New faces dominate first SAD list
Amritsar, May 26
Amidst growing dissent in the SAD, several new faces have found a place in the party list of candidates for the MC elections. So far, the SAD has announced 24 candidates out of its total share of 27 seats.

Sanjha Morcha releases list, manifesto
Amritsar, May 26
The Sanjha Morcha declared a list of 20 candidates for the MC elections during its meeting here today. Ten candidates belong to the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP); nine from the CPI and one from the CPM.

Amritsar, May 26
Two persons were killed and three injured in a road accident here today. A truck ran over two persons, who were waiting for a bus on a roadside, after it collided with a bus that was reportedly parked in middle of the road today. Three persons were seriously injured in the incident. The deceased included a woman.

A sand-laden truck (PB-05-S-9385) was heading to Amritsar from Ajnala side when the incident took place near Kukrawala village bus stand.

A minibus, belonging to Purewal bus service, was standing in the middle of the road. While trying to avoid collision with the bus, the truck driver lost control over the wheels. It first struck the side of the bus and then ran over the persons waiting for a bus on the other side of the road.

Bir Singh of Harsha Chhina and Mangli, a beggar, died on the spot, while Balwinder Singh of Ghukewala and Dr Davinder Singhf Vichala Killa and Baldev Singh of Kukrawala were seriously injured. They were rushed to a nearby hospital by the people. The police has registered a case against the drivers of the bus and truck. The accused are absconding. The police has impounded the vehicles.

Amritsar, May 26
A land dispute claimed the life of a resident of Nepal village. Identified as Gurmukh Singh (35), he succumbed to injuries at a local private hospital here after he and his family members were assaulted on May 24 in his village. Seven persons have been booked under Sections 302, 447, 427, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC.

Those booked were identified as Gurpreet Sing, Harpreet Singh, Mukhtar Singh, Jagmer Singh, Navtej Singh, (all residents of Nepal village), Paramjit Singh of Raipur and Udham Singh of Rajasansi here. No arrest has been made so far.

In a statement to the police, deceased’s brother Jagroop Singh alleged that on May 24, he along with Gurmukh Singh, paternal uncle Rashpal Singh and his son Baldev Singh had gone to their field where they found the accused, armed with sharp-edged weapons, damaging their standing crop.

When they put up resistance, the accused assaulted them. During the incident Gurmukh Singh was critically injured. He was rushed to a hospital who succumbed to injuries at a private hospital here.

Jagroop said the accused wanted to usurp their agriculture land.

Amritsar, May 26
Amidst growing dissent in the SAD, several new faces have found a place in the party list of candidates for the MC elections. So far, the SAD has announced 24 candidates out of its total share of 27 seats.

Importantly, the candidates are mainly the wives of councillors or relatives of MLAs, besides a few sitting councillors.

In the list, 14 candidates, including 10 women, are first timers. Women candidates include Geetinder Kaur Bolaria, wife of MLA (South) Inderbir Bolaria, from Ward number 36 and Bibi Harminder Kaur Sham, wife of Jasbir Singh Sham, who quit the PPP to join the SAD, from Ward number 38.

Senior SAD leaders, who reportedly did not play a “positive role” during the recently Assembly elections, were ignored for those who had joined the SAD after quitting their parent parties.

Senior Deputy Mayor Ajaibir Pal Singh Randhawa and Deputy Mayor Kashmir Singh too could not find a place in the list.

Dejected, Youth Akali Dal leader Jaskirat Singh has announced to quit the party. He was aspirant for Ward no 29, but the SAD preferred Avtar Singh Trakkanwala over him.

Former Congress Deputy Mayor Om Parkash Babbar, who joined the SAD recently, is the SAD candidate from Ward number 62.

The “winnability” factor too has been taken into consideration before finalising the candidature. Surinder Kumar Vicky and Sukhbir Singh, who won the last MC elections as independents from Ward number 56 and 60, respectively, have been fielded from the same seats by the SAD.

Besides Babbar and Vicky, other non-Sikh faces which feature in the list are Rajsheshwar Malhotra (Ward 37), Pawan Kumar Pamma (Ward 58), Ajit Lal (Ward 16) and Anita Kumari (Ward No 15).

Amritsar, May 26
The Sanjha Morcha declared a list of 20 candidates for the MC elections during its meeting here today. Ten candidates belong to the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP); nine from the CPI and one from the CPM.

Meanwhile, the Sanjha Morcha also released its manifesto for the polls. Senior PPP leader Kuldeep Singh Dhot said if voted to power, the morcha is bound to implement its manifesto in its true letter and spirit.

“The campaigning programme would be finalised by May 30 and senior leaders like PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal and comedian-turned-PPP activist Bhagwant Singh Mann would conduct special rallies here,” he said.

