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Assembly elections
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Cold wave claims life
Sewerage water accumulation making Ekta Nagar residents’ lives miserable
Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega
North East 'crafts' its way into city
The art and craft exhibition put up by North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation at Virsa Vihar
has drawn quite a crowd. Tribune photo: Sarabjit Singh
Tribune Impact
Kali Bein still unclean: Residents ask politicians to make it a poll issue
Society remembers Olympian Surjit by helping budding players
One held with stolen SUV
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Unrest among councillors as
none gets ticket
Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, January 8 This despite the fact that Mayor Rakesh Rathour was in fray for the BJP ticket from Jalandhar (Central) and Leader of the Opposition Jagdish Raj Raja and Congress councillor Rajinder Beri were interested in getting ticket from the same constituency from their own party. The fact that the Ludhiana Mayor (SAD) and Senior Deputy Mayor (BJP) have got ticket from their parties further has led to unrest among them. A group of five Congress councillors - Raja, Beri, Kuljit Babbi, Mandeep Kaur Multani, Manjit Kaur Kahlon - and former councillors of the party - Balvir Singh and Mahinder Singh Gulu - had on January 6 given a two-day ultimatum to the party to withdraw ticket of Raj Kumar Gupta from the Jalandhar (Central) constituency to replace him with Raja or Beri. Today, all of them had gone to the party office to quit from their primary membership, but the district president (urban) Arun Walia was not available and they had to return without doing so. Babbi said, “We stick to our stand and we may go to Chandigarh tomorrow to resign. We may announce our independent candidate from the seat in a day or two”. SAD councillor also turns dissident
Alarm bells also rang for the SAD as councillor from Ward 29 Kuldip Singh Oberoi today held a press conference saying that he had decided to quit the party and contest independently from the Jalandhar (Central) seat. He said he would file his nomination papers in a day or two. “I was upset over the moral degradation of most politicians not just within my party, but also elsewhere,” he pointed out as his supporters called him Anna Hazare. Maximum unrest in Jalandhar (Central) seat
The maximum revolts have come from councillors of the Jalandhar (Central) seat. Mayor also wanted ticket from the for Jalandhar (Central) seat, but he has not revolted. Congress councillors also want ticket for the Jalandhar (Central) seat. The rebel SAD councillor is also contesting independently from the same constituency. Party loyal Mayor
Mayor Rakesh Rathour, when asked as to whether he would support BJP candidate Manoranjan Kalia from the Jalandhar (Central) seat in the event of denial of ticket to him, said, “I will support all three BJP candidates.” There have been at least four councillors who have got an opportunity to contest Assembly polls in Jalandhar. Manoranjan Kalia, Jai Kishan Saini and Raj Kumar Gupta were all Municipal Corporation councillors and have contested from the Jalandhar (Central) seat. MLA KD Bhandari was also a councillor before he was given an opportunity to try his luck from the Jalandhar (North) seat in 2007. |
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Cold wave claims life
Jalandhar, January 8 Eyewitnesses told the police that the deceased’s face and hands were badly eaten by the stray dogs. The body has been sent for postmortem to the Civil Hospital. GRP officials said after postmortem, the body would be kept at the morgue in the hospital for 72 hours and if still the identification couldn,t took place, the same would be cremated. Yesterday also, the body of a 65-year-old man was found near Chik Chik Chowk and the man was also said to died due to cold. It has been the sixth death due to cold in the city since December. Sources said that in December last year, four persons died due to intense cold, while in January the cold wave claimed two lives. |
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Sewerage water accumulation making Ekta Nagar residents’ lives miserable
