PAWA organised a candlelight march in collaboration with Desh Bhagat University for safe food.

PAWA organised a candlelight march in collaboration with Desh Bhagat University for safe food.

Chandigarh 19 December ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : The Public Against Adulteration Welfare Association (PAWA), in collaboration with Desh Bhagat University, organized a candlelight march for safe food in Sector 17 today. The march saw strong participation from students, senior citizens, youth groups, and the general public.

The candlelight march was flagged off by Justice Zora Singh, former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, and Dr. Sandeep Singh, president of Desh Bhagat University, Gobindgarh. Chief guests at the event included Dr. Surinder Kaur, deputy director of health services, Punjab, and Manjit Singh, executive vice president of the Doaba Group of Colleges.

Present on the occasion were Dr. Anshu Kataria, President, Punjab Unaided Colleges Association; Avtar Singh, Assistant Director (Media), DBU; Advocate Amarjit Singh, National President; Bhupinder Singh, IAS, Advisor; Sukhwinderpal Singh, PCS (Retd.), Advisor; Birinder Singh, Sessions Judge (Retd.), Senior Vice President; Captain Balwinder Singh, Vice President; Advocate Kulwant Singh Lehra, IRS, Joint Secretary; Kulwant Singh Purba, Joint Secretary; Advocate Yadwinderpal Singh, Legal Advisor; Niranjan Singh, Treasurer; Surinder Singh Babbar, IRS, Executive Member; Dr. Jaswant Singh, PCMS (Retd.), President, Chandigarh Unit; Advocate Saurav Mehta, Secretary, Chandigarh; and Surjit Singh Bhatoa, National General Secretary, along with several district-level office-bearers. Among those present were Gurdeep Singh, District President, Patiala; Kaushal Rao Singla, District Secretary, Patiala; Advocate Keshav Kumar, District President, Fatehgarh Sahib; Advocate Aslam Khan, District Secretary and representatives from other areas were also present.

Desh Bhagat University and Doaba Group of Colleges are playing a vital role in making students aware about the ill effects of adulterated, junk and ultra-processed food by organizing seminars through PAWA. Over 300 people from various sections of society enthusiastically participated. The march aimed to highlight the ill effects of food adulteration, chemical contamination, and the increasing consumption of junk and ultra-processed foods, which are major causes of obesity, heart disease, infertility, kidney failure, malnutrition in children, premature puberty in adolescents, and rising cancer cases in India.

Addressing the gathering, PAWA officials stressed on the need for strict enforcement mechanisms, consumer awareness and widespread adoption of safe, natural food, especially for children and youth. A major highlight of the program was a 10–15-minute street play presented by college students, which effectively depicted the ill effects of adulterated and junk food. The presentation received an overwhelming response from the public and proved to be an effective awareness tool.