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| Sunday, June 25, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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All set for ‘jugalbandi’ in UK CHANDIGARH, June 24 — God does not favour everyone for sacred missions. This blessing is reserved for the chosen few. The belief gets stronger after an interface with 14-year-old Avirbhav Verma who hides immense pain behind his smiling countenance. Avirbhav, who happens to be the youngest in the team to represent Punjab in Shropshire county under a cultural exchange programme, is replacing his late father Pawan Kumar Verma in the troupe. He has not only gathered the courage to overcome the grief of his father’s death, but has also begun working on turning his dreams into reality. When The Tribune caught up with him at his Sector 30 residence this morning, Avirbhav was in profound riyaaz on his tabla. His room is the same where his late father used to practise the instrument for hours. When asked as to how it feels to be practising without a guru, Avirbhav says, “I know he is no more, but his presence is everywhere. He guides me all the time about the nuances of tabla playing. That is perhaps the reason I was chosen by the Punjab Sangeet Natak Akademi to replace my father in the 11-member team to Shropshire.” And Avirbhav, a Class IX student of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Sector 47, is working hard to live up to the expectations of those who have chosen him. Born in the Punjab gharana, music is already in Avir’s genes, but he feels it is very essential to worship the instrument so that it blesses you. For Avir, who gave his first performance on the tabla when he was just five, music has become more than a religion. “It keeps me close to my father who wanted me to master the tabla. It is unfortunate that we lost him in an accident in January. But I have come around because my father wanted me to be the harbinger of his dreams.” Selection for Shropshire tour happened very unexpectedly. After the Akademi lost a maestro in Pawan Kumar Verma who was supposed to play the tabla in all the items, its officials approached Avir who had been sharing the stage with his father ever since he was about seven. Both sons of Pawanji — Swarit and Avirbhav — were asked to perform before a panel of experts comprising Mr M.L. Koser, Mrs Shobha Koser and Prof Rajpal among others. After the performance, Avir was chosen. And he was chosen quite rightly. This was reassured when one heard him play the tabla on June 22 during a music festival organised at Punjab Kala Bhavan. He played with almost all items, including Heer and Damadam Mast Kalandar. Interestingly, Avirbhav is going to give two solo performances at Shropshire and he is also all set for a jugalbandi with the sitar and the santoor. About the future, Avir is quite clear. “I will pursue music with undivided devotion. I may be alone, but I know that God is with me. And if God is with me, who can be against me?” |
Want to know what your kids are up to in school? Get on to the Net CHANDIGARH, June 24 — Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meetings will now be a thing of the past in schools as parents will get all the information about their children on the Net. No matter if they are in the office, home or anywhere in the world. All they need is to just log on to www.classteacher.com. Here they can access the overall information about their kids performance in the school.The dotcom companies have finally reached the shores of the city school world. Thanks to the local Swaraj Technologies who have joined hands with a Delhi based Mindshaper technologies. The portal will recently be updated with the data from various city schools. They have made life easier for their clients — the parents, the people paying for the education and also the students.They will provide each school with a link that will connect the three participants — teachers, students and parents. The basic idea is to fill the gap between the three as the joint venture is to make education more fun for the three parties. The website will carry the information on each student’s progress, attendance status, status of syllabus completion and other such datas. The duo plans to rope in 11 private schools in the city with Shivalik Public School already live on the wire. “The parents are going to be benefited the most by the portal as they can just log on to the Net, key in their ID and password and get on to parent centre page. No problems at all. The login will be out of bound for the children. The parents will be able to chat with the teachers and exchange notes online and get a reply online,”said Mr B Sandhu, the managing partner in Swaraj Technologies. One can also avail of the exhaustive details of schools, class activities, details of syllabi, results of class tests, class projects, home work and class work schedules, extra curricular activities, house meetings and much more. The parents can also access previous years question paper and exam tips online. The students will be able to go through previous lessons. The teachers will also be giving online tips about lessons being taught in the school. The students can log in their ID number and can access those tips and download them. “I had come to meet the Principal of Shivalik school some two months back. The parents of NRI students had come to him to ask for holidays homework as their kids were going with them abroad. The Principal had to assign teachers specially to give the homework. But now there will be no problems like that as the parents can access the holiday homework anywhere.”said Mr Sandhu. Interactive like all websites, the features of classroom.com includes ‘My diary of school events’, homework and lessons. There is a lot about English, history, Science and all other subjects one can think of for a school going kid. The subjects are further divided into many parts like in English section there are ‘verbs, adjectives and where do I get them.” Another section reads ‘’How do I learn English with the help of mother tongue”, Improve vocabulary, online grammar lessons and renowned authors, and don’t be surprised to read their works online. A data-base administrator will be selected from each school and he will be updating the datas. The important ingredients of this experiment will be a home PC and internet connection. The portal, www.classteacher.com was launched two months ago from Delhi and many schools were roped in by the website. Now the city is next on the aegis of the website and will be formally introduced to the city within a short span. 
