Jalandhar, March 3
Humiliation caused due to frisking of the customers for no fault of theirs by security personnel of Vishal Mega Mart has caused its managers dear. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has asked them to pay Rs 25,000 for negligence and Rs 2,000 as costs of litigation to the complainant, in addition to Rs 10,000 as punitive damages in the account of the legal aid fund of the forum.

In his complaint, Anoop Singh, a businessman, had said he had purchased items from the store on November 19, 2007. He alleged that after making the payment, he along with his family was coming out of the store when the gatekeeper tallied the items and allowed them to go.

As he was passing through the gate, the sensor machine gave a beep and they were stopped. The gatekeeper told them that some one had probably stolen an item.

The complainant alleged that the scene occurred in the presence of a lot of people, including C.D. Duggal and Gurvinder Singh, and no unpaid item was found from them. He said he showed everyone the goods with cash memo but the managers refused to listen and said his son Mandeep must have stolen some item. They also denied the presence of Duggal and Singh.

The complainant said his son and wife were physically checked. After nothing was found, their shoes were checked. His wife found a tag stuck on her heels due to which there was a beep. He said the managers even refused to feel sorry.

He alleged that the staff had failed to remove the loose tag from the floor.

Replying to the notice, the managers denied that any tag lying on the floor had got fixed with their shoes and said they maintained the cleanliness in the store.

The forum represented by Surinder Mittal and Rakesh Kumari observed that the store managers had admitted that the sensor machine had beeped after which the family was stopped for checking. Nothing was found during the checking, it would have beeped only if the machine was faulty.

There is a deficiency in service. There is no reason to disbelieve the affidavits of Duggal and Singh in support of the complainant.

Jalandhar, March 3
The district consumers disputes redressal forum has quashed the demand raised by the municipal corporation for payment of arrears of Rs 3,071 dating back to 14 years for water and sewerage bills from a local resident terming it as time-barred.

It also announced that a compensation of Rs 2,000 and cost of litigation of Rs 1,000 be paid to the complainant.

A resident of Harbans Nagar, Ramesh Kumar, said he had been paying the bills regularly till March 2006. He alleged that he received a bill for Rs 3,725 which included arrears for the financial year 1992-93. He alleged that he sent a representation requesting for rectification of the records as he said there were no arrears in his account till June 1, 2006.

He said he even sought information by filing an application under the RTI Act, enquiring about the status of arrears of the water connection. He said he received a reply on January 8, 2008, that there was an audit objection for the financial year 1992-93 which showed arrears to the tune of Rs 3,071 from him with a total outstanding of Rs 7,151.

The plaintiff alleged that the MC was not entitled to such a recovery after a gap of one-and-a-half decades. The MC officials, on the other hand, contested the case and said there was no chance for rectification of records as the arrears were correct and genuine.

The forum, comprising presiding member Surinder Mittal and Rakesh Kumari, pronounced that raising a bill of outstanding arrears after a gap of 15 years, was illegal and unjustified. It opined that there was a clear-cut deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the MC. There is no justification in the pleadings of the MC that they could recover an amount after a long gap, it said while directing the MC not to ask for any surcharge or interest on the amount.

“Oh India, this is your terrible danger. The spell of imitating the West is getting such a hold upon you that what is good or what is bad is no longer decided by reason, judgement or discrimination. Whatever ideas, whatever manners the white men praise or like, are good; whatever things they dislike or censure are bad! Alas! What can be a more tangible proof of foolishness than this?” uttered Swami Vivekananda.

This seems to be the truth about all the glorification and deification of the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” which is in fact a sadistic presentation of our country endowed with impeccable cultural heritage.

India is not the only country in the world to have slums and slumdogs. Nobody can deny the zeal and zest of these underbellies who, despite their poverty and dirt, keep on bubbling with life. The image of shining India has been trampled with illogical portrayal of all the negative things that happens to be there in the life of the protagonist Jamal.

The scenes of blinding and maiming of kids to make them “professional” are really abhorable. Does India carry only these open-air lavatories, brothels and all the filth and muck of the underworld? It is not at all surprising that West has always tried to put forward the bleak and dreary image of India ignoring the bright facets of the country.

Can we ignore the great contribution being made by Indian scientists, software engineers and doctors who have made their presence felt with their superb performances all over the globe? In spite of its best cinematography, the movie fails to touch our souls because the one-sided gloomy picture does not send any positive vibes among audience. 

