1 kg charas seized, one held
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 11— The police today arrested Bhajan Lal, a resident of Bihar, and seized 1 kg charas from him. According to the police, the accused was arrested from the outer road of Palsora village.

A case under the NDPS Act has been registered.

Case registered: Mr Sandeep Kumar, a resident of the Ambedkar colony, in a complaint with the police alleged that he had been assaulted by Rocki and his mother. A case has been registered.

Theft: Mr Ashok Kumar, a resident of Sector 34, complained to the police that a tape-recorder, clothes, gold and silver jewellery and cash amounting to Rs 55,000 had been stolen from his house between April 3 and 5.

The police has registered a case.

Ornaments stolen: Mr Ashu Vaid, a resident of Sector 21, reported that his servant, Shiv Lal, has stolen some gold ornaments and Rs 5,000 from his house. A case has been registered.

Hurt: A moped rider, Raju, was hurt today when his moped was hit by a bus (PB-12-C-9082) near the poultry farm in the Industrial Area. He was shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32.

The driver of the bus, Raghbir Singh, has been arrested and a case registered against him.

Motor cycle stolen: Mr Sital Gupta of Sector 46, in a complaint with the police, said that his motor cycle (CHJ 119) had been stolen from the district court parking in Sector 17. A case has been registered.

PANCHKULA

Body found: The body of a 22-year-old boy was found floating in a water body in Old Panchkula here on Saturday evening. The police does not suspect any foul play behind the death.

According to information available the clothes of the boy, Vijay Kumar, were found lying outside the water body by another person. A police official said the boy did not know swimming. The autopsy of the victim was conducted at the General Hospital here.

In another case, an unidentified person was found dead at Kalka on Saturday. The autopsy of the body revealed the cause of the death to be due to tuberculosis. In both cases the police has initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Cr.PC

Portrait show by Shakti Singh

CHANDIGARH: “The Man of Portraits” Shakti Singh needs no introduction. He is a well-known and established name in the local arena of art. A product of the Chandigarh College of Art, he is holding his solo show at Indus Ind Art Gallery till April 20.

Here the scene is dominated by portraits which seem true to life. These are in water colours, pastels, oils. The features of the models, their expressions have been caught perfectly by the artist. It is for nothing that he is much sought after when anyone wants a portrait to be done.

The twinkle in the eye, the perfectly arched eyebrows, the amused countenance, the curls of the beard — every minute detail is there calling for attention.

Shakti has displayed two compositions based on village belles. These two pieces appropriately show his inspiration and influence of Rajasthani culture. Hence, the use of bright and lively colours.

Portraits made by Shakti Singh have found places in almost all important buildings in and around the city. These days he is working on the image of the Governor of Haryana.

Sensitive social issue on canvas

Anil Vadhera this time has worked on a sensitive social issue. This is an issue for which social work organisations and the government alike have strived hard to eradicate but have not been successful. In some places it thrives unabashedly while in others it is carried on under the cover of sophistication. Whatever way it goes, it always makes its presence felt. Yes, the significant problem of concern is the life led in red light areas.

Drawings by Anil on the same delicate subject are in black and white, aptly matching the graveness of the situations the habitants have to face. In some of the frames he has depicted the females living in a cell or a jail. He has also shown how the inmates are dressed up and wait at the door steps to lure the customers.

But these are just superficial representations. Can anyone really bring out and understand what these people and experience deep inside? Symbolism has been used by Anil to show the lecherousness seen in the eyes of the visitors of those areas in the form of a crow.

— Priti Verma

Temple forms brought to life

CHANDIGARH: April 11 — Kavita Dwibedi, Founder-Director of the Odissi Akademy, Delhi, brought to life the splendidly sculpted postures of dance from the walls of the Konark temple to the Pracheen Kala Kendra as part of its monthly baithak programme on Sunday evening.

Daughter and disciple of Guru Harakrishna Behere, she presented a short, well-prepared programme, incorporating all the aspects of a traditional Odissi recital.

