FIVE PRINCIPALS HONOURED WITH PEACE AWARDS

CHANDIGARH : Today, an NGO, with support of Peace Clubs of GMSSS-10A, KB DAV-7 and Divya Shiksha Gurukul College of Education organized a function at Govt. Model Sr. Sec. School, Sector 10, in which Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Cabinet Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Government of India presented this year Peace Awards. Annual Peace Club Awards are presented every year to five outstanding Principals/teachers who had done the most to inculcate good values, spirit of service and sacrifice amongst their young students. Applauding the teachers honoured today Pawan Kumar Bansal shared that teachers are our guiding light, creating conditions conducive to overall holistic development of generation next. He further added that the concept of Peace Clubs in Schools will certainly pave the way of living together, by promoting values of respect, tolerance, mutual understanding and solidarity. And this mission is more vital than ever in our increasingly connected and multicultural societies.
Five Principals who were honored today by Pawan Kumar Bansal are Dr. AC Vaid, Principal of GGD SD College, Sector 32 honured with Dr. KBS Dhillon Memorial Peace Award carrying a citation, a shawl & Rs. 5100/-, Jaskiran Harika, Principal of DAV Public School, Sector 8 was honoured with Kailash Bahl Memorial Peace Award carrying a citation, a shawl & Rs. 5100/-, Jaya Bhardwaj, Principal of Mahatma Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula was honoured with Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Peace Award carrying a citation, a shawl & Rs. 5100/-. Two special commendation awards were also presented to Indira Beniwal, Principal of Govt. Model Sr. Sec. School, Sector 10, Chandigarh and Mr. Piyush Punj, Director of St. Vivekananda Millennium School, Pinjore. The School choir of Govt. Model Sr. Sec. School, Sector 10 presented a peace song ‘Jai Jagat (victory to the world)’ on the occasion.

'Made in Pakistan' edition-II takes off

CHANDIGARH: Aiming at a fast thaw in Indo-Pakistan relations with exchange of trade between the two countries, the second edition of 'Made in Pakistan' started on Friday. Residents had a look at Pakistani products like textile garments, leather products, glassware, cosmetic jewellery and handicraft. Traders from Pakistan said they had been receiving a good response in India. Many customers from here had booked orders on the telephone, they said.
The fair presents an exclusive range of products from almost all regions of Pakistan including garments and embroidered fabric from Multan, Karachi and Lahore, ethnic footwear from Lahore and Multan, exclusive handicraft from Swat Peshawar, range of shimmering decor products from Karachi, carved rosewood furniture from Peshawar, designer melamine from Gujranwala and rich dry fruits and onyx. More than 48 exhibitors from Pakistan have displayed a wide array of products at 60 stalls as compared to 43 last time in Chandigarh.
Warda Irfan, a woman trader from Lahore, said she had participated in the exhibition's last edition too. She has been getting orders from Indian customers. 'Lahori and Multani dupattas with heavy embroidery are appreciated by Indian customers. Our dresses and traditional cultures are the same; trade may be helpful for both countries. It could help people of both countries get to know a lot about cultures of both nations,' she added.

Harbahajan gets a grand welcome in Chandigarh, leaves for Jalandhar

CHANDIGARH: India's World Cup-winning off-spinner Harbhajan Singh got a grand welcome after arriving in Chandigarh on today.Harbhajan, who stays in the upscale Sector 9, paid obeisance at a gurudwara in the neighbouring town of Sohana, before leaving for his home town of Jalandhar, some 150 km from here, to meet his mother Avtar Kaur. He is also expected to visit Sant Ajit Singh, the head of Nirmal dera, based in Hansali village Fatehgarh Sahib town of Punjab, in the coming days. Ajit Singh is also the guru of Harbhajan's team mate Yuvraj Singh.

Burail jail-break: Court declares conspirator 'absconder'

CHANDIGARH : A court here Saturday declared the main conspirator in the infamous Burail jail-break case an absconder.Chief judicial magistrate J.S. Sidhu declared Narayan Singh Chaura, who had helped Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) terrorists Jagtar Singh Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora in digging a tunnel to run away on the night intervening Jan 21-22, 2004, an absconder.Hawara and Bheora were the masterminds of the assassination of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh at the high-security state secretariat complex here Aug 31, 1995. Hawara was rearrested by the Delhi Police's Special Cell June 8, 2005. Six accused in the case, including Hawara, were convicted by the trial court July 27, 2007. On July 21, 2007, the court sentenced him and another accused, Balwant Singh to death while sentencing others to various terms of imprisonment. The Punjab and Haryana High Court Oct 12, 2010 commuted Hawara's death sentence to life imprisonment while upholding capital punishment to Balwant Singh. Hawara and Bheora were produced in the court, amid tight security, here Saturday. The next date of hearing is slated May 6. Beant Singh, chief minister from 1992 to 1995, was largely credited with wiping out terrorism from Punjab by dealing with the scourge with an iron hand along with supercop K.P.S. Gill.

ICC official in Indian flag row, case filed

MOHALI: Chandigarh police on Friday registered a case against an International Cricket Council (ICC) official for disrespecting the national flag in Mohali on Wednesday.The official stomped on balloons shaped as the Indian flag in Mohali before the semi-final match between India and Pakistan on Wednesday. A team of police officials from Mohali examined the footage which showed the ICC official stomping on the Indian flag shaped balloons outside the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. The official snatched Indian flag shaped balloons from a street vendor and then stomped over the flags to deflate them. The official apologised after reporters present near the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium objected to it but she also said that the flags had an ICC logo, which was a copyright infringement.

11 cakes cut - one for every Indian player

CHANDIGARH : Fans here cut 11 cakes - one for every Indian player Friday to wish good luck to the team in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka. This is our way to wish good luck to the Indian cricket team. We have cut a separate cake for every player of the team. We would also organise a religious ceremony before the start of Saturday's match,said Manmohan Garg, CEO of the Chandigarh-based Gurukul Vidyapeeth Society. They had prayed and organised fire rituals before the India-Pakistan semifinal as well. Before the India-Pakistan match, we had organised a havan yagya (fire ritual) and had made 11 havan kunds for the players. We have a separate cricket fan club that has planned a big bash if India win the final.India won the nail-biting semifinal against Pakistan by 29 runs Wednesday. Many restaurants and bars in Chandigarh and its neighbouring towns have made special arrangements, like the installation of big screens and special discounts, to attract people to watch the final match Saturday. The final will be played in Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai Saturday