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Health dept raids eateries
Ludhiana, August 2 Food safety officer, Ludhiana, Manoj Khosla said: “We collected two samples of cheese and butter chicken from Chawlas chicken on Chandigarh Road. Though the food was being prepared under hygienic conditions, but the workers were not wearing gloves while serving food. Two samples roasted chicken and cream chicken were collected from Chawlas chicken, Sringar Cinema Road. The food here was being prepared under unhygienic conditions. We have issued notices to owners of both these eateries.” Food safety officer Harpreet Kaur said: “We collected a sample of aaloo kachauri from Rupali Sweets, Civil Lines as the eatables were being prepared under unhygienic conditions. The floor was dirty, the workshop was not white washed and employees of workshops were also not wearing clean clothes. We issued a notice to the owner. The team also collected samples of gulab jamun from Kalia Sweet Shop, College Road.” The team collected samples on the directions of District Health Officer, Ludhiana, Dr Kulwinder Singh. Civil Surgeon Dr Subhash Batta said: “We collect food samples in routine. And now as the festival season has started, we have decided to conduct frequent raids on eateries, especially before and after festivals.”
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Food Safety Act: Deadline extended by 6 months
With this, the food business operators, who were already dilly-dallying the implementation of the act by not applying for the licence/ registration, have now brought the process
to a halt. Earlier, the last date for getting a licence/registration number issued was
August 4, but now the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has extended deadline by six months. District health officer Dr Kulwinder Singh said: “By now we have issued licences to 226 eateries and 158 cases are still pending. While 501 eateries have been issued registration number, files of 1,270 cases are still pending for registration.” Giving reason for pending cases, he said: “There are many associations of food operators in the district who are waiting for others to apply for licence. Moreover, there is a general tendency that people usually apply for such documents on the last dates. So many people apply in bulk for it and the department is also facing a staff crunch.” Dr Kulwinder Singh said the health department did not get any intimation about extension of the deadline. He said: “As we did not receive anything in black and white, we cannot ask the food business operators to relax. But as these associations have received intimation, they are not making efforts to apply for licence or registration.” |
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Dispose of junk in schools, says DGSE
Ludhiana, August 2 School authorities were not allowed to dispose of this junk without government orders. Now, with the instructions coming from the education department, schools will be able to sell all the worn-off and discarded furniture and other articles. According to the instructions, schools should sell the junk to scrap dealers and free the space in classrooms. Money generated by selling the junk material has to be deposited in the bank account of the school management committee, the directive of DGSE stated. Sandeep, a teacher in a government primary school, said: "Some of the schools in the district have proper arrangement to store discarded material. Most of the schools, however, face an inconvenience because of broken chairs, desks and school furniture on school premises." Welcoming the government’s decision, Harjeet Singh, another government school teacher, said due to the absence of storerooms, at times valuable things vanished from schools. Schools, however, had to preserve all the discarded material because it needed to be disposed of on record. |
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Sale of gold coins up on Rakhi
Officials said the sale of gold coins went up to 120 grams at the head post office. This is about 100 grams more than the sale on an average day, the officials said. A resident who visited the post office to purchase gold coins said gifts were a way of manifesting love. “I feel that gold makes for a perfect gift on Raksha Bandhan,” said Subhash, a businessman. Another resident who purchased gold coins said nothing was better than gifting gold coins to a sister. “Not only is gold auspicious, its value is going to appreciate in the coming times and is a sound investment," said Mohit, another businessman. "Rather than gifting jewellery, I feel it is better to gift gold coins. The 24-carat gold coin with 99.99 per cent purity is better than what is available in the market," he added. |
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Police cracks whip on ‘car-o-bar’
Ludhiana, August 2 Three eatery owners and their workers were also booked by the police for serving liquor and eatables to tipplers in their vehicles. The raids were conducted following complaints by residents of the area. Hardial Singh, who raided Sunny Chicken Centre, said the eatery staff often served liquor and eatables in vehicles. Sources said that nearly 30 persons were taken in the police station for consuming liquor in the vehicles and creating nuisance in the area. They were later let off following a warning. Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh said consuming liquor in a vehicle and creating nuisance for area residents would not be tolerated. He said residents could call him on his mobile number (78370-18501) and share information regarding drug peddlers and serving of liquor at public places. |
