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Claims of assessing CST when it can’t even waive a form
Awards |
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Chain of hope
Kapurthala electorate to vote for Hoshiarpur, Khadur Sahib
Traffic rules go to the dogs
‘Tit for tat to treat for tat’
17th day of canteen employees’ strike
ETO accused of demanding bribe from Jind trader
Young World
Bitter bout in sugar prices
Young champion of moves
Man On Mission Know Your Artiste/Ranjana
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Claims of assessing CST when it can’t even waive a form
Jalandhar, March 5 In an official advertisement listing sops by the state government for the traders, which appeared in most newspapers yesterday and the day before, the last point stated “deemed assessment scheme introduced for dealers.” Reacting to this claim of the state government, local businessmen today said the scheme was implemented for a while as it did not find any takers. “It was a total farce as the Punjab government did not have the powers to waive the C-forms for CST which actually was the main demand,” they pointed out. Charanjit Maingi, a representative of the local chamber of traders, said there was no idea to avail the scheme as the assessees still had to fill C-forms. “Blowing a trumpet about a scheme that does not make any sense for the traders is simply a way to win them over by making a false propaganda,” he said. In yet another announcement made by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal yesterday at Ludhiana, he said development charges of Rs 400 per sq yard would be taken for undeclared colonies. “While he announced it in a way as if it was a pre-poll sop but the reality is that the charges have been increased by Rs 166 per sq yard from the current development rate of Rs 234 per sq yard for an area of 250 sq yards or more,” agreed most officials of the municipal corporation here. Kuldip Kumar, general secretary of the Ravinder Nagar Welfare Society, said his was an undeclared colony and residents of his area were pressing for bringing down the charges. “But contrary to our demand, these have been increased. While earlier no charges were to be levied from those who have a house in 50 sq yard area, they too will now have to pay up,” he fumed. Minister for local bodies, industries and commerce Manoranjan Kalia said he was not fully aware of the issues. “I need to check them up,” he said. Meanwhile, the local BJP unit is upset over the limelight being stolen by the SAD in recent government advertisements. “It is a coalition government and ideally both the parties should share the credit for any betterment. There is unrest among the BJP workers on the matter,” lamented Ravi Mahendru, president of the local BJP unit.
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Awards
Jalandhar, March 5 The highlight of the event was the performance of Wadali Brothers, Singh is Kinng fame Labh Janjua, Madhu Shri and Saleem and Bollywood sensation Mahalaxmi Iyer, who mesmerised the audience with their soulful presentation. Another notable guest of the event was film actor Parikshit Sahni. Joy Mukherjee and Lekh Tandon, who have directed numerous evergreen Hindi movies and TV serials, were also present at the event. Awards were given in the following categories: Best graphics - “Beti Ki Pukar”, best sports programme “Lupt Krida”, wildlife and environment “Flora and Fauna”, best dance drama ballet “Kalpana”, best tele play “I Am Not Woman That Kind”, best animation “Robocon-2008”, best children’s programme “Game Of Death”, best make-up Mahishasur Mardini, best youth programme “Navrang” by Jasveer Singh of DDK, Jalandhar, best maintained kendra “Shashikant of DDK, Jalandhar”, and best literary adaptation “Samander Ki Rani”. Doordarshan director-general Aruna Sharma said the awards were aimed at tapping the best talent among the producers and technical teams of DD and providing them with a platform to excel globally.
