Exhibitions are becoming the shopping hubs

Bathinda is in for a treat, as hundreds of designer labels have rushed to put up an exhibition! The city that is famous for lacks of shops in alleys and showrooms offering thousands of ethnic and Indian wear options, is experiencing the thrill of going to an exhibition and laying their hands on a design which follows the latest trend. With boutiques, designers and wholesalers from not only Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar but also from Delhi and Jaipur, setting up their stalls and exhibiting their latest collections, people would be provided with many options in fashion and style. Fashionable women of the city are at an all time high as latest trend in the ethnic wear collection section is enticing and modern.

Ritu Sarin, a designer from Chandigarh, had held an exhibition in Model Town in the city three months back, had exhibited imitation jewellery to go with the dresses on offer to make it a one-stop shop for her customers.According to Ritu, the exhibitors try to offer latest items to their customers to make sure that the sales stay high, and this is the reason why loyal customers wait for exhibitions rather than buying from stock shops.

Parminder Kaur Sandhu from Patiala, who had recently held an exhibition in the city under the name ‘Patiala Rack’, also vouched for the fact that exhibitions offer what the customers have not seen in the local markets.Bringing the designs, which are making waves in the markets of bigger cities and will take another two-three months to reach the local markets is what these exhibitors offer and prove to be a link between metropolitan fashion and small city style. That’s the USP of such ethnic wear exhibitions and it is the fact that these don’t offer regular stuff and no two pieces are the same.Sourcing different raw materials and unique ready made pieces from various markets of Delhi and other Indian cities, Bathinda-based duo Deepika Arora and Meenakshi Goyal have also been holding exhibitions in the city under their brand ‘Style Diva’, to provide their customers with something abstract to work with.

The best part about these designers is that they don’t believe in ordering and shipping goods from wholesalers. They research about the latest trends designs in fashion and go to other cities to browse through various markets, themselves, and pick pieces they think will provide a fresh change to the customers.Going to the extent of mixing and matching various parts of the ensembles to offer unique pieces to the customers, is what provides them a competitive edge over others.

Such raw, crisp, fresh and authentic designs define originality and individuality, which is the latest fashion trend. Apart from offering a huge variety, they also offer some pieces, which are casual wear and are more affordable as compared to the rest of the pieces. Even the casual wear suits have an edge to them, which the local shops don’t offer.

Punjab, developing love for art

Various art galleries and art institutes have recently started promoting and showcasing the art works of students from different walks of life. KT Kala Kendra is one such art gallery in Amritsar, which promotes the art works of students and encourages them to develop their skills.

Recently the students of Lovely Professional University exhibited their sculptures, paintings and photographs at the exhibition. They very well displayed their technical and creative skills and the audience was mesmerized by their creations.

KT Kala Kendra provides an opportunity to the students to showcase their work of arts at their space, their motive is to promote art amongst the audience in Punjab, says the Director, Brajesh Jolly. 3D sculptures, which were prepared in fiberglass, wood and along with carvings in stone were the main attractions of the exhibition and appreciated by all the visitors.

Indian Academy of Fine Arts is also doing its own bit to promote art amongst the students of Punjab. They organize an annual art event that is organized for around a month. This year their exhibition and camp will be featuring young artists and promoting their talent and skills.

This special art programme will be a great platform for these budding artists to promote their work amongst the buyers and get an identity through these workshops and exhibitions. As this year, the schools are not organizing as many workshops and summer camps as they used to, so it is even an added advantage for this platform to be promoted and spread the word amongst the young artists. Various senior artists from this forum also organize their own workshops for young kids to learn new skills. They also have an amateur section for those who haven’t been introduced to this art and haven’t got an opportunity to develop their skills as yet.

These are some of the examples from which other art organizations or art galleries should learn and promote this great form of work among students in the urban as well as poor sector of Punjab. 

