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Dasehra celebration venues hit century in the city
Burning of effigies mars beauty of parks
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Online payment system of power, telecom bills is actually offline
DAVIET sweep PTU badminton tournament
Air Force holds mini marathon
PTU conference from today
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Dasehra celebration venues hit century in the city
Jalandhar, October 6 By as early as half past three, people had gathered outside houses in streets and squares watching kids burning effigies of single-headed Ravanas with triangles for a body. In the high-profile venues, however, huge effigies of Ravana, his brother kumbhkaran and son Meghnath, as much as 50 to 65 feet in height, were burnt. Sophisticated shows with hit-tech effigy-burning ceremonies were held as thousands (at places lakhs) of people outside and inside the barricades, perched on buildings, houses, trees, tanks, barricades and each others’ shoulders view the grand fiasco. Out of the 40 “official” Dasehra extravaganzas, 26 prominent ones were those held at the Burlton Park, Saindass School, Master Tara Singh Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Guru Gobind Singh Stadium, Pathankot Bypass Chowk, Choti Baradari Chowk, etc, while 14 were not so grand. Three to five were held in the bastis alone. Earlier in the day, shobha yatras from various temples to Dasehra venues were taken out, which kept the roads, especially in the city bazaars, clogged. Most yatras started at 2 pm or later and reached the venues by 4 to 4.30 pm, after which the Dasehra ceremonies began. As lakhs of people were out at various venues to view Dasehra celebrations, the police also had elaborate arrangements in place. As many as 900 police personnel were deputed to ensure proper security at various venues. Important places of Dasehra celebrations: Burlton Park Oldest in town, Dasehra is being celebrated for the past 133 years. President of its Dasehra committee Ranjkumar Gupta, former Congress MLA, says people of the area have emotional associations with it. Shobha yatra: Nauhriyan Mandir to venue USP: 60-foot effigies of Ravana, Meghnath and Kumbhakaran, signifying corruption, were burnt. Crowd: One lakh Adarsh Nagar The Upkar Dasehra Committee is 31 years’ old in the area ground. Chief organiser Advocate Brajesh Chopra has some interesting tech innovations up his sleeve. Shobha yatra: Siddh Baba Balaknath Mandir to the venue USP: Remote-controlled effigies of Ravana and his brother and son were set on fire from a distance. Nothing manual. A Rajasthani folk dance troupe regaled audience. Ornamental electronic laris (chain lights) decorated the Ravana’s effigy. A vanar sena fight display also preceded the burning. Crowd: 20,000 plus scores of Adarsh Nagar housetop and treetop viewers Avtar Nagar Held at Partap Bagh earlier, Dasehra is being celebrated here by the Mahanagar Dasehra Committee for the past five years. Committee president Naresh Thatai said this year the effigy of the Ravana burned at the Government Training College ground stood for corruption. Shobha yatra: Chinnmastika Dham Mandir to venue USP: A magnificent golden Lanka decorated with golden paper and various goodies was burnt as Sita is rescued by Hanuman from the Ashok Vatika. Real fruits - apples, pears, grapes and bananas - hung on fake trees were hurled onto the crowds as Dasehra prasad. The show was on for half an hour. Drinks and snacks came free with the 700 to 800 VIP passes distributed on the occasion. Right before being burnt, the eyes of the Ravana’s effigy - which had the word corruption pasted across its front - emitted sparks that went about 10 feet in distance. Crowd: 25,000 plus Saindass School ground Being celebrated for the last 22 years, it is a grand affair even in the heart of a residential area in JP Nagar, says chief organiser Tarsem Kapur. Shobha yatra: Nauhriyan Mandir to venue USP: 60 feet Ravana’s effigy with glowing eyes. An elaborate show before the burning of the effigy. Pravachan (discourse) by Ravana follows sparks being emitted from his, Meghnath and Kumbhkaran’s eyes and mouth. Crowd: 20,000 police arrangement There were 40 Dasehra venues for which 40 nakas were set up and 40 patrolling teams were put on duty. Sniffer dog and anti-sabotage panels were also been set up. All our SHOs and ACPs were on the job today. The police also held two flag marches in the city in the morning. — Navjot Singh Mahal, ADCP (HQ) Quiet Dasehra
Following the death of Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Bhatia’s son Charanpreet Singh Bhatia some days ago, the Dasehra Utsav Committee, which celebrates the festival at 120-feet road area, did not celebrate it this year. Charanpreet used to be actively involved in the celebrations every year. Mourning his demise, the committee decided to give the celebrations a miss this
year. |
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Burning of effigies mars beauty of parks
