programme,teachers are guided to use technology for improving the teaching-learning process and how to add a project-based learning approach to the traditional methods.

Haryana drivers seek revised pay scales
PANCHKULA: Demanding a revision of pay scales,according to the Sixth Pay Commission,around 30 drivers of the All Haryana Government/Semi-Government Drivers’ Association held a protest outside the mini secretariat on Monday. The members also submitted a written memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Yadav who said he would look into the matter. They also demanded that the state government fix duty hours of drivers and also include uniform allowances in the salary. They also said that all drivers on contract and daily wages should be regularised. P S Rana,state president of the association,said,“We want the government to provide a life insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh to all drivers and also give the balance payment of our arrears. We have submitted our requirements to the government a number of times earlier as well but to no avail.” He added that the drivers have decided to call a ‘Haryana Bandh’ on March 23 in view of the government’s inclusion of private taxis.

Chandigarh Science Congress today
Chandigarh: The 2nd Chandigarh Social Science Congress would be organised by Panjab University,Chandigarh,on March 16 and 17 on the focal theme of Economy,Society and Welfare: New Challenges Before Social Sciences. About 30 social science departments of the university are participating in the mega event. ICSSR North Western Region,Chandigarh,has financially assisted the Congress. The faculty,research scholars and students of 30 Social Science Departments are participating in the meet. Professor R C Sobti,Vice-Chancellor,Panjab University,Chandigarh,will inaugurate the meet at 11 am in the auditorium of Panjab University on March 16.

Girls at the forefront to promote peace
CHANDIGARH: The Indian Council of Gandhian Studies,New Delhi,Department of Gandhian Studies,Panjab University,and NGO Yuvsatta organised a workshop to promote a culture of peace by way of active participation of youth,especially girls and women,on Monday. Around 115 girl students and youth peace club members from Dev Samaj College of Education,Sector 36,Chandigarh,Divya Shiksha Gurukul College of Education,Derabassi,Satyam College of Education,Moga,Chitkara College of Education for Women,Rajpura-Patiala,Department of Gandhian Studies,Panjab University and Yuvsatta participated in the function.

Patil asks officials to sort out ‘routine issues’
Chandigarh: Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Shivraj Patil held a public hearing session at the UT Secretariat on Monday.
Patil pointed out that most complaints taken up in the hearing session related to non-allotment of houses or booths,re-employment of NTT teachers and bereaved family members urging for a job on compassionate grounds.
He directed senior officials to sort out routine issues at their level. The administrator also advocated the need to have a sympathetic approach towards the complainants.
Responding to the demand of an individual regarding the refund of deposit money by the Chandigarh Housing Board,Patil said beneficiaries of any project of CHB should not suffer due to internal differences between the CHB and its partners.
While some grievances were redressed on the spot,officials concerned were asked to look into the others and take immediate action. Taking serious note of a complaint by a senior citizen,who alleged that he was being harassed and mentally tortured by his son,Patil asked the Inspector General of Police to take necessary action and ensure justice to him.