Jalandhar, November 7
Even as the government has banned putting up of signboards of liquor and tobacco brands, companies have been running the show by flashing surrogate advertisements at all prominent places across the city.

A major concern over the issue arises from the fact that many such boards dot the areas around educational institutions. Such billboards have been well-designed, illuminated and placed at such strategic locations that they catch the fancy of youngsters every time they move across them.

But the officials of the municipal corporation and the excise and taxation office have completely ignored the growing menace. Harbir Singh, assistant excise and taxation commissioner, expressed his helplessness, “Over the years, liquor brand companies have started venturing into other products just as Wills launched its garments range and Kingfisher has its airline service. There are a host of other liquor companies manufacturing soda. We are aware that such brands are promoting liquor indirectly but we cannot act upon them as per law.”

In the city, a huge signboard promoting a soda by a liquor company - spanning across the length of the GT Road - has been put up on the footbridge near BMC Chowk. A number of school students passing across the chowk, especially the nearby Apeejay school and college, happen to see it daily.

Another liquor company showing soda advertisement has perhaps deliberately put up the signboard at Workshop Chowk. Many educational institutes including DAV College, HMV College, DAVIET, Dayanand Model School, Sain Dass School, Mehr Chand Polytechnic fall around the area.

Similarly, there is another such signboard near the Khalsa school on Nakodar Road. There is one outside Guru Gobind Singh Stadium as well where many youngsters go every morning and evening practising sports. Further ahead, there is one at Milk Bar Chowk across which St Joseph’s School is located.

The companies, it seems, have not even spared religious places. There is one signboard right in front of a temple in Defence Colony. The liquor shops and ahatas have openly put up multiple, huge, illuminated glowsign boards of liquor itself. One such ahata falls right in front of the district administrative complex. There are many on the backside of the bus stand on Garha Road with four to five high hanging signboards.

The officials say these liquor shop owners were blatantly violating the norms as the boards were oversized as per the standard norms and could not be decked up with lighting. But they said action was often avoided taking care of the revenue that the companies were bringing in to the government.

Advocate Vinay Goel said the municipal corporation and the administration must step in to check the growing menace. “Everyone knows that most such advertisements indirectly promote a liquor brand which is a practically a wrong way to do it.”

Ironically, most of such advertisements have come up on unipoles and advertisement sites allotted to a private company by the MC in contract.

Mayor Rakesh Rathore responded, “The contract was made before I joined the office. I am personally not in favour of it and want to get it re-tendered after seeking a legal opinion. We can, of course, tell the company officials not to put up an obscene advertisement. But we are helpless about a surrogate liquor or tobacco advertisement.”

Amritsar, November 7
After its successful crusade against smugglers involved in the trade of heroin and other highly concentrated narcotics, the counter-intelligence wing - special narcotics cell (SNC) - has planned to lay more emphasis on smack, which is highly consumed by drug addicts in Punjab, to break the nexus.

The consumption of smack has reached alarming proportions compared to that of heroin which is only pushed into this side of the border for further smuggling to European countries.

Till now, it (heroin) was a major concern for all the agencies which looked little into the illegal business of smack, an impure form and low quality derivative of opium which flourished in Punjab for a long time.

According to reports, a majority of the small-time drug peddlers in other districts of Punjab and inside the holy city were involved in selling smack which is easy to carry in small quantities in the form of packets from other parts of the country.

As per estimates, about 30 kg of smack has been seized till now in Amritsar and its adjoining areas, of which 18 kg has been seized by the DRI.

Jadish Mittal, DIG, counter intelligence, while talking to The Tribune, said heroin was smuggled from the mountainous areas of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan (where opium has been grown for hundreds of years) through the Indo-Pak border.

However, its major portion was smuggled to Europe and the USA through Delhi and Bombay. Recent seizures have shown smuggling of narcotics through Amritsar international airport. He said a very little quantity was used in Punjab.

Smack is smuggled into Punjab, where a majority of the youth was hooked to it, from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan through Haryana. Punjab was one of the worst-affected areas in terms of drug abuse and drug smuggling due to its proximity with Pakistan. Therefore, the SNC was stressing on countering this menace by ascertaining its origin, modus operandi of smuggling and other aspects involved, said Mittal.

Parveen Kumar Sinha, SSP, SNC, said they were in touch with the district police also and were chalking out plans for cracking on illegal smack trade and peddlers. He said one time ferry for these drug peddlers yielded a huge monetary returns for them.

Jalandhar, November 7
At the age of 12 when he set out to perform at the Sawai Gandharva (Pune), arranged by famed Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, he was given strict instructions by his mother to conquer the festival otherwise there was no need for him to come back home.

“After my performance Panditji (Bhimsen Joshi) told me that I had sung so well that nobody was ready to be the next one to perform. Thankfully I could go back home without the fear of not being let in by my mother.”

The 12-year-old, popularly known as the child prodigy in music circles, has grown up to conquer the world with his sweet, soothing strains.

Classical music maestro Pandit Ajay Pohankar was here to perform at the Heritage Festival, Kapurthala, on Friday.

With a voice as humble as the purity of the melancholy notes of his “alaaps” and with a demeanour as graceful as one naturally associates with grey-haired wisdom, Pohankar is every bit of an epitome of the balance struck between the old and the new.

Born in Jabalpur in 1947, Pohankar received training in music from his mother musicologist Dr Susheela Pohankar of Kirana gharana.

Talking about the speciality of his gharana, he says, “Kirana gharana mein svar ka lagaav dheere-dheere hota hai.”

About offers from Bollywood, he says, “I was supposed to sing the song ‘albela sajan aayo re’ (from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam) but since my track wasn’t added in the film and due to other misunderstandings I did not become part of the project.”

About his first album with Abhijit Pohankar he says, “Since the movie experience turned sour, I did not feel like becoming part of any other film project and that’s when Abhijit said we should do something good and new. So that’s how Piya Bawari happened.”

When asked what should be done to bridge the gap between those who understood classical music and those who liked the modern digital versions, he says, “Piya Bawari is the answer to that.” On reality shows, he says, “They are very good as far as the right and deserving artiste is promoted but sometimes media hype up the wrong people.”

Teacher of artistes like Anuradha Paudwal, Antara Chaudhari, Nitin Sharma and Vinod Sehegal, he says, “Today’s impatient generation cannot take or learn heavy classical music. It is very important for the guru to know the shishya’s aptitude.”

The artistes he likes among the younger generation are Abhijit (Pohankar), Niladari Kumar, Amaan and Ayaan. They were doing good work.

“As far as the younger generation goes, I like Shankar Mahadevan and A.R. Rehman. Shreya Ghoshal and Jaspinder Narula also sing well.”

Himself a double MA (in English and music) he has also been working as a professor at Mumbai University. He is presently working on some untitled albums.

Jalandhar, November 7
The police has made no headway in the post office robbery in which armed persons decamped with Rs 40 lakh although 24 hours have passed. The incident has created an atmosphere of insecurity among residents and traders. Sources said the police had rounded up over a dozen employees on suspicion.

Interestingly, the robbers struck at the general post office (GPO), hardly 250 yards from a police station.

Although the police has involved a watchman and a labourer of the GPO, Ashok Kumar and Darshan Lal Yadav, respectively, who were found tied with ropes near the strong room yet to no avail.

SP S.K. Kalia revealed that the police had been conducting raids at various suspected hideouts of robbers involved in the crime. — TNS