27122024-JTR-01.qxd 12/26/2024 11:35 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar tribune POLICE LAUNCH CASO AHEAD OF NEW YEAR ALIA BHATT AT THE MET GALA ACED HER FASHION GAME FOLK NOTES COMBINE WITH MUSIC IN GIPPY’S SONG In an effort to make Kapurthala district crime-free, the police have begun cordon and search operations (CASO). P2 Alia Bhatt at the Met Gala & Priyanka Chopra at the Red Sea Film Festival aced their fashion game on global stage. P4 Punjabi folk song Jutti Kasuri, featuring Gippy Grewal and Dhanashree Verma, was released on December 19. P4 » » » FORECAST GENERALLY CLOUDY MAX 19°C | MIN 6°C YESTERDAY MAX 20°C | MIN 6°C SUNSET FRIDAY 5.32 PM SUNRISE SATURDAY 7:25 AM FRIDAY | 27 DECEMBER 2024 | JALANDHAR INBRIEF WOMAN DUPED OF ~1.96 LAKH Hoshiarpur: The cybercrime police have registered a case of fraud after receiving a complaint of cash withdrawal from the account of one Rinkal Sharma, a resident of Mohalla Dashmesh Nagar on Dingana Road here. The complainant told the police that unknown suspects called her on cellphone and after seeking details they transferred ~1.96 lakh from her bank account to their account. The police have initiated probe after registering a case in this connection. OC WOMAN DIES IN ROAD MISHAP Hoshiarpur: An unidentified woman has died in a road accident on the HoshiarpurPhagwara road here. The Mehtiana police have registered a case in this connection. Gurdeep Singh, who is deployed at the Mehtiana police station, said a 50-year-old woman died on the spot when she was hit by a vehicle near a petrol pump in Ahirana Khurd village. He said after taking body of the deceased into custody, the police had initiated probe into the matter. OC 2 BOOKED UNDER DOWRY ACT Phagwara: On a complaint lodged by a woman identified as Shyina, a resident of Chack Hakim village, the police have registered a case against her husband Sahil Kumar and mother-in-law Kulwinder Kaur, both residents of Kapurthala, on the charges of torturing the complainant physically and mentally for not fulfilling their demand of bringing more dowry. The victim complained to the police that her in-laws snatched valuables given to her by her parents in the marriage. No arrest has been made till so far. The police are investigating the matter. OC ONE BOOKED FOR PADDY THEFT Phagwara: On a complaint lodged by New Model Town resident Amandep Singh, the police have registered a case against one suspect identified as Chander Rai, alias Rawat, a migrant from Bihar, on the charges of stealing and selling 60 bags of paddy from a godown of the complainant located at Charrha village near Phagwara. The suspect managed to escape before the arrival of police. The police have launched a probe into the matter. OC Cong, BSP, Independents align to elect new Phagwara mayor Bajwa, Warring rope in Independent councillor, AAP Jt Secy Ashok Kaura Phagwara, December 26 Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president (PPCC) Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa held a preparatory meeting after the local Congress leadership almost finalised its plan to align with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the three Independent winning candidates to form the new Municipal Corporation (MC) House here. The meeting was held at Anmol Palace in Banga near here where all 22 candidates, who won the MC polls, appeared before the party’s senior leadership. An Independent candidate Balwant Rai Kotrani, who won from Ward No. 44, joined the Congress during the meeting. With his inclusion into the party, the Congress increased its own tally to 23. The party is also confident of getting support from Independent winning couple Davinder Sapra and Rupali recent ❝From the Lok Sabha elections to themade itMC polls held in Punjab, people of the state have clear that their first choice is Congress. Candidates, who have won in the civic body elections with good margins, will be given higher responsibilities by the Congress. ❞ Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, PUNJAB PRADESH CONGRESS COMMITTEE PRESIDENT Sapra from Ward Nos. 12 and 13, respectively. Other than this, party leaders are sure about support of BSP candidates Tej Pal Basra from Ward No. 14, Amandeep Kaur from Ward No. 25 and Chiranji Lal from Ward No. 34. All three BSP candidates talked to Warring and Bajwa over mobile phone who took them into confidence. On the occasion, Rupinder Kaur Hothi, joint secretary, Aam Aadmi Party women cell, also joined the Congress. Phagwara Congress MLA Balwinder Dhaliwal said, “We are all set to elect our Mayor. We are just waiting for the government to issue a notification in this regard.” While addressing the media, Warring said from the Lok Sabha elections to the recent MC polls held in Punjab, people of the state had made it clear that their first choice was Congress. He said candidates, who won the civic body elections with good margins, would be given higher responsibilities by the Congress. He said the health condition of Jagjit Singh Dallewal was critical, but nothing is being done by the state and Central governments. He further opined that Dallewal should end his fast as governments were not taking his health condition seriously. He further said the law and order situation in Punjab had deteriorated since the AAP came to power in the state. He alleged that the AAP government was not competent to handle issues of Punjab efficiently. While addressing mediapersons, Bajwa said Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann was directly controlled by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal. He said the government in Punjab was run by AAP leaders sitting in Delhi. He further said it was shameful that the Punjab CM instead of going to Khanouri to inquire about Dallewal’s health preferred to fly to Australia. Police thwart infant-selling conspiracy, rescue baby Four, including woman, arrested; legal action initiated Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 26 In a swift operation, Jalandhar Commissionerate Police, led by Commissioner of Police (CP) Swapan Sharma, thwarted a conspiracy to sell a three-month-old infant. The kidnapped child was successfully rescued within 24 hours of reporting of the crime. The police acted immediately on receiving a distress call about the abduction of a baby from a colony near Dhillwan village in Jalandhar. The CP said an FIR was registered on Wednesday under Sections 140(3), 137 and 61(2) of the BNS at the Rama Mandi police station and a probe initiated into the matter. Dedicated teams employing scientific investigation techniques and human intelligence zeroed in on four suspects identified as Baljit Kaur and her husband Baljit Singh, residents of Dakoha, Rinku Lamba, a Shahkot native, now residing at Salem Tabri, Ludhiana, and Manoj Kumar, alias Lucky, a resident of Dhanowal, Jalandhar. The suspects were arrested and the infant safely recovered from them. Further investigation revealed that the kidnappers had planned to sell the child. A motorcycle and an auto-rickshaw used in the crime were also recovered from the suspects during the operation. ~81K stolen from fuel station Our Correspondent Garhshankar, December 26 Thieves broke open shutter of a petrol station near Boda village on Garhshankar Shri Anandpur Sahib Road yesterday night and stole ~81,000. The police have registered a case in this connection and are conducting raids to nab suspects. In a complaint given to the police, Gurpreet Singh, who resides near Gurdwara Manji Sahib, Banga Road, Nawanshahr, said unidentified thieves scaled the back wall of the petrol pump and entered Lal Dyal Ji Filling Station near Boda village around quarter to twelve yesterday night. After gaining entry into the petrol station premises, thieves broke open the office shutter and stole ~81,000 lying in the cash box of the counter. Gurpreet told the police that his employees were sleeping in a room on fuel station premises when the theft took place. When his staff woke up in the morning, they found their room was locked from outside. Somehow they came out of the room and saw that the office shutter was broken and the money lying in the cash box was stolen by unidentified suspects. The police registered a case against unidentified thieves under Sections 331(4) and 305 of the BNS on the basis of Gurpreet Singh’s statement. As Harivallabh Sammelan begins today, Zakir Hussain’s city connect will be recalled Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 26 As the world mourns the demise of tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain on December 15, an era flashed by in an instant for Jalandhar too. The passing of the shining star of Punjab Gharana, brought back memories of the illustrious legacies, hidden away in the winding bylanes of Jalandhar. As the 149th Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan, dedicated to Ustad Zakir Hussain begins on Friday, Jalandhar remembers the deep, lesser known connection the musician shares with the city. Zakir’s father Ustad Allah Rakha Khan Sahib and Jalandhar’s Ustad Lachman Singh Seen were both Guru Bhais (brothers in tutelage), the disciples of Punjab Gharana tabla virtuoso Ustad Mian Qadir Baksh of Lahore. Tutored under Mian Qadir Baksh at Lahore, the two doyens of the Punjab Gharana spread the intricacies of the gharana not just in India, but across the world. While they chose separate cities to work in, Ustad Lachman Singh Seen (2nd from left) and Ustad Allah Rakha (2nd from right), both were taught by Ustad Mian Qadir Baksh from Lahore; and (right) Ustad Zakir Hussain playing at an event in Jalandhar in 1987. Ustad Lachman Singh Seen is standing on the dais at the left. HARIVALLABH SANGEET SAMMELAN Mian Qadir Baksh, Ustad Allah Rakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain have played many times at the Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan. In 1993, both Ustad Allah Rakha and Ustad Zakir Hussain played at the sammelan amidst the latter's 75th birthday celebrations. Zakir also frequented the sammelan along with his father as a young artiste. In 1993, Ustad Zakir, while addressing the sammelan audience said, “Is baar hum log Harivallabh mein Ziarat (pilgrimage) ke liye aaye hain.” their connection and musical ties lasted through generations. Even after shifting to separate cities, they remained regulars at each other’s homes. Sangeet Vilas, the Jalandhar residence of Ustad Lachman Singh Seen has seen many an evening of Punjab Gharana tabla jamming sessions with the two masters playing to an audience of little children who are now renowned musicians. Honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2010, Ustad Lachman Singh Seen passed away on June 13, 2022. The musical notes at Sangeet Vilas continue to reverberate as Ustad Seen’s son Pt Manu Seen in now a famous Sitarist, Manu’s children —- son Rishabh too is a third