Jalandhar/Kapurthala, December 15
Neither did it matter that the venue was a government-owned ground nor that hundreds of state policemen, in uniforms and in plain clothes, were diverted from more pressing duties. What mattered was that snobbish bureaucrats were feasting together with the downtrodden today. After all, it was the common man who was invited to the wedding reception of the son of the Jalandhar MP, Rana Gurjit Singh. The MP was standing on the gate of venue throughout the day to welcome the guests pouring in from all over the area and Kapurthala city MLA, Ms Sukhi Rana, was thanking all for their cooperation.

Punjabi folk singer, Pammi Bai, with his troop was singing and dancing on the stage in front of smiling villagers and the liquor flowed like water, though of a much sub-standard brand.

While the bride sat pretty on the dais, the bridegroom, Rana Inderpartap Singh, was busy accepting best wishes for a happy marriage. Though no big political leader was present to grace the party, among those showering their blessings included the Commissioner (Jalandhar Range), Dr Swarn Singh, the Vice-Chancellor of PTU, Dr S.K. Salwan and the Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner, Mr Samir Kumar and the SSP (Kapurthala), Mr Rajiv Ahir along with many junior state officials. Sources said attendance at government offices in Kapurthala was thinner than usual.

The giant bowls used for preparing the never-ending lunch.

Though the eat-well party was scheduled to start at noon, enthusiastic supporters of the Congress leader started reaching the venue well in advance. The scenes as such started resembling a political rally. And probably it was: the leaders didn’t speak out, only the food did. Sources said the newly-wedded couple were supposed to land at the venue in an helicopter, but later on decided to call off the plan.

All roads from Jalandhar, Kapurthala and the villages in and around lead to the huge plot.

To control the traffic comprising big cars, SUVs and buses along with thousands on foot, most of the city police force had to be poured in.

They even diverted some of the traffic through the villages to avoid rush on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road. An ambulance and a fire brigade was also kept ready to meet any eventuality, which did occur. Later in the party, the ambulance could be seen carrying off some stone-drunk gate crashers out of the venue. As one entered the venue, one could only locate food and liquor— food stalls all along the square periphery, and four liquor stalls in the centre.

Party workers said preparations for the feast had started two days ago. A contingent of near 350 cooks were busy cooking cheese delicacies that was routed from the town’s quota to the party venue. In addition to this, 84 quintals of chicken and mutton were put into the food bowls, sources said.

Some guests, after having a stomach-full of lunch, could be seen taking some of the food to their homes.

Though not much can be written about the quality of the lunch, the quantity was beyond measure.

Sources said the process of distributing invitation cards continued till this morning. It was even said that the ward councilors had been given strict instructions to make sure that no voter was left out.

Sources added that a list of 250 invitees was returned to a councilor saying that the list was not exhaustive.

Jalandhar, December 15
The mercury in city today inched a bit higher to 1 degree Celsius. The maximum temperature recorded was 20 degrees Celsius.

But Adampur continued to record sub-zero temperatures— minus 1.4 degree Celsius, while Amritsar recorded a low of 1.4 degree while Pathankot recorded 2.6 degree Celsius.

Halwara was thoroughly chilly at 2.8 degrees and Ambala had at minimum temperature of 1.5 degree Celsius. Chandigarh recorded 2.6 degree Celsius. According to officials at the Met Department, widespread fog is likely to begin from the third week of this month.

But those waiting for the rains would have to wait a little longer, the officials said.

Kapurthala, December 15
Twenty students of the Sainik School here have passed the UPSC’s written exam for admissions into the National Defence Academy (NDA) this academic session, while five cadets of the school joined the NDA and three others succeed in joining Armed Forces after clearing various competitive exams.

This was revealed by Col Sandeep Kumar, Principal, Sainik School, here today.

Col Sandeep was addressing the gathering at the 44th Annual Day of the school, which was presided over by Mr Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu, Principal Secretary to the Government of Punjab in the Department of Irrigation. Mr Sandhu, who is a Saikapian with school number 523, joined the school in 1963 in class five.

“The school continued to grab the second position in the merits of the 10th and 12th classes with 100 per cent results among Sainik Schools of the country, while the first position went to the Sainik School of Tamil Nadu,” said Col Sandeep Kumar.

Speaking on the occasion, Col Sandeep claimed the students of the school achieved 170 distinctions in the last session with strength of 77 students in class ten while 22 distinctions went to the class 12 students, adding that, the school has produced more than 700 officers for the armed forces through NDA till now.

