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Rs 28 lakh spent on function on local bodies reforms
Migrant labourers demand arrest of goon
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Where have the strains of classical music vanished?
Suvidha Centre staff to go on mass leave on Monday
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Rs 28 lakh spent on function on local bodies reforms
As per the details, the maximum expenditure to the tune of Rs 18,45,923 was incurred on food and catering. While the RTI reply gives the details of quotations that had been received for every work, it does not furnish any such detail for the food and catering job. It has been stated that the job was entrusted to the District Food and Supplies Controller who got it done through Hotel Country Inns and Suites. The charges levied by Bath Castle for venue has cost the state exchequer Rs 4,13,766. A bill to the tune of Rs 1,20,843 has been footed by the Fancy Tent House in Jalandhar. The job for computerised presentation was assigned to the SDM Nakodar, who received six quotations for the purpose and gave the job to the lowest bidder M/s CL Soni and Co for Rs 89,000. While an amount of Rs 45,293 has been put under the sub-head “hospitality for mediapersons”, the actual amount spent was just Rs 2,418 for providing burgers from McDonalds. The remaining jobs, including light and sound provision for the programme and photography have also been included in the same sub-head. The reply reveals that 3,400 simple invitation cards and 4,825 digitally printed cards were sent, the expenditure for which came to Rs 19,729 and Rs 38,178, respectively. Decoration too has cost the government dearly. A bill of Rs 1 lakh has been footed by M/s Sagar Flower Decorators, Jalandhar. An amount of Rs 18,500 has been used for gazebos and another Rs 3100 for welcome bouquets. Congress leader Sehgal has claimed that while such a huge amount has been spent on the event, the decision to upgrade certain towns into cities has been stayed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. “Even certain local bodies reforms are yet to be implemented”, he has lamented. |
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Migrant labourers demand arrest of goon
Jalandhar, September 20 Jyoti brutally assaulted a roadside eatable vendor, Vidya Nand, late last night. The protesters alleged that Jyoti, instead of paying the bill for eatables, demanded Rs 200 as protection money. When Vidya refused to do so, Jyioti stabbed him with a sharp-edged weapon. Jyoti fled after committing the crime. Vidya was rushed to the Civil Hospital, where his condition is stated to be stable. Incensed at the incident, hundreds of migrant labourers, roadside vendors and other victims of Jyoti assembled at Gadaipur this morning and took out a protest march to the Division No 8 police station. Raising anti-police and anti-administration slogans, the irate residents gheraoed the police station for almost an hour. They were demanding the arrest of Jyoti and his henchmen. Besides setting a truck afire, they also burnt tyres at a roundabout but were chased away by cops, who claimed that the area of the crime was outside their jurisdiction. They later on marched ahead with an intension to block the Jalandhar-Amritsar highway, but were persuaded not to do so in public interest. Traffic on the highway was also disrupted for sometime. The ADCP (City-1), R.K. Sharma, and ADCP (City-II), Gagan Ajit Singh, reached the spot with a heavy police force and forcibly dispersed the
protesters. Sharma said police parties had been sent to conduct raids on suspected hideouts of Jyoti and his men. Later, a delegation of the protesters lodged a complaint against Jyoti and his henchmen and a case under Sections 386, 452 and 323 of the IPC was registered at the Maqsudan police station. Jyoti and his henchmen have been taking Rs 200 per month from labourers as “protection money” for the past many
years. |
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Two of bikers’ gang arrested
Jalandhar, September 20 Since the pistols and cartridges are Pakistan made, the police did not rule out the possibility of the gang having links with a certain gang in Pakistan or smuggling arms from Pakistan. The six-member gang was involved in a large number of snatching and theft cases in the city and surrounding areas and even had left many victims, especially women, critically injured. Two members of the gang, Rajbir Singh of Shaheed Babu Labh Singh Nagar and Gurpreet Singh Gopi of Basti Peer Dad in Jalandhar, were arrested by staff of the anti-gangster wing of the police at a naka set up at the T-Point in Suranussi early this morning. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Yurinder Singh
revealed that the gangsters were travelling in a Maruti car (PB-08-2149) when the cops intercepted them. On questioning, they disclosed their identities and the cops were surprised to find a big dagger lying between the front and rear seats. During their search, the DCP claimed, the police recovered a 9-mm pistol and 12 live cartridges from Rajbir Singh, while a .32-bore pistol and four live cartridges were recovered from Gopi. The gangsters revealed that Nanha, Chetan Maninder, alias Vicky, and SK, residents of Alipur Mohalla, were their accomplices, he added. Rajbir Singh and Gopi were wanted in almost 12 cases of snatchings and robberies by the city police. Even cases of snatchings were also registered against them at the Division No 1 and 4 police stations recently. The gang was also active in Ludhiana, he added. The DCP said the police had launched a hunt to nab Nanha, Chetan Maninder and SK. The recovery
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Where have the strains of classical music vanished?