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Magazines bring Pak fashion to city
Ludhiana, August 2 And the precursor of the Pakistani fashion in the Indian market has been magazines and catalogues from across the border, which have been in the markets for the past few years. Owing to the increasing popularity of Pakistani suits, the number of Pakistani magazines has also increased on the magazine shelves in the city. These magazines and catalogues have been there for more than three-four years, but there has been a considerable upswing in their demand in the past year or so, said a magazine seller in Ghumar Mandi. Priced anywhere between Rs 100 to Rs 500, about a dozen magazines and catalogues from different Pakistan-based designers and textile firms are being sold in the city. “Pakistani suits and patterns offer a lot of variety,” said a woman from a boutique. “Not only we take inspiration from these magazines, but some of the customers come to us with these magazines to show the kind of design they want. Because of the popularity of these suits, we too keep these magazines for customers to help them choose the cuts, stitches and patterns they want on their suits," says Ginni, from a boutique in Sant Nagar. The major difference between what is now being called Pakistani style is longer suits, flairs and the way the salwar is designed," says Ginni, from a boutique in Sant
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Sisters remember martyr brother
Ludhiana, August 2 “For the world he died 13 years ago, but for us he continues to live. We come here every year from our in-laws houses to express our love for him,” said Baljit, the martyr's elder sister. Paramjeet laid down his life during the Kargil conflict on January 12, 1999. Today his two daughters - Rajdeep Kaur (21) and Harmdeep Kaur (15) also tied rakhis on his statue. Surjit, the younger sister, who lives in Bhattha Dhua village near Hambran, said, "No one can understand our pain. For sisters across the country, it is a joyous occasion. But for us, the day brings sorrow as our beloved brother is not with us. Our happiness is always eclipsed with a feeling of
grief. Visiting the statue is the only source of solace for our souls." Earlier, girls from surrounding areas used to throng the place to tie a rakhi on the statue. But as the years passed, the number started to shrink and this year, no one came to tie a rakhi on the martyr's statue except his sisters. Paramjeet's father Nachattar Singh, who was also in the Indian Army and retired in 1978, expressed anguish over callous attitude of government officials for not recognising Paramjeet's sacrifice. He narrated that how he had to spend Rs 50,000 from his pocket to have his son's statue installed in Gill village after the administration kept deli-dallying the issue. "This statue is a tribute to sisters' love for their brothers. Every year, my daughters visit the statue and tie rakhis,” he added. |
Punjabi Sahit Akademi library
Ludhiana, August 2 More than 1,000 researchers from all over the world, including Japan, America, UK, Sweden, France, consult documents from the library for their research work on Punjabi culture, language, literature, history and comparative religion. According to the president of the Punjabi Sahit Akademi, more than 75 per cent books about Punjab and Punjabi language are available in the library. At present, there are 53,000 books and more than 2,500 Phd and MPhil papers are available in the library. "The library was established in 1954 to fulfil the academic requirements of Punjab. "Panjab University introduced Masters of Arts in Punjabi literature in 1953. Academicians like Dr Sher Singh, Dr Raja Singh and Dr Jodh Singh took this initiative," said Gurbhajn Gill, President of Punjabi Sahit Akademi. The library is home to old and rare books. The library has almost 250 old manuscripts and rare books. Bhagwat Ekadas written by Chaturdas in 1635, Manuscript Guru Granth Sahib in 1796, Ataraban Vedanta in 1829 and Hanuman Natak 1830 manuscripts are kept here with care. An 1890 book "Economic History of Punjab", "The History of an Alphabet" published by Issac Taylor in 1899 and "The Gurdwara Reform Movement" published in 1922 are available in the library. Manuscripts printed by litho press in 1890 "Gurmat" by Prem Sagar are also available in the library. "Lives of 44 Saints" translated from Italian to Urdu (published in 1882) is also a part of the library. A long-published miniature "Guru Granth Sahib" is also lying at the library. "Satgur Mahima" was the first book of Nanak Singh, who devoted his first book to Sikh Gurus as a poet, is also here said Honorary Director of Library Dr Prem Singh Bajaj, who has been working tirelessly for acquiring and collecting books for the library. "We don't have technical staff and proper building, but with the limited sources we are doing our best," Bajaj said. These books have been acquired and received from personal libraries of many people. Last year family of renowned writer Surinder Singh Kohli gave away 5,000 books to the library. Nowadays, when most of the public libraries are facing a sharp decline in readership, Punjabi Sahit Akademi still hold on to its readers. The reason: The library, unlike others, welcomes students who want to prepare for competitive exams in a calm environment.
