Jalandhar, July 24
As if the explosion of oxygen gas cylinders, which claimed the lives of four labourers on Monday, was not enough, yet another case of storage of such cylinders in a residential colony has come to light.

A portion of house No 91 in Golden Avenue, (Phase-1), near Garha Road, is being used as a godown for oxygen cylinders, posing a serious threat to the lives of the area residents.

The owners of the gas agency are putting up in the same house and are also running a boutique and a heavy generator set alongside.

Harji, an owner, said most of the operations of his business were being carried out in Nakodar while only loading and unloading was done here at times. He said he was planning to buy a godown on Ladowali Road so that he could carry out city-based operations from there.

A neighbour alleged that the loading and unloading of the cylinders continued even in the odd hours, sometimes till late night, early morning and afternoon causing a lot of disturbance to them.

“A bigger concern for us now is our safety, especially after Monday’s incident. We have taken up the matter with the colony’s president, who too lives in the immediate neighbourhood and is bound to feel the disturbance. But he too has failed to come to our rescue,” they lamented.

Even today loading operations were being carried out in the afternoon. A Mahindra vehicle, loaded with cylinders, was parked outside the house for almost an hour. President of the colony and former councillor H.S. Bawa, when asked, said, “The matter has come to our notice several times during the society meetings. The residents have complained of noise pollution caused due to cylinders, heavy generator sets and sewing machines used by the family. There is no doubt that the safety of the residents is at stake. Incidence of an accident is high, especially due to a loaded transport vehicle lying on the road corner in front of the house. I have recorded the matter in the proceeding books and also called the owner to furnish a clarification but he has failed to respond.”

The municipal corporation has failed to thoroughly check the status of the cylinders lying in Mota Singh Nagar, a report regarding which was carried out in Jalandhar Plus on Wednesday.

The neighbours had demanded that each of the nearly 100 cylinders lying there be checked for the presence of partial or even residual amount of gas for their safety. MC assistant commissioner D.P. Bhardwaj said he had found out that the man had left business nearly one and a half years ago.

Phagwara, July 24
Phagwara BJP mandal chief Balbhader Sen Duggal was elected president of the municipal council here on Wednesday.BJP state high command sent a sealed envelope containing his name for the post of president of the Phagwara municipal council.

The envelope was opened in the meeting of councillors in the council office, following which his name was formally proposed by BJP councillor Beera Ram and seconded by SAD councillor Sarabjeet Kaur. Besides, Sarabjeet Kaur (SAD) and Sita Kaul (BSP) were elected senior vice-president and vice-president of the MC, respectively.

Expressing resentment against the BJP state high command, Punjab secretary of the BJP Mahila Morcha Sarita Sood told The Tribune that she, along with seven of the total nine BJP councillors, had been cheated by BJP state president Rajendra Bhandari by clearing Duggal’s name for the post of MC president.

Sood, after winning from Ward 13 with a huge margin of 743 votes (highest among all the SAD and BJP councillors in the district), blamed Bhandari and some other officials of the state BJP and a local RSS leader for nominating Duggal’s name who, according to her, had publicly raised slogans against the BJP several times.

Sood further said she, along with her six supporter councillors, had stated clearly during their interviews by BJP leaders, including Bhandari, that anybody except Duggal should be made president as he had created indiscipline in the party by behaving rudely with party men. — TNS

Jalandhar, July 24
It’s not a hi-tech, sound-proof studio but the open backyard of her one-room, non-plastered house in Basti Danishmandan where a contestant of “Niki Awaaz Punjab Di” does her riyaaz.

Jyoti (10) is the daughter of small-time singer and music composer Gulshan Mir who makes little money singing sufi numbers and Punjabi folk songs in cultural shows organised by rural families and groups in this region.

This little singer, Jyoti, who is seen on the reality show telecast every Friday and Sunday evenings on the Mh1 channel, also goes along with her father, performing in such shows and winning applause from the crowds.

The talented artiste from a family with limited resources competed with 1,500 children from middle and upper class families to clear two rounds of auditions held at Ludhiana and Delhi in March this year.

She was just one of the 16 participants who managed to clear several rounds and sung over 25 songs on television flaunting her talent in devotional, classical and folk singing. Her songs, “Ishke di maari veh mein jhalli ho gayi”, “Lambi judai” and “Mast Kalandar”, have brought her much appreciation.

Jyoti is the fifth-generation singer in her family of traditional marasis. Her grandfather Master Sohan Lal was also a popular singer. Her elder sister Sultana, cousins and uncles are all Punjabi singers by profession.

A shy little girl, Jyoti, started singing when she was five. She was just humming a song while playing when her father realised that it was a near flawless singing.

Since then she has been taking training in music from her dad, has done scores of shows with him, including those in her SD Model School where she is popular not just among her batchmates but the entire faculty and even senior students.

“Once she starts singing, she oozes confidence and all her shyness is gone,” tell her friends. Jyoti has even got a cassette released “Jaag Sikhiye”, which has all the songs composed by her father who is also her music coach.

Her doting father says, “It is a tough going for Jyoti. She travels with me to far-off places late in the evening for shows that sometimes continue till the wee hours of the morning. She comes back and takes sleep for an hour or two, for she has to attend her school also. After coming back, she studies for a few hours and does her rehearsal, leaving her with little time to play with her four siblings and friends.

“Now all that I pray is that her efforts bear fruits and her talent gets recognised,” said an optimistic Gulshan.

Jalandhar, July 24
The Indian Premier League (IPL), which gave a new direction to cricket in India, seems to have caught the nerves of youngsters as most of them are looking forward to adopt the sport as profession.

The growing interest can be gauged from the fact that more than 1,000 students from all over Punjab appeared for the trials at the Jalandhar District Cricket Association (JDCA) academy in the past three months.

Launched around a decade ago, the academy has been moving at its own pace giving enough time to bring out the best from players. The academy, which has witnessed cricket craze among youngsters, had already increased its number of seats to give more opportunities to the budding players. Young cricketers who come here consider this place as a lucky charm as it has produced players like Harbhajan Singh, Vikram Rathore and Taruvar Kohli.

The academy not only has equipment but even experienced trainers to get the basics right. The faculty consists of eight former Ranji players, chief coach Rakesh Sharma (National Institute of Sports), Darshan Singh, Vikas Chaddha, Pankaj Chaddha, S.P. Kumar, Avinash Kumar, Madan Lal and Suresh Sharma, who mould players according to the international standards.

“Being trained from experienced players has a different advantage as they know key skills and set you right from the beginning. Cricket is almost like a religion in our country and the best part is that it is rewarding too,” says a budding player who recently joined the u-12 group.