NEIGHBOURHOOD

MC Polls
Violence, manhandling mar elections
Gurdeep Singh Mann
Tribune News Service

Kurali, June 30
With a major embarrassment to the SAD-BJP, the Kurali municipal council went into the kitty of the Congress today. While the SAD secured two seats, the BJP managed just one. However, the Congress had to face major defeat in MCs of Ropar, Morinda and Anandpur Sahib, while the SAD-BJP came out with easy victory in these districts.

Out of 10 independent candidates winning the elections, six were supported by the Congress. The town witnessed more than 82 per cent voting for its 13 wards.

The independent candidates winning the elections included Sravan Singh from ward no 1, Tina Chandel from ward no 3, Harmesh from ward no 4, Vipin Kumar from ward no 5, Jaswinder Singh Godly from ward no 6, Jagir Singh from ward no 8, Kakka Singh from ward no 9, Deepika Rani from ward no 10, Rajinder Kaur from ward no 12 and Netra Mani Gautam from ward no 13.

The winning SAD candidates included Krishna Devi from ward no 7 and Preet Mohinder Singh Bittu from ward no 11, while lone BJP winner was Chain Singh from ward no 2.

From ward no 9, defeated candidates Rajinder Singh and Mahesh Kumar alleged that the electronic voting machines have been tampered with. They also alleged that the ward delimitation was done in such a way that their votes were distributed in ward no 6 and ward no 11. They said they would approach Punjab and Haryana High Court to demand re-polling.

Meanwhile, seven SAD candidates and two from the BJP came out as winners in Ropar municipal council. Only two candidates supported by the Congress made it to the winners list and independent candidates bagged six seats.

Despite heavy showers in the morning, Ropar witnessed 71.5 per cent of polling. At many places, candidates had clandestinely made arrangements to ferry voters from their homes to polling booths.

In Morinda, polling at ward no 10 (in a dharamshala) was delayed by one and a half hour, as the building was flooded with rainwater. Here, the SAD bagged four seats, the BJP secured two seats, and three Congress supported candidates won the seats. Four independents also recorded victory. Mahinder Singh Lambardar from ward no 8 won by a margin of two votes.

At Anandpur Sahib, the SAD swept six seats, the BJP managed just one seat and three seats each went to the Congress supported candidates and independent candidates.

The election results of Kharar and Nangal (Ropar) are yet to be announced.

Dera Bassi, June 30
A downpour that led to flooding of many areas here however could not dampen the spirits of Dera Bassi voters. More than 82 per cent voting was registered in the municipal elections held here today. Long queues of voters waiting for their turn at polling stations was a common sight.

The results in the evening, however, brought a big shock. The fact that Congress had little presence in Zirakpur was well-known but its virtual wipeout in Dera Bassi left the party stunned.

The party had fielded 13 candidates here and only one managed to make it to the municipal council. The SAD-BJP combine wrested eight of the 13 seats. The three other independents are BJP or SAD rebels. The Congress was the ruling party in the council with the former MC chief Amritpal Singh having a thumping majority.

The Congress has had a major say in municipal politics here for decades but for the next five years all that Congress workers would do is to watch how the BJP- SAD combine performs.

The winners here include Naresh Kumar of the SAD who won from ward number 1. Ajmer Kaur of the BJP won from ward number 2. Independent candidate Ranjana Saini won from ward number 3. Harinder Singh Rangi of the SAD won from ward number 4, Seema Sharma of the BJP won from ward number 5. From ward number 6, Anita Dhiman won as an independent candidate. She had been removed from the BJP last night. Another BJP rebel Bipan Kumar Thaman won from ward number 7. Geeta Jain of the Congress won from ward number 8. Hari Om of SAD won from ward number 9 and Dayavir Singh of SAD won from ward number 10. Manjit Kaur of SAD won from ward number 11 while Baljinder Kaur of the SAD won from ward number 12 and Tara Chand of SAD won from ward number 13.

Many Congress candidates here alleged that there was large scale polling of fake votes but the presiding officers forwarded no complaints to the police.

Some youths were even brought to the police station on allegations of fake voting but SAD workers came to the station and helped them get away. The police said till the presiding officer told them that a fake vote had been cast they could not do much.

