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Parties look for partners
Chandigarh, July 31 Prior to 2008, it was in 1996 when two regional parties, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) of Om Prakash Chautala and the Haryana Vikas Party of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal, were vying with each other for an electoral alliance with a national party, the BJP. This time the race is between the INLD and the Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) of Kuldeep Bishnoi. But this time, the BJP is not alone to be wooed by the regional parties. The BSP is sharing the center stage with the saffron party. Both the INLD and the HJC have realised that if they have to capture power in the state in 2010, they must have an alliance with a national party. Since they can neither align with the Congress, their arch enemy nor with each other (leaders of both parties have chief ministerial aspirations), the options are only the BJP and the BSP. The BJP and the BSP also realise that they must tie up with one of the regional parties to boost their prospects in the Lok Sabha elections. For the national leadership of both parties, the stakes in the Lok Sabha elections are more than in the Assembly elections. They know they stand no chance of grabbing power in the state on their own. Still the BSP wants to play the role of a major partner in the Assembly elections also. On the other hand, the BJP would not mind being a minor partner in the Assembly elections, but in the Lok Sabha elections it would definitely like to be the major partner in any alliance. The situation has advantages as well as disadvantages for all parties. The national parties are playing the regional parties against each other for getting a bigger share of the Lok Sabha seats. The regional parties, in turn, are trying to exploit the keenness of the two national parties to see their leaders, L.K. Advani and Mayawati, in 7, Race Course Road, the official residence of the Indian Prime Minister. The HJC is reportedly willing to leave more than five of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana for its possible ally. But the INLD
After Bishnoi was invited to the dinner hosted by Advani on the eve of the confidence vote in the Lok Sabha, speculation has been rife that the BJP and the HJC have reached an understanding. On the other hand, the projection of Mayawati as Prime Minister candidate by the UNPA, of which the INLD is a partner, led to the speculation that the BSP and the INLD can contest the Lok Sabha elections jointly. Sources say the INLD is still keen for an alliance with the BJP if the latter offers “respectable” terms. The Badals of Punjab, who are family friends of the Chautalas, are also reportedly exerting pressure on the BJP to align with the INLD in Haryana. The INLD leaders feel that the BSP and their party are not natural allies. The other day secretary-general of the INLD Ajay Singh Chautala was evasive on the issue of the possible INLD alliance with the BSP. Perhaps to allay apprehensions in the BJP over the UNPA’s support to Mayawati for prime ministership, the younger Chautala said Mayawati’s projection as Prime Minister was before the confidence motion and in the event of the UPA loosing it. For future, he said, a decision in this regard was yet to be taken by the UNPA. The BSP, too, feels that the INLD is not its natural ally because in the rural areas, the Dalits (the main constituency of the BSP), perceive the Jats (the main constituency of the INLD) as “oppressors”. In such a situation, the party feels the Dalits may not feel comfortable in the company of the INLD cadre. Moreover, an alliance with the INLD would be in contradiction to the BSP’s plan of non-Jat leadership in the state. Mayawati had declared at a Karnal rally that her party would make a non-Jat as the next Chief Minister of the state. The party does not even admit any Jat to its membership. The BSP, however, is likely to take a final decision in Lucknow on August 9.
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‘Pilot bahu’ flying high
Hisar, July 31 Pankaj plies a bus to ferry students of a women’s college of Sirsa from villages located on the Sirsa-Rania road. She has passed the senior secondary examination from a government school in Ellenabad. She learnt to drive a tractor when she was a fifth grader. “It was a necessity. I did not have a brother then. So, I decided to help my father in the fields. We are a family of modest means. So we had to borrow my uncle’s tractor to till our fields,” she said. Later, she began to drive her father’s Peter rehra – a contraption with a diesel engine mounted on a wooden structure on wheels. She obtained a light vehicle driving licence in 2000. Later, she obtained a heavy vehicle driving licence from Rajasthan in 2007. She is married to Suresh Kumar, a resident of Fefana village of
Rajasthan. Pankaj called on Umashankar here recently. Deepti is Pankaj’s role model. “She has done a lot for women empowerment. And I was keen on meeting her personally. I think it will help me take her mission forward,” she said before the meeting. Despite being an unusual woman, she still has to veil her face whenever she visits her husband’s village, which she never covers her face when she is not in Fefana. “I just follow the traditions of my in-laws’ village. I don’t want to hurt anybody’s sentiments,” she explained. Pankaj has plans to motivate and encourage other rural women. “I am just at the planning stage right now. May be Deepti ji will help me out,” Pankaj fondly hopes.
