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Civic amenities in a mess
For Arshad Warsi, comedy rocks
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Hitch-hiker dog finds entry into Limca Book
Helping hands can restore Aman’s vision
Dilshad’s designs on future
Suvidha Centre true to its name
From Schools and Colleges
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Civic amenities in a mess
Garbage dumps lie strewn across the city, so much so that the outbreak of gastroenteritis, typhoid, and diarrhoea is feared. Heaps of garbage can be seen in almost every locality of the city. Several dairies situated in different residential areas aggravate the problem, as dung is thrown into the sewerage. This results in overflowing of sewage water due to its choking. Besides, the passing of two nullahs carrying sewage of the city through several localities creates problems for residents. Further, the scheme of door to door collection of garbage from most of the localities is creating another type of problem for the residents. Instead of disposing of the garbage scientifically, the refuse thus collected is dumped at several busy areas of the city. Jalandhar Plus team saw that the men deputed for door to door collection of the garbage were throwing it at Sheenpura Chowk. The accumulation of the garbage at the chowk created nuisance for passers-by and especially for those living in the surrounding localities of Model Town, Adarsh Nagar and Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar. Besides, Jalandhar Plus team noticed heaps of garbage at Model Town Chowk opposite Shiv Mandir, Jalaowkhana Chowk, Kotu Chowk near Panch Mandir adjacent to Kotwali police station. Presence of several stray animals around the heaps of garbage in these areas indicated that the refuse had accumulated there since long. Areas like Ucha Ghora Mohalla, Raitia Mohalla and Markfed Chowk are also dotted with garbage heaps. Ram Prakash, a resident of Model Town area, said that these heaps of garbage proved a fertile breeding ground for mosquitoes and flies. “It would not be surprising if we fall prey to diseases like malaria,” rued a resident. To add to the misery, there is no arrangement to remove rotten vegetables from the Sabzi Mandi situated behind the courts complex. As a result of this, the rotten vegetables keep accumulating in the Sabzi Mandi area. Stink arising from the heaps of rotten vegetables here creates problems, especially for the morning walkers residing in Mohalla Shergil, Mohalla Kainpura, Sadar Bazar, Amrit Bazar and Kisaba Bazar who have to cross the Sabzi Mandi area to reach the Mall Road for morning walk. Besides, nearly 30 dairies situated in residential areas of Luxmi Nagar, Amrit Bazar, Kotu Chowk, Doctor Sadiq Ali Gali, Kesri Bagh and Jalowkhana area aggravate the problem, as dung is carried into the sewerage. In fact, residents have been demanding that the Municipal Council should make arrangements to shift these dairies out of the city. The residents’ tale of woes does not end here. Groundwater in some localities, including Shalimar Avenue, has become unfit for drinking as a nullah carrying sewage water passes through this locality. “The Municipal Council should take steps to cover this nullah as it has already covered other nullahs at several places. If this nullah is covered, we will get relief from mosquitoes, flies and stink,” said Amrit Kaur, a resident of this locality. Is anyone listening? Officialspeak Admitting that the garbage was thrown at different places after its door to door collection, MC Chief Sudesh Agarwal said the garbage thus thrown was lifted thrice a day by MC vehicles. Later, it was dumped on the outskirts of the city. Blaming general public for heaps of garbage strewn at different places in Kapurthala, he asked the public to cooperate in making the city clean. Dismissing the allegations about “ignoring the wards of Opposition councillors” as baseless, he claimed that in the latest meeting, MC had cleared an estimate of Rs 22 lakh for carrying out developmental works in the ward represented by Opposition leader Sham Sunder Agarwal. Development was being done in all 23 wards without any discrimination, he claimed. In the meeting of the District Planning Board, the issue of dairies had already been raised, he said. Some land outside the city was required for shifting the dairies, he added. On desiltation of seasonal nullah, he said that an estimate of Rs 50,000 had been cleared by MC. Besides, an estimate of Rs 14.54 lakh was cleared to lay a new sewerage from Kotu wala Chowk to Mehtabgarh, he added. Allegations galore Former Municipal Council president and SAD councillor Paramjit Singh Pamma has alleged that no proper arrangements were made to lift the heaps of garbage from different parts of the city. He alleged that MC Chief Sudesh Agarwal adopted a discriminatory attitude towards the wards represented by Opposition SAD-BJP alliance. He said that nine out of the total 23 wards were being represented by the Opposition. He alleged that these wards were not provided as much money for developmental works, including laying of sewerage and maintaining proper sanitation, as had been provided to the wards represented by the Congress leaders. He further alleged that MC had done nothing to desilt the sewerage and clean the one-kilometre-long seasonal nullah flowing from Kotu Chowk to Kusth Ashram. Desiltation of the sewerage pipes and the seasonal nullah was necessary before monsoon to avoid the overflowing of rainy water, he added.