Bathinda gets a solution to its stray cattle menace

Residents of Bathinda have been dealing with the issue of stray cattle since a long time. It has been a major block for the transportation in the city. It gets difficult for people to move from one place to another due to the roadblocks because of stray cattle. It is difficult to handle such situation as one doesn’t want to be harsh on animals and the day-to-day lives get affected due to the same.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Cabinet Minister recently inaugurated two cattle ponds in two different villages in the city, Harraipur Village and Goniana Village. It is believed that with the development of these ponds, the issue of cattle can be solved easily. With this, the cattle wont have to roam around on the streets in the city.

Right now, these ponds are in their first phase, wherein around 500 stray cattle would be shifted here and taken care of. Whereas, the next phase of these ponds, which is believed to be applicable in next three months will have around 2, 000 stray animals at the Harraipur Village Pond.

This initiative has been taken up by the District Animal Welfare Society who has spent an amount of Rs. 2.5 crore in construction of these cattle ponds. The area in which the cattle pond has been constructed is spread around 15 acre of land and it is so huge that it can accommodate around 2, 400 stray cattle in coming times. Out of this whole area, the construction work is to be done at an area of 8 acres, and, the government and cow cess fund will be used in the same. In the first phase, the work of constructing boundary walls and a shed has been completed.

The Harraipur Village’s pond is almost complete and cattle have already been shifted there as per Deputy Commissioner Basant Garg. Now he says that the process will be running at an even faster pace to complete the project in time. This was a much-required step for the people of this area, as already many people have lost their lives and have been hurt due to this menace.

Nandini’s ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’ released

Nandini Malhotra is an eminent personality from the Academic industry and has now tried her hand as a writer with her debut book, ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’.  It is a book about our everyday lives and very well carves out the intricate details of the relationship of a man and women and their challenges and love that one can relate to.

She has been into academics since last 25 years and has done really well in that sector, and works at Millenium School as the Dean of Activities. Her experience is such that she can write an entire series of short stories, but to begin with she has planned to keep her writings short and crisp and has presented a versatile series of stories in her first book.  Shiromani Natakkar Jatinder Brar released her book at Punjab Naatshala. As per the author, the book is a compilation of 25 short stories based on the complexities of relationships in todays’ time and the theme has been weaved out in words in such a way that anyone can easily relate to these stories. Manifesting her confusions, the characters of the different stories in the book reflect pain with an array of tragic emotions, which brings the depth in the entire series.

The inspirations for Nandini Malhotra were, Munshi Prem Chand, Gulshan Nanda and Mahadevi Verma. She has been following their writings since a long time and has developed her own style of writing. She got the confidence of penning down a book with the feedback and comments she got from her published write-ups in the newspapers. She said that she used to write down any incident or experience and observation that stayed in her mind everyday and all those efforts and experiences have now resulted into a book.

She has a strong opinion about the status of the relationships in today’s scenario where she says that they have moved on from ‘I’ to ‘myself’ and this she says is the major reason for the breakups and divorces, which are increasing day by day. She believes that with the increasing trend of Facebook and Whatsapp we are loosing interest in meaningful conversations face-to-face with our near and dear ones and have made this virtual world a major part of our lives.

Have you tasted the egg paneer?

If you are wondering that we are talking about a dish, which is prepared of egg along with paneer, then you are absolutely wrong. We are actually asking about the new variety of paneer available in the market now, which is made up of egg. Sounds interesting, right?

The Department of Livestock Products Technology, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University recently displayed this new variety of Egg Paneer and Chicken Meat Chips at the Pashu Palan Mela in Ludhiana. It was a two-day festival where new varieties of animal produce were shown and also discussions were carried out on how to get good quality products from animals, without harming them.

This department has been dealing with the farmers, entrepreneurs and even the consumers in developing healthy and valuable live stock products, especially which are made up of meat and egg. According to them, this new variety of paneer, the egg paneer is a superior quality of the usual paneer, which is available in every household. As it is a mixture of these two protein rich commodities, so its level of protein is naturally high and is also rich in essential fatty acids which are essential for the development of brain and body.