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Finally, chariot unveiled
Kurukshetra, July 31 The chariot that depicts wisdom being passed on to Arjun by Lord Krishna was completed in November 2007, and was expected to be inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi during the Geeta festival here in December last year, but it got delayed due to certain reasons. The monument, completed at a cost of over Rs 2 crore, has been installed at Purshottam Bagh, Brahmasarovar. The 35-ft-high chariot is built by famous sculptor from Maharashtra Ram Sutar, who is known for having made similar monuments across the nation. The inauguration coincided with the 44th conference of the all-India oriental congress at Kurukshetra University, where Sonia Gandhi was the chief guest. Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda along with other dignitaries were also present on the occasion. Earlier, it was decided that Dr Kidwai would inaugurate the chariot on August 1. The date was later changed to July 31. But when Sonia Gandhi agreed to inaugurate the all-India oriental congress on July 28, it was decided by the state government to get the Krishna-Arjun chariot inaugurated by her the same day. Earlier, the statue was to be installed at Jyotisar where Lord Krishna delivered the sermon to Arjun before the war of Mahabharata. However, it was decided that the statue first be placed at Purshottam Bagh, Brahmasarovar, for a short time and later be shifted to Jyotisar, as being demanded by many. Later, it was found that shifting would cost more than Rs 80 lakh and finally the administration dumped the plans to move it from here. The chariot is 60-ft long and 30-ft wide installed on a red-stoned elevated structure surrounded by iron grills for its protection.
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Powering the toy train
Kalka, July 31 Initially, mini steam engines were especially designed for the narrow gauge by the North British Loco Company of England and were used to run the toy trains on this section, informed Vinender Singh, the loco inspector of Kalka Diesel Shed. According to him, old records of the Diesel Shed reveal that 33 steam engines, including K1, K2, KC, ZF and ZFC models, were used for the toy trains with five boggies and their maintenance was done at the Kalka shed. “These were the saturated steam engines, which consumed more coal and water,” said Bhagat Ram, a retired senior loco inspector. He said in 1956 these were converted into super heated class steam engines. In the same year, the railways department introduced the first German-made Diesel Engine - ZDM-1 – for this section. In 1966, the Narrow Gauge Loco Shed was converted into Narrow Gauge Diesel Shed and steam engines were totally stopped. In 1971, ZDM-3 India made diesel engines started running on the section and in 1972 ZDM-2 were transferred to southern railway. In 1977 ZDM-1 engines were shifted to Parel, Mumbai. In 1978, the periodic overhauling (POH) of the diesel engines started in the Kalka shed. In the beginning, the POH of the locomotives of Pathankot section were also done here, but this was later stopped. In 1981, the modified ZDM-3 locomotives, made at Chitranjan, arrived here and were used to pull the toy trains. Surider Menon, a retired senior railway employee, said the Kalka Diesel Shed specialises in periodic overhauling of locomotives. He added that despite the non-availability of spare parts in the market, the locomotives, which have completed 36 years of service, are still running well on the section.
