Ajnala booked for poll code violation
Amritsar, January 19
After Amritsar West contenders Jasbir Singh Dimpa (Congress) and Inderbir Singh Bolaria (SAD), it was the turn of Harpartap Singh Ajnala, who has been booked for allegedly violating the election code of conduct.

Birds make the most of it under a fountain in Amritsar. Tribune photo: sameer sehgal

Security in place for PM's visit
Amritsar, January 19
The police has made elaborate security arrangements in view of the proposed Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's visit to the holy city on January 21.

Joshi got registered fake voters: Rintu
Amritsar, January 19
In a letter to the Chief Election Officer, Punjab, Congress candidate from Amritsar North constituency Karamjit Singh Rintu has demanded cancellation of the candidature of BJP candidate Anil Joshi alleging that the latter got registered fake voters in the area using his influence.

R-Day rehearsals on a slippery ground
Amritsar, January 19
The ground at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium has become very slippery after it rained heavily in the city a few days back.




Water accumulated on the ground at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium in Amritsar. photo: vishal kumar

Theatre festival presents the best of non-verbal plays
Amritsar, January 19
Communication is not confined to just words. The ongoing 14th Bharat Rang Mahotsav in Amritsar provides ample beauty of theatre that doesn't depend on words. Some of the innovative non-verbal plays brought on stage by artistes from across the nation have got the maximum acknowledgement.

Amritsar, January 19
Sukhbir Singh alias Sukha, lodged in the Central Jail here under the NDPS Act, escaped today. Five jail officials have been put under suspension for allegedly being negligent in performing their duties.

Sukha, hailing from the border village Bhuse, was involved in the smuggling of heroin and fake currency from across the India-Pak istan border. The incident came to light yesterday, when the Head Waden Dilbagh Singh found that Sukha was not in his barrack (No 7). Thereafter, a search operation was conducted in the premises but in vain.

Dilbagh Singh said after finding him missing, the incident was brought to the notice of Jail Superintendent Rashpal Singh. "He was last seen in the barrack on January 17 but the next day at about 3 pm, I found that he was not there," he said. A case under Section 222/223/224/225-A/120-B IPC has been registered by the police and a search is on to locate him, Cantonment station in charge Balwant Singh said.

This is the third such incident over the past six months. Except registration of cases with the police stations concerned and putting the jail staff under suspension, nothing more could be done. On October 22, three inmates were caught when they were trying to escape by scaling the walls of the jail premises with the help of an anchor-like tool.

On December 10, Vijay Kumar, 50, who was serving a sentence under Section 302, managed to flee from the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, where he was admitted to undergo treatment for some respiratory ailment.

On November 15, an undertrial identified as Major Singh who had been booked for culpable homicide in 2009, escaped while on his way back after a court hearing. On March 19, an undertrial Happy, a resident of Tung Bala locality of the city, gave the guards a slip at the district courts complex. He was booked in 2008 for chain snatching and was lodged in jail awaiting trial.

Similarly, on December 10, 2010, an Afghan prisoner Shahjahan who had been lodged in jail under drugs and narcotics offence, too had escaped from custody and has not been traced since then. He too was admitted to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital for medical aid and dodged four jail escort guards to escape.

Amritsar, January 19
To keep up with a vigorous and active poll campaign, first timer Karamjit Singh Rintu contesting polls from Amritsar North constituency has learnt the art of taking small naps in his car on way to attend the many public meetings on his list of things to do.

His campaign schedule has 27 public meetings scheduled for the entire day today. For him the day begins at 5 am. “Even though my schedule is quite tight, I make it a point not to get late for any of these meetings,” he says.

His schedule requires him to reach Naushera at 4 pm. As his arrival 10 minutes early makes the organisers less at ease, he comforts them by apologising for having arrived earlier than the scheduled time of arrival. Though a first timer, he seems well versed in swaying his audience. “Education, health, roads, employment and development are important and basic necessities. But first we have to curb crime in our area,” he says.

Taking a jab at the Atta-Daal scheme by the SAD-BJP government he says, “Why don’t they make you capable of earning your own livelihood; respectfully and independently? Why they force you step-in their footsteps for cheap ‘atta’ and ‘daal’.”

