Jalandhar, January 28
Officials of the Punjab State Water Supply and Sewage Board (PSWSSB) were at the receiving end today during a meeting of the representatives of Local Bodies with the estimate committee of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha at MC’s Administrative Complex in Jalandhar.

The 12-member committee chaired by MLA Virsa Singh Valtoha heard the grievances of the councillors for about an hour during which several complaints of procurement of poor quality water supply and sewer pipes poured in. Since the officials failed to give a satisfactory reply, they were admonished a bit after which an inquiry committee was set up to look into the matter.

The issue was initially raised by Sunil Joti, councillor of Ward 5, who pointed out that a 1,500 feet water supply channel put up in the Vikas Puri area about four months back got punctured from seven to eight points right at the time of line testing. While the board officials replied it was a common phenomenon due to high pressure during the first run, Joti argued that there have been several complaints of leakages from the harried residents since that time. “If that is the condition in four months, I wonder how these pipes would work for next 10 years,” he asked.

Rimpy Prabhakar of Ward 4 too had a similar complaint. “A 500 feet sewer pipe laid out in Aman Nagar in the area has not been connected with the manhole. There are at least 25 points from where the pipes lie punctured. The dirty water remains clogged on the road all the time and officials of the board are not paying any heed to it,” she lamented.

Another councillor complained that sewer pipes brought in his ward started breaking from several points right from the time they were unloaded for work. “I am not going to allow such poor quality pipes to be put to use”, he said emphatically.

Councillor Pawan Gupta talked about delay in taking over of the BSF Colony by the MC from the Improvement Trust. “The area remains underdeveloped for the same reason”, he said to which the chairman assured of development from the officials side in two months.

Balraj Thakur gave his representation regarding lack of development even in 400 regularised colonies. Estimates for areas including Bank Enclave, Bank Colony, Mohalla Ravinder Nagar, Gurmeet Nagar and Ramneek Nagar have been passed but there has been no development on site.

“The MC has been taking development charges from residents at the time of passing their construction plans but is not re-investing the money for development of areas. If MLAs can give grants in such areas for development works, why can the funds not come from the MC?” he questioned.

The committee included MLAs Sukhpal Khera, Jagbir Brar, K.D. Bhandari and Sunil Jakhar. In the evening, the team went around to take stock of a few sites and buildings in the city.

Jalandhar, January 28
With the number of cyber crime cases on the rise in the country, Jalandhar too has started bearing the burnt. In the absence of a cyber-crime police station in the city, many cases related to account-hacking and its misuse go unreported, while some other suffer delays owing to inadequate infrastructure and lack of police officers specialised in the field. Though Punjab is a border state, at risk of terrorist infiltration, there is only one cyber cell in the state, located at Mohali.

“I was fond of Orkut and had my personal information as well as family photographs loaded on my account: bahvneetbhatia@yahoo.co.in. One day in October I realised that I was no more able to access my account. Somebody had even changed my personal identity question. When I checked the account on January 16, I realised that my account had been hacked and the information changed to one with abusive language and dirty content. I am afraid they may put the photos to some wrong use,” said Bhavneet Singh Bhatia, territory business manager with Astrozeneca Pharma India Limited. He sent a number of e-mails to Google, intimating about the mishap and also apprised the city police. “I filed a complaint with the police station division 7. They gave me a patient hearing and assured action. But, they lack the infrastructure to deal with such problems. A cyber police station should be established to put a check on such crimes,” Bhatia added.

Gone are the days when email-account-hacking was considered sophisticated business. Nowadays, with help, anyone can become a hacker the net lies flooded with hacking tips and instructions.

Cyber crime is increasing manifold as these criminals, motivated more by money, than notoriety, are successfully in making fast bucks without running into grave dangers. Many go scot-free as the security department lacks the infrastructure required to tap and catch them.

“Ubiquity of online banking is inextricably linked to the rise in cyber crime. One just needs to get hold of somebody’s financial data. Then, through a process of virus-driven automation, it can be misused with ruthless efficiency, without running into great risks. The most worrisome thing about cyber-crime is that it works silently but efficiently,” said Gurcharan Singh, a computer expert.

