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Capital Small Finance Bank Is 100-Strong

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Unknown to many, a largely rural bank steered by Punjab’s very own Sarvjit Singh Samra, has grown to become one of the strongest small finance banks in the country. The Capital Small Finance Bank On Wednesday achieved a new milestone by opening its 100th branch in Balachaur area of Hoshiarpur district in Punjab. Starting with a local area bank initially confined to just three districts of Punjab, and later expanding to another two, the bank was upgraded to a small finance bank in April 2016 with 47 branches at that time. Adding 53 branches, and spreading operations to Chandigarh, Panchkula and Delhi, in a challenging span of less than a year has been no mean feat. And the future plans are even more ambitious – 250 branches by the end of financial year 2020-21 and projected business of Rs.12,000 crore.

Sharing the development, an elated Sarvjit Singh Samra, Managing Director of the Jalandhar headquartered bank, told lifeinchandigarh.com that the bank now has two branches in Delhi, one in Chandigarh, one in Panchkula, besides covering entire Punjab by pioneering the concept of modern banking facilities in rural and semi-urban areas at low cost.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The geographical barriers for expansion having been removed, with the conversion of the bank to Small Finance Bank, the bank is now set to grow exponentially and spread rapidly to the rest of the country, concentrating initially on Haryana and Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), he informed.

Detailing the strengths of the bank which have contributed to its phenomenal growth, Samra said “from day one 7-day branch banking was introduced with extended banking hours. The focus on serving the common man with a personal and local touch has given the bank a competitive edge over other banks operating in the region. Within a short span, most of the branches have become market leaders of their respective centres. The Bank is providing a safe, efficient and service oriented repository of savings to the local community while reducing their dependence on moneylenders by making need based credit easily available,” he added. 

Sarvjit Singh Samra, Managing Director

Sharing some business stats, Samra said “The total business of the bank has crossed Rs. 4400 crore with more than 4.95 lakh accounts. The bank has 80% of its business in rural and semi urban areas, with priority sector lending of 84.96% of the adjusted net bank credit as on March 31, 2017. The bank is extending loans primarily to small borrowers and 53% of the total advances are up to the ticket size of Rs. 25 lakh as on March 31, 2017.

Before conversion to a small finance bank, Capital Local Area Bank was the largest bank in its category in the country. Out of the 16 years of its existence, the bank operated in three contiguous Punjab districts of Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur in the initial initial 13 years. In January 2013, the Reserve Bank of India accorded its approval for expansion in the bank’s area of operation to two more districts of Ludhiana and Amritsar.

Capital Small Finance Bank was granted scheduled status by the Reserve Bank of India vide its notification dated February 16, 2017.

Basic Sciences, Govt. & Industry Nexus Is Key To Greatness

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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Engineers and industry have over the decades developed applications which have tremendously improved the lives of the common people, but one must never forget that all these would not have been possible but for new concepts developed with the help of research in basis sciences. Countries like USA have become super powers in the 20th century purely due to the perfect sync between basic science research, the government and the industry. Now China has emerged a perfect example of an aspiring super power riding on this strong nexus. India needs to follow suit, if it is to realise its vision to be counted among the world powers. So said Prof. (Dr.) Sunil Mukhi, Chair, Physics programme, Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research, (IISER) Pune, on Monday. He was delivering a lecture on “The Social Relevance of Basic Science” on the inaugural day of the three-day Chandigarh Science Congress CHASCON-2018, organized by Panjab University, Chandigarh inrnassociation with Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Cluster (CRIKC). The topic of the Congress this year is “Exploration Of Cost Effective Technologies Through Physical And Natural Sciences”rn

Giving examples from the past of the discovery of x-ray, laser, etc which have gone a long way in positively influencing mankind in a massive way, he felt that the political leadership of the country needs to look way ahead into the future, instead of being influenced largely by short term considerations, for taking the country forward on the road to greatness.

Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

Suggesting a change in the slogan “Make In India”, coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to “Discover, Invent & Make In India”, Prof. Mukhi strongly advocated established researchers involving the science students at the undergraduate level in their research projects and gave a few examples of path-breaking successes achieved within the country due to such team work.

