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Sidhu Orders Illegal Cable Networks Dismantled Fastway may be target

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Sidhu Orders Illegal Cable Networks Dismantled Fastway may be target
The private war between Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and former Punjab deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and flamboyant Punjab Local Bodies Minister and former India cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu is threatening to spill on to the roads.
The ruckus and bad-mouthing inside and outside the Punjab Legislative Assembly during its last session, in which arch rivals, and the principal opposition parties, SAD and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), appeared to have been working in cohoots, has in a sense added fuel to the fire.
Navjot Singh Sidhu
Photos By: Life In Chandigarh
Unexpectedly finding itself on the back foot within three months of its government taking over reins of the state, which should normally have been taken for granted as a honeymoon period by any government, the ruling Congress is apparently learning the hard way and going back to the basics – attack is the best form of defence.
Navjot Singh Sidhu may already have fired the first salvo. Apparently targeting the monopoly in Punjab of Fastway cable network, considered Sukhbir’s baby, Sidhu on Saturday cracked the whip, directing municipal authorities across the state to go flat out against illegal use of municipal properties by cable network operators for laying of cables and put a stop to it immediately. Uprooting of illegal cable infrastructure on a massive scale in the coming days cannot be ruled out following the order.
Sukhbir Singh Badal
In a statement released to the media, the minister said directions have been issued to the Commissioners of all Municipal Corporations, Executive Officers of the Municipal Councils/Nagar Panchayats and the Regional Deputy Directors of Urban Local Bodies to ensure that the rule of law is followed by all intending to make use of municipal property. Setting a sharp deadline, he has directed all these authorities to report such misuse, and action taken, by June 27.
Sidhu informed that it was brought to his notice in the Vidhan Sabha on Friday, that the cable network operators damaged municipal infrastructure like  roads/streets/water supply/sewerage networks in their digging work for laying of underground cables. Anybody intending to use municipal property is required to take permission from the Municipal Corporation/Council/Nagar Panchayats and the concerned urban local bodies are required to charge fees for according such permissions, he said.
Sidhu has instructed all municipal authorities to verify if cable network operators within their respective jurisdictions had obtained required permissions and send copies of applications submitted by the operator and copy of permission granted along with proof of charges paid, if any, by June 27.
He has also make it clear to all municipal authorities that in case requisite permissions have not been taken or charges not deposited, then necessary action as per the municipal acts must be taken and a report sent by June 27.
Sidhu said he had also written to the Power, Irrigation, Information and Public Relations and Excise & Taxation Departments to initiate necessary action in this regard against cable network operators.
On Friday, to a question tendered in the Vidhan Sabha by MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, the minister in his reply had said that a probe into the cable network business had brought to light an unholy nexus which resulted in the loss to the tune of Rs. 500 crore to the state exchequer. He had named Fastway as a leading player in this business.

Lets Explore Our Wild Side!!

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Lets Explore Our Wild Side!!

Drive a normal 4X4 SUV & and have a passion for adventure !! Here’s an opportunity very close to your city to get your adrenaline running. The Punjab Tourism and Forests Departments in association with Gerrari

Monsoons are round the corner and the foothills of the Shivalik range will be all slush and mud – ideal conditions for an offroading event, even for the uninitiated.

The two-day event to be organised on July 8 and 9, is an attempt by the state tourism and forest departments to traverse the adventurous track to promote eco-adventure tourism.

Photo Credits : Timeline Photos

During the two-day event, in which a max of 50 SUVs can be accommodated, the vehicles will be moving in a convoy, so even the uninitiated can participate. The participants are expected to cover a distance of between 6 and 10 kms per day, which is expected to consume most part of the day, considering the undulating terrain which makes progress slow, says Anant Sarkaria, who is helping organise the event.

The participation fee is very nominal, Rs 2500 for each vehicle comprising a driver and co-driver. Every extra guest in the team will be charged Rs 1,000. Besides an opportunity to participate in the event, the fee includes all three meals on both days and night’s stay on July 8.