The feeling of racial arrogance is clearly visible. Western mind has always been prejudiced regarding his racial superiority and this time too, they have been able to convince the whole world that look “this is India”.

Incredible things happen here in a credible manner. The only positive side of the film is the musical score well scripted by A.R. Rahman who has hit the chart by winning two Oscars for India. The melody of his music is the only “living thing” that individually works as a character in the movie.

As an Indian it is time to think - why do we need to be backed up by these “gora sahibs” to prove our worth to the world? Why do we need a certificate from these western people to be more confident regarding our own capabilities? Indians are not slumdogs. They are more venerable than any other cultural faction. Long live India! Shine India!

Jalandhar, March 3
The Congress has strongly criticised the district administration for allegedly including only leaders belonging to the ruling SAD-BJP alliance in different advisory committees constituted in the recent past.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) secretary Virendra Sharma and District Congress Committee (DCC) (Urban) president Arun Walia termed this move of the district administration as undemocratic.Sharma and Walia said that the leaders belonging to the opposition party were always taken in the committees like district grievance committees and other panels constituted at either state or district level from time to time.

The Congress leaders said it was unjust on the part the district administration of not including any representative from their party in the advisory committees.

Demanding review of its decision regarding members of advisory committees, the Congress leaders demanded that representatives from their party should be given proper representation after reconstitution the committees.

Jalandhar, March 3
Mandeep Singh, student of class XI of M.G.N Public School, Adarsh Nagar, Jalandhar, has brought laurels to Punjab by winning the prestigious M.A. Chidambaram trophy awarded by BCCI consecutively for two years.

He was awarded a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 50,000 as he was adjudged the best junior cricketer U-17 by the board. He scored 745 runs (including 5 centuries and a half century) in six matches with an average of 125 runs.

Talking to The Tribune, Mandeep said, “I owe my success to my parents and coaches Sanjeev Kumar and Rakesh Sharma. Besides this I believe that consistent hardwork is the key to success.” 

An ardent fan of ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, he shared his experience of meeting Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh during the M.A. Chidambaram award ceremony held in Mumbai. “The duo lauded my performance in the domestic cricket and asked me to enhance my skills further. 

It was indeed an experience in itself meeting both the cricketers and above all I had a word of advice from them too,” he said. Last year also he was adjudged the best junior cricketer U-15 for his 804 runs in seven matches (including four centuries and three half centuries) with an average of 165 runs.

Mandeep Singh was also named the best junior player of Punjab in 2006-07 and 2007-08. He represented India in the World Cup U-19 team, which emerged as the World Champion in Malaysia. The player is now looking forward to play for Punjab in Ranji Trophy this year.

Mandeep has been playing cricket for the last five years. After playing the U-15 cricket tournament twice at Patiala, Mandeep was selected by the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bangalore, among the top best 25 players of the country. Mandeep played U-15 twice. Once as a part of the cricket team and second time as the captain of the Punjab team.

Jalandhar, March 3
The NRI Kabbadi Sports Club is going to organise its second international kabbadi tournament at Headmaster Ujagar Singh Samra Stadium in Government Senior Secondary School, Samrai, near Jandiala village, here on March 7.

Foreign-based Indian teams would be the highlight of the tournament. These include Baba Deep Singh Club (Norway), Dasmesh Club (Nakodar), Baba Lodhiana Club (Parsrampur), Guru Nanak Club (Kotli Than Singh), DAV College Sher-e-Punjab Club (Jalandhar), Guru Nanak Club (Nakodar), Pachowal Academy and Hastina Club (Kapurthala). Apart from this, a special girls kabbadi tournament will also be held.

Nakodar MLA Amarjit Singh Samra will inaugurate the tournament. President 
of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) Mohinder Singh Kaypee will be the chief guest. The winning team would be given a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh and the runners-up team would get Rs 75,000.

Jalandhar, March 3
Eminent cinestars, including Rajesh Khanna and Arun Govil (of Ramayana fame) will attend the eighth Doordarshan awards presentation ceremony here tomorrow evening.

Senior director of Doordarshan Kendra Dr Daljit Singh said that Joy Mukherjee, Lekh Tandon, Prikshat Sahni and Miss Gauri would also grace the occasion. Producers and technical teams adjudged the best for the programmes produced in 2007-08 will be felicitated in the function. There are 47 categories in which awards would be given to the performers.

The awards were aimed at promoting the programmes of thematic and aesthetic and technical excellence, besides promoting rich heritage culture of the country by Doordarshan, he added. — TNS