Jalandhar, May 8
Reliance Fresh, the retail arm of the Reliance Group headed by Mukesh Ambani, is all set to launch five of its pilot stores in Jalandhar on Wednesday. The Reliance Fresh stores, to be operational from Wednesday morning, are situated in the Urban Estate, Phase I and II, Gujral Nagar and on the Gazigulla Road and on the Amritsar bye pass. The stores come with a host of promises and claims like low prices, availability of farm fresh vegetables and a win-win partnership between farmers, customers and shopkeepers.

The Reliance Fresh officials promised that vegetables, grocery, dairy products, bakery items and processed food items would be available at these five stores at lower price tags as compared to the market. “Our stores would remain open from 8 am to 9 pm all seven days of the week.

This is an initiative of the Reliance to not only offer fresh and hygienic products and competitive prices to consumers but, also to give benefit to farmers who choose to sell their farm products to us under our ‘farm to folk’ policy”, said Sanjiv Asthana, president (Agri-business) and Gurinder Kapoor, CEO while addressing a press conference here today.

“Farmers will also get good price, they added. These stores would be for all income groups. We also envisage sale of certain products to retailers also. Thus, it is a complete new retail effort with a focus on consumer, farmers and shopkeepers. Our initiative comes with an unprecedented affordability, choice and variety,” said Asthana. The representatives however, did not specify the quantum of price difference between the Reliance Fresh products and products offered in the market.

In the second phase, the Reliance Fresh would be offering cut fruits and shredded vegetables packed in hygienic packets, they stated.

“The endeavour is to suit every pocket. We however, would not sell non-veg products at these stores and these could be sold from separate stores in future.

The carpet area of each of these stores would be between 2500 and 10000 square feet and these stores would also display and sell other Reliance brand of products,” said Sanjiv Asthana. “Reliance was also offering its membership and loyalty programme. He further said more Reliance Fresh stores would be opened shortly in other major cities of Punjab”.

Jalandhar, May 8
Dr B.R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT) is likely to introduce two new courses from the coming session while it also plans to do away with its leather technology course this year.

While all formalities are complete for starting B.Tech in biotechnology, the institute is also gearing up to start an M.Tech course in defence electronics which will be imparted only to the qualified engineers from the defence forces.

Confirming this to The Tribune today, Director Moin Uddin said that the Biotechnology course had been granted approval from AICTE and had even been cleared by the senate and institute chairperson, Sushma Berlia. “We held a meeting with Berlia day before in Delhi on this issue. We have got an approval to fill 30 seats for the four-year course”, he said.

Discussing its scope, the director said, “Biotechnology is an upcoming stream and a need for engineers in this field was being felt. We have already designed a curriculum for the course. The first year will be the same as in other streams and in subsequent years specific topics related to the field will be taken up”.

Regarding the setting up of laboratory, he said that his faculty was planning to visit BITS Ranchi to take an idea from there.

He added that he already had a faculty to teach the subject as those teaching leather technology had been asked to take acquire training in biotechnology so that they could find a substitute placement there.

Dr Moin Uddin said that the institute was finding it hard to fill seats in leather technology as the industry did not want engineers in the field. “The industry is rather looking for diploma holders who could be paid anything around Rs 6,000. Engineers found the same emoluments too low and found it difficult to adjust in tanneries,” he explained.

Regarding the defence electronics course, he said that discussions were still on and he had asked his faculty to visit Institute of Armament Technology in Pune and Jabalpur so as to find out the missing areas which are not being covered there.

He said that the picture would be clearer on this by next week.

He said that the course was being planned as the defence forces were looking for an advanced course in the stream so that there was no need to take training from any institute abroad for repair, maintenance and operation of hi-tech armaments and electronic gadgets that it had been acquiring for quite sometime. 

Kapurthala, May 8
Punjab government should declare erstwhile princely state of Kapurthala a tourist destination by converting the world famous Jagatjit Palace into a heritage hotel.

A great grand son of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh an erstwhile ruler of Kapurthala State, Tikka Shatrujit Singh stated this while talking to mediapersons here today.

Presently Sainik School Kapurthala is being run at Jagatjit Palace, a replica of palace of Versailles in France.

Tikka Shatrujit Singh further said Moorish Mosque could attract international tourists. He supported public participation to preserve the heritage of Kapurthala known for its French architecture. He said that he would meet Punjab finance minister Manpreet Badal to demand the preservation of heritage. The great grand son of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh has come here to participate in the 289th birth anniversary of Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia founder of Kapurthala State. He said Maharaja Jagatjit Singh was very well known for his secularism as he had built Panj mandir for Hindus, State Gurudwara for Sikhs, Moorish mosque for Muslims and Church for Christians.

Tikka Shatrujit Singh claimed that French ambassador offered to repair the heritage buildings but government was not showing any interest in the offer.

He was going to Spain in next few days to meet the Spanish ruler who was also interested to visit Kapurthala to see the princely town, he added.
The great grand son of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh said Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia Memorial trust would honour one personality who worked in the field of environment or social service with a cash award of Rs One lakh every year. The Trust has decided to honour this year chairman of Ek Onkar Trust Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, doing the herculean task of cleansing Kali Bein.

