Jalandhar, October 2
Even as the owners of hotels and administrators of public places have begun gearing up for the implementation of the anti-smoking law, most residents feel that its implementation would be a difficult task.

Most of the city hotel owners have either put up a “No smoking zone” signboard or are in the process of creating separate smoking zones. Hotel Maya GM Manoj Madhukar says that he has already complied with both provisions. “We have converted our bar and restaurant into smoke free zones. We have even put up a display ‘Thank you for not smoking’ in our banquet hall. We have created a separate smoking area outside our restaurant,” he said.

General manager of the Punjab Roadways Parneet Singh said a couple of signboards had already been put up in the bus stand area near eating joint. “We are soon planning to put up more boards with contact numbers of police officials at prominent points.

We have been educating our staff on the new Smoking in Public Places Rules, 2008, so that they ensure that no one violates them even in buses,” he pointed out. Advocate Rajinder Bhatia opined that the habitual smokers would not refrain from violating the law for a small penalty of Rs 200. “They have been buying premium packs for Rs 100 or more, the amount of penalty will be mere peanuts for them. The PCR cops who already are spending on petrol from their own pockets will surely not move around looking for violations. I believe that the new law will meet the same fate as that of the cyber law under which hardly a case or two have been registered here. The new law will give yet another way out to the corrupt cops for making money for they would settle down taking Rs 50 instead,” he believes.

Mayor Rakesh Rathour said since the execution of the law had been announced, signboards would be put up in offices and other areas discouraging people from smoking.

Asked about any difficulty he expected in the implementation of the law, SSP Pawan Rai said, “We would get to know that as we begin working on it. It is too early to comment.”

Jalandhar, October 2
On a complaint filed by a city-based advocate, the district consumer disputes redressal forum has issued a notice for October 15 to the in charge of copy agency of district courts.

Harsh Bhatt, an advocate and a resident of Mohalla Satrian in Basti Sheikh, had lodged a complaint against the district and sessions judge, civil judge senior division and copy agency (through in charge branch lower court) in the forum, saying that he wanted to obtain certain copies of an order which he had not received since the past four and a half months despite having paid a requisite amount of fee.

The copies of order pertain to a case titled “Ramesh Vohra v/s Ramesh Kumar passed on October 24, 2007. He has alleged that he had been assured by the in charge on May 15, 2008 that he would be provided certified copies but he had not received them till date.

The advocate has written, “If for any reason the certified copy of documents has not been prepared by the Nakal Navis on the prescribed date, the copy agency is bound to inform the applicant by post regarding the reason for it and the next date of delivery thereof.”

In his complaint, he has mentioned, “Since the district and session judge and the civil judge were the officers of the copy agency, their liability was joint.

But observing that the two parties have been dragged unnecessarily, the forum has issued a notice only against the in charge of the copy agency.”

Calling it unprofessional attitude, the complainant has asked for Rs 1 lakh compensation to be deposited in the consumer welfare fund of the state commission.

Jalandhar, October 2
With an aim to promote sports at the grass-roots level, the Punjab sports department has started including budding players in its campaign “Catch them young scheme and promotion of sports at grass-roots level.” Recently the department organised Punjab State Rural Games for boys under-16 in 10 disciplines - athletics, archery, football, hockey, kho-kho, kabaddi, volleyball, weightlifting, tug-of-war and wrestling - from September 27 to 30 in which Ludhiana won the overall championship followed by Tarn Taran while sports city Jalandhar stood third.

Director of sports, Pargat Singh said the selected players under the “Catch them young scheme” would be placed in different coaching camps for participating in the upcoming National Rural Sports Meet. “The tournament would be conducted at different venues for the promotion of rural sports this year,” he added. The department has made an effort to involve nearly 1.50 lakh players from villages under the central government scheme, “Panchayati Yuva Krira Aur Khel Abhiyan,” for the year 2008-09. — TNS

Jalandhar, October 2
The workshops that were recently conducted in the city by artists Ranjana Gauhar and Uma Sharma exposed the city students to a whole new world of Indian classical dance. A world which bridged the gap between theory and practical.

For most of the students, these twin workshops - by Odissi exponent Padmashree Ranjana Gauhar and Kathak Queen Padmabhusan Uma Sharma at Virsa Vihar - were the first big exposure to the real classical dance arena.

Says Kirandeep, an MA final student of BD Arya Girla College: "The workshops were an eye-opener. Gauhar taught us the basics of Odissi which we had till now just read in text books and the talk about various gharanas by Uma Sharma was truly enriching. Her style of Kathak has added a new variety to what we were being taught.”