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City to have national oil depots CHANDIGARH, June 24 — Chandigarh may soon set up national petroleum depots in the city. A team from the Union Ministry of Petroleum is expected to visit the city shortly and inspect some of the shortlisted sites for the proposed notional petrol depots. The shortlisted sites include Sector 25 and the new Grain Market in Sector 38. The need for setting up these depots has been necessitated as demand of Chandigarh for abolition of CST on sale of petroleum products to dealers and distributors in Chandigarh by both Punjab and Haryana may run into technical resistance. Sources reveal that the Union Government had given an undertaking on the floor of Parliament that it would take no steps to cut down the revenue of any state and as such it would be difficult for it to persuade both Punjab and Haryana to withdraw CST on sale of petroleum products to Chandigarh. Ever since Chandigarh has started exploring the possibility of setting up of notional depots on its own territory. When contacted, the Adviser to the Administrator , Mrs Vineeta Rai, confirmed that a team from the Ministry of petroleum is expected to visit Chandigarh to inspect the shortlisted sites some time next month. Meanwhile, Anandgarh is expected to figure prominently at the next meeting of the Coordination Committee on the development of Chandigarh Metropolitan Region. The meeting is scheduled to be held here on July 7. Mr Ashok Pahwa, Union Secretary, will preside while Chief Secretaries of both Punjab and Haryana and the Adviser to the Administrator of Chandigarh. Various issues pertaining to overall development of the Chandigarh Metropolitan Region are expected to be discussed at the meeting. Mrs Vineeta Rai said that Anandgarh will be definitely discussed at the meeting as it is important for the future of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. It may be recalled here that the Punjab Government had sent a strong rejoinder to whatever the Chandigarh Administration had to say about the proposed new town of Anandgarh. It is after a while that the meeting of the Coordination Committee with a representative of the Union Government is being held. In fact, the venue of the meeting, too, has assumed significance. Since the last meeting, the Chandigarh Administration has available with it report of the Ribeiro Committee on the Chandigarh Metropolitan Region which the Punjab Government has now contested by proposing Anandgarh immediately next to the Union Territory. Even the Union Urban development Minister, Mr Jagmohan, during his maiden and only visit to the city wanted to Punjab Government to set up an experts committee before taking a final decision on Anandgarh. The Punjab Urban Development Minister, however, felt there was no need for any experts committee at this stage and insists that Punjab would go ahead with its proposed new City of Anandgarh. Meanwhile, the city may soon go for a new entertainment complex on the lines of Anupam PVR Complex in the Union Capital. Zee TV has offered to make presentation to the Chandigarh Administration on its proposal for setting up a similar centre here. The presentation has been fixed for July 5, two days before the meeting of the Coordination Committee. In fact, most of future plans of development of Chandigarh and its periphery will depend a lot on the future of Anandgarh and outcome of meetings of Coordination Committee on the development of Chandigarh Metropolitan Region.