Not just technocrats, but people traditionally associated with notorious professions like drug-trafficking or even certain terrorist organisations reap the benefits of the deficiency of cyber cells in the border state.

“Today, even those with relatively lower technical skills are stealing thousands of rupees without leaving the comfort of their homes. What’s more, utilising the opportunity to serve their vested interests, certain terrorist organisations have adopted the hacking policy. They hack an e-mail account and use it to disseminate their ill-intentioned messages. Youngsters with their accounts on various social networking sites are especially vulnerable. The menace, if not nipped in the bud might cause grave worries…” concluded Singh.

Jalandhar, January 28
The district administration awarded 17 persons for excellence in different fields of work on Republic Day at Guru Gobind Singh Stadium. The awardees included a considerable number of youngsters.

Punjab Minister for Rural Development Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Ajeet Singh Pannu, honoured the awardees with commendation certificates at the jam-packed stadium.

The youngest among the awardees was 10-year-old girl Chahat Sahota, who had won the first position in the state-level painting competition on energy conservation organised by the Union Ministry of Power last year. A student of the local Lala Jagat Narayan DAV Model School, she was awarded a cash prize of Rs 10,000 in the competition.

Upneet Kaur Dhaliwal, student of MGN Public School from the humanities group, was awarded for securing the first position in the district in Class XII CBSE exams.

Raj Kumari Saroya Mahi, Principal of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Ladowali Road, was awarded for excellence in teaching. As a Principal of Government School, Bada Pind, her school had won the overall trophy in the educational competition held by Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Similarly, it was the brilliant results of the students of Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Bhargo Camp, in Class XII and X board exams, which won accolades for Principal of the school Kailash Bhagat.

Devender Singh, student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Ladowali Road, and a budding judoka, was awarded for winning the gold medal in the 73-kg category during the 13th Commonwealth Judo Championship held in Singapore from January 7 to 12. Hockey coach Baljeet Kaur of Government Girls Sr Sec School, Nehru Garden, was awarded a certificate of honour for her role in the uplift of the national game of the country.

The district administration awarded the nine-member swimming team, which had won a gold medal in the all-India inter-university swimming competition. The awardees included swimming coach Om Prakash and assistant coach Umesh Sharma.

Lt Ashu Dhawan was awarded for her excellent services in training NCC cadets. She has till date trained 5,000 NCC cadets and has been participating in the district level Republic and Independence Day parades.

Civil Surgeon Dr S.S. Walia was awarded for his efficient role in the implementation of the PNDT Act in the district. Punjab Minister for Health and Family Welfare Laxmi Kanta Chawla had especially recommended his name for the honour.

The Medical Officer, ICTC, Civil Hospital, Dr Harinderjeet Singh Lamba, was honoured for his services in creating awareness among masses about health and family welfare, drug de-addiction and voluntary blood donation.

Among other awardees were Sanjay Kumar Sharma, Kanungo, Daljeet Singh Gill from the field of horticulture and Sanjeev Kumar for his contribution in the computerisation of the land records in the Directorate of Land Records.

While Karam Pal Singh Dhillon was awarded for the good performance of the district-level giddha and bhangra teams, Sukhdev Singh, BDPO, Adampur, was awarded for properly utilising funds under NREGA in the block.

Inspector Gurbaksh Singh and head constable Surjit Singh were awarded for their excellent services in the Punjab Police. Ever since Inspector Gurbaksh joined the police service, he has played a key role in the arrest of 97 proclaimed offenders (PO). And head constable Surjit has arrested130 POs.

A Sufi kathak recital by kathak exponent Rani Khanam (disciple of Pandit Birju Maharaj) was organised by Spic Macay at Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar on January 25. Dressed in a pink, the artiste mesmerised the Jalandhar crowd with the intricacies, and delicate moves of the Lucknow Gharana. Known for her impeccable hold over the dance form and her creative improvisations, she was a huge inspiration for the students as well.

Jalandhar, January 28
What happens in the name of dance in our city is just the passive, timeworn lessons which are meted out to generations in the name of curriculum. The youth festivals do see a time of heightened activity, but those are all but short, enthusiastic improvisations of the stuff that happens in class. A major worry is that junior (school) students get to see and learn even lesser than that.

