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| Tuesday,
December 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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An alarming 3.84 lakh leprosy patients New Delhi, December 24 Keeping this in view, the National Leprosy Eradication Programme received a boost in 1993-94 when the World Bank gave more than Rs 3,000 million for the programme for a period of six years. Workshops and leprosy eradication programmes have since been conducted all over the country to come up with various means to check the spread of disease. Dr N. S. Dharamshaktu, who has done considerable work in the field of community medicine and who has also written a book on leprosy, told NCR Tribune that there had been a considerable decline in the number of leprosy patients following the implementation of the Leprosy Eradication Programme. In Delhi, while 723 patients were registered during the first campaign, the number has come down to 178 during the third
campaign. The leprosy eradication programme has met with success in 13 states. Nagaland, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Assam, Kerala, Tripura and Punjab are some of the states which have reached an appreciable level of disease eradication. To further discuss the various measures to be taken to bring down the number of leprosy cases, representatives of the South-East Asian region will meet in the Capital next month. These representatives are expected share their experiences and knowhow and come up with more effective means of fighting the disease. As a part of the campaign, awareness about the disease is being created, thus shattering the myths and also undoing the stigma attached to it. It tries to spread the message that leprosy is neither contagious nor is it hereditary. Early detection and proper treatment can cure the disease and deformity can also be corrected. A number of voluntary organisations are doing their bit to fight the dreaded disease. There are about 285 registered voluntary organisations engaged in providing logistical support to the patients. Services like education, training, case detection, treatment, physiotherapy, rehabilitation and supply of essentials like clothes are provided by these groups. Apart from these, there are 30 NGOs which have been roped in to provide facilities to the patients. These NGOs are reimbursed the expenditure they incur on providing services to the patients. To check the spread of disease and to create awareness, a major publicity campaign has been undertaken. Free diagnosis and treatment facilities at skin OPDs are made available in dispensaries, special field clinics and general hospitals. The most effective way of treating leprosy, Multiple Drug Therapy (MDT), is also being provided. Re-constructive surgery facilities were being made available at select government hospitals and NGO centres, informed Dr
Dharamshaktu. |
THE ACHIEVERS
DEEP Das Gupta would not have become a cricketer if his parents had not enrolled him for gymnastics at the National Stadium. In the early eighties - circa ‘84, to be precise – National Stadium did not have elaborate facilities for many sports. The main stadium was exclusively reserved for hockey and athletics, and all other disciplines were bunched together on a medium-sized ground at the main gate. Basketball, cricket, gymnastics, volleyball, kho-kho, kabaddi et al co-existed cheek by jowl. It was a virtual sports pot-pourri, with neither the coaches nor their wards getting enough elbow room to concentrate on their chosen sport with any degree of involvement. No wonder, seven-year-old Deep Das Gupta’s eyes were always focussed on the cricket coaching centre of Sunita Sharma, and not on the gymnastic rings. When the boy’s obsession with cricket grew stronger and stronger, Sunita Sharma asked Deep Das’s parents to send him for cricket classes. Early coaching in gymnastics had given Deep Das’s body a lot of flexibility. Sunita was amazed at the reflexes and agility of the boy. The perceptive eyes of the coach, the first woman cricket coach to pass out of the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, quickly spotted the spark of talent in the boy, though she waited for him to reach the age of ten, before putting him through the hard paces of cricket, in a systematic manner. “I taught him only the basics of batting and fielding when he came to me as a callow seven-year-old. The idea was to whet his curiosity for cricket, and then prepare him for what he was best at in the game”, Sunita said. And sooner than later, Sunita