Jalandhar, December 22
The body of a three-day-old baby girl, that was buried after her mysterious death in Nandanpuur village early this morning, was exhumed by the police this evening. The body was dug out in the presence of the area naib tehsildar and was handed over to the family after a postmortem examination at the local Civil Hospital late this evening.

The baby girl was born to Sarogya, wife of Upinder Mandley, a migrant labourer from Bihar, three days ago and reportedly died last night due to certain complications.

Talking to The Tribune, Deputy Superintendent of Jalandhar (Rural) Police, Jasvir Singh, said the family had buried the body early in the morning, keeping it a low-profile affair, but some villagers raised doubts at her death.

Certain villagers informed the police, alleging that the couple had murdered the infant and buried the body without any postmortem examination. The family even did not inform the villagers in this context, certain villagers complained to the police, the SDP added.

Taking a note of the allegations, the police initiated inquest proceedings in the case and questioned the couple. The DSP said that during questioning, it came to light that Upinder and Sarogya were putting up in the village for the past over a year.

The couple already had two sons and this was their third offspring.

During questioning, the girl's father said that his daughter had developed an ache in her stomach and died a couple of hours later. Since she was just three days old, the parents preferred to bury the body instead of informing locals and the police, the DSP added.

He, however, said that the police would take the necessary action only after reports of the postmortem came.

Jalandhar, December 22
In an effort to prevent accidents due to fog and mist, the city traffic police has launched a ‘reflector fixing’ drive in the city, here today. The drive was launched from the local Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) where the police fitted 100 reflectors on auto-rickshaws, besides educating their drivers of the traffic rules.

Inspector Vijay Kumar, incharge of the Education Cell of the city traffic police, said during a week-long drive, reflectors would also be fixed with two and four wheelers, besides other vehicles and carts rolling on the roads.

The decision for fixing the reflectors with the vehicles was taken with the increasing rate of accidents on roads due to foggy weather, said Kumar.

With fixing the reflectors on the back and front of the vehicles, the police claimed that the graph of accidents

would come down. He said the drive would also help in identifying the status of vehicles being plied on the city roads. This could also help the police in finding if the vehicle, to which the reflector was pasted, was genuine and not a stolen one, he said

Jalandhar, December 22
None of the nearly 100 ailing revenue patwaris has got the reimbursement for his medical bills for the past eight years, thanks to the reportedly empty coffers of the Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP government.

The state and district representatives of the Revenue Patwar Union have brought the matter to the notice of the Director, Land Records, and deputy commissioners of the districts concerned in this regard, but to no avail.

Nearly 10 patwaris whose medical bills have not been reimbursed for several years belong to Jalandhar district alone, said Kuldeep Singh Lubana, president of the district unit of the Revenue Patwar Union.

Kuldeep Singh said the state unit had made several representations to the Director, Land Records, whereas the Jalandhar district unit had met DC Priyank Bharti in this regard.

The district president of the union further said that the General Provident Fund (GPF) of seven years from 2003 to 2009 of the patwaris posted in Jalandhar district was also not deposited.

Similarly, most of the patwaris had not been provided the benefit of 4-9-14 promotion policy, he added.

Representatives of the district unit had met DC Priyank Bharti in support of their demands on November 21. He assured them to get their demands accepted at the earliest, he said.

Bharti said, "He had already asked the departments concerned to do the needful at the earliest."

Meanwhile, Kuldeep Singh said, "As nothing concrete has been done to provide justice to patwaris even after a month of their recent meeting with the DC, the district unit has decided to hold a protest dharna on December 24 in this regard."

All patwaris of Jalandhar will hold a dharna at district headquarter on Monday from 11 am to 3 pm, he said, adding that they would intensify their agitation if their demands were not meet soon.

Phagwara, December 22
As many as six persons were killed and ten others sustained injuries in separate mishaps, including road and rail accidents in Phagwara, Nakodar,Goraya and Phillaur during the last 48 hours.

One motorcyclist Army hawaldar, identified as Balbir Singh of Ballowal village, was killed on the spot when his bike was hit by a speeding car near Goraya bus stand last evening.

The deceased was going to his village. The car driver, however, managed to flee. The police has registered a case in the regard.

In the second incident, a woman identified as Kanshalayia Devi was killed on the spot when the jeep, she was driving in, collided with a truck on the Nakodar-Malsian road yesterday. The police has registered a case against the truck driver, who was still absconding.

