Amritsar, August 11
Neeraj Jain has become the first city resident who to get the first Pride of India stamp collection introduced by the Government of India to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the First War of Independence in 2007.

Neeraj, whose main hobby is stamp collection, has so far gathered about one and a half lakh stamps during the past 30 years. He has a collection of Indian stamps, including those which were launched in 1947, the year of Independence.

Working as a team leader in a private shopping mall, Neeraj is continuing with his hobby in spite of the rising inflation. He has got the first stamp of ‘Radha Krishna painting of May 5, 1973’. Talking to The Tribune, Neeraj said when he came to know about the Pride of India collection, he gathered all the necessary information and then ordered for it. He said that the cost of one stamp is Rs 6,000 while the cost of the full collection was about Rs 1.25 lakh.

It may be mentioned here that the ‘Pride of India’ collection is the latest addition to the international scene, and celebrates the unique culture and history of the world’s largest democracy, and the emergence of India as a world power. India Post has authorised London-based company Hallmark Group Limited to issue the Pride of India collection, set of classic stamp replicas made of pure silver and layered with 24 carat gold. With this collection the collector also gets some special gifts to preserve the collection which include Wood lacquered Collector’s Case, jeweler’s cloth and cotton gloves, Fact Cards and Album, Certificate of Authenticity, special subscribe Gift Connoisseur Hardbound Edition of 'Enchanting India'.

Jain, who belongs to the middle class family, said the price of the stamp was on the higher side. He said there are two options to order the collection i.e., through credit card or demand draft. He said his family members never discouraged him from purchasing the collection even though he has to cut down expenditures on the items of daily needs.

Going down the memory lane, Neeraj said he was 13-year-old when he started collecting stamps from his pocket money. He said when he will get all stamps of Pride of India collection, then he will make a frame and hang it on the wall to inform everyone about the collection.

He said among the other rare things he is in possession of gold and silver coins launched at the silver and golden jubilee of the Independent India launched by post office at the 150th anniversary. His target is to collect all stamps from all over the world, he added.

Amritsar, August 11
To create awarness among the masses, the Health Department and various organisations in the city observed breast-feeding awareness week here.

A number of NGOs, doctors and people from various departments participated in the district-level function organised at the district training centre at the Civil Surgeon’s office.

Speaking on the occasion, Civil Surgeon Dr Lehmbar Singh said mother’s milk helped the child to fight various diseases. He said doctors should encourage breast-feeding among every new mother and people should refrain from feeding bottled milk to babies. He said mother’s milk was the best nutritious diet for babies.

A seminar was organised by various Rotary Clubs at the SR Government College for Women to mark the occasion in which Jasmeet Nayyar, principal of the college, was the chief guest.

Dr Naresh Grover, a renowned pediatrician, and Dr Neera Kirpal, an eminent gynaecologist, were the main speakers.

Dr Grover sdaid the human breast milk was the healthiest form of milk for babies and breast-feeding should start in the very first hour after a normal delivery.

He said bottle feeding should not be encouraged at all, especially in the first three months.

Dr Neera Kirpal said during breast-feeding, beneficial hormones were released into the mother’s body and she felt more confident and happy, besides losing excess fat from the body, in comparison to non-lactating mothers.

The Military Hospital (MH) at Old Amritsar cantonment had organised “breast-feeding awareness week’ from August 1 in order to create awareness among women regarding breast-feeding. Over 500 women were provided valuable advice.

Major Rakesh Chauhan, pediatrician with Military Hospital, stating that bottle-feeding was common in Punjab, said most of the times bottled milk was prone to bacterial infection.

“Women generally feed babies using bottles and it is kept away for reuse, which is not hygienic. Such practice can lead to diarrhoea and dental problems in babies,” he added.

The positives of breast-feeding, like it prevents breast and cervical cancer, were also discussed.

Moreover, they were also informed that mother’s milk contains omega three factors, which was good for a baby’s brain, retinal and immunology development.

The MH medicos said an earlier study in Chandigarh had found more mortality and morbidity among bottle-fed babies.

