Amritsar, January 12
As many as 88 persons today filed their nomination papers from various constituencies here.

Out of 88 persons, 13 persons each filed their nomination papers from Majitha and Amritsar (North) constituency, followed by 12 from Amritsar (East) and 11 from Jandiala. From Amritsar (South) and Baba Bakala nine candidates each filed their nomination papers. Eight persons filed their nomination papers from Amritsar (Central) and from Attari four persons filed their papers.

Congress candidate Om Parkash Soni filed his nomination papers from the Amritsar (Central) constituency.

He was accompanied by Prof Darbari Lal, three-time MLA from the constituency. Prof Darbari Lal had earlier raised a revolt and decided to contest as an Independent candidate following the denial of ticket to him. Dr Rajkumar Verka, candidate from the Amritsar (West) constituency, and DCC president Jugal Kishore Sharma also accompanied them till the office of the Returning Officer located at Dharam Singh Market.

Earlier, a large number of supporters gathered near Kotwali, welcomed him and followed their vehicle till Dharam Singh Market. They raised slogans in favour of OP Soni. Vikas Soni, president of the urban unit of the Youth Congress filed nomination papers as a covering candidate.

Besides Soni, Karamjit Singh Rintu, Congress candidate from Amritsar (North), Sukhjinder Raj Singh Lalli Majithia and Simarpreet Kaur Bhatia were among the prominent persons who filed their nomination papers today. Lalli Majithia and Simarpreet filed nominations as Independent candidates from Majitha and Amritsar (East) after they were denied ticket by the Congress high command. Simarpreet was earlier announced as Congress candidate from Amritsar (East). However, later on she was replaced by former Mayor Sunil Datti.

Earlier, Rintu showed his strength and addressed his supporters at Ganda Singh Wala before proceeding for filing his nomination papers. A good number of his supporters were present at the spot, who raised slogans in his favour.

Simarpreet also led a rally from her residence located at Golden Avenue and made a round of Verka and several other localities before filing her nominations.

Amarpal Singh Bony, SAD candidate from Ajnala, and Dr Shailnderjit Singh Shelly, Congress

candidate from Majitha, also filed their nomination papers.

Amritsar, January 12
Thanks to the insensitive attitude of government towards preserving the house of Madan Lal Dhingra, the first Indian freedom fighter who was executed in London in 1909, his only “remembrance” located in the walled city here too have been eliminated.

The property in Katra Sher Singh, occupied lately by his brother Mukand Lal Dhingra, who lived here with his family, has now been sold off and the new buyer has dismantled the original structure. Over the times, this place gained good commercial value and it has been learnt that the house has been sold off at a lesser value as the ground floor of the house had been given on rent for the past six decades and it was not easy to get that portion vacated.

One of the tenets, who has been running a clinical laboratory since 1955, had already went to the court for obtaining injunction on vacating the place.

Though, the road leading to the house has been renamed Shaheed Madan Lal Dhingra Road after the martyr name from Sikandari Gate Road earlier, but that too would lose its significance when there wouldn’t be the original house, where Dhingra was born on February 18, 1883.

Almost a year back, the government had made an announcement that the house would be procured and converted into a museum.

Confirming this Luxmi Kanta Chawla, Minister for Social Welfare, said the proposal was mooted to preserve the house with all his memorabilia to perpetuate his memory for the future generations.

“It is painful that this was the only ‘memorial’ left with us of such a noble soul who laid down his life to get the nation free from the clutches of Britishers for the sake of future generations. It was the duty of the government at both the state and national level to preserve it in a befitting manner. I had written numerous times to the government in this regard, but never received any positive reply,” said the minister, who had initiated to constitute the Madan Lal Dhingra Shahid Smarak Samiti, which commemorates the birth and death anniversaries of Dhingra.

This painful development has also invited the ire of historians. Researcher Surinder Kochhar said it was inscribed in the diary penned down by Madan Lal Dhingra’s father Dr Sahib Dita Mal that Dhingra was born in this house and the day was Sunday. “Earlier, the place near bus stand in Amritsar where the martyr was cremated on December 20, 1976, could not get the status of a memorial and now this precious house, too, has been demolished,” he said.

Prof Harish Sharma, another expert, termed it as a callousness on the part of the government to lose such an invaluable heritage. “It would be the most unfortunate chapter in the history. I would say it is callousness on the part of all political leaders, who have failed to deliver anything meaningful for a martyr like Dhingra,” he said.

Amritsar, January 12
Surveillance teams of the Excise and Taxation Department have seized a huge quantity of lahan (illicit liquor), which was likely to be used in elections.

The recovered liquor was later destroyed and cases were registered against the persons involved in the illegal distillation of the illicit liquor.