Commencing her recital with the traditional manglacharan, invoking blessings of Goddess Durga, the dancer exhibited perfect mudras with supple body movements. The second item Pallavi, a major item for all Odissi recitals where the dancer presents ‘shuddha nritta’, excluding the abhinaya, the dancer was at her best in bringing to life the sculpted forms from the temple walls of Puri with her natural elegance and Lasya that distinguishes this dance form from other classical dance froms. Her perfect ‘bhangimas’, and natural good looks presented a visual delight.

To present the Ahbinaya Paksha, she chose to enact a ‘Virahini nayika’ based on the Ashtapadi — ‘Nandati chandana’ from Jaydev’s Geet Govind, where Radha yearns for the company of her beloved Lord Krishna. The emotions of a languishing Nayika were effectively delineated by her enormous eyes and supple body movements. The Oriya Janana or bhajan ‘Ahhe nila saila’ by the poet Saalbeg was her next item, where she presented an aesthetic blend of abhinaya, lasya and nritta in the odissi dance form. Her next item Mangal Geetam depicted various Leelas of Lord Krishna, Kavita exhibited agility and swiftness of a fawn depicting the leelas of the child god.

The traditional last item moksha, where the dancer yearns to unite with the creator depicts the esoteric aspect of this dance it was meant for the second century and was carried forth by the Devadasis in the temples of Orissa. The young dancer dealt with this aspect of the dance with maturity of expression and graceful movements.

She was supported by Shri Prafulla Kumar on the Pakhawaj, Shri Rj Kishor Dalbehera on the flute and the vocalist Shri Prashant Kumar Behera.

— Vandana Shukla

Complainant’s plea dismissed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 11 — In a rare instance, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum-II consisting of President, Mr R.P Bajaj and members Mr H.S Walia and Mrs Kamlesh Gupta, has dismissed a complaint and imposed costs of Rs 550 on the complainant.

Mr J.S Bhullar of Sector 11, had alleged in his complaint that he purchased one airconditioner from M/s Freeze Air of Sector 7, at a cost of Rs 21,000 on January 10, 1993, which he paid by way of instalments. He said when the AC was installed in June 1993, it gave unbearable noise.

Upon checking, the complainant, allegedly found the compressor to be a repaired one and thermostat and relay switch to be defective. The complainant alleged the AC to be defective and therefore sought the refund amount of the AC and Rs 20,000 more for mental agony and harassment.

In his reply, the shopkeeper submitted that the AC was never sold by him and that the receipt produced by the complainant was forged. The reality, as per the shop-owner, was that he had repaired the AC belonging to the complainant in 1993 by winding the compressor motor and filling gas. And for that he had charged Rs 6,000 by way of two instalments of Rs 3,000 each. Hence, the complaint was false and was filed on account of unpleasantness that occurred between the two parties.

The forum, after going through the records, found that the complaint had been filed beyond the time period of two years prescribed by the law. The cause of action arose in 1993, whereas the complaint was filed in 1996. It further observed that the complainant had failed to substantiate his case as no expert evidence was produced regarding the alleged defect in the AC.

Dismissed: The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has dismissed a complaint claiming the transfer of an industrial plot and compensation.

Mr Sher Jang Singh was allotted an industrial plot on lease by the Punjab State Industrial and Export Corporation in February 1992. In July 1994, he transferred his rights of occupation of this plot by means of a registered general power of attorney, in favour of Mrs Saroj Jaiswal, the complainant.

Mrs Jaiswal alleged that the inaction on part of the corporation in not transferring the plot in her name was arbitrary and caused deficiency in service, which had caused loss to her.

The corporation found the complaint to be frivolous as the required documents such as general power of attorney and NOC, had not been furnished by the complainant.

After going through the rules regarding transfer the commission held that “since the plot was allotted on a lease-hold basis on February 13, 1992, it shall be for the respondents to take a decision regarding its transfer before the expiry of the stipulated period of 10 years. The plot was originally allotted for setting up an industrial unit for production of sanitary fitting machines. It is mainly the function of the respondents to ascertain whether various conditions contained in the letter have been complied or not.’’

