Sarhali (Jalandhar), March 17
Daljit Kaur (45) is a relaxed housewife now. The reason is not hard to guess - potable piped water in her courtyard that has freed her from the dreary task of trudging a long distance to fetch water for daily needs. Potable water has been made available to every household of the village by the Water Supply and Sanitation Department under the World Bank-aided Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (PRWSS) project at a cost of Rs 48.96 lakh.

The village is a source of inspiration for the people of surrounding villages, who are now clamouring for this facility in their hamlets too.

Priya Ojha, Senior Mobilisation Personnel of the project, stated that the entire work from pre-planning, planning, and implementation to post-implementation of the project has been carried out by the community through the Gram Panchayat Water and Sanitation Committee (GPWSC), formed by the villagers. The department acts as a facilitator only. Funds for the GPWSCs were released through the District Programme Management Cell, she added.

The pilot project was commissioned under the PRWSS Project in September 2008, under which 487 households were provided tap connection for potable water. The village has a population of 3,220 and was adjudged best village last year with 100 per cent potable water supply.

The GPWSC collects Rs 70 per household as monthly water tariff which is deposited in the operation and maintenance account of the committee. The GPWSC has appointed a pump operator, and a bill clerk for smooth running and record keeping of the scheme, claimed committee chairman Shinder Pal.

Earlier, the panchayat had passed a resolution and submitted it to the department following which the GPWSC was formed. The 10 per cent beneficiary share was collected from each household and deposited in the GPWSC bank account.

A visit to the village by The Tribune team revealed that the drains were chocked and there was no place for the sludge. The women lamented that the stagnant water could result in water borne diseases in the summer and the monsoon.

RK Talwar, senior engineer with of the department, claimed that the problem could be solved only if the villagers closed their taps voluntarily. Nevertheless, water metres would be installed at every tap to prevent wastage, he added.

Jalandhar, March 17
While the city artistes struggle to find takers for their art, an effort by a bunch of city kids (all of whom never had any formal art training) might have baffled the oldies. They found takers and their art sold.

(From left) Sarabjit, Bhuwin, Jaspreet, Sahil and Ramit at an art exhibition at DAVIET in Jalandhar. Photo by writer

Their secret? Vibrant, out-of-the-box images; well-dressed, sparkling-eyed artistes (it helps); a powerful sound system playing out guitar-backed Bollywood hits, psychedelic blue ceiling lights for added effect and a lot of zeal.

Ehsaas - the three-day art exhibition at DAVIET’s tech festival was this happening urban art space that art connoisseurs of the city hunger for.

Flooded by campus students and visitors, the gallery showcased 90 vibrant and independent art works (the prices began from Rs 1,500). The works reminded you of pop art, graffiti artists and the plethora of art illustrators on the web.

TV and internet influences were evident but the ideas being conveyed were direct, unpretentious and reflected individuality. The colour palette was bright and vibrant, B&W, too, being pretty much of a rage.

It turned out that the principal perpetrator was one guy. A peek into the creators of this rare techies’-campus-art-explosion:

Sahil Goyal

Sahil (20), a third year IT student, was the one who officially started the trend. Already an accomplished artiste, he has many buyers outside the campus and has had his works put up at restaurants. He had been holding exhibitions right since he was in the 10th standard - his first was at Rajasthan’s Ladnun Vishwavidyalaya in 2009.

At DAVIET his talent got popular and he won prizes at the youth festivals. Winner of 13 gold medals (half his fee has been exempted by the institute), he has sold works worth Rs 1 lakh till date and likes to live on his own money. His works ‘bought’ by DAVIET have been displayed at the guest house, and in the conference room. He has also held exhibitions at Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology and PTU job fair.

His teachers and fellow students are regular buyers. In 2010, of the 108 works displayed, 65 were his, this year he put up 30 out of the 90 works. He inspired many to join the gang. “It is so important for everyone to participate and I’m so happy more and more of campus artistes seem eager to showcase their work.”

He meticulously works on all aspects of the exhibition. The formals he dressed up in during the exhibition (black achkan and cotton stoles) were designed by him. The blue lights at the gallery were also his idea.

He believes a lot goes wrong when people don’t get marketing right.