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Bhuppi sends them swaying CHANDIGARH, ....Until one really finds the gathering going wild on the dance floor in a local discotheque Aerizzona which is converted into a den of fire when Bhuppi catches the pulse of the crowd right and doles out numbers which suit the moods perfectly. And as the dancing Sikh went on injecting the atmosphere further, the crowds kept getting larger making it difficult for the organisers to accommodate everyone. Chandigarh Tribune had caught up with the singer earlier during the day knowing well that the evening would leave no room for time. And the first question we posed naturally focused on his sometimes-multi-colour, sometimes- twin colour turban. Bhuppi smiled to answer, “I have made my turban a symbol of my distinction. I wear a twin colour one when I am out to socialise. But when I am there to perform, I wear a multi-coloured turban. That is the way I like it to be.” That sounded quite rational. The queries then inclined more towards music and it was interesting to note that the singer had had no formal training in music. The break in his life would never had happened had it not been for that All-India Music contest in 1988 where he gave an electrifying performance to win the “best singer of the year award.” But from singing cover versions of Kishore Kumar and Manna De to becoming a sought after singer himself — Bhuppi had to overcome many an impediment. He was, however, always drawn towards Ustaad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s music. As for him, the future began to look brighter only in 1997 after he met music director Jawahar Wattal, the man who is said to have created Daler Mehndi. “Nothing was easy. Especially because to make yourself known you were required to get into singing in a big way. But gradually I started working on my dream which became true. I was also concentrating a lot on my style,” he said. The mention of style took the interaction further, with the singer admitting that style counted a lot in the success of a singer. “That is the reason we dance the way we do. Not that it is all posed, but it is very essential so that people know you by a certain hook line or by a certain hook step in your dance. Jogiya Khalli Walli was a hook line that sold tremendously. We focus on such lines to add to the sale value of a song. But this does not imply at all that we are not concerned about the quality of the song. In fact in most of my albums you will find songs which have deep hidden meanings.” Later in the evening, he visited the Chandigarh Press Club. There, he interacted with members of the club.
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Complaint centre under a tree PANCHKULA, A constantly ringing telephone besides and a register to jot down grievances of their consumers is all the attendants have to their credit. Incidentally, this complaint centre is situated at the premises of the 66 KV sub-station and spread out in a large area. An official contends that the attendants prefer to sit in the shade during summer and in the sun during winter by choice though a room at the premises has already been allotted to them. “If they choose to sit outside and are comfortable, who are we to raise any objections,’’ he asks. Another logic for the “outside arrangement’’ is that consumers coming in person to register their complaints found it difficult to locate the office following which the attendants decided to operate from right in front of the building. However, sources in the department informed that this complaint centre has been functioning in the open for quite some time now. Earlier, they were operating from a tin enclosure especially propped up for them which was later shifted behind the building which houses offices for deposit of bills. Also, at its new location, the room carrying the board of the complaint centre is hardly livable. Without flooring, it is presently being used to dump broken furniture and office waste. Meanwhile, officials of the department contend that this room full of broken chairs and wires is being used as a store for the time being. Besides this, another room has been allotted to the complaint centre which hasn’t been put to use so far. In the face of uncertainty with the staff contending that they do not have a single room in the entire building to themselves and with the advent of the rainy season, the only option at their disposal is that they move into the shed over the billing counter to tide over the difficult period and ensure that no complaint goes unattended.
