& V I C I N I T Y
Tuesday, September 1, 1998
|
C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
|
Tuesday, September 1, 1998 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
 |
|
|
Tributes paid to Beant Singh CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — Paying tributes to the late Mr Beant Singh on his third death anniversary observed here at his "samadhi", Congress leader Sharad Pawar said that Mr Beant Singh sacrificed his life for the unity and integrity of the country. He said that Mr Beant Singh fought against communal forces with all his might. India facing 'great economic disaster' CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — Mr Sharad Pawar, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said here today that a "great economic disaster" was staring in the face of the country. The BJP-led government at the Centre had failed to grasp the situation on this front. |
 |
 Teachers apprehend stagnation CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The indefinite strike by college and university teachers enters the fourth week tomorrow with no signs of a solution. While the teachers have been agitating demanding implementation of UGC scales, the government has notified new pay scales for teachers saying these are on a par with Central Services Group "A". |
|
Chronic
problems-I Breakthrough
in Panchkula thefts Sales
tax evasion detected Licences
of three HC lawyers suspended CAT
rejects plea to quash charge sheet Cops
booked for assaulting woman |
|||||
|
||||||
Tributes paid to Beant Singh CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — Paying tributes to the late Mr Beant Singh on his third death anniversary observed here at his "samadhi", Congress leader Sharad Pawar said that Mr Beant Singh sacrificed his life for the unity and integrity of the country. He said that Mr Beant Singh fought against communal forces with all his might. He said the country was again facing a threat from communal forces and all secular forces should unite against such forces. He said the law and order situation was deteriorating in states ruled by the BJP and its allies. Mr Rajesh Pilot, another senior Congress leader, said that it was the Congress party and its leaders who had fought against the anti-national forces. He said that Mr Beant Singh brought Punjab back in the mainstream. Having a dig at Akali leaders, Mr Pilot said that now Mr Parkash Singh Badal and others were not raising the issue of transfer of Chandigarh, Punjabi speaking areas etc when friendly party governments were in power in the neighbouring states like Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi. He said the Congress would extend him all support if he raised these issues now. But Mr Badal would have no right to raise these issues later when a Congress Government came to power at the Centre, he added. Capt Amarinder Singh, President of the PCC, said that Punjab was facing a very serious problem of unemployment. While Mr Beant Singh had set Punjab on the road to development, the government led by Mr Badal had failed on all fronts, he added. He said the Akali Government had no vision about Punjab's future. Mrs Ambika Soni, a senior Congress leader, said that Mr Beant Singh had made the Congress party a very strong outfit in Punjab. It would be a real tribute to him if Congressmen took the party to the same level again under the leadership of the newly appointed President, Capt Amarinder Singh, she added. Mr Tej Parkash Singh, son of the late Mr Beant Singh, said that his father had made a sacrifice for the country. He was a staunch supporter of secularism and fought against communalism. Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, said that Mr Beant Singh not only saved Punjab but also the neighbouring states which were also facing the problem of terrorism. Dr Joginder Dayal, Secretary of the Punjab unit of the CPI, said that it was a time for secular forces to join hands against the communal forces. This was the main aim of Mr Beant Singh, who made the supreme sacrifice for the country. Mrs Jaswant Kaur, wife of the late Mr Beant Singh, other family members of the late Chief Minister including his son, Mr Sukhwant Singh, daughter Mrs Gurkanwal Kaur, and son-in-law Col Raminder Singh, and hundreds of Congress leaders from various parts of the state, including Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar, turned up at Mr Beant Singh's samadhi this morning to pay him floral tributes. The Punjab Congress organised a public meeting in his memory at the samadhi. "Kirtan" was
also held at the samadhi in the morning. |
India facing 'great economic
