Jalandhar, December 13
After the Jalandhar Development Authority, it is the excise department which has tightened its noose around the marriage palace owners.

Several palace owners who had been evading 14.3 per cent VAT on food have been asked to make an advance payment for the same at the time of taking the excise permit. A flat rate system for levying VAT has been fixed from now onwards depending on the category of each marriage palace on the pattern adopted in Ludhiana.

For holding a marriage function in big palaces like Bath Castle billing an amount of Rs 50,001 or more, the palace owner on behalf of the customer will have to make a payment of Rs 15,000 as VAT in addition to Rs 5,000 levied as permit charges for serving liquor.

Those holding a marriage function in a palace falling in category B, levying charges between Rs 25,001 and Rs 50,000, will have to pay little less - Rs 7,500 as VAT in addition to Rs 2,500 as excise permit. Those organising a function in a marriage palace falling in category C and being billed an amount of less than Rs 25,000 will be charged Rs 4,000 as VAT other than Rs 1,000 as permit charges per function. Further, even those holding a function by erecting tents and arranging caterers will have to pay up Rs 1,000 for VAT.

While some marriage palace owners regret that it is far too much, the excise officials claim that it was far too low going by the fact that some palace owners were charging as high as Rs 2,000 per plate and holding functions for big gatherings up to 800 persons and levying a total amount of as high as Rs 16 lakh. “If rental for crockery and hall are deducted, the cost of food still will come to a high amount of Rs 10 lakh. Charging 14.3 per cent tax on this amount, it will still come to 1.43 lakh, but we are asking then to pay just Rs 7,500 which is peanuts,” said an excise officer.

A. Venu Prasad, Excise and Taxation Commissioner, said, “Normally, it was seen that the palace owners arranged some caterers who could not be traced after the function. Even if our inspectors managed to reach the function to make the collection, the caterers did not respond immediately, claiming that they were busy attending guests. If the inspectors insisted on making payment right away, they intended to create unpleasant scene during the function. So, we decided on levying advance payment to check evasion.”

Jalandhar, December 13
The police here today arrested six persons, including a former municipal councillor and two women, when they, along with scores of others, were marching towards the residence of Punjab Minister for Local Government Bhagat Chuni Lal to lodge their protest against police "favouritism".

The police also used light power to disperse the protesters, following which shopkeepers of the Bhargao Camp area observed a bandh in protest against police functioning.

Alleging favouritism by the police in the Nizatam Nagar group clash case, supporters of Ravi Chbabra were holding the protest. They alleged that the police had arrested their members and a case under Sections 452 was registered against them, while the same sections were not registered against the opposite group led by Shiboo Shiboo Lahoria, a notorious criminal.

Earlier they also held a protest in front of the Division No 5 police station.

Today, the police arrested former councillor Kuldeep Mintu, his son Amit, Rajni, Anita and certain others while they were heading towards minister Bhagat Chuni Lal's residence.

On Sunday, members of both groups had used sharp-edged weapons, hockey sticks and baseball bats in the clash that also damaged certain vehicles parked on the spot.

The city police had rounded up 10 persons for their involvement in the clash and a case was registered under various Sections of the IPC against the suspects at the Division No 5 police station.

Today, the police registered a case under Section 7/51 of the IPC at Bhaggo Camp police station against the protesters. The police also impounded their goods, including a tempo, by which they had been to the spot for holding the protest.

Jalandhar, December 13
To ascertain whether the Jalandhar Municipal Corporationstaff was responding to the complaints regarding various civic amenities being received telephonically, Mayor Sunil Jyoti has decided to himself confirm the same by taking the first-hand information.

For this, he has got a computer system installed in his room directly linked to the computer registering the complaints.

He said after coming to his office every morning, he would log on and randomly call any 10 numbers to confirm whether the complaint had been sorted out.

“In case the problem related to a non-functional streetlight, broken manhole cover, sewage blockage or problem in water supply received the previous day does not get sorted out, the staff responsible for the same will be held answerable,” he said.

Recently, there had been complaints from residents that the staff was not attending to the problems they were getting registered through telephone calls on number 0181-2242411.

The mobile telephone number of the complainant is taken down by the staff and an SMS is reverted to them to confirm the registration of the complaint.

The SMS also goes to the staff person and officials concerned for the redress of the complaint.

Jalandhar, December 13
As he breathed his last in San Diego on December 12, the world remembered Pandit Ravishankar as the creative, romantic, trend-setting musician who took Indian classical music to the international stage.

While Indian classical music’s reigning star has widely been remembered for his lasting bond with George Harrison, his genius, experimentation and brilliant offerings to cinema, the association Jalandhar has with the great artiste is steeped in spirituality and simplicity.

Artistes and art connoisseurs across the city today remembered Pandit Ravishankar for his dedication to the revered "samadhi" of Baba Harivallabh, the frenzy which preceded his performances at the Harivallabh and the simplicity with which he charmed many during his visits to the city.

Performing regularly during the late 60s and early 70s in Jalandhar, Pandit Ravishankar first came to Jalandhar in 1955.

Rakesh Dada, treasurer of the Harivallabh Sangeet Mahasabha, said Pandit Ravishankar came to the city in the years 1966, 1969, 1972 and 1977.

“Whenever Pandit Ji had to come, the atmosphere would be electric all through the day. The mood would be building up since the morning for his performance and everyone would wait with bated breath for his appearance later in the night. In the early 1960s, as many as 10,000 to 15,000 people flooded the pandals to attend his recitals. Ten to 15 minutes before his performance, 'agarbattis' would be lit,” said Dada.

