Ludhiana, January 18
Though they were not visible inside stadium following the Election Commission's orders, a galaxy of politicians made their presence felt outside the stadium. The giant hoardings of the SAD-BJP and the Congress highlighting their premier leaders were catching the eyeballs of the players participating in the 51 National School Games at Guru Nanak Stadium here today.

The giant hoardings of both the parties have become a talking point among the residents and commuters visiting the area.

The residents said the hoardings installed outside the stadium were the fallout of an ugly credit war between the two bitter political rivals, who miss no opportunity to stake their claim to anything.

"It was very funny to see giant hoardings of both the Congress and the BJP-SAD on either side of the foot bridge outside Guru Nanak Stadium. It would not take you much time to guess for what purpose the hoardings were installed," said Gaurav Gupta, a resident of Civil Lines.

Taking a potshot at both the parties, Paramvir Bhogal, another resident, said while the Election Commission was tightening its screws on the pole propagandas of political parties, the politicians were finding innovative ways to make their presence felt.

"The politics is getting interesting with each passing day. First the Congress launched cartoon characters Jeeta and Jaggi then the SAD- BJP hit back by launching Jhuttha and Tthaggi. After the EC had given clear instructions to keep the politicians away from the stadium, the political rivals put up their hoarding outside Guru Nanak Stadium to woo the voters," said Bhogal.

Ludhiana, January 18
School students in the city are excited about the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) (schools) has made election-related activity a part of their FA4 (Formative Assignment 4) activity.

Chiranjeev, Social Studies coordinator for higher classes from BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, said, "In the first semester of class IX we had a chapter on the electoral process. And for class X we have the FA4 activity based on elections."

She added, "We have assigned to the students the projects based on 
the information related to the Vidhan Sabha poll. And on the basis of their presentation, they will be assigned marks."

In Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, the students of different classes have been given the projects based on the Assembly poll.

Abhi, a class VI student, who was busy in making his FA4 project, said, "While making this project, I learnt about the symbols of all the political parties contesting in the Vidhan Sabha elections in five states. It is a very interesting assignment."

Another student said that the project had improved his level of general awareness. "These kinds of projects are interesting as well as educative," he added.

A special poll bulletin has been started at Nankana Sahib Public School, Gill Road. Harmeet Kaur Waraich, Principal of the school, said, "We have not assigned any project to the students as such, but we have made ‘poll bulletin’ as an integral part of our morning assembly. For the past three days, we have been holding this bulletin regularly. The objective is to make the students aware of the forthcoming Vidhan Sabha elections in five states. We will continue this exercise till the elections are over."

Ludhiana, January 18
Mystery shrouds the death of a 19-year-old newly wed who was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her one-room quarter in Bagat Singh Nagar near the Pakhowal road here today.

Suman was married to Rajinder nearly two years ago. The couple was childless. According to the police, the incident took place last night. Rajinder Kumar, who works as a peon at a local factory unit, stated to the police that he returned home and was shocked to find his wife hanging from the ceiling fan.

He raised an alarm and informed the neighbours about the incident. The police was informed about the incident in the morning. Rajinder said he had no clue as to why his wife committed suicide.

In the meantime, Surinder, a relative of the victim, has levelled murder allegation against Rajinder and claimed that his niece had not committed suicide, but she was murdered. Surinder said the height of the quarter was barely 6 feet. He claimed that his niece was murdered and her body was hung with the ceiling fan to make it look like a suicide.

However, Rajinder slammed the allegations as baseless and said that Surinder wanted to settle a personal score by levelling false allegations against him.

The police has recorded the statement of both sides and started investigation. The investigating officials said necessary action would be taken after receiving the autopsy report of the victim.

Ludhiana, January 18
In yet another burglary incident, thieves struck at a factory in Transport Nagar here and decamped with cash worth Rs 3 lakh by breaking open the cash safe.

According to Hari Ram Sharma, manager, DRCL Logistics, the theft came to light this morning when workers arrived at the factory unit and were shocked to find the premises ransacked.

The workers raised an alarm and informed the owner about the incident. Soon the police also reached the spot.

Later during investigation, it was found out that the thieves had gained entry inside the premises by creating a hole in the wall. After entering the premises, they broke open locks of the office and fled with the cash.

Ludhiana, January 18
In a violation of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, all the staff of the government schools wihin the radius of 8 km from Guru Nanak Stadium was directed by the Education Department to attend the opening ceremony of the 57th National School Games Athletics Meet.

Beyond 8 km 75 per cent staff of the schools was directed to attend the opening ceremony.

"If there was some reason for participation in the games, it would make some sense. But, calling the students and staff just for filling the rows of the stadium in such cold weather is uncaring on the part of the government. The government is paying scant regard towards studies," a teacher of a government school said.

