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Passengers of Shatabdi
cheat death Panipat, November 9 The information was received within minutes at the Panipat Railway Station and the Shatabdi Express, which was to pass through the site of the derailment in five minutes, was stopped immediately, averting a major rail mishap. Thousands of the passengers in the meanwhile had a harrowing time at Sonepat and New Delhi railway stations as many trains passing through the sections were either cancelled or delayed for hours. The traffic could only be restored in the morning after several hours when an accident train was pressed into service. According to information, an empty goods train from New Delhi was on its way to Phillaur in Punjab when one of its wheels developed a technical snag and its two bogies went off the track around 3.40 a.m. A bogie of another goods train coming from the opposite direction, running between Beas in Punjab and Tirlochanpalli (Andhra Pradesh), struck against the derailed bogies. The track could only be cleared when an Accident Relief Train (ART) was called from Delhi. The poor crisis management of the local railway station came to the fore again as the ART here has reportedly been out of order for quite some time. Senior railway officials, including the DRM of Delhi, Mr Om Pal Singh, visited the site. A department inquiry would be conducted into the cause of the derailment. Meanwhile, the Delhi-bound Jammu Mail, Kalka Mail and other long-distance mail express, superfast and suburban trains were held at Panipat and other railway stations on this section. Similarly, Ambala, Kalka and Amritsar-bound long-distance trains like
Dadar-Amritsar Express, Himalayan Queen, Baroni Express, Punjab Mail, Unchhar Express and other Shatabadi train besides the suburban trains were held up at Sonepat and nearby railway stations for hours together, resulting in the inconvenience of the passengers travelling on these trains. Some of the trains were diverted to other routes. There was an unprecedented rush of passengers outside the inquiry office at the railway station Sonepat for getting information about the running of the trains on this section. But strangely, there was only one official on duty and he was unable to give information about the trains delayed on account of the derailment. |
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12 first-timers in BJP second list The following candidates figure in the second BJP list:
New Delhi, November 9 The list contains three women candidates–Monika Arora (Malviya Nagar), Rajesh Yadav (Hastsal) and Kamla Shravan Kumar (Seemapuri–SC). The other candidates announced included Ajit Singh Tokas (RK Puram, Vikas Jolly (Saket), Karan Singh Tanwar (Delhi Cantonment), Virender Babbar (Pahar Ganj), Dharam Vir Sharma (Chandni Chowk) and Raj Kishore Gupta (Balli Maran). The party had announced its first list of 35 candidates to the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly on November 5. It has left four seats–Jangpura, Rajouri Garden, Gandhi Nagar and Adarsh Nagar–to its electoral partner, the Akali Dal. Mr Khurana said the second list was delayed by a day because the party’s Central Election Committee could not hold its meeting on Saturday because of Guru Nanak Jayanti. “The meeting was held today to finalise the list which was discussed by the state election committee,” he said. Mr Khurana said he would file his nomination papers on November 12 from Moti Nagar. |
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GOLE MARKET New Delhi, November 9 The factional feud within the Indian National Congress (INC) also has come into play with a section seeking a candidate other than her for the December 1 Assembly election. “Our main grouse is that the political parties have always fielded ‘outsiders’ as their nominees for this constituency, having an overwhelming concentration of Central Government employees, which has resulted in the constant neglect of the area,” certain representatives of Resident Welfare Associations
(RWAs) and National Students Union of India (NSUI) said. Listing their litany of grievances, the RWA members said parks had been kept in a bad state and bribe demanded for making ration cards. On account of its proximity to
Lutyens’ Delhi, Gole Market, an Assembly segment of Central Delhi parliamentary constituency, lies in Delhi Imperial Zone
