 |
|
|
Illegal markets choke city on Sundays
Badly choked Old GT Road with illegal markets, wrongly parked vehicles and bulky paraphernalia of street vendors in Jalandhar on Sunday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh
Miscreants break open two PNB ATMs, take away
Rs 18 lakh
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Harivallabh
sammelan
Mandira Lahiri performs at the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammeelan in Jalandhar. A Tribune photograph
PIMS strike affects business ventures
Year
2013 ender Inter-religious meet held for Christmas
Foggy conditions likely to continue
Vehicles move at a snail’s pace as fog engulfs the Amritsar-Jalandhar road on Sunday morning. Tribune Photo: Malkiat Singh Rotary Club holds camp Feedback
|
|
Illegal markets choke city on Sundays
Jalandhar, December 22 Surprisingly, these markets have been illegally operating for the past so many years without taking permission from the Municipal Corporation (MC).“We are running this Sunday market for the past so many years. We do not pay anything to the MC and neither did it fine us or ask for any fee for the same. I am having three different sale spots on this road,” said Deepak, selling old clothes on the Old GT road near Jyoti Chowk. One of the worst clogging zones in the city is the old GT road. The road is clogged from the Company Bagh Chowk till Jail road and even up to Nakodar Chowk. As many as 500 illegal vendors squat on both sides of the road already choked with the illegal scooter market. Long traffic snarls are, therefore, common on the stretch. A huge traffic congestion can be seen at Jyoti Chowk due to the bulky paraphernalia of the illegal hawkers at the place. The hawkers can be seen selling a variety of things from old clothes to woollens and from crockery to shoes. Even some of the vendors have encroached a PUDA building situated on the road and are selling currency garlands, helmets and lottery tickets etc for the past so many years. “We have an understanding with local PUDA officials. They told us to run the stalls from here with the condition that we have to vacate these immediately when asked by them. Sometimes, they did get us vacated from here for a few days, but later allowed us again to come back,” said Kishen Lal, a currency garland seller who is running the stall illegally from the PUDA building for the past 15 years. Since the old GT road is situated in the heart of the city, its choking affects city commuters badly. Most importantly, the Civil Hospital, catering to around 30 to 40 trauma cases everyday, is also situated on the same road. This traffic congestion had taken so many lives in the past due to the delay in treatment. Presently also, many ambulances could be seen getting stuck in the traffic jams on Sundays. Anupam Kler, Joint Commissioner, JMC, said although the corporation had fined these vendors so many times, every Sunday they come to run the market illegally. “The main drawback is the fine amount that is too small and ranges between Rs 500 to Rs 1000. These vendors sometimes come and pay themselves to our raiding staff. The fine amount should be increased and there should be a punishment for the violators. Then only, the Old GT road would be cleared of the encroachers,” said Kler. Sources also revealed that due to the veiled interest of the MC, the street vendors' business in the city had become more organised with bigger operators roping in smaller ones and dealing directly with the MC officials. The corporation is bearing a lot of revenue loss by turning a blind eye towards the mushrooming growth of illegal vendors everywhere in the city. |
|
Miscreants break open two PNB ATMs, take away
Rs 18 lakh
Kapurthala, December 22 Gurvinder Singh, running a shop near the PNB ATM in Dadwandi, said when he was opening his shop at around 4.30 am in the morning, he saw some people come in a white Verna car and stop in front of the ATM. They took out some equipment from the car and started hitting the ATM machine inside the room. The other incident came to light when the security guard on day duty reached the ATM in Talwandi Chowdhrian around 9.30 am on Sunday. On seeing the broken ATM machine, he immediately reported the matter to the police. The local branch manager Ram Swaroop also reached the spot immediately after he was informed by the police. The timing and the proximity of the two bank branches points to the possibility of the involvement of the same gang. The modus operandi of the theft was almost the same. The thieves sprayed the screens of the monitors and the CCTV cameras with some dark substance before damaging them. With the help of gas cutters, they broke open the cash boxes and decamped with the cash. Technical and forensic teams are being called from Chandigarh to retrieve the electronic data, besides gathering data for investigation. Phagwara: Unidentified burglars entered the Palahai Multi-purpose Co-Operative Society in nearby Palahai village after breaking open doors and took away goods worth Rs 85,000, besides Rs 3,000 on Friday night. Parwinder Kumar, secretary of the society, said the theft came to his notice this morning when he found the society’s general merchant shop ransacked. The police has registered a case.