Replying to a question regarding brain drain, he said his personal experience was that a lot of Indian origin scholars who had done wonderfully well in some of the advanced country were keen on returning to the country and contributing their bit. “Many have already returned. But the problem is that they need an enabling environment to begin afresh. It is for the government, universities, research institutions and the industry to timely back them up with resources for undertaking meaningful research and innovations, well before they start regretting their decision to relocate,” he added.

 Dr. M.K. Verma, Principal Scientist, Union Ministry of Agriculture, in his lecture on “Role of Fruits and Vegetables in Sustaining Health and Nutritional Security” felt that the country had done remarkably well in increasing horticultural produce to become the second largest producer in the world. A healthy mix and fruits and vegetables could help go a long way in drastically reducing the alarmingly high incidence of child deaths in the country due to under nourishment. Figures show that 3,000 children, 79 percent under 5 years of age, die every day in the country, he added.

Earlier, in his keynote address, Dr. Manjit Singh, Director Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL) while expressing concern over the massive depletion due to overexploitation of fossil fuels generated by Nature over millions of years, felt that the country should focus on developing sustainable technologies to stop further degradation of the Earth.

During his lecture he gave the examples of the newest technologies developed by some of the National institutes for effective solid and bio waste management. He said that the Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar had developed the Plasma Pyrolysis Technology, which was capable of decomposing any type of waste irrespective of its chemical composition using extremely high temperatures to vaporise it into gases which could further be utilised to generate energy.

The Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO)’s Bio-digester technology had also proved very successful in tackling bio waste in high altitude climates in Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, etc. It had also been adopted by the Railways in its bio toilets and by the Lakshadweep administration, Dr. Manjit Singh added.

Prof. Arun K. Grover, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University, in his address
informed that recently Department of Science and Technology, Government of India had
asked CRIKC to expand its reach and assume the role of cluster for the entire North Western Region. The need of the hour is that there should be a societal benefit of the
scientific research and this can emerge only if industry-academia interaction is
improved, he added. 

Gangsters Inspire Cops To Go Online, Ride Social Media Wave

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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0

The Punjab Police appears to be slowly getting there. At least they have woken up to the existence, and importance of internet, and the various social media platforms. Thanks for this realisation should largely go to the gangsters, the stepped up activities of whom in the past couple of years have been giving the ageing top brass of the police sleepless nights. Still, the not so IT savvy police brass took far too long to realise that they had given these gangsters a free run on the social media, which they exploited to the hilt to propagate their terror agenda.

The police brass on Monday made Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh to launch two initiatives – one aimed at bringing all crime data online real time for better tabulation, correlation and analysis of crime, and the other for establishing an interface with the public through social media.


Photo By : Life In Chandigarh

The first phase of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) project for tracking of crimes and criminals provides for giving access to the database to officials at the police station level or at the higher supervisory level for searches, queries for any crime or criminal or for linking crime with criminal, and vice versa. Crime trends can be analysed and counter strategies can be evolved. Supervisory officers can monitor cases registered, progress of investigation and prosecution.

Going forward tablets are planned to be given to all field officers to enable data entry from anywhere, particularly from field locations. Development of mobile and web-based Apps for investigating officers and supervisory officers is also high on the agenda, said a press release.

The CCTN `Go-Live’ roll-out has set the stage for the state to go paperless in terms of FIRs and General Diaries, which will now be updated online by the police officials. Already, 13 years’ date (FIRs and General Diaries) have been digitized as part of this project.

However, time will tell how quickly the police officials at all levels are able to master the technologies. Most ‘thana’ level officials, not familiar with electronic devices other than their mobile phones, have a struggle on hand trying to understand the softwares, which themselves can be expected to hit several glitches as the usage and traffic increases.

At the same time, the Facebook page of Punjab Police (www.facebook.com/PunjabPoliceIndia), its Twitter account   (www.twitter.com/PunjabPolice) as well as the Twitter account of the DGP and YouTube channel of Punjab Police also went live.

Through its social media campaign, the police feels, it can bridge the gap between the police and the citizens, and tackling the abuse of social media by gangsters and criminals. The social media accounts will provide an effective forum for information dissemination, feedback and complaint channelling, the release added.

Punjab Police Chief Suresh Arora, DGP (IT&T) V.K. Bhawra, DGP (Intelligence) Dinkar Gupta, DGP (Law and Order) Hardeep Dhillon, IG (Provisioning) Gurpreet Deo, IG (Crime) Inderbir Singh, IGP (IT&T) S.K. Asthana, IG (NRI Cell) Ishwar Chander were among those present at the launch.

