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Farm varsities to focus on genomics
Ludhiana, January 16 The conference, which concluded at Chennai on January 13, was attended by PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr K.S. Aulakh, the Dean, Postgraduate Studies, Dr Darshan Singh, and the Dean, College of Agriculture, Dr G.S. Chahal. There are four state agricultural universities which have US-funded projects focusing on teaching, research and extension. The collaborative research will be in the cutting edge areas of post-harvest technologies, food processing and food safety issues, natural resource management, bio-informatics, use of bio-products and bio-fuels and genomics. Dr Aulakh, on return from Chennai today, said the group discussion session which he had chaired, also emphasised on the need to develop “Trans-country collaborative programmes” for developing projects under the proposed National Agricultural Innovation Project, likely to be funded by the World Bank, Phase-III, by the end of the year. The group discussion also proposed to evolve a mechanism for joint Ph.D. programmes between state agricultural universities and their counterparts in the US. The four state agricultural universities which participated in the Indo-US university conference at Chennai were PAU, which has collaborative research with Ohio State University, Colombus, Tamil Naidu University, Coimbatore, which has partnership with the University of California, Davis, Michigan State University and Cornell State University, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, which has collaborative research programme with Iowa State University and Purdue University and University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, which has collaboration with Cornell State University. This collaborative mechanism operates through Association Liaison Office for University Cooperation and Development, Washington. Dr Chahal made a representation on the progress of US AID funded project at Punjab Agricultural University. The project is on food processing with emphasis on backward and forward linkages with the private sector in the state. PAU has a food industry centre which organises training courses for industry and helps the state government in policy-making to sensitise and attract private sector for partnership. Meanwhile, two scientists — Dr David Henson and Dr Valente B. Alvarez — from the Ohio State University, who are partners in the PAU-Ohio Collaborative Project, visited the University today to review the ongoing project and to ink an MoU to finalise extension of the project and also formulate new projects.
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Course on post-harvest management concludes
Ludhiana, January 16 Dr S. P. Schouten, an international expert from Holland, delivered lectures in quality
standards for exports to EU nations with special reference on food safety and pesticide residue regulations. The participants were exposed to the latest technologies for picking, packing, transportation, storage and marketing of fruits and vegetables for domestic and export markets. Dr A.S. Dhatt, Director, PHPTC, informed that with the launch of National Horticulture Mission, the production of fruits and vegetables was going to double in next few years and this training would help to a great extent in spreading this knowledge and skills among farmers, traders and crop handlers.
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PAU student bags award
Ludhiana, January 16 According to Dr K.S. Verma, Programme Co-ordinator, NSS, Rajinder Singh was chosen for this award on the basis of his outstanding performance in extra-curriculum activities. He participated in the National NSS camps at Ludhiana, Silchar (Assam), Palampur (HP) and Chandigarh. Rajinder Singh participated in four NSS camps organised by the university at different villages in Punjab. Besides, he took part in several hiking and trekking expeditions. He was closely associated with the communal harmony campaign and tsunami relief fund campaign.
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Clubs, students celebrate Lohri
Ludhiana, January 16 Members of the Rotary Club, Ludhiana, celebrated Lohri with the inmates of the Red Cross Senior Citizens Home at Sarabha Nagar here yesterday. A large number of Rotarians, including president Rtn Dr A.S. Bindra and secretary Rtn S.P. Karkara, shared peanuts, gachak and rewri with senior citizens. Later, the senior citizens were served lunch by the Rotarians. Mr S.P. Malik, secretary, Red Cross, was also present on the occasion. The biting cold did not dampen the spirit of students of Arya Senior Secondary School who celebrated Lohri here yesterday. The students performed several cultural items and mesmerised the audience. Students of the primary, middle and senior sections presented colourful dances including giddha and bhangra. Mr R.R. Dhand, Principal, exhorted the students to keep the rich cultural heritage alive. Deputy Commissioner and president of the Satluj Club Anurag Verma celebrated lohri of daughters and granddaughters of members born after January1, 2005, here yesterday. It was for the first time that lohri of girl child was celebrated at the club. Mr Verma said it was being done to encourage treatment of girls on a par with boys. Mr Verma further said the state had a dismal sex ratio despite being economically prosperous. While the government had been taking initiatives in this regard, the problem could not be tackled effectively until people got involved and society at large became aware, he added. He said sex ratio in the state had been recorded much below the national average, which was creating a serious imbalance in the society. He said though female foeticide was a punishable offence under the PNDT Act, the desire to have a male child was pushing some people to commit it. Yesterday’s programme kicked off with kite flying competitions in the afternoon. The kite fliers were divided into three categories — under-12 years, between 12 to 20 years and above 20 years. The above 20 category saw maximum participation. In the evening, a cultural programme was organised by the club members. Comedian Gurpreet Ghuggi was the star of the show, which also saw items like musical chairs etc.
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Baby show at Tagore Public School
Ludhiana, January 16 The judges were Mrs Manju Kaushal, Mr Satwinder and Mrs Manju Joshi. The results are as under. Poetry recitation: Varinda Grewal Ist, Abhilasha 2nd and Ashnoor Kaur 3rd. Fancy dress: Kanika Ist, Ananya Jain and Abhilasha 2nd and Kinmin Chopra 3rd. Dance: Kamika Ist, Hridi Jain 2nd and Jaspreet Singh 3rd. Tricycle race: Gurkanwal 1st, Rajbir Dhiman 2nd and Ishraj Singh 3rd. 50m race: Jagjit Singh 1st, Gurbir Singh 2nd and Ishraj Singh 3rd. Best dressed child: Gurbir Singh. Little Angels were awarded various prizes for their performance. Fun activities for parents were also organised. The Principal, Ms Anita Gakhar, appreciated the efforts of the parents and the children in making the show a success.
