Jalandhar, May 14
The election officers today had to break the seal of a counting centre of Jalandhar (North) segment to take out some vital documents that had to be sent to the Election Commission office.

The seal of the strong room at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Ladowali Road, was broken in the presence of District Electoral Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Ajeet Singh Pannu, election observer Ishwar Singh, police officials and representatives of the political parties.

Pannu said the seal had to be broken as 17 (A) forms that contained some vital information had been inadvertently left inside and were to be taken out to be sent to the commission.

In a press note issued today, Divisional Commissioner S.R. Ladhar said strong rooms had been set up in counting centres of all nine assembly seats, all falling within the Jalandhar headquarters.

He said close circuit cameras had been installed inside and outside each centre, that would record all events for 24 hours. He said the details of the counting would be sent simultaneously through the Internet and fax to Chandigarh and Delhi from where on all announcements would be made further.

The counting centre for 33-Kartarpur assembly has been set up at Government College of Coeducation, Ladowali Road, 36-Jalandhar North assembly at Government Model Senior Secondary School, Ladowali Road, 37-Jalandhar cantonment assembly at Junior Model School Ladowali Road, 35-Jalandhar Central assembly at Hans Raj Stadium, 38-Adampur at Guru Nanak Gymnasium Hall, office of the District Sports Officer, 34-Jalandhar West at Corporation Table Tennis Hall, 30-Phillaur and 31-Nakodar assemblies at State Patwar Training Centre and 32-Shahkot at Director, land records, hall.

Jalandhar, May 14
A five-member team of the Election Commission of Bhutan is on a visit to Punjab to closely watch one of the largest voting exercises in the biggest democracy being conducted here.

A chief electoral officer, three deputy commissioners and an ICT officer are part of the team that went around Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana in the past few days watching the preparations, conduct, use of EVMs and their security arrangements. The representatives of the country where democracy has been established just last year met Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner S.R. Ladhar today.

Jalandhar, May 14
A mob shooed away the police led by DSP Lakhbir Singh at Athola village on the Jalandhar-Kapurthala road on Thursday morning.

The incident occurred when the police reached to overcome tension in the village over some old dispute between two groups.

The irate residents hurled stones on the cops, leaving three of them injured, when the police rounded up two persons for their involvement in the case.

An eyewitness said members of both the groups had clashed on Tuesday and the police had booked their members and impouded one motorcycle.

Ranjit Singh, an accomplice of the motorcycle owner, today reached the locality for the custody of the vehicle. He allegedly argued with former sarpanch Santokh Singh and subsequently it turned into a scuffle.

The people captivated Ranjit Singh for a long time.

The police has registered a case under various sections of the IPC against unidentified persons on the complaint of ASI Lakhbir Singh.

Maqsudan Station House Officer Harjinder Singh claimed that the police had laid a trap to nab the suspects.

Jalandhar, May 14
“Drama walon ke saath life ke har phase mein drama hi hota hai...zabardast,” says the rebel. The experiences of his life have, at all points of time, just reaffirmed his faith in this oft-repeated, self-coined quote which often dances on his lips.

Be it the time when his wife had to be content with her husband (dressed in the costume of a Pandit), running home minutes before his play performance at Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall, for her to accomplish a hurried ceremony for their first karva chauth; or the more serious occasion when he could not attend to his mother the day she had to be operated upon, because he was busy preparing and sticking banners for a march which he, along with a few dedicated theatre lovers, was planning for World Theatre Day; Gurvinder Singh doesn’t mind his sacrifices as long as theatre has a hope.

He shocked the conservative city audience with his play “Taqmeel”, an interpretation of Manto’s “Sarak Ke Kinare”, at World Theatre Day this year.

Adopting an activistic approach towards theatre he thinks theatre would spread wide only when change begins at the grassroots level.

He grew up watching shows on PTV and DD sops like “Buniyad” and “Hum Log”, the fact that his bent of mind was artistic from the very beginning can be gauged from the fact that a naughty little Gurvinder chose to spend the money retrieved from his masi’s piggy bank on balloons, only to receive a good thrashing from her when she came back.

In 2001 when he auditioned for a month-long theatre workshop at Amritsar and got selected, his perspective on theatre was about to change forever. “An audition was on at Dashmesh Auditorium, Dr Atamjit was the coordinator and some really happening people with ‘jholas’ and specks were standing outside.

Post-auditions the ‘jholadharis’ I had been so awed with, were all rejected and the simpletons made it through. I realised appearances 
are deceptive.”

After Amritsar, he was among the five of the lot who made it to a workshop at Delhi three years later. On both these workshops he was highly influenced by Prof J.N. Kaushal, whom he regards as his guru in theatre.

Shortly after, he was made coordinator for the proceedings at Kamaani Auditorium, one of the three venues for the Rang Swarn festival, arranged on the occasion of the 50th year celebrations of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. “I got to rub shoulders with biggies like Naseeruddin Shah, Amrish Puri, Zohra Sehgal, Satyadev Dubey, Alec Padmasee and Ratan Thyam. I had always been sceptical about people who said Punjabi theatre was not doing well but I had to disagree after seeing theatre here.”

His “first” on stage was the role of Bhagat Singh which he played in class XII to the utter surprise of his teachers.

He went on to participate in other plays like “Court Martial” (Daljinder Basra), “Aurat” and “Ek Tha Gadha” (Amitabh Raina).

Working for radio (as an RJ and doing voice-overs for documentaries and commercials) and TV productions (Sajri Saver on DD Punjabi and has worked in many documentaries), Gurvinder always turns to theatre for creative satisfaction.

Do your honest efforts for theatre eat up you private life?

Unfortunately, I don’t think I am working honestly enough as yet.

How did the audience react to your playing a woman in “Taqmeel”?

There have been women who have nothing to do with theatre as such, who came to me and said even a woman couldn’t have played the woman in “Taqmeel” so well.

What’s the solution to the revival of professional theatre in the state?

People’s psyche needs a change. Good plays should be staged. Good people have to be inspired to take up theatre.

Your upcoming projects?

I plan a Punjabi play based on Maninder Kang’s story Bhar. Plan to register my theatre group by the name of Bohemians. Plan at least two more shows of “Taqmeel” in Jalandhar.

Jalandhar, May 14
Taking precautionary measures against waterborne diseases and outbreak of malaria and dengue, the district health authorities have chalked out a comprehensive plan.

Talking to The Tribune, Civil Surgeon Dr S.S. Walia claimed that a list of instructions would be sent to the heads of various educational institutions, members of municipal council, heads of different panchayats, corporate houses, in charges of bus stands and railway stations. The lists would be regarding precautionary measures to be taken against the diseases.

The Civil Surgeon said teams would be constituted for collecting water samples from suspected areas where cases of waterborne diseases were reported last year. The Health Department had a proposal for setting up a sanitation centre in the city, besides a control room for the convenience of the general public.