The Shehanshah Of Microbreweries Is Here

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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0

The partygoers in the tri-city are getting hooked to fresh beer, and microbreweries are opening up on the trot to fill up the supply deficit. After a slew of launches in the tri-city in the last few months here comes what is billed as the ‘shehanshah’ of all. Touted as the largest theme based microbrewery, ‘Boathouse’, inspired by the European concept of boats docked for a riverside party, as in Venice and Amsterdam, has swung its doors open at the Elante Mall. The 13,000 sq ft expanse spread over two floors is the brainchild of a hospitality biggie of the region Sandeep Sharma (of Food Craft fame), his wife Seema and his 21 years old son Shubham, just out of business school.

Invited for a media preview on Friday, our eyes gorged on the uniqueness of the ambience. The interiors are articulate and the entire space is in a Marine theme with boats, ropes, paddles and fishing nets making up the décor. Blue hues of waterways are the inspiration for the glass mosaic terrazzo floor recreated on the ground floor with a mix of boathouse loungers and dining tables. Free form solid wood community tables complete the bar zone which houses the fermentation and beer storage tanks.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

The first floor accommodates The Brew House along with live kitchens cooking up an array of beers and foods from across the renowned brewing cities of the world. It houses two private Cabanas for large gatherings. The amphitheatre styled casual seating with a convertible dance floor provides an ideal setting to shake a leg while enjoying your favourite craft brew. Live DJ on Wednesdays and weekends and a range of other fun activities beckons a free flowing visitor. 

The Sharma family is gung ho about their first large format food and beverages outlet. “Being in an upscale catering business for so long gives us a deep insight into the business of taste, quality and service. Some of the cuisines we are bringing on the palette from the world over you won’t find anywhere in this region. Plus an extraordinary variety of seven of the top European fresh beers will just tip the scales in our favour.”

Sandeep Bhatnagar and Vikas Chandra, who have been in the business of spirits for long, and who are guiding the Boathouse in brewing fresh beers, told lifeinchandigarh.com that some of the beers to be offered to guest at the microbrewery from February end have never been served anywhere in the country.

Spelling out the beers to be on offer, the consultant duo said there will be German Hefeweizen, Belgian wheat beer, Raddler, Indian Pale Ale (IPA), Apple Cidar, Munich Lager and Irish Whiskey Scout.

Shubham gushed with excitement when he shared, “While the microbrewery promises zest and rejuvenation with chilling beer experiences from the map of the world, Boathouse will also be a treat for the tea and coffee lovers. With Boathouse, an array of coffees have been introduced to the region including Kona coffee, Vietnamese coffee, and Turkish coffee.  Other recipes like Malay Laksa soup, Bibimbap, Swiss-style Cheese Fondue, Som Tam Salad and Beer, Chocolate and Gulab Jamun cake will add the zeal to a visitor’s scrumptious gourmet meal. The microbrewery also incorporates a Live Sushi Bar.”

Sandeep and Seema said, “We were lucky to find everything related to the theme of Boathouse during a shopping trip to Thailand. Whatever you see in the interiors, crockery and cutlery have all come from there. So we have all cutlery which is titanium coated, there are pure bamboo glasses, theme based plates, all very unique to this region.”

As the stewards served us the best specialties of Boathouse dressed as sailors, Sandeep Sharma introduced us to Duttmaddy, who has been drafted in as the master chef. Duttmaddy, who brings his rich experience of working in luxury properties of Marriott Group in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, informed us that the microbrewery’s signature meal dish is ‘Bibimbap’, which literally means mixed rice. It’s a Korean rice bowl dish mixed with vegetables or lamb and Asian spices. Visitors have a choice between veg, chicken or lamb.

Among the bar bites, there is Swiss-style Cheese Fondue, a traditional Swiss fondue made with cheese and white wine and spiked with kirsch, giving it a toasty alpine flavor.   The Malay Laksa Soup is a rich Peranakan spicy curry soup with rice noodles, mint, kaffir lime leaves, chilli soya, fried garlic, fresh cilantro, crushed peanuts and a lemon wedge. There is a choice between veg, chicken or prawn.

