In Brief

SBI Ladies Club reaches out to the needy
CHANDIGARH: Kavita Sehgal,president,State Bank Ladies Club,Chandigarh,along with vice-president Taposhi Bhaduri and other members of the club donated curtains and distributed fruits to the residents of the Pingalwara society at Palsora village. Sehgal also highlighted various activities under community services undertaken by the club for needy persons from time to time. Kuljeet Kaur,incharge of the Pingalwara,thanked Sehgal for the kind gesture.

Trade union leader B M Sarhadi passes away
AMBALA: Veteran trade union leader B M Sarhadi died after prolonged illness at his Katcha Bazar residence in Ambala Cantonment on Thursday. He was imprisoned several times while fighting for the cause of postal and RMS workers. His body was donated to the Government Medical College and Hospital,Sector 32,Chandigarh as per his wishes. MLA and Haryana Legislature Party leader Anil Vij and former Congress MLA Nirmal Singh placed wreaths as a mark of respect to the departed soul.

Brig Harwant Singh is new AIDB president
MOHALI: Brigadier Harwant Singh (retd) was unanimously elected as the new president of the All India Defence Brotherhood (AIDB) at a special election meeting held on Thursday.  Lt Col A S Binder (retd),the outgoing president,was elevated to the post of patron. The House meeting was conducted by AIDB General Secretary Major S S Dhillon (retd),who is also the chairperson of the Ex-servicemen Joint Action Front (Sanjha Morcha). In his address,Brig Harwant Singh,who is also the founder member of AIDB,assured the members that he would carry everyone along as a team. He also announced postponement of the date for depositing the medals with the President to February 14. He called upon all to come forward and join hands to win the battle for One Rank One Pension (OROP). Members also resolved to support any NGO and political party,which was ready to join hands with them with regard to OROP.

Army major robbed of cash,valuables
KHARAR: Major Kanwal Kumar of Mallpur in Hoshiarpur district of Punjab,presently posted in Ambala Cantonment,was robbed of cash and valuables in a bus here,the police said on Thursday. Kumar reported to the police that he had come to visit his paternal uncle and when he boarded a bus from Kharar to Chandigarh,some unidentified miscreant stole his wallet,containing cash and valuables,including his identity card. A case of theft was lodged and investigations have begun.

Foetus found dumped in drain
MOHALI: A day after a foetus was found partially eaten by stray dogs at the City Park in Sector 68 here,another foetus was found dumped in a drain in Teera village on Thursday,the police said. Sarpanch Gurpreet Singh informed the police that a male foetus was seen abandoned in a drain outside the house of one Binder around 11 am. The police shifted the foetus to Civil Hospital for medical examination and lodged a case under Section 318 of the IPC against an unidentified woman,who had dumped the aborted foetus. The police said the recovered foetus seemed to be five months old.

BSNL mela starts today
CHANDIGARH: BSNL is organising a two-day mela at the Telephone Exchange in Sector 7,Panchkula,beginning Friday. Demonstration and registration of various products like landlines,broadband connections,mobile connections,3G mobile connections,data cards and WLL connections shall be held and products will be sold. Free top-up/ITC/call now cards of Rs 50 to Rs 150 shall be given free of cost with booking of mobile prepaid,landline and broadband connections.

Ambala to be conferred national award for implementation of NREGA
AMBALA: Ambala district has been selected for a national award for Excellence in implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) for the year 2008-09. A total of 24 districts from 18 states of the country have been selected for the award. During the period,a total amount of over Rs 40 crore was utilised for completion of nearly 1,861 development works. A total number of 30,082 families had been registered under the scheme,out of which 27,338 willing families were provided employment. Almost 6,189 families of the district have already completed 100 days employment under the scheme. The award would be given at an annual function to be held at Vigyan Bhawan,New Delhi,on February 2,according to a press release.

