Amritsar, October 16
“Unless until, we are successful in eradicating the adulteration, illiteracy and female foeticide, we would be wrong to say that we have celebrated Divali in its true spirit,” opined Minister of State for Health Laxmi Kanta Chawla.

While presiding over Divali celebration programme organised at the Dr Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health here today involving the staff and mentally challenged students of different institutes, Chawla stressed to enliven the basis of the festival, which implies victory of good over evil.

Emphasising on providing a healthy homely atmosphere to the students of the institute, she said, “These special students need extra attention and care. In my opinion, all efforts should be made to make them feel comfortable and no lapses in the system should be there in their treatment.”

Dr Chawla pointed towards preserving the environment by avoiding bursting of crackers.

Nevertheless, the special children and staff from as many as three institutes - Swami Devi Dayal Nursing College, Barwala, SN College of Nursing, Sri Ganga Nagar and JUUS Institute of Nursing , Batala - enthralled the audience with their performances.

The programme commenced with “Abhinandan” presented by students of the Rajasthan college and followed by a song and dance item “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” performed by Barwala students.

Dr B.L. Goyal, Head of the Dr Vidya Sagar Institute of Mental Health, said it had been an annual affair to celebrate the festival of lights with special children.

There are 325 mentally challenged children under treatment at the institute, out of which 110 are girls. Officials said majority of these special children had been provided shelter for the past over 10 years.

Occasions like Independence Day, Republic Day and Divali are celebrated exclusively for these special children with a motive to bring them into the main stream.

Amritsar, October 16
The chair of the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation (MC) has been turned into a musical chair with D.P.S. Kharbanda taking charge once again here yesterday after relieving it on October 6.

As three officials were transferred within a span of nine days, it apparently points out to the careless handling of the prestigious office.

After assuming charge, Kharbanda said he would endeavour, along with the employees of the corporation, to finish the pending projects within the scheduled period, besides increasing the revenue from various heads. He had been appointed ADC (Development), Tarn Taran.

Meanwhile, Perneet Bhardwaj, who took charge as MC Commissioner on October 13, resumed his earlier position as ADC (Development).

It may be mentioned that immediately after the transfer of Kharbanda on October 6, ADC Paramjit Singh was made officiating Commissioner of the MC.

However, he did not join the office at all.

Senior MC officials, on condition of anonymity, said frequent change of guards at the MC was the outcome of political wrangling in the district BJP, divided between two groups.

Whatever may be the reasons behind the frequent shifting of the MC Commissioner, it eventually hampers the working of the corporation and development of the city. The ongoing development projects include a flyover from the GT Road to the Golden Temple, laying of sewerage, solid waste management, besides increasing the revenue of the MC by recovering house tax, removal of encroachments and beautification of the holy city.

Amritsar, October 16
In an endeavour to preserve the “Punjabiat” and to encourage the youth towards Punjabi cultural heritage, the Sabhyacharak Committee of the Virsa Vihar Society organised a cultural programme at the Virsa Vihar auditorium, here.

Named as “Diva Baal Virasat Da”, the occasion was dedicated to noted writer and professor, School of Punjabi Studies, Dr Jatinder Singh Jolly, who had died recently.

The programme was compered by Arvinder Bhatti, who also sung few lines dedicated to Jolly and the audience paid respect to the departed soul by observing one-minute silence.

Nevertheless, the occasion also served as a platform to young boys and girls to display their skills in Punjabi traditional dance and folklore, etc.

Deputy Commissioner K.S. Pannu, who was the chief guest, inaugurated the cultural programme by lighting a lamp along with other members of the society.

A programme “Phuljharian” commenced with the fusion and Mirza recital on flute. This was followed by a song “Hargun”, orchestra presentation by SL Bhardwaj School kids, giddha by Khalsa College girls’ team, which enthralled the audience throughout.

Citing the aim of the programme, Baljeet Kaur Johal said the focus was to search the hidden talent in the youth. “The thought behind was to provide a platform to the youth to showcase their talent exclusively pertaining to our Punjab’s rich culture. This is an idea to get them associated with our cultural heritage. Besides this, it has also been planned to facilitate the talented boys and girls on international stage in different countries too,” she said.