The experience of devouring a rich and unheard of Beer, Chocolate and Gulab Jamun cake slice and savouring a Kona coffee being brewed right before your eyes and getting a whiff of its enticing aroma were worth cherishing for a lifetime.

Poster Says It All

A poster hanging from one of the walls at Boathouse says a lot for the free spirited experience :

ROW, ROW, ROW
YOUR BOAT
GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM
MERRILY, MERRILY,
MERRILY, MERRILY.
LIFE IS
BUT A DREAM !!

Valentine Week Special

With the approaching Valentine Day starting to take hold of the fun loving crowd, Boathouse has a Valentine Week Special offer going for its guests from February 10-14 with all days’ complimentary cocktails for ladies and straightaway 50% off for first five tables. Also avail complimentary valet parking from the nearest Elante gate (No. 3) till the end of March.

So, hop on to the boat for the best brews and bites. Expresses yourself the romantic way!

Reservations : 7087003028

Fortis Mohali Becomes 4th Center In Country To Perform Advanced Transplant

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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0

Right from delivering of babies to other minor and major surgeries, modern day patients have started expecting quick fix, near bloodless and painless minimal incisions. And robotic surgery is ensuring just that even in the most complex cases. Now comes advanced robotic kidney transplant, which till now is being done by a handful of centers across the country. The first successful robotic kidney transplantation was performed by doctors at Fortis Hospital Mohali recently, making it only the fourth center in India to achieve the feat.

The surgery was done on 46 years old Ghanshyam from Shimla, who is up and about and back home with a normal functioning kidney within three days of such a major operation, says Dr. Priyadarshi Ranjan, Chief of the Robotic Urology and Kidney transplant services at the hospital. Ghanshyam’s donor was his own younger brother.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Elaborating on the benefits of the robotic procedure, Dr Ranjan told Lifeinchandigarh.com that this transplant technique requires just a 4-5 centimetres incision (as against 25 cms in traditional transplants). Hence, blood loss is minimal and pain is significantly less. Patients are usually up and about a few hours after the surgery and start taking oral diet a day after the procedure, he added.

Recipient Ghanshyam’s wife Asha is happy that the family opted for robotic kidney transplantation, instead of the traditional technique. “After the surgery, my husband appears fitter than his donor younger brother,” she said cheerfully.

“I am grateful to the patient and his family for having faith in me and gave me the consent to go ahead with this new technique of kidney transplant”, said Dr Ranjan, who led the team of doctors. He has also introduced robotic kidney cancer surgeries at Fortis. 

The well known doctor shared that the traditional technique of kidney transplant had remained largely unchanged for the past 60 years and was predominantly done by the non-urologists. But ever since urologists have taken over kidney transplantation, the advanced techniques had touched newer milestones. “The robotic kidney transplantation technique was introduced a couple of years back by American urologists at the Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, and since then  urosurgeons across the globe are increasingly adopting this technique,” he added. 

Award Winning St Johns Teams Retu As Eco Leaders & Activists

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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0

The youth are not only aware as never before about the dangerous consequences of global warming and climate change, but also want to be the harbingers of change for a better environment and better world. And helping and empowering them in this endeavour is the Singapore based Hemipheres Foundation. Members of a junior and senior team from the city’s own St John’s School who recently participated in a Global Youth Summit organised by the foundation in Singapore, and have returned with a winner and second runners up trophy, respectively for their project presentations, are elated over their extraordinary experience. St. John’s was the only Indian school invited to this year’s summit which had ‘Young Environmentalists Making Change’ as its theme.

The junior team, comprising Yajan, Chaitanya, Bhavin, Zoravar and Digvijaye of classes 7 to 9, won the first prize in a field of 17 teams from over a dozen countries, mostly Asian, for their project ‘Plastrics’ which entailed making bricks from soft plastic used in wrappings of candies and chips, etc. The senior team of Livkirat, Akshit, Jaskaran and Rehmat of classes 9 t to 11 won the third prize in their category for their project “No Stubble, No Trouble’. Their concept revolved around making bricks from stubble, which is burnt by farmers causing massive pollution.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Giving a brief presentation of their award-winning projects at the summit to invited media persons, in the presence of their guiding teachers and the school principal, the team members in the age group 12-15 years said both the projects were inspired by the idea of providing inexpensive bricks for constructing houses for the economically disadvantaged population. Students from the school are deeply involved with 300 odd friends from the economically disadvantaged sections as part of their social outreach programme.