The excise team, headed by Sat Paul Bhagat, Excise and Taxation Officer, raided at the residence of Bhola at Kotli Dasoundi village and seized 2,500 litres of lahan.

“The liquor was stored in two containers and was hidden underground by digging up two holes,” said Pawinder Kumar, Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner. He said Bhola was a notorious person involved in manufacturing of illicit liquor for quite a long time now. His father Darshu was also involved in the illegal trade, informed Pawinder Kumar. A case was registered at the Bhindi Saidan police station against Bhola, who was not at his home when the raid was conducted, he added.

The team also recovered another 1,500 litres of unclaimed lahan, which was again hidden underground in two big holes in an open space in the village. About 800 litres of lahan was seized from near the Chattiwind drain stored in four drums of 200-litre capacity each. Yesterday, the excise team had seized a total of 1,050 litres of lahan, which was destroyed later on.

Amritsar, January 12
It was a perfect start to a theatre festival involving artistes from around the world. City’s first-time hospitality to international and national theatre stars was true to its nature and grandeur. The inaugural ceremony of the 10-day international theatre festival, being held by the National School of Drama, was a festival indeed with the who’s who of the city theatre circuit and international guest enjoying a traditional welcome.

The evening at Punjab Naatshala started with a traditional folk performance by local artistes, which saw instruments like tumbi, dhol, manjeera, etc, dishing out enticing earthy tunes. The inaugural function included lighting the lamp ceremony that was attended by veteran folk artistes Gurpreet Bawa and Dr Surjit Patar along with Kewal Dhaliwal and Anuradha Kapoor, director of the NSD.

“Amritsar is the cultural hub of Punjab and is culturally oriented with a strong sense of participation as well. It’s a great pleasure for us to hold such a grand event here as the city is known for its hospitality and respect for its traditions,” said Anuradha Kapoor.

The inaugural ceremony had special performance by Gurpreet Bawa, who dedicated a song to the festival. Bringing 19 theatre groups from India and abroad, the highlight of festival will be participating teams from Poland, Italy, Turkey, South Africa and Pakistan.

The inaugural play, based on Rabindernath Tagore’s The King of Dark Chamber, was performed by Chorus Repertory Theatre from Manipur. The brilliant allegorical play that explores man’s eternal quest for truth and beauty was equally brilliantly justified on the stage by the group, keeping the mystical element intact with their performance.

The director of the play and brainchild behind the world renowned theatre group from Manipur, Ratan Thiyam, interacted with the audience after the show. “I am really humbled by the acknowledging audience and welcome we got from Amritsar people.” The theatre group has performed world over and is known to mix traditional and folk music, dance and martial arts in its performances.

While Ratan was content with the status of theatre in the city, his concerns were focused on things happening back home. “In Manipur, theatre lacks the infrastructure and support to become popular. In a place where you get petrol at Rs 200/lt and cooking gas at Rs 1,500, a theatre artiste earns Rs 5,000 to 6,000 a month.” He also cited the big difference between international theatre and Indian theatre, “They respect their theatre and it enjoys a well-off status. But here we have to fight for our survival. The Central Government still helps us, but the production costs are getting very high. I hope the future holds a better treatment for theatre in India,” said the 52-year-old theatre artiste, who was hailed as genius by New York Times.

Amritsar, January 12
Lohri, the first festival of the year is around the corner and in Punjab, the festival has a special place. The quintessentially Punjabi festival is all about dhol, bonfire, heaps of peanuts and roof-top kite flying competitions in the holy city.

With the spirits high, Amritsaris are ready to celebrate the festival singing “Sunder mundriye ho/Tera kaun vichara ho” ?on the beat of the dhol, gorging on til, bhugga and peanuts and beating the chil with bonfires. Following the traditions of Lohri, the city has two of its favourite things in place for the day, kites and savouries.

Kite flying has been a festival staple for a long time now and its considered a must do on this occasion. Lohri celebrations are incomplete without kites. The city sky dons a colourful look on the day, with kites of various sizes, shapes and hues. Not just an entertainment tool but a competitive sport for the festival, kites as big as 10 feet dominate the sky.

“I have sold over 400 kites that were 11 feet high. Nine-feet kites are much in demand this time. Over 1,000 such kites have been sold over the last few days," Shelly, owner of a kite shop in Hall Bazar said.

Mani Kaushal, a wholesaler in the same market, said, "Every year, I set up stalls two days before Lohri. I have sold 50 kites that were 11 feet long. Customers are buying big kites this season.”

Jagmohan Kanojia, whose business of making kites got him into the Limca Book of Records is ready with his special kites for the season. “I have made kites in over 10,000 designs. Animal, birds, ghost shapes are popular with kids and cricketers and Bollywood belles with adults. I also have miniature kites, size of 2.5 mm and a kite as big as 40 feet.