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Darkness to reign longer in Panchkula
Panchkula, July
31 The lights on the main as well as inner roads of the town are in a shambles. Around 80 per cent of lights in various sectors are non-functional, including those installed on the road starting
from Sector 12-A till the end of Industrial area. The road starting from Red Bishop, a Haryana tourism restaurant, going through the office complex of Sectors 2 and 4 and joining the markets of Sectors 11 and 14, till Amartex
Chowk, plunges into darkness as soon as the sun sets. Similar is the condition of the road starting from the Housing Board Chowk to Sector 12. In addition, lights on the roads going through Sectors 16-17, 9-10 and 8-9 are also not working properly. “The condition of lights on the roads is in a bad shape because we could not undertake any major repair work till the finalisation of the MoU signed by out predecessors,” said Ravinder
Rawal, president of the municipal council. In fact, the previous municipal committee decided to install energy saving bulbs on the street and road lights. A MoU was signed through Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency with a Delhi based agency for the purpose. The municipal council was supposed to deposit the amount equal to its present electricity bill to the agency. In return the agency was supposed to maintain the lights and pay the bill of power supply. The MC was to get 10 per cent of the bill amount as the agency had agreed to share the profits derived after the energy saving lights were installed all over the city. There are around 15,000 light points in the city out of which the municipal committee maintains 9,000 and the rest are the responsibility of
HUDA. Both agencies shell out around Rs 21 lakh as electricity bill every month. However, the success of the scheme was obstructed by the new municipal council, after which the Haryana government was requested to allow it to scrap the
MoU. “Reports about the project were not satisfactory when a team of new municipal council members visited Amritsar where these lights had already been installed,” informed the president of the municipal council. “Moreover, had it been a viable option the neighbouring city of Chandigarh might already have adopted it. Roads of the city would be dimly lit under energy saving lights in comparison to
Chandigarh. Panchkula would soon have proper lighting on all the roads,” he claimed. |
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Inside Babudom
Chandigarh, July 31 They were of the view that Dharam Vir has a tendency to sit over important files as he is very cautious about financial matters and do not want to invite any criticism, which is normally heaped by opposition parties on the government and its functionaries in a democratic set up. Before taking a decision, Dharam Vir would like to go for a thorough examination of all aspects of an issue, resulting, some times, in inordinate delay, say his critics. But recently, the chief secretary proved his critics wrong and earned appreciation from his colleagues when he presided over meetings of the evaluation committee constituted by the state government to finalise developers to set up power projects and to sign purchase agreements with them. As per the guidelines issued by the union ministry for power, the states can purchase power on the long-term basis by the bidding process. The guidelines were further divided into two categories: Case-1: where the plant can be located anywhere in India and the purchaser has no obligation towards the developer except for the procurement of power; and case-2: where the purchaser provides land, water, fuel and environment and other clearances to the developer and binds himself to purchase power. The power utilities in the state estimated two years ago that there would be a gap in demand and supply of power of about 5000 MW by 2012. It was decided to purchase 2000 MW under case-1 and over 1300 MW under case-2. While the power purchase agreements under case-1 were finalised, those under case-2 had been lingering on for reasons best known to the bureaucrats concerned. The process for procurement of power under case-2 was initiated on May 30, 2006. After a lengthy process, three qualified parties submitted their bids for setting up a 1350-MW coal-fired thermal plant based on supercritical technology (which is more environment friendly) in March last. The bid of China Light Power (P) Ltd was the lowest. Now, the ball was in the court of the evaluation committee headed by Dharam Vir. His critics were gleefully willing to bet that the committee would not able to take a final decision for a long time. But it took only three meetings for the committee to finalise its recommendations to be placed before the Cabinet on July 23. The tariff finalised by the evaluation committee with China Light Power (P) Ltd are 13 paise/kwh power than those finalised by the Punjab State Electricity Board for its Talwani Sabo project and 2 paise/kwh than those of Uttar Pradesh for its Bara project. Insiders say Dharam Vir was just opposite of his image projected by his critics at these meetings. They say he was highly positive in his attitude and prompt in his approach.
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e-library reduces fee for schoolchildren
Sirsa, July 31 Sirsa deputy commissioner V. Umashankar informed The Tribune that Rs 100 would be charged from the members who are below 14 years of age and Rs 500 would be charged for the life membership from the youths above the age of 14 years. The state government had established the e-library at district headquarters to create interest of the youths in reading books, newspapers and magazines. It had benefited people of all ages and had enabled them to increase their knowledge. It is equipped with eight computers with broadband Internet facility and mostly youngsters are the members of this library. Members and readers can take the benefit of browsing the net and equip themselves with the different employment opportunities, news and other important information. The library already has 1,100 members. An amount of Rs 18 lakh had been spent in setting up of this library and the computers were well equipped with the study material related to various competitions, law books and encyclopaedia.
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Research papers accepted
Kurukshetra, July 31 Dr Kishore says his research concludes that when students are afforded the group learning opportunities and freedom of self- pacing, they not only perform better but also get motivated to learn further. The study was done on dropout and non-starter rural girls in the age group 9 to 14 years being educated in a two-year bridge school and the material in the form of group learning worksheets was used to accelerate the learning of such girls. Consequently, the girls studied in vertical groups using the worksheets and performed significantly better than their counterparts in the government primary schools, adds Results clearly reveal that education is a social process and group-learning process enhances learning due to academic and social support of peers and teachers. The intervention action research study also showed that students’ reactions to the group learning situations were overwhelmingly positive towards it, he adds.