Among those present on the occasion were Punjab’s noted singer Gurmeet Bawa, Kewal Dhaliwal, Jaspal Singh Randhawa, Ritu Sharma, Gurdev Millanwalla and Ramesh Yadav.

Amritsar, October 16
Semi-precious stones and jewellery were the major attraction for the people of the holy city in the two-day Fashion Forecast exhibition that concluded recently here. People belonging to various segments of society showed their interest in buying the semi-precious jewellery.

Designers from metro cities, including some big names, were part of the exhibition. The exhibitors presented a large range of trendy clothes, jewellery, bags, gift items, home accessories, tunics, tops and many more eye-catching items. They also gave beauty tips to the visitors.

Tania Chadha, organiser of the event, said no doubt the prices were high but the quality was just according to the rates. Most of the people were attracted to the semi-precious jewellery because the stones were available in smaller amount as compared to the original ones and it was highly demanded by the middle class because they were fond of the stones look like original.

She said that Fashion Forecast has recently tied up with DLF Mall, New Delhi, and had about 60 exhibitions across the country, including Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh.

Tarot card reader, Vaastu, numerology and Reiki also caught the attention at the exhibition.

Amritsar, October 16
A considerable number of people suffering eye injuries, due to the bursting of crackers and playing with bows and arrows, has led alarm bells ringing in the city even as senior ophthalmologists have advised parents to take preventive measures and supervise their children during bursting of crackers.

As many as 36 people, majority of them children, have approached famous eye institutes since the Dasehra and Divali festivities began, for medical aid, with variable degrees of eye injuries.

This came to light during the survey carried out by Dr. Meena Kumari, ophthalmologist at Dr. Om Parkash Eye Institute.

These patients, most of them with burn injuries or cases of foreign particles entering the eyes, were rendered unfit for any profession needing binocular vision, including professions in armed forces, pilots, police, driving, surgeon and many others which require normal vision in both eyes.

Out of the 36 patients, five were detected with perforating injuries, one had a permanent loss of vision and three were detected with cataract with the probability of not having useful vision.

Dr. Rohit Om Parkash, director of the institute, pointed out that as per the institute’s records, 90 per cent of injuries were primarily received by 'observers' or unsuspecting passer-bys, who got affected because of ill luck. Majority of the injuries sustained due to fireworks were among boys aged 10 to 14 years old.

The complaints were generally about vision problem, redness, watering or inability to open the eye. Ocular (eye) injuries in any form can lead to cataract, retinal edema, retinal detachment, infection or total disfigurement of the eye, he added.

He appealed the government to form cracker regulations and hold awareness campaigns using live examples to prevent such tragedies due to cracker bursting, ignorance and mishandling of fireworks, besides preventive measures in case of casualty.

Amritsar, October 16
The South Asia Foundation (SAF) has postponed the scheduled “Painting for peace”, in which the students from Indian and Pakistan were to paint a collage on both sides of the Attari-Wagah joint check post, from today to October 23 following a spate of terrorist strikes in Pakistan.

About 200 children each from both sides of the Wagah border were to paint a 1,200-feet peace collage as a symbolic gesture to give expression to desire for peace among the children and youth of the region under the ongoing SAF- Peace Festival 2009.

As per the schedule, the painting from the Pakistan side would be brought to the Indian side later. Then the two paintings would be joined together and brought to the city in a procession by children and activists of peace.

Teesta Setalvad, a Mumbai-based social activist, Asma Jahangir, a Pakistani social activist, and Salima Hashmi, a Pakistani painter, exchanged their views on “Building blocks for peace” held at Punjab Naatshala here recently.

Jahangir, Hashmi and Setalvad stressed on the exchange of art and culture between the two countries. Jahangir said these exchanges were initial and formative in order to raise a robust relation between the two nations. She said her country needed a stable democratic government to progress and ameliorate sufferings of the large chunk of population who are reeling under poverty.