|
|
Lahiri gharana, Rudraveena strains dominate
Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, December 22 Daughter-in-law of legendary Pandit Chinmaya Lahiri, Mandira's vocals bore profound reflections of the Lahiri Gharana she comes from. Her forceful "taans" and traces of folk inspirations in her singing provided a fitting end to the day. She performed her own Gharana's Raga Sham Kons. Earlier, the evening began with a thumri recital by last year's music competition winners Jyotica Tangri's thumri recital and Toshin Raj's santoor. This was followed by a vocal recital by Arnab Chatterjee accompanied by talented Dharam Nath Mishra on the harmonium. Chatterjee performed Raag Bhim Palasi and Sohni, ending his recital with a bhajan. His performance was followed by the strains of the reputed Dagar Gharana in the Rudraveena of Ustad Bahauddin Dagar. The lingering, wise strains of the Rudraveena, which is a solemn drone instrument, was accompanied by thunder and the fierce rain forming puddles in the pandal. While interruptions caused by the rain caused the sammelan to move to the Ram Hall, after a relatively fiery first evening of classical entertainment, day two was comparatively lacklustre. Carrying forward the tradition
She has been in the unique position of belonging to a lineage where the musical traditions of her future in-laws influenced her environment right since her childhood without her being even aware of it. Propagating the music traditions of the Lahiri Gharana founded by her father-in-law, Mandira Lahiri’s unique musical experiences and the vast knowledge of her father-in-law Pt Chinmoy Lahiri shine through in her folk inspired singing and masterful renderings of thumri and dadra - her forte. Performing in the makeshift settings of the Ram Hall, her spirit coupled with the committee’s will to keep the show on said a lot about her as an artist. Speaking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the concert she laid bare the journey of her musical life. Born Assamese, she started taking her classical taalim in a musical environment from her maternal uncle Late Birendra Kumar Phukan. Later studying from his father in law Chinmoy Lahiri, her own father had also been a student of the late Bengali master whose wisdom and experience had a vital role in determining the course of Bengali film music in the 60s and 70s. Speaking about her experiences, she said, “Music was in the atmoshphere of our home as I grew up. I started my talim at about 11. My father being a station director at AIR, music was valued at our home.” However, she said during the early years of her father’s and her family’s association with Pt. Chinmoy Lahiri she had never imagined she would
one day be his daughter in law. While Pt. Lahiri’s (who was originally from the Agra Gharana) acclaimed experiments and interpretations in music gave way to the famed Lahiri Gharana, she is now one of its foremost scions. Talking about the specialties of the gharana, she says, “The Lahiri Gharana music is Bani Paradhan. Its music involves elaborate bandishes and bhavna (emotions) have a major role to play in the tones of the gharna.” Presently working on a project with the ministry of cultural affairs, she has also been invited as a teacher of music by the state’s government to pass on her precious taalim to younger disciples. Mandira’s forte
Thumri, Dadra, Ghazals, Bhajans are Mandira’s forte and her performances are marked with a rustic zeal which traditionally characterises the renditions in these classical music styles. Her guru Pt. Chinmoy Lahiri has nurtured talents like Parveen Sultana and Sandhya Mukherjee. One of the best-known Kolkata-based khayal singers of his time, he is credited with evolving his own genrein classical music. He introduced 'Bangla Ragapradhan' songs in film and has also created several new ragas like Shyamkosh (which Mandira performed last night), Probhatitodi, Gandharika among others. Politicians converge at
the venue
They might be lashing out at each other at various political rallies and gatherings, but representatives of various parties were seen together during the second day of a rainy, chilly Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan here last evening, for the cause of music (read LS poll). Amidst the heavy rainfall, Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa (who also inaugurated the sammelan), BJP state president Kamal Sharma, CPS KD Bhandari, Mayor Sunil Jyoti, SAD MLA Pargat Singh former Jalandhar Mayor Rakesh Rathore, former Congress minister Chaudhari Jagjit Singh, among a host of other political luminaries, paid a visit to the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan. The committee had also been anticipating a visit by CM Punjab Parkash Singh Badal, but the CM's advisor, former minister Tikshan Sud, came instead. While Bajwa assured that the Congress would take up the matter of ensuring funds for the Harivallabh from the Centre, there were no fund promises made from any of the visiting politicians except CPS KD Bhandari, who also made fund contributions in 2012 and has promised Rs 5 lakh this year. |
|
PIMS strike affects business ventures
Jalandhar, December 22 This premier institution remained in controversies since it came into existence and especially when the Punjab government handed it over to Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences Medical and Educational Charitable Society, headed by senior Akali leader Surjit Singh Rakhra, a close associate of the Badal family. Lack of coordination among the directors of the society created mismanagement, which finally dragged the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences under financial crises, virtually putting the future of 300 MBBS students at stake, apart from doctors, nursing, paramedical and clerical staff. The owners of the business establishments in its premises including canteens, mess, eating joints and chemist shops, who were allotted shops on rent, finally started suffering losses when the employees started quitting their jobs due to nonpayment of salaries in 2012. The owners of the business establishments find it difficult to pay their monthly rent for the shops as the hospital is virtually closed. Kishan Singh, owner of 24 Hours Pharmaceutical, a chemist shop, running on the ground floor, claimed that the strike had hit his business hard. “In 2011 and 2012, the daily sale was almost Rs 1.5 lakh, which came down to almost Rs 10,000, to Rs 15,000 per day till Friday. Today there was no customer as there were no patients in the hospital,” said Singh. Similarly, employees of a fast food centre owned by Jarnail Singh Gardhiwal, lamented that the strike had ruined their business as the daily sale had come down to Rs 500 from Rs 2,500. Contractors of the canteen and mess, on condition of anonymity, lamented to have suffered huge losses but still hoping that someone would take over the healthcare institute shortly.
