HEALTH

Harmful effects of food colours
Pratibha Chauhan
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 17
The fresh and glistening peas, brinjal, brightly coloured ladoos and jalebis, tempting chicken tikkas may not be all that safe, as liberal use of not just basic dyes, used for colouring clothes, but also oil soluble dyes, are being used to add that rich and superior quality look.

Analysts in laboratories term the use of any food colour, be it permissible or non-permissible, as harmful for the body, as these are all synthetic. Despite the use of just eight red, yellow, blue and green synthetic colours being permitted under the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act, 1954, in select food items, the frequent use of banned colours in many eatables can prove to be harmful.

With the samples of eatables taken by the Food Health authorities from some very reputed restaurants and shops, failing the laboratory test, the fact that even non-permitted colours are being used has come to light. The Senior Food Inspector, Mr M.K. Sharma, disclosed that the samples of eatables taken from the premiere Chandigarh Club and one of the most famous chicken corners in Sector 22, had tested negative. However, it is the private caterers, who are serving the food at the Chandigarh Club.

He added that during the campaign launched to ensure the strict compliance of the PFA Act, some ice cream factories, spice making units and soda water (banta type) manufacturers had been ordered to close down their units , as their samples had failed to pass the laboratory test. He said as per the directions of Government of India raids would be continued to check chemical contamination in milk, argemone in oils and fats, ergot and dhatura in foodgrains and use of unpermitted colours in food products.

Mr P.K. Nayyar , Public Analyst, Haryana, said that it had been found that consumption of food items containing these colours over a long period of time had carsogenic effect.

Mr Nayyar said it was not just the use of ISI-marked permitted synthetic colour, which was important but the use of permissible limit of 100 milligram per kg was also essential. He added that if used in more than this quantity, it could again be harmful for the body. He added that the price of the local made ice-cream being sold by many vendors, clearly indicated that ISI colours had not been used, as otherwise the cost was bound to go up.

Soft stone colours, which can just be used upto only one per cent are used liberally to make inferior quality pulses, look superior. Same is the case with roasted chanas , which are rolled in yellow basic dyes, used for colouring bright “ pagris”.Seeing the adulteration in spices, haldi powder being sold in the market could be having coloured rice starch, to make it look more pure. Though the use of food colours in sweets like ladoos and jalebis is allowed under the PFA Act, its use in chicken is not permissible, which again is being done by a large number of chicken corners.

With all these adulterants being hazardous, the need for identifying them from the health point of view is being felt more and more. The drive by the authorities has gained momentum during the past few months as there was outbreak of cholera in some of the slum colonies.

AIDS a ‘lifestyle problem’
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 17
Terming HIV and AIDS as lifestyle problems , doctors have recommended the management of stress through yoga, meditation and other such therapies to keep the young people away from these problems.

Speaking at the universities’ talk AIDS workshop, organised at Gandhi Bhavan, Panjab University, today, Dr Gopal Ji, Assistant Programme Adviser, said one could keep away from AIDS and HIV by adopting a healthy lifestyle .

Dr N.M. Sharma, Project Director, State AIDS Control Society, UT, gave information on HIV and AIDS. The three-day workshop is being organised by the NSS Regional Centre, in which 50 programme officers and peer educators from the universities of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir are participating.

SPORTS

Budding shooters raise city’s hopes
Arvind Katyal

Chandigarh, September 17
Harmandeep Sidhu and Roopmeet Mann, the two budding shooters have given a new ray of hope to the city shooting circles. Though earlier, city has a good record of producing prominent shooters like Abhinav Bindra and Sabeeha Dhillon and others, who both shot for India at various levels.

But now the superb performance by these young shooters has made city’s shooting fraternity more proud.

Harmandeep, a student of Class X in Stepping Stones School, Sector 38, has astonished all by winning gold medal in the senior and junior section of the Air Rifle Open sight event by scoring 353/400 in the GV Mavlankar shooting meet held at Coimbatore. Harmandeep shot in open sight event.

This promising shooter said, when he practised at Patiali ki Rao shooting ranges, he was able to score less than 300/400, but at Coimbatore, he made himself more mentally strong. This helped him in surpassing many top ranked shooters.