Jalandhar, October 6 Several parks, including Kanwarjit Singh Park at Adarsh Nagar and Juneja Park on Ladowali Road, were used this time too for burning the effigies of Ravana, Kumbhkaran and Meghnath. Several saplings of various flowers were destroyed under the feet of the hundreds of devotees, who gathered at these parks to watch the Dasehra celebrations. The Upkar Dasehra Committee, headed by Brajesh Chopra, has been celebrating the festival at one of the well-maintained park of the city at Adarsh Nagar for the past some years. Earlier, the committee used to celebrate it at Dasehra Ground near the park. Omkar Nath Joshi, a resident of the nearby locality of Krishna Nagar, said, “Though the celebration of Dasehra is a religious function, but the Dasehra and Ram Leela committees should avoid celebrating them in parks as they mar their beauties, that too when there are only a few well-maintained parks in the city.” An effigy of Ravana was erected right under a high-tension electricity wire at Juneja Park on Ladowali Road by the Ram Leela Committee of the area. Luckily no mishap occurred during setting the effigy on fire. Meanwhile, a social activist, Rajat Mohindru, demanded that the Dasehra and Ram Leela committees should take utmost care while celebrating the festival. They should also avoid celebrating it in the parks and the authorities concerned, including Municipal Corporation, should also persuade them not to use parks for such celebrations as it would be beneficial for the entire citizens. This is worth mentioning here that a Ram Leela Committee used to celebrate Dasehra at Pratap Bagh till several years ago. The committee had to succumb to the pressure of several non-government organisations (NGOs) and environment lovers a few years ago and it had to stop celebrating the festival in Pratap Bagh after strong agitation by the NGOs, environment lovers and morning walkers. |
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Gursher does city proud, tops Central Police Forces exam in state
Jalandhar, October 6 Gursher (21) has bagged the All-India 13th rank in the UPSC Central Police Forces (Assistant Commandants) examination and the first position in the state. The boy has added another feather in his cap, as he is the youngest among around 4 lakh students to clear this exam. It was during the interview that the panel informed him that he was the youngest candidate to appear for the exam. A resident of Jalandhar, he is pursuing his BA LLB-fourth year from the University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh. The boy hails from an affluent business family from the city and maintains that it was the good company of some seniors in the PU, which inspired him to appear for the exam. “Probably at PU, one gets the best ambience to study and explore various career options. Many of my seniors recently cracked various competitive exams and one of them cleared the exam for the judiciary too. It was good enough a reason for me to appear for the UPSC and I made it”, he said. Surprisingly, he did not join any coaching classes. And when asked about the reason he said, “All one needs to know is the subjects and topics to be studied for a competitive exam and you can clear it. Thankfully, I had the company of friends to provide me with much-needed guidance”. He specially mentions the name of his sister, Navdeep Sandhu, a student of Bachelor’s in Dental Sciences (BDS) who helped him prepare for his interview. “She has been a state topper in debates and has wonderful oratory skills. It was handy tips given by her which helped me perform with confidence in the interview”, he added. However, this is not the limit for him, it is rather the beginning of some more benchmarks as he has already started preparing for the Civil Services. “Of course, I will now go for training to Tekanpur, near Gwalior, but cracking the Indian Allied Services is my aim in life. All I know is that sincere effort couples with commitment definitely yield good results and I am exploring all options”, he quips. |
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Online payment system of power, telecom bills is actually offline
Jalandhar, October 6 On the contrary, you need to be much more alert and must maintain copies of all receipts and account details from the bank so that you do not later end up paying double the amount, late fee or disconnection at the hands of the authorities. Some of the tech-savvy Jalandhar residents who have tried their hands on the system have complaints that the mode is fraught with a few problems and rather needs to be streamlined a bit. The most common complaint is that the status of payment is not uploaded in time in the systems with the authorities owing to which they sometimes end up making making rounds of the offices for getting corrections done. Dinkar Sehgal, a resident of Guru Amar Dass Nagar, said that he had been making online payment of bills
to PowerComm for the past few months. “But the status of the last payment perhaps was not received on time by the officials, owing to which he even had to face disconnection”, he claimed. He described the course of events, “I received a copy of a bill of the amount Rs 4,720 on July 13. I made the payment through web on July 20 and immediately got an online receipt for the same. The next bill came on September 13, which did not mention about any pending payments. On September 15 when I came back home, I realised that my connection had been cut. I checked up with the concerned officials who claimed that it was because of non-payment of dues. But I showed them receipts after which they realised their mistake and apologised for the same. They took excuse saying that September was the time of mid-year closing, so he faced the problem.” Rajni Batra, a subscriber of BSNL, complained that the online payment system for landline bills had some problem. “I once tried it but found it to be rather more cumbersome. The next month when I received the bills, I found that the amount of the last bill had also been added into it. I had to then make rounds of the office for making clarifications”, she claimed, adding that the office was not receiving late payments through the online mode. SK Nigam, General Manager, BSNL, Jalandhar Circle, has claimed that the system had some teething troubles and was being rectified. On the complaint pertaining to power disconnection, SS Sarna, Chief Engineer, PowerComm, Jalandhar, said, “It must have been one of the few cases of the kind. Our office collates the online payment details after every 15 days, uploads it in a CD and sends it to Chandigarh for entry into computerised ledger.” |
