Jalandhar, March 18
The number of liquor vends within the city limits are going to increase in the coming fiscal year. Vends within the municipal limits of Jalandhar are going to increase up to 152. Last year a total of 102 vends were there within the corporation limits.

The area falling within the corporation limits is divided into 20 zones and the Excise and Taxation Department has received nearly 88 applications, seeking participation in the auction for the 152 vends (falling within the Jalandhar MC limits), which is going to be held tomorrow.

Talking to The Tribune, Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer Jalandhar-II P.K. Sharma said the department had generated revenue of approximately Rs 4.35 crore from applications received for 41 groups of Jalandhar-II. As many as 31 and 10 groups have been formed for the rural and urban areas, respectively.

A total of 2,314 applications lie with the Assistant Excise and Taxation Office of Jalandhar-II against 70 and 233 vends of the urban and rural areas, respectively, he added.

He also revealed that Rs 56.22 crore is the total reserved price for all vends falling in the jurisdiction of Jalandhar-II.

Similarly, 932 applications have been received by the office of AETC-Jalandhar I, against the auction of 239 vends.

Out of this, 87 vends fall in Goraya and Phillaur and 152 within the corporation limits. The department generated revenue of Rs 2.28 crore against Rs 1.65 crore during the last fiscal year.

Owing to changes in the excise policy, prices of liquor are likely to increase in the coming fiscal year. The authorities have decided to form groups of vends at the urban and rural levels.

“Instead of holding separate auction for each vend, the department has decided to form groups of vends. Now the group will be a basic unit and auction will be held for each group,” said an officer.

Apprehensions prevail amid the rummies as this move of the department will lead to the monopoly of a single vendor in an area and this will definitely exclude competition between vendors.

Jalandhar, March 18
Taking cognisance of a news report “Shifting row - HMV denies migration certificate to football player” in these columns published on March 15, Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (HMV) today finally provided migration certificate to the student.

Sharanpreet Kaur, former student of BA-I of the college met the college Principal, Janesh Kakeria. “I met the college Principal today and received the migration certificate,” she added.

Kakeria said the student was given her migration certificate after consultation with the lecturers of the Sports Department.

It might be noted that Sharanpreet, a national-level football player was denied a migration certificate by the college authorities. She was a student of HMV during the last academic session 2009-10. The student was asked to pay Rs 1 lakh for availing herself of the free sports facilities during her stay.

At present the student is studying in BA-I at Guru Hargobind Khalsa College, Gurusar Sdhar, under Panjab University, Chandigarh. The issue cropped up due to the alleged harassment of the student by the football coach of HMV. It was after this incident that she decided to change her college, which further lead to the row of the migration certificate.

Jalandhar, March 18
The MC officials, it seems, do not themselves trust the quality of drinking water being supplied to the residents of the city.

All top officials, including Mayor Rakesh Rathour, Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Bhatia and Commissioner Viney Bublani, have got RO water filters fitted in the pantries attached to their offices in the administrative block.

While engineers of the O&M wing claim that there is no need of the RO filters in this belt of Punjab and it simply is a wasteful expenditure, the officials give their own explanations. The Mayor said, “I am not aware that I have an RO in the kitchen of my office. It simply must have been attached to further improve the quality of water. Otherwise, the water that we are supplying to the residents is clean and potable.”

Bublani said, “In the office, we are not getting direct supply. The water is initially being stored in tanks and then run into taps. There is always the possibility of formation of bacteria in the stored water.” He mentioned, “Most people have filters even at their places, so we can have them even in the office. That is simply a common suggestion.”

Executive Engineer (B&R) Gurcharan Singh, who has supervised all works in the new building, reasoned, “It is just a step for maintaining better health and hygiene standards.” He said five to six Kent ROs had been provided and orders for a few more had been placed to be fitted in the engineers’ rooms.

Jalandhar, March 18
The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) today gave an open invitation to the NRIs of the Doaba belt to join hands with PEDA for installing biogas plants and making the maximum use of solar energy in their villages. The state government would provide subsidy on solar projects.

This was stated by PEDA Chairman Manjit Singh who said that the NRIs of Doaba could bring a sea change in the environment by adopting solar energy products. “The Doaba belt can help a lot by adopting the solar way of life. Moreover, the use of solar energy can help in saving electricity,” he added.

He said it was a matter of pride that PEDA had been entrusted with the task of equipping Rashtrapati Bhavan, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha with solar lights and other solar-run gadgets. “PEDA has been selected for converting these buildings into solar buildings due to our efficiency,” he maintained.

Talking about the projects of the second phase, he said PEDA was looking forward to equip all the religious places in Delhi with solar energy equipment.