Though the event is being organised to create excitement over offroading adventure activity, the long term goal is to bring a world class offroading event to the region on the lines of the gruelling Rain Forest Challenge held in Goa.

The participants can expect to negotiate through slush, mud, steep climbs and inclines. The hard core among the participants could even get an opportunity to cross over boulders and rocks.

The scrutiny / briefing of the event is scheduled to be held on July 7 at the forest department building in Mohali.

So, let the planning and excitement begin !!

Wow Books to Catch Them Young

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Wow Books to Catch Them Young

Catch them young, we say when it comes to hunting for talent in any field of acctivity, be it sports, education, music or performing arts, etc. Here's a technology-driven brokerage firm which is literally seeking to catch the investor at that impressionable age, and highly innovatively too.

Zerodha, on Wednesday announced in Chandigarh the launch of a set of five imaginatively written, illustrated and meaningful story books for kids, which they are touting as India’s first kids’ book to teach them basics of finance. A quick read through ‘The Rupee Tales’, as the set of books is called, showed the deep thought and commitment put in by both the writer as well as illustrator, resulting in an impactful effect. The brokerage firm also announced the launch of “India’s first direct mutual fund and equity platform – Coin”.

Interacting with media persons at the Chandigarh Press Club, Karthik Rangappa, the author of Rupee Tales & Vice-President – Educational Services, Zerodha, said “Rupee Tales is a recent attempt by our brokerage to familiarise children above 7 years with basic financial concepts. Zerodha has used storytelling with vibrant illustrations as a medium to convey these concepts”, he added.

Karthik Rangappa, the author of Rupee Tales & VP- Educational Services, Zerodha, shows off his set of books.

Photo By: Life in Chandigarh

“Zerodha is committed to improving financial literacy in India. Our educational initiatives, such as Varsity and Trading Q&A are a testimony to this. We are taking this commitment further with Rupee Tales. It is our earnest attempt to creatively inculcate basic financial awareness among children. The concepts covered in Rupee Tales pertain to financial inclusion; pivotal to the cashless and paperless economy India is striving for. A large part of the ‘financial inclusion for all’ dream is dependent on how the younger generation adapts to it.”

Each book deals with a specific topic, peppered with lively characters, and vibrant illustrations. The concepts covered include savings, banking & inflation, taxes, insurance, and stock markets.

Spelling out his inspiration for Rupee Tales, Karthik said, “The idea to write Rupee Tales came to me when my 7-year-old daughter kept asking me where I work and what I do. I realised it was not easy to explain what the stock market is or, for that matter, basic finance to Meera. During a casual chat at work, we realised there was no material available to familiarise kids to basic finance. Being a financial services firm, we somehow felt it was our responsibility to change this, and lo and behold, Rupee Tales was born”.

He said the stories were conceptualised in-house at Zerodha. The Rupee Tales box set can be ordered from rupeetales.com. It’s priced at INR 470.
 
On business growth
 
Karthik claimed that after a slow start for the first five years, Zerodha had grown tremendously in the past one year. It currently has a user base of over 3.25 lakh across India. In Punjab, Zerodha has offices across Amritsar, Chandigarh and Ludhiana and a client base of over 3.000. In Chandigarh, it has over 1500 clients, he informed.

Commenting on the investor scene in the country, Karthik said, “The investor participation in India is still very shallow; around 5 million investors who have traded once a year and not more than 1 million Indians who have traded once a quarter; less than 0.01% of India’s population. We have been able to make inroads, though. To attract our first 90,000 clients, it took us five years, but with the launch of our zero-brokerage offering on equity investments and continuously improving technology offerings we have been able to quickly increase our client base to over 325,000 in the last 12 months."

