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WEDNESDAY 20 November | 2013 | 15 Muharram 1435 AH | PAGES 12 | VOL NO: 3 | ISSUE NO: 293 | RS: 2/- (AIR SURCHARGE FOR JAMMU /DELHI/LEH 50 Paisa)Pen For JusticeLargely Circulated, No. 1 Bilingual Daily of J&Khttp://www.zabarwantimes.com

WEATHER

TEMPERATUREMAXIMUM MINIMUMSUNSET ON(FRIDAY)SUNRISE ON (SATURDAY)

05:29 pm07:04 am

-0.6 0C15.9 0C

FORECAST FOR NEXT 24 HRS:

FORECAST OF SRINAGAR:

Weather will be mainly dry over the state.

Partly cloudy sky. Maximum & Minimum temperatures will be around 15°C & 00°C respectively.

Congress not bothered aboutimproving inflation

Arvind Kejriwal not my enemy

Why action against the former BoPEE Chairman only?

Mirwaiz, Yasin aghast over new Power

Curtailment schedule

DGP addresses maiden Police Darbar, asks Jawans to improve proficiency

FROM OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTSrinagar, Nov 19:

Despite the introduction of three hundred seventy two crore rupees National Saffron Mission, there is an alarming decrease in the production of saffron which has gone down to almost fifty percent during the last two years. This decreasing trend in the pro-duction has created unrest and frustration

amongst the cultivators who are now either selling their lands to others or are shift-ing to alternate crops. According to reports the land under cultivation of Saffron is also shrinking day by day and in comparison to 5400 hectares under cultivation of saffron a few years back has now been reduced to just 3000 Hectares around Pampore and other areas of Pulwama District where Saffron is cultivated mostly. The production per Hect-

are has also decreased more than 50% to 60% and the cultivators are finding it difficult not to make both ends meet. The National Saffron Mission was started by the Central government with the aim to give a new Phil-lip to the Saffron production but it is alleged that this mission is infested with a lot of mis-management and several cultivators have alleged corruption in its implementation. It is alleged that Rs 25000 provided for boring

tube well, is divided and several of them ex-ist only on papers. The National Saffron Mis-sion started in 2010 has thus created new av-enue for the corrupt officials connected with it instead of providing impetus to the Saffron Production which should have increased many fold. The provision of improved seeds have also not helped in increasing the Pro-duction. Now the question

See Saffron On Page 11..

Srinagar, Nov 19:

Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) president, Mehbooba Mufti has urged the people to support a leadership that ensures justice and fair play within the state and is also able to fair deal for Jam-mu and Kashmir from New Del-hi, irrespective of which party or formation is in power there.Addressing public meetings at Hanga Mawar and Palpora Qa-ziabad in Langate constitu-ency today, she said Omar Abdul-lah’s so-called offer to facilitate a dia-logue between separatists and New Delhi comes af-ter the five years of vi-tiating the p o l i t i c a l e n v i r o n -ment in the state and turning Kashmir into a prison.On this occasion chief spokesper-

son Naeem Akhtar, MLA Abdul Haq Khan,Ghulam Nabi Pan-dithpuri Irfan Sultan Pandith-puri and others were also present and spoke to the gathering. Mehbooba said Omar Abdul-lah’s so-called offer to facilitate a dialogue between separatists and central govt lacks credibility and

seriousness, because in the last five years

his govt has sub-verted all norms of democracy and kept most of the separatist lead-ers in prison or converted their homes into jails.

In the process he has further add-

ed to the trust defi-

cit ex-isting b e -

tween the state and the rest of the country.

See Mehbooba On Page 11..

PDP Seeks Peoples’ Mandate to Get the State Out of Morass

Srinagar, Nov 19 :

Acknowledging the professional hazards in tackling the law and or-der situations, the Director General of Police (DGP), Mr. Ashok Prasad has said that police force are repre-sentatives of Police Parivar. Wher-ever they are performing their pro-fessional duties, they remain under the gaze of public, and as such their performance should always be of highest standards.Addressing a maiden Police Darbar at District Police Lines here today, Mr. Prasad said “goodwill of the people is a valuable and depend-able asset to meet the challenges”. He said public friendly image has benefitted the force immensely which will help in isolating the bad elements from the society, as the people will be willing partners in maintaining peace and tranquil-ity. He lauded the force for keeping high standards of policing and mak-ing it accessible to the people round the clock for help they need.DGP asked the Jawans that peo-

ple have pinned lot of hopes with the police to get their grievances redressed and it is prime duty of jawans and officers to deliver jus-tice as per their aspirations and law of the land. He stressed the Jawans performing in the field to provide a patient hearing to the people and in token they would earn good name in their jurisdictions among the masses which would be a pride for the organization.During the Darbar Mr. Prasad heard the problems put forth by the Jawans and assured that these would be looked into for appropri-ate action. He gave on the spot di-rections to the concerned officers to solve the genuine problems of the Jawans on priority.Talking about the welfare mea-sures, the DGP said that welfare of Jawans is on top of our agenda. Department has established a Cen-tral Welfare Fund for the support of Jawans and their families. For this purpose the Organization has launched various welfare schemes to benefit the serving and retired

personnel. He said that the pro-cedure for providing relief to the Jawans and their families has been eased to benefit them without con-suming more time.Referring to the relief measures provided to the personnel and the families of martyrs, the DGP dis-closed that during the current year till date more than Rs. 20 crores have been sanctioned and dis-bursed among the personnel and their families.Regarding pay anomalies, the DGP assured that PHQ is persuading the matter with the government very keenly and a good response from the government is expected.Later, the DGP handed over the cash rewards to the Jawans and officers, who have exhibited good performance while delivering to the people.Among others, the Darbar was at-tended by ADsGP, Mr. P.L Gupta and Mr. S. P. Vaid, IsGP, Mr. Arun Kumar and Mr. A.G. Mir, DIsGP, Mr. Vijay Kumar

See DGP On Page 11..

05 residential houses damaged

in fireSrinagar, November 19: Five residential houses got damaged in two separate fire incidents across the valley.Fire broke out in the residential house of Tariq Ahmad Shah son of Mohammad Amin Shah resident of Kargili Mohallah, Batamaloo-Srinagar. Second storey of the house was damaged in this incident. Fire was brought under control with the help of fire tenders and police.Meanwhile, fire broke out at village Batpora, Sopore, in the jurisdiction of Police station Sopore, resulting in damage to four residential houses. Fire was brought under control with the help of fire tenders and Police.No vehicle shall be allowed to ply from Hawal to Nowshara via Alamgari Bazar during Mo-harram procession.

Missing girl fished out in Kargil

Srinagar, November 19:

Kargil Police fished out the body of 16 years old, Kaneeza Fatima daughter of Haji Ghulam Has-san resident of Kanoor from the river Suru near FCI Godown. Kaneeza was missing since from 28-10-2013. Kargil Police has initiated inquest proceedings under section 174 CrPC in this

Man attempts suicide in Anantnag

Srinagar, November 19:

In an attempt to end his life, a 47 year’s old Mohammad Yousaf Margay resident of Bahi-Hillar consumed some poisonous substance at his home, in the jurisdiction of police station Kokernag. He was shifted to SMHS hospital, Srinagar for treatment. Kokernag Police has registered a case in this regard.

Srinagar, Nov 19:

Coming down heavily on the state authorities over the new curtail-ment schedule issued by the Power Development Department (PDD) re-cently, the Pro-freedom parties in valley today termed the move ‘deep conspiracy’ against the people of Kashmir.Chairman Huriyat Conference (M) Mir-wiaz Umar farooq while terming the recently is-sued power curtailment schedule ‘anti people’, slammed the state gov-ernment over turning blind eye towards the plight being faced by the people here. ”Every year the people of Kashmir are being forced to live without electricity during

See Mirwaiz On Page 11..

Benefits of mustard seeds

Srinagar 19 November:

Though the people in general have hailed the action initialled by crime branch against some officials of BoPEE for alleged omission and commissions but they have expressed surprise over the inaction of the organi-zation over the present set-up responsible for leakage and sub-sequent cancellation of exami-nation papers in june this year. The people have demanded that action against those involved in this year’s mess should also be initialled simultaneously so that the pristine of this organization is restored and the candidates and their parents will again start trust the credibility of this organization. They have also

demanded that action in case of BOSE should be immediately taken whose callous attitude has claimed reportedly two pre-cious lives of innocent student. Meanwhile, a day after register-ing FIR against Mushtaq Ahmad Peer former chairman of Board of Professional Entrance Ex-aminations (BOPEE) in connec-tion with paper leakage case for Common Entrance Test (CET) 2011, the authorities at the helm of crime branch on Tuesday said Peer will be questioned in a day or two.However, Peer when contact-ed by Kashmir News Service termed the raids carried out by Crime Branch at his residences in Jammu and Srinagar as ‘un-ethical’. “I have held a responsi-

ble position and am the member of over four national level com-

mittees. See BoPEE On Page 11..

What about present set-up?Crime Branch raids on the residences of former BoPEE Chairman Incriminating documents seized

Srinagar, Nov 19:

A day after Mirwaiz Umar Farooq led Hurriyat fac-tion asked Central Government to cre-ate conducive atmosphere for talks, National Conference Tuesday said that dialogue would be futile unless New Delhi not shed its arrogance and display keen interest and commitment in holding meaningful and result ori-ented dialogue with Hurriyat leaders. Additional General Secretary NC, Dr Shiekh Mustafa Kamal told Sri-nagar based news gathering agency CNS that Mirwaiz is on right track and he should not loose heart and bow before his political adversaries. “I ap-preciate the stand taken by Mirwaiz though he is very young but at the same time it is evi-

dent that he is turning out to be a mature politician,” Kamal said adding that Syed Ali Geelani is the biggest hurdle in dialogue process.

Kamal said that a day will come when Geelani will succumb to the pressure of his own workers. “The dogmatic approach of Geelani will lead Kashmiri people nowhere. If you want to solve any problem, you have to show flexibility. Mirwaiz Umar Farooq should go ahead and engage New Delhi for the betterment of Kashmiri people who have suffered a lot from past few decades,” Kamal said. Kamal advised New Delhi to shed its arrogance and welcome the initiative taken by APHC. “This is the right time for New Delhi

See Kamal On Page 11..

‘Omar Abdullah ready to act as a mediator between New Delhi and Hurriyat’ ‘

Power curtailment can add to depression in Valley: Psychiatrists

Srinagar, Nov 19: While raising their concern over the worsening power crises in valley some leading psychiatrists on Tuesday said the curtailment in electricity during nights could cause serious depres-sion among the people in valley.Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS),Dr. Aijaz Ahmad Khan said that the seasonal changes is one of the main causes of depression and particularly during winters, the people suffering from

See Power On Page 11..

Srinagar, Nov 19:

National level poetry recita-tion event "Kul Hind Mushai-ra" titled "ek sham Kashmir ke naam", was organised by the state Tourism Department on Tuesday at Sher-i-Kashmir In-ternational Convention Centre in Srinagar. Prominent poets and writers from all across India participat-ed in the event and expressed themselves freely. Tourism Department had placed all the arrangements for the smooth conduct of the event. People from different shades of life including journalists, writers, academicians, poets and poli-

ticians including Minister for Tourism Ghulam Ahmed Mir, Forest Minister Mian Altaf and Director Tourism Talat Parvez were present on the occasion. During his address Minister for Tourism said that event would attract more and more tourists and in a way will boost up the winter tourism in Kash-mir. “I hope that such events would prove beneficial for pro-motion of tourism in the state and attract the visitors,” he said adding that the tourism de-partment is contemplating on holding an exclusive Kashmiri-language Mushaira in near fu-ture. G.A.Mir said that

See Kul Hind On Page 11..