Encouraged by the recognition of their efforts at the summit, held in Singapore from January 18 to 20, the members of the two teams have expressed their firm commitment to take their concepts to their logical conclusion by working hard to convert their thoughts into technically viable and low cost solutions for housing requirements of the people from economically disadvantaged sections of society. That, however, will have to wait till their final examinations are over by March-end.

Principal Kavita Das and teacher guides and mentors Neeru Sood Abrol and Michaelangelo expressed confidence that the members of the two teams with support from other students, including the school’s eco club, and old boys of the school, will prove their worth. The two teams have been invited again by the foundation to present their final products in the next World Youth Summit in 2019.

Hemispheres Foundation

The Singapore based Hemispheres Foundation, inspired by its passion for nature and community involvement, has been organising Nature conservation and Environmental education programmes for schools, engaging students on environmental issues and climate change since 2000. The Global Youth Summit, held twice a year – in winters and summers – was first held in 2014 which witnessed participation from 13 countries.

The summit is aimed at developing environmental leadership and activism among the youth. The participants, aged 12 to 21 years old, during the summit lea about successful sustainable initiatives in Singapore city-state, as well as other solutions they can implement back in their home countries. It also focuses on enabling the budding environmentalists to develop waste reduction solutions of their own.

The foundation feels that the world is facing serious problems with our natural environment and these problems need to be addressed now. Solving air and water pollution problems, as well as managing waste requires commitment, not only from our leaders, researchers and the industries, but also from the community.

Savour The Desert Flavours At WelcomHotel Bella Vista

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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0

Any talk of Rajasthan is sure to conjure up thoughts of the famed Marwari culture, the flavour of the arid land and the aan, baan and shaan of the Rajputi Maharajas and Maharanis. But you will be doing injustice to India’s North Western border state if you do not include its cuisine, characterised by liberal use to ghee and rich spices and flavour.

So when an invitation came for a preview of “Rangeelo Rajasthan”, a festival of authentic cuisine from an essentially desert land, which began at WelcomHotel Bella Vista in Panchkula on Friday, we couldn’t hold ourselves back. The festival continues till February 11.

Photos By : Life In Chandigarh

Chef Hanuman Pratap Singh, who has been invited from WelcomHotel Jodhpur to lay out the authentic Rajasthani platter for the Bella Vista guests, gave us a live demonstration of preparing two very popular Rajasthani dishes – the Ker Sangri, a tangy vegetable dish that is a must on every Marwari wedding menu, and a mouth-watering fish curry Rai Ki Macchi. 

Spelling out the rich fare laid out for guests during the week, Duddi Reny Manohar, Executive Chef, and Vivek Khanna, General Manager, WelcomHotel Bella Vista, said the menu has been crafted by Chef Hanuman and his team taking pains to strike a balance between veg and non-veg food enthusiasts.

 

The vegetarian starters include Moong Dal Kebab, Sangri Ke Kabab and Paneer Ke Sooley among others, whereas the menu for non-vegetarian starters includes Rai Ki Macchi, Charkha Murgh and Maas Ke Sooley.

 

The main course of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian menu is a big draw. From Macchi Ramgadi, Murgh Ki Mokal to Laal Maas and Safed Maas, everything has been included in the non vegetarian menu. The vegetarian main course has attractions like Paneer Methi Dana, Chakki Ka Saag, Ker Sangri Achari, Tripolia Subzi and more.

 

The Rajasthani food experience will be incomplete without the world famous desserts – Churma, Misri Mawa, Rajbhog, Malai Ghev and Malpua.

 

The breads include Bejadki Roti and Methi Ki Roti. Some other famous dishes of Rajasthan like Bati Dal, Moong Mogar Jaipuri and Gatta Pulao complete the menu.

 

Vivek Khanna promises that this is just the beginning. “As part of our plans we want to bring authentic cuisines from across India for our guests. We recently held a Kashmiri Food Festival and after this Rajasthani Food Festival we have lined up an Exotic Sizzler Extravaganza, a Gelato Festival and a Wine Festival."