On ZerodhaCoin
                                                                                                                               
Karthik said Zerodha Coin is a platform that lets the customer buy mutual funds online, completely commission-free, directly from asset management companies. The mutual fund bought through Coin is in demat form, with a convenience of one portfolio across equity, mutual fund, currency. The brokerage charges a flat subscription fee of Rs 50 per month, irrespective of the number or value of mutual fund transactions. One can start, stop or modify SIPs anytime one wants and the first Rs 25,000 worth of investments would be free, he added.
 
In his opinion, “For an informed investor, buying mutual funds directly is the best option. SIP of Rs 5000 monthly invested for 25 years in direct vs distributor can potentially save Rs 28 lakh as commissions. Buying direct mutual fund in demat also gives the convenience of a single portfolio view”.

To manage the growing needs of its clients, Zerodha currently has 22 branches, 70 partner offices and 5 support/call & trade offices in India, Karthik informed.
 
www.zerodha.com

The Books

Anu Learns To Save: Is the story of two little girls from a tiny village, who habitually help anyone in need. One of them, Anu, is in the habit of saving from whatever little she gets as rewards from those helped for a lean day. That lean days finally comes and she is able to help someone in distress out of the coins saved.

Mani’s Money: Is the tale of a hard working small time cook who comes to learn from an elderly lady he respects a lot the importance of making the money grow instead of just saving and letting it stagnate.
Vishambhu’s Bus Journey : Is about a mischievous kid who unexpectedly realises the importance of money paid in taxes to the government and taking good care of things which belong to all of us.

The Cake Shop: Is again story of an 8-year-old whose father, a stock broker, is unable to tell him he works in the stock market because he feels the boy is too young to understand. One day, cornered, his mother takes him to a cake shop to make him understand in a roundabout way that a stock market is a common marketplace where businesses in need of money meet investors with money.

One And A Half Stories: Is the tale of a mother reading out a new story book to her little daughter which leads her to understand the meaning of insurance – a car insurance, health insurance, home insurance, etc.

Coffers Empty, Yet Basket-Full of Promises

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Coffers Empty, Yet Basket-Full of Promises

Having inherited empty coffers and a huge outstanding debt of over Rs 2 lakh crore from the previous Akali Dal-BJP government, by its own admission, the Capt Amarinder Singh led Congress Government in Punjab, presented its maiden budget on Tuesday showing no signs of slowing down development or spending on public welfare schemes.

In his budget speech Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, in fact talked about allocation for agriculture to cross the Rs 10,000 crore mark for the first time. He also spelled out major incentives for employment generation and real estate.

Photo By: Life in Chandigarh

The proposals

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  • 66 per cent increase in agriculture sector spending, increasing the outlay from Rs.6,383.01 crore to Rs.10,580.99 crore.

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  • Initial outlay of Rs.1500 crore for waiving off farm loans of distressed farmers.

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  • Solarization of 2,000 agricultural pump sets with an 80% subsidy component and budgetary provision of Rs.100 crore.

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  • Rs. 20 crore to motivate, encourage and reward Gram Panchayats to stop burning of paddy straw.

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  • 3 lakh jobs to be created under the Shahed Bhagat Singh Rozgar Sirjan Yojna-Apni Gadi Apna Rozgar scheme alone, following a tie-up with two private sectors majors Ola and Uber.

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  • Social security pension hiked from Rs. 500 per month to Rs.750 per month for all categories of beneficiaries including old age persons, dependent children, disabled persons, widows and destitute women. 

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  • Rs.100 crore for Universal Health Insurance for underprivileged people.

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  • Financial assistance of Rs. 8,000 per month under "Financial Assistance to Acid Attack Female Victims".

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  • Rs. 500 crore for modified Atta Dal Scheme using Smart Ration Cards. Tea leaves and sugar to be additionally provided to BPL families.

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  • To boost real estate sector, fee on transfer of ownership of plots/houses reduced from 2.5% to 2%. Stamp duty on registration of property in urban areas cut from 9% to 6%.