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For Arshad Warsi, comedy rocks
“Circuit” of Munnabhai MBBS says the character will soon reappear in the sequel. He may be doing more comedy after Munnabahi MBBS, but it has not prevented Arshad from getting a mix of roles. “Comedy, romantic, serious, I’m doing all sorts of roles”. He has “Sehar” and “Waisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II” to prove his seriousness. But comedy, he adds, is the most difficult thing to do as an actor. He says comedy as a genre is alive and a well made comedy can be a success any day. “Comedy rocks!” “I’m still trying to do some good work. This year, I will be seen in “Kabul Express”, the sequel to “Munnabhai MBBS”, “Gol Maal”, “Anthony Kaun Hai?” and “Kisse Pyar Karoon?” Arshad says his favourite comedy artist is Randhir Kapoor, and also loves the comic performances of Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan. As for competition among the current comedy artists in Bollywood, he says, “They are all better than me”. “I may have a little funny bone but off camera, I’m a regular and serious guy,” Arshad adds. The actor says that to relax, all anyone can do is do anything. “So I don’t do anything.” The appeal of actually finding out the real favourites with the show ‘Sabse Favourite Kaun’ sans any backdoor entry of artists for awards appealed to Arshad. “Yeh ek anokha show hai. All lobbying for the awards will be out, as people will decide who the nominees will be and who wins the awards.” Hosting the show with wife Maria is “interesting”, as Arshad has been a fan of her TV work. “She is the host and I act and the plus point is that we get to spend more time with each other.” As an actor how does he rate his performances as comedian and as character artiste? He says comedy comes more naturally to him. The exclusivity of a comic character in the Bollywood movies is gone. A hero, too, nowadays needs to be funny. The new mantra for success is having the right balance. He feels he has a long way to go and the best is yet to come.
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‘Marna Sakht Mana Hai’
Death, the very subject of remorse and sadness, has been picked up by the makers of the new video compact disc
(VCD) ‘Marna Sakht Mana Hai’ to make people laugh. Congress leader Sukhpal Khaira, the producer of the film, Daljit Sandhu, along with cast and crew, released the VCD at a function last week. Next in line of the Punjabi comedy ‘Jija
ji’, this direct to home video release has been brought by the Shemaroo Company. ‘Marna Sakht Mana Hai’ is a Punjabi romantic comedy with the leading Punjabi comedy star, Rana Ranbir, in the main anchor role. Directed by Rajinder Kashyap and music by Jassi, the VCD introduces Karan Sandhu in the film. Rana
Rabir, talking about the success of the VCD and the DVD films, says, “The shelf life of these easy to view films is short. These are a collectors delight as people can just buy these and keep with them.