At Naushera he speaks about the disparity in development on the face of the residents. “On the other side of the bypass road, there are better roads, sewerages and streetlights. This side you do not have anything. You were victims of false promises. How many of you have received ‘atta’ and ‘daal’. I guess not many.” His listeners seem supportive and he moves on his next meeting at Hindustan Basti, another locality inhabited by the economically-backward classes. Of course he will reach there 10 minutes earlier than expected. Sitting in his car, he pours some water from a thermos flask into a steel glass. “We attend 25-30 meetings everyday. At most of these places we are invited by the residents. We continue these meetings till 10 pm. After that he devotes two hours planning the next day,” he tells.

Rintu said most residents of the constituency are perturbed with the law and order situation. “Nobody of these roads is safe. Even they are not safe in their homes. The cars, bikes and purses are being snatched. Eve-teasing is rampant. Hell is let loose because the police is not doing anything and residents continue to complain,” he says.

At the meetings he says, “The streets will be safe once again. I promise. Vote by your conscience and you will never fail. You already know me as I am one of you.” Before leaving a meeting, he makes it a point to speak with the elderly who though are not a part of the gathering but are sitting outside their homes on ‘charpais’.

Amritsar, January 19
An iron trader, who allegedly placed fake orders, decamped with the material without paying for the consignment.

The accused, Ravi Aggarwal, duped two local shop owners, Bhagwati Traders and Ganesh Traders, of Rs 20 lakh after placing orders for the construction material. Ravi pretended that he was of in the process of constructing a hotel on Fatehgarh Churian Road-Loharaka road.

The deal was settled over the phone and the material was handed over to the alleged supervisor of the company at the designated spot opposite Deep Enclave.

“However, the alleged trader never paid for the consignment and disappeared with the material,” said Vijay Mundra of Bhagwati traders.

He said they got a call from Ravi claiming that he belonged to Hindustan Infra Engineering Pvt Ltd in Madhya Pradesh with its head office at Delhi. He claimed that he was awarded a hotel project and assured that the payment will be made within 48 hours through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS).

“On failing to receive the payment, we contacted Ravi on his phone, who gave us a RTGS number. However, we could not receive the payment and when we visited the site where the material was delivered there was nothing and the person concerned had also disappeared. After that the phone numbers of the accused have been switched off,” said Mundra.

During verifications it came to light that the accused had defrauded many traders in Indore and Jaipur with a similar modus operendi. He said they have submitted a complaint with the Police Commissioner who has forwarded the case to the police station concerned. However, the police has not registered a case till now, he alleged.

RP Mittal, police commissioner said the police is verifying the facts and action will be taken accordingly.

Amritsar, January 19
Liquor vends have so far failed to keep a record of the antecedents of their buyers. Officials of the district administration, in a meeting with the vend contractors on December 27, informed them about the orders. The instructions required them to note down the names, addresses and phone numbers of their buyers. ADC (Development) Manjit Singh Narang had asked the contractors to maintain registers with these details. The orders were issued keeping in mind the misuse of alcohol during elections.

The district administration had also asked the contractors to issue bills to the buyers. The buyers say no employees at these liquor vends asked them for their personal details. The orders were aimed to identify the bulk orders of alcohol.

However, with the contractors failing to cooperate, the authorities have failed to keep a tab on such buyers. A local resident said, “Though we know about such orders but never have attendants at these wine shops asked for their name or phone numbers.” He said the buyers do not ask for a bill, so none of the contractors even provide it.

Avneet Singh, a resident of Putlighar area said, “The election commission has very strictly instructed that the misuse of alcohol be checked. One of my friends in Gurdaspur told me that their names and addresses are registered but here no one is serious.”

Pleading anonymity, a wine contractor said, “The orders are aimed at hitting our businesses. Nobody wants his name to be written in registers at liquor shops. However, we are very careful when a bulk purchase order comes.”

ADC (Development) Manjit Singh Narang and Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal could not be contacted for comments.

Amritsar, January 19
After Amritsar West contenders Jasbir Singh Dimpa (Congress) and Inderbir Singh Bolaria (SAD), it was the turn of Harpartap Singh Ajnala, who has been booked for allegedly violating the election code of conduct.

Harpartap, a Congress candidate who is contesting from Ajnala, has been accused of using the public address system in Thoba and Hashampur villages during his public interactions, without obtaining permission from the returning officers concerned.

Two separate cases have been registered against Harpartap with Ramdass and Ajnala police stations on the recommendation of the returning officer who received a complaint in this regard.