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  • New residential and industrial estates to be established at Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ludhiana, among others cities. Rs. 2,020 crore to be spent on development works in construction sector alone.

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  • To boost diversification of agriculture, milk plants at Mohali, Jalandhar and Amritsar to be modernised, to increase the milk handling capacity by 25 per cent in one year. Two pig breeding farms to be set up in Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur, and Government piggery farm at Nabha to be upgraded.

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  • Computer education to be introduced in all primary schools.

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  • 5 new degree colleges, increase in grant for Panjab University, establishment of Central Institute for Promotion and Development of Punjabi Language at Talwandi Sabo, establishment of e-library of national standards, infrastructure development of historic colleges of Punjab (Government Mahindra College, Patiala, Government College Kapurthala, Government College Malerkotla, Government College Hoshiarpur, and Government College Amritsar), establishment of Vocational Training Institute for Girls, and Regional Directorate of Apprenticeship at village Saneta, District Mohali.

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  • Sum under Ashirwaad scheme hiked 40 per cent, from Rs 15,000 to Rs.21,000. Reservation for Scheduled Castes in all government schemes pertaining to the allotment of plots/houses increased from 15% to 30%.

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  • Institutes whose students qualify for NDA and IMA, to get 1 lakh for every student admitted. A Gen. Sham Singh Attariwala Armed Forces Preparatory Institute to be established at Amritsar. Sainik School, Kapurthala to be upgraded.

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  • Freedom fighters to get 300 units free residential electricity.

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  • 20 per cent hike in Health sector allocation. Rs 50 crore for setting up Primary Rural Rehabilitation and Drug De-addiction centres. New medical college at Mohali. Tertiary care centres at a cost of Rs. 50 crore at Fazilka and Hoshiarpur.

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  • To enhance ease of doing business, MSME Punjab Kendras to be set up in each district with powers to grant regulatory clearance across departments.

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  • Tax Ombudsman to address grievances of trade and industry and ensure smooth transition to GST regime.

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  • 16 Specific Industrial Parks, New industrial hubs to be set up in Sangrur and Ludhiana districts. Exhibition cum convention centre at Ludhiana under PPP mode. Punjab Corporate Social Responsibility Authority (PCSRA) to be established.

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  • Policy to incentivize use of electric vehicles.Free smart phones to youth at a cost of Rs.10 crore.

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  • Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Patiala to be developed as smart cities. All Municipal Towns / areas to be open defecation free by March, 2019, and 117,645 individual household toilets would be built.

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  • 2000 houses for eligible houseless poor urban SC/BC families this year.

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  • NRI Property Safeguard Act to be formulated, and NRI ombudsman established.

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Rs 2 Lakh Relief For All Small & Marginal Farmers

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Rs 2 Lakh Relief For All Small & Marginal Farmers

Under pressure to act quickly on his poll promise of waiving off farm loans to distressed farmers in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh on Monday announced total waiver of entire crop loans of up to Rs. 2 lakh for small and marginal farmers (those who own up to 5 acres), and a flat Rs. 2 lakh relief for all other marginal farmers, irrespective of their loan amount.

 Addressing the state legislative assembly, he said the move would benefit 10.25 lakh farmers, including 8.75 lakh farmers who own up to 5 acres. The initiative would provide double the relief announced by the states of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, he claimed.

              

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Photo By: Life In Chandigarh
 
The state government decision is based on the interim report of the Expert Group, headed by eminent economist Dr. T. Haque, tasked with suggesting ways and means to help the state’s distressed farming community.
 
Capt. Amarinder said his government had also additionally decided to take over the outstanding crop loans from institutional sources of families of all farmers who committed suicides in the state. The ex-gratia amount for suicide affected families has been raised from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, he added.
 
For debt relief to farmers who had raised loans from non-institutional sources, the government has decided to review the Punjab Settlement of Agriculture Indebtedness Act to provide the desired relief to the farmers through mutually acceptable debt reconciliation and settlement, statutorily binding on both the parties, the lender and the borrower. The government has already constituted a Cabinet Sub Committee to review this Act, he said.
 