“Comedy as a theme is ruling the silver screen or through the medium of VCD and DVDs. The revival of the Punjabi films scene can also be credited to the success of comedy. This new movie has dealt with a very different idea to make people laugh on a serious topic like death”, Rana Ranbir adds. The story line has debutant actor Vicky Malik, played by Karan Sandhu, trying to commit suicide to find way out of any difficult situation, to the extent that it becomes habit with him. This lasts only till the time he falls in love and the horoscopes do not match with the girl and all attempts fail to get his love and he again wants to commit suicide. But with the love of his life with him, he finds it hard to give up the life he has begun to love and cherish. The Vice President
Shemaroo, Hiren Gadda said that the success of ‘Jija Ji’ made the company believe in the potential of the direct to home Punjabi video releases and the promos for the VCD and DVD will be on channels like the ETC Punjabi, Zee Punjabi, and Mh1. The decision to launch the VCD was taken to fight piracy as reasonably priced and good quality VCD and DVDs have been made available to the public, Gadda added. |
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Hitch-hiker dog finds entry into Limca Book
Every dog has its day! Kulwinder Singh’s hitch-hiker indigenous dog Harry has found entry into this year’s Edition of Limca Book of Records.
Displayed prominently with a huge photograph of the master, the pet and the mobike whose pillion the pet loves to ride, on page 183 of the Book, the entry is titled as “Four-legged speedster” . It reads, “Harry of Kapurthala, Punjab, rides pillion of his owner’s Hero Honda motorcycle, sitting still even at 90 kmph! Kulwinder Singh has trained his acrobatic desi canine of 22 kg to weather bumpy roads and congested traffic without flinching, sitting pretty all through!” A certificate issued by President and CEO, Coca Cola India, Mr Atul Singh, Company’s Vice-President, Marketing, Mr Vikas Gupta and Editor, Limca Book of Records, Ms Vijaya Ghose, further says that Harry enjoyed this ride with its ears flapping in the wind! Kulwinder Singh from Babeli Babbran village in Phagwara Block of Kapurthala district, while showing the entry in the Limca Book to Jalandhar Plus, claimed that he had now set his eyes on Guinness Book of World Records for having entry for this unique stray over three-year-old. Kulwinder had stumbled on the stray, staggering abandoned pup when he had gone for a haircut at Sunra Rajputan village. Kulwinder brought up the pup, who was less than one month old then, like a child, bottle-fed it with milk and had the tiny toddler cuddled up with him for sleep in his bed during nights. After naming the pup as Harry, Kulwinder first took it on his bicycle’s carrier. He then started taking it on the pillion of a scooter and Harry, having a free-wheeling spirit, eventually started snugging on his motorcycle’s pillion. Harry perches perkily on the pillion all by himself sans strap or belt or leash or any specially-designed seat. He does not even get hold of his master. Neither is he tied to anything. On bumpy roads, he balances himself perfectly well for not getting jerked down. He is neither afraid of traffic rush on cluttered roads nor of myriad noises of ceaseless honking of vehicles horns. He is not rattled by crowd. Nor does he panic on seeing strangers. Harry is not one of a VIP breeds, but is an ubiquitous “desi” canine kind, but very special and pleasing one. Kulwinder had already sent his claim to the London office of the Guinness Book of World Records with all the necessary documents. “I had surfed many websites and found various dogs sitting either on specially-designed seats or safely-strapped,” he claims. “Besides, all such dogs were well-bred and highly-trained,” he argued. “Harry is just a ‘desi’ dog , an amateur, albeit confident, rider, trained by a non-professional like me more out of love than any method”, contends Kulwinder. He had already heard from the Guinness by receiving a letter from their London office asking him to apply through the Guinness website. The letter mentioned that after the application registered, a number would be assigned to the record seeker and researchers of Guinness would get back to him to confirm or reject his claim for the record. Kulwinder’s dream is to show the feat of Harry to the world either in a prestigious dog show or through TV channels featuring programmes about unique animals. And for Harry now, it is a tale from a dog’s life to having a dog’s days. |
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Helping hands can restore Aman’s vision
Lately, life has been difficult for Aman Kumar from Amritsar. Instead of monetary wages, his employers, who are transporters, assaulted him physically. The assault, on April 27, was so severe that Aman reportedly paid for it with his vision.