(DIZ). “It will be better to describe Gole Market as falling in ‘Delhi Incomplete Zone’ because of its total neglect,” they said. The representatives of the RWAs and the NSUI said they had sent letters to INC president Sonia Gandhi and his political advisor Ahmed Patel, demanding that former Delhi Transport and Tourism Development Corporation
(DTTDC) Chairman Romesh Sabharwal should be fielded from Gole Market. The RWA representatives also threatened that if Mr Sabharwal was denied the ticket, he would be fielded as an Independent against the official Congress nominee. There are an estimated 80,000 voters in Gole Market Assembly constituency and Central Government employees account for about 60,000 or 80 roughly per cent of them. In the 1998 elections, Ms Dikshit, who belongs to Uttar Pradesh and a one-time Member of Parliament from
Kannauj, had won the election from the Gole Market constituency, defeating Kirti Azad (BJP) by over 5,000 votes. |
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Fraud case against Gr Noida officials Greater Noida, November 9 The registration of the case seems to have caused a stir in the authority office and some officials are reportedly trying to tamper with the records and documents of the file. According to information available, Ashwani Kumar of 4/372 of Bhole Nath Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi has lodged a report with the police, alleging that on November 20, 1998, the Greater Noida administration had allotted him plot No. 288 under its Swarn Nagri scheme according to the draw conducted by the authority. He had deposited Rs 60,000 with the authority for the purpose. But before the date of depositing the new instalment of 20 per cent, some property cell officials of Greater Noida had conspired to allot the same plot to one of their senior officers simply because it was on the crossing of the most attractive sector, Swarn Nagri of Greater Noida. He had also made a written request for the extension of time limit for depositing the balance instalments. Ashwani Kumar has alleged in his report that the authority manager Kuldip Singh had fraudulently allotted him another Plot vide No. PRO/98/Swarn Nagri/residental No. A 234. According to rules, the authority should inform an allottee immediately in case his plot is taken back from him within a month of allotment. But Ashwani Kumar was informed of cancellation of allotment after a year. The Kasna police have registered a case under IPC 420, 406, 411, 467, 468, 471 and 120. According to sources, the plot No. A-26, originally allotted to Ashwani Kumar was later allotted as per its record, to Mr G C Chaturvedi, IAS, who had served the Greater Noida administration as Addl. Chief Executive Officer. The Greater Noida chairman said he would be able to say something on the subject only after the whole position becomes clear. |
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ATTACK & SNATCH Rohtak, November 9 The Meham police have registered a case against the unidentified robbers on the complaint of bus driver Bhajan Singh and launched a hunt for them. According to reports, a bus of Sirsa depot left the
ISBT, Delhi at about 10.45 pm on Saturday for Sirsa. When the bus carrying about 50 passengers reached near the transmission centre of the AIR Rohtak, situated on the Delhi-Hisar National Highway in the vicinity of village Madina at about 1.30 am today, nearly half a dozen robbers, who had boarded the bus at Delhi itself, ordered the bus driver Bhajan Singh at pistolpoint to divert the bus on to a link road originating from the national highway. As the bus moved away from the national highway, the culprits started snatching cash and other valuables like wristwatches, gold chains, mobile phones etc from the passengers at
pistolpoint. They threatened to kill them if they raised the alarm. Among the passengers looted were some cattle traders from Uttar Pradesh who were carrying cash for purchasing animals. The robbers, according to the police, looted cash and valuables worth over Rs 9.28 lakh and fled from the scene. After the robbers had fled from the spot, the driver drove to the police station at Meham and reported the incident. The police have registered a case under Sections 392/397 IPC and also under the Arms Act against the robbers.
Gang of bus
robbers busted New Delhi: With the arrest of five suspects from Kashmiri Gate Inter-State Bus Terminus, the Anti-Robbery Cell of the Delhi Police today claimed to have busted a gang of bus robbers and pickpockets. The suspects were identified as Satish, Dharambir,
Maninder, alias Bobby, Imran and Pradeep. They were arrested while planning a robbery in a running bus.