Setalvad castigated private news channels and communal forces in the country responsible for war mongering in her country and urged them to show restraint on reporting on sensitive issues.

Hashmi said Pakistan was also a victim of terrorism like India.

Tarn Taran, October 16
The incomplete building of the Red Cross Bhawan here has virtually become a haven for stray animals.

The foundation stone of the bhawan was laid down by the Rural Development and Panchayat Minister, Punjab, Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, about two years back.

At the time of laying down the foundation stone, the minister assured that the ultra-modern building of the bhawan would be complete within a period of about less than a year.

Twice, he had released grants totaling to Rs 10 lakh, besides a grant of Rs 5 lakh had also been released by Dr. Rattan Singh Ajnala, Lok Sabha member. All these grants, of Rs 15 lakh, besides more than Rs 1 lakh from the Red Cross Society itself, have been spent on the bhawan but the building is yet to be completed, due to financial constraints.

The construction work of the bhawan has been stopped for the last more than five months.

The basic skeleton of the building has been constructed up to the roofs, sans doors, windows etc.

The bhawan has not been used for any official purpose as yet but it serves a great haven for stray animals which stay here at night and their waste can be seen strewn around in the building making it stink considerably.

The town was given the title of the revenue district in 2006 on the 500th death anniversary of the fifth Sikh Guru Arjun Dev by the state government and hence the district Red Cross Bhawan was to be constructed here. Union minister Dr. Manohar Singh Gill also released a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the bhawan, but the grant is yet to reach here.

Khushi Ram, Deputy Commissioner, said the grant released by Dr. Gill has been received by the district civil administration and the construction would be re-started soon. The PWD has been given the assignment for the construction of the Bhawan.

Amritsar, October 16
Punjab Small Industry and Export Corporation Chairman Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina has announced that he would submit a memorandum of demands of industrialists and their employees to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal next month.

Talking to Amritsar Plus, he said he would visit all focal points and industrial areas in the state to garner views of both sections of the industry.

He remarked that as long as Punjab received the tax holiday at par with the neighbouring states like Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, it could not compete in the true sense of the competitive spirit. He said he would take up this demand with the Chief Minister as well. Besides, as several districts of Punjab shared border with Pakistan, relaxation in taxes and extension of incentives were required for even growth of the northern region.

Chhina favoured a single-window system for reducing time and hassles of industrialists of completing paper work and other formalities.

Welcoming the industrial policy, he said it was marked with several benefits for various sections of society.

He also favoured constant tracking the trends in world market as it directly and indirectly influenced the region. Besides, it would help in exploring the new markets and brought to light the demand for a particular article in the specific market. He said he would look forward to rope in NRIs to invest in their state and those districts where they had once lived.

On his first visit to his hometown after assuming charge as Chairman of the corporation, he was warmly received by BJP and Akali leaders and workers.

Amritsar, October 16
This Divali has brought cheers for five inmates of Pingalwara - a house of destitute, orphans and elderly persons - who would have the opportunity to celebrate the festival of lights this time.

It is for the first time that the inmates of the society would avail such an opportunity to enjoy the festival with their family members after a long separation during their treatment at the Pingalwara.

They were brought here from various parts of the district because they arrived inadvertently in the city due to mental imbalance.

The All India Pingalwara Charitable society has decided to send them to their home so that they could celebrate the event with their family after tracing their homes with a lot of difficulties. These patients, who are on the way to attaining their mental and physical health, have somehow revealed their addresses or the location where they used to live. Dr. Inderjeet Kaur, President of the society, pointed out that all these women inmates belonged to Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar and had regained their mental health.

These patients had been in the Pingalwara for three years, except one Suman who is being sent for the second time to home as she came here after spending six months at home.

Dr. Kaur said these people have every right to celebrate the festivals with their families. She pointed out they were sending them on their responsibility and were also bearing the expenditure of their medicines and will follow up properly. Gulshan Ranjan, counselor of the patients, said all five patients were suffering from mental illness and were not even able to talk about their families and homes. But after the love and proper treatment given by the society, they are in good health, thus, the management has decided to send them home for the festival specially.