So, savour the desert flavours at ‘Rangeelo Rajasthan’, WelcomHotel Bella Vista !! On till February 11. 

Swanky, But Affordable Infosys Foundation Red Cross Sarai Has 300 Dormitory, Private Room Beds

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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0

For Rs 100 per person per day a patient or attendant gets a dormitory bed in the swank new 300-bedded sarai (rest house) inaugurated at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI, for short) Chandigarh by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday. All thanks to the Infosys Foundation chaired by Sudha Murthy, which took on itself the task of mitigating the suffering of the multitudes who visit the prestigious health institute from far and near and find it difficult to secure affordable accommodation to stay. The Infosys Foundation Red Cross Sarai with all modern amenities has come up in a remarkably short time of just over a year. Its foundation stone was also laid by Rajnath Singh in September 2016.

The land was made available by PGI to the Red Cross Society Chandigarh which in turn signed a MoU with Infosys Foundation to construct the multi-storeyed building. The foundation contributed Rs 22 crore for the project. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has also chipped in by providing beds, linen and other items.

Photos By : Life in Chandigarh

Sudha Murthy, who conceived the sarai, was at hand to see the fructification of the joint effort. She told media persons, “During my last visit to Chandigarh it came to my knowledge that because of PGI’s reputation as a premier health institution in the region, patients and their attendants in the hundreds and thousands from across the region visit the hospital every day to get medical treatment. I was also told that there is a terrible shortage of affordable accommodation for stay during treatment. That’s how we decided to contribute our bit to mitigate their suffering and the idea of a sarai germinated.”

She informed that “Besides other philanthropic indulgences, the Infosys Foundation has helped raise sarais in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Orissa as well.” On being asked whether the foundation will consider expanding its operations in this region, she said “we will see how this project goes, and depending on its outcome we will take a call.”

The sarai has 300 beds in 36 dormitories and 13 private rooms. A private room will cost a nominal Rs 500 per day. An entire floor has been reserved for women, considering their special needs. The building is serviced by VRV-based multi-split type air conditioning with facility of both cooling and heating.

Other features

·        Backup examination room on each floor for emergencies

·        Lifts & ramps

·        Common areas, including 75-seater cafeteria, waiting hall and reception, administrative office, stores, service areas, etc.

·        Extremely advanced and dependable electrical distribution system designed with highest safety standards

·        Fitted with modern energy saving and energy efficient equipments.

·        20KVA solar photovoltaic plant

·        24X7 hot water supply; generator backup

·        CCTVs, fire extinguishers, etc.

·        Large open area around building for patients to stretch & relax

·        Parking

·        Facilities like ATM, food outlets to be added.

Admn Block & Audi in General Hospital

 

The Union Home Minister later inaugurated an Administrative Block in Government Multi-speciality Hospital (GMSH) Sector 16 built at a cost of Rs. 12 crore and covering an area of 54,537 sq.ft. with five floors and a basement. An Auditorium built on an area of 10,510 sq.ft. at a cost of Rs. 4.50 crore was also inaugurated. The double storey Auditorium consists of an administrative office, library, foyer and green rooms.

 

In a meeting with senior officials of the UT Administration at UT Guest House, Rajnath Singh was given a presentation on the union territory’s achievements.

 

After a luncheon meeting with Punjab Governor and UT Administrator VP Singh Badnore and Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh, the Union Minister spared a few minutes to be with members of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

One Lakh Bikes For Amit Shah Rally at Jind On Feb 15

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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0

In a massive show of strength, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana is mobilising 1,00,000-plus motorcycles from across the state, one of the largest ever convergence of motorcycles at any one place, for the February 15 motor cycle rally at Jind, from where party’s National president Amit Shah will kick start the party’s campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in the state.

Spelling out the plan for the February 15 rally, state party president Subhash Barala said a minimum of five motorcycles from each poll booth in all the 22 districts of the state are being mobilised for the motorcycle rally. Amit Shah, Chief Minister Manohar Lal, his cabinet colleagues, Barala himself and all other party officer bearers will also participate in the rally on motorcycles.