Government school student hurt in brawl
CHANDIGARH: A quarrel between two students at a school in Sector 45 took a violent turn when one of them was seriously injured and had to be rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32 on Thursday. A student of Class XII in Government Senior Secondary School allegedly hit his classmate on the head with a broken chair after a piece of orange was thrown at him,the police said. A case under Section 323 of the IPC has been registered at the Burail police post.

Traders list demands before new Administrator
CHANDIGARH: The Traders’ Association in Sector 17 welcomed the appointment of Shivraj Patil as Punjab Governor and UT Administrator. Highlighting the demands of the traders,the members stated that box-type structures on the rear side of SCOs and SCFs in all commercial buildings be permitted. The association has also demanded construction of a floor on booths and bay shops as well as permission to undertake business and commercial activities on upper floors of SCOs. Association president Kamaljit Singh Panchhi said the markets should be made encroachment free and commercial leasehold property be converted into freehold by paying nominal charges.

Babla’s plea to attend House meeting dismissed by court
CHANDIGARH: A local court on Thursday dismissed the plea filed by Congress councillor Devinder Singh Babla to take part in the first House meeting after the mayoral elections. The court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Anshul Berry dismissed the plea by Babla who is presently in judicial custody. Opposing the plea,the prosecution referred to the judgment of Indira Gandhi vs Jai Parkash Narayan,which stated that when the accused is arrested and in custody,all his rights are withdrawn. The defence had moved the application on Monday.

Bajaj to represent Centre in High Court
CHANDIGARH: Advocate Vikram Bajaj has been appointed as Additional Central Government Standing Counsel by the Union Law Ministry for representing the Union of India in the Punjab and Haryana High Court for a period of three years.

Camp to prepare smart cards for Bapu Dham BPL beneficiaries begins today
CHANDIGARH: For the implementation of the smart card-based public distribution system in the city,a three-day camp will be held starting Friday,from 8 am to 8 pm at Government Middle School,Sector 26,Bapu Dham,Chandigarh,for recording the biometrics and photographs of all families. The Administration has requested all Below Poverty Line (BPL) ration card holders attached with M/s Narang Provision Store,Sector 26,Bapu Dham,Chandigarh,to be present at the venue. IT company HCL has been chosen as the system integrator for the implementation of the smart card project and they will be capturing the biometrics and photographs of family members of eligible beneficiaries,on the spot.

Nursing student dies in mysterious conditions
PANCHKULA: A student of Swami Devi Dyal Group of Institutes died under mysterious circumstances on Thursday. A first-year nursing student,Prerna,was a resident of Pehwa near Kaithal and was staying in the college hostel at Barwala. “In the morning,Prerna started vomiting and was immediately rushed to the Swami Devi Dyal hospital. As her condition deteriorated,she was referred to the General Hospital where she later died,” said a spokesperson of the college. The postmortem will be conducted on Friday to ascertain the exact cause of death. 

Students bid farewell to PU professor
CHANDIGARH: The Department of Geology,Panjab University,organised a thanksgiving function to accord farewell to Professor (Retd) Ashok Sahni,Scientist Emeritus INSA. Dr Sahni has also served as a UGC Professor Emeritus after retirement. Presently Professor Emeritus of Panjab University and visiting faculty at IISER,Mohali,Dr Sahni will be shifting to Lucknow. His contributions were recounted by Professor G S Gill,chairperson of the Geology department.

UT to have only one DEO
CHANDIGARH: Rolling back its policy decision,the UT Administration has decided to have just one District Education Officer (DEO) for both government as well as private schools. In 2008,it was decided to have two DEOs,one each for private and government schools. A post from the Adult Education Department (that of Director Adult Education) had been transferred to create a post for the second DEO. In a recent meeting,however,the authorities decided to roll back the decision and implement the earlier set up where there was only one DEO. Now,the District Education Officer is Chanchal Singh. It was former DPI (S) S K Setia who had come up with the proposal to have two district education officers in 2008.

