Amritsar, Oct. 23 Hundreds of schoolchildren took out a march here on Thursday to spread general awareness and appeal children to not burn fireworks to celebrate the upcoming Diwali festival.

Participating in the march, the children carried placards reading messages like “ Say, no to crackers”.

Students appealed all children not to waste their parents’ hard-earned money on fire-crackers. The gesture was also aimed at preventing air and noise pollution through public awareness.

The participants in the march said the fireworks also cause harmful effects on everyone’s health with their poisonous gases.

Amritsar, Oct. 21 : The Punjabi Durbar programme of Radio Pakistan has been having a staple diet talking about the status of Sikhs in India. Now the radio has a new object to patronize - the Dalits in India.

In broadcasts directed to the border areas in Punjab, the Punjabi Durbar programme has blamed the Government of India for neglecting the Dalit community, including the scheduled casts and tribes.

This has provoked anger among the scheduled castes and tribes in the border areas.

Chandigarh/Amritsar, Oct. 20: As a growing number of people in the cities prefer giving chocolates and cakes as gifts on Diwali festival, many traditional sweets are being replaced.

Many confectioners say that the recent trends have proved to be a boon for bakers.

One such shop is of Nik Baker''s in Chandigarh who are keeping busy these days cashing in the festive mood ahead of Diwali.

Nikhil Mitta, owner of the Nik Baer’s IK BAKER''S, said: “I see a big change. People used to buy a lot of sweets last year, now they have shifted to chocolates and cakes. People don’t relish much Indian traditional `mithai''.

“A Lot of people are giving chocolate as a Diwali gift like dry cakes, fruit cakes and plum cakes,” he added.