Digitising manuscripts To preserve the rare books, a Chandigarh-based organisation named Punjab Digital Library led by Davindarpal Singh has started digitising the books and manuscripts available at the library. Davinderpal Singh said they have digitalised nearly 150 manuscripts. They are about to start digitalizing the lithography (method of printing using a stone) books. Davinder Pal Singh and Harinder Singh took it upon themselves to digitalise the most important work of literature in Punjab to prevent it from disappearing.
Beyond borders Punjabi Sahit Akademi has a huge collection of Punjabi thesis of Pakistani Universities in Persian script. Thesis on romantic epics like Heer, Waris Shah and Mirza Sahiba are often used as reference by researchers. According to Dr Bajaj, they have as many as 2,000 Urdu books but no one is interested to read them in the city.
Regular reader For last one and a half year VK Puri has been visiting the library regularly. Puri, after retiring as senior principal secretary from income tax department, never missed library on working days. "The availability of books in the library is more than I had expected. I enjoy my whole day here. Philosophy is my favorite subject. I read books of philosophy and other subjects here," the reader
said.
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PAU boosts of this library
Ludhiana, August 2 "I have visited almost all the libraries of the city and found that the Mohinder Singh Randhawa Library is the best. The infrastructure and availability of books makes it a world-class library,” said Jaspreet Kaur, a student at PAU. Dr MS Randhawa Section is the most attractive part of the library, where Randhawa's memorabilia are displayed along with his microscope, handwritten notes, biography, publications and books from personal library. Addition Director Communication Dr Jagtar Dhiman said, "This section is perfect for those who want to research about Dr Randhawa. Moreover, it is important to for Punjabis to learn about the extraordinary personality like Dr Randhawa." The library was established in College of Agriculture with a collection of 200 books only in 1959. At present, it's a beautiful five-storied building covering 93,320 sq. ft. The centrally air-conditioned library is surrounded by lush green lawns, dotted with beautiful ornamental trees. With the pollution free environment the library has grown into one of the best libraries of the region. This library can accommodate 760 people in its five reading halls. There are several discussion rooms available for the students who want to discuss the topics while studying. Separate cabins for researchers are also there. According to the students, sitting arrangements and lights are comfortable. New arrival section of the library on the second floor has its own significance. The library is fully computerised, which helps one to know the status of books available in the library. "Our aim is to provide rich knowledge to library visitors and to extend information through technology, automation and networking," said librarian Dr Kaswinder K Sanga. A study room on the ground floor, named after the first librarian, remains open 24x7 for the students. Evolution of Agricultural Museum is also a part of the library building that depicts the developments in agriculture through different eras. "Photographs of well-known literary personalities on the walls of the libraries inspire us to a great extent," said Gurjot, a student.