Meanwhile, the Indian Academy of Pediatrics organised a seminar on the theme of “breast-feeding a vital emergency response” in collaboration with the Department of Pediatrics and Gyne-obstetrics, Government Medical College.

Dr M.S. Pannu, president, IAP Amritsar and associate professor, pointed out that breast milk was the first and complete food for babies up to six months. He said exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months and continuing up to two years along with family food alone could save about 10 lakh children per year and thus could reduce infant mortality rate.

Amritsar, August 11
Accomplished actor and director Sukhdev Preet and his better half Ranjit Kaur fell to the bullets of terrorists in 1991.

Their sudden death had a lasting impression on the family. “The entire family converted to theatre” was the compact reply of Rajinder Singh, brother of Preet, who passed out from the National School of Drama, Delhi.

Forceful acting of Preet had catapulted him among the prominent actors on Jalandhar Doordarshan at the fag end of eighties. Though his parents had not approved of his joining of acting as profession but after his untimely death they never protested their three sons and a sister joining the performing art, thereby, giving their tacit approval.

In all they are five brothers and three sisters. His younger brothers Manchpreet, Tharminderjit and sister Laddo Nandan joined the theatre. The youngest of them Sukhwinder Shoky is a dedicated painter.

Extremists coming from any geographical part of the world fighting for any cause have always found safe targets in artistes and attempted to quell the creativity.

Human nature has it that they exerted with double and multiple force against the tyranny and came out with flying colours. Rajinder felt that it was a natural outburst.

His joining the reputed acting institute of international fame NSD was also related to his departed brother. Once shuffling his papers brought out the fact that Preet aimed at enrolling in the NSD. Rajinder took this upon himself to realise the dream of his brother. Rajinder was only a class sixth student when Preet was killed.

Interestingly, Manchpreet’s wife Mandeepmanch is also an actress as she has featured in about 70 plays.

Both of them have acted in several plays at Jalandhar Doordarshan and private satellite channels. Laddo’s husband Ravi Nanadan is a music director. He also sings and writes songs.

Rajinder was also introduced to theatre by his late brother when he was studying in fourth class. He was in tenth when he floated Dastak in 1996. Dastak is now financed by the NSD.

He was the second person from the holy city to have secured admission in the NSD after about 23 years.

After passing out from the NSD in 2006, he returned to his native city and revived Dastak with the financial assistance of Amandeep hospital. From 2008 his theater group was financed by the NSD.

Amritsar, August 11
Even after the passing of more than a year, the ambitious project of sterilisation and spaying of male and female dogs, respectively, funded by the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), is yet to see the light of the day.

While an MoU in this regard was signed between the board and MC during March last year, it wasn’t until last month that the general house of the Municipal Corporation finally gave its consent on the matter.

Amritsar was the only city in the state, which was picked by AWBI for the pilot project worth Rs 1.26 crore, out of which half of the financial burden would have to be shared by the board coming under the central government.

It is pertinent to mention here that Amritsar has the highest number of canines, followed by Ludhiana.

Based on the Shimla Model, the project was initiated to put an end to the problem of stray dogs, which had become a nuisance in the holy city, besides posing danger to the lives of residents (who were hounded by these canines), especially those living near the ‘Haddo Roadi’ areas, where dead animals are dumped.

According to reports, there are about 30,000 stray dogs within the municipal limits and the situation is worse in the congested areas of the walled city.

Meanwhile, the corporation has started a service wherein two vans would catch the stray dogs in the area, said DPS Kharbanda, MC Commissioner, adding that the city was divided into two main areas from where the special teams of MC would capture these animals.

The commissioner said after getting the approval of the house, they are going to take up the issue with the AWBI to launch the project.

The corporation had started a sterilisation campaign earlier also but that had fizzled out without making any positive impact, due to the shortage of funds. The success of this campaign is yet to be seen, said sources in the corporation.

The pilot project is part of state government’s Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme which was launched across the state, under which male stray dogs were to be sterilised besides the spaying of female dogs.