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Bijoya Dashami marks final day of Durga Puja celebrations
Jalandhar, October 6 The day began with Shindoor Boron - a ceremony wherein women daub vermillion on each others’ faces, as a mark of celebration. “The ceremony is said to signify the cheer and happiness of a bride returning to her in-laws’ house from her parents’ home. A bride is decorated with shindoor (vermillion) and is given sweet to eat. That is why the ceremony is considered as important,” said the General Secretary of the Kali Bari Association, Arun Ganguly. The ceremony was followed by lunch, after which devotees took the idol for Visarjan (immersion) to a river near the city. Visarjan signifies the cycle of life based on the philosophy that what has come has to go and get immersed in the elements someday. Overall, Durga’s 10-day visit to her parents’ home ends on the Bijay Dashami (meaning victorious tenth day). After Visarjan, young people touch the feet of their elders and share sweets, leaving for their homes with sweet memories. |
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Safai karamcharis’ strike enters day 3
Jalandhar, October 6 Even those who were out for a shopping spree in the markets in the day had a tough time walking through streets strewn with filth. Anjana, a mother of two, said it was really difficult shopping in Attari Bazaar today because of garbage at every nook and corner. “I had to take both my kids in arms as I went about the streets of the market,” she said. Buta Singh Sachdeva, a cloth merchant in Sheikhan Bazaar, said the visitors were having a harrowing experience because of waste scattered here and there for the past two days. “So today all shopkeepers requested their own employees to clean the streets and pile up waste at one point. We then set it on fire. It, however, resulted in much smoke, which had to be then controlled by spraying water.” Going by the fact that the city generates 500 tonnes of waste daily, it is being guessed that by now almost 1,500 tonnes of untreated waste must have been lying scattered across the city lanes. Dr Balraj Gupta, a physician at Shaheed Udham Singh Nagar, said the city roads had become an eyesore. “We have been managing cleaning of our own roads by private employees. After all, we cannot afford unhygienic surroundings around our premises,” he said. Members of the Safai Karamchari Sangharsh Morcha said they had gone to Hoshiarpur this morning to hold talks with Local Bodies Minister Tikshan Sud, but he ditched us despite an appointment through Mayor Rakesh Rathour. “So we continue our protest and will now take up our matter with the CM,” they said during a dharna in front of MC office. The members have been demanding regularisation of all safai karamcharis of all corporations and committees of the state. |
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DAVIET sweep PTU badminton tournament
Jalandhar, October 6 As many as 44 teams from across the state participated in the tournament, out of which 29 were boys’ teams and 15 were girls’ teams. In the boy’s category, DAVIET team was followed by Institute of Engineering and Technology, Bhadal, and Giani Zail Singh College of Engineering and Technology, Bathinda. Among the girls, Chitkara Institute of Engineering and Technology, Rajpura, bagged the second position, while Doaba Institute of Engineering and Technology, Kharar, bagged the third position. The DAVIET team (boys) was lead by Ravi Jot Singh, Abhinav Bahri, Ishant Sharma, Rahul Puria and Muhhamad Firoz. The girls’ team was lead by Komal Gandhi, Chandni Dada, Aman, Kanika and Jasmine Brar. Ravi Jot Singh and Komalpreet Kaur Gandhi were declared the best players. Arjuna awardee Baljeet Singh Saini was the chief guest. He along with the Regional Director (Engineering Colleges) of DAV College Management Committee, Delhi, Professor CL Kochher, and Officiating Principal, Dr SC Ahuja gave prizes to the winners. — TNS |
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Air Force holds mini marathon
Jalandhar, October 6 The marathon run was organised for air warriors in the age group of 8 to 25 years, 26 to 30 years, 31 to 35 years, 36 to 40 years, 41 to 45 years, 46 to 50 years, 51 to 55 years and 56 and above, including the lady officers. Air Officer Commanding of Adampur Air Force Station, Air Commodore M Fernadez, flagged off the marathon here today. The winners were given prizes. Another mini marathon of 1 km was held for the women. In this marathon, Vimla Singh bagged the first position, whereas
A Raju and P Dubey stood second and third, respectively. Results: 18 to 25 years age group- Cpl PK Rana, 26 to 30 years- Cpl Sube Singh, 31 to 35 years-Squadron Leader Harsha, 36 to 40 years- Sep JC Bhumij, 41 to 45 years- Sep PG Sawant, 46 to 50 years-Sep Simbal Singh, 51 to 55 years-L Nk Niranjan Singh, 56 plus years-Subedar B Singh stood first. |
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PTU conference from today
Jalandhar, October 6 The conference is being organised in collaboration with Department of Science and Technology (DST), GOI, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO). |
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