Expressing his disappointment that no Indian historian has ever projected the secular approach of this heritage city whereas a number of western writers have written much about it, he said that his family floated a trust in the name of Maharaja Jagatjit Singh and contributed Rs. Fifty lakhs in it to be spent on the welfare activities.

Phagwara, May 8
This has nothing to do with assembly-line mass production, but Chinese apples are selling like hot cakes in the city.

Scoring in taste, apples from the Dragon country, selling at Rs 100 per kg, are giving a tough competition to those from America.

Better in quality, they have, in fact, been doing better than even the native Kinnaur variety, which sells at Rs 60 per kg.

Traders say the sale of Chinese apples, which come graded and packed neatly, has gone up in the city by around 20 per cent in the past one month. At present around 40 to 60 kgs of these imported apples are consumed in the city.

“I go by quality. I don't mind paying more for the best quality apples,” said Rajesh Duggal, a buyer. Raju, a fruit seller, said, “People find the Chinese apples better in taste than the American ones that have a longer shelf life.

The local Kinnaur variety does not taste as great as compared to Chinese ones”.

Although apples were introduced in China some 120 years ago, they remained relatively unpopular compared to grapes, peaches and even pears until the mid-1980s. Since then, growing acreage has expanded at an astonishing speed and apples have piled up quickly.

As a consequence, China’s output surpassed that of the US in 1992 for the first time, and thereafter China has been the world’s largest apple producer. China now accounts for 25 per cent of the world’s apple acreage and 33 per cent of the yield.

However, following a considerable decline in growing acreage in 1997, China’s apple industry has undertaken a transition from yield to efficiency, characterised as a restructuring of cultivators, concentration of apple plantings in their best-adapted areas, as well as an extension of intensive and organic growing practice.

In 2000, the gross value crop achieved US $4.2 billion, 43.3 per cent of the value from all domestic fruit crops.

Jalandhar, May 8
The first joint conference of National Association of Geographers, India (NAGI) and SAARC will be held at Lyallpur Khalsa College here from October 5 to 7. More than 400 delegates from India and SAARC countries are likely to participate in it.

The subject of conference will be ‘South Asian Geography and International Year of Planet Earth’. The various aspects that will be covered in the conference includes natural and human resources, global warming, soils, deep earth, ground water, climatic change and hazards like pollution, natural disasters and human failings.

The geographers will also draw global and regional pictures with the aid of maps, remote sensing, GPS and GIS while focusing on key issues such as devising ways to implement land-use planning skills to resolve conflicting aims of different land users, steps required to give a global call to the scientists and policy-makers to make efforts to halt further damage of planet earth from climatic changes.

The thrust of the conference will also include bringing awareness among masses that extensive use of biomass for power cogeneration would deny the soils for its use as organic manure and that extensive cultivation of plants and trees for production of bio-fuels could lead to encroaching upon natural forests and shrinkage of area for cultivation of food crops and creating food insecurity problem.

Jalandhar, May 8
Are you a professional photographer and want to get the latest information on a regular basis for the new photography related technology.

Just become a member of The Punjab Photographers’ Association (PPA) - a registered body-and start getting information about new technology as the association organises training programmes about latest techniques for its members from time to time.

Presently, the Association, having its head office in its own building at 537, New Jawahar Nagar, has more than 2000 members across Punjab, says its president H.S. Bhogal.

The Association has been working for the welfare of professional photographers of Punjab since 1952.

In early fifties, the Union government imposed heavy custom duty on the photography equipments. Subsequently, some prominent professional photographers of united Punjab, including O.P. Vij, first president of PPA, decided to launch an agitation jointly against the imposition of heavy custom duty and thus the PPA came into existence.

Bhogal says the office of PPA was run in a rented room on the first floor of a building located opposite to the old courts.

Its head office was run in the same building between 1952 and 1971, he adds.

The PPA chief further says the then members of PPA decided to construct its office in its own building and purchased five kanal 2,500 square feet land for Rs. 35,000, a big amount at that time- in 1964. A photographer from Phagwara, Mohan Lal Hellan, laid the foundation stone for the construction of the building in 1966 and donated Rs 1100 from his own pocket.

The construction was completed in 1971 at the cost of Rs one lakh donated by the members of PPA and the office was shifted to the place where it is being run even now, Bhogal says.

The PPA also launched an agitation against the imposition of sales tax on photographers in 1998 during the first tenure of his presidency, says Bhogal, adding the Association had to struggle for about 10 months to put pressure on the state government to withdraw its decision of imposing sales tax as photography is an art.

Earlier also, the PPA had to struggle against the imposition of sales tax and service tax on photography from time to time.

While Bhogal was elected by voting its president for the first time in 1998, he was elected its chief unanimously in December, 2005. The election for the key posts of PPA is done after two years, he adds.

Presently there are eight rooms and a big hall in the present head office of PPA. Apart from organising different functions of the PPA, the building is also given to its members to organise their personal functions, he says adding, PPA also publishes annual magazine on photography ` Photo Digest’ since 1973.