Vaccination of stray dogs against rabies was also planned in this programme. The total expenditure on the programme has been worked out at Rs 422 per dog, which would be shared between AWBI and the Local Bodies Ddepartment. The AWBI had engaged a Gujarat-based NGO, which had successfully carried out the ABC programme in five states. 

Amritsar, August 11
Hockey stalwarts and ardent lovers of the traditional Indian sport have urged the Minister of Sports Dr MS Gill and the district administration to revive the country’s prestigious All India Maharaja Ranjit Singh Gold Cup Hockey Tournament (AIMRSGCHT) which had to be discontinued about two decades ago.

Former cricket coach and joint secretary of the AIMRSGCHT Committee Kapoor Singh said a meeting of nine old international players of hockey and administrators was held here recently to appeal to the Deputy Commissioner to work out modalities to restart the tournament, which was started in 1969 and discontinued in 1990.

Kapoor said this tournament provided a great opportunity for young hockey players to participate and play with leading Indian outfits including the Indian Army, Railways, Punjab and Sind Bank, Air India, Punjab Police, BSF, Namdhari 11 and others who have been coming to the city to participate in the major hockey meet.

Amritsar, August 11
The MKC Roko Cancer Trust is on another cancer detection spree. In a contract signed with the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA), the trust would cover the military hospitals across the country within a year.

They started the campaign with Srinagar two months back and are now covering Punjab-Haryana section.

Deputy Assistant Director Health Lt-Col Indrakhi Bhattacharjee said a fully equipped mobile detection unit of the trust was stationed at military hospital at Old Amritsar Cantonment on Saturday where around 300 women participated. Similarly, another 130 women underwent test at Gurdaspur last week, she added.

Dharminder Singh Dhillion, India coordinator for the trust, said the objective of the camp was to create awareness on breast cancer among women, sharing knowledge through education programmes, empowerment of women, capacity building and detection through fully equipped mobile breast cancer detection unit.

Dhillion further added that the activities undertaken during the camps were free mammography, counselling, distribution of breast awareness pamphlets, screening of breast cancer awareness films, screening of the film depicting various camps conducted by Roko Cancer in India and concluded with a talk by an oncologist on the issue.

The trust coordinator said the cancer detection programme with the AWWA has so far covered military stations of Srinagar, Udhampur, Basohli, Pathankot, Gurdaspur and Amritsar.

Similar check-up camps are further planned at stations like Beas, Ferozepur, Nabha, Patiala, Ambala and Shimla. He said after Shimla, they will head towards military stations in west India. Srinagar had four such camps where 900 women were screened for test, of which nine cases were found positive and the results of other camps are awaited, he added.

The MKC Roko Cancer Trust has so far covered 33,400 women in their three-year journey in India. They have covered states of Punjab, Delhi, UP, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa in total 504 camps. Of these, around 406 cases were found positive while 2,290 women were found suffering from other problems, which may develop into breast cancer in future.

He said the women do not come forward for mammogram screening. He said it’s only because of some supporting organisation, like AWWA in this case, women feel free to come and get diagnosed themselves.

He said the funding for the camps is on a 60-40 per cent basis, where the trust’s London headquarters share 40 per cent while rest is borne by the AWWA.

He further said they just help the hospital concerned to diagnose cancer as each mammogram test costs Rs 1,500-2,000 and for treatment the patient is counselled and referred to hospital depending on her economical backing. The trust has tie-ups with local hospitals in different states where the women diagnosed with cancer are sent, he added.

Amritsar, August 11
Vanamahotsav was celebrated at the Botanical Garden of Guru Nanak Dev University here today. Vice-Chancellor Prof A.S. Brar inaugurated the utsav by planting a sapling. The utsav was arranged by the Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences of the university.

Addressing the faculty and students, Prof Brar said environmental pollution and global warming had engulfed the whole world and as a result this beautiful planet would vanish. He said if they did not take adequate steps to check the problem, the life on the earth would become 
more miserable.