realised that Deep Das would make a ‘natural’ wicket-keeper. “Since I wanted a wicket-keeper at the junior level, I started giving him regular coaching in wicket-keeping”, remembered Sunita. And when he turned 14, Deep Das was a player to be reckoned with “as his pick-up, fitness and temperament were remarkably good”. Deep Das rarely missed a coaching class, come rain or shine. The boy’s devotion to the game was total, and the coach was not at all surprised when he quickly started making his mark in various grades of cricket, as he had the talent to scale greater heights. He represented Delhi in the Under-16 Tournament for the Vijay Merchant Trophy in ‘92-93, but was not given a place in the Under-19 squad, though he richly deserved a berth. Delhi’s loss was Bengal’s gain as Deep Das shifted base to “home turf” Calcutta, and soon, he was playing Ranji Trophy for Bengal. In between, he played for the India Under-19 team against South Africa, and was also a member of the Rest of India team. “Deep Das is an extraordinary wicket-keeper and opening bat, and I was not surprised when he was chosen for the India team (for the South Africa tour)”, Sunita said. And the coach shed tears of joy when Deep Das hit his maiden Test century as an opener against England at Mohali in November “as I always believed that he had the talent and skill to open the batting and make his mark.” The lady coach did really work hard on the boy to make him what he is today. The first major step she took was to shift the boy from Don Bosco, where cricket was not a priority sports discipline, to the Sardar Patel School, as the latter is famous for its cricket activity. Deep Das’s Test hopes got a big boost when he was selected for the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, where former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar was one of those who got impressed with his cricketing skills. Indian coach John Wright’s liking for him, and captain Saurav Ganguly’s solid backing, helped Deep Das reach where he had been toiling hard to reach, for years. Deep Das’s India debut was a crowning glory for coach Sunita Sharma, as till now, she had been working as an unsung heroine, who worked hard to produce talented cricketers, but got hardly any recognition for her work, because of her low-profile work culture. Several Ranji Trophy and other players have come out of Sunita’s coaching centre, prominent among them being off-spinner Sumit Dogra, medium-pacer V Arvind, left-arm spinner Subhash Choudhary of Haryana, Ravi Kanth Sharma of UP, Oneil Wilson, Vishal Sharma, Gautam Gopal Roy from Orissa and many others. Seventeen-year-old Rohit Sharma, who is a “lovely bat and an agile wicket-keeper,” Inderjit Singh and Saram Vir “Srinath” are the new kids on the block on whom Sunita has pinned a lot of hopes. Sunita says youngsters like Deep Das Gupta should be given a longer reign at the Test level to enable him attain his truer potential, instead of demoralising him with needless criticism when he fares poorly in a match or two. The proud coach says “India has definitely found a solid opener in Deep Das Gupta”. But she is not happy with the way young players are given instant celebrity status after one or two good performances by them “as they should be allowed to settle down in their slots before showering them with fame and money”. The last two years have witnessed five wicket-keepers doing duty for India, which, Sunita feels, is totally absurd. She suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India should give ten per cent of the player’s earnings to an institution like the Sports Authority of India (SAI), which contributes a lot of players to the national talent pool, after spending substantial amounts on their coaching. Sunita cited the example of Deep Das, who was given a White Card by the SAI in 1992-93, which ensured him virtually free coaching at Sunita’s centre at the National Stadium, except for a token registration fee of Rs 70. In fact, she suggested that a new face in the India team should be quarantined from excessive media exposure for at least the first two years “so that the player can concentrate on his game, and cement his place in the team, instead of getting distracted by extraneous factors”. Sunita said there should be an academy for wicket-keepers as well on the lines of the MRF Pace Foundation and the National Cricket Academy. The wicket-keepers should be selected from all over the country, and then put their paces in the academy. “And all such academies should have qualified coaches, i.e diploma holders. Former internationals spearheading academies are all right, but they cannot teach techniques, they can only teach tactics, from their experience. You need qualified and experienced coaches to mould young talent”, Sunita summed up. This self-effacing woman, a hard task-master at work, is quietly grooming young talent, in the hope that many more Deep Das Guptas would enrich the cricket firmament in the coming years. |