He said PEDA would equip the Golden Temple, the Durgiana Mandir, Jallianwala Bagh, the Attari check post, Anandpur Sahib and Talwandi Sabo with solar energy. The work on this project would begin around June, he said.

He said PEDA, in association with the Punjab State Electricity Board, had selected 13 circles in Punjab where CFLs would be provided at cheaper rates. “The agency would start its work in the next couple of months and distribute CFLs at Rs 33 to the consumers,” he added.

Jalandhar, March 18
The Red Cross Society has announced construction of an old-age home with modern facilities at Nahlan village in the district. The society is currently running two such homes in the city - one near the Civil Hospital and the other on the Maqsudan road.

During a meeting of the society’s working committee to discuss its budget for the year 2010-11, a team was assigned the task of preparing the map for the home, an estimation of its sources of income and annual expenditure. The society plans to pursue the 52-kanal land lying vacant at Nahlan with the assistance of Ex-Armymen’s Senior Citizen Forum.

The expenditure on the construction will be taken care of by the society’s annual budget which stands at around Rs 63 lakh. The society also plans to start a drug de-addiction centre in the city. The society has also decided to start two mobile dispensaries for the poor in colonies of the city.

Jalandhar, March 18
The Jalandhar Chamber of Industry and Commerce held a meeting with senior officials of the Police Department in which it put forth certain suggestions on streamlining traffic on city roads. The meeting, which was attended by Commissioner of Police Gaurav Yadav, heard the proposals mooted by the chamber members through their general secretary Charanjit Singh Maingi.

The members suggested that the timings of the passage of DMUs and trains be mentioned on either side of all major level crossings, including Ladowali Road, Garha Road, Gurjaipal Nagar, Hoshiarpur Road, Tanda Road, Sodal and Ram Nagar crossings.

The members also raised the issue of constructing bus shelters for passengers waiting around various roundabouts. They said that for those going to Hoshiarpur and Ludhiana, there should be a bus shelter between Markfed and Sultej filling station. For passengers going to Jammu and Amritsar, there should be a provision near PAP playground gate.

Maingi said the members also demanded provision of on-the-spot challaning of vehicles. They expressed their readiness to sponsor CC cameras with digital video recorder to monitor law breakers.

In the interest of the labour working in various industrial units, the members demanded police patrolling on roads between Bulandpur village, Gadaipur and Focal Point Extension at least till 1 am. They demanded that autorickshaw drivers be pulled up for violation of various rules.

Jalandhar, March 18
The British Council has announced IELTS scholarship awards for Indian students planning to pursue postgraduate courses in universities overseas.

The council will select eight students from India, each of whom will receive an award of Rs 3 lakh towards the cost of their tuition fee. The contest, which is open till July-end, includes essay writing. The candidates with the best 40 entries will be called for presentations to screen the lucky eight.

Country examination manager and First Secretary, Education Services, British High Commission, Kevin McLaven, made theannouncement here.

He said the IELTS was accepted as the most reliable test of the English language proficiency by 6,000 institutions in 125 countries.

He said the detailed information regarding the award, including the application was available at www.ielts.britishcouncil. org.in.

On the advertisements by immigration consultancy companies on availing student visa without IELTS, he said the language test was mandatory for taking any degree course in the UK and such companies must have been sending students to dubious colleges. On the issue of a case in which fake candidates had been found taking the IELTS test, he said it would not be possible any more. He said that expert help had been sought to check any such case and identity verification of candidates had been made mandatory at the time of test.

Jalandhar, March 18
Celebrating International Year for Women, Lovely Professional University (LPU) organised “Femina”, a three-day function, which concluded here today.

The theme of the event was showcasing women strength not only to the literary society of students, but also to the general public. The students organised “nukkad nataks” at prime locations of the city, including Model Town, Guru Nanak Mission Chowk and PAP Chowk. The “nataks” presented the story in three phases each focusing on women being powerless, powerful and coordinating.

The other major events of “Femina” were presentations, group discussions, debates, poster-making, slogan-writing and cultural activities on the campus. A cooking competition for the staff was also organised.

The last day of the celebrations saw a number of cultural activities representing a diversified Indian culture and heritage. All songs, dances, presentations, histrionics, skits and related competitive items were mainly based on the uprising of women and their status in the modern society.

Jalandhar, March 18
Summers are here. Rehris selling chilled lacchas, masala lemonade, luscious rabri and tangy jaljeera shout it out.

There can’t be any running away from the scorching heat, so the citizens gear up for the summers by indulging themselves in tasty local-made drinks and ice-creams.

