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| Saturday,
October 20, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Kiosk owners bash up enforcement staff SAS Nagar, October 19 A large number of rehri owners, led by the president of the market, gheraoed the employees of the council and bullied them. The employees, around 15 in number, had to make a hasty retreat. Around five policemen of the Punjab police, who accompanied the enforcement staff, were outnumbered by the mob. The employees of the enforcement staff, led by the Inspector, Mr Manjeet Dhinsa, a Superintendent, Mr Mewa Singh and a Clerk, Mr Ashok, had gone to remove the unauthorised kiosks on open space in front of the rehri market. After the paraphernalia of rehri and pheri walas was loaded in a tractor and a canter, the mob encircled the vehicles and started arguing with the employees. The driver of the tractor, Ajmer Singh, and the driver of the canter, Mr Amrik Singh, were dragged out of their vehicles. The entire confiscated paraphernalia was unloaded in front of the employees, who watched helplessly. The agitated employees called on the Subdivisional Magistrate, Mr Jaipal Singh, who advised the president of the council to get an FIR registered against the miscreants. The president, Mr Kulwant Singh, said he had written to the police to register an FIR. He reportedly contacted the SSP, Ropar, to provide more force to deal with the encroachments. Sources in the council said it was not the first time that the enforcement staff had to make retreat from the market. Efforts to remove the unauthotised kiosks — being run by persons, patronised by pardhans of the market — had proved futile. |
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‘Treasure’ exposes chinks in family ties Khatauli (Panchkula), October 19 Petty brawls among half a dozen odd descendants of the former jagirdar of the erstwhile state of Patiala are now a routine after dusk. Each day drunken brawls among the descendants have forced the women folk to remain indoors and Rajinder Singh, from whose premises the hidden treasure was recovered has been confined to his home ever since the treasure was discovered. Silver coins dating back to 1907, 1917 and 1918 were recovered here. These coins are believed to be from the time of King George V and King Edward VII of England. During a visit to this village, the Chandigarh Tribune team initially met with a hostile atmosphere. However, the team went about making inquiries by posing as a team from the Archaelogical Survey of India, and it was only after a lot of persuasion that the family let the team have a look at the treasure. The team was led to the house of Rajinder Singh, a grandson of the late jagirdar . It was while his son, Uninder Singh was tilling the land on his residential premises for setting up a kitchen garden, that they hit upon a pot containing silver coins. An eye witness to the scene, Surti Devi, an old farm hand at the house of Tulinder Singh, a nephew of Rajinder Singh, whose land is adjacent to the land of the latter, said she had seen the treasure as she was filling a bucket of water when the pot was recovered. “I saw a number of silver coins dug in the earth, but Uninder was glaring at me and so I ran away., “ she said. However, Rajinder Singh and his wife, Bala, vehemently deny that they had recovered more than 30 coins. “It is a propaganda against us to take over our land so that further digging can be taken up to recover more treasure ( if any) hidden here,” says Ms Bala. She claimed that the other descendants of Sudarshan Singh had no right over the treasure as the land was not part of the ancestral property. “This piece of land had been bought three years ago from Roshan Lal. The latter was a servant of our father and had been given this land as reward for his faithfulness. He, however, shifted to Ambala and we bought this land from him for Rs 1.5 lakh,” said Rajinder Singh. He said the eldest member of their clan, Yoginder Singh, now staying at Khangesara village, had been informed about the treasure being recovered. He, however, said the police had approached them for the treasure, but they had not handed it over to the police. Meanwhile, the other descendants of the clan in this village maintain that the treasure recovered had been distributed between Yoginder Singh and Rajinder Singh. “They are showing 30 coins because they do not want the government to take away the wealth,” alleged a nephew of Rajinder Singh. |
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Nostalgic
