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Call racket — Crime at click of mouse
ISD calls converted into local calls
Kingpins abroad; Indian operators a small fry
Cyber swindling. It may not ring a familiar bell, but in the city it is a part of the very familiar ring of a phone, particularly if the call is from abroad. Sample this: There's a call from a friend settled in Canada, but the ID caller shows a Jalandhar number.
Techno-savvy cyber criminals abroad and their facilitators here in Jalandhar (mis)use information technology tools to carry on with their illegal business.

Grand old man of Ghadar recounts his days
His face is an alley of wrinkles and his eyes are dim with age. But his voice is deep and guttural and it rings conviction. Three years short of hundred, Baba Bhagat Singh Bilga, an associate of the freedom fighter Ajit Singh (Shaheed Bhagat Singh's uncle) and founder of the Ghadar (Rebellion) Party in Argentina, still retains the dynamism of the Ghadar days.

Scholarly officer with untiring zeal
His day begins at 3.30 am. He freshens up and takes a stroll. Then he sets off for a 5-km-jog. He returns home, scans a couple of newspapers and takes his breakfast. He is ready for the day's work. He reaches his office by 8 am and puts in uninterrupted 12 hours' work.
Lt Col Manmohan Singh

COMMUNITY

Illegal taxi stand near library draws flak from visitors
District administration, MC to be blamed for not earmarking space, say stand owners
The failure of the local Municipal Corporation and the District Transport authorities to curb the mushrooming illegal taxi stands on government land here is causing huge revenue loss to the state exchequer. City residents are also facing inconvenience, as some of these illegal stands are running in parking areas.

Residents fume as queries remain unanswered at railway station inquiry counter
Staff shortage is the reason for the mess, claim employees
There is one telephone number that seldom draws a response, however hard one may try. Either it comes continuously engaged or it remains unattended. This much-tried-hardly-attended number is that of the railway inquiry.

People’s Concern
City cinema halls in dire straits
Owners blame home theatre culture
If you are a cine buff, Jalandhar is not the place for you. The city has barely half-a-dozen cinema halls. These, too, do not have any provision for hi-tech sound and visual effects.

Palahi: A snapshot of modern India
A high-tech village. It sounds almost antithetical. Villages are seldom hi-tech. At the most, they can have an apology for a road, a ramshackle PHC, a few garishly-decorated beauty parlours and a couple of shops selling gaudy, shiny stuff that is often touted as the latest dress material. These are the stray thoughts that cross the mind when the signboard "Palahi - hi-tech village" greets you.

Girls learn the art of phulkari. — Photos by Pawan Sharma

A passion for the written word
He's ordinary, rather very ordinary man with yet more ordinary ambitions (happy family, comfortable financial position, social recognition et al.). But he has an amazing fascination for books. Mr Bakhshish Singh Arora, who is in his late sixties, loves books.

Kanya Maha Vidyalaya
A mission for empowerment
Shrill, strident feminism…male-bashing…wearing skimpy clothes. This is women's emancipation in its most warped form. Women's emancipation is about living a life of dignity and at the same time making use of the available opportunities in the best possible manner.

From the schools
Teams from as many as 20 schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) participated in Sahodaya Complex Inter-school quiz held at Eklavya School on Saturday.

A dance training programme was held at Eklavya School on Wednesday

• School tie-up

• Dance training

• School renovated

CULTURE

Famous Jalandhari
Saigal's heart sang for his city
Hardly anyone would have thought that a frail boy, who had run away from his home in Jammu and landed in the city to do petty jobs, would one day bring laurels to the country. This boy turned out to be the century's most celebrated singer, whose song 'Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya' continues to have its fan following even today, almost five decades later.

Achiever
Dancing her way to success
She started learning dance when she was barely six years old. It was this childhood interest that made Ms Ravija Chawla take up post graduation in the subject of dance. Her dream to excel in dancing came true when she stood first in the Indian Classical Dance, MA II Examination, 2004, conducted by the Guru Nanak Dev University.

HEALTH

Highest concentration of hospitals in Asia
Boasting the presence of about 400 full-fledged hospitals and nursing homes, Jalandhar has attained the status of the 'Medical Capital' of the northern region. It is the city with the highest concentration of hospitals in Asia.