Tourism Department holds "Kul Hind Mushaira"

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Owner , Printer & Publisher: Suhail Malik Editor -in-Chief: Shahana Malik RNI NO. JKBII/2011/39764, Email: zabarwantimes@gmail.com Publised at Govt. Quarters ( M-13 Magarmal Bagh Srinagar-190001 J&K, Printed at:- Sangarmal Offset Press Humhama Sheikhpora Tele/Fax: 2478370 Cell No. 09999964750, 9796 787844

From the front page

BoPEE

Mirwaiz

DGP

Kamal

Kul Hind

Mehbooba

Power

Saffron

11 Wednesday 20 November 2013 Zabarwan Times

If there was some allegation, which I am sure is base-less, it was imperative for the crime branch to have my response first before carrying out such raids,” peer told KNS.The former chairman BOPEE observed that unfortu-nately there is no appreciation for working with dedica-tion, commitment and honesty in Jammu and Kashmir. “I had give a system and work culture in BOPEE. There were many attempts to malign my image but with God’s grace, elements inimical to my position and status had to eat a humble pie,” Peer told KNS.Sources revealed to KNS that sleuths of Crime Branch had raided Sidhra flat of the former chairman BOPEE and found some incriminating documents.Confirming the reports, Syed Javed Mujtaba Gilani, the IGP Crime told KNS: “We conducted raids at the resi-dence of Peer Mushtaq in Srinagar and Jammu where we found some incriminating documents. We have seized those documents besides the property papers. The documents will be scrutinized and further action will be taken accordingly.”Mr Gilani further added that peer will be questioned very soon. “We are investigating the matter and I think we may question him in a day or two.”When asked about the documents and other material seized by the Crime Branch, Peer told KNS: “During the raids, the Crime Brach has seized certain files, a laptop, pen drives and cash (1,35000) from my residence. The laptop and pen drives contain some confidential details as I am the member of five national level examination committees. Perhaps they have seized my passport also.”Peer said that he has decided to inform the higher ups in the crime branch about the important documents and importance of details contained in the laptop and the pen drives. “It is ironical that the crime branch has not taken any cognizance about the leakage of CET papers of 2013. While as they have acted on a complaint which has no basis. Last year they said that nothing incriminating was found, now they started these raids. I don’t under-stand this fuss,” the former chairman BOPEE told KNS.Asked will he cooperate with Crime Branch in its investi-gations into the matter, Peer said: “Why not. There is no question of noncooperation. When I have mot committed anything wrong, why I should shy away from investiga-tions. I am ready for a thorough probe,” peer told KNS.Pertinently, the Crime Branch has registered a case against Peer and senior CB officials are supervising the investigations under (FIR NO. 24/2013). (KNS)

Not only that he declared a war on all sections of soci-ety especially the youth; ten thousand of whom are fac-ing multiple FIRs, thus jeopardizing their future and careers.She said Omar Abdullah maligned Kashmiri youth, who fought for their rights and pleaded for justice as stone-pelters, drug addicts, Lashkar-e-toiba workers or paid agents. “This is not the way to create an atmo-sphere conducive to fruitful dialogue,” said Mehbooba.She said the Chief Minister sought votes for Bijli, Sadak and Pani in 2008, when he has miserably failed to deliver on that front over the five years, he (Omar Abdullah) has started racking up the Kashmir issue now to hide his failures. But instead, the PDP during its brief tenure in the government pursued its political and development agenda rigorously. Line of Control was opened after al-most six decades, thus bringing the divided parts of Jam-mu and Kashmir close to each other. The dialogue with the separatist leadership was started at the highest level to ensure that all sections of the political spectrum are heard. Major developmental and economic initiatives were started with sincerity, in all the regions of the state.Castigating the Omar Abdullah government for pushing the entire Valley in complete darkness, the PDP presi-dent said the latest curtailment schedule issued by the government is insulting for the people and enough to in-dicate about the bankruptcy and insensitivity of the rul-ers.She said soon after taking over as the chief minister of the state, Mufti Mohammd Sayeed brought the power supply back on track and people started feeling relief. Now the situation is almost same as was prior to 2002.Condemning the latest decision to house arrest Syed Ali Shah Geelani, just one week after he was released, Meh-booba said the state govt has made a mockery of funda-mental rights, democratic norms and freedom of expres-sion.She said everybody has a right to express views in a democratic system, as it is a battle of ideas that ulti-mately should take place if issues are to be resolved.Mehbooba said all political compromises made by the National Conference have historically had one objective-power for the Abdullah family. She said in 1975 after putting people of the state to tribulations and trouble, Sheikh Abdulla’s Accord achieved nothing except power for himself. The 1987 Accord was again to facilitate Fa-rooq Abdullah’s reinstatement, which ultimately led to rigging in elections, when Kashmiri youth were com-pletely disillusioned with the electoral process and were forced to pick up guns to fight for their perceived rights.Mehbooba said in 1996, when the NC teamed up with the BJP-led NDA, seven most feasible power projects were gifted to the NHPC. STF was started and POTA was in-troduced thus adding to the peoples’ miseries. Now why they trucked with the Congress-led UPA, they (NC) en-sured that Mohammad Afzal Guroo was sent to the gal-lows. J&K Bank was handed over to the Reserve Bank of India thus compromises were made on the state’s special position. (KNS)

depression need to take extra care. “When it is winter that too without the proper supply of electricity, it is in-deed the worst condition wherein the person can easily land in depression.”Dr. Aijaz further stated that when there is no electricity during nights, the routine work of the person normally gets affected and that it could lead to his psychological problems. “When there is stress , depression to that person is inevitable.”Dr. Hameedullah, valley’s leading psychiatrist said that the availability of the light is necessary for curing the depression and when the light is insufficient, the per-son’s depression level rises to the extent. “The studies reveal that the availability of the light helps the person to get away from the depression and light is main neces-sity for curing person’s depression.”Pertinently, the recent studies have revealed that the percentage of depression in valley is 55.72 per cent .The study has further stated that more than half of the popu-lation is suffering from the mental illness-most of them from the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

the harsh winters and not even for the single time the administration take appropriate measures so that the crises could be halted.” “The government claims to have introduced new schemes in Kashmir worth crores of rupees but one must ask them about their inability to stabilize Kash-mir’s power sector ,”said Mirwaiz while adding that the every year the supply of electricity worsens in valley and authorities show no concern towards its remedial measures.Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS), Mirwaiz said that the government after moving its offices to Jammu, leaves valley in the midst of ‘calamity’. “We see that we are back to square one very year when it comes to the supply of the electricity, why the government is allowing such crises to happen when it can be rectified.”Stating that the water resources are being wasted by the authorities, Mirwaiz asked the trade unions and civil so-ciety groups to adopt the strategy to protest against the power crises in valley. “Let the civil societies and valley traders come forward, the Huriyat conference will sup-port them at every step”Chairman Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Mohammad Yasin Malik when contacted ac-cused that the people of valley are being deprived of their basic rights under a well ‘planned’ strategy and that it is unfortunate that the electricity generated from Kash-mir is being supplied to outside world with the people of Kashmir forced to live in darkness. “The water resources here are being looted and the elec-tricity generated from Kashmir’s waters is being sold to the people back here at the cost that is five times more than the actual.”Malik further stated that the authorities here must un-derstand that the ‘anti-people’ moves cannot suppress the dissent and that even after people are being subject-ed to the ‘worst’ kind of treatment, they would still strive for the just cause. (KNS)

and Mr. J.P. Singh, SSP Srinagar Syed Ashiq Hus-sain, Additional SP (PCR), Mr. Manoj Kumar Pandit and other Police officers. (KNS)

that it invite Mirwaiz led Hurriyat for a dialogue. Our Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is ready to act as a media-tor between New Delhi and Hurriyat provided both the parties show eagerness for dialogue and shun rigidity,” Kamal said. While replying to a question, Kamal told CNS that Pakistan sincerily wants Kashmir issue to get resolved and there is no pressure from Pakistan on Hur-riyat leadership. “Let the Hurriyat hold dialogue and hope for the best,” he said. (CNS)

to heal stress and hypertension, music is the best medi-cine and treatment, whatsoever the sufferings may be. Earlier, Director Toursim Talat Parves in his welcome address urged for strengthening the bonds of brother-hood by organizing joint ventures of music and litera-ture. He expressed satisfaction over the support of all stakeholders in promoting art and music in the State. The poets and writers who participated in the event included, Shakil Azmi, Mansoor Usmani, Charan Singh Bashar, Ashok Sahil, Waseem Baralvi, Rahat Indoori, Doctor Liakat Jaferi,Rehman Rahi Shafaq Sopori, Fa-rooq Nazki, Naseem Nighat, Jalees Sherwani, Afzal Manglori, Tahir Fayaz, Nawaz Devbandi, Anjam Naz, Ruksana Jabeen and others. The event was presided by renowned poet and writer Waseem Bararlvi. (CNS)

arises as to what are the main causes for overall de-crease in the production of saffron which is considered the second best after the Saffron from Spain. There are various reasons and one of the main reasons is the non seriousness of the concerned Department which does not provide timely inputs and expert advices to the cul-tivators that could have come handy in improving the quality and production of Saffron. The second most important deficiency is the lack of quality control and a monitoring check which could help in exporting the best quality Saffron from the valley and also help to curb the mafia which is destroying the industry by producing quintals of fake Saffron and duping the customers on the name of real Kashmiri Saffron. The department seems more interested in individual publicity and projection than doing something concrete things in this direction. Some years back there was a mysterious disease which was destroying the seeds but some affective measures of the experts and serious steps taken by the government immediately overcame the problem and saved this pre-cious crop which has become the identity of the people of Kashmir besides providing bread and butter to over ten lacs of people connected to it directly or indirectly. The Central government has to play a proactive role to see that the money sent under this programme is spent properly and its utilization is helping to increase the pro-ductivity as envisaged in the National Saffron Mission. The state government has also to minutely monitor the implementation of the Mission so that the allegations of misappropriations and corruption are addressed and the negative impressions created about this Mission are re-moved. An expert committee needs to be setup to see as to why the production is decreasing and why despite the better facilities provided are not yielding good results. It is clear that something is wrong somewhere which is making the National Saffron Mission fruitless and it seem the huge amounts earmarked for this program are going a waste. It should also be ascertained whether the money given for augmentation of irrigation facilities has been utilized properly for the purpose it has been provided. There are some reports also that the Saffron land is being used for other things, which include the industrial, business and residential purposes also. This trend should be immediately curbed and nobody should be allowed to use Saffron land for any other purpose.At present immediate attention is to be paid on the Na-tional Saffron Mission, and its implementation. If proper attention is not paid doubt are not cleared, the Mission will meet the same fate as did the Dal Development proj-ect which consumed billions of rupees but to no avail. Saffron Mission is a prestigious mission and it is the duty of the centre and state governments to probe the allegations of misappropriation and corruption levelled in its implementation. Transparency in its implementa-tion will help to make this Mission a grand success, and it will serve the purpose for which it has been started.

Srinagar, Nov 19 :

Religious clerics on Tuesday were seen accusing and abusing each other during a press conference in Srinagar on Tuesday. According to reports the Vice Chairman ofreligious organization Muthida Ul-mai Ahil Sunnat (MUAS) Maulana Akhzar Hussain had called a press conference during which the rep-resentatives from different Islamic Trusts and organizations nominated Maulana Syed Muhammad Ashraf Andrabi as Chief Patron of the orga-nization. Besides Chairman Anjaman-i-Ul-mai Ahinaaf Maulana Akhzar and

Syed Ashraf Andrabi the represen-tatives of various bodies including Jamiat Hamdania, Auqaaf Sarai Bala, Haqani Memorial Trust, Anja-man-i-Tableegul Islam, Khawaja Ga-reeb Nawaz Trust, Minhajul Islam spoke on this occasion. Reports said that as soon as Maula-na Akhzar finished his speech, vari-ous leaders of MUAS stood up and claimed that Maulana Akhzar is not the part of the MUAS and he has no right t to address the media. The workers of the two factions of MUAS started accusing and abusing each other and soon the thing went from bad to worse when one of the supporters tried to hit one of his ri-

val cleric. People and Journalists were watching this drama for half an hour and things were pacified af-ter the intervention of some reputed clerics. Soon after the incident, an-other faction of MUAS led by Mau-lana Reyaz-ul-Haq Noorabadi, Qazi Yasir and Maulana Ghulam Rasool Hami organized a press conference and claimed that Maulana Akhzar is not the member of MUAS and the party has ousted him from the Vice Chairmanship. Meanwhile, Chair-man Anjaman Ulamai Ahnaaf Mau-lana Akzar claimed that he has sup-port of at least 25 organizations who recognize him as the member and Vice Chairman of MUAS (CNS)

Factionalism mars MUAS

Religious clerics lock horns at a press conference

UDHAMPUR, NOVEMBER-19:-

The teachers have crucial role in transforming and making the society better place to live in as education is vital for overall de-velopment of an individual and strengthening the nation. MLA, Ramnagar, Hash Dev Singh said this after distributing appointment orders among the selected ReT teachers. MLA Udhampur, Balwant Singh Mankotia and MLA, Reasi, Baldev Raj Sharma were also present on the occasion. As many as 47 appointment orders of ReT teachers belonging to different educational zones of Ramnagar, Udhampur and Reasi districts were handed over in a function organized here today. Harsh said that the main aim of Rehbar-e-Taalim (ReT) scheme is to strengthen the educational system in rural areas of the state by engaging educated youth. He said that the scheme is providing employment to the local youth. Terming teachers as pillars of the nation Harsh Dev Singh exhorted upon them to put in their best and dedicated efforts

in providing quality education to the students especially stu-dents belonging to Below Pov-erty Line (BPL) in rural and far flung areas who cannot get quality education due to finan-cial constrains. He congratu-lated the Education Department for clearing the long pending ReT appointments and stressed to work in coordinated efforts to make ReT appointments in a time bound frame in near fu-ture. Speaking on the occasion, MLA Udhampur and Reasi said that the efforts are being made to accelerate the literacy rate by appointing educated youth as ReTs to improve education system. “It is now on the part of newly appointed ReTs to devote their whole efforts in imparting quality education to students of their areas to shape their future”, they stressed. Chief Education Officer, Balbir Singh, District Educa-tion Planning Officer, Mr. Ved Parkash Sharma, Zonal Educa-tion Officers, teachers and peo-ple in large number were also present on the occasion.