The commission rejected the complaint as not maintainable.

An ideal spot for UGC office

The UGC, in pursuance of the National Education Policy, opened six regional centres, the northern one located at Ghaziabad to cater to the needs of educational institutions situated in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and J&K. In course of a genuinely pragmatic decision the commission wrote letters to Chief Minister of Punjab and Haryana and the Chief Administrator of Chandigarh to provide suitable infrastructural facilities so that the northern regional office could be relocated at Chandigarh, the city which can legitimately claim to have some of the better maintained academic institutions and is also the capital of the two adjoining states.

Chandigarh has acquired the status of national city and is an ideal location for the Northern Regional Office of the UGC. The authorities should act in right earnest to get this office established in the city beautiful which, during the preceding 50 years, has carved a viable niche in the educational system of India. Let the authorities not delay the decision in tune with the tradition set by previous administrators who shaped this city so well.

Tercentenary

Nearly 100 devouts carrying a specially designed and embroidered "Rumala" for Guru Granth Sahib started a journey on foot from here on Saturday last to Anandpur Sahib to be there in time for the tercentenary celebrations of the birth of Khalsa. The sacred "Rumala", according to Mr Arvinderjit Singh Kittu of Sector 15 here, will be donned at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib on April 14, the Baisakhi Day.

The sacred apparel, drafted exactly according to the measurements from the shrine, comprises the complete set of "rumala" and "chandni" for "Parkash Asthaan" and "Tamboo sahib", eight curtains, and bedsheet for placing historic "shastras".

The entire set has been embroidered with golden threadwork with white fabric as the background, in consonance with the white environment of the shrine symbolising peace.

The entire embroidery work, that involves the inscription of 300 "khandas" of varied sizes, has been carried out by a team of 25 craftsmen, most of them Muslim. The sacred ensemble cost Rs 75,000 collected from nearly 50 families as 10 per cent ("daswandh") of their monthly income. It took 15 days for the craftsmen to complete the work.

At last!

The Director-General of Police, Punjab, is known for holding press conferences even on minor matters that can be easily highlighted even through press notes.

The DGP's anxiety to hold a press conference on security arrangements for the tercentenary celebrations at Anandpur Sahib was clear from the invitations to newsmen sent by Mr Imran Mirza, SSP-PRO, Punjab Police Control Room through undated letters. The first one said the DGP will hold a press conference at Kisan Bhavan on April 3 at 12 noon. This was followed by another letter saying that the venue had been changed to the camp office of the SSP, Ropar, at Anandpur Sahib. The third letter said the press conference convened by the DGP had been cancelled due to unavoidable operational commitments. The next one said the press conference will be convened on April 5 at 12 noon at Chandigarh. The venue, the letter said, would be conveyed later. Finally it was held at UT Guest House.

Back to "normal"

With Women's Day more than a month old, not only has the hype long died down but also the promises made to the "lesser-privileged" seem to have been forgotten. Nari Niketan, in Sector 26, seems to be a case in point. With women organisations of the city rushing towards this home for the destitute and vowing to free the inmate "prisoners", there now seems to be little activity in this direction.

In fact, everybody from social to political wings of women organisations, seemed to be "making and scoring points" on who was able to sit on dharnas in front of the Nari Niketan and was able to shout the loudest slogans! But who can blame these organisations at this time of the season, especially with summers approaching and that too the hottest ever onset of summer?

Pakistani?

When cricket fans from across the border were visiting the city, a city-based photographer was mistaken for a Pakistani, trying to be on the run on a scooter!

For Vijay Ozo, who drove down to the Government Museum, on a day when visitors from Pakistan were also there, it was amusing to be stopped by a police official who asked him "What are you doing on a scooter, when the 'rest' are inside the museum?". And whose scooter is it?" Puzzled at the question, Ozo found out that it was his beard and his waif-like look that made him resemble "those who have come from across the border".

