Constitute PMC, demands IMA
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 26
The state unit of the Indian Medical Association has demanded constitution of a Punjab medical council (PMC) under Section 5 of the Punjab Medical Registration Act, 1916.

Dr R.C.Garg, honorary secretary, IMA, Punjab, in a letter to the Chief Minister said that the Act was for the registration of medical practitioners and the state government should constitute a council in the manner specified in Section 5 for the state of Punjab to be known as Punjab medical council.

Dr Garg said that as per the Act, the council should have 11 members. The president and four members should be nominated by the government, whereas the six others should be elected from amongst the medical practitioners registered with the council. The vice-president of the council should be elected by the 11 members amongst themselves.

The honorary secretary said that the council had been lying defunct for over 18 years and only registration of medical practitioners was being done from an office at Chandigarh under the control of the Director, Research and Medical Education, Punjab.

The other duties of the council such as regulation of practice by registered medical practitioners and control of medical education and taking care of practitioners were being neglected for almost 18 years and the medical and health services in the state were running in chaos and the ultimate sufferer was the common man.

The IMA members requested the Chief Minister to appoint the state president of the IMA, Punjab, as the President of the Punjab Medical Council for the time being and nominate four other members in consultation with him from other cadres of IMA members since the IMA with its headquarters at New Delhi was the only single largest registered and recognised national body of qualified doctors of the modern system of medicine.

Mata Sahib Kaur hockey meet
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, December 26
Major hockey team of the region will participate in the 17th Mata Sahib Kaur Gold Cup Hockey Tournament, said Mr Narinder Pal Singh Sidhu, Chairman, Mata Sahib Kaur Sports Club, Jarkhar, after a meeting of the club which was held under his chairmanship here.

The meeting decided to hold the annual sports festival and the hockey tournament at Jarkhar village near here from January 19 to 21. Apart from hockey, competitions in kabaddi, volleyball shooting, athletics will be held during this sports festival.

The club also resolved to honour Deepak Thakur, member of the junior hockey team, which won the World Cup and Mr Rajinder Singh, coach of the team, with the Olympian Surjit Singh award. The next meeting of the club will be held on January 12 when the preparations made for the festival will be reviewed, Mr Sidhu said.

Penalty for littering likely
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, December 26
Taking a serious view of the prevailing insanitation in many localities, the Municipal Corporation is planning to invoke penal clauses of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act of 1976 against residents keep the surroundings dirty.

Under the directions of the MC Commissioner, Mr R.L. Kalsia, the health branch of the civic body has notified that from January 1, 2002, residents, shopkeepers, traders and industrialists here will have to keep their surroundings clean and dispose of domestic garbage, industrial ash and waste material in garbage containers, failing which, they will face action under Sections 279 and 283 of the Act.

The MC Additional Commissioner, Mr S.K. Sharma, said, while the health branch officials and the sanitation staff had been instructed to bring about qualitative improvement in sanitation, the cooperation of the city residents is also needed.

“Though about 2,000 safai workers and another 2,500 contract workers employed by sanitation committees of localities are not enough to keep the city clean, a lot can be achieved if residents behave in a responsible manner,” said Mr Sharma.

He said, under Section 283 of the Act, it was the statutory duty of citizens to throw garbage only in filth depots or garbage containers, but they littered everywhere — outside houses, shops and industrial units. Most of the garbage was littered after the area sweeper had done his job. “The MC has provided 154 filth depots and 240 garbage containers in different parts of the city, besides dumping grounds at Jainpur and Jamalpur villages, but hardly anyone throws garbage at these places. The garbage littered on roads is also a potential breeding ground of diseases,” Mr Sharma said.

MC holds meeting
Our Correspondent

Khanna, December 26
The local Municipal Council held a meeting under the chairmanship of Mr Nirmal Singh Jassal, officiating president of the MC, here today. The meeting, which was attended by 14 councillors, passed the estimates of more than Rs 50 lakh for various development projects of the town. Mr Amarjit Singh Sekhon, executive officer of the MC, said the ADC (Development), Ludhiana, had given Rs 1 crore from the urban development fund to the council.