A recent initiative by the Spic Macay in association with the Eklavya School and Police DAV School, brought some momentary relief for the city students though.

A six-day Kathak workshop was conducted by Kathak artist Shalini Sharma from the 18th to 23rd of January at the schools.

In a voice rendered husky by repeatedly straining her voice while attending to her classes (with students of all age groups), she demonstrates some mudras to her class of about 20 at the Eklavya school, while simultaneously instructing, "1,2,3,4 palat (turn)...1,2,3,4 palat."

Students dance along, following their guru, some quick to grasp, others trying to cope with the delicate speed of their fellow dancers.

She stops from time to time to personally retouch their mudras and correct and playfully scold the ones who do it wrong. The guru's enthusiasm spills over to them and the Lucknow magic is brought alive. A nice little workshop we have here from the disciple of renowned Kathak exponent Rani Khanama, maing her a scion of the legacy of Pandit Birju Maharaj.

Later, while talking to The Tribune, she discusses the curriculum for the workshop, "I have been moulding them according to their caliber. In the workshop they learn syllables of Kathak, taal, laya, Nagma or lehra, hast mudras a brief history of dance and the natya shastra are also being taught to them. They are also being exposed to the finer nuances of Shiro-bhed (head movements), griva-sanchalan (neck movements), drishti-bhed (use of eyes), pad-sanchalan (footwork) and chari-bhed (the way of walking). Tukre, tihaiyan, prakar, jugalbandis and gats (bansuri gat, ghoonghat gat) complete their six-day curriculum." Of-course the ganpati and Saraswati Vandana along with the thumris, complete the practical part.

Some of the sudents who had qualms about the fact that the dance already being taught to them did not pay much emphasis on 'ang', now seem to have found a whiff of fresh air in the style of the Lucknow Gharana that she has introduced them to.

Sharma also runs the Spandan Dance Academy in South Delhi, a unit under the organisation Rhythm Performing Arts.

Kapurthala, January 28
In its endeavour to spread awareness against AIDS, Pushpa Gujral Science City (PGSC) has covered nearly 300 educational institutions located in different areas of Punjab.

PGSC Director-General R.S. Khandpur stated this while speaking at a workshop held under the aegis of the PGSC in collaboration with the Punjab State AIDS Control Society on Red Ribbon Clubs here on Saturday. The theme of the workshop was the role of the college youth in Red Ribbon Clubs for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS and enrolment as well as motivation of the youth for donating blood voluntarily.

Khandpur said AIDS education was the essential method to prevent the disease from spreading as it was incurable. The PGSC was working towards spreading awareness against this deadly disease. A novel concept to spread awareness was the functioning of Red Ribbon Clubs in colleges. Resource persons had been travelling across the state, visiting college campuses and youth groups, spreading information about HIV/AIDS. So far Science City has covered 293 colleges in Punjab. He underlined the need for more awareness about HIV/AIDS, saying that the youth could play a positive role in the prevailing situation.

Khandpur said a separate AIDS gallery was set up at Science City to spread knowledge about the disease and the precaution to prevent it.

Dr N.M. Sharma Project Additional Director, Punjab State Aids Control Society (PSACS), emphasised on safe sex and more awareness among youth to prevent the spread of HIV virus. He said the persons with initial symptoms of this disease should visit ARTC. The PSACS had already set up five ARTCs in Punjab, he said, adding that precaution was the only cure for this disease.

Dr Sukhwinder Singh, Joint Director, Blood Safety (PSACS), stressed on voluntary blood donation among the youth. He appealed to the youth to donate blood.

Around 300 students and teachers of different educational institutions of seven districts participated in the workshop.

Jalandhar, January 28
The Dal Khalsa has demanded a separate civil code for the Sikh community. Dal Khalsa president H.S. Dhami and its spokesperson Kanwarpal Singh said the Sikh Personal Law should be made on the pattern of the Muslim Personal Law.

Demanding to recognise the Sikhs as a separate identity, Dhami and Kanwarpal, accompanied by Chairman of the Khalsa Action Committee Mohkam Singh, said the Article 25 (2) (b) of the Indian Constitution should be immediately abrogated as it violated the fundamental recognition of Sikhs as a separate religion.

