Photoshoot swimwear round For Dabur Gulabari Sananda Tilottama

New India sea link bridge opens

The first bridge to be built over the sea in India has been officially opened in Mumbai by Sonia Gandhi, the head of the ruling Congress party.

The bridge was built to ease traffic congestion and cut travelling time between the western suburbs of Bandra with Worli over the Arabian Sea.

It has eight lanes and aims to reduce journey time from 45 to six minutes.

But - held up by litigation and protests - it took more than ten years and cost $400m to build.

Authorities say the bridge is a way to ease Mumbai's traffic problems - the island city with a population of 18 million has more than 1.5 million vehicles.

Residents of Mumbai lined the sea front on Monday night to watch fireworks celebrating the expected opening of the bridge .

"It was too short. It looked beautiful but I wish they had more fire crackers. I don't know if I will use the bridge but I will surely go once to check it out," said Tejashree Raut, a college student who had come to Shivaji Park.

Another Mumbai resident expressed scepticism about the cost of the bridge.

"It will be too expensive to use it daily. Moreover, there will be a traffic jam after one gets off the bridge to proceed towards south Mumbai. I do not think it is worth spending all this money," Sunil Karnik said.

The bridge is a part of a drive to create a more rapid transport infrastructure in the city.

New railway links, flyovers, an underground railway, elevated walkways and sea transport have been planned.

Critics do not believe the bridge will help ease traffic congestion in a city which adds several hundred new vehicles to its roads every day.

And environmental activists also question the project's impact on the sea bed and marine ecology. Some have even argued that the livelihoods of fishermen - among the oldest residents of the city - will also be threatened.

Nevertheless it has been described as an "engineering marvel".

Traffic police say they are confident they will be able to manage the flow of vehicles.

DU first cutoff list is out. All the best

DU first cutoff list is out. All the best

The first cutoff list for admission to various undergraduate courses at Delhi University (DU) was announced on Wednesday. Students who meet the requirements notified in the first cutoff list need to complete their admission formalities in the colleges concerned by 29th June, 2009. Given below is the minimum percentage of marks at which admission to various courses of study have been offered.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cutofflist.cms

Demand for creation of 10 new states before home ministry

The Centre has received demands for creation of at least 10 new states, including a separate Mithilanchal in Bihar, Saurashtra in
Gujarat and Coorg in Karnataka.

A senior home ministry official said the demands were mostly received from organisations like Telengana Rashtra Samiti and Gorkha Janamukti Morcha and some other organisations and individuals.

The most vocal organisation TRS has placed its demand for creation of Telengana state, comprising Telengana region in Andhra Pradesh, a few years back while the GJM has been putting pressure to carve out Gorkhaland state out of Darjeeling and its adjoining areas in West Bengal
.

The demand for creation of Bundelkhand state, comprising districts like Banda, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Sagar of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have been pending for long with the ministry, the official said, adding, though no state government has given any recommendation, which is mandatory for carving out a new state, the demands continue to pour in.

A demand for creation of Bhojpur state comprising areas of Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh has also been received by the Ministry.

Another demand for creation of a new state comprising Saurastha region of Gujarat, one of the most prosperous states, has also been pending with the Ministry for several years now.

The Centre has received representations for creation of Harit Pradesh or Kisan Pradesh consisting several districts of Western Uttar Pradesh, the official said.

The Home Ministry has also received demands for creation of Mithilanchal or Mithila state comprising territories in Bihar, a new Greater Cooch Behar state out of parts of West Bengal and Assam, a Vidarbha state in Maharashtra and a state for the Coorg region of Karnataka.

However, no decision has been taken by the Home Ministry in any of the representation for creation of a new state.

"Government takes decision on the matter of formation of new states after taking into consideration all relevant factors. Action by the government would depend on the felt need and general consideration," the official added.

Shiney Ahuja pictures gallery

Afghan Army Chief to visit India

The Afghan Army Chief General Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, who visits India next month will meet the Army top brass and tour key military installations.

General Mohammadi, Afghan National Army Chief since 2002, will call upon his Indian counterpart, General Deepak Kapoor and visit military installations in Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune during his week-long visit. He is also likely to visit the National Defence Academy (NDA) in Pune. The Academy has trained Afghan cadets in the past.

General Mohammadi’s visit is expected to open a new chapter in the military relationship between the two countries, which at present is restricted to humanitarian projects. The Indian Army doctors run a children’s hospital in Kabul and provide medical aid to locals at several other places. A team from the Indian Army’s Education Corps is in Kabul since last year to teach English language to locals.