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Sachar selected IPHA Fellow
Ludhiana, January 16 Dr Sachar is already a fellow of the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine
(IAPSM) and member of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Seminar
Ludhiana, January 16
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Pulling out of obsessive
compulsive disorder
Ludhiana, January 16 This repetition of actions, which takes a lot of time, causes stress, and can interfere with work or relationships, is a symptom of obsessive compulsive disorder or the
OCD. In fact, this disorder is relatively common and two in every 100 persons in a community suffer from it. According to a rough estimate, more than two crore people in India suffer from this disorder and though regarded as an incurable psychological problem, many patients respond to treatment. Pharmacological advances made in the past decade have led to a better understanding of it and an improved prognosis for patients with the
OCD. According to Dr Paramjit Singh Khurana, consultant neuro-psychiatrist and drug de-addiction specialist at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital here, some people have thoughts or ideas that come into their mind even when they do not want them to. These thoughts often look silly or unpleasant and are called obsession. “Compulsions are things that people feel they have to do, even when they do not want to (for example, repeatedly checking that the light is switched off or the door is locked). People often try to stop themselves from doing these things, but feel frustrated or worried unless they perform these tasks.” Problems with obsessions and compulsions can cause distress and worry, and can begin to affect young people at school, with their friends, and in their families, says Dr Khurana. Many people have mild obsessions and compulsions at some time, for example, having to organise their belongings in a special way or saying good night a certain number of times. This is normal. It may be the result of anxiety due to stress or change. “If it appears that a person’s behaviour is the beginning of the
OCD, one needs to assess whether the compulsions upset the person, they interfere with everyday life at school, friends circle, routine family work or job. If the answer to these questions is in the affirmative, it may be concluded that the person has obsessive compulsive disorder, and in this case, one must seek professional advice.” Dr Khurana observes that the OCD can affect people of all ages, and usually starts in childhood. The cause of this disorder is unknown, although research suggests that it occurs when one part of the brain has trouble communicating with the other. These parts of the brain communicate through a chemical messenger called
serotonin, which may be in short supply in people with the OCD. Some researchers believe that the OCD runs in families. “What is known for certain is that the OCD is nobody’s fault and is not a sign of weakness.” He further says this condition usually does not go away completely, but a combination of medication, behaviour therapy, and education help most people with the OCD feel better and lead a more normal life. The OCD is a common psychological problem and a qualified psychiatrist is the best professional to help and advise.
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Dental check-up camp
Ludhiana, January 16
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City readies for National School Games
Ludhiana, January 16 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Harnam Das Johar, Education Minister, said the city had the privilege to host some events of this year’s National School Games. More than 5000 participants, including sportspersons and officials, from across the country are expected to visit Ludhiana during this sports extravaganza. Giving details of this mega event, Mr Johar informed that competition in hockey (u-14 years), handball (u-14 years), basketball (u-17 years), softball (u-14, 17 and 19 years) for boys and girls, wrestling for girls u-19 years and boxing for boys u-19 years would be held at different venues in the city. The minister said the accommodation arrangements for sportspersons had been made at a number of places and not more than 150 persons would be lodged at each venue. A District Education Officer had been deputed at each venue and he would be held responsible for the comfortable stay of the visitors, Mr Johar added. The organisers had made arrangements to take the visitors for sight-seeing. A cultural programme depicting the rich Punjabi heritage would be the main attraction during the inaugural function of the games. Mr Harnam Das Johar will formally inaugurate the games on Wednesday at 12 noon.
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Second win for KVM lads
Ludhiana, January 16 This was KVM School’s second consecutive win. Yesterday, they had routed CFC Senior Secondary School by 202 runs in the opening match of the tournament. Government Senior Secondary School won the toss and elected to field Kundan Vidya Mandir School lads made 214 runs for the loss of four wickets in a rain-hit 38-each side encounter. Geetansh Khaira remained unbeaten on 72 runs while Bharat Malhotra, who had cracked a century yesterday, contributed 52 runs. Akhil Aggarwal and Shanky Khaira scored 17 and 14 runs, respectively. For government school, Aman and Avtar took one wicket each for 42 and 38 runs, respectively, while Lok Raj claimed one for 40 and Ashish conceded 25 runs and captured one wicket. In reply, Government Senior Secondary School could muster 152 runs for the loss of nine wickets in the allotted 38 overs. Avtar was the top scorer with 33 runs. Other notable scorers were Ashish (21), Sunny (13) and Puneet (15). KVM School’s successful bowlers were Tarun Bawa ( 2 for 9), Varun Chitkara (1 for 11) and Geetansh Khaira (2 for 24). SPORTS MELA: A three days sports mela will be held on January 20,21 and 22 at Samrala, according to Jathedar Jagjeewan Singh Kheernian, cashier of the Malwa Sports Association. The main events will be bullock cart races, dog races, athletics, cycle races, kabaddi and weightlifting.
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