People who have been at the helm of affairs and have been practising, teaching and observing the classical music scene in the city since for long are disappointed with things. The city has been famous worldwide for its spiritual roots of the congregation of saints that started the famous Harivallabh Sammelan as well as its lofty connections. Tabla maestro Ustad Allah Rakha, guru bhai of legendary Ustad Lachman Singh Seen, was a regular visitor here and Pt Bhimsen Joshi was tutored here. While the Harivallabh was fervently patronised and thought sacred by maestros, it also encouraged the city’s own breed of artistes and music aficionados who regularly held little mehfils and private concerts all through the year to keep the music flowing. But things are not the same anymore. Stats support the concern. In the recent past, except Harivallabh, the Sangeet Sankalp and Spic Macay were the key bodies which have been holding music gatherings. In 2008, the number of musical gatherings that happened in the city under Spic Macay were about 50, in 2009 there were as many but in 2010 they came down drastically. This year, there have been only about six so far (only four artistes have been called). While at least five to six Sangeet Sankalp concerts were held every year, this year there has been only one so far. Talking on the issue, tabla maestro Kale Ram Ji says, “Organisers, have an important part to play. There is a decrease in people organising musical gatherings just for the love of it. People have gotten very busy with immaterial things. It has had an adverse effect on disciples too. There is a decrease in students pursuing classical music. Jalandhar is not producing as many classy, sincere artistes as it used to.” “Not only in the city, earlier there were concerts in the vicinity too. Nakodar, Phillaur, Hoshairpur, Jagraon, Phillaur, Dasuya, Tanda, all had annual classical music concerts. Most of them are lost now. The Basant Utsav of Hoshiapur and Shivratri gathering at Nakodar are missed the most,” he adds. Surinder Seth, who regularly used to organise Sangeet Sankalp gatherings, says, “I agree the music has decreased. The reasons are many. One of the key reasons is that people are more into music of the body than the soul now. Music of the spirit has been rendered insignificant.” Talking about Sangeet Sankalp, he says, “There were three to four organisations that regularly held concerts under Sangeet Sankalp - there was a Sangeet Sandhya, Gyan Yagya gatherings where music was also practised, there used to be a bhajan sandhya too. Those people are no more as active as they used to be.” Spic Macay co-ordinator (Jalandhar) Chaitanya Kochar says, “The classical music movement in the city is being eroded. The people who have become the custodians of classical music in the city are ruining it. There are people who are into it just for the limelight. There are others who have some vested interest. Sustenance of classical music needs a proper environment. Classical music can only thrive when its sanctity is maintained and artistes and art lovers are respected.” A hub of classical music, the city has witnessed a decrease in classical concerts because it all boils down to simply money and no
aesthetics. Harivallabh Committee yet to get Rs 35 lakh grants
— Purnima Beri, general secretary,
Baba Harivallabh Sangeet Mahasabha |
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Leather tanning institute hostel in a shambles
The hostel of the premiere institute is housed a dilapidated building with broken windowpanes and doors, filthy washrooms, patched up floors and a pile of garbage adjacent to the building. The hostel is situated in one corner of the busy Guru Ravidass Chowk of the city. Only five students pursuing courses in the subjects leather technology and leather technology (footwear) live in the hostel. Gurpreet Singh, a student from Amritsar said, “The conditions in the hostel are not liveable. A garbage dump here adds to our problems. People keep dumping garbage and the Municipal Corporation authorities are not regular in picking it.” “We faced problems such as the stench emanating from the garbage as well as blockage of drains as garbage entered along with rainwater recently,” said Sunil Kumar, a student from Sonepat. Another student, Manish Kumar said the hostel was a big store house of dirt and grime. “The same compound also houses the old building of the hostel, which was declared unsafe by the PWD around ten years back. The old building is now being used as a store,” he added. Only two Class IV employees to maintain cleanliness of the hostel premises is not enough to solve the problem. |
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Suvidha Centre staff to go on mass leave on Monday
Jalandhar, September 20 A representative of the Suwidha Employees' Union, Sandeep Sharma said, "The employees have been working on a contract basis at the Suvidha Centres. A majority of them are data entry operators. It has become very difficult for them to make both ends meet as they are a meagre Rs 5,000 to 6,000 per month." Sharma who works as system manager at Suvidha Centre said, “We have already submitted a memorandum of demands seeking regularisation of posts with the Deputy Commission, Jalandhar, Priyank Bharti, who is also the
chairman of the Sukhmani Society.” |
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Jalandhar, September 20
Jalandhar, September 20
Acclaimed vocalist Ustad BS Narang says, “Music is in the hands of people who have loads of money but lack aesthetics. There is a
strong lobby of organisers but musicians who are actually promoting it, lack a voice. TV and media don’t uphold it either. Classical music is presently without wise patrons. Governments talk of sanctioning money for everything except artistes. There should be a place in the budget for budding and practising Punjabi artistes. Of course all this has also taken its toll on disciples.” 
I believe there is no dearth of concerts taking place in and around the city. However, the Malhar Utsav couldn’t happen this year due to lack of grants. We did not get the Rs 25 lakh earmarked for us by the government. We also haven’t got the Rs 10 lakh announced by Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur. As far as concerts are concerned, people associated with music keep holding gatherings and doing their bit. I know of two concerts (slated for Phagwara and Hoshiapur). But in our case, we can’t function properly as long as grants don’t flow in.
Jalandhar, September 20