|
|
Year
2013 ender
Jalandhar, December 22 This year is considered as one of the worst years for MCJ as it failed to provide basic amenities of smooth roads and dirt free localities in most of the areas of the city due to paucity of funds. Commuters faced a lot of inconvenience due to pits and potholes the appeared on majority of city roads, including the roads situated near the District Administrative Complex (DAC). Similarly, garbage heaps in various areas also caused a lot of nuisance, keeping aside one exceptional case in which the residents of Preet Nagar on Sodal road converted a garbage dumping site into a mini park after taking the local councillor into loop. Further, some localities including Krishana Nagar and Adarsh Nagar remained without proper supply of potable water due to undue delay in replacing faulty motor. Majority of the contractors refused to start any new project as their huge amount of already done works was pending with the MCJ. Contractors also knocked at the door of the Punjab and Haryana High-Court for getting their dues. However, the last quarter of this year witnessed some positive changes as the MCJ made payments to most of the contractors after getting the first installment of Rs 15 crore of Rs 60 crore loans. As a result, work on two important roads- Gujja Peer and Guru Nanak Pura, started during the last quarter of 2013. The MCJ also succeeded in clearing first hurdle in the much required Chandan Nagar railway under bridge (RUB) by acquiring the land required for its construction in December, with special efforts of Jalandhar north MLA KD Bhandari, who made its construction a poll issue. However, work for Nehru Garden and Burlton Park projects is still hanging fire, despite the verdict of the court in favour of the MCJ for the latter. Earlier, Mayor Sunil Jyoti made a tall claim in January that the project regarding the renovation of Nehru Garden will be completed soon after the monsoon season this year itself. Interestingly, while the city faced inadequacies of basic facilities, Mayor Sunil Jyoti and senior deputy Mayor Kamaljit Singh Bhatia remained at loggerheads, so much so that Bhatia boycotted the function organised by the MCJ at BSF Chowk where Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal laid foundation stones of various development projects of about Rs 21 crore in November. The senior deputy Mayor also submitted a letter to the commissioner in which he levelled allegations of rampant corruption in various wings of the MCJ Building Department as it failed to check illegal constructions in the city. Subsequently, MCJ Commissioner Manpreet Singh Chhatwal expressed his firm determination to take stern action against the illegal constructions in various parts of the city by demolishing them. He also prepared a list of over 60 illegal buildings in the city. The MCJ staff remained busy in collecting fees for regularising illegal colonies and property tax. The city witnessed protests against imposition of such taxes on urbanities. The MCJ House also passed the Rs 695.40-crore annual budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year within a few seconds without any discussion amidst unprecedented uproar over property tax by both Congress and the ruling SAD-BJP councillors on March 25. PUDA and Jalandhar Improvement Trust (JIT) failed to start any new housing scheme for providing plots to city residents at affordable rates, this year. However, they auctioned several of their existing properties but could not get expected amount. PUDA kept on turning a blind eye towards one of its main commercial complexes of the city at Ladowali road, where vacant plots turned into garbage dumping places, encroachments by dealers selling second-hand cars and dilapidated roads marred the beauty of the PUDA complex. Besides, PUDA employees organised protests in November and December in support of their demands of getting pension after superannuation and allotment of plots to them.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
If you are planning to reserve the next Sunday for your weekly shopping date, call it off as you will have to face a huge traffic chaos on chock-o-block roads.
Thanks to the numerous illegal markets that come up on various city roads every Sunday, the city comes to a complete standstill on weekends.
While rain has been a vital accompaniment to many Harivallabh gatherings in the past as well, on day two of the Harivallabh Sangeet
Sammelan, sudden rain showers hit the pandal, catching authorities off guard. The bold swaras of Pt Chinmay Lahiri's lineage reverberated amidst the rains in the recital of artiste Mandira Lahiri and the solemn, deep strains of the Rudraveena played in the night.
Fog is likely to continue on Monday also, while cold wave forced people to remain indoors on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the city witnessed a hailstorm and heavy rain last evening and in the wee hours today. As much as 16.2 mm of rainfall was recorded in the city and surrounding areas during the past 24 hours.
According to the Meteorological Department, fog and mist may continue tomorrow, whereas sky is likely to remain partly cloudy.
The minimum temperature was recorded as 8.6 degrees Celsius, while the maximum was recorded as 17.3 degrees Celsius in Jalandhar.
— TNS