Jaspreet Kaur

The main organiser along with Sahil. Deft at art, she gave it up for engineering. A 4th year IT student, she was inspired to take it up again by Sahil and his gang. She put up her paper photo frames at the exhibition. She also makes murals, wind chimes and wall hangings. Also designs clothes for herself and her family.

Sarabjit

This 3rd year electronics’ students’ innovative photo-holding paper cards and gift packs are stuff you see on display at sophisticated showrooms and arty entrepreneurs’ profiles. Her designs are regal and imaginative.

Bhuwin

No one even knew he did illustrations. Popular as the campus singer, he has been a regular at the youth festivals. His charcoal works at Ehsaas were much loved. He doubled up as an entertainer, playing guitar and singing songs at the exhibition on popular demand.

Ramnit

This third year IT student shows a lot of promise. Another B&W fan, his candid still life works were the prefect portraits for any drawing room. 

Jalandhar, March 17
Even in the seventh decade of his life, Surjit Singh Nijjer is running marathons to persuade youngsters create social awareness movement against social evils.

Padded in athletic attire, Nijjer was at the centre of attraction of 21-km-long marathon organised by CT Institute few days ago. He had also volunteered to participate in the 7-km-long marathon organised by the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences last month to sensitise the masses against the evil of female foeticide.

“Participation of the elderly in such races and walks focuses on the seriousness of the problems in which society is being embroiled,” said Nijjer, a retired employee of the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala.

“Moreover, our participation inspires the younger generation to come forward and contribute to nip problems of drug addiction, female foeticide, pollution, population explosion etc,” Nijjer added.

He has also single-handedly started a campaign to promote the cause of eye donation among the retired. 

Jalandhar, March 17
On a call given by the Non-Government Colleges Employees Union (Punjab and Chandigarh), a stay-in-strike was observed by the non-teaching staff of DAV College, Jalandhar, here today.

The strike was held against the long pending demand of sanction of arrears due to revision of pay scales. The non-teaching staff gathered in front of the college gate and remained on strike from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm stating that the step-motherly treatment of the government was the reason behind non-fulfilment of their demands.

General secretary of the union Madan Lal Khullar said the state government should give them the arrears so that the prevailing resentment among the employees came to an end. The non-teaching staff also demanded pension-cum-gratuity scheme for which the Act has already been passed by the state government. They also demanded that the ban imposed on fresh recruitments be lifted at the earliest. “If the government failed to meet our demands we would intensify our stir”, Khullar added. — TNS

Jalandhar, March 17
Epitomising how the big private schools are being covertly used by the managements to promote business ventures, a highly reputed school of the region has given written ‘suggestion’ to the parents to purchase shoes and bags from a particular company’s outlet.

Although, ‘unethical’ practice of verbally directing the students and their parents to purchase stationary and school dresses from particular shops has come to fore umpteen times, the written ‘suggestion’ in this regard, which obviously provides a documented proof of such practice, has been unheard so far.

The letter, written on the letter-pad of the reputed Cambridge International School for Girls, Jalandhar, and was circulated to the parents recently.

“As a part of equality and standardisation for all the students, few arrangements have been done with vendors, who provide quality products as per school standards and also support parents in term of added benefits. One such arrangement is finalised with M/S...Shoes, a leading brand in shoe world to provide our children with a comfortable and efficient pair of school shoes and also to provide a school bag free with each pair of shoes bearing the school logo,” reads the third paragraph of the letter.

Interestingly, addresses and mobile numbers of the two outlets of the shoe company has also mentioned in the letter. The letter further reads, “It is suggested to procure new pair of shoe at the… outlets, which have been identified to provide exclusive service to Cambridge School students.”

Noted educationist and state committee member of Democratic Teachers Front, Tarsem Goel, said sadly the government has not framed any such legal binding to prevent the schools to pass such ‘suggestions’. “However, as per set traditions of the centuries old education system of our country, the practice is obviously unethical and immoral,” said Goel.

Jalandhar, March 17
The best thing about Sukhwinder Sukhi is that he never fails to keep a promise. He promised plays, he gives the theatre-starved Jalandhar a regular supply of them when they are really needed.

This Saturday, it was Raunakan, his play on female foeticide.

