The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Himachal Pradesh Edition

	This time Lohri would be a gal(a) affair Deepkamal Kaur/TNS Nawanshahr, January 10 Following the Nawanshahr model, where the district administration and a group of NGOs have been celebrating Lohri for newborn girls for the past three years, almost all the districts will be holding similar functions this year. A state-level function to celebrate Lohri of girls is also being held at Red Cross Bhavan tomorrow, which will be presided over by minister for social security and women and child development Swarna Ram. Nawanshahr had introduced a change in the festivity, traditionally organised to rejoice the birth of boys, in its effort to boost the morale of parents who have girl children and to encourage a rise in the dwindling sex ratio. It all began when school education director-general Krishan Kumar, former deputy commissioner of Nawanshahr, encouraged the NGOs to hold such functions in villages and honour parents of girls. This year too, NGO Upkar, along with 25 other organisations, is holding Lohri ceremonies every evening in different villages. All families in a village with girl children of less than a year get together for the festive bonfire. Members of the social organisations chant unique “bolis” like “Dhiyan nun na mariye (don’t kill daughters)” so as to bring about awareness among the rural community. The girls are also gifted woollen baby suits on the occasion. Groundnut and popcorn are distributed among the villagers and others present on the occasion. A photograph of the scene is clicked and sent to the family. “This we do so that the girl sees the picture when she grows up and realises that she is important as her birth was rejoiced by her family and villagers,” Upkar secretary Jaspal Singh said. He says he has received a number of calls from the villages with requests to visit their village for the celebrations. Jaspal said he had also asked villages to form clusters and get together at a common place so that maximum families could be covered in a function. The NGO secretary, who has been carrying on the crusade for the past three years, strongly believes in the impact such functions have. “Look at the response. The villagers are too excited about the function. There is a good gathering and the message we want to give has a far-reaching impact. The sex ratio has also risen. There are three villages - Gadani in Banga block, Julah Majra in Aur block and Sheikhan Majra in Nawanshahr block - that have received a grant of Rs 3 lakh each for bringing up the sex ratio beyond 1,000. The state government also gives a grant of Rs 2.5 lakh to a village with ratio above 950. This time we have more than 10 villages which have applied for this grant,” he said.
	Get ready for some more Punjabi in offices Tribune News Service Jalandhar, January 10 The government will promote use of the Punjabi language in government offices through special efforts in this direction. Officials will also check if their subordinates were using it in day-to-day work or not. This was stated by deputy commissioner Ajeet Singh Pannu, addressing participants at a seminar organised by the district administration to mark the ongoing Punjabi Language Week. He said the government was of the view that the language should be widely used in official correspondence and also by people in their representations. Orders to this effect had also been conveyed by the government to all its departments and those found violating them would be dealt with strictly, he added. “We must take pride in using the language so that it has a wider reach and appeal among the people. It is sad to note that today we are not interacting with our peers and children in our mother tongue. We should also use simple words while translating from other languages so that even semi-literates could easily grasp complex issues,” said Pannu. Jagjit Singh Anand, chief editor, Nawan Zamana, hailed the efforts by the languages department to promote Punjabi. The language had a wide scope and it was the need of the hour to tap its vast potential, he said. “Appeal of the language can also be gauged from its popularity among our Punjabi diaspora,” he said. They are concerned and strive to keep in touch with their roots and rich heritage, he added. Chatan Singh, deputy director, Languages Department, said they had so far got 1,550 books, research papers and survey reports published, many of which had been reprinted several times. Of the 15,000 publishers in the country, the cheapest books were being brought out by their department at the national level, he added.