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Judges’ shortage to slacken HC work New Delhi, November 9 The court decides cases filed against the Union Government and its institutions situated in the Capital besides its own quota of state cases. Of these 26, three are to retire in the next two months. Justice Usha Mehra retires on November 14, Justice S K Mahajan and Justice M A Khan in December. While the last addition to the number of judges, Justices B D Ahmed and Pradeep Nadrajog, was made in December last, the latest to go this year was Justice Shameet Mukherjee who resigned after the DDA scam broke out. To its credit, most of its Chief Justices like the last two—Justice Arijit Passayat and Justice S B Sinha—had been elevated to the Supreme Court. Justice Arun Kumar, who earlier went from the Delhi High Court to Rajasthan as the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, has now become an apex court
judge. Present Chief Justice, Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Devinder Gupta and Chief Justice, Rajasthan High Court, A D Singh were also from the Delhi High Court. On October 30, the Central Government had announced raising the strength of judges in 21 High Courts by 94 to 749, including three in the Delhi High Court, but said it was still concerned about the continuing vacancies following an official review. Law and Justice Minister Arun Jaitley, who had also practised in the Delhi High Court earlier, communicated the results of the review to all High Court Chief Justices on October 22 and requested them to forward proposals for appointing more judges. Mr Jaitley also requested the Chief Justice of India to advise the Chief Justices of various High Courts to take immediate steps to initiate proposals for the appointment of judges in their HCs so that a large number of vacancies of judges were filled up without delay. |
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NTPC to enter nuclear power production
Noida, November 9 After having excelled in the production of power in hydro and thermal sectors, the NTPC has now decided to enter the nuclear power production. This information was given by the NTPC Chairman-cum-Managing Director, C. P. Jain, while addressing the 28th Foundation Day of NTPC in its Headquarters in Sector 24, Noida. He said when the NTPC was set up in 1975 nobody could have thought that this organisation will one day emerge as the number one organisation in power production in the country. Due to the opening up of international market during the last few years, the work pattern in power sectors have undergone a big change. A new work culture with emphasis on adoption of technology has come to stay, Mr Jain said. The NTPC chairman said the corporation will enter the LNG field in a joint partnership by January 2004. Similarly, NTPC has submitted a proposal for coal mining and the Corporation will get two coal mining projects soon. The NTPC has successfully set up its projects in Oman, Saudi Arabia and many other countries, he said. The government has also permitted the NTPC to set up a 300 megawatt coal-based power plant in Sri Lanka. The NTPC will also help restore the power boards and corporations to proper health in various states, Mr Jain said. The NTPC has also made a provision to contribute 0.5 per cent of its profit for socially oriented works.  |
Officials wink at more than 5,000 unauthorised constructions Sonepat, November 9 According to a report, the menace which is spreading its tentacles, comes into focus when the authorities concerned suddenly decide to remove unauthorised constructions raised under their very nose. Such constructions are given power and water connections only to be removed later. If the money involved in the real estate is any indication, the sums are mind-boggling. According to an estimate, there are more than 5,000 illegal constructions in different parts of the city, both small and big, and more public land is being encroached upon. Take the case of the big houses built on the embankments of the Drain No. 6, passing through the heart of the city, in contravention of the laid rules. There is a flourishing nexus, involving the officials of the irrigation department, the district and police administration and the local politicians and above all the moneyed builders. In another case, the shopkeepers have encroached upon the land meant for a park near the ESI dispensary and the button factory, and built the concrete platform for the use of keeping their goods for sale and parking the vehicles. The municipal authorities have so far failed to take any action against the land grabbers in this area. Talking individually to each constituent of the unholy nexus, the conclusion one could draw is the shifting of the responsibility to the other. As a matter of fact, all of them benefit from the encroachment with the help of the politicians topping the list. The district authorities are now turning their attention to such buildings in other parts of the city although the manner in which targets are selected by them has raised doubts in the public mind. The feeling among the people is that the targets are selected by the authorities to force the owners of the particular building to fall in line. Flatly denying that there is any foul play in selecting the illegal constructions for demolition, an official said only those buildings are selected which are free from judicial complications as most of them have already filed the suits to