“Ice-creams are never a no-no but these high-caloric yummy devils are best avoided. So I go after chilled masala lassi and tangy jaljeera to beat the heat in a healthy way,” shares Ashpreet Kaur, a student.

“I have increased my water intake and make sure to have a bowl of chilled fresh fruits. I love to gorge on colourful golas from the roadside rehris,” adds Rohit, a sports enthusiast.

Traditional drink stalls witness an increase in the number of customers. Ramesh Kumar, in his late 30s, has been selling sugarcane juice in front of the DC’s office for the past 10 years. “On a given day, I sell up to 100 glasses and by May-June the count would vary between 200 and 250 glasses per day,” he said.

Just a few steps away is a stall selling rabri, goond katira and sweet lassi. Ajay Kumar Jaiswal claims to serve as many as 60 customers everyday. He seems satisfied as he knows that the business will get hotter with the rising heat.

“It gets difficult for us to keep pace with the customers during the peak months of summer. Sale goes up to 250 glasses per day on an average,” admits Jaiswal.

“It is difficult to keep a tab on the sale as there are ups and downs. Almost everyday, there is a dharna or two in front of the DC’s office which proves a boon for us,” he says. But it is not such a rosy picture all the way. In recent years, the competition between the vendors has undoubtedly grown. Moreover, bigger shops have moved in and more outlets attracting people with better packaged drinks have mushroomed in the city. “There used to be only two sugarcane rehris here five years ago, now you can find six in a stretch of half a kilometre,” he adds.

“We have seen around 40 per cent drop in the business. But it is ok…. only if inflation was controlled by the government, life could have been a bit easier,” confides Ramesh.

“Youngsters in swanky cars sometimes troop in too. Maybe, it’s a hep thing for them. These desi drinks are a favourite with everybody,” claims Subhash Chander, alias Bashi, who puts up a jaljeera rehri near Nakodar Chowk.

Young girls present at the stall sipping a tangy drink quip, “It’s a cool way of staying in shape while beating the heat.”

Jalandhar, March 18
He claims he has been there on the bhangra pop scene since the time it wasn’t even born. And when it was, he had a big role to play. Starting off with the likes of Sukhshinder Shinda (whom he calls his elder brother), percussionist, manager and music arranger Bhupinder Tubsy has been keenly observing (and attempting to change) Punjabi music trends since he was a kid. Playing his own part in them, he recently came up with his own album, “Jatt Sheran Varge”, where he arranges music (some remixed) for 15 tracks featuring Lehember Hussainpuri, Jaswinder Daghamia, Sardara Gill, Jagmohan Waris and others on his label Tubsy Records.

It wasn’t always easy going for Bhupinder, who started off in the 70s, with 10 to 15 other musicians, all under 15! Born and brought up in the UK, he didn’t like either the hardcore rock, funk or heavy-metal genres that kids were largely listening to in those days. Nor did he want to stick on to the archaic, traditional Punjabi music.

“The youngsters, of course, wanted a different sound, we had to think of something different,” he says. Inspired by those who started off first - groups like Alaap, Leo and other pioneers, including Danny Choranji and Shin (from the band DCS), Gurcharan Mall (who popularised the dhol in the UK - and in search of a “new” sound, he along with some friends formed a band which started performing in gurdwaras and other public places. “Punjabi music in the UK was taboo then. Weddings were still distant dreams, our bands weren’t accepted easily.” A.S. Kang’s “Bhabiye ni bhabiye” brought a wider acceptability for Punjabi music and things got a bit smoother.

In 1981 he formed the Nimana group which was relatively successful commercially. Owing to ideological differences he came away from the Nimana after some time and formed Satrang. “Satrang was a turning point in Punjabi music,” claims Bhupinder. “It wasn’t easy in the beginning. Our band’s rapper Sasha didn’t go well with the public. But we kept at it and slowly success came.”

From 1986 to 1995 it was a good time for the Punjabi industry. Some bands, however, got hit by drugs. Ours was one of them,” says Bhupinder. Satrang split up soon after. Bhupinder then joined Malkit Singh for five years and later established Balwinder Safri as part of the group Safri Boys. Bhupinder has worked with many people since then. He joined DCS in 2003 and still plays with them often. Bhupinder also worked with Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder and Christina Aguilera, Apache Indian, Timberland, Sukhshinder Shinda and Jazzy B.

The cherry on top is three recent Bollywood projects “De Dana Dan” (arranged for the song “Paisa Paisa”), and yet-to-release productions “Yamla Pagla Deewana” and “Mono”. Bhupinder says the Punjabi music business, which is still largely stooped in mediocrity, might have solutions when both companies and artistes get rid of the money-makes-a-record approach.