Aman, who was treated by doctors of the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, has now been referred to Chandigarh for an operation of right optic nerve contusion, which requires a huge sum of money. To recover his sight, he requires two simultaneous operations, of the brain and the eye. Aman’s family has appealed to the public for the financial help for the treatment of his right eye. Ms Laxmi Kanta Chawla, state vice-president, Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), has also asked philanthropists to come forward to help the victim, who was not financially well off. Aman’s father is mentally retarded, mother is a housewife and his brother, who is a labourer, is the sole earning member of the family. Doctors at the Civil Hospital, Amritsar, had initially refused to admit Aman Kumar and later misplaced his file to weaken the case, alleged Ms Chawla. She said civil and police officials of the state government were puppets of the political bosses as they had failed to initiate action against the transporter. She said she had even written to Mr S.S. Virk, DGP, Punjab, in this regard but there had been no action. She also cast aspersions on the creditability of the police, saying they did not have sufficient courage to summon the transporter to the police station. Meanwhile, the Aman Kumar’s mother has submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Kirandeep Singh Bhullar, to constitute a board of doctors who had treated her son to seek their opinion for registering cases under the section 326 and other relevant sections of the IPC. |
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Dilshad’s designs on future
Anita D. Mahajan Tribune News Service
Dilshad is a senior advertising and graphic design student in Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD), Columbus, Ohio. She said creativity and science went hand in hand when it comes to combating the challenges being posed against the environment by different elements. “Hybrid technology is good for the environment. It’s like a stepping stone for the coming technologies, where traditional gas gusslers have no place,” Dilshad told Jalandhar Plus in an email interview from Chicago. “My copy in my logo says ‘hybrid’ in green. A simple sans serif font conveys the simplicity and the modernity of hybrid technology. The leaf (environment-friendly) on top of the ‘i’ has a road running through it (hints at cars) and is also in the shape of a drop, which conveys ‘green’ fuel,” Dilshad said. “I wanted to convey the environmental benefits and the simplicity of hybrid technology,” she added. On her achievements, Dilshad, who did her schooling from MGN Public School, Jalandhar, says, “I think I have worked hard to get to this point in life. I came to the US pursuing my dream and I feel that I have succeeded. It’s a wonderful feeling to tell someone that one has won such a prestigious award. It’s also wonderful to have my family stand beside me and rejoice in my success.” Strangely, Dilshad said she felt inclined towards art later in life. “It was a tough choice. I was torn between wanting to be a veterinary doctor and something to do with art. I actually went to the APJ Institute of Art and Design, New Delhi, to study interior designing, but there, I discovered graphic designing. I felt that this was it. Graphic designing is what I wanted to do in life.” Now, Dilshad has got a job with Duffy Partners, a design company at Chicago. She says she did not have to face hurdles while pursuing studies, as her parents, based in Jalandhar, supported her. “But the only thing that frustrated me was the lack of knowledge in India about career options. Everyone either does medicine or engineering and the markets are pretty saturated. The situation is changing but students need to go for what they feel passionate about more often,” she added. Dilshad is married to Vikram Malhi, an IBM consultant in Chicago. She gives the credit for her success to her family. “I think I owe most of my success to my parents who encouraged me every step of the way to pursue my passion. My husband has been an enormous support who encourages me to think creatively and design intelligently”. Elated over the achievement, Dilshad’s mother, Dr Sudeep Bhangu, a lecturer in a government college in Kapurthala, says, “My daughter has set an example for others who feel that imparting higher education to girls goes in vain. I and my husband are proud of our two daughters.” Dilshad’s father, Dr J. S. Bhangu, a radiologist in Mohali, says about her daughter, “She has been environment-friendly since her childhood. She never used polythene bags, did not like to use crackers on Divali and did like eating junk foods. These reflect her innate feelings towards nature.”