Teachers help to make society better place to live in: Harsh

ADDC inspects ongoing develop-

mental worksUDHAMPUR, NOVEMBER 19:-

To access the pace of progress on different developmental projects being executed under Rural Development Department (RDD), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), Agriculture and Public Works Department (PWD), the Additional District Development Commissioner (ADDC) Udhampur, Mr. Ajay Singh Jamwal today inspected various ongoing developmental works in different Panchayats in tehsil Che-nani. The ADDC visited various Panchayats including Bast, Katwalt, Sudhmahadev. He inspected various construction works being executed by PMGSY, Agriculture and Rural Development Department. He directed the concerned officers to ensure that there is no compromise with the quality of the works. He also asked the concerned officers of Rural Development and Works departments to accelerate the tempo of construction works taken up to ensure they are completed in stipulated time frame. Later, the ADDC also interacted with Sarpanches and Panches and listened their problem and demands. He also asked the Panchayat representatives to inspect the ongoing work being executive by the different departments in their respective panchayats and ensure the quality work with time bound completion.

RAMBAN, NOVEMBER 19-

Regional Rural Extension Training Centre (RRECTC) Jammu for PRI’s, Gram Sabha and gram panchayats of Blocks Banihal and Ramsoo held an awareness programme at PWD Dak Bungalow Ramsoo today. In the programme the participants were made aware about the flagship programmes of Rural Development like MG-NREGA, Indira Awaas Yo-jana ,Integrated Watershed Manage-ment Programme (IWMP) , Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) and Back-ward Region Grant Fund (BRGF).The training programme was fol-

lowed by an interaction session in which Dr Arvind Karwani, Assis-tant Commissioner (D) Ramban was the chief guest. The Assistant Commissioner (D) asked the RRETC to organize more such capacity building programmes for field functionaries of Rural De-velopment Department and PRI’s. He exhorted the field functionaries of the Department to ensure that the PRI’s are actively associated in the implementation of plans and all de-velopmental plans are formulated in the gram sabhas.He asked the participants to ensure participation and cooperation in so-

cial audit meetings and help depart-ment to maintain high level of trans-parency and accountability. The Block Development Officers were asked to ensure and facilitate simi-lar regular meetings of 14 depart-ments at Block level and also ensure that the minutes of these meetings are circulated to all departments and higher authorities within three days of organizing of these meetings. Earlier, B.K. Pandita Principal RRETC & National Level Monitor Government of India , R.K. Koul Senior faculty member and Bahar Ahmed delivered lectures on vari-ous important issues.

Two days awareness programme organized by RRECTC at Ramsoo

BUDGAM, NOVEMBER 19:

Minister for Housing, Culture and Horticulture, Mr. Raman Bhalla said that funding has never been on con-straint for the present government when it comes to developmental projects. However, the pre-requisite condition is peaceful atmosphere for ensuring progress and prosper-ity in the State. Hailing the efforts of central government in focusing infrastructure development, he said that under PMGSY, J&K is the only State where compensation for ac-quired land for road connectivity is provided to the land owners. He was speaking at Ompora Housing Colony, Budgam during a visit to review the facilities being made available to the inhabitants there. The residents of the colony presented various demands before the Minister who was accompanied by MLA Budgam Syed Aga Ruhul-lah and Managing Director Housing Board, Mr. Rampal Sharma con-cerned district officers of district Budgam. The Minister directed the con-cerned officers to ensure black top-ping of roads and lanes inside the colony asked for proper drainage

system including both surface and deep drains. The Minister direct-ed the officers of Housing Board for constructing of a community park in the colony on modern lines. MLA Budgam, Aga Ruhul-lah proposed an alternate route to the colony via Sheikhpora for the convenience of residents of Ompora colony and the Minister assured to take up the issue with Roads and Buildings department. MLA con-cerned further said that the facili-ties in the Housing Colony should grow in proportion to the growth of human population and provision of basic amenities like electricity, road connectivity, drainage shall also be ensured facilitate the residents of the Colony. A Community Cen-tre shall also be jointly constructed by Housing Board and department of Local Bodies, the Minister an-nounced. Additional District Devel-opment Commissioner, Budgam was also accompanying the Minister. He was speaking at Ompora Housing Colony, Budgam during a visit to re-view the facilities being made avail-able to the inhabitants there. The residents of the colony presented various demands before the Minister who was accompanied by MLA Budgam Syed Aga Ruhul-

lah and Managing Director Housing Board, Mr. Rampal Sharma con-cerned district officers of district Budgam. The Minister directed the con-cerned officers to ensure black top-ping of roads and lanes inside the colony asked for proper drainage system including both surface and deep drains. The Minister direct-ed the officers of Housing Board for constructing of a community park in the colony on modern lines. MLA Budgam, Aga Ruhul-lah proposed an alternate route to the colony via Sheikhpora for the convenience of residents of Ompora colony and the Minister assured to take up the issue with Roads and Buildings department. MLA con-cerned further said that the facili-ties in the Housing Colony should grow in proportion to the growth of human population and provision of basic amenities like electricity, road connectivity, drainage shall also be ensured facilitate the residents of the Colony. A Community Cen-tre shall also be jointly constructed by Housing Board and department of Local Bodies, the Minister an-nounced. Additional District Devel-opment Commissioner, Budgam was also accompanying the Minister.

Bhalla visits Ompora Colony

Extends all co-operation to Kashmir migrants

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER | 20 | 2013Daily ZABARWAN TIMES NEWS

Shabir orders for stern action against latecomer Medicos, para-medicos of

SDH Chadoora SRINAGAR, NOVEMBER 19:

SRINAGAR, NOVEMBER 19- Minis-ter of State for Health, Mr. Shabir Ah-mad Khan today ordered for seeking explanations against 11 Doctors, 18 Para-medicos and 2 officials of min-isterial staff of Sub-District Hospital, Chadoora. He instructed the concerned authorities to take stern action against Medicos, Para-medicos and other staff member under rules who are negli-gent in attending their duties late.

The Minister during his surprise visit to the hospital found that these officials came late to their duties and have not marked the attendance.

The Minister in its surprise visit to several hospitals of Budgam and Pul-wama Districts took stock of the func-tioning and overall medicare facilities being provided to the patients in the health institutions of these districts. He called upon the hospital function-aries to be duty bound and ensure all possible medicare facilities to the pa-tients, adding that any lapses in this re-gard would not be tolerated and stern action shall be initiated against erring officials.

Mr. Shabir, during the tour, also

took stock of the pace of under ex-ecution SDH hospital complexes of Chadoora, Charar-e-Sharief and Po-karpora. These hospital buildings are being constructed at a cumulative cost of Rs 33.49 crore against which an amo0unt of Rs 7.50 crore have been expended so far. An amount of Rs 1.40 crore is being spent on the construc-tion of these projects under State plan during current fiscal while as rest of the amount of fund would be project-ed under NRHM.

The Minister directed concerned executing agencies for ensuring time bound completion of these hospital buildings to ensure installation of nec-essary modern diagnostic equipment. other paraphernalia besides addition-al staff.

Meanwhile during the tour of Pul-wama District, the Minister inaugu-rated Primary Health Center building at Litter in presence of MLA Pulwama, Mr. Mohammad Khalil Bandh.

The construction work of this hos-pital building and Medical officers ‘residential quarter was taken up at a cost of Rs 1.44 crore against which the construction work of hospital building completed with an expenditure of Rs 1

crore and work on Doctors quarter is near completion.

Addressing a public meeting on the occasion, the Minister highlighted that the innovative initiatives launched by the State government with liberal fi-nancial assistance of Centre for im-provement of healthcare facilities in the State. He said Flagship pro-gramme NRHM has helped a lot in upgradation of healthcare facilities especially in rural and hilly areas of the State. He said under the pro-gramme, the government is going to establish 600 new sub- health cen-ters especially in those areas that lack health care facilities, adding that new health centers as per the need would be also opened in Pulwama District. He said the compound wall of PHC Litter would be also constructed and directed the concerned authorities for formulation of detailed project report for approval of funds

Mr. Shabir said the children up to 18 years age group would be provided free treatment facilities in the State, adding for the purpose the govern-ment is ready to launch RBSK, a cen-trally funded Scheme in all the districts of the State.

JAMMU, NOVEMBER 19

In a significant people friendly initiative, Minister for Urban Devel-opment and Urban Local Bodies, Mr. Nawang Rigzin Jora today flagged off mobile sanitation vehicles and water tankers with road sprinkling system at Manda in Jammu city this morning.

Mr. Satish Nehru, Secretary Housing & Urban Development De-partment was also present on the oc-casion.

The sanitation vehicles are fully equipped with the sanitation implements and each vehicle has a team of five Safaikaramcharis, who shall be attending, the calls of citizens of Jammu city to get redressal of their urgent sanitation grievances.

The water tankers which are equipped with the roads sprinkling system have been designed to meet the requirements of roads of inner city areas to maintain the cleanliness.

The Minister also planted trees at heritage site adjoining Hotel Hari Niwas to develop green belt at the site.

The work of view point over-seeing Tawi River being developed at the cost of Rs. 3.80 lacs, was also reviewed and necessary instructions were given on spot to beautify the

place which is gateway to the Jammu city. The Commissioner Jammu Municipal Corporation, Mr. Kiran Wattal apprised the Minister that the JMC from its own resources have pur-chased two water tankers at the cost of Rs. 9.20 lacs and further upgraded them with road sprinkling system. In respect of green belt, expendi-ture of Rs. 2.50 lacs stand incurred. He further informed that toll free number is being made operational shortly to address the complaints of citizens on 24 hour basis.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Jora emphasized for greater san-itation and cleanliness of the Jammu city and advocated for launching

vigorous drive for green Jammu. He directed the officers of the Jammu Municipal Corporation to gear up men and machinery for providing better civic facilities to the people. He said old Jammu city need spe-cial attention to keep it clean, add-ing that smaller sanitation vehicles could be pressed into service for the purpose.

The Officers present dur-ing the tour were Joint Commissioner (Adm),Mr. Kapil Sharma, Joint Com-missioner (W), Secretary, JMC, Execu-tive Engineers, Municipal Veterinary Officer, Health Officer, Chief Trans-port Officer, Chief Enforcement Offi-cer and others.

Jora flags off mobile sanitation vehicles

ANANTNAG, NOVEMBER 19:

Minister for Tourism, Mr. Ghulam Ahmad Mir on Tuesday launched the National Popula-tion Register Phase II-Aadhar in South Kashmir’s Dooru tehsil.

The Minister launched Aad-har by conducting his biometrics on the occasion.

Addressing on the occasion, the Minister highlighted signifi-cance of Aadhar Card and said that it will be a lifelong cred-ible document for every citizen above the age group of five.

He hoped that Dooru Con-stituency will emerge as front runner in the completion of the project by achieving cent per cent target within the pre-scribed time limit of 120 days. He said

that 1.25 lakh Aadhar cards would be prepared and issued to the people of

Dooru within next 4 months.

Earlier, the con-cerned authorities gave a resume of the project high-lighting its aims and objectives and methodology.

To collect bio-metric informa-tion for issuance of Aadhar card, camps will be organized in all villages and towns of the area. Each camp will be supervised by ECIL Hyderabad, Karvy and enumerators appointed by Dis-

trict Administration.

SRINAGAR, NOVEMBER 19:

The Co-operative Department district Kulgam today celebrated its 60th Co-operative Week at Rest House Chawalgam in which about 200 co-operators from different walks of life participated.

The Deputy Commissioner while presid-ing over the function said,” the need of the time is to change the mind set of educated unemployed youth so as to get them actively involved in the profitable business ventures”. The cooperative societies are do-ing wonders in the other parts of the country besides keeping available all essential commodities to the public, he added.

Earlier, the Deputy Registrar Cooperative So-ciety Kulgam highlighted the progress of Cooperative Institutions functioning in the district. He apprised the forum that cooperative sector in the district had made available fertilizers and other essentials to the tune of Rs. 228 lakhs during 2012-13 while essen-tials worth Rs. 124.55 lakhs have been utilized dur-ing the current financial year. It was given out in the function that the Cooperative Department is going to open a Women Consumer Store, Super Market and a Red Cross shop besides fair price shops in the district Hospital Kulgam soon so that the people will be ben-efited at large.