PPA also tries to solve problems of its members, however, its main objective is to train them in the advancement of photography, he says, adding, it also does not forget its duty towards nation and that is why it has donated reasonable amount to the Kargil martyrs a few years ago. 

Jalandhar, May 8
Enforcing its position further in the market, the Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) launched its latest sensation ‘SX4” simultaneously at the Lovely Autos and Swani Motors here today.

“Actually, this car is an outcome of constant research on the part of the MUL’s engineers and it has 79 percent indigenous components. The objective behind the launch of the new sedan is to meet the increasing competition in the segment and give customers a vehicle which, is more suitable for their day to day needs. The new sedan comes with an ultra-modern M-series engine which is compliant to the Euro 4 and Euro 5 norms and the engine has a high torque of 145 Nm @ 4200 rpm.

All these features make this care the tallest, longest and widest in the A3 segment. 

Phagwara, May 8
Punjab government has instructed all deputy commissioners of the state to set up de-addiction centres with the help of social organisations at all sub-divisional and district levels to rescue youths addicted to drugs. This was stated by Dr Ashok Nayyar, the newly appointed civil surgeon, Kapurthala. He was talking to newsmen along with Dr Adarsh Sood, senior medical officer, Phagwara after inspecting the local civil hospital here this afternoon.

Dr Nayyar said seminars would also be held at various places to educate youths on drug menace. He said drug de-addiction centres would be opened at Kapurthala and Phagwara soon.

Replying to a question, civil surgeon said a large-scale campaign would also be launched soon against quackery and all quacks would be brought to book. He said sampling of eatables would also be initiated in the district to provide hygienic and clean eatables to the people.

Civil surgeon caled on residents to take advantage of qualified staff of the civil hospital. The CMO admitted that several posts of radiologists were lying vacant in the government hospitals and the government was making alternative arrangements with private radiologists for CT scans, MRIs, TMT, besides dialysis of kidney patients. He admitted that government hospitals were facing shortage of medicines and funds.

CMO said the health department would soon initiate a drive to spread awareness on AIDS and female foeticide by organising seminars at rural and urban levels. CMO said he would soon call a meeting of private doctors to prevent them from holding sex determination tests. He warned that strict legal action would be taken against those found guilty. He said more than one dozen doctors who were caught, while doing sex determination tests, were facing court cases in Kapurthala district. 

Phagwara, May 8
Initiating an anti-encroachment drive, the local administration today removed unauthorised encroachments by shopkeepers and vendors along the Sarai Road, Banga Road, Gaushala Road, Balmiki Chowk and the Old Post Office Road.

The Phagwara Nagar Council officials said the drive would be made a regular feature to deter shopkeepers from encroaching roadsides. They also said it would pave the way for a smooth flow of traffic in the narrow roads of the markets.

Accompanied by a police team headed by Sarwan Singh, SHO, city police station, traffic in charge, Ravinder Singh Dhillon, and nagar council executive officer, Paramjit Singh, conducted the drive. Several shopkeepers had on their own vacated areas they had encroached upon.

The officials tried to avoid lifting the articles of the shops and tried to counsel the affected shopkeepers.

However, rehri owners on the Balmiki Chowk resisted the move of the local administration. They also demanded the removal of illegal taxi stand in the area. Later, NC and police officials pacified them, assuring them that taxi owners would also be challaned. Paramjit Singh said the nagar council would continue with the drive daily and legal proceedings would be initiated against the defaulters. The drive is being carried out on the instructions of the Kapurthala DC J.M. Balamurugan.

Phagwara, May 8
Punjab technical education minister Ch Swarna Ram distributed grants of Rs 24 lakh to various village panchayats for the development of the villages in a function held here.

Minister released sanction orders to 588 pensioners, including 409 old-aged, 89 widows on this occasion. In his address, he said that state government was making arrangements to provide regular pension to the beneficiaries. Expressing his concern over the water and sewerage problem of Phagwara, Ch Swarna Ram said that state government had released a grant of Rs 8.25 crore for the sewerage system of Phagwara. Phagwara SDM Amarjit Paul, BDO Sarabjit Bains also addressed the function. — TNS

Jalandhar, May 8
As many as 600 candidates appeared for the selection trials for Baba Lodhiana Kabaddi Academy being run for the past many years by NRI Harjinder Singh Dhanoa at his native Parasrampur village.

For the women kabaddi academy 100 players appeared for the trials before the selectors.

Players from several other states also took part in the trials held recently. The selected candidates will be trained at a special coaching camp before the final selections.

Dhanoa would fund education, boarding, food, medical expenses and coaching of the candidates selected after the trials. The team will take part in kabaddi championship to be held in England in the month of August.

Those present during the trials were Harjinder Singh Dhanoa, Amrik Singh Dhanoa, Jasbir Singh among others. 

Phagwara, May 8
Bearing losses in business, a trader, dealing in wholesale sugar, who attempted suicide by consuming sulphos tablets, breathed his last in a hospital at Ludhiana today.