He exhorted the students to plant maximum trees in and around their houses. He said every student of the campus should plant a tree on the university campus with their nameplates on it. So this would become a part of their golden memories when they visited the campus after their studies. He said this would also solve the problem of global warming up to some extent.

He said the students should also work hard to achieve their desired goals in their lives as the future of the nation was in their hands. He said the role of the universities was not only to provide formal education but informal education also. He pleaded students to develop scientific temperament to keep themselves away from superstitions.

Prof A.K. Thukral, Dean, Students’ Welfare, Dr G.S. Virk, Dr Saroj Arora, Head of the Department, and Dr A.S. Sudan also addressed the students and highlighted the importance of trees and programme of afforestation in serving the environment and the mankind.

In the morning, a competition on potted plants was also held for students in the department. Students presented 60 pots of various plants to mark the day.

Amritsar, August 11
Businessman Arun Kumar Verma has claimed that the Municipal Corporation failed to take possession of its prime commercial land worth crores from lessees even after winning the case. Addressing mediapersons here today, Verma said the MC comfortably won the case in the Punjab and Haryana High Court a year back but it has not yet taken a step to take possession of the land.

He said the land located next to historic Gandhi Gate and opposite Amritsar Cooperative Bank last up to Sikandri gate. He said its commercial value run in crores and alleged that politicians hand in glove with influential police officials were behind the stalling of MC’s move to acquire the land. He claimed that the then Amritsar Municipal Committee had leased out the land for a year in 1945. He added that the authorities concerned had not bothered to take possession of the land.

When contacted, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, D.P.S. Kharbanda said he passed orders as per the laid down procedure to evict occupants and take possession of the land.

Amritsar, August 11
The Cyber Crime Cell of the district police has arrested one Arun Mahajan, a clerk posted at Urdu Branch of Guru Nanak Dev University, for allegedly preparing objectionable pictures by distorting and forging the photographs of the faculty members of the university.

According to information, the incident took place in November last year. He created to two e-mail ids and circulated the forged pictures to various faculty members who lodged a complaint to the then Registrar R.S. Bawa.

Bawa lodged a formal complaint with SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, who marked the inquiry to ASP Pardeep Kumar Yadav.

As per details, the accused created fake nude and objectionable pictures of university professors and other teaching faculty by imposing their faces to nude pictures downloaded from other websites. He even posted these pictures to other teachers with obnoxious comments.

The police authorities said in order to dispose of the evidence, he formatted the computers used by him. He said the evidence collected from the cyber records and circumstantial facts led to the 
computer used to be operated by Arun from his department.

A case under sections 466, 469, 471, 292, 290, 201 of the IPC has been registered against him.

Tarn Taran, August 11
The issue of bogus admission of students in government schools of rural areas in the district was raised at a meeting of the District Education Advisory Committee held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Khushi Ram. According to information here today, some members of the committee, while raising the issue, said in the rural areas, particularly in the border belt, a large number of students studying in private schools had been shown admitted to Government schools. They alleged that the attendance of these students was being marked by proxy in connivance with teachers who wanted to show adequate strength of students in their schools. The Deputy Commissioner instructed the education authorities to look into the matter and report soon.

Meanwhile, in a meeting of the District Excise Advisory Committee, some members alleged that wine contractors had opened illegal shops at many villages for which they had no licences. The Deputy Commissioner also issued instructions in this regards to the Excise Department.

Amritsar, August 11
Disha Sharma, a class IV student of Holy Heart School, has become one of the favourite artistes at Chotte Miyan-II. Disha was selected at an audition held here in which students from all major schools participated. She appeared in the third episode of the show being telecast from a private satellite channel.

Actor, director Sachin lauded her for her sense of humour while actress Ravina Tandon described her as “Punjabi pataka” for the performance which also earned her a goodie bag from Rahul Mahajan. School principal Anjana Seth said judges of the programme admired her performance and artistes from Punjab in Mumbai made it a point to visit her at the studio to back her up. She said the school was laying stress on developing creative talent, besides preparing them in academics. — TNS