On the occasion many co-operators also spoke at length about the aspects and achievements of coop-erative sector achieved in the Kulgam district. Speaking on the occasion the principal cooperative training col-lege Srinagar said,” cooperative movement is sustained

because of its good principles while to give it vitality we need dedication and honesty”.

Meanwhile, 60th Co-operative Week was also celebrated in district Budgam today where repre-

sentatives of 160 cooperative societies registered in the district participated. District Development Commis-sioner Budgam presided over the event and termed co-operative movement as a movement of self-reliance, which should take up various activities like construct-ing housing colonies, running educational institution, establishing business units and help government in disinvestment policies. Additional Registrar and Deputy Registrar Co-operative Budgam were present on the occasion and sought help of district administra-tion for providing better marketing facilities to various products of co-operative societies.

JAMMU NOVEMBER 19

Minister for Labour, Planning and Development Mr Ajay Kumar Sadhotra today said that focussed attention is being paid towards upgrading various facilities in order to enhance the quality of life of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Interacting with people after the commencement of black topping of Nandani to Sardarechak link road in Marh con-stituency this morning, the Minister said that roads, drink-ing water, irrigation and civic amenities have gained impetus over the years.

The Minister said that a massive developmental effort has been launched by the government under the leadership of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in all the three regions of the State. He said the government is committed to upgrade various facilities and in this initiative the cooperation of the people is imperative.

Urging the people to actively join the effort, the Minister said that the Panchayati Raj System has opened up vistas of opportunities for the rural population, making them impor-tant ingredient of the decision making process. He said Pan-chayats have to play an important

Dev activities gaining momentum across J&K,

says Sadhotra

60th Co-operative Week celebrated at Kulgam, Budgam

G A Mir launched Aadhar in Dooru

Sakshar Bharat Mission reviewed at Kupwara

KUPWARA, NOVEMBER 19:

The District Development Commissioner, Kupwara who is also the chairman of District Lok Shiksha Samiti, Kup-wara convened a meeting of officers of DIET, Education, Rural Development to review the progress achieved under the Sakshar Bharat Mission (SMB) here today.

The District Coordinator, SBM briefed the aim and objectives regarding the launching of the mission through PowerPoint presentation.

The District Development Commissioner Kupwara impressed upon the concerned to constitute the Samitis at Panchayat and Block levels for the implementation of the programmes as per the guidelines.

The meeting was informed that as per the census 2011, the population of the district has been registered 875 lakh and survey report revealed that 223684 children have been registered under 0-14 years while as 6-14 years of age 132138 children have been registered in the district with the total enrolment at elementary level are 127738.

It was further informed that Rs. 10.25 crore un-der centre share and Rs. 2.50 crore were released for the programme by the State Project Director SSA. The survey and selection of district and block co-ordinators, preraks at Gram Panchayat level has been completed, the meeting was informed besides 11 block level coordinators, 712 pre-raks have been engaged for the implementation of SBM at grass root level.

It was also given out that 1953 drop outs were registered of which 1155 appeared in the learners exami-nation besides 17000 new literates were registered during 2012 in which 10184 appeared in the examination at 54 centres in the district.

Says toll free No for 24x7 service in Jammu city shortly

Says 1.25 lakh Aadhar cards to be issued in Dooru

Speaker receives reply from V K Singh

JAMMU, NOVEMBER 19: According to a spokesman of Legislative Assembly,

The Speaker, Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly Mr. Mubarak Gul has said that he has received a copy of the re-ply from General (Retd.) V. K. Singh, former Chief of Army Staff along with a CD today. This, according to the spokes-man, was in response to the breach of privilege notice re-ceived by him from some Ministers/Members of the House.According to the spokesman.

Sadhotra inspects ESIC Model Hospital at

Bari Brahmana JAMMU NOVEMBER 19-

Minister for Labour, Planning and Development Mr Ajay Sadhotra to-day spelled out initiatives taken for the upliftment of work force and ex-horted upon the agencies engaged in implementation of various welfare schemes to redouble their efforts and ensure that optimal benefits reach the targeted segment.

During his visit to the model hospital, set up by the Employees State Insurance Corporation(ESIC) in the Industrial Area at Bari Brah-mana the Minister discussed with medics the facilities available for labourers and their families and hoped that they will work with devotion and missionary spirit.

The Minister was accompa-nied by the Commissioner Sec-retary Labour and Employment, Mr. B. A. Runiyal and the Labour Commissioner Mrs. Nirmal Sharma. They apprised the Minister about various schemes in vogue for the welfare of working class.

During his interaction with patients, he was apprised about the pau-city of the staff and requested to take immediate measures for improving the infrastructural facilities and ensuring medicines in the ESIC Model Hospital. He said these will be looked into earnestly for appropriate re-medial measures. Mr Sadhotra also stressed the need for monitoring the working of the hospitals set up and said focused attention should be paid to upgrading the diagnostic facilities and ensuring medicines for the patients.

Love and romance are going marvelously well today. If you’re attached, affection continues to grow between you and your partner. A strong sense of unity could lead to a firm commitment. If you aren’t currently involved, don’t be surprised if someone you like but don’t know well suddenly seems attracted to you.

You tend to be intellectually inclined. Today you might put some of your knowledge to work in a creative way. Your intuition and imagination are working overtime. If you’ve been thinking about starting a new project, this is the day to do it. The only downside is that you could get so obsessed with your work that you can’t concentrate on anything else. Pace yourself so you don’t burn out.

You should feel emotionally stable today, but you may feel a bit unsure of yourself when it comes to data. Someone is challenging your way of thinking and demanding that you take a step farther out on the fragile limb. You’re happy on the part of the branch that’s much thicker and more stable. Feel free to stay there if you don’t feel comfortable taking a chance now.

Today you may come up with some attractive new ideas to advance your career and increase your income. The only question is whether or not you can follow through. Some of them may be workable and some may not, but if you’re serious, you should do some research to figure that out. The future looks good if you take the necessary steps to turn your ideas into reality.

Today you might experience a rush of spiritual insights. Whatever comes to you seems clear and right, and it could inspire music, poetry, or painting. The only problem might be that these insights may disappear if you don’t write them down right away. Visions from the other side can be ephem-eral. If you like what’s coming to you, keep a record of it.

Today you could receive some unexpected good news regarding the impending arrival of money that you’ve antici-pated for a long time. This will be very welcome news and worthy of a celebration, although you still might not believe it. Believe it! Your long wait is over. Now you have to resist the temptation to spend it all in one place.

Your kindness and good manners could pay off today. Someone who respects you a great deal might offer you an opportunity to advance that increases your income. You may have known this person for a long time, and the two of you work well together. This opportunity should be welcome and not intimidating. Go for it! If you do, the future will be rosy.

A social event today could put you in contact with some old friends who mean a great deal to you. The occasion will be very warm and friendly, though you may feel a little subdued. Never mind! Sometimes companionable silence is preferable to forced talk. Just bask in the presence of cherished companions and listen to what others say. You’ll enjoy yourself that much more.

Working closely with someone might bring up some strong, warm affection between you. It may or may not be a romantic attraction, but if it is, don’t read too much into it now. The situation is creating the emotions. There’s the chance that the attraction could pass by tomorrow. But you’ve probably found someone with whom you can col-laborate harmoniously. That’s important!

Love, affection, and romance seem to be all around you. Strong unity with close friends, family members, and your romantic partner may well up throughout the day. You can also expect a rush of imagination and artistic inspiration, perhaps generated by the support of those around you. Any relationships formed now will last a long time. Recall this day when times get tough.

Strong psychic impressions about absent friends or fam-ily members may come to you today. All are apt to be posi-tive, though you might find it disconcerting. You might even think it more so if you learn your intuition was right! This tendency may continue for a while. Your sensitivity to oth-ers’ thoughts and feelings is increasing. It can contribute to your understanding of them. Make the most of it.

Today you could intuit powerful feelings of affection from someone you might be romantically attracted to. You could feel a rush of exhilaration from this experience before your skeptical side kicks in to say it’s all wishful thinking. A little skepticism is healthy, but don’t let it overpower your positive impression. All signs say that what you sense is true. Follow your heart.

Government of Jammu & Kashmir

Municipal Committee PahalgamQuotation Notice

Sealed quotation affixed with rupee five rev-enue stamps are invited for supply of (70) quin-tals Fire Wood, so as to reach to the office of the undersigned on or before 20-11-2013 upto 2 pm on the following terms and conditions:

1. The intending quotationer shall quote their rates per quintal F.O.R to Municipal Committee Pahalgam.

2. The Fire wood to be approved must be dry and duly chopped to stove cut.

3. The quotation forms can be had from office of the undersigned on cash payment of Rs. 50 as per cost of each form.

4. The supply is to be made within 7 days from issuance of supply order.

Sd/ Executive Officer Municipal Committee pahalgamDIPK-NB: 2215

HEALTH AND FITNESS

ZABARWAN TIMES Tuesday 29 October 2013

9 Attitudes towards a happy ‘You’The key to happiness is to do the same things you do everyday but with a slight-ly different approach. Start bringing those changes in your attitude towards life and you'll see how simple it is to be happy!Life Coach Ramon Llamba shares nine significant at-titudes that help you be-come happier in life.

GratitudeAppreciate what you have and value it. Try count-ing your positives and be grateful for all the good things and people in your life. Stop complaining and be thankful for what you already have and you'll soon start feeling happy.

OptimismTreat failure as an oppor-tunity to learn a new and better lesson from life, and that's the trick to manufacture optimism in life. Never give up try-ing because that's an in-dication that something better is in store. Once you start harbouring an optimistic attitude to-wards life, success will automatically follow.Avoid comparisonNothing is as awful as comparing yourself to someone else. If you think you're better that the other person,

you're letting yourself regale in an unhealthy sense of superiority. If you demean yourself in front of others, it means all your hard work and progress has been in vain. While social com-parisons are unhealthy, self-improvement is ef-fective.

KindnessThere's a scientific rea-son behind every act of kindness that you do. Helping someone self-lessly releases serotonin in your brain (Serotonin is the hormone that con-trols your mood) and hence makes you feel good about yourself al-most instantly. Try do-ing one act of kindness everyday to flush out the toxins of depression from your system.

Nurture relation-

shipsRelationships keep us alive and kicking. In fact, ac-cording to research studies loneliness doubles people's mortality rates. A circle of good friends, loving fam-ily members and cheerful colleagues are a reminder that you have people who care about you. There's

nothing like having some-one who you can share your experiences with. So nurture these relation-ships and say goodbye to a lonesome existence.

ForgiveHatred is a negative feel-ing and harbouring it will have nothing but negative effects on your well-being. Stop thinking about the hateful emotion/person and let it go. Forgive if needed, take things lightly and let it not affect your system.

Commit to

your goalsIf you have a goal, work towards it. Anything is achievable if you put your heart into it. Wholehearted dedication and diligence can bring extraordinary re-sults and consequentially add to your happiness.

Spiritual-ity

Spirituality teaches us that life is bigger than us and it helps us connect to the larg-er meanings of life. Practice spirituality to understand the source of all creation

and feel connected to ev-erything that exists in this world.

Care for your body

Love yourself and love your body! Your physi-cal condition has a direct connection with your well-being. A fit body and healthy mind is reflective of happiness. Start work-ing towards the health of your physical, men-tal and emotional en-ergy by caring for your body.

Spirituality boosts mental health

Despite differences in ritu-als and beliefs among the world's major religions, spirituality often enhances individuals' health, ac-cording to University of Missouri researchers. The MU researchers be-lieve that health care pro-viders could take advan-tage of this correlation between health - particu-larly mental health - and spirituality by tailoring treatments and rehabilita-tion programs to accom-modate an individual's spiritual inclinations. "In many ways, the re-sults of our study support the idea that spirituality functions as a personality trait," said Dan Cohen, as-sistant teaching professor of religious studies at MU and one of the co-authors of the study. "With in-creased spirituality people reduce their sense of self and feel a greater sense of oneness and connected-ness with the rest of the universe. What was inter-esting was that frequency of participation in reli-gious activities or the per-ceived degree of congre-gational support was not found to be significant in the relationships between personality, spirituality,

religion and health," Co-hen added. The MU study used the results of three surveys to determine if correlations existed among partici-pants' self-reported men-tal and physical health, personality factors, and spirituality in Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, Catholics and Protestants. Across all five faiths, a greater degree of spirituality was related to better mental health, specifically lower levels of neuroticism and greater extraversion. Forgiveness was the only spiritual trait predictive of mental health after personality variables were considered. "Our prior research shows that the mental health of people recovering from different medical conditions, such

as cancer, stroke, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, appears to be related significantly to positive spiritual beliefs and especially congregational support and spiritual in-terventions," said Cohen. "Spiritual beliefs may be a coping device to help in-dividuals deal emotionally with stress," he added. Cohen believes spirituality may help people's mental health by reducing their self-centeredness and de-veloping their sense of be-longing to a larger whole. As the authors note, spiri-tual interventions such as religious-based counseling, meditation, and forgiveness protocols may enhance spiritually-based beliefs, practices, and coping strategies in positive ways.

