Jail food with astro flavour

Patiala: Jail Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who inaugurated a canteen-cum-cafeteria at the Central Jail here last week, said local residents could finally keep unfavourable stars at bay by buying and partaking of jail food. He was referring to the astrological belief that having prison meals wards off Shani, a deity known for bringing bad luck. A senior jail officer present at the spot said even the department staff needed this food. “Usually, journalists keep an evil eye on our department. Rarely are we in the news for the right reasons,” he quipped, leaving everyone, including mediapersons, amused. The cafe, to be supervised by the prison staff, will offer lassi, samosas, sweets, Verka and Markfed products, besides a vegetarian thali costing Rs 90. The food prepared by the inmates will also be available for outsiders.

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When Sidhu shared space with Bush

Gurdaspur: On reading the headline, ‘Spotlight on Sidhu, Imran’, former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu recalled a somewhat similar one that appeared in an Australian newspaper 26 years ago. In 1992, the BCCI sent Sidhu to Australia to join the beleaguered Indian cricket team led by Mohammad Azharuddin. Down 0-2 after two Tests, the Indians were desperate to save the five-match series. The day Sidhu landed in Sydney, ahead of the third Test, US President George Bush, too, arrived there. A newspaper carried the lead, ‘Spotlight on Sidhu, Bush’. It was a proud moment for the cricketer as he shared space with the “most powerful man on earth”. Sidhu was quick to collect a copy of the newspaper. It is one of his prized possessions at his Patiala house.

‘Thali khadkao’ din to reach CM

Abohar: An album with footage of protests organised across the state under the Thali Khadkao Andolan will be presented soon to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. This was announced by former MLA Tarsem Jodha at a rally here on Saturday, attended by hundreds of differently abled persons, MGNREGA and construction workers. Jodha accused the state and Central governments of making false promises in their manifestos and ignoring the rights of the disabled, mentally challenged, widows and senior citizens. “We have asked people to join our agitation by beating ‘thalis’. We will not cause inconvenience to the common man by blocking roads or taking other such steps,” he added.

A smooth ride on US-like highway

Bathinda: On his maiden visit to the city after taking over as the state BJP chief, Shwait Malik showered praise on the previous SAD-BJP government while comparing the Amritsar-Bathinda highway with roads in the US. “I had thought I would reach Bathinda in four hours, but it took me just half the time. I felt I was travelling in America,” he said. He also lauded former CM Parkash Singh Badal for giving a facelift to Bathinda. Cursing the Congress government for its “lack of vision” for the state, he took potshots at the SAD patriarch’s estranged nephew, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal. “He is known for shutting various facilities, be it thermal plants, government schools or sewa kendras,” Malik said.

DC breaks language barrier

Muktsar: MK Aravind Kumar, an IAS officer hailing from Tamil Nadu, was posted here recently as Deputy Commissioner. He barely understands the Punjabi language and speaks mostly in Hindi or English, but when a village resident visits his office, he asks the person to speak in Punjabi. He initiates the conversation by saying, “Tussi Punjabi vich dass deyo,” making the villagers feel at ease. No wonder they are a relieved lot. “Saanu ta lagda si daftar vich hun Hindi hi bolni paini hai (we had thought that now we would have to speak in Hindi in the DC’s office),” they say.

All’s well with Punjab, say UK youths

Fatehgarh Sahib: A group of Punjab-origin youths from the UK, who are touring the state under the ‘Connect with Your Roots’ programme, said they found Punjab quite different from what they had read and heard about it. Rejecting the notion that drug abuse was rampant among the youths of the state, the visitors said they had not come across even one such instance during their interaction with university and college students, professors and other local residents. Criticising the organisers of Referendum 2020, they termed the state an ocean of tranquillity.

Aman Sood, Ravi Dhaliwal, Raj Sadosh, Perneet Singh, Archit Watts and Surinder Bhardwaj