“The registration of marriages, adoption, succession, formation of a family business (as is possible for a Hindu undivided family) - for all these we have to adopt a set of procedures incompatible with our belief system. This anomaly should be corrected without any agonising delay,” they said.

“Like in Pakistan, the Sikhs in India, too, need a comprehensive legislation for registration of marriages under the Anand Marriage Act,” they said.

The Dal Khalsa stated this in a letter written to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. A delegation of the radical Sikh body met Deputy Commissioner Ajit Singh Pannu and handed over a copy of the letter for forwarding the same to the Prime Minister.

“While India celebrated its 60th republic year, we have no hesitation to place on record that the Indian Constitution has failed the Sikh people,” they stated in the letter.

Jalandhar, January 28
It may be hard to believe, but a lecturer from a remote village of Bijapur district in north Karnataka is a diehard crusader of the Punjabi language. Not only does Pandit Rao Dharennavar speak Punjabi but has also written a Punjabi poetry book, “Mai Tan Mai Han”.

He has embarked upon the mission to promote the Punjabi language and literature not just in Punjab but also in Karnataka. Rao has covered nine districts in Punjab performing one-man shows and delivering lectures about the importance of Punjabi tongue and the great but neglected treasure of the Punjabi literature. For the purpose, he was in Jalandhar recently. Excerpts from an interview:

How did you happen to learn Punjabi?

After the completion of my M. Phil from Jawaharlal University, I got appointed sociology lecturer in the Government College for Girls, Sector 42, Chandigarh. Here girls were mostly from nearby villages and weren’t much comfortable with English. Though I decided to learn Punjabi out of compulsion, it soon turned into a passion.

What comparisons do you draw between Kannada and Punjabi literatures?

Great writings exist in both the languages, but there is a relative dearth of revolutionary and Dalit literature in Punjab. I have failed to find a counterpart for the writings of Basavanna and Akka Mahadevi in the Punjabi literary world. Yet Punjab is a land of great sants and gurbani is probably the strongest text. I am trying to translate it into Kannada.

Where do you place gurbani in the Bhakti Movement?

It is inexplicably related to the movement, or to put it smartly, it is born in the Bhakti Movement but moves ahead of that. Vani of Guru Nanak Dev is revolutionary in nature as it criticises idol worship and encourages questioning of established norms. The greatness of the vachanas can be discerned from the fact that they stand equally valid even today. That is precisely the reason why I want to translate gurbani into Kannada and vachanas of Basavanna and Akka Mahadevi into Punjabi.

Humanities is pushed to the back-seat in the education policy. Students are encouraged to take up medical and engineering. Do you think a change of policy may help improve the situation?

Literature doesn’t earn you money but it helps understand yourself and the world. It is a mirror of society and should be promoted for a balanced and healthy society. Policy change would definitely help.

Phagwara, January 28
A controversy and factionalism hit the BJP during the election of Phagwara BJP President.

Sudesh Sharma was elected Block BJP President unanimously in the presence of Phagwara BJP election in charge Chander Shekher, but only few hours after the elections, district election in charge Mohan Lal Sethi declared the elections invalid.

It may be mentioned here there was a tussle between groups, one led by Phagwara Improvement Trust Chairman Tejaswi Bhardwaj and other by Nagar Council President Balbhadhar Sein Duggal. Sudesh belonged to Bhardwaj group. During the election, most of the supporters of Duggal group did not attend the meeting in which Sudesh Sharma was declared winner.

Jalandhar, January 28
She cannot escape her fate. Destiny is determined to take a toll on her childhood dreams just because she was born into an underprivileged family, in a poorly-governed country.

She is Rani, an eight-year-old bright girl who has no time to play with dolls. Rani spends the first half of the day attending school and then stitches volley-balls and footballs well past into the night. Her life is not an exception. Most of the children in her locality have the same routine.

Football might be a sport, but stitching one is definitely not. The children don’t enjoy it, but do it out of compulsion - compulsion to earn a living for themselves and if possible, to support their families too.

Though child labour was abolished in India more than two decades ago, India is a host to the largest number of child labourers in the world.

