Jalandhar, April 2
In what may be termed as lack of proper coordination among several government departments, including forests, PSEB and Municipal Corporation, as many as three trees and an electric pole have been standing in the middle of the Jalandhar-Nakodar highway for over an year.

Posing risk to the lives of thousands of users of the road daily, these trees and the electric pole are giving an open invitation to mishaps. Being a highway, thousands of vehicles, including buses, trucks, cars and two-wheelers pass through the road to go to Nakodar from Jalandhar. The trees and the pole are located within a radius of nearly 500 metres between the Ravidass and Wadala chowks. One of these three trees is almost dry.

Earlier the trees and the pole were situated on the roadside but after the widening of the road to make it two-lane, their location has changed to the middle of the road. A passerby, Navin Chawala, resident of Guru Gobind Singh Avenue, told The Tribune that the authorities concerned should act promptly to remove the pole and the trees from the middle of the road.

Echoing his statements, some other passersby, including Sukhjinder Singh of Amritsar and Neeraj Salhotra of Gurdaspur, said any major accident might occur at any time due to the presence of these tress and the pole on the road. Probably the administration was waiting for a major mishap to happen to act for removing them from the road, they added.

Admitting the problem being faced by the users of the road, MC SE (B&R) Kulwinder Singh said his department had already written about a year back to the forest department and PSEB for getting approval from them to remove them from the middle of the road.

Kulwinder Singh said the MC authorities would pursue the matter with the department concerned for getting the approval for their removal at the earliest. As soon as the MC got the approval, they would be removed immediately, he added.

When contacted, PSEB Lambra SDO Joginder Singh feigned ignorance about any electric poll in the middle of the road near Wadala Chowk. He said he would get it checked from the JE concerned and process would be initiated to shift it from the middle of the road.

When contacted, Divisional Forest Officer K. Kannan said he had recently joined here and he had to check the record before commenting on this. At the same time, Kannan said, if the tress had been posing a risk for commuters, the MC should have pursued it more seriously. Generally when departments including PWD and MC applied for approval of removing trees, permission is granted within a few weeks, he added.

Jalandhar, April 2
To counter the ongoing recession that has hit the young passouts hard, in terms of fewer placement options and lower pay packages, the professional colleges here have come up with a new formula to combat the problem.

While the DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology has opened its new Entrepreneurship Development Cell, the Lovely Professional University has signed an MoU with Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute (MSME-DI), a government institute at Ludhiana, to promote entrepreneurship among girl students.

As per the agreement, a 100-hour programme has been customised for engineering and management students that will encompass workshops on topics like quality management systems, quality management tools, creativity, value engineering and value analysis, and industrial design, said Aman Mittal, director, corporate relations, LPU.

The facilitators for the programme will include experts from the government as well as industry along with the faculty from Lovely School of Business, he added.

The programme will be offered totally free of cost and all the expenses will be borne by the MSME-DI, Ludhiana.

DAV Institute of Engineering and Technology opened its new cell with the conduct of a workshop on entrepreneurship. The resource persons were drawn from diverse sectors.

Opinder Singh, assistant director, Engineering Exports Promotional Council, India, Ashok Handa, district manager, UCO Bank, Rajesh Sharma, DGM, human resources, JCT, Phagwara and Dr. Jaspal Singh, reader, GND University, Amritsar, discussed the various facets about setting an enterprise. They apprised the students of government policies, loan facilities and other technicalities associated with starting up an enterprise.

Dr. Jaspal Singh talked about various technical, business management and HR skills required in setting up an enterprise. CL Kochhar, director-cum-principal, announced an ‘innovative business plan contest’ with a cash prize of Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,000 respectively, for the top two students who would present the best business plan. 

Jalandhar, April 2
It seems that the glut in potato has come to end with an upward trend in its prices. While the increase in the prices has come up as a big relief to the wholesale traders, on the other hand the consumers will have to an extra amount for potato which is an essential commodity with every household.

Traders maintained that the increase in prices is due to the fact that the crop has finally reached the cold stores in the state. “The bumper crop has lead to a sharp decline in the prices, however, now there is an increase in its retail price. And this has come up as a big sigh of relief for us,” said Goldy, a potato trader.

Till some weeks back potato was available at an extensively lesser price of Rs 4 to 5 per kg whereas now the prices have doubled. At present the potato coming from the cold stores is available at an increased price of Rs 10 per kg.

Meanwhile, the market is also witnessing the influx of cucumber and Kakadi. “We are bringing two varieties of cucumber which includes desi and pahadi from Hoshiarpur. And since the influx has just begun therefore it is available at a price of Rs 25 and Rs 30 per kg respectively,” said Anand Kumar, a retailer.

