HEALTH

GH-16 staff hold protest
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 8
More than 100 employees of the General Hospital, Sector 16, protested at the hospital gate for over two hours raising slogans against an order passed by the Medical Superintendent, bringing the hospital work to a virtual standstill causing problems to the patients.

In an order passed yesterday, the doctors and para-medical staff of the hospital were told that they would not be given an off after a night’s duty but would be allowed to come to the hospital two hours late for the next day’s duty. This order has caused widespread alarm among the employees who were exasperated at the action which they say would mean them working for 22 and a half hours in 30 hours, ‘‘which is against even the basic labour laws’’.

The initial orders included all doctors, pharmacists, lab technicians, radiographers, ward attendants and safai karamcharis, but in a later order passed today, the MS stated that night off would not be given to those employees who were getting rent-free accommodation. Though this order excluded the radiographers and the lab technicians, the employees were interpreting the issuing of the second order as an act of the hospital administration to break the joint action committee which the employees had formed to start a protest against these orders.

The president of the joint action committee, Mr Kanwaljit Singh, along with the chairman, Mr Baljit Singh, blamed the Director, Health Services, for passing of these orders. ‘‘What was the need to pass these orders? Work in the hospital is going on alright and if they feel that the quality of work will improve like this, they are mistaken. We are acutely understaffed and to make improvements, we need more people not try and get more work out of the existing staff,’’said Mr Kanwaljit Singh.

Mr Kanwaljit Singh later informed that following a written note from the DHS, a meeting of the employees was held with the Director Health Services wherein he decided to withdraw these orders.

SPORTS

3 hockey players honoured
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, November 8
Three international hockey players from Shivalik Public school, Sector 41, along with their coach were honoured by the management of the school this morning. Raj Pal Singh, the current hero of the Indian junior team that won Junior World Cup held in Australia recently, was a trainee of the Shivalik Hockey Academy from 1998 to 2000. He was a member of the UT school hockey team that won gold medal in 1997-98 and thrice represented UT in the National School Games. Raj Pal was also member of the Indian Junior under-18 team that won the Asian hockey title recently.

Kamalpreet Singh, who is now with the Punjab police based at Jalandhar, joined the academy in 1997. The same year he was declared the best player of the meet in Nehru Hockey at New Delhi,

Sukhbir Gill, who represented India in the Sydney Olympics last year, studied in the school from 1987 to 1991 and was a trainee under the NSTC scheme of the SAI. Earlier he as a member of the Panjab University Hockey team and played in All-India inter-varsity meets.

Tennis meet

Chandigarh Administration team went down fighting to RSB, Jaipur, at 0-2 while Central Secretariat, Delhi, outplayed RSB, Hyderabad at 2-1 in the semifinals in the All-India Civil Services Tennis Meet at Tennis Stadium, Sector 10.

The open singles winners who sailed into last eight were — Jagdish Tanwar, O.P. Dixit, Modh Yamin, Jayaraman,V Shanker, Mohd Wahid, Vaqar Ahmed, Chanderveer.

In veteran singles the winners were — S.K. Sinha, Dilip, C Khurana, Dr S.P. Nagar, C. Rangadharan and Pandurangaiah.

Bharti nominated

K.S. Bharti was again renominated as secretary of the Chandigarh Basketball Association. This was announced by Mr A.S. Judge, president of the association. The CBA elections held few months back, had become controversial and Bharti was given some insignificant post although it was claimed that he did good work for the upliftment of the game in the city. In another development, Mr MS Gill, a retired senior basketball coach and an international referee, was given the post of vice-president of the association.

Selection trials

The Punjab Kayaking and Canoeing Association will hold the selection trials to select the Punjab team in this discipline for the 31st National Games . These trials will be held at Sukhna Lake on November 10 at 7 a.m. This was stated by Mr Birender Singh Gill, secretary of the association.

Admn rejects indoor hall plan
Arvind Katyal

Chandigarh, November 8
Many a times vagaries of the nature spoil the spirits of sportspersons as well as the audience when played outdoors. But if the facility to play indoors is provided to the sportspersons, it will certainly help them to have regular practice sessions.

At present the city has an indoor hall for few sports only — table tennis hall at Sector 23, badminton hall at Sector 42, skating rink in Sector 10, dilapidated gymnastics hall in Sector 7 and another indoor hall in the vicinity of the Sports Complex, Sector 42 is in the pipeline. So city needs an indoor hall of multipurpose nature which can enable more players to enjoy the facility on the pattern of other sports complexes in other parts of the country.

Realising the need of such a hall, the Principal of the Shivalik Public School, Sector 41, Mr D.S. Bedi, submitted the proposal to the Chandigarh Administration last year, but today he was a dejected man as the proposal has been sent back by the UT Finance Secretary’s office stating that as per the zoning sanctioned plan of the school site, the ground coverage of the site shall not exceed 15 per cent.

Mr Bedi in his letter contended that sports in general consisted both of indoor and outdoor games and at present the city lack facilities for the indoor games and many a times camps are not organised in the city due to lack of such facilities.

Mr Bedi said the entire money would be spent by the school from its own resources and Rs 2 crore has already been earmarked for the initial phase.