tunes of sand dunes Chandigarh, October 19 As of today, the list of tribe’s credits is endless, the brightest being, ‘Nimbooda’, the famous song picturised on Aishwarya Rai in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. In theory, neither the lyrics nor the music of this song have been created in Bollywood. The song has lived in the homes of Manganiyars since ages. They are the real custodians of many folk songs, including ‘Nimbooda’. After about four years of absence, six masters of this Rajasthani folk musical heritage, today marked a hearty comeback under the Tribune-sponsored SPIC MACAY’s Virasat series. They were accompanied by Rekha, a Jodhpur-based Kalbelia dancer, who amazed the audience with her stunts. To begin with, all of them were overwhelmed to find love and respect brewing in the city’s heart, as always. When the strains of melody took off from this warmth, they transcended physical boundaries and transported the gathering at the Chandigarh, College of Architecture to the dusty roads of Barmer, the place of Manganiyars’ belonging and musical offering. As an inseparable group comprising six musicians, Paipa Khan, Barkat Khan, Chanan Khan, Anwar Khan, Dhewar Khan and Kheta Khan, the Manganiyars are leading a life of absolute devotion. Their music engenders from the soul and merges into the soul after softly touching the surroundings. In the words of singer Anwar Khan, “Our music is not inhibited by techniques. It flows freely from our instruments and is passed on to our children as freely. You will find even three-year-olds playing folk instruments in Jaisalmer.” From the days of royalty, this Mirasi tribe has covered a vast distance. The Khans have spilled the magic of folk in many foreign countries. Kheta Khan, a ‘ghadtaal’ player, has worked on theatre projects with Zingaro in France and Brooklyn Academy in the USA. The most celebrated of the Manganiyars, Sakar Khan, boasts of a President’s Award and Madhya Pradesh Government’s Tulsi Samman. Despite all this, even today the Manganiyars, along with Langas, another musician tribe, are patronised by the wealthy Marwaris, who bestow them with camels, horses, cows and jewellery as gifts. Tracing roots from Sindh, now in Pakistan, the group sings of mirth and joy. The themes stem from occasions like birth, marriage and festivals. Talking, about their folk instruments (‘khamaicha’, ‘ghadtaal’, ‘shehnai, sindhi sarangi’ and ‘morchang’) the Manganiyars today told Chandigarh Tribune that they were dedicated to the revival of folk arts. Said Paipa Khan, who harmonised the ambience with the vibrations of ‘Sindhi shehnai’ today, “The ‘khamaicha’ was close to extinction, but we have saved it. Where earlier it was made only in Ahmedabad and in Karachi, we are now making it at Jaisalmer.” The sounds that resonated from the ‘khamaicha’, played today by Chanan Khan, left a breath of desert in the air. Made of mango wood, goat skin and goat intestines, the instrument is basic to Rajasthani folk music. A solo performance on the ‘khamaicha’ by Chanan Khan gave way to ‘jugalbandi’ of three instruments. Divine rhythms filled the surroundings, as Kheta Khan matched the rustic yet soft
sounds The element of spirituality injected by the instrumentalists was carried further by vocalists Anwar Khan and Barkat Khan, who commenced the recital with a birth song. Sung on the birth of a male child, ‘Halario’ in Raaga Pahari was delightful, so was the instrumental rendition of the welcome song Kesariya baalma aao ni padharo mare des’. The singers also presented ‘Nimbooda’ in their inimitable style, followed by a song in Sindhi. The vocal recital ended with the invocatory ‘Damadam mast kalandar’. Interwoven into the melodious schedule was the Kalbelia (cobra dance) of Rajasthan, presented by Rekha. She first picked up beads of a ‘ghungroo’ and later lifted currency notes with her eyes. |
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Harjinder
group targets Riar Chandigarh, October 19 The faction condemned him for opposing the “Chandigarh seal” call to oppose the ‘bir’ burning incidents, sought expansion of the party organisation and the setting up of an ad-hoc committee to decide about party tickets. Mr Riar had sought to vitiate relationship with its alliance partner BJP by threatening that if the BJP had any truck with the Mayor, he would put up candidates in all 20 wards, the SAD General Secretary, Mr N.S. Minhas, told a press conference here today. Flanked by senior party workers, Ms Harjinder Kaur said Mr Riar had hurt the feelings of the Sikh community by condemning the “Chandigarh seal” call of a non-political organisation, the Khalsa Panchayat. Mr Minhas went a step forward by stating that a person who tries to “monopolise” the party and could even go to the extent of condemning a call that concerns the community could not alone be given the right to decide about the tickets to be given to the party’s candidates in the forthcoming Municipal Corporation elections. He said a meeting of the party had been called today which passed the resolution that the high command should form a five or seven-member committee to recommend the names of aspirants to the high command. Mr Minhas, however, gave Mr Riar little room by saying that he could also be part of this committee. After becoming Mayor and an alternative source of power in the party at the local level and to draw cadres to her, the faction led by her also appealed to the high command to appoint more district jathedars and 11 delegates instead of one and three respectively. However, the faction also launched a virtual “remove-Riar” campaign by saying that the continuation of Mr Riar as a nominated district Jathedar was in contravention of the constitution of the party. The group also held Mr Riar guilty of violating the party’s call for restrains by going to the Press on internal politics of the party. |