Another new entry in the seasonal salad is the appetising kakadi at a price of Rs 30 per kg. “The prices of both the salads are expected to reduce with the rising mercury,” he added.

On the other hand onion, which is being brought from Nasik these days, is available at a price of Rs 16 per kg and has witnessed no change. However, prices of tomato have increased to Rs 20 as compared to its previous price of Rs 15 per kg till last week. The consumers can also tickle their taste buds with the spicy recipes of bitter gourd, which is available, an introductory price of Rs 50 per kg. “Bitter gourd is being brought from Kolkata these days,” said another trader. Among fruits the consumers can try the new varieties of mango, which include Pari, and Safeda mango being brought from Kerala. At present the mango is available at Rs 110 per kg. The influx of apples has reduced and at present it is being brought from Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh at Rs 120 per kg. 

Jalandhar, April 2
The BSP today constituted a five-member committee to launch its election campaign more effectively in Jalandhar parliament constituency.

The members are Satish Bharti, Ram Krishan Bachhowal, P.D. Shant, Gurmail Chumber besides him, all officer bearers of the party, informed Harmesh Singh Bhar Singh Puri, state general secretary of the party.

He said Avtar Singh Karimpuri, state president of the party, would inaugurate the main election office near Wadala Chowk tomorrow. The party office bearers and workers would turn no stone unturned for ensuring the victory of Surjit Singh, a party contestant from Jalandhar parliamentary constituency.

Talking to mediapersons, Surjit Singh said the Congress and the SAD-BJP alliance have ruined the state in last 61 years. The worst affected is Jalandhar constituency where the elected representatives hardly paid any attention for the development of their area. The former MPs had been mute spectators in Parliament instead of fighting for the rights of their men.

Jalandhar, April 2
Just days after rejoining the Congress, former MP from Hoshiarpur Kamal Chaudhary expressed his confidence about the victory of the Congress candidate in the ensuing parliamentary elections.

Addressing mediapersons, Chaudhary claimed that the Congress would fight the elections from one platform to gather the maximum votes for its candidature Santosh Chaudhary from Hoshiarpur.

Asked why he had quit the Congress and joined the SAD, the BSP and then against re-entered the Congress, Chaudhary claimed that he was forced to quit the Congress after Sita Ram Kesri sidelined him and gave the opportunity to Kashi Ram for fighting elections from Hoshiarpur.

“I had a bitter experience with the Shiromani Akali Dal as a member of the political affair committee of the party,” he claimed.

Lambasting of the SAD, Chaudhary said that to be a member of the Badal family was the sole eligibility criterion for getting the party ticket to contest election from its platform.

He criticised the Punjab Chief Minister for sidelining late SAD General Secretary Capt Kanwaljit Singh and present Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal from the party mainstream.

Jalandhar, April 2
Traversing the paths of history, the members of Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall (DBYH) Committee have taken a new initiative of giving a facelift to the ‘Ghadari Museum’, which is situated inside the DBYH.

The task has been taken in the fond memory of the revolutionary Ghadarites who propagated ‘Ghadar Lehar’ for the sake of freedom.

A peep into the struggle of the Ghadar party and its martyrs the fillip to the museum will turn out to be an attraction of the city.

The start-to-finish renovation work will be completed in a time-bound period of two-months. “This time special attention has been laid on the designing and placing of the pictures. We took suggestions from some historians and professional museum designers for this purpose”, he added.

Earlier the placement of pictures was not done in a chronological order, however, this time the trust members have made special efforts to put the pictures in the order of events.

“To give an appealing look to the museum we have decided to do the flooring of the museum. Besides this the windows of the museum have also been closed for a peaceful ambience. Earlier the windows were a big cause of disturbance due to the traffic menace”, he maintained.

At present the workers are busy completing the woodwork. For this purpose the committee members are spending an amount to the tune of Rs 5 lakh, which have been gathered through their own resources.

The trust will put on display approximately 250 pictures of Ghadarites and allied movements, which will be easy to view with spotlights at the top.

“Even the vacant space in the centre of the museum will be used properly. We have got made glass boxes in which the personal belongings and handwritten manuscripts of the Ghadarites will be displayed,” he said.

Highlight of the museum will be pictures of 1857 Kranti, Kuka Movement (1872), Pagadi Sambhal Jatta Movement (1907), Hardinge Bomb Case (1912), Ghadar party/Lahore case, Kirti Party, Babbar Akali Movement, Naujawan Bharat Sabha and much more.