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A love affair that didn’t work out CHANDIGARH, June 24 — It is a case of a love affair which went wrong, somewhere. On June 14 this year, Ms Sonia lodged a complaint against her husband, Mr Aman Chopra, for harassing her for bringing inadequate dowry.She alleged that despite her parents having married her off in a lavish marriage ceremony, she was continuously tortured, both mentally and physically, by her husband and in-laws. Unable to bear the continuous humiliation, she eventually came home to her parents. A case under Section 406, 498-A I.P.C. was registered. No arrests were carried out. Aman Chopra went underground and applied for anticipatory bail, which he was granted. The case, however, took an interesting turn when based on Sonia’s complaint which had said that Rs 27,67,900 was spent on her marriage, the Crime Against Women Cell asked her father Mr H.L.Chawla to furnish them with his income tax returns of the year. According to SSP (CAW), Mr Asad Farooqui, “I think it is too big an amount to be spent on a marriage, so I have asked her father, Mr H.L.Chawla, to give me a clarification.” The love affair began in 1995 and culminated in marriage on Dec 12, 1996. In 1998 Sonia went to stay with her parents. Aman says it was because Sonia wanted them to stay in a separate establishment. Sonia, in her complaint to the CAW, says that it was because she could not stand the torture inflicted on her any more. An interesting fact is that it was Aman who had first approached CAW on April 24 this year. In a detailed letter addressed to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr Asad Farooqui, he had explained his reasons for filing for divorce. Till then Sonia had not registered any complaint of violence or otherwise, against her husband. It was later, May 22, that she filed a complaint in CAW against her husband Aman Chopra, her in-laws, Mr Inder Pal Chopra, and Mrs Santosh Chopra, and asked for a case to be registered under Section 409 and 498 I.P.C. Besides asking for a stern legal action against them, she also asked for her ‘istri dhan’ to be returned to her. The grand total of all the items and expenditure for the marriage amounted to Rs 27,67,900. According to Farooqui, the case was registered when he was out of the town. “I feel sad when a woman’s problems are relegated into background. I think the amount the girl is asking is rather amazing.” According to Mr Farroqui, when Aman first approached him, he felt that it was a problem that could be overcome with counselling.” However, when I saw the girl’s complaint, the first question which came to my mind was that how and where did her father manage to get this kind of money. So I have asked him to disclose his source of income. Otherwise I would be forced to consider this part of the complaint as fabrication and would term it as an extortion.” The S.S.P. (CAW) says that he would like to help Sonia. “Eventually it is the girl who is always on the receiving end. I personally feel sorry for her.” The girl’s father when contacted said that every bit of information furnished by him was true. “I have two factories in Delhi and Derra Bassi. I have this house in Chandigarh since 1967. I also own agricultural land, part of which I had to sell to perform my daughter’s marriage and meet her in-laws demands. I can prove each and every part of the complaint.” |
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Foundation stones tell a sorry tale DERA BASSI, June 24 — Every foundation stone has its sorry tale to tell. Come election time and politicians of all colours and hues promise the moon to the electorate. While some politicians do inaugurate the schemes and projects with much fanfare, the trial of foundation stones tell a different story. This is the story behind two foundation stones. One was laid by Mr Mohinder Singh Gill, former Agriculture Minister of Punjab in 1994, in Devi Nagar village about 3 km from here. It was for the construction of pucca streets and drains, the other was also laid by him for laying a road linking the village with Jawaharpur village on the Chandigarh-Ambala highway and for the construction of a causeway over a choe in 1996. Over six years have passed, yet no street, drain nor the road linking Devi Nagar to Jawaharpur has been carried out. Interestingly, the foundation stone for the construction of the same pucca streets and drains in the village was again laid by Capt. Kanwaljit Singh, Finance and Planning Minister of the Punjab, on June 17, after a gap of six years. Moreover, he also announced a sum of Rs 14 lakh for laying of the Devi Nagar-Jawaharpur link road and the causeway. Besides this, Rs 2 lakh were also given by the minister for the construction of pucca streets which were not constructed by his predecessor since 1994. Villagers lament that they were being harassed and mislead by different political leaders since a long time. Though a link road connects the village with the highway, but being a zigzag one, heavy vehicles could not reach upto the residential area. Mr Tara Singh, a resident, hopes that the construction work which was not done during the Congress time may be completed in the SAD-BJP tenure in the state. During election times, politicians come and make promises and do not show their faces after winning. This is what the foundation stones laid by them in different years show. Now ‘‘Captain’’ has laid a foundation stone and made promises. Let us see how much time will it take to be in physical existence”, said an elderly lady. |
