R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

• Stitching clothes for VIPs
• Encroached land
• Return to roots

PUNJAB

AHMEDGARH
NEW BOOKS: A function will be organised by the Sarab Bharti Naujwan Sabha at the local Dyanand Adarash Vidyalya on April 14 where old books will be collected from students and they will be given new ones. Books will be given only to those needy students whose applications reach the sabha by April 8, according to Mr Ajay Kumar Babby of the Sabha.

AMRITSAR
INAUGURATED: DAV College here has launched e-learning in the college campus. The Principal, Mr M.L. Aeri, inaugurating the new concept of e-learning said DAV college was the first college in northern India to implement this as part of the information technology course.

AWARDED: A Ph.D. research student of the School of Punjabi Studies, Guru Nanak Dev University, Ms Ramanpreet Kaur, working on the grammar of Dasam Granth, under the supervision of Prof P.S. Sidhu, has been awarded a junior research fellowship of Rs 6,000 per month for two years by Bharti Sahit Akademi, New Delhi.

APPREHENDED: The police claims to have apprehended Manjit Singh of the Niwe Tung Batala road area. Stating this the SSP, Mr Narinder Pal Singh, in a press release here on Tuesday said that the accused had been sent to jail after producing him before a court. Manjit Singh had absconded four years ago. The accused was booked in a case of attempt to murder in 1999.

BATALA
MEMORANDUM SENT: Mr S.S. Dhaliwal, vice-president, Council of Junior Engineers, PSEB, on Tuesday said that the council had presented a memorandum to the Chief Minister on Monday requesting him not to accept the report of the Haldia panel and demanded that an independent committee be formed with at least two experts from the power sector.

BATHINDA
ACCIDENT: One person was killed and three were seriously injured when a Sumo collided with a jeep on the Bathinda-Barnala road, near Rampura Phul, on Monday. While the jeep owner, Mr Jabarjang Singh of Dabwali, died, the other occupants — Mr Channa and Anil Kumar and Harbans Singh of Ali Ke village who was driving the Sumo, were injured.

ALLEGED: The Ugrahan faction of the BKU (E) on Sunday said that the Punjab Chief Minister and Finance Minister were misguiding the farmers by giving contradictory statements regarding free power for the agriculture sector.

DORAHA
ELECTED: Ms Gurmit Kaur was unanimously elected President of the Nagar Council, Payal, on Tuesday. Mr Harbans Singh and Mr Nirmal Singh were elected Senior Vice-President and Vice-President ,respectively, of the council. The oath of secrecy was administered by Mr Sucha Singh Mast, SDM, Payal.

EXHIBITION: A craft exhibition was organised by the local Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School on Wednesday. The exhibition -cum-sale was open to the parents of the students. According to Mr M. S. Grewal, Principal of the school, the proceed from the sale would go to a school meant for mentally challenged students.

TRAFFIC BLOCKED: Activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta), headed by Mr Darshan Singh Koohli Kalan, Mr Pritam Singh Mangewal, Mr Sadhu Singh Ghaloti and Mr Sukhwinder Singh, held a dharna and blocked the traffic in front of the PSEB office on the main road on Wednesday. They were expressing their resentment against the privatisation of electricity sector, WTO agreement and the US-Iraq war.

FARIDKOT
BANDH PLAN: A meeting of the state executive body of the Punjab Beopar Mandal, which was held at Kotkapura on Sunday, decided to observe complete bandh for two days from March 31 in protest against the proposal of the government to impose value-added tax (VAT) in Punjab.

FEROZEPORE
CONVOCATION: Mr Surinder Singla, MLA and Chairman of the High Powered Finance Committee, Punjab, presided over the annual convocation of Dev Samaj College here on Tuesday. Mr Singla awarded degrees to hundreds of girls who have passed the graduate and postgraduate courses in various disciplines.

HOSHIARPUR
MEDICAL CAMP: The Community Health Centre, Hajipur, on Monday organised a health fair-cum-medical check-up camp at Government Elementary School, Behringli in the remote kandi area. As many as 490 patients were examined by a team of specialists headed by Dr Dalip Kumar, Deputy Medical Commissioner, Hoshiarpur. Medicines were given to them and chronic cases were referred to various Civil Hospitals of the area.

KAPURTHALA
APPOINTED: Mr Rajinder Kumar Aggarwal has been appointed president of the Kapurthala Block Congress, Mr Manmohan Sharma, president of the Block Congress Phagwara city, Mr Inderjit Singh Kalyan, president, Block Congress, Phagwara rural, and Mr Baldev Singh Babbu, president, Block Congress, Sultanpur Lodhi, according to Mr Arun Jalota senior vice-president of the District Congress Committee.

LUDHIANA
FESTIVAL: The local Christian community will organise “Festival of hope-2003” from March 27 to 30 at the Issa Nagri ground . Mr Rajan Daniel, press secretary of the community, said on Wednesday that the festival would be a spiritual event.

CONNECT WORLD: Connect has announced to launch a chain of exclusive showrooms — Connect World— in Punjab. The latest Connect World was launched in Ludhiana. At this Connect World, a customer can ask for a telephone connection, buy phone cards, CDMA mobile handsets, customer premises equipment (CPE) and Internet products.

MUKTSAR
SOUGHT: The local unit of the National Consumer Group (NCAG) has urged the BSNL authorities to start mobile services in the city. In a letter to the Union Minister of Communications and the Chief General Manager of the BSNL, the NCAG has stated that although Muktsar is a district headquarters, so far the mobile services provided by the Nigam have not been started in the city.

TARN TARAN
ARRESTED: The police has arrested Gurjant Singh, a proclaimed offender. This was stated by the SSP, Mr Harinder Bhargav, here on Tuesday. The accused had absconded from judicial custody on September 6-7, 2002.