disaster' CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — Mr Sharad Pawar, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said here today that a "great economic disaster" was staring in the face of the country. The BJP-led government at the Centre had failed to grasp the situation on this front. Addressing a press conference after paying floral tributes to late Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh and addressing a rally, Mr Pawar said that the industrial and trade sectors were grappling with the kind of recession which the country had earlier faced in 1940. He said that while industry was producing the goods, there were no buyers. Major industrial centres in the country had sacked about 30 per cent of their labour force to cut down their production. Investment in industrial and other sectors had almost come to nil as the Centre had failed to create the required atmosphere which was earlier provided by Dr Manmohan Singh. While the law and order situation in various parts of the country was deteriorating, the country had been isolated at the international level due to the wrong policies of the BJP-led Government. He said the government had created tension in the sub-continent by following a wrong foreign policy. He said that the focus of the Centre was totally wrong. While it was pressing hard to make the country a nuclear power, the Congress wanted to see the country as a "super economic power". The USSR was a nuclear power but it had disintegrated into several countries due to economic crisis. Mr Pawar, who was also joined by Mr Rajesh Pilot at the later stage in the press conference, said that his party would not shirk the responsibility of providing stability to the country if the BJP-led government fell due to its own contradictions. It was clear from Mr Pawar's comments that the Congress would not like to be blamed for the fall of the BJP-led government whenever it took place. Asked when he was expecting the fall of the government, Mr Pawar said that he was not an astrologer to predict all this. "Earlier I used to be in contact with Ms Mamata Banerjee and Mrs Jayalalitha but lately I have snapped that contact", he added. "So, I cannot guess when the government will fall", he said in a lighter vein. Mr Pawar said that recession, state of industry and trade, rising prices, state of agriculture, foreign policy and all other issues buffeting the country would be discussed at the Pachmarhi brainstorming session of the Congress, scheduled to be held from September 4 to 6. On the basis of the discussions the party would draw up its strategy on all these issues. He said that the party would come out with a "Pachmarhi declaration." When asked why the Congress had done nothing to get the Srikrishna Commission report implemented in Maharashtra, Mr Pawar said that almost daily dharnas were staged by Congress workers in that state to press the government to take action on the basis of the report. He said that the BJP, Shiv Sena government had insulted the judiciary. Mr Pilot intervened to say that even the Maharashtra Chief Minister had made a statement that he considered Mr Bal Thackeray above the law. He said that the Maharashtra Chief Minister had set a very wrong precedent by making such a statement which was very dangerous for the democratic fabric of the country. Talking about Udham Singh Nagar district, Mr Pawar said that a delegation of Congress leaders would be sent to that district to know the opinion of the people of the district and on the basis of the delegation's report the Congress party would formulate its stand. He said that while doing so, the President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Capt Amarinder Singh, and the President of the UP unit of the Congress Mr Salman Khursheed, would also be consulted. Mr Pawar opposed the
setting up of people's commission and urged the SAD-BJP
government to set up its own commission to probe the
excesses, if any. |
Teachers apprehend stagnation CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The indefinite strike by college and university teachers enters the fourth week tomorrow with no signs of a negotiated solution to the stalemate. While the teachers have been agitating demanding implementation of UGC scales, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has notified new pay scales for teachers saying these are at par with Central Services Group "A". The teachers claim that their demands are logical and completely justified. They say they should be at par in terms of salary and promotional avenues with civil servants. They have several reasons to justify their demands. They say the Ministry has deliberately concealed several factors that favour them. These include higher qualifications for job entry than their counterpart civil servants. A university or college lecturer must be a postgraduate with a minimum of 55 per cent marks with additional qualifications of M.Phil and Ph.D while civil servants can enter civil services after mere graduation. Secondly, when a teacher enters the profession after attaining these mandatory educational qualifications, he is 27 while a civil servant enters service at the age of 25. Thirdly, a teacher needs additional qualifications, including completion of M.Phil and Ph.D for promotion while for a civil servant, the sole criteria for promotion is length of service. Promotions, teachers claim, are much slower for them while the civil servants have time-bound promotions. "Higher education is crucial for economic and social development of the country. The quality of higher education depends on the quality of teachers. In fact the crisis in higher education in the present day scenario is linked to the flight of talent from the teaching profession. And the UGC has attempted to halt this flight by reducing the widening gap between teachers and civil servants although even the UGC scales would not overcome the disparity either with civil servants or with