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Punjab still waits for its Library Act
Prior to the elction, the Akali leadership, especially Former Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan, spoke of the Act at every political stage during. Writers and intellectuals appreciated the decision of government to endorse the Act. Sewa Singh Sekhwan is however still hopeful that the government would enact the act in this tenure. Talking about the Act, Sekhwan said, “A draft was finalised before the election and draft committee submitted it to the Chief Minister. The Chief Minister approved the draft after my sanction. We were about to introduce it in the cabinet when the election code of conduct was imposed.” “I am hopeful that Prakash Singh Badal would not forget the proposed Act as renowned academicians, intellectuals and writers worked hard to draft it. The government should pass it as soon as possible.” “The Act would be very useful for the youngsters, besides encouraging writers to continue their passion for writing," said Gurbhajan Gill, a renowned poet and writer. The draft proposes that each village should have a library equipped with internet connection to facilitate the youngsters in getting latest information. As many as 19 states in India already have state library act. Lagging behind
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Exclusive breastfeeding must in first 6 months: Paediatrician
Ludhiana, August 2 He was speaking at a program to mark the inaugural day of the "World Breastfeeding Week" held at Civil Hospital, Raikot, today. The program was organised in association with the Ludhiana Academy of Paediatrics. Dr Rajinder Gulati, who is also a paediatrician at the civil hospital, stressed on the need for exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. He said at the national level, only 46 per cent mothers were able to practise exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months. In Punjab, the average was lower at 36 per cent, he said. Dr Gulati said 20 years ago the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) had launched its first worldwide campaign on breastfeeding. Despite innumerable benefits of appropriate infant and young child feeding to infants, mothers, and the community, some questions still remained unanswered; as to why 80 per cent of children in the age group of 6-35 months were still anaemic in India, he said. Dr Gulati also highlighted the importance of IYCF training to all health functionaries including the Accredited Social Health Activists.
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Road safety now a compulsory subject at veterinary university
Ludhiana, August 2 Dr Kamaljit Soi, vice-chairman of Punjab State Road Safety Council, said the GADVASU Vice-Chancellor Dr VK Taneja had taken personal interest in ensuring that the subject was included in the curriculum of the university from this academic session. Its inclusion would lead to a better awareness on road safety and a reduction in the number of road accidents, he said. He said the paper would carry 70 marks for environment education and 30 marks for road safety.
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Less food on plate as prices soar
Ludhiana, August 2 Not only mangoes, prices of jamuns have also increased. One has to shell out to Rs 120 per kg of jamuns, an increase of Rs 40 per kg in about a month. The prices of vegetables have increased from 10 to 40 per cent. Price of gourd, which was about Rs 10 to 12 per kg till last month, has jumped to Rs 40 per kg. Capsicum is now available at Rs 60 per kg from Rs 20 a few days back. Same is for cauliflower. It was barely Rs 20 per kg that has shoot up to Rs 60. The only relief is the price of tomatoes, which earlier climbed to more than Rs 50 per kg, has come down to Rs 30 per kg. Yet, tomatoes remain expensive for regular use. A woman said using fresh tomatoes is becoming impossible considering the high prices. She said she would rather use packed tomato puree than buying fresh ones. Vegetable sellers attributed the price increase to the drought-like situation "How can one survive in the times of unbridled food inflation is beyond imagination. I eat less and have also reduce the number of meals a day," said Ramesh, a labourer. "The government needs to do something to bring the prices of food down. The food is there but it is going out of reach," he added.
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Teachers await salaries
Ludhiana, August 2 According to the officials, the server of the District Office Network was not working due to some technical issues. Narinder Sharma, superintendent at the district education office, said: "There are 329 schools in the district where we have to allot the DDO powers. The department created an online system for the purpose, but the server has not been running." The officials had met the treasury officer to resolve the problem, Sharma said. As a private service provider was running the server, they could not fix the problem, he said. "If the server is down, the government must find some alternative. It is hard to run households without salary," said Sukhdarshan Singh, a member of Anti-Copying Teachers' Front. The current process of distribution of salaries is not appropriate, said Jagjit Singh, another union leader. Teachers had not received their salaries for three months. The government should change the system, he said.
