HEALTH

PGI foundation day today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 6
The Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, conceived in 1960 as a centre of excellence, will celebrate its foundation day tomorrow.

The institute started in 1962, and Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, inaugurated the hospital, now named Nehru Hospital, 45 years ago on July 7, 1963.

Pawan Kumar Bansal, union minister of state for finance (expenditure, banking and insurance), will be the chief guest.

Prof G.K. Chadha, member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, will be the guest of honour and deliver the keynote address: Fast growing Indian economy - The tale of education and health sectors.

The PGI owes its inception to the farsightedness of Partap Singh Kairon, the then Chief Minister of Punjab, and distinguished medical educationists of the then combined State of Punjab supported by Nehru.

Bansal will inaugurate a two-day exhibition on cancer at 10.30 am for the general public in the new OPD block, level-I. The theme of the exhibition will be cancer prevention, early detection and cure.

As part of the celebrations, a football match - faculty vs residents - will be played at 6 pm in the sports complex.

Prof K.K. Talwar, director, PGI, will head the faculty team and Dr Star Pal, sports secretary, Association of Resident Doctors, PGI, will head the residents’ team. 

Motor mechanics told about AIDS
Our Correspondent

Mohali, July 6
The local Fortis Hospital organised an interactive workshop for scooter and car mechanics here today, kicking off its HIV/AIDS programme.

Dr Gaurav Thukral, senior medical officer, gave presentation on HIV AIDS, its magnitude, prevention and social issues related to it. Myths pertaining to the disease were cleared.

The participants were advised to protect themselves from AIDS and not to look down upon those suffering from the disease.

All participants got themselves tested for HIV/AIDS by the Fortis team and a team sent by the State AIDS Control Society, Punjab.

Chandigarh, July 6
Dr Sanjeev Handa, additional professor, department of dermatology, PGI, and Dr R.K. Dhiman, additional professor, department of hepatology, were awarded the ICMR awards by union minister for health and family welfare in New Delhi today.

Dr Handa has been selected for ICMR Lala Ram Chand Kandhari Award in recognition of his research work in the field of dermatology. The award carries a cash prize and a certificate.

Dr Dhiman received the Amrut Mody Unichem prize in gastroenterology. The award was given to him for his contribution to portal hypertension.

Chandigarh, July 6
The Haryana Roll Ball Association (HRBA) will organise the 4th Sub-Junior (u-14) and 5th Junior (u-17) National Roll Ball Championship for boys and girls from July 12 to 15 at Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, Sector 3, Panchkula.

Around 400 players from 15 states are likely to participate in the tournament.

“As many as 13 of our affiliated units have confirmed their participation and we are expecting a couple of more teams to take part in the four-day championship,” said A.D. Sharma, skating coach, Panchkula, and secretary general of the HRBA.

All teams will report at the venue on July 11 and the championship will be inaugurated on July 12 at 5 pm.

Probables for the forthcoming international tournaments at Australia and Pakistan will be picked up from the championship.

Talking about the Haryana teams, Jitesh Kapoor, chief coach Haryana team, said: “We are organising a four-day preparatory camp for the state teams from July 8 to 11. In the previous national championship held at Jaipur we won two golds out of three. This time too we are expecting good results from the teams.”

Roll ball is handball on skates. The game was introduced in India in February, 2003 and in the same year first nationals were held in Pune and since then the nationals have been organised regularly.

Chandigarh, July 6
For the very reason that boxing involves power, it has been considered a man’s game. However, budding boxers like Sapna Bhatnagar are set to turn this around.

She feels that girls should take to this game. This city-based pugilist says it not only imbibes confidence in the fairer sex but also enables them to handle any unpleasant situation in this man dominated world.

“Even in cities like Chandigarh, people are reluctant to send their daughters to pursue the sport. The reasons are simple. The primary one being there are chances of disfigurement of face during bouts,” quips Sapna, a silver medallist in the inter-college judo championship.