protect their illegal constructions. Citing an instance, an official said that the owners of such buildings had gone to the court of law once the notices were issued to them for the removal or demolition of their illegal constructions. Most of them even avoided to reply the notices. As the courts dismiss their pleas, the authorities plan demolitions. He, however, admitted that whenever a demolition is taken up, it is the usual complaint that others have been left untouched. In some cases, the civic staff have been beaten up. Sometimes, non-availability of the police force for protection is one strong reason for the delay in demolitions and selecting only few targets, he added. According to this official, no priority list has been drawn for demolitions. But certainly the field staff have been advised to concentrate on big buildings rather than wasting time on small cases. Why are such big buildings allowed to be built which later necessitate demolitions? Is it due to the negligence of the civic staff or its connivance? The sources in the municipal council and other official agencies admit connivance of their staff in allowing unauthorised constructions. The amount of money involved in the deals is certainly an allurement. But then nobody talks about the people who are ready to pay large amounts for illegal constructions. If the people talk of the nexus, they in general are part of it. Why do they opt for encroachments and illegal constructions and then offer huge amounts as bribe for regularisation? questioned the official. What the authorities do in the name of unauthorised constructions is just a drop in ocean which hardly has any impact on the overall scene. The steps taken by as are just of exemplary nature and aimed at creating awareness among the people, he said. |
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SPECIAL FOCUS ON SONEPAT Sonepat, November 9 The officers of nine departments and various banks have been strictly directed to attend the training programme in order to give latest information and technical know-how of the jobs, which would be taken up by the groups. According to official information, under this centrally sponsored schemes, as many as 128 self-help groups had already been financed and this year’s target is to assist 55 groups. Initially, each group is provided with financial assistance of Rs 10,000 and remaining amount is financed after six months. Earlier, the loan used to financed to individuals, but now it is provided to groups of the individuals and maximum limit increased up to Rs 6 lakh. The agency has also taken decision to organise such training camps at every block level to facilitate maximum participation of the people in the scheme through self-help groups. Before reviewing the progress of the training programmes at a district level meeting at Sonepat on December 17, the similar programmes would be organised at Gohana on December 3, and at Kathura on December 10. It is pointed out that the agency organised a programme at Gannaur on November 5, but the officers of only two departments attended the programme. Taking serious notice of this negligent attitude of the officers of other departments concerned, the agency has issued notices to the officers to strictly comply with the notices and make their presence in the programmes. The main departments included deputy directors of the animal husbandry, agriculture and dairy development, general manager, district industries centre, horticulture officer, fisheries officer and lead bank officer of the Punjab National Bank. |
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Air, water pollution fouls villages Sonepat, November 9 The air pollution has also been affecting the people in a number of residential localities of Sonepat town. Due to foul smell, the people cannot easily breathe when they are on the rooftops of their houses. The localities, which are affected included Jatwara, Jamalpura, Housing Board and in Sector 14 and 15. The villagers have reportedly lodged complaints with the Deputy Commissioner and the Pollution Control Board authorities, but effective remedial steps have been taken so far to solve the problem once for all. The villagers have now planned to appeal in the court for redressal of their grievances. Social worker Virender Singh, Rambir, sarpanch of Tharu village, sarpanch Suresh Kumar of Uldepur, sarpanch Rampat of village Jahri and sarpanch Seema of Tharia village, have alleged that the distillery unit was being run violating the rules and regulations set by the Supreme Court. They disclosed that though the unit owners have been showing in the papers that the polluted water of the unit was being stored in some open tanks to manufacture fertilizer, but, as alleged by them, the bottom of the tanks was “kucha” and the sub-soil water in the area had been contaminated due to seepage of the polluted water. Moreover, the polluted water is released in the adjacent drain and when this water is used for irrigation, the crops are damaged, they added. The accumulated polluted water in the tanks emit foul smell making it difficult to breathe and work in the fields. And due to contamination of the underground water, the water of the handpumps and village ponds is becoming unfit for consumption. The board authorities at Sonepat pleaded that the unit has already installed ETP and has also been asked to install ATP also. |