"We have already been burdened with election duties on one hand, and now we had to attend this opening ceremony unnecessarily," lamented another teacher. "If we don't get good results for our classes, we'll again be pulled up," he said.

According to Tarsem Dahiya, Chairman, Punjab Educationists Forum, it is wrong on the part of the government to make it compulsory for staff and students to attend the opening ceremony. It would also cause a loss of studies of students, he said.

Ludhiana, January 18
Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal has appealed to the voters of the state to bring the issue of environmental protection to the fore during the elections and to make the leaders take a pledge so that after coming to power, they would take steps for the improvement of the environment.

At a press conference held in the city, he said there was a need for proper implementation of the Prevention of Pollution Act, 1974. And accordingly, no industry can start operations without the no-objection certificate of the Pollution Control Board, but the rules of the Act are being flouted, he added.

He said despite the sanction of Rs 2,200 crore by the Central and state governments for environment protection in Punjab, only Rs 400 crore had been released. None of the water treatment plants were functional, despite the fact that the project was scheduled to be completed by November last year. He said 46 sewage-treatment plants should have been installed, but not a single was fully functional until now.

Seechewal said at least 29 political leaders had signed the letters of promise in the state. Despite the protests, the condition of Buddha Nullah continues to be bad and despite several initiatives, industrial waste continues to be discharged into it. He said none of the political parties had been serious about saving the environment.

Gurbhajan Gill, President, Sahit Akademi, who was present on the occasion, said water, air and earth were essential to life and there was a need to protect them collectively. It is an issue that transcends caste and creed, he added.

Doraha, January 18
The Doraha town of Payal the Constituency does not have a bus stand. The buses plying towards Khanna-Ambala side have, practically, no spot to stop for picking-up the passengers. Thus, the passengers stand mid-way, thus posing graver risk to the traffic.

A bus stand was erected by the council only to be demolished by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), claiming that it was built on their space.

“The residents are facing grave problem due to the absence of bus stand .The problem has been brought to the notice of the authorities but to no avail. It is very difficult to stand and wait for the bus without any proper place allocated for it. The passengers, waiting for the bus, are in no way safe,” said prof Parkash Singh of Government College, Karamsar.

“As the bus drivers stop the buses at their own will, the passengers have to stand almost in the middle of the highway. If otherwise, they would have to run to board the bus which involves no less a risk” rued prof Kuldip Singh, a resident of Doraha.

“There have been a number of cases when the passengers, in an attempt to board the bus, fell down and received minor to major injuries. For elderly people, boarding a bus on is no less than a herculean task,” complained Joginder Singh Kirti, another resident.

“Once I had one of the bitter experiences. From that particular day, I never tried to travel in a bus. That day, I had to go to Khanna to meet my daughter. I had to skip at least six to seven buses. Every time, I prepared myself to board the bus, the driver would speed away after stopping at some distance. At last, I succeeded in boarding a bus that started moving as I was boarding it, risking my life,” said an elderly woman of the town.

“Had there been a bus stand, the bus drivers as well as the passengers would have one common spot. Also, there are is no provision of urinals or of drinking water for the passengers,” said prof Gursharanjit Singh of GNN College, Doraha.

First aid post in-charge, Jagdev Singh, said his team had assisted many small and elderly in boarding the buses. “The problem is in no way small. In rainy days, the passengers have no place to stand on the highway. The tough time faced by them seems to be no body’s concern.”

Inderjit Singh Kala, president, Municipal Council, Doraha, said: “We are ready to erect a bus stand at the earliest as possible only if the NHAI specifies its specific limit. A total of five rest rooms have been already been passed but due to six lane, we do not want to take the risk of construction and demolition at the same time.”

Ludhiana, January 18
Import duties on gold and silver have now been linked to prices, which can result in an increase in rates on the precious metals. The import duty on gold has been changed to 2 per cent of value from the earlier flat Rs 300 per 10 grams and of silver to 6 per cent of value from Rs 1,500 per kg.

At current price levels of the gold, the move could potentially boost customs revenue and discourage imports, giving some short-term relief to the rupee.

Janak Lal Jain, a jeweler at Sarafan Bazar said the move could curb imports and lead to a revival of smuggling. “Gold is one of the major commodities that we import. If prices increase, there could be a fall in demand. Only time will tell whether the demand declines or remain the same,” he added.

Another jeweller, Sukhram Verma, said: “India is the largest buyer of the gold in the world. The move will definitely hit the demand. It will take time for the people to accept the change in duties.”

“This could encourage smuggling of the gold. If import duties are prohibitive, people will find other ways to bring gold into the country. India, the world's biggest consumer of bullion, has changed the import duty which will further lead to increase in the prices and the chances of gold being smuggled into the country are getting higher after this change,” added another jeweller at Mall Road.