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Problems galore in Dera Bassi DERA BASSI, Residents complain that piles of garbage and other refuse have come up throughout the town. The sanitation condition of all the colonies and the market is so bad that some places it becomes difficult for the passers-by to pass from near these stinking garbage heaps. Filth scattered by stray cattle on the roads, streets and even on the local bus stand further adds to the bad sanitation condition of the township. Various low-lying areas have become ponds of slush. Deep potholes have appeared on the streets which put the users to inconvenience. They have made the streets accident-prone. Non-operational street lights further aggravate the problem. Most of the drains have been blocked at various points resulting in the overflow of stinking water. The flooded drains passing within the town have posed a serious threat to the residents. Dhaba-owners can often be seen selling uncovered eatables which is an open call to water-borne and other diseases. Frequent and unscheduled electricity cuts force the residents to face various other problems. They have to spend sleepless nights and bear the flies and mosquitoes. Power cuts affect the water supply and the residents have to travel long distances to fetch water from nearby areas. Sewerage pipes have not been laid in all the colonies and villages falling within the municipal limits. The absence of sewerage pipes also makes the residents face a number of problems. Residents claim that though they have paid all the development charges to the civic body, yet they are not being provided the facility. There is not even a single parking lot in the township which has resulted in haphazard parking of vehicles here. The owners park their vehicles wherever they find a suitable place. This practice of parking has resulted in the congestion of streets and roads. Residents allege that the civic body has not taken concrete steps for the welfare of the residents and development of the township. The municipal council authorities were not available for their comments. |
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Disorderly traffic
scene outside PGI CHANDIGARH, According to police sources, “Given the volume of traffic, it is very difficult for us to maintain security on the VIP route. The traffic has to be improved in order to avoid rush on the busy road.” The traffic will get sorted out only when the other entry gate will come in use and traffic will get distributed in two parts, says a police official on duty. Common people also feel this is a very risky and an accident-prone area. During the office duty hours, the roads are jampacked. Confusion prevails because of mismanagement. The pre-paid booth for autos is just on the entrance of the hospital which creates a lot of problems. The parking of the autos on either sides of the main entrance also holds up traffic. The peak hours of rush are from 8.a.m. to 2 p.m. On Mondays, due to the O.P.Ds, the rush aggravates. At this time the road gets blocked with heavy as well as small vehicles. The autos also add to the pollution near the PGI. The increasing pollution near the hospital also harms the patients. The environment near the hospital should be clean and clear,said some doctors at the PGI. Mr Mohinder Singh, an inspector with the CTU said: ‘’We have passed a notification that no buses will get parked on the main road as it hampers the traffic on the road and the drivers are abiding by it.’’ According to the sources,’’ the autos take away all the passengers as they have kept their fares very economical, thereby affecting the business of CTU.” |
One held with charas CHANDIGARH, According to police sources, Hari Shanker was arrested from near the
Chandigarh-Zirakpur barrier. Following his search, the narcotic was seized by the police and he was taken into custody. A case under Section 21 of the NDPS Act has been registered against him. Trespassers booked: Caught red-handed: Car stolen: SAS NAGAR Cheating case: He complained that when after four months he heard nothing from his son he approached the travel agents to know about the whereabouts of his son. In return he was threatened of dire consequences. A case under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC has been registered.