group "A" services, says a spokesperson of the Democratic Teachers' Front. Teachers are also upset at the dilly dallying tactics of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. After rejecting the UGC guidelines for promotions, new guidelines for promotion of teachers are to be prepared by the government at some later (unspecified) date. The Ministry had rejected the UGC recommendation for three assured promotions to a teacher. Instead, the present system does not guarantee even a single promotion in the entire career of a college lecturer. By rejecting the UGC pay scales, the Ministry has virtually condemned more than 95 per cent of teachers to stagnation in Readers' grade. Teachers also refute the government contention that the UGC went beyond its mandate in recommending pay scales and promotion guidelines for university and college teachers. "This is for the first time that the Central Government has refused to abide by the recommendations on teachers' pay scales and service conditions as recommended by the UGC which is the only proper statutory authority to do so," argues a leader of the agitating teachers. The Ministry is reluctant to accept the recommendations of the UGC maintaining that the Commission was established to coordinate and determine standards in universities. It is not the UGC mandate to determine pay scales of university and college teachers. The government also
maintains that powers to the UGC to determine pay scales
of teachers were withdrawn in 1995. Further, it says it
does not have resources to accept UGC scales as it would
lead to an additional burden of Rs 4,000 crore per year. |
MC sacks staff on contract CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The working of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, (MCC) will be severely affected following the termination of services of the staff working on contract in the office of the civic body today. According to sources, a number of employees, who had been working in the MCC on a fixed salary on contract, are likely to be affected by the order which was issued this evening. Among the employees to be affected are the employees of the computer section, clerical staff and a few superannuated employees, who were re-employed by the civic body. The termination of services is being seen as the fallout of the objections raised by the Additional Examiner-cum-Chief Auditor, Mr R.S. Kang, in a recent letter to the Commissioner, Mr S. K. Gathwal, regarding the appointments on contract basis. In his letter, Mr Kang, while enclosing a list of seven employees, had said that the appointments were violative of the Employment Exchange Act, 1959, as they had been made without the concurrence of the local Employment Exchange. The letter said that under Section 4 of the Act, which was being followed by the Chandigarh Administration, no person, whether on regular, temporary or contract basis, would be appointed without the concurrence of the employment exchange. It further added that in the case of the seven persons neither the employment exchange was approached nor were they sponsored by the employment exchange. Hence their appointments were violative of the Act. Accusing the MCC authorities of violating Clause 71-C, Chapter VI of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act as extended to the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the letter said the Act provided that direct recruitments to various posts might be made by the U. T. Administrator through such agencies as prescribed by him. It appeared that no such agency other than the employment exchange had been prescribed by the Administrator for recruitment to Class "C" and "D" posts. The letter further urged the authorities to furnish the particulars of other persons appointed on contract, regular and temporary basis without involving the employment exchange. The letter threatened that the salaries of seven employees would only be admitted for audit after the approval of the Administrator from July onwards. Sources added that another reason that might have compelled the MCC authorities to take the sudden decision was the threat by Mr Kang that from August onwards, the salaries of the employees, who had been employed without the recommendation of the employment exchange, would only be admitted in the audit after approval from the Administrator. It may be recalled that the appointment of the assistant public relations officer (APRO) on a three-month contract had come in for severe criticism at the meeting of the MCC on August 28. Certain councillors had alleged that "proper" procedure had not been followed in the appointment. Paid parking: From
tomorrow paid parking will be introduced in Sectors 17
and 8. Meanwhile, the Chandigarh Territorial Congress
Committee, in a press note issued here, while opposing
the parking fee, alleged that the parking fee would
burden the residents of the city. It said the levy of
parking fee went against the BJP manifesto, which
promised that such taxes would not be imposed. |
Chronic