	It’s spruce-up time for 300 villages Our Correspondent Nawanshahr, January 10 The SAD-BJP government has launched a World Bank-sponsored mega project worth Rs 1,280 crore for revamping the drinking water supply and sanitation facilities in rural areas. As many as 1,600 villages would be provided with improved quality and quantity of safe drinking water and 300 villages would be brought under the special sanitation scheme under the project. In the first phase, as many as 100 villages have been selected in the state for providing the facility of “small bore sewerage system”. About 1,000 village ponds would be de-silted and made capable of recharging underground water level. This was stated by public relation, public health and sanitation minister Bikramjit Singh Majithia while addressing a congregation to mark the birth anniversary of Swami Lal Dass Bhuriwale at nearby Taparian Khurd village on Thursday. Earlier, the minister inaugurated a deep tube-well sunk at a cost of Rs 44 lakh at the village. A water supply scheme worth Rs 5 crore has been sanctioned for providing safe drinking water to the residents of Kandi area in the district, said the minister. While paying tributes to Swami Bhuriwale, the minister lauded the contribution of the Bhuriwale sect in spreading education in the backward Kandi area. He announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the Maharaj Brahmanand Bhuriwale Education Trust. A calendar and documentary film depicting the community service activities of the Bhuriwale Trust were released on the occasion. Chief parliamentary secretary Nand Lal, Swami Chetna Nand Bhuriwale, present master of the Bhuriwale sect, deputy commissioner Gurpal Singh Bhatti, Sohan Singh Thandal, MLA, Mahilpur, Rana K.P. Singh, MLA, Nangal, former minister, Ramesh Dutt Sharma, Prof Mohinder Singh Baghi and Tirath Ram Bhumbla, president and secretary, respectively, of the Maharaj Brahmand Bhuriwale Education Trust, among others, also spoke on the occasion.
	Residents told about chronic diseases Hoshiarpur, January 10 A health fair from January 4 to 6 was organised by MP Avinash Rai Khanna in collaboration with the district administration at Garhshankar under the national health mission programme. The fair has not only provided basic health facilities to the poor inhabitants of Garhshankar subdivision but has also made the patients aware of various chronic diseases. According to official sources in the district health department, as many as 16,826 persons, including women and children of the rural area, were medically examined by a team of more than 100 medical and paramedical personnel from government as well as private hospitals. Besides, doctors specialising in ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines also treated the patients. Eight children from families with low socio-economic status were found to be suffering from congenital cardiac ailments. — OC
	Tari, Wadali regale crowd Our Correspondent Batala, January 10 Abdulz Sattar Khan, alias Ustad Tari, the well-known tabla maestro from Pakistan, and Piyare Lal Wadali, a folk artiste, were honoured here by mediapersons with siropas on Tuesday night. The two artistes enthralled the audience with their performances for about four hours. Ustad Tari played the tabla in various styles which depicted a train running at a slow speed, fast speed, crossing by another train, passing over a bridge, through a tunnel and stopping at a railway station. He also gave stunning renditions of different “taals” and percussion styles like the Indian “Keharwa”, Punjabi style, Middle-East percussion, English “Keharwa” and American and African styles. Piyare Lal Wadali presented two folk items and a melodious folk song which are appreciated equally in India and Pakistan. Gurdaspur deputy commissioner Gurkirat Pal Singh, Zila Parishad chairman Balwinder Singh Ladi and Batala SDM Sandeep Rishi honoured the artistes.
	Mercury rising Jalandhar, January 10 People got some relief from the cold weather conditions as the minimum temperature moved slightly up in the region. According to a defence spokesperson, the minimum temperature recorded at the Adampur air base, near here, was 10.4 degrees Celsius, while at the Halwara air base, near Ludhiana, it was 8.8 degrees. The holy city of Amritsar was cold at 7.7 degrees Celsius. In the border town of Pathankot, the minimum temperature further increased to 12.6 degrees from yesterday’s 10.6 degrees, while in Bathinda it dropped to 10.4 degrees from yesterday’s 12.8 degrees Celsius. For the next 24 hours, the Met Office has predicted fog and mist in the morning and partly cloudy sky to fair weather during the day. — UNI