Are weight loss pills a fact or a myth? Can you really lose weight with a pill? The US FDA recently approved a drug Lorcaserin, a drug that helps you lose weight. To clear doubts about this 'magical' pill we spoke to Dr. Verinder Anand, Consulting doctor in Internal Medicine from Moolchand Medcity. He sheds light on the weight loss pill and strips bare the ugly truth. Why would In-dians fall prey to this drug? "Obesity is a growing prob-lem in India and other developing countries and is largely the result of a chronically improper diet and lack of physical activ-ity. Obesity is an outcome of sedentary lifestyle and westernization of our so-ciety. Over-eating junk food and lack of physi-cal exercise result in high body mass index (BMI)." Will this drug work for an Indian body? "Vis-a-vis to western countries where junk food is cheaper, in In-dia, the population, mostly the upper strata of society,

in metropolitan cities are getting afflicted because there is a lack of exercise, there is a tendency to eat more junk food and so they are putting on more weight and becoming obese. Yes, these drugs have positive impacts on Indians for a small period of time only." How does this drug work? What is the effect on the body? "Most of these drugs sup-press appetite by activat-ing the brain receptors for a neurotransmitter called serotonin, which triggers feelings of satiety and satis-faction. This drug raises the energy levels and suppresses the appetite and pushes the body to burn more calories. But continuing weight loss medicine in long term is un-healthy and ineffective." Is this drug another marketing gimmick? It has been proved to be effective. A trial period of 12 weeks is suggested. In this duration there should be a minimum 5 percent weight loss. Can we expect drastic weight

loss with this drug? No, these weight-loss drugs will shed about 2-3 kilos per year. Expert views on Weight loss drugs These medicines are avoidable and should not be con-sumed by just anyone. Only those who are obese and suffering from condi-tions related to this should take prescribed ones, which doctors term "life-style medications" rather than "diet pills". These medicines are prescribed only to those people with

a BMI (body-mass in-dex) over 27, as part of a broader weight-loss re-gime that involves other medications such as di-uretics and a calorie-restricted diet and exer-cise. Dr. Verinder Anand sums up HMU's belief, exercise plus right diet equals weight loss, "In a nutshell, there is no oth-er effective and health-ier alternative to lose the extra flab apart from good eating habits and regular exercise."

Next time, delay that appointment at the wellness centre for chemicals or danger-ous injectables that aim to turn back the clock. The latest technique to get rid of your wrinkles is simple and non-inva-sive and well, you can pull faces while doing it. Called face yoga, the set of facial exercises has caught the fancy of Holly-wood celebrities such as Gwyneth Pal-trow and Jennifer Aniston, who are said to be advocates of it. Here's how you can get glowing with pulling a few faces...

Its benefitsLike regular yoga, the moves in face yoga also have unique names. Want to try The Marilyn, Bumblebee or Lion — all expressions intended to turn back the ageing clock and and reduce wrinkles. Experts state that face yoga not only reju-venates the face, but simultaneously helps in putting back that glow. Explains yoga trainer Yogesh Chavan, "The face mus-cles are not different from the muscles of the rest of the body. Thus, if they are not exercised, they become flabby. Face yoga, which allows for oxygen to rush to the face, is extremely rejuvenating and acts as a beauty booster. It en-tails toning one's facial muscles by smiling, stretching the eyebrows out-wards, twisting your lips or moving the cheeks from side to side, stretch-ing out your tongue and even making

the mouth into the shape of blowing a kiss. One can do this every morning or even while travelling."How it has helped peopleFace yoga aims to tighten facial mus-

cles and aid blood circulation. Rajiv Ananth, an advertising executive, who regularly practises this yoga in the morning, is gung-ho about it. "Due to long work hours I had developed a puffi-ness around the eyes. But I tried face yoga and found it to be beneficial. After just a week of exercises such as Kapalb-hatti and deep breathing techniques, I found that my dark circles had greatly reduced," he informs.According to busi-nesswoman Nisha Shrimant, what really attracted her to facial yoga in the past was the fact that she could do

it anywhere. Says she, "With my sched-ule I travel a lot on work and so I can't get onto a treadmill or spend time on a yoga mat. I realised facial yoga could be done on the go and after my yoga teach-

er taught me a few exercises I loved it," she admits, adding, "Now, when I also feel my face tightening due to stress I take a break and go into a wash-room or a quiet corridor and do facial contortions. It's funny to someone who sees me, but it really works; my face relaxes almost imme-diately," she adds.Practise these ex-

ercises today!While Chavan states that

yogasanas like Simhasan (lion pose) and Vyaghrasan (tiger pose) are apt to fit into facial yoga, holistic health guru Mickey Mehta also presents easy face exercises to do at any time. "Chewing is a good exercise, as well as blowing (like blowing a balloon), sucking in one's cheeks holding it for seven to eight seconds and releas-ing it, frowning, then relaxing then a repeat of this also helps. In addi-tion, try smiling, laughing and most important, 'still the face' for a few minutes each day. W

Stressed and unfit, with no time for the gym? A towel and sock can save you from fatLong work hours keeping you from a fitness regime? While nothing can sub-stitute the recommended hour of daily exercise needed to stay slim, fitting fitness activities in your daily routine isn't as tough as you'd imagine. Take the stairs, instead of the lift; Use your chair as support for leg lifts; and lift water bottles as weights to tone your arm muscles.That much, you already know. But what of com-mon household objects that can yield results to ri-val barbells and resistance machines? Read on.

Build your musclesBooks:

The next time you're reading a tome, put it to another use. Bal-ance it on your stomach to increase the load on your abs while perform-ing stomach crunches. To turn the heat on

your lower abs, lie flat on your back with your arms extended above you, holding a heavy book. Use only your stomach muscles to propel the movement as you lift your shoulders straight off the ground, keeping the rest of your body flat. Here's an-other exercise: Sit on a chair with your legs to-gether and extended in front of you, with your feet eight inches above the ground. Balance the book on your shins as you slowly lift your legs up, while keeping them extended. Lower the legs and repeat. Fill a satchel with books. Lift it bending only your elbows, and voila, you have for yourself a for-midable » dumbbell.De-stress your nerves

Tennis balls- Who doesn't want a genie to massage their feet after a particularly trying day? Believe it or not, a tennis ball is a wonderful substi-

tute. While sit-ting, slide a ten-nis ball under your foot. Keep rolling it back and forth, as it massages your heel. Start with less pressure and progress to rolling the ball under your foot while stand-ing. If it hurts, it means your nerve endings are not relaxed. Switch to the other foot after five minutes. Load four tennis balls into an old legging, or a much-washed sock. Tie the end and roll this makeshift massager on your back (as you would a towel after a shower) for a soothing back rub. A ten-nis ball can also help tone your muscles. Hold one between your knees while sitting on the edge of a chair. Squeeze your legs together to work out your inner thighs.

Bathing towels It might seem like an ex-aggeration, but a well-devised strength train-ing routine featuring the humble towel can have you sweating bul-lets in no time. With nothing but a towel, you can break into a slew of effective exercises like resistance repetitions, where you use your own strength to build and tone arm, chest, shoulder, thigh and leg muscles.

If you have been meaning to buy a resistance band, but haven't got around to doing it, pick up your towel and start with a simple squat. Stretch the towel like a bar over your head and push your weight down. This helps strengthen your arms along with your thighs. Arm extensions and a single leg squat with the towel held under the other foot are other instances of strength training with a bathroom necessity.

7 Postures to avoid when exercising

If you often wonder about why you suffer frequent in-juries at the gym, it's time to take a long, hard look at your workout form.While exercising, method and posture play an im-portant role. We give you an insight on why poor form is to blame for your aches and pains.Stop jerking: Stop jerk-ing your weights and your body, it will only cause in-jury and it will have no ef-fect on the muscles. Take a cue from James Bond; being smooth gets the best outcome. Smooth weight training will surely get you the much needed muscles. When you twist and jerk your body while lifting weights, you open your-self up to a world of inju-ries like joint pain, muscle pulls, even fractures.Slow movements: You don't want to workout in a jiffy, it defeats the purpose. Muscle fibers need slow yet smooth movement to

build size and strength. If you workout really quick-ly, all the fibers don't get worked out. Take time and do a proper workout.Pain in the neck: Summertime is the best time to flaunt your six pack abs. But, if you are gung ho about stomach crunches, you need to know one thing. Do not place your hand on your neck as you pull your neck forward. This will cause severe neck pain. In-stead, place your hand on your chest or by your side. If you are accustomed to placing your hands behind your head, then use them only as markers. Do not force your head forward in order to compensate or start the crunching move-ment.Squat right: When it comes to squats, balance and body alignment is im-portant. Do not bend too forward nor go down be-low your knee level. When squatting, arch your back, your abs should be tight,

head up and your body should be in proper align-ment. Do not let your knees cross your toes, and do not lock your knees as you lift yourself.Full range mo-tion: When weight train-ing even if you do easy and few exercises make a note to do full range motions. There are two benefits: your joints are more mo-bile, but more importantly your muscle has a boost of strength when completely extended.Straighten your back for a deadlift: If you arch your back, chances are you will risk a slip disc or hernia. Also keep your head in neutral position, not up or down.Bench press posture: You may think that bench press doesn't have a right posture, but arching your back can induce lower back pain. Here's what you should do; feet should be on the floor, butt on the bench, with slight arch in your lower back and you're good to go.

Wednesday, 20 November 2013 8HEALTH7Lake City Times

Monday 10 - 16 December 2012

Weekly

Addicted to pills?

SundAy | April 22

Mustard seeds have been around since

almost 5,000 years. They’re known to have

numerous benefits since they’re low in calories and high in nutritional

value and have a lot of antibacterial and antiseptic qualities.

They’re available in different varieties - black mustard, white mustard and brown Indian mustard, in whole as well as in pow-dered form.

Mustard oil is known to be great for the skin because it generates warmth.

Mustard seeds are rich in a nutrient called sele-nium, known for its high anti-inflammatory effects. n The high source of magne-

sium in mustard seeds helps reducing the severity of asthma attacks and certain symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and lowering blood pressure.

Suffer from migraines? Mustard seeds are known to

give relief from the number of migraine attacks you get.

Mustard seeds are very rich in calcium, manganese, omega 3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, protein and dietary fi-

ber - include them in your diet.

For people who suffer from a bad appetite, here’s something that will be really helpful.

Mix a few black mus-tard seeds with milk and

have it 15 to 20 minutes be-fore your meal.

Mustard seeds are ex-cellent for digestion because they increase the metabo-lism rate of your body.

Dr Parul R Sheth says that over-the-counter (OTC) medications or non-prescriptions drugs are generally safe when taken exactly as instructed on the label or packaging. “While they do get rid of aches and pains, there are side effects and risks attached. These medications can cause acid re-flux, heartburn, problems with certain medical conditions, may interact with food or other medications, all which can be dangerous. If you happen to misuse OTC pills, you may end up with stomach ul-cers, kidney damage, liver dam-age, heart attacks or even strokes in the long run,” says Dr Parul. According to physician Dr Abhay Shirkhande, people can get ad-dicted to all sorts of medicines - pain killers, antidepressants, sedatives, ant-acids or even a cough syrup. “In a ma-jority of the cases, the addiction starts when people start treating themselves. The easy availability of drugs over the counter without prescription or gov-ernmental control is another reason for this addiction. Many times igno-rance about side effects makes people consume such medicines for longer periods of time,” says Dr Shirkhande.

Don’t self-prescribe medicine When you self-prescribe drugs like an-

tidepressants, sleeping pills or an an-tibiotic, it can be potentially harmful especially when you’re unaware of the specific compound that goes in it, the required dosage or how long you need to take the medication. “It is unwise to self-diagnose because medications can have side effects, which can cause more trouble than cure you,” says Dr

Parul. Consultant physician Dr Pradip Shah says that several times confu-sion with medicine names can lead to wrong medication and serious ill ef-fects. “Most painkillers contain Acet-aminophen, which when taken in high doses causes acute liver failure. Cer-tain painkillers lead to kidney damage, cause constipation, gastritis and peptic ulcer disease,” he says.

Problems In the long run, women who are addicted can have irregular and prolonged menstruation. Other side effects of indiscriminate use of

pills include heartburn, nausea, stom-ach ulcers, ringing sensation in ears, worsening of asthma, skin rashes, blood disorders, stomach upsets, drowsiness, dry mouth, urinary reten-tion, constipation, liver problems, hair loss, hallucinations, irregular heart-beat, impotence, inability to sleep, constipation etc.

