The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

ETT teachers warn govt over arrests
Tribune Reporters

Hoshiarpur, December 25
The ETT Teachers Action Committee has warned Punjab government to immediately release all arrested ETT teachers without implicating them in any of the cases and issue notification for transferring all schools under the Zila Parishads and Municipal Councils, along with the teaching staff to the Education Department, failing which they would further intensify their agitation.

ETT teachers organised a state-level massive protest rally here today where their leaders including state convener and state co-convener of the ETT Teachers Action Committee, Jagseer Singh Sahota and Romesh Hoshiarpuri, respectively, severely criticised the state government.

ETT teachers from all over the state participated in the rally and staged a protest march in support of their demands. They said an emergent meeting of the ETT Teachers Action Committee, Punjab, would be held on December 27 at Bhatinda to chalk out a strategy to further intensify their agitation for getting their demands accepted.

In a press release, they stated that to prevent their rally, police raided the houses of the leaders of the action committee.

State President of Punjab Subordinate Services Federation Sucha Singh Khatra and State President of Democratic Teachers Front Bhupinder Varaich participated in the rally and supported their demands. They strongly condemned the privatisation policy of the state government, which would deprive poor children of education.

Jaswinder Jahangir (Amritsar), Heera Singh and Rajesh Babbi (Gurdaspur), Sikander Singh (Mansa), Ajeeb Devedi and Harminder Pal Singh (Hoshiarpur) and many others criticised Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for backing out from their promise of transferring schools under the control of the Zila Parishads and Municipal Councils to the Education Department.

Amritsar: The district unit of the ETT Teachers Union expressed grave concern over its leaders being ‘picked up’ from their houses to avoid them from holding protest at the native village of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. Senior vice-president of the district unit Harinder Singh alleged that union’s state president Jaswinder Singh Sidhu and scores of other leaders were picked up from their houses overnight. He asserted that it was undemocratic on the part of the government to resort to such tactics. He reiterated that the agitation would not be withdrawn unless the government shift all teachers from Zila Parishad to the Education Department.

City steeped in Xmas celebrations
Kusum Arora/TNS

Jalandhar, December 25
The city today celebrated Christmas - the festival of joy, peace and hope and gathered at the local churches to participate in prayers.

Earlier, Bishop Anil Kouto started the Christmas prayers yesterday night at 11 pm at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Jalandhar Cantonment. The prayers saw people, especially the children, gathering from every nook and corner of the city to celebrate Christmas. The prayers were over by 3 am this morning.

Father Peter. K from the Diocese of Jalandhar said the morning prayers were held at the local Sacred Heart Church, which started at 11 am. “Christmas marks the birth of Lord Jesus Christ, the creator, who came to the earth to save humanity from the clutches of sins, discrimination and lies. The festival preaches universal brotherhood, love, hope and peace to the humanity”, he added.

Apart from this, the city witnessed Christmas carnivals at many places with the distribution of customary gifts to children.

While city-based hotel The Maya held a special Christmas carnival with attractive events like live magic shows, tattoo making, games shows, dance numbers and fun-filled activities. The highlight of the Christmas celebrations at the hotel was a decorated Christmas tree besides the customary delicacies including cakes and puddings. The hotel also gave small saplings as gifts to every body, marking the beginning of children’s participation to grow more trees.

At hotel Windsor Radisson, a specially decorated Christmas tree at the reception was the highlight of the day with gifts placed all around. Adding charm to the ambience were Christmas carols, which played in the background, while Santa did the rounds of the hotel premises. The city-based Prithvi’s Planet also held a special dance competition and gave away prizes.

Hoshiarpur: Christmas was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Christian community. Thousands thronged to at Mona Memorial Church to participate in the celebration. — OC

Harivallabh: Audience bask in the glory of classical music
Riva/Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, December 25
The oldest and the most prestigious festival of Hindustani Classical Music - the Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan started on Thursday with Saraswati Vandana presented by the students of Hansraj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar.

It was followed by Shehnai Vaadan by Pt. Krishna Ram Choudhary and party. Pt Choudhary, who belongs to a family of famous musicians of Benaras, learnt the nuances of raga-exposition and higher techniques of shehnai playing from the great vocalist of Benaras Gharana Pt. Mahadeva Parsad Mishra. At the fest, he expounded the best impressions, moods and melodies of the Shehnai music while adhering to the purity of various ragas.

