Chambers elude lawyers
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Nov 17 — Lawyers practising in the District Courts in Sector 1 are making frantic efforts and appeals to the authorities to arrive at a decision on the construction of chambers for them. As of now, the lawyers are operating from temporary sheds in the open space facing the courts.

The President of the District Bar Council, Mr Randhir Singh Badhran, however, said the administration had finally relented. ''We have had a couple of meetings with the Deputy Commissioner in this regard and these have ended on a positive note. At a meeting held last week, we were assured that the work would begin soon once the design and plan for the chambers are approved. We are satisfied with the way things are working out,'' he added.

A lawyer rues: ''Come summer or winter, we are exposed to the vagaries of the weather in the absence of chambers for us. With winter round the corner, we will be subjected to cold winds and will be forced to take refuge in one of the rooms in the courts. In the process our practice suffers considerably. Also, when it rains, we remain confined to the corridors of the courts and practically all work is stalled on such occasions.''

The council has been demanding chambers for the lawyers ever since the courts were shifted to the present venue three years ago. A three-month agitation was also launched by members of the District Bar Council to press for the acceptance of their demand last year.

Another demand pertains to the shifting of the Sessions Courts from Ambala to the district since lawyers are required to shut down work in the courts here for the date of any case which is being fought at Ambala. ''We keep shuttling between Ambala and the town and this is done at the cost of our work here. It would prove beneficial for the clients as well as for us,'' lawyers explain.

''All we require is the posting of two Additional Sessions Judges at the courts here to make things easier for all of us. At present, there is no Additional Sessions Judge. If our demand comes through, over 3,000 appeals, accident claims, divorce cases and land acquisition cases will be disposed of here itself,'' Mr Badhran contended.

Also the courts face a perennial shortage of paper and stationery. Moreover, furniture in the courts is not sufficient and the lawyers usually fall back upon the furniture lying in the Bar room. Lawyers contend that there is an urgent need for funds to set up a library on the premises to facilitate consultation during court hours.

Meanwhile, last week the inspecting judge visited the District Courts with a view to having an insight into the problems faced by them.

Modern school in village
From Our Correspondent

KHARAR, Nov 17 — The Guru Nanak Foundation, a charitable trust, has set up a modern and well-designed public school at Chappar Chiri village, 3 km from here, on the Kharar-Landran road, where Baba Banda Bahadur gave a crushing defeat to Wazir Khan of Sirhind and sowed the seed of Sikh kingdom in Punjab.

Mr L.S. Boparai, Director of Guru Nanak Foundation Public School, Chappar Chiri, told mediapersons that till October, 1998, Dr Inderjit Singh (chief promoter of the Bank of Punjab) was the President of the foundation and it was his desire to promote quality education in Punjab. His son, Mr Harpreet Singh, is the current President of the foundation. The foundation is already running a public school in Patiala.

Mr Boparai said the foundation purchased 10 acres for this school close to Chandigarh and Mohali. The foundation provided Rs 2 crore for the building and infrastructure. He said 20 rooms had been built and the work on playgrounds and lawns was going on. He said the syllabus was as provided by the NCERT and the CBSE and in due course this school too would be affiliated to the CBSE like the foundation’s Patiala school.

Mr Boparai said at present only 50 students had been given admission in the school and major admissions and registrations would begin from January 1, 2000. He said the school would have a strength of 600 students.

He said the idea was to take the children out of crowded and polluted environment to an open, fresh and environmentally friendly area.

Mr Zora Singh Bhuller, General Secretary of the Ropar unit of the SAD, said the Punjab Government should construct a road to link this school to SAS Nagar.

Striving to be a top comedian
By Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 17 — He has been aping others and is satisfied with his performance but Mumbai-based comedian Ramesh Kumar, better known as Junior Johnny Lever, is nurturing a dream to be a top name in the field of comedy and is busy to convert it into reality.

Junior Johnny Lever is better known for aping Johnny Lever. He has played the role of lead comedian in 'Deewana Mujsa Nahin' and 'Agni Kaal'.

Only a handful of cinegoers know that he is a multi-faceted personality who plays a duplicate to many actors and can produce effect of a running train, horses running together and the chime of 'ghungroos' to give an impression of a 'mujra'.

He is in the city in connection with a show, 'Dum Dama Dum Dum' to be held in the Panjab University campus tomorrow.

He said though he started his career as a comedian in Hindi films in 1975 along with Johnny Lever and was not very successful, he had no remorse as his friend had been lending a helping hand to him. "I feel elated whenever Johnny bhai introduces me to somebody as his friend," he said, adding that though he was doing duplicate for a number of artists, he did not like the job as it left no identity.

Ramesh Kumar aped Johnny Lever's performance in 'Baazigar'. "I created the effect of a number of horses running around, but who knows it today," he questioned, stressing that his ultimate goal was to be a top comedian.

Two of his films are about to be released. Another film 'Garibon Ki Pukar' is on the floors. It has duplicates of many film stars.

Two of his audio cassettes — 'Hasin Ke Gubbare' and 'No Tension Hasin Ka Injection' — have been released. A third one — 'Hijron Ki Shadi' — is all set to hit the market. "The cassette is based on the theme of marriage of eunuchs and is expected to make people laugh," he said.

Taking Mehmood as his role model, Ramesh Kumar has all reverence for Raj Kapoor. "He was a man who had the ability to create anything and ultimately had a sense of catharsis for his audience," he elaborated.

Ramesh Kumar said his mother was the driving force behind him. "It was my mother who wanted to see a great actor in me," he said, asserting that he would strive to fulfil her dream with might and sincerity.