Chandigarh, June 30
Divaksh Dawar, a student of DAV Public School, Sector 8, lifted top honours in Kid Boys’ (U-10) category trailing Sohrab Grewal of St John’s High School, Sector 26, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9 in the ongoing Mrs & Mr Kishan Lal Memorial Invitational Table Tennis Tournament at Table Tennis Hall, Sector 23, here today.

In the girls’ section, Pareen Verma (DAVPS-8) emerged champion by beating strong rival Bhavya of Sacred Heart, Sector 26, 12-10, 11-7 and 11-4 in the finals of Kid Girls (U-10) category.

Results:

Kid Boys’ final (U-10): Divaksh Dawar (DAVPS-8) b Sohrab Grewal (St John’s) (11-5, 11-9, 11-9).

Kid Girls’ final (U-10): Pareen Verma (DAVPS-8) b Bhavya (Sacred Heart-26) (12-10, 11-7, 11-4).

Cadet Boys’ singles (U-12) 3 rd round: Sohrab Grewal (St John’s) b Ojas (Rohtak) (8-11, 11-2, 11-9, 12-10); Kartik (Rohtak) b Anubhav Bansal (11-8, 11-4, 11-9); Rohan Mehra (Amritsar) b Harsimran (MMHS-21) (11-9, 11-6, 11-1); Divaksh Dawar (DAVPS-8) b Hardik (Rohtak) (11-4, 12-10, 11-4); Pankaj (St Stephen’s) b Harshit (Rohtak) (11-9, 11-4, 11-9); Aditya Ahuja (Rohtak) b Parath (11-5, 11-6, 11-5); Vaibhav (Rohtak) b Nakul (Rohtak) (11-6, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9); Divyankar (BVB, Panchkula) b Debashish (BVB, Chandigarh) (10-12, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8).

Quarterfinals: Kartik (Rohtak) b Sohrab Grewal (St John’s) (11-6, 11-4, 11-8); Aditya Ahuja (Rohtak) b Pankaj Sidana (St Stephen’s) (11-4, 11-8, 11-4); Rohan Mehra (Amritsar) b Vaibhav (Rohtak) (11-13, 11-6, 11-13, 11-9, 11-9); Divaksh Dawar (DAVPS-8) b Divyankar (BVB, Panchkula) (11-5, 11-9, 11-4).

Semifinals: Aditya Ahuja (Rohtak) b Divaksh Dawar (DAVPS-8) (11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8); Rohan Mehra (Amritsar) b Kartika (Rohtak) (12-10, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9).

Cadet Girls single (U-12): Quarterfinals: Anu Saini (MMS, Panchkula) b Avni Aggarwal (Sacred Heart-26) (11-6, 11-5, 11-4); Jagdeep Kaur (GMSSS-18) b Anshuki Verma (DAVPS-8) (11-8, 11-9,11-8); Akanksha Suri (Rohtak) b Radhika (MMS, Panchkula) (11-6,11-8, 11-9); Pareen Verma (DAVPS-8) b Lavisha (Rohtak) (11-5, 11-6, 11-8)

Semifinals: Anu Saini (MMS, Panchkula) b Jagdeep Kaur (GMSSS-18) (11-9, 11-6, 11-5); Akanksha Suri (Rohtak) b Pareen Verma (DAVPS-8) (5-11, 11-4, 8-11, 11-6, 11-7).

Sub-Junior Boys’ single (U-14):

Quarterfinals: Tushar Dhiman (KV-31) b Rohan Mehra (Amritsar) (11-7, 7-11, 12-14, 11-9, 11-6); Tushar Gupta (MMHS, Chandigarh) b Dinkar Goyal (SN-22) (11-5, 11-6, 11-8); Aditya Pandey (MMHS-21) b Nonit (Amritsar) (11-3, 8-11, 12-14, 11-7, 14-12); Mayank Kapoor (DAVPS-8) b Bhavuk (Ludhiana) (11-4, 11-6, 15-13).

Semifinals: Mayank Kapoor (DAVPS-8) b Tushar Gupta (MMHS-21) (11-6, 11-6, 11-5); Aditya Pandey (MMHS-21) b Tushar Dhiman (KV-31) (11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-4).