An unidentified person was run over by a running train at the Phagwara railway station last night. The deceased was crossing the railway lines, the police said.

A villager, identified as Jaskaran Singh of Bhanoki village, died due to critical burn injuries in a hospital. He was working in his kitchen when his tracksuit caught fire a few days back. He was admitted to a hospital where he succumbed to his burn injuries. His father Sodhi Ram also sustained burn injuries while saving his son. He was also admitted in a hospital and was recovering. The police has registered a case under Section 174 of the CRPC and had handed over the body to the family members.

A passenger, identified as Roop Lal of Sherpur-Sekhan village, was killed on the spot when he fell from the running bus near Mehli village on the Phagwara-Nawanshahar road. The police has sent the body to the Civil Hospital for the postmortem examination.

An unidentified middle-aged beggar was found dead in a park near a railway station in the wee hours. The Government Railway Police, incharge, Pawitra Singh said the beggar had died due to severe cold. The body was sent to the Civil Hospital for the postmortem examination.

Meanwhile, ten persons, including three women and two children sustained injuries in two road mishaps on the Mehtan-Mehli by pass last night.

Jalandhar, December 22
The district administration has started the process of conducting elections for the post of NRI Sabha president, the polls for which has been finalised for January 27.

While ADC Praneet Bhardwaj has been appointed as the Electoral Registration Officer and Returning Officer, SDM-1 Iqbal Singh Sandhu would be the Assistant ERO and Assistant RO. A schedule for the conduct of elections was announced yesterday with the directions that the membership to the NGO would be allowed only till December 31. The sabha already has nearly 17,000 members.

The voter list for the purpose would be printed and displayed at the NRI Sabha office on January 1. The last date for filing claims and objections would be January 8. The claims and objections would be disposed off on January 15.

One of the major developments is that only NRIs would be allowed to cast the vote and not their nominees as was the case in the previous elections. The voters would have to show their NRI Sabha card as well as the copy of their passport while casting their vote. A decision in the regard, which was taken by the members during the sabha's annual general meeting held on October 28, has now been endorsed by CM Parkash Singh Badal, who is also the chief patron of the sabha.

Anurag Verma, who has remained on the post of Divisional Commissioner in Jalandhar, is currently the chairman of the sabha.

Kamaljit Hayre held the presidents' post of the sabha for the past two terms, each spanning two years.

The elections were scheduled to be held in April this year but got delayed somehow. Hayre is yet to open his cards on whether he would re-contest or not. "I have planned a meeting with the NRIs next week. Depending on the discussions, I would take my decision," he said.

The other likely contenders would be Jasbir Singh Shergill and Pritam Singh Narangpuri. The issues most likely to be raked up include expediting the work of fast track courts and conducting an inquiry on a complaint against the NRI before lodging on an FIR.

The actual picture on as to how many NRIs would turn up would be clear with their presence at the NRI convention to be organised by the government from January 3 to January 5. The venue for the first two days is Chandigarh while on the last day the event would be held at Hotel Cabbana in Jalandhar.

Executive Director of the sabha Khushi Ram said that the membership drive was on. "Any NRI can come to us with his passport and two photographs and pay up Rs 5,000 as the life membership for a single applicant and Rs 6,000 for a couple," he added.

Jalandhar, December 22
A two-day UGC-sponsored workshop on 'Shastriya nritya ke bhavnatmak ang mein paramparik gayan shailiyon ka prachalan' (classical dance and prevalence of singing in an emotional aspect) concluded at the BD Arya Girls College in the city yesterday.

Beginning on Thursday, the workshop aimed at creating awareness of the purest styles and classical music forms and taking deeper into the form with its roots in the Indian tradition.

Delhi-based Kathak expert artists Guru Rajendra Gangani of the Jaipur gharana and danseuse Swati Sinha gave valuable lessons to the students regarding the roots and the purer forms of dancing.

The workshop began yesterday with Ustad BS Narang singing rare bandishes praising the Gods to introduce students to the devotional aspects of music.

Guru Rajendra Gangani started off by depicting the bhaavas (emotions) and movements corresponding to the devotional bandish.

The greatest triumph of the workshop helped the students to understand mudras, vocals and taals (rhythm) coming together, thus deciding the nature and intricacy of the dance.