HARYANA

HISAR
INAUGURATED: Mr Umashanker, Managing Director, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, inaugurated an automatic teller machine (ATM) of the HDFC Bank at Vidhyut Nagar here on Tuesday. This is the second ATM facility provided by the bank in the town.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

SHIMLA
EXAMS: The departmental examination for officers and officials of the H.P. Government would be conducted from June 20 to June 28 at Fairlawns, according to Secretary, Board of Departmental Examinations, HIPA. He said these examinations would be conducted by HIPA for officers of the Indian Administrative Service, the H.P. Administrative Service, Tehsildars/Naib-Tehsildars, IFS/HPFS and all other gazetted officers, NGO (Superintendent Grade II) and Senior Assistant (technical and non-technical) and for Excise and Taxation Inspectors of the Excise and Taxation Department.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Stitching clothes for VIPs

After his prolonged and repeated encounters with a number of Presidents of India, Mohammad Ibrahim Quamar Sabri’s ties with Rashtrapati Bhavan may have snapped because of President Abdul Kalam’s preference to stick to his old tailor, and he may be down but he is surely not out as he is still the favourite with a number of VIPs and youngsters. The list of his customers still include Mr H.S. Hanspal (see photo), Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief and the Pataudis — Nawab Mansoor Ali and his film star son Saif Ali Khan.

Sabri (60), who has also been the President’s award winner as a scout while he was a student at his ancestral town Saharanpur, UP, and who was working at Raymond’s local G.T. Road exclusive showroom alongwith two sons Abid and Shahid, has been the personal tailor to a number of bigwigs such as Governors, Union Ministers, foreign dignitaries, including former UK Minister Sir Christopher Hogg, Himachal Pradesh Governor Suraj Bhan and late Giani Zail Singh and Mr K.R. Narayanan, both former Presidents of India.

What is more interesting about him is that, unlike most professionals, the sudden severing of his links with Rashtrapati Bhavan has not resulted in any pain to him because of his sportsman like spirit and his firm belief in God. “God has his own ways. New people should get a chance. I am satisfied whatever I am getting and what is coming in my way. Nothing is more important for me than the satisfaction of my customers — be it an ordinary person or a dignitary — and it is reflected from a letter of thanks extended by Mr Hogg, who wrote: “I am delighted with the clothes and with the promptness and efficiency of your service.” Mr Sabri inherited the art of tailoring from his uncle Abdul Karim Haq who had been the royal tailor with erstwhile King of Nahan.

Encroached land

Indifferent attitude of the administration at the subdivision level to restore the land encroached upon by unauthorised occupants for years together has resulted in a loss of 52 kanals of prime land to the Jandwal gram panchayat, about 7 km from here.

According to Mr Ram Dass Sharma, village sarpanch, certain persons encroached upon the land against which the panchayat moved an application before the then District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), Gurdaspur, to order vacation of the land. The DDPO, Mr Kuldip Singh Chandi, passed an order on August 26, 1998, restraining the respondents from encroaching upon the panchayat land. But the occupants refused to oblige and subsequently filed appeals against the orders of the DDPO at various administrative levels. They even approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court under civil writ petition no. 10796 of 1999 which was also dismissed. After the dismissal of the petition the district authorities directed the respondents to vacate the land and restore it to the panchayat but that was in vain.

Mr Sharma said he approached the Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, and told him about the entire proceedings of the cases. The Deputy Commissioner directed the SDM, Pathankot, to personally visit the site and get the panchayat land vacated.

But even five months after the DC’s orders the SDM is yet to visit the site. The delaying tactics adopted in this matter has caused resentment among the villagers, especially the panchayat members who are worried about the unauthorised possession of panchayat land and the callous attitude of the administration making the panchayat totally incapable of saving its property.

Return to roots

It is said that “those who laugh the most are also those whose hearts ache the most.” Those who make others laugh by their verbal or written words are not necessarily a happy lot themselves. Humour is a serious matter. It takes a lot of effort, understanding of human nature, a deep insight into the goings-on in society and a way with the words to try one’s hand at humour and satire. Some can tell a joke or describe a character or a hilarious situation with an effective voice and appropriate facial and arm gestures. But recreating the same effect in cold print is a nerve-wrecking matter and requires a particular talent. A poorly told joke can elicit a yawn or derision, and turn it on the speaker or the writer.

In Punjabi there are not many satirists and humorists. There are a few known names like K.L.Garg, Suba Singh, Gurnam Singh Tir, Bhushan and J.L.Nanda. So any new addition to this shrinking tribe is welcome. When Bipin Goel came out with his first attempt “Alochak: Hero Jan Zero?” in 1986, the literary world took appreciative notice, but then work took him to other states and he remained unnoticed. But the initial response encouraged Bipin to continue. As a result, “Viang Colony” appeared in 1998 and “Viang Lok” in 2003, after his return to Punjab.

A university topper in Hindi, how could Bipin Goel not try his hand in that language? The result was “Is Hamam Mein”. It is uncommon for a writer to study one language and write in another, but Bipin is comfortable in both Hindi and Punjabi. He has got his tongue-in-cheek pieces published in almost all newspapers and magazines of substance.

And he earns his livelihood by using his multi-dimensional talent at another mass medium called television. He has produced numerous programmes for Doordarshan. These include “Lok Vedna”, which has the distinction of being Doordarshan’s most popular programme in the non-musical category. For this programme he goes to villages and highlights problems in the day-to-day life of villagers, thus contributing to social uplift. This also gives him sufficient exposure to village life and human foibles, which may later enrich his writings.

Contributed by Varinder Singh, Bharat Bhushan Dogra and TNS