This paneer can be used in the usual way just like the other one, and various regular dishes can be prepared using the same, like the egg paneer pakoras, curry, cheese fingers and more. This will add a different flavor to the dish and give you the best of both the worlds. The department is also trying to add some flavours to this variety, and are trying to make masala paneer, and green egg paneer.

This new discovery will solve the problem of those people who love egg and paneer equally as they can now have the taste of these two and discover many more new dishes as per their taste palette. It will be available in a vacuum packed form and can be kept in the refrigerator for around three weeks.

The chicken meat chips are a good substitute for the non-vegetarians for those oily fatty chips, which are available in the market. With the addition of chicken and meat, these chips have a higher nutritional value than its counterparts in the market. It is a good option for the kids who want some munchies during the day.

Lets run for the ‘Spirit of India’

Pat Farmer, Member of Parliament of Sydney and Assistant Minister for Education and Sports in the Government of Australia is coming to our country for a run from Kanyakumari to Srinagar. He is an enthusiastic runner and has made numerous world records when it comes to endurance running.

In the past, he has conducted his run around Australia and has done the same across North America, twice. He has been the member of the Parliament of Australia since eight years and during this tenure, he was the Parliament Secretary for Education, Science an Training for three years. His career of running spans around 20 golden years and along with making records, he has also won the ‘Achiever of the Year’ award in 2000 and was awarded by the Prime Minister, Johan Howard.

Along with accomplishing his passion, he has also been doing a lot for the society while running around; he has raised millions of dollars in his running career for a number of social causes. These causes include, Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia, and Lifeline. While on his run in India, the Government of India and the state governments will be supporting him throughout and making the necessary arrangements. A television crew will accompany him through his entire journey and this will be showcased on television in Australia. It is a great opportunity for India to showcase its country, its love, culture, heritage and a lot more to millions of audiences in Australia and around the world. A documentary will be prepared about his journey from Kanyakumari to Srinagar in India and will be showcased a number of times in Australia on Australia’s Television Network Channel 9.

The authorities involved in supporting and arranging for Farmer’s run through the country are, the High Commissioner of India in Australia, Ministry of External Affairs, and the Ministry of Tourism. His run will not only be refrained to India and Australia but with the help of Social Media Experts, who will accompany him through the journey, the entire world will be kept updated on various social networking sites about ‘The Spirit of India Run’.

The portion of the run, which will include the State of Punjab, will start from 17^th March from Ambala to Chandigarh and will continue till 24^th March, ending from Pathankot to Jammu, covering a leg area of 80km. the districts of Punjab which will be covered in this journey, include, Ambala, Chandigarh, Rupnagar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Pathankot.

Chandigarh, beware of Cancer!!

Various reports and researches have shown that the average rate of cancer in Chandigarh is the highest in the country and is a lot higher than the national average. It is an alarming sign to warn the citizens of the city to make the necessary amendments to their lifestyle and lead a healthier version of life.

The national average rate of cancer for men is 92.4 per 1 lakh and for females it is 97.4 per 1 lakh and on the contrary, in Chandigarh it is 93.4 per 1lakh for the former and 105 per 1 lakh for the latter. The research report has been prepared by the PGIMER, Chandigarh in collaboration with Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai and the Punjab Department of Health and Family Welfare and Director Health Services, Chandigarh. The project was named as, ‘Cancer burden in Chandigarh and Punjab’.

When it comes to females, the breast cancer rate in Chandigarh is the highest, in comparison to any other city around the country. Also, with the data of 2013, it can be calculated that the death rate in Chandigarh due to cancer is around 38 per 1 lakh for men and 32.7 per 1 lakh for women. Mohali itself has the highest incident rate of breast cancer, which is 33.9 per 1 lakh and these figures are higher than that of metro cities like Mumbai and Kolkata also. When it comes to Chandigarh, Mohali and Sangrur, Breast Cancer takes the first position, whereas the second most detected type of cancer is the Cervix uterine cancer. Mansa has a higher number of Cervix Uterine cancers in comparison to Breast cancer.