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Proposal on raising retirement age comes under fire
Ludhiana, August 2 Over 10 organisations, including the Inquilabi Kendra, Punjab; Moulder and Steel Workers Union; Maha Sabha; Lok Ekta Sangathan; Tarksheel Society; Jamhoori Adhikar Sabha; and Nagar Sudhar Sabha have said that the move would do a gross injustice to the youth of the state. A joint statement released by functionaries of these bodies stated:
"On one side the educated youth are hankering after jobs which are scarce,
and on the other side private companies are outto exploit them by offering employment at meagre salaries." Slamming the government's move, they said rather than providing more employment avenues to the educated and skilled youth, the state government was making attempts to snatch away even the existing employment opportunities. "Raising the retirement age by two years will lead to further unemployment. The desperate youth, most of them already in the grip of drug addiction, will reach a point of no return with serious repercussions on the entire society,"
they said. Signatories to the statement — Jaswant Zeerakh, Vijay Narayan, Col JS Brar, Gallar Chauhan, Satish Sachdeva, AK Maleri, Dr HS
Grewal, Kamlesh Kumari, Rakesh Azad and Rajinder Singh — have urged the government
to scrap the proposal and make concerted efforts in the direction of providing employment to the educated and trained youth.
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500 women visit Central Jail on Raksha Bandhan
Ludhiana, August 2 Sisters, carrying sweets and rakhis, anxiously waited for the gate to open. Emotional scenes were witnessed on the jail premises as sisters prayed for an early release of their brothers. Central Jail Superintendent RK Loomba said special arrangements were made for the occasion following the orders of the Jail Minister, Punjab. The visiting women were allowed to stay on the premises between 9am to 5pm. The female inmates were also visited by their
brothers on the festive occasion.
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Industry fumes as power situation worsens
Ludhiana, August 2 "The Punjab government is urged to take the problems of the industry seriously. If the industry starts getting uprooted, its rehabilitation may not be possible," said PD Sharma, president of Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "The Punjab's industry is mainly surviving through two sources, small and medium units in particular are supplying components and intermediates to original manufactures like two and four-wheeler manufacturers and other manufacturers of various types of products. No good manufacturer would like to keep inventories. Every manufacturer has tight schedule of supply of components. Similarly, Punjab heavily depends upon indirect exporters in the country. Schedule of exports is tight and can't afford delays. In the same manner, the industry exports goods to various parts of the world and has to stick to supply commitments," said Gurpargat Singh Kahlon, president of Auto Parts Manufacturers' Association. "Due to these facts, the loss to Punjab's industry is immense and can’t be grasped so easily. Loss of clients is undoubtedly colossal and is irreparable," added Kahlon. Some of the industrial units who have captive power may be able to stick to schedules. However, the cost of captive power is, too, high that goods can’t be manufactured at this cost and supply to the clients, rued Sharma. It is unfortunate that the state government is charging 8.8 per cent VAT on diesel and there is no output credit for diesel for the industrial units. In VAT system, inputs are allowed as output credit after deducting the value addition of the particular unit, said Sharma.
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Patients learn how to prepare ORS
Ludhiana, August 2 Addressing the gathering, Deputy Medical Commissioner, Ludhiana, Dr A K Handa said: "ORS was used for the first time in Bangladesh during a cholera epidemic in 1971. The country faced a deficiency of intravenous fluids, and ORS was used to prevent dehydration. More than three lakh patients were saved by it." It was in 1978 that World Health Organisation recommended ORS for the cases of diarrhoea, he said. In India, five lakh
children are saved annually due to the use of ORS, and more than ten million children have been saved in the last 25 years, he said.