At another time when a journalist visiting the Sector 17 market to talk to "these" visitors, asked a beautiful young woman standing alongside some men wearing salwar-kurta, whether she was from Pakistan, she turned around and almost yelled: "I am one of you, and not them"!

Whistle man

Mr Harbhajan Singh Yogi's adventure with the whistle began when as a child of six he pried out small round whistles from his toys and put them in his mouth to produce different sounds. The whistle became a permanent fixture in his mouth and by the time he was 10 this childish idiosyncracy turned into a habit.

It was around this time that he heard of the Guinness Book of World Records and from then on the habit turned into an obsession--he wanted his name engraved in the book, his claim to fame being that nobody had kept a whistle in the mouth for so long.

From Harbhajan Singh Yogi he has now become Harbhajan Singh "Seety" (whistle). His whistle enables him to bark like a dog, crow like a rooster, and cry like a baby and it can even be cajoled into producing tunes of popular Hindi film songs.

He has held nearly four shows in the Rock Garden and has won a lot of appreciation but is fired by only one ambition--to be talked about on the international circuit and what better platform than the Guinness Book of World Records?

That's news

How much the readers of The Tribune are committed towards it and how close they feel to it particularly when it comes to highlighting their problems is a known fact. But what is not known to everybody is that sometimes their sense of possession goes beyond reasonable limits.

A woman called up the Tribune office the other day to inform us the carcass of a dog, which, according to her, had been lying near her house for more than two days. The harried lady got infuriated when the EPBAX operator asked her whom she wanted to talk to. Her answer was, " Don't you know that I want to talk to a reporter as a dog is lying outside my house for two days." She was connected to a city reporter. On learning that her house was in Mohali, he asked her to get in touch with our reporter there. She replied in an angry tone that she was fed up reaching the right person, who could publish the news regarding the dog.

As the phone was transferred to a colleague covering Mohali, the lady curtly said without elaborating the issue: "Do you want to publish the news or not? When the colleague wanted to know the details of the news, she said," You should know that a dog has died outside my house, and I have contacted the Municipal Corporation authorities at Chandigarh and Mohali, but nothing has been done."

The colleague was dumbfounded. How could he know that a dog had died outside the house of the lady?

Tailpiece

While many politicians think that they rule the country through the bureaucrats, most bureaucrats think that they rule the country through politicians, most of whom are academically and mentally, they believe, ill-equipped to manage their affairs properly and effectively.

Whether the truth coincides with one of these views or lies somewhere midway between these two, the fact remains that most of the people have come to realise that neither the politicians nor the bureaucrats are any more accessible to them in their hour of need. As they are not available to these very people whom they are expected to serve (nay, rule) most of the people have now started thinking that IAS which for some politicians earlier stood for "I am sorry" now also stands for "Invisible After Sunset" (the period when they are busy in routine dinners to improve their health at the cost of people whom they claim they serve).

Reservation of seats in engg/medical colleges

It is admission time. Various advertisements for admission to engineering/medical colleges situated in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi & Chandigarh have appeared recently.

In Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, 85 per cent of seats have been reserved for students who have qualified their +1 and +2 examination from school/college situated in their territory and remaining 15 per cent seats have been left for students of other states/UTs. Although, Chandigarh is the capital of Punjab and Haryana, yet students of Chandigarh have been considered as outsiders for admission to various engineering/ medical colleges in their states.

In spite of the fact that Punjab and Haryana consider students of their own capital as outsiders (Delhi has also reserved 85 per cent seats for its own students), Chandigarh has reserved only 60 per cent seats for its own students. As such, students of Chandigarh are being discriminated not only by Punjab and Haryana authorities but also by its own administration. It is, therefore, requested that Punjab and Haryana authorities treat the students of Chandigarh at par with their own students and Chandigarh Administration should also reserve 85 per cent seats for its students as has been done by the Delhi Administration.