Mostly males in the urban areas of the city are reporting of the lung and prostate cancer, whereas the ones living in the rural areas are reporting for Esophagus cancer. In India, the highest rate of the prostate cancer is found to be in New Delhi and Chandigarh is on the second position, further followed by Mumbai and Kolkata. The average of Lung cancer among men in Chandigarh is the highest in the country.

As per the report, women are more prone to getting this deadly disease in comparison to men. The statistics say that only one man is prone to cancer out of nine in Chandigarh and one man is prone to cancer out of 11 in Mohali, whereas one out of eight women is prone to cancer, when it comes to either of these two cities. The new comprehensive cancer treatment center, which is being planned in Mohali, is a ray of hope to get the figures down in the future.

Amarinder government’s dismal record in School Education

Chandigarh, March 9: At the time when state Congress chief and former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh is going about promising moon to the people, one has to go by his earlier track record, especially in the field of education in general  and that of vocational education in particular. It is the performance that is always the best test.

The expenditure on vocational education during the period 2002-2007  was nil. What a great achievement. This was the period when Capt. Amarinder Singh headed the Congress government in the state. Work in earnest on turning the youth employable started in right earnest when the Akali Dal government headed by Parkash Singh Badal took over in 2007.

Total expenditure on providing vocational education has been 69.97 crore since 2007  that has benefited 25,599 persons. It may be mentioned that Capt Amarinder Singh is promising massive job opportunities without outlining any road map while his earlier record has been the worst. The first point is providing basic facilities to the people and that is in the field of education.

Total expenditure on school education during 2002-2007 was Rs 9621 cr as compared to Rs 43740 crore during the last nine years of the Badal government. This is the sector that had been the worst hit during Amarinder government.

Providing boarding facilities especially to the girl students has been another land mark of the present government. The total number of girls hostel opened from 2002-2007 was just two having 111 students. The number has now gone up to 44 accommodating 5207 students. There is just no comparison.

What is the worst is that it was the Amarinder government that started private education at the cost of government schools and colleges on the logic that fewer students joined government schools. The effort should have been to revive what used to be the best education system in Punjab but got hit during militancy. It is only since 2007 that the focus has shifted back to government schools to provide free to affordable education to the students. The meritorious and model schools provide the best of education and these schools have been the major initiative taken by the Chief Minister during this period.

When Capt Amarinder Singh goes about interacting with college students, these are the questions that need to be posed to him before trusting his words. The state has now seven meritorious schools imparting quality education to 6377 students and model schools where the number of students now is 37,727. Then there are Adarsh schools.

Here is another significant aspect of the school education in Punjab. The state was adjudged as No 1 in 2009-10 in infrastructure at primary level by the ministry of human resources development and National University of Planning Affiliation. Punjab was at No 2 in case of infrastructure at upper primary level during the same period.

Punjab stood at Ist place in national level inspire award e-management in 2014-15 by the ministry of environment.

It is the performance that speaks for itself and so is the non-performance.

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Progressive Punjab with Social Initiatives

Taking initiatives towards the progressive Punjab, the Punjab government is doing every important measure that can be done in order to take the state towards new heights.

Recently, the Punjab government has banned playing of “vulgar songs” and “provocative music” in the state run buses. This initiative is taken by the government not only to assure dignified and safe environment for women in the state-owned buses but also to improve the overall atmosphere of the Punjab roadways. In this regard, random checks and visits will take place in the buses by senior officials to assure the impact of the order.

This order will also help in better transportation facility for the passengers and more focussed driving by the drivers because of reduced distraction. Further this will help in reducing the number of road accidents in the state.

The state is also ready to give  in all the villages by the end of this year. This is one of the major initiatives taken by the Punjab government in order to spread the digital India access and make this dream a reality throughout the state. Punjab Deputy, Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal assured that all the villages of Punjab will get 4G connectivity. By doing this, Punjab will become the first state in India to connect its villages with 4G.