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Meet Parikshit Sahni
Jalandhar, March 5 Meet Parikshit Sahni the man who gave us ‘Gul Gulshan Gulfam’ and memorable Urdu dialogues. The actor-turned-director was in the city to attend the 8th annual DD awards at Jalandhar Doordarshan here yesterday evening. The Tribune tried to explore some untouched corners of his life. Sharing his plans, the actor said, “We are launching Balraj Sahni Manch, a platform for the revival of dying art of theatre. Under this banner we will perform some memorable plays across the country. In fact recently we performed a play written by Bhisham Sahni and other things are still underway. I hope to live up to the dreams of my father.” And on a straight question that will Jalandhar also get a glimpse of his works of theatre the actor quipped, “Take it as a promise I will be soon here with some good work,” he said showing a sign of promise. Sahni gracefully mentioned every detail of his father the legendary actor Balraj Sahni on whose name he owns Balraj Sahni Productions. Probably who does not know the man who gave us the evergreen beautiful song ‘Ae meri zohra zabeen’ and many other marvels to remember? “My father was an ardent fan of Punjabi language and he was looked forward to people with same thoughts. I am trying to fulfill some of his wishes by bringing good works of art in future,” added the actor. And talk about the bygone era of DD and the actor has stories to tell. “I owe a lot to DD. Right from the golden days of Gul Gulshan Gulfam to my journey in Bollywood I had a wonderful time. I have always felt a bond with this channel. Recently I made a serial ‘Kamna’ for DD, which is a real life musical story of a Delhi-based girl whom I met long time ago. The effort is a tribute to her genius and determination in life,” he said. Meanwhile he also commented on the indecent representation of women on other channels, for which he asserted, “It indeed shameful to represent women in indecent manner. There seems to be a race for overnight stardom which has led to a big void in quality works of art in the industry,” the actor maintained. Well his desire to serve the Punjabi language could not be fulfilled and the actor said, “At times I feel sorry that I never got a chance to stay here in Punjab. But these days I am looking forward to explore the vast lengths of rich heritage of Punjab and probably direct a Punjabi movie too.” These days the actor is busy with an upcoming movie with director Ken Ghosh. The man with rich roots in acting has now finally taken the reins of serving the rich traditional Indian art and Punjab in particular.
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Chain of hope
Jalandhar, March 5 The youth formed chains at BMC Chowk, outside Lyallpur Khalsa College, Doaba College, DAV College and Mehr Chand Polytechnic, holding posters on social messages such as say not to drugs, follow traffic rules, save environment and protection from AIDS. They
distributed pamphlets and other printed material among the passer-by and college students. At the venues, the staff and representatives of the social bodies also joined hands forming longer chains. Citizens Welfare Council general secretary Anoop Watts, Lally Infosys managing director S.S. Lally, Prof Kamal Mehta of DAV College and Prof Sandeep Chahal of Doaba College, were among those who joined them. Principals of the colleges also addressed the volunteers and lauded their efforts. Capt I.S. Dhami, assistant director youth services, organised the event. |
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Kapurthala electorate to vote for Hoshiarpur, Khadur Sahib
Kapurthala, March 5 Two each of the four assembly constituencies of Kapurthala district now fall in the Hoshiarpur and Khadur Sahib seats. The Kapurthala and Sultanpur Lodhi assembly segments fell in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat, whereas the Phagwara and Bholath constituencies fell in the Phillaur Lok Sabha seat until the Lok Sabha elections held in 2004. Now Sultanpur Lodhi and Kapurthala fall in the Khadur Sahib constituency, whereas Phagwara and Bholath in Hoshiarpur after delimitation
in 2007. Meanwhile, in order to strictly implement the model code of conduct, Kapurthala deputy commissioner-cum-district returning officer Raj Kamal Chaudhury appointed the tehsildars of Bholath, Kapurthala Sultanpur Lodhi and Phagwara as nodal officers-cum-duty magistrates, respectively, for different assembly constituencies. Any one having a complaint regarding violation of the election code of conduct in their respective areas may contact the Bholath tehsildar (mobile 9815798278), Kapurthala tehsildar (9815557121), Sultanpur Lodhi tehsildar (9888048333) and Phagwara tehsildar (9814853692), he added. Chaudhury further said the Kapurthala municipal council EO (mobile 9814557673), Phagwara MC EO (9817407448), Sultanpur Lodhi MC EO (9855608701), Bholath Nagar Panchayat EO (01822244381), Begowal Nagar Panchayat EO (01822248023) and Dhilwan MC EO (0182-2273762) may also be contacted in the case of any violation of the model code of conduct in their respective areas. |
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Traffic rules go to the dogs
Jalandhar, March 5 March 4: Two passengers, including a woman, were killed and over 25 were injured on the Jalandhar-Jammu highway. According to the police, the bus was overloaded and rashly driven when the mishap occurred. The road accidents are the outcome of the indifference on the part of transporters who have been plying the vehicles by employing fresh and untrained drivers. Moreover, the buses are also being plied in violation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court directives. Making mockery of the directions of the High Court, not only private buses but the ones plied by government schools and colleges, besides that of a local university, are also ruling the roads with impunity. A survey by The Tribune team found that a majority of the buses were without first-aid kits and other mandatory goods. Packed to capacity, drivers could be seen driving rash with mobile phones on their ears. Pressure