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IDPD supports ex-Army chief on nuclear plant
Ludhiana, August 2 The former army chief has criticised the government's move on acquiring land for the plant, due to which at least 1,500 farmers would be affected, he said. Dr LS Chawla, president of IDPD, said the organisation had been firm in its opposition to the nuclear power plants, as they were neither safe nor economical. Any serious accident in these plants could be fatal as had been witnessed in the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear plants accidents, he said. Dr Arun Mitra, secretary of the body, said India had a vast potential for generating power from renewable sources of energy. As per a report, Energy Statistics 2011, compiled by the Government of India, more than 90,000 MW power could be generated from resources like wind (54 per cent), small hydro (17 per cent), bagasse-based cogeneration (25 percent), and waste to energy (4 percent), he said. "In addition, the country has a solar energy potential of 50,000 MW, whereas just about 22,500 MW is being generated as of now," he said. The IDPD functionaries said with more research and development on renewable resources of energy, their capacity and utilisation could be further increased.
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Teachers to stage protest
Ludhiana: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Teachers' Union will stage a state-wide protest rally at the Grain Market, Jalandher Bypass, on Sunday. Baldev Singh, president of the union, said thousands of teachers would take part in the protest against the state government to demand regularisation of their posts. Ban on sale of meat
Additional District Magistrate Dr Neeru Katyal has ordered the closure of slaughter houses, and shops and vends selling meat, eggs and other non-vegetarian items on August 21 in the subdivisions of Jagraon, Samrala, Khanna, Payal and Raikot. The prohibitory order was issued under the Section 144 of CrPC on the occasion of "Samvastri Utsav" to be observed by the Jain community. The order will also apply to restaurants and other eating joints that sell non-vegetarian food items. Female foeticide a menace: MP
Member of Parliament from the city Manish Tiwari brought the focus on female foeticide on his visit to Brahma Kumari Ashram to celebrate Raksha Bandhan on Thursday. Tiwari said because of rising materialism, female foeticide had become a menace. He said along with brothers, parents have to be made aware about the gruesome practice. Speaking about the festival, he said through it, the responsibilities of brothers towards their sisters deepened. Office-bearers elected
Sukhminder Singh has been elected as the president of the city branch of Akhil Bhartiya Saraswati Jyotish Manch. Other office-bearers elected include Deepak Dhawan (general secretary), Anita Grover and DD Bhargav (vice-presidents) and Noor Choudhry (secretary). Camp on biomedical waste held
A biomedical waste awareness camp was organized at Baba Jaswant Singh Dental College, Hospital and Research Institute on Wednesday. The camp was held in collaboration with Punjab Pollution Control Board. The camp was attended by around 50 doctors from different medical colleges, around 70 doctors from BJS Dental College and over 100 interns. Pay respect to elderly: Minister Senior Citizens’ Welfare Association, Ludhiana, organised a seminar on Wednesday. Madan Mohan Mittal, Health and Social Security Minister, said the younger generation should pay respect to the elderly, and take care of their social, economic and emotional needs. SP Karkara, president of SCWAL, enumerated various projects undertaken and planned by the organization for the welfare of the elderly. He said the seminar "Senior Citizens and Society" had been arranged as part of their efforts to help senior citizens lead "happy and positive life". Workers demand more pension
Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh staged a dharna in front of the office of regional Provident Fund Commissioner on Wednesday. Uma Kant Tiwari, a senior member of the union, said the pension of Rs 1,000 for the industrial workers was very low. The union demanded a pension of at least Rs 2,000.
— TNS
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Congress MLA ‘manhandled’
Ludhiana, August 2 Panday said like every year the mandir trust convened a meeting to discuss the preparation for Janamasthmi. "A group of youths, who were having objection on some issue, entered into a scuffle with some of the committee members. I was also pushed while separating them. The matter was resolved, but in the meantime someone spread a rumour. The matter of manhandling was blown out of proportion to tarnish my image," said Panday. The news of manhandling spread like a wild fire. In no time Division No 6 police led by SHO Anil Bhanot and Janakpuri Chowki incharge Shamsher Singh reached the spot. Some Congress worker went a step further and stated that the BJP and SAD were behind the incident. Shamser Singh said the matter was resolved and both the groups were told to report to the police station in the morning. Sources said the youths were opposing the interference of Rakesh Panday in the working of the temple.
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Ludhiana, August 2
Ludhiana, August 2
Ludhiana, August 2