Sub-Junior Girls’ single (U-14): Semifinals: Kalyani Kakkar (MMHS-21) b Anu Saini (MMS, Panchkula) (11-5, 11-4, 11-5); Shakshi Jain (MMHS-21) b Akanksha Suri (Rohtak) (11-5, 11-7, 
6-11, 11-9). 

Chandigarh, June 30
Rain played spoilsport as the organisers had to declare joint winners, both in the men's as well as women's sections in the 30th Senior National Softball Championship without holding the finals at Panjab University grounds here today.

Hosts Chandigarh and Andhra Pradesh shared the men's trophy while Madhya Pradesh and Kerala men were announced joint runners-up. On the other hand, defending champions Punjab and Kerala women teams were awarded with the winning trophy. Madhya Pradesh and Chandigarh teams were declared joint runners-up.

Kerala women had yesterday qualified for finals as they defeated Madhya Pradesh by 3-1. This morning in the second semifinals, Punjab beat Chandigarh by 3-1 to secure their final berth. In men's semifinals, Andhra Pradesh snatched 1-0 win over Madhya Pradesh.As rain prevented further play, AP and Chandigarh were declared joint winners. Madhya Pradesh and Kerala were joint runners-up.

Chandigarh, June 30
A number of promising juniors from Chandigarh will be rubbing their shoulders with the top 100 junior golfers of the country when the second leg of the Lalit Suri Junior/Subjunior Golf Championship (Northern India) tees off on the Army Environmental Park and Training Area (Army Golf Course) at Dhaula Kuan in Delhi tomorrow.

In the absence of Chandigarh's top junior golfer Rahul Bakshi, who is playing abroad, the city challenge will be led by Abhijit Chadha, Tarundeep Chadha and Anish Gupta. It is for the first time that the Professional Golfers Association of India (PGAI) is assisting in conducting of an 
IGU event.

Rahul, who has just a few months left in the junior category, was the only participant in the world junior golf championship.

The Lalit Suri Junior Golf Championship-2008 comprises four regional tournaments - Southern India Junior (Coimbatore), Northern India Junior (New Delhi), Western India Junior (Pune) in November and Eastern India Junior and All-India Junior (both in Kolkata) in December or January. These prestigious tournaments form the basis of selection of the National teams. The game has seen a tremendous growth in the recent past. The junior tour is acting as a feeder tour for the amateur circuit and is able to curb the void created when a player graduates from a lower-level to a higher-level.

The Lalit Suri Junior Golf Championship-2008 will see players participation in four categories. Junior (Girls and Boys) between 15 to 17 years with handicap 9 and below will be in Class A while Class B will be in the 13 to 14 age bracket with handicap 12 and below. Class C and Class D will see the players from the 11 to 12 age group with a handicap of 18 and below and Under-10 with handicap 30 and below, respectively.

The tournament will be played over 72 holes stroke play for Class A, B, and C while it will be a 54-hole affair for Class D. As many as 50 per cent of the players will be eliminated when the cut will be applied after 36 holes.

Besides the 2008 Junior or Sub-Junior Championship, The Lalit Suri Foundation has also collaborated with the Professional Golfers' Association of India (PGAI) - to organise The Lalit Suri Junior Golf National Coaching Programme. Fortnight-long camps, under 'A' grade coaches have already been conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Chandigarh and a camp to be held in Pune.

The Chandigarh camp in early June was a big success,with more than 70 juniors honing their skills under the watchful eyes of the region's only Grade A coach Jessie Grewal.

Chandigarh, June 30
The crime branch today claim to have busted a gang of robbers with the arrest of three of its members. They accused have been identified as Shiv Rattan, a resident of Una (Himachal Pradesh), Bishwa Nath, a resident of Colony No. 5, and Ravi, a resident of Sector 52. At least five motorcycles have been recovered from their possession.

According to Crime Branch in charge, Prem Chand, they used to break open the lock of the two-wheelers with the help of scissors.

Ravi, who is said to be the gang leader, was caught red-handed while he was driving a stolen motorcycle from near the Sector 15 and Sector 16 light point on June 23. Another motorcycle was recovered from his rental accommodation in Sector 52. During interrogation he admitted to having committed the crime and revealed that two more persons were part of his gang.