horns sounding various Punjabi song tunes and conversation of the drivers with people sitting on the bonnet are a general phenomenon in the city and its vicinity. The practice is followed by the drivers even on the crowded roads and killer highways to over-speed each other. While the violators throw norms to the winds, the traffic police personnel have been proving mute spectators. The additional district transport officer (ADTO), Jalandhar, Manmohan Luthra, claimed that political intervention and unwillingness of the authorities are the main factors that had been helping the violators. He said the campaign to implement the High Court directions strictly against the violators would be launched soon. He said special emphasis would be laid to challan university, college and school buses. Meanwhile, SSP R.K. Jaiswal denied the political intervention in implementing the court directions. He said the police had been challaning the violators for various offences regularly. Certain linguistic persons of the city are of the opinion that there should be reintroduction of the provision under which the chief judicial magistrate of the area be given powers to challan the violators and slap heavy penalties to curb the menace. The state government should formulate a policy in this regard so that lives of hundreds of persons losing their lives on roads be saved
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‘Tit for tat to treat for tat’
Jalandhar, March 5 “Tit for tat to treat for tat” has been penned by Dr Harvinder Pal Singh, a doctor based at Jalandhar cantonment who has been delving into stress management therapies and has been organising workshops and seminars in different parts of the state with the Life Care Foundation, an NGO. He has passed a certified postgraduate course conducted by Apollo
Hospitals, Hyderabad, few years back submitting his thesis on “Domestic stress in India.” The book begins as a dialogue between him and his friend Gandhi, who has helped himself come out of the stressful phase of his life and the
reader automatically learns a lot of self-healing from the conversation between the two. The book is packed with several soul-stirring real-life anecdotes. The author even seems to come close to address the common problems, whether these relate to anger management or settling differences with the spouse, while helping them change perception towards life to earn respect, happiness, success and stress-free life. The author even introduces some new terms to the readers, such as “internal communication therapy (I.C.therapy)” and “human engineering.” The book carries a foreword by B.L. Chawla, father of Kalpana Chawla. There are 20 testimonials of the individuals from different walks of life, including academicians, who consider it as an illuminating piece of literary work, and businessmen, who consider it like a panacea to solve their
day-to-day problems. |
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17th day of canteen employees’ strike
Jalandhar, March 5 Talking to The Tribune over the phone from Delhi, secretary-general of the union T.S. Chauhan said supporting their demand former patron of the association Harish Rawat and CPM leader Sita Ram Yechury met defence minister A.K. Antony and apprised him of the problem of the defence canteen employees throughout the country. “Besides this, a meeting with officials of the ministry of defence was also planned to raise the issue,” he added. Meanwhile, the condition of two members on fast got critical and they had to be hospitalised on February 24. “The condition of the remaining members on fast is also critical but it seems that the government has turned a blind eye to our long-pending demands,” said Chauhan. He said the central committee of the AIDCCEU had decided to continue the fast till their demands were accepted. The agitation was also being supported by scores of trade unions across the country. |
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ETO accused of demanding bribe from Jind trader
Jalandhar, March 5 Parveen Kumar of Shankar Sports, Jind, alleged that ETO (mobile wing) of Amritsar Manjit Singh demanded Rs 50,000 for releasing the tempo while he was ready to pay the penalty as per rules. The trader was taking the sports goods worth nearly Rs 1.40 lakh to Jind in the tempo after purchasing the same from Jalandhar and Batala, whereas he had the bills of Rs 90,000, he added. The ETO detained the tempo at Phillaur on Tuesday at 8 pm and kept the same in some private godown, he added. Admitting his fault of getting bills of less amount as compared to the actual purchased goods, the trader expressed his willingness to pay the penalty as per law but the ETO demanded Rs 50,000 from him for releasing the tempo. The trader further said the ETO gave his mobile number to him and asked him to ring him after some time. When he contacted him on his phone, he kept asking him to call him again after one hour, he alleged. However when he called him on Wednesday afternoon he asked him to reach the enforcement office of the ETO on Mall Road in Jalandhar. At this, the trader, Parveen Kumar, brought the incident to the notice of Khel Udyog Sangh convener Ravindra Dhir. Dhir said they sat in the office for several hours on Wednesday and he also contacted the ETO to get their goods released after getting the penalty but to no avail. Later the ETO asked them to come to the office on Thursday morning, Dhir said, adding when they reached the office the ETO was not present. At this, they started demonstration against the ETO outside the office. Meanwhile, when contacted, the ETO denied the accusations of demanding bribe. In the meantime, deputy commissioner of excise and taxation-cum-joint director (investigation), Jalandhar division, Kanwaljit Singh, said the ETO could detain any consignment for 72 hours as per law to ascertain whether it contained more goods as compared to the bill amount. If he fould so he forwarded the case to the AETC for imposing a penalty, otherwise he might release the same, he added. However, the ETO released the consignment on Thursday evening itself after imposing a penalty of Rs 16,640.