Raunakan’s story went: Boy (Arjun) meets girl (Sukhman), falls in love, both get married. Girl expects a girl child. Boy and his mother ask her to kill it. She doesn’t. He marries another girl who gives him a boy. Girl child (Raunak) grows up to become a doctor, the boy child (Garry) a drug addict. Raunak treats drug addict brother, her parents patch up. And they live happily ever after.

The performances were spontaneous and acts by the mother (Poonam), Shadi Singh (Gurtej Thukral), khusra (Mani Kular) and the second wife (Gaganbir Kaur) were impressive.

His humour sequences were good and the character of the mother-in-law perfect. But that is where the good news ends. Sukhi was doing better when he was giving us folk lore, because his fascination with cliches certainly disappoints. While the lead protagonist (Sonika Chauhan) cried and screamed a lot, Arjun and his mother endlessly schemed.

The play brimmed over with cliches - the meek, submissive hardworking, forgiving bahu, the mama’s boy, wife-slapping husband, the tormenting saas, the vile saukan, the MBBS-topping daughter and the way ward brother (he had to become an addict, his parents were immoral you know).

Sukhman protested when her in-laws tried to oust her from her home, but she didn’t say a word when her husband married another woman without telling her.

And one was forced to ask a question. Was making Raunak a doctor and treating her addict brother the only way to justify her mother’s stand of giving birth to her?

A woman’s (or a human being’s) bravery does not need to be justified by the downfall of her tormentors.

Tweaking story lines and issues just to make the good win and the bad fall is an age-old skill.

If theatre in Punjab needs to work for people and address ‘real’ issues, melodramatic takes like these are certainly not going to help it’s cause.

With their immense resources and better productions in the past, the makers of the play can do much better.

Phillaur, March 17
Senior police officers from seven states, including Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan, Delhi, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Central forces like the BSF, CRPF and the CBI will participated in the two-day conference on ‘Emerging trends in crime - Inter-state strategies’ that was inaugurated by Punjab DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill at Punjab Police Academy (PPA) here yesterday.

British police officers from West Midlands, including superintendent Mick Gillik, chief inspector Karpaul Siotha, assistant sergeant Harvinder Rai and manager (Asia Projects) Ramesh Sharma too participated in the conference.

Academy joint director & Dean DJ Singh coordinated the conference that was also attended by Jalandhar Police Commissioner Gaurav Yadav, Ludhiana Police Commissioner Ishwar Singh, IG (Jalandhar) RP Mittal, DIG (Border Range) Ram Singh and Hoshiarpur SSP Rakesh Aggarwal.

The DGP also inaugurated a first-of-its-kind ‘On-line police training programme’ designed by PPA.

In his inaugural address, DGP Gill stressed the need for the police to equip itself with the latest information and professional knowledge to suit the fast changing global standards. He also stressed the need to improve the information sharing system concerning the new emerging crimes across the countries.

The DGP said easy flow of funds by illegal means like hawala, latest developing technology, easy accessibility of illegal weapons and increasing cyber crime through which new ideas and action could be communicated among criminals throughout the world were helping international criminals. He stressed the need for a equal international law to deal with these elements.

Jalandhar, March 17
When it comes to chasing one’s dreams, passion might play a bigger role than resources. It is evident in the telling story of this national-level badminton player, who recently returned with flying colours at the National Badminton Championship. Meet Ram Lakhan, a veteran shuttler who despite facing odds managed to carve a niche for himself in this game. The player won the 35th Senior (Veteran) National Badminton Championships-2011 held from March 9 to 13 at Imphal, Manipur.

The championship was organised by the Manipur Badminton Association under the aegis of the Badminton Association of India.

Appreciating his performance, Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, Priyank Bharti met him at his office on Wednesday and motivated him to excel in the game. “I was virtually short of words when the DC assured me of every possible help in the future. It was for the first time ever that a senior official lauded my performance like this,” he added.

A down to earth man hailing from a humble background, Ram Lakhan had excelled in the sport since day one. “I picked up the game by watching others play at my native place Nawanshahr. It was during my school days that I got a chance to prove my mettle in the game and since then there was no looking back,” he said.

