Ludhiana, December 1
According to NACO, in India there were 72,000 new HIV infections in 2005, said Dr Akashdeep Singh, Pulmonologist and Intensivist at the Christian Medical College and Hospital in a lecture today organised on the occasion of World AIDS Day.

He added that the worst part of the scenario was that 90 per cent of those infected with HIV lack awareness about safe sex. A majority of women have become victims just because they don't know the importance of condoms.

He said that in the UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic Update for the 2006, it is estimated that globally there are 39.5 million people living with HIV of which 960,000 recently got infected with it. 2.9 million people will die of AIDS-related illnesses this year.

Elaborating further, Dr Akashdeep said that HIV is found in body fluids such as blood, semen, vaginal fluids and breast milk. It can be passed on through penetrative sex, oral sex and sharing contaminated needles, when injecting street drugs or in hospitals. It can also be transmitted from a mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding, though many children escape infection.

Dr Akashdeep advocated prevention as a key method to limit the spread of the epidemic. He stressed on the importance of educational programmes which preach abstinence from sex, monogamy and safe sex using condoms, as ways to protect against infection. "Together we can work towards an AIDS-free world."

Awareness lectures, poster competitions, declamation contests and rallies were organised to observe World AIDS Day in several other medical and educational institutions which included Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Research and Treatment Institute, Guru Nanak Girls College, Master Tara Singh Memorial College for Women, Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Bharat Nagar, Government Multipurpose Senior Secondary School, Cinema Road and Government Senior Secondary School, Kadian Kalan.

Rich too suffer from malnutrition: expert
Mahesh Sharma

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 1
Prof R.K. Pathak, Coordinator, University Grant Commission, Special Assistance Programme, has called upon social organisations of the area to come forward in creating awareness among the masses about the significance of nutrition in the development of members of all sections of society including the lower strata.

Lack of knowledge, and not money, was the major cause of malnutrition with poverty, illiteracy, migration, alcoholism and poor health practices ranking second.

Referring to abstract of papers read by various scholars of the nation in general and Punjab in particular, Professor Pathak pointed out that nutritional imbalance was a serious concern for all sub-groups of the community.

"Malnutrition has been observed among a large number of members from higher economic status. While 91.5 per cent of individuals in a group from the low socio-economic group were energy deficient, 87 per cent from the higher socio- economic status group recorded a similar position," said Prof Pathak referring to a study conducted in the state capital.

The situation in the interior was more alarming and in a majority of cases, the diet consumed by respondents was also deficient in other micro nutrients apart from folic acid added the anthropologist. He suggested the need of some integrated health care interventions in order to combat widespread nutritional deficiency.

Showing concern over persistent gender bias, Professor Pathak pointed out that female children were still ignored in Punjabi families. Referring to a study conducted by Ms Rupinder Kaur Saini and Mr S.P. Singh of the Department of Human Biology, Punjabi University, Patiala, he said that contrary to claims made in the media, the nutritional status of girls has remained pathetic.

"It is astonishing that girls of Punjab, which serves as the nutrition bowl of the nation, are underfed resulting in the average body weight of 8.89 kg at the age of one year, which was much lower than that of Asian girls," he said.

But the trend of weight and height growth among girls of Ludhiana, Moga, Nangal, Patiala, Kapurthala, Amritsar and Bathinda indicates that they are taller and heavier than that of combined Indian samples.

He had earlier recommended to the Union Government that the Ministry of Rural Development should amalgamate in its various programmes and projects, the problems concerning nutritional status and assessment.

Though the Indian Government had initiated several measures to ensure that the problems of deprivation and discrimination faced by poor women and children were overcome, the target could not be achieved as social scientists were not involved earlier, he said.

“Unfortunately, many project officers do not have all the information they need to maximise the nutrition impact of rural development projects. There are many nutritional assessment methodologies in anthropology that can assist practitioners in achieving desired results,” he said.

Ludhiana, December 1
Dr Shobha Sehgal, Chief Technical Officer, Beauty Services, VLCC, whose clientele include Bollywood actors, politicians and industrialists, feels that facials are good for the skin once in a while,but a regular and proper removal of dust provided skin glow and nourishment.

Dr Sehgal, on her brief visit to the city today, said harsh sun-rays, hard winds and pollutants got stuck deep in the skin which needed a regular scrubbing to remove the dead cells. "Half the battle is won if the skin is properly washed. A sunscreen lotion before leaving home and a good night cream are the two things which everyone should apply to prevent ageing", she suggested.

She said generally after 30 the skin became loose, but the Indian skin started showing age early because of extreme climactic changes and the heavy, spicy and less fibrous food intake. She said one should keep the moisture level intact to avoid pigmentation, freckles, wrinkles etc.

Dr Sehgal said a lot of innovations and developments had taken place in both in cosmetology and dermatology in recent times. Nowadays, best scientific solutions were being provided to tackle various skin problems. She emphasised that natural skin-care products like honey, egg-white, besan, turmeric, papaya, tomato etc were very good for the skin. "Skin-texture can be maintained by using these products, but in case of skin problems, one has to resort to products in the form of creams and lotions suggested by good companies", she said.

She, however, warned that at times, a wrong selection of beauty products could play havoc with the skin. "One should never try the products available in the market unless they are recommended by a good beautician or dermatologist", said Dr Sehgal.

Ludhiana, December 1
The winners of different events in the 73rd Kila Raipur Sports Festival were given prizes by the Grewal Sports Association here yesterday. They were given cheques worth Rs 5 lakh at a function organised at the Guru Nanak Sports Complex. Ms Amrit Gill, SDM, Ludhiana (East), was the chief guest on the occasion.

Mr Gianinder Singh Sandhu, District Sports Officer, former international hockey player and chief organiser, Kila Raipur Sports, Sukhvir Grewal, Arjuna awardee and general secretary, Punjab Weightlifting Association, Tara Singh, Paramjit Singh Grewal, secretary, Grewal Sports Association and a number of sports promoters and officials of the Sports Department were also present.

Those who received prizes include Jalaldiwad Club and Acharwal Club (kabaddi); Raikot team and Punjab Warehousing team (loading and unloading of trolley); Harinder Singh of Jalaldiwal and Kuldeep Singh of Jhuner (bullock cart race); Jasdeep Singh (wrestling); Deepa of Bhamarsi (jockey); Saroop Singh of Pakhowal (mule cart race); Nihang Maghar Singh (feats on horse) and Ravinder Singh of Toose (tractor race).

Ludhiana, December 1
Preparations are in full swing for the 21st Mata Sahib Kaur Gold Cup Hockey Tournament and the USA Kabaddi Cup, which will be held from December 7 to 10 at Jarkhar, about 12 km from here.

Giving details of the festival, Mr Narinder Pal Singh Sidhu and Mr Dapinder Singh Dimpi, chairman and president, respectively, of the Sports Club, Jarkhar, this year's edition of the festival is dedicated to Late Manjit Singh Thind of UK and Major Singh Jarkhar.

Cash prizes will be given to the winners in different disciplines which include hockey, volleyball, basketball and kabaddi.

Olympian Surjit Singh Randhawa award will be given to Dhanraj Pillay, former captain of the national hockey team while Thakur Udhay Singh Namdhari will receive the promotor of sports Amarjit Grewal award. Bhupinder Singh Ghaloti has been chosen for the Harjit Bajakhana Kabaddi award and folk singer Inderjit Singh Nikku will be honoured for his contribution for the promotion of Punjab culture.

Noted Punjabi singer Gurdas Mann will perform on the concluding day of the festival, Mr Sidhu added.