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Foundation focuses on educating the poor
Kaithal, July 31 Bharti Foundation would also set up 500 Primary Schools and 50 Senior Secondary-cum-Vocational Training Schools for underprivileged children across rural India, which would benefit over 2,00,000 children across the country by giving them access to quality education through innovative teaching material and classroom processes. Sotha, a remote village falling in Guhla (reserve) assembly constituency of Kaithal district, was abuzz with activity on July 18 of this month when Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Haryana Chief Minister, formally launched the Satya Bharti School Programme in Haryana by inaugurating the Satya Bharti School at this village. Naveen Jindal, member of Parliament, Kurukshetra, Randeep Singh Surjewala, a Haryana minister, Dillu Ram, parliamentary secretary, Rakesh Bharti Mittal, vice-chairman, Bharti Enterprises, Badri Aggarwal, president, Bharti Foundation, deputy commissioner Vikas Gupta and SSP Anil Kumar Rao were among those present on the occasion. The school building, constructed on about half-an-acre plot provided by the panchayat, presented a different look than the existing government buildings surrounded by lush green paddy fields. The architect, Navneet Malhotra from Delhi, explained that it was a big challenge for them to provide a blueprint of a new type of building that should not only look different but should also have provisions for modern educational needs. After inaugurating the building, Hooda lauded the role of the Bharti Foundation. In his address, Rakesh Bharti Mittal said these schools are expected to benefit over 24,000 students by offering them access to quality education. Fifteen primary schools are already operational in Haryana with over 1500 children attending classes. “Even as India makes rapid economic progress, over 300 million children across the country in the age group of seven and above are out of school. There is an urgent need to address this situation and create opportunities for the underprivileged, particularly in rural areas. With the Satya Bharti Programme we aim to take quality education to every corner of the country and provide an opportunity to thousands of underprivileged children to be a part of mainstream education and be able to participate in the nation’s economic growth,” he said. He added that the promoters of Bharti and its associates have committed a corpus of Rs 200 crore for Bharti Foundation’s projects, particularly for the Satya Bharti School Programme’s roll out across the country. The latter is an innovative model of public-private partnership in the country where even people from village communities have played an important role. It aims to make available high-quality education to the underprivileged, out-of-school and migrant children, especially girls. Under the Satya Bharti School programme, the Bharti Foundation will set up 500 Satya Bharti Primary Schools and 50 Senior Secondary-cum-Vocational Training Schools in villages across India. Currently, 161 Satya Bharti Primary Schools are operational across the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, with more than 15,000 children and around 560 teachers. By 2010, the Foundation aims to reach out to more than 2,00,000 underprivileged children across the country on an ongoing basis. Apart from the regular curriculum, the Satya Bharti Senior Secondary-cum-Vocational Training Schools will impart professional skills to the students and equip them for future employment opportunities within their own villages and communities.
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Dress code for power utility employees
Sonepat, July 31 A spokesman for the nigam has informed that white shirt, navy blue trousers, black belt and black shoes for male staff and white kameej/blouse, navy blue salwar or saree or purple colour kameej, salwar or blouse, saree for female staff has been made mandatory. Caps for all employees and dangri for technical field staff would be provided by the nigam, he added. It has been decided to sanction Rs 1,000 as advance to the willing class III and IV employees for arranging the dress. The nigam would also pay them Rs 120 per month for the maintenance. The official further stated that the dress code from top to bottom level would bring about discipline and boost the feeling of equality. Instructions have been given to officers to ensure that the dress code is implemented in letter and spirit. The nigam has also announced penalty for violation of the dress code. It will be Rs 50 for the first violation, Rs 100 along with a letter of warning for the second, in case of third default stoppage of uniform allowance and its recovery in lump sum from the date of payment from the first violation, issue of charge sheet for the fourth and immediate suspension of service for the fifth default. Further, disciplinary action will be taken against the officer or in charge if he did not report from the third violation to the higher authorities, he added.