At present, Ram Lakhan is working with Punjab State Power Corporation Limited at Jalandhar. However, the shuttler rued that till date no major company has come forward to sponsor him. “Despite winning laurels at the state and the national level not even a single sponsor ever came forward to help me. I have been managing the show through my own little resources”, he said. Further sharing his experiences he said during the World Badminton Championship held at Malaysia in he was badly dejected. Reason? “It was my first ever participation in an international level tournament but nobody recognised my success and contribution. Leave honour and ceremonies nobody congratulated me. I was badly hurt,” he said.

These days, Ram Lakhan is preparing for the 5th World Senior Badminton Championships to be held at Canada in August 2011. Earlier in the year 2009 he participated in National Badminton Championship held at Agartala and emerged with flying colours. Besides this he had won the District Badminton Championship four times, State Badminton Championship twice and participated in the national level more than 15 times. 

Jalandhar, March 17
The Sehkari Khand Mills Workers Federation will hold a statewide protest on March 24 in front of all the cooperative mills in the state in support of their demands.

Karnail Singh Lakhmipur, president of the outfit, alleged that although their representatives had two rounds of parleys with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal but nothing materialised.

“We would also hold a protest rally in the Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall in Jalandhar on March 30 following which the further course of action will be chalked out,” he added.

Their main demands included the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission recommendations, release of held up salaries for the past many months, regularisation of contractual staff, he added. 

Jalandhar, March 17
It seems like Jalandhar is finally learning some curatorial lessons. Mirage, a week-long exhibition of paintings, sculptures and photographs, that concluded at Stya Paul Art Gallery today was a proof of the fact.

The exhibition was one of the most delightful art events witnessed by the city in a long time.

Curated by Rosy Varinder Kaur, an artiste herself, the exhibition saw works by 24 artistes from Karnataka, Patna, Mohali, Panchkula, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Patiala, Jalandhar, Agra, Mumbai, New Delhi and Andaman & Nicobar and also five invited artistes.

Keen on establishing herself as a curator, Rosy brought in the varied hues to the city. A break from works that the city crowds have regularly been subjected to, Mirage had diversity in hues, ideas, styles and the message being conveyed.

There was class in all the works and clichés were rare to spot.

Vinod B Raghuveer’s bright, bindi-sporting village women with numbers and alphabets on their faces (the paintings are his take on the illiterate woman of his village), Mohammed Ayazhuddin Patel’s brilliant solarised Indian “journey”, Sanyasi Red’s candid, surrealistic, see-through men, Partha Pratim Deb’s rustic black and white people, Chandra Shekhar’s playful, moving B&W figures, Madan Lal’s vibrant red bull (within), Nikhat Naseem’s catchy adorned-in-Urdu works, Lakshaman Prasad’s charcoals and Snagamesh S Chillshetty’s abstracts caught everyone’s attention.

Among others, Narinderjit Singh’s blue takes on the universe and moksha (salvation), Rehman Patel’s abstract, colourful, dotted images from the “Water and Sound” series, Ravinder Sharma’s faces surfacing from blue, Satwant Singh Sumail’s gentle takes on mother nature, Neenu Vij’s trees (transit), Gunneta Chadha’s honest taken on “Him”, Gurdeep Dhiman’s “Antarman”, Suresh Gopal’s untitled colour explosions and Kusum Chauhan’s interesting untitled along with Rosy’s spontaneous oil works also impressed the viewers.

Among sculptures, Basudeb Biswas’ innovative nail and scrap fishes and tall bronze ladies, IN Naga’s thoughtful takes on the (abundance or lack of) Rajasthan monsoons, Meghna Dass’ cock bike and eye-grabbing performer, Hansraj’s “Sky the unlimited”, Karuna Tank’s hippo and human-handed crocodile, Shiv Singh’s brilliant round steel installations and Anand Kumar Singh’s interesting “Head” were awe-inspiring.

The four photographs at the exhibition Ranjodh Singh’s Darbar Sahib and green leaf as well as Ashok Kaushal’s lights were also eye catching.

Senior artistes ‘discouraging’ aspirants

Rosy Varinder Singh is a full-time curator (there are not many in the region). She freelances and collects works from other artistes. “Right now, I have a small collection so I called artistes from outside. When it will grow, I will put up exhibitions of my own collection and someday maybe set up a gallery.”