The Chief Minister requested the Speaker to constitute a 5-member committee of Vidhan Sabha to visit the families of the suicide victims, ascertain the reasons for the suicides and suggest further steps to be taken to check such tragedies.
 
Appeal : Big farmers give up power subsidy 
 
Capt. Amarinder Singh promised that free power to farmers will continue. But on lines of PM’s appeal to haves to give up LPG subsidy, he appealed to all big and well-to-do farmers of the state to give up power subsidy voluntarily in the interest of the state. He announced giving up the subsidy at his own farms to set a personal example.
 

Thank God!! But Need to Rein in The Hotheads

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Thank God!! But Need to Rein in The Hotheads

After months of jostling for parking space, some relief came our way on Monday as the new paid parking contractor took baby steps towards converting all the 25 parking lots put under his command into smart parkings.

As the more than 300 odd parking attendants and supervisors, majority of them girls for a change (by design, for women empowerment, we are told), started taking positions at the designated paid parking lots across the city, things appeared to have moved for the better, but only marginally. For a first day, there was understandable confusion with the parking personnel raw and rusty, supervisors dazed and the hotheads among us refusing to be reined in.

PHOTOS BY: LIFE IN CHANDIGARH

As we drove around in various paid parkings in Sector 17 we came across young boys and girls unable to cope up with the speed required for dispensing tickets and retuning change. The supervisors appeared to be registering their cosmetic presence, not knowing exactly how the movement of vehicles was to be allowed – whether one-day or both ways. The ushers, posted at every short distance, did not know how they could insist on the vehicle owners or drivers not to park outside designated slots. They preferred to just back off in the face of hotheads either ignoring or threatening them.

The result was that the vehicles at many places were found parked in undesignated areas, hindering the passage of traffic. Seeing the parking attendants manning the parking lots, several vehicle owners and drivers chose to park on the roads, with the traffic police or tow away trucks nowhere in sight.

Which brings us to the conclusion that the entire effort at paid parking cannot be successful without initially the traffic police chipping in with their support. Till smart parking plugs in three-four months from now, vehicle owners and drivers need to get the message loud and clear that their illegally parked automobiles will be towed away for sure. The parking ushers also need to be sensitised how the parking outside of the designated slots, if at all, is to be managed without inconveniencing those who park in designated slots, and how people who do not fall in line are to be dealt. Ideally this exercise ought to have been undertaken as part of the contract the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh signed with the parking contractor.

Another issue is that while the contractor is under obligation to man the showcase new multi-level parking lot of the Corporation, apart from the 25 other paid parking sites, the previous underground parkings in Sector 17 and 8, now in a poor state of maintenance, need also to be put to optimum use. With the Monsoons season round the corner, the Corporation needs to urgently improve drainage in the basements and carry out routine maintenance works to ensure that the investment and prime space locked up in the underground parkings are not wasted any more. Right now these parkings do not appear to be anybody’s baby and are not even on the radar of the Corporation engineers.

The new multi-level parking and the old basement parkings have to be put to optimum use to justify the investment, and it has to be rubbed in on all who park their vehicles in the sector. For this, zero tolerance approach to illegal parking has to be followed both in letter and spirit.

Happy Parking !!

Urban Richy Rich on the Mend, Not So in Chandigarh

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Urban Richy Rich on the Mend, Not So in Chandigarh

Having had their fill of a sedentary lifestyle, resulting from the economic boom following liberalisation, the urban rich appear to be on the mend, surprisingly not in richy rich Chandigarh. The lifestyle virus is now afflicting the rural rich.