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Riar seeks action against
Mann Chandigarh, October 19 In a letter written to Mr Vedanti, the local (SAD) chief, Mr Gurpartap Singh Riar, said Mr Mann is reported to have written letters to an excommunicated person Piara Singh Bhaniara seeking his help in elections. Mr Mann has denied the charges saying that his signatures on the letters purported to have been written to Bhaniara were forged. Mr Riar urged Mr Vedanti also to reopen a case pleaded by Mr Amarinder Singh against Mr Tohra for allegedly visiting Nirankaris. He alleged that the letter written by Mr Amarinder Singh had been dismissed by the then Jathedar of Akal Takht, Mr Ranjit Singh. |
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CRPF shielding
men: villagers Chandigarh, October 19 The villagers alleged that it was the third incident during the past eight months when villagers had been assaulted by CRPF personnel. |
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Four get Rotary annual
awards Chandigarh, October 19 Others honoured on the occasion were Mr Mahadev Singh Goraya, a former safai karamchari of the UT Health Department, Mr Harbhajan Singh, a postman, and a nonagenarian, Mr Shadi Lal. About the achievements of Irina Brar, the 17-year-old Class XII student of Vivek High School took to golf when she was barely nine years of age. Besides excelling in golf, she scored 87 per cent marks in her Class X examination. She had won the Singapore Amateur Open Ladies Golf in August this year. Mr Shadi Lal, who is ninety-year-old, hails from Layallpur, now in Pakistan. He moved to Chandigarh from Nabha after his wife died. He had moved to Nabha after the partition. He enjoys a retired life with money sent by his sons. He helps children residing in labour colonies by providing them books, notebooks, pencils and erasers. He also helps poor patients and their attendants in hospitals with ration. The story of Mr Mahadev Singh Goraya, a former safai karamchari, is of equal devotion. He lost both his hands in an accident. The handicap cost him his job and he could not fight against it as he had no money to spend in courts. He started an STD PCO by spending Rs 30,000 which soon ran into trouble. With debts mounting, he worked hard to pull a rickshaw to pay off his debts. Although there is reservation of jobs for the handicapped, he has not been able to find a job yet. The last one to be honoured is Mr Harbhajan Singh, a postman. He is totally dedicated to his work and he takes pride in doing it come rain or shine. Besides honouring such achievers, the Rotary Club Chandigarh Midtown also runs a vocational training centre at Sarangpur village where young women learn stitching. Twenty young women have
benefited from this course. The club also runs a revolving loan with the help of Rotary foundation. |
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EATING OUT Chandigarh As per religious norms, people observe fast on these days. They are off non-veg food, onions, garlic and, even, cereal. Keeping these sentiments in mind and with an eye on shoring up their sales, a number of city restaurants and hotels have come up with special Navratra menus. The chefs have put together delicacies to suit the requirement. Aroma Hotel, Sector 22, has converted its Cascade into a Subz Bagh with its vegetarian food festival. With Marigolds decorating the place tastefully and with joss sticks and diyas around, it is a reminder to the diners that it is a pious occasion. Poorti is the Navratra special thali — a whole meal with bowls of aloo ki subzi, bharwaen karela, panir ki subzi, sabudane ki kheer, dal and dahi to be had with singhare ki roti and swaunkh ke chawal. Special hoj has singhara, aloo and sabudana as its main ingrediants, says Anjum Kohli. Not to be left behind, Sindhi Sweets, Sector 17, attracts customers with its delightful dishes for the devout. Mr Kishan Bajaj asserts that their concoctions are a blend of taste and religiosity. So, whether it is tikki, panir wali fruit chaat, sabudana kheer, masala aloo or potato chips, you can have your pick even as you please God. Nathu’s Sweets, Sector 26, wishes everyone Subh Navratra with their vrat (fast) special delights. You could pamper your sweet tooth with singhara burfi, kuttu atta laddoo and makhana kheer after savouring the kuttu atta tikki with subzi. Cinnamon Roof, Sector 17, keeps up the festive mood with its offer of kheer and khichri made of sabudana, and pakoras and pooris made of kuttu ka atta complimented by aloo ki subzi. GK International, Sector 35, and Sagar Ratna, Sector 17, are among the other eateries that have remodeled their menus in keeping with the occasion. With Durga Puja and Divali in mind, Maa Durga Sweets, Sector 34, has come up with a 15 per cent discount scheme. They have also introduced vegetarian Indian and Chinese thali. Italian food specials Domino’s and Pizza Hut, Sector 26, and Chinese special Shangri-la Plus, Sector 35, too have joined the bandwagon of festivities. Pizza Hut promises one free pizza with an order of any Supreme Pizza (veg) till October 26. Domino’s says you can save up to Rs 80 on any large (10 inch) veg hand tossed pizza. A meal for two at Rs 65 per head is also a steal. And at Shangri-la Plus, you get a bowl of soup free of cost on an order of two dishes. |