The ancient dhrupad, dhammar styles being more complex and technical while the lighter thumri and chaiti styles being the more playful ones. Dance required both hawk-like swiftness and aggression for an artist and also the subtle grace and poise like that of a gazelle.

Guru Gangani said, "The taal you are performing on should be crystal clear in your dance steps. Otherwise you are not a good dancer."

Head of the department Anjul Sharma said the aim of the workshop was to make them unlearn what Bollywood conditioning was doing to their dance. The lessons, she said, were supposed to encourage pure dance steeped in the understanding and dedication that comes with the ancient traditions of India.

Talking to The Tribune, Guru Gangani said, "Dhrupad, an ancient singing tradition was what classical music begun with. It was sung to please the gods."

"The Chaturang (which had four aspects, sahitya - literature, tarana, bol - words and sargam and the tiruvat (which involved dance on the bol -sounds emanated by the Pakhawaj) came later. And then came the thumri, dadra, chaiti and kajri styles which had their origin in folk tunes and traditions," he said.

Speaking about the need of the hour to get students take the dance more seriously, he said, "Along with education they also need to be constant in riyaaz." Talking about the Jaipur Gharana, Guru Gangani said, "I got my taleem from my father Kundan Lal Gangani. Temple dance is still prevalent in Jaipur, although little changes keep happening over the time."

As a soulful vocalist, Guru Gangani also trained Swati Sinha in the dance form.

Sinha said she began training at the tender age of seven, prompted by her mother, who wanted her to channelise her energies towards something constructive.

Early on, she was admitted to Gangani's class and then, there was no looking back.

Trained in the guru shishya parampara ever since she had completed her official foundation course in dance (at a very early age), she regularly visited Jaipur.

Talking about the aim of the workshop, Sinha said it was to teach students the essential lesson that both singing styles and taals have their own differing moods.

"The more you take to riyaz, the more you are able to ascertain the mood and the right bhavaas that go with it. Patience is the key. Shastras, some children think are very limited and boring, but in fact shastras and the ancient wisdom of Indian dance forms opens up yet new horizons for one. It is like an abyss, which is full of beautiful treasures. It depends on how adventurous one is and how much he/she can explore," said Sinha.

She said taals like those in the 12, 14 or 17 matras were more serious while the others were a bit lighter. But it took a lot of integrity, poise and an ability to know music (both words and rhythms and feet).

Jalandhar, December 22
There has been no respite for the beneficiaries of the SC Post Matric Scholarship Scheme studying in various affiliated colleges of Guru Nanak Dev University, as officials continue to stick to their stand of levying the university fee component during the ongoing second semester admission.

Despite directions in this regard from the SC Commission chairman Rajesh Bagha and Secretary Welfare of SCs/BCs R. Venkat Ratnam on not levying any amount from the students as it would be reimbursed by the Centre, the university Registrar Inderjit Singh maintained that he wanted fresh assurances from the government regarding the reimbursement of the amount for the next semester.

HS Nanda, director, SC Welfare Department, Punjab, said he wondered why the colleges and universities had any worries about the disbursement of the grant. “We have been doing it regularly. The claims have been sent and would likely be deposited in the students’ accounts by January. An amount of Rs 52 crore has been credited into the accounts of the college students in the recent past for the previous year, settling all claims full and final. Only an amount of Rs 7 crore is pending for DPI schools,” he elaborated. Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti said he would tell the District Welfare Officer Rajinder Singh to look into the matter and added that the students’ fate was not affected and no money was levied from them.

Jalandhar, December 21
To spread awareness regarding the deadly disease, AIDS, Red Ribbon Express would be arriving in the city on December 25.

The train would be arriving at the local railway station on the platform number 1 at 9 pm as per the awareness campaign being run by the Punjab AIDS Control Society.

The train would stay in the city on December 25 and 26. An exhibition has been put up in the train for spreading awareness about prevention from AIDS which would inform people about the do's and don’ts regarding the dreaded disease.

Laboratory tests on AIDS would also be conducted and people seeking advice on the issue would be dealt with.

ANMs, ASHA facilitators, ASHA workers and anganwari workers would also be provided training in the train. The train would comprise eight coaches, with 60 members each. The Civil Hospital authorities also flagged off AIDS awareness vans from the Civil Hospital yesterday in this regard.

Civil Surgeon RL Bassan exhorted people to come up in large numbers to learn about the disease which has been a huge threat to society.