This shows in the latest near-countrywide study on prevalence of diabetes published recently in the prestigious journal The Lancet. Dr Anil Bhansali, Professor and Head of Department of Endocrinology, PGI alongwith fellow doctors who were part of the team which supervised the survey in Chandigarh and Punjab, took journalists through the salient features, unusual observations, conclusions and implications of the survey during a briefing at the PGI on Saturday.

The first structured survey carried out in 14 states and Union Territory of Chandigarh between November 2008 and July 2015 involved a community-based sample of 57,117 individuals aged 20 years or older.

Photo By: Life in Chandigarh

Dr Bhansali informed that though several others states were yet to be covered under the ongoing survey, the conclusions drawn are reasonably representative of the entire country.

The most important conclusion from the survey is that the prevalence of diabetes in the country is much lower (7.3 percent of the total population) than previously thought (10 to 13 percent). The inclusion of 6 of the North-Eastern states for the first time in any survey is decidedly one of the major factors for the decline. As against 8.3 percent prevalence of diabetes in mainland states, it is 5.9 percent in N-E states.

States with higher per-capita GDP seemed to have a high prevalence of diabetes. Here’s where Chandigarh, which has the highest GDP of US $ 3433, continues to carry the dubious distinction of having the highest prevalence of 13.6 percent.  As against the general trend, where the urban rich population afflicted with diabetes appears to have stabilised and the diabetes graph is on an upswing among rural rich and urban poor, in Chandigarh the urban rich are on an even keel with the rural rich and urban poor population.

Giving reasons for the possible stabilisation of diabetes figures among the urban rich, Dr Bhansali said the general awareness about following a healthy lifestyle may have turned the tide. But surprisingly in Chandigarh, the young population doesn’t appear to have leant a lesson from the ill effect of a sedentary lifestyle.  Recollecting a 2009-10 survey conducted by PGI in limited urban sectors in the city, Dr Bansali said 66 percent of the people in the age group of 20 to 40 years in the survey had admitted to little or no physical activity.

He attributed the shift of diabetes prevalence towards the rural rich to the fruits of economic liberalisation arriving late in the rural areas. The urban poor, especially those living in cities with high cost of living, were being forced to live on high-carbohydrate less-protein diet, leading to higher prevalence of diabetes among them.

He wanted the rich Chandigarh population, especially the young among them, to mend their ways, restrict their intake of fast foods and walk and exercise more. For rural rich and urban poor, he said the administration must up its awareness drives and improve health facilities.

No Surgery, No Anesthesia; Walk Away in 2 Hours

Sanjeev Kochhar
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No Surgery, No Anesthesia; Walk Away in 2 Hours

Varicose Veins, which largely affects the legs, is an oft misunderstood disease. Blueness of the veins visible through the skin may just be a cosmetic problem, especially among those who are elderly or those who are extremely fair. Suspicion of Varicose Veins disease should be raised with symptoms like aching and heavy legs, ankle swelling, dilated bluish bulge under the skin, redness, dryness and itchiness of skin. In some people, the skin above ankle may shrink because fat underneath it becomes hard. The symptoms also include whitened, irregular scar-like patches that can appear at the ankles or patient can have chronic non-healing ulcers. The recommended investigation is a simple ultra sound.

Introducing media persons in a city hotel to a relatively new and simple, less painful, non invasive, non thermal treatment of the disease, Dr Ravul Jindal, Director, Vascular Surgery, Fortis Hospital, Mohali, who is also President of the Venous Association of India, said there are no structured studies to show the extent of the disease in India, but it is reliably estimated to afflict 7 to 8 percent of the population, which is a huge number.

Dr Ravul Jindal showing a patented Flebogrif catheter

Photo By: Life in Chandigarh

He claimed that the new technique Mechanico Chemical Ablation of the Varicose Veins (MOCA) has been prevalent in the world for the past 3-4 years, and a couple of cases were tried out in India too, but because of the devise not being available in India it could not be put to commercial use. Now Fortis has become the first hospital to procure the patented Flebogrif catheter and make available the relatively new endovascular technique to cure venous reflux disease for the first time in the country. He said 32 patients had already been treated with the procedure and six months of results are available for 30 of them, which are extremely good.