Earlier, Harmandeep had taken part in the 26th Northern India Shooting Meet at Chandigarh, and also won laurels in the Chandigarh State Shooting Meet. But the latest achievements have further raised the hopes of the boy making it big in the national circuit.

10-year-old Roopmeet, a student of Class V, also gave the pride of place to city and her school St Stephen’s, Sector 45, when she captured the silver medal in the 12th All-India GV Mavlankar Shooting Meet held at Coimbatore.

She shot 303/400 in the Air Rifle open sight 10 metre event. Roopmeet took to shooting only last year and has scores of achievements to her credit within this short span, with other being winning bronze medal in the All-India Inter-school shooting championship at Badal Village (District Muktsar) (Punjab) last October. Roopmeet takes coaching from former International shooter and now also coach of ace shooter Abhinav Bindra, Colonel Jagir Singh Dhillon.

According to her father Mr M.S. Mann, Roopmeet took inspiration from Abhinav, when he was a student of the St Stephen’s School. Then she took advice of her parents to go all out for shooting.

Her father later provided her with facility to have 10-metre range in the home itself so that during morning or rains, she does not miss her practice.

Otherwise in the evening, she goes for two hours training to Colonel Dhillon’s residence who has pinned high hopes on her.

St Stephen’s, CFA to meet in cup final
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, September 17
St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, will meet Chandigarh Football Academy (CFA) in tomorrow’s final of the Administrator Cup boys football tournament in the below-14 age group.

In the first semi-final today, St Stephen’s boys defeated Mehar Football Academy, Kurali, by a solitary goal which was scored by Nikhil Prashar in the 38th minute of the match.

In the second semi-final, CFA boys blanked Youth Football Club, Rurka Kalan (Gurdaspur) 4-0. Gurjinder, Sukhwinder, Rinku and Pradeep scored one goal each for the winners. The final will be played tomorrow at sports complex, Sector 42 at 3.30 p.m.

Football tourney: The third day of the senior state Chandigarh Police Shaheed Smarak Football Championship, played here at Police Lines, Sector 26, today saw Chandigarh Football Club trouncing Youngsters Club by 12 goals to nil. The half-time score was 7-0. The highlight of the match was a hat-trick scored by left striker Jagmohan. With this win, Chandigarh Football Club has sailed into the last eight of the meet.

In the second tie, BSNL Football Club defeated Chandigarh College of Engineering and Technology, Sector 26, by three goals to nil to move into the quarter-final. No team could score any goal in the first half.

In the last match of the day, Maruti Football Club, Manimajra, outplayed Youth Club, Panjab University campus, 6-3 via tie-breaker. In regulation time, the score was 2-2. The half-time score was 2-0 in favour of the Youth Club.

Cricket meet: Chandigarh and Ludhiana were both awarded three points at the conclusion of the second day of the Punjab inter district under-19 cricket meet played here today at the DAV Senior Secondary School grounds, Sector 8. 

Cricket trials on September 18
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 17
Trials to select the Panchkula district cricket team (Under-15)will be held on September 18 at 3.00 pm at Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula.

This was stated here today by Mr Sandeep Moudgil, secretary of the Panchkula District Cricket Association, affiliated to Haryana Cricket Association.

Players born on or after 01.09.1987 are eligible to participate.

The hosts Panchkula will play an opening match on against Chandigarh at Panchkula on September 20. 

Navratra fair arrangements reviewed
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, September 17
A meeting to discuss arrangements for the forthcoming Navratra fair at Mansa Devi temple here from October 7 to 14 was held last evening.

Presiding over the meeting, Ms Jyoti Arora asked all wings of the administration to gear up for the fair. Thousands of devotees from all over the region visit this ancient shrine during Navratras each year. As a result, elaborate arrangements for water, food and disaster management have to be made.

The meeting was attended by over 30 officers from different departments of the administration. The DC asked the police to make proper arrangements by setting up nakas and deploying policemen in mufti. The Dairy Department and Food and Civil Supplies Department had been asked to set up kiosks here during the mela .

The Fire and Health Departments had been asked to spare a fire-tender and an ambulance, to be positioned near the shrine during the nine-day fair. The Health Department had also been asked to do fogging near the shrine before the fair begins. The GM Haryana Roadways and CTU had been asked to ensure regular plying of buses to the fair.