Oath taken against drugs

An anti-drug campaign was launched by the departments of chemistry, visual arts and journalism and mass communication of Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). Head of the chemistry department Baljit Singh was the chief guest. He administered oath to students, teachers and research scholars to stay away from drugs. Increasing tension, loneliness, polluted food and unemployment were responsible for drug abuse. Nodal officer, “Special Drive on Drug Abuse and Alcoholism”, Dr Chaman Lal said a large number of youngsters were falling prey to drug addiction due to changing lifestyle, family feuds and excessive use of Internet. Teachers from the journalism and mass communication and visual arts departments Prof Shashi Kant Sharma, Prof Him Chatterjee and Prof Vikas Dogra also urged the youth to stay away from drugs. 

Seminar on history, art

A two-day national seminar on history, art and culture began at Himachal State Museum, Chaura Maidan, Shimla, on Thursday. Twenty-two scholars from different parts of the country are presenting their research papers.  In the first session,  Dr AR Sankhyan, senior anthropologist, Anthropological Survey of India, presented a paper on “Emergence of Stone Hafting Technology in Himachal Sub-Himalaya”,  Anubhav Preet Kaur presented her paper on “Prehistoric Evidence in the Himalayan  Region”, Dr Gurudas Shete  on “Pre-Iron Age/Chalcolithic Culture of Vidharva, Eastern Maharashtra”,  Sanathana YS on “Rock Cut Sculptural Tradition of Brahmaputra Valley”  and  Sandeep Badoni on  “Evolution of Revenue Management in Garhwal and Kumaon”, while in the second session, Prof MP Joshi presented a paper on recent discoveries of Spiti in Himachal and discussed about the pre-historic establishment on the basis of discovered artifacts. Mayank Singh’s paper was based on “Conservation Issues of Forts in Kangra” and Rajender Kumar’s on  “Gugga-The Chief Deity of Marginalised People of Himachal”.

Students apprised of legal rights 

Students of the Centre of Excellence, Government College, Sanjauli, were apprised of their legal rights at a function organised by the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights on the principles of Mahatma Gandhi and The Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. Chairperson of the commission Vandana Rana was the chief guest, while principal of the college Dr Chandra Bhan Mehta was the special guest. Dr Ram Lal Chauhan, who was the key speaker, talked about economy in Gandhian philosophy. Advocates Sheetal Sharma and Reeta Thakur spoke on the rights of adolescents.

Awareness on traffic rules

NCC cadets of Government Senior Secondary School, Dhalli, and Government College of Excellence, Sanjauli, took out a rally from Dhalli Chowk to the Dhalli tunnel to create awareness on traffic rules. They urged drivers not to blow horn. The rally, led by NCC officer Poonam Thakur and eco-club in-charge Indu Sharma, was part of the NCC Week. Sixteen cadets and 10 members of the eco-club, Centre for Excellence, Sanjauli, educated the people about traffic rules. Painting and slogan writing competitions were also held.