Treatment Dr Shirkhande says that an addict first has to undergo complete detoxification to get rid of toxins in the body. “There is a noticeable improve-ment in the condition once this is done. The second step is to ex-ercise self control and make life-style changes. This includes going on a healthy diet and exercising.

Meditation, running, yoga, walking, etc. are good practices. Seek the help of an expert to help overcome your addic-tion. Group therapy is another option, where you can talk to people suffering from the same problem. Sharing un-derstanding, supporting and encour-aging each other can be of great help,” he ends.

Symptoms of addictionYou have strong cravings for the

medication.Your drug use has become compulsive and you’re taking more than the prescribed dose.

Benefits of mustard seeds Exercises to burn 200

calories daily!There is nothing better than

being in great physical shape. You look attractive to yourself, and to your partner, not to mention how you light up every party. So look and feel on top of the world by trying out these exercises which will help you burn at least 200 calories daily. Qigong: These exercises involve various breath control techniques, meditation and relaxation. It is similar to pranayama. While doing Qigong, the practitioner spends little en-ergy, but at the end of a session there is profuse perspiration, little elevation in blood pressure, but increased levels of energy. Bu-dokon: If you enjoy yoga but are also in love with the high-intensi-ty kickboxing class across the hall, try a fusion class like Budokon (bu-do-kon) and get hip with the Hollywood crowd.

There are days when you barely pay any attention

to that headache and then there are days when

you feel like it could kill you.

'Headache' is an umbrella term under which many kinds exist. For the various types - migraine, cluster, tension-type, ice cream and symp-tomatic - there are different kinds of treatments. For instance, acute pain can be treated by a simple analgesic or painkiller, as prescribed by a doctor. However, it is essential to address the root cause of the pain, as it will reoc-cur if not treated properly.

Dr Sangeeta Ravat, Head of Neu-rology department, KEM, tells us how to distinguish one headache from an-other. While you take aid of prescribed medicines, here are a few home rem-edies.

MigraineMigraine is a severe headache

type and can have a considerable im-pact on the daily life of sufferers. It may occur in half of the head called the hemi cranial; this is usually pre-ceded by an aura or the premonitory system. "You may see a coloured halo or bright light, which is called a visual aura.

The character of the headache is throbbing. It feels as if someone is hammering your headache along with nausea and vomiting. The migraine patient tends to be photophobia (more sensitive to light) and phonophobia (more sensitive to noise).

They cannot bear bright light and loud music. They can't even tolerate people talking loudly. It's that bad,"

says Ravat. TRIGGERS: Migraines can

be genetically linked. However, dis-turbed sleep pattern, emotional melt-down, hormonal disturbances, physi-cal exertion, weather changes, strong odour, smoking, poor eating pattern, consumption of al-cohol, artificial sweeteners, too much caffeine, and food such as nuts, chocolates, and cheese may further exacerbate the migraine problem. RE-LIEF: Apart from medicines prescribed by the doctor, the herb Kava is known to be a very useful alternative for mi-graine. Its properties allow a sedative feeling and relax the mind.

These effects reduce mi-graine headaches as well as improve sleep. Garlic is also a strong detoxifier.

ClusterCluster headache is an

excruciating condition that is rare. It is characterised by fre-quently recurrent, short last-ing headache and autonomic symptoms. Cluster headache type is easily recognisable.

The episodic form occurs in bouts (clusters). A sort of unilateral intense pain around the eye devel-ops once or more daily, commonly at night.

This headache type is sudden in onset and can last for almost three hours and can occur between once a day, and sometimes even eight times a day. The eye is red and waters, the nose runs or is blocked on that side, and ptosis (drooping eyelid) may oc-cur.

As the name suggests this sort of pain, which stems from the migraine family, occurs in a cluster.

"It may last for almost two weeks and may occur twice or thrice a year,

but unlike migraine, this could go on continuously for two weeks without any symptom free period," says Ra-vat.

Triggers: There is genetic sus-ceptibility and is caused due to neu-

rotransmitter imbalance. Relief: There is no relief unless you seek medical advice.

"In the case of cluster headaches, the doctor may have to give certain steroids and stronger painkillers to relieve the patient.

Nasal oxygen mask can relief the attack, as the oxygen saturation of the blood improves and the brain is able to get more oxygen. In migraine, the blood vessels are in spasm. If the spasm is severe, the area of the brain may suffer from lack of blood supply that may lead to some neurological deficit. It's essential to consult your doctor," says Ravat.

Tension-typeThis is perhaps the most common

type of primary headache. It is a non-specific headache, which is not vascu-lar related to organic disease.

It is related to muscle tightening in the back of the neck and/or scalp. There are two general classifications of tension-type headache: episodic and chronic, differentiated by fre-quency and severity of symptoms.

Episodic tension-type headache occurs randomly and is usually trig-gered by temporary stress, anxiety, fatigue or anger.

Withdrawal from the source of stress or a relatively brief period of relaxation or meditation can help re-lieve the pain.

On the other hand, chronic ten-sion-type headache is a continuous

headache, which may have some vari-ability in the intensity of the pain dur-ing a 24-hour cycle.

Both are characterised as dull, aching and non-pulsating pain and af-fect both sides of the head. Symptoms

for both types are similar and may include muscles between head and neck contract, a tightening band-like sensation around the neck and/or head.

The pain primarily occurs in the forehead, temples or the back on head and/or neck.

Ravat says, "But unlike migraine, this type of pain is less severe. It is also known as muscle contraction tension headache. It is very common among young professionals who have stressful jobs."

Triggers: Emotional as well as physical stress cause tension-type headache. There could be an underlying psycho-logical illness such as depres-sion and anxiety.

That apart, spending too much time in front of the tele-vision and computer can also generate this kind of head-ache.

Relief: It is advisable for people who have stress-related

headaches to practise breathing exer-cises.

Take three deep breaths, all the way in and all the way out, slowly. This works, especially, when you feel a headache coming on.

Meditate, as it helps to relax the body and stop the headache. Identify stressors in your life and learn to steer clear from it.

Ice-cream headacheThis headache occurs briefly, but

the throbbing headache may occur af-ter you eat food that is icy cold. Some people also describe ice cream head-aches as brain freeze effects, which

are a result of having ice cream, slushy drinks, golas and other frozen food.

Even though the pain that is ex-perienced during an ice cream head-ache is intense, these headaches are rarely serious.

This typically happens among young as well as middle aged people when they've eaten something cold. Sometimes, ice-cream headache in-volves one eye and bruised after the pain has gone.

Triggers: Consuming cold food such as ice-cream, ice-candies or go-las can trigger the pain. Some patients find cold foods trigger the pain. While anybody can suffer from ice cream headaches, people who suffer from migraine are more prone to them. People who have had a prior head in-jury are also more likely to experience ice cream headaches, as compared to the others.

Relief: There is no particular remedy or treatment for ice cream headache. Normally, soon after you consume the food or the drink that has caused the problem, the problem subsides. If you're prone to this, avoid cold food altogether.

Symptomatic headacheIt is a headache, which is sec-

ondary to another organic condition such as meningitis, intracranial tu-mours, and subarachnoid haemor-rhage (headache is often described as the worst ever, and is usually but not always) of sudden or ictal onset. Neck stiffness may take hours to develop. In elderly patients particularly, classic symptoms and signs may be absent. Ravat says, "In this case, along with the excruciating pain, the person may also have frequent bouts of blackouts as well as projectile vomiting."

Triggers: Since the headache here serves as a signpost to a bigger problem, it is imperative to investi-gate the cause of the pain problem or disease.

A headache is nOT a headache!

Men and women have different drinking capacities and being drunk slows down your reaction time and ability to process informa-tion. Clinical psychologist Seema Hingorrany says that binge drinking is a common pattern of excessive alcohol use and refers to drinking heavily over a short period of time with the in-tention of getting drunk, resulting in immediate and severe intoxication. “The National Insti-tute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams per cent or above. This typically happens when men consume five or more drinks, and when women consume four or more drinks, in about two hours,” she says.

Obesity surgeon Dr Manish Motwan says that binge drinking is most common among 16 to 24-year-olds. “Consuming large quantities of alcohol in a short period of time is getting very popular today but can have several conse-quences,” he says.

How harmful is binge drinking? Possible increased risk of neurological dis-

orders, heart problems, memory loss, sexual problems (especially male impotency).

Risk of developing emotional problems such as depression, problems at college or work

and issues within relationships. Changes in mood and executive function

can alter behaviour in ways that could promote progression to alcohol dependence.

Acute psychological complications and

mental processing is impaired when a person engages in binge drinking episodes.

Nutrition therapist Purwa Duggal says that binge drinking can have adverse effects on the body since it raises the persons’ alcohol blood concentration level. “Alcohol intoxication can be harmful for several reasons - it can impair brain function resulting in poor judgment, re-duced reaction time, loss of balance and motor skills or slurred speech. Dilation of blood ves-sels causing a feeling of warmth but actually re-sulting in rapid loss of body heat is a common effect. There is also an increased risk of certain cancers, stroke and liver diseases. Damage to a developing foetus is also possible if consumed by pregnant women. There is also an increased risk accidents, violence, and other injuries,” she says.

Is binge drinking worse than drinking everyday?

The nature and severity of the problem de-pends on how frequently it occurs and how long is it maintained. Though daily heavy drinking is known to have a greater health impact than binge episodes, excessive drinking in either forms may cause health problems, such as liver cirrhosis, pancreatitis, high blood pressure and unintentional injuries, etc.

In a new study, scien-tists have argued that cho-lesterol may slow or stop cancer cell growth.

The study, which in-cludes a Simon Fraser Uni-versity researcher, describes how cholesterol-binding proteins called ORPs may control cell growth in A Detour for Yeast Oxys-terol Binding Proteins.

The scientists came to their conclusion while trying to understand how cholesterol moves around inside cells in the fat’s journey to cell surfaces where it rein-forces their outer mem-brane.

“The assumption was that ORPs bind and trans-port cholesterol inside cells in a similar fashion to how lipoproteins bind and move around the fat outside cells through the blood stream,” Chris Beh, said.

Beh and his colleagues noted that genetic changes

engineered by them block the ability of ORPs to bind cholesterol but don’t stop ORPs from functioning.

In fact, these altered ORPs work better and ac-tivate other regulator pro-teins, which in turn trigger a variety of cellular processes

that stimulate cell growth.The scientists believe

this happened because cho-lesterol-binding normally interferes with ORPs’ ability to bind to another lipid or fat called PI4P, which is im-portant for cell growth.

“That told us that ORPs probably have nothing to do

with moving around choles-terol within cells.

“Rather cholesterol-binding puts the brakes on ORP’s ability to bind to PI4P which, if left unchecked, could accelerate cell growth like crazy.

“Given that uncon-trolled cell growth is a key feature of cancer, this means gaining a better understanding of the true purpose of cho-lesterol-binding within cells could be important in cancer treatment,” he said.Beh and his col-leagues draw on two im-portant facts to support their conclusion.

“First, cancer cells re-quire ORPs to survive.

“Second, other scien-tists have previously shown that a new class of natural compounds that look like steroids or cholesterol can kill a broad spectrum of different cancer cells,” he added.

How binge drinking harms your health Cholesterol has cancer fighting goodness?

Abstaining from drinks all week and getting drunk on the

weekend is not as good an idea as you think it is.

Body hurts? Something doesn’t feel right? How easy it is to reach out and pop some pills to

get soothing relief. But here’s the catch - self prescribing pills may end up doing you more

harm than good.

Agencies

NEW DELHI: CRPF of-ficer Sanjay Yadav, who al-legedly leaked movements of troops to the Maoists in Bihar, was arrested on Mon-day. CRPF and Bihar Police officers interrogated him in Patna for four days before arresting him. Yadav, an as-sistant commandant with the CRPF’s 159 battalion, was posted in Gaya, one of Bihar’s Maoist-affected districts. Bihar Police had filed an FIR against him at Imamganj police station on Thursday. “We are waiting for a full report from Bihar Police,” said CRPF director-

general Dilip Trivedi. Bihar Police got leads about Ya-dav’s role following the ar-rest of Pradeep Yadav who worked for the Maoists as a courier, said a source. After the complaint, the CRPF too initiated a probe into allega-tions against Yadav. During interrogation, Pradeep re-portedly revealed that Yadav was in touch with Maoists regularly and spoke to them often, said the source. When Yadav was confronted with Pradeep, the CRPF officer reportedly said he used his links with the Maoists for counter operations to trap the ultras. Yadav is believed to have told his interrogators

that the Maoist leaders he was in touch were his sourc-es. CRPF is the nodal agency leading the anti-Maoist op-erations across the country. It was alleged that Yadav was leaking movements of the CRPF ahead of anti-Maoist operations leading to their failure and risking lives of the troops. This allegedly helped the Maoists to flee before a raiding party could reach their hideout. Several CRPF officers believe Yadav’s arrest for maintaining links with Maoists is a tactical error. “Instead of arresting him, we could have utilized him for operations against the Maoists.”