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Scheme fails to solve ‘all-season problem’ of residents Faridabad, November 9 Jawahar colony is one of the largest inhabited clusters in the state, with a population of over one lakh. Approved way back in 1976, the colony continues to lack basic amenities like roads, sewerage, drinking water and streetlights. Rajesh, a resident of the colony, said the drinking water supply had been `erratic’ and the situation gets extremely bad during the summer months when people have to buy drinking water from private tankers. It is learnt that most of the area has `brackish’ underground water and the poor people have to depend on the water pumped out from hand pumps. Hundreds of private tankers are used to meet the shortage of water throughout the year. There is only one tubewell in ‘Kapra’ colony, which is one of oldest locality and where thousand of labourers live. Senior Deputy Mayor Shiv Charan Lal Sharma and his Corporator wife, Maya Sharma, admit to the severe water problem in the area. Mr Sharma and his wife, who represents ward no 5 and 6 in the Municipal Corporation Faridabad
(MCF), claimed that even though the problem had been highlighted in the meetings of the civic body a number of times, the civic body has failed to finalise any scheme to solve this problem. Alleging that there could be a “political twist” to the solution, they said it was the duty of the MCF to supply water tankers to the affected areas. However, they also admitted that the “poor” financial condition of the civic body was a major factor in the failure of the authorities to draw up schemes for development works. The elected members of the MCF agreed that the local residents were “angry” with the delay in repair works of roads, which were promised by the authorities in September. It is reported that the authorities had sanctioned just Rs 15 to 20 lakh for the repair of roads in the town. The residents believe that the severe damage caused to the roads would require crores of rupees. Most of the members are unhappy with the pace of the works undertaken by the authorities and complaint of undue “official” interference in the MCF’s decision making process. |
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NCR BRIEFS Faridabad, November 9 Youth held with charas Sonepat: The CIA staff has arrested a youth, identified as Rameshwar of Aghwanpur village, following the
recovery of one kg charas from his possession. The Superintendent of police, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahlawat, told mediapersons here today that the patrolling police party spotted him near a canal bridge and arrested him after the recovery of the charas. A case has been registered under NDPS Act against him.
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Former minister passes away New Delhi: A former Haryana Irrigation and Power Minister, Mr Mehar Sigh Rathee, (76) passed away here this evening following a massive cardiac arrest. Mr Rathee, who represented Bahadurgarh constituency in the Haryana Assembly, had undergone heart surgery in 1990 and had been staying with his son at their residence in Punjabi Bagh.
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DELHI DIGEST New Delhi, November 9 Addressing a gathering at the Ram Lila Grounds on the second day of the ‘Sadhbhawna Sammelan’ organised by the ‘Manav Uttan Sewa Samiti’, he said spiritual power of India had the solution to all kinds of violence and unrest in the world. Highlighting the Indian culture and the belief of ‘Vasudheiva Kutumbkam’, the former Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranganath Mishra explained that great souls prayed for global peace, prosperity and unity.
INPUT Film Festival The Public Service Broadcasting Trust is organising a three-day festival of cutting edge public broadcasting documentary films from November 10 to November 12 in the Capital. The festival is being organised in association with the Spanish based INPUT (International Public Television). The INPUT is the world’s most prestigious international festival of the public service
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Eye camp held by Tarun Mitra Parishad New Delhi, November 9 Campaign against drunken driving With the help of the Delhi Traffic Police, social activists Prince Singla launched a campaign against drunken driving in the Capital. He invited a number leading artists for canvas painting to spread the massage that drunken driving is unsafe driving. Thousands of people were killed every year in accident due to drunken driving in India. |
Gang of bus robbers busted New Delhi, November 9 The suspects were identified as Satish, Dharambir, Maninder alias Bobby, Imran and Pradeep. They were arrested while planning a robbery in a running bus. The police had information that a group of robbers and pickpockets were active in buses plying on routes touching ISBT, Mall Road, AIIMS, Safdarjung and Mehrauli. A special team was constituted to control the increasing incidents of robbery in running buses. The police team spotted the suspects discussing and
planning a robbery at the ISBT. When the police team tried to talk to them, they fished out knives and tried to run away. However, they were overpowered. During interrogation, they disclosed that they were involved in various types of crime in the last few years, though they had never been arrested. It was also revealed that Imran was their gang leader, who was known as machine. Two knives, one dagger and two blades were recovered from their possession, the police said.