generation Sitar artiste and his daughter Surpriya plays the Sarod. All three have played at the Harivallabh. Ustad Lachman’s son Pt Kinnar Seen (settled abroad), Ustad Kale Ram of Jalandhar, grandson Avirbhav Verma, tabla artiste and musician Talvin Singh, among a host of other illustrious artistes, are Ustad Seen’s disciples. For Pt Manu Seen, Ustad Lachman Singh Seen was “Pita ji” and Ustad Allah Rakha was “Abba ji”. Born at the famous Chamb Jaurian border village in Jammu, to the house of Thakur Mangat Singh, it was tabla which took Ustad Lachman to Lahore. Pt Manu Seen says, “The passing of Ustad Zakir Hussain was a moment of deep nostalgia, an era ended. “Pita ji” was Jammu bred and through the touring Ramleelas in the village, picked up a fascination for the tabla. They would stay for months during which he would learn tabla from artistes. Once an artiste took a break, father jumped in as a substitute. When the artiste returned, people wanted the kid to continue playing, an artiste was born.” “He chose tabla as his calling and was determined to go to Lahore. Though Dada ji (Thakur Mangat Singh) played tabla, father wanted to learn the shastra, notations, tabla bol and qaidas which no one in Jammu could teach. Sharp diagreements arose between the father and son ,but eventually, father rebelled which persuaded grandfather to make arrangements to send him to Lahore,” he says. After walking for miles and hitching multiple rides on “Bail gadis” (bullock carts), Ustad Lachman finally landed at his Guru’s doorsteps and Mian Qadir Baksh took him in as a disciple. It is here that the camaraderie between Allah Rakha and Lachman took roots. Pt Manu Seen adds, “When the Partition happened, Ustad Allah Rakha moved to Mumbai and father moved to Jalandhar, despite persuasions from Ustad Allah Rakha to choose Mumbai. He was a son of Punjab and didn’ want to leave this soil. The idea was, ‘Aap vahan Punjab Gharane ka prachar karein aur main yahan’. (you propagate Punjab Gharana there and I’ll do it here.).” Ustad Lachman Singh Seen was head of the Department of Instrumental Music at Hans Raja Mahila Vidyalaya in Jalandhar for over two decades. Pt Seen says, “Whenever Ustad Zakir Hussain and Ustad Allah Rakha came to play in Punjab, they would stay at our house. They all practised tabla for hours. A hot favourite during their stay was my mother’s Gajar ka Halwa. When I met Zakir ji at Bhaini Sahib during a concert years ago, he was really happy to know that my daughter’s name was Surpriya (lover of music).” Tardy lifting of paddy from mandis, protests made life difficult for farmers in district 25K farmers not given benefit of scheme Aakanksha N Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, December 26 This year will be remembered as the most difficult year for farmers. The year tested farmers’ patience making them vulnerable, angry and overwhelmed with anti-policies of the governments. It was for the first time that paddy for which farmers get guaranteed minimum support price (MSP) wasn’t lifted from mandis on time. Farmers alleged that they were forced to sell their produce below the MSP . Such was the gravity of the situation that due to paucity of space in mandis, farmers were forced to store their produce near a pile of (From left) A farmer checks his paddy amid the glut of produce in a mandi; farmers examine damage to the wheat crop after rain; and activists of farmer unions protest on the National Highway in Phillaur. garbage at the Maqsuda Mandi in the district. Paramjit Singh, a farmer from Chugitti village, shared the sorry state of affairs as labourers filled his paddy grains in bardanas (Jute bags) near the pile of garbage. He said. “There was not much space in the mandi here. That’s why I stored my paddy near the garbage pile” During visits to mandis in the district, The Tribune correspondent found that farmers paddy grains were scattered near garbage piles for drying. Slow procurement and lifting resulted in a space crunch at mandis. This situation has made c m y b farmers fearful of consequences they would face in selling their produce next year. They are now reluctant of sowing paddy. A Shekein village farmer Amritpal Singh said he was worried about what would happen next year. “It was so painful this time. My paddy kept on lying in mandi for several days. This is the only crop which is sold on the MSP But things have . changed now.” Various farmers unions had also held protests at toll plazas and mandis to highlight their plight and difficulties they face in selling paddy. Pending sugarcane payment arrears Activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Doaba) held a protest and threatened to intensify stir if payment of the arrears of sugarcane growers, amounting to ~27 crore, was not be released soon by the state government. At least 25,000 farmers did not receive instalments under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi because of the pending KYC and land seeding. In Jalandhar, there are over 50,000 beneficiaries under the scheme. The scheme was started in 2019 for marginal farmers. They receive Rs 6,000 in a year — Rs 2,000 after every four months under the scheme. Officials of the Agriculture Department said majority of farmers were asked to complete e-KYC and the remaining had to complete the process of land seeding. Presently, farmers are making rounds of the Agriculture Department to know about the credit status of their instalments.