Commenting upon the change in duty, a senior central excise and customs officer, said, “The old rates were prevailing for the past few years. In a couple of years, prices have increased considerably, so the change has been made to bring the duties in line with market prices”.

Ludhiana, January 18
With the advent of Makar Sakranti, the hectic phase of solemnising marriages has begun from January 15 which will conclude on March 12.

Earlier, the marriage season concluded on December 16, 2011.

A city based astrologer said, "This is the first hectic phase of solemnising marriages while the remaining four phases will be from April 15 to April 26, June 15 to July 12, July 20 to August 13, September 17 to September 26, October 28 to November 11 and November 16 to December 9."

Due to marriage season on the peak, many marriage palaces of the city have already been booked.

Amarjit Singh Sant, president of the Ludhiana Marriage Palace Association said, "Although the marriage palaces are booked for all the auspicious days, but in this month there is a huge rush is on January 19, 20, 21, 28 and 29. The maximum marriages are held during a festival. Like on January 28, it is ‘Basant Panchami’, so almost all the marriage palaces will witness huge rush for wedding parties."

Interstingly, another astrologer said, "Before the beginning of marriage season, the palace owners come to us for knowing the auspicious dates.

After that they tell the customers that their palaces are already booked on these dates and thus earn a good amount."

However, Amarjit said: "It is not like that. Whenever, any customer comes to us, he also asks for concession through his own contacts and things remain the same for us."

Ludhiana, January 18
The Punjab Mahila Congress is all geared up to mobilise support for the party candidates in the coming Assembly elections. All office-bearers of the state unit, including the vice-presidents, general secretaries and organising secretaries, have been assigned two districts each where they will reach out to the electorate with the policies and programmes of the Congress in a bid to seek their mandate.

This was stated by Malti Thapar, state president of the Congress women’s wing, while addressing a state-level meeting of the party office-bearers and district presidents. She said the state functionaries of the party, along with the office-bearers of the district and ward units of the respective districts, will fan out in all the Assembly segments to garner support for the party nominees.

Without naming the dissidents, some of whom, she said, were reported to be working for party rebels or independent candidates, Thapar made a fervent appeal to all the party activists to sink their differences and forget the dissent for the time being.

"The allocation of party tickets is the prerogative of the party high command, and the process stands completed. Now, all the party functionaries are duty bound to canvass for the official candidates and ensure their victory so that the Congress forms the next government in Punjab. Once the party is voted to power, the leadership will see to it that the activists of the Mahila Congress, including the aspirants for party tickets, are suitably adjusted on other political posts in various government boards and corporations," Malti Thapar said.

She exhorted the party functionaries to put in their earnest and united efforts to mobilise support for the Congress candidates and ensure their victory. "We are fighting a decisive battle which will determine the fate of the state for the next five years. There is no time to relax or take things lightly. All the office-bearers and workers of the party ought to put in their best efforts and aim at winning the elections."

Khanna, January 18
After Babbu Maan, now Sukhi Brar, another Punjabi folk singer, has joined in the campaign of Congress candidate from Khanna Gurkirat Singh Kotli.

Sukhi accompanied Kotli during his tour of about six villages in the area. Addressing the villagers at Harion Kalan, Sukhi gave the credit of bringing normalcy in Punjab to the assassinated Chief Minister Beant Singh. She revealed that if Beant Singh had not acted strictly during the period of terrorism, the image of Punjab would have been different. She said the grandson of the slain Chief Minister, Gurkirat, is the right candidate to get their votes.

Khanna, January 18
Ranjit Singh Talwandi, SAD candidate from Khanna, was today weighed against coins at different places in the local Grain Market. Workers of the SAD and the BJP were also present in good numbers at the market. Talwandi claimed that the Akali-BJP alliance had set new examples of development in the state.

He blamed the Congress for the ills in the state. He claimed after the alliance again came in power in Punjab they would set new examples of development and the problems of the aarthiyas and other business communities would be solved on a priority basis. He promised that after the formation of the next Akali-BJP government they would declare Khanna a district.

Ludhiana, January 18
As the rains have stopped, the city residents heaved a sigh of relief from the biting cold. Though, the weather remains to be chilly but with the halt of rains yet the people seem to be relieved.

Weather experts say the clouds will be clear by tomorrow afternoon, while there are chances of fog in the evening and tomorrow morning. According to available data with the agro-meteorological department at PAU, the minimum temperature in the past 24 hours hovered around 8.4 degrees Celsius while the maximum has been 14.8 degrees Celsius.

Heaving a sigh of relief, the residents said the incessant rains had added more miseries. "Due to the chilly winds and rains, the life had come to a standstill. Though the temperature has not increased yet we are relieved that weather is little bit cleared," said Satwinder Singh, a college going student.