Robbery case worked out The North district police arrested two members of Javed Chikna gang, a notorious gang operating in running buses. They were identified as Nand Kishore alias Nandu and Jay Kumar alias Ajay. They were arrested during a police investigation into a robbery case of a Rajasthan businessman near Tis Hazari Metro Railway Station. During interrogation the suspects confessed to have robbed the businessman on November 5, apart from being involved in various other cases. Three other suspects identified as Javed Chikna, leader of the gang, Jameel and Uttam Sharma were absconding, the police said. |
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Youth crushed by truck Sonepat, November 9 According to a report, the driver escaped from the spot with his truck. The police have registered the case and sent the body for the postmortem examination. The victim belonged to Murthal village. |
SHOWCASE Sikkim Time Corporation adds Hi-Funda watches to its product range. The watches from SITCO are available in 22 models. The watches feature alarm with the sounds of cock-a-doodle and indiglo. They come in stainless steel round form, open cases with an assortment of dial designs fitted with leather straps. The company offers after sales services exclusive of the guarantee period. ‘Killer’ jeans
Waterguard Usha Shriram Brita introduces Waterguard RevOs based on reverse osmosis technology for purifying water. It employs five stages for water purification and is especially designed for Indian conditions (read areas with high level of total dissolved solids and hardness). Waterguard RevOs makes saline and brackish water palatable, sweet and tastier by reducing TDS and hardness. The membrane filters pesticides, hazardous metal contaminants and microbes to give chemically and microbiologically safe water. Fruit preserves St. Dalfour of France and Weikfield add Gourmet Pear to its flavours of fruit preserves. The jam does not contain artificial ingredients, colourings, additives or preservatives. St. Dalfour fruit conserves are available in apricot, orange, black cherry, golden peach, black raspberry, plum, wild blue berry, cassis, red raspberry, strawberry, four fruits and four citrus fruits. The conserves are claimed to contain fewer calories than conserves that use cane sugar. A diabetic can, therefore, have them in moderation without any harm. Dates from Gulf Nutra Dates from SMH is made from dates imported from the Gulf. It is available in black and red varieties. Untouched by hand, the processed dates are claimed to increase the body’s immunity to skin allergies and abscesses, help treat nervous disorders, gastroenteritis and dehydration and as an expectorant for chest congestion and cough. It is also useful in weight-loss. Bora Bora fragrance Liz Claiborne’s launches Bora Bora fragrance for men and women. Bora Bora for men is a primal blend of iridescent musk and lichen moss. Bora Bora for women combines dewy coral flower with orchid to give a tropical floral rush. They come in attractive packages in a folding carton. TaylorMade for the best Adidas introduces TaylorMade equipment for golfers. Innovative and featuring the latest technology in the form of RAC irons and trampoline effect, which gives more distance, the iron sets, wedges, putters, drivers and fairway woods are available at exclusive Adidas stores or select golf retailers. Higher energy for male From the House of Christian Dior comes ‘Higher energy’. The male fragrance is a cocktail of juniper and grapefruit to refresh the senses and spices like nutmeg, vetiver and sandalwood. It is available in 100 ml and 50 ml bottles. Ht tech water heater Merloni TermoSanitari offers the Racold Eterno Pro digitally programmable water heater. Users can have the convenience of availing themselves of hot water without continuous personal attention. Once programmed, the water heater switches on automatically at the set time and automatically switches off at the desired time. It also has a real time standard digital clock display and a 3.6 V Ni-MH rechargeable battery that prevents loss of programme in case of power failure. It has a high-tech LCD display with fluorescent green backlight. Also being launched is the Racold Altro Plus electric storage water heater with analog temperature indicator. Mother’s recipe Mother’s recipe launches pickles developed from the Punjabi household like ‘Pachranga’, ‘Punjabi Mango’, ‘Teekha Punjabi’, ‘Mango’ and ‘Stuffed Red Chillies’. The recipes are claimed to have been prepared from grandmothers across the state of Punjab. For your stomach only Shivam Herbaceuticals launches Kabz Gul, an ayurvedic proprietary medicine for relieving chronic constipation. Made from sauf, gulab phool, ajwain, piper longum, dhania, sonth, sendha namak and kala namak, the medicine also prevents indigestion. |
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Kewal Kiran Clothing launches its new range of ‘Killer’ jeans that are an extension of the worn out style. The range includes torn out embroidered, blasted bleach with grease whiskers, sandblasted zig-zag stitch, wet look jeans, blast with corrosion effect.