Yesterday, the crime branch had managed to arrest the other two members. Three more motorcycles were recovered from their possession. They use to sell the stolen motorcycles on the pretext of these having been recovered by the financing agency, after the people failed to repay the loan amount.

The accused were active in the region for over a year. Earlier this year, they were arrested twice on the charges of theft. With their arrest, the police believe that a number of theft cases have been solved, including those registered in Sectors 11,26,34,36 and 39 
police stations. 

Chandigarh, June 30
“Drama, being an imitation of emotionally rich actions and conducts of people in different situations, is the life-size art and practically nothing is left out of its scope,” opined Lillete Dubey, film actress and drama doyenne of international eminence.

Credited with playing important roles in 27 films and revolutionising the Indian theatre in English, Lillete is in the city for staging her latest theatre spectacle “Wedding Album”. Winner of the Best Actress Award at Filma Madrid International fair (2008), she had done memorable roles in films like Zubeida, Kal Ho Na Ho, Pinjar, Gadhar, Fanaa and many more. Amidst the spurt of TV serials and films, it becomes increasingly obvious for the theatre to be more innovative and vibrant for its survival, she added. The much-acclaimed creation of playwright Girish Karnad ‘Wedding Album’ has won rave reviews in its 15 shows.

Talking to The Tribune, Dubey said she was not doing the English theatre as perceived many, but instead promoting and propagating the original Indian theatrical writings in English. Through the medium of English language, I have projected the Indian sensibility, its cultural ethos and socio ethical values of the milieu to a wider spectrum of audience in the world.

The potent thematic content of the play in proximity with the heartbeat and pulse of the people and appropriate characterisation account for the success of any play. The instant play ‘Wedding Album’ is a sharp, contemporary and revelatory slice of Indian milieu.

Armed with an elite star cast of accomplished theatre and cine actors, she has brought alive the intent of the script immaculately in her 23rd directorial venture.

Chandigarh, June 30
After a hiatus of months, art lovers in the city were treated to a theatre spectacle in the form of “Wedding Album” by the Prime Time Theatre group of Mumbai at the PGIMER auditorium here today.

The event was brought to the city by Durga Dass Foundation in association with the Tribune Group of Newspapers, which was the media sponsor. The play, by Girish Karnad, is structured around joys, tensions and conflicts arising out of a wedding in a family.

Acclaimed theatre and cine actors who presented the play with perfection lent a realistic touch to the portrayal of a wedding in a middle class family. The story revolves around a couple with their daughter living abroad with her husband, a son, who is a software designer, and a younger daughter happy enough to marry a boy settled in the USA.

The playwright has depicted the impact of technological advancement such as the Internet on the life of the common man.

Director Lillete Dubey succeeded in holding the audience spellbound. Her involvement was thorough. She ensured that the accent of actors matched with their characters. Playing the elders in the family, Utkarsh Mazumdar and Neena Kulkarni were simply superb as also Ira Dubey and Rajiv Paul playing the lead pair.

Well-known actor Amar Talwar distinguished himself in diverse roles. Suchitra Pillay, Deepika Amin and Seema Azmi, Armaan Sunnt and Raghav Chanana excelled in their roles. Set designing and music interludes enhanced the play quality.

H.K. Dua, Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune Group of Newspapers and senior officers of the administration attended the show.

Chandigarh, June 30
Acclaimed ghazal and playback singer Penaz Masani is in city for a performance at the auditorium of Moti Ram Arya School tomorrow. The event coincides with the 23rd anniversary of State Bank of India.

Credited with playback in 50 Bollywood films and over 20 ghazals and pop albums, Penaz has extensively performed abroad. The foremost disciple of classical vocalist Madhurani, she entered into films and ghazal singing in 1981.

Talking to mediapersons at Hotel Taj, Penaz claimed that the Indian music is highly popular in Japan, Vietnam, and Korea recalling her latest concerts there.

Apart from Mirza Ghalib, she loves to sing lyrics of new poets as well.

“My latest album ‘Yadhein’ features the old and new poets like Ghalib, Nida Fazli, Rashid and others. The ghazal genre of music reigned supreme between 1980-90 when the pop music took over the scene. Since the pop music is not routed in our culture, it is bound to fade away,” she claimed.