Punjab is ready to be the smartest city in India with all its villages getting 4G internet connectivity. Development in Punjab not only means the development of the cities of Punjab, but it means the overall development, where the cities and villages will go hand in hand.

Punjab BJP President Shri Kamal Sharma has welcomed the decision taken by the Punjab Cabinet by giving nod for the land requirement for setting up a satellite centre of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) at Ferozepur.  Mr. Sharma said that it was the untiring efforts and regular perusal by him for getting the land that has borne desired results.  This project will be a landmark in the health services of Punjab.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal also kicked off a train from Malerkotla to Ajmer.
After winning the by-poll to Khadoor Sahib Seat, the SAD government is all set to work on major development projects there.

The local government of Ludhiana said that they would work very hard to make Ludhiana the smartest city of India. Ludhiana was recently selected in the top 100 cities to be developed into smart cities.
Paying his tributes to the martyrs of the Pathankot attack, Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has announced financial assistance of Rs. 25 lakhs and government job to the next kin of the two martyrs from Punjab. The state government has said that they will provide full support and assistance to the families of the martyrs.

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Fish Farming gets a Boost in Punjab

Fish farming is looking up in the state of Punjab, where it is mainly being taken up by the farming community as allied activity for diversification. It is done on land used for agriculture land in low lying areas and in village ponds.

The Punjab government has been working for the fish farmers and had last year come up with the free insurance scheme which covers all fish farmers through Fishcofed. It came as a welcome decision for 8000 fish farmers in the state.

Keeping their interest in mind the government has recently come up with another project as per which they would train fish farmers for preparing fish products.

In the said project scientists from Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Science University for training farmers in preparing food items from raw fish. The government has also announced a grant of Rs 5.86 crore which would be put to use for renovation of Punjab’s biggest fish-breeding farm at Fatehgarh Sahib.

Under the free insurance scheme the premium is being paid by the government. Last year the government covered over 3000 fish farmers in 14 districts of Punjab, including Ludhiana, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Patiala, Roopnagar, Amritsar, Moga, Hoshiarpur, Sangrur, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Faridkot and Bathinda.

As per the free insurance policy, a relief of Rs 10,000 is given for fish farmers towards their hospitalization and the Punjab government is contributing 50 percent towards its premium as the government offers 50 percent subsidy for all its districts.

There is a special attraction for those having 1 acre land being used for fish farming they get Rs 60,000 for digging as per the decision and also 20,000 for feed purposes and 18,000 for purchase of aerator.

As per this special insurance scheme the family of a fish farmer is compensated with Rs 2 lakh compensation in case of death while Rs 1 lakh is given in case of permanent handicap. The scheme provides for Rs 10,000 in case a fish farmer is hospitalized. The Punjab government is contributing 50 percent of the premium.

The biggest fish breeding farm which has not been renovated since 1990 when it was built as per Kesar Singh Kheri, Assistant Director, Fisheries, Fatehgarh Sahib and it will take two months for renovation work to be completed.

In the state of Punjab fish is consumed mainly by migrants and the government has decided to come up with an ornamental fish unit at a cost of Rs 13.5 lakh, which will be another unique venture to encourage the fish farming community.

As per estimates, about 4000 to 6000 fish can be kept in a one acre pond and 25 quintals fish can be produced per acre in a year. This can help in earning Rs 65,000 profit about Rs 1 lakh as selling price for fish is Rs 100 per kg in wholesale market.


 Box: Promoting Fish Farming in Punjab

•  8000 fish farmers to benefit from insurance
•  50 per cent subsidy on fish farming
•  Renovation plan for state’s fish breeding farm
•  Ornamental Fish Unit to be set up in the state
•  Hatchery Complex worth 27 lakh already built
•  Department supplies 1000 breed in Rs 100

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Progressive Punjab, sukhbir singh badal, Developing Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Punjabi Virsa, Shiromani Akali Dal, Punjab Insights, Bikram Singh Majithia, Punjab Youth