Punjab college teachers to intensify protest
After Nihang Labh Singh and others who were staging a sit-in in support of farmers, left the Matka Chowk roundabout, Punjab teachers have gathered at the place to protest non-implementation of the 7th Pay Commission and the Punjab government’s decision to delink the UGC pay scales and the salaries of college teachers. In a statement the teachers said: “It is a pity that while the Punjab government keeps harping upon the importance of education for development of the state, the teachers of higher education institutions are forced to boycott academic work and sit on the roads for their rights.”
RITES to prepare mobility plan for tricity
The Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) will prepare a comprehensive mobility plan for the Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula tricity in a span of eight months. At a recent meeting the officials deliberated the objectives and vision for sustainable mobility for 2041. The focus is on providing safe, secure, efficient, reliable and seamless connectivity for residents. Also, discussions on ways to integrate mobility plan with land-use plan and to determine the optimal mix of multi-modal public transport network were held. In 2009 RITES had prepared a report on the city’s mobility plan but the report was found outdated as the city’s requirements changed over the past decade. RITES had suggested Metro network for the tricity, which was opposed by MP Kirron Kher.
Mini Covid care centres come up in city
The Chandigarh Health Department has started opening mini-Covid care centres for patients who require institutional isolation facility as cases of Covid-19 have started rising again. Health Secretary of Chandigarh Administration Yashpal Garg has written to Sri Guru Granth Sahib Sewa Society to start a mini-Covid care centre at Bal Bhawan in Sector 23 so that patients can be sent there. As present, there are more than 75 Covid-19 patients in the city. The positivity rate of the last seven days stands at 0.5 per cent, while the cumulative positivity rate is 7.7 per cent in the city.
SC rejects admin’s plea on retirement age
The teachers working in colleges under the Chandigarh Administration will retire at the age of 65 and not 58, as the Supreme Court ‘dismissed as withdrawn’ the administration’s petition challenging an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in favour of the teachers. The order passed by a Bench led by Justice KM Joseph after senior counsel PS Patwalia and advocate BP Yadav submitted that the retirement age of teachers serving in government colleges under the Chandigarh Administration should be 65 as per the regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
Harpreet Bajwa
Our correspondent in Chandigarh hsbajwa73@gmail.com