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Young World
Jalandhar, March 5 Farewell parties
The local Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya organised a farewell party for final-year students of the college. Junior students presented a colourful dance and song programme. As per the tradition, “Gyan Jyoti” was passed on to the second-year students of the college. Neha was declared “Miss Farewell” while other students were given best wishes cards. The Kamla Nehru College for Women, Phagwara, also organised a farewell party for the outgoing graduate and postgraduate students of the college. During the function, Priyanka was adjudged “Miss KNC.” Second-year students of cantonment-based B.D. Arya Girls College, too, organised a farewell party for the outgoing students. Attractive fun games were the highlight of the event. Kirandeep was declared “Miss B.D. Arya” on the occasion. Orientation programme
An orientation programme was organised at Apeejay School on Wednesday. The objective of the programme was to acquaint the parents of tiny tots of class I with the techniques and methodology of teaching. Programme coordinator Roma Midha spoke at length on the comprehensive assessment laid by the CBSE. —
TNS |
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Bitter bout in sugar prices
Jalandhar, March 5 The steep hike in the prices of sugar has burnt a hole in the pockets of consumers. Trade circles maintain that coming days would witness a steep hike in the prices of sugar due to the ongoing shortfall in the bulk production of sugarcane. At present, sugar is available at an increased price of Rs 26 per kg. Traders are apprehensive that the prices would register an upswing in another couple of months. “The slump in the production of sugarcane by farmers has led to a hike in the price of sugar which is an essential commodity in every home. Under the prevailing conditions, the price of sugar will definitely reach Rs 30 in the coming days,” said Sunil Kumar, a trader. Another trader maintained that owing to the non-payment to sugarcane farmers across the country, the common man is witnessing this problem. “Despite banning the export and placing orders for the import of sugar, sugar prices are at an all-time high,” he said. Harjeet Kaur, a housewife, said, “Being an essential commodity one cannot manage without sugar in daily routine. However, the hike in its prices has led to a
big problem for the common man.” Meanwhile, wheat flour has not witnessed any change in its prices. |
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Young champion of moves
Jalandhar, March 5 He won a special prize for his excellent performance. The chess genius represented Punjab in this championship and made a smooth win by defeating his counterparts from across the country. A student of local MGN Public School, he has been playing chess since the age of three. The budding player won five games out of six in this championship. An ardent fan of chess maestro Vishwanathan Anand, he expressed his keen interest in the game and said, “I learnt the basics of the game at an early age from my father. Besides this the continuous practice sessions with my coach Rajneesh Dhusa has actually helped me in improving my concentration and understanding of the game.” Talking about his style of playing the game, the chess player said, “I enjoy playing end games. Apart
from this I always stay in touch with the latest material available on the game which includes chess magazines, CDs and other software”. Earlier also he won the under-11 chess championship which was organised by the Punjab State Chess Association
in Amritsar. In fact it has been the constant support of his father Dr Avinash Gupta, who after acknowledging his talent paved way for him to excel in the game. “I was amazed with his intelligence. Within days of learning the basic from me he started defeating me in every game. It was then that I decided to arrange a professional coach for him.” And the boy is not just a chess genius but an equally good tabla and harmonium player as well. “He has been excelling in every field gracefully,” said Dr Gupta. |
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Man On Mission
Jalandhar, March 5
This polio-afflicted young guy is using the back of seat of his tricycle to pen down his ideas. A tailor by profession, Yash Paul (31) got his thoughts painted on the back of his seat. The message, which usually was a satire on the political or social scenario, remained in tact for a month or two before a new one appears. Some of the messages were a sarcasm of the political statements issued by the ruling parties from time to time. As at the time when the fuel prices were brought down, he wrote, “Petrol Rs 5 and diesel Rs 2 sasta, lagda hai election nere aa gaye han (meaning petrol Rs 5 and diesel Rs 2 cheaper, elections seem to be around the corner).” When till a few days back, there were daily power cuts for four to five hours, he took an opportunity to ridicule the government by writing, “Electricity, naam suna-suna sa lagta hai (meaning electricity, the name sounds somewhat familiar).” He has coined some other quotes on polls like, “Election - Just a matter of sale and purchase”. He has even voiced his anger against the functioning of government offices as he once mentioned, “Every year government employees take a bribe of about Rs 1,000 crore.” A class XII pass, Yash Paul has even used the slot to put across social messages on disability, for once he wrote, “Don’t see how a man falls; see the way he gets up.” He said he sometimes even took the help of a college professor known to him in framing his ideas. He said while he was on a move on the roads, people coming from behind after reading the messages often stopped by him to comment on his quotes and encouraged him to carry on. He said he was currently concentrating on putting up some interesting quotes on elections.