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Banks cover every household in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, July 31 Presenting a sector-wise plan with an outlay of Rs 861.33
crore, lead district manager R.K. Srivastava said Rs 275.93 crore had been allocated for agriculture, Rs 137.59 crore for small-scale industries and Rs 240.48 crore for other priority sectors. The total allocation on priority sectors was Rs 654
crore. In addition, an allocation of Rs 207.33 crore had been made for non-priority sectors. As the cultivable land in Gurgaon was reducing day by day, a 15 per cent increase in the allocation for agricultural sector was considered adequate by the house. Deputy general manager of Syndicate Bank,
Faridabad, R.C. Virmani while declaring Gurgaon as 100 per cent financially included district, explained that it meant all households had been brought under the ambit of banking. He explained the methodology adopted by Lead Bank in conducting survey and opening of accounts of the people so that each household was linked to the bank. He informed that the opening of zero balance accounts was the first phase of financial inclusion and in the second phase, credit needs of the people would be looked into. He urged the bankers to bring all those households in the ambit of banking that could not open or were not willing to open accounts initially at the time of launching this campaign. ADC Abhe Singh Yadav urged the bankers to open more and more zero balance accounts, as it would go a long way in financial inclusion and providing business to the banks.
K.S. Ahlawat, general manager, district industries centre, informed that Gurgaon ranked number one in Haryana in the implementation of Prime Minister Rozgar
Yojana. The banks disbursed loans to 658 unemployed youths for taking up self-employment against a target of 640.
Yadav appreciated efforts of the bankers and urged them to make 100 per cent disbursement to all sanctioned cases under this scheme.
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‘Unrest’ at rest houses
Jind, July 31 The Canal Rest House in the city seems to be such a place where inconvenience has taken over the comfort. A visit to this place reveals that there are several problems that bother the guests. The rest house is located along the Hansi branch canal passing through the town. It is housed in an old dilapidated building. It has a total of three rooms meant for officials of the state government and the department of irrigation, which is responsible for its upkeep and maintenance. While one room has been closed for the want of repairs, the entire building has perhaps not seen any major repair or whitewash for a long time. The ceiling of the rooms is old fashioned and dust and sand particles keep felling down. As the rest house is located on the outskirts of the city, there is hardly any person available at the spot to attend the guests if one arrives a little late in the evening. The taps often run dry when there is no power supply. Recently, a visitor was shocked when while taking bath dirty water started flowing from the tap. He had to give up his bath as there was no option left. It is also found that there is no water supply even for toilet and when this was brought to the notice of the staff there, they said the rooftop tanks were full and they could not tell why the water was not coming down. Meanwhile, executive engineer of the irrigation department claimed that the supply would improve soon as a new tubewell had been installed. The kitchen facility here has either been abandoned or made available to a selected few. A cup of tea could be made available only on demand and that too from a private tea stall operating on the campus of the department where the offices of the superintending engineer and the executive engineer are located. Recently, a guest had a nightmarish experience when he was disturbed by cockroaches on his bed at one of the rest houses in the city. It is reported that the facilities, including beds, curtains, air conditioners and water coolers and toiletries, are in a poor condition, although the departments concerned have been using the funds regularly on repairs and replacements, inform sources. Additional facilities like TV, telephone, newspapers, magazines and even items like comb and soaps in the toilets are missing at several places. It may be recalled that a huge amount of funds are being used for the maintenance of rest houses by various departments. The district has several rest houses, including those built and operated by government departments like the
PWD, power supply department, milk plant and the cooperative sugar mill. |
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Congress grass menace ‘alarming’
Chandigarh, July 31 Malik says the congress grass would pose a serious threat to the entire fauna and flora of the country in the years to come if immediate steps are not taken to check its growth. It is also proving hazardous to human health and local vegetables and crops. He says the agriculture science centre of the university situated at Sadalpur educates villagers about the ill effects of the congress grass. The farmers are advised to uproot the grass before it flowers to ensure its eradication. On getting dried, it should be burnt, he adds.
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Farmers go hi-tech, courtesy field schools
Yamunanagar, July 31 The Haryana government has started field schools for farmers in some areas of the district with the aim of acquainting them with improved farming techniques. As many as 600 farmers of about 20 villages have already been enrolled in these field schools in different subdivisions of the district. Each school has strength of 30 selected farmers. Officials of the agricultural department, scientists, assistant development officers and block officers are making farmers aware of new techniques used for the cultivation of crops, hi-tech instruments, animal husbandry, sericulture, fisheries and agricultural marketing. The farmers who are being trained in these schools would in turn guide other farmers of their areas. Giving details about the field schools, deputy director (agriculture) J.S. Brar told The Tribune that they had got good response from the farmers regarding these schools where the latter were getting solution to their problems regarding cultivation, and kind and quantity of pesticides to be used. Besides, the scientists are also providing information about soil type, weather conditions, temperature etc. He said they had been running schools in different blocks, including Chhachhrauli, Jagadari, Bilaspur, Sadhaur, Mushtafabad and
Radaur.