Seminar concludes at PU
CHANDIGARH: The second day of the national seminar on ‘Law,society and biotechnology interface: Emerging issues in North Western Region’,being organised by the University Institute of Legal Studies at the ICSSR complex,commenced with participants discussing biotechnology and intellectual property laws. Chaired by Professor Shashi Sharma from the Department of Laws and co-chaired by Dr Parikshit Bansal,chairman,NIPER,Mohali,the first session focused on the impacts of biotechnology and patenting on environment,health and human rights. Dr Bansal concluded the talks by recognising the need for patenting. Professor Upendra Sawhney,chairperson,Department of Economics,Professor Sukhdarshan Singh Khehra,registrar,Punjabi University,Patiala,Professor Sherry Sabharwal,Department of Sociology,Dr Harpal Kaur Khehra,Department of Laws,Punjabi University,Patiala,and Vikas Asawat also chaired sessions.

ICWAI organises seminar on taxes
CHANDIGARH: The Institute of Cost and Works Accounts of India (ICWAI),through its Chandigarh-Panchkula chapter,organised a seminar on Goods and Service Tax (GST) at CII,Chandigarh,on Wednesday. Karan Avtar Singh,Punjab Principal Secretary (Finance),presided over the function. A Venu Prashad,commissioner,Excise and Taxation,Punjab,and Balwinder Singh,central council member of ICWAI,Kolkata,were the guests of honour. Key speaker Rakesh Bhalla,vice-chairman,ICWAI,said the Government of India was considering implementation of GST with effect from October 1,2010. He said two reports on GST,one by the empowered committee of state finance ministers and another by the task force constituted under the 13th Finance Commission,have already been made public. “The Industry should gear up to ensure a smooth transition to the GST regime. The government has to issue clarifications on various issues such as on the definition of goods and service and valuation. At the same time,the legislation should be people friendly,” said Bhalla. Anil Sharma,secretary,Chandigarh chapter of ICWAI and Central Council member Balwinder Singh also addressed the gathering.

Foreign terror outfits trying to revive terrorism in state: DGP
Bathinda: Referring to the recent seizures of explosives in Nabha and Halwara,DGP P S Gill on Thursday said foreign terror outfits had plans to revive terrorism in the state by striking Air Force bases,but inputs by the intelligence wing foiled their designs. Gill,addressing a press conference here,also said that new recruitment would be done shortly to overcome shortage of manpower in the police department.

24 ETT union members held
Mansa: The local police on Thursday arrested as many as 24 members of the Unemployed ETT Teachers’ Union (Jammu) after they raised anti-government slogans at Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s function at Bareta in this district. Budhlada DSP Satwant Singh Dod said a case of interference in government duty has been registered against them.

VSM for Ram Kumar Dhiman
SHIMLA: Commander,13 Border Roads Task Force,Akhnoor (Jammu and Kashmir),Ram Kumar Dhiman was awarded Vishist Sewa Medal by the President on the Republic Day. Dhiman belongs to Dehlan in Una district of Himachal Pradesh and is a passout of Punjab Engineering College,Chandigarh. The officer has also served in Afghanistan and was awarded Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award by the Indian Road Congress in 2006.

17 concrete roads on cards in HP
SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh has started an experiment with the construction of concrete roads in areas more prone to dampness or sliding. Initially,17 roads have been selected for conversion into cemented roads,including six in Palampur circle,three in Solan,two in Mandi and Kullu and one each in Una,Nahan and Nurpur. Public Works Department Minister Gulab Singh Thakur said at least one concrete road stretch would be constructed in each PWD division of the state.

5 SGPC employees fined for dyeing beard
AMRITSAR: Five employees of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee(SGPC) have been fined with Rs 5,100 each for dyeing their beards. SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said they have been directed to appear before the Akal Takht and seek apology as the act was prohibited under the Sikh Rehat Maryada (Sikh code of conduct). Those fined include Paramjit Singh,Sukhminder Singh,both working as SDOs,Hardeep Singh,junior engineer,Gurpreet Singh,draftsman and Amar Singh,working with the Sikh History Board.
“I have taken action against them for violating the maryada,”said Makkar. When asked why action was not taken against SGPC members who also dyed their beards,Makkar said there was no provision for action against members.