According to a census in 2001, there were 12.7 million economically active children in the age group of 5 to 14. The survey also noted that there was a substantial increase in the number of marginal child workers, irrespective of gender.

The children workforce is employed in industries ranging from construction to hotels, from sports to leather and especially in domestic units.

As per information, about 8,000 children are involved in stitching footballs in Jalandhar, when India stands as the second largest producer of footballs in the world, after Pakistan.

Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Batala account for about 90 per cent of the football manufacturing in the state.

One of the major occupations of the lower-class residents in the outskirts of the city, namely Basti Danishmandan, Basti Nau and Basti Gujan is football and volleyball stitching. Their children, being part of the family, share the burden and support them in the domestic business. While some of the child workers have never gone to school, others work after school hours.

“I stitch footballs after attending school. I love studying but the work is equally important. Sometimes I get a scolding from the teacher for not completing homework, but most of the times I try to complete…,” said Gunju, an 11-year-old girl.

Sitting near a hearth along with her elder sister and mother, all busy stitching, she shows her tender fingers, bruised with the burden of work. Gunju had stitched her first football when she was six years old. Her sister has passed 10th standard and her parents look for a match. She has lived through the same but has no bitter feelings for anybody because that’s the way with all her friends and neighbours.

“Life is a constant struggle and one has to work for survival. There are some people who do not need to labour for life, but we have been living like this…,” she says.

“Poverty is the major reason behind child labour. Unless that is successfully tackled, violation of the rights of children will continue. As many as 27 schools were opened for the betterment of such children under the National Child Labour Programme. Many poor children receive basic education here but a lot more needs to be done,” said Assistant Labour Commissioner Inderjeet Singh.

The administration claims that while there were many children employed in the industry, the situation has improved. “It’s almost impossible to keep a constant watch on child labour at homes. While strict implementation can be enforced in the factories, the same is difficult to achieve in domestic units,” said an official, preferring anonymity.

But activists claim that the government is not doing the needful to stop such grave violations. “Since most such children are engaged in some form of work, a comprehensive plan is needed to withdraw them from work and get them to schools. The government should come up with schemes to promote education among such children by giving special incentives to their parents. Moreover, the government agenda is to provide them primary education. When the parents cannot even afford to pay for that, how will they pay the hefty fees of higher education? It’s like teaching the kids to dream and then abandoning them to fight the shit… ” said Mohan Singh Sachdeva, who looks after six schools.

Jalandhar, January 28
Traffic jams, especially during the peak hours, have become a routine between the Domoria Railway Under-Bridge (RUB) and Kishanpura Chowk. Thanks to the temporary encroachments and faulty parking by the shopkeepers who had their shops on this half km stretch.

The neglectful attitude of the traffic police, in ensuring smooth flow of vehicles, and that of the Municipal Corporation (MC), in removing temporary encroachments, have further aggravated the problem. That is why the half km stretch of the road has witnessed several hours traffic jam a number of times in a day.

This road again remained jammed for several hours on Monday evening. A resident of Madhuban Colony, Sandeep Sharma, said it took 45 minutes to reach Domoria RUB from Kishanpura Chowk as his car was stuck in the jam. “This is the only road without any rail track, to come towards Devi Talab Mandir side from Hoshiarpur Adda side or vice versa, otherwise there is every possibility of getting stuck at any of the Kishanpura, Devi Talab Mandir, Sodal or Ram Nangar railway crossings. So, the administration should make its priority to make this road encroachment free.”

When contacted, MC Commissioner Vinay Bublani said the corporation had made a list of several roads to make them encroachment free for ensuring smooth flow of traffic.

“I don’t know exactly whether this road had been put in that list or not, if it is not, it would be included in that list and the process of removing encroachments would be started soon” He added.

Similarly SP (traffic) SK Agnihotri told The Tribune that he had already deputed some cops at the Kishanpura Chowk to ensure smooth flow of traffic. At the same time, he attributed the traffic jam to improper construction of the service lane near the Domoria Railway Under-Bridge.

Jalandhar, January 28
The local DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology (DAVIET) held an Eco-Rally titled ‘Green Wave’ and planted saplings in association with the NGO Pahal on January 26. The rally is part of ‘Incognito 2010’ the Annual Technical Fest of DAVIET with this theme.