“He was a thorough professional. Once, even when he was suffering from fever, he stuck to the schedule and bathed in sweat, gave a robust performance,” Dada added.

Inderjit Talwar, who retired as principal of the Sain Das School in Jalandhar, was a kid of 13-14 years when he first saw Pandit Ji perform by the "samadhi" of Baba Harivallabh.

“My father was a sub post master and was very fond of Pandit Ji. So he took us kids to the Devi Talab Mandir early on a December morning. Pandit Ji had just arrived to the city. After his morning bath, he sat down in the sun with his sitar by the havan kund (around which ash-covered saints used to sit in the night). He began playing at about 10 - 10.30 am and kept playing for two to two and a half hours as the morning crowds grew around him. At the end of the recital, he bowed to the 'samadhi' of Baba Harivallabh. His surprise recital was marked with dedication for Baba Harivallabh. We could all clearly see it was spiritual treasure, not material gains that drove him to music,” said Talwar.

Engineer SS Ajimal, director of the Harivallabh Sangeet Mahsabha, fondly remembers Pandit Ji’s performance during the 100th Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan in 1975, when many big artistes became part of the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan.

“Pandit Ji, accompanied by Ustad Allah Rakha Khan on the tabla gave one of the most memorable performances in the history of the sammelan that year as joyous crowds just couldn’t stop applauding,” Ajimal added.

Arun Mishra, joint secretary of the Harivallabh Sangeet Mahasabha, remembers the days when Pandit Ravishankar came to the city back in the 60s. “In those days there were no hotels for artistes to stay in and Pandit Ji stayed with Sardar Acchar Singh, a renowned instrument maker of the city. His daughter Sarabjeet Kaur was Pandit Ji’s disciple.”

“Ustad Zakir Hussain played with Pandit ji very early on at the Harivallabh. Zakir’s wasn’t yet a renowned name when Jalandhar saw him accompanying his father Ustad Allah Rakha for a performance with Pandit Ravi Shankar on a rainy Harivallabh evening,” said Mishra.

In my personal experiences, I noticed that Pandit Ji also had a great regard for his instruments down to the sitar string. He always carried his sitar himself. Even when we offered to carry his sitar during a performance, he supported the other side of the instrument with his own hands. If someone cut or discarded extra sitar string while changing sitar strings, Pandit Ji used to pick it up and store it in a little box. He hated the wastage of string.”

Yogesh Chander, associate professor in music, who has been a disciple of Pandit Ji, said, “From my first meeting with him in 1987 to the various times that he tutored me, his lessons were marked with a lot of patience and humility. He took on disciples from everywhere and in various disciplines, not just sitar. His benevolent lessons have made our lives. I am grateful that I got to learn music from a stalwart like him. His letters are my cherished possessions.”

Jalandhar, December 13
Acting on a contempt of court notice against MC Commissioner, the authorities yesterday razed the boundary walls of two houses and pulled down frontal portion of four shops for their alleged encroachment on the Ekta Vihar road.

Office-bearers of the Greenwood Avenue Society had lodged a complaint that the width of the approach road to their residential apartments was actually 27 feet on record, but was now left to just 24 feet.

Commissioner Viney Bublani said revenue officials were asked to check the records who confirmed that there was encroachment from one side of the road. “All owners of properties on this side were issued notices to withdraw their boundary lines which they were not agreeing to,” he said.

After the property owners did not respond, the MC officials held demolition twice, pulling down walls of semi-constructed properties last week and those of built-up properties yesterday. MTP Tejpreet Singh said three shops which were locked yesterday were left untouched, as there could be complaints of theft by owners at a later stage. “Notices have been sent to the owners of these shops. Today the court has fixed a next hearing on January 31. We want to construct a road there as well, if the weather permits,” he said.

Jalandhar, December 13
Politics around the appointment of two BJP councillors as members of the Finance and Contracts Committee, the most powerful committee of the Municipal Corporation (MC), is getting heated up with the decision to be announced during the MC House meeting on Friday.

While the names of Ravi Mahendru and Bhagwant Prabhakar as contenders for the post are doing rounds, the names of two woman councillors Kanchan Sharma and Suman Sehgal are also being proposed for the same.

There are 20 BJP councillors in the 60-member House. There are chances of calling of a meeting of the councillors tomorrow for discussion on the issue. BJP district acting president Subhash Sud said he had received no claims for the purpose, which in any case was the prerogative of the Mayor.

Mayor Sunil Jyoti, however, is tight-lipped on the issue. "I will go by whatever the party proposes," he said, claiming that he would open the cards only during the meeting or else the whole issue would lose its charm.

Regarding re-appointment of Ravi Mahendru (representing the camp opposite to that of the Mayor), he said, "Ravi certainly has the strongest claim on the post as he is the most experienced hand."

Jalandhar, December 13
Over 1,500 policemen were deployed in and around the city to provide security cover to the players, visitors, spectators and other dignitaries, keeping in view the matches of the World Kabaddi Cup (women) Championship that were held at the local Guru Gobind Singh stadium, here today. While the entire top police force was busy in making arrangements for the Kabaddi Cup; it was the general public that felt the heat as a majority of the visitors to the police stations had to return disappointed.

A majority of the police stations in the district witnessed a thin attendance as the officials and the employees were seen missing from their seats.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), headquarter, Navjot Singh Mahal, said, “Apart from the local police force, officials from the PAP have also been deployed in and around the stadium and at various places. The police have also pressed anti-riot control teams, security personnel in plain clothes, fire tenders, dog squad and the police control room (PCR) vehicles in service.”