“Pictures of gallows of central Jail Lahore, Cellular Jail, Andemans, Headquarters of Hindustan Ghadar Party, San Fransisco and making of DBYH and will also be put on display”, he added.

It is pertinent to mention here that the museum was inaugurated in 1993 with the joint efforts of the committee members. “We have decided to take the help of media in making the museum a hit with the masses. Educational institutions and students will also be motivated to visit the museum regularly”, said Gurmeet.

Jalandhar, April 2
He belongs to the era when intellect rode over low-browed masala soaps, when passions were pure and untouched by commercialisation and when TV talked the truth. Much of this was as-a-matter-of-fact his own doing.

One of the best things to have happened to television in Punjab, Harjit Singh, director, producer, writer, painter, researcher, has induced unsurpassable standards into DD Jalandhar.

Born and brought up at Jagraon, his was a troubled childhood. With his mother passing away when he was just three, he sought solace in art. “My father was a contractor so we used to have glass lying around at our house. I was in the third standard and took to making glass slides at home. I’d make cartoon strips and project them on the wall with a torch.”

He grew up listening to the cinematic sounds emanating from a theatre (the only one in town) near their house. “I, along with a friend, sometimes spent hours sitting at the back of the theatre, listening to the film soundtracks.”

After his MA in Punjabi from Panjab University, he was appointed lecturer at Jagraon. “But I didn’t quite like it. Then I got a PhD scholarship from Guru Nank Dev University. “It was here that I was introduced to TV as a graphic artist in 1975.”

He joined Doordarshan as producer in 1977. After completing his basic training from the FTII, Pune, he was promoted to be assistant station director at DD Jalandhar in 1978. “Programmes from Pakistan were extremely popular in those days. I wanted us to work on our own concept. After a lot of sessions and brainstorming, we zeroed in on Charles Dicken’s David Copperfield.”

His first full-length serial “Supne Te Parchanve”, a 26-episode contemporary take on Copperfield, became an instant hit. In 1982 he made the widely acclaimed telefilm “Saide Hawas” which was characterised by huge sets and war scenes.

Bringing renowned Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam to TV, he did the interview series “Shauq Surahi” and “Kalman Di Mehfil” (a tribute to five Punjabi poets) along with her.

Hitherto delving on intellectual subjects, his “Raunak Mela” came as the much-needed comic relief for the stressed masses during terrorism days.

The crusader that he is, “Adh Chanani Raat”, the first serial to have used OB vans for shooting was also made by him. “At first people rejected the idea. I even had a fight with engineers. But things worked out in the end”.

Churning out cultural bonanzas, he remembers one of his productions with a heavy heart. Originally shot on film, it had to be dubbed on video. “It was a documentary about paintings from the western Himalayas which talked about paintings from Jammu to Kinnaur. It involved interviews of people like Mulk Raj Anand, Kalakh Laalwala (the critique who introduced Amrita Shergill) and Chandu Lal Raina.”

After seeking VRS from DD in 1998, his first production was “Raja Rasaloo”, a play written and directed by him and co-produced by Pentabus Productions. It was staged at Faridkot by a cast comprising Punjabi and British artists.

He also worked for Tara Punjabi channel where he made the serial “Band Darwaza” (with Amrita Pritam).

What is the reason for DD’s downfall?

It wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of channels.

Do you think Punjabi cinema can do better?

Promoting realistic cinema and better marketing can help things. Things are changing though.

What do you think is the solution?

Issues should be addressed through print and TV. I think the rural youth also have a lot of passion but no platform. Educational institutes should organise workshops in rural areas.

Your future plans?

I’ll be starting shooting for my film “Heer Ranjha” on April 7. Harbhajan Mann and Neeru Bajwa would play the lead. Besides, I am also planning to make children’s films.

Jalandhar, April 2
Two final-year students of B.Tech from the local NIT Mandeep Singh and Krishnakant visited the local Eklavya School to show the making of robots. They gave a presentation on different types of robots.

He has dressed Bollywood divas like Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, but designer Gavin Miguel says Bipasha Basu outshines them all when it comes to experimental dressing. She will surprise everyone with her new look in forthcoming film Pankh, he predicts.

"She gives me complete freedom when it comes to dressing her up. She is very experimental and tries to change her look in every movie. The best part is that she carries herself so well that everything looks good on her," Miguel said.

Miguel is styling Bipasha for Sudipto Chattopadhyaya's Pankh, in which she plays an imaginary character. The designer admits that he initially had thought Bipasha was "broad-framed", but his perception changed after working with her. "Initially I felt Bipasha was broad-framed but after I worked with her, I realised the fact that she has lost a lot of weight and now is svelte and sexy," he said. — IANS