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Know Your
Artiste/Ranjana Jalandhar, March 5 She ties rakhi to Sufi stalwart Ustad Puran Shahkoti and his disciple Hans Raj Hans calls her his sister. In a world which is cynical about typecasting relationships and rendering undue importance to professional acquaintances, she is still referred to as “bhainji” by half the Punjabi music industry. Belonging to the era in Punjabi music when music used to be more about melody and meaning, and songs used to be studded with decorous lyrics, Ranjana, also known as “Kerala ki kokila”, is among those rare finds of the Punjabi music whose sparkle hasn’t died down with time. A native of Kottayam in Kerala, Ranjana came to Punjab at the age of six. A daughter of an Army man, she first took to stage at the age of nine. She first showcased her talent at the Ramlila singing her idol Lata Mangeshkar’s song “Mere mehboob tujhe meri mohbbat ki kasam”. Then she started taking music lessons from ghazal singer Charan Das Safri at the age of 10. “I used to go walking from my home near Nakodar Chowk to Jalandhar cantonment for music lessons everyday. True knowledge in music comes at a price and thankfully in those days we were ready to go the extra mile for it.” Starting out by performing for a registered band in the Army, she took to singing for radio in 1970. In 1971, she recorded “Nachan vaale di addi na rehndi”, which metamorphosed her into a singing sensation overnight. “The Indo-Pak war had just ended. The very aim behind the record was to give a respite to the war-tired people. The song was taken very well by the people and became an instant hit.” Ranjana lent her voice in 39 Punjabi films becoming the melody queen of the Punjabi industry with hits like “Challiyan-challiyan”, “Vagdi si Ravi”, “Ranjha jogi hoeya” and the evergreen “Surme di dabbi” and “Saawal Baloch dachi vala”. Talking about the golden era in music, she says, “Riyaaz used to be an important part of the life of a musician in those days. You could compromise with anything but riyaaz. Things seem to be a bit changed now. In those days, passion and quality were the driving force for work. Money was important but came later. These days half the work seems to be done by the recording equipment itself. I remember the songs ‘Nachan vaale di addi’ and a song in film ‘Mirza’ were done in single takes.” Ranjana, who has also sung songs in Dogri, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Haryanvi, Himachali, Gujarati and Marathi, says, “It’s good; would have been better if people learnt more. They bank on superficial knowledge for long-term gains which might lead to the degeneration of music in the future. To some extent, it already is deteriorating.” The best compliments she has recieved At a quami ekta programme when I sang songs in Kashmiri, Dogri, Malayalam and Punjabi, I was lauded by former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. Former CM of Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh is also a fond patron of her performances in the songs “Ai mere watan ke logo” and the Pahari song “Ayan o lalaria”. Her favourite artistes Lata Mangeshkar, Sardool Sikandar, Puran Shahkoti and Saleem. Upcoming projects A religious and ghazal album “Saki aur ghazal”. Ranjana currently lives in Jalandhar with her husband Mevi Bhatti and daughter Carron.
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Jalandhar, March 5
Meet Parikshit Sahni
Jalandhar, March 5
Jalandhar, March 5
She ties rakhi to Sufi stalwart Ustad Puran Shahkoti and his disciple Hans Raj Hans calls her his sister. In a world which is cynical about typecasting relationships and rendering undue importance to professional acquaintances, she is still referred to as “bhainji” by half the Punjabi music industry.
Belonging to the era in Punjabi music when music used to be more about melody and meaning, and songs used to be studded with decorous lyrics, Ranjana, also known as “Kerala ki kokila”, is among those rare finds of the Punjabi music whose sparkle hasn’t died down with time.