Spelling out the advantages of the new technique, Dr Ravul said not only is it less painful, it does not require anesthesia or surgery or multiple needle pricks, as in earlier surgical method by which the varicose vein was removed from the body, or thermal techniques, like laser and radiofrequency, in which the varicose vein is burnt. Using the new procedure, one leg can be treated in 20 minutes and the patient can be out of the hospital in less than two hours. No hospitalization is required. It can even be done in a specially designed OPD, provision for which is being made, and will be available in Fortis Mohali in the next few months, he said.

Dr Ravul informed that the procedure entails a special catheter being introduced in the affected vein of the patient and it is ablated (destroyed) with foam sclerotherapy. The catheter is inserted in the vein through a thin needle pipe. Blades attached to the catheter open up in the affected vein and scrape its inner lining leading to the vein narrowing down. Then the medicinal foam is inserted in the narrowed down vein to close it permanently.

The procedure currently costs the same as laser treatment, but since there is no hospitalization and anesthesia involved, we are in talks with the suppliers of the imported catheters to bring down the price of the devices, Dr Ravul said.

The doctor said through there are several causes of the varicose veins disease, it is largely considered to be genetic in nature. It has been observed that obese people, those who are tall and those who do heavy gyming are more prone to the disease. The chances increase with number of pregnancies among women. Those whose parent or parents have it are at greater risk, he added

 He said varicose veins can occur in any part of the body but it is largely seen in the legs. Beyond being a cosmetic concern, this painful condition results in enlarged and gnarled veins and it should be treated at the earliest to avoid any further complexity. Some of the most common symptoms include veins that are purple or blue in color along with twisted veins. The situation becomes painful when there is a heavy feeling in the leg or burning, throbbing, muscle cramping and swelling in lower legs. One can experience worsened pain after sitting or standing for a long time.

Suspect early symptoms, contact a vascular surgeon, Now !!

Be The First on Historic All-Indian Trip to Antarctica

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Be The First on Historic All-Indian Trip to Antarctica

Been to all six habitable continents, and still yearning for more. Here's an opportunity for the diehard adventurer in you to explore what you would have only dreamt of – the icy continent of enchanting glaciers, icebergs, penguins, seals, whales and exotic sea birds like albatrosses and terns – Antarctica. That too in the most memorable trip ever planned exclusively for Indians.

A first ever 200-member all-Indian cruise on the luxury yacht, the Marseilles, France registered ‘The Great Majestic Explorer’ has been curated for you by The Q Experiences, an Indian luxury travel company, during the Antarctica summer – December 9 to 19, 2017. Though the ticket pinches deep into your pockets, starting from Rs 6.9 lakh per head, the company is promising a once in a lifetime experience.

PHOTOS BY: LIFE IN CHANDIGARH

Anybody, from 5 years old to 55-65 years, and beyond, can undertake the voyage which begins from the southernmost city of the inhabited world –  Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego, in Argentina (South America). One just needs an Argentina visa, getting which for you the company has included in the package. But one has to undertake the journey to Buenos Aires, the capital and most populous city of Argentina, on his or her own, with the company facilitating the journey, if required. Other add-on destinations like Brazil, before or after the “memorable” journey can also be considered.


 

Describing the uniqueness of the expedition, Vasim Shaikh, Founder of The Q Experiences, who himself undertook the voyage this January, during a media interaction at Hyatt Regency in Chandigarh on Thursday, said, “The travelers will be cruising through some of the most breathtaking glaciers of Neko Bay and Paradise Bay, anchoring at Port Lockroy, finally sailing to the largest colony of Chinstrap Penguins at Deception Island and visit the quietest place on earth – the majestic Weddell Sea. At every step of the way, there would be experts to guide the travelers and show the sights one had only dreamt of.”

