A man in his 30s bent down to ignite a high decibel cracker a second time, apparently thinking that he had failed in his first attempt, but it blew up in his face, completely destroying his left eye – a colossal loss! He is among eight critical cases of eye injuries reporting to the Advanced Eye Centre at the PGI Chandigarh on Diwali night. Chances of others regaining their normal vision are slim.
The severe restrictions imposed by the courts for this year’s Diwali celebrations do not appear to have led to any reduction in the cases of eye injuries as revellers apparently rushed though in trying to finish off their quota of crackers within the mandated two hours.
Photo By : Life In Chandigarh
Briefing media persons about the Diwali related eye injury cases this year, Dr. MR Dogra, professor and head, Department of Ophthalmology, PGI, informed that in all 26 cases of eye injuries were presented to the emergency services at the Advanced Eye Centre of PGI on Diwali day, while one case reported a day before Diwali. Out of the 27 cases, 11 were actually lighting crackers, while the rest 16 were either bystanders or passersby.
Most of these patients (17) were from the tricity and its adjoining areas, while the remaining 10 were from the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. As many as 20 victims were males and seven females. Eleven of them were below the age of 16. The youngest was a two-year-old boy, who was enjoying the bursting of crackers from the sidelines.
Prof Dogra said out of the 12 patients who underwent surgery on Wednesday night itself, eight had critical injuries, threatening permanent loss of sight from the injured eye. The man in his 30s whose left eye was blown off was from the peripheral area of the tricity of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula and did not want to be identified, he added.
Informing that apart from the 27 cases, four more cases from neighbouring states had reported to the Advanced Eye Centre on Thursday, a day after Diwali, he said it is usual for Diwali related eye injury cases to keep reporting to the PGI from other states till a few days after the festival of lights. “Medical college hospitals and district hospitals in these states do attend to serious cases, providing them preliminary treatment, but in case of complications which are beyond their expertise, they do refer such cases to the PGI, he explained.
Comparing this year’s injuries reporting to the PGI this year with last year, he observed there was no real difference. Last year 28 cases were reported, out of which 21 were males and 14 of them were below the age of 16 years. The only difference was that compared to only one case reporting before Diwali this year, last year there were more cases. Measures to enforce pre-Diwali restrictions regarding bursting of crackers appears to have worked this year, he added.
A write-up of the brand shared with media persons says, “The store houses an enthralling range of fine jewellery catering to varied tastes. Elegantly designed, Being Human Jewellery offers light-weight collections in plain gold, diamonds and coloured stone pieces. The designs are classic, stylish and affordable, catering to every woman’s taste in fine jewellery.” 
A video recording of Salman’s message for the occasion, was also played out on screen in which the star said though he could not be present, despite wanting to, “It feels great that we are taking our next step of expansion with Being Human Jewellery’s first franchise store in Chandigarh! The people of Chandigarh have always given me a lot of love, and I hope we continue to receive it.”
Speaking to lifeinchandigarh.com, Prasad Kapre, CEO and Director, Style Quotient Jewellery Pvt Ltd, the world licensee of the Being Human Jewellery brand, shared that the launch of the brand was sparked by the tremendous popularity of the pendant worn by Salman in the super hit movie ‘Bajrangi Bhai Jaan’. “I had designed the pendant, and when we received a tremendous response for it after the movie, we discussed how to capitalise on it. Thus the seed was sown for launching a jewellery brand in the name of Salman’s foundation, Being Human.”
There will be 170 odd stalls with artisans from nearly all states exhibiting their products. A dozen stalls have been earmarked for the Chandigarh Administration. A special stall will be dedicated to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi to commemorate his 150th birth anniversary. The stall will showcase some rare pictures from the Mahatma’s life, the freedom struggle and other aspects of his journey.
Among the bands and individual artists performing at the cultural evenings will be the famous Bhopal based Sanskrit band ‘Dhruvaa’, which performs to laser lights, the all woman folk band Lasya wow womania, Gurdas Mann’s protégé Lal Chand Lala, Hans Raj Hans, Satinder Sartaj, Jazzy B, Lakhwinder Wadali, B Paraak, Sonu Virk, Kulwinder Billa, Ranjit Bawa, Anadi Misra and Manjeet Nikki.
Replying to a question, Jitender Yadav informed that a detailed project report has been sent to the Union Ministry of Culture to spruce up the Kalagram grounds by laying more tracks and increasing the greenery for a more enjoyable experience for visitors in the future. To this Saubhagya Sharma added that more mega events are being planned to be included in the existing calendar of events at Kalagram with a motive to keep it in a high state of upkeep and maintenance throughout the year and generate more revenues. There is also a plan to revamp the sculpture park at Kalagram to attract more visitors. 
He adds, “We would like to be a testimony of transformation in terms of festivals in the country. We have a variety of festivals, but there is none in the wellness space which holistically combines wellness with adventure and music. The Forest Escape Festival will fill that void. It’ll be one grand festival in the lap of Mother Nature.”
For the first time in the country, a festival is putting together an organic flea market that will offer authentic organic food products, recycled merchandises and clothes to its attendees. 
Considering the region’s penchant for good food, Starbucks is introducing two new food additions to its existing beverage menu to celebrate the flavours of the Chandigarh region. The Chicken Makhani Croissant Bun is a butterfly croissant bun layered with chicken and onions, perfected with makhani sauce and pickled mayo. For the vegans, there is Chole Masala Tortilla Wrap, which has chole wrapped in a tortilla with onions, jalapenos and spinach. The wrap is complimented with green chutney and mango murabba.
Commenting on the choice of Chandigarh, Ghosh said, “We are extremely excited to be in Chandigarh, which is the first non-metro city we have touched so far. The decision to come to the city was taken after receiving persistent feedback from customers belonging here at Starbucks stores in other cities that they sorely missed the coffee chain in their city. And, this is definitely not going to be the only outlet in Chandigarh. We will have many more as we go along.”
.jpg)
.jpg)
Advocating that scientists need to generate ground level data with the help of organisations and individuals who work with communities, he said this was necessary to be able to identify and quickly tackle new viruses and new strains of old viruses which are posing new challenge before the scientific community. These grass root level operatives also need to be empowered, along with the communities in which they are working, for optimising outcomes of new initiatives, he opined. 