Talking about her experiences as a curator, she says it had been a smooth sailing so far. “I contacted 50-60 artistes from across India, out of which 24 were shortlisted.”

What about art in the region?

The region has many talented artistes but there is also a lot of politics in the field. For example in Jalandhar, two art organisations - Art Dot and Srijan - have been working but due to the politics among some senior artistes, many talented youngsters do not get to showcase their works. “I have had such youngsters coming to me too. Artistes who demean or discourage others can’t really prosper. And art in the region suffers because of them.” Rosy says.

What about the response to Mirage?

“It has been highly encouraging. We got at least 50 persons per day. People appreciated the art. There were some groups who came for the heck of it and ridiculed art works, passing comments, but I guess it will take some time for the psyche of people to change,” she added.

Jalandhar, March 17
The students and the faculty of the local Kanya Maha Vidyalaya paid tributes to the victims of Japan tragedy by lighting candles in their memory. Principal of the college, Dr. Atima Sharma said that the college has sent heartfelt condolences and wishes to the embassy of Japan in Delhi.

Techno-cultural fest

The local DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology (DAVIET) organised a three-day techno-cultural fest ‘Incognito 2011’.

During the fest the students participated in overnight events like KNITECODERS and NISHACHAR ARENA. An expert lecture on ‘Cloud Computing’ was delivered by Vaibhav Bhanot, Vice- President of Deutshe Bank, New York. PS Bains, BSF, DIG, Gurdaspur, motivated the students to join the BSF and serve the country.

A myriad of interesting events, including Hack-a-yard, Gimmics, Compilocrates, Web planeca, Teech Toonz, Mindtrixx, Brain Mystifiers, phrases and group discussion, were organised during the day. While a special interactive session with Dr SK Salwan, former Vice-Chancellor of PTU, Jalandhar, remained the highlight of day one. In his address, he highlighted that primarily it is the personality traits and calibre of an individual, which ultimately determines his or her fate. Adding more charm to the event, a Sufi night was organised where the students participated in large numbers.

Sports meet

The Department of Technical Education and Industrial Training of the local Mehr Chand Technical Institute held its annual cultural and sports meet of Jalandhar Zone on March 14 and 15. While the students of Mehr Chand Technical Institute bagged the overall trophies in the boys as well as in the girls categories.

Job for 12 students

As many as 12 students of the local CT Group of Institutions bagged placements with Lupin Pharmaceutical Company at an annual package of Rs 1.8 lakh. The students would go in for a 10-day training programme at the company’s headquarters at Mumbai.

Seminar held

The Guru Nanak Studies Centre of the local Prem Chand Markanda SD College for Women organised a seminar on ‘Transformation of Philosophical Political, Social Tradition of Guru Nanak Dev Ji’, sponsored by the UGC.

CT-Wipro training

The local CT Group of Institutions hosted a faculty development programme (FDP) ‘Wipro Mission 10x’, organised by Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, in collaboration with Wipro.

The five-day-long faculty empowerment workshop was held to train and sensitise the faculty in innovative teaching and learning skills. The aim of the workshop is to increase the employability of students by 10 times.

As many as 23 faculty members from three organizations --- CT Institutions, Shahpur, Ramgarhia Institute of Engineering and Technology, Phagwara and Beant College of Engineering and Technology, Gurdaspur.

During the workshop, the faculty was told about topics like High Impact Teaching Skills, Mission 10x learning approach, key intelligences, intellectual behaviour, active learning process and much more. Chairman of CT Group of Institutions, Charanjit Singh Channi said that such programs are of great help in taking the teaching methodology and platform to a new level.

Spring Carnival

Apeejay School, Rama Mandi, is organising Spring Carnival for the pre-primary and primary wing. Principal Madhu Sharma inaugurated activities like art, music, dance, yoga and cooking without fire.

Kabaddi success

The women kabaddi players of Lovely Professional University scripted a new chapter at Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Punjab Games held at Ludhiana last week by winning gold medals and a cash prize of Rs 1.3 lakh. A part of the Nawanshahr team, the players --- Sonia, Neetu, Jatinder Kaur and Baljeet Kaur of the Department of Physical Education of the university --- had been selected through open trials.