Ludhiana, December 18
A UGC sponsored state-level seminar on ‘Environmental Degradation: Impact and Remedies’ was organised by the department of botany, Government College for Women, Ludhiana, here today. Prof Amrik Singh Ahluwalia, chairperson, department of botany and dean, students welfare, Panjab University, Chandigarh, was the chief guest and Prof RK Kohli, dean, research, Panjab University, Chandigarh, was the keynote Speaker.

Prof FC Shukla (Retd) was the resource person on the occasion . Eminent environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal shared his invaluable views and experiences on environment with the delegates in the afternoon session. Principal Gurminder Kaur accorded a warm welcome to the distinguished guests. Dr Mohinder Kaur Grewal, head, department of botany and the convener of the seminar, introduced the eminent botanists and ecologists to the audience.

Around 90 delegates from different colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh participated in the seminar. Twelve academicians presented their papers on issues related to environmental degradation during the event. The objective of the seminar was to provide a platform to the participants to share their experiences, to generate awareness about environment and also to formulate remedial strategies for tackling environmental problems.

Ludhiana, December 18
If you get tempted to go for the ‘desi’ brown-shelled eggs instead of the common poultry-farm produced white eggs, put your desires to rest, as there is no difference between the two in terms of nutritional value. Experts from Guru Angand Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University (GADVASU), Ludhiana, revealed that the food value of the two is same. Researchers say that the only difference between them is in their flavour.

Market price of brown-shelled eggs is almost double compared to white eggs. It is a common perception that brown-shelled eggs are superior in food-value than white eggs. “Food value is the same in brown and white-shelled eggs. It is a misconception that brown eggs have more nutrition," said Dr Iqbal Singh Bajwa, head of department, animal genetics and breading.

Jaswinder Singh, nutrition expert from the university said, “The colour of egg depends on its breed, White Leg Horn delivers white eggs, while Road Island Red and other breeds lay brown eggs. Eggs produced in poultry farms are not fertile, so we called them vegetarian egg".

Talking about the importance of eggs, Dr Jaswinder Singh stated, “ On an average, the Japanese consume 344 eggs in a year, as compared to the Indians who consume only 45 eggs annually. The difference between the work-output of the two is enough to prove the ‘power’ of the egg".

Ludhiana, January 18
Dates from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have made their way to city markets. Premium varieties such as Fard, Dabbas, Lulu, Kheneizi, Bumaan and Barhi are fine-quality dates and melt in one's mouth.

Apart from this, dates with almond, date paste, date syrup and assortments of delicious dates in smooth rich chocolate with different flavours savor one's taste buds and give the ultimate scrumptious experience.

"Imported dates give a rich and yummy flavour to my date and walnut cake. Local dates are sticky but the dates from the UAE are of superior quality and are packed in nitrogen-filled packs. Baking cake with these is easy and my family savours milk with dates during winters," says Sangeeta Jain of the Rajguru Nagar.

These dates are available at stores and some fruit shops. "These dates are one of the most hygienic available in the Indian market. These are processed and packed in a temperature-controlled environment, with automated cleaning, sorting and grading, and packed in high-quality nitrogen-filled packs," says a salesman with a local store.

"Choco-dates have become the favourite dessert of my children. These are delicious and nutritious. During Lohri celebrations recently, I gifted these to my relatives and everybody appreciated these. Date syrup is another product which I regularly use in exotic salads and dishes," says Navneet, a teacher.

Ludhiana, January 18
Severely cold weather is a particularly unhealthy season for dairy animals. It may modify their body metabolism, thereby predisposing them to diseases. Also, the fodder available during winters is responsible for inducing dietary inadequacies.

Prof CS Randhawa, veterinary medicine, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, reported that the excess or deficiency of phosphorus and copper gets aggravated in domestic animals during the winter season because of the nature of fodder available. This is particularly harmful for calved dairy animals in advanced pregnancy. Symptoms of the disease are passing of red or coffee-coloured urine.

During the early stages there is no marked effect on appetite and milk yield. If not treated, the affected buffaloes become severely anaemic, lose appetite, develop severe constipation and may die. Most of the time dairy farmers fail to notice the symptoms early. It is advised to observe the urine colour of high yielding lactating and advanced pregnant buffaloes daily or every other day.

In case of illness consult the local veterinarian and such animals should be treated with intravenous solution of sodium di-hydrogen phosphate. The veterinarians are advised that this therapy should be combined with usually single intravenous copper injection and regular supplementation of good quality mineral mixture.

For prevention, regular supplementation of good quality mineral mixture to lactating and pregnant buffaloes is required. The incidence of milk fever in freshly calved crossbreed cows also increases during winter. Often such animals respond slowly to calcium solutions. Such animals should be treated with combination of solutions containing calcium, phosphorus and magnesium.