Jalandhar, January 8 Their homes and streets are full of sewerage water. The area’s sewerage, if they are to be believed, has a mood of its own, they never know when the bathroom pot’s muck will overflow their baths or when the pipe in the courtyard throws up bad water as the women wash their utensils. Dileep Chand, a resident of Yadav Mandir Gali, says, “It’s been 10 to 11 years that we are living here. We never saw a respite from the problem. We have to be prepared for bad water coming to our home at any time through the drainage pipes.” Aman, his neighbour, says, “We have made endless complaints to the councillors. Nothing works. It is very frustrating. Sick of looking to the officials, the residents contributed and brought truck loads of mud, filling up our street to counter the water flow. But the water still comes up. This morning, too, the street was full. You never know when will it come up again.” Sheila Devi, another resident of the area, says, “We have made endless complaints to the councillor, but to no avail. He might have come to the area once and we never saw his face again. His men hit their pipes on a drain twice, pretending to check it and then disappear. The people of this area are always ill. We are the first ones to catch jaundice during outbreaks. But the officials never bother to address our issues.” “In winters people sit in quilts or in the sun. But here, half our days are spent flushing out water from our houses, entrances and courtyards.” In the neighbouring streets, the situation is worse. Even some house entrances are clogged with water. Wood platforms, stones and cement slabs are common outside house entrances. The residents step on these to enter homes because accumulated water makes it impossible for the residents to enter homes without getting their feet wet. The plots or empty lands around are also faced with the similar situation. Green algae dot older water deposits and residents face constant threats from mosquitoes (when the temperatures are slightly up) and water bacteria, too. Residents say at times the sewerage water flows in the street at levels higher than the sewerage manholes. Residents say this time during Assembly elections they will not be taken in by huge promises by leaders. “We have had Manoranjan Kalia, the Mayor and various councillors come to our area from time to time. But no one has found a permanent solution to our problem. If this time candidates don’t bring a solution to the sewerage problem, we are not voting for anyone,” quips a resident. While the area residents said the contractor of the area had told them that he had not been receiving any money for a long time (more than a year) for area projects, the contractor, when contacted, denied the same. Councillor speak I am aware of the condition of the area, but the main problem is that the area lies in the border of the ward and is the last area under my jurisdiction. The area is very low and fixing the situation there is difficult. Whenever water accumulation or sewerage overflow occurs, the area is the first to be hit. The second reason is that water disposal machines were installed at Garha in 1999, but back then the population of the city was five lakh. Now it is 14 to 15 lakh, so the machines are overburdened. We plan to install water disposal machines at Jaitewal soon so that more loads are easily handled. Effective disposal of excess water in the area can be expected by two to three months. Mandeep Kaur Multani, area councillor
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Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega
Jalandhar, January 8 Loaded with village wit, Buta Singh is a humble farmer brought up in the Talwandi Bharo village. His exploits in mimicry began in the very village fields he was brought up in. Imitating nature and machine sounds on his fields, his acts on EKLKBK got him to the final eight finalists and earned him accolades from the likes of Salman Khan and Farah Khan. His donkey act (on special request by Sallu Miyan) saw audience rolling in laughter and was also aired on several other channels. In Punjab he has already released many audio and video albums like “Bute Da 12 Lakh” (six years ago), “Shooting Sajna Di” (comedy), “Jogi Ji Tere Mandran Vichon” (religious), “Maa Di Mahima” (religious), “Laal Chunniyan” (religious) and “Jadon Da Munda Gaun Laggeya”. His next (untitled) album will see him humming melodies in praise of Anna, a brave song exhorting the ‘Jat’ singers and lyricists to see better and another one hailing the girl child and her struggle, among others. The music for the album has been given by Paramjit Pamma and Almast Desapuri, Sohan Singh Kalyan, Surinder Kheeva and Ram Murti are the lyricists. One of the favourites in the New Year “Lashkara” programme, too, Khaira says it gives him immense happiness when people love his performances. He has also performed in the UK for 5 Radio, Raj Radio, Venice TV, among others. Loved by his family, comprising his wife, two sons and two daughters, Khaira presently stays at his village. His future plans? “I will strive to take out as many more voices as I can. They are what that will keep me alive in people’s hearts.” On a parting note, he hums the Jat number - his take on the raucous, bawdy music and lyrics served by the Punjabi music industry that are increasingly bothering intellectuals and language lovers - in his folksy, Punjabi voice: Gallan labhde aa khare kitthon chunk e Jatt akk gaye Jattan de geet sun ke Vaaraan sake kaliyan di Jatt kehnde Sikhlai shuru hon vali aa, Geetkaran te gayjan naal Jattan di larai shuru hon vali aa….