Bakery classes

The Department of Hotel Management of School of Hospitality of Lovely Professional University arranged a 10-day workshop on eggless bakery for the benefit of its students. More than 300 students attended the workshop. The director general of the university HR Singla inaugurated the workshop. Cooking of items like pastries, patties, kulchas, fruit truffles, breads and cup-cakes were taught by chef Karan Berry, who has worked with Hotel Leela Palace at Bangalore. The overwhelming response was received from and by the students. Many of the students from other departments and customers also wanted to learn all about it. In addition, the whole experience taught students how to become an entrepreneur. As a pedagogical tool, it also enhanced the competencies of students who want to join Bakery & "Patiserrie" sections of the hotels.

Rock Band

The students' Rock-Band 'Provissk' of Lovely Professional University exhibited their skills at 'Utkansh-11' held at Dr BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar. The six-member team won the coveted trophy and a cash prize of Rs 10,000 by standing first and showing the special and mesmerising power of strings and sound. The band comprises of Parth as lead vocalist, Savy as drummer, Akshay as rhythm guitarist, Dev as bass guitarist, Gaurav on the key board and Kannav as the lead guitarist. 

Jalandhar, March 17
Hindi novelist Dr. Ajay Sharma’s seventh novel ‘Nau Dishayian’ was released here on Wednesday. The function was organised by Hindi Sahitya Sabha and Department of Hindi of Doaba College Jalandhar.

Adviser, Languages, Ministry of Labour and Human Resource Development, Dr Harmahinder Singh Bedi, said the novel, ‘Nau Dishayian’, portrays the psychoanalytical turmoil and stark realism. The novel depicts matrimonial dispute between the working couple.

Jalandhar, March 17
Punjab Technical University organised a workshop on ‘Making and Managing Patents’ at its campus on Wednesday. The workshop was conducted by Punjab State Council of Science and Technology, Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council, Department of Science and Technology.

Addressing the participants, Dr Rajneesh Arora, Vice-Chancellor, PTU, said, “Teachers from the colleges constituted a potential population for patenting new ideas. PTU is ready to create awareness among students and faculty regarding the patenting of novel ideas.” The university would build up a strong infrastructure to promote research, industrial collaborations and facilities regarding IPR, said Dr Arora.

Jalandhar, March 17
The District Sainik Welfare Office would conduct a capsule course for aspirants of NDA-I written examination from April 1 to 16. The NDA exam, held by UPSC, is scheduled for April 17 at Chandigarh. 

Deputy Director of District Sainik Welfare Board, Lt Col Manmohan Singh said interested candidates could obtain brochure and application forms from the board office from March 18 onwards. 

Jalandhar, March 17
The AISSF will go it alone in the forthcoming SGPC polls on the twin poll planks of ‘Punjab Punjabian da’ and ‘Singh Sabha- Samajak Sudhar.’

Announcing this here yesterday, Karnail Singh Peer Mohammad, chief of the outfit, said it was the right time to revive the struggle for a separate Sikh identity, a principle on which the Sikh Gurdwara Act came into being following the supreme sacrifice made by thousands of Sikhs during the colonial era.

Ever since SAD supremo Parkash Singh Badal came to exercise a vice like grip on the all activities of the committee, the institution has been used to further personal agendas than to work for the welfare of the community, he alleged.

He said the agenda includes restoring the supremacy of the Akal Takht, an amendment in Article 25 of the constitution that does not confer a separate identity on the Sikhs, to spread global awareness about the five kakkars, especially the turban and the kirpan, work on getting the 1984 riots declared as a genocide as defined in Article 2 of the UN Convention on Genocide besides raising a Shaheed-e- Minar in memory of those killed in Operation Bluestar in the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Besides, they would also work towards containing the spread of drug abuse in the state; establish the Khalsa system of panchayats to provide inexpensive conflict resolution and settling of civil disputes.

He also added that efforts would be made to improve the lot of the impoverished farers, granting pensions to the kith and kin of Sikhs martyred in 1984, creating an employment wing of the SGPC and spearheading a save the girl child campaign across the state, he added.

Others present on the occasion included Davinder Singh Sodhi, Dr Karaj Singh Dharamsinghwala, Gurmukh Singh, Jagroop Singh Cheema and PS Dhingra.