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Jhajjar to add workforce to expedite work
Jhajjar, July 31 These new officials will work under the block development office (BDO) and would be dedicated exclusively to NAREGA works to speed up the process of providing employment to unskilled labour in villages. Apart from this, it has been planned to appoint one gram rozgar sahayak for two villages in the district. According to sources, due to excessive workload, it is tough for a BDO to complete the work of providing employment to the villagers under the scheme in time as he is already engaged in several other development schemes. “Interviews have already been held for the appointment of these officials who are likely to join duty soon. These appointments will be helpful in speeding up the work,” said additional deputy commissioner Saket Kumar, adding that the recruitment of gram rojzar sahayaks was also under process. He informed that over 2,600 job cards for those seeking employment in the unskilled category under the NAREGA had been issued after registering them at their respective panchayats till June 30 while employment to 935 families had already been provided. The ADC said various gram panchayats had shown keen interest in digging new ponds, maintaining the existing ones and sewage drainage works in villages. This nationwide scheme funded by the union government was launched here on April 1 in order to provide at least 100 days employment in a year to unskilled labour in the rural areas. Anyone who has a job card is given a payment of Rs 135 as daily wages even if they are not engaged in any work. The other notable feature of the scheme is that the payment of wages would be made through bank accounts and not in cash. Zero balance accounts are being opened for the beneficiaries. |
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Civic amenities poor in Yamunanagar: Report
Yamunanagar, July 31 According to the report, the total investment required for development of proper infrastructure in the town, keeping the future in mind, includes Rs 53.11 crore for water supply, Rs 52.77 crore for storm water drainage system, Rs 20 crore for solid waste management, Rs 59.90 crore for widening of roads, Rs 27.57 crore for slums areas and Rs 2.71 crore for streetlights It has been pointed out that the town lacks proper storm water drainage system and rainwater flows into natural drains that fall into western Yamuna canal. Besides, no scientific waste disposal system is there and most of the garbage is dumped on empty tracts of land. Providing details of the poor condition of the national highway, state highways and internal roads, the report further points out that there is a dire need to widen and maintain them. These include National Highway-73 that connects Panchkula-Saha to Saharanpur and passes through Yamunanagar, the Yamunanagar-Kurukshetra state highway and the Yamunanagar-Chhachhrauli-Poanta Sahib highway. The report also suggests maintenance of internal roads.
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Gohana to get industrial estate
Sonepat, July 31 Gohana was famous in North India for its “niwar” and tape industry and at one time, the number of such units was around 80 with thousands of people having direct or indirect employment from this industry. The demand of “niwar” products was not only in local market but Indian Army also purchased such products. Besides, the area also witnessed growth of rice mills during the era of green revolution when the farmers of the area switched over to paddy cultivation. Earlier, the number of such rice mills in the area was around 20, but most of the rice mills shifted to the areas around GT road, particularly in Kurukshetra and Karnal districts.
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‘Melody missing in contemporary film songs’
Panchkula, July 31 The intuitive seer of film music, credited with musical score of 200 films including blockbusters like Waqt, Gumrah, Hamraz, Chaudhvin ka Chaand, Do Badan, Gumrah, Ghunghat, Gharana, Ghar Sansar, Kajal, Nikah and 17 Malyalam films, laments the missing melodic element in contemporary film songs. The soulless compositions reverberating with the electronic musical instruments have lost the original aesthetic appeal, rues Ravi alias Ravi Kumar Sharma. In the city to grace the Rafi memorial musical tribute “Mujhko mere baad zamana dundhe ga” on the 28th death anniversary of the peerless maestro at Inderdhanush auditorium here today. As per IAS Additional PSCM KK Khandelwal and the event organised by department of information and public relations Haryana is aimed at grooming the young talent in the state. 