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North East 'crafts' its way into city
Jalandhar, January 8 Besides the beauty of products, the reasonable price range makes the Arts and Crafts festival at Virsa Vihar quite popular among residents. The exhibition-cum-sale includes variety of stuff from artisans and master craftsmen from Northeast region of the country including Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Sikkim. The exhibition was held by the North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Limited. In charge of the exhibition, R.K. Boro from Purbashree Emporium, an Assamese government handicraft outlet at Guwahati, said, "We have put up 17 stalls out of which eight are from North East. Other stalls are from Orissa, Jaipur, Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Now, we would hold a grand exhibition in Chandigarh by January end." Boro said though heavy rain affected the turnout, the exhibition received a good response in whole. Customers went for Naga shawls, silk and cotton Mekhla fabrics, Muga silk, Assam golden silk, decorative bamboo pieces and furniture. The exhibition also featured special 'Shital Patti' footwears, which is similar to bamboo stuff and jute bags. A group of women, who bought bamboo trays and decorative pieces, said, "Such exhibitions should be held on a regular basis as one hardly gets to buy such variety of North East handicrafts and that too under one roof." Women were also seen buying special range of 'Solawod' dry flowers, which grows in the water in the North East. Apart from this the stalls of Bhagalpur silks, Jaipur traditional jewellery and Bengal cotton also drew crowd. Promotion of skills The North Eastern Handicrafts and Handlooms Development Corporation Limited, supported by the Ministry of Textiles, was established in 1977 at Shillong. The objectives of the corporation are promotion and development of handicrafts and handlooms of North Eastern Region. The corporation provides a marketing platform to artisans and weavers of North East by providing them stalls in exhibitions, crafts bazaars, trade expos and national and international events.
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Police control room updates records
Nikhil Bhardwaj
Jalandhar January 8 Taking notice of the said news report, the chairman of Model Code of Conduct Committee-cum-Deputy Commissioner Jalandhar issued a notice to the Police Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police (Rural) and asked them to explain, “Why the record has not been updated by the police?” In a written reply to the District Election Officer, the SSP advocated that the record, which was not updated was pertaining to the rural police only and it was not updated due to the recent transfers of police officers.” The SSP also said the police was unable to send the updated list to the police control room. But now the updated list has been forwarded to the PCR and record has been finally updated, the SSP said. The EC official said though the said anomalies in the records don’t come under poll code violations. It is pertinent to mention here that the said news report had highlighted PCR maintaining old records, especially the names of some police officials, including SHOs and DSP of Adampur, Phillaur, Shahkot, Noormahal and Nakodar, who have been promoted or transfers to some other stations.
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Kali Bein still unclean: Residents ask politicians to make it a poll issue
Kapurthala, January 8 The Tribune team found a major portion of the 160-km long holy bein choked at various places. The proper flow of the holy bein was blocked near the Bhawanipur bridge on Kapurthala-Goindwal Sahib road adjacent to ‘Nanakpur Ishnan Ghat’, where devotees take holy dip on auspicious days. Showing the hyacinth in the bein, Gurwinder Singh, an activist (sewadar at the ghat) of environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal’s Ek Onkar Chairtable Trust, said politicians should make cleansing of holy bein an issue during the Assembly elections. Similarly, Nirmal Singh Bhatti (who runs a sweetmeat shop at Fattu Dhinga village), said, “Politicians should make serious efforts to cleanse the bein and they should also make it a poll issue.” Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal said, “Sewage from Bholath, Begowal and several villages still flows into the holy bein. Work of setting up sewage treatment plant (STP) at Bholath and Begowal is still not completed.” “Interestingly despite installation of STPs at Kapurthala and Sultanpur Lodhi, untreated sewage is being discharged into the bein,” he added. Seechewal said Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) had issued several notices to Kapurthala and Sultanpur Lodhi municipal councils, but to no avail. Subsequently it had filed cases against both the MCs in this regard, he added.
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Society remembers Olympian Surjit by helping budding players
Jalandhar, January 8 His friends and sportspersons recalled the charisma of Surjit Singh. Apart from being an ace hockey player, he was also remembered as a fine human being. Lakhbir Singh Khaira, an NRI from Norway, who was the chief guest on this occasion, and a close friend of Olympian Surjit, said, “The efforts made by his friends and hockey enthusiasts to carry forward the dream of taking hockey to glory will definitely bear fruit in the coming days. It is a pleasure to see budding hockey players getting a launch pad.” Sharing his close bond with Surjit, Khaira said it was his superb hockey skills and untiring efforts to publicise hockey that embedded his name in history. International athlete Deputy Commandant Baldev Singh Randhawa (retd), president of Punjab Athletics Coaches Association, Ram Pratap, NRI Syam Lal from Norway, Olympian Varinder Singh, District Sports Officer Rakesh Kaushal and SAI coach Baljeet Kaur were present on the occasion.
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One held with stolen SUV
Jalandhar January 8 The registration number (UP237303) put on the SUV was later found to be fake, the police claimed. During preliminary investigation, it came to fore that the vehicle was stolen from Delhi and the accused had struck a deal with some local buyer to sell the same. The police has registered a case under section 379, 411 of the IPC. |
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The city is brimming with an array of exquisite North East handicrafts and handlooms, which has attracted art lovers from far and wide.
Besides the beauty of products, the reasonable price range makes the Arts and Crafts festival at Virsa Vihar quite popular among residents.