V.K. SHARMA
M.G. BANSAL
V.K. KOCHHAR
Chandigarh

English course

This has reference to the news item ‘A course of inconvenience’ in Chandigarh Tribune, of March 23. The reporter has not given full facts in the story, which are as under:

1. The stipend given to the trainees is not just Rs 300/- per month. It is 300 from the Chandigarh Admn. and Rs 420/- from the Government of India. The latter amount is sent to the trainees in lumpsum (Rs 1640/-) when the grant arrives.

2. The hostellers are provided with hard-furnished accommodation and it is better than given in most other hostels.

3. The teaching staff — many of them have foreign qualifications — take a lot of pains to teach. The trainees, being a heterogeneous group, there is bound to be some amount of dissatisfaction among the below average teachers who find communicating in English difficult and cumbersome.

4. All teachers teaching English at the Middle and Secondary levels are given the designation of social studies master/mistresses. There is no separate cadre of English masters/mistresses in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, J&K and the UT, Chandigarh.

5. The language laboratory is not meant for any kind of experimentation. It is required for practising listening and speaking skills which is a scheduled activity. Ample opportunities are given to the students to get exposed to the language lab as per the time-table.

6. The use of library is also a scheduled activity and it is timetabled in the course curriculum.

7. The statement regarding alternative arrangements when the lecturers are on leave is baseless. Our alternative time-table can prove this point.

8. The PGCTE course is a need-based course for in-service employees to refresh and update their teaching competency. The question of recognition is not pertinent to the in-service courses.

9. Certificates are given in time. However, it is possible that the intimation about the result and the certificate do not reach certain participants who may have been transferred and failed to inform us about the change of their address.

HARJIT VASUDEV,
Director , Regional Institute of
English, Sector 32-C,
Chandigarh

Congress grass

HUDA has done a fairly good job with regard to the removal of congress grass and by launching drives against mosquitoes and flies.

This is the best time to uproot and destroy congress grass as it has not spread much and is dormant at present.

The people need to be educated about these drives. The measures should be pursued more vigorously from mid-June to the onset of winter.

SAKSHI, JYOTSNA, JANAK
& others
Panchkula

Demolition drive by HUDA

Apropos of news item “HUDA considering fresh rules to check illegal structures” in Chandigarh Tribune of April 3. It is heartening that HUDA is giving a second thought to the demolition drive.

Residents of Panchkula are striving hard to beautify this “Paris of India.” In fact they are spending considerable amount and time in developing lawns. Most of them have regular gardeners to do this job. These lawns have added to the beauty of the lanes and bylanes in Panchkula. Sudden decision of HUDA to demolish these beautiful lawns and gardens will kill the enthusiasm and zeal of house-owners in contributing their mite to make the town beautiful.

Vacant spaces are nothing but dumping grounds for the garbage and rubbish. If HUDA wants all lawns to be converted into dumping grounds, it can go ahead with its drive. A comparison of the unattended spaces along the roads and the ones developed into lawns by the residents speaks for itself. HUDA should demolish the hedges, lawns etc only if it undertakes to maintain these spaces as meticulously and nicely as the house-owners. I am sure HUDA can never do this.

Instead, HUDA should organise an annual competition for best maintained lawns/gardens and give prizes. I have seen many lawns in Panchkula which deserve to be awarded. This will give an impetus to others to develop vacant spaces into lawns/gardens.

S.P. MITTAL
Panchkula

Poor sanitation

Pinjore is a well-known town in Panchkula district. It is a historic place and is widely known for Yadvindra Gardens, H.M.T., temples and hundreds of “bowlies”.

However, it is a pity that the place has poor sanitation. As it lies on National Highway No. 10, hundreds of vehicles going to Kalka, Shimla, Chandigarh, Ambala, Nalagarh, Mallaha etc pass through it. It is sad that the place is without a proper bus stand, toilets and lavatories. The main bazar, which is the hub of town, is rarely got cleaned by the authorities. Shop-keepers throw waste in the middle of the road. The authorities should wake up from their slumber and take care of the hygiene and sanitation of this historic place.

P.C. AGGARWAL
Panchkula