13 artists selected from Haryana will present film songs sung by Mohammad Rafi Saheb and composed by Ravi, adds project director BS Balhara. Haryana, undeniably, has emerged as the first state to organise functions to cherish the profound memory of artists, the omniscient human beings, says Ravi. Hailed as the pride of Haryana melody maker music director Ravi was born in 1926 and raised at Gurgaon in Haryana in a Brahmin family. A self-taught musician he worked in P&T department for five years before his passion for play back singing revolted and he migrated to Bombay in 1950. Talking to the Tribune Ravi disclosed about his modest beginning with chorus singing and gradually rising to an assistant to Hemant Kumar. Ravi won laurels for creating the ‘Been tune’ and playing it on harmonium for film Nagin that captivated the music lovers. This resulted in 11-film offer from Hemant Da who advised Ravi to work independently as music director, for which he had the innate potential, recalled Ravi with reverence. Ravi, thereafter never looked back and reigned supreme with hit musicals. After film Nikah he failed to cope with the rising commercial considerations in film music, which was ‘ibadat’ for him and Ravi turned to Malyalam films where he stamped his versatility with 11 hits. Ravi acknowledged the cooperation of producers BR Chopra and Devender Goyal for giving him a free hand. But it was the celestial singer Mohammad Rafi who immortalised his compositions while himself scaling the epitome of glory. Still not complacent, Ravi at 82 has five films and other projects including the musical compilation of rich Haryanvi folk songs. Highly decorated with 44 state and national awards including three Filmfare awards he remarked that none of the Indian wedding is complete without his two film songs “Aaj mere yaar ki shaadi hai” and “Babul ki duyaen leti ja”. Rafi virtually wept while recoding the second song, claimed Ravi. On reality shows, he rued the SMS business ruling the roost and half-baked singers without training in classical stream are surfacing for a short period. One such glamour victim, Salma Agha, who sang my composition for film Nikah could never withstand the market competition. Asked if he would ever compromise to compose lyrics like “mein tera majnu ban jaaunga, kurta phaad ke” in formula film offers he quoted a couplet “Halaat ke kadmon pe qalander nahin girta, Toote bhi agar tara zamin per nahin girta/ Girtey hein bade shauq se samadar mein darya, Lekin kabhi darya mein Samander nahin girta.”
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Fire stations cry for modern equipment
Ambala, July 31 There are 51 fire stations in the state run by the municipal councils and committees. The marketing board has 23 fire stations. But, strangely, the post of chief fire officer in the state is lying vacant for the last 5 years. Hi-tech modern industries, high-rise buildings and shopping malls are coming up at a rapid speed in Ambala, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Panipat, Sonepat, Yamunanagar, Panchkula, Rohtak, Hisar and Sirsa, but due to outdated equipments with the fire department and lack of proper training of the staff these are in grave danger. Notably, the municipal councils and committees of various cities are not financially strong enough to maintain fire services in a proper manner. The Dabwali incident, where nearly 350 kids and their parents were burnt alive, was an eye opener in this regard. According to the guidelines of the Standing Fire Advisory Council, fire tenders should be replaced after 10 years of functioning or one whenever they run one-lakh kilometres, but around 70 per cent of fire stations have been using fire tenders that have run much more than that. The council has also advised the use of modern machines for the safety of buildings above 15 metres in height. Hydraulic platforms are required in such cases but there are only two in Haryana. Foam crash tenders, required for controlling petroleum fires, are only available in half-a-dozen fire stations. Besides, any rescue operation from deep wells and underground sewers requires the use of latest breathing apparatus, which are only available at a Shortage of staff is another major problem. Around 50 per cent of the staff in the fire stations is on contract basis and have not been provided proper training. T.L. Verma, a retired chief fire officer from Haryana who is also the member of Institution of Fire Engineers India, is of the view that Haryana fire services need an overhaul. He had even sent some suggestions to the Chief Minister and director local bodies in this regard. On the other hand a serving fire officer I.S. Chauhan said the fire department did not have any budget to provide financial assistance to the municipal council for upgradation of fire services. “For the first time the state government has sanctioned a budget of Rs five crore to us and we have decided to purchase 30 new modern fire tenders,” he said. He added that fire services could improve if a separate directorate was made.
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Movie of the week
’99 Slaps and 1 Kiss’ is the slogan of Pritish Nandy Communication’s romantic comedy ‘Ugly Aur Pagli’ which opens this Friday at Suraj Panchkula, Liberty-Rohtak, Neelam-Faridabad, Minerva-Ambala and Suncity-Hisar. Story: An amiable engineer’s life turns upside down when a bindas girl who makes him go bananas. A different love story with punches and thuds. What to watch out for: First-timer Sachin Khot’s direction, Chemistry between lead pair Ranvir Shorey and Mallika Sherawat and styling of the cast by ace designer Ashley Rebello. — Dharam Pal |
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