problems-I Place: The Sectors 29-30-31-32 roundabout. Problem: Leaking joint of water supply line facing the Sector 29-D iron and steel market. History: The problem of this leaking joint has been continuing for the past more than 15 years. It has been written about several times. Every time a story appears in one newspaper or the other, the authorities try to cover it up by deploying a couple of workers to dig up the joint and plug the leakage temporarily. After a few days, the joint starts leaking again. Engineers explain that because of heavy volume of traffic and vibrations so generated, the joint does not last long. They say they have tried to solve this problem by providing sand buffer around the joint after encompassing it with a brickwall. The experiment has been unsuccessful. Bitumen and water cannot stay together for long and patch work therefore, does not stay for long, they explain. An old resident of the city maintains that he has been watching this leaking joint for more than two decades. Response from public: Residents
and road users of this area say this leaking joint is not
only a serious traffic bottleneck but is also responsible
for a number of accidents. Road patchwork does not stay
as it is repeatedly dug up. Even when repaired, the spot
remains bumpy and uneven. Because of its close proximity
to the iron and steel market, the problem is aggravated
as and when trucks and 'rehras' loaded with iron rods
cross this patch. At times, they get stuck in the slush
of the dug-up or partially repaired joint. |
Breakthrough in Panchkula thefts PANCHKULA, Aug 31 — In a major breakthrough the local police has reportedly arrested two members of a 'Bawria' gang involved in an incident of robbery which took place at the house of Mr O.P. Gandhi, in Sector 21 here on August 23. According to the information available, two of the six members of the 'Bawria' gang — Ganeshan, a resident of Rajasthan and Om Parkash, a resident of Bihar — have been arrested by the CIA staff of the district police from Ambala on the basis of a tip off. The leader of the gang, Bajna, and three of his accomplices are still at large. Similar robberies had been committed by the members of the gang at Derabassi, Rohtak and Noida. The S.P. Mr Alok Mittal, when contacted confirmed the arrest of two members of the gang. Prior to the incident, the robbers, he said had camped at Lalru and entered the Sector from the Punjab side. The lathis and a boulder used in the incident had been picked by them on their way to the house. He said gold jewellery
stolen by the robbers had been recovered. At least three
other gangs of 'Bawrias' — 'Kashi', 'Ashoki' and
'Ganeshi' — are still active in the region. |
Sales tax
evasion detected CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The Excise and Taxation Department of the Chandigarh Administration has taken a serious view of large-scale evasion of sales tax by unregistered dealers. A team of the department under the supervision of Mr P.S. Gill, SDM-cum-Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, conducted survey-cum-inspection of two leading silk dealers in Sector 17 and 22 and detected stocks on which no sales tax had been paid. Surprise checking was also conducted at the premises of three other dealers on Saturday where the stock inventory was also taken into account. None of these dealers, Mr Gill said, had maintained any stock registers. Sales tax evasion by a leading soft drink manufacturer was also found. The modus operandi was to get the bill issued in a Punjab area and supplies were made to Chandigarh without the payment of sales tax. A case of evasion of
passenger tax by a leading tourist transport company of
Amritsar was also detected. The department had
information that a large number of tourist companies
operating in the city were not paying passenger tax. A
special drive would be launched against such companies. |
||
Licences of three HC lawyers
suspended CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The disciplinary committee of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana today ordered the suspension of the licence of Mr Gorakh Nath, a practising advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, for two years with a cost of Rs 5,000. In case the cost was not paid within 30 days, the suspension period of the licence would be extended by six months. A press note issued by Mr Harish Rai, a member of the disciplinary committee, said the licence of Mr Gorakh Nath was suspended because of his professional misconduct while conducting the case of Mrs Geeta Narwal, wife of Mr Sanjay Narwal. The disciplinary committee also ordered the suspension of the licences of Mr Harmohan Singh Sethi and Mr Harmanjit Singh Sethi, two practising advocates of the high court, for one year. The committee also slapped a cost of Rs 5,000 each on these advocates. In default of payment of cost, the suspension period of the licences would be extended by six months. The licences of these advocates were suspended for violating rule 36 of the Bar Council of India rules framed under the Advocates Act, 1961, and the resolution of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana dated October 25, 1997. The press note said these
two advocates got professional publicity by getting their
names published in newspapers in connection with their
court cases in violation of the ban imposed under rule 36
of the statute. |
CAT rejects plea to quash