Another important part of the celebrations is the traditional dhol and boliyan. “Lohri is all about traditional Punjabi music. Dancing around the bonfire on dhol beats, singing “Makai da dana leke main jana” and “Sunder Munderiye” in traditional dresses is the best way to celebrate the festival,” says Khushi Pandher, a resident of White Avenue. Going by the changing mood of youngsters, groovy Punjabi numbers too find their place in the festivities.

Now comes the last and the most enjoyable part of the celebrations. Lohri savouries like til, bhugga, rewaris, peanuts and Amritsari special khajoor. Made only for the festival, khajoors made from flour and ghee are something to die for. “These come at a price of Rs 325 per kg and are only available for the Lohri festival. They are a part of the traditional delicacies for the festival,” says Rajesh, who works at Bansal sweets.

Amritsar, January 12
The executive committee of Guru Nanak Dev University Teachers' Association today submitted a charter of demands to the Vice-Chancellor Prof AS Brar.

The teachers also gave a week's time to the management to conduct deliberations over certain issues.

During the general house meeting of the association, the teachers authorised the executive body of the association to take action in case the GND University authorities do not adhere to their demands.

The teachers demanded to review the authorities' decision of changing the eligibility dates of teachers for promotional avenues, considering the previous service or ad-hoc service period in the experience proforma of teachers, non-declaration of secretary's results and granting arrears and mobile allowance, as per norms.

Dr Balwinder Singh, president of the GNDU Teachers Association, said the charter of demands has been submitted with the authorities and the next course of action will be decided upon only after a week.

Protesting the arbitrary change of their eligibility dates while awarding promotions, the teachers argued that the authorities have backed out from their earlier stand of accepting their demands following which they had suspended their agitation.

The teachers also demanded the mobile allowance which amounted to Rs 500 per month, as prescribed by the government. Even as the university has sanctioned this amount for its non-teaching staff but the teaching staff is still deprived of this facility.

Amritsar, January 12
A top gymnast and an athlete, Neha Gaikwad, a student of Khalsa College for Women (KCW), has been selected for the national training camp to be held in Delhi. She will be among the top gymnasts from all over the country who will receive training at the camp for their final selection to the Olympics Games to be held in London in July.

Neha said she was happy for her selection to the national camp and was hopeful to do her best to be selected for the Olympics. “This is a dream come true for me. I have been working hard for three years and have earned numerous medals and prizes in the Inter-College, Inter-University and other national level sports events, ensuring her selection to the national camp now.

She said apart from the Olympics she will also receive training for the upcoming national and senior-national sports events.

College Principal Dr Sukhbir Kaur Mahal said she was happy over the selection of Neha to the national camp and was hopeful that she will perform to her best for the selection to Olympic team. Dr Mahal said Neha had been outperforming in all the events and it is not surprising that she has been selected for the camp.

Neha thanks Dr Mahal and her coach Ritu Bala, Sports Director, Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr Kanwaljit Singh and Ritu Raj Kapur for their support. She said her source of strength is also her mother Prajakta Gaikwad who herself is a national level kho-kho player and her businessman father.

She said she hails from Pune and in search of good coach and sports infrastructure she came to KCW, all for the love for the game.

Amrtisar, January 12
Artistes from the USA, Poland, Canada will perform at the fifth Amritsar International Folk Festival being held at Khalsa College of Education from tomorrow.

More than 30 dance artists from the USA, Poland and Canada will perform at the Khalsa College of Education tomorrow during the 5th Amritsar International Folk Festival, being organised on the campus in collaboration with Punjab Cultural Promotion Council. The artists include a 14-member-cultural troupe Miriachi Imperial De America, Lza Seroca Polish folk troupe and Maude Aboti, a French dancer from Canada.

The college has been hosting the international cultural festival annually, said college principal Dr Jaswinder Singh Dhillon.

Amritsar, January 12
Panna Gill became known with his impressive run in the second season of the reality show Indian Idol. The young singer was in Amritsar on Thursday to promote his second music album, ‘Heeriye’, which is also his first move to enter the Punjabi entertainment industry.

“The album has all Punjabi tracks, different in mood and music. It’s a combination of rap, jazz, slow rock, blues and contemprory,” says Panna.

Panna Gill, whose father is a popular devotional singer, Lakhbir Singh Lakha, feels connected to spirituality, “That is the reason why I chose to promote my debut Punjabi album by first coming to Golden temple,” explains Panna.

His brief stint at the popular singing reality show made him popular to see some acting offers come his way.

“I would love to act in a Punjabi film if something great comes my way.”