12th APG National Conference
As notified earlier in the previous issue of the News Letter the 12th APG National Conference is being hosted by the Department of Geography, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, H.P. on October 8-9, 2011.
Focal Theme: Mountain Environment and Natural Resource Management
Sub-Themes:
. Natural Hazards and Disaster Management
. Bio-Diversity, Land and Water-Issues and Challenges
. Built-up Environment and Ecological Considerations
. Climate Change-Impacts and Options
. Mountain Communities, Livelihoods and Carrying Capacity
. Geo-spatial Technologies and Natural Resource Planning and Management
News from the Colleges/Departments
Department of Geography RKMV Shimla:
A national seminar on "Applications of geospatial technology for teaching and research" was organized by the Department of Geography RKMV Shimla on February 27-28, 2011. It was sponsored by ICSSR, North western Regional centre, Chandigarh.
PG Department of Geography, Tikka Ram Girls College, Sonepat, Haryana:
A 3-day inter-disciplinary National Workshop on "Social Sciences" sponsored by H.E.C, Haryana was organized on February 12-14, 2011. About 190 delegates and 15 eminent and highly renowned persons actively participated in this workshop.Dr. Anita Singh, Head Department of Geography, coordinated the workshop.
Addition of P.G. Classes in Geography:
Baba Farid College, a constituent college of the Baba Farid Group of Institutions has started M.Sc. in Geography from the current academic session. APG welcomes this move and thanks S. Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal MD of the Institute for the promotion of this basic science in this era of professionalism.
News from the Members
Dr. D.D. Sharma, Head, Department of Geography, H.P. University has joined as Professor in the Department since January, 2011.
Dr. B. R. Thakur, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla has been awarded a major research project of Rs. 6,82,625 on "Regional Imbalances in Level of Infrastructural Development in Non-tribal Areas of Himachal Pradesh Problems and Prospects" funded by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi.
Dr. B. R. Thakur and Prof. D. D. Sharma, Department of Geography Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla also got another major research project jointly of Rs. 7,69,800 on "Characterization and Prioritization of Giri River Watershed: An Integrated Approach" from University Grants Commission, New Delhi.
Jaspal Singh, Associate Professor Department of Geography, Government College, Ropar has been awarded Ph. D. Degree in Geography, by Punjabi University, Patiala. The title of his research was "State of Urbanisation in Punjab: A Geographical Analysis".
Young Geographer Award (NAGI)
Miss Saleha Jamal, research scholar Department of Geography, Aligarh Muslim University was awarded Young Geographer Award on her paper on "Household Energy Used: Indoor Air Pollution and Respiratory Health in Aligarh City" on the 32 Indian Geography Congress.
State Level Geographical Quiz Contest
P.G Department of Geography, SCD Govt. College, Ludhiana organized a State Level Inter-College Geographical Quiz Contest under the aegis of the Association of Punjab Geographers on February 12, 2011. Eleven teams from various parts of the state participated.
Joint Meeting of APG and ISPER
To explore the possibilities of further strengthening the co-operation and co-ordination between APG and ISPER, a joint meeting of the Executive Committee of the APG and Executive Council (EC) of the ISPER was held under the Chairmanship of Sh. R.C. Aggarwal, President ISPER on 23.4. 2011 at ISPER Head Quarters, Panchkula. K. Surjit Singh, Secretary General ISPER, while appreciating the academic potentials of the APG informed the EC the objective of holding a joint meeting. The intended objectives are further strengthening co-operation in research activities of the Institute. In view of this, it was resolved to build Geographers Bhawan jointly at Patiala which will function as sub-centre of ISPER apart from head quarters of APG.