Power of the pack

We all know our beauty basics: Cleanse, tone, moisturise. But there's a lot you can do on your own to supplement that care regime.

What and how, you ask? The answer is do-it-yourself packs. They're convenient to use, because you don't have to book yourself into a spa, which also makes them economical (are you listening, recessionista?) and you can borrow all the ingredients from your mom's kitchen.

And one of the biggest advantages is that they're packed with the good stuff. "Natural, home-made face packs aren't processed, so are vitamin and mineral-rich," says dermatologist Dr Apratim Goel.

Here are some DIY packs you can try this summer:

The cucumber face pack

The recipe: Blend together a medium size cucumber and a cup of oatmeal into a paste. Then use a spoonful of this mixture with a spoon yogurt (if you have oily skin) or malai (for dry skin). Leave it on for 20 minutes and then rinse.

The benefits: This face pack is full of goodies! You've heard about the adage 'Cool as a cucumber', right? Well the cooling cucumber also comes with enzymes that act as anti-astringents; the oatmeal moisturises and the lactic acid-laced yogurt/malai prevents aging.

Tip: Add some ground almonds if you want to lighten the skin, suggests Dr Goel.

The henna hair pack

The recipe: Grind fresh henna leaves into a paste, add water to improve consistency. Leave in for 10 minutes before washing.

The benefits: Henna is a great astringent, says Simi Keer, national technical & academy head, L'Oreal. She adds, "It cleanses the scalp, helps fight oily hair and acts as a conditioner."

Tip: Don't use henna powder; it's packed with chemicals that don't do much for your hair.

The papaya body scrub

The recipe: Blend a medium-size papaya (about 250gm) and mix it with a handful of coffee beans. Gently massage into the skin and wash.

The benefits: The pepsin found in papayas helps you fight your tan; the ground coffee beans work as a detoxifying agent and an exfoliant to remove dead skin.

Tip: Use coffee powder if you don't have beans

The knife of looks

Another one bites the dust. The buzz is that Esha Deol, not too happy with her pretty little face had a facelift! Honestly what she needs are acting classes especially now that she looks worse post surgery! But gasp not, this isn’t anything new for tinsel town.
All the average lookers find this the only way to turn into Cinderella! Don’t believe us?
Here are a few actresses that ‘tried’ to enhance their features by getting under the knife - or shall we say their “magic wand.”
Kangana Ranaut and Esha Deol - Lift off’s

Mirror mirror on the wall, who’s the most gorgeous one of them all? And if the answer is not affirmative, let’s go for a facelift. This trend comes from Hollywood and it’s a rule that we follow them, right? To sizzle the screen in Fashion, Kangana Ranaut had to chisel her face with a facelift – to look more convincing as a OD’ed (overdosed) model. Esha Deol too apparently also plumped her upper-lip. She thought her thin lips ruined her looks.

Koena Mitra and Shilpa Shetty - Rhinoplasty


Sniff, Sniff, someone has got a new nose. We wonder why someone wants to get a nose job done. Don’t you think it makes it look more plastic? Have a look at Koena Mitra, she looked much better before she had a nose job. What about Shilpa Shetty? Well, who will pay attention to her nose, with that sexy figure of hers? Rhinoplasty, in simple words a nose job was a craze when these beauty wagons were showed a green flag for it.

Rakhi Sawant and Mallika Sherawat - Silicon valley



The queens of controversies openly admit that they underwent silicone implants to increase their bust size. Not only that, the bindass item-girl Rakhi Sawant has done tummy tucks and also numerous facelifts. It definitely shows and hell, she admits it too! Mallika Sherawat debuted with Khwahish by exposing her cleavage. But was the movie a hit? Either way, they no doubt were ‘noticed’.

Corrective surgeries

Minor corrections are fine. Dia Mirza had her teeth corrected (and so did many of us as awkward teens). Kareena Kapoor corrected her jaw-line. And why should our heroes remain behind? Govinda had to revamp his skin, in order to sell his looks. Mr. Nasal, oops, Mr. Himesh Reshammiya went in for a hair transplant for his movie Karzzzzz.

Beauty is believed to be skin-deep. So there’s no point in trying too hard to get that Monroe smile, or Scarlett’s cleavage, because that was their gift of genes, right? After all, everyone is unique when beauty is concerned. Just explore that uniqueness and there is no need for such fake embellishments!

Pics courtesy: BCCL, Reuters