Election fever spares voters
By Geetanjali Gayatri
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Aug 29 — Drum-beating party workers, loudspeakers blaring slogans in favour of candidates and cheeky one liners for rivals, candidates visiting the electorate to win them over — the enthusiasm one associates with elections is missing. Voters are relying on newspapers to tell them about the mood in camps of political parties and alliances being forged at the Centre. There is a wave of apathy towards elections. The layman has closed his mind to anything that reflects politics.

It is business as usual in markets where during previous elections, political parties, likely winners and dark horses used to dominate conversations over cups of tea. Contrarily, the mood is somber and market places are without the festivities associated with elections. There are no posters on pillars and no honking autorickshaws proclaiming support for candidates. Rallies by candidates or party bigwigs are also conspicuous by their absence.

While politicians continue to lay their doings at the opposition's door and mud-slinging reaches a peak, the electorate is fulminating about elections and politicians. "This is the dullest election I have witnessed. The charm of casting my vote and of candidates asking for votes has worn off with time, owing to the frequency of elections. None of the politicians have come for door-to-door canvassing as was the case previously. Last time, they came with folded hands, explained why they were the best choice and ended with a request to vote for them,'' Mr Vikas Sharma, an executive, says.

In the Sector 11 market, there are no tell-tale signs of the election which is just round the corner. Mr D.B. Bhalla, owner of a showroom in the market, says, "The fanfare is absent because of paucity of funds with the parties. The frequency of elections has burned a hole in their pockets and has got them nothing in return. They are tired and so are we. Moreover, a coalition government is inevitable, implying another round of unfulfilled promises, since governments are unlikely to function independently. The percentage of those who exercise their franchise is on the downswing and elections have become a routine affair.''

In Sector 7, the hub of activity in Panchkula, Mr Sunil Kumar, another businessman, opines, "There is no likelihood of a stable government emerging out of these elections. If it is a coalition, people are not interested in it and so am I. Those who will vote have already made up their mind. Most of them will not vote for individuals but parties these candidates are representing. Canvassing or no canvassing, this indifference is here to stay.''

Ms Sukhraj Bal, a housewife living in Sector 9, says, "During my meetings with other persons in the past few weeks, the topic of elections has not even come up once. Neither am I aware of the candidates in the fray nor am I going to cast my vote. Others around me also have no interest in politics. The inactivity on the canvassing front has only added to the indifference that is omnipresent this time.''

Others are of the opinion that most politicians have no major achievements to boast of. Few voters are damning politicians with faint praise, if at all they are. Only one political rally has been held in Panchkula and few turned up at it. The three candidates contesting for the Ambala Lok Sabha seat organised a meeting which went without much notice, owing to a lack of publicity.

'Revive yoga in India'
By Arvind Katyal

CHANDIGARH, Aug 29 — Yoga prodigy Puneet Juneja, a third-year chemical engineering student of Panjab University, rose to the expectations of his parents and well wishers when he bagged the second position as part of the eight-member Indian yoga team in the World Yoga Cup held at Argentina in November 1998.

Soft spoken and lanky, Puneet took to this sport about 15 years back at the age of six. All these years have not been easy for this Chandigarh boy. He had to keep a balance between studies and sport which required a lot of time.

Yoga as a sport is not popular so far in India. The sport is still at an infant stage here but it has found immense popularity in the West, especially Europe.

Puneet said 14 countries took part in the World Yoga Cup where India was placed second after winners Argentina. Next to India, at number three, was Mexico.

Puneet gives the credit of his achievements to his father Mr M.L. Juneja, a soil scientist who has a good command over yoga. He was instrumental in moulding Puneet to make him reach this level. Puneet later took further expert guidance from Mr Ashok Aggarwal of Haryana. He said he could deliver and international-level performance due to Mr Aggarwal only.

Puneet did his schooling from Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 22. Later he studied in DAV College, Sector 10. After this, he joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at the PU.

Puneet said that India being a spiritual nation, yoga should have long become a part of the lives of Indians. He said the Government of India should take some steps to revitalise this sport.

The only saving grace at the moment is holding yoga competitions at inter-college level. Soon, these will be introduced at the inter-school level also.

Puneet had earlier won a gold medal at the XVIth National Yoga Championships in 1997 and a bronze medal in the inter-university meet in 1996.

He was awarded the DAV College colour for distinction in yoga. For his excellent performance, he also got the university colour. Puneet said he did not represent India in the World Yoga Cup at government's cost and nobody sponsored the event.

Puneet says he wants to continue practicing yoga and studies will never become a hindrance in this. He conformed to the time management principle which made the task easier for him.

Garbage problem in villages
From Our Correspondent

PERCH (Kharar), Aug 29 — Villagers on the periphery of Chandigarh face the threat of an epidemic breaking out in the absence of a garbage disposal system.

Residents of Jayanti Majri, Seonk, Perch and Nadha villages say their pleas to the authorities concerned have had no effect. Every year, during rainy season there are a number of cases of viral fever and malaria but no attention is paid to improve sanitation in the villages. Pools of stagnant water and heaps of garbage are a common sight.

Residents say that repeated complaints to panchayats have been futile. Panchayats plead helplessness for want of funds.

Villagers dump waste and cowdung in streets and open spaces. These garbage dumps have become breeding places for flies, insects and mosquitoes. The villagers look up to the authorities to make some permanent arrangement for the disposal of garbage.

Residents accuse the panchayats of neglecting the issue. Members, on the other hand, say that garbage is dumped by sweepers employed by the panchayats on a temporary basis. Moreover, the panchayats do not have the funds to employ adequate number of sweepers.

Over the years, the population of villages has increased. However the grants sanctioned by the state government take months to reach the panchayats, villagers complain.

Rivals mostly agree... almost
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 29 — It was an interaction with a difference: contentious political issues took the backseat as the two main candidates for the Chandigarh parliamentary seat, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal and Mr Krishan Lal Sharma, spoke on the topic "India of 21st century: my party's vision" for a major part of the interaction organised by the Bharat Vikas Parishad here today.

Both candidates agreed on a majority of the issues, including the control on rising population, retention of Chandigarh as a UT and the eradication of corruption. However, a remark by Mr Sharma about Mr Bansal that "either he had chosen a wrong party or party had chosen a wrong candidate" led to heated exchanges between their supporters at the fag end of the interaction.

Answering questions about their parties' strategy to control population, both were of the view that law alone was not sufficient and that the people needed to be educated about the problem through the media. Mr Bansal also favoured a policy of incentives and disincentives to control the growing numbers.

Mr Bansal said the issue should be treated as a national issue and we should rise above petty politics and evolve a consensus on the issue.

Regarding the joining of Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and Ms J. Jayalalitha in the government if the Congress formed the government after the elections, Mr Bansal said since Independence, the Congress had formed a government on its own eight times while non-Congress governments on four occasions had been formed with the help of allies.

Earlier, Mr Sharma said any government formed would have to abide by the principles of secularism, liberalisation and democracy. Calling for an end to the monopoly of a few nations, Mr Sharma advocated the democratisation of the UN and the WTO, saying that India should be made a member of the Security Council of the UN.

Pleading for a strong and economically self-sufficient and nuclear India, he said morality in politics was the need of the hour.

Mr Bansal said education would play a major role in the transformation of the country. India must be an economic power before being a world power.

Stressing the need for controlling the population growth, Mr Bansal, while pleading to make the elected representatives accountable, said we must discipline ourselves if we wanted to build a strong India.