charge sheet CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh, today rejected the plea of Mr Prem Singh, a senior auditor in the Office of the Accountant General (Audit), Punjab, for quashing the disciplinary proceedings and charge sheet against him for allegedly obtaining appointment as auditor on the basis of forged marks-sheets. The applicant was appointed auditor for which the minimum qualification is the graduate degree. He was offered the post on the basis of a departmental test. He did not produce the graduation degree on the excuse that it was lying with Punjabi University, Patiala, in connection with the migration certificate. He produced detailed marks certificates. The applicant later on could not pass the confirmatory test and thus his appointment as auditor was cancelled but he obtained fresh appointment as a temporary clerk for which matriculation was the minimum qualification. He was again allowed to appear for the confirmatory test for the auditor's post which he qualified and was posted as auditor. The department again demanded the graduation certificate. When he did not produce the certificate the department wrote to Delhi University referring to his detailed marks certificates. In reply, the university said there was no roll number and name as mentioned in the statement of marks-sheets in respect of Prem Singh. The applicant was then charge-sheeted which he challenged. A Bench comprising Mr Justice R.K. Nehru and Mr S.C. Vaish observed that despite the lapse of so many years the applicant has not produced his graduation degree which was the minimum qualification for the post . While rejecting the plea for quashing the charge sheet, the Bench observed that if it was established during the disciplinary proceedings that the applicant had obtained the appointment on the basis of forged documents, his original appointment would be void ab initio and the applicant would have no claim on the department. 'Approach' HC The plea of two IPS officers — Mr Lalit Bhatia and Mr S. C. Jain challenging the order of the Union of India allowing Mr R.K. Sharma, a Senior IPS officer, to withdraw his request for voluntary retirement was disposed of by the tribunal with the observation that they may move the Punjab and Haryana High Court for necessary relief. Mr R.K. Sharma, a senior IPS officer, remained absent from duty w.e.f. October 24, 1991 to April 11, 1993. After joining duty, he gave notice of his premature retirement but during pendency of his notice, he sought to withdraw his prayer seeking premature retirement. The Government of India vide its order dated August 14, 1997, allowed him to withdraw the notice for voluntary retirement and ordered that he should be taken back in service. The applicant IPS officers challenged the order on the grounds that this affects their chances of promotion. The tribunal observed that
the order had been quashed in the case of Mr P. Lall
decided on February 3, but its operation was stayed by
the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 15. "Since
we have already adjudicated on the matter, remedy in such
a situation is to move the high court for necessary
relief", said the Bench. |
Cops booked for assaulting
woman Chandigarh, Aug 31 — Three Chandigarh Police personnel, including a Sub Inspector and an Assistant Sub Inspector, have been booked for illegally detaining a woman and assaulting her. A case was registered in the Sector 36 police station late this evening. The trio — SI Devinder Sharma, ASI Jagat Ram and constable Mohan Singh — allegedly manhandled a woman around a month ago in Sector 36 police station. They have been booked under sections 323 and 342 of the IPC, sources in the police department confirmed. The woman, a resident of
Sector 38, had lodged a complaint and an enquiry was
constituted. The case is an outcome of the enquiry. |
PGI doctors issue resolved CHANDIGARH, Aug 31 — The issue of ad-hoc doctors working at the PGI has finally been resolved. The annual extensions in service that are granted by the Union Health Minister have come for 10 doctors and extensions for another five doctors is expected to be cleared soon, highly placed sources confirmed. There are around 70 doctors working on an ad-hoc basis at the PGI. The issue of extensions had become a major source of worry for the PGI, which is facing a severe staff shortage. No extensions had been given since April this year and the salaries of many doctors had been stopped, leading to resentment and a sense of fear. The ministry had objected to the manner in which recruitments were made in the category of ad-hoc doctors. In the past four years only ad-hoc doctors had been recruited at the PGI as attempts to seek applications for regular posts had been complicated by one legal battle after another. The ministry had asked the
PGI evolve some procedure for recruiting doctors on an
ad-hoc basis. The PGI authorities had pleaded that old
cases be cleared and the procedure be formulated
subsequently. |