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Awareness
programme for jail inmates Chandigarh, October 19 Dr Parveen Sharma of the Drug De-addiction Centre, PGI, spoke about various problems being faced by the addicts. Two members of the Alcoholics Anonymous Group and the Narcotic Anonymous Group also shared their experience about how they became drug and alcohol addicts and the way they overcome it with the help of these anonymous groups currently functioning in Chandigarh. Jail inmates come forward with their problems. |
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Non-official visitors to Burail jail
appointed Chandigarh, October 19 The Home Department yesterday notified the names of the visitors whose visits would monitor the condition of inmates. The members are: Mr Pawan
Bansal, MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, a former MP, Mr Kewal Krishan Adiwal, a former Mayor, Ms Sheela
Didi, Mr H. S. Hundal, president, District Bar Association, Mr Joginder Singh
Bhogal, Ms Upneet Lali, Deputy Director, RICA, and Ms Surya Pandit,
councillor. Other member are: Ms Harjinder Kaur, Mayor, Mr K. C.
Shenmar, a former IG Prisons, Wg Cdr Satish Bhatia, Mr Amarnath
Aggarwal, Mr K. K. Monga, bank employee, Mr Amar Kulwant Singh, Secretary Bal Niketan Society, and Mr Dwarka
Prasad, a former professor. |
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Fire-safety consultants for PUDA high-rises Chandigarh, October 19 Revealing this, the Chief Administrator, Mr K.B.S. Sidhu, stated that an open advertisement for shortlisting had been issued in respect of the district administrative complexes at Patiala, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda, besides PUDA’s office building at SAS Nagar. Mr Sidhu stated that while the fire-safety perspective was a part and parcel of design of any building, this concern was particularly accentuated in multi-storeyed structures. Fire- safety and risk management had now developed into a specialised inter-disciplinary vocation and it was desirable to take advice of experts in this field right from the planning stage itself, continuing with it throughout the construction. The Chief Administrator said use of fire-resistant materials was an important aspect, on which the consultants would be expected to render their opinion. The planning of emergency exits, their relative positioning and the location and number of the fire-escape ladders would also form a part of their charter. The laying of the hydraulic network to douse fires and use of specialised fire-extinguishers for fires originating from electric short circuits would also be suggested to PUDA. The consultants would also advise on the use of the electric wiring and placement of fire-detection probes and fire-alarms. The entry and storage of hazardous material, especially inflammable material, into these buildings would be strictly regulated. An exhaustive fire-drill, including evacuation plan, would also be worked out for each office complex, he added. Mr Sidhu also said the design architect had been instructed to ensure that proper access was available for fire -tenders in all these complexes. Apart from this, general instructions had been issued to ensure 100 per cent compliance with provisions of the Indian Building Code, with special reference to the fire-safety features. A multi-disciplinary group headed by the PUDA Chief Engineer and comprising the Senior Architect, the Senior Town Planner, the Zonal Additional Chief Administrator and a representative of the Deputy Commissioner concerned, had been constituted to monitor the progress in this regard. |
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IN
FOCUS Kharar Kharar has almost been a part of Chandigarh’s economy since a large section of its work force prefers to live in Kharar, due to the heavy cost of living in Chandigarh and Mohali. In addition, thousands of students from Kharar go to Chandigarh schools and colleges. There are seven bus halts assigned to C.T.U. in Kharar. But the absence of proper shelters has made catching a bus a daunting task for the commuters. Besides having to bear the brunt of the weather, the commuters have to wait for the buses on the highway and that exposes them to heavy and fast vehicular traffic. Their problem does not end here. Very often they have to chase the buses as the drivers stop whatever they like. At night, due to poor visibility and absence of any signpost, the buses sometimes miss the stops. The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking has turned a blind eye to this problem despite all the revenue it earns from the Kharar routes. Some years ago a bus stop was constructed at Qilawali Chungi, but its position was such that the commuters could not use it, nor did the buses stop near it. Another shelter constructed at Daon village had similar problems. The municipal committee of Kharar is not in a position to spare funds for this purpose. But private parties can be persuaded to take up the construction of bus stops which they can use also for advertisement purposes. Recently the S.A.S. Nagar municipal committee had invited private parties to construct bus stops on these terms. This experiment can also be tried in Kharar. Time tables displayed at the these shelters will be of great help to the commuters. |