Agrees Dr Anjul Sharma, a lecturer of Indian classical dance at the same college. “The visit of these giants has given the students an altogether new insight into the understanding of dance in its real form. It has also added clarity to their concepts,” she added.

Santosh Vyas, head of the department at the APJ College of Fine Arts, who took her students to Gauhar’s workshop, says, "Mangalacharan, hand gestures and the overall presentation of Odissi were superb. The students who earlier didn’t know much about mudras have been now enlightened in a manner that will stay with them for a long time.”

Eva Sharma, a topper and postgraduate student at APJ College of Fine Arts, said, “It was for the first time that I attended such a workshop. We had Mangalacharan, Pushpanjali and Pallavi in our syllabus but had no idea about how they are performed. But now are classical dance fundas are clear. Our horizons have been broadened.”

Sangeeta Sharma, head of the department of Indian classical dance at the HMV College, said, "It was a brilliant opportunity for the students of different colleges who not only got to meet the accomplished artistes but also openly expressed their views on dance. Such events should be a regular feature in Jalandhar which lags behind in classical culture in comparison to other old cities.”

“For those who want to take up classical dance as a career, interactions like these are very fruitful,” feels Ekta, a student of BA final at HMV College. 

Jalandhar, October 2
The recent resolutions passed by the MC house regarding imposing of penalties for those parking vehicles in tow-away zones or those dumping building material outside their boundaries and taking security for rainwater harvesting have evoked a mixed response from the masses.

While many feel that the new regulations would help in keeping the city clean and beautiful, there are others who feel that penalties are no solution to the 
problems.

Says Lakhbir Singh, president, Pahal, “It is a human psychology. Most of us will not understand warnings and will try to defy rules to suit our own needs. We get alert only when we know that any violation could prove to be a loss on money. So, I believe that the new amendments would bring in some change in streamlining the traffic and keeping a check on builders flouting the rules.”

Amarjot Singh, a property developer and son of MP Iqbal Singh, feels otherwise. He said the existing malba fee of 50 paise per sq feet of the covered area was already too high. “This fee deposited at the time of sanction of building plan is actually a rent that we are paying to the MC for using their land. A new penalty for getting the concrete unloaded outside the boundary wall of the under-construction site will only enhance the cost of construction which eventually will be passed down by us to our customers,” he opined.

The young builder said the idea of taking Rs 2 lakh advance security for mandatory installing a rainwater harvesting system was in fact no solution. He said there were not many trained people in this area. “We too feel for the cause. But a better solution for MC officials would have been to take some Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000, whatever be the cost, from us and deploy their own manpower and expertise for creating pits and drains for groundwater recharge in commercial sites. A collective effort from our side and the MC is actually what is required. There is no fun in creating a system which may become obsolete after a short while,” he made his point.

The SP, traffic, Rajpal Sandhu, said earlier Rs 1,000 were being charged from owners who parked their vehicles in tow-away zones. He said people had been saying that the charges were too high. “I think the new amendment must have come with the same point of view. They have now categorised vehicles and will be charging accordingly,” he said.

Mayor Rakesh Rathour said all proposals passed in the house were being sent to the state government for a final nod. “This is likely to take another month before we can actually implement them,” he said, adding that there was no dearth of manpower for the execution of the proposals. “I think our existing staff should be able to manage it,” he said.

Jalandhar, October 2
Wednesday saw Jalandharites enjoying an elite shopping festival under one roof “Theme for a dream - festive moments” organised by Reeti Singh and Nikku with some of the best designer brands at Hotel Radisson.

The occasion was the opening of a two-day premier exhibition on the lifestyle industry, which included a blend of style in its collection of designer jewellery, fashion accessories, furnishings, designer wear, home decor and nearly everything.

It rained style and glamour for the fashion savvy people of Jalandhar with designer clothing and accessories of this autumn-winter season.

For the fashion conscious people it was an experience in itself as the exhibition came up with the best of the shopping material. If there were Indian traditional embroideries then exhibition also carried a touch of old, ethnic and royal stuff too. Even the jewellers also displayed the blend of contemporary style coupled with old traditional ornamental substances and coloured precious stones.

Talk about the brands that were on display and the list seems endless. The designer brands on display included fine artifacts and home decors pieces by Vadhera Artifacts, Delhi, jewellery by Voyala Jewels, Ludhiana, Forever Diamonds, Delhi, designer wears like Oodhni, Delhi, Lyallpur Instyle, Harleen’s Ensemble, Ludhiana and much more.

And for the Jalandharites the exhibition indeed brought a special shopping extravaganza.