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER | 20 | 2013ZABARWAN TIMES 7

SC notice to Centre, RBI, Sebi

on PIL on regulat-ing chitfunds

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the Cen-tre, RBI and Sebi seeking their re-sponse on a PIL for putting in place a proper mechanism to regulate func-tioning of chit funds in the country.

A bench headed by Chief Justice P Sathasivam asked the government and the institutions to file their re-sponse within four weeks on a plea filed by an NGO.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO ‘Humanity Salt Lake’, submitted that there has been inaction on the part of the govern-ment in regulating chit funds re-sulting in multiple scams across the country.He submitted that chit fund companies were collecting money from the public in violation of laws and that needed to be checked.

The petitioner referred to various chit fund scams including the recent multi-crore Saradha chit fund scam in West Bengal and pleaded before the apex court for its intervention in the matter to prevent recurrence of such cases.

Mulayam hauled before court for threat in speech

Rahul Gandhi says BJP leaders told him free food and free medicines will make the poor lazy

Agencies

A petition was filed in a Muzaf-farnagar district court against Sama-jwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav for making “dicta-tor-like” remarks during a Nov 1 speech.

The petition seeks action against the Samajwadi Party chief for saying in his speech that people will be trampled upon if they try to vitiate the atmosphere in the state.

“Sarkaar se takatwar kaun hai, hum aise logon ko kuchal ke rakh denge (Who is more power-ful than the government, we will trample all such people).”

The petitioner said he was taken aback by Mulayam Yadav’s remarks, which he thought were of “Taliban-like behaviour and mindset”.

The petition was filed by for-mer Jaansath block head Virendra Singh in the court of the judicial magistrate (II). His lawyer Chan-draveer Singh said the case has been listed for Nov 27.

“I have filed this case because I want to challenge Mulayam Singh’s dictator-like statement. Law is for everyone and every section of the

society has been hurt by the riots in Muzaffarnagar,” Virendra Singh said.

He also said that he was pained at the “one-sided rehabilitation pack-ages being given to a community,

while people across the society had suffered losses during the September riots”.

His lawyer said that during the hearing Nov 27, he would re-quest the court to summon the Samajwadi Party presi-dent.

The case has been lodged under sections 153 A (pro-moting enmity between dif-ferent groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language...), 504 (intentional insult with in-tent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian penal Code.

The petition also alleges that Mulayam Singh’s state-ments post-riots have been inflammatory and that he was trying to pit Hindus against Muslims.

Sixty-three people were killed in communal riots in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in September this year, while more than 43,000 were displaced.

Agencies

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi at-tacked the BJP at an election rally in Chhittor-garh in Rajasthan on Tuesday.

On one side in the Congress, and on other is the Opposition. But there is big difference in their thinking. We say this country is every-

one’s - the rich, the poor, the businessman, the dalit. This country is everyone’s.

And they say the focus should be on select people. They say if a government has to run, it will run for industrialists.

If you listen to their speeches, you will hear about roads, airports and infrastructure. But you won’t hear about human beings, about poor people.

They think if you lay roads, lay railways lines, built airports, the country will change. And we say: Do lay roads and built airports, but I say: Also help the poor people who can

one day get on those airplanes.

We don’t need a Hindustan where a poor man thinks whether his son or grandson will be able to ever get on that plane.

That’s why we talk about rights. We gave you RTI. We talk about giving you power.

We have built more infrastructure than the NDA.

When I got down here, there was a shin-ing airport. Who made it? The Congress party. But we also work for the poor.

What is a labourer’s life? He works for two-three days, he falls ill. He takes medicines, he

works again.And Gehlot-ji gave them free medicine

across Rajasthan.People in the BJP say the medicine is poi-

son. But for poor people, this not poison. Big

people take branded medicines, not generic medicines.

Rich people travel in Mercedes and when they see people on a bus, they think why they are on the bus?

I often meet people from the BJP in parlia-ment. I asked them why they were against MNREGA and the food security bill? They said when you give someone food for free and medicines, you spoil the person.

We think differently. We say if a man is stuck in poverty, there is wall in front of him. And to remove this wall, we must help him.

But the BJP wants the poor to smash the wall himself. But we want to help the poor break the wall.

We have started making the Delhi-Mum-bai railway corridor and this cement centre will be a world centre.

When computers came to Bangalore, op-position made jokes. We should talk about farmers, they said. Rajiv Gandhi-ji said phones and computers will benefit farmers too. And when their use spread, they took the claim for it.These people don’t think about tomorrow, they think about today. They don’t care about poor; they make people fight one another. They make people of Bombay fight the people of Uttar Pradesh.They don’t think if they make people fight, what will be the future.

We want all to walk together.When Congress wins elections, we will see

people from the grassroots, not people who travel in planes.

There will be industrialization, there will be factories. Some days ago, I talked to the people making the corridor and they said land prices have gone up and people with arid and dry land will benefit the most.

CRPF officer arrested for leaking information to Maoists

One more fodder case nearing end; CBI waits for court sanction

Agencies

The CBI is waiting for a court’s sanction to examine one more wit-ness in the fodder scam case in which former Bihar chief ministers Lalu Prasad Yadav, Jagannath Mishra and several others were accused of fraudulently withdrawing Rs 36 crore from Deogarh Treasury in the 1990s.

“Investigation into the RC 64 A/96 is almost complete. We have exam-ined more than 200 witnesses. We have already petitioned to the special CBI court of Sitaram Prasad to allow us examine an additional witness in the case to conclude the investiga-tion from our side,” a senior CBI of-ficial said here today.

He said there were 37 accused, in-cluding Lalu and Mishra, in the case.

Lalu, who is now in the Birsa Munda Central Jail after being convicted in the

case that pertained to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 37.7 crore from Chai-basa Treasury in 1994-95 fiscal, had yesterday ap-peared before the court through video conferenc-ing in the Deogarh Trea-sury case.

The RJD president is also appearing in three other fodder scam cases with the RC 47A/96 be-ing the highest alleged fund withdrawal of Rs 184 crore from Doranda Treasury followed by RC 68A/96 (separate Chai-basa Treasury case-Rs 36 crore) and RC 38A/96

(Dumka Treasury-Rs 3.97 crore), the se-nior CBI official said.

Congress not bothered about improving inflation: Narendra Modi

Agencies

With the completion of the process of consultations, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh is likely to finalise its recommendations in a couple of days for their inclusion in the draft bill for for-mation of separate Telangana state.

The GoM, which is looking into various issues related to bifurcation, is expected to speed up the whole process at its next meet-ing, scheduled to be held Thursday at New Delhi.The draft bill will be sent to the union cabinet, which will approve and send it to the president as provided by Article 3 of the Con-stitution.

As the centre intends to table the bill for creation of Telangana state during the win-ter session of parliament next month, Presi-dent Pranab Mukherjee is likely to refer the draft bill to the Andhra Pradesh legislature by month-end to obtain its view. The president will then approve and send the draft bill back to the cabinet for tabling it in parliament.

As part of the intensified efforts to finalise its recommendations, union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh Tuesday discussed with senior officials key issues related to bi-furcation.The meeting in the national capital lasted for three hours. They are likely to have another round of discussions on with the of-ficials on constitutional and other issues.

The GoM Monday completed consultations by holding separate meetings with central ministers from Telangana and Seemandhra (the combined Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra region) and Chief Minister N. Kiran

Kumar Reddy.The ministers from Telangana stressed the

need for completing the entire process for formation of a separate state next month and also made it clear that the state should com-prise 10 districts with Hyderabad as its capital.

Ministers from Seemandhra, however, demanded the GoM to keep Andhra Pradesh united. They said if the division becomes in-evitable, Hyderabad be declared a union terri-tory.Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy urged the GoM to reconsider the decision, saying bi-furcation would lead to security concerns not just for the two states and Hyderabad but for the entire country.

He warned that bifurcation would help Maoists to revive their activity and would also create law and order problems, especially in Hyderabad and other communally sensitive pockets.The six-member GoM headed by Shinde was constituted last month following the union cabinet’s decision to create Telan-gana as the 29th state of the country.

The panel is looking into 11 issues includ-ing determining the boundaries of the new state of Telangana and the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh; legal and administrative measures so that that both the state govern-ments can function efficiently from Hyder-abad as the common capital for 10 years; mea-sures that may be required for transition to a new capital of the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.Other issues before the panel are re-lated to law and order, safety and security of all residents; ensuring peace and harmony in all regions; sharing of the river water, irriga-tion resources and other natural resources (especially coal, water, oil and gas)

President likely to refer Telangana draft bill to Andhra legislature by month-end

Places of tourist attraction to be developed in Uttarakhand

Agenceis:

DEHRADUN: Around half a dozen places of tourist interest in the city and many oth-ers across Uttarakhand will be developed to attract visitors and give the much needed boost to tourism sector which took a beating in the recent natural calamity in the state.

Attractions in Dehradun like Assan Bar-rage, Tiger Falls, Lakhmandal Temple, Hanol Temple, Vriksha Samadhi and Adventure Sports Centre will be developed to attract tourists, officials said, citing decisions taken at a meeting of the Second State Level Em-powered Committee of Infrastructure De-velopment and Investment Programme for Tourism yesterday.

The other destinations to be developed are tourists home in Bhimtal, a Trekking Trail from Naikuchiyatal, Pithoragarh to Chandak, Mastamanu Temple, Pithoragarh fort and Adventure Sports Centre.

A tourism site will be established at Cor-

bett’s northern edge in Kotdwar, an adven-ture sports destination in Tehri Lake and Ganga Canal in Haridwar, while beautifica-tion of Jagjitpur would be taken up.

These decisions were taken at a meeting presided by chief secretary Subhash Kumar.

Separate meetings will be held with offi-cers of forest department for beautification and development of tourist destinations falling in the vicinity of the forest area.

It was stated during the meeting that Rs 76 crore had been received from the Asian Development Bank and by March 2014, Rs 15 crore would be used for starting develop-ment work at several tourist destinations.

The time allotted for completion of work is upto 2017, but the target is being set to complete it by 2016.

Secretary, tourism, Umakant Panwar said that work on beautification and construct-ing a dormitory, four huts, dining deck and landscaping will be taken up at the Assan Barrage.

Anna Hazare: Arvind Kejriwal not my enemy, ready to talk to himAgencies:

RALEGAN SIDDHI (Maharashtra): Social ac-tivist Anna Hazare said on Tuesday that Aam Admi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal was not his enemy and that he is ready to talk to the AAP leader.

“We are not enemies...I did not know he wanted to talk to me. I am ready to talk to Ar-vind Kejriwal,” said Anna Hazare while talking to the reporters here.

Clarifying on the letter he wrote to Kejriwal, Hazare said: “I was told that SIM cards were is-sued in my name during the India Against Cor-ruption (IAC) movement, the sale of which led to collection of funds. I have no connection in

this regard.”“Since I felt my name was being

misused, so I wrote the letter seeking a clarification. I have no interest in the money, just my name should not be misused.”

He said he would not engage in the poll campaign for any party and also questioned Kejriwal’s claim that he would pass the Jan Lokpal Bill at Ramlila Maidan here on December 29, arguing that such bills can be passed only in Parliament.

He also said that he has re-ceived a reply from Kejriwal, but has not read it yet.

Agencies

BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi today slammed Congress over the high inflation and alleged that its leaders have become very arrogant and were not bothered in improving the situation. “Look at the arrogance of the Congress leaders, despite the high inflation they are not bothered in im-proving the situation,” Modi said while addressing a gathering at poll-bound state Rajasthan today.“Even the government does not say what it will do for providing relief from the inflation,” the BJP veteran added.

He further alleged that the Congress is making fun of the poor and all its promises to bring down the inflation before the Lok Sabha elections have fallen apart. Not naming Rahul Gandhi, the Gujarat Chief Minister said the Congress Vice-President would never realise what poverty is because he has never seen it him-self. “Their (Congress’) Shehzada says that poverty is nothing but a state of mind. One who has not seen poverty cannot understand what poverty is,” he alleged.

The BJP leader also alleged that the Congress believes in “Ghar-tantra” instead of “Gantantra”, and it should go for the sake of de-velopment and growth of the country. On the steep rise of on-ion prices, Modi mocked that on the day when Sachin Tendulkar was batting in his last Test at the Wankhede, people were talking whether the Master Blaster or onion would first hit a century.