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Suvidha Centre true to its name
It is just like a dream come true for the residents of Nawanshahr district. For getting their legitimate work done, the people do not have to waste time, money and look for a ‘sifarish’ or hanker after middlemen. Be it processing of driving licenses, registration of vehicles, allocation of ration cards, SC/BC certificates, handicapped/domicile certificates, birth and death certificates, pension cases under different categories, passport verifications, arms license, getting the marriage registered, depositing electricity and telephone bills, everything is now done under one roof. Thanks to the newly-set up air-conditioned Suvidha Centre at Nawanshahr District Administrative Complex. This Suvidha Centre, equipped with the infrastructure facilities at par with international standards, is a brain child of the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Krishan Kumar, who took the initiative to provide the services of various departments to the people under one roof and at a speedy pace. Even affluent people, who have been earlier sending their messengers for their routine official works relating to various departments, primarily because of the harassment involved, could now be seen standing in the queues at the place for simplification of procedures. Moreover, enthused people are just not visiting the centre for getting their official work done, but also to have a look at it. For NRIs, it has been proving to be a boon as now it has become unbelievably easy for them to get the copy of the ‘farad’ of their land or getting the marriages registered. Presently, about 15-20 marriages were registered daily here, Mr Krishan Kumar said, adding that keeping in view the Supreme Court’s decision of mandatory registration of marriages, there would be a great rush for marriage registration, when the apex court’s decision would be put into practice. Approximately 150-200 marriages per day would have to be registered as per the population of the district, but ‘Suvidha Centre’ is all set to handle the pressure. Mr Krishan Kumar is also planning to construct another floor at ‘Suvidha Centre’ exclusively for undertaking the registration of marriages. For the convenience of the people, especially those belonging to rural areas, an innovative scheme “Patwari at your call” has been introduced in the district. For obtaining a copy of ‘farad’, now people do not have to make rounds of the office of the patwari, but they just need to dial 01823- 555501, to register their request. The ‘farad’ is being made available at their door-step through courier within 48 hours. Besides, a special software has also been developed for mutations. The electricity bills are also being accepted on Saturdays for making it more convenient for the people. Besides, talks were underway with the State Bank of India to set up the Extension Counter and ATM facility at the Suvidha Centre, Mr Krishna Kumar said.
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Sumalika Chaudhary tops B.Tech exam
Tribune News Service
Students from various colleges in the city are securing top positions in university examinations. Sumalika Chaudhary of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering in Guru Nanak Dev University, Regional Campus, Jalandhar, has secured first position in the B.Tech (Computer Science and Engineering) examination. She secured 4995 marks out of 6100. She has also been selected by Satyam, Cognizant Technology Solutions, L&T Infotech and CSC Noida through the campus placement programme. Meanwhile, Puja Bhagat of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya has topped Guru Nanak Dev University by securing 705 marks out of 800 in the Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Application examination. Besides, 18 students of the college also secured distinction in the results. Nancy Kapur, a student of B.Sc (Computer Science)-III in the Appejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar, stood first in Punjab (GP) in MCA Entrance Examination-2006 conducted by the Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. Meanwhile, Pallavi of the Cantt Board Girls Senior Secondary School has figured in the merit list with 87 per cent marks.
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Kapurthala may be a city with a royalty tag attached to it, but when it comes to sanitation, the city fares no better than the most backward cities.
Arshad Warsi, the actor with a comic style of his own, says he works on a film and forgets about it.
With creativity in her veins, 23-year-old Dilshad Bhangu became a finalist in an international design competition in the US. The girl from Jalandhar designed a logo on hybrid vehicle technology. Granddaughter of Punjabi short story writer Kulwant Singh Virk, Dilshad was one among the top ten finalists in the design category of “The One Show College Competition” held in New York. The competition received more than 17,000 entries from all over the world in various categories, including print, design and interactive media.