It was followed by Dhrupad Gaayan by Pt. Umakant Gundecha and Pt. Ramakant Gundecha, one of the leading exponents of the Dhrupad style of music, in the Indian and international circuits.

The brothers, who have performed at many important international music festivals in about 25 countries, mesmerised the audience with their vibrant and harmonious voices.

The audience was then left spellbound by the brilliant tabla and Sarod jugalbandi performances of the fast-fingered Ustad Hashmat Ali Khan, Ustad Akram Khan and Master Romaan Khan (on tabla) and sarod vaadan by Ustad Danish Aslam Khan.

The soothing strands of gaayan of Guru Hemang Mehta, accompanied by Mohan Malsiani on harmonium and Jaidev on Tabla, fell on the ears of enchanted music enthusiasts present there. Striking an appealing balance between intellectual sensitivity and aesthetic creativity, this young ambitious classical music maestro easily established a rapport with the audience. With his bright performance came a magical end to the colourful evening.

Victims of travel agents rue police inaction

Jalandhar, December 25
Accusing the police of inaction against fraudulent travel agents, president of the Lok Bhalai Party BS Ramoowalia today paraded two girls, who were forced into prostitution abroad, before the media.

While narrating the story of their hardships during brief trip to Cyprus, cousins Asha Rani and Usha Rani, residents of Tazpur colony of Lambra, said they had paid sum of Rs four lakh each to the relatives of one lady travel agent of nearby village.

“This travel agent, who resides in Cyprus, had promised us a job there. But she forced us to indulge in prostitution when we reached at the destination”, alleged girls. Both Asha Rani and Usha Rani were forced to return to their village after 26 and 8 days, respectively. They also alleged that though they filed an application to the police authorities in July, the police was still reluctant to take any action against the agent and her conduits. “Reluctance of the police led us to speak before the media,” they added.

“The Chief Minister had promised us to induct a separate ADGP to tighten the noose around fake travel agents. But promise is yet to materialise”, said Ramoowalia. “We have sent our proposal to Deputy Chief Minister to constitute a committee of DGP, Home Secretary and representative of LBP as members, to probe cases of fraud committed by fraudulent travel agents, he added. — TNS

Principal caught taking bribe
PK Jaiswar/Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 25
Sleuths of the Vigilance Bureau here today nabbed Ramesh Kumar, Principal, Government Art and Craft Teacher Training Institute, while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 for sending the last pay certificate (LPC) of one Kulwant Singh, a clerk who was transferred to the ITI for girls at Rayya.

Randhir Singh Uppal, DSP vigilance, while giving details, said the vigilance team recovered the money taken as a bribe by the accused Principal on the spot, in the presence of government witnesses Surinder Singh and Kuldeep Rai, both SDOs at the Punjab State Electricity Board.

However, Ramesh refuted the allegations of accepting any bribe, adding that Kulwant had only returned the money, which he had borrowed from him.

He said it was due to the delay in releasing the LPC due to some technical reasons that Kulwant got him falsely implicated.

According to details, Kulwant, a clerk, was transferred to the ITI College for girls at Rayya in September this year, while he was relieved on October 7. Uppal said he approached the vigilance, complaining that Ramesh was demanding Rs 8,000 from him for sending the LPC for further withdrawal of salaries.

A case under section 7, 13 (2) Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, has been registered at the Vigilance Bureau office here, in this regard.

One dies, 2 test positive of swine flu
Tribune Reporters

Jalandhar, December 25
Two more patients, who were admitted to Civil Hospital Jalandhar, were found positive of swine flu. Samples of Sunita Rani and local resident Paramjit Singh were sent to PGI for H1N1 testing and samples came out positive today. Meanwhile, patient named Kuldeeep Singh, who was suspected case of swine flu, died in civil hospital Jalandhar. Till now, 40 persons have been tested positive for swine flu and 13 patients have been died of the disease.

Nawanshahr: Another suspected Swine flu case has been reported in the town. A Greece-based NRI, Jarnail Singh (35) of nearby Bakapur village, who recently reached here, was admitted to a private hospital yesterday. Suspecting that the prevailing symptoms of the patient might be those of the H1N1 virus, the doctors informed the District Health Officer, Dr. Ashok Guru, who immediately took the requisite samples and sent them to PGI, Chandigarh for examination.

Dr. Guru said the patient had been isolated and the necessary precautionary steps to check the spread of the virus had been taken.