From Ushuaia to the Antarctica, the voyage takes you through Drake Passage, which marks the convergence of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans, and experiences one of the roughest seas on this planet.

Vasim informed that under an international agreement, besides researchers, only 40,000 visitors from all over the world are allowed to set foot on the Antarctica every year. “Till a decade ago, out of these 40,000, Indian visitors were a meager 100 and so were the Chinese. Today, the Indians remain static at 100 and the Chinese have touched 4,000,” he added.

Vasim Shaikh in Antarctica

“After undertaking the memorable voyage myself, I wanted other countrymen also to get a feel of this exotic land, hence the idea to undertake an exclusive voyage for Indians and hold aloft the Indian flag on the White continent. Any ship anchoring in the Antarctica cannot have more than 200 passengers on board, hence the cap,” he shared.

Interiors of the luxury yacht

Chef Arun Kochhar

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  • The travelers would be on board “The Great Majestic Explorer” – a sleek, gorgeous yacht flying the Flag of India, 460 feet of utter luxury, which would have 132 elegant staterooms and suites, complete with French interiors designed by the French interior designer Jean Philippe Nuel.  

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  • To ensure a superior gastronomic experience to the travelers, Atul Kochhar, Indian Michelin-starred chef, will be on board curating the finest of Indian regional cuisine. In addition, the team of a catering centre of excellence run by Alain Ducasse Enterprise will also be on board to enhance the global cuisine. Buffets each day will be of a different theme.

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  • There are no time zones in Antarctica, hence it’s always zero o’clock.

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  • During the summer months, experience 24 hours of daylight.

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  • Travelers can expect zero degrees Celsius in the Antarctica peninsula on their voyage.

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Watch the mysterious stories unfold at www.thewhitecontinent.com

Ludhiana, Pathankot, Adampur to Join Bathinda

Sanjeev Kochhar
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Ludhiana, Pathankot, Adampur to Join Bathinda

Four towns in Punjab – Bathinda, Ludhiana, Pathankot and Adampur – will soon start operating flights under the affordable air travel policy of the Government of India. For this, the Punjab Government on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of India (GoI) and Airports Authority of India (AAI) under the country's flagship programme UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik).

A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said the tripartite agreement was signed by Usha Padhee, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, on behalf of GoI and Tejveer Singh, Secretary Civil Aviation, Punjab Government, and G.K Chaukiyal, Executive Director, AAI, in the presence of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh.

Lauding the Captain initiative, the Chief Minister said it would give a major boost to local trade and industry, especially in Ludhiana. It would also help the state explore untapped commercial potential in the border areas to create job opportunities for the youth.

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Under the scheme, the four airports are being connected through five proposals. While Delhi-Bathinda-Delhi flight by Alliance Air is already operational, Delhi-Pathankot-Delhi and Delhi-Ludhiana-Delhi, also by Alliance Air, would be made operational by July 2017. Delhi-Adampur-Delhi by Spicejet will be operationalized by August 2017 and Delhi-Ludhiana-Delhi by Deccan would become operational by September 2017, the spokesperson informed.

UDAN will make available one lakh seats of which 50 percent (50,000 seats) would be under fare cap (which is concessional fares). Viability Gap Funding (VGF) will be shared by Central Government and State Government in 80:20 ratio. The state’s share would work out to an estimated Rs. 3 crore per annum.

Sharing details of the scheme with the Chief Minister, Padhee informed that UDAN, an innovative GoI regional connectivity scheme in collaboration with the state governments, enables air operations on routes not served connecting regional areas, and promotes balanced growth, besides making flying affordable for masses.

Routes under UDAN are selected through a transparent bidding process. During first round of bidding, 27 proposals have so far been awarded, 128 routes involving 33 unserved and 12 underserved airports. The scheme has large outreach and all regions have been connected (Northern region 17, Southern 11, North Eastern 6, Western 24 and Eastern 12), she added.

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