 

Photos By : Life in Chandigarh

“I will be riding a motorcycle to Jind from my constituency Tohana. Similarly the other party leaders, including members of the council of ministers, will ride motorcycles from their respective constituencies or a considerable distance to the venue. All riders are being asked to wear helmets, follow traffic rules and maintain ‘swachchta’ during the motorcycle rally,” Barala said.

To a question why motorcycle rally was chosen for the occasion, he said riding motorcycles would infuse fresh blood among the party cadres, especially the youth, and they will work with renewed vigour for the success of the party in the 2019 elections.

Barala said the February 15 motorcycle rally in Haryana will be a very big event in preparation for Mission 2019 of the party and massive mobilisation is underway at all levels to make it a grand success.

Dismissing the suggestion that a cabinet reshuffle in Haryana may be in the offing after the motorcycle rally, he asserted that through any change in the council of ministers was the prerogative of the Chief Minister, “as on today, this issue has not been discussed at any level either in the government or the party.”       

 Party insiders feel that the scale of the motorcycle rally is aimed at taking the wind out of the sails of the Congress rallies being separately led by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda (rath yatra) and state party chief Ashok Tanwar (bicycle rallies).     

 

 

Living Life King Size In Signature Jack Nicklaus Golf Course

By
Sanjeev Kochhar
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0

Imagine a golf lover or enthusiast living in the midst of a world class golf course, in signature Jack Nicklaus style, right here in Punjab’s richie rich town, Ludhiana. Most would say it is unbelievable, but The Imperial Golf Estate at Mullanpur Dakha, near Ludhiana, has made it possible.

The beautifully laid out 9-hole championship golf course, conceptualised by world renowned Nicklaus Design, and spread over 70 acres, is part of the first phase of the 300-acre gated golfing township. The golf course is planned to be expanded to 18-hole under the second phase of the project. This is only the fourth signature Jack Nicklaus golf course in the country after Gurgaon, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. Jack William Nicklaus, a retired American professional golfer, is widely regarding as the greatest golfer of all times.

Photos By: Life in Chandigarh

“The 9-hole golf course in all its pristine glory is fully functional, as is the club house spread over 10 acres complete with golf carts and modern clubbing amenities.  We have already sold 70 percent of the stock of 600 residential units in the first phase of the project – 1000 sq yard and 2000 sq yards plots for constructing villas and 1600 sq ft built-up suites. Out of the 200 units offered for possession, 100 buyers have already taken charge of their units,” claimed Ravi Khanna, Director, The Imperial Golf Estate, Ludhiana, while interacting with media persons in Chandigarh, on Thursday.

“We are here to invite the famed golfing community of the tri-city to get a feel of our 9-hole golf course. We are organizing a one-day tournament on January 28 essentially for junior golfers from the region as per IGU guidelines in association with The British School Golf Academy and Indo Canadian Golf Association. Mr Manjit Singh Kochar, Golf Instructor, Chandigarh Golf Club, is helping us conduct this tournament. There is no participation fee and the top three finishers in each category will be awarded trophies. All participants will be presented certificates,” Khanna added.

Giving details of the tournament, Kochar said juniors will participate in five different age categories – below 8 years, 8-9 years, 10-12 years, 13-15 years and 15-18 years. There will also be one category for senior golfers.

John Volz, a golf professional from USA and Head, Golfing Operations, at The Imperial Golf Estate, expressed confidence that the tri-city golfers, as also from other parts of Punjab and the region will participate in large numbers in the tournament. “We promise that you will carry home wonderful memories of an unmatched golf course in the region.”

(For participation, Manjit Kochar can be reached on 98155-54788).

Col (retd) CJ Pal, Project Head, described The Imperial Golf Estate, Ludhiana as a wonderful lifestyle statement with ultra modern amenities. “An extraordinary spend of Rs 66 lakhs per acre on development alone,” which he claimed was four times more than what a well known developer would normally spend, “has ensured a world class golf course and real estate. We are planting 8 lakh trees and bushes in the property out of which 50 percent have already taken roots.”

Giving commercial details, Sumit Kumar, Marketing Head, said plots in the The Imperial Golf Estate, Ludhiana, were being sold @ 90,000 per square yard and the 1600 sq ft suites had a price tag of Rs 80 lakh each.

Mona Sethi, Chairperson, The British School Golf Academy, Chandigarh, was also present at the press meet.

For more details : http://www.imperialgolfestate.com/index.html

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