But this talented boxer has no qualms for taking to the game, as it has given her many benefits. “I was inspired by J.D. Singh, the coach at Home Science College, Sector 10, and took to boxing in 2005. I got a big boost when I bagged a bronze (below 48 kg) in the Senior Chandigarh State Women Boxing Championship that year,” says Sapna, a trainee of Home Science Boxing Club, Sector 10.

The next year, she caught everyone’s attention when she clinched a gold in the state championship, which paved the way for her participation in the Senior National Women Boxing Championship held at Vishakhapatnam.

“Though I could not secure any position there, the experience I gained was valuable. I was able to win a bronze in the All-India Women Championship held at Nainital this year,” says Sapna.

Sapna, who believes in attacking first to get the edge, wants to represent the country in Olympics.

“To realise my dreams, I have been toiling hard during three-hour practice session daily. My coach and the club have been a big help,” feels Sapna, who wants a government job for her.

However, she feels there is a little scope for women boxers in the city in comparison to its neighbouring state Haryana.

To make the game popular, inter-college and inter-university boxing tournaments should be started, she quips.

Chandigarh, July 6
The Punjab Government has sanctioned Rs 65 lakh for the coveted Maharaja Ranjit Singh Sports Awards.

The amount will be disbursed among 30 players from 27 disciplines and the government will soon invite applications for the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Sports Award for 2005 to 2007.

Announcing this, sports minister Gulzar Singh Ranike said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had also sanctioned Rs 45 lakh for its disbursement among 11 state sportspersons who had brought laurels to Punjab by winning medals in the Doha Asian Games.

Congratulating the medal winners, Ranike said a function would be soon organised to felicitate the winners.

Sports director Pargat Singh said Punjab sportspersons had won 10 gold, 18 silver and 26 bronze medals in the Asian Games.

Among the medals winners were Mandeep Kaur, Sandeep Kaur (athletics), Manpreet Singh (kabaddi), Manavjit Singh Sandhu (shooting), Harveen Sarao (shooting), Avneet Kaur (shooting) and Palwinder Singh Cheema.

Chandigarh, July 6
Hundreds of cases pertaining to various violations under the Capital of Punjab (Development and Regulations) Act, 1952, are piling up in the estate office.

Reason: The Chandigarh administration has not distributed the work among three senior officers who were empowered almost a month ago to discharge the quasi judicial functions of the estate office under the Act.

Though it had been said that the high-level decision would be implemented in a time-bound manner, it has been over a month and there are no clear-cut instructions so far. It is being said that the work would soon be distributed.

Bureaucrat rigmarole apart, the delay has increased the anxiety of those facing cases of violations. For those facing cases of resumption, more delay means more penalty. But those facing cases of building violations, delay means grace period.

“The officials concerned should understand that piling up of cases will compound the problem of the designated officers who have to attend to their routine work”, said sources.

A number of affected persons visiting the estate office told Chandigarh Tribune that they were being given the next date without any clear-cut reply.

The administration in a recent press note had talked about transparent, responsive and a totally efficient administration.

Chandigarh, July 6
The procedure laid down by the Central Information Commission (CIC) to receive applications under the Right to Information Act is not being followed by those manning the counter at the office of the deputy commissioner here.

It seems the officials concerned have devised their own set of rules to deny information to those seeking it under the Act.

While the Act clearly states that an applicant has to apply on a plain paper with the requisite fee at the designated counter, the applicants are being asked to first get their application signed by the official concerned.

As per the Act, there is no need to take signatures from the designated officer. A woman manning the public information counter asked an applicant, Ramesh Kundal, to get the application signed from a superintendent-rank officer.

The application wanted to know the fate of his complaint made to the office of the deputy commissioner. Besides, the receipt of Rs 10 was also not being given to the applicant.

Deputy commissioner R.K. Rao said though the work of receiving the complaints relating to the estate office had been streamlined, he would look into the matter. He said no one had approached him so far in his capacity as appellate authority.