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Tradition lures
audience to Ramlila Chandigarh, October 19 Ramlila moved on with the scene of Maharaja Dashratha announcing throning of Lord Rama and subsequently his banishment for 14 years. Today’s show ended with Lord Rama proceeding to the jungle and consequently the scene of death of Dashratha. Large number of spectators enjoyed the performance directed by B.S. Rawat. |
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Jagran
to mark Navratra fair Panchkula, October 19 This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Administrator of the Board, Ms Jyoti Arora. She said B.S. Bali a renowned musician, would present a bhajan sandhya programme at Satsang Bhavan on October 20. The Haryana Chief Secretary, Mr L.M. Goyal, would be the chief guest on the occasion. Suresh Gopal of Jaipur gharana will present a bhaktigyan programme on October 22. The Bhagwati jagran will be performed at Pravachan Sthal on October 23. Meanwhile, it had been reported that cash worth Rs 4,56,661, 16 items of gold, 128 of silver 65 kg of desi ghee and 89 utensils have been offered to the temple by devotees during the Navratras till date. |
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MC urged to check stray cattle menace SAS Nagar, October 19 Talking to mediapersons, Mr N.S. Minhas, president of the committee, said the issue had gained importance as the people were reluctant to remove encroachments on public land due to cattle menace. In a public notice, residents had been asked to remove these encroachments by October 27. |
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Row over society’s
name Chandigarh, October 19 In a signed statement, Mr Subhash Chander said their society was a registered body under the Societies Act, 1860. Its registration No. was 3250/2001. On behalf of the society, he condemned the action of Mr Khanchi and threatened to initiate legal action against him if he did not desist from such actions in future. |
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Ex-servicemen
to eradicate illiteracy Chandigarh, October 19 This was stated here today by Brig H.S. Yadav, chairman, of the committee. To begin with, six teams have been constituted to launch the campaign countrywide. He said that Major H.S. Nilon would supervise the campaign in Punjab and Capt Digh Ram would head the team in Haryana. Brig Yadav
said that besides creating awareness about literacy, the committee would also set up modern cultural centres all over India. |
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Booked for making false
affidavit Panchkula, October 19 The suspect, Suresh Kumar, has been booked under Sections 420, 511 and 177 of the Indian Penal Code and a case of forgery has been registered against him at Sector 19 police station. According to the police, the crime was detected when the documents were sent to security branch of the local police by the Passport authorities for verifications. On verification the police found that the applicant was involved in a criminal case. A criminal case under Sections 323 and 506 of the Indian Penal code was registered against him in 1999. The accused had, however, made a false affidavit stating that he was never involved in any case and no litigation was pending against him in any case. |
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One held for using counterfeit Chandigarh, October 19 Nabbed: A Sector 33 resident, Amit Kumar, was allegedly nabbed while he was stealing Rs 20 from a cash box in Sector 15 rehri market. He was handed over to the police. A case has been registered by the police. Pickpocket held: A Dadu Majra resident, Sartaj Singh, was reportedly caught red-handed while trying to pick the pocket of a Ropar resident, Ravinder Singh, while moving in an elevator at the PGI. The police has arrested the suspect and is investigating the matter. Illicit liquor: In separate incidents, two persons have been arrested by the police for carrying illicit liquor. Ram Darash of Gorakhpur was arrested at Sector 16-23 crossing, while Jagan Nath of Partapgarh was arrested near power sub-station, Sector 17. The police has recovered 20 pouches of liquor each from the accused. Cases under the Excise Act have been registered against the suspects. Stolen: Sector 15 resident, Mitta Bains, has reported that his scooter (PB-07-A-2917) has been stolen from Sector 16. A case has been registered and the police is investigating the matter. |
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