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Sector 17 traders a worried lot CHANDIGARH, June 24 — The amendments in building byelaws for commercial area announced by the Chandigarh Administration has set the alarm bells ringing for the traders in Sector 17, who have dubbed some of the amendments as impractical and against growth of business in Sector 17.The major grievance of traders is that the Administration has been too rigid in announcing the bifurcation of the 2-bay and 3-bay shops. ‘’ What will be the fate of those who have been running shops for the past several years but are not within the laid down size specifications laid down by the Administration? How will they get additional space or reduce their space, ‘’ said a trader, who did not want to be identified for fear of a backlash from officers of the Administration. Under the new guidelines there can be 4 partitions of a 2-bay and 6 partitions of a 3 bay shop. This has been done to have a uniform facade for the shops. At present there are several shops where more than 4 or 6 partitions exist. It is unclear if all the shops within the 3 bays will get notices or shops in the bay where more number of partitions exist will be liable for punishment. Giving an example traders said there could be 3 , instead of 2 shops, in a bay but how will the responsibility be fixed. The ideal would have been had the Administration given multiple choices in size of shops with a minimum being fixed and at least 2 to 3 options available to all. Traders want the existing shops should be regularised as the idea of the amendments should have been to solve the matter with flexible options and not complicate matters further. The biggest drawback in the amendments is that there can be partitions of the upper floors. Now in a place like Sector 17 the upper floors mean a floor area of 3000 to 3500 square feet. And if several partitions exist, where will the owners of these businesses or offices go? The idea of the Administration should have been to protect the landlords as well as the tenants. |
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Punwire employees
lathi-charged SAS NAGAR, June 24 — Unruly scenes were witnessed in front of the Udhyog Bhawan in Sector 17 of Chandigarh when the Punwire Employees Coordination Committee raised slogans against the government and entered the building when a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC) was in progress. The police had to resort to a mild lathi charge in order to push the agitating employees out of the Udhyog Bhawan. At least two persons received minor injuries. One of the injured, Niab Singh, who was taken to the Sector 16 General Hospital, had been sitting on hunger strike. The trouble started after around 100 members of the union met Mr RI Singh, Secretary Industries, after the meeting of the Board of Directors of the PSIDC. Mr Hans Raj Verma, Convener of the Coordination Committee, said the members of the committee were told that the agenda to release of Rs 50 crore by the PSIDC against which the Punjab Government had given conditional guarantee had been objected to by the management and union of the PSIDC. The PSIDC was to float bonds to release the money for Punwire. Enraged by the outcome of the meeting of the Board of Directors of the PSIDC the Punwire employees started raising slogans. The employees blocked the main passage of the Udhyog Bhawan for over two hours. The Board of Directors of the PSIDC and the Chairman of Punwire, Mr R.I. Singh, left the building only after the police intervened and the employees were pushed out of the building. Though no members of the Board of Directors of the PSIDC was available for comments, Punwire employees alleged that the outcome of the meeting had further delayed the release of salaries to the employees of the company. The coordination committee announced that it will march towards the Civil Secretariat in support of its demands on June 29. Meanwhile, the chain hunger strike entered its sixth day today.
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Top models for
'sagai to bidai’ CHANDIGARH, June 24 —Top Indian models will display wedding collections from ‘sagai to bidai’ at an exclusive show being organised by Bonsai Entertainers on June 29. A press release here today said that show designed by ace choreographer Priyanka Singh will be staged at the Silver City lawns near Zirakpur. The show ‘mandap’ features top names in the modelling world from Mumbai and Delhi, including Anchal Kumar (Gladrags supermodel, star of music videos and commercials), Mehar Bhasin (Revlon Girl), Shefali Talwar (a ZEE TV hostess), Anchal Gulati (Miss India catwalk), Sapna Kumar, Joey Mathews , Swareena and Savvy among others. Designers of the city including Dimpy
Gujral, Aradhana Hoon and Meena Bazar will present their super collection in 11 rounds . The rounds relate to wedding functions including
sagai, ladies ‘sangeet’, ‘mehandi’, ‘ubtan’, cocktails,
baraat, lagan, ‘bidai’ and honeymoon.
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