Special coaching classes for the weak candidates and conducting coaching classes and series of mock tests by NDA cell had been provided, informed the Principal.

Jalandhar, December 15
Dubbing the ORG-MARG survey that give the Congress government an edge over Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in the coming Assembly polls as a new stunt of the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, the SAD President, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today said the survey would have no affect on the decision of the electorate.

Mr Badal was addressing a press conference in the house of Mr Raghbir Singh Subhanpur, an NRI, here. He said most surveys conducted by TV channels had an immense effect on the minds of the voters but this one had been conducted almost a year before the state was to go in for elections, so the effects, if any, would not last long.

He said the survey was conducted with the sole objective of diverting the attention of the people from common problems.

The SAD supremo added that the people were the best judges and they were well-aware of the functioning of the Congress government in the state for the past four years.

“However hard Captain may try, he will not be able to get the reigns back in his hands”, Mr Badal claimed. “Following Emergency, former Prime Minister, Ms Indira Gandhi, had also got various surveys of the sort conducted to get back the power in her hands. But the aftermath of those false surveys are known to everyone,” Mr Badal said.

The SAD chief said the functioning of the state depended heavily on the liquor baron, Mr Ponty Chadha, who, he added, was generously funding the government. He said the Chief Minister was now also trying to lay hands on real estate and was visiting Dubai for this.

Talking about a Congress rally being planned in Lambi, Mr Badal’s constituency, on December 17, the SAD President said the Captain was freely using the state machinery and had even assigned government officials the job of arranging the gathering for the event to ensure a good show of strength. 

Jalandhar, December 15
It has been a long way to fame for Mukerian-based Jagmeet Samunderri who plays a comic role in Sony Sab TV show “Sab gol maal hai”.

Having tried his hand in serials “Awaaz” for Zee TV, “Crime Patrol” for Sony and “Aap Bitti” for Doordarshan, Jagmeet said it was a long struggle before he finally got a good break in the serial, which many people look forward to every Tuesday on 10:30 pm.

The artiste was in the city to attend a marriage ceremony of one of his acquaintances recently. “A semblance of Cyrus Barocha’s “MTV Bakra”, “Sab gol maal hai” is all about playing pranks on people and making them have a hearty laugh. The best thing that I have liked about the serial is the spontaneity with which it moves that adds thrill, comedy and life in every act. There is no script and no retakes. There is just one basic idea with which the shooting begins,” he said.

“We keep on having funny shows with guests coming in the episode. We have had Raageshwari, actress, Atul Wassan, cricketer, Asawari Joshi of ‘Office Office’ fame. Besides, it is really enjoyable enacting the scenes by coming up in altogether new roles of panditji, eunuch or courier wala in every episode,” Jagmeet revealed.

“While acting in the serial, we have passed through various unsavoury incidents. Once I was acting as a deaf and a dumb salesman in a shop in Mumbai. A guy came to purchase some goods and he got so fed up with me that he started scuffling with me. Finally, the police had to be called to resolve the matter. The entire sequence of events were recorded and telecast in one episode,” Jagmeet said recalling his experiences.

A postgraduate from the Department of Mass Communication, Panjab University, Jagmeet has even ventured into Bollywood. He played the role of a terrorist in the movie “Hawayein” based on 1984 riots. One of his first assignments was that of Assistant Director with Veeru Devgan in the movie “Hindustan ki kasam”.

But the artiste believes that one of the most memorable moments for him in his short stint of acting was a 35-feet live jump during which he got hurt while shooting for a Punjabi video music album “Khadka Dhadka”.

Owing to a God-gifted voice and his ability to modulate it, Jagmeet has accomplished various assignments of lending voice for History Channel.

“I have had no godfather in the film world and have really worked very hard to get good roles. There have been times that there have been long working schedules and I could not sleep for 48 hours,” he said. Son of an agriculturist, Jagmeet is now looking forward to his new role as a protagonist in a Punjabi movie “Lal churian” being directed by Jasbir Singh Sethi, an NRI.

Phagwara, December 15
Residents of Phagwara and nearby villages have been facing LPG shortage for the last few weeks. As a result, some LPG dealers in the region are reportedly fleecing consumers by selling LPG cylinders in the black market.

Procuring an LPG cylinder has become a daunting task for many as booking period is more than 10 days. Consumers have to wait for hours in long queues to get filled LPG cylinders.

Flouting the rules and regulations of the company and ignoring all the safety precautions, the LPG cylinders are also being distributed from the showroom situated in the residential area in Guru Hargobind Nagar. People are compelled to buy the cylinders without verifying their weight.