In its manifesto, the morcha says the one-man rule system would be wiped out and residents’ participation would be given priority. It will also bring in efficient economic policy to strengthen the MC exchequer, proficient task force to realize taxes and introduction of single-window public utility system.

Others present in the meeting, included CPI leader Amarjit Singh Asal, Vijay Mishra, Manjit Singh from CPM and Manmohan Singh Gumtala from the PPP.

Amritsar, May 25
Summers are special for kids. If the adults hate the season for scorching heat, long work hours and fatigue, kids love it for a long vacation and summer camps.

Summer camps have become an important part of their growing up years. It's a time to take a break from the academics and nagging parents to enjoy doing something they like. And because it has become a way to express and explore their potential, parents too wait for these fortnight long epicentre of activities.

Almost every school turns into a camp in summers with no dearth of fun activities that aim at inculcating interactive learning. Apart from the usual music, dance, art and crafts and sports that most schools offer, there are things like gaming, aerobics, English speaking, yoga, swimming, martial arts and public speaking that help in holistic development of the child.

"Summer camps are the best way to utilise the free days during vacations. Today's kids are smart enough to realise the importance of exploring each and every aspect of their personality and take advantage of the time-off during summer break," says Dalbir Kaur Madaan, owner, One Up library.

Understanding the requirement of the GenNext, there are some out-of-the-school summer camps that are now offering advanced activities, something different if we may say. So, we have story telling workshops, animation and graphics, mime, theatre and even cooking classes to give kids a chance to choose their alternate education.

Says Dalbir, "We are organising a reading competition this season which will be open have children between the age group of eight years and above. It would require the kids to read 20 books of their choice and review them." Catching the young authors in them, "Sure. But more than that it will make them intellectually strong and independent," she says. And then there are violin and guitar learning lessons for the music prone. "We will have a concert at our premises where kids will play to live audiences," she adds.

While the city schools are busy getting high on the creative radar with activities like mime, drama, art, dance and music for students, some interesting activities like cooking and etiquette management find many takers. "Not just girls but boys too are opting for cooking classes as it's a creative way to express and learn. Table manners, etiquette training becomes important in making a child's social status. These activities cannot be taught in classrooms. So summer camps provide for an excellent training ground," says Aarti Sharma, who takes independent classes for cooking and etiquette management for kids in Kennedy Avenue.

For young aspiring artistes who take their art seriously, Manch Rang Manch and National School of Drama are organising a theatre workshop in city from June 6 at Virsa Vihar. It will have lectures, interactive sessions and live workshops on theatre, acting, direction and stage management.

n While the city schools are busy getting high on the creative radar with activities like mime, drama, art, dance and music for students, some interesting activities like cooking and etiquette management find many takers n Manch Rang Manch and National School of Drama are organising a theatre workshop in city from June 6 at Virsa Vihar

Amritsar, May 26
It has been seven months since the Community Police Service Centres (CPSCs) or Saanjh Kendras were launched in Amritsar, but this initiative of the state government to make the police citizen-friendly has proved to be an exercise in haste.

There have been no awareness campaigns in these seven months. As a result, the footfall in these centres has been negligible.

On an average, five to six people visit these centres and that too only for procuring copies of FIRs or DDRs registered at various police stations.

Inaugurated in October last, the centres were set up to provide all the services under the Right to Service Act from a single window in a time-bound manner.

The services include verification of tenants, registration and verification of servants, passport verification, police clearance certificate, verification of vehicles, character verification for service, payment of traffic challans, information of impounded vehicles, receiving complaints on traffic problems, permission for political/sports/religious functions, NOC for armed licences, permission for use of public address systems etc.

“Call it lack of awareness or lack of interest on the part of police officials concerned, the centres have failed to attain desired response. Except getting copies of FIRs and DDRs, people prefer to visit police stations or the SSP office to avail other services, which are easily available at these kendras,” said a CPSC official here on the condition of anonymity. There are five CPSC centres in Amritsar.

No proper information is displayed even at the police stations which could help spread awareness about the centres and their services.

Another official at one of the centres said there are several other causes which make the centres get low response.

“One of the major reason is that the server hired by the government is very slow. Besides, necessary data from all over Punjab has been uploaded completely,” he said.

Official Speak
Besides spreading awareness, the department has taken a number of steps to improve the functioning of Saanjh Kendras. When a person visits a police station or an office of a senior police official for any services that comes under the Right to Service Act, we take their applications and process these through Saanjh Kendras. In this way, the applicant gets to know about these centres and the work is done without any hassle. I have no knowledge about the server problem at these centres, but I will look into the matter

Ram Singh, DIG (border range)

Amritsar, May 26
The Jallianwala Bagh Memorial Civil Hospital has set up an Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) Centre to deal with the issues of adolescents aged 10 to 19 years.