The RJD president is also appearing in three other fodder scam

Agencies

KOLKATA: So now that Sachin Tendulkar is a “former India crick-eter”, how does that affect his brand valuation? The question is particu-larly relevant because for a major part of his 24-year long career, mega sponsorship deals have chased the maestro. A path-breaker on the field, he has also been a pioneer off it in the way he brought money into the game.

It has helped that Sachin’s success story coincided with the rise of the great Indian middle class and helped him gain unimaginable wealth for an Indian sportsman. But all that is his-tory. As the diminutive genius said in his tribute to guru Ramakant Achrek-ar “there are no more matches, sir, in my life”.

As the master walks into the sun-set, will Brand Sachin, which sold many a dream and still continues to do so, also diminish?

It appears that here, too, Sachin is set to break some records.

In the collective Indian mindspace, Sachin’s impact can only be measured as a combination perhaps of a Mi-chael Schumacher, Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan put together, and some more. No other sportsperson anywhere in the world has played at

the highest level for two-and-a-half decade. His longevity and sustained brilliance have placed Sachin in an or-bit where whether or not he plays the sport, becomes irrelevant.

“Sachin is no longer a brand,” says ad guru Prahlad Kakkar, who has shot numerous commercials with the maestro. “He’s an icon. The brands will no doubt be after him, perhaps even more than before. But they will be bound by their limitations, not Sa-

chin’s. Frankly, no company can af-ford Sachin any more, the heights he has now reached. They still may offer him some, and he may condescend to favour a few but in terms of brand valuation, Sachin is in a league of his own,” says Kakkar.

Brands, as any marketing whiz will tell you, typically target the 15-30 age bracket when looking for celebrity movie stars or athletes. The endorser can be seen using it and it resonates

with the consumers whom they are targeting.

Given that Sachin has retired at the “ripe old age of 40” there seems little logic in brands trying to pursue him for endorsements. And this is where the maestro is different from rest.

“Sachin evokes trust and high performance,” says Amitava Mitra, COO, Percept Communications. “Not only will banks, insurance companies and those selling financial products pursue him more than ever but even youth brands will chase him because he is seen as a youth motivator. They would like Sachin to mentor their group”, he explains.

“Simply put, Sachin is beyond the normal cycle of a sportperson,” he added.A heart-tugging farewell speech has added yet another di-mension to Sachin’s persona. Hith-erto known as a reticent genius, the maestro delivered perhaps one of the most moving, emotional and eloquent oration ever, and an extempore one at that.“His farewell speech showed how humble he is, how rooted he is despite all that success. That is what Indian parents want their children to be,” says Indranil Das, COO and part-ner of CAA Kwan, a global celebrity and sports management joint-venture company.

Lahiri, Bhullar ready for World Cup of GolfAgencies

India’s Gaganjeet Bhul-lar does not want to let his biggest fans — his parents — down when he attempts to build on a liking for the Royal Melbourne Golf Club at the World Cup of Golf, which starts in Melbourne on Thursday.Together with close friend Anirban Lahiri, Bhullar will represent India for the first time at the $8 million event at the iconic course where he enjoyed a top-10 finish at last week’s Australian Masters.

“I’ve got family who came down from Brisbane last week and my parents are here as well from India this week. They do travel once in a while to watch me play and it’ll be good to play well in front of them at such an important event,” said Bhul-lar, who is a four-time Asian

Tour champion.“I played really good here

last week. I was feeling high on confidence and I’m sure that confidence will help me. I just want to focus on the next four days. The sky is the limit. This is my first World Cup and I’m really excited,” he said.We went for qualify-ing a few years ago and just missed it. It’s a great sense of

achievement for team India. Anirban and I have grown up together in the amateur ranks and we represented India in quite a few inter-national events, so it’s good to be here together.”Lahiri didn’t enjoy a good outing at the par-71 Royal Melbourne last week, missing the cut after failing to come to grips with the quick greens.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER | 20| 2013Zabarwan times6

Agencies

SAINT LOUIS: Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero scored twice as Argentina secured a 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Her-zegovina in football friendly on Monday.

Playing without superstar striker Lio-nel Messi, Argentina dominated the tempo most of the match against the Bosnians, who like the Albiceleste, have already booked their place at next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

In-form Aguero opened the scoring on 40 minutes after Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic was unable to snuff out the danger which ensued after a cross from Na-poli’s Federico Fernandez.

Aguero doubled his tally on 66 minutes, rifling a left-footed shot past Begovic follow-ing a swift break in the area. It was another lethal exhibition of goalscoring from Aguero, who has scored 13 times in all competitions for Premier League side City this season.

Argentina, with only one loss in 12 match-es, were coming off a goal-less draw with Ec-

uador three nights earlier. That lone defeat came at the hands of Uru-

guay in a qualifier after a 2014 World Cup berth had already been secured.

A pro-Bosnian crowd cheered on the Drag-ons, with the St. Louis area boasting the largest collection of Bosnians outside their homeland.

The match was played in the home stadium of Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals, who lost to the Boston Red Sox in last month’s World Series.

Aguero double as Argentina down Bosnia

Sachin Tendulkar has left a legacy for everyone to follow: Yohan Blake

Brand Tendulkar just got bigger post retirement Agencies

DUBAI: England have a chance of dis-placing India from their current second po-sition in the ICC Test Team Rankings table if they can win the upcoming Ashes series against Australia 4-0 or better.

The Ashes series will offer England an

opportunity to reclaim the number two spot that they held till India moved ahead of them last week following a 2-0 series win over the West Indies.

While India have 119 rating points, Eng-land are three points behind on 116.

Australia, meanwhile, start their quest for regaining the Ashes when they take on

England in Brisbane from November 21 with one eye on moving back to top four po-sition in the table.

Australia are currently ranked fifth with 101 ratings points, 15 points behind third-placed England.

Australia can return to the top four by leapfrogging Pakistan if they manage to

draw or win the series. They can also move ahead of England into third spot if they win the series 4-0 or better.

With the top four sides as of 31 Decem-ber 2016 qualifying for the inaugural ICC World Test Championship scheduled for 2017, every Test counts towards the quali-fication.

Agencies

NEW DELHI: Sprint superstar Yohan Blake says his “childhood hero” Sachin Tendulkar’s humility has touched many people around the world and the batting legend has left an ever-lasting legacy for everyone to follow.

The Jamaican sprinter said it was an “honour” for him to speak about Tendulkar, whose popularity tran-scends boundaries.

Paying tribute to the batting mae-stro, who brought the curtains down on his glittering career after playing his 200th Test last week, Blake said it was amazing to see Tendulkar main-taining humility all these years.

“I want to say that he has left a legacy for everyone to follow. He is a humble man who has touched many people around the world. I hope they will follow in his footsteps,” Blake said.

Double silver medallist at the London Olympics, Blake is an ardent follower of cricket like his senior pro

and fastest man on the earth, Usain Bolt - the first man to win six Olympic gold medals in sprinting.

The 23-year-old athlete is a big fan of Tendulkar and it has been his dream to bowl to Indian batting great at least once.

“I remember the first time I was given the opportunity to speak to him, I told him that I wanted to bowl to you. I felt so honoured because Sachin is truly one of my childhood heroes,” he said.

Blake takes time off from his busy schedule to follow whenever Ten-dulkar is batting and has a collec-tion of the maestro’s DVDs which he watches on and off.Asked how he feels about his icon retiring from the game, Yohan said, “When he announced his retirement, I said to myself it is sad that good things must come to an end. He has done so much not just for his country but for the world.”Blake always keeps himself informed about India and cricket through his coun-try-mate and West Indies destructive opener Chris Gayle, who plays in the

Indian Premier League for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

He had even expressed his desire to play in the IPL after completing his 200m silver medal run at the Lon-don Olympic stadium and had said ‘Once I get the chance to play, I can

even get out Sachin’.Blake saluted the champion batsman for the sheer amount of runs he has scored and his longevity.“For a man to go out with 200 Test matches under his belt and over 15,000 runs, I have to salute him for that.”

K.Pietersen has had a thrilling and unpredictable ride to reach his 100th Test for England

Agencies

Kevin Pietersen could be the most famous person to have come from Pietermartizburg, a small city in South Africa that Tom Sharpe, the novelist and an-

other former resident, described as “half the size of a New York cemetery and twice as dead.”

Pietersen, 33, is about to win his 100th Test cap for England, a country he qualified to play for just over nine years ago by dint of an English mother and an unwavering belief that the cricketing world needed Kevin Pietersen as much as he needed it.

It has been a thrilling and unpredictable ride ever since and to celebrate, Pietersen has flown his wife, son, parents and three brothers to watch its apotheosis in the white heat of an Ashes Test at the Gabba.

To reach a century of caps suggests several things: that the recipient is an ex-ceptional cricketer of great consistency, which Pietersen is, and that they have been accepted, even loved, by team mates, selectors and supporters, something not universally guaranteed in his case.Teams are a fragile eco-system of vastly differ-ent personalities with a general under-standing from its members that you place individual aspirations behind, or at least

beside, those of the common good. Players who do not buy into that credo rarely last long unless they

are extremely talented, in which case a pragmatic pact of tolerance is formed.Mostly it works but Pi-etersen threatened that in the worst way possible last year when he undermined Andrew Strauss, his captain, after he abused Strauss in direct messages to members of the South African team. One theory, as to why he did it, is that he was still smarting after be-ing relieved of the England captaincy after trying to bring a clumsy coup against Peter Moores, the then England coach, three years earlier. Another, that he was annoyed at not being able to play a whole season of the Indian Premier League, though why he should bad mouth Strauss for that was puzzling to say the least.Despite his beef, and we are not much the wiser given the England and Wales Cricket Board’s direc-tive that there would be no “archaeology” at Pieters-en press conferences, he was reintegrated following a two-month period when he was dropped from the team. Strauss would probably not have taken him back but the pragmatism of Alastair Cook, England’s new captain, is entirely understandable. Pietersen can still shred a bowling attack with the gleeful non-chalance of a child ripping a newspaper.

Agencies

Chennai: Opportunities for Indian chess players to endorse financial products hinge on Viswanathan Anand successfully defend-ing his world title and also change of rules by the market regulator. “If Anand loses the title, it will be a set-back for other chess play-ers in getting endorsement opportunities as Anand signifies the chess brand in India,” said Ramanujam Sridhar, chief executive officer (CEO) of Brand Comm, a brand con-sulting company.

A Grandmaster, on the condition of ano-nymity, echoed similar sentiments. “Anand’s loss in Chennai is not good for Indian chess players.

Their hopes of getting some endorse-ment opportunities would vanish with his loss,” a Grandmaster said. A defeat for Anand will hurt India’s young chess stars too. Reuters India’s second highest rated player P. Harikrishna said: “If Anand wins, the brand owners may look for other Indian players also to endorse their products.” Ac-cording to Harikrishna, the world title match

here will be a turning point for the game in the country. Trailing Norwegian challenger Magnus Carlsen by two points at the end of the seventh round, reigning world champion Anand is trying hard to defend his title.

Chess experts told IANS that it is going to be an uphill task for Anand to overtake Carlsen to retain the title. Chess champions told IANS that they are ideal brand ambas-sadors for endorsing financial products and

computer chips, among others products. Ac-cording to them, investments are linked to strategies and computers to their computing power, both of which chess players signify.

“We need one key figure to drive celeb-rity endorsement in chess,” Sridhar said, adding that a title defeat may not largely affect Anand as a brand ambassador as his achievements are already there.

Perhaps brand owners might offer a lower endorsement fee to Anand if he fails to defend his title. “A brand ambassador in the form of a chess champion could be uti-lised for a company for either gaining quick visibility or for stabilising an already estab-lished brand,” Kamalakar Sai Palavalasa, director-sales and distribution of IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Ltd. told IANS. Meanwhile a senior official of a mutual fund company told IANS that the players are banned by the market regulator from using celebrities as their brand ambassador. “Even if we want to have a chess player or any other sportsman other than a cricketer, the rules do not permit us,” he said on the condition of anonymity.

Tough task for Indians in Hong Kong

Agencies

HYDERABAD: Every alter-nate year after she announced her arrival winning the Phillip-pines Open title in 2006 Saina Nehwal did not fare well.

But no year was so bad as 2013 in which the Indian ace failed to reach even one final. Barring her supershow in the Indian Badminton League, where she won all her six matches steering her team Hyderabad Hotshots to title triumph, Saina is struggling at the international level.Her best was reaching four semifinals this year. Last week she suffered her third second-round exit at the China Open Premier and her chances at this week’s Hong Kong Open Super Series doesn’t look better.

Looks like, she might have to wait for 2014 to turn the tide in her favour.But with Saina Nehwal we never know. Last October be-

fore playing the Denmark Open, Saina, who was making a come-back after injury, said she was not expecting to progress beyond the first few rounds but went onto the win the title beating top shuttlers. The next week she reached the French Open final.

A chance for England to displace India from second spot