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Tarun off to winning start in DSA New Delhi, December 24 In the opening match, former champions City Club was held to a goalless draw by Delhi Police in a Group A match. Tarun Sangha were given a good fight by Garhwal Heroes, but inside-left Aparesh Haldar settled the argument in favour of Sangha when he slotted home the match-winner in the seventh minute of first half. Both the teams battled it out hard in the rest of the match, but goals were hard to get. In the second match, City and Delhi Police played it tough, but muffed their chances when scoring opportunities came their way. Striker Mahesh Bisht could not convert Delhi Police’s goal-bearing moves as he found City custodian Vijay Gupta a very big stumbling block. Mahesh was later given the marching orders by referee Krishan Avtar, who flashed the red card, when the player exceeded the limit of fair play. Delhi Police custodian A Salam also acquitted himself well, when he effected many good saves, the most important being the one he fisted away off a powerful shot by City’s Bhupinder Sharma from the left flank. A Mutlief also failed to seize some good chances that came the Cops’ way. City’s forward line played in a very inept manner to muff easy chances. Bhupinder Sharma, Snjeev Sharma and Nageshwar Rao were offered goals virtually on a platter, but their wayward
shooting, and some fine goalkeeping by A Salam of Delhi Police prevented them from opening their account. The goalless draw may affect the prospects of both the teams, if they do not score handsome victories in their coming matches if they want to make the Super League grade. Former Delhi State player Siri Pershad and Ashok Khanna of SAIL jointly inaugurated the championship. Siri Pershad had played for President’s Estate and State Bank of India. Steel Authority of India Ltd is the main sponsor of the League. Tuesday’s fixtures: Allwyn-Hindustan vs Frontier (1.30 p m); Indian Nationals vs Jat Heroes (3 p m)–Ambedkar Stadium. |
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Delhi Zone down MP Zone in PNB Meet New Delhi, December 24 The West UP Zone defeated Rajasthan Zone 3-1 in another badminton tie. Delhi Zone (T Sarkar, C P Kapoor and Tanuj Gupta) edged past Eastern Zone 3-1 and Southern Zone defeated Bihar Zone 3-1 in carrom matches. In football, Eastern Zone beat West UP Zone 4-0. G Dutta scored a
hat-trick while K Burman scored the fourth goal. In table tennis, Eastern Zone (D Chakraborthy, S Nandy and A Sadhu) defeated Rajasthan Zone 3-0 while MP Zone beat Central UP Zone 3-0. Ahirwar, Manoj Sharma and Gobind Vijay formed part of the winners’ team. Rajasthan trounced Bihar by nine wickets in cricket. Scores: Bihar: 126 for 9 in 25 overs. Rajasthan: 130 for 1 in 25 overs (Dharmender 56 n o, D Tiwari 35 n o, Nirmal 3/17). J P Saroya of Punjab Zone won a golden double in athletics when he annexed the 1500m gold with a time of 4:37.6 secs. He had won the 800m gold on Sunday. Som Dutt and Narinder Singh of Northern Zone took the second and third position respectively. Som Dutt clocked a time of 4:47.2secs while Narinder Singh posted a time of 4:51.0 secs. Sudha Sharma of MP Zone won the women’s 1500m gold with a time of 6:52.8 secs, with Anitha of Northern and Kusum Lata of Western Up finishing second and third respectively. Anita clocked 7:42.6 secs while Kusum posted a timing of 8:16.4 secs. In high jump, S K Dagra of Punjab Zone clinched the gold while Mamta of Eastern Zone won the women’s gold. R P Bhalla of Delhi and Dilip Datta of Eastern finished second and third respectively in the men’s section while Kusum Lata claimed the silver in women’s high jump. Dagra cleared 1.55 metres to claim the gold while Bhalla and Dilip Datta cleared a height of 1.45 metres. Bhalla got the silver as he cleared the height first. Mamta soared over 1.10 metres while Kusum Lata jumped over a height of 0.95 metres. Sportspersons from 12 zones from all over India are taking in the week-long sports meet, in which many current and former India internationals are taking part. |
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