An initiative under the National Rural Health Mission, the programme is widely successful at drawing adolescents in discussing and finding solutions to their problems, said Senior Medical Officer Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon.

Dr Dhillon said that youngsters have many a problems as infections of reproductive tract and even others bodily changes that mark their adolescence years. He said people should encourage their children to take help from the counsellors and experts at the centre without feeling shy.

Dr Dhillon said ever since the centre has come up it is being visited by the teenagers either accompanied by their parents or their own. He said that even the doctors at various levels educate people about the facility.

“The health of the youngsters aged 10 to 19 years is required to be watched properly as they are going to grow and lead the nation,” he said adding that parents are also required to be more sensitive to the problems of their children.

Amritsar, May 26
The People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) burned the effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh outside the Hall Gate today to protest against the petrol price hike.

Youth wing leader Karamveer Singh Pannu said even as the price of crude oil in the international market has come down by 91.47 dollors per barrel, the Union Government has increased the prices by Rs 7.5 per litre.

PPP state secretary Sarwan Singh Dhun said the wrong economic policies of the Union Government and faulty utilisation of funds by the state government has burdened the general public.

He said increase in fuel prices would hike prices of other goods.

“The state government must decrease VAT on petrol to offer some respite to the public,” he said.

The party demanded that the Union Government must rollback the petrol price hike. It further demanded that the state government should decrease VAT.

Amritsar, May 26
Khalsa College Principal Dr Daljit Singh felicitated Gurleen Singh Bhakna, a student of Khalsa Collegiate Senior Secondary School, for acquiring 5345th rank in the IIT-JEE, results of which were announced recently. Gurleen said he had worked hard to crack the test. The Principal appreciated the efforts of the student, his parents and teachers.

Meanwhile, Saint Francis School felicitated its students who performed well in the matriculation examination of the ICSE, results of which were declared recently.

School Principal Sister Maria Dias said the school achieved 100 per cent result in the examination. Out of 170 students in total, 16 managed to score over 90 per cent, 54 of them got over 80 per cent and 67 students got over 70 per cent marks.

The students, who were felicitated, included Amarinder Singh, who topped in the North India with 97.6 per cent marks, Aditi (96.4 pc), Deepak Mahajan (94.2 pc), Saksham Khanna and Abhinav Pathak (92.8 pc).

Amritsar, May 26
Fifteen students from the city are participating at a national hiking, tracking and adventure camp being organised at Chamba from May 24 to June 13, said state coordinator, Computer Literacy Programme, Sikandar Singh.

He said the camp has been organised by the Punjab Computer Education and Welfare Organisation associated with Sarv Siksha Abhiyan.

He said during the camp, students would participate in activities such as valley crossing, river crossing, Barma bridge visit, rope climbing, jumaring and rambling in wildlife.

Sikandar Singh said such excursions help break monotony of the classroom education and brings out hidden talents among students.

Amritsar, May 26
Jeeva Raghunath, storyteller. The introduction aptly explains the gist of our conversation with the renowned storyteller and writer who was in the city for a storytelling workshop at One Up. “It’s a performance rather than a presentation,” she corrects. Jeeva is one of the few professional storytellers in India who have revived the ancient art for the modern generation. For someone who became a storyteller at the age of 5, and we are not exaggerating, Jeeva has practically been engrossed in the world of stories all her life. Ask her if there is a room for it in today’s high-tech media savvy world and she replies with an animated and resounding, “Yes.”

“Storytelling is an art. One that has been handed down through the ages from storyteller to storyteller. It’s just that earlier the storytellers were our mother and grandmothers and today there are professionals who are doing the job,” she says.

The concept of storytelling has proven to be an effective tool in linking diverse cultures and in communicating with listeners across the globe. Jeeva has been representing India at global level and has become a resource person for international conference. “Storytelling has moved from home and schools and finds relevance in the corporate world as well. I do workshops with corporate called Relive Your Childhood which allows them to become a child again through the age-old stories and folk tales,” says Jeeva.

According to het storytelling is a learning exercise, the best one for kids. “Childhood is the most creative phase of our life as it allows us free thinking and act on it as well. storytelling techniques develop communication skills, help in story development, exploring the cultural environs and developing language skills. It is a highly interactive art, based on time-tested stories.Her repertoire of stories include a wide range of Indian and Asian folk-tales, European tales, based on family values, true-life incidents, cross-culture and modern stories. Her lively and dramatic storytelling performances include use of props such as hand puppets, paper and sign language, sometimes even herself, “These things are important. Kids are the best critics and if you don’t keep them engrossed they will easily lose interest and the point is lost. I find kids really participate in storytelling through various characters and props.”

As for the parents, they too have an interesting part to play. “Storytelling starts from home. So parents need to tell their kids stories in order to initiate their interest. And second, they need to listen to their kids as well, let them learn and express their creativity,” she signs off.