Chandigarh, Aug 31 — A resident of colony number 4, Sanjay Bhardwaj, 21, has alleged that he was beaten up by the Chandigarh Police last night after he went to lodge a complaint against another resident of his locality. The police has categorically denied the claim saying Sanjay had a fight with someone else and was reportedly injured in it. Meanwhile, the family of Sanjay has lodged a complaint with the police through the public window system today. While talking to media persons at the General Hospital, Sector 16, Sanjay, alleged that he was beaten up by the police at the Industrial Area police station last night. Sanjay, was reportedly taking a bath at a open air tap last evening. When a woman, Ramla, of the same locality came to fill water. She alleged that soap flakes fell inside her vessel and dirtied the water. The woman lodged a complaint with the police saying Sanjay had teased her and the police asked Sanjay to come to the police station to give his version. When Sanjay was returning from the police station members of Ramla family and he were involved in a scuffle. According to Sanjay, he went back to the police station to complain about the fight. "It was then that the cops beat me up," he alleged. The industrial area police authorities have denied this. He was first admitted to the GMCH and then shifted to the General Hospital Sector 16. Bodies found: Two persons were found dead at separate places within the city in the past 24 hours. Hari Chand, 50, was found dead in his home in Hallo Majra village. He was said to be ailing. The body of an unidentified, middle-aged person was found near the Chandigarh-Punjab barrier in Mullanpur village. The Punjab Police is investigating the case Injured: A cyclist, Arjun Singh, was injured when a truck hit him on the road dividing Sectors 10 and 11 in Panchkula. He was admitted to the PGI. Eve-teasers: Two persons — Jagtar Singh and Vikram — of Sector 24 were arrested by the police for allegedly indulging in eve teasing in Sector 17. In a separate case, a resident of labour colony, Sector 31, Moti, was arrested by the Sector 19 police for illegally possessing 12 bottles of liquor. Scooter theft: A scooter (CH-01-H-5176) owned by Varinder Sharma, of Sector 21 was stolen from Sector 17. PANCHKULA Motorcycles recovered:
Two motorcycles which were recently stolen from the
township have been recovered by the police with the
arrest of three persons, all residents of Ambala Cantt.
According to the information available both the
motorcycles (CH-01-7625 and CH-01-6975) were stolen by
the gang from Yavanika Park in Sector 5 here. After
stealing the vehicles the thieves — Jai Singh (19),
Sanjay (22), and Daleep Singh (19) — used to replace
their registration numbers with fake numbers. |
CHANDIGARH, Aug 31— Panjab University has declared the results of several examinations conducted by it during April-May this year, a press note issued here said today. While the results of M. A. part I (History), M. A. Part I (Hindi) and M. A. part II (English) were declared on August 29, the results of M. A. part I (Punjabi), M. A. part I (English), M. A. part II (Hindi), M.A. part II (Punjabi) and master of finance and control (M.F.C. part I) were declared yesterday. Copies of the results gazettes are available at the inquiry counter of the university at the Gymnasium Hall of the university. The result gazettes would also be available at information centres of the university — Panjab University extension library, Civil Lines, Ludhiana, V. V. B. I. S. and I. S. Sadhu Ashram, Hoshiarpur, on all working days. Teachers' strike: Striking teachers will organise a rally at the Chandigarh Housing Board Chowk Monday in protest against the inaction of the Central Government over the implementation of the UGC grades. Special lecture: A film show and lecture-demonstration on "creative expression in cinema'' by Pankaj Butalia, an eminent documentary filmmaker, will be held at Gandhi Bhavan, on September 4. Condolence meeting: A condolence meeting was held in the Department of Urdu to mourn the death of Mahinder Nath Puri, an eminent educationist. Foundation day: The
Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU)
celebrated its first foundation at the university campus
today. The "Flying Sikh" Milkha Singh, who was
the chief guest, gave away prizes to blood donors of the
organisation, who donated blood at a camp organised on
August 19. |
CHANDIGARH: 'Geet Rafi Ke — Meet Sabhi Ke' presented a string of singing talent to the Chandigarh audience, in memory of Mohammed Rafi, at the Tagore Theatre here on Monday. Mohammed Rafi, who is fondly remembered for yodelling charming songs of mirth and laughter, and also for his soulful singing songs of the blues, has a plethora of organisations dedicated to his name. Monday evening's programme was no different. The stage was extravagantly done up with glittering lights, spread over the entire stage-floor. The blaring music and sometimes not so tuneful singers, teamed with an ostentatiously loud production did not seem to give its due to a melodiously dulcet Rafi. Rendition of "Teri Bindya Re", from the Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri starrer — 'Abhiman' and that of "Tujhko Pukare Mera Pyar" were the scene stealers of an otherwise average show. The overwhelming response, in terms of the number of people present to hear various singers sing Rafi, was a definite pointer towards the surviving popularity of Mohammed Rafi — a legend of his times and all times to come. Satya Pal Jain, MP, was the chief guest of the evening. — Sonoo Singh |
 |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Editorial | | Business | Stocks | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