Amritsar, January 19
The police has made elaborate security arrangements in view of the proposed Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's visit to the holy city on January 21.

Over 800 cops, including senior police officials from the city and neighbouring police districts have been called in to provide security cover during the high profile visit of the PM, who will address a rally at Ranjit Avenue area on January 21.

SS Srivastav, DIG Counter Intelligence, who was deputed by the DGP Anil Kaushik, is in the city to take stock of security arrangements during the visit. Detailed plans have been chalked out and officials have been appointed duties. Rehearsals for the same would be done tomorrow.

Security arrangements at the airport would be handled by a SSP-level officer. Deputy Commissioner of Police Sat Pal Joshi would be responsible for the security cover at the venue of the rally.

Police Commissioner RP Mittal said elaborated plans have been chalked out to provide foolproof security cover during Dr Manmohan's visit. Security teams from Delhi would also be reaching the city. The paramilitary force would not be involved in this regard, he added.

The route for the airport from Kitchlew chowk would be closed till the Prime Minister stays in the city. The route would be open only for VIPs while the normal traffic would be diverted through the bypass road.

"The commuters would have to take the bypass route either from Loharaka side or through Fatehgarh Churian side to reach Ajnala road," said Mittal.

Amritsar, January 19
The ground at Guru Nanak Dev Stadium has become very slippery after it rained heavily in the city a few days back.

The slippery conditions are posing problems for NCC cadets in rehearsing for the Republic Day function.

The digging up of the grounds near the tracks for kabaddi matches, held few months ago, has further worsened the things.

One of the cadets at the ground said, "Nobody wants to fall down and spoil his clothes and sustain any injury. So cadets are working really hard to prepare for the event."

Another cadet said if it rains more in the coming days, the event may be spoiled further.

Amritsar, January 19
Communication is not confined to just words. The ongoing 14th Bharat Rang Mahotsav in Amritsar provides ample beauty of theatre that doesn't depend on words. Some of the innovative non-verbal plays brought on stage by artistes from across the nation have got the maximum acknowledgement.

The last two days have seen four non-verbal plays being staged to a full house, all communicating through different dance and music forms. Dravya Kaya by Bharatnatyam exponent and choreographer Navtej Johar, Jalam a musical play presented by Samudra Centre for Indian Contemporary Performing Arts, Kerala, and The Water Station were amongst the popular non-verbal plays. While Dravya Kaya and Jalam were based on classical and traditional forms of dance, The Water Station was contemporary work based on body language, movements and expressions. Dravya Kaya focused upon select objects from the Ramayana like Rama's Kodanda bow, Valakala Vastra or the bark garment that Sita wears through her exile. Artiste Navtej Johar's beautiful and effortless performance and his ability to speak through his dance postures and movements made this play a treat to watch. "In Dravya Kaya or object-body, I have explored how an object offers direction and elicit movements thus engaging the audience. Dance goes beyond its confines to include physical theatre and people from all walks of life understand and relate to it," said the artiste.

Another innovative performance that was visually and aesthetically enriching was Jalam, a contemporary take on water and its many forms of energies. Performed by acclaimed artiste duo Madhu Gopinath and Vakkom Sanjeev who are trained in Bharatnatyam, rope and pole mallakhamb, the act depicted many moods and emotions through powerful dance movements. And for those who think it's easier than cramming dialogues, here's the truth. "Physical and non-verbal forms of theater are very difficult to perform. Dialogues make it easier to communicate with your audience but dance means each part of your body has to communicate," said Vakkom Sanjeev after the show. The two have developed a dance form called Samudranatanam, which is a combination of Bharatnatyam, pole and rope mallakhamb.

Another intriguing play that drew standing ovations from the audience was the Italian presentation Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, an adaptation of Jules Verne's novel about Captian Nemo and mysterious Nautilus. A play that got the audience literally 'immersed' with spectacular LED light effects and digital projections was highly appreciated. "Technology is being celebrated worldwide and with such productions it plays the role of an actor. Our play was an attempt to create a new relationship between the actors, technology and the audiences," said Pino Di Buduo, the director of the play. Since Italian theatre is known for its traditional Opera style, larger than life theatrical presentations, technology seemed like an enhancement. "It is, since it makes it difficult for actors as well to run parallel and yet separate themselves from it," he added.